dear_mun | considering cityofariel next month

[Nope. Especially not with this guy floating around.

Hello, old friend.]

You've nothing to be proud of, as I recall.

[Yeah, well, your mom. :| ]

Only you would think that. [Sadly, Angeal still doesn't think less of him.]

[Your mom's dead and spoilers so are you. Also, Jenova's bangin', don't hate.]

Dying like a dog in the dirt doesn't count. [Hi I'm stepping in your personal space bubble does this bother you well too bad.] We're picking up so many strays, as of late... quality control's been lacking.

[Lmfao bro, you're one to talk.]

You're right. It is. [Very rarely does he rise to certain bait. It's both a backhanded insult and what Angeal feels is truth. In other words, step off, son, he ain't bothered and ain't backing down.] Without anyone else to make you see reason.

Don't assume a friendly dog doesn't bite. Particularly when assumptions aren't like you.

Edited 2013-11-05 08:24 (UTC)

Muns are a pain in the ass.

[Talk's cheap and bro, you are some cheap trash, straight out of the gutter. Sephiroth doesn't even pretend otherwise in his blatant dismissal and his blatant disregard for any qualms Angeal might have about this particular discussion.

By the way, have you lost weight? Getting a bit chubby around the waist, there.]

If you're so eager to taste it a second time, be my guest. [He snaps his teeth, like a... well, you know.] I'll throw open the city gates myself, just to greet you. Your fellow mutt-in-arms will be thrilled.

[Who are you? Who are you to assume you know anything about the good or the bad? Or the fat for that matter, jerk. Sheesh.

Angela's chin tilts up. Expression simple, cool defiance. But underneath there is worry. Ah, how far the mighty have fallen, in all cases.] Zack's nothing but tenacious. He would have been a good friend to you. I'd hoped he would have.

[Angeal had hoped for a lot of things.]

Regardless of how you greet me, you'll see reason. There's still a kinder man under there.

Edited (what if phone tagging ugh) 2013-11-05 08:51 (UTC)

Less a pain and more so inconsiderate of people taking a nap.

How long of a nap are we talking about, though? Unless you enjoy getting insufferably dusty.

[People who are full of shit in this thread: you.

People who are not full of shit: this guy.

Okay so maybe that's not exactly true or true at all but that doesn't really matter because uh-oh, puppy thinks he's too cool for school and wants to be the bigger man, whatever the hell that means anymore. The mighty have fallen far, indeed, to cast things like hope aside and sling low blows instead.

Oh, well. Nobody ever said Sephiroth played fair. Your mutt learned that the hard way... remember?

He could always remind you, just in case. Just to spite you and your stupid pride.]

There is no reason to be found in your blathering. Don't delude yourself. [A haughty, imperious snort. He might be rolling in the gutter, too, but he can still be a goddamned king if he wants.] He's already surrendered. Same as the rest. Same as you, should you be foolish enough to come.

Angeal...

[ omg he will definitely be happy to see you, but at the same time...

No, no, you shouldn't come here. Not with the crazy one in residence. ]

[Hey, he can ~~attempt to~~ handle Sephiroth's insanity. What's the worst that can happen, right?]

Zack. It's good to see you. [And if things go like a certain mundane wants, it'll definitely be good to reconnect.] Suppose you grew up right when I wasn't looking.

[Hm, a polite way to put this other than "something like a coma"...]

A couple of years, on and off. Wasn't terrible, really.

[A king with no subjects. What's the saying? Absolute power corrupts absolutely? Then again, that's rather much the point, isn't it? Be as high and mighty as you like, Sephiroth. Be as cruel and vicious as anything or anyone else, maybe more so, old friend. But you cannot rule without respect. Without honor.

Those very words hang there, unsaid. Predictable, that's Angeal, from time to time. A lecturer.]

Down and out, but the fight isn't over. I've taught him better than you know. [Angeal believes in Zack and Zack's wild dreams more than he believes in himself. What a pity, isn't it?] It may very well be foolish, but... In a lot of ways, I'm disappointed that I won't remember the thing you become. Only everything before. It wouldn't change anything, regardless.

I'd have still believed you a better man if it weren't for your own delusions. Still do.

[A king with no subjects and a broken throne. It's lonely at the top and Sephiroth has always done a poor job of disguising just how isolated he actually is, thanks to his own insecurities and Jenova's awful influence.

But we don't discuss that in public. Or ever. He just sneers, knowing exactly what he could've said but didn't. Old friends to the end.]

You taught him to fight for worthless causes and worthless people. An utter embarrassment, if I've ever seen one. [As for delusions...] You speak like some misguided saint. Pitiful words from a pitiful thing who couldn't fly anywhere but to its own death.

Edited 2013-11-05 23:45 (UTC)

You too.

[ Except, there's that gap in time and knowledge that makes things so awkward. Angeal is someone he trusts implicitly, but so many things have happened, changed.... How would he even know were to begin? ]

I had to. [ A beat. ] Are you really coming?

You don't get bored of it? Although, with that alternative I'd rather stay asleep, myself.

Edited (html is dumb) 2013-11-06 07:08 (UTC)

Bored? Hm. Sometimes that's the case, maybe. A lot of commotion can be a little hard on the nerves, even when you occasionally miss it.

I apologize if it worries you. That's rather unfair to someone I'm not familiar with.

Then you must be embarrassed of yourself, too. It'd once been your cause just as much. [Granted, Angeal is no saint.

After all, look at the mess he let Genesis pull him into, the things he did, left behind. Regrets. But if he has to play the part of a martyr...] You know, I don't think there'd be enough ways to apologize. There's a lot I didn't tell you when I should have. Those are my mistakes. I'll live with them one way or the other.

[Considering death is only ever really a physical state of being rather than an actual end.]

But you shouldn't discount that I will fight you if I have to. For everyone's sake and for yours. That's one thing I've learned from Zack that I'd hoped you would: honor isn't just about doing good by others, it's about doing right even if it seems wrong. [And no one can dissuade Angeal from believing it.

Not even you, Sephiroth. Not even you and all your might.]

[Silly, why not start at the beginning? After all, there's no story not worth hearing, right?

Still, there's a lull there, between what Angeal wants to say and honestly deciding on whether it's a good idea or not.]

You'll tell me about it, I'm sure. [Which feels neutral enough. A subject perhaps best left for later.] But... considering things seem to be 'on track', yes, it looks like.

[It bothers him. It bothers him a lot more than it should, what Angeal's saying, because he hates pity and hates forgiveness and he senses a little of both in his words that stink of regrets he'd rather not revisit.

And then he speaks of honor and Sephiroth just snaps, feeling the sting of Nibelheim and everything lead up to it all over again.]

You're as honorable as sewer water. [Sephiroth spits on the ground beside his feet. Next shot's going in your face, Angeal. Watch it.] Don't flap your gums of it to me, traitor.

[She waves and hand dismissively and smiles. Of course she's heard of him, though.

She straightens out her hand, well might as well be polite.]

Tifa Lockhart. It's an honor to meet you.

[ Maybe, but this particular story really isn't very nice at all. He knows you care, Angeal, that you always have, but you left him, forced him to take your life, and that's...how does one explain all that?

He honestly doesn't know. ]

I'll try.

[ He hesitates a moment, biting his lip. ]

Angeal... [ he takes a breath ] It's not going to be easy. Coming here.

[ Facing the madness. ]

He'll try to tear you apart.

[ In every possible way. ]

[It does give Angeal pause. Of course there's going to be things that'll be difficult to deal with. It's a requirement apparently. Noting in life can ever be all that easy. And, honestly, it brings the regret back.

But what can he really do, at this point, aside from trying to rectify all the mistakes he's made, all the things he's put Zack through?]

I know... [Sephiroth was always isolated, never did well with it, and they are-- were friends, at one point. So that has to mean something.

Angeal puts a hand on Zack's shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring.] But I'm not easy to break. He'll know that. [Not as easy to toy with.] So he'll think twice on approach. [Another pause.] It's difficult to talk about Sephiroth as if he were an enemy...

Regardless, you'll be all right. I'll be there with you every step of the way.

[Something he's sadly used to.

But he does shake her hand. Ever polite himself. Particularly to the women folk, though that has more to do with the good ol' country boy still in him.]

And you. I doubt introductions are necessary. But it's kind of you to take the time to speak with me. It's obviously been a while since I've been able to indulge in pleasantries. [Don't let the stern face fool you, miss, he's a chatterbox from time to time.]

[For a moment, there is nothing to say. Angeal glances between his boot and Sephiroth, and in spite of how casual he holds himself there is hurt under there. What have you become? You were a good person, once. Would it be so bad to be again? Would it be horrible to do right again? Has everyone forgotten their dreams?

(Then again, Angeal knows the answer to that last question and it leaves something bitter in his mouth.)

He at least has the common sense to turn his body to the side. A less easy target.]

You always were stubborn.

[Angeal breathes in slow, as if drawing himself up.]

You're right to call me that. It was foolish of me to think I could convince Genesis of anything. Same as you. And if that's how you want to play it, I'll accept that. Losing my focus was my own fault. [But...] Do you think you can really tell me all our years of friendship meant nothing?

Edited 2013-11-07 20:36 (UTC)

[ It may very well mean something to them, the fact that they were friends with Sephiroth once. That doesn't mean it holds any significance to Sephiroth beyond ripping them apart and watching them burn.

A knot of emotion makes his throat tighten. He's trying to adapt to the city, its whims and cruelties, and he's done a fair job of it thus far. It's just difficult, when his heart has always been on his sleeve.

Zack shakes his head. ]

He's not the man he was, Angeal. I don't think he ever will be again, either.

[ He's something elemental now, something monstrous and broken, and Zack wouldn't even know where to begin trying to gather all the pieces.

He takes a breath, trying to pull himself together. ]

Thank you.

No one ever is. We all change from one day to the next.

[Angeal would refuse to believe that it's a lost cause, frankly. No one is beyond saving. (Things have yet to completely fall apart with Genesis-- and even then, he never believed in world domination; it was a lackluster excuse.) No one is beyond repair. People are like gardens, in his experience. Sometimes the soil isn't as good as it used to be, and it'll take time, but it's possible to fix things.

Not that he says it. Wants to. The pang he gets from the fact that Zack already seems to know what's on his mind-- about wanting to pick up pieces, the pieces of someone who needs it most.

Sephiroth is a monster. And what do monsters dream of? What do they get? What's fair for them? What of it, when they wear the faces you know best?]

Any time. Now... [It's a rare little show of affection: regardless of that fancy new hairdo, Zack, you're getting it ruffled.] You're starting to make me frown. Let up a little.

[Hopefully it helps lift some of the oppressive mood.]

Heh, well I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I can't say I've ever had the chance to speak with The Angeal Hewley.