semi-closed;

[orangehoodie]

WHO: Ken + castmates/housemates and CR; planned threads
WHERE: Nonah#005, De Chima#001, and various places as needed
WHEN: May 19th to perhaps the 24th
WHAT: the aftermath of this and reconnecting with friends
WARNINGS: like last time, talks of death and suicide and shit

i: Nonah #005; (the prompt is for the 19th, but other days work too)
On the 18th, he left with a note on the refrigerator that he was sleeping over at a friend's with Koromaru and wouldn't be home that day. That, he thought, might keep his housemates from worrying when he didn't show up that night. But Ken ends up home anyway, much later into the night, with a certain blue-haired man in tow, and he curls into bed and falls asleep almost immediately then. When he wakes up, it's past noon and he has a headache but he's feeling oddly refreshed.

There are things he lied to his housemates about. There are things he wants to ask them, and clear up. He doesn't feel like putting on clothes so he just throws his jacket on over his pajamas and steps out of his room. It's a weekday, so he doesn't know who's going to be home, but he has plenty of time. Whenever he comes across someone who's at the house, he shuffles over to them, hesitating just once before mumbling: "Can I sit with you?"

ii: De Chima #001
After the talks at Nonah have been had, De Chima is his next stop. He isn't sure how far the news had spread, if it had at all, but he's sure he'll find out once he's there. It's daunting, but it's hardy the scariest thing he's dealt with at this point... right?

Lies. Facing his friends is the scariest part. Scarier than running off alone with a knife in his pocket and no idea where to go. He's absolutely terrified of confronting them, even if there's a voice in his head whispering that it really wouldn't be a confrontation. It doesn't help the nervous twisting in his gut, though, so he clutches the straps on his backpack as he enters the house.

And the nervousness is overwhelming. He can hardly handle it. It's to the point that the moment he runs into anybody at De Chima #001 and they so much as greet him, he jumps and lowers his head and immediately blurts out a hurried, "I'm sorry!" ... Sorry about that.

iii: a text message
And maybe you're not at either of those houses when he is and Ken still wants to see you, or he feels like going somewhere that's not the houses to talk with you. In such a case, there will be a text from Ken to you, short and to the point. He'd make it more specific, maybe explain more, but he ended up getting nervous and sending it off quickly so the actual message ends up saying nothing more than:

Can we meet up somewhere?

((ooc; I'll likely also make this a catch-all for Ken stuff during June, so if you'd like to do something with him, whether it's about the above stuff of anything else, feel free to shoot me a message at squigstuff!))

Comments

[fistofthejoestar]

On the contrary, the gesture reminds him of Tonpetty and his timely arrival to help combat Dio's forces. He dips into his own bow without a thought before briefly crouching to unhook Hyperion's leash so the dogs can greet each other properly. He trusts his training enough to be more than comfortable with that.

"And you as well," he replies with another small smile. He notices that he isn't the only one who seems a bit emotionally withdrawn, but refrains from commenting. Everyone has their own struggles. "It's really been too long since we last spoke."

[orangehoodie]

"Stuff happens." Ken's grateful that it's 'been too long' over a lost chance entirely. He watches as Koromaru bumps noses with Hyperion, smiling a little to himself that Koro's been able to make friends here. There weren't very many dogs around their part of town in Iwatodai. And he, too, has been able to make friends. Maybe not too many were his age, but they're his.

"Thanks for coming out to meet me. How have things been?"

[fistofthejoestar]

"It's been..."

He trails off and sighs, dropping onto the bench near Ken with a heaviness that is more emotional than physical. How much is really appropriate to tell other people? It's such a heavy subject that he himself is still struggling to carry with him from day to day; it seems unkind to drop it onto anyone not directly involved.

Still, he needs to find some way to adequately answer the question. Finally he just shrugs, the gesture an indication of his uncertainty on the matter. "Things have been quite emotionally charged as of late."

[orangehoodie]

He was not expecting such an answer, and the surprise shows as his eyes widen and he quickly turns away from the playing dogs to stare at his larger friend, at the way he sighs and drops onto the bench, shrugging and just seeming so not put together. He's surprised. His older friends rarely, if ever, show when they're upset, and even if they do, it's never around him. He wasn't foolish enough to think that their problems didn't exist, but when it's shown like this to him...

Ken frowns and scoots closer on the bench, pulling his knees up to his chest and leaning forward as he says, firmly but not ungently, "If you need to talk about it, I'll listen."

Is that too generic? Does that sound impersonal? He doesn't want to pry, and Jonathan's private life is his private life. But he'd just had this talk with his own friends, about not bottling it up, about seeking help if he needs it. To talk to his friends -- and Jonathan is a friend, and Ken would be a liar to say he doesn't know how much it hurts to suffer with your thoughts alone. He takes a breath.

"I-- it's been kind of like that for me, too. Emotionally charged? I guess. My friend told me that I should talk to people if I need to. And-- if you need help, or you need someone to talk to, Jojo-san, I'll listen."