[ Sorry, his legs account for most of her height, don't they? But once the hug has ended, he inclines his head at the thanks. ]
You're welcome. It had to be taken care of, even if I'm sure she'll be gearing up to haunt me, on the other side. [ just a wild guess ] How're you feeling, now?
[ What did you remember what did you learn, give him the lore. ]
[ at that, she frowns, biting her lip before shaking her head ]
I can't believe all that time, they learned because of... [ but she takes in a deep breath before looking back at him ] There's a deadline. If we don't have our second kill in by the Friday after this one, the removed will stay trapped where they are.
[ He'll address that first part - and the other questions he has for her - after this particular one. Because, well. They need to get moving, don't they? ]
Is there anyone that you can sense is splintering? Or that you suspect might be?
[ Or is he just going to have to throw a dart and pick someone for the sake of securing that second kill? ]
... alright. [ He reaches, taking her shoulder. ] If you do, let us know. No matter who it might be, Swan, you tell us as soon as you can. The others already know that I killed Alyssa, and we're going to - figure something out, to make sure we can see the end of this.
You entrusted the task to me once already. Will you do it again?
If I sense anyone else, I'll tell you. But if I don't...
[ she looks down before looking back at him ]
I'll give us this week. If I don't sense anything until then, we might have to take matters into our own hands. For Yoshizawa. [ which means. picking at random, yeah. ] I'll tell Taako and Sora myself, and... maybe Homura if she comes to me, but I don't think Fiora would go along with it if she knew.
[ A squeeze to her shoulder, and a nod of understanding. ]
I'm not going to ask Fiora to be comfortable with it. I don't think she ever will be, and I definitely won't ask her to be the one to get her hands dirty. But she's at least... receptive enough, to looking the other way. At least right now. [ he is so tired of moral debates with his teammate ]
Sora and Taako are willing to help. Homura, too, maybe. I still don't want to ask any of them to do it, so if you don't sense something this week... [ It's easy for him to say, despite the gravity of it. ] I'll pick someone. Don't worry.
If we have to do this, then we should try to pick from teams that aren't in danger. Sora and Taako know people on the other teams, and Yoshizawa might be able to contact you guys to tell you how many of the other ones are with them right now.
I'll ask them. And send something to Sumire, to see if she's able to tell us anything. [ Which leads him to a question he's been turning over. ]
Sora and I spoke of coming up with riddles, or phrases, or just - general code, to talk about peoples' teams. Is that something that we can do without repercussion to you and the other leaders? Like your hints.
I feel like saying "they're a clever, curious person," and meaning that someone is on Fox's team, runs a bit too... simple. [ Would that even work? If it did, would it work longterm? He doesn't want this to be hard to figure out he just wants it to be a loophole, not everyone is smart. Please he just wants to kill someone on a team that isn't struggling.
He figures he'll fuckin test it. Swan Sees All and can probably guess this one. ]
Someone important to me is someone that is virtuous, and good, but stubborn. A little hard headed.
Goat! [ she sticks her tongue out ] But I knew that, since you guys talk. But... hmm. I think that'll work. So long as you don't say it outright, and we keep it to our team.
[ because she has no faith in it not becoming a big vernacular in-game that just gives it away for everyone and then they all die ]
Don't be cheeky. [ He pinches her cheek, below her mask, for the tongue. He is playing. ] Better to test it with someone that you already know, and can safely guess, rather than risking something.
I don't want it to spread out beyond our team, anyways. That's asking for trouble. But if we can use something similar to that, we can navigate through this situation more, and it won't be overly complicated and confusing. Just enough to think.
[ there's a mild yelp at the pinch. not because it hurts but because of mild outrage, and she teleports out of reach. like. a foot away. ]
Yes, that should be fine. [ ... ] If there's some people you know who's teams haven't gotten two-- you can tell them. I don't want to leave anyone behind, even outside of ours.
[ Oh no a foot away. Hua Cheng's arm can reach that far if he leans, what are you doing, Swan. He absolutely laughs at her before sobering up again. ]
... mm, I can take a few guesses at the ones that might not. I'll see if we can't get a little more knowledge, and a better idea of placements, so that we can prepare for a worst case scenario.
[ As he reaches out, it's not to pick on her more, because he is a bully, but - he gently knocks the back of his knuckles against her shoulder. ]
For Sumire. [ ... since this is after Sora spilled the beans today. ] For Hajime.
[ Unfortunately for him, his character arc is caring about people. He's getting used to the handholding thing at this point, so many magical girls have done it, and just lets her have it. ]
Hopefully you talk to the others soon. [ FIORA... HOMURA... taps watch ] We have a bigger picture to worry about, so we can get to that ending.
[ ... speaking of, he. Had other stuff, besides the congratulatory report and everything. ]
And, in that vein, have we learned anything more about the monster waiting outside the Realm? As we reclaim nova, we're returning it to the cycle, where it can't be eaten again. Not a foreign concept, really. To generate more nova is to create a greater buffer between us and it, and maintain the integrity of the Realm - but do we know more than we did before, or are we still in the dark?
I don't really want to have us at the finish line and a monster just showing up when we least expect it.
They have to come to me, first. [ so, y'know. that may have to wait. rip in the other two. anyway, that... gets them to let go of his hand to pace a little ]
Nothing. It's like... we hit a wall, when we found out what it was. We can't get any closer or learn anything more about it. It's weird.
[ There's no worry about Sora running to talk to Swan, at this point, considering he absolutely knows who the favorite is. Taako, either. Not sure about the other two, rip indeed. ]
Great. [ love that for us ] So you discover it's a looming monster on the horizon, and everything cuts off. That's - typical, actually. Do you think the dead might be able to learn more, on their side?
[ stares into middle distance. he hasn't gotten anything from the gy yet but he's heard enough from the grapevine, and also the gotdam hangman puzzle ]
We don't know if we have the time to successfully code and decode messages.
I'll - see what I can do, on ours. Send something to the dead. If there's one thing I excel at, after all these years, it's communicating with the dead.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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And you didn't. Thank you. [ she'll let him go after, though, mostly because oh god her neck. both their necks. ]
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You're welcome. It had to be taken care of, even if I'm sure she'll be gearing up to haunt me, on the other side. [ just a wild guess ] How're you feeling, now?
[ What did you remember what did you learn, give him the lore. ]
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I can't believe all that time, they learned because of... [ but she takes in a deep breath before looking back at him ] There's a deadline. If we don't have our second kill in by the Friday after this one, the removed will stay trapped where they are.
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Is there anyone that you can sense is splintering? Or that you suspect might be?
[ Or is he just going to have to throw a dart and pick someone for the sake of securing that second kill? ]
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I can't. In all those weeks, Alyssa was the first one I felt. There's no guarantee I'll be able to sense it again.
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... alright. [ He reaches, taking her shoulder. ] If you do, let us know. No matter who it might be, Swan, you tell us as soon as you can. The others already know that I killed Alyssa, and we're going to - figure something out, to make sure we can see the end of this.
You entrusted the task to me once already. Will you do it again?
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[ she looks down before looking back at him ]
I'll give us this week. If I don't sense anything until then, we might have to take matters into our own hands. For Yoshizawa. [ which means. picking at random, yeah. ] I'll tell Taako and Sora myself, and... maybe Homura if she comes to me, but I don't think Fiora would go along with it if she knew.
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I'm not going to ask Fiora to be comfortable with it. I don't think she ever will be, and I definitely won't ask her to be the one to get her hands dirty. But she's at least... receptive enough, to looking the other way. At least right now. [ he is so tired of moral debates with his teammate ]
Sora and Taako are willing to help. Homura, too, maybe. I still don't want to ask any of them to do it, so if you don't sense something this week... [ It's easy for him to say, despite the gravity of it. ] I'll pick someone. Don't worry.
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If we have to do this, then we should try to pick from teams that aren't in danger. Sora and Taako know people on the other teams, and Yoshizawa might be able to contact you guys to tell you how many of the other ones are with them right now.
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Sora and I spoke of coming up with riddles, or phrases, or just - general code, to talk about peoples' teams. Is that something that we can do without repercussion to you and the other leaders? Like your hints.
[ your hilarious hints, bless your heart ]
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[ hey they WORKED. they were great hints ]
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I feel like saying "they're a clever, curious person," and meaning that someone is on Fox's team, runs a bit too... simple. [ Would that even work? If it did, would it work longterm? He doesn't want this to be hard to figure out he just wants it to be a loophole, not everyone is smart. Please he just wants to kill someone on a team that isn't struggling.
He figures he'll fuckin test it. Swan Sees All and can probably guess this one. ]
Someone important to me is someone that is virtuous, and good, but stubborn. A little hard headed.
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[ because she has no faith in it not becoming a big vernacular in-game that just gives it away for everyone and then they all die ]
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I don't want it to spread out beyond our team, anyways. That's asking for trouble. But if we can use something similar to that, we can navigate through this situation more, and it won't be overly complicated and confusing. Just enough to think.
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Yes, that should be fine. [ ... ] If there's some people you know who's teams haven't gotten two-- you can tell them. I don't want to leave anyone behind, even outside of ours.
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... mm, I can take a few guesses at the ones that might not. I'll see if we can't get a little more knowledge, and a better idea of placements, so that we can prepare for a worst case scenario.
[ As he reaches out, it's not to pick on her more, because he is a bully, but - he gently knocks the back of his knuckles against her shoulder. ]
For Sumire. [ ... since this is after Sora spilled the beans today. ] For Hajime.
And, for you.
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[ sorry hua cheng swan is a very touchy feely person, so she grabs that hand when he reaches out ]
All of them. I know we will.
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Hopefully you talk to the others soon. [ FIORA... HOMURA... taps watch ] We have a bigger picture to worry about, so we can get to that ending.
[ ... speaking of, he. Had other stuff, besides the congratulatory report and everything. ]
And, in that vein, have we learned anything more about the monster waiting outside the Realm? As we reclaim nova, we're returning it to the cycle, where it can't be eaten again. Not a foreign concept, really. To generate more nova is to create a greater buffer between us and it, and maintain the integrity of the Realm - but do we know more than we did before, or are we still in the dark?
I don't really want to have us at the finish line and a monster just showing up when we least expect it.
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Nothing. It's like... we hit a wall, when we found out what it was. We can't get any closer or learn anything more about it. It's weird.
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Great. [ love that for us ] So you discover it's a looming monster on the horizon, and everything cuts off. That's - typical, actually. Do you think the dead might be able to learn more, on their side?
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[ which is. great. fun and cool. ]
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We don't know if we have the time to successfully code and decode messages.
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... We'll keep trying on our end. Maybe we just haven't been stubborn enough about it.
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I'll - see what I can do, on ours. Send something to the dead. If there's one thing I excel at, after all these years, it's communicating with the dead.
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