linkingup | Kirumi Tojo's Palace | The Ultimate Maid's Failures

Kirumi Tojo's Palace | The Ultimate Maid's Failures

By now everyone may be used to find themselves in bizarre locations, between going into palaces and visiting Nekyia. It might not come as a surprise that it has happened again.

What might come as a surprise, though...is how empty this place is.

All around you there's nothing more than a large, gray, featureless expanse. In the distance there seem to be bars, curving upwards to gather so, so high above you, possibly hundreds of miles above, so high it’s hard to distinguish.

It’s a cage. So unfathomably large. You could escape, were you to get to the edges of the cage, but...it would take forever. No matter how you look at it, you're trapped. The atmosphere is so...hopeless. Devoid of anything even remotely positive.

Not that you want to hang around for long, do you? After all, this is someone's palace. Not a place to stick around at. What to do, though?

It’s all so...empty. Silent. Featureless. A flat expanse of hard gray tiles.

Gather together, everyone. Gather and choose a direction. North, East, West, South. All directions look completely identical, but could it affect your time in this place, somehow? Probably not. But all treks start with the first step. Perhaps, if you get moving, you'll progress?

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[Nobody has gotten the third bowl yet, so take a look and see if it's helpful to you!

The inscription is the bigger one of all three:

How many people would you be willing to sacrifice to save 127000000 persons?

Golly]

[...That's almost as big as her entire fanbase. What the hell.

It hits, after a moment--are...these questions that Kirumi has had to ask of herself? Before she killed, before she acted in her own killing game? Are these bowls meant to symbolize that?

Well, the weight of that hits like a brick to the head. Is there anything else about the bowls to check over, or should Sayaka go and consult the others?]

[Looks like the bowls got nothing else for Sayaka to discover. Go ahead, Sayaka! Teamwork makes the dream work]

[...Okay. Curiosity is absolutely getting the better of Sayaka.

She's gonna go to the machine Argenti was at and print out some people over there. What happens if she puts one into the bowl? She'll do the first bowl first.]

[When the paper dolls falls into the bottom of the bowl, Monokuma's voice sounds. It's...somehow, the voice is lacking its usual mocking tone. It's as if someone or something is using Monokuma's voice to communicate, instead of it being actually him]

'You're Sayaka Maizono. You would sacrifice one person to save one person. Is this your final answer?'

[...SHE LITERALLY JUST SAID--]

I--I gave my answer earlier, that's not what I'd--!

[...Maybe this is what's needed to proceed, though. And it's...one person...listen if she just thinks of it as doing it for someone she cares about it's fine.]

...Y-Yes. Um. Final answer.

[Upon the confirmation, the bowl burns the person inside to cinders. All that's left is a very fine layer of ash in there, which is swept away by a sudden breeze.

From nowhere, Kirumi's voice:]

...were you honest? May I ask why that was your answer?

[Doesn't sound like she's judging, but she's interested in hearing what led to such an answer.

The most important thing to remark, whether it's in meta or in-character, is if Sayaka was honest.]

Edited 2024-10-03 01:25 (UTC)

[...]

I--I meant what I said earlier, that I don't want to sacrifice people anymore. I spent so long beating myself up and regretting my actions--stepping on other people to get my way.

...But even I can't deny that if push truly came to shove and someone I really cared about here was threatened, that I'd...

[The implication is obvious, and it's completely honest.]

...I'd act recklessly and do anything to save them, so yes.

[Kirumi's voice is back]

I do not think there is fault in such a stance.

Perhaps that is why Monokuma uses such motives. They are the most relatable one can think of.

...I accept your answer.

[Hm? Looks like Kirumi's mindscape has accepted Sayaka's response to that question, for some reason.

The dumbwaiter descends without anyone touchings its controls. When it comes back, it brings a black note with white letters on it, in Kirumi's handwriting.

'I would not sacrifice anyone to save someone else. Not even myself. There must always be some sort of solution that does not involve someone dying for it.

I hope I can hold onto such a thought, even in a place like this.'

It seems Sayaka's answer didn't match Kirumi's thoughts, but Kirumi finds no fault with Sayaka's reasoning nor feelings. The bowl fills up with water.

This bowl is cleared]

[I forgot to add an important detail:

If Sayaka tries to interact with either of the other two bowls, they won't work!

(no subject)

destage - 2024-10-03 01:51 (UTC) - Expand

[ so that sure was a thing with sayaka and the one person thing huh, but by now joshua has seen the question on the third bowl, so,

he's also heading over to the machine to print more people - except that it's taking too long to print that many people so he's wandering over to the dumbwaiter. ]

Hey, can I have like, 250 thousand of those paper people?

[ surely this is fine ]

[The dumbwaiter doesn't reply. Instead, the dumbwaiter returns, densely packed with a cube of paper filling the entire space.

When Joshua gets the cube out, it'll automatically unfold into a paper doll as big as the Exisal McGillis pilots. It's marked with '250000' on a side of it. How will this fit into the bowl?

Palace logic is how. Thank goodness something like this is paper and therefore carrying it isn't a total pain, although Joshua may need some assistance on that regard anyway due to the size, haha]

[ HOW DOES HE MAKE IT GO BACK INTO A CUBE. ]

Urgh.

[ anyway. struggling! why is the stupid bowl so far from the dumbwaiter someone help ]

[ Well! Argenti will lend a hand here.

Two heads are better than one, right? ]

Here, let me assist you.

[ under argenti and Joshua's combined efforts joshua will head to the third bowl, the one where it asks how many people would it take to save 127000000 people.

joshua had to ask himself this question, a long time ago.

(not so long ago, but it feels like forever.)

so without a word, he holds out an arm to stop argenti from getting too close lest he gets caught up in joshua's answer, and palace logic somehow dictates that the giant paper fits into the tiny bowl. ]

[The bowls is completely clogged with this paper doll. It's kind of funny to see, really!

Something using Monokuma's voice asks the question, neutral]

You are Joshua. You would sacrifice 250000 people to save 127000000 people. Is that your final answer?

... Yes.

[ this better work. ]

[Well! It's impossible to see, but in the bowl the fire was turned on. Slowly, the gigantic paper doll sank into the bowl, while it gets progressively incinerated.

Once it's gone and the bowl is full of so much ash the breeze sure isn't able to remove it, Kirumi's voice asks:]

That's a rather extreme quantity. What kind of situation would require the lives of so many people?

[Although, if it were the real Kirumi, she wouldn't be able to deny that someone like Monokuma would set up a situation like that one if he had a chance, so yeah, the real her would see it as somewhat plausible.

Will you answer honestly, Joshua?]

Trust me.

[ don't trust him, you saw what happened in Atem's palace ]

[Immediately:]

Hell no.

[ that makes him laugh. ]

Smart.

What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you?

I'll pass on a second chance.

Darling, when have I ever lied to you, though?

[ TECHNICALLY he has not. realistically... let's not go there ]

"Fooling" someone doesn't mean you have to lie.

[She's not falling for it!!]