retellers | GRAVEYARD

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!graveyard

GRAVEYARD

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, but it leads you to somewhere that's not the front lawn.

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. On the desk are some blank pieces of paper along with crayons, as well as a written note next to them that says PLEASE DRAW THE PREFERRED ANIMAL :). It looks like this is how you ask for a meeting with a Leader.

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.

As of Week 3, each person has the ability to send messages on their PHS unlocked.

NAVIGATION

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[this is like my most common nightmare.... what a horrific thread....

She seems enthusiastic enough, making sure her dog is sitting obediently in a corner as she practically drops herself into the costume collection to dig around, pulling out the gaudiest looking bedazzled crown and slapping it on her head for a moment before continuing to dig, her voice muffled.]

They just said we gotta perform, right? Do you know this story at all?

[Because the two lines of plot they got is not very exciting.]

[ Ugh, fuck the ghost audience. Kano finds a rubber horse head mask and pulls it over his head, now he can't see anything but the top of Hikaru's head and what he thinks might be a green velvet cape he can drape over his shoulders, but it might also be a dress, he can't tell. ]

Yep, sure do! Just grab what clothes and props you want, and follow my lead~

[Fire doggo is just casually trying to nose down the cats backstage, wherever the fuck they went.

Hikaru, meanwhile, is tugging at his cape dress with one hand before Kano can just run on stage.]

Hey, hey, at least tell me a little bit what you're thinking? We're gonna have to make up an awful lot anyway, but that's totally unfair if you're the only person that knows --

[She huffs, putting down the not at all copyrighted l*ghtsaber she just found to break the distance and carefully untie his makeshift cape.]

...Here, you dummy, hold still. You'll look way cooler if you don't trip on the sleeves as soon as you go out there.

[Just retying that with the sleeves around his neck this time and not halfway dangling under his shoes.]

[ Kano's two cats are hanging up above the— whatever the technical term is for the backdrop wall thing- just balancing on top of the wall and feeling pleased with themselves knowing that the dog can't set them on fire all the way up here without ruining the stage. They have no intention of sitting quietly; as quickly as he switches his masks, all parts of Kano get to be part of this show. ]

Hey- ugh. [ So it was a dress after all. He can't see, and he can barely breathe, but he stands still and lets Hikaru make him somewhat presentable. ]

It's not like we have to make up a whole lot, you know? The script is right there.

[ All... two lines of it. ]

Who d'you want to be, Hansel or Gretel? I'll play the other roles, and all you gotta do is respond to what I'm doing, easy peasy~

[Doggo does not want to set the stage on fire, so it's patiently waiting!

Anyway, wow he is dodging the question but this isn't a surprise. She's learning, oh no. She reaches up to pull the horse mask off him briefly, just enough that she can look him in the eye, a momentary pout, before her face breaks into a pleased smile, lowering her voice a little.]

If you don't remember, either, you can just say so, you know.

They said we gotta perform, but that doesn't mean we gotta make it good, or that we gotta be correct. We might as well have fun, you know? Maybe the story is too boring.

[A beat, looking behind her. The dog wags its tail, and she looks back at Kano, her smile almost too innocent for what she's about to ask.]

You wanna set something on fire later?

Wow! I totally know what the story's supposed to be! There's, like, a wolf and a dragon and a tower and whatever. Apple pies.

[ He knows the story in the vaguest of terms, but it is indeed pretty boring and doesn't have enough fire. ]

Does it have to be something?

[Apple pies :0

That's a lot of stuff for what's supposed to be a simple story. Huh. Her eyes narrow a little, exasperated, but she just lets it go. Alright, then. Wolf, dragon, tower, something something apples. That makes less sense than their storyline. She will, at least, fish out an animal tail of some sort and tie its waistband around her hips. She is now a beginner furry.]

Duh. It can't be someone. I don't wanna hurt you, and I'm not gonna get set on fire right now. Even if I could handle it back home, I really, really don't wanna die again just for a play.

[ Apple pies are an integral part of the story. ]

"Right now," huh? Haha, we'll work fire into the story somewhere~

[ This is it for his costume, seeing as he can't really see anything else at this point and the dress cape does a good job of hiding everything else on his person. ]

But for now, it's show time! Center stage! And then, like, left stage. Go run across, shoo, I'll be right behind you.

[She adjusts her crown with a nod, tucking the saber at her waistline before rushing off to center stage, striking what might be a heroic sort of pose like she's looking off into the distance past the invisible crowd, before moving off to the left.]

[ Gretel sure is spunky in this play. Kano lets her run to the other end of the stage before he makes his appearance, with heavy assured stomps of his boots that's so different from the silent way he usually picks across the ground. It's the horse head. It makes him feel so much taller and therefore bigger and stronger too. ]

You can run, but you can't hide, little girl! It's useless; you'll come running back to me eventually, as I have already captured your dear brother. And don't even bother calling for help— by the time you find anybody, your brother will already be baked into a pie!

[Ah.

Something about this, at least, sparks a genuine reaction with her as she shoves the crown higher onto her headn taking a cautious step back as though he's a dragon and not the dumb horse boy he's dressed up to be.]

Why are you doing this?? All my brother and I wanted was to be happy! We didn't mean to -- [He said tower, right, okay] --to trespass in your home...

Where are you hiding him???

And for the sake of your happiness, you impeded upon mine! In this world, no action is without consequence, little girl, regardless of intention.

[ He stands straight, cape pulled across his body and up across half his face in a Dracula-eque fashion. ]

I have hidden the stupid boy at the very top of my tower. Will you be able to reach him in time? Struggle, fight, claw your way to the top, and do your best to survive until the very end! I'll be waiting—-

[ fwip! he does the dramatic billowing cape thing— realizes Hikaru had actually tied it and so he has to quickly untie it, and then re-fwips the cape so it goes flying off into the air and smothers Hikaru in the face so he can make his getaway and duck out behind the stage as if he'd magically flown away or disappeared. Wow! Suspension of disbelief.

He waves for Hikaru to monologue by herself for a moment, while he goes to grabs a ladder and drags it over to the other side of the stage. This is their tower. ]

[The dress-cape does, indeed, hit her in the face. But her reflexes are one of the things the Realm hasn't stolen just yet, and she whips it up and off her head with the twist of her body, scrambling to draw it up with her hands. Is it dramatic to stare at this for a little bit? Hm.

...]

Without consequence.

[She whips open the l*ghtsaber. It makes that funny fake woosh sound. But you can tell she's handled a weapon before, by how she holds it, by how she points it out towards the audience like she's facing down a foe... before dropping it to her side.]

My brother isn't mine by blood. Maybe people would call me stupid for that - fighting for somebody that I haven't known since I was little. But he's important to me. And we've--

I've made a big mistake. A lot of them.

I've told my brother stories before. Of this crown I took from the only princess of a beautiful land, or of this blade held by the man who took her captive, taken by a knight. My brother thinks they're just stories, and he thinks I'm foolish, and he thinks I'm loud.

I didn't get either of these because of my good intentions. I got them to remind me of what happens, when a knight doesn't question. No matter how I feel, that dragon is right. No action is without consequence.

I choose to accept this one. Because I love my brother, and I made him a promise. [She tosses the dress off to the side with force. Don't worry it's backstage somewhere. It probably just crashed into something. The dog lifts its head at the noise.] So I'm going to rescue Hansel. And I'm gonna tell him the truth!

[ This is not how Hansel and Gretel goes. But, that's fine. The original story is boring, and all these new things will surely captivate the audience and keep them on their toes, right? Kano glances out at the empty chairs and distinctly hears somebody snoring.

If they're going to be like that, then, he has no qualms of dragging the tower across the stage until it stands tall and proud at the very center, making sure to have it squeak as loudly and painfully as he can in the process. Horse head is off, and it's just him and his usual black hoodie, hood flipped up over his head to obscure as much as his face as he can while he crouches underneath the ladder like a troll under a bridge. ]

Little girl, little girl, surely you do not aim to climb this tower? For it is very tall and you are very small. I may offer you my aid, but it will come with a price. What say you?

[She seems to be very good at ignoring the bored ass crowd behind her, moving down stage to let Kano shove the ladder further in and crouch under it like a gremlin. Hm, hm, the hero had to make a mistake in their story, didn't they?

She keeps her l*ghtsaber lowered, cocking her head to the side.]

A price?

What kind of price? I don't have any money to give you.

Haha... I have no need for riches, little girl. What I want is your name.

[ He holds his hand out, as if to receive something physical, from behind the bars of his ladder cage. ]

Little girl. Little sister. Stupid, foolish, girl. You have so many others. Won't you share your name with me?

[Won't you share your n̵̠̗̠͓͔̟͉͖̱͛a̷̡̝̠̫̱̩͎̞͔̣̦͈͑̇̅́̊̂̊͆̈́͌͘͠͠ͅm̵̮͚̩͓͙̞͚̞͂͑͑͋̈͛͆̊̂̆̾̽̃͘ė̸̛̮̫̝̭̖̮̥̠͌͂̇̈́͛̈͐̈́̊͒

There's something that clouds over Hikaru's eyes in that moment, viciously empty and detached and not an all an act, before she snaps back with a shake of her head.]

Gretel. My... my name is Gretel.

[ sighs at Kano bullying Hikaru on the day of your birth ]

You're wrong. My name is Gretel, now, little girl.

[ He takes his hand back and pretends to tuck something into his hoodie pocket before pulling himself out from underneath the ladder, climbing up one rung and sitting down again, facing Hikaru. ]

Follow me, little girl~ I know a secret entrance to the tower, where you won't be spotted. Come now, quickly, quietly, and—-

[ From somewhere offstage, one of his cats meows. ]

...and do your best to ignore the voices. Can you hear them crying for help? So many prisoners locked up in this tower. But you cannot help everyone, little girl. You are but one little girl. You cannot save the world. You must harden your heart to save your brother, or abandon him to save the rest. Come, now.

[Kano bullying Hikaru is just a day ending in Y at this point

She collapses the saber and shoves it against her waist.]

Harden my heart...

Why have so many been captured... Gretel-sama? Them, my brother - no one here has done anything to deserve this, have they? This tower's so high, and--

[From nowhere in the crowd, a bag of mostly unpopped popcorn gets tossed to the stage with an incomprehensible sound of bored frustration.

Kano will probably see the dog instantly set on fire from where it sits, even though Hikaru needs a second to regain her composure, kicking aside what's been tossed in front of her in favor of keeping her eyes locked on Shuuya.]

... This place wasn't always so horrible and ugly. Why does the dragon stay here?

I wonder~ You know how dragons of lore are. They collect things- greedily, viciously, perhaps trying to fill a void.

[ Maybe dragons are lonely? All these knights trying to kill them all the time.

Kano hops up one more rung of the ladder, and sits once more. ]

They are monsters. Feared and hated throughout all the land. Do not try to understand a dragon, little girl, for it does not want to be understood, and would bite your head off for your troubles.

[Something else buzzes in her expression, a hole in her thinking. For something to be feared and hated...]

Has anyone ever tried?

To understand something doesn't mean to change it. To understand... that's the only way to ever find ways to do things you wouldn't think about before.

Who knows? Dragons are meant to be killed, not understood. That creature is the reason why your brother is where he is, is it not? What good is understanding without change, when the stupid boy is still baked into a pie in the end?

[ Understanding a monster is only for your own comfort. It does nobody else any good, least of all the monster. ]

Knowing what it wants, what needs to change... that's important too, Gretel-sama. [She loops around the back of the ladder, anchoring one foot on the bottom rung.]

There's too many here. And even when I rescue him... if I can't do something with what I've seen, my brother won't be the last one to have to suffer.

I love him. He's a dear person to me. And I know he wouldn't want me making a choice without my whole heart being in it.

[Her jaw sets.]

What good is change if it comes from a place of ignorance?

Edited 2020-11-07 21:38 (UTC)

Why, it is good when the situation is such that it can only improve, isn't it? Dragons, with their corrupted hearts, can only be changed for the better.

[ Up one more rung, and this time, he turns around so he can look down on Hikaru on the other side of the ladder. ]

I can tell you about the dragon, if you'd like. But, as with all things, it will come with a price. For each question that you ask, I will answer to the best of my ability. In exchange, you must give me what I ask for.

[She doesn't move, if only because she doesn't want Kano to tip backwards off the stage.]

There's only one thing I can't give you. Anything else... you can take, if it means I can make up my mind.

Team Uh-Oh

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