There's a lot of people on Aegis who do. You ever talked to Cayde? I feel like you two would get on pretty well...
[he closes his eyes and leans back-- not too keen on the darin drag. he'll get to that in a moment.]
...Yeah, it's real easy to just want to lean into what people think of you, huh? [archie knew what he was doing was bad, but he was willing to be the villain for the greater good. no-one else understood. no-one except maxie-- even matt and shelly didn't fully get it at times. he knows now how deluded he was but...
...well, there's something to be said for someone that went through similar delusions and also had them broken while watching the world starting to end around them because of their actions.] Darin's... been through a lot. Even if he's not gettin' it, whatever he's doing, he believes in fully.
[It's not like Guzma's the best at remembering people's names at the best of times, and had he talked to Cayde, it's been a while since. A lot has happened, but maybe he'll keep an eye out. To Archie's question, he shrugs his shoulders. It's true that it's what he's doing, that he's filling the role of the bad guy, that he's fully embraced it as who he is, who he has to be...yet he hates it being said like that. Like he has no control over it, like he's just a pawn in the grand scheme of things.
Even though he absolutely is.
At the mention of Darin, Guzma's face twists with further annoyance. He knows what he's been through, in fact, Darin told him as much. Even so, Guzma doesn't believe for a second it's comparable. For all he went through, and all he lost, he still had someone.]
It ain't like I don't know he's believing his self-righteous garbage, that's the issue: he does. Dude's so far gone up his own ass, he ain't willin' to realize that shit ain't always what he says it is.
I know the shit he's been through, he told me. But that don't mean I gotta be dealin' with his stupid ass tryna to tell me he knows me, knows how I tick, what I been through, what it's like.
That's why he and me are gonna have it out here real soon. Gonna beat some sense into that idiot's head with my own two hands. Fuckin' prick.
[he feels like if guzma had met him... he'd know. so that's a no. he falls silent as guzma starts talking again, he doesn't bother to hide a light grimace but-- he's not surprised. he's not angry either.]
Yeah? I wonder if it'll be different from the other five hundred times you've gone at each other.
Oh, the one with the horn, or the giant one with the bitchy attitude?
[There's a couple robot guys, Archie!! Also, he doesn't keep track of which robot is in Aegis or not. Either way, Archie's reaction isn't surprising, really. Doesn't change the fact Guzma huffs arrogantly, waving a hand dismissively.]
Yeah, it will be.
[He grins, catching Archie's eyes before continuing.]
We ain't fuckin' around with powers or Pokémon, nah. This shit is gonna be one-hundred percent him versus me. Dude wants to talk all sorts of wicked shit like he's better than me 'cos he's got some demon loaning out his power like some fucked up demented sugar daddy?
Fuck that, he better put his fists where his mouth is, 'cos I'll beat him down and show him he ain't nothin' without his demon crutch. Dude needs to be knocked on his ass, and if I gotta be the one to knock reality into his thick skull, then so be it, yo!
[Surprisingly, yes Darin did. Goaded Guzma good and hard, called him worthless without his Pokémon, all that sorta shit that got him riled and ready to fight. You know, the exact shit Darin ought not to be doing, yet here they are...
At Archie's question, Guzma's face goes a little blank.]
[Guzma sure seems to inspire some ugly shit in Darin, something Guzma's pretty proud of, but it does not look good on Darin at all.]
Tch... the prick'll know where he stands, is all. He's been too comfortable too long on that lofty moral throne of Bulushit of his.
[Guzma crosses his arms over his chest, shrugging.]
Maybe then he'll back the fuck off with all his tryin' to fix me nonsense. Idiot, ain't nobody who can fix me.
[It doesn't matter how much Darin tells Guzma he doesn't need to be fixed, or that he isn't trying, as far as Guzma's concerned he's lying to him. It's just been cowardly backpedaling since their confrontation at Fanport, and Guzma ain't having none of Darin's shit. To Guzma, Darin is the embodiment of everything he hates about Alola, he's just trying to dress himself up as someone who understands him, but Guzma's convinced he can't.]
[he doesn't know if that's how it'll go-- losing before when darin was on equal grounds with guzma just made him try all the harder, didn't it? archie can't for the life of him see how this is going to help anything at all, but... he's kind of done over-involving himself. not in the way he's given up on both involved, but rather... it's not helping! he's not doing it right! he doesn't know how to do it properly! pulling back and letting two supposed adults do their thing seems like the right thing to do.]
Is that really what he said to you? [again, genuine question. not a sarcastic ask.]
[Guzma looks to Archie with a stern stare, not exactly bothered by the question, but rather annoyed with the topic. Even though he's the one who brought this up in the first place. He crinkles his nose.]
More or less.
[Guzma bristles.]
He's implied it. Tryin' to be all friendly at me, tryin' to say he sees my "scars", that he'll be there to help me... not to mention his stupid speech he gave me before I paraded his beaten body on the network...
[All of that bothered Guzma far too much. It's almost funny in a sad kind of way, how much people extending help to Guzma is more of a threat to him than anyone promising him bodily harm.]
Saying shit like I'll "molt" and be vulnerable, grow... all that shit, and how he wants to be there to see it—fuckin' creep.
[yes, because someone wanting to see you become a better person and work past your pain is a "creep", good job buddy.]
[that... tracks with what he knows about how darin does things, actually. archie doesn't look shocked at all. he's also not surprised to see that darin went far too hard on it and likely blew the main chance he got to help guzma, though... that's not to say archie thinks that little duo is a lost cause. he's just... not really thinking about it at all.
part of him wonders, if the oto ramps up like it seems like they will, darin will back off. he can't be so intense about everything all the time, right?
...that in itself feels like a stupid question.]
He's always gone into perceived challenges with his hammer swinging.
[Really, he's just being stubborn about this. He's aware that he's gonna get a good beating in this too, and that he won't come out of this unscathed, but he's not allowing himself to doubt his capabilities.
As Archie mentions the demon, Guzma's expression falls a little more flat, a little more serious. Honestly, he knows about it, seen a bit of it in action, yet he's still not sure what to even think about all of that. There's some fucked up Pokémon who can pull some really messed up shit, but nothing quite like what's going on with Darin...]
...Yeah? How'd that go?
[He's not even gonna touch the different plane of reality shit, because honestly? It won't make him understand it any better even if Archie explained. Knowing more about that demon is far more interesting and relevant.]
Weirdly. I've spoken to him through Darin and in that dream, he's-- I don't know. Do you know Darkrai? That dark legendary from, uh... Sinnoh, I think?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[he closes his eyes and leans back-- not too keen on the darin drag. he'll get to that in a moment.]
...Yeah, it's real easy to just want to lean into what people think of you, huh? [archie knew what he was doing was bad, but he was willing to be the villain for the greater good. no-one else understood. no-one except maxie-- even matt and shelly didn't fully get it at times. he knows now how deluded he was but...
...well, there's something to be said for someone that went through similar delusions and also had them broken while watching the world starting to end around them because of their actions.] Darin's... been through a lot. Even if he's not gettin' it, whatever he's doing, he believes in fully.
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[It's not like Guzma's the best at remembering people's names at the best of times, and had he talked to Cayde, it's been a while since. A lot has happened, but maybe he'll keep an eye out. To Archie's question, he shrugs his shoulders. It's true that it's what he's doing, that he's filling the role of the bad guy, that he's fully embraced it as who he is, who he has to be...yet he hates it being said like that. Like he has no control over it, like he's just a pawn in the grand scheme of things.
Even though he absolutely is.
At the mention of Darin, Guzma's face twists with further annoyance. He knows what he's been through, in fact, Darin told him as much. Even so, Guzma doesn't believe for a second it's comparable. For all he went through, and all he lost, he still had someone.]
It ain't like I don't know he's believing his self-righteous garbage, that's the issue: he does. Dude's so far gone up his own ass, he ain't willin' to realize that shit ain't always what he says it is.
I know the shit he's been through, he told me. But that don't mean I gotta be dealin' with his stupid ass tryna to tell me he knows me, knows how I tick, what I been through, what it's like.
That's why he and me are gonna have it out here real soon. Gonna beat some sense into that idiot's head with my own two hands. Fuckin' prick.
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[he feels like if guzma had met him... he'd know. so that's a no. he falls silent as guzma starts talking again, he doesn't bother to hide a light grimace but-- he's not surprised. he's not angry either.]
Yeah? I wonder if it'll be different from the other five hundred times you've gone at each other.
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[There's a couple robot guys, Archie!! Also, he doesn't keep track of which robot is in Aegis or not. Either way, Archie's reaction isn't surprising, really. Doesn't change the fact Guzma huffs arrogantly, waving a hand dismissively.]
Yeah, it will be.
[He grins, catching Archie's eyes before continuing.]
We ain't fuckin' around with powers or Pokémon, nah. This shit is gonna be one-hundred percent him versus me. Dude wants to talk all sorts of wicked shit like he's better than me 'cos he's got some demon loaning out his power like some fucked up demented sugar daddy?
Fuck that, he better put his fists where his mouth is, 'cos I'll beat him down and show him he ain't nothin' without his demon crutch. Dude needs to be knocked on his ass, and if I gotta be the one to knock reality into his thick skull, then so be it, yo!
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...did darin hold them over guzma? that doesn't sound like him...
archie's curious about one thing though:] Then what?
[it's a genuine question. guzma doesn't seem like the type who wants to take over the world or whatever.]
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At Archie's question, Guzma's face goes a little blank.]
...Huh?
[Nice.]
Whaddaya mean "then what"? Ain't it obvious?
[NOT REALLY, IDIOT]
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[he shakes his head as he says this. honestly, if he ever goes and looks over that public conversation he'll be shook.]
I'd rather not assume I know what you're plannin' or thinkin'.
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Tch... the prick'll know where he stands, is all. He's been too comfortable too long on that lofty moral throne of Bulushit of his.
[Guzma crosses his arms over his chest, shrugging.]
Maybe then he'll back the fuck off with all his tryin' to fix me nonsense. Idiot, ain't nobody who can fix me.
[It doesn't matter how much Darin tells Guzma he doesn't need to be fixed, or that he isn't trying, as far as Guzma's concerned he's lying to him. It's just been cowardly backpedaling since their confrontation at Fanport, and Guzma ain't having none of Darin's shit. To Guzma, Darin is the embodiment of everything he hates about Alola, he's just trying to dress himself up as someone who understands him, but Guzma's convinced he can't.]
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[he doesn't know if that's how it'll go-- losing before when darin was on equal grounds with guzma just made him try all the harder, didn't it? archie can't for the life of him see how this is going to help anything at all, but... he's kind of done over-involving himself. not in the way he's given up on both involved, but rather... it's not helping! he's not doing it right! he doesn't know how to do it properly! pulling back and letting two supposed adults do their thing seems like the right thing to do.]
Is that really what he said to you? [again, genuine question. not a sarcastic ask.]
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[Guzma looks to Archie with a stern stare, not exactly bothered by the question, but rather annoyed with the topic. Even though he's the one who brought this up in the first place. He crinkles his nose.]
More or less.
[Guzma bristles.]
He's implied it. Tryin' to be all friendly at me, tryin' to say he sees my "scars", that he'll be there to help me... not to mention his stupid speech he gave me before I paraded his beaten body on the network...
[All of that bothered Guzma far too much. It's almost funny in a sad kind of way, how much people extending help to Guzma is more of a threat to him than anyone promising him bodily harm.]
Saying shit like I'll "molt" and be vulnerable, grow... all that shit, and how he wants to be there to see it—fuckin' creep.
[yes, because someone wanting to see you become a better person and work past your pain is a "creep", good job buddy.]
I ain't nobody's morality project!
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part of him wonders, if the oto ramps up like it seems like they will, darin will back off. he can't be so intense about everything all the time, right?
...that in itself feels like a stupid question.]
He's always gone into perceived challenges with his hammer swinging.
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[Keep telling yourself that, Guzma.]
Either way, one of us is gonna break, and it won't be me.
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[he doesn't think darin will break either, though archie doesn't say that.]
Just... remember I can't heal you after it. You'll have to ask someone else.
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[That's just... how he is.]
Darin won't do shit to me, anyway. Without his demon master powerin' him, he's a pussy.
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[archie leans back with a little sigh.]
I've met that demon, you know. Not through Darin. Some fucked up different plane of reality shit. He's huge.
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[Really, he's just being stubborn about this. He's aware that he's gonna get a good beating in this too, and that he won't come out of this unscathed, but he's not allowing himself to doubt his capabilities.
As Archie mentions the demon, Guzma's expression falls a little more flat, a little more serious. Honestly, he knows about it, seen a bit of it in action, yet he's still not sure what to even think about all of that. There's some fucked up Pokémon who can pull some really messed up shit, but nothing quite like what's going on with Darin...]
...Yeah? How'd that go?
[He's not even gonna touch the different plane of reality shit, because honestly? It won't make him understand it any better even if Archie explained. Knowing more about that demon is far more interesting and relevant.]
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[there's a pause while he mulls that over.]
Weirdly. I've spoken to him through Darin and in that dream, he's-- I don't know. Do you know Darkrai? That dark legendary from, uh... Sinnoh, I think?
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[Look, he knows some stuff about other regions, but not a whole lot.]
He like that?
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[archie makes a face.]
He's probably enjoying all this conflict. That just makes it fuckin' weird.
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[Archie maybe wasn't meaning that, but also how wrong is he really?]
That's...fuckin' wack, man.
[It's not gonna stop him, but...]
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[archie just shrugs. he's not actually trying to talk guzma out of it; he believes that's a pointless endeavour.]
Long as he don't impale you on priapism, guess it doesn't matter, huh?