[Week 4, Friday: Max]

[purrtagonist]

[this is our third pc for the week I'm so sorry to Zia and Max]

[HE HAS COFFEE]

The more Fridays I survive, the more I feel like I've turned into a cockroach.

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[HERE THEY COME]

"To make sure Composers stay on track with their purpose, as well as the continuing well-being of their respective Games, each one is assigned one of our own."

[reciting from the material he read]

One of whose own?

[concertmaster]

[answering right back with his own question:]

You ever wonder how the Games started, Joker?

[purrtagonist]

[a slow nod]

Yeah, actually. Ever since you asked me to think about why Games like this exist.

[concertmaster]

In your consideration, which came first: the Composers, or the Games?

[purrtagonist]

At one point in time? I would've said the Composers.

[because as a baby Reaper, he honestly didn't think there was anything above the position of Composer]

But now? I think it's the Games.

Like how you need to open a business first, before you hire employees for it. Right?

[concertmaster]

If that's the analogy you want to use.

[he doesn't say yes or no, as usual.]

[purrtagonist]

You never really answered my question.

[of whose own? who was assigned to keep an eye on Composers, and by what entity?]

Or can you not answer it?

[concertmaster]

The whole above Reaper pay-grade shit is definitely real and a constant source of non-ending pain in my ass.

[so, you know.]

[purrtagonist]

[a soft snort. HE GETS IT]

Setz shared one of your reports with me. In it, you talk about being the judge of the dispute between the Conductor and the Composer.

Is that true? Is that why you're a "neutral party?" You're here to oversee the results of their feud?

[concertmaster]

I am the judge for the outcome of the conflict, yeah.

[... he does not confirm who it's between.]

[purrtagonist]

[hm. noted]

So are you with this. . . higher agency? The one that assigns people to supervise Composers?

[concertmaster]

I'm a host, Joker.

[well. that's a no go.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

Do you know what Maya asked me, once? She asked me what I thought was crueler: dying without any opportunity for a second chance, or being put through a harsh Game like this one for that second chance.

[. . .]

I couldn't answer her. I wasn't sure.

[concertmaster]

Past tense. Neat. What about now?

[purrtagonist]

Ultimately? I think it's crueler to deny the dead a second chance.

That's what the Composer and the Conductor believe too, isn't it? At least, that's what it sounds like. Based on what Maya told me they wanted.

[concertmaster]

That seems likely, considering they're a part of the Game. You kinda have to believe in that shit a little to raise that high in ranks.

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

The people above them.

Do they believe in that, too?

[concertmaster]

... That's a good fucking question, isn't it?

[purrtagonist]

[he's honestly taking that as a "no." but he thinks. . . he thinks. he thinks he's starting to see it]

It isn't really a "bet," is it? Not in terms of there being a wager.

It's Maya and Anthy trying to prove to the people above them that there is an option beyond "Games being cruel" and "not giving anyone a second chance at all."

[concertmaster]

You realize I really can't talk about that shit, right?

[purrtagonist]

Yep. [pops the p for emphasis] But bouncing ideas off of you helps give me an idea of whether I'm hot or cold on something.

[tilts his head]

What were those books, anyway? And where did they come from?

[concertmaster]

Probably some shit on the history of the Games. There's a lot of bureaucracy involved in this. And they were found in a library.

[idk what you expected]

[purrtagonist]

[SOMETHING MORE CONCRETE THAN THAT :/]

Why would there be a library containing the history of the Games in Shibuya?

[concertmaster]

There isn't.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . oh]

Then how did they-- where did they go to get those books?