week four | mingle

[showhost]

Welcome to your fourth and final week, teens!

There aren’t many changes around the house today: it seems everyone is dialed in on what needs to be done and the upcoming week. Everything that was on the fritz last week is now back to normal, aside from the Dress Up Your Blorbo curse. You can still do that at will.

Anyway, it's fine that all seems quiet.

There’s plenty going on anyway this week.

Dates | Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | CR Event | A Thing
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

cw: gore... sanji can have a memshare after he has trauma 2: electric boogaloo

[haircared]

[ As soon as Sanji's fingers brush the coin, there's a quiet click that emanates from it, like a switch being turned on.

What looks like a normal coin suddenly explodes as if a bomb, a scorching hot burst radiating from the epicenter of where Sanji's hand meets the coin. For such a small thing, there's such a devastating force behind the blow, enough to blow his hand clean off. Or, well, messily off — it is an explosion, after all. Josuke can barely even process what happened for a few seconds, face going pale and mouth gaping open — this would have never happened like this in real life, why is it happening like this now — but the choked sound of surprise that gets torn out of him as soon as he takes in a breath is loud enough to startle. ]

The hell...?!

[ His hand. His hand. He needs to find it. Panicking, he rapidly blinks and whips his head around, trying to locate the the appendage. The space around them responds to Josuke's fears and stress in kind, the rain seeming to come down harder, the clouds seeming to grow darker. Perhaps no vision appears before Sanji's eyes yet, but what permeates the space at every level, physical, mental, spiritual.... is the earth shattering, nauseating dread Josuke has felt each time he's seen a blast like that claim flesh from those close to him. Too many times has he lost people to it, unable to save them in time. He has to fix things, before another blast comes from — anywhere. It could even be from the air, or Sanji himself...

He hates that he has to let Sanji bleed while he looks for what was blown off, but he has no other choice. He thinks he sees it — he takes a shaky step in its direction, internally fearing that he might blow up the second he touches it. ]

Shit, Sanji, don't touch anything else...!

😃

[hgeegh]

[He hears the click—and then there's a deafening explosion, followed by searing heat. Sanji stares down at his hand, or the lack thereof, in muted shock.]

Huh . . . ?

[Josuke's voice rings in his ears while Sanji's heart thunders in the background, pumping adrenaline that overtakes his catatonic body with tremors. His stomach churns at the dread that seeps in like poison as he remains insensate before the mangled flesh where his wrist ends.

Did that just happen?

Josuke sounds so close yet so far away. The rain beats down on Sanji, pelting the exposed muscles and nerves of the open wound and washing away the gore that continues to flow anew. His vision darkens around the spot where his right hand used to be. His breaths grow labored and louder until his respirations devolve into heaving huffs. His hand is gone. He falls to his knees in the rain as his chest clenches like his heart is on the verge of giving out. His hand is gone.

"Don't touch anything" . . . ? The fingers of his shaking left hand twitch disbelievingly around the gaping space above his bleeding wrist. How the hell can he touch anything like this?]

just when u thought u were safe from me

[haircared]

[ He has to beat his own fears into submission when he finds the mangled hand — whatever he's suffering, Sanji must be going through ten fold. Soon as his hands graze the lost flesh, they seem to rebuild automatically: fingers straightening, skin mending, muscle knitting. By the time he starts making his way back over to Sanji, the hand really only looks hurt at the stump where it was blown off, even if Josuke's hands are pale and shaking around it.

It's fine. He's done this tons of times. He can remove himself from the situation at hand and be there for Sanji: this is what he's good at. This is far from the worst thing he's had to piece together... it's just that the suddenness took him off guard, and made him feel afraid. ]

It's gonna be okay... [ Sanji can't see it, but his stand takes his mangled wrist gently in both its hands, surrounding him in a golden, diamond-like glow. Like two perfect puzzle pieces, he severed hand and the wrist connect seamlessly, pain ebbing away from the remnants of the wound like a tide, until it's no more. When all's said and done, Josuke's touch doesn't lift from Sanji's wrist, his skin weirdly cool from the rain, but his touch gentle nonetheless. ] See? Can you try moving it for me...?

haunt my halls forever, sweet jams

[hgeegh]

[His breath catches as he watches Josuke's awesome power at work. The pain lifts, but the adrenaline continues to pump. Sanji's fingers twitch before curling in with purpose, working against the waves of tremors spreading to his fingertips. Then he flares his fingers, feeling the nerves and muscles and bones of the numb appendage respond to his inward commands. Just like the wound on his chest, it's as if nothing had happened.

His breaths even out, slowing from their ragged rapidity to a muted crawl. He starts to raise his hand, reaching up to grasp his hair, when he stops not even midway at the echo of Josuke's warning not to touch anything. He doesn't understand what's going on, but he can't risk it—not again. His arm drops back down, still buoyed by Josuke's cool touch.

Sanji exhales. It's a tad shaky, and much more rattled than he'd like.]

Thanks. [He tears his gaze from his palm to look Josuke in the face. Josuke's hands were shaking earlier . . . ] Did it get you?

[haircared]

[ He's never experienced problems with his powers before... it's a relief when everything goes as normal. ]

No, I'm okay... I just — didn't expect that to happen.

[ If he had, he would have obviously warned Sanji of the possibility. In the real world, a coin from Harvest would never be so dangerous... ]

It's a Stand ability. Not that tiny one... it's that killer. He could turn anything he touched into a bomb. Even a person, or something as small as a coin.

[ He explains, slowly and gently letting go of Sanji's hand, wanting to give him privacy, as he can see that he's still shaking. Sanji's never particularly seemed comforted by being touched, anyhow; he just wanted to ensure his hand was in working order.

Anyway, he thinks Sanji is quick enough to put two and two together: if someone could blow up anything they wanted, it'd be too easy for them to get rid of evidence, or severed hands whenever they became bored of them. It's the main reason why he was able to kill for so long, as Josuke had briefly touched upon during their Casa Bonita date. ]

That's why I don't want you touching anything else. Both of us should be safe — [ He touches a hand to his own upper arm to demonstrate. ] But stay close to me so I can heal you if something happens.

[ and what will josuke do if he gets blown up... let's not worry about it! ]

[hgeegh]

[The universe is playing a sick joke on them. It hasn't even been two months since Josuke dealt with the creep with the hand fetish. Sanji tentatively lowers his hand, hyperaware of the sensations and slowly receding tremors running through it, as he straightens to his full height. The rain pours all around them, and he glances around blandly. If only it had been anywhere else . . .

He looks down in search of the tiny Stand, if only so he can maintain his distance. It doesn't matter if he loses a leg, but he doesn't want to catch Josuke in the radius of an explosion. He's not going to stick too close for that reason.]

Where's the way out?

[There's no way Josuke will be okay with whatever happens in here. The sooner they get out, the better off they'll both be.]