Week 8.

[trustfellows]

WEEK 8 Regardless of what you think of the most recent deaths, four more people have died this week. Milla Maxwell, Angel, Susan Ashworth, and Aligula are gone now, leaving you with about a quarter of your original number. Thirty-five down to twelve - this can't keep going for much longer, can it? Is there anything you can do? 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... Unlike the previous weeks, however, it seems that either you've reached the end of the line or Jericho has decided to stop rewarding you for your effort; where there would usually be a stairwell to a new floor, you're met with nothing but solid wall. Perhaps it's distressing; perhaps it's a good sign. Only time will tell, and time isn't something you have a lot of around here. PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 12

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week eight 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 Hilda!]

Comments

[bloodbiter]

[She pauses for a moment, to reflect.]

My first memory is seeing a gryphon fly over our castle, a creature that could have killed many. When I was twelve, I was nearly killed for the first time. When I was sixteen, I left home for the first time, and there... It happened more times than I might count.

[She's glancing at the ground again.]

I have happy memories from when I was younger, but I'm not certain I was permitted a childhood. It's not something I want pity for. It made me strong, and that has helped me survive this long.

[sleepytimegal]

Mm... Not entirely, but... I was more wondering how it was for you.

[bloodbiter]

Oh.

[...]

It's a bit of a long story.

[sleepytimegal]

[ There's a moment, and. ]

...It isn't that I think you're heartless. More... After...my brother, everyone...

[ "The town looks at her like she has a red letter tattooed on her frickin' forehead, and the giant, lit-up Christmas tree reason why is that--"

Alex is tense. Looks like she's trying to smile, but it's bitter. ]

...Even mom kinda looked at me like I was cursed. Like...I was the reason he wasn't there anymore. If people I'd known my whole life could, then...

[ It's...like she's talking to Clarissa. An older, scarier Clarissa. God, is that why she's so...? ]

[sleepytimegal]

...Well, if you need a shoulder or an ear, I've got nothing if not time.

[bloodbiter]

[She nods, but all the same...]

I have no qualms with speaking of it. It depends more on whether it's something you would like to hear.

[matchbreaker]

Worry not, you'll get no pity from me. [ But it's said with some dark humor to it. of course she'll get pity from her. She likes Adelina far too much to have that not be the case. And she waves the book before tossing it aside. ]

I grew up a spoiled noble. I wanted for nothing up until my early twenties, when the world I knew basically ended. But I'm not ignorant as to think that was regular for the time. These days, though, human kids go to school until they're a little older thna you, and then can opt to do even more school. Japan's coming of age point is twenty.

[matchbreaker]

[ elda pauses a moment, not sure if she should validate or invalidate that pain. In the end, she opts for something between the two. Her hand reaches out, and she brushes up alex's bangs such as to put the palm of it on her forehead. ]

Humanity is cruel. But I've never been human for a single day. [ . . . No, say something more. She... ] It's obvious to anyone you're haunted, but my reasons for being defensive have been far more petty than that.

[bloodisthicker]

...

It's not stopping unless we get out of here before Friday. Everything about this situation is designed to get a body count of at least two every week, with no means of stopping it other than escape.

The one thing we can really hope for is that no one left decides that they absolutely need to kill more than one person for whatever reason.

[bloodisthicker]

That's the long and short of it, yes. And...

[...he thinks about it. like. he's been having a hard time here, and he has actual friends?? like it's not enough to make him feel like he isn't a total piece of shit. but.

...]

There's nothing really left for me back home, I don't think. If there's a resolution, I don't expect a happy one.

[destage]

[Ohhh, Sayaka hides her expression behind her hand with a bit of a grin.]

Well, I do hope you have a story prepared for when you lose, Yuri-san. If we're ready to go, though...

[Hmm. Sayaka watches Yuri's expression while she seems to think. Assuming this is a 10x10 grid;] D3?

[destage]

Yeah, I'm actually surprised about that. Honestly, I'm happy for that too--the last thing they need is to play some kind of game going on for them, over there...

[...Sayaka at least seems relieved, if nothing else, though she's smiling a bit more softly and averting her gaze--when Yuri speaks up again, her look snaps back and she beams.]

That works perfectly! Thank you so much...

[...]

...Actually, um...should I still call you 'Yuri-san', or would you prefer to just be 'Yuri'? [She seems genuinely contemplative, at least.]

[destage]

...Oh, Luca-san...

[That's going to get a concerned expression.]

Did...something happen with your family...?

[bloodisthicker]

I agree with you. Hilda's more standoffish than Alena was, certainly, but I still find it hard to wish as much ill or petty, tedious work on her as much as I want it to be heaped upon Jericho.

[how much do you bet we slam into the mercy button anyway]

Bar

[destage]

[Well, Sayaka honestly just wanted to take a look inside to see what's going on, but...

...Well, have a knock on the wall--Sayaka thinks she has an idea of what's going on.]

Having some trouble over there, Alex?

[bloodisthicker]

...ah.

[....WELL...]

Starting over, I suppose.

[hesperos]

[ ...WHOOPS. let us just. Pretend there's a three in there, then!! ]

Heh, then maybe you should save yourself the trouble and fold now.

[hesperos]

Heh, alright.

[ There goes his image of brawler Elda! ]

[matchbreaker]

Good. But don't think I'm a slouch either.

[ She says this with her laugh... intensifying a little. ]

[destage]

[it's practically a trustfell tradition at this point, let's be honest]

I agree with you, honestly. Maybe it's just the fact that we've seen her, and Alena-san? But...I'd honestly be more than glad to hear that, or to hear him complain about it. It'd fill my little heart with joy.

[Her little black heart, rather. Let's spite the fuck outta him.]

[evilfrenzy]

[Rideaux doesn't resist the gesture, but Yuri will feel him tense up a little bit under his touch at first. He's not used to that sort of tenderness, and as such it's met with surprise. When he looks back at Yuri, there's this sort of uncertainty in his expression. He doesn't know what to do with this, so all he can do is watch and listen to what Yuri's saying to him.

"You're not going to be facing this alone, alright?"

Alone. That really was what he had been been for all of these years, wasn't it? He had come to the early conclusion that no matter what, he only had himself to rely on. He was the only one who could justify his right to exist. As long as he survived, that was all that mattered. But where did that get him, in the end? When the time came, and when for the first time he found himself truly in need of help, he was utterly alone.

Those who do not value others are destined to flounder in loneliness. But Yuri had begun to help him see the value of friendship, hadn't he?

As Yuri continues and those sincere words of support reach Rideaux, he starts to feel a warm tightness in his chest that he's never quite felt before. He slowly brings a hand there, but then a pressure in the back of his eyes hits him too. The foreignness of it is a little startling at first, but he realizes it isn't...bad, exactly. It's true appreciation. More than that. It's...]

Thank you, Yuri. That... That means quite a lot to me.

[His words are just as sincere. Even though the uncertainty hasn't left him, it's more that he he's still not sure how to handle what Yuri has just given him. But he knows that he doesn't want to let go.]

There is nothing left for me in my world, but that does not mean it's completely over. [...] Thank you for helping me see that.

[heritrix]

Good. [Rin nods emphatically, lightly slapping the table once.] I was feeling alone there, for a moment.

[heritrix]

[But can anyone out-weird a Fate character and an Umineko character combined?]

Maybe our karma's bad. [Eyes wide, she says this slowly as if the thought just occurred to her. They should get to the bottom of this.] Say, say, Ushiromiya-san. What were your past lives like?

[heritrix]

[Hi, Hibiki. You either do or definitely don't want to try this drink. Rin stretches her arms out on the table.]

But I like you because you're the most normal person here, Hibiki! If you've been weird this whole time, does that make me a hundred times stranger than I was before??

Kitchen

[heritrix]

[/late-tags in here. Rin was sort of dutifully watching a cat all day, but at some point there she has to give up for dinner. She's putting the finishing touches on her meal when she sees Rideaux over there too. Actually, how's he doing, she wonders? After that talk on Thursday, she knows he was really dreading today.]

Where's the motorcycle?