AIR KING

People are funny. Even a five-year-old knows how to spend money, but there’s plenty of adults who don’t know how to earn it. They feel better handing over money than bowing their head and taking it. They go on and on about how the customer’s always right, always the winner but isn’t that supposed to be how the seller feels, not them? But if everyone’s spending, who’s left to provide the service? I think a society where people prefer earning to spending is a healthier one.

[charismaticdomination-blog]

♔ ]* kings and queens -- ;

The process of waking up from a long sleep after a terrifying experience could be held as one of the most drawn-out, real-time experiences of life. Like waking from a coma to the crowd of loved ones surrounding you, or taking your first steps into a world you've long since abandoned. It was an experience that walked you through every step of something new, one that brought you so close to life like you and Earth were all that existed.

Fingertips grazed the fine fibers of what felt like Egyptian cotton, fingers slowly curling to touch the cold fabric, hand moving closer until it stopped itself against a warmer object. Through parted lips the first conscious breath was drawn, filling lungs with a gentle touch of perfectly fresh air. Eyelids carefully lifted enough to see, lashes filtering the sunlight from the window to keep it from blinding him as his mind awoke and slowly made sense of his surroundings. His breathing continued, feeling every inhale and exhale as colours began to make sense and shapes began to form. Everything at once wasn't even overwhelming. The variation of tones throughout the room in which he lay was refreshing, so much more comprehensible compared to the brilliant shades of...

... Fire. Bright orange. Ahead of him lay the colour of bright orange, sprawled across a pillow the head to which the hair belonged to lay peacefully against, sleeping.

Body shifted, the feeling of movement returning from its slumber soon enough to allow him to turn onto his side, hair falling in front of his face and blankets trailing with him as he did so. She looked as peaceful as an angel, no other terms of describing her reaching his muddled brain at this point, but as typical as that was, he thought it fit her perfectly. The tips of his lips curled softly, continuing to lay there in silence for a moment more until he decided it was time to wake his princess.

Arm came to rest against the mattress, supporting his weight as he leaned over to her sleeping face and sank down to place a gentle kiss against her eyelids. "Rise and shine, Saki." He drew back a little, watching her stir and mutter something incomprehensible as she, too, woke from the reset. "You were really brave out there. I don't know what I would have done without you. If it weren't for running into you, I don't know how many lives would have been lost." Earlier recounting of what had happened in those overheated forests easily leapt to his tongue, as if the topic was great enough not to be ignored. They had gone through something terrifying together, for what must have been the hundredth time instead of the third, but this time it was she who saved him. A prince wasn't a prince without his princess by his side.

"Why don't we help out rebuilding today?"

[tormentedangelknight]

I See Fire [EVENT OPEN]

[tormentedangelknight]

"Can do," Mikoto replied tersely, relieved that her newfound ally was level-headed. The last thing she felt like being was the responsible member of the rescue party.

She followed him over and added her kick to his forth to be absolutely sure the door gave way, reeling back for a moment in the face of the wash of smoke and heat. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth for the little it would help and moved forwards - the wood was creaking already, crucial support beams being charred away with frightening speed.

The entrance hall had a set of stairs, a door directly to the right to the lounge and a door at the far end that had smoke pouring out dangerously from underneath the crack.

Mikoto swore, clapped Akira on the arm, called out “Same to you, hero. Just shout out Mikoto when you need help!” and ran for the smoke-lit door.

It was jammed, of course, but the rear end of the house had taken much more of a kicking than the front, so she was able to hastily ram her boot against the wood, then dive out of the way of the heat wave. Stumbling into the frame, feeling the sweat pool on her brow, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Anyone stuck? Last chance to stay alive!”

[charismaticdomination-blog]

Crying could be heard the closer he got to the source-- or sources-- within the fragile standing building. Mikoto had veered off towards the other end of the house, while Akira took to the stairs. They were clearly unstable, fire practically eating away at the supports of everything like it had a vengeance against the town itself. Venturing wouldn't have lead him upwards if he hadn't caught the sobbing of a child at the very top of the stairs, no doubt hiding away from death for as long as they could -- and he didn't blame them. This was a terrifying experience, even for him, and he couldn't begin to imagine how much worse it was for a child.

Forward paces carried him to the platform above, hastily making his way towards the child curled into a ball against the wall while accessing the rest of the situation. Most of the flooring was gone, violent flames rising from the floor beneath through what they've already eaten, black clouds filling the space until visibility was extremely limited. Nonetheless, he pressed on; combating the smoke with nothing but his sleeve over his mouth and nose, he reached the trembling child in time to save him.

"It's alright, you're going to be fine now," he cooed, helping the child into his arms to carry him out of the building.

"M-my sister--" The child managed to choke out through the sobs and raw state of his throat, "She's downs-stairs." Downstairs? Directly below them, in the belly of the beast--?

"You mean--"

The sound of crackling firewood had stopped his thought process, child immediately held closer to his body to protect him from the gust of heat waves bursting forth behind them. Boots pushed off the ground and steadied him before he began his decent towards the ground floor. "We'll get her out, don't you worry. For now we gotta focus on-- Woah-!" The boards below his feet actually began to crack. He kept as light on his feet as he could, but in the end, he couldn't escape the inevitable. The boards continued cracking until there was nothing beneath the both of them, and they began their fall into the even hotter room below. Head ducked forward to protect the child as completely as he could, becoming a shield against any debris and burning flames below; but even then, he could only protect so much. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"Mikoto--!"

[charismaticdomination-blog]

♔ ]* safety prevention -- ;

[unbrokenoath]

What had once been the sight of a beautiful grassland, home to many, was now engulfed in flames. Scorching, crackling, red-hot flames, licking at the edges of anything potentially flammable before greedily swallowing it in it’s entirety. Both the city and the plains had been devastated, along with the crops that had been worked on by the farmers tirelessly, day after day. With nearly the entire area ablaze, it was beginning to get difficult to see. The heat was unrelenting, and the dizziness and nausea notwithstanding, the simple act of moving around on her own two feet was beginning to seem like an olympic event.

Why had this happened? It hadn’t made any sense. It had started out as a small campfire in the woods, she’d heard— but it seems that had spiraled quickly out of control. There was no time to think anymore. In times of desperation, your actions meant everything— that included the act of aiding others. Lives could be saved if one took the time to assist the less fortunate in these circumstances— and here, that was what she choose to do. There was no way she was about to take the easy way out— the villagers that had decided to stay and help needed as much assistance as possible. Although the most she could do was guide villagers to safety, it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe at this point, let alone stay conscious. She’d done all she could, it was time to get out of there.

There was a wide path beside the lit forest towards the hill where most of Benu’s residents had been evacuated, leaving a large, clear opening to safety. Heading in this direction, it was at this moment that a blurry figure caught her eye— They looked familiar, but in the current condition she was in, it was impossible to tell whether they were really there or if the noxious fumes were simply playing tricks with her brain.

As she got closer, however, it became increasingly clear to her that this was not a trick. It was as if her senses momentarily sparked up again, allowing her to process the fact that they were really standing before her, looking just as determined and resolute as he had been then last time she’d seen him, more than six months prior.

"Takizawa!"

There was a shout, and that was all that could be exchanged before a blazing tree crashed down between them, cutting off her view and just a mere several feet away from landing on top of her.

Arms instinctively crossed to protect her face from the heat that was given off from the object, before realizing that her path had been completely been cut off. At it’s highest end, the scorched tree touched a neighboring field and set fire to the dried-up stalks of wheat, further engulfing the area in flames and giving off a vexatious heat that was beginning to become unbearable.

She wanted to stop. She wanted desperately to reach out and hold his hand in hers— be together again just like they had been all those months ago. But now was not the time to stand there and fantasize. Even with the smoke clouding both her thoughts and her actions, she knew clearly what she had to do.

Taking a ragged breath of the smoky air, she spoke up as loud as she possibly could.

"Takizawa! There are still people that need your help! Please worry about them first! I promise I’ll make it out of here okay!"

Her voice had become incredibly hoarse, resulting in a lower volume than she had expected. However, she knew in her heart that her message had gotten through to him. A few coughs were given before she hastily turned around and began to make her way around the field, as if it was just one large funeral pyre that would burn for eternity.

All that was left to do now was run.

[charismaticdomination-blog]

Her voice, as calming and supportive and dependable as it had ever been, reached him through the flames. There was no doubt about what he heard; Saki was with him, alive, and he was more grateful than he could ever confess. Hearing her encouragement through the dangers had given him an energy boost, a renewed sense of strength compelling him to do three times better than previous efforts. He had someone worth reuniting with, and he wasn't about to let her, or the residents who depended on him, die.

His feet picked up and he ran. Into the forest, towards any residence not yet evacuated, towards any group of people still waiting for directions or to be saved from a fallen tree; any and all of nature's destructive negatives wouldn't stop this mission of his, adrenaline selfishly aiding in his expedition.

Thankfully, most had already been evacuated, and the fire hadn't hit every single tree in the area; it picked and chose its path in a zigzag, leaving enough room for him to breathe without being completely overwhelmed by his failing senses. His running hadn't left him much room for a full recovery, however, and as the flames began to die down from where he began his venture into the inhabited forest, the smoldering smoke only increased. There was no longer any immediate danger present, though that could change within the moment; instead all that remained was the suffocating strain of smoke that had completely engulfed the area in which he stood, wind casting it all downhill as the wood continued to burn far ahead.

He remained quiet, and listened. Any earlier shouts of requested assistance had now disappeared after being answered. All sounds of breaking buildings and shattering glass seemed to follow suit, now nothing more than sounds akin to a small home's fire in a fireplace emanating from the distance. Everything still continued to burn, everything still continued to die, but the citizens lived on. His mission had been completed in his journey through the burning brush, with Saki's encouragement pushing his back forward the entire way.

... Saki.

For some reason, the name pained his heart. He felt a sort of impending doom slowly creep into his system to replace the adrenaline with a fear he couldn't place.

He couldn't see her. He couldn't tell which direction he had run anymore, and the smoke had made it impossible to see anything passed the most immediate trees. Of course; he'd been more concerned over everyone else's safety that he'd forgotten his own trail. Had he even lead them towards safety? For all he knew, he let the stragglers follow the wrong path. They could be stuck in the forest still, screaming for more help from the flames catching up to them, but he couldn't hear them.

He couldn't hear anything.

He couldn't see anything, he couldn't feel anything, he couldn't think of anything. A nauseating swell constricted his insides, breathing suddenly impossible, a small bout of panic passing through him for as long as the instance would allow.

And then he was gone. Muddled thoughts had finally clouded over, and his body had collapsed with his consciousness onto the ash-covered forest floor. All alone in his heroic action, unable to return to the hero who had given him his real strength. It seemed that this time he was the one who needed saving.

[charismaticdomination-blog]

[[ good gosh, i'm finding it a little difficult to get things rolling on this account. i'm going to go through what little is left in the open tag, and then probably type up a small mini post in a little bit! ]]

[[ otherwise i might go around asking for some plots since i never got a reply on my own open. ]]

[charismaticdomination-blog]

♔ ]* safety prevention -- ;

Suffocating, blinding, constricting; grey smoke pouring from the forest before which he stood clouded his mind, his lungs, and his eye sight. The sleeve covering his mouth provided little ventilation, and breathing was difficult. His eyes must have been red by now with all the exposure, water springing to the surface in the body's attempt at keeping them hydrated, which he was grateful for. Just like the blackened puffs of smoke billowing around and through the trees prevented any sight passed hazy blobs of grey and orange, his thoughts were quickly becoming a wobbly mess of unkempt collections.

Still, he persisted. Acknowledging the dangers of the situation and the affect they had on his health was important only in assisting the others. As long as people could be saved, his health would be put last.

Taking as deep a breath as possible in these deteriorating circumstances, both hands lifted to cup the sides of his mouth, preparing himself to let out a continuous yell that could stretch across the heavily populated area.

"Keep your hands over your mouth and keep as low as you can! Follow the sound of my voice to get to safety! Keep calm and walk carefully! Yell for me if you need any help!" After finishing his loud-as-possible yell, he had to cough; soot had built up in his air ways and continued to dry him out. Nausea had stricken him alongside the worsening dizzy spell, and with the strain of everything he was beginning to get sleepy. How much longer he could last here without fresh air or any bit of water was questionable, and nothing looked to be in his favors.

However, he would stay strong. People were already in sight from the top of the area as they head down the clearest part of the hill and towards his voice, the retired Seleção raising his voice once again to draw the rest in the right direction. Family by family trailed passed him and down the dirt path towards the less perilous route to safety. It was then he heard a scream, but it was too close to be up the hill and sounded too familiar to be anyone else --

"Takizawa!"

Behind him, running down the path that ran along the edge of the burning forest was the orange haired love of his life that he thought he'd never see again. Were the flames playing a trick on him?

"Saki--!" As soon as the words left his mouth and his feet began to carry him towards her, a devastating separation broke apart the two of them. With a sickening crackle of splintering wood as the flaming tree came down, the thread connecting the two of them was interrupted by disaster. The top of what was left of the tree met with the flimsy stocks of wheat on the other side of the road. As if ignited by dry, invisible fuel, the grass-like plants caught fire against each other and completely engulfed the square of farmed land, days upon days of hard work to feed the residents of Benu gone within an instant.

And of course, just when they had been able to meet again, something else would keep them apart. His hand raised meekly towards the top of the flames, as if by some miracle he could reach over them and connect his hand with hers. It would seem their official parting would have to wait a little longer, however, as screams for help continued to rise from the flickering flames above.

[tormentedangelknight]

I See Fire [EVENT OPEN]

Too soon.

It was always going to be to soon, the voice in the back of Mikoto’s head nagged her as she ran through the streets, turned orange by the flames that licked at the skies. It was a small blessing that the coils hadn’t been installed yet, enabling the town gate to not trap people in the blaze.

"You!" Mikoto reached out, grabbing the first forearm that offered itself. "Any good with doors? We need to get the people out of the buildings!"

She hoped the din could cover the panic in her voice, and that the shaking of her hand would be something no one could notice. She could die here. Not to a conspiracy, to a bad Ability matchup or to fighting to exhaustion, but to just a stupid fire in a stupid village in the middle of nowhere.

[charismaticdomination-blog]

Chaos. Nothing to a scale he was used to, though just as damaging as missiles launched towards a country, unfortunately too real for him to do anything of a large scale. There was no warning this time, no Seleção activity logs to arm him with the confidence to prevent a premature end, as the world was already burning around him.

Desperation lead to some amazing choices, didn't it? Some kind of miracle was breeding under the fiery destruction, simply waiting to be let free so actions could fall into place. Now was the best opportunity than ever.

"Let's move! Keep away from the walls and anything that could suddenly fall! Keep your hands over your mouth and get rid of any loose clothing! Head straight to the lake! If there's anyone you see trapped in the buildings, let one of the volunteers know!" Despite how short notice the pickings were, Akira was able to gather quite a few able bodies to evacuate the towns folk. Various men who work normally on the farm lands set themselves up around the town, directing traffic and breaking down doors to free other citizens not yet free from the blaze. The smoke and overall uncomfortable temperature had been a set back, but as it was, with the open air above them and fire not engulfing the ground on which they stood, for now, they were fine. Although the yelling wasn't doing anything good for his throat.

Without any warning, a citizen with enough courage to approach and speak of an issue wrapped fingers around his forearm, demanding his attention immediately.

"Any good with doors? We need to get the people out of the buildings!"

A blink to process, and a nod to confirm.

"Here's the plan; I'll bust down that door and you head inside to help anyone out that you can. I'll follow you in to help whoever might get stuck, but remember your own life is just as important as theirs. If it gets too dangerous, head right back out here. Can you handle that?" Eyes kept locked contact with the girl, speaking of an earnest plea, holding the importance and trust he could immediately bestow on the stranger without pressuring them into doing anything they didn't believe they could do. He lingered for a moment more, giving his company as much silent courage as he could before removing her hand from his arm and heading directly to the building she directed him too.

Giving inspection to the doors' state, he was quick to identify the situation. It didn't appear to be a heavy lock, if it was even locked at all, but the door handle was much too hot to touch without sacrificing his fingers. Feeling the rest of door indicated there was no immediate source of fire beyond the entrance, which was a lucky start for them. Then his foot lifted, door kicked just below the handle hard enough to create a brief gap between the barrier and the frame, but it remained closed. Another kick, a third, a forth; finally, the wood burst open and swung towards the wall inside, opening the passageway for both of them.

"My name is Akira Takizawa. Call for me if you need my attention at any time. Let's go!"

[charismaticdomination-blog]

♔ ]* the prince has arrived -- ;

The destruction of the whole world? Nah, that can’t be right. What he saw had to be a trick, there was no other way around it. There was no way something as ruthless as his whole world ending happened just as he was about to save a nation, a journey which had grasped his life and snatched it from him entirely. After the crushing effort of taking the blame upon himself for every terrorist act, after averting crisis upon crisis and having the world turn against him for his efforts, to see it all go to waste was… soul destroying. With the world he knew, his spirit had been crushed. Though there was always a chance for recovery, wasn’t there? Like a phoenix, after destruction there is always recreation.

Maybe this was another job for the self-titled terrorist to fix. Maybe his memory was a little foggy and misplaced just like the past two times. With something so unbelievable happening, there had to be a space for missing parts to his memory.

Sight seeing out a bedroom window wasn’t his way of appreciating. He took off out the front door and jogged in every direction until he met a stranger in this brand new baby town.

“Hey there!” His jogging slowed to a stop, body directly in front of his new-found company to capture their attention. ”Sorry to bother you, but might I ask you a few questions?” Fingers lifted from beneath the fabric of his coat sleeves, pointed straight beside his own face which held a look too innocent to believe his next statements.

“Do you recognize my face at all? See, I’m trying to figure out what happened when our world was destroyed, but there’s a part I can’t remember since I blacked out. I’m something of a terrorist, so if I really did this then my face must have been shown around the world giving some speech before everything went boom. I used to be called ‘Air King’ in Japan and America and a few other countries for the stunts I pulled back then. So, can you remember me? Some information would really help me out here!”

[charismaticdomination-blog]

akira u smell and ur mun is a hacker (please don't actually count this as their first interaction oh my god)

"I smell? Saki, why didn't you tell me this sooner? Man, that's embarrassing! I gotta go change! And what's with that mun and hacker bit?"

[alchemisteater]

[charismaticdomination-blog]

[charismaticdomination-blog]

♔ ]* open invitation -- ;

"Hahh. Moving boxes is tough work."

Tough work only nearly covered the amount of effort actually put in to dragging five heavy boxes half-way across the city on a chilly day like today, with no aid of a moving truck to assist him. Now, that didn't mean he moved the whole way on his own -- like a magnet he attracted help from any number of strangers off the street, all ready to push a few along on their way to their destination. He'd made a ton of new friends on today's journey, but once he got into his new apartment complex, he was all on his own.

Hands were placed on his hips as he looked at the oddly-stacked boxes in a pillar before him, to the stairs directly in front of them, then around at the empty lobby he stood in. There wasn't a helpful soul this time, and it was a bit disheartening after such good luck earlier in the day.

"Ah well. If I keep complaining I'll never get these boxes outta here. I had help this far, and that's more than enough. Finding the elevators would be a good start, though."

As luck would have it, at that very moment he heard the small 'ding' of an elevator reaching the main floor to the right of the lobby, down a hallway he didn't quite see before -- and then the door slid open.

"Hold that door open for me, if you can!" Immediately running to the other side of his boxes, fingers hooked to the sides of both of the bottom two boxes while his shoulder and head carefully nudged at the ones above -- and he struggled quite a bit, making over-exaggerated grunt noises as he pushed and shoved at his belongings in the boxes until they finally made it into the elevator. He was completely out of breath by the time he'd run them into there, and so thanking the helpful gentleman took a little while.

But eventually, after another little helpful hint with the room numbers and floors, Akira Takizawa waved good bye to his last stretch of help and headed off with his things to the fifth floor. From there, all he needed to do was push the boxes out the elevator again and all the way to his new room mate's apartment. It was a couple days ahead of schedule, but...

The sliding over carpet was a lot easier than the concrete outside, but it wasn't as nice as the hardwood floor of the lobby. His forward march was met with more resistance like outside, but unlike then, his five blocks were stacked in one single tower and threatened to topple over too many times for his liking. You're almost there, kid, you can do it. Just a few-- more-- steps!

"Ahh. There we go." At long last, he made it to apartment 513. There was a smile of accomplishment on his face as he soaked in the fact that he'd made it after such a long journey with almost all of his things, and forgot all about knocking on the door to announce his arrival. Who knew if she was even there? He hadn't called or anything, and if she wasn't here then that meant he couldn't leave to grab his other things until she got home, and who knew when that would be. The realization of how unprepared he was began to dawn on him, and the smile began to turn from accomplished to plain confused and troubled.

As he made a move to see if all this worrying was for nothing by knocking on her door, he made the unfortunate mistake of catching his leg on the edge of the boxes-- hard enough that they began to tip.

"Woah, wha--" Starting with the top box, they really began to take a nose dive. "Ahhdadada--!!" Legs carried him over to the other side of the leaning tower, where he reached to stop the top two boxes from falling and opening, but it was only barely. The third box was heavy, and was starting to slide through the middle, and as he went to stop it with his elbow --

Kachak. The door finally opened, and in the door way stood a very beautiful looking female with the greenest shade of natural-looking hair he had ever seen. It was enough to make him pause for a moment, the boxes ceasing their tipping, but the notion didn't last for long. His eyes slid closed into a sheepish smile as he realized it was time to explain himself.

"Ahaha-- Hey! My name's Akira Takizawa. You're Kido Tsubomi, right? I'm that new room mate you talked to over the phone! Sorry I'm a little early, but turns out I got kicked from my old apartment a few days prematurely, so... here I am." As he stood himself back upwards the boxes joined him to form a neat, stable column again. "Is this a bad time?"

[charismaticdomination-blog]

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

"Earliest human memory........"

"Ahh, that's gotta be the movie theater in New York. I remember that one clear as day. I used to watch movies there all by myself while my mom went and did her own thing, but I remember watching Dumbo with her in that same place once. I think that might've been the only movie I got to watch with her."

[charismaticdomination-blog]