(no subject)

[telepathicignorance]

Type: Accidental Video
Sender ID: 🖕nunya🖕(Sidestep)
To: Public
Subject:
Warnings: Mention of death and torture. Threads are likely to end up going deeply traumatic places.

(It's a typical day on Nogard, though many people who see this might be elsewhere.

Many have probably heard by now that Chris is dead. Has been dead for several days, in fact, after being captured and tortured by Ganon.

Except... they're not?

That's definitely a shot of a very panicked looking Chris running... somewhere, not paying attention to the shellphone clutched in their hand or noticing that it's recording.

Several people can be heard yelling in surprise in the background as Chris darts past them.

...The fuck are they even running from? It doesn't sound like they're being chased.

The hand holding the shellphone bumps into something, and the video cuts out.)

Comments

[velocityraptor]

[ He doesn't defend Tomie. He can't. ]

She clung to my father because he stole her what she wanted. She was comfortable with that and tried to keep him there. When he got fed up and left, she dragged me around and had me go out and find her food. She sold me for a cushy life that probably my work was funding, all these years. So yeah, I guess. She strikes me, mostly as kind of...pathetic, actually. [ He probably shouldn't say that, but as compassionate as Keigo is, his hurt does cloud his judgment. He can't forgive her and let go the fact she sold him off and discarded him like he was trash in their shack. ]

Even running away now, it's just nothing to aspire to.

[telepathicignorance]

...Yeah. For what it's worth, I don't think going to the Commission being the best possibility out of all the likely ones excuses any of what they did to you.

(Keep him on the defensive.

...Also it's true.)

[velocityraptor]

[ He sighs softly. ]

Mm, but I was willing to take that because if it wasn't me, it would be someone else and that wouldn't be right. I don't want anyone else to have to deal with it.

[ And yet, he wouldn't fight for himself. Keigo's just not wired that way. ]

[telepathicignorance]

What, you don't think they could have been lying to you and training up the next one?

(They sigh.)

That's a common tactic, you know. Convince a person that by tolerating being hurt they're saving someone else. Even if they aren't training your replacement just yet it's always a lie.

[velocityraptor]

Oh, I know, I was very careful to keep track of that. Even when I was picked up it's because they thought Kaina would crack. [ She did. ]

Now that we know for sure, they didn't, but I'm sure they had a potential list.

[telepathicignorance]

...Yeah.

(They're not sure where to go from here, and sink into a sullen silence.)

[velocityraptor]

Kind of depressing, isn't it?

[ His life is like that, but he doesn't like to dwell on that aspect. ]

[telepathicignorance]

Yeah. (They droop.) ...Sorry.

(For dragging it out like this, not for arguing that he doesn't deserve it.)

[velocityraptor]

What can you do? [ Keigo shrugs a little bit. ]

I don't want to be upset all the time. I probably could be, but I don't want that. So I try not to be.

[telepathicignorance]

I'm not saying you should be upset all the time... but coping by saying it's alright they did horrible things to you isn't great either.

[velocityraptor]

[ Is it coping? Keigo's not sure that it is, this just seems to be a fundamental fact about the world. ]

It's not alright in the sense that it's illegal, but I agreed to it, and if it's me then no one else has to suffer. That's okay with me. If I can protect people, I want to.

[ He's not sure his life has any value outside of that. It's never seemed to. ]

[telepathicignorance]

(They scoff.) Hypocrite. It's not even illegal to do any of that shit to me and you still came to my rescue.

[velocityraptor]

I don't usually pull this, but to me it is illegal what they did to you and those villains should be arrested and made to pay for their crimes. [ Maybe he's a hypocrite, sure. ]

Even if it wasn't though, even if I didn't believe that, you're my friend. Of course I don't want you to get hurt.

[telepathicignorance]

(More scoffing.)

Gonna arrest the government of the most powerful country in my world then?

[velocityraptor]

If I have to. [ He's not one for telling people how to live, he knows he has no real authority, but he still feels like this is an injustice. ]

[telepathicignorance]

...I should have expected that. (He's an idiot.

They make a point of not looking at him, because they're going to cry if they think about this too much.)

...You know you're my friend, right? (They don't want to see him be abused either.)

[velocityraptor]

Yeah probably. [ Keigo chuckles, look he knows who he is and he's just going to own it. He lets them recover while he slouches comfortably. ]

I do know that, and thanks. I appreciate that you are.

[telepathicignorance]

(They continue not looking at him. "Recover" might be a strong word. "Avoid losing it completely" is probably better.)

Yeah well, you and ...everyone else. (They don't know who all was there, fighting Ganon.) You're the only ones who've ever bothered to come and get me out of ...something ...that. (Being captured. Tortured. Not part of a mission.

...They'd already gotten Turo. No one needed to come back.)

[velocityraptor]

I would do it again in a heartbeat, Chris.

[ It was never a question for him. They're important to him, and even if they weren't, he'd still charge in, swords blazing. ]

[telepathicignorance]

(They freeze, stiffening.) Stupid choice, risking your life for (a thing) someone who'll just die.

(Lashing out. This might be a bit much.)

[velocityraptor]

There was a chance you wouldn't die. That was enough. [ He sighs. ]

It was worse because we couldn't even...we had to escape. So I'm sorry for that, we didn't even look after things properly. [ Please, he's been called so much worse than stupid. ]

[telepathicignorance]

...It's alright. (Said a bit quickly, because it does hurt, when they remember that little flash of feeling abandoned at the end.

Would they have just been left to suffer if people knew they would die?

...This is stupid.)

[velocityraptor]

[ No. They wouldn't. ]

It's not, but I'm sorry all the same. I'm glad you're back. I don't know how that happened, but I'm happy to see you.

CW: The usual suicidal ideation

[telepathicignorance]

(Unfortunately, even with telepathy it's hard to convince them of that, even if they know Keigo is unlikely to leave anyone to suffer.)

...Yeah. (They're not sure they're happy to be here.)

CW: The usual suicidal ideation

[velocityraptor]

[ He might not be a mind reader but they seem really reluctant. That's fine. Chris doesn't have to be happy, or pretend like they are, Keigo will be happy for them. ]

Now what do you want to do, do you think?