DICK;

[crashout]

Comments

[unpredicktable]

[ WELL THIS IS A LOT??? This is kind of a lot. dick doesn't brush against the burns he treated because he knows it'll, you know, hurt, but it's a near thing. he's not sure how to address the whole thing-- the loss and injuries, anyway-- so he concentrates and prioritizes: mission first.
]

Not much we can do about that now. We're lucky you guys made it out alive, so let's concentrate on what you did find out. ...Our Narrator lived. Going by what else we've heard-- if it was between him and H, H didn't make it. So... was he possessed?

[crashout]

[Mission first. There's a noise when Dick says they're lucky they made it out alive because, sure, 20% isn't great but it's passable.]

I don't have proof it's the narrator but it's always involved them somehow. But it's possible H was possessed, given that we know that H was already struggling because of what happened to his brother. Demons could've gone after him, too. We don't really know. It sounded like H was attacking the other person with a lance, or trying to. [Thinking.] "Are you seriously asking me to calm down? You must think I'm a moron. I bet... I bet you always think you're the smartest guy in the room, don't you?"

There was the implication that the other person was still in contact with A, too, which is why I think it's the Narrator.

[unpredicktable]

[ I can't believe the narrator is junpei, wow? Which is unfortunately not why dick is frowning in thought. ]

Maybe it was H. Either way, the Narrator got H. I think the more damning question is... what if neither of them were demons? [ he lets out a sigh ] Think about it. We don't know why we have the forced sleep. Couldn't have been demons, since we started that before those showed up. But it sounds like maybe these guys had an idea. "They're letting me put you in your place"? Who's they? And-- even if it is demons, you ever think about how everyone who's been awake those nights has assumed they'd die or face a demon? What's stopping them from using those assumptions against us? The reason everything went wrong, supposedly, is they stopped trusting each other. Maybe it was the point.

[crashout]

...so what, if someone's awake maybe we just convince them not to go anywhere because it's paranoia that's driving us insane? I've thought about it, too. [His fingers are busy curling into the hem of Dick's shirt again mostly to keep himself awake.] "Them", I think, is the giant eyeball. That thing's everywhere. Maybe that's the overseer that was watching the first group.

Hizamaru said this place reminded him of a stage. And I've been saying there's someone out there orchestrating everything, and we know our hosts are listening to higher-ups or something. Maybe something like that.

[...there's a frown.] Edelgard said something like that to me the other day. Accusing me of thinking I'm the smartest guy in the room. Kind of also makes me wonder if the conversations we're hearing are even real.

[unpredicktable]

[ it's fine dick's lightly curling his fingers in junpei's hair, still frowning ]

That eye thing? So what, it's some kind of... demon god? And it's still in charge of whatever's happening around here?

[ but dick's distracted by the plot because. he tilts his head ]

What was the context for that one?

[crashout]

Maybe. Isn't there some like horror bullshit monster that's an all-seeing eye? It...was in the game. It was holding the princess hostage. It makes me wonder if it's always there somewhere in each room watching us and making us see the things we want to see, or the things we'll respond to.

[He's lost because he's. Himself.] What was the context for what?

[unpredicktable]

[ dick suddenly blinks at the "all-seeing eye" thing. ]

Uh... The Eye of Providence?

[ he does not explain that because instead he clarifies: ]

Your conversation with Edelgard.

[crashout]

[He sort of squints at the name but ultimately decides it does not matter right now and picks one conversation to have.]

Mm...last week. We were talking about the Dimitri thing and I confronted her on having her role. Or, more like, she asked if I knew about the special rules and I told her I knew she was one of the Cockblockers and knew about Escha. [Escha :(] Started talking about it, threw out some guesses of how it worked and when I was wrong she said "You’re used to feeling like the cleverest man in the room, aren’t you?"

It was before I realized she had Escha's old role. And then I said I knew someone who could see if someone's possessed and that was the meeting I set up last Thursday I had to leave for. Edelgard and Kagachi.

[unpredicktable]

[ that's fine he can explain later, first he nods along to that story, closing his eyes at the mention of escha before he hums ]

Right. Kagachi told me about that one. [ the meeting, not the. quote. ] Think Edelgard's point was at least a little less antagonistic than the version our Narrator got, but ... it is kind of a weird coincidence.

[crashout]

Yeah I pretty much stopped giving Kagachi progress reports because I figure you'll tell him everything anyway. [There's something a little :T in his tone but he doesn't explain. Instead, there's a nod.]

It's weird because...I don't know if it's because Edelgard was with us, or because...[...he frowns.] Never mind, that probably doesn't make sense. Edelgard being there fits the idea that we're being watched at all times.

[unpredicktable]

... Not everything. [ it's pensive and a little quiet. ] But alright. I'll try and keep him up to speed.

[ and since they're back on the being watched thing-- ]

Do you know what the Eye of Providence is?

[crashout]

[There's a questioning look.] I don't mind talking to him. It's not that, it's just...usually he seems to know everything I have to say because you've mentioned it to him.

[But he doesn't care enough to argue and instead pulls the covers tighter to burrow.]

It's that thing on the back of the dollar bill, right? The pyramid with the eye. The all-seeing eye of God, or something.

[unpredicktable]

Yeah, I got that.

[ it wasn't meant as an argument, so-- anyway: ]

Right. Represents the eye of god watching over humanity. It's not the only symbol like that in history-- Caodaism in Vietnam has the divine eye as a reminder that god sees everything at all times, Egyptians had the eye of Horus, the entire concept of a third eye-- but considering we're using holy water to defeat the demons, I don't think it's too far-fetched to think the symbolism might be related in this case.

[crashout]

Holy water, the bible verse from Escha's shoes...you might be onto something, but then what exactly does that mean? How do you stop the eye of god from watching over you?

[unpredicktable]

Call a priest?

[ it's dry. ]

Don't even know if we're meant to stop the eye or just... prove ourselves somehow, the way the last group didn't.

[crashout]

Prove that we're not going to turn on each other? It's possible, sure, but that's also asking us to keep everybody together. There are still some outliers who aren't going to just follow everyone else's lead.

[unpredicktable]

Yeah, well...They might fall in line considering we know what the stakes are. There's not much in the way of choice in this place.

[crashout]

...maybe not. [He seems to be thinking on something.] So don't think this is a morbid question, but how many people do you think we have to lose before this is really over?

[unpredicktable]

... Last group was down to twelve after a month, weren't they?

[ which is. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yea bad ]

[crashout]

Yeah. [Which. Bad.] We're at twenty-one right now and our time limit's coming up. That's...nine bodies this week which seems a little extreme even for our demons.

[unpredicktable]

There's no way we'd get that many. [ but-- ] Time limit's in two weeks, isn't it? That gives them some time.

[crashout]

...guess so. [Time is a weird, fluid thing.] I'm hoping to figure out some stuff before then so maybe we don't actually have less people than roles. I do great with deadlines, at least.

[The flattest joke in the universe.] You're getting something from the hosts today, aren't you?

[unpredicktable]

[ dick stills a little, though going by the flat look on his face it's at the joke. ]

Might be Friday. First week was Friday, then Wednesday, then Thursday. Fluctuates based on when I finish, I guess.

[crashout]

[You either hit your deadlines, or you're dead. That's how it works and he's pretty sure Dick gets that. So. Hah.]

...what was your task this week anyway?

[unpredicktable]

[ dick hums ]

... I'd rather not talk about it. [ his tone's mild ] But I finished it.