alchemenace | catchall for the scooby gang

[ so, here we are, a few hours post execution, and it's time for the scooby gang to meet in ... let's say varian's room, and let's say we have snacks so we can angrily munch on whatever. Varian is looking a bit tired as he rips off pieces of bread and feeds them to the raccoon on his shoulders. is it lack of sleep or is it just that he's tired of bullshit? a mystery. ]

First things first, Belph is a Vizier. And a villain. He's the one Akechi knew. [ he rips a piece of bread particularly harshly and shoves it in his mouth to munch angrily ] And he's kind of condescending.

[ who's salty? mystery. ]

[ also reminder this is free for all tag order at this point idc ]

[ ion, for his part, is sipping mildly at tea. it's probably black or oolong or some other variant with a higher caffeine count, honestly; he's making no secret of the fact that he's chronically Tired. ]

Hm. I suppose it must have slipped my mind to mention it before-- but perhaps you shouldn't let anyone know that I told you Kyouka is the Sea Witch.

[ or so she told Ion, anyway, in a position of assumed trust. if she tells Varian herself, that's another thing entirely. ]

And how has Belph treated you, in any case?

Oh. I could have warned you about the condescending part. Every time I talk to him he's mean to me.

[ she lost a crutch once because she threw it at him and he wouldn't give it back to her rip ]

But, yeah. What did he say?

I knew that stupid asshole was hiding something.

[this useless!! piano!!! man!!!!!!!! she's taking an angry bite out of her own snack.]

Come on. I want to hear the full details, too.

I asked him exactly how his role worked, and he said he didn't want to share information with me since I was only going to "leech off of him".

[ belph? is the worst? ]

He only told me he was a Vizier in the first place because he was sure Akechi would spill. [ which he. probably would. akechi is a blabbermouth. but varian just sighs and pets his raccoon ] He did tell me that there's four endings Tiger and Dragon are willing to talk about sometime when he was lecturing me about how useless anything I could say to him is. That's ... something.

... Four endings.

[ ion sets down his tea. ]

The Tiger's ending, where either villains or heroes are killed. Possibly all of the civilians too, if they qualify under the same ending.

The Dragon's ending, where we collect enough ink. She would have us believe that this is the happiest ending, where everyone is revived.

The... ending, where one or both of them is killed, though that... might not apply, considering.

[ looks at all of the letter the Beauty wrote to Akechi ]

What are we missing? Are we missing anything, by instead accidentally conflating a few of these together?

I don't know... all of those sound like they're different?

[ although it's hard to tell if they don't know all of them. ]

It might not matter if we don't know the other ones as long as we keep aiming for the one we want. If we manage that, then whatever the remaining endings are don't matter.

That is true. It turns out the wish that granted us that numeric clue was worded as such: "a clue to help end this game in a way that will save those lost and those still alive."

[ so one of the viziers turns out to be nigh useless, do they? ]

If we pursue this ending, and ignore anything relating to all else, would we be potentially ignoring or overlooking any important information?

Edited 2018-07-17 00:37 (UTC)

Oh. I thought that might be Dragon's happy ending, but if the clue goes like that... [ hmmm. ] That reminds me-- Beast supposedly sent a letter to Belph that said to be careful of Dragon's ending, because she might want to use the ink for her own gain, and if we're not numerous enough, we might not be able to stop her. I didn't see that letter, mind, but. Dragon pretending to be nicer than she is to get us to do her dirty work isn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

... So, if we go by that mystery letter— Which, by the way, he totally refused to let me see, too? [ASSHOLE.] There's a chance that we'll still get fucked over by trying to finish enough objectives. That's... That's great. That's awesome.

[God. She's so tired. Why is everyone useless.]

If the only way to avoid that is by making sure we still have enough people left, is any additional information we could overlook really worth the risk? I don't know about you guys, but this feels like we have a shorter time limit than we thought.

... hm. My partner is pretty close to Belph, so I can see if I can get information from him through that way. He might be more willing to share if it's someone he's better friends with.

[ she pauses for a second, before continuing. ]

Speaking of Hikage though... you guys can't tell anyone, since all this would trail back to me if it comes out? But I know how both his title and role works now. For his role, he's basically given a list of random words and he needs to pick one, and whatever he picks has some effect on the castle. That weird sulfur smell from a few weeks ago was him. So were the cuts. He doesn't have any idea what each thing does before he picks it.

[ so, it's dumb. moving on. ]

His title ability are all of the items that the Crafters suddenly bring out in the middle of the trial. He has more control over that, except he can't pick what time they bring it out and he can only choose the item on Friday.

[ so, all that ghost business is pretty wild, right? ha ha

anyway, steph is going to gather everyone on wednesday evening in her room. hikage is doing like. whatever the fuck it is that he does, i literally do not know his hobbies. but when everyone is here, stephanie just claps her hands together very cheerfully?? maybe a little nervously. but mostly cheerfully!!!! ]

So! Hey. I figure I should get this out of the way, but... I'm a Vizier?

[ yeah!!!!! ]

[ dang i sure hope there aren't any ghosts following them around listening in or anything. ha ha. but ion's gaze just. slowly slides over to her like.

this might as well be happening, all right. ]

... Fair enough. Well, if we're exchanging news, my own offering seems quite pale in comparison.

[ he doesn't look overmuch bothered by that. ]

The Lord El-Melloi II may apparently be a Historian, it turns out.

[Hm. Just giving Steph a look, considering.]

Wow. [DEADPAN.] Stephanie Brown, shame on you.

[It's a joke. She's joking. It's fine, probably.]

I don't know what's worse. That she [points at Steph] has to deal with Mr. Emotional Constipation, or— That Waver's a Historian? Who the hell made those choices?

[LIKE. AKECHI? NOW WAVER? Save the Historians, tbh.]

[ varian looks stressed out for some reason. maybe it's the possibility of running into ghost rapunzel??? who knows. either way, he's petting a raccoon. as usual. ]

... Akechi, Lord El-Melloi, Sousei. [ ... ] Hey, Stephie, have either you and Belph checked out Miss Bunch, Cardia or Natsuo?

[ he's just skipping right past pretending she didn't tell him before this because listen he got a heads up so he wouldn't cry in public let's all be honest ]

Rebecca and Natsuo are Historians, too. We found out about Rebecca yesterday at our meeting.

[ she... chooses not to mention that it's because belph refused to check zelos because he's petty. ]

And apparently he just walked up and asked Natsuo if he's one earlier today? I have no idea how he didn't get outed earlier.

[ so. the historians are a mess, y'all. ]

Hiding in plain sight, of course; we were so willing to write off any intelligence he had, after all.

[ still, he sets his now-omnipresent teacup down, scratching idly behind scott's ears as something else occurs to him. ]

... But then that means they should be aware of our objective counts. What faction did we decide they were on, again? [ He's coming up with Heroes. Please let him be remembering wrong, for once in his life. ]

... I can't believe that Akechi being their representative makes so much more sense now. Holy shit.

[GOD. She drags a hand down her face, weary.]

Do they know that we have to keep a balance between the factions? I know we do, but do they? Because... Akechi's completed one objective. Natsuo's going through his, I think. And Rebecca's on her fourth objective, minimum.

... Last count he told me, heroes had done eleven that the Historians were aware of. [ he makes a face ] I'm not even sure that telling them we should strive for balance would help. The Historians get rewarded for each objective they help complete.

Edited 2018-07-19 01:45 (UTC)

Can't they help like... villains? Instead of everyone else?

[ do your jobs properly you fucks??? ]

I don't care what rewards they're getting, they're worthless if they screw over the rest of us.

What do you suggest? That we confront the Historians and press them into not--

[ he has to press a hand into his temple, his other arm folding over his front to support it. this is terrible. the historians are useless. his voice comes out in something of a snap, with more of his authority apparent in it than usual. ]

--Continuing to sabotage us all? Do you think it's at all possible that they know something we don't, or should we simply assume that they are well-meaning but very, very misguided?

Fuck. I'd rather think that they're idiots, than assume they know something we're missing. We can't afford to sit back and let them screw everything up for everyone else, based off an assumption.

[This is bad. This is so bad. Historians, you fuckers.]

There's no way that the six [counting natsuo, hm.] Villians we have left are going to catch up with the Heroes. Akechi told me two days ago that the Villains have only gotten five objectives done. Three of which, by the way, were mine.

Edited 2018-07-19 03:49 (UTC)

[ ... oh. right. varian clears his throat awkwardly ]

Um. About Natsuo. This can't leave the room because Akechi said he would "make my life a living hell" if I shared it, [ quote unquote ] but he, uh, kind of came back not a Villain. He's Snow White now. A Hero. So, we're, um. At five.

...

[ she's just going to flop down on her bed and die. ]

Varian, the mirror. Please.

[ flatly and completely seriously, i don't have an icon for how done he is this is how bad it is: ]

If this mirror switches factions, I'm willing to switch.

[ he'd rather bail before hero faction becomes a battle royale, and also this is hilarious for oldass pc reasons. ]

Ideally it'd convert my previous objectives as well, considering that we certainly don't need any more hero objectives, but... -- I just told Natsuo my title yesterday, too. He said he needed it for an objective, but now I actually wonder if that was the truth.

[ why are historians like this. ]

[...]

Well, that's it. We're screwed. [SHE'S ASCENDING.] People are going to leave Natsuo alone because they think he's a Villain. Hell, I had Belph come up to me yesterday thinking we were planning to have Natsuo as part of our last three Villains. If others get the same bright idea in their heads—

[She's so tired. She's so done. She just wants this to be over. Still, she looks at Varian and then at Steph, pursing her lips.]

... The mirror was pretty cracked the last time I saw it. Does it still work? Souji and Evan stole something from Tiger that'll work as a replacement if it doesn't.

It's slightly horrifying that Belph thought we'd planned that far ahead when we're still trying to convince people not to kill Villains in the first place?

[ THEY'RE NOT THERE YET, BELPH. LET THEM LIVE. anyway ]

I'll, I'll ask Fane, I'll beg him if I have to. It-- you're sure Dragon will be able to repair it?

Belph is just-- him thinking that bad more to do with him than not trusting you guys.

[ and that's all she will say on that matter before moving on. ]

The mirror should do it. Dragon can fix it completely if we get it to her, and she can also fix it from afar but we'd have no idea just how much it'll work there. Either way, we'd still need to get it from Fane... what's the item they have?

title sharing, pretend this is on a piece of parchment they keep hidden and take out when they get News

letter collection that they just inevitably throw at each other every day

akechi shared this thing with varian right? when

HE SUMMARIZED THE MEMORY ON MONDAY and Varian would've told them the important part re: editors not being executed if guilty

[ well. here they are. post-investigation. in ... varian's room. because hey! it's empty now! yeet. varian's holding on to a raccoon like it's a fucking therapy animal, thanks. anyway, he's. he's got to ask. ]

... Is this because of the letter we sent?

[ if they hadn't sent those numbers-- would people have gone nearly as turbo? ]

Perhaps to some extent. But it's pointless to take all the blame alone.

[ He folds, and unfolds, and refolds the letter he'd shown up to the Foyer with along its crease marks. His voice is very flat, very measured; all business.

Scott's with him, but he's not paying the pegasus as much attention as usual, and his tea is nowhere to be found. ]

For my counterpart, at least... I believe this has been on his mind for a while.

I am certain the Blotters would have had the same concerns on their mind. No, I suspect this was the work of multiple parties, thinking they had to take matters into their own hands.

Do not claim responsibility for the actions of others, Varian. They made their own decisions, no matter how foolish.

[ her eyes are still red from crying, but she's obviously doing her best to pretend as if she didn't completely break down in front of everyone earlier. ]

Ion's right. It's impossible for us to know how much we influenced everyone else, so... we just have to move forward and do what we can from here.

[Haha. Mood, Steph. Veronica looks pretty wrung out, her eyes puffy from crying. She's... emotionally drained, and while she puts a little effort into sounding normal, it's still noticeable.]

This isn't what we told them to do. We didn't, we... [They didn't mutilate three people's bodies beyond recognition. God. She feels like crying again.] We can't afford to think it is, anyway. Stephanie's right. We have to move forward and focus on our plan for tomorrow.

[ ... he hums in acknowledgement to everyone, but doesn't comment on that train of thought further. ]

Do we have a plan? We can't even figure out one killer when there's three bodies, never mind-- five. [ and like half of them in pieces. ] ... I should tell you, Akechi thinks they deliberately targeted Historians. I don't agree, but. It's not completely out there as a theory.

[ unlike some others. ]

That would require a great deal of coordination and premeditation.

[ but it isn't something that can be entirely put off the table, it's true. ]

None of us told the others they had to kill. But... as far as planning goes-

[ a shaky, deep sigh. all right. so he isn't as unaffected as his compartmentalizing would have him appear. ]

We can only feasibly convict one person. And, that said... I don't think that aiming for a killer alone is necessarily a good idea anymore. Blotters are merely doing what they are forced to. If we convict on that alone, chasing retribution, and lose sight of the bigger picture...

[ there are so few of them left, all of a sudden. they're so close to that ominous limit. ]

So, no matter what, we should aim for someone in the Heroes category?

[ it's a little tough to stomach that, but in the end... it's about the bigger picture.

she really hates even thinking that. ]

... It's what we have to do if we want to save the dead. We can't lose more civilians at this point.

[And we all know the dead are fucked, so.]

By the way, Ion left four letters for his friends. Whoever killed him approached him earlier in the week and got his permission to do it.

... [ Varian just. Stays quiet after that announcement, upset. Sry y'all he'll contribute in a second ]

We aim for someone whose loss will do the least harm. If one of the killers is a danger to us all-- if we find out that they are a loose cannon, then it's fine. If not. We still have the option of an Editor vote, if we can find out who they are.

[ ... ]

He refuses to let them be blamed for it. He told them his objective... and wants my partner and I to protect whomever it might be.

[ He pockets the letter with a snap and flourish of his sleeves. Despite everything, he looks ... better, than he's been as of late, the shadows under his eyes not as pronounced. ]

We kept telling him... but I suppose it is simply his nature. Self-sacrificing to the end.

He was the same with his title power, too...

[ it really feels like a cruel joke, that after he realized he wanted to stay alive...

well. that's just like this castle, isn't it. ]

I-- have some news. The letter that was found addressed to Evan? It's fake. He never received it, so it had to be planted after.

... What? Are you serious?

[whomst the fuck, thinks veronica from the land of backtags.]

[ varian blinks at steph, slowly, and swallows ]

... Wait, fake? Why?

[ yea varian why. i wonder. so mysterious! ]

[ that just nets an easy, elegant shrug from ion. ]

Misdirection, of course. They wanted to cast suspicion and doubt in the wrong direction.

Even if it does not hold under scrutiny, it is still time wasted.

Right. If it comes down to it, I'll probably just out what I know if it makes people move along faster.

[ which she does and then afterwards regret just a tiny bit because VARIAN!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

catchall for the scooby gang

week 5, sunday

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week 6, wednesday

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GENERAL INFO SHARING DISREGARD

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week 6, friday

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tags this knowing what varian's real gift was and dies

lmao welcome to hell

here we are

i hate this