#kylio

dio doesn't know it's not kyle but slowly deduces it and crashes out. he wants to kill akane then himself so he can see kyle again but he can't do it. he hasn't fully processed the actual horror of his own existence yet. akane makes this easier for him and forces him to shift to another timeline (the old stabby technique). he seriously considers killing akane this time to see if the real kyle will show up but resigns to his fate and starts hitting ally indiscriminately. i figure this will lead to him getting voted out and other out-of-character shenanigans, especially being noticed by phi and sigma. or the game ends really simply because everyone allys each other, maybe it could lead to a timeline where dio is suspicious but ultimately harmless to everyone.

then i want it to be REALLY hard for him to be around kyle. akane puts him back in the game (without her needing to have been stabbed). all of the good and bad memories are suddenly intangible and he doesn't understand SHIFTing as well as kyle does (due to his own involvement in the ab game). he doesn't know if he should still pretend to be a bastard but he gravitates towards him and they inevitably get closer. dio's tendency towards aloofness and fakeness helps, but his observation skills are hindered by his emotions. dio can never bring himself to tell kyle about their history, at least not for the first couple of timelines. when he gets stuck in rhizome-9 after someone else escapes, he's forced to reckon with his feelings or "leave".

when kyle does finally learn about this dio, he completely accepts it. it's like a fairytale where he gets whisked away by a handsome stranger and they run away together from their horrible situations. they start an unbalanced but intense relationship where kyle makes the plans and dio executes them so they can actually leave together. still not sure what will happen but i want it to lead to dio forcing kyle to leave without him. he's creating his own schrodinger's cat situation where he doesn't know if he did the right thing by letting him leave because he wouldn't be able to see him again and know for himself. he feels like he's done his job as the "bad guy" that is actually the "good guy" by doing the right thing by being self-sacrificing. he doesn't really care about anyone else hence the straightfoward goal. obviously kyle would NOT accept that and would find a way to come back for him. if he leaves with someone (particularly phi and sigma) perhaps they'd help him. they would have a push and pull where kyle really has to get to him that his feelings matter too.

Every lover’s got a little dagger in their hand