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[ It's a beautiful evening on PLANT. The skies are clear, the streets are busy, yet quiet and peaceful, and one Dearka Elthman is getting a very normal text. ]
Some woman just walked up to me at this bar and proclaimed that I looked like a "shady motherfucker."
Some woman just walked up to me at this bar and proclaimed that I looked like a "shady motherfucker."
[Thank god this is a text and not a phone call or something, because he actually barks a laugh out loud when he reads that.]
Wow. Someone should probably tell her that it's COMMANDER Shady Motherfucker, actually.
Wow. Someone should probably tell her that it's COMMANDER Shady Motherfucker, actually.
Edited 2024-03-30 03:14 (UTC)
[ Yzak literally has the WORST TWO (only) FRIENDS EVER. ]
The only thing she's getting told is to fuck off.
I wasn't even looking at her! Who just walks up to someone and says something like that!?
Not to mention something so WRONG.
The only thing she's getting told is to fuck off.
I wasn't even looking at her! Who just walks up to someone and says something like that!?
Not to mention something so WRONG.
[IT'S WHAT HE DESEEEERRRVESSS]
True. Can't say "shady" is a word *I* would pick to describe you.
[No comment on the "motherfucker" part though!]
Don't take it too personally. I bet she was just drunk off her ass.
True. Can't say "shady" is a word *I* would pick to describe you.
[No comment on the "motherfucker" part though!]
Don't take it too personally. I bet she was just drunk off her ass.
[ Putting a pin on that first remark. You bet your ass he's coming back to that one shortly. ]
That makes it worse! Don't they say alcohol just makes people tell the truth?
That means she actually believes it!
[ And that's worse than just saying it to be an asshole! ]
That makes it worse! Don't they say alcohol just makes people tell the truth?
That means she actually believes it!
[ And that's worse than just saying it to be an asshole! ]
[Oh boy... His feelings are really hurt over this, huh :/]
Come on... Maybe she was just saying it on a bet or something. You don't know for sure.
What happened afterwards?
Come on... Maybe she was just saying it on a bet or something. You don't know for sure.
What happened afterwards?
[ >Yzak ever not taking something personally. ]
If she was acting on a bet, I'd love to find out from who!
But as it stands, she walked away, and I had better things to do than pay attention to where she went!
[ Because by the time his flabbergasted brain realized what she said to him she was gone. ]
If she was acting on a bet, I'd love to find out from who!
But as it stands, she walked away, and I had better things to do than pay attention to where she went!
[ Because by the time his flabbergasted brain realized what she said to him she was gone. ]
LOL. So she did a hit and run, then...? Come on. Are you seriously going to take the word of a flaky woman like that?
[ ... he's right (of course) and he hates it (of course). Even over text Dearka somehow has the power to dampen Yzak's fuse when it sparks to life.
But that means Yzak now swings back to his pin from a couple of moments ago. ]
What word would you use, then? Since you just said you wouldn't use shady to describe me.
But that means Yzak now swings back to his pin from a couple of moments ago. ]
What word would you use, then? Since you just said you wouldn't use shady to describe me.
[Dearka about to reap what he's sown,,]
Come on, you *really* want me to answer that? Let's just forget about it. Maybe talk about the fact that you apparently decided to go drinking without me? What's THAT all about?
Come on, you *really* want me to answer that? Let's just forget about it. Maybe talk about the fact that you apparently decided to go drinking without me? What's THAT all about?
[ Oh he'S GONNA. ]
Your shift at the office was over early today!
It's not like I planned this, anyway. I got dragged out by Warner and Holt when I was leaving. And I'm not staying for more than one when I've got to be back at 7am tomorrow.
Your shift at the office was over early today!
It's not like I planned this, anyway. I got dragged out by Warner and Holt when I was leaving. And I'm not staying for more than one when I've got to be back at 7am tomorrow.
[What a sense of personal responsibility! Such healthy habits! Absolutely begging to be made fun of.]
See, if that woman wanted to be more accurate with her insults, she should have just called you an old grandpa.
See, if that woman wanted to be more accurate with her insults, she should have just called you an old grandpa.
[ Dearka doesn't need to be on video call to know exactly what kind of face Yzak makes at his phone when he reads that. ]
I'm not an OLD anything! That wouldn't be accurate at all!
But you saying accurate, that means THAT'S what you'd say!?
I'm not an OLD anything! That wouldn't be accurate at all!
But you saying accurate, that means THAT'S what you'd say!?
Hey, it's less about your literal age and more about your state of being.
And your habits.
And general aura.
I still don't think that's the word I'd actually go with though.
[Let's see... If he were a drunk stranger who saw Yzak Jule scowling around a bar, and got it in his head to walk up to the man and call him a "___ motherfucker" for ostensibly no reason... The adjective he'd choose to fill that blank would probably be...]
"Uptight" seems more suitable than "shady".
And your habits.
And general aura.
I still don't think that's the word I'd actually go with though.
[Let's see... If he were a drunk stranger who saw Yzak Jule scowling around a bar, and got it in his head to walk up to the man and call him a "___ motherfucker" for ostensibly no reason... The adjective he'd choose to fill that blank would probably be...]
"Uptight" seems more suitable than "shady".
[ WOW WHO SAID HE WAS SCOWLING IN THE BAR?
(he was 100% scowling in the bar) ]
There's nothing wrong with my habits and I am NOT uptight!
[ A beat. ]
And if I was it'd be because I have to listen to and read THIS kind of slanderous shit!
(he was 100% scowling in the bar) ]
There's nothing wrong with my habits and I am NOT uptight!
[ A beat. ]
And if I was it'd be because I have to listen to and read THIS kind of slanderous shit!
[ When Yzak returns home, it feels surreal. It's as though he doesn't belong here, doesn't fit where he knows he should when he realizes that he's going to have to fit back into place somehow. Because to everyone here who knows and cares about him ... they only just saw him, spoken to him, didn't they? And they'll expect to do so again, whether it's in an hour or tomorrow or a week from now. But Yzak Jule, as he stands at the window in his room, blue eyes scanning over the view, thinks to himself that right now, he truly doesn't know how he's going to just return to life.
And that hurts a hell of a lot.
Because life was always something Yzak looked at and had a path ahead of him for. Sure, before the Ximilia that path wasn't perfect and there were some things he'd gazed ahead at and didn't want to get closer to, but it was something all the same. He wasn't so keen on making a huge fuss about it, because he was lucky to even have a life and a future at all. And it was still difficult at times to feel as though he deserved even that. His time on the Ximilia changed everything, turned everything he'd ever expected of himself and his life straight onto its head. And he realized he did, perhaps, deserve more than he felt he did, and thus, deserved to look at the path ahead of him and make it into something he went down willingly. Ran down, even, because it was something he wanted, wholeheartedly, for himself.
But then he lost everything.
So here he stands in the rubble of those crumbled dreams, old path abandoned and impossible to return to because he's changed so much, and nothing ahead of him now because everything he wanted on that path and the person he wanted to walk it with is gone. And he wonders still if perhaps he didn't deserve and shouldn't have wanted at all and this was all some punishment for daring to reach for something so good. Now he not only has to have a painful reminder of that because he's got to begin to walk in some direction again, but he has to do so when the 'him' who stood here in this bedroom last feels like a completely different person than who stands here now.
Yzak is at his window because he figured he could at least deal with the immediate. And he's looking out because he's taking a note of the clusters of blue hourglass shapes he can see in the night sky, making the calculations of which cluster is which, seeing December and Januarius, and...
The PLANTs are intact; all colonies within each of the two clusters standing.
I did it.
What he'd sought out to do, spent the last near three years of his life to accomplish. It's a balm on his otherwise tumultuous and hurting heart because those millions of lives, of his people who he swore his own life to and whose deaths have haunted him since, were saved. He feels a pride that he hasn't felt so strongly in a while swell up in his chest ... but even that victory, it's only his, isn't it? Nobody else would be any wiser about the truth, unless Yzak decided to tell them. And if he did, he'd probably sound fucking insane.
For now, he's tired. Victory always brings some form of exhaustion, doesn't it? Not to mention there are a lot of things he's going to need to figure out, and fast.
He'll begin to do that tomorrow, once he's rested and feels, perhaps, that he really is home and that this isn't just some sort of fucked up dream.
What he also does is something that anyone who knows him would find peculiar: he takes off work. A few days, he figures, so he can sort himself out. Thankfully, he's got a great team working under him who can easily pick up the slack (and truly, he has no idea whatsoever what he was working on before he left, it's been so long) and he usually doesn't leave slack needing to be picked up in the first place. Still, his absence in the main office is something that won't go unnoticed the next day when he doesn't come in and any inquiries will only be met with a just as uninformative "Major Jule has requested the next few days off. No, he didn't explain why. I wonder if something's come up?" ]
And that hurts a hell of a lot.
Because life was always something Yzak looked at and had a path ahead of him for. Sure, before the Ximilia that path wasn't perfect and there were some things he'd gazed ahead at and didn't want to get closer to, but it was something all the same. He wasn't so keen on making a huge fuss about it, because he was lucky to even have a life and a future at all. And it was still difficult at times to feel as though he deserved even that. His time on the Ximilia changed everything, turned everything he'd ever expected of himself and his life straight onto its head. And he realized he did, perhaps, deserve more than he felt he did, and thus, deserved to look at the path ahead of him and make it into something he went down willingly. Ran down, even, because it was something he wanted, wholeheartedly, for himself.
But then he lost everything.
So here he stands in the rubble of those crumbled dreams, old path abandoned and impossible to return to because he's changed so much, and nothing ahead of him now because everything he wanted on that path and the person he wanted to walk it with is gone. And he wonders still if perhaps he didn't deserve and shouldn't have wanted at all and this was all some punishment for daring to reach for something so good. Now he not only has to have a painful reminder of that because he's got to begin to walk in some direction again, but he has to do so when the 'him' who stood here in this bedroom last feels like a completely different person than who stands here now.
Yzak is at his window because he figured he could at least deal with the immediate. And he's looking out because he's taking a note of the clusters of blue hourglass shapes he can see in the night sky, making the calculations of which cluster is which, seeing December and Januarius, and...
The PLANTs are intact; all colonies within each of the two clusters standing.
I did it.
What he'd sought out to do, spent the last near three years of his life to accomplish. It's a balm on his otherwise tumultuous and hurting heart because those millions of lives, of his people who he swore his own life to and whose deaths have haunted him since, were saved. He feels a pride that he hasn't felt so strongly in a while swell up in his chest ... but even that victory, it's only his, isn't it? Nobody else would be any wiser about the truth, unless Yzak decided to tell them. And if he did, he'd probably sound fucking insane.
For now, he's tired. Victory always brings some form of exhaustion, doesn't it? Not to mention there are a lot of things he's going to need to figure out, and fast.
He'll begin to do that tomorrow, once he's rested and feels, perhaps, that he really is home and that this isn't just some sort of fucked up dream.
What he also does is something that anyone who knows him would find peculiar: he takes off work. A few days, he figures, so he can sort himself out. Thankfully, he's got a great team working under him who can easily pick up the slack (and truly, he has no idea whatsoever what he was working on before he left, it's been so long) and he usually doesn't leave slack needing to be picked up in the first place. Still, his absence in the main office is something that won't go unnoticed the next day when he doesn't come in and any inquiries will only be met with a just as uninformative "Major Jule has requested the next few days off. No, he didn't explain why. I wonder if something's come up?" ]
Dearka, come in. Are you okay?
Dearka! Where are you!?
Respond, damn it!
I sent out my coordinates. I don't care when you get this message, go to them! That's an order!
[ Wherever this is, however they got there, the facts are: it's affected them, and in such a way they've never experienced before. Yzak noticed the changes in himself immediately, overcome by an intense, deep hunger unlike anything he's ever felt. And that hunger ... didn't even feel like it was near how much more deeper it could go.
So, urgent with the sudden helplessness he feels, he reaches for the two things he can rely on: Dearka, who he's also just as concerned about if he's going through something similar which is why he sends those messages out to him as quickly as he does, and himself. He aims to lessen that feeling of powerlessness as much and as quickly as possible, to seize a feeling of control over this, and in order to do that he needs to figure out what's changed in him and why, and how to fix or deal with it. And it doesn't take him very long. He looks down at his hands, notes the pallor of his already pale skin - and really this is Yzak Jule he's already kind of a pasty motherfucker so it speaks volumes that he notices the change. And when he rushes to the bathroom so he can look at himself ... he sees nothing but the wall behind him in the mirror.
He's read more than enough folklore to know what's going on here. And yet it's still hard to wrap his head around. (also, why couldn't he turn into something less cliche than a vampire with how many actual interesting folkloric creatures there are out there! (ugh, damn it, I'd rather not turn into anything at all!))
By the time Dearka responds or arrives, Yzak's informed enough on his end that he's calmed down at least a little bit from the initial panic. And yet ... he realizes now that the hunger he feels is a craving for blood, and part of the intensity of that is tinged with a ... ferocity that concerns him. Something loud deep inside of him that begs to be sated because if he lets it grow it may become too much to bear before his body simply acts despite his wishes. ]
Damn it...
[ He mutters to himself, pacing back and forth as the thumb of his hand slid just beneath his top lip presses and rubs against a long, and very sharp fang. ]
Dearka! Where are you!?
Respond, damn it!
I sent out my coordinates. I don't care when you get this message, go to them! That's an order!
[ Wherever this is, however they got there, the facts are: it's affected them, and in such a way they've never experienced before. Yzak noticed the changes in himself immediately, overcome by an intense, deep hunger unlike anything he's ever felt. And that hunger ... didn't even feel like it was near how much more deeper it could go.
So, urgent with the sudden helplessness he feels, he reaches for the two things he can rely on: Dearka, who he's also just as concerned about if he's going through something similar which is why he sends those messages out to him as quickly as he does, and himself. He aims to lessen that feeling of powerlessness as much and as quickly as possible, to seize a feeling of control over this, and in order to do that he needs to figure out what's changed in him and why, and how to fix or deal with it. And it doesn't take him very long. He looks down at his hands, notes the pallor of his already pale skin - and really this is Yzak Jule he's already kind of a pasty motherfucker so it speaks volumes that he notices the change. And when he rushes to the bathroom so he can look at himself ... he sees nothing but the wall behind him in the mirror.
He's read more than enough folklore to know what's going on here. And yet it's still hard to wrap his head around. (also, why couldn't he turn into something less cliche than a vampire with how many actual interesting folkloric creatures there are out there! (ugh, damn it, I'd rather not turn into anything at all!))
By the time Dearka responds or arrives, Yzak's informed enough on his end that he's calmed down at least a little bit from the initial panic. And yet ... he realizes now that the hunger he feels is a craving for blood, and part of the intensity of that is tinged with a ... ferocity that concerns him. Something loud deep inside of him that begs to be sated because if he lets it grow it may become too much to bear before his body simply acts despite his wishes. ]
Damn it...
[ He mutters to himself, pacing back and forth as the thumb of his hand slid just beneath his top lip presses and rubs against a long, and very sharp fang. ]
[Oopsie. Maybe it's time to steer this conversation in a different direction...]
But consider this: it's the perfect setup for all KINDS of terrible, tightness related pick-up lines.
[Hopefully Yzak can pick up on the lazy drawl and the cocked eyebrow that's just, dripping from that text.]
But consider this: it's the perfect setup for all KINDS of terrible, tightness related pick-up lines.
[Hopefully Yzak can pick up on the lazy drawl and the cocked eyebrow that's just, dripping from that text.]
Edited 2024-04-03 02:26 (UTC)
[ Ugh, he can, and he hates it. But it's cute that Dearka thinks he's going to flirt his way out of this.
(yzak is already losing by thinking it's cute) ]
Terrible is right.
(yzak is already losing by thinking it's cute) ]
Terrible is right.
[Wherever he's been, Dearka has been experiencing changes that are not at all dissimilar: sudden and alarming, immediately assaulting his brain with all kinds of heightened and unfamiliar instincts and impulses.
Also not dissimilar: his immediate fear and concern for his partner's safety... Fear which only increases as he watches many of the strangers out on the streets begin to undergo their own changes, and proceed to leap all over each other.]
Damn it!
[He's already tearing back towards their shared living space before Yzak even calls, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
...Well. "Fur" might be a more accurate word than "hair", actually.
His own changes had arrived as a violent maelstrom of teeth and claws which made his blood boil and his energy spike. He feels more alive and alert than ever, like the switch which controls his soldier's combat instincts is suddenly jammed into the 'on' position, and he can't even think about turning it back off. It might almost be invigorating, if it didn't feel like his heart was about to pound out of his chest. Distracting smells and sounds try to assault his heightened senses from every direction as he sprints back towards the coordinates given, but he grits his new fangs and ignores them all with a single-minded determination.
That's how a blonde-furred and harried looking wolf-man eventually comes to burst through the front door, wrenching it open with such strength and urgency that it's a wonder he doesn't smash the door itself, or rip it off its hinges.]
Yzak!
[Dearka shouts his name and screeches to a halt at the threshold, filling up the doorway, breathing heavily for a moment. His eyes are wild, and his clothes are shredded in some places; his changes came with a lot more alterations to his very skeletal structure, so his somewhat lanky and typically relaxed frame now hulking and tensed. All this at the cost of several popped seams and slashes in the fabric of his clothing, the latter likely caused by clumsy, unfamiliar claws.
He's almost unrecognizable like this, with the face of a beast, his teeth bared and gleaming white.
But... When he sees that Yzak is still here, and he's at least still in one piece, his expression relaxes into something much more obviously Dearka. The snout recedes. He shrinks down a bit, reaches up to rub the back of his neck and lets out an over-exaggerated sigh of relief.]
Thank god... Oi, Yzak; you didn't have to scare me like that, you know.
Also not dissimilar: his immediate fear and concern for his partner's safety... Fear which only increases as he watches many of the strangers out on the streets begin to undergo their own changes, and proceed to leap all over each other.]
Damn it!
[He's already tearing back towards their shared living space before Yzak even calls, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
...Well. "Fur" might be a more accurate word than "hair", actually.
His own changes had arrived as a violent maelstrom of teeth and claws which made his blood boil and his energy spike. He feels more alive and alert than ever, like the switch which controls his soldier's combat instincts is suddenly jammed into the 'on' position, and he can't even think about turning it back off. It might almost be invigorating, if it didn't feel like his heart was about to pound out of his chest. Distracting smells and sounds try to assault his heightened senses from every direction as he sprints back towards the coordinates given, but he grits his new fangs and ignores them all with a single-minded determination.
That's how a blonde-furred and harried looking wolf-man eventually comes to burst through the front door, wrenching it open with such strength and urgency that it's a wonder he doesn't smash the door itself, or rip it off its hinges.]
Yzak!
[Dearka shouts his name and screeches to a halt at the threshold, filling up the doorway, breathing heavily for a moment. His eyes are wild, and his clothes are shredded in some places; his changes came with a lot more alterations to his very skeletal structure, so his somewhat lanky and typically relaxed frame now hulking and tensed. All this at the cost of several popped seams and slashes in the fabric of his clothing, the latter likely caused by clumsy, unfamiliar claws.
He's almost unrecognizable like this, with the face of a beast, his teeth bared and gleaming white.
But... When he sees that Yzak is still here, and he's at least still in one piece, his expression relaxes into something much more obviously Dearka. The snout recedes. He shrinks down a bit, reaches up to rub the back of his neck and lets out an over-exaggerated sigh of relief.]
Thank god... Oi, Yzak; you didn't have to scare me like that, you know.
[ Just as both the door swings open and he hears his name (though he heard the approaching footsteps outside, his own hearing and other senses also spiking beyond even what he's used to as a Coordinator) Yzak spins around to meet—
What in the absolute fuck is that?
It all happens in about two-second's time. He heard Dearka's voice, he sees this monstrous-looking creature, so clearly this thing attacked him? Yzak does what any logical man would do under that extremely wrong assumption, he goes for the pistol he carries on him with alarming speed, bringing it up and pointing it directly at the beast. His whole body tenses, jaw clenched and teeth grit. Finger over the trigger, it twitches, ready to fire if it moves even an inch. It stopping in the doorway gives Yzak that extra precious moment to look it over and try to make out any best place to land a shot on its body to protect himself.
And to realize his huge mistake here, when he notices those tattered clothes look ... familiar?
Yzak's expression melts from ready to kill to one of confusion, of dawning realization as Dearka's own demeanor and thus, physical appearance shifts a bit. ]
... Dearka...?
[ His grip on the gun eases, and he brings his arms down, even if the rest of him still looks like it's in defense mode.
And Dearka is saying he scared him? ]
What the hell happened to you!?
What in the absolute fuck is that?
It all happens in about two-second's time. He heard Dearka's voice, he sees this monstrous-looking creature, so clearly this thing attacked him? Yzak does what any logical man would do under that extremely wrong assumption, he goes for the pistol he carries on him with alarming speed, bringing it up and pointing it directly at the beast. His whole body tenses, jaw clenched and teeth grit. Finger over the trigger, it twitches, ready to fire if it moves even an inch. It stopping in the doorway gives Yzak that extra precious moment to look it over and try to make out any best place to land a shot on its body to protect himself.
And to realize his huge mistake here, when he notices those tattered clothes look ... familiar?
Yzak's expression melts from ready to kill to one of confusion, of dawning realization as Dearka's own demeanor and thus, physical appearance shifts a bit. ]
... Dearka...?
[ His grip on the gun eases, and he brings his arms down, even if the rest of him still looks like it's in defense mode.
And Dearka is saying he scared him? ]
What the hell happened to you!?
[Yzak pulls the gun so fast, Dearka barely has time to finish the sentence before he's reflexively holding his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture, his eyes widening. Thankfully, Yzak lowers the weapon again just as quickly. Which, is nice; now doesn't seem like a great time to be reenacting Mendel, after all...
At Yzak's question he snorts, letting his hands drop again. By this point he's calmed down enough that he's looking more just like a hairier, scruffier version of his typical self.]
Wish I could answer that. It just sort of happened, y'know...? And I'm not the only one. People all over the city started changing too, completely without warning. [He cocks his head, frowning skeptically.] Did you not notice? I assumed that's what your call was about.
At Yzak's question he snorts, letting his hands drop again. By this point he's calmed down enough that he's looking more just like a hairier, scruffier version of his typical self.]
Wish I could answer that. It just sort of happened, y'know...? And I'm not the only one. People all over the city started changing too, completely without warning. [He cocks his head, frowning skeptically.] Did you not notice? I assumed that's what your call was about.
[Yeah he's calling his shit out on that.]
;) You know you love it.
;) You know you love it.
[ It does say something about Yzak that this is his mans, it's true. This kind of shit is exactly why he likes him, despite all of his fuss about it.
And he will not be commenting on that comment (which in itself is comment enough) but ugh he's in a BAR staring at the text and the word love and Dearka's just being stupid and jokey about it anD YET he's feeling his face heat up like a colossal fool.
So what Dearka will get instead, a couple of moments later, is a photo of a fresh new drink next to the single empty glass he was originally only intending to have. : ) ]
And he will not be commenting on that comment (which in itself is comment enough) but ugh he's in a BAR staring at the text and the word love and Dearka's just being stupid and jokey about it anD YET he's feeling his face heat up like a colossal fool.
So what Dearka will get instead, a couple of moments later, is a photo of a fresh new drink next to the single empty glass he was originally only intending to have. : ) ]
[If he was hoping this would make Dearka jealous or something, he's sorely off the mark.]
That's the spirit, gramps!
[He probably also sends like, a stupid LINE sticker of an anime dog giving a thumbs up with a bunch of sparkles behind it or something.]
That's the spirit, gramps!
[He probably also sends like, a stupid LINE sticker of an anime dog giving a thumbs up with a bunch of sparkles behind it or something.]
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