hitsuzen, noun:

Quickie hiatus this weekend for Watanuki/Shinjiro/Azula! I am being dragged along on my family's yearly excursion to the grandparents' place. I'll be leaving Friday afternoon/evening and should return at some point on Sunday. Probably also afternoon/evening.

Assume they're sleeping/recovering from their roles in the Raptore.

[at some point during the game, Wata is hunting Doumeki down and pulling him aside. his face is red from crying a whooole bunch.]

Doumeki? Can we talk?

HEY LIZARDKINGS/CANONMATES and also Cepheus/Sakura?, you possibly have a double feature I guess.

I need to schedule two (2) thingies with you guys: Mirrorquest (Cepheus/Sakura?) annnnd Watanuki's final heart game (lizardking + interested canonmates), if people are still interested in these shenanigans. For Watanuki's fix-it-for-reals heart game, I was tentatively planning to run it at 9 PM next Saturday evening (EST) so Syaoran can get his heart back and I can stop being emotionally constipated; I have zero idea of when I should plan to run Mirrorquestings. Probably sometime in the next two weeks?

To that end, I would very much appreciate it if a) you could tell me if you're still interested in both/either of these fine shenanigans, b) tell me (if you want to do the heart game) if you can make 9 PM EST next Saturday, and finally c) what days in the next two weeks you absolutely CANNOT make for Mirrorquest. If it turns out I have to run it on a day you can't make, I will make arrangements to do a private/separate thread so you can still get the actions.

Thanks in advance, guys!

[Oops. A noodle soooorta got his heart blown up there. He's working on getting it put back to rights, but it's a slow process. It might be a good idea to check on how things are going every now and then ...

If you're popping into his heart, please put a date/time in the subject header! Threads probably won't be long, but exploration is a-okay as long as you're not expecting boss battles or whatever. Anyone from Lizardking is free to pop in with Persona's power; people with analogous mental abilities (Jace, Zexion) orrrr anyone who can strike a deal with Mirror (Sakura and Doumeki?) are also permitted if they like.]

WELP that sure was a heart game. First of all, I'd like to give super-big awesome thank you to everyone who played in it and allowed me to destroy the hell out of Watanuki's heart. :Dd Personally, I super-enjoyed it, especially when it became clear you were probably going to Worst End. Making a dramatic change for the worst (or the best!) is always my very favorite route with Heart Games, and this way you should have a chance to do fixins as well as breakings.

I was going to do a big ol' heart game write-up (and I still will!), but in playing out some of the aftermath, I realized that some of the game spoilers are still relevant. So! I'll save the full write up for later and instead layout a) what happened in there, b) how Watanuki is doing now, and c) the effects of rampant heart game destruction + letting a projection run the entire thing in place of the True Heart.

Disclaimer: I'm going to use the words "worst" and "bad" a LOT to refer to the stuff that happened. This only refers to IC effects! OOCly I am absolutely giddy and pleased that the "worst" came to pass, and I'm looking forward to playing through consequences/recovery/etc.

( 2k+ of WORDS under here )

TO SUMMARIZE here is a handy list of What is Up With Watanuki:
+ He is sleepy all the time.
+ If he is not onscreen, you may assume he’s asleep.
+ 2/3rds of his sleep is not restful; his eyes are open and he sleepwalks during that time.
+ Dreamwalking ability is shot to hell.
+ Emoting at people is also shot to hell.
+ If he knew you better in Old Sabra, he remembers that.
+ If he didn’t know you in Old Sabra, he will remember you normally.
+ If he knew you well in both capacities, there will be lulz.
+ He is kind of distant and mrrr and ??? and very obviously Not Himself.

Also, I had a thought that people might want to go into his heart for minor “check-up on Watanuki’s progress” things. :|a Would there be any interest in that? If there is, I’ll put up a post in his journal for people to hit up as they like. EDIT: It is now here!

( ETA )

I. I just. as much as I hate Rou sometimes, little things like this fill me with such glee. Also, my list of random crap Wata should get back from solo missions increases. Buttercup should probably know how to knit.

Memory 16 (Rou 3): The yearning soul. (Fourth onscreen customer; some lady wants to go out with Doumeki, terrifying obsession levels, out of body experiences.) (ch. 207)

( derp de herp )

OH YEAH tiny note before I forget. Watanuki made a bad decision dinosaur deal with Izaya! During all of Day 188 (and 195, 202, etc.), Watanuki has to lie constantly. He gets three packets of spices in exchange for being a lying mcliarpants for one day out of the week. He ... is a pretty terrible liar, so feel free to pick up on that. Alternately, he may slip into his Rou persona if the lying is getting to him too much. He's not allowed to clarify the situation on non-lying day, but if people do figure it out he certainly won't correct them.

Lacerta might especially notice this, since a) he's acting weird one day out of seven and b) sudden steady influx of nice spices. The variety (if not deliciousness) of his cooking will go up perceptibly.

Declaring a minor hiatus! Something of a family emergency has come up, so I'm leaving about ... now and returning EST Sunday. I may attempt internet on Saturday evening for the Surgeon game, but I wouldn't count on it.

Since this isn't a very long hiatus, assume that my characters stayed at home doin' their things. Watanuki is working particularly hard to clean the dorm for his date with Aeon.

So, Watanuki got some healing ability back! Since this ability is terribly vague in canon, I'm going to set some ground rules for how it works in Sabra. I'll try to stay as consistent as I can with them and hope I don't get jossed in the future. 8|;

( blah blah healing blah )

TL;DR Version: Watanuki - magical curtain = stabilizing + 1 HP heal
Watanuki + magical curtain + time = slow but significant healing (regen)
Watanuki + borrowing energy from other people + time = less slow but significant healing (regen+)

Death and missing organs are unfixable. The magic itself is basic cure magic, so if you're a kind of undead that doesn't react well to Cure, then you won't react well to Watanuki either.

Welp I always end up failing at these, but I need something to bribe myself with while I do grad school essays. 8|;;

Question meme + fic meme! If it's something you asked for on a previous meme and I never got to it, tell me and I'll prioritize it. Characters are Watanuki and Shin! ... and technically Kurogane but he's being dropped again in the near future.

Memory 15 (Rou 2): The unborn child. (Third onscreen customer; another timeskip, family dinner with Doumeki and Kohane, wife jokes, Kohane is older than me :'(, abortion??, healing himself.) From here until the end of chapter 206.

This is a fairly big memory for Watanuki to get back even though it's not particular significant in the long run. Where the Haruka one kept his personality mostly the same and didn't show any direct action, this one has Watanuki actively using his Rou persona (in mildly dickish ways, even!) as well as taking care of a customer with his new skillset. Just before the start of the chapter, Watanuki is asked by one of Yuuko's old customers to make sure an unborn child spirit passes on correctly. He spends a normal day with Kohane-chan and Doumeki and then asks Doumeki to help fight off an evil spirit that evening. The unborn child is returned to the afterlife; however, Watanuki is critically injured by the spirit and has to take time off to heal himself.

( Bullet points! )

TL;DR Wata got some actual magical powers back because of this memory, and it kind of scares the crap out of him.

I AM WAY TOO BEHIND TO DO THIS FOR EVERY MEMORY but I'm at least going to catalog his Rou memories, since those are game-changers re: infodumps, powerups, and personality changes.

Memory 14 (Rou 1): "Seducing" Haruka-san. (Playing the shamisen, questioning his decision, waiting for Yuuko-san.) From here until the end of the chapter.

( Possible spoilers for Holic )

( For my own information )

Sabra has really not been kind to Watanoodle lately. His stress levels have been building steadily since the GM game, what with the usual lineup of bad games, coma-inducing memories, and general feelings of uselessness. But the Soldier/Gambler game was a disaster for him on two entirely different levels: 1) it destroyed any faith he had in being able to survive games based on ability alone and 2) it severely damaged his ability to function in game system, period. As such, he will not ICly choose to participate in any games until he's a lot more stable. (Note that this will not stop me from OOCly arranging for him to be caught up in games. He'll skip a couple more than usual just to help stabilize him, but his overall participation won't be decreasing.)

( State of the Noooooodle )

tl;dr SAD NOODLE IS SAD but his friends have helped him be a little less hating of everything. He'll still be unhappy and bitchy and scared for a while yet, but he's not completely hopeless.

Man, Holic is the canon that keeps on giving. Despite the fact that I am firmly not playing Watanuki from Rou just yet, the newest chapter clarified a couple things for me:



1) The pinkie finger on Watanuki's right hand is always folded back like this. (Is this the first time they've drawn it? I swear I don't remember seeing his finger bent back before now.) This isn't new at all, though maybe he's been hiding it from people idk.

2) Said pinkie finger has some sort of harmful aura hanging around it. (AKA the smoke in this picture, which is Holic shorthand for "here there be bad juju.") Since this is a little more important, I'm going to say that this isn't visible ... until he takes his defenestration memory and has himself another magical mary sue fainting spell. That'll happen as soon as I get someone to take that memory in front of. After that, it'll be visible to anyone with the appropriate supernatural senses.

4) It turns out that Watanuki is capable of drinking small amounts of liquid after all. :|aa Canon still doesn't show him eating, so I'll keep that part of his noodle metabolism, but he'll be able to drink water, etc. from here on out.

3) Watanuki is HOT in Rou okay. This picture isn't really doing him justice.

( Offscreen )

Hit Points: D
Magic Points: S (with materia)
Strength: D
Defense: D
Magic: S++ (mostly non-useable; leaks out somewhat)
Magic Defense: D (base) / A (fully unlocked)
Intelligence: B
Wisdom: C- / A (fully unlocked)
Will: Fluctuates wildly. Usually D/B, depending on situation. A fully unlocked Watanuki would an S.
Dexterity: C+ (noodley physique)
Speed: B- (if there's one thing the boy can do, it's run)
Stamina: D (sheer determination can sometimes carry him through, but otherwise he's a little weak.)
Health: Depends a lot on his mood, what with being able to sad himself to death. D overall due to being a little frail.
Cooking: A+ (base) / S++ (fully unlocked)

Other: Watanuki has gobs of magic potential but very few outlets for it. Most of it manifests passively (dreamwalking, aura of delicious, etc.) and is currently locked up tightly due to the lack of memories. When he does start getting enough memories back, he'll be as magical as the bracers allow him to be.

Other than magic (and cooking), however, he's a delicate little noodle.

Also, as a note, fully unlocked = completely switched over to his Rou personality, which will take a LOT of memories. I don't expect it to happen until super-late in the game, if at all.

As I've mentioned in-chan (and occasionally ICly), Watanuki is currently cooking for Ophi. I'm currently assuming that he comes over every night, cooks a nice dinner, and then goes home afterwards. In return, he gets extra food (leftovers? that seems intuitive enough) to give to Allen.

... at least, that's the mental image I have; I'm not sure if it's accurate, however. I haven't really worked out details with Slick or ... anyone from Ophi, actually. Plus there's the fact that Yama got a cooking memory back. How do we want to work that? Wata assists? Takes turns? Just stops coming? Also, I'd like to say that Watanuki is freely bribable for small tasks whenever he's over for dinner. I think a couple people have mentioned bribing Watanuki into slaving away a little more. So if you'd like to arrange something (Wata serving alcohol/doing dishes/washing clothes/whatever in exchange for a small treat), let me know. Anything that makes Watanuki into more of a slave makes me happy in my kokoro. :Dd

[For all Syaoran + Watanuki shared dreams, plus any other mini-dreamwalks I want to have with Watanuki.]