[It's kind of worse if he's on Dimitri's team, actually. Has he seen their numbers? Yikes.]
...I am not terribly well-versed in strategy. [god, please give them the Professor. They need Byleth; they're too stupid for this.] But I will try to help however I may.
[...]
If we are to buy ourselves the maximum amount of time to find a way out of this mess, then... the black team's numbers...
[ why did professor byleth abandon them at murder summer camp. ]
Right. There has been no time limit established, so it stands to reason the best way to drag this out is to protect our team identities and whittle at each group slowly.
But numerically speaking, the team with the highest numbers is bound to pull ahead, as they are most likely to succeed at their tasks and receive a bonus at the beginning of the week. They'll have more advantages when it comes to killing the others. I fear also that when it seems that one team's numbers drop, the others may lose their composure and attack them more freely.
[ sometimes, all it takes is a drop of blood in the water. ]
That said... I do not want to justify killing as some sick game of numbers.
[with their luck if byleth was here they'd be a golden deer.
she nods, though - he definitely isn't wrong about that. the theory that this week's murder was committed by a member of a team with an advantage holds quite a bit of water, especially when you consider the lack of footprints.
that is, perhaps, why they aren't supposed to share their teams. she can't imagine many people from that team will be eager to share now that someone has painted a target on them all.]
I have been attempting to complete the tasks each week to try and help my team pull ahead... but it seems to be to no avail. The advantage of numbers is difficult to overcome.
[and she's definitely not interested in seeing either of the other teams get wiped out.]
...you are being careful, correct? There are... not many who know which team you are on?
[ should've dragged claude and byleth to solve murders tbh.
he nods—he's tried to do the same, to no avail. ]
Yes. I've only told you and Lili so far. She knows some details of my power as well, though not as clearly as I have to you. I will probably explain it to her today in detail.
[ he sighs, leaning back on his hands a little, smiling a little sadly. ]
I have been cautious with it and other details. But I wonder if I shouldn't be.
[ nevermind what he JUST SAID, because that's dimitri's rational brain, which rarely wins out. ]
Even if it puts me at risk, I think sharing the details of my experiences might make things more clear during the trial. There is so much we don't know... so much we have to keep secret. It obfuscates the truth to the point that I don't know that we can ever find it.
flayn, immediately, shakes her head. even if it puts me at risk, he says, and she knows he's willing to take the risk, he knows he's capable of weighing the risks and deciding for himself whether or not it's something he should do, but—
quietly, selfishly:]
I do not wish to see anything happen to you...
[...what he's learned may shed some light on the truth. but - and this is a big but - flayn isn't sure the consequence would be worth it if it would take him from her, or even put him in a position to be killed by someone else.]
[ They've been through a lot together. Too much for any one friendship, really. They've both suffered battles, but this was cruel in a warped, deliberate way, and they've clawed and scraped their way to freedom, together.
So by now he's used to reaching out, giving her hand a soft squeeze. ]
I have no intention of dying. I promised we would make it through this... and that we would not bring harm to others. Though if I am being honest—I cannot say I wouldn't hurt someone if they made themselves your enemy.
[ It is, perhaps, a dark thought, but it doesn't feel that way to him—it's an easy truth, spoken clearly. He's always been a blade of a person, best at hurting others. For a moment he sets strategy aside, voice soft and as contented as anyone can be at a time like this. ]
I want to see you safely through this, Flayn. You mean a great deal to me—and to know that you care for my wellbeing... I'm not sure if you'll ever realize how much it warms my heart.
[ To be selfish for a friend's sake—he'd never have dreamed of such closeness. ]
[This is certainly concerning - but it isn't as surprising as it could have been. After her death on the island, she had been very aware of how Dimitri had reacted - she had even argued with Ogata over it.
I wonder... do you think your death drove him to madness?
It's not his voice that she wants to remember right now. It's not even that edge in Dimitri's voice that she wants to remember - when he takes her hand, she laces her fingers together with his, then reaches for his other hand so that she can draw both their hands together. Something about what he says, about their promise, makes her flinch.]
...I cannot say I would not be tempted to do the same, if they made themselves yours.
[It's an ugly thing, really. Flayn doesn't want to hurt anyone. But even she can get angry, and though striking back at someone who has hurt Dimitri wouldn't really be defense, she can't claim she would be able to stand by and watch it happen.
She would much rather intervene before it got bad.]
I want to see you safely through this as well. That is... what I want more than anything.
[He should never have had to be here. After the island, he should have been allowed to rest.]
So, please... I know it is selfish, but... I beg you, do not take unnecessary risks.
[ She's really too good for him—his easy threats must disturb her, judging from the way he feels her wince. But he still gives over his other hand, her fingers thin and birdlike between his.
He wants to send her home safely, but some smallminded piece of him is grateful that she's here in this moment, offering him such saintly kindness. ]
...Thank you, Flayn. [ He gives her hands another gentle squeeze, nodding. ] I need to be bold—but I will try and take your words to heart. To send you back to your world safely is always on my mind, and I have things I must accomplish as well.
[ To that end—he closes his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath before he straightens up a bit. ]
I plan to work together with Lili, but Giyuu has also been extraordinarily forthcoming with me. I... don't know that I can truly trust him, and I have refrained from telling him much about myself, but I may take that risk.
[ If it means getting more information—he'll set aside his feelings on the matter. He just has to tread carefully. ]
For the purple team, I've received a harmonica, as well as... some sort of paper hat. Neither of them have any intrinsic value or powers, which I believe means that we did not score first in the tasks either week. You may be able to identify other people on our team based on those items, though I know there is more than one per team.
As for my power, I have been testing it as well. I can only use it once—to copy one thing, which fades by the start of the new week. However, I don't need to fully understand what it is I'm seeing to replicate it.
[Is it safe to work with Giyuu, she wonders? She supposes the chances of something getting its hooks into him a second time must be low - there are so many of them from the island that he would be the first place people might look.
And she knows he isn't a bad person.
Still, there's something about the idea of Dimitri teaming up with Giyuu, of divulging his secrets to him, that makes her feel a little anxious. She can't quite put her finger on what it is, but maybe it has something to do with how, back on the island, he had taken no care to keep secrets at all.
(Could they have ended it sooner, if they'd realized just how suspicious it was for him to be so sure that something was going to happen once they washed ashore?)]
...please be careful.
[She can't tell him not to do it, as much as she wants to. She starts to tell him to, but thinks better of it. Whether she likes it or not, he can make his own decisions - but she will, perhaps, do her best to prepare to be there for him in the aftermath, if things turn out poorly.
When he speaks of what they received from the tasks, though - her eyes widen slightly, and she lets go of his hands so that she can climb up to her bunk. After a moment to root through her belongings, she returns with a pink harmonica (adorned with music notes and flowers) and a pink party hat (with small streamers at the top), which she holds out to him.]
...did they look like these?
[Because if so, identifying the team may not be quite so simple as investigating their prizes.]
Have you copied anything thus far? If you do not understand it - then, how do you use it?
[ Once upon a time, Dimitri had felt a spark of suspicion when he first met Giyuu, speaking of some curse. Instead of holding onto that suspicion, he let it free—and how had that turned out for them?
It's something he has to live with. But he nods—he'll have to gauge whether to be careful, or to risk putting his faith in a man who'd betrayed them all before a second time.
As for Flayn, he trusts her. He nods at the items. ]
Right—those are what I received as well. So I suppose it only helps us narrow down those of the Black Shadows team... I will let you know if our team wins, but it seems unlikely thanks to our dwindling numbers.
[ ...They'd have to see about Guy. ]
As for my power, I've used it to copy someone's handwriting, as well as a... slight of hand trick from Purple Heart. I could not really explain how the trick works, but I can perform it without any issue.
...identifying members of that team by that method seems as though it would be almost too easy. Are we so sure that we did not receive things that look the same, but have different effects?
[Would the very entities that are insisting on all this secrecy really do that, she wonders? Imagine having your allegiance outed because you couldn't be bothered to clean your part of the room and one of your cabinmates happened to spot something that was unfamiliar to them.
At any rate, now that he's confirmed their rewards are identical, she heads back up to hide them back among her blanket.]
I will let you know if mine wins as well, of course - and what the reward can do, if anything. But I am not certain that we have the numbers to come out ahead over the black team as far as this part of the competition goes.
[Once she retakes her place next to him, she tilts her head to the side, curious.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fishingforcompliments) wrote2020-06-06 10:49 pm
no subject
...I am not terribly well-versed in strategy. [god, please give them the Professor. They need Byleth; they're too stupid for this.] But I will try to help however I may.
[...]
If we are to buy ourselves the maximum amount of time to find a way out of this mess, then... the black team's numbers...
[They need to fall.]
no subject
Right. There has been no time limit established, so it stands to reason the best way to drag this out is to protect our team identities and whittle at each group slowly.
But numerically speaking, the team with the highest numbers is bound to pull ahead, as they are most likely to succeed at their tasks and receive a bonus at the beginning of the week. They'll have more advantages when it comes to killing the others. I fear also that when it seems that one team's numbers drop, the others may lose their composure and attack them more freely.
[ sometimes, all it takes is a drop of blood in the water. ]
That said... I do not want to justify killing as some sick game of numbers.
no subject
she nods, though - he definitely isn't wrong about that. the theory that this week's murder was committed by a member of a team with an advantage holds quite a bit of water, especially when you consider the lack of footprints.
that is, perhaps, why they aren't supposed to share their teams. she can't imagine many people from that team will be eager to share now that someone has painted a target on them all.]
I have been attempting to complete the tasks each week to try and help my team pull ahead... but it seems to be to no avail. The advantage of numbers is difficult to overcome.
[and she's definitely not interested in seeing either of the other teams get wiped out.]
...you are being careful, correct? There are... not many who know which team you are on?
no subject
he nods—he's tried to do the same, to no avail. ]
Yes. I've only told you and Lili so far. She knows some details of my power as well, though not as clearly as I have to you. I will probably explain it to her today in detail.
[ he sighs, leaning back on his hands a little, smiling a little sadly. ]
I have been cautious with it and other details. But I wonder if I shouldn't be.
[ nevermind what he JUST SAID, because that's dimitri's rational brain, which rarely wins out. ]
Even if it puts me at risk, I think sharing the details of my experiences might make things more clear during the trial. There is so much we don't know... so much we have to keep secret. It obfuscates the truth to the point that I don't know that we can ever find it.
no subject
flayn, immediately, shakes her head. even if it puts me at risk, he says, and she knows he's willing to take the risk, he knows he's capable of weighing the risks and deciding for himself whether or not it's something he should do, but—
quietly, selfishly:]
I do not wish to see anything happen to you...
[...what he's learned may shed some light on the truth. but - and this is a big but - flayn isn't sure the consequence would be worth it if it would take him from her, or even put him in a position to be killed by someone else.]
no subject
So by now he's used to reaching out, giving her hand a soft squeeze. ]
I have no intention of dying. I promised we would make it through this... and that we would not bring harm to others. Though if I am being honest—I cannot say I wouldn't hurt someone if they made themselves your enemy.
[ It is, perhaps, a dark thought, but it doesn't feel that way to him—it's an easy truth, spoken clearly. He's always been a blade of a person, best at hurting others. For a moment he sets strategy aside, voice soft and as contented as anyone can be at a time like this. ]
I want to see you safely through this, Flayn. You mean a great deal to me—and to know that you care for my wellbeing... I'm not sure if you'll ever realize how much it warms my heart.
[ To be selfish for a friend's sake—he'd never have dreamed of such closeness. ]
no subject
I wonder... do you think your death drove him to madness?
It's not his voice that she wants to remember right now. It's not even that edge in Dimitri's voice that she wants to remember - when he takes her hand, she laces her fingers together with his, then reaches for his other hand so that she can draw both their hands together. Something about what he says, about their promise, makes her flinch.]
...I cannot say I would not be tempted to do the same, if they made themselves yours.
[It's an ugly thing, really. Flayn doesn't want to hurt anyone. But even she can get angry, and though striking back at someone who has hurt Dimitri wouldn't really be defense, she can't claim she would be able to stand by and watch it happen.
She would much rather intervene before it got bad.]
I want to see you safely through this as well. That is... what I want more than anything.
[He should never have had to be here. After the island, he should have been allowed to rest.]
So, please... I know it is selfish, but... I beg you, do not take unnecessary risks.
this tag aged really poorly
He wants to send her home safely, but some smallminded piece of him is grateful that she's here in this moment, offering him such saintly kindness. ]
...Thank you, Flayn. [ He gives her hands another gentle squeeze, nodding. ] I need to be bold—but I will try and take your words to heart. To send you back to your world safely is always on my mind, and I have things I must accomplish as well.
[ To that end—he closes his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath before he straightens up a bit. ]
I plan to work together with Lili, but Giyuu has also been extraordinarily forthcoming with me. I... don't know that I can truly trust him, and I have refrained from telling him much about myself, but I may take that risk.
[ If it means getting more information—he'll set aside his feelings on the matter. He just has to tread carefully. ]
For the purple team, I've received a harmonica, as well as... some sort of paper hat. Neither of them have any intrinsic value or powers, which I believe means that we did not score first in the tasks either week. You may be able to identify other people on our team based on those items, though I know there is more than one per team.
As for my power, I have been testing it as well. I can only use it once—to copy one thing, which fades by the start of the new week. However, I don't need to fully understand what it is I'm seeing to replicate it.
[ there's more, but let's start there. ]
holy shit, it sure did.
And she knows he isn't a bad person.
Still, there's something about the idea of Dimitri teaming up with Giyuu, of divulging his secrets to him, that makes her feel a little anxious. She can't quite put her finger on what it is, but maybe it has something to do with how, back on the island, he had taken no care to keep secrets at all.
(Could they have ended it sooner, if they'd realized just how suspicious it was for him to be so sure that something was going to happen once they washed ashore?)]
...please be careful.
[She can't tell him not to do it, as much as she wants to. She starts to tell him to, but thinks better of it. Whether she likes it or not, he can make his own decisions - but she will, perhaps, do her best to prepare to be there for him in the aftermath, if things turn out poorly.
When he speaks of what they received from the tasks, though - her eyes widen slightly, and she lets go of his hands so that she can climb up to her bunk. After a moment to root through her belongings, she returns with a pink harmonica (adorned with music notes and flowers) and a pink party hat (with small streamers at the top), which she holds out to him.]
...did they look like these?
[Because if so, identifying the team may not be quite so simple as investigating their prizes.]
Have you copied anything thus far? If you do not understand it - then, how do you use it?
no subject
It's something he has to live with. But he nods—he'll have to gauge whether to be careful, or to risk putting his faith in a man who'd betrayed them all before a second time.
As for Flayn, he trusts her. He nods at the items. ]
Right—those are what I received as well. So I suppose it only helps us narrow down those of the Black Shadows team... I will let you know if our team wins, but it seems unlikely thanks to our dwindling numbers.
[ ...They'd have to see about Guy. ]
As for my power, I've used it to copy someone's handwriting, as well as a... slight of hand trick from Purple Heart. I could not really explain how the trick works, but I can perform it without any issue.
no subject
[Would the very entities that are insisting on all this secrecy really do that, she wonders? Imagine having your allegiance outed because you couldn't be bothered to clean your part of the room and one of your cabinmates happened to spot something that was unfamiliar to them.
At any rate, now that he's confirmed their rewards are identical, she heads back up to hide them back among her blanket.]
I will let you know if mine wins as well, of course - and what the reward can do, if anything. But I am not certain that we have the numbers to come out ahead over the black team as far as this part of the competition goes.
[Once she retakes her place next to him, she tilts her head to the side, curious.]
"Can" perform it? Can I see it?