Yeah. Honestly, it just takes knowing one person from each team you aren't on, and seeing what the differences are, if any.
The more the teams get whittled down, the more it stacks for the winning team to keep on winning, too. Less players on the competition's side means that it's easier for your team to conquer by sheer numbers. I'm sure that was done on purpose.
[His fingers tighten against his arms for a moment, before he shrugs it off.]
We need to find a way around this. So long as we don't repeat what happened on Saturday.
[Though it doesn't look it, his skin is oddly smooth and cold to the touch. Weird.
He blinks at the touch, the moment gone.]
...Ah, sorry. Between being shoved in the lake and people moving around what I worked on last night, I'm probably not a good person to talk to about this right now.
Figured a reminder would keep people from wasting half a trial and condemning someone over things that don't matter.
[That cold tone is back, more than a little bitter.]
Apparently people think that the one I set for Yu was some sort of warning or threat to the purple team. Heart already is about ready to rip me to shreds, but I told them to direct anyone else to me. I didn't bothed putting it with his grave, because until we find who killed him, or until we break this place apart, then we've failed him.
...
Selfish gesture, even if it's tasteless. But I'd rather people get mad then get compliant.
[there is something about the coolness in that tone that is oh-so familiar, and Akira isn't sure he likes it. it reminds him of someone else, someone who can be as equally as detached, as angry, as-- . . . foolish]
. . . nobody here is complacent.
[he says quietly, but there's a firmness to his words, too]
And your gesture isn't unwarranted, considering how we failed on Saturday.
But the delivery of your message was. . . [he pauses] . . . well. I can't blame people for misunderstanding.
I've gotten the lecture from Heart already, Akira. Sorry, but I'm not going to sit around for another hazing.
People got upset, and that's all that matters to me right now. You say no one is complacent, but I can't agree until I start seeing us act a little more urgently.
If people want to get mad at me for doing something they consider disrespectful, then by all means. But at least I'm doing something.
You told me you'd do whatever it took, and I'm going to hold you to that. What I decided to do was to make a statement. I can't make one verbally because of what Asch has been telling people, or the target on my back will just keep growing. So I opted for shock.
I told you. It was a selfish action. But I'm not going to sit on my feelings about this.
[he also shoots that back quickly, gaze even. all that said. . . Akira isn't really the lecturing type, and he imagines Heart has already given Guy more than a piece of their mind about htis]
[so. . . he opts for something else. something he has personally struggled with. . . and even continues to struggle with to this day]
If there's one thing I've learned about righteous anger, it's that it can be a double-edged sword. Use it right, and it'll be the blade you can use to carve a path forward.
Use it wrong, and all it will do is hurt yourself and the people you care about.
No, I'm not. You're reading something into my words that was never there in the first place.
[His expression doesn't budge. ]
I meant what I said and nothing else. My actions are my responsibility and mine alone. As much as I might want it otherwise, what other people do is something I can't change. All I can do is act, and let others decide how they want to respond. Maybe this was a bad action. Who knows. But it got a response.
[A beat, a sharp exhale, as though he wants to say more. But he breaks eye contact, slowly forcing his tension to unravel and looking far more tired as his gaze drifts to the side, unfocused.]
Not all anger is righteous, Akira. You can knock it off with the lecture.
[Guy breaks eye contact, but Akira doesn't look away, noting how the tension suddenly seeps from his shoulders, how the exhaustion seems to return in one large wave]
. . . it's advice from a friend who has been exactly where you are right now.
[He can tell what Akira's trying to do, something he's tried to do in mirror to others before. While it might be understandable and even touching, it's not happening. So that frustration zips right back up, compact and careful, a practiced composure that seems very easy and almost unnoticeable.
His smile is polite and hard to read. But at the very least, it's not false.]
Duly noted.
[He'll lift back to his feet, grabbing at a rough-bristled brush nearby and returning to one of the pigs closest to him.]
I know that I should know better than that, Akira. I had my action, for the sake of Yu. I had anger, but no malicious intent. Just leave it that.
[careful and closed off. . . that's Guy, isn't it? Akira had noticed that already, especially during their spar the week before. but those walls are cracked-- likely due to what happened to Yu and their failure to catch his killer-- which is. . . understandable]
[but due to those cracked walls, Akira is starting to feel like he's seeing a side of Guy he prefers to hide from everyone else]
[. . .]
I have two theories about what happened to Yu. The first is my own, and it relies on the footprints being legitimate. There was. . . someone in that suspect group who could have faked their curfew effect, and I didn't realize it until after the trial.
[and. . .]
The second is a theory I heard from someone else. I can't tell you the logic behind it-- I promised I wouldn't-- but it's based on the presumption that the footprints are fake. It doesn't point to a single person, though. Just a team.
And that theory is that someone on Black Shadows killed Yu.
Mm. Which would mean you or your contact think it might be related to a power, or some other advantage the team has. [He's not expecting a confirmation. Akira just said he wouldn't be able to explain it.]
Which footprints, though? There were a couple sets.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[a beat]
Kidding. I've asked around, and that's the conclusion I've come to. A few people have shared their teams with me, so. . .
[a shrug]
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I hope you're careful with that information.
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But I doubt I'm the only one who knows.
. . . if I am right.
[he is confident he is, but. . . well. he won't discount him getting some bad information somewhere]
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The more the teams get whittled down, the more it stacks for the winning team to keep on winning, too. Less players on the competition's side means that it's easier for your team to conquer by sheer numbers. I'm sure that was done on purpose.
[His fingers tighten against his arms for a moment, before he shrugs it off.]
We need to find a way around this. So long as we don't repeat what happened on Saturday.
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[breathes out sharply]
I'm worried about what'll happen this weekend, though. Not for any specific reason, I just. . . [mmm] It's only our third week here.
I don't think we're anywhere near solving things yet.
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[It's surprisingly cold.]
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[. . .]
[reaches out to touch his arm. . .?]
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He blinks at the touch, the moment gone.]
...Ah, sorry. Between being shoved in the lake and people moving around what I worked on last night, I'm probably not a good person to talk to about this right now.
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Who shoved you in the lake? And what did you work on last night. . .?
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Asch.
[Holds up another finger.]
Moving some rocks around.
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You're not the one who put the bloody rocks in front of Evan and Tsuru's statues, are you?
Or put that rock with a line through Heart's symbol in the forest. . .?
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[like]
[he's trying not to judge]
[he just. wants to know??]
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Figured a reminder would keep people from wasting half a trial and condemning someone over things that don't matter.
[That cold tone is back, more than a little bitter.]
Apparently people think that the one I set for Yu was some sort of warning or threat to the purple team. Heart already is about ready to rip me to shreds, but I told them to direct anyone else to me. I didn't bothed putting it with his grave, because until we find who killed him, or until we break this place apart, then we've failed him.
...
Selfish gesture, even if it's tasteless. But I'd rather people get mad then get compliant.
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[there is something about the coolness in that tone that is oh-so familiar, and Akira isn't sure he likes it. it reminds him of someone else, someone who can be as equally as detached, as angry, as-- . . . foolish]
. . . nobody here is complacent.
[he says quietly, but there's a firmness to his words, too]
And your gesture isn't unwarranted, considering how we failed on Saturday.
But the delivery of your message was. . . [he pauses] . . . well. I can't blame people for misunderstanding.
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I've gotten the lecture from Heart already, Akira. Sorry, but I'm not going to sit around for another hazing.
People got upset, and that's all that matters to me right now. You say no one is complacent, but I can't agree until I start seeing us act a little more urgently.
If people want to get mad at me for doing something they consider disrespectful, then by all means. But at least I'm doing something.
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You think the rest of us aren't?
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[It's shot right back.]
You told me you'd do whatever it took, and I'm going to hold you to that. What I decided to do was to make a statement. I can't make one verbally because of what Asch has been telling people, or the target on my back will just keep growing. So I opted for shock.
I told you. It was a selfish action. But I'm not going to sit on my feelings about this.
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[he also shoots that back quickly, gaze even. all that said. . . Akira isn't really the lecturing type, and he imagines Heart has already given Guy more than a piece of their mind about htis]
[so. . . he opts for something else. something he has personally struggled with. . . and even continues to struggle with to this day]
If there's one thing I've learned about righteous anger, it's that it can be a double-edged sword. Use it right, and it'll be the blade you can use to carve a path forward.
Use it wrong, and all it will do is hurt yourself and the people you care about.
[. . .]
That's all I've got to say.
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[His expression doesn't budge. ]
I meant what I said and nothing else. My actions are my responsibility and mine alone. As much as I might want it otherwise, what other people do is something I can't change. All I can do is act, and let others decide how they want to respond. Maybe this was a bad action. Who knows. But it got a response.
[A beat, a sharp exhale, as though he wants to say more. But he breaks eye contact, slowly forcing his tension to unravel and looking far more tired as his gaze drifts to the side, unfocused.]
Not all anger is righteous, Akira. You can knock it off with the lecture.
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[Guy breaks eye contact, but Akira doesn't look away, noting how the tension suddenly seeps from his shoulders, how the exhaustion seems to return in one large wave]
. . . it's advice from a friend who has been exactly where you are right now.
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His smile is polite and hard to read. But at the very least, it's not false.]
Duly noted.
[He'll lift back to his feet, grabbing at a rough-bristled brush nearby and returning to one of the pigs closest to him.]
I know that I should know better than that, Akira. I had my action, for the sake of Yu. I had anger, but no malicious intent. Just leave it that.
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[but due to those cracked walls, Akira is starting to feel like he's seeing a side of Guy he prefers to hide from everyone else]
[. . .]
I have two theories about what happened to Yu. The first is my own, and it relies on the footprints being legitimate. There was. . . someone in that suspect group who could have faked their curfew effect, and I didn't realize it until after the trial.
[and. . .]
The second is a theory I heard from someone else. I can't tell you the logic behind it-- I promised I wouldn't-- but it's based on the presumption that the footprints are fake. It doesn't point to a single person, though. Just a team.
And that theory is that someone on Black Shadows killed Yu.
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Which footprints, though? There were a couple sets.
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