WEEK 3

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 3



[The week begins as last week began. But there's is a great difference-murder. It has happened. Blood has been drawn; it cannot be undone. The Game has made itself known. The Game is paramount. The Game simply is.

As morning dawns, those who were not present with the DEAD lock will find that the doors that were locked are now gone-and a whole new area has finally opened up to them. They will also find that they remember something they had not been able to recall beforehand. The question is, was it worth it?

And-is it you, or is the ship getting...colder as the hours go by? No, it's not just you. By the end of Sunday, the ship has started to dip into freezing temperatures. It might be difficult for people to bundle up-unless you're Brain, who will find his closet inundated with winter clothing that fit him perfectly.

Yup. This is going to be a long week, as if last week wasn't bad enough.



There are currently 16 strangers in this place.]

Comments

[yesorwoof]

It's a bit of an interest of mine. Even though it's not exactly relevant to devil hunting - we don't fight through nine circles of hell like in Dante's Inferno - I find the art that has been produced over the centuries to be beautiful.

[She almost becomes entranced in the beauty but smoothly switches to counting off scenarios on her fingers.]

Scenario one. Someone acted individually, and the game has no constraints about this. In this case, as we discussed previously, we should come to a consensus about a way to restrain or incapacitate them.
Scenario two. Someone is fulfilling a role in the game. If we are still constrained by Zero's game, we will have to make the best choice within the constraints of the game.
Scenario three. Someone is working with Zero without constraints. In this case, we'll play it by ear. They may be a valuable source of information.

[godspiousjasper]

Oh, I agree completely! Have you visited the Louvre in your time? The artwork on display there is exquisitely breathtaking! [ A pause. ] That does remind me, I did find a classic piece of art here on this very ship today.

[ Along with some uh... very unpleasant hallucinations or whatnot but HEY. Not gonna talk about that yet. ]

Those are all very reasonable scenarios and consequent solutions, which means we should try our best to try and discover which one of the three it is so we can appropriately act.

[ A small laugh, then he nods his head. ]

You have my support, Miss Makima. I will endeavor to try and help when the time comes.

[yesorwoof]

You should absolutely share that item if you can. Not to mention that I'd like to see it for myself. Regrettably, I've never been to the Louvre in person. [She gives a cute little sigh.] I certainly wouldn't hope for some scary incident with the "Falling off the Eiffel Tower" Devil to bring me to Paris, but if I ever do end up there, I'm sure the cuisine is supposed to be exquisite... Oh, perhaps that landmark wasn't built yet in your time.

[The thought of traveling the streets of Paris transports Makima away in the moment. Although she has never been, and hasn't even made it a particular priority in her life, Kira has demonstrated all too well that by 1997, technologies to reproduce images have advanced dramatically. So she's been entertained by the idea of travel and can imagine it vividly.]

Oddly enough, after hearing the others' theories, I actually believe that the likeliest is "scenario two", where Zero has constructed a special role. This would be a pretty favorable scenario for us in some ways, because it's the case where Zero would be likeliest to leave a trail of hints. Just like that photograph earned from the little exercise.

[Something good did come out of that. Her eyes sparkle a bit coyly as she doesn't "twist the knife" by emphasizing what had been done.]

[superstylishsquid]

Wait, you're a devil hunter?

[...Yeah, someone's looking Bristly now. Not that he doesn't respect the necessity of the profession, but he also doesn't trust them.]

[yesorwoof]

I've made no secret of this. [She barely even turns to look at him.] I prefer the term Public Safety because I take pride in the greater purpose we serve, but it is an abbreviation for the name of the government's devil response task force, and extermination is the method of choice in the vast majority of cases.

As I was telling Roland-kun, the devils that we have to hunt aren't necessarily those in mythology. Any devils encountered outside of my own timeline should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

[superstylishsquid]

I know you mentioned encountering devils through your work, but...well, let's just say I'm used to devil hunters having a more 'shoot first, ask questions never' mentality. So, you'll have to forgive me if I consider it generous to handle you on a case-by-case basis, instead of assuming it's only a matter of time until I feel a knife in my back.

[yesorwoof]

"I feel a knife in my back."

That's a very interesting choice of words.

[superstylishsquid]

Normally I'd have said 'a gun to my head', since that's what mortals seem to fight with these days, but I haven't seen any of those around. And considering your power...yeah, a knife.

But seeing as you coming after me would get either you or a bunch of innocent humans killed, I'll say I'm feeling generous this time.

[yesorwoof]

It's just that I'm rather familiar with the sensation after that first exercise Zero put us through.

So you can see why I might keep you at arm's length as well.

[superstylishsquid]

Hey, I already said the only person I hit other than myself agreed to it. Don't blame me if you regret banking on the idea that Delta was bluffing.

[yesorwoof]

[Makima re-entwines her sinisterly folded hands the other way around.]

Right, because as you said, devils are competitive.

[superstylishsquid]

And? Not my fault you didn't consider the possibility of people getting competitive over it.

[yesorwoof]

I don't regret my actions. I just hope you're aware of the optics.

[She shrugs.]

Though I'd rather not name names, many of us aren't in full philosophical harmony, yet have found that the game oddly enough forces us to work together. I suppose that's that.

[Val. She is talking about Val.]

[superstylishsquid]

The optics? If I cared to hurt anyone here, I promise I'd do it much more directly than that.

[He shrugs.]

But you're right. I don't trust Devil Hunters not to come for my life at the first opportunity, but infighting here would cause problems for everyone.

[yesorwoof]

Good.

[She puts her chin in her hand wondering.]

It really is so strange. Zero hides from us, but also wants us to know more about him. He urges us to kill each other, but also to protect ourselves from that threat.

[superstylishsquid]

It is. 'T's like he's afraid of us, even though we're so severely handicapped...and if he just wanted to make us suffer having to kill or be killed by our fellow prisoners, why the capital punishment for someone who gets caught?

I'd be willing to bet dollars to donuts that without the threat of a trial and execution, Val would've already torn someone's throat out.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

I can attest to that!

[MORIARTY SHE DRANK FROM YOU ONE TIME]

[valkavian]

I'm stuck in a cooler full of capri suns over here.

[superstylishsquid]

Humans are good for more than their blood, you know!

[valkavian]

Yeah, I know, doesn't mean I wanna get too attached.

[superstylishsquid]

It's not exactly a tightrope between 'best friends' and 'walking juice pouches'.

[valkavian]

Ooooooooookay, but sometimes you just want, like. A pet.

[yesorwoof]

Though that's not taking into account those of us who would try to stop Val-chan, I see your point precisely.

[Makima twirls the end of her braid between her fingertips.]

Zero always denies this, but clearly a series of murders is desired, leading up to something with the survivors. Perhaps the votes to execute the culprit also taint our souls and contribute to the desired outcome.