#inhothreads

[b4rredteeth]

In-ho didn't give anything away, he simply studied the other as if they were an animal at the zoo, trying to understand their moves, their likes and dislikes, their out-of-nowhere behaviour. Was it a fucked up question? Perhaps to the receiver. He raised an eyebrow and waited for the other to be done talking. He waited a moment longer after the other had posed his challenge and his question, then took a sip from his coffee. "Failure," he said. "To end up in the same position as my parents," he added. "Drained of resources and importance, dropped and cut-off because of matters out of their control. The thought that I'd ever be there and be so hurt by the opinions of others, that I haven't cut myself off from that emotion completely yet, that scares me." He paused, taking a sip from his coffee, staring the other down. "So being touched is your deepest fear?" He hadn't lied, it was his greatest fear to be dropped by everyone around him and to actually care, it angered him when he did care too much about what others thought about him. But he didn't care what the other thought of him, not even a little bit, thus he felt it was easy to tell them his greatest fear.

“That’s a fucked up question.” he snorts through his empty cup of tea. as he sets the tea cup down, it clatters in its saucer. it makes a tiny melodic chime as it shakes. not even a droplet would encircle that concave china, but Onyx handles it with care regardless. “And evasive.” he couldn’t believe the audacity. “Not to mention personal.” they are threatened and feel a wince grow upon their face paired with daggers in their sharpened gaze. he can’t believe he’s being invaded by rude words. his face wrinkles in disgust. “I don’t think you deserve an answer to that just yet.” he gives the other a challenge, “You��d have to tell me what your deepest darkest fear is, and then explain what it feels like being face to face with that fear, and I don’t think we have time for such an introduction at the moment.” he tries to break the tension, “Don’t you have a boring coffee order to place?”

[b4rredteeth]

TIMESTAMP: after the new years party LOCATION: hospital @aeipathys

In-ho woke to pain, constantly and intense pain, and he knew instantly what had happened as snippets of the last hours and the full night returned to him. Of all the things that could've happened upon his return to this place, this was the last and had been the last he had ever expected to have happened. Surely the world would've not been so cruel, surely this could've been a dream, but it was not. It was not a dream nor an illusion created for his benefit. He had been in the worst pain, he had almost died, he still wasn't completely conscious, and he felt like his stomach was on fire. Or well, that wasn't all he felt, he felt plenty, but this was the only thing he kept his mind on.

He swallowed hard and got up from his bed, holding his stomach, and then his head as he stood from the bed. He checked the charts at the end of the bed, scoffed at the 'mr. Gang in-ho' but didn't plan to find a nurse to rectify it, he might later on. Instead he made his way out of the room and onto the hallway, spending a few minutes walking until he saw her. Well, maybe fate still smiled upon him. Much like himself, he hadn't expected Hansa Xu to be in the hospital right there with him either. But surely this couldn't be an illusion. He set out, and returned with two lukewarm teas, green, hospital brand, barely decent.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and waited for her to notice him, then gestured at the tea, smiling his charming smile. "Can I interest you in some tea?"

[b4rredteeth]

@anchoragestarters WHERE: the new year's party WITH: Open

In-ho was considering his options at the party, for one he wished to remain far under the attention of the general public and instead take his time surveying important pieces of the delicate chess game. Not to mention with a murderer on the loose, perhaps taking a step back and being uninteresting would mean he would survive another day. He was sipping slowly and gently from something he'd been offered earlier, never really taking more than just a few drops as he moved through the place. Some caught his attention, others caught him off guard, for truly everyone was accepted to join in on the festivities, it was almost jarring to see all layers of society participate in this masked ball. Then again, was not the Venetian way much the same, with people being able to pretend for a day they were something else, something more, something less. To hide behind a mask and pretend something different.

"Did you know that the Venetian Carnival was thought up to grant people the ability to step out of their own lives for a moment? So they could forget about current and future despair," In-ho explained. "It's explained as being on the doorstep of the real-world, a world between life and art, where conventional ideas are broken and new things can life. Grotesque and masks play a big role in it." He said, looking around. "I find it an interesting choice, given the current hardship, to want to play ode to Carnival."

[b4rredteeth]

In-ho had been stuck in some carts, in a love ride - with someone he barely knew - and he'd very much thought he'd end up in the hospital AGAIN. No, he was not alright, he was a little annoyed, angry as well, that life should deal him such a bad hand of cards. This year was turning out to be immensely expensive when it came to medical bills, extremely annoying when it came to his physical health, and draining in a mental sense. The latter he hated the most. "Fine," he snapped, hands deep in his pockets, his back - while straightened - leaning forward, as if brought down by the weight of it all. "Why do you have snakes in your car?" Something he would normally give more thought to, find a better question, but he was impatient with the world.

where: outside of the carnival of time when: ungodly hours of the morning, february 15th, 2023 with: open! @anchoragestarters

it had been a long day. it would seem that calamity latched its foul hands onto the small alaskan town, forcing its second upheaval not even two months after the tragic events that transpired on new year's eve. the unease of the citizens could be felt everywhere, only amplifying after the panic of the tunnel of love's malfunction and loss of all power. what was supposed to be a day of fun-filled festivities fell flat. seokmin had been appreciating a short lull between carnival goers, the pink corn snake relaxed as she draped herself and slithered over her handler in all of her beauty, when the ride's alarms sounded. the fight or flight it instilled still hadn't left him hours later as every light in the apartment complex and surrounding area cut out, almost too suspiciously timed. bubbling panic would rapidly rise to the surface, his canine helping de-escalate and slowly resolve the episode through tasking, though the night didn't end there. once collected enough, a beeline for the carnival was made, car's heat on high and emergency bag — containing but not limited to his medications, a large ziplock of dog kibble and a travelling dog water bottle — on the seat. if the outage reached that far and the building was powerless on such a cold night, the snakes wouldn't survive - not without a heat source, and no one knew how long they'd be without one. although fearful, seokmin made haste; in and out, in and out, settling the reptiles in their transporters on the back seats. it didn't take long, a rush of relief finally letting him breathe after shutting the car door for the final time, just moments before maeum notified him of an approaching presence. he startled, then froze. were they lost? did they need help? “ um... hello? ” he hesitantly called. “ are you okay? ”

[b4rredteeth]

In-ho nodded, though given the explanation, In-ho could gamble that while a suit, it may not have been perfectly tailored, which very much changed the situation. He watched carefully and listened to the explanation, yes, it was a little rude, no, he didn't like that tone, but he simply wasn't the type to really care much about it. He almost enjoyed it. "Hmm, not the best time to wear a suit, generates a different experience," he said, studying them longer. He leaned forward a bit, a glint in his eyes. "Why don't you like people touching you like that?"

“Once,” they attempt to evade those darker memories. but even so, they recall finding the attire constricting, ill-fitting and chaffing. the ordeal would create a slightly mild dysmorphic feeling that they’d carry for the rest of their life since age twelve. they’d never feel comfortable in a suit, but that didn’t mean they felt comfortable in a dress either. fashion, for the most part, was still a mystery to them, but it wasn’t a binary option by any means. onyx preferred all styles of clothing to be black, of course.  “For a funeral. I was a pallbearer for an adopted cousin who died in a car crash, but again, it wasn’t a choice I’d happily make to wear a suit in public.” they snort at the idea of tailoring, not realizing how rude they are in that moment, “I don’t really like people touching me like that… so no. Not for me, but more power to you if that empowers you or whatever.”