IC inbox

[knifemonopoly]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

Comments

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She stares up at him. And then, a small little sound, that might be a sad laugh, or a happy sob; or both, something in between. She gulps down her emotions, turning over what he's saying. ]

Almost nobody lasts that many years... you know? People leave, all the time... I'll bet most of us have only been here for a short time... I mean, Atem-kun-- isn't it more likely that before we're able to make much progress, we'll run out of time?

[knifemonopoly]

Of course it's likely. But, have you ever decided not to play a game because it's more likely that you'll lose?

[He grins, gives an easy, confident shrug!]

Besides...going back to the Sea of Stars isn't like dying. Not really! There's always the chance you'll be brought back, given enough time...and if what the Fog God says is true, we won't die of old age as long as we're monsters. We could have a hundred years, or a thousand, to find a way to make the monthly suffering stop, or find a way to a better place.

So...we should live with both timespans in mind. We should live in the moment, because the chances that pass us by may never come again...and we should protect ourselves and our hearts like we'll still be here a thousand years from now!

[waitingforplayer2]

[ In the depths of her despair, it's like he's lit a candle of hope.

How could she have forgotten? She never played games to win (even if winning was nice). It's not her title anymore, but she does know how to play.

She rubs her face, as if she's just waking up. Takes a deep breath to steady herself. Looks to her friend - her co-player. ]

I need to learn... strategies. To... last longer. So-- so nothing like that happens, but for real.

[knifemonopoly]

[He can't help it -- he puts a hand on her shoulder. What she's pulled from what he has to say...it feels like he's reached her. Not fixed things, because that kind of pain, the kind that makes you retreat behind your own eyes until time slips away...that doesn't get fixed. No one can do that. But he's at least reached through whatver veil is between her and everything else, and her heart isn't shut away from him so tightly anymore.]

I can tell you what I've learned...but that's more of a guide to what not to do! The monsters who've been here a long time, like Lust and Reira and Noa...they might be able to give you something more concrete.

[He grips her bark, firmly, reassuringly: she's not alone.]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She rises from the chair.

Wraps her wooden arms around him and hugs him tight, burying her face in his neck. Her fronds tickle his face, the way they're hugging. ]

I'd like that. Please. Thank you...

[ It's still scary. But she feels less alone, and less... doomed to an inescapable fate. ]

[knifemonopoly]

[He hugs her back, just as tight -- it doesn't matter that there's not much give to the bark, as long as she can feel it.]

Definitely.

But...you'll have to tell me if you want to talk now, or later. You're...

[He knows the look he saw in her eyes.]

...the things that have happened are bothering you, a lot. I can tell! And, when I've felt that way, sometimes a distraction helps, and sometimes, doing anything at all feels impossible. Whatever it is you need, I'm here to help...even if it's just making sure you're not left alone.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She pulls back, and nods absently. Her mind's already racing-- trying to think of ways to keep going, protect herself from harm, protect her friends...

Which means she's drifting off again. She shakes herself out of it. She wants to be here, here and now, with Atem, while she still can. ]

Game. [ She looks down at the game that Atem's chosen - one she recognizes, and starts to pull out the pieces for a match. ] Let's-- yeah.

[ It's quiet and familiar and comforting work, to set up the board, deal cards, put the pieces into place. As Nanami does, she chuckles a little, realizing something. ]

I guess I did get to try one of your shadow games... like I asked, when we first met.

[knifemonopoly]

....

I wish it hadn't been that way. Like I said, they're for enemies...I wouldn't wish it on a friend.

But...now you know.