welcome to the jungle we've got fun and games

[saddleclub]

Who: Y'all
When: Day 8 noonish
Where: THE JUNGLE

[So there is a mostly unexplored jungle out there.

It seems like a good day to explore it, eh?

Please look out for:

Venomous snakes, the smaller ones will leave you fevered and nauseas, the larger may stop your heart.

Spores, inhaling them can leave you with mild to severe continuing hallucinations

Pollen, it may make you sneeze.

Dark shadows in the undergrowth, that seem to whisper as you pass. In familiar voices...? Or that's just the wind.

Vicious monsters. They want to eat you.

And look out, if you go exploring, because halfway through your adventure the sky seems to open up and pour on you, try to find a safe shelter--if that exists in the jungle.

For those of you not inclined to explore well, you may see lights in the jungle, little wisps, of light in the growth, or maybe it's your team colors you see? The more you look the more you feel practically compelled to follow those lights and flashes of something familiar....

Maybe you get caught by the jungle's dangers, trapped in a cave by the downpour, or maybe you make it to an odd break around a still pond, the surface so smooth it's almost like a mirror. If you look in, your reflection looks back. And it smiles at you.

And if you make it this far, if you look deep into your reflection and let it stare back, you might find yourself leaning down, towards it--hopefully you have a companion to pull you back before pale arms reach to pull you in and drown you.

Even if you're pulled back from the glass pool, a strange dread lingers with you for a while. And the urge to be near others is incredibly strong. Be it their presence or their touch you crave, you need reassurance.

((OOC: Explore, use this an excuse for wet huddling together in a cave while hallucinating, get cool new scars from fighting beasts, encounter the glassy pool, or whatever! Grab a buddy, have a good(?) time.))]

Comments

[crimeson]

[laughing, taking the hit and then tackling Rufus!]

[ruinatings]

[UNDIGNIFIED YELL]

[crimeson]

[may be uh. trying to tickle him.]

[ruinatings]

[This has literally never happened to him before. He's so startled that for a moment the laughter bursts out, but then he's trying to stifle it, shoving at Randy with confused alarm.

It's not that it's not... tolerable (fun?)... but he's not used to it and it feels really vulnerable so it freaks him out a bit. He's not trying nearly as hard to push Randy away as he could be but he's definitely tensed up.]

Wh-- stop that!

[crimeson]

[ssstops, given, tension, just resting his chin on Rufus's chest like a dog.]

No good?

[ruinatings]

[This entire situation is the worst. That is, it's really casual and weirdly intimate and Rufus is really distressed to find he kind of likes it.

His heart's racing and he doesn't get it at all. There are so many complicated emotions involved.]

...It's...

[What face is Rufus supposed to wear for this? What's the graceful thing to do? Why does he feel like he doesn't want to tell Randy to get out of his space? He wants to get away! But he also doesn't? Intimacy is threatening and awkward and he doesn't like it. But he also does? Is this friendship? Is this what makes normal people happy? Isn't vulnerability dangerous?

Rufus' face is getting progressively redder but his brain's shorting out so he can't figure out what to say. He's just kind of flopped here with his hands on Randy's shoulders, staring up at the ceiling to avoid looking at his face.]

...It's so... strange.

[crimeson]

But not awful...?

[hesitant, but hopeful. he's sober enough to take in all the details of how Rufus is reacting, but he's... trying not to seem like he's analyzing the poor man or looking for weakness. he knows this must be scary.]

[ruinatings]

[It's definitely terrifying. Possibly more so than anything else has ever been. A lifetime of fucked-up priorities and necessary paranoia has him on edge, like he's waiting to get stabbed in the back.

But what's actually scariest is the thought that the closer Randy gets the more inadequate and ugly Rufus will seem, and by then it'll be too late to protect himself from being hurt.

And yet besides that -- besides the possibility of a humiliating heartbreak -- he's got nothing to lose. No plans or schemes at risk. In a way, that means he has no defense against this unexpected and entirely alluring warmth.

He's still not looking at Randy but he does smile faintly, a little bittersweet.]

...Mm. Not awful.

[crimeson]

Good. Should I back off?

[it might not be TERRIBLE, and Rufus may seem to be reacting positively now, but he does want to straightforwardly give him the option to back out, if this closeness is too much.]

[ruinatings]

[The option is appreciated and actually makes Rufus feel a lot better. If he can say no without being a big jerk that's a whole level of concern removed. There's a whole lot of other concerns but ONE is removed.]

...No, it's alright.

[He takes a deep breath and lets it out, chest moving and heart hammering under Randy's chin. Normal sane people have this kind of relationship all the time, right? It's... Logically, the risk is either not that high, or worth it. Maybe. Not in Rufus' world, but his whole perspective is fucked up so he's trying to think outside of it.

If he were sober he'd probably pull away, but... While he's no longer totally trashed he's still inebriated enough for poor impulse control. What would a normal person do? He looks down at Randy finally, lifts his hands off of his shoulders...

...And squashes his cheeks.]

[crimeson]

[Randy blinks for a few moments, surprised by Rufus' boldness, but...

then he busts out into a wide grin, laughing, obviously delighted.]

Awesome!

[ruinatings]

[At first Rufus is making a really weird face about this. Like he startled himself, and is really curious, examining the way Randy's smile is warped by the squishing like it's some kind of hereto unseen phenomenon.

Then he switches to pulling his cheeks instead. Which results, finally, in a small but genuine laugh.]

You look completely foolish.

[crimeson]

[RUFUS LAUGHED!! SUCCESS!!]

Haha, I'll accept that, since it's definitely true.

[sticks his tongue out though]

[ruinatings]

And you're crude.

[But he says it fondly, as he lets go of Randy's face. He could ask Randy to get off of him but this us actually weirdly nice. He never really understood that before -- how comfortable the weight of another person can be.

But he's too embarrassed to just cuddle so he's doing another experiment: reaching down to poke Randy's sides. He's wondering what that's like from the other end.]

[crimeson]

Always~

[starts wiggling almost before Rufus actually pokes him, the second he realizes that tickling is incoming. Yeah, he's that kind of ticklish.]

Wait a second--

[ruinatings]

What for?

[He does though -- he's taking this way too seriously Randy.]

[crimeson]

[oh honey

he tries to settle himself a little]

Not-- seriously. Just. I'm very ticklish so I might get pretty flaily? As a warning.

[ruinatings]

Oh.

[And now he's even more embarrassed. But his hands are settling on Randy's waist anyway because it feels great.]

...I must confess I am completely out of my element.

[crimeson]

[well if they're STILL he's not going into a ticklish frenzy, instead just settling himself more comfortably on Rufus again. it feels nice, like this.]

I mean, that's fair. I'm definitely on the high end when it comes to tactile stuff like this.

[ruinatings]

And it isn't exactly a noble's behavior.

[Bitter as he is about it, he's still a noble. He's still stuffy. But he's trying.]

...This is rather intimate, you know.

[crimeson]

[Randy shrugs]

Mm. 'Cause I like you. You know you can tell me to back off with this kind of thing if you want, yeah?

[ruinatings]

I'm aware.

[BUT!! But.]

...It's only that I'm not sure whether or not I want you to.

[crimeson]

[nods lightly.]

Okay. That's fine by me.

[ruinatings]

You're so agreeable it's almost alarming.

[crimeson]

You know very well that I can be a pain in the ass when I want to be! So I wouldn't worry about it.