Did you love this world, and did this world not love you?

[enhancements]

[Saying that Wesker is angry is vastly overstating his emotional reaction to anything that just happened; he quite simply doesn't feel anything, just cold and driven by method as opposed to emotion, and when notes are shoved under the doors this evening...well, it's really obvious who wrote them even if they're not signed, let's put it that way.]

This has gone on entirely too long for us to remain idle. The only way to defeat power is with more power; it's the one universal constant in this world. The only power we have right now is in our unity, and we need to utilize that to its fullest.

Grieve however you see fit, as mourning in this situation is warranted. But when you're all done crying we need to gather and we need to share information. Whatever you have that might assist us in this situation can and likely will be vital over the next several weeks.

This meeting isn't mandatory, nor is it something that many of you will necessarily want to do, but it's in our best interests to persevere despite our losses. Even if you have nothing to contribute – or if you don't feel like contributing, which is your prerogative – it's for the best to not be alone right now.

Meet in the dining hall. Food will be provided, as per usual.

[...He tried. He tried really hard, and that's the sad thing.

That said, though, there will in fact be food! And also tea. Both are courtesy of Asgore, seeing as Wesker can't manage either to save his life. But they're there, and Wesker will...likewise be there in the dining hall and just seeing who shows up. Whether anything productive comes out of this has yet to be seen; somehow he doubts anything will. But again, there was an attempt made in the first place, and that's got to count for something.]

Comments

you found him

[cthulwho]

[Rin will find Lovecraft in his room, should she try there before heading to the meeting. Honestly he should be on his way over there himself, but... He's had some things to reflect on, as Rin might expect.]

Rin.

[...is his response when he answers the door.

He can't say he's very surprised to see her this soon.]

[heritrix]

Lovecraft.

[She greets him plainly, with a notebook in hand. It's not the one she had at the trial. She also has another one of those cakes.]

Let me in, please. There's something important I need to discuss with you before I see anyone else.

[cthulwho]

...Fine.

[He's really not in the mood, but he will still step aside so Rin can enter. May as well get this out of the way...

If Rin is interested in getting a look around when she enters, there isn't too much to see. There's just a bunch of random things from the vending machine dumped in a corner and a messy bed.

Lovecraft will turn to her once the door is closed.]

What is it?

[heritrix]

[She actually isn't. That might seem a little odd if he's watched her; regardless of how many times she's been it it before, that tends to be the first thing Rin does whenever she enters a room.]

Did you really vote for yourself, when Nachetanya told you to?

[cthulwho]

[Indeed, it is odd. After all, she was the one to even be willing to walk right into his room to look around if his door was unlocked.

To Rin's question, he...nods. She certainly didn't miss that, at the very least.]

There was a reason for it.

[...that's all he's going to say for now.]

[heritrix]

I know.

[That doesn't come out accusatory. She lowers her eyes, and flips through the notebook in her hands. When she finds the page she's looking for, she rips it out and hands it to him.]

Nachetanya detailed it out.

[cthulwho]

[Even if it wasn't accusatory, receiving that response still gets a great deal of pause from him. It's the realization that something he thought was private was not so private after all. Or rather, is no longer private.

That pause continues as he takes the page from Rin and reads it over. By the time he gets to the end of Nachetanya's notes on him, he just...sighs. It's...an amused sort of sigh.

No one ever knows what to make of him. That...is how it has always been.]

I take it you want to know more about this. About...what I do.

[More importantly, he is curious to know what Rin will do with this information.]

[heritrix]

Yes. [She pauses as well.] Before, it would have been for other reasons, but right now I want to make sure whatever it is isn't used against us.

So you know first of all, George has read this too. We discovered it together. But aside from him, no one else knows besides whomever you may have told yourself.

[cthulwho]

[...

His eyes narrow, much like at the trial. For one, he doesn't like the fact that George knows for personal reasons. Though it's the first part that seems to agitate him.]

Do not speak of me as though I am a tool for you all to use against each other.

[He knows that is how he is often viewed. But he does not want to hear it here.]

[heritrix]

You're not. [If that was a threat and not just a warning, she doesn't seem to hear it, speaking without a beat missed between his response and hers.] But if others found out, I don't know that they'd see it that way.

Lovecraft. [She clasps her hands, notebook and all, over her heart.] Please enter into a contract with me. Or at least hear out what I have to say before refusing.

[cthulwho]

[And there it is. Sakura informed him Rin would do this as soon as she discovered the possibility to make a contract with him. But the fact that she jumped right into it on the heels of his request to not be treated like a tool is certainly something.

...He decides he will at least humor her.]

Why are you so eager? Even with Nachetanya's notes, your knowledge of my work is limited.

[heritrix]

[She takes a deep breath.] If I'm eager, it's because I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. I've had suspicions about your nature since I read your name on the profiles the Transmitter made of each of us. Having read this notebook, I think I was mistaken now.

[Alas. The Lovecraft is a Servant meme is put to rest. May angels sing it to its slumber...]

Either way, the situation is changed. You can't help me, but what Nachetanya did at the trial was irritating.

[cthulwho]

[It was wonderful while it lasted...

And yet, while the meme is put to rest, it only raises questions for Lovecraft himself.]

...What are you talking about?

[Suspicions about his nature? And his name... It's true that those who seek him out are often familiar with it. But he's come to discover that it has completely different connotations elsewhere. What does his name mean to Rin?]

[heritrix]

...I thought you were a Servant. A Heroic Spirit that got caught up in this. Perhaps the real H.P. Lovecraft, or a representative of Randolph Carter; a character in the author's stories who's considered to be autobiographical. You're really reminiscent of them both.

[She sighs.] But unless you are a Heroic Spirit, that probably sounds like gibberish to you.

[...okay, she'll pause here. One last hope he knows what she's talking about??]

[cthulwho]

[...

...

...]

Oh. The author. My name confused Tsubasa for that reason, too...

[This is all very confusing, sure, but on the flipside this obviously isn't his first time hearing about the author who shares his name.]

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about your Heroic Spirits. [They sound interesting, at least?] Though I assume they also take contracts...?

[heritrix]

At times. They can be summoned, and work as partners with people like me.

[...]

In my world, I'm a participant in the Fifth Holy Grail War. In it, seven human mages, each accompanied by one Heroic Spirit as an ally, compete to win the Holy Grail. It's a fight to the death. The Grail is an omnipotent wish-granting device that has the power to make the impossible happen. It's never been won before, but should a Master and Servant pair win, both would have their wish fulfilled.

[cthulwho]

[Lovecraft listens to this with interest at first, but...

He...sighs heavily?]

It sounds incredibly tedious. Just the thought of being summoned for something like that exhausts me.

[There's not even advance payment for going through such a slog!]

Though...the concept of being summoned to be an ally is not foreign to me.

[heritrix]

[Rin blinks at his initial reaction, only to end up laughing. Not a loud laugh, just a chuckle.]

I'm kicking myself for suspecting you for so long. I'm not sure you'd be eligible by the Grail's standards without a desire to win.

[How is he summoned, she wonders?]

[cthulwho]

Did you really hope to make an ally out of me for your war, had I been one of your Heroic Spirits?

["Heroic" would be an odd term to apply to him, anyway...]

[heritrix]

I did. Servants are... incredibly strong, to put it lightly. I need a strong ally if I'm to survive.

[Need, not want.]

[cthulwho]

[Hmmm. He doesn't tell Rin whether he would have agreed to that or not, but he does file the information away for the time being.]

And your request here...?

[heritrix]

[Right, here we go. He's open to hear her out now, so Rin holds her head higher, shaking cobwebs from her mind.]

Don't kill anyone at another's command, or vote in the trials as they tell you to.

I won't bind you any further than that, but whatever action you take in those capacities, I would like for you to make the decision yourself.

[She waits very carefully, for his reaction.]

1/2

[cthulwho]

Your order would be for me to act independently?

[That's...]

[cthulwho]

[Once again, that amused sigh escapes him.]

You...certainly are interesting, Rin Tohsaka.

[He does understand why she would order such a thing. As she said (and as much as it irritated him, it's wasn't wrong), it would prevent others from trying to him for their own gain. He never intended for his contract with Nachetanya to be fulfilled in the way that it was- it was an eye opener, an example to show him that it would be wise to limit his contracts in general.

He knows this is strategic on Rin's part, in the end...but something about it just hits his curiosity. That she would order him to think for himself.]

Before I ask for your tribute, I must tell you that your first request is unnecessary. I...already made a promise not to kill anyone directly.

[It wasn't part of a contract, necessarily, but...it's something he would like to try to hold up on his own.]

[heritrix]

[She looks delighted by this. Did someone else have the same idea that she did? That irritates her on a quiet level, but if that was the order they made, she can't help but admire them for that.]

You're not a Servant, so I may as well remind myself of that truth. But that's already taken care of? This may end up being a simple contract.

[...should she ask for more. Lacing her fingers, she feels sort of like she should, but she's not sure what. It might be better to leave it as is, but she's clearly thinking.]