WEEK 2

[whimsicalism]

The first week at the castle passes without any (recent) murders. Mysteries were found, questions asked, bonds formed, and Halloween celebrated. Now as Sunday 'dawns', you might feel your mind a little lighter as your first memories fade. Will this be just a week celebrating the (questionably) best thing about October or will more sinister things be afoot?

Either way, it looks like the Alices will continue their game.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Hello, and welcome to week 2! Don't forget to submit your memory losses here and your activity here. If you want to ask or annoy the twins you can do so here. As always, don't forget to turn your threads in for 'fabulous prizes.]

Comments

[littlebratziska]

You didn't hear the way she broke down, I take it. She has not at all resigned herself to making others take lives, as far as I could tell.

[battlestations]

Don't look so happy about making a kid cry.

[like, he gets it, but sheesh.]

[littlebratziska]

Her age has nothing to do with it. Anyone who hires an assassin is just as guilty as the assassin, after all, and in effect that's what she is attempting to do. Murderers deserve no consideration!

All I've been doing is making her consider that. Hopefully it works, but the worse she's made to feel for trying to make people kill each other, the more likely she is to realize that's not an acceptable way to behave.

[battlestations]

Or it'll be a way for that wicked cat to sink its claws deeper into her because her other 'friends' are so mean.

[ballooncaged]

Do you think that Lillie and the others made out like putting them through five weeks of a twisted game was "acceptable"? Did they just say "you're still our friend" as she disqualified them?

I can't forgive either of them for what happened, but I haven't met any criminals who gave it all up after someone was mean or nice to them.

[battlestations]

It's not that I think we should be totally nice to her...

[like he made her cry day 1. that was a thing]

I'm just saying, she's being thoroughly manipulated by someone she puts more faith in than any of us, which is a disadvantage for tactics like this.

[ballooncaged]

I agree... [The comment order was A Way but she really had way more of a problem with Franziska.] I think we just have to look at this from the perspective of what the past group would have tried. The Cat... is her family. If she could get a new Servant it might be different... but it can't possibly be as simple as "killing's not fun". Otherwise there wouldn't be stuff like "Alice's Glass Game".

[soverainty]

It's all really complicated...

If we convince Alice-chan but she can't convince Alice-tan, then we lose, and if we convince Alice-chan but Alice-tan takes that away with memories, we still lose. [a little sigh as she keeps going] And if the players who used to be here were disqualified for trying something like this, then we've really lost.

[It all sounds kind of a mess when you put it that way, and she seems to realize that after a moment, pulling back sheepishly.]

N-Not that I think it's hopeless. I just think everyone is right -- we can't just think we can solve everything just like that. But if we try nothing, then we still lose, so. Maybe the castle will be on our side...?

[littlebratziska]

That's why we shouldn't be mean, just honest. All I've done is let her know she's in the wrong for what she's doing. It upsets her, but she can resolve that by stopping what she's doing.

[ballooncaged]

Ooooor by killing you arbitrarily.

[littlebratziska]

That still won't take away what I've already said. If she's smart then she already knows that, but if she not perhaps I'll decide to stay here and haunt her until it does!

[She doesn't have a death wish or anything but is also not even slightly intimidated about the potential consequences of sharing her mind like this.]

In any case, if everyone else decides to press her with me, then she won't be able to stop things without killing everyone. We'd all prefer that not happen, but if we don't do anything she is going to have everyone killed one by one anyway. I'd much rather do what I can to convince her to stop this than meekly wait for death.

[strictura]

Didn't the Cat make Alice forget things about the previous round before? So in fact, it may literally be possible to take away what you say to her.

Again, I'm not saying this isn't worth pursuing, but we don't want to put all our eggs in one basket, so don't get overconfident.

[ballooncaged]

Oh, that's right. Magic tricks and clubhouses are... for kids.

[Mizuki's eyes are glassy. She curls in the knuckles on one hand.]

If we tell her enough times that everything is her fault, then even her subconscious will understand that she never should have been born. She'll just stop saying anything at all.

[littlebratziska]

I've never said we should say that everything is her fault, only that she's responsible for this. She's in charge, so she should be able to stop it.

And in any case I never said that this is the only plan to try, just that it's something else we should probably be doing. Does anyone have anything better right now for potentially ending this, after all?

It would be foolish to stop everything else we've been doing and only focus on this, but there's also no reason this can't happen at the same time. Exploring all possibilities... that is the only option if we are to have perfect coverage!

[ballooncaged]

[Mizuki listens closely to all this, through the shadows clouding her eyes, even though she doesn't maintain the erect neck that characterizes some of her more energetic speeches. In the end... there's one last problem she has before moving on.]

If getting rid of her would fix everything, then "it's all her fault" is basically the same thing. But... that doesn't matter.

[She nods, this seeming to be the very best she can do with her face after failing to smile.]

We're all a team, we all have our own talents and ideas. But in the end we have our meals together and everything. We'll... be a perfect team...

[littlebratziska]

[She looks at her and then shakes her head a little, vaguely dismissive, slightly superior.]

You can't see? Getting rid of her would fix nothing, because there's nothing to say that if she was gone anything would change. What would, or could, I think, fix things is to make her change her mind.

In the end, all that matters of people is what they choose to do. Who or where they are is less important than what they decide, in most cases.

This situation is all her fault, maybe, we don't know how much of it is the fault of her servant, but she is the one who can probably do something about it. Getting rid of her cat would be more likely to fix everything than getting rid of her, I think. Either way she'll need to face responsibility sooner or later.

[ballooncaged]

Uh, yeah, actually, there's this whole fancy Master-Servant relationship. [Whatever!! Still, the words are soft and flat.]

But you're not talking about changing her mind. After everything that's already happened, either she's aware like Nagisa says, or she really is too young to understand. So you might get results, but what you'll be changing is her heart.

I won't get in your way. I'm just... too scared of being around when she has nothing else left to try, I guess. I know that's weird.

[littlebratziska]

If that's the price for saving all the rest of out lives then someone needs to be willing to pay it. It's hardly worth considering.

[strictura]

Okiura-san?

[ He totally gets where you're coming from with that, but also, are you okay? ]

[ballooncaged]

[Oh. Mizuki never unclenched her fist. She smooths it out with her other hand, the white crescents, and looks over at Nagisa with a grateful smile. Familiarly grateful.]

Sorry, I'm sorry! Sometimes finding the right thing to say in an argument is just too hard for me.

[It was never possible at all.]

[strictura]

[ Nods. ]

There's a lot to deal with right now anyway; it's not really a situation that's conducive to clear thinking.

I don't think you're wrong either, for what it's worth. Pushing someone to their breaking point is unpredictable.

[ And awful. ]