(OPEN)

[mysophobic]

who: Shigeru Miyata and you!
what: tdm prompt shenanigans
when: January 20th to the end of the month
where: All over!
warnings: violence most likely



Crystal Caves

[ Whether Shigeru is with someone or alone he makes a stop at the newest attraction in Riverview. He spends his time mostly wandering the caves looking at the beautiful formations and touching them idly with gloved hands. He’s all smiles as he sits down to draw them at some point gaining a lot of inspiration from them as a whole. He might turn to anyone nearby and give them a smile as he points off towards the distance. ]

Do you want to try going in deeper? There might be something amazing deeper inside! [ Or something deadly. /sweats

But once his curiosity is satisfied he’ll head over to the souvenir stands where he’ll idly pick up some of those rock candy sticks with a smile. They’re really way too gorgeous to eat?! But he kind of wants to try them and the fact that they’re individually wrapped helps. Still he might buy a few for people he knows, picking out certain colored ones for people in particular. Pink for Hana, Green for Genji, Blue for Aoba, Red for Dodger and so on and so forth. Alongside the treats he might get people matching colored rock pieces as well. He seems to be enjoying himself when he stumbles upon those small crystalline statues. He…really wants to buy a few for his own house but he seems to be having trouble on which ones to pick. ]

They’re all so beautiful…I don’t know which ones to choose. [ He might just get them all to be honest. ]

Dream a little Dream

A) Closed to Genji

[ So in this particular dream Shigeru doesn’t exactly know where he’s been brought. In all honesty it reminds him of some of the cities he’s visited on assignment back home. But the large scaling temple walls with the entwined dragon insignia on the doors gives him a few idea. He’ll be wandering through the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals trying to figure out where he is. But he recalls it now from that memory shared with Genji. This was…Genji’s hometown, Hanamura. It’s even more beautiful then he imagined but he’s not sure where the other man is, so his search will continue. First the ramen shop and perhaps other locales. ]

B) It’s D&D night

[ Considering all the games and books Shigeru has read it’s really no surprise that he has high fantasy dreams?! So for anyone who gets dragged into this dream Shigeru will be dressed as a cleric alongside some other NPCs as they listen to a man speak about defeating an evil god hold up in a castle off to the west. And sure enough the ominous and dark clouds swirling in the distance is proof enough that, that is surely the case. ]

We should really prepare for whatever is thrown at us, maybe going into town to stock up on supplies wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I can heal us so you don’t have to worry about that! But we should get some armor and other equipment too!

[ He looks like he’s having a lot of fun with this at least… ]

C) Homeworld exploration

[ Shigeru's own world is pretty fanciful in and of itself. But the place that people will be brought to is Andagla an oasis like city with flying airships overhead and strange looking creatures similar to camels but with two heads and long spiny tails and thick shells on their backs. Despite all that the people wandering around and haggling at wayside stalls in every nook and cranny of alleyways all look human. Shigeru will be dressed protect garb against the elements a long white futuristic cloak. It might seem safe but most people are dressed this way in Andagla given the air being suffused with miasma from the monsters attacking it some time ago. Everyone is dressed in a similar fashion and people only remove the protective gear for a few minutes at a time, lest they get miasma poisoning. It looks like he's following someone as he tracks a man with a black suitcase in hand. Ah, yes, he definitely remembers this assignment. It was one of his first ones but he seems calm and focused as he turns and pressed a button on the side of his suit, exposing his face briefly, before he motions for whoever is in the dream to follow him. ]

D) Nightmare fuel

[ Not all his dreams are pleasant though. This one is…different and Shigeru is different too. He might be standing before an army of hideous and grotesque looking creatures, his eyes black and purple as he eyes whoever’s been pulled into the dream. Behind whoever is currently in this dream lies a town, destroyed and blazing with fire. There are corpses in every direction, human and monster alike. Every breath Shigeru lets out releases a stream of black miasma from his mouth. His gate floats ominously behind black and decayed now, dripping with a tar-like substance that burns and disintegrates the ground where it falls. The runic symbols on his neck are glowing with an angry pulsing light and those black tendrils sprouting from his shadow will undulate with life as he pauses, holding his sword up towards whoever is caught here. ]

If you wish to disobey then there’s nothing awaiting you here but death. You can try and kill me but I doubt you’ll be able to.

[ The other person of the dream will have phrobiest powers as well. So perhaps they stand a chance to survive. Whatever their character might fear in the real world will transfer over to the dream as a power. ]


Wildcard!

[ ooc; Plotting is most welcome for the dnd or nightmare thread! We can do groups or solo for the DND thread. If anyone has any questions pm me on plurk @ pathogenic! ]

Comments

[smokedout]

[He grimaces at that. He's become so reliant on Shigeru's help lately... so reliant on his powers. He isn't sure how he'll survive if he doesn't have Shigeru's gate to fall back on.]

You wanted a- [He stops, pulling back and furrowing his brow. Sure, Shigeru's powers have been acting up, but.. it's not that serious, is it?] -Shigeru. You can't just turn off your powers and expect everything to be fine. What about being able to heal people?

[What about being able to keep Dodger alive?]

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru just worries at his lip as he looks away. It's a very...serious and desperate thing to ask for, he knows. But it's getting bad especially since Dodger has seen what his gate looks like. ] You've seen it. It...it's only going to get worse. The stress and-and everything that's happened, it was too much. I should have...I should said something sooner. [ He just closes his eyes and shakes his head. ] If I can turn my powers off at will that will make it easier to control.

[ He doesn't have anyone here that knows about phrobiest's or their circumstances. Back home there was therapies that could help at least revert some of the damage. But here that was entirely nonexistent.

He'll look back at Dodger his eyes filled with sorrow more than anything. ] I can still heal people, but I...I wanted something as a back up to make sure it doesn't get to be too much. I can't...I can't go through hurting you or anyone else again like that.

[ He doesn't know how he'll manage if he ever hurt Genji or anyone else. He might not be able to revert back if it happens again. He might give Dodger a small pleading look. ] Can you get me one?

[ It'll be scary to be so defenseless but he's honestly more scared of turning into that thing at this point. ]

[smokedout]

[He grimaces, and shakes his head.]

You don't get it, do you? That's not how those collars work. You don't get to pick and choose, take it off and put it on when it's convenient. You're just... human. And every time you strain to use your powers enough, you get shocked and hurt until you stop.

[His brow furrows.]

You remember that fire, right, when we were living in the residential building? I tried getting out, and the collar shocked me for going off the premises... and it didn't stop shocking me, I got electrocuted for half an hour before someone found me and got it off. Even before that... I couldn't keep myself warm, I could barely light my cigarettes, I felt like a fucking child having to relearn how to keep myself alive.

So what happens when I show up after a fight, or you get yourself hurt, and you can't get the collar off? Are you just gonna bleed out or let me die, just in case you lose control? Is that worth it?

[Surely it can't be that serious... Shigeru will get it under control again, he just needs to lay off of gaslighting him so hard. Right?]

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru does frown at Dodger's words. He definitely sees his point but...he's not sure what's worse. ]

Then someone here can modify it so that they can be taken off at will. I'm sure there's someone that can do it.

[ And Shigeru just shakes his head. ] It's not going to stop, Dodger. Phrobiest's gates deteriorate regardless of what we do. If we use our powers too much, if we get stressed, depressed enough, or go through severe trauma. There's so many things that...that affect our gates because it's connected to our mental stability.

[ He might wring his hands a little. ] The state of mine...it's only going to keep getting worse. It's ruined, my gate, it's been like this even before I came here. I thought it wouldn't get worse again, I thought after going to therapy back home it would get better. [ He was just an optimistic idiot. Of course his gate won't get better. ]

But he...he ruined it and he ruined me. [ He just wipes at his eyes with the palms of his hands as his voice cracks a little. Jern really had started all of this, that man who had tortured him and tried to turn him into the same thing he was, and he's now seeing the effects even here. God he wished he had never gone out to investigate those kidnappings. He wishes he had never met Jern at all. ] And then I really will turn into this nightmare. When it happened at the light festival...I don't even remember much of what I did.

[ Almost like another person had taken over him. He remembers bits and pieces of what he said and did but it's almost like a fog when he tries to really remember everything. His gate was ruined and he had to do damage control to make sure it wouldn't get worse.

His voice shakes when he speaks again. ] I can't...I can't go through turning into that again. I might not be able to stop like last time if I do. You have to promise me you'll stop me if I turn into that thing again. I don't care what you do, knock me out, kill me, I just don't want to turn into a Forenthieth.

[ The more he speaks the more terrified his voice sounds. If anyone would respect his wish he knows Dodger would. He doesn't know if Genji would have the heart to. He doesn't want Genji to...go through that either. Just like he had asked of Alex after he had almost ripped Jern to shreds... ]

[smokedout]

You're just making up a solution because you want it to work. Life isn't that simple, Shigeru, it never is.

[He huffs softly, his grip tightening a bit on Shigeru without his conscious knowledge. Shigeru may start getting a headache, as Dodger's gate glows a bit brighter - he isn't just keeping his power in check anymore, he's draining a bit of his energy on top of it.]

I'm not going to kill you. I'm not going to do anything to stop it, if you lose control. [His eyes sharpen, and his tone that had been so warm and sympathetic starts to grow cold.] You're being weak, and it's fucking pathetic. If you turn, I'll just trap you. I'll keep you alive in a cage, and pull experiments on you until I figure out how to fix you. And I'll keep you alive even if those experiments turn you into a husk of yourself.

Is that enough motivation to stop fucking moping and start fighting back against- whatever the fuck this is?

[Dying is easy. Living is harder. If there's anything Dodger has learned from his life, it's that. He isn't going to coddle Shigeru by giving him empty promises that he knows he couldn't stomach, especially not for the pathetic sort of request he'd expect from himself but not from Shigeru.]

[mysophobic]

No. I-I'm not!

[ Dodger he's starting to feel weak. He's never ran into a phrobiest with Dodger's powers before, but they were known to exist. He's read how they could drain people's energy just to keep them in control. Shigeru will pull away a little. His breathing is a little shallow as well. ] D-Dodger stop. Y-Your gate...

[ Despite it being a dream everything feels incredibly real it's disorienting. And listening to Dodger talk about experimenting on him makes his stomach drop, there's a look of fear in his eyes as his face pales. It just brings him back to that time with Jern. The scenery might flicker around them to a strange looking laboratory. No. He doesn't want Dodger to see that, not right now. But he wasn't expecting Dodger to say something like that of all things. ] You don't mean that.

[ He shuts his eyes for a brief second. Trying to not let that horrible memory replay over and over again of being strapped to that operating table and experimented on. ]

Don't...say that. I...I've been through that once already. [ And it very nearly broke him. He hadn't meant to actually say that but...subconscious thoughts are more easy to speak of in a dream. ]

I...I've been trying. You know that I always try. This is just different, it's so hard to remain in control when it happens.

[smokedout]

[His eyes sharpen a bit more, and for a moment his own subconscious takes over the dream - the laboratory melts into a dingy basement room, a single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling to illuminate it, and a chair with makeshift straps made of old belts behind Shigeru. There are blood splatters all over the floor here and experimental equipment that absolutely cannot be up to human standard, the polar opposite of a clean testing environment.]

You're not trying hard enough. [He mutters, his grip tightening a bit more.] If you care so much about being in control, try harder. It's not my job or anyone else's to make it happen, it's yours. No one is going to help you unless you're helping yourself.

[As if to prove his point he shoves Shigeru, releasing him and letting him hit the floor as his powers return to him. Dodger's gate has flickered away but he looks no less agitated, practically glowering at Shigeru now. He can't even say what about this makes him so angry... but it seems so very entitled to just want to fix one's powers, enough to seek out things that he's been traumatized by and act like they're a perfect solution.]

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru might jump a little when the scenery changes suddenly like that. It's...a dreary and terrifying place to wind up in. He'll look back at Dodger with some apprehension which turns to hurt when he's suddenly finding himself on the floor. The power that was keeping his own nightmare form at bay is gone and he feels that pain in his chest once again.

He'll grip his shirt tightly as his gate reappears, the same blackened one as before, as he takes a deep breath and sigh miasma falling from his lips again. Right control. He has to...control it otherwise he'll hurt Dodger and Genji and whoever else again. But it's easier to do in a dream but not by much. He'll get up and take a few steps toward Dodger, eyes glowing with power, before he stops a few inches from him. ]

I am trying. Overcoming the power of a god isn't so easy. [ His hand might ball into a fist as that voice rings in his head again only it can be heard by Dodger as well due to this being a subconscious space. The voice sounds old, ancient, and terribly evil. It's raspy like sandpaper, but it's still an overwhelming force regardless. 'Kill him. It'll be easier that way.' But Shigeru will shake his head and bite his lip. He'll bring gloved hands up to his head shaking away the voice of Malnemnious. ]

It's...hard. [ Dodger really doesn't understand how incredibly hard this is for him. He really hates this. He wants nothing more than to rip Dodger to shreds in this dream. He's at least resisting it probably due to the fact that he's more terrified of Dodger experimenting on him at the moment than anything else. ]