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[pyrogue]

If you're looking for Mick Rory, you're getting warmer.

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[pyrogue]

[ This is some heavy shit at four am, but the weird part is he can't quite imagine this conversation at any other time either. ]

It's hard, Arch. Ain't gonna lie to you, I gave up years ago and I still get tempted. Feels easier. Feels fun. Can't lie, I've fallen off the wagon before.

[ He pauses with a sigh. ]

First time I decided to give it up was in prison. Not the only time I was in the slammer neither, but something about that stint... got tired. When I got out, I had support. A... friend. He didn't believe me at first. Nobody did. Spite got me through the first few months. Then my friend helped. Then it was keeping busy.

[h2no]

Keeping busy how?

[archie is currently working three jobs and apparently that's not enough.]

...D'you think I'm just hopeless if I keep leaning back?

[pyrogue]

No, you're not. I think about giving up almost every day.

[ Mick pauses a moment. ]

Y'know how I said "first time I gave it up"? That's cause I fell off the wagon. Not in a little way, either. I fucked up bad. But... even if you do you gotta keep trying. Even if you fail, you can always get back on.

[h2no]

...Did I ever tell you what I did?

[he realllly doesn't think he's cut out for redemption.]

[pyrogue]

No, but... you don't have to. You can if you want, but you don't have to.

[h2no]

Mick...

[the intensity of his issues and how much he hyper focuses on them is probably about to make a lot more sense.]

I almost ended the world.

[pyrogue]

[ Mick pauses. He's still not 100% awake but he's a bit more than he was now.

Honestly he's... not sure how to respond to this. This is much, much bigger than he'd imagined it'd be. On the other hand, Mick... Mick had fucked up so badly he could almost say "Same." Almost. ]

What happened?

[h2no]

[fortunately archie is cognizant enough to realise that his problems aren't the only ones. he's very self-absorbed - some sort of leftover from his egomania as the team aqua leader - but he would never think he has it worse than anyone else. especially not mick.

not consciously, anyway.]

Woke up a god, tried to control it. Couldn't. It almost flooded the planet.

[pyrogue]

[ That hits a little close to home, actually. But also: jeeze. What the hell,
Archie. ]

Almost? What stopped it?

[h2no]

Some kid. May. The one in the video with the Poocheynas.

[...yeah.]

[pyrogue]

Holy shit. That explains a lot.

[ He says immediately before his internal filter can catch up with him. ]

Sorry. She was asking about you, y'know. I think she wants you to be okay.

But -- Arch, these things... it ain't easy knowing you almost screwed up the whole world 'cause of something you did. I'm not gonna tell you to forgive yourself, but I am gonna tell you that you can be better. You can stop causing more harm and start doing more good.

[h2no]

I dunno. I keep upsetting all my friends by fucking up one way or another. I lost a really good one back home-- guy called Maxie. You'd like him, actually. He has a Pokémon with two volcanoes on its back. Sleepy bugger, pretty cute.

--Anyway. Um, yeah, she wanted to help...

[pyrogue]

Heh. You got me pinged pretty good. [ You can hear the smile in his voice.

It fades a bit. ] They always do. Sometimes... sometimes the people who gotta stop you are the people who saved you.

[ ...That gives him a terrible thought. ]

Hey, Arch, did -- you're not... I mean, are you okay? In your world?

[h2no]

No. I got out of it.

[he frowns, even if mick can't see it.]

I think I'll end up arrested, but I wasn't doing much when I came here. I was trying to apologise to Matt.

[pyrogue]

If you survived, you can still make up for it one day if you ever go home. Probably doesn't feel like the kinda thing you can make up for, but you didn't destroy the world and you're gonna live to make up for it.

The people that matter'll forgive you. So you gotta try to be the kinda person that'll deserve that.

[h2no]

She won't. She said she won't but... she stayed with me. So did Matt. I guess I never really looked at it that way.

[pyrogue]

They will. And you can become the kinda person they can count on, I know it.

[h2no]

[he's quiet for a long time. long enough that the sun rises and mick could even probably assume he's just passed out.

he does reply eventually, though, it doesn't sound confident.]

Thanks.

[pyrogue]

[ Mick starts a bit -- in the pause he'd almost fallen back asleep himself. ]

Yeah, yeah. No problem.