I think that's the way of most families. Some are just better at pretending.
( Geto had loved his parents, and then he'd killed them. So it's not like he has an entirely well-rounded view of the world. The toy he'd been aiming for drops into the bottom of the machine, he picks it out, holds it in the crook of his arm as he moves onto the next, still in range. )
Complicated is fine. I'm glad you both have the chance to be complicated.
[ she gives him a sidelong glance, trying to crack him open. she likes the guy, maybe more so than silco's friends. though she's quite sure that's what he is, first and foremost and jinx will never forget that, he's a chill person to be around. doesn't make her skin itch trying to be something he might envision her to be. ]
The family I built was not a conventional one either.
( He adds a token into the new machine, offers her a smile. )
I was seventeen when I found my daughters. We weren't entirely normal. And the home I built for them I made with the express belief that any of our kind who had been thrown aside could find a place with us. It was a loud, messy affair. It was full of love though. No matter what others thought about us. So yes. It's important that people like the kind we are get to have that even if the world would deny it us.
[ loud. messy. full of love. was anything in jinx's life full of love? she can't really recall such a time. everything had been so — so tense. just being alive, being like this . . . it was too much for everyone. ]
I wouldn't say I'm the best thing to happen to . . . families. More like a disaster.
I think when you're stuck in a world where survival is something you have to grasp for with your teeth it is hard to see the kindness in it. ( He knows Silco. He knows her a little too. He sees the lay of the land and their struggle quite clearly. She doesn't need mollycoddling, but there's something tentative in her, something timid. If he squints he can see two little girls huddled in a shitty Tokyo apartment, unsure of their place. So there's a soft spot. ) You know you don't have to follow the road most travelled, mm? Nobody can judge you for your life, nor for how you and your father live it. All you need to do is decide what you want it to look like now. And that too can change any time you think it should.
Oh well, he follows her over to the machines, eyeing them up carefully. These are brightly coloured plastic and so he does not blink as he reaches out to take one of them in careful hands. )
( It is not a game he has ever played much. It wasn't popular amongst his friend group, and then after the Star Plasma Vessel it had become less of an enticement for Geto. He does not have any particular trigger with guns - he's certainly been shot at since - but still.
He's quick though, reflexes good. The animated figures die in a shower of cartoonish red. He breathes through his nose and chases Jinx's lead. )
I can see why you favour your weapons, Jinx-san. You're very good.
jinx can feel the sickly sense of nostalgia curling around her. of long days spent at a broken arcade. laying low, trying to avoid the misery of the lanes. mylo and claggar joking around. vi, hitting the machine. punch, punch, high score.
but her hands don't shake. because a gun is a gun and that all she needs to keep her head. or perhaps she's changed enough that keeping her head isn't all that hard these days. she doesn't need to fight powder for that space.
powder is gone. powder was loved but she's gone. jinx is here. jinx was loved. but jinx kills the things she loves.
bang. after she's done, she blows on the muzzle. considers pressing it to her own temple. ]
( His dark eyes settle on her, ignoring the fact that she has him beat. It's not something he feels any particular way about, the scoreboard is a game and she has won it. Instead he hums, light. )
Do you find games like that fun? ( Curiosity in his voice. ) Have you ever tried the others?
We had this banged up arcade. Broke every time we fixed it up. But when it worked, it was . . . all good.
[ then the enforcers raided it. vi brought caitlyn there, filled it with poisonous smoke. to kill jinx. the shock of it left her breathless. not that she didn't understand.
And for all Geto is a miserable twenty-eight year old, he seems to get a renewed energy for the game of it. His feet are fast, easy with the speed, graceful even. It's like a fight, really, and he always conducts himself beautifully there too.
At one point she gets a boyish grin thrown her way. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
( Geto had loved his parents, and then he'd killed them. So it's not like he has an entirely well-rounded view of the world. The toy he'd been aiming for drops into the bottom of the machine, he picks it out, holds it in the crook of his arm as he moves onto the next, still in range. )
Complicated is fine. I'm glad you both have the chance to be complicated.
no subject
[ she gives him a sidelong glance, trying to crack him open. she likes the guy, maybe more so than silco's friends. though she's quite sure that's what he is, first and foremost and jinx will never forget that, he's a chill person to be around. doesn't make her skin itch trying to be something he might envision her to be. ]
That a big deal to you?
no subject
( He adds a token into the new machine, offers her a smile. )
I was seventeen when I found my daughters. We weren't entirely normal. And the home I built for them I made with the express belief that any of our kind who had been thrown aside could find a place with us. It was a loud, messy affair. It was full of love though. No matter what others thought about us. So yes. It's important that people like the kind we are get to have that even if the world would deny it us.
no subject
I wouldn't say I'm the best thing to happen to . . . families. More like a disaster.
no subject
( He hums. )
I think when you're stuck in a world where survival is something you have to grasp for with your teeth it is hard to see the kindness in it. ( He knows Silco. He knows her a little too. He sees the lay of the land and their struggle quite clearly. She doesn't need mollycoddling, but there's something tentative in her, something timid. If he squints he can see two little girls huddled in a shitty Tokyo apartment, unsure of their place. So there's a soft spot. ) You know you don't have to follow the road most travelled, mm? Nobody can judge you for your life, nor for how you and your father live it. All you need to do is decide what you want it to look like now. And that too can change any time you think it should.
no subject
Hey now. Why would I do anything else? It's my life after all.
no subject
Exactly.
( Another toy gets dropped into the hole, Geto's bright glittering gaze dragged back to his work. )
Do whatever you like. No one can stop you.
no subject
[ her gaze cuts like a knife. ]
No one can. But enough of all thaaaat. We're here to have a showdown, remember?
no subject
( He laughs, it is bright and easy. )
Do you want to pick the battlefield?
no subject
[ fair's fair and she prefers a challenge anyway. jinx taps a nail against her chin, surveying the arcade. ]
Shoot 'em ups first.
[ she wants to see how far geto's skill extends. ]
no subject
Oh well, he follows her over to the machines, eyeing them up carefully. These are brightly coloured plastic and so he does not blink as he reaches out to take one of them in careful hands. )
Highest score?
no subject
Most kills.
no subject
( But he puts the tokens in for them, feels the weight of the plastic gun in his hands. He has good aim regardless. )
All right, you're on.
no subject
she aims the gun at the screen, sticking her tongue out playfully. ]
Let's dance.
no subject
He's quick though, reflexes good. The animated figures die in a shower of cartoonish red. He breathes through his nose and chases Jinx's lead. )
I can see why you favour your weapons, Jinx-san. You're very good.
cw: mentions of mental illness, suicide ideation
jinx can feel the sickly sense of nostalgia curling around her. of long days spent at a broken arcade. laying low, trying to avoid the misery of the lanes. mylo and claggar joking around. vi, hitting the machine. punch, punch, high score.
but her hands don't shake. because a gun is a gun and that all she needs to keep her head. or perhaps she's changed enough that keeping her head isn't all that hard these days. she doesn't need to fight powder for that space.
powder is gone. powder was loved but she's gone. jinx is here. jinx was loved. but jinx kills the things she loves.
bang. after she's done, she blows on the muzzle. considers pressing it to her own temple. ]
I'm alive, aren't I?
no subject
( His dark eyes settle on her, ignoring the fact that she has him beat. It's not something he feels any particular way about, the scoreboard is a game and she has won it. Instead he hums, light. )
Do you find games like that fun? ( Curiosity in his voice. ) Have you ever tried the others?
no subject
[ her eyes go distant once more. ]
We had this banged up arcade. Broke every time we fixed it up. But when it worked, it was . . . all good.
[ then the enforcers raided it. vi brought caitlyn there, filled it with poisonous smoke. to kill jinx. the shock of it left her breathless. not that she didn't understand.
it was that she understood all too well. ]
no subject
( He puts the gun down, rolls up his sleeves. )
Come and play my favourite with me. How's your footwork?
( A cult leader and a revolutionary icon walk into an arcade and end up playing Dance, Dance Revolution. )
no subject
Oh, I'd say I'm fast on my feet.
no subject
( His belongings get abandoned by the machine, he throws a small grin Jinx's way. )
Would you like a practice round?
no subject
Afraid I might beat you already?
no subject
( But he selects a song on the screen, shows her how it works first. It's a fast one, he likes the anticipation of motion. )
Bring your A-game, Jinx-san.
no subject
Bring it on.
no subject
And for all Geto is a miserable twenty-eight year old, he seems to get a renewed energy for the game of it. His feet are fast, easy with the speed, graceful even. It's like a fight, really, and he always conducts himself beautifully there too.
At one point she gets a boyish grin thrown her way. )
Doing all right?
idc who wins you can decide <3
he wins by a hairs breadth so now the in-joke is she's after his ddr title ;;
haha
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
happy enough to leave it here?
sounds good <3