riverviewlogs | [Closed] You and me, another proverbial tree

Yeah, I... guess you are.

[That doesn't quite tell him how much he heard... but he'll just leave that unsaid. He'll learn sooner or later.]

Far as I can tell, you got my interest. So I guess... that's something. Whatever it's worth to you.

[He's not sure how much his affection is worth... probably not much. He's never pretended to be someone of high value to anyone outside of criminal employment.]

Fufu... I enjoy seeing and learning about each new side of Jamie. Maybe that was a secret until now. You have my interest, as well.

[Whatever that means... That's what he decides to say.]

[He tips his head a moment, and a small smile crosses his face.]

Whatever sort of fucked up son of a bitch I've turned into... I figure you're pretty good for me. So I guess I've gotta root for you to get out of here soon.

Mm, I'm not so sure about that. I haven't actually been a very good person, you know?

[His hand manages to move enough to touch weakly at the bandaged needle on the back of his other hand. He hates this, he wants to rip it out, but he has no idea when he'll be stable enough to leave at all. How irritating.]

As soon as I can, I'll be out of this room and beneath the blue sky again. Even if I have to crawl out the window to have my escape, I refuse to die in here.

[He likes that. That refusal to die, the will to keep getting better... it's something he never had much of, but he respects it in others.]

I'd sneak you out, but... I guess you actually need to stay here for your health, huh.

[He tips his head.]

And hey, I wasn't a great person back when I was 20, either. Still slept around and got in barfights - and I smoked weed. Just... not as bad as what I turned into.

Fufu...

[His laugh is tired, and ends up turning into a cough, but Eichi still seems to be smiling as he deals with it.] Well, I don't really do anything like that. I'd probably die, you know? But I would often run away from my servants and escape from the hospital, only to be forcibly dragged back here. I'm not in the proper health to be able to do that right now, or I would.

I used to do shit like that... not running away from the hospital, but running away from responsibilities and shit. There was this... shipping crate that someone abandoned and forgot about, near my first gang's hideout. It had a hole in it that was just big enough for me to crawl through, I used to hotbox the whole thing and play guitar in there.

[Fond memories... one of the few things from his teenage years he really liked.]

Have you heard me play? I figure I'd wanna show off for someone like you...

You haven't had a chance, though you've mentioned it to me while coldly criticizing my own music. You're so close-minded that you can't see me doing anything other than what I do on the stages you've seen me.

[Rude, tbh. But he's smiling, curious at that last comment.] I wonder if you could bring it in here? Staying here with nothing but poor television is like torture.

Maybe I will... checked around my room, though, I don't have a guitar. I'll have to get around to getting one.

[He tips his head back, his eyes closing lazily.]

I've never liked celebrities... they don't do anything to earn their keep. They don't create anything. Not like... a carpenter, or a salesman.

...You don't know this yet, but I was irritated at how I first saw the idols of Yumenosaki Academy. A bunch of scum, wasting their days away in the shadows of the success of others, not having to lift a finger. It was disgusting.

An idol shouldn't be someone who is simply rich or has power, but someone who puts in their all and grows to their greatest, above all that they can, inspiring the dreams of others. Fufu, hearing that sort of talk, you'll probably laugh... I sound like a story book hero, don't I? It's true that I wanted to be something like that, but the heroes that exist in stories and fairy tales don't live in real life. True heroes are those who bathe in the blood of those around them and excuse their own actions as justice.

[He is talking so much, and he does have to pause to cough. A small break.] Believing it was my duty, I completely changed the system. Ripping apart units and pitting friends against each other, I forced out each bit of scum that poisoned the academy and made it a place where only true idols could thrive.

It's not that I expect that to change your mind or anything, but I do want it known. I agree, in that way.

...I guess I... can kind of see why we get along.

[He's quiet for a moment, thinking it over.]

I'm not ambitious like that, so I guess I can't argue with you. I never really made any changes - just did whatever people told me to do. Took the path of least resistance and all. Hell- I don't even know what I'd do if I got the chance to pick my own destiny.

[He's quiet at that, shifting just enough to pick up his phone from where it's buried in his sheets.]

That desire to have meaning comes in different ways, doesn't it? Anyway, pass me your phone.

Does it?

[He mutters it sort of offhandedly.. his head is so oddly full of thought, it's taking a while to get through all of it and keep himself in the present.

After another moment, he hands his phone over.]

Why do you want it?

A gift.

[He takes it, raising his own with a few taps of his thumb and then knocks them together. Just like that, a money transfer, and Dodger can see the fairly large sum of money as he passes it back.]

I can't help you shop for a guitar from here, so you should buy one and bring it here immediately. Fufu, it's a little self-serving for a gift, but I want to hear it before I die. [Why does he talk like this]

Se...riously?

[He hesitates for a moment, his eyes widening and his breath catching a bit.]

Hey- wait- I can't accept that. [He takes his phone back and glances at it.] That is way too much money, I- seriously, I did nothing to earn that, so- fuck, no, you gotta put that back.

Even if I don't have access to my funds back home, that amount of money is nothing after all of the performances I've been holding, as well as working at four different nightclubs as head of entertainment. It's interesting, but while I'm on stage, sometimes money will be thrown at me? What a strange way to tip.

[eichi] Anyway, that amount is nothing to me, so please accept it.

[Dodger shakes his head more adamantly this time, shoving his phone back into Eichi's hands.]

Take it back. I don't care how much money you have, I didn't earn this.

[He'll hold onto the phone, but his own is tucked under his side on the opposite side of the hospital bed, and he's not doing anything with it but curiously poking to his text messages.]

You don't remember what you've earned, you know?

I can't possibly have earned- that. What did I do for you that's worth all this?

[His face is starting to turn pink, a shade that shows up pretty starkly against his pale skin. He can't possibly be made to believe he could earn something as nice as a new guitar.]

[Pink!! Pink... it's so cute that Eichi chuckles, but that chuckle turns into a cough again that he has to wait out.]

Things were getting rather boring before you appeared in my life. And then, of course, you taught me a fun swing dance and how to shoot a gun. ♪ It's not often that I'm able to learn things like that, since so many people will hover over me and restrict me from going places. But you've always treated me normally, as cruel as you were at first.

[He purses his lips momentarily, trying to decide on an argument against that.]

Your illness doesn't define you, and it's your own job to keep track of your limitations. Underestimating people based on your own judgement just wastes everyone's time. That isn't earning anything, it's just being smart.

That may be so, but you still taught me some things that I'm very grateful for. Beyond that, Jamie, a gift isn't something you need to "earn."

[He holds the phone out for him to take back. He's bored of snooping.] Truthfully, I don't do this often. If someone is in need, I'm the first one to tell them to work for it rather than hand out any charity, so don't mistake this for that. As I said before, I selfishly want to hear you play, so rather than wait for it, I want to do this.

I don't take free hand-outs. It's not good practice.

[He hesitates.]

I'll... give back whatever I don't spend. And don't try to tell me you're paying for the performance either, I'm not taking your money. I haven't- [Deep breath, deeeep breath.] -I haven't had a guitar since I was fifteen, I can't explain- how much I would need to do just to earn having one again. It's not just money. It's... it's just complicated.

Edited 2017-08-27 02:53 (UTC)

I'm proud of you for that, Jamie. ♪ You can talk to me whenever you'd like, okay?

[He says, with this smile that's as distant as always... But he does lean over to give him a little peck on the lips.] I'll take back any change, but don't cut corners on the quality of the guitar. Buy precisely what you'd like to play.

[He's still hesitant, but.. damn if that kiss isn't good motivation. He's a little starstruck for a moment before he blinks back into reality.]

You're not gonna judge me on what I get, are you?

[Closed] You and me, another proverbial tree

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