june/july catch-all!

[grice]

Who: falco, shōyō & ammy w/ friends, old and new!
What: just a place to put some closed tls for an undetermined amount of time! i've been megabad at writing open tls lately but would still adore to write something special up just for you! hmu liberos for a starter or plot with me!
When: june & july for now!
Where: corners of trench!

Content Warnings: check out the headers for their appropriate cws! mentions/description of cannibalism & gore, ghosts, animal abuse, mentions of possession and death.

Comments

@blue | cw: ghosts, animal abuse, eventual mentions of possession and death

[brushy]

[ amaterasu was no stranger to ghosts. she’s sat and conversed with them on many occasions, and when on a fine summer day on her usual runs across trench, her coat thin and slim against her frame to battle the heat, she sees a soul that she once had, so long ago but seeming like yesterday: rao, the priestess, shimmering like a faded memory, once slain by a dreadful fox who then used her corpse as a puppet.

amaterasu would, of course, meet with the apparition; this one had a connection with her. they both follow each other— the wolf, with whines and groans that clearly showed her attempts at communication. her tail wags high, then droops, then so did her pointed ears, folding back as her black lips thinned. something was wrong, and rao was becoming more and more agitated. she could not leave. she was lost. she didn’t know where she was beyond a maddening void that made her lash out— ammy kept close to her, wanting to help her move on dearly and release her from the anchor that kept her earthed in trench. so far from home and so far from the peace she deserved . . .

the more the woman’s phantom raged, the more she twisted and pulled a mask to her face. she would strike the wolf once she’s gained enough solidity, attempt to pin her and unleash her insane barrage upon her—

the most the amaterasu would do, confused, was sprint away from the attempts with folded ears and her tail tucked; a rare sight for a creature that exuded confidence and combat-ready leadership. here, and now, her body says: i am frightened, i do not wish to fight you. she never runs completely, no. only out of range. she would not leave rao in that state. never.

but what does she do, when what she usually relies on doesn’t work? amaterasu lowers her head, paces anxiously and whines, whimpering loudly and consistently between stressful, hastened pants.

“how do i help you?” ]

[firstroar]

[it's fortunate that, at this point, Blue has encountered the phenomenon of hauntings which have cropped up this month. it's different than months prior, so simply dispelling them through convincing them of their need to move along won't pan out. speaking to locals who have witnessed the specters before has been very helpful...but it doesn't dispel the alarm Blue feels when he sees the wolf plagued by a haunting of her own.]

Ammy...!

[when the ghost seeks to lash out again, its blow bounces off a faint, honeycombed barrier of Blue's making. while he remains at a distance with his arm outstretched, his omen bounds over to put himself between the wolf and her tormenter.]

[brushy]

[ "oh, blue," her thanks is implied, her ears still folded so close to her skull. her whine starts with an attempt at a mrr, that softens into a consistent bleat. it's hard for ammy to become somewhat lost in what to do. she always rushes in with a plan. today, she's out of plans. the masked priestess seems to throw a fit at the intervention, gesturing wildly and kicking her heels against the floor, lastly pulling of her mask to whirl it onto those in her way. before it can hit, it fades in a wisp, and so does she.

"she is outraged . . . she has every reason to be." ]

[firstroar]

Justified or not... Her violence won't be the answer she seeks.

[though the ghost has vanished, Blue is still on-guard, his psionic sense combing the area for sign of her as he approaches the wolf, the extended hand lowering, reaching toward her.]

Are you hurt?

[brushy]

[ amaterasu sniffs the extended hand and licks it, gentle and sweetly.

"nothing that impairs me. her killer has kicked me a time. it fades quite easily." in other words— weak kicks, bro! try harder! "but hear me, 'tis not her fault. she is not in her right mind. we must free her." ]

[firstroar]

[after the lick, Blue rests his hand atop her head for a moment before stroking her fur back and letting his hand withdraw naturally.

now that he's close, he can speak aloud, but...well, he's a Mu, so telepathy comes just as naturally; why stop now?]

Did she wash up as we all did? Or is she an apparition manifested from you directly?

@sasuke | cw: (sasuke’s) living nightmares

[asas]

[ that’s enough for today.

had shōyō more time, he would’ve kept going. his chakra focus has gotten an inch of improvement, but it’s not enough for him. he’s teetering on the border of exhaustion by the time he relents for his own health and well-being; he’s been burned and blistered from the tiny chokes of ember he’s managed to blow from his lungs, but most of it was just heat that made his lips tender. he had some time to recuperate and have lunch, all before it was time to jog over to koz orphanage for club meetings (and of course, teaching sasuke the principals of volleyball). it was going to be an exciting day—

“exciting” takes a dreadful turn when shōyō catches sight of something odd, black-scaled and clinging to sasuke’s back when he meanders over from the outer field of the dojo to sit on the wooden bamboo ledges, to treat the superficial harm done with bandages and balms. it causes shōyō’s incoming words to freeze in his throat, choke down, and deep the color from his face gradually.

he’s still there, completely still— and staring right past sasuke, just over his shoulder. the same thing he saw on lazarus. was that the reason why . . . sasuke seemed more tired today? ]

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke was more than tired. He felt downright exhausted. He was used to nightmares, that wasn't really the problem. A lot of the time, sleep evaded him for more than a few hours a night and he had learned to survive on what little he could get and a strong cup of matcha. But lately things had gotten worse. The nightmares were more intense, they were always in his field of vision, and sometimes he woke up bleeding from old scars that had long since healed. He knew it was something to do with the city, but had yet to really figure out what, and because of it, he did what he did best: he ignored it.

He knew he looked awful and he was sure that was why Shōyō was staring. He didn't notice he was looking passed him, and he waves a hand as though it would dismiss his concerns entirely somehow. ]

I'm fine. Quit looking at me like that. You probably don't look much better with all those scorch marks.

[asas]

[ ??? he's fine, he says. one moment, shoyo was sure he saw something. and the next? it was gone. his staring turns aggressive with briefly kinked brows at sasuke before rubbing his eyes, looking forward again— nothing. how . . . absolutely strange. ]

I— huh. Sorry—? There was a . . . was . . . [ with a fruitless search already beginning, shoyo steps forth with his bandages and gives sasuke a thorough once over. ] You feeling funny, sensei?

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke's backing up just slightly by the end of that once over. Was he feeling funny...? He glances down at himself, before back up to him. ]

Just tired. [ It's not 100% honest, but it's as honest as Sasuke has the ability to be about anything related to himself. A quarter-truth at most. ] Why?

[asas]

There was something . . . On your back.

[ maybe he's the one who's tired and anxious? he did just spend of good deal of chakra just trying to puff it out into something resembling. he wants to be sure, but at the same time, shoyo isn't sure how to be. without the thing in sight like it had been, with lazarus, he's left uncertain and wondering if the trick is on his eyes. ]

Maybe I'm just seeing things.

[retsuden]

[ The phrasing makes him look up, almost like he's startled to hear it. It's not that he's seen anything, but there's been an extra weight, a heaviness on his shoulders that he's thought was maybe metaphorical, but... There was something... On your back. It twists an unpleasant knot in his stomach and he goes to touch the shoulder of his missing arm for a moment. ]

Hn. Maybe.

[ His hand moves so he can rub at his eyes instead. What he really needs is a full nights rest, but something about it feels dangerous these days. ]

... What did it look like?

cw: the linked image is the ring girl

[asas]

Like . . . Sadako Yamamura.

[ sasuke asked what it looked like, and shoyo responded instantly, with the first thing to come to mind. of course, sasuke doesn't know who sadako yamamura is, so shoyo slips his hand into his pocket to fish for his omni. a quick search on the deernet brings up an image for sasuke, turning it toward him. ]

Except with claws, and oni skin.

@oikawa

[asas]

( ⭐️ clip here, for easy viewing/if you’d like to skip the written description! )

[ it can happen at any moment of the day— remina, the month’s patron pthumerian, isn’t exactly picky when it comes to sharing knowledge among trench’s sleepers. that includes memories. the one that oikawa happens to get, right before his eyes is:

you’re running just about twice the amount the person in front of you is. you’ve just walked through the entry gates of shiratorizawa academy with kageyama tobio right beside you. the campus is huge, and you exclame that with great awe before being nudged to not lose your focus. but there’re horses. the volleyball team has their own bus. both of you lose focus, bouncing about with your arms in the air in a tremendously excited flail. that is— until you find the volleyball court, and push your way into kageyama to see at least something. you see college students. your spine prickles from top to bottom.

ushijima wakatoshi stands in front of the open gym doors, demeaning tobio immediately for applying to the school and getting rejected. we don’t need a setter who won’t serve the ace at this school. oikawa . . . he’s an efficient player. he should have come to our school. oikawa is a setter that can bring out the absolute best of his team— everyone else at aoba josai is weak. seijou is infertile soil.

you stare, with your mouth parted and forgetting to breathe. something in your chest boils silently. you can’t place it. you can’t even think about the why, you simply feel it.

if seijou is infertile, are we concrete or something? you say, out loud and stepping forth— unafraid, intent and challenging, you stare at him until it’s more than uncomfortable. the boiling is hot in your chest and bubbling up your throat. you’re getting upset, angry— but you manage to hold that and use it. a ball breaks the moment, the concentration. it shoots out from the door, and ushijima jumps effortlessly to retrieve it.

you run, jump even higher than him. you soar and leap higher than ushijima’s jump on top of height, stealing the ball away from his hands. when you land, you return the ball, but you say, grave and honest:

my name is shōyō hinata, and i grew from the concrete. i’m going to beat you and go to nationals.

ushijima looks both startled and excited— and he keeps your rebelling glare to heart. ]

Oozes in late

[grandtrashking]

[This is a throwback, seeing Ushijima from ten years ago and just as rude as ever to others. Except... Ushijima seems taller, or is he shorter? The question is answered as soon as the voice speaks. He's definitely shorter and that sure as hell sounds like Shōyō mouthing off to Ushijima while Kageyama was right there being... Well, himself. Tooru won't admit it but he's proud of how Shōyō mouthed right back, the kid, now man, can be scary enough in his own right.]

Jeez he was rude to everyone, huh? Not just me but so cocky and full of himself to everyone he met. Though it pisses me off Ushiwaka decided to put Seijoh down like that.

[There's a pause, realising he's just seen a memory not his own. He saw one of L's but this is still WEIRD to him.]

Sho-chan... Was that one of your memories?

[asas]

[ in the kitchen of their cozy little home complex, shōyō is busy setting aside a mixture of cocoa, some sort of milk and sugar in cups— it’s not exactly all the ingredients they need to make brigadeiro, but then again, trench wasn’t exactly known for being a super market resource. he’s found, hm, cream? was it heavy cream? only the world would know, but it was cream, and a recipe on deernet said he could make butter from cream.

time to put that stuff in a jar and shake it up like a shake weight. he’s even made a challenge out of it: whoever shakes the longest with one arm wins the first spoon!

his propped up omni on the kitchen counter starts— playing something, though, and he knew the voices. he could even imagine it in his head and bounds around the counter mid jar-shaking to see. he doesn’t exactly mind it playing. it wasn’t something super secret, plus! it was incredibly nostalgic. way to go, tiny him! ]

Yeah, it . . . Wait, Ushijima was rude to you?

[ he talked so highly of oikawa that—! ]

[grandtrashking]

[If it wasn't for the sudden memory of Shōyō's, Tooru would still be laughing and being ridiculously competitive right alongside Shōyō, but that gets a stop put in it for now because his mood sours just a bit as he nods and crosses his arms. Expression looking unamused and a bit annoyed, though not at Shōyō himself.

Sure, beating Ushijima and the rest of the Japanese National Team at the Olympics had him less hostile towards the man, but the two still were rivals and Tooru could hold a grudge.]

Oh yeah, constantly. You didn't see him back in middle school or most of high school, he was constantly coming after me to get me to go to Shiratorizawa when I'd already made a promise to Iwa-chan that we'd make it to Nationals together. Arrogant bastard.

[asas]

[ shake shake shake goes shoyo and his cream jar, all while listening, and, tasting the salt from here. yikes. ]

Maybe he just . . . Really wanted to play with you?

Pages 10-15, any audio/video I found was awful quality and too quiet rip

[grandtrashking]

[He can't help the salt, it's a touchy subject for him after pretty much six years straight of hassling.]

He did, but devote my time only to the team's ace? Nah, that's not my style. I wasn't gonna perfect sets for him and him alone.

[And then his own memory of the day Seijoh lost suddenly plays, because Tooru began thinking too much about it.]

@ochako | cw: the scarabs from the mummy

[asas]

[ so what happens when a hole opens up in the middle of trench? adventure, that’s what. once shōyō had found a partner to join his party (and a great partner, at that), ochako will meet once again with exuberant athlete, his crow omen, and a . . . a very large chicken named egg. good thing he had never gotten rid of the equipment handed over by the moss king on his exploration into the catacombs that did earn him egg— he’s got a head light, and a backpack! and some rope, but that’s about it. ]

Ready, Ochako—?! [ a double high-five awaits her! or perhaps, make that quadruple. egg follows shōyō’s lead and want the same for his feather claws. ] Team Space Birds!

[ deep tweet ]

[floatsaway]

[Adventure and, for Ochako, an immediate call to action as a Rescue Hero. This is the sort of thing she's especially good at, and her quirk is even optimal for this particular scenario as well - helping people get up and down from the ravines, lifting and moving rubble, all that sort of thing!! Needless to say, she is fully suited up as Uravity, double checking the items she has both in her belt and her bag. Food, water, some rope, her medical kit, a blanket, a matchbox and lighter, a notepad and pencil for mapping, some chalk to mark their path...and some flashlights and batteries.]

I think so, just wanted to double check our supplies... [She's beaming at Shoyo, despite being pretty serious on the inside. Her main worry is people having fallen down and injured themselves...or worse, so time if of the essence.] I can float us all down with my quirk, or would you rather do it yourselves?

[M-Maybe said as she absently gives scritchies and pets to Egg, because it just reminds her too much of Dark Shadow, and he loved pets. Of course, as she stands up and stretches, she will 100% smack both her palms to Shoyo's careful not to touch him with all her five fingers...l-lest he start to float by mistake, ahaha...]

[asas]

[ um, excuse me? while egg shrills happily at the attention, shoyo makes one final adjustment with his equipment before he makes the most . . . contained face. like he's trying to hold an explosive in. he just looks so ready to fight anything! but what he's actually going to say, gravely (or excitedly?) is: ]

Do the floaty thing.

[ please do the floaty thing he's begging you! ]

[floatsaway]

[Pfft...Shoyo, are you sure you're older than Ochako is, because she can see the boundless excitement radiating off you in waves, and it reminds her almost of a little kid. It's endearing as all hell, and she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Is this what it's like to have a fan? Oh gosh...]

Okay, okay, both of you on either side of me.

[She says, giving herself an absent pat as she begins to lift off the ground in Zero Gravity. Her two hands are outstretched for the human and his bird to take, and once her five fingers connect with their skin...the telltale pink glow of her fingerpads will activate her quirk on them both and they'll feel the brief "butterflies in the stomach" tingle as they both start to lift off the ground as well.

She did it, the floaty thing.]

[asas]

[ this is exactly what it's like to have a fan. shoyo practically jounces on his toes with his uncontainable excitement. ahhhh—! he squeals when ochako floats. egg doesn't egg-actly . . . know what's going on—?! so he's the grounding sense half of his partner, and follows suit with the gesture to hold. linking his own arm and feeling that fluttery, jittery sensation of being lifted off the ground without the effort of his muscles to propel him up—

icon is exactly how shoyo reads at this very moment: woooooooo!!! ]

This is awesome—! [ said in a high pitched tune that only flies higher—! ] You're so awesome!!

i love him....

[floatsaway]

[It's taking all of Ochako's will to not laugh, because Shoyo is so endearing. She beams at his enthusiasm and clicks her heels together, letting the boosters in her boot's heels sputter to life. They're not crazy strong, just enough for some baseline propulsion and direction during flight, but it's enough to get them going.]

Ehehe...thanks, i-it's really nothing, just my quirk. [Seriously. This is exactly what her quirk does at the most basic of levels. When she uses it to fight, that's when it's pretty cool, but hopefully...there won't be need for that (foreshadowing).] Okay, I'm gonna bring us down, so hang on tight, okay? Don't let go of my hand!!

[They'll still float, but, uh...she'll have to go fetch them if they do just waft about aimlessly, and that's no fun if they panic, especially Egg. But! Ochako tightens her grip and starts to move them down slowly into the dark ravine. Deeper and deeper...]