week 1; post erasure

[ruffboi]

[Since there's no one he wants to kill this week, there's no real urgency for him tracking down Sekreuz. But once the Erasure is over, he'll go find him for a bit.]

So. Let's talk! You gonna jump in front of my axe if I try and kill a reaper?

[Clearly, he hasn't figured out he doesn't find this funny.]

Comments

[subordinacy]

[Setz is calmer now that it's not, like, the heat of the moment, but.]

... Do you have to be smiling as you say that?

[ruffboi]

I mean. It's kinda cute. You're a shrimp, I'd cut you to ribbons! [Still smiling....] But it's brave that you'd do that. So that's why I'm willing to give you a shot to convince me.

[subordinacy]

I'm not short. You're just tall.

[There's a difference, okay.]

... Should I be honoured?

[ruffboi]

Yep! I don't let just anyone tell me what to do. Especially when it comes to whacking bad guys.

[subordinacy]

[Well then.

Anyway, you asked, Magnus, so get ready.]

Especially in the case of that trial, we had no concrete evidence pointing either way. What if we'd had more suspects? [...] My basic stats are almost the same as Noctis's. If I'd happened to buy new clothes this week, I would've been as suspicious as him.

If we'd had more than those two, would you have killed everyone?

Secondly— [BECAUSE HE ISN'T DONE] —if both had been innocent, then it'd already be bad enough that we collectively killed one and their partner! And at least then, there was some sort of process and agreement, even if just in a farce for a trial. Independently killing someone to ensure your own survival barely makes you different from a Reaper.

Not to mention that while I don't doubt your intentions, at least in that moment... say that someone killed another person, claiming that they thought they were a Reaper. How can the rest of us trust that? We were encouraged at the start of this Game to erase one another, to compete for the limited revival spots. How would we know that this person didn't just commit an erasure to cull the numbers—or secretly a Reaper themselves?

If we start justifying independent kills, we give people lies to hide behind.

Finally, as long as we don't know how many Reapers there are... pragmatically, it makes some sense to keep known ones around. Even if they can't provide us with any information, then for the next trial, if we have no leads, we can erase them as a last resort.

[Which is colder than he'd like, but he's here to appeal to Magnus, not debate that level of morality.]

It's only important when there's just one Reaper left. Until then, it doesn't make much of a difference how many there are—you don't need that many to kill someone, especially considering that both Dahlia Hawthorne and Terra apparently carried out their erasures alone.

[Okay, he's done (or at least pausing to breathe). Amazingly, he did not have this all prepared beforehand.]

[ruffboi]

[Uh! Yikes! To be honest, Magnus isn't one for listening to other people's long speeches, and he clearly starts tuning him out about halfway through. But he tunes back in when Setz mentions giving people lies to hide behind. Now that part makes some sense to him. So he'll hear him out.]

Okay. So first off, I don't really care if you think it's good or bad. Maybe you think it sucks if I kill someone to ensure my own survival, but I'll think it sucks when they turn around and kill someone else. So, forget that. Also, if I kill someone in the middle of the trial, after saying I was going to, it's not exactly a subtle trick.

But, I get you. Strategy wise, we want the Reapers revealing themselves by committing murders and then getting erased at trial. But that's kind of a hard pill to swallow when you're talking someone who's a ticking time bomb. You get that, right? Maya, Utena, Anthy - that's the kind of person who's going to end up getting erased by these guys. Or, someone who's important to solving the cases, or someone smart like you, or even Taako. I just can't ignore someone knowing they could turn around and knock us all out and take away someone important to me when I'm not even there to protect them. [Starting to get himself a little worked up about this. There's something specific about that aspect of it, killing when he's totally helpless to stop it, that drives him crazy.]

Believe me. I used to think like you, but you don't let bad guys walk away. It doesn't matter if you think you've got your eye on them. If there's any chance they're still a threat to the people you care about, you don't ever let them walk away.

[subordinacy]

Being too obvious helps with getting away with things, so saying it's not a "subtle trick" doesn't really work out here. If Junko Enoshima suddenly pointed at someone, declared them a Reaper, and then killed them, should we all just nod our heads and accept that?

And part of my point was that not letting them walk away won't help us at this stage. Erasing Dahlia Hawthorne didn't prevent Lion's erasure. Erasing Terra won't prevent next week's erasure either. As of right now, killing people because they're Reapers... actually, not even that.

Killing people because they're possibly Reapers is only self-gratifying; in terms of practicality, it won't protect a single person.

[ruffboi]

No, I got that part. It's just, uh, I'm not a very practical guy. I don't want to feel the way I'll feel if someone I should've killed kills again and I don't care if that's impractical or selfish.

[This is just emotional for him - more than he was exactly consciously aware. Realizing that, he laughs a little, backing up.]

Shit, look. Mainly? I was just saying I'd axe the spare because Jonas was trying to get them to give themselves up, and I wanted to be the bad cop for his whole thing. If the vote had gone to Noctis, I dunno if I'd have killed Terra! Maybe, maybe not. But it turns out I kinda disagree with you anyway.

[subordinacy]

You're free to disagree, but know everything I said still stands, provided that Monika doesn't literally cling to my back. Seeing as how I was murdered so that someone could feel better, over imaginary wrongdoings in his head, you'll have to excuse me if this is something I take rather seriously.

[ruffboi]

And my family was murdered because of somebody who should've been taken out when I had the chance. So I take it serious, too.

But I guess...I'm not about killing people who didn't do anything wrong. I'm gonna keep saying I'll kill whoever survives the trial, because I want the Reapers to think they'll have to deal with me. But if we don't know, I'm not going to kill anyone. And if we do know, I'm doing it, whether or not you think it's practical.

[subordinacy]

Intimidate people however you like; I don't mind. Though for your sake and his, I hope your partner can look after himself as well as you can, as I'd rather not see you end up with a target on your back for this.

... And if you do take out that axe and I think you've made a premature judgment, then know that I'll act—whether or not you think it's practical.

[ruffboi]

He can. But you'd have to be a pretty big idiot to think going after Taako would make me less likely to axe you. [This seems suspect, as Taako screamed when strangled by a stuffed bear. But he seems to believe it.]

It's a deal.

[subordinacy]

[Setz will take Magnus's word for it that Taako would not react to an actual murder attempt the, uh, same way (though he looks dubious).]

Better than nothing. [And with that, he looks exhausted now.] You're actually more rational than I thought you'd be.

[ruffboi]

[Laughing at that.]

Big compliment, guy! I'll take it.

[subordinacy]

You should try to have higher standards for compliments.