SHI QING XUAN

[aubins]

Comments

[aubins]

That doesn’t mean they don’t though.

Or didn’t. I guess.

[shiftingwinds]

I don't really get what you're getting at... This power wouldn't have made me fight with Aoi.

Anyway... [moving right along] ...Law was... he accepted it pretty easily when he was figured out.

Do you think tomorrow will be okay...?

[aubins]

I know, but you’re also very adamant you’re in love with her all of a sudden. So... I wonder if you were both hit with something twice.

...

I don’t know. Depends on who gets called to execute him. Could be Medb? She has her reasons for being mad that Douman’s dead.

[shiftingwinds]

I don't see what's so sudden about it, she's always been extraordinary...

[no it. it's sudden. it's really very sudden. sighs.]

That's right... they were close. "Master" and "Servant," I think it was...? [her brow furrows a little.] ...I hope she'll be okay.

[aubins]

... I'll check in with you later about this. See if anything's changed. Just call it a hunch, okay?

[ SIGH ]

That was the way they called it, I think. She's resilient. She'll bounce back. [ and she'll probably be the one ending law's life if she has her way ]

But she wasn't happy. That much was clear.

[shiftingwinds]

Well, okay...

[she doesn't see the problem here but!! whatever floats his boat.]

...what do you think? About why Law did what he did... [she hesitates] ...I thought it was Vlad who had killed Steven. Not Douman.

[aubins]

It probably was, Shi. He said he had personal reasons for going after him as well. It wouldn't surprise me if the personal reasons were the real motivator, and the "hunch" was an excuse.

[ ... ]

I'm not sure I know him well enough to get those "personal reasons" out of him, but they were enough to drive him to kill, so...

[shiftingwinds]

...

[maybe she can get him to tell her if he feels bad about her having to investigate the clorpse... she thinks that, and then immediately feels bad for thinking that. foolish.]

He didn't strike me as the type that would kill for personal reasons, but... maybe I didn't know him as well as I thought I did.

[aubins]

How much can we all know about each other, really. After one month.

[ ... he sighs. ]

He had his reasons. If it wants to share them, I'd be happy to listen. I can't really feel anger towards him for taking out Douman, after everything. If he doesn't, then that's his choice and his right.

[shiftingwinds]

...I guess you're right about that. A month... isn't all that long at all. Even with more time, there's still...

[her voice trails off, and she shakes her head, looking down at her hands.]

"After everything"...?

[


so i know we all pretty much collectively decided douman killed omi at the end of the trial but like. at that time, shi qingxuan was busy cuddling with aoi, so.

(she's going to be so mad once she snaps out of this and realizes how useless she was at trial, when she just wanted to be useful.)]

[aubins]

You can know someone, and not know them all at once. Depends on how open you are, and how willing they are to be open with you. Sometimes by not being open at all, you can be close to someone as well. But... a month is still just a month. Even in a place like this.

[ ... dfljdlgkjd oh sqx. ]

Yes...? We spoke about it pretty extensively in trial.

[shiftingwinds]

Did we...?

[she was. so focused on aoi.

i'm so sorry.]

[aubins]

[ ....... he closes his eyes for a moment. ]

We're pretty certain Douman killed Omi.

[shiftingwinds]

[oh. huh.]

...but, they liked Omi a lot...

[she has a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea of killing someone you care deeply about.

...but then she seems to remember something, and her face falls.]

Although, I guess that wouldn't... necessarily stop everyone, would it.

[aubins]

A bit too much, apparently. Add in whatever happened with the four who vanished this week, and the amplified base sins we've all been experiencing, and this is the result.

[ ... he's quiet for a moment, staring at the floor, before shaking his head. ]

Sometimes there's a reason for it. Sometimes that reason only makes sense in one person's mind.

[shiftingwinds]

...I guess you're right about that.

[that's a depressing thought, though.]

[aubins]

We're all complicated people. Sometimes people want what they want and can't comprehend not having it.

[ and the wrong people suffer for it. ]

[shiftingwinds]

...

[she sighs]

You're right about that, too.

[aubins]

Unfortunately.

[ ... he glances over at the flowers she's looking at well. ]

Might need to ask to take a few of these. If Pride's not in a terrible mood at potentially being left with Gu Yun and Molly on their team only.

[shiftingwinds]

...do you think Pride's going to be okay? They don't really talk to me much, but... it can't be easy, losing members of your team like that.

[even if it's not really... "teams"...

envy had seemed really upset, though. (she was Too Cursed to notice pride bloodcrying.)]

[aubins]

I don't know. Envy's whole team is wiped out, Pride's down to two... everyone's lost someone except for Greed and Gluttony at this point haven't they?

[ and wrath lost HK-47, and really is that a loss? ]

[shiftingwinds]

[she thinks back and then nods]

...right. I think that's true. [...] I'm worried. Do you think - well, Envy was still here at the trial today, so that's a good thing... but it's concerning, to see Pride's numbers getting lower, too.

[...what will it mean if too many teams get wiped out...]

[aubins]

We're not teams in the traditional sense. But if the Avatars have wishes too and those wishes are tied to their teams being alive then... Envy's just lost. So to speak.

[shiftingwinds]

[she glances at her gluttony tattoo]

...I hope that's not the case. All of us - we can decide if we're going to indulge in not, but they can't control what we do...

[...]

Douman told me that... they had heard that Pride felt trapped here. And... we saw those pictures, of Sloth and Envy... I just hope that an Avatar losing people who are aligned with their sin won't make them even more trapped, or make things worse for them.

[aubins]

It could be the balance of things. We have more autonomy, but we're like rats in a cage. Sure, we all agreed to this but it's like signing a contract without being allowed to look at the fine print.

They're not in the cage. They can do things we can't, and know things we don't. But the pay off is that they can't control what we do or who's going to win. I know we found the alarm thing funny, but there must be a reason they have those alarms in the first place.

[ ... ]

Given how unwilling Envy was to talk to us, and how... I don't know, flippant? Sloth was. I don't know if we'll find out anything even if we did ask them.