Public Channel - Day 59

[pipers_son]

[He really didn't want this to happen, but...]

I think it's time we start keeping a list of those who's disappeared, been taken, or is otherwise indisposed.

I'll start.

Lauren has been buried in the ground, somewhere, and Steven Universe has been taken by the Rose Queen.

[He says all of this blankly, matter of factly, and there's only the sound of a shaky breath at the very end.]

Comments

[pipers_son]

[Take that light swat to the head, although Joker doesn't make it really hard.]

Friendship doesn't make up for lack of plannin'! Ya got a brain, so ya need ta use it, especially if yer gonna go harassin' a fae queen!

[Although it still wasn't as bad as what Lauren did.... but that is an incredibly low bar.]

There's no excuse for that. If ya have the time ta cobble together a plan, even if it's not a great one, it's better than runnin' in blind. Got it? Or else no one will bring ya on any rescue attempt.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya flinches as he's smacked, ducking his head.] I got it, I got it!

... Sorry. [He would still come back, but they probably could have come up with something while they were digging through.]

[pipers_son]

Ya better be.

[C'mere, you, time to mess up that anime protagonist hair some more with a ruffle. Be glad he has a new hand that isn't wooden.]

Even if ya don't like it, ya do know that keepin' all of ya safe is part of my job, right? Not as much as the Warden, sure, but...

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya grumbles as his hair is tousled, though he doesn't push Joker away.] I know, but...

[His fingers curl more tightly around his staff. He doesn't look up.] I want to protect my friends.

[pipers_son]

[Ah. Yeah. His hand comes to a rest, and he lets out a slow breath.]

I know. Everyone does. But sometimes... That means knowin' when it's alright ta run. That's the decision I had ta make for everyone, even though I didn't like it.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya doesn't look satisfied with that.] I don't want to run anymore. I want to be able to do something!

[It's not like he doesn't understand it, but he's been trying to be strong enough to not. So other people don't have to sacrifice themselves for him.

So when awful people come after his friends, he can keep them away.] I... I didn't think he was going to do that.

[pipers_son]

Runnin' is doin' somethin'.

[Sliding his hand down to his side where it hangs limply, Joker breathes out slowly. Not quite a sigh. It's nothing he likes either, but...]

For example... By doin' my best ta make sure the rest of ya got out, one way or the other, I've made sure that no one else has gotten taken, or that anyone died. Things are bad, but they could have been a lot worse.

[Somehow. Don't ask him how. It was already pretty bad.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya purses lips, averting his gaze. But he decides not to argue it further. It's not like Joker made the wrong decision... it just wasn't quite the one Yuya wanted to make.]