There must be a future that we can choose

[iamtetsuo]

WHO: Tetsuo and YOU
WHERE: Nonah
WHEN: Plot Pull Plot
WHAT: Open Log for said plot
WARNINGS: Spoilers


[Those who know Tetsuo typically know him as a young man with black hair, typically dyed white with blue-frosted tips these days. Large forehead, very intense eyes when focused.

The kid wandering around now, lost and more than a little dazed, is most of these things. He's the exact same (entirely unchanged) height, if a little more muscular. He's also a silvery blue all over.

And he seems a lot more vacant than before, distracted by the weirdest things. Sometimes, he'll catch sight of his hand, and clench it closer to his body. Sometimes, he'll seem to just watch someone, most likely Kaneda, with a more mature kind of sadness than he should know how to feel. Sometimes he'll forget stuff about eating just because it's been a while since he had his body. His mind's just as easily miles away as it is in the moment. When he talks, he sounds humbler than he does even after death.

And when he first gets here.. he probably won't have clothing, so he'll need to borrow stuff.]


a; Wandering in a park.

[Light and life press down on him, overwhelming compared to the vast quiet.  This isn't Neo Tokyo- too green, too friendly, and yet it feels so jarringly dissonant that it's impossible to not immediately tell this is somewhere he's not supposed to be. Tetsuo stands still, a statue despite his small stature, marveling at the sensation of cold wind wrapping around him.

It's been a long time since he felt cold. He doesn't seem to care, reaching one hand up to catch a branch through his fingers - he has FINGERS now - eyeing a new leaf on it.

He can't see it now, but his head knows there's patterns there, intricate shapes woven together deeper and deeper through this leaf. He can't see it now, but the wind blowing it out of his grasp holds infinite possibilities, uncountable variables... but just one path it can ever take. He can't see any of this now, the way he's come to understand a world. And that's normal, he figures, this is how he should feel. No one's supposed to know what this tree is, anymore than the rocks or the sky.

He lets his hand drop, head tilted upwards to watch clouds drift lazily in scattered patches across a stretch of blue.

It's not enough, somehow.]

America... huh?

b; Nonah 05

[He's around less than usual, but Tetsuo's still claimed his spot here. If he's not sightseeing, he could be anything from lying on the couch with his eyes half-closed, mind a million miles away, curiously poking around as if he's never been here before, lying down in the back yard, or checking over his bike all over again for the novelty of it. Or messing around with rocks in the yard, levitating them in weird patterns for Tetsuo reasons.

One thing he's not doing is playing video games, or poking around at his comm. Actually, has he even touched his comm? Is he aware of how it works?]

c; Exploring

[Compared to so many other revelations in his life, this one barely seems weird. He's human. He's got a form. He can act again on a planet, instead of be. And you might find this weirdly spacey blue kid wandering the streets, checking into businesses just to see what they are.

Or you might see him getting waylaid by extremely interested natives with a million questions, or comments, and doing his best to get rid of the flock of people. Pushing through them doesn't seem to work. Telling them he's not interested also doesn't. Telling them off in harsher tones ALSO does nothing. Walking away ... nah. Taking off only gets phones trained on him.

He lands on a roof, or over the building to duck into the first place he sees just to be left alone.]


WILDCARD - feel free to throw up more starters or ask for a specific one.

Comments

Catch All for Kaneda

[rassera]

[LBR there's gonna be a lot.]

03/27 2:47 am

[rassera]

[The whole ordeal with Maya had risen a red flag to something going on in this world, and honestly, knowing this place, it was more likely that something WAS happening than toss it to the side as a fluke. Maya hadn't disappeared, it wasn't just a weird port-out. But he'd never expected it to happen twice so soon. The moment he left Maya to Komasan and Nick, letting her quote-unquote actual room mates take her back up to bed, Kaneda heads up to his own, sans the tea he always got.

Let's be real, it was too eventful of a night to really drink tea at this hour. Walking up the stairs in his usual fashion, he makes his way towards the room, pausing for a moment with that slight feeling that something was off. That feeling you get when you know someone ISN'T in the room. Call it a vague hunch, one he couldn't even really identify, but his hand pauses on that doorknob a little too long as he bores his eyes into the wood.

It has to be his imagination, right?

He turns the knob, opening it up and ready to chalk his feelings up to being overly anxious about this whole thing. Ready to let the air out of his lungs at seeing a snoozing Tetsuo, idly grabbing for Kaneda's missing body, where it was supposed to be.

He hated that his intuition was usually right.]

After the first thread, early, early morning.

[iamtetsuo]

[It all unravels in front of him, colors distorting and stretching into twisted nonsensical spirals. Then it's hands, muscle, splitting and stretching in an agonizing hell-

It couldn't been more than twenty minutes, or so in reality, but Tetsuo doesn't remember when he drifted off. Only that he wakes back up in a spike of panic, memories way too fresh despite being older than time itself. It's all more intense with a body - like everything just happened.

In the dark, it's hard to see much. He'd turn on a light if he knew where the switch was but despite this room being 'his', it's not familiar at all. Tetsuo ends up flipping around so his back's to Kaneda, wrapping his hands around his shoulders, curling legs towards his chest until he's balled up. He can't even reach out, although he wants to. It's... he can't shake the feeling something bad could happen.

He doesn't need to bother anyone with this, anyway. This is what he has to deal with.]

03/30 morning;

[rassera]

What do you mean you 'don't trust me' with a kitchen?

[Laughter sounds through the house as Kaneda turns to lean against the kitchen counter, at the small, blue-skinned boy sitting at the table in front of him. It was early morning, people either up and out doing their plans or sleeping in. The important thing? It was just them, and Kaneda wanted it that way.


After all, he wanted to show Tetsuo what he'd learned to do in this place. What he'd done for his Tetsuo since he'd learned how. And no, it didn't involve anything catching on fire, despite the boy's skeptical looks.]

Now tell me what you've got a taste for! You had to crave SOMETHING that whole time you've been....wherever you were.

03/31 Evening

[rassera]

Sushi times go here

4/1, late morning

[iamtetsuo]

What? No checkpoints...?

[It's a nice brisk day, but decently warm. Nonah's a busy, bright-spirited town with equally busy, high-spirited people, and few places showcase that better than its markets and tourist-friendly areas. There's no end of things - stuff Tetsuo'd see at a distance, or places guarded against people like him.

By American standards, it's average, but by Neo Tokyo standards, the sheer volume and variety of merchandise available is nothing short of miraculous.

Tetsuo's not keeping pace with Kaneda, slowing down without warning as his head cranes to look at a massive storefront, losing momentum as his attention drifts. There's so much noise, both outside and in his head. It's hard to keep track like he is.

But he's trying to hold conversation, even if it sometimes takes him a while to get a next sentence out. Sorry if you were about to answer, Kaneda.]

How're you supposed to know where the district boundaries are?

Ken catch-all!

[amadaman]

midnight snackshop

[amadaman]

[It's actually the second day of this madness that Ken approaches Tetsuo. Not because he was avoiding him all the previous day, but because he had been busy running around after Maya and checking on everyone else. But right now it's midnight, it's quiet, and Ken walks up to Tetsuo with one very simple offer.]

Hey, um... we're out of drinks. Do you want to go to the store? You mentioned you were looking for something earlier.

b

[rideme]

Hey! Bottomless pits!

[And cue the usual greeting of the Iron Bull upon entering N5. Shouted as per usual across the entire household, because that's just how he works. Aside from there suddenly being a lot more kids around than usual, he hasn't experienced anything different.]

[Just... a sudden lack of communication from Lavellan. Not good.]

[But of course, he's not going to SAY anything about it. Just continue on like everything's fine and dandy. And that includes hauling home wagons of takeout for the teenagers hanging around. Even if they don't eat it all right away, it's gone from the fridge before it spoils. So, of course, he keeps bringing it home.]

[It's street noodles today, from yet another shop the Iron Bull sweet-talked his way into knowing the owners.]

[He plunks them down in the kitchen, before looking around.]

... Anyone even here right now? Or do I get all this to myself?

[iamtetsuo]

I'm here.

[Tetsuo sounds weirdly neutral as he wanders into view. There's no silent judging, no quiet tendency to snipe or louder tendency to argue - and normally, he would have. He doesn't eat as much as the others tend to (despite the fact he probably should). This time, he just slides in like a ghost,and that's all that happens.

No move to claim anything, or hold back sulking about his own decision to not claim dibs on anything before the ravenous wolves descend. He's just...there.

This is fine.]

c;

[kanadian]

[ The boy he knows as Tetsuo is a brash, violent person. He thoguth it would be nice to see him grow up a little bit, change and calm down. It would be nice -- make a big change for him, and he had no doubt it would be positive.

But that didn't mean he expected to see it. With his own two eyes. He just. Flew away. Up and out, away from the people, no yelling. He asked them to stop, but he didn't explode? Kaidan could have swore he'd just seen an illusion. This was fake -- right? And was Tetsuo sick? He looked...was it blue?

Kaidan chased after him, a soldier's eye good at training and watching for where he landed -- it ended up on the top of an apartment building, and after a few minutes of waiting, he noticed that he hadn't come out, so he took to the roof, jogging up the couple flights of stairs curiously. Nobody stopped him, and he opened the door with a tip of his head. ]

I thought I -- Hey, is that you? Tetsuo?

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo watches people come and go, milling around. All of those people, with lives of their own that they think all-encompassing... Someone's calling him, and he loses the thought.

Tetsuo turns around, sizing the guy up with an almost confused look.]

Yeah. It's me.

[But there's no flash of real recognition, no posturing, nothing. Just a straight acknowledgment.]

Kururu Catch-All

[resoundingpledge]

[ Because when you can't decide between two things, the answer is probably 'both'. ]

Park

[resoundingpledge]

[ If he hadn't spoken, she might not have realized it was him.

As it was, she'd almost made a habit of seeking Tetsuo out in odd places. There wasn't anything odd about hearing him in the park; it was a cool spring day, she'd almost expect it. But the person that voice belonged to . . .

He wasn't wearing his trademark red and orange ensemble. His normal accessories were constants—his scarf, the hat she'd left on his head a month and a half past—but those were gone too, or forgotten, leaving far too much of his skin bare. Skin that had leeched all the tints from his hair, leaving it shining white, dying his hands and face and neck (and probably all of him) a soft blue. And normally none of that would be enough to throw her, not nearly enough to make her question anything, but there was something . . .

There was something in the air around him. Some feeling, some note, some . . . something. Something was off. Very off, very . . . wrong?

Very right?

She walks closer. The wrist that reaches for that leaf is bare, and something colder than the air shivers down her spine. ]

Tetsuo-kun . . . ?

[ Curious, and unsure. Is that you? ]

In the park

[violentmotion]

[It's not that Ikki doesn't have any memories. They're probably up there rattling around his tiny bird brain somewhere. They're just not IMPORTANT. Whatever they were, they weren't NOW.

Now, he's balancing on the back of a park bench, walking along with one ponderous bare footstep after another when Glow Worm Version Tetsuo meanders by, musing about the country.

He might know this guy. He probably does. But it doesn't matter. He KNOWS he likes him and that's good enough.]

I know! S'dumb, right?

[iamtetsuo]

I used to really care, y'know? It's funny... I hated the idea of this country.

[Tetsuo pulls at a leaf again, but not enough to break it off the branch. He's not sure if he does now or not. He hadn't thought about America at all in a long time.]

C

[thelimitdoesnotexist]

[Mewtwo is, That's the extent of what he knows about himself. His eyes occasionally glow with a vindictive neon shade of blue. Everything feels so new to him, the last few months feel like a disorienting dream already. He barely exists, how can he remember any of this?

He knows one definite thing: humans, they do not deserve to share the same space as him. And it makes him mad, chills him right to the bones.

But in the midst of his flying like an unstable missile over DeChima, Mewtwo finds something bizarre even for his world. A blue humanoid, touching down on the rooftop. His interest is already piqued as he lands at that very same spot. His expression is like one of impatience.]

< So….are you what humankind wants to attain? >

[iamtetsuo]

[And that, at least, is a question that Tetsuo's finally equipped to answer. He can truly understand the scope of mankind's quest for progress, by its own undoing. He's seen everything now, from the first experiments to the last one they could ever do.]

< Funny you ask... yes, that's right. >

[Tetsuo doesn't even seem to CARE that it's in his head. Most conversation he's had for the entire span of time itself was; it's as natural as breathing to him. As is returning it with a single thought without looking for a source. Good question. Go on]

B

[learntofly]

[So many of the sounds in Nonah 5 are out of key recently; too flat or sharp or just lacking the intensity they should. This newest change . . . honestly, Yayoi's not sure what to make of it when she first notices. When she ventures in from lounging on the roof, she's not at all prepared for what she finds. Someone injured? Sure. Someone who appears to be coated in a fine metal? Definitely not.]

T . . . Tetsuo-kun?

[iamtetsuo]

[it's definitely Tetsuo; who else has a forehead and weird hairline like that? Especially the way Tetsuo's eyes meet hers at his name, though there's not much else there. It's like she's a stranger, almost...]

Yeah?

[His voice is also the exact same. It's definitely him, though he seems a little confused on what to do with himself in somewhere as exotic and foreign as Nonah 05's living room. That's normal, right?]

a!

[regenereight]

[ The Doctor...is feeding the pigeons. Strange new world, strange new rules, strange new America and strange new situation, what is he going to do, something that he knows is a good idea and something that will benefit something somehow, he's going to feed the pigeons.

The blue guy gets his attention. Not because he's blue, though the Doctor would be lying if the blueness didn't his attention a little bit. But no, it's moreso the fact that he's watching the sky and touching a branch in a way that the Doctor can't help but register as a little odd. Putting the bread crumbs back in his pocket, he walks over to Tetsuo, nodding slightly. ]

America. More broadly, Earth. More specifically, Nonah. I'd be better at the bigger picture if you want more details, but I can try on the smaller bits if needed.

[iamtetsuo]

Nonah... I heard that one, too.

[He's back to playing with that branch, not even turning to look at the Doctor while he talks.]

But it's not right. Something's missing.

c

[resipiscent]

[He can't fly. He's never been able to fly, but since apparently there are superheroes here, it was an idea he'd entertained for ten seconds. Instead he's realized he can't do anything at all.

He can't do anything but fail at doing anything with the darkness, it seems -- despite the fact that he feels like he should be practicing, he can't activate Dark Mode and he can't summon any Heartless. It's not right. He did manage to open a Corridor, though, which was one comfort. At least something stayed the same. But passing through it -- it was like the first time he'd ever done by it all over again, Maleficent smirking at him while he was on the ground out of breath. Telling him he was reckless, and what would happen to someone who wasn't careful.

But he doesn't need to be careful anymore. He's still powerful enough to control the Heartless, even if there don't seem to be any here. With that in mind he had passed through his portal and found himself high above a city, feet crunching on the gravel surface of the roof. There's a garden here, and a fire escape that probably isn't locked, if he wanted to go back down. For now he simply leans on the railing, looks down over the town. Has he been here before? He remembers a big city from the other day. Maybe this is the same one. It's hard to tell from this angle and without any landmarks.

Riku pauses in his musing, takes inventory of the way his body feels in general. Weaker than he'd been with Maleficent, certainly. But that's only because he doesn't, for whatever reason, have the same level of darkness anymore. He'll simply have to build it back up again. It's going to take a big effort to leave this world, after all. He won't be able to do it by being complacent. And maybe Sora's happy here, but he has to get back to Kairi. He can't just leave her. Who cares what Sora likes anyway...?

He realizes that he's frowning hard, brows furrowed, and makes a conscious effort to relax his face. After a moment he succeeds in making it simply blank again. These four interconnected worlds... everything here smells so weird. It's that that catches his attention next, something he'd realized a few minutes after finding his phone when he'd arrived. It's like everything is particularly fragrant, perhaps, or maybe whatever force dragged him here gave him a new power. He can't tell.

What he can tell is that suddenly there's something on the roof with him. He's immediately on the defensive, but stays in place, simply lifts his head a little so he can look over his shoulder at the newcomer. It's a person. This person smells equally as weird as everything else. Perhaps even more weird, actually -- and now that he gets a better look at him, this person is blue.

Not for the first time Riku wonders, for lack of a better idea, whether he's dreaming. He must be, mustn't he...?]

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo doesn't land with the same sort of grace that most would. He seems to drift down, rising to his feet slowly to look around. There's one other person here, white-haired, but with normal skin. Now that's weird - that's not how that's supposed to work, as far as he knows.

There's no effort made to disguise his curiosity, staring openly at this other person but without any sign of malice or ill intent. He's not here to posture. He's not here to do anything except stand there for a while, then shift to perch on the edge of the building when standing gets old.]

What're you up here for? Everyone else is on the streets.

[He speaks quietly, quiet enough that if the wind picks up he'd be hard to hear.]

b

[deadtective]

[as always, Hazel seeks peace in chaos. the constant commotion of Nonah 5 is soothing in a way she can't articulate - perhaps it's the flow of life that she can no longer completely take part in, running around her without overwhelming. whenever she needs to take a step back from her own world, however briefly, she finds herself in that small curtained-off part of the basement.

today is no different. she tries not to let people see, but the alteration of her friends - the effective loss of her grandfather - has hit her harder than she cares to express. sitting in the quiet duskiness of her own private world is barely enough to keep her from indulging in her usual emotional mistakes, but it's all she has right now. Hazel's not good at restraining herself.

she can't stay hidden forever, though, and it's when she emerges that she sees Tetsuo sprawled out on the couch...or what looks like him, anyway.

there've been enough encounters already that Hazel immediately knows what's afoot here. what can she say? nothing comes to mind that isn't intensely personal and thus completely off limits. nobody cares, anyway. this was just a small taste of her inevitable future when people left all the same.

but she lingers too long. Hazel stands in the doorway with her thoughts and a soft sigh escapes her, more weary melancholy than irritation. now she has to speak, although the words she conjures up have no heart in them at all.]

...blue's not your color.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo sits up, tilting his head back to get a look at this newest iteration of 'familiar people he's never seen before'. It's getting a little familiar now, with people not expecting anything about him. Both comforting.. and extremely distancing all at once.

With a similar weariness, he shrugs as best he can while draped over furniture.]

It always was...

a (Human)

[doesntdomuch]

[When Perry sees a weird silvery person he doesn't think too much of it at first. Maybe it was some new imPort who was made out of metal or something like that. (Maybe he's an alien from a world made out of metal judging by how he's reacting to this park?)

However as he approached him on his walk he felt an odd sense of familiarity with him. He swears he knows this guy from somewhere.

Then once he gets close to him it hits him like a brick.]

< ... Tetsuo?! >

[As he "says" this though, he couldn't help but wonder if he was wrong. Maybe this guy was a shapeshifter and the first human he saw was Tetsuo so he just shapeshifted into that.

People don't just turn into a blue silvery figure.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo jerks as if the tree burned him. He doesn't glance around to try to localize the source, which could hint that he recognizes his "kappa" "friend" for varying definitions of both words, but no. He's just used to voices.]

What? What is it?

[Clearly it's some other big-foreheaded weirdo who picks up on thoughts if you think them loudly enough.]

b

[monge]

[Let it be known that Komasan is having a difficult time accepting that all his friends are changing. It hit him hardest with Maya, but as days went on, it became increasingly obvious that this was just gonna be a thing.

No, great, that's fine. He loves change. Really.

No not really.

So of course when he finally spots Tetsuo simply lying on the couch after a period of him doing...whatever it is you do when you're suddenly changed, he decides to make up for lost time and make a nuisance out of himself. Look, some things need to stay the same or else he's going to cry.]

You got blue on you, zura.

[iamtetsuo]

[But some don't. Tetsuo opens his eyes, tilting his head to get a good look around. And this time, when he spies a komainu, there's no panic like there was before. This isn't a wandering impossibility. After all... gods exist. He would know.

Why not?

It might seem that Tetsuo just recognizes him, instead of not having much reaction to him. That would be an incorrect and painful assumption to make.]

That's how I am now.

lunch/meditating!

[missleadingquestions]

Tetsuo!

[Tetsuo's probably getting tired of people calling for him, by this point. But this time it's Mayoi, coming from the kitchen with a plate in her hands, lifting it above her head to keep it balanced as she climbs to sit on the arm of the couch. Holding the plate on her lap, she asks him--]

Have you eaten yet?

[iamtetsuo]

Eh?

[It's usually not a good sign when someone has to really meditate on a question like that.]

Mm... I don't remember. Why?

[Maybe because it's lunchtime, dipshit. Not having a body for ... who knows how long is no excuse for immediately failing to keep track of the new one he's got, but what can you do.]

c!

[psychofailed]

[Guess who the spacey blue kid just landed in front of in his attempts to get away from nosy nosy native crowds? That's right, this guy.

But he doesn't freak out this time because okay, he's already had his WTF WHY ARE YOU BLUE moment with Lapis Lazuli, he's got this now. (He doesn't got this, at all, but there's only so much you can reject the reality around you before you have to start rolling with the insanity).

So there's just an awkwardly stunned moment before he collects himself, takes a drag on his cigarette, and says, with just a hint of sarcasm:]

Hello to you too.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo backs up just a bit, fixing the guy on the roof with first a surprised stare, then a flat look, then one almost closed to tired resignation. There's no getting away from people right now, is there...]

Hey.

[He acts as if this is just a normal thing that happens. Nothing in this entire sequence is even for him anymore, but what else is there to do about it. Blinking, he looks to the side, then back down behind him, evidently not remotely concerned about being on the edge of a rooftop either.

Again, normal actions from a normal person.]

What're you doing up here...?

a;

[112ounces]

[ Carl likes hanging around Heropa's parks. They are small and modest, sure, but that's what they are: small and modest. Nonah's parts, on the other hand, are, well, deeper and darker. He hears a familiar voice as he walks down a worn path and turns and sees -

Tetsuo?

But he looks so different. ]

Tetsuo?

[iamtetsuo]

[Wherever he was going with that musing vanishes the second he hears his name. It wasn't all that important, anyway. Just.. something about it all seems familiar, but for no reason whatsoever.

It's clearly him; no one else has a forehead or receding hairline combination quite like that. Any further doubts are put to rest when he responds, turning around to face Carl.]

Yeah?

[Speaking of seeming familiar... Tetsuo's face shifts to almost recognition, then confusion.]

b! KNOCK KNOCK NEIGHBORINO

[23wishes]

[It's been a pretty exhausting few days, all things considered, getting herself settled into this weird new world. Aerith doesn't mind loneliness - much, anyway - but the unfamiliarity of the area is... unsettling. There's not many places she can go after dark yet, because she knows better, but she needs to get out of her room and look around.

Meet new people! Something!

The best thing she can think to do is walk over next door to Nonah 05 and introduce herself to the neighbors. It's polite, right?

And besides, there's... something. She's not sure what it is, but she's felt it for as long as she's been here in her townhouse. It's a weird feeling. Maybe it's gotten closer now? She should check it out.]

[DING DONG]

[iamtetsuo]

[The door answers itself, swinging open with an eerie creak. Inside, a cat yawns, head swiveling lazily towards the door. Beyond the cat, there's a weird blue teenager sitting on a chair... watching the door.

His head turns to the rest of the room behind him, tilting up - to upstairs, maybe? Then back to the door. Only after establishing that no one else seems to be coming does he get up and wander over towards her.]

If you want the others... they're not here.