Week 2

[airlockedmods]

Week 2

[The Champions have now been here for one week, and while the dud of a first incentive didn't tempt anybody, the fact remains obvious: a lack of murder isn't going to be the thing that gets you out of here.

Blaze Dudely and Rox have not made a reappearance since Tuesday, leaving you to your own devices for the moment. That door they entered and exited through remains locked, and there is no new area to access this week. Are you sure they're even still back there? Despite their absence, you all wake up on Sunday morning from strange dreams. What to make of it?

You can only hope it's not a bad omen for the rest of the week.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Don't forget to turn in your AC for Week 1, submit your memory regain, and turn in your Benefactor threads! ))

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Art Room

[theundertaken]

[What...has he just walked in on...]

Uhhhhh...good morning, Manaka?

[immaculacies]

O-oh... Max!

[That's new. There's a stammer in her voice, and while she's been surprised before, it's never involved her looking quite so flustered. She even blushes, averting her eyes from him, and shyly tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.]

Good morning.

[theundertaken]

[oh my god???]

Hey, uh. [He moves to sit down across from her, smiling a little. He's half worried, and half...sort of glad to see her acting more normal? Not sure which should be winning out here.] You feeling okay?

[immaculacies]

[Automatically, when he sits across from her, she slaps her hands over the drawing she was in the middle of working on. Then, she seems to realize that there are a lot of previous attempts scattered over the table, and makes a hasty attempt to gather them up so she can hide them, too.

They're pretty haphazardly strewn about, so it's not a very efficient process.]

Mm-hm! I just, remembered something good. That's all.

[theundertaken]

[Max is just going to pretend he didn't see any of that.]

Remembered? I mean, that's good. I've never seen you so happy. [Or, like, anything.]

[immaculacies]

Mm-hm. Because I've never felt so happy before.

[Her cheeks remain flushed, but... She smiles down at her disorganized pile of drawings, trying to neaten them into uniform stack. She could never mistake Saber for something that was just a dream. Just the sight of him, just the memory, filled her with a rush of emotion so strong that she nearly felt paralyzed with it.]

[theundertaken]

[Max smiles.]

That's great, I'm glad for you! What happened?

[immaculacies]

[Smile broadening until she's fighting a grin, Manaka traces the tip of one finger over the first drawing in front of her. Along the line of Saber's jaw.]

Do you believe in soulmates?

[Hopefully this is the conversation Max wanted to have, because it's the one he's getting.]

[theundertaken]

...uh, I don't know. Never really thought about it.

[but he SUSPECTS HE'S ABOUT TO]

[immaculacies]

Mm. Maybe the concept doesn't carry so much weight, in the mundane world. [She's half talking to herself, when she replies.] But... I told you. I've always been able to see the future. And, because of that, I've always known that there's a man I would meet and fall in love with, one day.

[LITERALLY DESTINED, MAX]

[theundertaken]

..........oh, uh. [peering at the pictures now because it's weird to have a 14-year-old using the word "man" to describe her crush is he like an adult???] What's his name?

[immaculacies]

[Manaka doesn't notice, as wrapped up as she is in thinking about Saber. Her drawings...definitely look like an adult man at least in his twenties, yes.]

Saber...!

[She announces his name with great enthusiasm. Ah, even just saying it feels good...!]

[theundertaken]

[.......on one hand, weird, but on the other the name Saber definitely sounds like a musical act, so it's probably fine.]

Neat. What's he do?

[immaculacies]

Eh? "What does he do"...?

[That question seems to puzzle her, and she looks up to Max again, blinking widely. After a moment of thought, though, her expression returns to a pleasant smile.]

Mm, the ritual I told you about, that you seemed to dislike so much. It's his job to keep me safe and protected while it's happening.

[theundertaken]

...oh. That's...good! [He'd sort of been under the impression that no one would be doing that, because none of them seemed very concerned about child welfare.] That's great! He's like a bodyguard?

[immaculacies]

Mm-hm! Or...

[She had looked ready to swell up with excitement again, but suddenly, her expression falls.]

Ah, or really, he's supposed to fight with me. [No, Manaka, he's supposed to fight for you.] I don't like the idea of that, though. When I think about him putting himself in danger for me, I just...!

[theundertaken]

[oooookay and right back to super fucking questionable]

Well, hey - it's his job, right? He'd probably be really upset if you got hurt trying to protect him, when that's kinda his whole thing.

[immaculacies]

I won't get hurt, though. [Her expression of worry is rapidly becoming a pout, and she cups her chin in her hands.] I know I can take care of everything myself, so...! It isn't necessary for him to risk himself.

[theundertaken]

...isn't it nice that he wants to, though?

[It's weird pushing this ship even a little, but if it gets the literal child to be more accepting of an adult keeping her from dying in some weird death ritual thing?]

1/2

[immaculacies]

[...................]

[immaculacies]

O-of course, it's really sweet! [Aaand now she's back to looking flustered, curling a lock of hair around her finger.] Yeah, it's sweet that he's worried about me, like I'm worried about him... It's just, everything has to go perfectly. We won't have a second chance.

[theundertaken]

Heh, yeah... [He's so uncomfortable!] Well, you'll probably stand a better chance if you work together. Nobody can do everything all by themselves.

[immaculacies]

[You're a real trooper, Max.]

Mm, maybe... [She can do everything by herself, though. She knows she can—and, perhaps more importantly, she's been taught that she should. It's just that magi wouldn't think of Saber as a person, not like she does.] Ah, but it's not like there's any point in worrying about it now. I can't do anything about it from here.

[theundertaken]

...guess that's true.

[He'll let it alone for now, then.]

Well, I'm glad you've got somebody.

[immaculacies]

[At that, she shows him another one of those girlish smiles, genuine but somehow shy. Like this, she really looks like nothing more than a normal girl with a crush, in spite of all the other...weirdness in this conversation.]

Me, too. I'm...really, really happy that Saber is the person that he is.