reverie⚡inbox

[striketwice]

REVERIE INBOX "THIS IS ALEC. MAKE IT QUICK." ⚡ voice . text . action ↳ OVERFLOW | REGISTRY

( code from supersuits )

Comments

[vecna]

Oh, no. Those days are long behind me.

[NO THANKS]

But you looked so rebellious in yours.

[striketwice]

Seriously? I already wear a leather jacket. How much more "rebellious" do you need?

[vecna]

[He's giving you shit, Alec.]

It's different in a school setting. "Rebellious" rings out more loudly when teachers would rather have you behave.

[Even if the closest thing in the palace was the... pink bunny guidance counselor.]

[striketwice]

[ He is aware, thank you. ]

I'm learning so many things about you right now Henry.

[vecna]

[So amused.]

Like what?

[striketwice]

Like you've got a thing for uniforms. The fact that they're school uniforms is kinda iffy, though.

[vecna]

[Okay, he walked right into that one.]

I take it back. Wear whatever you want, Alec.

[striketwice]

Yeah, that's what I thought.

[ There's that smug little grin. There and gone again as he switches topics. ]

Speaking of the things that went on inside of Komaeda's heart... I saw that memory you offered over.

[vecna]

[Ah. This isn’t surprising — if he thinks about it, he could see everyone else’s memories with clarity, so why couldn’t they see his?

Perhaps it’s telling, that Henry does not feel the need to hide too much of himself anymore amongst this prison. With Alec, it shows trust. With strangers he hardly knew in the palace? It shows a growing disregard for keeping his mask on, the longer he remains here.

He very nearly shrugs.]

You were bound to find out sooner or later. I'm actually glad I got to show you. [And really, he doubts this surprises Alec.] That night… I actually do have regrets about it.

[Not necessarily the murder parts.]

[striketwice]

I already had my suspicions that you actually had something to do with their deaths and your old man just took the fall for it.

[ So no, nothing truly surprising here. He raises an eyebrow. ]

And what regrets are those?

[vecna]

[Smart as ever, Alec.]

He was meant to die. Not "take the fall" for anything.

[Stupid radio.]

I should have thought it through better. I believed I was going to be free of everything after they were gone, and didn't bother to consider what steps to take after that. [He was only twelve, too. Ah, to be young and stupid.] Or that it gave Papa the perfect excuse to come in and steal me away. I just thought he was a therapist.

[Not the US government. It's almost funny now, in a way that makes him angry. 8) ]

[striketwice]

You were just a kid, Henry. You didn't have a plan besides wanting out.

[ It makes him angry, too. The way things played out for Henry. The constant shuffle from prison to prison to prison. Even ending up here must have felt like landing in yet another cage.

That cycle ends the moment they get out of this place. ]

Did you ever figure out why your dad didn't die?

[vecna]

[But he should have known. Using his powers like that was too much at the time. Of course he wouldn't have been able to take it, of course he would wake up and just find himself in another prison-]

Yes.

[He doesn't expound on that, though, just looking at Alec expectantly. Did you figure it out, sir? That's one of his weaknesses that he said he'd let him suss out, after all.]

[striketwice]

[ How could Henry have known? What information did he have back then that could have possibly saved him? It's a cruel, cruel twist of fate that Henry has been trying to untwist ever since.

Alec looks at him, eyebrows raised. Everyone's memories are so fresh in his head that it's an easy thing to go back and rifle through the details. Alec always latches onto the details. ]

The radio?

[vecna]

[There we go. Not that he expected anything less.]

The radio.

[Suddenly, a little illusion! A boxy 1950's style radio sits on Alec's desk, next to his books. It hisses static, then starts playing that blasted song. Dream a little dream, indeed.

Henry looks at it like it's a mild annoyance he's long accepted.]

It just happened to be playing my father's favorite song. And music that holds sentimental value to a person is... [Frowning.] Hard for me to circumvent. I can't reach that part of the brain, and it opens up a little escape route for someone to use if they can get to it.

It's frustrating.

[striketwice]

Huh.

[ He moves over to the little radio, tries to give it a little poke, if only because he's curious about the nature of Henry's illusions. ]

You're right. That's one weakness I never would have guessed.

[vecna]

[He can poke at it, and it even feels real. Sounds real. He could probably turn the dials to change the station, too.]

You know what's ironic? I was the one who turned it on with my powers before I tried to kill them, just as a distraction. The "demon" in the house at work again.

Proof of just how little I understood my own abilities back then.

[striketwice]

[ Oh yeah, he's gonna fiddle with it. He's too fascinated not to. What other songs have you got for him, Henry? ]

I get it. You saw me back when I was a kid, too. I took out a whole city block with one spell. I was lucky the place was a dump. The cops just chalked it up to faulty wiring.

[vecna]

[Nothing but dull static noises. Though if he happens to keep turning that dial, there will be a very specific spot where he'll catch a few distant notes on repeat. Are you going to leave it tuned into that, Alec?]

I remember thinking that was impressive. I can take a few lights out, too, but not like that.

[Hm. Actually:]

I was surprised you chose the memory you did.

[striketwice]

[ He sure is. He fiddles with the knob minutely, curious to see if he can get it to come in any clearer. ]

... Nagito told me about what happened to his parents a while ago. He chalked it up to his terrible luck, told me he thought his parents hated him for it. I just wanted to show him he wasn't alone in that.

[ A shrug. ]

That's all.

[vecna]

[...He wonders what it must be like, to experience that deep, agonizing grief of losing a parent. Henry cannot help but feel as though he has been spared of something debilitating in its own way -- even if the reality is far less kind. His parents still impacted him; their love felt like a noose around his neck that he could never be free of.

Still, this discrepancy makes it hard to know what to say. In this, he and Alec do share a difference.]

...It helped him to see it, you know. I'm sure it did.

[He can offer that, at least.

The radio becomes clearer, meanwhile. Lyrics can be heard: ...make a deal with God, and I'd tell him to swap our places...]

[striketwice]

[ For Alec, it balances out, at least. The grief and deep, deep regret over the loss of his father is outdone only by the searing hatred he bears his mother. She got what she deserved, but sometimes Alec feels it wasn't enough.

Alec doesn't respond to Henry outright, but the small upturn of his lips must mean he's glad to hear it. He listens to the music a moment longer, then: ]

I never would have pegged you for a Kate Bush fan.

[vecna]

[Okay, but. What. A sharp little laugh, disbelieving.]

A fan?

[a b s o l u t e l y not]

You know this song?

[striketwice]

[ Oh, what's with that reaction? ]

Yeah? I grew up in the 80s, remember? I was twenty-something whenever this came out.

[vecna]

You better not tell me it's one of your favorites.

[He hates this song for how difficult it made things for him.]

That song was the last thing that stood between me and returning home. For a time, at least.