[RYSLIG] IC Inbox

[beatemall]

< BadMachine2004 > — normal handle
< KidArachnid > — used for hero work
< Sunflower > — anonymous posting

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cw: memloss

[jumpie]

[ it was getting darker. the sky was more a deepening purple and losing the lighter pinks that only edged the farthest from where the sun sets. it would've felt a little darker too, colder, he was feeling it creep up his hooves and into his chest the more his lost eyes wandered the sand. it's weight, a hand, cold as a corpse was undeniably warm in intention that his skin jolts. he jolts from going down that path, brings his attention to cool, pleading eyes and—

he's here. if there was something worth thinking about, it's what he still had rather than not. (it's not completely dark, either. shoyo supplies his own supple glow of glowstick-greens and kindling oranges where his tendrils rest.) ]

First in everything in P.E. [ a jock in the making, just ready to blossom and follow her brother. he kind of— gestures offhandedly at his hair, at his face before he uses his palm to rub the sting in his eyes away. they're the same striking orange, the same spice. ] She's tough, and wants to try everything— like, she isn't afraid to. I might've even gotten her into volleyball. [ he doesn't complain about that— it was cute, the way she'd try her hand at the softer, lighter ball for beginners. the way he'd encourage her, but also tease her when she'd fall— but only because that sort of confidence to be good at something just because you're good at everything could be dangerous. ] She keeps . . . Wanting to do what I do.

[ did he look cool, doing his drills in the backyard? he obviously acted like it, in front of her, because maybe that's just what big brothers do— but now that they're apart? damn, he hopes he was cool enough. his lips are spreading, not frowning. he misses her. he doesn't want to forget her like he did the others. ]

And she's got this, big, big smile that looks like the sun, [ peeking out and recovering, his own seems to spread, wide and soft across his face, and warm from the green glow of his cheeks. ] y'know?

cw: small suicide mention but not Miles' or the event stuff

[beatemall]

[As the sun sets over them, Shoyo's luminescence catches against Miles' dull tone, highlighting the gauntness of his cheeks, the sallow depth of his eyesockets. But his own eyes glow, ghostly pale and unblinking and fixed wholly on his friend who he's trying desperately to bring back to this moment in the best way he knows how.

How many times did he do this, for civilians who were stuck atop collapsing bridges, runaway subway cars or just trying to talk them out of leaping from a building? Sometimes it's not about swooping in and catching someone physically—sometimes you have to meet them on the human level, get control of the situation by talking them down first. Whether it's a hand on a shoulder or on a glowstick-green knee, Miles eases into the role like a comfortable, worn shoe.

And when Shoyo's smile broadens at pleasant memories, Miles' follows. The recesses of his mouth emit a subtle ghostly flame, and beneath his sweatshirt, the glow continues through the hole in his chest—but right now, he feels the most human he has in awhile.]

Yeah, I get it... [Miles answers, voice soft, admiring. It's the first thing he thought, when he met this guy. All stars shine so bright.] It runs in the family, I think.

[Miles' touch shifts and he pulls his hand away, now that Shoyo's grounded in the moment again.]

I was joking, by the way. About you bein' a big brother. I can see it... You love her a lot, huh? Sounds like she loves you a lot, too, man.

[jumpie]

[ runs in the familymdash;? before he could catch it, shoyo's cheeks feel heated and his smile goes lopsided— it's not like he looks any greener, not when he's glowing, but. maybe he does. maybe the space between his cheeks and nose briefly bridge into one silly green blotch. miles just called him the sun, man. the inside of his chest gives a little kick, and he only really realizes how big of a skip it was when miles' hand returns to where he sits. to think with everything that happened here so far, he still shines.

it was nice to know, even if he felt a bit cloudy sometimes. it made his sweater sleeves and cupped torso feel warmer in the middle of the chilly breeze they sat in. ]

—I do. [ he loves her, and he should make that a strength. he has to see her again, somehow. somewhere— he'd never wish her presence here, but sometimes . . . he wished he could just look through a mirror and see her for a bit, since he can't just leave if that really were the case. perhaps . . . no, he already knew. he just needed to see it again. ] Thanks, for— Reminding me. Thank you.

[ sherlock. jon. max. basil. miles— ]

—That I'm not alone.

[beatemall]

We need reminders, I think. [That they may be changing, that they may be forgetting pieces of themselves but...There's still more to them. It's said as much for Shoyo as it is for himself.] This place will change us, but we're still ourselves. And we got our families in our hearts.

[His uncle, his mami, his dad—no matter what, he won't let Ryslig take his love for them. And he won't ever let this place make him forget how much they love him, too.

But Shoyo's right. This place is easier with people who make it feel a little less lonely. Miles doesn't know how much worse he would've gotten if it hadn't been for Robin and Shoyo reaching out to him. How much longer would he have spiraled? Would he have gone until hunger overcame him, until he was driven to attack people like he had in those endless hallways?

It scares him—but worse than that, is the thought that despite the love he has in his heart for his family and friends, he'll still go against everything he stands for as a hero.]

I'm gonna do my best to protect you, Shoyo. If you're ever feeling scared, or lonely... You let me know, alright? I'll come flying to wherever you're at, and... [Miles eyes Shoyo from his periphery,] will you do the same for me, too?

[jumpie]

[ shoyo was no hero, but . . . he'd count himself as a good friend. and as a friend, he'd do just about anything to back them up. it's when miles asks that shoyo can't help but to snort (more half a chortle) with a bearing smile. ]

You don't even have to ask, dude. [ he can still hear it in his dreams, some days. when he's awake. if something cracks and it reminds him of the sound: hooves into bones, breaking open a rotting cavity and— he swallows before his mind could bring home the splatter. it's a moment thing. he knows he wouldn't think twice anymore if it was miles who needed him, and he'd have to race or kick again. the way ochako had planted an act of selflessness into the forefront of his thoughts and inspired it to bloom when things got bad, when he stood up to the hugeass rat from within a hidden pit to keep a mom and kid safe, one he was walking around with as things had gone from bad to worse— maybe he was capable. he'd do anything. he doesn't fade into the backrooms again because of it. breathe in, breathe out (take it easy). now it's his hand that finds the other's shoulder to give a clap to, settling with his fingers squeezing the curvature. ] 'Course I will.

[ once his hand retreats, it's to haul his bag over, to eventually unzip and rummage through. ]

I'm not, like . . . A superhero [ like ochako ], or a ninja-pirate, or a pirate [ like fucking monkey d luffy, who he met ], but I'm your friend. And a Kelpie.

[ he's "from the concrete", like ushijima had once implied, but that didn't mean he couldn't grow. that didn't mean he couldn't be self sufficient, and through the worst of it— he is growing. ]

[beatemall]

[Miles softens a bit more, his shoulders slumping, his own hands finding a way into the sand in front of him and between his outstretched legs. He should've taken his jordans off before this but, he can stand to wait a few moments.]

Anyone can be a hero, [he insists, as he draws shapes in the surface of the sand that blow away nearly instantly.] Someone once told me that- being a hero, it's a state of mind, a decision.

[He didn't choose the hero life, but he surely would've fallen into it some way or another with his parents' influence. But more than than a nurse, or a cop, or an actual super-powered being, Miles knows that the hero he needs right now—the one that messaged him to check in, to make sure he was okay, who hugged him so hard they fell into the sand in a mess of limbs—that's what Shoyo is.]

...A good friend is the best kind of hero a guy can be... Even if that guy is also a horse. [He adds with a smile coloring his words warmly, before turning and facing Shoyo fully.] Hey...

Can I tell you something, man?

[jumpie]

[ a state of mind— you were my hero. is that what that means? even shoyo felt just a little too humble to accept something so big like that as if pouncing on a wagon, but, it did make his chest tickle and warm up. he's only ever grown up with heroes being super. just as shoyo's glow colors the sand and miles speaks up again, the kelpie halts what he's doing to meet him in an equal half-turn of his torso to him. ]

Sure. [ he wonders what it is—? but he stops his hands from moving around, keeping them stretched in front of the bag he's put between his legs. it's a quiet, almost rare moment of calm for him, reassured even, but he's learned that with the crash and lick of waves for background noise. his attention, the direction his ears are pointing, it's all undividedly on miles. ] What's up?

[beatemall]

[The moment Shoyo turns to him, Miles immediately feels as if his tongue is too big for his mouth. He'd resolved to tell the kelpie, just as he'd confided in Robin, about who—or what—he is... But now that he's here, that he's a few words away from it, he feels a crushing nervousness overcome him.

In reality, Miles knows he's not the Spider-Man of Ryslig, he doubts there even is one; but old habits die hard, and the desperation to keep his hero identity and personal identity secret still pervades him. He feels every deadened nerve within his body screaming as the thought of exposing himself but, no... Even Peter's revealed to a trusted few—and Miles needs a couple of people he can talk to about his past, so that he can finally unload the emotional weight that's been suffocating him for months, now.

Miles swallows, not even realizing that his drawing silence has likely taken up minutes now, before he scoots a little closer to Shoyo on the towel and lowers his voice. Maybe if he's quiet enough, only those satellite horse-ears will be able to hear him, and not any unsuspecting beach goer that could be potentially sneaking up on them.]

Actually... [his voice cracks as he starts, which he clears, and then pitches his tone down, the nerves making his detached hands scoop and pile sand off to the side without him really thinking about it.] I— I'm a hero.

Like, back in my own dimension, I was the protector of my city and... I dunno why it matters, I don't have my powers anymore but, I just wanted to tell you that...?

[jumpie]

[ if he's moving in this close? oh, it must be confidential, something important, or as shoyo would say: super ultra mega important. the kelpie follows suit with a sideways tilt to facilitate words whispered into the direction of a cone-shaped, furry burgundy ear held right toward him, and what is heard causes an immediate change to shoyo's expression. if he hadn't been turned as is, he would've done a double take. with his mouth agape and with an inhale to prepare his voice—

he remembers, briefly clamps his gaping lips together, and hushes with ecstatic urgency: ]

Bwu—?! No way, you too—?! [ he says, clearly thrilled, and not only that . . . ! ] What's your hero name? You gotta have one, right?

[beatemall]

[Watching Shoyo desperately try to contain his excitement is, frankly, enough to bring a full smile back to Miles' face. It spreads wide across his features, wrinkling his eyes and pulling an airy little laugh from his throat. Seems that the kelpie has already met other heroes but, it's not like they're exceedingly rare in Ryslig, by the looks of it.]

Well, my powers were like... mutated abilities a spider would have, so...

[He pauses, and then he grabs at the hem of his hoodie and lifts it—exposing the hole in his chest, with eerie mist belching out around the ribs of his rib cage. The shape of the hole is uncannily spider-like, and what he exposes isn't skin either... It's his suit, albeit fused with his torso.]

I was— am— Spider-man.

[jumpie]

[ maybe miles wasn't expecting silence. maybe that silence was . . . worrying, but not when a good look on shoyo's face is given. he's attempting to process it, glimpsing into the open chest cavity only to realize— the placement. the shape. his features may stay that way, for a bit: his mouth was extending, and his brows furrowed now with each passing second he's left speechless. ]

You're . . . !! You're—?!

[ look, it's just between them, like literally between them. no one is watching when shoyo turns halfway toward miles only to signal with both hands— and make a weird noise. poor guy. he's trying to word. can he not say it anymore?? he can't say it. this is a secret! not even mj knows and now just lil' ol' him, rando volleyball player from japan up and befirends spider-man—?! ]

[beatemall]

Yeah, I'm...

[Miles mimics the motion with his hands, although nothing happens with it because he doesn't actually have his web-shooters. It's actually kind of upsetting, considering how much he misses them but...]

It's actually kinda against secret-identity code to tell anyone but, I trust you... Also, my spider suit has been like, fused with my body for months now, and I need to tell someone about it because now it's basically like my skin and that's weird.

[jumpie]

[ it takes a grandiose amount of effort on shoyo’s part to contain his voice and the jittering under his skin like rolling drums. but, he manages, channeling it through a spreading grin that flashes his teeth and even some of his blue, glowing gums, along with pumping fists at his sides. ]

My friend, [ spider-man he hushes just short of a squeal, and now? now miles deserves his shoulders being shook. ] and you’re trusting me, I—

[ he’s speechless, and what he’s feeling is some ways beyond words. ]

Thank you?! Just— Man, this is— beyond awesome and I’m trying really hard not to jump all over the place—!

[ he really is! his fidgeting is off the charts. ]

You were amazing before that, and now you’re just— woosh!