antumbrac | WEEK 6

WEEK 6

Five weeks. It's been five weeks, and twenty-seven has now dwindled down to eleven. And while only two passed this week, this trial may have been the most devastating in its own way, as threads of patience frayed and fragments of trust fractured. Nevertheless, if The Lady is to be believed, that may very well have been the final set of sacrifices that she was waiting for, so perhaps the end is in sight.

Of course, the fact that everyone is still stuck in Krakow means that it's not over yet, and who even knows what's happening over in the Twilight?

And so, some more changes are in store for this week, even if it may not be the same ones that you've gotten used to. For one thing, the fog stays put and no new areas of the city are revealed under the light of the lampposts. Secondly, The Lady is nowhere to be found in the city, with her bookstore office vacated and abandoned with nary a trace as to where she went. And third, the clock tower will no longer operate, which-- well. Actually that's not new at all, but it certainly may make it difficult to keep up with the facade of passing days. At least the moon still serves as a reminder of that, gibbous phase waxing into something fuller over the course of the week even if the color looks a bit off.

It may not be a fresh new start, but it's not time to give up yet, is it? After all, you are all Survivors.

[[Welcome to Week 6! Note that there are no new locations this week, but feel free to make top levels at your discretion, and remember to note it in your header if you plan on investigating any locations. As alluded above, The Lady will be unavailable, while Rembrandt will still be around on Monday and Tuesday before disappearing for the rest of the week.]]

navigation

rules

shop

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's a small town, it was bound to happen. Dazai doesn't even look at him as he picks up one tie in particular to drape it on himself. ]

I thought that would be the case. You said you would see things through to the end here.

[ He made a promise to someone to see it through to the end. ]

[ Maybe it's good Dazai isn't looking. Makes it easier to treat this as any other conversation, business-like. Mikami hasn't felt close to Dazai exactly, but there's something about having bared your soul to somebody this far. ]

I will. And even afterwards, I might live.

[ Might. It's more than he had before. ]

But truthfully, after this weekend I simply do not want you killing me.

[ Dazai wasn't lying before when he did say there was nothing more intimate than giving your fate over to someone. He does feel a little disappointed, but honestly... ]

It's for the best in the end. After all, I can't give my life over to you or anyone else anymore.

[ He's moving towards the mirror to see how it looks. ]

I do hope you find a path that feels worthy to walk on, Teru.

I may have.

[ 'Worthy' is a grand overstatement, but it is a path and if he makes enough use of it, it may become a worthy one eventually.

But... ]

You're actually listening to his request.

I am, but not fully because of it's his request. I'm still mad at him.

[ Slowly folding up the tie. ]

I want to try to be better for the friend I still have here.

[ That's at least a more decent motivation and he would be proud of Dazai if such a thing as being proud of someone was within his vocabulary. ]

You were not mad enough at him to stop covering for him when he killed a person.

I didn't realize he did it until almost at the end.

[ Ango said he didn't do it and Dazai believed it. ]

Right before trial, he told me he went to meet up with Rembrandt and he was afraid everyone would think he did the kill. I believed him..

[ Dazai sounds sincere and Mikami almost wants to believe him as well, but....]

A rather bold lie. If you'd truly believed him innocent, you would have cleared up your little trick with the powers. It almost got an innocent killed.

It doesn't benefit me to lie at this point. I believed him and didn't want the case sidetracked by someone trying to pin it on him.

I was wrong.

Sidetracked.

[ He'll just hollowly repeat this. ]

What reason would Cumore or I have had to kill Dist?

[ .... nevermind that he himself had a pretty decent reason to kill overall and it was pointed out by Cumore at trial. ]

I didn't even think Cumore would have done it until you reacted to the glass. Even then, Rean and I were trying to figure out other meanings to the glass that would rule him out.

I did suspect you. Between your reaction to Suzaku and the comment you made at the party about our body counts, I figured that Lady was likely using your crimes against you. You also knew how to use a gun.

[ Well, that's... fair. He forgot he made that comment and this is a good reminder to him to never attend a party again in his life. ]

They weren't crimes.

[ Just making sure this is clear. ]

And I would not have chosen Dist.

[ There's a pause, because he's a little curious, but also he doesn't want to poke it further.

Let's focus on the second thing. ]

I thought you would have chosen me, but that would be rather difficult. I wasn't ever alone on Thursday nights and I always rigged traps.

[ .... Mikami hasn't thought about his potential victim in depth, because in the end, he'd never considered the motive for more than a moment. He knows it wouldn't have been Dist, but.... Well, now that he's thinking about it. ]

It would have been you.

[ What's the point in denying something so obvious? ]

But it wasn't, because I didn't take the bait. I never truly considered it. What I did, what the Lady might have done with the information.. I have accepted it.

[ Nice to have confirmation ]

It would have put Rean in danger, but if you had let me know ahead of time...

[ He probably would have left Rean after getting Rean back inside. ]

I suppose it is good you accepted it.

[ He honestly feels split because growth is good, but on the other hand... someone else did the thing and someone useful died. Not to mention... a few others were also interested in the motive and may have acted in the early friday hours. ]

[ That it could have been a consensual murder doesn't make matters better. The idea of killing somebody with his bare hands is unpleasant. Dirty, too close to feeling unrighteous. ]

It is. If only all of us had possessed that acceptance. Do you have any idea what it was that Sakaguchi wanted to hide from you this badly?

I think very few here do possess it.

[ While he doesn't care for Lady's threats after the first one, he's seen others, even among the best of them, hit hard by a few of those. ]

I can probably find out, but I don't know if I want to. It may very well break me, and while I'm sure some of you would love to see me suffering, it should wait until after we stop Lady's plans and kill her.

[ It's all hands on deck kind of week ]

[ There's a deep sigh here. Dazai has a point, as much as Mikami hates it when he does. ]

Fair enough. In the end, even if I heard what kind of secret it was, I would never be able to comprehend nor forgive what has been done.

Edited (now that was a typo) 2020-02-11 23:50 (UTC)

WEEK 6

no subject

cw suicide here we go

cw suicide just in case

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject