week 1

[airlockedmods]

Week 1

[After the reveal of their handsome and well-dressed but stern-looking Overseer on Sunday, the Champions were left to their own devices in investigating the mall to their hearts' content. At around 10 pm every night the lights in all the shops will go down and the sturdy metal grates over the doors of the restaurants will go down. The stores will remain unlocked, though.

On Monday morning, a buzzing alarm chirps at them again from their PIPs at 7 am on the dot. There's also a pop-up message waiting for them: a notice announcing Xander will be holding office hours

Enjoy your week, Champions.]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Comments

[motherfucking_ghost]

Feel like shit. Arm's on fire. Queasy. Exhausted even though I did absolutely fuck and all.

Or did you want me to say fine and pretend like I'm okay like Yuyubean's doing?

[nightcure]

Nah. I'd rather you be honest.

I brought some bandages, if you need a change. Water and some painkillers, too.

[motherfucking_ghost]

My Immortal said the bandages needed changed pretty frequently, he just didn't say how frequently. So, go nuts, I guess.

If by painkillers you mean more aspirin, I'm gonna OD on it and it's gonna suck because I'm still gonna feel like I'd rather he lopped the damn thing off. [But he holds out his hand, mildly cut from his own nails but it's fine he's fine.] Gimmie anyway.

[nightcure]

[ ... pfft. ]

My Immortal, huh. Right. So... I'm not good at this stuff, but I'll do my best. You can kick me if I hurt you.

[ He hands Church one pill and the water, then starts rolling out the bandages. ]

Hold out your arm.

[motherfucking_ghost]

One? Maaaan... [Fine. He'll take what he can get and holds out his arm meanwhile.]

Don't worry, I already hurt like a son of a bitch. [It's the fact that he's gotten used to it over the course of the day that keeps him from acting worse than he's doing now. The pain is definitely still there, to be sure. But it's like his brain's gotten used to it like background noise for the moment.] I don't, uh, know if--are you okay with what you're gonna see?

[nightcure]

Maybe you'll get more later if you're good.

[ Mostly, he's just... trying to use humor to deal with the fact that he's gonna have to do this. Noctis isn't used to having to do first aid. ]

Yeah. I'll get over it. Besides, if I wimp out, that's not fair to you.

[ He's the one in pain. The least Noctis can do is help. ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

We can get Ardy if it wigs you out.

I haven't...looked at it. Yet. [And he sure is suddenly studying the ceiling pretty intently!] I uh. Just know it coulda been worse, so that's something.

[nightcure]

Nah, it's fine. Seriously. And, uh. You don't have to look. Just keep staring up at the ceiling, big guy, alright?

[ And with that, he starts to remove the old bandages. His jaw sets, teeth clenched hard. But his hands stay steady, after a brief moment of trembling. He's angry. He and Nari hadn't even damaged a damn thing, and yet-- ]

Shit.

[ His voice is low, just a mumble, but he gets to work. Does what Ardyn did, yesterday: Noctis wets the bandages, then starts wrapping. ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

That bad, huh. [He chuckles dryly before hissing at the application of the new.]

[nightcure]

Nothing I can't handle.

[ Noctis winces when he does, but he keeps going. When he's finished, he sits back. ]

How's that feel?

[motherfucking_ghost]

Like I had some wet cloth slapped on a fresh whatever-degree burn.

[He said to be honest.]

...Better than letting it be out in the open air, I know, I get it. Thanks.

[nightcure]

You don't have to thank me. Seriously.

[ He sighs a little and crosses his arms. ]

... You know, you guys gave us a huge scare.

[motherfucking_ghost]

You don't have to help me, so yeah, pretty compelled to thank you. You don't know me. You don't have to care, whether we gave you a scare or not.

...Did anyone--watch? I dunno if that explosion was loud enough to get people out, but nobody tried stabbing him in the back with a plastic spork, so--

[nightcure]

Well. You're welcome, then, I guess.

[ He shrugs. ]

I don't know if anyone did, honestly. I just got there when Ardyn yelled for me.

[motherfucking_ghost]

All I know is--someone got to me, and that's it. Boom, out like a lightbulb. Shock, or like, the pain just finally overwhelmed me or...something. [Or the smell of charred flesh and knowing that it was his own. Or the stress and the fear. Fear tastes like silk now.]

Could've just left us there. For being stupid.

[nightcure]

Are you kidding me? We're all in this together.

I couldn't just leave you guys there. Neither could the others.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Not everyone thinks that. Or...I didn't think everyone did. [Ardyn's on the fence. Varric thinks everyone's gonna be out to get everyone. Natsuhi...]

We couldn't move from where we were. He did something to the shit on our wrists, made it heavy as lead.

[nightcure]

Enough people do, though. Lots of us came running.

[ He frowns. ]

The PIPs? ... What the hell else can these things do?

[motherfucking_ghost]

I don't know. But it makes sense there'd be a way to keep us in line.

...He was really deliberate. I thought he'd take the whole arm but he--I had a tattoo there. I guess it doesn't matter now.

[nightcure]

Yeah, I guess.

[ He lets out a frustrated huff. ]

Ardyn said it was in his handwriting. And in ancient Lucian.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Yeah. He's gonna teach it to me sometime. I just, uh, can't focus on that. Right now?

And it's fine, I don't know why it was there, he can always write it out, it's--I thought it'd upset him, but he just insisted he cared more that I was still alive. But it means the Overseer thought it was important.

[nightcure]

I mean, I'd be pretty impressed if you could focus on learning a different language while you were in this much pain.

[ He considers that. Yeah... he figured. Just hammers in the whole "amnesia" theory. It's becoming more and more likely... and that worries Noctis. ]

I talked to him. He doesn't know everything about us. Just whatever his bosses gave him--I'm assuming, anyway.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Yeah. He said everything is accurate as far as he knows. Which means if it's fake, his information might be, too, and if it's real, he might not remember anything, either.

This whole thing is fucked up.

[nightcure]

No kidding.

I'd like to get some actual answers, but I doubt even if I camped out in Xander's office, I'd get any.

[motherfucking_ghost]

So we don't rely on him. We rely on each other and on getting out of here. With all limbs preferably intact.