video;

[eternallily]

[Saki looks tired, but she's holding up okay as it stands. She doesn't much like using the network, and right now, she really doesn't like it, but it's the best way to speak to the tower as a whole. She has a book with her, and she cracks it open, beginning to read:]

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

[Anyone who knows Saki knows poetry isn't her usual style, but she's not been herself lately, to say the least.]

Is April always so cruel here? Or was this month just particularly bad?

...Kazumi, Kyoko, Mami - are you three okay?

Comments

[text]

[eternallily]

The quote is from a famous poem. It's called The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. The opening lines felt appropriate, even if every month here is cruel in its own way.

Is there a pattern? I had been focusing so much on the forest, so to speak, that I'd failed to see the individual trees.

[text]

[gloomyapoplectic]

Oh
I Was Not Aware
I Am Not Very Familiar With The Poetry Of Your People
It Sounds Like An Interesting Poem
If Somewhat Bleak

Yes
The Cycle Became Irregular In Light Of
Recent Events
However There Was Previously A Set Schedule To When Each Administrator Would Lead The Tower
I Am Sure The Pattern Will Emerge Again
By Observing The Pattern It Is Possible To Steel Yourself For What The Month May Bring
So I Think It Is Helpful To Know

[text]

[eternallily]

The library has a copy, which surprises me. I'll return it shortly, if you want to read it. It's beautiful.

...you mean, in light of...what happened after the visitors came.

May I ask, what was the pattern before? It can't have changed too much...

[text]

[gloomyapoplectic]

Oh
That Would Be Nice
Thank You



Yes
That Is What I Was Referring To

The Previous Pattern As I Observed It Went As Follows
Dax
Jason
Riki
Ruana
And Then It Would Start Over After That In The Same Order
The Months That Tend To Be The Most Dangerous Are The Ones When Jason And Ruana Are In Control
This Month Was In Accordance With Jasons Signature Kind Of Work

[text]

[eternallily]

You're welcome.

I thought as much.

That explains a lot, actually. If February was when Ruana was in charge last, it would explain those games, and why she was so angry at them being interrupted. And we can probably assume that May will be the calm before the storm in June...

[text]

[gloomyapoplectic]

Yes I Agree With Your Assessments On The Matter
While The Chaos Does Not Seem To Be Strictly Preventable It Is Slightly More Calming To Have A Vague Schedule Of It At Least
So It Is Possible To Prepare
Mentally More Than Any Other Way

Ruana Has Said Before That She Enjoys Games
So If She Is In Control Of The Month Called June
We Can Probably Expect Some Kind Of Game