Intro Log.

[awashmods]

Ding, dong, bell, Pussy's in the well. Who put her in? Little Johnny Thin. Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Stout. What a naughty boy was that, To try to drown poor pussy cat, Who never did him any harm, But killed all the mice in the farmer's barn.

ou wake in knee-deep water, cold as ice and stagnant, in a space that is far too echoey and spacious. It feels like a massive cave, but looking up... there's only one small, circular opening that shows grey sky and shines any sort of light. It looks like a long trip upwards, a small cylinder with walls of brick that's just a little too high to reach, even when jumping. Getting out is probably going to be a bit of a task, especially considering the water is more than cold enough to make limbs go numb. The dark makes it impossible to see much further, but the space seems large, all filled with water, but with no other way out, stone walls the only thing for an intrepid explorer to find. But most importantly of all... you're not alone. Welcome to Awash's first intro log, everyone! Please review the FAQ and rules before playing. Characters have all woken at the bottom of the well in the middle of the town (which seems a lot bigger on the inside, somehow), and it looks like they'll have to put in some work to get out. Once out, they'll be free to explore the various locations the Town has to offer at will. Just try not to die on any of the far-too-rickety walkways. Further information can be found here at the OOC post, and don't forget to greet your fellow players here!

Comments

[appraiser]

i.
[ "Don't worry. I will sleep once again. Normal days will return to this universe, for you... and for him."

The rest was short, welcome, but Ryoji is surprised to find the cycle turn once more— sleeping means waking, and he opens his eyes to darkness. He's quick to adjust- surprise, confusion, acceptance all rolled up into one as he looks down and sees pale hands, looks around and sees so many faces.

The flutter in his chest might be fear, but he takes it as excitement instead. The sound of water, people stuck underground... this surely is a well. He's seen movies about this sort of thing. ]

Shall we call for help? A cute dog is supposed to come rescue us.

[ Fret not, friends! Movies reflect life; surely they do not lie. ]

ii.r/b/f
[ Small towns have their charms, even if those charms involve crumbling buildings and barren streets. Ryoji isn't drawn anywhere in particular, wandering in uncharacteristic quiet when he's alone, one hand hanging by his side and the other lightly touching his chest as if guided by his heart- the excitement and curiosity lifts each time he makes eye contact with somebody new, offering them a smile and a wave and a how-do-you-do? before moving on, eyes soft and lips parting in a delighted smile when he makes his way through Ruga, carefully avoiding the cracks as if he believes in the superstition; through Bluo where he makes a point of crossing each and every bridge that falls within his line of sight, even if they break off midway and he's left teetering on the edge of one before turning around and finding the next; through Flavo where there's grass and dirt and he looks almost hesitant to step on the overgrowth, and tries to stick as close to the dirt roads and trodden paths as he can while he goes from cottage to cottage to see who is inside. ]

iii.
[ Flat, still... Ryoji's feet stop at the edge of the water once he gets as far south as he can. There are a couple of glances at the boats he might have jumped right into if he knew at all how to steer them, but his sights always return to the water itself. For how much he likes this town already in the handful of hours he'd been wandering through it, the smile on his face turns contemplative when he looks across the water, a little dip in the corners of his mouth.

He won't lie and pretend the stagnant water doesn't unnerve him.

But with most things, outwardly, there's no fear. He simply takes off his shoes, balls up his socks and shoves them inside, and places them on the shore before his pant legs get carefully rolled up and he wades in up to his knees. It's immediately freezing. But even if there are no waves, that's not to say he can't make his own. ]

wc.
(contact at birdseed if needed!)

iii.

[messianic]

[In truth, wandering was a great way to take his mind off of the fact that there's really too much he doesn't understand, but reality always sinks back in in the end. The well was a situation that needed focus and effort to get out of, and figuring out where he was naturally took precedence, but the truth is...?

The longer he wanders alone, hands tucked into his pockets, headphones off more to listen for anything or anyone else (it's eerily quiet) than anything, the longer it sinks in.

His heart is beating.

There's no real reason for it, not that he can tell. He remembers very firmly that last week, that last day, those last moments. There had been no uncertainty; he'd known he was going to die. And he doesn't even want to think about what this might mean for the Seal, if this is all real.

(But the teenage part of him, the the part of him that's a sixteen year old boy, feels the breath filling his lungs and really can only feel a strange sort of leap in his heart, because there's so much he'd wanted to do, so much he'd wanted to experience before the end--)

He's drawn to the water too. It's eerie and quiet and unsettling, but there's still something familiar about a long stretch of water that makes him think of what might've been home for a time. He's content to just look for a moment, taking the quiet to try to think.

At least, that was the plan, but when a flash of yellow and black makes him look over, his breath catches in his throat, and his brain freezes, enough so that he doesn't even realize the murmur's leaving his lips.]

Ryoji...?

[It's...surreal.]

[appraiser]

[ The voice reaches Ryoji's ears long before it registers as a name- his name- as imperceptible as the time in between them is. Because for how little Minato speaks, it'd only ever made Ryoji cling to every word, giving each of them careful consideration. There's only one word here, and it alone is filled with hesitation, disbelief, the sort of tentative hope that Ryoji holds onto and doesn't know what to do with, because

haha

How hypocritical would it be for him to say, "You shouldn't be here"? Neither of them should be here. Minato, who still has a role to fill. Ryoji, whose role has been fulfilled.

Instead, Ryoji turns in the water and faces Minato in full, and when he opens his mouth, it's ]

I'm glad you're here.

[messianic]

[...Ah. Trust Ryoji to cut right to the chase there; cut through all of the "should"s and "shouldn't"s to focus entirely on what he's feeling.

It's something he envies, a little. The easy way that Ryoji taps into what makes him happy, what he's glad for...

Though in this case, all Minato can do is let his eyes slide shut a moment, a very slight curving upwards of his lips. He doesn't understand either. How Ryoji's here. How he himself is here.

But does it really matter, in this brief moment?]

... Yeah. I'm glad you're here too.

[Somehow, when Ryoji paves the way? It's easier.]

It's... good to see you again. [Especially looking like this again.]

[appraiser]

[ Like this and not Nyx breaking open the moon, not him standing on that tower as everything crumbles around him, not him closing the dormitory door behind him as January came to a close, wondering if Minato would ever be glad to see him again.

He's glad he came back like this, able to smile and feel and splash his way back to shore, warmth in his chest when Minato returns the sentiment.

It's that thing that Minato says a lot: "Whatever." They're not supposed to be here, but... whatever. So what? It doesn't matter, and it doesn't change anything, and Ryoji is perfectly fine with borrowed time. ]

I feel a lot less lonely now that you're here. [ Despite all the people crammed together in the well, despite all the people dispersed throughout the town once they've been freed, it'd always felt a little like something was missing, and it feels now like something's coming back. ] It's good to see a friend.

[ ... ]

Or maybe it's fate that we were kept tied together.

[ He will never not play that fate card. ]

[messianic]

[... He can also always trust Ryoji to pull out the fate card. He's always had some distaste for it (more when he realized that he was drawn right back to Iwatodai despite everything, like a moth to a flame, even more when he realized what he'd done for Death), but somehow... in this very brief moment, it's not so bad.

It's not something he can deny, either, though. For better or for worse, he's only who he is because of Ryoji. They're tied together

So his response is noncommittal--a shrugging of his shoulders, hands staying in his pockets.]

I guess I'm not really surprised... you always manage to show up when weird things start to happen.

[Not that he could ever really think that Ryoji caused this. This doesn't really seem at all like Ryoji, bleak and colorless where Ryoji is bright blue eyes and warmth in his smile. But still, it's uncanny--whenever something weird happened, there was Ryoji, or Pharos, like clockwork. (In a way, it's reassuringly familiar.)]

[appraiser]

Not always!

[ He shouldn't deny it, but he does anyways, with a laugh that bursts out from him in surprise. Death might be universally present, but his existence is usually the end of all things, not the beginning. Though, he is still troubled: opening his eyes in this world is a lot like opening his eyes as Pharos in the dormitory and greeting Minato when he'd first walked through its doors, a lot like standing in front of the classroom and introducing himself to the class. There's a sense of self, but the why's and the how's have been ignored and turned a blind eye to; maybe this i his fault, somehow, and he just doesn't remember it yet, because he's caused himself to forget.

It hasn't been all that long. He isn't ready to give into maybe's. So he does what he does best and turns away again, walking backwards into the water until the surface barely laps at his ankles, and only because he'd disturbed it. The stillness locks around him almost at once. ]

What do you think of the water? How far do you think it goes?

[messianic]

[If he knew what was running through Ryoji's head, that's something Minato would be sure to assure him of if nothing else--for all the trouble that had been caused before, in the end none of it had been Ryoji's fault. Ryoji isn't at fault for being what he is, and Minato's extra certain that Ryoji isn't at fault here, either.

It's fine, though. For now... he rolls with the subject change, stepping closer but remaining far enough away so as to avoid the actual water itself. All things equal, he'd rather not be wet--especially as he looks out across the eerily still surface, disturbed only by Ryoji.

He'd come here for some familiarity, but really, it doesn't exist, does it...?]

I don't think it goes on forever. [It must come to an end somewhere, right?] But... it looks like a pretty long ways from here. Maybe there are some expert sailors around who could give us a better estimate.

[To Minato's untrained eye, from this vantage point, it may as well go on forever. More importantly, though:]

Do you think there's color on the other side?

III

[totheno1]

How is the water?

[The man before him looks at the other from the edge of the water, resting on his sword in front of him.]

[appraiser]

[ Ryoji turns to face Nanjo, the water rippling around his legs as he does but freezing in place almost immediately after he stops. There's no restless shuffling of his legs, no minute movement that would disturb the water no matter how hard any normal person tries to stand still, almost as if time stops in place all around him.

The movement is in Ryoji's eyes, a glance down at his reflection in the water, lifted back up to meet Nanji's eyes. A smile. ]

Like it's holding its breath, waiting for something... in no hurry to get anywhere.

[totheno1]

[Well...isn't that interesting. Nanjo files it into 'things to look into later'. He would stick his own foot in there, but he had been wet enough for the day to wish to try that again.]

I see...a rather poetic way to describe it.

[He looks over at the boats. Just as worn down as everything else in this world.]

Do you see any semblance of life in the water? Fish or mollusks perhaps?

[appraiser]

Unfortunately not... Nothing that swam close by my legs, and nothing I can see past the surface.

[ It's murky, and if it weren't ice cold, he might have imagined the ocean during the Dark Hour, thick and impossible to see through, that same foreboding that warns people away. ]

[totheno1]

That's a shame.

[Would using a boat be a risk at this point? Well, without any of his friends around, he has to do some work...let's see which of them has the least of holes and looks usable.]

Maybe with a better source of light we'd be able to view it more efficiently.

[appraiser]

Maybe! Fire wouldn't work in this case, and I don't own a flashlight... You'd also have to be able to see underwater, even with the light. [ to really see what's under there

He turns back to the body of water, regarding it with a tilt of his head. ]

But if it's fish or other aquatic animals, we don't have to see them in order to catch them, do we? We simply have to cast a net, and hope they exist and come our way.

super late tag do you wanna continue in the overflow or not?

[totheno1]

We would need a cast or a...fishing line.

[He was shown how to fish a bit, mostly because rich people like to do this type of sport and use it to talk business. Personally, he hates it. Fox Hunting is far better.]

The problem would be securing such a net first.

[youwillbeunequaled]

[Tonbokiri is unafraid, but he is deeply unsettled.

After having explored around the area where he'd found his horse he'd travelled further south, and now he quickly finds himself being glad that he cannot see the water from his house. He keeps frowning at it as he goes cautiously over bridges and as he glimpses it between houses.

There is something very wrong with the water.
While caught in that thought, some movement catches his eye. He watches in amazement as a boy calmly wades into the too-still water. The water in the well had been unnaturally freezing- is this water like that, too?

Hurrying closer he calls out,]

Are you all right?

[appraiser]

[ Ryoji startles at the unexpected voice, shoulders jolting but the rest of him remaining so still, the water may as be ice all around him for how still it remains, no ripple in sight until Ryoji turns to face him. He might have greeted Tonbokiri with a brighter smile at any other time, but the question too throws him off— he's not in any danger; why wouldn't he be alright? ]

I'm okay. [ He reassures Tonbokiri, voice soft, somewhat apologetic. ] There's no reason I wouldn't be... I'm sorry if I worried you.

[youwillbeunequaled]

[He breathes a sigh of relief when the boy says he's all right and shakes his head slightly.]

If you are all right, then think nothing of it.

[And then he notices that the boy's shoes are on the shore and that he'd even rolled up his pants. Ah.]

At least it seems you meant to enter the water. But how is it? Is it not as cold as the water in the well was?

[appraiser]

It's freezing!

[ Even worse than the water in the well, but Ryoji seems unbothered by it— he's had his fill of whatever he'd meant to do, standing in the water, so he's coming back up to shore. ]

Maybe I didn't mind the well so much because there was so many people, though. Out here, it's... empty.

[ The water's surface is completely still the moment his feet leave it. Really, really, strangely empty. ]

[youwillbeunequaled]

[As the boy leaves the water Tonbokiri is watching the water become motionless with something approaching morbid fascination. It is deeply disturbing to watch water do that, and yet it's hard to not watch it do that.

After a moment he comes back to the conversation.]

Yes... it wasn't easy to take a proper account of our situation down there, either.
Out here, you're right. It's empty. And grey. And the water is too still. And... [He trails off with a frown. There's more things troubling him about this place that he couldn't quite put words to. But like 'too still', words will come eventually.]

Besides it being freezing, I don't think anyone will want to drink it. Oh- are your feet all right? I can take you back to the well. Someone started a fire there, so it'd be a good place to warm up.

[appraiser]

[ His feet look fine— pale, almost white, but that's the rest of him too and he wiggles his toes to prove there's nothing else wrong besides it being very cold and... actually slightly numb, which is weird, but nothing too alarming as he retrieves his socks and shoes and pulls them back on. ]

Somebody's started a fire there? Are people camping out by the well?

[ Instead of wandering off on their own like he did... That sounds like the smarter thing to do, in hindsight. ]

ii b

[flamebringer]

[she watches Ryoji for a bit, curious as to how someone can look so... at ease, in a dull, decrepit place like this. some of the bridges don't look terribly safe. is he crossing them to purposefully cover more ground in his exploration, or out of whim? whatever the reason, he's an intriguing figure against a depressing background, so she decides to give up on her aimless wandering for the meantime and follow him to see if he's headed anywhere.

the next bridge looks like it would collapse if so much as a feather would land on it. Mòrag calls out, walking faster to catch up to Ryoji.]

Ah— be careful, crossing that one wouldn't be wise.

[appraiser]

[ There's probably no point on reaching the very end of the bridges when he can see with his eyes that they lead nowhere besides a possible tumble into the water if the planks break beneath his feet, but there's a world of difference for Ryoji, between seeing things and actually being there, hearing the creak of the wood and feeling the way it gives beneath him.

Dangerous, maybe, but it's a simple call of the void— one that falls away when Mòrag calls out to him, and he turns on the spot, looking at her, to the bridge, and back. ]

Oh... Is there something special about this bridge?

[ Out of all the other bridges, does this one have a trap that he cannot see? ]

[flamebringer]

What? No. [subtly, or not so subtly, she places herself between Ryoji and the bridge, just in case he'd want to continue onwards regardless.] It isn't safe. You could fall into the water.

[she scans the ground and picks up a chunk of brick, tossing it at the bridge. it lands with a thunk right in the middle, and the bridge makes a muffled crumbling noise as a part of it collapses away. the splashes the pieces make in the dark water below seem smaller than they should be, somehow.]

Do you see, now? It wouldn't have been able to support your weight.

[appraiser]

[ It's really a miracle that Ryoji hasn't fallen through half the bridges he's tried to cross, but there's no denying that this would be the one to do it. He casts a glance at his feet, as if that would tell him whether he weighs more than a brick, and seems to come to the conclusion that probably, yes, he does, because he steps back a little and regards the bridge as a whole. ]

The water doesn't move, so it wouldn't have carried me far. But maybe I'll skip this one after all, and give my greetings from afar.