phonetasmal | Calling the Old Man Out

[Goro has barely been seen since getting back from the Fissure, only leaving his room briefly to eat a couple times a day, coffee in hand and looking half asleep. Now, though, he seems to finally be properly awake...at approximately 8PM.]

Good...erm, evening, I suppose. I’m sorry I’ve been so absent lately, that Fissure must have taken more out of me than I thought.

But, now that I’m recovered, there’s something important I need to tell everyone. The last batch of new arrivals included a man named Masayoshi Shido. He’s my father, and a truly despicable man, who has had numerous people killed for his own convenience or benefit. He even had my mother killed to cover up the scandal of my birth.

[Here he holds up a phone, showing a picture of Shido...with what looks like avocado and cheese smeared on his face and a shrimp up his nose, wearing the most tiredly Done expression as he reaches for the offending crustacean.]

I injured him in the forest in retaliation for the things he’s done to me, one of my boyfriends, and countless others, but don’t mistake him for someone who deserves your pity. He’s physically not much of a threat, but he is a skilled schemer and manipulator, and-

[ Which is the moment that the video will shake, and a very brief flash of a familiar face (spoiler: Akira’s) can be seen. Off-screen, he’s gently pressing a kiss to Goro’s cheek, whispering that he loves him. Don’t mind the view of a ceiling for a moment, guys - it’s a nice ceiling, at least?

… He’ll properly make it up to Goro, later, if he can? For now, though, he gently brushes the fingers of one hand through his boyfriend’s hair. Akira’s face can properly be seen, after he takes a quiet breath. He looks… well, how most would remember? Only with a bit more of a tiredness to it, maybe.

Though, that’s not taking away from how serious he looks as he speaks. ]

... and, while Goro is right about all of that, there is one more detail I feel should be taken into account. Shido isn’t a good person, but he’s well-aware of that now. He’s done unforgivable things, but his eyes were opened to all of it after his ass was kicked.

[ JUST SAYING… ]

Anyway, nobody has to worry about him. Besides, he knows if he tried anything, he’d have to answer to all of us from his world, and then some.

[ JUST SAYING... ]

[This is the point where Goro takes his tablet back, looking a bit huffy.]

It’s true, he isn’t likely to be a threat now. But he absolutely doesn’t deserve anyone’s kindness or sympathy.

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[When Ardyn opened the door, he was armed with nothing but a hesitant and tired smile, stepping back to let Shido in.]

Come on in. Make yourself comfortable, I kind of suspect this might take a bit.

[His room was much the same as all the others in structure, but...strangely, he already seemed to have a collection of junk scattered in some form of organized chaos, from an otamatone to a small violet model car and an arrangement of snacks in the kitchenette. Just by that was a table that looked like it came straight out of Starbucks, with two chairs already set up.]

This is...going to be difficult to explain. So I'll start with the simplest of terms. [He poured out two cups of coffee, setting them on the table before taking a seat.]

...I've had my heart changed as well, in a sense.

[He walks over, limping a little and clearly favoring his side, and he winces a little when he takes a seat. He reaches for the coffee instinctively to take a drink, heedless of what might be in it. It isn't that he's trusting right now, it's just that he... doesn't really care.

The somewhat parched lips may also hint towards how he's been on the self-care front lately. But there does seem to be a small spark of curiosity in his eyes when Ardyn admits that.]

Have you?

Mine wasn’t by quite the same method as yours, but yes.

[Ardyn stirred his coffee mindlessly, adding perhaps a little too much sugar before taking a drink himself.]

But I can tell you the things you’ve done pale in comparison to my own list of atrocities, so I can’t simply stand by and let all this play out. I understand how it feels to comprehend having done the unthinkable, so I want to help you, if I can.

Knowing others have done worse is little comfort to me.

[If they really have lived thousands of years as Izunia claims, and they both wield that incredible magic, it's not difficult to imagine what damage they could have wrought from that alone. Still— he has terrorized the nation he once felt so patriotic towards, he has had people's livelihoods ruined, and many killed. To the people he made suffer, he is a terrible curse who has destroyed things and people vitally important to them, something from which many will never recover.]

And help is the last thing I should be getting right now. I haven't even been tried for my crimes. I managed to get off with nothing but a guilty conscience, thanks to the nature of those... [Vague hand gesture. Whatever the fuck's going on with this world. Worlds.]

Your first bit of advice is to stop drowning yourself in 'should' or 'what if' and anything of the sort. Being repentant is fine and expected, but there comes a time when it crosses into 'beating the shit out of yourself'. And that's not productive at all.

[Ardyn shook his head, setting down the coffee mug and leaning his head on one hand. If he really had been around for untold centuries, he didn't exactly act like it.]

Yes, you more than likely should have been tried and convicted at minimum if not just outright killed. But, you're both here and alive. You're going to need to come to terms with that rather quickly, because only then can you decide what to do with that.

[He hates the argument he's making, and yet the tension in his body belies resistance. He can do both. He can beat the shit out of himself and be productive. Productivity does not necessitate happiness, and right now, he's rather firmly seated in his self-hatred.]

Then perhaps I should let those here convict me and choose my punishment. Or I could simply give that privilege to my son.

Could. That'd be a real shit waste of a good chance, though.

[Shrugging his shoulders, Ardyn sighed quietly. He knew plenty about self-hatred, but there had to be a limit to it. Otherwise it was just a spiral with no real end to it, one Ardyn himself often had trouble clawing his way back out of.]

Look at it like this. [He picked up the coffee cup again, taking another drink and carefully organizing his words before speaking.] Would you prefer to cast aside the life you don't deserve, or use it to improve upon what you've been?

I hardly think what I prefer holds any merit.

[An aggravated sigh, and he looks away.]

You're wasting your time with me.

[And he takes a drink of coffee.]

That's what I said. That it was pointless and a waste of time.

[He leveled a yellow-eyed stare at Shido, calm and collected.]

Answer the question. Forget, even if for just a second, any matters of what you deserve or what other factors hold sway over the choice. Do you want to live long enough to try to atone, Masayoshi Shido?

[He matches the gaze evenly, quiet for a long while.

Finally:] ... yes.

Good answer.

[Ardyn broke out into a small smile, tired but sincere.]

If that’s the case, then I might be able to help you.

[He gives a sigh, honestly exhausted from... well, a lot of things, but in particular everything that happened over the network today. So, for the moment at least, he'll stop fighting and hear what Ardyn has to say.]

Fine, I'm listening.

First of all, quit groveling. It'll do you no favors.

[Stating that plainly, he took another drink of his coffee.]

You've wronged people terribly, certainly. But you can apologize with every single breath you draw from here forward and I think we both know that boy's not going to accept it right away, if he ever does.

[He takes a measured sip from his coffee, drawing out the seconds, before he finally sets it back down.]

No, I know. His acceptance was never the point.

...Then what is it you're aiming for?

To give him exactly what he's always wanted.

Power over me.

Calling the Old Man Out

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