catchall; jonas

[ohthehumanities]

go to therapy challenge: failed

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week 0, friday

[ohthehumanities]

[I hate it here

ANYWAY. This is a terrible starter but Kaveh is truly just sitting somewhere quiet--a booth at Mcdonald's, maybe, or somewhere in the park. His gaze is distant and sad, but he does look over at Jonas's approach, gaze flicking over him as if to check for any injuries.]

Are you okay?

me not hitting send for 20 minutes im so sorry pixi

[westedge]

[ gazes at the entry body and nods. anyway it's fine because, like, kaveh was on his brain earlier as soon as the announcement of hikari's erasure came up. truthfully he'd been kind of looking around for the man, so when he finds him at the park there's a little bit of relief to him. ]

Sort of feels like I should be asking you that, man. [ but he understands why. ] I'm fine. I think everywhere I looked wasn't a part of...whatever happened last night.

w1 monday

[westedge]

[ pixi: anywhere with cool buildings
me: assigns them cathedral

which is to say...maybe it's a little surprising jonas is here. it's not exactly the first place he normally would've gravitated toward, but he finds himself wandering the cathedral and looking at the stained glass of every window.

he catches a glimpse of kaveh from the corner of his eye though and gestures with a hand. ]

...go on. I'm sure you have thoughts about this place.

[ohthehumanities]

[That's totally fair tbh. Kaveh is in here taking pictures like crazy--all of the weird architect things like windows and arches and stairwells and. You get it. He doesn't even seem to notice Jonas until Jonas catches his attention.]

Are you sure? It really is hard for me to stop when I get started.

week 1, thursday

[ohthehumanities]

[Sometimes you are a week 1 cyoa which means nobody knows what a CYOA is and you just think everything is 100% real

By that I mean, once Kaveh is an adult and also healed (but only halfway because I, Pixi, want to play with injuries for a bit), he is hurrying over to see Jonas with his OWN TWO EYES]

[westedge]

[ WHAT

HAPPENED.

anyway thank god kaveh is an adult, jonas had like a million questions, but he doesn't get to ask any of them because kaveh is nyooming and he suddenly looks alarmed. ]

Should you really be up and moving right now?

w2 monday

[westedge]

[ there's an extremely lowkey chance jonas will ever come here, but for the sake of thoroughness he does today! he's not really a self-care makeover pampering kind of person, so the salon doesn't have a lot of appeal to him.

but he does find himself kind of glancing around as if getting a gauge for stuff before he turns his head and grins lightly. ]

Let me guess. Right at home? [ kaveh, your aesthetics!! weirdly though, it seems like any emotions that could be wafting off of jonas are in a chokehold and there's nothing coming from him just yet. ]

[ohthehumanities]

[Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kaveh is here! He's in his new fit with his nails painted, one of them painted with flowers instead of feathers; his hair is also pinned up in a bun, which he just finished getting done although I don't think you can tell that just by looking. It's fine.

More importantly!! He tries to stop far away, as if to prevent Jonas from suffering his feelings--but the salon isn't really that big, so Jonas will probably still pick up on a low vibe of exhaustion and sorrow, if nothing else. Nonetheless, he greets him with a wave and a quick smile.]

I wish. It's normally too expensive to indulge, so I manage it by myself at home. [Meanwhile Alhaitham blows his cushy salary on SHITTY DECORATIONS!!!! ASSHOLE!!!!]

w2 sunday

[westedge]

[ ...the thing is, it's hard to miss such a display of grief. even without the effect of being able to feel one another, he thinks kaveh's response would have been hard to ignore. hard to miss.

but not necessarily hard to understand.

he thinks about it for a while. they aren't really close, jonas thinks, but he likes the guy well enough and he thinks it isn't the worst idea to at least check on him while trying to clear his own thoughts and feelings about the matter. it takes some time to find kaveh, but when he does jonas is keeping a bit of a distance to give kaveh space. his own emotions are tempered and quiet, thrumming under his skin but harnessed to keep to himself and not accidentally blast on another innocent person. ]

...I understand if you want to be alone. [ is what he starts with. ] But I wanted to check in on you.

[ohthehumanities]

[The one good thing about explosions is that they don't last for long. Shrapnel can only fly so far, and flames always die down sooner or later.

That's how Jonas finds him, later in the day. Like the skeletal framework of a burnt-out building, Kaveh sits in the park, gazing out over the lake. There's a hollow sort of mourning to him, which, at least, is probably better than an empty void.

There are times when he wants nothing more than to shy away from being perceived, hating the idea of saturating his friends in his ever-present misery. But today isn't that day. Today, he knows, all of them are shocked, are hurt, are devastated in their own ways. For once, he feels no guilt or shame about it.]

I don't mind. [His voice is raw, which, well. He'd obviously been crying. But he shifts, making room for Jonas.] Though I won't be good company.

w3 friday

[westedge]

[ the thing is that everyone's going to be upset. there were some things that happened today that would shake the entire game to its core, and two erasures is one of them. it's sort of the reason jonas leaves his shenhe-tree eventually and finds himself drifting, shying away from crowded places and wandering his way into the cemetary.

which, like, morbid. but it's fine. he's careful about where he's walking, keeping an eye on things and open graves so he doesn't fall in. but it does mean he spots kaveh not too far from him and approaches slowly. ignore his still-bloody shoulder it's fine. ]

...what a day, huh. [ hey man. this sucks. ]

[ohthehumanities]

[IT IS MORBID... but also... sometimes you are just so depressed that you go hang out in morbid places. Like Kaveh, who left and came back at some point; he's sitting under the tree monument with a notebook and a pen in hand, though he's mostly just staring down at the page.

"Ignore his shoulder" HE CAN'T!! HELLO HELP. He looks up at the sound of footsteps, but whatever he was about to say is lost as he sits up in concern.]

Jonas, your shoulder--[good thing Kaveh isn't a suspicious person or this would be really awkward]

Week 4, Monday

[ohthehumanities]

[Wherever they are, when they cross paths, there is A ROGUE PIG. THERE IT GO...

As it does, Jonas will get smacked with this memory! Not me getting jumpscared by the English voices, help.]

[westedge]

[ THERE IT GO!!! anyway jonas is smacked both with a pig and a memory and honestly? you know what? after the absolute barrage of bullshit he's seen today this is actually a relief.

like. simultaneously it's also a little sad, but at least this is much more normal than anything he's expected. he remembers what kaveh's told him before about his mother's journals, and so even when the memory fades he's quiet for a second to respect it for what it is. ]

...she's right, you know. I mean it might not always seem like that's the right answer or that it does more good than harm, but...being around other people is a good solution. Funny how something that sounds so simple isn't always the easiest answer to come up with.

w5 monday

[westedge]

[ you'd think somebody with mild cave trauma would stay out of here, but alpha week means jonas is exploring and makes his way through the tunnels and out to the underground lake. he also finds he's not alone in that, too. ]

I can't say I'm against this. It's...kind of cool to look at.

[ohthehumanities]

[We have been granted the confidence to pretend like we weren't traumatized by mass murder the same week all our secrets were spilled out everywhere.]

It wouldn't have been my preference, but there are worse places. [Probably. Someone is definitely going to die in lava this week but Flurry is already dead... who will it be...] Though I can't say I'm eager to eat any fish that might live down here.

Week 5, Thursday

[ohthehumanities]

[This can be short but I'm so afraid of not talking to people on Thursdays now

Anyway Kaveh fortunately heard about group 1, so eventually he will send a text:]

Are you okay did you get healed up

[westedge]

[ sinks my claws into kaveh so he lives. anyway. ]

hi
no
we just bandaged everything since it's mostly wounds
i'll get a better heal later when people aren't drained
are you okay?
i meant to ask but it's been...a day.

w5 friday

[westedge]

[ he hasn't wanted to stray from his warehouse. understandably, given what's happened, but he is outside with a cigarette and he gives kaveh a little nod of greeting. ]

...how're you feeling since yesterday? [ he says, as if three people aren't dead. ]

[ohthehumanities]

[Fair and valid.]

A little better. [THREE PEOPLE ARE DEAD AND ONE OF THEM IS JONAS'S TEAMMATE... but. The trauma of Fridays isn't quite the same when your CYOA involved so many fucking death loops.] What about you?

w5 saturday

[westedge]

i'm really sorry kaveh
i know that sympathy can only go so far and it doesn't make things better but i wanted to see how you were doing with all of this
and if you guys need anything before tomorrow

[ohthehumanities]

You don't need to apologize
We're the ones who hurt people
But thank you
I'm sorry we couldn't do more for Setsu
I really wanted to help you

Week 6, Monday

[ohthehumanities]

[Well, it's impossible to not still be depressed after Sunday, but. At least Kaveh is out and about--and he seems a little better? Not great, exactly, but--about as close to being at peace as he can probably get, at the moment. He's here at the new food location, examining the available items.]

Is there a particular theme here...?

[No Christmas in Sumeru... but actually he's eying the Christmas dinner foods that have, like, meat and stuff. He's very hungover, even though he's hiding it fairly well--if Jonas is close enough, Kaveh's thoughts are probably grumbling about his headache.]

[westedge]

[ honestly? yeah! everybody in this house is fucking depressed, but they can make an effort to not be. jonas is kind of hovering around, tilting his head to look over their meal options.

also. yeah. he is close enough and he can kind of guess. ]

Uh...sugary, greasy, and heavy? [ lmao. ] Holidays are basically about eating whatever the hell you want without putting much thought into it. I think most people do turkey or ham or roast beef for Christmas. [ ... ] I think I remember reading somewhere that chicken's higher protein than beef? Might help your head. Something about your body breaking it down and helping with the symptoms.

w6 saturday

[westedge]

[ he's walking around outside, trying to burn off the nervous energy of the trial and straight up failing at lighting his cigarette a few times. when he finally gets it, he notices kaveh ahead of him and he pauses. ]

I'm sorry. For how I was doing things. [ kaveh wasn't even mad and yet. ]

[ohthehumanities]

[That is so valid Kaveh just like collapsed on the floor for twenty minutes probably. FUCKING WEEK 6.

But he shakes his head.]

You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. [Kaveh just truly does not handle stress well.] ...It's important to find the answers, even if we don't like them. I just--wanted you to understand the risks.

w7 "wednesday"

[westedge]

[ where is kaveh. regardless of what's going on, jonas is going to approach him and just stretch out his limbs a little. what a weird couple of...day. ]

It's hard to feel like we accomplished something, but I know we did. But it also still feels weird just waiting, doesn't it?

[ohthehumanities]

[Sometimes you just have to put "we didn't explode" as your biggest accomplishment and call it a day.]

Mm, it does. I sort of expected Nightingale to contact us by now. [He'd hoped, anyway.]