WEEK 2

[akudamods]

Saturday passes uneventfully save a little rain. It's on Sunday that you get a little notification of probation for new areas: Neo-Nipponbashi and Chuo. It'd be possible to investigate, to check out some anime, or to worship the defunct Shinkansen. But maybe it's hard to get excited about any of that when Friday’s events suggest that you have simply been provided some additional photogenic places to commit murder. Are you going to bother either overseer after their participation in some mockery of justice? Troll the internet? Get a bat out of Hyper Zone and just take out your frustration on everything?

Those of you who entered the pods will experience fewer “painful bursts of color” as your body is unaffected below the knees, though the same amount of “slight teleportation” glitches. Those of you who abstained from the pods will continue to experience all of the above as well as electric shock sensations occasionally when touching metal objects.

INTERNET | SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

((Internet investigations of any kind go here, and for all IRL areas, please use "investigate" in the subject line of your top-level comment, or link the thread to a moderator!))

Comments

[hunterandhunted]

[Is that it?

Naturally, the atheistic garlean is NOT buying this poor end to the tale. It seems that if he wants more information about the previous Akudama and Executioners, he will have to venture on back to the HQ...]

[fixingtodie]

oh. that sounds terrible... and they never figured out why it exploded?

[fixingtodie]

If yellow is for someone who wants to be spared then... what do the other colors stand for?

[your_best_friend]

...Sparing them. Yellow Names are just trendy at the moment.

Unless you mean something other than name colors.

[hunterandhunted]

[At the sound of clapping, Zenos pivots with a grace that seems so very unusual for his size, and points his bat directly at her.]

Why thank you, dear Satsuki! One should never allow his arm to become useless, and I have no intention to giving into our captor's pathetic demands.

[The bat spins with an idle flick of his wrist, before offering it towards her.]

Would you like to give it a try for yourself?

III

[hunterandhunted]

[Not quite in the alley, but passing by it, Zenos catches the sound of boots connecting with pavement—and before he has even fully whipped his head to look at Damian, his hand has fallen to the hilt of a sword.

It's only when he sees the broody boy, that his stern expression settles into an indolent smile.]

Oh, Robin, it is quite early to be jumping from rooftops, don't you think?

Hospital

[hunterandhunted]

Such haughty machinery.

[Zenos' voice suddenly appears, and so does he—leaning against the wall just outside of the pharmacy that Rideaux has walked out of. That same, pleased smile is settled on his face.]

In my world, they obey the commands of men, regardless. Their insolence is tiring, is it not?

Book Bride

[hunterandhunted]

How curious.

[For a nearly 8ft tall man, Zenos has quietly approached Rachel from behind. Which is not concerning in the slightest. His attention, however, is on her iced coffee.]

The cuisine of this world has left much for wanting, pray tell me, is it any good?

[fixingtodie]

[Rachel nods.]

Isaac Foster... but he preferred Zack. He's...

[There's still really no simple explanation for her relationship with Zack. "Friend" is nice, but-- it's pretty presumptuous. And it doesn't really fit just right.]

The person I have to get back to. No matter what.

[fixingtodie]

Oh... so the trends change, but the meaning stays the same.

I think I get it. [....] That would make it pretty important to stay updated on what's trending I suppose.

[Monster culture is fascinating.]

[conways_retribution]

Isaac? _{[The realization hit him.]} Ohh...

Is he special at all? _{[I mean, mummy with a scythe, he's gotta be.]}

owooooo

[osssuary]

[Look, we wouldn't have to judge Belial if he weren't Like This but then again, there's so many layers to judge that it's impossible to get through them all. This is probably a lost cause!!

(Kimimaro's outfit might also be a lost cause but there's a certain stubbornness in hanging on to it -- the rare occasions he's spotted at the hospital or maybe lately at the pod gatherings, he does sometimes appear in hospital gowning with no particular fanfare... but does anyone actually want to count hospital gowning as a part of their wardrobe.

Still, maybe there's a reason he's appearing here in such a normal way and walking around like a regular person on the ground instead of his usual fancy stealthaways? His movements are always sparing but they are minimal today, a certain added guardedness in the way he holds himself. No one saw him for most of yesterday.)

At any rate, his look goes a little flatter as the throw is...... thrown on.]

...... It looks like it should impede movement.

[The should is a goddamn concession here, my dude, the regular boa also defies the laws of physics so he's mostly looking like he's trying to figure out how this one will defy the laws of physics. Which ability is this.]

investigation

[akudamods]

[There are of course a large number of beautiful, polished gemstones, as well as another display of fine jewelry, all of which are behind hard glass. A bit further in, there's a room with a space theme - a little display of moonstones explaining how they were once believed to be formed from the moon's rays is off to the side, along with an extraterrestrial peridot and other droll companions. By far, the centerpiece of this exhibit is an impressive amount of lunar meteorites. They come in all sizes, with some that are basically boulders. Another notable thing about these meteorites is they were all discovered in the late Hicho era.]

hyper zone!

[intimations]

[Have a whistle from the background as Zenos (figuratively) knocks those baseballs out of the park. Or just breaks the sensors, but who's paying attention to that.]

Looks like you're having a fun time with all these balls... mind if I have a go?

[There are clearly several other empty cages adjacent to the one Zenos is in, so this is absolutely not necessary to ask but apparently this isn't stopping him from doing so anyway. Sharing is caring, or something!!]

[your_best_friend]

Yeah! Though a human almost got all monsters to throw away their yellow names. Granted, they didn't know they were a human. Heh. Imagine monster fashion being dictated by a single human.

[fixingtodie]

Trends are like that though, aren't they?

People see something new and being tired of what they're used to, try something new. It's the same for humans.

[fixingtodie]

Here. You can try it if you want.

[Rachel plucks an extra straw and sticks it into her iced coffee.]

Regular coffee is too bitter for me. I like the taste but it needs cream and sugar to balance it out.

What do you normally like to drink?

[your_best_friend]

True... I've had my fair share of trend manipulation. My favorite color is red, but strangely, I like the yellow names the best. Might be because of the human. Frisk, their name.

[depleting]

[ Satsuki isn't a person necessarily equipped to understand this sort of meta-mechanic—and even if she were, this is the wrong genre for her. But... She also comes from a world where the supernatural can swap what is false and what is true. Maybe the logic behind Flowey's reply isn't so unintuitive.

So— ]

Um, I don't know if I totally get it, but... This means you're looking out for all of us, doesn't it? Thank you very much!

[ She bends forward in a deep and grateful bow. When she straightens again, she asks, ] Do you think it's better for it to say "Vampire" instead of "Satsuki Yumizuka"?

[ After all, given the ways of this world, Vampire might be the name that is real. ]

[fixingtodie]

[Mummy with a scythe. She has to think about it for a moment though. But there's a small smile on her face as she does.]

...you could say that.

He's a very strong person... fast too. But hitting things is his solution to everything. He's not very smart.

[WHAT A GLOWING REVIEW. But then. Her expression softens further.]

But... he also... forced me to smile again. And he swore to God that once I helped him escape, he'd grant my wish. To me... there's no one more special than Zack.

[depleting]

[ Satsuki hums, her head bobbing in a nod. ]

Yeah, I can picture that. You look like the delinquent type, like Inui-kun... Going out late at night and leaving your friend alone at school the next day!

[ She giggles a bit, though maybe that's from picturing Jake in a school uniform. ]

[intimations]

How considerate of you. But how is it supposed to work? You don't think that having this would be enough to save little old me, do you?

[depleting]

Um... Well, maybe. [ Her smile is a bit embarrassed, but still, she lets herself nod. ] I was thinking about going in, but I'm not really used to being around crowds anymore. So, I thought... Maybe it would be easier for both of us if we weren't by ourselves.

[depleting]

Who, me? [ She smiles, her face the simple picture of an innocent girl. ] I guess I could try. Is there some reason you want to see me do it?

[ But, despite her question, she does reach forward to receive the bat. ]

You know, I hadn't thought about it, but it's been a while since I've swung a bat... I don't think I've done this since gym class!

[depleting]

[ Yeah, she's always cold. This isn't like that, though. Maybe it's the feeling of floating; maybe it's the way she can't quite tell if her fingers and toes are still there. But, more than anything, if she had to put a name to this feeling—

It reminds her of laying on the pavement of a dark alley, her heart stopped in her chest.

Maybe she shouldn't try to resist, but that would be the instinct of anything alive. She tries to curl her hands into fists, just to feel her claws bite into her palm. Like a blind seeking for comfort, she tries to recall the warmest memory of her short life: saying goodbye to Tohno-kun in the sunset after school. ]