trustfell | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes and no.

...what are the "no" conditions, then.

Also, how are you even sure this is how any of this works? Didn't your world just get broken by some god or something?

It did, but I'm finding a way to fix it, as I've said before.

Do you have any guarantee killing us will help further that goal?

No. But if I'm wrong, I can save you and start over.

But we won't remember any of this if you do, I imagine.

Well, I mean.

You didn't remember it this time, did you?

You know I didn't. But, that's my point.

[She frowns.]

I think most of us can agree that our experiences here have shaped us in some way. Even if you went back and saved us, if we didn't remember this later... It wouldn't be us that you would save, it would be some other version of ourselves.

Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on how it's done.

[She pauses, and frowns.]

Since we are here, and given the last incentive you gave us to kill another, am I to assume that our worlds are in danger of the same disaster that yours met, even if nobody, ah... Eats a god?

It's entirely possible, yes. It's happened to more worlds than just mine.

[She takes a breath in and pushes one out.]

Then the question becomes less about what I can do to save myself and more about what I can do to ensure the safety of my home, of course. But - if you've done this many times, how do you know it will be successful this time?

I want to do whatever it is that will give everyone there their best chance, and if that's a solution you haven't considered yet, I want to help you find it.

You're more than welcome to try, if you want. I'm not going to argue with that much.

[It's difficult, when she doesn't understand much about the concepts they're discussing, but...]

...What if it is less the people here causing a problem, and more the repeating situations you're creating?

(no subject)

trustbound - 2017-11-19 05:29 (UTC) - Expand

bloodbiter - 2017-11-19 05:31 (UTC) - Expand

... You've killed us more than once?

[ Or is she just talking about those unsanctioned games? ]

Edited 2017-11-19 04:31 (UTC)

I had to find out that my theories were going to work out somehow.

[ Jesus. ]

... I'm too dense for this. Are you saying there are dozens of Shihabas that Elda Marker never returned to or something?

I'm saying that right now, there's just the one that you're not going to return to.

The others are probably fine.

How does that even make sense, if you killed them too?!

[ She, losing her temper, this...

This is so far above her head. The fact of the matter is she doesn't understand anything here. It's --

... No, she can't call it hopeless, even to herself. She digs her nails into the podium. ]

Again. If I fuck up, I can save you.

[ . . . She... ]

So... so over and over, you watch the same people suffer and die, because Rachel has to believe you're killing bad people to cooperate. She's a machine or something so she's immortal and you're immortal too. And then at the end of every go of it, you just erase everyone. And if that's not the right alchemy, you "save" those same people, bring them back, and then just make more people suffer and die? What, endlessly until you "fix" things, even if it'll cause more problems you then need to fix?

[ . . . ]

Why does it matter so much if people survived unsanctioned games? Isn't them surviving a good thing? There's less death, there's more people saved.

Edited 2017-11-19 05:24 (UTC)

trustbound - 2017-11-19 05:28 (UTC) - Expand

matchbreaker - 2017-11-19 05:29 (UTC) - Expand

...so if you've gone through, hypothetically, 50 Aligulas and things still aren't fixed, then why are you still operating under that hypothesis.

Do you even understand how many ways it's possible for worlds to go straight to hell if all loose ends aren't tied up? They definitely weren't tied up this last time, and that's what I'm trying to fix. I think I've found most of them this time.

And you're sure that "neutralizing" us is going to fix things why, exactly.

The more of you that are gone from the point when things went horrifically stupid, the more likely it is that this will work.