jackhole | week 4 | tuesday morning

[ he'll glance over where she gestures and grimace because, ah. yeah. true. then back to miata, he actually looks kind of surprised at the question. ]

No one pulls off the whole "secretly miserable" thing as well as you do without actually being secretly miserable. Maybe it's because we spend so much time with you, but you don't seem like you want to be here anymore than us. After the thing with Leviathan, there's no way you're faking any of this.

[ he sits back in his chair then, raising an eyebrow. ]

Or am I wrong? There has to be one stable thing in this sea of bullshit and it looks like you're it.

I guess not. Something has to balance out the crazy.

[ ... ]

I don't want to be here, no. But I have to be. If I didn't volunteer for the position, my boss would have been your rep herself, and there'd be no one behind the scenes to stop a giant demonic summoning ritual using souls as fuel.

But I'm still her rep. My hands are tied as far as letting people die goes, as far as convincing her I'm on board with all of this.

I'm glad it's you. Always have to respect a good middleman. Otherwise, you could be like... my old boss! Didn't have good PR, ended up dead in a volcano. Don't end up dead in volcano, Miata.

[ he's trying to make it a bit lighthearted (even if the story is true) but for real, don't die on him. he's not sure what he'd do if miata died. ]

That's kind of why I came in here though. I've, uh. I've been thinking of the retired players. Like... Buddy.

[ their argument totally happened earlier today but he swears he's not just trying to talk shit!! ]

Sucks to be him. Lucky there's no volcanoes in this region.

[ .... ]

What about her?

I want to know more about what it means. I guess not her, specifically. Only her role. She's just a kid, anyway. A kid who has it all wrong but a kid nevertheless.

[ he lifts his robot hand to rub at his forehead, eyes closing in frustration. it has been... a very long day for rhys, good god. ]

I don't want a kid to die, by the way. If that's what you're wondering. I know it's what the rest of them think I want. I just think if we're going to go up against a witch of the skill your boss has and also deal with all these demons -- someone like Morrigan is better to have around. Shrewd, smart, also a witch. Even if she's not a mole, she would've been more helpful than someone as unstable as Buddy. Buddy would be fine anyway if we pull this off. None of them know that though, so it's not like I can explain why I'm so mad, huh? Whatever.

[ he drops his hand, arms crossing over his chest as he slumps down in his seat a little, staring down at his shoes. he just... felt the need to explain is all. their argument's still weighing on his head anyway and it's just. bugging him. but then he realizes he didn't ask any questions and his eyes flick up to miata, guilty. ]

Sorry. I -- ... sorry. I wanted to know about retired players. Everyone else thinks retired players count towards the final seven. But... the final seven are going to die anyway if we don't screw over your boss, right? There's no way she'll just let them go. [ ... ] Right?

...she's an Overseer, like me. What do you wanna know, specifically?

[ Miata shakes her head ]

Morrigan's shrewdness, maybe, but her magic couldn't be more different than ours. That's something that wouldn't have made a difference.

[ she shrugs ]

If K--my boss feels like it.

Can she vote? Does her voice still count in the game? If she's not a player anymore, can she still play?

[ he doesn't trust her nor does he like the look in her eyes when she sees him. he doesn't want to risk his safety because of her unstable nature. he needs to know she won't stab him in the back later on, if anything happens to him.

but miata's answer sort of confirms his suspicion and he deflates a little, sighing and rubbing his hands over his face. ]

Okay, okay. So -- that basically confirms it. Yeah. Okay. There's no point in playing the game to retire, if she decides that she doesn't want to let us go anyway. I'm not misreading that, right?

[ but he barrels on anyway because he's wired as hell and just has so many questions. he glances over at the summoning circle and then at miata. it might be pretty obvious why now that he's asking about retiring. why he's asking about buddy's bad opinion risking his safety. why he's asking to tell someone else he's working with miata. rhys is up to something and wants to know all the facts first. so, his next topic isn't much of a leap either. ]

... About Leviathan's deal. Final thing, I swear. I was thinking, uhm. Do you think I could talk to Mammon? For a second. I just want to know her before I like, betray her, I guess?

No. She can't vote, and she doesn't get affected by the motives.

[ ... ]

Basically. It only gives you safety for a certain amount of time, and then you're as dead as everyone else. A delayed execution is still an execution.

[ Oh, she knows. He wouldn't be asking this with the mole crew not here if he wasn't up to something. She's just gauging when's the best time to say something. ]

You can, yeah, but I dunno why you'd want to. She's batshit crazy, dude; you saw what she did to Sisuca.

Can she still get eaten by uh, who was it -- Beelzebub? 'Cause that should, like, not be a thing. She needs to be careful.

[ rhys, the way you show concern is weird and hypocritical. please stop.

but good, alright. that gives him an answer to... one thing, at least. now, how to figure out how to tell break without telling break he's a mole. this is, uh, a bit more difficult than he'd like. ]

... Yeah, but I still want to hear her side of the story. Ten minutes, that's all I ask. I won't tell her anything. I just want to know her reasoning.

Can't see why he would, if she's retired.

[ Miata stands up, folding her arms and looking him straight in the eye ]

Tell me what you're planning, first.

Huh.

[ something to think about, at least, and he's still thinking about it when miata stands and --

oh no. oh gosh. rhys just gives a bit of a grimace and recoils back into his seat a little. can he lie to miata?

... no. he'd never lie to miata. he just told her he trusted her. everyone else he'll lie to, but he won't lie to her. he wants to be good. he wants to work with her and he wants to save everyone. he'd never lie to miata. ]

... I was talking to ... someone. [ seriously, who else could it be? ] And they want to take advantage of the accomplice rule. Like Morrigan did but better. But they don't know what I know about the game. He -- They. They think if we retire, that's it. An auto-win.

[ is that it, should he stop now...? no, it's all coming out. ]

I-I think I want to convince him. Them. They. Out of it? But I don't want him -- shit! I don't want him to die either! But there's no safety here, right? And, I don't know. Maybe if I take Leviathan's deal, that'll help? I can try and... protect him... them... I guess. But I want to know as much as I can first before I do anything.

[ king weenie has spoken!! there, that's all his plans, miata. it's like three in the fucking morning and he's been awake for too fucking long to have a spine. aaagghh. ]

I just don't want my friends to die, man. That's it. I don't want anyone to die!

[ Oh good she didn't have to friendship speech him. She was preparing to but thank god.

Miata's quiet for a good, long moment, redirecting her gaze at the ceiling. ]

You're talking about Break and Gilbert, right? Boss has been keeping an eye on them since day one, so yeah, I know about their little mass murder plan. Kinda stupid, but then, that's exactly what she wants, I guess.

[ ... ] She thinks it's funny, she thinks they're hilarious. I wouldn't be surprised if she went to Break herself and went 'hey, wanna not have Parallel Fantasy Universe Tuberculosis and have both your eyes again?' or something so they could keep doing crazy things.

[ She frowns ] So. If you want to try to talk them down, more power to you.

[ Miata swipes a piece of chalk from the chalkboard and stoops down next to the chalk circle on the floor. She pulls some papers from her pocket and, checking it, makes a few additions in the margins and spaces around it--including the greed symbol in the middle. ]

...last call, you sure about this? You're gonna have to be really fucking careful about what you say to her.

[ oh thank god, he didn't betray break. they already knew! they already knew and now... now he feels kind of dumb.

he rather feel dumb than like a traitor though. so, rhys just nods uselessly at miata's question and listens to her explanation and. alright. he'll try to get break not to kill anyone. that'll be... super easy... sure. ]

Okay, no murdering. I can do that. Oh god.

[ but onto other things -- like greed mom! he's actually really nervous the more miata stresses how careful he has to be and his eyes widen slightly before nodding. no, this is something he wants to do. it's definitely something he has to do first. ]

It's alright, Miata. I'll be careful. I promise.

Easier said than done, right?

[ A short little laugh, shaking her head.

She arranges her palms on the edges of the circle, closing her eyes, and concentrating. For a few moments there's nothing, but then a great flash of white light overwhelms the room. ]

[ When the light fades, someone is standing within the circle.

What's immediately noticeable is the huge amount of chains draping over her person. Shackles are affixed to her neck, waist, and all four of her limbs, bolted to various rusted weights resting on the floor. Red tattoos crawl up her face and arms, etched lines standing out against pale skin and eerie yellow eyes.

By typical logic, someone of her tiny, tiny frame shouldn't be able to move easily with the sheer amount of weight tying her down, but she does so easily. She even takes one of the chains attached to her arm, and begins swinging the weight around in a bored fashion. ]

Uhuhuhuhu, what do we have, here?

[ rhys takes a sharp breath as mammon shows up and stands up from his seat to face her. she is... not what he expected but also very much what he expected. his eyes flick towards the swinging chain and he frowns.

oh, this was a mistake. this was a big, big mistake.

oh god. ]

Uh, hey. [ a short, awkward wave with the robot hand. ] Are you the greed demon?

[ Her eyes instantly home in on Rhys the second he begins speaking. The same unnerving feeling from talking to Leviathan starts creeping in, again. There is something just wrong with her. ]

That's right, name's Mammon! [ said proudly ] Wassup, sissy boy?

[ This interaction will go greatly. ]

[ there is definitely some internal screaming going on here but rhys manages to keep a straight face! he's... mostly focusing on breathing, honestly, and not running the fuck away. ]

Mammon, right. [ he knew that but he wasn't going to say it until she offered it, of course. ] Do you know about what's going?

That's a pretty broad question.

[ Whup. Whup. The weight swings dangerously close to Miata and Rhys, though misses them each time.

Miata puts her arm out to make Rhys step back a foot or two. ]

Edited 2016-03-18 02:09 (UTC)

[ yeah, he is... definitely going to take that step back. his eyes flick upwards to the weight and he swallows. ]

I guess it is, huh? Sorry. I mean about the people here, like me. The people who aren't supposed to be here. Do you know about us?

What, you extra-dimensional guests? A'course I do, that's the whole reason we're here, yanno.

[ a nod from rhys. ]

You and the other demons? Uh, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath?

[ just to name them all! ]

... Would you not be here without us or something?

week 4 | tuesday morning

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