a_sin_for_him | IC Contact

[An hour or two after that anonymous love advice post, Envy's going to be knocking on the door of Lust's hotel room. His own conversation had given him plenty to think about, and he'd gone scrolling through the other replies out of curiosity. One in particular had stood out, and by the end of it he was pretty sure he knew who the questioner was.]

[That certainly explained a lot about why she and Scar acted so strangely around each other.]

[He's not sure how exactly to bring this up to her, but he feels like he really should.]

Lust? Are you in there?

[Oh, look who else probably figured out Lust was a certain anon, but Greed actually spent a couple days thinking about what to do since he doesn't know her nearly as well as Envy does.]

..You there?

I was wondering if you might be interested in lunch together. Couple of nice places here in town.

_{[The screen is dark. It's late. The person on the other side is barely awake and thinks he's talking to somebody completely different.]}

Envy, did you ever do anything with the bananas?

[There is sure a lot of noise in the background of this video, all howling wind and alarming wooden wall creaking, and the occasional THUMP of a Sharpedo hitting the building.]

[Envy was prepared for some heavy rain, maybe some lightning. NOT WHATEVER THIS IS. He's freaked out enough that it shows some on his face, even though he's trying to look TOTALLY CALM.]

Hey, Lust, pick up won't you?

[Someone's sounding... a little groggy. ~~Probably concussed.~~ Let's just say there's a reason he's only going voice.]

Are you inside?

[Because that's all that really matters right now to mister one-track-mind.]

[Hey Lust, you want a morning message, right?]

Hey, Lust. You're obviously smokin', right? Like, not be weird or anything, but you're clearly a lady who knows what she's doing.

So I have a question:

Do you think I could pull off a dress?

_{[Sorry, Lust, Henry's gear still seems to think you're Envy.]}

i had a dream about that bidoof its been like a year do they have bidoof encounter therapy groups

DON'T READ THIS u will get kissed on the nearest possible wednesday by ur crush. Tomorrow will be the best day ever and u will catch a rare pokemon. HOWEVER IF U DONT FORWARD THIS TO AT LEAST 5 PEOPLE bad luck will rear it's ugly head at u!! THIS IS NOT A JOKE. There are consiquences for ignoring this, u will get chased by 50 beedrills and sprayed by a skuntank!!!!11!

**NOTE** The more people U send this to, the better luck you have!

P.S. I did not make this up, someone sent it to me so I am passing it on!

> ENCRYPTED ATTACHMENT: pory-con-invite.txt

[It's been a little while, since the incident over the network. And over something so stupid... Scar still feels embarrassed and humiliated and suspects that he will for a long while. Of all the people to have publicly reminded them, it had to be Envy. It's night, by the time he manages to find it in himself to try messaging her. His voice is strangely small.]

Lust? Are you awake?

[He's quadruple-checked the locks this time. He partially hopes that she isn't, that she'll get this in the morning or not get it at all.]

Hey, Lust? You get that kiss from your crush the chainletter promised yet?

[He's hesitated to contact her. Yes, they spoke the other day, but that had been on a trivial matter. Trivial, anyway, to Scar. This is foolish, he knows that, but he feels unsure of himself. Yes, she had said that she wanted him to cross to Kanto, and yes he had agreed to do as such.

But she's perfectly fine without him around. That much is obvious.

Why does he even care so much?]

We're in Kanto.

Envy, do you want me to take photos of all the face makeup you've done this year so people can have examples for next year?

[Scar doesn't turn on the video function, for this, simply because he doesn't want her to see his face. His voice sounds almost a touch shaken.]

I think I just met what brought us here.

[This time, he's sending this to the right damn person.]

I meant to mention this sooner, but tomorrow is your birthday. If you appreciate knowing.

[When Scar had accidentally sent Envy that message, his first instinct was to go tell Lust about it right away.]

[But then he thought, hey. Henry had given him a present for his birthday, and apparently that was the thing to do. And it had been...a really nice feeling, actually. So he should probably get something for Lust.]

[Except all the stores were closed by then.]

[So it's the next morning, on Lust's actual birthday, when Envy goes looking through the house for her. He's carrying a brown paper shopping bag, held closed with a strip of tape because he only remembered about wrapping once he was back at the house and it was too late.]

[Written, folded, and carefully placed in an envelope is this monstrosity:]

Lust,

Nothing has ever been straightforward or even easy between us. There are reasons for that, some of them our fault, be it individually or together. Some are so far beyond our control that there is nothing we possibly could have done to prevent them. But then there are things that fall somewhere in the middle. Things between us that I think both of us are too afraid of to even properly speak on. I would not even know how to address them here if I tried. We seem to do better leaving it all unsaid, anyway. Miserable as we can be at speaking, we have a certain way of understanding each other without words, I think. But there are some things we cannot simply know from exchanging a gesture or a look. Things that our broken words stumble over and make unclear or even worse.

I want to know that I do not hate you for existing. I do not hate you at all. I mean you no ill. But I never know how to speak to you. Everything I say comes out a mistake. Things that seemed innocent but were foolish in retrospect. That is my own fault, but I do not want you to go on for however many months we have left here with nothing but the misconception you have gotten from my own failings. You are not a monster. You never were. You have done monstrous things, but so have I. I think about the things I have said to you and dread the day one of us wakes to find the other gone again. I am not asking your forgiveness. I have no reasonable right to. But I will tell you that I am sorry.

I am also sorry for leaving that morning. I didn't know you were making breakfast. (Yes, Alphonse told me.) Thank you, for that. The unprompted kindness of you, as well as others in this world, makes living again worth even trying at all. I used to think that my feeling of unbelonging in the Ishbalan camps came from the unforgivable sins on my soul. That I could not be called an Ishbalan anymore. But as I find myself unable to latch onto any one place or people here, I realize that my sins are not the only thing pushing me out. I do not know what you know of my life, but for seven years I lived nearly in isolation. I had no idea my people lived on in hiding. I could not trust any Amestrian to learn my identity as an Ishbalan. I heard things, whispers I didn't realize came from the lives trapped in my arm. Nothing ever intelligible, but enough to know something was there. Enough that I have noticed the silence, since being rid of those souls. I learned how to exist without friends or loved ones, and maybe that was what damned me the most. Maybe I have just forgotten how to be with people. All of this, I think, is why it has been so hard to accept your kindness, regardless of where it comes from or why it is there. I do not mean for my presence to make everything more difficult.

I want you to be happy, regardless of what that harmlessly entails, regardless of whom you have chosen to tie yourself to. But there have been wrongs committed which I am unable to forgive. Which I am unwilling to forgive. If there must be only one thing to never be expected of me, let it be that.

You have a life of your own, now. For me to try to take hold of it in any way would make me no better than the filth who took you in the first place. Regardless of what we deserve, we have been taken here by forces beyond our control. It's just now that they finally seem to mean well. That some universal force wants us to be okay. People say that this world is dangerous, and I can never grasp what they mean. The weather is frightful. There are people who would cause harm to others.

But people are happy, here. People do not live in fear of tomorrow. They take their peaceful existence with one another for granted, and I envy them. But I am also glad that of all the people with whom I could have been taken to this strange second chance, it was you.

-Scar

_{[Heather's never been all that picky about mooching off of people-- especially in Pokemon-land, where Not Having a Steady Job and constantly keeping an eye out for freebies and Trainers Only deals was an acceptable and encouraged lifestyle.]

[But she's still been living in their house and sometimes eating their food, so she kinda wants to give back a little.]}

Hey-- LUST? You home?

_{[... Heather will never get used to that name, seriously.]

[She shoulders the door shut behind her, grocery bags in hand. SHE HAS OBTAINED AN IMPORTANT ITEM and Lust is probably gonna be the only one who cares about it.]}

_{[Henry is a creature more often seen than heard in Shark House. When he's seen at all he's usually in his sleeping bag, on his sleeping bag, or under his sleeping bag. Or standing aimlessly in front of the fridge because he's high but this case does not match any of the above.]

[Today he is in what amounts to the living room and as far as HE knows, completely alone. And what do grown-ass men do when they think they're alone? Sing to their pets in stupid baby voices, that's what!]

[Henry is seated on the floor with a small shopping bag of poke'goods scattered around him. One of them is a peculiar moss-covered stone wrapped in a cloth. He is holding Cheerios, his eevee, upright by his little paws and having him 'dance'. Cheerios is so fucking happy. He is chirping and wiggling his ears, super into Henry's weird mumbly singing]}

We are Flintstones kids, one million strong and grow-ing! You're a moss rock kid, and soon you will be glow-ing!

[Delivered directly to you by a friendly flying-type is a nicely wrapped package containing a small box of expensive chocolates and a gift card to a wine retailer (boo, underage laws).

Attached is a handwritten note:

Have a Merry Christmas!
~Alphonse Elric]

We need to speak.

[Because for ONCE, he is NOT going to let this sit for months.]

What are some words you'd use to describe me? I'm filling something out and I'm kinda stumped.

[ sometime in the afternoon, Lust's going to receive a small box of six chocolates in the shape of a pokeball with a note attached. ]

Best keep these for yourself and not to share with your Spheal. Happy Valentine's Day!

-R. Knox

Scar and Lust had taken to trying to spend time together after Lust was finished with her weekly training for her trapeze act. Usually, it was only for simple meals and conversation. Scar realized one night, however, that she had forgotten her gym sneakers with him. Naturally, he decided to return them.

But, in his typical Scar fashion, simply calling ahead and scheduling another meetup made far too much sense. He knew where Lust was. He could simply return them to her home and she wouldn't have to worry about coming out this late at night. The last thing he wanted, however, was to be caught by one of her housemates. He liked to think that their regular interactions (he'd be damned if he called it a relationship) were hidden from the rest of the people living in Lust's house. He liked to keep it that way.

And he straight up did not want to talk to Greed or Envy if he didn't have to.

So, Scar was snooping around at some ungodly hour, gym sneakers in hand as he sought Lust out in the dark silence of Shark House.

Lust?

_{[Heather pokes her head into the room, looking a little confused. AND A TAD CONCERNED.]}

You, uh, said you needed my help with something?

_{[Is there another shower drain that needs unclogging?]}

[action | July 3rd]

[Voice | July 5th; mid morning]

[Video]

[video | July 30th]