[Jun heard about what happened to Luke during the Jumanji game from Lycaon. He knew that someone should check in with the kid, so once he was out of the hospital and got some rest... he'll send him a message.]
Hey Luke, its Jun!
Good news, I'm out of the hospital! They gave me a clean bill of health. o(*￣▽￣*)ブ I heard you were also in one of the games, so I wanted to check on you. Are you okay to hang out?
[The last thing he wants to do now is drag down the mood for the rest of the Krusnik siblings. Luke may live under a rock, but even he knows that Jun got shot. What does he do? If he doesn't respond, that's even more obvious, right?]
Jun considers a moment how he should approach this. He could keep dancing around the subject, acting like this is a normal check in and his brother just wanting to hang out-- but that feels even more suspicious considering he's not really the sibling known for doing that.
No, it's probably better to be direct]
I figured we'd talk.
I'm already aware of what happened. And the truth is... something similar happened to me when I was your age. And based on what I went through... I'm guessing you feel a heavy weight on your soul and really could use someone to talk to, but you don't feel like you deserve to burden others with what you did, correct?
So I'm here to offer to share some of that burden by listening. I'm aware I'm colder and more stand-offish than Haru and Belle, so I can't promise hugs or warm affirmations... but I'm a good listener. And an even better secret-keeper.
[He doesn't know what to do about all this. His parents were supportive growing up, of course, but then he was bringing them typical teenage issues. He never walked into the front door shouting because he killed a guy who looked like his deadbeat dad.]
[His first instinct is to deflect, which he does:]
alright, who narced?
[But then after a second:]
sure, i guess. people aren't gonna get off my case until i talk to somebody. dunno i'll have much to say, but.
[Well, that's an easy enough spot. Jun's been there many times in order to rent anime movies, so that makes things easy.]
No need for the door, I can teleport. Be there soon.
[Which is exactly what he does. After two minutes from his last text, there's a flash of blue light as Jun teleports into the middle of the store's main area. He'd been at the church before this, checking-in with the clergy and doing some work (both as his own form of self-care and to give thanks to the Lord for quite literally saving his life), so he was wearing his church vestments.
Right away... Jun notices the change to the store's layout. Between Hugo and Lycaon's rearrangement job, and now Luke's terrible attempts at alphabetizing? This place looks insane. He can't imagine how Belle is going to react to this.
... Oh well. Not his problem! So he says nothing about it as he addresses Luke]
Hey Luke. Sorry about the outfit, I was doing work at the church.
[That hurt my soul to read. Thank god Jun cannot read minds.
At the question, Jun will give a shrug. ]
You didn't visit Haru or Belle in the hospital.
[There's no scorn in his voice, just a neutral observation. ]
If you had skipped out visiting just me, that would've been one thing. [They're not the closest of siblings, he gets it] But not even going to even check on them...
[Ah... we're getting somewhere. Jun will move to sit down in a nearby chair, ready to listen. His tone is passive, not really judgemental... just, curious.]
I don't know if that's true. Why would you think that about yourself?
[Jun remains quiet as Luke let's it comes out. He'd never been much of a talker, but much like his patron- he was a good listener. He listens and thinks over this words as they come out. There's a tug of guilt in his heart as he mentions the "worthless brother" part- as he's definitely fretted about if Luke was up for their life... did it come off like that?
But he let's that bit go, this isn't about him. It's about Luke]
You're not a worthless brother. You're just young and inexperienced. [He pauses, before admitting] And truthfully... I caused a lot of trouble when I was your age. Ash did too.
[As the comment about the dad, his hearts. Not for himself, he knows Luke and him don't share a dad. But for Luke... who had to experience that. ]
[Jun at least has enough self-awareness to snort at that notion.]
Ha... Unfortunately, I've caused a lot of trouble. I'll tell you some of the stories someday. One involved a T-rex, and there was a whole stint I had where I'd sneak into Spirit Realms by myself.
[he was. a rebellious youth. But he knows this isn't the time for wild tales of jun's youth. That could be another time, when Luke wasn't going through it.]
... Your survival instinct kicked in, Luke. And the instinct wasn't wrong. Had you not acted, he likely would've killed you. After all... the Hunter was what landed me in the hospital. And if I didn't have my regeneration power... I wouldn't have made it.
[He bites his lip a little]
I get it though. No matter how much you rationalize it... the guilt doesn't go away. You go over the moment over and over in your head... wishing you had done things differently, even if you don't know how.
Believe me, the months of community service that came after wasn't cool.
[He got in so much trouble for that one okay. So much.
There's a pause as a soft intake of breath when Luke says that. That he wishes he could go back. Like he wishes he could forget. His mind can't help but flashback to the numerous conversations he had when Luke showed up. The concerns he had about Luke remembering, about taking part of his life.... that maybe it'd be better if he stayed away, and didn't remember.
I told you all so, he thinks to himself, allowing himself to have a bubbling moment of annoyance towards the rest of the family... before he lets it go. Right. Those feelings wouldn't be much help right.
So... he takes a breath.]
I wish that could happen for you too, or that the world was more fair... unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
The important thing is... he attacked first, you didn't. You were just trying to survive. And... it's a good thing you did remain alive. A lot of people would've been really sad if you had died.
[And he does! For all his self-loathing, Luke understands that he's loved in this life.]
My parents don't even know what's going on, and they'd be pretty crushed. Plus you guys, and my siblings too. I'm pretty sure even Zelos would miss me, even though I kinda got him hit by a bus.
[It wasn't on purpose, at least.]
But, I dunno. Like, what if it had been a real guy? What makes me more important than him? I don't wanna die or anything, but he'd probably have a family, too, right?
[Zelos got hit by a.... you know what, he's not going to worry about that right now. There's enough things to unpack]
See? There's a lot of people who'd be upset. So it's a good thing you lived.
[And it's important to hold onto that]
Maybe he does... but ultimately, he choose to attack you first. You shouldn't seek to kill if you aren't ready to be killed in turn. That's why it's important when you're fighting humans and similar beings, to only act in either self-defense, or in the defense of others.
My brother's kind of a dick, too, though. He went after you guys in the Fortress just because he thought you stole my wallet! You guys wouldn't do something like that.
Oh, well. That's not so bad then. [Ash is a pretty good kid when he's not sitting on Luke, so... sure! He'll take it]
Ha... oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that. [he could fess up that he did actually steal his wallet, but... nah. He won't] Did you ever get your wallet back? I never heard the conclusion to that saga.
great! Here's a good one I've found. [And she sends directions to a new and relatively cheap café just two blocks down from the shop.] I'm already here in fact so do you want anything??
[And sure enough, he does eventually turn up. It feels like a monumental task, considering that their dad is the one he killed. Even if it wasn’t really him, it still hurts.]
[Luke is somewhat despondent, but as he approaches Belle, he’ll raise up a hand.]
Luke! [She's already got them a table, with Luke's iced caramel macchiato in a glass with a little swirly straw stuck in it, a touch of whimsy that Belle really hopes lifts his spirits.] Come on, take a seat.
[How do you broach a topic like that? Hey, you killed a guy who looked like our dad but it's fine, he was an asshole anyway is...not the sort of thing she'd like to start the conversation off with. She swirls her straw around in her own drink absently, then says:]
I do want to talk about the game, but...if you really can't talk about it for whatever reason, I can show you pictures of Inky's cat tower.
[She takes a sip of her coffee, silent for a long while.]
Well. In a technical sense, yeah. But he was only really Zelos's dad, in that he spent time with him. [And not this Zelos's dad, in another technical sense.] Wise and I were just the loose ends he couldn't tidy away.
[She lets out a breath.]
The hunter wasn't our dad, not really. But even if he was...I'd be shocked, sure. But I'd be more worried about you than sad for him.
It is. And...yeah, you grew up loved anyway, despite him just leaving you and Asch. But he still hurt you in the leaving.
[A breath.]
I'm still worrying. It's my store the whole mess started in, I feel a little responsible. [She drums her fingertips on the table, a little absently.] The velociraptors were a magic construct too, but the harm they did was real. The hunter tried to kill you, and he certainly harmed you. I get to worry.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winterfish
UN: hikari-vi | Text | Late July
Date: 2025-07-31 02:36 am (UTC)Hey Luke, its Jun!
Good news, I'm out of the hospital! They gave me a clean bill of health. o(*￣▽￣*)ブ
I heard you were also in one of the games, so I wanted to check on you.
Are you okay to hang out?
text!
Date: 2025-08-06 05:48 am (UTC)[shitshitshitshitSHIT]
[The last thing he wants to do now is drag down the mood for the rest of the Krusnik siblings. Luke may live under a rock, but even he knows that Jun got shot. What does he do? If he doesn't respond, that's even more obvious, right?]
yeah, not sure what we'd do, tho
glad you're feeling better
[smooth]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-06 12:40 pm (UTC)Jun considers a moment how he should approach this. He could keep dancing around the subject, acting like this is a normal check in and his brother just wanting to hang out-- but that feels even more suspicious considering he's not really the sibling known for doing that.
No, it's probably better to be direct]
I figured we'd talk.
I'm already aware of what happened. And the truth is... something similar happened to me when I was your age. And based on what I went through... I'm guessing you feel a heavy weight on your soul and really could use someone to talk to, but you don't feel like you deserve to burden others with what you did, correct?
So I'm here to offer to share some of that burden by listening. I'm aware I'm colder and more stand-offish than Haru and Belle, so I can't promise hugs or warm affirmations... but I'm a good listener. And an even better secret-keeper.
What do you say?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-07 10:12 pm (UTC)[He doesn't know what to do about all this. His parents were supportive growing up, of course, but then he was bringing them typical teenage issues. He never walked into the front door shouting because he killed a guy who looked like his deadbeat dad.]
[His first instinct is to deflect, which he does:]
alright, who narced?
[But then after a second:]
sure, i guess. people aren't gonna get off my case until i talk to somebody. dunno i'll have much to say, but.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-07 10:22 pm (UTC)I just said I don't snitch.
[He's not throwing Lycaon under the bus here. The dog was just doing what he was asked.]
Alright. So where can I meet you? Preferably somewhere private, so no one overhears and calls the cops.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-08 04:46 am (UTC)i’ll leave the door open
[And when Jun arrives, Luke will be pulling videos off the shelf. He’s alphabetizing, but he’s doing a terrible job at it.]
[Someone’s distracted.]
> ACTION
Date: 2025-08-08 10:40 am (UTC)No need for the door, I can teleport. Be there soon.
[Which is exactly what he does. After two minutes from his last text, there's a flash of blue light as Jun teleports into the middle of the store's main area. He'd been at the church before this, checking-in with the clergy and doing some work (both as his own form of self-care and to give thanks to the Lord for quite literally saving his life), so he was wearing his church vestments.
Right away... Jun notices the change to the store's layout. Between Hugo and Lycaon's rearrangement job, and now Luke's terrible attempts at alphabetizing? This place looks insane. He can't imagine how Belle is going to react to this.
... Oh well. Not his problem! So he says nothing about it as he addresses Luke]
Hey Luke. Sorry about the outfit, I was doing work at the church.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-12 06:01 am (UTC)[Anyway, Luke waves to Jun as he comes in.]
Nah, it's fine.
[And then, after a beat-]
I'm that obvious, huh?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-12 05:50 pm (UTC)At the question, Jun will give a shrug. ]
You didn't visit Haru or Belle in the hospital.
[There's no scorn in his voice, just a neutral observation. ]
If you had skipped out visiting just me, that would've been one thing. [They're not the closest of siblings, he gets it] But not even going to even check on them...
That feels like you're trying to avoid them.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 07:50 pm (UTC)[Luke frowns. He’d really hoped that, after everything else, his absence had been unnoticed. It wasn’t.]
Hey, I wasn’t trying to avoid them.
[It’s hard for him not to be more defensive. There are so many emotions in his head right now, and there’s no good outlet for any of them.]
But they’ve gotta get better. A moody guy like me would’ve mucked it up.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 08:00 pm (UTC)I don't know if that's true. Why would you think that about yourself?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 08:04 pm (UTC)I mean, I dunno, they’ve got all those cool powers and stuff and I’m just a guy.
[No, it isn’t just that.]
I’m a pretty worthless brother if you think about it. I can’t fight and I just kept getting us into more trouble. All I can do is shout and cry.
[And then, after another beat, the thing he hadn’t wanted to mention:]
He looked like our dad.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 08:43 pm (UTC)But he let's that bit go, this isn't about him. It's about Luke]
You're not a worthless brother. You're just young and inexperienced. [He pauses, before admitting] And truthfully... I caused a lot of trouble when I was your age. Ash did too.
[As the comment about the dad, his hearts. Not for himself, he knows Luke and him don't share a dad. But for Luke... who had to experience that. ]
... I'm sorry. That must've been painful.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 08:53 pm (UTC)[He sounds unsure.]
I mean, Ash I get—-guy’s an asshole—but you seem pretty strait-laced. It’s hard to imagine you causing trouble.
[Luke you have no idea.]
I didn’t even know it was him. I mean, I could tell we looked alike, but I’d never met him before. But my brother could tell.
[He doesn’t want to think about it, but he can’t stop. When he closes his eyes he’s still there, gun pointed at his face.]
I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted to live. He had a gun pointed straight at me. I keep wishing I could take it back.
And now I’m not sure, like, he came out of the board game so maybe he wasn’t even real? But what if next time it’s someone who is real.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 09:16 pm (UTC)Ha... Unfortunately, I've caused a lot of trouble. I'll tell you some of the stories someday. One involved a T-rex, and there was a whole stint I had where I'd sneak into Spirit Realms by myself.
[he was. a rebellious youth. But he knows this isn't the time for wild tales of jun's youth. That could be another time, when Luke wasn't going through it.]
... Your survival instinct kicked in, Luke. And the instinct wasn't wrong. Had you not acted, he likely would've killed you. After all... the Hunter was what landed me in the hospital. And if I didn't have my regeneration power... I wouldn't have made it.
[He bites his lip a little]
I get it though. No matter how much you rationalize it... the guilt doesn't go away. You go over the moment over and over in your head... wishing you had done things differently, even if you don't know how.
It's ... a terrible feeling.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 09:27 pm (UTC)[BY WHAT METRIC]
[anyway]
Yeah, and I’m really glad I’m alive right now. But it’s, I dunno, it just isn’t fair, I guess. Why does someone else have to die for me to stay alive?
[And why are the words ‘Tower of Rem’ echoing in his head?]
I just—-I wish I could go back to before all this crazy stuff, y’know? Like I could just be a college student.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 10:01 pm (UTC)[He got in so much trouble for that one okay. So much.
There's a pause as a soft intake of breath when Luke says that. That he wishes he could go back. Like he wishes he could forget. His mind can't help but flashback to the numerous conversations he had when Luke showed up. The concerns he had about Luke remembering, about taking part of his life.... that maybe it'd be better if he stayed away, and didn't remember.
I told you all so, he thinks to himself, allowing himself to have a bubbling moment of annoyance towards the rest of the family... before he lets it go. Right. Those feelings wouldn't be much help right.
So... he takes a breath.]
I wish that could happen for you too, or that the world was more fair... unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
The important thing is... he attacked first, you didn't. You were just trying to survive. And... it's a good thing you did remain alive. A lot of people would've been really sad if you had died.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:22 am (UTC)[And he does! For all his self-loathing, Luke understands that he's loved in this life.]
My parents don't even know what's going on, and they'd be pretty crushed. Plus you guys, and my siblings too. I'm pretty sure even Zelos would miss me, even though I kinda got him hit by a bus.
[It wasn't on purpose, at least.]
But, I dunno. Like, what if it had been a real guy? What makes me more important than him? I don't wanna die or anything, but he'd probably have a family, too, right?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:32 am (UTC)See? There's a lot of people who'd be upset. So it's a good thing you lived.
[And it's important to hold onto that]
Maybe he does... but ultimately, he choose to attack you first. You shouldn't seek to kill if you aren't ready to be killed in turn. That's why it's important when you're fighting humans and similar beings, to only act in either self-defense, or in the defense of others.
Does that make sense?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:49 am (UTC)[Well, technically it did explode, but not until it hit the video store. And definitely not when it hit Zelos!]
I guess. I mean, I don't really like it, but if I have to--that's a good way to be.
[And then, after a beat:]
You're actually really nice, huh?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:55 am (UTC).... Bruh.]
Did you think I wasn't... ?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:57 am (UTC)[i think you know it does not]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:59 am (UTC)Erm... which Ash are we talking about here? The redhair Ash with a "c" or the tall Ash with no "C"?
[BECAUSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE. WHERE DOES HE FALL ON THE ASSHOLE ASH SCALE]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 03:03 am (UTC)[Luke waits a bit.]
My brother's kind of a dick, too, though. He went after you guys in the Fortress just because he thought you stole my wallet! You guys wouldn't do something like that.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 03:14 am (UTC)Ha... oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that. [he could fess up that he did actually steal his wallet, but... nah. He won't] Did you ever get your wallet back? I never heard the conclusion to that saga.
text; un: belleoftheboulevard; a day after getting out of the hospital
Date: 2025-08-08 05:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-12 06:07 am (UTC)[So she gets a text back, short and sweet.]
coffee sounds dope
no subject
Date: 2025-08-12 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 08:00 pm (UTC)[And sure enough, he does eventually turn up. It feels like a monumental task, considering that their dad is the one he killed. Even if it wasn’t really him, it still hurts.]
[Luke is somewhat despondent, but as he approaches Belle, he’ll raise up a hand.]
Hey.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-15 05:52 am (UTC)[How do you broach a topic like that? Hey, you killed a guy who looked like our dad but it's fine, he was an asshole anyway is...not the sort of thing she'd like to start the conversation off with. She swirls her straw around in her own drink absently, then says:]
I do want to talk about the game, but...if you really can't talk about it for whatever reason, I can show you pictures of Inky's cat tower.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:18 am (UTC)Sure, I guess, but what's there to talk about?
The game's over and we're here.
[what trauma]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:29 am (UTC)Just because the hunter was a weird magic construct or whatever, [she says, gently,] it doesn't mean the shock of fighting him isn't real.
[Nor the shock of killing him.]
You know, I don't think any less of you.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:46 am (UTC)[He just says it. He just says it!]
But, he was our dad, wasn't he?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 02:54 am (UTC)Well. In a technical sense, yeah. But he was only really Zelos's dad, in that he spent time with him. [And not this Zelos's dad, in another technical sense.] Wise and I were just the loose ends he couldn't tidy away.
[She lets out a breath.]
The hunter wasn't our dad, not really. But even if he was...I'd be shocked, sure. But I'd be more worried about you than sad for him.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 03:01 am (UTC)["Tidy away."]
I dunno, I never really felt "unwanted" as a kid, but finding out your bio dad abandoned you still feels pretty rough.
[But even then--]
You guys don't need to worry about me, though.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 03:34 am (UTC)[A breath.]
I'm still worrying. It's my store the whole mess started in, I feel a little responsible. [She drums her fingertips on the table, a little absently.] The velociraptors were a magic construct too, but the harm they did was real. The hunter tried to kill you, and he certainly harmed you. I get to worry.