Post-Trial II Afterparty

[cellpreservation]

[The good news is, snacks were already made! He just takes the food baggies out of the fridge - today's menu is sliced apples again, but also crackers. Yum!

There's exactly enough baggies for each surviving person, because look - they all knew how this was going to end.]

Comments

[britbrat]

[ Valmont trudges into the cafeteria with, if possible, even less enthusiasm than last week. He didn't like Edward, and he certainly liked him less than Reika. But it's still not super fun watching your classmate burn to death in a confrontation with the Devil(?) himself. He needs a rest, but first, he needs his damn tea.

In a small miracle, he actually makes it out of the kitchen with a proper cuppa and no new burns in the process! That's character growth. Situating himself at a table, Valmont spends the next appreciable amount of time sipping his tea, chewing the same apple slice for too long, and generally staring into the middle distance. Eventually, though, something occurs to him. ]

Why do you suppose he calls himself Father?

[violence_ensues]

[poke poke]

[Adorabat's a little preoccupied poking the snacks in front of her when she catches sight of Valmont. She stares at him for a couple of moments before flying to the ground and waddling over to him when the question is asked. Is Valmont paying attention to her...?

She pokes her wings together meekly.]

...Cuz he's a big, dumb buttface?

[britbrat]

[ Valmont looks sideways and... somewhat downward at the source of the response. Oh. Sure. He was just kind of throwing it out there, but Adorabat's take on the topic is probably no more ridiculous than anyone else's. Valmont doesn't even have the energy to restart the whole cops-and-robbers feud right now. They can argue about who among us truly deserves to be brought to justice tomorrow. ]

Not, perhaps, quite the phrasing I would have used, but -

[ He takes a particularly vengeful apple bite. ]

- I can't disagree with the sentiment. What I meant, though, is: whose father is he? I mean, he clearly doesn't want us as children.

[violence_ensues]

[Okay. Good sign. Valmont's not yelling at her, so that means she doesn't have to cave his face in and then bring Emma here to karate chop him again.]

...I don't know... But I don't see anyone at all wanting him as a daddy. I mean... even Mao Mao's daddy isn't as big a jerk as the prissipull is...

[It's about time she gets the letter out and offers it to Valmont.]

Umm... I found this letter. It has something for you.

[britbrat]

[ Surprisingly, but to everyone's benefit, Valmont is not in the mood for yellywagging today! ...We'll see if that carries over at all into next week. ]

Honestly. I'd quite like to have my own parents back now, thank you very much.

[ He stares into his tea. It doesn't stare back. Then, abruptly, there's a rustling at his elbow. ]

A letter for me?!

[ Suddenly animated, Valmont seizes it out of Adorabat's wing, skimming the contents. Who could be writing to him here - oh. Edward. Valmont doesn't know how to feel about that, about receiving a letter from a dead boy, and about Edward apparently holding on to enough goodwill towards him to write him a sincere word of advice. Condescended to, a little. Mostly just depressed. ]

Well, I suppose he'd know.

[ He folds up the letter and begins putting it away in his bag. It hasn't occurred to him that, there only being one copy and all, he might not be able to keep it. ]

[violence_ensues]

nnnnn... We'll get out of here eventually. Y'all just need to start training to fight against the prissipull.

[Adorabat has absolutely no idea what Valmont's physical capabilities are, so she'll have to meet up with him at the gym and- wait, the letter...!]

H- hold on, I need that back! It's not just for you!

[britbrat]

Do you know, some combat training might not be a terrible idea. If only as an investment in defending myself against the likes of Banks and von Einzbern.

[ Wow, Adorabat's two for two on non-terrible ideas tonight! ]

- Are you serious? I don't get to keep it?

[ What do you mean, other people exist and matter? ]

How on earth am I supposed to just remember all that?

[violence_ensues]

Yeah! We can go around the gym doing laps until you're too tired to continue to build your stamina! And I can teach you a little karate and we can make up some cool team moves, too!

[Adorabat... hasn't really thought that far ahead. She takes some time making thinky noises before she comes up with an idea, taking out a diary and permanent marker, offering them to Valmont.]

Here, you can copy it!

[britbrat]

...Does it really have to last quite that long?

[ Nnnot relishing the thought of running till he almost passes out, thanks. Not that it would probably take all that long. Look at him, he's a limp noodle.

Also, that's... a surprisingly simple solution. With only a moderate scowl (note to self: hire a secretary), Valmont uncaps the marker and begins copying down Edward's words. It'll take a minute. He does, at least, have neat handwriting. ]

[violence_ensues]

...I... guess it doesn't, but taking less time to train means you'll just hafta train that much longer. There's no shortcuts to becoming a hero.

[After Valmont's done writing, she'll take the notebook back and rip out the relevant page(s) so that Valmont can have them and take the original letter back once offered.]

[temmapathy]

[Emma catches some of that, and sits down across from him. She looks peeved, but not enough to actually smack him yet.]

Probably a title of some kind. He doesn't seem like the type to actually have kids if he hates them so much.

[britbrat]

[ Valmont instinctively shifts his previously-kicked shin behind the other, but, as with Adorabat, doesn't immediately pick a fight. Not today. Besides, Emma's thoughts seem to be on the same track as his own, and it couldn't hurt to follow that track for a bit. ]

Precisely! If you're a man as vehement about hating children as our illustrious headmaster, why define yourself by your relationship to them?

[temmapathy]

I wonder...monsters are meant to represent fears of some kind, right? Does his name have to do with being a fear of parents?

[britbrat]

It does sort of make sense, doesn't it? If one's worst fear were one's own parents, I can imagine that fear would be personified something like... well, him.

[ A parent who doesn't love or even like you. Also, who's literally wreathed in fire. ]

But are anyone's parents truly that terrible?

[ Valmont's are just kind of neglectful, and he... doesn't really know anyone else's. Side effect of having no friends. ]

[temmapathy]

They definitely can be. Whether it's because they hate having kids at all, or because their kids didn't turn out the way they wanted...

[Her own parents were fine, but she knows that not everyone's are.]

[britbrat]

How entirely barbaric.

[ While this may come as a surprise to some, Valmont isn't the nicest guy in the world. But he's also a kid. Even he can't imagine a parent being as horrible as "Father" to their own children. ]

[temmapathy]

Yeah, it is terrible.

[Wow, her and Valmont agreeing on something wholeheartedly? Will wonders never cease?]

[panglici]

There's a lot of priests who hate kids. Plenty who can throw fire magic around, where I'm from, so some of them have to be bad too.

[britbrat]

You really think - that kind of "Father"?

[ Valmont mulls this direction over. ]

Do you know, it's not a completely absurd idea. Although you'd think, that being the case, he'd go a little lighter on the, er. Imagery.

[ You know. The hell stuff. ]

[panglici]

Priests can be corrupted more easily than you'd think. The history of resurrections of Dracula alone, never mind the way the church seems to be run half the time... it'd be something a fallen priest would revel in, I'd think.