WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[You now know why you're here, Titled. The question now is, is there a way to get out of here without invoking the rules? What will those who brought you here do to get you to kill?

Time will tell.

There are fifteen strangers in this place.]

Comments

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama doesn't see any reason not to eat, so when he arrives, he'll sort himself out with a plate and something to drink. Not without giving the drinks a curious look. Akechi receives his best 'Shuuichi' smile, all mild-mannered honor student.]

Under the circumstances, yes. And I appreciate the concern you and the others are showing for the well-being of the group. [That is to say, food.]

If I may jump straight to the point... Considering our previous discussion of how well our captors may now know us, I find it hard to convince myself that there is no one here that will take the bait on this motive, as uninteresting as the rest of us may find it.

[theirmagic]

... You don't really think someone would truly be so shallow?

[ She frowns. Heavily. And crosses her arms to boot. The glare she is giving the air right now could shatter glass. ]

[byanyother_name]

While I'm sorry to say the answer to that is yes, because I've seen it before, there are other considerations. Is it still shallow if you need that money back home to save your life or the life of a loved one? There are many reasons people need money besides pure greed.

[Red eyes glaring fit to kill... It's familiar enough that a fond look flickers across Kurama's face for a moment as he sips at his drink.]

[theirmagic]

[ ... Nope. She doesn't buy it. ]

There's always a way. Just off the top of my head, I can think of plenty of examples of people from situations where money was a problem where they worked and found ways out of it. My school defaulted on a loan and an important item to us even got repossessed, but we didn't just give in.

If that's the case for someone here, I would happily be willing to hand over my own salary to help them. They don't need to kill anyone. I'm sure anyone else would feel the same way.

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama finds himself hoping a bit that she never has to see anything to shatter that naively sweet view. Unfortunately, he kind of doubts it, with the situation being what it is. He gives a quiet sigh.]

There is always a way, but not always one that doesn't require a sacrifice of some sort. Your viewpoint does you credit, Callistis-san.

You have a kind heart.

[theirmagic]

[ Oh, Kurama, if only you knew. The thing is, she just... has convictions, in the end. Her worldview was actually shattered pretty badly a long time ago. She just... hides it well. ]

... I don't know about that. I just want to help people. No one deserves to die, or suffer just because they didn't kill someone.

[byanyother_name]

[He may well see through it, with a little more time to get to know her.]

No... No one does. Unfortunately, the world cares very little what anyone might deserve. People like the ones who brought us here, even less.

But that's why people like us need to care more, isn't it? [His smile is gentle.]

[theirmagic]

Yes, it is. I do appreciate I'm not the only one who cares, at least.

[thegreenhornet]

Some people do a lot of crimes for money. It's not impossible someone would fall for that stupid offer.

[theirmagic]

[ She mad. She real mad. ]

Then that person would be a shallow, self-serving lowlife with absolutely no care for another's life.

[thegreenhornet]

[Britt nods. Oh, he agrees, he definitely does]

Totally.

[theirmagic]

Good! Glad we cleared that up, then. So absolutely no one is going to do this, then, right?

[thegreenhornet]

[Britt shrugs]

Nobody looks like they need lots of money right now. I'd say we're all safe, but you never know for sure.

[foolishjustice]

I was concerned by the same thing. Kurusu-kun and I already discussed the possibility of someone here having reasons to be tempted. If they do know such thorough details about us, they would be aware if anyone is in a desperate financial situation...or, if they believe they are, at any rate. Our fractured memories mean that they could get away with offering an incentive that might not actually matter at present, so long as we don't remember it being rendered irrelevant.

[theirmagic]

... Fractured memories?

[ THIS IS THE FIRST SHE'S HEARING OF THIS??? ]

E-excuse me, detective, but... what?

[foolishjustice]

Ah, you haven't noticed? Everyone I've spoken to thus far has mentioned reason to believe they're missing portions of their memory. Even myself, there are...events that don't follow properly, as though I had simply paid so little attention to what I was doing that I couldn't commit it to long-term memory despite something significant clearly having happened.

And, before you make the obvious suggestion, I've never touched alcohol in my life.

[theirmagic]

Well, I was going to say I hope so, seeing as you seem a bit too young to be drinking.

[ Anyway. ]

Professor Croix and myself do not seem to have anything like this going on, though. All of our memories match up perfectly fine, and I can remember everything that's happened in my life recently with perfect clarity. Croix, do you have anything you feel is off?

[ She turns to ask her friend. ]

[scienceofmagic]

...........When I woke up, I wasn't in any clothes I recognized wearing. Likewise...

[ She'll gesture to your hair. ]

I thought it a little odd at the time, but now...

[theirmagic]

... Your clothes?

[ WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? HER? HAIR? HAS BEEN BLUE THIS WHOLE TIME, definitely, ahahahahahaha.. ]

Oh... that's right. Weren't you wearing that odd ensemble? It's very... not what I recall you wearing at all when you came back to Luna Nova. You were rather grandiose.

[foolishjustice]

Yes, it's not all in blanks. There's more minor inconsistencies...both in memories of clothing, and profile details.

[byanyother_name]

[-kun, is it? Perhaps unsurprising given the other boy is literally listed as one of Akechi's likes, but still worth noting. Kurama nods slightly.]

Frankly, considering that this game itself is sign enough of a twisted nature, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it would appeal to them more to bait someone into killing with a prize they've forgotten they no longer need.

[foolishjustice]

[They are good friends, of course he uses a familiar honorific!]

Nor would I. And even setting aside the cruelty potential, there's also the possibility that the target, with their memories intact, would have nothing they would be willing to kill for. In that case, they could use the damage to our memories to motivate us in ways that wouldn't work otherwise.

[byanyother_name]

[Of course. Clearly Akechi's formal tendencies don't go quite that far.]

Agreed. Which I suppose lends some weight to the idea that our memory loss may have been deliberate, as opposed to a side effect of our trip or of whatever rummaging was done to create our profiles.

[foolishjustice]

[He's still using his last name, isn't he?]

Considering that possibility, they may have even been deliberately suppressed in order to cause their desired reactions.

[His lips thin for a second, as he considers an ugly possibility.]

Let us hope that suppressing is all they've done.

[byanyother_name]

[True enough, but for lack of desire or lack of invitation?]

Possible, though perhaps not entirely for that reason. The gaps in my own memory are haphazard enough that I find it difficult to imagine them all being related to providing me a motive.

[Besides, he can't see his motive changing for much.]

It seems more likely. At least in my own world, it's quite difficult to truly destroy a memory permanently. Far easier and less work to suppress them.