I can move mountains, I can work a miracle [OPEN]

[rassera]

WHO: The residents of Nonah 05 + YOU!
WHERE: Nonah, Residence #005
WHEN: All month long (January)
WHAT: Nonah 05 open log for January Shenanigans
WARNINGS: Obligatory Bull and Tetsuo warnings apply.


Starters will be appearing in the comments. If you want something specific from any one person (Kaneda rassera, Tetsuo iamtetsuo, Bull rideme and Ken amadaman), feel free to drop them a line and ask! Otherwise, feel free to add your own starters for the whole household or individual residents as you like.

Comments

[superposition]

[For a moment Qubit's quiet, formulating what he's going to say. How to frame the sympathy so it doesn't sound like pity.]

... You look like hell, if I'm honest. Been a long couple of weeks.

[rassera]

[It works. Kaneda's lips quickly turn into a smile as he runs a hand through his messy black hair. He can't remember the last time he brushed it, if he even ever did.]

You're no prize yourself!

[But his boot scuffs the ground, that smile fading as fast as it came.]

Started losing track of time, to be honest.

i love how this is under tetsuo's header and it wound up being a kaneda :')

[superposition]

[The snark gets a single chuckle out of him, though the smile's brief and barely reaches his eyes.]

[Somber-] It's hard, losing a friend. It hits you in places you didn't even know could hurt. I've been there. [More times than he cares to admit. And he still has yet to talk it out with anybody, whoops.] You're fortunate to have got him back, but that doesn't erase what happened.

LMAO RIGHT

[rassera]

[And right there, Kaneda's body language says it all. It when from strong to crumpled in practically a second, leaning against the side railing of the steps with his head hung down. He'd spent this whole time being a rock--a support for everyone else that no one could really see the crumbling base of it. Chipping away slowly as wave after wave stormed by.]

I was supposed to protect him.

[superposition]

[Qubit wasn't necessarily expecting that so soon, but he's not surprised, either. The boys are tough as nails, but inside them there are still the echoes of kids who grew up too fast.]

I know. [He means that more about the feeling, not any sense of actual obligation.] I know. But sometimes you can't. You try and you try and you try, and yet... everything still goes wrong.

[rassera]

[He's a bit surprised himself at how fast it came out. Like it'd been beating on the walls of his body just trying to escape, but with no way to let it out.]

That's not--

[An excuse.]

[superposition]

It's not fair, no. And it's not much help. But it's what we have.

What Pan did isn't your fault, Kaneda.

[rassera]

[Funny, he used to tell himself that. It was so much easier pointing the blame at the obvious evil. But the seed had been planted deep in Kaneda's heart from the moment Tetsuo's heart burst...And it became harder and harder to try and avoid it.

The truth's a heavy burden, sometimes.]

Tetsuo...DID all of this because of me. It's right there in that video.

[Is there a slight edge to his voice? Definitely. But Tetsuo's not the only one who's watched it a million times. More often than not, Kaneda's been in the vicinity to hear it, and every time...

"Then you’ll no longer have to live in Kaneda’s shadow." ]

You can see it yourself.

[superposition]

[firmly] Tetsuo's choices aren't your fault, either. Don't confuse yourself with his perception of you. They're not the same thing. You don't have control over his actions or feelings, those are ultimately up to him.

It's tempting to blame yourself. I know. [He lays a steady hand on Kaneda's shoulder.] But you can't wear that burden indefinitely. Invulnerable or not, it'll crush you.

[rassera]

[Kaneda doesn't flinch when he's touched, too hammered down by his own guilt and failure (albeit self-imposed) to really notice until that grip is felt.]

Then who the hell do I blame?

[superposition]

You don't.

[Simple. To the point.]

Throwing blame around is pointless. Even when you do make mistakes, what good does it do to point fingers? Does that change anything? No. All it does is keep you bogged down in the past, when where you should be looking is forward.

[rassera]

[Kaneda's eyes flick up, showing the first spark of energy they'd had in awhile. He wants to believe that, as he opens his mouth to try and say something. No words come at first, as if he has to think over them a moment.]

Is it that easy?

[superposition]

Easy? No. It's never easy. Simple in theory, difficult in practice.

[He still struggles with it himself. There are so many things he might have done differently, things that might have saved countless lives. What if he'd let Bette take the shot? What if he hadn't cooperated with Modeus? What if he had shaken the Plutonian's hand all those years ago?]

But it can be done. Accept the things that are your fault, let go of the things that aren't, and focus on making it better next time. [He squeezes his shoulder.] And Tetsuo's alive. You have a second chance, the two of you. That's a rare opportunity.