zerosumsamurai

[zerosumsamurai]

It's a beautiful day, and Zero's feeling bold. He has been for a little while now. With the return of some of his abilities, meager as they are, he's felt more confident. Even if he's still nowhere near the point of being able to dodge death, he can at least save himself from an embarrassing conversation. Which is a fate worse than death.

Today's bold action is approaching a strangely dressed person (not that Spirale is lacking in interesting wardrobe choices) to say, "Sick outfit. You make that yourself or did it come over with you?"

@gunsmokeheart

[zerosumsamurai]

There isn't a lot of method to Zero's madness when it comes to whacking statues. It's primarily just "if there is a statue, hit it". Mostly because he doesn't have a lot of experience with ghosts in statues or regular statues beyond using them as weapons. Once he figures out the trick to telling the difference he'll probably get a bit more methodical about it. Probably. It would be so much easier if he still had his precognitive abilities.

In his quest to bonk every statue he sees, Zero forgets to pay much mind to his teammate. It isn't until he notices a shadow looming overhead and turns to see the monkey falling from the sky that the guy crosses his mind again.

Instinctively, the NULL tries to slow time to give him more space to react, but nothing happens and he's caught halfway between turning to face the monkey and stretching out his arms. There's nothing he can do to stop the collision and in the blink of an eye Zero finds himself on the ground with his partner sprawled out on top of him.

"Arggh. What the hell?"

At least this stranger actually means business.

"Alright," Warble announces, "three, two, one, go!" And then she clicks a timer for five minutes and walks out of the room, and Macaque springs into action.

He may not be as fast or as strong as he's used to being, but he's still a monkey, and he's still light on his feet. Most of the statues in reaching distance are bonked quickly with no response, and he's about to mutter, "come on," when he looks up.

A statue of a guy sitting with his chin in his hand, mounted perpendicularly to the wall, moves just slightly uncannily. Macaque narrows his eyes.

He doesn't regret his height very often—at five feet exactly, he's shorter than most the people here, but he doesn't care. This statue, however, is well out of reach, positioned near the ceiling.

Macaque sighs. Zero's taller than him, but he doesn't care enough to ask for help. Instead, he takes a running start and jumps, opening a shadowy portal in midair to maintain momentum—

bonk.

Easy. That is, until he's falling, well past the recommended height for mortal beings. Macaque forgets he's also more squishy here quite often. And getting a faceful of abstract sculpture is going to hurt.

But what makes this truly mortifying is that rather than landing on a spiky concrete statue ("study in sea urchin," the plaque names this work, if anyone cared to read it), his trajectory's aimed for Zero.

[zerosumsamurai]

TW: drug use

At some point Chronos had become something of a chore for Zero. Without the usual effects that were meant to come from taking the drug, it reached a point where it felt useless. There were even a few points where the NULL thought that chancing the side effects of withdrawal would be better than the nothingness that came with each injection. Once or twice he did give in to his intrusive thoughts, but never long enough to have any serious effects. Fear of the eternal hell that awaited him getting off of Chronos was more than enough of a motivator to keep on it.

With no escape from the monotony of linear life, the injections were just white noise. Today was to be no different. Like clockwork, Zero checked his drawer where the syringe always seemed to be, took it out, and injected his arm with little care. That was where it was supposed to end. He was supposed to breathe out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in, get up, and go about his day like normal. Needless to say, Zero didn't expect what happened next.

It had been so long since Zero last really felt the effects of Chronos that they hit him like a truck. Rather than exhale, he made a strained, stuttering gasping noise as he tried to both inhale and exhale at the same time. The world only pulsed for an instant, but when everything settled Zero was breathing like he'd just run a marathon. The world felt normal as his body adjusted to the drug, but he knew something had fundamentally changed. He could feel it in his bones.

Zero waited a few moments, just long enough to catch his breath, then held out the syringe with a lightly trembling hand. He waited one beat, then two, then inhaled sharply as he let the syringe fall.

When everything slowed, it felt like flexing a muscle he hadn't used in a while and Zero savored every second of it. It was just a syringe falling to the ground. There were no surprises. He let go, and it fell. But, God. Just being able to experience time drag on was more of a euphoric experience than Zero anticipated. When time snapped back to regular speed he had a wide grin on his face and he let out a triumphant, "Hell yeah!"

Then he blinked, and the syringe was back in his hand as if it had never fallen, because it hadn't. It wasn't just his Time Slow that was returned to him. He wasn't stupid enough to think that there wasn't some sort of drawback to it, but for now he let himself live in the moment. Zero balled his hands into fists and threw them up above his head with a triumphant whooping noise before falling back onto his bed with a giddy laugh.

As he laughed, the syringe fell out of Zero's hand and he reached for his phone. His first thought was to tell Leviathan, but he stopped just short. They weren't friends, he had to remind himself, and this was information better kept close to his chest. The dip in excitement only lasted a moment, at least. He let his hand fall, turned to look at the syringe now just out of reach of his finger tips, and let out a soft sigh.

Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.

[zerosumsamurai]

Heyo! Going on an international trip at the end of August and I'm foreseeing little to no activity until then so, starting 8/10/23, I'm putting Johnny Gill (D.Gray-Man), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy), Choso (Jujutsu Kaisen), Zero (Katana Zero), Gilbert Nightray (Pandora Hearts), and Livio the Double Fang (Trigun Stampede) on hiatus. Thank you!

Unfortunately, Johnny Gill did not meet activity requirements for a hiatus at the time this was sent.

All the others will be placed on hiatus for you!

– ⋆ taygeta.

[zerosumsamurai]

Well, isn't this guy bossy. It would rub Zero the wrong way if there wasn't something about the way the other man spoke and held himself that gave the impression that he was something of a natural born leader. It's not coming from a place of superiority, but a desire to get things done quickly and efficiently. That's something Zero can respect, at least. Especially given how prone to following he is.

"In a creepy place like this? I don't think any way is technically better, but it's worth a shot," Zero replies, laughing at his own joke as he follows after the man. "You can call me Zero, by the way."

Despite his initial rather low assessment of Zero, Zwijo finds himself pleasantly surprised when Zero proves himself capable in a fight. That's good; with just a wooden sword himself, Zwijo would have had much more trouble. He crouches down to inspect the beast for anything useful, but anything that could be converted to tools would take too long, so he gets back up.

"Let's move, before more come," he says, heading back the way he came. "I passed a fork getting here; the other way might be better."

[zerosumsamurai]

When Zero is called the weird monkey guy's friend, his first instinct is to object, but his temporary companion speaks up first. At least the two of them are in agreement in that regard. Maybe the two of them will get along well enough to beat the game or not. Zero isn't particularly worried about winning, or whatever prizes they might be able to get. All he's really looking for is somewhere he can let out his frustrations by whacking things really hard.

"Ready," Zero confirms, shifting into a more aggressive stance with his hammer held up and ready to start bonking.

The rules of the game have been explained. "You and your friend here" (Warble Teal—the overly cheerful staff member here with them—gestures at Macaque and @zerosumsamurai) "seem perfectly suited for this," she says, "so whenever you're ready!"

"He's not my friend," Macaque says, instantly. Bold words for someone almost a full foot shorter than the NULL standing beside him. He twirls the hammer between his fingers and glares at the perfectly normal statue garden in front of them. It's creepy, but he's attributing that to the inherently-unsettling nature of statue gardens.

Macaque's just here for the ghost orb the event had advertised—even if it's not real invisibility, it's kinda neat. Fits in with the shadow stuff he's got going on. Besides, he needs the stress relief of bonking things with squeaky hammers.

"Ready," Macaque says, and stands next to a statue of a tiger joyfully mid-leap (poised in midair by two thin metal poles, rather than fully floating). Warble looks at Zero, waiting for him to indicate the same.

[zerosumsamurai]

Drew a whole Spiramonster for Zero and did no posting this month. God bless.

[zerosumsamurai]

[zerosumsamurai]

[zerosumsamurai]

Zero deserves to rank up, so... This is a SpiraleFes starter call with 3 slots! Open to anyone who hasn't had a thread with him before.

[zerosumsamurai]

Challenger's Path: Spiramonster

I wanted to go balls to the wall and make a whole sprite, but I think I'll have to settle for drawn if I want to be able to do anything w/ Zero for this event, so! His spiramonster is an orange creature that resembles a Brachiosaur mixed with Zero himself. It's roughly the size of a horse, but refuses to be ridden. Reference under the cut.

Behemon Abilites

Dash - It runs forward and lashes out with it's tail like a whip. Roll - It curls up in a ball and rolls at it's target. Throw - It pulls a random item from... somewhere and throws it with it's tail. Redo - Once per battle when it would suffer a fatal wound dealt by an enemy it instead restores to full health. Damage dealt by status effects will still kill it.

[zerosumsamurai]

Even though Zero asked for help, he's still a little offended at how effortlessly his new companion lunges at the beast. Telling him he needs to be quiet doesn't help much either. In his world, he would have been able to take on this monster without a problem. His perception of time has mostly evened out, but it's still not quite to the point where he's fit for rigorous combat.

"Yeah, yeah," Zero grumbles.

Between the two of them, it's much easier to take on the beast. It can only focus on one of them at a time, which leaves plenty of room for them to dance around it alternating between distracting and attacking until it lay lifeless on the floor.

Once the beast is downed, Zero exhales heavily with his hands on his hips, and observes their work. "Easy peasy," He says, as if he hadn't just been running for his life.

The wooden sword has officially upgraded from "insult" to "active endangerment" in Zwijo's mind. Finding himself on what looks like a prison, with monsters that would be well suited for Rush Duels... As annoyed as Zwijo is about finding himself jerked around from one situation to another with no say in the matter, the fighting is at least familiar. And the fact that he's a little tougher than a human is helping him out significantly.

He hears someone running and shouting and quickly closes the distance between himself and Zero, leaping up to strike the pursuing monster on the head with the pommel of his sword, dazing it.

"You should be more quiet; you'll draw more," Zwijo murmurs. "Help me finish this one off."

[zerosumsamurai]

[txt] I'm in a weird world where I don't know anyone or anything. Maybe I am lonely. That's not a crime.

Zero's never thought of himself as social or having any semblance of a social circle, but the more he thinks about it, the more it sinks in that he's never been so truly alone before. His handler, the little girl, hell even the guy at the video rental place. There's always been someone. Even if they're an asshole, this guy turned into a small oasis without the NULL realizing it just for taking the time to listen.

[txt] I'm gonna call you Leviathan.

The next set of messages present an amount of backbone Fifteen's thoroughly unused to seeing from Zero. As narrowminded and shortsighted as the words are, it's also bizarrely refreshing.

The NULL's content to let the other's words sit out a while before replying:

[text]: Not my fault you're having trouble untangling advice from command. [text]: If you're considering me a friend for responding to your questions, then you are lonely. [text]: I don't mind putting an end to this. [text]: I've made you aware that there will be consequences for running your mouth about what should be taken to the grave. [text]: That's enough for me.

[zerosumsamurai]

[txt] If my life isn't yours, then my secrets aren't either. [txt] But, whatever, you're right. [txt] I'll go get some better food. Make some friends. Get real cozy with them. Open up to them. Tell them about the stick looming over my head and why it's there. Then your stick won't look so scary.

Zero's not actually sure he knows how to make friends or if he even wants any, but spite is a hell of a motivator. Chronos withdrawal be damned.

[txt] Look I don't know who you are or what I am to you, and you know what? I don't care, but I'm starting to feel like you don't know either. [txt] You're either my friend, my handler, or my enemy. The end of the road for telling me to find better food and calling me out for letting other people control me is that I stop putting up with the last two options. You get that, right? [txt] You don't get to have it both ways.

You should be ashamed to be alive, Fifteen thinks to type, but doesn't. You really were better off dead.

[text]: Never asked for you to be nice, Zero. [text]: I expect your compliance because of the stick, not because of the nonexistent carrot. [text]: Find something better to eat. Your life isn't mine.

[zerosumsamurai]

[txt] Do you get off on being mysterious or is it some kind of condition?🙄 [txt] Being a NULL isn't the only secret I have, I didn't even have it for most the time I knew him.

The nightmares weren't really secrets and he's already told this guy about the girl, but still. There's more to Zero than just being a NULL, damn it.

[txt] I'm more inclined to be nice and keep the secrets of people I like, you know. [txt] The carrot you've been using tastes pretty damn rotten.

It's got to be the mark of a damn good therapist if he tells you about morally-pardoned murder targets.

[text]: No. Your handler "hired" you because of what you are. [text]: I told you: I know you, Zero. Stop fucking around. [text]: Too much is at stake for me to take the stick out.

The gratitude goes in one eye and out the other; Fifteen doesn't care if his answers make Zero more endeared toward him or not. Whatever worked to keep his lips zipped shut and his head screwed on—even if at the bare-minimum.

[text]: You shouldn't be calling me anything.

No use wasting energy on brainstorming a mysterious cryptic codename, since it'd give Zero more means to talk about him to other people.

[zerosumsamurai]

[txt] Relax, man. I didn't even tell my therapist my "secrets". [txt] You can stop whining about that.

Anyway, with everyone else knowing more about Zero than himself, he'd like to have the upper hand for once in his life. He's not in a rush to give anyone else that power over him. It's already annoying enough with this guy holding it over his head.

[txt] Well, thanks for the info [txt] Uh [txt] What should I call you?

Maybe he should have asked that when they first talked. He really has to break his habit of just accepting nameless people on the phone at face value.

What a foolish silver lining to take. Was it seriously the legal consequences that Zero was worried about?

This place made it too easy to lighten everyone's attitudes on killing and death. Now, without immediate consequence to say otherwise, it seemed affordable to the samurai. Nothing good would come out of letting that line of thinking continue.

[text]: So you get it now, right? Keep your secrets to yourself.

Maybe that's just the way Zero truly learned things—hell, why bother explaining the intensely painful post-death penalty if he'll experience that himself? That was certain. Fifteen wouldn't be surprised if this revelation led the other NULL to clack his heels together and dive into traffic.

[text]: You die, you just come back after the fact. [text]: It'll be a lot slower than you're used to.

[zerosumsamurai]

[txt] Isn't it lucky he isn't from Spirale? Can't really charge me with murder if he'll keep coming back.

Sure, sure there were the threats of violence when he came back, but that was just part of the fun. Anyway-

[txt] Wait [txt] Does that mean I can't die either?

Uh-oh, that opens up a lot of options for stupidity.

[text]: Apparently, whatever you want. [text]: If they're from Spirale, they'll die for good. [text]: But it doesn't sound like you lucked out.

Why is Zero bothering to get defensive about this, to someone who's implied they know about his tendencies? It's not like Fifteen knew about any pathetic blue-haired freaks prone to dying over nothing.

[text]: I don't care, Zero. You've done worse for less. [text]: I'm not here to absolve your sins, or take a fall for you.

He's here to take questions, though. Softie.