[ It's not something he expects -- receiving a gift. It's bad enough Kate went to all the trouble to make him cookies, but the gift and the poem from Monika brings a special kind of sting made worse when he sees what the gift itself is. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He immediately sends Monika a text. ]
fuck. monika. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to have those delivered. with so much shit going on, i forgot to intercept the demon.
you can like burn them or something
or i guess if they really are eternal, they're probably indestructible, too
[ DID SHE THOUGH??? Tech doubts it very much. It's just another thing to suppress, probably. ]
i mean, the thought was nice. you aren't the first one to send me something. uh....my "mom" made me cookies. it was weird, but also kinda nice.
is that how birthdays usually feel? lol. weird but also kinda nice
anyway, i'm not gonna toss the rose. i guess in a way it stands as a sign that no matter how much shit we both went through, we're still standing and always fucking will.
cookies??? that's so nice!! 😍 kate's really nice in general 🥰😊
but, you know.....weird but nice is kind of the perfect way to explain birthdays. when i had mine last year, i didn't feel like i deserved to get all that i did, so it was weird. but people still wanted to give me stuff and spend time with me, so....it was nice
i think it fits the roses too. and our relationship. weird [ --and maybe sob-inducing at times-- ] but nice
oh yeah. i'm fine. i've just been working on a project on the side.
remember the wedding in hellburbia? where mammon put on that big show as he prepared to marry a few sinners? remember the spell?
well, come to find out, that spell consumed part of their souls. and i've been trying to find a way to restore it for wuxian and the other two. but magic isn't really my forte...
it's times like these i really wish loki was still here. it feels like he'd know exactly what to do....
[ She'll spare him the freak-out, though. That last part makes her heart ache a bit. ]
and maybe loki would know...or maybe he wouldn't
i think he'd want you to figure this out on your own... [ ...She thinks. Getting deeper into Tech's relationship with World 2.0 wasn't exactly a thing they could do on account of their breaking up. ] because remember when i told you you're your own god and really cool?? it's still true
still, i'll do what i can to find someone. i'm......definitely hanging around a crowd that probably knows way too much about magic 😶😶😶😶
for now, just enjoy the rest of your birthday okay?? it's not often you get to turn like what....1000000???? 😉
[ That's....a very odd thing to say regarding Loki. He raises his brows at the phone. Sure, Loki might have been fairly hands off, but he could have given guidance or insight or something more than Tech's got on his own. He would protest it, say that yeah...he might be cool, but that doesn't change what he doesn't know -- but it seems like Monika's ready to draw the conversation to a close. ]
hah. more like 16. it's aindreas's birthday. not mine. but yanno, thanks. sweet 16's a pretty big year. more for girls than guys but lol
but hey. i've always thought it was good to make as many friends and companions with varying degree of magical abilities. so you're doing good there.
[ And he's going to pretend like 'friends and companions' is the right term... ]
anyway, yeah. just float the idea out and let me know
[ That would have been a nice closing text if not for that completely out of nowhere bombshell she drops. First of all, 'bard boyfriend?' Second of all, he can't help the mild panic. What did she do? What did she say? There's a million and one embarrassing things she could have told him about their relationship. There's also a million and one not so good things she could have told him about their relationship -- how selfish and toxic they could be toward one another. Like the time he drained her dry of her energy just because she was planning on staying with Mega and had lied about it. ]
oh no no. we're not talking later. we're talking now. what did you do to him or at him or with him?
[ It's not until his message comes back that she realizes how she, ah, lightly fucked up here. Don't mind the flurry of texts that come pouring in! ]
omg wait it's nothing bad!!!!
okay it's a little bad but it wasn't my fault!!!!!
wait i should say first I AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL HIM AWAY
I DO NOT WANT HIM
HE IS YOURS
I WILL NOT TOUCH YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!! I HAVE NO PLANS TO TOUCH YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!
something weird happened in the park where i fell in love with him as soon as i saw him, that's all!!!
....i know that sounds like something i'd do anyway BUT IT WASN'T ME THIS TIME
ONCE AGAIN I DO NOT WANT HIM
i just hope i didn't upset him or worry him too much because i was kind of determined to find you and kill you because of whatever was messing with my head.....
so i am trying to stay away from him completely!!!
why do you keep saying "boyfriend?" it's weird. he's not my boyfriend. we're not boyfriends. we're not like that.
[ They are, in fact, a little like that. But for once, it's not possessiveness that has him concerned. While he appreciates Monika's proclamations that she's not going to "steal" Jaskier away (it's cute that she thinks she would ever be able to resist any form of love that comes across her path), Jaskier isn't really his to be stolen. 42 years old and no signs of settling down, Tech has no delusions he's going to be the one that gets Jaskier to change his mind. In the end, theirs is nothing but a fling to last the duration of their time in hell while Jaskier is free to do as he pleases with whoever he pleases.
No, what concerns Tech more is him potentially finding out something that would make him second guess all the time they spent together. And Monika has all of that at her disposal -- Monika knows how truly rotten he is deep down. She knows the worst, vindictive parts of him. She knows the things he'd be willing to do for the sake of his own happiness. ]
this isn't like kaiba where there's anything to really be stolen. jaskier isn't making me promises he would give to someone else instead. it's just this thing between us is really important to me
and i'm not pretending i'm a saint. he knows the worst of what i did to you. and while he's not exactly jumping for joy about it (it'd be fucking weird if he was), he accepts me still.
i'm just worried he's going to find some reason to NOT accept me. every relationship in my life except ava has fallen apart because in some way i haven't been good enough for my partner.
so idk what would be the breaking point with jaskier. i just know of all the fucking people in this place, you are still my eve and you have all the power to expel me from eden if that's what you choose to do. and when we're in hell, we can only taste paradise for so long, am i right?
[ What else could it be? She's jealous, of course, but she'd be jealous of anyone that went near him. The difference this time, however, is that she truly wanted him to be happy. That meant respecting his desires. Keeping boundaries. ]
i know he knows what you did, because he didn't go running for the hills when i told him the same thing. he was more worried about me trying to hurt you for revenge....so i'm going to stick with calling him a boyfriend
i just want you to be happy zeus. if i have the power to kick you out of paradise, i have the power to keep you in it too. but at the same time....you should have some more faith in yourself
don't you think the worst is going to keep happening if you keep expecting it to???
please don't allow what i did to you to poison everything else
you didn't start the trend, monika. this was the story of my life before you and i got together. so it's not you poisoning anything. it's just the way it usually goes and all you did was reinforce a truth i should have known
[ It might be difficult to believe she's improving a good chunk of the time, but there are little things, subtle clues. Like saying she wants him to be happy. Even Tech hasn't gotten to a point where he can wish her well in her relationships without resentment. She's trying for him and he appreciates it. So he'll try for her, too. ]
but even if statistics are pointing toward a certain outcome, i still keep holding out hope it'll be a different one. i keep trying. even after telling you i didn't believe in love anymore. sure fucking ate my words after hellburbia....lol
but you ever just feel like idk. like you don't deserve the love people are giving you?
maybe i didn't start it....but i didn't make it any better either. i should've tried to stop the pattern there, because if anyone here knows what i've been through, it's you. but i was too selfish....
i'm glad i didn't completely ruin everything though ❤️ i'm glad you could find something after what we went through
[ Even if, yeah, typing those words was really difficult.
Her lips purse up thoughtfully as she considers how much to say next. ]
i feel like that constantly. i guess i'm lucky i've found people who are patient with me
it took me a long time to not be afraid to say "i love you" again, even in my head
[ Is glad the right word? He doesn't want Monika to be miserable. He wants her to be happy and to be able to move forward after their storm. It's just hard thinking of her happiness with other people -- loving people other than him. Finding healthy -- er. Well...maybe not healthy, but happy relationships with people in a way they could never have. ]
i think it's what we both needed to do in the aftermath of us. take the time to rediscover love. we rushed into our shit head first and idk if we were more careful maybe we could have worked or if we were just doomed from the start.
but i'd like to think it could have been different if i'd taken the time to understand my emotions a little better
this is why i keep saying i'm thankful you ripped out my heart....i needed something like that to wake me up
now i appreciate everything more. i think about the feelings of others more. [ Well. For the most part. ] you improved so much about me....
[ But all those improvements helped other relationships. Now she didn't really have a chance to be better with him. It all came too late. At least she had her Hellburbia memories? Maybe it was enough? ]
i wish you were the first person i met in hell a lot
if only because you could have experienced the love of lovemaking without needing the pain.
i still hate henry a little bit for ruining it all for you like that
[ But the one who will ruin it for her most of all? That's the one she's with. Tech knows the pain that got inflicted on him that he didn't ask for -- that he didn't necessarily want, but got conditioned to expect. It's no wonder in the wake of Seto Kaiba, Tech had to do a hard reset and not fuck for a while. But Monika? She'll ask for it and he will give it to her. And further and further, she'll be corrupted into thinking she needs more pain to go with her pleasure.
It's a sad thing to think about, but only reinforces his thought now, that he would never be enough for her. He'd never be able to satisfy her. ]
[ Probably because she was ashamed. Jealous. Caught up in so many feelings of what it meant to be like someone she hated. Yuri forever haunts her, even though she's long gone. ]
the seed for that sort of thing was planted before i ever got here. he just helped it grow a lot faster
i'm better, but i'm still broken zeus. probably way too broken to fix...
i'm sorry....
[ A slight delay follows, then: ]
i should let you be
sorry again
bye
[ Because it's hurting too much to keep thinking of what could've been, especially with someone she could never be with. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
He immediately sends Monika a text. ]
fuck. monika. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to have those delivered. with so much shit going on, i forgot to intercept the demon.
you can like burn them or something
or i guess if they really are eternal, they're probably indestructible, too
no subject
i mean sure, it hurt a little at first, but i got over it....
i wouldn't send you one if i wasn't over it, right???
[ Because she's over it. Totally. ]
no point in letting a nice thing go to waste
you can toss it, though, if you want.....
i just wanted to be able to give you a birthday gift for once. that was the important thing
no subject
i mean, the thought was nice. you aren't the first one to send me something. uh....my "mom" made me cookies. it was weird, but also kinda nice.
is that how birthdays usually feel? lol. weird but also kinda nice
anyway, i'm not gonna toss the rose. i guess in a way it stands as a sign that no matter how much shit we both went through, we're still standing and always fucking will.
no subject
but, you know.....weird but nice is kind of the perfect way to explain birthdays. when i had mine last year, i didn't feel like i deserved to get all that i did, so it was weird. but people still wanted to give me stuff and spend time with me, so....it was nice
i think it fits the roses too. and our relationship. weird [ --and maybe sob-inducing at times-- ] but nice
soooo....
happy weird but nice birthday zeus ❤️❤️❤️
no subject
[ He's supposed to be over it, though. He's supposed to be working on forgiving. So let's try that again here. ]
i mean, it's water under the bridge now. i'm cool with it even if a part of me would still love to ring his scrawny fucking neck
[ Fuck. ]
I'M COOL. with it. i promise.
sry i'm making things weird. life is weird. it's not just birthdays or us.
this is gonna sound like a weird question, but.....
do you have any friends well-versed in dark magic? in particular how to break a spell that was partially completed?
no subject
i didn't mean him....well, not *only* him.....
never mind, it's not important 🥴
[ She has a feeling she needs to zoom them away from that topic as soon as possible. No murder would be very nice!
Instead, she blinks at the random question he throws out. ]
anyway
dark magic?? umm idk i'd have to ask around.....
is....everything okay???
no subject
remember the wedding in hellburbia? where mammon put on that big show as he prepared to marry a few sinners? remember the spell?
well, come to find out, that spell consumed part of their souls. and i've been trying to find a way to restore it for wuxian and the other two. but magic isn't really my forte...
it's times like these i really wish loki was still here. it feels like he'd know exactly what to do....
no subject
that doesn't sound very fine!!! 😨😣
[ She'll spare him the freak-out, though. That last part makes her heart ache a bit. ]
and maybe loki would know...or maybe he wouldn't
i think he'd want you to figure this out on your own... [ ...She thinks. Getting deeper into Tech's relationship with World 2.0 wasn't exactly a thing they could do on account of their breaking up. ] because remember when i told you you're your own god and really cool?? it's still true
still, i'll do what i can to find someone. i'm......definitely hanging around a crowd that probably knows way too much about magic 😶😶😶😶
for now, just enjoy the rest of your birthday okay?? it's not often you get to turn like what....1000000???? 😉
no subject
hah. more like 16. it's aindreas's birthday. not mine. but yanno, thanks. sweet 16's a pretty big year. more for girls than guys but lol
but hey. i've always thought it was good to make as many friends and companions with varying degree of magical abilities. so you're doing good there.
[ And he's going to pretend like 'friends and companions' is the right term... ]
anyway, yeah. just float the idea out and let me know
no subject
....that's typical 16th bday stuff isn't it?? anyway
i guess it does help. i've gotten out of some bad situations thanks to it all, so that's something right???
so i'm sure i'll find someone. it's nice to help you again ❤️❤️
[ And yes, "friends and companions" is PERFECT. The BEST.
But speaking of... ]
oh one last thing.... 😅
tell your bard boyfriend i'm sorry?? he'll know what it's about and i'll understand if he never wants to come near me again
happy birthday one more time!! ttyl!!! ❤️
no subject
oh no no. we're not talking later. we're talking now. what did you do to him or at him or with him?
no subject
omg wait it's nothing bad!!!!
okay it's a little bad but it wasn't my fault!!!!!
wait i should say first I AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL HIM AWAY
I DO NOT WANT HIM
HE IS YOURS
I WILL NOT TOUCH YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!! I HAVE NO PLANS TO TOUCH YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!
something weird happened in the park where i fell in love with him as soon as i saw him, that's all!!!
....i know that sounds like something i'd do anyway BUT IT WASN'T ME THIS TIME
ONCE AGAIN I DO NOT WANT HIM
i just hope i didn't upset him or worry him too much because i was kind of determined to find you and kill you because of whatever was messing with my head.....
so i am trying to stay away from him completely!!!
[ Oh, right, the most important thing: ]
i'm sorry!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏
[ She's really growing and improving, you know! ]
no subject
[ They are, in fact, a little like that. But for once, it's not possessiveness that has him concerned. While he appreciates Monika's proclamations that she's not going to "steal" Jaskier away (it's cute that she thinks she would ever be able to resist any form of love that comes across her path), Jaskier isn't really his to be stolen. 42 years old and no signs of settling down, Tech has no delusions he's going to be the one that gets Jaskier to change his mind. In the end, theirs is nothing but a fling to last the duration of their time in hell while Jaskier is free to do as he pleases with whoever he pleases.
No, what concerns Tech more is him potentially finding out something that would make him second guess all the time they spent together. And Monika has all of that at her disposal -- Monika knows how truly rotten he is deep down. She knows the worst, vindictive parts of him. She knows the things he'd be willing to do for the sake of his own happiness. ]
this isn't like kaiba where there's anything to really be stolen. jaskier isn't making me promises he would give to someone else instead. it's just this thing between us is really important to me
and i'm not pretending i'm a saint. he knows the worst of what i did to you. and while he's not exactly jumping for joy about it (it'd be fucking weird if he was), he accepts me still.
i'm just worried he's going to find some reason to NOT accept me. every relationship in my life except ava has fallen apart because in some way i haven't been good enough for my partner.
so idk what would be the breaking point with jaskier. i just know of all the fucking people in this place, you are still my eve and you have all the power to expel me from eden if that's what you choose to do. and when we're in hell, we can only taste paradise for so long, am i right?
no subject
[ What else could it be? She's jealous, of course, but she'd be jealous of anyone that went near him. The difference this time, however, is that she truly wanted him to be happy. That meant respecting his desires. Keeping boundaries. ]
i know he knows what you did, because he didn't go running for the hills when i told him the same thing. he was more worried about me trying to hurt you for revenge....so i'm going to stick with calling him a boyfriend
i just want you to be happy zeus. if i have the power to kick you out of paradise, i have the power to keep you in it too. but at the same time....you should have some more faith in yourself
don't you think the worst is going to keep happening if you keep expecting it to???
please don't allow what i did to you to poison everything else
no subject
[ It might be difficult to believe she's improving a good chunk of the time, but there are little things, subtle clues. Like saying she wants him to be happy. Even Tech hasn't gotten to a point where he can wish her well in her relationships without resentment. She's trying for him and he appreciates it. So he'll try for her, too. ]
but even if statistics are pointing toward a certain outcome, i still keep holding out hope it'll be a different one. i keep trying. even after telling you i didn't believe in love anymore. sure fucking ate my words after hellburbia....lol
but you ever just feel like idk. like you don't deserve the love people are giving you?
no subject
i'm glad i didn't completely ruin everything though ❤️ i'm glad you could find something after what we went through
[ Even if, yeah, typing those words was really difficult.
Her lips purse up thoughtfully as she considers how much to say next. ]
i feel like that constantly. i guess i'm lucky i've found people who are patient with me
it took me a long time to not be afraid to say "i love you" again, even in my head
i still am sometimes
no subject
[ Is glad the right word? He doesn't want Monika to be miserable. He wants her to be happy and to be able to move forward after their storm. It's just hard thinking of her happiness with other people -- loving people other than him. Finding healthy -- er. Well...maybe not healthy, but happy relationships with people in a way they could never have. ]
i think it's what we both needed to do in the aftermath of us. take the time to rediscover love. we rushed into our shit head first and idk if we were more careful maybe we could have worked or if we were just doomed from the start.
but i'd like to think it could have been different if i'd taken the time to understand my emotions a little better
no subject
now i appreciate everything more. i think about the feelings of others more. [ Well. For the most part. ] you improved so much about me....
[ But all those improvements helped other relationships. Now she didn't really have a chance to be better with him. It all came too late. At least she had her Hellburbia memories? Maybe it was enough? ]
i wish you were the first person i met in hell a lot
things would've been better
i know it
no subject
if only because you could have experienced the love of lovemaking without needing the pain.
i still hate henry a little bit for ruining it all for you like that
[ But the one who will ruin it for her most of all? That's the one she's with. Tech knows the pain that got inflicted on him that he didn't ask for -- that he didn't necessarily want, but got conditioned to expect. It's no wonder in the wake of Seto Kaiba, Tech had to do a hard reset and not fuck for a while. But Monika? She'll ask for it and he will give it to her. And further and further, she'll be corrupted into thinking she needs more pain to go with her pleasure.
It's a sad thing to think about, but only reinforces his thought now, that he would never be enough for her. He'd never be able to satisfy her. ]
no subject
[ Probably because she was ashamed. Jealous. Caught up in so many feelings of what it meant to be like someone she hated. Yuri forever haunts her, even though she's long gone. ]
the seed for that sort of thing was planted before i ever got here. he just helped it grow a lot faster
i'm better, but i'm still broken zeus. probably way too broken to fix...
i'm sorry....
[ A slight delay follows, then: ]
i should let you be
sorry again
bye
[ Because it's hurting too much to keep thinking of what could've been, especially with someone she could never be with. ]