(ROLE) DOCTOR WHO

[dormheads]

doctor who.

On Monday at 9 PM, Nier receives an encrypted e-mail.

middleman@Wiwaldi.edu

Meet me at the Student Health Office alone. Don't tell anyone.

Luke

No one is in the halls as Nier creeps to the Student Health Service Office. The door opens, and Luke waves him inside.

There is a trendy plastic letter board standing up on the counter which reads:

DOCTOR WHO
● DOCTOR or WHO?
● DOCTOR will spare someone from execution on Sunday, but under certain conditions. WHO? will allow the removal of a single piece of evidence. If no evidence is known, use "wildcard" to make it random.
● This choice is only active during the current week.
● You have to pick one or the other (doctor or who), not both.
● Deadline is Tuesday, 6 PM.

Comments

[darksubverted]

I didn't--cut it out.

[He shoos the hand and rubs his forehead where it was poked. With his good hand.]

I'm being serious here. When you feel like things are the worse they can be, it won't last forever. It might be a long time, but it won't be forever. If you keep going, you'll come out where you need to be.

[amain]

Yeah. I got that the first time with the dark and light advice, Riku.

How have you been doing? Aside from… [ Gestures at his hurt paw. ]

[darksubverted]

[He just makes a face. It looks like he almost wants to huff, but he doesn't.

And then he glances away.]

I could be better.

[amain]

[ Rip, Riku. ]

Do you want to check out any of the new locations this week? To take your mind off of things for a bit.

[darksubverted]

[He shakes his head.]

No thanks... I'm not feeling up to it right now.

[amain]

All right. Try not to hole yourself up until Saturday.

[ No hermit for you. He pats his shoulder. ]

This also might be asking too much, but look after Mabel for me.

[darksubverted]

...

[Stares at him.]

Was that your fault? Nier!

[amain]

... You can say it is.

[darksubverted]

Why? She's been moping the entire time. She won't eat, and she won't move hardly either.

Nier.

[amain]

... Summer isn't in a good place for a kid, I think. You have Mandricardo refusing to look or talk to Otome, then I wasn't the greatest person to Byleth either when she was alive. It's... Not warm there. Or nice.

I only asked if she'd consider moving dorms because of this and she stomped off.

[darksubverted]

[He sighs tiredly.]

You're such a dingbat sometimes. Maybe you guys need Mabel. She's young, but you can't treat her like a baby.

Maybe she wants to help. If Summer is so bad, do better so she can be there.

[He chops Nier directly on the forehead.]

[amain]

[ He sighs, tired (wow are they just mirrors), and just lets him do that. ]

Kids should be allowed to be kids, Riku. Growing up fast isn't something to covet or normalize. She can wait elsewhere until summer is at a place where she can return.

[darksubverted]

[Two of them.

He sort of narrows his brows.]

There's no point in pretending she can be a kid in a place like this. Not everyone is your sister, Nier.

You can't treat her like she's not able to do anything on her own. At least let her stay where she's most comfortable. Have you seen what happens to my dorm? She isn't any better off there than any of the other dorms, moron.

And I'm not a babysitter.

[amain]

[ He frowns at the mention of his sister. ]

I was never a good older brother. [ He knows that's a truth. ] I only told her reasons why summer might not be a good place to be right now. It was still her choice to make.

In the end, she chose you.

[ her one true love ]

[darksubverted]

[Stop, Mabel loves Hugo.

He frowns right back.]

Stop saying that before I knock your teeth in. Apologize to her. She likes Annie. And stop encouraging people to run off.

If you cause something to happen to Annie's dorm because she loses everyone, I'm going to make you regret it.

[amain]

[ Mabel loves Riku now. ]

... Even if I wanted to apologize, she's not going to listen to me. She didn't when we talked about switching dorms—and that was with all my concern and good intentions on display.

[ emotion week awful. ]

The dorm won't empty unless someone decides we need to be killed. Those left are going to stay.

[darksubverted]

[He is just :unamused: at Nier.]

Don't act like being killed is something that won't necessarily happen!

[amain]

[ He goes quiet. ]

... Out of everyone here that can be chosen to die, why am I alive?

[ how is nier a dead person having survivor's guilt ]

[darksubverted]

[?!

DON'T YOU START TALKING LIKE THAT, HE ALREADY HAS ENOUGH DEPRESSION HIMSELF AS IT IS. He sort of pauses, bewildered by how casual this survivor's guilt is given.]

Are you really choosing to put Kainé through that?!

[amain]

[ WHY DID YOU PICK A YOKO TARO IF NOT FOR DEPRESSION ]

... As you said, it's not like I can decide if I die here or not. She might have to go through this twice.

[ Actually, he knows he probably shouldn't be depressed here. Riku is only sixteen. A babby, so he's going to repress it. ]

Sorry. I'm okay.

[darksubverted]

[He's just so ?! about seeing his own kind of doomed acceptance reflected back at him. ALSO STOP REPRESSED IS NU'S SCREENNAME NOT YOURS.]

You're not okay. Why would you say that? Don't you want to live so you can... protect the things that matter?!

[He has a lot of room to talk.]

[amain]

[ Wow, there’s so much he can say, but he chooses to ask a question. ]

… Do you know if the wish you guys mentioned before is real?

[darksubverted]

[His lips thin into a frown.]

I don't know... but the last person who asked, I told them it wouldn't hurt anything to try anyway. Why? What are you using it for?

[amain]

I don’t know how this place pulled me out of the void, but I don’t exist in my world anymore. My life… People’s memory of me—gone.

[ So it’s for that. ]

[darksubverted]

[He just

frowns at Nier! And is quiet for a long time.]

Like... [Well, he looks confused for a second. Wow, he can't remember her name...? Weird. Xi...? Anyway,] Sora and I were... trapped in the darkness.

Before I came here. We were sitting at the edge of the water on the shore. We had accepted we were probably stuck there. I can't leave him there alone. I won't.

[No one has asked him about his own wish yet, not after being himself again.

But it's for that.]