⬣//A BRIEF REPRIEVE

[cccorp]

>>Look at me.

⬣//BREATHE. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY.

This is your Official™ catch-all log for the month of November. While the boss battles rage on, those of you who are looking to disengage from combat and kick your feet up for a spell can do so here.

Post your open prompts in this post. Closed starters may also be posted here or on @Altimit, but all open posts belong here in this log. Lawbreakers will be bent over the modly knee and paddled into compliance. Thank you.

>>Navigation

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[insinning]

[Sinclair doesn't flinch at it; how often had that been on his mind before? He puts a chip in, cutting Oria off]

...yeah. But Hani will be upset.

[dissimulative]

I know. Tylor would be too.

[ He ran a dungeon with the three together and he assumes that their dynamics have been kept the same.

Oriade builds on Sinclair's blocking chip with his own. ]

[insinning]

[He'll extend his line a little further then. His brow furrows a little. ]

...yeah, Tylor too. I'm sure he's already... [That was the most frustrating thing about all of this, wasn't it? How much their friends were hurting still.] ...I don't want to put Hani in a difficult place again.

[Hani had made their choice against Misteaks--or Tarvos at the meeting, without flinching. But Hani had been bothered, their clear waters so muddied...]

[dissimulative]

[ Oriade remembers something that he talked about in Fragment and ponders over it before putting the next chip in. ]

"I could never be like my dad. He's always looking for the least amount of casualties in business for the priority of not wanting to trample other businesses as much as he can. He knows it's an inevitable thing, but he does his best to reduce losses for everyone. That's why people flock to him and how some mistake that as naivete, only for them to be turned upside down on their heads when they find out that it's not the case."

[ Oriade smiles a little. ]

I can't be like him.

[insinning]

[There's a tug of a memory, something that tells him that Oriade shouldn't want to be like his dad anyway; he's not sure why, when they've never really discussed his parents here. But he knows that with a certainty Oriade's father had done something that hurt his family deeply, and Oriade had been suffering, before...before...

When?]

I wouldn't want you to be anyone but 'Oria' anyway.

[Another chip in, the patterns now disconnected and strange]

You've always encouraged me to make my own choices, even if you disagreed or thought it was a bad move. I want the same for you, no matter what.

[Tainted by the stench of death, all three of them: him, Oria and Mithrun. Was it how they grew up?]

[dissimulative]

[ It sure has... Oriade smiles at that. ]

I think you should always be allowed to have choices, you know, as a human right.

[ Not as a flimsy treat. He puts another chip in. He's so close and hoping Sinclair doesn't notice. ]

But what I meant to say is that I'm not as merciful as him. I don't think I can be like that anymore... for the better or for the worse.

[insinning]

I know. [Sinclair shoots Oriade a rueful smile, and he wonders if he wasn't clear enough. He studies the patterns again, his fingers hovering over something and shifting at the last moment, frowning as he cuts Oriade off once more. That was close...]

With what you've been through...I know. [Misplaced, mismatched memories. Conversations he knows he had, not quite aligning with things he thinks he remembers about them, about Oriade and their time together.]

...what did you feel when Michel's door was opened?

[dissimulative]

[ If Oriade tried to make sense of the timeline right now, his head would explode and he'd probably pass out again. He swears he isn't this frail usually. What he's been through... what happened when Michel's door opened...

... ]

Pretty angry. I felt like I wanted to lash out because I felt alone and wasn't understood by people whom I wanted them to understand.

[ He's seen that memory himself too, back in the mirrors. Oriade understands the feeling so deeply. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair is quiet for a moment, turning a chip over between his fingers. Again and again]

... it was similar for me. Except, all I could feel was the overwhelming need to kill someone. Rip them to shreds for the humiliation and misery they put me through...

[He gives a soft little exhale. It confirmed something he hadn't wanted to say: opening that door caused Gorre to rampage, left Fai half dead and Yael without a leg. It made Mithrun lose his mind and Miharu...]

...that door never should have been opened. We should have listened more... thought it out more.

[dissimulative]

[ ...

Oriade picks up his chip and pokes Sinclair's forehead with it. ]

Hey.

[ There's a slightly stern voice. ]

You already learned from it and you'll do better next time. Besides, you can't tell everyone what to do in that sort of situation, so don't beat yourself up over it.

[ He slots in the chip. ]

[insinning]

Ow. [ It doesn't hurt at all but he feels like he should say it for form's sake. He opens his mouth to protest, that he wasn't beating himself up but...okay, maybe he was a little. He huffs, nodding as he inserts another chip. One more and]

I know...I wouldn't know how to yell at people to listen anyway.

[dissimulative]

You can only yell at people when you're really mad.

[ Oriade has more or less accepted that now, but he grins as he inserts the chip and wins (heads). He was very lucky that Sinclair somehow didn't see it due to meta. ]

Besides, if you ever need someone to help rally others, you can count on me to do it for you.

[ Except the upcoming week's boss battles. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair pouts at his loss--how did he miss that? But it was a good game. ]

Mm. You're more suited to that than me. [a pause, as he looks pointedly at Oriade's breathing mask] But first, you need to rest properly.

[dissimulative]

Can't a Wavemaster come in and like... suck the water out or something?

[ Oriade huffs as he goes back to lying down on the bed. ]

That would be easy.

[insinning]

...that sounds like it would be more painful.

[Sinclair gets up to put the games away, and--oh, helper AIs. Okay, they can take that away, no problem. He'll sit back down sheepishly--can he at least request one of the lego sets--yes? okay, yay]

[dissimulative]

Can't be worse than prolonged pain.

[ :T

Helper AIs can more than happy to assist so that the patients don't work as hard. They come back with a lego set for Sinclair. It's a giant box. Size of three heads maybe. ]

What are you gonna make?

[insinning]

I think something like that would definitely make you pass out, and draw out your recovery for even longer.

[Sinclair brightens at the box--did he make it this big or did Haru or Hani do this while he wasn't paying attention. Hmm. He shrugs, putting some pieces together]

Maybe a tree house?

[a challenge...]

[dissimulative]

They didn't even get the water out--

[ Oriade starts coughing again. Ugh. Ugh!! You know what, he's exhausted so he's slumping into his bed. ]

I wanna see the treehouse when you finish it...

[insinning]

[Sinclair glances over in concern, but he nods]

Mm. I'll leave it for you to see when you wake up.

[So get some rest...]

[dissimulative]

Mm... Okay.

[ Oriade takes his glasses off and holds it out to Sinclair so that he can put them away for him. ]

G'night...

[insinning]

[Sinclair takes Oriade's glasses and puts them on the side table]

Good night.

[ Have a light kiss to the forehead Oriade. And Sinclair will go back to building his lego tree house ( make his escape to check on Punisher and Memoir before returning). When Oriade wakes up there's a tree house sitting by his table, along with a bowl of soup. Sinclair is being a good boy and has returned to his bed to sleep some more. Ganba both of them]