[Luckily Bakugo doesn't hear that comment. There's nothing wrong with either statue save for a small chip on the lowest two feathers of one of Hawks' wings. Damage the man can easily repair if he ever returns. Regrowing feathers is easy for him.
Bakugo refused to allow them to use Endeavor's statue, period, and didn't allow them to use anything from Hawks save for the smallest amount that wouldn't cause the man harm. If the hotel didn't just "refresh" everything the second the man returned. Bakugo hopes he never does. Doesn't want anyone stuck in this shitty place.
He remains lounged on the couch, blocked from majority view, yet Esikko's stare pierces right through. Fucking annoying. Did he finish writing his damn report yet?]
Have you ever had someone you looked up to? Someone you wanted to protect.
[Why is he not surprised at that response? Everything in Esikko's life is negative, or if it's not now, will eventually be. Bakugo closes his eyes as he takes in the information, not minding when the guy walks around the couch to do whatever he's doing.
Still, if Esikko's being truthful about having someone he wants to protect, even in this place...]
Then you know why I did it.
[Those people are from his world. Even if he has issues with the League, if they became statues, he'd be trying to find their statues as well and bring them to his room. Well, not now, since apparently ISSUES. He'd at least find the petrified one and then tell the other two. Or one. Whoever remains.
If Esikko wants to call that selfish, then fine. He's selfish.]
( At first, he wants to bitch more. Wants to call out what sort of people Bakugo wants to protect, the character of the man, his own beliefs about what you can move on from or how— but he bites his tongue, because he knows that would be hypocritical.
If anything, doesn't it just show it's similar? He stops next to the couch, looking down on Bakugo with his crossed arms and a huffy sort of almost-pout, like he's trying to decide how to feel. How to respond. )
Well. Then you know why I'm upset, too.
( It's the same, isn't it? It's selfish, but he's selfish, too. He knows that. It's the same. His arms drop, after a moment, and with a release of a sigh he'd been holding in for too long, he bumps his foot against the edge of the couch, a fake kick. )
And you wouldn't even let me get one hit off about it. Asshole.
[Maybe Esikko already has. It's fucking strange, seeing the villain has someone who cares about him and wants to protect him like this, but then again, the other Todoroki, including Dabi's little brother, also felt similar. Obviously not the sort of pink tinge he thinks Esikko has.
But still... fucking hell. Bakugo's stomach twists in irritation, assuming Esikko's willing to look past Dabi's actions enough to feel this way about him, yet still has the gall to eternally condemn a man he doesn't know at all, save for a one-sided biased report.
There's no point arguing with someone who's mind's already made up. He's not going to waste his time with something as pathetic as smearing Dabi's name out of pettiness.]
You didn't ask permission to hit me.
[And he's not even a statue! Rude. Now this kind of pettiness? Yeah, he'll dip into like a brat.]
( Unfortunately, the brief time he'd met Endeavor before even connecting who he was, Esikko had already seen enough of his own father in him to form an opinion. Dabi's mental breakdown on the beach had only sealed that.
Esi's face goes a little red from the mix of embarrassment at that first statement to anger at the second, and he promptly whirls around to...
Attempt to sit down right on Bakugo's chest. He's not asking for permission for this either!!! )
Shut up already. What makes you think I haven't told him? It's not like it matters, anyway. I've told you it always ends the same.
[There's nothing he can do to change that, nor spend his energy on attempting it. Each of the villains had a chance to change, to avoid making their own poor mistakes in life, to be better. They didn't. Doesn't make what fucking excuse they gave, a crime's a crime. Murder is murder. Even Endeavor planned to pay for his own...
Bakugo has a hard time feeling sorry for a man who kidnapped him, threatened him with death, tried to murder his classmates, and more!
What the fuck?! The blonde scrambles backwards, trying to get that bony ass from digging into his chest. A hand grabs at the couch back to pull himself, other one snapping and popping small explosions in the air beside him. Dammit, Esikko, he thinks he's got the right to try being fucking "funny" after all that bullshit?!]
Don't screw with me! You're the one making a big deal out of permission! [Petty or serious or not.] If you didn't think it mattered, you wouldn't bother trying!
( ...True. The explosions and the call out make him wince a little, the noise startling and the feeling uncomfortable, but this time he doesn't back away. He leans back with all of his meager weight, his own hands grabbing at the cushions of the couch to try and stay relatively in place.
It's like the silliest wrestling known to man? This is what happens when you never learn to hug, maybe. )
...You said you'll talk with him later. In person? Just you two? How do I know you won't kill each other?
( And, it's not like he should care about Bakugo, he thinks, he swears, but the more it comes to his mind, the more he does, and it's annoying too. Ugh. )
No one ever asks me for permission, so of course I want it. I'm just making it even.
[What the hell is this guy's problem?! Wasn't he going to come over here, look at the statue, and walk the fuck out?! When did it turn into this crap?! It's not Esikko's weight that's annoying; it's the angle of his buttbone digging into Bakugo's ribs that make it uncomfortable! Don't you have any ass cheek, Prince Prick?!
Don't you dare. If you try to hug him right now, they'll need tweezers to pick up the pieces...]
I'm not gonna waste my time trying to kill him! Dead people come right back.
[Why the hell does Esikko even care? Besides, it's not DABI pissing him off!]
You gonna fight his battles for him now?
[HE STILL DIDN'T ASK PERMISSION TO FUCKING SLAP HIM OR SIT ON HIM!! GODDAMN HYPOCRITE!!]
( Urgh— he's evening the playing field!! All the years and multiple lives he has to make up for, you see? No, there's no real logic there, he's a hypocrite.
A hypocrite who shoves his palm into Bakugo's face as he half turns to look at him. He has a great ass, thank you, it's the only part of him that's not flat— but he still manages to be bony. )
You know, my bodyguard has been dead longer than the others. Don't treat it as so consistent or reliable.
If I'm there too, maybe you two won't brawl, you know? ( and he's nosy. but he cares, too. )
It's just something to consider. ( he's staring so hard, but there's so much he's not saying that he has his lips pressed together in an almost thin straight line. )
[That's a villainous way to think. Someone fucked me up so I'm gonna fuck them and others up to make it even! Bakugo's down for some good old revenge (though his is more reclaiming the top spot in a game angrily because someone dared to beat his score) but not when it veers into that shitty territory!
Also because he often takes his "revenge" then and there by kicking the offender's ass. He has better things to do than plot some long-term crap.
It's real tempting to bite Esikko's fingers when he plasters them right in his face. Get those things away from his eyes, dammit! He jerks his head to the side, snarling up at the other man. Didn't you walk into this room hating him?!]
He's not dead, dammit! He went back home! [Why the fuck do people not understand this?! The hotel's not keeping everyone around in a goddamn meat freezer!
Considered it. Yeeted it. No comment. He's more interested in talking about the fucking statues.]
( If Esikko hated him, it would be clear as day. There's none of that here. Instead, when he's pushed him enough to see that it's clear there's not going to be any sort of retaliation (though he'd give him a pass for finger biting, or anything else, honestly), he withdraws his hand and sighs, standing back up. Freedom. )
What are you talking about? Who's not dead? Because if you mean my bodyguard, he is. His body is in the clinic. They won't allow you to see him, and they insist he's still alive— but I can promise you he's not.
( Or is he talking about... the statues again? After they were talking about Dabi being able to come back to life, and then that stupid dog bodyguard... The statues aren't what he'd call dead, no. But he certainly wouldn't be able to safely say they'd gone home, either, just from a base look at it, with his senses as they are. )
[If Bakugo might have retaliated. Tempting as fuck to do so. Esikko gets back up and he pushes himself into a sitting position on the couch, arms crossed over his chest. So this guy's bodyguard isn't a statue, but he's in the clinic? Another guest? That doesn't make any sense from what he's heard when people die or go home.]
What the hell? Those statues are past guests that aren't here anymore. Parrot and Anemone Hair were doing an experiment to see if they could revive one. [Bakugo never thought it would work, but given the specifications Senku proposed, he ended up at least being an assistant in the deed. As far as Hawks' two feathers were concerned.]
People don't stay here like some shitty captive. Otherwise, timelines and other worlds would get fucked up.
...Time isn't always linear, and I've told you how memories can be.
( He won't push that further, though, considering how uncomfortable it can be. To imagine your own world going on without you, to imagine other "versions" of you, to feel you're left behind, that you have nothing to go back to. It's not like that, either, but it can feel that way in a moment. It can be maddening.
Instead, he looks thoughtful. )
Guests that die don't turn into statues. It's those that disappear who do. And... possibly, those who refrain from sex for too long. That's what I've heard.
Trying to "revive" something that isn't dead... Were they confused? I thought Hiyori, at least, was clear on this much. Though he can be a bit stubborn and get lost on what I'm saying.
( His voice is calmer than even before, quiet, more like he's thinking, or even distracted. )
Guests that die, simply die. But when returned to the clinic, they will be brought back to life with something wrong, all while the doctors insist that nothing is wrong with them, and they barely survived. Their rank drops to 2, and they go into debt from the bills.
I have my own proof. I'm not changing my damn mind.
[Those damn extras from his world are here. They come from different points in his past, and nothing's fucking changed in his life! It blows a lot of options out the damn window on what's believable. Bakugou's already had that argument with Hiyori; he's not getting into it (now) with Esikko. Paused timelines or blatant copies. Fuck, maybe it's better if everyone thinks what they want. Does it matter in the end?]
No shit. People don't "die" here; they come back. [He should know; three murders told him that. The Peacock's included some very dangerous aspects of its events in the past several months, any of which could kill.] The ones who disappear go home. I don't know how that relates to the fucking statues exactly.
[From what he's heard, seen, and put together in his own head, the result works out. Bakugo kicks his legs up on the coffee table in front of him with a scowl, hands shoved in his pockets.]
Anemone Head was using a serum that revived people who got petrified in his own world. It's fucking semantics. [A revival fluid revives, whether that's from sleep, coma, stone, death, whatever the fuck. He glances to the side as Esikko drops some new information on him, piqued at least.]
How long does the "wrong" crap last? It's not like the curses people get inflicted with, right?
( He's quiet through most of it, looking at the door to Bakugo's bedroom, and then across the suite where he'd entered, all as he considers it. He won't argue— he doesn't think their opinions on people "going home" are that different, at the core of things. So, details don't matter. )
From what I can tell, they're permanent.
( He looks back to Bakugo, gesturing in an almost shrug with one hand. )
There's one person— the one who gave me the scar on my chest. He died months ago, and he's been afflicted with a strange curse ever since. Certain conditions cause him to cough up flower petals and blood, now. Similar to an event we all dealt with in the past, though after the fact, and unrelated, it seems.
[Finally, someone who doesn't bite his damn head off for having different opinions on how the "gone home" thing works. (Mostly it's Hiyori.) Bakugo rests his head back on the couch cushion, eyes drifting up towards the ceiling. It'd be nice to know for sure, but the Peacock won't be giving that information out. Controlling bitch.]
So don't die unless you wanna get fucked up when you come back.
[From losing all your shit and rank to having a permanent affliction slapped on you... People who kill others are responsible for screwing over their victims' lives in an entirely different way. Fucking assholes.]
( It's there that Esikko gets even quieter, fingers touching to his own lips in thought. He's staring at nothing, right now, thinking, doubting, wondering— it's easy to relive that day, the moments leading up to it. The request, the deal, the blood, the unfair anger that followed— )
He was killed. ( He asked to be. I was there. I'm the one who did it. Any of the additions he wants to add on bounce around in his head too wildly, and he finds himself struggling, eyes shifting to the side, remembering. )
Bakugo, ( he's soft now, letting his hand fall away from his mouth as he looks over ) would you call us friends?
[A pregnant silence, one filled with unknown emotions weighing on Esikko. He can almost feel them on the man's shoulders, invisible gremlins clinging to his skin. Is nothing in this guy's life positive? One tragedy after another. Bakugo frowns at the ceiling, eyes narrowing in a grumpy expression that doubles in thoughtful reflection.]
I see. [No further detail. There've been plenty of times he's answered questions similarly. Cut off, topic closed, refusing to let more out even if someone tried to dig.
It's the follow up that makes his brows furrow more.
What the hell? After this fucking row, all the prince said and yelled at him for, assaulted him without permission, petty petty, he's going to ask something like that?! As Bakugo's sifting the impression Esikko is more of a villain now? Real smart decision, man...
Bakugo closes most of his emotions off, showing only what he wants, and is otherwise brooding, stoic, and aloof despite his usual explosive temperament. But he's not unfeeling.]
( He understands that sort of response. Understands the irritation, the hesitance. But he half expects a change of heart for that reason alone, to be pushed back just because his own views surfaced a little more, like so many others do. It's fear, he thinks, that has him staring at Bakugo, trying and failing to read through his expression. His face falters a little, a frown sneaking in as he turns half away again. )
I don't know... How should I know? It's not as if I... ( have friends? ) I mean. I thought so.
( His words are still quiet, frustrated, though this time at himself, and he blinks a few times extra at his own hands to busy himself, running his thumb over the long-healed burn mark on his opposite palm. )
I just thought that if someone like you could say it, then you'd actually mean it. Am I wrong?
[There's a very emotional high right now, and it's not a positive thing. He's been through a lot in the Peacock, having to deal with being kidnapped again, forced into a situation far outside his comfort, unable to get home, and among all of that shit, told to interact and bond with people. Events designed to pry his thoughts and feelings out of his mouth, endangering people around him as well as himself, and generally fucking with him (all of them). All through that, he met people and interacted with them. Does he consider any of them friends?
Friends is a strange word for Bakugo. He thinks it's "weak" when you admit it. The idea of "friends" giving you strength is a stupid trope he walked into U.A. not believing in. I can handle this myself! Sharing his victories with someone else, earning a defeat because some other bastard interfered, being "with" another person like that bothers him a lot. And yet, he's not immune to it. Friendship can happen, he's human after all, but it takes a lot of effort, patience, experience, and most of all, Bakugo's opinion on the other person.
After what he's been through with Esikko... Does that make them friends?]
If I say it, of course I fucking mean it. I'm not some damn liar.
[The couch sighs as he pushes himself off it and onto his feet. Saying it, however, has always been the problem. He'll deny it even if it's true, because that's the kind of person he is. Embarrassing, frustrating, whatever.]
I trust you as an ally.
[In all honesty, they probably are budding on that verge of friendship, as Bakugo would rather be with Esikko during some events rather than be stuck with someone new. Familiarity's important.]
You already have friends anyways.
[Hiyori and Dabi to name two off the top of his head.]
( Esikko looks conflicted, or confused, eventually dropping his hands from their fidgeting. This place has certainly provided new opportunities, and so he does have... a friend? Friends? Dabi has been there through everything, knows who he really is. Hiyori, though, he still worries would change his mind instantly the second he learned more about him, and leave him behind.
Right now, he feels like Bakugo might be in that same grouping. Friendship has always seemed weak to him, too. Unneeded, a distraction, an obstacle— though how much of that was from just not having any for himself? The truth is, he's afraid of trusting people only to have them turn their back on him.
It's not fair, he thinks, that he can feel sick over something like this. Even Dabi had said he expected specific answers from people— was that true? Is he unreasonable? He just doesn't want to be alone. )
Sorry. ( Mumbled and a little distracted, he ultimately decides not to do the trust fall of showing Bakugo the messages from Aventurine. Not now, anyway. But he looks frustrated with himself as he rubs at his forehead a little and turns to move towards the front door. )
I must be tired, is all. ( to get so worked up, so emotional. )
[For Esikko, probably. People who talk to him, who help him with troubles, who come to him when he struggles, who like to be around him, talk with him about random or serious things, people who he can trust with burdens or joys. Those people are friends. Does he really have to have it spelled out for him who's a friend and who isn't? Bakugo doesn't know who Esikko has in his life that fits those criteria, but he's pretty damn sure he has people.
Bakugo didn't come to this place to make friends. Hell, he never wanted to fucking come here in the first place! They're all prisoners; no one said they had to get along or interact. (Minus the damn House saying exactly that.) Friends, relying on people, admitting he needs helps... fuck it. He's not that weak.
If Esikko expected some kind of better answer more aligned to what he wants to hear... well that's not been happening the entire damn time has it. Bakugo doesn't even know if they've reached whatever they were trying to reach.]
The hell are you apologizing for? [Esikko didn't do anything wrong except stand up for his friend's feelings. Bakugo follows him to the door, not bothering to chase after the excuse of being tired. Let him say what he wants. He unlocks the front door and pushes it open.]
I'll leave the statues here. [He tilts his head to the hallway outside his suite door.] Tell Bacon Face he can come get them whenever he wants.
( Now that brightens things a little more, actually. Actions like that— they speak for trust even more than words do, right? He knows it can't be easy, to rely on anyone else to look after something when you're the one who feels most able to protect them. So, his smile is a little more honest in turn, even if he still feels weirdly scrambled over getting emotional about things. It's gross. )
...Thanks, I will. Sincerely, you know. I've thanked you more than once for various things, but it's not something I pass out so easily. Just so you know.
( So. Friends, maybe, almost? Allies, he guesses, can be fine for now. They're both stubborn in their own ways. Anyway— reaching into his pockets, he pulls out a few vials that likely look familiar to Bakugo. The potions for burn fixes and pain mediation, the ones he'd given the next day after promising before— they're the same, labeled and everything. )
I thought you might be running low.
( He was going to just leave them by the door, but since he followed anyway... Now he heads out, unless there's anything else Bakugo wants to say. )
[Bakugo hates losing. He's always been sore about it. But he's also not so proud he can't admit to himself when something was done wrong. If he thinks of this more as wronging Touya rather than Dabi, at least it makes the ire of doing this for a villain less stinging. There are so many things Esikko doesn't know, so many things he could tell the guy about his friend, about the men whose images those statues bear... But the time to do that has passed and he decided against it.]
Scram.
[Is this something to thank him for? He doesn't know. Parts of this feel weird, others settled, parts of him irked, others calmer. Right now, he simply wants it to be done with. Before he changes his mind.
Bakugo takes the vials offered to him, looking at the collection in his hand. Hmph, so he remembered. A few more words and Esikko might have need some burn heal before he left. Ironic. Curling his fingers, he pockets the offering. Low? No, but he'll take them for stock. You never know what'll happen.
He waits by the door until Esikko is safely on the elevator and out of sight, then closes the suite to make good on his word. Lessons learned, huh...]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 22:54 (UTC)Bakugo refused to allow them to use Endeavor's statue, period, and didn't allow them to use anything from Hawks save for the smallest amount that wouldn't cause the man harm. If the hotel didn't just "refresh" everything the second the man returned. Bakugo hopes he never does. Doesn't want anyone stuck in this shitty place.
He remains lounged on the couch, blocked from majority view, yet Esikko's stare pierces right through. Fucking annoying. Did he finish writing his damn report yet?]
Have you ever had someone you looked up to? Someone you wanted to protect.
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 22:59 (UTC)( Stiffly, he moves further into the living room, arms still crossed, eyes tracing to find a better view on Bakugo. )
But protect? I do now. Someone I look up to and want to protect, only here. Why?
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 23:08 (UTC)Still, if Esikko's being truthful about having someone he wants to protect, even in this place...]
Then you know why I did it.
[Those people are from his world. Even if he has issues with the League, if they became statues, he'd be trying to find their statues as well and bring them to his room. Well, not now, since apparently ISSUES. He'd at least find the petrified one and then tell the other two. Or one. Whoever remains.
If Esikko wants to call that selfish, then fine. He's selfish.]
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 23:14 (UTC)If anything, doesn't it just show it's similar? He stops next to the couch, looking down on Bakugo with his crossed arms and a huffy sort of almost-pout, like he's trying to decide how to feel. How to respond. )
Well. Then you know why I'm upset, too.
( It's the same, isn't it? It's selfish, but he's selfish, too. He knows that. It's the same. His arms drop, after a moment, and with a release of a sigh he'd been holding in for too long, he bumps his foot against the edge of the couch, a fake kick. )
And you wouldn't even let me get one hit off about it. Asshole.
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 23:40 (UTC)[Maybe Esikko already has. It's fucking strange, seeing the villain has someone who cares about him and wants to protect him like this, but then again, the other Todoroki, including Dabi's little brother, also felt similar. Obviously not the sort of pink tinge he thinks Esikko has.
But still... fucking hell. Bakugo's stomach twists in irritation, assuming Esikko's willing to look past Dabi's actions enough to feel this way about him, yet still has the gall to eternally condemn a man he doesn't know at all, save for a one-sided biased report.
There's no point arguing with someone who's mind's already made up. He's not going to waste his time with something as pathetic as smearing Dabi's name out of pettiness.]
You didn't ask permission to hit me.
[And he's not even a statue! Rude. Now this kind of pettiness? Yeah, he'll dip into like a brat.]
no subject
Date: 12/17/24 23:47 (UTC)Esi's face goes a little red from the mix of embarrassment at that first statement to anger at the second, and he promptly whirls around to...
Attempt to sit down right on Bakugo's chest. He's not asking for permission for this either!!! )
Shut up already. What makes you think I haven't told him? It's not like it matters, anyway. I've told you it always ends the same.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 00:06 (UTC)Bakugo has a hard time feeling sorry for a man who kidnapped him, threatened him with death, tried to murder his classmates, and more!
What the fuck?! The blonde scrambles backwards, trying to get that bony ass from digging into his chest. A hand grabs at the couch back to pull himself, other one snapping and popping small explosions in the air beside him. Dammit, Esikko, he thinks he's got the right to try being fucking "funny" after all that bullshit?!]
Don't screw with me! You're the one making a big deal out of permission! [Petty or serious or not.] If you didn't think it mattered, you wouldn't bother trying!
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 00:13 (UTC)It's like the silliest wrestling known to man? This is what happens when you never learn to hug, maybe. )
...You said you'll talk with him later. In person? Just you two? How do I know you won't kill each other?
( And, it's not like he should care about Bakugo, he thinks, he swears, but the more it comes to his mind, the more he does, and it's annoying too. Ugh. )
No one ever asks me for permission, so of course I want it. I'm just making it even.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 00:27 (UTC)Don't you dare. If you try to hug him right now, they'll need tweezers to pick up the pieces...]
I'm not gonna waste my time trying to kill him! Dead people come right back.
[Why the hell does Esikko even care? Besides, it's not DABI pissing him off!]
You gonna fight his battles for him now?
[HE STILL DIDN'T ASK PERMISSION TO FUCKING SLAP HIM OR SIT ON HIM!! GODDAMN HYPOCRITE!!]
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 00:35 (UTC)A hypocrite who shoves his palm into Bakugo's face as he half turns to look at him. He has a great ass, thank you, it's the only part of him that's not flat— but he still manages to be bony. )
You know, my bodyguard has been dead longer than the others. Don't treat it as so consistent or reliable.
If I'm there too, maybe you two won't brawl, you know? ( and he's nosy. but he cares, too. )
It's just something to consider. ( he's staring so hard, but there's so much he's not saying that he has his lips pressed together in an almost thin straight line. )
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 01:00 (UTC)Also because he often takes his "revenge" then and there by kicking the offender's ass. He has better things to do than plot some long-term crap.
It's real tempting to bite Esikko's fingers when he plasters them right in his face. Get those things away from his eyes, dammit! He jerks his head to the side, snarling up at the other man. Didn't you walk into this room hating him?!]
He's not dead, dammit! He went back home! [Why the fuck do people not understand this?! The hotel's not keeping everyone around in a goddamn meat freezer!
Considered it. Yeeted it. No comment. He's more interested in talking about the fucking statues.]
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 01:15 (UTC)What are you talking about? Who's not dead? Because if you mean my bodyguard, he is. His body is in the clinic. They won't allow you to see him, and they insist he's still alive— but I can promise you he's not.
( Or is he talking about... the statues again? After they were talking about Dabi being able to come back to life, and then that stupid dog bodyguard... The statues aren't what he'd call dead, no. But he certainly wouldn't be able to safely say they'd gone home, either, just from a base look at it, with his senses as they are. )
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 02:11 (UTC)What the hell? Those statues are past guests that aren't here anymore. Parrot and Anemone Hair were doing an experiment to see if they could revive one. [Bakugo never thought it would work, but given the specifications Senku proposed, he ended up at least being an assistant in the deed. As far as Hawks' two feathers were concerned.]
People don't stay here like some shitty captive. Otherwise, timelines and other worlds would get fucked up.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 02:36 (UTC)( He won't push that further, though, considering how uncomfortable it can be. To imagine your own world going on without you, to imagine other "versions" of you, to feel you're left behind, that you have nothing to go back to. It's not like that, either, but it can feel that way in a moment. It can be maddening.
Instead, he looks thoughtful. )
Guests that die don't turn into statues. It's those that disappear who do. And... possibly, those who refrain from sex for too long. That's what I've heard.
Trying to "revive" something that isn't dead... Were they confused? I thought Hiyori, at least, was clear on this much. Though he can be a bit stubborn and get lost on what I'm saying.
( His voice is calmer than even before, quiet, more like he's thinking, or even distracted. )
Guests that die, simply die. But when returned to the clinic, they will be brought back to life with something wrong, all while the doctors insist that nothing is wrong with them, and they barely survived. Their rank drops to 2, and they go into debt from the bills.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 04:38 (UTC)[Those damn extras from his world are here. They come from different points in his past, and nothing's fucking changed in his life! It blows a lot of options out the damn window on what's believable. Bakugou's already had that argument with Hiyori; he's not getting into it (now) with Esikko. Paused timelines or blatant copies. Fuck, maybe it's better if everyone thinks what they want. Does it matter in the end?]
No shit. People don't "die" here; they come back. [He should know; three murders told him that. The Peacock's included some very dangerous aspects of its events in the past several months, any of which could kill.] The ones who disappear go home. I don't know how that relates to the fucking statues exactly.
[From what he's heard, seen, and put together in his own head, the result works out. Bakugo kicks his legs up on the coffee table in front of him with a scowl, hands shoved in his pockets.]
Anemone Head was using a serum that revived people who got petrified in his own world. It's fucking semantics. [A revival fluid revives, whether that's from sleep, coma, stone, death, whatever the fuck. He glances to the side as Esikko drops some new information on him, piqued at least.]
How long does the "wrong" crap last? It's not like the curses people get inflicted with, right?
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 05:23 (UTC)From what I can tell, they're permanent.
( He looks back to Bakugo, gesturing in an almost shrug with one hand. )
There's one person— the one who gave me the scar on my chest. He died months ago, and he's been afflicted with a strange curse ever since. Certain conditions cause him to cough up flower petals and blood, now. Similar to an event we all dealt with in the past, though after the fact, and unrelated, it seems.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 05:57 (UTC)So don't die unless you wanna get fucked up when you come back.
[From losing all your shit and rank to having a permanent affliction slapped on you... People who kill others are responsible for screwing over their victims' lives in an entirely different way. Fucking assholes.]
Any idea how he died?
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 06:16 (UTC)( It's there that Esikko gets even quieter, fingers touching to his own lips in thought. He's staring at nothing, right now, thinking, doubting, wondering— it's easy to relive that day, the moments leading up to it. The request, the deal, the blood, the unfair anger that followed— )
He was killed. ( He asked to be. I was there. I'm the one who did it. Any of the additions he wants to add on bounce around in his head too wildly, and he finds himself struggling, eyes shifting to the side, remembering. )
Bakugo, ( he's soft now, letting his hand fall away from his mouth as he looks over ) would you call us friends?
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 06:39 (UTC)I see. [No further detail. There've been plenty of times he's answered questions similarly. Cut off, topic closed, refusing to let more out even if someone tried to dig.
It's the follow up that makes his brows furrow more.
What the hell? After this fucking row, all the prince said and yelled at him for, assaulted him
without permission, petty petty, he's going to ask something like that?! As Bakugo's sifting the impression Esikko is more of a villain now? Real smart decision, man...Bakugo closes most of his emotions off, showing only what he wants, and is otherwise brooding, stoic, and aloof despite his usual explosive temperament. But he's not unfeeling.]
What do you think?
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 06:59 (UTC)I don't know... How should I know? It's not as if I... ( have friends? ) I mean. I thought so.
( His words are still quiet, frustrated, though this time at himself, and he blinks a few times extra at his own hands to busy himself, running his thumb over the long-healed burn mark on his opposite palm. )
I just thought that if someone like you could say it, then you'd actually mean it. Am I wrong?
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 16:43 (UTC)Friends is a strange word for Bakugo. He thinks it's "weak" when you admit it. The idea of "friends" giving you strength is a stupid trope he walked into U.A. not believing in. I can handle this myself! Sharing his victories with someone else, earning a defeat because some other bastard interfered, being "with" another person like that bothers him a lot. And yet, he's not immune to it. Friendship can happen, he's human after all, but it takes a lot of effort, patience, experience, and most of all, Bakugo's opinion on the other person.
After what he's been through with Esikko... Does that make them friends?]
If I say it, of course I fucking mean it. I'm not some damn liar.
[The couch sighs as he pushes himself off it and onto his feet. Saying it, however, has always been the problem. He'll deny it even if it's true, because that's the kind of person he is. Embarrassing, frustrating, whatever.]
I trust you as an ally.
[In all honesty, they probably are budding on that verge of friendship, as Bakugo would rather be with Esikko during some events rather than be stuck with someone new. Familiarity's important.]
You already have friends anyways.
[Hiyori and Dabi to name two off the top of his head.]
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 18:17 (UTC)( Esikko looks conflicted, or confused, eventually dropping his hands from their fidgeting. This place has certainly provided new opportunities, and so he does have... a friend? Friends? Dabi has been there through everything, knows who he really is. Hiyori, though, he still worries would change his mind instantly the second he learned more about him, and leave him behind.
Right now, he feels like Bakugo might be in that same grouping. Friendship has always seemed weak to him, too. Unneeded, a distraction, an obstacle— though how much of that was from just not having any for himself? The truth is, he's afraid of trusting people only to have them turn their back on him.
It's not fair, he thinks, that he can feel sick over something like this. Even Dabi had said he expected specific answers from people— was that true? Is he unreasonable? He just doesn't want to be alone. )
Sorry. ( Mumbled and a little distracted, he ultimately decides not to do the trust fall of showing Bakugo the messages from Aventurine. Not now, anyway. But he looks frustrated with himself as he rubs at his forehead a little and turns to move towards the front door. )
I must be tired, is all. ( to get so worked up, so emotional. )
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 20:04 (UTC)[For Esikko, probably. People who talk to him, who help him with troubles, who come to him when he struggles, who like to be around him, talk with him about random or serious things, people who he can trust with burdens or joys. Those people are friends. Does he really have to have it spelled out for him who's a friend and who isn't? Bakugo doesn't know who Esikko has in his life that fits those criteria, but he's pretty damn sure he has people.
Bakugo didn't come to this place to make friends. Hell, he never wanted to fucking come here in the first place! They're all prisoners; no one said they had to get along or interact. (Minus the damn House saying exactly that.) Friends, relying on people, admitting he needs helps... fuck it. He's not that weak.
If Esikko expected some kind of better answer more aligned to what he wants to hear... well that's not been happening the entire damn time has it. Bakugo doesn't even know if they've reached whatever they were trying to reach.]
The hell are you apologizing for? [Esikko didn't do anything wrong except stand up for his friend's feelings. Bakugo follows him to the door, not bothering to chase after the excuse of being tired. Let him say what he wants. He unlocks the front door and pushes it open.]
I'll leave the statues here. [He tilts his head to the hallway outside his suite door.] Tell Bacon Face he can come get them whenever he wants.
I don't need to meet with him anymore.
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 20:21 (UTC)...Thanks, I will. Sincerely, you know. I've thanked you more than once for various things, but it's not something I pass out so easily. Just so you know.
( So. Friends, maybe, almost? Allies, he guesses, can be fine for now. They're both stubborn in their own ways. Anyway— reaching into his pockets, he pulls out a few vials that likely look familiar to Bakugo. The potions for burn fixes and pain mediation, the ones he'd given the next day after promising before— they're the same, labeled and everything. )
I thought you might be running low.
( He was going to just leave them by the door, but since he followed anyway... Now he heads out, unless there's anything else Bakugo wants to say. )
no subject
Date: 12/18/24 20:45 (UTC)Scram.
[Is this something to thank him for? He doesn't know. Parts of this feel weird, others settled, parts of him irked, others calmer. Right now, he simply wants it to be done with. Before he changes his mind.
Bakugo takes the vials offered to him, looking at the collection in his hand. Hmph, so he remembered. A few more words and Esikko might have need some burn heal before he left. Ironic. Curling his fingers, he pockets the offering. Low? No, but he'll take them for stock. You never know what'll happen.
He waits by the door until Esikko is safely on the elevator and out of sight, then closes the suite to make good on his word. Lessons learned, huh...]
(no subject)
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