It's time for another FAMILY MEETING!!

[carpevinum]

[There's a sign posted on 3-C on the 27th the future is now indicating that it's that time of month! That's right, it's time for the family meeting!

Lucifer is in charge this time and he is holding a whip, so please behave yourselves or you might get a warning crack near your head. Or don't behave yourselves. He's not your dad. He will, however, try his hardest to keep you all on track.

As Lucifer is also one of the Team Moms Dads, he's also made everybody lunch as he is wont to do. The rather fancy-looking food is set up on a couple of desks at the front of the classroom to peruse at your leisure. There are cookies and muffins as well, but please try to eat a real lunch instead of subsisting off of sweets entirely.

On the whiteboard, Lucifer has written the following topics & talking points that he'd like to discuss with everybody, and has requested that you all raise your hands so that this can be done in an orderly fashion... Good luck, Luci.

• Who is missing? Who is confirmed deceased?
• The gladiatorial battle — is it possible that those who died previously may come back to inflict further harm? Any guesses?
• What the Hell was going on last weekend?
• The void in the auditorium is infinite
• Results of last month's investigations that we agreed on doing
• The imps plaguing the school have been removed (thank you to Clamor for his assistance)
• Have we discovered anything new?

Last but not least, the final bullet is one hundred percent something that Lucifer clearly wants to do, and it reads simply:

• Instating a chore chart

So that's... fun.]

Let's try to keep this more orderly than the last one, shall we?

[And yes, the cardboard baby jail is set up in the back of the classroom! Naughty children go to cardboard baby jail. Naughtier children get a whip cracked at them. Have fun, everyone!]



[[OOC: The usual rules of the family meeting posts apply, which means threadjacking/general mingling is allowed and encouraged! Please remember to only share information your character discovered ICly to avoid metagaming. Also no Lucifer will not actually cause physical harm to anyone's characters with the whip unless player permission is granted, I'm not as psychotic as he is, don't worry about it.]]

Comments

[closewithnewintown]

None of that happened! We didn't prevail over anything; nobody would've even known anything if Shuichi hadn't told us! [and she wishes he hadn't, can she hope to forget this day ever happened to them.] Whatever your opposite to hope is? That's who prevailed today. That's who got something out of dead people who won't ever get justice, and murderers we can't do anything about.

... We don't have anything here. Everything is against us... The building is against us, the air and the water... All we have is each other. All we... had was trust in each other. How do I ever trust you?

[he asks if she wants him to kill her, and she doesn't even blink, lets it fall off of her like water off a duck's back. because... in truth. despite everything she says out loud. she does still trust them. she doesn't know how to not trust. to not think things will turn out okay in the end, even as her world falls apart for the first time in her life.]

Tell me I can trust you to never, ever do this again. Can you? [please]

[commences]

No, you don't understand true despair, none of you do...

( he says that because that's how he sees it, no one understands his hope, he doesn't understand why he tries. it's better this way, he shouldn't have even tried to... learn the people around him. they're meant to hate him, distrust him, the only thing he's to do is be a stepping stone for their cause — for their hope, even if he's the dead body, or he makes a few more dead bodies... he's always lived like that. )

Thank you, who knew I did excellent in my attempt. ( for shuichi to be the one to reveal him, that's a hope he wanted to grow desprately — that young male who had too many doubts in himself, and now... he's the same one in a condition where he's bleeding, where he's in pain... )

You trust that I'll always do what I can for the hope of those here, no matter what it is...

( that for the most part is the one thing komaeda can't promise, all he's had is hope in his life, and hope requires him to do whatever he can to make it happen. they're in pain now, but they'll overcome to become stronger... yes, natsume taking part like this through a wrench into things, but he knows that everyone here can make it, he knows that stephanie can make it. )

[closewithnewintown]

Of course I don't! I'm ten! My town has a normal population of nine! The worst thing that ever happened to me before I came here was an argument with my best friend! And now my best friends murdered people!

... Sportacus says you should try to be friends with everyone, no matter if they're good or bad. He never stops trying to be friends with Robbie, even when he really tries to hurt him. Because hurt people hurt people, and people who are hurting need friends the most.

[she swallows hard.]

But, I don't think I can be your friend right now.

[commences]

This is where you misunderstand me. I didn't come here to be your friend, I didn't come here to ask for forgiveness — I came here to remind you of your promise.

( that's it, he wanted her to remember that she doesn't have to give up, that she's still strong — despair dies, and what's born is a stronger hope. that's how it works, that's how it always worked. komaeda accepts this as law, it's better this way to him, his luck won't bother anyone who doesn't bother him (he hopes), and so he nods his head. )

...I do hope you return home, to a world where arguments are the worst thing that can happen.

( because what happens here, it can't be helped, there's nothing he can do to fix anything — he believes what he did was right, is what was needed. ) You'll live, your hope won't falter, you'll understand rather than mourning, and sobbing, there are people who need you.

( he clears his throat, and he stands up properly as he dusts himself off. it's done slow, thoughtful as if he's reflecting on what they've discussed, until he nods to himself. ) Good luck is around the corner for you, because you managed to get through the bad... ( he walks over to the door of the classroom, and he speaks one last time before closing the door behind him, he doubts she wants anyone walking in on her at a time like this. ) Goodbye, Meanswell-san.

[closewithnewintown]

... Goodbye, Komaeda.

[and maybe the door will close before the next sob wracks her body. that'd be his luck.]

[commences]

( this is the SECOND time komaeda has heard someone cry as he shut the door, GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. )