newlydead r2 - day 11 - june

[jinglebros]

[ Santa leads the way into his dressing room and yanks off the robes as soon as they get there. He's in jeans and a tshirt underneath. His dressing room is now a C O M P L E T E mess, with clothing all over the floor and the chair shoved into a corner. He throws the robes onto one stomped down pile which looks like someone's maybe been napping on it a lot. ]

Is it better to send Corrin to the hotel or keep him from it.

Comments

[exequte]

[JUNE IS GETTING PRETTY USED TO THIS ROUTINE WITH HIM BY NOW. She's a little concerned at the state of his dressing room, though. That doesn't seem good. She hops up backwards onto the makeup counter and sits on the end, swinging her legs and watching him.]

How am I supposed to know? The hotel should keep him safe, but I don't know if it's better.

[She is looking a little awkwardly at that pile in the corner.]

You know you that I'm here for you, right?

[jinglebros]

[ He sits down on the floor, crisscross style, and looks up at her. ]

Yeah, I know. You always are.

[ He runs a hand through his hair, sighing. ]

I appreciate it.

[exequte]

Good. Now, do you need anything?

[She's trying to avoid asking if he's alright because he's really not but she doesn't wanna come at him when he's all truth serumed like that.]

[jinglebros]

I need a hell of a lot of things. I need to cry, I need that alcohol, I need Corrin, I need Niles. I'm not going to get any of it.

[ He flops backwards on the clothes and stares at the ceiling. ]

[exequte]

[She nudges his knee with her toe.]

You don't need that alcohol. I'm going to run out of medicine eventually, you know, and I can't give it all to you until I do.

[jinglebros]

Okay, then I just need the rest of it.

[ He inhales and exhales, a bit too quickly. Trying not to hyperventilate here. ]

[exequte]

Nothing's stopping you from crying, and Corrin is still here. He's not going to turn away from you now. Niles isn't here, exactly, but he's still close by. Maybe talk into a camera for him if you have anything you need to say. He won't be able to respond, I think, but he'll probably still see it.

[jinglebros]

Everything is stopping me from crying. I have to go hard and be strong, or else I won't get votes. And my votes are what keeps things working for us.

[exequte]

[FROWNS AT HIM NOW]

So you're saying you have to in front of me too? We're all alone in here, you dummy.

[jinglebros]

[ Makes a whining noise in his throat. ]

I just don't want to cry in front of you because then I'll make you uncomfortable and upset and I never want to do that.

[exequte]

[Oh, dang it]

Seeing you unhappy makes me uncomfortable and upset already. I'd rather help you do something about it.

[Normally she might not have said that, exactly, but there's no getting around the truth now, and in this case she doesn't even try too hard to dodge it.]

[jinglebros]

There's one thing you can do to help me. It'll really, really help.

[exequte]

All right, then why don't you tell me what you brought me here for? I don't think we've hit it yet.

[jinglebros]

Use your rumours scheme to bargain for an anti-pass for Corrin. Maybe make it a little spicier for the show.

[exequte]

Spicier how? Are you sure it would even be enough? Or that this would be the right time for that? We're already planning on shaking this whole place up badly, starting a list of rumors might be easier with so many people suddenly gone and so many people on edge, but they'd have to be the right ones, and all three at once would probably destabilize everything.

Do we really want this card house crashing down so soon?

[jinglebros]

[ He rubs his hand over his face and sighs. ]

It'd be selfish of me to say 'I don't care', huh?

I just don't want him leaving too.

But then, what if he fucking dies.

[exequte]

Not selfish, but maybe bad. We still have to live in the card house for a while too, after all. We're getting all the advantages we can, but that still won't mean much if we don't get a chance to use them.

I don't know. He might. I've been doing my best to take care of him, but he certainly wants to be a martyr, and you don't have to look far for death wishes in any variety to be granted, not here. There have been plenty of people who don't want to go who have.

[She looks him squarely in the eyes.]

I can see if I can arrange something, I guess, but only if you can tell me one thing: are you absolutely sure you want this?

[jinglebros]

...no.

[ He frowns deeply. ]

I'm not.

[exequte]

Then is it better just to let fate decide, and bully Corrin into not sacrificing himself? That's what I've been doing so far, anyway.

[jinglebros]

I don't like the idea of bullying him! I'm not going to do that.

[exequte]

All right, then how do you think we should?

[may sound slightly exasperated HEY SO SANTA
SHE
MAY HAVE BEEN BULLYING YOUR BOYFRIEND WHILE YOU'VE BEEN GONE OKAY SORRY BYE]

[jinglebros]

I don't know! But I'm not going to bully him!

[ He buries his head between his knees and tries to square his breathing. ]

[exequte]

I'm not sure what else he'll even respond to.

[jinglebros]

Being allowed to take control of his situation.

 

 

 

Maybe we should let him into the group.

[exequte]

Would you trust him in it? Before you get angry for me asking, just listen, okay? I know you love him, but he's so willing to put others before himself. That's not necessarily a good thing to try to introduce into your greater group of allies.

Do you trust him not to do anything dumb? And do you trust him with the sorts of things we discuss in the meetings? And besides that, do you trust us around him? Do you trust that if you introduce him in nobody is going to try to take advantage of that, and take advantage of him?