refractures | jonas / allstarz

[ sir your forehead... ]

It just like. It feels like it's counterproductive? What's the point? [ ... ] And then you add something normal like dogwalking and I'm just like "okay, is it dogwalking or is it a cover for something else and we're calling it dogwalking?"

[ seodore will come to realize that sometimes jonas just rambles. ]

[ That's fine, because he likes hearing ramblings like this and it's nice that he's not the yapper for once. ]

I'm not sure what you could be using "dogwalking" as a euphemism for though.

[ No, he knows. They're just all terrible and he'd rather not bring it up. ]

Though it also means that the company is powerful enough to allocate all those resources into those different sectors. Claire's sure is different than I remember it to be...

[ the look he gives him kind of says he does, actually, know what it could be used for and he refuses to acknowledge it. so instead he laughs to himself. whatever. we can go inside and browse for funsies. ]

Hey, I don't know about you, but preteen girls are some of the scariest people in the world. I would believe Claire's is just a front for a crime syndicate or something where they're plotting to overthrow the world one clip-in extension at a time. [ ... ] But even with that it almost feels kind of normal seeing one here.

Oh, I know that very well.

[ He laughs a little. ]

Though I'm not sure which part you mean by normal--world domination by preteen girls with inappropriate usage of hair clip-on extensions at a time, or a Claire's being like this.

[ He follows Jonas inside. ]

... Most of these are as tacky as I remember too. Did you see the backdoor?

Kinda meant Claire's existing in general but I'm sure your things are actually normal at least somewhere. [ picks up a random pair of cat ears on a headband. ]

What do you think is back there?

I don't know... maybe a deathtrap thrill ride?

[ final destinations but bungee drop into the depths of the stinky trash basement?? ]

Since I apparently need to sign something if I ever want to go back there. Maybe I should...?

[ he looks both intrigued and also a little alarmed. ]

Like a waiver? You sure that's a good idea? [ he's not going to say no but he is vaguely like "well, sir, we are in a death game." ] ... it can't be that bad if just anybody can sign on it though. No hints at all, huh?

No hints. If you're not willing, I am.

[ He ate those cupcakes knowing that they could have been cursed. He doesn't give a shit in a place where death isn't real!! ]

[ well. he has some minor concerns, so: ]

Even knowing this place won't loop you back right away if something happens?

If I die, then I die. If I die for real, good for me.

[ He says lightly. ]

So I suppose if people need a target, they can choose me. I imagine W was tired of me taunting her about being unable to kill me, so she attempted exactly that before--W as in Wis'adel, or whatever her new name is.

Wis'adel, yeah, it's the name I met her under. [ he says that first, but mostly because he's just curious about the rest. sir? you good? ]

... you really think it's just fine like that?

It's fine for me. It's my life, and I'll do with it however I please. People seem to forget that for some reason.

[ He grins. ]

Sorry you had the displeasure of seeing another iteration of her.

[ this is a fair point. ]

I don't think it's always so much that people forget, but... more like people are curious how you came to that conclusion. You have to admit "if someone needs to kill, I'm fine with it being me" is a pretty lofty statement.

[ but he shakes his head. ]

She was... pretty intense the first few weeks we met, but she mellowed out toward the end. She used to visit my bar a lot.

Well... people like you are probably curious. Most others have a kneejerk reaction about death and then lecture me about life. Surprisingly to others, I actually value life and respect death. This place does neither.

[ He laughs a little. ]

There's a beauty in life, just like how I love people despite their foolishness.

Ah, but it's not like W is an exception. There are some people that I just don't like, but hm... true spite? Nothing like that. What was she like to you?

[ he thinks about how much he actually wants to reveal here, but he turns to lean against a wall of cheap chokers as he studies seodore more closely. ]

To the credit of those people, I think I may have a very different perspective of life and death than most of the people here. People fear death because they fear the unknown, and they project that onto other people, I think? Wishing for them to also care about clinging to life because they themselves are scared of what happens after you're gone. [ ... ] Also not a wrong take though. Being the one left behind is always hard, but. You know.

I think I would be impressed to ever meet someone who truly liked everybody they met, but there's only so much patience a person can have sometimes. For me? She was... [ he has to think. ] Our relationship was a little different because she thought I was slightly different than I actually am. But we talked a lot. She told me about things from her home and how she felt about certain things and people. She asked for my help with a few things. And she tried to argue on my behalf for some other things that weren't necessary but it was oddly touching. But of course pointing any of that out to her would make her protest the whole thing so I usually just let her do whatever to think these things were her idea.

[ Seodore fiddles with a cat ears headband in his gloved hands as he listens to Jonas. ]

Projection always goes really far.

[ His fingers pause in their movement and he laughs a little, especially regarding the "being the one left behind" remark. ]

She's really just like that. Despite presenting yourself differently, it must have been nice to earn her trust enough to talk about those things. She's extremely picky about those.

[ I think he should wear the headband. ]

Sure it does. That's why people fight about it all the time, because they don't always know it's projecting.

[ but he leaves the topic a bit to think about weesh instead. ]

It was a little rewarding, I'll give you that. For the first couple of times we talked I was just a bartender whose face she couldn't even see. But I think most people just want somebody to listen to them in the end, whether they're right or not. You can disagree with a person and even dislike them, but at least knowing where they stand on stuff helps a lot. [ ... ] But you still sound like you know her behavior well enough.

[ you know what? yea

Seo puts on the headband. His two-toned purple hair makes it easy to blend in. Stupid Claire's purple theme.

Nya ]

We banter a lot. I annoyed her, she tried to kill me, I called her a lousy killer... all the fun stuff.

[ nya! sorry, he seems very entertained at least. ]

Aw, she likes you. [ lmao. ] Some people would say she's difficult to understand but you seem to have a decent handle on her. But, uh, and don't take this the wrong way, but do people try to kill you a lot?

[ you seem very chill about this. ]

[ thinks about how he was on both killer lists that week when he died ]

No offense taken! The answer is yes, but I'm still here. W was also my killer in that previous murder location. I can be killed, but I will never stay dead. A shame, that.

[ ... well. this opens up a few other questions. ]

Are you actually human, or human-passing? Or is it that this is only true because of the two "games" you've found yourself in now?

I'm a 25-year old human.

[ The answer is immediate and carries a bit of an unsettling feeling. Just a little. There is some sort of weight to those words as if Seodore will absolutely not let them be refuted. He isn't threatening Jonas or trying to intimidate him on purpose, but he's just like this. Naturally? Yeah. ]

[ he sort of just tilts his head to the side like he's curious why the age specification's there as well. but he won't say otherwise. if seodore wants to insist he is a 25-year-old human, jonas won't push that. ]

Just curious. With the kind of people here, you can't always tell on sight anymore.

[ He smiles brightly as if he just did not make anything creepy. shady ass mfer ]

Then what would you call yourself?

[ he is seeing why other people have said this man is annoying. he still doesn't find him so, personally, but jonas's tolerance for people is weirdly high. ]

These days? Um. Eighteen year old human passing, I guess. [ ... ] I died a few months ago.

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