Chapter VIII. Reversion & Suppression
"If we're going to wait for your private chef just to eat beef bourguignon, why don't we have some beef stew takeout at my house?" right after seeing the meals on the dining table, Jafar raised one of his eyebrows and protested.
"Hey, you do realize how long it takes to let the beef cook into the sauce, right? Cooking a beef bourguignon is not like taking a shower for beef, you know?" Hades opened the chair and slammed himself into the seat, "Besides, you only order Subway takeout or 'cook' instant noodles. I need something more refined in my life, so please, give me a break."
-So are you suggesting that you left me without a word for something more refined? Jafar swallowed his own thoughts and took the seat down silently.
"There's nothing wrong with instant noodles if in an emergency," said Frollo, "Jafar is just busy with life."
"Oh, Frollo, you mistake 'in an emergency with 'busy with life,'" Hades sipped a spoon of smashed golden potato bathed with dark scarlet sauce, "One can be busy with life but they may be just filling their life with nonsensical sequences after nonsensical sequences-that will be Jafar in the nutshell for y'all."
"Is it how you view Jafar? Or is it just how you view people in general?" Frollo poured the sauce on his smashed potato carefully and stared into Hades' eyes.
"I don't know. Or can you tell me, Frollo-Do you fill your life with nonsensical sequences after nonsensical sequences, just to escape from something?" Hades put his spoon aside and leaned closer to Frollo. He formed a smile on his lips, but the smile never reached his eyes.
"...Nonsensical sequences after nonsensical sequences, what you're talking about is surviving. Surviving doesn't make sense in the first place. It's just the fact that your heart is still beating and you're still breathing-it doesn't make any sense; It's a fact," said Frollo like he was about to sigh, "But living could."
Hades lowered his line of sight. Then he raised his goblet of merlot, with his pinky finger up.
"To living." Hades gestured and took a slurp of his merlot. But Jafar and Frollo just silently watched him consuming the alcohol.
"So Frollo, what's the piece you've performed?" after taking the drink, Hades continued to chomp away his beef bourguignon and asked, "It's a good one, and it's a shame that you stopped just for a wrong note."
"It's named 'Reversion 2015'-a rather modern piece, not those classical symphonies."
"Ah-'Reversion 2015'. so are there like, 'Reversion 2012', 'Reversion Before the Centry', 'Reversion Maximum'..."
"No, only 'Reversion 2015' and 'Reversion', two different pieces." Frollo interrupted Hades shopping-listing his made-up music piece names.
"See? Why didn't you tell me you can play the piano when we first met?" Hades spread his hands in amazement, "That is what I meant when I said 'there are many things about a new person'! Not the nonsense murder joke you said, you get me?"
But Frollo just nibbled at his meal without response.
"And it's a good reason to live a bit longer than expected lifespan, hey," Hades gestured with his spoon, "See? I remembered every single murder and suicidal joke you've made. If my math is right, you definitely talked more about this kind of joke."
"...I'm sorry." Frollo slightly raised his head from the plate.
"Why? I get it, people from a career of your kind talked like this. All of them," Hades placed his hand on Frollo's shoulder, Jafar could see Frollo flinch a bit in response to Hades' touch, "No need to apologize for who you are. Wear it like your most precious gown and deal with it."
"That would be a worn-out gown and the last thing I'd wear in the world," Frollo craned his neck toward Hades.
Hades took back his reaching hand on Frollo's shoulder, Jafar seemed to see a hint of processing in Hades' eyes.
"Umm...Anyway, do you have any social media?" Hades blinked and tried to change the topic, "Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, or mail pigeons are all acceptable."
"...My cellphone numbers." Frollo frowned.
"...Pardon me?" Hades tilted his head slightly.
"I only have cellphone numbers. I don't like social media..." replied Frollo with a whisper, then he took out the Bible from his breast pocket-Jafar noticed there was a piece of paper attached to the Bible, but Frollo seemed to press on the pages hard in order to not let that piece of paper slide out.
Frollo turned to Romans 8: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.", and there was a set of numbers on it.
"I understand, it's fine, you still have plenty of things in the world to love." Hades took out his phone and added Frollo's phone numbers to his directory.
" I still have plenty of things in the world to love? I am pretty sure social media is not one of them..." said Frollo, without a second thought.
"It's a shame that we have to film the unboxing video of this before I can caress this beauty." Jafar saw himself holding the YouTube Creator Award after a recording session, it was on the afternoon of February 29th, 2 years ago.
"Hey, on the bright side, we made two unboxing videos of the same thing—one for mine, another for yours. We made twice the money for this matter." Hades shrugged. The hues of warmth and nostalgia painted every scene like honey cloaked a pile of pancakes-even Hades' towered blue hair seemed to radiate a copper halo, casting an otherworldly glow.
Jafar saw himself, with a tender touch, placing his medal casing alongside Hades', the pair finally united like they were meant to be. The usual banter and laughter of this noisy duo gave way to a profound silence, as they embraced every inch of the cherished medal.
It was such a beautiful scene, Jafar thought to himself. If he possessed the phenomenal cosmic powers of the gods, he would freeze time at this very day, this very second, this very moment, and bask in the magnificence of the present, forsaking the passage of tomorrow.
Then Jafar's sight blurred. In the blank space, he saw nothing but the figure of a middle-aged man with thinning white hair sitting next to him. The man wore a pure white shirt—who wore such a shirt which was so prone to all the dirt and filth in the world?
With measured precision, the man folded a piece of tissue before applying surgical spirit to its surface. He approached the golden casings on the wall.
The man looked akin to an angel, or perhaps even death itself. "Am I dead?" Jafar pressed his temple and thought to himself, then he realized the figure was merely Frollo.
Oh. I just dreamed of the day when I got my Award, now I am awake and Frollo is next to me. Ok.
Frollo shone the golden casings for Jafar once again. He carefully wiped the casings with the folded tissue, creating a smooth hum of friction between the two surfaces.
"Ouch." in a sudden, said Frollo nonchalantly.
Frollo quickly drew back his arm and took a look at his finger. Jafar could see a splash of blood staining the golden medal.
"No, my medals—" Jafar heard his own howl, but he realized he was struggling to get up on the couch, like the couch was a trap which had enveloped him with its soft infilling.
Jafar adjusted his pose on the couch a bit, he even didn't quite know why he would sleep on his couch—the only thing he remembered from yesterday was Hades complaining…something in his mansion.
"Did I wake you?" Frollo pressed his wound with the tissue and asked, "What would you like to have for breakfast after I clean the casings?"
"…a plushy of Breezy from Neko Atsume, the one with a plastic bag on," slurred Jafar.
"…may I beg you a pardon?" Frollo asked with utter confusion.
"I said, a plushy of Breezy from Neko Atsume, the one with a plastic bag on," Jafar held his head, within which he felt like there was a brick of metal, "you've never seen any plushy before in your entire miserable life?"
"You're not making sense, how much you drank last night?" Frollo sighed, but he didn't seem to be bothered by Jafar at all.
"You will make me a plushy of Breezy from Neko Atsume, the one with a plastic bag on for my breakfast, damn it!" Jafar moaned and threw his hand at Frollo. Frollo then just walked away in the direction of the kitchen.
—Which medal casing did Frollo spoil? And how did such reward medals cut Frollo?
Jafar turned to the wall and saw that it was Hades' golden casings stained with scarlet blood spots.
"Frollo, come back here to clean your blood before making breakfast—" Jafar craned his neck and shouted, but Frollo seemed to be buried in the clashes and crackles in the kitchen.
Jafar lay back on the couch and took out his phone. He felt the mood to drunk-text someone-probably it was a thirst for petty revenge for Hades deciding to ignore him in the dinner last night, thus he scrolled to Hades' Discord alt and clicked.
"Hey bozo, you agreed to do a stream with me, I wonder do you still enjoy your RETIREMENT?" and Jafar pressed the "send" button. To Jafar's surprise, the text "DontMindMeMindYourOwnBusiness is typing..." appeared under the input box just after a few seconds.
-Hades is online right now? And how comes that man reply my message so quickly, isn't that man in "retirement"?
Then a line of text sent back from the other side of the screen:
"At least I have a free video editor and studio assistant for me now-you :D"
Jafar tried so hard NOT to throw away his phone on the wall when seeing this reply. He gritted his teeth, attempting to come up with some comebacks, but the man from the other side of the screen beat Jafar to it-
Gifs. Hades had sent a wall of gifs, like a merciless waterfall coming at Jafar's Discord chat. Jafar wanted to call a stop, but Hades seemed to be spamming the gifs non-stop, there was no way for Hades to see Jafar's messages drowned in the troop of gifs whatsoever.
So Jafar decided to block "DontMindMeMindYourOwnBusiness", and buried himself into the nearest plushy on the couch and concealed his ugly cry.