[Week 1, Wednesday: Max]

[purrtagonist]

[I hear the angry tiny is at the park now!!]

[it isn't hard for Akira to find him. and when he does, he approaches with a wave and a slightly slouched posture, one hand clutching a cardboard cup of. . . something?? hint: it's coffee]

Soooooo.

How goes our babysitting gig?

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[nope, shitty instant coffee ruined forever]

You shouldn't. I like it there.

[the attic is home!!]

But enough of that. Although I am not here for the sole purpose of asking questions, I do have a couple.

Especially now that Conductor-san has made her appearance.

[concertmaster]

Your Conductor showed up, huh. Neat.

[enjoying his first taste of coffee that will ruin him for everything else, Max does not seen to have much to say on that subject]

So, what do you want.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . interesting]

She said that the Composer is short-staffed. What's that mean, exactly?

[concertmaster]

[there's a quirk of an eyebrow but he shrugs]

Exactly what you think it means. Why else would they borrow Reapers? What else did she tell you, since I'm guessing you want to double-check all your info for some godforsaken reason.

[purrtagonist]

Borrow Reapers, and pluck a Conductor right out from the pool of competitors. They're really reaching.

[but why???]

She said the same things that you said-- the Composer is smug and mysterious, and they talked in circles a lot for some reason.

But I guess, what I don't understand, is why they grabbed Maya to head the Reapers. If they're borrowing Reapers, why not borrow a Conductor, too?

[concertmaster]

Borrowing a Conductor's a lot more complicated. You'd have to be real fucking desperate to involve a foreign Conductor in your affairs, since Conductors come in two flavors: power-hungry jackasses just waiting for their chance to snipe a Composer gig, and idiots devoted to the point of obsession with their own Composer.

[purrtagonist]

Maya is definitely neither of those.

[. . .]

Probably.

[concertmaster]

Eh, she'll fall into something when she gets used to the Conductor position.

[purrtagonist]

[eye roll]

Another thing that struck me as kind of strange was the rules.

They said that you don't answer Reaper-related questions. Why is that?

[he's guessing it's because Max is a "neutral third party," but]

[concertmaster]

You've got a Conductor now. The fuck do you need me for?

[purrtagonist]

To balance Maya's optimism with your pessimism.

[b. . . balance]

[concertmaster]

I'm a realist.

[he's a cynic.]

And that's not a good enough reason for me to involve myself in your Reaper affairs when you've got a perfectly adequate boss now. Especially when I've got other shit to do.

[purrtagonist]

[yeah, definitely a cynic]

Define "other shit."

[concertmaster]

[gestures at all of the things around them]

I'm in charge of Players, dumbass. Making sure their side runs properly.

[so, y'know. other shit]

[purrtagonist]

[OTHER SHIT]

Players, led by the Host. Reapers, led by the Conductor.

[. . .]

Is there anyone else? Besides you and Maya?

[concertmaster]

The Composer.

[duhhhhhhhhhh]

[purrtagonist]

[LISTEN]

Cheeky. Anyone besides you, Maya and the Composer?

[concertmaster]

Yeah, we also got idiot Reapers who ask dumb questions.

[he loves you, really?]

[purrtagonist]

[does he though]

And I'm going to keep asking dumb questions until I figure out which questions are less dumb.

Back-tracking a little bit-- why is the Composer so short-staffed? What happened to their usual pool of Reapers?

[concertmaster]

[...ehhhhhhhhh]

You'd have to ask the Composer. I don't know who the fuck their usual are.

[purrtagonist]

Cool. How do I set up an appointment with them?

[a little dry because he knows it ain't that easy]

[concertmaster]

Ask your Conductor and hope she doesn't just awkwardly laugh and hum as she tries to figure out if she'd get Erased again just for asking.

[sounds! fun!]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . sorry in advance Maya Fey. . .]

Does the Composer have a temper?

[concertmaster]

Eh. I wouldn't say they don't have one.

[purrtagonist]

[that's fair]

Noted.

[absolutely no promises made about not pissing them off, tho. Akira please]

Do you know what their ultimate goal is, in running a Game like this one? You said they believed it for the best of everyone involved, but. . .

[trails off]