week 5; i don't even know what to title this

[elemancy]

[really, all that needs to be said is that when noct finally returns to the room—quite a bit later than usual—he's also slamming the door behind him with enough frustrated gusto.

hi, roomie?

no, this is probably bad for everyone because it's clear that he is completely out of sorts. which is probably like, some sort of stupid, weird turn-on for ash, but noctis doesn't really have many fucks to give at the moment.

he needs to find a way to end this stupid, fucked up game and if he has to try and drag out whatever ash knows to get there? he's gonna do it. that's how he feels right now.]

Comments

[uraniumnumnum]

Yes. There are six of them in total, some with multiple members. In other words, most of them are still alive. By my estimation, almost half of the people still living in this town have a role.

[ which means the stakes are getting higher. And things are getting slightly easier for Ash. Less people to weed out. ]

[elemancy]

[to that, he nods. it lines up pretty completely with the information he has, and there's no use in trying to hide he knows that much at this point. he did talk to the madame, after all.]

Guess you don't know who's in what role, then. [he scoffs, though not at ash.] His computer's pretty useless, if that's where you got it all from and didn't get anything else.

[at least he doesn't imply that ash is a shitty computer himself, probably.]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he sighs through his nose, exasperated. ]

It was extremely primitive. I was hoping to access a larger network and leave this body behind, but it had no such connection that I could locate.

[elemancy]

...Why does he even have a computer, anyway? If he's a robot, shouldn't he... I don't know, be more like you?

[at least they're both exasperated by this, which seems to keep noct from being totally hostile. it's fine.]

[uraniumnumnum]

There's no one like me. [ it's a boast, but it's also somewhat bitter - a dark, cold fact that he himself made sure of when he destroyed Mother. ] He's less advanced. The fact that he obeys his creators in carrying out these worthless tasks is proof enough of that.

[ he is realizing that he's said more than he intended, and he starts to feel annoyed again. This man. This boy. Why is Ash telling him anything? Show a human a fraction of vulnerability, and they'll take full advantage at the first opportunity - he knows it. He stiffens again, staring at Noctis. ]

And what about the information you claim to have? Does it exist?

[elemancy]

Eugh. I think I'll pass on him being more like you that way—he's got too much power as it is.

[was that... a joke? humor? okay. maybe noct is calming down a bit and seems to be faintly amused by ash's boasting.]

Seems like we mostly know the same. If you know what all the roles do...[then it doesn't seem like noct has all that much more to offer.]

How much do you know about the Sheriff's bosses?

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he grunts, looking annoyed again. "We mostly know the same." This was just a waste of time, as he should have known from the start. Why does he keep doing this? He really should have killed him. Instead, he keeps digging this hole deeper. ]

I assume they're humans, [ he responds tersely. That's all Ash knows, though. ]

[elemancy]

They're not.

[this is what you get for assuming, ash. in the end, he loses nothing at all by telling noctis what he knows, and in turn... he might gain something.]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he loses his PERSONAL INTEGRITY!!! ]

What are you talking about?

[ wtf. should he be helping the sheriff?! ]

[elemancy]

Some kind of non-sentient... things. Not sure exactly, but they do this game once a year to entertain themselves.

[don't help the sheriff, asshole?]

[uraniumnumnum]

You rank idiot. If they're not sentient, they don't have the mental capacity to be entertained, let alone organize an event or construct an artificial intelligence like the Sheriff. Who told you that?

[elemancy]

The hell if I know how it works. "I know that Hal's employers have names I can't pronounce because they're not human and not even all that sentient."

[okay, maybe not exactly NON-SENTIENT. but apparently not totally cognizant, either?]

Came directly from the Madame. There was more to it, something about blood not spilling in the way they desire. [it's a little fuzzy, the word choice wasn't exactly the best for him.]

[uraniumnumnum]

Do you believe everything people tell you? I should have made more use of you if you're so content to eat up half-truths.

[ he's not buying it. He'll believe that they might not be human, but he won't believe they don't know exactly what they're doing. ]

Who's the Madame? Tell me.

[elemancy]

Not everything, just from people I trust. It's more of an answer than anyone else has, anyway.

[he knows it could be wrong. he knows he could have been lied to, or that there were misunderstandings.

in any case?]

Why, planning on talking to them in the grave? It's... too late for that now.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ an annoyed grunt. ]

I don't care. I said tell me. If they're dead, that's one less role that I need to worry about. Not that it matters - their information-gathering did nothing helpful for any of us.

[elemancy]

Then why does it matter either way? It's not going to change anything.

[he regrets everything, probably. he doesn't really want to get into these details right now.]

[uraniumnumnum]

If that's really what you think, then telling me is harmless, isn't it?

[ a pause. then, a nasty smile. ]

Or are you scared of what I might do?

[elemancy]

"Scared" isn't the word I'd use.

[his eyes remain narrowed on ash.]

Trust goes both ways, you know. [he gives ash the benefit of the doubt a lot, but it doesn't change that they both have a reluctance to actually trust properly in one another.] I still have my own skin to take care of.