imeeji_frontstage | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: kisses and the attached lips
Where: Game Tower => home
When: Day 73, night

[ You're summoned to the Game Tower - or maybe you're not, maybe you're too far away to get there. In any case, there's not really much at the Game Tower for you to see - winners are highlighted on the television screens in the lobby, the elevators once more locked. There are a number of radio announcers' voices as the results go by and none of them are recognizable or even very easy to focus on with how dull they sound. You can catch some of this:

" -- Heart Soldier Senshi -- not surprising that they got the most kisses, but who would have expected ☆ZRAEL!?"

"I know, right!? They really did a 180 since the last game!!"

"It's crazy! Now, here are some fan favorites -- "

" -- You voted, listeners, and your voice was heard! Who did you think deserved to win!?"

"First pick! Drumrooooooooooll -- "

"CEO ☆ S2FPYME= on future is now for his AMAAAZING game with Jigsaw! He was so intense! That's why the fans named him Intensity, you know!!"

"I knoooow, right? Oooh my goooood, it was sooo good I couldn't stop watching! Okay, next up is -- "

"Speaking of pep!pep!, you know who I reaaaally liked? A Sleeping Knight and 😘 were just like, the cutest! But it was sooo funny too, like, LMAO, a spray bottle???"

"Hahaha, I totally get it though! Guys are pig disgusting! But I totally ship the two of them, they're so good together! I loved them in the last game too ♥"

"Now, last but not least - ! BAD END=DEAD END . . . "

" . . . "

"Aaaaah, no one's surprised by that, huh!? They're so steamy with their kisses! They're so crazy! But man, the stuff that Prisoner did with Warden - I mean, their names say it all, right!? Right!?"

"I knoooww it was sooo crazyyyyyyyy!!! My heart was racing the entire time!!! You know, I totally prayed that they would kiss in the trial and then they did it here, they're soooo gooooooooooooood."

"You prayed!?"

"Yeah!?"

-- the chatter goes on, completely unimportant and fizzing out once the relevant portions have been relayed. pep!pep!, BAD END=DEAD END, future is now, ☆ZRAEL, and Heart Soldier Senshi will find not 500, but 800 points deposited into their banks. Every other unit gets the standard 100.

There's nothing in the lobby but leaves and sprigs of leftover mistletoe. You might find a few stray mistletoe around the buildings too, but they'll start to disappear with time. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not all deep connections are steeped in romance.

[Even though this particular one happens to be very very steeped in romance]

You don't think "no matter what happens, we'll find each other" is objectively romantic? I'm not saying anything about the relationship itself. It's a romantic sentiment.

It's not. Like I said - a statement of fact. As long as she exists and as long as I exist, we have a connection. And time, space, distance, not even the memories of why there is a connection is important.

Calling it romantic is like saying the concept of gravity is romantic because it draws objects together. It's not. It just is.

...Gravity is universal. Barely anyone has a connection that "just is."

. . .

Jealous?

...Maybe a little.

[You weren't supposed to answer that seriously]

There is no reason to be. You and her are in entirely separate categories.

...I'm not jealous of her. I'm jealous of you... or maybe both of you, for having something like that.

Do you still feel so isolated? Even after all of this.

...Maybe one of the things I've learned after all this is that there's no one things are simple with. There's only complicated and more complicated.

You're going to have to explain that.

I thought you and Joker had worked things out. And I had assumed you and A had done the same.

So is there something else making thing overly complicated?

Everything, all the time?

[a sigh that acknowledges how ridiculous that suonds]

I didn't really work things out with A until a couple of days ago. He's wasn't happy at all with Joker and I kissing people for the game, but he agreed to it and didn't say anything because he didn't want to mess things up. Apparently he's been doing that a lot... trying to be a good boyfriend and keep the relationship together and making himself miserable. I told him that was stupid, and I think we worked some of that out, but then he immediately got angry again when I told him I was considering moving to Zrael. I think that's okay too now, but... who knows.

Joker... well, you saw. He won the audience choice prize for making out with Mars. Apparently, Mars charmed him, and then Joker messed with his memories to make him into him too in retaliation. I had kissed Mars too, and it went pretty far, so far that I was planning to tell him about it... but of course it was nothing like that. And Joker was still like, no, it was nothing, I put way more effort into my date with you. And I just... I feel like the way we deal with things is reversed? I'm comfortable with him, and A, and you, and it's easy for me to do things with you. Meanwhile, he... it seems like it's easier for him to do things with literally anyone else, sometimes, and he has to struggle to be with me, and I don't understand it.

And that's just them. I fought with Yasuragi during the game too. And some other things.

...I'm just... really tired.

[That's... that's a lot to unpack. Let's start with A and Joker. We'll get to Yasuragi in a hot minute.]

So it sounds like you're be operating under a two misconceptions.

One - that you think A won't let you walk all over him because he is a people pleasing idiot looking for your approval. And two - that you think unreasonable things are more difficult for Joker than reasonable things. Once you come to terms with these two facts, I think you'll find both situations a lot less complicated.

Edited 2018-12-24 09:55 (UTC)

I know A is a a people pleasing idiot. But it was supposed to be different... he was supposed to be honest with me, because I can understand. That's why we got close in the first place!

Joker too. He was the first person I trusted here because it was easier to be around him than anyone else. And it was the same for him. But at some point things got weird.

There's a difference between understanding and agreement. One is fucking fluff and the other is action. It doesn't matter if the two of you understand each other if then you both choose to walk down completely opposite paths.

As for Joker --

[Just a sigh]

He doesn't know who the fuck he wants to be. Except right and validated by the people around him. And when he doesn't get what he's looking for, he forces the issue. So it's no fucking wonder he and his double got into a stupid ability blowout over a fucking kiss.

That's exactly it too, though! Literally the first thing that brought us together. Something we said the very first day we were here. We were supposed to be helping each other figure out who we are. And who we want to be.

But at some point he stopped trusting me with that, and just... tries to be the person he thinks I want him to be. And he's not even right about that, because he doesn't listen to me.

Edited 2018-12-24 19:32 (UTC)

So at what point did he stop fucking trusting you?

...

[her shoulders drop slightly]

I don't know. He'd say it was that house, probably. But I'm not sure it wasn't before.

He... he knows, at least. He said he's going to try to do better. But...

The house... That's a long fucking time when your memory is only 70 days long.

[Unconsciously pulls her closer to his side as they walk through the snow]

Is that really going to help if his "better" is more of his fucked up people pleasing? What are you going to do to counter that?

[It's more deliberate on her end when she leans into his side.]

I don't know.

. . .

[After walking a few more moments, Intensity spots a large tree that would be very dense and full of leaves if it weren't winter and leads the two of them toward it.

He sits down at the base of the tree, legs crossed at the ankles, before pulling Maki to sit in his lap]

[She settles down comfortably and leans back against his chest with a sigh.]

...Thank you.

You're not responsible for their fucking problems.

[Wraps his arms around her waist and settles against the tree]

Don't argue.

I didn't say I was responsible. They're responsible for their own problems. I'm just angry they won't even let me help.

What did I just say?