BOOTHILL.

[tactic]

Comments

[shirtbag]

[ he searches aventurine's face for any sign of emotion from that, but he's probably deadfaced? or too tired? ]

They made you fight her?

[tactic]

[ It is very carefully neutral. ]

... Yes. They were controlling her with something. It was the same for the others.

[shirtbag]

[ boothill grips his free hand. he will not smush his smoothie. he won't... ]

I know I shouldn't expect less of this fudgin' place... but that's just forkin' cruel.

[ he shakes his head. ]

You even get anythin' out of all this aside from gettin' banged up?

[tactic]

[ Do NOT get smoothie all over his hospital room floor. ]

Mr. Daan and Kanda managed to get their hands on a heart and a spine before we were all returned. Cloud and I couldn't take anything. We could only watch.

[shirtbag]

You two were that beat down, huh? [ ... ] Cloud said you got shot.

[tactic]

[ Cloud, you slut. ]

... Yes. I was shot and killed in the second round.

[shirtbag]

[ SLUT? ]

Wait a sec. Killed?

[tactic]

[ FOR DOXXING HIM ]

Killed. It didn't stick, obviously.

[shirtbag]

What do ya' mean, didn't stick? You come back to life right away?

[tactic]

I just meant you didn't find a corpse in that store.

[ Though that would have been kind of sick for the cyoa to do. ]

[shirtbag]

So you got shot and killed, and after that you woke up in that giant box. Is that right?

[ rather than reviving while in the cyoa which yeah would have been metal. having three lives like in a video game... ]

[tactic]

[ There's a stretch of silence that follows, and Aventurine's expression grows complicated with grief and something else as he looks away. ]

... Basically. Something else happened, but that's not as easy to talk about.

[shirtbag]

[ boothill stays quiet again for a moment, searching the sliver of aventurine's profile that he can see. ]

... I won't make you if you don't wanna say nothin'. Maybe it could be somethin' I can understand. Up to you though.

[tactic]

[ His hands grasp at the sheets on the bed, tightening enough that his knuckles grow white, and he struggles to manage a small smile. ]

I made a difficult choice, that's all. Every single one of us there did.

[shirtbag]

[ boothill stares down at where aventurine grips the sheets, how crisp the creases are in his grip. he's hanging on like it'll keep him from breaking apart. ]

What choice was that?

[tactic]

... To save myself or my sister.

[ Yeah. ]

[shirtbag]

[ boothill studies him carefully in this moment. he got that gun and had a choice. cloud said he was shot.

... ]

You did it to yourself, didn't ya'? Chose her instead of you?

[tactic]

[ It's a good thing this isn't emotionshare week, because the amount of guilt that drops on Aventurine would have probably taken out everyone in the vicinity.

He lowers his face into his hands and shakily inhales, then exhales. ]

... No. [ And doesn't he sound absolutely ruined over it. ] I chose myself.

[shirtbag]

[ there's a pause. boothill genuinely hadn't expected it.

he keeps his voice low. he doesn't know how aventurine will react to what he says. ]

...I think that was the right choice.