IC INBOX

[reveilation]

Tsubomi Kido

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(uhh, insert whatever message Terry had on his phone last)

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TEXT / VIDEO / VOICE / ACTION

© EFRYNDIEL

Comments

[reveilation]

[ The trauma her siblings had to grow up with weren't their deaths or their eyes, but Kido's fist. ]

None of him? Even something superficial like he looks cool? Or that his wings are useful?

[overstrain]

Maybe at first, I could have, but I feel like I learned a bit too much...

[ His curiosity always fights his passive trait of wanting to live with ignorance for certain things in life. ]

Or maybe that's why I don't like him either. He's strong. He's useful. He looks cool. If I have to stop and think about it, every time I see Vassago, I... [ like a continuation of the torn page-- ] ... feel disgusted with myself.

[reveilation]

[ ...She doesn't really know what to say about that. In the past, she had similar sorts of feelings looking at herself in the mirror and seeing only flaw after flaw. Somewhere along the way, she must have grown out of it, she thinks, probably because those flaws stopped mattering and nobody cared if she was one way or another. She found herself a new family and was loved unconditionally. That's not really something she can put into words, so she just steps in a little closer so that she's walking shoulder to shoulder with Terry. ]

I know it doesn't mean much, but nobody expects you to be perfect or anything like that. For every thing you don't like about him, or whatever about you he's supposed to represent, there's ten good things.

[overstrain]

[ Words are words. As empty as words can be, they're always backed up with emotion and intent that doesn't make them feel as empty anymore. His optimism feels like it's shrinking every day with the amount of things that fill his words, and perhaps it may be inevitable that Vassago turns rouge after getting immensely stronger to destroy whatever life Terry has left at that point.

Even so, he still wants to live his life. Not the original Terrence's, but his own.

He interlaces his fingers with Kido's when he feels that she's close enough to walk shoulder to shoulder with him.

Suddenly, a fear creeps into his heart: if one day, should he choose to become what he should have been, he'd lose everything. He ran away. He can almost hear the blameworthy accusations echo in his mind.

... ]

Ten good things, huh...?

[ He wonders if they would outweigh the single bad thing he has in mind. ]

Thanks, for doing your best for me.

[ He gives her hand a small squeeze. ]

[reveilation]

...Yeah. I'm not really good with words, but I'll keep trying.

[ Doing her best, but it's not enough to smooth things over. It's not surprising, as she's never been good at lifting a gloomy mood like... basically everybody else in her family is able to, and she sure feels that now as the only thing she can do is squeeze his hand back and hold on tight. ]

Don't worry about Vassago for today, okay? Personas... are tools, but they're not a necessity.

[ It's not like you need them. It's not like they have to fight in the dungeons at all. If looking at Vassago's just going to get Terry down, maybe it would be better if she asks for his omamori so Vassago won't be able to come out and bother him again. ]

[overstrain]

[ They sure aren't necessary, Terry thinks to himself, which was the original train of thought he had when he went to explore the dungeon. He could fight by himself now that he had the power to, he could let loose on the Shadows to relieve his stress and most people won't scold him for it. Though, that way of relieving stress is only temporary at best, and an incredibly fleeting method at worst--his predisposition to violence only gets worse in a vicious cycle.

He remembers the Attendant's words--Personas aren't tools. They're a part of him. But even so, it's hard not to accept Kido's words because of how easier it is to settle into that sort of thought. ]

Okay.

[ He decides on what to do and works up a smile again. ]

Thanks for hearing me out.

[ ... ]

Let's go have some fun today.

[reveilation]

[ The Attendants are mean and they're wrong. Nekogami to Kido, at least... sort of feels like a pet more than anything else, seeing as she doesn't really fight with him unless it's to shoot needles at Terry. She's not really sure what to think of it. ]

As much fun as we can have in a shrine, anyways... But yeah, it's enough of that. We can just enjoy the day.

[ At a run down shrine and raccoon infested castle... ]

If I had known earlier, I would've packed a picnic or something. Maybe we can do that someday; I did promise Rei, before.

[overstrain]

It sounds like a good idea! We can go next time with the three of us.

[ Luckily for Terry, he's easily swayed and feels happier already at the mention of the picnic. ]

We would have to bring a lot of food though... Rei pretty much inhales her food.

[reveilation]

[ She's not the only one who inhales food... ]

That's not a problem. I like cooking, so it's no trouble to cook a bunch of different dishes for her to try, and I'll have you to help carry it all, right?

[overstrain]

[ Hey.... he can eat normally... yeah... ]

Yeah! I can help cook too if you need any help with that.

[ He feels pretty excited about the prospect now, as if he wasn't talking about something sad a moment ago. ]

[reveilation]

[ Mmhm, sure. Does she want help from Mr. I Burnt My Mouth Eating Takoyaki though? ]

Sure. You're more familiar with American dishes, right? Rei would probably like the variety.

[ Since Kido leans more towards traditional Japanese cooking ]

[overstrain]

[ It was just that One Time!! ]

I guess so. I'm best at cooking with eggs though. Meat is pretty fun too. Ever since I came here, I've been cooking all sorts of other stuff, like more seafood dishes. But my taste is a bit different, so...

[reveilation]

[ All it takes is One Time. ]

How are you cooking while living in the park?

[ Like a bum. Except he's somehow well off at the same time. ]

[overstrain]

I can make a campfire by myself?

[ Does that answer anything. ]

[reveilation]

[ Cooking eggs over a campfire... This is really sad. How is he living. ]

Just come over and use the stove when we decide to have the picnic.

[overstrain]

[ He cooked an entire chicken over the campfire. Things are fine.... yeah... ]

Sure, sure. Oh, speaking of...

[ Hm. ]

I think I have enough for the down payment now. Do you want to hold onto it? Or...

[reveilation]

Already? That's pretty impressive.

[ Terry is rich but he's still sleeping on benches and cooking eggs over campfires. She feels kind of bad about it now, living the nice comfortable family life she has already. ]

Sure, I can hold onto it, if you're afraid of being mugged in the park or something.

[ There's very little crime in Hirajiro, but things can happen... ]

[overstrain]

[ Honestly, considering his bad luck in this place, letting Kido hold onto the money sounds a lot safer. ]

Yeah! I worked hard to save up a lot. I'll be getting a cheap phone later too. I think I'm pretty close to the amount... and I can always haggle if I really have to.

[ Terry managed to get $10 equivalent off Rei's phone. He can do this. ]

[reveilation]

[ Wow, that sure does make her feel guilty about hanging onto Terry's phone for this long, haha. She never actually uses it for anything more than a music player, seeing as she can't read or understand anything on there anyways. ]

That's great. Mondo and I were talking about that before, too, about how having phones would make it easier to keep in touch with people. That way, I don't have to walk all the way to the hospital every time I want to talk.

[overstrain]

[ Never feel guilty, Kido. :') Keep it forever. It's a free music player! And a free projectile weapon I guess. ]

Haha... Yeah...

[ He knows there will still be times in the future where he'll need to be at the hospital because he's going to get poisoned by drinking blood regularly, but it's fine. It'll be fine. ]

I like seeing you in person though.

[reveilation]

[ He doesn't deny his primary residence being the hospital... ]

We'll be seeing each other a lot more if we're going to be sharing a place with Rei, right? Phones are convenient for other things. Like if there's a sale somewhere and I need to send you on an errand.

[ Kido's actual canon reason why chatrooms are great: "No helping it. I’ve said this countless times, but being able to convey messages to multiple people is convenient. I can easily call anyone who’s free when there are limited sales of whole packs for the price of one egg."

Talking to friends? Not important. ]

[overstrain]

[ Yup... he's never going to deny that because it's true now. rip. ]

I go to the market every day, so I already got that covered! I've been looking for sales all the time everywhere too. They tend to pop up frequently, so it's nice. But you need to get up early to see them in the market street though, or they'll be all gone by noon.

[ How else do you think he lived this past month on little money... ]

[reveilation]

[ lmfao forget about the past month and a half, this is the moment when Kido falls in love ]

You're surprisingly reliable, huh? I'll go ahead and leave all the shopping to you, then, Terrence.

[overstrain]

[ LMAO thanks kido...

Terry looks pretty happy about being called reliable though. He's pretty sure he can pull it off when he's blind too, so that's no problem. ]

Yeah! Leave it to me. There were never any sales on tents though, but I guess I won't need one anymore.

[ He checked every day when he could... ]

[reveilation]

There wouldn't be any sales on tents, when they're not things that go bad or out of season, right?

[ He should have just bought one to begin with, because she's pretty sure they'll just sit there forever until somebody buys one or not. ]

I guess people don't go camping too much around here anyways... It's too bad, all this nature isn't' something you see a lot in the city, but I guess they're used to it.