hadriel_logs | Event Log: Soulmates

Entry tags:

Event Log: Soulmates

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for Soulmates event
Where: All over the city
When: February 14th-February 22nd
Warnings: None

Oh shit, what even happened last night? You're pretty sure you had a normal night, no crazy drunk antics (unless that is your normal night). But this morning you woke up with a brand new tattoo, and it's... a name?

Maybe it's a name you recognize, one of your good friends. Maybe it's a stranger. Maybe it's someone you can barely stand. No matter who it is, you kind of feel like you should look for them and figure out what's going on with this weird tattoo. And when you find them - well, they've got one too, except this one is your name. It would seem weird, except as soon as you see each other you kind of understand. Of course you'd have a tattoo with the name of the person you've found such an amazing connection with. You were meant to be together.

So enjoy your time with your newfound soulmate. Who knows, you might wake up tomorrow with a whole new name on your arm, a new connection, a new love. Make the most of it!

► This log covers February 14th-February 22nd
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you try to pull off a stupid stunt to impress your soulmate and fail so miserably you die, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[An awkward beat of silence passes through them as neither turns to leave, and when Lucretia speaks up next, she's grateful for the break in silence, and she nods quickly,]

It's a pleasure! [Oh no, she's already falling into the god's games — not that she wouldn't be just as polite to meet a stranger, but there's an eagerness that is unnatural with strangers, an automatic trust, and a wish to please, even though they've done little more than bump into each other on the street.]

My name is Princess Allura— ah, but I suppose you already knew my name.

I didn't know you were a princess, though.

[ That's reason enough to stick around, right? How often do you get a chance to meet an actual princess?

Since when does she care about meeting princesses? Never mind, she's excited about meeting this one. ]

Director Lucretia - but just Lucretia is fine, please.

[She could point out that princess is merely a title — that it means nothing when the planet she had domain over was destroyed thousands of years ago, that it’s largely out of sentiment and habit that she introduce herself this way — but she doesn’t, and she’s quietly pleased that she seems to have made a good impression on this stranger.

Why does she care about the impression of a stranger? It doesn’t matter.]

It’s a pleasure to meet you Director. [Ah.] Lucretia.

[Distantly she knows it’s strange, to have a thrill at being on a first name basis. Not when she commonly assumed first-name-basis with most people, and never insisted against others doing the same with her. It still felt. Intimate. In a way that felt different from any time before. Infatuation. She knew that feeling well, and as much as she knew why she couldn’t shake it,]

I- I am aware that this planet is to cause for this but. Would you care to... talk a walk?

Yes!

[ Her response is too eager, too immediate, but somehow she can't help herself. Even knowing that these feelings aren't genuine and that Allura is a stranger doesn't change anything. She doesn't want to leave her. She wants to get to know her, more than anything else she can think of.

Lucretia clears her throat, reining herself in with an embarrassed smile. ]

I would...I would like that very much.

[It’s awkward. Incredibly so. In another time, if someone jumped so eagerly at a chance to spend time together, she’d suspect they wanted something. Or at the very least it would be worth stepping back to get a read on the situation. As it is, though, Lucretia’s immediate response just sends a thrill through Allura, a giddy eager thing that’s not entirely unlike her previous infatuation with a certain prince.

But Lucretia was nothing like said prince, and Allura felt safe. and more at ease than she’s been since— for a long time, really.]

You said that you are a director. That sounds like an impressive title.

[Good lord, she might as well be twirling her hair around a finger about now.]

It doesn't mean much here.

[ She's relieved when her enthusiasm doesn't scare Allura off, and mostly just...happy, to have the chance to spend some time with her. It's unnatural, of course, and it can't last, but at the moment she doesn't much care. It's been so long since she's felt anything like this, and she wants to bask in it. Just for a little while.

She glances sidelong up at Allura, faintly embarrassed. ]

Would, uh, would you laugh if I said...I only introduced myself that way to impress you?

[ Allura is a princess, after all. She'd felt she had to do her best to sound as impressive as possible in return. ]

Not at all, I'm flattered.

[Her voice is earnest, and at least the first part is genuine, even without emotions being toyed with as they are. She was the last person who could judge about clinging onto titles even after they'd long since stopped carrying the weight they once did.

She waves her hand dismissively,] My title is just as meaningless here.

[Not just here she wants to add, but she doesn't want to bring Lucretia down with her sorrows. Far from it,] I suppose it's just sentimental at this point, even if I have no authority over anyone here.

[ That's a relief. Though somehow, she hadn't been too worried. She'd felt sure that Allura would understand, and be charmed instead of put off by her eagerness. She nods, strolling slowly at Allura's side. ]

I know the feeling. It's...strange, to introduce myself as just Lucretia.

[ It's been so long since she's been anything but Madam Director. She can't help feel like she's being too familiar with everyone here, soemtimes. ]

...Do you miss it? The authority?

[Allura gives an understanding nod. She still hasn't quite gotten around to only introducing herself as Allura. While her title is largely defunct at this point, it still felt like a part that belonged to her. No matter what was taken from her, she would never stop being the daughter of King Alfor and Queen Melanor.

But narration aside, she can't help but laugh a little bit at Lucretia's question, hiding her laugh behind a raise of her hand,]

I'm not sure if that's how I would put it. [She took too much after her father, seeing her position as one of service instead of authority. Her expression softens and she drops her hand back to her side, dipping her head,] But I do miss having a place that I belonged. Here, I'm afraid I feel a little like an outsider.

I understand.

[ She says it softly, gently. ]

I'm lucky enough to have people I know here, but...

[ But she still lives in a big empty house all by herself, while the rest of them all live together in loud, joyous confusion next door. It's complicated. ]

I...feel the same way, sometimes. I knew exactly what I was doing, back home. What my purpose was. Where I needed to be. It wasn't always easy, but...it's still a little frightening, sometimes, to have all of that just gone.

It seems we are birds of a feather.

[Allura laughs, although the humor falls a little flat.]

My friends are here as well and I- [Hm. She worries at her bottom lip,] Back home we were fighting in a great war, and as much as I have longed for the day that I could leave it in the past, I didn't expect it to come so... abruptly.

[She's not out for glory and victory, but it was an empty feeling. Like a song cut off after the third verse. Knowing that there's still work left undone back home, knowing that there are people left behind to deal with it, and knowing that, at least there, she was needed.

She reaches out, giving the woman's arm a small squeeze of reassurance,]

But I am sure your friends are grateful you are here. And you can find your purpose together. At least until we find a way back through the door.

[ Lucretia smiles shyly. She's been thinking the same thing, and the feeling only grows as Allura continues. It's an almost uncanny coincidence, how similar their stories seem to be. ]

I...the war back home is over, apparently. Or will be. The others are from...further along than I am.

[ It had been a massive relief to hear it, of course. To know that they'd won. But there is a certain lack of closure, being told that everything's all right without having lived through it. ]

I think they are. [ Most of them. ] And I'm sure your friends are happy to have you here as well...but...it's nice to meet new people, too.

[ She smiles again at Allura, casting her gaze hopefully. She can still feel the spot on her arm where the other woman had squeezed it, warm and comforting. ]

[Even in the haze of infatuation she makes note of the apparent time difference between Lucretia and her friends. It's the same with her, and although she's only a handful of days behind Lance and Shiro, so much happened between her now and their now that it took some effort to wrap her head around.]

That's kind of you to say. [It's nice to hear, even if it's conjecture. Allura doesn't doubt that her friends are happy to have her here, (as happy as one can be about having a friend trapped in an unfortunate situation), and even though things between her and Keith have been tense, it didn't change the fact that they were still a team. They'd work through it, somehow.

But her thoughts aren't on Keith right now. Or at least they don't linger long before returning to her new friend, and Allura rubs her own arm, somewhat bashfully,] I wasn't expecting to meet anyone that I had so much in common with. I know that the planet is playing a hand in this but... It feels a little like we really are soulmates.

[Ah no, that's the emotional effects talking.]

I think it's meant to feel that way.

[ She says it as gently as she possibly can, of course, but...well, that's the whole point, is it? They aren't simply being told something and set free; their very emotions themselves are being manipulated. As difficult as it is to remember or believe, these feelings aren't real. There's no such thing as soulmates.

All the same, she thinks she knows what Allura is getting at. Her expression softens, turns thoughtful. ]

Still...it must be based on something, mustn't it? They couldn't...it wouldn't work with just anyone.

[ Right? ]

And we do seem to have quite a lot in common.

Oh… Yes. [Ah, and she can’t help the heat that pools in her face, being caught and catching herself getting caught up in the emotional manipulation. It would make her mad, to be used and her perceptions changed In this way, but the nature of the effects were making that hard, as warm and fuzzy as she’s feeling just through Lucretia’s proximity.

But at least they seem to be on the same page, or Lucretia doesn’t seem to be holding it against Allura, her weakness. She nods emphatically,]

If you think about it… if the gods’ goal is to feed off of our emotions, then it would make more sense to facilitate a friendship that is likely to flourish rather than one that would fall apart once the effects are gone. You wouldn’t water a patch of dirt without a seed there.

[Then again, she can’t presume to understand the motivations of said gods<]

And, if nothing else, it has been a long time since I’ve made friends with another woman. [Realizing that that sounds a little odd, she hurries on, half talking to herself, in a fluster,] There’s Pidge, of course, but she can be just as bad as the boys at times. All the times, really.

[And to think, she had been so excited to learn Pidge was a girl in the first place.]

[ Oh no, she hadn't meant to embarrass her. And it's not embarrassing, or at least it shouldn't be - Lucretia feels exactly the same way, after all. She smiles, and this time she reaches out to squeeze Allura's arm in quiet assurance. ]

...I like that. "You wouldn't water a patch of dirt without a seed." I think that's a good way of thinking about it.

[ Is it true? She really doesn't know enough about the gods to say, but it's nice to believe it, at any rate.

And then she laughs, nodding in understanding. ]

Oh, yes. There were seven of us, for such a long time, and I don't know what I would have done without Lup there. I think we kept each other sane, when the men were being...well, you know.

[ Men. ]

[Allura smiles as Lucretia squeezes her arm, easily placated by the gesture. And yes, finally someone who understands. Allura nods emphatically, thought spilling out as if she'd been waiting years to finally commiserate about this, (and really, she has.)] I do know! I love all of them dearly, but sometimes...

[She can't exactly cite fart jokes as being a step too far because, admittedly, she thinks they're funny too, but-]

When I first arrived here, to the house they've been keeping here... [How to describe the man-cave she discovered...] There were tusks in the sitting room. The chair had stab wounds.

[So there were reasons for all of that but still, it's a far cry from the immaculately kept castle-ship she'd spent most of her life in. They'd cleaned up since she arrived but it makes her truly worried considering they'd only been apart for a few months at most.] And I'd thought their rooms on the castle-ship were disasters...

[Men.]

[ Lucretia laughs. She's not unsympathetic, but...yeah. Bones and stab wounds? That sounds about right. ]

I guess there are some advantages to living on my own.

[ She does get lonely sometimes, but at least her house is...peaceful. And the furniture is all in one piece.

But then Allura namedrops something much more interesting than the horror of Male Interior Decorating, and she raises an eyebrow. ]

"Castle-ship"?

[She doesn't say it but she thinks that, as much as the boys are confusing and messy and as much as she sometimes fights with Keith, it's all worth it. Because they were family to her, the only people she had in the entire universe and even as she complained she couldn't help a fond sort of smile.

But this thread isn't about them nor their challenges with housekeeping (really, can she talk so much? It's not as if a Princess keeps her own house all by her lonesome), and as Lucretia raises an eyebrow, Allura nods, then cants her head to the side thoughtfully, trying to decide how to describe it.]

Yes, the Castle of Lions. It is- [Ah,] was an Altean battleship, but also my home. My people were a space-faring race so our castles were a bit... different from what is common elsewhere.

[Just a flying castle, no big deal.]

I lived on a ship for a long time as well.

[ Because of course she did. The coincidence isn't even a surprise at this point. ]

It was - about as far as you could get from a castle, though. Big enough for the seven of us, but just barely.

[Yet another coincidence and it makes it all the more plausible that the so-called gods singled them out for a reason. Because really, it's a little too much to be entirely coincidental that they were put together this way.]

That sounds awfully cramped. [At least one thing that they didn't have in common,] My castle-ship used to house dozens of people— my father's advisers and warriors and guests alike. But since my friends found me, it's only been the seven of us.

[~~Seven is apparently a good number~~.] But you must have become close to your friends. Not just literally speaking, of course.

[ Seven. Of course. Lucretia scoffs lightly, shaking her head. ]

It certainly felt that way sometimes. Other times...

[ The year she had been on her own, the ship had seemed very large indeed. Lucretia trails off, lost in thought for a moment, then shakes her head. She smiles. ]

Oh, yes. Closer, perhaps, than anyone ever before or since. I would do anything for my family.

[ Or to them, if that's what it takes to save them. ]

Family…

[Her smile doesn’t disappear, but there’s a sadness that reaches her eyes, softening her expression,,]

That’s how I feel about my friends as well. I only hope they feel the same about me.

[For Allura, after the loss of her family and her planet and her people, her friends became her family. Her everything, really. Deep down she knew that they all had a home and friends and family waiting back on earth for them, but it never really hit home just how lonely that would be until they reached Earth, when she realized that they had entire lives to return to where she didn’t belong. It was an insecurity she’d loathe to share with any of them, but plagued her nonetheless.]

I'm sure they do.

[ If that's the way Allura thinks of them, after all, it only makes sense her friends would share her feelings. Lucretia pauses, biting her lip, trying to decide how much to share.

She's never really talked about this with anyone. ]

The seven of us were...together, for a very long time.

We were only meant to be surveying for a few months. But shortly after our ship took off, our planet was...attacked. Destroyed.

There was nothing we could do but run.

[Allura’s eyes widen, and then turn soft as she turns her gaze downwards, mournfully,]

I’m so sorry.

[After having so much in common, this was one of the things she truly wished that none other would experience.] After my planet was destroyed, my friends were the first people to find me. We have been together ever since.

[Family from across time and space,] …If it's not too painful. May I ask what it was that attacked your planet?

[She’s only aware of one universe-conquering entity out there.]

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That icons is so cute!

thank you!

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