spoilers: this is gonna end terribly

[wentnuclear]

» WHO? Raleigh and Yancy (sort of) and OTA for main log, closed starters in comments
» WHEN? 9am on the 20th - 9am on the 21st (this lasts EXACTLY 24 hours only though you can tag in whenever)
» WHERE? deck 2 corridors, mess hall, gym, Raleigh's quarters
» WHAT? Raleigh got an action. For a limited time only, a big brother!!! But there are a few catches...
» WARNINGS? massive pacrim spoilers, potential for violence/injury, discussions of death via giant alien monster and severe ptsd, will update if more arises!

[ As much as he doesn't really want to admit it, Raleigh is settling into a bit of a routine. The room he shares with Mako is even starting to feel... like theirs. It's strange, considering Raleigh has lived in many places without ever settling at all, has rented apartments that might as well have just been hotel rooms for all he nested. But the station feels sort of. Not homey but maybe like Shatterdomes used to. They've got pictures on the walls and a sense of camaraderie with their fellow captives. Though he didn't expect it to be the case, Raleigh actually likes most people he's met here.

Mako headed off to poke at the command deck early that morning and Raleigh hit the gym as usual, planning to meet her for a late breakfast after. That's where he's going now, freshly showered and running his fingers through his damp hair as he gets off the elevator on the mess hall deck. It's starting to feel a little longer than he likes to keep it, but it's not like the station has a barber. He ponders maybe asking Mako to try and trim it for him, but is thrown from his thoughts as he turns a corner and spots a jumpsuited figure lying on the metal floor, unmoving, a communicator droning the usual arrival message beside them. Somebody new is about to wake up. Raleigh breaks into a little jog, boots clanging, thinking that maybe he can be helpful. Help ease the stranger into this bullshit. That extra sound is enough to cause the man -- yeah, it's a guy -- to stir, groaning and sitting up. His back is to Raleigh, who notes idly that they have the same color hair. Go figure. ]

Easy, buddy. Take it slow, you'll be okay. Everybody wakes up with one hell of a--

[ He makes it to the end of the hall, slowing to a stop as the newcomer turns to look up at him and abruptly freezing mid-sentence because.

No.

This is impossible.

It's completely fucking impossible so clearly it's just the station fucking with him again, like people's visions and the voices in the walls. But Raleigh can't tear his eyes away, just stares in shock at his big brother, sitting there looking as solid and real as anything he's ever seen. Looking alive, somehow. ]

...Yancy?

Raleigh. [ The ghost's mouth quirks, and Yancy carefully picks himself up off the floor and glances around, moving stiffly but not like he's favoring any injuries. If he were a hallucination, wouldn't he be ripped to shreds? Not in a station jumpsuit looking like maybe he just had a few too many last night and is pissed Raleigh woke him up to enjoy the hangover. But he can't be real. He's dead, he's-- ] What kind of afterlife is this supposed to be?

[ Raleigh's mouth opens but nothing comes out so he just shuts it again, at a complete loss. It has to be a trick, but he finds himself playing along. ]

You remember?

Knifehead, yeah. Got us good, huh?

[ Slowly, he shakes his head. ] No, just... just you. Yancy, how--?

[ Something dark flickers through Yancy's eyes at that news, as it settles. Conflicts. And oddly, seems to resolve. He doesn't ask how he's here now, standing tall and holding a conversation, or where they are, or how Raleigh survived. He just lifts an arm, the same one Raleigh remembers him reaching out as he was torn away. Raleigh, listen to me, you-- and then the terror, the pain, and that terrible void. ] C'mere, kid.

[ Really, he should object. He's older now than Yancy was when he died, technically he's the big brother. Does it work that way? Who the fuck knows but he'd claim the technicality if he were processing this well enough to be casual about it. Instead all he can process is that Yancy is reaching for him and Raleigh just goes, nearly falling forward into his brother's arms and holding on tight. And it sure as fuck feels real. It must be. Somehow, Yancy is here. Tears prick Raleigh's eyes and he squeezes them shut. There's a lot of ground to cover, a lot of questions neither of them are going to be able to answer but some he can. They'll get there, though. Right now... ]

There's somebody you've gotta meet.

[ Anyone is welcome to have witnessed the tail end of this encounter, to hear Raleigh speaking brokenly to the silence of the corridor. No one else can see or hear Yancy, as they're about to find out. The brothers break apart and Yancy does ask something, then, but the simplest of the possible questions. Where are they? Raleigh huffs, then starts walking again, back down the hall towards the mess. The conversation is one sided to anyone around, Raleigh explaining things about the station like he's being prompted but there's nobody there. Who's he smiling at, looking so hesitantly joyful? Has he just snapped? You know what, just go over and ask him. ]

--

(( OOC: Okay so to keep things consistent regarding other characters' perceptions, I likely won't actually be RPing Yancy/describing exactly what Raleigh is seeing and hearing outside of what he tells people he is! You can wildcard catching a different one-sided convo (they're going to start arguing soon enough) or hit me up at cuddlebug to plot a closed starter, I may add something like a semi-OTA gym scene where they're sparring and Raleigh is inexplicably taking damage. ))

Comments

[morethan084]

[Daisy is on her way to the mess hall as well when she spots Raleigh, who she hasn’t seen in a minute. Smiling in amusement when she thinks she caught him talking to himself, Daisy waves at him.]

Hey. You talking to yourself?

[oorah]

[ frank wanders into the gym sometime in the afternoon, keen to find someone to spar with. if he can't he'll resign himself to the weight bench. his ever-present shadow max is with him this time, though he'd usually leave him behind. karen had been busy looking over footage on the bridge and he's half-expecting to find clary here anyway and they're his most consistent dog-sitters. max is getting acclimated to all the excitement around here anyway, so he's not too worried about bringing him down, at least not until he starts barking. and it isn't a playful or greeting bark but a loud, piercing, warning thing. frank grimaces as he looks out to see what max is seeing, because the dog doesn't run after anything or anyone. he just keeps barking, and it's the same way he'd acted when the hologram/ghost lady had shown up in his room. ]

Shit.

[ in the center of the mat where he usually boxes raleigh, and there's the man in question - but he's alone. alone and yet fighting for his life, seemingly, or at least getting a really serious fight sesh on. his eyes widen, hanging back to try to get a gauge of what's happening, but he has to wonder not for the first time on this station if his eyes are telling him the whole truth. ]

Raleigh? [ a belated call as he tries to hold max at his side. whatever it is the dog doesn't want to approach anyway, and frank's shushing eventually gets him to quiet some, though a persistent whine takes up its place. he turns back to the scene just in time to see raleigh's face snap back. fuck. there's someone really fighting him. his adrenaline is already spiking, not sure whether to reach for his knife or just go in with his fists. ]

[setpoint]

[Mako is just finishing up on the command deck when she feels a sudden, intense rush of emotions—disbelief and shock, relief and joy, and it's so out of place she freezes for a minute. It's Raleigh, but she can't think of any reason he'd be having such a sudden, overwhelming reaction, so she drops what she's doing and heads out, trying to find him.

When she does, he looks happy. Happier than she's seen him in... maybe ever.]

Raleigh?

[veristitalian]

Raleigh?

[Asks Jasnah, with no preamble whatsoever. She'd seen just the last of that, rounding the corner.]

Are you speaking into your communicator?

[The most logical answer. But for all the world, it had looked like he'd been talking to a ghost.]

[resleeves]

[ a voice coming from the end of the hall catches kovacs attention and he looks up, mildly interested to see if it's anyone he knows. it's not. the man is tall, broad and blonde -- someone who would absolutely be utterly ruined in a world like this.

but, wouldn't it be fun to be the person to take part in that deconstruction?

he's talking but there's no one else there. as kovacs gets closer, it becomes clear that he's not talking into a communicator, he's just...talking. ]

The wall that fucking interesting?

[ kovacs looks over, eyes the wall for any weird shit that might be happening because of this fucking station but sees nothing. all right, then.

he doesn't judge, not right away, because it's not like he doesn't see a ghost or two. ]

I'm feeling a little left out of this conversation.

[notyourrookie]

[Unfortunately he still needs to eat, and the best place for that is in the mess hall. He heads down and slopes into the room, glad that he's picked one of the less busy times. Not that there are set mealtimes here, but some people insist on keeping to a schedule.

He recognises Raleigh but doesn't approach, instead going to grab himself some food. But his gaze is dragged back to the other man. he looks like he's talking to someone. Communicator?

He leans back in his seat, watching as he eats. he's not sure what, but something strikes him as subtly off.

[catastrophics]

[ wanda is on her way to the gym when raleigh is departing from it, and she smiles when she sees him, at first. but he doesn't seem to notice her. he runs past her and crouches to help someone behind her, and she whirls around to help him out with the new arrival she sees struggling to get to his feet. only -

only he's gone, once wanda's gaze focuses on him. there's nobody there. but raleigh seems to think there is.

she draws in a harsh breath at the realization, and then stays still for a moment, listening to what raleigh's saying and trying very hard to focus just on what he's saying, to whoever he's seeing. but some pieces of the conversation break through in spite of her attempts to be unintrusive.

knifehead, yeah. got us good, huh?

she hangs back for a moment, unsure of whether or not to interfere. but raleigh looks so shaken that she doesn't feel good about leaving this be. so she takes a few steps forward, making her steps deliberate so he knows someone is there. ]

Raleigh?

for Mako;

[wentnuclear]

[ It's late, nearly 3am, not that there's any sense of time on the station. After an awkward discussion with Raleigh playing translator between Yancy and Mako, the three of them had decided to just cram into the one double room, with Yancy in the floor spot where they used to swap places. In theory, anyway. Mako had finally nodded off a short time ago, but Raleigh and Yancy were still up, sitting at the little table speaking as softly as possible so as not to wake her. Well, Raleigh is anyway. It's not like it would matter to Mako's rest if Yancy was screaming his head off, but he's not the type to be obnoxious on purpose either.

Usually, anyway. Raleigh can't say he's thrilled when Yancy takes this opportunity to bring up the fact he and Mako are sharing the bed when Raleigh had told him earlier no, they're not like that, don't go there. ]

It's just practical. The floor's cold and painful, you'll find out soon.

You sure that's all it is? If you're just co-pilots... well.

What?

How long have you known each other, anyway? You seem really comfortable. And after how you told me you didn't want to go back, that five year mourning you supposedly did...

...the hell is that supposed to mean? It's like you don't believe me that I was wrecked after you died. Just because I got back in a Jaeger doesn't mean I'm not still a wreck.

It's good you did, though. You saved the world together, right?

Yeah. We did. I'm not... I'm not the same kid brother you had to shepherd. I fucked up, I learned from it, and I was not going to get her killed too.

Well, at least you learned something from my being ripped to shreds by a Kaiju. Good. I'm glad I could pave the way for you to be the hero next time around.

Yancy, what the--

[ And now Raleigh is raising his voice almost back to normal levels, and glances at Mako to make sure they haven't woken her. He didn't feel anything, but and she looks like she's still asleep, so he stands up and motions for Yancy to follow him into their bathroom. The door slides shut and the conversation continues, hushed but growing in intensity.

If their voices haven't woken her yet, the wave of distressed emotion might. Hurt and frustration and years of guilt being dredged up, because even if Mako had managed to buffet Raleigh's own belief that his brother hadn't blamed him in the moment. Well. Here was Yancy right in front of him, seeming to blame him now. Maybe just resenting that he continued to live, and that wasn't unrealistic. Of course his brother wants him to be happy, too, but in his perception he's just died. Of course it'd be complicated.

Should Mako go to the door to listen, it's hard to make Raleigh's voice out. Because now the conversation is actively about her. About how Raleigh's priority, even while saving the world, was saving her. Not making a mistake that would lose him a co-pilot again, but Yancy pushes. Is it really thanks to him? Or is Mako just special? It sounds almost like he'd be less offended if his little brother did admit to feeling something more for her, but Raleigh isn't there yet. No matter how many people call him on it. ]

It's not like that.

It could be. We're not all just seeing things.

...you go through shit like that together, you bond, and the Drift makes everything more. We were inseparable, too, remember? Doesn't mean that I should act on anything else, even if she's hot.

So you're saying, after all this time, you don't actually know what you're feeling? Come on, little brother. Don't bullshit me. You're hiding something, or you wouldn't be switching to Japanese with her around me.

No, I. [ Raleigh's sigh is muffled through the door. ] She's private, I'm not hiding anything from you. It's not bullshit.

Then admit it.

[ There's a long pause, while Raleigh makes an actual attempt to sort through it. Because he really hasn't, has just been pushing it aside as inappropriate, as their friends here being romantics without understanding the situation. Mako's looked at him, sure, but she hasn't... it's not... he groans a little, dragging a hand down his face. He really can't deny to his brother that he feels more for her than he's been admitting to anyone. To himself, and the realization sinks in uncomfortably. There's a bit of dread, because if he acknowledges this then it's real, and he's got to deal with it somehow. And he's pretty sure it's mostly on his end. But maybe spitting it out will end both arguments at once. ]

I do, okay? I love her, it's just not that simple. Are you happy now?