animus_network | 002 || text

[ But what if you hurt him, his mind is thinking, what if you kill him again, like all those people--

But wasn't that a dream?

... He can't be sure but this is Jin and he needs to get over his problems quickly, Jin needs him and he has to help.

For some reason he can't quite fathom, he just... falls to silence for a second or two before forcing himself to switch on the video feed. Then, he swallows, closes his eyes, and attempts a smile that comes out very dry and closer to grimace. ]

... Yeah. I'm...

[ Sheepish as hell? Afraid? He doesn't know. He can't say okay, even when he usually would, it's so blatant a lie. He just sort of rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. ]

Where are you?

[ They needed to find each other, he just... he had to be sure this place wasn't fucking with his head anymore. ]

[Holy shit it's him. It's him he's alive and he exists and--]

Thank god--!

[His voice was far more pathetic sounding than his usual cold edge allowed, and he let out a breath in exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair.]

I'm-- I'm in the library.

[He was OK. They were OK. They were gonna be OK, right?]

[ ... Nodding. They'll probably be okay.

He hopes.

He's just going to make his way toward the library, hoping his Persona will sort of help him locate Jin. Of course, none of their Personas could ever be Medea, but... if he were close enough, Thanatos would tell him Moros was nearby. Or so he hopes, given that he hasn't taken his Suppressors yet, anyway.

By the time he gets there and finds Jin, it's very hard to keep composed, but he manages. He sort of wavers there, concerned, afraid to approach. He hasn't brought any of his weapons because he isn't sure he can take the idea of... of hurting them if he loses it, so he didn't bring his Evoker, even, he's unarmed. Just... shirt, pants, his mp3 player, himself.

It is presently off, which is very unlike him anyway. ]

... Hey. I'm... glad you're [ alive and not murdered by the monster that is him-- ] here.

[ He wants to ask so many things, but he's exercising extreme self-control right now not to do so. ]

[He didn't make a practice of listening to Moros much at all; and once he had gotten the chance, he had downed as many Suppressants as he could, but even still he welcomed the alert to Minato's presence-- one he recognized at least.

Jin turned around to the point where he almost fell out of his chair, though he got up from it as soon as he could to step over to Minato.]

Minato-- you're--

[He carefully reached out his hand into the air, and halfway through retracted it a bit. This was real, right? Not another one of those...were they dreams? What if Minato really was a hallucination and he was just setting himself up for disappointment? If there was a possibility, was it better to just leave?

Eventually though, he decides it was better to know than to not-- and he reaches his hand out further to set his hand on Minato's shoulder. And he's relieved to find that he's solid and here, and his entire body relaxes just a bit.]

Holy shit it is you... You're here. [And he let out another breath of relief and exasperation, bringing his other hand to cover his face and shifting his glasses out of position.]

[ ... It's an odd feeling as he finds Jin touching his shoulder, and Minato's face turns to something of a soft smile.

He's having the same moment, and he quietly just... is so grateful that he's alive. ]

We've... really been fucked with. Yeah, it's me.

[ The fact he is cussing, even at all, kind of tells you its him, yeah. He's... relieved you're okay, too. Afraid of himself, still. He isn't sure. ]

... This is pretty messed up. I'm... sorry you went through any of this.

[ Honestly, he is. ]

[The simple statement was enough to elicit a bit of a bitter chuckle out of him, though it's more than a bit restrained. He wasn't going to cry, god damn it--]

No shit. [He wiped his face a bit with the back of his hand and put his glasses back into place.]

Don't-- it's not your fault. [His voice was still kind of cracking, well that was annoying--] It's the assholes that run this place. Don't blame yourself.

[ ... Haha oh Jin. It's okay, he's trying hard, too. It is pretty hard not to. ]

... I know.

[ The smallest of sighs. Somewhere they finally might be able to take it easy compared to life in their world, and it has to be Tower Wonderfuck Deathtrap of Mindmelting Hell. ]

If... you had a... nightmare, like I did... I'm not going to judge you or anything for it, if it bugged you. Just... so you know.

[ Could it even deserved to be called that? Something that... real? He just... shakes his head quietly. Jin deserved his support. ]

[Ken heads towards the library, Evoker tucked into its holster. If they start killing each other he wants to be able to stop it. He can hear Jin and Minato talking as he approaches, and he takes a few steps forward, peeking around the shelves.]

... Hey.

[His voice is soft, shaky. He's scared that this'll all be part of that dream, torture, whatever it was.]

I-It....

[Wow did he seriously stutter he was going to hit himself so much later.] Heh... You too, you know. [If Minato was going to reassure him, Jin sure as hell wasn't going to let him ruminate on it either.]

[And when Ken showed up, Jin had gotten past the point of caring and well-- he still wanted to be sure. So with one hand still on Minato's shoulder, and his other slowly reaching out to rest on Ken's head and he discovered it was also very real, he smiled.] Hey, kid.

[ ... Oh thank god it's Ken and he's alive and not murderinated--he's relieved.

He does sort of wish he could've had some time alone with Jin, but is otherwise unbothered. He's just glad his words are getting somewhere.

It occurs to him that Jin is probably right; neither of them ought to be focusing on any of that, but it was hard. He could see it in Ken's eyes, too. ]

... You're awake. Whatever you saw wasn't... real.

[ He can only hope he isn't wrong. ]

[He's not used to this affection from Jin, but the contact helps. He can't pretend that it's easy to see them after watching them die in a thousand different ways.]

[And since they're so close together he reaches out to Minato, too... and when he makes contact he starts crying. He's glad they're alive, glad they're not going crazy, glad they're not hurting.]

S... sorry... sorry I couldn't...

[He was the one who couldn't move, couldn't help them. But this hurts, being at the whims of someone else, someone with more control than you, someone who is probably watching all of them whenever they can.]

[It's an aggravating feeling, and he starts to whimper from the sheer unfairness.]

You two apologize too much. [He said with a scoff, though it was much more light-hearted than his usual teasing, and still a bit sad.]

We're all here, awake, and alive. That's what's important, right?

002 || text

and switching to video!

still [voice] 'cause his priiiiide

[action] BAW BABY IT'S OKAY

perma action yeeeaaaahhh

oh god they're so broken I can't take this

WHY CAN'T I HOLD EVERY PURSE OWNER

COLLECTIVELY WE MUST TRY TO HOLD ALL THE PURSE OWNING TEENAGERS ;_;

CAN'T HOLD EVERY PURSE OWNER - also hi.

WITH ALL OF OUR ARMS WE WILL HOLD THEM ALL ;^;

YES SOMEHOW

Re: YES SOMEHOW

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