Accountability.

[explosivecombat]

There are all sorts of secrets to this place, really, ways to get from place to place reasonably unnoticed. Some of those ways involve the ability to shift one's appearance, some of them involve shadows and vessels and darkness; for those without those sorts of gifts, though, one has to rely on more conventional means. Panels and doorways, joins and seams that don't join up quite right; portions of the wall that will open up if you manipulate them properly. The Conductor himself tends to rely on the latter; he is, after all, entirely human. He's thin, as though he doesn't eat terribly much, but his clothes are immaculate and sharply-tailored, a suit and long coat all in white and shades of pale grey; his hair is long, trailing at least halfway down his back in a thin, tightly-tied ponytail, and his eyes are cold when he moves to stand at the thirtieth podium – it's not his, it never has been, but it's going to do for now. He doesn't seem anxious at all about being here; there's nothing nervous in his demeanor, and he's keeping his head up, perfectly willing to look everyone in the face. There's a definite arrogance about him, as is probably to be expected, though he'll certainly acknowledge everyone once he's there – when he bows it's enough to be respectful, but not nearly enough to expose the back of his neck. When he speaks, his voice is recognizable but it's quiet, far moreso than one would assume him to be based on the volume of the intercom alone; his tone is even, almost unsettlingly calm given the circumstances, though there's a hardness to it that never quite goes away. "It's a pleasure to speak to all of you in person; I'd say that it's almost a shame that the circumstances have to be what they are, but I'm not going to insult your intelligence like that." He straightens up then; the smile he's offering is understated, but it's not particularly nice. "I understand that we have a fair amount to discuss; shall we begin?" Your host for the evening, everyone; let's start.

Comments

[explosivecombat]

...He did what?

[no, really, he's sorry?]

[ninehundredlives]

...were you not aware of the Dio thing?

[explosivecombat]

No, I was aware of that entirely; however, it wasn't the person you're thinking of that was doing that.

[ninehundredlives]

[...oh. Well then.]

That seems a bit ridiculous for God, and it obviously wasn't you. [So that leaves...

...who does that leave]

Who was it?

[openterrain]

... That reminds me, wasn't there someone else this whole time? Ashley said that Observant- Kimblee- whoever said that our memories were coming back because or some outside influence, didn't she?

[explosivecombat]

I believe it was asked at some point whether I have any other colleagues along similar lines as the one with the shadows; the fact is that I do. Most of them are dead, but not all of them.

[withabigsmile]

...Is one of your creepy buddies like Ditty?

[But presumably isn't a bra, because that might be kind of weird.]

[explosivecombat]

Ah...not quite as versatile as Ditty, but it's the same general principle.

[THANKFULLY...NOT...A BRA...]

[openterrain]

Why did they imitate Cabanela and Dio, anyway?

[explosivecombat]

Why do you think?

[icysemblance]

Because we trusted Cabanela, and Dio was Dio.

[openterrain]

Because it was easiest? Because he wanted to fuck with us? Because he liked their fashion sense?

[ Jean can think of a lot of reasons, actually, if you want him to keep going. ]

[explosivecombat]

...Well, I won't deny that last bit was probably part of it.

[Come on, kid, he's not handing this one to you. Think for a bit.]

[blazeit]

'Cause you had moles and he had creepy transformation abilities, I guess? Did you two even, like... get along.

[explosivecombat]

Oh, quite well, actually. I worked with him for a while several years ago, and I tended to like him better than most of his other family members.

[openterrain]

[ Now that's Jean's being snippy and frustrated he's at least willing to acknowledge that last bit and think about it more seriously. ]

... Was it a matter of them being easiest? Cabanela and Dio were out most nights anyway, most of us didn't know them very well, and they were both sort of odd in the first place so it would have been harder to notice either of them acting strangely if we caught your friend.

[oftheland]

...I know Logan and I seem to be on the list of people they might have imitated at some point or another, given the multiple pictures and the tape recorder and whatnot.

...

It's probably a combination of us being more likely to stay out late and them just having good taste.

[withabigsmile]

It would be hard to be as cool as Ditty, of course!

[NO BRIEFS EITHER, RIGHT...]

Is your transforming friend still around?

[explosivecombat]

Unfortunately not. Or...well, I suppose it's fortunate for the rest of you.

You did kill one of his siblings - or at least some of you did - and I imagine he's going to have that dealt with in one way or another, presumably by way of God.

[has he mentioned today that he's probably, like

impressively boned

like as far as his employer goes he's pretty heroically screwed]

[announcemyvictory]

The creature inside Mr... Horse? Or someone else who was killed?

[explosivecombat]

[...It takes him a moment.]

...Mustang. And yes, that one.

[announcemyvictory]

You can't expect us to keep track of all of these strangers, really.

[withabigsmile]

...You're gonna have a bad time, aren't you?

[Honestly, killing him almost sounds like mercy at this point.

...Actually...]

So if we leave you alive because you might be useful or whatever, what's stopping you from blowing us up, exactly?

[Speaking of having a bad time.]

[explosivecombat]

Admittedly, not much.

[...well, at least he's blunt about it.]

There are ways to prevent that, granted, but I'm hardly going to tell you what they are. I don't act to my own detriment like that.

[withabigsmile]

Since when is "you get to live" to your own detriment?

[God she used to work for this-]