[open] 002 | off to never neverland

[ryuji]

WHO? ryuji sakamoto + you!
WHAT? dream threads and ramen time. will add on for some end of the month open logs
WHEN? during the hot spot stuff and shortly thereafter
ANYTHING ELSE? typical usual ryuji stuff, nothing too dark unless you want it to head that way

i. dream time: school sux [open]

[This is the world of the school as it exists in Ryuji's fears. You enter the halls and immediately notice a purple tint to the environment around you, like a foggy haze that covers over every crevice of the impossibly longer hallways than a school would actually have. In every direction, lockers, cherry red- except the fact that there are eyes embedded into them- all over, staring at every movement that's made. The people here are just outlines, ghosts of their actual self, translucent, but always affixed on something or another. Every few feet there are track hurdles that rise higher than a jump that's feasibly possible, and right underneath, should you fall, spikes that will pierce and maim and threaten to tear you to shreds.

Ryuji's not looking at any of the eyes, or the hurdles, rather just staring at a bulletin board of class listings while he leans on a crutch and his leg bandaged up over his school uniform. Every name he knows seems to be on there, all far ahead in ranking than he is, and of course, the last name on the roster happens to be his own. The eyes in the lockers look complacent, happy to see Ryuji failing in every aspect of his life. Short voices of whispers from the outlines of prominent figures in Ryuji's life call out: "if only Sakamoto-kun could apply himself," "he ruined his chances at a sports scholarship," "ugh, go out on a date? With him!?"

He knows he shouldn't care about this shit, but some days it's just so hard to feel like he's normal. Everything he touches he fucks up.]

ii. dream time: on the high seas [open]

[The air in the sky is filled with a stringest smell of sea salt, as a young figure stands stalwart at the helm of a ship straight out of a pirate movie. The word "KIDD" is sprawled out in big, yellow lettering, scratched out in graffiti against the port side with a comical visage of an angry, wrathful face painted onto the bow.

An opposing pirate ship approaches and the captain of this fine vessel looks like he's ready for war, his grin sharp and pointed just like the mural below the front of the boat, and he tips his hat lower over his face to fight the oncoming wind that threatens to knock it off. He's the lead man, and of course, nothing is going to bring him down from the thrall of victory.

a. [As your ship rears up starboard, Ryuji raises a hand, high in the air and the first mate signals the blare of cannons off the port-covers of the windows below deck. A slurry of explosive volleyballs are released like artillery fire, ricocheting and napalming on first contact.]

CREW! Prepare to board!

b.[Ryuji turns to you, his first mate and nods. You two have just stolen the treasure of all treasures, a spyglass that can look into the soul of a person and tell if they're inherently good or not. While it lays safely at Ryuji's belt, the ship of the undead approaches closer and closer. There's a curse placed on this pirate ship, buried now, deep into the woodwork. They'll be hunted to the edge of the world and back, but this particular item was worth it. The enemy ship pincers straight into the KIDD, as the mighty navigator tosses and turns.]

Shit... shit! New plan. We're gonna steal that ship! You ready?

iii. dream time: there's my father looking on / and there's my girlfriend arm in arm / with the captain of the other team [open]

[Ryuji's all of 14, so basically... last week, to some of you old timers. He's relatively popular among the team he's on, but it's a few minutes before the match and he's stretching. It might be weird to see him with his dark brown, almost black hair, but he's carefree and this is a good time for him in his life, for the most part.]

C'mon, you've gotta do your best too, y'know? We're both gonna get the hell outta here when we graduate and ride on full scholarships. Just wait.

[A looming figure appears behind him- it's the team's coach; in this dream, out of place because it's actually his father and he looks down on Ryuji with the biggest disappointed scowl written right into his features. "Ryuji, don't disappoint me."]

iv. ramen time: you're one of us now! [closed to Sieg and Ash]

@ENTERTHEDRAGON Yo, as promised. I'm gonna make some ramen, you gotta try this.

[It's been a weird few days, what with all the hot spots looming around. He's fallen into dreams- his own, others, it's hard to tell, really, but as he drags one of his three precious bags of ramen to the kitchen, he imagines that it's well past due to indulge in one of the things he loves the most. Ramen is more than just a meal, it's comfort food- it's a thing that reminds him of his home, binds him there, and keeps the thoughts of hanging out with his friends at a shitty little hole in the wall close to his heart.

First thing's first- he needs to get piping hot water. The shortage of coolant in the ship means that this is probably going to be filled with relative ease.]

v. they're just testing us, they can't flex with us, they can't mess with us [closed to some honorable greek hero]

[It's been too damn long since Ryuji's worked out- he's starting to feel the muscle mass that he's accumulated over the last year starting to lose some of its tenseness, some of its bulk. He hates being seen as weak, and hates it even more now that he's surrounded by these Adonis type soldiers who can lift twice the amount he can and take twice the amount of blows. Knowing that agility will never be something he can truly excel at again, he takes to the gym.

It's a slow go, getting back into the shape of things, but he knows it'll be worth it. Every sore muscle, every bend of his body, every pound of sweat; he's going to make himself better, because that's the only thing he knows how to do.

Only, he wasn't expecting to see Achilles there, and even more nonplussed that all the equipment in the room looks absolutely fucking weird to him. He rolls up his standard issue army surplus tshirt's sleeve and breathes through his nose.]

Yo. How the hell do you use this shit?

wildcard! - hit me up with something you want to do, or send me a centerfold message.

Comments

[chariotry]

[ Oh... this seems relatively easy?

It reminds him of the games he used to play as a child, before he was sent off to train for war.

He's already feeling a bit restless, so this might be a perfect way to let off steam.

clad in sandals, he's moving over to Ryuji, prepared to take the ball from him and try to throw it in the basket as shown to him, but then Ryuji is continuing on. Urgh. He has to be patient, right? So he withdraws his hands and crosses his arms over his chest. ]

Dribble? [ Wait, didn't he mention something about stealing the ball? Hm....

He approaches, not really hiding his attention to take the ball from him. ]

[ryuji]

[With a bounce once, then twice, he criss-crosses the ball between hands, just sort of... keeping a glance at Achilles as he watches the movements intensely. Ryuji can't help but smile- he knows a devious gaze when he sees it, and Achilles has already figured out how to win this game. It's kind of expected, but nonetheless, the dumb smile is winning over his features for now.]

Oy, hey. Eyes up here. I know what you're tryin' to do.

[He bounce checks the ball at Achilles, letting him get a feel for how dribbling is supposed to work.]

You can't move around holding the ball, it's against the rules, so you dribble- er... bounce it... between the floor and your hands as you move toward the basket.

[Your turn, Achilles.]

Show me whatcha got.

[chariotry]

I... see... [ What... wasn't the point of this game to steal the ball? He catches it with ease, holding it between his palms and letting his fingers stretch over the curvature of the ball.

He glances between the floor and then Ryuji, before turning and stretching one arm back with the ball in his hand.

He tosses the ball towards the hoop single-handedly, like he were throwing a spear. It lands into the hoop effortlessly, dropping through the netting and bouncing to the floor and away from them. ]

[ryuji]

[ACHILLES...

Ryuji takes the ball from him, sucking in air through his teeth.]

You're supposed to use your hands like this. [Shows him a follow through, one hand guiding the other as it arcs and makes it into the hoop swiftly]

Not that it's super important, but... that's how most people do it. Not that you're like most people, huh? [Tosses him the ball once more, and just as Achilles gets it, he makes plans to intercept via jump between the ball and the hoop and steal it, to at least show him some Advanced Techniques (not advanced at all).]

1/2

[chariotry]

[ What?? What does it matter how he throws the ball as long as he got it in the hoop?

He's kind of left speechless for a moment as Ryuji passes him the ball, but easily mimics the position of his hands, balancing the ball in the palm of his right and bracing the side of it with his left.

And... he throws.

Only to have it intercepted. ]

[chariotry]

[ But Ryuji won't get far at all, because as soon as the ball is caught within his hands, Achilles is leaping forward and yanking him by the collar of his shirt.

He'll just take the ball away from him, now, rolling it in his palm as he pulls Ryuji by the shirt.

Look, he'll dribble the ball now. ]

Thought you could steal from me, did you? [ So... extra. ] Don't make me laugh.

[ryuji]

[..........................








Let me go???]

[ryuji]

Dude! That's a foul! [It's still kind of hilarious though, and Ryuji can't stop laughing his ass off at Achilles getting so incredibly frustrated by him stealing the ball. He tries to explain that this is all part of the game and to not take stealing so offensively, as he gives a concerted effort to swat the ball as it dribbles in mid flight.]

[chariotry]

[ Nope, he sees that intent before Ryuji can manage to lift his hand, and he pulls him up and off of the floor by the collar to get him out of arm's reach of the ball. So now the boy is dangling as Achilles extends his arm and drags him higher and higher. The shirt will get tight around the pits, withstanding all the weight straining against the stitching holding the cloth together.

It must be uncomfortable, but Achilles doesn't seem to be concerned. He's just smirking at him. ]

You didn't explain the rules properly, then. [ Now he'll just carry Ryuji by the collar, letting his feet sway as he dribbles the ball and moves further away from the hoop. ]

[ryuji]

[Kicks his feet while being hoisted up like this. Achilles has totally missed the entire point of this game and his eyes lull downward in mock betrayal. It's bad enough that he's already kind of sweating at the armpits but now to have to bathe in that as he's being held up is




so fucking gross.]

C'mon! Put me down! This ain't how you're supposed to play. It's illegal to touch the other player at all!

[Wait, is it?

Fuck, I barely remember this sport]

[chariotry]

[ Well, he has to make sure you're not going to try some bitch move again, Ryuji. This is how he's interpreting your explanation of the game.

He's tossing the ball up in the hoop once he's a good distance away. Throwing it, getting it in the hoop again with ease and letting it drop through the netting.

He'll put him down now. Gently, of course. ]

I can't touch you? But I can touch the ball, right?

[ryuji]

[BITCH MOVE????

Finally back on the ground, he looks down at his shirt, material stretched out more than it was before, and grimaces at Achilles.]

Yeah, it's game of endurance and agility. Although you'd be pretty freakin' amazing at American football. [Scratching the back of his head, until he perks up and shakes his head.]

We are so never gonna play that game.

A-anyway. You get 2 points for a shot that's close by and 3 points for one that's a bit farther. Like... from over here. [He picks up the ball that's slowly rolling his way, takes a few steps back and aims for the hoop, narrowly missing.]

Eh, but. Pretend that made it in.

[chariotry]

[ LMAO... He has to cover his mouth to keep from smiling too much. It's just kind of funny that he missed, okay?

Also, uh, Achilles is the king of endurance and agility. Just you wait. ]

Okay. Let me try and steal the ball from you, now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtTR-_Klcq8

[ryuji]

[His spidey senses are tingling and so, Ryuji pleads into his sense of fairness.]

Aight. Just do me a favor here and don't do any Soknuckles the Hedgehog stuff, okay? Like, give me a few points of handicap, I can't keep up the way you can.

[Ryuji smiles at him, and starts to dribble, keeping focus so that he can watch his eyes for movement- he knows it's going to he a quick shot for when Achilles is coming, and he won't have much time to react, but Ryuji will do his best to dribble between his legs and turn at the same time the other goes to nab the ball.

Hey, he doesn't have a lot of moves, but this is one of his few.]

[chariotry]

[ At this point, Achilles is choosing to observe and learn rather than act.

Though it seems uncharacteristic for this impulsive hero, Achilles has learned from the best, the patient and wise Chiron. When you're in unfamiliar territory, it's best to gauge your surroundings and how the enemy interacts with it. So he's doing just that, except it's on a much smaller scale.

So he lets Ryuji have free rein over the court, eyes following him like a raptor intent on its prey.

He's close behind when he nears the net, planning to intercept the way Ryuji had done to him before. He's learning from him! ]

[ryuji]

[He dribbles down the court, a little weirded out, if not, wired, by the fact that Achilles hasn't made his move. He sees him keeping pace with him and it just clicks like a lightbulb going off in his head. He's going to try to snap intercept if he throws it.

So Ryuji does something totally different. He gets as close to the net as he can, swerving so that his back is facing Achilles, just in case he comes in to take the ball anyway at the last minute, and makes a jump for it, slam dunking and hanging onto the rim.

Ryuji's features light up-]

And the crowd goes wild!!! [He hisses the sound of a crowd roar, living in the moment and coming down from the rim, waving to the imaginary people up in the stands all cheering him on.

This idiot.]

[chariotry]

[ He has to stop himself from literally yanking Ryuji back down to the floor when he jumps -- lets him have his moment because he plans on destroying him later on (in the game).

He catches the ball as it falls through the net, eying Ryuji like... he's amused. ]

What crowd are you talking about?

[ryuji]

[He looks around the room, motioning to the leagues of adoring imaginary fans across the room.]

Uh, dude. That crowd.

[Ryuji smirks, and crosses his arms at this point.]

They're congratulating me for a slam dunk. Anyway, you ready for a real game? C'mon and knock my ass down a few notches.

[chariotry]

[ He snorts harshly, hardly stifling the laughter that bubbles out of his throat. He can see that he's joking, but the thought of Ryuji having to resort to imaginary fans is... endearing and a little pathetic. And Hilarious. ]

"Slam dunk"? Is that the name of your little jump manuever? [ Like naming an attack... ] Let's go.

[ He'll give him a handicap and toss him the ball. ]

[ryuji]

[HANDICAP?

HE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' PITY.

Except, that he does. Ryuji's smiling at Achilles when he takes the ball, and he starts dribbling as he's taught the other to do. He knows that he's not going to win this battle by agility or strength alone, but he'll do his best......]

[ryuji]

[To cheat, as he stops and stands still, looking over at the doorway.]

Sergeant, I wasn't expecting you here!

[DID IT WORK???

HE'S MAKING HIS WAY TO THE NET]

[chariotry]

[ Ryuji, please.

He'll act like he falls for it, just so Ryuji won't see it coming when he suddenly speeds over to meet him in the course of his path, too fast to give Ryuji time to halt his sprint.

He's going to collide into a hard wall of muscle. ]

[ryuji]

[This asshole!

THUDS against a rock hard slab of... ugh...

Ryuji stands there, nonplussed by the cockblock, and tries to shoot through the fortress in front of him. He has 0 hopes of actually getting it in, but.

It was worth a shot?]

[chariotry]

[ Zero hopes? Try the negatives.

Achilles isn't letting the ball soar high enough to reach the hoop, grabbing it with one fucking hand. ]

How dense do you think I am that you thought I'd fall for such a cheap trick?! Honestly, if you're going to dare cheat, I won't be showing you any mercy.

[ No mercy indeed. He'll dribble the ball indulgently, waiting for Ryuji to try and make a grab for it. ]

[ryuji]

I mean... you are kinda a brick wall, so as far as denseness goes, you're pretty up there.

[Said, with the most improbable deadpan in the world, as he just looks on at Achilles taunting him from the forefront. He can almost hear his imaginary crowd booing, at least... that... gives him some hope.

His hand reaches out, full knowing it's going to get smacked away as he goes for the ball. But something else happens and it's not what Ryuji wants, not what Ryuji needs, as his wrist ruefully smashes against the loin cloth cinch instead of making its way to the ball he wanted to get his hands around.]