video • un: el rey

[shabby]

[ The video opens on a man's face, a little too close up for a few seconds. Then he pulls the arm with the communicator back, lengthening the shot and showing vegetation behind him. He's in the atrium, currently sitting on a low hanging tree branch. ]

Hello, alien-abducted internet peoples.

[ He says it cheerfully, with a smile and a wave. For a man who comes from a world without shit like this, he's unperturbed. Possibly because he thinks it's a drug-induced hallucination. ]

How are you today? [ He gestures off to the side. ] This is crazy, no? Outer space and shit. It's like a movie.

[ The image shakes a little as he starts digging through his pants pocket. Eventually, he pulls out a joint and, remembering that he's in the middle of talking to people, asks; ]

Hey, does anybody have a lighter?

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audio; user: katsuki

[yokunaru]

[Though socializing this much is a little out of his comfort zone, Yuuri's determined to make the best of an otherwise awful situation by being helpful if he can.]

It is sort of like a movie, isn't it? Um, I don't have a lighter on me, but you could probably find one in the shopping center somewhere.

[shabby]

[ Vaas' experience with shopping centers is limited to movies, so the mental image this conjures isn't very realistic. ]

When you say shopping center... That means what exactly?

[yokunaru]

There's a whole four floors filled with just shops.

I--I just arrived a few days ago, so I haven't had the time to look at everything yet, but they're supposed to carry a good variety of things.

[shabby]

How about you go get me a lighter and I'll give you a mango?

[ This is a fair price, he feels. ]

[yokunaru]

[There's a startled pause.]

Wouldn't you rather look at the shops and pick the lighter out yourself?

[shabby]

What, you don't like mangos?

[ He frowns, the point of this whole exchange already forgotten in favor of this slight against his favorite ( for the moment ) fruit. ]

They're fucking good for you. They prevent your eyes from going bad. And cancer.

[yokunaru]

[Part of him's wondering how the conversation just got derailed so quickly. But apparently mangoes are a big deal to this guy, so Yuuri automatically switches to 'reassurance' mode.]

I didn't say that. I do like them. I just thought you'd have preferences in mind when you were looking.

( sorry for threadjacking )

[dudebro]

dude dont even bother
hes gonna pik at everything u say or do
ur always gonna b wrong.

threadjack away! it's totally fine with me

[yokunaru]

[Yuuri frowns when he gets another notification, not expecting it.]

O-oh. [There's clear surprise in his voice.] I didn't know other people could hear what we were saying, too.

Does that mean you know him from home?

[dudebro]

[ Sorry for everything. ]

kinda
hes a fuckin asshole

[yokunaru]

[Clearly there's some history there. Yuuri pauses before he asks, but even then he sounds hesitant.]

Did something happen between the two of you?

[Normally he wouldn't pry into private matters like this, but it also doesn't seem right to just avoid the conversation when they're all living on the ship together.]

[dudebro]

[ Part of him doesn't want to say what happened because it's still too fresh. Personal in a way he doesn't like. ]

u could say that
he killed my brother

[ Among other things. ]

[yokunaru]

[The horrified gasp escapes him before he can stop it. That definitely wasn't the reply he was expecting to get.]

U-um. [He stammers, remembering how Jason had cut into the conversation in the first place.] Other people can hear this, right? Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else.

[shabby]

[ Vaas has been content to let Jason make friends, but now that he's going and upsetting people, he figures he has to step in. ]

S'okay.

[ Everything about him is relaxed and casual, like this is no big deal. ]

See, I killed his brother, he killed like half of my guys. But then he killed my sister, so we're square.

[ He smiles. ]

Jason's okay. You should be friends. Help me teach him to be a man instead of a little pussy.

[yokunaru]

[Why is there so much killing??? Yuuri's known of the phrase "there are two sides to every story" but never has it applied more in his opinion.

Surprising even himself, Yuuri decides to just hear them both out instead of immediately slipping away as he might have done before. New life on the ship, new goals and rules. It would have been a shame for him to go lose his new determination after just a few days.]

How exactly did all of this even start?

[You don't just kill people for no reason...right?]

I am so sorry

[dudebro]

[ No, you know what? He's going to butt in again and tell the real side of what went on. He's switching to video for this. ]

Okay, you want to know what happened? I was on vacation with my brothers and my friends. A guy we met convinced us to go skydiving, so we did 'cause who's going to turn that down??

Anyways, we go skydiving and the fucker leaves us there because it was a fuckin' set up from the start! They capture and sell people on these islands, right? Him—Vaas—and this other fucker, Hoyt, spread my friends and family out. I wound up with my older brother and we tried to break out of camp. And this asshole here shoots my brother in the neck. For trying to get away.

Nearly kills me more than one time and the rest of my friends and my little brother!

I was trying to stay alive and shit. And for the record, I didn't kill his sister. She jumped in front of me and took a knife to the gut. That wasn't my fault.

[shabby]

Hey!

[ Most of it's fair. He did all that shit. But that one bit is a big fat fucking lie. ]

Don't you dare act like me and Hoyt were friends. I hated that fucker more than you for the shit he did to me.

[ Asshole. ]

I'm trying to give you some fucking credit for what happened with Citra. Fucking take it. [ A lot disgruntled mutter follows. ] Least you could do after fucking her like a dog in heat.

[dudebro]

[ He's not talking to Vaas. Not yet. Eat shit, fucker. ]

fuck off
i dont fuckinh want credit
lest of all from u

[yokunaru]

[It's too late to regret his life choices, huh...but seriously, what did he even walk into?]

Um...I hate to break in. [And really, he does sound very apologetic about interrupting their argument.] But is this really something you want to talk about in public?

[shabby]

[ That question gets a blank stare. ]

Why shouldn't we?

[yokunaru]

Because it sounds like something you should be talking about in private?

[At this point he's starting to sound a little resigned.]

You really don't care if everyone knows?

[shabby]

[ Vaas shrugs. ]

You know what bothers me? Bad dental hygiene. Do you floss?

[dudebro]

does it rly matter dude?
a shithead is always gonna b a shithead even in private

[yokunaru]

I...I guess that's true.

[There's an uncomfortable sort of silence now, though Yuuri manages to find something else to say before it drags on for too long.]

Was the rest of your family okay? And your friends. [This, at least, he sounds genuinely concerned about.]

[dudebro]

as okay as they're gonna be for now, i guess??
i was helping them on a boat to escape when i was suddenly here so idk man idfk