INTRO LOG

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[[Exactly what it says on the tin! This is just an initial log to sort of get things started and is largely freeform, open to (but not limited to):

-Meetings before classes start
-First day business
-Dorm shenanigans meetings
-First classes in progress
-or whatever the heck else you want to do for beginning-of-term things!

There's a CR meme up now for some initial planning if you like, or feel free to just hop in here.]]

Comments

[readgenerate]

[The thought sits uncomfortably with her for many reasons. There was no coercion, no manipulation, so she never thought to doubt the school - but then, she's been manipulated in subtle ways before. She always felt, knew that it was wrong, and this doesn't feel wrong, but still...]

Who do you think would be watching us? [Her voice is even, still non-judgmental.]

[bakegarasu]

Dunno. I just know that you don't put a lot of powerful people together without there being some sort of reason. Money, power... bragging rights... there's always someone who wants more. Figure out what that something is and how you can exploit it... that's one of the first things you figuring out in a situation.

We're all here. But who's not, and why? Because they can't, or because they won't? I may not know academics, but I've watched organizations rise and fall. Sometimes I had a hand in it. I may be a weapon, but I'm not completely stupid.

[readgenerate]

[Figure out what that something is and how you can exploit it. She turns away, shivering, and wraps her arms around her middle.]

Neither am I.

[Not that he implied it, but now she feels it. Such a thing never even occurred to her about this place.]

[bakegarasu]

... Maybe it's not true. Maybe it's because I grew up with people looking for an angle all the time. It's just that... if someone attacked this place and got through the defenses, how many mutants would be killed? How many people actually involved in anything political would make it? And how many kids would get caught in the middle?

My father was not an honorable man. I can see how he'd go after this place - a frontal assault, people at all the entrances. Kill the kids to make an example, beat down anyone who got in his way. Send me in to clear a path. Fire rockets at anything that tried to fly away, and trigger bombs to cover any underground escapes. It's not a safe place. It's a central place with few defenses. Maybe one of the mutants with mental powers would pick it up ahead of time, but there's got to be someone who can block that sort of thing.

If someone went after the people here - [not us, never an us, he's not part of an us] - they would be smart about it or they'd get mowed down in two seconds. And you always plan for the first, not the second. Killing an enemy quickly is a benefit, not a planned situation.

[His voice turns a little raspy near the end, and he coughs. He's not used to talking so much, but this is a topic he knows a lot about.]

... It's just a thought. But it's what I'm good at - killing. So I know how other people would do it, too.

[readgenerate]

[A shaking hand rises to her mouth, although whether to hold back words she doesn't want to speak or bile rising in her throat is hard to tell. The entire combination - the fact that he knows this from experience, that he can plot it out so easily, that he believes it will happen here as it always has in his life before - it's all so upsetting that she doesn't know where to start.

She was warned that there would be bad stories. Just not this bad, and not among the staff. Oh, she's been so naive.]

I'm sorry. [She turns back to face him, her face rigid to try and hide that racing emotion.] I - I should get to bed. I'll need the sleep.

[bakegarasu]

[He looks down a bit. Oh. He upset her. That's... bad, right? He looks up again, hunching his shoulders a bit.]

It probably won't happen. Don't worry about it.

[readgenerate]

[She forces herself to take a deep breath. That was an overreaction on her part. This is something she needs to make right as well.]

It's what you know. You'll always expect what you know, everyone will. [The hand over her mouth comes down to rest lightly on her chest, just below her collarbone. Steadying, anchoring her racing heart.] I hope you can find some peace.

[bakegarasu]

[... He shrugs. Peace isn't what he's looking for. Survival is. But if that's what she needs to say, then fine.]

No one's attacking on my watch, at least. Go to sleep.

[readgenerate]

[No, but she thinks it's something everyone deserves.]

And you have a good night, Yosuke. I - won't forget what you said.

[It almost sounds like thanks. Even if it was overly harsh, it did ground her when she'd been floating through this new life as though the threats of her old one were completely gone. She can't become that naive again.]

[bakegarasu]

[He nods, and goes back to staring at the ceiling.]