The Coordinators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trustbound) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trustfell2017-11-18 09:35 pm
trustbound) wrote in trustfell2017-11-18 09:35 pm
Accountability.
| Perhaps there's an expectation of a grand entrance here – something over-the-top and loud and flashy, something that speaks to either ego or a desire for a certain kind of presentation. But the fact of the matter is that nothing like that comes. There's just a light tapping in the direction of the stairs that lead back up to the dorms, like something's entering the room, something small and light and as it comes closer, there's an enthusiastic little jingling noise that comes with it. And then there is catfriend, making its way down the last of the steps and coming to a stop near the door, where it sits casually and calmly until something, inexplicably, seems to shift. It's difficult to say what it is, but it's apparent that something in the room has bent in a way that it shouldn't – it's the sort of jolt that comes with a sudden earthquake, a brief shock down the spine and then there's someone here that quite simply wasn't before. And whatever those in the room were expecting out of Jericho, it...likely isn't the person who's standing in front of them, near the thirty-sixth podium where Rachel has moved easily out of the way to allow the woman who's appeared from seemingly out of nowhere to take her place. Her hair is long and brown, similar to Alena's, done up in a thick plait that she's got pulled over one shoulder; she isn't particularly attractive, and not pretty in the way that Alena and Hilda were. She's just kind of plain, with eyes that are a little too large and wide-set for her head, and though she's fairly tall and well-built for a woman it's not in the same way that Sigrun was – its softer, in a way that doesn't suit the hardness in her expression. She's dressed simply, in the way that the clothes in the closet upstairs were simple – a dress that's well-fitted but plain, with brown knee-high boots under it. She glances over at the cat, which makes its way over and jumps up onto the podium in front of her, where it proceeds to curl up and set its head down as though asleep – though it's very clearly watching the rest of the room. The woman sets her hand atop the cat's back lightly, smiling a bit to herself before looking back up at the group; the smile doesn't leave her, though it seems more than a bit forced – but when she speaks, while her voice sounds different (it's higher, lighter in pitch) it's incredibly obvious that the cadence and delivery are exactly the same as what you've been hearing over the public-address system for the past ten weeks. "Hey, guys – well, I guess you got what you wanted. And congratulations, it's going to be a complete waste of time! Let's not pretend that we're here to make friends or play nice with each other; Rule Five's still in place, but damn if I don't expect to hear you guys whine at me for the next couple of hours until we decide that this is pointless, face-to-face meetings always kind of suck, and the universe is a cold, unfeeling place. But you know what, while we're all here and staring at each other – my name is Lisbeth Larimore. Though I guess for the past two and a half months, you've been calling me Jericho. Let's see what you guys have to say, and how things look coming out the other side." That odd, overly-bright smile still hasn't left her face. "And as always, do your best!" Your hostess for the evening, everybody. Let's begin. |
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I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, honestly. Erm. Hi?
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... I mean either way Elda is apparently standing right next to her given she was over at Rachel's podium for the whole friendship thing.
... And important question but is she really 5'9 and thus towering over Elda right now? ]
... Jesus, woman.
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Good to see you too, Indomitable.
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1/2
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[ What is this. He expected kind of a guy to come down here actually. ]
Wow?
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[Yeah. He's got absolutely fucking nothing.]
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...ah.
Hello, then.
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[Oh.
Well, Rideaux wasn't expecting a kind of unfortunate-looking woman to show up. Color him surprised.
...he's giving her a judgmental stare I am so sorry.]
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Problem, Evaluating?
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...So which sister would that make you? Oldest; youngest?
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[...I mean, Rachel did say that there wasn't going to be an older sister showing up.]
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...Thank you for coming down, at the very least. It is good to put a face to the name, and to learn your real one.
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So, do we all agree that this is a waste of time? Because I can spend all day talking about The Many Deaths Of You, or I can just move on with things and try to get this absolute catastrophe reset, and I know which I'd prefer to be doing.
If you're not done yattering at me, please pick a direction that isn't incoherent shouting and "but we don't understand!", because I'm getting sick of fielding ten questions at once.
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Okay so what even is this catastrophe thing? Does that go back to the whole God getting punched and killing everyone thing?
[ Let's just. Start there??? ]
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So, since you guys are really determined to be taken seriously and you seem to want to fix all this – and I don't believe for a second that this is about my world, guys, I am so damn aware that this is about you not wanting to die despite the fact that it'll be fine, so please shut the hell up about trying to help me because nobody's buying it – we're probably going to need to talk some more. Which is something I'm sure no one here actually wants! But you know what, okay, you guys are bringing this on yourselves, I'm just going to ask that we not do this all randomly and stupidly.
[...]
And I mean, I do get that this is a lot to dump on people. So I...um.
[......]
Anyway. Just... Let's leave the cataclysm behind for now, okay? We can come back later to what happened there and how the Stand works and the...everything with Dio, I guess, if you think he's relevant. You guys have had a lot happen over the past ten weeks - we should probably start there, with your situation and what's been going on, since I'm sure that you're probably not completely happy with the answers you've got.
So. One thing at a time. Your stuff first, and the stuff you worked out by going through our stuff. Start there and work our way outward. Sound fair?
[She's still running her hand along the cat's back as she talks; once in a while she shifts her hand a little, jingling the collar a bit with her fingertips.]
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Elda's grinding her fangs on one of her nails here as she tries to get any semblance of emotional clarity here. She just wants to hug her family. She really, truly does.
... Basic, huh? ]
So the system here. The implication's been you're running it like this because otherwise Rachel won't cooperate and besides that you get a kick out of it. If we're starting at the basic of basics, that's the gist, right?
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So an early question would be 'how we were brought here'. I get that Rachel was the one who actually brought us here. But, how does it actually work?
[ He knows there's that soul tracking thing but it's one thing to explain how they are found than to explain how she could manage to do such a thing. ]
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All right, so. Now that that's out of the way, there comes the problem of the present situation – namely, the cataclysm.
I need all of you dead so that I can reset the present timeline without any unfortunate adverse effects in your own worlds. Putting you back is possible, but holy damn that is going to fuck up your worlds something fierce, and apparently a bunch of you don't want to go back anyway, which is going to fuck up multiple timelines and everything's going to go to shit and basically, look, you all just need to die? You need to die.
All of you are really opposed to dying, though – and don't get me wrong, not dying is pretty great! I don't want to die either. I'm pretty sure none of us here actually want to die. So you're saying we should come up with another solution, and or talk through the bullshit until you apparently solve my problems in an hour when I haven't been able to solve them for an actual fucklot of years.
I'll humor you for now, though. You've apparently got questions about my Stand, as well as the cataclysm itself. And Dio, I guess, because Inconspicuous will surely shit a brick if I don't let him complain about my taste in men.
If we're not missing anything in all that, let's go.
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[ Said Elda as she sits next to Rachel and... pulls a dirty somewhat ripped Teddy Bear out of her bag and hugs it close to her while the other woman is playing with Ditty. ]
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(she hasn't cried in such a goddamn long time, does she even remember how)
- but she's shaking a little and she can't seem to focus on anyone in particular, and after a long moment she just. picks up the cat and folds her arms around her, clutching Johanna to her chest and bowing her head, and when she speaks again her voice is just as dead as her eyes.]
So Courageous is being an incorrigible bitch, as always – does it ever occur to you that this is why people only ever just tolerate you? And Inconspicuous is cheefully suggesting I should just make sure that Rachel doesn't exist, because he doesn't understand how cause and effect works. Awesome.
Are you happy now? You've upset Rachel. Does that make you feel good about yourselves?
[There's literally nothing behind it – no sadness, no anger, nothing. It's like something in her has just...stopped.]
I'm still going to kill all of you. I'm going to kill all of you, and I'll feel better once I've done and then I'm going to start over, and she won't remember this, and I'll find whatever caused it and I'm going to fix it, and I'm going to save everyone.
[Her words are still completely dead but they're picking up speed, more of them forcing themselves out after every time she breathes, and there's just no feeling anymore, she can't - ]
I'm going to kill all of you. I'm going to...
[She can't make herself finish.]
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... Yeah she's going to stand near Rachel and, ]
It's going to keep piling up, her memories.
[ It's clear that's the case, isn't it? ]
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SELECTION.
Her eyes are still looking more than a little dead, but it seems like a good idea to at the very least set something down for discussion; this is...a trainwreck, honestly, but...]
So. It's been a long, weird journey, and I'm not altogether certain we're at the end of it. But you sure as hell have been trying your best, and that's all I've asked of you from the beginning.
[It's not an apology, but at the same time, holy shit, sorry, Rin? You tried really hard, she...doesn't exactly appreciate it but she gets what you were trying to do.]
My question to you, then, is this:
One option is to reset the timeline, preventing the cataclysm from happening in the first place. This would involve taking my sisters and our friends elsewhere after that's been taken care of, such that if anything happens beyond this point, it's out of our hands. We would leave the industry behind, but the industry would continue running. If I do that, I can't guarantee that none of this will happen to you guys again. It would also ensure that everything that happened in this timeline will be erased. That includes all previous unsanctioned games, and everything that came out of them, good or bad. All the suffering that occurred in those unsanctioned games would not happen to you or anyone else, and you would spare the lives of a world's worth of people.
The other option is to not reset. This timeline would remain intact; my sisters and our friends will leave - if they're willing - and you guys can go back to your lives, but all of the previous unsanctioned games would still happen, resulting in the suffering and deaths of over three hundred and fifty people, including alternate versions of yourselves. The results of those unsanctioned games will likewise remain intact. This iteration of yourselves existing would likely cause an offshoot, and I can't guarantee your well-being or what will happen beyond that. Choosing this also involves leaving this world to its death, but it will successfully stop the industry.
So I guess this is, in some ways, a repeat of the question I asked you a couple of weeks ago. Only I want an actual answer from you guys, this time. Decisively, and finally.
Are you willing to kill an entire world's worth of people to ensure the happiness of a few that, in the scheme of things, you barely know?
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I... don't know where I will go-- for the sake of my world, I cannot return, but that's my choice.
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And once Johanna is down Lisbeth straightens up, and her arms are folding tightly around herself but she looks up again, and even though she's trying to smile the expression is weak, and even though there's some sort of emotion coming back into her eyes it's difficult to tell exactly what it is.
When she speaks again her voice is trying very hard to be confident; the result is just that weird, not-quite-feeling-it tone that Jericho tended to take during punishments.]
Holy shit, congratulations, you guys are some of the most selfish people I've ever seen. Not that I blame you for it or anything, it's a whole world full of people you don't know, and like Dependable said, they're already dead. So it's not like they matter anymore, right?
[Her hands tighten, her fingers bunching up the fabric of her dress; she looks at Adelina for a moment, and while her expression doesn't soften, exactly, her eyes do slide closed a bit.]
I... Thank you. For trying to help. I get that you're not trying to help me, it's just a moral thing with you, but it still means a lot, and I'm not going to forget it, okay? You... Thanks. I don't...
[Her voice catches a bit then; she shakes her head before continuing.]
As always, though, majority rules. And I think...
[Her breath hitches in her chest.]
I think there's something to be said for breaking the cycle – this is... It's my home, but it was already on the path to destroying itself. That the industry existed in the first place, that it had that much power... It was only a matter of time, right? Sometimes things like this can't be fixed.
[She sounds like she doesn't entirely believe that, but it's acknowledging it, at least. Her voice is wavering so much, and she's...]
There isn't a perfect solution. But I think this... It's going to save more people than it destroys. There may not be a way to rebuild my world, but you guys can go on and build something else for yourselves. A new timeline where things have been affected by it and changed for the better, the way they wanted but couldn't accomplish themselves. Without all the killing and evil moralizing bullshit, just...working stuff out for yourselves.
Maybe you'll go on to save other worlds, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll just waste your lives or come out of all of this worse than before. But... I don't know, maybe... Maybe it's not anyone's decision to make but yours.
[She bows her head again, her arms still folded tightly across her body; it takes her a moment to speak again, just...let her...]
Rachel, take them up. All of them. I...
[Lisbeth sinks to her knees then, just kind of folding in on herself; she's quick to bury her face in her hands, and when she speaks again, her voice is muffled but can still be heard.]
Thank you. For doing your best. And for...saving us, even if...
[...]
Just go.
[It's been a difficult trial. And again, there are no perfect solutions.
But with this particular selection, you've ended a cycle of death and pain; what's going unsaid are the numerous worlds you're sparing with this choice. Displacing people throughout time has consequences, regardless of what the intentions behind doing so are; removing "bad people" from any given world, any given time, has potential to destabilize timelines – maybe for the better, maybe for the worse.
Sometimes, all you can do is hold strong and rebuild.
You've also spared those in the unsanctioned games; they'll still go through everything that this particular timeline manipulation will cause, but everything that happened as a result will still stand. And despite everything, people found happiness there. Family. Friends. Lovers. For better or worse, they'll likewise be allowed to continue their lives. To change. To rebuild.
You just have to put enough trust in them to allow them to do so.
So once more, and for the last time: ]
[C O M P L E T E D]