![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
[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))
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)
[
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))
no subject
[ Ryoji's voice pitches when panicked, scrambling back away from Yato as if he would brandish his sword right here and force Thanatos out from him so that they could grapple all over again. ]
Yato, go home!
no subject
Not tonight, obviously. Tomorrow. When do you usually change?
no subject
[ Why is he even asking if he's obviously been seeing Ryoji's struggles in the forest, unsubtle as they are, night after night at each turn of a new day. ]
no subject
Well, that works just as well. If it'll keep you from changing, I can sit with you all night.
[ If Ryoji is going to be difficult, Yato will happily be just as difficult. ]
no subject
Ryoji pushes himself off the ground and grabs for Yato's wrist. There's no protection this time; he's going to drag Yato out of the forest and kick him out himself if he has to. ]
I said, go home!
no subject
Well that's fine, he'll just fetch it later when he COMES BACK TO FIGHT RYOJI. ]
No! I wanna go to the river!
[ He PUULLLS back toward said river, resisting with all his might. He will fight Ryoji a second time for this, don't even doubt it. ]
no subject
Push comes to shove and Ryoji lets Yato fall if that's what he really wants; Ryoji can be childish too, especially if Yato's not listening. ]
Then follow that river all the way to the ocean and stay there, don't come back!
no subject
You have a choice, Ryoji. You can deal with this alone -- badly, I take it. Or you can work with someone who can defend himself and push yourself a different way. The faster you get this under the control, the better.
no subject
I can't let you be that someone. [ Yato could match Thanatos with his sword, but what of a megidola to the face? What if Ryoji hadn't been able to wrangle himself back in time? ] You have a life to go back to, that I can't take from you. The only reason I could change back last time was because I couldn't let you die-- You can't trust me to do that again.
no subject
[ Good with a sword? A tenacious bastard? It isn't just that, and he knows it.
He's changing. The clues are there.
No one has stopped him about his sword because they can't see it. They can't see him. Even if they answer him when he grabs for their attention, their startled looks when their eyes finally focus on him say everything.
It is the beginning of an end. Ryoji says Yato has a life to return to. Yato wonders what kind of life that will be. ]
I am a god. A warrior god. If I'm not good for this, then no one is.
[ It's a bold proclamation, but it arrives like a confession. This is something he has to admit to himself. ]
no subject
[ Because that pause in between doesn't lend much confidence. Ryoji bites at his bottom lip as he considers all of this, because what is a god when he feels just the opposite, a demon of death? He can't even trust himself, so trusting somebody else feels impossible. ]
no subject
[ GOD. Yato does not appreciate people questioning his logic. It's often so self-explanatory to him that he has a hard time explaining in greater detail. If people could have as much faith in him as he has in himself, that would be fantastic.
But it will be easier if he has Ryoji's cooperation here, so he will answer as much as he can he guesses. ]
I guess it makes me immortal? I have memories from the modern day all the way back to feudal Japan, or something like it.
[ Though Ryoji is probably more interested in knowing if Yato is immortal in the do-you-die-when-you're-killed sense. Yato has no idea there, but... ]
In my own words, I'm pretty good at killing demons. Must've been, if I lived that long.
[ Then again he was also able to jump like fifty stories into the air and had a mystical girl-sword but look he's working on it. ]
no subject
Then you'll have no problem killing me.
[ If Yato's good at killing demons, then here he is, a demon. ]
If you let me do things my way, and stay out of it... I won't be able to hurt anybody else. If somebody does come by and I almost kill them, then you can cut me down.
no subject
[ Fists clenched, voice sharp. Because this is Ryoji doing things halfway again, planning to fail. And because Yato refuses to recreate the ugliness in his memories, the same ugliness seeping into his dreams. If it's something he can resist, he'll resist with all his might. Killing in self-defense is one thing. Becoming an executioner is another. ]
I'll help you. I'll work with you. But I won't be your safety net! Why do you refuse to have faith in yourself? You can do it! The proof is right here!
[ He gestures widely at the ground around them, the circle of dirt and grass unmarred amid a sea of magic-scorched earth. ]
no subject
There's no faith to begin with, so there's nothing to refuse. If I fail even once, people are going to die- if you kill me here, you'll save hundreds of lives.
[ There's no room for faith. Just objectivity. ]
no subject
Yato-sama, I hope you remember this one thing...
His jaw clenches and his throat seems to tighten. As they always do when he remembers that voice. ]
I don't know anything about some figurative hundreds of lives. All I know is I'd be taking away one real life.
And Yuuko? Your mom? Minako? Their feelings don't mean anything on your big made-up scale?
no subject
They'll hurt, but they'll learn to move on. He wants to say that, but he can barely bring himself to entertain the thought of being forgotten so easily, even if it's for the better. ]
That's not fair.
[ Hatred. Defeat. He points them at himself because he cannot bear to direct them towards anybody else, he loved them too much and it's undoing him. ]
I would die for them... but I know that's not what they want. Still...
no subject
"Still" what? It's easier to die?
no subject
[ If he'd died, he wouldn't have to suffer the consequences, or see anybody cry, or pretend for the rest of his life that he is happy.
He would never see the sunlight again. He wants to, more than anything. It's so selfish. ]
I know what you would say. Dying is easy. Life is hard. But there's always something worth living for. [ He falls silent, eyes off Yato and lifted to the sky. There's a moon somewhere, above the canopy of trees, that he cannot see but knows is there. ] ...Would you really help me?
no subject
[ But he sighs, and the tension leaves his shoulders. If Ryoji knows what Yato will say, then he won't repeat himself. Ryoji's understanding -- even if it's reluctant, not truly taken to heart -- will have to be enough.
It's funny. They don't speak regularly, but in the dire matters of life, death, and love, Ryoji might know more about Yato than anyone else. Yato is certainly learning more than he ever bargained for about Ryoji. And what he learns sometimes wisps into a ball of ungracious thought. A cold thought.
If Ryoji wants to die so badly, then why not let him? A person who doesn't enjoy life might as well be dead. It's his life to keep or give up.
Maybe it's Yato's disgust that keeps him arguing. Maybe it's the grief Ryoji would leave in his wake, the waste he'd lay to the good people who have chosen to let him into their hearts. It really would be just that: a waste.
But there's a glimmer of hope there. Yato gazes at Ryoji for silent seconds, considering that question. Even if there's only one answer. It's so self-evident that even he can't explain why it is so. ]
Yeah. I must be an idiot, because I'd really help you.
no subject
But Ryoji is grateful, pulling away from Yato and considering him, carefully putting himself back together so he doesn't laugh in his face at such honesty. Yato is stupid because he owes Ryoji nothing, because Ryoji can't give him anything in return, because he hasn't given up when Ryoji already has. So, he's grateful. ]
It's not reading your mind, not really. You say what you want, what you believe in, what you will and will not do, so I never have to guess at your words. Your conviction makes them sound like truth, and I can't help but believe and have faith.
[ That's why a god, Ryoji supposes. To be able to inspire... something. War, or whatever Yato's supposed to be a god of, but more than that. Strength. ]
So, alright. Pick up your sword. Let's go.
no subject
[ Yeah, Yato's been telling Ryoji to have faith in him all along, but the way Ryoji puts it is weirdly embarrassing. Here's Ladykiller Mochizuki making a comeback...
When Ryoji tells him to pick up his sword, Yato startles. So soon? God he just wanted to sleep by the river!! But this is technically what Yato wanted so he can't complain... He bends to pick up his sword, eyeing the blade's scuffed edge before swinging it up easy into a relaxed battle stance.
His sword isn't good enough. It's serviceable, but missing a certain something. It might be an issue if he were aiming to kill, but he isn't, so it's pointless to worry about. Though at this rate, he might have to look into buying a replacement in the near future. That giant bread knife isn't kind to other blades. ]
Don't get lazy on me, you hear? This is a team effort. You believe in me, and I'll believe in you.
[ Specifically, he'll believe in Ryoji to keep the creature in check before it can murder him with magic because HAHAHA boy. Yato might or might not be a god, but he's still just one guy with a sword off the internet.
He waits for Ryoji to begin. ]
no subject
Stepping back, Ryoji closes his eyes to call upon Thanatos. It has always been disturbingly easy to do so, simply looking inward and seeing it there, waiting to manifest the moment he extends the words.
"Hello darkness, my old friend."
A shining mask, gleaming sword, Thanatos is here to play. ]
no subject
The demon thing is back (he probably should've asked for info before diving back into this) and all of Yato's senses are on alert, but this time it isn't so frightening. Even if he knows that it's capable of mass destruction, he knows that Ryoji can control it -- will control it. He isn't alone. ]
Can you talk?
[ He might be addressing the demon, Ryoji, or both. He figures the answer will make it clear. ]
no subject
Yeah! I'm here.
[ Can you imagine Thanatos going "Yeah! :D"... ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)