What's the difference between self discovery and self destruction

[iamtetsuo]

WHO: Tetsuo Shima and YOU
WHERE: Any city; just place it in the subject line or mention it in a thread. He'll be doing a lot of roaming around.
WHEN: Month of September
WHAT: Catchall open log for chaos or general activities - Tetsuo's been unleashed on America and intends to play garrys mod with it. If you wanted an excuse to fight an out of control psychokinetic, here it is
WARNINGS: General villainy (property damage, violence, possible drug use mentions, theft...) and potentially interrupting Kanedas at the end of threads

[It's a brand new month, and a brand new start; and with it comes so many brand new ways to find trouble.

You can expect to find Tetsuo engaged in normal shenanigans, like any ordinary sixteen year old. Things like threatening natives! Causing accidents or generally ignoring all traffic laws! Raiding drug stores! Hanging around on park benches or generally wandering aimlessly! Suffering from extreme migraines! All this and more in your hometown!

He's taken his motorcycle and psychic powers and hit the streets of America on a quest for ... you know what, we just don't know. The good news is, beyond checking churches for Crane, and making sure that his (glove-covered) wrist could say CRIMINAL from here until forever, he doesn't seem to have any set goals in mind on what to do. All that's clear is he can do what he wants, and he's not taking no for an answer to anything.

Feel free to fight him, talk to him, join in, what have you -- you're free to stop him but he's going to either run at the end if it's clear he can't win, or get you out of the way somehow. If you'd like to change this, talk with me and we can work something out.

I'll throw starters out on request, but please feel free to make your own. If you'd like to fight, check out his permissions first, but this is a general invitation to fight without any preamble or excuses.]

Comments

[iamtetsuo]

No poi- Huh?

[What. What the fuck? Why?

He's not given time to refuse, meaning she's absolutely right. He DOES take them, and give her an accusingly confused stare.]

The hell's all this? Rocks?!

[deadtective]

[hell yes, victory. Hazel just grins at him unrepentant before turning around and beginning her quest anew, this time to stockpile stones for herself.]

What, you've never done this before? Seriously?

[iamtetsuo]

Done what before?!

[Amazing what growing up a street kid in a massive sprawling city built on the ruins of other cities can do for your life experiences.]

[deadtective]

Wow, that's just sad.

[she makes a tsking sound and shakes her head. Hazel could explain easily, yes, but she'd rather stretch it out until she's got as many rocks as she wants to start with. it's more entertaining that way.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Looks at rocks. Looks at Hazel. Looks at rocks again. Why the fuck is he still holding these?!]

WHAT is?! Hazel!

[deadtective]

[she can't help it, she starts laughing. so much for playing nonchalant for a while.]

Geez, alright, don't be such a fucking baby about it.

[there's enough here to start with anyway. Hazel straightens up, dropping all the rocks from her hands into her pockets save for one. with a practiced swivel she turns and releases it out across the water - it's a good start, managing four skips before an oncoming wave swallows it up.]

See?

[iamtetsuo]

[Has he seriously lived sixteen years without ever seeing someone do this? Seriously? ...yeah, looks like.

Hhhhuh.]

[deadtective]

You look like I just pulled a rabbit out of thin air.

[but she seems pleased rather than mocking, smile still in place as she tosses another stone out. the angle's bad on this one - it only gets two hops before sinking to the depths.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Quickly replaces that look with a scowl. There. Shut up.]

Whatever. I'm not holding these if all you're doing is throwing 'em.

[deadtective]

You're supposed to be throwing them too, genius.

[whatever, she's got it fixed in her memory for all eternity. you're never going to be able to delete the fact you made that expression, Tetsuo!!]

[iamtetsuo]

[GOD DAMMIT wait til he gets this telepathy thing under control one day, then he might!!

Siiigh. On the one hand, throwing shit's right up his alley. On the other, he's not sure what she's doing to get them to skip like that. After a pause, he actually gives a halfhearted attempt, shifting the rocks to one arm, throwing one. It flies out pretty far before sinking into a wave.

Take that null off, Hazel.]

There, happy now?

[deadtective]

Ecstatic.

[the tone's as flat as her heart rate. if this is the kind of low level shit he's pulling there's no way that she's going to let him cheat with mind powers. it'd just make things too easy and he'd never learn.]

You need to flick your wrist a little more, like this.

[she throws out another one of her own, doing it slowly enough that he can actually watch the motions that go into it. it produces another four skipper, so she must be doing something right.]

[iamtetsuo]

[But he wants results NOW!! He can do this automatically, he shouldn't have to learn the boring, normal person way! Easy's easy let's go with easy!

UGH.

Begrudgingly tries throwing it her way. And... it hits the water at too steep an angle and sinks again. Yeah, screw this. He's not gonna stand here looking like an idiot.]

[deadtective]

[she laughs, tossing another stone. fucking five in a row, hell yes motherfucker.]

You're never going to kick my ass if you start sulking now.

[what's the easiest way to get Tetsuo to try at something? make it into a game of domination, apparently. Hazel's figured out how this works by now.]

[iamtetsuo]

All I gotta do to kick your ass is do it my way.

[Dark muttering aside, that's exactly how to get him to learn new skills. It works. Tetsuo's eyes narrow, his scowl deepens, but now he's determined to learn this dumb thing. And the more he insults it the less he can pretend it matters if he can't do it.

But it totally matters.

Tries again, this time - nah, still nothing. WHY.]

[deadtective]

What, immediately cheating? Doesn't count.

[says the huge cheater herself. she aims her next rock so that it skips delicately right over the spot where Tetsuo's met its watery fate, just to be that much more annoying. the advice she gives is genuine, however. she's an alright teacher when she lets herself.]

You have to watch the angle it comes in at.

[iamtetsuo]

Bouncing rocks off water's a damn waste of time, anyway.

[One last try, just to prove his point - he's just not getting this because it's a stupid idea, not because it's a skill he doesn't have, got it?

Of course, that 'last try' would be the one that skips once. Wait. He did it?]

[deadtective]

Good thing we've both got a fuckton of it then, huh?

[anyone who can go on an extended police chase like that is a person without any pressing engagements in the near future. and Hazel is Hazel, which means she's always swimming in free time. haha, swimming. beach joke.

his success earns him a tiny congratulatory push on the shoulder, gentle enough that it won't exacerbate any lingering soreness. look at you, Tetsuo, picking up the important life skills.]

Look, see? You just need to stop being an asshole about it.

[how exactly one can be an asshole about throwing stones is a mystery she refuses to explain.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Face it, if anyone can figure out how to be an asshole about throwing stones, it'd be Tetsuo.

He did it, they both saw it. Take THAT, you dumb rock!

Encouraged, he tries another one, seeing if he can replicate exactly what he did. It, also, skips once.]

[deadtective]

[yes, Tetsuo, you're showing the geological formations just how tough you are. everyone is very impressed.

Hazel manages to keep her mouth shut for once in her goddamn life, letting him enjoy the delicious taste of first victory. I mean, she totally nails another five skip rock on her next toss, but that's incidental. let him have his moment.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Just when it's really sinking in how he totally nailed this, she shows him up. Again.

But this time, this time, he doesn't default to giving up. Picks yet another rock, widening his stance, and goes again, face set in a snarl of pure determination.

Watch the angle, yeah, you mean like this?

His next rock bounces off high, eaten by a wave before it can sink so there's no proof it wouldn't have gone twice. He's got a way to go before he's actually got this down.]

[deadtective]

[no comment, but a definite flash of a shit-eating grin as the ocean swallows his shame. if he wants to get unnecessarily intense about this, she's more than happy to play along. there's a whole armful of rocks to get through, after all, and she's gunning to see if she can beat her own personal record of six in a row. the next one doesn't make it, unfortunately, but the goal is set.]

[iamtetsuo]

[HEY. You mean 'necessarily intense'. That's the phrase you're looking for. That's the only way Tetsuo does anything, after all. Well, that or 'moodily apathetic', but we just skipped past that stage.

He's trying to not make it obvious that he's watching her out of the corner of his eye, trying to work out what she's doing that he isn't. He's not the best at this kind of thing; he's more intellectual than kinesthetically gifted in general, but what he lacks in natural talent he more than makes up for with blind stubbornness.

He'll skip these rocks all day until at least one goes more than once. Which this one also doesn't, but it's got a lower angle this time at least; it looks close.]

[deadtective]

[aww, he's getting so close! Hazel notices him semi-subtly eyeballing her after a while thanks to her ingrained paranoia; this sparks a new challenge for her as she tries to make it really clear what she's doing without it being obvious that she's trying to help.

her next stone only makes two skips because she's too busy thinking about everything else. shit. gotta stay focused or she won't be able to talk nearly as much shit.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Okay. So she's gripping it differently than he is, just slightly. And throwing out and down...

He tries again.

And this time, he matches her stone skip for skip.

YES.]