voice; @onni

[scowlish]

Name: Onni Hotakainen
Date: January 10
Format: Audio
Note: He has painstakingly labored over the watch for a long time to ensure that everyone except Reynir can read this post.

[The post starts with a weary sigh, and when he speaks, Onni's voice is tired and calm and very nearly monotone. It's his usual voice, to anyone who knows him, but might sound a little weird to people who don't.]

Has anyone here had something inside them change because of a Bond?

[There's a slight pause, and the sound of shifting before he speaks again.]

Not something small. Something fundamental.

Comments

voice; un: lalli

[nau]

What has Reynir done to you?

[It's... Very demanding.]

[scowlish]

[Oh god, why did he forget to lock this from Lalli too?]

Nothing.

[nau]

[Because he is a Fool.]

He changed you. That's not nothing! What happened? What changed?

voice;

[unsundered]

[A lazy, idle sort of tone is what accompanies the message, though with an edge of tiredness as well, as is normal.]

Really now... that's potentially a rather personal question to pose to a collection of strangers.

[And yet he responds, if only to point this out, for some reason.]

Are you certain 'tis the result of the Bond itself, or merely the effect of becoming close to one's Bonded?

[scowlish]

[Onni makes a sort of noncommittal 'hm' before answering.]

No one has to answer if they don't want to. Anyway, I don't want to know what changed, just if it did. I'm not going to say what changed about me either.

[There's a significant pause while he thinks about the second part of that response.]

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[unsundered]

Of course, though if only those with no changes are willing to respond, you won't get a terribly useful set of answers. But keep your alterations to yourself if you like, it matters nothing to me either way.

[Amiably dismissive, at least, if a touch condescending. An unfortunately natural state.]

But shall I hazard a guess for you, in my generosity? The Bond facilitates, but does not cause, the tie of souls deepening what could occur without. While it may provide a starting point that might not otherwise be given a chance to exist, it's not a feature of the Bond itself, per se.

[A low, thoughtful hum. It's not something Emet-Selch had really considered separating before, but it sounded plausible to him.]

The only way to know for certain is to sever one's potentially influencing Bond, whilst remaining close to one's former Bonded. Do the changes persist, or are they lost? Not a test that I imagine most closely Bonded pairs would be eager to try.

voice; un: tdfsh

[prettyrocks]

[ Oh, thank the gods! Someone using voice instead of writing. ]

Ummm, well, I dunno if it's because of my bond or anything, but just being here has changed a lot about me. You know. Fundamentally.

[ The emphasis she puts on that last word implies it's not a word she uses very often. ]

[scowlish]

[Onni ponders that over for a few moments before he replies.]

That makes sense, if the place you come from is different than this place. Some things here are very similar to things where I come from, but other things are very different. It's safer here. I'm sure that's contributed.

Is it like that for you? Different?

[prettyrocks]

Mm, yeah, pretty different from what I'm used to. Like, we don't have anything like these watches in Shartis. There are cities and stuff, so I guess that's kind of similar, but I'm not from any of them, so I'm just not used to city life.

Or like-- [ Her tone takes on an air of breathless excitement. ] --I'm actually living in a house, with a housemate! I've never done that before! And I have a job, working at a café. It's pretty cool to be able to buy myself whatever I want and just, like... have it, you know?

voice | un:wwxwashere

[weiward]

Hmm, maaybee. Or maybe it was less that something changed inside me and more like the bond made me aware of it.

Is it a good change for you?

[scowlish]

So you think the Bond just made you aware of something that was already there? I guess that might be the case, maybe. I've never done any navel-gazing so I can't be sure if it's like that for me.

[Someone desperately needs therapy.]

[weiward]

Navel...gazing?

[does this guy have a thing for navels? well it's not like wei wuxian can judge, he kinda finds foreheads sexy.]

Ah, yeah, the Bond was definitely a short cut. Oh, but just coming here changed me. The upper half of my body is covered in fur now. That feels pretty fundamental.

text; un: bearoness

[moneytwin]

Define "fundamental" here.

[scowlish]

Necessary and of vital importance?

text; un: bearoness

[moneytwin]

Well, that sort of thing can vary. Depending on person, world, and what type you are after passing through the mirrors.

For me personally, I haven't noticed anything as yet. But both my bond partners are witches. And.. [...hmm. what to say] ..Hhve been able to sleep better since bonding.

Also less random magic explosions. I think that counts as a vitally important detail.

text; anonymous

[darkcharge]

That was my entire reason for even agreeing to a bond.

text;

[scowlish]

You wanted to be changed?

voice;

[arturiarex]

I'm not entirely sure. I've certainly grown fonder of my bondmate over time. What do you mean by... change?

[scowlish]

It isn't really about a change in how I feel toward him, though that's obviously changed. I think it'd be hard to have a Bond without that happening. But what I mean is a change to my...self. Who I am. My...thinking patterns and values.

text | un: wangxian

[taciturnly]

Yes.

My temperament, my thoughts. Unbridled at times.

[scowlish]

Yes, that's sort of how it is for me too. Do you think it's the Bond creating new parts of you, or that those parts were there and the Bond opened you up to them?

voice, un: lanceylance

[loverboi]

Sort of?

[ A beat. ]

My Bondmates helped me gain more confidence, if that counts. But that stuff isn't limited to people you're Bonded to.

[scowlish]

That's true. I know non-Bonded people can still have an influence on me, but no one has ever caused a change in me that was this...intense. I'm trying to figure out what the source is, and to see if it's a normal response or not.

[A Big Sigh.]

I'm still confused.

voice; un: Berserker

[curruid_coinchenn]

Yes...I was able to feel emotions I'd long since given up. I hated it at first, but I've grown so used to it that I can't mind it.

[ He likes them now, honestly, even if they are troublesome. ]

[scowlish]

Oh? That's interesting, and it sounds similar to my situation. But you knew those emotions before the Bond, right? You'd felt them before, they weren't just...nonexistent and brought about by the Bond?