[open] the disaster awakens

[lostapprentice]

WHO: Ren Lowe & YOU
WHERE: Groceries and related stores in Chata, Recollé Public Library (& University library), Cabin Eleven, Recollé Square, out and about
WHEN: 15th-22nd
WHAT: Ren can't pretend things are normal, and he's taking it out on people. And also having an existential crisis.
WARNINGS: Obvious anger management issues. Something that may be mistaken for suicidal thoughts? No for-real ones though.

[A: Chata]

It probably doesn't look too good, that a tall man who's clearly been in a fight recently is yelling at service person. Yes, today he's going to be That Guy. What is he yelling about? Prices for some basic food being too high, or the store being out of something, or a special offer being printed wrong—does it really matter? He's getting way too angry over it, and someone should probably step in before it escalates. Or maybe you work at some sort of grocery store and are the one getting yelled at? He needs to be told to chill and probably leave, either way...

[B: Library]

When he's not yelling at helpless store clerks, Ren can be found at the libraries—or rather, one can find him unapologetically bumping right into someone, and/or snapping at them to get out of his way. He's not raising his voice, at least, because he doesn't want to get kicked out, but that doesn't mean he's going to be polite, unfortunately.

When he's not harassing people, he's sitting somewhere, reading the books he's picked out—reincarnation is what he's looking for, so it's mostly religious and philosophical books. ... though at times he may also fall asleep face down in one of those books.

Part of the time, he does research on the public computers, but he can be found growling when the Retrospec application just happens to pop up out of nowhere. In some cases he even gets frustrated enough to pound his fist onto the desk, just once. At least he isn't breaking anything?

[C: Etc]

Your standard "come bug him" option. Ren can be found moping in the corner at Cabin Eleven while drinking the cheapest shit there, lying obnoxiously in the middle of the park in Recollé Square and squinting at the sky, or standing around in the city glaring at random passersby and the buildings he once thought were normal. Maybe he's standing on a bridge somewhere and scowling over the edge. That could easily look pretty bad for a guy who's got bandages on his face, bags under his eyes, and a set of clothes that look sort of shabby...

[Wildcard]

[OOC: Feel free to hit me up at lumieresdedragon or PM me with any other ideas!]

Comments

b

[skald]

[So, yes, every civilized person knows that you're not supposed to bring drinks into the library. But it's finals season, and it's totally unreasonable to expect library patrons to go hours and hours without a drop of water while preparing for exams, so... there's got to be some wiggle room in the rules. It's a little harder to justify the cup of coffee over a water bottle, but it's the same idea in theory. As long as she doesn't spill any, Tuuri doesn't see a problem with having her cup on the desk next to the public computer that she's commandeered for the whole morning. She's a very careful person, after all.

She was not counting on the dude across from her having mad anger issues, though.

One pound is all it takes; the table jostles at exactly the wrong time, and the cup tips over. Tuuri sees it happen as if in slow motion, totally powerless to stop it. The coffee spills all over the floor-- super, super lucky, she's too relieved that it didn't get onto a computer to notice whether it got onto anyone's belongings-- and her head snaps up with the world's guiltiest expression, looking to see if any of the librarians have noticed.]

Shhhhhhhhhoot.

[lostapprentice]

[Although Ren is still entirely aggravated by the application that's apparently responsible for his (and everyone's) life being turned upside down, the noise of the cup falling and Tuuri's hissed exclamation do catch his attention, and he looks up from where he was just glaring at the screen.

Oh.

... well then.

A part of him is sorely tempted to just leave it be and let her deal with it on her own; she shouldn't have brought something that could spill into the library in the first place (even if he shouldn't have been making a fuss in public, either). ... but a significant part of him feels slightly bad about inadvertently causing the spill, which just makes him annoyed at himself and feeds right back into everything. Plus, god knows how expensive coffee can be these days.

So, barely holding back an aggravated sigh, he silently reaches over to dig into his own messenger bag for a few napkins he'd stuffed in there for emergencies. It's also a good opportunity to move said bag so that any spilled coffee doesn't happen to get on his things as well as the floor.

Tuuri will get a few of those crumpled napkins held out to her from the other side of the table, an annoyed look, and a terse offer.]

Here.

[It's still absolutely this girl's fault for having brought coffee in the first place, if anyone asks.]

[skald]

[Tuuri is so focused on the current disaster flooding over the floor that she doesn't even see Ren's reaction at first. The librarian hasn't noticed anything yet, but it's only a matter of time until she does-- and then what? She'll be kicked out of the library forever for breaking the rules?! Probably!

She only looks up from digging through her own bag (of course today is the day that she doesn't have any napkins on hand) when Ren speaks up, but when he does, her eyes widen in obvious relief.]

Thank you! [she says, a little too loudly and excitedly to be a whisper. She grabs the napkins and immediately starts mopping up the mess. Never one to pick up on norms like 'be quiet in the library and don't throw liquids around everywhere, she... keeps talking, though thankfully a little quieter.] I didn't know what I was going to do! But that's what I get, I suppose, haha...

[Yeah, she's perfectly willing to take the blame for this one.]

[lostapprentice]

[Well, it's not like Ren can really criticize someone for a lack of social graces. He's self-aware enough to not be that much of a hypocrite. But it would be rude not to reply, so Tuuri gets a mild response that of course isn't a "you're welcome," what do you take him for, a well-adjusted person?]

Maybe stick with water next time.

[His tone isn't harsh or sarcastic, at least; he's not going to rub it in or press his luck. She seems high strung enough anyway.

Besides, he has something else to focus his annoyance on, and it has abated slightly. When his gaze returns to his screen, he lets out an aggravated sigh and hisses a complaint at the screen, scowling as he closes a window.]

Worthless—retro-thing—won't even let me research in peace...

[skald]

Ahaha, yeah, definitely. [she grants self-deprecatingly, tidying up what she can on the floor. Hey, this guy saved her from being exiled from academia for the rest of her life (or something), she's not really in a position to deny it. She stuffs the used napkins into the empty cup with a little sad frown at how empty it is. So much for her coffee...

She plops the garbage next to her bag on the floor and resigns herself to getting back to work without caffeine-- until Ren speaks up again. Always perfectly happy to shittalk this app, she props her elbows up on the desk and sinks immediately into gossip mode.] Oh, you have it too? It's also on this computer, haha. Hey, did you have to log into your account, or was yours also already waiting for you when it popped up?

b

[huxceptional]

"Don't break public property."

A familiar, condescending voice appears from behind Ren. Somehow, their paths have crossed once more and isn't that a terrible thing? Hux really didn't need to see Unproperly Prepared Asshole anytime soon... or ever. Honestly, he was going to just leave the other man alone, but it's hard to ignore someone that banged their desk like a child.

Just. Really?

Pointless destruction of property always irritated him, even if it is something small. And sure, the desk isn't broken, but he still finds it rather pathetic.

[lostapprentice]

A familiar voice that only brings forward more annoyance—the first thing he recalls is that this guy tested his patience in ways that most others don't. He glares over his shoulder to see that it is indeed the same person he initially thought.

Wonderful.

"Mind your own business," Ren hisses, the Retrospec window still open on the screen. "The very last thing I need right now is your unnecessary commentary."

With the bags under his eyes and the bandage on his temple, he's clearly out of sorts even more than usual.

[huxceptional]

Hux glances at the screen because he doesn't seem to care about being nosy in this guy's business. Ah, so he's part of the Retreospec network as well. Somehow, that doesn't surprise him in the least. If Hux is going to suffer through this mysterious network, he must have at least one individual that somehow rubs him the wrong way.

He's dealt with irritating people before, but this guy just grates him on sight.

"Then perhaps you should have your temper tantrum somewhere else. I suggest somewhere private."

Hux takes in Ren's sorry state before folding his arms. "Maybe getting some rest first would be beneficial."

[lostapprentice]

Ren's temper flares and he gets to his feet, standing at his full height and getting into the redhead's face. He absolutely does not have any desire to deal with this, but if he has to it won't be in a pleasant way.

"Somewhere private," he repeats, a snarl on his face and a threat in his voice.

"I will take my 'tantrum' somewhere 'private' with you if you don't shut your mouth and leave me be."

B

[obscultator]

Karl didn't think very much of it when a haggard-looking man of about his own age roughly pushed past him as he weaved through the shelves of the Philosophy section of the Recollé University Library. He just assumed the guy was your typical overworked graduate student. But when he walked back toward the reading area holding his own thick texts on metaphysics and saw the same man passed out at a table, a book about philosophical-religious thought in the Indian subcontinent propped up in front of him, he stopped and looked closer.

The man was shabbier and rougher than he had noticed at first glance, and sported several visible bandages. He didn't really give off the air of a graduate student either; frankly, Karl thought, he looked like a man with only a precious few nerves left to fray, even while asleep.

Karl frowned and wondered whether he ought to wake him up. He had certainly done his fair share of dozing off while reading in college, if that's what this was, and there were a few memorable crunch times right before papers and tests when he would have desperately appreciated someone having woken him up before he had burned several irretrievable hours passed out in a too-comfortable chair.

And if this man wasn't a student... well, either way, Karl was a priest, and this was clearly someone who could use some help in some aspect or other of his life. He came to a decision and quietly approached the man's chair from the side, reaching up to softly tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said, equally softly.

[lostapprentice]

Ren's first reaction to the attempt at waking him was a discontent mmph and a briefly furrowed brow, but after another second passed he jolted slightly, not having expected to wake up in such a position. He shot up in his chair, a frazzled look about him as his eyes darted around the room and at the unfamiliar man.

"Wha—wh—"

But another three seconds passed, and he realized that everything was still... normal. Or as normal as it could be. He wasn't spontaneously a different size, he was starting to recall where he was, and none of the other horrible things his imagination had cooked up over the past couple of weeks had come true, yet. He'd just had an impromptu nap in the library, that's all.

He took a deep, if shaky breath, scrubbing his face with a hand as his shoulders lost some of their tension.

"What is it," he mumbled, sitting back and hoping that the fatigue would go away sooner rather than later. He was starting to get the beginnings of a headache.

[obscultator]

Karl stared at him with raised eyebrows, a little taken aback by the way the man awoke. He had expected a small jolt, certainly, but not the sort of hunted near-panicked look that seemed to seize him for a moment there. But the man did seem to mostly calm down fairly quickly and Karl in turn tried to school his expression back to a polite calm.

"Ah... it's nothing," he said, still a bit at a loss for words, "I just... thought you might want to be woken up before you slept for too long, is all."

[lostapprentice]

He gave the stranger a brief glance at the explanation, and though he wasn't exactly happy about being woken up in some ways—he really needed the sleep—it wasn't like he could get mad at the guy for it. He was just trying to help.

Knowing that didn't mean he could drag forward the proper enthusiasm or gratitude, however; his tone was almost flat when he replied.

"Right. Thanks."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Ren frowned down at the open book in front of him. After a brief moment of staring, he turned a few pages back; he'd lost his train of thought thanks to that impromptu nap. But it was only a couple seconds more before he seemed to give up, flipping the book shut entirely and mumbling to himself with a defeated look on his face and a brief shake of his head.

"Not like it matters."

C

[sakeplz]

Finding Jirou at Cabin Eleven was anything but unusual. Being someone that spent the majority of his time in some state of intoxication, it was no surprise that he would at a place that served alcohol to keep him in that state. Particularly after remembering quite recently that he happened to be a divine being of some kind who had to stay drunk to maintain that divinity. Weird sure but it wasn't like he was going to turn down anything that gave him a reason to keep on drinking!

Now, most people would have turned away from someone who was clearly moody and drinking what had to be the worst of the worst but not this guy. Nope. He just wandered right on over with a new drink for the guy and one of his own and just plopped himself down.

"Drink? I'm not sure what these are. I just said 'surprise me!' so it could be all kinds of fun stuff."

[lostapprentice]

Ren was not a man who generally took a stranger's approach in a friendly way, especially when it was someone with an overly bright personality and he was in a sour mood. And at the moment, he was in a particularly nasty one.

... even so, his scowl was at more "wary" levels than "go away or else" levels, thanks to that offer of a drink, and his eyes followed the glass as the other man sat. His cautious gaze went to Jirou once more after that, but it only took a couple of seconds before he reached forward to grab the glass, setting his current bottle aside.

What was the worst that could happen?

"Thanks."

Ren took a bigger sip than he probably should have—he shuddered faintly as he swallowed—but at least he didn't down the thing immediately. He did have some common sense, and he wasn't quite drunk enough to throw that out the window just yet.

Hopefully Jirou wouldn't mind the single cough and brief wheeze that followed. Ren didn't actually drink as much as the current situation might imply.

[sakeplz]

He wasn't offended in the slightest. Instead he just smiled and gave a little chuckle. Not a heavy drinker like himself, huh? Then again, there were few in the entire universe who happened to drink as much as he did so really was that much of a surprise?

"Rough time?"

Sure they were strangers but he could still ask. And hey he even made his personality chill a bit. He was drunk but he could read the signs. Mostly. Probably because he was ignoring the fact that maaaaaaybe he wasn't actually that welcome right here.

[lostapprentice]

Well, his common sense may not have been completely gone, but he was drunk enough that a few of his usual walls had come down. Free gifts tended to help with that, too, stranger or no.

"To say the least," was his low answer as he leaned his elbows heavily against the table, scowling into his drink.

"I thought I'd done enough questioning of my life already, but this month has been something else."

c

[chiseler]

[Ren, are you okay? Luke's been in recovery mode since...everything, but for the most part he's back to playing his part of the chatty and somewhat flirty bartender with most of his customers. It's during a lull in traffic that he spots Ren sulking alone. He doesn't even care that he's drinking the cheapest bottom-shelf liquor Luke has, he's more concerned about everything else.]

Man, you're going to start scaring my customers off with this doom-and-gloom thing. What gives? [He raises his eyebrows, patiently waiting for an answer but also genuinely curious.]

[lostapprentice]

[As much as he's trying to hunch over and hide himself, Ren doesn't actually try very hard to ignore Luke or get him to go away. He's already been discovered, the jig is up, etc.]

That's why I'm sitting in the corner.

[Look, just... don't judge him. He's trying to stay out of the way here. Ren scrubs his face with his free hand, frowning mostly at himself.]

Just a fantastically shitty month. Rethinking my entire life. Existentialism in general.

[chiseler]

[Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh...]

Did that come up before or after all of the weird shit that went down at the beginning of the month? I mean, assuming you're part of the network brought to you by the wonderful guys at Retrospec. It's like a little added bonus. Existential crisis and all that.

[lostapprentice]

[It's okay, you can laugh, Luke. It was intentional self-depreciating humor.]

During. [Being hit with a weird world-bending app and knowledge that fruit shouldn't fucking dance is one thing, but being radically physically changed is another. He scratches at his scalp in frustration.]

I had to quit my job because I couldn't actually do it at less than a foot tall, and I had no idea how long that bullshit was going to last.

[He deliberately leaves out how he refused to leave his apartment and deal with any more stupidity than absolutely necessary. That he didn't go completely insane is a miracle.]

c

[wordcarvings]

[ Koutarou, distracted by his sketchbook, doesn't see Ren lying on the ground. It's not uncommon for him to keep walking while he's drawing even though he's been told countless times not to, but he never seem to learn, despite all the trouble he's gotten into because of it.

Which means that he trips over the obstacle that's suddenly in front of him. If it weren't for his reflexes, he would have face-planted in the ground but with 18 years of martial arts drilled into him (before he ran away to become a painter) he manages to catch himself and roll back onto his feet. He does, however, lose his pencil in the fall and his sketchbook has grass stains on it. That's nice.

He spins around, a sincerely apologetic look on his face. ]

I-I'm really sorry, I didn't see you...!

[lostapprentice]

[Well, thankfully Ren is a sturdy man—he lets out a hurk as someone tumbles into him, though at least the stranger doesn't land on him, as well.

Slightly annoyed that his brooding somber contemplation was interrupted, he sits up, fixing the other man with a slight glare.]

Why are you drawing and walking? [Here's another one insinuating the same thing as plenty of others, Koutarou, because Ren can't help but ask.]

[wordcarvings]

[ Had this happened during the days he actively practiced, he would have probably done a smoother job of landing that roll but when you’re rusty you’re rusty. The fight he got involved in to get Yato out of trouble told him he was a little rusty (but not as rusty at he had thought, honestly). ]

I forgot to stop walking, it sort of happens sometimes.

[lostapprentice]

Maybe using a bit of common sense should "sort of happen sometimes."

[Despite the comment, Ren does actually reach over to retrieve the dropped sketchbook, blowing the grass off of it and glancing at whatever Koutarou was drawing in the process. He's not typically all that nosy, given how secretive about himself he is, but there are times he forgets his manners.]