| Coming Back from the Brink; [Naoya wakes up. Open.] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 27 2013, 10:50 AM (1,022 Views) | |
| RickenbackersAllTheWay | Jul 8 2013, 02:05 AM Post #21 |
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birb was here scruffs is a loser
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Charles didn't know whether or not he liked the smell of natto. The fermentation reminded him of alcohol a bit, and it must've been like tofu beer. But edible. Its odor brought Charles back to the present, as both Naoya and Kyo expressed interest in the workings of his brain at this current moment. "Well, yeah. Let's see... I'm just thinking a lot. About life and stuff. Friends. Girlfriends. Old scars, old bagged. Stuff, I think." The boy noticed the broadness of his statement, and furrowed his brow in frustration. He couldn't formulate the words properly. He reached into his pocket, fiddling with something papery to circulate his thoughts. |
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| Czernobog | Jul 8 2013, 08:28 AM Post #22 |
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Best Influence.
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Naoya was struck, not for the first time, how much more worldy than he Charlie was. The boy had lived in at least two countries, and suffered grievous scars in both of them. He seemed to be experiencing a lot of distress at being prodded in this fashion, so Naoya weighed his options and decided to ease up on the pressure. "Look, uh, Charlie. I'm statin' a willin'ness t' listen, not demandin' that you tell me if'n you're still sortin' things. Admittedly, I'm tryin' not t' think about th' shit I've got goin' on, but y' don't got t' disgorge all of what you've got if you're not ready or willin'. I can listen. I'd like t' listen. I don't have t' listen now if you ain't ready. I get that you've got, um, got more'n your fair share o' what I'd call wreckage t' sort through if it'd happened t' me." He gestured up to the horrible furrow on the side of his head, cut right through the layer of muscle, the skin drawn tight across the bone and metal beneath. He still kept his head turned slightly so that Kyo had difficulty seeing it -- he couldn't exactly hide it, but it might make her lose her lunch to see it full on. "At th' very least you an' I can compare scars sometime, if you're, y'know, interested. I feel like I've been a goddamn lousy friend to you, always focusin' on my own bullshit, an' I'd like t'...to sorta reorient on that front. Open th' door, an' let you come through it if y' feel like. I don't mean t' put pressure on you, man." |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 8 2013, 01:28 PM Post #23 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Whatever Kyo's thoughts on Naoya's scar, she did a good job of keeping them hidden. Whatever her thoughts on the smell of natto were, those might have been hidden as well--although, given how accustomed she was to the smell of alcohol (which often smelled terrible, depending on what sort of booze it was), she might have just been too used to awful smells to be affected by it. She did react to Charles's obvious distress, though, simply by chuckling and scratching at her chin. "Yeah, fair 'nuff if ya don't wanna get right into it, I'm just sayin', y'know... might help t' talk, and I guess the both of us're here t' listen if ya want someone t' talk at. But, go at your own pace. No worries." I will find out what makes you tick and I will fix it and you will fucking THANK ME. You will thank me on bended knee, sugar~ Kyo grimaced just a bit at her Persona's words, and ran a hand through he hair. "Anyways, no pressure." |
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| RickenbackersAllTheWay | Jul 13 2013, 02:15 AM Post #24 |
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birb was here scruffs is a loser
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Charles for a moment, felt like he was on some sort of soap opera. If this were one of those types of shows, this would most likely be a dramatic close up moment interspersed with constantly shifting Dutch angles. One of those moments where a character's mental state would most likely come off as strained despite the character's composition on the outside. He took a few deep breaths, looked his two friends with a bit of hesitation, and spoke. "Well, hey. Don't worry about me, you two. It's not a lack of wanting to share, but more, I just kinda can't figure how to start, but I might as well try." said the boy, with a chuckle. His trademark grin came on but the corners of his mouth twitched subtly in a manner that anyone observant could notice. He looked over to Naoya, snapping his fingers. "Remember that one bus ride we had together? I've been thinking a shitload about the scars I showed you and all that shit. And I guess I gotta show Kyo in a bit, too." His fingers darted to the left sleeve of his dress shirt, as he rolled them up past his bandages. Although much of his arm was covered with gauze, there were still noticeable lines and scratches centimeters deep trailing from underneath the bandages. "And not to mention emotional scars too. Because, I had a friend just like Toru too, once upon a time. And a real cute girlfriend. And then another cute girlfriend. Both of whom got fucked over because of aforementioned friend. All of whom kinda spiraling out of control without me being able to do shit, you know?" "Chucky! I'll call you Chucky!" "Charlie works. Kinda like a dog name, but it's cute for a small kid like you too. Hehe." "Ah, bro. Charles is perfect. You're kinda fancy, since your mom's a model and you have manners and all that." "I mean, one was kinda weird, another was sorta like a breakup, but that friend was a special case, I think. And I oughta take it one at a time, so... If one of those sounds more interesting, let me know and I'll tell you an interesting story about them that will also explain my mental state in a mildly abstract way." Despite how radically different his situations were than most people's, he didn't want to come off as bratty or over-blowing things. First world problems, as some would call them. "If I come off as overly bitchy or whiny about my shit, let me know. I don't need to just bitch about first world problems at you two." |
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| Czernobog | Jul 13 2013, 09:20 AM Post #25 |
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Best Influence.
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Naoya nodded when Charlie mentioned the bus ride. He remembered the rainfall and everyone's voice turning to gibberish -- thankfully that hadn't happened recently -- and when the two of them had compared scars for the first time. Charlie's hidden under makeup, and Naoya's under the hat and bandanas. "Yeah, I, um, I do," he said. He thought for a moment, and looked at Kyo. "Get at th' root of it first? Address th' cause and rip th', um, y'know, metaphorical band-aid off th' wound quickly?" he glanced at Charlie. "I vote t' hear about y'r friend." |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 13 2013, 09:57 PM Post #26 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Scars. It was funny, really. Kyo had taken a lot of damage since coming to Nagashima and she'd been through her share of shit, but she'd only ever had one real scar, and it was from something really stupid and silly, too: stepping on a broken bottle in some god-forsaken Osaka alleyway back when she was a little brat in a dress with blonde pigtails. Her own fault, really, for creeping around and spying on those sukeban-types... ...But, everyone had a story. Chika and Kenshin had a story. Hiroko had a story. Charles had a story. Naoya had a story. Toru Watanabe had a story. Aleksandria Fyodor had a story. Isoroku had a story. Kakeru had a story, Edward had a story, everyone had a fucking story-- What was Kyo's story? "Girl grows up in a well-off household and rebels for no good reason, becomes the school slut." Beautiful. Sweeping. Majestic. Ten out of ten. Would recommend. Kyo kept these thoughts inside her own head, giving no reaction besides a patient one for Charles Oliveira's sake. She nodded and simply said, "Whatever you're comfy with, dude. I'm good listenin' t' whatever shit ya needta spew." Of course she was, after all. That was what she did, it was like ambrosia to her... |
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| RickenbackersAllTheWay | Jul 15 2013, 03:07 PM Post #27 |
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birb was here scruffs is a loser
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"Alrighty then. Best friend I ever had it is." said the boy, with a smirk. Charles closed his eyes. Enrique. This might require some deep thinking. Back in the sands of time and all that jazz. "If you guys see steam coming from my ears, don't be alarmed. It's just me thinking real hard to the past." Enrique was a friend. His brother. Not one of blood, though. They were just really damn good friends. Enrique looked like him. Same hair, same skin tone, bulkier build after a while though due to steroids. Slightly thinner due to drugs. "My friend was a young man named Enrique Segurado. He was the coolest guy ever. He could make anyone laugh no problem. He was about as tall as I am now, same sorta hair for a bit, same build and but more weight. Same skin tone too. I wanted to be like him as much as possible when I was a kid." He held his hands to his temples, tapping his index fingers on his head. "He's probably the big reason I learned how to fight and stuff. He taught me how to be tough because believe it or not, I'm a really naive guy who got fucked over a lot." |
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| Czernobog | Jul 15 2013, 04:17 PM Post #28 |
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Best Influence.
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Naoya nodded, but didn't interrupt. The vague, thumbnail description of Charles's relationship with Enrique did, indeed, sound like how his relationship with Toru had been. An adoptive older brother who showed the younger the ropes and provided an ideal for the younger to aspire to: a stalwart protector, a laughing trickster, a paragon. An idol with clay feet. He could see -- vaguely -- where this was going. No one was as good as the face they projected, as they were imagined to be by those who idolize them. |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 15 2013, 04:20 PM Post #29 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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That was something Kyo couldn't really level with... she'd had one person she'd looked up to and tried to be like, as far as that went, although in truth the only thing she'd taken away from that was her haircut. Hadn't even known that other girl's name. Since she couldn't exactly relate, she also couldn't see where the story was going. "...So what happened?" Kyo asked in a slightly tentative voice. |
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| RickenbackersAllTheWay | Jul 15 2013, 05:01 PM Post #30 |
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birb was here scruffs is a loser
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"Uh... I think it was sometime after I got into sports. I didn't have enough time those days to chill with him and shit. So he spent a lot of time with the wrong crowd, gradually lost his good friends and made bad ones. I started to form a circle of my own with my own friends and he just started to get more and more isolated. Then he turned to drugs after a while. Hatched this crazy idea of trying to fight people just to stop everyone from fighting, you know. Kind of like a counter gang. And then it became a real gang." Charles shook his head blinkingly, and rolled his left earlobe with his right hand. And then what happened after? He didn't want to remember, but he still could and he had to right now. But how to express it properly? His mind wasn't coordinating thoughts right, so how was his mouth supposed to express them? "And I dunno. He always had personal problems, but I only saw them as the things he worked at to get stronger. I never thought he needed help with them. So I never offered. And I think that might've been the biggest problem. I mean, I went through shit and I was still real happy, and he seemed to be, but it turned out he was just really fucked up inside and..." His lips pursed and his mouth stopped. He was going to have to let his memories out of the floodgates sooner or later. Hopefully he wouldn't go completely nuts. He was going to have to vent everything inside him though, instead of all this bravery and crap. Torako wouldn't be with him long if he kept crying all the time, Naoya would be scared of him if he kept up with his outbursts, no one would be able to be around him if he kept this up. He had to completely let it out soon or else he would explode and drive everyone away from himself. "I don't know where I was going from this. He became some fucking gangster and then he proceeded to make my life living hell, essentially. He's the reason I can't sleep at night, the reason that I have to wake up at the crack of dawn to put makeup on, the reason I immediately knew how you felt with Toru and the big fucking reason I'm so goddamn fucked." Charles kept his voice down, but the pain in his voice was still clear. Perhaps it wasn't a dramatic death rattle, but his emotions would sound more like they were being strangled out of him as he spoke. Or maybe more like a power drill hissing to life inside his skull. The pained youth's eyes went from searing emotions to complete blankness. He unclenched his jaw and his entire body was limp. He remained upright, but for a moment, he had left his body. "You're just like me! Your big, glossy puppy eyes are now the eyes of a vicious animal waiting to kill anyone who doesn't feed them! Your cute little pretty boy face is covered in scars, just like mine! You used to freak out if I slapped you, but look! You survived being carved like a little turkey! Little Charlie could hardly swing a fist, but now look! You're swinging claw hammers, sledgehammers, drills, big axes, all sorts of things. You're a big boy who obviously ate all his veggies. You may as well be my little brother again!" "Look at you! Look at you! Growing up to be just like me! Everyone you ever loved is dead, pain seems like the only thing that makes you feel good; I bet all you know is hate and violence! Just look all around. All these fucking guys you fucked up." "Now you have nothing to say. Like you should. Children should be seen and not heard. I wanted to make you a man, Charles. I wanted to teach you that life isn't all butterflies and sunshine. I wanted you to see the world like I do! Look at you now!" "This is how it should be, shouldn't it?" His eye twitched slightly as his gut started to coil itself like a wound chain. His heart started to beat enough that he could feel it in his head. "Chucky. You'll never be like him. You have me. You're too nice no matter what you do. I'll always love you, okay? Forever and ever. Don't forget that. You're stronger and better than he was at anything! You cook and stuff and you cuddle and you're better! That's it! Better!" "Just like being a little kid! Always crying! Always getting into fights and losing! Can't you do anything, you little shit?" Edited by RickenbackersAllTheWay, Jul 15 2013, 05:02 PM.
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