Don't tell me you forgot my pretty face already! Aren't you a little young for memory loss?
Come on! Zelos Wilder? Red-headed beauty? Magic swordsman who you gave a tour of your little school? You showed me how to work microwaves and the television?
( That's a strong reaction, so he has to pause. He does lie about a lot, he knows, but... )
I'm serious! Why would I lie about something like that?
I couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely think. But I remember it, even if it's foggy. It was cold. Kind of like... that other Peacock. You been there before? Behind the mirrors.
[This can't be! THIS CAN'T BE! FUCK! He thought he had it all figured out! He knew it was theories and assumed evidence, but nothing contradicted it! It didn't make sense to!
( Uh oh. He's beginning to think he may have accidentally caused a mental breakdown over here... He's trying to think how to make it better, how to make it sound less bad, but...
All he can think is it felt like how he expected it would feel to be stuck in his cruxis crystal. Something he wanted to avoid more than anything. It was terrible, even if it was a foggy mess of time feeling odd. )
[What the hell... WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! ALL THIS TIME, HE KEPT SOME MODICUM OF HOPE THERE WAS AN OUT! IF YOU DIDN'T PLAY THE GAME, IF YOU WERE PISSED IT OFF, IF YOU WEREN'T THE RIGHT CHOICE, YOU WERE THROWN BACK HOME AND SOME SHITTY TROPHY OF YOUR BEING HERE WAS ADDED TO THE COLLECTION! THAT'S ALL IT WAS, A FUCKING PIECE OF ROCK! YOU STILL GOT TO GO "HOME", THIS MOMENTARY SLICE OF YOU WIPED CLEAN AND-
wait, but what about the people who came back as a different person? Picked out of a different point on their timeline. New memories, new scars, new experiences, strength, skills, knowledge, all the shit that couldn't be chiseled into their stupid little trophy! It'd have to make a new copy, it couldn't reuse the old... one...
Unless it simply updated (or downgraded) the person beneath the stone... It's just a change... Zelos is Zelos, doesn't matter where on his timeline he's pulled from, what alternate version of a world... he's him... like a slider tweaking whatever's necessary to bring him into the alignment wanted...
...]
We can't go home.
Fuck, none of us can ever go back home. We're all FUCKING STUCK HERE FOREVER!!
[Everyone who's not here... fuck, they're all still here. Hawks. Endeavor. Compress. Akira. Ryuji. Yusuke. Till. The "them" they were here are all still here, frozen in rock and conscious through every damn day for the rest of this shitty creature's existence!
This brand on his arm, this mark which can change him- Collect the cards. A fucking wish to go home! Anything you Want!!
USELESS ... fucking useless ... all of it ... ALL OF IT'S FUCKING USELESS!! It's magic! It's omnipotent! It can do whatever the hell it wants and they can't DO A GODDAMN THING ABOUT IT!!]
( Ah, man. Here he was, just trying to mess around, and now he's gotta drop his act a little too soon for comfort. But he can't stand this, can't just sit back and watch, so— )
Oh, give me a break.
( It's sudden, harsh and a little agitated, a lower and more serious tone than ever came from the Zelos Bakugo met before. Not because he's mad at Bakugo by any means, but because he's frustrated, and maybe a little disappointed— was disappointed back home, too— at the idea of just giving up like that. Someone like him? Sure, it made sense. But guys like Bakugo, like Lloyd? They've got people depending on them, bright futures, good heads on their shoulders. He hates that the House has people like this here, people who would be better off at home, doing other things— but he's not about to sit here and let it break their spirits right in front of him!! )
You're really just gonna give up? What, because one guy is telling you he remembers everything? Because it works differently than you thought?
( An irritated breath catches in his Watch's audio, but there's a reason he's not showing his camera. He doesn't want to be caught in 4k Caring so much. Shh. )
Pull it together, man. Just because I was stuck in that shitty spot for so long doesn't mean that's how it has to go. This place is going to try and make it that way, sure, but that's why we've gotta come back at it in full force! Right? If you don't like how things are, then you're just going to have to do something about it! Isn't that why you call yourself a hero?
[What the hell... Kuso! How many blows can he take in rapid succession? Everything involving that wretched day continues to hang on him like ghosts. Apologies and reservations built up and offered as his body and mind struggled to put itself back together, each one breaking into raw wounds over again.
He spent days crashing back and forth between accepting bonds with other people and the emotions they brought were facts of life, they were going to happen... and the nihilistic "fuck it all" mindset throwing each bloody risk out the window.
Before finding out no less than five of his companions vanished from the resort in rapid succession. A gory hook torn out with each one.
Through all of it, he held onto a small furious understanding the hotel wasn't getting the last laugh. Everyone who vanished simply went back home. Fusing once more with their timeline selves, a snapshot vanished to its proper place.
... and now this.
HOW THE FUCK IS HE SUPPOSED TO GO "oh, that sucks" AND MOVE ON LIKE IT'S UNCHANGED?!
Fuck... his stomach twists, gall rising in his throat, hearing that same mocking laughter which spilled through his head when he came to after those cursed 24 hrs. An enemy he couldn't defeat. A battle... he couldn't win.]
Naanda? [His rough voice rises in an aggressive, threatening twist. Hot enraged to the point he can't even do anything with himself. Standing in his room, sparks bursting and flying from his palms with no power in his arms to even move them. Everything's tight and pulsing, veins throbbing all over his body as his heart rate escalates into an overtime rush.
His suit mark may or may not be rapidly darkening, inky ichor welling up from that sicking place again, splattering around his glowing golden heart.] Who the fuck's gonna waste his time trying for something impossible, baka!
[Pissed? No, he's fucking furious!] The only thing we can do about it is either kill the goddamn bird, or get your shitty wish with the cards. Tell me how you're gonna do the former, cause no moron's gonna trust the latter works!
( ...Anger's good. Anger means there's life in there, even if it's snapping. Sometimes you've gotta break to get stronger, right? Or something like that. )
You trying to tell me you've tried everything, ruled it all out? Impossible sounds pretty final, y'know.
( He lets space exist between his words where it needs to, wherever Bakugo needs to yell, allowing some of his mask to creep back in with proper timing. Start a fire, back off, make sure it keeps burning... Just his usual. )
Don't go pinning this on me. I'm not the one who goes around claiming he's some murder god hero. ( He did laugh at finding his username, though. ) You figure it out. Or if you really think it's so useless, then what's the problem? Just kick back and relax!
[Of course there's life in there! He's not fucking dead! This place won't even let people die, always bringing them back with bullshit excuses and greedy lascivious smiles! That's not the point, dammit!]
Don't ask stupid questions! Look around you! You think all these people haven't tried as much as they can?
[People who have been here far longer than their group's going on two years this December. None of them have managed to go home all this time! Even if they "die" or "fail", they're still here as a fucking statue!
Dammit... He'd hoped at least those people had an out... He refused to believe anything else unless concrete proof slapped him in the face. Guess what? Zelos' return is concrete as fuck.
Bakugo's never taken defeat well.]
I'm not pinning shit on you! [Zelos is unfortunately the bearer of wretched new. His hands curl again, sparks snapping as the man's other words settle on his shoulders. Fuck... what's the problem? He's not wrong. If nothing they do here matters, why the hell not? This is their life, their existence.
There's no going back to the world they know. Their goals back home...]
KUSO!!
[To his credit, this time Bakugo doesn't nuke his room. Nope, this time he made it outside and nuked the entire goddamn hallway!]
( There's a long bit of a pause, where Zelos waits for the noise to settle wherever Bakugo just blew off some steam. Ugh. )
I don't know if it matters, ( he starts with a sort of a sigh, hating that he's bringing this up of his own volition, but. it might be valuable. it might give some hope, it might not, he doesn't know. )
—but I was about to die, back home. Who knows if it's the same for everyone.
[Smoke billows, walls blackened, flames curling along wallpaper and melting golden decorations which haven't been completely demolished already. Bakugo's hunched person looms in rage amid his destruction, venting the only way he can. This fucking cage... this fucking goddamn cage!]
That doesn't have shit to do with it! People were brought here from any damn number of events! Simple life, war, death, celebration! Most of us have lives to go back to, goals we're never going to accomplish in this hellhole!
[And now his backup escape for a hope they could get out another way... FUCK!!]
You really think this place treats us like we're equals?
( It's just kind of muttered into his wrist as Bakugo goes off on the other end, but he's not gonna press this too hard. He has no idea how this place works. Just that it tried to rope him into working with it, and it's trying again. )
I've got more to tell ya. But I don't wanna do it over these things.
[Whether it's for amusement or sustenance, he has no idea. But now they're prisoners, stuck here forever even if they no longer play the damn thing's game. There's no going home for any of them. Dammit!
More to tell him. Fuck, does he want to hear more?! ... Ugh, it's not gonna make him feel any less sick to his stomach, so what the hell?! BRING IT ON!]
Here!
[And sends his room address. He's an Ace of Spades, no longer the 3 of Spades like when they first met.]
( He makes his way over silently, stepping off the elevator on the higher ranked floors. He remembers these Ace suites well, after having made it there with Satoru before— but it's nice, to see others making it up here. Bakugo especially.
It's easy enough to follow the hall to where it looks the most wrecked. Zelos keeps his thumbs shoved into his pockets, lifting his chin as a greeting, instead. )
[Fuck this place. He feels no remorse or regret for destroying the hallway, standing amid its smoking ruins with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders rounded in a delinquent slump, face set in a scowl which could kill lesser men. Footsteps perk his ears and he lifts his head, eyes locking onto Zelo as he appears around the corner.]
Tch. [So damn carefree. Why shouldn't he be? This place is a fucking vacation for Zelos. Bakugo turns on his feet, gritting debris under his shoes, and leads into his room, silently expecting the man to follow him through the double doors.]
( Yeah, a vacation. That's the story he's sticking to, anyway, and he doesn't mind playing into that as he follows along after Bakugo, arms lifting to fold behind his head like he doesn't have a care in the world. He lets out a long whistle. )
So, an Ace rank, huh? Guess you're really living the high life, then.
( Granted, his tone is a little less grating than he'd normally put on. He's still a bit muted, eyes trailing to take in whatever he can about Bakugo's space. )
Still not good enough, though. ( For someone who wants to go home. )
[An Ace rank. Yeah, whatever. His suite's completely rearranged and redone now, serving as a modern Japanese apartment with stone built and wooden accents, and carrying the comfort of a well-off home. He's repaired almost all of the main room since destroying it at the end of August.]
Urusei. It's a place to live. [Bakugo hadn't cared much about his rank for himself, but rather gambled on the rank system to become an Ace so he could use the rank to help others when necessary. Somewhat safer than blowing up shit to get his point across... though nowadays, he's far less reserved about doing so.]
You want something to drink? I've got water, tea, juice, and sports drinks.
( It's hard to want to drink anything with so much on his mind, and even if he assumes Bakugo wants the busy work of doing typical hosting, he's sure he'd be more pissed at the waste of it if he didn't touch it. Does he even need to drink anymore? It's something he's been wondering, something he's too afraid to test out, and so he lets that thought fall aside. )
C'mere, I want you to feel something.
( Weird, maybe, but he holds his hand out all the same, like he's expecting a hand grip. He's not really picky how Bakugo chooses to do it, but he'll explain why while waiting: )
I've been cold since I woke up, and temperature isn't usually an issue for me. Tell me if you feel it, too, or if it's in my head.
( But if he does touch— it's not in Zelos' head, he is a bit chilly to the touch. At least it's not completely lifeless, but bringing it up means he's been thinking about it. He's just glad he can still feel when coffee is hot or cold, but it's weird, right? )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text ; un: meltokiho
Date: 10/5/25 02:16 (UTC)( He remembers his name, but he's obnoxious at all times, so of course he's gotta use every other name in the book. )
It's me, the one and only handsome Zelos. ✨ What floor is the gym on?
( ...Why is he using Bakugo as a directory? For fun, mostly. )
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 02:32 (UTC)[Legit question. Wait... it takes him a while to remember, but soon enough he does, but he is not gonna admit this!
Yet.]
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 02:36 (UTC)Don't tell me you forgot my pretty face already! Aren't you a little young for memory loss?
Come on! Zelos Wilder? Red-headed beauty? Magic swordsman who you gave a tour of your little school? You showed me how to work microwaves and the television?
Any of this ringing a bell?
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 02:40 (UTC)Nothing's wrong with my memory! You're forgettable!
[Aaand now it clicks.]
WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE?!
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 02:44 (UTC)Anyway, isn't it obvious? I'm back in the flesh! Been a while, huh?
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 02:56 (UTC)What kind of lame asshole gets kidnapped again?!
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 03:00 (UTC)Seriously, I thought I was never gonna come to. Do you have any idea how cold it is as one of those things?
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 03:03 (UTC)WHAT THE FUCK?!
DON'T FUCK WITH ME!!
THAT'S A GODDAMN LIE!!
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 03:08 (UTC)I'm serious! Why would I lie about something like that?
I couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely think. But I remember it, even if it's foggy. It was cold. Kind of like... that other Peacock. You been there before? Behind the mirrors.
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 03:40 (UTC)But this...
BUT THIS FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT-]
ALL THIS TIME YOU WERE CONSCIOUS AS A STATUE?!
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 03:45 (UTC)All he can think is it felt like how he expected it would feel to be stuck in his cruxis crystal. Something he wanted to avoid more than anything. It was terrible, even if it was a foggy mess of time feeling odd. )
Sorry to burst your bubble.
You wanna meet up?
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 04:02 (UTC)wait, but what about the people who came back as a different person? Picked out of a different point on their timeline. New memories, new scars, new experiences, strength, skills, knowledge, all the shit that couldn't be chiseled into their stupid little trophy! It'd have to make a new copy, it couldn't reuse the old... one...
Unless it simply updated (or downgraded) the person beneath the stone... It's just a change... Zelos is Zelos, doesn't matter where on his timeline he's pulled from, what alternate version of a world... he's him... like a slider tweaking whatever's necessary to bring him into the alignment wanted...
...]
We can't go home.
Fuck, none of us can ever go back home. We're all FUCKING STUCK HERE FOREVER!!
[Everyone who's not here... fuck, they're all still here. Hawks. Endeavor. Compress. Akira. Ryuji. Yusuke. Till. The "them" they were here are all still here, frozen in rock and conscious through every damn day for the rest of this shitty creature's existence!
This brand on his arm, this mark which can change him- Collect the cards. A fucking wish to go home! Anything you Want!!
USELESS ... fucking useless ... all of it ... ALL OF IT'S FUCKING USELESS!! It's magic! It's omnipotent! It can do whatever the hell it wants and they can't DO A GODDAMN THING ABOUT IT!!]
text → audio
Date: 10/5/25 04:19 (UTC)Oh, give me a break.
( It's sudden, harsh and a little agitated, a lower and more serious tone than ever came from the Zelos Bakugo met before. Not because he's mad at Bakugo by any means, but because he's frustrated, and maybe a little disappointed— was disappointed back home, too— at the idea of just giving up like that. Someone like him? Sure, it made sense. But guys like Bakugo, like Lloyd? They've got people depending on them, bright futures, good heads on their shoulders. He hates that the House has people like this here, people who would be better off at home, doing other things— but he's not about to sit here and let it break their spirits right in front of him!! )
You're really just gonna give up? What, because one guy is telling you he remembers everything? Because it works differently than you thought?
( An irritated breath catches in his Watch's audio, but there's a reason he's not showing his camera. He doesn't want to be caught in 4k Caring so much. Shh. )
Pull it together, man. Just because I was stuck in that shitty spot for so long doesn't mean that's how it has to go. This place is going to try and make it that way, sure, but that's why we've gotta come back at it in full force! Right? If you don't like how things are, then you're just going to have to do something about it! Isn't that why you call yourself a hero?
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 04:59 (UTC)He spent days crashing back and forth between accepting bonds with other people and the emotions they brought were facts of life, they were going to happen... and the nihilistic "fuck it all" mindset throwing each bloody risk out the window.
Before finding out no less than five of his companions vanished from the resort in rapid succession. A gory hook torn out with each one.
Through all of it, he held onto a small furious understanding the hotel wasn't getting the last laugh. Everyone who vanished simply went back home. Fusing once more with their timeline selves, a snapshot vanished to its proper place.
... and now this.
HOW THE FUCK IS HE SUPPOSED TO GO "oh, that sucks" AND MOVE ON LIKE IT'S UNCHANGED?!
Fuck... his stomach twists, gall rising in his throat, hearing that same mocking laughter which spilled through his head when he came to after those cursed 24 hrs. An enemy he couldn't defeat. A battle... he couldn't win.]
Naanda? [His rough voice rises in an aggressive, threatening twist. Hot enraged to the point he can't even do anything with himself. Standing in his room, sparks bursting and flying from his palms with no power in his arms to even move them. Everything's tight and pulsing, veins throbbing all over his body as his heart rate escalates into an overtime rush.
His suit mark may or may not be rapidly darkening, inky ichor welling up from that sicking place again, splattering around his glowing golden heart.] Who the fuck's gonna waste his time trying for something impossible, baka!
[Pissed? No, he's fucking furious!] The only thing we can do about it is either kill the goddamn bird, or get your shitty wish with the cards. Tell me how you're gonna do the former, cause no moron's gonna trust the latter works!
[He is a hero. Currently a snapping one.]
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 05:07 (UTC)You trying to tell me you've tried everything, ruled it all out? Impossible sounds pretty final, y'know.
( He lets space exist between his words where it needs to, wherever Bakugo needs to yell, allowing some of his mask to creep back in with proper timing. Start a fire, back off, make sure it keeps burning... Just his usual. )
Don't go pinning this on me. I'm not the one who goes around claiming he's some murder god hero. ( He did laugh at finding his username, though. ) You figure it out. Or if you really think it's so useless, then what's the problem? Just kick back and relax!
( He absolutely expects a reaction to that... )
no subject
Date: 10/5/25 14:51 (UTC)Don't ask stupid questions! Look around you! You think all these people haven't tried as much as they can?
[People who have been here far longer than their group's going on two years this December. None of them have managed to go home all this time! Even if they "die" or "fail", they're still here as a fucking statue!
Dammit... He'd hoped at least those people had an out... He refused to believe anything else unless concrete proof slapped him in the face. Guess what? Zelos' return is concrete as fuck.
Bakugo's never taken defeat well.]
I'm not pinning shit on you! [Zelos is unfortunately the bearer of wretched new. His hands curl again, sparks snapping as the man's other words settle on his shoulders. Fuck... what's the problem? He's not wrong. If nothing they do here matters, why the hell not? This is their life, their existence.
There's no going back to the world they know. Their goals back home...]
KUSO!!
[To his credit, this time Bakugo doesn't nuke his room. Nope, this time he made it outside and nuked the entire goddamn hallway!]
no subject
Date: 10/6/25 06:27 (UTC)I don't know if it matters, ( he starts with a sort of a sigh, hating that he's bringing this up of his own volition, but. it might be valuable. it might give some hope, it might not, he doesn't know. )
—but I was about to die, back home. Who knows if it's the same for everyone.
no subject
Date: 10/7/25 00:47 (UTC)That doesn't have shit to do with it! People were brought here from any damn number of events! Simple life, war, death, celebration! Most of us have lives to go back to, goals we're never going to accomplish in this hellhole!
[And now his backup escape for a hope they could get out another way... FUCK!!]
no subject
Date: 10/8/25 19:03 (UTC)( It's just kind of muttered into his wrist as Bakugo goes off on the other end, but he's not gonna press this too hard. He has no idea how this place works. Just that it tried to rope him into working with it, and it's trying again. )
I've got more to tell ya. But I don't wanna do it over these things.
no subject
Date: 10/9/25 01:30 (UTC)[Whether it's for amusement or sustenance, he has no idea. But now they're prisoners, stuck here forever even if they no longer play the damn thing's game. There's no going home for any of them. Dammit!
More to tell him. Fuck, does he want to hear more?! ... Ugh, it's not gonna make him feel any less sick to his stomach, so what the hell?! BRING IT ON!]
Here!
[And sends his room address. He's an Ace of Spades, no longer the 3 of Spades like when they first met.]
no subject
Date: 10/9/25 04:07 (UTC)It's easy enough to follow the hall to where it looks the most wrecked. Zelos keeps his thumbs shoved into his pockets, lifting his chin as a greeting, instead. )
Yo.
no subject
Date: 10/9/25 14:17 (UTC)Tch. [So damn carefree. Why shouldn't he be? This place is a fucking vacation for Zelos. Bakugo turns on his feet, gritting debris under his shoes, and leads into his room, silently expecting the man to follow him through the double doors.]
no subject
Date: 10/15/25 00:01 (UTC)So, an Ace rank, huh? Guess you're really living the high life, then.
( Granted, his tone is a little less grating than he'd normally put on. He's still a bit muted, eyes trailing to take in whatever he can about Bakugo's space. )
Still not good enough, though. ( For someone who wants to go home. )
no subject
Date: 10/15/25 03:50 (UTC)Urusei. It's a place to live. [Bakugo hadn't cared much about his rank for himself, but rather gambled on the rank system to become an Ace so he could use the rank to help others when necessary. Somewhat safer than blowing up shit to get his point across... though nowadays, he's far less reserved about doing so.]
You want something to drink? I've got water, tea, juice, and sports drinks.
no subject
Date: 10/17/25 03:28 (UTC)( It's hard to want to drink anything with so much on his mind, and even if he assumes Bakugo wants the busy work of doing typical hosting, he's sure he'd be more pissed at the waste of it if he didn't touch it. Does he even need to drink anymore? It's something he's been wondering, something he's too afraid to test out, and so he lets that thought fall aside. )
C'mere, I want you to feel something.
( Weird, maybe, but he holds his hand out all the same, like he's expecting a hand grip. He's not really picky how Bakugo chooses to do it, but he'll explain why while waiting: )
I've been cold since I woke up, and temperature isn't usually an issue for me. Tell me if you feel it, too, or if it's in my head.
( But if he does touch— it's not in Zelos' head, he is a bit chilly to the touch. At least it's not completely lifeless, but bringing it up means he's been thinking about it. He's just glad he can still feel when coffee is hot or cold, but it's weird, right? )
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