The message comes by carrier pigeon actually, which is a pretty weird way to deliver a message but of course, it's thematic. A very pretty looking brown pigeon swoops down out of the sky to wherever Shinnosuke just so happens to be that afternoon and holds out its leg. The message is short and simple:
Got a job for you. Meet me at the farm at dusk. No show, no job. Keep it a secret, rewarded very well.
- Hal
P.S. Burn this.
And that's it. Of course, if Shinnosuke chooses to listen to the message, he will find the Sheriff at the farm at dusk, chewing a piece of tobacco and watching the sun set. He'll be greeted with a tip of his hat and one word:
"Bounty."
And then he holds out a small notebook. Looks like Shinnosuke's been chosen for one of those roles that were mentioned. Good luck.
[He's tired. Even putting his physical state aside, he's... just so tired. The one blessing, at least, is that he's fairly certain no one's noticed. Maybe it's worrying how much he can smile and snark his way through trials like an idiot, but he's always known that he's a little dysfunctional.
(But he swears, if Sei or someone else asserts his innocence one more time, he's going to scream. Technically, that's not wrong, but why are they all idiots?)
He doesn't want to kill anyone. It's a feeling that's been growing stronger and stronger with each passing week, to the point that it terrifies him. He doesn't want to have to take anyone's life here—least of all those he's asked to.
But there are more pressing concerns, he reminds himself (they're all just wearing down on him, really). It's why, late at night when no one else should be around, he seeks out the Sheriff (or rather, camps out at his apartment, or something like that, because screw blindness).]
[ Well then. That's not who he expected at his door tonight. In fact, the Sheriff just opens the door behind Shinnosuke and taps his shoulder to signal him to follow him inside.
He finally gets inside! But can't see shit. Hilarious. ]
[Surprise! ... And yeah, looks like the Sheriff's apartment will continue to be a secret. At least he'll never have to see the Sheriff naked ever again.
... There's no way for him to ask this and not feel silly, because maybe he's over-thinking things, but first things first. It's been on his mind since his interrogation with Natalie, and this week's events have only made him more worried.]
Are we real? [...] From the beginning, we've been running on the assumption that you nabbed us from our respective worlds and dumped us in here. Is that correct? Or is there more to it—the nature of our existences here, I mean?
[Natalie had wondered if they were clones or some sort of AI like the Sheriff, after all.]
[ There's a sound off to Shinnosuke's right and it's the sound of running water and a pot being filled. A teapot, most likely. The Sheriff will talk as he settles in, using his kitchen while he does. ]
Yes. But the problem with this is that there's an infinite number of you. Every choice you make, every alteration to the events in your life, spiral into a thousand other directions each time. S'what I meant by what you do here is what you're meant to do here. This Shinnosuke Arisu is meant to be here, to play this game and either die in the game or not.
Game itself is singular though. There's only one version of this game and it exists outside of every other existence there is. It's a pocket, ain't got no meaning to it. Events of the pocket can be rewritten or erased or whatever as they go.
The other Natalie was a Natalie that was meant to die here by the hands of the Natalie that's playing the game. You are the Shinnosuke meant to be blinded here while he plays the game. Jason, meant to lose his tongue. Percy, meant to lose Annabeth. This version of you is meant to have these things happen to you. That's how it goes.
[It's a little nervewracking to have his conversation partner moving around while talking—to give a start at every sudden noise—but he's not about to tell the Sheriff to stop using his own kitchen.
Besides, what he's saying is far more pressing. Shinnosuke feels sicker with each word, because he doesn't like this what implies. Honestly, he's never really thought much about fate or anything like that, when all that mattered was his goal, and he's not sure if he entirely gets it, but...]
What the hell?
[He lets out a broken laugh, for himself, for the people the Sheriff mentioned, and for:]
[With his voice choked up, this is one of the rare moments where Shinnosuke legitimately sounds like he's about to lose it, even if he doesn't quite. It's not something that the Sheriff controls, he knows (assumes, anyway); getting angry at him isn't going to be productive.
But god, he's furious and horrified and everything at once, raw in a way that he's never sure of how to handle. It's probably just as well that that spider web robbed him of his ability to cry as well, because damn it all.]
You're saying that I helped to kill my little sister, then? [nonono—] Or—some version of her? It wasn't just some kind of trick?
Nah, no trick. Nothing like clones or anything y'all have been throwing around. There's an excess of you -- infinite amounts. There's always one available to die when one has to be dead.
[ At least the Sheriff is closer now when he speaks, having set the water to boil and here to answer any of Shinnosuke's questions. ]
[He takes in a breath to calm himself, because he can feel his stability slipping away and he can't afford to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the Sheriff's apartment.
Right now, though, he honestly just wants to die.]
So I killed her. Haha, what the fuck? [This is a nightmare.] But... she's not completely lost right, right? There's still a version of my sister that I'm meant to save—meant to try to save.
[Because if there isn't, then there's really no point in him going on any further.]
[Sorry for getting himself blinded by a spider web, Sheriff.
He's quiet for a moment—relieved, but also furious—before he asks, softly:]
... Are your employers human?
[Or, alternatively: I hope your employers die a miserable death for what they've done to everyone but especially my sister, you asshole. But, you know, that's a little wordy.]
... Are you screwing with me? If they don't orchestrate weirdass gameshows where the contestants kill each other, they'll go around destroying universes?
What do you think they feed off of, ya dunce? Pain. Excruciating amounts of it. Emotional, spiritual, etcera. Why do you think I ain't programmed to feel it? Can't put a Sentient in charge of this, they'd fuck it up.
If the point of this is our pain, then why give us a shot at winning at all? To give us hope before crushing it?
... Is it even possible to win this game and bring everyone back, or is that just a lie?
[He doesn't know why he even bothers to ask: it's not as if the Sheriff would tell him if it's false, and regardless of the answer, he has to keep fighting, if only for his sister who's still alive.]
Those are two different questions. Yeah, your hope will be crushed but yes, you will come back at the end. If the Bounty Leader wins and picks it, everyone can go home to their chosen universe, memories wiped. Ain't a problem.
[Thanks for admitting that their hope's going to be crushed???
But memories wiped, huh... Well, makes sense. He supposes that a lot of people wouldn't want to remember what happened here. At the very least, he, well, doesn't really want the memory of his sister's death.]
Chosen universe? [...] So it doesn't have to be their original world? And do their memories have to be wiped?
[He takes in a breath—he's feeling calmer than he was before, although it's less that he's okay with everything as it is that his natural tendency to repress is kicking in.
Again, he should probably not have a meltdown in the Sheriff's apartment.]
If I'm allowed to ask, how... are the other Bounties doing? Anyone find each other?
[He knows he's doing a shitty job of it, with all of his leads going nowhere. His reasons for suspecting Jason fell flat (even if he's not necessarily in the clear), Xion's informant (provided she wasn't lying) turned out to be the dead Riku, and then he thought maybe Ezio, but nope. Damn it.]
You're allowed to ask. One of them found the Bounty Leader. If the two of you find either you or your other one still out in the cold, I'll unite all of you together.
... Out of curiosity, what are those hints like? Not asking for an actual one [or well it'd be nice but he knows that's not happening], but how... vague are they?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sheriffexe) wrote2017-01-13 11:09 am
SATURDAY
(But he swears, if Sei or someone else asserts his innocence one more time, he's going to scream. Technically, that's not wrong, but why are they all idiots?)
He doesn't want to kill anyone. It's a feeling that's been growing stronger and stronger with each passing week, to the point that it terrifies him. He doesn't want to have to take anyone's life here—least of all those he's asked to.
But there are more pressing concerns, he reminds himself (they're all just wearing down on him, really). It's why, late at night when no one else should be around, he seeks out the Sheriff (or rather, camps out at his apartment, or something like that, because screw blindness).]
Got some questions.
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He finally gets inside! But can't see shit. Hilarious. ]
Yeah, go for it.
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... There's no way for him to ask this and not feel silly, because maybe he's over-thinking things, but first things first. It's been on his mind since his interrogation with Natalie, and this week's events have only made him more worried.]
Are we real? [...] From the beginning, we've been running on the assumption that you nabbed us from our respective worlds and dumped us in here. Is that correct? Or is there more to it—the nature of our existences here, I mean?
[Natalie had wondered if they were clones or some sort of AI like the Sheriff, after all.]
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Yes. But the problem with this is that there's an infinite number of you. Every choice you make, every alteration to the events in your life, spiral into a thousand other directions each time. S'what I meant by what you do here is what you're meant to do here. This Shinnosuke Arisu is meant to be here, to play this game and either die in the game or not.
Game itself is singular though. There's only one version of this game and it exists outside of every other existence there is. It's a pocket, ain't got no meaning to it. Events of the pocket can be rewritten or erased or whatever as they go.
The other Natalie was a Natalie that was meant to die here by the hands of the Natalie that's playing the game. You are the Shinnosuke meant to be blinded here while he plays the game. Jason, meant to lose his tongue. Percy, meant to lose Annabeth. This version of you is meant to have these things happen to you. That's how it goes.
no subject
Besides, what he's saying is far more pressing. Shinnosuke feels sicker with each word, because he doesn't like this what implies. Honestly, he's never really thought much about fate or anything like that, when all that mattered was his goal, and he's not sure if he entirely gets it, but...]
What the hell?
[He lets out a broken laugh, for himself, for the people the Sheriff mentioned, and for:]
Then the people in the post office...?
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Yep. Meant to die there and have you find 'em.
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[With his voice choked up, this is one of the rare moments where Shinnosuke legitimately sounds like he's about to lose it, even if he doesn't quite. It's not something that the Sheriff controls, he knows (assumes, anyway); getting angry at him isn't going to be productive.
But god, he's furious and horrified and everything at once, raw in a way that he's never sure of how to handle. It's probably just as well that that spider web robbed him of his ability to cry as well, because damn it all.]
You're saying that I helped to kill my little sister, then? [nonono—] Or—some version of her? It wasn't just some kind of trick?
no subject
[ At least the Sheriff is closer now when he speaks, having set the water to boil and here to answer any of Shinnosuke's questions. ]
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Right now, though, he honestly just wants to die.]
So I killed her. Haha, what the fuck? [This is a nightmare.] But... she's not completely lost right, right? There's still a version of my sister that I'm meant to save—meant to try to save.
[Because if there isn't, then there's really no point in him going on any further.]
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Yep. Your version of your sister is however you left her. This version of your sister was meant to die like this. Simple as.
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He's quiet for a moment—relieved, but also furious—before he asks, softly:]
... Are your employers human?
[Or, alternatively: I hope your employers die a miserable death for what they've done to everyone but especially my sister, you asshole. But, you know, that's a little wordy.]
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Nah.
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... All right, so what are they? Is this all really just a stupid game for their entertainment?
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And yeah. If y'all kill each other, they feel sated, don't have to kill other universes. Simple solution to a pretty weird bloodthirst.
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... Are you screwing with me? If they don't orchestrate weirdass gameshows where the contestants kill each other, they'll go around destroying universes?
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If the point of this is our pain, then why give us a shot at winning at all? To give us hope before crushing it?
... Is it even possible to win this game and bring everyone back, or is that just a lie?
[He doesn't know why he even bothers to ask: it's not as if the Sheriff would tell him if it's false, and regardless of the answer, he has to keep fighting, if only for his sister who's still alive.]
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But memories wiped, huh... Well, makes sense. He supposes that a lot of people wouldn't want to remember what happened here. At the very least, he, well, doesn't really want the memory of his sister's death.]
Chosen universe? [...] So it doesn't have to be their original world? And do their memories have to be wiped?
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You can pick wherever, whatever, however. You can also choose to keep your memories but most people'd rather not.
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[He takes in a breath—he's feeling calmer than he was before, although it's less that he's okay with everything as it is that his natural tendency to repress is kicking in.
Again, he should probably not have a meltdown in the Sheriff's apartment.]
If I'm allowed to ask, how... are the other Bounties doing? Anyone find each other?
[He knows he's doing a shitty job of it, with all of his leads going nowhere. His reasons for suspecting Jason fell flat (even if he's not necessarily in the clear), Xion's informant (provided she wasn't lying) turned out to be the dead Riku, and then he thought maybe Ezio, but nope. Damn it.]
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[Read: is the leader also doing a shitty job of playing detective.]
So none of the victims up until now have been Bounties, right? [Just making sure his math is right.] And none of the kills have been their work?
[He's assuming not, since they ask about the victims' roles every trial, but.]
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