knifemonopoly | IC inbox

[He presses his face into Beat's fur.

It's oddly comforting...he's drunk Beat's blood, he can recognize Beat's heart now, could pick its rhythm out of a crowd, and having it this close, warm and alive, is calming him down.

But what isn't calming is the way Beat's talking. It's familiar. It's how every new person who's never really been brought down in their own world feels. Atem takes a deep breath, then lets it out.]

I hope you're right. But don't count on it. Everyone's brought down, here. Everyone's vulnerable.

...I'd never been stopped, before I came here.

[But he's lost, and lost, and lost, ever since, and when he's tried to turn over the cards and figure out why, all he's been able to figure out, is...

...he hasn't been playing by the right rules. He's been swimming upstream, by trying to make a name for himself while remaining neutral, trying to help humans and monsters alike. It's been killing him, and getting his loved ones in trouble, too.

That said...even though he's been losing, suffering, and reaching out to others anyway, and that approach was wrong...

...he hasn't lost everything, has he? Somehow, even though he was ready to throw out every bond he'd made, if that was what it took, some of them stood by him. He has a power now that'll protect him, but...he also still has a few friends.

"I wish for friends," he thinks, remembers. "Friends I can count on, friends who can count on me, no matter what..."

Remembering that wish makes his throat close up tighter, and Beat's fur might end up a little damp. Atem doesn't know what he wanted, what he needed, what he'd even have asked for, before it came to this. He just knows he didn't have it, and his situation couldn't go on the way it was. He also knows he wants to keep Beat, and Ray and Cairo and Altair and Horatio. He has to protect himself first, but that's not all he wants, not all he needs. He breathes, in and out, and can't tell if he feels better, or not.]

[If Beat was truthful, he'd admit he's known the sting of defeat. Several times. But he refuses. Those were handed to him under rigged games. This might technically be another rigged game, where the house has the winning hand no matter what.

But Beat will not give into the God's rules. He'll punch at that brick wall until it finally crumbles. Or he finally loses himself and unwillingly gives up.

When he feels the tears in his fur, he sighs and rests a hand against the back of Atem's neck, a soothing comforting touch as he holds the vampire. He tucks his own head in, tightening the hold, also subtly marking Atem with a scent tracker. With it, he'll be able to keep an 'nose' on him for a week. Until he figures out something more permanent.]

One big difference, yo. From now on, we ain't doin' shit on our own, aight? [Do you understand, Atem? No pushing those that would help away. No more going in expecting no one to back you.] This place has it's rules but fuck them. Fuck the Gods an' fuck their rules. Fuck the way they play their games. [His fingers curl and dig a little into Atems back.] I never liked playin' by others rules anyways. Time to write our own.

[A breath in, and a breath out.

Better. Yes. He feels better.]

You're right...our plans will be better, if we discuss them with someone who won't agree...you're right. I think...we should work together.

[Another breath. His shoulders drop a few inches, curled up less tightly. He's calming down. Cooling off. Wow, he's crying...that doesn't happen often at all...there was the time he was drunk, and talking to Steve. But besides that, he's pretty sure the last time was when he was turned into a ten-year-old King, trying to be strong against the monstrous gods he knew it was up to him to fight, the ones so big they changed the shape of the horizon.]

And if the gods stand in our way...

...I've stared them down before. I'll do it again.

Edited 2022-03-31 03:28 (UTC)

[Atem agreeing to work together takes a little bit of the weight off Beat's shoulders. It eases his grip on the hug, less forceful, but still solid and there. He snorts a little into the Vampires shoulder, smiling to the idea of Atem facing down Gods.]

Damn right, an' I'll be right there 'sidechu. Faced down my fair share of shit that called themselves Gods, yo. Demons, Angels, Reapers, whatever you wanna call them. They can be beaten. Uh. Or in one case, converted into yer boyfriend. Don' ask me how I did that, I ain't even sure. Some otome visual novel shit or somethin' goin' on there. Point is, I'm pretty sure I won that one too.

[Grinning, Beat eases up on his hug, a hand coming up to dig into Atem's hair and promptly mess it up in a gentle rub. A friendly noogie.]

An' when I say Ima be there fer you, yo, by yer side or at yer back, I mean it. I don' wan'chu ever thinkin' fer a moment you can't call me up for anythin'. I don't care how unimportant or whatever you might think the issue is. Call me.

[Atem gives a light shrug, at that first part.]

It happens. An aspect of an evil chaos-god back home is someone I'd die for here! We're not dating, but...we're not enemies at all, anymore.

[Brothers, partners, equals. Trusted completely. Odd that they wound up here, but Atem's glad about it, down to his very soul.

--until Beat ruffles his hair, and he's brought back to the present. Beat now knows firsthand that most of the hair isn't gelled, just thick and soft -- it's just the bangs that are held in place, in the absence of Millennium Item magic in Ryslig. Atem's mouth pulls into a frown, that starts out petulant but turns more serious as Beat goes on.]

Are you sure you want to do that? If you put yourself out there for everyone else, but you don't take the time to protect your own heart...

[It leads to what happened to me.]

...it can get bad.

[The almost pout makes Beat grin, though it fades a little into a softer look as Atem questions him. He tilts his head back, studying the sky as he thinks; thinks about the three years he spent searching for his best friend. Thinks about giving up his power to make a game fair. With a little heh, he tilts his head back down and shrugs, his grin turning lopsided.]

I've been doin' it fer years, yo. It's just... me. I don't think I could stop, even if I tried, ya know? I get it leaves me open to hurt, but fer me...

[He pauses as he tries to think of the way to phrase it.]

The feelin' I get from bein' there for someone [from being useful] outweighs the hurt I might suffer later. It's worth it, in my opinion. But I'll make sure to try an' think 'bout who I reach out to, how far I stretch myself. I ain't useful if I'm spread too thin to do any good.

[...Atem isn't thrilled about that, but I'll think about how far I stretch myself, and I ain't useful if I'm spread too thin to do any good...that'll do.

He's heard himself say, If I can offer help, I should. If I'm able to make things easier for my friends at all...I have to. And Atem knows where that got him. It led to here. His eyes go a little distant, a little unseeing, as he thinks about how he got here...]

That's good enough.

I...have a power. Not a Fog one, one from Mana. There's a symbol you can draw, that will let me see and hear what's going on around it. If you need help, you can use it to call me.

[That makes Beat pause, eying Atem quietly as he explains about his power. It makes him think. He promised to be there for Atem, an oath he can't break, but he can't just yet. There's no way to get to him fast enough.

But something like Atem can do... that might work. He'll have to talk to Mana about it.]

... I... thank you, yo. It'll come in handy if we keep goin' down these roads. I'll try an' come up wid somethin' similar, so if you need me you can call me in return. 'Cuz I mean it when I say when you need me I will be there. How big the see an' hear thing?

[Now that they've moved on to talking business, discussing strategy...Atem pulls himself together, if not the rest of the way, at least mostly. A good approximation of "together."

He takes a step back, so that he can pull a small notebook and a pen out of a jacket pocket. He flips the notebook to an open page, and draws a few quick, sure lines -- an eye. As he draws the last line, light in the shape of a third eye appears on his forehead, and his eyes glow white.

At least, for a moment. Atem shuts his eyes, shakes his head, and blinks the glow away.]

It can be any size, drawn on anything, as long as it looks like this. It only lasts for ten minutes, I can only have one going at a time, and you'll have to tell me your location yourself if it's not obvious...but I'll always see what it does.

[Beat tries to commit the drawing to memory. It's an eye, it should be easy enough. An eye with a tail that looks like it's on a stick. He stares at the image hard, trying to burn it into his brain. Eye. Tail. Stick.

He observes the way Atem's eyes glow and the third eye shows on his forehead. Any size. Drawn on anything. Ten minutes. Beat nods.]

I'll try an' keep that in mind, yo. Might have to draw it on somethin' a few times, jus' to keep it fresh. Uh, won't draw it all the way so I ain't like, ringin' you constantly. I'll try an' ask Mana fer somethin' similar. So you can call me to ya.

That's okay! I can turn it off whenever I like...

[He rips the page with the sketch out of the notebook, folds it up quickly and deftly, and sticks it in one of Beat's jacket pockets.]

...so, if you're clearly just practicing, I'll just look away!

...

[Atem's clearly thinking about something, something specific. His eyes have lit up, there's a spark in them when they look at Beat, and the corners of his mouth are pulling up. Just what does he have in mind...?]

There's one thing I do want to test, though. After what we talked about, I'm sure you're a suitable candidate...are you up for it?

[That makes Beat snort a little but he's glad for the image. Hopefully he can practice it without making Atem regret giving it to him. The look away thing makes him grin.]

He'll try not to practice durin' day hours.

[Nothing like waking up cause someone's ringing your proverbial bell. The gleam in the vampires eyes makes Beat tilt his head, eyebrows raising a little. Oh, that's a gremlin look. The Pooka feels the urge to respond in kind so!]

Hell yeah, brotha, whatchu need?

Stay there.

[Ah, if Atem really wanted to be a shit about this, he'd go high in the air, and let Beat figure out what to do on the way down. Instead, Atem turns himself into a bat, then flutters up to the top branches of the nearest tree.

Once there, he touches his cheek, lightly. Beat struck him. Which means...

...that a strange vertical box, divided into sections like a magician's, closes around Beat. When it opens again, Beat will be at the top of the tree -- and he'll see Atem, on the ground, step out of a similar one.

Any remaining grime from the sticky hand is transferred to Beat. Otherwise, he's unharmed.

Atem waves from the ground. It worked!!]

What're you doing all the way up there?

[Curiously he watches Atem flutter off to the tree, tail twitching a little as he prepares himself for whatever mischief Atem is about to pull. What he's not expecting is the box to suddenly come up around him, Beat's surprised sound cut off in his throat as he... finds himself in the tree Atem was just at. Quickly he shifts himself down to a squirrel to not break any branches and go careening downwards.]

YO!

[He barks a little before scrambling his way down the tree, bringing little bits of bark and twigs with him until he's back to the ground, shifting back at the base of the tree. It doesn't seem like he's upset, however, grinning widely as he shakes his tail to get leaves and stuff out, fingers combing through his hair and fur around his chest.]

Aight, yo, that's fuckin' cool. That part a' yer mana gift stuff?

[The bright grin on Atem's face -- doesn't dull, exactly, nor fade, but its character shifts. It turns smaller, softer -- resigned, but honest.]

No. That was what I traded the Fog God for.

[His tone is solemn, even, as he explains. His expression does grow more serious now.]

So that anyone who strikes out at me...can't trap me. I can reverse where I am, and where they are...

There's nothing that can be done to me that I can't escape. Not ever again.

Edited 2022-04-12 23:44 (UTC)

[That makes Beat's expression soften as well, as he thinks about Atem's situation and how having a power like that would be the best boon. No more would Atem be stuck and at someone's mercy.]

I get it. You gotta protect yerself, an' that's a good way to go 'bout it.

[And Beat approves of it being defensive. Atem's not hurting anyone with it, unless he gets hurt first.]

How often can you use it? Anytime?

Once a day. Within 24 hours of the attack.

[He's quiet a moment. Then:]

The wounds they gave me trade places, too.

[He lets the implications of that sit, for a second. It'll heal him, it'll let him fight back against anyone who hurt him, giving back only what he got.

He could have tested this under worse circumstances, could have taken up the person on the post who threatened him on her offer of violence, but instead, he chose this. But, after only a second or two of silence, he adds, in a lighter-hearted tone:]

Your cheek's probably a little grimy now...sorry about that!

[And Beat likes that even more, honestly, and he's not sure he likes the fact he likes it. The monster part of him, maybe, finally beginning to take hold. If Atem gets hurt, deliberately, then the attacker will suffer. Still defensive and it will teach people that Atem isn't one to mess around with.

The change of tone makes him blink and he touches his cheek, laughing a little as he scrubs at the goo there.]

Nah that's fine, di'nt even notice.... but...

[Beat reaches into his pocket and ... pulls out another sticky hand, this one a bright pink. With a wicked grin, he quickly shoots it at Atem. Once a day huh? Though of course the vampire is a vampire and Beat knows that Atem will definitely be able to dodge that.]

[Oh, he certainly is able. The sticky hand shoots through the air where Atem had been only a moment ago, as the vampire shifts quickly aside, out of its path, and then in, past Beat's guard and up in his face, less than a foot away from him.

An undead finger pokes him right in the chest, just below the collarbone.]

You got one free shot. Don't get used to it!

[He took one hit to the face like a man. That's it. It's not going to become a regular thing.]

[Atem getting right up into his space makes Beat laugh and he takes the poke like a champ. Instead he tries to look as melodramatically evil as possible.]

Aha! You fell right inta my trap, yo! Take this!

[And he...... closes his arms around Atem to squish the vampire into the dweebiest, big brotherly type hug in the world. As over dramatic as he can make it, including digging his knuckles ruffling into Atem's head.]

Aaah!

[Into the hug he's pulled! Is this a noogie? The pharaoh, lord of the two lands and the living Horus on Earth, god-king of one of the longest-lived civilizations to grace the planet, is being noogied, and all he's doing about it is giving a playful yelp. If Set or Mahaad saw this, they'd probably both burst blood vessels.]

No, nooo -- hahaha, stop, all right you trapped me, I'm -- heheh -- suitably impressed--!

[He's fighting to get out of it, but, like, at FAR from full strength. This is playing back.]

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.