i don't know what to tell you for this tag besides that sumire is running away from kasumi and prefect, leading them in circles — unless we suddenly have crowd participation and the nameless npcs want to grab her. that's fine, too. how the fuck is she even still conscious.]
[ The crowd is still just watching. Some have pulled out their cellphones to record again. Ah, some things never change. But, Sumire is just going to have another game of yakety sax as she loses more blood. It's fine.
Claire, meanwhile, just points more angrily and with feeling. ]
Someone will go and hang, all right. Rufus straightens, stands on the chair, and reaches for the noose. Once the rope is secure around his neck, he looks down at Lass.]
[ Lass looks back at Rufus and, without further hesitation, knocks the chair out from under him.
It won't be painless. Rufus will have the rope dig into his neck as he struggles for breath; the drop isn't far enough to simply snap his neck, unfortunately. Lass simply watches the whole time.
But as Rufus hangs, Kasumi, Kravitz, and Prefect all stop what they were doing (even if what they were doing was just bleeding on the stage after stabbing himself) and walk back to their original positions. If there are no longer chairs there, they just stand in place. They speak in unison again, while Lass continues to watch Rufus. ]
The blood must be spilled, like the mother.
[ Lass walks away from his spot to pick up one of the abandoned knives and he returns to his spot next to Rufus. And, to add insult to injury, he slams the knife into Rufus' chest, close to the heart. As soon as he does, he falls over, bleeding. The remaining three continue to speak. ]
Okay! Jiminy Christmas. I barely even care if I die for real anymore just so I never have to see your fuckinā face again, Claire.
[Okay. Okay, fine. Tuff Kasumi will struggle to his fucking feet, one white sneaker and one blood red sneaker, and sort of. Limp hop over to the edge of the stage and gingerly climb off of it so he can bodily pick up Dorothy and deposit her back on there. Sorry if it hurts, we all hurt, Dorothy. Then, very slowly at this point, hauling himself too back onto the frigginā stage.]
Do we . . . when did we lose a rope? Okay, look, I guess weāre recycling. Rufus, you owe me.
[I GUESS. PULLING RUFUSā BODY DOWN. and then, because he doesnāt want to deal with this anymore, just climbing up on Kravitzā lap by stepping on him and getting into that noose. Swallowing hard before he puts it around his neck.]
The only thing keeping her from actively freaking out is her knowledge of the previous gangs' rodeo. She slaps a hand over her mouth when Rufus falls, and squeezes her eyes shut when the knife plunges into his heart. Part of her still wants to rebel. To find another way. But if there isn't—]
... I'm sorry, Kasumi.
[Very, very quietly.
She will offer Dorothy some extra assistance if she needs help reaching the noose. But once that's taken care of, then it's time to recycle Rufus' rope. The knife is still in her hand as she repositions the chair. She will slowly climb up, dizzy and uncoordinated from the blood loss, and cast a gaze around the room. Her eyes will linger on Rufus' body, then Taako and Dorothy, before they land on her sister and stay there — even as she gets into the noose.
[ Thanks so much to everyone, Dorothy could not have made it here to her inevitable death without you. But it feels really weird to thank them for hoisting her up and giving her a boost onto the chair.
Everything hurts. Her vision's gone all hazy and blotchy and she very nearly buckles right off the chair again when she sees Rufus with a blade in his chest and it's that moment all over again, only ten times worse because it feels that much more devastating.
She stares at Prefect and all she remembers is that smile, but not what she had said.
But does it really matter? Even when she'd struggled, she hadn't been able to save the people she cared about, and so Dorothy takes a deep breath that shakes, glances at the other two and then the friend she'd lost before she could even try to save her.
And she also slips the noose around her neck, white-knuckled. She doesn't say a word. ]
[ Wouldn't it be fucked up it Claire just ran in and said jk!
But, like with Rufus, as soon as the three have settled, Kravitz, Prefect, and Kasumi will knock the chairs over. They will all stare as the three struggle and try to gasp for air, as their vision darkens, and as their feet dangle beneath them. However, unlike with Rufus, they aren't stabbed. Apparently they have already spilled enough blood.
But as soon as the last of them closes their eyes for good, something happens.
That is, they open their eyes again.
All four of them will find themselves on the floor of the stage, each inside a circle made from their own blood. The bodies of their counterparts are laying on the ground before them, and for some reason it looks like they had been mauled by animals?
Well. That can be explained if they look around. The auditorium looks closer to the ruins in the northern area then part of a high school now--falling apart and crumbling, with vines and trees growing inside of it. The ceiling is collapsing in places. It's a shame how a school loses funding if their football team doesn't make a profit, wow.
They will all be happy to discover that all of their injuries are still there and bleeding horrifically! Please get medical attention! In front of them, outside of the circles, are four yearbooks that details their greatest hits, from being blown up by mines to Ryuji being shot in the face to hanging themselves. They even have the signatures of all the cameos. On top of each book are two cookies. They will find that if someone eats one of these, they will be compelled to answer a question completely truthfully.
And before them stands the man, although he's no longer dressed as a priest. Instead, he's wearing a business suit as he looks over all of them. ]
Congratulations on your graduation. And just so you know... [ He looks at Dorothy and Rufus pointedly. ] Having faith is putting your hand in someone else's, and learning to take the good with the bad.
[ He walks away.
Yup. All that happened. If they walk out of the auditorium, they'll find themselves back on the bridge. ]
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But Lass just stares at Rufus, his own gaze settling on the noose. ]
You skipped out on it earlier. [ And then all of them speak in unison, ] It's time to stop running.
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Explain this like weāre weāre complete fucking morons, Legion Claire. Weāre so tired. Look at whatās her face. Her leg is all fucked up.
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sumire: i'm running.
i don't know what to tell you for this tag besides that sumire is running away from kasumi and prefect, leading them in circles — unless we suddenly have crowd participation and the nameless npcs want to grab her. that's fine, too. how the fuck is she even still conscious.]
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Claire, meanwhile, just points more angrily and with feeling. ]
You are fucking morons! Someone go and hang!
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Someone will go and hang, all right. Rufus straightens, stands on the chair, and reaches for the noose. Once the rope is secure around his neck, he looks down at Lass.]
Do it.
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It won't be painless. Rufus will have the rope dig into his neck as he struggles for breath; the drop isn't far enough to simply snap his neck, unfortunately. Lass simply watches the whole time.
But as Rufus hangs, Kasumi, Kravitz, and Prefect all stop what they were doing (even if what they were doing was just bleeding on the stage after stabbing himself) and walk back to their original positions. If there are no longer chairs there, they just stand in place. They speak in unison again, while Lass continues to watch Rufus. ]
The blood must be spilled, like the mother.
[ Lass walks away from his spot to pick up one of the abandoned knives and he returns to his spot next to Rufus. And, to add insult to injury, he slams the knife into Rufus' chest, close to the heart. As soon as he does, he falls over, bleeding. The remaining three continue to speak. ]
You all must graduate.
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[Okay. Okay, fine. Tuff Kasumi will struggle to his fucking feet, one white sneaker and one blood red sneaker, and sort of. Limp hop over to the edge of the stage and gingerly climb off of it so he can bodily pick up Dorothy and deposit her back on there. Sorry if it hurts, we all hurt, Dorothy. Then, very slowly at this point, hauling himself too back onto the frigginā stage.]
Do we . . . when did we lose a rope? Okay, look, I guess weāre recycling. Rufus, you owe me.
[I GUESS. PULLING RUFUSā BODY DOWN. and then, because he doesnāt want to deal with this anymore, just climbing up on Kravitzā lap by stepping on him and getting into that noose. Swallowing hard before he puts it around his neck.]
Okay. Peace out or whatever.
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The only thing keeping her from actively freaking out is her knowledge of the previous gangs' rodeo. She slaps a hand over her mouth when Rufus falls, and squeezes her eyes shut when the knife plunges into his heart. Part of her still wants to rebel. To find another way. But if there isn't—]
... I'm sorry, Kasumi.
[Very, very quietly.
She will offer Dorothy some extra assistance if she needs help reaching the noose. But once that's taken care of, then it's time to recycle Rufus' rope. The knife is still in her hand as she repositions the chair. She will slowly climb up, dizzy and uncoordinated from the blood loss, and cast a gaze around the room. Her eyes will linger on Rufus' body, then Taako and Dorothy, before they land on her sister and stay there — even as she gets into the noose.
Hasta la vista, binches. It's time to hang.]
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Everything hurts. Her vision's gone all hazy and blotchy and she very nearly buckles right off the chair again when she sees Rufus with a blade in his chest and it's that moment all over again, only ten times worse because it feels that much more devastating.
She stares at Prefect and all she remembers is that smile, but not what she had said.
But does it really matter? Even when she'd struggled, she hadn't been able to save the people she cared about, and so Dorothy takes a deep breath that shakes, glances at the other two and then the friend she'd lost before she could even try to save her.
And she also slips the noose around her neck, white-knuckled. She doesn't say a word. ]
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But, like with Rufus, as soon as the three have settled, Kravitz, Prefect, and Kasumi will knock the chairs over. They will all stare as the three struggle and try to gasp for air, as their vision darkens, and as their feet dangle beneath them. However, unlike with Rufus, they aren't stabbed. Apparently they have already spilled enough blood.
But as soon as the last of them closes their eyes for good, something happens.
That is, they open their eyes again.
All four of them will find themselves on the floor of the stage, each inside a circle made from their own blood. The bodies of their counterparts are laying on the ground before them, and for some reason it looks like they had been mauled by animals?
Well. That can be explained if they look around. The auditorium looks closer to the ruins in the northern area then part of a high school now--falling apart and crumbling, with vines and trees growing inside of it. The ceiling is collapsing in places. It's a shame how a school loses funding if their football team doesn't make a profit, wow.
They will all be happy to discover that all of their injuries are still there and bleeding horrifically! Please get medical attention! In front of them, outside of the circles, are four yearbooks that details their greatest hits, from being blown up by mines to Ryuji being shot in the face to hanging themselves. They even have the signatures of all the cameos. On top of each book are two cookies. They will find that if someone eats one of these, they will be compelled to answer a question completely truthfully.
And before them stands the man, although he's no longer dressed as a priest. Instead, he's wearing a business suit as he looks over all of them. ]
Congratulations on your graduation. And just so you know... [ He looks at Dorothy and Rufus pointedly. ] Having faith is putting your hand in someone else's, and learning to take the good with the bad.
[ He walks away.
Yup. All that happened. If they walk out of the auditorium, they'll find themselves back on the bridge. ]