the one with junpei;

[oraculi]

someday i'll put gifs or something here but not right now!!

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week one trial; immediately afterwards

[oraculi]

[Shockingly, he isn't scrambling to get out once the trial's done and the doors open. Instead: his pace is slow and measured, his eyes unfocused as he stares ahead. Numb, or at least doing a very good job of faking it.

And though he wants to go to his room, first he goes to the lounge, because of course he does.

He turns when he hears footsteps, though he knows the likelihood of a murder happening now is minimal. That attitude fades as he takes in who it is.]

You did good in there.

[crashout]

[So maybe tempting a demon right at the end wasn't smart, but there's some satisfaction in knowing his hunch was right from the beginning. He leaves the trial, and hilariously, has the same idea of going to either the lounge or back to the outdoor bar. After that mess, it's well-deserved.

But there's Haymitch and he slows his steps, looking at him with a nod of reply.]

Thanks. It's...kind of like being back home, I guess. [It's comforting to know what he's doing and solving puzzles.]

[oraculi]

Yeah, I bet it is.

[Said not unkindly, but rather in a mutually bitter way.]

Want a drink? Fastest acting coping mechanism right here, and right now, it's not even on your dime.

[crashout]

You read my mind. [It's been good and bad to have free booze at their disposal, but he begins to walk again and head for the lounge.] Kinda one of the only decent things about this place if I'm honest.

[oraculi]

You're damn right.

[He personally adores it, because he's coped like this for twenty-four years, and he won't stop now.]

What's your poison?

[He'll mix it.]

[crashout]

Scotch if we've got any left. Feels like bottles keep disappearing every time I turn around. [The lounge was their only source of alcohol for a while, so it makes sense, but come on everybody learn to share.]

[oraculi]

[He snorts. Was he someone taking those bottles? Yes. No regrets. But blessedly, there's scotch left, so at least one thing's gone right here.]

Don't take it the wrong way, but I was pretty impressed you kept it together in there at first. It's hard, having one hellish situation in your life and going through another, as I personally can tell you. You didn't miss a beat. But then I realized . . .

[He turns, offering the glass.]

You never had any off time, did you? You went straight from winning to this. You haven't switched off at all, right?

[crashout]

[He takes the glass, and he's nodding along because yeah, no, of course someone like Haymitch would get it considering what little Junpei knows from that first day, but it's the second part that catches him off-guard. He holds the glass suspended in mid-air, blinking in surprise before he pulls his hand back to take a long sip.]

I wasn't even sure I won until Carlos told me what happened. Even then, I wasn't sure he was telling the truth or if it'd be the same for me. And there's still something else to go after next whenever we get back. [There's a tilt of his head, curious to the thought process.] Was it that obvious?

[oraculi]

To me. Not to others, probably.

[But it's a very specific circumstance, so yeah, nobody else probably noted it or cared.]

How many people died in yours?

[crashout]

[Hmmm...]

The game I came from, or the one before that? It's kind of a complicated answer for both of them.

[oraculi]

Take your pick.

[crashout]

In the Nonary Game, it was three for revenge. There were nine of us playing, two more victims, and two people who orchestrated the whole thing. In the Decision Game, it was all of us multiple times until we found the right timeline. There were ten of us playing that time, but one of us set the whole thing up.

[A complicated answer for both of them. Wild.]

[oraculi]

[There's a long few seconds, and then he scoffs softly. Multiple timelines? Way above his paygrade. Does he want to know? Kind of, but much like the sword people, he just plain doesn't have enough energy to ask.]

Who set it up? Anyone you knew?

[crashout]

[Mood, Haymitch. Even Junpei himself has a hard time wrapping his head around it. There's a pause...and he nods.]

The Decision Game was a trap set up by someone we met days before we woke up in the bomb shelter. [...he takes a longer drink, more hesitant with this answer.] And the Nonary Game was...someone I thought I knew really well. But after all that, it felt like I didn't really know her at all.

It's kind of why I'm almost sure there are people among us helping with this whole thing.

[oraculi]

Huh.

[That's a kick in the gut, but it's one he thankfully isn't familiar with. Still: he can at least feel for the guy.]

It's possible. But it seems like you'd wanna get out of here when the killing started. You'd think they'd leave with Nathan and the others, yeah?

Any suspects?

[crashout]

You'd think, but if they left who would be here to make sure the game was running as smoothly as it should? Steering people off-course when they get close to an answer, spreading false information...there are all sorts of ways you can look completely helpless while being a mastermind.

[Suspects though...there's a defeated sort of sigh.] I've been trying to pinpoint somebody but it's still too early. Which is impressive since we've been here for two weeks. There are definitely people I don't trust, and people that seem like they'd do anything for their own gain, but I don't have enough proof.

[oraculi]

Sooner or later everybody here's gonna be selfish.

That's not exactly a list of names, though.

[crashout]

It's not. [But he thinks on that carefully.] Sometimes I'm not sure what side of things Shiraishi's on. I don't really trust Illumi not to be easily swayed and assigned a job he can't say no to. Maou's too over the top to ignore. And...Aizawa's hard to get a read on, too.

But obviously without proof I can't very well go around and ask them about it. But I'm keeping an eye on things.

week 2, post trial

[oraculi]

You've got a job around here. A role, whatever.

[He says it the second they're in private. Sorry if you're having emotions, Junpei! Sorry you hit a girl with a stick seconds before she was declared guilty! Put that shit away! It's time to talk now.]

I'm not asking. I'm confirming it.

[oraculi]

[WELL WE SURE KNOW ABOUT AIZAWA NOW DON'T WE]

You got a place you write it all down?

[crashout]

[IT'S FINE EMOTIONS ARE FOR CHUMPS. Though he gives Haymitch a cursory glance before he shrugs.]

What's your basis of confirmation?

[oraculi]

"I do have information from a good source that Aizawa and Logy were both carriers at one point".

[That's a pretty remarkable memory there, buddy, but he pays more attention than people think.]

You'd say the source if you could, but you can't. Right? Not unless someone already guesses.

[crashout]

Oh. That. [Now he just...kind of looks embarrassed?] It's more like I wasn't gonna out the guy who slept with both of them because it didn't seem like a good time and place. A few of us were tracking the pattern of the demons last week before the news broke.

[Though, he tilts his head.] Interesting that you've heard about these roles though. I've been hearing a lot about them lately.

[oraculi]

[W E L P

That's actually a lot less candid than he assumed Junpei would be, and he raises an eyebrow.]

You're really still gonna worry about modesty here and now?

[JUST SAYING, fucking out everyone at this point.]

[crashout]

I've got a personal investment in this one. It's not about modesty, it's about where the demon itself went.

[But anyway, now there's a new topic he needs to follow through on.] You approached me assuming I had a role because you know other people who do. Not asking, confirming.

[...where else would Haymitch have heard?]