Coming Home from a Dream

[helluvaboss]

Hell has a habit of sucking in hapless, tortured souls... including those from other worlds, it seems, when helped along by portalling magic concocted by Stolas of the Ars Goetia. Hell, in fact, is very receptive to the devised spell, sucking in those that portal from the land of dreams, songerein.

Residents of hell walking through the portal find themselves startled awake where they were, but newcomers? Their forms become physical, tangible, changing them into the creatures they dream themselves to be - for the best and most certainly for the monstrous. It is Hell, after all.

Welcome home, I.M.P. : D.M.C.!

Comments

[herewardbound]

He smiled, faintly, at the thought. "Frankly... I agree. Reverein was... nice, but shit was happening literally every month. Dragons attacking, my fucking- soul getting split in two, or some shit. I'm going to have to develop an actual god damn hobby."

[mansbestend]

"This I gotta hear... any potentials out there? Model assembly and painting, bird-watching if you can dodge the cops and convince 'em you ain't just havin' perverted bird needs...?"

No, really, do go on.

[herewardbound]

He quirked an eyebrow. "Awfully interested in avian perversion, all of a sudden. I wonder what Stolas would think of your intentions with his daughter..."

But no, that bore some genuine thought, actually. "More seriously, in truth, I don't know. Someone in Reverein suggested I give music a try... I might start there. I have a life. I can do whatever the hell I want. It's a refreshing feeling."

[mansbestend]

Denji offered fingerguns, his face blank. "Ah, you didn't get the update. He fuckin' hates me, but I can tell ya the whole thing later."

But music... music was a good start.

"What, like, pick up an instrument, start a band? I could probably sneak some tapes around, spread the word." He paused...

"Wait, tapes were a 'my time' thing. It's probably microchips or whatever now."

[herewardbound]

Akechi blinked. That... sounded slightly off, but. "Cassette tapes? Fuck, you are behind the times. No, your phone can hold more music now than a whole shelf full of tapes. And browse the internet. Which... does beg the question of whether Hell has wi-fi, I suppose." Questions for the future, at any rate.

"Anyway, I'm not concerned about performing for anyone's sake. It's something I wanted to learn, but instruments cost money and... we never had any to spare. And then I spent years in the foster system, and asking for anything like that, it was always some variation on 'you should be grateful we're taking you in to begin with'- fucking assholes. But no. Whatever I end up doing... it's going to be for me."

[mansbestend]

He scratched an ear. "Yeeeeah... I got a few earfuls about the whole internet thing and how it jumps out the fuckin' gate after the 2000s. Also learned about the Y2K thing bein' bullshit, that was hilarious."

"But man, you do you. Work a little or make baby eyes at Demon-Dad and boom, you get all the glockenspiels you want. ...I heard that's the name of an instrument but never got to say it. You look more like an aggressive guitarist type who knocks the shit outta people, anyway."

[herewardbound]

"I could try guitar, but it just never really appealed. Thinking on it... actually, if you could find a Rhodes piano, that could be... fun. I'd be interested in trying my hand at a saxophone, but I'm not certain how conducive this," he pointed at his now-much-pointier face- "would be to anything brass or woodwind. What about you, any plans for the immediate future?"

[mansbestend]

Okay, so he would keep it in mind to find a... road piano? He'll try, anyway. But his eyes focused on the beak mouth for a moment before he shrugged.

"I mean, I see Blitz n' Stolas make out all the time, havin' a hell bird face doesn't seem to stop 'em from bein' articulate."

But... plans? Pfft. He grinned, but the eyes redirected elsewhere.

"Shit... do I look like a guy with a plan?"

[herewardbound]

"... Admittedly, no. Not so much plans, then, as... wants."

[mansbestend]

"Ya say that like it's a bad thing to want."

He crossed his arms.

"I mean, I just got to live, y'know? I want what everyone else could get easily by now."

[herewardbound]

His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded. "No, I... think I understand. That kind of goes for both of us, I suppose, now I think on it. Everyone assumes a lot of things are just... automatic. They don't realize that others struggle just to have the basic needs they never think about."

[mansbestend]

"Yeah, it's fuckin'... obnoxious. I just started goin' back to school again and I got people talkin' about all these places they've been goin' to for years, all these girls they met, all this good food they eat every day..."

He rubbed behind an ear and looked away.

"I try not to get pissed about it, 'cause it ain't their fault... but I feel kinda impatient, too, 'cause I feel like I'm rushin' to catch up to everyone else. I want a little piece of what makes people happy, just for me. Just a little piece, at least, before a devil shreds me to bits or whatever."

[herewardbound]

Akechi blinked. "I don't think it's wrong to be angry about it. Maybe it's directed at the wrong people, if you feel angry at them, but the world has systematically fucked you. If it helps, I can't imagine Literal Hell is going to care too much about grades and which high school you went to. If it's a requirement here, for whatever fucking reason, I'm just going to test out of it and be done with it. And if that's the case, or even if it isn't and it's something you care about, I'll help you."

[mansbestend]

He can't recall getting angry at the folks in general, but some people were dicks about all the things they had. But Denji was visibly taken aback by the offer he'd made.

"Wait... you serious?"

He paused. "...Did Demon-Dad put you up to... Wait, I don't think he'd give a shit about academics. But... you mean that?"

[herewardbound]

Akechi shrugged. "I don't see why not. I'm good at studying, and honestly, fuck the world and the school system. The only support you can count on is from yourself, and people who actually understand what you've gone through. If charity's a problem for you, then pay me with food, or coffee. We both know I'm shit at cooking anything that doesn't have 'instant' on the package."

[mansbestend]

"...Huh..."

He wasn't even sure why he asked. Yet, call it knee-jerk, but he for some reason wanted to be sure he wasn't being walked into something else that wound up with someone after his heart.

...And he had said he wasn't his type. Which was still pretty fuckin' rude but you know what, his l o s s.

"I can cook. I'm not a super master or whatever, but I feed myself fine. Trade ya some non-instant shit."

[herewardbound]

"Then it's a deal." Akechi smiled, faintly, and offered his left hand. "We may need to update your definition of 'cake', though."

Which seemed faintly surprising, even to him. That had been a joke. He really was in a good mood.

[mansbestend]

He took the hand to shake, but wrinkled his nose. Still, he smirked.

"Pff. That was one time, you dick." Man, nobody's gonna let him live that one down, huh?

"Besides, I've got sixteen more birthdays' worth of cake owed to me. I'm gonna catch up."

[herewardbound]

"Plenty of things happened only once, and we have to take steps to avoid repeating them, Denji. The Spanish Inquisition, the Black Plague... the Featherman reboot. Horrible tragedies, one and all. Cake... sounds nice, though."