Week 4.

[trustharder]

WEEK 4 And as the third week in the Vault comes to a close and the fourth week begins, the Survivors are once again down by two. Mion Sonozaki died on her own terms, and Yato died fulfilling his duty as God of Fortune in the best way that he knew how; the shrine built in the game room on Saturday stands in their memory. Saturday is given to regrouping and sleep; there aren't any bodies to be found on Sunday morning. But that doesn't mean the night was uneventful - it seems something else may have brought you some newfound clarity. Or perhaps not... Once again, that spiral staircase leads farther than you remember, clear up to a previously inaccessible fourth floor. Go ahead and explore as much as you like; even if the Kingmaker sounded a bit unhappy with you last weekend, the fact remains that you're still doing what you seem to have been brought here to do. SURVIVORS REMAINING: 21 SURVIVORS REMAINING: 20

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week two of Trustfell! Save your threads for coins and the coming week's activity check; don't forget to check in to this week's activity check and submit your memory regains!

The text and calling posts are still active, for the sake of contacting the jerk who's keeping you here, to be used at your leisure!]

Comments

Incinerator

[sleepingkogoro]

Hello, Bruce-san.

[Mouri walks in and it doesn't seem like he is here to burn anything. Actually, he was hoping to get a word with Bruce, know his emotional state...

The problem is that Mouri doesn't really give much credit to the secrets thing. He still believes it must be all desperate lies. As far as he knows the only thing to discuss is Bruce's almost-suicide]

How are you feeling?

[amygdalae]

Hello.

[Bruce gives a small smile as he returns the greeting. If anything, he does at least look slightly better, although its clear he's not at 100%.]

I'm... [what would be the best word to use here...] alright, I suppose. [Or as alright as he can feel right now, which honestly isn't a lot but at least its getting somewhere.

Burning the envelope addressed to him and its contents had sort of helped, too.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Nice. That is...nice.

[Awkward silence. Goodness, how does Cherryblod manage to deal with stuff like this]

A lot of people have been worried about you since...what happened in the trial. Have you changed your mind about...that?

[Mouri has definitely no idea how to approach the topic, but he does know he can't just walk away and let it continue]

[amygdalae]

[...a corner of Bruce's lips curls up into a wry smile at that. It's a bit... odd, to know that people worry and care about him, and he's still trying to get used to that.

And there are things Bruce can probably say here, but he doesn't want to worry any of them any more, so:]

You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine.

[Fine. That's all he can be.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Worrying is what people do after they hear that!

[Mouri can't even say it straight, wow]

Have you tried to talk to someone about what's bothering you? I have heard Cherryblod-san is great for that.

[As usual, end pushing responsibilities to someone else]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce can't blame him. Its certainly... not easy to talk about it. And Bruce is the one with experience.]

...its not exactly something that can be talked about, unfortunately. [Because these are way too personal things and sharing any of it is... well, it'd be opening a huge can of worms Bruce is sure nobody wants to deal with.] I'll work it out by myself, so don't worry.

[He always has, and always will. It's better this way, too.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Could you stop being so stubborn, damn it...

[Mouri muttered that under his breath. Bruce really insisted to keep it all hidden, and it seemed nothing Mouri did would pry it all out.]

Fine. I'll trust you can deal with it by yourself.

I'd like to consult you about something: the Kingmaker, do you think he would be able to know stuff about us we don't even know? And I don't mean those dreams full of memories, I mean stuff we don't have a way to know by ourselves.

[amygdalae]

[If Bruce heard the muttered bit he makes no mention of it; he stays completely neutral, only responding when asked about the Kingmaker.]

I... I'm not entirely sure. But I certainly wouldn't discount the possibility. [Considering everything so far... as far fetched as it is.] Although its' hard to say where he could get it from when one isn't aware of it themselves.

[sleepingkogoro]

He says he saved us all from our worlds because... [...dang, he forgot if the Kingmaker had said why he had saved them] ...because something. If we got picked personally by him maybe he stalked us and noticed stuff.

Once another crime to his already long list of crimes.

[amygdalae]

[...Bruce is pretty sure the Kingmaker didn't give a reason at all, but he probably needs a refresher himself, too.]

I don't know if he actually went to that extent, but I guess its not a big stretch considering he claimed to have picked us off from our own worlds in the first place. [And even that by itself is... worrying. Just the implications of it.] But its certainly something to consider, nonetheless.

[sleepingkogoro]

I don't think you have to worry much about that, though! You are a good man, I bet your life is as normal as normal can be! Bwahahaha!

[Riiiight, Brucey?]

[amygdalae]

[...yes

yes, totally

let's just leave it at that, shall we]

I... appreciate the vote of confidence.

[.............because what else can he say to that, honestly.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Come on, let's leave this incinerator place and look for something to do.

[Mouri almost offers to go to the bar - why does he revolve around the bar now, why did you have to add that place, Kingmaker - but stops himself when he remembers Bruce doesn't drink.

Plan B, then]

What about a game? Chess, cards, something?

[amygdalae]

[That... actually doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Bruce manages a smile, and this time its a bit more genuine.]

A game sounds good. You can pick.

[Bruce is of course partial to chess but he knows its not for everybody. Plus even he would rather do something else than play chess all day.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Ever played Go? I'm not that good at it, but you seem like the kind of guy who would like to play Go.

[Either that or chess because that's what the intellectual type likes to play, don't they?]

[amygdalae]

[...]

Go?

[The name is vaguely familiar but Bruce can't place a finger on it.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Yeah, Go. The game? Black and white pieces, a grid...

Go.

[amygdalae]

...you mean Othello?

[Sorry Mouri.]

[sleepingkogoro]

...no. I said Gooooo.

[Mouri says that as if he had somehow botched the pronunciation before]

Othello is a play by some guy called Shakethespear, I think. I don't know much about western literature.

[amygdalae]

[Its still not ringing any bells for him here.

Also, there is a bit of an internal wince at how badly he butchered Shakespeare's name. Although he will be nice and not... point it out.]

It's also the name of a game. [...] You might know it as Reversi instead.

[sleepingkogoro]

...never heard of it before.

[how old are you bruce]

If you never heard of Go before then you for sure don't know to play. You could learn today, if you want.

[And if you're a fast learner, which he trusts you to be. Patience is not his forte]

[amygdalae]

[Old enough to remember reversi/othello.]

I wouldn't mind that at all. It's always nice to pick up something new.

[You don't need to worry Mouri, Bruce is the fastest learner.]

[sleepingkogoro]

[Then let's go! Mouri leads the way.

Once they get to the Game Room Mouri realizes he has no Go pieces, and it's unlikely Bruce does too. Mouri's solution is to take as many pawns from the chessboards as possible and he gives Bruce the black ones]

Pretend these are Go pieces.

The trick with Go is to guess what your opponent's strategies could be, and counter anything they can do. It's that easy.

[Mouri gets ready to make the first move, waiting for Bruce to come to the table. Go is easy to play]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce blinks a little when Mouri passes him all the black pieces, juggling them a little in his hand before he can set them down onto the table that they're playing at, settling down himself while at it.]

...I think it's probably best to lead by example.

[Its not that Bruce doesn't learn well from books, but he thinks Mouri is probably better at just showing him how to play this game.]

[sleepingkogoro]

[Mouri makes the first move despite having the white pieces. It's a good thing Bruce isn't familiar with the rules.

He places a pawn on the grid, near the corner]

It is easy. You may place your pieces on any intersection on the grid. The main objective is to claim as many territories as possible.

[Mouri is forced to use some of the leftover chess pieces to simulate white pawns]

If you surround your opponent's piece from all sides like this the piece is out of the game.

That is the basic gist of the game.

[He thinks. He has never explained the rules of Go before]