GRAVEYARD 2.0

[retellers]

GRAVEYARD Well, that sucked. But no matter what your death was like—whether it was something peaceful or traumatic, you'll find yourself waking in a completely white room on the floor. Small and empty, there isn't anything else there besides an open door to walk through. But before you do that, you'll probably notice that whatever injuries you may have had, including whatever may have been the death blow, are now gone. That's exciting. Stepping out of the room, it seems that you're in a large... house? with three different floors. Everything from floor, ceiling to furniture is completely white, except for the drawings that are plastered to the walls in each room. These are all colorful, drawn in colored pencils and crayon, and resemble a child's drawing. The other notable thing are the windows. While they're present all around the building, looking out of them only shows TV static. Besides that, everything is furnished with the absolute bare minimum of each room. The first floor is all typical common areas one would find in a house. There's a kitchen, living room area, laundry room, dining room, and a main hallway where the stairs are. There are also helpful drawings in these rooms that show the rooms much more lavishly decorated than they actually are. There's a door that appears to be the way to exit the building, it's locked. The second floor consists of nothing but twenty bedrooms. Each room has one queen sized bed, an empty dresser, and an attached bathroom with only a sink, toilet, and shower. Like the first floor, each bedroom has drawn pictures that show it looking much more lavish than it actually does. Thanks for nothing, artist! The third floor only has two rooms. One appears to be a home office with nothing but a desk and two chairs, one behind it and one in front of it. While there's blank pieces of paper and crayons on the desk, the note that was previously there is gone. The other room is much larger, and it's completely empty save for the many drawings lining its walls— in fact, the walls are covered in them, much more than in any other room. On closer inspection, though, it seems like these aren't actually drawings? The papers seem to be showing scenes from the living area. Everything from inside the hotel to the areas beyond the bridge are visible here. However, when curfew hits on Thursday nights, they revert to being normal drawings! Except for the fact that they're all drawings of stick figures being murdered in various ways. Well. At least there's plenty of things to draw with, if you get bored. Also, a handy link to the previous post.

NAVIGATION locations ₓ˚. statuses *+:｡ ic profiles :ₓo ic rules ･ﾟﾟ･｡ audience requests murder proposals ｡✧o private conversations ･ﾟo｡ curfew ･ﾟ✧ memories

Comments

[infreefall]

It was kind of a group decision... There are a lot of people that know Xie Lian and I were close, and he'd never hurt me, so it would be an easy way to point to whoever they meant to save.

[ ie dorothy. ]

It was Yuuri-san, in the end.

[misstrust]

... Yes, I know. So knowing that a group of people thought it would be plausible that I would choose to target a child or that I would be fine with having my emotions controlled is rather...

[ It had hurt. ]

[infreefall]

...I never thought you'd be okay with it. The only reason I even had that RSVP is because I didn't want to use it on anyone, but if it was to save you, I thought that maybe...

[ she'd hoped that it would be worth it. but that plan hadn't even worked, so of course it wasn't. ochako won't make excuses for that mistake. ]

But there were a number of people who knew I'd volunteered to be a victim this week, so... I don't think it would've meant they'd think less of you or anything. Killing someone who volunteered in order to help everyone, instead of choosing someone at random - I think they'd all understand, no matter who you chose. I would.

[misstrust]

That's because you're a kind girl. But if the roles knew, that meant Blanca knew and...

[ Xie Lian. People she had considered trusting.

And Dorothy just falls silent, staring at nothing. ]

[infreefall]

[ she blinks. ]

Blanca-san...?

[ the significance is flying right over her head, but... whatever it means, it's making this worse for dorothy. that's not okay. ]

Are you... upset that they didn't defend you? But if that's the case, it must have been because they wanted to save you, too.

[misstrust]

[ Tell her Rufus knew, make it worse. ]

It's not that-- well, it's partially that.

I've been saying over and over that, like you, I don't like to use items that influence other people. I think their wills should be their own.

So to be forced into that... not to mention Blanca knew I wanted to take responsibility if I was caught. Being saved was something I would have hated, even if the intentions were good.

[infreefall]

But if they knew, then why would they...?

[ it's frustrating, not really understanding what their logic was. wanting to save someone is important, true, but so is respecting their own wishes. considering that, ochako chews on the inside of her cheek as she carefully tries to choose her words. ]

Xie Lian... When I told him I'd volunteered, I think his first idea was to protect me. But when I said that I wouldn't want anyone to take my place, he decided against it. So I think, if he knew, he would have listened to you, too.

[misstrust]

Yes... if he'd known. If there had been some form of communication perhaps.

[ But here they are. ]

... Regardless, that's something I'll need to tell him myself. And some of the others. I think you and I are at least on the same page.

[infreefall]

...Still. I am sorry for putting you in that position at all.

But... thank you, for making sure your team met the quota.

[misstrust]

It's to bring everyone back, after all. I may hate killing, but that also wasn't something I wanted to put on any of their shoulders.

[infreefall]

Mm, I understand. I don't know if I'd have been able to kill someone myself, but... that's why I volunteered - so no one else would have to be hurt.

[misstrust]

Also for the record, I would have refused to kill you for volunteering, unless you were splintering.

[infreefall]

[ that just gets a soft laugh from ochako. ]

Well, I can't really blame you for that, either. As upset as my team was when I volunteered, I'm honestly a little surprised that they did pick me.

[misstrust]

I'm also a little surprised.

[ By which she means she totally disapproves-- ]

[infreefall]

[ hm, kind of a hot button topic. ]

W-Well, Yuuri-san is the one who shot me, so maybe she felt more comfortable if it was someone closer to her own age?

[ is. is that a thing with murderers. she doesn't know. ]

[misstrust]

... I don't think that should be a valid...?

[infreefall]

W-Well, it's not like I've ever chosen to kill someone! I don't know how they do that.

[misstrust]

No one can really say what goes through someone's mind when they commit to a murder... not even someone who's also killed.

[ Yeah, what the heck tiny headband child. ]

And Taako helped, you said?

[infreefall]

Yeah, he was. I think he was mostly there to help her cover things up, though? I'm not really sure.

[ she was. kind of dead for that part. ]

I guess we could always ask, once we make it back.

[misstrust]

Oh, I intend to. Especially if they were the ones who suggested the evidence to frame me.

[infreefall]

They're the ones who mentioned it to me, but I couldn't tell you whose idea it was first.

[ . . . ]

I can't ask you not to be mad or anything, but... they were just trying to help us get through this, same as the rest of us. Maybe it could have been done a little better, but... Xie Lian always said that trying and failing was better than doing nothing.

[misstrust]

It's not as though I don't see what they were trying to accomplish. And if nothing else, I'm glad we were able to achieve the final two requirements.

... Well, any other discussion will have to be between them and me. It's my own selfishness, after all.

[infreefall]

I don't think it's wrong of you to be upset or anything.

[ dorothy is 100% valid in her opinion? ochako just wonders if it's a little unfair to blame all of them, but... it's not like she was really in on how they decided to frame her. ]

But, um... good luck talking to them when we make it back.

[misstrust]

[ Talking will come first, if nothing else. There's too much she needs to confirm. ]

Thank you. And I hope Claude can at least remember how to hug a cute young lady when we return.

[infreefall]

[ her face just immediately turns red?! ]

W-What?! Why would he - what?