August + September Catchall

[hearthebell]

Who: L Lawliet and YOU
What: A somewhat late August catchall, focusing on event stuff but can include CR logs and slice of life! When September's event goes up I'll add prompts for the month in order to save a bit of space. Please feel free to hit me up on discord at ladylazarus#2235 or plurk at LexiL if you want to plot, wildcards are welcome!
When: Throughout August and September
Where: Various place throughout trench

Comments

[burnitblack]

[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.

[hearthebell]

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.]

[burnitblack]

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.]

[hearthebell]

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.

[burnitblack]

[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?

[hearthebell]

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.]

[burnitblack]

[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?

[hearthebell]

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.]

[burnitblack]

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.]

[hearthebell]

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.

[burnitblack]

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.

[hearthebell]

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.

[burnitblack]

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.]

[hearthebell]

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.]

[burnitblack]

[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.

[hearthebell]

[L nods gamely, rising to collect the flowerpots and dump them by the utility sink.]

I figured as much, but you've been surprising, before. A sweetheart back home would be a pretty sound reason to want to return, albeit an unprecedentedly sentimental one.

[And he sounds dismissive, he really does, but though he didn't have a sweetheart, per se, it was the other side to the same coin, a reason to live and strive.]

[burnitblack]

[dabi lets the man have his, then pushes himself to his feet and heads over to the window to take a look outside. the flood waters are still there, but it seems to be less than before. already receding. flash flood or something...]

There are things I need to go back in my world. Ain't gonna get them done here.

[something a sentimental as someone to love? yeah right. his life wasn't that kind of story. no, he needs to get back home because there's someone he hates.]

What about you? Doesn't sound like ya got someone waitin for you.

[hearthebell]

[Over his shoulder from his place at the utility sink, L follows Dabi's gaze. Flash flood, indeed, and as it recedes it'll take the danger with it, leaving nothing but a lot of menial work and cleanup.

Neither are really his style. Maybe he'll simply abandon his flooded pantry and floorboards drenched to rot, and relocate. Easy enough for a sleeper in Trench to do, and in many ways transience suits L.]

The things I have to do are bound up with people. None in particular, and people don't really change, so I can do them here, just as well as I can do them at home, or anywhere.

[He's a man sans connections or personal ties, at least before Trench. It helps, a lot, that the one person he felt that kind of draw towards has made his squidly way here.]

Your world itself is the treasure, then, if your goals are not transferable elsewhere?

[burnitblack]

[from his vantage point, the villain wouldn't agree with menial work, though there'll be plenty of cleanup. might be easier to abandon the ruined houses and simply move to another one. there are plenty around here. dabi knows his storehouses are safe, so he's not worried about much. benefit to not tying yourself down to one place.]

Unless the people ya involved with at home are also here, I don't think ya being completely honest. [he could be, but dabi's not one to trust an authority figure. of course, if he knew l's status back home, then yeah, he'd agree. alas, nope. doubt remains.] Unless ya just meanin your police work.

[on purpose, as normal.]

My world can go to hell for all I care. So long as I accomplish what I want.