the doctor is IN

[foolmetwice]

Who: Mars and YOU
Where: hotel lobby
When: day 80, morning

[good morning, idols! today Mars has set up a little booth with the following sign hanging out front:]

Are you a person in need? Do you want help? Do you ALSO want points? Come here for free (FREE!!!) advice from an advice pro.

Insert question, receive a genuinely helpful response**, free of charge. Win-win-win scenario!!

** Quality of advice may vary, not responsible for any unintended and less than satisfactory consequences that may stem from acting on said advice.

[WELL, ANYWAY]

[Mars sits with his feet propped on the booth smoking a cigarette, watching as people pass by. he's dressed like a Taisho today in outfit number 5 with his henshin belt around his waist]

Comments

[liftoft]

[ he mostly just looks--sad. Not necessarily directed at Mars, just... ]

Mm... who attacked first?

[foolmetwice]

She shot at me first.

[and here, he scowls]

Buried me in a waterfall of stupid puppets.

[liftoft]

Ha...

[ that makes him smile, just a bit ]

Sorry to hear it! Seems like insult to injury, huh?

[foolmetwice]

Little bit.

[especially since he was stabbed by puppets earlier!1]

Anyway. . . that’s all. I sparred C for a bit too, but that was all in good fun. I didn’t get in any other big fights.

[liftoft]

[ he tenses up sharply at the mention of C, but at least relaxes again immediately ]

'Kay. Thanks for tellin' me! I'm sure there's a lotta people who'd rather either forget it or hide it.

[foolmetwice]

[wryly]

No point in hiding it when the powers that be already broadcast it for everyone to see.

[liftoft]

Yeah, you got a point. I still appreciate it! I'm tryin' to figure out why it happened, and it's a lot easier if people'll admit to it, 'cause then I can ask about it.

[foolmetwice]

. . . why do you care?

[THAT CAME OUT WRONG]

[but Mars doesn't seem inclined to fix his phrasing]

[liftoft]

[ he doesn't seem to take it badly.]

Like I said, I don't get it! No matter how anybody feels about killing or violence, everybody hates the producers, don't they? There wasnt even a motive here! No hostages or anything, just straight up tellin' us to kill each other! And some people just--did it!

[foolmetwice]

. . . yeah.

That's how people are, though.

[he says simply and cynically]

You can't really trust them to be any other way.

[liftoft]

Nah, that's not true. That's what's so great about people, y'know? Most people do wanna help, do wanna do good. If it's gotten to this point, it just means they've forgotten they've got other choices.

They just gotta remember.

[foolmetwice]

[a snort, disbelieving]

That's optimistic. And I don't think it's true, either.

[liftoft]

Did you always think that?

[foolmetwice]

. . .

[did he?]

In all of the memories I've bought back so far, I did.