featherduster | ( sheep ) overflow

I won't bitch at you as long as it's reasonable.

[surely that's fair]

[ Grouses, anxiety mounting while he stalls ]

Your idea of reasonable is always completely insane, Lethe.

Do you think it's something I won't find reasonable? That must explain why you never said anything about it before.

[ Grits his teeth for a sec before taking a deep breath. Resigned and tired, mostly. Today is not the day we strangle Lethe with a pool noodle for being a hypocrite (but watch out!) ]

I'm dying anyway.

Most of the way there, now.

...

[squints at him like he's trying to see how much life he's got left (he cannot see how much life someone has left). the concern is still there, but there's no immediate spike of alarm. they've had dead people there the whole time.]

Do you know how many days you've got left?

[ thank god tbh ]

No. I mean-- not long. A few. Maybe.

So I can keep waiting around to drop dead, or I can be killed outright so Lily can wrangle my soul.

[uh-oh now he's kind of annoyed. keeps drinking his alcohol tbh, it is the only thing staying his hands]

Minuet. I'm going to explain emotions to you like you're an idiot, so please pay attention.

[ Gives him a look like "Do not test me. I will die RIGHT NOW out of spite." ]

[do it, coward]

I was upset when you very suddenly had your throat ripped out of you and died, and Charon dropped dead for no apparent reason. Because even if death isn't real here, when something horrible and unexpected happens, it will make your loved ones upset.

Of the two options your haystack of a head has decided on, which one seems slightly less upsetting than the other?

[ Just looks at him and looks at what started this whole conversation ]

So, you agree. It's a pretty reasonable reason.

[there's something boiling deep down in those emotions but who the heck knows what it is. possibly rage.]

Please answer my question before I take your alcohol away from you and beat you to death with the bottles. It should be simple since I laid it all out for you.

Edited 2024-04-03 06:01 (UTC)

Obviously I'm not just gonna drop dead, idiot. I'm figuring it out, but finding someone to kill you who won't get weird about it takes a minute, alright?

Have you actually asked anyone while explaining the full situation to them? Or have you just been walking up to people at random and saying it's fine if they kill you?

[ Sighs heavily ]

I'm not just randomly asking people to kill me, no.

... Charon is the most likely. He wants to do it. I just -- don't want him to force himself to be the one.

[wrinkles his brow]

What makes you think he's forcing himself?

[ With exasperation and concern and weariness but still somehow some affection ]

The visceral negative reactions, mostly.

[very tiny warm, bubbling affection at the mention of Charon being unnecessarily stubborn as he tries to think this through]

We've correctly determined that dropping dead is bad. So if you've decided that you want someone from Lily to wrangle your soul then your only two options are Charon and me, unless you were intending to have someone else kill you and then make us clean up the mess. And if you did that I'd tell Charon to leave you as a ghost for a week.

So even with the visceral negative reactions, if he's offering...

I know.

[ There's resignation there already, like. He already figured this is exactly what's gonna happen but he's being a little bitch about it. ]

I was gonna ask you and then I imagined what you'd say or you might get upset so I chickened out.

[relatable. but it's bad when Minuet does it]

I am upset. I don't want you to die. But I'd rather know than not know. Especially if I can help.

[ Guilt ratchets up while he tries to hammer it back down. ]

... Sorry.

I'm not actually trying to be an asshole, you know.

[ he just doesn't know how to die tbh he has zero practice ]

[oh no it's a guilt ouroboros, he feels bad for making Minuet feel bad. slinks down a little further into the water and polishes off his drink so he can focus on trying to make it float on the water to minimal success. with his concentration focused on his hands, his focus on controlling his emotions slips. little bubbles of emotion rise to the surface: worry, protectiveness, love, exasperation, exhaustion, affection.]

I know you're not. You're a nice guy. But--we're friends, aren't we? It feels bad to find out there's a problem only after I drag it out of you.

[ WAIT WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ACTUAL EMOTIONS IN THIS FORCED EMOTIONSHARE

oh shit oh no oh god oh fuck ]

Why are your emotions doing that. Did I say something wrong?

[ mfer you went off script ]

Nnnno . . .

[you did it first by deciding to die]

Then what is it?

[he's starting to feel self-conscious now]

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