GAME OVER (S██'s Palace)

[pointzeropercent]

Comments

3/3

[pointzeropercent]

[But then time rewinds in front of everyone's eyes. The pieces of Rutile rise up from the ground, pulling together to form the shape of Rutile once more. The gemstone look changes back to flesh and bone. The bullet comes back out of Rutile's forehead, back into the gun, and all the way back to the moment when Shalem is about to put the bullets into the gun.

Time is reversed, but the memory remains.

In that moment, a teal hand is covering Shalem's.]

You almost got it. Look a little closer, you're nearly there.

[And then that friendly face is gone again.]

[beathollow]

( rutile's demise- and his... combustion? draw a startled scream out of mafuyu, though she's quick to cover her mouth. she should look away, but she can't- so instead she'll stare, eyes wide and mounting horror growing. )

R-Rutile...?

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile looks at Mafuyu, hands on his mouth and tears spilling from his eyes. He looks just as alarmed and scared as her, and whatever she feels is likely mirrored in his own eyes. ]

[beathollow]

( she wants to run over and hug him right then and there, but- they have to finish the game. )

I...

D-do you want to switch?

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile quite literally does not know what he wants or needs right now, but his limbs shake so terribly that he doesn't even know if he can move.

He shakes his head. It's...okay. Probably. ]

[finalmix]

[ he is looking at rutile not dealing well with this and then, ]

... I'll switch with you, it's fine.

[ Mafuyu is probably (?) going to kill him for offering that to Rutile, but, it's fine, probably. ]

[beathollow]

( she can't say anything, since she was going to do the same. joshua does get a nervous squeeze of his hand in hers before they make any move though. )

[finalmix]

[ squeezes her hand back. but yeah

it's fine. he's died once before anyway. and now that they know that time is reset, kind of, ]

[ he's going to just swap seats with rutile while unkie goes to sleep. ]

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile looks at Josh...

But doesn't immediately say no. He just stares at him. He'll get up easily from the seat if pulled up. ]

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile snaps back to life, but that raw sensation of being turned to stone sits with him. Fresh. He thinks he's dreaming. He pinches himself and pats his chest and his legs and his forehead and he looks up at Shalem—

Whatever expression Shalem has on his face doesn't matter. Because regardless, Rutile will cover his mouth and burst into tears. ]

cw: suicidal imagery

[prozaic]

I see. [That's hissed out, entirely snake-like, as he watches Rutile cry. He was not lying about still being able to feel guilt, by the way. He really does, because he wasn't lying about liking Rutile, even if his expression is quite... angry.

Mutinous, even.

He doesn't even get the courtesy of truly dying, huh? He gets to live and feel the hurt and shame of having been watched. Well then.]

I wonder... Is this allowed? [He's not talking to anyone but Sou right now, as he turns the gun on himself, pressed right under his chin to be sure the recoil won't jerk his hand and make the shot go wide when he pulls the trigger. And he's doing it quickly before anyone can stop him.]

[pointzeropercent]

[It does nothing. Time was rewound to before when the gun was loaded.]

[prozaic]

[Then he'll do it again once he's loaded the gun, in the exact same way he did before.]

[unweathered]

[CAN SHE WALK OVER AND SMACK HIM WITH HER GUN. SIR]

[pointzeropercent]

[He shoots himself in the head and dies and then a teal friend comes back and revives him.]

Could you please stop trying to die inside my mind?

[unweathered]

[lol]

[prozaic]

[Well, his death was fucking gory. Black crystal came out of his head. And neck. And chest. Don't worry about it! No one's sick from rockitis when he comes back.

Then he whirls and grabs Sou by the wrist, if he even can.]

I'm experimenting. A luxury you didn't have, I'm sure. Now that you're here, you're going to run off again, aren't you?

[metagame]

[Don't mind him being sick in the corner. Head buried in his knees, and hands over it too.]

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile looks at him, and he's so shaken he doesn't have the energy to respond at first. ]

N—!

[ He can't even finish saying no by the time Shalem pulls the trigger. ]

[moodwrecker]

[Aubrey shrieks as Rutile is executed, and even once his body is reformed from... stones? She's still got her hands clapped over her mouth as she tries to reign in panicked breaths.]

[unweathered]

[ Schneider doesn't even blink. She's used to uglier, gorier messes. It also means she's a very bad person for comforting.

Hm. She looks at the gun closely, frowning. What can she notice?]

What terrible luck...

[pointzeropercent]

[It seems like there is a faint glow on three of the slots. Two glowing teal, then one glowing magenta.]

[unweathered]

...ah. Snake boy.[Calling to Shalem] If you're going to shoot, do it right this time and pay attention to what you're shooting. Or give it to me to do and take that guy's spot.

[Notice!! Notice!!!]

[prozaic]

[He does hear her! But he's experimenting rn. Is Sou gonna come or not?]

[unweathered]

[...

SIR.]

You damn idiot...[ SHE WILL SMACK HIM AND STEAL THE GUN OFF HIM] My, my. Unless you enjoy making more people cry, stop doing things so carelessly.