expiationlogs | (open) i went through my list of friends and found i had no one to tell

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(open) i went through my list of friends and found i had no one to tell

Who: Ange Ushiromiya and YOU!
Where: All over Aldrip.
What: Ange is dealing with the aftermath of the Gnosia event-- and worse so than she's pretending to be.
Warnings: A chance of talk of mental illness (mostly depression, mixed in with some complex abandonment trauma) and death (in regards to the recent event).

[ It's not like Ange hasn't dealt with anything in this place, really. She's been here for over a year now, and there have been plenty of things before that really shook her to the core - especially that dumb maze from a long while ago now, and everything that had appeared in it. But the most recent event might have been the wildest thing yet. It was very reminiscent of the games back home, which sure didn't help. Even though her family might not have been on the line this time around, watching her friends be on the line was practically just as bad.

And now.. the town is normal again. And they're expected to go on like the usual.

So Ange tries to do just that - even if something threatens to fester below. ]

( a. come across ange - open to all! )

[ Maybe you're coming across one of the more quiet and empty parts of town, or maybe right outside town, where you may have found someone who set up a little shooting range - even if it's not much more than a single target standing there in an empty field or park.

The sight that might be more surprising - if you recognize the girl - is Ange standing there, holding a bow as she's staring at the target, looking rather focused. It's been a long, long time since she bothered to practice archery before giving up on it, so the sight of her doing it again is certainly new to most people. (And not inspired at all by a specific person being on her mind, what do you mean--) She pulls back the string before releasing the arrow. It flies at the target, and..

.. It only hits one of the outer rings.

The girl mutters something under her breath, her steps more like stomps as she heads over to the target to retrieve the arrow, pulling it out. As she turns around to go back to where she was standing a moment ago to perhaps go for a second attempt, she'll spot you right there. She frowns, speaking up with a: ]

What are you looking at?

[ Is she embarrassed? A little more touchy than the usual, considering she doesn't seem to be wearing her poker face or her usual emotionless tone when she spoke up like that? Who knows. ]

( b. ange comes across you - only for existing cr! )

[ For once, Ange doesn't totally isolate in the face of what happened during the event. It's almost as if she learned something, ssshh.

Which means that at some point during the days right after the town returns back to normal, you may find Ange reaching out to you if she knows you. She'll be at your door if she knows where you live, but if she doesn't, she may have sent you a text to come meet up with her at a cafe in town.

Either way, regardless of whether you're greeting her at your doorstep or in the cafe, the girl scowls and immediately starts with: ]

Everything that happens in this place is such bullshit.

[ Okay, hi, hello to you too, Ange-- ]

( ooc: feel free to hit me up with either brackets or prose, i will match! or if you'd like to wildcard this or ask for a custom starter, feel free to let me know too, i'm very flexible! )

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[Levi had wondered how Ange fair through that Gnosia bullshit but he hadn't reached out to her to ask. How did you even say 'hey did you die and/or kill people?' But when she contacted him he easily agreed to meeting at a cafe.

He sighs and rolls his eyes, taking a seat at their table or whatever.]

I know. Its nothing but bullshit after bullshit.

[ For his part, Spock had been focused elsewhere.

Between teaching Jim how best to manage the nascent bond and the relative fall-out of the month's previous events, he'd been quite fine to spend time participating in leisure activities where he might have found opportunity. If it similarly coincided with bringing along with his Bones-the-dog (not the Human), then surely it was for the best interest of all parties involved. Soon enough and again, they'd be quite entangled in another set of explorations and experimentations. Best to take what breaks they could and when they could.

For morale and baseline levels of efficiency, of course. ]

Your arrow, [ he says, once Ange has turned about on her heel. For one who hadn't necessary expected to be queried, he gives it over without much prompting. Be it that he'd noted her state long before and minded his own? Well, it does not appear upon his face.

Instead, his words come smooth and unmodulated. ] Your aim has improved by approximately seven point three percent since your arrival.

[ How long has he been here? It's about as transparent as how he was able to calculate it, really. He's been playing himself in chess at the sidelines, listening to the whistle of new fletching. His dark eyes consider her for a moment, before returning to the board before him. His fingers hover briefly above one black pawn, before he decided upon a move.

He knows that a grand number of individuals have been impacted by what has occurred and he too is not entirely without change or consequence. His earlier conversations with most involved with his own... Dilemmas might have confirmed it. And who knows, really, who has mentioned what to who. Peter and Gwen were not the only to have faced what boiled beneath the surface, brought out by opportunistic infection. ]

[ for months now, jinx had been wondering what had become of the people in rumpitur since that little "incident", except each time she attempted to travel to the outskirts of aldrip, there's something that would prevent her from journeying there. could it be just her still, or is it like that for everyone? even if she wanted to ask the council or jerry, there's a low percent chance she will get an answer from them. being unsuccessful, the bluenette heads her way back until she sees a familiar someone with a bow, and a bullseye target.

now this is something she hadn't known about ange, although, there's a lot she doesn't know about the girl despite conversing with her for a little over a year now. so jinx comes into a complete halt, her arms folded over her chest to observe. when ange hits the outer ring, retrieves the arrow, then makes eye contact with her, the twin braided girl simply shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders at her outburst.

she isn't going to poke fun nor comment about her aim. it doesn't take a lot of brain power to know the redhead is extremely frustrated. and while normally jinx would crack jokes to soothe the tension, she won't here. probably not a good idea to do (especially with her being armed). so instead, the prodigy will remain silent with her arms crossed — curious if she'll go for a second shot or stop completely now that she's here. ]

[ Honestly, Ange was a little curious how Levi was taking this. Considering he did seem to have a similar mindset to her own when it comes to some things - like dying, for one, which is pretty important when that thing they just went through sure involved a whole lot of death - she thought that he might be relatively fine, but it was difficult to pinpoint how he might feel beyond that.

Seeing this bit of annoyance from him is a little surprising. Not very surprising, since the girl feels anyone would agree with the sentiment of this being annoying, but..

.. still, it's more emotion than she can usually read off him. ]

Was it that bad for you? [ She asks. You know. Nonchalantly. She's nosy, but also doesn't want to openly dig that hard. Even if Ange isn't the most socially gifted person, she knows that doing that is a big no-no in social circles. ]

[He sighs.]

Just annoying, mostly. I tried to hide in my apartment but they just dumped me in town square. Since I was at home I didn't have any weapons or anything on me.

[He's since changed that behavior.]

I got killed on the way back.

[The death was a shock and painful, and returning at all was as well, but he's still mostly upset about the being forced into that situation.]

[ It makes Ange pause as she had just grabbed the arrow, stopping mid-walk back to her original shooting spot. Rather than walking on, she just stares in his direction. The girl doesn't even say anything right away, doesn't reply, she's just-- staring.

All the things she knows about the other so far are a truly odd set of facts, after all. Some sort of code nerd. Weirdly fond of cats. And also apparently.. a robot, maybe? Ange is pretty sure that no normal person would be able to calculate such a thing by sight, after all. Unless he's just bullshitting her.

Usually the girl is pretty good at telling when people are doing the latter, but-- well, right now she isn't so sure.

Before even speaking up, she continues her walk back to her original spot, still holding the arrow. It's only when she seems to be getting ready to take another shot that she asks: ]

How do you know?

[ Let's start there. ]

[ At least the outburst isn't aimed at Jinx specifically - though it's hard to tell, given that the blue-haired girl sure hasn't seemed Ange react to pretty much anyone this way right now. It's what happens when she's just too frustrated about this place, and when she doesn't know where to point that frustration.

Other than at the target, maybe, but she keeps missing it. Which only makes her more frustrated. It's a vicious cycle, really.

It also seems that Jinx's presence doesn't stop Ange from continuing what she's doing. Holding the arrow she pulled out of the outer rings of the target, she moves back to her original spot, getting into her stance to shoot a second shot. It means she's quiet for a moment - focused - and though the second arrow is a little closer, it's still not quite in the middle of the target.

Ange lets out a sigh when she sees it, and then looks up from her archery practice, looking over towards where Jinx was a moment ago.

.. where Jinx is still standing now, she notices. Ange kind of figured the other girl would just continue walking, rather than standing there and staring at her.

Why would she be doing that, especially after that awkward last encounter? ]

.. did you want to talk to me?

[Truly, honestly, he's been meaning to talk to Ange.

He was just... not doing well after everything with Ryoji, unable to really sleep or eat all that much because of those memories replaying in his mind over and over again. Maybe he would've been able to recover on his own after a couple of weeks, but with Kotone's revival, that sort of sped up his progress. Not that he's doing amazing or great still, honestly, Scott feels so far from normal that he's not sure when he'll be like his regular self again, but at the very least, he wants to talk to Ange.

See how she's doing.

It's easier to have this focus without guilt completely consuming him, now lowered to something that's sort of manageable (although he still doesn't know how to talk to Ryoji). So, whenever Ange is walking out of her room or maybe coming back from an outing, Scott will be sitting on the couch, clearly waiting for someone-- for her. He doesn't know if he can really force a smile right now, especially after everything they've been through, but Scott finally looks at her with some life once more.]

Hey Ange, do you... um, got a minute?

[A part of him feels stressed as well, that ball of anxiety returning as he looks over at his friend. He remembers their encounter, when he was someone-- something else, how close he was to hurting her, and it just... really sucks. More than that, but he doesn't know how else to really describe it. Part of him doesn't want to talk about it at all, hell, Ange probably doesn't, but it needs to be addressed at some point right? He owes her an explanation at least?

...He really just wants to express his gratitude for Ange being there for him. Not just stopping him, but afterward too.]

[ they should probably talk, especially it was something that her father advise for her to do after she explained their last discussion. but jinx has never been the type to engage in difficult situations first, unless it's to send a message or violence needs to get involved. both of those things are not required here, so how is she meant to start their conversation? she barely knows how to apologize.

wordlessly, the bluenette strolls over to the other, her pinks lock to her blues for a moment before turning her attention to the target to the side of them. the teenager reaches for her pistol that rests on her side, then empties it nonchalantly — letting whatever bullets she had left plummet down to their feet. fastening the pistol back in one piece, she twirls the weapon with her index, then lines up her shot at the target ahead of them — her left arm tight and straight despite her posture bending in a weird slanted angle. ]

... Aim a little higher.

[ It sounds like something this place would do. Maybe it was that situation with the dumb questions - Ange got into that one herself, so she can kind of imagine what he's talking about.

The girl silently takes it in for a moment, but then she sips the drink she got before asking: ]

Do you know who killed you?

I'm pretty sure I do. But there was something wrong with him. Probably whatever the fuck that Gnosia thing was.

[So he's not sure if he wants revenge or not, but he doesn't want to name his killer to others.]

.. sure.

[ It's a little surprising to see Scott waiting for her like this. At first she doesn't even realize he's waiting for her, Ange just never the type to assume that, but-- when he speaks up and says that of all things, she knows that he was waiting for her. And it's not like she's going to ignore her friend.

Especially not when Scott hasn't quite seemed the same after that chaotic week. And who could blame him, really? The week itself was bad enough if you'd discount everything he specifically went through, and Ange knows that its impact on him was huge when she had to practically drag him home and take care of him after it. It's not the sort of thing anyone just bounces back from.

At least it does make it easy to assume what he wants to talk about as she joins him on the couch. ]

Is it about everything that happened last week?

My. Hello to you too, young Miss.

[It's only a little mocking when Douman taps his mask like an English Gentleman lifting his hat in a casual greeting. Like always, he doesn't bother to apologize for appearing out of the blue like a wraith. It's simply what he is and does, after all.

He is silent for a moment longer, the tilt of his mask implying that he is studying her beneath it, silently assessing her mood and going through the possible things that might have caused it. Unfortunately there are way too many possibilities right now.]

I didn't know that you could practice shooting here. Do you think I could try as well?

[At the question, Scott simply nods, suddenly finding it difficult once more to voice what he wants to say. It's not like he had a huge speech lined up or anything, but with Ange now sitting close to him, that earlier knot of anxiety takes hold of him. There's a flash of guilt that crosses his face, before a mixture of other emotions soon following that, and his gaze settles on his lap for a moment. Come on, Summers, you... you can do this. Just say something, even if it's just apologizing for almost hurting her.

Although, that thought also brings up a bunch of bad memories, but he doesn't want them to overwhelm him once more and--]

I'm sorry.

[Is that how he's going to start all this? Guess so. Scott cringes, but he soon turns to Ange and he's biting his lip, struggling with everything but it's clear that he's sincere.] I'm... I've sucked lately.

[Totally on the ball here.]

[ It probably says something about how often Ange has been around guns that she doesn't seem all that alarmed at Jinx pulling hers out. Even before it's emptied a moment later.

And when the advice follows, she looks back at the target again instead. Ange moves to pick up another arrow from the very small pile of them lying next to her feet and loads it onto the bows again, letting out a sigh.

Maybe there's some stuff to be addressed with Jinx, but if the other is starting like this, then-- ]

It's cheating when you use a gun, you know. [ Yet she does seem to listen to the advice.

At least enough that it seems like Ange is trying to angle her bow a little higher this time. ]

Those are way easier to handle.

I imagine it was that Gnosia infection. Because if it was someone who's fucked up enough to do that sort of thing under the cover of something like this happening, then they're seriously messed up.

[ Not that Ange would really put it past absolutely everyone in this place.

Some people just suck. ]

It seemed like there were plenty of people who were infected by that, judging by all the chaos going around. I never got to confirm whether anyone really was one or not before it was all over.

I set this up myself. [ .. it's a short answer. Kind of business-like too, with how easily she's getting down to the matter, rather than actually greeting him too with the way he casually pointed out like this that she didn't properly greet him.

It's likely because of her mood, since she's still radiating that same annoyed energy. Yet it can't be aimed at him direction, since she's not telling Douman to get lost at all.

Instead she says-- ]

So you can do whatever with it. [ Like she doesn't really mind his presence, despite not being in the best mood ever in this moment. ] I'm not going to stop you. But I'm still going to need this target too if I ever want to get any better.

I don't really know. I stopped going out around the second day or so, and then I died like a day or two later so I missed most of it. I bet a lot of people are having trouble getting over it, though.

[Especially those who were infected and killed.]

[ Ange frowns a little bit when she hears him say those words. Yes, she may understand where they're coming from, that a lot of those words is probably based on all the bad feelings Scott must still be feeling after how all of that went down. She knows that these things aren't always rational, that emotions make it awkward.

But, still-- ]

How have you sucked?

[ There's no hesitation in the way she says that. Ange just straight up believes in what she's saying here so strongly that she can easily say it. ]

What have you even done wrong at all, Scott? [ It makes some of her own more quiet attitude from a moment ago fade, replaced by something just a little bit more intense.

She's not going to let him blame himself for this place's nonsense, after all. Even if that means she has to be the strict one here. ]

[He tilts his head in wonder, but doesn't react otherwise. This is by far the first time that Douman's run into a moody teenager, although that had never made dealing with any of them easier. He'll just have to thread carefully and respect any lines she'll draw until he gets a clue on what is going on.]

Thanks. I used to be pretty good at this once. It'll be interesting to see if I can still do it.

[He had practiced like crazy before he had challenged Seimei to an archery duel. And still lost by two points.]

['How has he sucked?'

There's a lot of things that he can name, however, those particular words die once more in his throat as Ange becomes just a little more intense with her demeanor. He... he sort of knew that she'd probably protest in some manner against the stuff he's going to say, but he didn't want everything to just sit. Besides, he did almost hurt her. That's a fact, even if he wasn't entirely himself at that time.

He was still aware enough to have those memories, the feeling of her neck grasped in his hand. She felt just as fragile as Ryoji and--]

I... I almost hurt you.

[He shakes his head, as if trying to focus, to force himself to say everything that he wants to say. His hands curl on top of his knees, and he wants to keep looking away from her cause it might be easier, but Scott has to do this.]

I haven't asked how you've been doing. [She can't be entirely okay, right? Even excluding what he did to her, that whole incident was awful. He's just been so focused on his own stuff, then focused on Kotone and a part of him wants to still be with her every moment of the day, but she has friends. He has friends. They are important.]

Depends on how good of a shot you are.

[ she says, matter-of-factly, not moving a single inch out of her stiff position. even her pinks are secure tight at the target the two are centering on. ]

If guns were so easy, everyone would have them on their hips. But a lot of heads will be rolling around here, a lot of blood 'cause of the slip of a trigger. — It takes a special kind of someone to handle a gun, they're picky about who they want to partner with.

[ she side-glances at the redhead, then finally lowers the weapon down to her side, bubbling a tiny chuckle from the back of her throat. ]

You ever fired that thing at a person, ooooor you just use it for hunting animals?

[ she is on his list of people to check up on, too — and maybe he should have gone mikey's route and simply hollered over the not-a-denden-mushi for those he knows, but, well, he feels better when he actually goes and sees everyone.

which is why he lets his observation haki hone in on her location, and so he wanders over to the cafe where she's, well, possibly either waiting for someone else or having just met with someone. the moment he sees her, he breaks into a grin, and, disregarding her scowl and the words, simply declares, ]

Hi, Psychic Girl!! I was worried about you, I'm glad you're okay! [ "okay" as in "now in one piece and here as opposed to dead", and not as in "actually okay". ]

[ She sips from her drink. Ange is even annoyed enough at this place to forget the manners that were drilled into her, instead slurping on purpose. ]

Well, of course they would be. It's messed up to do this sort of thing to people. [ Though Ange herself doesn't sound upset in a sad way as much as she just sounds annoyed.

But then again - usually she doesn't even show the annoyance outwardly, so it's already a sign that she's been pushed more than the usual too. ]

What was it even good for? Was it just because it's fun to watch us kill each other against our own will?

Killing another person isn't really easy. I'd expect a lot of the people who were made to kill won't come to terms with it for awhile. Though this place may just throw something else at us that'll distract everyone.

[He shakes his head.]

That, I think. Or they want the blood. Gods seem to like that.

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(open) i went through my list of friends and found i had no one to tell

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a, as promised.

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sooooort of b but not quite

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