open ⇉ here we go 'round the mulberry bush

[resleeves]

» WHO? takeshi kovcs + ota
» WHEN? after the event
» WHERE? his room, bar, mess hall, various corridors
» WHAT? just fuck me up
» WARNINGS? violence, violent imagery, gore, possession, terrible things, language

( the ceiling is white.

the ceiling is white the ceiling is white the ceiling is white. he's been repeating that to himself for the last two minutes because nothing else is working. he's breathing. he's blinking. but he can't move. he's been staring at the fucking ceiling for long enough that he hates the color white.

at first, he thinks it's some side effect of the music but it's been quiet for a few days now. quiet enough that he'd been able to sleep in the wrecked remains of his bed. it's quiet right now.

the ceiling is white. kovacs blinks and

-- he gets up. )

⇉ 01. bar

( he's staring at the bottles.

most of them are empty, upended or broken and he's just staring like just his gaze alone will make alcohol magically appear in the bottles. but, they remain empty. hadn't this been someone's job, to get them more alcohol? hadn't that been assigned to someone as a top priority? wasn't there any fucking responsibility on this fucking station?

in the absence of alcohol, kovacs unfolds his long frame from the stool and finds himself some water.

sips it. finishes it. repeats the process until he feels his thirst receding. then, he resumes his spot on the stool and keeps staring.

thoughtful. introspective.

vacant. )

⇉ 02. mess hall

( a man has to eat.

there's a tray of food in front of kovacs that he's been picking at for a few minutes now. he barely tastes the food, barely even processes what he's eating but it's tasteless, inoffensive. whoever fixed the replicators did a halfway decent job. compliments to the chefs and all those fucking sweet nothings.

kovacs picks up one piece of food, brings it up so it's right in front of his eyes and then he flicks it towards the door, uncaring if anyone's making their way in and gets a fucking piece of food stuck to themselves.

one corner of his mouth lifts up and a brief, sharp laugh slips out before he's back to frowning, back to his food. )

⇉ 03. corridor cw: violence, violent imagery, gore, creepiness

( when he sees her, he smiles.

down the hall, a few feet away, lies the body of his sister. reileen. reileen who'd watched as he'd killed their father. reileen who'd been given to the yakuza. reileen who had left him. left him so along ago.

back where she belonged. with him. as he steps closer, boots echoing off the floor, he inhales deeply and smells the rot, the death. her hair is a halo around her head, some strands clinging stubbornly to her cheek and chin.

her eyes are open.

when kovacs is close enough, he crouches down beside her and rubs a tender, feather light hand over her cheek and up her forehead. her skin is clammy and grey. cold. she's so cold. she needs to be warmed up.

his hands are strong and assured when he reaches for her shoulders and turns her over. they're soft and efficient when he brushes the hair off the back of her neck, exposing her skin.

he has no knife. so he uses his fingernails.

with only the slightest tensing of his jaw, kovacs digs his nails into the back of her neck like a rabid animal. he scrapes and pulls, pushes and tears until blood spills over his hands, and onto the deck below.

he doesn't stop. an envoy's strength is significant and he uses that to brutally dig a gash into the back of his sister's neck. his thumbs pull apart the raggedly cut skin until he can see the muscle and bone below.

he reaches in and breaks her spine at the neck. the sound of bones popping echoes off the walls and kovacs moves those aside to grab what he's looking for.

with a grunt, he rips the stack out of her neck and holds it up. it's covered in blood and tissue, still glowing a brilliant blue color.

with his sister's neck open and smeared with blood, kovacs gets to his feet, turns and smashes the stack against the wall over and over again. blood from his hands transfers to the wall, leaving behind smudged bloody palm prints and fingerprints.

the stack cracks. it breaks. it bends. it shatters to pieces that fall harmlessly to the floor.

and then kovacs steps on them, grinding them down into his sister is reduced to dust underneath his shoes.

kovacs sighs. with that done, he turns back the way he came, covered in reileen's blood and body tissue. he tucks his hands into his pockets and walks off as if there wasn't a scene of horror behind him. )

⇉ 04. kovacs' room, corridor

( kovacs is a mess by the time he's back in his room.

well, that just requires a shower, doesn't it? stripping himself of his jumpsuit and stepping into the shower. he washes himself free of the bits of his sister that have clung to him and then he steps out, dries off, puts his clothes back on and lays down.

he closes his eyes. takes a breath and

-- gets up again. )

Fuck.

( the word is a whispered note of pain. of terror. of unbelievable anger. he has no idea what's just happened but he remembers it all. he remembers every fucking detail and with a growl that reverberates down the hall, he shoots out of his bed and down the hall.

he takes a path that he wishes weren't sickeningly familiar until he's standing at the end of the corridor staring at the carnage he'd just inflicted.

staring at his sister with the back of her neck a gaping maw and her body ignored and abused by the one person she'd trusted. by the one person she'd loved.

for once in his life, kovacs doesn't know what to do. )

⇉ ooc

( what's up, party people! just wanted to put a few notes down here for a few things. obviously, the first two prompts are kovacs but not. but, it's a very close replication and though i'm cool with people being able to figure it out, if you don't know him well, you wouldn't be able to tell there's a difference. if you know him well, you would.

in the prompt with his sister, you're not going to be able to stop him from doing what he does. feel free to witness it or try to stop but in the end, he's going to complete the process of destroying her stack.

in the last prompt, he's going to end up spacing the body (because safest, most hygienic option) but might need some assistance because, you know. )

Comments

4

[morethan084]

[It’s been a few days since the music has finally stopped, and Daisy has spent a lot of that time sleeping. Both from the lack of sleep and also from getting the shit kicked out of her. It seems a lot of people were recovering from whatever the hell that was about, but Daisy finally drags herself out of bed so she can start getting back into some semblance of a routine. The swelling in her nose has gone down a little, but the bruising around it and her under eyes has grown. Despite her messed up nose, the stench was hard to miss. Daisy wasn’t even planning to go down this way, but with the smell growing closer she wanted to find the source. It’s when she rounds the corner that she spots blood, then more blood and then a body.

Horrified, Daisy is about to step closer to see who it was when she hears hurried footsteps. Quickly walking away and back the way she had come from, Daisy hides just around the corner. The footsteps stop and Daisy dares to peek the corner to find Kovacs there. Of course she doesn’t have any weapon on her, and it was probably stupid on her part to confront him without one.

Sometimes Daisy is just really dumb. Like right now as she comes out from around the corner.]

What the hell did you do?

Re: 4

[resleeves]

( there are a million things running through his head right now. a million things but only one face: reileen's. he can't even bring her up alive, warm and well, and giving him shit. no, all he can see is her vacant stare and her cold lips. all he can smell his blood. it's all over him. it's everywhere.

he's started forward, wanting to go to her, to hold her, comfort her but someone's voice rips him away from that mission and he turns, eyes hard though there was something else behind them, something he was trying desperately to hide. )

It wasn't me.

( it had been...his body -- his sleeve, though. his hands. his boots. it had been him but something else had been controlling him while he watched helplessly.

all that training and he'd been beaten. he'd been thrashed. )

[morethan084]

[Jaw tight and body tense as he turns to face her, Daisy doesn’t move any closer out of fear.]

Really?

[Unsurprisingly she doesn’t believe that. From what she managed to see of her, she didn’t look familiar. Which really doesn’t bring her much comfort.]

So you just came across her like this?

[pampa]

Miller slides into the seat adjacent from Kovacs', his tray bumping his harmlessly and his spindly elbow and knee tapping the other man's much more solid counterparts. There's a big smile on his face as he settles in, taking off his hat and placing it on the table next to his meal like always. The first thing he notices is the lack of unicorn backpack, but he's too hype to contain himself to ask about that yet.

"Did you see it? Me and the botanist got into the garden this morning."

[resleeves]

"The botanist?" Kovacs looks up from his meal, eyes settling on Miller's face. Recognition is there but it takes a half a second for it to register. A flicker of uncertainty and then it's gone and the default 'what the fuck' expression that Kovacs typically wears is back in place, solid and stable.

"Don't think I've met him," Kovacs muses, shaking his head. "Didn't know you had a thing for flowers, Miller. Trying to find one to give to your best girl."

[pampa]

"Prax Meng. He's with the Rocis." He takes a drink of his weird bone milk concoction and shrugs a shoulder. "Do you like breathin'? I do." He did notice the slip, how long it took Kovacs to respond when usually he's quick as a whip. If Miller were a different kind of friend, he might ask. As it is, he waits to see if it'll happen again, and if he can figure out what it means on his own.

4

[rickitikitarr]

[Ricki comes around the corner, and sees Kovacs first. He's opening his mouth to give him good natured shit, business as usual, when he sees... Reileen. The mess.]

Oh Jesus Christ.

[He says, more quietly, and very, very sober. He'd thought resurrection was supposed to kick in, but now that he's seen it there's no escaping the reality of the smell. All the playfulness melts away, and Ricki goes into work mode. Pragmatic, quiet, intent;]

What happened?

Re: 4

[resleeves]

I don't fucking know.

( but that's a lie, isn't it? every single frame of how this had happened was in his head, in his brain. it was on constant replay now, telling him what he'd done, the betrayal that he'd committed. )

I didn't do this.

( but he had.

he moves closer to the body of his sister, the scent of blood and death filling his lungs and he coughs, holding a hand up to his nose so he doesn't gag. )

[rickitikitarr]

I don't care, Kovacs. [He promises, quietly. But, since he actually looks a little heartbroken...] I do believe you. I don't mind right now about anything except what comes next.

This is a problem that's going to get worse in a hurry.

[But, a little more gently;]

You don't have to be the one who deals with it.

02

[onlydoubts]

[ the music has been off for a few short days now, but it feels like a lifetime and the silence is... different, but Bodhi won't complain about that. not when he can hear himself think and isn't seeing things any more.

he's stopping in the mess hall, to grab something to drink before going back to his room when the piece of bread hits him, getting stuck in his hair. brushing it out, he would've thought it an accident if not for the laughter coming from a nearby table. ]

-- asshole.

[ muttered, without looking at the perpetrator, but loud enough to be heard. ]

Re: 02

[resleeves]

I'm sorry, what was that?

( he'd heard you, bodhi, he'd heard you. )

Have something to say? I'm sitting right here and I'm all ears.

( talk, bodhi. )

[onlydoubts]

[ at that, he's slightly embarrassed at having food thrown at him in front of people like some new cadet reporting for a first meal during academy, and also a little annoyed.

assuming that he and the food thrower are the same, it's the same guy who'd gotten angry with him just last week for... some reason that he can't recall that well. Bodhi frowns. ]

Oh, it's you. Look, forget it, alright?

[ will mr. no chill go for it? he doubts that. ]

( o2. )

[creatio]

( Clary almost doesn't see it happening. The mess hall is too crowded and she's too tired to try and make small talk, so she's already halfway across the room again when she catches a scuffle out of the corner of her eye. Miller goes down quickly, and all Clary can think about is how bad he'd looked when he'd bruised his ribs, how a hit like that could do so much worse. The detective - Kovacs - tidies his shit away like he doesn't have a guy passed out at his feet, walking towards the entrance and she wavers for a second between running to Miller and chasing after Kovacs.

Alex gets to her friend first, which is fine. Her talents rest elsewhere. )

Hey!

( Her boots echo as she runs, and when she reaches Kovacs she grabs for him, spinning him around with more strength than a girl her size should have. Both hands shove him as they square up, Clary five feet of fury. )

What the fuck was that?

Re: ( o2. )

[resleeves]

( kovacs hadn't intended on stopping but then he's being spun around and snapped at by the girl from that party. he remembers her now though it takes just a few moments for it to click. she's glaring and snapping like he's just killed her best friend.

had he just killed miller? something to check on later. )

I would think it was pretty obvious. He put his hands on me and I removed them.

( with his fist. )

[creatio]

Are you serious?

( Miller does not look like the kind of guy who can give anyone hassle. At least not right now. Every time Clary's talked to him he's come across as fragile. There are plenty of people who probably deserve to get hit on this station. He's not one of them.

And she doesn't like bullies. )

You just broke his face!

[pampa]

Miller had watched the whole thing, though he wasn't present for it. The video is still on his device as he bounds through the halls, the fresh bandage on his nose not slowing him down in the least. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks about what just happened, that wasn't Kovacs. If he were anyone else, maybe it would just be naivité, but Miller doesn't really do that. He picks up the subtle nuances of every situation whether or not he chooses to engage. He thinks he has an idea who the dead woman is, too, and he really doesn't like where this is heading.

He's too late, he couldn't stop it. He feels responsible in a fucked up way even as he's running, full out. His bones really weren't made for this, you know. They also weren't meant to withstand Kovacs' fist, apparently, whether or not he's in his right mind. Miller's out of ammo and out of options. He should stop to get Mike or Amos, but there's no time and then he's nearly careening with the man himself in the hall, blinking as he realizes it's him leaving his room - presumably to go find his own horror scene.

"Kovacs?" he asks, out of breath as he grabs at the man's elbow. Please be home this time.

[resleeves]

Miller's voice comes to him in pieces. At first, it sounds like he's far away and then Kovacs blinks and he realizes Miller's right in front of him, bruised face but actual fucking concern in his eyes.

He'd put those bruises there. He'd broken those bones. Kovacs looks down at hand, wiggling his fingers and then curses sharply.

"I need -- I have to go find her," Kovacs says, sounding surprising subdued and wrecked. "I think I -- I don't know what the fuck happened. I have to go find her. I have to see what happened."

[pampa]

He lets go when he sees the mirroring bruises on the other man's face, concern only deepening at the sight. "I'm coming with you," he insists, taking a step in that direction without having to be told which way. This is like what happened to Alex except Reileen's really here somehow. Is she really dead? "It's really you this time, right?" Yeah, that's right, somehow punching the guy's nose clean off had told Miller everything he needed to know. He told Kovacs he was good at this mystery shit!!!

3

[lostsymmetry]

[He'd watched for it, the first few weeks. For someone to snap, for something to happen. (For him to follow them here, too.) But weeks went by, and nothing happened. No murders. No evaluations. Even when people started to vanish, there were no bodies in the halls.

Hank really wishes that had lasted.

Audio logs the crunch of snapping bones as a terminal just a few paces down the hall lights up in trembling blue. The voice that speaks from it sounds human: clear and calm and just a little sick.]

What did she do?

Re: 3

[resleeves]

Existed.

( kovacs doesn't even look up to find the sound of the voice. his focus is still on the reileen and the damage he's caused. the remnants of her stack dust his fingertips and he rubs them back and forth. )

Does there have to be another reason?

So sorry for delay! Lost the tag.

[lostsymmetry]

[Have to? No. Just should. He backchecks the network. Runs the name. Kovacs has been here a while. No other incidents. Were there?]

Well, she's not the only one with the hobby.

[Miller's still coming. He should buy time.]

Is this what you do, then?

7/12 i guess

[oorah]

[ frank frequents this corridor, as does max, the 3.19 carved into his collar telling anyone he meets the same thing. he's attempting to slip out of karen's room without being noticed, usually this early in the morning there's no one around. today, however, there's a tall figure pacing the hall. he has a wild, but weary expression on his face frank recognizes. it's a look he himself has worn more than once.

he should keep walking, but he tells max with an outstretched hand to stop and sit and he does so obediently, his ears pinning back as he tries to suss out kovacs and what his deal is. ]

Everything okay here? [ he tries to infuse some authority into his scratchy, hoarse tone, his voice obviously tired from unuse. he's seen this man around, he realizes then, though they've never spoken. he isn't a new arrival trying to come to terms with this place. something must have happened, just like what just happened to frank. ]

Re: 7/12 i guess

[resleeves]

( kovacs isn't expecting another person let alone another person who decides to speak with him. he's been out of sorts since rei, since he'd woken up and killed his sister or whatever the fuck that was. he's still not convinced it wasn't somehow his sister despite people telling him otherwise.

sleep has been scarce and his eyes are gritty and red. so, when someone speaks to him, he looks up, confusion and then mild irritation on his face. )

Fine.

( didn't he look fine, frank!?!? )

I hate this fucking station is all.

( bar | later in the month )

[possidetur]

( it isn't surprising that vanessa finds him here, or even that she finds him at all. she had never intentionally sought out takeshi kovacs and yet she seemed to frequently run into him.

their last conversation had been less than pleasant, with vanessa hoping that she wouldn't run into him for some time. that lasted a week, perhaps two. the days had gotten blurred together lately.

it would have been easy for vanessa to turn around and leave but she wasn't in the habit of running away from something uncomfortable. vanessa faced her demons )

Mr Kovacs.

( it was a polite, if quiet, greeting before vanessa sat herself at the bar. a greeting, an invitation if he wished it, but this time she wasn't making a particularly large effort )

Re: ( bar | later in the month )

[resleeves]

( it takes him awhile to realize someone was there, to process the words as being familiar. he doesn't lift his head. there's an empty glass in front of him and his fingers are idly brushing against it back and forth. )

Thought you'd disappeared.

( it wasn't a roundabout way of telling her to leave. he just hasn't seen her in awhile and, after everything, he hadn't really been in the mood to seek her out either. he'd sought no one out. )

Congratulations on still being here.