nowyouseeit | [WEEK 5: Thursday later morning, Room 104; Dirk]

It sure isn't.

[HE'S READY!1 Kaito don't fight with a bum arm holy shit]

No one argued with him because we were far focused on other things, and we weren't paying attention to his suggestions. Now I'm convinced he said that just so he'd have more ammunition against us when running to you guys.

. . . but I told him in confidence because he's my friend. [or. was? Kaito isn't sure anymore] We discussed telling everyone else, too. But we weren't sure how to go about it without causing everyone to panic.

[turns away from him, facing the door, ready to leave. he collects the trash can lid first, at least]

Maybe people like Andersen. . . Kamui. . . Suzaku. . . even Velvet, to a degree, is why we didn't say anything before now.

If you want information, wait to hear it on Saturday.

No.

[He slams a hand on the door to keep it shut.]

Stop focusing on what Andersen did or didn't do; it doesn't matter. Account for your own damn self to me.

Tell me the truth before you let a psychopath kill a child I promised my brother I'd protect.

[just]

[gives Dirk a long, tired look, hand resting on the doorknob]

Blame the Unclean for that one. Not us. She told him to in order to save Dipper and Mabel. Rock, meet hard place.

Let me go or else I'm taking a nap on your floor.

And how the fuck does that make sense?

[He is not moving.]

For fuck's sake, stop being vague and ominous. Stop leaving those breadcrumb details. If you want people to side with you, come out with the damn truth. You said you came here to clear shit up but all you've done is blamed Andersen for twisting things and refused to give any more information that would clarify your stance. You haven't cleared up anything: not why you can't kill us all at once, not why you let Emily get killed by a psychopath, not a damn thing. All you've clarified is that my pain and suffering and Jake's death are just a fuckin' footnote in your grand plan, not worth your attention.

If you want me on your side at that trial, tell me what I need to know to agree with you. Do what you came here to do.

Edited 2017-06-22 01:31 (UTC)

[guuuuh he leans forward and presses his forehead against the door]

It means exactly how it sounds it means. The realm took Dipper and Mabel, and the Unclean told Tsurugi to kill Emily to save them. That's all there is to it. We didn't let him do anything; we had no say in the matter, and neither did he.

[he pulls away from the door and GOES FLOP ON DIRK'S BED I'm sorry he's tired and cranky and emotionally spent and rude]

You guys get angry at us for keeping information from you, but the truth is? We couldn't until now. Literally.

When we first started as Hunters, Craftly told us that we were a secret rebellion against the Unclean's Prophets. Even they weren't aware of our existence. He told us we couldn't trust you guys, because we didn't know who among you was a Prophet.

And so, we said nothing, for fear that outing our existence would put targets on our back. We used our contacts to gather roles, and we used that information to smoke out the Prophets.

Mira was the first, found during the trial. Shortly after that. . . we found Girge.

You could have this week. You could have done it before Jay guilted Jake into ever doubting him.

[He's quiet. He's still mad. He's going to stay mad. But it isn't like he doesn't understand Kaito's position, or that he might not make the same choices. The point is that none of them know what is happening, and Kaito hasn't told Dirk much more than he already knew.]

Sit on a bed, dude. Or the goddamned couch.

[Dirk wants the DEETS! Kaito said he came here to give them and Dirk intends to have them all from him.]

We did, Dirk.

We told Andersen.

[he chides gently, because his anger is spent. also he is on a bed, but he sits up, legs dangling over the edge]

And we were going to tell others, too. I know Jay trusts Jake. . . and I wanted to tell Hajime. And before you complain that telling Andersen isn't telling everyone, consider our position. Consider Kamui. Consider Suzaku. Hell, even consider Velvet for a little bit. The first two have proven they're willing to kill for their own selfish desires. Velvet didn't keep it a secret that she would be, too, as long as it sent her home. How many others are there?

How many people could've betrayed us all and gone straight for the Prophets to kill them, just to end the ritual and be sent home, ignoring and abandoning the souls of those who have died?

It's easy for you 'n Andersen to cast stones because you're angry about us "keeping secrets." But from our perspective. . .

[a deep exhale]

It's as that note said. We didn't approach people for help because they asked us to. We approached the people we could trust.

'Cause. . . this is a game about trust, all the way up until the very end.

And the question you guys hafta asked yourselves on Saturday is a pretty easy one: who do you trust most to take the deal for eternal servitude and raise the dead?

I'm pretty sure it was Percival who left you the note that you were treating us like children.

[Kaito takes the bed so Dirk sits opposite on the couch.]

Quer probably wouldn't agree, I don't know. Velvet would agree to go back home and finish getting her revenge. If everyone's going to die and get resurrected anyway, why wouldn't we kill? Why not bother to get an extra incentive out of Hell while we're here?

I trust the three of you to sacrifice yourselves. I also trust other people to do the same. Andersen, if he doesn't get killed before the end, would take the role easily, and would handle it a lot better than any of you.

Thing is, I'm not angry about the secret-keeping. I'm angry because you didn't give anyone a choice. And yeah, I know why, I'm not an idiot. It's about trust, and you don't know me well enough to give me that choice. Though I would've figured that my devotion to Dave would have swayed you one way at least.

You might not have known, though, but I'm pretty sure Dave wants to stay dead. You also might not know that if I get resurrected, all I'm going back to is my own eternal hell: an immortal life that's glitched out, alive forever and unable to die or do anything. You probably didn't know that Jake was already dead and that all you'd be giving him was the chance to be dead again.

You couldn't have, not without asking. And I don't know if you planned to ask or if you even could have. I don't know if it's possible to do anything about any of that. Sure, I'd go back to a personal Hell to save others here, but if there was a way to avoid it I sure as fuck would want to.

But I don't know. Not how the deal works, not why we can't all die at once, not any of it.

It's a good thing Andersen told us ahead of time. It gives you the opportunity to talk now, instead of at the chaos of the trial. Everyone knows that a person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals.

[can u believe he ended it with an MIB quote. goddammit Dirk]

[an extremely frustrated sigh escapes his mouth as he rests his chin in his palm and his elbow on his knee]

Well, to be quite frank, when we made up our minds we were pretty resigned to people being angry at us. So that's not a big deal.

[I mean, it kind of is, but that's something he was at least prepared for]

And I'm aware of Dave's circumstances-- I talked to him about it, before he. . . but it isn't like we have the option to save only some dead people and leave the rest? 'Sides, even we don't know what the Unclean is going to do with the souls of the dead people if we don't rescue them. We never asked.

[and quite frankly, he hates the Unclean so much and wouldn't put it past her to do something HORRIBLE with the dead people if they don't rescue them]

And you can be glad Andersen blabbed all you want, but I'm pretty pissed at him for doing something stupid like sending an angry mob at our group. You're right-- a person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals.

Which is another reason dumping all of this on you at once seemed like a bad idea! I mean. . . hell, Dirk. We didn't want kids like Dipper or Mabel or Violet to feel like they had to kill someone, y'know? We didn't want to make them feel like they were going to be forced into selling their soul into eternal servitude for an eternity, either.

We don't want people to die, but if they have to in order for everyone to go home, then. . . [that is that, though he still hates that he's already resigned to that fact] We know the stakes. . . we know these are lives, and we know they're precious, and that's why we proceeded as cautiously as we could.

We couldn't afford to mess up.

[except, with Andersen, they definitely already did]

He didn't send an angry mob at you, dude. None of you have been strung up and lynched. I invited you to sit on my bed and talk to me about it. Mabel and Dipper came running because they wanted their friend to reassure them.

People are dumb, panicky animals, so instead of treating us like that, you had an option to talk to us as individuals who could make decisions outside of a group. I wasn't even that angry that you were going to finish the ritual to its end, even if I still don't know if agree with it—the uncertainty's 'cause I still don't have all the information I want to make my decision. I'm angry that you were going to have me die on someone else's terms, for my own fuckin' good, without ever asking if that was what I wanted. That I wasted weeks trying to stay alive so I could keep a promise when none of it mattered and I could have started being a lot more risky about finding ways to stop this permanently. As it is, I plan on killing myself as soon as one of you pops up to take my life.

[He would have done things differently. He would have taken risks. He would have broken rules. He would have tried far less at the trials, trials that didn't even matter because there was never any way they'd catch the worst killers. It was never fair. It was always pointless and stupid.]

Ask the Unclean. Ask her what the limits of her deals are. Find out what happens to the dead if you don't save them. Get the information on why the ritual has to be done this way, help us understand how it works and why it works.

You have the opportunity to get information when the rest of us don't. The charade's up, and I'm sick of hearing things second hand and not knowing when someone misunderstood or didn't get the full picture. Find out everything for us and bring it back so we can decide how we'll die.

Edited (WORDS ARE REALLY HARD) 2017-06-22 03:01 (UTC)

How the heck d'you think we felt when Girge told us the truth behind this stupid ritual?

[the sense of defeat, of pointlessness. . . that all four weeks they spent trying to locate the Prophets to keep their heads down, to find the murderers every week in order to put an end to this charade. . . all for nothing. he still feels that very clearly sometimes. especially now]

[he tries to replace it with a hope for the future, and a determination to reach the best end to this ritual as possible. but sometimes even that's hard, when he thinks about the things they have to do to reach it]

And you can be mad about us takin' that choice away from you. 'Cause it's true; we would have.

But as of now? You've got every bit of information we have, as well as the power to help decide who the final three will be. So. . .

[a small, tired shrug]

On Saturday. . . make your choice.

I already told you, I'm going to vote for Tsurugi to be executed. No one else deserves that fate.

[Blunt and calm. Dirk doesn't like him or care about him. He'll let him die.]

Do you know why you can't just kill us all at once this week? And will you ask the Unclean for that information for us? Or if you aren't up for the task, I'm more than willing to do whatever it is that we have to to ask her. I'd guess it involves cutting off a body part and putting it in a bowl.

That's not the only choice I'm talking about. You guys also get to decide if you trust us enough to let us be your final three. Or if you'd rather trust someone else.

[they're 100% committed, but after learning that Andersen blabbed, the Hunter faction had decided to let the rest of the people here make that decision. if they wall wanted the Hunters dead for their secrecy. . . then so be it]

I don't know why there's a limitation, but I can ask. And it involves jumping through a mirror.

And also, headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and brain freezes.

I already told you that I trust you'd make the sacrifice. As it is, the easiest thing would be for us to all kill ourselves at the trial and end the bullshit now. If there's a reason not to, I need to know.

[Because why not? Why not die painlessly and of their own choice? Why not end it?]

I can handle all of that crap. If you can make it so I can do it, I will. We need to know everything about the Unclean: why the ritual is how it is, what she does with the dead, what the limits are on the wish or whatever of the final three.

. . . okay.

[at this point, Kaito doesn't really care if he lives or dies. . . as long as someone who is willing to revive the dead makes it to the end]

Don't-- do anything drastic yet. I'll ask everything I can from her, but she doesn't like answering questions. I already tried to ask her about the ritual, and why the deal can only be made with three survivors and not more, and why the stupid deal has to be made in the first place, but--

She gave me brain freeze.

I could handle it. I basically spent my life listening to Cthulhu sing me lullabies in my sleep.

Edited 2017-06-22 03:34 (UTC)

[hmph. he snorts]

Well, if you really want to try, then keep at least one Prophet alive.

We need them to reach her shrine.

I had thought about lynching Girge, but Mabel really likes him. If you aren't idiots tomorrow, you can probably keep him and yourselves alive. Persuade everyone that keeping Girge alive is the only way for us to even begin to get a hint about whether or not there are other options.

Of course, you might get reamed for not asking earlier the questions I suggested, but you said you're cool with everyone hating you. Better that than lose your link to the Unclean.

We've been thinking about what to tell everyone, but. . . in the end, like I told you, the choice is gonna be up to you guys. Not us.

[another tired shrug]

We're all gonna get reamed, there's no other way around it. That's what I meant by an angry mob.

[that last part he says somewhat bitterly, so yeah, he's gonna be angry at Andersen forever now]

You were stupid and apparently didn't think about some pretty useful questions to ask, so yeah, you're going to get reamed. You should have talked to us before you killed anyone; that was the dumbest move you pulled. There are enough self-sacrificing people here who would have seen that choice and understood, then worked to their deaths to make sure there are no other options. That's all I wanted, Kaito. I wanted the opportunity to make sure that there really were no other real choices before I died.

Then you could have killed off everyone who would be unable to agree with the plan once all other options were guaranteed to be impossible.

[Dirk is a good person to talk to. Aren't you glad you're here, Kaito, on this very tiring morning.]

I don't intend on seeing anyone lynched at that trial. I'll ask the people who trust me enough to listen to me to make sure you aren't lynched, too.

[NO HE'S EXHAUSTED??? AND HE JUST GIVES DIRK A LONG, TIRED LOOK. . . but accepts the scolding for what it is. he knew they were going to get yelled at for that, be it now or when everything had ended]

[though he had kind of hoped it'd be when everything ended]

[it's what Dirk says last that finally, finally gets him to relax. they've all been on edge ever since Dipper and Mabel accosted Jay earlier]

. . . thanks.

That means a lot. 'Cause we were gonna go into the trial Saturday expecting it.

[-- oh, shit. AND THEN SUDDENLY HE REMEMBERS SOMETHING]

[BECAUSE I FORGOT IT OOCLY UNTIL NOW]

-- oh, right. One Prophet is needed to access the shrine room to talk to the Unclean, but Tsurugi's role as the Soldier allows him to talk to her whenever he wants.

So. . . I know you wanna execute him on Saturday, but keep that in mind.

I can't promise it won't happen. I'm not exactly a mover-and-shaker here. But I'll ask the people who do know and trust me, for what it's worth.

[There are a few and they might be persuaded. They might even be persuaded to help defend Kaito and his cohorts if it comes to that.]

I can give you recommendations on how to spin it at the trial.

[At the new information, he pauses.]

You've have to find a candidate more people are willing to execute over him, and I doubt you will. So have Tsurugi take me to her tonight.

. . .

[he rubs at his face with his uninjured hand, taking a moment to process this. things. . . may actually be okay? and that's a relief. it almost feels like a weight has been lifted off of his chest, actually]

Better idea.

[he says, as he drops his hand to his lap]

I'll have him bring the statue to the trial on Saturday.

You can all ask her whatever questions you want then.

[KAITO HE CAN'T MAKE PROMISES. YOU MAY DIE. But he'll at least ask.]

That's a good idea. Everyone can ask what they want to know. Do you think having people take turns talking to her might split up the mind-fucking effects of it all?

[Since having only one person bear the burden vs letting people take turns seems like it might make talking to a horrorterror easier.]

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2/2

WHOOPS PART TWO

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