WEEK 5.

[trustfellows]

WEEK 5 Tabitha Smith, Sigrun Eide, and Solf J Kimblee are all dead. Regardless of what you think of the trial or the events leading up to it, there's no denying that you can feel the dent in your numbers now. After all, ten people are gone now. It may be hard, but all you can do is keep going. 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... What with Jericho's excitement at the last trial, it's evident now more than ever that the new floor that's opened up to you is a gift, a reward for a job well-done. Because while surviving is something that you'll continue to try to do of your own merit...well. Let's say that he's so, so very proud of you. PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 25 PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 24 PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 23

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week five 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

[matchbreaker]

You've read my profile, I know that - and I presume you've read my secret. Why don't you tell me?

[ They aren't spelled out sure closely, but she's testing the girl's deductive skills. Her family was left behind and her homeland lost. Dislikes the church. ]

[brandnewday]

Elda Marker, Indomitable...she doesn't like the church, so that's pretty obvious, but it ain't a why. And you were...

[Wait. Vampires hate crosses. Wait again. That's the wrong piece of logic to jump to.]

H-hey. They weren't the ones who hurt you and your family, are they?

['Forced to leave' sounds violent to her, okay?]

[matchbreaker]

Hurt is an understatement. [ She'll correct that in small part here, leaning back in the seat she's apparently decided to take with the girl. She looks up at the ceiling: ]

They're dead now. The humans and their God decided that we, as a species, were no longer welcome in our own homeland.

[brandnewday]

I'm sorry. For gettin' it wrong. That sounds horrible.

[Hibiki taps the table in front of her a few times. It really does sound horrible. How can she even begin to relate?]

Humans do that a lot, huh? They just...take whatever they want. You live in Japan, right? Did you know Okinawa's got a lot of American bases on it? At least ten. Maybe more. Okinawa ain't even that big.

[matchbreaker]

[ That's ... it's not the same thing is what she immediately thinks before anything else, but she has enough self-awareness to know that it's a selfish thing, to think that. She doesn't mind being selfish, least of all to a human girl like her, but ... at the same time, she's not ignorant either. Her loss will always be the worst loss to her, but- ]

Shihaba, yeah, off the side of the Okura river in the central regions of the main island. But I've been on Japanese soil for two hundred years.

[ so she's seen... well, basically all of Japan's complicated relationship to the united stats. From The Black Ships up through the great wars that the humans fought, to the occupation and then onwards to the current climate. ]

I didn't really know there was that many still there though, no. Guess that's the benefit of being a species apart, you lot's problems never stuck me as mine, 'cept when the wars made it impossible to feel that.

[brandnewday]

I don't know where that is yet. But I'm still buyin' the wrong train tickets, so it's probably only a matter of time before I find out.

[They don't have sophisticated public transit in Okinawa, okay? It's nowhere near insane Tokyo levels of subway systems and rail cars.]

The adults talk about it a lot. It still makes a lot of people uncomfortable. It's not really the same thing as what you're talkin' about, but it sorta reminded me of that. I like to think humans do good things, but...we do a lot of awful things. I've been havin' awful dreams, too, about people doin' bad things.

[matchbreaker]

[ A soft exhale. ]

... Humans have caused every terrible thing that's happened in my life until now. It's easy to paint the species with a broad stroke. They call us monsters or demons, but the reverse, if you ask me, is far more true. ... You need to live in the shadow of that cruelty near as much as I do, it's true.

[ She leans back again, hanging her head. ]

Still, if I'm thinking so fondly of the likes of Sayaka even now, I can't say that's universal, can I?

[brandnewday]

I don't know as much about history as you do, but...it's true. Lots of horrible things have happened because of us. We've hunted animals and fished fish to extinction, our oceans are dyin', and everywhere people are hurtin'. What they...what we did to you was even worse.

[But her fellow idol, huh?]

Sayaka's really strong, ain't she? Heh...I wish I could be more like her. I'm glad you're gettin' along well with her, too. Keep an eye on her, alright? I don't want to see her get hurt.

[Hibiki's noticed that Sayaka's super close to everyone. Part of her is a bit jealous of that; she can only cling to Rin and Susan so much.]

[matchbreaker]

You think of her as strong?

[ She says this curiously. That first topic? Well, she's content to let it drop. The fact that the girl can see it so unclouded, and what's more say "we" on top of things... it earns her points. ]

[brandnewday]

[She has a close connection to nature. If any idol could feel a shift in the ocean, it would be her.]

Mm. She laid out all this stuff she's never told me before...she said she was kinda envious of me, but...I think I could stand to be more like her myself.

[matchbreaker]

[ the woman's smile turns... proud, in spite of herself. She looks away then, though, opening up the sketchbook before her to start drawing something when she responds, ]

I won't deny that a certain level of that might be helpful to you. But I'm also sure that girl would assert you're better off without it.

[brandnewday]

[Hibiki's never seen that smile on Elda before. For a moment, it strikes her that Elda really is beautiful. Not just cute or pretty.]

Um...hm, if ya think so. You know her a lot better than I do, right? It's a little frustrating. We're both idols, but I feel like she's better at handling this place than I am.

[Sure, Hibiki can manage cheer for Rin or Elda or at the after parties, but Elda has surely seen how she mopes outside of those.]

[matchbreaker]

That's belittling her struggles, you know. Just a bit.

[ She says that a little sharper than she should, but then relents, shaking her head and beginning to make the outline of someone's head. She smile returns, but it's softer, not nearly as deep or as sincere. More nostalgic, perhaps. ]

She was so fidgety to begin with. She smiled because she wanted to make others smile, and she would say patently absurd things like how it's her duty. A doll, in other words. That girl, though... This place lends well to making bonds, even though it breeds distrust near as much. She's benefited from that, and grown tremendously. What she's suffered in her past might play a part in it, and perhaps her character plays another part. It's entirely possible that more than half the time she's still just acting. But I can see it in her, she's going to become a splendid woman.

[ . . . ]

Still, to compare yourself to her - it's only natural. You told me yesterday that you felt you hadn't experienced as much as others, but the fact is you're clearly better socialized, have a good grasp on who you are and what must be done. The fact is, there's no way that someone starting at page one and someone starting at page thirty are going to advance at the same rate.