[Shi Qingxuan has about a thousand people waiting in the wings to help her, so yeah, after that quick glance, he's gone from watching the execution to give them all space to work.
He'll be in his room! Gu Yun can come inside. Take a breather.
He huffs out a dry laugh at that, though, moving to sit at the table.]
Head, ears, and hands are perfectly intact, I see.
[ sigh. gu yun drops into a chair at the table, too. he looks just as serious as he did at the execution, all marquis of order, no easygoing fool. ]
A fight between a monologuing iron puppet and someone with no powers or martial skill to fight back couldn't be considered an equal match. I imagine, however, there might be someone who considers it entertaining.
The iron puppet had a list. I don't have access to it yet, or where it came from, or if he made it himself. What I do have is a feeling someone will be asked to pick up his slack.
I imagine this was a message to all of us. Perhaps even to us specifically. That any one of us could be selected for these things. [Though it sounds like they weren't the only ones discussing the possibility of someone relatively well-matched to HK-47 being chosen, so it might've also been general.
He stares at nothing, face blank, eyes dark with a thousand thoughts at a time. The rules of the game are ever-changing. Ningguang would be delighted, were she the sadistic type.]
I don't think he made it himself, if he was operating on orders. Not unless he was told to sort and eliminate us based on capabilities, starting from zero. [Sorry Tamaki. Not really.] Between Grell and the robot, guards may be lowered this week. We should consider who else might target the-- [He pauses, for a second, choosing the word] --unskilled.
[ yeah. he nods along, folding his hands in front of his mouth and resting his elbows on the table. ]
I think the second is more likely. [ considering, tamaki. ] Why didn't he act this week, though? Could there be some sort of pattern to it? Did he need to lay low, after not being caught?
[ not that he like. laid low at all. but that's fine. ] ...But I agree. I want to see the contents of the list, once Qingxuan is feeling more up to it - they were rooming together, and I think she must have been already concerned. There's no point in speculating who until then. [ i won't let you harm any of them!, she'd said.
she'd been successful, too, nearly at the cost of her own life. brave girl.
also, wow, i'm proud of childe for like .2 seconds worth of tact. ] I think we should also note that if someone is requiring it - or perhaps, tempting with it - that the person killing could be anyone, just like it was today.
I'd like to think at least one of us would catch on, if he killed every week. [smashcut to Eleanor and Sheila screaming about the murder robot from day 0] He was probably told to make it erratic, yes. Or perhaps he was involved this week, and simply didn't land the killing blow.
[They'll never know, now, but at least if there's a written list, they can get an idea of the bigger picture.
And yeah, you're welcome for the .2 seconds of tact. He's quiet for a minute, but... well, he'll just say it.]
I don't believe a single person here is incapable of killing. [Not all of them are willing to strike first, sure, but self-defense? For someone they care about, or the promise of something greater than themselves? Anyone will spill blood, so long as they have a reason for it.] But if they chose the robot to carry out their will, then they might reach out to someone with looser morals to continue the work.
[He's quiet for a second, then sighs, resting the back of his hand against his eyes.]
Or they could go for someone we wouldn't expect, I suppose. Have I mentioned I don't like schemes?
I don't either. [ schemes... especially ones like this. gu yun's too straightforward for that - if he needs to plot and plan his way out of a situation, he can do so with ease, but this sort of nonsense is not his style, and never has been.
he shifts where he's sitting. ] I agree with you. [ on the capability of others, though. ] Especially with what's at stake.
That thing was eager for the chance - and I imagine it only didn't continue this week because of our unfortunate little experiences with skills. [ lucky, maybe. though, gu yun would've loved to take the robot in yet another fight - certainly no one would've blamed him for self defense. but, if he killed tamaki, childe's right - his targets were probably not those who were combat ready. ]
The most likely options are that it came from somewhere above that we don't know about, or that it came from an Avatar. I don't know which, though. Maybe one that was at the trial, that first week - if we could say it even has loyalties.
[ ugh. ] Technology clearly advanced too far with that thing. [ this is why iron puppets shouldn't be allowed to speak. ]
[Childe hums, noncommittal, rubbing his eyes a moment longer before he drops his chin into his hand. Whatever his thoughts on murder robots as a species, apparently he's not particularly inclined to share them.
Instead--]
If that list wasn't written by the robot, perhaps we can gather handwriting samples for comparison, to rule out any of the others. [Since, yeah, he definitely thinks the order came from higher up, but again--meticulous cross-checking. If it was written by the robot, they'll have to figure something else out.]
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He'll be in his room! Gu Yun can come inside. Take a breather.
He huffs out a dry laugh at that, though, moving to sit at the table.]
Head, ears, and hands are perfectly intact, I see.
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[ sigh. gu yun drops into a chair at the table, too. he looks just as serious as he did at the execution, all marquis of order, no easygoing fool. ]
A fight between a monologuing iron puppet and someone with no powers or martial skill to fight back couldn't be considered an equal match. I imagine, however, there might be someone who considers it entertaining.
The iron puppet had a list. I don't have access to it yet, or where it came from, or if he made it himself. What I do have is a feeling someone will be asked to pick up his slack.
no subject
He stares at nothing, face blank, eyes dark with a thousand thoughts at a time. The rules of the game are ever-changing. Ningguang would be delighted, were she the sadistic type.]
I don't think he made it himself, if he was operating on orders. Not unless he was told to sort and eliminate us based on capabilities, starting from zero. [Sorry Tamaki. Not really.] Between Grell and the robot, guards may be lowered this week. We should consider who else might target the-- [He pauses, for a second, choosing the word] --unskilled.
no subject
I think the second is more likely. [ considering, tamaki. ] Why didn't he act this week, though? Could there be some sort of pattern to it? Did he need to lay low, after not being caught?
[ not that he like. laid low at all. but that's fine. ] ...But I agree. I want to see the contents of the list, once Qingxuan is feeling more up to it - they were rooming together, and I think she must have been already concerned. There's no point in speculating who until then. [ i won't let you harm any of them!, she'd said.
she'd been successful, too, nearly at the cost of her own life. brave girl.
also, wow, i'm proud of childe for like .2 seconds worth of tact. ] I think we should also note that if someone is requiring it - or perhaps, tempting with it - that the person killing could be anyone, just like it was today.
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[They'll never know, now, but at least if there's a written list, they can get an idea of the bigger picture.
And yeah, you're welcome for the .2 seconds of tact. He's quiet for a minute, but... well, he'll just say it.]
I don't believe a single person here is incapable of killing. [Not all of them are willing to strike first, sure, but self-defense? For someone they care about, or the promise of something greater than themselves? Anyone will spill blood, so long as they have a reason for it.] But if they chose the robot to carry out their will, then they might reach out to someone with looser morals to continue the work.
[He's quiet for a second, then sighs, resting the back of his hand against his eyes.]
Or they could go for someone we wouldn't expect, I suppose. Have I mentioned I don't like schemes?
[Yes Childe you made that clear Week 0]
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he shifts where he's sitting. ] I agree with you. [ on the capability of others, though. ] Especially with what's at stake.
That thing was eager for the chance - and I imagine it only didn't continue this week because of our unfortunate little experiences with skills. [ lucky, maybe. though, gu yun would've loved to take the robot in yet another fight - certainly no one would've blamed him for self defense. but, if he killed tamaki, childe's right - his targets were probably not those who were combat ready. ]
The most likely options are that it came from somewhere above that we don't know about, or that it came from an Avatar. I don't know which, though. Maybe one that was at the trial, that first week - if we could say it even has loyalties.
[ ugh. ] Technology clearly advanced too far with that thing. [ this is why iron puppets shouldn't be allowed to speak. ]
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Instead--]
If that list wasn't written by the robot, perhaps we can gather handwriting samples for comparison, to rule out any of the others. [Since, yeah, he definitely thinks the order came from higher up, but again--meticulous cross-checking. If it was written by the robot, they'll have to figure something else out.]