flatteries: (everyone's scared someone knows)
a man for flowers ✿ ( INIGO ) ([personal profile] flatteries) wrote in [community profile] mysteries2020-07-19 10:59 pm

i haven't posted in my musebox for so long the layout just broke

[ Why were these boys out in a snowstorm? Was it a mission? Something else? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a snowslide, no escape from this random cabin because they're literally snowed in.

And it's dark. And cold. Clearly these are the ideal circumstances for three boys to be stuck together in a cabin, right? There are some blankets and there is a hearth though, although there's no fire started in there yet. And you'd think that starting a fire would be the logical thing to do here, considering the three of them might just freeze to death if they don't.

But is that the first thing Inigo suggests? Of course not. Instead he just flops down onto the floor like he's an oversized pouty toddler. ]


Why is it so cooold? [ I don't know, Inigo. Maybe it's all that snow outside.

Please keep him from freezing... ]
longforgottenpromise: (confused)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-16 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Forgetting is bad... We shouldn't do that.

[But he leans further into Inigo and reaches around to make sure he has Tidus in his arms as well.

It's tricky, his arms are not that long. How does he hold both of them?]


Don't worry Tidus... I don't think either of us could forget you.

[He knows that isn't true, that even the most important, precious things can be forgotten.]
blitzcheer: (head scratch)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-17 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It is awkward, in a few ways. With how badly his mouth is working tonight, how desperately Taiki is trying to tug and reach for him on that other side, and then-- and then the solution Inigo comes up with to fix the latter problem. A Taiki on both their laps. Whatever Tidus was thinking of is paused with the sudden weight; light, but no less puzzling when it's on him. ]

Bw-uh?

[ And now Inigo's questioning him, both in expression and voice. Tidus lingers on him for a second before ducking his head aside, not capable of looking elsewhere with a Taiki in the middle, little to no leeway. A few short and baffled sounds escaping him, just to let him delay in responding. ]

...did you just lift Taiki up like a kid?

[ It's a valid question to ask, thank you very much. ]
longforgottenpromise: (confused)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-17 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[He makes a small, surprised noise at suddenly being lifted. He's used to being carried, but not by Inigo and he is still as he is settled between them.

Tidus sounds confused too and as happy as Taiki is to be here between them, where he is not needing to reach around Inigo to comfort Tidus, he also doesn't want the other to feel awkward.]


I can move... if you want...
blitzcheer: (i should've gone for lyrics)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-18 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Stupid dumb Inigo just doing whatever he wants to...! ]

N-no, it's fine Taiki. [ --but there's no way he can just kick Taiki off now, or he wouldn't exactly want to, either. But now what should he do? Inigo's rubbing their friend's back affectionately, and there's something about it that makes Tidus embarrassed, out of place. This is how the both of them are, and he understands and accepts that. ...but also, one of them isn't usually partially sitting in his lap when it happens...

So Tidus gives Inigo nothing more than a huff at his joke, his eyes becoming adjusted to the darker portion of the small cabin; the side of his face cooling without the heat as directly in his face. He could attempt to move on the conversation as he did before (and as great as that went), but at the same time... Inigo shared something intimate too. A life he never had--and a life he wouldn't be able to return to. Going out and becoming a new person...

If Tidus had time to think about it, some small part of him might be envious. But most of him felt too bad for the guy to. ]


...when I go back to Spira, [ he says finally, his head staying turned; words careful, but aiming for casual, ] I...I go somewhere, where the people I met there can't reach me. Except...there's a place where we can meet, kinda. It's hard to explain. But Yuna went there, and she said she wasn't able to see me, so...

[ Ugh. It's easier to fake when he isn't looking at them, but his whole body feels like needles, or like it might burst. It's too close, too close. He doesn't want them to find out. But also..

He sighs, loud and exasperated. ]


I don't want you guys making a big deal out of it, so-- [ so don't make it one, he hopes desperately ] --so don't worry, okay! I just... think about these things. Remembering people, even if I never see them again. Because we all have somewhere to be, right? Somewhere else.
longforgottenpromise: (confused)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-18 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[He sits a bit awkwardly between them, knowing Tidus is award and yet taking comfort from both of them being so close.

He twists though at the words, his eyes filling with worry. With sadness as he listened to him. A place where he couldn't be reached. A place where Yuna couldn't see him...]
Tidus...

[He reached out, easier now he was partially on his knee, to touch his shoulder.]
blitzcheer: (don't think about it okk)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-21 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ He isn't looking, but Tidus feels Taiki turns, can guess--see--the concern of his eye without confirming it. It's a heavier weight, a bigger regret for speaking. His head bows, ducking to avoid it being seen better; the hand on his shoulder nice, but he wishes he didn't need it.

If only he could take it back and say he was joking. But it'd be too cruel--crueller than a half truth. He can't do that to them now; not for himself. Not just so he can be a coward.

He leans himself forward, forehead tipping to rest against Taiki's back. Tone somewhere between resigned and accepting. ]


I don't have a choice. [ It hangs heavy in his ears, and he can't leave it at that. ] But that's why... while we're here, I don't want it to just mean the missions. I want us to have good memories-- that we got to be happy, for ourselves, and it wasn't just misery or fighting. People deserve that.

I want to know... we got to be ourselves. Happy. [ He closes his eyes, exhales through his nostrils, voice dipping on a sigh. ] That we got to laugh.

[ That they were alive and people, and not just a piece in someone else's goals or dreams. ]

Everyone deserves that.
longforgottenpromise: (confused)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-21 09:59 am (UTC)(link)
They do. [His voice is still soft, but also there is something more, a fire underneath.] You do. Both of you. You deserve to be happy here and laugh.

[He has to return to Tai, with Lord Gyousou, to save it. Or at last what is left. To stop Asen. But Inigo and Tidus. Tidus will go somewhere he cannot be reached, Inigo will go back to a future that is not his own. They both deserve better than that.]

We should find a place for you both, a world for you to live on. Somehow.
blitzcheer: (isn't it wonderful?)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-22 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
I...

[ It's a murmur, a word hardly spoken, a word and more he isn't sure how to say. He doesn't want to--to repeat that he can't, why he can't, a heaviness he knows he can't go back on. Not now--not ever. It's too difficult to know he'd be making everyone sad, the people he cares about most. How they'd be thinking about it, worrying over it, and he would see it reflected in them every time they were together.

At least, that's always been his worry. Back when it was about Yuna and leaving her, every time he thought about bringing it up. And now on the train, when he ever thought about Taiki and Inigo. And it would come one day, but...

His forehead staying rested against Taiki's back, Tidus turns his head, hearing the strain that Inigo speaks with. A part of him knowing he shouldn't look, but he can't help himself, regrets it too when he does; either for the sight, or being the reason for it. He doesn't interrupt him--he can't, not when he knows that Inigo is trying--, but once he's done, Tidus takes a hold of Inigo's hand, slipping first his arm to twine with his, locking them together and resting him in his lap. His gaze lowering into the inky spaces of the room again, twisting after to face the space of their lap. ]


I want you and Saku to have a good life too, you know, Taiki. [ Don't think he missed that lack of inclusion. But at the same time- ] I know it'll be hard; running a kingdom can't be easy. But--at least while you're here too, the both of you...you can have something here, that you couldn't back there. Or can't.

[ And with his one arm holding Inigo's, he brings his other to curl around Taiki's waist, to rest in his lap if he allows it. Unsure if it'll be welcomed, but for once, he doesn't feel weird about it. It feels okay. This feels okay... ]

Will you let me be selfish, and...let me say I was happy? Happy that I got to know you both. And a lot of people on the train. I never knew how big the world... --how big everything is. I never really knew until now. I really got to see a lot...

[ He should say something better, less worrying, less drifting into melancholy. But--he can't help it. The pain in Inigo's own words, his inability to hope. Why did he deserve a better life when the rest of Zanarkand wouldn't...?

It'd be easier not to think about, and just to be happy. His arm around Taiki tightening, his hand in Inigo's doing the same. This is nice. There was still more for him to experience in life than he got to before he went. He never knew... ]
longforgottenpromise: (sad)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-23 10:20 am (UTC)(link)
You can both come with us. [The words slip out before he even thinks about the many implications of that. He can't just invite people to Tai. He's not sure how to get back there, he doesn't know what awaits them there and even if he did. Tai is not a wealthy or even stable land. Not to mention that a kirin couldn't decide who got citizenship. He wasn't even a citizen of Tai himself, when it came down to it.

But he speaks quickly, letting both of them hug him as tight as they wanted, his own hands moving soothingly, trying to give them both comfort at the same time.]


Because I'm glad I got to know you as well and I don't want... I don't want you to be unhappy.

It goes against everything he is to allow suffering to happen. And letting these two go back to places... go back to nothing, go back to a future they had no part in... That would be suffering indeed.]
blitzcheer: (dream quotes here)

just some sad boys nbd

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-24 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn't know what to say. Should he have said anything at all? When this was the same thing he was scared of back in Spira: telling Yuna the truth, seeing her cry. Tidus doesn't look now, but he can hear it, feel it coming from Inigo; crossing between their fingers, surging into his own heart. He wants to cry too. Maybe he is, a little, eyes wet behind his lids.

But he holds it back, tells himself to. Hates already being this exposed, and Inigo's crying--it's like he knows, doesn't he? He should have hid it. That he was going to disappear, that he could...he wasn't...alive. He was never a good liar.

This is where he should be stronger. But this is where he gets scared the most, of goodbyes, of facing them. And so his head just dips lower, like he's trying to pretend this doesn't exist. ]
longforgottenpromise: (sad)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-25 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
[He can't withstand it, he had spoken but when he can feel Inigo's tears in his shoulder, when he can feel Tidus shaking. Tears slide out of his own eyes.

He doesn't want any of this pain for his friends. Doesn't want Tidus to worry about disappearing, doesn't want Inigo lost in a future alone. He wants to help them, make their pain go away.

But he can't. Not really. He's never had the power to stop people's pain. He can't even help the people he is supposed to serve, never mind these two, in this world far from Tai.

He curls up, leaning on them both and trying to hold them both tightly as his own shoulders shake with tears.]
blitzcheer: (misery)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-08-26 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's easier to hold back the tears that want to leave if he doesn't speak. He's never had to quite defend himself from this: the crying of other people, some of it over him, some of it for the other.

And maybe that's why--it should be easier to hold them back, but he can't. Not like this. With the bodies shivering with their own pain, and he hates it. He hates this. He hates the lie he can't tell that makes him quiet and makes everything all the worse. Because the truth is too painful, too scary.

But he detests that he's doing this to the both of them in the first place. Inigo speaking up so strongly, trying, and it just breaks his heart more. 'You can't just ask us to give up on you.'

He could just lie. He could just do it. Just say sure, make them all happy. Bury this and never let it come up again.

Tidus pulls his arms away from the both of them, cupping his face into his hands. Trying to steady the shaking of the tears that want to come out, his throat that hurts hard from the stress. It's a familiar feeling, an old friend. He's worked hard to not cry as he used to, to push and keep it at bay.

A breath taken, shaken, unsteady--he takes his hands away, turns aside his head and speaks into the darkness: ]


I need magic--to keep me around. I'm a -- summon. A dream. The train keeps me around.

[ And he tries to avoid the how and why, extending out the hand that happens to be on the same side as Inigo, the SCA always on his wrist. The device they all wear for missions, but for him--he never takes off. Never can. Never dares. His fist gripped, the only point of interest being the wrist-device. ]
longforgottenpromise: (sad)

I don't have a sad enough Taiki icon. Needs more art.

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-08-27 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[He wants to say they will find a way. That magic exists in his world. That they can figure out a way to keep Tidus here. A dream. He's more than a dream... He's real. He's here and so there has to be a way.

But he knows that the world doesn't bend to peoples desires. He knows that all the hope and wishes in the world can't remake the world how he wants it. All the magic can't stop terrible things from happening.

So he just cries more, twisting around so he can hug Tidus properly, no longer worried the other boy will be awkward, he reaches out for Inigo as well, gripping them both tightly as if they might just disappear if he dares to let go.

As if they might vanish and the time where he will never see them again will come right now.
blitzcheer: (wehhh cry cry)

this wasn't the cuddles we ordered

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-09-02 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He wants out of this, is what he thinks. Thinks and feels, and he wishes Taiki was embracing him for any other reason than this. It would be easier to deal with then; to know what to do with himself, to not be stiff, difficult to believe he should take any comfort from the other's presence. He doesn't deserve it when Taiki's crying because of him. Because he doesn't know how to be stronger when it really matters. Because he didn't just laugh it off.

Because look what brushing it off did the last time, how he nearly left Yuna: a heap on the ground, not knowing what to say or do but cry.

Tidus doesn't turn around when Inigo takes him at first; a sweep of shoulders shivering, a mouth clenched tight so he can't spill any more tears than what's already wetting his face. Listening to that declaration, nothing to blot him out. The fire's become a distant thing, the mission, everything--it feels all far away. Tidus doesn't know how to progress beyond tonight.

But he looks--slowly, with shame, torn by the inevitability of what's to happen to him, and wanting to believe in friend. His friends. That there could be a future for him.

He wanted that. He used to want it so badly.

Inigo's form is a blurred one when Tidus can't wipe at his face, unable to move his limbs between the two of them. His lower lip trembling now with how he's been trying, failing to hold it together. Some rocky attempt to smile, and failing at that too. ]


I...I wanted to be n-normal...with you guys. I didn't want things... t'change...

[ To not think about it. To not have them worry. To not be seen as a dream.

To just be Tidus again--to never have to see how they would look at him differently. ]
longforgottenpromise: (serious)

I want a refund

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-09-03 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[A dream, a remnant of a future that had been changed and the hornless kirin of a doomed kingdom. This was the trio that sat curled around each other this night. Taiki held onto them both as tight as he could, as if it could all be over in seconds, as if they could both disappear.

They could. That was the way of the train, people just left. Walked away. But even before... Taiki was used to things changing suddenly. All the hope in the world wouldn't stop them from vanishing. Wishing would not change Tidus' fate, or make Inigo's kinder.

It's enough to make him cry more, enough to make his hands curl where they touched the two of them, clinging tightly too them.

But wishes never changed things. The only thing that could change things was the will of those who fought for things to be better. He's seen people striving in impossibly terrible circumstances, he's seen people beaten, starving, freezing, still going on because they would not let their kingdom die without a fight.

He's seen people risking their very lives to stay loyal to a king who might have been dead. He's seen a frigid, broken kingdom rise up with hope and defiance against those that would destroy it.

He's also seen all of that crumble beneath the cruelty of one man in power but he tries to cling onto that hope, that will.

After all he is the embodiment of an entire kingdom's hope in a peaceful land. If he can hold the dreams of the people of Tai on his shoulders, then he can hold the hope of his two friends as well.]


Inigo is right. Friends are there to help each other. This is not a burden you need to bear alone. You are not alone.

[Tears have made his vision hazy, but he makes sure he is looking Tidus in the eyes.] You are normal. As normal as me and Inigo are.
blitzcheer: (misery)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-09-04 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His face hurts, the muscles of it aching. His throat sore without properly crying, every inch of him tense, strained. Tidus finds it difficult to meet either's eye, yet he gives his best attempt; though it often goes aside, shame striking at him too deep.

But-- but they're trying. Not only trying, they believe. It's a confidence that-- that's so familiar to him. Him being on the other side, living with that hope and pushing forward. When Yuna moved ever closer to Zanarkand, every step taking her towards the Final Aeon. When everything seemed hopeless, but he and Rikku refused to give up.

Friends are there to help each other.

We're going to figure this out together.


It's impossible for him to deny that. To challenge them, to disbelieve them. That hopeless position he had been ready to sink into, the regret. Tidus looks at the both of them, sniffling, swallowing. Not caring for the mess that his features have become, his face hotter than the fire blazing could ever make it.

He nods to them, weakly; but it's an agreement, a sign of belief, that he carries as his head then drops, when he can't stop the sob that comes out. ]
longforgottenpromise: (contemplation)

[personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2020-09-05 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Taiki nods back, seeing that agreement, Tidus accepting the hope. Even if he found it hard, he still believed them. That was enough for now. With some hope... They could continue. Just like even a small fire could fight back the cold.

He just held them both tighter, gripping onto Tidus, letting him cry, crying himself.]

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