[ Jaune waits patiently, until he no longer has any patience left in him. Is Ouma doing this on purpose?!? Frustrated, Jaune bursts into the sex shop and yells at his ex-boy'f from across the room. ]
Are you kidding me?! How LONG does someone take in a place like this? What-- you testing all the products or something?
[ Doing it on purpose??? How is he supposed to when he didn’t even see Jaune on the way in? He’s holding up a lacy racy as fuck set when Jaune’s voice makes his head snap up, eyes going wide for a second, before he grins brightly as though there was never a fight at all. ]
Ah, did you come to my rescue?! I can’t decide which to get, do you think this’d suit me?
[ With how well Ouma lies to himself and others, it's easy to wall back into old habits, which Jaune almost does when he starts to reply in earnest... ]
Oh. It's a little too big for y-- HEY, STOP, that's not the point?! What're you doing? Give me that!
[ Jaune yoinks the set out of Ouma's hands, which... looks really questionable in public. Hopefully nobody else in the sex shop is going to blog about this encounter. ]
Probably something Iruma-chan would be into. [ Jaune might be freaking out, Ouma is pretty nonplussed about it. Sorry, Jaune. He's pretty unbothered by sex stuff, this is why they're in here to begin with. ]
Do you want me to cover your eyes? They have blindfolds for that, y'know?
[ A beat, then: ] I guess I need one of those too, actually. C'mon Jaune, maybe your virgin eyes will stop dying if we're over there instead.
Ah, does she? I’m gonna have to just take your word for that, y’know? But that’s fine. I know Hinasaki-chan probably doesn’t compare. I mean you’d know. He isn’t my girlfriend though either so what does it matter.
... [ Only Jaune bringing it up straightforwardly has him going quiet, and even if he's pulled them into the blindfold section, he isn't actually looking at any of the things on offer there. ] I talked to Saihara-chan about it.
[ He did mention him once, along with Amami before everything else happened. Back a long time ago, really. ]
It was the same day it happened, actually. He told me I should probably let you decide for yourself if you still wanted to be friends after you knew everything, y'know? I didn't... give you much of a chance to really choose.
Huh? What do you mean? Wasn't I the one who ran out on you...?
[ It doesn't occur to Jaune that he was emotionally manipulated into doing exactly that, which would make a lot more sense with what Ouma is telling him about choice. ]
[ His eyes drift away and he picks up one of the blindfolds to tug on the elastic. ]
Jaune, I have... difficulties with opening up to people. The killing game just made it worse. [ He doesn’t put the blindfold back, and instead starts walking towards another section, indicating for Jaune to follow him to...
the handcuffs??? Aren’t you glad you’re on this trip Jaune? ]
[ Somehow it's helping that they're in a place like this anyway. They can both be uncomfortable, even if it's for entirely different reasons. ]
Yup. That's what happens when you don't have any family to rely on, y'know? After, I did... but I chose them. Or at least that's what I remember. [ He pauses. ] What I'm telling you has to be a secret, okay? There are some people from my world here that weren't told everything... because it's probably better they don't know.
[ Telling Momota Kaito he isn't really an atronaut would probably break him. ]
But most of my memories are fake, so I can't exactly rely on them either.
[ Why is he smiling about this??? ] The only ones I'm certain of are the ones that happened in that game--that I made for myself.
You say that like you almost care about those people.
[ He can smile all he wants, though, Jaune will just do all the worrying for the both of them. ]
So you're saying the only memories you do have are of that sick game. I can see why... you'd be like that. Finding yourself in this world, against your will, wouldn't feel that different either. Trust would be hard to come by...
ndrv3 spoilers just in case someone wanders in here
[ Jaune has been lied to so many times that he should probably brush that off, especially with how casual Ouma is being about it.
And yet he always gives him the benefit of the doubt. ]
...So it's true. [ Not that Jaune had suspected it, but it has certainly been alluded to before. Sad as it makes him, though, he doesn't want to break down and start mourning him either. It wouldn't feel right, since the only Ouma he's ever known is the one before him, who as of now is alive and well. He'll take comfort in that. ]
[ If he isn’t casual about it the only ither option is to break down and that isn’t something he wants to do in a sex shop, thanks. He pauses at the question, telling himself that this is fine, Jaune’s already proved himself over and over, Shuichi encouraged him to talk about this, too. ]
It was to end the game. I created a plan that was supposed to thwart the mastermind. It didn’t work as I wanted... but Saihara-chan and the others got out. That’s what matters.
[ That sounds a lot like something Jaune would say. In fact, he did, not too long ago. "They're the ones that matter". He's not sure if these self-sacrificial tendencies are good thing, but at least he feels like they're of the same mind, on some level. ]
You know... that game is over. You don't... have to be like that anymore. You can be a great friend like that to anyone here.
I shouldn't have judged you for what you did, Ouma. I'm... I'm really sorry.
[ He should have been a better friend that night - should have tried to understand more. ]
[ Jaune is probably a lot more level headed about it--I mean, he didn't actually die for people already. That's something! ]
My personality and memories were all written to be like this, y'know? It isn't like I can re-write them overnight. [ The smile on his face drops to be a lot more simple though, held in place out of sheer necessity. ]
But you have every right to judge me. I wasn't innocent. What I said about manipulating someone into murdering someone else... about pretending to be the mastermind and making everyone hate me.
Okay, then tell me this - are you proud of what you did?
[ Because that might be the thing that separates him from Cinder; in Jaune's point of view at least. Anyone should have a chance to redeem themselves, as long as they're willing. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i'd like to take all the credit and zero blame for whatever happens here
Are you kidding me?! How LONG does someone take in a place like this? What-- you testing all the products or something?
That’s fair
Ah, did you come to my rescue?! I can’t decide which to get, do you think this’d suit me?
[ IT ISN'T FOR HIM... ]
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Oh. It's a little too big for y-- HEY, STOP, that's not the point?! What're you doing? Give me that!
[ Jaune yoinks the set out of Ouma's hands, which... looks really questionable in public. Hopefully nobody else in the sex shop is going to blog about this encounter. ]
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What do you mean "what am I doing?" I'm trying to find something sexy to wear. [ Ah... there it goes. ]
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[ He pauses to look around, not sure what to call this area exactly. ]
--the dildo aisle. Okay? It's--
[ Wait, what did he just see next to him? Jaune is distracted by what can only be described as a dildo gas mask. look at own risk ]
--what. What is that? Why? WHY?
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Do you want me to cover your eyes? They have blindfolds for that, y'know?
[ A beat, then: ] I guess I need one of those too, actually. C'mon Jaune, maybe your virgin eyes will stop dying if we're over there instead.
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[what]
Anyway, I'm not here for that! I came to talk to you about something else.
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[ Why this]
But what is it?
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Oh! Uh. It's about... Selenium. I've been thinking about... what happened.
...Have you?
Ah phone tagging *she isn't my
... [ Only Jaune bringing it up straightforwardly has him going quiet, and even if he's pulled them into the blindfold section, he isn't actually looking at any of the things on offer there. ] I talked to Saihara-chan about it.
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[ The name is unfamiliar to him, but he can tell that Ouma is taking this with some genuine concern, at least. ]
... What, what do you mean?
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It was the same day it happened, actually. He told me I should probably let you decide for yourself if you still wanted to be friends after you knew everything, y'know? I didn't... give you much of a chance to really choose.
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[ It doesn't occur to Jaune that he was emotionally manipulated into doing exactly that, which would make a lot more sense with what Ouma is telling him about choice. ]
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[ He smiles, but it isn't bright or anything, it actually looks kind of... shallow. ]
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Wh...what? I don't understand... why would you make me do that?
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Jaune, I have... difficulties with opening up to people. The killing game just made it worse. [ He doesn’t put the blindfold back, and instead starts walking towards another section, indicating for Jaune to follow him to...
the handcuffs??? Aren’t you glad you’re on this trip Jaune? ]
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Moving on. ]
Were you anything like this... before that awful game?
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Yup. That's what happens when you don't have any family to rely on, y'know? After, I did... but I chose them. Or at least that's what I remember. [ He pauses. ] What I'm telling you has to be a secret, okay? There are some people from my world here that weren't told everything... because it's probably better they don't know.
[ Telling Momota Kaito he isn't really an atronaut would probably break him. ]
But most of my memories are fake, so I can't exactly rely on them either.
[ Why is he smiling about this??? ] The only ones I'm certain of are the ones that happened in that game--that I made for myself.
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[ He can smile all he wants, though, Jaune will just do all the worrying for the both of them. ]
So you're saying the only memories you do have are of that sick game. I can see why... you'd be like that. Finding yourself in this world, against your will, wouldn't feel that different either. Trust would be hard to come by...
ndrv3 spoilers just in case someone wanders in here
[ It feels weird actually saying it though, because it isn't like he ever implies it properly either. ]
But that isn't quite right either. This world is... much better than home.
[ He picks up a pair of fluffy??? handcuffs and spins them on his index finger for a minute, looking back at Jaune. ] After all, I'm dead back there.
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And yet he always gives him the benefit of the doubt. ]
...So it's true. [ Not that Jaune had suspected it, but it has certainly been alluded to before. Sad as it makes him, though, he doesn't want to break down and start mourning him either. It wouldn't feel right, since the only Ouma he's ever known is the one before him, who as of now is alive and well. He'll take comfort in that. ]
Was that part of the game, too?
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It was to end the game. I created a plan that was supposed to thwart the mastermind. It didn’t work as I wanted... but Saihara-chan and the others got out. That’s what matters.
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You know... that game is over. You don't... have to be like that anymore. You can be a great friend like that to anyone here.
I shouldn't have judged you for what you did, Ouma. I'm... I'm really sorry.
[ He should have been a better friend that night - should have tried to understand more. ]
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My personality and memories were all written to be like this, y'know? It isn't like I can re-write them overnight. [ The smile on his face drops to be a lot more simple though, held in place out of sheer necessity. ]
But you have every right to judge me. I wasn't innocent. What I said about manipulating someone into murdering someone else... about pretending to be the mastermind and making everyone hate me.
That was all true.
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[ Because that might be the thing that separates him from Cinder; in Jaune's point of view at least. Anyone should have a chance to redeem themselves, as long as they're willing. ]
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