( open/closed | i'm the king jj!! )

[underwhelms]

Who: JJ (underwhelms) & Friendos
What: Catch all
When: April
Where: Various
Warning(s): N/A

[ closed starters below! feel free to pm me or hmu at whysofork to plot something or just! comment here!! i can roll with it! ]

Comments

yusuke, the one where p5 takes a million years to finish

[underwhelms]

[ It doesn't take long for JJ to start to think he might die in this memory. The others he'd wandered into, some had been horrific, but they were mostly gentle recollections of a time past. Moreover, they were specific and telling. This, on the other hand, has been going on for a while and JJ's not sure they're any closer to finding a way out than they had been when they first started. At first it had been interesting, and consider how tightlipped Yusuke can be, he'd been eager to learn more about his past.

But now the gold walls are starting to make his head hurt, and he can't tell one room from the other. Moreover, this isn't anywhere close to the emotional, heartwarming scene that he'd been expecting. It's a lot of running around, picking up kettles for some unfathomable reason, and fighting monsters.

The monsters were pretty interesting, but even JJ's impeccable stamina is starting to reach its limit. ]

Yusuke. [ He's not proud of the way he sounds a little out of breath, but also, why do they have to run everywhere. ] Did you and your friends just hold up a giant penis for money? How did you even manage to look it in the eye?

[ Assuming that it had eyes. JJ wasn't look that closely, just a brief glance of the creature had been enough to horrify him. ]

i hate this

[tricksune]

[ Wow! Yusuke's memory must be really shot, considering Mara isn't even in this Palace!! But all the enemies start to blur together after a while, so maybe it's just the most bizarre entities that show up now—the ones that spring to mind first, when it's slowly approaching a year since he's spent any time in the Metaverse.

And of course, he's sent right back to that terrible museum. The twisting, golden halls, the lavish designs swirling across every surface, the giant, crooked paintings hanging everywhere, eerie portraits at every corner—it's all painfully gaudy and overwrought, overly decadent to be staring at for the time they've been stuck here, chasing his past self around. He'd like to get JJ back soon, but... how? He's lost in thought, murmuring absently. ]

I don't think it had eyes, King.

[ It's weird observing all these fights as an outsider, just doing his best to keep up with the Thieves as they push onwards. They usually spent a number of hours diving through Palaces... though he suspects there isn't much left to this one.

There's a moment where Akira and Ryuji are sneaking ahead, to which he pauses with a scoff. ]

Besides, we needed the money to fund our justice. Does it matter what monsters we were needling for it?

[ 'Needling' in this case threatening with guns and stuff. ]

[underwhelms]

[ He supposes that Yusuke must have a point, even if it is a bit jarring to see a bunch of high school students pulling guns out of no where to kick money out of their defeated opponents. They are still monsters, and watching a few of the battles there were times where JJ had gasped out of concern, seeing one of Yusuke's comrades endure a hit. It's a lot to wrap his head around. Even though he thought he'd had a grasp on the situation after seeing Goemon a few times now, it had become fairly obvious fairly quickly that he doesn't.

Following after Akira and Ryuji, JJ takes his time to nose around as well. The first few times that the monsters had appeared had been startling enough to get him to jump, but they've been here long enough now that JJ knows that neither him nor Yusuke are in any danger.

Aside from being kept here forever. ]

It's just crazy. This was your life before? [ He keeps an eye for a crack or a distortion that might lead the way out, but it's difficult to manage when everything around them looks like a funhouse. ] I thought you beat up criminals on the street but this is... What is this?

[tricksune]

[ It's hard to spot the cracks on a world that barely seems to sit still, though the scene shifts occasionally and without warning. One second, it's Ann setting an enemy ablaze, another it's Mona squirming under a netting of security lasers. At some point, Akira jumps straight into an oversized painting, like a doorway to another world.

It's all very unreal, but that's sort of the point. At least they're safe, seemingly invisible to the Shadows skulking about. ]

This is the cognitive world. [ Which means exactly nothing to JJ... The team springs forward, ambushing another enemy as present-day Yusuke ponders on how to even put this in layman's terms. ] We would invade people's hearts—you might think of this as a landscape of a person's mind. An alternative, but parallel universe, so to speak. We call them Palaces.

[ He goes on to explain for a bit about how the surreal, almost dreamlike nature of this place reflects a person's inner thoughts and warped perceptions. How they could get to the corrupted root of someone's personality by breaking in and literally robbing their hearts of malice. (He leaves out how it could be used to steal more than that—how a cruel hand in this universe can irrevocably damage the real one.)

The memory gets to a series of gold staircases, dizzyingly warped and lined with more portraits. Akira and company seem to be running around upside-down along one, gravity long abandoned. Yusuke runs his hand along one of the paintings, pigment swirling under his fingertips like reacting watercolors. It's of a young woman he recognizes—in retrospect, they'd all been young, foolish and so deathly eager to please. (Ah, but would Madarame have ever realized what easy targets children make, if not for Yusuke himself? Him, the most foolish and eager and utterly devoted of them all.) ]

—Take these paintings, for example. This Palace belongs to a man who viewed those around him as objects. So here... we see all the people he's used. A collection of lives he's ruined to feed his wealth, reduced to nothing but portraits.

[ Just as the overwrought gold landscape was a depiction of his vainglory, his need for fame. All these things were aspects of a person's mind, their true personalities laid bare to see for intruders like them. ]

But he was also a highly regarded public figure. No one would think to bring him to justice, which is why we came to do so instead.

[underwhelms]

[ It is a lot to wrap his head around, and JJ's not sure how well he's following along with Yusuke's explanation. Delving into someone's heart like wandering into another dimension—maybe it's something like Inception? Manipulating people's minds not by wandering through their dreams but traversing their souls. (It's a stupid comparison to make, but one that actually helps him understand their surroundings a little bit better. The dreams in that movie had been easily manipulated in ways that are reminiscent of the upside down quality of this... Palace.

He looks over the portraits when Yusuke does, an apprehensive look on his face. There's a lot of backstory lost to him, so he doesn't know what their host had done to the subjects of these paintings, but his imagination is only going to lead him to the worst conclusions. ]

So... what are you going to do to him, by being in here?

[ Presumably their actions inside this world is going to have an effect in the real world, though he can't really imagine what. Perhaps they're cleansing his soul of demons, and that's why they've been fighting all of those monsters, and once their work is done the man will be reborn and willing to confess his crimes. ]

fred, this is basically bullying

[underwhelms]

[ Nothing around them is real, JJ understands that well enough now, but when the scene plays out in front of him, he can't help but yelp slightly when a horse thunders past him. It's not Frederick's armoured steed, but another belonging to a particularly vicious red-haired woman, and she's about just as terrifying as the zombies (is that what they are?) populating what is otherwise a beautiful field. He manages to keep from falling from his butt at least, but his heart is still thundering his chest from the chaotic scene.

It's nothing like what JJ used to see in movies, no dramatic music or rainfall. In fact, the weather is sunny and bright, the grassy fields otherwise devoid of any blood or sign of savagery. There's just the sound of steel crashing against steel, the cries of the creatures as weapons cut through the meat of their bodies, horses whinnying and grunting and it's.

Not as romanticized as JJ would've liked.

He's walking backwards slowly, eager to get away from the sheer noise of it all, when he bumps into Frederick. ]

Frederick! [ Boy, is he happy to see your handsome face. ] Are you fighting zombies?

[ It's so dumb, but he can't wrap his head around that zombies even exist outside of post-apocalyptic stories. ]

if by bullying you mean bullying me, this is absolutely correct

[pebblestone]

[ By the time the landscape around him snaps unfamiliar yet another time, Frederick merely resigns himself to playing the role of background observer yet again. Perhaps this is a test from the Natha, meant to bring them closer as a group of Refugees, or a reminder of all the times they should have worked harder in the own lives, given more than what they had originally gave.

Either way he watches, attention snapping away only when he hears the sound of JJ's voice. ]

Risen, [ he corrects gently, expression sober ] for they had appeared from nowhere, resembling bodies once laid to rest that had risen again. We needed a name, in order to communicate the threat to others.

[ The Risen rush forwards, making up for lack of skill with numbers and brute force. They surge around a man, blond and muscular, who swings his axe in seemingly wild arcs, and rush for another woman who pushes them back with bursts of flame.

He remembers this battle, so long ago. It had been just the beginning, then.]

There weren't many of us then but we fought well, guided by our tactician. [ "Our tactician" being the white haired man near the front, a thick tome held in his hands as he scopes out the field with a critical eye. He smiles faintly at the memory. ] I didn't trust him, back then.

[ There's Chrom and Lissa, and Stahl atop his horse over there, and then, galloping past on a horse covered head to toe in armor is—

—him. ]

[underwhelms]

[ Fred is peacefully still beside him, but JJ can't help but jerk with every swing of a weapon or shriek of one of the Risen. There's no turning away from watching the grotesque creatures grow all the more horrific as their limbs start to sag, some of their arms hanging off unnaturally.

He tears his eyes from the scene to focus on Frederick before the nausea in his stomach grows too great. The Frederick beside him that is, the one atop the horse, axe in hand is...

Well, Frederick is always stern, but that's not an expression that JJ is familiar with. ]

You fought with him even though you didn't trust him? [ He can't tell which one Frederick is referring too, not when there's so many bodies stampeding the grounds. ] How?

deletes this thread from existence

[pebblestone]

[ Easily comes his reply, though the answer itself is anything but. ]

There was no other choice. In the heat of battle, you decide quickly—or you die.

[ It's perhaps a little too harsh for someone like JJ, for whom war and combat are only distant thoughts, relevant only in action films and news reports. For Frederick, it's a way of life, and he never stops to consider the impact it might have on his housemate, or that perhaps he should soften his phrasing. ]

He led us to victory in the end. Not just here, but in battles even further down the road.

[ Not too far away, Memory-Fred pulls on the reins of his warhorse, lance gripped tight in one armored hand. But before he charges, he opens his mouth, ready to unleash misery on his opponent not only physically but verbally.

"Pick a god and pray!" ]

c:

[underwhelms]

[ JJ's had a few brushes with death by now, all of them so terrifying that he was left paralyzed. Most he barely even has coherent recollections of, hazy memories of heart pounding action and sweat beading down his temples. If he had to explain how he'd made the decisions that he had in those moments, he'd be at a loss.

So in that sense, he does understand what Frederick means. Even people like JJ, untrained in combat and ignorant of the harsh realities of war, have survival instincts when it comes down it. JJ had assumed that his instincts would be to cower and perish in the face of monsters, but maybe he's lucky that he's such a hopeful idiot. He actually believed that he could survive an encounter with a sea serpent or a dragon, so he'd chosen to run or hatch a plan, desperation to live forcing him into action before he could feel enough fear to succumb to the numbness of it.

But that's the extent of his understanding. He doubts that Frederick is fuelled by his base instincts when he steps onto a battlefield, and he's never seen him anything but calm and composed. Admittedly he has a little more heat to him, atop his steed with his lance poised to kill, but—

"Pick a god and pray"??

Any "deep" musings that JJ might be having in that moment grind to a halt, and he looks over at Frederick, shocked. ]

Wow. Even someone like you likes to taunt his enemies?

you asked for a clive montage...

[cajolery]

[ This memory is set in a place that she knows well: her family's summer villa, which stands at the top of a rise not too far away. Even without looking, she knows where everything is. To the right, across the well-manicured lawn, sits the garden, and to the left are the stables, where her family's horses were kept, and where she, Clive, and Fernand would spend so much of their time riding and practicing their weaponry. ]

This is... my home. [ She says it more for JJ's benefit than anything else, a note of wonder in her voice.

Everything is just as she remembers it, filling her with nostalgia. The sky is clear and the sun is shining, warming her face. A gentle breeze lifts the ends of her hair and sets the grass to rustling underneath her feet. In the distance, children laugh, drawing her attention towards the stables.

There, Clive and Fernand are sparring with wooden practice words, though there isn't much skill to it to her trained eye—they seem to be swinging wildly and trying to smack each other as hard as possible more than anything. They're young teenagers, probably no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, all gangling limbs and awkward angles, but still... them.

And running up to them is... her, or as she was as a child of four or five. Her blonde hair tied in little pigtails, her pretty shoes already covered in dirt. Clibe! she shouts, raising her arms up towards her brother. I wanna play too!

She—the present her—smiles and presses a hand against her chest, the look in her eyes wistful and impossibly fond. This is one of her earliest memories, held so dear to her heart. ]

My goodness.

[underwhelms]

[ While JJ doesn't know too much about Clair's home, other than that she was born into nobility before pursuing the life of a knight, and that she has a brother named Clive, the scene that unfolds before them somehow doesn't surprise him. He can see Clair coming from a peaceful home like this, and it reminds JJ a lot of their own cottage back in Quebec.

The sight of the three of them brings a smile of his face; it's so warm and peaceful, and so different to so much of what they've had to experience back in Olympia that it makes him ache slightly that these people that are dear to Clair are probably back on the station. Without really thinking about it, he takes Clair's hand in his as he walks over to the trio, eager to get as close to the excitement as he can. ]

Wow, you're a really cute kid, Clair! Are these your brothers? I thought you only had one?

[ This is probably the first memory where he hadn't immediately wanted to leave. ]

[cajolery]

[ She's eager to get closer too, so she curls her hand in his and falls into step beside him as they approach the three children in her memory. Clive has crouched down in front of the younger version of her, his smile so doting and indulgent that it makes the present Clair's heart ache with how much she misses him. They're not playing, he says, but practicing to become knights.

I wanna be a knight too! the child her insists stubbornly—so this is where it began. It felt like all she ever remembered was wanting to follow in her brother's footsteps... wherever that led. ]

This is my brother, Clive.

[ The resemblance makes it fairly obvious, but she still gestures towards Clive, before glancing at Fernand, so young and so... far away from the man he became after tragedy changed him. This Fernand is the one she remembers so fondly, the one that she wants to remember.

She inhales, swallowing around the thickness in her throat. ] This is Fernand, so dear to us that he might as well have been.

[underwhelms]

You guys are really cute.

[ Clair still has plenty of the traits that she had as a child, stubborn and determined in the face of her brother's gentle attempts to dissuade her. They look like a perfect family, Clair's cheeks chubby and rosy, her face angelic despite her insistent attitude. JJ almost wishes that he could join them, remembering too many evenings spent like this with his own family, where he'd been the one urging his younger siblings away from things too dangerous for them.

It's not really fair that they've had their homes and loved ones taken away, but at least there's the opportunity to revisit good memories like this.

His hand slipping from Clair's, he puts an arm around her shoulders instead, drawing her up against her side as they watch the scene. ]

You must miss them, eh? Are they up on Thesa? If you ever want company when you're visiting, you can always ask me, Clair.

[ Though it's not the same, and the figures sleeping in the pods seem so cold in comparison to the warmth of the memory. ]

[cajolery]

[ She leans into the weight of his arm around her shoulders, her eyes never leaving the scene playing out before them. ]

Yes... that might be nice. I have taken to visiting them whenever I am able, to inform them of everything they have missed.

[ Picture: Clair camping out in front of Clive's pod, going on at length about everything she's been up to since she last visited. She tells him about her new life, her job, every single one of her friends...

Somehow, the child version of her had convinced Clive to give her his practice sword and show her how to swing it—though it's far too big and heavy for her, she still tries her hardest anyway (some things don't change), crying out ha! ha! as she waves the sword around. Still swinging, she charges at Fernand with her fiercest battle roar, while Clive laughs and eggs her on to defeat him, to show him her strength!

To her surprise, the young Fernand plays along, albeit with the disaffected exasperation only a teenager could produce, eventually leading her on a merry chase around the field. They all laugh as they run about, the sound resonating within her. ]

Goodness, but we were all so very carefree then.

dutch, a series of secondhand embarrassments

[underwhelms]

[ Given just how much attention Olympia had demanded from him lately—with finding a new house, his work, and the kidnappings—sometimes JJ would forget that Thesa Station even exists. It's been a while since he'd beamed up, and that's probably a good thing since it means he's not moping around the Stasis Unit anymore, so he's forgetting just how much the station has to offer. The scenery and architecture is a welcome change from the clutter of Olympia, and JJ finds that he's missed the sleek, modern look of it when he finally gets back there.

But he's not here to appreciate the station.

He's already in the teleportation room when Dutch arrives, and he shot a couple of messages back and forth with her to let her know his progress so she shouldn't be too surprised to see him there. (Messages such as picking out something nice 😉 and ready to drink!! 🍻🎉🥂) He's a gentleman after all, and a gentleman never leaves a lady waiting. ]

Hey, you look lovely.

[ It feels oddly ordinary to meet someone after only chatting with them over text. Almost like something that would happen back on Earth. Maybe it's a little out of place, but JJ's happy to embrace the normalcy as he walks over to her and holds out his hand. ]

[motivation]

[ he's sent her a couple messages since her text gone awry had led to agreeing to what dutch refuses to call a date. she's in it for the free drink and because it'll be a distraction, nothing else. he's sent a couple messages, most of them containing little pictures dutch has investigated. emojis. weird as hells, really.

but while she responds not even to half of those messages, she does teleport to the station, wearing tight black trousers and a deep green top that leaves her sides exposed. dutch knows what she looks like and she's never dressed down to hide it unless required for a mission.

this isn't a mission at all. (she's not a killjoy anymore.) ]

Hey.

[ he looks even younger in person than he did in his pictures. he looks more alive, too, bright and warm. he reminds her of johnny the night she'd met him. someone who hasn't been touched by as much of life's cruelty yet, someone who hasn't let it turn them hard and heartless. ]

[underwhelms]

[ While JJ can be clueless and bullheaded, the type of person that only sees what they want to see on the best of days, he had picked up on the fact that maybe Dutch isn't as excited about this evening as he is. It's not enough to dissuade him however, because she could've done a number of cruel things: laughed at the offer, rejected him with some particularly harsh words, or simply not shown up. But she's here, and that's enough for him to want to make the best of the night. ]

Wow, did you get this dressed up for little old me?

[ The picture hadn't done Dutch much justice, and it had been a good picture. In person, she has the type of confidence and ease that lets JJ relax in turn, easing away an concerns he might've had regarding awkwardness and leaving him genuinely looking forward to a good night. If nothing else, he knows that Dutch is fun to chat with, witty and engaging, captivating with her words alone.

He's quick to step in line next to her, settling an arm around her waist as he leads the way out of the teleporting station and toward the dining area. It might be a little bold, but fortune favours, etc. ]

[motivation]

[ she's not nearly as excited as he is because she doesn't do dates and she definitely doesn't do excited about dates. by definition, she's less excited. but she's here, and she's wearing a top she knows shows off her figure (without showing off any of her scars). ]

Maybe I did.

[ flirtation comes easily to dutch, but when he slides an arm around her waist, she still raises her eyebrows. ] Did I say you could do that? [ bossy? yes.

but a moment later, she winks at him. it's fine, jj. ]

[underwhelms]

[ His expression is bright when she winks at him, and he gets in closer to her side once he gets the sense that she won't mind. He'd always been faithful to Isabella on Earth, but even then he was no stranger to attending parties, flirting and careful with where he put his hands but no shying away from intimacy either. ]

Sorry, I get too excited. [ The words come out lightly, but his words are sincere thought he's quick to give Dutch a wink of his own. ] You can reprimand me if I do something bad.

[ That makes him sound like a dog that needs to be training, but he doesn't bother taking his words back once they're out there. It doesn't matter to him anyway, too content with the warmth of her hip under his hand and the way she walks with confidence beside him. ]

Since we're going to be getting drinks, why don't you tell me what your favourites are?

red, fam ham cr

[underwhelms]

[ Contrary to popular belief, JJ does pay attention to his surroundings. He knows the way to Yusuke's house, and that he has a colourful collection of roommates.

He also pays attention enough to know that Yusuke is neither short nor redhaired. The sight of Red at the door is unexpected, but not unwelcome, even if JJ's uncertain if there's still a tension between them after their last... encounter., and he's happy enough to roll with the punches. ]

Hey Red, what's up?

[ It's obvious that JJ had shown up with a plan in mind, guitar slung conveniently across his back, but he's in no hurry to get it. ]

Did you just wake up?

[ This is just here because I'm imagining bedhead Red and it sounds adorable. ]

what the hell is fam ham

[persistor]

[ There's probably better faces to see first thing in the morning.

But there are probably worse, too — it's not that she dislikes JJ, or is uncomfortable with seeing him at all ( mostly ). But associations are hard to shake off so quickly, and she's guilty of staring at him for a second ( then two, then three — ) at a loss.

The pinnacle of grace, probably.

But she does recover, eventually. Fixing the worst of her hair with a small nod, as she steps aside to let him in. She's reaching for her phone pretty immediately, eventually turning the screen for him to see— ]

Who are you looking for?

[underwhelms]

[ It's kind of interesting to see Red slightly off guard, when she's normally so poised and superior in attitude. He kind of likes it, smiling at her sleepy look as he steps into the room. ]

Maybe I was looking for you.

[ He wasn't, but that's okay. It seems kind of quiet around the house, and JJ doesn't mind spending his time with Red, especially considering their last encounter hadn't been particularly savory.

Nothing to do but power through the awkwardness. ]

What are your plans for today?

[persistor]

[ That rewards him with an eyeroll — she already has at least one disgusting sap in her life, she doesn't need more. There's little heat behind it, at least, and she's not looking to actively chase him away — that's a little too much hostility to someone that doesn't deserve it.

So, she lets the matter rest. Some part of her hopes that not prying becomes a theme for the visit.

Her hands flicker up, for a moment; ready to move through a series of gestures that feel more like she's speaking than typing ever will. Except while she's not one to assume, she's also not one to ask questions ( much ) — it's just easier to go about their conversation in their own, disjointed way than to ask if JJ knows sign language.

( Because it skirts too closely to rounding back to the state of her voice, and it's definitely too early for that. )

So— ] You caught me before I decided on them.

... Did you have something in mind?

[underwhelms]

The weather's nice. [ JJ starts, going about the entire thing with his usual level of grandeur and theatrics.

It's almost as though he doesn't know how to just talk, everything has to be a show as far as he's concerned, talking with his hands and facial expression as much as he is with his words. ]

I was thinking about heading to a park, having a nice picnic, setting up camp there to be creative and carefree for a little while.

[ Hence the guitar case along his back. He's also carrying his sports bag with him, though it seems a little more empty than usual, leaving its contents a mystery. ]

You should join me. It's nice to relax once in a while.