theydrewfirstblood: (face{ listening)
John J. Rambo ([personal profile] theydrewfirstblood) wrote in [community profile] ph_logs2024-07-02 12:33 pm

none of my pain and woe can show through (July Catch All)

Who: John Rambo ([personal profile] theydrewfirstblood) & YOU! (Mostly. Couple closed starters below.)
What: July catch all for Da Hollow's Favorite Commando(TM)
When: Throughout July
Where: Baker Ranch, Temple of the Sacred Roots, Forest--all around, really
Warning(s): canon typical nonsense: war, violence, PTSD, police brutality, will continue to warn in comment subjects as I go, with extra warnings for coping with mental illness (PTSD, anxiety, depression), nothing graphic or disturbing but I know if I'm going through it, reading about it doesn't always help so take your measure and know ILU.




but my dreams, they aren't as empty (Ranch, ota)

After what happened among the cultists, learning about this eldritch bullshit...dying, coming back...

The tiny gold leaf he was clutching when he came back to himself remains in his pocket at first. He's got plans for it, and they all involve keeping the fucking thing on him at all times. He doesn't want to lose it, doesn't want to leave it laying around...doesn't want to be this irrational and paranoid about potentially letting one of the boys find it around the house.

That whole deal, the whole mess...John doesn't want it to touch them, even incidentally. He hasn't really talked about it with them, save to say that he wasn't in any shape to discuss it yet, and he's not.

But throughout the next few weeks, John can easily be found at the ranch, either by those on business or those with an open invite--or hell, those who get lost in the woods and end up on the new boundary of his property watching rabbits and hares roam free behind the specially constructed fencing. He's working hard...not to forget, but to cope with what happened.

He's also just plain working, because he wants to add a couple bedrooms to the house. Just in case.

If something else happens, if he needs to know his people are safe...he could use the extra room.

as my conscience seems to be (closed to Sigma)

Within a week of returning from...the bullshit...John's thinking of the others a lot. The ones that were there with him, the ones who had his back, the ones he was most fearful for.

He thinks of Sigma a lot. Guy's unstable, like John after a fashion, but there's something about him that reminds him so much of the colonel it hurts. It doesn't make him homesick, but gives him some of the same strange comfort he finds when he's spending time with Alex.

So he ends up dropping a note in the mail for Sigma--i just has his name, his phone number, and the offer use it if you ever need to or want to.

He also includes a date, time, and an offer to open a tab at the Oak & Iron if he's up for it.

Which is where John can be found, within about a week of the end of the cultist outing. He's at a table near the back, sewing--not fabric and thread, but leatherwork: a small pouch for the leaf that he can thread onto the cord that holds Serranai's bead.

Of course, he has no food or drink, despite Tasha's puppy dog eyes, but as he glances up again to see if Sigma's entered yet, her tiny blonde figure appears with a basket in hand, packed high with everything she could possibly hope for him to put away in a fucking week much less a night's dinner.

"I do eat, y'know." he reminds her.

"Of course, but this makes sure you eat well. Now hush, there's berries in there for Coco."

The aforementioned chicken peeks her head over the edge of the table, forcing John to grin as he sets his leatherwork aside to find Co's treat in the basket.

i have hours, only lonely (Temple, ota)

Thus far, John's communion with the goddesses has been private...but the more he learns, the more he finds himself turning to them, the more curious he gets.

So...he goes to the temple. Not a lot, but he attends a couple services, and a couple times he just goes to sit or to pray. It's nice, to sort of...do it right? Maybe. It does help, a tiny bit, to feel more like Serranai hears him when he talks to her, and if someone wants to join him in prayer or say hello after a service? He's not only open, but in a better mood for being there.

He still prefers the temple of his own making, though.

my love is vengeance that's never free (Forest/Wildcard, ota)

John does precisely that: visits his own temples to not merely pray, but reach out. He occasionally goes to the beach to give offerings to Kora: little driftwood tokens he's whittled into fish, coins, and bottles he's filled with broken shells and sea glass he collects from the sand. He'll walk along the water, toss them into the waves with a few words to her...

...and he makes his monthly pilgrimage to the depths of the forest for Serranai. He gives her his offerings, he takes his meal under the tree he thinks of hers--and he spends more than a couple of hours there, trying to draw comfort from her presence. It's probably in his head, but he feels her more strongly here. Maybe it's the memory of her, but he swears that the forest is more alive here, the animals a little tamer--the odd flower a little more colorful.

The place isn't hidden--at least not by John. Find him here, deep in meditation, walking to or from this place with an empty basket in tow and a homemade longbow slung over his shoulder--or anywhere else, doing anything else. The sky's the limit.

((and if you need a personalized starter, PM the journal or hit me up on discord--the server proper, or privately at madwomanwithabox. :D))
spaghettification: (profile)

[personal profile] spaghettification 2024-07-03 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Siebren shows up a little later than the time suggested. he wasn't sure he was going to come, nervous after the whole cult thing and nervous after having been seen as Sigma for a night. But he arrives, still doing the whole floating-instead-of-walking thing, barefoot and six inches off the ground as he makes his way to John's table.

"I'm guessing you don't prefer 'Raven' in everyday life?" The question is gentle, as the scientist considers the situation nervously.
graveling: (Default)

Temple

[personal profile] graveling 2024-07-03 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Angel's doing the whole "I'm a real priest" thing on his own this month. The services he leads are not the smoothest; it's clear his confidence is still not completely stable. But he's dressed in a proper robe and stole and doing everything he can to handle the situation.

When he sees John as the service ends, there's a sheepish little smile and a small 'can I come sit by you?' gesture. Like, if the guy needs time to commune with the goddesses, he's not going to impose. But...
spaghettification: (eyebrow)

[personal profile] spaghettification 2024-07-03 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dr. Siebren de Kuiper, then." He holds out his hand to John for a shake, before turning his attention to the chicken.

"I've never pet a chicken before. I might not do it right."

They ruined a perfectly good scientist--look at him, he has anxiety.
spaghettification: (the thinker)

[personal profile] spaghettification 2024-07-03 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"Siebren is fine. It's not like I've been able to work within my field for a long time."

He settles in his seat, working to hide a grimace as he goes from weightless to heavy again, joints complaining at having to work normally again. But once he's at ease, he reaches out toward Co with one hand.

"You are an imperfect orb, but a perfect chicken."
spaghettification: (regret)

[personal profile] spaghettification 2024-07-03 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm sorry that we could not stop how the part ended. It was a miserable affair through and through."

His fingertips run gentle circles along Co's neck, as his gaze returns to John. "We still see the mark they left on the island. It's what we have to handle, in the now."
graveling: (internal)

[personal profile] graveling 2024-07-03 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're welcome to keep coming. Or, if the services are a bit much, just stop by and light a candle or some incense." Angel sits down beside Rambo, not really looking at him. It's not a pointed thing, it's just that after being started at for a while by everyone, eye contact is really hard.
thaumatophage: (Look down // hollow_art)

Forest

[personal profile] thaumatophage 2024-07-03 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Kitty's taken to walking to try and clear her head. Just walking, not with any particularly clear goal, and letting her feet take her where they may. Today, she's headed to the forest. She's always liked forests and trees, as long as she can remember...which isn't very long, and may not even be something she decided for herself. But she doesn't want to think about that. She doesn't want to think about the cult or the killing or the...

...she sees a man sitting under a tree, and recognizes him. He was at the thing. He'd introduced himself as 'Raven', a name that was probably as authentic as the one Kitty had given (truthful, in a manner of speaking).

Not wanting to interrupt him in his meditation, she walks as quietly as she can and sits under a nearby tree, closing her own eyes. Blood and death flash behind her eyelids, and she sighs a little, opening them and leaning her head back to see the dappled light dancing through the leaves. The gentle sway of the branches is calming, just a little. Maybe this guy has the right idea.
saintoflangley: (Glance // mhari)

Ranch

[personal profile] saintoflangley 2024-07-04 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
John had been one of the people who'd taken the bait and followed the letter's instructions, and he'd paid in blood for it. There's a guilt gnawing at Alex when he finds out what happened to everyone who went (who was he to have survived, who was he to have decided his life was more important), so when people start to come back, he hightails it to the ranch, intending to talk to John about just what the hell happened.

And to check on him. It can't have been easy, going through that, especially for a fellow vet. He limps up to the house, Koshka the Sprigatito at his heels, and knocks on the door.
graveling: (tell me more)

[personal profile] graveling 2024-07-04 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well. She loves you. Whatever you do, however you express yourself, she'll still love you. But there's, like, standard way of expressing your love for her specifically."

This part, he can handle while wearing the proverbial priest hat.
thaumatophage: (All innocence // hollow_art)

[personal profile] thaumatophage 2024-07-04 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Kitty starts a little when she's addressed. She hadn't thought she'd been noticed or disturbed the guy from his meditation. She rolls to her feet. "Sorry," she says, a little sheepishly. "I didn't mean to, uh, distract you."

But - and that's a very large point in favor of continuing to stick around - he's got food, and he's offering her some. The teenager approaches, sits down across from him, and gingerly takes the candied violet from him.

"Thanks," she says, and eats it. It's nice - the violet tastes unusual but not bad, and it's like smelling a flower but more so. With sugar.

"You were at the thing, too." It's not a question.
saintoflangley: (Bright and diplomatic // chatvert)

[personal profile] saintoflangley 2024-07-04 05:44 pm (UTC)(link)
When John comes around the side of the house, Alex sighs a little in relief. He had been worried; even knowing people came back, here, that didn't erase the concern.

"Good to see you, too, John," Alex says, clasping his hand warmly. "I was concerned about you. Don't tell anyone - it'll ruin my ice-cold image."

Koshka, twigging to how much her person likes this guy, rubs against John's leg, purring.
Edited (pokey mans) 2024-07-04 17:49 (UTC)
thaumatophage: (Goofball // hollow_art)

[personal profile] thaumatophage 2024-07-04 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"Kitty Callahan," she says, and takes his hand. "'Minou's a nickname from my Cajun cousin, and I kind of...borrowed 'Trovinskaya'." She's entitled to it, maybe. Alec might be annoyed at the presumption, but he might be touched by the gesture. Always hard to tell, with him.

"Talking to one of the locals, or a god from your home?"
saintoflangley: (Jesus Christ it's Jason Bourne//chatvert)

[personal profile] saintoflangley 2024-07-04 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"When she's not causing trouble, she is," says Alex, and Koshka rears up to put her front paws on his leg. He scratches the Sprigatito's head idly. "God knows this bitter old man needs looking after."

Does he really believe that he does? More than he may care to admit.

"Are you expecting to get torn a new one for getting killed?"
spaghettification: (darkness)

[personal profile] spaghettification 2024-07-04 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're right, it is Lovecraftian. Or at least adjacent to the Cthulhu mythos as a whole. And in my world, that's a fiction. But so is magic in general. And Pokemon. And gods, as far as I'm aware. This world draws in not-real things."

He shakes his head slightly.

"I do not have answers, or a solution, John."
ss_buttcrack: (smile)

Ranch

[personal profile] ss_buttcrack 2024-07-05 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Crichton was there that night, too. He saw how John fought; it was impressive. Crichton didn't know the man by name so he had to ask around. People pointed him in this direction.

"Mornin'!" Crichton shouts from the fence line. "Got a minute to talk?"

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