eastbound | un: ut malum pluvia

[ Five is at the dining car, drinking coffee and writing on various napkins, as he's inclined to do when a time anomaly fucks with his ability to relax for more than a day. There's no denying he has more energy than he has in a long time — which means he's generally been harassing the staff, who have called him 'young man' one too many times and keep refusing to add whiskey to his coffee. He hasn't ended that war yet; they'll regret forcing him to get regular sleep.

Frustrated after he's crossed out yet another equation, he finally does something he rarely does: addresses the network. ]

I couldn't care less about a wedding, but there's obviously more going on here besides stealing dreams and sealing away powers to keep the train running smoothly. [ And no, he isn't letting that slide either. ] I spoke to the conductor, and didn't get a damn thing out of him. He's obsessed with the wellbeing of the train and wasn't concerned about Prassenze going missing that first night, which I can only assume he doesn't remember happening.

[ If he'd known that day would be effectively erased, he could have taken advantage. He's been going over his conversation with the conductor more times than he cares to count, and he's decided that he went far too easy on him. ]

He mentioned that we have 'old-issue' tickets, along with most of the wedding party, meaning at least a few of them are frequent travelers who have renewed their tickets over a long period of time. No bodies are missing from the train, because apparently they can track us, by our dreams or otherwise. There were no acts of violence, nothing came through the open window, and there's nothing that would explain why the bride keeps changing forms or what caused a time loop that only we could perceive. [ Which doesn't make sense. That's not how time loops work. ] Logic would say that she's the one behind the anomaly, but enough people were against the wedding that there could be other suspects who are lying about not remembering the first two weddings.

[ He's one cup of coffee away from taking his paranoia too far, but in his opinion they're not taking this seriously enough. They should be grateful that he's at least opening it up to theories. ]

Who here has been in a time loop before, show of hands? Who knows that messing with time is dangerous? Even something as innocent as rewinding a wedding. [ He would know. ] We survived an apocalypse. I don't have to tell you that our odds were not in our favor. Let's keep that streak going, and stop the next one before it gets that close, shall we?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Past this instance.

Why are you asking?

To assess qualifications.

[ Qualifications. That's funny. ]

I'm qualified.

By experience?

I’ve never been stuck in a loop, but I know time. This isn’t how they’re supposed to work.

What causes 'loops'?

[ ...He's not sure if that's an honest question. And if it is, if he'll be able to follow his explanation. ]

In theory or in practice?

Practice.

[ He takes a moment to decide if he’s seriously asking, but he is the only one who has so far. ]

For a true loop to happen, the time traveler would have to be unaware of what triggers it. They’d be stuck repeating the same action every time in an endless cycle. The bride disappearing and the open window. The danger is when the future event, time travel, causes what happens in the past. Breaking the loop can make time itself fall apart.

That’s not what this one looks like, exactly. Whatever she’s presumably using to change her appearance and reset the day isn’t affecting all of time. That doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous or that she understands the consequences.

We are aware of the loop.

Acting independently, have we also broken time?

[ Nice of him to ask. ]

You would know if we had. Under the right circumstances one of us could cause a paradox, even if the loops have stopped for now.

Which is why we need to find whatever and whoever else was involved and before it happens again.

Can loops occur through mere chance?

Not likely. They might not be deliberate, but something set it in motion.

We shall hunt.

[ Great, he got cooperative-Wangj today. ]

If you find her, hold her in one place until I get there. I have questions.

No bleeding.

Wouldn't dream of it.

Alison will know.

[ He never hesitates to use his family against him. ...Allison was also against Five suggesting they kidnap her, but it would have saved them some headache. ]

Am I really your biggest concern right now?