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[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
[It sounds silly, in the face of his clear distress, but that's the only way she can think of it.]
She shows up when I'm in danger, or when I call. We were...um...practicing magic on the beach when Thanatos arrived. But that took time.
[A thought strikes her.]
Are you afraid of it?
no subject
Yes, I'm afraid of it. I don't want anything to do with it. It came from me but- [ He looks up at Yukiko, who does not know him, nor how he used to be; gentle smiles, easy laughter, so full of love for everyone and everything. Thanatos is the complete opposite of everything that makes Ryoji himself, and he would reject it with all that he can. ] -it's not who I am.
no subject
He is a part of you. Maybe denying that is what's making him lash out.
[Some part of that rings true in her head, though she's not sure why.]
no subject
I've only known Thanatos for all of two hours... Maybe if it weren't Death, I could...
[ Even if denying makes Thanatos lash out, he can't see the opposite being any better: accepting Thanatos would mean accepting having to accept mindless slaughter. ]
no subject
[She says that with a degree of certainty.]
I feel like this is something you should really consider. Not recoiling from it, accepting that it's a part of you. You don't have to ask for it's help, but I don't think it's going away, is it?
[Leaning back, she lets her hands fall away.]
Nothing good comes from denying a part of yourself. Even if it isn't something you like. If you can't accept it, then it's just going to keep hurting people.
no subject
He looks at his hands, clasped in his hands. They once held a sword, covered with blood. ]
Do you think it would be enough? If we could coexist, but... knowing that I will never call it out again. I don't think I would ever need to- or want.
no subject
I do. And let's be honest...I don't think it can hurt to try?
[That's important too.]
It's not like it's going away. And if you want to try and it freaks out again, I can stay near.
no subject
Honestly, I feel like I will be the one to freak out. What do you do to call for it? "Thanatos, come out, please"?
[ ...Nothing. Presumably, because reluctance is in every syllable Ryoji speaks. Or maybe it just doesn't want to come out just to sit and chat, when it's made for fighting. ]
no subject
[Sitting back on the sand, Yukiko shakes her head and holds out both hands, palm up.]
We can work on that another time. But I think it may help. For me, I just sort of ask for her in my head, and she comes.
[Closing her eyes, she considers all this, still a little unsure.]
We can figure it out though. Why, and what, and how to control it. I know we can.
no subject
He looks up at Yukiko, nodding, grateful for the "we." ]
Then, another time. I'll welcome any help I can get, especially from somebody who has similar experiences. ...What should I call you? My name's Ryoji.
no subject
Ah...Ryoji. My name's Yukiko Amagi. My family runs the B&B on Elm.
It's nice to finally meet you.
no subject
"Finally"? Have you heard of me?
no subject
[...Yeah, please don't do that.]
also, I know Minako.
no subject
Minako knows about this, but not Yuuko. You can't tell Yuuko... Please.
no subject
Ryoji. You can't keep this from her. It's not my place to tell her, but you need to.
no subject
...i probably didn't mean to type dread twice but i forget what word i was thinking of, i'm sorryRyoji shrinks back from the stare, the gravity of her words. ]
I know- I just... need to find the right time...
[ Which is when? Never. He has lots of things he needs to tell Yuuko, should have told her a long time ago, but he's always making the excuse of the right time. Fear and habit, unfortunately, overrides shame. ]
I don't know how I'm supposed to explain this, when I don't understand enough, myself.
no subject
Find it soon then. Just tell her the truth, and if you want someone there who can confirm it, call me.
no subject
She's right, of course, but this is much more direct than how Ryoji likes to operate, dancing around subjects and trying to find a way to break the news gently (how?) ]
Just like that? I'm not afraid of her thinking me a liar, but just... [ not that. what is he afraid of? ] ...I don't think I could stand it if she looked at me, and were afraid.
no subject
I think she's stronger than you think. We've known each other for a long time, and she's pretty resilient.
[Really, quite so.]
It'll be fine. She's probably more worried about you running off.
no subject
[ Because he's drowning in that dread.
He hadn't thought about it— hadn't the time to think about it— but running away sounds like a great idea right now. He'll just cut himself off from society and hide out for a couple days, try to get this thing under control, Thanatos won't matter, and he won't have to tell Yuuko. This is a great plan. ]
no subject
[She's just being honest.]
Then the urge to fight. I'm not a good example.
no subject
No, it's a good example. I'm pretty sure, in your position, Yuuko would have killed me.
no subject
She might have. But she's not here. Where are you going to go?
no subject
[ His voice is faltering, then more resolute, as if determining this right here and now. ]
I can't control Thanatos right now. I can't go back to the city.
no subject
[What she sees is a kid. A scared looking kid, even if he is older than she is.]
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