After(life) Party--

[soylentprotag]

[Lenka isn't talking much, though he spends most of the time after the execution either expressionless or frowning, moving among the ones still left at the campfire to check on people and try to make sure none of them are trying to either follow Boa or possibly throw literal or metaphorical stones at each other. Probably everyone's too exhausted for any of that at this point.

At some point he disappears for a little bit and comes back with an entire table and supplies -- not from the kitchen, but from the stash he'd accumulated in Cabin 2. It's not much, but it feels better than eating anything from the kitchen right now. Nobody wants that.

There's just some crackers and fruit snacks and some cheese with them. A few baggies to take them to go since most people aren't hungry right this moment. Once that's set out, he'll idle at one end of the table, staring out into the lake.]

Comments

Sunday

[le_mat]

[Ren isn't completely in hiding today, but he does seem to be avoiding people. Maybe for the best- he'd rather people seek him out if they want him, instead of approaching someone and having to see them do their damnedest to escape.

Still, he has things he needs to pass along, so eventually, he digs out his (Tal's) notebook and starts to write. Once he's done he passes the note off to someone that's stayed close (Ichigo maybe, or Mitsuru-senpai) and asks to have it spread around on his behalf.]

First off, this is Ren. I know a lot of you don't want to speak to me right now and that's fine. But I need to get a few things I've learned and theorized out, before whatever we're told Monday happens. Just in case.

Second, Lenka, Mitsuru (smol), you've already heard most of this so feel free to skim

[And yes, he does leave an indicator by Mitsuru's name. Probably literally chibi.]

After the meeting on Sunday, Lenka and I went to check out the altar. Some of the dead have said before that there's more to see about it, so we went to investigate. They were right: the altar is just a small part of a much bigger stone under the lodge. Sol lashed out at us, so I wasn't able to see how big or how far it went down, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn if it was all under the camp.

Some of you might remember that Lance learned while he was online for that short while that they pulled a stone out of the lake. I wouldn't be surprised if that's Sol, the stone god, or a part of them at least. But what they pulled out of the lake wasn't nearly that big.

That's because I think it's growing, literally. The message I got from Talcott in the Metaverse was: Bodies for food, souls for growth, 100 souls caught between. The note Richie found said the bodies of the campers that become full rocks are reabsorbed. I think our predecessors eventually literally merge with the stone- they are under our feet as we speak, and if we don't stop this we're next.

But more importantly is the 'souls for growth' Our bodies fuel the literal rock, but I think our souls are more important to it's growth. The Palace the others and I saw was based on the lake. But the lake like it would have been millions of years ago, before the coral fossilized and became rock. Before, I assume, the cat's ancestor fought Sol. Maybe being outside where they're supposed to be is why Sol absorbs living things now, but either way- rocks and animals don't have Palaces. They require a Heart- a Soul. A mind that can have desires beyond eating and sleeping that can be twisted or hurt. Not all Palaces are made by evil thoughts, just hearts out of step. Trauma, guilt, pain- all those can make Palaces too. We probably all have one, by now, honestly. How the lake guardian described Sol I don't think they could have a Palace back then. Even more so, the person we saw in the last stone disk, Akechi, had the same power I do. If he had his phone he could have entered Sol's Palace and attacked it. He would have either destroyed Sol or been killed in the attempt, but instead, he went with a plan to kill Red. I think he even used his powers to turn the other campers against each other- something I can't do but he could.

I think this means back then, Sol might not have had a Palace to manipulate. Which means it's sense of self grew. And it's a kid. And a traumatized one at that.

My theory is that we, the campers, are forming a soul for Sol. And it's a child based on what it's been eating: traumatized children. That might be why the ritual demands not only kids, but that we are abused- why Red isn't allowed to kill us kindly. Why we're forced to turn on each other each campfire. We have to go to Sol scared and full of hate. So that Sol will be that way as it grows. Why? I don't know. Maybe to make it easier to control- we all saw the videos of that Mayuri guy and the others. They want to use these 'abnormalities' to gain power of some sort. We even saw what Ichigo called a gigai. A body that can house a soul. They are doing SOMETHING, and each one of us that dies is just getting them closer to it.

Last note: those gigai, Mayuri. That means Shinigami are involved at least in his case. That might mean that, if we can save the souls of our friends before Sol absorbs them we might be able to bring them back. Gigai apparently house souls- even if their bodies are too ruined by the rocks there might still be options left to us.

It's not a lot, but I hope... this gives you all something to try and fight for.

-Amamiya Ren.

-P.S.: Please talk to Red and Stan. I know after the last campfire, a lot of you hate Red. But she is doing all she can to help us, but he's trapped in this too. And so is Stan. But if you come to them with ideas they are willing to help us figure things out. We just have to be clever about it.

... plus, they're probably kinda lonely.

[He will even read this outloud to any zombies he can grab]

1/3 (Sorry for dumb)

[linearcrash]

[ Whoever passes the note to Nine will get him just squinting at it for a moment. Scratching his head and then he finally pulls something out of his pocket. ]

[linearcrash]

[ Putting on the glasses and taking his time to actually read the thing. Look improvement and he's kind of done just not knowing shit. ]

3/3

[linearcrash]

[ When he finishes, he's just going to leave them on for a bit. ]

What the hell... [ There's a lot to process in all of that. ]

[trashmouthtozier]

[oh hi cabinmate. Richie has gotten a fitful night of sleep with Eddie out by the fire, and comes in to get a change of clothes, since he's ... slowly patching it with Chuuta and can handle bumping into him if he does. and the zombies aren't here yet. he blinks, startled]

You wear glasses, too?!

[it's like finding out someone else shares your favorite flavor of ice cream. it's not a requisite for friendship, but it definitely makes it stronger. and in this case, it even numbs a fair portion of his anger]

How come I didn't know that? And what's that?

[soylentprotag]

[Lenka reads over the note carefully anyway, because that Tuesday was... something. Matches it up with his own recollections and thoughts -- though he's no good at theorizing this stuff, it's so far outside his field, you know -- and his eyebrows draw down as he reads it, in thought.

There's a brief sigh when he reaches the end of the note, and then he puts it down again, gently. Closes his eyes for a moment before looking around a little. He'll have to find Ren again when he's around to be found. He's understandably elusive but...

Hm. Hopefully soon.]

[yunolikebugs]

[Gonta reads through it. And reads through it again. And again.

He couldn't believe there was a way to bring back the dead. It was impossible, wasn't it? And besides that, the awnsers in this document only raise more questions he can't wrap his head around.

Who was using Sol and all the dead campers? What are they going to do with Sol's soul? And why... Just why?

As he pondered, Gonta thought he heard someone laugh at him. A familiar someone, a mischievous voice that sounded something like a horse...

... No, he had to go find him.]

Ren?

[He'll go look through the lodge, and knock on cabin 1 if he has to. He's gotta check on the guy who wrote the note.]

Ren? Where are you? You okay?

[He'll keep his distance if he must. It's been made clear what seeing things can do to a person.]

[le_mat]

[It's not hard to find him- he's not hiding exactly. So when Gonta actually calls out to him he stops]

Oh... hey.

[He starts fiddling his forelock, looking a little awkward]

[yunolikebugs]

[Oh, good. This isn't gonna end badly.]

Gonta got worried about Ren. Ren keep getting into big messes, but Gonta wanna make sure Ren doing okay.

[le_mat]

Heh... I kinda do, huh? I'm... not okay. But I'm better than yesterday?

...thanks.

[killtheanimals]

[Mitsuru only scans it briefly before handing it back and leaving wordlessly. He's still wearing darker, more subdued clothes, and perhaps unsurprisingly - he looks rough with exhaustion and a dash of spite.]

[diesifkilled]

[Huh. Those are some interesting and extremely plausible ideas there. It sure would be nice if they could figure out some way to use it to their advantage.

Also the last part about talking to the counselors makes him sad because Red still doesn't want to talk to him :(]

[seekingsunrise]

You wrote a letter home?

[Clearly that's what this is and, though it took a lot of doing for Ren to track him down and corner him, Talcott nods, agrees to sit and listen. He's definitely more subdued today, even by Zombie standards. But he sits and he listens attentively and he nods along with parts. It's hard to say what he thinks he hears but he... he's there for Ren, even though he's pretty sure Ren doesn't really need or want him around.]

It... it sounds good

[le_mat]

A... letter home.

[He looks down at his note. He expected them to not 'understand' it, but... this specific cover story makes him smile wanely]

Don't expect a letter back, but... sometimes it's good to get everything out, right?

[seekingsunrise]

Yeah... getting it all out is...

[He trails off, looking down, on hand coming up to his head, to the stupid Chocobo hat now stained with Boa's blood. His expression crumbles, blank passivity turning to something anguished and he wrenches the hat off and throws it as far as he can with a sound somewhere between a sob and a scream.

When he finally looks up at Ren his expression is strained, one hand reaching for him briefly before he yanks it back, gritting his teeth.]

You're right. He didn't know it was wrong, couldn't know. Wasn't smart enough, human enough. Not till recently... till Red.

[Gods there's so much more he wants to say, more he needs to for their safety, more he wants to because he misses them, more he wants to because he can't stand what his existence is doing to them.]

[le_mat]

Until Red...

[He tries to chance down that awareness, grabbing Talcott's hands]

It's okay, you all couldn't control what happened... me... me either. I'm coming for you. For all of you... so just stay strong for a little longer...

[trashmouthtozier]

[after talking to Nine and reading the letter, Richie changes into clean clothes, cleans up in the boys' bathrooms, and goes to find Ren. and maybe to have a look at that altar, himself, if they end up anywhere by the lodge.

so where is Ren hiding today?]

[le_mat]

[He's not hard to find, if you're looking. Right now he's up in a tree not far from the lodge- so he can see everyone coming and going, but he out of their sight for the most part]

[trashmouthtozier]

[on his way into the Lodge, he stops, and turns to look over at the lake, where Mishibijw and its children are, on a whim. he thinks maybe he should try to leave them some food, since ... Usagi isn't there to do it, anymore.

his breath hitches in his chest, and he looks up to keep from crying, the way his sister taught him, feeling the sting that leads to tears distributing itself along his lower eyelids until it isn't so awful anymore. and while he's standing there, pulling himself together, he spots Ren. up a tree, like Talcott used to do. he's not sure if he's hiding, but he knows that if Ren IS hiding, he might be part of the reason why.

he walks up to the tree, leans against it as though that's what he came to do, watching the lake, and speaks quietly so as not to blow his hiding spot]

I'm an asshole. I'm sorry.

[le_mat]

...

['You didn't do anything wrong' 'You should apologize to Chuuta, not me' 'It's okay'

He could say a lot of things. All would be at least a little bit fake. ANd... he promised Red he would try to be more fully his 'real' self. Stop mentally editing himself to be more likable, more reliable. Just say what he meant.]

I forgive you. I'm sorry that... it came to Boa. That I yelled at you and Eddie.

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie reads this over and feels sick to his stomach. It's all so dark... it seems more like something out of a bad horror movie than real life.

He reads it a second time to make sure he didn't miss anything before passing it on to whoever happens to be nearby.]

[velocirainbow]

[ Well, after seeing that, he's going to go try to look for Ren. ]

Brudda? I still wanna talk to you...

[le_mat]

[It's not hard to find him- he's by the dock right now. No zombie singing like on Wednesday at least]

Hey...

[velocirainbow]

[ Just gonna come sit next to him. ]

Saw dat note. ... You all right?

[le_mat]

Not really. But are any of us? I'm... functioning.