Ryou Bakura (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
softspokenlandlord) wrote2020-11-18 01:10 am
softspokenlandlord) wrote2020-11-18 01:10 am
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ryslig
WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, WhiteWizard. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 007.80.751.19 *** WhiteWizard has joined 007.80.751.19 <WhiteWizard> Hello, this is Ryou Bakura! <WhiteWizard> Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything. :) <WhiteWizard> I will get back to you as soon as possible. | ||||
no subject
On the other -- Ryou's not feeling anything? Just....emptiness? He's been hurt, he clearly has, but in a way the other Yugi can't see. There's no way to tell if this wound's going to heal, or when.
And it was because he died. Does that make it the other Yugi's fault...? He remembers his death being...more peaceful than he expected. Gentler than it had any right to be. Is what Ryou is experiencing the cost of that?]
...okay. I believe you.
[His hackles come back down. They're not on opposite sides of the board, they're just both wounded.]
Let's eat first. We're both in the red, or getting close, and that's the biggest danger. We'll see how much it fixes, and deal with the rest after.
[But who? God, he's got to pick someone, doesn't he? It can't be someone random, he doesn't want to live with that on his conscience, not on top of everything else...
There's the shelters. Ones like where he and Annie picked up their victim, at bingo. Anyone preying on people outside of a shelter is someone's nightmare. Of course, after someone was killed for creeping on it, it's very possible that people know better now, and are going to stay away...
...but it's also possible they haven't got the message yet. It's not a bad first place to check. And, if it happens twice outside the same place...then, that'll make the shelter safer, right? It's not a bad place to start.
The other Yugi crosses to the fridge and pulls out the last bag of blood. He'll need blood to use his powers...so, he'll wager the last of it on this hunt. He sinks his fangs into it, and, with a look of pained disgust, drains it cold. He wipes his mouth with the back of a hand, drops the plastic in the trash, and levels his eyes at Ryou.]
...how fast can you move?
no subject
I can move decently fast, but probably not as quick as you.
[He doesn't really know how to quantify vampire speed when they're running on empty. That's not even an "I can't feel" thing, he's just a little lost on Ryslig vampire physiology.
Though the "I can't feel" thing does explain why Ryou just watches the other Yugi move, and doesn't react when he sucks the cold, likely unappetizing blood from the medical bag.]
What did you have in mind? I'm not certain if eating is going to help me, but I'll give it a go, especially because I know it'll help you. It probably sounds silly, but now that you're here, I think I can have some faith.
[Like obviously he can't really feel comforted but he knows he'd feel it if he could. So...there.
He doesn't really have to do much to get ready either. Come on, other Yugi. Take your messy friend and get some sip.]
no subject
The other Yugi crosses to the window and pulls it all the way open.]
We're going out. I know a place!
[He puts one foot on the windowsill, ducking his shoulders just low enough to clear the top pane.]
Follow me.
[He pushes himself all the way out the window, and just before his whole body clears it, he warps, shrinks, the air around him implodes to fill the space -- and a tomb-bat takes off into the night, swooping down the side of the building to about twenty feet up, to where the material he's read says shades usually levitate at. His travel form isn't top-speed for him, he gets more feet per second at a human-form run, but it beats walking! And Ryou will be able to keep up.]
no subject
As he's so tall, he does pull back the shadows comprising him, shrinking down to a reasonable height so that he can slip out the window. Then, without any kind of trepidation, he follows in the other Yugi's footsteps.
Or rather, wingbeats. He doesn't do much levitating, but if he does get worn out, then he can always drop to the ground and use his shadow tendrils to help out. He doesn't make use of them very often anyway, why not?
He considers conversating, but...he's not sure of the other Yugi can talk as a bat. So he just focuses on keeping up.
They're going to figure this out...the two of them are smart enough to sort out any problems, though mostly it's the other Yugi's resourcefulness that might net them both a meal, and maybe at some point, Ryou's emotional capacity.
Maybe.]
cw sexual harassment/workplace harassment
As Ryou finds out when the other Yugi banks left suddenly. He's heard something! Something familiar. And he hisses:]
This way. Get in the shadows. Don't be seen!
[He's easy enough to miss, being a very small bat. And Ryou's got his own concealment talents. The other Yugi flutters down an alley that bar and club back-doors lead into, where a man with a television camera over his shoulder is pointing it at a woman in a wine-stained party dress, cornered next to a dumpster, who looks thoroughly miserable.
"What's wrong? Don't be camera-shy!"
"I don't--Jorgen, please--"
The man turns the hefty but handheld camera around so it picks up his face.
"Today we're taping a special episode of 'Real Anchorwomen of Bavan!' This one's too good for me, but she jumped real quick at the chance to go on a date with the Director! Too bad that note was fake!"
The other Yugi settles under the eaves of one of the buildings to watch, small claws getting a good grip on the brickwork. He murmurs to his companion:]
I thought I recognized this guy. He was acting way too familiar with -- with someone, during the bingo game.
[The woman's back against the wall, now.
"He said it was about--my career--" she murmurs, her arms held across her chest, over the wine that's been thrown on it. "He wanted to talk about business--"
"That's what ALL guys like that say!" the cameraman insists, furiously. "They say it's about an opportunity, but it's quid pro quo, Katrina!"
He levels the camera on her.
"And I'm gonna make sure everyone in the studio knows you're the kind of woman who trades a quid for a quo."]
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He spoke softly, to keep their position hidden.]
I'd say so. I'm certain the woman doesn't deserve this, no one ever does. So this is our mark.
[His eyes seem to flick over to the small bat.]
How do we proceed?
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We play him for his soul.
[The bat lets go of the eave he's under, gliding towards the scene. He switches back to human just above the camera, so that he can reach down and press the little eject button. He pulls out the reel of film before gravity and momentum carry him to the ground on the other side, where his sneakers skid a few feet on the dirty concrete as he lands.
The cameraman whirls around to look, trying to process what's just happened.
There's a blur. And, suddenly, there's something in the other Yugi's pockets, as he taps the round metal tape-case.]
You should be careful where you point that, Mr. Cameraman! They say the camera doesn't lie, but I think you and I both know that's not always true, is it?
[The woman, Katrina, backs in a new direction this time -- she slips sideways, along the surface of the dumpster, trying to get clear, because the other Yugi looks particularly monstrous, and she wants no part of this.
"Stay out of this -- give that back!"
The other Yugi eyes the tape, as though bored by it.]
Well...I suppose I could, but...it wouldn't be any fun if I just handed it over. So, let's play a game! If you win, I won't just give you this tape back. I'll grant you a wish! I could get you exclusive footage of anything you like... I'm a monster, so not much is going to be a problem for me.
["Anything I like? Breaking news? Scandals? A monster hunt? The inside of Lust's bath-house?"]
Anything! It could skyrocket your career...or, you could sell shots no one else can get to the highest bidder. I understand there's a market for it. You'd be rich.
[The other Yugi sees the familiar greed in Jorgen's eyes, the visions of wealth and fame and women. He's hooked.
"What's the game?" Jorgen asks.]
It's a guessing game! Please don't go anywhere, Miss Katrina, I'll need you for this.
[She freezes.
The other Yugi holds the film reel straight up into the air.]
Ryou, would you mind holding the winner's token? Don't go anywhere with it. I just need it out of the way for a moment, and regrettably, I only have so many hands!
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The logic of it already swings towards the other Yugi anyway. He's certain that the morality of it is as sound as he always considered it to be before this point.
He keeps put and watches the exchange unfold, right up until the point that he's more or less summoned into action. At that point, his shadows separate from the building and a clawed hand extends outwards to grab the film reel as Ryou's form finds purchase on the ground. It's shapeless at first, since he'd been keeping himself hidden, but then the edges begin to sharpen and the dampening shadows which had cloaked his clothing were revealed.
The cameraman and the unfortunate young woman were now in the presence of a vampire and a looming shade with rather soulless eyes.
As if he's playing along in his own way, Ryou extends his upper tendrils out from behind him, for extra flair. Just because he doesn't feel doesn't mean he lost his ability to play a role completely. The role is "creepy". And it expresses that he has more than enough "hands" to spare for the game.
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Now. Here are the rules.
[The reason he needed his hands free becomes apparent, as he pulls two identical flasks out of his jacket pockets.]
One of these is just soda water.
The other has a powerful sedative. It'll even work on me! I, of course, know which is which...but you get to guess which one to drink. I'll take the other.
[The man squints, examining the two flasks, trying to tell them apart, and putting together what it'll mean if he drinks the wrong one.
"So...if I win, I get rich. You'll do whatever I want. But if I lose..."]
We eat you. Yes.
["...that's not fair. I'll lose a lot more than you if I guess wrong!" Jorgen doesn't seem to be saying no, though, even though he's clearly sweating -- instead, he's leading up to negotiation. "You've got to give me some kind of clue!"]
I thought you might say something like that.
I won't tell you which one has the sedative! But I will tell her.
[He nods at the woman.]
I said this was a guessing game, but that's not quite true....this is a game of trust! I'll tell her, and she'll tell you...and you have to decide if she's telling the truth.
[He strides over to Katrina, whose legs tremble so badly she's got to hold the wall to steady herself, and whispers something to her.
She swallows, steels herself enough to speak.
"It's--it's in his right hand."
He turns back to Jorgen.]
Well? She says the dangerous one's on the right.
[He holds it up a little higher than the other.]
So, which will you drink?
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The shade can do nothing but observe, and that's what he's there for. To watch and wait and when the time comes--because he knows it will--then he will remove the soul of this human and stave off another possible disaster.
He has to wonder though--which way was Katrina going to swing? They were obviously not going to harm her but her fear was palpable. In such a situation, it was hard to tell if she would help her antagonist here.]
cw misogyny, gendered swears, drugging
For now, though, all eyes are on Jorgen, as he looks from one hand to the other, then at Katrina, then back at the other Yugi, the twisted mask of disgust on the human's face contrasting sharply with the intent but perfectly comfortable expression on the vampire's. Katrina's breaths come quick, in and out, and behind his mirror of a smile, the other Yugi can hear both their racing hearts. He's got to keep it together, though, this has to be done fairly, or it's no good, then he's just a killer abusing his power...
Finally, Jorgen spits out--
"You want me to die, don't you? You don't want me to air that tape! You're trying to kill me!"
Her eyes are wide and trembling, as she shakes her head, mute from fear, as he begins to laugh, uncontrollable and harsh.
"Well, I'll show you--"
He tucks the camera under one arm and snatches the flask out of the other Yugi's right hand. He shrinks back several feet, then spins the top off and downs it.
"Now you, monster freak."
The other Yugi looks down at the flask in his left hand, neutrally, maybe slightly annoyed?
He opens it, and he drinks it.
"Now. We wait and see."
They stand across from one another, waiting for the effects to hit. In a situation like this, it's hard to gauge the passage of time, but...eventually, Jorgen feels comfortable enough to speak up.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! I don't feel a thing! Looks like I got a pet monster!" the cameraman says. "What should I make you do? You've got to film something really good, like a m-murder, or..."
He pauses.
He sways, just a little, on his feet.
"Shit. Shit! You fucking bitch! You set me up!"]
She didn't do anything. She told you the truth!
[He grins a horrible grin as he tucks the flask he used away.]
You should really be able to trust the people you work with...you shouldn't assume the worst, Mr. Cameraman. Carrying around those kinds of poisonous thoughts....it's only a matter of time before they come back to poison you.
[Jorgen drops to his knees. Katrina presses her trembling hand to her mouth, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
The other Yugi looks down at him with merciless red eyes, and his dry, raspy voice is cold.]
You set up a dishonest trap. But, in the end, it was you who was caught...it's your career that's at an end, Mr. Cameraman.
[Jorgen seems to be having trouble focusing, staying upright...his body sinks to the ground, his eyes not quite closing, but he can't seem to stop himself from falling on the truly disgusting concrete. He breathes in, and breathes out, peacefully, but paralyzed.
Katrina lets out a quiet, muffled whimper.]
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And yet...though he should be focused on his task, Ryou instead turns towards the woman, Katrina, and she gives him pause because he can't quite figure out why she's so scared. She doesn't think they're going to kill her too...does she?
For just a moment, he turns to face her and there's a tiny flicker of something. But he doesn't act completely on it, and instead just inclines his head to the side to express confusion, his eyes almost closing.]
We won't hurt you. We're doing what we have to do.
[He releases the film reel, levitating it towards her with his powers and setting it at her feet before turning towards Jorgen.
He has a job to do. It's probably fortunate that the cameraman is paralyzed, but his soul needs to be the first to go, and the other Yugi can't afford to wait too long on Ryou to extricate it so that the blood was freed up.
If he was only able to feel a sense of shame for this, he might actually drag the listless body out of sight, be a monster where Katrina couldn't see. But...it's like he told her.
As he reaches down and picks up her soon-to-be-former coworker up by his shirt with one hand and the other reaches into his chest to take what he needs...he keeps in mind that the monsters here are doing what they've been bid to do by their circumstances. Ryou never wanted this. But he's been forced to live his nightmares out because he was made into something dark and twisted.]
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You have to take the soul yourself. You have to be there when the person dies. You have to know that you've obliterated every trace of who they were.
It's a mercy, maybe, that Ryou doesn't feel anything right now.
The other Yugi sees the film reel land at Katrina's feet, satisfied with Ryou's decision to return it to her -- that's what he would have done, his initiative is good.]
But you should go. You don't need to see this.
[Slowly, she reaches down, and picks up the film reel. She backs away, in her heels, down the alley. The other Yugi draws a breath -- he can smell her, he can hear her heart, and even though relief is so close, she shouldn't stay here any longer, he's held back surrounded by the scent of blood for so long by now, and the racing of her heart is close in his ears and if she stays much longer he'll snap, so he raises his voice, again, baring his fangs, desperate--]
GÌ¶Í’ÌŽÍ„ÍšÌ Í–Í–o̷̫̽!̴̡̡̛̛̳̲̽͛ !
[She stumbles back, hooks her high-heels onto her fingers, and she runs.]
i need more spoopy icons
Automatically, his feeding response kicks in, and his shadowy aura ripples around him like a low flame, save that it darkened his features, rather lighten them. His solid hand pushes Jorgen's body back, but he holds the soul in place, allowing it to remain. The light doesn't coalesce into an orb as easily as it had with Amane though. She had always been a part of him, wantonly choosing a form which was simpler to ingest and return to his mind.
No, this soul remains in a vaguely similar shape to the body it had come from, glowing with an ethereal light. Ryou has to exert his telekinesis onto it, to compress it into something he can actually consume. Then, and only then, does his face seem to shift, his mouth opening wider than normal, the shadows stretching eerily. His pointed teeth and the light of his glowing eyes were the only thing that stood out starkly against the soul's brightness--his shadows did not reflect it.
Hungrily, he closes his jaws around the light. There's no real emotion in it, just his monstrous nature cut loose, and that's what forces him to crouch over his meal and devour it like a beast.
...He doesn't like feeding around others. The people who have seen him eat can be counted on one hand. This is exactly why. So it's very, very fortunate he doesn't care right now. That's a problem for future Ryou, perhaps.]
cw dissociation, vampire feeding
He doesn't envy soul feeders.
Witnessing this does nothing to change his mind.
He'll play it back, later, behind his eyes -- his gentle friend, reduced to bestial hunger, to committing an abomination against the very essence of a person, something that should be able to survive them after death, forever -- but, for now...
...for now, the game is over, the soul is gone, and a switch in his mind that he's been holding down with all his might can finally flip.
His pupils narrow to pinpricks. He moves without thought.
One second, he's several feet away, watching Ryou hunch over a soul, feeling for his friend. The next, his knees hit the ground next to the still-breathing body. Clawlike nails tear open the man's jacket at the elbow, withered hands bring the arm up to his mouth, and, with a mindless growl he doesn't even hear, fangs sink deep into the inside of the forearm.
To say he drinks is too simple.
It's more that by the time he starts to see and hear again, the man in front of him has a similar sunken quality to what he'd perceived in himself, entirely drained of blood, and the other Yugi feels --
-- he feels healthy. Alive. Coherent, clear-headed, like he's been hit with a bucket of water.
Slowly, he unlocks his jaw, pulls away from the arm, lets it drop.]
no subject
As he'd thought, eating the soul hadn't changed much at all. Even though he doesn't feel it, his entire posture is defeated, and when he turns back to his friend, there's a defeated look in his eyes.]
You...look better.
[The implication that he doesn't mean to make is but I'm not. Really, he wanted the other Yugi to be better though. He looks filled out again. It's good. Yeah.]
Do you think we should take the body somewhere? We probably shouldn't leave it here, right?
[Why is it like this? When will he be better? Will he ever be better? Ryou doesn't have the answers to these questions and he really does want them. But he doesn't know where to begin. He hasn't known were to begin since day one of this new reality.]
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[He stands, looks at his own hand, flexes his fingers. He feels his full range of motion coming back, and that's a relief. Thank god the game he'd pulled together hadn't required much dexterity. The other Yugi's still weak, sure, but he's not doing nearly as badly as he was before.
But, he can tell...this hasn't done much for Ryou. He's fed, yes, which is important, but -- the inner wounds aren't healing yet.
All right. One thing at a time.]
We'll take it to the soup kitchen. The body's still good, for the monsters who eat meat.
[The other Yugi grabs the man by his arm and hip and hoists him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. There's really not a better way to do it, and he's strong enough for it easily.]
Unfortunately, we're going to have to walk -- I can't carry him as a bat!
[He sighs.]
All his blood is completely gone...I was going to save some for later, but...
[Nothing for it now. He'd needed all of it, apparently. Thank god he hadn't decided to take the risk and bite a friend -- he really wouldn't have been able to control himself. He can barely remember actually drinking this guy. It's really true -- it's dangerous to push your hunger too far.]
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Even feeding had been fine this time, though it likely wouldn't be okay later.]
It's alright, Yugi. You needed the sustenance this time, and I think being hydrated is more important than saving a small amount. There's other ways to get blood.
And you don't have to kill the next person, which is always a plus.
[He's trying to be positive, even if it all just sounds coldly logical at this point.
...And although he doesn't have much to put behind it, he follows the rubric of his personality as it lays things out for him:]
I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. With me like this, it can't be pleasant.
no subject
[A beat. That came out reflexively, but is it true? He should clarify.]
That's not to say I'm not worried, or that I won't try everything I can to find out how to fix the emptiness you're experiencing!
But, I don't mind being with you this way. You're still my friend! Another kind of injury wouldn't change that.
[Especially one that Ryou took for the other Yugi's sake.]
So, don't worry. I'll definitely help you out, for as long as you need!
no subject
[Meaning it and sounding like he means it are still two distant concepts, but much like when he'd looked over at Katrina and said what he did, Ryou does find himself almost, almost feeling conviction.]
I haven't really thought about this being an injury really, but maybe you're right. Perhaps it is. I don't blame it on you though. You know that, right?
[He glances down. If it's anyone's fault, it's his own. He hadn't thought it through, he just wanted to help. The concept of consequences rarely strike him until it's far too late. But he'd do it again, and again and again. It's all a weak person like him can do--to use their conviction to strengthen their soul and pull a Hail Mary out of their hat at the last moment.]
I'd do this again if it helped.
[That sounds believable. There's a firmness in those words, a deep truth about who Ryou Bakura was as a person that didn't need overt emotion to convey the point.]
no subject
It was kind of Ryou to do this. And the other Yugi hasn't talked with the Ring-Spirit yet about how this is a pattern for the guy.]
Ryou, I...
...of course it helped. You turned a horrible death into a peaceful one. I passed away surrounded by my friends, knowing that you'd won, and the thing that had been in me wouldn't hurt anyone else.
[It was a consolation he hadn't deserved. He'll make eye contact, if he can -- what Ryou gave him was incredibly valuable, and he won't forget it.]
But before you go doing it again, we should find out what these effects you're experiencing are, and how long-term they'll be.
no subject
He wants to tell the other Yugi that he's so thankful for his concern! But if he says it, there'll be no weight. Just like everything else he's said, it'll be flatter than an untuned guitar.]
Yes. We should, because while I would do it again, I would prefer a point of reference on this. This...is just another way of making people hurt, because no one wants to know that they had any part in this kind of effect.
It's not fair. I wanted to do something for you that would be absolutely guiltless.
[He glances at the other Yugi, and his eyes could bore holes with their intensity. But if at any moment his friend looks towards him, Ryou himself looks away. No, he can't stare. His brows hardly move, if he stares then he's probably unsettling.
But he wanted to look at the other Yugi and feel like he did right because he looks alive and restored. Being told should be enough but it's not.
He lets out a long exhale, then changes the subject. Anything to be almost-normal.]
...How far is the soup kitchen anyway?
no subject
But...the other Yugi's not in any condition to tackle that moral Gordian knot. Especially with neither of them really normal, and only one of them approaching it. He thinks that worrying about whether something is guiltless isn't the right approach. He thinks that supporting one another is a good thing, and sometimes that means sharing the pain, and the difficulty, and the danger.
He holds off on it, though. He senses Ryou's frustration, and he allows the subject to change.]
It's another district over.
[Then, he realizes...]
...now that I'm back to 100%, I can pick up the pace if you can.
[He can't change into a bat, but...there's not really a reason not to run/levitate the distance, is there?]
no subject
[Truthfully, he hadn't had the energy for it before. He really shouldn't put off eating when he knows he has to eat relatively often, but alas. No feelings, no regard to your needs.
Hell, the fact that they were taking this body to a whole other district felt like a lot of effort to just dump a body. The only reason he's doing it is because of a false memory.
The memory of the other version of him leaving his father's dead body to the wolves, so to speak, and the memory of what had happened to his mother and sister in that scenario.
There's no emotional connection, just a deep-seated need not to relive that situation. It would be uncomfortable.]
no subject
It's at the corner of [ADDRESS REDACTED]. We'll meet there if we get separated.
[Then, rendezvous point set...it's time to fast-travel. The other Yugi takes off at a run, ramping the pace up slow enough that Ryou doesn't lose sight of him immediately, but in a few moments, he'll just be a blur.]
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