IC Contact;

[hellrisen02]

"Yo! I seem to have my hands full at the moment, so shoot me a message and I'll get back to ya. Later~."
[functions; voice, text, video, file upload.]

Comments

[d33tached]

You said precisely that and then our contact ceased.

[Read: D33 was too overwhelmed to say anything back after checking their message history.]

How are you faring now, then?

[hellrisen02]

Yeah, I know.

[That's fair! He wouldn't blame him.]

Fantastic. The end of the world is nigh. How about you, kiddo?

[d33tached]

As we well know.

I'm fine, of course. [Not to say that having to be thirteen again for a week wasn't a little unnerving.] You haven't changed all that much from being a teenager, have you?

[He means it lightly, but he knows how untrue it probably is. Though, given his own experiences, maybe there is some truth to the sentiment. Both of their trauma began early, didn't it?]

[hellrisen02]

[Duo puffs a bitter laugh to himself at the observation. Well... All things considered...]

I like to think I'm a little less of an idiot nowadays.

That doesn't mean I have to let people know that, though.

You're really fine? You didn't say or do anything you need scrubbed, did you?

[Because dad is willing....]

[d33tached]

[He appreciates the offer - really.]

I never spoke my name to anyone.

I don't recall leaving Archie's home for any period of time. All those that contacted me via my personal inbox can be trusted.

[So everything is fine, right?]

[hellrisen02]

Alright. I'm glad you stayed safe this time.

How are you feeling about it?

[He asks a third time, because he knows. He knows how dangerous it is to reveal vulnerability against your will like that, and worse how difficult it can be to wrestle with what skeletons in the closet it could have inadvertently revealed- even if not publicly.]

[d33tached]

[Well.]

The experience was certainly jarring, as I'm sure you well understand.

[hellrisen02]

The experience, or dealing with it afterwards?

[These were, after all, two entirely different problems.]

I suppose I didn't see what type of person you were. Was it a problem?

[d33tached]

I was weak.

[What a D33 answer, right? He wants to say he was terrified too - that's what was really jarring, to be so terrified again. There was something else he noticed - something inside of him that hadn't quite been stomped out yet. That sensation had been the most jarring, certainly.]

Feeling so is certainly not a pleasant sensation.

[hellrisen02]

It isn't, I suppose.

However, what you may perceive as weakness might be a strength to others.

Well, I guess I'm just spitballing now, though.

Didn't have any troubles with other people in the meantime, did you?

[d33tached]

Nothing significant, no.

[There's a pause, and then, lo and behold, this comes out:]

There is some truth to what you're saying, I think.

[hellrisen02]

Oh yeah?

[That's all you get, Deedee. Spill!]

[d33tached]

I hadn't remembered how I'd felt as a child.

I thought differently, certainly. Foolishly, perhaps.

[hellrisen02]

Being foolish ain't all bad! Maybe I'm biased, being a fool and all.

But being a kind fool is preferable to a heartless genius, if you ask me.

[d33tached]

I don't know if I would have ever thought myself kind.

[hellrisen02]

Would you like to?

[d33tached]

[There's a significant pause.]

I suppose I can see the value in doing so in regard to those that one cares about.

[Trying to be kind to the world at large is still too big of a concept to grasp, but at least he's considering being kind to someone? The thing is, though, half of the people that showed kindness to D33 while he was de-aged weren't particularly close friends of his. Sabrina had showed him kindness, and she was almost a perfect stranger.

[He feels grateful for that kindness now, but is it enough to make him want to show the same kindness to those in need?]

[hellrisen02]

Well Jesus, I should hope so by now.

[He's teasing. A little.]

Now, being foolishly cruel? There's something that's totally useless. Don't you think?

[d33tached]

["Foolishly cruel". D33 had known cruelty, certainly, but had it been foolish cruelty? Whatever Royce's goals were, they were most certainly met through his cruelty. To be foolishly cruel, he supposes, would be foolish in that way - there would be nothing to gain from it.

[Somehow, though, he doesn't think that that's what Shinigami is trying to get at.]

I suppose you're right, yes.

[hellrisen02]

Of course I am!

[Can't you hear that in his flippant little chirp?]

Now if I can just convince you that any living thing deserves that level of empathy... Ah well. Babysteps.

How's Trowa?

[d33tached]

[He can, of course and it maybe gives him butterflies - who knows?.]

Fumio is doing just fine. He and Tommy both remained rather loyal throughout the event, actually.

[Which is surprising to him now, though at the time it had certainly been a comfort. Dogs are amazing?]

casually foreshadowing

[hellrisen02]

That's dogs for you. Not like your scent could have changed too much; of course they'd remember who you were!

People change... Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse. The core of people is always something consistent, though. That's what you gotta look for.

[d33tached]

The "core" of people, you say. How do you mean?

[He can actually almost grasp the concept - he'd definitely seen the rotten, evil core of a person before. He's not so sure that everyone has a core, though. He hasn't the first idea of what his would be made up of.]

[hellrisen02]

[Duo has an idea. It was the reason he didn't really think Dee should be involved in any of all this, no missions, no charges to save this world. He recognized it, but it wasn't built up by the same things that redeemed it in others. Not until he understood.]

Maybe you've heard the saying: 'a leopard can't change its spots'. That's true, to an extent. For some people, they are shaped, and that part of them will never change, will always remain, despite whatever new will or desires they gain.

But just because your core remains the same, that doesn't mean your path has to. The same rusty old habits can gain new use.

[A tool for killing can become a tool to protect. Sadness can become a drive for hope. Mal-intent can be directed at other malignant forces. Not everything was set in stone.]

[d33tached]

[Maybe if Duo would just put it so plainly, D33 would better understand, but as it is, he's struggling.

[He can see it, though. Somewhere, however dimly, he can see it. After all - and it's a little staggering for him to realize this now - it's been over a year since he used his skills to actually hurt or kill someone. Come to think of it, it's really been over a year since he's had to use his skills for anything other than training with Shinigami himself. Something had to have changed in him between his arrival and now that had paved the way for friendships, hobbies, etc..

[Even though it's hard to believe, he sees it. He wonders if Shinigami sees it too.]

And here I thought we were talking about dogs.