.:October Fun Times:.

[ganymed]

Who ⬤ Ganymede and Co.
What ⬤ Some dungeon crawling, living the dream! You name it.
When ⬤ 10/6 for the first dungeon. Who knows for the rest...
Where ⬤ Courageous Retuning Two Wings, Fine Wine, Gany's McMansion
Content Warnings ⬤ WHOOPS cw kidnapping, captivity warnings now. alongside transphobia, child abuse, elements of suicide (suicidal ideation, self-harm, etc.) i also guess there's nsfw now with pretty dark themes for the most recent one so watch your step LMFAO (re: dubcon)





[ You've got mail.

...It's been awhile, hasn't it? But neither single one of you can say that this wasn't an unfamiliar sight.

Still, the reunion for dungeon-running is anything but a less than happy one, no? ]

RESULTS: Here!

Comments

Dungeon Run: Courageous Retuning Two Wings

[ganymed]

[ This time? Their surroundings are a stark contrast to the strange ones they first saw on their initial dungeon run.

Indeed, no one can deny the sight of what appears to be plains consistently struck by storms, stretching from end to end.

But, there is what's in the midst of it that brings along another charm of sorts. That'd be the fact that smack righht in the middle is a shrine in which there is the entrance to the proper dungeon itself, filled completely with treasure and crawling with monsters.

Ganymede feels a little nostalgic despite the different setting, however. ]

...This feels familiar.

Is everyone ready?

[ This question feels more pertinent than ever to ask, considering. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ Michel is happy as long as it isn't another volcanic environment...

It's strange how familiar, but how different this feels. Not a one of them is a stranger to him now. And he doesn't make any particular effort to suppress his tiny smile as he glances around at the group, at the nostalgia of that question. ]

...Ready. I assume instructions are no longer needed, by this point.

[tinged]

Ready.

[ everything could be on fire with molten lava under their steps, or they could be endlessly freefalling through the sky, and hani would be content to be with these three forever. there's a calm air about them standing here, soft like a gentle breeze through their hair, quiet like the shade of a shared parasol. they seem... settled. ]

It's been a while since we've had quality time together as a family.

[ and they don't just mean ganymede. ]

[tylorific]

Wow, you're right.

[ Tylor agrees with Ganymede, one hand already preoccupied with Hani's if he's had any say about that. An audible mhm is his sign of readi ess before predictably, he returns Michel's smile with a bright one of his own.

He jokes, parroting Michel's words from all the way back then. When he was Winter and they weren't family. ]

Tank in front?

[ To Hani, a hand squeeze and a-- ]

You know, we should really have more family reunions.

[ganymed]

[ Instructions really aren't needed. That makes Ganymede smile lightly, even as Hani indicates how ready they are.

Followed by Justy's commentary as well. ]

Tank in front.

[ Ganymede also blinks a bit and looks at Michel, even if his answer is for Justy once again: ]

Yeah...more family reunions would be nice, cousin-in-law.

[ He doesn't care if marriage vows haven't been exchanged, he will go ahead and say this, flashing a little pleased smirk before hurrying along.

In the distance, some enemies can be spotted already:

Four Deadly Presents. ]

Rainfall Comes Along Darker Tides (Fine Wine)

[ganymed]

[ It feels like these days, everyone is just slowly losing their minds. It's more than a scary thought. Frightening, even.

Ganymede can't pretend it doesn't effect him.

More importantly, though, is the fact that there's an inevitable reason for his sullen behavior, given the sort of potential news he has just been given.

It's perhaps selfish to throw things around in his room in Fine Wine than in his mansion, but it's also a smaller, contained space.

...And he's still throwing stuff at the walls. So, Michel will hear a lot of thumping if he happens to come to the guild... ]

[userunfriendly]

[ It was probably cowardice not to seek Ganymede out immediately after seeing that reply. Or possibly simply fatigue. He wonders.

But it's apparent the second he steps foot into Fine Wine that this wasn't the place to retreat to; he traces the noise to its source and then hesitates at Ganymede's doorway. The cause is easy enough to guess at. Some part of him, slinking and furtive, almost prompts him to keep walking. But in the end he pushes the door open quietly and slips inside, waiting to see when Ganymede takes notice. ]

[ganymed]

[ TARGET SIGHTED

Ganymede is sitting on the floor so when the door opens he notices immediately, dropping the items on the floor before standing up, and in a blur going in for a hug tackle. ]

Michel!

[ He's attached to him like a clinging koala now. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ It's a good thing he has this body now — and possibly only this body now. Ganymede hits him like a rocket, but he's able to catch him about the waist with only a little wobble back on his heels.

It's so familiar somehow. His heart begins to race in reaction to something he can't quite recall. Not unhappy... he thinks. But the sensation of his fingers reaching for something wisping into smoke, just out of his grasp, gives the emotion an edge of anxiety. ]

Are you... finished throwing things?

~10/25

[userunfriendly]

[ This isn't the best week for being out and about near other people. Between the voices, the memories slipping away, the ragged emotions leaving him constantly on edge...

And yet Michel keeps doing exactly that. Again and again, drifting through root towns near pointless battles he no longer wants to assist in (how, when he has no ability to deal with the shields), past other people now equally on edge, most staring vacantly at voices they don't recognize. Pathetically. He wishes he could stop going out to make those rounds. He wishes that whatever impulse keeps driving him to seek out other people would cease prodding him.

He's sprawled across one of the couches in Ganymede's mansion now, serene in his isolation again. Head tipped back, eyes closed, he's not quite sleeping. Only waiting until he hears the return of the only other person who should set foot inside that doorway. ]

[ganymed]

[ Voices which are simply vocalizations of the past that were once remembered in some cases, voices from the wrong places, voices from times that never once existed for some, and perhaps voices from the heart. And memories that were there, or have not place being.

Ganymede keeps company a bit away from most people around this time. His temper runs even hotter still, emotions no longer leashed to the point where he might enter into a violence that makes him filled with regret. But there is just so much anger now.

So much like he might explode. And terror, and despair.

What hope is there when it feels like bit by bit that's being taken from them? He returns to see Michel, quiet footsteps like a silent song. The door closes behind him and it feels like rainfall.

He steps closer to see Michel, and he runs on over to him. He then stops suddenly, wondering if he might be disturbing his peace. ]

Michel...

[ He says the name softly, and tears fall quietly. Ganymede rubs at them even as he tries to hold them back. ]

I want to go home.

[userunfriendly]

[ He knows it's Ganymede before he opens his eyes fully. He always knows it's Ganymede, even as quietly as he moves this time. The cadence of his steps like a song they both understand. Recognition-urgency-hesitation.

Today, it's still "Michel" from Ganymede. For a little longer, maybe. With the way Michel's emotions have been lately, the sight of those tears can't not send a jolt through him. He sits up fully and reaches out to curl his fingers around Ganymede's wrist, tugging him closer. ]

...This still isn't home?

[ There's a little bit of a question in the statement, but only just. He gives Ganymede another gentle pull, testing whether Ganymede will come curl up in his arms here or if Ganymede is too restless to sit just yet. ]

Tell me what happened.

[ganymed]

Home is with you.

But home is also with you back at my place, in Greece. Not in this hell.

[ Ganymede doesn't have the heart to interject his next words with humor, but if he could... ]

You can't watch me become the best dancer in the world here, remember? No stage where there are so many people watching, no theatre productions...

[ The blond shakes his head, and finally allows himself to sink downwards so he can sit with Michel, and then wrap his arms around the other, allowing himself to be able to come close into his embrace. ]

...Zelkova got hurt real bad and I can't find him. I think it's Lily again. He's always causing problems. I hate how it feels so hopeless, and now some people look strange and are acting weird.

I don't want to see their faces ever again.

happy halloween~! (10/29)

[userunfriendly]

[ Michel's heroic 19 to escape probably gave him a headstart away from the area. Unfortunately, being intercepted means he doesn't have time to get very far.

He presumably walks away from the ensuing argument intact, to avoid any awkward retcons. But he doesn't have the opportunity to flee further before the sight of light flashing off of golden hair catches his eye and he freezes. As though he's seen a ghost — no, a ghost wouldn't hold anything like this power over his heart. He doesn't fear them, and they can't hurt him.

This... ]

Go away.

[ Just like the battle, all he can do is lash out wildly, touching nothing. Hoping to touch nothing. Praying that nothing touches him ever again. ]

rude

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede has been hurrying after him, perhaps hearing traces of that argument which have his heart race hard.

And some guilt that rises up within his heart, for not noticing soon enough. How could he not have known? Frustration, at Michel keeping it hidden from him too. ]

No!

[ The blond stumbles finally after unadvisedly running, gait unsteady after being thrown around and he is immediately reaching for one of Michel's arms. ]

I can't leave you. I won't.

...Besides, do you really think I would? Me, of all people? Something has happened to you, and I won't turn my blind eye away from it.

[userunfriendly]

[ Are these the words people think he wants to hear? Again and again. "We won't leave you alone," "we won't listen." The inside of his mind still feels scoured raw, singed like a circuit overloaded. All those emotions. All that data.

He jerks away from the touch again, forgetting the most fundamental of facts; that the flinch betrays the pain. ]

There's nothing left to leave. We've both already broken all our promises. I need nothing more from you.

[ganymed]

[ 'I need nothing more from you.'

The words stab him in the heart more than any action such as flinching away ever could. But instead of crying or continue screaming, he does none of those things. ]

What do you mean?

You don't know that either of us broke our promises. We're still here, but we're alive.

[ Ganymede steps closer anyway, too stubborn, even when he's being hurt, expression shuttered. ]

Why are you talking like this, Michel? Are you afraid of the future?

ΔEdgy Youthful Hangout - Treffpunkte Mall

[ganymed]

[ It doesn't take very long for Ganymede to ask Hani to meet up with him.

Why? Well, it's been a rough month, let us say. To say the least of the exact past few days.

And to have a heart-to-heart free-for-all dear cousin-to-cousin conversation while trying to enjoy their surroundings a bit might be what they need.

When the other arrives, he waves him down. Then, he will go in for a hug too. ]

Hey, Hani.

I'm glad you dropped in. How's...everything?

[tinged]

[ hani returns the hug, gentle as always ]

Should I not be the one asking you that, Ganymede?

[ not gani-kun, not at the moment. the time for whimsical affection needs to wait, though they know time waits for no one. ]

[ganymed]

[ ...Hani has a point.

He can't avoid and act like he hasn't been carrying a burden, like before. He knows that much; even with his life being erased and smoothed from the real world, traces lingering from only a feeling of obstinance (desperation), written in various disorganized pieces.

Small hints cast away the network and the conversations he's shared here...this remains an irrefutable fact. ]

...I didn't expect things to turn out the way they did.

It's reminding me how hard it is to stay strong. But, my question still stands for you too.

[ A concession, but also not going to allow Hani to escape it either. The embrace speaks a language more than words. ]

[tinged]

[ how is everything? mm… ]

Everything… hurts. Everything is… hard. I - [ not answers they’ve ever had to confess like this. ] But at the same time, I am constantly reminded of how loved I am and how much love persists through everything.

And that, itself, is enough to carry on, isn’t it? That is hope, everlasting.

continuing cw: asphyxiation and slapping a nsfw warning here for reasons

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede's next reaction to all of this is simply only human. Both of his hands reaches out for those pale fingers, which are almost completely covered in armor, except for were the skin peeks out, where they dig into the soft skin of his own neck.

There's a choked sound that escapes the blond nonetheless as he grips onto the singular hand, trying to pull it away, eyes a little unfocused as his air is cut off.

He never anticipated this. Perhaps this is a consequence of his own short-sightedness; it becomes clear that his own obstinate resistance isn't going to do much good. At the comment of 'pathetic joke' to Michel, he tries in vain: ]

N-not...

[ Nonetheless, finally, at the proper prodding, Ganymede tries to speak again, to answer, though that fails all the same. ]

Nngh, I...hngh...

[ Most humiliating of all is that his body reacts accordingly. A sort of... regrettable depraved excitement at the other man using his strength like this, and making him light-headed in the first place. But, for certain, Michel (Gorre) will get his answers. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ He lets it linger long enough to make his point — and watching with a slightly bemused fascination as Ganymede struggles, at the look in his eyes. This is... a reaction to cruelty he hasn't observed before. When he eases his grip again, it's almost with a little caress to Ganymede's throat.

The palm of his hand still rests against the warm skin there, a threat and a warning. He can certainly close that grip again. He wonders if Ganymede will provoke that again, deliberately. ]

Your answer?

[ganymed]

[ The air rushing back to him feels like a relief, yet one that compounds upon the opposite of sanctity itself; and blood has rushed downwards, making this potentially a very embarrassing discovery if the other man notices.

Ganymede is tempted to provoke Michel all the same, especially with himself feeling light-headed and distracted still. But, there was something else he wanted to do too. ]

M-Michel is...not a p-pathetic joke.

But...your words are. So desperate to live up to your little 'function', but failing miserably.

[ He's taking a few more breaths. ]

You wouldn't understand. I do want him, it's true. Even like this. [ That is perhaps the cruel part of it, an admission of this being true even after the other choked him. ] But, I...want him because he's still inside this very body, still part of you. That's why you're wrong.

You couldn't comprehend that right now, could you? That I love him—you—so much, and believe in his ability to persist. Remember what happened with Tavros and Macha? What do you think about that happening to you? It's inevitable, isn't it?!

[ ...Then, Ganymede moves to try to shove Michel right onto the throne, anticipating he's not going to be able to predict his movements in time. Even if it means that it keeps the other's hand too close to his throat when he moves forward. It's fine. ]

cw: dismemberment imagery...

[userunfriendly]

[ Data, at last. Gorre's eyes — Michel's eyes, the deep red now infinitely cold — narrow very slightly in an unmistakable expression of momentary pleasure. Was this worth the aggravation? All those direct hits to very resonant information nodes?

Denial of self. Denial of name. Denial of purpose. Disdain and disregard. "You are not what you know yourself to be." So familiar. So putrid.

He trails his fingers very lightly along Ganymede's jaw, still contemplating how he wants to respond to this. He can encourage more cruelty. The data is not insignificant simply because the target is perceived to be inhuman, is it? That, too, is relevant... ]

It is not inevitable. Tarvos and Macha had poor affinity with their initial data sets. But I... everything I am is built of his bones and blood. His corpse formed the framework for my being. I pulled him apart, piece by piece, to make a form more suited to my needs. His existence was always flooded with cruelty and pain... I gave a home to his desire to lash out against the world that had wounded him. I am the only one who understood that at his heart, he truly hated the world very nearly as much as he hated himself. And you hope to extract those mangled pieces of misery and reassemble them into a patchwork human again?

[ It's almost comical. Gorre is still musing on that, tolerably pleased, when Ganymede moves. The distraction is enough; Ganymede shoves him backwards, and his hand closes reflexively on the soft throat under his hand again. He drags Ganymede down with him, his other arm shooting out to encircle his waist and haul him intimately close as he continues. ]

You believe everything will resolve like a fairy tale. All of you. You give your pretty speeches, confident in an outcome on the basis of a single, unrelated data point. Let me tell you something true, that you will refuse to believe because it is inconvenient...

[ Closer, softer. He eases his grip again to allow Ganymede to breathe, his fingertips gently stroking his throat as he leans in to brush his lips against the shell of his ear. His whisper is soft now. ]

Even if you could succeed in bringing him back... in his heart, he would not be grateful for it. You never understood how deeply his pain ran. It is bottomless. None of you could ever fill it. I am a mercy to him.