Week 2

[thecastle]

Friday's harrowing events are clear in the minds of many—first and foremost, the death of Rika Furude, and of course the reveal and subsequent "sentencing" of Asch the Bloody. It also serves well as a reminder to everyone that the gloves are off, there won't be an easy way out for anyone and it is unlikely that there will be an option to 'wait it out' in the hopes of not participating in this 'game'. Or, as The Sage and The Teishu put it:

The Challenge.

Despite how you felt about the trial, it's likely that some rest would be welcome after all that transpired. Fortunately, some of your fellow warriors have taken it upon themselves to provide a reprieve of sorts, if you'd rather not be alone.

As if the events of the trial are supposed to be nothing but routine, dawns comes once more Sunday morning, punctuated with the sound of the rooster crowing obnoxiously. Any light sleepers hoping for their rest to not be disturbed may find themselves disappointed. Though, if anyone should wish, they may feel free to try to fall back asleep.

But, maybe that time can be better spent wandering. It seems that some places may have mysteriously unveiled themselves. It might do well to check them out. Or not. How anyone chooses to spend their time is ultimately up to them.

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SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

(OOC: Welcome to Week 2 of Ukimiya! Feel free to comment to the weekly top levels and thread as you like, and redeem coins at the wishing pool.

You can contact the sage with your pendants here, and the teishu here.)

Comments

[deontological]

Even if they could, I doubt everyone would agree to it.

[Agreeing to the buddy system was difficult enough, and there were still people who didn't go along with it. Which is fine - but it makes coordinating next to impossible.]

We can, however, keep a watchful eye. Should someone who behaves suspiciously appear on the list of suspects... well, that may be where we will want to begin our deliberations at the trial.

[deontological]

Is that so?

[Thank goodness, something they can use.]

Perhaps we may want to take a thorough stock of what's there, then. I confess I've little knowledge of medicinal plants myself, but... if we can get an idea of what there is, we'll know exactly what to fetch should we need it.

[fedorascout]

[Enjoy the alcohol, bud]

You know, if the cabinet downstairs is just like the fridge then it should be restocked every once in a while. If not then I hope it'll last for a while before we're forced to be sober again. [Smirk] Although judging by how many of us are claiming bottles like there's no tomorrow that won't happen.

[knockemdead]

I'm not the one running around and killing people over stupid made-up things.

[pseudoregelia]

Oh... You tossed in a coin?

[That seems to get her to calm immediately. Back to your regularly scheduled weird.]

[deontological]

Yet.

[Her tone is mild, but her expression makes it rather clear that she trusts him as far as she can throw him - which is to say, not at all.]

What reason do we have to believe you won't make a move? You're the one describing all of this as a game. That implies a certain lack of understanding of the gravity of our situation.

[fedorascout]

What if Sage-san thinks about that too and intentionally fills the list with people who behave suspiciously?

[It could happen]

[hoodini]

... Why? I know there are a lot of... strange people here, but that doesn't automatically make them suspicious or guilty. We shouldn't jump to conclusions from the start.

[hoodini]

You weren't...?

[ A bit dubious but he'll accept it. The second part though... He looks away. ]

I don't think whether we move forward or not is any of your business.

[hoodini]

A p-push?! [ So many gossiping hens around here!! ] ... What kind?

[devilsphysician]

[He nods]

Jansen had planned to take a few more ornamental plants to decorate the Grand Hall, which would make fetching it - but I would certainly like to be able to catalogue what is there... I believe I can use some of the equipment in the kitchen to treat them if needed.

[hoodini]

That's true. [ Knits his brows together! ] The Sage is tight-lipped to the point of being annoying.

[deontological]

...that would be problematic.

[HE PROBABLY WOULD, TOO. Sen frowns.]

My hope would be that he would make it fair. He can hardly measure our abilities for his challenges if he stacks the odds against our favor.

[deontological]

Because of the motive.

[She shrugs lightly.]

If we see anyone react strongly to it, or if we overhear them mumbling about regrets, for example... and they were to appear on the list of suspects, the chances would be slightly higher that they acted on it, I would say.

[bratsitter]

The kid is right, nearly anyone here could look suspicious since we didn't actually know anyof each other before we got here. Well, except a few people, but that's still hardly a defense.

[hoodini]

[ Looking around. ]

But not everyone handles regret well. The bigger the regret, the more likely it is someone will be tempted by this. Think about it, last week the Sage said there were people who helped save their world—what if the opposite is true, too?

Someone might have done one thing that ended up killing thousands of people. Or more. [ It's hard for him to fathom but you never know. ]

[hoodini]

Isn't that unfair? Obviously, anyone who has a strong regret is going to be upset and they're going to dwell on it. That doesn't mean they're going to kill anyone, though. All it means is they're hurting.

[ A beat. ] I don't want to be paranoid or suspicious of anyone for no reason anymore. Last week, I was wrong. We shouldn't assume the worst of people just because of what the Sage says.

[hoodini]

Right, I think we should let the evidence speak for itself if something does happen. If we automatically assume anyone that's been hurt by this is culpable...

We're only going to turn into a mob.

[deontological]

That sounds like a worthy undertaking.

[Definitely a better use of one's time than, say, cleaning up the dungeon.]

If you would like any assistance in doing so, I would be glad to help, although I certainly understand if you prefer the assistance of someone more knowledgeable about such matters.

[deontological]

It's natural to have regrets, true. And it's natural to dwell on them. All I mean to say is that the combination of having a strong regret and being singled out for the suspect list is something we may need to be mindful of.

[She bites her lip.]

...it's not about what the Sage says for me. Last week, I believed that the killer would not have acted on that motive. I don't want to make that mistake again.

[bratsitter]

Might want to be careful to wash off the kitchen things thoroughly when you're done. [if you even end up needing to use them] You don't want to poison someone who tries to cook with it next.

[deontological]

In this context, I view "suspicious" as having a strong reaction to the motive and being singled out as a suspect. I'm not saying we should do anything to anyone who is dwelling on their regrets now - just that we should keep our eyes open in case they do appear on that list, as this was designed specifically to motivate them.

[deontological]

...is that likely?

[She knows poisons can come from plants, but... yikes.]

[bratsitter]

A lot of things that make good medicines make good poisons if you don't use them right. [Or if you use them very right, depending on how you look at it.]

[hoodini]

[ He's not sure how to vocalize his feelings about the first part so he lets it hang in the air as he looks away from her. ]

Maybe we're both trying a little too hard to compensate for how we were last week.