[He can act however he wants - Jae-ha doesn't seem at all different from the week before. There might be a slight tiredness around his eyes, but it's definitely one of those 'blink and you'll miss it' details.]
Hmm? That's so much colder than you've treated me before.
[when they would HEADBUTT EACH OTHER VERBALLY
but regardless jae-ha will just bring up his arms then and toss zelos something. a fairly warm, draping something. if he holds it up, he'll find a cloak]
[ Zelos slips it on right then and there, pulling the hood of the cloak over his head. ]
Huh, not too shabby. Send the lady my thanks.
[ a look ]
Is it really from someone else. Handsome and charming as I am, I can't imagine a stranger putting the time and effort into stitching this baby up for a stranger.
Then you clearly haven't had a chance to meet her yet. She gave me a scarf the second day that I knew her... I guess the chilly temperature just made her generosity overflow.
Huh, well I guess there's not much else to do. Gotta' keep yourself occupied someone.
[ And that's how he'll rationalize that unexpected kindness. Zelos is quiet for a moment and then— ]
Hey, all that stuff I said to you this weekend? Forget about it, alright? Like— wipe it from your mind. I was just trying to get a rise out of you, none of it was really true.
But to be honest with you? I only said everything that I did because I thought you were going to die, it was supposed to be a confessional sort of thing. But now you're not dead so—
[ Zelos' frown remains, but he tilts his head curiously at that. ]
Why do you care so much? I mean, let's be real— all things considered, you're a pretty popular guy around these parts. If alliances are what you're worried about you don't really have to bare your soul to me to get em'. There are plenty of people who'd probably vouch for you without all that.
It's not really about survival - I plan to make it as long as I can, but I have a shorter lifespan than most of you anyway. If I go, then I go, even if I'll go down clawing to every inch of life that I can on the way down.
[That much is sincere but - ]
I don't really have a use or a reason to blackmail you, so it feels weird having information on you that you only felt like giving me because you thought I was going to kick the bucket.
It would be karma if I left you suffering alone, knowing that I know more about you than you know about me.
[ . . . but he's not the type of person to let Zelos deal with that.]
Your mother passed on, you said? Ah, I never knew mine. Or my father. The Green Dragon was seen as a burden to the entire village, and so they kept me locked up, chained to the ground. My only caretaker was the former Green Dragon - who hated my existence.
Once a new Green Dragon is born, there's no use for the old one, after all. So he was slowly dying, because of me.
It didn't exactly make for a comfortable living environment.
... do you think? I was told that they wouldn't for a very long time.
[But Jae-ha notes it - and he doesn't bother to stop being a bit more luxurious about it. He runs his fingers through Zelos's hair just to work out some tangles, then continuing to weave the locks together.]
I've been thinking some ugly things today too. Those might be harder to forgive myself for.
But I don't know if I can forgive Sandalphon either - not even for what he'd done, but the way he chose to do it. I don't know if I can even give him the same respect that everyone else is.
[His emotions are swirling too intensely for that.]
He never asked for your forgiveness, and I don't think he expected it either.
[ Zelos' voice is quiet, no trace of accusation or anger. ]
Some people are just pathetic— the best they can hope for is that they weren't a complete waste of air by the time they meet their end. That's just my opinion anyway!
[ Zelos shrugs, head feeling lighter when Jae-ha's work is done. ]
There's plenty about you that makes me uncomfortable.. but I don't hate you. If you have something to say you should say it— it's not like any of this can get any worse.
Are you sure? You always get nasty when I ask something you don't want to hear.
[Apparently he doesn't care to hide what he notices anymore. Maybe he's just tired today.
But he'll just huff faintly.]
... I wanted to ask -
That opinion of yours. That people want to hope they accomplished something, anything at all, before they leave the land of the living.... Would you say that's true for you?
You didn't mean it like that when you said it - or at least, it didn't sound like it. There's a difference between wanting to accomplish many things in your life, and hoping that you didn't just waste time throughout it.
... and I don't think Sandalphon had much hope at all, which might be what set him apart compared to everyone else in the first place.
He didn't. Tomorrow isn't going to be an execution, it's going to be a funeral. He was dead before any of this even started— we're just finally burying him tomorrow.
[ I hate what I'm about to type but Zelos is gonna stand up thanks.
This is a bathhouse what's it to him if someone sees him nude?
Anyway, he reaches for a towel and pulls himself out of the water. ]
Wanting to accomplish your goals.. hoping you didn't waste your time— isn't it all the same? Let's not get hung up over details.
[this isn't the first naked twunk jae-ha's ever seen and honestly we can only hope it won't be the last
anyway he seems to consider that briefly and then answers:]
No, because one is full of hope and the other's out of desperation. It's the difference between wanting to make the most of the time you have, or being afraid of your time running out.
Anyway, he moves to go get his clothes and pulls his shirt over his head. ]
Not sure if it matters this late in the game. But I've already told you, you and me are different.
[ No more naked twunks, he's dressed now. ]
I really wish you'd spend your time on more worthwhile endeavors. I've been this way for a long time and I'll be this way even after this castle is done with me.
[and like keeping the world's best kept secret, jae-ha absolutely only went into the bath once zelos was preoccupied with getting dressed so there's no glimpse of dragon leggy
someone's self-conscious
that said.]
Ah - it's times like this that you sound exactly like Sandalphon.
[Normally he's happy to play along - but the trial really did exhaust him. So all he can do is give Zelos that wry answer and then move to wrap his own hair into a bun at the top of his head so it doesn't dip into the water.]
[He didn't mean to catch the altercation that went down between Zelos and 2B - but it was rather hard to miss.
It's sometime after. After dinner, after he gets some time to stretch his legs, and after he's pulled another bottle of alcohol from the kitchen that he goes to find him.]
but Jae-ha will just quietly shake his head and let Zelos take the bottle. he brought glasses with him and he sets them down, even if he's fine with them not being used
for now he'll be quiet. he's not here to pry.
even if he's not sure how much his company would help either]
I do. Some people's souls are so ugly that I'd rather see them in the dirt than walking amongst the rest of us.
[That much he'll say without question. He's seen all manner of cruelty in his life, suffered under it too. There are some people on the planet that he can't bring himself to forgive.
But - ]
I don't think that's the case with you. Even though you'd like me to, for some reason.
[ every conversation is the same; Zelos has no qualms with making excuses till the end of tme, usually.
But there is a part of him, small as it may be (small only because he stomps that part out of existence the moment it dares to speak) that fears that eventually Jae-ha will grow tired of such excuses and no longer seek him out.
He misses being afraid of things that didn’t have faces to them. ]
I ever tell you about the people I was traveling with before I got here?
[ he knows he didn’t ]
There were a few of them but the ones I was closest to— let’s see.. there was Sheena. Gorgeous, but naggy as hell and kind of an idiot sometimes. But she was always there when you needed her and always painfully honest. Then of course, my darling Colette— cute as a button and considerate to the point of just being depressing.
[ his tone is light though there’s something a little sad in his eyes. His hands wring the blanksheet of paper. ]
Lloyd, he was the biggest moron I’d ever met in my entire life. Loud, obnoxious, always running into bad situations without thinking twice just to help someone out. And he believed in all of his friends unconditionally. Oh, all of them except me of course.
[ Zelos reaches for the bottle again, sipping from it slowly like its juice and not alcohol ]
And I mean, good on him— because I stabbed them all in the back for my own gain. May or may not have gotten them killed, who knows, really!
[He knows that Zelos is trying to make him hate him.
He can't place why - the reasoning behind it, when there's already so much tension in the castle, and it makes more sense to have allies than enemies. Jae-ha's need to interact with people is sincere, the way that he wants to experience everything in the world that was outside of the cell that he knew for twelve years.
... it's a good try.
It's in Jae-ha's veins to want to help others through everything. Captain Gi-gan held a test to make sure that no one in the crew would betray someone, that they wouldn't be so weak that they'd give in. Being strong in spirit was just as important as being strong in body. Betraying people who had faith in you - he can't wrap his head around it.
So he's quiet.
And then he presses, like he can imagine Zelos wants him to press:]
Some days the reasons don't make sense to him, other days he sees it all with crystal clarity. In the end none of it really matters, because what's done is done and he is long dead (and maybe, so are the same people who he'd asked to lead him to his end) ]
Because he didn't trust me.. because I didn't really matter to him in the end.
[ He wonders if that's the sort of answer Jae-ha expects. Even now, he's not sure what his perception of Zelos really is. ]
Truth be told, it was just an easy way out— the disappointment, don't think I'd ever felt anything like that before. Every moment I was awake after that.. I felt like I was gonna' puke up every organ in my body.
... do you think he would've been disappointed if you didn't matter to him?
[Maybe he's not meant to ask questions here, but he means to, because he asks questions about things that don't make sense to him. That make him want to further pursue answers.
Because when there are things he doesn't understand... he wonders if there's something warped in the telling of the story.]
[ It's not a question he wants to answer— Jae-ha pries the wound open with his bare hands and reminds Zelos that blood still pulses beneath the surface of his skin (that he is alive, even though he's made the choice not to be).
But he knows at this juncture it's too late to run or deflect. Jae-ha has him trapped. There is a small part of him that hates him for that, and the only thing that surprises Zelos is that that part isn't bigger than it is. ]
Who knows, maybe I did matter, maybe I didn't. But at the end of the day I didn't matter to him the way he mattered to me. He didn't trust me the way I trusted him.
Jae-ha listens, and he thinks about his words. He thinks about a girl that he's chosen to follow, who he knows would give his life up for him if she had to, because she cares that much. He thinks about how he wouldn't want her to, because she has to be devoted to be something so much bigger than him.
But he thinks about that nagging feeling, under his skin, when she doesn't look at him the same way she looks at other people.
The way that he wants her to notice him.
The way he notices her.]
... I'm sorry that you had to go through that - and that you felt like you didn't have any other choice.
[ . . . ] Don't mistake what I'm saying for agreement, or that I think you did the right thing -
... but I guess the burn's a little too familiar for me to think you're evil for it.
[ It's said with a smile, and oddly enough it carries just as much mirth as it does self-pitying sadness. He picks up the empty piece of paper in his lap, waving it with feigned enthusiasm. ]
Don't even know if these owls can carry letters that far, but I've been thinking about what to say to him anyway. For a guy that never shuts up though.. well, the words just don't come no matter how hard I try. After all, what do you say after asking the only person who's ever made you feel alive to kill you?
[ because he has no intention of being awoken from his grave once again when this is over. he’d made a choice, and even if it was in an attempt to run from the consequences of his cowardice, it was still his choice. ]
Though if I’m being honest, I was dead even before that. My body just finally matched the rest of me.
On top of one of the grandfather clocks in the castle, there sits a a mask. It's a bit tall, inconvenient to reach, but Jae-ha knows that if he jumps it'd be a simple matter to retrieve it. The question is... whether or not he should.
When Zelos wanders by, Jae-ha waves his greeting followed by - ]
Do you think the castle is playing tricks on us again?
[ There is the slightest moment of hesitation when Jae-ha calls out to him. But it's gone as soon as it makes itself known. Zelos saunters over, smiling, hands in his pockets. ]
Don't think this castle has done anything but mess with us.
[Jae-ha hums pleasantly. The impact on his hand stings faintly - but that's a good feeling too. One that he hasn't gotten to enjoy as of late. So he raises a brow at Zelos.
[ he tries his best to back up that 'none of this matters' with the way he exaggerates his shrugs and keeps his tone slightly amused— but he doesn't meet Jae-ha's gaze. ]
We didn't have much experience with your partner. Killing a stranger is easy.
[ Jae-ha will find Zelos frowning, looking a little like his brain got fried. He's sitting at the desk in the owlery, blank parchment in front of him along with Sanji's big angry gay letter.
[tbh yeah jae-ha is wandering to the owlery because he has letters to write in response to his own
but he looks at zelo's expression
and then the letter
and then back
and he goes through a mental checklist because
- monika sure is dead so she wouldn't see a need to write a letter to zelos - reyna is also dead and therefore wouldn't see a reason to write to him - so that sure does leave one contestant of the Worst Taste Bachelor left]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 1, tuesday
[It's snowing.
Jae-ha notices that when he's staring out the window, and then turns when he hears footsteps. Upon seeing Zelos, he offers a smile and wave.]
Hello, beautiful. Got a minute? ♥
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Uh, depends on what you want— I guess.
[ Truthfully, he's not really sure how to act around Jae-ha after their painfully honest exchanges. ]
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Hmm? That's so much colder than you've treated me before.
[when they would HEADBUTT EACH OTHER VERBALLY
but regardless jae-ha will just bring up his arms then and toss zelos something. a fairly warm, draping something. if he holds it up, he'll find a cloak]
At least take this before you go.
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Cute.
[ He turns it around, and over, examining it every which way. ]
You make this, pretty boy?
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[no it wasn't]
I'm just helping with delivery.
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Huh, not too shabby. Send the lady my thanks.
[ a look ]
Is it really from someone else. Handsome and charming as I am, I can't imagine a stranger putting the time and effort into stitching this baby up for a stranger.
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Then you clearly haven't had a chance to meet her yet. She gave me a scarf the second day that I knew her... I guess the chilly temperature just made her generosity overflow.
I'll be sure to pass on your regards.
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[ And that's how he'll rationalize that unexpected kindness. Zelos is quiet for a moment and then— ]
Hey, all that stuff I said to you this weekend? Forget about it, alright? Like— wipe it from your mind. I was just trying to get a rise out of you, none of it was really true.
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[ If only it were that simple. ]
But to be honest with you? I only said everything that I did because I thought you were going to die, it was supposed to be a confessional sort of thing. But now you're not dead so—
[ Cue annoyed look? ]
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Jae-ha actually laughs at that, sincerely amused.]
Ah, sorry to ruin your plans.
If it makes you feel better, I intended to take it all to my grave?
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[ More frowning, he swats at Jae-ha like he's trying to shoo the information from his mind ]
— agh! Having to look at your face, and knowing that you know the things you know. It kinda' pisses me off.
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Does it? You know, we could always make it even. Just admit that you want to know more about me and it'll be done. ♥
1/2
But in this moment of accidental intimacy he's offered the other man, he can't help but fluster just a bit. ]
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Yeah, I don't know if that's really even, per say. You don't seem all that tight lipped when it comes to yourself.
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Neither do you - but we all have our demons that only come out to play when we're pushed to the edge.
If you really want something in exchange for what you let slip, I can think of a thing or two that I'd rather not let get out.
[The unspoken being that - yes, he trusts Zelos with it too.]
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Why do you care so much? I mean, let's be real— all things considered, you're a pretty popular guy around these parts. If alliances are what you're worried about you don't really have to bare your soul to me to get em'. There are plenty of people who'd probably vouch for you without all that.
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[That much is sincere but - ]
I don't really have a use or a reason to blackmail you, so it feels weird having information on you that you only felt like giving me because you thought I was going to kick the bucket.
[ . . . ]
It's tempting to call it karma, but I'll refrain.
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You basically did just now.
[ There is a very clear discomfort on his features, but it's not really about blackmail. That would be simple.
Real, genuine, emotional honesty? That's complicated. ]
Fine, tell me whatever it is you were gonna' say to level the playing field.
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It would be karma if I left you suffering alone, knowing that I know more about you than you know about me.
[ . . . but he's not the type of person to let Zelos deal with that.]
Your mother passed on, you said? Ah, I never knew mine. Or my father. The Green Dragon was seen as a burden to the entire village, and so they kept me locked up, chained to the ground. My only caretaker was the former Green Dragon - who hated my existence.
Once a new Green Dragon is born, there's no use for the old one, after all. So he was slowly dying, because of me.
It didn't exactly make for a comfortable living environment.
week 2 - saturday
pcs that are SADDER and GAYER
Jae-ha will find Zelos in the water, submerged up to his nose.
When he sees Jae-ha he will rise slightly, just so his mouth isn't muffled by water. ]
Do me a favor?
[ He offers him a hair tie that'd been wrapped around his wrist. ]
Tie my hair back.
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but jae-ha will be approaching even if he's. still wearing his boots. for fuck's sake, jae-ha.
and he snorts faintly even as he goes to sit by the water, reaching out to take the hair tie]
Just tie it back? I could braid it, if you'd like.
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Whatever your heart desires, doesn't matter to me as long as its out of my face.
[ He gives Jae-ha a withering look ]
You ever gonna take those babies off?
[ he's referring to the boots, obviously ]
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I was hoping that everyone else would rather spend their evenings in a different way after all that - it's a soak that I'd rather take by myself.
[So he doesn't mind working on Zelos's hair instead - and he will braid it, because it both buys him time and gives his hands something to do.]
Even I have some parts about myself that are ugly, you know?
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[ the feeling of someone working with his hair is nice. he shuts his eyes and leans back into Jae-ha's touch just a little. ]
.. Most people would probably forgive anything you think is ugly about yourself, anyway.
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[But Jae-ha notes it - and he doesn't bother to stop being a bit more luxurious about it. He runs his fingers through Zelos's hair just to work out some tangles, then continuing to weave the locks together.]
I've been thinking some ugly things today too. Those might be harder to forgive myself for.
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[ Jae-ha thinking ugly things, huh? It's hard to imagine.
He is both far too perceptive and far too kind. What sorts of ugly thoughts could linger in a mind like that? ]
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I don't agree with what you said about angels.
[What he'd said to Sandalphon.]
But I don't know if I can forgive Sandalphon either - not even for what he'd done, but the way he chose to do it. I don't know if I can even give him the same respect that everyone else is.
[His emotions are swirling too intensely for that.]
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[ Zelos' voice is quiet, no trace of accusation or anger. ]
Some people are just pathetic— the best they can hope for is that they weren't a complete waste of air by the time they meet their end. That's just my opinion anyway!
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I want to ask something, but I think you'd just hate me more if I did.
[Jae-ha normally doesn't show his hand - his own uncertainty.]
Mm, I wonder what I should say to that instead... Give me a moment, won't you?
[as he finishes up the braid on zelos's hair]
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[ Zelos shrugs, head feeling lighter when Jae-ha's work is done. ]
There's plenty about you that makes me uncomfortable.. but I don't hate you. If you have something to say you should say it— it's not like any of this can get any worse.
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[Apparently he doesn't care to hide what he notices anymore. Maybe he's just tired today.
But he'll just huff faintly.]
... I wanted to ask -
That opinion of yours. That people want to hope they accomplished something, anything at all, before they leave the land of the living.... Would you say that's true for you?
['Do you think you're pathetic?']
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Sure it is, hoped to accomplish many a task— just like anyone else!
[ He tilts his head ]
Asking things like that so late in the game? What's up with you?
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You didn't mean it like that when you said it - or at least, it didn't sound like it. There's a difference between wanting to accomplish many things in your life, and hoping that you didn't just waste time throughout it.
... and I don't think Sandalphon had much hope at all, which might be what set him apart compared to everyone else in the first place.
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[ I hate what I'm about to type but Zelos is gonna stand up thanks.
This is a bathhouse what's it to him if someone sees him nude?
Anyway, he reaches for a towel and pulls himself out of the water. ]
Wanting to accomplish your goals.. hoping you didn't waste your time— isn't it all the same? Let's not get hung up over details.
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anyway he seems to consider that briefly and then answers:]
No, because one is full of hope and the other's out of desperation. It's the difference between wanting to make the most of the time you have, or being afraid of your time running out.
I don't think that's a detail.
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Anyway, he moves to go get his clothes and pulls his shirt over his head. ]
Not sure if it matters this late in the game. But I've already told you, you and me are different.
[ No more naked twunks, he's dressed now. ]
I really wish you'd spend your time on more worthwhile endeavors. I've been this way for a long time and I'll be this way even after this castle is done with me.
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someone's self-conscious
that said.]
Ah - it's times like this that you sound exactly like Sandalphon.
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[ He stands at the edge of the water, peering down at Jae-ha. Ah, yes— time to deflect. ]
I'm way more fun than that guy, and you know it!
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Do I?
[Normally he's happy to play along - but the trial really did exhaust him. So all he can do is give Zelos that wry answer and then move to wrap his own hair into a bun at the top of his head so it doesn't dip into the water.]
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When have I not given you a good time, huh? Oh, here, lemme—
[ Before Jae-ha can quite finish Zelos pulls at Jae-ha's hands and finishes up tying his hair for him. ]
week 3, friday
It's sometime after. After dinner, after he gets some time to stretch his legs, and after he's pulled another bottle of alcohol from the kitchen that he goes to find him.]
... shall we have a drink?
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He says nothing, just wordlessly reaches for the bottle in Jae-ha's hand ]
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zelos you could at least wipe your face
but Jae-ha will just quietly shake his head and let Zelos take the bottle. he brought glasses with him and he sets them down, even if he's fine with them not being used
for now he'll be quiet. he's not here to pry.
even if he's not sure how much his company would help either]
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If you're here to yell at me, save it. She started it.
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Jae-ha just raises a brow.]
Do I look like someone who thinks stoking the fire of grief is a good idea?
[he wasn't involved in their fight for a reason]
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[ He heaves a sigh, belatedly dabbing the area under his nose to check for blood. ]
New place, same bullshit. People are people no matter where you go— just as self-involved, just as shitty.
[ a beat and a lazy smile]
Myself included, naturally.
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[ . . . . ]
You know, I still don't find you that bad.
Still alive, weeks later, and I still haven't quite seen what you're talking about.
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[ He points a thumb at the state of his face. ]
Level with me here, how long are we gonna do this song and dance for? I know you know a lost cause when you see one.
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[That much he'll say without question. He's seen all manner of cruelty in his life, suffered under it too. There are some people on the planet that he can't bring himself to forgive.
But - ]
I don't think that's the case with you. Even though you'd like me to, for some reason.
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But there is a part of him, small as it may be (small only because he stomps that part out of existence the moment it dares to speak) that fears that eventually Jae-ha will grow tired of such excuses and no longer seek him out.
He misses being afraid of things that didn’t have faces to them. ]
I ever tell you about the people I was traveling with before I got here?
[ he knows he didn’t ]
There were a few of them but the ones I was closest to— let’s see.. there was Sheena. Gorgeous, but naggy as hell and kind of an idiot sometimes. But she was always there when you needed her and always painfully honest. Then of course, my darling Colette— cute as a button and considerate to the point of just being depressing.
[ his tone is light though there’s something a little sad in his eyes. His hands wring the blanksheet of paper. ]
Lloyd, he was the biggest moron I’d ever met in my entire life. Loud, obnoxious, always running into bad situations without thinking twice just to help someone out. And he believed in all of his friends unconditionally. Oh, all of them except me of course.
[ Zelos reaches for the bottle again, sipping from it slowly like its juice and not alcohol ]
And I mean, good on him— because I stabbed them all in the back for my own gain. May or may not have gotten them killed, who knows, really!
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He can't place why - the reasoning behind it, when there's already so much tension in the castle, and it makes more sense to have allies than enemies. Jae-ha's need to interact with people is sincere, the way that he wants to experience everything in the world that was outside of the cell that he knew for twelve years.
... it's a good try.
It's in Jae-ha's veins to want to help others through everything. Captain Gi-gan held a test to make sure that no one in the crew would betray someone, that they wouldn't be so weak that they'd give in. Being strong in spirit was just as important as being strong in body. Betraying people who had faith in you - he can't wrap his head around it.
So he's quiet.
And then he presses, like he can imagine Zelos wants him to press:]
... why did you do it?
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Some days the reasons don't make sense to him, other days he sees it all with crystal clarity. In the end none of it really matters, because what's done is done and he is long dead (and maybe, so are the same people who he'd asked to lead him to his end) ]
Because he didn't trust me.. because I didn't really matter to him in the end.
[ He wonders if that's the sort of answer Jae-ha expects. Even now, he's not sure what his perception of Zelos really is. ]
Truth be told, it was just an easy way out— the disappointment, don't think I'd ever felt anything like that before. Every moment I was awake after that.. I felt like I was gonna' puke up every organ in my body.
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[Maybe he's not meant to ask questions here, but he means to, because he asks questions about things that don't make sense to him. That make him want to further pursue answers.
Because when there are things he doesn't understand... he wonders if there's something warped in the telling of the story.]
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But he knows at this juncture it's too late to run or deflect. Jae-ha has him trapped. There is a small part of him that hates him for that, and the only thing that surprises Zelos is that that part isn't bigger than it is. ]
Who knows, maybe I did matter, maybe I didn't. But at the end of the day I didn't matter to him the way he mattered to me. He didn't trust me the way I trusted him.
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Jae-ha listens, and he thinks about his words. He thinks about a girl that he's chosen to follow, who he knows would give his life up for him if she had to, because she cares that much. He thinks about how he wouldn't want her to, because she has to be devoted to be something so much bigger than him.
But he thinks about that nagging feeling, under his skin, when she doesn't look at him the same way she looks at other people.
The way that he wants her to notice him.
The way he notices her.]
... I'm sorry that you had to go through that - and that you felt like you didn't have any other choice.
[ . . . ] Don't mistake what I'm saying for agreement, or that I think you did the right thing -
... but I guess the burn's a little too familiar for me to think you're evil for it.
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[ It's said with a smile, and oddly enough it carries just as much mirth as it does self-pitying sadness. He picks up the empty piece of paper in his lap, waving it with feigned enthusiasm. ]
Don't even know if these owls can carry letters that far, but I've been thinking about what to say to him anyway. For a guy that never shuts up though.. well, the words just don't come no matter how hard I try. After all, what do you say after asking the only person who's ever made you feel alive to kill you?
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Jae-ha's response takes a long second, expression unreadable aside from the slight raise of his brows.]
Is that the end of that story?
[He wonders if he should be surprised.]
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[ because he has no intention of being awoken from his grave once again when this is over. he’d made a choice, and even if it was in an attempt to run from the consequences of his cowardice, it was still his choice. ]
Though if I’m being honest, I was dead even before that. My body just finally matched the rest of me.
week 5, wednesday
On top of one of the grandfather clocks in the castle, there sits a a mask. It's a bit tall, inconvenient to reach, but Jae-ha knows that if he jumps it'd be a simple matter to retrieve it. The question is... whether or not he should.
When Zelos wanders by, Jae-ha waves his greeting followed by - ]
Do you think the castle is playing tricks on us again?
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Don't think this castle has done anything but mess with us.
[ He nods toward the mask ]
Something special?
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Something that belongs to a friend. But if you can see it that means it's not an illusion....
I'm going to get it - call Sanji or something if unfortunate circumstances befall me suddenly?
week 6, sunday
Where, exactly?]
Think quick!
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He swallows down the taste of iron, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, before wiping any residual red onto his shirt. ]
Nice to see you too.
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Lightly:]
I think the circumstances could be better.
We could both be alive, for one.
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Zelos, casually (like he didn't just get decked) ]
Things could always be better.
[ he's tired of tasting blood, but there's no helping it.
maybe one day, it won't taste like anything— as natural a presence in his mouth as saliva. ]
Wasn't my choice, what happened to you— but none of that really matters.
[ a shrug ]
I would have picked someone easier to take down.
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[If we're getting into the business part - he sets his hand on his hip and sighs.]
If you wanted to take the two of us out you probably didn't think you'd win if you went for us both at the same time?
Or is there another reason for my special treatment?
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[ he tries his best to back up that 'none of this matters' with the way he exaggerates his shrugs and keeps his tone slightly amused— but he doesn't meet Jae-ha's gaze. ]
We didn't have much experience with your partner. Killing a stranger is easy.
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[look he's just marginally offended at the idea of sousei being an easy kill, even if he also knows that's not how zelos meant!!]
Why - you thought I'd be able to talk you out of it?
week 7, thursday
Care to take a gander, Jae-ha? ]
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but he looks at zelo's expression
and then the letter
and then back
and he goes through a mental checklist because
- monika sure is dead so she wouldn't see a need to write a letter to zelos
- reyna is also dead and therefore wouldn't see a reason to write to him
- so that sure does leave one contestant of the Worst Taste Bachelor left]
Chef writing you sweet little nothings?
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Sweet? Don't know if that's what I'd call it.
[ he's not stupid enough to be embarrassed over something like this, mostly he just looks a little troubled. ]
He had me pretty convinced when he said he wasn't into guys.
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He really confessed?
[though he doesn't sound even remotely surprised about sanji's actual feelings at all]