It keeps happening

[forcegalactic]

[After that horror show of an execution, Mordecai is still restless from the investigation and trial. He has too much pent-up energy, and plenty of others are sure to be upset, too. Ashley was loved by nearly all of them, the trial was mentally draining, and that execution was crueler than it should have been.

Two hours after everyone has returned to their rooms, they'll find a note slipped under their doors.]

We can't go on with empty stomachs. There's food in the kitchen, and the dining room is always open if you need someone to talk to.

Please keep anything outside of eating and civilized conversation away from the dining hall. That room is meant to be a peaceful place for those of us that need it.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy

[Today, there's cream of tomato soup warming up on the stove with a set of bowls besides it. It's a more mindless dish to prepare than mashed potatoes, as much as Mordecai wants to vent his frustrations on the potatoes.

He decides to follow Cabanela's tradition and lights one more candle, and after some consideration, lights a sixth. Let those who cared about either girl pay their respects.]

Comments

[oftheland]

Haha, I might know a few people like that Jonathan of yours. See... like I said, it's people like that who I can respect. Their ideas can be a little grating, but the strength of their conviction has to be admired.

What happened here... that feels more like giving in to something, really.

[midnightsea]

That's exactly what I'm trying to illustrate. Jonathan was stubborn and foolish, but...his resolve was something that couldn't be bent or broken.

...But even he wouldn't have condemned Asuka as a monster. If the devil himself arose from hell to lay waste to the earth, Jonathan Joestar was the kind of man who would reach out a hand in understanding to try and get him to stop.

[He drummed black nails against the table, frowning.]

That spectacle was different. That as self-righteousness tempered with fear and desperation. They hate her, because deep in their hearts they know every last one of them is capable of murder. I don't recall everyone saying Reaver and Undyne were abominations deserving no sympathy, but the minute someone dies that these idiots claim to like, they show their true selves.

It's useless. Useless, useless...they can hold themselves on as high a pedestal as they choose, but every last one of them knows the truth of our situation.

[oftheland]

That sort of person seems beyond troublesome... but he's exactly the kind of guy I'd love to meet. ...Or at least the kind of guy I'd want to have around in some fate of the world situation, anyway.

...I don't know if that's quite the case, though. Everyone seemed to like Ken well enough, too... but I think we'd had longer to get to know Ashley and become attached to her. You're going to feel angrier if someone steals your wallet than if someone steals someone else's wallet, right? That's what I think was going on there... I have to admit, even I was a little angry that someone went for Ashley of all people, although I appreciate that Asuka at least put up a fight.

There's also the betrayal element, too --- because everyone liked Ashley, her death necessarily meant that we had a traitor in our midst.

I'm not going to argue about whether or not everyone here is capable of killing, mind you. I just don't think that this was necessarily a catalyst for all of them realizing that, even if I'm sure some people are going to have a bit of a difficult time looking at themselves in the mirror next morning.

[midnightsea]

Jonathan...he was endlessly troublesome to the end, and kind to his last breath. [That sounded...strangely fond, even coming from Dio of all people. He was silent for a few seconds as if dwelling on one aspect of the situation or another, before simply adjusting his choker.] ...Infuriating, really.

I suppose it was a bit too personal for most of them--even I tolerated Ashley well enough, despite what I'm sure she thought.

But to denounce Asuka as a monster is simply incorrect. She did what she felt needed to be done in the most pragmatic way, and even I can't just stand by and allow everyone to curse that like they're some kind of saints.

[oftheland]

...There's just something about those sorts of people, though, isn't there? You'd think they'd be dull, but really, I can't help but respect them.

And no, I certainly agree with you on that. You'd think that her apparently trying to go back to avert a literal apocalypse would elicit some sympathy, given that some people seem to have been taken in enough by Reaver in the first go around that we didn't have as many people screaming for his blood.

[midnightsea]

He was far from dull, I can certainly say that much.

[Apparently, he'd liked Jonathan enough to have his brother's name listed on his profile. That clearly meant something, one way or another.]

It's all well and good until it's someone they care about. I'm sure some of them could have almost been convinced to render Kaneki's death useless versus all of Albion or whatever Reaver and Logan were on about then. But because it was Ashley, pragmatism in the name of saving the world is hardly even a distant thought in their minds.

As I said before, I don't care why she did or who she killed for it. What irritates me is that hollow self-righteousness. When one of them is pushed too far and turns into a hypocrite with blood on their hands, I'll be sure to remind them of this.

[oftheland]

Oh, yes, I certainly agree with you there. Honestly... I'm halfway betting on Hibiki in that particular instance. She got surprisingly vicious over the whole thing, and I'm not entirely sure what to glean from that. Is it an angry sort of righteousness that's going to keep pushing her forward? Or is she just going to violently snap one of these days?

Either way, I think the outcome would be pretty interesting to see.