deercountry | August + September Catchall

[yeah, dabi doesn't want to burn his hand either, so he puts the pot down nearby until l's good to take it. a quick flash fire is fine, but not to keep holding. s'why he dropped his in his lap, using the damp ends of his coat tails to protect his legs.

despite producing such hot flames, he's ironically not fireproof.]

How many other people and things have to pay the price before ya figure that out and put a stop to it?

[The question seems to catch L off-guard, but he acknowledges it with a wry and slightly twisted smile.]

I told you that I'm not a cop. You still don't believe me. Ideally, no one else has to pay that price.

[He has, of course, caused more collateral damage than any cop. Maybe his tricky phrasing diverts from this.]

[never said he was going to be the easiest criminal to talk to. dabi likes getting under people's skin if he can. sometimes it takes a few tries.]

First impressions are hard to break. [plus he considers l a cop on purpose now. just to be a shit cause he knows it bugs him.] I don't believe anyone. Nothin personal.

Come on. Ya know we don't live in an ideal world.

[they can agree on the collateral.]

I do know.

[Judging it to be cool enough, by this point, he lifts his flowerpot to take a sip. It's an improvement over what would have been fairly chilled without Dabi's help to heat it, but the dull thick brim feels very different between his lips than the fine bone china he's used to.]

Was that always true? Not believing anyone, I mean.

Knew from the start or didja get a hard lesson in life?

[these cop types or hero types usually started out idealists, wanting to make the world a better place or thinking they would be the one to make a difference. and eventually, they had to swallow a big chunk of reality and realize those ideals were shit. that makes for interesting stories... though he doubts l would spill something like that so easily. and not for free.

dabi glances at the drink in the pot again. okay... guess he'll try it. not like a flower pot is the weirdest thing to drink tea out of. you know, while waiting in the top floor of a flooded house. talking to a cop.]

Nah. I used to be young and stupid.

[L snorts lightly into his flowerpot.]

The only thing we know from the start is hunger.

[It's not a direct or clear answer, but the sparse words leave a lot to interpretation. Hunger is a simple need, but isn't it also the hardest lesson when it goes unfulfilled?

He listens to a similarly sparse answer, with similar insinuations beneath the surface.]

So honest you couldn't believe anyone else would lie?

[no argument there. might include "safety" and "comfort" in that solo list, but in a way, "hunger" includes those, since all of them are cravings. dabi only hums into the tea while something cracks downstairs. water damage.]

Most kids don't think people lie.

[the naivety of youth. before children became aware that unfairness, lies, cruelty, and other such sufferings were part of life. enough lies and it becomes hard to believe anything.]

All kids have to learn that, sooner or later. It's just a pity, when it's sooner.

[L jumps slightly at the crack from downstairs. He is a man of extremes; very deprived, and very coddled, never knowing what the status quo has settled into.]

I suppose you learned sooner.

Dunno. Might be better sooner. It's a harder blow the longer they go thinkin it's safe.

[dabi only really pays attention to the room around them. if it starts to jerk or sag, then they might wanna get the hell outta here before the house falls down.]

What tipped ya off, detective?

Perhaps that's true.

[He concedes it with the quiet restraint of a man who might know more than he's letting on about the matter, either through direct personal experience or because he's vicariously seen what it can do to other lives. Perhaps a bit of both.]

Are you interested in hiding it better in the future?

[he lets that go, picking up the cup again for a drink. children have to learn sometime. the reality and cruelty of the world won't remain unknown to anyone forever. parents who are wrong, who lie, who hurt, who abuse, who leave, children learn from those parents.

l's curt reply and quiet tone suggest he knows about that sort of incident. a child abuse victim as well? probably. he wouldn't know personally even if he'd stared into child abuse cases for his whole young life.]

Depends on who I'm talkin to.

I just wondered if you'd like the advice. From one poker player to another, if you'd like to think of it that way.

[They both hold their cards close. L realized that during their first meeting, and it's only become more clear in moments where they're not in some kind of oppositional standoff.]

Ain't gonna turn down advice. Go for it.

[so long as he doesn't think he's going to "correct" dabi over something. that's a good way to get the villain's hand yeeting said advice out the proverbial window.

while he doesn't particularly "like" the cop, there's something about him that's intriguing enough dabi finds him interesting.]

Fine; you seem like you take feedback well.

[He turns his cup in his hands thoughtfully.]

If someone's getting too curious about you, or too suspicious, having a back-pocket fake history and an ability to act the part goes a long way. Talk freely about your fake self. Make it boring enough that others are anxious to move on. An unwillingness to talk at all is really tantalizing to all of us cop-types.

[most people who know dabi would roll their eyes and "yeah right" at that, but l's free to make his own judgement calls.

dabi finishes his cup (flower pot) of tea and leans back in the chair.]

Sounds like a lotta work. Think if someone's unwillin to talk, that means they don't wanna be pressed and should be left alone.

Ya ever heard that sayin the quiet ones are the really dangerous ones?

It's a lot of worthwhile work, when you think of what its absence could cost you.

[And he says it like a man who is giving advice to a criminal, but only the type that he, himself, follows.]

I have heard as much. It's precisely the reason the quiet ones interest me more than the talkers. Those, you can comb through their social media or manifestos, but the quiet ones require going right to the source.

[It's the socialization the contact-starved detective sort of lives for.]

[dabi thinks... lips purse momentarily... then his expression melts into blase dismissal.]

thought about it. wouldn't cost me much.

[after all, with his face, who's going to believe some made-up alibi after catching him in a potential crime scene? not worth the hassle, unless he's feeling sarcastic and wants to irritate people.

advice taken, and currently shelved.]

oh? is this ya way of tellin me ya think i'm interestin?

It is a compliment... most people would take it that way, right?

[L asks this a bit awkwardly. It's something he doesn't have a reason to lie about, and flattering for flattery's sake isn't something he's ever done.]

It's also interesting to note the way some people treat Trench as a way to start over, when others try to continue on as they always have.

[He intones the latter outcome like something that he's usually found to be unsuccessful.]

Dunno. I'm just me, not "most people."

[then again, being considered "interesting" but a cop is both amusing/intriguing and annoying/cautious. because that means l's going to be keeping more a track on him if he finds him worth paying attention to. dabi doesn't see the guy as sending out useless flattery either, so it's an honest comment from the detective.]

Not sure most people would want to start over in a corrupted place that routinely tries to kill them. More than half of us come from "better" lives than this.

[no comment on the latter part's success or not. dabi hasn't entirely gone to the same villainous route he has back home. in that he's not wantonly going out and attacking people to break down society.]

Just yourself... that's all any of us are, I think, whether we're relatively average or wild outliers.

[The thought seems to amuse him in a soft and quiet way.]

Do you think that "more than half" is a significant majority? That could only be 51%, after all.

Thanks for statin the obvious.

[even if that kind of logic can get tricky. who they are here doesn't have to be who they are at home, and yet, it's hard to simply throw your life into a new or unusual path.]

And ya point? Just means a buncha us wanna go home.

Sometimes it's cathartic to simply verbalize being on the same page.

[L actually appreciates it when he doesn't need to catch others up. Usually he only feels that way with Light Yagami; maybe it's because he's hyper-aware of giving an enemy an undesirable advantage.]

A bunch of us would rather not. While that doesn't necessarily diametrically oppose us... if it's a near-even divide, and it turns out that only one is possible, that could get messy.

When things could get messy, I usually like to know who could be an ally or an obstacle well ahead of time.

I give ya more credit than that.

[dabi thinks the other man's smart enough to not need to give confirmation he understands what was just told to him. as for undesirable advantages, well if that's what he thinks he's given dabi, the man'll take it without a problem.]

If there's a way to get outta this hellhole and return home, I'm takin it. And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way.

[simple statement, simple profession of where his loyalties lie. l can decide ally or obstacle accordingly.]

Thank you.

[He is soberly and earnestly grateful. For a man like L, his face can either look like a comical mask, or a very raw expression of genuine emotion. In the moment, it's more like the latter.]

I understand. That's a common sentiment, and I would never fault anyone for being so determined.

[It is patently not a promise to not get in his way. L is dead, back home. Returning home would be to return to dust and ashes. He would prefer not to get in Dabi's way, but should his own need to remain interfere, well... he can't make any promises, or ask for any mercy, it seems.]

Are you in love, back home?

[It might seem like a random tangent, but it's all part of L's determination to put together a full picture, with worth and value that might compare to other desires that technically have no real worth or desire.]

[dabi thinks l looks like a corpse or a strange doll. mostly the eyes and sitting posture. but then again, he comes from a world where there are far more bizarre appearances than what the detective sports. that expression of sincere gratitude is strange coming from him...]

Then we aren't gonna have a problem with that at least.

[l's aware of dabi's determination and the lengths he'd go to reach such an end, and he doesn't have to put forth more details about it. that's how it's always been with him. you get in his way; you burn for it. and he'll continue his path, maybe even stepping on the charred ashes left behind.

dabi's not one to force others to go home either; he doesn't care enough about anyone to make such a decision. though if it comes down to "we all go or no one goes" then he'll be siding on the side that suits his own ambitions. the rest can die.

the question gets a moment of surprise flickering over the man's burned visage. blunt.]

Nah. I don't really feel that kinda thing.

August + September Catchall

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