It's their world that thing comes from and if they don't know, we know even less. After living with me and Charlie, you should know better than anyone that magic and demons don't all work the same way between worlds. We can't just move immediately and try to kill something we don't understand, Mr Bull.
We've all lost things. You've lost people. So have I. And even if I have to cut off both your legs I'll stop you from running in there and putting Charlie through what I watched my friends go through.
I'm not saying we shouldn't stop him! I just-- just--
... I don't want you doing what you did with Tetsuo-san when you got hurt stopping him. If we're going to kill it, I want it to be the only thing that dies. You have to promise me. I don't want any more of the sacrificial bullshit. [Forgive him this moment of profanity, all right?]
I was fine, kid. Fine. Nothing permanent, nothing I haven't dealt with at least a dozen times. I'm still alive -- and no one.
I'm going to say that again, so I'm damn sure you heard.
No one but this demon is going to die. It's going to be that thing, and only that thing. Not a kid, and I'm going to make certain it isn't one of mine.
[Give Ken a second. Because Bull didn't talk long, but he talked long enough that things welled up again and Ken has to choke back a sob. He's not surprised by what Bull just implied. One of his. He already knew that. But it's because of that that he's even more worried about having to see another funeral and God, he's so scared. So scared that promises like this might get broken.]
If that's just a bravado and you don't keep your word I'll kill you. You know that, right?
[Of course he doesn't want Bill Cipher hurting their people. Of course be doesn't. But he wants Bill Cipher getting his hands on his people more than anything else. SEES kids were never truly about saving the world as much as they were about keeping each other alive.]
If a dragon didn't take me down, and a motorcycle didn't do it either, some piece of shit demon won't.
[At least... he hopes not. He doesn't know. Demons are the one thing that rattle him. The one thing the Iron Bull would ever consider saying he was "afraid of".]
[But what kind of man would he be if he let the kids take something like that on alone? You don't let other people face down your fears. You don't leave your own.]
... People die for all sort of reasons. Lots of boring reasons. We fought monsters born from human minds every day and some guy died because he took a bullet. But they do. And it's always sudden.
You said you didn't want to see any more kids die. I don't either. But I've watched enough parents die, too. Don't join them. Please.
[Hi there, just. Going to casually turn the conversation somewhere else. Because there's just too much there to unpack, otherwise. Too much to work through.]
[He knows people die for shitty reasons all the time. He's seen that, too. But, hey. Let's focus on something else.]
Never thought that's what anyone'd ever consider a guy like me.
[Bull focusing on that part of his response is, well, surprising. Ken almost replies with a "huh?" but his mind catches up with his words fast enough to stop him.
Something wells up in him at that. He can't say he doesn't understand. He never thought he could get this close to his housemates when he first met him. He feels almost guilty, remembering he thought of Nonah, number five, as no more than a convenient hiding place from SEES when he didn't want to see them as often. But now, these people are as irreplaceable as his teammates. There isn't a single person he knows who isn't irreplaceable, and Bull and Charlie had especially been with him since day one.]
There's-- there's a lot of stuff we don't expect. Even I didn't. If you and Charlie hadn't been there... I don't know if I'd be here today.
[Ken used to hate it. Why couldn't people leave him alone? Why did everyone insisting on befriending him? On forgiving him, on accepting him? But now that he'd pushed them away as far as he could and still had them want him back... after going through hell and back at home, he thinks he understands it. Magicman had been right: people will like each other no matter how they feel about deserving that love.
This must be the same too.]
Mr Bull, we've all gained a lot of things that we never thought we'd have, haven't we?
I didn't have anything before I came here. At least, I thought I didn't. So I'm grateful now. Even if we get ported out for real one day... what happened here still happened.
I never expected our house to get that loud though.
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That's all you can do with them.
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I don't want him getting no aggravated and going after him either. I'm fine.
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It's better if the damn thing dies.
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I don't want to see anybody else I care about get hurt. I've had enough.
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It's worth the shot. You think you're the only one who's had enough of dead kids?
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It's their world that thing comes from and if they don't know, we know even less. After living with me and Charlie, you should know better than anyone that magic and demons don't all work the same way between worlds. We can't just move immediately and try to kill something we don't understand, Mr Bull.
We've all lost things. You've lost people. So have I. And even if I have to cut off both your legs I'll stop you from running in there and putting Charlie through what I watched my friends go through.
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If it's dead, it doesn't hurt anyone. End of story.
And you just expect me to sit here, on my ass, while this thing can be murdering more kids?
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... I don't want you doing what you did with Tetsuo-san when you got hurt stopping him. If we're going to kill it, I want it to be the only thing that dies. You have to promise me. I don't want any more of the sacrificial bullshit. [Forgive him this moment of profanity, all right?]
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I'm going to say that again, so I'm damn sure you heard.
No one but this demon is going to die. It's going to be that thing, and only that thing. Not a kid, and I'm going to make certain it isn't one of mine.
No more dead children.
Just one wasted pile of demon sludge.
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If that's just a bravado and you don't keep your word I'll kill you. You know that, right?
[Of course he doesn't want Bill Cipher hurting their people. Of course be doesn't. But he wants Bill Cipher getting his hands on his people more than anything else. SEES kids were never truly about saving the world as much as they were about keeping each other alive.]
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[At least... he hopes not. He doesn't know. Demons are the one thing that rattle him. The one thing the Iron Bull would ever consider saying he was "afraid of".]
[But what kind of man would he be if he let the kids take something like that on alone? You don't let other people face down your fears. You don't leave your own.]
[He's got to try. Doesn't he?]
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You said you didn't want to see any more kids die. I don't either. But I've watched enough parents die, too. Don't join them. Please.
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[Hi there, just. Going to casually turn the conversation somewhere else. Because there's just too much there to unpack, otherwise. Too much to work through.]
[He knows people die for shitty reasons all the time. He's seen that, too. But, hey. Let's focus on something else.]
Never thought that's what anyone'd ever consider a guy like me.
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Something wells up in him at that. He can't say he doesn't understand. He never thought he could get this close to his housemates when he first met him. He feels almost guilty, remembering he thought of Nonah, number five, as no more than a convenient hiding place from SEES when he didn't want to see them as often. But now, these people are as irreplaceable as his teammates. There isn't a single person he knows who isn't irreplaceable, and Bull and Charlie had especially been with him since day one.]
There's-- there's a lot of stuff we don't expect. Even I didn't. If you and Charlie hadn't been there... I don't know if I'd be here today.
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Really didn't think a Qunari'd ever be that way to anyone.
[At least, not in the family sense. Plenty of Qunari are important to each other. But there's never really... family. Not outside of the Tamassrans.]
[Tama...]
[He's calmed down considerably, now. At least, verbally. This was definitely a better change of topic.]
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[Ken used to hate it. Why couldn't people leave him alone? Why did everyone insisting on befriending him? On forgiving him, on accepting him? But now that he'd pushed them away as far as he could and still had them want him back... after going through hell and back at home, he thinks he understands it. Magicman had been right: people will like each other no matter how they feel about deserving that love.
This must be the same too.]
Mr Bull, we've all gained a lot of things that we never thought we'd have, haven't we?
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[It's true, but... not the whole story. That's what being family is, right? What he's heard of it, anyway. The good and the bad. Right?]
[But hey, he's not the Iron Bull without a little levity in serious talks.]
Seems that way, huh?
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I never expected our house to get that loud though.
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Hey, if we're ever too loud, bang on the wall.
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Thanks for the heads up though. If I ever mind it, I'll let you know.
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Good.