text .// un: dabi

[dabi]

WHO: dabi + libra network
WHERE: libra app
WHEN: oct. 12th, morning
WHAT: dabi has some questions
WARNINGS: existentialism probably, at worst. just dabi finally accepting some things, whether or not he likes it.


hey
so like
its me again and whatever, i just got a few qs for my fellow freaks
so magic is real, alright, i get it, i cant really fuckin deny it anymore, ive seen way too much shit i Cannot damn well explain but like
thats fine, i can adjust
i dont really think its a takeaway for people to have animal parts or be able to shoot explosions out of their hands or idk, turn into water

my question is, how often do you people just
get these powers
wake up with them suddenly
how do you KNOW when you have them, if they arent like
visually fuckin there

and uh

is there

...any way to get rid of the ones that are.

Comments

[unreachableside]

... I thought having a tail was annoying enough. I didn't even consider something like wings or whatever you've got going on.

There are stores in Undertown that sell clothes made for people like us. You can ask around for a tailor, too.

Also.

Welcome to hell.

[THANKS BLADE]

[dabi]

[ BLADE THOSE ARE NOT THE WORDS OF COMFORT THAT HE NEEDS, and yet somehow that is so fucking on brand that dabi can only lean back in his chair and groan-- ]

at least with a tail you could just poke a hole and thread it out or something
these things take up way too much fucking room and theyre like
idk they look like theyre on fire at the tips but its solid, somehow

theyre absolutely wings
but they are fucked up wings

[unreachableside]

[He's not the friend you go to for a hug unless you're desperate.]

You're not setting things on fire? That's good. Don't go knocking out any walls, now.

[LIKE BLADE DID BACK THEN...]

How are they fucked up? Is it just the fire part?

[dabi]

[ it's fine blade's endearing in his own way

something grounding or something like that etc ]

hahahahahahhahaa youre fuckin funny thats what you are
walls are safe, i assure you

and yeah fucked up in that way
lookin like theyre on fire but not
it keeps freaking me out to catch like
lil embers at the corner of my eyes

[unreachableside]

[He hopes Dabi did laugh a little. Maybe.]

If you can calm down enough and visualize hiding them, they could disappear for a while. You'll still feel them there, but they'll be invisible.

It just... doesn't work with me as well. I don't know why. I blame the demon since strong emotions usually trigger the transformation for me and the beast is always mad about something.

[dabi]

[ oh wait huh--that's actually some... sound advice, but. would it work... ? ]

...yeah? You have buddies who do it, then, if ya can't really do it yourself?
youre the second person i know with a brain ghost now, apparently. i didnt know they were so loud.
must be really fucking irritating to listen to that shit all day

alright
visualise hiding them

i can
do that
maybe
probably

...
i am not good at that meditating shit

[unreachableside]

Yeah. I've managed a couple times, but if I'm worked up about something? Forget it.

The beast is damn loud; you're right about that. I've dealt with it for over a year so I'm no longer having arguments where you can see it, but that doesn't mean it's quiet. If anything it's only grown louder.

[Hmm... Meditation is hard for twitchy fucks like these two.]

You're an artist. If you can't imagine yourself, then imagine a drawing of yourself. A tattoo of wings on your back instead of the wings. The point isn't for it to be a perfect image, but to be focusing on something besides your transformation.

[dabi]

you worried that it might ever get loud enough to start becoming an actual problem? like, seriously, that sounds hellishly worrisome if im gonna be real with you for 8 straight seconds, Blade.

[ not incorrect--dabi's pretty chill on the best of days, but that past life incendiary stuff is gonna start creeping in sooner than they both realise. ]

...shit, ain't that poetic.
[ and honestly, a brilliant way to make him concentrate--visualizing a tattoo instead of some magic bullshit. ]
I'll work on that and let you know if it helps. Or even works.

[unreachableside]

I'm not worried-- I know that's exactly what will happen. That's the fate of everyone with a demon contract, Dabi. We die young. The demon always gets its take, and it'll drag its host into the Spirit Realm to consume them if they are not killed by other means. After the soul has been devoured, the demon gets to keep their body. Forever.

My demon is particularly aggressive, so I have maybe three years at most. But it looks like things have accelerated... It's fine. I'm prepared for it.

I could die. But I could end up living and proving a point. We'll see if my gamble pays off.

[HOW IS HE SO CASUAL ABOUT THIS]

You do that. Like I said before, we're really not all that different. Artisan to artist.

[dabi]

[ blade that is... one fucking hell of a thing to say to a guy. Dabi ACTUALLY needs a moment to stare at this in quiet disbelief at what he's reading.

Blade just plain-facedly telling him... he's going to die in three years. Maybe less. He may have just befriended this weird guy but--there's a moment, and Dabi can't... help but think.

He doesn't want Blade to die? But what can he do? For real--what chance does he have against something he barely believes in--let alone understands.

For the first time in years Dabi feels something he hasn't: Worry. Fear. Anxiety. ]

I'd personally like. prefer if you proved a point, myself. youre awful fucking casual for saying shit like 'yea i got three years at most', yk?

like

growing wings one morning and tryina figure out how to deal with them is one thing
but this demon shit...

aint there any way to idk
exorcise the fucker

...

id help? if there's a way?

[unreachableside]

... Death doesn't scare me. Not after what I've gone through.

[Dabi's questions aren't bad, exactly. He had similar ones himself, when he first woke up and discovered what had happened.]

An exorcism won't touch it. Somehow, though I don't have any memory of it, I forged a contract with the demon. Obviously I would never have done such a thing if I had any choice in the matter. I was likely forced while unconscious, or something like that... There are plenty of testimonies like mine online.

[But what can he do? That's a better question.]

When I get dragged into the Spirit Realm, I won't go quietly. Everyone is going to know. They'll be able to jump in after me.

So if you want to help set that thing on fire, be my guest.

[dabi]

[ he's doing his best not to act up, just breathe and take this slowly. clearly he doesn't know what blade deals with, with this demon, what having 'three years left' looks like--and yet, here he is, trying... so fucking hard not to. Freak the hell out. ]

Seems shitty to force someone to sign a goddamn contract when they're out of it which ends with the sign-ee agreeing to have their goddamn soul eaten and their still-living body taken over. thats actually fucked up

like ACTUALLY fucked up
how many goddamn people in the city are actually body-snatchers, holy fucking

sure
set it on fire
ill bring some hairspray and a lighter.
sure.

does salt work too
silver? holy objects?
holy shit this cannot be real.

[unreachableside]

It is. I don't know what loophole they used, but a contract made with the Spirit Realm is difficult to break, if not impossible altogether. So I am focusing on the things that I do have control over.

There are a few people who have been possessed. Not everything that makes a contract with people is a demon-- sometimes there are more benevolent spirits. I'm just one of the 'lucky' ones.

[What is his life.]

That... I don't know. It's an Eastern demon, not a Western one. The rituals are probably different. I know the beast's name, if you feel like looking into it.

... But you don't have to. I'm sure the others will have a good idea of what to do. They've done it before.