[Action]

[dissonates]

[Action, backdated to October 6th, locked to Luke + housemates if they want!]

[There is a vast difference between seeing nothing and being unable to see at all. It's the first thing that Asch realizes when he opens his eyes, waking up in the cold of the underground tunnel, slumped against the invisible barrier outside of John's domain, and seeing, for the first time in months, some kind of... light. It's blurry, more like a shadow within a shadow, and as he squints at it, it occurs to him that it's entirely possible that his eyes hadn't been fixed correctly at all. People are occasionally stuck with side effects anyway, though, after their penalties have been removed, so he pushes those concerns aside and reaches out with his mind towards his replica.

....

Nothing. Not even a flicker. And there's a moment of panic - that something happened while he was gone, that he's dead again - but memory catches up with him. He's in the tunnels. Luke can't hear him down here. And even though he feels weak, bone-weary, and a little dizzy from his clumsy vision, he pushes off the wall and forces himself upright, edging his way towards the near-light of what he's certain must be the tunnel entrance. There's a ladder, a way up, and as he climbs, he keeps trying to contact Luke, hoping his replica is available to get him home. Just one last time, one more guiding hand. That's all he needs.

Thankfully Luke is available, and he will get Asch home, so he'll be back on the evening of the 6th, sticking close to the house for the most part and waiting for his vision to come back bit by bit.]

---

[Action, October 10th, open to anyone]

[Finally, finally, Asch wakes to find that hey, surprise! His eyes are as clear as the day they'd been before he died. He spends a long time staring at everything in his room, taking in the details, the changes that he'd missed or accidentally caused over the course of the last four months. There's dust in places difficult to clean, his closet is a disorganized mess, and the books on his shelf are out of order. Some of the houseplants aren't doing so well. Star's getting fat. The white in Tsuae's fur is discoloured from treks in the yard- chasing Ginji's birds, probably. He'll need to do a full sweep of the house and nitpick at it.

Tomorrow, though. Today he gets dressed, gets himself a meal and tea without dropping anything, burning his fingers, or bumping into the table. He leaves the house and he goes for a walk. Nothing special- a long, slow, utterly aimless wander through the village from late morning until after dinner, drinking in the sights and watching the people who pass him by, as if seeing it all for the first time. He swings by the shops, the restaurant, maybe even Good Spirits for a bit, a place he hadn't been since before Guy went home the first time. He might even talk to people. He seems curious and calm for once, almost smiling.

It's a nice day. He can see again. What's there to bitch about?

Evening will find him on Amaterasu's hill, leaning against one of the cherry trees, content to sit and watch the sunset. Only after it's finished does he return home at last.]

Comments

[action]

[entaiho]

[Rokuta's own wandering doesn't have much purpose today, other than stopping by the plaza to obtain something to eat, and now he's sort of heading vaguely back in the direction of his house while munching on a peach from the bulging bag in his other hand. He slows somewhat when approaching Asch, though, forehead creasing in a frown before he comes to a stop.]

...you aren't new, are you?

[Seems like the wrong time to be getting New Feathers in, but the way this guy is looking at stuff, well.]

[action]

[dissonates]

[Asch glances over at the question; at first he hadn't even thought it was directed at him, but the guy is looking at him, so it must be.]

No, I'm not. I'm not even wearing white.

[What a weird assumption to make.]

[action]

[entaiho]

Yeah, well, that doesn't always mean anything. But the way you're looking around... I thought you maybe hadn't been here before.

Oct. 10, evening

[chirpchirp]

[The forest is where it's been making its home and when it notices something red in the distance, it gets its hopes up. A buddy? Someone like it??

It doesn't call until it's closer, but as it runs from the base of the hill toward the strange trees, the traveler is pipping at the stranger, trying to get his attention.]

♩♬　♩　♬　♪

Oct. 10, evening

[dissonates]

[Not exactly, little traveler. The whistle catches Asch's attention, the sound resonating with him in particular for reasons that go beyond a simple affinity for music, and it only takes him a moment for his eyes to zero in on the chirping stranger.]

...What are you supposed to be?

Oct. 10, evening

[chirpchirp]

[oh it talks. it is not a traveler.

the traveler stops for a moment, weaves back and forth and then runs forward again. even if this new person isn't a traveler, it's still something new!! hello!! hello new person!!!]

♬♪　♬♩♬

[it runs until its closer and then starts running circles in the grass.]

action;

[gleamed]

[Rapunzel still enjoys visiting the hill to view the sunset. As far as she's concerned? There wasn't a better place to do it in the entire village, and she'd shopped around. And now that the weather was getting chillier with fall blustering in, there probably weren't going to be too many clear nights left to see it.

Finding Asch up there is a pleasant surprise. Pleasant but...odd. Why would he...

Was he really, truly looking at it? She sets down her basket, toeing closer curiously.]

Asch...?

action;

[dissonates]

[Have a pleasant surprise, Rapunzel- at the sound of her voice, Asch glances over and sees her - really, truly sees her - and his lips curve upwards ever so slightly. They seem to keep meeting like this, how weird is that.]

Are you here for the sunset?

action;

[gleamed]

[He's looking at her. He's looking at her, a smiling ever-so-slightly, but smiling all the same, and all at once her heart swells with joy and relief. She has to blink to keep tears from swelling.]

Oh--yes, I am! Do you mind if I join you?

[deceases]

[ Natsuno is just out for another casual walk - even if he's frowning a little, somehow seeming more gloomy than he did during the whole experiment with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. But during said walk, he manages to spot Asch too and recognize him to boot-- but the strange thing is that Asch isn't bumping into everything ever anymore.

... Huh. Who would've known. He doesn't say anything though, but he's staring pretty obviously. ]

[dissonates]

[Asch pauses before he can pass by, lifting a brow with his eyes slightly narrowed.]

I hope you're aware of the fact that it's rude to stare at people.

[YEAH HE CAUGHT YOU.]

[deceases]

[ ACE DETECTIVE ASCH.

But no, Natsuno just shrugs as if he doesn't even care about being caught.. apathic go once more. ]

I guess. [ what kind of answer is that, natsuno.. ] I just recognized you from the other day.

[failguardian]

[Anise is chilling at the fountain when she sees Asch walk past, with that expression on his face.]

[She hesitates for a minute, unsure of whether to approach him or not, but curiosity (and worry) wins out.]

Hey, Asch! [She waves as she hops off her seat at the fountain's edge then sprints towards him.]

[dissonates]

[Oh god, it's the Fon Master's chipper guardian. Should he be terrified of what this will do to his mood?

Well, whatever. He'll deal with it. Anise gets a slight nod in greeting, his expression slipping back into one she might find more familiar.]

Is there something you need?

[failguardian]

[Ahhhh, there's the Asch she knows and doesn't particularly love!]

Awww, you look grumpy again. Can't I just say hi? It's been ages since we talked!

[action]

[fabrecation]

[Luke knew what was going on. Asch had contacted him just before he got carried off, and ever since then, the replica had been making it a point to stop by the tunnel and wait every so often. He'd return home after a while, dejected, only to try again a little while later.

This time though, as he's heading away from the tunnel, a flicker flares through his head. A tug, something that sends him racing back and looking down the ladder.

And, sure enough, there's Asch. Almost at the top, hesitating, probably unable to see straight.

So Luke reaches out and, as Asch grabs the third rung from the top of the ladder, he'll let his fingers brush against his original's hands and wrists, letting him know that he's here. The guiding hand that he needs.]

[action]

[dissonates]

[As soon as the link slides back into existence in his mind, Asch feels a rush of relief, and he was just about to send an actual, verbalized message when he suddenly feels a hand against his. Halting his ascent for a moment, surprised, Asch shifts his grip to curve his fingers around Luke's hand instead, to allow his replica to help him the rest of the way out of the hole. It's a relief to finally be out- not only is the silence within his mind finally replaced by the fonic link at full strength, but he'd begun to wonder if he was about to fall or something. And wouldn't that have been a beautiful cap to his lousy death penalty experience.]

...I didn't think you'd get here so quickly.

[He looks up, and Luke... is a blur of red, white, and black. Still, it's much better than seeing nothing at all.]

[action]

[wildlittlegirl]

[ She hadn't realized she'd been waiting to hear some sort of commotion, but when there's a noise at the door, Arietta nearly leaps off her bed and scurries to peek out into the living room. ]

Asch? Is that you?

[action]

[dissonates]

[His sight is still awfully blurry, but Asch manages to get himself inside without tripping over the threshold, so he counts that as a success by itself. He's so used to moving by feel or memory that the concept of being able to see obstacles in his way is amazing. At Arietta's voice, he looks up, focusing on her even if she is little more than a pink and black blob right now.]

It's me.

[Action, October 10]

[broji]

[Ginji's not too worried when he finds the house empty this time. Nothing's been newly knocked over, there's no mess in the kitchen or any sign of struggle. Looks like Asch is finally back up on his feet! Er...back up on his feet with his eyes working properly, that is.]

[So after a quick run through the most necessary chores, Ginji spends much of the day working on his current flight project. He'll still be working at it well after dinner, sitting at one of the chairs with a large mound of material draped over the arm and cascading down into the floor. There's a plate on a side table, too, with a few uneaten sandwich slices. He looks like he's concentrating hard, though whether the task is difficult or he's just trying not to poke himself with the needle, it's hard to tell.]

[Action, October 10]

[dissonates]

[There's really no way to come up behind someone who's concentrating on something without startling them, so after a moment of quiet consideration in the doorway, Asch flings caution to the wind and wanders in calmly, stopping in front of the sandwiches and offering them a thoroughly unimpressed look.]

...Is that dinner?

[Action, October 10]

[knightofratatosk]

[As it just so happens, Ammy's hill is right next to Emil's house, and it's a place he likes to visit whenever he'd like a little peace and quiet of the sort he can't find in said house.

He's a bit surprised to find someone else there this evening, though, much less someone like Asch. But... there's something different about him today, that much even Emil can tell.]

Oh... hi Asch. I wasn't expecting to see you here.

[Action, October 10]

[dissonates]

[The difference might be more obvious when Asch actually looks at Emil as he speaks, shifting on his spot in the grass and leaning back.]

Not surprised. It's been a while since I was able to do this.

[And with that, he shifts his focus back to the sunset.]

[Action October 10th]

[explaining]

[Either luckily or unluckily, Guy is the tender on duty when Asch happens into the bar. It isn't late yet so there's only one or two other patrons in the building, and Guy is taking a moment to make himself some stir fry for a late lunch so he'll be able to handle the evening crowd.

The bell at the door chimes and he turns to see Asch walk in...without Star.]

Hey, Asch, [Guy calls over the sound of sizzling meat and vegetables, so Asch can follow his voice to the bar.]

[Action October 10th]

[dissonates]

[No seeing-eye cheagle for him today, or ever again, if he has anything to say about it. Asch hesitates at the sight of him- he'd come in wondering if Guy was working today, but now that the prospect of meeting him presents itself...

...well, maybe it'll be alright. With a slight shrug and a stubborn mental push, Asch strides right over to the bar counter, sliding into a seat without a bit of awkwardness or fumbling. Once he's found his seat, he glances over at Guy, seeking eye contact for the first time.]

Hey.