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

[decrees]

Even if she truly didn't care and... and chose Ashley because she thought it would be easiest... Asuka was still a person. If she had killed Rick, would anyone be this angry?

[Logan sighs and runs a hand back through his hair.]

No matter how terrified we are, no matter how hurt we are, we need to remember that everyone here is a person, and that should never be something we try to take away.

[clearasmud]

Of course not. Rick wasn't her friend. Or "friend", I guess...

I didn't say the things I said to her because she took Ashley. I said those things because she went after someone who'd done nothing but be nice to her. What she did wasn't like the other two.

...Maybe there's something I'm missing, but plenty of people think of me as a monster. I might not like that, but... it's not a problem for me if they don't act on it. [ Or she assumes, because they always act on it, whether it be through word or deed. ] Can you please explain your feelings to me? I do want to understand where you're coming from.

[decrees]

We don't know what was going through Asuka's head that night. Perhaps the incentive was too strong to resist. Something obviously happened that caused her to miss - Asuka was an excellent shot. I believe there was more to it than what she admitted to.

[And now they'll never know. Just like with Reaver.]

I will admit that a good part of my irritation with what was said is on a personal level. In Albion, I am the person called a monster; someone who isn't treated as a person. It is through fear so I rarely see or hear anything aimed directly at me, but the signs are everywhere.

While I have not done anything like what Asuka did, I have hurt the majority of Albion in an attempt to save it.

[He's quiet for a moment before pressing on.]

Have you heard the others discuss Reaver? They didn't know him, but they act as though they knew he was a terrible person who would do something like this. That's the point of all of this - we're supposed to turn on each other.

Even I do not know why Reaver moved that night. I will never know. But hearing them speak about Reaver as though it was only a matter of time before he snapped and how horrible he was for it when any one of us could be tempted by the Conductor's incentives or even just this situation itself... It's disgusting.

[...so in summation, Logan has a lot of issues.]

[clearasmud]

[ ...Ah. ]

Asuka doesn't scare me because she's "monster-like". She scares me because she is a person.

I don't know if we all could have been pushed into killing the person we held dearest here, but- I don't have any way of knowing for certain, do I?

[ Tense shoulders slump, but... it looks more like someone giving up than relaxing. ]

Everyone here... I think they all know it, really. Deep inside... and almost all of them are trying to prevent that from coming to the surface. So they make a big mess of things, because no matter what they come up with, it's still not as scary as the truth.

...Are you sure you can't live with them trying to protect themselves like that? I know it hurts, but...

[ look at how she's become

that is what the truth does to people ]

Even if... they are saying some exceptionally stupid things.

[ And as awful as she feels, she can still laugh at that... It's just not a particularly nice sound.

We can't have everything. ]

[decrees]

...I believe it would be better if everyone accepted the reality of our situation here. Anyone could be pushed to kill. With the weapons that have fallen from the machine, anyone can kill.

[There's poison in there too, for the smaller ones. The Conductor apparently wanted to give everyone a fair chance to murder someone.]

I will not say anything to them, but I do hope they are willing to see our situation as it is, instead of painting the world black and white.

[clearasmud]

...Realizing it for themselves might be the only way they'd accept it, if that helps. You... could guide them to that conclusion, but just telling them might not work.

[decrees]

I know. It may take awhile or it may never happen. But I sincerely hope it will.

[He's not sure how patient he can be if this happens again.]