52 Hertz Tartaglia (
devouringdeep) wrote in
yogen2022-01-06 12:46 am
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Entry tags:
♛ A Never-Ending Performance ♛
Who: Anyone who wants to come!
What: It's time to come clean about some Void Lore
When: 01/05, @ roughly 7pm ish
Where: Dorm Common Room
Warnings: There's gonna be discussions of murder in here, otherwise tbd
[Word of mouth spreads slower than a notice on the forums, which is perhaps a good thing in this case. It lets him buy his time, stall as long as he can as he tracks specific people down with the instruction to meet later that evening. The promise of answers is also dangled in front of faces, before he's quickly moved on to track down a new witness.
He's always liked to be the center of attention, after all.
There are people he avoids when he's gathering and rounding people up for this impromptu little gathering of his; Nene and Noah are high on the list, though there's really not much he can do to stop them if they were to hear of it from others and show up regardless. His primary focus on who he calls in to the dorms seems to be people he knows have some sway on the matter of things occurring here; faculty who aren't investigating elsewhere, those he thinks old enough to require insight.
He's not particularly subtle in his dealings, and he's sure it's reached the ears of others and spread like a plague. It can't be helped.
Eventually he does find himself back in the designated meeting spot within the common room, arms crossed as he leans himself up against the wall. He's the picture perfect example of a stone-cold exterior as he waits for everyone to arrive, only clearing his throat to speak once he's certain the majority have entered.]
I know how to stop the void-out zone from spreading. Although... Some of you might not like what the answer entails. And a lot of you might be pretty upset at how those answers were reached, so I'll ask that we refrain from commenting or asking any further questions until I've explained everything.
[There's a brief beat of silence, one that's passed as he glances sideways at Jason to share a Look™ of some kind before he's continuing on.]
You've probably noticed there have been three separate occasions wherein the reach of the shadows has receded. [Three fingers are held up to accent his words, still calm and unaffected by what he's sharing.] This was my doing. Admittedly not the best experiments to conduct in polite company, but they gave me answers nonetheless. From what I've gathered, each fresh death that's given to the shadows themselves makes them shrink back a little more.
Fresh in this case, meaning in the process of dying, such as bleeding out by a fatal wound, or just barely clinging to the final hints of life. If I'm honest, I probably never would have guessed it to be the case had I not allowed the shadow wisps to drag off my first attempt at getting answers.
It doesn't seem... All that effective, however. Considering it only seems to shrink back a few inches at a time. However, I can confirm that it still does seem to be affected while we are all here, given... I tested it the other evening, and it withdrew as it always did.
[There's a roll of his shoulders in a sort of half-shrug, and he steps away from the wall and lowers his arms.] So. If anyone has any suggestions on what we can do to try and fix this now that we're all on the same page, I'd love to hear them.
[Leave it to Childe to confess to murder and be so nonchalant about it.]
What: It's time to come clean about some Void Lore
When: 01/05, @ roughly 7pm ish
Where: Dorm Common Room
Warnings: There's gonna be discussions of murder in here, otherwise tbd
[Word of mouth spreads slower than a notice on the forums, which is perhaps a good thing in this case. It lets him buy his time, stall as long as he can as he tracks specific people down with the instruction to meet later that evening. The promise of answers is also dangled in front of faces, before he's quickly moved on to track down a new witness.
He's always liked to be the center of attention, after all.
There are people he avoids when he's gathering and rounding people up for this impromptu little gathering of his; Nene and Noah are high on the list, though there's really not much he can do to stop them if they were to hear of it from others and show up regardless. His primary focus on who he calls in to the dorms seems to be people he knows have some sway on the matter of things occurring here; faculty who aren't investigating elsewhere, those he thinks old enough to require insight.
He's not particularly subtle in his dealings, and he's sure it's reached the ears of others and spread like a plague. It can't be helped.
Eventually he does find himself back in the designated meeting spot within the common room, arms crossed as he leans himself up against the wall. He's the picture perfect example of a stone-cold exterior as he waits for everyone to arrive, only clearing his throat to speak once he's certain the majority have entered.]
I know how to stop the void-out zone from spreading. Although... Some of you might not like what the answer entails. And a lot of you might be pretty upset at how those answers were reached, so I'll ask that we refrain from commenting or asking any further questions until I've explained everything.
[There's a brief beat of silence, one that's passed as he glances sideways at Jason to share a Look™ of some kind before he's continuing on.]
You've probably noticed there have been three separate occasions wherein the reach of the shadows has receded. [Three fingers are held up to accent his words, still calm and unaffected by what he's sharing.] This was my doing. Admittedly not the best experiments to conduct in polite company, but they gave me answers nonetheless. From what I've gathered, each fresh death that's given to the shadows themselves makes them shrink back a little more.
Fresh in this case, meaning in the process of dying, such as bleeding out by a fatal wound, or just barely clinging to the final hints of life. If I'm honest, I probably never would have guessed it to be the case had I not allowed the shadow wisps to drag off my first attempt at getting answers.
It doesn't seem... All that effective, however. Considering it only seems to shrink back a few inches at a time. However, I can confirm that it still does seem to be affected while we are all here, given... I tested it the other evening, and it withdrew as it always did.
[There's a roll of his shoulders in a sort of half-shrug, and he steps away from the wall and lowers his arms.] So. If anyone has any suggestions on what we can do to try and fix this now that we're all on the same page, I'd love to hear them.
[Leave it to Childe to confess to murder and be so nonchalant about it.]
no subject
[It might not be her place to speak up, at least a few people know what she did. It's just...these experiments sound familiar. She'd wondered out loud so many months ago about what dying in the void really meant. About experimenting in the void...physics mostly! She hadn't really thought Childe would even care. ]
You didn't take that seriously, did you? I didn't...I mean you couldn't have actually.
[ She looks around in panic, trying to make a headcount. If he killed last night, who isn't here. Who is missing, if every transfer student should be at the void right now? ]
no subject
[He does have the sense left to appear a bit sheepish given... Well. Both the circumstances and who's addressing him.]
I was being serious when I stated your own suggestions were fantastic, if that's any consolation. Though I've yet to actually test any of them out just yet.
no subject
I don't care if they were. [ Maybe she'll still be a little petty. She covers her mouth with a sleeve, staring at Childe with a guarded expression. Obviously! They were all hypotheticals. ] And don't. The only thing that matters to me right now is this, Childe-san.
Who did you kill yesterday?
no subject
Time's a bit strange here... If I had to pin down a day, I'd say it was three days ago? [A three day grace period for the third victim had seemed rather fitting, for some reason.] I'd fallen into the habit of choosing those that couldn't be tracked back to me, for... Well. Obvious reasons. I took a bit more of a risk with him, though, considering he'd ended up sharing a room with me. I think his name was... Arc? Art? Something with an A. We weren't exactly close.
[He's just sort of shrugging a bit.]
no subject
( a beat, not too bothered only because he realized that he missed a step. he doesn't linger on it for long, and so he'll point to one person, and then another, and then whoever else in the room. )
You're throwing in small fry, a human of these size proportions are are just a stale appetizer to it when it's grown so wide... you have to feed it better.
( a small laugh, waving his hand behind sara. )
You might be the biggest catch of all, Chakkun! ( is he joking, who knows? )
no subject
[ Turning to gesture between him and Childe. ]
Even if...this was okay...and something the group had agreed on. [ WHICH IT WASNT ] There is no way to feed it better! None! Maybe if we'd killed half the student body back in June? When it was small and there were more people...but we just lost most of the student body! We can't afford to loose anyone right now, and it wouldn't even work!
[ That's why killing Art feels so unbelievable, even if Sara had only barely known him. There were barely sixty or so people left at this school. ]
no subject
( how long has childe been here? long enough, and before the practicum, which means he could have killed anyone. the conditions is that it has to be them, but he glances at his hand, before looking towards sara. )
If there's hope in these actions, sure... but by now, killing them does nothing which gives hopeless results. He is willing to hear out other ways of getting the job done.
( a hand raises, dismissing anything he's said to move on. )
Since you enabled his behavior, what did you two speak about?
no subject
[He gestures back in the direction of the school building as he speaks, a brief look of annoyance flashing across his face before it slips back into that calm, composed facade.]
Personally? I think the void itself might be the exit we’ve been looking for all this time. That tree seems to hoard the souls that die elsewhere, but who knows if that’s the case for people who succumb to the void? Who embrace it? Maybe the whispers aren’t lying, maybe it actually wants to take us home.
no subject
[ Weak to praise as always... Stop it Sara!! He killed a bunch of people, and his excuses are weak! She's still mad! Why is every adult here a weirdo murderer? ]
But, I didn't enable him!? [ Shut up! ] It's like he said, I wondered if there was any discrepancy in time and physics between the two worlds. Like...maybe we could find some way to exploit it. But that doesn't matter now!
[ Childe gets a disbelieving look for his suggestion. Embrace what...being deranged? This is beyond a leap of faith, there just plainly isn't a shred of evidence for what Childe is saying. ]
You have no idea where it would go, Childe-san. I like believing in others, but I can't see a good reason to bet all our lives on a few whispers.
no subject
Sara, you're a smart girl. Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe this -- [He's nodding off to the side to denote their surroundings, clearly referring to the void dimension itself] is the real world? That the other place is the lie?
We've spent the better part of nearly a year trying to solve things over there, and it's barely changed a thing in regards to our situation. Because we're deluding ourselves with the idea that things are jovial when they're not. It's all an elaborate illusion! Here, real change seems possible. Here people are stronger.
no subject
[ She hadn't considered the idea before but it wasn't that outlandish. A void that occurred when blood was spilled was wrong, so why not make it the source of all the wrongness that sprung up in the school. Like kitsune gold or a fairy wish that turned to dust when some condition was met. A trick...?
Yet the other students here couldn't be tricks...the teachers. It felt wrong to call that reality a lie. ]
We've discovered a lot of things about the school this year. That wasn't wasted time. [ She needs to think. Childe isn't wrong, but his theory feels simplistic, like calling the bottom side of a rock the real side, just because when you flipped it over you saw worms. If only she had a peice of evidence to present, another opinion so she could see the full scale of his own. She flicks her eyes over to Komeada, wondering if he might have a statement of his own on the subject. ]
Because its warm...because its kind...you think its a lie? I'm not so sure. This place feels more like...a past we had to pay a price to see.
no subject
( he'll bring a hand up to his lips, his bent index finger tapping his bottom lip at change is possible, and stronger the people are. that's for a select few, for others that are typical, normal, and boring — strength means nothing. that too can add to a delusion, but... )
...This is his hope, apparently.
( something that was told to komaeda that he would see at midnight, and now it's a few days later, and they're trapped here. it doesn't make sense though, how was he able to do all of this, probably know what would happen, and see it through at the expense of bringing them here.
did he want them to see something? he moves on. )
This space is uninhabitable, unless there's a way to bring back those that were once here. Hm... Chakkun is someone who wants to grow stronger, have power, so that part doesn't surprise me, but... ( he pauses, clearing his throat as he stands beside sara, komaeda doesn't take sides. ) I wouldn't say we hadn't learned anything on the other reality, but there's always two sides to every coin. Much like the tokens we use to talk with the gorintos, what if both realities, are real.
( a sigh, as fantastical as it sounds. )
That they've yet to merge, but what if we're just reliving our past? Ahaha... history repeats and so on, and so forth.
( ... )
no subject
He should know.
His only concern was on how things would progress from here. It wasn't like everyone in the school was readily accepting the fact that murder was the way to achieve their goals.
He came along, of course. He didn't think that Childe needed the support, but at the very least he wanted to know how people would react.
He leaned back against the wall nearest to Childe, arms crossed over his chest and just stayed quiet.
This was Childe's moment, after all.]
no subject
Childe was, after all, one of few people who didn't chastise him for his own behaviour, and now Lucifer sees why. Both killers of purpose, at least in Lucifer's head they are.]
I do have to commend your efforts for finding this out, even if it may have been an accident the first time around. However, if the void only shrinks back a few inches per live sacrifice, that in and of itself is a problem. That means there's hardly a meaningful way to get it to recede further, unless we suddenly come across enough wastes of oxygen to do so efficiently.
[Lucifer unfortunately took out his wastes of oxygen months ago. :/]
no subject
[He lifts his fingers, drumming thoughtfully against his chin with a soft hum.] Part of me has wondered if maybe it might be a good idea to try giving it a fully living sacrifice and not one that's in the process of dying... Though I can tell that's an idea a lot of those gathered here might take issue with.
no subject
[It's not that Lucifer sees it as morally reprehensible necessarily — a demon is a demon, something he's been trying to make people understand for months. Mostly, he behaves because if he doesn't, he has to live with guilt for angering certain people he doesn't want to draw the ire of.
That, and there are some people he rather likes here.
That, that, and also the fact that there are like 170 students in stasis that he saved because he also thinks they need as many living people as possible to get the fuck out of here. The thoughts of discarding wastes of space and saving as many people as possible Can and Should coexist.
There's the small matter of, philosophically speaking, how many sacrifices are necessary to save the greater whole... but Lucifer doesn't dare speak the words aloud.]
As much as I'm interested in finding out what we can do to make the void recede, this seems like a surefire way to get everyone involved killed for science. Do you have any other prevailing theories?
no subject
[He scratches at the back of his neck and gives a slight shrug.] If anything I can keep testing... [There's a glance to where Sara is before he continues.] Different methods.
no subject
[You can really tell that he's Satan's older brother, huh.]
Do you care to enlighten me as to your methods? If not here, then privately.
no subject
[He pauses there, then he jerks his chin in the direction of the doors to the outside world.] Walk with me? I'd rather spare the specifics from those who don't want to hear them.
no subject
[And then Lucifer just... you know, follows after Childe, keeping up with his stride so that they can keep talking without being too loud now.]
no subject
Even though she's so small, she does listen carefully.
And while the idea of murders isn't pleasant... it's something that Rika, unfortunately, is frankly used to; so people may notice that she doesn't even bat an eyelash or even flinch in surprise at any of this.]
I don't have any suggestions myself, but it just recedes, right? If it's not all that effective, I wonder if it's because it's not the right type of meal. Kind of like how you can eat certain things, and it'll fill you, but it's not satisfying.
[She speaks in a childish manner, even if her act seems to falter, just slightly.]
There are a few things that I was interested about regarding the dark spooky shadows, though, if anybody can answer a question of mine.
no subject
Nevertheless, she's quiet for a few moments, listening; mulling things over in her head.
She kind of hates that she has to ask this but she raises her hand like she was in class before speaking up:]
If it only shrinks back 'a few inches at a time' for each instance, I suppose it doesn't matter who it happens to? Unless there were similarities between the instances that I'm not aware of.
[Hi, she's here for more details first before starting to mull ideas in her head. Although this is a supernatural phenomenon; she doesn't even know if she can even come up with anything to fix it. Even more so if she has to come up with something less...morbid to do so.]
no subject
When she does speak up, Satou has slipped off her ditzy girl mask. That won't help here, so there's no benefit to that act anyway.]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that murder is pretty common here? Even last month, during the finals, I heard certain rumors.
And then that countdown in the hallway almost predicted this too, didn't it? The timing is eerie. [Is there another force at play here?]
no subject
Who... who were they? [He asks slowly.]
Who did you use for such cruel experiments?!
no subject
In order, from the first to the last... [He tilts his head back, eyes narrowing just the slightest bit as if attempting to remember the exact details.] I believe his name was... Morgan? Arthur Morgan? Back in August. The second — October — was Faust. [He’d remembered that one’s name a lot easier, as it was one of the stranger ones he’d heard here.]
The last as stated was that guy Art a few days ago, after we’d already arrived here. Mostly I just wanted to test to see if the void held the same rules here as it did back in the version we were most familiar with. Which I can confirm to be the case. [This whole time his voice has been calm as he relays the information, with no hint of emotion in his tone other than the general sense that he’s entirely fascinated with figuring out the specifics of why the void behaves this way.]
no subject
He takes in those names with a tight frown as Childe speaks. The names are familiar to him. He didn't know them personally, but he remembers those names on the class roster - and their names eventually being gone from said roster. He believes there was even an "Art" of some kind.]
...I see. I do not approve of your actions and I would hope that you do not carry out such experiments again, but... I can appreciate the information that you have brought to us. So the void has a link to... to those who are dying... which keeps it at bay. [He repeats the information while he tries to make sense of it, and trying not to dwell on those lost souls when it might not get him anywhere.]