towerofanimus | Catch and Release

Characters: Anyone who's signed up for the Monster Souls plot. Parts one and two will have their own threads, for those involved in only one or the other.

Setting: Part one - August 3rd, nightfall, starting on floor ninety-nine and working down. Part two - August 4th (early morning) through the 8th, any floor(s). If you think your character might attack/kill Rick for his actions here, might be best to choose the later times to avoid continuity errors/time shenanigans/the like.

Format: Any!

Summary: See above plot link. Rick plans to help Kid Sephiroth with his bestiary by bonding with a monster so that he can shift into it and learn what it is (part one). Things Go Wrong (part two) and Rick begins actively seeking out characters who have close CR that are not presently in the Tower (such as loved ones left at home, or other characters that have disappeared from the Tower and are not currently around); he will engage them in uncomfortable conversation about these relationships and will go out of his way to combine them with the victim's worst fears (which he is also suddenly aware of). Awkward times all around!

Warnings: Violence/injury/character death possible in part one, and...probably the same for part two (combined with lots of angst).

Part One: Catch | Part Two: Release

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[This wasn't really a safe floor, but Romeo was good at this game. He could follow a few courses of slides and steps and still get out safely. It was dangerous but as long as he was careful it was fun.

He is near the stairs when he sees the man and grins back, waving from the top of his slide.]

[Rick keeps his distance at the entrance, apparently not willing to try and track Romeo through the maze of selective playground equipment. He can project just fine from where he's standing, thanks.]

You having fun up there, Romeo? [Beat--apart from that, Rick wastes no time in waiting for Romeo to respond.] Don't you have someone else to come play with you?

[Curious Romeo slid down closer] Pinocchio is with me sir! [The weasel on his head snuffles agreeing.]

I don't think I met you before sir, how do you know my name?

No need to be so formal--please, call me Rick.

[He pointedly ignores answering Romeo's question.]

I'm only worried for your safety; this isn't the nicest part of the Tower, you know. Pinocchio might be a fun playmate, but he can't help you out if you got stuck at the bottom of a slide...strength in numbers, right?

I know my way round mister Rick! And if I gotted stuck none of my friends could help me anyways, and it's okay really because if the snakes eat you you get to come back.

[He grinned] It's not really fun if that happens though.

[He is incredulous! ~~stop being so chipper you're making this difficult~~]

None of your friends...not even someone like Molly? Even if she were still here, you'd trust her to watch your back, wouldn't you?

[Romeo blinked, his face surprised for a moment] Did you know Molly mister Rick? You must have been here for a long time... [Because Molly had disappeared a long time ago.] I would! And she was superstrong so she would have found a way!

[No response to how long he's been here--only a smile, as if he knows far more than he wants to let on. Which he does.]

That she was...it's really too bad that she's not here anymore. Or Ienzo. It must be lonely without them around. [Beat.] You worry about them, don't you?

[It's been a long time since Romeo has talked about his friends, and he's still surprised that this man knew them at all!] I do, they are probably really sad on their worlds, but we are going to save them all! Then we can all go to heaven together.

[DAT OPTIMISM. Time to ruin it!]

What makes you so sure? I mean, before you can even think of saving everyone that's been left on your own world, you've got to make sure everyone in the Tower can save themselves...and based on how few of your friends are still here, that's a hard enough task.

Besides, you can't go to heaven if Ruana's gobbled up your soul, right? I'm sorry, but that's...kind of an unrealistic goal to have.

Well we will stop her from gobbling up our souls! We can do it if we all work together and there's still lots of people here.

[He looks sad for a moment, before decisively punching the air and grinning again] Even if lots of my friends are gone, I still have friends here and I make new friends all the time! We will save everyone.

Will they ever make up for the friends that you've lost, though? Will any amount of friends here make up for Alfredo?

[Romeo blinked] How do you know Alfredo? [No one will every be like Alfredo]

They might not make up for him but that doesn't mean they aren't great friends! No one can replace all my friends I lost but this way it just means I got even more friends, even if some of them are dead or lost.

[A valiant effort...Rick actually seems flustered at this point.]

You can't keep going on like this forever...there isn't some "infinite friend pool" that you can keep drawing on. There's always an end--whether it's death or empty nothingness, everything ends.

Well people keep coming... and if we die we get to go to heaven and be with all our friends. [He's just a little bit more hesitant here, because he sometimes has nightmares, where he's all alone.

But they are not good for keeping his spirits up!]

On your world, maybe...what makes you so sure about this world? Who knows what's waiting after you die? Without souls, my guess is...nothing, probably. That sounds about right.

But we do have souls sir! It's all we do got so we got to fight really hard to keep them safe!

Well of course we have souls now, but we won't once Ruana...

[Rick gets a very strange look on his face--half-snarling, like he's smelled something unpleasant and is very unhappy about it. He has literally just gone full-circle on this argument, hasn't he?]

[Screw it! Rick makes an exasperated, strangled expression, throws his hands in the air, and turns to leave.]

[YOU WIN THIS TIME, ROMEO]

[Romeo blinked watching as the man stormed off, he felt a little bit bad because he didn't like making people mad. But the man had said some mean things]

Catch and Release - Semi-Open

hihi floor 85

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