OPEN=MAY CATCH-ALL

[rebellions]

Who: Ragna the Bloodedge and YOU?!
Where: Around Aldrip
What: Dealing with the effects of his sentencing in the healthiest ways possible [citation needed] and other opportunities to bump into Aldrip's local terrorist!
Warnings: The usual Ragna warnings (blood, violence, language) may apply. See the prompts for details!

1. THE OUTSKIRTS ► find yourself in a pinch
cw: blood, violence

[ The more he thinks about his latest encounter with the Council, the angrier Ragna feels. It's not just that Jerry managed to drag him to that whole sentencing crap against his will, which is already enough to hurt his pride, but the actual contents of the judgement that's been passed on him? He wishes he could say it's all bullshit and shrug it off, he really can't because for once, they might actually have a point, as much as he hates to admit it.

So instead of pondering the meaning of their words, he chooses to keep himself busy. It looks like the monsters have been rearing their ugly heads in the outskirts and attacking people lately, leading to the Grim Reaper deciding to take up the assignment to get rid of them. It gives him an excuse to blow off some steam and earn some buck while at it, killing two birds with one stone.

It's not exactly going as planned, as even as he's in the middle of fighting a pack of monsters, the words that had been bothering him so much lately are still stuck at the back of his mind.

' You have found yourself too emotionally tied to others, '

]

I know that.

[ He replies to his thoughts out loud, not caring whether his response will reach the Council's ears or not. He drives his sword into the nearest creature, narrowly dodging its maws. His attack cuts deep, and with one more slash, the manages to decapitate his foe.

He doesn't get much time to celebrate, as another monster lunges at him from behind. Ragna spins around, meeting it face-on with his right arm turning into dark claws that catch the incoming beast in their grip.

' It affects your decision making. '

]

I know that, dammit!

[ The creature lets out a whimper, its bones crunching and shattering in Ragna's grip; finally, it stops moving, and he lets the mangled corpse drop to the ground with a wet plop. With the final enemy defeated, Ragna's right arm transforms back to its original shape, the shadow sinking back into it.

Suddenly, white-hot pain surges through his body, emanating from that very same arm to his every nerve. Ragna falls to his knees, his breath shaky as his vision starts to blur. Focusing as hard as he can, he tries to calm himself down and hunches over, pressing his right arm to his chest as hard as he can, hoping he can somehow prevent the other monster from emerging. After a couple of seconds that feel like an eternity, the pain subdues, and the man finally manages to stabilize his breathing. ]

... I know this, too.

[ Before coming to this world, he had what, days, maybe weeks left at best? And now here he is, still alive after almost an entire year. Some would consider this lucky, but the uncertainty of his fate has been eating at him for months now. As far as he knows, he could drop dead at any moment, and if that happens... Well, it's safe to say his sentencing would be the least of the Council's worries. ]

2. THE PARK ► find yourself a hobby

[ You know how there's this picnic thing going on or whatever? Well, it just so happens that it somehow managed to attract this asshole, too. Not because he has any interest in socializing, mind you ─ no, the only reason he's here is the barbecue part. And it's not just because of free food, either! Rather than take advantage of someone else doing the hard work and enjoying the spoils, Ragna is the one working on preparing a variety of dishes from the ingredients he's brought. Cooking is one of the very few things he's actually fond of, and barbecue happens to be something of his specialty, so he might as well spending some time doing something relaxing for a change.

... Though it quickly becomes clear as a day he's overdone it a little, with the amounts of food he prepares being way too much for one person to consume. So what's the next most reasonable course of action? Drop it all on someone else so it becomes their problem, of course.

If you happen to be sitting somewhere nearby, you might find yourself approached by a certain well-known terrorist... only for him to present you with a plate filled with grilled meat and vegetables. ]

Well? What are you waiting for? Eat up, or get lost.

[ You're welcome??? ]


3. THE DOCKS ► find yourself a friend

[ So apparently, some punks have been stirring up trouble in the docks. Big deal. Being the furthest from a law-abiding citizen himself, Ragna doesn't particularly care about things like this, but since they offer money for bringing them in... he figures he might as well. (He offered to kill them, even, but the people giving him this assignment got all flustered and assured him just arresting them and bringing them to the City Hall would be more than enough. Bummer.)

Once the sun sets, he begins his highly unprofessional stake-out at the docks... which is to say he's just sitting around and watching the surrounding area, waiting for some suspicious people to show up so he can take them in and get this over with. But instead of people, it's one of the homeless cats that have made this area their home that wanders up to him. And unlike with people, Ragna finds that he doesn't mind this company too much, even going as far as sharing some of his leftovers from the barbecue with it. ]

Hey. You having a shitty day, too?

[ The cat purrs in response, happily munching on the small piece of bacon it's being treated to, and Ragna can't help but smile at the sight, reaching out to pet the animal on the head.

As long as no one's there to witness the scene, you might say his day has finally gotten slightly better. ]


4. THE OUTSKIRTS (AGAIN) ► find yourself a home


[ Another day, another trip to the outskirts to cull the monster population, earn some cash and take out his anger on the unsuspecting fauna. Or at least, that was Ragna's plan, but it goes out the window the moment he reaches the outskirts of Aldrip, where he comes across a simple, quaint building that most definitely wasn't there yesterday. At first, the man thinks he must be dreaming, then he considers the possibility of a hallucination, a trap, anything─ after all, there's no way this could be real. He knows the place, of course, he could never mistake it for anything else; it's the very church where he spent his childhood days, which were easily the best time of his life. But the house he grew up at had long since been destroyed, reduced to a pile of ashes and rubble, and his life along with it.

Before he can wrap his mind around this development or figure out what the hell is going on, his body is already moving on its own. He throws the door to the building open and disappears inside.

If anyone were to get curious about this new structure and walk inside, they will find themselves in a little chapel. Ragna is standing in the middle of the walkway, seemingly in some sort of a daze, as he doesn't react or even register another person's presence. Instead, he reaches out gingerly with his hand towards one of the pews, almost as if he's afraid it would crumble to dust upon touching. But it doesn't ─ it's here and it's real, and this realization makes Ragna's chest both fill with pleasant warmth and tighten in unbearable pain at the same time.

The man looks up at the altar before speaking up, his voice almost uncharacteristically quiet and frail. ]

... I'm home.


wildcard

If you're interested in running into Ragna this month but none of the prompts work for you, feel free to hit me up in discord game chat or at psychelocks and we can figure something out!

Comments

wildcard — text

[opheliac]

can i crash at ur place?

[rebellions]

[ Huh, that came out of nowhere. He'd ask what's up with that, but he's sure he'll hear all about it once she arrives. ]

sure

[ After a brief pause, he realizes there's something he should probably tell her about. ]

wait
I uh
kinda moved?

[ Why does he sound so unsure?? Mostly because he's never planned for it and he's still struggling to wrap his head around how all this happened. ]

come over here: [ insert the directions of how to get to the church in the outskirts here ]

[opheliac]

[ new home? interesting, she writes and saves the address on a piece of paper and on her phone. ]

ok, ill go pack a few things. i think its going to rain so i might hitch a ride there.

[rebellions]

yeah sure
I'm not going anywhere

[ Mostly he's just working on making this place a home, which doesn't really need much involvement, considering it showed up in pristine condition. Lucky him (for once). ]

[opheliac]

do i need to bring extra pillows or a blanket?

( 2 )

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal eyes the food. if nel or veyle were here, they would have a field day. probably drizzle the world's supply of spices into the meat and lose themselves in ecstasy. he feels a brief pang. being separated from nel hadn't lessened the blow. ]

Do you have anything sweet?

[rebellions]

[ Ragna's usual scowl deepens at the question, which to him comes off more like an unreasonable demand. The one time he actually went out of his way to do something nice for someone... which only proves he should never even bother. ]

You can't be serious. You're getting free food and you're still being picky?

[ He's clearly displeased with this response... but he mutters "Wait a minute," goes over to the barbecue again and, after a short while, returns with a plate with barbecued bananas stuffed with chocolate and unceremoniously places it in front of Rafal. ]

There. Happy now?

[ He couldn't possibly sound less friendly if he tried. One thing for sure, customer service is not this guy's strong suit. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ thankfully, rafal doesn't mind. in fact, he probably approves. societal niceties don't mean much to him and he prefers bluntness over anything else. his eyes light up, pleased. he much prefers the sweetness to anything else. ]

Thank you.

[ he takes it politely. ]

What brought on such generousity?

[rebellions]

[ That's... a bit of a surprise, to be honest. Ragna is pretty used to people writing him off as an asshole only a couple sentences in (admittedly, they're not wrong) and not wanting much to do with him afterwards. Which, quite frankly, works just fine for him. ]

Dunno. Maybe I'm just such a nice guy?

[ He says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Still, despite his words, he did provide the guy with the food he asked for, so... make of that what you will.

Ragna eyes Rafal, crossing his arms on his chest. It only now occurs to him that he's never come across the other man before... not that he pays much attention to most people here. ]

... Haven't seen you around. You new?

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal merely raises an eyebrow at that. he grasps the sarcasm, but he can't really see what the point of it was. maybe this guy is just really down on himself for some reason. ]

I am a new arrival, yes. The name is Rafal.

4

[entreats]

[ A new building that wasn't there before?

Of course Ange is going to check it out. Even though she hasn't necessarily found any clues by checking out the entire new city since it changed so drastically, she's not dropping the hope completely that maybe one day something will spawn here that actually does give her some answers. (And, let's be real - what better use of her time does she have anyway in a place like this?)

She didn't exactly expect it to be a chapel though from the outside. Even if Ange isn't really religious at all, she recognizes the sight immediately. Her family had a private one back on the island, after all. She saw it. Her memories from when she was little were still too foggy, but.. it had been such a predominant thing in that witch's game that there's no way she wouldn't immediately know what this place is.

It's a little strange to see something resembling religion back home here, but it's not the thing that catches her attention the most. It's definitely the person standing there--

--and the thing he says.

Because Ange was opening her mouth to speak up, but any deadpan remark dies on her tongue the moment she hears Ragna's tone. It's so different from how she's ever heard the guy, and a part of the girl wonders if she should just back out entirely. It feels like showing up right now might ruin something for him.

It's why she remains standing there, more still in the entranceway by the time he's standing near that pew - silent for a few moments until she finally speaks up. Her own voice is a little softer than the usual too. ]

.. Ragna?

[rebellions]

[ Normally, Ragna would've sensed the presence of another person before they even entered the building, to say nothing of hearing them approaching. But right now? The world could collapse around him and he'd barely even notice. In fact, it's not until he hears his own name that he snaps back to reality, spinning around to face the girl with surprise painted all over his face. ]

... Ange? What are you─

[ ... No, that's not the right question. This isn't his home, not the real one; he's still in Aldrip, and this is just... a copy, most likely. It shouldn't matter. It's just another weird thing happening in this weird world, but that's no reason for Ragna let himself get so distracted. ]

I─

[ He cuts off, words stuck in his throat. The man's grip tightens on the pew he was touching. Focus, he thinks to himself, desperately trying to think of something to say and failing miserably. ]

You, uh. Wanna take a look around...?

[entreats]

[ Well, this is.. strange, Ange thinks. It's not like Ragna at all to let people sneak up to him. Usually he's so alert, always prepared. Yet with the way he's reacting right now it is quite literally written all over his face that he had no idea she was walking up to him. What is it about this place that had him so mesmerized..? ]

.. sure. [ She says, a little slowly.

Mostly because her brain is still very much chewing on that question, even as she steps forward to move inside a little bit more. ]

Do you know this place..? [ Ange decides to just ask him outright.

After all, Ragna does not seem like a religious man. Not enough that he'd look this caught up in the thoughts of some random chapel, that's for sure. It makes her question the only logical answer for the odd mood that seems to have come over him. ]

[rebellions]

[ It feels like he's been caught red-handed doing something he shouldn't be doing, even if that objectively isn't true. So why is he so flustered...?

Ragna shakes his head, hoping that will help him to get over... whatever feeling it is that's making him act all pathetic like this. ]

... Yeah.

[ The man admits slowly, figuring there's no point in trying to hide it. He doesn't like talking about himself, and in fact avoids that like a plague, but the cat's out of the bag for this one, so he might as well be honest about it. Still, he chews his lip for a brief moment, not sure how to handle this sort of thing. ]

I─ I grew up here. [ He finally blurts out, immediately following it with a dismissive wave of hand, as if he's desperately trying to make this confession feel less important or personal. ] Well, not "here", obviously. This is just... a replica, I guess? They must've based it off my memories, or... something.

[ This might come across as crazy talk to some, but for Ragna, it's not outside the realm of possibility. It wouldn't be a first time he's come across this sort of thing, and focusing on that helps detach from his sentiment about the place... if only a little bit. ]

[entreats]

I guess that makes sense. They've been making things from our worlds appear here for a long time already now.

[ It's just that it's usually different stuff. Monsters, mostly, really. But it makes the idea of a building from Ragna's own world and own past appearing here a lot less surprising. Ange figures they're drawing directly from their memories for it, if the past few months were any indication.

Maybe it's why she seems so relatively unfazed about it, even in the face of Ragna's own awkwardness and semi-fluster about the whole thing. Ange is just still a touch more quiet than the usual, given that Ragna definitely is being pretty weird about this, and it makes her feel like being a little more careful, not wanting to step on any toes just because she sucks at being indirect. ]

Though.. if it's from your childhood, then I can understand it being a little.. [ .. honestly, she isn't even sure what Ragna is feeling right now, let alone what he's thinking. It's just obvious something is going on. ] .. strange. To suddenly see it again, I mean. Even if it's just a building without any people that'd belong there.

[ Because surely Ragna can't have lived there alone, right. Even he was a child, once upon a time. As weird as it is to imagine this guy being a kid. ]

3 the docks

[invinciblemikey]

(mostly so he knows whether the bodies he left there have been removed already, otherwise he'd get to it himself, manjiro wanders around the docks, eyes alert - he remembers what this place is like. hell, he was here, too, at a point. his now dark long hair is in a ponytail, shorts, a long-sleeved shirt... same height.

but he sees the white head of hair as he moves from an alley to another, and he leaves out a laugh, almost like the question was towards him.)

How could you tell?

[rebellions]

[ Hearing the approaching footsteps, Ragna quietly urges the stray cat to move away, just in case this ends up in a fight. He stands up, ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice, but the laugh throws him off. It's only after a moment that he realizes the newcomer is answering his question, even though it wasn't directed at him at the time.

(Also, he's bad at remembering people and tried really hard to forget the whole AU fiasco, so forgive him if he's having a hard time recognizing you, Mikey. He's the kind of person who gets fooled by a wig and sunglasses, probably.) ]

Just a hunch. I mean, how else can a day go here?

[ Ever a bundle of sunshine, Ragna lets out a snort, shaking his head. ]

[invinciblemikey]

Seems like you got a new friend, though. Is he a terrorist in training?

(there's no combative or judgemental tone in manjiro's voice. he's never been against ragna's course of actions, to the contrary, he'd encouraged it, after all. a little box becomes a sit for him, feet dangling because he can't reach the floor. :( )

Haven't seen you since that weird Aldrip thing. Been good?

[rebellions]

[ Ragna raises his eyebrow at that, studying the guy for a brief moment. Have they met before? His inability to memorize people he comes across is almost a talent, but it's not like he goes out of his way to talk with too many people here, plus the mention of "weird Aldrip thing" doesn't really narrow it down...

Aaand then it clicks. The man inhales sharply, pointing his finger at Mikey in what comes off as an accusatory manner. ]

YOU!!

[ As much as he'd like to forget that whole incident, that part was hard to ignore. Mikey's question goes almost completely unnoticed in favor of him being overly dramatic. ]

If I'm a terrorist, then what the hell does that make you?!

[ If you ask him, blowing up a place no one liked anyway (... and maybe accidentally ripping the fabric of reality apart) is way more civilized than threatening someone with a gun. Especially since he was just a painfully normal person back then! ]

[invinciblemikey]

(he's watching the gears, watching it, watching it-- click. and the way he screams that startles the poor cat, to which mikey points, sir, your new friend!!!)

Technically, that doesn't count, does it? That 'me' only existed because someone here decided to do a little boom, right? Though, I'm still totally on your side, never mad at it.

(poor ragna, he never really managed to see him in the real world, he's very loud!!)

Here for the catholic trauma

[traumaticus]

[Richard had not been in the Aldrip long enough to tell which building was a new and which not. But when he comes across a church he can't help but stop on his tracks and move closer. The architecture of the building looks so vastly different to the other ones in this city. In a way, it looked similar to the small, wooden churches of countryside that he would come across in his own world.

After a brief hesitation, he decides to approach the church, carefully cracking the door open. He's never really been a religious person, attending to services and performed a prayer only when it was required of him as a warden of the north. But he was certain that the God could see past such actions, never sensing any trace of devotion in the hymns that passed from his lips.

So, when he sets a foot inside of the church he almost expects God to strike him down for trespassing. But just like always, nothing happened. And thus demon was allowed inside the house of holy.

Richard made his way to the altar, staring at the symbols there with a neutral expression. He did not kneel down, but at least raised his hand to make a cross sign out of learned respect.]

Welcome to Angry Atheist Church

[rebellions]

[ Call it the force of habit, but it didn't even occur to Ragna to lock the chapel up during the day... Sister always left that door open, saying anyone would be welcome in the house of God or some such, though now that he thinks about it, he's pretty sure they never had any visitors anyway. Still, he figures he might as well continue this tradition, if only out of respect for his late caregiver.

With all that in mind, it shouldn't be too surprising to find someone inside the church, especially since it's much closer to the city than it was back in his world. Still, Ragna raises his eyebrow at the newcomer; even if some curious gawkers are to be expected, he didn't expect to come across someone actually familiar with or interested in the faith itself.

He approaches the man (?) with his usual scowl, although he's not planning to kick him out. At least not until he finds out what his intentions are. ]

... Hate to break it to you, but if you're hoping for a sermon, they won't be any.

[ His respect for the old hag doesn't go deep enough to convince him to become a man of the cloth, okay. ]

[traumaticus]

[Ragna, please. What kind of church locks its doors? Especially one barren as this one.

The lack of any notable decorations and the figures of the saints does catch Richard's eyes. Even the most shabbiest and loneliest on the side of the road in the countryside had some pictures or symbols placed upon an altar. Huh, weird. Maybe the priest is keeping them hidden outside of service to keep them safe from bandits? Weird.. but that's the only explanation he can come up with. Guess this happens when there's no religious governance. Shame.

When Ragna approaches him Richard turns around, his expression faltering a bit. What... a peculiar looking man. Tall, broad shoulders and wild white hair. Donned in intense red like a sunset. Though, what stood out to him the most was the man's eyes. Each reflecting different color, like an irregular pair of painted glass. Just like Richard's own.

Well.. Guess the church was always the place that accepted the wretched, miscreants and those plagued with abnormalities. In less than a heart beat Richard's face is back to its usual neutral state.]

I did not think so. The bells weren't ringing.

[rebellions]

[ One ran by a paranoid atheist with untreated PTSD, duh.

Anyway, the newcomer's reaction isn't a surprise to Ragna ─ he's used to people giving him a weird look when they first see him, after all. It doesn't bother him, really ─ more often than not, it helps make people stay away from him, and that's always a plus in his book.

The man shakes his head, figuring the guy might have misunderstood what he was trying to say with that comment. ]

Not just now. I mean period.

[ Even if he wanted to try and hold some service (which he most definitely doesn't), he's still not qualified for that. He might have read a passage or two from Sister's books out of boredom, but very little of that stuck, if anything.

... In other words, he's not exactly here to make this church into a professional house of prayer. Anyone feeling the need to do anyything with their faith will have to work for it themselves. ]

[traumaticus]

[Qué???]

For what reason?