September Catch-All | OPEN

[onethirdthesoul]

Characters: Ryou and YOU!
Date: September 10th~30th (after he and Yami Bakura clear things up)
Location: Around Keeliai, Mu-Hao
Situation: Many
Warnings/Rating: None yet.

[part a]
[In spite of some warnings from the Spirit himself, Ryou didn't wait to see if everyone heard their message. It's possible someone might still mistake them, but he decided to simply tie his hair up and tuck it into a hat instead of worrying himself sick. It doesn't do much, but it's a start.

Properly "disguised", he can be seen around the less shady looking parts of Keeliai, a sketchpad and colored pencils in hand. Even with the maps Solomon provided him, making a diorama of the turtle was going to need some personal experience. The map gave him layouts, but it didn't really provide that glimmer of insight that distinguished each sector. Even if he didn't have to toll away on the details like he would a game of Monster World, he feels the context of color, at the very least, will help.]

[part b]
He also stops at several food stands along the way, so passersby might notice him snacking as he diligently colors in little sketches of the more fantastical parts of each Sector. Is he still researching, or is he just gathering ideas for his next tabletop at this point?]

This would make a really cool final boss arena...! [Well, that answers that.]

((ooc: Prose or brackets is fine! If you want to do anything specific and would like to set something up outside of these prompts, feel free to PP/PM me! I'll add it to the top-level prompts.))

Comments

[onethirdthesoul]

S-sorry... [He replies sheepishly, pulling his hands away from his hair.]

The Coach once threatened to cut it all off... So I haven't cut it since. [Which isn't really the right way to deal with that, but...well, it's Ryou.]

[lostundercover]

Coach? [He asks simply. Costigan is, at best, often a man of few words. He gives a tilt of his head and pauses in his step, turning around. He did say that they should head back after a bit, even it hasn't been the full half hour. The papers seem important to the kid.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[He doesn't seem too happy as he recalls the memory.] Yeah, when I changed schools the Coach yanked on my hair and told me I had to cut it. Boys weren't allowed to have long hair...

[Ryou's own turn is a bit delayed, as he apparently didn't notice Costigan turned around. He's quick to catch up, staying near.]

[lostundercover]

You play a sport?

[He tries to keep the surprise from his voice. Costigan has a hard time picturing the kid playing anything too rough, although he supposes something like soccer could work. Maybe baseball, although there's a momentary pang of anger at the nostalgia and loss the idea of the game makes him feel. When's the lost time he saw Fenway or caught a Sox game on TV? It seems like a lifetime ago.]

[onethirdthesoul]

Huh? Oh no, he was my gym Coach.

[Joke's on you Costigan, Ryou's just about as sport-disinterested-nerd as he looks. Although he did scale the side of a castle once. That's kind of a sport.]

[lostundercover]

Oh. [And the world rights itself and all things make sense again.]

[Although the undercover hates small talk and is awful at it, he keeps trying. Costigan recognizes its value as a distraction and even more so as a tool for getting people to know and trust you. He's not trying to play Ryou, just befriend the kid in his own special way.]

You in high school?

[onethirdthesoul]

Yeah, I'm in my first year still. [Ryou wasn't so good at small talk either, or talking about himself.]

It's uh, interesting... The girls are weird, though.

[lostundercover]

I didn't realize.. [He said idly, allowing the thought to trail off. Keeliai just kept drafting them younger and younger - and he hated it, hated that. The thought made him frown and he turned his attention to their path again, dodging around a group of people and continuing on their way.

Whether girls would be an easier or harder topic, he couldn't be certain, but he latched onto the out.] Weird how?

[onethirdthesoul]

They always flock around me... [He frowns, tightening his arms around his papers and sketchpad.] ...and never give me any space.

They just talk about how cute I am...and they made a fanclub on my first day of class...

[lostundercover]

[Costigan stifles a chuckle, glancing over at the kid and then looking forward again. It's almost nice to hear about something so normal after all the shit that happens here.]

Not many guys I know would complain about something like that. What, you don't like girls? Is that is?

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou freezes, fumbling a bit as he answers. He wasn't expecting a question like that, and it shows.]

Uhh... Huh? N-no, I just... They were really clingy. I don't really think about stuff like that.

[lostundercover]

[He gives a facial shrug and then another smile.]

That's good. Wait until you're older, kid. Nothing says you have to rush.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Phew. He lets out a sigh of relief and returns the smile.]

Yeah... I wouldn't want to take time away from my friends and gaming!

[lostundercover]

[There might be something like a flinch there as Costigan glances over at the kid. Not being interested in dating is one thing. It's unusual and not exactly promising, but it's not the end of the world. Costigan himself, for the girlfriends he had, didn't much care until he got older. But passing up dating for gaming? The kid might be hopeless.]

Gaming? Kid, we need to find you some better hobbies. Get you out of the house and playing on the streets.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou blinks, his smile drooping into a bemused pout. He's a little surprised that Costigan would shoot down gaming just like that.]

Huh? But I play games with my friends...

[lostundercover]

You play games with your grandparents, kid. You play sports with your friends. Or read, if you're the type. Sure, you trade cards or marbles or whatever the hell it is you have, but then you go out and do something real.

[He shakes his head a little. Costigan never saw himself as one to become the old man at a premature age, but the idea of kids hanging out on computers in dark rooms and arguing over games annoys the shit out of him on principle. People like his dad didn't work hard so that their kids could waste their lives.]

[onethirdthesoul]

I don't see how games are less real than anything else you listed...

[Ryou is feeling pretty defensive, but mostly he just looks kind of hurt. He'd always bonded over games, so being told it wasn't the "right" thing to do didn't go over well.]

I spend a lot of time writing my campaigns and building the pieces, and then we all get together and play--and it's always a lot of fun! You should try it first before you say stuff like that.

[lostundercover]

Games involve sitting in a basement somewhere, arguing about characters that don't exist or whether or not something was fair. You aren't getting exercise, only some of the games are social, and you said yourself you don't know how to interact with girls.

[It's something he rarely talks about. Costigan prefers to hold the sanctity of home to himself sometimes. It's only Ryou's completely non-threatening personality that lulls him into the false sense of security that lets him talk about his home.]

Let me ask you somethin'. How many fights you been in? Real fights, just you and another guy and your fists.

[onethirdthesoul]

That's not how games are...

[He wants to say more, because there's so much wrong with what Costigan is saying. For one, he totally knew how to interact with girls as long as they treated him like anybody else, but he doesn't have a chance to say any of that before he's being asked something else.]

I haven't been in any fights.

[lostundercover]

You're in a war, kid. You should know how to defend yourself. You should learn to run fast. You should know how to stand your own ground.

[Skills learned in hanging out with a group of guys, fighting over masculinity, playing sports, and so on. The kinds of things that those who stayed inside playing games never got a handle on. Regardless of what he thought of games in general, they were a hindrance in this place.]

[onethirdthesoul]

...Someone like me isn't going to be any help fighting in a war. I'm making Wreath-san a diorama of the turtle's back instead, for strategic purposes.

[More than that, he...doesn't want to fight anybody if he can help it.]

But... I-I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn how to defend myself. [After encountering those thugs, he can agree with that much.]

[lostundercover]

Everyone here is going to help somehow or they wouldn't be here.

[Costigan pauses as he realizes what he's saying. He frowns slightly, still worried about the kid and not wanting to get him too wrapped up in things. Even if they're in a war.]

War needed strategists and weapon builders too.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou's not too fond of this topic either, but he'll take it over having his hobbies and his "girl troubles" talked down to.]

Yeah... That's what I thought. [He doesn't sound terribly confident in that statement.] I don't know what I'll do after I finish...

[lostundercover]

Help the police force. We need someone to help with files.

[It wasn't a good suggestion, but it was the best he could come up with. Paperwork was a bitch and if they could get the kid to help out with it, he was certain that the kedan would be grateful.]

[onethirdthesoul]

Ahh, well I'm already working at Korra's dojo right now... [He rubs the back of his head as he wears an apologetic smile. Truth be told, he really doesn't want to help sort files! He wants to help still, but... That sounds so menial. And boring.]