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expiationlogs2023-09-11 06:30 am
- !event,
- ai tsf: mizuki date,
- arcane: caitlyn kiramman,
- arcane: jinx,
- arcane: silco,
- arcane: violet / vi,
- blazblue: ragna the bloodedge,
- bungo stray dogs: nikolai gogol,
- bungo stray dogs: sigma,
- final fantasy xiii2: noel kreiss,
- fire emblem three hopes: marianne,
- fma:b: pride,
- magia record: mitama yakumo,
- original: astralin turnont,
- persona 3 portable: kotone shiomi,
- persona 4: yosuke hanamura,
- persona 4: yu narukami,
- persona 5 royal: goro akechi,
- umineko wtc: ange ushiromiya,
- x-men movieverse: scott summers
{EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475
| MOD NOTES: Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation. You can find the OOC poll here. Please pick from the corresponding options with the appropriate character journal. If you use a personal journal or a journal not part of Expiation, your votes will not be counted. Remember that if your character did something different than what is in the prompts given, leave a comment in the OOC poll entry and link to your comment in the option made available. We will provide an IC post in exactly ten days with the results of the poll that will wrap up the event. You may mingle on it if you like, but the most important purpose is to share the effects of character decisions on this event. The various prompts are, of course, optional. |
WHEN THE FOG ROLLS IN
On the night of September 10, an impenetrable fog covers the town of Aldrip. When characters wake in the morning, they find that Aldrip has disappeared, replaced by a large, enclosed maze.
Characters will wake up in one of three different levels of this maze, and they may—but don't have to—find that they are not alone. As they explore the maze, they will encounter trials and stumbling blocks both physical and mental. It seems the maze is testing them, poking at their fears, their past, their feelings. Confronting these questions about themselves and their very nature will allow them to progress through the maze in hopes of eventually finding the exit—and hopefully the town along with it.
While they do not all wake up in the same level of the maze, all characters do, in theory, have to complete all three trials in order to leave. This may not be so easy to achieve; due to the nature of these trials, if someone cannot get past one area, they may remain stuck there. Other characters are able to help them confront these issues, and may instead (or in addition) pass through that way if they choose to. Aside from the level where they wake up, characters may approach these levels in any order as they so choose.THE GROUPS
GROUP A:
Serah Farron
Elidibus
Nakahara Chuuya
Tsunayoshi Sawada
Rei Suwa
Caitlyn Kiramman
Ragna the Bloodedge
Kotone Shiomi
Monkey D. Luffy
Yuja Wightshade (WoL)
Yosuke Hanamura
Astralin Turnont
Dazai Osamu
Ange Ushiromiya
Hythlodaeus
Ethlyn
GROUP B:
Violet (Vi)
Silco
Mizuki Date
Claude von Riegan
Noel Kreiss
Kazuki Kurusu
G'raha Tia
Jinx
Marianne von Edmund
Goro Akechi
Sooyoung Han
Saito Sejima
Nikolai Gogol
Erichtonios
Emet-Selch
GROUP C:
Yu Narukami
Pride
Sigma
Usagi Tsukino
William G Maryblood
Scott Summers
Gundam Tanaka
Quentin Quire
Akira Kurusu
Mitama Yakumo
Med'an
Ken Amada
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya
Echo
EXPLORING THE MAZE
The walls of the maze are made of stone slabs; tall, solid, and imposing. As far as one can see, there seem to be no cracks or seams in the wall. They're cool to the touch, perhaps a little dampened by the foggy weather. Some of the stones seem to glow with a dim, inner light. Most of the corridors are stable, but some are a little more risky. Walls or ceilings could collapse, leaving passages blocked and some Chosen trapped within tunnels or rooms of the maze.
Some corridors within the maze are less built up, as well, more like dug-out caverns that look somewhat like mining tunnels. In these tunnels, you can find the raw form of those glowing stones, which seem to light the darkness, allowing the Chosen to see at least a bit. They're enchanting, and some may have a hard time resisting trying to pull them out of the walls.
Occasionally, characters may find larger rooms with small tables of food, equipment, and supplies set up. These areas seem to be safety zones, untouched by the trials, where Chosen can eat, rest, treat any wounds, and replenish their energy.
ii. PERILS IN THE DARK
As the Chosen progress through the challenges of the maze—both illusions and real—the air itself may begin to feel more oppressive and heavy, making movement feel very difficult at times. As the week wears on, characters may find themselves worn out faster or feeling more sluggish than normal. More than that, they may find that their emotional lows become more intense: characters may become more easily frustrated, paranoid, scared, or impatient. In general, this seems to exacerbate the worst parts of their personalities.
On other occasions, Chosen may feel as if they are being watched. They get the feeling that something lurks in the shadows of the maze, that they are being watched or followed. They may hear something scratching or skittering across the walls. When they look…there is nothing there, nor any evidence of creatures stalking them through the halls. Characters who had bad luck in the Casino are particularly prone to this feeling; occasionally, they may feel as if someone—or something—is tugging at their hair or clothes, or breathing against their neck. Try to keep your head, Chosen. The hardest part is yet to come.
THE TRIALS
iii. A DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL [TRIAL A]
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what location or event triggers the beginning of the trial; it seems to be different for every character. Chosen will find themselves in a long corridor, laced with fog. As they progress down this corridor, they begin to see and hear hallucinations and illusions that highlight their greatest insecurities: their flaws, their weaknesses, the darkness they suspect dwells within their soul.
These illusions may come in a variety of different forms. Perhaps they experience voices or images of peers issuing criticisms that they fear are accurate, or they may face a shadowy figure that bears their appearance that embodies all of their worst qualities. The form these illusions take is up to you, the players, and whether other characters are able to see those illusions can also be decided between players. Confronting, challenging, debunking, and/or accepting these criticisms and claims is the key to exiting this level.
Once they have confronted this challenge, the illusions and hallucinations stop immediately. The fog lifts, revealing a turn in the maze they didn't notice before. They may progress in their exploration.
iv. THE SHAPE OF YOUR FEARS [TRIAL B]
Similar to the first trial, this seems to trigger with little warning or fanfare. At some point in their exploration, characters will find their way blocked by something representing their deepest fears. This can be literal—a dark hallway for those who fear the dark, as an example—but can manifest in a myriad of other ways, too. A character could see someone from their past that represents this fear, or a monster, or an object or memory of something that connects to that fear. These fears will be made tangible and visible to anyone around them, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. In order to progress, they must be able to pass by these fears, and may do so in any way the player chooses, whether it requires fighting a monster, negotiating with an authority figure, finding a light in the darkness, or anything else players and characters can imagine.
The nature of this trial can be as massive or mundane as you, the player, chooses. Whether they need to simply turn on a light to abate their fear of the dark, or whether they need to take down a massive beast to confront something bigger, the area they find themselves in seems to accommodate the size of their trial. Once they have confronted this fear, it disappears, revealing a hallway that might not have been there before, allowing them to progress.
v. IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE [TRIAL C]
As with the first two trials, this one seems to emerge from the darkness when a character is ready to face it. They enter a room lined with obsidian mirrors. When they approach these mirrors, characters are confronted with memories related to the crime they have been charged with. This can be a specific moment or a series of moments related to their crime either directly or indirectly. Characters may become lost in these memories and may need help navigating through them from other people: the longer they remain lost in these memories, reliving them again and again, the more they run the risk of losing those memories entirely, either permanently or temporarily. Only by addressing the crime, the way they feel about it, the relationship that crime has to reality and to who the character is, can characters be free of this particular trial.
Once they have surpassed this trial, characters find themselves able to step back through these obsidian mirrors back into the maze, where they can continue their journey.
Navigating all three trials elicits no special fanfare or celebration. Upon completion of the third trial, they find themselves in a foggy corridor, where they will find an exit from the maze.
OPT-OUT AND AFTERMATH
Those characters (or players) who do not wish to interact with the maze will occasionally find quiet corridors that mysteriously place them outside the maze, unable to reenter. They will find that the town is, indeed, gone, as are their living quarters—hope you don't mind roughing it for a while. However, thanks to recent efforts to bolster the town's supplies, some of the underground storehouses organized by Claude and Marianne seem to remain intact and are available as temporary emergency shelter, should your character choose not to camp out.
After one week, the maze will disappear and life in Aldrip returns to normal. As for the locals? They don't seem to notice that anything strange has happened at all. Maze? What maze? Strange weather we're having this week, eh?
Just because there’s not a prompt for it doesn’t mean that your character’s actions aren’t acceptable. If you wish to do anything that hasn’t been directly addressed by the prompts, leave a message for the mod team to say what your character would do. If you choose to go down this path, note it as a comment on the OOC poll when it goes up, and leave a link to your threads so that we can take all actions into consideration for the next State of the Game.
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It's a bad habit, really, but it's normal enough that she doesn't even notice it anymore except when its reflected back to her by other people like a mirror. Scott actually knows more about her than most people here, and yet, most of these memories would be a mystery to him. As critically important as they are, she doesn't usually talk about them.
They're difficult to explain, or they're sad, or--
She lets out a little noise of surprise when she's suddenly drawn into a hug, going stiff for a half-second before recognizing it as Scott and letting herself be drawn in without resistance. She hadn't even seen him watching this. She has to be careful not to stab him with her naginata as she wraps her arms around him, but she wants the hug too much to turn away.]
Sorry you had to see this. [Her voice is soft, muffled against his shoulder as she turns her head to rest naturally against him. He's warm, and solid, and real, unlike the memories she's been trapped in, and the relief leaves her sagging a little against him.] You okay?
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He hears her apology and shakes his head, wordlessly confirming that she has nothing to apologize for.]
Yeah, I'm okay.
[Not really, but that's fine, he's more worried about Kotone and how she's doing. These are her memories being reflected back at them, her memories that they're reliving.
Quietly, he asks.] Are you okay?
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[The response comes too quickly to be genuine; even to her ears, it doesn't sound believable. But she can't make Scott go through all of this again. She already dropped her death on him out of nowhere before. He doesn't need to bear all of these burdens. She can handle it all herself.
Her free hand grips the back of his shirt tightly as she takes another breath. What's the point of all these stupid memories, anyway? The first trial was obvious. This one...
Around them, the bright, warm sunlight of the rooftop fades as the sun sinks too quickly behind the horizon, the sky turning an eerie shade of green under the light of a full moon. With her face pressed into his shoulder, she can't see what's happening around them. But she doesn't have to see to know.
She flinches as two gunshots shatter the air around them.]
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He tightens his hold just marginally, as if reaffirming that he's here. Scott looks down at her for a moment, until he notices the shifting mirrors, displaying a new memory. Guess it's not done yet.
The sky looks weird, he can discern that much, which was probably enough warning in itself. Scott may not know what's going on, but it's not going to be anything good-- which is almost confirmed when the sounds of gunshots echo throughout the room they're in. He tenses, unable to completely stop his reaction, but he doesn't let go of her.]
...You don't have to tell me anything, Kotone, but I want to stay here. [Is it weird saying that he wants to watch her memories? Probably.] You won't face this alone.
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When the memory says not to cry, she lets go of her hug around Scott, if only to press her hands over her own ears as if to somehow block it all out. She's shaking, but she's not crying. Shinji said not to cry, so even as her breath catches in little hiccups against his chest, she grits her teeth and keeps her back straight.]
October 4th, [she whispers against his chest, as if maybe speaking it out loud would ward it away.] The only reason he survived at all is 'cause I found the watch he'd lost just a day or two before. It stopped the bullet. I dunno if that's better, though.
[She'd told him, here in Aldrip, hadn't she? With her eyes closed, she can't see how the memory shifts around them other than to sweep away the sound of Ken's scream of anguish, the only one of them who could make any sound at all back then. Instead, the scenery looks like some of the farmland around Aldrip as she tells Shinji that he's still alive, just in the hospital. That she's certain he'll wake up one day.
He doesn't exactly take it well. How could he? He'd planned for his own death. His body was failing him already from having taken Persona suppressants for years. This was supposed to be the end for him, so to be told that he's not dead, but might -- might -- wake up one day from being comatose in the hospital... It's a big adjustment. And before she could really come to terms with having told him that, he was gone.]
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He only starts to look away when he feels Kotone pull away from him, his mouth lowering to a concerned frown when her hands move up to her head, and he lifts his arms so that he can try to clasp her hands with his. If she doesn't budge them from her ears, however, he'll settle on placing his own against her back. Even now, she's holding back her tears, isn't she?]
...You at least gave him a chance. [A coma is better than just instant death, right? Like, there's still hope that he'll wake up. He's sure that Shinji wouldn't just give up.] He's not gone yet.
[So, it is better, it has to be.
Scott can't stop himself from flinching when he hears Ken's scream, fully glad that the memory is changing once again and into... something in this world? It looks like something that can be in Aldrip, and his suspicious feel confirmed as he watches Kotone and Shinji talk.
For a guy that's been told that he might actually live, he sure looks upset about it. Scott doesn't get it, but that isn't anything new, is it?]
Everyone would want their friend to live.
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...Yeah, [is all she manages at first. It's not so much an agreement as an acknowledgment. Everyone would want their friend to live.] It's okay. I get why he said it.
[And yet, the smile she leans back to give Scott still looks watery from the tears she's holding back.]
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He probably just needed time to think about it, you know? Death's... really hard.
[Like how he needed time to process her death. He probably still hasn't fully accepted it, but Scott isn't about to bring it up, even though he just witnessed her final moments just a couple of minute ago. Fuck, Summers, don't start crying now, not when she's looking up at him with a watery expression of her own.
He pulls one of his hands away from their hold, slowly raising it until he gently cups her cheek. His own smile feels weak, but it's the most he can manage as the weight of this room and the memories reflecting off it hovers over them.]
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Her view of him gets blurry as tears swim into her eyes, and she squeezes them shut against it as she drops her naginata and presses both hands against his, attempting to keep him there as she keeps trying to fight back her tears.]
I'm supposed to've accepted it all, [she chokes out, shaking as she tilts her face into his hand.] It has to be okay. I'm everybody's leader, so I always- I always have to be strong. No matter what happens. [She hiccups a little, sniffling through her nose as tears start to gather in her eyelashes in spite of her best efforts.] I have to be fine with it.
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She really takes being a leader seriously though.
Does he really know anything about what it means to be a leader? And not crap like group projects or some stupid team in PE. No, not really. He may declare himself as club president, but it's nothing like leading your friends to fight monsters with your Personas. Maybe being strong and everything is what it really means to lead, so he's not going to fully refute all that. But.]
You don't have to be a leader right now. [Scott isn't really sure if he's saying the right thing, but he's trying, and gently keeps his hand cupped on her face.]
You can just be regular Kotone, who can be not fully okay about it.
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Scott had seen her like that too, hadn't he? At least, she hopes he thought she was reliable. Maybe he won't think that anymore. He's basically saying that, right? That he doesn't see her as a leader.
Maybe that's okay.]
Me'nd Akira talked about it once, [she manages, turning her head a little to press into his hand.] It's... it's really hard, having everybody depend on you. You can't tell your team when something's wrong, so you gotta just... you gotta pretend everything's okay, all the time.
[She opens her eyes, trying to meet his through his glasses, even as her own expression twists into something honestly kind of ugly as she starts to cry in earnest.]
I really wish I could have stayed with everyone in the end!
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It sounds like a fucking lot. Does he want to be mad at her teammates for putting that pressure on her? Kind of, yeah, but he has a feeling that Kotone would be upset with him if he did such a thing on her behalf. Besides, he feels so out of his depth... he may just end up pissing off everyone.
Maybe the best thing he can do is continue standing here and listening. At least she's being open with him? He doesn't want to make her regret doing that. As Kotone starts crying more heavily, he quietly raises his other hand to gently brush some of her tears away, but he's definitely not going to tell her to stop crying.]
I know. [And it's unfair that she can't.]
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For so long, she's had to hide everything she felt behind a smile. Even before SEES, no one wanted a sullen, moody kid. It was easier to laugh and grin and pretend everything was always okay. After Shinji was in the hospital, after Ryoji disappeared, after Nyx was defeated, she had kept it all up because it's what everyone had expected. Everyone was suffering more than her, probably, or so it seemed at the time.
Scott doesn't have any of those expectations. Scott isn't telling her not to cry, or telling her that it'll all be okay. He's just... there, unquestioningly, in spite of all of it. She doesn't deserve him at all, huh?]
I never got to say goodbye, [she admits finally, as soon as she can muster the air to do so. She squeezes her eyes tightly shut and ducks her head a little, keeping her face in his hands.] I really... I really wish I'd gotten to see everybody. Before the end.
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It all sucks still.
It's pretty hard to keep his voice clear, but he wants to be strong and a supporting friend for Kotone.]
It's unfair that you couldn't.
[While still keeping his hands in place, Scott gently rests his forehead against hers.] It must've been really lonely.
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Yeah, [is all she says quietly in response to both statements, blinking her eyes open again when he rests his forehead against hers. They're close enough that she can imagine she can see his eyes through the ruby lenses, close enough that the only thing she can see is him. No mirrors, no memories, just Scott, warm and solid and real.]
It's not their fault. We knew we'd all forget everything that happened during the Dark Hour when we destroyed it, but... it was still hard. I don't want to feel that alone ever again.
[At least she had Aigis in the end, just like she has Scott now. It's tough, but she manages a watery little smile as she gazes up at him and lets her hands gently come to rest against his. Tilting her head just enough, she bumps their noses together, hoping the slightly silly gesture makes both of them feel even a little bit better.]
I'm really glad you're here with me, Scott.
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Maybe he's worn out in his own way, even though he hasn't done much.
'I'm really glad you're here with me,' hearing that, Scott lets his eyes close briefly behind his shades. Can he promise that he'll always be here? Probably not, not with how unpredictable this world is, but as he feels her hands on his and their noses lightly bump into each other, he wants to say so anyway.
So Scott reopens his eyes and smiles, small that it may be.]
Hey, I'll always be here when you need me.
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She knows it's not true, as pleasant a lie as it is. Someday, this world will whisk one or both of them away, and that'll be it. They won't remember each other, and they'll never see each other again. Something squeezes her heart tightly in a vise at the thought, her fingertips tightening against the backs of his hands as if that could somehow keep him here with her.
If she'd learned anything during her time in SEES, though, it's that anyone could leave her at any time, for any reason. Saori transferred schools. Maiko moved away with her dad. Mutatsu went back to his family. Shinji was hospitalized. Ryoji disappeared. Akinari died.
But Yu had said something about unbreakable connections, hadn't he? No matter how far apart they were, no matter if they remembered each other or not, he shared an unbreakable bond with each of his friends, just like she had with everyone at home. As she gazes up at Scott, she has to think they share something like that, too.
So she tilts her head to close the last bit of distance remaining between them and presses a soft kiss to his cheek, lingering there for a long moment.]
Me, too, [she whispers, voice hoarse from crying.] No matter what.
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It's a promise.
[She probably knows she can't promise such a thing to him, but she did so anyway.
Scott's voice hitches just slightly, unable to hold back how much all of this is affecting him too. He wanted to remain a pillar for her, as she let down her walls and cried so openly, but it's not like he could just stand there completely unaffected. He's sad for her-- with her, and he stupidly finds a few tears slip past his shades as he continues to hold Kotone close.]
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Thanks, [she mumbles against his neck. With her eyes closed and her attention on Scott, she can't see that the mirrors have changed around them; no longer reflecting her past memories, but now reflecting the maze itself as if inviting them to keep going. But for the moment, she's content just to hold him and be held by him, trusting him to keep her upright.] You're... a really special kind of guy, Scott.
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He doesn't really want a repeat on what happened on the roof. Even if it was brief, it was deeply uncomfortable.]
I'm just glad that you've told me how you feel about all this. [Scott notices the mirrors changing, no longer showing her memories and that's probably a sign that they can now leave, but he doesn't yet mention it. They can stand here for just a bit longer, right?]
Well, I guess there is only one of me. [He says, trying to add some lighthearted humor into the situation. Except, that's not true, huh? Quentin says there's another version of him BUT nothing to worry about probably.]
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Eventually, she doesn't have any tears left to cry, and she pulls back a little, just enough to rub her eyes and try to wipe her nose on her sleeve. There's no way she looks great right now -- like a child, it feels like she's worn herself out crying. Or maybe it's just been long enough in the maze that her familiar nightly exhaustion is catching up with her. At least it means she's too tired to be embarrassed by the whole display as she tries to compose herself a little bit more.]
Do you... still think I'm reliable? [she mumbles finally, pressing her forehead against his shoulder instead of trying to look him in the eye. Did he even think that in the first place?]
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Scott's about to offer his jacket for her to wipe her face against, because he doesn't really mind, but she's back to holding him close, covering her expression from him. She's really worried about people relying on her, huh? He kind of understands, in the sense that he wants to be reliable for others too. Back home, he didn't care, but that started to change when he enrolled in Xavier's... and now he's here.]
Of course.
[He reassures her without hesitation, because there was never any doubt on his end to stop relying on Kotone. Or find her one of the most dependable people here. Scott remembers how hard she searched for Shinji... and how she supported him back at the casino.]
Girls are supposed to cry anyway. [He teases again.]
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There sure are a lot of rules for boys and girls in America, [she murmurs, shoulders shaking a little as she huffs out another little laugh. It's not even so much that it's funny as it is sheer relief.
She lets herself hold him just a little longer before she makes herself step back, if only so she can try to make herself a little more presentable... which is probably impossible until she can at least splash some water on herself, but she tries, laughing a little at her own efforts.]
Sorry. I'm a mess.
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[But as she pulls back, Kotone will find Scott smiling at her with that small, if reassuring grin. Maybe for the first time since coming here, he actually doesn't want to go home, even if he misses his brother and everything. He knows he'll have to go back someday, but he's not in a rush. At least have her go home first-- not that he wants that to happen either.
Because what is she going to return to? And he'll also miss her.
Scott sucks in a breath and pushes away his thoughts, still wanting to be her pillar, especially right now. Hopefully she'll think that he's reliable too and he can't be that person if he's always the one crying and being upset.]
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you sometimes have bad makeup days. [Is this what he's going to call it? But in all seriousness, he's not planning on telling anyone about what happened here, unless she wants to.]
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Anyway, she isn't even wearing makeup, which almost makes her laugh. She can't quite manage it, but it does make her tiny smile brighten a bit as she draws her hand back and rubs her nose on her sleeve one more time with a mighty sniffle.]
Are you doing okay? [she asks finally, glancing back up at him again. Her eyes are visibly red, face still streaked from tears and nose still running in spite of herself, but she has to ask. She should have asked way earlier.] Honestly.
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