findingways | IC Inbox for Kaisou

Oh, that was really nice of him. [ She'll have to ask for his apartment number later, so she can leave a thank you note or something for the ice cream. ]

Of course. I promised I'd help out however I can, didn't I?

It was weirdly nice of him. He doesn't usually like me.

[That might have something to do with all the explosions at 2am, Varian. He smiles, handing her a bowl of ice cream.]

I know, and- and I appreciate that so much. It's just...well, it's a lot. Hope you're ready for...well. [His fingers drum on his own bowl, anxious.] A lot of really bad stuff.

Really? How come?

[ She thanks him as she takes the bowl, and eats a spoonful of ice cream. Oh wow, that is some good stuff. ]

Only one way to find out. [ She isn't too sure herself, but she wants to be here for him no matter what. ] Just take your time.

I dunno. Noise, or something.

[No something. JUST noise. He tries some of the ice cream himself and wow, Zelos DOES get the good ice cream.]

Okay, okay. I can do this.

[He takes a deep, centering breath.]

So in my world, there were two magical artefacts- the sundrop and the moonstone. They're...complicated but what's important to know is that they were separated and the moonstone sought out the sundrop. My friend, the princess of the kingdom, Rapunzel? She had the sundrop inside her - it was originally in a flower but it was used to save her mom when she was dying when she was pregnant. So, magic went into the baby. Somehow.

[It makes SO LITTLE sense, he knows. But he doesn't want to give a full historical explanation on the artefacts when they were only set-pieces in his story.]

Anyway, the moonstone had sent these unbreakable rocks to find her- crossing whole kingdoms. They got to the outskirts of Corona, where my village was. It... they were destroying everything. Crops, livestock, homes. Our village was dying and I wanted to help. Dad forbade me from messing with them, but I had to do something.

[ Ah, is Varian one of those kind of neighbors? Good to know. ]

Yeah, you got this.

[ She sits back a little when he finally starts, and even while she's finishing up her ice cream she listens intently. Though the idea of the baby gaining the flower's magic made perfect sense to her, she focuses more on the moonstone, because that seemed to be the more important bit right now. ]

So what'd you do?

I made a chemical compound, to try and break it up. But it...reacted in a way I didn't expect. It created this unbreakable amber solution. It nearly swallowed me up, but Dad pushed me out of the way and got stuck in it himself. I- it was encasing him and I had to help him. I was so scared he was gonna-

[He pauses for a moment, taking in a shuddery breath. This is what he faced when the red rocks made him see what he feared the most. It still brings him out of dreams in a panic more often than not. He tries to move on, to not get stuck on this- he's got a story to tell her and he can't get stuck on the first hurdle. ]

I went to Rapunzel. She- she'd promised she'd help me, but there was this snowstorm, a big one- she couldn't abandon the city to help me and the guards thought I was attacking her when I begged her to come anyway and threw me back into the storm. [He chews the bottom of his lip.] By the time I got home, it was too late. He- Dad was completely encased.

[ She sucks in a breath, placing the bowl aside now as the story already starts going south. ] Oh no.

[ While she could understand needing to help people with a city-wide emergency, being tossed out in a desperate time was just adding insult to injury. And then to find his father completely engulfed was even worse. ]

So what happened?

[It was awful. Varian had never felt so desperately alone in his entire life. He'd been lonely, yes, always lonely, but never alone. The rug had been pulled out from under him and nothing got any better.]

I thought I'd try the original source of Rapunzel's powers: the sundrop flower. I thought maybe it might still have some magic left in it? I...uh I created a truth serum and drugged the guards with it to find out where the flower was being kept- 'cause the king had hidden it away.

[He rubs the back of his neck.]

I convinced Rapunzel to help me get in. She- she knew it was treason to help me, but I convinced her I wanted to help the Kingdom. Once we got to the flower, I stole it and left her to take the fall. I- it didn't even work- the flower, I mean. All the power was in her, but I'd pretty much obliterated my bridges so I knew I had to do something more drastic to get her to help me.

[ And here's where the story starts to turn. She can't say she didn't expect it, given how cagey Varian's been, but she doesn't quite expect that. And a feeling of dread forms in her stomach, because "something more drastic" means that it's only going to get worse. ]

And...what was that?

[It's categorically gonna get way, way worse. Varian looks down at the ground, guilt resonating in his voice as he speaks. ]

I drugged Ruddiger with a serum that turned him into a... well, a monster. Temporarily. [The raccoon looks up, chittering softly before shifting to cuddle up to his leg.] I um- while he was taking out all the guards, I used the distraction to kidnap the queen. I figured Rapunzel would come to rescue her mother...and she did.

[Because of course, she did. Rapunzel is a good person.]

I-I set a robot army outside to deal with the people she'd brought with her. She and her father thought he'd get the jump on me by sneaking around back, but I was ready for them, and... captured them. [He doesn't sound in the LEAST bit proud about this.] I used my amber solution near the queen. To-to try and force Rapunzel into helping me.

[ The sincere regret in his tone does help temper his words a bit, but hoo boy there is a lot going on here that Moana has to try and process. ]

And...did it work?

[He plays with his hands, clasping and unclasping them, shaking his head.]

No. It didn't work. Rapunzel's hair didn't do anything. They- they all managed to get out while I was freaking out about that. I saw them hugging each other and I got... I don't know. I guess whatever was left of me just broke more.

[He finally gave in completely and utterly to his anger. He had nothing left to lose. ]

I attacked them. I had this...giant robot and I used it to grab the queen and Rapunzel's best friend...I tried to crush the life out of them. Luckily, Rapunzel figured out her connection to the rocks before I could actually kill anyone and managed to stop me. I went to prison and was there for about a year before I broke out.

[ So adding attempted murder and escaping from prison to the list. Cool, noted, all right.

Moana takes a breath, running everything through her head. Just give her a minute, Varian. ]

How'd you break out?

[Cool cool, it's a great list. He gives her time to process that, he's aware it's an awful lot to process all at once. ]

Andrew.

[He says the name like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. ]

He was my cellmate. He was part of a...group of people who wanted to change how things were run. [A terrorist, he was a terrorist.] He convinced me to join them, we broke out and one of his people used magic on the king and queen to wipe their memories. I...stepped in and pretended I was their advisor. Had them collecting these minerals in mines I needed to try and make the memory magic into a gas. I wanted everyone to lose their memories. To forget what I did.

[He fidgets with his hands, trying to ignore the bile rising in his throat.]

It was stupid. I was stupid. Luckily, Rapunzel came back from a trip away. Her showing up made them show their true hand. That...that they were planning on using my alchemy to raze the kingdom to the ground. They were gonna kill everyone and I...I couldn't do that.

[ So it sounded like there was some manipulation there at least, but it still didn't paint the greatest picture. She is a bit relieved to hear that he did draw a line there, though. ]

So what'd you do?

[There truly was, even if Varian struggles to see it. His self-loathing is pretty strong, and it makes it hard for him to really realise how much Andrew pulled his strings to have him exactly how he wanted him. ]

I helped Rapunzel. I um- we got onto the airship he was gonna drop the chemical from and fought him. He tried to kill me but didn't manage it...obviously. But in the fight he destroyed the ropes holding the airship up, there were only a few left and not enough to keep it afloat. If it crashed, it would have exploded and killed everyone.

[He hugs an arm around himself, letting out a slow breath. This never goes well. ]

I tried to stay behind. I could've used the chemicals to get the ship high enough so it wouldn't hurt anyone when it exploded. [Except for him.] I-I it was the best option. I didn't have anyone left who would have missed me and I just- I just wanted to fix something.

[Even if fixing it meant him dying. He shrugs.]

Rapunzel wouldn't let me. She got me out of there and got the ship away- survived the blast herself. After everything had calmed down, she used this new ability she found to get my dad back. He was...fine. [He plucks some imaginary lint off his arm, expression still sad.] I've spent all the rest of my time trying to do good for the kingdom. To-to put good in the world to try and balance out all the bad I put into it.

[ She picks up pretty quickly what would have happened to him if he had stayed on the airship, and the fact that he was willing to do it makes her heart hurt. Hesitating just a moment, she then places a gentle hand on his arm. ]

...Good. I'm glad...I'm glad that Rapunzel was able to get you out of there. I'm glad that you're alive.

[ Even though she's still trying to get her head around everything else he's told her, she wants him to just know that. ]

[He doesn't pull away from her touch, and manages a small, thin-lipped smile. It's never an especially fun story to tell and he knows that it's not an easy one to listen to, either. But he's glad he's lanced that particular wound. Moana deserved to know. ]

Thanks. Most of the time, I am too.

[Some days, the darker days, he isn't- but at least those are fewer than they used to be. ]

[ She returns with a smile of her own, as reassuring a one as she can manage as she gently squeezes his arm. ]

And I appreciate you telling me all this. I know it can't be easy for you, and I'm glad to know that you trust me enough with it.

Of course. I do trust you with it. I um...thanks for listening. I really appreciate it.

[It's a big thing, for him to trust someone enough with this part of himself. No one has turned him away yet, but there's always a part of him that worries about it, all the same. ]

And no...it's- it's really not easy. I don't know. It's- it's just hard to talk about. Admitting the sort of person I was.

[ With a smile, she nods. ] Of course. I promised to be here for you, and I meant it.

And honestly, it really says a lot that you're able to talk about this in the first place. It's not easy for people to admit their mistakes in general, let alone something as big as all this. But that you still want to be honest even in the face of all that is really brave.

It's still...well, it's a lot for someone to deal with. It's uh- it's not exactly a regular friendship problem.

[Most friendship problems their age centre around being unable to do homework or who to take to some party, he's pretty sure. He hums softly, not convinced. ]

I never have to think about it back home. Everyone knows already, you-you can't really...commit high treason and try to murder the entire royal family and it not be common knowledge, y'know? But people don't know here, and it means I get away with not being That Guy Who Did That here...

[He shrugs.]

I dunno if it's...it's bravery telling people about it or cowardice that I keep it hidden in the first place.

Yeah, I guess that is true. [ It really is a lot, and she doesn't want to trivialize any of it by acting like it's no big deal.

Still, she can't help shaking her head a little. ] It's not cowardice. You're a different person now, and what happened back then was in a whole different world. Those events doesn't affect anything in this world, so there isn't really a need for other people to know. But you make the choice to tell people, and that's a really big thing.

[You're a different person now. That means more to him than she might realise. He rubs his arm absently with his arm, his tail twitching with leftover anxiety.]

I- I guess you're right. I'm just not used to doing it and sometimes...I dunno. It feels like I'm hiding it from people when they don't already know. I guess a part of me was worried people wouldn't want anything to do with me if they knew the truth about who I was.

[ She's quiet for a moment as she thinks. As easy as it would be to reassure him that that wouldn't be the case, she knows that might not be true and it would feel disingenuous. ]

...Unfortunately, there's always that possibility. There could be some people that might not be able to get past some of your history. [ Looking back at him, she offers him a smile. ] But there are still others who are more than happy to give you a chance, and stick with you through everything. Ad it can be hard, but they're always worth finding.

IC Inbox for Kaisou

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tw: sucicidal intention

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