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week 10 | friday morning
[ elizabeth is dead.
finally.
rhys sits in the computer room and wonders if he should be relieved. a strange sort of jealousy built in him over the weeks as he watched elizabeth and jack and everything else play out in the game. she grew both closer and distant from him at the same time and he could see it hurting jack, see how he wanted to reach out for her but -- but not rhys. rhys died, rhys had an alien crawling through hims just like elizabeth, and no one mourned him. not fiona. not jack. but they went and saw elizabeth, didn't they? went and gave her their attention, their care, their love. it was sickening to watch and after a while, he barely paid attention to the participants after at all, feeling bile in his throat and a slow systematic shut down of his emotions.
fiona didn't care. jack was stripping him for parts. elizabeth got to live and he didn't.
he's not sure how he feels anymore.
he thinks he hates them.
so maybe this is relief he feels when he sees elizabeth's body go down, sees her corpse shoot out into space and finally end her participation in the game. he thinks to himself, cruel and cold, that at least elizabeth won't be able to go back home either -- just like him. she played jack, made him feel like they still had such a relationship while going to people like jason and luke -- telling them how evil jack was, how he deserves to die. she didn't know anything of jack, not really, the sanctimonious little bitch.
doesn't she realize jack saved them? doesn't she realize jack saved her?
rhys didn't deserve to be saved, he realizes. it doesn't stop him from being bitter.
he misses jack. he misses fiona. he misses being alive and now the woman -- no, the girl who took his place is here with him in death.
he wonders if he should kill her again. it would certainly make him feel better. ]
finally.
rhys sits in the computer room and wonders if he should be relieved. a strange sort of jealousy built in him over the weeks as he watched elizabeth and jack and everything else play out in the game. she grew both closer and distant from him at the same time and he could see it hurting jack, see how he wanted to reach out for her but -- but not rhys. rhys died, rhys had an alien crawling through hims just like elizabeth, and no one mourned him. not fiona. not jack. but they went and saw elizabeth, didn't they? went and gave her their attention, their care, their love. it was sickening to watch and after a while, he barely paid attention to the participants after at all, feeling bile in his throat and a slow systematic shut down of his emotions.
fiona didn't care. jack was stripping him for parts. elizabeth got to live and he didn't.
he's not sure how he feels anymore.
he thinks he hates them.
so maybe this is relief he feels when he sees elizabeth's body go down, sees her corpse shoot out into space and finally end her participation in the game. he thinks to himself, cruel and cold, that at least elizabeth won't be able to go back home either -- just like him. she played jack, made him feel like they still had such a relationship while going to people like jason and luke -- telling them how evil jack was, how he deserves to die. she didn't know anything of jack, not really, the sanctimonious little bitch.
doesn't she realize jack saved them? doesn't she realize jack saved her?
rhys didn't deserve to be saved, he realizes. it doesn't stop him from being bitter.
he misses jack. he misses fiona. he misses being alive and now the woman -- no, the girl who took his place is here with him in death.
he wonders if he should kill her again. it would certainly make him feel better. ]
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[ But, she does have an empty, weak laugh at monster. She's seen them - no monsters reside in waters. Her mind wanders, watching the drift of water. It was strangely calming, she thinks... it's not every day she can enjoy it without feeling rushed. Without knowing her journey needs to continue. ]
Oh, so you're old... huh. Looked younger to me.
[ That was a joke. ]
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Then what else is there to focus on? Fuck.
[ looks like you touched a nerve there, liz. but rhys runs his hands through his hair a moment and lets out a heavy sigh before just starting to walk around in an aimless, restless kind of way, hands tucked into his pockets. ]
Any-- Anyway. I'm not old. Twenty-eight isn't old? It's like, young adult. Fiona! That's an old person right there. She's thirty and she... she...
[ he pauses, stopping his wandering before just sort of shakily lowering himself down to the sand and resting his arms on his knees. remembering her? it just -- it hurts, okay. it really fucking hurts and he doesn't want to deal with it. so, in a quiet voice -- ]
Nevermind.
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[ Shes been hanging out with Jason too much if she can be snarky. If she can joke and try to lighten a mood, it's a nice distraction right? The waves were hers. She looks up to the cloudless sky, then to Rhys with a forced smile. ]
I think the last time I saw the sky with clouds was when I was little. I don't think Columbia has ascended that high into the sky yet - were still struggling to keep Rosalind Lutece's work stable with such expansion. The buildings, from what I read, went from wood to brick around the time I was five? I remember seeing a lot of zeppelins from my tower... They were constructing the monuments and adding new buildings every day.
I can focus on the cloudless sky or I can focus on that moment - one of the few happy ones I had. Even when I was in my tower.
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I don't -- I don't know what you're talking about, Elizabeth. I don't care. I'm not -- whatever you talked about with Jack, it's not... I don't know it! I don't know any of this.
[ there he goes. he said the word. he said the word jack and he was feeling so good for a moment but now that sinking loneliness return and he curls in tighter to himself, arms wrapped around his legs and face hiding away. ]
I'm -- I'm just gonna go.
[ well, when he musters up the courage to move again. ]
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[ Up she goes, the beach can wait, I guess. She's tugging her skirt back up and standing. Yes, there's a bit of sand sticking to her butt, it was unavoidable. She's mad, immediately going to him and sitting back down. ]
Stop. I didn't even mean to bring up something. He didn't know - I was trying to tell you something.
[ But, it shouldn't be all about her. No, she stops, crossing her arms a bit defensively to show her own discomfort. But, she's trying to make this work. She has to... If she even thought of wanting to see Jack be redeemed, to see Rhys have some closure... she needs to treat him as an individual. Value him as one too. ]
Tell me a joke. Anything you remember. It could be a knock knock joke or - hm. Something more complex.
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why is she even talking to him? he can only think it's out of dedication to jack which... is good? or is that bad? he's not sure anymore and he just wishes his head wasn't so fucked up about everything. sometimes, he hates jack. sometimes, he doesn't. he's not sure where he fits anymore -- all he knows is that he's alone and that he deserves it. ]
A joke. [ his head tilts slightly and he narrows her eyes at her before sighing and going for it. just -- the first thing that comes to mind. ] Uh, what do you get when you cross a skag with a bandit?
[ a pause as he looks at her and then shrugs. ]
A corpse.
[ hope you enjoy that classic pandoran humor, liz. ]
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As he delivers his joke - "joke", joke, Elizabeth doesn't react toooo quickly, but she snatches her hand over her mouth, forcing a laugh. It looks genuine enough, she hopes. ]
Oh, I have one -
[ A pause as she stiffens. ]
Why did the physics professor break up with the biology professor?
[ A beat: ]
There was no chemistry.
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her joke is not that much better either. there was no chemistry. a pun, a freggin pun. rhys just groans and presses his face to his hands because of oh my god, elizabeth. ]
You just punned at me.
[ SHE SURE DID, RHYS. he drags his hands down his face to look at her, hands still covering his mouth before he sighs and leans his hands back into the sand as he thinks. ]
Then... uh... a Claptrap walks into Moxxi's and orders a drink. Moxxi looks at him and goes, "we don't serve Claptraps." The Claptrap replies "oh, but someday you will."
[ the punchline is humanity enslavement and claptraps being stupid. ]
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It's no such thing! I did not twist my words or -
[ Gosh, okay, maybe she did. Okay, look. He wants to get on her ass about talking about things she doesn't understand, but she knows nothing of a Claptrap or Moxxi. She simply continues trying to force a laugh. Elizabeth looks away, grinning like an idiot.
Maybe it was because of how serious he sounded saying it. She thinks of a mouse trap talking for some reason??? ]
Oh gosh! Rhys!
Okay.. okay... What did the stamp say to the envelope?
[ She does her best impersonation of a New Yorker, all smug and with a northern accent. ]
You stick with me, kid, and I'll take you places!
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That's so -- that's so lame, oh my god. Elizabeth, how old are you? You sound like a grandma.
[ and his laughter keeps going until his shoulders shake and he tries to get it to slow, a shake of his head as his hands drop back down to the sand. ]
Okay, right. Uh, let me think -- oh! Okay, here's another robot one. What was the cyborg alone on Loverpalooza? Because he was heartless. Wait, shit, did I just insult myself?
[ look, it is not rhys' fault that borderlands calls their valentine's day loverpalooza. ]
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[ Sorry she is absolutely losing it at her joke. She was pretty damn proud of the accent considering she never thought she would be laughing or able to joke when she's dead. It's her coping, she thinks - watching as he actually laughs. There's a small hope.
So, she listens to his joke - it takes her a moment replaying the joke in her head. ]
No - no no! You have a heart, don't you? There's men in Columbia - Handymen - who are just like these cyborgs but -
[ OOPS SHE WAS GOING TO BE TOO SENTIMENTAL. Elizabeth knew that it would bring up bad conversation and instead her hand shoots forward, right where his chest is. Her palm plants against where his heart would be. ]
Knock knock.
[ she says quietly - hoping he goes with her here. ]
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Highly respectable--
[ but there they go, moving onto heartless cyborgs and accidental nerve stepping. he wasn't really taking it to heart, not really, just an offhand comment because he talked himself into something stupid again -- but the way elizabeth reacts? his eyes widen and he looks a little surprised like, maybe, he really did say something so terrible.
he lets out a soft oof when elizabeth's hand lands on his chest and his eyebrow furrows, confusion etching all over his features. he feels like he should argue but he's not sure which position he'd take and instead, his mouth falls into a frown as she moves on.
alright, fine. ]
Who's there?
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Cook.
[ This is definitely different than telling jokes to a giant mechanical bird and is it... is it sad she genuinely looks like she's happy to do so? ]
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Cook who?
[ instead his hands fall back into his lap and an expression of confusion takes his face. he genuinely has no idea where this joke is going. ]
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Hey! Who you callin' cuckoo?!
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MY
GODDDDDDDDDDDDD
elizabeth?? rhys faces twists even more before, without even being ready for it, he starts laughing. just shaking his head and absolutely losing it, breathless laughter escaping him as he presses his hands to his face and laughs and laughs and laughs. ]
Oh my god. What the hell was that? That was so -- oh my god.
[ after a moment, he keeps on laughing, hands dropping from his face to clutch his middle because he just can't stop. this entire situation is just so dumb that he can't -- he can't take it seriously. that joke was just so absurdly out of the blue and dissonant to what he was expecting from elizabeth that it throws him off.
after a bit, the laughter quiets into a wheeze and rhys falls back into the sand, laying there with his legs bent and his flesh arm thrown over his eyes. his robot hand rests on the flat of his stomach and just. god damnit, elizabeth. ]
I really, really didn't expect that. Fuck. That was so silly, I thought -- I don't know what I thought. Who cares anyway?
[ he shifts his arm then to pillow it under his head, staring up at the sky with a sigh. he doesn't look so down anymore. in fact, there's a slight smile on his face and his eyes glance over to elizabeth before back to the sky and he points upwards. ]
Hey, doesn't that cloud look like a cat?
[ it's a peace offering, an invitation to lay with him here and watch some of the clouds go by -- just like she suggested earlier with her story about columbia. he couldn't hear it then, but he could hear it now and hell, it looks like some clouds rolled in while they talked, because of their conversation or because of chance? that's a little up in the air. ]
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This was as much for Rhys as it was for Elizabeth.
She watches his reaction and immediately defends herself: ]
It was a good joke! I heard it from a shopkeep in Soldier's Field. He tried to get me to buy a replica rifle soon after... but at least the joke stuck.
[ As he falls back, Elizabeth sits there side-saddled, her legs curled to her. As she watches his reaction, she smiles a bit - feeling that.. maybe she can help. Maybe she can still do something?
She tilts her vision up, watching as he points out an oddly shaped cloud. ]
I would have said a horse with short legs...
[ And soon, she lays back next to him. She feels her heart a bit heavy, wondering if Rhys was truly considering her words. The clouds were lined with a harsh magenta, glowing with yellow and orange as the sun continues to set. ]
They're pretty, at least. They remind me of ho - [ Home. No, she sharply corrects herself. ] - they remind me of something from a book I read.
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... god, fiona. he doesn't know what too do about her, but it sure feels like she knows what to do about him. he's kept trying to watch her too but... nothing. there's nothing there. it's like he never even mattered to her and he doesn't get it.
for now, he listens to elizabeth's voice, eyes roaming the skies for anything new to point out but... honestly, it's just a beautiful sight in of itself. he knows it's fake since, well, it has to be, but... he hasn't really seen anything like it in a long time.
he listens to her correction and sighs, voice oddly soft in his reply. ]
You can say home. It's -- it's no big deal. I think it's fine to remember it, even if things are pretty different now. What else are you gonna do with the memories?
[ he lifts his hand then to yawn, feeling a weird sort of peace settle over him that he hasn't felt in a while. the view above them combined with the soft sound of the waves, it's really... oddly soothing, actually. he could fall asleep like this. ]
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[ Elizabeth's finger reaches up, faux-pinching at the tail of the cat or small horse. She swirls her fingers and swears the cloud shapes against it. It's her imagination, she thinks... He yawns, then she yawns and Elizabeth feels super tired now. Her thumbs run against the lining of her corset, feeling the fabric root her back to reality. ]
There's not really a place I call home and that's okay. [ Even if she says something so sad, there's still a vague warmth to her voice. Optimistic. She shuts her eyes briefly, breathing in the beachy, earthy air. ] This is nice enough.
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he... doesn't really have much of a home himself, does he? after helios crashing and rebuilding his life, maybe with his parents but -- he feels aimless in a way, drifting towards some sort of huge goal that's not quite in reach anymore. he thought he had a guiding point before, fiona representing that in some way, but now... he doesn't know.
why did she abandon him like this? ]
... You know, I think I feel the same way.
[ and that's all he'll say for now, closing his eyes too to savor the clean air, the sand underneath him, and the warm body laying next to him. it's pretty nice, weirdly enough. ]
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There's a stillness between them both and who knows how long that lasted. ]