From the white lights, the darkness comes...

[sageking]

Today's trial was a mixture of regret, anger, guilt, and second-thoughts. Perhaps some people realized that situations and choices weren't to be black or white. However, decisions were made, and whether it'd be through people keeping secrets or causing a ton of chaos...everyone could probably agree on one thing:

They've made their choices and no matter what happened in the coming days, they will lie in the beds they made for themselves. Whatever that should mean for each and every single person still living here.

That being said, there's still new choices to make. In the days to come, what will those be?

Comments

[golden_dream]

[That gets a surprised blink from her. She writes:

"Really?? To Subete??"]

...

[A short pause, before she continues:

"No wonder he's been distant after that trial. But, back on topic...

There's no easy solution to 'the Dazai problem,' other than sitting back and hoping he gets caught in a trap. I've known people like Dazai. I know people who make friends with people like him become invested and no amount of prying will pull them away. No-- we'd only make ourselves look like monsters. But he's self-destructive, and there are people here who can recognize that."]

[foxetious]

Subete was his protector, often enough. He would let him behind his barriers or let him hide near him when the ghosts were around.

[He's at least mildly amused by that still, considering the show it would be. It would also be an easy bargaining chip.]

Are you suggesting we throw him at one of the traps that are bound to come around? It would probably take too much time at the rate he's going right now, considering the miasma has no effect on him still. [He brings a hand to his chin in thought, eyes drifting towards the carpet before refocusing on Rosa. It's unhelpful if he can't see her response.]

If him and I went to a location to investigate together, it's easy enough for me to protect myself and "miss" him, claiming it's due to his nullification power, even if someone would later question me on whether I could have tried harder. The hard part would be getting him to investigate with me in the first place.

[Unless he could leave his body somewhere and tamper as a ghost? That would rely on him being able to touch Dazai though, and for someone else to not be see him wander by or during, which is harder to guarantee. ]

[golden_dream]

...

[She took a deep breath, feeling the tension spike by several hundred degrees. The conversation was quickly turning to one of outright murder... well, of course it was. Gin-san wouldn't cast that barrier over a trifle. And yet... She wrote:

"Risky. Would you be able to convince a ghost-Dazai that you were in no way responsible? Because I would think... if I were a ghost, and I suspected a person was responsible for my death, my very first act would be to either haunt that person, or to make sure my friends knew what happened. --Come to think of it, that might be where that list of votes for Rin-chan came from. But, there's also the fact that even if Dazai were fooled, you'd be guilty in the court of public opinion. That court is ruthless.

No, we can't throw him into a trap. As far as I see it, we have two options... as of right now:

One: Dazai throws himself into a trap. Perhaps he's investigating with a friend who he absolutely cannot bear to let die. The only real consideration then is if he gets into a contest with someone else to see who can throw themselves under the train faster.

Two: We wait. Are you familiar with this saying? "If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it. If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it. If the cuckoo does not sing, wait." In which case... 'waiting' is hard to do. But sometimes it's the only thing you can do.

I think we should have a special signal, known only to us, that means 'Vote Dazai.' Some code-word one of us says, then the other repeats with either an affirmation or a negative. If we're both agreed, we go through with it. If not, we play it safe and continue voting for the culprit. It's like a wolf and sheep puzzle. Do you know what I mean?"]