[ic inbox]

[traumaticus]

inbox.

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a day or so after the reset;

[incorrigibles]

hey there, your grace

you okay after all that?

[traumaticus]

[ugh, texting. absolutely his least favorite method of communication. right after voice chats. but hey, it's charles. so maybe he could go ahead and try out the new vocabulary junpei had taught him.]

soup, charles.

yes. i am faring well with all the things considered. i hope your expedition did not treat you bad and that you returned back in good health.

[incorrigibles]

[ soup.

soup.

he reads that four times in a row before its intended meaning dawns on him — at which point he laughs himself hoarse for two whole minutes, wipes tears of mirth out of his eyes, and writes 'that's so not it' and then backspaces it away; then writes 'i think you mean sup' and then backspaces that as well. maybe he can just..... let that be. ]

glad to hear that. my expedition, uh, right. i'm doing just fine, thanks.

[ what he isn't saying: he and peter almost died in ketsora, the void spat him out in a different place than the rest of his team, caitlyn died, scott turned into
his phoenix form, and he returned home with an arrow wound. but he's fine now!! it's all fine — ]

did yours go alright?

[traumaticus]

[Richard doesn't claim to get it. But approximately about 85% of the things that people say make no sense to him, so he decided not to question the validity of the soup as greeting]

good. your well being and health are both close to my heart.

my own experiences went moderately well, i'd say. although i must admit that after experiencing the scorching heat of desert i miss cold nights of england.

[incorrigibles]

[ mmm and now he feels bad for laughing... that is so weirdly sweet. not that the sentiment doesn't go both ways, but it's always a little strange when it's directed at him. ]

the same goes to you, too, yeah? when i said i'm glad you're okay, i really meant it.

oh, you went to the desert... ha, yeah. i know what you mean. is it weird i kind of miss all the rain? i was sent to the beach through this portal and even that was... you know, different.

[traumaticus]

of course. i value your support, charles.

[it's right to love and wish wellness for your king!!]

not at all. missing one's homeland and its scenery is the most natural feeling that a man can have. i pray that this trial of ours will be over soon and that we can both return where we belong to.

yes. these 'terminals ' turned out to be something that i could not have anticipated even in my wildest dreams. but a beach, then? that sounds [wait what is the word junpei used...] fresh.

[incorrigibles]

[ what about loving and wishing wellness for your friend?? ]

right, yeah. returning where we belong, sure

[ quick how do you casually say "actually i'm fine with staying here for an indeterminate amount of time longer, thanks"? you don't, that's what, so he's breezing past that as well — ]

never seen anything like them, either. ended up with a different team than i started with, but i helped this guy called ekko with the one there.

and [ what the absolute hell is going on here, actually, ] i guess you could say that

[traumaticus]

[charles is so lucky that Richard is poor at this kind of communication, so he suspects nothing. good to see that you're on the same page with him!]

that sounds like an ordeal. i have met this ekko before. he is hot headed but skillful youth. he challenged me into a duel.

[he is so pleased that his test audience is doing so well!]

would you like disclosing what all happened during your journey?

[incorrigibles]

a duel?? cause that's a normal thing to do, yeah, sure. so who won?

uh, yeah, if you want to know. we went to ketsora, it's this fortress-type thing, archers and the whole lot

but inside there was just this white void and it transported me to the beach terminal

[traumaticus]

whether it is or not i would not know. he is the one who challenged me.
i did.

and what of your teammates? did they arrive with you or end up in another locations?

[incorrigibles]

of course you did. would expect nothing less

we got split up

they got sent elsewhere, i was the only one who ended up at the beach

[traumaticus]

worry not. i will not allow myself to let you down.

have you heard of them since? if you need help with contacting them i am here for you, charles.

[incorrigibles]

you won't, you know that, right? there's nothing that you have to be or do for me to care about you, yeah? or nothing you can't do or be. i know you probably think of it differently and that's fine, but you're my friend and you're not letting me down if you lose a duel

so stop thinking like that.

and thanks. i haven't heard of them yet but... only a matter of time, innit

[traumaticus]

[first of all, he sees a misconception that needs to be corrected.]

i am your king, charles.
a weakness in king is a reflection of his people and vice versa. i will not allow my subject to endure the failure of me losing a duel, no matter how trivial it is.

[incorrigibles]

[ from one misconception to another.... maybe, maybe he needs to actually talk about this too instead of employing his usual avoidance tactic. ]

well

you're not though, are you? not really. i'm from england, and you're the king of england, but not when i was alive. not now when i'm dead, either. your subjects lived hundreds of years ago. and i'm gonna continue to treat you like you're the king because that's who you are in your time and i respect that but i'm not



i'm not your responsibility, yeah? you can just live your life here however you want and not worry how it reflects on me, or what i think, or

any of that, really. bloody hell, all i want is that you're happy, okay? because i care about you, richard, the person. not richard the third. i care about you because of you, not because of your... status or whatever

[traumaticus]

[oh uh. he is not liking this at all. there's clouds of anger raising in richard's mind, the words "you're not" taunting him. there's already plenty of people here looking down on him, the last thing he needs is charles to disregard him.]

i am the king of england, and any citizen of england is my subject no matter the time. unless they are the enemy of the crown and seeking to place a false king on a throne.

[incorrigibles]

[ well — this teaches him to try and speak his mind, doesn't it... so his answer comes not quick, but not with a delay either, ]

whoa, hey, no need to go that far. i'm definitely not an enemy of the crown, you know that, yeah? so you're right

and i already said you're the king, didn't i? c'mon, your grace. i just didn't want you to worry about me

[traumaticus]

[things truly are that black and white with Richard, unfortunately. you are either with him or against him.]

it is my duty to worry for you. our situation might be unusual one but i am responsible for you. as long as you don't betray me.

[incorrigibles]

[ privately, charles sighs — does he really not get that he doesn't want richard to worry about him because of duty but because he actually, genuinely cares?

no, why would he. he might as well just accept that the only reason richard actually seems to care about him is because he sees him as a subject, and that's it. ]

betray you as in support another to become the king of england?

yeah, not gonna happen.

[traumaticus]

as long as you do not deny me.

now. i wish to know more about these comrades of yours that helped you during the mission.

[incorrigibles]

i won't, i won't

right, sure. i went to ketsora with gwen, shinjiro and the two peters

the older peter was a really big help but it was actually jinx who saved my life, so

[traumaticus]

[good! they got that cleared up and are on the same page again. fantastic.]

i shall commit these names into my memory, then. any friend of yours is my friend as well.

did she, now? i must thank her for it.

[WILL HE THO?]

[incorrigibles]

[ yeah... fantastic. ]

oh, uh, thanks. there was also the beach team, scott and kotone and mikey and ekko. i stayed with them before i went back to—

i mean, went home

yeah, not the first time she's helped me either. she's pretty aces

[traumaticus]

it warms my heart to see so many names here. you must have adapted well into this world despite all these challenges to have gathered so many companions.

i see. i am glad to hear that. to my knowledge she is a young girl, carrying the weight of a troubled mind. but it sounds like she has been able to direct herself to do good and extend a helping hand.

[incorrigibles]

sure, i have plenty of friends here

right, yeah. she's definitely helped me, so... there's that. but sounds like you've heard of her rather than learned about that from her