DICK & ESCHA; None Braincell With Left Dick

[crashout]

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[crashout]

That doesn't surprise me. If neither of you knew, why would they be the same? [He continues looking at his clamshell.]

Okay. [Think, think, think.] Is it similar to something you've done before? [And to Escha specifically:] Do your rules help a specific target?

[unpredicktable]

[ dick, meanwhile, looks at escha with a bit of a squint ]

The reason you asked us about the special rules-- is it because you're supposed to find others who have them?

[ and then to answer junpei, dick... rummages through his pocket and takes out a bookmark. ??? ]

I wouldn't say that.

[applechemist]

[ She shakes her head to Dick's question. ]

No, that's not it.

[ But to Junpei: ]

My rules could really help a specific target.

[crashout]

[Sideeyeing both of them...]

Then why did you ask anyway? [He would've thought the same about Dick, too.] And if it could really help a single target...can it also hurt them?

[But, a pause, and a gesture to the bookmark.] What the hell is that for?

[unpredicktable]

Can you protect someone from the demons?

[ dick's looking at the bookmark and then at junpei before he sighs, turning it over in his hands ]

That's what I'd like to know.

[applechemist]

Because we try to share everything we know, don't we? So even if I couldn't talk about my rules... It seemed like the best way to find out if there were others!

[ And she was right! ]

It can't hurt anyone, and it... [ She's trying to pick her words carefully, but somehow fails to come up with anything new. ] Can't protect from the demons, no.

[crashout]

[There's a smile.] You're right. We share what we can. Thanks for trusting us. [Another mystery on their hands.] If it's not protecting against demons, then they must cover protecting us from...each other. Right?

[He's eyeballing the bookmark thing. ] Do your rules tell you how to use that thing?

[unpredicktable]

[ he smiles at escha too. ]

Yeah. I was trying to figure out how to get you guys to guess at that myself.

[ dick spins it in his hands, idly ]

No. Only people who could tell me what this thing is are the ones in charge of my rules.

[ that he's saying it kind of implies that's not in his rules. hm. ]

[applechemist]

[ Escha smiles back at both of them briefly! ... But then shakes her head. ]

I can't protect us from each other, either.

[crashout]

[There's a lot to unpack here.]

Is...there something else we should worry about that we need protection from? [Wait. ] Protection from being a host, maybe. [He's still trying to puzzle out the bookmark because what the fuck.]

Your rules imply you're working with our hosts, don't they? Not...someone else? [He's on a thin line but he's gotta. ]

[unpredicktable]

[ dick is gonna let junpei head that line of questioning while he thinks and just. answers. for his own. ]

Yeah, but not all of them.

[applechemist]

[ At first Escha is busy ???????ing at Dick. But then realizes she should probably answer. ]

I'm not working for anyone else...! And I just... [ She's extremely bad at being tricky and doesn't want to break her rules by saying too much so. She just repeats herself? Great, Escha. Great work. ] I can't protect from... The demons.

[crashout]

[...they're not getting too far. Let's try something else.]

So what we know is that Escha's rules guide her to protect us from...something. Dick's rules means using some kind of magic bookmark thing for whatever reason, and he's working for one of our hosts while Escha's a free agent. Am I right?

[Ugggh.] You can't show us how that thing works, can you? Is that against your rules?

[unpredicktable]

No, the bookmark isn't--

[ he rubs the back of his neck ]

I got the bookmark Thursday. It's a result of... [ he gestures vaguely. ]

[applechemist]

Maybe Dick's rules let him find things or get into places.

[ ?? Or something. Escha is quiet for a second, then brightens! Okay, she has an idea. ]

It's - okay. So... I can't protect people from demons... But the people - that I can't protect from demons - I guess you could say it's protecting them from other people? Sort of? [ That's still within the realm of his words. And she seems to think it will make things clearer. You're welcome. ]

[crashout]

[He looks at the ceiling.]

It's a result of your rules. Receiving something after...doing something, or like Escha said, finding things. And it was a day after I got my box. [He's trying to work out Escha's puzzle though because what the fuck.]

...can you save people from disappearing during an exorcism? Separating the demon from the host. [Squint. Is that how that works? She can't protect people from becoming a demon, but she can protect them from being executed by someone else maybe? Huh???]

[unpredicktable]

Junpei got it the first time. [ and. since? he guessed that much-- ] Remember at the beginning of the week, when I told people to come to me if they needed help with their... pictures?

[ yea

as for escha's you know what dick is thinking because his player is too tired to brain and can't think of a better option than what junpei just said ]

[applechemist]

[ Hm, Dick is sneaky. But it's not a bad thing?

Escha lights up at what Junpei said, and claps her hands together! ]

Exactly...! I can protect someone from the exorcism!

[crashout]

Holy shit. [This is to Escha because holy shit?] Escha, that's...that's awesome. Even if something happens...if we have an idea of who might be the host, we can save them.

[Now they're getting somewhere and he looks genuinely excited? Nice! Teamwork! He looks back to Dick.]

And you...get an assignment like that mission we had a week ago. You do a task, you get a prize. You follow your rules, you collect things. Something like that? Can you ever say no to the task you're assigned?

[unpredicktable]

[ sorry who cARES about his role dick has-- other questions for escha ]

How does it work? [ god, wait-- ] I mean-- [ or can she. answer the first question. they've guessed this much??? i have a headache. ] Is there a limit to how many times you can do that?

[ anyway. ]

I get an assignment each week and get a reward, yeah. [ he tilts his head a bit with a frown ] He implied nothing would happen if I didn't do it last week except I wouldn't get a "reward", but he also specified for this task. And... these rewards are supposed to be helpful, but he couldn't say exactly how.

[applechemist]

... There's a limit.

[crashout]

...of course there is. [Son of a bitch.] It can either be a limit of once per person, or a certain limit of uses in the amount of time we're here at all.

One of these options is better than the other, but...it's still something.

[unpredicktable]

Total uses makes more sense. Once per person, and you would've tested it out this week, wouldn't you?

[ unless there are other limits, wow ]

[applechemist]

[ Hmmm. ]

It isn't a limited number of uses. And it isn't once per person. There's just - limitations. [ She hopes she can say that much. ]

[crashout]

[...that's exhausting.]

More rules you can't say. I get it. [He rubs the back of his head a bit.] ...if you two have rules, there must be others. I'll start asking around and seeing what I can find out, maybe play a guessing game with them, too. If we learn more, we might be able to figure some stuff out about how this place works.