altimit | [ closed ] Winter in September (October, November...) (dungeons + catchall)

[ Is it better that Michel says rude things with thought? But he heroically curbs the impulse to ask, because he's the soul of restraint like that. ]

My memory is clear enough for me to realize that I need to choose my battles with you wisely...

[ Because Ganymede is the type to choose all of them, clearly. Although Michel thinks he came out on top of this little skirmish. He'll be able to finish making Ganymede some proper decorations, after all. ]

[ Curb your Enthusiasm: Ft. Michel ]

Is it because you basically lose all your battles with me?

[ Ganymede asks, knowing that's not true. He's just seeing how much he can get away with now, making his expression the face of an adorable, beautiful, and affectionate little punk. ]

[ Since when? Ganymede gets the longest, most deadpan flat look for that.

He really thinks he can just cute his way out of everything, doesn't he? Just because he is, in fact, exceptionally cute? Michel reaches over with both hands and very firmly pinches Ganymede's cheeks (face). ]

[ Since forever, he just might say!

But then he gets his cheeks pinched and flails. ]

H-hey! That's unfair!

Edited (shh) 2023-09-17 20:40 (UTC)

Which part, exactly?

[ Is it because he's winning, huh?

But he doesn't actually want to pull Ganymede's adorable face out of shape. He lets go after a moment, satisfied that he's made his point clear. ]

[ Rubbing his soft face with his own hands right now... ]

The part you did just now!

[ Because that makes perfect sense. Totally. ]

I don't remember that rule.

[ Because Ganymede made it up. Michel is trying to look as aloof as a cat, but he flicks a few glances down at Ganymede. He didn't really hurt him, did he? ]

And what rules do you actually remember?

[ Ganymede doesn't seem to let his hands linger on his face for long, huffing as he lets them fall back to his sides. So he seems fine, at least. ]

[ Ah, if Ganymede is fine...

Then Michel can just give him a little smirk that clearly says, "obviously, none." He can wait in patient silence for Ganymede to interpret it. ]

[ That's it. Recalling a certain technique, Ganymede leaps into action.

By this we mean with his tiny fingers he tries to poke at Michel's sides...! ]

[ This time, he has a shirt? And he's still not particularly ticklish.

He lets Ganymede try it for a moment or two before he reaches down to see if he can capture his hands. ]

So, there were no rules. That's what I thought.

[ UNFAIR ]

I didn't say there were no rules...!

[ He says with a big pout on his face, even as his hands are caught. Maybe he can try to climb him if he lets go of them. ]

[ Michel can see at least that far in the future, thank you. Ganymede's room seems like a particularly poor place to let that happen... Although with the mess of broken mirror still on the floor, he probably wouldn't get all that carried away. ]

Now you're just adding them after the fact.

[ Smash cut to Ganymede tracking down Michel some days later because you better believe that he wants to be certain this man did NOT forget.

But hey at least they've shared kissies and stuff since then.

Wherever he is, Ganymede will find him because he asked where he was and nyoomed on over. So if he's out material picking, the blond will drop kick in. ]

Michel? Are you still at it? What're you picking? I could help!

[ He hadn't really thought twice about sending Ganymede the keywords for the dungeon, especially since he's just harvesting. The rocky desert looks a little bleak, but it yields plenty of trees for his purposes. ]

Did you take up lumberjacking? I'm almost done. I thought oak might be better than beech after all.

[ He can't do much about aesthetic evaluations beyond "Ganymede likes light colors," but it did appeal to him that the oaks grow in fields that share Ganymede's elemental alignment...

He's not really thinking about the fact that he's still wearing his sleek, midnight-black armor that he only uses on solo dungeon runs. ]

Oh, no I haven't. It's too much for my hands.

[ ...

Is he being serious, because this is a game. But either way, Ganymede isn't exactly thinking too much about any potential complications either, because of course it isn't much of a surprise that as he's smiling, adding on: ]

But, I think I can at least give it a tr...

[ Then, Ganymede's feet stop in the ground, because those sure are effects that are probably, no definitely, hitting him at close proximity. Enough that his mouth suddenly snaps shut, and his expression goes blank, his eyes distant. ]

[ Michel snorts, not surprised by that answer in either case. It's entirely possible that Ganymede is just being silly... ]

It's level two. You can just...

[ You know, be moral support. Except that Ganymede stops in his tracks, and Michel blinks in surprise at the sudden shuttering of his expression. Did he do that? ]

...Ganymede?

[ He certainly was, until now!

Ganymede seems to be present, though it's hard to tell if he acknowledges the sound of his name being said out loud. The feelings that have been buried deep are yanked hard to the surface with nowhere to run or hide.

It's an overwhelming feeling. Suffocating, like hands wrapped tightly around his throat. His own. But it's somehow more than that, like he's here, but not.

He feels weak-kneed, to the point where he falls to the ground upon his knees, messy and uncoordinated so that he also continues the descent if not for his hands that hit the ground first when he tips further forward. After a sudden tailwind into positive emotions, being smothered in something so intensely dark, and crushing all of a sudden is a bit more than he can currently handle.

But he does look up at Michel, eyes unfocused. ]

Edited 2023-09-20 23:03 (UTC)

[ It takes a moment too long for Michel to realize what it is. "Just as broken and defeated as you are..."

He curses under his breath, fumbling quickly to strip the gloves from his hands. He's too flustered to remember the menus to unequip; his thoughts take the straightest path they can. The moment the gloves are dropped, vanishing into his inventory again, the broken set bonus should release the effect.

Michel doesn't wait to find out. He kneels next to Ganymede, reaching for his shoulders to shake him very gently. He's been careful not to wear the armor around other people. It would be a harsh thing to inflict on anyone, but on this particular person... ]

Ganymede!

[ With the pressure suddenly off of him, it feels like he can breathe again. Though the adjustment process is taking a bit longer than he might imagine, him blinking more than a couple of times, to the point where he barely registers who is in front of him until he speaks.

He feels the light movement of his shoulders, and then just leans against Michel. ]

I'm...I'm here. [ ... ] Y-You won't leave, right?

[ Ganymede's words come out jumbled, logic frayed. He doesn't even understand what happened. How it happened. Of course Michel wouldn't leave.

Even if he's like this. But he can't help asking anyway and he's shaking his head, trapping to quickly take back his logic into his own hands. ]

I don't know why I asked that...it's stupid.

Edited 2023-09-20 23:56 (UTC)

[ Michel shakes his head slightly, sliding his hands up and down Ganymede's shoulders. Wait, he'd read up on this somewhat, after the mirror incident. Why can't he remember now what you're supposed to do for someone in a state like this. ]

I won't leave. I'm right here.

[ Right. Anchor people in their surroundings... wasn't it? Michel reaches down to take Ganymede's hand in his, rubbing his thumb down the center of Ganymede's palm. Something you feel, something you see...? ]

...It isn't stupid. It was my fault.

[ Ganymede blinks a couple of more times, and feels the hand in his. He's anchored here. Not anywhere else.

This place...right, he can feel himself grasping his bearings a bit more. It just is a bit of a struggle due to the fact that he isn't quite as put together as he likes himself to be. Even now he only recently acknowledged that those things that happened in the past could not be immediately moved past, but he was making progress to look forward truthfully. ]

Okay.

[ Michel is here. He won't leave. He curls fingers around the hand within his, even though it had rubbing a bit at his. Ganymede breathes, a bit easier now, enough to ask instead of accept that other comment: ]

I...I don't see how it's your fault?

My armor. I don't use it when I'm entering dungeons with other people, but...

[ Whatever explanation he gives can't be more eloquent than what's already on the armor. Although maybe Ganymede doesn't make a habit of checking those.

He'll explain more thoroughly when he's satisfied that Ganymede is recovering a little more. He gently squeezes Ganymede's hand, willing the warmth from his to convey... something. He thinks Ganymede's eyes are beginning to look just a little less lost. What else can he do? ]

...So basically you forgot to take it off.

[ He holds on tightly to the hand regardless, feeling the squeeze. He's still unreasonably scared that somehow his brain will disperse into the ether and he will forget where he is. That Michel will go away. ]

It doesn't affect you? At all?

[ These armors really are cursed if it's really the source of the issue. He tries to remember some discussion that was had on them...he'll have to think back to it later, though, stringing thoughts are hard even though his awareness and state of mind are back enough to process things. He squeezes Michel's hand finally in turn, but keeps gripping it tight, unwilling to let go. ]

Edited 2023-09-21 12:37 (UTC)

[ "At all"? Michel hesitates for a long moment while he weighs whether he can lie. After all, he doesn't know if it affects him as strongly as others. But if Ganymede checks the description later, he assumes he'll be twice as displeased. ]

I feel it... somewhat. It doesn't feel altogether different, to me. I think the effects vary by experiences...

[ He doesn't think it would hit anyone else quite as hard as Ganymede, because he knows full well what remembered experience ground into Ganymede's entire being it must have evoked. With his free hand he reaches up to run his fingers through Ganymede's hair, tucking some of it anxiously behind his ear. ]

Focus on your senses. What you feel, hear. Where you are now.

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we are timeskipping now

HERE WE GO

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i guess a cw for disassociation

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