rupert

[unrecked]

Comments

[unrecked]

[His lips thin. Hooray that Rupert is alive, but at what cost, right? If he feels guilty about the world saver teasing, he doesn’t show it.]

I’ve got plenty of time to kill.

[Tell him.]

[agleam]

[he glances back towards him, a little surprised, before he sets porridge down and takes a seat on the bed himself. while he speaks, he glances towards the ground, expression tight. brief ripples of darkness pool over him every so often.]

...There was a monster. Well, is, not was, and I don't even know if monster is the right word, it's like - a force. It's not something you can really fight against in the traditional sense or even something you can touch, just... something you can hear and feel. The person who brought it to us said it's called the Despair.

[unrecked]

[Slowly, his arms cross over his chest. The tail slows its sway, but it's there. His focus remains on Rupert without wavering.]

What does it do? The Despair.

[agleam]

[he takes a little breath, shifting so porridge can climb onto his laps and receive pets.]

It makes people give up. [...] Brave, strong people, people I've known for years, since I was a kid - they'd just lay down and let it take hold. I don't know if it's magic or some other kind of power that it has, but they just... disappear. They fade away into nothing.

[unrecked]

[Well, the name fits. Shockingly, Jason does not joke about this. In fact, he looks rather serious and somber. His eyes glance away, idly looking into the middle distance over the room.

He hesitates almost, then slowly looks back at Rupert.]

...My mom. What she was sick with... it was that. [...] Not your Despair. It was depression. She medicated with drugs. I would say people don't actually disappear back home, but... if it's bad enough...

They usually do, in another way. So I get it... kind of.

[agleam]

[he keeps his eyes towards the floor as porridge nudges at his hand, but he glances back up at jason says that. it feels important to not stare at the ground during that kind of confession. he takes a breath as he hears the entire story, and while it's different enough from his own experience that he can't entirely connect to it, he does nod, concerned and sympathetic. his voice is sincere when he speaks next.]

...I'm sorry. It's not something anyone should have to see.

[unrecked]

[For once, he doesn't tell Rupert not to apologize. It's a lost cause mostly, but also he gets it.]

It isn't. You included.

[Natural, human depression and Rupert's Despair might not be exactly the same thing, but... they're similar, it sounds, in the essence.]

You feel helpless, watching it happen. Weak because you can't do anything to stop it.

[agleam]

[after another long moment:]

I don't think you're weak. And I definitely don't think you did anything wrong. What happened to her... It isn't on you. It doesn't sound like it's anybody's fault.

[unrecked]

Well, I was a kid. So I was weak, that much is true no matter what you say. Most kids are. There wasn't anything I can do. She made her own choices, but... I still did things that didn't help. Since I didn't have any other choice.

[He peers at Rupert.]

But the same can't be said for you. Right, World Saver?

[This time, the teasing isn't so mean.]

[agleam]

Okay, but you can't blame yourself for being a kid...

[he just kind of flops back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. there's anger in his tone when he continues, but it's not directed at jason.]

I know exactly whose fault this is. That thing didn't always exist, and it came to us because someone brought it. [...] But no matter whose fault it is, I still have to figure out a way to stop it before it can take anyone else. It was too fast, before, but... I have more time here to think of something that'll work.

[hopefully.]

[unrecked]

[He returns to listening, still standing mostly because he doesn’t know how to act with his own body when it has… grown horns and scales and a tail.]

You could make a deal with one of the staff. But you’d have to kill to get help like that probably.

[Which he assumes Rupert would not enjoy.]

If you know who did it, then you at least have a lead.

[agleam]

[he pauses, surprised, and then shoves himself up so he can look at jason. little flashing red lights show up on him.]

I'm not going to kill anyone. That's not even an option.

[unrecked]

[Rupert is being serious, but the reaction brings a lopsided smirk to Jason's face.]

Dunno. You can say that, but ol' Nightman doesn't seem to give two damns whether you say yes or no.

[agleam]

[with a frown:]

Sure, but if the shadow thing happened, that wouldn't be me.

[unrecked]

Wouldn't it? Sure, it jumps inside you, and I'm not agreeing that isn't fucked up, or that control is completely gone. But it sounds like it tailors itself to you. With Sieghart, it used what was already there.

[He shrugs one shoulder.]

With Clementine, it told her it'd help AJ. Now tell me, if Mr. Shadow came to visit you and said it'd get rid of the Despair, would you not take it? Knowing your hostage also comes out free? It's a lot to think about.

[agleam]

I wouldn't, but it wouldn't matter. Sieghart said no and it still did whatever it wanted.

[he sighs.]

And in the end, it made him do things he wouldn't have done ordinarily.

[unrecked]

Clementine said no, too. Which is partially my point.

[His tail swishes a bit more sharply behind him.]

It made him more likely to kill when he probably wouldn't, yeah. But it was still something he was capable of doing. We could stand here all day and argue semantics. But let's just agree none of us have control over whether or not we would or wouldn't kill in this place.

[agleam]

I'm not arguing that we don't have control. We don't. What I'm saying is that the fact we don't have control when it happens means that it wasn't us doing it.

[to him, that's an important distinction.]

[unrecked]

[He is quiet for a long moment, but doesn't look away from Rupert.]

Taking the blame off people isn't going to help you when it comes time to vote for them, you know.

[agleam]

...I know it doesn't change what's going to happen to them, or what happened to the person they killed. But if I were in their shoes - I think I'd at least feel less guilty knowing it wasn't a choice I had made. I hope that's the case for them, too.

[unrecked]

You're picking the best petals trying to pretend you're not destroying the flower, Rupert. I could probably argue this with you all day, but it won't change either of our minds.

I'm just not going to say it wasn't my fault when I did with with my own hands whether or not it was my choice.

[He tilts his head.]

Who'd they take from you?

[agleam]

I'm not destroying anything. The only person doing that is the person who forced us into this situation.

[he sparks a little bit as he says that, something like static electricity moving over his skin in quick waves, before he takes a breath.]

The monster I was talking about, you mean?

[unrecked]

[The irritation doesn't startle or bother him. He keeps looking at Rupert.]

No. I already can tell that monster took almost everything from you probably. This monster. This hotel. The Nightman. Who'd they take?

[agleam]

[ah. he pauses for a moment, static growing more intense before it fades down to a concentrated buzz dancing across him. his expression grows tighter.]

My fiance.

[unrecked]

[Hm. Bad. Not that he didn't thin it wasn't bad. His lips thin.]

Were they alive?