chroma | catchall for vin

[countermeasures]

i haven't had coffee yet so this won't be pretty yet

Comments

[countermeasures]

I would.

[...]

You don't have to talk about what happened. If you don't want to, I won't press you. ...but carrying those things alone can be painful, so I'd be glad to listen if you wanted to talk.

[allomantic]

[she pauses for a moment, expression tightening.]

...I am not sure what to say about it.

[countermeasures]

...you don't have to say anything if you don't want to.

[...]

It's just... If you do think of something you want to say, or if it's too painful to keep to yourself... I hope you know you can talk to me.

[allomantic]

...I may have been luckier than most.

[a beat, deciding how to say this.]

The most disturbing thing was - each of us saw someone we cared for being killed. Ryunosuke thinks it was some kind of illusion. But the person I saw... [deep, shaky breath. ] They have... have already been lost to me. So nothing has changed even if it were real.

[countermeasures]

[oh...]

Why would they show you that? It's... That's just...

[allomantic]

...I wish that I understood why. Or if there was even any purpose beyond cruelty.

[countermeasures]

Were they... trying to get you to do something? Was it some sort of hostage situation?

[allomantic]

[she shakes her head.]

Not quite... But we had to fight the people who killed them afterwards.

[countermeasures]

[oh. bad.]

...that explains how you all got so hurt.

[allomantic]

I do not understand why... What the point was. But before everything started, we saw someone refuse to participate, and they were killed. So - we seemed to have little choice. But, it is a shame, what happened to the other three.

[countermeasures]

I don't understand the point of it, either. But... I'm glad that you came back to us.

[...]

What happened to them...? Their injuries, or was it something else...?

[allomantic]

[nodding.]

Their injuries. I don't know Marceline that well, and Garou is... [she pauses.] But Kumon has been very kind to me so far. I would have preferred not to hurt any of them.

[countermeasures]

["garou is..." yeah, that's valid.]

...I'm sure they know that. [...] Which doesn't change what any of you went through, but... I'm sure they know that you didn't do it because you wanted to hurt them. You were just protecting yourself.

[allomantic]

[she shrugs.]

It's alright if they don't. We...

[a little pause, before:]

The three of them - before they fought us, the were the ones who fought people we were close to. And we also fought people they were close to. So I would understand if it is... more personal than just fighting them would have been.

[since they had to watch her help kill their friends, regardless of whether it was real. unfortunate.]

[countermeasures]

...

[oof.]

Whatever was responsible for your being there... really wanted you to be enemies, then.

[the timing is extra unfortunate given that, oocly, we know someone is going to be super dead for real this time most likely. hmm.]

[allomantic]

[she nods.]

At first, Hot Pants, Ryunosuke and I were all fighting together against the three of them... But after that, we were transported into some kind of different area, and only Marceline was there with me. And she wasn't even the person who killed - the man I knew from home, and there was no audience or arena anymore, so there was nobody to force us to fight. But I still had this strange sense that she was my enemy, and I had to kill her to keep everyone safe.

[bad!]

[countermeasures]

A strange sensation...

[her brow furrows]

...did it seem similar to the sensation they described at the murder mystery party, when they were investigating that hall...?

[allomantic]

...It made them feel like they wanted to hurt each other, didn't it?

[she nods.]

It was similar for us. We did fight for a while, but I guess we tired ourselves out. But after we stopped fighting, I heard a voice speaking to me, though nobody was there when I looked. It said something like... I had lost my nerve and stopped too soon, and that it was a shame, because this voice was beginning to think I had potential.

[...]

I do not like this, Jiuqing.

[countermeasures]

That's right... it did.

[oh fucking YIKES. fuck that voice.]

...I don't like this either. [...] Can you recall what the voice sounded like...? Did it sound male or female, or was it hard to tell?

[allomantic]

...I wasn't able to tell.

[she sighs.]

[countermeasures]

[damn.]

...so there won't be an easy way to compare it if someone else hears something similar, then...

[allomantic]

[she shakes her head.]

I would hope it would only be one entity trying to get us to do such things, but... It would be worth it to know if there were multiples. It is a shame I couldn't make it out.

[countermeasures]

I'd rather believe it's just one, too.

[there's not really any indication that it isn't, though. so there's that.]

But I'd like to know more, so we aren't blindsided in the future.

[allomantic]

[she nods.]

More information is never a bad thing.

[countermeasures]

[give them the DEETS]

No, it isn't. ...although I hope we're able to gather it without a repeat of what you went through.