weekend mingle featuring 5 pm brunch because time is meaningless now

[pr159]

[ There probably isn't a single person among them who isn't exhausted after that trial, so it's no surprise that, like last week, there's no party when it's over. Maybe some stay out and mill about the city, while others finally take the chance to get some well-deserved sleep.

Personally, Rideaux is absolutely going to bed now, because it's fucking 10 am or something, and that was a lot.

But when he wakes up again in what is nominally the afternoon, once he's taken a shower and no longer looks like a haggard mess, he's actually going to hole up in the kitchen at the clergy housing and make some pancakes. Just pancakes and nothing else, because this mix is "just add water!" and that's the extent of his cooking skills the most effort he's going to put into anything. Some of them may be slightly burned and oddly shaped, but they're free, so shut it.

There's also some coffee and some (cheap, not his good stuff) whiskey, so if you want to make a half-assed Irish coffee, he's not stopping you.

Is this supposed to be a distraction? Is this actually all just to celebrate the fact that Cumore briefly thought he was going to die and that was delicious to watch? Maybe, but no one has to know that. ]

Comments

[inordertobelieve]

[ If anybody wants to find Mikami directly after trial, this is the return of the shower prompt. Mikami is holed up in a shower stall in the clergy housing for like... an hour. He's actually sitting on the floor just letting the water wash over him. It's fine, this is fine, it's all very fine--- except it's not and no matter how long he stays under here, he just doesn't feel clean. If he were the type to cry, he'd probably be crying, but he isn't so the shower water is doing all the work here.

After this he disappears from the public eye for a bit for one reason or another and then surfaces at the 5pm brunch. He's dressed in a suit, his hair is brushed again, and if it weren't for the absolutely dead look in his eyes, he'd be looking decent. He gives his pocket watch a somewhat dejected look. It's not the time for pancakes or for coffee.....

.... but he's going to have both anyway. Rideaux even gets a very sincere 'thank you' for these things. And also a murmur into the room, if more other people are present: ]

If we should find a way to bring souls back from the Twilight, we're leaving the culprits there.

[ This is totally a choice he can just make, shh.

Later during the weekend you can find Mikami... mostly in his room, but also all over town just kind of staring into space. He continues to look like shit. This is just the kind of week we're all having. ]

"brunch"

[pr159]

[ And Mikami gets a much less sincere smile in return for his thanks. (Keikaku doori.)

He raises his eyebrows a bit at the assertion that follows, but more out of amusement than surprise, since honestly, that seems like a very Mikami's Justice thing to say. He tilts his head slightly, bringing his hand to his chin. ]

Oh? Even Suzaku?

[inordertobelieve]

[ He pauses in bringing his cup of coffee to his lips, looking irritated to have been caught in a fallacy. Let him have his deep existential bitterness, sheesh. ]

He was a victim of brainwashing, that just means the real culprit is out of our reach entirely.

[ He totally doesn't count, shh. ]

[pr159]

Fair enough.

[ He takes a sip of his own coffee. ]

I wonder if that curse would still be active even after this.

[inordertobelieve]

It's a good question. It told him to live and he obviously failed this command by now, so it should have broken. His living body is destroyed, so even if by some off-chance we brought him back in some other vessel.... it shouldn't really count as a continuous 'life'.

[ Hope...fully? There's one way they could test that if the time came and it's not a fun way. ]

[pr159]

I'm not sure how reliably we can count on something like that to adhere to logic, but we can certainly hope so.

Is this going to be your primary goal now through the end of this? Rescuing whoever you think is worthy of it?

[inordertobelieve]

Secondary, though it's hand to hand with my primary goal.

[ A small bite of pancake interrupts this, not to intentionally draw tension, but because this is a casual conversation clearly and he's hungry. ]

My primary goal is to see the Lady bleed.

5pm

[reanbeans]

[ Rean was sitting at a table for brunch at least, when he heard that.

Instantly, he thought of Kyousuke and Suzaku. Though the others were kind of...yeah. ]

And if that's impossible?

[inordertobelieve]

Which part...? Bringing back their souls seems fairly as a premise already, yes.

[ The fact that the souls are still stored itself is still a huge surprise that Mikami has trouble really wrapping his brain around. He's not sure if it's a good or bad thing but for people like Pizza... he wants to try work with it. ]

[reanbeans]

...I mean just deciding to leave a certain part of them behind.

[ He should've specified, really, because he didn't think bringing them back was an impossibility. ]

[inordertobelieve]

Then we bring them all back.

[ To Mikami's meager credit, that answer is pretty immediate. ]

I'm not letting Pizza and Dist and the others vanish because they've been murdered. The culprits will find their just punishment again, I have no doubt about it. It's aggravating that we would have to reward them for their actions first, of course.

[reanbeans]

I'm glad to hear that you'd be for bringing them all back. I can't say I don't have any opinions on seeing certain people come back or not, but...

[ That seemed to make him settle a little and begin to poke at his pancakes. He didn't agree with letting all the culprits just linger there, but he's glad to know that Mikami wouldn't let the rest just suffer in the event they couldn't.

...Not that Rean would go for it even if it were an option. ]

...At the least I've no doubt that we'll be able to figure out something to save the dead. We've come this far that getting out and making that happen shouldn't be impossible.

[inordertobelieve]

Your optimism continues to baffle me.

[ This is a very mild barb directed at that whole conversation about people being able to change, but he's not going to like... bring this back up right now. ]

We just lost two of the people who were most contributory, for better or for worse. Our disadvantage is worse than ever.

saturday

[psychophant]

[It's taken Iago a long time to calm down, but he's finally ready to face the rest of the damn world on Saturday. He's dressed properly in the usual black suit when he knocks on Mikami's door in the afternoon; he never does allow himself to look anything less than his best, after all, and there's something important he needs to discuss with Mikami anyway. You in, buddy...??]

[inordertobelieve]

[ It takes a moment for the door to open because Mikami is... kind of debating what the odds are that it's a person he absolutely does not want to see. But there's only two people who that truly applies to right now and he'll take his chances.

The door opens. Mikami is likewise dressed in a suit, though with the top buttons of the shirt undone because he's in his room alone and doing the closest approximation of chilling that is possible for him. ]

Iago. I'm glad to see you out and around.

[psychophant]

[mikami is trying and that's all we can ask of him.]

I don't have the luxury of being as angry and upset as I'd like to be right now.

[He says it with a smile but it's remarkably candid for someone who usually pretends nothing could ever genuinely bother him.

But anyway, once that's out there, he presses a hand to his chest and ducks into a proper bow. Feel proud, Mikami. This is only the second one he's given this entire game.]

I came by to apologize to you for my words during the trial.

[He stands after that, though.]

It was cruel of me to attempt to pin the blame for Dist's death on you. I was... not thinking clearly, to say the least.

[It goes a bit beyond that, but he doesn't really need to get into why he snapped like a goddamn twig and desperately needed it to be anyone but Cumore, so this is good enough.]

[inordertobelieve]

[ ... oh.

Mikami finds himself stunned. He'd been fully ready to accept that whatever happened during trial just... kind of happened. They'd gloss over it, never speak of it again, pretend to be functional people who didn't trip all over one another in a panic.

That Iago is actually acknowledging his mistake honors him, shockingly enough. ]

None of us were. You were trying to find the true culprit based on faulty information, the same as all of us. In the end it may have been your defense of Cumore that prevented us from losing an ally and protecting a murderer. We don't know the numbers of the voting, but I don't imagine they were too favorable.

I appreciate the apology, but I had no hard feelings against you to begin with.

[psychophant]

I won't claim it was for any reason so noble. [That isn't sarcasm. Should it be sarcasm??] I simply couldn't let Cumore die.

[Partially because if Cumore died, there'd be no one left to hold him back and partially because if Cumore died because everyone else thought he killed Dist, Iago would have done something exceedingly stupid and exceptionally dangerous. Not just for himself. If Cumore went down, he'd do his damned best to drag everyone else down too.]

I'm appalled that anyone thought it could be Cumore, or that Cumore would react in such a way if he was guilty. It's at least partially thanks to you as well - you both had information that could have incriminated the other, and neither of you gave it. I suspect that's why that bastard was voted for instead, simply because nothing else made any sort of sense.

[He's also refusing to call Ango by name, so uh. He's still real mad.]

I'm pleased you weren't upset with me for that. Out of all of the accusations I've thrown around, that one was the least deserved.

[..........rideaux?????]

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami feels this Ango hatred and it's a little soothing to sense it from somebody else. There had been entirely too much niceties and forgiveness before that execution and he's bitter. ]

I can't deny that in the moment you accused me, I was terrified.

[ Maybe not as terrified as when Cumore had seemed like a likely suspect, but we're not going to examine this. ]

But in the end, we were working towards a shared goal. It was inane to accuse Cumore. However the case may have been with Sonui, it still didn't make any sort of sense. You and I appear to have been the only ones to see that much.

I was blinded by Sakaguchi's lies, but not enough to fall into that trap.

brunch

[raventhaw]

That's the best idea I've heard all day.

[ honestly, yeah. raven had no particular attachment to any of the culprits whatsoever, so leaving them here is fine with her!!! ]

Hopefully we'll have a choice in the matter.

[ ....she looks like she has something more to say, but ultimately she decides against it. ]

[inordertobelieve]

If we already have to forge an own method to do this, which seems to be the likely outcome, then that's as much agency as we can possibly have for it.

[ The question is how to forge a method, but... well, that's something they can start working on after brunch. Or so. ]

But you seem concerned.

[raventhaw]

It all boils down to what that method is, and if we have all the tools we need to execute it. ... It's hard to say if we do since we have no idea what this final act is going to entail.

[ she's mostly just musing out loud at this point. however, her concern may come as a surprise to him. ]

My concerns aren't related to this. [ ... ] I was wrong to suspect you. While I did ultimately vote for Ango, I may have shed unnecessary suspicion on you.

[inordertobelieve]

[ H u h. That's the second sort-of apology he's received today and he certainly didn't expect it. It's really the only good part of the day so far. He is respected a minimal bit more than he had resigned himself to. ]

You did what you thought was right. I don't bear you a grudge for trying to solve the murder, even if your accusations were misguided. This trial was taxing on all of us.

[raventhaw]

I appreciate it.

[ for as callous and unfeeling as she appears to be, seeing mikami and iago break down the way they did brought about unpleasant feelings. they're still unpleasant to think about. she's mostly glad they have it together now. ]

It was...an error on my part. To have forgotten your convictions and your intent to survive here.

[ it comes out a little rugged, like she's having a hard time speaking her mind. (she is.) funny how she antagonized him for his morals early on, only to have forgotten them during the trial. ]

I have no qualms about leaving Ango behind, should we be given the opportunity to free Twilight.

[inordertobelieve]

[ Her efforts in saying all of this even though it is hard for her are appreciated. Mikami had not expected this of her and it is certainly raising his opinion of her whole person. ]

After all the trouble and grief he has caused all of us, I think fighting for his well-being is hardly a rational choice to make either way. Not that rationality has always been some of our greatest strength here.