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

[blazeit]

Is this like a fucked-up family business or something? How many family members are involved in this, anyway. Are you going to tell me the patriarch is the asshole who became God or something.

[explosivecombat]

Eight of them originally, nine including myself. I'm not related to any of them.

...As for that latter part...well, I said they were interesting, I never said they were particularly original.

[blazeit]

...

Wait, are you fucking shitting me? This was a family effort to make dad god?

[ I'M JUST AS CANON BLIND AS BAKUGOU SO UH

WOW FMA IS FUCKED UP ]

[explosivecombat]

Well, when you put it like that it just sounds stupid, but more or less, yes.

[SAYS THE GUY WHO HELPED END THE WORLD BECAUSE...IT WAS THERE, HE SUPPOSES, AND FORESAW LITERALLY NOTHING GOING AWRY WITH THIS

kimblee what about this idea wasn't stupid]

[icysemblance]

This whole thing is incredibly stupid, and you're harping on the wording of it?

[explosivecombat]

[look

somebody's gotta]

[icysemblance]

[TWENTY-ONE PEOPLE ARE DEAD.]

[blazeit]

You know why that is?

[ ..... ]

BECAUSE IT IS STUPID. Just. Saying.

[explosivecombat]

[listen]

It kept my life interesting, at any rate, and I'll admit that when I signed on for this, that was more or less all that mattered to me.

[blazeit]

Right, 'cause you figured you were living on extra time and death was on the horizon anyway so you may as well get some shits and giggles in and all that vaguely nihilistic shit.

[ He can't stop verbally shitposting. He physically cannot stop himself. ]

... I guess this doesn't really have much to do with anything, but these living stone things, do they have souls or not?

[explosivecombat]

[...That...huh.]

...I don't know for sure. I'd imagine they probably do, because their personalities are their own and they remain consistent despite any physical changes they undergo.

Why do you ask?

[blazeit]

I just wanted to know if they were on the same level as chickens.

[ and there we have it, ladies and gentlemen!! ]

And... I dunno, isn't it weird to think you can create something with a soul? Although I guess you have to sacrifice a fuck ton of souls to make it in the first place.

[explosivecombat]

...There are a lot of good reasons why I've never tried.

[1. he is not a complete idiot
2. that's fucking weird]

[blazeit]

Well, that settles it. If even you think it's a shit idea to try, it must be a really shitty thing to try.

[explosivecombat]

People have a tendency to lose all sorts of things in the attempt to do things like that. Organs, limbs, senses, enough of their bodies that they die immediately...

[...sometimes just their entire fucking body because why the hell not, shout-out to Al Elric...]

Usually attempts at things like that are attempts to revive the dead, anyway, and there's no one that's important enough to warrant the attempt, as far as I'm concerned. Creating a new being for no reason at all makes even less sense.

[blazeit]

[ jfc is that why he's a suit of armor

I

okay then ]

Well. I don't disagree with you there.

[explosivecombat]

[Yep!]

[blazeit]

[ thisisfine.jpg ]

[ninehundredlives]

So he was the man who created them?

...you said they were like "living philosopher's stones", didn't you? How are they made?

[explosivecombat]

[...there were like three questions there, hang on]

...The stones, or the people?

[ninehundredlives]

[Shrug. She thinks she kinda gets the idea of the stones, but more information never hurt.]

Both.

[explosivecombat]

The stones require alchemical arrays and a fair amount of human sacrifices. There don't need to be many, but it's a bit of a waste to do it with only a few.

[...TODAY ON "NICE PEOPLE SAYING WONDERFUL THINGS"...]

As for the people...well, admittedly, I've never done it, because I've never been particularly interested in creating people alchemically. But that's more or less the idea behind it. Artificially created people, implanted with philosopher's stones.

[...so basically you make a vessel and shove a bunch of dead people in it and pray that a cohesive thing happens

there's a reason he's never done it and that reason is "if it works it's great, if it doesn't it's...really super not-great"

like there are no words for how not-great that is if you fuck it up and he's not a complete idiot]

[ninehundredlives]

Do they all have particular abilities? Like shape-changing, and...whatever you would call that shadow thing.

[explosivecombat]

They did, yes, when they were still alive.

Again, most of them are dead, and I hardly see why that matters.

[ninehundredlives]

I was only wondering why anybody bothered, if it's as dangerous to do as all that. It really isn't important.