/man in black lyrics

[erogappa]

Who: Gojyo and anyone who wants to stop by!
What: Hanging out, having adventures, engaging in healthy coping habits
When: Any time of any day from May 12-15ish
Where: chez Dinosaur
Warnings: Homo-antagonistic language in the Niles thread.



He's never going to sleep again. Which is fine -- he knows from experience that he can go weeks on end with only a few hours of sleep snatched here and there between youkai attacks. It won't kill him. He doesn't even feel all that tired, not really. He more feels like he's asleep and dreaming than anything else -- everything is at a bit of a distance and his reactions are slowed, like the air's gone thicker or something. Like he's a little drunk, even though he hasn't touched a drop since his return. It's weird and unsettling, but he's sure it'll wear off. And even if it doesn't, it's not something to bother anybody with. He's been enough of a bother already.

So during the day, he sticks close to Hakkai -- he's worried the other man enough already by vanishing, so it's the least he can do to stay near (and if that means running errands or sitting quietly in the back of the classroom while school is in session, he supposes that he can manage). And at night, when he wakes after only an hour or two of sleep, he tracks down Asshole and drags the half-man out to the porch with him, for company while he smokes pack after pack and watches the moon.

Comments

[erogappa]

Something to concentrate his energy? He's never heard of such a thing (at least, not speciifically for demon energy. For magic, sure. The asshole who'd kidnapped him had had plenty of spells and crystals and shit like that just for zapping people with. Maybe they could be the same thing?)

"Dunno which of those sounds worse," he grumbles, doing a pretty damn good job at disguising his initial jolt of panic behind disgust at the thought of getting sex-triggered a bunch. And he is disgusted at the thought... especially when he's pretty sure Kurama means the trigger-er to be Kurama. But he can't continue to be this, uh, sensitive to demon energy. He's got to build up a tolerance, as unpleasant as the idea is.

"Can I vote for increased exposure from some hottie demon instead? No offense," he chuckles as an afterthought. "I just think I'd be more focused if I'm gettin' exposed to somebody a little more my type."

[herbalsupplements]

Kurama's pretty sure Gojyo would be less focused under the circumstances he's suggesting, but instead of rolling his eyes, he answers the question honestly. "Including ourselves, I know of only five people with demon blood here, none of whom are what I'd call ideal candidates. That's why I've already made a list of likely places to find materials for a focus: old cemeteries, battlefields, popular suicide spots, that sort of thing."

It wasn't even an effort so much as something to do whenever he got bored over the last few weeks. Someone had to be ready for the possibility of Gojyo trying to tackle magic again.

[erogappa]

There's no way he heard that right. "Suicide spots?!" he repeats, dumbfounded. "What the hell are we gonna find there?"

Other than Yuri, his brain helpfully provides, but he pushes the thought away. He'll check on her in a few days, make sure she's been doing okay controlling her powers. But he's got to get his own at least underway before worying about anyone else.

"If we want demon things, wouldn't we go to, like, old lakes or volcanoes or something?"

[herbalsupplements]

"I haven't excluded such places, but they are a lower priority." He'll try not to lecture Gojyo too much, but sharing knowledge is one of Kurama's favorite pastimes, so no promises.

"The problem is that, while they may be rich in potential, they need to be activated by something sufficiently sacred or profane in a ritualistic fashion. A suicide spot or battlefield, on the other hand, is already saturated with the psychic energy of human emotion, which makes them more efficient for our purposes." And old cemeteries are good in-between places, but if talk of suicide spots throws Gojyo off, he might not want to hear about trees growing strong by feeding on corpses.

[erogappa]

He's used to be lectured by people smarter than he is, it's fine.

He lowers his voice when replying, though. There's kids in the house, and sure, Hakkai's got them preoccupied, but he doesn't really want to be loudly discussing these things when kids could hear. He's got some standards!

"If it's just the... the emotional intensity," and he pauses, checking with Kurama to see if he's got the language correct. "Couldn't we do something like Makeout Point instead? Or, uh..." What's another place where people feel lots of strong happy emotions? "Or the havin'-a-baby part of the hospital?" Battlefields and suicide cliffs sound like they'd be full of negative, angry, violent emotions. Is that really the kind of energy required?

[herbalsupplements]

Kurama nods at Gojyo's choice of phrasing and modulates his voice, even though he's reasonably certain the acoustics in here aren't going to make Hakkai's class uncomfortable. The rest of it is more complicated, but it's a good question.

"In theory, yes. In practice, however, the positive emotions in many such places are mixed in with less pleasant ones--uncertainty, worry, resentment, and so on--which makes them less potent." He takes a slightly longer drink than necessary and searches his memory for other such alternatives. Perhaps... "If you had a family heirloom, a token from a lover, or something else truly beloved to yourself or the last person who owned it, that could be activated to serve as well as anything."

[erogappa]

A family heirloom? A token from a lover? Even if he had managed to arrive here with more than just the clothes on his back, the only thing his family ever gave him are the scars he's trying damn hard not to rub. Stupid things itch sometimes. It's really a nuisance.

"My lovers aren't really the kinds to leave behind tokens. At least, not any I'd want t'keep." Because let's be real: even if he did have a collection of left-behind 'tokens' (read: panties), Hakkai would have thrown them away long ago. "I don't have anything beloved, sorry."