purrtagonist | [Week 5, Friday: Taako and Magnus]

Fuck. [You know what Akira? Respect. Respect for a goof in the face of utter misery. You really are part of the gang.] . . . Do you think they offer store credit?

If not, I suppose it'd be nice to be able to cast fireball again. Suspect I might need it.

[Yeah. Yeah.

Magnus has probably has to be talked down several times from trying to go kill Shin right now.]

Guess we aren't as persuasive as I thought we were. Fuck.

[listen, Akira is like so anti-murder it isn't even funny, and even he wants a go at Shin]

Or you underestimate how much he hated me.

[o much, his fury ran so deep, that he'd do something so violent and painful towards Akira's loved ones, if only because he couldn't go after Akira himself]

[. . .]

It isn't like I blame him.

[Reaper, and all. but his hands curl tightly around the paper, wrinkling it at the edges]

But his grudge is with-- is with me, not. . .

[Makoto. Ichigo. fuck. fuck]

[He got his goof in, but. Ugh. There's only so irreverent you can be in the face of something like this. They'd spent so long talking over how to protect and help Akira, and in the end, their own decision to trust had bitten them in the Ass. Get it? Ha ha.]

We've. Made some mistakes trusting this week. That's not normally my thing - that's why cha' boy doesn't trust anyone - but. Thought we got through to him. Thought he wouldn't try and take down the whole damn crew with one shitty decision.

He is trying to kill you. He just - must have known you'd be protected.

[Yeah, he's feeling like garbage right now, for reasons Akira probably isn't aware. But it wasn't as though he'd trusted Ass. He's just. Wanted to. That's what he thought he was supposed to be doing - trying to trust, to not hurt anyone.]

He didn't just kill your friends. He killed your partner and the girl who needed a partner this week. He's trying to get you Erased. And. [He debates for a second how much Akira needs to hear this. He knows it will hurt.] Ichigo told me he'd be targeted. He knew Shin wanted to come for him, if he couldn't come for you. But I fucking thought we'd talked him down - all we did was tip him off you'd be protected.

[. . . protected, huh]

[Akira inhales sharply, and then lets it out, his gaze flickering down. he wants to show this letter to Taako and Magnus, but he has one thing he needs to admit to first]

I was protected. But it wasn't just by you guys.

[a hand dips into his pocket, pulling out a small pin. they know the pin. the Player pin, that keeps people from being Erased on Sundays]

This was a get out of jail free card. It kept me from being targeted this week.

Please don't blame yourselves.

[this wasn't on them. it was on him, for selfishly protecting his own life instead of theirs this week]

[Oh. So that's how that works. Interesting.]

He had one too. He showed us. Asked us if we wanted to help him kill - we didn't. Obviously.

[Taako isn't really soothed by being told not to blame himself. He's gotten good at this guilt game, so he adds them to the list. More promises, more people to bring back. They told this kid they'd protect him and now all this? Kind of feels like a kick in the teeth.]

If he makes a move, uh, tonight or tomorrow. We're on it.

Yeah. Listen. You were right to hang onto that.

[It's a relief, actually.]

Keeping you safe isn't just about you. Though, uh, we do like that you're safe. [It turns out, Akira is a great kid.] It's about getting everyone another chance.

...We met the Composer this week. It sounded like we were on the right track, finally. So. We're getting Makoto and Ichigo back.

[he wants to argue with them (his fault his fault his fault, if he hadn't protected himself they'd still be alive and he'd be dead), but then Magnus mentions the Composer. and honestly? his brows shoot up, his heartbreak momentarily replaced by surprise]

You met her?

[and then, he looks pleased]

Yeah. I spoke with her last week, and this week. She told me. . . that by the end of this weekend, we should know whether we've met the requirements to save the Erased.

[ah, right. the letter]

. . . Ichigo left me something, by the way.

Yeah, uh, we met her. Got some interesting information, discussed our theories, threw around a few lovable threats. It's what we do. She seemed to think we were on the right track with the whole hidden objectives thing.

[And gave her some truly great sad boy speeches. A good time was had by all.]

Hey, uh, don't know if you can answer, but was Ichigo a Bear?

[His face twists a little. Because he so badly wants to make a comment, but out of. Respect (?) for the dead (?), he restrains himself.]

Yeah. She's not exactly what we were expecting. But we're on board.

[Though how Akira just put that, the thing about this weekend - that's a little ominous, isn't it?

...He'll let Akira share with them what Ichigo left, though.]

[to Taako]

Mmm. He was.

[he unfolds the letter and holds it out for Taako and Magnus to read. he's silent the entire time]

Edited 2018-04-14 15:06 (UTC)

Whur-- Alex said she trusted him too, uh, that he'd been working to protect everyone. For what it's worth.

[Reading! Silent for a few minutes while he does so, then handing it back.]

From our fun little chat with her though, I think it's even bigger than just using us to determine if it's violent games or not. It's all games. Or she's just saying that to get us to care - feeling a lot of emotional manipulation here, wouldn't be surprised - but either way. They want to shut down the whole system, with the fun implication they'd refund all past prizes and revivals. Don't know if that'd affect Reapers or not, but I'd say, probably? Kind of kills your job opportunities. We're a big group of players pulled to be a sort of showcase, apparently, and this is the series finale where the network executives are deciding whether or not to cut their losses on a renewal.

[He makes the same face he did when he was having to give Max a genuine compliment. A little bit like he's actually been punched in the gut over having to say something slightly decent.]

We've, uh, made some trusting mistakes this week, but the Reapers aren't one of them.

Yeah. We haven't talked to a one of you guys where we've regretted giving you a chance. Can't say the same for everyone.

[He'd wanted to believe Shin loved Eleanor more than he wanted revenge. Obviously not.]

I don't think there's any point to pretending tomorrow Ass isn't behind this. [Are they going to stop using a funny nickname for him at any point, now that he's serious...?] But he's obviously going to be dangerous. He's unpartnered, and I doubt he's planning to partner up with you. I think we should expect him to try to kill somebody tomorrow, and to target you. I don't plan on letting him do that.

[He'll let Taako talk the Composer. He's angry. This is why you don't give second chances. This is why you don't let obvious bad dudes go. He spent half of this game focused on refusing to trust the wrong dangerous people, and now the second half he's already put his trust in two people he should have known were dangerous.]

[a lot of what Taako says gets a nod of agreement from Akira, as he folds up Ichigo's letter and pockets it]

Yeah. That's the feeling I got from her, too. I asked her what she was trying to prove to this higher agency, and she answered with a question. "Do you think everyone here is worth it?"

[obviously? his answer had been "yes."]

[but as for Shin, his attention flickers back to Magnus]

I've been keeping an eye on him ever since I found out he knew who I was and wanted to kill me. [that actually included last trial, for what it's worth] Don't-- do anything to get yourselves hurt, okay?

[because two people have already been hurt on Akira's behalf, and he'd hate it if others were, too]

Is everyone here worth it? For the most part. I'm still not a fan of Chuchu.

[Joking! Joking. Patting him on the shoulder. Like he's a dog . . . ]

Personally, I have no intentions of getting hurt, on account of being a glass cannon, but don't feel guilty about getting a little splash damage on Mags here. He's a tank, that's like, his entire thing. I do it all the time. He's fine. You're fine, right?

Yeah, I'm fine. I've fought my share of bigger and badder twunks and lived to tell the tale. I'm not gonna die to him, but if I get a little bit stabbed it's not going to ruin my day. [He at least sounds pretty confident about it.]

You sharing that letter from Ichigo?

[TWUNKS????]

A little bit stabbed, huh.

[their cavalier attitude is so refreshing, compared to his more serious one. he appreciates]

And yeah, I will. I want everyone to know what he was thinking before he died.

[Week 5, Friday: Taako and Magnus]

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