![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
.:First Party Run, Recreational Runs & More:. [closed]
Who ⬤ Ganymede and Co.
What ⬤ Dungeon-crawlin', exploring, talking with people. What can go wrong?
Now featuring some potentially cw-worthy memshares, or content involving that.
When ⬤ Following first meetings, and anything related to the below subjects.
Where ⬤ Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast, ΔHidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Root Towns
Content Warnings ⬤ Mentions of drunken behavior.
Further mentions and displays of captivity, kidnapping, stalking, and subjects relating to suicide.
[ Following some enlightening discussions that have more or less blossomed into actual plans, an unlikely band of four adventurers assemble!
Names added to friends' lists, details hashed out, which means one thing and one thing only, that the next point some adventuring is happening. Though, given that it is everyone's (probable?) first time, it seems that there is no way for anybody to choose specific places or areas they might like!
Thankfully, that's what the random Area Exploration mechanic is for.
Ganymede steps forward, and just decides to select a perfect set of coordinates for everyone...
...Not! As if even he can be decisive at this point. He lets everyone know that these are the keywords they'll be working with. "Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast", that is.
So once the Chaos Gate is utilized for them to all cross over...
Welcome to the wonderful location of Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast! Apparently it's an area that has a rocky desert-like appearance that stretches out for miles on end. Not to mention, there is a wonderful-looking flesh wall that is the proper beginning of the dungeon crawling, and entry point into the actual dungeon that is bound to be teeming with treasure and creatures.
But, they're not inside that wall as of yet. ]
RESULTS: Can be viewed here, for our reference!
What ⬤ Dungeon-crawlin', exploring, talking with people. What can go wrong?
Now featuring some potentially cw-worthy memshares, or content involving that.
When ⬤ Following first meetings, and anything related to the below subjects.
Where ⬤ Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast, ΔHidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Root Towns
Content Warnings ⬤ Mentions of drunken behavior.
Further mentions and displays of captivity, kidnapping, stalking, and subjects relating to suicide.
[ Following some enlightening discussions that have more or less blossomed into actual plans, an unlikely band of four adventurers assemble!
Names added to friends' lists, details hashed out, which means one thing and one thing only, that the next point some adventuring is happening. Though, given that it is everyone's (probable?) first time, it seems that there is no way for anybody to choose specific places or areas they might like!
Thankfully, that's what the random Area Exploration mechanic is for.
Ganymede steps forward, and just decides to select a perfect set of coordinates for everyone...
...Not! As if even he can be decisive at this point. He lets everyone know that these are the keywords they'll be working with. "Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast", that is.
So once the Chaos Gate is utilized for them to all cross over...
Welcome to the wonderful location of Coiling Friend's Tiny Beast! Apparently it's an area that has a rocky desert-like appearance that stretches out for miles on end. Not to mention, there is a wonderful-looking flesh wall that is the proper beginning of the dungeon crawling, and entry point into the actual dungeon that is bound to be teeming with treasure and creatures.
But, they're not inside that wall as of yet. ]
RESULTS: Can be viewed here, for our reference!
no subject
...not piercings, or dyeing your hair?
[ As close as they are, it's unlikely that Ganymede misses the way he tenses and his heart beats a little faster for the next question, this time in unease rather than excitement. ]
It's nothing like that. Logical puzzles always came naturally to me... that's all. It isn't on the level of genius, and it isn't hard work. It's a field with acceptable hours that will pay reliably.
[ Had it been an accomplishment to exert even that much effort? Maybe. But the idea of feeling proud of it feels more pathetic, somehow. ]
no subject
...Why would I get either of those? Piercing anywhere other than ears sounds like it might hurt. And dying my blond hair when I was that young? I think my parents would have definitely flipped.
[ That is exactly the point, though. Ganymede clearly never was a rebellious child. Not really. The
brattinesssullenness only came after the terrible things that happened in his life, ironically enough.As it is, Ganymede doesn't know why Michel's heart speeds up. He still thinks being engineer needs at least a great amount of intelligence that he doesn't possess, but he thinks on the other hand, his own point about praise might be proven. Unless no one compliments Michel on his smarts regularly, hmm... ]
Did you ever imagine yourself doing something else?
no subject
So you were always an obedient child. [ He absolutely knew it. His fingers lift to comb through that blond hair again when Ganymede mentions it, a little more confidently this time, the pads of his fingertips brushing Ganymede's ear. ] It's not as if ear piercings don't hurt...
[ Wouldn't they all be about the same? But he gives a slight shrug for that question. It's not as if he even imagined this job, precisely. Just that the parameters met what he needed. ]
I didn't. Unless you mean when I was a child. Did you?
[ Opposite, again, he thinks but doesn't say. Ganymede probably hadn't, because he had something he loved that he would have pursued over all else. Michel hadn't, because he simply hadn't cared about anything. ]
no subject
Is something wrong with that? [ A small huff. Then, he feels those fingertips lightly touch along his ear, which makes a smidgen of heat rises to his cheeks and his voice soften: ] When you're younger, it doesn't really hurt that much to get ears pierced.
[ Or it didn't for him. One of his fingers still against the other's back carefully winds a strand of long hair around it, just a bit. He's feeling a little bit bolder as well, though he considers that maybe they should sit down on the bed at some point. It's probably not going to be good to stand in this position for long—well, they're in a game and all, but still. ]
Yes, I did. I liked to take care of the animals on my farm, but I always knew from a young age what I wanted to be. When you were a child...did you imagine anything? Anything at all?
[ All children have dreams, right? Even if they may, in fact, be fleeting ones... ]
no subject
[ There's nothing wrong with that at all. It's sweet, how much Ganymede cares about his family, and his parents. And it aches -- in more than one way. Michel thinks Ganymede accompanying the red-haired man who'd just murdered his brother in order to protect his father.
He's so absorbed in thought that for a second he barely realizes that the gentle tug on his hair is the brush of Ganymede's fingers against it. That, for a moment, shortcircuits all other thought; the pause before he manages to rally enough to answer drags longer. ]
...So, you really were a country boy.
[ The "I knew it" in Michel's voice is what it takes to get him onto a more even keel. This is... fine. Soothing, even. He shifts his weight a tiny bit, trying to ignore the feeling of his bones settling from standing in place for so long. He hadn't thought anyone could give or receive a hug for this long... but after what he saw, maybe it's expected. ]
I wanted to be a soldier.
[ Comical, for so many reasons. Not the least of which is just how bad he is at standing to attention right now. He finally decides himself and gives Ganymede the most tentative of nudges towards the bed. Hopefully Ganymede doesn't think he's being pushed away. ]
no subject
[ Don't mind his mind catching up after the affirmation that Michel gives...it's embarrassing. In a way that makes him feel a bit grounded.
Even in the wake of the recollection again of the tragedy that made him believe that there was no point in struggling. That threw cracks and shattered everything he knew, when his footing became ever less so. When he lost his brother, what happened after... ]
A soldier? I can see it. You do seem like someone who would value that kind of strength that a warrior would have. Even though children are impressionable...it feels like a quality that would stick with you.
[ Even if Ganymede is better at keeping position better than Michel, which doesn't exactly cross his mind. Though, he does receive the nudge, pulling back for a moment, backing up a little, before plopping himself down on the bed. Still, he reaches out to Michel afterwards. ]
no subject
For a moment it makes Michel want to bolt. If Ganymede really is as gentle as that then he should find comfort from someone who isn't entirely icy, sharp edges. And if he isn't, then this is all... Michel stares at Ganymede's hand in silence before slowly, as if in a trance, reaching out to take it and sitting down beside him again. ]
I wanted to be strong, yes. It was a child's daydream.
[ There's a note of finality in that that he doesn't know how to soften. But the look he turns towards Ganymede is just a little lost, and the hand that isn't holding Ganymede's slides towards Ganymede's back before faltering again. Talking is hard. Gestures like this are harder. ]
no subject
The truth paints a different picture. Those pieces of him that once shattered like glass have steadily been finding their way together again.
It's strange, he thinks. How he can feel it within himself to smile, after someone has witnessed one of his most painful memories that makes him feel small, weak, and insignificant. Maybe it's because he witnessed Michel's. Or maybe...it's because despite that, they're here together. That they're able to weather it slowly. Not completely. But bit by bit. And that makes a world of difference. ]
...Sometimes people think little of what children desire or say. But, in Greece, I know for a fact that my people consider being a soldier a great honor. My brother, Ilus, was one too.
[ Ganymede sounds a little wistful, sad notes echoing in his tone, but even so, even if Michel's hand falters, with the one he's still holding the other's, he holds on firmly. Even when he feels weak, newly reopened wounds slow to close even now. Still, he gives the hand within his a squeeze. ]
I don't know if I could say anything congratulatory, but I'm glad you told me. Not even because you wanted to be exactly that. But because you unrepentantly wanted something and told me that you did. Even if that's changed now, I think saying that...takes strength.
no subject
In your memory, he was... the way I imagined them as a child. Brave, and steadfast.
[ Standing firm to protect someone vulnerable. The way he had always seen Didier. To be able to be someone like that ideal image would have been a great honor, if Michel could have been that kind of person.
The memories are old, but too raw, clawed-over by seeing them again. With that body? Pathetic. You're sobbing again...
He closes his eyes, his jaw going tight as he wills himself to empty his thoughts. It's old. Long-gone. What Ganymede had gone through, then and now, seeing it again -- that's so much heavier. And yet Ganymede is still finding words of encouragement for him, warm enough that he can almost believe them. ]
Wanting things takes strength. That is... [ Is he calmer in the grips of his nightmares? He can feel his words starting to falter again the moment he tries to express it. His hand on Ganymede's back tightens a little in nervousness and frustration. ] Wanting... to leave the past behind, and looking towards the future i-is... incredibly courageous.
[ Terrifyingly strong. Terrifyingly honest, and bright. ]
no subject
Warm, yet soft. Steadying and grounding.
Michel states that Ilus is brave and steadfast. In that very moment. He is glad, and yet he is angry, and sad all at once. It's not something that conjures a wealth of indignation to be brought within him, but all the same it doesn't give him relief to the point where he believes he'll be complacent...it's why he can cherish such words, wanting to hear what Michel says next. ]
When you say that...I think, just maybe, I can start to believe that.
[ Even when he makes those statements about looking forward, he always felt so hollow inside. Like he was moving for the sake of moving. But, in reality, something pulled him back down...back into the past, the one he has forsaken, because he wanted to get over that pain, yet did not know how. Maybe, he still doesn't know how.
But he wants to. He shifts so he is closer, and closer, and so he can lean a bit—against the other man's shoulder. ]
no subject
His thumb slides lightly over the back of Ganymede's hand at the thought, tracing over his knuckles. Even desperation holds a spark of hope.
Hope has a way of forsaking those who give it a home... ]
I pray that you can.
[ I pray that it doesn't betray you, he thinks but doesn't say.
Michel almost startles when Ganymede leans against him. It's a strange feeling: not comfortable, but not unwelcome. Warm. When had he become tall enough to be this kind of support for someone else? He feels his worldview tilting, realigning, coming that slightest bit more into accord with what he felt in his heart should have always been true. In a way... it's the deepest refutation possible of everything in that memory.
Careful, cautious, awkward, he winds his arm around Ganymede to just hold him there. ]
no subject
But maybe he wanted to show a bit more vulnerability. To someone he feels he's started to truly trust, even if the word 'trust' has not been voiced out loud by him that he can remember or recall. Maybe he already has said it to Michel.
It doesn't matter, though. Michel grants voice well enough to his own thoughts, which make him feel...comforted. And he is afraid to even say it but, 'safe', as well.
Something he hasn't felt in a very, very long time.
And for awhile, Ganymede has no other words, letting the other hold him still. Until the other says something, or maybe until he doesn't. But whatever the case, the blond manages this: ]
...I won't forget you've said that.
no subject
He's... afraid, he thinks. The way he had been the moment Ganymede collapsed, or the night Neige messaged him. It's the awareness that after so long, there are still things he could lose. The pressure of that weighs down his tongue. But he can at least do this much. He holds Ganymede in uncomfortably comfortable silence until Ganymede finally breaks it and Michel stirs like a man waking from a dream. ]
...Good. You boasted about that memory.
[ So, he hopes Ganymede remembers. As much as he fears it. He lets out a slow sigh and leans back very slightly as he runs his hand over Ganymede's hair once more. ]
Do you... need to be returning to Thanatos?
[ Real world comforts, and real world needs. Michel has long since lost track of time while they've been like this. ]
no subject
Though, that said, when the other states that he boasted about the memory, there is a trace of embarrassment. It's fine. After all, there's something else happy about it too. That Michel recalls that. ]
I do.
Not to mention, if we're not careful, we could both be finding ourselves asleep in the middle of playing a game.
[ He tries not to lean into the hand, and fails.
Also, he's not exactly looking forward to the idea of seeing if the game can invade their dreams too. That said, the blond gives the other male's a hand another squeeze, before letting go. ]
You better take care...alright? I will see you again, Michel.
[ It's just the two of them, so, saying Michel's name comes easy. So easily, when he knows it now. After waiting to hear a parting, he smiles just a little, and then logs right off.
Good thing too, because Thanatos was about to pounce him IRL. ]