[Once Arven gets over the shock of being transported into a photo to be some sort of phantom observer...It's a completely innocuous scene until it absolutely isn't.]
W-What's going on?! Aubrey, why are you doing this?!
[If only it was as simple as a memory of a bunch of friends hanging out. But Aubrey's appearance and the tears disturb that idyllic scene quite swiftly, and as Eli goes to grab her arm, Aaron's going to draw his swords and try to knock the bat out of her hands.]
Oh-- [Thank god Eli managed to get out of the way of her bat, but this is bad.] Come on, don't make us fight you! We're supposed to be allies, not...
[He trails off. What she's saying is a lot to take in. It's real heavy stuff. Man, just how many of the teens here are hiding dark shadows like these?]
I get that it might be hard to look back on happy memories now, but you shouldn't just erase them.
[Well, that didn't work! But no one's hurt and the tear didn't widen, so it's better than nothing. He briefly debates going for another strike, but he'll pause when he hears Aubrey.]
So you're just gonna run away and pretend none of it ever happened? You know shit's never that simple, right?
Why should I care about any of them anymore?! They all left. Every. Single. One.
[She takes another swing, this time at Arven - but misses (2). However, the swing still catches on the photo, causing a new tear to form.]
Sunny did come back out again recently, I guess. He and Kel teamed up again. You know what the first thing he did was? Picked a fight with me and stabbed me, the little freak.
[ Okay, nope. Washed Out Aubrey may have missed Arven, but Eli isn't going to give her another chance. He moves to stand between her and the other two. There's an attempt to grab the bat (5), only he misses it. For now. ]
Okay, that is messed up, but. Your hair is still pink. You said Mari thought it'd be cute. She was right, you know? Tell us about Mari. You two must have been close.
[Clearly something awful happened here, and time's only making it worse.]
If this is your attempt to try to move on from whatever happened, Aubrey...I don't think it's working. For you or your friends.
[He knows it's real bold of him to say that when he hasn't even had the opportunity to start processing what just happened to him, but. His trauma hasn't taken physical form here.
While he appreciates Eli's attempt to protect him from another swing, he can't just stand here while she keeps ripping holes in the photograph. What'll happen to them if she succeeds?
He steps past Eli to make a swing at the faded Aubrey with his frying pan (15), aiming more for the bat than her. Real or not, it's hard to bring himself to attack her directly.]
[HMMMMM all right, not liking that tear so maybe attacking was the right answer. Not that her bitterness isn't understandable given that a former friend stabbing you is pretty fucked up, but it's not just about that, right?
While the other two say their pieces, he'll follow up Arven's frying pan attack with a swift kick to the wrist (20) in a second attempt at getting her to drop the bat.]
Look, I get you're pissed off 'cause they abandoned you. I'm not gonna stand here and lecture you on how to feel about it, either. But if you're actually set on cutting ties with 'em, then go and say it to their face. But doing shit like this is just taking the easy way out.
Well... Apparently her flimsy form really is that - flimsy. Because Arven and Aaron's attack tear her right in two, her eyes wide in shock.
She opens her mouth to say something, but it takes a moment before anything comes out.
“...
I just... wanted to see us happy again. But...
It was never going to happen. It isn’t the same anymore. ...It’ll never go back to the way it was.”
Her form buzzes with static, before fading away into shadows. In her wake, a single item is left behind:
Umbrella: A cool blue umbrella. Reflects an ice attack back at the enemy; one use before it is destroyed.
The rips in the photo remain, however - looking closely, there seems to be a room beyond the tear. And, thanks to all of the fighting, it should now be big enough for everyone to slip through. But before they do, characters may note that the light seems to shine on a nearby picnic basket in the grass of the nearest house. Inside are yummy gummy snacks that couldn’t have been there before - anyone who pauses takes a bite will find their health and SP restored to full.
[ But Arven and Aaron have already torn her apart. She was as flimsy as the photo paper. He can only hope it means that wasn't the real one, the real Aubrey. ]
...the hell is going on? [ He looks dumbly down at the umbrella before reaching down to pick it up off the ground. ] If that wasn't her, then where is she?
...oh. [Arven whispers, his hands trembling as he holds onto his frying pan.] I didn't- I didn't mean to do that.
[Even if it was apparently the right move, it doesn't feel all that good. Aubrey's words echo in his mind, buzzing as loudly like the static she turned into as she disappeared.]
...It'll never go back to the way it was.
[He murmurs that echo aloud. Yeah. He really can say it himself and feel the exact same sentiment.]
There's a room ahead of us. See it? [He points Eli toward the room beyond the tear.] Maybe we'll find the real her there. Maybe that Aubrey will actually listen to what we have to say.
[His eyes widen a bit as when he feels far less resistance than he was expecting, which is only emphasized by how easily 'Aubrey' rips apart. Even if it's clear that it's only a facsimile of her appearance, it still feels a little bit fucked up to have something that was talking and acting like Aubrey torn up like that.
There's a glance over at Arven for his reaction too, but Aaron won't comment given that he seems to have it together. Besides, there's still one more area to check out before they're out of the woods.]
Only one way to find out. [But before that, he squints suspiciously at the picnic basket that's practically being spotlighted.] Although it's pretty convenient for this to be lying around here.
[ Hopefully, even. Ah, but he notices Aaron squinting off some other direction and following that to the light, then the light down to the picnic basket. ]
Oh shit, is that food?
[ Yes, he will go over there and look in it. It's free food. Don't say no to free food, man! ]
[He will follow Eli if only just to peek inside the basket and see what's being offered but uh. Yeah, gummies aren't really doing it for him here, which is just as well considering how Arven voiced exactly what Aaron was thinking.
Picnic food tho...]
Pretty sure that'd fill us up better than these, anyway. I mean, it's just candy.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Aubrey?! Hey, Aubrey! Cut it out!
[ Eli moves in a heartbeat, reaching out for her arm. ]
no subject
W-What's going on?! Aubrey, why are you doing this?!
no subject
[If only it was as simple as a memory of a bunch of friends hanging out. But Aubrey's appearance and the tears disturb that idyllic scene quite swiftly, and as Eli goes to grab her arm, Aaron's going to draw his swords and try to knock the bat out of her hands.]
no subject
Because it doesn't matter anymore. Why do you think I threw them away to begin with?!
Mari's dead. Hero's left town, Kel's got new friends, and Sunny locked himself up for four years. And don't even get me started on Basil.
no subject
What, so you just give up and throw away... what? Your memories?! Come on, that's never how it works!
no subject
[He trails off. What she's saying is a lot to take in. It's real heavy stuff. Man, just how many of the teens here are hiding dark shadows like these?]
I get that it might be hard to look back on happy memories now, but you shouldn't just erase them.
no subject
So you're just gonna run away and pretend none of it ever happened? You know shit's never that simple, right?
no subject
[She takes another swing, this time at Arven - but misses (2). However, the swing still catches on the photo, causing a new tear to form.]
Sunny did come back out again recently, I guess. He and Kel teamed up again. You know what the first thing he did was? Picked a fight with me and stabbed me, the little freak.
no subject
Okay, that is messed up, but. Your hair is still pink. You said Mari thought it'd be cute. She was right, you know? Tell us about Mari. You two must have been close.
no subject
What the hell...
[Clearly something awful happened here, and time's only making it worse.]
If this is your attempt to try to move on from whatever happened, Aubrey...I don't think it's working. For you or your friends.
[He knows it's real bold of him to say that when he hasn't even had the opportunity to start processing what just happened to him, but. His trauma hasn't taken physical form here.
While he appreciates Eli's attempt to protect him from another swing, he can't just stand here while she keeps ripping holes in the photograph. What'll happen to them if she succeeds?
He steps past Eli to make a swing at the faded Aubrey with his frying pan (15), aiming more for the bat than her. Real or not, it's hard to bring himself to attack her directly.]
no subject
While the other two say their pieces, he'll follow up Arven's frying pan attack with a swift kick to the wrist (20) in a second attempt at getting her to drop the bat.]
Look, I get you're pissed off 'cause they abandoned you. I'm not gonna stand here and lecture you on how to feel about it, either. But if you're actually set on cutting ties with 'em, then go and say it to their face. But doing shit like this is just taking the easy way out.
no subject
She opens her mouth to say something, but it takes a moment before anything comes out.
“...
I just... wanted to see us happy again. But...
It was never going to happen. It isn’t the same anymore. ...It’ll never go back to the way it was.”
Her form buzzes with static, before fading away into shadows. In her wake, a single item is left behind:
Umbrella: A cool blue umbrella. Reflects an ice attack back at the enemy; one use before it is destroyed.
The rips in the photo remain, however - looking closely, there seems to be a room beyond the tear. And, thanks to all of the fighting, it should now be big enough for everyone to slip through. But before they do, characters may note that the light seems to shine on a nearby picnic basket in the grass of the nearest house. Inside are yummy gummy snacks that couldn’t have been there before - anyone who pauses takes a bite will find their health and SP restored to full.
no subject
[ But Arven and Aaron have already torn her apart. She was as flimsy as the photo paper. He can only hope it means that wasn't the real one, the real Aubrey. ]
...the hell is going on? [ He looks dumbly down at the umbrella before reaching down to pick it up off the ground. ] If that wasn't her, then where is she?
no subject
[Even if it was apparently the right move, it doesn't feel all that good. Aubrey's words echo in his mind, buzzing as loudly like the static she turned into as she disappeared.]
...It'll never go back to the way it was.
[He murmurs that echo aloud. Yeah. He really can say it himself and feel the exact same sentiment.]
There's a room ahead of us. See it? [He points Eli toward the room beyond the tear.] Maybe we'll find the real her there. Maybe that Aubrey will actually listen to what we have to say.
[He hopes so.]
no subject
There's a glance over at Arven for his reaction too, but Aaron won't comment given that he seems to have it together. Besides, there's still one more area to check out before they're out of the woods.]
Only one way to find out. [But before that, he squints suspiciously at the picnic basket that's practically being spotlighted.] Although it's pretty convenient for this to be lying around here.
no subject
[ Hopefully, even. Ah, but he notices Aaron squinting off some other direction and following that to the light, then the light down to the picnic basket. ]
Oh shit, is that food?
[ Yes, he will go over there and look in it. It's free food. Don't say no to free food, man! ]
no subject
[He can’t help but be a little wary considering where they are.]
I’ve got food with me if you’re that hungry. Was gonna have a picnic before all this happened…
no subject
Picnic food tho...]
Pretty sure that'd fill us up better than these, anyway. I mean, it's just candy.
no subject
'cept I fink this is spirth fhood.
[ chew chew chew ]
Pretty good, actually.
no subject
Why are you like this...
no subject