Heaven's BBS - Text

[kokuyoyo]

From: Chikusa Kakimoto
Date: September 11th


Emotions are the worst. Can we make them stop?


[Last night was horrible. The Heaven's are horrible. Chikusa doesn't regret trying to kill Add, because he was always going to do that, but he probably shouldn't have gone after Fushimi.]

[It seems like that's all that's going to happen, but then, an hour later....]


--------------


From: Anonymous
Date: September 11th


I'm the anonymous who asked about romance stories. I finished writing a chapter not long ago. I had a few days spare time so that's what I did with it. I posted it here. I guess I'll accept criticism.

[The underlined thing which is absolutely a link leads to some sort of blogging platform where people can join communities related to certain interests or shared hobbies. The BBS's anonymous apparently goes by the username "keiyuki", with the kanji 啓 and 行 composing it. The title of the story-in-progress is apparently "Hunting Besides the Sun".]

[....No chapter title, however. Just "Chapter 1", and then right into it.]

Casimiro did not take a step into is commanding officer's presence before he was cut off. "I don't care. Do it."

Casimiro was not good at arguing. It didn't help that most people weren't when it came to Commissioner Deacon Caputo. "I don't care" was final. Casimiro ignored it. "I want a different partner," he said. He finally closed the door behind him. What he didn't say was that he hadn't even met his new partner. He didn't want a partner at all but that was besides the fact. All he knew was the other man's name from a file that had been left on his desk.

Caputo finally looked up at him with an unimpressed look. That was one thing Casimiro and him had in common. He had heard of a phrase "to wear your heart on your sleeve". The two of them were the opposite. They weren't very much alike in any other areas physically or in personality besides sharing the same kind of dark hair. Caputo's hair was styled in a way that framed his face pointedly. His eyes eyes were bright. "Stop wasting my time," he said with his hands pressed against the desk. "You're the only one available and capable. You can quit if you don't like it."

[The rest of the chapter is more or less the same. The main character seems to be named Casimiro Falco, a police officer in Italy Through the chapter, it's revealed that his previous partner was injured too badly to ever return to the same duties as before, and thus Casimiro has been assigned a partner who is new to the job: Elio Adesso. Both of them are part of a very particular unit within the police force that is teasingly called the "Giallo".]

[Also did you want to learn a lot about the inner workings of the various police groups of Italy? Because you are getting so much of that. Someone tell "keiyuki" that it's not necessary. Please. Not to this extent.]

[Along with that, the rest of the writing is fairly cut and dry as well. It's like a middle schooler's first creative writing assignment. Complex sentences? Indepth descriptions? Nah. The only time the author seems to get worked up is when Casimiro meets Elio for the very first time, prompting this: ]

Casimiro's eyes swept over Elio Adesso's form and he immediately wanted to die.

He wasn't ugly. Probably. He was simply disgusting. He looked worse the longer Casimiro looked at him. The proud uniform Casimiro himself wore was a wrinkled and stained mess on Elio. How was a mystery to the more experienced cop. Didn't the other man only get his uniform today? Yet there was a new stain every time Casimiro looked. Dirt clung to the cuffs of his pants along with who knew what other kind of filth. Wrinkles dominated the front of his jacket. It was frankly a miracle that his tie was still around his neck. And that was just Elio's clothing.

It was only the presence of the uniform that gave any sort of guarantee that the blond man in front of him belonged in a police station without handcuffs around his wrists. Casimiro was still willing to bet on a chance that it was all just stolen. It fit the blond's demeanor. Something about him was scruffy down from his hair into his bones. At least his hair wasn't scruffy right in that moment although Casimiro wasn't sure if that was better or worse. Someone had clearly slapped their hand full of hair gel and swept Elio's hair back once and only once. That "someone" was probably Elio himself if the stain on the thigh of his pants leg was any indication. The result was that his hair stuck up in odd spikes all along the back. It was ludicrous although at least it left his face clear. Various small scars decorated his lips and the areas around them. His ears shared the same trait. The scars warped strangely when Elio smiled. That too was disgusting. All of Elio's breakfast habits for the past month could be seen in the bared canines.

Casimiro had read once that many species bared their teeth as a sign of aggression. He could see why in that moment although not for the practical reasons. There was simply no other reaction that could be had for someone who apparently didn't brush their teeth.

There was only one part of Elio Adresso that didn't make Casimiro want to drown him immediately in the nearest body of water. That was his eyes. A lot of people had brown eyes. Casimiro would have guessed most did. Yet Elio's eyes burned warm in a way that he wasn't used to. It was strange for Casimiro to say but they had a light to them.

Any charitable thought he had vanished when Elio grasped his hand and he got a good close look at the various bits of blood and dirt that were gathered beneath Elio's fingernails. A shudder went up his spine.


[ooc: Since I love myself, I won't be writing out the whole chapters for Chikusa's little project. Thus, feel free to input little details into the story if you want, whether critique on Chikusa's writing or a minor scene that's happened. All the major stuff I'll be covering in my brief summaries. If you're worried about overstepping boundaries, feel free to hit me up on PM or at my plurk.]

[ALSO let me know if you're replying to Chikusa's first post, or "Anonymous'" post!]

Comments

[blizzardrock]

[To Chikusa—]

Did something happen?

[kokuyoyo]

Were you not at the moon viewing?

private from this point

[blizzardrock]

I was.

[He sends that one, and then like a minute later—]

What kind of emotions are we talking about, here...

[Because he just read this weird anonymous hate-story before scrolling down to find Chikusa's post. Fubuki may have gotten his wires crossed somewhere...]

[kokuyoyo]

All of them, or at least most.

[Helpful, right?]

[blizzardrock]

[Yeah, checks out.]

I'm tired too, but...emotions have given you good things, too, haven't they?

[What do those two things in that sentence have to do with other? Listen...he's tired...]

[kokuyoyo]

[The long pause that question brings is probably worrying.]

Like what?

[blizzardrock]

[He would, under normal circumstances, but for today he just assumes Chikusa's tired, too.]

Like happiness.

[...Speaking of helpful...]

[kokuyoyo]

What does that feel like?

[blizzardrock]

Kind of like your heart is overflowing.

[He sends a picture of a dessert flan.]

Like that.

[A few seconds later—]

Chikusa, what do you enjoy doing?

[kokuyoyo]

Can't relate.

[At least, the experiences he's had where he was "overflowing" were never.... good ones.]

I don't know.

[blizzardrock]

[But it was such a cute flan and everything!!]

[Aaand he's going to need to be more awake for this; as far as he can tell, Chikusa doesn't make those kinds of jokes. He goes to splash some water on his face, so the response comes a few minutes later—]

Well then, what makes you laugh?

[kokuyoyo]

[Wise call, Fubuki.]

[At least Chikusa has nowhere else to be, although his responses are still as slow as ever. There's probably a good reason for that.]

I don't really laugh. At least I don't think I've done it while existing as a shinki.

I'm not sure I really feel anything really strongly most of the time. When I do, I don't like it.

[blizzardrock]

Not even with a yo-yo?

[...Which he's only saying because he equated those with cards in his head once, and he apparently has this pressing need to collect packs of playing cards.]

Or maybe we just need to find the right thing.

[There's nothing particularly wrong with not feeling things strongly. The laughing part, though.]

What are you proud of?

[kokuyoyo]

No.

[But then, that's because yoyos are more weapons than toys for him. When they can knock into someone with enough force to bowl them over or unleash a spray of highly poisoned needles.... That's with good reason.]

["Playing" with that kind of thing is less about fun, and more about keeping his mind or hands busy.]

[Still, at least they're going onto emotions that he does know how to deal with in a way that isn't entirely negative.]

My borderlines, I guess. Knowing other shinki spells.

[Once upon a time, he'd been proud of being an exemplar, of striving to keep Axel safe and mind Hestia's domain.... but that's not a role he can claim anymore.]

[Maybe it's one he shouldn't.]

[blizzardrock]

[So yo-yo is a no-go... Then again, he remembers (too late) that Chikusa had brought it up in the context of a weapon...]

You're pretty good at those!

[Borderlines aren't...not weapons, though. But for now—]

Pride doesn't feel bad, does it?

[kokuyoyo]

[Funny how all his best talents come down to murder huh- ]

[Another moment, possibly of thoughtfulness.]

I guess. I'm not sure there's much weight to it, however.

[blizzardrock]

It doesn't need to be that heavy, you know? Even a small thing can pierce through.

Have you ever seen a lighthouse? When you're on a ship, in the dark, it must seem encompassing, right? But you can see it. The beam from a lighthouse.

If you start adding them up, then it gets stronger, too. You don't regret everything, right?

[kokuyoyo]

I'm not really allowed to regret, since I'm a shinki.

[He has learned that the hard way now.]

But basically you're saying any emotion that isn't negative is enough even in small portions.

[blizzardrock]

Sometimes it can't be helped, though. [But that's more Fubuki being a little...defensive than it being anything he wants to tell Chikusa.]

I think the positive can be worth it, no matter how bad the bad gets. [When you're being swept away by a tide of despair, just look for the lighthouse...something like that? Haha.]

Only you can decide that for yourself, though. You really can't think of anything that brings you happiness?

[kokuyoyo]

The feeling you're describing isn't one I can remember feelings.

[blizzardrock]

[Hmmm. He needs to go back further, it seems.]

What were you feeling during the viewing?

[kokuyoyo]

Anger, I guess.

[And the panic and anxiety which fueled that anger, but hey.]

[blizzardrock]

[The limitations of text—he couldn't watch Chikusa as he said that.]

Come with me.

[He sends a Near Shore address.]

Meet me there in an hour. We're getting flan.

[kokuyoyo]

[Wait what]

Why?

[blizzardrock]

Face-to-face.

I'll go over to your temple and drag you.

[Which is a bluff, he doesn't know where Chikusa's god's temple is. But saying it's worth a shot, right?]