ain't no party like a murdergame afterparty, cw: some mentions of alcohol

[originallutece]

[--cuz a murdergame afterparty is horrifying and sad and possibly a little threatening if Mahiro insists on bringing his gun with him, please don't do that buddy.

Honestly, guys, we're running out of cooks at this rate. But it's nice to gather after horrifying events, and so while Rosalind's cooking skills are absolutely terrible, her alcohol-pouring skills are a little better. Come have a glass of wine or three and ruminate on the fact that there's only fourteen of us left.]

Comments

[irrationalities]

[The letters were probably written and placed aside hastily from the looks of it, so it wasn't hard to find them. It didn't take him much time at all to read the one addressed to him but... well, Hiyono showing up saves him the trouble of having to find her and deliver it. He'll point out one of the papers laid out on the table.]

Yeah. That one's for you.

[pseudoregelia]

...?

[She wasn't really expecting anything left behind, so she'll go ahead and enter to take a look, picking up the paper and...

Immediately, crisply folding it up and tucking it away in a pocket.]

Ahh... I didn't think Kurosaki-san would... [Hmm!!]

[irrationalities]

[??? He actually didn't snoop into everyone's letters so.]

What's with that reaction?

[pseudoregelia]

[Missed opportunity, frankly!]

Oh, nothing in particular! I'm just surprised, is all. I did bother him a lot.

[She's also maybe a little bit embarrassed about that last request because how in the world does she pull that one off, but... Look. It's fine. Everything's fine.]

[irrationalities]

[He didn't care enough to, tbh. He figured they were all kind of like his, actually...! Mahiro shrugs at Hiyono's admission though.]

Guess he liked your tabloids more than he let on.

[Because ??? why else would he write a letter right.]

[pseudoregelia]

I suppose so. He did keep coming to me for love advice...

[Which is hilarious considering the state of her own love life, but y'know.]

[irrationalities]

[He remembers those fanfics so he's unsure of how legit that statement is... sorry Hiyono.]

He came to you? What'd you even tell him?

[pseudoregelia]

I did a love reading for him! Though it looks like he managed to turn it around...

[irrationalities]

[Oh right, the week she had the tarot cards.]

Figures that he'd go for that kind of stuff. Wonder if that pushed him to confess.

[pseudoregelia]

...

Is it bad if I hope it did...?

[She doesn't look at him as she says this, eyes cast elsewhere. Despite everything that had happened, she does want to hope, at least, that he was able to find a little happiness before the end.]

[irrationalities]

No.

[There's no hesitation as he says that.]

That guy needed a kick in the ass anyways. Without someone pushing him to do it, he would've just let it hang there, I bet.

[And nothing would've ever started between them, so.]

[pseudoregelia]

That's the impression I got, too.

[And, well. It's practically her job to push teenage boys into actually doing things.]

...I just wish everyone could have gotten a happy end.

[irrationalities]

That'd be too convenient. Happy endings where everything's wrapped up nicely only exists in stories.

[And for all the impossible things he's seen here, that point holds true for him. Hoping for miracles that would work everything out is irrational, after all.]

[pseudoregelia]

But if we can't hope for happy endings, we can't strive to try to make them happen, either.

[irrationalities]

No one's saying you shouldn't try to go for whatever you want. But expecting everything to turn out nicely just isn't realistic.

[pseudoregelia]

Is that why you act the way you do?

Never getting your hopes up too high?

[irrationalities]

If you wanna put it that way.

I'm just not arrogant enough to think I can save everyone.

[pseudoregelia]

Have you ever tried before?

To save everyone, without leaving a single person behind.

[irrationalities]

[He thinks of the empty towns he's walked through after they've been devastated by bizarre fruits that metamorphosed lives into metal.]

No. Even if I cared to, it wouldn't have been feasible anyways.

[pseudoregelia]

Oh? Then, have you tried saving people at all before?

[irrationalities]

Just once. There was a girl sitting around all dumbstruck while some stuff was crashing down.

[Shrugs.]

I was just nearby.

[pseudoregelia]

What happened?

[irrationalities]

Nothing. She survived, but I didn't keep tabs on her after that.

Everyone else in the city nearby was dead though.

[And so it goes.]

[pseudoregelia]

[Record scratch.]

--Everyone...?

[irrationalities]

[Hoo boy, he might as well explain, at least partially.]

Yeah. There's something in my world called Black Iron Syndrome. Basically, pretty much every living thing in the vicinity of some fucked up magic gets turned to metal, rendering them effectively dead. The government's pretty intent on covering these incidents up, but I'd wager the casualties are probably at around tens of thousands at the least.

[It's all said so matter-of-factly that you'd think he's talking about the weather report, honestly. But in other words:]

There's a limit to how much one person can do.