[ which is all he says but lillium probably has some Awareness that nico didn't come home and perhaps already knows he was gone, who's to say. he's just going to stay curled up into will instead to see what happens. ]
anyway yeah, they will let him in! it means lillium gets to see nico is just as broody as ever and he's staring up at him plaintively before stepping aside to let him in.
he could fucking stand to explain. anything. but it's fine. will can talk. ]
[ listen they were cuddling in will's bed this is an improvement also shut up they are all still standing. he seems to be staring at lillium patiently like he's searching for something before he slowly exhales. ]
Better, now. [ ... ] I was going to come back to the dorm this morning, but I didn't get that far. And then when I got back I didn't...[ how do you say "I didn't want to deal around people who aren't used to my specific neuroses" without making it sound like a bigger deal than you think it is. ] It made sense to let you know.
[ Lillium really single-handedly shamed him into checking in always. ]
[they are not snuggling on the couch right now!! god!!! they have a guest over. lillium will keep them from snuggling but he will not keep them from being clingy with each other.
anyway will, for his part, is kind of quiet as the two of them talk, but he does look grateful that nico has lillium looking out for him.
It wasn't important. [ he says that. like. way too quickly. he does not want to talk about what actually happened right now because he thinks it doesn't matter to lillium in a sense that he needs to know to understand things. ]
...I ended up in Las Vegas. [ dry. but he does reach into his pocket for a piece of paper. ] This is probably the most important part.
[ the paper is handed to lillium and it says:
The stakes so far have been too boring. Itβs no fun when all they do at the end of the day is go home, so for the next round, weβll spice it up a bit. If they want a chance for anyone to return at all, theyβll have to take that chance from someone else.
One death each week is enough to keep the door open. Kill, or lose everything any of them have cared about. Letβs see how heroic they can be in those conditions. ]
Jolyne was there, too, I guess. I didn't see her, but their team got a similar paper. I can show you that as well. [ he glances at will. ] Am I missing anything, you think?
Edited (not my keyboard botching his name) 2023-10-01 04:17 (UTC)
[will frowns slightly when nico says it wasn't important, but - it was nico's adventure, so he won't contradict him. instead, he watches as he procures the piece of paper and explains what he heard about the other team.]
...I think that's the stuff that's most relevant to all of us here, yeah.
[ yeah fucking mood but for other reasons. he will also take out his phone and hand it over where it's a photo of a different paper. it says:
These heroes are unable to return to the worlds they call home while they have yet to win their competition. If a team loses, all those within the team, present and future, those worlds they hail from will come under the light of the moon. Those worlds will be forever changed with the loss of the heroes hailing from them. There is nothing better than a hero under distress.
By winning they will be putting their companions here at risk. By losing, their homes will be rewritten to be completely different, erasing their place within it. A dire situation indeed. A benefit no matter the outcome. ]
Two different ways of essentially saying the same thing. And that thing is that we're kind of locked in if we want to actually leave. [ he is just leaning against will while lillium has his phone. ]
What I don't get is why they're not just being upfront with it, if these are really part of the rules we're supposed to be playing by.
[he sighs, a little frustrated.]
Yeah, it says we can "act as villains" on Thursday nights, but it doesn't clearly explain the stakes the way this does. The actual rules we have are so vague.
[ who doesn't hate rich people? he feels justified reacting that way to vegas. Reads this note on the phone, too, expression twisting more. ]
I asked Phoenix earlier in the week and they seem to only know as much as us, allegedly, but mentioned if I came across any strange papers then they'd like to know.
So... We need someone to die each week to keep this "door" to return home open. [ He assumes people die when they're killed, so doesn't talk about stealing chances. They dead. ] When they're saying rewritten and then also the light of the moon, could it be that it'd be... Like here? Hero-less, then with the weird moon phases? Lack of dates.
[ Quietly, more to himself: ] Couldn't get worse. Couldn't get weirder. Couldn't be even more beyond me. Unbelievable.
They told me the same. I'm going to take these to them later...it might not be bad for Will to share with Fox, too. Just in case. I don't know how far else this should go, but I can ask Phoenix that, too. Just not today, I don't...really feel up to it.
That's what it sounds like though, yes. One sacrifice, at minimum. [ ... ] I didn't actually think of that, I was more concerned with the whole "you might ruin your world if you're not there" thing.
...yeah, I can bring it to Fox, see what they say. [on Sunday or Monday, though, since. timing. I'm not subjecting the mods to a pretrial PC after execution.]
Although, it sounds to me like I being a requirement is a load of nonsense. It might be because they'll close it on purpose if they're bored or whatever, but - if they were bored of what happened when people weren't dying before, then clearly the door didn't close back then. It can stay open without the deaths, they just don't want it to.
[it isn't a case of that being the only way to keep it open by its design; it's a deliberate choice. so. that makes him madder.]
We need to figure out a way back but we also need to find a way to make sure they don't drag other people in for "another round" once we're gone.
I know my world would be fine without me, so it sounds ridiculous.
[ which is... also why he's like whatever about that. It being changed despite him, a nobody (he's just a guy), being erased is a bigger threat. Changed to be similar to here? also not good if it's a game board. ]
It's all right. I think we should focus on what could possibly happen tonight, instead... Then when things settle, as long as one of us is still around, then the information can pass on.
[ Spread, or whatever. Lillium is more pragmatic, caring less about the semantics, even though he thinks it is worse if it is just for entertainment. ]
Requirement or choice, we don't have control over that. At least not right now. What we have dealt to us are risks and threats to juggle. [ ... ] Is it me or do these notes read differently?
You seem very decisive about that. [ to lillium, and he takes his phone back to pocket it. ] The thing I want to know is if it's a real physical door. If it is, where is it? Can't we just open and close it ourselves? How many rounds has this happened? There's too many questions about it that we have no context for.
[ that is the annoying part. ]
The notes are different. I don't know if they were both written by the same person or what, but the contents don't exactly match. I don't think it's wrong to take both of them seriously, at least, until we know how true it is. [ he makes a face at the mention of thursday night though but he does not voice it. ]
[what's it like to know your world would be 100% fine without you... will's brow furrows a little, but he unfortunately does not know lillium well enough to be able to effectively protest it (even though he clearly looks like he wants to).]
...yeah. If even one of them turns out to be true, then acting like it's not is just going to come back to bite us in the end.
[although he, personally, is hoping that it turns out to be just a load of bs and everything will be fine.
I wasn't looking to do good in the world or kickstart big change. I'm just a drifter making sure I make enough to survive and live peacefully. Demiflora die and disappear every day—no difference if I was one of them.
[ Lillium sees himself as just a guy, no different from other demiflora back at home. Nothing grand, not seeking anything grand—he just wants a mundane life.
So that's his card for both demigods who apparently took part in a war and stopped it to accept his opinion. It really is clam it energy. ]
This doesn't mean I'm okay with dying, for the record.
[ Just so they know he isn't some self-sacrificial idiot. The physical or metaphorical door question has him scrunch his nose because wouldn't it be so funny??? If they could just keep the door open?? Physically? ]
Let's see if talking to the team leads take us anywhere, then. If it's nowhere, then at least we know that... And see if we can get more of those notes to see the bigger picture.
I can't think of that many people who are. [ okay with dying, he means. there are definitely some, and nico himself in his darkest moments has maybe thought about that himself, but that's neither here nor there. now, he doubts any of them are okay with dying because someone else's hand forced them here. that's the real issue. he will not argue about lillium's importance to his own world though.
much. ]
Even if you aren't looking to do good, there have to be people you want to get back to. Consider that motivation enough. [ there's a nod though. ] We can always regroup again once more of us are aware and have touched base with the leaders. If they don't have any ideas themselves, we'll just take matters into our own hands. No big deal.
[THE WAY I READ NICO'S COMMENT AS BEING IN RESPONSE TO TRYING TO DO GOOD OR KICKSTART A BIG CHANGE AND WAS LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T THINK OF MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE? and then i kept reading.]
I would think most people have motivation to try to get back.
[EXCEPT FOR ARGALIA APPARENTLY, WHO JUST WOKE UP AND DECIDED HE WANTED TO CAUSE PROBLEMS TODAY. but will doesn't know about that yet.]
So figuring out whatever these notes actually mean - that's a start for that. I agree we can regroup once we figure out what the leaders do and don't know.
w1 thursday
i'm at fox with will.
[ which is all he says but lillium probably has some Awareness that nico didn't come home and perhaps already knows he was gone, who's to say. he's just going to stay curled up into will instead to see what happens. ]
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anyway will shall be holding onto nico for as long as he wants, so.]
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anyway yeah, they will let him in! it means lillium gets to see nico is just as broody as ever and he's staring up at him plaintively before stepping aside to let him in.
he could fucking stand to explain. anything. but it's fine. will can talk. ]
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Hey, Lillium.
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Hey. [ ... ] We good?
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Better, now. [ ... ] I was going to come back to the dorm this morning, but I didn't get that far. And then when I got back I didn't...[ how do you say "I didn't want to deal around people who aren't used to my specific neuroses" without making it sound like a bigger deal than you think it is. ] It made sense to let you know.
[ Lillium really single-handedly shamed him into checking in always. ]
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anyway will, for his part, is kind of quiet as the two of them talk, but he does look grateful that nico has lillium looking out for him.
(he does not say thank you this time though.)]
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All right. I'm not going to ask what happened unless it's important. [ ... ] So was it at all important? Learn anything useful?
... Go beyond Oceanside?
[ HE WANTS TO FUCKING LEAVE SO BAD ]
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...I ended up in Las Vegas. [ dry. but he does reach into his pocket for a piece of paper. ] This is probably the most important part.
[ the paper is handed to lillium and it says:
The stakes so far have been too boring. Itβs no fun when all they do at the end of the day is go home, so for the next round, weβll spice it up a bit. If they want a chance for anyone to return at all, theyβll have to take that chance from someone else.
One death each week is enough to keep the door open. Kill, or lose everything any of them have cared about. Letβs see how heroic they can be in those conditions. ]
Jolyne was there, too, I guess. I didn't see her, but their team got a similar paper. I can show you that as well. [ he glances at will. ] Am I missing anything, you think?
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...I think that's the stuff that's most relevant to all of us here, yeah.
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Takes the paper. ]
... Great.
[ NOT GREAT ]
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These heroes are unable to return to the worlds they call home while they have yet to win their competition. If a team loses, all those within the team, present and future, those worlds they hail from will come under the light of the moon. Those worlds will be forever changed with the loss of the heroes hailing from them. There is nothing better than a hero under distress.
By winning they will be putting their companions here at risk. By losing, their homes will be rewritten to be completely different, erasing their place within it. A dire situation indeed. A benefit no matter the outcome. ]
Two different ways of essentially saying the same thing. And that thing is that we're kind of locked in if we want to actually leave. [ he is just leaning against will while lillium has his phone. ]
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[he sighs, a little frustrated.]
Yeah, it says we can "act as villains" on Thursday nights, but it doesn't clearly explain the stakes the way this does. The actual rules we have are so vague.
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I asked Phoenix earlier in the week and they seem to only know as much as us, allegedly, but mentioned if I came across any strange papers then they'd like to know.
So... We need someone to die each week to keep this "door" to return home open. [ He assumes people die when they're killed, so doesn't talk about stealing chances. They dead. ] When they're saying rewritten and then also the light of the moon, could it be that it'd be... Like here? Hero-less, then with the weird moon phases? Lack of dates.
[ Quietly, more to himself: ] Couldn't get worse. Couldn't get weirder. Couldn't be even more beyond me. Unbelievable.
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They told me the same. I'm going to take these to them later...it might not be bad for Will to share with Fox, too. Just in case. I don't know how far else this should go, but I can ask Phoenix that, too. Just not today, I don't...really feel up to it.
That's what it sounds like though, yes. One sacrifice, at minimum. [ ... ] I didn't actually think of that, I was more concerned with the whole "you might ruin your world if you're not there" thing.
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...yeah, I can bring it to Fox, see what they say. [on Sunday or Monday, though, since. timing. I'm not subjecting the mods to a pretrial PC after execution.]
Although, it sounds to me like I being a requirement is a load of nonsense. It might be because they'll close it on purpose if they're bored or whatever, but - if they were bored of what happened when people weren't dying before, then clearly the door didn't close back then. It can stay open without the deaths, they just don't want it to.
[it isn't a case of that being the only way to keep it open by its design; it's a deliberate choice. so. that makes him madder.]
We need to figure out a way back but we also need to find a way to make sure they don't drag other people in for "another round" once we're gone.
[WHY DID THIS COME UNTHREADED BEFORE]
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[ which is... also why he's like whatever about that. It being changed despite him, a nobody (he's just a guy), being erased is a bigger threat. Changed to be similar to here? also not good if it's a game board. ]
It's all right. I think we should focus on what could possibly happen tonight, instead... Then when things settle, as long as one of us is still around, then the information can pass on.
[ Spread, or whatever. Lillium is more pragmatic, caring less about the semantics, even though he thinks it is worse if it is just for entertainment. ]
Requirement or choice, we don't have control over that. At least not right now. What we have dealt to us are risks and threats to juggle. [ ... ] Is it me or do these notes read differently?
[ have your phone back nico ]
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[ that is the annoying part. ]
The notes are different. I don't know if they were both written by the same person or what, but the contents don't exactly match. I don't think it's wrong to take both of them seriously, at least, until we know how true it is. [ he makes a face at the mention of thursday night though but he does not voice it. ]
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...yeah. If even one of them turns out to be true, then acting like it's not is just going to come back to bite us in the end.
[although he, personally, is hoping that it turns out to be just a load of bs and everything will be fine.
(he knows that's unlikely.)]
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[ Lillium sees himself as just a guy, no different from other demiflora back at home. Nothing grand, not seeking anything grand—he just wants a mundane life.
So that's his card for both demigods who apparently took part in a war and stopped it to accept his opinion. It really is clam it energy. ]
This doesn't mean I'm okay with dying, for the record.
[ Just so they know he isn't some self-sacrificial idiot. The physical or metaphorical door question has him scrunch his nose because wouldn't it be so funny??? If they could just keep the door open?? Physically? ]
Let's see if talking to the team leads take us anywhere, then. If it's nowhere, then at least we know that... And see if we can get more of those notes to see the bigger picture.
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much. ]
Even if you aren't looking to do good, there have to be people you want to get back to. Consider that motivation enough. [ there's a nod though. ] We can always regroup again once more of us are aware and have touched base with the leaders. If they don't have any ideas themselves, we'll just take matters into our own hands. No big deal.
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I would think most people have motivation to try to get back.
[EXCEPT FOR ARGALIA APPARENTLY, WHO JUST WOKE UP AND DECIDED HE WANTED TO CAUSE PROBLEMS TODAY. but will doesn't know about that yet.]
So figuring out whatever these notes actually mean - that's a start for that. I agree we can regroup once we figure out what the leaders do and don't know.