[YATAGARASU]

[guillotineroom]

[once you pass through the clocktower door, you find yourself in a closed room complete with a central table, notebooks and pens, and a white board for strategizing]

[a digital clock on the wall counts down to the end of the game. time to get to work, right?]

Comments

[unfinishedsymphony]

[ taking his place at the head of the table, addressing the full team. ]

This is fucking devious.

A two-way blind trust fall. The best chance of being protected is to go for the block that you have a mutual understanding with. But if you let your fear— your concern, your empathy bring you to hesitate? They've fucked you. Or you've fucked them. So much for good-will! So much for bonds, so long lover! Get fucked!

Our mutual understanding is with Gummi bears. The spidermen. Pink.

[ he lays his palms flat on the table, stance solid as he overlooks the meeting table. ]

Gentlemen, we stand at a cross-roads. What will it be?

[inclementia]

[Percy is no doubt conflicted. He doesn't know what 'gummi bears' are, but he thinks he can guess from enough context clues Wilbur means Bugbear. He rubs at his nose, just under the bridge of his glasses.

Christ, he hates this. He's already died... what? Technically twice now? He's in no mood. And the confliction of not wanting to attack Kraken... He doesn't know if the others would go for it for such a single minded selfish reason.]

As far as team dynamics go, admittedly I'm still a bit new. What understanding do we have with them?

[anthousaiastic]

[Hoo. Hoo boy. That's the question isn't it. Closing her eyes and taking a moment to calm herself before answering]

I'm not one for hesitating. Do you think Tsuchigumo is? I don't know them well.

[eudaimoniac]

It has to be them, doesn't it?

[alienation]

[ what is a gummi bear. ]

From my understanding, we are likely not hated by any other team. Do you disagree?

[ his tone isn't like he's seeking a disagreement, just that he's going through a thought process and wants some kind of confirmation. ]

[luckyspots]

...okay this is crazy.

[But that doesn't change what they're being forced to do.]

I'm going to guess you mean Bugbear and Tsuchigumo. I haven't been here as long, so I don't really know Tsuchigumo... but I do know Bugbear seems intent on making a lot of connections. Trusting them to chose us seems pretty risky.

[scattershot]

[Who?

[With who...?

[Oh. That explains it.

[The first instinct is to protest: that's not Megu's unit. But that, something stone-cold rational insists, is exactly what their captors are counting upon: that they will allow things like that to color their judgement, set them to squabbling amongst themselves, steer them wrong. It sounds very like her father, that little voice, and oh how she wishes she could tell it to shut up.]

And how certain are we that the understanding is mutual?

[1bit]

[Despite the heat of the morning, he'd still been stubbornly wearing the hooded sweatshirt he's just received from whomever fills the requests submitted to the suggestion box. It's an authentically grungy piece of merchandise from some obscure metalhead band in the mid-nineties, well-loved and worn down over the decades. Now stuck within the tight confines of the crowded room, he swears and finally sheds it. He looks flushed and annoyed.]

Is this supposed to be some high-stakes version of the prisoner's dilemma? Really fucking subtle. When they said we'd be playing games as part of our rehabilitation, I thought they meant normal shit like Wii Sports.

[unfinishedsymphony]

Oh shit, did you miss that part of orientation? Wank. Piss. I'll add it to pamphlet.

Death games, mandatory. End of section!

[anthousaiastic]

...Now is definitely not the time, but what's Wii Sports?

[luckyspots]

....trust me, you're not the only one.

[She's so upset she's shaking.]

This isn't rehabilitation at all. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not what they claimed it was going to be.

[scattershot]

"We sports?"

[I know both those words, but they do not seem to care to make sense in context.]

That isn't even grammatical.

[eudaimoniac]

[collapsed in a chair panicking!]

[1bit]

[He's hesitant to approach, but -- well. If he doesn't, he's going to feel like a massive dick for just watching someone start to lose their shit. His arms are crossed and his gaze is stuck to the floor, he's trying to be sincere.]

Do... do you want me to find you a juice or something? Just 'cause that's what someone's always tried to hand me whenever I've felt upset.

[anthousaiastic]

Oh, Adrien - hey. Look at me?

[Kneeling down in front of him, putting her hands on his forearms]

[alienation]

[ sits next to.

and exhales. ]

There are not many ways out of this.

[luckyspots]

[Kneeling next to the chair.]

Hey... we're going to do our best to get through this-- okay?

[scattershot]

I'm putting serious consideration to going to stand in a corner and scream into my hands, if you'd care to join me.

[Her voice is not quite as steady as she might have hoped for. Hells.]

[inclementia]

[Hey no not allowed.

Well. Maybe. He's not Adrien's supervisor. But he will come stand by and just. Be close. And a little awkward. He's bad at ...comforting people. Keyleth and Pike and Vex are good at this shit.]

It'll be all right. It doesn't sound like we're going to attack Fenwytch's team.

[anthousaiastic]

[Running a hand through her hair, grabbing a pen]

Woo! Okay! Here it is, first death game. With a tiny sliver of hope for no death at all even, good to know. Hey, uh, anybody know anything about politics with the other teams round here?

[unfinishedsymphony]

Outside our own cellblock?

[luckyspots]

Admittedly... not a whole lot. I didn't even know this place had politics.

But I do know that one of the guys from Bugbear was going around approaching the different cell blocks trying to collect allies yesterday.

[sagescion]

We're meant to attack other people...? We're already imprisoned and now they ask us to fight our friends?

[It isn't right. He doesn't like it. and it just leaves him in knots about what might happen if they lose. He promised Megumi and Estinien he would always be careful.]

If we do not have another option, what strategy would everyone prefer? Do we have any enemies who we believe might use this as an opportunity?

[alienation]

[ Shaking his head. ]

As far as I am aware, we have none. Our best bet may in fact be picking a group we have close ties to—our current suggestion is Tsuchigumo.

[scattershot]

[Right, so--

[Alisaie absolutely has gone to stand in a corner and scream into her hands, which changes little and less but did at least give her an outlet for some of the pent-up morass of emotions that have been festering inside her. It's a little easier to breathe, after that. Easier to think straight, or straighter. About which of her friends she can trust to try and kill her.]

All right. I believe we have alliances covered. In which case, we ought to consider friendship. So, what do we believe our friends would do?

[inclementia]

[Percival is admittedly a bit out of his full depth here; not in the making tough decisions game or the idea of murder itself, but the 'trying to work with people who are obviously freaking out that he doesn't know very well'. So he's close by.]

Agreed. On the screaming into your hands bit, not the second part. I'm not certain about that honestly.

Laying out the options

[unfinishedsymphony]

I'm hearing some dissent in the ranks. So let's go over our choices, gentlemen.

My first pick was pink. Pink gummy spidermen. In its favor, this is the most likely to be blocked. Due to an already standing alliance, they ought to know what to do, here. It is the way most likely to spare us blood on our hands.

But if it goes south, we will have killed them.

Our alternative, in my opinion, is no better. But since I'm hearing dissent, let's put it on the table. Let's cover it. The alternative is we pick another cell block. The singular pro to this is we will not kill spidermen. But! Because no other cell block has an arrangement with us, the cellblock who we dunk on? Their deaths are guaranteed. We are absolutely going to fuck them. Meanwhile, if the spidermen pick us, honoring our alliance? It's our blood on their hands. Daze's boy will have killed him. Lotor's soft-hearted shithead will have sent him to the grave. The young men whom I spoke with the other day of our alliance— I will have shown that when push came to shove, I lacked faith in the very thing I took great pains to negotiate.

And. . . we will need to pick another team to fuck. We'll have to go down the list, and pick who we think deserves to die.

I'm not going to lie to you, gentlemen. Our choices are grim.

But these are our choices. I open the floor to your voices.

Re: Laying out the options

[alienation]

[ LISTENS and then points out, to people not Wilbur because Wilbur knows this: ]

The "spidermen" may believe our agreement means that we will avoid endangering them. And though all possessions are dangerous, we know personally how dangerous theirs can be.

[ This is like. The first time he's ever felt guilt about anything. Wild. ]

If they choose to attack us, I will not hold it against them. However, I do still believe that Wilbur is correct—I cannot imagine anyone else choosing us. If there is another, I am open to hearing it.