Funeral Service for Adaman and Hodaka Morishima

[giddyundertaker]

[ An hour or two after the first trial's end, Hild and the Undertaker set out to invite as many people as possible to the Restaurant for the funerals of our dearly departed friends.

Why the restaurant of all places? Because there aren't enough chairs and tables elsewhere.

Indeed, some of the tables have been moved against the wall to make room for the seats. The chairs have been set up in four rows of six, like an improvised theater or a church. To the side, a small buffet has been set up courtesy of Obi, Mafuyu, and Hild. As for the main event? Two tables have been set up and decorated in black fabric and white flowers. In lieu of a live viewing, two drawings referenced from the profiles have been set up in the center of funeral wreaths... They're not the best, due to the artist's handicaps, but it does look like Adaman and Hodaka at least.]

Comments

[specialyellthing]

[Zinda lets out a low chuckle, her smile staying in place, though it's slightly sadder than usual. She's worried-- these symptoms aren't unfamiliar to her, but normally, she'd see them in a war vet, or a cape that's been through one too many bad fights. Not in a delicate, pretty young lady.]

It happens. Don't worry. [She perches down by Mielle's feet.]

Got a teammate with blonde hair who also wears black, and a bird name. Tabloids always mixin us up.

[fuckingguy]

Hey, I have concealed what I thought was your secret so far, have I not?

[pairtner]

I suppose in the end recycling what remains is the right thing to do. That's what nature does, after all.

[She says that to avoid asking some really unnerving questions that came to her mind. It's not the time at all for them.

You definitely didn't brush off things as if they were nothing. Something about Hodaka being the killer seems to have bothered you, at least for a while, she thinks]

And afterwards I suppose you'll go sleep and wake up tomorrow as if nothing happened.

[Probably...?]

It would be for the best.

[She should do that, she figures]

[buriedstar]

I wonder what method he'll use this time...

[ Since yeah, if it ain't broken don't fix it. They can also be matchies, since his red eyes are pretty bright too. ]

Ah, noona, you really are my type ♥.

[fuckingguy]

I must admit, I also thought that might be the case. [ SHRUGGING... ] Given the profile, and all — anyway, we've all been there.

[ No, Nandor, it's really just the "war crimes in opt-out post" crew! ]

Should it become necessary, I will do just that. And Gaius? I appreciate it.

[giddyundertaker]

That you have... [ He smiles. ] And I thank you for that. Now, if you wouldn't mind following me to somewhere more private...

[ And so he heads off into the elevator...

> Follow the Undertaker? ]

[fuckingguy]

[ Nandor definitely tips his head to one side, like a concerned husky, for a few seconds... but then, of course, he chooses the least self-preserving option.

He follows the Undertaker into the elevator. ]

Okay, so what is this proof?

1/2 CW: mention of suicide

[giddyundertaker]

[ He chats a bit while he's making sure the door is closed. ]

Well... Firstly, in case you're not aware, the position of Grim Reaper is actually a job shared by multiple people - those who have offed themselves, specifically. The reapers are given a list of people who are going to die and every day they must go out and review their cinematic records... Just to be sure they're not needed for society or whatnot.

[ He brushes a hand through his hair... ]

It's supposed to be a neutral role, so the rules are very strict, but... As skilled as I was, I got to a point where I couldn't follow those rules anymore.

2/2

[giddyundertaker]

So...

[ The Undertaker turns to Nandor, his bangs partially pushed out of the way so that one can see his very green, faintly glowy eyes. ]

... I quit!

[ Ah, yeah. And now that Nandor has a better look at the Undertaker's face, he will notice it is weirdly youthful and also lacking in eyebrows for some reason. ]

[fuckingguy]

Yes, to help other people, [ he starts irritably, but then Dandy just keeps talking and he's at least part listening!

Nandor isn't going to lose any sleep over a couple of kids dying and never was. It would be ridiculous, after all the thousands of orphans he has undoubtedly left in his wake over the centuries. But he still should have been able to stop this specific couple of kids dying. He should have been able to change what happened today, or the day before, or the day they got here. Even at his lowest lows, he's always functioned with the assumption that he'll be able to snarl "enough of this!" and resolve a situation, and now...

Well, Dandy's still talking. Maybe he can tune out of the self-loathing for five seconds and absorb what he's saying, and maybe it'll actually be worth hearing. ]

You are saying he requires us to have some connection to our powers?

[buriedstar]

Like a second chance, then?

[bootyhunter]

Yeah.

[fucking christ dandy is actually trying to think... tbf, he and jimmy neutral have similar hairdos, and they've never been in the same room at the same time yeah just think about that]

I think the exact words were that this place, "Scoops them up and holds them tight?"

So somethin'... Is keepin' 'em from working.

But they're not gone.

'S not like I know for sure, though.

[inaclearing]

...yeah. Yeah.

[Hopefully not, anyway. But he doesn't need to say that to Mielle.]

It's not...bad to have pictures of them, at least.

[howveryglib]

Whatever those are… yes, they are doing it. I seem to be getting the impression this is particularly uncommon, at least.

[daimakaicho]

[ It doesn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out who he's referring to. ]

Well, if someone gives you grief about it, you can always send them to me, okay? I'll give them a piece of my mind.

[ w i n k. ]

[pairtner]

Try all of them...I suppose that's worth a try.

[Aiba joins her hands together and thinks a prayer. It ends being a little bit mechanical -- as if she was moving down a checklist. First a wish for him to move to a peaceful afterlife, then praise, then an apology for not having been able to do more. When she finishes, Aiba sighs and drops her hands]

...it's strange. I feel peaceful right now. Like I took a weight off my shoulders.

[Is this the power of praying for someone's sake? Maybe!]

[pairtner]

Understandable, although it probably wouldn't have worked. I have been told I'm stubborn.

[Hah, okay, no, in the end she would have buckled and apologized. Aiba can admit her mistakes, even if she doesn't like to]

[pairtner]

.........

[Maybe he could have done something, maybe she could have done something...it's...something could have been done, doesn't matter who, she thinks. Perhaps she herself should have somehow.

...no, she can't continue thinking like this, she decides.

Both the hamster and the projection lean forward, looking determined]

The past can't be changed. We will only make ourselves feel worse if we get locked into a cycle of wondering if we could have done more. There must be something that can be done so tragedies like these won't repeat again.

From tomorrow on we need to get back on working on that.

[Even though she says that, Aiba remembers her simulated scenarios of what may happen still say a few more deaths will happen. Those were without taking into account the Mayor using motives like the hostages. Were she take that new factor into her scenarios, it would all get pretty grim.

Thankfully, Aiba refrains from saying a word about the terrible days that may still be ahead]

[pairtner]

You really are insufferable.

[How can people like Dandy exist, she really has to wonder]

[pairtner]

Of course.

[Aiba makes sure to craft and save an image of Obi's hostage, for future use]

Tell me about her, will you?

[bootyhunter]

[It's a miracle his skull hasn't be crushed yet!

Technically, it has? But not in this place. We don't need to get into that.]

You're the one who can't seem to accept the truth! Why else would you be getting so heated, huh?

If it didn't mean all that much to ya, you'd have pulled a much smarter tactic outta your robot bum and brought up something else!

But here we are, stuck on the topic of Dada.

[IT'S DATE!!!!]

[howveryglib]

As do I, but I must admit, my primary concern is getting news back to the loved ones of those we have lost, since we know what happened to them and to whom we can deliver that information.

[howveryglib]

Indeed. I would not want to cause any conflict with the sorts of people who have not, in fact, been there.

[He nods.]

I do what I must.

[dullshooter]

Can't relate. Unless we're talking in the physical sense, then I'm really good at it.

But - that means you're in the presence of an expert in not unpacking things. And you've got time to learn.

[inaclearing]

I'm not sure that's too healthy, either.

[Not that he's holding himself up as a current paragon of mental health either, but...you know.]