He only gets to peep into the house for a few seconds before Cloud is pulling him toward the door. He goes along since he's nosy! Show him the house!
And, yes, inside he is just as nosy. He doesn't dig through anything, but he moseys around to look. He thinks it's very cute, so it's unfortunately Cloud is syncing with him, feeling his thoughts. He's endeared by this simple life and simple house, actually? Maybe there's a bit of longing too. He would have taken a boring life in the middle of the country mountains over what he had.
But he doesn't begrudge Cloud for wanting more.] Ponytail's real cute, stud. [Hehe. He is inspecting the photo of Cloud and Mom. They look alike which makes him think about how he also looked like his own mom. A bit of conflicted, almost sad feelings come through very briefly.]
[ cloud is indeed syncing with jason. it doesn't make him any better at addressing the feelings when they're clearer, but it means he walks over and nudges his arm with his own gently.
he's got his own sad, conflicted feelings looking at the picture of his mom, but he's not acknowledging them. it's just a loop of sad boys thinking about their dead moms except one was a much worse mother, and we both know which one, ]
I was trying for cool back then. [ he manages to say it in the kind of wry tone you always reserve for your middle school self. ] I'm not letting you peek into my mom's bedroom, though, so... this is pretty much it. Wasn't that much, but it wasn't bad, either.
[ his home life was never the issue is what he is trying to say. ]
[He nudges his arm back for the first nudge. They are always doing this. He puts the picture down and glances at Cloud, somewhat smiling. Then he looks all around the house with his eyes again.
He'd make a joke about whether Cloud is shielding him from seeing where he got being comfortable in the panties from, but the moment is too nice to ruin with shitty humor. So he doesn't.]
[ he can admit it. look. he was fourteen and uncool! now he is a soldier! (shakes head slowly)
also, if jason made that kind of joke about cloud's dead mom, he would have to break up with him. just. absolutely. instead he is sappy and cloud's filled with something bittersweet yet fond while staring down at the ground. ]
... C'mon. Only got like two things left to show before I can finally learn what you wanted to tell me in Nibelheim of all places.
[ takes jason's hand this time. shut up. don't look at him. ]
[ he's going, he's going, even if he's peering at jason curiously. it's not a surprise because they're in sync, but there's definitely still the undercurrent of why in there ]
... You could've just asked without an excuse.
[ he doesn't think it's a big deal to ask or show. jason's seen a lot more personal memories than this without his consent! and vice-versa. this seems benign comparatively. and not as triggering.
but he'll keep showing up, walking a little further into town until they reach a mansion off behind everything. ]
Shinra Manor. There's always been all kinds of rumors about it, but it's off-limits to anyone not Shinra personnel. This is where...
[ there's just the stray thought finisher of "where he found out" that jason will get, because cloud's looking at it a little vacantly. he's in sync with him! so jason can probably feel the conflicted confusion like there's something he's forgetting and also the gut feeling of not going in there. it's all fine. ]
... Can show you inside if you want. Only time I went in there was when I was sixteen, as a SOLDIER.
[He does not double back and point out he did ask without an excuse technically because what he has to say and this are separate things. But he doesn't want Cloud to think he's soft!! Shut up!
He didn't want to force Cloud to do it. He gets maybe sometimes things are too hard to relive.
Cloud leads, and he follows out and over toward the mansion. Ah yes. The spooky ghost mansion. It looks... exactly like the kind of mansion that'd have spooky ghost stories for kids, yeah. He frowns gently at it, listening to Cloud talk. He glances at Cloud briefly. It's the sync that helps him. He looks at the mansion, then shakes his head.]
Nah. It's fine. Gives me the heebie-jeebies. [Being in Nibelheim is enough for Cloud right now.] Show me your other thing. Why'd you have to go in?
Edited (wait i forgot my question) 2022-07-20 21:22 (UTC)
... Mission related. Sort of. We were sent back here to check out some issues with the reactor. [ he points up the mountain, a bit ] There were monsters showing up in there. It was because of a broken purification tank. But we found... other things there. Experiments.
[ he's going to keep walking back to the middle of town in silence for a bit, trying to figure out how to word it ]
... One of the doors there read Jenova. Sephiroth had been told that was his mother's name. Shinra scientists used to stay in the mansion, so Sephiroth went and looked for answers in there. He spent days in there, researching. What he found out... that's what made him snap.
[ he says it in a weird detached manner. it's fine. he's coping. SO ANYWAY THAT'S A FUN STORY FOR FRIENDS wow here they are at the water tower ]
[Oh. Bad. Cloud has eluded to maybe a very small teaspoon full of this, but still. Very bad.
He frowns, occasionally glancing at Cloud to give his attention, but letting Cloud talk without interruption. He can… make the connections, especially when scientists and weird not nuclear life planet reactors are involved.]
Sounds like Shinra was dipping its fingers into more than just fossil fuel.
[He motions toward the water tower, letting Cloud go first. Maybe he wants to look at Cloud’s ass? (no) It’s just Cloud is leading.]
The Sephiroth I knew from the island was definitely before the snap, I’m sure. He was my age. He was a fairly reasonable guy. Smart. Level-headed. Tried to help us. I had a few decent conversations with him surprisingly. What he found must have really messed him up bad. […] Sorry.
[About the aftermath. About Nibelheim. About one very bad, traumatic incident turning a good person into a very bad one. Just like what happens in Gotham.]
Shinra's always loved human experimentation. We found an entire secret lab deep underground in Midgar. Wasn't pretty.
[ anyway :) cloud is just going to start climbing. enjoy his ass which is absolutely not why he did that ]
... I know he used to be normal. We were friends, too. [ he doesn't expand on what sephiroth found, because he's still not sure he gets it entirely, and also because he is tired of sephiroth being in this pc. and it's partially why they went up here; once cloud gets up he checks to make sure jason made it up alright and then he points at the sky.
[He makes it up fine! And having seen a great ass. Well, he thinks it is a great ass because it’s one he likes.
At the top, he shifts and turns around to put his back to the basin, lifts his head. It’s better than the planetarium because it’s… real. As real as a fake painting in a shitty hotel can be. It’s nothing like the sky in the city.
He stands here, mesmerized by the peppering of stars and the outline of the milky way. It’s so detailed.]
I didn’t even know you could see things like this with your own eyes.
[ it's lightly teasing from where he went to sit down near jason, legs dangling as he looks up himself, glancing at jason out of the corner of his eye to look at his reaction. he sounds and feels fond both. it's terrible and gross. ]
Midgar's as polluted as it gets, but... even in other places in the country where I'd end up going as SOLDIER. Nothing felt quite like seeing the sky from here.
[ there's a shooting star! make a wish jason. mine is to know what the fuck he wanted to tell cloud, but cloud isn't asking yet ]
[He snorts, then realizes Cloud isn’t level with him anymore. He glances down. Oh.
He was too into the sky, fuck.
Lowering himself down beside Cloud, he spills his legs over the edge. Can’t help but to look up at the sky again. Unfortunate that they are linked since Cloud will just get all the wash of fond amazement and curiosity about the sky.]
You’ve got a real diamond hidden in the rough out here. And you wanted to leave to be one of the big guys.
[ he likes the fond amazement. it's why he doesn't point out that if he hadn't left he'd be dead like everyone else here! it's fine. instead he looks at Jason looking at the stars and feels fond, which is worse. a loop. ]
Yeah, well, not like I was ever gonna cut it as an inn runner. [ it's teasing. ] Can't afford to be rude go one of eight customers out here in the mountains.
[Shut up. He doesn't want to hear that. Cloud would have made it out because he has protagonist armor.
Their fond and endeared feedback loop... This is the gayest thing.] You might've. [It's half-hearted, like he's playing into the joke.] I don't know, so many people with us seem to like you being rude to them.
[The 2(0). He's just saying. He glances at Cloud, then looks away.]
[For a moment, he smirks faintly about the ribbing, but it dissipates afterward. He doesn't look back at Cloud, but his head isn't turned very far away. Cloud can see his eyes shift around the town, then up at the sky.
There is a roll of hesitation in him. It's not from distrust. Cloud can tell that Jason trusts him. It feels more like... uncertainty.]
You know... the people who keep getting put into graves.
[There isn't any point in beating around the bush really. Slowly, he glances sidelong at Cloud.]
[ there's an echoed uncertainty as cloud takes that in, looking at jason in confusion. but he's been an npc! and he's been an npc in a game with roles. so after mulling that over there's a kind of sense of understanding and curiosity ]
... Like a-- job thing? What's the point?
[ why? and actually. wait, more importantly; ]
You buried yourself?
[ never mind he's annoyed he's going to shove jason off this water tower ]
He makes a bit of a face when he's basically scolded in exasperation.] Look. [But it's said in that "THERE'S A REASON!" way.]
I buried myself so no one would start getting suspicious of me. Because I kept ending up in the same places with the people I decided to bury, and I'm quickly becoming one of the last few dudes who're strong enough to do it. I didn't want to waste a chance, but... I had to cover my bases. I didn't know that week would... be that way.
[Yes, he buried his own damn self the worst week imaginable.]
...I don't know the reason. [Frustration bleeds over into Cloud. There's a match start of anger behind it.] Not really. I don't know what happens if I put someone in there who's killing or who ends up dead. It doesn't stop it from happening, but... I don't know if it does anything else because I keep missing.
... Were people actually speculating on who was doing it enough to get to you?
[ he sounds dubious because he doesn't think it truly came up with others. but despite the judgment he's frowning because of the synced frustration, bleeding his own confusion into it. ]
So you've just... been told you've got to bury people every week? [ henwo. ] You went down on how many you did, too. How come?
[Mostly a thrown out "must be a big guy to be doing the ol' burial routine," but it's fine. He waves a hand dismissively about that.]
I don't pick the others. I just get to pick one. Sometimes the others aren't needed. It's... maintenance. That's what the contract calls it. [His brows furrow.] You can't tell anyone either. You can't tell anyone else, or I'm breaking an amendment to my contract, and I'll be toast.
[He sighs.]
I almost buried Dimitri last week, but I changed my mind. Then I picked the wrong Station. [The frustration is there, churning and bubbling. Disappointment.] I should have gone with my first choice.
[ he's calm. sharing this information never even crossed his mind even without that. he can feel jason's frustration and probably could even without being in sync, so after a moment of hesitation he puts a hand on his knee ]
You're picking one person out of twenty something. Odds aren't exactly in your favor. [ he'll give him that much, though he'd feel the same way in his position. and then there confusion is back; ] The wrong "station"?
[Even he's a bit surprised by how easy it is to chill when he has Cloud's hand to focus on instead of the frustration gnawing him to death from the inside.]
Yeah, like... Molly. Lup, Yuri, Harrow, Sheila. The people from the station. I was trying to get someone who I thought the shadows would enjoy toying with for the rest of us. Maximum entertainment. I picked Harrow, but--clearly it was Molly.
...Might have been a close guess, but that doesn't mean you're not still guessing. Shadows don't exactly have logic. [ he squeezes Jason's leg a bit ] Can't blame yourself for that.
It still feels like... nngg, I don't know. I should be more productive.
[This is the Bruce talking.
He makes a face to rival the frustration in him, then drops himself back onto the planks of the platform around the basin. He puts a hand over his eyes.]
I don't even know if it matters. Doing it might not even accomplish jack shit.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He only gets to peep into the house for a few seconds before Cloud is pulling him toward the door. He goes along since he's nosy! Show him the house!
And, yes, inside he is just as nosy. He doesn't dig through anything, but he moseys around to look. He thinks it's very cute, so it's unfortunately Cloud is syncing with him, feeling his thoughts. He's endeared by this simple life and simple house, actually? Maybe there's a bit of longing too. He would have taken a boring life in the middle of the country mountains over what he had.
But he doesn't begrudge Cloud for wanting more.] Ponytail's real cute, stud. [Hehe. He is inspecting the photo of Cloud and Mom. They look alike which makes him think about how he also looked like his own mom. A bit of conflicted, almost sad feelings come through very briefly.]
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he's got his own sad, conflicted feelings looking at the picture of his mom, but he's not acknowledging them. it's just a loop of sad boys thinking about their dead moms except one was a much worse mother, and we both know which one, ]
I was trying for cool back then. [ he manages to say it in the kind of wry tone you always reserve for your middle school self. ] I'm not letting you peek into my mom's bedroom, though, so... this is pretty much it. Wasn't that much, but it wasn't bad, either.
[ his home life was never the issue is what he is trying to say. ]
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[He nudges his arm back for the first nudge. They are always doing this. He puts the picture down and glances at Cloud, somewhat smiling. Then he looks all around the house with his eyes again.
He'd make a joke about whether Cloud is shielding him from seeing where he got being comfortable in the panties from, but the moment is too nice to ruin with shitty humor. So he doesn't.]
I like it. It feels like a home. Safe.
[Instead, he decides to be sappy.]
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[ he can admit it. look. he was fourteen and uncool! now he is a soldier! (shakes head slowly)
also, if jason made that kind of joke about cloud's dead mom, he would have to break up with him. just. absolutely. instead he is sappy and cloud's filled with something bittersweet yet fond while staring down at the ground. ]
... C'mon. Only got like two things left to show before I can finally learn what you wanted to tell me in Nibelheim of all places.
[ takes jason's hand this time. shut up. don't look at him. ]
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He threads his hand together with Cloud's, not minding, not pointing anything out. The shared jaeger suit of thoughts is enough probably, though.]
I could have told you anywhere, but I wanted an excuse to get you to show me where you grew up.
[Tugs on the hand. Show him, show him.]
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... You could've just asked without an excuse.
[ he doesn't think it's a big deal to ask or show. jason's seen a lot more personal memories than this without his consent! and vice-versa. this seems benign comparatively. and not as triggering.
but he'll keep showing up, walking a little further into town until they reach a mansion off behind everything. ]
Shinra Manor. There's always been all kinds of rumors about it, but it's off-limits to anyone not Shinra personnel. This is where...
[ there's just the stray thought finisher of "where he found out" that jason will get, because cloud's looking at it a little vacantly. he's in sync with him! so jason can probably feel the conflicted confusion like there's something he's forgetting and also the gut feeling of not going in there. it's all fine. ]
... Can show you inside if you want. Only time I went in there was when I was sixteen, as a SOLDIER.
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He didn't want to force Cloud to do it. He gets maybe sometimes things are too hard to relive.
Cloud leads, and he follows out and over toward the mansion. Ah yes. The spooky ghost mansion. It looks... exactly like the kind of mansion that'd have spooky ghost stories for kids, yeah. He frowns gently at it, listening to Cloud talk. He glances at Cloud briefly. It's the sync that helps him. He looks at the mansion, then shakes his head.]
Nah. It's fine. Gives me the heebie-jeebies. [Being in Nibelheim is enough for Cloud right now.] Show me your other thing. Why'd you have to go in?
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[ he's going to keep walking back to the middle of town in silence for a bit, trying to figure out how to word it ]
... One of the doors there read Jenova. Sephiroth had been told that was his mother's name. Shinra scientists used to stay in the mansion, so Sephiroth went and looked for answers in there. He spent days in there, researching. What he found out... that's what made him snap.
[ he says it in a weird detached manner. it's fine. he's coping. SO ANYWAY THAT'S A FUN STORY FOR FRIENDS wow here they are at the water tower ]
C'mon. Let's climb up.
[ and not talk about more human experiments. ]
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He frowns, occasionally glancing at Cloud to give his attention, but letting Cloud talk without interruption. He can… make the connections, especially when scientists and weird not nuclear life planet reactors are involved.]
Sounds like Shinra was dipping its fingers into more than just fossil fuel.
[He motions toward the water tower, letting Cloud go first. Maybe he wants to look at Cloud’s ass? (no) It’s just Cloud is leading.]
The Sephiroth I knew from the island was definitely before the snap, I’m sure. He was my age. He was a fairly reasonable guy. Smart. Level-headed. Tried to help us. I had a few decent conversations with him surprisingly. What he found must have really messed him up bad. […] Sorry.
[About the aftermath. About Nibelheim. About one very bad, traumatic incident turning a good person into a very bad one. Just like what happens in Gotham.]
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[ anyway :) cloud is just going to start climbing. enjoy his ass which is absolutely not why he did that ]
... I know he used to be normal. We were friends, too. [ he doesn't expand on what sephiroth found, because he's still not sure he gets it entirely, and also because he is tired of sephiroth being in this pc. and it's partially why they went up here; once cloud gets up he checks to make sure jason made it up alright and then he points at the sky.
it's very pretty. ]
Here. That's what I wanted you to see the most.
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At the top, he shifts and turns around to put his back to the basin, lifts his head. It’s better than the planetarium because it’s… real. As real as a fake painting in a shitty hotel can be. It’s nothing like the sky in the city.
He stands here, mesmerized by the peppering of stars and the outline of the milky way. It’s so detailed.]
I didn’t even know you could see things like this with your own eyes.
[He did, but the sentiment is it’s amazing.]
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[ it's lightly teasing from where he went to sit down near jason, legs dangling as he looks up himself, glancing at jason out of the corner of his eye to look at his reaction. he sounds and feels fond both. it's terrible and gross. ]
Midgar's as polluted as it gets, but... even in other places in the country where I'd end up going as SOLDIER. Nothing felt quite like seeing the sky from here.
[ there's a shooting star! make a wish jason. mine is to know what the fuck he wanted to tell cloud, but cloud isn't asking yet ]
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He was too into the sky, fuck.
Lowering himself down beside Cloud, he spills his legs over the edge. Can’t help but to look up at the sky again. Unfortunate that they are linked since Cloud will just get all the wash of fond amazement and curiosity about the sky.]
You’ve got a real diamond hidden in the rough out here. And you wanted to leave to be one of the big guys.
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Yeah, well, not like I was ever gonna cut it as an inn runner. [ it's teasing. ] Can't afford to be rude go one of eight customers out here in the mountains.
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Their fond and endeared feedback loop... This is the gayest thing.] You might've. [It's half-hearted, like he's playing into the joke.] I don't know, so many people with us seem to like you being rude to them.
[The 2(0). He's just saying. He glances at Cloud, then looks away.]
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[ he says it like jason is not rude to him. it's fine. he looks at jason after jason has glanced away ]
So what did you want to tell me, anyway?
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There is a roll of hesitation in him. It's not from distrust. Cloud can tell that Jason trusts him. It feels more like... uncertainty.]
You know... the people who keep getting put into graves.
[There isn't any point in beating around the bush really. Slowly, he glances sidelong at Cloud.]
It's me.
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... Like a-- job thing? What's the point?
[ why? and actually. wait, more importantly; ]
You buried yourself?
[ never mind he's annoyed he's going to shove jason off this water tower ]
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He makes a bit of a face when he's basically scolded in exasperation.] Look. [But it's said in that "THERE'S A REASON!" way.]
I buried myself so no one would start getting suspicious of me. Because I kept ending up in the same places with the people I decided to bury, and I'm quickly becoming one of the last few dudes who're strong enough to do it. I didn't want to waste a chance, but... I had to cover my bases. I didn't know that week would... be that way.
[Yes, he buried his own damn self the worst week imaginable.]
...I don't know the reason. [Frustration bleeds over into Cloud. There's a match start of anger behind it.] Not really. I don't know what happens if I put someone in there who's killing or who ends up dead. It doesn't stop it from happening, but... I don't know if it does anything else because I keep missing.
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[ he sounds dubious because he doesn't think it truly came up with others. but despite the judgment he's frowning because of the synced frustration, bleeding his own confusion into it. ]
So you've just... been told you've got to bury people every week? [ henwo. ] You went down on how many you did, too. How come?
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[Mostly a thrown out "must be a big guy to be doing the ol' burial routine," but it's fine. He waves a hand dismissively about that.]
I don't pick the others. I just get to pick one. Sometimes the others aren't needed. It's... maintenance. That's what the contract calls it. [His brows furrow.] You can't tell anyone either. You can't tell anyone else, or I'm breaking an amendment to my contract, and I'll be toast.
[He sighs.]
I almost buried Dimitri last week, but I changed my mind. Then I picked the wrong Station. [The frustration is there, churning and bubbling. Disappointment.] I should have gone with my first choice.
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[ he's calm. sharing this information never even crossed his mind even without that. he can feel jason's frustration and probably could even without being in sync, so after a moment of hesitation he puts a hand on his knee ]
You're picking one person out of twenty something. Odds aren't exactly in your favor. [ he'll give him that much, though he'd feel the same way in his position. and then there confusion is back; ] The wrong "station"?
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Yeah, like... Molly. Lup, Yuri, Harrow, Sheila. The people from the station. I was trying to get someone who I thought the shadows would enjoy toying with for the rest of us. Maximum entertainment. I picked Harrow, but--clearly it was Molly.
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[This is the Bruce talking.
He makes a face to rival the frustration in him, then drops himself back onto the planks of the platform around the basin. He puts a hand over his eyes.]
I don't even know if it matters. Doing it might not even accomplish jack shit.
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