day three

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day three 34 players remaining. There are no clocks in your dorm room to help you mark the passing of time, but at a certain point, in the early hours of the morning, a cheerful chime tune plays over the loudspeaker. Whether you're awake or asleep, the door to your dorm room is now unlocked. You'll have about a forty five minutes, in which you can get ready or grab some breakfast, before the door that allows you into the park unlocks. By this time, you may or may not have noticed that one of your number is missing. The chimes play again, to announce that the park is open, and the rides and music begin to come back to life as a voice plays over the loudspeaker. "Rise and shine! Let's have a lot of fun and look for the bodies, too!" You will have until 4 PM to explore the park and talk amongst yourselves. Somewhere in the park, you'll find the bodies of Dipper Pines and Mahiru Koizumi. rulebook character statuses private conversations graveyard Voting will close at 10 PM EST on September 30. Though a special post for discussion will go up shortly before voting, you are encouraged to discuss who to vote for throughout the day. Voting

Comments

[cheats]

[ Ciel takes the water bottle, but just looks at it in his hands before clutching it tightly. He doesn't take a drink, not yet, but he does feel the need to explain, at least in some part. ]

It didn't occur to me until... today, really.

[ He shakes his head ]

She looked like my Aunt Ann. They— They had a similar kind of personality too, I think. It's hard to say, since it's not as if I truly knew her, but— [ He breaks off there with a cough, shaking his head as if to say he's fine, but that should also explain the visceral reaction, at least partially. ]

[harepiece]

[It does seem like Oz understands what Ciel's getting at, at least, and he won't ask for further explanation - which probably isn't surprising to Ciel by now. It seems that's just the way Oz operates.

He wants to say something like "she was a good person" or thank her for being there to teach him how to make oatmeal, but honestly, everything comes up sounding like platitudes in his mind.]

...I'm sorry. I don't think that things are going to get any easier from this point on. [Not that they had been easy at the start, but he knows that this won't be the hardest hit they take.] But if there's anything that I can do, let me know, all right?

[Not much beyond that can really be offered. He can only help bury the dead and try to keep what he can safe from harm.]

[cheats]

Of course it wouldn't...

[ He shakes his head with a weary, tired sigh, and just like that, whatever emotion had been welling up is gone, and he's back to the distinguished, regal nobleman. He uncaps the bottled water and takes a sip, though he thinks to himself that it tastes incredibly bitter. ]

I've buried my whole family by now, so this should be no more than that.

[ Another sigh follows before he takes a sip of his water again, but then sits down and takes off his hat. ]

What do you think of all this, Oz? Is there a way for us to win?

[harepiece]

[That has his brow rising upward in an empathetic expression, but no further comment on that particular topic comes from him. There's not a lot to say.]

...I don't think there's a way for anyone to "win" something like this. It's clear by now that the most casualty-free path isn't going to be an option for us if the VIPs continue to kill, so...

[Since they're on a path that will end in many, many more deaths... There's really no way to win something like that at all, from any angle.]

But I would still like to pursue the path of fewest deaths, and I don't think that's out of our reach yet.

[cheats]

[ He nods with a solemn expression, and it takes him a few moments to speak up again. ]

I agree... It's fighting against the unseen that's the difficult part. I really have to wonder why anyone would agree to this at all.

[ Ciel shakes his head bitterly ]

They're wretched, regardless. I will enjoy seeing them hanged.

[harepiece]

[He folds his hands together, lips pursing, and shakes his head once.]

Whatever it is, I can't imagine it being worth even one life, let alone over thirty.

[Though he does know how the whole crazy bullshit "my world is in danger and now I have to shonen hero" thing goes, and he's definitely considered that maybe these killer are in a similar situation, but... With no explanation outside of the park rules stating that this is only a game, he can't afford to entertain any what-ifs.

On the other hand, he looks a little discomforted by Ciel's wording regarding the VIPs being caught. It's a necessity as far as he's concerned; these are dangerous, violent people willing to kill. He'd vote to execute any without complaint to keep the rest of them safe. Enjoying it, though... That's something he can't do.]

[cheats]

[ ciel is an outlier and should not be counted tbh ]

People are selfish, I suppose... That's all I can really imagine as a motivation. Cruel, selfish people.

[ He shakes his head with a heavy sigh, since this isn't exactly the ideal start to a day, and Ciel isn't sure how many more of them he can handle. So he states, softly: ]

This is the last time I'll go looking, though. I... I won't go looking for people in the mornings anymore. I can't bear that.

[harepiece]

[go sit with alois and tsukiyama, ciel...]

I would like to think that isn't the case, but... [Considering the brutality of the kills and the complete lack of discretion regarding who they kill, it's getting hard not to think of it like that.]

...Mm. [Quiet acknowledgment to what Ciel's said.] I'll be looking for them, so I'll let you know where they are. [So he doesn't stumble across a body by accident.] If you want to know anything else about them, too, I'll tell you. All you have to do is ask, okay?

[cheats]

[ no they're all separate outliers, you see, because can you imagine the destructive force that would be the three of them combined ]

[ Ciel nods to what Oz says about the killers, but otherwise offers no more. He instead turns to the other topic, and while that one is really no better, it doesn't make him quite as angry, at least. ]

Thank you. [ Which is given gently, since Ciel still isn't much one for thanks. ] Though... Do you think perhaps you could help me with something today? For Mahiru.

[harepiece]

[if they didn't destroy each other first...

Ciel's thanks is acknowledged in an equally quiet way, though, because Oz is pretty subdued in general right now. At the question, his expression shifts into something a little curious, but he nods before bothering to ask what it is.]

Sure. What do you need help with?

[cheats]

I want to give her a proper funeral.

[ He says it coolly, almost emotionlessly, but that lack is telling enough. ]

I can't do anything as grand as I did for my aunt, but... They were both kind people. Kind people should be sent to ground in a way that honors that.

[harepiece]

[The suggestion seems to surprise him a little, considering they'd gone two days already with only burials.

But he definitely agrees with the sentiment, and his smile grows a little even if there isn't really much more happiness behind it than there had been before. There's some definite gratitude present, though. He dips his head a little.]

Mahiru was really lucky to know a person like you. I think that she would be happy to know that she's thought of like that... [Oz will remember her similarly.] I'll do my best.

[cheats]

[ Unsurprisingly (at least at this point), Ciel glances away, though he doesn't reject the compliment with his usual vigor. It's more like a roll of his eyes and a half-hearted grumble. ]

I can't do it for everyone, since I don't like the idea of doing something that important just because it's expected, but...

[ He shrugs, trying to play it off ] We can up with something decent, at least.

[harepiece]

[Oz seems satisfied with that, since he hadn't expected Ciel to suddenly become the overseer of all funerals or something. He hopes that Ciel won't have to deal with another person close to him being killed again, honestly.]

Right. It won't be very traditional, but I think we can put a few things that she'd like in there.

[cheats]

[ Ciel nods, then murmurs thoughtfully, clearly just thinking aloud about how to do it. ]

So... Photography, I suppose? What I could think about otherwise would be... strange. [ Because everything else he knows is essentially how motherly she was, so. ]

[harepiece]

[Yeah he's not sure Mahiru's ghost would appreciate him leaving a bowl of oatmeal on her grave...]

Yeah, she really liked taking photographs... [It makes him pretty wistful since she'd been snapping a bunch of candid shots before bodies started turning up and she had to become a crime-scene photographer instead.] I'm not sure how to work that into it, though. Do you have any ideas?

[cheats]

[ thankfully even the Earl of Ineptitude knows that much, so. Ciel nods in agreement with a thoughtful expression. ]

Perhaps... Aya, in that case. She might have photographs of Mahiru with other people. That would likely at least be something.

[harepiece]

All right. [A nod!] Do you want to talk to her, then, or should I?

[Because he doesn't really want to force Ciel to deal with this any more than he's comfortable with.]

[cheats]

I'll take care of it.

[ He sighs and shakes his head, because this does mean dealing with Aya, but. ]

Can you get flowers, perhaps? I... doubt there will be anything fitting, so anything will have to do.