[ She doesn't know why she comes to him. Except that she's treated him terribly and she has a feeling he'll understand.
But she's learned her lesson: Leon is not the sort of person you can force. He, like her, is wary, and for good reason. Not all people and not all situations are to be trusted.
Much like hers with Jaune. ]
H-Hi. Leon... It's... It's me. Rapunzel. Listen-- [ She has to tell herself not to bite her lip because biting your lip conveys weakness and uncertainty - or so Gothel always said. She also has to stop herself from spilling it all right now in a torrent of word vomit. Wouldn't that be easy? "Sorry for being a dick. It's freaking me out that I think I might be falling in love with my partner who just vanished along with all his friends and it completely broke me inside so I've spent the past few days in ViViD nearly killing myself to keep my mind off the fact that they might've been dead! Only they're not! They're fine! But if they HAD been dead or missing, I would've just spent all this time moping and pitying myself, which, I know, is cowardly--" ]
It's cowardly. I know. I'm sorry. I have no right to come to you after - after everything, but I...
[ But he's quiet. Calm. Steady. Being around him makes her feel steadier too. And that's what she needs right now: steadiness. Reassurance. That's all. ]
...I just need someone to talk to. You - don't have to call me back, obviously but--
[ He might even hear the shrug in her voice as she laughs. ]
Ahaha... I don't know. I'd appreciate it if you'd at least let me know you got this. --You can text me if you want! That's fine too. Um.
Yeah. ...I'm really sorry, Leon. For everything. Um.
Bye.
[ HOW DID THIS GET PAST THE MESSAGE TIME LIMIT? ...MAGIC??? I don't know. Magic. Let's say magic! Or something. Her IDIOT player lmfao didn't think it through until she finished the tag. ]
[He really doesn't understand this voicemail at all--it's kind of startling to receive it, and his brow furrows when he does. As far as he can think of, Rapunzel has no reason to contact him at all...so he's curious enough to listen to it.
Which is even more baffling, really.
What's cowardly? After "everything"? Sorry? What's she sorry for, exactly?
Her tone is irritating, he thinks. Compared to her typical somewhat ditzy way of throwing herself into things full-heartedly, this half-hearted message feels very wrong, and he doesn't like it. So really, in the end he'll comply with her request, because he's calling her back.
To be a dick. I'm so sorry, Rapunzel.]
What is the point, exactly, of a rambling, lackadaisical message like that? Are you trying to waste my time? If so, I will be angry. [Of course he's Fussed, he's always Fussed.] If you are going to apologize for something, or request something, state your reasons plainly and do not waste my time with anything else.
[ Ah, not even one minute in and the war's begun already.
But no. This time she's ready. COMBAT READY. This time, unlike the last handful of conversation's she's had with Leon, Rapunzel has her weapon and it is not sarcasm or false confidence or cheery determination.
It's honesty.
She's at the very least doing a decent job of being sincere in that there are no traces of leniency or toadying in her voice when she replies ] I... mostly just wanted to talk to you, actually. That's really all! No ulterior motive. [ which is the truth ] Last time we spoke, I was - unkind to you. [ which is an untruth: she was forceful, but hardly cruel ] That's what I'm apologising for.
[ A lie: she's apologising for existing, really, she... just doesn't know it. But lately, the fact that she's alive seems to cause more pain than not, and she's beginning to wonder, to worry, whether this evolution of her ordinary self-criticism into actual self-loathing is... normal. ]
[Sincerity is a pretty good weapon against someone like Leon, who is almost always aware when someone is putting a show on for him. He's dealt with it too much, from people of all sorts who wanted to get into his good graces to get something from him. They wanted something from his status, his wealth, any of those things, and Leon... is so sick of it.
But honesty is something he can tolerate.
....Though apologies, especially for half-remembered slights, not so much.]
...Very well then. [He'll accept the apology, he supposes, though for what purpose and why he's not sure. If she's expecting forgiveness, well, she doesn't know Leon very well. It's not so much that he's holding it against her (he barely remembers the conversation as it is), so much as that he doesn't extend forgiveness for just anything or to just anyone. Being someone who is repenting for something major himself--something for which he still hasn't forgiven himself, something that he repents for on the daily--he considers forgiveness to be something worth only the more important scenarios.]
And? What, exactly, is your purpose in contacting me for something like this?
[Ah...... also, he's still a dick.
But really, he means that question. Why does she want forgiveness so badly for a conversation that barely even registered as harsh to him? (He wouldn't be able to dish it out if he couldn't take it.)]
[ Whether or not she's sharp enough to discern the truth behind Leon's genuine but prickly question, she decides nevertheless to treat it like he really does want to know, because trusting people is apparently also part of this bizarre exercise, and after all: she really wants to tell him.
How to explain her confusion - the guilt and shame and joy she's felt since coming here and the way every experience, every word and note and conversation has changed her, been remembered and then, sometimes (too often, even) been forgotten by her?
If she has an elephant memory, which she, queen of forgetting to wear socks, probably does not, then it's only because before Cerealia and people like Leon (pretty much a dick, yeah, but not for no reason and rarely without a good point) have changed her more in little over a month than one unchanging tower had in eighteen years.
It's realising this in the middle of a halting "I ca--" that makes her change course suddenly. Suddenly she's smiling as she speaks because she remembers that Leon has his Moments too. Moments of being cute and maybe a bit childish but also so much more mature than her.
A good friend, after all.
It's that. That's why even something so seemingly mild as being stubborn and bitchy to him pains her now. Even through a giggle. ]
Heh. I've... Actually been kind of - having a hard time with some stuff. Big stuff. D-- ...Death stuff. My teammate went missing recently. But... It's so strange--
[ WHOO HOO CAMERA. Now that she's feeling courageous enough to show her face; more importantly: now that any despair is completely gone from her voice. ]
...heh. Yeah. It's strange. But I already feel a little better after talking at you like this, Leon. Thank you.
[He very much has no desire to let her see his face, but that's more his anti-social nature talking; he'll take voice conversations over video conversations any day, and he knows the technology well enough by now to be able to make sure that it remains exactly that.
He's not able to do anything about her video feed, of course, nor the fact that she's smiling (why is she smiling? She has no reason to smile at him, he doesn't understand it, it makes him uncomfortable) but at least he can make sure that it remains voice on his end of things.
Big stuff?? Death stuff??? She came to him for this? She feels better after talking to him? It doesn't make any sense at all to him, and he doesn't like the feeling of being off-balance (which is a thing she seems to do to him a lot, and it's getting old really fast, what is it about this girl) so he bristles.]
You aren't making any sense at all. [That comes first, flat and cold.] So as I thought, you have come to waste my time.
[Why would she ever be grateful to him? If her tone wasn't so sincere, he'd think she was mocking him for this.]
I have not done anything, so do not thank me. That is-- [Awkward??? Unexpected?? Hard to deal with?] Unnecessary in every way. [Close enough.]
Now enough of this farce. [If she's feeling better then that means she'll leave him alone, right? And then he can...try to comprehend this conversation, except he'll never be able to, he's pretty sure.] If you don't have anything of importance or relevance to say, then leave me be.
[let him flee this conversation full of things he's not equipped for and he doesn't understand.
aka Leon Magnus is a dick even to nice girls who try to thank him for things, who's surprised.]
[ Part of her cringes in response, though it shows itself only with the way her cheeks flush. It's a wince that comes from her own embarrassment at being so candid, though, and for once has hardly anything to do with his response.
Sure, it stings. That tone of voice always does in her ears. But it's impossible to do anything but smile because she is wasting his time. Leon, again, isn't wrong.
...but he listened anyway.
He listened to what she had to say despite thinking it was absurd and - more than that, he's still here despite being so clearly uncomfortable now.
And she's uncomfortable too! Bit by bit all the strength in reserve that Rapunzel summoned in order to keep speaking, truthfulness without bashfulness and fear, fades.
But in spite of the fact that she's exhausted and drained and empty, this feeling is still a hundred times better than what came before it. So ] Yeah.
[ Rapunzel nods once, collecting herself (though he'll notice she can't quite force her eyes to meet the camera), and laughs. Her smile is directed at the ceiling now, but she's appreciative nonetheless. ] Yeah! ...Yeah, you're right. Okay. Have a good night, Leon.
--thank you.
[ And with that Rapunzel actually does as she's told, because it's what he asked her to do, and hangs up. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
( voicemail )
But she's learned her lesson: Leon is not the sort of person you can force. He, like her, is wary, and for good reason. Not all people and not all situations are to be trusted.
Much like hers with Jaune. ]
H-Hi. Leon... It's... It's me. Rapunzel. Listen-- [ She has to tell herself not to bite her lip because biting your lip conveys weakness and uncertainty - or so Gothel always said. She also has to stop herself from spilling it all right now in a torrent of word vomit. Wouldn't that be easy? "Sorry for being a dick. It's freaking me out that I think I might be falling in love with my partner who just vanished along with all his friends and it completely broke me inside so I've spent the past few days in ViViD nearly killing myself to keep my mind off the fact that they might've been dead! Only they're not! They're fine! But if they HAD been dead or missing, I would've just spent all this time moping and pitying myself, which, I know, is cowardly--" ]
It's cowardly. I know. I'm sorry. I have no right to come to you after - after everything, but I...
[ But he's quiet. Calm. Steady. Being around him makes her feel steadier too. And that's what she needs right now: steadiness. Reassurance. That's all. ]
...I just need someone to talk to. You - don't have to call me back, obviously but--
[ He might even hear the shrug in her voice as she laughs. ]
Ahaha... I don't know. I'd appreciate it if you'd at least let me know you got this. --You can text me if you want! That's fine too. Um.
Yeah. ...I'm really sorry, Leon. For everything. Um.
Bye.
[ HOW DID THIS GET PAST THE MESSAGE TIME LIMIT? ...MAGIC??? I don't know. Magic. Let's say magic! Or something.
Her IDIOT player lmfao didn't think it through until she finished the tag.]voice;
Which is even more baffling, really.
What's cowardly? After "everything"? Sorry? What's she sorry for, exactly?
Her tone is irritating, he thinks. Compared to her typical somewhat ditzy way of throwing herself into things full-heartedly, this half-hearted message feels very wrong, and he doesn't like it. So really, in the end he'll comply with her request, because he's calling her back.
To be a dick. I'm so sorry, Rapunzel.]
What is the point, exactly, of a rambling, lackadaisical message like that? Are you trying to waste my time? If so, I will be angry. [Of course he's Fussed, he's always Fussed.] If you are going to apologize for something, or request something, state your reasons plainly and do not waste my time with anything else.
[Jeeze Leon.]
voice;
But no. This time she's ready. COMBAT READY. This time, unlike the last handful of conversation's she's had with Leon, Rapunzel has her weapon and it is not sarcasm or false confidence or cheery determination.
It's honesty.
She's at the very least doing a decent job of being sincere in that there are no traces of leniency or toadying in her voice when she replies ] I... mostly just wanted to talk to you, actually. That's really all! No ulterior motive. [ which is the truth ] Last time we spoke, I was - unkind to you. [ which is an untruth: she was forceful, but hardly cruel ] That's what I'm apologising for.
[ A lie: she's apologising for existing, really, she... just doesn't know it. But lately, the fact that she's alive seems to cause more pain than not, and she's beginning to wonder, to worry, whether this evolution of her ordinary self-criticism into actual self-loathing is... normal. ]
voice;
But honesty is something he can tolerate.
....Though apologies, especially for half-remembered slights, not so much.]
...Very well then. [He'll accept the apology, he supposes, though for what purpose and why he's not sure. If she's expecting forgiveness, well, she doesn't know Leon very well. It's not so much that he's holding it against her (he barely remembers the conversation as it is), so much as that he doesn't extend forgiveness for just anything or to just anyone. Being someone who is repenting for something major himself--something for which he still hasn't forgiven himself, something that he repents for on the daily--he considers forgiveness to be something worth only the more important scenarios.]
And? What, exactly, is your purpose in contacting me for something like this?
[Ah...... also, he's still a dick.
But really, he means that question. Why does she want forgiveness so badly for a conversation that barely even registered as harsh to him? (He wouldn't be able to dish it out if he couldn't take it.)]
voice to video
How to explain her confusion - the guilt and shame and joy she's felt since coming here and the way every experience, every word and note and conversation has changed her, been remembered and then, sometimes (too often, even) been forgotten by her?
If she has an elephant memory, which she, queen of forgetting to wear socks, probably does not, then it's only because before Cerealia and people like Leon (pretty much a dick, yeah, but not for no reason and rarely without a good point) have changed her more in little over a month than one unchanging tower had in eighteen years.
It's realising this in the middle of a halting "I ca--" that makes her change course suddenly. Suddenly she's smiling as she speaks because she remembers that Leon has his Moments too. Moments of being cute and maybe a bit childish but also so much more mature than her.
A good friend, after all.
It's that. That's why even something so seemingly mild as being stubborn and bitchy to him pains her now. Even through a giggle. ]
Heh. I've... Actually been kind of - having a hard time with some stuff. Big stuff. D-- ...Death stuff. My teammate went missing recently. But... It's so strange--
[ WHOO HOO CAMERA. Now that she's feeling courageous enough to show her face; more importantly: now that any despair is completely gone from her voice. ]
...heh. Yeah. It's strange. But I already feel a little better after talking at you like this, Leon. Thank you.
voice;
He's not able to do anything about her video feed, of course, nor the fact that she's smiling (why is she smiling? She has no reason to smile at him, he doesn't understand it, it makes him uncomfortable) but at least he can make sure that it remains voice on his end of things.
Big stuff?? Death stuff??? She came to him for this? She feels better after talking to him? It doesn't make any sense at all to him, and he doesn't like the feeling of being off-balance (which is a thing she seems to do to him a lot, and it's getting old really fast, what is it about this girl) so he bristles.]
You aren't making any sense at all. [That comes first, flat and cold.] So as I thought, you have come to waste my time.
[Why would she ever be grateful to him? If her tone wasn't so sincere, he'd think she was mocking him for this.]
I have not done anything, so do not thank me. That is-- [Awkward??? Unexpected?? Hard to deal with?] Unnecessary in every way. [Close enough.]
Now enough of this farce. [If she's feeling better then that means she'll leave him alone, right? And then he can...try to comprehend this conversation, except he'll never be able to, he's pretty sure.] If you don't have anything of importance or relevance to say, then leave me be.
[let him flee this conversation full of things he's not equipped for and he doesn't understand.
aka Leon Magnus is a dick even to nice girls who try to thank him for things, who's surprised.]
no subject
Sure, it stings. That tone of voice always does in her ears. But it's impossible to do anything but smile because she is wasting his time. Leon, again, isn't wrong.
...but he listened anyway.
He listened to what she had to say despite thinking it was absurd and - more than that, he's still here despite being so clearly uncomfortable now.
And she's uncomfortable too! Bit by bit all the strength in reserve that Rapunzel summoned in order to keep speaking, truthfulness without bashfulness and fear, fades.
But in spite of the fact that she's exhausted and drained and empty, this feeling is still a hundred times better than what came before it. So ] Yeah.
[ Rapunzel nods once, collecting herself (though he'll notice she can't quite force her eyes to meet the camera), and laughs. Her smile is directed at the ceiling now, but she's appreciative nonetheless. ] Yeah! ...Yeah, you're right. Okay. Have a good night, Leon.
--thank you.
[ And with that Rapunzel actually does as she's told, because it's what he asked her to do, and hangs up. ]