everyone's having a good time

[laserguy]

Who: Scott Summers and various
Where: Aldrip
What: Some closed prompts for the event. A few open prompts featuring the Gnosia questionnaire, direct aftermath of Phoenix!Scott killing Ryoji, and a little time after where Scott's having a Time back at his house.
Warnings: Some descriptions of death and burning. PTSD??


If you wanna plot something out, please hit me up at currykirby.

Comments

open; gnosia questionnaire

[laserguy]

[Dude, the last thing he wants to do is answer some stupid questionnaire in his pajamas, but here he is, dressed in a plain shirt and sleep shorts while staring at the screen in front of him. Getting a small look at the person that's across from him, Scott can only hope that they're just as grumpy as him or at least in a similar state. Focusing on that feeling is at least better than focusing on that anxiety that's gripped him as he stares at the questions, a small frown tugging at the corner of his mouth.

All this is really fucking personal.

Normally, he'd shove his hands in the pockets of his jacket, but he can't, because pajamas. So, Scott can only mentally count to ten before sighing, something in him finally relenting as he focuses on the person trapped in this game with him.]

Let's just get this over with so I don't freeze out here.

[He'll even answer the first question if needed.]

[solitarysoul]

[Levi is, in fact, very grumpy. He was doing great hiding away in his apartment and keeping safe from whatever the fuck was going on outside. But the city or the council or whatever wrote that message on the tablets clearly had other plans. He's not in pajamas or anything, but he's got no shoes on. (And is unarmed, which he's also very annoyed about.)

He sighs and rolls his eyes.]

Yeah. Maybe we can make this quick.

D-do, um, do you want me to go first?

[laserguy]

[Well, at least he's stuck with someone he knows. Probably a good thing?? Unless Levi is infected, which. Uh. Bad. At least he still has a heal on him just in case something goes south.

...He'll just hope that he doesn't have his instant kill attack in return. Clearly the plan is to heal before he has a chance to do that. Great plan.]

Yeah, sure. If you're good with that man.

[First, this quiz thing. Suddenly, the chill of the outside air doesn't really feel like much. Probably helps that it's summer anyway.]

[garbagecanned]

[bro...

he's obviously disheveled and half awake. he's also in his pajamas, and his hair is sticking up everywhere, and he rubs his eyes.]

Dude... why did they wake me up from a perfectly good sleep?

[but he does recognize the voice before he sees the face through the screen. it's Scott... !

which is a blessing and a curse. because that thing that's coiled up inside him is ready to lash out, but he's still. trying to stifle it. he doesn't want to hurt Scott, or anybody else.]

Let's do this.

[laserguy]

[At least Yosuke is suffering just like him, both of them being brought out here in their pajamas. Just for that, he's a little less annoyed, and okay, it is kind of nice to see a familiar friendly face. Yeah yeah, threat of gnosia and everything, but honestly it's kind of hard to imagine Yosuke being infected. He's not fully ruling it out because this place is sort of fucked like that, but he finds it a little easier still to loosen up. Release some of that anxiety in his chest.]

Yeah, we'll get through this.

[He can trust Yosuke to get through with this with him, right?]

I feel like I can answer for the both of us regarding this first question.

['Do you like hurting people?']

No, of course not.

[...Although, what is this questionnaire anyway? Besides being the world's worst icebreaker?? Anyone can lie on these things, right?]

[melnik]

[ Discerning what is a dream and what is the waking world is becoming more difficult as the days like this pass. Yet Miller has drifted between the two with uncharacteristic ease and coming to in what seems like an outdoor interrogation chamber would fit the bill as well if it weren't for the fact that Scott is standing there across from him looking completely out of place. He squints into the bright light of the screen, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes.

Had he ever rested them this evening? Unlike Scott, he is still dressed in his regular clothes, but then again, there is a growing sense of vigilance as the city around them begins to shift. As the infection makes itself known.

Miller shakes his head as though disoriented, looking around himself as his eyes adjust. ]

Now hold on. What is going on here?

[ The screen, however, seems to pay no mind to his request for an explanation. A number one appears on it followed by the first question, DO YOU LIKE HURTING PEOPLE? and Miller says nothing more at first, simply staring at Scott with a furrowed brow. ]

I don't understand... Is this some kind of sick joke?

[laserguy]

[Well, guess he's with someone that's just as grumpy as him. Probably even grumpier.]

The world's worst version of an icebreaker.

[And he hated them enough in high school. Being forced to socialize with others pretty much annoyed him back then, but now there's a stupid twist of 'do you like hurting people.' Like what the hell man. Guess he shouldn't expect anything else with Aldrip... especially with how fucked up things are with the gnosia infection.

He once again wonders of Miller is infected and fuck he hopes not. Maybe he should just blast the older man with a heal just in case, but probably best to not waste that power just because he's a little stressed. Play it cool.]

...We'll probably have to go through this. [He can try blasting it with his powers, but...]

[apeshift]

[ At the hint of the cool breeze against his cheek, Marco snaps from asleep on his feet to alert panic so quickly that it's immediately clear he's well-used to rude awakenings. It's hard to tell under the dimness of night, but for a moment a patch of skin on his arm seems darker than the rest, almost as if coarse black fur's growing out of it - and then a second later it's gone, and it's just a normal if scrawny looking teenager standing there shivering in an oversized t-shirt.

He's not sure who the guy in front of him is, but judging by his equally annoyed expression and sleepwear, this probably isn't the culprit behind his sudden abduction. Not that he's letting his guard down in the slightest; this 'gnosia' thing might not be exactly the same as Yeerks, but mind control is mind control and he's dealt with that long enough to know not to trust anyone blindly. For a moment, he considers morphing to Leeran to take advantage of the telepathy...but no, that form had even less combat ability than his own frail weak human body, and revealing such a major card now would only paint a target on his back.

Best plan of action would probably be to just go along with what this guys says: get this over with, and get out of here. Marco tucks his hands into his pockets and leans back casually, trying to project an attitude of typical teenage apathy. ]

Couldn't agree more. They couldn't have at least teleported us somewhere warm and cozy with an unlimited snack bar?

[ The first question pops up: do you like hurting people? He rolls his eyes so hard they're almost at risk of falling out of his skull. ]

Well, that depends. Did they drag me out of bed at ass o'clock at night to answer a stupid survey?

[laserguy]

[Ah, that apathetic stance from Marco is wholly familiar. Yeah, he feels that on a spiritual level or whatever. Sure, he's been pulled out of his loner outcast mindset months ago, but it doesn't mean that Scott still isn't a shithead from time to time. It tends to come out when he's cranky, like right now, although any irritation he has isn't directed towards the other teen but just the situation.

It's easy for him to distinguish now and it helps that Marco is being a smartass about everything too.

He'll even do him a solid and not comment about the patch of skin that turned a different shade of red for him with fur coming out. It just makes him curious more than anything, wondering and maybe hoping that he's a mutant like him. Even with the other mutants that finally arrived here, Scott would never say no to more.

Well, unless they're like super evil.]

I think they're excluding themselves, otherwise everyone would say 'yes.'

[Although, if it came down to it, Scott still wouldn't enjoy hurting someone, even for this. However, not saying that out loud.] But obviously the answer is 'no.'

[He stares at Marco as if hoping the other teen will agree.]

closed; scott, kurt, and rogue

[laserguy]

[Honestly, he was half-tempted to just ignore Rogue's message.

They didn't exactly have a great conversation the last time they talked, but despite some of his misgivings regarding the older mutant, Scott isn't just going to ignore her call for them to meet up. A lot of shitty things are happening with the Gnosia crap and he doesn't want her to get hurt, let alone any of the other mutants. So, he's here at the designated meeting place, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket with a certain solemnness that he normally doesn't display. Look, he really is worried.

...A part of knows that this may be a trap too, but... he had to check this out. At least he has a heal on him??]

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt shows up on time. As expected, he bamfs in with a puff of smoke. He raises his hand with a cheery wave.]

Hey, how's it going?

[He's doing a good job of being his usual self on the outside. But on the inside, he feels twisted and tormented. Haunted by his worst memories and filled with an urge to take the lives of others. Especially Scott and Rogue. This new part of him wants to free them from the pain of their lives, and to send them to the only One who can truly judge them. Part of him wants to act right away. His power could make it easy... but it hesitates for the moment. He can't tip his hand in front of two of the strongest mutants he knows, after all. Just keep playing it cool and wait for the right moment...]

[southernchere]

[ after some little time, rogue too, joins at the meeting spot with scott and kurt. and she lands with ease and approaches the duo, but keeping a safe distance between the two boys. because of word of mouth (and what she has seen from the skies), this deadly infection can latch onto anyone and cause people to go extremely violent without warning. does she want to put trust in scott and kurt that they wouldn't surrender to whatever that's contaminating the people? of course. but she isn't a gullible woman, either. ]

Hey, Hons. I've tried to contact Morph to meet us here too, but.... they're ain't answering anymore. Ya'll farin'?

closed to ange

[laserguy]

[His hands are gripped tightly around a pale neck, skin burning off and fingers digging into exposed muscle and yet, he doesn't stop. He doesn't want to stop. He killed Jean Kotone he killed the red haired girl. The one that calls himself Death took her and-- he will take everything in return. He'll make him nothing. As if ignited by his thoughts, those flames burn even hotter around him, scorching anything close by and laying waste to the motionless body that has long stopped struggling.

He was supposed to heal this body.

He's burning Wolverine-- he's burning the boy beneath him. He's betraying Professor Xavier-- he's betraying his friend. He's going against everything he wanted to do. He's betraying the red haired girl's wishes. He knows he doesn't even have to check for a pulse anymore. He wanted this-- he's not a murderer.

He's still burning the body beneath him. He can't even recognize his face anymore. Maybe that's just the flames flickering across ignited skin though. The flames that make up the wings around him burns bright still.

After all, he wants to reduce every bit of him to nothing.]

...

[For full context, Scott looks more like his comics self right now, as seen here. Just also as a fire bird too.]

[entreats]

[ It's hard to not notice the commotion. And though in these circumstances it's usually a better idea to move away from sounds like that rather than head towards them, Ange can't quite help it. Everything feels like it's getting more and more chaotic, and there's a part of her that definitely cares much more about making sure her friends don't get caught up in any of this than really consider self-preservation.

She doesn't necessarily expect to find a friend though when she reaches the source of the sound. And yet-- She did just find a friend, even if it takes a moment to realise. Scott doesn't fully look like himself right now, after all. It's not the same look as the way she came across him earlier this month, but similarly to back then, it's like she can slowly recognize her friend the more she looks at him.

.. or rather, the more she looks at this-- this disaster site. Scott standing there, burning something. Someone. Ange had made sure to ask him earlier if he was Gnosia, and he told her he wasn't, and she trusted him. For a moment she worries she was wrong, but this-- this isn't the way the Gnosia kill, right? People say it's not. So what's going on then? And who is that half-charred corpse Scott is holding? The burning is so bright that Ange can't even immediately identify the other person.

Her heart pounds so rapidly in her chest at the sight of all this and all the unanswered questions that she can hear it all the way up in her ears, even over the sounds of this chaos.

And yet-- she doesn't run. She can't turn her back on this.

Instead she manages to open her mouth after a moment of just being frozen up at the sight of this, calling out: ]

Scott!

[ She isn't even sure whether he'll hear her, or realise she's there. Maybe drawing his attention right now might even be dangerous.

But-- screw that. She has to make sure Scott is okay. She has to know what's going on--! ]

[laserguy]

[There's an unfamiliar-- familiar voice calling out to him.

Why should it matter? The one that calls himself Death is not fully gone, his putrid stench is still filling the air. He's still solid enough for him to grip and as such, it isn't enough. He needs to be ash-- he needs to wipe him off the face of this planet and he will because he is fire and life incarnate. His gloves continue to burn the neck he's gripping and if parts of Ryoji's corpse starts to break apart and fall limply to the ground, then good.

It will not take much longer.

.....

There's something in him, however, that doesn't fully finish the job, not yet, the flames not necessarily dying down, but almost holding still as he sets his visor gaze to the red haired girl not far away. Not Kotone-- not Jean-- who is that...? Somehow a name pops in and there's familiarity even though it shouldn't be. It's Ange. It's another red haired girl. ...Don't be ridiculous, everything is always red. But somehow, he knows that is her actual hair color. While he doesn't attack the newcomer, he doesn't exactly look friendly either, not with the shape of a phoenix still radiating off his form.

The reasoning behind Scott's current behavior is probably clear, there's a still body not too far away. The slain form of one Kotone Shiomi with a gaping hole in her chest.]

open; direct aftermath of ryoji death

[laserguy]

[Maybe you caught a glimpse of fire from far away or you sensed a disturbance in the Force. Or maybe you just so happened to be in the area, but it's rather difficult to miss one regular Scott Summers holding Kotone to him. Maybe a normal sight on a regular day, except for the fact that there's a gaping hole in her chest and there's blood all over her and the sobbing teenager. But he doesn't pull away still, despite the blood that's soaking into his own clothes.

He doesn't want to let her go. He swears he can still feel some small warmth from her body-- besides, he can't leave her alone. N-not after he failed to protect her, not after he failed to heal Ryoji not after that burning force consumed him. He doesn't know what the fuck he is supposed to do right now and he doesn't care to think about it. He wants to stay here with Kotone until everything is okay again. Scott knows he doesn't make sense, but once again, he doesn't care. He's only this much okay because Ange helped him (she left for a moment, leaving a blue butterfly to watch over him, but he doesn't fully notice). He just wants to bury her face against her, close his eyes and pretend for just a second that she's okay, even though she has never been this lifeless and still.

Scott doesn't even want to look at the charred corpse of his friend (the body so burnt that maybe only close friends can recognize him), or else he may no longer be able to stop the way his body threatens to heave and expel the contents of its stomach. He just pulls Kotone's body closer to him, as if she's still the only person that can help him cope with everything that's happened. Maybe he can hide the way his hands shake by doing so.

Surely, Scott can use some words of encouragement... or not. wonk wonk. I just ask that you don't kill him, because Ange is gonna come back at some point to take him back home.]

[izanagis]

[Why does it feel like the world is always on fire?

Yu lost sight of Yosuke and Mikey somewhere along the way, and while attempts to find them have left him exhausted, he can't just stop. Not with everything... well, like this. This, the memory of desperate rage in Yosuke's eyes. The stench of death and fire in the air. The hunched form of a friend, slumped, sobbing, holding...

The breath he inhales is sharp; painful.

It's hard to say what hurts more: the sight of a friend, fallen, brutalized, or the grief that weighs on Scott's shoulders in the wake of it. He pushes both of those aside, for now, shutting them away for another time. It's not just the memory of him relying so heavily on Scott that draws him forward; Yu can't change the fact that any of this has happened, but he can, at the very least, be there for the people he cares about.

His footsteps are soft, on approach, and his fingers rest for a moment on Scott's shoulder --a small gesture to announce his presence-- before he moves closer, putting his arm around the other boy's shoulder.]

[laserguy]

[A part of him is aware that someone else is here with him, witnessing the sight-- witnessing everything. Him with Kotone's body, Ryoji's charred body not too far away... but even with that knowledge, he doesn't pull away from his girlfriend's still form, not until the comforting touch of Yu's fingers rests on his shoulder. The teen will probably notice how Scott shakes underneath his grip, those sobs continuing to wrack his form even as he eventually pulls his tear stained face away from her body to look up at his friend.

He looks so lost.]

Y-Yu... I...

[He's sorry, he needs help, he didn't want any of this to happen. He doesn't know what he wants to say first, Scott's not entirely sure that he can yet, and so he simply gives up on that. Instead, he adjusts himself slightly, body moving so that he can cry against the older teen while never fully letting go of Kotone. Having Yu close, it's easy to feel the difference now, the feeling of how warm and alive he is compared to Kotone and that brings a fresh wave of tears to his eyes.

She... she's gone. For now. She will probably come back, but seeing her get stabbed by Ryoji-- having her like this. It doesn't make anything any easier.]

[coordinatroll]

[ In a game like this, knowledge is the most important weapon. Mitama knows this well, and as such has been watching the most recent developments between the Chosen ─ no, between the Gnosia and the human factions ─ from the safety of Aldrip rooftops. When someone needs a push or an opportunity to go in for the kill, she'll do her best to support them and make an opening to ensure the Gnosia's victory. When someone tries to intervene, either as a healer or a protector, she'll use her magic to make them fail. Really, it's like she was born for the role of the follower, her power set uniquely tailored to pulling the strings from afar instead of fighting on the front lines.

This time, her meddling wasn't necessary. One thing led to another, and now there are two dead bodies on the ground. That makes it even for both sides, which, given the circumstances, is not ideal. Mitama jumps down, landing lightly on her feet a couple of meters away from Scott. She briefly considers incapacitating him and taking him somewhere where he can be finished off by one of the Gnosia, but the butterfly fluttering nearby gives her a pause. It's not hard for her to recognize Ange's magic is at play here, and she frowns slightly as she arrives at that conclusion. That girl isn't someone she wants after her at the moment, so unfortunately she finds herself forced to shelf that idea for now.

She lets out a sigh. Things can never be easy, can they? ]

... What a boring outcome.

[laserguy]

[Maybe months ago he would've snapped at such a comment. Not only are the words callous, but so is Mitama's tone. The implied cruelty would've made him upset, defensive in a manner that used to be really befitting of Scott. Now, after months of being in this world, that feeling isn't there. Although, maybe it's the fact that he just killed a friend so brutally that's staying his reaction more than anything else. There is blood on his hands now and not just from holding Kotone's cooling body.

She may be disappointed to see Scott only pull his face away from the body he's cradling to look at her with a fragile and half-broken expression, far from the individual that carried a cosmic space force in his body. Far from the person that kept Ryoji to the ground as he burned skin and muscle, only stopping from turning him into complete ash due to Ange's intervention.]

M-Mitama...?

[Was she normally this cold? It's hard to think right now, mind numb and just a little hysterical from the past hour's events. Maybe he should be worried about his own safety but right now, Scott doesn't even care.]

[jaganshi]

[ Hiei.. well. He'd seen the fire. He'd also been tracking Ryoji to avenge a certain person he refuses to call a 'friend' and yet was fully ready to push his hand through a human's chest at the first opportunity. The demon of course does not announce himself, instead touching down not far from Scott and trodding closer with careful, quiet steps.

It takes the demon a moment to say anything, gathering his thoughts amidst the chaos of what is going on and all the assets he has set to protect to the best of his ability. Well.. and revenge that he had felt he needed to seek actively and has now abruptly stopped needing to seek out. He may not stick around long, his mind ticking away at those he needed to stick close to, or at the very least keep a remote eye on, until whatever the hell is going on has slowed or stopped.

For the moment he will neglect to bring up Scott's tears, as much as he may normally roll his eyes about it. ]

You did the right thing.

[ Neutralizing the threat, at least, is a step. And now he inadvertently owes Scott, though he won't say as much right now. ]

[laserguy]

[Of all the people he expected to be here, Hiei honestly wasn't high on his list. But whatever surprise or confusion he normally may have about the demon's presence is minimal, pushed to the far back of his mind, as he's still consumed by everything that's going on around him right now. The mutant simply pulls his tear stained face from the body he's clinging to, looking at Hiei for a few seconds before he shakily shakes his head.

N-no, this can't be the right thing. He knows it's not. H-he didn't want to kill Ryoji-- kill his friend. Ryoji was infected, he wouldn't have hurt Kotone normally. Kotone wouldn't want this to happen and the thought of going against her last wish stings just as hard. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, let alone kill them, but that's what happened. He can't deny that fact.

More than that, he burnt Ryoji to something nearly unrecognizable.

His body shudders as another half formed sob breaks free, pointedly doing his best not to look in Ryoji's direction.]

I... I was supposed to heal him, Hiei.

[His voice is quiet, crack and wounded. Admitting that out loud is so hard, but it's true. He had the ability to help Ryoji. He's a doctor.]

dw scott your day's about to get worse

[memori3s]

[ Something feels inexplicably wrong. It's what has Minato circling back to where he'd left Scott and Kotone with Ryoji.

The scene makes Minato's knees go weak. They hit the ground as he presses a hand against his forehead, his mind struggling to parse what he's seeing. There's Scott with Kotone clutched in his arms. Her body's limp like a marionette puppet snipped from its strings. And not too far off are the charred remains of a body with a tattered yellow scarf attached to it.

Though his trachea hasn't recovered from the earlier ordeal, evidenced by the dark bruise wrapped around his neck, Minato manages to say four words: ]

...what have you done?

[ He can already tell Kotone fell victim to Ryoji's blade. It was always a risk, that someone wouldn't leave the conflict unscathed, and the fact that Ryoji clearly wasn't in his right mind ran that risk even higher. The burnt body, on the other hand -- had this been inflicted by someone who understood what they had done, was in control of their own actions?

Perhaps he never should have reached out for help. Maybe both Kotone and Ryoji would still be alive. ]

open; some time after ryoji and kotone deaths

[laserguy]

[He's out of his blood stained clothes, freshly showered and huddled on the couch. Scott knows somewhere that Ange helped him to his current position, but everything has been a blur. Honestly, his mind is still a little numb, body just working on its own and going through whatever motions. He doesn't want to remember the past few hours, but it's the only thing replaying in his mind over and over. Remembering Kotone, remembering what he did to Ryoji, the direct aftermath of that--

Scott closes his eyes and slowly pulls the blanket around his shoulders just a bit closer around himself. He... he knows, or at least can hope, that Kotone will come back to life and that's something to cling to. People come back to life in this world and this time shouldn't be any different, right? ...It's hard to be reassured of that fact until he sees Kotone alive again. They've had many conversations before about enjoying each day to the fullest, moving on, knowing that anything could happen to either one of them, but it doesn't make it any easier to just continue on. Besides, it hasn't even been a day-- he doesn't think so at least.

And not just Kotone, but Ryoji too. He wants him to come back, even though he doesn't know how to face him. He's not sure what he's going to say to Kotone, honestly-- if or when she comes back. His breath hitches once more at the thought, the lump in his throat stuck as he pulls his legs up on the couch. It's tempting to just remain here and stare into nothing, but eventually, Scott pulls out his tablet to... stare at the screen instead. It looks like he's just going to sit there, but his fingers eventually move until they type out a simple message before sending.]

sorry.

[It will probably take him a while to respond to any messages in return.]

[ooc: Feel free to have your character stop by if they are at least friends with Scott! Ange probably sent a message to his friends briefly talking about his state.]

this is so embarrassingly late but... better late than never???

[joyboys]

[ luffy's tour of making sure all of his friends are alright starts with scott — not the least because he's nakama, and he lost track of him in the chaos of the end of the week, too, and kind of feels bad about that.

which is why he's perhaps uncharacteristically serious as he... climbs in through the window, don't mind him, actually. ]

Scott, [ he says in greeting, eyes unblinking and slightly eerie as he takes in scott's state, the way he looks, small and defeated there on the couch.

without saying anything more, luffy walks there in front of him, takes his hat, and plops it on scott's head, before dropping down to sit cross-legged on the floor. ]