dear_mun | Creativity conflicts. What else is new.

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Creativity conflicts. What else is new.

I'll be direct. [when is she not] I appreciate the update, and the fact that you've finally stopped sneaking looks at those other games. It's a lot less pressure on my part, at least.

As for this latest plan of yours, we need to talk. Bringing a piece of Kijuju into the game won't "contribute" anything, so that argument's out. "Plots and guilt trips" don't count, either. As much as you like having danger a constant possibility, this isn't your usual event and plot case; it's something of a commitment, if you wanna go that far -- it would be incorporated permanently, and knowing you, you'd abuse the daylights out of that fact.

All I ask is that you think this through before jumping in. Don't count on all the ifs and maybes, don't make any assumptions, and don't rush into it. Considering your recent concerns, your time would probably be put to better use in another playthrough. Prioritize, in short. It'll pay off for both of us.

[/briefing /lecture /whatever you want to call it]

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Keywhatwhat?

[What is this bizarre language you are speaking in, not!girlfriend???]

[Swahili, bro. Or so we're left to assume because RE doesn't bother with most details.]

Kijuju. The village in Africa.

[The village, not A village, since she went and Told You All the Things regarding that bit of trauma.] Not a safe place to be, obviously.

[You can't seriously be using an icon talking about not looking at your tits, sugarbabydollsweetiekins.]

How do you pick up a damn village and put it somewhere else?

[If it helps, she doesn't wear that ~~sexy~~ atrocious suit anymore. Unless she's forced to by canon point complications.

Or stupid events that imbue her with Wesker's personality.]

One of my games allows you to bring in a piece of your home world, provided that it's unique in some way. [Patience: Jill has so much of it for you and your dumb questions, baby.] Kijuju definitely beats Raccoon, and the dangers in it would be limited to that area, but that's not saying much.

[But you wore it for Alice! Is John worth less than a super powered Mary Sue? Really? He's distraught.]

Why don't you bring in something that's not specific to you? Just have a giant Statue of Liberty in the middle of the place, or the Eiffel Tower. Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or your favorite diner, not...Kiwhatever.

[SOB hush no one likes talking about that. Besides, if he asked nice enough, she might wear it. Miiiiight.]

Believe me, if it were my choice, that's what I'd go for. But as you and I both know, the boss prefers to be a little more dramatic in most regards. [Every regard.] If there's an excuse for any kind of violence to be had, she's on it. [As he also knows.]

[Jill, please wear that suit that gives you all the bad memories. Because clearly the look is more important than her feels on it, right?]

I'm thinking nothing in that village is going to be the good kind of violence.

[She knows what he means by that, he hopes.]

[Not that one, no, but the one she wore when she kicked him around in the library, maybe.

Yes, she did keep it afterwards. Her stupid alter ego spent money on that thing, okay, and the tailor didn't do refunds.

Credit for considering her feelings, btw.]

No. [A slight half-smile, though. She gets it.] More like the gritty, fight-for-your-life kind. I can't imagine anyone there would willingly let their characters die in that village, considering the circumstances, but...

[A partial shrug] It... doesn't have to kill anyone to still be a hassle.

[Turned John off from getting a library card, that. Not that he used regular libraries much in the first place, but.

Sometimes he's not so bad, right? Good.]

Maybe your boss should ask. There might be a want for that sort of thing. Some of these people are sick fucks, you know, just want everyone they play to die a thousand times and then some.

[Most of the time, lately.

She gives a grim hum. She definitely knows it.] She's already had some encouragement about it, unfortunately. I was hoping it'd be kept to the darker games, but I guess I can't outrun it forever.

[...This is depressing. Subject change.] What about you? Anything eventful lately?

[Like everyone wants to kill their dudes and ladies, Jill, how could you not see it coming?]

Me? Eventful? Not at all. Just sitting around doing jackshit while the mun...uses other people, I guess you'd call it.

[John is not at all bothered by this, either.]

[That gets an ever-so-slightly wry look.]

You sound so heartbroken over that.

I am totally beside myself. Spend all night tossing and turning, can't sleep, can't eat, can't do anything. Truly, this is my worst nightmare come to life.

[He'll forgive her if she has trouble picturing that, yes?]

Good thing that topic never came up as any kind of event, then; you'd probably have been left in an empty room with nothing to do and no one to talk to. Only for a few days, but the torture would have made it feel like months.

[Unlike every other event, which was... literal torture. Monthly, that.]

[UNBREAK MY HEAAAAART I CRIED TOO MANY TIIIIIMES]

If there were a bunch of undead dinosaurs running around at the time, I would have been better off than half the sorry fuckers we were stuck with. That might not have been so bad.

[The one event that was totally his fault...]

It'd be safer than the roof, at any rate.

[Yeah, she remembers. And yeah, she'll probably hold that against him forever. She has the scars to show how hard that event hit.

...Actually, just because he brought that up, she's gonna give him a bit of a hard time.]

But in that case, you'd have started to miss me eventually, right? [Straight face +80. Is this teasing or is she testing you? Choose wisely.]

[Hey, he brought it up in the first place. He can totally take any heat about it. It's not like he doesn't get enough heat back home to deal with a little more, really.]

And with a better cafeteria. But miss you? God, what am I, sentimental?

[Straight face might not be so straight, just a little hint of a smile. Maybe.]

I probably would, given enough time.

[That little hint of maybe is enough, really.

Straight face? Is back to her usual neutral.]

That's the best compliment I've received all week. But sentimental's not a bad look, anyway. [On anyone, she means, but especially on him, minimal or not. She likes it better than the bitter/jaded/idgaf he usually wears.]

[Why is Jill not getting complimented? Not that John believes people should be handing out compliments willy nilly, of course not, but still: there's a lot about her to compliment, so why is not happening? That is a thing that should happen often.

Just not from him.]

Maybe next week'll be better, compliment-wise.

[Normally, it does. But normally, the mun is not fail and having Jill be so background-busy and thus not engaging in as many interactions as usual.

8(

Her smile quirks just a bit.] Maybe so. Normally I'd say just being alive next week is good enough for me, but considering I can't exactly be killed off where I am, that's not much of an issue. Small favors.

You can always die.

[It's a bit quicker than it probably should be, the content of the discussion considered, but John knows death, and there's a lot of levels of it that aren't no longer breathing, kissed by the Grim Reaper, died and gone to heaven/hell death. There's always death where there's life; that's how it's been since Eden, if he were to go down that little road.]

"Can't exactly be killed off"—sounds like there's room for death there.

[That gets a fleeting Look, right before she glances aside and down. Not a sad expression -- just an acknowledging one.]

True. I guess there's always a chance of it, but at the moment it's a small one. [Very small.] I'm sure even that hinges more on the lack of opportunity than personal preference as far as the boss is concerned, but...

[A half-shrug, and a matching smile.] But as for next week, pretty sure I've dodged any bullets up to then. Literally or otherwise. Lucky me, there are bigger things at stake coming up.

[Look, everyone he knew for any length of time back home died in less than a week. That and his...issues...with death itself—he's not a fan of it, okay? Not that many people should be or probably are, but he's even less a fan. He's the anti-fan. He's the fan turning in the opposite direction when it comes to death. The one trying to blow itself away, steer in the other direction.

Do not pass go, do not collect a theme park full of red delights at the end of it all, tyvm.]

What, the game doesn't allow it? Or if you do die, you don't come back sort of thing?

[Jill might not have died personally -- canonly or otherwise -- but she knows what it's like to have a personal stake against it. She's fought tooth and nail to make it this far, at the young age of thirty-five, and lost her own share of people along the way; not to mention that whole thing recently about Chris losing nearly all of his team in only a few hours. Twice.

She gives an affirmative hum.] Hmm. In one, I can go back home and live my life, so if I die, I'm on my own. Unless I meet someone from another world who can reverse that kind of thing, anyway. In the other, I'd only get one chance, and there's a pretty steep price for it last I checked.

Same story, different day, pretty much.

[John would have known if she died. ~~True Sight~~, and also, people didn't come back where he's from. They died and were buried long before their body was stuff. Up or down, there was no in-between, no place to sit and wait while the family paid dues to the church in order to get their immortal soul out of limbo faster.

It was black and white, in that regard.]

Like lose a limb or super special memories kind of steep? What kind of steep are we talkin' 'bout?

[That triggers the thoughtful hand-on-hip pose as she tries to recall -- everyone has their habits.] It's a bit of a process; first you're only a spirit for a few weeks, and I think you're stuck wherever you died. After you get revived, you lose any special abilities permanently.

I might not have superpowers, but I doubt I'd get out of it totally free. [Those lovely residual reflexes courtesy of the P30 Virus, for instance. Jill certainly wouldn't cry a river -- or at all -- if those went away, but it'd still count as losing something. And she can't deny that they've given her an edge in a few fights.]

Pretty sure any death after that one is permanent, too.

[This is usually about the time he lights up. But Jill doesn't like that, and he tries. God damn it, does he try. It's all he can do at this point, try and hope for the best.

Not that he's very good with hope, but it's a little thing to not smoke around her.]

...a spirit, huh. [Not the strangest thing he's heard of. Then again, after dealing with Lu's kid, nothing seems strange anymore.] Doesn't sound too pleasant.

Neither does death that you can come back from, but hey. These muns are total bitches in regards to that.

[Considering he was probably smoking 85% of the time for the first couple months she knew him, she notices little details like this. She won't patronize him by pointing it out, but she notices.

Another shrug, but less dismissive and more relaxed.] Guess I got lucky there. Mine's never really seen the appeal in killing someone over and over again. Or at all, if it contradicts the source.

[A pause, a briefly thoughtful look, and about +5 Serious. It's not a sensitive thing, but she hasn't thought about it in a while.] As far as games go, I've only nearly died once. Even that was a matter of a friend saving me at the last second. [Literally.]

[At least his trying isn't going to waste! She's recognizing it! Progress lvls +3]

Aw, she love you guys too much? Too attached to you little babies? That's sweet. Real sweet. Sentimental, even.

[We don't talk about saving friends from death very well, not with John.]

[That? Gets a soft snort and the kind of look that says Yeaaaah, no. Don't go there, because that's way off the mark.]

You wouldn't say that if you knew just how much she lets Wesker influence my life. ["Influence" is putting it nicely. And only using specifics since it's you.]

...What is it with you and sentimental lately?

[But you have to be loved to get the not!boyfriend that is John Constantine! So sweet, so charming~, such a keeper!]

Oh, I've seen some of it. Those fic things...that time he appeared. But, you know...he kind of was, wasn't he? You don't just get over that sort of shit. It follows you, no matter where you go. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you're not turned into some slobbering, shaking and crying pitiful mess who secretly longs for him to love you and give you fucking babies or some bullshit.

[Not addressing that last part, nope.]

[Sweet? Sometimes. Charming? Ehhhh now and again.]

...

[Hold on hold on hold on -- you can all but see the wheels in her head slamming to a stop as she thinks that over in conjunction with pulling out some old memories that she's tried rather hard to suppress--

...]

...Exactly how many of those "fic things" are we talking?

[:|]

[Balls.]

Uh, just the one. From your boss, I mean. She hasn't gone out looking for anything else that wasn't guaranteed to be totally terrible just from the summary.

And they never actually involved you, so it's not a big deal. Right? No big deal. These things happen.

[He can always work on that, y'know.

Yeah just gonna. Rub the bridge of her nose for a second, in the kind of way that suggests she's thinking through several responses only to finally settle on none of the above.

Hand drops.]

Yeah. If you put it that way.

[Different subject, please. She's momentarily thoughtful as she backtracks.]

You never answered my question.

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Creativity conflicts. What else is new.

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