ray of fuckin sunshine

it's 'cause i notice every single thing that’s ever happening in the moment and i don't know why it's consumin' me because honestly , all i know is infatuation's observation with a cause || cyrus stigen. civilian. force-field manipulation. ||

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     his snarl curves upward into a terrible sneer. “your what? you don’t have your stupid little powers, anymore,” he reminds him, although cyrus has clearly remembered that for himself. he’s defenseless now, and at his mercy. like a mouse caught in the jaws of a snake. “oh, it isn’t a fair match? that’s funny, i don’t remember asking,” he growls, all but ready to bear down and draw the life out of him. is this really what he should be doing? he’s about to kill this guy… reality comes back to him at the last second, and with great effort on his part, he lets cyrus go. “i’m leaving. if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me. next time, i’m not letting go until you’re not breathing, anymore.” 

  this was it , this was how he dies. all because he couldn’t help , but poke fun at jack. in the back of his mind , he partially blames his cat , for getting herself stuck in the tree. had she not scampered off , they wouldn’t have crossed paths , to begin with. just as cyrus screws his eyes shut to accept his fate , he’s being let go. blinking eyes open just in time , to watch jack walk through his door. he doesn’t need to be told twice , not to stop him. following after at a safe distance only to quickly shut and lock , it.  

     “ you’re still a sore loser and suck , at smash bros! ” [END]

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     despite the obvious fear in cyrus’ posture, in his tone, he continues to try and argue with him. doesn’t he realize that he’s not going to win this one? even if jack hadn’t stolen his powers, he’s more than capable of pummeling a scrawny, little conduit into the ground. “and it isn’t my fault that you make it so easy to want to break your fucking neck,” he snarls, advancing just as cyrus gains a shred of bravery stupidity and steps forward. this really, really feels familiar now, but once again he’s finding it hard to stop himself. “witnesses? you think i give a fuck about witnesses?” he laughs, dryly. “even if i did, we’re alone here, buddy. you’re not getting away, this time.” the moment cyrus reaches out to shove him, he grabs his arm and pulls him in close, coiling his other arm around his neck. “what are you gonna do now, huh? you’re stuck.” and i’m hungry. 

   he hadn’t taken that into consideration. sure he’s got neighbors on both sides of him , but from what he recalls , they’re always out a majority of the day. not like he’d get a noise complaint , in broad daylight. still he continues to push at jack , sounding very much like an elementary schooler. “ so what! i can protect myself , with my---” cyrus is just now , recalling how he doesn’t have his shield. now he’s regretting pushing the other’s buttons , but before he can take anything back , he’s seized by the throat. “ wa-wait! you can’t hurt me , it isn’t a fair match! you stole my powers , what am i supposed to do!? ” he gasps out , eyes wide with fear. 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     cyrus’ childish attitude just makes him madder. there’s something familiar about this… it doesn’t make his reaction any more rational, but logic is hardly the most prominent thing on his mind, right now—his vision is practically swimming in red. “disrepec—” he breaks off, biting his tongue hard to keep from swearing. it doesn’t really work, though. “are you fucking kidding me, right now? you want play this game?” he stands up, staring daggers at cyrus. “we already were even before you started this mess. if anything, you owe me again for wasting my time!” he’s really not making enough to replace what he broke, either. what, in this economy? with government work? please. “you’re lucky i don’t bash your face in!”

   the other man’s rage continues , leaving cyrus cowering , off to the side. he surprises even himself , as he tries to continue arguing with jack. “ no! you owe me , and that’s final! you can... you can.....” he’s searching to come up with something to say , as he trails off. “ it isn’t my fault that you’re a sore loser AND a sucky player! ” he counters back , in a shaky voice. in a stroke of rare boldness , he steps a little bit closer. “ you wouldn’t do that , there’s too many witnesses! so you’re a liar , sucky player and a sore loser. all wrapped in one! ” feeling bold , cyrus reaches out to try and shove jack. not thinking of any potential consequences , that could follow. 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “oh, shut up, already,” he snaps, gritting his teeth together. “how many times do i have to tell you before you listen to me?” he doesn’t want to hear cyrus taunting him anymore. there are ways he can make that happen. bad, ugly, violent ways that are far, far too tempting for a scenario as stupid as this. jack takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. it’s just a stupid game. he doesn’t need to be this angry about it. “okay,” he says, once he thinks he’s shed his rage; “okay. let’s do that, then.” during the match, he almost ( again, stupidly ) thinks that things might be going better. cyrus doesn’t pummel him into the dirt immediately, or half way through the match, or—and then the countdown starts again. and then his so-called teammate decides to take it upon himself to crush him, again. “god, DAMN IT!” he shouts, the controller in his hands accidentally on purpose snapping in half. 

   cyrus’ victory taunting is cut short abruptly short , as jack’s voice raises. he flinches at the evident anger in his tone , suddenly finding himself at a loss for words. that is until he watches his controller being snapped in two , by the other. “ hey! what was that for!? that’s so rude and disrespectful , all because you suck at smash bros! it isn’t my fault , you meanie! ” he feels the prick of tears , behind his eyes. the quiet sniffles genuine , this time. in what was a rather childish reactions , cyrus is flinging his own controller , at jack. a small part of him , hoping it’d connect. “ that was a gift! you owe me a new controller now , or.....or! ” he struggles to think of a valid threat. “ i-i don’t know! but! you have to buy me a new one! ”  

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “i’m not a sore loser!” he snaps, being a sore loser. he won’t admit it, but he really does hate losing. he doesn’t have to be the best at anything, but god, losing to someone so annoying really frustrates him! this time, jack almost feels like he could be making some headway, only for cyrus to smash him into the ground during the final countdown. talk about humiliating! “seriously, would you shut up for five minutes? i can barely hear myself think over the sound of your ego,” he growls, really having to hold himself back from snapping the controller. and cyrus’ neck, at that. “one more time, come on.”

  “ you know what kinds of people get defensive , about not being sore losers are? sore losers.” cyrus points out with another smug grin , plopping back down into his beanie chair. “ oookaay. we’ll play again. this time we can do multiplayer , agasint the computer. we’ll be on the same team okay , take out all of the other players. ” he finalizes , choosing the arena that even he struggled with. cyrus holds true to his word though , helping knock out the weaker of the game’s oppenents. guding jack through differnt powermoves and attack combos. again , waiting until the last few moments , to gang up on him , wit their oppenent. “ wow! that’s three times in a row , what the hecks! if you like .... we can play animal crossing , maybe you won’t suck , so bad at it. ” he’s in a fit of laughter , poking fun at the other.

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     clearly, cyrus has forgotten that taunting him isn’t in his best interests. jack is quick to anger, and despite his best attempts at controlling his temper, is only a stone’s throw from lashing out. he’s not good at tolerating any kind of frustration, especially when it’s because he’s bad at something. “god, do you ever shut up?” he growls, already more than half-tempted to snap the controller in half. “i just never had the time for them, when i was a kid. had other things that ended up being more important.” his scowl deepens as cyrus continues on, his grip on the controller tightening. “just start the damn match, would you?”

   the obvious warning signs were soaring , right over cyrus’ head. clearly thinking nothing of jack’s thinning patience. “ don’t be a sore loser , that’s so laaammeee.” he continues on , but does as told. this time instead of going full out from the start , he takes it easy. going for powerups and different hidden weapons , instead of attacking. he let’s his character take the hits and attacks , jack throws its way. he keeps this up for a majority of the round , only switching back to the offense right towards the end of the countdown. “ hah! yes! i win , again! maybe you should play the practice rounds , some more. you’re not getting the hang of this , very well. ” he’s jumping up from his beanie chair , in his excitement. 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     for someone who’s never so much as picked up a mobile game, jack thinks he’s doing relatively well. the movements aren’t totally natural to him, but the practice rounds they go through aren’t terrible, and he almost thinks he might be getting the hang of it. almost. “yeah, yeah, yeah, just start the game,” he mutters, face already pulled into a grimace. it doesn’t take long for it to turn into a full-on scowl—clearly, practice meant nothing in an actual match. that, or cyrus is toying with him. “i’ve never played a video game, period,” he shoots back, tempted to use some of the power cyrus gave him to shove him aside. for the moment, he refrains. “come on, rematch.”

   as ‘ winner ’ flashes across his side of the screen , cyrus allows himself a smug grin , over at jack. “ hhrrmm. i think ..... you just ... suck at this , honestly. ” he taunts with a laugh , quick to follow the request. the other man is the closest he’s had to company over , in a long while. sure the circumstances of how , he’d ended up here were a bit whacky. but , it was fun nonetheless. “ soooo ... were they just like ... never fun looking , to you?  console games or just video games , in general? ” he asks curiously , scrolling through the different arena locations. ultimately deciding on another difficult one , just to mess with jack. “ technically you should tell me , thank you. you know , for teaching you this game. ” he teases with a grin , starting up their next round. 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “oh, my god. oh, my god. stop whining, i get it, okay? i get it,” he ( admittedly ) whines, trying to stop cyrus from continuing with that line of thought. the last thing he wants is his prey this guy to drone on and on about how lonely he is with only his cats for company. and it really looks like it’s heading in that direction. thankfully, he drops his sorrowful facade the minute jack agrees to stick around. catching the controller tossed to him, he takes a moment to look it over… much like he’s looking at some sort of alien device. “right, okay,” he says, plopping down in the extra beanie chair. “so, how do i use this thing? am i even holding it right?” sometimes he feels older than he actually is. this is one of those times. 

   cyrus is absolutely giddy , about having a potential new companion. sending a beaming smile over at jack , he scoots to display his own hands. “ here so just , copy how my hands are.” he does a quick demonstration of how to play the game , even going through some practice rounds. “ soooo ... do you think , you have it? ready to actually play , or do you wanna practice more? honestly , you pick up on it uber quick. watch , you’ll see. ” deeming the other ready , he sets up their first actual round. not holding anything back , he’s won the round in under ten minutes. “ you ... you’re not very good at this , huh? it only took me a few tries , to understand this. haven’t you ever played on like .... a handheld one? or at least like .... in an arcade? maybe you just .... really suck , at this game.”  

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “don’t worry about it. i asked you, didn’t i? well, kind of.” that said, he has no intention of changing his ways. asking permission? forget about it! his life is inconvenient enough without begging for scraps. “actually, that was what you owed me. we’re even now,” he explains, although he’s under the impression cyrus has already figured that out for himself. even his tone is unsure, like he’s realizing just how dumb that sounds. if only he had felt that way back when he was accusing him of stealing. “don’t do that,” he starts, grimacing as he catches sight of cyrus’ pout; “it’s disgusting.” emotions, ugh. “if you really want me to stick around so bad, i guess i’ve got an hour to spare. just don’t whine at me, got it?”

   he shrugs everything off , in favor of trying to get jack to stick around. it’s fucking rare , for him to have anyone over. few seem to be able to put up with him , for long periods. unbeknownst to him , of course. cyrus figures he’s just got to try harder , at meeting people. getting them to like him. almost as if to antagonize jack further , his frown deepens. going as far as to throw in a fake sniffle or two , as he continues to push. “ i just thought .... it’d be coolios , having someone to hang out with. that aren’t , my two cats. they’re super good at listening , but they can’t really talk back , you know. ” just as he’s about to give up entirely , jack’s agreeing to stay. cyrus visibly brightens at that , tossing him the spare controller. “ ah , yay! you’ll have fun , i promise! sit , sit! you can’t play smash bros , standing up. i have another beanie chair , if you wanna use it. or you can get a chair , whatever you want! ”

[cyrusstigen]

mxhellion‌:

Maximilian had stepped out of the cafe, half finished large cup of coffee suddenly not as interesting as the scene his eyes landed on. Cast a fleeting look around and fixing his plain black hoodie he cautiously made his way over to the tree, hearing the prompted him to scowl, he shook his head in earnest “I would never laugh at any kind of life threatening situation.” Lips pressed in a thin line he set his eyes intently on the cat and the seemingly younger male. “Actually wait, try and get it to come in my direction, I can reach out till here” he gestured with his hand, being 6′3 had its perks. He might be able to reach out and grab the kitty, though ofcourse that might mean either a hissy attack or the cat could just lean into his touch. “Does she usually go on possibly suicidal missions?” Lifting his cup of coffee he gently shook it, trying to get the feline’s attention. Hopefully she liked white chocolate frappe.

   cyrus squints down at the newcomer , from his spot on the branch. he doesn’t seem unfriendly , plus is offering his assistance at rescuing the cat. “ ah , okay! ” he reaches out again in an attempt to sang , his pet. only for her to dodge his hand and trot further , down the limb of the tree. but at least towards the other person , showing mild interest at the cup in hand. “ she does! she’s honestly so rude , doing this all the time to me. i think maybe she secretly hates me for reason , even though i do everything , for her. ” he sends a mildly annoyed glare , in the feline’s direction. “ can you reach her , now? please be careful okay , she’s rude but , i love. if you can just hold on to her , while i climb down , that would be super cool. ” 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “no, i would have found someone else.” well, probably. the idea of scaling a tree just for a cat hasn’t been appealing since he was a teenager. with as much experience under his belt as he has, finding another source would have been more efficient. still, the thought lingers. that cat did have some fight in it, didn’t it… he shakes his head to bring himself back to reality. that almost didn’t feel like he was in his own head, anymore. “you know, humans also count as animals, right? not that i do it,” anymore; “but what does it matter?” he shakes his head again, a little harder this time. decides against thinking more on giving stuff back. and on animals. why does he feel so weird about it all of a sudden? “wait, what? you want me to play video games with you? really?”

  while that shouldn’t have been as much of a relief to know , it made cyrus feel better about asking jack , to rescue his cat. “ ohhh that’s good , then! honestly really , you shouldn’t do it people , either. at least not without their permission. ” he’s still not sure how that’d work for the other. and just as he expected , he’s being looked at like some whacko. “ hear me out though! so when you saved my cat , i owed you. but since you stole my powers right now , technically , you .... owe me? ” it doesn’t sound as solid , as he’d envisioned in his head. honestly , it isn’t like jack had actually hurt him. plus , it was apparently a necessity for him. maybe cyrus could gain a new buddy , in all of this. “ i mean ... i guess if you don’t wanna ... you can go. just would be fun , having someone to hang out with. ” he mumbles with a small dejected frown , as he shifts his gaze over to the other. doing his best , to look sad. 

[cyrusstigen]

adamroberts‌:

Yeah…no. It was the coffee that was keeping Adam so sociable right then. He sighed. Then jerked, “Wha’? Wait, nah, not sure I’m a cat person mate, ‘n’ don’t fancy gettin’ scratched up.” He blurted, taking another drink of his coffee, shielding himself behind the cup for…all of two seconds. Though maybe Adam would be calming compared to Cyrus; poor thing. Adam would end up a nervous wreck living with Cyrus too long.

Adam sighed again. “Fine, giver ‘er ‘ere.” He said, draining his coffee and dropping the cup, stepping on it to keep it from blowing away. Then he outstretched his hands for the cat; he was always a dog person so this was his first cat in a long time.

  “ no , honestly!  i mean yeah , she’s the one that scratches the most .... but! they only hurt for like ... a second , then you don’t feel really anything. ” cyrus continues to insist. carefully maneuvering his pet , into adam’s arms. “ she also hisses like ... a lot , a lot. but again , don’t worry! please just ... don’t drop her , okay. ” he can’t help but make a face , watching the other toss his coffee cup , to the ground. even with the intent on throwing it out , it was still gross. “eeww ... you just littered too , adam! i really hope you recycle your cup , okay. if you throw it in the trash , it will end up being swallowed by some other animal. like .... a sea turtle or a dolphin. i don’t think they’re any actually here , here. but! still .... just---” he cuts himself off , sucking in a breath. feeling antsy again and shifting anxiously , from foot to foot. “ ah , anyways. do you feel any better? is it working?”

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     clearly, cyrus has gotten the message. when it comes to things like this, there are no easy answers. he could try the friendlier beggers route, and plead with anyone strange enough to get close to him not to let him wither away. but that has always seemed like a big waste of time. he didn’t care for people even before his sequence event, and it’s so much more convenient just to take what he wants. “i can drain from animals, but no, i didn’t bother with your cat. i had already roped you into giving yourself up. no point in gunning for smaller prey.” truth be told, he can drain from literally anything—but organic matter and energy is the most efficient way to keep himself from starvation. “i… don’t have any idea, actually. never bothered to try putting anything back where i found it.”

   so he could , drain from animals. had cyrus had known that earlier ..... or well anything at all , he’d have risked the tree himself. “ what if i had said no , you would have drained my poor cat?” he squints up at jack , with a small frown. “ well .... you shouldn’t drain from animals , that’s so disrespectful. ” cyrus huffs before moving to plop into his beanie chair , not feeling up to standing anymore. “ hhhrrm. you should try it out sometime then , see if you can. ” he offers with a small shrug , booting up his old nintendo switch. “ soooo ... since you’re already here ... and i kept my word .... you should play me , in smash bros. it’ll be fun! i’m sort of undefeated though , just so you know. ” 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     it isn’t surprising that cyrus is a little unsteady on his feet, nor is it that he seems to struggle for words. jack may have done the courtesy of not taking much extra from him, but any energy drained is bound to feel strange. especially since, for most, it hasn’t happened to them before. “a few years, huh?” it makes sense, and jack doesn’t question it further. “so, let me get this straight. you want me to have just said something like, hey, mind if i just suck out that energy you’ve got there? i can’t promise it won’t get a little out of hand, but a deal’s a deal, right? yeah, sure, that would have gone well.” besides, he doesn’t tend to like talking about himself. or asking for permission. that would, technically speaking, be both of those things. “longer than you’ve been able to do this. almost half my life, really.”

  well when he put it that way , it did sound ridiculous. “ well , i mean! maybe! i don’t know!” he fumes minutely , not really upset. he is still in one piece,  after all. can’t complain about that. it’s interesting to learn that jack has had his power , so long. probably why , he’s got some real control. unlike him. cyrus is silent for a few moments as he loses himself , in his thoughts. only speaking back up , with another accusation. “ so when you saved my cat , did you drain energy from her? can you , drain energy from animals? or is it just ..... people? can you like ... reverse it back? you know like , if you absorb something , you can give it to someone else? ” 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     oh, this is what he’s been looking for—a source that won’t putter out and die shortly after he tears himself away finishes with them. jack hardly pays attention to cyrus, ( or the way he keeps trying to rip his hand out of his grasp ) his sole focus on drinking in every bit of that power that he can. oh, that’s good. humans have been getting stale with their whole… dropping dead thing. reality pulls him back to attention as the last bit of conduit energy is siphoned from its source, something about—oh, right. this is a person. with the shred of discipline jack can muster, he releases cyrus’ hand. “don’t worry, it isn’t permanent,” he evades the question, bitterness lacing his tone. if only the black hole he calls a body would stay satisfied. “but i have to say, you’ve got some interesting tricks up your sleeve.” to demonstrate his knowledge, he calls up some of the energy he stole to form a shield around his hand. “how long have you been able to do this?”

   cyrus’ knees wobble , once he’s got his hand back. not enjoying the dazed feeling , that soon followed after. he watches with wide eyes as jack pulls a reverse uno , and brings up his own shield. it’s like an episode of the twilight zone. “ uuh--- ” is the lame response , as he tries to clarify the whole scenario. “ aahh .. i don’t even know. like ... for sure , a few years. ” he had never been all that happy , learning he was a conduit. though never upset , just ... indifferent. “why couldn’t you have just asked , to do that? instead of being all creepy about it , what the hecks? i honestly really thought , you were gonna like .... sell my body parts and organs. how long have you , been able to do ... whatever you just did? ” 

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     “i’m not laughing at you,” he starts, and then pauses.” well, no, i am laughing at you. you didn’t actually think i came here to chop your limbs off, did you?” jack isn’t oblivious enough not to notice that cyrus is distressed, but he isn’t the sympathetic sort and finds his emotional outburst more amusing than anything else. and if it weren’t for the idea of being a black market organ seller, he would have found it annoying. “it won’t hurt,” he promises, albeit not one-hundred-percent honestly. yeah, it won’t hurt… as long as he keeps himself on a tight leash. as soon as cyrus grabs his hand, it snaps shut in an iron grip—and he’s instantly given a very nice picture of power in the scrawny male. “oh, what’s this?” he can’t stop himself from pulling at that string of conduit energy. “you’re full of surprises, aren’t you? i’ll be taking this.” temporarily, that is… as much as he laments that fact.

    that earns jack yet another , bothered look. as if laughing at him like that wasn’t bad rude enough , he’s gotta do it in cyrus’ safe zone. the audacity. the second the other’s hand tightens around his , he instantly regrets reaching out. eyes screw shut , not knowing what to expect. maybe instead of chopping him limb by limb , jack will just rip them off. who knows. but he slowly blinks his eyes back open , brows furrowing at the odd feeling. it felt ..... prickly ... like pins and needles all over. but .... not painful. just .... weird. “ th-that .... feels odd , i don’t like it.” he tries to yank his hand back , but to no avial. there’s more of a sharp tugging now , that he feels. it’s like when the blood rushes to the head , when laying upsidedown. it makes him feel a bit queasy , as he tries again , to snatch back his hand. “ what , was that? it feels weird , i don’t wanna do this anymore. ” in a last ditch effort , he tries wrapping his shield around himself. wanting distance between himself and jack. only for him to realize--- “ you! you took away my shield , how! how did you do , that?”  

[cyrusstigen]

jacktcrrence‌:

     the suddenness of his paranoia both surprises and amuses him. as quickly as he seems to placidly give into his request, he snatches his hand away and cries about, what—stealing his body parts? he can do that, but it isn’t what jack would call productive. or efficient. it’s better for everyone if he tries his best to stick with energy, as opposed to matter. “you’ve got to stop, please,” he laughs, practically wheezing with amusement. “you’re killing me, i’m serious. please, don’t chop me up into pieces! god, that was good. that was really good.” could he make it any more obvious that he isn’t taking cyrus’ fears seriously? probably not. “i’m not—hold on.” he bursts into another fit of laughter. “okay, okay, i think i’m good.” a deep breath. “i’m not going to chop you up into little pieces. here,” he holds out his arm; “take my hand, and i’ll show you what i really came here for. it’s painless, i swear.” as long as he doesn’t get carried away, that is. 

   cyrus looks equal parts offended and terrified , watching jack continue laughing. not even the cliché evil villain , type of laugh. just straight rolling on the ground , laughter. his lower lip trembles , as he fights back frustrated and embarrassed tears. “ why’re you laughing at me? it isn’t funny! ” he throws back in an equally shaky voice , flinching as jack extends his own arm. if it was apparently painless , then why act so sketchy? teeth chew lower lip again , as he thinks on his next move. eyes darting from jack , to his arm and then back , to jack. “ you ... you promise , it won’t hurt? ” he mumbles out finally , reaching to take the other’s hand.