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ryslig
WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 *** CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS has joined 018.07.154.55 <Daisy>This is Basil! I'm not around right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to it as soon as I can. <BANNED USER> SCREENED MESSAGE. UNSCREEN? Y/N -- sample for when you ban someone <USERNAME> First sentence of message. <USERNAME> First sentence of message. | ||||
cw: drowning adjacent descriptions
[ She doesn't break off because she's lying or anything like that, no pain. Nor is it because she doesn't know what to say. It's because she's very aware, without them she would have died, from the fish tearing her apart or... Or maybe it'd be worse to just be down there. Maybe it wouldn't kill her, but it'd make her wish she was dead.
Truth be told, the very realization frightens her, and she wraps her arms around herself. She wishes she had her music. ]
no subject
So when Max curls up a little, Basil scoots a touch closer to her as he finally starts to wrap the worst of her wounds.]
Can...can we get you another walkman? M...maybe we could ask Mana...I wouldn't mind letting you have some of my coins, I really don't need them...
no subject
I-I don't need to ask her. ...Well, maybe for better-fitting headphones, but... They probably have replacements at, uh...the mall.
no subject
[Or even. Existed, really, but we all know Basil doesn't get out much. It's at least relieving to know it won't be hard to replace, yet...
Something about the way Max said that, her tone...Basil's ears droop a little.]
You don't...sound like you really want to go.
no subject
That's 'cause I don't? [ It's only a question in that she's not used to saying it so easily. She can't fight the song anymore, not even enough to make it tickle if she tries. ] Hawkins got one, last summer, and, it was the coolest thing in the world, 'cause it was the sticks, otherwise—but there were crazy things happening, and— and it's where my brother died.
[ Hot shame sits inside her. It's doing a good job of hurting where the song won't. ]
I know it sounds— but- every time I've even gotten close, it just...felt like being back there, and...
[ She doesn't know what else to say. ]
no subject
Instead, he shakes his head a little, dropping his gaze so Max doesn't feel like he's staring at her in the dark, gently tugging the gauze so it's wrapped tight enough around her legs before taping it in place.]
N-no...I understand. I...I haven't been back to Sunny's house in a long time.
[He's not sure how he would feel if he had to for any reason. He just...couldn't. And it's a huge reason as to why Sunny and his mother are moving in the first place.]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...bring it up.
cw: drowning, suicide mentions
But, you wanted to know, so, the thing just- put it all out there.
[ No, does she sound bitter. She— ]
I'm not- mad at you, for the record, okay, I mean it, I just- hate this.
[ It's better than being compelled to drown herself. But, like, ultimately not much. ]
no subject
[Like bottom line, this? All of this? This is the worst thing the peninsula has ever done to him, bar none. You'd think it wouldn't compare to actually killing someone, but there it is.
But that's something Basil will remember for the future, if nothing else. He doesn't want to be insensitive, or pushy...but he does feel bad about it regardless. Is Max not allowed to enjoy anything in this world without a reminder of the awful things from her past coming back to haunt her?
He'll, at the very least, let that subject pass into silence as he finishes wrapping the worst of the gaping wounds on her legs, leaving him with just the more shallow scrapes and cuts. These are more easily dealt with, since this is what Basil is used to patching up from his days getting pushed around on the playground.]
...h-how are you feeling now? I don't want to miss anything.
[It'd be his luck for Max to be hiding, like, a massive gash on her back he missed or something.]
cw: postmortem decay
It's not like she doesn't know it's a little ridiculous to be this controlled by her past—at least, ridiculous in her own eyes. It's not even Starcourt. Not even the actual place. That's not even still standing. Maybe that's why she hasn't been able to take a single step past this, though; it was gone with Billy, a result of the coverup. No one's even allowed around its ruins, which is hardly a way to process the shit that happened there.
So. A mall that seems so similar, in appearance and feeling—going near there freezes her in place. Just like she's watching Billy die again, not a single step taken. ]
Better. [ She's surprised that that's the truth. But she feels it and she looks it. With the bandages holding in what passes for blood in her body and Basil's steady heat, Max looks less like a waterlogged corpse—face not sunken, skin not sagging. The normal amount of pale, mostly.
However... ] I...still don't know if I can walk, though. My legs are, uh... They're stiff.
[ It's not just her legs. Her arms feel it too, like her muscles are tensing up, permanently. ]
I think, ummm. I need...to eat something. It won't...heal, if I don't.
cw: cannibalism
But with the fixing of one problem arises another. Max...needs to feed. And while Basil knows good and well they have food here that they can eat, be it dried or packaged raw...it's not going to be enough for her.
It needs to be warm. Fresh.
Basil stands there in the middle of the room, the scales along his shoulders and arms suddenly rising a few centimeters off his skin. The same goes for the ones that make up his "hair", making him seem a little taller, a little larger. The spikes on his tail rise, they tremble. And as the violin sings in his chest, he's unable to stop himself from blurting the thought roiling around in his head like a snake.]
I...c...can hunt for you.
[He doesn't want to. Every cell of his body screams no. But his instincts to hunt are already piqued. He can feel it being urged along with the music making his head feel heavy.]
no subject
No. B-Basil, no, I can't make you do that for me.
[ But she genuinely can't stop him. She's too weak, stuck with a dead body that's somehow getting deader. ]
cw: cannibalism cont
This...is different.]
W-what we have here...isn't going to be enough.
[It will help in the moment, but Basil doubts it would give her the strength to walk again. The thought of waiting for someone else- someone older, stronger than both of them- to hunt in their stead...it feels like it will be too late, by then.]
And...it wouldn't just be for you.
[...
He has to feed too. Eventually.
Maybe putting them both on the same schedule, so they could share in that respect...]
cw: cannibalism cont, suicidal imagery
She opens her mouth to protest, that it'd be a start. That at least it could get her to the soup kitchen, maybe, or something like that. But then Basil presents the checkmate to his argument, and her stomach drops. ]
No... [ Weak and small, like she hates feeling. Wouldn't she be such a hypocrite for arguing, after what she'd said herself to Fugo? That if she's going to be living- existing like this, she should have a part in the acquisition of food. Of...meat.
Why wouldn't it apply to Basil too?
A stiff arm reaches up to- something. Hold her drooping head up, wrap around herself in a half-hug, she's not sure, she just wants to move and prove that she doesn't need him to go out and kill someone for her (for the both of them).
But it hangs in the air. Half-reaching for him. ]
It's not fair. It's- it's not fair...for you to do that all alone.
Omori spoilers, cannibalism
There's one horrible truth that Basil knows is going to haunt him for the rest of his time as a Gargoyle, and that's the fact that he must hunt. Maybe he can get away with not hunting for every single "meal", but he'd already tried to ignore it before, and as a result had nearly killed Bakugo over it. Though there's a possibility that was just starvation taking hold...he doesn't want to think about the fact that it wasn't.
Even if he doesn't do this for Max, he will be forced to eventually. So, then...why waste the opportunity now, when he could be helping her? Helping both of them.
Just like how he helped Sunny. He stepped in, he took control where he could not.
Basil's lips tremble, his ears drooping low over his shoulders. He could very easily just leave now and get it over with, but it's the way Max reaches up towards him that causes him to stay.
...if she's not looking, she'll hear it first, the way his knees softly hit the wood floor as he falls back to them in front of her, leaning in to wrap his arms around Max's shoulders. He feels...sick. Numb, hollow...tears dripping silently down his muzzle as he squeezes her gently, her hair tickling the side of his face.]
I...I'm going to have to...whether I do it now, or later.
[He admits, though the way his voice cracks betrays his fear. He had been able to take over for Sunny because Sunny had been too catatonic to do anything on his own. He had no choice.
Max...she does. She can protest, and Basil doesn't want to leave her with no say whatsoever.]
...i-if...if you really don't want me to, then we can try to figure something else out. But I...would. For you.
corpse decaying, cannibalism
He's right. She doesn't have enough time. If she'd eaten recently, maybe this wouldn't be the case. But the amount of damage her body's endured has taken its toll. ]
Basil... [ Her voice hitches, catching on his name. It's only because she's cried so much that she doesn't have any more tears to shed, but her eyes sting nevertheless.
And she leans her face into the crook of his neck, as she promises: ] N-next time... It won't be just you. F-for as long- as I can— I'm never gonna let you do something like this b-by yourself, ever, ever again.
[ It's as good of an okay as he's going to get. ]
cw: extreme cannibalism/blood/gore/disassociation
He's glad she can't see the look on his face right now, the way it tenses and becomes ugly, however brief. Maybe...if he pretends it's all a bad dream, it will be easier.
But of course, Basil knows that won't even be necessary. His instincts...they're strong enough that they will take over when the time comes.
Sniffing, Basil reluctantly draws away after a moment, just long enough to work a smile back onto his features as he pushes himself up to stand.]
I know. N-next time...we'll figure it out together.
[For right now, though...it's time for him to go. He already has an idea for the best way to go about this, seeing as how so many humans are already gathered at an unfortunately convenient location. Distracted, possibly already injured...he won't have to waste time trying to hunt someone down.
What Basil does take the time to do is pull his blanket off his bed, letting it fall around Max's shoulders so she'll be able to keep some semblance of warm while he's gone. Then, knowing he won't actually be able to keep going if he doesn't just...go, he tears his gaze away and leaves.
Leaving Max alone...her only company being the music, and the soft glow of a few bioluminescent flower petals that Basil's horns dropped as he left.
She will be here for several hours before Basil's return is heralded by the sound of his footsteps through the halls. Or, more specifically, the way he drags his feet, his talons scraping the wood as he slowly climbs the stairs to his room. He can't quite help how honestly horrific he must look as he emerges from the dark hallway, the glow of his horns casting a new, terrible light over him now. He is covered, absolutely drenched in blood and lake water. His entire face and snout are saturated, and the front of his overalls is stained a deep, almost blackened crimson. Every breath he takes brings with it a slight puff of smoke, blood occasionally dripping from his open mouth.
He barely remembers killing them. The spirit at the lake had done a wonderful job of hypnotizing all who came too near, and fortunately Basil had been too far gone, too smothered by instinct to fall victim. In the end, a human- nondescript- had been floundering in the edge of the water, still alive yet trying to push themselves in deeper despite their legs having been rendered useless by the fish ripping them to shreds deeper in. They would have died a miserable death from blood loss, leaving Basil's interference a mercy.
At least, that's what he'd been telling himself, begging himself to believe as his fangs sunk into their neck.
He carries in his arms strips of flesh ripped from the body, completely divorced from the corpse in such a way that he can only hope it looks less like what it is, and more like...well. What it is: raw, bloody meat. That's what he brings in, his eyes wide and tinged red, every scale on his body extended and rattling dully as he slowly sinks to his knees about a foot away from where he'd left her.]
H- Hee...here...
[He had almost thought about trying to torch it with his flames, wondering if that would make it easier and more palatable for Max, but...it's likely better this way. "Fresh" is the name of the game, after all.
As for Basil, he doesn't need it. He's had his fill, and feels simultaneously more alive and more miserable than ever.]
cw: hypnosis/domestic violence/euthanasia/lost time/dissociation/body horror/cannibalism
Then he leaves without looking back, and, for the next several hours... Max is alone.
It's almost suffocating how alone. It's as alone as she'd made herself the first few days of the song, as alone as she'd become by her own accord back home. Except now, she doesn't even have her music to comfort her. Nothing but the violin, which alternates between coaxing her to spill her guts to an empty bedroom and beckoning her to die.
During the former, she murmurs horrid truths, about how she wishes she'd kept trying to stand up to Neil even if it got her hurt because maybe it would've made Billy see her as an ally. How she wonders if she would've ever been enough for her mother, if she'd tried harder to be a better daughter she wouldn't have felt the need to seek her validation from the scumbags she dated. How the first time she wished Billy dead was before they even moved to Hawkins. How she worries if she weren't here her mother would've pulled the plug on her—the ultimate act of giving up on her own daughter.
During the latter, it's a blessing that rigor mortis has set in so severely that her muscles can barely twitch. The only reason she knows they're happening is the slight change to her posture, or the small groove her claw has dug into the floor where it futilely tried to pull her from the bed to the door. It's like falling asleep, except part of her is always a second away from snapping her eyes open. Like living on the edge of a lucid dream, reaching for control but never achieving it until she gasps awake.
What comforts her in this time is just one thing: Basil's familiar scent clinging to the blanket.
Max can't pull it closer around her, but she can let her head droop enough that her nose—dry instead of moist, because still, she feels mildly feverish—into its soft fabric. It's grounding, reminding her where she is and who she's waiting for. That she's not really alone. He's coming back for her.
At some point, she really does fall asleep, still sitting against the side of Basil's bed, whole body limp. There, without the rise and fall of her chest or the sound of steady breathing, she really does look like the corpse that she is.
Basil returns, and it's only the scent of fresh blood that wakes her. Her still, somewhat sunken eyes blink slowly open to a half-lidded gaze. The skin on her lips pulls as her jaw drops open, tearing slightly from how utterly dry they are. ]
Ah..... A-aahh...
[ Even her vocal cords are starting to stiffen.
In the time he's been gone, a layer of moss has grown over parts of Max—her antlers, her cheeks, her arms. Stretching out from under the carefully applied bandages. It's...actually more accurate to say, it hasn't grown over anything, but rather in place of it, fur and velvet turning to plant.
If there was any doubt before, it should be cleared up now: Waiting any longer would've been a death sentence. ]
B... B- aaah...
[ Sound cracks from her throat as her eyes try to focus. Her thoughts bounce sluggishly around her head, like ping-pong balls moving through molasses— He came back, he really came back and of course he would and i think i'm dying again.
Only the smell of blood. Only the smell of meat gets her mouth to fully open, fangs aching to sink into the strips of flesh, because she wants to live more than she hates herself for how she has to. ]
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism
He doesn't want to put her through the indignity of it, not unless absolutely necessary, but he'll feed it to her himself if he has to. He's not sure she can move her arms, or manipulate her hands enough to actually take it from him, he's realizing...]
I-it's okay...I'm here...I...I've got it...
[He rasps, his voice low as he drags himself even closer, sidling up next to her so that she can lean her weight against him if she needs to.]
Y...you're going to be okay...I promise.
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism, corpse decay descriptions
The musings idly slip through her mind as Basil's reassurances reach her ears. Luckily, she doesn't try and snap at Basil's hand, because if she was that much of an animal right now Max doesn't think she could be able to handle it. But she also can't pull herself forward very well. Her arms are heavy and stiff, so he may very well have to feed her, as embarrassing as it is.
The moment the flesh is within reach of her mouth, she doesn't really have a choice, as her fangs snap at it almost desperately. Fresh blood and meat on her lips, she could cry. She can't hold back her relieved moan as she swallows a piece practically whole. It feels wet...but that's natural. It's raining outside.
(Still. Later, she'll be able to guess, when she really thinks on it. It makes the most sense if that's where Basil got it from.)
The moment he's next to her, Max leans against him. And, after a few bites, a loud cracking of bones sounds from her arm, fingers twitching back to "life" to try and take what she can so he doesn't have to keep feeding it into her mouth. ]
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism cont
He brought as much as he could carry from the corpse, so there's a non-insignificant amount of meat here. But he can go get more, if he has to. He's just not sure if it's a blessing or not that the body is unrecognizable as human, now that both he and Max have been feeding from it.
For now, he's gravely silent. Silent, but not going anywhere as he sits back on his haunches, his tail wrapping loosely around the both of them.]
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism cont
It stains her paw pads red as Basil's little hands.
For a Waldgeist, it seems meat is the ultimate cure-all.
It's most of the corpse fragments that Basil brought back that Max devours. Maybe she should've left some for later, but it tastes best when it's fresh, and she does it rarely enough that...
That it's hard for her to hold back or even concentrate. Truly as soon as she gets going, her mind goes so blank it's like the music can't even affect it anymore, as all that's there is the rich, warm meat. No place, no person, nothing but her meal.
Except. Midway through, her own skull tail, limp on the floor alongside her, slithers over Basil's, curled about the flower-like ending tip. It's not a conscious action at all, but when she slows, eyes wide and wet, she does not remove it. ]
You...s-saved me, [ Max's voice comes out in a croak of a whisper. The lower half of her face is stained in red, blood dripping from her fangs and eyes fully yellow instead of their cool blue.
Saying it out loud feels like it's going to break her heart. She really isn't used to it. People coming through for her. ]
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism/disassociation
At some later point, Basil will ask someone from the Palazzo to help break down the remainder of the corpse they couldn't finish, because between them there's still roughly a quarter of body mass left in one of Basil's many tunnels, mercifully kept dry from the elements and hidden from wild animals who could make their own meal of it. For now, his focus is on Max as she eats until her body finally seems to be slowly starting to get back to normal. Whatever counts as "normal" now, anyway.
Her words seem trivial, in the wake of things. Basil just sort of looks at her with his eyes half closed, yet still managing to seem so large in the darkness.]
I...I w-wasn't going to let anything happen to you.
[Everything is going to be okay.]
You're...you're one of my best friends. I can't lose you.
[He's lost everyone else. He can't do it again.]
cw: corpse decay, mild cannibalism. how can cannibalism be mild.
It terrifies her. It makes her think of the future that was left for her in Hawkins. It makes her think of the attic and her dwindling sensations. So it matters. More than anything, it matters.
She's still tired, and it shows when she tries to readjust her position. Her body's sore, her blood having settled at the lowest points of it, but she wants to lean closer to Basil. The blanket's kept her warm but it's nothing compared to feeling another person beside her. Her cold body settles, bloody hand grasping for bloody hand.
Softer, she repeats: ] Basil. You saved me.
[ She's not done with eating, just has finally slowed down. But she can take a moment to squeeze his hand and gaze at him, gratitude radiating from her. ]
Thank you. Thank you, for...for doing this for me.
HOW CAN CANNIBALISM BE MILD
He lets her, and once their hands are joined, he'll carefully curl his claws over the back of her hand.]
Y-you're welcome.
[This time, he accepts her thanks, simply. It seems like the best thing to do.
His face feels warm, and he's not sure if it's from the blood still caked onto it, or the fact that he's blushing. He's just glad his scales hide it for the most part.]
I'll...I'll stay with you, okay? Until you're better...a-and all of this is over.
[Until it feels like they can exist as themselves again.]
cw: MILD CANNIBALISM BC WE'RE MENTIONING THAT SHE ATE PEOPLE BUT NOT BEING EXPLICIT ABT IT???? IDK
It stills her. It churns something in her stomach, as she realizes what it is, looking quietly at Basil who has done so much for her. Who she's heard so much about, the good and the bad, who has heard so much about her. Being like this, looking at each other, the intimacy reminds her of the Snow Ball.
It's stupid. Because this isn't the closest they've been. And her face is covered in dripping blood, and the blood between their hands oozes to the floor, but the first time she felt like this before it was in a junkyard on top of a broken down bus waiting to see her first monster—so it's par for the course, but she feels stupid, and it's stupid, and like she's betraying herself and—
Lucas...
She's frightened of it. The feeling. The desire. But she doesn't let go of Basil's hand, because that feels like it would be giving up. It doesn't show on her face, besides a few twitches of her lips and narrowing of her eyes, which she covers up with another bite of meat. ]
Mm- um, okay.
[ After everything that's happened... This sentiment shouldn't make her feel so good. But it does. She shouldn't be feeling this.
Maybe it's just the moment. She's not currently compelled to say anything about it, so—maybe it's just because she's tired, and he saved her, and the shock of almost dying again has her heart feeling like it's going to start again.
Max thinks maybe it's circumstance. Maybe, for now, she can just let it sit and not do anything about it, because she knows, for sure, that everyone would get hurt. ]
Yeah. I'd...really like that.
SHIT u right tho, Omori spoilers, cw: cannibalism