[ Richard finds himself entering the solarium at some point, with a book easily sourced from the library in hand. He was content with just reading, but coming across Andrew is enough to reprioritize things for him, at least for now. ]
The level of detail is impressive here, is it not? If one did not know any better, one would think that whoever owned this place would have a vast amount of attachés at their disposal.
[She's here for the plants, the same way she's wandered the gardens in the afternoon and at night, showing a superficial curiosity for their classifications.]
I thought so, too. This place would fall to filth without a staff, and yet...
[She spreads her empty arms quite wide; from an angle, they might even encompass the whole of the solarium.]
We are utterly alone here...and yet somehow never without another's company.
[It's not true, she thinks without saying it to him. She has always felt alone, even in houses and buildings filled with people. The reality is that she doesn't demand the kind of berth she receives from every living human being elsewhere, and there's some pretending, here, that maybe she was better groomed for society. She's watched the microcosm of it on Lillian's floors enough, at least.]
Once the food is gone, it's gone. So I've noticed anyway. He'd better figure something out before he starves us.
Assuming he has full control over the dimension, I wouldn't expect that to be a problem... if it comes down to I should have enough energy to not have to eat, so perhaps some of us extraordinary types can help stretch the rations somewhat.
[ He frowns, his brow furrowing a little bit. ]
Do you want to be alone? I do not mean to intrude, if that is the case.
You're a man. Surely your appetite far exceeds mine. [Andrew surveys the room around them. The peaceful sunlight and the beautiful exotic plants are welcoming, but it's difficult to think and take in their beauty with company.]
...Yes. I do think I'd like a moment to gather my thoughts.
[this is going to sound like i just want to kill this pc since we've moved on but she might have really done that this early in the game. sometimes playing a bitch pays off yippee]
[ After the business with Andrew and Chara, Richard's not exactly keen on her walking back to her villa alone. So he'll catch up with her on the way down from the ballroom. ]
Andrew. Do you need help?
[ Is she going to start bleeding again........... where'd Urianger take her last time, anyway... ]
[She is surprisingly unaccosted when Richard approaches her, though exhaustion has started to settle into her features. It makes her look a little older, the way the skin under her eyes becomes so dark and baggy.]
I just need to return to my suite, Saber. Anyone who wanted to kill me had their chance back there in that room.
[Though she doesn't fully seem to believe this, given the tension in her shoulders. She Fucked Up, and she's trying to think through that while simultaneously making her retreat.]
The least? [Well.] If you think you owe me something, I can try and figure out what that might be, too.
[Still, she acquiesces to being escorted, waiting for him to walk beside her in a performance of a lady's actions.]
I think it's my debts I should think about repaying. [Things have shifted. She played a bad hand. Of course she's curious what he might want from her now of all times.]
[So he's nosy and perhaps fancies himself a hero... all right then.]
I'm sure there's more to it, but they wanted a strong reaction to someone threatening violence. They were in control of that reaction, and it also revealed who respond most strongly to that kind of advance.
[As for what they wanted from her? Well, she thinks they might have been testing her words to Bradley. Her life had already been wagered in that last foolish bet she had made.]
If someone approaches Ayaka with a loaded gun, what will you do? Everyone knows the answer to that question.
How many could say the same for what you'd do if I were the one being approached?
[Maybe he would, regardless of who was approached. But hopefully her explanation still catches on. People reveal themselves in times of crisis. She had, unfortunately, revealed herself to be impulsive and childish.]
... Siffrin is liked by many people. For one of them to speak up would still leave the same doubt that condemned them. I thought Yoru might speak; he was eager to be chosen at the start of the night.
[She could have been crueler to them. Would have, maybe, if things had been different, if she hadn't thought about their birds. If she let a little more of her father's despicable blood burn in her.]
I'd be more interested in someone speaking up who wasn't close to them or someone I'd expect to who didn't.
[ After all of that... she's back in the clock room, having somehow gotten her furry little ass back onto the second floor.
Time and memory... and neither of them have ever been very kind to her. Now she's relying on them to...what? To save a group of people she cannot care about?
If Saber is back to begin dummy thicc and wearing armor instead of appropriating lesbian fashion, she'll probably hear him coming. If not, she'll wait until she can see him - just a little capybara standing in the middle of the room.]
[ By the sound of him approaching, it's pretty clear that he's given up his appropriating ways and went back to the armor. After Ayaka got hurt because of him, all such notions of not roasting in this metal oven at all times went out the window. ]
She is. The spray took care of most of the wound. [ ... ] Thank you. For your offer.
[Siffrin isn't very big, but he embedded the entire blade of his object body in Ayaka's shoulder. He would have pieced deep enough, even if it was a tiny wound. There's a nasty part of her that's glad that it might leave the mark behind, a nastier part that's glad the rapid healing from the spray might add to the mark remaining behind.]
If it wasn't used, the spray would go to waste. [She's still looking at him , and never has a long silence from an inanimate object felt so leaden with things that haven't been said.]
[ The healing spray had done wonders on Ayaka's hands from where she had tripped down the stairs to the garden. It did minimal work on her ankle, though, so... ]
She's not gone back to your suite after you passed, you know. Aside from when the loop forced her back.
[ He's not sure if that's really something for him to say, but... ]
[The plushie stares silently at him. Whether it's his to say or not, it doesn't really matter - she doesn't even know what the point of telling her is.]
Of course not. You're her protection, and she wants to be yours as well.
[Knowing what she knows now, Andrew also knows that she was the last openly blameable person responsible for Siffrin's conviction. Now that she's gone, it's more fraught, isn't it?]
Looking out for each other is how you have survived while others have not.
I won't deny that that has been the case. [ personal partner murdergame hell, indeed. ] But if had just come down to that, I would've asked her to move much sooner.
[ And probably try and kick people out, but that's neither here nor there. ]
What I mean to say is that she was greatly affected by your death. Given the amount of vitriol she gave to Cornelius when things came to light, it's clear that she greatly cares for you.
[ Unless he's misread the situation, which is possible. He's a lesbian, thinking's hard. ]
Was she that bothered? It's not as if she didn't know something was bound to happen to me.
[Andrew had not been shy. At least a half-dozen people know she thought it might happen - that, given its apparent inevitability, she had hoped the threat could at least be leveraged.
She'd ended up culled like a sick animal anyway, as much as she wanted to think that going out to face her killer gave the dignity of not being shot down in her villa bedroom like a dog in a cage.]
... Does she care for me? [The capybara hesitates. This isn't quite as sharp-edged as the previous question. She actually doesn't genuinely know if care is what either of them have for one another. She thinks Ayaka likely never trusted her.]
Are those thing mutually exclusive? Even when taking the context into consideration?
[ Ayaka had said something about how Andrew had seemed to be thinking, not long before the trial started. They had talked about whether they should say something, but, as things tend to do, it got away.
It didn't change what had happened. Andrew had still died because they didn't say anything. ]
I cannot truly speak for her, as it is not my place. [ which begs the question of why he said it to begin with, but shhhhh. ] But I would say so. Without question.
Then why'd you bring it up? [Maybe he can envision her surly, somewhat immature expression -- too childish for the grown woman she is but fitting of the child who never received love that she also is.
But she's just a capybara, so her expression remains impassive.
Maybe it's that she knows now that no one would step in to protect her, might have even reveled at her death, her life as easy to discard as paper - a sentiment the narration must be clear is fully her thoughts and hers alone, driving by her lonely, wounded heart.]
I've never had friends. I wasn't allowed around others all that often, and when I was I didn't want to be there.
Because I have an unfortunate habit of sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, it seems. A curse from my deeds in life, it seems.
[ The image of a man in full armor talking to a stuffed capybara in a room full of clocks is an image unlike no other, but Richard doesn't really seem to notice the humor of it, as he takes a step closer to the pushie and kneels down closer to her as she talks.
It rings familiar, even if different circumstances. He'd never really had them, either. Not really. He was only ever looked at with envy at his talents or fear of what he would do unprovoked. ]
[She's pretty aware of the hilarity of the image and also with the weird boundaries of her capyabra-possessing existence.]
Ish's gambit the first week was more effective than I'd like to admit. [She sounds a little rueful but also pensive.] Of course, I didn't take stock of what he was really doing at the time.
I wonder... should I have allowed myself to care for even one of you?
[Maybe she does... want to be here, that is. And maybe she hates that.]
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bellelurette pc: andrew
w1, pre-event i guess...........wheezing
The level of detail is impressive here, is it not? If one did not know any better, one would think that whoever owned this place would have a vast amount of attachés at their disposal.
no subject
I thought so, too. This place would fall to filth without a staff, and yet...
[She spreads her empty arms quite wide; from an angle, they might even encompass the whole of the solarium.]
We are utterly alone here...and yet somehow never without another's company.
no subject
[ Not that this place is small enough that they're all on top of each other, but. There's a finite amount of space to run. ]
I wonder if Witch's pocket dimension means things simply stay in stasis, or if it self-corrects.
no subject
[It's not true, she thinks without saying it to him. She has always felt alone, even in houses and buildings filled with people. The reality is that she doesn't demand the kind of berth she receives from every living human being elsewhere, and there's some pretending, here, that maybe she was better groomed for society. She's watched the microcosm of it on Lillian's floors enough, at least.]
Once the food is gone, it's gone. So I've noticed anyway. He'd better figure something out before he starves us.
no subject
[ He frowns, his brow furrowing a little bit. ]
Do you want to be alone? I do not mean to intrude, if that is the case.
no subject
...Yes. I do think I'd like a moment to gather my thoughts.
[this is going to sound like i just want to kill this pc since we've moved on but she might have really done that this early in the game. sometimes playing a bitch pays off yippee]
no subject
[ But he's got no reason to hang around and bother her, so he's fine with leaving her be, for the time being. ]
As you wish.
[ And then, with a slight nod, he's outtie! Great work everyone. ]
w2, post trial
Andrew. Do you need help?
[ Is she going to start bleeding again........... where'd Urianger take her last time, anyway... ]
no subject
I just need to return to my suite, Saber. Anyone who wanted to kill me had their chance back there in that room.
[Though she doesn't fully seem to believe this, given the tension in her shoulders. She Fucked Up, and she's trying to think through that while simultaneously making her retreat.]
no subject
Allow me to escort you back, then. It's the least I can do.
no subject
[Still, she acquiesces to being escorted, waiting for him to walk beside her in a performance of a lady's actions.]
I think it's my debts I should think about repaying. [Things have shifted. She played a bad hand. Of course she's curious what he might want from her now of all times.]
no subject
[ He nods, following along beside her, like they were in some kind of court. ]
About Siffrin, you mean?
no subject
They knew what they were doing. They acted very deliberately. But I appreciate their gesture despite what happened.
[For such a young person, Chara seems particular. Andrew can only imagine they like seeing people react a certain way, too.]
I don't like being mocked as a fool.
no subject
... I honestly don't know what kind of reaction they were looking to get.
[ they scoffed at him???? when they were the one who was advancing with the knife with no context???? ]
no subject
I'm sure there's more to it, but they wanted a strong reaction to someone threatening violence. They were in control of that reaction, and it also revealed who respond most strongly to that kind of advance.
[As for what they wanted from her? Well, she thinks they might have been testing her words to Bradley. Her life had already been wagered in that last foolish bet she had made.]
no subject
A reaction from you? Or others?
no subject
If someone approaches Ayaka with a loaded gun, what will you do? Everyone knows the answer to that question.
How many could say the same for what you'd do if I were the one being approached?
[Maybe he would, regardless of who was approached. But hopefully her explanation still catches on. People reveal themselves in times of crisis. She had, unfortunately, revealed herself to be impulsive and childish.]
no subject
Was there one that you were hoping to see, in that case?
no subject
[She could have been crueler to them. Would have, maybe, if things had been different, if she hadn't thought about their birds. If she let a little more of her father's despicable blood burn in her.]
I'd be more interested in someone speaking up who wasn't close to them or someone I'd expect to who didn't.
week 4, tuesday
Time and memory... and neither of them have ever been very kind to her. Now she's relying on them to...what? To save a group of people she cannot care about?
If Saber is back to begin dummy thicc and wearing armor instead of appropriating lesbian fashion, she'll probably hear him coming. If not, she'll wait until she can see him - just a little capybara standing in the middle of the room.]
Is Ayaka asleep?
no subject
She is. The spray took care of most of the wound. [ ... ] Thank you. For your offer.
[ He knows neither of them deserve it, but...
no subject
[Siffrin isn't very big, but he embedded the entire blade of his object body in Ayaka's shoulder. He would have pieced deep enough, even if it was a tiny wound. There's a nasty part of her that's glad that it might leave the mark behind, a nastier part that's glad the rapid healing from the spray might add to the mark remaining behind.]
If it wasn't used, the spray would go to waste. [She's still looking at him , and never has a long silence from an inanimate object felt so leaden with things that haven't been said.]
no subject
[ The healing spray had done wonders on Ayaka's hands from where she had tripped down the stairs to the garden. It did minimal work on her ankle, though, so... ]
She's not gone back to your suite after you passed, you know. Aside from when the loop forced her back.
[ He's not sure if that's really something for him to say, but... ]
no subject
Of course not. You're her protection, and she wants to be yours as well.
[Knowing what she knows now, Andrew also knows that she was the last openly blameable person responsible for Siffrin's conviction. Now that she's gone, it's more fraught, isn't it?]
Looking out for each other is how you have survived while others have not.
no subject
[ And probably try and kick people out, but that's neither here nor there. ]
What I mean to say is that she was greatly affected by your death. Given the amount of vitriol she gave to Cornelius when things came to light, it's clear that she greatly cares for you.
[ Unless he's misread the situation, which is possible. He's a lesbian, thinking's hard. ]
no subject
[Andrew had not been shy. At least a half-dozen people know she thought it might happen - that, given its apparent inevitability, she had hoped the threat could at least be leveraged.
She'd ended up culled like a sick animal anyway, as much as she wanted to think that going out to face her killer gave the dignity of not being shot down in her villa bedroom like a dog in a cage.]
... Does she care for me? [The capybara hesitates. This isn't quite as sharp-edged as the previous question. She actually doesn't genuinely know if care is what either of them have for one another. She thinks Ayaka likely never trusted her.]
no subject
[ Ayaka had said something about how Andrew had seemed to be thinking, not long before the trial started. They had talked about whether they should say something, but, as things tend to do, it got away.
It didn't change what had happened. Andrew had still died because they didn't say anything. ]
I cannot truly speak for her, as it is not my place. [ which begs the question of why he said it to begin with, but shhhhh. ] But I would say so. Without question.
no subject
But she's just a capybara, so her expression remains impassive.
Maybe it's that she knows now that no one would step in to protect her, might have even reveled at her death, her life as easy to discard as paper - a sentiment the narration must be clear is fully her thoughts and hers alone, driving by her lonely, wounded heart.]
I've never had friends. I wasn't allowed around others all that often, and when I was I didn't want to be there.
no subject
[ The image of a man in full armor talking to a stuffed capybara in a room full of clocks is an image unlike no other, but Richard doesn't really seem to notice the humor of it, as he takes a step closer to the pushie and kneels down closer to her as she talks.
It rings familiar, even if different circumstances. He'd never really had them, either. Not really. He was only ever looked at with envy at his talents or fear of what he would do unprovoked. ]
Do you want to be here?
no subject
[She's pretty aware of the hilarity of the image and also with the weird boundaries of her capyabra-possessing existence.]
Ish's gambit the first week was more effective than I'd like to admit. [She sounds a little rueful but also pensive.] Of course, I didn't take stock of what he was really doing at the time.
I wonder... should I have allowed myself to care for even one of you?
[Maybe she does... want to be here, that is. And maybe she hates that.]