[ OPEN ]

[razzledazzles]

Who: Jae-Ha & OPEN
What: He wants to spar! Or learn new techniques. Fite him.
When: April 29th evening
Where: The far shore (after an announcement on the network!)
Warnings: The Hazel thread is nsfw rip

[Certain recent events have made Jae-Ha all too aware that the superhuman strength in his right leg couldn't solve all problems. Would you believe that? He has a leg that can break through everything and let him soar through the sky, and it's not the answer to all things.

Really, though, it's more startling than it ought to be. There are more and more people that he's meeting that are precious to him, and the ones closest to him become closer every day. There's no time that he can afford to be a liability. He needs to be doing his best. So, earlier in the day, he'd sent out a simple message on the network from his name: I'm looking to test out my skills and grow a little, as well. If you have anything to share or you just want to do the same, let's meet up. ♥ That's followed by the directions to this particular spot that he's waiting in now. It's pretty wide open, just a bunch of grass, dirt and rocks scattered in an opening of the trees, the closest temples a fair distance away, and so hopefully he shouldn't be getting in anyone's way.

Whenever anyone has the chance to arrive, he's busy stacking a huge pile of rocks that he's collected from the area. Some are bigger than others, none are large enough to be considered boulders, but he sure is making some sort of... pillar, here. Well, he had to have a plan in case no one showed up. Once someone does, he doesn't turn away from his work just yet.]

Why, good evening. Did you get my message, then? I was beginning to worry I'd be out here alone all night.

(OOC: If you want to plan anything specific, you can PM me or hit me up at nipponpon! I'm down for all sorts of spar/fight/learning shenanigans as well as just casual conversation. c:)

Comments

[fontechnician]

I apologize, I got slightly lost.

[Guy's not sure what he can really offer in terms of his own skills, but he's curious what Jae-Ha's are. And now that he's arrived, what exactly the pile--pillar?--of rocks is for, exactly.]

What are you building?

[razzledazzles]

Oh, it's you!

[Now that he's finally turned over his shoulder to look, he can stand up tall with a bright smile. That fellow he was way too drunk with at the picnic! Yes, he remembers. Mostly.

Placing one hand on his hip, he glances back at his pile of rocks.]

I plan on testing how much I can kick through, so I'm trying to stack it as thick as possible.

[fontechnician]

Oh, hey! Nice seeing you again.

[This isn't entirely truthful; it's actually a little bit awkward seeing him in person again. But he hadn't connected the name to the person, so there they were. And he didn't actually have any issues with Jae-Ha, so it was all good.]

Ah, you're a martial artist? Want some help?

[Regardless of the answer, he'll head over and...silently judge the rocks or something.]

[razzledazzles]

[Meanwhile, if Jae-Ha has a problem with awkwardness, he doesn't show it at all. This is because he has almost no shame, and sees nothing wrong with all of the stumbling and joking that had happened. Reaching down to pick up another large rock the size of two heads, he moves over to carefully set it on top of the rest. This pile is... nearing his height.]

I should be fine on my own, unless you're truly eager to help. You're welcome to stay and witness my beautiful kick, though. Since no spar partners have arrived, I'm left just to this.

[sanzohoshi]

[She teleports in with a flutter of sleeves and watches Jae-hae build his.. er...pillar?? For whatever reason.

Well, she doesn't interrupt, hands folded neatly behind her back. Maybe it's important?? Fuck, what does she know. Maybe it's going to become a monument to Hazel. She doesn't want to distract him.

But then he's speaking to her anyhow and she giggles in response] Don't stop on my account! You can finish up first-- Or I can help! It's a very lovely... [She struggles a moment.] Pile!

[razzledazzles]

Hello, Sanzang dear. You didn't come here because you saw my request, did you?

[Man, that teleporting thing really scares him, but thankfully he didn't jump out of his skin this time. He's expecting people right now, after all. Glancing back at his rock mountain, he places a hand on his hip.]

Don't worry about this. I'm only trying to see how much I can actually kick through.

[sanzohoshi]

I did! I was curious, you see! I've never seen you fighting or anything before, and getting in lots of practice is always a good idea, right? [Hand-to-hand style of combat doesn't seem to be the norm here when touching an ayakashi means getting blighted, after all.

Sanzang eyes the pile with much more interest now] Your kick is that powerful? How amazing! You can kick through all of this?

Completely unrelated to this here's a thread for Hazel 4/30... Child abuse mentions...

[razzledazzles]

[ Nothing feels any different in the night or even when he slowly blinks awake. There's no startling jolt that gives him the memory and there's no sudden wave of emotion, there's just a slow fading in of something in the back of his mind. It's strange, and at first it's just a feeling. He pushes himself up in just the same way that he did back then, and it's that thought that gets him to pause.

Then, he plays it back like a movie. He remembers a man who was certainly his predecessor, whatever that meant, and he remembers being struck and hearing those desperate screams for life, and he remembers thinking that his heart hurt far more than his face did. The emotions come now, a rush of everything from overwhelming sadness at seeing that face when he jumped away to the fear that this meant something, that he did something wrong to remember this. But he can't stop thinking about it. Chains around his wrists and ankles and that incredible desire for freedom, the unwillingness to give up, the wish that he could take that man with him and free him from the stupid rules of that village.

Pressing a palm over one of his eyes, he moves to get out of bed. He normally wouldn't share this sort of thing, but if this memory ends up being a danger to Hazel— there's no way he isn't feeling these feelings too. The more he thinks about it, the worse it gets. His desire for freedom finally makes sense, but is this really okay? ]

Hazel? [ Somehow, his footsteps manage to bring him to his door again, barely giving a single knock before he cracks the door open. ]

waltzes in

[churchbelle]

[Hazel isn't expecting a good night's sleep, but only because he never is. Being unable to sleep for one reason or another - nightmares, traveling, threats of monsters at any moment, simple discomfort - is routine by now, and a couple weeks in the same comfortable bed in the same comfortable house aren't going to undo all of that overnight.

He is not, however, expecting to be woken up this time by a sharp pain in his chest. It's sudden and strong enough to rouse him, and he's sat up and clutched his own shirt hard before his mind catches up with his body's sudden need to be up— Jae-Ha? It's the same feeling he gets when Jae-Ha is sulking about something or other, but at a magnitude he's never felt before. Hazel has no idea what it could mean, but nothing he thinks of as he hastily climbs out of bed is particularly good. Not this feeling, heavy in his chest.

If something's happened to Jae-Ha— for a moment he's frozen by the thought, brought back by the voice at his door and a knock. He's across the room quickly, letting the door swing open while his hands reach automatically for Jae-Ha, to pull him in. If he's just sad this is going to be ridiculous, but for now Hazel just wants to know that he's there and- relatively- normal.]

What's goin' on? [why is he having 30 heart attacks??] Somethin' happen?

[razzledazzles]

[ What's going on is a good question. When before everything had been completely blank, there were suddenly these images, standing out as the only thing he had to go off of. He's pulled in but he doesn't react very quickly, hunching over into the grab and loosely placing his hands on Hazel's shoulder. ]

It's just— I remembered something about my past. A short moment.

[noli_oblivisci]

[It'd been a day since what...happened with the latest ayakashi problem. Details were still vague on the specifics but the ayakashi had discomforted Psyche for reasons she couldn't fully place (or, simply, she'd repressed down for the moment). All the same, the fact she hadn't even been able to lay a scratch on it bothered her and made her a bit restless.

[As such, when she got Jae-Ha's message, she figured it couldn't hurt to work some of that out. It was good practice to work off someone anyway, she told herself. She blinked, though, as she saw the pillar of boulders, staring in curiosity, before she smiled a little and responded]

Evening, and yeah, I did. You said you were looking for someone to improve your skills with?

[razzledazzles]

[Oh, a familiar voice! And another girl, at that... Maybe he shouldn't be so judgemental, especially when he remembers how fast she is, but can he really aim any of his kicks at a cute girl who isn't trying to kill him? This tests his values.]

It's been a little while, hasn't it? It's good to see you again. Are your hands in nice shape?

[He's reaching out, as if he wants to take one— mostly he's trying to tease her.] I am, actually. It would be nice if someone could spar with me so we could improve ourselves, but I wasn't expecting to have to face any beauties today.

[noli_oblivisci]

[Being fast isn't the only motivator Psyche can provide. At the question,Psyche blinked and said]

Oh-um, my hands are alright, really. [She doesn't give him her hand but she gives her formerly bruised hand a wave, as though to demonstrate.]

Well, if you don't have anyone else in mind, I don't mind practicing a bit too. I mean, looks don't really make that much of a difference in a fight, right?

[In her defence, she sounds entirely sincere about that. Or at least, she doesn't have any values to test in that regard.]

ugh these two again

[pachintoki]

[He doesn't actually say anything as he walks closer, sitting down in the grass with a yawn before settling in to watch Jae-ha do this rock-stacking thing. He's not even here to help Jae-ha with his skills, not even bothering to read the network post very carefully. No, he just wanted to know what the guy was up to. Who would do all that work for no reason. . .

What was he doing anyway? Gintoki wants to know, but he isn't sure he wants to know that badly. Wait, he's pretty sure he had a box of strawberry chocolates in his yukata? Where is it? He'll suddenly start looking around in the grass, ears low, the three tails his powers decided he should have today twitching. This wasn't fair! Nobody deserved to be lost like this in the grass, let alone some really amazing chocolate?! He'll make a frustrated sound. He'll get low to the grass, crawling around looking for it.]

Oi oi, don't tell me you didn't want to be eaten that much? You abandoned the troops, you know, and like, maybe you had a good reason, but you can't just walk away . . . oi. . . or maybe . . .oi!

I'm sorry I left you behind! I'll find you, just. . . just don't move! Don't move okay! Stay where you are!

[Is he talking to the grass? What's going on here. . .]

oh boy oh boy

[razzledazzles]

[Oh. Well, he was just going to keep stacking rocks without noticing Gintoki for a while, but now, he's speaking from behind him? Setting down the one in his hands, he turns just in time to see... him completely low to the grass, near his ankles.

Hmm.]

I don't recall asking for any foxes to meet with me. [Hello again, sir.] Is it cursed liquor that's driven you mad, or are you just like this?

[pachintoki]

SHUT UP ALREADY AND LOOK FOR THEM!

[them? Who? Start looking, jerk.

This wasn't fair! He had ears but why didn't he have a better sense of smell??? Whoever decided these things was an asshole!!

. . .except then he'll suddenly get to his feet and run to a spot about 15 feet away, plucking something up from the grass. He'll sit down right there, opening the small box of chocolate and having a few. Finally. ]

. . . I wasn't worrying, you know. . .

[he wasn't.]

i couldn't resist otz

[sonofson]

Whoaaaa, what are you building! Is that what you're skilled at?

[A kid probably wasn't what Jae-Ha was expecting, but with the message left as open and inviting as it was, Goten was quick to act on it. After day aftering the night before, he had already set to exploring the following morning. Still, he got a little lost trying to find the place Jae-Ha gave directions too.

He walks closer, looking from Jae-Ha's back up to at the pillar made of various rocks. Even if that wasn't what Goten was expecting, its still kind of impressive.]

GOOD

[razzledazzles]

[Cute girls, and now a child... Where have all the strong men gone? The rippling muscles and toned abs?? Okay, maybe he was just dreaming a little too much, but a kid...]

I'm skilled at many things. [He'll take rock stacking as one of them, thanks. This tower is about three Gotens tall, by now.] I'm stacking as many rocks as I can together to kick through them in one go. It's a bit difficult to try pushing these things in a temple... My god would be mad if I ruined something.

i can only offer anther girl or smol child

[sonofson]

[Should have asked for strong men, but even then, he would probably still get the same turn out.]

Is that hard though?

[He steps closer, touching the pillar lightly, just poking it. It oddly seems stable. More so then it looked. Jae-ha is skilled at stacking!]

Do you want help gathering rocks then, mister? I wanna get stronger too but I can help you instead!

[eternalshield]

[So Zeno comes a bit later than requested, toting a small cooler of water bottles. He can't really help Jae-Ha practice fighting since he's, you know, rather useless at it, but he can check on him, right?]

Somehow Zeno doesn't think you'll be alone all night.

[He unscrews a cap off one bottle and offers it to Jae-Ha. Stay hydrated.]

Isn't this interesting? Zeno's a little disappointed to have to pay for water, but if no one has to go looking for streams or spend time purifying it before drinking, that's something, right?

[razzledazzles]

Oh, Zeno.

[Smiling, he turns to accept this water gratefully. Thanks lil bro, you're a doll.] Have you been to a deli yet? It's amazing how thin they can slice meat for you.

[He takes a drink, glancing back over to his lame pile of rocks as he thinks.]

[eternalshield]

[...lil?! why you...!]

Not yet, not yet... Maybe that'll be what Zeno does on the way home. There's almost more things to experience than Zeno has time for!

[On the list of things he'd never expected to say... that's pretty high up.

Anyway. He follows Jae-Ha's gaze to the rock pile, and avails himself of the lil bro privilege to ask inane questions.]

Can't you jump over that already?? Challenge yourself!

[jocularly]

I'm not much for fightin' but I was curious what you kin do. [Joker is quite a sight. Brightly dressed, face painted and hair a mix of orange and red, he definitely draws the eye.) I think we were talkin' about sharin' a drink at some point, aye?

[Oh he isn't quite so new to fighting. He can wield daggers quite well - with great accuracy! - and he generally keeps a set under his purple coat.]

[razzledazzles]

You must have been one of the many faces from that post! Yes, I'm Jae-Ha. Who might you be?

[Let him put a face to one of those names! But, he turns from his rock pile to look over this man. Whoa. He sure stands out.]

As for my fighting, I have a tendency to use my legs. In a real fight, I use throwing knives as well.

[jocularly]

Not exactly a face since we stuck to writin' each other instead. [He shrugs, good natured.] My name's Joker.

[Yeah he gets that a lot. Not that he minds, per se. One doesn't dress like a clown to blend in.]

We've got somethin' in common! [He opens his jacket and reveals his daggers.] Tis a good trick~