WEEK 2.

[trustfellows]

WEEK 2 Two people are dead. Jean Kirstein and Caren have both died due to a tragic accident. Of course, you're not entirely innocent, are you? You voted, you played into this game the Coordinators are running. But you know the stakes now. You know what failure to complete Rule Seven really means. No more excuses from here on out. Saturday is given to regrouping and sleep; come Sunday morning, the clock chimes the hour at seven o'clock and there are no dead bodies to be found, so it can be assumed that all of you are safe for the time being. That said, you'll be feeling a little groggy when you wake up; it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... Of course, exploring the building from here on will reveal something new: namely, a stairwell in the northeastern corner, leading upwards toward a new floor entirely. Another sign of how things are going to progress around here, maybe; chances are you'll enjoy what you've been given, but was it worth the lives of two people to obtain? PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 33 PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 32

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week two of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Coordinators, you can do so through private meetings with Alena!]

Comments

Retaliation.

[trustbound]

[Late in the morning on Monday, things seem to have shifted.

Anyone in the general area of the foyer would have seen Yosuke opening the door to the office; he seems on-edge, tensely-set, but apparently he's going to see Alena – just to talk, nothing more, just to ask her some things and try to get some answers, and when the door closes behind him there's quiet for a while.

The quiet eventually turns to shouting – from both of them, not just one or the other, Yosuke yelling something at her that's largely indistinguishable through the door, followed by Alena wasting no time in yelling back at him to "get that thing out of her face," that he "really doesn't want to do this, just put it away before Jericho sees it" –

And then there's a sound like something's been knocked over, followed briefly by a loud slam against the office door; the door handle rattles hard, as though someone on the other side is trying desperately to get it unlocked and open, and after an agonizing moment of that the door swings open and Alena backs through it – her balance is off, and she doesn't manage to catch herself on the door, and she drops to one knee without quite ending up completely on the floor, looking like she's bracing herself.

Yosuke has a knife.

He has a knife from the kitchen, and he had every intention of just talking to her and maybe just getting in her face a little, but in the end he also has his anger – maybe it's because she murdered Caren, maybe it's because of the pendant on a cord that she's still wearing around her neck (that shell pendant that Caren was trying to protect, the one that everyone knows the meaning of now), maybe it's because she's the reason they're here and she's going to watch them all die, whatever the reason is the fact of the matter remains that Yosuke has a knife, and he's following her down to the ground (in the same way she did down in the pit, so that she could stab Caren some more and god, he's seeing red, it was a fucking accident) –

There's a flash of the knife, a quick slashing motion. A burst of red blossoming from Alena's shoulder.]

Rule Five's been broken. You might want to stand back.

[It's definitely Jericho, though it's...different; it's oddly impersonal as opposed to his usual manic tone when he's addressing people – there's no anger behind it, but there's no enjoyment either, this is just something that's happening.

Yosuke freezes up where he's over her, before casting his gaze in her direction once again; it seems the sudden announcement hasn't quite snapped him out of it but he's come back into himself a little, and there's just enough time for a sharp intake of breath before the first hit comes.

It may be difficult to tell what's happening at first. It's a loud noise, a sudden burst, similar to a firecracker going off, and whatever it is it's enough to get Yosuke to scream and arch his back suddenly; it wouldn't be out of place to assume that he's been shot. And then there's another, followed by several more, and then there's the realization that it's coming from inside his body, a series of loud bursts snapping its way up his spine from his lower back clear up to his neck, something exploding outward from the inside along his spine, causing a series of breaks up his spinal cord and there's blood, a lot of it as it tears up his back –

And then as soon as it's started it stops, mercifully leaving his head intact but his back is completely shredded from whatever Jericho just did to his spine from the inside, and it's hard to say when it happened exactly along that process but one thing is intensely and immediately clear.

Yosuke Hanamura is dead.

Alena is still kneeling on the floor, just...staring at whatever just happened in front of her, eyes wide but unafraid, just dully trying to process it; Yosuke...well, he fell forward and as such he's sort of on her, and she's still bleeding from the shoulder but doesn't seem to be paying that much mind, and after a moment she reaches up and starts absently petting his hair, like she's not sure what else to do with herself –

Jericho's voice can be heard again; there's decidedly more intensity to it this time, though it's difficult to tell what sort of emotion it's directed toward.]

Everyone who's there, get out of the foyer. We'll handle the body, just go. You don't want to be there.

No trial for this, we're not going to make you do that. Just don't try anything like this again.

[chessturner]

[There she was, just entering the foyer, when Alena and Yosuke got out of the office. She was about to try to intervene when Jericho spoke, and then everything else happened]

That's insane...!

[It's one thing to watch a person stab somebody with a trident. It's a completely different thing to watch a kid's spine be torn apart from the inside. It's impossible, it's monstruous.

For a moment Kyrie holds her breath, horrified, before gravely letting it out in a shaky breath. She didn't know Yosuke that well, he was just some kid trapped in this place, but still...that was brutal and completely impossible for a mere human being.

She's getting out of the foyer right now, that's for sure.]

[bloodisthicker]

...

[...holy shit holy shit holy shit]

No, you idiot, what are you ...

[...

WELL THAT SURE HAPPENED AND HE'S JUST... OKAY.]

...

Look, if anyone needs to go to the infirmary after that, just... I'll take you. I'll take you.

[What the fuck. What the fuck?? What the fuck!!!]

[evilfrenzy]

[Even Rideaux is completely rigid with shock after that display. It was unbelievably stupid to pull a knife on Alena after witnessing what she can do in the execution pit. He expected her to be the one delivering the punishment for it, but...

What the actual fuck just happened to that kid?]

...Yeah. [He snaps out of his internal freakout for a second, easing into speaking.] Yeah, I'll...see anyone who needs it.

[He's...probably going to be there for a while, thinking. Holy fucking shit.]

[icysemblance]

I think I need to take you up on that.

[She is most definitely not okay; she's pale and sweaty and just not looking too good. She doesn't look like she'd make it upstairs in one piece.]

[introspects]

[ oh god.

oh god oh god. orihime is clearly panicking, and definitely looks woozy--she's seen blood, but not--not like that-- ]

Y-Yes...the infirmary...

[destage]

[...You know, of all of the things she was hoping to never see? This rates among the highest of them, and that's...a shitton of blood. Alright, lovely, fine, cool.]

H--Hanamura-kun...why did you...

[What does one even say to all of this? Yosuke was a bit impulsive, sure, but if he'd just not done that, he wouldn't be dead, he wouldn't--

Sayaka's not sure when she decided to bolt, but honestly, she just needs to get out of there before the image of all of that stays too clearly in her mind. She's just. Going to stay in her room today, seems safest.]

[icysemblance]

[Weiss hears the yelling first, and she starts to run towards the door, but she freezes in place once it opens.]

Stop, put that knife down, you don't want to --

[You don't want to do this, she starts, but she knows how he feels. It was a goddamned accident and no one deserved to die like that.

Then there's the chilly tone from Jericho, and as much as Weiss wants to turn and run, she finds she can't move. Every single one of her senses tells her to go, but she's frozen in place like a deer in the headlights.

Then there's all the blood and the noise and the blood, and Weiss doesn't realize she's screaming until the second it all stops. She finds she isn't frozen any more once she hears Jericho speak again, and she runs. She only just makes it to the bathroom before she gets very, very sick. She'll come out later looking weak and pale.]

[shuttermouse]

[ HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT THAT SURE IS A THING THAT HAPPENED, JESUS CHRIST ON A CRACKER

Chie's seen a lot of disturbing shit and gore rarely phases her but watching a kid's spine explode is actually kind of disgusting? Yikes. ]

...Hanamura-kun, you idiot...

[ She'll just. Walk away now. ]

[blackmass]

[That was. Different. Kirei wasn't entirely sure he'd ever seen something like that before, and amidst the revulsion and horror of the others, it looked like all he felt was confusion. Was it magic? Was there something else going on here--were all of them rigged to explode in some unknown way? That certainly wouldn't be a difficult thing to arrange, considering none of them knew how they got here or how long they'd been unconscious for before arriving.]

[...Kirei realized that maybe it was smart to listen to Jericho at the moment rather than stand around theorizing. But by the same general token, it might have been a worthwhile idea to stay in their somewhat violent hosts' good graces.]

[So, without batting an eye he reached into his coat and set some bandages from the infirmary down near the clock, before offering Alena an empty smile and walking out. Back to the library it was, then.]

[greenmamabear]

[Fern was, of course, about to rush in to try and take the knife because oh my god Yosuke what are you doing.]

W-wait, do-

[and then she's cut off by Jericho and the awkward kid that tried so hard explods in front of her

Her knees give in and she's on the floor, just staring at where the body that once was Yosuke has dropped.]

H-how...? He was just...

[matchbreaker]

[ Oh what the fuck was that? Admittedly, it answered a question that she had, but now that she's seen the answer the only thing that she really feels is a certain amount of relief that she held herself together on the first day. She grits her teeth, her eyes wide and a blur of noises, reactions from all around her. Most of them are sensibly leaving and she's pretty sure she heard some clapping, pretty sure she heard some laughing or something like it-

And of course the stupid Green idiot just went on her God damn knees and is there staring at the fucking body even as the blasted voice is coming over the PA telling them to leave.

Elda's not as strong as she should be right now, but with her adrenaline seeing her eyes screwed up into the swirling white-pupil catlike mode, she's more than strong enough to run over and bodily pick her up at least enough to drag her if she needs to. Let's get out of here, moron. ]

[innocentloveholic]

[ ...Well, at least they know what happens if you try to kill the Coordinator. Aligula, being the absolute fuck-awful person she is and who doesn't bother to hide it, gives Jericho some applause; her cyclops eye is open, very happy looking, too. ]

What a show~! That was way more fun than the trial. [ why the fuck are you like this aligula i'm going to cry.

But she like... takes a moment to study Alena, and the newlydead, and... turns on her heel to leave, hmmm hmmmm. Sssssoooo much for visiting her right now, she guesses; maybe later or tomorrow, since doubtlessly once there's been enough time passed she's going to have a lot of people checking in on her. ]

[explosivecombat]

[Well. That's.

...THAT CERTAINLY IS, ISN'T IT.

It's certainly not the first time Kimblee has seen something like that; it's probably not going to be the last, either. He'd been drawn in by the door slamming open and Alena and Yosuke stumbling out of it, and then there was all of that and Kimblee finds himself just watching without moving to intervene or trying to say anything. He just...stares, and then there are those loud bursts of sound coming from inside Yosuke's body somewhere and after a moment he seems to realize that he's shaking, and he doesn't really have much control over what he's doing with his facial expression right now but god, he's seeming agitated in a weird, enthusiastic sort of way that he seems to be finding difficult to contain.

His eyes are very, very alive, in a way they're usually not.]

Oh, that was...

[He closes his eyes after a moment; this is...it's a lot, and he's still shaking a bit, and god, he didn't expect to see something like this today, it's...

He's kind of laughing? It's quiet but it seems more than a little manic, the sort of thing that one does because holy shit, what the fuck else do you do with yourself.]

That was...beautiful, such a wonderful sound, I...

[...Oh, boy. Okay. That's what we're doing today, apparently.

He'll just stand there for a while longer before opening his eyes again, trying to compose himself a little and studying the scene one more time before he moves to leave; this is a hell of a way to start the week proper, isn't it.]

[withabigsmile]

[There's no time to try to stop him, or do anything, really, other than maybe say something, but for once words don't come to her quickly and all she can really do is watch the horror unfold. Which is way more than she bargained for, of course. It's inhumane, it's disgusting, and the only semblance of relief is that it seems to be over quickly.]

No...

[She stares at the scene and tears up immediately. She can't move. She's frozen in place with that horrifying scene in front of her. It takes a good long moment for her to switch from looking on in horror to leaving like she should, but when she does the switch is immediate and drastic, and she bolts out of the Foyer as quickly as she can.

This is terrible, this is awful-]

[sadisticwarfare]

[So that's what happens when someone breaks a rule. How interesting. Archer watches the entire thing without flinching or otherwise looking bothered. When it's over and Jericho tells them to leave, he turns to do so, though he's already pulling a notebook from his pocket and preparing to write something down.

Interesting might be putting it lightly.]

[perpend]

[Well that was.

Easily one of the most horrific things he's ever seen. Whatever he thought punishment was, it wasn't anything like that. He'd been expecting... he doesn't know. Death, certainly, but what the hell was that?]

[notaccurate]

[Luca had been in the dining room, so when he heard the screaming he dropped what he was doing to run towards the commotion. He reaches the foyer just in time to see Yosuke stab Alena, as well as everything else afterwards.

And. Well.

That certainly is a thing.

Don't mind him, he's just frozen there in shock, and he doesn't move until Jericho tells them to leave.]

[heritrix]

[Someone else had the idea to pay a visit to Alena this morning too, huh? Not knowing how long it might take, Rin had fetched herself a cup of tea from the kitchen before returning to the foyer, intending to use it as a measure of time. She didn't see who went into the office, but if they weren't done speaking by the time she finished her cup of tea, she'd simply go back to her room to rest and make it a point to visit Alena another time.

About halfway through the cup, the commotion starts. Moments later, there's Yosuke following Alena through the door with a knife, and while she hears the others cry out for him to stop, Rin can tell with an ill feeling in her gut that it's too late; he won't listen.

The only time Rin has really spoken to Yosuke would be the day they all met, when she admonished him not to attack the people who brought them here without knowing what they're capable of. Rin had cautioned that under the assumption they had some impressive sorcery at their disposal, but even Rin's unprepared for what comes next.

Yosuke screams and arches, and by the time Rin realizes what's happening she can count the little explosions like she can count vertebrae off the map of a spinal column. It sounds like the a festival night punctuated by firecrackers, but those are his muscles and ligaments and bones.

Rin drops her teacup.

When Yosuke collapses forward dead, Rin's eyes are wide and her posture rigid, staring at his corpse with an intense expression. What was that? Was it some kind of spell cast from a distance? Are there bombs rigged inside of them? Jericho just spoke and it happened.

"You don't want to be here."

That sounds as much like a suggestion as it does a warning. Rin glances around the room, taking in the reactions of those near her for a few seconds before leaving the foyer, stepping over the broken teacup. Yeah, she'll take care of her business with Alena later.]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ Angel has... look, she's seen some things in her time, alright? Lots of... gun violence. So in what might be a surprising turn, she doesn't look... completely horrified? Like her hand is definitely over her mouth, and she's stepping back and swallowing hard, but... ]

He... all he did was...

[ Yeah, no, she's out. ]

[hentopan]

[ Oh man, he had come here as soon as he heard the commotion, was hoping that whatever happened would be interesting. It definitely is. Terumi is silent until the end, just processing everything that's happened, but his face isn't in shock or horror like much of the group here—in fact he's smiling and grinning.

And then he just laughs, both unable to control himself and not really wanting to either. ]


Keheheheheheheh!!! Is that the kind of power you're holding back, Jeri? You should show us some time instead of letting your doll do all the dirty work!

[ He's sorely tempted to linger despite the warning, but this has been more than enough entertainment for today. At least his morning's started off well! ]

[paralogical]

[ The whole scene doesn't leave much of an impression on him. If you attack someone like that, you can't be surprised when they retaliate (or someone retaliates on their behalf). As far as he's concerned the brat was the one in the wrong here—though kids tend to do stupid things when they feel cornered.

Laughing, though, that's a pretty weird response. He's not entirely surprised when he looks over and sees the koala's the source of it. Right, him. ]

What's with you and dolls?

[hesperos]

[ You know, Yuri happens to take strolls in the later half of the morning. It kind of just helps him with waking up and he's not exactly an early riser. When he catches Yosuke slipping into Alena's door, he stops for a moment, raising a hand to rub at his eyes. It's rather unintentional for him to linger but he does, though it's only for a short amount of time. But it's definitely enough for him to hear the raised voices and kind of make him feel a sense of alarm.

The noises that come after pretty much wake him the fuck up because damn. Then, before he knows what's going on, there's Alena on the floor and Yosuke wielding a knife around like he's going to literally cut the hell out of - ]

Hey-!

[ There's blood and then Yuri's backing up, even though he was about a hair's breath from charging straight in. Then there's the next moment and ... oh god what the hell.

What. The. Hell.

He's going to need a moment. A lot of moments, elsewhere, and after making sure some people slip out, he slips out himself. ]

[zomgboom]

[Tabby was in the vending machine room, studying it and trying to figure out how it got such weird stuff in it. Was it alien technology? Was it magic? Was it both?

It doesn't much matter once the commotion starts. She walks over mostly because this is a chance to learn something new, and unlike some of the people who are present Tabby knows exactly what that sound is from the moment it starts. She's never been able to do this, but she knows people who can and it's. The act itself doesn't bother her, necessarily, but the overkill of it - one vertebra would have probably been enough, but all of them?

She stands there, watching Alena pet Yosuke's hair, and she's. She's not angry, exactly. It's something more like irritation, clear when she speaks.]

I guess we know what Germicho meant when he told us we'd know if he did it. He, like. [She snaps her fingers and imitates an explosion.] All the way up his spine.

[Whatever. She's going back to the vending machine.]

cw: emetophobia mention!

[sleepytimegal]

[ Alex catches the tail-end of the interaction, drawn to the foyer by the yelling. You know, the part with the exploding spine. She swallows her scream and claps her hand to her mouth and...

...good god.

When it's all done. She's going to just...go back to her room. And probably deposit this morning's breakfast into the toilet. ]