the betrayal/redemption meme

[earthking]

BETRAYAL MEME

You have done something unspeakable to the people closest to you. How did this come to be, and how will you make amends?


Instructions

Post with your character with their name, series, and whether you're the betrayer, the betrayed, or simply leave it blank! Then, either make up your own scenario to your liking, or use our prompts (RNG totally optional) and go wild!

(Example: for organization's sake, denote b3+2 where you killed someone and are trying to hide it or r5+3 for a situation where you side-hopped and now want nothing more than to make things right, so that people know at a glance whether you're betraying or being redeemed and what you did.)

betrayal; you've turned your back on everything you once stood for

1) you're innocent. it's not your fault, but they can never know. maybe you're protecting someone. maybe you're being blackmailed. whatever the case, it's your dark secret.
2) you're hiding. you've done something terrible, but no one knows it yet. how far will you go to bury what you've done for good?
3) you're uncertain. everything is in place now, but nothing's been set into motion yet. maybe it's not too late to turn back. or is it?
4) you're slipping. you thought you could change. maybe for a while you even managed to. but now you find yourself falling back to your old ways, and everyone around you is at risk.
5) you're reacting. they betrayed you first. you're not in the wrong. they deserve this. they brought this upon themselves. you're not really betraying anyone if they pushed first.

redemption; you've done something that can never be forgiven

1) you're trapped. they caught you red-handed, or maybe you turned yourself in. now those you betrayed are free to face you one by one and have their revenge.
2) you're false. this whole betrayal thing isn't working out quite the way you'd hoped. maybe if you play your cards just right, you'll be able to get your old life back.
3) you're selfless. whatever forced your hand to begin with doesn't matter anymore. you'll destroy yourself and play the role of a villain to the very end if that is what it takes to make things right.
4) you're lost. what you did was wrong, and you know that now. you can never be sorry enough, and you've lost your way. all you want to do is find home. won't anyone out there show you the way?
5) you're tortured. you have to make amends for what you've done. you have to. the thought consumes you, possesses you. you have to find them, help them. but after what you've done, will they even want to see you again?

what you've done;

1) you sold them out
2) you killed
3) you joined the other side
4) you stole
5) you lied
6) you simply are. you were never 'good' to begin with.

Comments

[lostangel]

It was a joke, Zidane. But I suppose Garland didn't make you for your unparalleled wit. [ Kuja's voice is dry, his tone rather scathing, but that's only because he doesn't exactly know how to be grateful for anything, in any capacity. He lapses into an awkward sort of silence after that, expression conflicted. After a moment he gives a heavy sigh, then busies himself with trying to get all the knots out of his hair so as not to seem too involved with this conversation or anything. ]

Is there a hairbrush somewhere by chance? I could really use one. And shouldn't you be getting back to Alexandria, or wherever it is you go these days? Your little comrades will be wondering where you went.

[happygolucky]

[Zidane shakes his head. Well, maybe it'll cheer Kuja up to insult him. Sometimes it is hard to tell if he's joking, especially considering everything they've been through. He's still wary of him. Sure, Kuja had saved all their lives, but he'd done other things, too. He may be compassionate, but he's not credulous.]

I can't be too smart. I've gotta give you something to complain about, right?

Hairbrush, hmm. [Zidane purses his lips, thinking for a minute. In all the tumult of rescuing Kuja and bringing him here, he hadn't stopped to think about his hair. Not that he never thinks about it, because girls like a guy with nice, clean hair they can run their fingers through.] Think I've got something... [He checks through his possessions, and each one of his pockets, until he manages to come up with a comb. It's just an ordinary comb, nothing special. Not exactly a brush, but it's something, and he hands it over, with a triumphant smile.] Here you go!

[It's only then that he answers Kuja's other question.] My friends'll be fine. They can take care of themselves. I'll meet up with them later.

[lostangel]

Don't tell me you yank this through that rat tail of yours every morning? And you people call me the monster. [ Kuja gives a dainty sniff at that, then chuckles quietly to himself. It's not like he finds it... endearing or anything. It's just very like Zidane to not even know the very basics of taking care of those fluffy golden locks of his.

And of course, in spite of his complaints a comb is still better than nothing and so Kuja begins to gingerly work it through the tangles in his poor dirty, matted hair. He supposes he'll have to look seriously into a bath of some sort once he gets rid of his brother somehow. One thing at a time now. ]

What do you even hope to accomplish here, Zidane? I'm alive. You've succeeded. I doubt there's a soul on all of Gaia stupid enough not to kill me on sight, and my days are woefully numbered anyhow.

[ He pauses, voice quieting just slightly. ]

You should go. You'll only be wasting your time here.

[happygolucky]

[Insulting him does seem to be cheering Kuja up a bit, so Zidane's not going to take offense. He simply shrugs.]

I didn't exactly think to pack a whole beauty kit, Kuja. But nothing's wrong with my hair--it matches my tail, see?

[He turns slightly and raises his tail, hoping to provide further cause for amusement/scorn.

...and Kuja's still talking about dying. Of course. He's so damn stubborn, but Zidane can be just as stubborn.]

I told you, I'm not going to let you die. What part of that don't you understand? And I'm not going to leave you anywhere. If someone wants to kill you, they'll have to get through me first.

[And that's that.]

[lostangel]

Zidane. [ Kuja feels a stab of irritation, of anger almost, but he's much too drained and spent to express it as such. He can only sigh and give a slow shake of his head. ] How stupid can a person be? Did Garland run out of brain cells to give by the time he got to you, or did he simply decide that you didn't require any to serve your purpose?

This isn't for you or me to decide. I-- [ His voice cracks slightly, and his grip on the comb tightens to the point that his knuckles go white. ] I'm dying. The entirety of my lifespan has run its course. There is nothing to be done about it, and you can't possibly stand sentry here against death itself. It's futile, Zidane. Go home to your princess.

[happygolucky]

Don't talk like that! [Zidane's voice rises.] You don't know that for sure, Kuja. We might be able to do something about it.

[Garland--he'd made them to be nothing but tools, to destroy, and it makes him angry to think of that, of Kuja having to live like that his whole life. All alone... It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. His face feels hot, and his eyes sting.]

What he gave us doesn't matter. What we make for ourselves, that's what matters.

Anyway, if it is true... That's all the more reason I can't leave you alone. [He doesn't want it to be true, but if it is, no one should have to die alone. Especially not his own brother. It's not that he doesn't want to see Garnet, but that can wait. He thinks she'll understand, why he had to do this.] So I guess you're stuck with the stupid one for a while.