POST-TRIAL LOOSE ENDS & SHARING

[trashmouthtozier]

[that night, after a KO'd Eddie has been brought back to Cabin 3 to recuperate and everyone has scattered, Richie returns to the campfire with a book tucked under his arm, and a flashlight. he's not thinking about bringing supplies for s'mores, or hot dogs, or burgers, or any of that, not this week. so if anyone wants to show up with food, they're welcome. if anyone has appetites.

this week, he's focused on the remnants of a word he scribbled in the dirt earlier, flipping through the book he found on Thursday. he exhales, slowly, looking like he might just be sick all over again, no matter how tired he is. the makeshift scarf Cielo made him is draped over his shoulders to keep away any evening chill]

Oh, God. I ... I know what they said, you guys.

Comments

[homeecspacecop]

Yeah, I did.

Is, um [names are???] your brother okay?

[soulcandy]

[...CHUUTA]

He'll be fine eventually. It's just tough right now. That guy really hurt Ichigo.

[homeecspacecop]

[Look he and Drew might have gotten into a fight and he might have told Drew to leave him alone which means he isn't getting fed info about people okay.


Also this entire trial is just another reminder to Chuuta of why he doesn't get close to people.]

We need to come up with a way to keep this from happening again. [But he doesn't know what.] Maybe we should make sure everyone stays in groups of three or more.

[soulcandy]

Dude, remember the first time? We were in groups by CABINS and someone still got out and killed someone. Babysitting isn't going to work. We need to convince people that killing isn't worth it in the first place.

[homeecspacecop]

I don't think we can. [How do you do that? How do you convince someone not to kill?] I mean, if they don't... if they're already planning on it, how do we convince them not to?

I know we don't have to, I know there are... [he thinks about Gucci, about red hair and a bright smile and smokebombs designed to convince criminals that people were dead when really they weren't hurt at all] I know people can go through hell and still refuse to kill someone, but I also know that some people just don't care.

I just don't know how to tell the difference between those types of people yet, and I don't think anyone else here does either.

[soulcandy]

Maybe we can convince them that living's more important. That if they do kill someone, they'll be caught and killed themselves. If nothing else, then maybe their own life is enough to get them to stop.

[homeecspacecop]

No one's going to kill if they think they can't get away with it. I mean, maybe back home, but not here.

[soulcandy]

Yeah, but if you just tell someone 'I'm going to watch you all the time', then they'll just try to be sneaky! It's better if you make it so they don't want to murder in the first place.

[homeecspacecop]

But how do we convince someone like... [not Talcott] like Chloe [because she was the one waiting with a gun to shoot someone in the back] that it's not worth it?

[soulcandy]

Well...with the secrets, I guess we'd have to find out what it is she wanted to know. And then try and find a way to convince her that the answer doesn't matter in the long run.

[Which is hypocritical of him to say, truthfully. His question is still eating at him.]

[homeecspacecop]

But... [but Chuuta's question is still etched in his heart, and it's not eating at him as much as it was but it's never going to leave him] what if it's something like last week? Are we really going to try and tell someone it's better for everyone to die than for them to kill someone?

I... I don't think that's right.

[soulcandy]

That's...

[Okay, Kon doesn't have an answer to that, and he glances away nervously.]

[homeecspacecop]

I don't think it's always... wrong to kill. [He thinks about Sonokata, iridescence and angel wings and vanish without a trace, and it can't always be wrong to kill.] So I don't think we can convince someone not to do it. We just have to make it harder to get away with it.

Unless... something like last week happens.

[soulcandy]

...

Maybe it's good we disagree on that. If we go at everything with more than one solution, then one of them has to stick, right?

[homeecspacecop]

Yeah! [Chuuta actually smiles a little, relieved. Different approaches, covering their bases, and maybe... maybe nothing bad will happen.] I'm sure we'll figure out how to protect everyone!

[soulcandy]

[They can try at least.]

Hey, where's Drew?

[homeecspacecop]

Huh? He's still here, he just doesn't always have a visible form. I don't think I'd be able to live on Earth if he did.