day two - aftermath

[guestcontrol]

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.

Comments

[godwhisperer]

[Yes, just going to sit and pet soothingly and talk to him while he does. Be a happy doggie.]

You are one of the fiercest and cutest pomeranians I have ever met. I am proud to call you my comrade. It is something of a relief...

You were misunderstood, but I who am also misunderstood will do what is in my power from now on. I...I promise...when you say things, I will listen to you and understand your meaning, and not fail you. It is a solemn vow.

[photonement]

[WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN, KID??]

I just mean... we have a detective now, and we're not gonna have a conversion, and the buddy cops might be drunk off their butts right now given the general sanity level this game but just as likely they're biding their time to actually do something right.

[chronic]

[ IT MEANS YOU'RE HIS BRAH ]

No-- it's- it's definitely best if they stay quiet until they have something solid.

[siggey]

[ I can stand on my own, I just needed a moment.

I turn to face K sternly. ]

I wouldn't be happier if a VIP is hanging. I don't care about this game, I'm actually pretty pissed that they're saying he's 'innocent'. Innocent from WHAT? The VIPs can be blackmailed too, forced to kill with serious leverage that regular guests don't know about.

He wasn't arrogant, K. Levi knew the risks he was running when he spoke up. You're just pressing down your own impressions with that claim. He did what he could, what he thought was right. If you can't try to understand why someone did what they did, you shouldn't be judging them, much less dismiss their death like this is some sort of normal outcome.

[paws_and_rewind]

[ ...He can't stay down for long with Tamaki on snuggle duty! That kind of cheer is so catching... If the park thing doesn't work out, he should become a dog, because being a dog is totally a viable career and he has the skillset for it! ]

[sparklyrichbastard]

[Oh my gosh he totally would, just sign him up right now!]

[paws_and_rewind]

[ That's why he waited so long to say something....!

Maybe he should have been quiet, but that's not the kind of thinking that's going to help him now! ]

[jingler]

No, Sigma, you're wrong. He was arrogant. He thought he could pretend to be the detective and lead a lynch against Legion, claiming he was the one who wrote that letter.

I understand what his plan was Sigma: he wanted to hide the identity of the true detective by pretending to be them...however such a plan would only work if he had the consent of the real detective. Clearly he did not and this is what happened. At the time there was no reason to think he was anything but a VIP.

Levi acted with arrogance and he died for it.

[photonement]

[Her eyes flicker down at him as she hears him stumble over that first word.]

And this will be the third night, won't it? So they're getting more and more to work with.

[chronic]

I just hope they nail an actual VIP soon.

[perfectstrike]

[She looks at him when he speaks again, not.. quite understanding what he's saying. He's not wrong, though, and she just huffs an unamused breath through her nose and nods. Peko does manage to somewhat uncurl herself; this kid is a stranger, and she's... not comfortable showing weakness around strangers. Even though everyone already saw her earlier today with Kuzuryuu.

It just matters okay.

But she stiffens when he offers her a candy. Peko... doesn't like sweet things. But you know who did?

She reaches up with one hand, pausing and wavering a moment before taking one.]

...Where you are from... is there... a custom for leaving offerings on graves...?

[That seems a little off-topic, Peko. What are you getting at?]

[photonement]

Have we even learned much about what the VIPs want? How they're thinking... My brain turned into a pretzel just trying to wrap around that guy's plot.

[chronic]

I don't know who could be swayed to go along with this, or why.

[perfectstrike]

Do you...?

[It's a quiet, barely audible question, and Peko's fingers tighten around her elbows as she stares straight ahead without seeming to see anything.

She'd thought they'd had all the tools at their disposal. She'd checked for evidence. She'd thought she'd done everything right. And then...

But she has to be the protag now. Kuzuryuu wanted to protect their classmates, so that was what she was going to do. Even if she would rather have died in his place than be left with this.]

It will be enough. [She owes them this much already. She can't afford to be weak, not when her classmates need her.] We will gain more information. We will find who did this. And if need be, I will execute them myself to ensure you can all escape freely.

[siggey]

Because he's a soldier. A captain, to be precise. You know what that means? That means wherever he's from, he's used to being responsible for many, many lives, or at least, he'd know already how that would feel.

We were lied to for that detective's sake. Levi was a regular guest, this means that if the note turned out false and Legion isn't VIP, he'd be the one to receive the backlash.

...

We don't, but the game should end. The rulebook didn't say more.

[paws_and_rewind]

[ Purple friend, you now have an unshakeable bond! If he could walk backwards through time like Sissel, he'd definitely bring all his information to you right away!

...That means he has to try his hardest too! There's too many people counting on him for him to not be the very best sniffer out of secrets he can be!!

...Bark!!

He still doesn't sound at 100%, but it looks like he's getting his heart back. ]

[perfectstrike]

I will... I will make sure you all get out.

[That... doesn't sound reassuring when you're all curled up like that, Peko, it really doesn't. You need to try harder to be the protag.

She doesn't want to be the protag anymore.

She doesn't move away when Ibuki leans against her; she goes stiff at the unfamiliar warmth, then relaxes by degrees. A lullaby sounds childish, and Peko's first instinct is to refuse -- but then, maybe it would make Ibuki feel better, to sing. And it's not like Peko has heard Ibuki sing yet.]

If... you would like.

[cheats]

[ He seems a bit relieved when she takes the candy, because this is awkward for him too, wanting to offer some comfort and solace, but also not quite knowing how. He gives the briefest of soft smiles, but it drifts away at her question. Ciel turns the attention to the grave, and since he's a well-educated young man, he's at least familiar with the tradition in passing, so he has a feeling he knows what she's getting at. ]

...Not where I am from, no. We leave flowers and our prayers, but that is about it.

[ He looks back to Peko at this point. ]

Is it where you're from?

[photonement]

[For the first time all day Mahiru remembers the bandages around her head and touches them self-consciously.]

Maybe they're not even in their right... minds...

[perfectstrike]

I see.

[She rolls the candy around in her fingers and just nods to answer his question. A soft exhale, then she forces herself to her feet. She doesn't stay there long, though; almost immediately, she's shifting to kneel instead, around the place where his feet would be when they had buried him.

She rests the candy on the dirt (wasting perfectly good candy... well done Peko...) and clasps her hands together. She's not looking at Ciel -- her eyes are closed, even, but she explains quietly,] He... would like something like this. Though if he could hear me... he would protest. He did not want people to know, you see.

I don't know if he ever knew that I did...

[Oh. Oh no. There goes her voice cracking again. It sounds like she's going to cry. God damn it Peko.]

[chronic]

...There's a theory. Huh.

[photonement]

Careful, out-of-turn might not get us MVP or--

[She claps her hand over her mouth. It's been less than 72 hours; why is this reminder already so automatic for her? Mahiru shakes her head.]

Never mind, you already said "If need be."

[She's still not good at this, clinging to her normalcy and domesticity when Peko is the warrior at the head of the team now. Doing things that way gets results of some kind, even if they're as unpleasant as this. Still, Mahiru next nudges the plate awkwardly.]

Lemme know if you really feel so bad you can't eat. I want you to, but... there's eggs in this. It'll go kinda bad in less than an hour.

[photonement]

Whether they've got blackmail or mind control or just a bunch of plants... there's nothing the rest of us could do about any of that. We have to protect ourselves and each other. It's hard, but is there anything else to it?

late evening - carnival

[chronic]

[ Mysterion is... Wait, Mysterion? Instead of a hooded, masked little boy, there's a young person in a sparkly princess dress and blonde wig. It's not hard to tell that this person in the dress is the same person as Mysterion- their height and eye color are the same. As if that weren't strange enough, there's a small, dirty-looking rat perched on his shoulder.

The princess is stuffing tickets into the prize machine- there's a small pile of completely useless prize machine junk at his side already. ]

Uwaaa.

[ He returns to the games, seemingly oblivious to the bizarre spectacle he's creating. ]

[chronic]

Yeah. No matter what their reasons, we have to take them down if we want to live.