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Danganronpa Roleplay [PRIVATE]
Forum-Index → Roleplay → Private RP → Danganronpa Roleplay [PRIVATE]
Posted: Sat, 14/01/2023 00:42 (2 Years ago)
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Mei had her arms crossed, standing in a dark corner as she waited for whatever BS Monokuma was about to pull. Listening to those 3 ramble on was an absolute headache...
So, that detective guy didn't like liars, huh? Heh, no wonder he hated her. She was a walking lie. What came next only proved it.
She groaned and was about to walk over to shut them up, only stopped by podiums bursting up from the floor. The girl stopped in her tracks, her face filled with boredom still remained as she waited for them to come to a full stop.
Pictures, tons and tons of pictures... Oh, goodie, what could they all mean?
Her lavender eyes scanned them all in silence, slightly curious as to what they could all mean. They were obviously secrets, but how-
Her name. Her name, etched in gold, standing proudly under an odd picture. A picture of a brain in a jar. She looked around the room, hearing Miyako's scream gave her a headache, seeing Setsuna roll helplessly onto the floor was hilarious, albeit annoying, and everyone else... They all seemed so shocked, so afraid.
Not Mei though, her picture meant nothing to her. A brain in a jar? Pfftt, what the hell was that supposed to mean?
She looked around one last time, then her eyes landed on the picture again. Was... Monokuma... wrong? Did he not even know? Well, not like there was anything to know, Mei didn't have any secrets. Or...
Oh.
Mei's blood ran cold, her pale skin becoming snow-white under the realization. Brain in the jar.
He-...
He did know.
That damn bear knew.
Monokuma somehow knew, no matter how hard she tried to cover it up.
Monokuma knew about the jars she held close to her, each of them containing a brain.
The brain of her opponents, who were dumb enough to put their lives in her hands.
Not only her opponents, no. She had the brains of innocent people in those little jars of hers. Their little brains were in her hands, hopelessly useless in her grasp. She enjoyed looking at those jars, they were valuable to her. She didn't want people to know about those little jars of hers, they would take them away. They'd take her little jars away.
Little jars with little brains.
They might even put her brain in a little jar too.
. . .
"Daddy, do you still love me?"
"Of course I do, ___, you're my beautiful little lavender bud, what brings that up?
"I... I had a nightmare again daddy, and I thought... I thought you didn't love me anymore!"
"Sweetheart, it's ok, I'll love you no matter what you or I do, there is nothing that can change that."
"Not even the nightmares?"
"Not even those pesky little nightmares, ___. I love you, now get some rest"
...
"Hey... Dad? I had another nightmare, last night, Do you..."
"Do you still love me?"
Drip... Drip... Drip...
"..."
"...Mom?"
. . .
Enough. That picture doesn't mean anything to you, you're not one of these pathetic losers still haunted by their past. See them? Simply standing in terror? Screaming their hearts out? They're weak, they have secrets they desperately want to hide.
Not you, Mei, not you.
...Well that was certainly a wake-up call. Mei blinked a few times as she looked away from her image, almost like she came out of a trance. That little bit of her consciousness was a real life-saver, that's for sure. Even if it was annoying as hell.
Her expression turned dark and even angry as she got her s**t together, making a sound that was a combination of a grumble and a sigh. Oh whatever, this was getting boring anyways... Mei wasn't in the mood to deal with any of this, especially not the other students. This whole "secrets" thing was an absolute bust, other than seeing everyone else wallow in their sorrows, she got nothing fun from it. Those images were important to note though, she'd keep them in her mind. That was probably the only thing worthwhile from this...
Miyako and a phone, one that gave them a ghastly scream.
Sawyer and a graveyard, one they were laughing their ass off at.
Shi and a drain, one that seemed to bring back memories.
Akari and the Tin Man, one whose heartless little soul seemed to glare at the engineer, who only stood in silence.
Kubo and the cross, one that made the bastard dart out of the room.
Mei and the brain, her own refusing to be sensible about it.
Darcy and the lovers, the hands causing the chocolatier to run as well.
Lucian and the concrete shoes, one that seemed to even drag them down into a pool of pity.
Setsuna and the family, one that caused them to trip over their own shoes.
Futatabi and the noose, a gaping hole that everyone knew.
Saeko and the flames, flames that Mei assumed to be burning their life away.
Mika and the alleyway, as dim and terrifying as Mika's s**tty heart.
Sutaraitsu and the eye, one that seemed to be looking at them all.
Horatia and the paintbrush, one that Mei liked to imagine would be coated with their blood.
...Rumia and the... Face-painted face? Who... Who was Rumia?
And Idris. Idris and the nails. Nails that seemed to terrify him.
Idris... Are you having nightmares too?
Her eyes softened, as did her expression, when she looked over at Idris. She no longer cared about the posters, about anyone else in the room, of how bored she was, of how angry she was. She just saw Idris.
Idris having nightmares too.
She took a deep breath, a voice in the back of her mind begging her not to do it, not to walk over.
You'd mess it all up anyways. You don't talk to people having nightmares, that's when you catch them at their lowest. You don't want to make things worse, not with him.
Not with him
Mei did it anyways, she slowly walked over, trying her best to have a calm expression. Idris...
You're not supposed to be having nightmares too.
Mei stopped, having another idea. She caved into the voice telling her not to talk to him, and instead went to the podiums.
Idris Kallikrates
RIIIPPP
There, now Idris couldn't have nightmares anymore. Those nails that were causing him so much agony couldn't hurt him anymore.
She didn't bother with her own, the little brain in a little jar could stay there, right there. It could stay there for the world to see. For the world to see her pretty little jars, but never touch them. Only she could touch her pretty little jars.
Mei crumbled the image into a ball, not looking at Idris once. She'd throw it away once she found a trash can.
She'd throw his nightmares away.
Please... Don't let him have nightmares too.
A few steps away from the podium, and she finally did it. Her eyes that never showed the truth, just for one second, looked at Idris.
She'd make it worse. She was hopeless in this situation. She was hopeless seeing him have nightmares.
She would only give him more, anyways.
Even when she wanted to comfort him so bad, turn those nightmares into dreams, she knew she never could.
She could only make nightmares.
So she walked away.
. . .
Was this how you felt, seeing me have those nightmares?
Did you feel this agony too?
Agony I would never understand?
"I'm sorry, mom."
"I'm sorry, dad."
I wish that I could say I loved you back.
I'm sorry.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Akari stood silently at the edge of the room, drowning out all the sound he could while he waited. His sewage-green hair piled over his eyes, his beanie covering most of it. His two-toned eyes. Those eyes hid behind a curtain, and his body hid in the shadows as best as it could. His breath was shaky, he was not ready for what was about to happen. Secrets... Everyone had them, right? Nobody had to know his secret... Right?
He looked around the room one last time before his eyes landed on the podiums coming up, watching the black and white images rise as they revealed engraved names under them. So, this was it. Their secrets would be black and white photos. That... Made it harder to tell, right?
His brown and gold eyes gazed over every single one of them, not really caring about them. He didn't need to know, they were secrets after all. Why should he know their secrets? He didn't care, he didn't need to know. His hopes of survival were nonexistent anyways, he was just waiting for the day he would be a victim of this sick game. He wouldn't kill anyone, he wasn't like Kaoru.
He wasn't like them.
He... He didn't kill.
Those gunshots didn't mean death followed.
The Grim Reaper wasn't crawling on his back that day.
There wasn't blood on his clothes.
There wasn't his blood on his clothes.
He didn't hear those screams that day.
He didn't hear his muffled screams that day.
He shouldn't even be here after that day.
Not after what he did.
. . .
I don't want to die, please...
Get me out of here, get me away here!
Dad... Dad please...
Don't leave me here, don't leave me alone...
Don't leave me with her...
Don't leave me in this place...
Please, I don't want to die...
I don't want anyone hurt...
Their screams hurt so much, dad...
The blood hurts my eyes...
Your children are dead, and...
And I'm next...
Please...
I don't want to...
I don't want to do this...
I don't want to die, dad...
Please...
Someone...
Get me away from here...
. . .
There it was, Akari Xenauta. His name was written in gold, and above it...
Was the Tin Man.
The man who went on a journey to find a heart.
The man made of metal who didn't have a heart.
He remembered that movie, it was one of the few he liked as a kid. He didn't get to watch much movies, but the Wizard of Oz was one that he could watch. Little Dorothy and her dog Toto, swept away from their bleak world and put in a land full of color and wonder. She traveled with a cowardly lion, a heartless man of tin, and a scarecrow without a brain.
He loved that movie, he...
That was the last time they were together.
Monokuma... That sick bastard... Those screams he heard told him that everyone else thought the same. The man he had walked here with had run off, along with Darcy, Setsuna was on the floor, Idris was panicking over something, the ghost girl was screaming her head off, and...
The rest of them were terrified in their own ways. Even that purple-haired girl, the one who thrived in agony, she was scared too.
Akari was certainly scared. Monokuma knew, he knew his secret. He knew what Akari had done. Monokuma knew he was just a man made of tin, no heart in that hollow body of his.
Just a man made of tin.
Just a man without a heart.
He couldn't help but to care so much about that damn image, it froze him in place. He couldn't speak or move, the picture just froze him there. He wanted to look away so badly, but he couldn't.
He wasn't a man made out of tin.
He wasn't heartless.
He did what he had to do.
Had... to do...
...Did he really? Did he really have to do what he did? He had a choice...
And he made the worst one.
The one where he became a man of tin, and lost his heart.
But... He was better now, right? He... He got what he deserved, they got what they deserved...
It was all by his hand though. A man with a heart wouldn't have done those things. A man with a heart wouldn't have said they deserved it.
But... He got his heart back, right? After living alone for so long... He was Akari again, right? He had a heart, didn't he?
He was willing to end up dead in this sick game if it meant one less person got hurt, that mean he had a heart, right?
He wasn't just being selfish?
His hand slowly reached up to his left eye, crawling under his hair and clutched his skin and the roots of his hair tightly.
His hands were cold, the gloves were thin. His arms itched, he wanted to scratch them over and over and over...
But he couldn't. He made sure of that. He made sure his hands were always cold, he made sure he couldn't feel them again. He made sure he could never hurt again.
He made sure the painful and agonizing sound of his flesh being ripped into by a devilish blade was worth it.
His heart pounded in his chest, his eyes were wide, and his breathing was shaky.
But how could his heart pound if he didn't have one?
Posted: Sat, 14/01/2023 03:42 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
When Dad gets out his gun, you just hide away, as quietly as you can. You don't dare make a sound, you just stay calm.
You remain as calm and quiet as you possibly can.
Just wait until he calms down.
No more Russian Roulette.
…and then, came the day, that Lucian convinced people to put down their guns.
That he convinced people not to make the jump off of roofs.
That living… was worth it. Even if you didn't think so.
And as much as Lucian was able to convince those people, and see them walk away smiling from his efforts…
He could never do the same for himself.
Of course, he had meditated upon the matter many times.
As to if he should take his own life or not.
At first, he had told himself, he couldn't do that to his mom. And then, it had been his sister.
They were both gone now.
And then, he frantically latched onto another reason, like a rope, frantically pulling him up from the cliff. His patients. There were people out there, who were suffering.
Who had so much to live for, so much to gain. If they only saw it in themselves.
Lucian closed his eyes and remembered a movie he saw once. It was called Good Will Hunting. He'd related so much to Sean, he recalled… and it may have been that that gave him the first push. To realize that therapy was the call for him.
And maybe, it was that film in part, that made him realize people could all be good if they put their minds to it. Everyone had good and bad parts, and some mixed parts.
Deep down, he almost knew the truth. That it wasn't his fault. That if people turned out badly, it wasn't always because he couldn't help them. He couldn't save th-
He remembered Kaoru. He could almost see her there, with that crooked look on her face, as she told everyone to kill Kubo. As she insulted them all, and called him a fool.
As she… kissed him on the lips, and walked out of Lucian's life forever.
As he lost the dearest friend he'd ever had.
Lucian knew he couldn't waste time grieving. No, that was just– that was just cold to think about it like that, he knew.
He'd loved Kaoru. He'd cared deeply for her. And as his fingers curled into fists, he found himself longing to feel her arms around him again.
He'd loved her… but not like that. He'd never loved anyone like that.
But, grieving wasn't a luxury Lucian could afford. Life would throw more grief onto you, and you'd just have to dodge the knives, daggers, and arrows whenever you could.
But he wasn't over it. Not at all.
She's dead. It's my fault. I couldn't save her.
Kaoru. Horatia. Kathy. His mother. And so, so many others.
Lucian could almost feel a knife in his hands. It wasn't there, he knew that. But he could almost see Horatia's bloody, bissected corpse, stabbed through so morbidly with leeks. The vegetables looked so out of place. Kaoru, hanging for a crime he'd committed.
It's my fault. I couldn't save Horatia. I couldn't stop Kaoru from losing her sanity. And it might have even been my fault she did it in the first place.
…and part of him… part of him blamed Miyako.
No, he knew it was his own fault.
But… had she not threatened Kaoru, could things have turned out differently?
No one would be dead. Kaoru wouldn't have fallen in love with him.
That… hadn't been Lucian's intention. He'd just wanted to help his friend.
And here he was, foolishly falling in love with a man who probably desperately needed his help. Daydreaming away about being in his arms, when Lucian should have only been offering Kubo a shoulder to cry on.
He remembered Kaoru, clinging tightly onto him. Burying her face in his shoulder. And it stirred him into tears.
He never would have left her. He…
All of a sudden, he longed to rewind. Maybe if he could have shown romantic interest in her before she hurt Horatia. Maybe he'd eventually have fallen in love with her.
And then… and then what? Would someone still have died? And if not…
He imagined Kaoru gripping him tightly by the arm, all dressed up in a tuxedo, to have, and to hold, and to kiss. Her precious husband, and Kaoru… his spouse.
Maybe they would have escaped this place, or lived here forever. Maybe they would have had their own children together, and everyone else would have told their own stories. Stories of friendships and rivalries and lovers and maybe even children.
All brought together by a twisted Killing Game.
Or, maybe, Lucian reflected, he could have prevented Miyako's threatening Kaoru. He could have prevented Kaoru falling for him. Maybe, just maybe, if he had realized sooner something was wrong. He could have saved her. He could have saved them all.
But Lucian couldn't dwell on the past. He couldn't dwell on all those people he couldn't save. Lost to murders and to suicides and to accidents. Not his family, not his clients, not the dearest friend he ever had and a woman he scarcely knew.
And then there was Kubo. Who he had every intention to help, and yet he had gone and fallen for him like a fool anyway. Lucian wanted to lock his feelings away tightly, where they could never be found. But Kubo, unbeknownst to himself, had dug up Lucian's heart and run away with it.
While Lucian pined after him, hopeless and empty, with that tingling longing that could only be sated by an "I love you too" and a kiss.
When he was supposed to be his therapist. His helper. His healer.
He was supposed to be everyone's healer and helper. Lucian wasn't supposed to be happy. He was supposed to help everyone. And he'd failed two people already.
So he decided, right then and there, he wouldn't fail anymore.
He picked up his heart and locked it away in a safe, safely and tightly. Kubo… Kubo could have it for all he cared. He could have that way with him of making his heart flutter with a single look. He could have that way with him of making him ache for his kiss.
He could have that way with him of making him so nervous and happy every time he saw him, every time he heard his voice.
But he would never dream of telling Kubo how he felt. He would never bring the man home, and introduce him as his everything. He would never hold his hand in his.
He would help him. That's all he was for.
And if Lucian wanted more, then goddammit, you foolish ignoramus. Man up and stop having needs of your own already!
So he had to do what was most important now.
He couldn't think about how he felt.
He had to stop someone from dying again.
No one had to die ever again.
He had to fix everything.
He knew everyone had their reasons. Maybe Miyako's just weren't clear to him.
She seemed messed up, she really did. But… he had to make sure she was okay.
…he had a selfish wish in his mind, one that seemed a little wild. He had almost wanted to ask her, if she could speak to Kaoru. If she could speak to his family for him. Say all those things he could never say.
But she was hurting. And he wanted to help. Setsuna was hurting, Kubo was hurting, Mei was hurting, Sawyer was hurting, Shi was hurting, Idris was hurting, Sutaraitsu was hurting, Darcy was hurting, Akari was hurting, and everyone else… everyone was hurting.
And as the Ultimate Therapist… he had to help everyone through this.
He headed over to Miyako, and looked at her worriedly. "...hey, are you okay? Do you need to talk?"
He knew what he expected. He expected for her to reject the offer.
But he wanted to offer it to everyone. It seemed they all needed it more than ever now.
I need to save them… but who is going to save me?
Darcy Harper's POV
"Sawyer?... I just wanted to ask. Are you okay? I saw what you saw, the pair of tombstones." He bit his lip. "What was that about?"
Sawyer blinked, perplexed. "Bread Twins? What Bread Twins?"
Oh. They were blocking everything out again, and making completely irrelevant references. Of course.
Darcy sighed. "Look, Sawyer, I…" His hands tightened their shaky grip on his friend's shoulders. "I love your optimism, I really appreciate it. It's… a fantastic quality you have. To always see things as better than they actually are. But… I have so much to learn about you. So much I never got to know. What happened to you after I moved away?..."
Sawyer stared blankly, making a faint buzzing sound from their mouth. Then, they responded. "EHHHH, it's not important! Wanna go flip tables together?" they exclaimed.
…this was hopeless.
They always had had a way of blocking things out. But never to this degree.
Sawyer… what happened to you?
Just what had gone so wrong?
…It's my fault, isn't it? They needed me. But I wasn't there. Because… because Mom…
Darcy grimaced. Why did Dad have to go?
Why did Dad have to leave?
Darcy had never known him very well. But then, it didn't seem like all that long until he drove away, forever, never to be seen again.
Mom was never the same. She would shout at you, and order you around, and there were the times she acted so distant, and the times when she was extra drunk. The times that she would beat you and chase you around until you pleaded with her to stop, and even then she might not.
You learned to swallow the poison without complaining, so it wouldn't get any worse. You would go above and beyond to do more than what was asked of you.
Not a speck of dust left behind in the house. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, you made them all.
You learned to get As in every subject. You didn't sleep a wink until every little bit of work was done.
You'd say no when people asked you to go to parties. You'd say your prayers, and you'd read your Bible. You'd attend at church. You'd give to the homeless, you'd preach, preach, preach.
Work, work, housework, homework, volunteer work. You did it all. You did everything.
And then you'd look at your friend with the carefree smile, who never seemed to have a trouble in the world. Who seemed to have it all so easy.
An only child, and always the favorite of their family. Always so well-loved and deeply cared for. Always told yes by their parents, and never told of anything that'd harm them.
Loved. Supported. Accepted. Seen. All those things Darcy never got to have.
Mom always loved Erica better. It was like Darcy didn't even exist, unless he did something wrong.
And then, he was shouted at and beaten. Sometimes he wound up with cuts all over his body from the broken wine bottles.
And here was Sawyer, faced with a worse trouble than Darcy could have possibly imagined. A worse secret than Darcy could have possibly imagined. Two tombstones.
Just what could it have possibly been?...
"Sawyer, please. You're my best friend." Darcy shuddered as he said the words. He…
He wanted it to be more than that.
Not just…
I'll go to prom with you, my dear friend, since Will refused to go with you.
Not just… best friends.
"I want to help you… you mean the world to me. So… please."
He gripped Sawyer's hands, and looked right at them desperately.
"What happened after I moved away?"
Sawyer Laurens's POV
Why would anyone want to remember the past? It wasn't important.
But… he was their friend. So… Sawyer sighed.
"Oh, you know. I had other friends, so I wasn't really lonely, don't worry! But… I kinda missed you though, Dace. It wasn't the same without you. It felt kinda lonely sometimes, y'know? It's always felt like you're the one who really gets me!"
Darcy nodded, with an urgent expression on his face, urging Sawyer to go on. "And?"
"Well, y'know… I just sorta existed, did the normal things! I could never understand why your family and you up and left like that!"
Darcy froze. He seemed to be remembering something unpleasant.
"Well… it… may have had to do with… what happened with Erica."
Sawyer raised their eyebrows. "Ohhh. You mean… yeah. I could never understand why she did that either, Dace. She was a great lady! I really didn't think she'd do something like that."
Darcy bit his lip and looked away. "Yeah… me neither. But the big thing was, Sawyer… Mom thought you were a bad influence."
Sawyer gasped. "She wanted to take you away from me? NO! WHYYYY?"
Darcy sighed, crossing his arms. "Because I always got worse grades when I spent time with you. And sometimes, we'd get up to trouble, and she'd…"
He shuddered. "You know… typical parent stuff. But… what happened?"
"Oh, nothing really. I got scouted, and eventually I wound up here! Nothing that big happened."
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Nothing bad happened at all.
Darcy gave Sawyer a wobbly smile. "...alright then. Let's go flip some tables."
Sawyer gasped. "YAYYYY!" They excitedly hugged Darcy. (Darcy's face reddened in response.) "OW! WHY DOES MY ARM HURT?!"
Darcy would have facepalmed, had his arms not been trapped. "Y-You need to be more careful than that! You can't just overexert your arms, Sawyer."
Sawyer looked perplexed. "Oh! Right. Realistic dream physics. Heheh."
Darcy winced in response. "Alright. Let's go flip some tables!"
They left the dorm together. Sawyer began droning out the entirety of Five Nights at Freddy's lore to Darcy, while he privately rolled his eyes and wondered how the heck Sawyer memorized all this stuff, but listened anyway, as they both headed to the cafeteria to flip tables together.
Sawyer beamed.
Everything was great. What a fun, fun little game!
But why did Darcy seem to act… like everything wasn't great?
Blood splattered on the ground. Crying, screaming.
Must have been a spilled ice-cream cone! The child was crying, and the people on the roller-coasters were screaming. And then his mother came along and bought him a new ice-cream cone.
And the little boy smiled, and all was right in the world.
No life-altering tragedies. It was all a fun little game, where nothing ever went wrong.
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."
Posted: Sat, 14/01/2023 18:45 (2 Years ago)
RIIIIIPPPP
The nails fell to the ground, in two.
Idris looked up shakily.
Mei.
He looked up, expecting to see familiar purple eyes, but saw a stone-faced woman, sallow cheeks and limp brown hair. Purple eyes were replaced with a slush-coloured grey.
Idris took a step back.
Where was Mei? Where was she?
Those cold, angry eyes bore deep into his soul. Thin pale lips opened to bare crooked yellow fangs. The woman began to whisper, her voice echoing all around him.
so take my hand
and we'll go to sleep
and we'll dream
of our little paradise
He took another step back.
She was here, she had come back to get him. She was going to kill him. He was going to die.
He took another step back, then another, and then another, until he bumped into something.
She was there again, hissing at him, extending a cold, frail hand which caressed his face gently.
so take my hand
"N-no, please-" Idris stammered.
and we'll drift off to sleep
She reached down to shut his eyelids. Idris smacked her hand away.
He looked left and right. Everyone had gone. It was only her, smiling at him from every angle.
And that was when Idris Kallikrates finally snapped.
They were all smiling, voices mingling into one harsh, loud voice that repeated his name over and over. Voices that rasped and croaked the same lullaby, the same phrase over and over.
Over and over and over and over and over-
Louder and louder-
Closer and closer-
He was screaming and screaming until his throat felt raw and tears streamed from his eyes.
Screaming and screaming but no noise came out and he clawed and clawed at his throat until blood dripped from his hands.
Screaming and screaming as dozens of cold hands clasped his hands, his legs, his face.
Screaming and screaming as fingertips pressed his eyelids down.
so take my hand
and we'll go to sleep
we'll go to sleep
we'll go to sleep
we'll go to sleep, idris
we'll go to our little paradise
go to sleep idris
go to sleep
you'll finally see her again
go to sleep idris
listen to your mother
Posted: Sat, 14/01/2023 19:22 (2 Years ago)
ılı.lıllılıı.ıllı
↳ currently playing ;;
[ Dearly Beloved ]
[ Yoko Shimomura ]
1:15 ———•——————— 4:20
↺ << ll >> ⋮≡
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ: —•———
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Screams.
Screams from behind her, screams coming from a place where her eyes refused to look. Or... Was it all in her head...?
Screams.
Nightmares.
I'll throw your nightmares away, I promise.
But... could she? People who had nightmares couldn't help others with nightmares.
That's why her parents were dead.
Mei stood still, her hand just inches from the door. She could just leave, let the nightmares quiet down until it became night again, or...
She could do the one thing her parents could not.
. . .
Her feet turned slowly as the screams continued, her ears ringing at this point. Those screams... Were they even real...? Her eyes didn't want to look, but she had to. She had to see the nightmares for herself.
Step. Step. Step.
Her mind raced, her heart raced. Her hands shook in her pockets, her eyes desperately trying to find something else to look at.
But she needed to look at Idris. Idris and his nightmares.
The blood that tainted his fingers made her stomach churn, her eyes desperately trying to look away even more. They were almost crawling out of her eye sockets, begging her to set them free.
But she refused.
I'll throw your nightmares away, I promise.
"I-Idris..."
She got closer and closer, her shaky words doing nothing as she stared at him so sadly. She couldn't do it... Why the hell was she doing this?! She'd make it worse, she'd make it so much worse.
Because people with nightmares could only make things worse.
That's what she thrived in, after all.
That's why her parents died.
Please... Don't let him have nightmares too.
. . .
"Hey... Mom? Remember that movie we watched?"
"..."
"Mom, wh-"
"..."
"...Why? Why did you leave?"
"Why did you leave like the mother did, didn't you see how sad the little boy was...?"
"Did you, dad...?"
"..."
"Or did you have those nightmares too...?"
. . .
Idris's screams only hurt her more. The blood... the blood running down his fingers... His cold, pale, boney fingers...
It was just like her nightmares.
But... Nightmares could be turned into dreams, right...? That's... That's what she did with her nightmares...
Or... Was it all an illusion?
His face full of agony was closer now, if she wanted, her hand could reach out to his.
But she didn't. Mei didn't dare touch him. She'd make it worse.
She took a deep breath, trying not to look like she was living a nightmare too.
"Idris."
Nothing, he still suffered.
"Idris, listen to me."
Nothing. His nails still clawed at his throat. She so badly wanted to stop him, stop the bleeding, stop the screaming, stop whatever nightmare he was having.
But nightmares couldn't touch nightmares, it only hurt worse.
"Idris, please..."
"I-I'm right here..."
"Don't let me see you hurting, please..."
"I'm begging you..."
"Don't let those nightmares take Idris away..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(r)ed(d)it moment
Stop it... Just... Stop it...
His eye had a tear in it at this point, his wide-opened eye was now glossy with tears. His hand was hurting his skin, it was clasped so hard, pulling on it so tightly. His breathing was so loud, so shaky, so heavy. He... he couldn't do this here of all places. He had to pull himself together. That was the past, anyways, and he...
He suffered the consequences for it. He suffered greatly because of what he did.
And he accepted it. He moved on. He... He moved on.
That image meant nothing to him anymore. The arms that itched so badly meant nothing to him anymore. The eye that couldn't cry meant nothing to him anymore. The cries, the screams, the pain, the flesh, the blood, the guns, none of it meant anything to him anymore. It was all in the past. A past that he couldn't change.
A past that he had learned to move on from.
A past that wouldn't be brought up because of a picture.
He had done things that no human should've ever done, he had done things he wasn't proud of. But he moved on. He suffered, he was punished, and he accepted it.
He had changed since then.
He couldn't hurt anyone anymore.
Those arms of his could would never itch again.
His eye would never cry again.
He would never feel anything again.
. . .
Akari finally managed to calm himself down after a little bit, his breathing returning to normal and his grip loosened on his hair. His heart stopped racing in fear, and his chocolate-brown eye began to clear up.
He was fine, that image couldn't hurt him anymore. His past couldn't hurt him anymore.
He still had those godawful nightmares every night, but it was fine. He couldn't be hurt by them anymore.
He looked up and stared at the Tin Man, who only stared back at him. Akari had a heart, the Tin Man did not.
Akari was fine, the Tin Man was not. The Tin Man was stuck in a black-and-white picture, stuck in the past. Akari was not.
He slowly got up from the position he had gotten himself into, pressed against the wall and tensed up as his frame tried to curl into itself. He... Was fine. His hand loosened itself from his hair, and he slowly adjusted the beanie that had almost fallen off of his head. He swept his cold hand across his eye, letting the black glove absorb the moisture from his tears.
Nobody else was fine, though. Everyone else was suffering.
He looked around the room, looking at everyone left. They all seemed like they were in so much pain... Those damn images, they all hurt them in some way...
Akari may not have liked the detective, the purple-haired girl, the ghost lady, or anyone else really, but he couldn't help but to feel bad. They all... They all hurt, so badly.
Even Mei, who didn't have a heart, just like the Tin Man. The look in her eyes right now said it all. She was hurting, and she didn't have a heart that could deal with it.
Even Mei, who wanted everyone dead, still cared for someone. Someone who was in pain, someone who saw the image that brought back the past. Akari could hear her now, begging them to stop.
Even Mei cared for someone. Akari had no one left to care for. But... That was fine. He accepted it. He left those people in the past, the people he cared about. They were gone anyways, just like him eventually.
Akari was going to die soon, and he had no one to care about. But that was fine. It would only hurt more if he did.
It would only hurt more if he did.
. . .
He took a deep breath and slowly but quietly walked to the exit. He tried his best to stuff his arms into his pockets, but...
"Dammit..." He muttered under his breath, hoping no one heard.
It happened again, and it annoyed the hell out of him. He let out a loud sigh without even realizing it before simply walking off. Akari looked surprisingly... Normal after the incident. Well, as normal as he could. His face showed no signs of the fear and pain that it did back in that room, it just looked expressionless like it always did.
He was fine now.
He would walk away from this damn room, these damn secrets, and never look back. He never wanted to see the eyes of that Tin Man again.
Thanks Monokuma, you ruined another movie for me.
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 04:09 (2 Years ago)
Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - Cinderella Cage ~ Kagome-Kagome
[Ambient Version]
Kagome kagome
Kago no naka no tori wa
Itsu itsu deyaru
Yoake no ban ni
Tsuru to kame ga subetta.
Ushiro no shoumen daare
Sutaraitsu crept to the funny image podiums from the other side after everyone started spontaneously screaming. He gazed at his picture confusedly, not knowing what to think of it.
Oooh...? I wonder what this m-
His thoughts were interrupted by another.
H-hey, Sutaraitsu... When are you going to let me go?
A wave of panic struck Sutaraitsu, which fortunately (or unfortunately) was quickly neutralized.
He headed towards Setsuna, which appeared to be having a mental breakdown of sorts.
Mika Uyehara
Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith - Faith is for the Transient People
[String Quartet Remix by NyxTheShield]
Mika miraculously teleported back to wherever he was from, and...
Oh...oh no...
(WORK IN PROGRESS BECAUSE I NEED TO ASK SEREN SOME STUFF)
Rumia
Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - Apparitions Stalk the Night
[Rumia's Theme]
A dusty image, hidden in the corner, made itself visible.
...Wait, who is Rumia?
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 19:20 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
Short little gloat, always clearing his throat
Like he ever had something to say,
And I'll say,
When I go…
Bury me six feet in snow"
…
Mei.
Even Mei was struggling right now. Mei, of all people. He could hear the breaking in her voice, and empathy stirred within him. His heart lurched.
One empty step after another, that seemed so loud in the frozen room.
He felt like he was walking on ice, trying not to fall.
To reach out a hand to someone who had never learned to skate before…
"...Mei… are you okay?" he asked gently, fighting to keep his voice steady. "It's okay that you're hurting right now. Just… take deep breaths. You'll be okay. This'll all be okay, in the end."
He breathed deeply, and could almost feel frost igniting the air. Little snowflakes, dancing in the wind. Lucian remembered looking out the window with Kathy, her face smudged against the glass.
Snowflakes, so pretty, and yet so fragile. They covered the world with their short-lived beauty, before vanishing, as though they were but visiting ghosts.
Haunting the world for only a little while. Guiding people across the River Styx, except it was their journey through life.
And this snowflake, and this visiting ghost…
Was going to help people through their journeys, in the time that he had. Until the day he melted away.
"...Idris… will be okay. We can't let these secrets break us. We've all done things we aren't proud of. What's important is that we learn from them."
He lowered his head. "You'll be okay, Mei…"
And then he remembered. He remembered… Kathy, clinging desperately to him, so many times. Always so terrified that every day would be her last.
And, although he may have been her younger brother, he'd been there to help her too…
I'm just here for a little while. To heal everyone, to help everyone, before I melt away… before I fade away. One day.
A flickering snowflake melted in his vision. He imagined his tombstone, one day in the future, amongst the many others. Gone without a sound.
When? He didn't know when. But for now… he had to live. He was visiting this world for a while.
Darcy Harper's POV
Darcy tried not to burst out laughing. Pffffft, tables. Yay, tables. Such an ordinary, everyday thing. And Sawyer found so much enthusiasm for it.
He realized, briefly, that Sawyer had been holding his hand earlier. His face reddened at the thought which he quickly shook away.
"So, we're going to flip these tables?" he asked with raised eyebrows. Darcy… liked this. It almost felt like they were both kids again.
"S-Sawyer… should we really be out here, in these woods? It's getting dark, I'm scared…" Darcy quivered.
Sawyer smiled at them. "Heyyy! Not to worry! Nothing bad'll happen! If anything comes to hurt you, I'll protect you!" They thrust their fist into the air, and almost fell over. "Gah! WHOOPS!"
Darcy quickly grabbed onto Sawyer to keep them from falling. They let go when they were balanced again, and giggled with their hand over their mouth.
"Jeeeez, Soy Bean. You really think you can protect me like that?" they teased. "Are you going to like, fall onto the wolves and flatten them?"
"HEYYY!" Sawyer crossed their arms indignantly. "Maybe I am! They won't ever see it coming!"
Then, a look of realization came upon their face. "Oh! OHOHOH! What if we, like, befriended the wolves? And kept them as pets?!"
Darcy gasped immediately. "Sawyer! You know Mom would never let me keep one, don't you?"
Sawyer snickered, and then their laughter died down with a sigh. "Yeahhh… probably not. I've always wanted a dog though! Especially huskies. They're super cool!"
A blank look came upon Darcy's face. "Sawyer, that's- not the same thing."
"Ohh, I know that! But, like, it's kinda similar! And imagine what I could tell the kids at school!" They sat down next to Darcy, and swung their legs back and forth, kicking at the air.
Darcy sighed. "You do know nobody would believe that, right?"
"Maybe. But then I'd make them believe me! I'd name him Jasper or something! Or, maybe!" Sawyer's eyes brightened. "I'd name it after you, Darcy!"
"A-After me? Why?" Darcy tried to fight the urge to smile.
"Uhhh, because you're the coolest friend anyone has ever had!"
Darcy laughed, but then their smile faded. "Sawyer, do you think we should build a fire? It's getting cold…"
Sawyer grinned. "Now we're talking! Let's goooo!"
"Have you… ever built one before?"
"Nahhhhh. But I could learn, I'm sure! What could go wrong?"
Name it after me, huh?... I doubt Mom would ever do that.
Erica, Erica, Erica. It was always about Erica.
"Mom, look, I got the top grade in this class! Aren't you proud of me?"
She'd barely even lifted her head.
"Mom, look, I baked this cake for you! Do you like it?"
"...It's okay, I guess."
"Mom! I won a prize at the school fair!"
"Oh, that's nice, Darcy. Go hang it on the wall over there."
Mom always loved Erica more. And Darcy never understood why.
Nothing was ever good enough…
Why? Why did he…
"Whatcha drawing there, Darcy?"
"O-Oh! Nothing!"
Sawyer tilted their head. "WB + DH? Are those yours and Will's initials?"
Darcy blushed. "Uhh- no! Okay… maybe."
Sawyer gasped. "Are you going to try asking him out?"
Darcy sighed. "He's like… two years older than me, Sawyer. And what if he doesn't like me?!"
They stared self-consciously into the mirror, feeling like they were going to vomit.
"Awww, sure he will, Darcy! Just give it a try!"
…He had said no.
Of course, he had said no.
Darcy Harper was never good enough for anyone.
…except Sawyer. But what do they even see in me?
"If I could, begin to be
Half of what you think of me
I could do about anything,
I could even learn how to love…"
Erica was so good at the piano. And she always seemed to love playing that one song.
But… it was always that one part… that stirred Darcy to tears.
"I always thought, I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true,
'Cause, I think you're so good,
And I'm nothing like you!
Look at you go, I just adore you
I wish that I knew
What makes you think I'm so special…"
Sawyer's bright smile, as they huffed with the effort of flipping a table, and flipping another.
Darcy rolling his eyes and trying to join them.
And no matter what, Sawyer always saw him. Somehow.
A sad smile came upon Darcy's face.
Do I even deserve it?
Sawyer Laurens's POV
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 20:21 (2 Years ago)
ılı.lıllılıı.ıllı
↳ currently playing ;;
[ Clair De Lune ]
[ Claude Debussy ]
1:25 ———•——————— 4:33
↺ << ll >> ⋮≡
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ: ——•——
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A voice.
A different voice.
One that wasn't from her. One that wasn't from Idris.
It was that damn therapist.
Trying to smother her in their BS.
The wall. The wall was put up again. Her eyes closed and hardened, and the wall around her nonexistent heart was put back up.
You got soft for a moment there.
And you got caught.
Don't let it happen again, Mei.
Her soft lavender eyes that were hopelessly staring at Idris, begging him to stop, were now gone. With one slow blink, they were gone. Her breathing slowed, and her face full of sorrow became filled with annoyance instead. It was expressionless for the most part, but her eyes said it all.
In the flip of a dime, she didn't care anymore.
She got up from her knee and slowly turned her head towards Lucian, glaring down at them.
"How kind of you to interrupt this little chat I was having, Lucian" She spat, the daggers could almost be seen hovering over his skin.
She was fine, she didn't need any help. Lucian was just pulling BS out of his ass.
It ticked her off that Lucian would think that way of her, that he saw her as weak. He thought she needed help? He thought she was hurting?
That was just plain bulls**t.
Lucian didn't know a thing.
He was so naive, so stupid, honestly. It'll all be ok in the end? Read the room, dumbass. Everyone's gonna die, and it'll be in the most messed up way possible. Nothing would be ok, really, and that's how Mei wanted it. She wanted this misery, she wanted this game. It was fun to see people suffer, including herself.
That's why she did what she did, after all.
But...
Not him.
Not... him.
"Speak for yourself, and shut the hell up while you're at it..." She crossed her arms, still glaring at him.
"I don't need your sentimental bulls**t."
A moment passed, and she took a deep breath, finally lifting those daggers off of Lucian and looked at Idris's neck.
Idris would be ok? Jesus christ dude look at him. He was clawing his throat out and his eyes... His eyes were filled with agony.
Some therapist... Tried to sugarcoat everything, make things seem better than they are... Maybe if he used his head for once he could say something useful.
Mei sighed, still looking at Idris. "I'll be back, watch him. Don't let him do anything stupid." She opened her mouth again slightly, like she was going to say something else, but her throat tightened. She couldn't say it.
"Heh, good luck with that. He's kind of a dumbass, y'know."
That's what she would've said, but she couldn't. She instead walked away, out of the door, and into the nurse's office. She couldn't leave those wounds untreated, no matter how small they were
"...Idris… will be okay. We can't let these secrets break us. We've all done things we aren't proud of. What's important is that we learn from them."
Speak for yourself... Jesus...
Mei never regretted what she had done, she was fine with her past, honestly. She was happy, and she had the life she wanted.
She turned her nightmares into dreams. Good dreams.
And she was perfectly fine with that.
Even with him, standing right there.
She was fine with that.
She didn't care.
. . .
The hall was silent. The school was silent. Her head was silent. Mei walked down the hall in utter silence, only accompanied by her breathing and her footsteps, and the shuffling of her clothes.
She didn't want to think about anything, it would only make it boring. She'd probably get distracted if she thought about anything anyways.
Just... Get some bandages from the nurse's office. Nothing else.
She sighed as she stared at the door, pushing it open slowly.
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 20:50 (2 Years ago)
"Idris, please..."
"I-I'm right here..."
"Don't let me see you hurting, please..."
"I'm begging you..."
But I crumble completely when you cry
It seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye
I'm always just about to go and spoil a surprise
Take my hands off of your eyes too soon
"Mei?" Idris muttered. He looked around.
"Where are you?"
He couldn't see. Everyone's face had been replaced by his mother, hissing and glaring, spitting and scratching, cackling and screaming.
His vision turned blurry.
"Don't let those nightmares take Idris away..."
I'm going back to 505
If it's a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive
In my imagination, you're waitin' lyin' on your side
With your hands between your thighs
"...Don't- don't."
His vision was blurry.
Where was Mei?
"Where- please-...help."
"I'll be back, watch him. Don't let him do anything stupid."
"...no. please. don't leave me.. don't leave me with her. she'll kill me."
Stop and wait a sec
When you look at me like that, my darlin', what did you expect?
I'd probably still adore you with your hands around my neck
Or I did last time I checked
He staggered. Did she mention Lucian? He couldn't see Lucian. He couldn't see anyone. He couldn't see anything. Just her. And darkness.
Darkness that threatened to cloud his senses and lull him to sleep.
He couldn't let the darkness win.
He stumbled blindly out of the room, hands shaking until he reached his dorm.
Locking it behind him, he lay on the ground.
And let the darkness win.
Saeko couldn't breathe. Their eyes were wide and their face was flushed.
They watch their whole world crumble away in front of them.
All because of a stupid picture.
All they had done to cover this up. Gone.
Good people died for nothing.
Saeko snapped.
All of them saw.
Everyone could see what they did.
Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!
N-no. Nonono.
Saeko couldn't have that.
No one could ever find out.
They all had to burn.
Each and everyone one of them.
Saeko would kill them all.
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 21:48 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
"How kind of you to interrupt this little chat I was having, Lucian"
"I-- I'm sorry, I just-"
The cold, hard venom in her voice cut sharper than any knife to your throat. Lucian clutched at his scarf subconsciously.
"Speak for yourself, and shut the hell up while you're at it..."
Speak... For himself. What the hell had she meant by that? Of course. His mouth snapped shut. Just shut the hell up, Lukey boy. Be a good little kid and help me with my homework, will you?
Or I'll tell Dad that you--
"I don't need your sentimental bulls**t."
...
"It's not bulls**t. It's not. I just want to help you. I just want to help everyone. But I'm not needed. I'm worthless. It's all so useless. It wouldn't even matter if I was dead, it wouldn't change a thing. Heck, maybe it'd be better. Maybe you'd be laughing your ass off at my dulled eyes and fading skin, at my fingers that would never grasp another pen, never hold another hand."
Gone. Gone. Disintegrating, into nothing. Gone.
Deteriorating into a skeleton, and then falling apart into ashes, blown away in the wind.
But Mei was gone.
Lucian's eyes widened.
Oh god. Oh god. It finally came back to him now.
...Mei had told him not to let Idris do anything stupid, and Idris was gone.
Idris... Where had Idris gone? He didn't remember hearing anything.
He must've blocked it out.
He immediately ran for Idris's dorm. Maybe... Maybe he was there, right?! He had to find him! He couldn't let him do anything stupid!
Lucian felt his heart falling to pieces.
...some therapist he was. Maybe Mei was right about him.
Worthless. Worthless. Absolutely worthless.
Nothing he did would ever help anyone, ever.
He should have died in there.
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 22:44 (2 Years ago)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Too bad Mei heard none of it. Too bad Mei heard nothing of what Lucian said. Too bad she heard none of what Idris said.
She would've stayed.
She would've stayed if she heard Idris.
How stupid was she to think she could just leave him.
She didn't know that he was begging her to come back.
Or else she would've never left...
. . .
She darted to the first aid kit, looking around the room before leaving to make sure she got everything. Her face was emotionless, expressionless, but her actions were hasty and panicked. She looked calm and collected, mad even, but really she had a very bad feeling. Her chest felt heavy and her eyes were darting around instead of gliding, like they usually did. Her hands shook slightly, ever so slightly as she grabbed everything.
And a wad of bandages.
A new, unopen wrap of bandages.
. . .
Mei left the room, trying to walk normally but her feet begged to move quicker. Like bare feet placed on hot coals, they begged to move, with minimal contact with the ground.
But she didn't let them.
She walked like she had all the time in the world, the hands still clutching the supplies were shaking ever so slightly.
She walked back to the room of secrets, only to be met with a flash of white passing her.
"Lucian, what the hell?! I told you to-!"
Oh.
He wasn't there, was he.
"Goddammit..." Mei muttered under her breath, now looking pissed.
"Where did he go," She asked Lucian, the daggers pointed at the white-haired boy once again. Too bad he darted off without even noticing her.
. . .
Mei ran behind Lucian as they went to the dorms, saying nothing and doing nothing as her feet slammed against the floor.
And there it was. Idris's room.
Her fist slammed on the door, knowing it was locked. She knew he was in there. She knew he was all alone again.
She should've never left.
She wanted so badly to scream his name, so badly spew out words to beg him to come out. She wanted to assure him that she would never leave like that again, she wanted to beg and plead that he was still safe, hoping he wasn't falling deeper and deeper into the nightmares. She wanted to do these things and so much more so so badly, but she couldn't.
Not with Lucian there, at least.
Lucian thought she was weak. Lucian thought she was hurting.
But she wasn't. She wasn't any of those things.
But anything she said would only make her seem weaker, more in pain.
. . .
Silence was the only thing that answered the door. Idris was still drowning in his agony. But... she knew he was in there, and she hoped to whatever God was out there that he was ok.
That he wasn't going to let the nightmares win.
That he was not screaming anymore.
That he could come back out of his room.
Perfectly fine.
"IDRIS!" She yelled, her hand continued banging. She was getting bruises at this point, she was banging so hard.
Idris was worth being seen as weak. He was worth being seen as human.
Even by someone who would try to fix a problem she didn't have.
"I- I'm sorry I left, I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry!" She kept banging on the door, the first aid kid and a used roll of bandages shaking in her other hand.
"I'm back now, ok?! Please, open the goddamn door, please don't do anything! Don't leave me wondering like this, alright? Please be ok, Idris, please, open the door...!"
...She was making it worse, wasn't she? She left him when he needed her the most, and now she was banging on his door and acting like a lunatic.
Her voice faltered as her arm got slower and slower. The swings at the door got softer and softer.
She wanted to say so much, but her throat hurt.
Her hand hurt.
Her head hurt.
Why did I leave...
Why did you leave...?
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 23:07 (2 Years ago)
The days are drifting slowly by
I guess I'll be here 'til July
"IDRIS!"
"I- I'm sorry I left, I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry!"
I find it hard to have no answers
But the thought of us can make the time go by
"I'm back now, ok?! Please, open the goddamn door, please don't do anything! Don't leave me wondering like this, alright? Please be ok, Idris, please, open the door...!"
We could walk but in a garden
We could talk while at the market
Taking moments of our days to be alone
While we don't have all the answers
We still know what truly matters
Keeping hope alive despite the darkest storm
Click. The door creaked open.
"Mei?"
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 23:16 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
He saw her lifeless body, once again, stabbed in multiple places, bleeding out onto the floor. Dangling and swaying ever so perfectly, a plastic doll. The look of pain on her face. The noose around her neck...
The noose...
He saw Idris peek out. He felt a rush of relief. He wss alive. He was okay.
"Mei... I'm so sorry. After what you said, I spaced out and... When I came back to my senses, Idris was gone. I'm sorry. I know you asked me to watch out for him. I failed. I failed. I'm so sorry... I... I should go, shouldn't I?" His voice wobbled, his fingers clenching into fists. "I might just... Make things worse. Unless you need my help. Although, I doubt you do. I doubt you'd want it, anyway."
His voice came out, shaky, hollow, cracked. He stared at Idris, feeling his eyes stir with tears. "...I'm so sorry," he whispered, feeling his knees buckle beneath him, but he gripped at them to prevent himself from falling down onto them.
He could have been dead right now, and it would have been all my fault.
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."
Posted: Sun, 15/01/2023 23:55 (2 Years ago)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Her eyes widened when the door opened, her pleas had stopped.
Oh thank god.
He was ok.
"Idris...!" Her tired voice finally said, after moments upon moments of silence. It could barely be heard, but she said it. There wasn't a smile on her face, there was only her heavy, tired breathing and her wide eyes, her mouth slightly open.
"I... I swear to god Idris, you can't..." Her voice faltered, unsure of what to say. She was just so relieved.
"You can't just do that...! What the hell?!" She wanted to be so mad but she couldn't, she was just relieved.
Meeeiii, you're doing it again~
You're getting soft.
. . .
Oh yeah, Lucian was here.
"Lucian you dumbass..."
She looked over at him, her face a mix between relief and anger, but also... calmness?
"You're right, I don't, but..."
She sighed and looked away, looking at the things in her hands. Her voice... It was still somewhat shaky, but...
"Fine, I guess you can stay, if you want..." She grumbled, her face definitely not matching her words.
"...Actually, I'm not gonna let you leave. I-"
Mei wanted to make a witty insult, say something mean, tell him how she wanted payback.
But she was looking at the things in her hands.
Her eyes darted back up to the man in the door, his pale skin was covered in red.
"Thought you were smart enough to know that scratching your skin makes it bleed, Idris."
She tried to give a smug look, laugh a little about the stupid joke she made. It didn't look right though, fear was crawling all over her face.
Not the time, Mei, not the time.
"Don't do that, it hurts."
She let silence hang in the air. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to say. She was terrified of making it worse.
"...So, you gonna let me in? I can... uh..." She looked back down at her other hand, staring at it for a moment before lifting it up so Idris could see. "Just-"
"Just let me help you, alright?" She finally blurted out, obviously reluctant to say it. And... Was she embarrassed?
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 00:15 (2 Years ago)
"....oh. Uh. Sure-?" Idris muttered.
"There's not really much to help." He looked down at the ground.
Idris felt ashamed. Ashamed of how he was. He felt...guilty. And weak.
So very weak.
Did Mei think he was weak? Probably.
And he hated himself for that.
"Just let me help you, alright?"
"Mm." He sighed reluctantly, and nodded.
He inched the door a little wider, enough room for one more person to squeeze in.
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 01:26 (2 Years ago)
Kubo Atsushi
As soon as Kubo turned the corner, he slumped against the wall and tried to regulate his breathing. Oh my god... Monokuma really knew where to strike, didn't he? Kubo managed a small, grim smile.
He could remember that day just like yesterday...
When it all fell apart.
It wasn't the worst day though, not really. Nothing like what Kaoru did to him. It didn't make sense why Monokuma would bring that up, if he was really omniscient. Exactly. It... it had to make no sense. Because nothing about... that time mattered at all.
We need to bring her in. She's cold, Kubo. Look, she's cold-
He slammed a fist into the wall, driving the face out of existence. It was- a completely irrelevant face. No one of importance, no one meaningful. Just a fragment of the past, that if it knew what was good for it, he thought at it savagely, would stay there.
A driver's hand, clutched around a steering wheel, white white, gripping too hard. Oh too hard- why didn't it let go? It must hurt, clenching so tight, fighting so hard not to let go. Looking up, up at the face above it. It was white porcelain- like a doll. Only dotted by acne, an imperfect hand stumbling over the features, causing those twists and turns and the missing nose. The slice of flesh on his palms, tumbling down and down as he stumbled back, affixed by the doll with the missing face-
Without another thought, his hands clasped together, and his gloves tumbled to a pile between his feet.
"Kubo, Kubo, why must you let a mere image shake you? Blood soaks your hands- should the first or last be any different? No matter the pain it causes you, they are free now. Everyone is free."
His lips formed the words. "Suffering is equalized in death."
"Everyone is free," someone said aloud, in a mocking voice. "What a ridiculous sentiment. You kids sure aren't free right now!"
Kubo spun on his heel, and came face to face with-
His face lost all colour.
"Didja miss me? I bet not. None of my cute little babies spare a thought for their poor ol' headmaster- sometimes it's like I'm a ghost! I don't even exist... Really hurts a father's feelings, you know!"
"Monokuma," he hissed. Panic rose up inside him, and he shoved it down. "What do you want?"
"Now, is that any way to talk to your best friend." Monokuma laughed. "C'mon! I'm here to do you a favour." He threw something, and the teenager fumbled to catch it.
Something landed in Kubo's palms.
He stared at it suspiciously, bringing it up to his face for a closer inspection. When he was satisfied it wasn't poison, he pulled it back, and looked up to glare at Monokuma. "I don't need your-"
The bear was gone.
So was it really that? A gift? He stared at it for a moment, then dismissed it with a shrug, dropping the bottle in his backpack. Least it snapped me out of... that. Kinda embarrassing he had to see me like that, though.
He grimaced, pulling his gloves back on. If only they had an Ultimate Janitor. This school really needed to be dusted, for god's sake. The place was enormous though, so it'd probably need an entire staff. Really though, who knew how big the school was?
He started muttering about square feet and conversion to metres, and did his best to cover the truth beneath mountains of numbers. And yet, no matter what, he could hear rain in his ear, and nothing, not even Kaoru's voice whispering in the back of his skull could shield him from the most inconsequential truth of his life.
Not everyone can work for the law, Niwa had told him. Detectives are born, not made. You, Kubo, have been capable of seeing things that the public cannot. The older boy gave a wistful smile. Far more than me.
And then, with a truth that could cover up the truth, the past snapped back into place, and Kubo finally breathed out.
Finally calm.
Setsuna Jun
It had gotten everywhere, even on the insides of his eyes. Everything was red.
Everything he'd touched had gotten stained.
Then, everything went black. He blinked into his palms, shocked. What-? What was going on? Why wasn't he-? Where was the red-?
He peeked out between his hands, and realized that- he was here.
"S-Sutaraitsu?" he whispered.
Kaoru Kajiwara (GHOST)
Though, she thought bitterly, she wouldn't have seen that, even if it did.
She came to herself inside her body, initially. Trapped in some corpse-storage room. When she was in the weird cryogenic freezing chamber- she, well, panicked.
When she'd pushed at the lid, she went straight through and landed in the room.
She looked around for a bit, then came to two conclusions.
1. The afterlife sucked.
2. Her "my-man-has-been-stolen" senses were screaming.
"KUBO!" she screamed.
She would find a way to make him responsible for both of those things, because goddammit, when had Kubo not messed up her life?
Niwa Atsushi
"Her name is Kowai Kurai, and she is going to be your sister from now on. Take care of her."
His other siblings shuffled their feet, clearly uncomfortable. Niwa was the first to take a step forward. "Of course, daddy!" he chirped. He reached for the little girl, and her eyes widened, quickly hiding behind the man's leg.
Niwa's father growled in his comforting way. Niwa felt a twinge of jealousy, but it was quickly stifled when Kowai stumbled forward. The lost puppy looked up with those big
Something sharpened in her expression.
"Thank you... Niwa."
Only later, would he understand just what had been going through her head with those words.
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 01:42 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
He smiled sadly, and closed the door.
Mei was the only person who could help Idris right now. Idris was the only person who could help Mei right now.
...they... needed each other. Not him.
He was hungry. Wow, wasn't that funny...
Such a normal thing, to remind him, that this was all real.
That two people had died because of him, and many more might follow.
That's how it was, really. You'd be tied up, gagged, with the gun pointed to your head, you'd want to shout out pleas for mercy as they beat you...
But no sound would come out.
You grew used to not saying anything.
You grew so, so used to not saying anything.
No one would want to listen anyway.
But Lucian wanted to be someone who would listen.
His feet found themselves traveling to the cafeteria, ever so hollowly.
It felt like walking through a bad dream. Except, it was all real.
The bitter taste of blood on his lips told him that. The shaking in his legs told him that.
The only things that told him he wasn't a ghost. Even though he always felt like one.
It wouldn't matter if he wasn't even here.
He found his way to the cafeteria, and he found his eyes widening, and his stomach twisting into knots. The butterflies were back. And he wanted them to fly, far, far away.
The ghost had just spotted the detective. The one that everyone needed. The one who would actually be of some kind of use to everyone here.
Who would help people.
Who would save people.
"...hey... Kubo." He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.
Was Kubo alright?...
Was... anyone alright?
What could he do, anyway?
"...can I- please sit here?"
God. He just wanted to blurt out all the answers.
But there was so much uncertainty in the air.
He didn't want to think about love. He didn't want to love Kubo.
He...
Why wouldn't his heart stop pounding? This was a client, like any other. He was just... going to sit down and talk to him.
A sickness stirred in Lucian's stomach. He didn't want to love Kubo. If he-- if he loved Kubo, what if someone wound up dead?
Kaoru's dead body flickered in his vision again.
Did it matter that he was hungry?
Maybe he could just disappear right now... it wasn't like anyone needed him.
Mei was right. She was right. And he loathed it, he loathed that.
He couldn't help anyone here...
Just like back at home.
The hardest things to save people from..., Lucian reflected,
Are themselves.
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 01:57 (2 Years ago)
Kubo Atsushi
"Kubo...?"
Kubo felt something break and melt in his heart, at the sound of that voice. He was finally back.
"Lucian?" His voice sounded rougher than he'd wanted it to. "What are you... doing here?"
Miyako Hiroto
She lifted their entwined hands, then let it fall to swing between them.
She is my freedom, my goodness, and I am hers.
Tears came to her eyes, and she sniffled them away.
Kaoru Kajiwara (GHOST)
That proposed a few challenges. The first? Moving.
"AGGGGHHHH!" The sight may have been comical, if you found Kaoru rolling around in a ghostly approximation of an eternal backflip funny. "I CAN'T FEEL MY LIMBS! WHERE AM I? HOW DO I STOP? WHERE IS GRAVITYYYYY-"
She was in another room. The classroom, where Horatia died.
Someone caught her around the waist. Kaoru paled. "Oh god. The afterlife sucks. I hope you die painfully, Kubo." Horatia floated above her, glaring at her. "Well uh... hi?"
And then Horatia punched her.
It was super effective!
Right. Ghost types were strong against ghost types.
"AGHHHHHHH!"
Kubo was getting his ass haunted if she unlived to see the day.
Niwa Atsushi
Suddenly, he was seized by the wrist, and dragged towards her.
"O-Ow!" he yelped. "T-That hurts-" Then his eyes met hers, and he lost all breath.
She was glowering at him, something dark in the depths of those red eyes. Her breath wafted over his face- dizzily reminding him of roadkill. She probably ate dead birds right off the street.
"What do you want from me?" Her grip tightened. "Is it my parents' money? Well too bad, because it's already sitting. At the bottom. Of a goddamn lake." She chuckled. "And you aren't getting shit."
"I-I don't want that," Niwa stammered, desperately checking over her shoulder. Where was his sister when you needed her? Why couldn't she come in and bother him as any other time and kill the monster in front of him-
His thoughts all went out the window when she bent his wrist.
He screamed, trying to hit her. She jumped on top of him, and he wriggled against her grip, trying to put his hurting fist at her face.
"What do you want, then?"
Both their eyes went on the pocket knife on the couch.
Both of them came to the exact same conclusion.
If I don't tell her what she wants to hear... she's going to put that through my neck.
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 02:00 (2 Years ago)
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 02:09 (2 Years ago)
Miyako Hiroto
And then the two were off.
Kaoru Kajiwara (GHOST)
She managed to free her arm and slapped Horatia.
"YE SHALL DIE, IF THEE CONTINUES THY QUEST TO KILL THIS SEXY ENGLISHWOMAN!" She pounced on Kaoru once more.
"YOU JUST RYHMED YE AND THEE!"
"I DON'T CARE!"
Ghostly screams erupted from the classroom, over the still-not-moved decapitated body of Horatia.
Niwa Atsushi
He closed his eyes and prayed she'd do it quick.
"What do you want?" she whispered in his ear once more.
"I want my family."
Kowai inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide, and her grip briefly slackening.
He took the moment to throw her off him, and she slammed into the wall with a thud that shook the entire library. He started screaming a moment later. "HELP! HELP!"
"Shut up!" she yelled, as he took off for the door.
He slammed it shut, and heard the knife plunge into the wood. That could've been his back. He slid down the door, nausea building in his throat. "Go away!" he yelled at her through it. "Go away! I didn't do anything to you!"
The banging stopped.
It took a moment to realize that the sound through the wood was crying.
Kowai Kurai, the crazy girl, the villain, was crying.
And hero's instinct, and nothing else compelled him to peek inside.
Posted: Mon, 16/01/2023 02:10 (2 Years ago)
Lucian Arbred's POV
Great. That came out great. Way to go, Lucian.
...oh my gosh, he was looking at him.
F**k.
...don't think about it, don't think about it. You don't love him, you don't love him.
He quietly inhaled and exhaled, trying not to hyperventilate. "Can I... please sit w-with you?"
Sawyer Laurens's POV
...but... then, they looked at one of the turned-over tables.
...just like...
It looked just like...
Sawyer shook the thought away. Whoaaa! That was weird.
"Uh, yeah, it- really is! This is kind of- huff- exhausting, Sawyer, could we- go eat something?" Darcy asked, after flipping over two more tables.
Sawyer sighed. "Wellll, I am hungry. Okayyy! Let's go!" They grabbed Darcy by the hand.
Darcy Harper's POV
Darcy shook his head. Ughhh... why wouldn't these stupid feelings just go away?
Please, don't let this be like the last time.
Then, he saw Kubo. With Lucian nearby. He smiled sadly and gave a little wave to Lucian, who waved back at him.
I bet those two will make a happy couple, won't they? he thought bitterly.
Just like...
Just like them.
Darcy felt queasy, looking at that photo. He didn't want to remember.
...he didn't want to remember.
He headed to the kitchen with Sawyer, and tried to forget, as they began passionately listing food items and their average prices. Jeez. They really know so much about so many things.
He never knew where they kept all that information. Then, he had a thought that made his stomach turn.
Maybe... it's because of all that they've forgotten.
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
°*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪ °*•★ • ° ★ : ; . • ° ★ : . ; ° ♪
"Everything is going to be okay."