unknownseas | WEEK 7

Another Saturday gone and just like that you wake on Sunday, down five of your number. The largest dent taken out of you at once so far - it's surely noticeable, the head count being cut by a third. Almost enough to make you wonder how many of you will even be left by the next motive or two. Surely this isn't a sustainable rate for body counts to increase... right?

There's a new and, it looks like, final wing of the building to explore, bringing everything full circle. Maybe you'll get some more answers to some of the questions and mysteries of this place there - or at least, you can certainly hope for them. Time to turn your investigative eyes towards one last batch of rooms, who knows what you might find?

Angel remains around at night, her appearances much more common now that... well, she's certainly seen a downtick in necessary surveillance work, hasn't she? The app giving you a line to The Professor remains open, and well... whatever's going on with that ouija in the library continues to happen! You're not suffering from a shortage of leads, at least, even as things get more bizarre.

Something's going to have to give here, eventually. Right?

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to your last player case week! AC is over here, regains as always are over here, and... well, enjoy! After this we get to take our big turn towards the Serious. ]

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Oh-- I wasn't worried about that.

[ She watches Rin, and then nods. ]

... It's the least I could do for her. [ For all of them. That anger and disgust at the Professor roils up again, and she tamps it down to try to keep herself steady. ] ... It's still hard to believe she's gone.

I think...

[ Ugh. She sucks at this, even if she should at least try. ]

I think it's harder to accept that with Rose. We didn't get to see it happen, the way we did with Anna, and it wasn't... Because of what she was, she didn't leave behind a body as we understand it. So it doesn't feel as real, in a way. She even explained it to me, and I still can barely believe it.

[ ... yeah. ]

She-- mentioned that... hardlight projection. [ She still can't quite understand it, but that's okay. ] Even with the proof right in front of us, that shattered gem... it still feels like she'll walk through the door to greet us, right?

Like she just got taken away to somewhere else. Yeah.

[ Even if the note she'd left makes it feel more real than it had been before. A sour expression passes over Rin's face, and she drops the rose wreath in front of the portrait as well. ]

... If it weren't for Jasper, I wouldn't believe she was really gone.

[ She watches Rin, then kneels down a little to adjust Anna's painting. It might be just something to do, but... ]

These wreaths are beautiful, by the way.

[ Her face turns very red, very abruptly, and her posture goes taut like it takes physical effort for her not to tsun out. ]

I- I just needed something to do with my hands. For a little bit. [ ... ] Still, thanks. You were... You were right, when you told me that doing stuff like this can help.

[ can i get an f in chat

She nods, though, and she turns a little red at the thanks. ]

I'm glad it helped. [ She looks to the paintings. ] ... Even if it's mostly for them, it's sort of for us, too, right? An outlet. And because... this isn't just an experiment for us. Maybe it doesn't send the message that I want it to, but as long as I keep doing this, the Professor hasn't really won.

I mean, it's the least I can do, especially if Rose is going to leave me such a stupid note.

[ She's being Like This, but that note made her feel things. Actually, that's probably why she's being this way. ]

Look, I'll be honest. Our sentiments can't do anything for them anymore, so in the end, it's all for us. But... I don't think that's a bad thing. What's important is that by doing this, you'll never forget these feelings.

[ Notes, huh...

Mira's quiet for a little while, before she nods. Rin's got a point. ]

I told her we wouldn't forget, after all. [ And that, more than anything, is what's most important. ] Even when this is all over, when we look that stupid Professor in the face and end this, this will always exist. The paintings, your wreaths... at least, that's what I'd like to think.

Yeah. And I don't intend to, either.

[ And in spite of herself, in spite of the topic, the thought makes Rin smile. She's finally started to feel like there is an end in sight, and that means fantasizing about what that end could be feels a lot better than it did just a couple of weeks ago. ]

You and I agree on that, at least. Maybe the paintings will even outlive us... Not in the way the Professor wants, but — hey, if he can have hundred-year-old paintings in his gallery, why can't these last that long?

[ Ah, she can't help but smile slightly, too. ]

Hmm... maybe I should think about a painting of the rest of us, too, and title it "The Professor's Downfall."

[ Oh, no. That even makes Rin... giggle? ]

Well, with a title like that, how could I turn it down? Good luck getting Birkin and Kotomine to sit for that, though.

[ She means it... in good fun, probably?? ]

[ She lets out a light laugh. ]

Even if they don't, I can improvise. Though... I wonder if they'd pass up a chance to gloat at the Professor. This is just a classier and more subtle way to do it.

...Don't take this too hard, since it's Birkin we're talking about, but... He told me he doesn't really like memorials. Not that there's a problem with yours, specifically, but in general. So I wonder if he wouldn't feel the same way about something commemorative like that, actually.

Kotomine, on the other hand... He might pretend he's above that, but I feel like there is a decent chance you could sell him on the idea that way.

Ah, that's good to know. [ She doesn't seem bothered, at least. ] We have enough to be uncomfortable about her; I'd rather not add to that...

[ Hmm. Kotomine, huh. ]

You know him pretty well, don't you? Kotomine, that is.

Is that the impression I give off? [ She puffs, and immediately, her expression turns sour. ] In a way, I guess I do. I knew him before the Professor brought us all here — or a version of him, I guess. You could barely call it a working relationship, but...

AI copy. Perfect replica. Actually, I didn't realize how perfect it was until this place...

Relatively speaking, at least....

[ But. Huh. ]

... Before all this, I would have said that was hard to believe, but-- it's one of the less wild things I've seen here. Does he know some version of you, then?

[ ... ]

If you don't feel like answering that, you don't have to at all.

No, it's fine. It's...

[ Ugh. This is the part that's actually hard to explain. ]

He seems to know a Rin Tohsaka, but from what I've gathered, our years don't match. That would imply that the Rin Tohsaka he knows isn't a "version" of me, but a different Rin Tohsaka altogether — in other words, a relative of mine.

[ ..... huh. Give her a moment to sort of process that. ]

Is that... common, in your world?

[ She's curious, more than judgmental or skeptical; learning about worlds, actually, is kind of neat. Even if they're way different than her own--or maybe especially. ]

I don't know. Which part of it?

[ There's a lot going on here, after all. ]

WEEK 7

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