"I want to be happy" "I want to know the truth"

[octoblot]

Who: Azul Ashengrotto and... maybe even you?

Status: Open

Where: His apartment above Surasthana Cafe

What: After what happened at the end of last month, Azul is currently recovering from his own terrible choices. Anyone who wants to check on him or demand answers can now get their opportunity to do so.

Warnings: Tentacles... but this time they are not in fact attacking or trying to steal powers. He's too depressed for that.





[So, uh... that sure was a whole thing that happened, huh? What with all those rifts summoning tentacles, the fish phantom pollution, and then Azul and that Phantom creature appearing to cause havoc. But thanks to the efforts of everyone that came together to defend Eltrut or try to talk a manic octopus down, the former was destroyed, and Azul was finally knocked out after a long fight. By now, all the rifts that had those power-stealing tentacles have vanished, and everyone's stolen powers and abilities were returned to their rightful owners. The blot is slowly fading away from the waters, and the weather is starting to clear up again.

But what about Azul Ashengrotto, the one who caused all of that chaos? Well, the good news is that he is not dead and he isn't dripping toxic magic residue everywhere, but the end result was an injured and very unconscious merman to deal with that was showing no signs of reverting back to human form right away. So it took some effort, but thanks to Claude and his wyvern, a solution was found in the form of lifting him out of the water and sand via wyvern, and carrying him back to Eltrut and more specifically, his apartment above the Surasthana Cafe since Kaveh had recently upgraded Azul's bathroom to be able to provide something large and deep enough for an octopus of Azul's size to be placed in for the time being until he's able to switch back to human form.

He spends the first couple of days unconscious, not waking up anytime soon from his overblot, which probably makes it easier honestly for those who have been enlisted with working on trying to heal and remove any lingering magic corruption clinging to him and his magestone, and the crystals that formed jutting out of his tentacles during the fight. (Thank you, Joshua and Miriam respectively for trying to do something about that) When he does finally wake, it's initially with confusion, moments of being dazed and not really processing what's going on, but eventually he manages to stay awake for longer than ten minutes and can be considered... well, "sociable" is probably not the right word for it, but hey at least he is capable of holding a conversation now if someone decides to come looking for explanations or the like?

Aka, there's nothing really stopping anyone from dropping in to see him or force him to practice self-care for once with resting and eating meals or to get punched in the face for any of the angrier sort, since he's too weak to climb out of the recovery tub/bed he's in here, so feel free to have at him.]

Comments

[sos_pilot]

[ Della hasn't gotten a new leg yet, though she's gotten plenty of offers. But a little something like a whole limb missing isn't going to stop her from checking in on Azul. With a crutch under one arm and a basket of coffee supplies in the other, she makes it to the door, and calmly yet loudly says - ]

Hey, Double A! It's Double D! Della Duck! I'm breaking and entering, just so you know!

[ No biggie! If the door is locked, she will absolutely jimmy it open with a hairpin. Time to hop-step, hop-step, hop-step inside as she tries to find him. ]

Now, where are you, my guy...?

[octoblot]

[Thankfully, the door is unlocked--probably so that someone can easily check on him if they hear any odd noises and provide whatever food and healthcare he's getting. Plus, it's not like he has anything that valuable here that he thinks is worth stealing--most of the items he would think someone would steal is back in a safe at the Lounge.

He isn't anywhere in the bedroom, but she will see that the bathroom door is hanging wide open. Upon stepping inside and flipping the light on, Della will be able to easily spot Azul right away--its not exactly easy for a large octopus to hide, even with the extra large tub he is lying back in. It's deep enough to allow him to lie down on his back or side under the water comfortably enough if he wanted to, but not enough to actually hide him.

His tentacles are submerged under the water and currently staying still, but Azul seems to be currently propped up in a position that allows him to have his head above the water, his back against the wall of the tub. There's a chair pulled up next to it for people to sit in while visiting.

At first, it seems he had been sleeping maybe, but after hearing the noise of her entry and the light coming on, he slowly opens his eyes and turns his head toward the doorway to squint at his visitor.]

Huh? ... Della-san?

[sos_pilot]

Oh, there you are!

[ It's still a shock to see the "real" him... But after a breath, her smile is on easy-peasy, and heads for the open chair. Hop-step, hop-step. ]

I brought you come coffee stuff, when you're ready for it. Also some baked sweets in there... don't worry, I didn't make them.

[ Ahahaha. She sets the goodie basket on a nearby counter, sets her crutch against the seat, and then hops onto the chair, slapping her thighs. ]

All right. Dumb question, but how are you feeling? Anything I can get for you? A pillow, hair-brush, open a window...?

[ Nice and casual. Calm and cool. Like nothing happened at all. ]

+1 Hissy Guard Catte

[empyrean_mirror]

[Right. This took a bit of...Negotiating. But while it takes a few days, Kaveh does eventually turn up at Azul's apartment. He doesn't look...great, but he's at least mostly healed from the bruised ribs and he's cleaned up to not be an obvious Depression Goblin.

Just ignore the looming green shadow following him. It's fine. This is Fine.

Anyway, he opens the door after a few knocks, and Kaveh has a good guess where Azul might be, but he's still calling out softly as he enters.]

Azul...? Are you awake?

hiss hiss HISSSS

[indispensable]

[This was something that had to happen eventually, for Kaveh's sake if nothing else, but that doesn't mean Alhaitham has to be happy about this. As far as he's concerned, Azul has proven himself to be a danger around others. Try as he might Alhaitham still can't quite put away the image of Kaveh struggling while slowly being crushed.

They may have talked about it, but everything is still too fresh, and as Alhaitham has never bothered with any pretense he does not make any attempt to hide the displeased curl on his lips as he follows in after Kaveh from behind, ready to jump in any moment if he deems it necessary. Given that all they've known is that he'd been knocked out or something to that effect, Alhaitham isn't going to take any chances. Not after what happened.]

[octoblot]

... Kaveh-san?

[His voice is still a little weak, but today he is in fact more awake this time before he hears the door open. He initially had the lights off in the bathroom while he was alone here, but upon hearing the door to his apartment open, he sighs and carefully, slowly, allows one of his tentacles to reach over the edge of the tub to reach for the light switch to turn it on.

But that's about as much energy as he has for that, so for a moment it ends up dangling uselessly over the side rather than being pulled back into the tub just yet as he turns his head back toward the doorway tiredly.

... And proceeds to blink, upon realizing Kaveh is not alone.]

And Alhaitham-san... as well?

[withermarked]

[ After hearing where Azul is actually staying, it won't take terribly long for Faulkner to decide he needs to have words with his boss. Even if his boss is... significantly more intimidating than he'd actually realised before.

And even if he's not sure how he feels about the whole boss thing at the moment, under the circumstances.

He raps his knuckles on the doorway to try to get Azul's attention, but for the moment he won't actually go too close to that tub. ]

...You in there?

[ He sounds notably on edge. ]

[octoblot]

[Azul left the lights on in the bathroom when Faulkner visits today, so he doesn't need to worry about lifting a tentacle to reach out and flip any switches. As such, his tentacles stay submerged in the water and out of sight unmoving at least. It's just Azul's head and upper chest sticking out for the other boy to have to look at, which maybe that will help a little with making him seem less intimidating?

Anyway, Azul looks a little surprised upon seeing who is here at first, but then he seems to relax again. Right, makes sense for Faulkner to want to see him, what with Azul having given him a job at the Lounge, only to then... well, you know.]

Ah... Faulkner-san. You wanted to speak with me?

[withermarked]

[ It helps a little, as does the fact Azul seems... himself and coherent. That rules out the more permanent kinds of transformation that Faulkner is used to.

He's not actually sure if that makes him more or less angry. But it makes him less nervous in the moment. ]

Wanted to ask you what the hell all that was, for a start.

[deepstar]

[ It's probably not that surprising that Khalid is coming to and from Azul's place. Just like Azul had done when Leona had passed out, Khalid figures that it's only fair. He brings incense to burn, to continue to purify whatever negative energies still linger around Azul. A couple of days of that, more or less.

Khalid can't do much more than that, really. It's not like he's a cook or anything. Now he does craft some potions that should help regain energy and strength.

And then? There are the books. Khalid's probably even sitting and reading one even now, just chilling out in Azul's space. They... Definitely need to talk. But Khalid is patient. ]

[octoblot]

[Azul has been asleep when Khalid visits during those first few days--either curled up at the bottom of the tub under the water, or in a position that has him sitting up in the tub after whatever medical treatment was done for him recently. Today, it's the latter.

For once he can't really refuse Khalid's company, and especially not the incense, but maybe it's because of the latter having an effect that Azul finally seems to wake properly during one of Khalid's visits. After a moment of blinking blearily at the wall he had initially been facing, he turns his head a bit to regard his surroundings... and startles upon seeing Khalid sitting in a chair with a book close by.]

How... how long have you been there?

[deepstar]

[ Yeah well. Azul isn't in a position to refuse anything at this point, really. He's just going to have to accept whatever kindness people are going to force on him. Like Khalid. Just sort of watching him - especially since Leona seems to be gone during some of this. What else can he do?

At the sound of Azul finally coming to and seeming lucid, Claude shuts the book and looks over in Azul's direction. ]

Today? Only about an hour. Look at you, finally starting to wake up after what was likely a very much needed nap.

[astudyinviolet]

[ At various points in time, Sherlock takes to his violin. He conveniently forgets to check the time (or rather never thinks to check) when he starts to perform or strum notes or create random noises with his violin. When he does perform, the melody ebbs and flows, a somber and wandering tune.

This will continue for a while as people come and go to see Azul. Eventually, Sherlock will visit Azul, but for now, Azul can listen. ]

[octoblot]

[Azul tends to complain whenever Sherlock plays his violin at 3am, but that's when Azul is abruptly woken up by it while in his bed that he normally sleeps in for human form. But since he is having to sleep in his bathtub and has periods of insomnia that come just as bad as the periods of sleeping like a corpse, the sound of the violin playing next door is actually rather helpful. It's not a high pitched, frenetic barrage of noise putting him on edge, but with a smoother flow to it, almost soft despite the somber tone. Rather than tensing, he can feel his tentacles unwind and relax a little more calmly from where they are submerged under the water here.

He will have to remember to ask Sherlock if there's a name for the tune he's playing, or if it was just something random that he came up with off the top of his head. If Sherlock even decides to visit him, that is. But for now, he closes his eyes and listens to the music instead of letting his thoughts wander to anything particularly stressful during the periods where he's alone rather than having company to distract him here.]

[wherethereislight]

[It's late into the night, long after cafe had closed for the day. A shadow will occasionally pass by the window of Azul's room. This shadow passes by nearly every other night, right around the same time. No annoucement, no greetings everytime it passes. And it doesn't linger for very long.

It's been like this since Azul had been stopped. There's nothing that needs to be said, he believes. He had to do what he felt needed to be done at the time, and there are already others taking care of him. He's only here to check on their recovery progress, behaving.]

cw: nightmares mention

[octoblot]

[The downside of sleeping a lot during the day when he has no visitors is that this means he's awake sometimes at night, unable to sleep. Or he does sleep, but not for very long due to nightmares--this happened last time he overblot back home, where for a while he was plagued by nightmares of it, and it seems that this is the case now too. Dreams where he dies, skewered through the end of the Phantom's trident. Or dreams where the people he does in fact care about die because of him, or they're mutated by the blot themselves, dripping that toxic substance and screaming at him for having done this to them.

He's woken up early in the night from one of those nightmares, after his tentacles thrashed hard enough against the side of the tub to snap him awake. As such, he gives up on sleep for now and rolls over to stare blankly in the direction of where moonlight is coming in through the window. Someone seems to have left it open today to help air out his apartment of the salty depressed octopus, and he vaguely considers extending a tentacle to close it or not... at least until he notices the shadow that he's pretty sure that he saw that looks out of place outside.]

... Hello? Is someone there?

[magehater928]

[An unfamiliar body stills itself in the doorway- a lanky, white haired elf with a sour look on his face and tightly crossed arms. One, of which, is notably bandaged up.]

I hope you do not have plans to fire your employees. In fact after the damage you’ve caused I believe they are owed better wages..

[octoblot]

... Hah?

[Azul makes a confused noise upon hearing that, turning his head to look up toward the door from where he had been curled up on his side in the tub he's situated in. He doesn't recognize this person at all... is this someone that had shown up to fight him and the Phantom?

But what ends up getting his attention more are the words being said rather than the realization that he doesn't know this guest yet.]

Why... would I do something like that? I have nothing but gratitude for them, since they kept my Lounge safe and are helping to continue to look after it until... well, until I've recovered enough to move around more freely.

[sunsetking]

[Now, Leona's been gone for a few days, but he quite remembers everything that's happened before he was sent home. After learning about how Azul's been doing after the Overblot, well...

It shouldn't be a surprise that Leona is stopping by.

The lion has his usual expression on. Annoyed. Somehow apathetic. But he's there and he's staring down at Azul, arms crossed.]

[octoblot]

[Azul was curled up on his side here under the water when Leona first walked in, appearing to be asleep until his eyes slide open--maybe Leona's shadow over the water had gotten his attention? It takes a moment, his tentacles stretching a little bit briefly, until he happens to glance upward and finally spy Leona hovering over the tub.

Azul blinks at him, before he slowly rises his head up above the water here, sitting with his tentacles curled under him now as water drips off his hair.]

Ah... you finally came to see me, Leona-san?

[tarttyrant]

[Riddle's appearance should come as no surprise, given the pad of paper Mehrak would have brought that preceded him.]

"Azul." [He calls out. Perhaps, just a little soft. Not that many would pick up on such a distinction. Riddle comes in two primary modes and 'authoritative' is still a default setting on both.

He doesn't enter very far in, lingering near the doorway. The boy looks not wary but weary. It has been a trying time for Rosehearts and while Azul has been out and trying to recover, Riddle has only had time to mentally go over everything he has learned from the octomer's outburst and the time between his waking. The extra time to parse it all has not made any of it more comforting.

Still he approaches, delicately resting his fingers along the wall while he waits for the other to acknowledge his presence.]

"How are you faring?"

[octoblot]

[It had taken a moment for Azul to answer that he was ready for guests, as he had been asleep when Mehrak had first come upstairs to find him. And then waited patiently until Azul happened to wake up and roll over to see Kaveh's peculiar little friend with the paper asking if he wants Riddle to visit him right now.

As much as he'd like to not have to deal with a potential lecture... yeah, Azul deserves one, and Riddle deserves an explanation and an apology for his actions. So he says yes, and Mehrak leaves to go fetch Riddle for him.

And now he's here, hovering at the door. Azul wonders vaguely if Riddle is afraid of him now, because of how Azul treated him while overblotting... he can't say that he would blame him, if so. At the question, Azul lets out a huff that would normally be a laugh, but it comes out sounding far too exhausted to form properly.]

I've... been better, that's for certain.

[...]

... What about you?

[crystalrepose]

[A few days after the nightmare's shadows had faded back into the deep, Miriam had largely been keeping herself busy; picking up stubborn chunks of ice, helping retrieve lightning-burnt masts, and so on. It hadn't taken her long to figure out what had occurred, and who to speak to--but there seemed to be quite the queue by the time she showed up at the Lounge. So she busied herself elsewhere, but not for long. There was a rather pressing issue to worry about still.

There was a knock on the door, polite but persistent.]

Mr. Ashengrotto? My name is Miriam. I believe I can help you.

[octoblot]

[Azul blinks at the sound of the door knocking, turning his head here to look from where he's reclined with his back against the side of the tub he's in. He doesn't recognize the voice or name attached, but... well.

Given his actions and his current state, he doesn't think he has the right to turn anyone away right now.]

Ah... very well, you can come in, Miriam-san.

[When she comes in, she'll be able to spot Azul very easily from the open bathroom door--a large octopus lying in a modified hot tub is pretty easy to find, after all.]

[ramuhs]

[Fortunately or unfortunately, the one visiting him is basically a stranger. While Cid has heard of Azul from Leona before, they had yet the opportunity to formally meet. Now with the whole blotting Phantom mess is over, Cid decides to take this opportunity for a formal introduction, especially as he is curious as to how it all happened and how many of his crew are friends with him.

So, there will be a knock knock of the door.]

Azul, is it? Cidolfus Telamon, captain of the Hideaway, a few members of you are well acquainted with.