sticksandbones | bark bark bark!!

Entry tags:

arknights: phantom

bark bark bark!!

Who: Beat + you
What: Beat says hi! Also WTF!
When: Leap Yeap
Where: The Network and the Grove
Warnings: lots of swearing, will change if more comes up

AIGHT YO who the fuck messed with the Fog this time it's fuckin BLACK I thought we was all agreed bout not messin wid it! weird as fuck even more so than when it was brown an no you cant blame me this time!! i aint do nothin!

[This is how this young adult writes I'm so sorry.]

but aight whatev so where is we this time like cool we get to ~~komuni~~ talk wid each other still but this aint dyster

lest i dont think

it dont smell like it

i mean it kinda do like it got that whole death thing goin for it but it also dont smell like uh stale

oh right aint no usernames wid this its beat yo shadow gal said to write in it to say hi who all here holla at me or come find me im at a well?

also man someone bring me a bandaid i got fuckin bit by something in the forest i dunno wtf is going this fuckin event but i might zombie i dunno

[ After scribbling all over the network Beat will just continue to sit where he sat, which is on the well. That's right, he plopped his ass right on the edge of the well. Do you want water? Too bad, tell him to move. He will then unceremoniously stuff his journal into his pocket the best he can by rolling it up, and sniffing the air. That sure is a fucking large ass werewolf just sitting there, trying to figure out where everyone is by sniffing the air. So even if you don't see his bullshit in the journal, you might run into him if you're trying to get water.

Come say hi, he's a good boy. Even if you don't, the moment he zones in on your scent, he might be locking eyes with you. Even if he can't see you, if he can smell you he's going to stare.

It's fine, that tail wag says he's friendly. ]

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Fire, yo. Burnt meat.

[If there's something in Beat's voice that says hesitance, ignore it. Or don't. He wont slow, but when they do get the edge of the burnt village, he sort of... begins to go back and forth instead of straight in. It looks like he's sniffing around but there's an obvious reluctance to go in.

Eventually he pushes past that invisible barrier, his fur standing on end a little as he does in a very uncomfortable way. Until he finds his first rodent skeleton. Oh boy! Excuse him as he dogs out and snuffles it madly, picking it up in his mouth and trotting further along until he finds! ANOTHER! that also gets added to his mouth and the happy dog carries the gross decaying skeletons around until he finds.

A... very human looking femur.

Sorry Josh you're going to be on your own for a moment as Beat spits the skeletons out and then flops onto all three. Rolling.]

[Oh... god. Well. The canine has certainly settled in. He could have made a Hachiko joke before with Beat looking for Neku for three years, but now it might be too accurate to truly be funny.

Nevertheless, Beat is getting a very disgusted grimace.]

Really?

[Has any sense of dignity been replaced by dog-like ignorance? Death is one thing, but decay is... eugh.

Have fun with that. He'll watch in morbid fascination for a moment, but before long, Josh is pulling out his phone and checking out the rest of their surroundings. Beat has been decommissioned by dog brain, so someone has to do some actual investigating.]

[The really he will ignore. You are not his beautiful husband, you don't get to judge him. He will join him however as they begin to go further north, Beat snuffling out things to pass off to Josh. The medallion, and etc. The statue head. He'll keep the stupid stuff in a pile for later.

He is getting absolutely nasty with his nose constantly in the dirt and his paws churning up things that smell interesting. The metallic twang of the brooch. He will help Josh, when Josh wipes the statue head down, to put that big beast back up.

The dog is caked. Head to toe. In ash and dirt. Soot covers his face. He's getting a look in his eye Josh may not recognize, but his husband most certainly would have.]

Hey... this statue, yo. It's supposed to be a halo an' not horns. You wanna fix that wid yer printy powers?

[Said at the same time he drops down to his hands, braces himself. And shakes.]

[As they go, Josh will just create himself a small shoulder bag! Leather with subtle but stylish designs, because he's not boring. At the rate they're finding interesting things, he may end up needing a bigger one, but for the time being a small bag at his hip will do the job.

As Beat gets progressively more dirty and caked with dirt and debris, Josh's nose will wrinkle, but he doesn't say much more about his feelings on the matter. It isn't his business anyway, so long as Beat minds his own.

Which is to say, no, he certainly isn't recognizing that glint, and he isn't picking up on any thoughts that might lead him to understanding it, either.]

Mm? [It's a thoughtful hum and a questioning one all at once. Rather than turn to look at Beat, though, he turns to look at the statue, slipping his hand into his bag for the brooch so he can compare the two.] Well, I suppose it wouldn't do to keep it incom--

[Not looking at Beat proves to be the biggest mistake he's made all day. The first of the dirt hits him before he can stop the rest of it from doing so with his telekinesis, caught off guard as he is. But it's still enough to make him freeze mid-motion, expression contorted into a sharp wince. His clothes--]

[The dog doesn't stop until his fur is sticking upright in spikes because of the amount of mud on it, then he'll stand back upright. It... it really doesn't look like he did anything, now he just looks like he stuck his paw into a dirty light socket and now he's just dirty and spikey.

He blecks quietly as he tries to smooth his fur back down, muttering something about needing a shower, before glancing up.

.....

Ah.

Instant guilty dog look.]

... Hey uh... buddy.... sorry 'bout that cross-fire...

[Beat's words are like the trigger that breaks the magic spell. All of the dirt and mud suspended in the air crumbles and falls to the ground like heavy, wet snow, and Josh is left standing there with splats of it on his clothes and a clump or two stuck in his hair.

He draws in a deep breath through his nose, lets it out again, and begins brushing himself off. It's only sort of smearing it a bit, but it's the attempt that counts.]

Maybe you could warn me the next time you feel the urge to do something like that?

[At least his tone isn't... angry? Frustrated, maybe, just a little, but not angry.]

Don't... yeah don't... try to wipe it...

[Warning too late as Josh smears it, huffing softly, his tail wagging a little.]

Yeah, sorry, forgot who I was with fer a moment.

[His tone is soft and a little locked off, he's burying his emotions down. He sighs and would try to help but he would just smear it more.]

The well should have water to wash up wid if you wanna go do that now. I can find a way to fix the halo myself.

[Ah, that's. Hm. That's a tone he isn't used to hearing, and he knows exactly why he's hearing it. Josh is silent for a moment, though his fingers do cease in their attempts to brush the dirt off. And then, he lets out a soft sigh.

He doesn't understand why Beat feels the way he does about another him, but he isn't about to ignore the fact that just being in his presence is probably making things a bit raw. Not that he knows what to do about any of it, of course, but he won't ignore it.]

It's fine. I'll just recreate them later.

[He hasn't been able to shift his frequency to recreate his body from scratch, but! Clothes are items he can easily make. There's a halo to fix, after all.

Peering down at the brooch as he slides it from the bag, he studies how the "horns" loop to create the halo, and then lifts himself up into the air enough that he can reach the statue's head to gently knit the stone together with more cement. A little more care is taken with this than was taken with repairing the base or gluing the head back on - that was maintenance, but this is crafting.]

There we are. Good as new.

That's cheatin'.

[Yet handy, maybe he'll ask for new clothes himself. He watches, quietly, as Josh fixes the halo, and feels better about it for it. It looks right, now, and his tail wags happily to the sight.

And the warmth that flows over them in return, and the feeling of being watched. But it's a nice feeling.]

Think she sayin' thank you, yo. 'Ere.... put somethin' nice at her feet, on toppa the pedastal. We gonna shrine this shit. You a God, you know how this goes.

[He pulls back a little to search around himself for something that would be good for an offering. There's not much here in the burnt remains, other than what Josh took, so Beat will go into the bag to take out the ring and put it there.]

It's hardly cheating. This isn't exactly the bustling center of fashion that Shibuya is. I have to get something somewhere.

[It's said with a shrug, but there's a glint in his eye as he says it. Oh, yes. Fashion will happen in the Grove.

The warm feeling is hard to ignore, though, and he does pick up on the sensation that they're being watched. Huh. Fixing the statue did do something after all. He'd been wondering.]

Oh? No one ever made a shrine to me. What am I, chopped liver?

[It's said as he's poking around in his bag around Beat's intruding hands, excuse you. Beat may be taking the ring, but he'll take the medallion and set it on the pedestal.

The other necklace gets a thoughtful look, though. The one with the sword. Her sword is currently broken... But that, too, can be repaired now that he has this reference. Which he does, as soon as he sets down the medallion.]

[Beat opens his mouth to go to make a joke, that he's worshiped at Josh's shrine PLENTY of times, before snapping his teeth shut with an audible click. Not his Josh.]

Aw, next time we're in Shibuya, yo, I'll place a bento in yer honor.

[Noticing Josh studying the other necklace, Beat peeks over his shoulder. Well, looms over his shoulder. So he can see..... oh- he's... fixing the sword. That makes Beat nod, wagging his tail, his tongue lolling out.]

What's the words on her thingy say? She looks like a warrior goddess, yo. Sun Warrior. That's cool. I wonder if she got a name cuz otherwise Ima jus' call her Amaterasu.

[If Josh hears that thought flit through Beat's mind, no he doesn't. That's not a thought for him! Just some other him. Could just as easily be his tin pin counterpart for all he knows. It's fine!]

Considerate of you. Though I have to wonder, where exactly would you put it?

[Not that it matters. He's not even sure it'll be him getting the bento.

With the sword repaired, he sets the necklace beside the medallion on the pedestal. The words on the placard get a hand brushed over them, removing any splatters of mud from a few moments ago.]

"To our protector, the Sun, Her radiant light, the goddess Biewe." Which would be her, I assume.

I know my places.

[Cryptic. Beat's quiet as he listens to Josh's words, head tilted.]

So she was a warrior, yo. Protector, whatever. Byewe? Baewe. Biewe. Cool. I ain't got nothing to wash her down with but I can come back later and do that.

[He looks around this burnt little village, with it's pile of bones he's found (and now feels guilty about maybe he should bury them somewhere nice), and the little things they've found.]

The fuck happened here, you think?

Seems that way. I can't say I've ever heard of her before, but that's not all that surprising, considering everything.

[Despite the dirt, he taps his fingers against his chin, thinking as his eyes scan the statue. This is certainly an interesting place. Is it really a part of their world at all? Just looking at Beat, though, it's clear that something is snatching them away from their world altogether.

Beat's question pulls his eyes more toward their surroundings. The burned buildings, the old, decayed bodies inside, the damage to everything...]

... nothing good. It looks almost like this place was ransacked. Judging from the inside of the houses, not everyone made it out alive.

Man... her head was fuckin' yeeted half cross the place, it got more than ransacked. And the fuck with those VINES.

[He hasn't mentioned them til now, as they've actually sort of left him alone in a way that he doesn't like, but now that their searching as calmed down, he's staring out at them. They wiggle in the air like weird kelp, and Beat gets a weird feeling from them. Strangly... familiar.]

Man.... I kinda wish you had yer others memories, cuz you would be seeing so much shit I'm sure I ain't seein', cause even I'm seein' shit an' it just feels like it all over again.

[He sighs and sits his butt down beside the statue for now.]

Mm. The vines, I'm not sure. But don't get close to them. They seem to be pretty aggressive.

[And the statue's head sure did get yeeted, didn't it. Were the vines to blame? Or something else...? He doesn't like the feel of it.

Beat's lament makes him pause, though. It's an uneasy feeling, not knowing what he's talking about. An easy enough fix, sure, he could skim thoughts and deep dive all he wants, but it isn't his knowledge.]

Well, what are you seeing? Tell me.

Edited 2024-03-05 04:12 (UTC)

I see.... I dunno how to vocalize it, yo. Pop into my head.

[And look at the similarities between worlds. The destruction and death of the Night and Day God, the reduction of anything humans might find protective against the Fog. The Apocalypse that happened just recently in Beat's mind - that he wonders if he actually didn't survive and this is some offshoot - and the way the vines acted.

He stares at the vines and frowns a little.]

Corruption, yo. Same thing she used to do.

[It isn't often that he gets so many invitations to peek into someone's thoughts, so of course he isn't going to say no! But what he finds is...

Ah. That's startlingly similar. And concerning, considering what he's managed to glean of Beat's situation before arriving here. Josh frowns, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the ground thoughtfully.]

It's a bit strange that you'd go from one fog-related situation to another, and they're both so similar in certain ways. I wonder if they're somehow related...

If it is, that's bullshit, but it kinda aligns wid the shit she'd say about like... alla us bein' all in the Seas an' they just pluck us from there. So if I got returned to the Seas somehow, then some other God can jus take my ass out again. It could be I was closest to the Fog shit there so other Fog shit here got me.

[He stares down at his feet, then at Josh. The thoughts are easy to read. But that doesn't explain Josh. It doesn't explain why he recognizes Vash but Vash has no knowledge of Ryslig either. He huffs and throws his hands into the air.]

I dunno yo, it's makin' my head spin, too much thinkin'.

[He gets to his feet and brushes his butt off.]

[The thoughts are easy to read indeed. He already knows about this alternate him. But Vash? He doesn't even know Vash himself. Beat came here with memories intact, but is it possible for others to come here without? It's an interesting and terrifying thought...

But one that he isn't keen on spending too much time on. Because, if it's true, that means things that he doesn't feel equipped to deal with right now, and it's just easiest to pack everything up in a suitcase and cram it into the metaphorical closet, to be touched never.

With Beat standing up, he's once again towering over Josh. The Composer looks up, tipping his head just a little. This is, honestly, making his head spin a bit, too.]

Well, we can't have that. Don't want those gears burning out on day one.

[Closing his satchel back, he turns, looking back toward the Grove proper.]

... feeling up for a walk? There's a lot more to explore, I think.

Aw c'mon, I've had three years of gear burnin'!

[On the word walk, Beat's tail begins to wag briskly, and he grins at Josh.]

Uh, yeah? Now you gotta walk though cause you can't jus' say that an' not go on a walk wid me.

[He turns on his heels to head back towards the Grove, giving the Statue one last look. Gotta remember to come back here. He's surprisingly silent as they head back, his paws tucked into his back pockets, shoulders slightly hunched as he thinks, until:]

The Fog covered the entirety of the rest of the world, save for this little spot on the Pen'sula. It feels like.... I know it ain't the same world. I can look up at the sky an' tell that. Cuz it doesn't scare me to look up. An' the moon ain't weird an' got a spot on it. But it feels like it is. Like a portion of it.

[There's a snort to that, but it's not an unkind one. There's a smile on Josh's lips, and he lifts a hand in a vague gesture.]

I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it.

[Though, depending on the length of their walk, he might end up floating a bit. We'll see.

The silence is surprising, but Josh won't question it. Beat is, after all, different - he's changed in some ways, grown a bit. And not just physically. Three years in this other world has clearly had an effect. Far more than his Game did...

When Beat speaks up again, he listens, tipping his head aside to look up at his companion.]

Like the same type of story, but a different setting with different details.

[Still fog, but different. No cannibalism. No forced changes into monstrous forms. And yet, they're still trapped, and Beat's form is still monstrous... in a sense.]

Is it a relief to be out? Or would you rather go back?

Yeah!! Same shit, yo, but diff tellin'.

[Trapped again. Not home. This time he's missing two pieces of himself. Having Josh nearby helps, but it's not his Josh. It's not the Naphil that would settle onto his back and let himself be carried around. Not the Josh he smooched on New Years. That he's killed for.

The question draws him out of his thoughts and he heaves a hard sigh, kicking a little rock at his feet as they walk.]

You know, I ain't got an answer fer that? You'd think I'd say hell ye, 'cuz who the fuck wants to be livin' like that? But you know how it is, yo. You grow accustomed to it. Every month was a pile of shit in one way or another, but I had friends. I had a business, yo! Runnin' a youth center! I was doin' things, an' married, an' now...

[He stops when they hit the intersection of hte Grove and the Burnt Village, staring forward out at the buildings. Quaint. Woodsy. Far from the bustle of cars and skyscrapers, and Neku swooping with a delighted screech, and Josh with his light umbrella.]

It's all been yanked away again.

... sounds like you were doing pretty well for yourself. I'm impressed.

[Not just from Beat's words, but from the thoughts skittering on the surface. And it's a genuine sentiment, too - not a hint of sarcasm in those words.

Josh goes silent for a moment after that, those thoughts leaving a sort of... not exactly sour, not exactly bitter taste in his mouth, an anxious tightness in his throat and chest that he can't rationalize. He's being compared to another him, and it shouldn't bother him. He isn't the one that Beat wants to be with, so it's fine. There's another him out there that's been twisted by the same fog that twisted Beat, and that's who Beat wants. That's who Beat is pining for. Altogether different.

So why does he feel like disappearing? Hm.

He doesn't, though. Not yet. Not now, not in the middle of investigating. It's so easy to compartmentalize. It's so easy to put distance between himself and... whatever that is.]

If it's ever too much for you, by the way, just say so. I'm just fine on my own. Wouldn't want you making things worse for yourself on my account.

Heh, thanks yo, I really tried. Wouldn't of gotten far widdout you an' Phones though. Er, uh, other you.

[Christ. He knows he's probably making Josh feel uncomfortable and awkward every time he slips up. He knows the Composer stuffs that all down and has issues with the idea. Not in disgust just that "really? me?" attitude Beat knows too well.

The question makes him huh? glancing back to Josh with a genuine pure look of confusion, head tilted 45 degrees even, before he realizes what Josh means.]

What! No way, yo!! I'm fine. It hurts, yeah, but I ain't gonna treatchu like you silver or some shit, an' avoid you. We're in this together, yo, I got yer back!! Like, yer still you, an' I know you, an' jus' 'cuz there's some missin' bits cause we all alternate timeline up in here, ain't mean I ain't friends widchu!

[He doesn't start walking again yet, instead staring at Josh thoughtfully. And shockingly? His mind closes off. Just a bit, he's not good at it, being an open book and all but it's an attempt. To save Josh from the constant barrage there.

But also... this is a chance to see if they can become friends without trauma forcing them together.]

Unless you want me to fuck off, then hey, s'cool, you lemme know.

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