hadriel | sixth. video (i fought the war but the war won).

[It's a video post from Mello, and that's a thing that just does not happen. The camera is propped up to face him, lying on his back with his eyes closed, drinking in the artificial sunlight on a patch of grass somewhere in the park.]

Don't you all just get tired of fighting all the time?

[A peculiar lilt colors his words, a slight discordance to his typical tone and a languidness that should be noticeable to anyone who has ever heard him speak. He opens his eyes and glances to the camera.]

I mean, I know you are - I can smell it on you. You all want, so much - you want to go home, you want to return to your normal, ordinary lives. You want an end to the struggles you face here in order to simply survive.

[He shifts onto his side, propping his head up in his hand to face the camera directly. This is something else Mello would never do - openly show his face. And anyone who has seen his face before, even just partially, will notice a key difference here - his scar is gone. He smiles deviously at the camera.]

Don't fight us. Join us. Let us help you. Let me help you. I can give you what you want. All you have to do is ask, and let us in.

[He gives the camera audience a one-shouldered shrug and smiles again, something that looks entirely wrong and out of place on Mello's face.]

Despite what you may have heard, we're not all bad.

(ooc note: demon-possessed mello can also be encountered in person pretty much anywhere in the city for the next few days!)

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You don't have a clue what I want.

[L usually defaults to text on the network. It seems like something a little more urgent is called for in this case, however.]

What are you trying to accomplish with this post? I know you wouldn't do this without a very good reason.

No? Well, you could always tell me. I'm a very good listener, and there's no need to be shy about it.

I think not. I wouldn't tell Mello, and I'm certainly not minded to confide in you.

What are you, exactly?

[He sighs loudly and rolls his eyes.]

That's another thing that seems awfully tiresome - your lies and secrets and hidden agendas. I think what I said was pretty straightforward. Don't you ever get exhausted by all the mental gymnastics and second-guessing motives?

[He grins at her - sharp, all teeth.]

What do you want me to be, Bianca? I feel like there's probably some room for interpretation here.

What I said was straightforward, too. I'm concerned.

Don't move from your current location.

[Because of course he's going to try to shut this down in person. His chances are better than Near's, if only because L's empathy is marginally better and his strength is sufficiently greater.]

You're concerned?

[He laughs, an entirely unkind sound, sharp like the shattering of glass.]

I'm touched. Honestly. I never knew you cared.

[She smiles back, thin and sharp and real. Dean's visit reminded her how well she usually gets along with demons. Those, she thinks, are the best kind of friends for her: no expectations, no disappointment.]

I want you to be in a body that isn't that one, dearheart. His face offends me.

[ The post knocks the wind out of her, a panic rising in her throat as realization dawns on her. She knows what this means and every fiber of her being screams no. Why him? What did that stupid fucking demon promise him? Why did he accept? She barely realizes she literally screams before finding the fury to drown out the fear and sorrow. ]

You asshole! [ The rage is obvious as is the emotional turmoil it's clearly throwing her through. ] I am going to kill you.

[ The demon. Mello. Both. How fucking could he? ]

[It doesn't take a detective to know what happened here. He's not going to bite, but somewhere, he's sighing.]

[He laughs cruelly, shaking his head at the camera.]

Oh, Sharon. [He clicks his tongue in mock concern.] I thought the story was that you wanted him to kill you. You do realize you're giving some awfully mixed signals, right?

Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to live with disappointment, Bianca. I happen to like this body an awful lot - it's quite flexible.

[ For a breath, all Sharon can hear is white noise, her mind blanking, the cruelty of the demon's words shocking her. This shouldn't be happening. This isn't right. He wouldn't say that to her, but he just did, and it's... Why bother having a heart if it can be broke with just a handful words?

She's breathless when she speaks next. It's almost difficult for her to switch from video to audio to reply. It's almost difficult to reply at all. ]

Yeah, well, you're not him. [ There's no reason to deny it. He's had the courage to do the things she hasn't herself more than once now, death included. ] I suggest you enjoy the body you have now because you won't have much longer.

[ It's an emotionally charged threat, one she can't be certain she has to guts to commit to, but she's not going to let some demon walk around in Mello's skin. He wouldn't let it happen to her. He'd do the hard thing, no matter how badly it might hurt, so she will too. ]

[She makes a face.]

I don't want to know, thank you. How did you talk him into letting you? What did you offer him?

[He seems entirely unperturbed by the threat, even taking a moment to stretch lazily before he responds.]

You just don't know him very well at all, do you, Sharon?

[He smiles deviously, like he's about to tell her the biggest secret of all time.]

He wanted this. I didn't have to fight him for it - he gave me this body. This is what he wanted - not friendship, not love, not acceptance - to be better.

Mm, I didn't have to work very hard at all, actually - he's a smart boy, and he's always been able to see the benefits of a strategic alliance. All he wanted was to be better. I could give him that.

Somehow, dearheart, I doubt this was what he had in mind from a "strategic alliance".

[It's not that it doesn't amuse her, thinking of Mello caught in a typical demonic logic trap. Bianca is hugely amused. But she's also mentally checking her weapons.]

I'd be very interested to hear what manner of advantage you feel you can offer, though.

Do you honestly think the populace is that stupid? [ Well, okay, for some people the answer can be yes, because there was no getting around that, but from what Kanda's observed through the network thus far... Most here weren't.

So he's honestly curious why a demon would waste their time like this. ]

[ That doesn't surprise her, but it angers her that the demon told her—it feels like hearing a person's wish out loud, all sorts of wrong. What he wanted doesn't matter to her, but the fact that he accepted it does. Cecily must be right about their skills in manipulation. ]

Do you want me to gasp? [ She snaps. ] I don't give a shit how you convinced him, or what you said. That doesn't matter. [ She knows what it's like when something comes and offers you your deepest, darkest wish. Luckily, the demon that came for her as a child was just a version of herself, a wicked piece snapped off due to suffering. ]

I know how you bastards operate, so spare me your bullshit.

I meant what I said.

[His intention is to keep the video, keep Mello talking. The quicker he can make it to where he is, the better.]

If you really cared, shouldn't you have paid more attention to this boy when it would have made a difference?

[His words sound breezy enough on the surface, but there's an underbite of venom that's laced through them.]

Mmm, well, I don't really know you all well enough to make that kind of judgment, do I? Though I will say, this boy certainly seemed to think that much was true.

For you? I can't really offer you anything if you're not willing to discuss it, now, can I?

If you truly know how we operate, then this really shouldn't come as a surprise, should it?

[He gives her the biggest cat-that-ate-the-canary smile she's likely to ever see on Mello's face.]

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sixth. video (i fought the war but the war won).

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video for him because i'm awful

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sticking with video ;__;

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audio because her heart is not ok nope

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