aoi

[bonetiddies]

Comments

[bonetiddies]

Oh.

[She doesn't. . . understand? But she'll try to?]

What would you usually do, when something upsetting happened?

[gamerbrain]

Aoi would just go back. And undo it.

[bonetiddies]

Ah, hmm. But we can't undo this.

[gamerbrain]

So now what?

Aoi has never had to ask 'now what' before. [ and it's! bad! ]

[bonetiddies]

When you said to put doubts behind you, you meant - you really are used to undoing them.

[gamerbrain]

[ she nods and just repeats, like it should be self-explanatory: ]

Aoi loads old save files.

[bonetiddies]

Then this is your first experience learning this painful lesson. We cannot undo what happened. We must correct our mistakes going forward.

[gamerbrain]

Sounds complicated...

How do we correct our mistakes?

[bonetiddies]

First of all, I'm certain whoever killed Tamaki will kill again.

[gamerbrain]

How do you know?

[bonetiddies]

. . . There's something I haven't told many people, but I think it's out in the open now.

[Hmm.]

Last week, certain of the Avatars were suggesting that there may be something to gain in murder - we may find it a way to get our prizes more quickly. Clearly, whoever killed Tamaki received the same information.

[gamerbrain]

Aoi thought they didn't want us to kill each other.

Maybe they killed Tamaki and that triggered the flag for their prize and now they're done...?

[bonetiddies]

Some of the Avatars do, and some don't. But I don't think it's as simple as triggering a flag. It's more - wanting to share in the prize, or not share.

[She hesitates for a moment, but - ]

Aoi, I've seen you do things simply because others asked and you wanted to help. I want to warn you to be cautious - someone may try to take advantage of that.

[gamerbrain]

Boop boop...

Take advantage?

[bonetiddies]

[She's not even sure how to explain that.]

You. . . tend to say yes when people ask you to do things, don't you? Do you ever worry that agreeing to something will cause you to suffer in some way?

[gamerbrain]

[ this is a startling and brand new concept to her, honestly? ]

Aoi will suffer? Aoi is fine.

[bonetiddies]

[That's what she was worried about.]

. . . What if I asked you to help me with an indulgence, and I asked you to steal an item from Kaz Kaan?

[She saw Aoi asked to bully Kaz a lot, so. That's the example.]

[gamerbrain]

Got it. What do you want Aoi to steal?

[ ... ]

[bonetiddies]

I'm not actually asking you to do that. [Well. . . no, she's not asking.]

But what if you stole that item for me, and I used it to frame him for a murder? What if I brought about a situation that would make you feel as wretched as you felt watching Mollymauk and Beauregard?

[gamerbrain]

... Then Aoi would just say "Aoi stole this item, so Kaz didn't have it."

[bonetiddies]

Well. . . it wasn't a very good example.

[Aoi. Please.]

What if, while you were distracting him by stealing the object, I killed him?

[gamerbrain]

Then Aoi can be a witness for everyone...!

[bonetiddies]

Yes, but he'd still be dead.

[. . .]

Maybe the flaw here was in choosing Kaz Kaan.

[gamerbrain]

[ ... ]

Aoi doesn't want Kaz or anyone else to get killed. But Aoi can't stop it from happening... That isn't the kind of role Aoi plays.

[bonetiddies]

I'm not asking you to stop it from happening.

[That seems like a lot to ask her to take on.]

I'd just like it if. . . if before you say yes to something someone asks, you consider whether it might hurt you in some way.