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GRAVEYARD 2.0
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 |
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To him, and only him, he hears Hikaru's voice, very quiet.
You really do wanna help, huh, Shuuya?
Belief is the source of your power, you know. Magic chooses its user, not the other way around. I know you don't want to fight. But there's other things you can do, you know?
To mend their wounds. To shield them. To bind their enemies, even for a moment. It's like a breeze under his fingertips, the kiss of fresh air in a temple that now rots with decay.
All he needs to do is speak.]
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Again there's a voice, but this time he doesn't hate it. He wants to deny it, almost on principle, but all he does is for the sakes of his siblings and belief...
Belief is fleeting and it's scary. The harder he holds onto it, the more painful when it gets torn to shreds in front of his face. But he believes, at the very very least, that he can still protect these two by his side, that he could give his life for them so that they will live and his life would finally be worth it.
He opens his mouth and says whatever words does the healing thing, a cool breeze pressing against their backs and guiding them through the temple, the wind gently brushing his bangs off his forehead as if saying it will be okay. ]
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It falls out of his lips as easily as anything, and the three of them will feel the wind respond in turn, the sting of their wounds settling as they are completely healed.
You can't do it forever. Magic will bounce back and destroy you if you use it without reason. But please hold onto your belief, Shuuya, even if it's fleeting. I wouldn't have called on you if I didn't have faith in you to do whatever you could.
Find your reason. Make sure it's your own.
Time warps again.
The smoke of an open volcano leaks into the sky, magma spilling out onto the broken rocks. Shuuya will briefly remember a fight, of having no control of his body as both he and Seto were forced to attack Kido, who had to defend and make her own choices through a trial against her own heart, under the impassive and fiery supervision of the same beast that had been resting with Hikaru.
But it seems she conquered. Their wounds have been healed, and just like the dragon, the creature before Kido morphs with a blinding red light into another robot, before the light settles into Kido's chest.
Seto is probably blabbing about how nice Seles was in comparison to the fiery demeanor of Kido's Mashin, who she corrects him in calling "Rayearth." She shares what Rayearth had spoken to her heart, that their goal was to save this land called Cefiro, and that they had to rescue someone called "The Pillar." Something went horribly wrong, it seems, and the Pillar could no longer support the land with their prayers. Seto wonders aloud if a monster of some kind captured this Pillar.
Kano feels de-ja-vu again. Uneasy. Sickening. Like he's watching a train-wreck in slow motion.]
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The fight is painful, but the pain is fond. He thinks of their petty fights as children, Seto in tears because he can't choose who to defend or what to do, but more often than not he goes to Kano's aid only because Kido would have beat Kano to a bloody pulp if somebody did not stop her and try to calm her down. He could never win. They were always crying back then, but less now- they fought less now, too, and Kido's grown up so much... Seto too. It's only Kano without a robot, but he doesn't need one.
He doesn't care about saving the world. But he cares about saving his siblings who would undoubtedly throw their lives away trying to save this Pillar, so really, he has no choice!!! He feels for the wind once more; where is the Pillar? Where do they need to go? ]
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Too bad Seto can't speak to animals right this second, that might be nice. But the longer Kano looks towards the castle, the more he fills with a sense of dread - that if he were to step foot in it now, he would be killed instantly, just like many before him.
Kido looks confusedly at Mokona, then at Kano. The fuck did you do to anger the marshmallow, dude?]
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He's no friend to animals; he doesn't care what that thing thinks. He knows where the Pillar is, and instead of saying as much, he simply asks the other two to follow him. ]
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They're close now, though. And though his siblings are filled with confidence, Kano's dread will increase.
Hikaru's voice is even quieter now.
I don't want you to die here, Shuuya. Please.
The Mashin are there for the Magic Knights for a reason. Mokona is there for a reason. Please don't ignore them, or...
Or... what? She seems to drift, as though she can't remember, falling silent again.
His siblings move forward, following his direction. What does he do?]
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It's not like he's ignoring the people around him on purpose. But he can't stand to look them in the face with how he is, and that by keeping them behind him he might be able to... he doesn't know. Protect them? As if he could, when they're so much stronger. Really, why is he here, when he's no good for anything?
He turns to face Seto and Kido. ]
Time out, be right back. Gotta pee!
[ He snatches Mokona out of Kido's hoodie and stalks off to the side wherever there's some sort of cover he can hide behind for some semblance of privacy. ]
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Instead, his eyes open, and he's somewhere unfamiliar, like he's in floating in the middle of the sea. A beat, and something solidifies under his feet, and with quiet footsteps, Hikaru approaches him in an unfamiliar outfit, the back of her dress trailing on the floor, her skin covered in scars. She'll stop a short distance away, as though she can't move any further. But she'll meet his eyes with a tired smile.]
You really do feel like a burden to them, don't you?
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Kano would probably have that same reaction, but he's momentarily distracted by the thought that Mokona had straight up murdered him back there, though it's been so many times that he's died and come back that he doesn't know what counts anymore.
He lets his shoulders drop, and his hands unclench. ]
...Yeah. I'm doing what I can.
[ But all the same, yeah. ]
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Her hand reaches out, as though she wants to offer it. But something stops her, and she flinches, before carefully pulling her hand a way with a firm inhale. Something's off. It's hard for Kano to put his finger on it right this second.]
...Windom isn't something you should feel you have to ignore, Shuuya. Even if you don't know if you deserve it, or you think that you can be fine... This is a world of belief. But the Pillar has protections that you can't just walk into, no matter how hard you want to. That's how important their role is. Your weapons are the key to the Mashin, and the Mashin themselves are a key to saving the world. They were the same when I was a knight.
[Her eyes cloud for a moment, anguished despite her smile, before she folds her hands together for a moment. In front of Kano will appear a crystal ball of sorts.]
Please. Take a moment to have courage, Shuuya, and look.
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For Kano, his courage isn't the lack of fear. It's being willing to do whatever it takes to do what he needs despite that fear, and if he needs to take a leap of faith and touch weird crystal balls because some stranger Hikaru says so in order to not lead his family straight to death, so be it.
What does he see? ]
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He will see his siblings moving on, in anguish, in anger, attacking a force he can't quite make out, trying their best, grieving heavily.
He will watch them try, and try, and try, but with their hearts taken up by grief, they are quickly torn apart and slaughtered.]
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Kano gives it a shake like he's handling a snow globe and then stares at it again. ]
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He will see himself keeping a distance, watching them enter the castle, listening to them scream and finding his magic can't reach them.
He will see as many scenarios as he can imagine, however many he can think of. But he never makes it beyond the castle steps as he is now, and his siblings never survive.
Hikaru just watches him patiently, her eyes tired and sad.]
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What am I supposed to do...
[ All these doomsday scenarios. Show him one where he torches the castle. ]
How am I supposed to catch up?
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[The ball will flicker with memories, both good and bad, of Shuuya and his siblings while Hikaru speaks.]
Kido-chan, Seto-kun... you love them a lot, don't you? And I think they love you a lot, too. You'd do anything to protect them. But you let yourself fall behind, thinking there is nothing you can do, thinking that you don't deserve the same things they have had to fight for and earn, when the world is holding out a chance for you just like it did for them.
Your love for them is what makes your magic strong, Shuuya. It's what will make you the reason they have a chance, once you can use it to its full potential. But you need to trust them to be your equals, that they want you to live as much as they want to live. To love you as much as you love them.
You have to do this together. To be alone, when the people you love stand right next to you...
[Her gaze drops for a moment, just barely, paining heavily before she inhales again.]
To be alone is to truly fail.
...
I can bring you to Windom, to take your test. That, you have to do alone, just like Seto-kun and Kido-chan did. But the Mashin are there to help you reach your goal safely. All of you.
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He holds his love close to his heart, covers it up, buries it deep. ]
Alright. Doing the trial alone is all the better, isn't it? Kido, Seto... I hope they don't mind waiting for me, just a little longer.
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Have faith in yourself, and in them.
[And just like that, he's bolting awake. Mokona is here! What a joy. It is bouncing around like it hasn't got a care in the world, while Kano looks up at the inner ruins of what was once a huge crystalline mountain, its roof now cracked open and exposed to the stormy sky. For a moment, the earth quakes underneath them, as though a god shifts in its sleep underneath Kano's feet. Debris rains down.
But that pull of his heart leads him, past the broken gateway into a temple similar to those he'd already visited in the sea, in the volcano. Broken crystals lie shattered on the floor, which has cracked like glass. But as he enters the center of the room, the wind follows him, a gale forming in front of him, taking the shape of a massive bird with four wings.
It speaks directly to him, just as Hikaru's beast had done, deep and rumbling and ancient.
Legendary Magic Knight. You who have come to the Shrine of Wind in hopes of bearing me.
I am called Windom. Long have I waited to be summoned.
You are here to follow a legend. You, who wish to be called a Magic Knight. Prove to me you are worthy of my patronage. Show me the strength of heart worthy to become a Magic Knight.
Prove your worth!
Kano will feel the presence of several other figures in the room, very suddenly. All are people he respects, people he loves, from both the life he held and the one he lacks, and the long two months of respite he's had in the Realm.
They will approach. And one by one, their mouths open, and they start to call him exactly what he's believed he should be called. Stupid. Weak. Useless. His actions are verbally torn to shreds. His choices questioned. Every fear he has, every horrible thing he believes to be sitting behind a beloved person's lips, falling out like gunfire to his heart.]
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But the people he faces are his family. He only has eyes and ears for his mother, both his mom and dad, Kido and Seto too, Ayano...
His parents blame him for their deaths. Ayano asks him why he didn't save her. Kido tears into him the most viciously, never one to hold back on her words- or her fist, which slams into his stomach hard enough for a wave of nausea to pass over him. Seto doesn't even look at him, says he's ashamed, and somehow that hurts even worse.
Kano stands there and takes it. None of this is new, there is nothing he hasn't heard before, hasn't imagined being said by the very people standing before him now.
So what? Nobody hates him more than he hates himself, and that is something he can always take comfort it. ]
So what... I'm stupid, useless, defective... but I'm trying. I'm doing what I can with what I have.
cw: suicidal ideation and the like probably for a little bit
If he's trying, then what was he doing? Did he even try, when Ayano flung herself into the mouth of the beast? Did he even try, when Cater's killer walked free? When Elsa was attacked, when Izumo lost loved one after loved one, when Swan had to vanish into the depths of a portal that she might never emerge from.
Where was he? What was he doing? Who is he even kidding???
Why couldn't he just give up and vanish?
...
Windom watches on, silent.]
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He's so tired.
Nothing ever comes out of his efforts. He tries so hard, burns himself out, works from the shadows late into the night and for what?
What's the point?
He's a burden to everybody around him, all he does is cause trouble, not a single good comes out of his being alive—-
but that's a lie too, isn't it? If he really believed that, he would have taken his own life when he was six, having lost his mother, his world, his entire reason for being. He chose to live, so the neighbors would not talk about his mother being murdered and her young child's suicide, he would not make her a point of gossip, he would not have her memory tarnished by slander. He would have taken his life when he was twelve, when his mom died and the happiness he'd thought he'd finally attained was irreparably shattered. But he'd chose to live, because his siblings had already lost so much, and back then- back when he was younger, more foolish, more hopeful- he did not want to give them any more reason to grieve. He did not want to be reason his siblings stopped smiling. He would have taken his life when he was fifteen, when he lost his sister, when his heart was torn to shreds and there was nothing left, no love no hope no time to grieve before the snake laid down its terms.
It's funny, in a way. The guillotine hangs over his head day by day but it's because of the snake that he's still alive, why he can think these thoughts and still smile, just a little, and hang on.
It's because he exists, that his siblings are allowed to. No matter how terrible and unforgiveable a monster he is, his existence means his family is safe for one more day. For him, that's enough. He lives to give them one more day. They're the reason he's alive, as he is to them. He never doubts this. ]
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Windom's voice echoes.
You know there are falsehoods, and yet you let them persist. You allow a mountain to loom over these that you care about rather than dealing with the pebbles as they fall.
You may not have both truth and falsehoods in your heart, Magic Knight. Vulnerability will cause suffering. Conviction will cause suffering. Inaction will cause suffering.
Rid the compassion from your heart, Magic Knight, and fight back, before you truly empty out to nothing.
It's a test. And he needs to provide an answer.]
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I will not. I will hold the mountain upon my shoulders, and suffer so they don't have to. That compassion is all I have. I will not throw it away.
[ His lies stem from kindness, his actions are to protect. The weakness and the contradiction is what makes him him. They are not things he can let go of, because if he does, he will truly then be nothing.
If he fails this test, he does not care. If this world falls apart, it does not matter. It is not his world. This is not his life. His love is for his brother and sister back in Kashiwa, for Seto wandering the streets trying to find him because he's late coming home, for Kido at the stove keeping a pot of curry warm in case he comes home. And he's going to go home to them. He does not need to die here, nor stay here and save a world which is not real. ]
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Time warps.
He's back with his siblings. Both are fussing over him, asking where he's been. In front of them stands the robots, with a third joining them. It has no weapon, and Kano will find that his bow has vanished entirely.
As soon as Kano has regained clarity, the three of them are swallowed up in light, reappearing in what feels like a bubble of protection, now hovering many feet off the ground. They can all still see one another and interact as normal, but they will have an inherent knowledge that they are now inside their Mashin.
They have only one objective left. To storm the castle, find the Pillar, save them, and thus save this husk of a world.
Then they can go home.]
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