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[OPEN] WATCH THIS MADNESS
WHO: Baren & YOU!!
WHERE: by Recollé Woods, or somewhere in the city, wherever your chara is!!
WHEN: forward-dated to September 7th, and ensuing time periods after!
WHAT: a ) Baren becomes a literal walking dumpsterfire. that's the log. But also b ) Baren Kaiyou: Found Dead in Miami (jk) and c ) tanuki deliveries!
WARNINGS: fire trauma in prompt a. possible mentions of child neglect, alcoholism, and suicidal ideation but those can be avoided and will be marked in threads if/as they come up.
[ A : JUST LIKE FIRE, semi-closed to existing cr ]
What he'd received instead, what was bundled in his arms now as he makes his way out of the bright lights of the city, was a reminder of a past that he'd long since tried to hide. The cloth of the haori feels natural against his fingertips, it fit around his shoulders perfectly in the brief minute he'd allowed it on his person, and everything about it feels like fate. Certainty. Home.
He feels like he could retch.
It's on the outskirts of the forest that he parks his car and gets out, makes a haphazard fire pit, and throws the haori into the dirt along with pieces of brush and dried grass. It sits upon the mess, the kanji for 'Kumou' obvious and stinging Baren's eyes before he even finds his lighter. He scoffs. The words leave his mouth like every syllable is dripping with poison.]
Who's a Kumou anyway, huh?
[How could he face his mother and sister like that?
When he lifts his hand, flicks his lighter open and watches the flame dance in his fingertips, he feels the swirling pit of hesitation in his stomach. Something - his conscience? when had he last listened to that - warns him that this is a bad idea. Don't set this cloth aflame, because it meant something. In the end, he's meant to be a Kumou, no matter how far he runs or how hard he tries.
But those feelings aren't his.
He drops the lighter and watches the embers begin to burn.
ii ) For those who won't travel to the woods at night by themselves, they're in... luck?
Wherever they are, whether it's at home, they're on a walk, or otherwise, Tanuki will find them. If they've met Baren even once, he thinks that's good enough. He's still small, going up to their legs and grabbing on. The noises he makes are distressed, short, worried. His breaths come in quick puffs and he starts to wander off, looking back to make sure they follow.
A shake of his whole body, then his teeth nipping at their clothes or briefly at skin to grab their attention if they're still not.
Hey. Pay attention to him.
His family is in trouble.]
[ B : THE AFTERMATH, open ]
[As soon as September 8th, the magazines and tabloids cover the announcement in a series of headlines: Baren Kaiyou Ditches Modeling, Baren Kaiyou Says Bye-Bye, RIP Baren Kaiyou.....'s Career?!, and oh his favorite.
Baren Kaiyou - Leaves Modeling to Join Traveling Circus.
In all honesty, Baren Kaiyou is actually standing in front of the magazine stand, musing over it all. He wears dark sunglasses today instead of his eyepatch, his hair done in a bun instead of the classic ponytail with feathers and bells. The only extremely odd bit is that he seems to be wearing a long cardigan in the still warm early days of September, hands shoved in his pockets. Otherwise, he still looks every bit the ex-model that's featured on the covers.
He reads over them one more time.
Tilts his head, muses out loud:]
Well, who wouldn't leave modeling for a traveling circus? Better that than some shitty meme about being found dead in Miami....
[ C : THE BEST PROMPT, open ]
[Sorry, make way!
As you walk about your day, it looks like there's a furry tanuki friend crossing through the sidewalks, dodging this way and that between people's legs. In his mouth he carries a wrapped up box in a handkerchief. He's on a mission.
But he's still a tanuki.
Did he bump into you? Is he about to run into a busy street? Want to try picking him up?
Where's his owner anyway?
This version has considerably less trauma.]
WHERE: by Recollé Woods, or somewhere in the city, wherever your chara is!!
WHEN: forward-dated to September 7th, and ensuing time periods after!
WHAT: a ) Baren becomes a literal walking dumpsterfire. that's the log. But also b ) Baren Kaiyou: Found Dead in Miami (jk) and c ) tanuki deliveries!
WARNINGS: fire trauma in prompt a. possible mentions of child neglect, alcoholism, and suicidal ideation but those can be avoided and will be marked in threads if/as they come up.
[ A : JUST LIKE FIRE, semi-closed to existing cr ]
( content warning: threads that fall underneath this prompt will include reference to fire trauma.[ i ) And here Baren thought that he and Retrospec had some kind of truce.
they might mention child neglect, alcoholism, and suicidal ideation. if you'd still like to engage in this prompt, but would rather one of these topics be left out of the meta, just let me know! they will be dodged. will mark subjects if these arise in any thread regardless. feel free to hit me atevergrace if you want to work something out. )
What he'd received instead, what was bundled in his arms now as he makes his way out of the bright lights of the city, was a reminder of a past that he'd long since tried to hide. The cloth of the haori feels natural against his fingertips, it fit around his shoulders perfectly in the brief minute he'd allowed it on his person, and everything about it feels like fate. Certainty. Home.
He feels like he could retch.
It's on the outskirts of the forest that he parks his car and gets out, makes a haphazard fire pit, and throws the haori into the dirt along with pieces of brush and dried grass. It sits upon the mess, the kanji for 'Kumou' obvious and stinging Baren's eyes before he even finds his lighter. He scoffs. The words leave his mouth like every syllable is dripping with poison.]
Who's a Kumou anyway, huh?
[How could he face his mother and sister like that?
When he lifts his hand, flicks his lighter open and watches the flame dance in his fingertips, he feels the swirling pit of hesitation in his stomach. Something - his conscience? when had he last listened to that - warns him that this is a bad idea. Don't set this cloth aflame, because it meant something. In the end, he's meant to be a Kumou, no matter how far he runs or how hard he tries.
But those feelings aren't his.
He drops the lighter and watches the embers begin to burn.
ii ) For those who won't travel to the woods at night by themselves, they're in... luck?
Wherever they are, whether it's at home, they're on a walk, or otherwise, Tanuki will find them. If they've met Baren even once, he thinks that's good enough. He's still small, going up to their legs and grabbing on. The noises he makes are distressed, short, worried. His breaths come in quick puffs and he starts to wander off, looking back to make sure they follow.
A shake of his whole body, then his teeth nipping at their clothes or briefly at skin to grab their attention if they're still not.
Hey. Pay attention to him.
His family is in trouble.]
[ B : THE AFTERMATH, open ]
[As soon as September 8th, the magazines and tabloids cover the announcement in a series of headlines: Baren Kaiyou Ditches Modeling, Baren Kaiyou Says Bye-Bye, RIP Baren Kaiyou.....'s Career?!, and oh his favorite.
Baren Kaiyou - Leaves Modeling to Join Traveling Circus.
In all honesty, Baren Kaiyou is actually standing in front of the magazine stand, musing over it all. He wears dark sunglasses today instead of his eyepatch, his hair done in a bun instead of the classic ponytail with feathers and bells. The only extremely odd bit is that he seems to be wearing a long cardigan in the still warm early days of September, hands shoved in his pockets. Otherwise, he still looks every bit the ex-model that's featured on the covers.
He reads over them one more time.
Tilts his head, muses out loud:]
Well, who wouldn't leave modeling for a traveling circus? Better that than some shitty meme about being found dead in Miami....
[ C : THE BEST PROMPT, open ]
[Sorry, make way!
As you walk about your day, it looks like there's a furry tanuki friend crossing through the sidewalks, dodging this way and that between people's legs. In his mouth he carries a wrapped up box in a handkerchief. He's on a mission.
But he's still a tanuki.
Did he bump into you? Is he about to run into a busy street? Want to try picking him up?
Where's his owner anyway?
This version has considerably less trauma.]
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Even now, Baren thinks that's true. He doesn't need to burden Kashuu with whatever this is. Whatever fragments of memory that he has to work through.
... but the repetition - the fact that Kashuu won't be going anywhere - it all manages to help. Baren doesn't even need to ask and his worst worries are alleviated. He won't be left alone in this. There isn't an ending in which he ends up abandoned.
His rational thinking comes back to him in pieces, and recognizes the stinging and the blisters on his hands. Burns. That's his own mistake. It sits poorly with him, almost makes him sick with the realization of what he's done, but he knows that it can't be left like this.]
- right.
[His voice is weak, but he manages it.]
Right... The - the car is over there. Keys still in the ignition.
[If nothing else comes of this night, it'll probably be the first time Baren lets Kashuu drive his ridiculously nice car.]
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Hang on.
[--Scoops Baren up bridal-style without much more warning than that... He can lift tables and couches without so much as losing his holding, so picking up someone taller than he is isn't any big feat now. It comes in handy, considering he doesn't really want to leave Baren on his own even long enough to go get his car. So he'll carry Baren all the way over to it instead, only stopping long enough to struggle getting the door open. After he succeeds and is in the process of tucking Baren away, he'll shout out in the general direction Tanuki's gone in.]
Hey, Tanuki! I'm taking Baren to the hospital!
[Just so he knows where to go, since Tanuki's clearly smart enough to get to places on his own... Or he can hitch a ride; Kashuu will pause long enough to see if he will, but won't wait much longer before hopping into the driver's seat.
He. He's going to need to come back here and put that fire out. But for now, his concern is definitely entirely with Baren.]
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Even then, he doesn't say anything when he's deposited in the car for a bit. Tanuki appears to understand Kashuu's concern, going back over to the fire and kicking some dirt into it. The haori that he'd grabbed is also no longer on fire, but he appears to be willing to catch up with them later.
When Kashuu gets in, Baren does manage a brief:]
... Sorry.
Thanks.
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[But he'll accept the thanks in graceful silence, at least, not waiting a second more before flooring it out of the forest and back onto the roads that'll lead to the hospital.
He's more focused on that while he drives - on going quickly without potentially causing a wreck or being caught by any lurking cops, anyway. Burns on the hands and upper arms aren't life-threatening, but he's sure they're painful, and the longer they wait for treatment, the worse the scarring and potential nerve damage could be.
Once they get to the hospital, he's quick to swing into a spot near the front. Without hesitation:]
Are you okay to walk?
[Because shock can really be a tough thing to deal with... He's not sure if Baren is dealing with it, but he'll carry him again without batting a lash.]
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... yeah. I'll be fine, Kiyo.
[He's in the state of mind to say that now, at least. Still, he doesn't wander too far from Kashuu's side until he absolutely has to.
The doctor looks him over, identifies the damage - second degree burns with probable chances of scarring, which makes Baren visibly wince - and allows them to leave eventually with the instructions on how to care for burns. Once they're out of the actual office, Baren shakes his head.]
... Hey Kiyo, you can go home. I can figure out a ride.
['Can' being the keywords here. It's not an order or a request, but rather a suggestion.
In truth, Baren still doesn't quite want to be alone, but he can't find the words for that so easily in public.]
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Don't say stupid things on purpose.
[Which might have a little more bite than his usual retorts, but. Well. He's tired and he's worried. It's good that Baren's not doing so poorly that they want to keep him overnight or something, but he'd stuck by Baren's side just as much as Baren had stuck by his. He's not the type of person to halfass things, either. Leaving at this point? It's just not an option.]
You wanna come crash at my place? I'll help you take care of those if you need any.
[He'll ask questions later, too, but learning the whats or whys isn't usually his priority anyway. Baren's comfort is more important, as far as he's concerned, and an immediate answer isn't really integral to that.]
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Kashuu is his sword. They both have a vague idea of what that means, but apparently what remains true on both ends is that they don't expect to receive as much as they do. They'll both give what's necessary, but when it comes to understanding that this is a two way street...
He's too tired to maintain his poker face. He looks genuinely unsure.]
Yacchan won't mind?
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Yasu worries about you too, you know? In his own way.
[Baren is one of the only people in the city that can trigger Yasusada's tsun, which is pretty impressive... But either way--]
He won't mind. He'd probably feel better knowing you're okay than hearing about it all later, anyway.
[And even if he did mind, it wouldn't change Kashuu's insistence.]
Let's go. I'll see if I can find your Tanuki on the way, okay?
[Since he can sense spirits even more strongly than before now, which he's totally forgotten to mention...]
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Kashuu's not wrong and it's not as if Baren ever thinks of Yasusada as a bad person or even a decent person. He's good, but that doesn't always mean that he wouldn't see Baren as an inconvenience. There's still another moment of hesitation before he nods.]
... Yeah. We can go.
Tanuki will find me - you don't have to worry about him.
[That's how it is now, Baren's realized. Even after he'd tried to ditch the animal a few times, even bringing him to the animal shelter, he always came back.]
... owe him an apology too.
[tanuki-san is the saint none of them deserved]
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[A GOOD, GOOD TANUKI...
But with that, he'll guide the way back to Baren's car. He'll take the wheel again since Mr. Handburns over here isn't going to be allowed to touch anything while Kashuu is around...]
—I'm gonna park to the side so your car doesn't attract any attention. S'that okay?
[It means they'll have to walk a little farther, but he knows Baren values privacy, especially in times like this.]
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He wracks his brain for an answer even as he nods his agreement, muted and - to some degree, still amazed.]
Yeah. Sounds fine.
... Thanks, Kiyo.
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[It's what any friend would do, as far as he's concerned.
After pulling into the alleyside parking, he'll pop out of his side and go to get Baren's door for him. He's going to have enough trouble with his hands in the weeks to come, surely. Helping where he can is the least he can do.]
You need any painkillers or anything?
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Nah, just -
Can you text my sister? I'll give you the phone passcode and everything.
[Now that he can ask this of Kashuu.... of course his thoughts go to Okuni first.
And for someone who normally never lets another soul touch his phone, this is kind of a lot.]
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Still, that's a task he can easily manage.]
Sure. What do you want me to tell her, that you're out for the night?
[Just automatically assuming Baren's going to be shifty about the details because when is he not... Granted, this is Okuni. ...But Okuni is also separated from the rest of them, existing without Retrospec.]
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[As much as he hates it, he can't tell her everything. Can't explain it to her the way that he wants to, because the lack of understanding in her expression about the app and everything else will just kill him a little bit more.]
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[It's a simple order that he carries out quickly, handing the phone back immediately once the message is sent. He steps away from the car after that, giving Baren enough room to walk himself if he wants, but staying close enough to help if he needs it.]
...You need me to call anyone else for you?
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Even if he told Kashuu to leave earlier, he's for once too obvious about what he wants.]
... No, this is fine. I'll figure out the rest tomorrow.
[Somehow.
While he does wait until they're closer to Kashuu's apartment to offer, he does - ]
... It'd make sense if you have questions, you know.
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He's quiet until he opens the front door, either way. As usual, their still nameless cat is there to greet them.]
I've got some, yeah. [Who wouldn't?] But the most important thing is for you to rest first.
[As far as he sees it, if it was something Baren didn't mind talking about, he'd probably talk about it unprompted. Far be it from him to pry, as ever.]
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I don't know if I'll rest much tonight.
[Given that he knows the state of his own mind- there are too many unfortunate things plaguing his head.]
So shoot.
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Speaking of said owner, though - he's giving Baren a look that's a little difficult to read. It's an expression he wears more and more often lately, though there's a minutely thoughtful edge to it this time. Then:]
What was that?
[Which also contains the more sensitive question of "why is it so important to you", but as always, he words things in a way that gives Baren room to say as little or as much as he'd like.]
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Hallucinomemory.
[ . . . but that's not enough.
And he knows it.
It takes some coaxing - of his own self-imposed wall between the two of them - and he starts.]
I think the trigger this time was the fire - burning up something that mattered to me. Not that I knew it mattered to me. I thought I hated that piece of shit haori they gave me.
[That's another story - it's jumbled. It's all interconnected. Baren thinks it's better to take one part a time.]
So...
Apparently in my past life, other life, whatever people are calling it now... my house got set on fire. The whole thing. Walls, ceiling, beds, food... Cowards who couldn't commit to killing children but were willing to let them fend for themselves.
[ . . . ]
I don't think it's a very happy story, Kiyo.
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Eventually, he decides to set that sentiment aside in its entirety. He moves over, crouching down next to the cat as it flops on the floor, pleased to have so many people around. He's looking at Baren, but in the sort of way that doesn't demand anything back.]
...What will you do about it? About that kind of story.
[There's nothing they can do to stop the onslaught of memories. He knows that. But the way they handle it - that's an individual choice, one piece of control they still have. He's curious, but more than that, he's worried.]
The haori, too. Even if you don't want to keep it, it's the kind of thing you can't throw away.
[There'd be a "right?" at the end of that sentence, normally, but after that display by the fire pit? He feels like he doesn't really need to check. That haori isn't going anywhere.]
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... there's not much I can do right now. [There's more pieces of the story that he needs to explain. It's slow. A process. So he starts with the easier one.] I want to keep it now... The haori, I mean. Maybe the story too. It -
[He laughs, though not with his usual amusement. Boundless joy.]
... It gives me an idea of who I might've used to be... maybe who I'm meant to be, even if I haven't decided if I want to accept that yet.
But it's - it's something that's mine. The burden, the responsibility.... 'cause you know, the haori belongs to the heads of the Kumou family. My sister wore one too. Our mother... she wore one, too.
It was when she died that they burned our house down - something about the cursed twins taking away the sun. It was our fault... or something like that.
[Even if he can't sound angry anymore, just... tired.]
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His indignation isn't what he wants to offer Baren, though, and he doesn't think it's what Baren needs either. He doesn't know what he does need, granted. Probably not sympathy, probably not reassurances that things are different now. What, then?]
It's a good place to start, I think. Keeping the haori. [Keeping the story, even if it's a painful-sounding one. Even if there's loss, and even if the haori itself might be much heavier than one single person should have to deal with.]
...Do you want me to see if there's anything I can do about the damage?
[Considering it's probably a bit compromised, even with how quickly Baren fished it out of the flames.]
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That should feel more backwards to him than it does.
But he can't deny that the haori has an emotional weight - at any chance of it being fixed, he can't help the way that his heart leaps for it. Immediately wants it. He glances over to Kashuu with a wide-eyed expression, his surprise clear. Certainly if anyone can do anything about it, it would be Kashuu. And even if there were someone else anyone close with the same skill, Baren wouldn't trust over something so precious.
But - ]
Would you?
[Is that something he can ask?]
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