awashlogs | Intro Log.

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Intro Log.

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!

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[...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.]

[ 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. ]

[... 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.)]

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?

[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?

[ Maybe. Ryoji looks to the boats floating out there on the surface of the water, some tethered and some not, all of them empty. There's the thought of being set adrift to find that potential color, in the foreverness of sky and water and nothing all around. It's something he would ask about if he sees anybody who looks like an expert sailor, but he doubts he would try- not on his own, at least. ]

I don't know, but I don't think it works like that.

[ He takes a few steps further out in the water, where its surface touches the fabric of his pants rolled up just about the knees, and crawls up even after he stops moving again. ]

Everything in the world is connected. The sky overlooks all everything, and water flows everywhere as well. It's hard to imagine an isolated place like this.

[ The possibility is always there, but that can't be, right? A strict border where there's color on one side, none of the other. ]

[What Ryoji says makes sense, of course. If the sky looks like this here, surely it's that way everywhere. But... it's just as illogical that there can be a place like this, as if totally drained of all color that was ever there before.

(There had to have been color before, right?

That's what Minato would like to believe, at least. This place... it can't have always been this bleak.)]

Maybe so... [That just means... there might be even more work to do later. He's not super thrilled, but--

(Apparently that line about resting when you're dead is totally untrue.)

He tilts his head, looking at the water that stretches on and on and on.]

I guess that doesn't matter right now. [doudemoii, honestly. Kind of more importantly in an odd sort of way:] Aren't you cold?

[It's not that warm, Ryoji....]

[ Bleak is a good word, but rather than the lack of color, what Ryoji finds most off about this world is the lack of people. There are no people anywhere, the buildings left abandoned and derelict in their state, as if the citizens have fled, taking everything with them: color, life, movement, warmth. ]

Yeah, it's really cold! [ He laughs, though, when he says it, lifting his knee up and displaying remarkable balance as he wiggles his toes out of the water, stiff and numb even for him who's always cold to begin with. ] Like ice water, but thicker.

[ Like it's half frozen already, a little harder to break through when he lets his foot drop back through the surface, like the liquid's trying very hard to keep itself together instead of being free-flowing like Ryoji's used to water being. ]

[This would probably be a good point to google "can death get hypothermia", but nobody can really answer that one for him. It might be worth a try still, but...

Minato's brow furrows a little, and offers a hand to Ryoji as if on instinct, palm up.

Please don't freeze your feet off in the uncannily still water.]

Maybe you should dry off for now... [Ryoji just came back into his life, it's a little too early for him to freeze his toes off.] I don't think the water's going anywhere.

[ That's very true: water which doesn't flow cannot go anywhere, and that's enough to convince Ryoji to push his way back to the shore, letting his legs drag through the water instead of picking his feet up step by step. The cold lingers even after he's back on shore, shaking the water from his feet one by one before his pants get rolled back down, and he pulls his scarf a little tighter around his neck. ]

It's cold, [ he admits after a pause. ] I wonder how long it will be until it's summer. Then we could go swimming, and the cold will be a good thing.

[It's hard to say what season it is, isn't it? This is a completely different world, that follows different rules. It's chilly, but not freezing--but there's still no guarantee that somehow, it's the end of winter, the cusp of spring.

He has no idea.

But...]

We'll know. [Won't they? Summer's more an idea than anything--they'll know it's summer when it's warm enough to swim.] When it starts getting warmer... I guess we can see about it then. [Spoilers: he does not want to swim.]

There must be towels or something somewhere in one of these houses.

[So Ryoji can dry off a bit, because he still looks chilly.]

That's true. I've never seen spring before either, and I don't want to miss it.

[ As lackluster that first spring will be without the colors coming back into the world to commemorate the new season... Those are worries for a different time, though. ]

...Let's go around to greet all the houses. We can say hello to all our neighbors!

[ Long legs and quick steps make him seem like he's in a hurry to get to some of the nearby houses as he sets off, glances thrown back over his shoulder at Minato to follow, but even if there are no spare towels to be lent, it's fine just to run and get moving after what felt like the stagnation of deep sleep for so long.

The wind is nature's blow dryer! With the unfortunate side effect of being cold while you dry. But it's Fine. ]

[There's something about that that, despite himself, really does resonate. Ryoji never did see spring, huh...?

(And Minato's goal had been to see spring again, to see the cherry blossoms and actually appreciate them this time, to commit the sight to memory and the warmth of the sun that he hadn't appreciated before, when he was too apathetic to really understand just how much those little things could really mean in life.)

He draws in a breath, and he follows at a much more stagnant pace, hands in his pockets as he follows.

He'll wait until he catches up to Ryoji properly before he responds, more so he doesn't have to yell out or raise his voice than anything.]

... We'll see spring, Ryoji. [The rest is important--sure, they can greet their neighbors, sure they can see what's around--but this is more important.]

No matter what, I'm sure of that.

[They might be here for a far more sinister purpose than that, with what little they know--but right now? They are here. And that means they're alive to see it. They might as well embrace that, with everything they have, regardless of what actually brought them here.

...Anyway, that said, he'll move on as if he didn't even say anything to that effect--]

I'm not sure there are people in all of these houses, but we can see who's around.

I'll look forward to spring, then!

[ It's a promise, even if Minato doesn't explicitly say it, and Ryoji finds himself wanting to believe every word Minato says, no matter how hopeful or impossible—- he'd made a miracle happen, once, after all.

Things like this Ryoji can hold onto. Seeing spring, meeting people, finding towels.

...Finding towels might fall into that "impossible" category, though, seeing as the very few houses he'd poked his head into seemed to lack all but dusty floors and broken rooftops. Broken anything might be a problem considering this district's boathouses, but. Well. ]

I'd like to see who's around in these.

[ How to get to them without getting wet, though. ]

[Finding towels is definitely the hardest task on the list, especially with the way all of these houses seem entirely rickety and unstable. What if one of the roofs falls in...?

Yikes.

So really, he doesn't protest when Ryoji turns his attention to the boathouses.]

I think some of them have little bridges to them.

[...?]

Planks...? [No, Minato, that's pirate ships.] ...Whatever. [THE POINT IS, THERE ARE WAYS. To some of them. The rest are lost causes as far as he's concerned.]

[ The thought has never crossed his mind before, but it is now Ryoji's life dream to walk to plank like the pirate he's always wanted to be, also decided just now.

Here is a plank! There's nothing tethering it to the boathouse, and maybe it's actually just a flat piece of wood set adrift and coincidentally lined up between the shore and the house, but Ryoji will take this opportunity to leap onto the end of it— the plank immediately and predictably starts to capsize, the far end of it lifting out of the water before Ryoji hurries forward to put his weight there instead, waving for Minato to hop on and balance out the other end of it. ]

[Ha ha ha what.]

Ryoji--!

[Even as he tries to stop him, he knows it's much too late for that. And really, the last thing he wants to do is dive onto that flat piece of wood, but there's also the fact that this piece of wood looks totally unstable and Ryoji's going to go facefirst into that water if he doesn't do something--

So with a mix of aggravation and concern, Minato yanks off his mp3 player to drop it on the dry harbor and, in the same motion, takes the plunge to try to stabilize that plank of wood.

There's like a 50/50 chance they end up in the water, honestly.]

[ RIP them; if I was having a better day, I might have been nicer, but instead, odds tip in favor of the board flipping over and sending both Ryoji and Minato plunging into the ice water.

Ryoji, on the good fortune of not being alive, doesn't have that instinctive urge to breathe and choke in his panic, instead simply opening his eyes and regretting that a little because it stings. He finds Minato first before he finds the length of wood, and grabs a hold of both so that one or the other doesn't wash away. ]

[I'm honestly so glad.

Minato, in comparison to Ryoji at least, still has some base survival instincts, if... really only the very, very basest of them. Barely anything even remotely survival instinct-y, but enough so that he's spluttering when he comes up for air, flailing a little blindly for the piece of wood as well.

Ryoji's grip on Minato is at least enough to ensure that he doesn't immediately sink, and then he's clinging to the wood like a bedraggled cat, wheezing.

Ugh.

He doesn't bother to open his eyes (because yep, it sure stings), but at least eventually reaches out with one hand to pat around for Ryoji's head to make sure he's still present and not drowned. That's about all he's got right now, glad you're present, Ryoji.]

[ Ryoji doesn't trust himself to climb back onto the wood without tipping it over all over again, so he just clings onto it like it's simply an inner tube, arms reaching over the surface to hold onto Minato's wrists on the other side.

With Minato's eyes closed, he can't see Ryoji's grin as he lets go of one of the wrists, reaches over, and combs Minato's hair back with his fingers. ]

We're twins~

[He doesn't see Ryoji's grin, but he sure feels wet, cold fingers raking back his hair, and even more salt water dripping into his eyes.

THANKS RYOJI.

He just coughs again, fights back a shudder (why is this water so cold), and grimaces.

(At least one of them is happy, but at what cost.)

Really, in response all he manages is to finally pry his eyes open, giving Ryoji a very flat, very drenched look.]

[ not one, but TWO dead-eyed stares, bless your icon

The cost is small, for now Minato can say he's been in the water if anybody asks, and Ryoji can say the same. There's no change in his expression when he meets Minato's eyes, no guilt or apologies. He simply pulls his hand back and runs his fingers through his own hair, pulling his bangs over his eyes so that they can swap.

Alright. Moving on. ]

We're almost there- let's kick our way to the house.

[(Nobody will ask that, Ryoji...)

Not that it really matters at this point; they're in the water, and there's no point to not seeing this through now. Ryoji will be Ryoji, after all, and Minato somehow manages to get dragged into this every single time.

(And every single time he goes along with it, so really...)

A sigh, and he nods.]

Let's go.

[It's funny, really; if not for their clothing, would they really have been able to swap like this, with Ryoji's hair over his eye? Maybe so. It at least gives him something other than the cold water to think about as they swim, leaving his own hair slicked back. (Effort.)]

[ They might and one should always keep possibilities open.

One day, blue will come back into the world and Ryoji will take the opportunity to dye his hair so they can be for real twinsies, so that he can smile where Minato deprives the world of his. Ryoji takes Minato's quiet acquiesce as agreement, as always, and trusts him to match pace the short distance until they get to the boat house, and he pulls himself up first, dripping all over the front porch, one hand on the railing he hopes doesn't snap off in his hands as he extends the other to pull Minato up.

Watch the plank of wood sink the moment they're both off of it. Leaving them stranded. Forever. ]

[Up they go onto the boat house! Minato accepts the help up, mostly because he's feeling thoroughly like a waterlogged cat and it's kind of a miserable sensation. His shoes squish, he's not into it.

The plank of wood, being a relatively buoyant thing, doesn't sink.

But.

It does kind of...drift away....slowly...

That could probably be a problem later, they'll figure it out. FOR NOW... Minato just blinks slowly at the boat house.]

Guess we might as well see what's in here. [Knock knock who's there--

Okay no he just pushes open the door. It creaks open without complaint, revealing... dust.]

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