[Week 2, Friday: Rapunzel]

[doublecrows]

[Akechi is quiet]

[it's not unusual for him to be lost in thought, but there's something more somber about the way he carries himself to day. the news of Natsuo's death weights heavily on his back for reasons he understands but can't explain, reasons he gets but can't accept]

[so he shuffles to the kitchen to make himself a gd pot of coffee]

[it should be pretty easy to find him. what say you, Rapunzel?]

Comments

[hairbrain]

[ yeah rapunzel's headed to the kitchen to get herself some water, but she sees akechi there and she's not sure whether she should be relieved he's alive or not. natsuo's death pains her as much as everyone else's -- and while she doesn't want akechi to get murdered or wouldn't want to trade their lives, she's left wondering why someone would go for natsuo -- an innocent boy loved by practically everyone, over a confirmed killer. ]

Hi, Akechi.

[ she sounds tired. ]

[doublecrows]

[honestly? those are the exact same thoughts he's having, Rapunzel. though he knows he should be grateful that he wasn't targeted after all]

Rapunzel-san.

[he acknowledges her with a quiet nod]

[hairbrain]

[ count your blessings!! anyway, she is quiet for a moment, but. ]

I can't forgive what you did, but..... I'm happy you weren't hurt or killed.

[ that may not be how he expected things to go, considering frying pan gate. ] Are you?

[doublecrows]

[squints]

Those two statements feel contradictory.

[yeah, that is not how he expected things to go at all]

Of course I'm pleased that I wasn't targeted. It gives me a chance to continue writing my own narrative.

[hairbrain]

Just because you're kind of a creep doesn't mean you deserve to die.

[ what a sweet.... sentiment.... ?? ]

Besides..... I heard about your history. A little. [ eichi sharing his wife's tragic backstory, tsk tsk. ]

[doublecrows]

[THANKS. . . RAPUNZEL??]

[also, he's stiffening when he hears that, a twisted look of displeasure crossing his features]

What did he tell you?

[hairbrain]

[ she's helping. ]

[ she didn't actually mean to out eichi, but she's not always great about the secrets. ]

I--- about your parents, mostly. Since you two have that in common.

.... Don't get angry at him. Please. He was just trying to defend you.

[doublecrows]

[for a moment, he bristles, like he is going to get angry. and then. . . he deflates]

. . . for some reason, he always goes above and beyond for me.

[hairbrain]

He cares about you a lot. I think he wanted people to try to understand you.

[ or just to monologue, one or the other. ]

So... I think I do. A little better than before.

[ not that she regrets smacking him, but. ]

[doublecrows]

[maybe both?? porque no los dos??]

. . . well. The actions I've taken are horrifying nevertheless, aren't they?

[aha]

Understanding or not, there's no questioning that fact.

[hairbrain]

Well, yes. I'm not going to argue against that. But considering the position we're in..... I'm not going to write you off as some monster.

[ she takes a deep breath. ]

And... believe it or not, I can understand how.... a so-called parent just using you as a tool can.... affect people.

[doublecrows]

[. . . . . . . the fuck is with her saying that he isn't some monster, when he's known from the moment he could pinpoint his self-identity that he is one]

[he's about to snap at her again, but then she mentions-- that. and he has to stop]

What do you mean?

[hairbrain]

[ he can't escape the disney. or the exposition. ]

Well, you see this hair, right? [ she tugs at it. ] It used to have magical properties --- it could heal wounds, and even reverse the affects of aging to keep someone young and healthy forever.

[ this skeptical binch had better not question this. ] When I was a baby, an old woman named Gothel kidnapped me and kept me locked in a tower and pretended to be my real mother. She used to tell me that I wasn't strong enough to handle the outside world, that it was filled with cruel and dangerous people who would just use me for my hair...

[ a beat. ]

It took me a long time to realize who the real cruel and dangerous user was.

[doublecrows]

[his expression darkens. not at Rapunzel, but at the other villain in her story]

What a sorry excuse for a living being she sounds like.

[YIKE. PARENT ISSUES INDEED]

[hairbrain]

Yeah, well. [ she has mixed feelings on gothel. it's hard for rapunzel to hate her, despite everything. ] I'm... kind of going through something similar with my dad right now. My, um, real dad. He's putting the whole kingdom at risk, and lying about it, and...

[ she twists her hair nervously. ]

Anyway, the point is. I can understand it, a little -- the way you feel. And Eichi, too.

[doublecrows]

[because Rapunzel is a better person than Asketchi]

[he looks away, drumming his fingers against the counter]

If there's anything I've learned, Rapunzel-san. . . it's that family means absolutely nothing.

[hairbrain]

I don't know if I'd say that. [ ..... ]

You could.... make your own family. A better one. Eugene is my family too --- um, Eugene being my boyfriend.

[ is she suggesting he marry eichi.... ]

[doublecrows]

[IS SHE???]

No. I don't really have much of a desire to do that. I'm not here to make friends.

[hairbrain]

[ is this akechi. ]

But it's happening anyway, isn't it?