ic inbox.

[lucentia]

HELLO

"Greetings."

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

Comments

[lucentia]

You did nothing wrong, so you have nothing to apologize for. And I understand—they are difficult to avoid.

[vacuous]

[ He goes quiet, though it's evident he's very much mulling over something he wants to say or ask and is just debating whether it'd be appropriate... ]

[lucentia]

... If you have something to say, feel free. I won't take offence.

[vacuous]

It's not something to say, more than...

...How many times have you guys gone through that thing?

[lucentia]

[i just realized that with the part i cut out from the memory it makes less sense what it has to do with greed/charity so for any mods who might look in here please know it made more sense originally

anyway, he thinks.]

The Carnival, specifically? The witch didn't appear in our first lives, so... [mentally counts] One where Orla was the Membrum, then Sammy, then Lady Anastasia...

Depending on if we count the case with myself [given he, you know. drowned himself before killing anyone], then Lady Anastasia has lived through three timelines where the witch held Carnivals.

[vacuous]

[ Less than he feared, but more than ideal. ]

And... they all continue like that, until... How long is each "Carnival"?

[ The way that leaves such a bitter taste in his mouth. Carnival. ]

[lucentia]

In terms of number of rounds, or how long any individual trial goes on for?

[vacuous]

...Both?

[lucentia]

Each trial is one hour. [the witch really said SPEEDRUN.] We know the witch is making his move when the skies change, though the Carnivals only start once his chosen Membrum actually kills someone.

[more :thonk:]

Lady Orla—my cousin—was the Membrum in one life. The way Lady Anastasia spoke of it, it sounds as though she was caught after her first murder, though that's incongruent with the memory I've seen here...

Sammy, however, was definitely caught in the first Carnival—Lady Anastasia spoke in detail of his fate at trial, as the only time the witch intervened and took a life directly.

[a little frown at that, but.]

... And then, in the life where Lady Anastasia was the Membrum—well, you have seen what happened then, and how many rounds that took.

[he supposes that they didn't see how it ended, only that it was down to lucien and anastasia as the last two sacrificia, but lucien has his suspicions.]

From my understanding, at least, the witch doesn't typically appoint another Membrum once the first is dealt with.

[vacuous]

[ Could you imagine if mg trials were one hour? ]

If there's inconsistencies, doesn't that mean there were more than three?

[lucentia]

[truly we would die.]

—Ah, pardon. I do have to correct myself. There was a second Membrum after Sammy in that timeline [this was me jan forgetting about this], so four Carnivals altogether, though that wouldn't have anything to do with the inconsistency.

Rather, the issue is that in what I've seen here, Lady Orla wasn't caught—because Lady Anastasia was about to be voted for by the jurors, so I declared myself the Membrum to be executed in her place.

[says that bluntly.]

Though given that Lady Anastasia immediately caught onto what I was doing, and I doubt that Mael, who was also a Sacrificium in that trial, would've simply believed me either... perhaps they got the trial extended somehow? It sounds unusual, but if anyone could make it happen, it would be Lady Anastasia.

[vacuous]

Lucien-kun...

[ Obviously voicing his dislike of such a thing now doesn't really do anything, but you know. Can't help himself. Not like he doesn't understand! Doesn't mean he has to like it when somebody else does. Nobody said he couldn't be hypocritical on top of comically salty. I really thought it'd be strictly limited to Anastasia's LIs though, this game really is more YTTD than otome help me. ]

Do you think... you were close to figuring out how to break free?

[lucentia]

[meanwhile lucien is just like oh thank the goddess that at least one of my deaths was useful to anastasia, versus the time i apparently died trying to save her and it was used to fuck her over instead.

...

he takes a moment to lowkey breathe in and out, trying to compartmentalize his emotions, between the memory he witnessed that he has decided he will unpack later (or maybe not at all, because what is there to unpack, really) and tokinaga's question, so as to avoid getting worked up and accidentally summoning a fever.]

We did figure out how to proceed, and I came up with a plan.

[there is an unspoken "but".]

[vacuous]

...

You know, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to think about either.

[ Just want to make sure he knows. The last thing he wants is for Lucien to get sick or upset because... what, to answer a few random questions of his curiosity? ]

[lucentia]

... It's fine.

[it's nothing that he doesn't think about constantly here anyway.]

There is no magic or anything like that that can stop the witch. But his magic isn't omnipotent either—a person becomes a Membrum only because when he calls, something in their heart answers them.

Crius Castlerock, for instance, never killed once even after becoming a Membrum, because his will was stronger than the witch's.

[between his own experiences and witnessing the memory just now, where crius was basically right about everything ever while lucien otoh has the worst judgment, lucien is convinced that crius is one of the greatest people in the world, actually?]

So the solution is to give the people a reason to reject him. To reveal that contrary to popular belief, he doesn't provide them with any special power, and is nothing more than a stranger to their ear suggesting that they kill. [...] If they realize that, and can truly bring themselves to believe that becoming a Membrum will only result in tragedy and their own death, then they have no reason to accept his contract.

[vacuous]

So... deposing the myth, so to speak.

[ And... maybe being in a position of power to be to be able to write that statement as truth is a boon? ]

I think I get it.

[lucentia]

[a nod]

Of course, people already know rationally not to give into temptation, so we needed to go further.

The plan was for me to give an imperial decree, as those are done so rarely that the people know it to be important. Ideally, Father would've done so, but we knew he would refuse, and thus it fell on me. [when your father reliably sucks so that you can plan based on it...] Even Lister came around to it, and he accused me of having unripe bananas in my head at first.

But as he said, we need three things: credibility, folklore, and impact. We had all three covered with the finer details, thanks to him and Zenn.

[there is an elephant in the room here but anyhow.]

[vacuous]

Alright. Creative insult. Uncalled for.

[ UNRIPE BANANAS IN THE HEAD? ]

Sounds like you got a lot of things figured out between all of you.

That's good.

[ Whoa... power of friendship or whatever... Tokinaga's not going to point out any flaws or wrenches here, he wants you to succeed. ]

[lucentia]

[tyril started being so mean to lucien the moment they learned [redacted] but (anastasia voice) it's probably okay since lucien doesn't seem to mind

...

there is something bitter, if guilty, in lucien's smile, but he's not going to point out the glaring issue if it hasn't occurred to tokinaga, given that it'll only make tokinaga feel bad.]

The four of them—Lady Anastasia, Crius, Lister, and Zenn—are some of the most reliable people I know. [...] Lady Anastasia wasn't able to work with everyone altogether in her previous lives, so may that be her greatest strength from now on.

[vacuous]

[ There are so many issues here Lucien. Anastasia presumably good witch can also become a Membrum and you're dead being two of them. ]

You have a... really complicated family to say the least, but I'm glad you have allies too.

[lucentia]

[lucien is at least pretty sure the witch wouldn't bother with making anastasia a membrum again considering it didn't lead the witch any closer to victory the last time he did that (and also, unlike him, she'd probably be able to resist this time around), so the sole problem really is lucien himself, because nothing says "you are the one and complete failure in this operation" than becoming a membrum the night before your anti-membrum speech, so maybe they should find someone less pathetic to do it? somehow?]

Indeed. They're good people. [and despite lucien's own failings—] And even if it may seem naive, I do genuinely believe in the people's strength, when it comes down to it.

[vacuous]

[ Can you stop, you just need to wait until your friendship speech route...

He's quiet again while he stares out at the icy flats of the lake surface. It's not thoughtshare week anymore... he's free to think whatever he wants... ]

I hope you find out what this witch's deal is with your kingdom's history.

[lucentia]

[unfortunately lucien has accepted there is a real possibility anastasia might rewind time if they can't figure out a replacement for him (the idea that she might rewind time because she doesn't want lucien being dead, personally, does not occur to him) even though he really doesn't want her to use that ability again.]

... As do I. [...] It might sound strange, but a part of me was thinking... if everything could be settled [if lucien can safely come back to life], that I might ask the witch what happened. Not just to understand why he hates us, but...

[has the witch been ruining their lives repeatedly? sure, but—]

Father burned every piece of rare historical text, in the name of some kind of conspiracy. If Ish—the witch—is the only being left in the world who knows the full and true history, then I want to leave behind a record of it.

[vacuous]

...

Nice of you as always, Lucien-kun. Or should I say righteous?

[ Just not self- righteous. ]

What if it's something that goes against everything you've ever known about your world?

[lucentia]

Then that's all the more reason to know. [says that firmly.] I'm not so naive as to think that, if it truly is something that will shake the world, I could simply reveal it at once to the populace in my lifetime. But we have to start somewhere.