unknownseas | into each breaking wave

into each breaking wave

[ Well, that was — no pun intended — unfortunate. ...But in light of what they already saw happen the first two weeks, maybe it's not really that surprising, either; and maybe it's at least a little easier to recognize when something is going to be a lost cause, if not necessarily to accept it.

In spite of everything, this is the first time Decus has been in a halfway decent mood after a trial, which he can gather is... probably not the case for most of the rest. So he figures he can take on the party host duties for this week rather than push it onto someone who needs a break. Anyway, he wants to keep up this feeling-okay thing for as long as he can, and if he has too much downtime and starts to think about what happened a week ago today... he might end up a little less okay.

So, he brings some food down to the buffet from the cafes for a little variety (even though most of them probably aren't going to be too picky at this point), along with some tea and cocoa from Starbucks and a few harder options from the bar, and gets that all set up in as welcoming an arrangement as he can manage. And...

Well. Despite how he may come off sometimes, he actually is self-aware enough to realize that some of the others might not appreciate being reminded that he's still alive when three people who'd never had any intention of killing are dead. It doesn't really bother him, but he doesn't want to create unnecessary drama, either; so he doesn't put his name anywhere on the invitations he puts up around the place, just a simple:

food and drinks at the buffet

...Which is almost always the case, technically, this past week excluded, but hey.

And while he might come by to offer a drink or something to someone who looks like they need it, he's mostly going to hang back and let everyone do their thing. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's true. [Reika takes a drink then:] Speaking of things hard to predict, did you catch that our Captain used to be a father?

[Good work, Reika?]

He said quite a few interesting things during that trial... but I have to admit, that one I really wasn't expecting. I wonder what happened?

[Like, how did he end up with a kid and what happened to that kid. It's kind of hard to imagine the Captain willingly being a dad???]

I suppose him having a child makes some sense. [He seems like he could try to be a player if he wanted to but:] That he'd call himself a father is a different story. If he were more cunning I'd say he was trying to endure himself but his ego is such that I doubt he'd do that willingly.

I agree, I don't think he'd see any benefit in trying to get us to like him any. Why would that matter, when he wants us all dead?

[Presumably, anyway. He's still not sure that's the whole motivation behind what the Captain's doing.]

It doesn't seem like letting something like that slip was planned, either...

I could see the benefit if he was, again, more cunning and subtle. If we didn't know he already wanted us dead, for example.

[At least he's... sincere??? Maybe??]

No. He normally talks quite longer than that. I think he realized he made the slip.

Ja, that's my thought. It seemed less... obnoxious than usual. Something almost genuine; perhaps Lorna's death really did bother him, at least a little bit.

[And even a little bit can have a big impact on a person who isn't used to feeling anything about anyone else.]

It could be that he felt more sympathy--or his version of sympathy--towards her. That he merely said it was because it was the death of a 'kid' somehow... I don't know. It didn't set with me. Allenby was the same age and Alice was only a year older. Though, admittedly, Alice did try to strangle him to death.

[Go, go, former roommate! Lorna made sense she was the most easy to get along with but even Allenby was possessed by something she couldn't control.]

Why Lorna and not Allenby? Or for that matter, Sara?

Perhaps Lorna specifically reminded him of his child. Or perhaps it's because it was different - Alice and Allenby fought, they didn't die willingly. Sara was a victim, so he didn't have to execute her. Lorna is the only one who simply... let it happen.

I can see where something like that would be very different, even to someone who seems to revel in the executions usually.

I think it could go either way. Though, perhaps Lorna did remind him... I know things like that could trigger something in someone.

Lorna decided not to fight, though. That likely surprised him.

She didn't fight, and it seems she wanted to accept the punishment herself instead of forcing the spirit into it.

I think no matter what anyone said she felt it was her fault. Maybe taking the punishment herself was her way of trying to cope with that. After all, Davy did offer her to let one of us take her place.

I think he was offering to let the spirit take her place instead. But ja, you're right; in the end, I think she continued to blame herself for not... holding it in check, I suppose. She really was dealing with a lot, wasn't she...

That could have been it, though, the way it was worded didn't seem quite right for that. [Reika nods as she looks at her glass.] I suppose either way it doesn't matter, she declined the offer. She wanted to shoulder it herself and there's something to be said about that. I can only hope that some of our group remembers that point.

It was very brave of her. I hope it was swift.

[It seems like it was, but you never know.]

I take it you aren't very pleased with most of us after today?

As do I.

[As displeasing as that trial was she did feel pity for Lorna.]

I understand the sentiments. It was incredibly unfair. The spirit was cruel and malicious but many of the arguments I heard wasn't for Lorna's sake. Heroic self-sacrifice might be noble but it was clear by Lorna's reactions that's the exact opposite that wasn't what she wanted.

I don't think they were considering Lorna at all. I don't mean that negatively - though there's certainly no denying that it was dreadful for her - I simply mean that they likely thought Lorna was already gone and they would only be dealing with the spirit.

Constantine... I think I understand him a bit better. He desperately wants to help people here, and he was very shaken up by the deaths today. He likely jumped so quickly because he believes he should be able to take care of this problem - because it's similar to what he does back home. But without his powers, he's really no better equipped to deal with a spirit than the rest of us. I think he forgot that, and I think he was desperate to do something that he acted without thinking - about himself, the rest of us, or Lorna.

As for Flayn... Honestly, I can't even begin to understand what that was supposed to accomplish. Regardless, both of them did Lorna a disservice today; it's good that no one told her the truth behind what was said and offered to the spirit.

[That's a lot of words to say "mood, Reika" but he's not mad, he's just disappointed.]

Exactly. Even if they didn't think that consciously, they didn't think of the consequences. We were dealing with a hungry wild animal and instead of trying to deal with it quickly they were--I don't know. Trying to teach it to play fetch!

[She's mostly disappointed, too. She's just so tired that it's crossing into mildly annoyed. She is, after all, a woman of mild emotion.]

If it was just those two I doubt the atmosphere would have felt so... stifling.

Well, to be fair, the hungry wild animal did have quite a bit to say, and much of it was trying to talk us in circles.

[Arguing about needing its name to vote for it and not Lorna, after all... when that wasn't even really a concern to begin with.]

What else was it that irritated you?

True but they were in a corner and they knew it. If we were thinking clearly we could have just asked Jones the moment that the 'real name' was mentioned.

[And there's the debacle with the bell.]

Admittedly, I'm not as experienced as Constantine in such matters but, well, he was acting like Lorna had a disease he could cure or a cut he could sew shut. While the spirit was malicious undoubtedly, it felt that he took a moral stance against it before it even showed it's worst traits.

[My daughter was an evil spirit once and I don't like this prejudice!]

Hmm... I think in that case it might have been a bias born from the world he comes from. I think ultimately, all of us are going to operate under our own worlds' brand of logic first and foremost, even when we're aware that things don't always work like that.

It might have been and even admittedly my reaction to him was born out of a bias of mine. Even if my daughter and that spirit were different in nature it annoyed me.

I think that's understandable, on both sides. But we have to remember that things usually don't work here the way we expect them to. Letting biases like that blind us could be really bad in the future, ja?

True. I had no issue with getting rid of the spirit regardless. I merely found his attitude annoying.

We really are a very overdramatic group, aren't we...

[And he thought he was overdramatic!!!]

I thought of myself as very unflappable until I came here.

[Admittedly this is the woman who went 'oh, okay' when her roommate started throwing her stuff into the hallway.]

into each breaking wave

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