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Post by CuteCat on Nov 23, 2013 23:12:26 GMT -5
(This works rather simply: I write a story-like part, and then you post what you would like to do. Just a simple post, such as "Ask what to do" or "Help him", think of it like the choices you'd find in a normal CYOA. I'll then write the next part, having your character react the way you asked, and then you simply post what you want to do in response. If multiple people post their actions I will incorporate all of them, so don't be afraid to post if someone else has. As well, the character being referred to as "you" is not any specific character, so you can refer to or suggest any character you'd like in your post.)You freeze as you hear the front door open; you're already tangled up in a quite embarrassing situation you'd rather not go into any further detail on, and having someone else find you this way is an almost unbearable thought. As you glance to the open door your worst fear seems true; the one in the doorway is an emaciated demon, green and white, his body scarred. Devic has always been taunting you about anything you do, and a mistake like this is one he'll never let you live down. ... at least, that's how it would normally be. He doesn't say anything or even look at you as he vanishes up the stairs. His limbs are quietly slumped and he leans a hand on the wall, his eyes distant almost like he can't see anything. "What ..." you begin before trailing off, staring after him. Feeling a nearly ambush-like tinge of concern, and wanting to escape your own troublesome situation, you hastily excuse yourself and head upstairs. You glance around at the rooms as you go, not quite certain which one is his and already feeling doubt. Despite trying, you've never been able to really help him in a way he likes. He always gets angry, lashes out or refuses to allow your aid. If Kikari had been around, you'd leave this whole thing to him instead - but the robot has been away for a long time now, and as Devic has made a point of being on bad terms with everyone he can you don't know if anyone else would care to do anything about his state. You may be the only one who would help him. Finally you notice a door on the top floor that's ajar, and recall that it has always been empty when you've passed it by. All it contains is slash marks and a make-shift bed of pillows and blankets. It's with a wince you realize this must have been Devic's room -- doesn't say much for his mental state, that's for sure. You move to the door and peek into the room, raising a hand to knock at the open door to announce yourself, but freeze. Devic's collapsed by one of the walls, leaning his head against it, fingertips leaned on the wall. You notice the tips are stained a dark red, as though he's broken off his claws, thin lines of blood running down the wall to complement the gouges spread across the room. But more than that, he's crying. Not just a little, not in any way you've seen before, he's just crying his heart out without a sound. His eyes are still not all there, staring ahead of him at his own thoughts, as though in shock. You feel a tinge of unease; this can't be something he'd want anyone to see, much less you specifically. You've never seen him showing weakness of any kind, much less... this. Should you just leave? Say hello? Maybe you just need to call Kikari, he'll know what to do... But before you manage to make a move, Devic pushes away from the wall slightly and looks at you. He watches you, almost staring, and you instinctively brace yourself for swearing and hostility. "Help me." he pleads in an uneven voice that quite frankly does not fit the jerk of a demon you know. You're taken aback, not saying anything for the few moments it takes him to continue. "I can't do this anymore. I can't fix myself. Help me..." He watches you pleadingly, awaiting a response.
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Post by Thraxa on Nov 23, 2013 23:22:43 GMT -5
Ask how she can help
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Post by thalinvien on Nov 23, 2013 23:27:47 GMT -5
Ask what he can do? Get Raela? Help himself?
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 23, 2013 23:51:01 GMT -5
"What can I do?" you ask, too flabberghasted to think of anything else. Devic stares at you blankly, his ears lowering further than they already were as his hands slip down the wall onto his lap, and you hurriedly continue. "Should I get someone? Can..."
"You said you could fix it." Devic replies, before his gaze darkens. The desperation remains, leaving a rather uncomfortable expression of despair in his eyes. "You kept saying over and over you could fix it! Everyone did!"
You open your mouth slightly to respond, to ask what he's talking about, before it hits you. You did say that, but it wasn't about any specific event at the time, but about his mental state as a whole. Whatever made him feel like he had to alienate and hurt everyone around him, and had him act the way he did. You said you could help him if he just let you, but it wasn't to his face... It was sort of behind his back, after he'd rejected you or lashed out and begun to leave, and you're too taken aback by the fact he heard to have an answer.
"Didn't you!?" yells Devic, standing a little too suddenly and spreading his wings to keep his balance. He's glaring straight at you, tears still in his eyes. "You said if I just let you help me you could do something! If I knew how to help anything I would do it already! So why the HELL are you acting like I'm supposed to know!?"
You try to calm him, and yelling seems to help him a little bit as he slumps together again, holding his head. Thankfully, since his claws are already broken, he can't burrow them into his skull as you've seen him do in previous times of distress. He watches the floor by your feet, frowning and holding his ears. "Can you help or can't you." he listlessly murmurs.
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Post by Thraxa on Nov 23, 2013 23:57:38 GMT -5
Reach over and try to hug him. Then say she will think of something
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Post by thalinvien on Nov 24, 2013 0:12:34 GMT -5
Offer help
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Nyka
Newcomer
Posts: 4
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Post by Nyka on Nov 24, 2013 8:06:20 GMT -5
Attempt to hug him, and quietly ask what happened to his hand
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 24, 2013 8:31:44 GMT -5
Watching Devic for a moment, you find yourself overwhelmed by the need to comfort him. Without thinking you wrap your arms around him and hold him to your body.
The demon flinches at the sudden hug, eyes widening as he glances up at you with a shocked expression. He lowers his hands, halfly grasping at your shirt but not actually grabbing hold or hugging back. You're guessing he doesn't know how to react, which at least is better than getting shoved away or swiped at.
"I'll think of something." you say, trying to reassure him. "I'll help, I just..." You pause for half a moment - he reacted badly last time you mentioned anything about not knowing what to do. "What happened to your hands?" you ask instead. Devic glances to the digits currently staining your clothing, almost like he doesn't know what you're talking about.
"Broke them, I guess." he murmurs. Does he even know? In his current state, it wouldn't surprise you if it completely slipped his mind. You recall how easily he'd wound himself previously, and how little he'd react to damage in fights. You cautiously take one of his fingers to touch the tip, and cringe instinctively - yeah, the claw is definitely not fully attached to the finger anymore. You shudder to think what his hands look like beneath the gloves.
"I..." you start then pause as you wrap your arm around the demon's frail body again. Courage! You can't avoid the topic if you're to help him! "I need you to tell me what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know any details."
No answer, though he lowers his eyes some. He leans his head against your chest, silent, but just when you're about to say something his tail makes a sharp flick almost like a whip. "Everything." he answers. "The damn... my damn psyche. I can't find myself anymore." He tries to push away from you, murmuring. "I can't breathe. It's not me. I'm not like this."
So he really was talking about his psyche as a whole... You need to help him somehow, but where do you even start on such a task?
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Soac
Newcomer
Posts: 42
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Post by Soac on Nov 24, 2013 9:00:15 GMT -5
Promise to help but ask that he cooperates and tells everything needed to know so nothing unnecessary is done.
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Post by thalinvien on Nov 24, 2013 13:47:07 GMT -5
Reaffirm he's there to help, but needs to know whats happened for him to become like this.
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 24, 2013 14:33:14 GMT -5
"Listen, I'm going to help you, but you need to help me." You feel like you're repeating yourself, but 'everything' is still far too broad. "I need you to tell me as much as you can so I know what to do. How did you lose yourself? How did you become this way?"
Devic stares at you with a dazed look, distant, before pushing himself away from you. You let him go and he backs up a couple of steps, glancing to his hands and the walls with his head lowered, appearing almost frightened of the prospect of explaining himself. Then he shakes his head, looking up at you with a hint of a smile that does more to unnerve than to calm.
"He caused this." he says. "That damn... the hedgehog, the damn... Vortex."
Vortex isn't a name you recognize, but you decide to remember it for later. Devic watches one of his hands, shifting his not-quite-clawed fingers slightly as if to distract himself from his words. "He thought it was funny, killing everyone. Seeing who I felt close to. He'd keep them alive longer, just to f*ck with me." he says. "He and his damn father, trying to break me. Keep f*cking torturing me but never letting me die." Ceasing to watch his hand, he grasps at the large scars on his arms - even without claws, the skin is weak enough that he breaks through it by burrowing his fingers into the wounds and he begins to bleed. "Got away once, so he took to a holy knife and caused these ... the big ones. Escaped again and came here, eventually."
He's trailed off to a slight murmur, frowning, before looking up at you again and suddenly making eye contact. "So I acted mean. Wouldn't want a repeat of what happened, right? So having nobody close to me was better. ...but I did trust a few people. And the f*ckers betrayed me! One asshole sold me out to them, the mage suddenly took Vortex's side! Just because I let someone close enough to ..." He trails off, then shakes his head. "...and I stopped being able to trust." he murmurs, still smiling weakly as he holds his arms almost in a hug. "And I kept acting worse to keep away the assholes who'd betray me given the chance. Because it keeps happening, if you don't act just like someone wants and if you don't kiss people's ass all the time they'll lash out and betray you. And now I can't remember what I used to be like, and I try to return to it but I just can't get rid of this paranoia."
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Soac
Newcomer
Posts: 42
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Post by Soac on Nov 24, 2013 14:42:28 GMT -5
Ask if distrusted and why is different than others.
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 24, 2013 15:16:03 GMT -5
"Do you distrust me, too?" you ask somewhat cautiously. Devic answers with a hollow laugh, his dulled pupils narrowing into cat-like slits as he grins.
"Why wouldn't I?!" he answers, posture shifting to something almost defensive and his tail flicking from side to side. "I don't even know you, how the hell would I trust you!?"
"What- why-" Although taken aback, you try to ignore the notion that he doesn't know you despite taunting you constantly for the duration of your stay and focus on the more urgent aspect of this response. "Then why did you tell me? Why are you asking my help?"
Devic glances aside, anger crossing his face, setting a hand on his hip. He watches his bleeding arm as he answers, seemingly contemplating whether to tend to the bleeding or not (you consider trying to help him, but fear that if you leave him alone he'll be dead by the time you return). "Because you're here. Because anyone would do. Because before I find someone I trust I'll have suffocated."
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Soac
Newcomer
Posts: 42
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Post by Soac on Nov 24, 2013 15:24:46 GMT -5
Acknowledge the reason then ask if the only solution is killing this Vortex
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Post by thalinvien on Nov 24, 2013 16:18:17 GMT -5
Offer to take him to his home world for safty if someone shows him how to get there
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 24, 2013 16:55:00 GMT -5
"I... I see." you frown a bit, halfly wishing you had fetched someone else. Someone more well-versed in dealing with the demon. But you're the one who decided to go check on him, and now you're the one stuck with this task. Either way, if this Vortex is the root of the problem... "What if we kill this Vortex, then?"
"Like I didn't try." Devic sneers at nobody in particular. "I thought that'd help. I really did." He grabs his arms again in that hug-like way, fingers burrowed into his scars. "So I focused on that. But I did kill him, and nothing has changed. The problem's not him anymore, it's ME, I corrupted myself."
"Maybe you need to get away from here?" you try again. "Maybe if you get back to your home--"
"No!" Suddenly he's glaring at you, fangs bared as he cuts off your suggestion. He grimaces, shaking his head. "What would that... That wouldn't do anything. It sure as hell wouldn't help me." He frowns deeper. "Just look at me." he murmurs. "I'm a zombie."
"It's not that bad." you say, trying to reassure him, but the look he gives you in response is anything but reassured. In fact, he looks pained.
"This isn't how drivaen look." he says with a shake of his head, ears flat. "I can get to my world. We're not supposed to look like this. I'm a damn abomination, something you'd find in a horror movie." He tugs at his gloves and pulls one off, causing you to look away hastily. "You humans have too bad sight to see it, but there are more scars, thin ones from most of my wounds. I can't see them either... but they can."
You give him an awkward glance; his fingertips definitely look painful, the claws broken off and instinctively making you run a finger across your nails to ensure they're still safely attached. Scars of all sizes line his hand, criss-crossing and having caused so much damage you're not quite sure how he can use it anymore. "I probably look like this all over to them." Devic murmurs, his eyes sorrowful and almost blank like they were before.
"Right, maybe not - maybe not your home then. How about mine? You could get a new start there, try again." you suggest. Devic glances to you as he puts his glove back on.
"What good would that do?" he asks. "I'd still act the same. People would still gawk and stare, fearing or pitying me or saying I'm cute almost like they're mocking me. Nothing would change. nothing can change until I can find the 'real' me and stop being this twisted mess of a person."
As you hesitate, trying to think of a new solution, Devic looks you in the eyes. "Stop suggesting solutions for other problems. The problem is me, my mind and my body. What needs fixing is that, nothing else..."
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Post by thalinvien on Nov 24, 2013 17:13:33 GMT -5
Reaffirm that separation is a good thing, explain we can mend wounds and seek professional help for the mental issues.
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Soac
Newcomer
Posts: 42
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Post by Soac on Nov 25, 2013 9:31:01 GMT -5
Offer to take him on a journey, that someone might be found to help along the way. Promise to be there every step of the way.
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Post by CuteCat on Nov 25, 2013 10:38:15 GMT -5
>mend your wounds and find a professional
"Come on, you wanted my help right? Getting away from here will do you good, I promise." You smile, Devic watching you with the least reassuring gaze you've ever seen on a creature. "We can travel together, I'll be there with you. We might be able to mend your wounds and find someone to he-"
"They can't heal!" Devic lashes out at you suddenly, fangs bared, before quieting again. He holds his head. "This f*cking mess of a body can't heal. I'm stuck like this."
"Well, we can still mend your mental wounds..." you correct yourself cautiously. "We can find a professional."
"You mean a psychiatrist." The demon's voice is a quiet murmur. Clearly he's not liking the idea, but this whole thing is beyond your capabilities and you know it.
"...yes." you respond. Devic glances aside without a word, and you grow uneasy - is he going to return to normal and just hide this all away? "Look, you asked for my help, so trust me! It's for your own best!"
The demon is quiet, but then responds as he narrows his eyes. "Fine." You sigh in relief. Maybe now you can get him the help he really does need...
However it turns out that outside of Koniki, monster-looking demons are far from as accepted. Despite your reassurances that he's not there to kill everyone he is ostracized or even attacked, and he doesn't seem to consider it strange at all. You can feel the stares burying into you both whenever you're with him, full of fear or pity or even awe. It wears down on you until you just want to scream at them to get lost, but you bite your tongue to avoid enraging the masses.
In this state, finding a psychiatrist even willing to try and help Devic is more difficult than you could have imagined and you finally have to settle for one in Koniki. He's prescribed medication, which you hope will help, but it's only a day before you find the bottle smashed. And finally, one day as you wait outside of the psychiatrist's office for his session to end, you hear a yell. You hurriedly open the door and look inside to find Devic standing over the psychiatrist's downed body, the poor woman trying to sidle away as Devic turns to you, holding his head with an expression of panicked despair and a wide, uneven smile that only makes it look worse.
Before you can react he grabs his throat, burying his regrown claws into it. His stiffened posture calms somewhat as he tears it out, almost decapitating himself, and collapses. You rush to his side to try and help him but he just curls up, hiding the wound from you until it's too late to help him anymore. Talking to the psychiatrist she gently concludes that he was beyond any help.
BAD END
>travel and find help
"I still think travel would be good..." you murmur. "We may be able to find someone that can help you. I'll be there for you every step of the..."
Seeing the look he's giving you, you trail off. "Devic?"
"You can't help, can you." the demon scowls. His voice has regained some of its usual tone, hatred nestled into his words as he glares at you. His eyes are still full of tears, but he's no longer crying. He just looks angered. "You just want to shove it off onto someone else! All your goddamn words about how you'd be able to fix it were just lies and boasting, you can't do a damn thing!"
You can't think of an answer at first, taken aback, and he takes it as confirmation. His eyes narrow and he sneers, shifting to a hostile posture. "Get the f*ck out before I rip out your throat."
You try to reason with him but he's not having any of it, and you get thrown out.
The next time you see him he's back to acting more or less normal. Withdrawn, troubled, but no longer confiding anything in you and just lashing out whenever you try to talk to him. It doesn't seem like he's willing to give you another chance, but he's not asking anyone else either...
BAD END
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