day three - aftermath

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day three 33 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 Edea Lee hangs from a red rope noose, as a cackling voices pronounces: Guilty! The ride turns away once more, and comes to a stop. A list of votes has been posted on the wall. You now have the rest of the evening to explore the park, before night comes again. One more thing: because of the successful execution of a VIP today, you now have a chance to vote for a MVP. MVP vote 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.

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graveyard

[cheats]

[ It takes Ciel a while to set everything up, but not long after the trial, you'll find Ciel by the graves. He's focused on Mahiru's, but as he had arrived, he had felt guilty about only regarding one, so he's placed a few of the meager flowers that he and Oz found on each grave that's there.

While Ciel would hardly call himself a practicing Catholic (far from it), he's still gone to enough funerals that he can stumble through at least the beginning portions, so he'll murmur the beginning part of the mass with his hands held in prayer. ]

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine...

[ Ciel says the opening portion of the Requiem mass without much trouble, but then straightens from bowing his head in prayer to continue onto something a bit more personal. He crouches by Mahiru's grave, then starts to place photographs that he had gotten from Aya. They're all photographs of Mahiru, photos that Aya had snagged knowingly or otherwise of Mahiru with other people, helping them, and most of all, Ciel had chosen ones where she was smiling. He won't leave them out here, since they're just for tonight, and they also belong to Aya. But he places them carefully alongside what few flowers they could find, even if they're little more than weeds. ]

Those who give kindness so freely are more deserving of a service to reflect that, but this is what we can give. I pray you wake in Heaven at peace, Mahiru.

[ Then once he's satisfied with how her grave is set, he'll step back with a hard, solemn expression, but he'll be here for a fair portion of the evening before collecting the photos and returning them to Aya. ]

[perfectstrike]

[As mentioned before, Peko attends, though she looks a bit uncomfortable by the whole proceeding. She doesn't know much about Catholicism, but she understands the intent.

If Ciel happens to glance back at her, her expression will be... difficult to read. Though she's still clearly tired, there's something else to her expression. A kind of hardness, or maybe something almost haunted? It really is hard to tell.

She opens her mouth a few times, as if she wants to say something, but thinks better of it each time, until finally she manages a quiet,] Thank you.

[It seems right that someone mourn her death, after many people here seemed more concerned about Dipper. Peko definitely isn't sure how she feels about it herself, after all.]

[cheats]

[ Ciel nods to her thanks, but then turns his eyes to Mahiru's grave, since it feels a bit easier than actually looking at Peko. It's still a somber occasion, after all, and considering the unpleasant memories that Mahiru's death in particular brought up, he's not feeling quite as up to presenting himself as that elegant noble as he had for Madame Red's funeral. ]

You're welcome. I wish I could do the same for everyone else, but... If it's not genuine, it's barely worth it.

[ Which seems harsh, but he shrugs earnestly. Ciel isn't often one for sentimentality, so when he is, it has to be genuine. ]

[harepiece]

[Oz will, of course, attend the "funeral" when Ciel starts it. He's been there from the start, trying to help with meager arrangements and collecting what scant flowers were available. He doesn't really know the first thing about religion where Ciel comes from, though, so he steps back and clasps his hands together, waiting in silence.

Once it's finished, he also bows his head in a display of respect. He has no photos to give, but he fishes his pocketwatch out of his pocket when he steps near the grave. It plays its chiming little melody when he opens it; unsuiting for a proper funeral, maybe, but he thinks that Mahiru would be at least a little pleased. She seemed to have enjoyed the song before, when he was using his watch to time the oatmeal.]

[cheats]

[ As Oz sets the watch down, Ciel gives it barely a glance, but as it starts to play the melody, his eyes widen in surprise. That's no mere trinket, and he's surprised that Oz would have something so grand, honestly. He listens to the melody in silence, since it is a pretty little song, though once it's done, he asks— ]

I've never heard that song before. What is it?

[royalizing]

[ Natalia comes by as he's arranging the photographs, and she'll watch quietly until after he's done and spoken. It's not surprising to her that someone's gone to all this effort for Mahiru... she was very kind, to so many people she hardly even knew. Natalia included. ]

She deserved more than to lose her life in a place like this.

[ She looks down the row at all the graves. So many people in so short a time... Gone to this senseless conflict. ] They all did.

[cheats]

[ Ciel sighs gently once he's done, since it's been a long day and he'd like nothing more than to sleep long and well tonight to forget about it. When Natalia speaks, he glances to her, but all that comes at first is a quiet noise of affirmation. Though after a moment more of silence, he'll speak up too. ]

It's true. It's a senseless, cruel game, and I don't understand it at all. Will we have to get used to burying our dead like this?

[photoshot]

[ they are her photos of Mahiru, yes.

she doesn't actually make any move to recollect them, after hanging farther back watching the ceremony like a crow watching over a grave. which is pretty much accurate. she's attended funerals before--some of them hurt, like this one. but life goes on. ]

Would you like to keep one? [ a picture, in remembrance. ]

[cheats]

[ It takes Ciel a few moments to answer, but he breathes out a humorless laugh as he shakes his head. ]

I'm not sure. I'm— not one for mementos.

[ At the mention, though, he reaches up to grab the sapphire ring on his thumb and twist it in a circle. ]

For those I've buried before, I hadn't kept much of anything.

[foetida]

[Nanami stands there awkwardly until Ciel is done. She isn't Catholic, has never been in a Christian service before, and didn't even know Mahiru that well...but skipping out on it didn't seem right. Or maybe she just doesn't want to be alone for any longer than necessary.]

If she's going to wake in Heaven, where do you think Edea's gone?

[cheats]

[ The mention of Edea gets his expression to shift, moving from a sort of sullen distance into a harder expression. He still doesn't quite have the energy for anger, but at least his unhappiness is clear. ]

Exactly where she deserves to be. [ Which implies it well enough, but Ciel shakes his head ] That's for God to decide, I suppose. She spoke of having pride, but I saw none.

[shoutoku_administrator]

So we were right after all...

[It doesn't feel much like a victory.]

"I do not believe myself to be killing." What did she mean by that...?

[jingler]

...Maybe that is what the VIPs honestly believe. When Edea and I spoke, it was as though she was aware and yet unaware at the same time.

[perfectstrike]

A last-ditch ploy to attempt to stave off her execution.

[She just shakes her head as she passes by Miko on her way out. Even though they "won," Peko doesn't look pleased about it at all.]

It doesn't matter now.

[paws_and_rewind]

[ With a sendoff like that, Missile feels worse about shying away from Edea earlier than he does about getting her in trouble with the scariest ride. A dog is used to not knowing why humans do things, but not even the other humans seem to know what was going on! ]

[ionicwoman]

[Anise's fist is shaking at her side....]

After all that... she was guilty all along?

[jingler]

...Anise, would you like for me to spend some time with you?

[He thinks a lot of people are stunned to a certain extent here.]

[royalizing]

Anise...

[ Natalia is just as downcast, but she puts a hand on Anise's shoulder to let her know she's there. ]

[eventhandler]

[Royce lights up a cigarette, quietly puffing on it. His expression is vacant. They did it. Now, to find the others...]

...We did the right thing. Now, we have an...advantage.

It is a pity, though, that she didn't reveal any information about the others...or maybe, perhaps, it was impossible for her to do so...? It bears thinking...

[foetida]

There's nothing right about this.

What do you think happens after we win? Do you think the people running this game will just let us go home? After everything we've seen and done?

[photoshot]

The right thing to do, in terms of playing the game.

But she really did sound convinced. Either that, or she was an exceptional actress.

graveyard

[perfectstrike]

[Sometime after Ciel's service for Koizumi, Peko can be found beside Kuzuryuu's grave yet again. There are a few new wrapped candies on it, though she's taken one of the flowers Ciel had left for the dead kids and seems to be toying with it between her hands. If anyone ventures close enough, they might hear a few scraps of a one-sided conversation. Little of it seems to have anything to do with the park than it does some events from childhood. There's a mention of climbing trees, and idle wondering what the view from the Ferris wheel might look like. A few names float by -- mentions to someone named Hinata recurs fairly often, largely in the context of he would have an answer, I think.

But any time someone ventures close, she falls silent before much more would be audible, and averts her gaze. Who's talking to a grave like a crazy person? Not Peko.

As night falls, she curls up to rest her head on her knees, and doesn't immediately respond if approached. It almost looks like she's fallen asleep... For a few seconds, anyway, before she's jolting upright. It's pretty comical, actually.]

[poyoyon]

[ It's before nightfall when Ibuki comes over, and in her arms are gifts. Or...horrible carnival food. Three hot dogs and condiments and drinks and cotton candy and french fries and colas...

They're not for the dead, although she has a few chinsy carnival prizes to place at the graves, later. They're for the living, and Ibuki sits down when she gets besides Peko, not mentioning the talking to the grave thing at all. ]

Peko-chan, when'd you last eat? Ibuki hasn't eaten since breakfast...um, not that she finished breakfast.

[siggey]

[ That's the girl who's...

Probably been hit the hardest by the deaths who's still alive since this shitty game's started, yeah. I've heard her mention how she and Kuzuryuu were childhood friends. Mabel might have it hard with losing Dipper, but a child experiencing direct trauma for the first time...

It shouldn't happen. It shouldn't, and the very comparison is sickening because you don't quantify something like grief.

I can't help but look at it anyway, and think to myself, 'this girl is struggling more than Mabel'. Age and experience do factor into things, and if what I've been hearing from Mahiru and Inuki is true, then...

It's probably why I don't really hear her mumbling. Can't really focus even if I tried. I did wander out here not just to visit the graves I've been digging, but because I was looking for her in particular. It's been pretty clear since yesterday that she's going to have a routine, so finding her was easy.

...

I should say something. It'd be even more callous, to expect someone suffering an indescribably deep and personal wound to break the ice. ]

...Peko, right?

[harepiece]

[Peko...

Oz comes back to the graves later in the evening, by the time she's dozing off a little. He's got a jacket with him, at least, and he takes it off almost automatically because it can get pretty chilly and the last thing she needs is a cold on top of everything else she's dealing with. But as he approaches to drape it over her shoulders, WHOOPS, nope, she sure is awake!! He jolts a little in turn, surprised.]

Oh—! I'm sorry... I thought you were asleep.