WEEK FOUR: EXECUTION

[saturations]

EXECUTION: TRIAL BY COMBAT

Sunday morning starts peacefully enough, until around noon, when alarms start going off on your phones. The dreadful noise is accompanied by a reminder of the execution taking place in the Central Node. You can snooze the alarms at first, but they begin to get a little more insistent. If you're being stubborn, you can probably hold out until exactly 1 PM, when an archway opens right in front of you and pulls you in.

Today the Central Node is eerily quiet and empty. There are a few blankets laid out on the grass for those of you who wish to sit instead of standing the whole time. No refreshments have been provided, but the Residents are already there waiting for you.

As the last person enters the node, an enormous archway suddenly opens. This archway once again leads to an area which is pitch black inside, with white and grey dust falling softly like snow. The chilly air feels even colder than before, and you instinctively know you must not approach it. If you try to push through anyway, something is blocking your way. Smaller tears to the same space open in the air, at the very least. You can see what's happening, even if you can't follow.

Because - once the archway is open, Atsushi and Vin alone will begin to walk through as though drawn. All you can do now is watch and wait.

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Comments

[daggering]

[


my turn! haha!!!



vax is here, in his armor, mouth drawn into a thin line and expression stormy. he walked here with vin, and he doesn't look even remotely surprised when it's her, though he leans down to say something quiet to her as she continues to work - if you're really listening, you'll hear it. i love you. be careful.

..

after that, he's just silent, watching the proceedings, his emotions somewhere between worry, anxiety, steadfast resolve, and a horrible torrent of grief. ]

[petalbursts]

[ ruby comes up, after seeing this, and holds tight to vax's hand. giving it a firm squeeze. ]

[daggering]

[ squeezing back! there's a quietly warm, familial affection thread underneath the rest of that mess of emotions for ruby, something more reassuring. ]

[petalbursts]

[ she matches that warmth and then tries to multiply it.

hope. even if it's the smallest bit. it's there. ]

[daggering]

[ oh, the fireworks, and a ferris wheel.

... vax huffs, a little, shaking his head. he doesn't say anything, though, some of his messy emotional vibes soothing out into a bit of affection. he glances down at ruby, and nudges his arm against hers. ]

Better than your teacups, huh. [ his voice is low, a little lighter, gentler. trying to go with what it seems like atsushi is trying to create for all of them and their anxiety hell. ]

[decisions]

[ he's here, just placing a hand on vax's shoulder and staying very still with his eyes trained on the scene at hand.

he'll take his grief and his stress and anxiety and just silently marries it with what strength he can offer, his own worry and anger seething beneath. ]

[daggering]

... she'll be alright.

[ I want to watch someone else do it even less.

this must've been how vin felt, last week. he's rattling a little bit emotionally but stays impassive otherwise for now externally, mouth still drawn into that line. percy gets a bit of appreciation from vax's emotions, though it's quiet underneath the storm of everything else. ]

[decisions]

I know. I believe that...

[ there were so many poor choices for combat, and this is probably the worst. percy remembers, the cell, the strange drawing... he swallows tightly. ]

I believe in the both of them...


[ odd words, belief, coming from percy, but there's something he's learned through all of this. something that atsushi has offered him before, so he will offer it forward now. ]

[daggering]

[ i like it, vin says.

all of those messy, miserable emotions shift into one, overwhelming feeling of heartbreak. knowing vin, knowing the life she's had, and -

he takes a deep breath to smother it, though it doesn't really work.

... to percy, he says, quietly - maybe a little, tiny bit amused, but it's faint. ] Talked to Soosh last night. About the zombies at the Sun Tree.

[ ... he doesn't have to explain the rest, probably. ]

[ktiseos]

[he's here, during this, just. staying next to vax without saying anything.

his own emotions are mostly quiet focus. a little concern mixed in, at that anxiety and grief coming from vax. but he's maintaining something steady, at the least, in hopes that'll help.]

[daggering]

[ ...

though he hasn't moved much, beyond laughing at garou doing his best and trying not to lose his shit externally, vax's fingers tighten into fists at his sides, as they walk in. it's the wariness in vin's voice that he recognizes, and it's just heartbreaking.

quietly, under the mess of all that emotional nightmarish grief, there's a little solemn solidarity, too - ] ...She'll get it done.

[ almost under his breath, quietly, and much more to atsushi and vin: ] ... don't take too long.

[ktiseos]

[as he watches her let atsushi form the scene, there's a brief sense of like. a tired lack of surprise. he is not so sure about not taking too long.

but he doesn't say anything aloud. he's close enough to lean against, but doesn't reach out himself yet.]

I shall trust your assessment, then.

[daggering]

I think they'll make it go the way they want it to.

[ whatever that might be.

...vax watches the fireworks as they spring up into the air - new flashes of bright color, lights and warmth. watches vin, the most, though his eyes flick to atsushi, too, that swell of melancholy sadness and warmth all at once just utterly bittersweet. nostalgic, in some of the worst ways.

...

he shifts a little, and leans his shoulder into emet's arm, and just watches. ]

[fleshedout]

...

[She might be a mess of emotions here, but she's reaching out to touch his shoulder gently, nodding.]

I believe in them.

[daggering]

[ hot pants will find him very tense at the touch. there's a flicker of something in his emotions that's a little hard to identify, as he looks back at her, but he shakes his head. ]

... To do what, exactly?

[ it's maybe a rhetorical question, for how quietly it's asked. his emotions are still an absolute fucking mess! this is fine dog ]

[fleshedout]

...

[There's no succinct answer for that. She believes in them, as people, but not in what they have to do here. She draws her hand back, and glances at them both up there. Heartsick. Sorrow. Grief. Anger, too. What can they do? What can any of them do?]

[She just mutters to herself, after a moment.]

I'm so damn sick of this place.

[daggering]

[ the emotions there solidify into something else, immediately.

solidarity. ]

Me too.

[countermeasures]

[she reaches over to put a hand on his arm, trying to radiate calming vibes (thanks hairpin). there's an undercurrent of worry, but it's muted beneath the calm.]

[daggering]

[ she gets a brief glance, eyes moving to her little amber hairpin, and nods. thanks doc. ]

[countermeasures]

[she nods back. she's gotchu.]

[daggering]

[ that moment of brief bittersweet happiness is shattered like glass, after all of that - jiuqing is right here, so she'll hear vax's sharp gasp when the gun comes up and the emotions swoop immediately away into a gutwrenching fear.

gonna maybe need that calming amber stone ]

[disingenuous]

[ there's a flicker of concern that she won't hide, but she's calm as ever.

she won't say anything, but she will look over to check on him from time to time. ]

[daggering]

[ glancing over at her! at least once, they can lock eyes, and the corner of his mouth does lift just a little. quietly grateful. ]

[furrier]

[ this creature doesn't know how to support or comfort but vax is obviously Going Through It so just sneaks one hand out to pat his head before slithering away.

this energy. ]

[daggering]

[


you ever have something so bizarre happen that it snaps you out of your absolute fucking misery for .5 seconds


he

laughs? just once, startled and says ] - Thanks.