[ it would be quite disingenuous to call each other friends.

or even net-neutral acquaintances.

like, if this was within nodd's power? absolutely would he have shoved rosie or someone to entertain todomatsu's memories. please.

but then That All happens. they pop out of the rift and nodd blinks a few time. now he knows what an anime is. but. also.

okay. sure. destroying this boy would now be a piece of cake. his weaknesses: known. but is the urge to ruin there?

he stares at todo for a long beat. ]

... Yeah, my siblings were kinda shit, too.

Yeah?

[ he looks... a little conflicted about this evaluation, actually, but shakes himself out of it, rubbing his face. ]

Ughhh. It's... whatever. They brought me back when that Michaelmatsu guy moved back to Florida, I shot all of them, and then we all moved on in the next episode.

[ some of those words track, much like some of the concepts within the memory of an anime, but others--such as florida--remain a mystery. he privately hopes it sucks there. ]

You are a weird little man.

[ says nodd. ]

Not for what you'd think, but--they were jealous of you and treated you badly for it. You were better off without them, not the other way around.

[ found SOLELY in the arcade, nodd is at Str**t F**ghter 2, using his favorite long-haired succubus character. there is a fierceness to how he's smashing those buttons and circling that joystick. ]

[ well he's just MARCHING RIGHT IN HERE ]

Hey! What the fuck was that?!

I used you. I'm an asshole. Should've voted for me.

[ smacks buttons with an intensity that simply isn't fair to the machinery. it didn't do nothing. ]

Are you stupid?! What the hell would that have accomplished? We don't know that whatever messes around with people's heads here that makes them kill in the first place just goes away if they get away with it! In fact, that alert yesterday made it sound like it's probably the opposite! So, what, you were just going to leave Dion-san like that to do the same thing again next week if someone else didn't kill him first?

He's dying tomorrow. It's always a fucking execution. No matter what, he dies tomorrow if he gets voted for.

[ yanking joystick nearly out of its socket ]

That's all I could think.

Yeah, and that sucks, but the alternatives wouldn't be better for anyone except you!

You're angry when I want them in the brig and you're mad when I don't.

[ slamming both hands onto the edge of the machine's control area. breathing in and out before he turns to look at todomatsu directly. ]

There's a whole ship you could be on that isn't here.

Yeah, because you're not on the rest of the ship, and I want to make sure you get this through your head! You think I'm here for my own personal enjoyment??

[ unfortunately he does not back down from things when he's angry. god save this fucking ship if he gets possessed by the murder ragies. ]

Last week we didn't have as much information as we do now. And actually, now that you mention it, that just makes your double standard shittier. Do you really think Dion-san deserves to be saved but Shouxue-san should have suffered?

Edited 2024-03-24 02:44 am (UTC)

Why are you going back--!

[ this was supposed to be his safezone. yet as todo crashes into him and nodd does everything he can to scramble away, it's made worse by their hips sticking together, side-to-side. like they should be wearing a get-along shirt (and that's an idea). ]

Do you have a death wish?

[ shove! elbow! ]

[ a little bit of a yelp as they crash. which he would admit was his fault and apologize for in other circumstances, but. ]

Nope, that's you.

[ SHOVES BACK? ]

Ugh, what the fuck, are you covered in tape or something???

Why would I be covered in tape? What were you doing?

[ attempts to roll away. flails all major limbs when he can't. flops. kicks todomatsu's leg. ]

You stay still and I'll pull off!

I don't know, you're all stick— ow, hey!

[ don't kick him, he doesn't want to have to explain any weird bruises during trial!!

with a huff, he holds onto the railing at the edge of the rink. there, he's staying still. ]

Okay. Good. Great. You stay there.

[ nodd takes a deep breath, hones his focus, gathers all of his power, and starts skating as hard as he can away from todomatsu--

... he gets nowhere. he rapidly wheels in place. it is an exercise in futility. ]

[ nodd has taken over the ballroom, currently using it with a fancy dinner party setup although he is, at present, alone. he's straight up lying across one of the tables.

too bad he's too lazy to be a villain, he definitely has the aesthetic and the drama. anyway, he's drinking--water????? from a goblet. reading something on his i.r.i.s. ]

[ ...pauses in the doorway ]

What the hell are you doing?

A lot of things have been reminding me of my childhood lately. The memory rifts but also some of the missions.

[ rosie..... ]

And it bothers me, more than I want it to.

[ eyebrows raise. ]

So I'm trying immersion.

...So this [ vague gesture at everything going on here ] is supposed to be your childhood??

Some of it.

[ sits up and crosses his legs. ]

I didn't want to use the sim rooms. Too morbid.

[ so you were a slutty vampire as a child is what he's getting here. ok. ]

What's morbid about it?

[ yes. thank you for understanding. him wearing this probably doesn't change the prognosis. ]

The executions.

[ nodd clearly doesn't want to linger on that ]

Why don't you take a seat? Worried we'll fight? I'll win?