towerofanimus | Infighting Week Two

[He shrugs.]

It's nothing. I know what it's like with long hair and it can get annoying sometimes.

[Legolas can only bring himself to nod after several minutes of silence. This went against everything he believed in. If he knew her better, he knew that this would literally kill him. Perhaps he deserved to die for his decision.]

Please take very good care of yourself when you return. And in turn, I promise you that we will win.

I know you will.

...I, I-I don't think I've, um, ever known this many people, or...believed in this m-many people before. [And she smiles, and there's no doubt in her expression, no doubt or hesitation.] So, I...I know you'll win. The good guys, um, always win.

I'll, um, take care of myself. I know, um, a lot about plants. And I can, well, I can fish. [Probably. Tara has never gone fishing, before, but the acquarium is seeming mighty tempting.] And run. I, I learned that much this week. N-Never run this much before.

[He laughs a little bit] I don't know why I didn't think about tying it myself. Probably because I've been so busy worrying about you guys, I forgot that I could simply tie it back together.

[He sighs.]

It's understandable. Stress can make you forget simple things. You shouldn't worry too much anyway.

[Even if saying that makes him a hypocrite.]

[Jason looks startled enough at the ridiculous attempt that he would certainly have been unable to react in time had someone else not reacted much more quickly. Ken will find himself suspended, frozen, in air. Yu won't be able to move either. Ruana leans down over the edge of her stand to look at the two of them a bit more closely.]

What are you doing?

[Ken just stares back at her, caught between disbelief and anger. Goddamn it. He should have expected they would do something stupid like this...]

[They really should have, but it was a fact overlooked in their anger. Yu's eyes narrow briefly, and just like that... he shoves his emotions aside. He got Ken into this mess, thus he feels it is his duty to negate the damage... for both of them. As a friend, and as a leader.]

We respectfully request the chance to strike Jason once each. [He explains, before adding and praying to all the gods he knows that his Expression is high enough...] After this, I promise we will return to our cells peacefully.

['Please let this work...']

[Ruana laughs, at least seeming to be genuinely amused. Jason is keeping quite still--his attention, however, is focused on Ruana and not the two who attempted to assault him.]

You're going to end up back in your pod either way. You can't hit him, sorry--but I'll let you get out of punishment for asking!

[And then in an eyeblink she's down on the floor behind Yu, perhaps an inch away from his ear.] But don't try this again, okay?

[Ken just sighs. He's pretty clearly disappointed, but at least they're not being punished? ... For now. No telling what will happen when they get back into the pods. It was worth a shot.]

[Yu is disappointed as well, but that sudden flash step and speaking in his ear-

'They got exactly what they deserved...'

His blood runs cold, and if he could move, his fists would be clenched into tight fists. Instead, he simply blinks as though to say he understood. It's all he can do to keep a straight face and not let his anger control his actions again. They're so close... He can't slip up now and have her take back what she just said.]

[With another airy giggle, Ruana appears back in her high podium. Ken will find himself beside Yu as if he'd never been in the air at all. They both have control of their actions again.]

[Ken just looks over at Yu, and leans against him. The pain is catching up now, and he's really, really tired.]

Ah, I'll try.

[Sakuma you know he's the biggest worry-wart in the world.]

... I really hope you don't end up getting voted out this time.

[And then he's worrying again]

[Yu doesn't mind the shorter form leaning against him. In fact, part of him is relieved they managed the attempt unscathed. They survived. They weren't afraid to try, unlike the others who instead were likely more concerned with who would be killed next.

If he could, he would cast any form of Dia he could on Ken...

But he can't, and until this is over... he has to accept his powerlessness.

He wraps an arm around Ken to help steady him, letting the younger boy use him for support as they backed away from the stage. In the back of his mind, however, there is but one thought: 'This is far from over.']

Once everyone has voted Ruana's voice rings out over the chaos, by virtue of a microphone: "It's results time!" This time the cards pop out in a spray of streamers; Ruana catches each card deftly. "Let's not waste time, okay? This time people from both pods voted! Yay! I'm glad you're all participating a bit more. To mix things up, I'm keeping the votes anonymous this time!

"Let's start with Dax, just like before. It looks like Tara Maclay is getting eliminated today. Sorry, Tara! Thanks for playing, though!"

Two retrieval units escort Tara to a clear plastic tube. Dax, stepping down from his spot to stand beside the tube, again presses a button on his watch; Tara will drop immediately and bloodlessly.

"Good, that was quick. Next, the five from Riki's pod! First, the ones we definitely know--Ciel, Tatsuya, Jun, and Eikichi are all being eliminated! As for the fifth, a few of you got the same number of votes, so we picked one of you who got voted for at random and the results are..." Ruana pauses for another blast of streamers producing a final card. "Karkat! Alright, round 'em up."

Two retrieval units per person are used for this, and the group is escorted to a tube large enough to fit all of them at once. Riki waits until everyone is inside and then touches the tube, which begins pinching off at the top as if it were suddenly melting. The tube narrows out closer and closer to those trapped within it until they are crushed by it. Ruana seems quite delighted with this, as she was with Riki's display last week.

"Okay, we're all set for this week! Behave, everybody! Try to win! Remember, it's still anybody's game!"

The lights in Ruana's booth snap off.

...

Oh.

The name he'd chosen for himself in the Tower had been Suha. Saiduq meant 'true' and 'test', whereas his latest name meant 'forgotten' and 'dim'. It had been chosen because of his steady decline, past his previous levels of anguish. Alcor had thought he was at his low point.

No, that wasn't so. Watching the deaths this round...it hurt. He'd actively tried to prevent this, he'd purposefully gone out of his way, and he'd failed. His actions didn't matter. Alcor had no impact, no glow, and no guidance. He moved and existed, but for the time being, he was no longer a thinking or feeling being. His last traces of light had been extinguished, and it would take him quite some time to build up the hope that kept it lit.

Maybe jumyouboshi was a more apt name.

[ This can't be happening. He knew Ciel was going to die, he knew he was going to get voted off but he didn't think it would be like this. However, he decided to make this count. ]

Bloody bastards.

[ But he pushed his way over, trying to call over the cacophony as the retrieval units begin to haul the Earl off. Maybe it would be enough. Maybe the boy would emerge in the tower alright. It was the only chance he had. ]

CIEL!

[ And another for good measure. ]

Ciel! If you get back, find Grell! Tell him we'll be alright!

[ He's chasing after as he calls this out but can only stop as the boy's brought into the tube. 'Better there than here'. That's all he can think. Between him and William, he was the only one left sane enough for all of them. But there's the impending feeling he could have done something else. Something to save them.

Better there than here.

It was all he could think of as he watched that tube almost limply.No matter how many deaths he'd seen over the course of his job, this was different. It was always different when you weren't backstage and orchestrating the show. ]

[ His eyes widened at the sight of the boy and his extra appendages but hey. Bug hugs are a go. It's returned just as tight a moment before he releases him. ]

I figured something else had happened. S'not too bad, is he?

[ But there's a sigh as he holds the moosebugboy at arms length, looking him over. ]

But you. Bloody hell, what'd they do to you?

Yu had made it a point to know the faces of the others who were forced into this stupid excuse for a competition, and after his and Ken's failed attempt to enact vengeance for the others, he was exhausted as well. Yet he felt as though his own fatigue and emotions did not matter as much. Not after what he had done the week before, not after the trusts he'd fractured, and certainly not now when he had to keep moving for their sakes.

When he saw Alcor in the crowd, he noticed the same look of despair and depression he felt running deep within him. What he wouldn't give for a moment where he... could just converse with his other selves for advice right now.

Yet he couldn't, and thus his footsteps were heavier than usual as he made his way over. Only to place a hand on the star's shoulder.

The light could fade, and sometimes it may feel distant, but he hoped that even with the large void inside his soul where Izanagi once was, someone could sense the small spark of hope that the Yomotsu-okami once stirred within him. Yes, even though grief was making its mark and the emptiness was closing in on it... it was still there.

A single desire can lead the way to prosperity or destruction. Desire in itself... isn't bad. It's only through desire that people can hope to bring change.

[He looked up slightly, enough so that Yu could at least see his face, though the movement was slow so he didn't make himself dizzy.]

There were a lot of times when I didn't know what to do-- and made the wrong decision. I still don't know if anything I chose was right, but.... [His frown deepened. Augh, this wasn't helping at all was it--] But... my friends never gave up. I know it's hard to keep fighting...

"Sayaka-san..."

And here's the person she's looking for - for better or worse. She'd been looking for her the moment she got released, and immediately makes a beeline for her as soon as she spots the other girl.

"Is there anything I can do...?" She supposes that she could try to heal Sayaka with her own magic, but she's not sure how much it would help.

Pointless resistance will only prove futile, and as I stated before, it will only lead to your increased pain and suffering. The best thing you can do right now is make it easier to survive, rather than making it more difficult.

You haven't done anything that would necessitate an apology. [Well he wasn't...annoyed...?]

Allowing us the use of our powers would cause a danger to not only everyone here, but the administrators as well. It's for everyone's own good that access to our abilities are cut off during these proceedings, particularly if someone has an over-emotional reaction.

The failures of society are merely the failures of individuals compounded into a whole. If one person made the conscious decision to put forth the extra effort, would the outcome not be a bit different? There are doctors that kill patients to put them out of their misery, when it seems all hope is lost. It's a more common occurrence than you think; this very situation could be viewed as a simple euthanasia.

The most wise and intelligent man can't help anyone without some degree of power. Though you are correct; we will never know now. So why take out your frustration on him? Someone was going to die, no matter if they had voted or not. Euthanasia is not even an apt comparison in this case. Death is not permanent here. Is that so much of a difficult concept for you to grasp?

[He took a small moment of pause to narrow his eyes, and then;] My leader has been just as foolish in his grief as you are, though we have dealt with death on a regular basis. It is not my aim to defend his stance.

Infighting Week Two

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SOB SORRY FOR THE LATE ;_;

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