dreamsland | day two

dreamland day two

38 players remaining.

As the voting period comes to an end, a bell goes off from the ticket machine, and the metal bars blocking the tunnel at the end of the Hall of Mirrors lifts. A voice speaks over the loudspeaker:

"Attention, guests! Please make your way onto the ride! For your safety, keep your hands and arms inside and do not attempt to leave your seat!"

Through the tunnel, single cars on a track stop and wait for each remaining player to step on. Don't dawdle, or your bracelet will begin to beep a warning. Once in a car, the safety bar locks you tightly inside, unable to move.

The car trundles along a dark, twisting track, nearly veering into cartoonish obstacles, but veering away at the last moment. Music and cackling laughter echoes loudly through the ride as you drive faster and faster. Suddenly, your car veers off to the left, through a courtroom, where a towering cartoon judge threatens to bang a gavel. Your car jerks and evades, but somewhere, before one car can pass, the gavel comes down and the car spins off to the side, through a dark doorway.

Each car comes to the end of the ride, but doesn't stop, and instead jerks into motion and, even faster, veers through the ride a second time. This time, your car does not enter the courtroom, but the doors to your left nonetheless open, showing instead of a courtroom a red room burning with cartoon flames. Above the flames hangs a corpse in a noose.

The body of Levi hangs from a white rope noose, as a cackling voices pronounces: Innocent

The ride turns away once more, and comes to a stop. A list of votes has been pinned on the wall for your perusal. You now have the rest of the evening to explore the park, before night comes again.

character statuses
private conversations
graveyard

This is a general post-vote mingle encompassing the time from the end of the trial (about 5 PM until the fireworks at 11 PM). You are encouraged and welcome to backtag discussions in this post until the next day post, or to have afternoon private conversations.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't think we can stop playing.

[Mahiru can't access the part of her brain that's charming, or would walk away from this courthouse without looking back, at the same time as she talks to Sigma.]

I think I see what he meant to do... even if it wasn't "right"... but... our problem was that we didn't keep on trying to find out the killer, did we? We got as far as an attacker with brute strength without combat experience. But we didn't even talk about Sakaki and the detonator.

So what... Does this really boil down to kill or be killed?

[ Regardless of our personal circumstances, 'VIP' automatically means 'guilty', and regular guest, 'innocent'? I still can't digest that wording. It's not right. People aren't BORN criminals. ]

All we did is turn on him the moment it was discovered that he lied about something. And you're right, Levi lying became such a big deal that once Missile countered it, it was as if that became the biggest crime of the whole park.

[ It's not, and I'm sure we both know this, too. ]

Levi didn't just lie, you know? He pretty much tried to kill Legion... Nobody has a real right to judge other's crimes like this. We shouldn't act that way and vote based on our emotions alone... [Which is exactly what Mahiru knows she herself all too eagerly did.]

But I do think... he was right that this is a war, and we have to keep working until one side wins on these terms.

Unlike the VIPs, we actually know his reason. That's still a step up from every other death here so far. ...But yeah, I agree. I don't think voting's the way out, either, but if this keeps up...

[If this keeps up, what?

I grit my teeth. I can't vote randomly. But CAN I vote, even if we have a confirmed VIP?

...]

Yeah, he gave his all playing. Is there really no other way...?

Well, I don't think we can just wait to get converted! The VIPs aren't interested in trying not to strike and kill at night. Ishtar and Kuzuryuu are both proof of the very opposite.

They do it because they have to. I still think it's possible to end this if both sides work together. The VIPs choose the same target that the medical team will cover, they keys stop being used, and no executions during trials. That way, we can end this once the VIPs have converted enough people, and no one would have to die again.

But that's an ideal. Mistrust runs too rampant, the note about Legion and Levi's claims probably only made it all worse. And what happened to Sakaki... They didn't have to do that. The Detonator, too...

The VIPs had no reason to think the medical team would protect Ishtar! Or Kuzuryuu! If they're really racking their brains to come up with the way to go about this losing as few lives as possible, this isn't it! They didn't even have access to the information that those guys lacked buddies, either. Maybe Kuzuryuu let that slip to one of my friends or something, but Ishtar? He didn't have friends here, or time to tell anybody!

Somebody got a key from the detonator and thought that too. So even if the VIPs are completely forced by the worst kind of mind control to play this game with all their hearts - because we know for sure that in practice they're trying as hard as they can TO KILL US - somebody else wants to put more people in danger too!

Obviously, they can't read minds. Which is why if we can all agree to that idea, it has to be publicly discussed during trials so everyone becomes aware. The VIPs aren't sure, just like how the medical team can't be sure. ...Except last night, I guess, but still, a plan like that can't coordinate itself.

[ She's right... ]

Yeah. The detonator giving out keys and people dying from that doesn't make anyone want to trust others more. With suspicious leads and trying to communicate with a dog, no wonder we've been screwing ourselves over so hard.

[ I sigh, and with a shake of my head, turns to look at her more fully. We're all tired, I'm not the only one. ]

Sorry. Guess I'm just venting out loud, at this point. What're you going to do now, Mahiru?

[In all seriousness:] My best, what else?

[She looks up at him in turn.] I can't say I'll play to win because then I'll just end up like Levi... or voting for people like Levi... and that's the worst thing I can imagine. Orchestrating the deaths of other people by myself, without at least having group backup, is just impossible for me. But I don't have any delusions about all of us getting out alive either... that's what the sudden death round is there to prevent. I don't want to close my eyes except to get a good night's sleep.

I want to see what happens next. There has to be a deeper mystery. Why we were brought here and can't remember.

[ She's really practical and sober for a girl her age. I wonder what she's seen too, to act so rationally about this... ]

...Yeah. I guess that's about as much as any of us can do. I've been wondering about that since this all began, too. What happens if the regular guests win? What happens if the VIPs win? And more importantly, is there no other option aside from those two?

[ Frankly, that bothered me the most. Are we seriously damned, to one or the other? ]

Maybe this 'game' is just a distraction to something else. But what...?

We shouldn't just wait it out, that's for sure! I can't promise I'll abstain from the votes ever again... but even more than I want to solve these real murder mysteries, we need to solve the true mystery. Whaddya call that... oh! The overarching mystery.

day two - aftermath

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