hero pcs: danny + temenos

[doghouse]

old men attempt to save teen from his disaster self and his ex-roommate

Comments

[foreverphantom]

[ he doesn't even have to look at it to know what's being shoved at him ]

Yes. And?

[doghouse]

Well, now that you've gotten through this week alive and everyone's had time to cool down, I agree with him.

It'd be one thing if you were just steering clear of everyone you were afraid of hurting, but if you're gonna be hangin' out with 'em and building treehouses together and everything, it's actually kinda messed up to keep lying to 'em.

[foreverphantom]

They've only cooled down because they don't have a target. The second they do, they'll be out for blood.

...I know I'm selfish for leading them on. But it's all I have. And I don't want to hurt them even more by letting them know I'm the one that did it.

[doghouse]

We know stuff now that we didn't know at the start of the week. That if we play our cards right, the dead are gonna get to come back at the end of this. That means there might be a little more room for them accepting what you did, as long as you do everything in your power to make sure he comes back to 'em.

Also means everyone's probably gonna find out the truth eventually anyway. It'd be better to hear it from you than from someone else or from a poorly timed thought bubble.

[inquired]

[ he nods. ]

Yes, I concur.

But, the newspaper, I believe, makes a point. Honesty can come slowly - a few people at a time. You don't need to announce it to the world, not now, and certainly not tomorrow. Aelfric forbid we don't solve either of these cases.

[ he'll be real here too: that mob rule thing can be real. ]

[doghouse]

Right. I don't think you need to tell everyone, but Nimona, Nico, and Will — they deserve to hear it.

[foreverphantom]

[ he flinches ]

They're the ones who'll be hurt by it most. And who deserve it the least.

[doghouse]

Yeah, you're right on both counts. But they're gonna be hurt by it more when they find out you were lying to their faces and pretending nothing was wrong.

[foreverphantom]

...if I told them, they wouldn't be able to forgive me. Lying on top of that isn't going to change anything, other than I get to keep them a little longer. It might hurt them more, but it'll hurt me less.

[inquired]

You don't care for them much at all, with an attitude like that.

[foreverphantom]

[ clenches a fist ] Screw you. You have no idea what they mean to me.

[doghouse]

Well, you didn't know what Reigen meant to them either, apparently.

[foreverphantom]

[ flinches and looks away ]

[inquired]

Was it easy to build that treehouse with Nimona on Monday, and pretend that nothing was wrong?

[foreverphantom]

[ jesus. cutthroat, huh. ]

Not as easy as all the pretending I've been doing since the minute I got here, but that sure gave me plenty of practice.

[inquired]

[ datz is the nice weird uncle ]

Based on this newspaper, I think it's quite possible that our dearly departed can see us - which means that that may have helped to motivate the stars' advice for you.

[foreverphantom]

I know full well that they can, and that Reigen's the one who wrote the Gemini section. That doesn't mean he's right.

He's treating his murderer like a good person who just needs some advice. So maybe, just maybe, we can assume that he's not exactly the most accurate judge of how good and kind people will be when they hear about this?

[inquired]

Then allow me to present you with the opposite side. How do you think they will feel when they find out that you killed Reigen and you've been lying to them about it and acting like things are normal? Sympathetic?

[foreverphantom]

No. And I don't expect them to. They have every right to hate me, and they should.

[inquired]

So, you're prolonging the inevitable, because right now, it feels better to pretend, knowing that it will be far, far worse whenever they return to us.

[foreverphantom]

Yes.

Sue me for not wanting to torch every good thing I have here just because I should do the right thing.

[inquired]

It's going to get torched no matter what.

[foreverphantom]

I know. That's why I'm trying to make it last while I can.

[doghouse]

What you're playing at right now isn't real friendship. If you give 'em the truth, they can decide whether they hate you or still wanna be your friend. That should be up to them, not you.

[foreverphantom]

And what if they say no? I can't--I can't lose again. This is all I have.

At least this way, I can...it's not losing if I plan for it.