seasonsrpg | Hand in hand, through each endeavor;

Entry tags:

Hand in hand, through each endeavor;

WHO: Chipp, and many others! (+1 open prompt!!)
WHAT: GUESS WHO DIED
WHEN: Post-event, post-revival!
WHERE: About Nightwake
WARNINGS: Talk of death, awkward apologies, goopy sappy feelings for everyone

[A] (CLOSED to Evangeline)

[He'd died.
He, Chipp, an immortal Grim Reaper, powerful being of divine origins, had died.

This isn't new for him. Back home, he dies all the time - in his gaggle of friends, it's even something of a running joke, a way to get Chipp out of their hair when he's being insufferable. He's used to being blasted through the chest, or beheaded by hand, or ripped limb from limb, or... any number of things, really.

But here? In Ellipsa? Where everything is peaceful, and everyone is mortal, and it's been quiet evening after quiet evening? He honestly thought it was impossible.
But it happened. He died. He ran out of magic, unraveled into dust and ash, and blew away in the wind.

And now here he is, back in the shed, sitting on his stupid little cot... staring at his phone, wondering just who he'd want to speak to after all of that.

...]

heyyyy
miss evangeline!
you busy?
i died
lmao

[Yeah, sure, that works. Aaaaand send.]

[B] (CLOSED to Rinku)

[... Likewise, after all of this, he does have something else on his mind -
The guy who got him to that point in the first place. Who pushed him to that edge, to the point where he allowed himself to drain his tank and come apart...
Ezra, of course.
And how he wants to apologize to him. Yes, even though Chipp is the one who died - he still feels it's Ezra owed the apology.
The problem is... he isn't good at that. At all. But you know who he figures would be?]

hey. this miss rinku?
sorry had to ask miss evangeline for your number
it's chipp.

remember your whole uhhhh
happy around thing?
i think i could use that right now.

[C] (OPEN)

[After all that...

... Chipp still hasn't spoken to Ezra yet.
He can't. Not right away - the whole thing stings in a way he doesn't understand, something feeling as though it's festering in his chest...
It's left him feeling torn and strange and uncomfortable, unable to really sit still for more than a couple of minutes.

And so he's brought himself out to a park in Blossomcrown, just to enjoy the flowers and spend some time in the sun.
With his Varoom, of course. He can't go hang out in the park without his precious little car, can he??
The little Pokemon seems happy to zoom around the bench Chipp's found, stopping every so often to nibble at flowers and people and benches and tables--

But that's where he sits for the moment, reclining on a park bench and staring up at the clouds... in nothing but a hoodie and the stupid pants he revived in, all of his belongings currently in the position of the guy who fought him to the brink of death.
Which includes everything. All of it.
No helmet.
No cloak.
No arm - the metal socket's just there, open, empty.
He doesn't even have his boots, out here in the park without them.

The misery (and irritation, and embarrassment) emanating off of him is palpable. And as much of a terrible cliche as it may be... maybe someone may want to come bother the poor guy?]

[D] (CLOSED to Ezra)

[And thus... the inevitable. He can't just leave this and ignore it -
Not only because he feels Ezra deserves to be spoken to, to be apologized to, all of that, but because, well.
Ezra has his arm??

And Chipp really, really doubts he knows where to send it, either. So.

After asking around the apartments for an address (and discussing some ideas, some options for how to do this with Rinku)... eventually, Ezra gets the dreaded knock on his door. It's a heavy one, obviously someone bigger than most others who'd be knocking -
But when Ezra opens the door, Chipp isn't right in front of it. He's on the other side of the hall, trying not to look at the exorcist as much as possible.

Instead, what's actually in front of the door, down in front of his feet, is... a cake. In a nice little container, yes, but it's also pretty clearly handmade - and handwritten, if the messy handwriting on top makes that obvious.
All it says is "Sorry", of course. ... With what he remembers Gabriel's seal looking like drawn underneath it in icing, too.

And, yes. Chipp is STILL trying not to look at him. He's kind of hoping Ezra's just going to take the cake and give him his stuff and he can leave and go run off to hide in the Segments for a week--]

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[Katsuki is, of course, going to follow!

The two of them eventually arrive at the bar that Chipp's chose, and the drinking age is in fact 18+. That peaks Katsuki's interest just a little bit, but he's still unsure if it'd be kosher if he partook. So as the two sit down, and place their orders, he sticks with a cola for now.

And as the two wait for their drinks, Katsuki decides to ask Chipp his opinion about drinking.]

...d'you think it'd be weird if I tried a drink? It's legal here, so I mean... it should be fine. Right?

[He just.. wants to try it out. Being an adult now, and all.]

You're supposed to drink the stuff after a rough day. And I've been having a pretty damn rough year.

[Chipp's own order is, in fact, a rum 'n Coke. But also a bag of peanuts - sans the shell, of course.
Unfortunately, he does plan to have these two things together. Because equally unfortunate, Chipp is simply that way.]

Naw. Where I come from, kids can drink 'long as they folks say it's okay.
And you ain't a kid. Right?
You're fine.

[...that's true. There's some places where, as long as an adult is around, it's fine for teen's to drink.

Hmm...]

...I'll try some of yours. I don't wanna buy a whole drink and end up hating it or somethin'.

[Katsuki would've ordered food, but he recently fed off of Shoto before coming here so he wasn't hungry. Unfortunately, he doesn't get hungry for human food anymore and it doesn't fill him up the same way blood does. Eating it just puts empty calories into his body though... he still takes advantage of his hunger to eat human food sometimes. Just y'know. Not now.]

I've heard alcohol burns when you drink it. I dunno if I'll like that or if it'll just piss me off.

Sure, if you wanna. It ain't gonna be all that pleasant -
Burns a li'l extra with the carbonation from the Coke. 'N rum's a lot stronger than somethin' like beer, too.
But I'll letcha try it.

[It honestly doesn't take long for their drinks to end up in front of them - and alongside that, the little dollar bag of peanuts that for the moment, Chipp's going to put to the side.
But he'll lift that glass, swirl it a little like he's checking it out... and then put it in front of Katsuki, first.]

... Here. Give it a shot.

[Katsuki feels a twinge of both excitement and nervousness when the glass is put in front of him. He looks at Chipp with a look that's asking if it's really okay, before he takes the glass and then a sip...

Almost immediately, he has to put the glass down and recoil. Making a face, sticking his tongue out at how weird it tasted. And he coughs a little at the burn.]

G-Goddamn. You weren't kiddin' about the carbonation making it worse.

[....but he takes another sip before giving it back to Chipp. The burn hurts like hell but.. oh no. He kind of likes it?? It's like spicy but a very different kind of spicy--]

How the hell are you gonna drink that whole thing?

[Yeah, that reaction gets a round of awful, wheezing laughter out of Chipp, and it's bad enough that he has to turn and cough into his elbow until he manages to stop -
But once he's good, he turns back toward Katsuki, shaking his head.]

What, you don't think I could down that whole thing in one go? Mais, this a Tuesday for me!

[Well, he WAS going to be an absolute heathen and add those peanuts into his drink like an old fashioned peanuts-and-Coke, but nope, he's taking that as a challenge.
Which means he's going to take his glass and tip the whooooole thing back as if it's nothing.
(Because it kind of is nothing. Not just because he's used to it, but Mr. Man here has the advantage of a swathe of his mouth and throat being too scarred to really feel that burn.)

Once it's empty, though... the glass goes right back on the bar.]

... Think you could get me another?

[It's fine. He plans on paying Katsuki back the instant he can.]

[Katsuki watches in horror as Chipp downs the whole thing in basically one go. Just... what the fuck.]

..s...sure..

[He'll hesitantly wave the bartender over. And order two so he can sip at one on the side. (and probably give to chipp to finish off because he doubts he can drink a whole glass himself)]

... I got practice, hun.

[Said with just the softest, barest amount of fondness that his monotone voice can provide, of course.]

You get used to it after a while. Ya sure you want somethin' strong like mine, though...?
Plenty of other shit you coulda ordered.

...I like the burn. And I told you I didn't wanna order something I might hate.

[He's aware he's a noob and probably a lightweight. And thus will only need to have like... three sips to get drunk. It's fine!!! Whatever!!]

You can have whatever I don't finish.

Fair 'nuff. Just don't go gettin' too soûl - I can carry ya home, but I ain't know where your home is.

[Pronounced "soo", of course, because Cajun French refuses to be straight forward about anything.

Aaaand here comes round two! This time around, Chipp does rip open that little bag of salted peanuts - with his teeth, of course, since he only has the one hand - and just. Y'know.
Dumps them into his drink.
To eat as he drinks.
Fucked up, dude.

Thankfully they're de-shelled, at least.]

... Next time, though, I'm payin' for ya - and we'll have ya try some o' the easier shit they got.
Or some o' the worse shit, if you want. I won't judge if you end up gettin' adventurous.

[Yeah what the fuck Chipp?? Katsuki's watching him dump those peanuts in with a slightly horrified expression...]

...I should probably give saké a proper try at some point.

[He says this before taking a sip from his drink. One that makes him scrunch up his nose-- he'll probably get used to the burn eventually.]

Maybe I should invite Todoroki next time.

[The poor boy could probably use a drink once in a while, honestly.]

[This isn't even his worst crime against food and drink, frankly. But Katsuki doesn't need to know about things like his "I'm pretty sure this meat I found outside is still edible" stew.
Instead, he's being subjected to rum 'n Coke 'n peanuts.]

Saké, huh? [Pronounced correctly!] Stuff ain't so bad. Not my cup o' tea, 'zactly... but 's fun when you got folks to drink it with.

Like that Todoroki. [... Also pronounced correctly?]

He a friend o' yours? I ain't heard the name before.

[PLEASE don't tell the chef about your "I'm pretty sure that's meat" stew.... he'd cry.

It is a little funny though how this extremely accented man can pronounce Japanese so well. Katsuki figures he must be a weaboo or something of the sort----]

....remember how I mentioned I was gay?

[That's a good start when someone asks about a friend. Katsuki's cheeks are pink as he asks that, but it's hard to tell if it's from shyness or if the alcohol was already hitting.]

[Oh, no, he was certain it was meat! He just wasn't sold on if it was still edible.
He'll have to introduce him to the horrors of the steaknut tree, though. Clearly.]

Ouais....?

[Yeah, Chipp's already putting his chin in his hand, elbow on the bar, waiting ofr the juicy details.]

[no meat tree thank u]

Well... this idiot is someone from my home. And I think I'm crushin' on him hard. And it's annoying as hell.

[Only Katsuki would call having a crush annoying... and he'll take a sip before continuing.]

I've never had a crush before, so I dunno if that's really what this is but it definitely feels new and weird and I don't think I like it.

But I also kinda do? I dunno...

[MEAT TREE! MEAT TREE! MEAT TREE!

Chipp's now leaning in a little, head tilted just a tad.]

Well, what makes ya think it could be a crush? Work it out with me, I'll help ya figure it out.

[And also, again, he simply wants the juicy details.
He's not really all THAT good at the whole crush thing, he really just wants Katsuki to blab.]

[Oh god not this working out his gay feelings thing again. He did this with Mike already!! Though.. it was just to figure out if he was into dudes to begin with. Not specifically Shoto.

Maybe it'd be less embarrassing to talk it out with someone he's only met once before. He loves Mike, truly, but sometimes that man just has to tease when it comes to romance and Katsuki can't take it!!

Also y'know. He's getting tipsy as hell so he feels like opening up more!!]

Every time I see his stupid face I wanna kiss it. Bad. Like real bad.

[He's never, ever, EVER felt like that towards anyone in his life before. Ever.]

And I wanna be around him as much as possible. Whenever he leaves the house I get depressed, and I just sit and wait around for the bastard to come back home. Like a fuckin' dog.

[Katsuki will take a dejected looking drink at that. Like how dare Shoto have a job and need to train and buy groceries!]

Crush.

[cheers he'll drink to that bro

Okay no I'll make this a normal tag. He's just gonna tag a swig (and peanut) of his own drink, first.]

... Far as I can tell, feelin' like a dog waitin' for its owner to come home?
You feelin' it big-big for this kid, for sure. I used to get that way, too - prolly get that way all over again if they end up back here in Ellipsa.

My advice? Just roll with it. Easier to take a punch if ya move with'em, right?

[Yeah, that's about the diagnosis he expected. Hereby diagnosed with: Gay for Todoroki Shoto.

But really... how could he not be? He's a teenaged boy just now blossoming into an adult with hormones that have been ignored up until this point raging around. And he's been in the same space with this other boy who he finds very pretty for months, now.

And also... y'know.]

...it doesn't help that we keep kissin' each other all the time.

[....aren't you just dating then??]

We did it once thanks to that gross, weird rain and now we can't stop. It's so fuckin' stupid.

[He looks and sounds pretty amused by it though honestly. Because he's wise enough to know that the two of them are being incredibly dumb for kissing and not doing anything else. The only issue that's keeping him from trying to pursue anything further is that he's not sure if Shoto is enjoying it the same way he is, or if he's just taking it as serious as he can.]

I keep usin' the magic as an excuse. "Oh, Todoroki, I'm feeling a little weak today mind giving me some stronger magic?"

And then next thing you know we're making out....

... Y'know you ain't even gotta use magic as an excuse, right?
You can just... kiss your friends. If y'all wanna. Ain't no one gonna stop ya.
You ain't gotta be nothin' more than friends if you don't wanna, kissin'im is still gonna be okay.

[Just, y'know, as an aside.]

But, ehh... he seem happy to do it? Like he enjoys it?

[....friends can kiss friends???? That's a thing they're allowed to do??????????]

...I think so? But I dunno. He's hard to get a proper read on.

[Katsuki takes another drink from his alcohol, and then looks into the cup thoughtfully for a few seconds.]

He's a lot like me in that he never had a reason to even think about romance until this point. Only for him it's even worse 'cuz he was forced to grow up a certain way by a dad who wanted him to be the Hero he couldn't be himself.

He wasn't allowed to even have friends until high school.

[Shoto has had such a hard life, and is a little oblivious and naive because of it. It's truly hard to tell what he thinks about something as complicated and intimate as romance.]

So I dunno if he looks at romance the same way as I do. I dunno if he sees the kisses as a mushy thing or if he just purely sees it as a way to get stronger. And... I dunno if I wanna ask and find out.

But if you don't ask, you ain't ever gonna know.
And... mmm.

[Hang on, he needs another swig-and-peanut.]

... You mind if I get all personal real quick?
'Bout myself, I mean, I ain't pryin' or nothin'.

Are you gonna tell me about "the one that got away" or whatever?

[Katsuki definitely doesn't mind the subject switch from himself to Chipp. So he'll let him have the floor, and drink some of his normal cola while he listens because woo boy this rum is strong and he needs a Break.]

Naw. Other way 'round.
I was nearly the one who got away.

[Okay, now he's just gonna plain finish off his drink entirely, peanuts and all, before shoving the cup forward toward the bar tender.]

... When I was a teen, I lived on the road. Runnin' around, stayin' outta sight.
Puttin' up with all kinds of abuse. Lettin' folks do whatever 'long as they gave me money for it.
As an adult, weren't any better. Just runnin' from the law, gettin' in fights, hurtin' others, gettin' hurt.
And once I died, just got worse. I stuck myself out in a desert, killed other Grim Reapers who got too close.

[Just the quickest, briefest summary of his entire life story, no big deal.]

But, ehh... by the time I ended up here... I thought I couldn't feel love at all.
If you asked me 'bout it when I first landed in Ellipsa, I woulda laughed.
Only reason I realized I can is 'cause I fell in love here... 'n they asked me 'bout it.

It gave me a reason to sit back 'n think 'bout it in the first place - I wasn't thinkin' 'bout it at all otherwise.

[Katsuki listens, sipping as he does and watching Chipp intently with those glowing red eyes of his. His life story was summed up pretty quick-- too quick to fully grasp everything but enough of an explanation for Katsuki to get where he's coming from.]

...so you're sayin' he might not even realize he has feelings unless someone asks him about it?

[Well. That's kind of how he found out he was capable of being into romance, himself...]

But.. what if he doesn't? What if he tells me that he just likes the magic stuff but doesn't care about romance? I... I'm pretty sure if I got rejected, I'd blow up half of Nightwake over it.

[Ah, there's his hesitation.]

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