I always put myself in destructive situations [W5, Friday]

[hydrokinetics]

[It took time. Everything took time as it always did. It took time for them to all calm down, it took time to heal physical wounds, it took time to properly remove the evidence of obscene crimes...but in the evening they were able to gather in one place away from everyone else. It hadn't been easy coordinating everything, but it was necessary.

And so here they were. All seven of them.]

...I don't really know where to start. [His voice is tight, but determined.] But we need everybody on the same page. Who wants to go first?

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

Why would he send you pictures of potatoes? [What in the fuck. But his expression shifts suddenly.]

What did Riku say about Xion, Milla?

[thatsthespirit]

[recites it from memory, 'cause she can do that]

"Milla,

Take care of Xion for me. You've probably realized it already, but she--" and then parts of it were blocked out. "She'll--" and more was blocked out, to be continued with, "as this game continues.

I'm counting on you."

[a pause]

That was it.

[hydrokinetics]

I'm assuming it's something along the lines of Xion growing more unstable as the game continues. What else could it be?

[thatsthespirit]

[god]

I haven't noticed her becoming unstable, but she is growing desensitized.

She's been through a lot. I can hardly blame her.

[elemancy]

Her trust in everyone is faltering, it... can get pretty bad for everyone if we're not careful.

[he knows this for a fact.]

[thatsthespirit]

. . . it can?

[noooow she seems concerned]

How so?

[elemancy]

...Some people can only bend so far. Too much tragedy and distrust... and she might snap.

[thatsthespirit]

[ah :(]

Has anyone told her about our work as Bounties? I don't think she would tell anyone else. That may be one way to get her to trust in us again.

[insincerely]

[...]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea. She... asked me if I had a role, and I lied—and then promised after that that I was telling the truth.

If she realized now that that was the case, I'm not sure she'd ever believe in me again, and I'm pretty sure she might very well trust me more than anyone else in this place.

[SOMEHOW... HE HAS NO IDEA HOW THIS HAPPENED...]

[elemancy]

...Yeah, I don't think it's a good idea to tell her right now.

[thatsthespirit]

. . .

[EVERYONE IS HITTING THE BETRAY BUTTON ON XION]

I see.

[annnnd that's all she's saying about that]

[insincerely]

... Along those lines, though, I can confirm that Xion's letting this place get to her. She's admitted to me that she plans on playing the game properly, even if it means having to manipulate people.

[...]

She wasn't sure if she was willing to kill people, but... she wasn't sure that she wouldn't do it either.

[Sorry for spilling your secrets (?), Xion. He feels bad, but.]

[thatsthespirit]

[UUUUH XION???]

[her gaze narrows, but it's more out of concern than anything else]

We need to keep an eye on her. That sort of rhetoric is a bit concerning.

[insincerely]

[Shinnosuke's quiet for a moment, because it doesn't... really feel right to be talking about Xion, knowing how much she cares about him, but in the end, this might be important.]

... She comes to me for support a lot. [Seriously, he doesn't know why, beyond:] I think she has a crush on me, or something. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

In any case, I might be in a good position to monitor her, but honestly, even I don't know how much she might be hiding from me.

[hydrokinetics]

She does, you dumbass. [But onto something more serious.]

...you think she's already started manipulating us then?

[insincerely]

Well, shit.

[God, he doesn't want this??? Why do girls keep on crushing on him, it's weird.]

... She told me about that back at the end of the third week, so if she decided to make a move, she's probably already made it, yeah. [...] She's given up on trying to stop the murders, but she told me that her end goal was to win the game and revive everyone. I don't think she was lying about that. But...

[thatsthespirit]

[SHE??? REALLY LIKES XION??? SHE DOESN'T WANT TO THINK LIKE THIS??? but at the same time. . .]

[she can't let blind trust get in the way again]

I suppose all we can do is monitor her for now. Though I don't think any of us are too happy at having to do so.

[insincerely]

... Yeah.

[Especially when Xion is his closest remaining connection here... it really, really sucks.]

[robitussin]

[She hates a lot of things about this conversation, but.]

I can keep an eye on her, too. I think she trusts me.

[hydrokinetics]

It's why I didn't tell her what the roles do or how they operate. I thought she knew about them outside of the Bounty role, but she didn't. She knows that Damian's the leader though. So...there's that.

[impulsiveness]

[not writing anything but

stares @ the abyss like why would you do this damian wayne]

[hydrokinetics]

Remember what I told you about trust, Noct? [A frown. He's uneasy about this.] We need her to trust you again. You especially, since you were one of the last people to talk to Riku.

[elemancy]

Yeah. I... tried to let her know we're on the same team, but.

[he frowns, tbh i have no idea where that is going right now.]

I'll do what I can, but I don't think I can restore her trust alone.

[hydrokinetics]

It might have been my fault. We talked last week and there was just some stuff that came up about Riku and I...I'm sorry. I'm trying to fix it. She listens to me, I can make this better.

Until then, be careful around her.

[elemancy]

Yeah, I will. I wasn't planning on spilling the beans about this to her, anyway.

[it's just not something he thinks she should know, honestly. especially now that he knows she isn't also a bounty.]