week four | dates

[marriagebroker]

Get dressed up, go on the town, this is your last week for romance!

Comments

[irreversal]

[ Comfortable....... Yeah. Comfortable. At the end of the day, that's all Shoko really could have wanted from a relationship. So much else about her life is so complicated, so the opposite of comfortable, after all.

Which isn't to say that she values her more complex bonds any less. If nothing else, she's more accustomed to that. Her hand draws out of her pocket, only to hook her thumb in it, instead. One gets the sense that she was indeed looking for something - a smoke - and she's decided to just hold onto something in lieu of that. ]

...You could say that. Poppy... It took me telling her about what my life is really like for her to realize there was more to me, but... even so, it was nice to just be treated like normal at the start.

[poans]

[It's no surprise that a difference in worlds would grow such a gap. Fortunately, it sounds as though they've crossed that bridge since. Poppy is blunt and emphatic, but not unkind; on the contrary, Yi Sang knows her to be capable of considerable consideration.]

Are users of sorcery treated as others by those who are not?

[irreversal]

[ Shoko gives a low, mirthless chuckle, shaking her head. ]

In a way. Up until recently, the government had concealed things of our nature from the public. So things that were caused by curses were simply left unexplained - and people are always afraid of things they can't understand. So people who seem to be in touch with the spiritual, or who seem to bring misfortune, or seem to have a sense for what can't be seen by most... were often treated as outcasts.

[poans]

The fear of the unknown, is it.

[Instead of seeking to understand, they shunned what they couldn't grasp. He can only hope that Shoko found herself in kinder company. A heart such as hers should be appreciated, not alienated.]

And now . . . has aught changed as the world recovers?

[irreversal]

[ Shoko certainly didn't have it as bad as others, she thinks. She was never bullied in school, or ostracized by her family... it would have been even worse, in her book, to have been born deep in the web of jujutsu society, into a notable clan or something similar. But maybe she also got ahead of any social outcasting by othering herself before others could other her, getting into things like smoking underage, skipping classes...

To his question, she simply shrugs. ]

Some pretty powerful curses and curse users made a big mess of everything. But jujutsu sorcerers were also the only ones who were able to stop the madness, in the end, so it's hard to say. I'm sure some people saw that as heroic, but others probably think worse. I wouldn't blame them, if they did.

It's all above my pay grade, though. I'll keep focusing on taking care of my people. I don't need to bother with damage control.

[poans]

[It would be easy to write the matter off as the business of others and condemn them accordingly. Shoko's assessment of the situation is grounded, though, and he finds himself nodding in agreement.]

Rather than a boon, ruminating overlong on matters beyond our control can be to our detriment. [He would know, he thinks as he offers her a small smile.] Your people are fortunate to have you by their side.

[irreversal]

[ She smiles, at that. ]

I know.

[ Shoko's still pleasantly surprised, that Yi Sang would be the one to bring this sort of topic up. It's a marked departure from their first outing to the Pompompurin Cafe, isn't it? She welcomes the change. ]

And how about you? You've made an impression on quite a few of us here, haven't you?

[ She's thinking back, specifically, on the time she'd spoken to him off to the side while Yingying and Odile were having a bit of a disagreement. ]

[poans]

[The certainty is stirring. Her answer heartens him, though he starts to rack his brain when she brings up their fellow players.]

To whom do you refer?

[irreversal]

Hmm... Yingying, of course, and Odile. Aventurine, too. Remember how you snuck up on the two of us while we were drinking together that first week? Heh...

[poans]

Th-that was . . . an innocent, albeit poorly timed, jest.

[irreversal]

It was. But it was a pretty good surprise, though. I wasn't sure you had any sense of humor from our first conversation, so personally, I was glad to see a different side of you for a second there.

[ but anyway. ]

So? How are things going with our other contestants?

[poans]

[His brow lifts slightly. Did she think it was amusing? Then he'll keep doing it, whether it's in person or in the group chat, because he enjoys it so.]

As you know, Miss Odile and I are companionable to each other. [He believes the previous ceremony has made this abundantly clear.] Aventurine is much the same, though that's not to say that they are interchangeable. As for Miss Yingying . . . she and I have reached an understanding.

[irreversal]

[ An understanding . . . ]

A romantic understanding, right?

[poans]

Hmm . . . Wei Wuxian believed the same.

[Yi Sang didn't know then. He's still puzzling out the terms, in fact.]

If such a foundation is grounds for clear blue skies and the all-encompassing fragrance of violet blossoms, then . . . perhaps that is the proper name for what this is.