THE WORLD: PSL LIFE

[insinning]

[Here be all the psl threads]

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[insinning]

Thanks--

[Ah. Sinclair tilts his head to study Oria's neck as Oria helps him clean up and brush out his hair. His hair is certainly fluffy, but it doesn't tangle at all on the brush.]

You're covering it up with make up?

[dissimulative]

Hm? Yeah. It doesn't look good on me, so I'm hiding it.

[ Simple, right? But no, Oria doesn't want it to be seen so easily. It's a hideous reminder and Oria would rather not remember if he could. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair frowns. But he doesn't argue with Oria because it is a painful reminder that he knows Oria didn't need to see every day. Despite the head-stuffed-with-wool feeling, Sinclair reaches up to cup Oria's cheek.]

It doesn't hurt still?

[ That's his concern...]

[dissimulative]

Some parts of it are numb, but others are sensitive. If I just do this on it—

[ Oria reaches out and lightly taps Sinclair's arm with a finger. ]

—it hurts a lot for the sensitive areas.

[insinning]

[Sinclair frowns, leaning into Oria. He's cold but also worried]

...then doesn't the make up make it hurt?

[He had been particularly careful with touching Oria's neck because the scar did look painful...]

[dissimulative]

[ He sits next to him, letting Sinclair lean on him. ]

Putting it on hurt a bit, but I'm fine.

[insinning]

[Sinclair leans into Oria, almost flopping onto him.]

Mm...then, if it bothers you less...

[ He snuggles a little closer]

What are you doing today?

[dissimulative]

[ Oria makes sure that Sinclair is comfortable pulls him closer. This guy... is so warm. ]

I was thinking about playing some handheld games while staying here. Maybe I can look over a report if Iri sends me any.

[ Chances are 0. He's supposed to be resting. Not working. ]

[insinning]

[ He's burning up, yeah...

Sinclair wrinkles his nose at the word 'report', clearly aggrieved thinking of his own. Eugh]

What game?

[dissimulative]

Hm, I should have two DS consoles here...

[ Oria would usually get up to retrieve them himself, but Sinclair just got cozy with him, so he pulls out his phone. ]

What game do you wanna play? I probably have it.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair tried to think but his brain isn't working right now]

Mm, not sure. I haven't gotten to play anything in awhile...so anything seems like fun.

[dissimulative]

Then let's play Mario Kart.

[ Evil. He calls for one of the maids to get the game sets. It doesn't take all that long for them to arrive and Oria thanks them before they leave...

Anyway, he checks that they're charged enough and hands one to Sinclair. ]

[insinning]

[ Evil!!! Sinclair takes the controller, straightening up a little so he didn't impede them both from playing]

You know, I haven't played this in a really long time.

[dissimulative]

Same here, actually. But then again, I haven't really had time to play other games ever since Fragment started.

[ For various reasons. He connects the two devices by infrared or whatever DS used back in the heyday and let's go!! Mario Kart!! Oria picks Yoshi. ]

[insinning]

[ Ah. His favourite...he grabs Princess Peach instead. Time to go]

It really did take up all our free time.

[dissimulative]

Hey, at least the grind actually meant something for us in the end.

[ Like... fighting for their lives? Yeah. Sadly, that's still not new whether he's playing games or in real life. If anything, he feels even more targeted nowadays.

Time for the twisty Rainbow Road. Oria is really not going easy on sick Sinclair. ]

[insinning]

[ Why.

Sinclair tries to keep his car under control but gets hit with a banana almost immediately. Why]

It would have been better without it I think.

[ yeaaaah. Looks at Sinclair's life]

deathgrips notif

[dissimulative]

You think so?

[ Oria thinks he turned out for the worse because of Fragment, but he also gained many things that he favored. ]

But I met you again and we got closer. I think that's the highlight of my Fragment time.

[ Oria tosses a red shell at a CPU that's ahead of him. Suffer. ]

SHAKES IT WITH YOU

[insinning]

[Sinclair thinks about it, brain groggy]

Mm. I can't regret my time in Fragment when it brought us together. [He had become stronger for many things, but he knew how painful it was for other people]

I guess...I just wish it hadn't been so painful for so many people.

[HIS turn to throw a banana at the CPU. He's catching up]

[dissimulative]

[ It's definitely been painful. Oria lost some friends and went through some things that probably would have traumatized him for life. He's glad that he could announce Hector not being dead by bringing him to the party, but really. He feels that he couldn't match up to his own standards. Sure, his empathy was generally lower than the average person's, but he still felt for them sometimes, only because he understands how that felt.

Oria catches a mushroom speed boost to zoom off that ramp and nearly falling into the pit. Whew. That was close. ]

I could get through anything if I knew that you were there. Anywhere. Alive.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair fumbles with the controls, as the CPU knocks him off the map--noooo. But his focus isn't really on the game anywhere. He leans into Oria, biting his lip]

...you too. I only got as far as I did because you were there. Then. Now. You're always supporting me.

[dissimulative]

[ Despite a "heavy" topic, Oria can still divide his focus on the game and the conversation pretty well. ]

That's why there's no meaning to either of us sacrificing our lives for the other. I would never want you to give your life for mine in any circumstance.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair doesn't look at Oria this time, but the awareness of how Oria got his scar is as sharp as ever at the back of his mind. He works to get his character back up and running, collecting coins for a speed boost.]

I could say the same to you.

[ He's brow furrows ]

...your happiness is important to me.

[dissimulative]

Yours is too. You know that I'm not the type to throw my life away. Even...

[ Even when it was either him or his father. The suggestion was still met with a lot of resistance, but he still went through with it. It wasn't even him being cold. He would never be able to say, "if it's me or you, I'd rather it be me" to his father's face. He wouldn't mean a single word of that phrase. Family is important to Oria, despite everything they've done to him.

He grips the DS a little tighter, with his shoulder that's in contact with Sinclair tensing up. He remembers his father bleeding and how he worked so hard to staunch the blood flow so that they could wait for help to arrive. Even with the deal at Kayser Corp, Arvel only left Oria behind by himself because Oria specifically requested it. He really didn't like the idea of leaving his son behind in an obviously questionable environment.

...

Oria swallows through the tightness in his throat and pushes through with the game. He comes in third place out of 10 players, including themselves. ]

At least I'm not last!

[ He laughs a little. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair frowns, as his character rolls in at seventh]

...I can't believe I was that far behind...

[He can be a little pouty, even as he leans on Oria a little more, pressing his face against Oria's arm. Softly, in a quiet voice]

And I know. There's no point in any of this if we can't live to see any of it through. [ He swallows a little, remembering how Oria had looked when they found him. He can't promise he'll be safe and careful anymore than Oria can. But he can promise this]

... you won't ever have to make that decision again. I won't let anyone make me into a sacrifice you have to choose.

[ Oria would never have to live through that a second time.]