Aftergathering 6

[clearasmud]

Rule 17 hits like a gutpunch. The plan she'd talked about, as improbable as it already was, had just become much harder.

But something - someone - digs its heels in inside her, the same way it did prior to their most recent trial. The presence of their latest, insurmountable hurdle, has the odd effect of only making Youko more determined.

They're going to win.

There's hot soup, rice, and tea in the kitchen. We're holding a meeting tomorrow morning in the conference room. I want you to be there.

- Youko

Comments

[blazeit]

[ Well, if Youko's not going to do it, Bakugou will light some candles when he shows up, delayed from raiding Mordecai's room. It feels like tradition at this point, and he's been lighting a bunch of candles everyday in his wayward attempt to attract ghosts anyway.

... He only does five, though. He's pretty sure it's an indicator of immaturity or something that he doesn't want to light a candle for the guy who killed Hibiki and Yuuri, but he doesn't particularly care. Tabby still gets one, though, because haha what are consistent standards.

He looks pretty tired. Less upset than he normally seems most-trial, and more just exhausted. ]

[icysemblance]

[That makes two of them. It's not right to light a candle for - that jerk.]

...are you holding up okay? None of us are all right, I'm not even going to try and pretend otherwise...

[blazeit]

Not that great. But I'll make it through. [ Which is more than they can say about — what is it, 18 of them now? ] ... There's something that's bothered me about these trials for a while now. Besides the blatantly obvious, I mean.

... It's how many times an adult has killed a teenager who probably didn't have much of an idea of how to defend themselves.

[ In fact, about all that's left in the way of teenagers at this point are the ones that do have an idea of how to defend themselves. ]

[icysemblance]

[She listens, nodding.]

That's a disturbing number. Ashley, Rakka, Luna, Morty, Marty, and Hibiki, and I don't know about Yuuri or Kaneki.

That leaves you, me, and Jean with definite fighting skills, Blue with her Pokemon, and Sol.

[blazeit]

Maybe people will calm the fuck down now that most of the easy targets are gone.

[ He says the word "easy" with a metric ton of bitterness behind it.

... He also isn't so sure that people are going to actually calm down. ]

[icysemblance]

...I wish I could believe that they would.

[She fiddles with her teacup.]

I think it just means that if anyone goes after someone else, they'll have a harder time.

[blazeit]

... Yeah, you're probably right about that. Maybe that'll stop some people from trying at all.

[ It's kind of hard to be hopeful about this, now that they're down to almost a third of their original number, though. ]

[icysemblance]

I really hope that you're right. I would like nothing more.

[blazeit]

Yeah, same here. This whole murder thing is getting really tired... We didn't even have a motive this week, just chickens.

[ He's definitely channeling his inner iced coffee hard with that last sentence. ]

[icysemblance]

I don't think the chickens had anything to do with it. Rick snapped, and Tabby...

[...in some strange and foreign way, her heart was in the right place.]

...she at least tried to take the shadow with her.

[blazeit]

... She shouldn't have killed to try and make it happen, but her reasoning wasn't wrong, I don't think.

[ If her plan had worked, then she would've saved more people than she killed, after all. ]

Either way, we can't just wait around. I don't know, maybe it's just irrational, but it feels like Observant is starting to do even weirder stuff.

[ The chickens, for one thing. Rule 17, for another... ]

[icysemblance]

No, she shouldn't have, but I agree. She had her heart in the right place, even if her methods leave something to be desired.

[She nods.]

I can't follow the logic he used for last week. It's completely out of line with every other kind of motive he's given us. I'm starting to wonder if he's losing it, honestly.

[blazeit]

Yeah, I'm honestly wondering that as well. Maybe he's stressed out or something? ... It definitely feels like his plan is going off the rails, after all.

[icysemblance]

It does, and not in a good way. It feels like the 'we're going to hit a wall going a hundred miles an hour because we went off the rails' way.

[blazeit]

Probably, yeah. Things not going too great for Observant probably means things are about to get even shittier for us...

[ Although he's pretty sure things can't get worse than after that last trial. Fingers crossed, at least. ]

[sunsong]

Wonder who the tattle-tale was.

[ about their ghost thing...she gestures to the new rules, looking annoyed. ]

[blazeit]

It was probably getting kinda obvious after a while... I mean, he's almost definitely watching us, right? Between the seances and the salt circles, he probably figured we were like... collectively losing our minds, or obviously up to something.

[ Maybe both simultaneously, Bakugou honestly couldn't blame somebody for thinking they're collectively losing their minds at this point... ]

[sunsong]

Yeah, you're not wrong. Still...it makes me kinda happy us talkin' to them apparently pisses him off so much, you know?

[blazeit]

I think I know what you mean... like we must be doing something right, which is why he's telling us to stop doing it.

[sunsong]

That's it exactly! I mean, if it weren't us doin' something right, he wouldn't give a single fuck, don't you think? Even if it's breakin' the rules now...it ain't like he can enforce what they do.

[blazeit]

Yeah, half the rules basically feel like they're there to cover his ass after he fucks something up.

[ HE COULD GIVE THEM THE STEAK KNIVES BACK... It's not their fault that Dio thought they were acceptable projectile weapons. ]

Maybe the ghosts can attack the shadow thing better than we can...?

[sunsong]

[ UGH, DIO, WHY ARE YOU RUINING THINGS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE!!! ]

Well, they're in another realm, aren't they? And that thing doesn't seem to be entirely...here. Maybe it's more wherever they are than wherever we are.

[blazeit]

It's not the least likely possibility, I guess.

... Back then, during the execution... did you think the flashbangs were working? Like, the shadow thing was retreating, but I couldn't tell if it was because it had to or if it was deliberate.

[sunsong]

I think it's unlikely he'd make a rule against somethin' he wasn't legitimately annoyed or worried about.

[ So, it had to have some kind of effect, but... ]

...But I don't think it was enough. She tried her best for us, but...

[blazeit]

... Yeah. We need to try something different, just lighting the place up isn't going to be enough. But we don't have enough opportunities to try new stuff, that's the big problem.