the mastermind meme

[monomods]

 

You asked for it, we're finally giving it to you! Say hello to the mastermind meme!

What does this mean exactly? It means your character is the one responsible for everything! They've been controlling Monobear from the shadows (or maybe they have an assistant to help them, possibly even one of your classmates!), they've been putting forth the motives, running the trials, all of it! And now they've finally chosen to reveal themselves and their true motives.

What are their motives? Why do they want to spread despair? Are they somehow connected to the late Junko Enoshima? And most importantly what is their snazzy Monobear-themed look like? You decide!

Threading reactions is highly encouraged and feel free to AU things up to mix up our current survivor pool as much as you'd like.

Comments

[holocast]

Lysandre doesn't break eye contact; if anything, he finds it interesting that Archer is returning it now. He's always seemed to have some sort of issue with that - but then, so does Lysandre most of the time.

Circumstances have a way of changing things like that, it seems.

"You want to know if I'm going to kill you all. Is that it?"

[sadisticwarfare]

"It's only natural to be curious about my fate." Archer shrugs. "Though I can't imagine you'd end it so easily. In fact, I'm surprised you're showing yourself now while there are still enough of us left to continue this "game." So what is it you have planned for us?"

[holocast]

Lysandre just regards him for a moment; he shifts position, settling back against the coils of Gyarados' body behind him.

"Well, I'm not going to murder you, mon cher; that's never been the plan, to kill you all myself. It's not something that I have any interest in, and besides, I have other plans overall. Surely you didn't believe you were special...?"

He folds his arms across his chest, the gesture idle. "You still don't know why you're all here, do you?"

[sadisticwarfare]

Archer frowns at the question, drumming his fingers against the podium as he thinks. "No, I have no idea why you've brought us here. For a few of us it would make sense if this "game" was a punishment. That raises the question of why you would bring someone like Jimmy here, however."

[holocast]

"Has he ever described Miseryville to you, Colonel? Because if so, I think you would know exactly why he's here - after all, you have a more...common perception of the afterlife than I do, don't you?"

[sadisticwarfare]

"I remember him mentioning that the water was red where he's from. What does that have to do with...?"

That's about when the pieces fall into place and Archer looks momentarily startled.

"...Are you telling me that Jimmy did something horrible enough to get himself sent to hell?" As bizarre as the thought is, he can't easily dismiss it. There's no way Jimmy could be as nice and genuine as he appeared, so perhaps he was merely covering something up this entire time. Archer's frown deepens.

"So we really are here to be punished? How did you find out about everything we've done?"

[holocast]

"You aren't here to be punished - not exactly, anyway. But you're close."

He unfolds his arms then, allowing his fingertips to trail lightly along the length of Gyarados' body immediately next to him.

"How I found out isn't the point, Colonel; the point is that I did. As it stands, Jimmy and Heloise did something bad enough to end up sentenced to eternal damnation. John, Aradia and Roxy are unstable teenagers with powers that, if left unchecked, have potental to destroy the world. Dahlia is a serial killer. Prosecutor von Karma has led many, many people to death over the years, sacrificing justice for her overzealous desire for perfection. Maya and Sam are abominations unto mankind. And you...? I don't even need to describe what a wretched being you are, do I?

"But just the same, I didn't want to kill you. Not really. You see, I've always been too much of an idealist for my own good."

He clasps his hands lightly at chest-level, steepling his fingers before he continues. "Miss Usami's presence was my doing; she was designed to encourage you all to form bonds with each other. To ensure that you built friendships, to make you want to protect each other, or at least ensure that you wouldn't want to see each other die. To see that you remained united, even in the face of adversity. And then Monobear was introduced, to provide that adversity. To see what you would do.

"Don't you see? I wanted you to prove that you could be changed, that you could still be decent people despite your tendency toward violence and other repulsive behaviors. I wanted you to prove that you were worth saving."

He laughs a bit, the sound high and cold. "And if that failed...well, at least I would be saving your worlds from all of you."

[sadisticwarfare]

Archer listens to all that silently. He's not really sure what to make of all of it - he can't imagine having the power to bring people here and then give them hope; it's something he would never do and it's difficult for him to see why Lysandre would want his carefully-laid plans to be foiled, even if that meant that he was wrong in the best of ways. He'd still be wrong, after all.

After a moment, he smirks. Lysandre's explanation may not make perfect sense, but part of it certainly needs clarification. "I'm afraid you're wrong in that regard. Even if I'm removed from my world, that won't change the course of history. I'm but a pawn in a grander scheme, I'm afraid."

He mirrors Lysandre's stance, folding his fingers against the podium without really realizing what he's doing. "Fuhrer Bradley will have someone else lead the troops in my place. The citizens of Liore will be wiped out, regardless of who is leading them. Mustang is already in the vicinity; I wouldn't be surprised if the Fuhrer handed my role off to him." Which would be very unfortunate, but Archer doesn't dwell on that.

"I alone haven't doomed Amestris, Lysandre. You should have brought Bradley or perhaps one of the other Homunculi if you were so desperate to save innocent lives."

[holocast]

"Oh, indeed?" Lysandre doesn't seem bothered by the correction; if anything, it seems to have amused him. "It seems you weren't listening terribly well when I said this earlier, so I'll repeat it for your benefit - 'Surely, you didn't believe you were special.'"

He tosses his head slightly, the usual arrogance seeping back into his expression. "Do you think that I'm not aware of what Bradley is doing? How about your subordinate - the mass-murdering war criminal? I know of him as well. How do you know they aren't in games of their own as we speak?"

[sadisticwarfare]

That certainly makes him hesitate. He hadn't mentioned Kimbley to anyone - at least, he hadn't mentioned just what Kimbley had done. He shakes it off quickly enough though, the smirk falling back into place easily. "You can't possibly be running multiple games. How would you have managed to control Monobear and play your part as one of us? Even if you weren't physically present for the other games, you would have had to keep an eye on things with Monobear, which would have been impossible given how much time you spent around us."

[holocast]

That amused expression still hasn't left him. "And if they aren't active players anymore...? Tell me, Colonel - how long were you unconscious, before awakening on the beach? Do you know?"

[sadisticwarfare]

Archer doesn't say anything at first, expression openly surprised before he manages to replace it with the usual smirk. It's not as confident as usual though, and the way his hands have tightened on the podium should speak volumes.

He might have underestimated Lysandre.

"Very well, so it's possible that you've already had them play your little game; it's entirely possible that they're already dead, or if they aren't dead yet, they'll be the next participants in your game. I don't particularly care what happens to Amestris.

"What I want to know is what you intend to do with me." Because as usual, he's the most important person in this room.

[holocast]

Lysandre tilts his head a little bit at that. "As self-serving as ever, I see. It's almost a shame, that you still haven't learned. But very well; if you really want to know, I intend to do nothing with you."

He finally moves then, rising easily to his feet and allowing Gyarados to uncoil itself, its body twisting as it rises into the air, revealing its full 6.5 meters of length; it doesn't go far, however, hovering above Lysandre where he stands, arms open, stance broad.

Not as though Archer would have any way to know, but it's a twisted version of a position Lysandre has always associated with comfort and friendship, a mockery of the welcoming gesture Augustine always used to offer him. When Augustine was still alive, that is.

"You all know by now that there's no way off this island unless I allow you to leave; I'm sorry to inform you that you'll never escape without my assistance, unless the Supreme Creator decides to take pity on you. Of course, I've run many iterations of this game and it's never taken pity on my students - but who knows, hm? Perhaps you'll be the chosen ones."

He smiles a bit, the gesture perhaps unsettlingly open. "Don't worry, I'm not going to take anything from you; it would be prudent of you to be sparing with what supplies are left in this place, however. They won't last forever."

[sadisticwarfare]

"...So you plan on letting us die?" Archer moves to fold his arms. "Why bring us all down here then? Why reveal yourself now?" It doesn't make any sense to him. If he were in this position, he would not reveal himself until the very end.

[holocast]

"Because the game is over, mon cher." Lysandre's voice is patient, though tinged with mild, almost fond exasperation - suiting for a teacher handling a particularly difficult student.

A Professor, if you will.

"Do you think I'm going to stay here with you...? You've failed, all of you - and I don't have time to waste looking after failures."

[sadisticwarfare]

"So you're going to leave and what, start another game? How long do you intend to keep running these? You can't possibly save every world from destruction." Archer is openly irritated now; he doesn't do well with failure or even being called a failure.

[holocast]

Sorry-not-sorry about the truth, Archer; it sort of stings a bit, doesn't it.

"I don't think that's your concern anymore."

[sadisticwarfare]

Rude. Archer can't find words for a moment but his grip tightens on the podium to the point where it's starting to hurt. "So that's it, then? You reveal your motives and leave us to die?"

[holocast]

Lysandre just shrugs a bit. "What would you have me do? I certainly can't let you go - you had several chances to prove me wrong there, and none of you succeeded."

[sadisticwarfare]

"Why can't we remain on the island? We can't do anything to get home and there's no chance of us escaping given the ocean, so let us remain here." He'd really rather not remain here, but his priority is living. He can work out what to do after he has that secured.

[holocast]

"Perhaps I'll allow it - but tell me, how long do you think you'll last, once I've abandoned your game? Surely you don't think all your provisions - food, supplies, medicine...surely you don't think those all just magically appeared? What do you plan to do once no one is here to provide for you?"

[sadisticwarfare]

Archer is silent for a moment, trying to come up with something to say in response. His initial thought is to make a case for his own life, but if anything, that will probably only anger Lysandre. It would certainly prove his point, that they're awful people who don't deserve to be saved. He could try to argue for the rest of them, but Lysandre likely wouldn't believe him (for good reason, of course).

"...We'll cross that bridge when we get there." It's not an answer and he knows it.

[holocast]

"Showing determination like that, even now?"

He actually isn't mocking; rather, it sounds quite like he approves. "Your conviction is admirable, at least. I'll grant all of you that much - you've been an interesting lot."

[sadisticwarfare]

"If you expect me to give up, you have another thing coming." He never gives up, no matter how dire the situation. Admittedly he usually tries to side with people who won't put him in such a dire situation to begin with, but he doubts there's any way to get on Lysandre's good side at this point.

[holocast]

"I've known several like you, you know - with enough determination and the will to refuse to give up, even in the face of their inevitable demise. It never ended any better for them than it did the ones who simply lay down and died."

He offers a bit of a flippant gesture, however. "Your subordinate was one of them, by the way; I believe he was still alive when I left that lot, though obviously I've no idea how he's doing now. Most likely dead; that was a while ago."