mochizuki ryoji ([personal profile] appraiser) wrote in [community profile] recolle2017-05-16 03:46 pm

[semi-open] harbinger of suffering and grief

WHO: Ryoji and whoever doesn't sleep at night, I guess
WHERE: Apprassage to various places around the city, Recollé Woods
WHEN: midnight 5/17 and onward towards the end of the month
WHAT: Ryoji regains his Thanatos form; unable to control his powers, he flees, leaving destruction in his wake. He's generally very upset about it all. Please help.
WARNINGS: fighting, violence, mentions of death and suicide

[ —a screech pierces the stillness of night over the quiet streets of Apprassage, the bite of burnt rubber and asphalt filling in the space where a car now lies turned around and stalling traffic, shattered windshields spilling glass onto the street and the crumpled hood sending smoke into the air. The blaring of the car alarm falls on deaf ears of the boy standing before it, eyes wide and unseeing as he clutches his head and screams, the shimmering barrier around him dissolving back into darkness and then— ]

A. midnight, 5/17, various (CLOSED to those I talked to on May's plotting post here)
[ A brilliant flash lights up the sky outside, brief, overwhelming, then everything is plunged back into darkness. Whether the noise had woken you up, or you were awake in the dead of night to begin with, eyes lifted towards the sky might spot a shadow take off past the rooftops, deep rumble felt through the earth behind it.

Those who venture closer— the curious, the brave, the foolish— would find deep gashes on the roads, dragged long as if a sword pulled across the ground, scattered potholes still burning with the last wisps of an eerie glow. The sky flashes again, the shadow in the middle a dark hole that swallows up all light, monstrous figure apparent with the stark contrast that makes it easy to follow; even blind, one can do so by listening for the unearthly wail that cuts through the air and may dizzy the mind even from so far.

Close, it's hard to see, harder to believe: a sharp white mask reflecting the moonlight; serrated sword out of its scabbard and caked with dirt and rubble; coffins draped across its shoulder, rattling and coming for you. Every encounter brings it further and further out away from the innermost parts of the city, and each time, Thanatos stops and turns, breath visible as it chills the very air around it, waiting.

>> Hollingberry Field
>> Recollé Woods
>> Peach Beach
>> The ocean
>> ???

Select your arena, and let's go. ]


B. nights, 5/18 onward, Recollé woods (CLOSED to those above, and anybody who has interacted with Ryoji at least once before)
[ The pain disappears faster than it should have, but Ryoji would have preferred it to the emptiness in his chest, the way his hands won't stop shaking. He fumbles with his phone, startling when a twig snaps underfoot and he throws it from himself as if it burnt his hands.

He leaves the phone there for the time being, nestled on top of damp, rotting leaves as he picks his way a little deeper into the woods, a mutter under his breath: "Keep yourself together." Because whatever... whatever happened yesterday, he can't let it happen again, losing control and hurting others— killing, for all he knows, because he'd fled to the woods and hasn't gone back since the night before, hasn't talked to anybody in person except for some texts on the phone.

He's got to figure it out. Somehow.

It's here in the woods he'll stay until he can, out of the way and hoping nobody would come near after the unnerving draw of the woods earlier in the month, practicing under the veil of night. He'll manage it eventually, the flicker of shadow and a rumble, a light show, the splintering crack of felled trees. He's not as careful as he could be, frustrated, exhausted, distracted enough not to notice whoever approaches to see the arched back of a boy, head bowed and clutching his knees as he struggles back to his feet... or the back of a monster, sword in hand gleaming with the moon. ]


C. days, 5/22 onward, various (OTA)
[ Days pass, and it feels like he understands less and less of who and what he is... and why... The first time it happened, only a handful of days ago, it was a car accident. He'd frozen there in the middle of the street, staring down the pair of headlights as they approached. He had not died. He should have...

...Ryoji shakes the thought out of his head. Something had protected him, a power that welled up from within and then- gone. He couldn't do it again, hold out his hands and block the fluttering of petals onto his head in the park, or the cat that meets him on the road, rubbing its head against his ankles twice and then runs.

Maybe it had to be something similar, either to the situation or the feeling; there's no way he can know but to try, reckless and stupid as he stands by the busy streets of Tisse contemplating stepping out into traffic; holds a switchblade in his hand on the rooftop of an apartment building in Apprassage, flicking the blade in, out, in, out; up high on the bridges of the Towers, leaning dangerously over the edge as he stares down at the ground far, far below; at the zoo in front of the lion's cage trying to get it to wake up so he can climb the fence and stick his head inside its mouth; he doesn't know, nothing's working and he needs to know. ]


D. 5/26 onward, various (OTA)
[ the one lighter prompt, save me ]

Hey. Hold out your hand for a moment? I want your opinion on something.

[ If you comply, Ryoji tugs out from beneath his collar a thin silver chain, on the end of which a gold ring dangles momentarily before he presses it into the palm of your hand, closing your fingers back over it. Despite having been tucked under his shirt, the ring is cold against your skin, a faint glow emitting from in between your fingers while no sun reaches it inside your hand. ]

...How does this make you feel?

[ Stupid, probably, as if holding a ring would evoke some sort of emotion, but that's what it does for Ryoji, looking equal parts expectant and hopeful as he looks from you, to the ring delivered to his door courtesy of Retrospec, and then back. ]

--
( ooc: Aside from being able to shift into the form of Thanatos, Ryoji's powers include: ghastly wail (fearful opponents fall unconscious), tempest slash (sword attack), megidola (almighty magic attack), moonless gown (barrier that reflects all attacks, max three activation per day))
true_noir: (Cloak13)

[personal profile] true_noir 2017-05-29 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[She had a killer residing in her. That was part of it. She definitely didn't have any ties to Yuuko, so that helped some. Less awkwardness.]

You might wish to be careful how often you ask. People might try to get you help if you are not.
long_live_the_queen: (kouta put your pants back on)

[personal profile] long_live_the_queen 2017-05-29 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Before, Lucy was rather ambivalent towards Ryoji. Unsympathetic, sometimes unpleasantly hostile. The same as she was to everyone new.

That view was more complicated to hold now.

She looked directly at him this time, blinking in confusion.
]

...why me? All I've been is an asshole.

[She wasn't without self-awareness. Or self-depreciation.]
covenantal: (225.)

this is the worst. i didn't ask to die like this.

[personal profile] covenantal 2017-05-29 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... ah.

He jumped.

Yu doesn't move, doesn't remove his hand, but it would have been impossible not to feel that. He won't back away, not now, not when it seems like Ryoji needs someone, but he can't help but wonder about it. He only flinched, didn't step back, so ... it doesn't seem necessarily like Ryoji wants to pull away, but then what? What was that flinch for?

It's all filed away in the back of his mind, a little detail he'll remember later. Right now, what Ryoji actually says to him in response has the effect of wiping out any other thoughts or feelings he was having. From the hushed, incredulous "let" to the speech that ensues, the rushed and breathless way he says all of it, his voice rising--

Ryoji feels this passionate?

About him?

Someone... a person in this world... anyone can feel this way... about him?

Yu ends up staring at Ryoji in open shock, paling a little. He wants to speak, overwhelmed enough by this tide of insistence that some piece of him (which he should maybe be ashamed of) wants to make it stop, but he can't. It's like Ryoji's sheer volume of sentiment steals the breath from his lungs and leaves him wordless.

Souji. He's always been able to accept, maybe at least a little, that Souji could care about him and want him around this much. But another person? Someone that wasn't his precious twin brother?

It's ... a lot ... for him to process.

Blinking a few times, swallowing against a tightness in his throat, Yu ducks his chin for just a moment before forcing himself to meet Ryoji's eyes again. He's not used to feeling so much emotion. Anything too extreme would normally get locked down behind walls of stoicism, something he could detach himself from. But he won't do that now. He lets all these feelings wash over him and kind of wants to cry and instead says, just above a whisper: ]


Then that's what I'll do.

[ Again he ducks his head, overcome, blinking and swallowing once or twice more.

Get it together, Narukami.

After one last steadying breath, he'll try again, the way he looks up at Ryoji almost shy. ]


What do you want to do?
complementing: (✿ pain of separation [ VALKYRIE ])

[personal profile] complementing 2017-05-29 08:07 am (UTC)(link)
...yes. But it's not the same this time, and you know it.

[He always comes back. He's always been there for her. But despite his perfect record, a promise to return is so easy to break, especially unintentionally, because things don't always work out how you want them to, and being able to transform into a creature like Thanatos is the kind of wrench in the most well-thought out plans that nobody can account for.

She trusts Ryoji. She doesn't trust the circumstances that he's been thrown into.

Minako squeezes his hands tight in hers, staring up at him, pleading. She's not going to make this easy on him.]


Let me come with you, Ryoji. Please.
true_noir: (Cloak3)

[personal profile] true_noir 2017-05-29 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Help in being killed. [She reached over to boop him on the nose.] Most people would look at that very strangely regardless of the reasons.
accordance: (10)

[personal profile] accordance 2017-05-29 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, so that was the source of Ryoji's conviction. A boy with two forms. And yet, that Ryoji could return to his human form. ]

Have you talked about this with Minako?
constellates: (★ sexy free and single)

B

[personal profile] constellates 2017-05-29 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[The forest is the best place for stargazing.

It had just been a few months ago that Anya had taken a tumble in this place, but that was enough to scare her off. Unfortunate. Instead, she's got her small backpack that consists of a blanket, emergency supplies, and everything she could need for a night hike. Even if she's prone to loneliness, she doesn't consider it to be the same when she's among the stars. When she's stargazing, she always feels like she's with friends.

When she sees Ryoji in the distance, she perks up. Truly, friends are a wonderful thing, aren't they?

She's about to call out to him, hand raised and lips parting, when everything shifts. It's dark and light and suddenly loud as trees fall in the distance and Anya's blinking, stunned as her fingers are still reaching out to where she saw him.

It occurs to her that she should be scared - but it's worry and concern that carry her forward instead, something dreadful and heavy making a home in her ribcage.]


Ryoji...? Ryoji...!

[Self-preservation is for suckers.]
explodosafe: (sounds like the worst plan ever (I'm in))

[personal profile] explodosafe 2017-05-29 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[Cutter sees the complete disregard of his weapon and his blood runs cold. Not Good-! He balks and draws back once more, letting Thanatos chase him around like a scared dog without ever showing it his back because Cutter is sure that if he does his fate will be sealed.

You just don't turn your back to an opponent ready to kill.

It's a sign of weakness that will make that will make them jump and then- What the hell is he even doing here?]


God dammit--!

[Shaking his head with a growl Cutter tries to pull himself together and think straight. Okay, his opponent is scary. Big deal, he has fought with others who scared him before. The lack of humanity is new, but what difference does it make whether he is facing off against a bear or some supernatural bullshit? Both seem like they could end the fight in a single blow if he lets them land a hit and it's not like Cutter can do anything about the situation now that it's come to this. So he needs to concentrate on what he can do.]

Heh~ Seems like we're really doing this, huh? [His smile grows wide as he gives his opponent a lopsided grin, feeling the same giddiness he always does when he is going to do something extremely stupid. It's probably the adrenaline getting to his head. He is still moving backwards, but now his steps are measured, baiting his opponent into a more advantageous terrain and stalling for time while he assesses Thanatos once more. Where are its weaknesses? A hit to the face is usually a safe bet, but that mask looks like it'll only make him hurt himself trying to do that. His feet? Scratch that, there aren't even any. Arms or torso? Also look freaking armored. What he needs to do is- wait, is the chin free?!]
bold_in_deed: (7)

[personal profile] bold_in_deed 2017-05-29 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
((OOC: So. Him handing Ilia back that coin got mod approved to trigger a memory regain for her, since that's how she got the coin: it was a gift from someone. Since this is your thread, if you rather we not thread it out and she just gets the regain later, that's totally cool, but I wanted to run it by you and see if you'd be interested in doing that?))

[Ilia wraps her finger around the coin as he hands it back. She's not entirely surprised he doesn't feel anything from it. Clearly, whatever it is, it's emotional attachment is to her, and her only.]

It's all right. Worth a try, right?

[personal profile] truedetective 2017-05-29 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Nope. Kanji the dog just stands its ground, growling and baring its teeth, but making no move to attack as long as Thanatos isn't attacking his master. Naoto climbs to her feet and shines the light in Thanatos' face, trying to get a good look at it.] --I know you can talk!

What does "Koro" mean? Is that a name?
true_noir: (Cloak3)

[personal profile] true_noir 2017-05-30 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. As long as you're careful who you talk to. It isn't as if you really want it to come to that, is it? Then we might really need to consider serious options.

thesettingsun: smile (miracles of life)

[personal profile] thesettingsun 2017-05-30 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
She's moved on and everything is fine.

[Please just let him live in denial, Ryoji.]
accordance: (02)

[personal profile] accordance 2017-05-30 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I would think she does.

[ Also, giving Ryoji more support from his friends would definitely be beneficial. ]

We would need as many pieces of clues we can get to solve this puzzle.
accordance: (01)

[personal profile] accordance 2017-05-30 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ In another world, Lucian would have been able to elucidate most of this just by meditating. But that's not something he has, anymore. He has to rely on a human brain this time. ]

I am sure she will forgive you. It seems like a good place to start as well.

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