(open) somehow the shades of the hazy horizon / are damp in the thin peach-colored morning

[wordcarvings]

WHO: Koutarou & You (+1 closed to Lucian)
WHERE: Streets, RRFC, Video Store, and maybe other places
WHEN: 16th & 17th (+cyod)
WHAT: Koutarou’s blood has turned into ink, that’s pretty weird. So you gotta cope with that in some way.
WARNINGS: Some blood ink.



16 || Streets
[ Koutarou received a new box from Retrospec. It’s uncertain which day exactly, since he has not been home in a few days again. But he opened it yesterday, only to find it empty. He completely forgot about it soon after.

Since morning, he has been out and about, looking for something new to draw without coming too close to the formerly green areas of the city. This means that he keeps more to the streets and among the tall, tall buildings. Which means cars and lampposts and mailboxes and a lot of people that he can crash into or trip over, the times he ends up sketching while still walking.

Which will end up in him walking into things, like that lamppost that he got square in the face. He puts a hand to his nose to make sure no blood ends up on the pages of his sketchbook, but what hits the page is...unusually dark for fresh blood. ]


17 || Apprassage
[ After calling his favorite doctor and seeing him sometime after, he knows that he definitely, somehow, for some reason, does not have a single drop of blood in his veins.

Instead it’s ink. Because that’s not bizarre at all. Though it does line up with one of the things he has “remembered” on a previous occasion. Being created by paper and ink. He thought that was just something ridiculous he got in his head but it would appear as if that’s not the case. The whole, milder wounds heal when he drinks blood, makes a little more sense as well. These things doesn't even appear in literature, as far as he knows.

Instead of sketching (or wandering around) he finds a place to sit that has a table, not too far away from his atelier, having brought along a few ink sticks, an ink stone and water, brushes and paper. The corners are weighted down with stones he found on the pavement and he’s drawing delicate images of animals and nature in only black ink. ]


17 || RRFC
[ Sometimes it’s nice to unwind and relax by visiting a museum, or take a walk in the park and before Retrospec started to mess with things he liked to visit the art museum. But he is less inclined recently, both to it and to the park.

So instead he drops by the Recollé Recreation + Fitness Center, to catch up on some workout. Not that he doesn’t visit otherwise, because he does, at least once a week but not usually during the middle of a Saturday.

Still, he’s going to hit both the weight room and the pool, and stick around for a couple hours. ]


17 || Video Store
[ He doesn’t often watch a lot of movies, since he tends to get way too distracted by other things (drawing) but sometimes it’s nice to at least try. And somebody may have recently told him to watch one particular movie. So he was going to rent it.

But really. He’s lost. He doesn’t know where to find the movie in particular. And the cashiers seems too busy so he can’t ask them yet. ]


?? || Random
[ Wildcard option if you want him for anything else. ]

Comments

16th | closed to Lucian

[wordcarvings]

[ Before he does anything, he really needs to see someone about this blood that’s definitely not blood. And since it’s such an odd thing, he can’t go to the hospital.

So he starts by making a call to Lucian, to see if he has time. It’s not an emergency, at least. He has had a bloody nose before. But it’s sort of different today. So he doesn't mind waiting until he has an opening in his schedule. ]

[accordance]

[ Lucian definitely has time, especially if it is for Retrospec-related things. He had taken a week off from work, so it is with a bit more energy that he takes Koutarou's call. The artist is free to come anytime after 4pm, when the clinic had already officially closed for the day. This way, they can get more privacy.

The doctor's place is the same as ever, a flower in the corner, smelling faintly of lavender. ]

Could you tell me what happened?

[wordcarvings]

[ That he can see him the same day is a relief. The damage isn’t serious, but all that ink is definitely unsettling. ]

I walked into a lamppost, but that’s far from the first time so that’s a minor thing at the moment, [ Because really, it’s fine, he just got a little bloody---inky. ] but instead of blood there was ink, which...is definitely not normal.

[accordance]

I see.

[ Ink...? That's completely out of the field of biology, if it was true. ]

Did your injury heal normally?

[wordcarvings]

[ He nods. ]

Yes, it stopped eventually the way blood usually does so there's not really a problem with it beyond the ink part.

[ Had his nose been broken or anything of that sort, he surely would have noticed. He had experienced that a couple times, back when he still did martial arts. ]

[accordance]

May I see your hand?

[ If Koutarou's blood had been replaced by blood, it would be slightly visible through his skin. ]

[wordcarvings]

Ah. Of course.

[ He holds out one of his hands to him. ]

[accordance]

[ For the most part, he looks normal, if only a little pale. ]

Hmm. It does seem like the colour of your blood may have changed. Do you feel faint, or any different?

[wordcarvings]

[ He shakes his head. ]

No, I don’t feel different at all. Just… confused about this.

Streets

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji's not one to lecture about being distracted while walking - god knows his mind is often elsewhere - but being so unfocused you walk into a lamppost is bound to be painful. And possibly mess up your sketchbook.

It's lucky that he was nearby!]

Are you okay?

[That looked like a nasty hit to the face.]

[wordcarvings]

[ Since it’s not the first time that Koutarou walked right into something - far from the first time - he was barely fazed. It hurt, yes, it hurt a lot, but it wasn’t unbearable, even if he had some tears in his eyes. And since he had experience with it from before, he knew to not be distressed. ]

Almost. It’s not that bad. Do you think you could hold this for a moment?

[ He holds out his sketchbook to Shuji. He sort of needs a free hand for a little bit. ]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji will accept the sketchbook, no problem - wait, uh. That doesn't look like blood.]

...Did you splatter some ink on this earlier?

[wordcarvings]

[ While Shuji holds the sketchbook, Koutarou finds two handkerchiefs in one of his pockets with his freed hand and presses one of them to his nose and wipes his other hand as best he can. The handkerchiefs both get stained with black.

He frowns at the blotches of black. ]

No... It’s not supposed to be ink...

[thesettingsun]

[Even if he had spilled ink on his sketchbook, that wouldn't explain ink coming out of his bloody nose.]

That, um, that doesn't seem like a thing that should be happening to humans ever.

[wordcarvings]

Yeah, I--- [ He presses the handkerchief closer and soon adds the other one as well. ] ---I know. I think it might have been Retrospec. I got another empty box yesterday and completely forgot.

[thesettingsun]

Is that ink? - Oh, here.

[Shuji doesn't have a handkerchief, but he does have a paper napkin in his pocket, which he also holds out in case it's necessary.]

[wordcarvings]

[ He looks at the hand he used to accept the napkin with. It's still stained a little black. ]

....it does look like it.

16th

[vitis]

[ wow, that looked like it hurt! if it was someone he disliked more, john might have to hold back a laugh because who just lets themselves walk into a lamppost like that!!— but nah, it's a professor that he's familiar enough with. eyes wide, john hurries over. in his focus, he hasn't quite noticed the gruesome darkness (blackness) of the blood. ]

Hey! You all right, there?

[wordcarvings]

[ Koutarou is still covering his nose with a hand, wondering what to do with his sketchbook while he finds something fabric that’s not the sleeve of his shirt against the nose. There’s fresh ink on the page, it will smear on either the contents of his bag, if he puts it there, or his pants, if he holds it between his knees. ]

Oh, hello. Yes, I’m fine, more or less.

[vitis]

Ah, yeah. —Less so, probably!

[ not life-threateningly(?!) though, which is great. regardless, john's hurriedly retrieving a handkerchief or whatnot from one of his dozens of pockets, proffering it to koutarou and also gesturing to offer to carry some of his things. his eyebrows furrow with concern in general, let alone at that black blood. ]

[wordcarvings]

Thank you.

[ He gratefully accepts the handkerchief, and the offer of holding some of his things. ]

It’s not the first time I have walked into things like this.

[ So usually, it would be on the “more” side. ]

[vitis]

You need to look up more often. Or walk with other people more often.

[ lasjd. reminding himself: it's the professor's job to lecture, not his. realizing this, his voice sort of trails off awkwardly, and he'll give koutarou a moment to compose himself.

in the meanwhile, the blackness of the blood becomes less and less easy to ignore. hence, after a few more seconds, ]

... You see a doc yet? 'Bout that color. [ this seems inexplicable enough to go to a doctor about, anyway. ]

[wordcarvings]

I get distracted, that's all.

[ Very distracted. It's not the first time he's been told to watch where he's going when he's drawing. ]

Oh... No, I'm going to see my doctor once he closes up later today. [ Seeing him after-hours is very kind of Lucian, and he's immensely grateful for it. ]

[vitis]

... Yeah.

[ you definitely do get distracted...!!

john nods at the answer, which is apparently acceptable. geez— well. considering the last time he'd asked if someone would go to the doctor (and he can't think of any ailment, off the top of his head, that turns blood black)— ]

Well, ain't that nice of him. [ hm. ] Hopefully the diagnosis is, just— "Retrospec."

[ hopefully but also not hopefully?! but it's better than something actually being detrimental, here.. ]

[wordcarvings]

He's a very nice person. He's taken care of me a lot over the years, [ Because the hospital staff could get...judgemental...because of the injuries he sometimes gets because of art.. ] and since he has Retrospec as well, he's offered to have a look at people's changes if they need it.

[ It's probably Retrosepc, but what else is behind it... Why would somebody even get this sort of change? ]