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[ch. 6] thursday morning, w/ evan & souji
[... These meetings feel lonely now that their numbers are down to three, but. That's fine. This is fine. Everything is fine. Either way, Veronica looks a little haggard when she drags them both to somewhere private. That's nothing out of the ordinary nowadays, though.]
Have you two been working on your objectives?
Have you two been working on your objectives?
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I have been, yes.
[Is there even a point to it since heroes are already finished?? WHO KNOWS.]
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[And apparently he just didn't tell Veronica until right now?? She remains the one brain cell.]
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you know what? she's not even going to say anything to evan besides giving him. a dead eyed look. gazes into his soul. thoroughly judges him.]
Okay, well. Great. You need to stop because the heroes are fucking us over by going over the objective minimum.
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Ah-- [HM. BAD. If this whole thing is about balance:] Do you need to match our number...?
[That could be a problem. Maybe they should just break the orb now and set one of these yeeters free from herodom.]
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...Oh. Oh, shit.
[This is like the second time he's cursed in game and the first was because his partner died. Hm!!]
Okay. Stopping immediately, got it.
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The game is about balance, remember? And... That's in terms of survivors and objectives. The heroes have eleven objectives done already, and that's at a minimum. But the villains are still stuck at five. We're not going to be able to match your numbers if all the heroes keep doing their objectives.
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Understood. [Even if he still wants tokens so he can continue yeeting in other ways!!] ...Would our objective count transfer over to whatever other category we're placed in, if we were to break the orb?
[Not saying they should yet but
it'd be good to know.]
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...If that's the case, do you think one of us should do it? I made sure to grab it from my old room before it vanished, so... I have it.
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[And nothing about this has been convenience, so. She sighs.]
After Friday. If one of you has an easy objective coming up, you should use it. There's still a chance you might end up as a civilian, but it's worth a try. If that happens, though, you still shouldn't do your objectives. The civilians already have their seven, too.
[It's just the villains that are suffering. Save them.]
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Alright, that sounds like a good idea to me. There's still a chance we could end up with the villains, too...
[A risk they'll apparently have to take. GOD, THESE NERDS. At least they know not to continue objective-ing now, though.
But it seems to remind him of something!!]
Ah-- By the way, I told Natsuo-kun that I'd pass his message on... He wanted to find the other villains and let them know that he'd be shouldering as much as he could with the objectives.
[But
will it count
if Natsuo is a zombie.]
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[He tilts his head to what Souji says.]
Um, that's good, right? That he's going to be doing more. If, if you want to tell him that I'll help him with anything that needs more than one person, I'd be more than willing to help.
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opens her mouth.
closes it.
opens it again—]
—Oh, that son of a bitch. [VERONICA?????
She's dragging a hand down her face, groaning. She's so tired. She's so done. She wishes for the sweet release of death.]
Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okay! You cannot tell anyone about this. I'm not joking. If anyone else finds out, they'll know I leaked it and they'll make my life [FINGER QUOTES] "living hell," got it? Natsuo isn't a Villain anymore. He's a hero. Sandalphon brought him back as Snow White.
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He'll nod in agreement to that stipulation, in any case. HIS LIPS ARE SEALED. But also:]
Does... Does he know that he isn't a villain anymore...?
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Wait, wait, how are we supposed to stop him from doing that if we can't tell anyone what he's doing?!
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[Sorry, Natsuo. She likes you, but she's pissed.]
We can't. Nobody can know about this or I'm in deep shit. [THE DEEPEST OF SHIT.] I'm not saying we murder him or anything, but— This is bad, you know? Really, really bad. I had someone come up to me two days ago. They said they were sure people would try to make Natsuo part of the last three villains. But Natsuo isn't even a villain anymore. We have five left.
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I don't understand why he thinks he's helping the villains, if that's the case...
[Is Natsuo just that dumb. Is he just... capable of so much chaos even when he's doing his Genuine Best.]
There has to be some way we can let people know. Moreover, didn't that letter make it sound like three a faction was a minimum rather than a definite?
[They're super screwed if they end up with three villains and one's Natsuo oh god.]
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[HE'S ASCENDING. Anyways, he sucks in a breath, running a hand over his face.]
Also, I just want to say that we're jumping to murder as a viable option way too fast here?! [evan where do you think you ARE] Okay. Okay. God, um... Can't one of us talk to him, at least? We can say we wished for more information about the game and heard about what he's doing, or...
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Sure. If you want to use the token you got from jumping off a high place like a dumbass, go ahead. Make it legitimate. But you're seriously putting my head on the chopping block if you go up to him with that flimsy excuse.
[Evan, you pansy. The dead are coming back if they do this right, anyway!! Either way, she shakes her head.]
It's... complicated. This game is about balance. Heroes, Civilians and Villains need to have an almost equal number of survivors. As things are now... We'll have to whittle everyone's numbers down to five to match the villains. [It's still bad.] But I think our "friend" was talking about locking ourselves out of being able to rescue the dead. If the numbers dip below three, we're fucked.
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So as long as we keep it above three, we'll be able to rescue the dead.
[HIS PRIMARY CONCERN, so that's good to keep in mind. There's a somewhat cautious pause that follows, and then:]
...There's another item that can switch factions, as well. Shall I see if it can be used after Friday, depending on how things look?
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[But, hm. As he listens to the both of them, as much as he hates to broach this topic before they absolutely have to...]
Yeah, so long as we keep it above three, but... Veronica, the information you got last week made it seem like only nine people can make it out of this alive, right? Or... That's a possibility, at least. If that's true... [...] Even if we figure out what to do about Natsuo, even if we get all the objectives finished and evened out... How are we going to pick?
[his anxiety brain going three steps ahead as usual smh]
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[The more heroes they can flip, the better.]
That's what I thought at first, yeah. But now? I'm not so sure. And I hope my current impression is right. [If not, she's gonna lay down on the ground and die. It's fine.] Let's... Let's just worry about evening out the number of objectives, okay? Worrying about that now isn't going to help us get the job done.
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Ah... It's not, actually.
[SO NOW THEY HAVE THREE, APPARENTLY... WOW. WOW. How... how many faction-changing items...... are they sitting on. Hm.]
I'm not sure if they would want me to mention they have it, but I can say it's a different one. They only got it recently, though.
[So at least it's not whoever's been sitting on one since WEEK ONE.]
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[Know how to do it, he's about to say, but. Ah.]
...Wait. Wait a second, we have three things that can change somebody's faction?
[HE'S ASCENDING ALL OVER AGAIN, FAREWELL]
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[THEY HAVE THREE?? THREE??????????? WHOMST THE FUCK.]
Fine. Let's look at the bright side! That means you and Evan can both become villains. If the orb screws up, we could try the potion you stole, too. You said it can do anything the person who drinks it wants, right?
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[AT LEAST THERE'S THAT but yep, between three items there's bound to be at least one turnover at least?!]
That's true, too. It can do anything within reason... Though I was thinking we could also use it during trial, depending. I was talking to Sousei-san about it earlier; I think it would be wise to use it so the person drinking it can tell whether or not others are being honest or lying. It would be useful for finding suspects correctly or asking about factions... Ah, maybe tokens could be used to ensure that the orb gives us the result we want?
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[But, hm. He looks thoughtful as Souji speaks.]
That's a good idea. Then we could make sure we don't vote for someone innocent.
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[She's... proposing they let the culprits go. It's fine. It's not as if any of them chose to be a blotter? Either way—]
If it's the same hero I'm thinking of? No. She's only in this for herself. [HM.] I trust you, Evan. Please, I'd rather it be you and Souji than someone else. If you won't do it for the villains, then do it for me?
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Most people understand the stakes by now, don't they? Besides, we don't have to only use it to pinpoint the culprits. It could also be useful in case anyone lies about being a villain to try protecting themselves, when they're a hero or civilian.
[He's not married to the idea though, so if they're not gung-ho he'll probably let it drop for now. Also he's giving them both an inquisitive look... WHO IS THIS SELFISH HERO??]
--I'd honestly prefer for you to use it, too.
[To Evan. He only knows like one other hero though okay.]
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[He can see the necessity in what she's saying, but it strikes him as Wrong. Since he can understand the logic, he won't speak against it, but it's not difficult to tell he doesn't like the idea.]
...Well, um, it depends what hero you're thinking of. [He hesitates, because it seems wrong to him to reveal her faction to multiple people, but—] Rebecca's a really good person. Why do you think she's only in it for herself?
[Evan is too trusting, round 2768754869.]
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[So. Yeah. When Rebecca comes up, Veronica's expression twists into a grimace.]
Again, you can't tell anyone. They'll know I blabbed, but... Rebecca's a Historian. She knows how important keeping a balance is. All the Historians do, but she keeps completing her objectives. If she really cared about anyone other than herself, she'd stop and focus on helping the Villains.
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[HE'S... A PRAGMATIC SOUL sorry Evan you're alone in the justice boat, apparently. But considering who's dead and all, it's only natural that Souji's first priority is ensuring that the dead are brought back.
IN ANY CASE, he just nods at that, apparently unruffled by this. People are turning out to have roles left and right! It's fine! Sure! God!!]
Mm... Still, won't it be a problem if she continues to complete hers? I'd trust Evan more and I'd prefer for him to change factions, but...
[If Rebecca's just out here being Rebecca... What Then.]
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...If she keeps completing her objectives, it's my fault. I didn't know that was the case, so I...
[He bites his lip.]
She said there were a few medications back home that she usually takes. Ones like... the one I had to take back home. We have, um, something similar going on. [So, he sympathized. He knows how difficult it's been for him without it.] I told her that I'd help her with whatever objectives she needed until she could get her medicine back, so. If she kept completing them, that's my fault, not hers.
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rubs at her face.]
Great. Now I get to feel like an asshole, too. [Save Rebecca, wtf.] Look, I... If you can talk her out of doing her objectives, I know someone who could get her the rest of her medicine back. She'd have to write down a really detailed description of what the medicine does, and they'll all be liquids, but I promise the person I'm talking about is reliable.
[She just doesn't want to leave their fate in the hands of the Historians for Reasons. It's fine. Either way—]
Souji, before I forget— Is there any way you could leave a hint of who has the item you were talking about? I'm not saying it will, but if something bad happens tomorrow...
[They'll have a dead tb ballerina and no switchy.]
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As for the rest:]
On the floor in my room, there's a cookbook with a blue spine that has a hole at the bottom. If I die, open the spine and take what's inside. It should have everything you need.
[Of course he's Prepared for this, he's been slowly dying the entire game.]
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[But once that's out of the way, he gives Veronica a glance, shaking his head.]
You aren't an, an asshole, I promise. You didn't know. But - I'll talk to her tomorrow.
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... Thank you, Souji. Does your partner know about this? [Better to be sure just in case one of them has to break into Stabby Ion's room, lbr.
But also—]
If you talk to her, don't tell her you know she's a Historian. Just— You can say you wrote to Beauty and got a letter back, or... something? I can get you a forgery if she asks to see it.
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Veronica gets a little nod in response to the thanks; a polite, wordless "of course".]
I'll let him know tonight.
[He'll give Stabby Ion a list of people not to stab, it's fine, they're fine.]
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Yeah. I won't tell her anything like that. I mean, the letter Varian shared with everyone mentioned the other two factions needed to step it up, so... I can just say that's why I was thinking about it.
[A shrug.]
I'll bring it up with her tomorrow, and we can all regroup after that or something.
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... Okay. That's our plan, then. [Hopefully survive and then regroup. God.] I don't have anything else to add, so unless one of you has something they want to share...?
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Regrouping tomorrow sounds like the best idea.
[Hopefully none of them are dead!! Y...yay...]
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[But, given how the other two brought up the possibility of one of them Super Dying tonight:]
You guys be careful, okay?
one last tag so i can 🖕🖕🖕 at eli
[Gosh, how tragic it would be if one of them showed up
super dead
ELI!!!]