Let's end this spiral down, pick ourselves off the ground [W5, Sunday]

[hydrokinetics]

[It's early evening when the Bounty group gathers again. There's more to discuss now that they've had time to cope and pick themselves up again, ready to get back to work. Time is still marching on and it's nothing that they can waste.

Together again, they settle. The room is quiet for a time as they all gather their thoughts. With everything that came up this weekend? They need a new plan of action.]

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

[A twitch of a smile.]

Just a bit, huh? [That's a good point.] Natalie is too, you know.

[insincerely]

Just a bit.

[:T]

Then we need the both of you alive. People are dying here pretty quickly now, after all.

[hydrokinetics]

[He closes his eyes. He wants to be hopeful still, and it's easier to be when he doesn't have to look at Shinnosuke's face.]

We have Bandits to worry about and serial killers. It's why I think we should also be looking out for each other on Thursdays, too.

[thatsthespirit]

[she'd respond, but tbh Shinnosuke said it for her. and admittedly, as frustrated as she is with Percy and Noctis being so willing to offer themselves up on the self-sacrifice platter, she. . . can't really blame them]

[if that's the road their hearts wish to take, then she can support it. she understands their logic, after all]

You may not have a role, but you're still vital to us. As I said with Noctis, I won't choose you as my victim if I'm chosen as a Bandit.

But I will do my duties as a Bounty if you are chosen and refuse.

[hydrokinetics]

[Somehow, he wonders if he really ever will be chosen. That'd be shitty, wouldn't it?]

...then I'll do my best for the time I have left. And we'll hope we can brainstorm a good answer to this. Hal seems to be willing to give us hints on past murderers, at least. That's why Sara chose Russell.

[thatsthespirit]

[YES IT WOULD BE :(]

That's right. And he seems particularly fond of murders motivated by vengeance or emotion.

[ugh]

[hydrokinetics]

Do you think that's because robots don't have emotions? [Look. It's a real question.]

[thatsthespirit]

It could be.

Although I'm completely certain that he at least feels amusement.

[so he's probably just amused by vengeance killings idk man]

[hydrokinetics]

Either that or he's good at faking it, but considering Wednesday...[You know. Laughing at the deer stampede? Fuck him.] But you're right. He seems to like vengeance or emotion. If we focus on that, we might be okay.

[thatsthespirit]

If we focus on that for our choice in Bandit kills, you mean?

[she's just. clarifying]

[hydrokinetics]

Yeah. Or trying to, at least. I really hope it doesn't come down to something like that, but it's a goal.

[thatsthespirit]

[she thinks back to a conversation she had with Ash at the trial, about how people have chosen to kill those who have committed some kind of wrongdoing in order to give them some sense of ease about their actions]

[. . .]

[she doesn't bring that up, though]

Perhaps. At the very least, doing so would give us some answers about the multiple unsolved murders that have already occurred.

[hydrokinetics]

It's entirely possible? Let's just hope that Hal doesn't decide to screw with us and actually pick one of you guys any time soon.

[thatsthespirit]

Yes, let's hope so. Though I'm almost surprised he'd choose Bounties at Bandits in the first place. There's a bit of the same overlap as the Coal Miner and Deputy, in a manner of speaking.

[hydrokinetics]

You think so? [Well, wait.] ...that's a good point, especially if the Bounty job is to kill a Bandit that doesn't do their job. The Coal Miner kills people that aren't playing and the Deputy doesn't actually really kill people at all. So you're right, that doesn't make sense.

[impulsiveness]

Unless there's something important that we're missing here. then it would make sense.

[thatsthespirit]

[a nod at Jason]

Or perhaps he just knows that he's running out of people without roles to assign the Bandit status to? And he doesn't wish to limit his options any further.

[hydrokinetics]

Knowing Hal, it's probably both. [Asshole.] Why are we always missing something important?

[impulsiveness]

Both sounds likely. But maybe someone should ask him to elaborate on what he means by "overlap."

[hydrokinetics]

[He makes a face.]

I can try to ask. I want to see if I can ask him more about something he wouldn't elaborate at the trial anyway.

[impulsiveness]

You don't need our permission. Go for it, Nancy Drew.

[robitussin]

Shut up, oh my god, it's not like I'm any more indispensable than you.

[hydrokinetics]

You're our Doctor, are you kidding me? [Ugh. But there's something in his tone that Natalie may pick up on. There's something more to it. He won't explain it now, but it's there.] I don't have the power to bring somebody back.

[robitussin]

I already told you, I don't have to be alive to do that.

[She does look a little questioning, though, since she picks up on that.]

[hydrokinetics]

[He debates...but in the end he shakes his head softly and drops the subject. They'll talk about things later, he thinks. This isn't the time for that.]