IC INBOX - Austice

[finalbows]

Kuja has a phone as of December 16th! He got sick and the thanatophobia won lmao <3. Feel free to contact him by text, voice, or video now-- he's terrible at answering his phone right when it rings, though. He tends to leave it sitting around, and sometimes even leaves it at home.

Kuja can very easily be found around town. He kind of sticks out, what with the height (the official height chart says 7'1" but I nerfed him to 6'7") and the habit of floating around places.

He has a habit of perching atop buildings, so a good place to look is Up.

If you want to hit him up at home, that's cool too!! I have a comment below describing his.. abode.

 

Feel free to talk to him!! 

_{(why does it look like the town is on fire behind him? ....don't worry about it.)}

Comments

[prototype_heart]

[ Vivi can tell from the smell that Kuja's been cooking. It's not um. Experienced cooking, but it doesn't smell bad at least. It does make him shrink back for a completely different reason though. ]

O-oh I'm sorry. I can come back later...

[ He hadn't meant to interrupt a meal after all- and he'd made him break a plate, too... Qus may thrive on making and sharing food but time in Treno taught him that most people are not fond of sharing. Especially food. This would have gotten him screamed at before, he's certain. ]

I just... wanted to check on you.

[finalbows]

_{[ after all the big bits are up and there's no more clatter as he gathers it, he heaves a very, long, sigh. he's got a good guess as to the origin of that 'sorry.' ]}

I was distracted and dropped it. You're too quiet to be heard from that far off.

Anyway, you've seen me now. I remain quite whole. Is your curiosity satisfied?

[prototype_heart]

[ It's not. Not by a long way. Especially with Kuja being so nice but at the same time so... curt with him. He's not sure if he's supposed to read that as mad or not, and it wasn't helping matters.

Besides, he's really not that quiet, right?

He hesitates, reaching up to grip the brim of his hat- something Kuja would recognize by now as a self-soothing gesture for when he's anxious.

Funny how being around someone will teach you things like that. ]

... Why..? Why did you want to bring Memoria back so badly? I don't understand.

[finalbows]

...

_{[ Kuja gets up, and reaches for a satin pouch resting on the counter-- he plucks it up by the drawstrings, letting it dangle freely in the air from his fist. ]}

This is why.

...I thought going back to Memoria was what I wanted from the moment I first got here. As long as I was still dying, that was the solution, right?

I came to the Nest when I had just reached the crystal. It was close enough to touch. I didn't think it would be so... small.

_{[ as he speaks, he's pulled the bag open-- there's something wrapped in layer upon layer of soft cloth inside, which he's set to unraveling. ]}

[prototype_heart]

[ Kuja didn't seem upset about the question. At least not at him.

He knows better than to interrupt a story, though, and Kuja explaining things like this always sounded like he was reciting a story. Some epic or poem. Such was the cadence of his voice. Every word a performance, even in a situation like this.

Instead he toddles closer. Not too close as to get into the genome's personal space, but close enough to better see what Kuja was unwrapping from the bag ]

But that... wouldn't solve anything... isn't it better to be with the ones who love you..?

[finalbows]

_{[ he pauses in his unraveling to laugh, clutching the bundle with clawed fingers. ]}

Hahah..! Ahh... Love? Who loved me, when I came to this place? To people here, I was a stranger, and to the place I'd left behind -- a nobody valet, turned infamous backstabber.

_{[ that description.. doesn't match Vivi's experiences at all. Nobody's going around calling Lord King anyone's valet. the familiar, twisted smile and barking false cheer he'd assumed starts to drain back into the storyteller voice. ]}

...I had my plan, in mind, and I kept working toward it, letting it simmer-- tested at what the people here could do, what in this world could be the proper kind of threat-- really, I got so lucky when I had the chance to lure you all into fighting me! I couldn't have provoked Garland into a fight like that.

_{[ ...there's only a few layers left. he gets back to unwrapping. ]}

But I'd-- before just the other day... I'd even decided... I wanted to stay here. _{[ it was all much sappier than that. he liked the people here. ]} But something happened. ...I... shall admit I panicked.

<sub>[ ...

the wrapping's all off.

It's Kuja's gem.

It looks a little bit look a blooming flower, from how deep the cracks in it have pierced to, pieces slowly pulling apart from one another. The red core looks like a stain, spilled into the heart of the blue-- there's a ribbon of clear quartz blossoming through part of it, and little curls of black eating at the tips of each chunk.

.. It's... bad, in short. ]</sub>

[prototype_heart]

[ Vivi is many things. He's gentle. He's soft spoken. But he can also be extremely stubborn when he feels strongly about something ]

Maybe not the others when you first got here but people certainly love you now. You have friends. You have Ala and Yuri and me. Zidane cared about you a lot. He risked his life to save you.

[ he pulls his own little gem out of his pocket and holds it out to him. Not nearly as damaged as Kuja's own but he's making a point, not comparing. ]

If you don't care. If you want me to believe you don't care, take it and kill me, then.

[finalbows]

What--? Stop, stop! Put that away! Don't just wave it around at me like a banner, I've seen one scuff from a simple fumble before!

_{[ very immediately proving Vivi's point. ]}

[prototype_heart]

[ Vivi gives a little huff in response, waiting for Kuja to catch up to what he'd just done. He does oblige in putting his gem back away though. He is not having any of the "No one loves me" crap because it is very much not true. If no one loved him Vivi wouldn't have spent the last three months walking on eggshells about their pasts.

And for better or worse Kuja cared about them back. Vivi wished it didn't have to be so complicated, but the cards have already been dealt. At this point both of them have already played their hands. Vivi doesn't know why either of them are still here. ]

See? You don't want to do it like this, so what would going to Memoria have done? It's just this on a bigger scale. You'd have killed me and Ala, and everyone else along with you.

[ He sighs ]

I know... I know it's scary but it's worth being with the ones you care about with the time you have.

cw suicidality in brackets but . That's sort of been here from the start

[finalbows]

...

_{[ the hand that's flown up to Kuja's mouth to cover it, a vain effort hold back what's already been said, is a clear sign he sees right where he's been led. ]}

Enough. You're right.
...I couldn't... I didn't want it enough.

<sub>[ from the moment he'd looked down at that humble altar, everyone's tributes to the people they missed... from the moment he started pouring everything he had into something he could feel wasn't working...

collapsing time and space to a singular point wasn't exactly something you could do without putting your whole chest into it. and he hadn't been.

then there was a point where it stopped being "we're all going down together." ]</sub>

...realized that a little late, of course. Could have spared myself a good amount of trouble. _{[ When he says 'trouble,' he taps a certain spot on the gem-- the newest crack, made the day he'd Trnaced. He doesn't trust his hands, especially right after fumbling a plate, so he's just... going to lay his gem down on the table. He'll wrap it up properly later. ]}

[prototype_heart]

[ Vivi watches him quietly for a moment, just taking in what he said in silence. It's difficult to gauge what the boy could be thinking with the majority of his face shrouded over like it is, but once Kuja put his gem down, the little mage is at his side, arms circling his waist and face pressing into his side. ]

... You scared me. I don't wanna fight you...

[finalbows]

<sub>[ The Genome is still as a statue when Vivi first latches to him. That's cold, imperious Kuja alright--

Except he's not cold, imperious Kuja. This is the man who'd nearly blew a spell up in his face when he saw Vivi faint.

His hands flex uselessly once, twice-- oh, hell. There's a crying child clinging to his leg that he doesn't want to see sad, and Kuja can't deny even he knows a remedy for that.

He hoverhands over Vivi before he sets a hand gingerly on his back. ]</sub>

...I'm done, Vivi. No more schemes to bring down countries. No more... Memoria. I won't be giving you more reasons to.

<sub>[ Then,
While at first it seems like Kuja might be trying to dislodge him, he's actually--

Came down more to Vivi's level, so he can hug him back.

...

He has no idea what he's doing, for the record. He doesn't really know what to do with his hands. But Kuja is notably soft and warm, which are two qualities in his favor as a hugger. His fuffy tail knows better how to circle around someone comfortingly than he does. ]</sub>

[prototype_heart]

[ His first instinct when it feels like Kuja is trying to peel him off is to cling tighter, but he does let go once he realizes he's not trying to leave.

Once he's down at Vivi's level, the boy more than makes up for Kuja's hesitance by instantly tossing his arms around Kuja's shoulders and hiding his face once more.

This really isn't something he ever expected to do. Not ever. Not even when accepting that Zidane wanted to save Kuja. He never imagined it getting to this point.

Part of him wants to ask Kuja to promise. Knows that Kuja is prone to saying things he doesn't mean and going back on it.

But he's learned part of giving someone a chance is taking a chance. Blind faith has gotten him this far. ]

... Okay.

[ No questions. No conditions. No skepticism. ]

I trust you.

[finalbows]

<sub>[ ...

Kuja's bereft of things to say.

He's heard the words, but no one has ever offered that in earnesty, when they had the full measure of who he was. Like gauging a weather pattern, or dealing with a devil-- "well, Kuja's a liar and a cheat, so I'll plan around it."

No one here knew that better than Vivi. He'd shown Kuja his resolve, before, that he would act as his heart decreed, rather than his head, and that it was up to Kuja what would come of that.

This... was something utterly different from their previous arrangement.

The real measure that Kuja is serious is the lack of further assurances, promises, or even explaining clinically how he himself would explicitly benefit from not going back on his word. He's just... quiet. Calculating, maybe, he never stops calculating--

( Kuja actually isn't even thinking about what this can mean for him, going forward. How he can use this. His usual aloof attitude as an observer astride each moment rather than inside it has been dissolved by the feeling of a surprisingly fierce display of...

"Love?" That was... certainly the word Vivi had used. )

...

He feels a little twitchy, because he really really isn't used to pure, friendly embraces at all, especially one this long. Vivi can feel him fidget. Words, finally, are soon to follow. ]</sub>

I wondered-- That is...
You're... alright, after...?

I mean that-- _{[ lmao he sounds SO stilted saying this. ]} I, ah... I saw it when you collapsed. _{[ He can't help but think Vivi's delicate, slapped twice now with the sight of him turned out like a light. ]}

[prototype_heart]

[ He has to hold himself back from laughing at how awkward Kuja is at expressing concern for him. It's sweet, though. ]

I'm okay. Andy just didn't know that I'm made of magic, so...

[ that power turn off ability really sucks for him! At least it hadn't proven deadly to him ]

Are you..? The memories we saw weren't... very fun.

[finalbows]

_{[ well, that's ominous, since that wording implies it's something Vivi hadn't already witnessed. ]}

...I wouldn't know precisely what you saw, appointed outside the rift as I was, but whatever it was, it is... certainly, solidly in the past.

<sub>[ says local man who has never gotten over anything in his life.

there's wary curiosity in his voice, though. ]</sub>