Souji pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, thinking fast. Empress had shown an interest in the baby outside her proper turn, and the rest were all involved in the Grid - he can put those pieces together pretty straightforwardly, he thinks. The weddding might also be laid at PSYCHE's feet...
"Does anyone get punished if we win?" he asks, gesturing back and forth between the two of them with his spoon. He assumes cheating would be less of a consideration, but there's her grudge against SAGE to consider, and he's not sure who else that might spill over to.
"We can't win," she says--and she angrily spoons a large chunk of ice cream into her mouth. "I can't even play for real. I lost the qualifying match, after I'd worked so hard to get back in. If we had--I dunno. 'S not like I could kill SAGE without creating another imbalance and I'd like some time to enjoy my victory before we did that again. Maybe stick him somewhere where he can't run away and hide. That would serve him right. And it'd be kind of tempting to mess with Penuel a little too..."
She sighs. "It doesn't matter. Ugh, and I'd had such great plans for what I was going to do with the World if I got it. I was gonna make a nice planet for everyone with all that stuff mortals like, like chairs and beverages and winter dances and object permanence and staying with the people you love--and then I was going throw open all the dungeon doors and pull everyone out of ambit back in so they wouldn't be left behind--and then you'd all have a nice home together and you could keep all the important bonds and relationships you made here." She scoops up another chunk of ice cream and shoves it in her mouth.
"It could have been great," she says, a little muffled.
So. She'd been planning on keeping them imprisoned forever, as her private soap opera. That... was a little disappointing, but not a surprise. And it didn't particularly matter, now that it couldn't happen.
"I suppose I meant... will you be helping MALBOLGE or one of the others to win now? Is there a new goal?"
She nods, spoon in her mouth. She takes it out to say, "And if xie doesn't work out... Mei, probably. Me and Mei, we're fond of each other. Otherwise, I guess maybe Cairbre would do. I mean, Cairbre is Cairbre. It's kind of a dope, but it's a friendly dope and doesn't hate anyone. I just need to make sure that jerk SAGE doesn't win. Or Penuel."
"I think it would be easier to persuade Travelers to support Mei or Cairbre," he volunteers after a moment of thought. "They've both made a good impression on a lot of people."
"It doesn't surprise me to learn," he says. He hadn't known, but it would never really surprise him to learn Lovers-san had a relationship, no matter who it was with. Except Hermit.
"Mm. Then she and Hakan became an item for real and not just symbolically and that was that. He's fine with her dallying with mortals, but not the rest of us."
"Yeah," Psyche says, with a sigh. "It wasn't. She was so soft, you know? MALBOLGE is great, but xie's hard. You kinda need both. So yeah, I miss it. A lot, really. A girl has certain drives and all and it's not like there's all that many of us that understand recreation reproduction. Mei, Hakan, MALBOLGE... Lune, sort of, though she's more into being romanced and vamping for the sake of vamping. If she actually goes to bed with you, it's less for the sex and more because she's trying to screw with you a bit." She snickers. "Pun accidental."
"...I understand," Souji answers. "Mm. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get permission to help you with your recreation. Since it would hurt my partners' feelings, that's not something I can do to them... I'm sure you understand."
Psyche looks disappointed, slumping against the loveseat. "Yeah. I kinda figured it might be like that. You've got cute girlfriends, but they're kinda jealous." She looks at him. "Do I at least get a kiss?"
Souji considers a moment. As a one-time thing, apology or consolation, that ought to be all right. At least, it isn't a transgression on the same scale. "One kiss is something I could explain," he concedes, nodding, the faintest of smiles briefly on his lips.
Souji kisses back, not shy or impersonal, but not encouraging either, taking the kiss for what it is, and putting genuine, if restrained feeling into it; the end of this chapter of their story deserves nothing less.
"I'm glad to be on your team," he says, honestly, offering her a smile. "We have some differences, but considering everything, I still think we're suited for each other. I hope we can keep finding ways to work together, and learn more about each other."
She smiles at him. "Thanks," she says. "I hope so too--and I do mean it. I mostly mean what I say. Prevaricating is Lune's bag. Remember that if Morty's idiot starts talking smack about me again."
"That's why some of us are suited to each of you," he confirms. "We're all in our own place on the Mystic Journey, so we each have different perspectives and opinions."
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"Does anyone get punished if we win?" he asks, gesturing back and forth between the two of them with his spoon. He assumes cheating would be less of a consideration, but there's her grudge against SAGE to consider, and he's not sure who else that might spill over to.
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She sighs. "It doesn't matter. Ugh, and I'd had such great plans for what I was going to do with the World if I got it. I was gonna make a nice planet for everyone with all that stuff mortals like, like chairs and beverages and winter dances and object permanence and staying with the people you love--and then I was going throw open all the dungeon doors and pull everyone out of ambit back in so they wouldn't be left behind--and then you'd all have a nice home together and you could keep all the important bonds and relationships you made here." She scoops up another chunk of ice cream and shoves it in her mouth.
"It could have been great," she says, a little muffled.
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"I suppose I meant... will you be helping MALBOLGE or one of the others to win now? Is there a new goal?"
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and here's where the musebox thread will dovetail
I see!
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I GOT THE THREADS MIXED UP
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Sorry, Souji, the idea that Travelers (characters, not people) are anything like Arcana (actually people) is just so weird to her.
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