[Week 2] Late late late evening 321

[breakaleginhalf]

[The voice that chimes in on the network is tired, and aching, and a whole host of other things Gil is very obviously holding back only tenuously.]

Someone needs... can someone go check on Matthew. Please. Liminal Space. He's...

[A long silence.]

...I dunno if he's-- he's not cavosophia. He's not. [It almost sounds more like he's reassuring himself.] But I-- ...Ghalib hurt him.

Comments

Private; Psychic Protection II

[capital_asset]

Gil? What is it?

Re: Private; Psychic Protection II

[breakaleginhalf]

[There's no response immediately - Gil can't mute the network, so he's actively ignoring it.

Which means the only indication something is happening is a sudden sense of distant, amplified fear through the True Bond with Raidou - and then a Tell that Almas and Raidou both receive, along with most of Fallenheart.

Shortly after, their Bond goes slack.]

[happyhalloween]

Okay!

Private; Psychic Protection II

[capital_asset]

[Raidou knows what that slackness means.

There are times when he wishes he could be as open, as loud with his grief and pain as other people here can. But he can't. He's had too many years of people not wanting to hear him, and now he can't even bring himself to rage and cry over someone who does. And he knows it's temporary, knows Gil will be back in a few days' time, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

In Fallenheart, he drops to his knees, silent and stunned.]

[breakaleginhalf]

I'm not Judgement's. I'm Magician's. ROSE, people call her.

I doubt being a healer would be much good. People are just... going extinct. This isn't small-scale, kid.

[desperate_times_right]

Sorry. Sorry, I’m trying to be cool about it, yeah? But she’s not dead all the way. She’s gone, but I’m still her.

[breakaleginhalf]

You're allowed to not be cool about it. I'm losing my shit from being on the other fucking end of it, that's...

God. I'm sorry.

[youandyoualone]

It was an apt choice of Infiltration, yes.

[He is a shifty bastard. He won't object to the name calling.

It's tempting to press at Gil to find a way anyway... but it clearly won't do any good to, given how upset the young man is, and truly, it isn't a bad thing that Gil himself is so very reluctant to interfere with anyone's minds.]

Well and so. I still think it is better you stay within Ghalib, if only to keep him from committing further evils.

[lightnovelexperiences]

No, it’s not.

...but we’re, like. Travellers. We have bullshit from dozens if not hundreds of worlds.

We need to unfuck enough Earth to grow food in, deal with the cult, and prepare for the Nation-Eaters. These are smaller problems than “world’s glitched, abort/retry/fail.” These are problems small enough to handle.

I can’t think this place is doomed. Even if we slow the inevitable, that’s something, right?

[breakaleginhalf]

Yeah. That's the fucking plan. I dunno if anyone could...

[He has to pause, as a brief wave of nausea and guilt flickers in and out of life.]

...if anyone else could stop him, he's. A strong psychic. And a Magnator, he can just- boost himself.

[youandyoualone]

There is a reason his forefathers were able to rule for a thousand years.




... I suppose telling you that Cabal was planning to neutralize him once they had their united Vale will not help much.

[breakaleginhalf]

Not really, but Qabil seemed like he was ready to kill me anyway, he reaved me and found out I-- Ghalib did that. He was furious.

I don't...

[And then his attention focuses elsewhere with a sudden thread of alarm.]

--wait.

[youandyoualone]

Gil--?

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil does not reply.

But he does, a minute later, yell..

And then he's gone.]

[breakaleginhalf]

You think I don't know all that? I just came out of back-seat riding a guy who wanted to rule this fucking place, I know what shit-ass problems they have to deal with.

[It's the low, sullen anger of exhaustion that burns in his words there; but after a long pause, his mood dulls back to just. Tired. More so, now.]

Look. I'm. Not okay, so I'm not really in the mood for your hopeful outlook, alright? Sorry.

[lightnovelexperiences]

No. I’m sorry, I -

You have enough to deal with. I’m sorry.

[desperate_times_right]

You know I can’t exactly judge you over nightmare overlays anyway.

It’s just that like, she’s gonna die, you know? What’s left of her. And it’s going to be because of me. Either I’m controlling her and get her killed or she goes catatonic again when I leave here and they fucking ... mercy kill her or whatever. This is all she’s got left and I’ve got to make it count.

[breakaleginhalf]

Dude, it is not your fucking fault. You're not the one that was like, hey, here's a great idea, let's rip out someone's psyche and see what happens! Doesn't matter if there's nothing there to fill it, no one cared about her anyway!

[The self-loathing is very, very real.]

...you just got stuck in it. ['Because of me.']

[desperate_times_right]

You didn’t choose this either, you know.

[breakaleginhalf]

What can I say, I'm used to being the bad guy.

[Not that this is the usual way it played out for him. He was supposed to be the Monster, not the Villain.]

[desperate_times_right]

Listen, we know whose fault it is, what happened to Hana. And we know whose fault it is that we’re experiencing this shit at all.

If I didn’t feel responsible for the rest of this woman’s life I’d want to strike too.

[breakaleginhalf]

[The huff he gives almost sounds amused.] Right?

I can see why they did the first time, jesus fucking christ. Everything about this is the worst.

[desperate_times_right]

It sounds like this god king was like your guy but worse.

[breakaleginhalf]

What d'you expect, he was my great grandfather.

[desperate_times_right]

Hey, mine had decent parents and she still turned out like this.