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[sharktrash]

Who: MANTICORE and possibly you
What: catch-all for all your MANTICORE needs
When: april
Where: various (see toplevels)
Warnings: Squalo, will add as necessary

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[ basic settings in toplevels! feel free to make your own starters, tag each other, threadjack, etc ]

Comments

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

...You ever wonder if those dreams are all real?

[He sounds a million miles away, his voice hollow as he stares at the wall.]

[sharktrash]

[ He frowns, quiet for a moment, recalling the very first time Jecht had said something weird - back at the South Vista, though he didn't pay it much mind back then. He seems... really distraught. Just what the hell did he remember? ]

Yeah. [ He does his best to maintain a conversational volume out of sheer solidarity, though it's still pretty loud. ] Actually, I know that some of them are. For me, at least.

[ It doesn't have to be for you. ]

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

They ain't real. I don't accept them.

But doing shit like that makes it a lot harder not to accept them.

[A point of pride, a line he refuses to cross against all logic and sense. He knows he's lying to himself, but accepting the truth...]

[He can't accept that.]

[sharktrash]

You not accepting them don't make it less real. That's fine, though. I'm not gonna try to convince you otherwise. [ He frowns. Well, he supposes he's ought to share one of his own secrets now that he knows Jecht's, so he goes for the easiest one and pulls back his left sleeve, revealing the mechanical prosthetic underneath. ] For me it's kinda hard to ignore, though.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Jecht narrows his thousand-yard stare enough to glance over at Squalo with a little frown.]

...Stuff like that's going around, isn't it. Least I ain't changin'...

[sharktrash]

[ He tucks it back down, once again hiding the prosthesis under the sleeve and the glove, and eyes Jecht with a frown. ]

Are you different in your dreams, too?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Is knowing yer a dream different than being a dream? It's... [Jecht sighs.] I ain't anything any more. Just a fake thing that became a real monster.

[sharktrash]

[ Squalo's about to ask if he's trying to wax poetic, but that second part stops him. There's some kind of real emptiness in the man's voice. Clearly whatever's bothering him is bad, real bad, and there's probably nothing he can say that would make it better. ]

...what do you mean?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

I mean, I gotta believe it's all dreams, man. Because if it ain't, I ain't just some dream -- I'm a nightmare. Tried to do the right think and became something that kills hundreds...

[sharktrash]

[ He watches him, canting his head slightly to the side. ]

Only hundreds?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

An entire world tremblin' in fear, how's that grab ya? [Ugh, yeah, talking about this was a mistake.]

[sharktrash]

...I dunno, sounds pretty great.

[ Maybe you should be telling this to someone who doesn't dream of world domination, Jecht. ]

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Yep. That seals the regret quite firmly.]

You're shit, man.

[He can't even muster up a great deal of anger -- just resignation and bitterness as he slaps the couch to push himself up.]

[sharktrash]

Well sorry. Maybe you just needed better plans.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

My own fault for trying to talk to someone who doesn't give a shit about anyone or anything.

[Not keeping that quiet, but it really isn't aimed at Squalo. Just one more proof that this, too, shall pass. And on that note he's tromping for his room.]

[sharktrash]

[ Squalo bristles, because that is so not true, he gives a lot of shits about particular someones -- but he figures it might not be the best time to argue. So he lets the man go. ]