...I hope they would be. [He can admit that much. As much as he didn't used to care and worked on his own, the validation was nice. It wouldn't have been so bad to have it again. To Sasuke's question though he just kind of turns away to look at the nesting dolls thoughtfully.]
I do, kind of, but sort of in the way you miss people who were familiar to you even if you weren't exactly friends. They worked without me for hundreds of years. What's another couple of hundred?
But I'm starting to understand some stuff North said to me. Sometimes I wish I could tell him that, but I've got a new job now. It balances out. [But that doesn't mean he's not melancholy as fuck on the best of days. He pauses though, looking at the dolls and noticing...]
...did you guys move some stuff around? [He notices absolutely nothing, actually, he's just seeing what they say.]
unfortunately taka is a bad liar. if he has time to prepare or can easily change the topic, then he's not so bad, but when he's put on the spot it's. no. so right now he just glances between the dolls, to jack, to sasuke, then back in rapid succession ]
[Thankfully, out of the two emos, Sasuke is a pretty good liar. He glances at Taka and then follows Jack's eyes back to the table, his expression unreadable.]
I touched most of it. I was nosy. I wanted to see if you were hiding anything. Takaomi was just exploring.
[ it's not really a question, considering it's a little obvious with the bunny and santa in particular. takaomi can only really guess about the other two, but he never really thought about what the tooth fairy might look like. ]
[Welp. They spent too much time looking at the dolls. Dang.
Sasuke glances from Jack to Taka to Jack again. He hadn’t questioned too much about the friends. Maybe he should have. WORLD HOLIDAYS MEAN NOTHING TO HIM SORRY.]
They're them. [He doesn't know if Sasuke needs an explanation, but he points them out individually.] Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. North, Bunnymund, Toothiana and Sandy. The Guardians.
[Jack's going to move then, hauling himself up on the table and idly poking the Bunny doll in the face =\]
...when North brought me to his workshop after the Man in the Moon chose me to join the Guardians, he went on this whole big thing about finding my center. [He waves his hands a little, suddenly mimicking someone who sounds very deep and very Russian.] "If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside." [The accent drops.] It's supposed to be what we give to the world and what makes us Guardians.
North's was wonder. And Bunny's was hope, and while Tooth and Sandy never said I always thought theirs were memories and dreams.
[There's a beat.] I never found mine before I ascended, so I figured maybe I should think about theirs instead.
That’s the wildest accent, honestly. Sasuke sort of stares. And then he glances from Jack to the dolls. The brows soften. He’s quiet for a bit. Wonder, hope, memories, and dreams. Slowly, he looks around at all of the trinkets. The toys, the games. They did come in from the game room.]
I think... you already know. The answer you want. I think you know, but... [Like himself?] ...you don’t realize it.
[Like. Sasuke's right, but Jack's always been good at dishing what he can't take so his own brows furrow in thought.]
...I think I'm a little happier here. [It's a thought, and he's staring at his own unfinished doll before he picks it up, holding it in his hands.] And maybe I realize it, but I didn't know if it was true. Or if I could take it for myself. [He's twisting the doll a little and it pops open, but he's not really paying attention.]
But you know the same can be said for you guys. [Feeling differently than before they arrived, and knowing answers they might not realize. Wasn't that the crux of the game?]
[ it's not the first time the subject has come up for him this week, and he still isn't entirely sure what he's gained from all of this aside from a new fear of ferris wheels. but he knows there's something that he can't quite name. ]
But whatever it is, I don't think I would have found it if you weren't here.
[Wow, UM... Oh, okay. Jack doesn't notice the doll, and Sasuke doesn't look or say anything about it. His eye shifts to Taka, softens again, though not necessarily at Taka for anything in particular.
The sentiment, though...
It's clear he feels the same, when he does look back at Jack, even if he doesn't say his agreement aloud. He might even be... smiling??????? a little]
[Sometimes he does this because he's used to the doll being empty, so he doesn't think anything about opening and closing it on and off. Instead, he takes all of that into consideration and just...sort of smiles.]
...glad I could be of help then. And hopefully it helps even when you guys are gone from here.
[Going back is definitely going to be a Trip, honestly. For him at least.]
I'm not giving you all of the credit.
[And he crosses his arms. LOOK. He can be grateful, BUT HE'S NOT... going to admit he's soft so openly!!! It doesn't matter if Taka is here doing the same!!
His chin jerks up gently at Jack--no, not at Jack, at the doll.]
Good thing I don't want all of it. [It's a little snide, but mostly a joke. Still, his eyes are soft because Taka is literally his favorite person on this godforsaken planet, and Sasuke's another fav, so. That's cool.]
You've still got time. Don't worry about goodbyes yet. [This is to Taka. But then he catches what Sasuke's doing and gives him a curious look, glancing at the doll finally. He'll just. Pull that open, I guess.]
Even finding out who you were doesn't change who you are now. [The arms loosen and fall away from his chest by his side.] I thought... resurrecting the former Hokages and listening to them tell me what a village means would give me the answers. But...
I already knew what a village should be. I didn't have to look into the past for that.
[He's also waiting on Jack's reaction, though.] I still don't care if I get what I came here for. Whatever I want, I can get on my own. I'm going back... to make sure that idiot doesn't doesn't ruin our village like the others did. If he can't defeat me, he doesn't deserve to become Hokage. And...
[...that's really profound, Sasuke, and there's a grin because he's finally starting to get it and Jack's pleased. On the other hand that's also something maybe Jack himself needed to hear. Better late than never.]
...glad to hear it. [But okay the doll's open and. What the hell is this? He'll pluck whatever this is out of the doll and just kind of look at it before fiddling with it to figure it out.]
[After a second or two, Sasuke rolls his remaining eye. He glances at Takaomi and cracks the barest hints of an amused smirk before it fades.]
Don't tear it, blockhead.
[It has an uncanny resemblance to the three-person one Sasuke gave to Jack for someone else, spiral and all. It doesn't open so much as simply pop three-dimensionally from being folded.]
It shouldn't be empty. Not if you fill it with what matters
[...oh. Give him a moment because he's just holding on it? And staring? Like yeah, he gets it, but it's something he's staring at as he keeps it in the palm of his hand.
Also very profound, and maybe something all three of them need to hear? It's hard to say.
....this is....important. And yet....]
...did you seriously just call me a blockhead? [He's grateful and a little overwhelmed so clearly it's time to focus on something else.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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...Do you miss them?
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I do, kind of, but sort of in the way you miss people who were familiar to you even if you weren't exactly friends. They worked without me for hundreds of years. What's another couple of hundred?
But I'm starting to understand some stuff North said to me. Sometimes I wish I could tell him that, but I've got a new job now. It balances out. [But that doesn't mean he's not melancholy as fuck on the best of days. He pauses though, looking at the dolls and noticing...]
...did you guys move some stuff around? [He notices absolutely nothing, actually, he's just seeing what they say.]
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unfortunately taka is a bad liar. if he has time to prepare or can easily change the topic, then he's not so bad, but when he's put on the spot it's. no. so right now he just glances between the dolls, to jack, to sasuke, then back in rapid succession ]
We touched some stuff...
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I touched most of it. I was nosy. I wanted to see if you were hiding anything. Takaomi was just exploring.
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...the dolls are probably a little weird, aren't they.
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[ it's not really a question, considering it's a little obvious with the bunny and santa in particular. takaomi can only really guess about the other two, but he never really thought about what the tooth fairy might look like. ]
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Sasuke glances from Jack to Taka to Jack again. He hadn’t questioned too much about the friends. Maybe he should have. WORLD HOLIDAYS MEAN NOTHING TO HIM SORRY.]
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[Jack's going to move then, hauling himself up on the table and idly poking the Bunny doll in the face =\]
...when North brought me to his workshop after the Man in the Moon chose me to join the Guardians, he went on this whole big thing about finding my center. [He waves his hands a little, suddenly mimicking someone who sounds very deep and very Russian.] "If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside." [The accent drops.] It's supposed to be what we give to the world and what makes us Guardians.
North's was wonder. And Bunny's was hope, and while Tooth and Sandy never said I always thought theirs were memories and dreams.
[There's a beat.] I never found mine before I ascended, so I figured maybe I should think about theirs instead.
1/2
[ sorry, give him a minute. ]
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[ there's a pause, before he reaches over to pick up toothiana's doll and turns it over in his hand. ]
I was told that what you guys felt before you ascended might not be the same as you do now.
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That’s the wildest accent, honestly. Sasuke sort of stares. And then he glances from Jack to the dolls. The brows soften. He’s quiet for a bit. Wonder, hope, memories, and dreams. Slowly, he looks around at all of the trinkets. The toys, the games. They did come in from the game room.]
I think... you already know. The answer you want. I think you know, but... [Like himself?] ...you don’t realize it.
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...I think I'm a little happier here. [It's a thought, and he's staring at his own unfinished doll before he picks it up, holding it in his hands.] And maybe I realize it, but I didn't know if it was true. Or if I could take it for myself. [He's twisting the doll a little and it pops open, but he's not really paying attention.]
But you know the same can be said for you guys. [Feeling differently than before they arrived, and knowing answers they might not realize. Wasn't that the crux of the game?]
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[ it's not the first time the subject has come up for him this week, and he still isn't entirely sure what he's gained from all of this aside from a new fear of ferris wheels. but he knows there's something that he can't quite name. ]
But whatever it is, I don't think I would have found it if you weren't here.
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The sentiment, though...
It's clear he feels the same, when he does look back at Jack, even if he doesn't say his agreement aloud. He might even be... smiling??????? a little]
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...glad I could be of help then. And hopefully it helps even when you guys are gone from here.
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[ he still isn't entirely sure how he is supposed to readjust to normal life but apparently he'll find out.
taka watches jack fiddle with the doll for a moment though, before speaking again. ]
Thanks.
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I'm not giving you all of the credit.
[And he crosses his arms. LOOK. He can be grateful, BUT HE'S NOT... going to admit he's soft so openly!!! It doesn't matter if Taka is here doing the same!!
His chin jerks up gently at Jack--no, not at Jack, at the doll.]
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You've still got time. Don't worry about goodbyes yet. [This is to Taka. But then he catches what Sasuke's doing and gives him a curious look, glancing at the doll finally. He'll just. Pull that open, I guess.]
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[ it's mumbled, and i'm sorry there are so many tsuns in this room.
but at seeing jack look at the doll, taka very blatantly looks at him to see his reaction. ]
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I already knew what a village should be. I didn't have to look into the past for that.
[He's also waiting on Jack's reaction, though.] I still don't care if I get what I came here for. Whatever I want, I can get on my own. I'm going back... to make sure that idiot doesn't doesn't ruin our village like the others did. If he can't defeat me, he doesn't deserve to become Hokage. And...
...there's some people who need an apology.
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...glad to hear it. [But okay the doll's open and. What the hell is this? He'll pluck whatever this is out of the doll and just kind of look at it before fiddling with it to figure it out.]
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he can't help but glance at him though, his brows furrowed, before he looks back to jack ]
...
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Don't tear it, blockhead.
[It has an uncanny resemblance to the three-person one Sasuke gave to Jack for someone else, spiral and all. It doesn't open so much as simply pop three-dimensionally from being folded.]
It shouldn't be empty. Not if you fill it with what matters
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Also very profound, and maybe something all three of them need to hear? It's hard to say.
....this is....important. And yet....]
...did you seriously just call me a blockhead? [He's grateful and a little overwhelmed so clearly it's time to focus on something else.]
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[ by being an insulting jerk
not like taka can talk, but still. ]
He's good at ruining the mood.
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