"Il bugiardo deve avere buona memoria."

[sharktrash]

Who: Squalo and YOU!
What: Squalo returns from surprise trip to Scary Lab Dungeon
When: evening of April 2nd (and later)
Where: Pride HQ, maybe the city later
Warnings: squalo language, drugs, craziness, will update if needed


-- A

[ Turns out trying (and (temporarily) succeeding) to trick Lesedi is a bad idea. He spends about thirty hours with the delightful brain probing team down in the labs, and then he's extensively warned and set free. Or, rather, just shoved out after making sure he got the message. ]

[ So, there he is, sort of staggering into Pride's lobby because he can still feel those unpleasant tingly things in his brain which might be aftereffects of the machine or cocaine withdrawal or an unholy mix of both. He takes a few shaky steps, rests a hand on the wall while leaning forward -- and throws up right there on the floor. ]

[ He stands there for a moment, and then starts laughing. It's loud, sharp, and frankly, somewhat unsettling. ]

[ There's probably a lot of people around and everything. The tabloids will sure love destroying his image further if anyone from the media is there to see him empty his stomach in a public area and have a manic hyena laughter fit over it. The famous alcoholic, cokehead and sex criminal of metal finally gone off his rocker etc etc. Does he care? Not right now, no. ]


-- B

[ Once he's done with that, he'll head "home". Which might be either MANTICORE's or Junkyard Carnival's suite at this rate. For what it's worth, he seems unharmed, but that weird aura of amusement and being close to a psychotic murder fit is still lingering. Did you even notice he was gone? ]

[ If you're anyone who has some reason to see him naked -- a bandmate, a bae, someone who helps him in the bathroom or just loves peeping on people in there -- you'll discover that pretty much his whole back seems to be bruised, as if he'd been thrown against something with incredible force. He doesn't seem bothered unless you ask, though. ]


-- C

[ The next day, he can be found doing the usual stuff. Recording, going outside to play with his bike, heading out into the city, most likely to drink. Possibly to meet Luce too, at some point. He might seem a little calmer than usual, though, as if the whole world around is somehow beneath him. The trademark smirk on his face almost looks knowing at times, but depending on who you are, he might just shrug if asked about it. ]


-- D

[ Wild card! Hit me up via PM or at jigglyballs and we'll make something else up! ]

Comments

[scalpedsociety]

[Dammit Squalo, she's concerned about you and you do this? she says nothing in response, mostly because she's trying to keep it together in front of him.

Her anger at Lesedi is festering, her panic is festering...]

[sharktrash]

[ For some reason, he feels the need to loudly exclaim, ]

I'm not fucking afraid of them!!

[ as he's lead away. Luckily, nobody seems to take it for anything else but drunk/high/crazy rambling at this point, but... she might be able to sense that for once, it's very serious and very real. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[It does serious... and it scares her. Squalo has always been reckless but she never thought that he would be like this, so apathetic to the thought of losing his own life.

But she still says nothing and gets in the elevator.]

[sharktrash]

[ He probably wants to rant more, but the safety measures kick in, and he clenches his hair with his free hand somewhere around his temple. That hurts. If she lets go of him, he just might crouch down with his head in his hands. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[She will. There's a lot about this she's not fine with. Aramat still doesn't say anything.]

[sharktrash]

[ He sinks down to the floor, back sliding against the wall, and stays there, holding onto his head, hands clenching his hair so hard it's practically pulling on it. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[In all honesty, she doesn't know what to do here. He's in pain and it makes her feel awful. But given how... unstable Squalo is, she can't touch him.]

[sharktrash]

[ It could help. Or maybe he'd hit her, who knows. ]

[ He's muttering in Italian under his breath. Swearwords and just bits and pieces, things like "I'm not, I'm not" and "You won't make me", then all of the sudden, he switches to the same thing in Japanese. Then in Russian. ]

[ And then he just looks up, screams as if in pain, and curls up, silent once again. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[All these words, all these languages Aramat barely understands... she keeps her distance anyway.

Until that scream and she can't stand by him and watch this suffering anymore. She'll sink herself to his level and try to hug him. It won't do anything, but it has to be some comfort. Right?]

[sharktrash]

[ He tenses when she touches him, but doesn't lash out. In a few moments he actually seems to relax a bit, though that gives way to trembles. Is he scared? Tired? Craving coke? Possibly all of the above, but when he removes his face from his arms, he looks more like the him she knows. A little. ]

I'm so tired. [ He sounds a bit quieter than usual, but his voice's still got that hoarse, almost croaky quality to it which probably makes him sound even more tired right now. ] She was gonna kill me, and I wasn't scared. Why?

[scalpedsociety]

[She gently strokes his head, his hair. Trying to comfort him.]

You're braver than most and a tad more reckless too.

[You can't play such extreme, harsh music unless you personally live it right?]

[sharktrash]

[ He leans into her more heavily. There's no tears this time, though. He just looks so very, very done and worn. ]

Nobody got "fired", you know. She has them, or she's killed them.

[scalpedsociety]

[Wolfram, Nariko, Koumei... all of them are dead or captured by her. Anger boils inside her.]

...I believe you.

[sharktrash]

[ * dead or tortured, mom. ]

Good. [ He bares his teeth again, his eyes narrowing; it's similarly menacing as his expressions before, but this time it looks natural on him. ] I may be a lot of things, but liar's ain't one of them.

[scalpedsociety]

[That just makes it better, Squalo. The elevator dings to MANTICORE's floor and Aramat offers him a hand.]

Come on, you should rest a while.

[Then we can talk about who dies.]

[sharktrash]

...I need a bath.

[ He can rest after that, thanks. But he'll accept her hand getting to that destination. ]

[scalpedsociety]

Then I'll take you to the bathroom then. Will you need any help?

[She looks over at him as she asks him this gentle and accommodating. Bless this poor lady's heart.]

[sharktrash]

[ ...on one hand, he wants to say he doesn't. ]

[ On another, he's feeling really unbalanced right now and her presence is a little relaxing. There's nothing wrong about taking a bath with your mom when you're in your twenties, right? ]

No, but... stay with me for a little bit?

[scalpedsociety]

[Damn Squalo, you're such a mess right now that you're willing to run head on with the Incest Train (that's not actually incest but sure as shit feels like it). As she goes into the penthouse and helps him make his way to the bathroom, she nods.]

Of course.

[To start with, she might just hang around the tub, holding his hand if he wants it.]

[sharktrash]

[ DAMN RIGHT HE IS he wouldn't mind her joining him in the tub tbh but maybe it's better if she doesn't. ]

[ Nah, he's not a baby. Her presence seems to give him a bit of ease, though. He turns the water on, strips in front of her like nbd and climbs into the bath to lean back, eyes closed, as water slowly rises. ]

[ What a mess. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[Luckily she has enough sense to look away when he strips... or for a good moment anyway. She does seek a peek at him. Now that she thinks about it, he's never seen Squalo like this before. (And didn't know he was this muscular for a thin guy... or riddled with scars... and the tattoos.)

If he allows it, she'll pet his hair, running her fingers through it while humming a lullaby.]

[sharktrash]

[ Oh myyy. Yeah, he's somewhat ripped for looking like a human stick. Bone and muscle, or something. The tattoos are probably not all that scandalous (except for that very familiar "XX" on his lower back... she might recognize it as the way Xanxus often signs his autographs), but musicians usually don't have giant ugly scars in the middle of their torso. Squalo does. ]

[ His fake arm is apparently water-proof, because he keeps it on. He doesn't really show whether he likes the petting or not, but he's not moving away, so that's probably good. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[...Yeah, that tramp stamp pretty much looks like the way Xanxus signs things. Straight with capital double X's. Even more disconcerting is the fact that under the ink looks like a scar, and no one gets scarred with bold double x's naturally. It looks branded, like how livestock owners mark their property.

Maybe I was wrong about Xanxus... But she keeps that thought to herself.

Soon the humming becomes a song, the exact same lullaby she sent him for solstice. It's soft, still filled with affection, but now even more stubborn about it.]

Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della mamma
Fa la ninna bel bambin,
Fa la nanna bambin bel,
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della mamma

[sharktrash]

[ It's definitely branded. It's definitely a sign of property and ownership, too. And Squalo's not concerned about it or her seeing it, as if he's had it his whole life. (Or for years, anyway.) ]

[ He listens calmly for a while, but eventually there's a frown on his face. ]

Stop.

[ There's just something upsetting about this situation. Like it's not supposed to be, and yet it is, and he is so not crying into this woman's shoulder ever again because that's just wrong for who he thinks now he's supposed to be. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[Luckily Squalo can't see the hurt look on her face when he tells her to stop. It's confirmed, Squalo knows what she knows as well. That there's a good possibility that he isn't her son, that he isn't even her student. It's a lie, and both of them bought it.

But Aramat does stop singing, as ordered to.]