DICK & ESCHA; None Braincell With Left Dick

[crashout]

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[applechemist]

[ Escha has something too!

... It's apple dumplings. Just kidding, it's a lot of other stuff too. But also apple dumplings. ]

All I have is that Kagachi can check someone to see if they're possessed each week and he said he'd leave a note for me. It sounds like he already knew about Dick's role. [ Hence why she assumes this information is not actually very useful. ]

He confirmed that Tamamo isn't possessed, but... She is protected this week from an exorcism. Um... That was my mistake.

[ Oops. ]

[unpredicktable]

[ dick grabs one of the apple dumplings and munches on it absentmindedly, because. nom.

anyway, in this au, he does know Kagachi had a role, so-- he nods in acknowledgment to Escha ]

Glad you guys are working together. Might give us a better shot at saving someone in the future. [ but anyway!!! ] We talked about that today. That's part of what this is about, actually. Higekiri, Kagachi and WWX went on a little quest, and they brought back a message-- but first.

[ he takes out a paper that says "THE RUINS HOLD THE KEY" ]

That's what I got this week. A little more straightforward than a bookmark.

[crashout]

[While this is happening, he's reaching into his pocket for his clamshell to look over Kagachi's profile.]

How're you exchanging notes? And more importantly, how're you making sure nobody else finds them? [...but also.] You did a good job finding him, though. I'm glad it's you two.

I talked to Higekiri and Wei Wuxian myself, too. I'd like to hear what Kagachi told you. [But uh. Paper? He'll peer at it for a moment.]

...if this game ends in "everyone has to die to live" I'm quitting right now.

[applechemist]

He'll just slip the note under our door.

[ Munch munch. She's spacey this week so just remembering all her Important Stuff was her best effort.]

Maybe it just means a key to a locked room.

[unpredicktable]

[ dick squints a bit at Junpei's use of the clamshell, but-- right, questions. ]

Or maybe it's a piece of a bigger puzzle I'm putting together, and the answer isn't that obvious. [ but he adds the theories from both of them to the wall, just in case. ] Either way, it's something to work with. [ unlike the bookmark, which only exists to haunt me, ] Kagachi showed me a transcript of what they heard while they were exploring-- either an arcade or a game room, none of them recognized it for what it was. I copied it down. Here.

[ it's a big paper soooo: I laid with H------- that night. Watched him toss and turn as he bemoaned the fate that had befell his brother for the nth time. In the morning, I asked him to accompany me. When he asked where, all I did was tell him to bring a weapon.

We confronted C------- in the -gym-s-lo---r room. Cornered him against the -----------------.

You have a ---- --ght? (right?) You're one of the 13.


C------ smiled at us as he left the G--. H---- watched him until he was completely out of sight, before turning to me with the most vitriolic look I had ever seen on his face. His knuckles had turned white from the intensity with which he held onto his lance.

"You're insane, you know that? What would you had done if he was a demon, and not ---------?"

I waved him off, scrolling through the application until I found C------'s profile. You worry too much," I told him. "It turned out fine-- and we got some valuable info from him. Now that we know the demons and the --------... They're both like the hydra. Cut one head off, and another will take its place."

"So you believe him, then?"

"Kind of. I plan to ask A------- to confirm."

"... Right. Of course. You can still talk to A-------."

I pretended not to see the hurt in his eyes.

dick taps the lo---r bit ]

Gym locker room. The conversation happened in the gym. That four letter word up there must be role. So there's thirteen of us with special rules in total.

[crashout]

[He takes all of that into account...and snaps his clamshell shut.]

You beat me to it. [But he seems very pleased.] Also I knew we'd be getting a gym sometime soon, if this ship's a direct replica of wherever they were the first time.

Anyway, Wei Wuxian told me about that conversation but not as many details. I was going to talk to Kagachi myself, but I had some other things come up which we'll get back to later, this is a little more important. [He's. Excited? It's fine.] So let's assume there's thirteen of us with a special role of some kind. We still don't know if all of them are good, or what all of them do, or how they're supposed to work together but it means there's potential for some kind of power to be gained if they're working together.

My question is, if a role dies, who replaces them? How does that work? I'm not happy about the idea of more demons spreading the more we kill them but if the numbers level out then...[Or maybe now he's talking to himself?]

...there's also the implication that there's three different groups of people here. Demons, people with special rules to follow, and everyone else. And the implication that H's brother...what, kept getting turned into a demon?

[applechemist]

Wait, so... If one of us dies, our role gets passed on to someone new? But if that goes for the demons too, then... What are we supposed to do?

[ She doesn't even seem sure she's understanding that properly. ]

And are we still considering the theory that these are ourselves, or have we settled on them as a different group?

[unpredicktable]

No, H's brother died. We've heard about it a lot-- H was broken up about it, and I think our narrator got... annoyed.

[ which is uh. something? it is Something. anyway, to address the rest: ]

If our-- "powers" [ ew. gross. dick has powers. ] pass on when we die, then the idea might be that if we get to less than thirteen of our total group, we'll be in trouble. What we need is to find the source. Whatever it is that's powering the demons and lets them keep popping up like weeds.

[ and. then at escha's last question, he throws a look at junpei before shrugging ]

Right now, I'm assuming it was a different group.

[crashout]

I...completely misread that. [As a fate that kept falling to the brother, but look. It's fine. He looks like he's embarrassed at least and it calms him down again.]

I can go either way on that. But I'm also willing to bet one of the thirteen is the source. We can't rule out that possibility just yet. [Give him a moment...] It's not a pretty answer, but we're gonna have to accept that this is happening and people may be playing both sides.

I'd rather not see what happens when someone with a role dies, but...that's a safe assumption, too.

[applechemist]

This is complicated...

[ Sorry, she's dumb this week. ]

So we know three of us with roles. So I guess that means ten left to find? Are they all good?

[unpredicktable]

Hard to know for sure whether they're all good. [ he's agreeing with junpei there, but-- ] The real question is, if one of them is bad, are they aware? Or are they being used?

[crashout]

Maybe a little of both. Nothing in the rules say the jobs absolutely have to be done, does it? Sounds like a loophole.

[There's a pause. But...yeah, he should correct her.] Actually, we know six people with roles. So we have seven to find. Makes the odds a little better.

[applechemist]

[ ??????????? ]

[unpredicktable]

You found others already?

[crashout]

Yeah. One of them was responsible for my box, and the other...I don't know what it is or what it does yet. I was hoping to learn more from them this week but we've all been a little preoccupied.

[applechemist]

So you found a role but you don't know what it does?

[unpredicktable]

[ why does dick have to know basic math. he narrows his eyes a bit in thought. ]

... That's only five, with the two of us and Kagachi. [ ... although. dick looks back to the transcript he pinned. "I waved him off, scrolling through the application until I found C------'s profile."

... he'd thought the narrator had a role, too, didn't he? he'd said as much to kagachi. so. five. the clamshell use. ]

Junpei-- you're the sixth. You've got a role too.

[crashout]

[He just shrugs with both hands.]

Is that it? You know I talk to a lot of people. Are you asking, or are you telling me?

[applechemist]

[ Hm, don't like that? ]

You're allowed to confirm if somebody says it like that, right...?

[unpredicktable]

[ :T ]

With an answer like that? Definitely telling. You've got a role.

[crashout]

...my rules are a little different than both of yours, so I needed to make sure I could even confirm it when confronted. [So yeah. Hi.] Sorry I didn't say so sooner.

[applechemist]

That's okay.

[ She might be more upset but he apologized right away, so! It's fine in her book! ]

[unpredicktable]

[ dick meanwhile is quiet, the lack of expression on his face only emphasized by the convenient superhero mask.

...

but he sighs, after a bit. ]

It's fine. We had to figure it out for ourselves anyway, didn't we? That clamshell use was a hint.

[ dick's trying to think of what other hints he missed but also like, priorities-- ]

Though that three out of thirteen of us are in one room is... interesting.

[crashout]

Yeah. Figures you'd pick up on that. [He had tried last week, too, with the clamshell but they'd all been a little busy. It doesn't matter, now that it's out in the open this makes it easier to talk freely.]

I asked about that. Turns out the whole thing was by chance, but...it's a little funny to think about. Kind of makes me wonder if there're other roommate pairs with roles. It'd be easier to find them that way.

[applechemist]

[ Escha looks confused because huh?? what??? clamshell use??? pick up on WHAT??


oh well. ]

We're just lucky, I guess.