coolerjunpei: (022)
bitcoin scholar junpei tenmyouji ([personal profile] coolerjunpei) wrote2024-07-01 10:02 am

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USERNAME: junpei
Junpei Tenmyouji
Zero Escape

TEXT • AUDIO • VIDEO • ACTION • OVERFLOW
incorrigibles: (( 75 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he does consider asking — but then, it'd be him pushing, and he doesn't want to do that. he wouldn't mind knowing, no, but only if it's something junpei wants to tell him; that's the thing about trauma, innit? won't help if you're pushed to talk about it. you have to want to share it; that's the only way the wound's ever gonna start closing, even a bit. and so the best he can do is be here, just as he'd been there that week — a solid presence, so that if and when the day ever comes junpei does want to talk... well. he'll know he can.

he chuckles under his breath at being graded for his help, even as a joke — it's silly, yeah, but it's also pretty funny. and hey, b's not terrible.

his voice is soft when he says,
]

Yeah, well, you wouldn't have. You're too good for that.
incorrigibles: (( 06 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ good, charles says, and doesn't mean someone who always does the right thing, doesn't mean someone who never snaps at others — because, really, it's not about that. crystal used to be mean and horrible and literally made a guy walk into traffic, and she's still sharp and her words cut like knives and yet she's still, fundamentally, one of the best people charles knows, caring and kind and wanting to do better, be better. and edwin — well, edwin's combative, sarcastic, jealous, cold and logical, and also the single kindest person in the entire world, the best person, selfless to the point of staying with a dying stranger, just to make sure he wouldn't pass on alone.

good, charles says, and means you'd never blame me for leaving you because you thought you deserved to be alone, then, means you were willing to self-isolate just to avoid hurting anyone, means you deny it and deflect it but you care about everyone so much it's easier not to face it.

instead of saying any of that out loud, though, what he says is something far simpler — easy, like he's speaking a fact, something written into stone.
]

You won't.

[ he considers, for a moment, moving his arm, but leaves it where it is, draped over junpei's shoulders. silence reigns, for a tick, until he says, with a hint of a smile in his tone, ] So... you have a list. What's on it?
incorrigibles: (( 79 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ so, here's the thing — he did understand that the word "list" involves several things and all, but somehow it didn't really sink in, not until junpei starts listing the stuff and charles thinks, oh. that's — the stuff they've talked about, before, sort of off-hand mentions, the drinking and the spaghetti, and is it weird that he feels touched that he remembers? that he cares enough to actually have committed them to memory?

he pushes that away, then, choosing to grin instead and quip back,
] Nope, don't got one. I wish I had magic pockets, honest.

[ every day, he misses his backpack... anyway. a pause, ] So an mp3 player, that's like a walkman, then?

[ sorry........ he could have kept with the times regarding technology, but. well, not much use for learning about computers and such when you're a ghost. ]
incorrigibles: (( 84 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 06:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Wait — seriously?

[ somehow, somehow, this is news to him. like, yeah, he knows that people have cellphones that have internet and games with better graphics than anything there was in the 80s, and he objectively knows there's something called spotify even though he's not a hundred percent on what it's spotting, but — ]

Mate, that's brills! [ he sounds way too enthused about this, eyes sparkling like a particularly excited puppy. ] Listening to music's my favourite thing to do at night, and that'd make it so much easier. And I've been so bored, here, there's only so many times you can walk around the entire city until it gets old.

[ #ghostlyfe ]
incorrigibles: (( 30 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ despite the demonstration remaining on entirely theoretical level, charles hums in understanding, privately a little glad that there's no judgment for his, you know, lack of technological know-how (unlike crystal who's ribbed them about their limited knowledge of the internet several times already, thanks for nothing crystal!).

then he just nods, like this is totally commonplace.
]

Well, yeah? I can't sleep, and since most people do, there's sort of limited options for what to do. Figured I'd get the lay of the land, see where everything is... it's not like my feet can hurt from too much walking, is it?

[ he makes a little half-shrug. ] 's a bit boring, too, on your own, but better than just staying in and doing nothing.
incorrigibles: (( 85 ))

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Tautologies, [ he repeats, with one raised eyebrow and an amused current to his tone. you absolute nerd.

and then he just deflates a bit.
]

Thanks for the thought. Just — reading's never been my strong point, the letters just — [ he waves his hand as if to indicate scrambling ] — so normally back home I sneak into movies, or listen to music, or listen to Edwin read, or we play board games. When we're not working on a case, that is.

[ tilting his head back, he looks up and says, quiet, ] I... haven't really had to be on my own, you know, in the past three decades. So walking — it's getting out, yeah? Seeing places, and the few people who're around. It's not much, but at least...

[ he trails off, but it's pretty easy to hear the rest; at least then, he's not in an apartment, alone and losing his mind over it. ]
incorrigibles: (( 32 ))

my god this thread really is like 50 shades of being messed up

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-03 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ charles, of course, lets out an oof as if the nudge was something far more significant, grinning as he does so, before settling back to wait for junpei to get another drink — and then he just starts laughing at the part about the walls and the immediate deadpan of it being a joke.

once he focuses back on the topic, though, it's obvious that he's actually giving this whole thing some real thought, which —
] Hey, [ says charles, with his grin turning into something a touch softer, ] You don't have to solve my boredom issue for me, yeah? It's not your problem.

[ but then he pauses, and, with some hesitation, picks up the notebook again, flipping to some of the first pages. on them, there's some pencil doodles — a nearby park, some flowers, a portrait of this old lady who always gets coffee at 8:20 in the morning in the coffee shop right across from charles' flat.

they're quickly done, that much is obvious, but they're also — well, pretty damn good, even if charles would never describe them as such himself.
] I, uh, draw sometimes, [ he settles on saying. but every time he takes his pencil and prepares to draw there's a voice, rough and angry, at the back of his mind, yelling at him that art's something for girls, that the only really proper hobby is sports so he ought to focus on that, and —

yeah. well. he just doesn't pick up the pen a lot.
]
incorrigibles: (( 81 ))

remember to donate--

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ well, it's a good thing charles isn't exactly the paragon of normality when it comes to relationships or showing care, then, either.

the mention of the telescope makes him chuckle and say,
] Oi, I liked the telescope!

[ but then he, well, he'd scratch his cheek in embarrassment if he had a hand free, but his arm hasn't moved from its place and his other hand is holding the notebook, so he settles for glancing to the side and biting his lip.

eventually he just hands junpei the notebook to flip through, with a sigh and a sheepish, almost cautious,
] Here. But, um, don't be mad, yeah?

[ his eyes are very large and pleading. the why isn't immediately obvious — there's more buildings around aldrip, a few sketches of streets or a cool sign over a shop; then there's a few of the same place, seeming to be an office, drawn from memory; and then there's people. a white-haired, japanese girl laughing, bathed in blue light (the only colour found in any of the drawings). then a few pages torn off, and then more people, a few junpei might recognise: scott, arms crossed and looking somewhat righteously angry; richard, sitting down and staring at a croissant like it might jump up and bite him.

and then, well, once he turns the page, he'll see — there's none of the surroundings drawn, there, very clearly on purpose; instead, it's just a sketch of junpei himself, crouched down, head tilted to the side, looking at what one might call the camera if this was a photograph, looking a bit tired but with a small, genuine smile.
]
incorrigibles: (( 62 ))

god i hope not no one should subscribe to this absolute trainwreck

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 11:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ the apprehension doesn't leave him immediately — he holds himself as if braced for a blow, biting his lip until junpei finally flips to the right page, eyes trained on him until it becomes clear that he's not, in fact, mad at all —

all the tension leaves him with an entirely unnecessary exhale, bleeds away from his shoulders, and gives way to a small smile, almost as if to mirror the drawing. and then, staring at junpei as he is, he notices the red on his face, spreading all the way to his ears, and it's — god, well, it's a little more than endearing, and for a heartbeat charles wonders if he would be able to feel the warmth of his face if he were to touch it.

... and wow, well, that's a totally normal thought to have, innit, he's just, you know, not going to think about that anymore. instead, he says,
] It's not weird, is it? Drawing you without asking. Just, I thought, it's been pretty shitty couple of weeks, yeah? So I wanted to remember the good parts.

[ he's steadily ignoring the implications of the good parts, as he puts it, being two very specific occasions (scott, angry at the world at large and showing his good character; and richard, not out of his mind with murder impulses but confused by modern food) and then, quite simply, junpei's smile. ]
incorrigibles: (( 80 ))

well sure hope they like being frustrated by stupid boys being stupid then

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he gives a light laugh at the quip, mostly because it's such a stupid thing to say, but, ] Nah, as if. Might draw you with puppies, though, if you want.

[ he'd like it, he thinks, doing a proper drawing of him instead of this quick one from memory. and for a moment, he just looks at him, the little smile on his lips, and — well, the sidelong glance and the suggestion come at exactly the right time, charles startling slightly but then laughing as he picks up the pen from where it's fallen, to the little space between them on the floor. ]

Now that you've said it, you gotta do it.

[ then, holding out the pen to him with a grin that sparkles with mischief, ] Promise not to burn it, honest.
incorrigibles: (( 24 ))

ok but THAT ICON THOUGH

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ that is absolutely what it is, and charles is already making a note of it — he's sure he can acquire some puppies somewhere (and this time without being scolded for it, like in the infamous puppy debacle of '94) and seeing as he's definitely a dog person, it sounds like all-around good time: watch them be all cute and soft and silly while bouncing around and over junpei, try and capture the moment —

yeah. all-around good time, definitely.

anyway, time to focus on the artistic masterpiece happening right in front of him; he never stops grinning, from when junpei picks up the pen to when he finally puts it down, and then charles just — well, to say he laughs is putting it a bit mildly. it's more that he collapses in giggles, and this is what finally makes him remove his arm from its place around junpei's shoulders, mostly so he can just hold onto his arm instead, head falling down to thunk on his shoulder as he shakes with the force of his laughter.

he manages to stop it long enough to look at junpei, eyes bright with what can only be reliably described as affection, and answer with,
] Brills, mate, [ and then that sets him off again, until he has to press the back of his hand over his mouth to stop himself.

when he does, though, and looks up again...
] Love it. Seriously, I mean it. [ and from the look on his face, still amused but also just genuinely delighted — yeah, he does mean it. ]
incorrigibles: (( 83 ))

mmhm i think u mean cute crimes

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Course you are, [ he says, voice still shaking with mirth, and he blames that for the way he just falls silent then for a beat or two or three as junpei grins at him, a smug edge to his smile, and charles just smiles back a tad helplessly until the notebook is back in his hands and he breaks the eye contact to take it and tuck it back into his coat pocket. ]

Thanks. A Junpei Tenmyouji original, yeah? You never know, might be worth millions, some years from now.

[ not that he'd sell it even then, though. he has little need for money, and honestly, the little, silly drawing means a lot more to him than that. not that he's going to be able to keep it, whenever he goes back home, if he goes back home — and that's a strangely devastating thought, that he might not remember one damn thing of this.

to distract himself from that, he says, smile still firmly in place,
] You think our worlds are the same, or just similar? You're the quantum thing expert, what'd'you think?
incorrigibles: (( 45 ))

cute and cringe is the new black

[personal profile] incorrigibles 2024-08-04 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I will, [ he promises easily, because honestly, he's going to look at that drawing every single time he starts to lose his mind about, you know, about being stuck here or being alone or any number of things, because he already knows it's guaranteed to cheer him up. so, yeah, maybe it is worth more than selling for millions.

he nods, then, because that's exactly what he's asking — and, okay, so maybe it's a good thing junpei doesn't try to explain the linearity aspect of it all (or non-linearity, or whatever), because he likely wouldn't get it... but he does get the important part: that if it falls squarely in the middle of "possible" and "impossible", well, he knows what his choice is going to be.
]

So that's five years, then. [ he nods, again, this time almost more to himself than anything else. five years? yeah, he can do five years. ]

Right, that's not bad. I can mirror hop anywhere, you know, I think I could find you just by — [ he gives his hand a little wave, as if to say, knowing you. ] And you've probably had enough near-death experiences that you'd be able to see me. Or if not, I could always just haunt you, leave you notes, that kinda stuff.

yep yep yep

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see no evil hear no evil--

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