week 2, tuesday

[seaclipsed]

[ katara is seated in front of the bonfire, cooking... well, fish. fish is probably like 90% of everyone's diet at this point honestly.

anyway, this is a good opportunity for anyone to come by. it's almost midnight don't expect me to write anything more eloquent than this dammit. ]

Comments

[vipmix]

Not being public about it would be easier, too. If you say too much, you might make yourself a target.

[i love irony]

[seaclipsed]

You mean like... taking out potential threats first?

[vipmix]

I'd think so. Isn't that what anyone would do, if they were trying to win?

[seaclipsed]

I know some people said they might go after people who are weaker and less able to defend themselves...

[ which is terrible???? ]

[vipmix]

The way they speak about it, I don't think physical strength will have much to do with the overall game. From what they said, if someone is targeted, they're dead. All the advantages go to whoever asks for them.

[seaclipsed]

That's even worse! We should at least be able to defend ourselves in some way!

[vipmix]

If they wanted us to defend ourselves, they'd have let us keep our abilities.

[seaclipsed]

Hm... not really. Since not everyone here even had an ability back home, so I could see that taking them away would give us a more even field to play on. But if we can't defend ourselves, then there's no point in even taking them away, since that means those abilities wouldn't even matter at the most important moment, right?

[vipmix]

[he pauses and... actually admit fault???]

I worded myself poorly when I said I doubt we could defend ourselves. I'm sure the opportunity to fight back will be there... Except the entertainment value of it will lie in its fruitlessness. [no one thinks that's entertaining, joshua, please get a therapist.] Even without abilities, some people here are simply stronger than others. Few people would place their bets on Laphicet in a fight against Jaffar, for example, no matter how strong he might have been back on his world. That said, it goes without question that there are ways to make sure if Laphicet were to target him, Jaffar would die no matter what.

[a beat]

Of course there's the possibility of the victim becoming the murderer being just as entertaining, but that takes away any incentive they might give to the would-be killers, if they can't guarantee you'll even be able to pull off the first part of the agreement.

[seaclipsed]

... that's true. You might be less likely to attempt to kill someone if there was a possibility that you'd be stopped while it was happening.

[ just the idea of getting caught at trial might dissuade some people. i mean, until the week two trial happens and they realize just how terrible they truly are at solving murder. ]

[vipmix]

[yeah thanks for fucking nothing bitch]

Right. If you're just as likely to be the victim of a self-defense kill, then there's not much point to agreeing to anything. [a beat] This is all theoretical, mind you-- the possibility of someone being put on trial for a self-defense kill might qualify as entertaining enough, but now we're getting back into the territory of what counts as interesting for the Chiefs.

[seaclipsed]

Right... it's the kind of thing where we really won't know the answer to it until it eventually comes up.

[ ... ]

And even then we won't even know if they're telling the truth.

[vipmix]

The dead don't talk here, so really, anyone can say whatever they want about them. Like everything else in this game, what the truth is will depend on what we know and believe of one another.

[seaclipsed]

Anyone could just lie about themselves though...

[ hahahahahaa ]

[vipmix]

[yeah it sure would be terrible if someone just. lied to people. about who they are. constantly. for the entire game.]

And therein lies the problem with "bonds" in a situation like this. You have to trust that what you know of a person is real and means something in the grand scheme of things, even though it's simply whatever they've chosen to share about themselves, true or not.

[seaclipsed]

We don't even know what kind of bonds they mean in the first place! I mean... you don't bond with someone you're working with the same way as you'd bond with a family member. How are we even supposed to be doing this?

[vipmix]

[just... sighs]

It might become more obvious as the weeks go on, but... we don't have that much time to figure it out. Our game clock is two months.

[seaclipsed]

Or sooner, depending on how eager people are about this.

[ she sounds mad??? you haven't even found multiple bodies yet katara chill ]

[vipmix]

Hmm, yes, that's a possibility, too. [there's a beat before he adds:] I can't say I expected you to point it out, but you're a lot more realistic than you seem, aren't you?

[seaclipsed]

Wait. What's that supposed to mean?

[vipmix]

Nothing. I thought you were more the optimistic, hopeful type... but I can admit when I'm wrong.

[seaclipsed]

[ she sighs, rubbing her face for a second with her TWO HANDS. ]

I'm going to do my best to make sure we get out of here alive, Joshua. But... I've seen enough to know that not everyone might think the same as me.

[ even though they're wrong and stupid. ]

[vipmix]

[I'm alive and you've got two hands why is this conversation still going]

And I hadn't expected that. It wasn't a complaint; it's a lot easier to talk to someone who doesn't absolutely believe the good in everyone.

[seaclipsed]

[ listen... katara just almost straight up murdered a man because of how much she hates him before she got brought here, she is not at a canon point to believe the good in everyone. ]

I guess. [ ... ] I do want to believe that there is more good here than bad though.

[vipmix]

[wow I cant believe katara would consider murdering a man for a valid reason what a horrible person]

And that normally wouldn't be a problem, but in this setting, that's quite the gamble.