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RYSLIG - MODS ([personal profile] rysligmods) wrote in [community profile] graveyardsmash2016-01-13 12:29 am
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JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

TEST DRIVE
Welcome to Ryslig's test drive meme! If you're considering apping here, this is where you can try your characters out in the game's setting. A few things to note:

  • You can only app ONE character per round so choose wisely.
  • We now have a Quick Game Facts that simplifies the basic information about the game. Good if you want to see what the game is at a glance!
  • Ryslig's FAQ is located here, so please take a look if you have questions.

  • The Reserve date is 01/29.
  • Test drive meme threads can be used for your roleplay sample!
  • Players with characters already in the game can earn up to a maximum of 6 coins by replying to potential character threads! You cannot use this to go over the bonus 20 coins per month total, but you can use it to reach that coin total. Same rules as normal bonuses apply.

Sample scenarios:
SCENARIO ONE: So you've just arrived, fresh out of the hospital, and already the natives are trying to get on your good side. Offers of food, shelter and other luxuries in return for hoping you don't eat them. They even have some helpful pamphlets to share with you. "How To Deal With Changes", "Alternatives to Human Flesh", "What to Expect When You're Expecting (to turn into a monster)" are all great pamphlets. There's even some detailing certain monsters, and the changes they go through. Some of these seem to have been passed down from one monster to the next.

Among these however, are some... not so helpful ones. "Bunnyipyips And You", "Axe Thief Axehounds," and "So you're becoming a Fur Bearing Trout" among others. Sometimes they have marks on them from previous people who had them saying they are lies, or pointing out good "jokes."

SCENARIO TWO: You've become hopelessly lost in Lager Woods. Paths don't seem to lead where you remember them leading, and you feel as if you're going around in circles. Childlike giggling can be heard from no direction in particular. Suddenly, you stumble upon another character, who seems to be just as lost as you! Perhaps you can find a way out together. Or maybe they want you for lunch...

SCENARIO THREE: The time has come and you've found yourself becoming a monster. Is the change instant, or gradual? Are you familiar enough with monsters to know what's happening, or is it a complete shock? NOTE: Feel free to pick any monster type for this prompt, but note that you may not get the same one in game.

SCENARIO FOUR:The claws, the fangs, the pangs of hunger - horrible as they all are, it's manageable given enough time and perseverance. Local monster hunters, though, not so much.

Maybe it started with a few wayward glances on the outskirts of town, critical stares and disapproving whispers, or just the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever it was, deserved or entirely unprovoked, you're being hunted: a handful of aggressive, well-armed humans doggedly chase your trail throughout city streets and out into the open, and if you're not careful (if you don't find help soon) you might wind up as the next trophy kill claim on one of those hunter's walls.
hearthebell: (I'm cutting my mind off)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-19 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
[L is grappling with the proper way to process and respond to this. It's crushing, of course, to know that at Mello's last awareness, actual years into the future, Kira still had the world wrapped around his little finger. He starts to reach toward the bridge of his nose to pinch it, then remembers that his hand is covered in cream. He grasps a handful of napkins from the nearby basket instead, which he begins tearing into thin strips once he has wiped up the mess.]

I can't say that I'm terribly surprised. Like many they had a hard time seeing what was right in front of their faces.

[It's as graceful and charitable as he can be. It's still barely restrained animosity toward those who are not present and who have let him down.

He takes a deep breath, for no other reason than he remembers it used to calm him.]


...Tell me about your results.
planmade: (desperate)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-20 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[It feels as if he's back at Wammy's all over again. L might not have spent much actual time with the kids there, but Mello had spoken with him on more than one occasion and there were the rare instances he'd check in via video. It's as if he's being asked to discuss his progress on a given problem. What were the mistakes made and how could they have been prevented?]

I told you some of what I learned from the Shinigami. On top of that, it's possible to make a deal with one of them for the ability to see a person's name and lifespan just by looking at them in exchange for half your own remaining life. This is what the second Kira must have done. The original Kira's own life would have been too important to him for him to squander it with that deal.

[Mistake: Having his henchmen grab the Death Note instead of taking the second or two needed to grab it himself. He would have made it out, as their fumbling and hesitation were what kept them from being able to escape in time.]

I had a contact within Near's unit, allowing me to be privy to a lot of what he gathered himself. For many reasons, he suspected that whoever was currently using the name L was actually Kira, and that this person was Yagami Light.

[Mistake: Taking the word of Yagami Soichiro. He might have been an honest individual, but he wasn't the one pulling the strings within the Japanese Task Force.]

Kira was working through two other individuals. Having figured all this out, Near planned on meeting with Light and his task force in a final showdown of sorts. But I know Near and I had some idea of how Kira would operate too. They both would be sure they had each other, but Kira has always had too many unknowns on his side. I had to be an unexpected outside influence.

[Mistake: Not assuming Matt would simply be killed rather than taken in. Mistake: Not forcing Takada to strip down completely while he watched. Mistake: ...]
hearthebell: (Eyes like broken Christmas lights)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-20 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[L knows full well that he is asking to be tortured long and slowly by inquiring about a span of years that sounds like nothing short of a disaster. His dichotomous personality also feels like one at the moment; a combination of Mello's passion and Near's stoicism, he's caught between the extremes of stalking from the table to knock someone else's coffee vindictively to the floor, or else shutting down completely.

When opposing forces exert equal pressure on a body, it remains in place. L merely continues to tear his napkin into neat strips, organized and orderly destruction as Mello speaks of things he never would have allowed to happen if he'd lived. Every time Mello reflects on a mistake he can see a red marker behind his eyes, circling and striking with vicious motions.

Not ready, neither of them were ready...]


Yes... that all sounds right. Given the way the pieces were set... it's a very natural way for it to all play out.

[The words sound dead and wooden. It's still sinking in.]

I would have hoped that the two of you could have survived. You're not saying it outright, but "unexpected outside influences" tend not to last long. Given my own experiences with Kira's unknowns... my impression is that you didn't make it.

[His mistakes, circled in glaring red on L's mental template, can't have helped matters, but L doesn't say so aloud. He made his own, after all; neither of them survived this case, and performing a drawn-out postmortem at this point isn't going to help either of them and might breed resentment at worst.]

Speaking of unknowns... if anyone else involved with this case shows up, it would benefit us to work together, Mello. We're harder to kill as monsters, but it's still possible for us to die.

[He notably doesn't assume an alliance, leaving that decision in Mello's hands. He's pretty sure that the young man will agree and see the wisdom in it, but if it's the headstrong Mello's own choice and he feels like he actually has some say in the matter, he's far more likely to dedicate himself fully to a cause.]
planmade: (listen)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-20 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Mistake: Not working with Near from the start.

Is that what this is? Is that the lesson?

It would benefit us to work together, Mello. There had been a point in time when hearing this from L would have thrilled him beyond belief. But as he looks across the table now he has a hard time not seeing Near's eyes under that dark mess of hair. Working with others had always come easier for Mello when he'd been the one calling the shots, not taking his place as a piece on the board.

He raises a hand to his chest, cross dangling from his wrist to clink lightly against leather. His eyes focus on the table in front of him, in the space just before L's napkin carnage.]


There's just a moment, two, when your heart throbs hard against your rib cage and then shuts itself off. One infinitely long but far too short period of time to wonder about the impact of everything you've ever done with your life. It's probably best that you don't remember that.

[Mello lifts his eyes, gaze hardening.]

I'll work with whoever I need to, but only on my own terms.
hearthebell: (You came on like a punch in the heart)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-20 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's a delicate and difficult balance to strike. A wrong move could make this interaction an icy or incendiary one, but L is well-used to proceeding with just enough care to protect him and just enough edge to get good results. The advantage he has in this case, tricky though it is, is the benefit of having known Mello in his youth and understanding what motivates his fiery nature. Additionally, the way the blond words his answer indicates strongly that Mello is holding onto some pride and some regret, recognizing his greatest mistake even as he realizes that he would have had to relinquish that unacceptable little bit of control to make it work.

Cruelty would be seizing the back of his neck like a dog and rubbing his face in it, but L reserves that kind of malice for those who aren't on his side. There's a time and place to linger on shortcomings, and courting an alliance with Mello isn't it. No, it might be better to remind the other man that while there is something uncanny he shares with Near, the two are far from the same person, and they value different things more often than Mello might expect.]


Actually, while it's true that I don't remember that quick death, I remember the slow one that did this to me very clearly.

["This", of course, being L's current state of pale, cold undeath. Though it suiits him in an unhappy way to have the life and vitality drained the rest of the way from his already dull and lackluster visage, it's clear that he doesn't revel in it or feel quite at-peace with what the change has left him with.]

Not only was there time to know what was happening and to think about the impact of my life, there was time to go through every phase of grief acceptance in a matter of days. At first I denied it and tried to keep going as usual, but it wasn't long before I had to accept the inevitable: that I couldn't fight it and every second I tried would just prolong my suffering. By the time my heart stopped I had to think about every breath and I couldn't stay warm, and while I didn't want to die... I guess you could say that death was stronger. There wasn't shame in admitting it by that point. It hurt for a second but then I was stronger, too.

That being said, I miss my heartbeat every second, so...

[He abandons his napkin-tearing to unfasten a couple of his shirt's buttons; close-fitting leather straps are visible over his collarbone and his ribs as he takes something metal and moving out of a pouch situated just over his sternum and sets it precisely on the surface of the table where Mello's eyes have settled. It's clever and exquisite, a small clockwork heart that beats rhythmically and pulses through a tympanic apparatus. Nudging aside the napkins, he rests his palms facedown on the table.]

The secret is that there is always a way for a partnership to be on your own terms.
Edited 2016-01-20 15:10 (UTC)
planmade: (curious)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-20 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Staring silently at the clockwork device, all Mello can think of is that there's some odd sort of poetic justice to the fact that L is now literally wearing a heart outside his skin.

Stronger after death, though. That would be just like him.

He leans forward, dirty blond hair curtaining either side of his face as he bends to get a better look. When he reaches a hand out, though, it isn't to feel that fake heartbeat against his palm, but rather to make a grab for one of L's wrists. He needs to feel the lack of a pulse against cold, dead skin. It may be the first time he's tried to touch the other man of his own accord.

His voice lowers.]


And how do you feel now? What about your weaknesses now?

[Don't think he's forgotten the glances given those departing the cafe previously.]
hearthebell: (5000 people with designer drugs)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-20 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[L fully expects Mello to reach out and take the heart on the table before them. Strangely, he doesn't expect the young man to reach out and take one of his bony wrists, and though he doesn't feel a pulse in those appendages, he pulls away almost reflexively, wide-eyed and anxious.

For better or worse, his cold wrist has no blood pulsing through it, and his eyes widen when Mello reaches out and seizes it.

He pulls away, not powerfully, but pleadingly.]


MellO! Let go, please...!

[He's having a tough time coping with it. He shakes his head, an automatic gesture of denial and rejection, before he answers.]

Silver... sunlight. Please stop...

[There's a silver coin strapped to the underside of his wrist, which Mello can likely feel through the gauze binding it now that he's grasping it. L is pulling back, clearly coveting his own space.]

I feel dead, but... please stop...

[He's clearly hurt. If Mello has any empathy at all, he might feel compelled to let him go.]
Edited (omg fuck me ) 2016-01-21 01:17 (UTC)
planmade: (curious)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-21 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
[While he'd fully expected L not to appreciate the physical contact, the actual reaction to it throws Mello off completely. He's never seen his mentor express such pure and naked emotion. Part of him wants to let go immediately, but the other...

The other part of him is so fascinated that he can't bring himself to break contact just yet. He turns L's wrist just slightly, gently, running his thumb over the gauzed up coin as the other man pleads with him. At that final 'please' he lets it go.

Silver and sunlight. So a vampire almost certainly. But why the coin? Do they make silver coins here? He can't think of any other reason for L to have something like that strapped to himself. Either he's testing for when the silver weakness actually kicks in, or he's determined not to be caught without money for a pay phone.]


... Sorry.

[And he is, for the most part. It wasn't his intention to cause L that much discomfort.]

Are you alright?
hearthebell: (Your fantasies become your legacy)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-21 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Admittedly, for one who hasn't seen it before, it's overstated and doubtless fascinating. L wants that contact broken, shaking and wide-eyed, and even though he's technically dead, he still attempts to pull away from Mello's grip, shaking his head, looking every bit as desperate and unhappy as he feels. The muscles in his forearm are taut and tense in Mello's hands, and an unvoiced but very frustrated sound is coiled in the back of his throat.

He shudders noticeably when Mello's finger passes over the covered coin, and then the moment he's released, he recoils warily.

His stricken and rigid face tells a different story, but he nods numbly when Mello asks him if he's all right.]


Do not do that again without warning. I prefer to know...

[It might or might not have to do with his death, because of course, he is extremely frigid, and the blood beneath his skin is perfectly stagnant and pulse-less.]

It's different now. When people touch and hold. The advice is for both of us...

[Because being pulled back into life means risking a draining bite. Perhaps that doesn't need to be said; L certainly hopes so.]
Edited 2016-01-21 04:35 (UTC)
planmade: (knowing)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-21 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
[He's tormenting L, he realizes. That hadn't been his intent, but their talk and now this unwanted contact has left his undead mentor in a sorry state. A nasty little voice in the back of Mello's mind says that at least part of this is deserved. L had left them far too soon. But then he doesn't really have the right to think that, does he? After the mess he'd made of his legacy.

Yet he isn't quite done. His curiosity has gotten the best of him. He doesn't pull back, but instead begins to pull back the sleeve of his jacket (stolen, to help keep off the cold). If L is a vampire, then it's important that he know the limits of the man's restraint, something he won't be able to get simply from asking, no matter how well L thinks he's aware of it.]


Alright. I'll remember. Try to calm down.

[That's probably not the best thing to say now that he's baring his wrist.]

Will it help your nerves if you feed?
hearthebell: (Eyes like broken Christmas lights)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-23 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[L comes very close to standing, promising to find Mello later, and walking right out the door. He's conflicted, because while he must help his successor, Mello is tormenting him. It feels more curious than malicious, but to an insect being prodded by a child admiring its form and structure, intent matters less than the possibility of ending up pinned and struggling.

Though he is impressed that his successor has managed to become very skilled at getting reactions out of people (even him, maybe even Near...?), L knows that he has to turn this around fast.

...and then Mello pulls up his sleeve, showing him that little bouquet of stems standing out under fair skin. L hasn't gone long enough since he last fed to make him desperate, but he is being asked, blatantly, to think of Mello as food, a sacrifice in a chillingly literal sense to his legacy.

He reaches across the table, but it's to close his fingers around the clockwork heart, not Mello's wrist. He pulls it back, slipping it into its pouch under his shirt, feeling the reassurance of a false beat against his chest again.]


What would help my nerves, Mello, is if I didn't have to worry about you courting death at every opportunity.
planmade: (scar)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-23 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
Heh.

[L's reaction is promising, at least compared to what he'd seen a minute before. The man had been shaken for sure, but he's still in control of himself. The L Mello is familiar with is still there, and that's the most important thing.

He pulls back, slowly tugging his sleeve back into place. It had been a dangerous move, certainly. There was no way for him to know just how long it had been since L had fed, and if he'd faltered he might have drained more than his share.]


I was offering a sip, not a banquet. But I'm glad to see it's not needed.

[And though the thought of his mentor feeding on others might be a little disturbing, he wouldn't expect him to do anything else. Mello knows that once he starts his own transformation (as all signs point to there being no other possibility) that he won't hold off from doing what he has to do. If L couldn't find a way to avoid it in the time given, then Mello isn't going to be so prideful that he'll make the attempt and risk losing control. More damage would be done during a rampage than if the matter was handled with care from the start.]

Don't worry. This might not be much of a second opportunity, but most people don't even get this. No point in squandering it.
hearthebell: (I might only have one match)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-23 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[Balance has always been a key factor in the formula that keeps Wammy's investigators productive. It's notoriously difficult to get that perfect blend of prodding for reactions and knowing when to back off and play it safe, and while L tends to be better at it than most, his greatest strength is probably methodical adaptation and a willingness to adjust both factors as needed. Unfortunately, it slips past even the most gifted in the orphanage, with so much focus being put on even-tempered logic and deduction that any emotional core is dismissed as unnecessary, and even an obstacle.

As it turns out, both are critical to being a good detective, and L is not the purely logical being that Near did such an uncanny job emulating. Much like Mello, L had needed some temperance; while Watari had taken care of mundane tasks and logistics, he had also been a voice of reason to L's occasional recklessness. Adaptation might be L's greatest boon, but it also makes it easy to resonate with powerful traits in others that he also possesses. What that means is that Mello's very presence is pretty likely to bring out a significantly more volatile side of L.

Time promises to tell just how that might play out. He re-buttons his shirt, hiding his harness once more.]


The reality of being a monster here is that it is needed. Periodically we have to nourish ourselves in ways that most humans are viscerally appalled by. It's a Catch-22 either way. I feed often in small amounts to avoid what happens to the monsters who take the opposite approach: whether you feed on blood, flesh, souls or energy, the longer you go, the higher the chances are that you will be the cause of even more death and damage.

[He glances toward a table where a young couple is on a date, sharing an ice cream sundae. For perhaps the first time in his existence, he's viewing sugar as an ingredient rather than a main course.]

I'm not saying it isn't difficult, but there are ways to eliminate some of the unnecessary difficulty. Having help from the start is an advantage, and hopefully I've offered some reassurance that you don't have anything to fear from me.
planmade: (snap)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-24 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
I've learned that much already. What I mean is that it's good to see you're not desperate.

[And while L's response is reassuring for now, situations can always come up. He can't be positive that things won't happen differently in the future, especially with the way the man seems to be regarding other people as though he's planning out a buffet in his head. Perhaps the blood of a fellow monster will be less tempting, in which case that would be the only thing about his upcoming changes that isn't negative so far.

He doesn't express any of these concerns. L is right about there being an advantage to having someone here he's already familiar with - especially when that someone is as resourceful as L is. Though he isn't going to tempt him by asking to live with him. It's best that they're not seen together all the time anyway, and Mello needs to have control over his own hideout at least.

His posture relaxes, and he finally picks his chocolate bar back up.]


What do you think I'd be, anyway?
hearthebell: (Every junkie's like a setting sun)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-24 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[L nods stiffly. Desperation is the last thing a proud person wants to feel, even one who holds his ego as externally as he holds his heart these days. For L, it was never about "Ryuuga," "Ryuzaki" or "Linden" or any of the other aliases, it was about a nameless, faceless legacy. He'll go to great lengths to avoid it, and those with any foresight whatsoever are typically in the same boat when they arrive. He has no doubt that regardless of the monster Mello starts turning into the next time the Fog rolls in, he'll take a similar approach.

As always, he'll do what he has to.

The question is one he absolutely expects. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any kind of satisfactory answer, but he tries to supply one anyway.]


I was very curious about the same when I arrived. I collected a lot of information on the subject and tried to predict it based on the personalities, backgrounds and profiles of those I spoke to, but...

[He pinches the bridge of his nose. This hurts his head. All of it.]

While arachnes are... say, very organized, in general, and vampires are very arrogant in general, and faeries are in general kind and gentle and childlike, it's not a reliable way to make predictions. There's no pattern; some have natures that suit their monsters, others conflict with it. Others might as well be at random for how much sense they make when they start transforming. I thought I'd be a shade, in all honesty, and a vampire was the last thing I would have guessed and probably what I wanted the least, second only to wendigo.
planmade: (smile)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-24 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Isn't that quaint. That sort of unpredictability is just what can be expected from beings that consider themselves deities - if in fact they have any real influence over who becomes what at all. Throw in some similarities, make people think they have some idea of what's going on, then pull the rug out from underneath them. Sounds about right.]

A shade, huh? Is that what you wanted to be? The proverbial creature of darkness that vanishes into shadow at will? I guess that sounds a little like you.

[A form like that would have suited L well in the past, certainly. But is this really the form he expected or simply the one he wanted most?]

I don't think I'll take any guesses. I don't want to jinx myself, and none of the options are going to be any fun in the end.
hearthebell: (Everybody knows the dice are loaded)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-25 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
["Quaint" is a word for it, if not one L would have chosen even ironically. He's been tried and stretched thin by the absence of logic for some of this world's processes, and the way it's worn on him shows. Part of that might be thanks to his undeath, though, and another part might well be because of the strain the Kira case was putting on him at the end.]

I didn't want to be anything, but it is what I expected.

[He says it like it sounds a lot like him and no one could possibly miss the similarities. He'd essentially have become a ghost, literally untouchable and incorporeal, and now he's relegated to the existence of a moving corpse.]

I'd say that you're being needlessly superstitious, but... since magic has been proven to exist here, and operate in all manner of absurd ways, superstition is no longer something to criticize too harshly. Maybe you're right, and expecting one monster does jinx you.

[There's a miserable edge of frustration in his tone. It's a second chance, but it's more like purgatory than heaven or hell.]
planmade: (bored)

[personal profile] planmade 2016-01-26 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
[With L sounding so frustrated, it's hard not to already feel somewhat defeated by this place - not that he expected to enjoy much of his time there as it was. The other man had always taken on cases with some air of certainty that he could finish them. Mello had fully expected him to be able to take out Kira one on one, and now he can only imagine how that task must have been similarly draining.

Was the quest to defeat these new gods one he was willing to take on? For the first time he finds himself wondering if victory is even possible. He's grateful for the chocolate more than ever, because he can at least find some comfort in the way it slowly melts on his tongue as he thinks.]


We're nothing if not adaptable, right? We'll adjust.

[Not just as human beings, but as detectives. If it takes Mello's presence to spur L on when he needs it most, then so be it. Of course, Mello's opinion of when it's needed and the opinions of others might not always match up.]

Do you share your meals?
hearthebell: will credit if found (I don't believe I'm so strange)

[personal profile] hearthebell 2016-01-27 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[L's gaze has settled into something dull and vague, but it sharpens and focuses more at Mello's words. He wants that, and in spite of being unhappy about his circumstances, his successor is right. He's adjusted to them and is thriving in ways, even if it requires some smoke, mirrors and concessions.

Mello being here just means he doesn't have to do it alone, anymore. Because even though he's made connections, gained roommates and information and notice, he hasn't really felt like he was in any kind of company until now. Wammy's always had that effect on him, reminding him, startlingly, that he wasn't the only living person left in a world otherwise comprised of shadow plays and puppet shows.

He'd felt that with Light, too, but that's a topic for a different time.

Nodding to confirm that he shares Mello's determination, L goes on to speak somewhat reluctantly about feeding.]


To hear the others talk about it, vampires have it comparatively easy. I don't have to take lives to survive, and that's a rule. There are some that feed on energy, like faeries, and they share that privilege. A glut of monsters can't easily feed without killing the donor, though, whether it's flesh or souls that sustain them, so sharing does happen. For myself...

[He pauses.]

I recognize the efficiency behind the practice, of course, but it's not my preference. If a fairie, a demon, a vampire and a wendigo are all working together, sharing one human, you're looking at the energy being drained first. Then the soul, leaving that person a shambling shell. The vampire drains them to the point of satiety, and then the wendigo finishes what's left. It might as well be a conveyor belt, and if I can take what I need from those who will walk away, even help me later in return for not ending their lives, I see it as the preferable option.

[Also, living blood is warmer and tastes better, but he doesn't need to color this noble discourse with traces of selfishness and arrogance. A monster that doesn't have to have any part in the death of a human, after all, has no reason to feel the same guilt or shame that those sharing in communal kills likely do.]