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linkingup2024-09-14 11:29 pm
linkupmods) wrote in linkingup2024-09-14 11:29 pm
WEEKS 7 & 8
WEEKS 7 & 8
THE SEASONS TURN...
- Time really passes, doesn't it? Before you know it, you're halfway through the time that the goddess Braphine has promised that you'll be here, your home away from home. You are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe, even through all the challenges and eventful (!) twist and turns that have followed you through your stay here. Surely there can't be anything else lurking in the wings, right?
Through the efforts of all of Braphine's chosen, the city definitely is starting to feel a little bit cheerier, in contrast to the temperatures that are starting to cool as the seasons in Sunset City turn and the leaves change their colour. The Shopping District and the Entertainment District look and feel decidedly more warm, and a quick trip into the Nekyia also show that the haze has cleared from both districts, with the Shadows lurking much fewer in number.
Further exploration will find that the haze has thinned to explorable levels in the Nekyia Fashion District - there are Shadows to be cleared, after all. Maybe if you are lucky, they might drop you a little something in reward for your efforts.
DO YOUR PART FOR CHARITY!
- On Saturday, there's a notice pinned in the lobby of the dormitory:
CHARITY EVENT FOR THE TEMPLE OF BRAPHINE
9/21
FLEA MARKET AM
FORMAL MASQUERADE BALL PM
Come and support the temple when we need it most!
Yes, you read that right: There will be a Charity Event for the Temple of Braphine, hosted by no one other than her devoted followers. They sent this over to the dorms to request the Chosens' assistance, it seems, and as the flyer says, this is an all-day event to take place on September 21st.
In the morning, there will be a Flea Market! There's a note from the hosts that they'd like the Chosens to either find a vendor to assist, provide entertainment, or participate as vendors in the Flea Market. At night, a ball will be held with live music, dinner, refreshments, and an open dance floor for all. They are not asking for your assistance with the ball, however; rather, you are automatically invited as esteemed guests and are encouraged to dress your finest for the occasion!
Given that this isn't for another week, however, it is highly encouraged that you shop around to find an outfit you'll look snazzy in for the ball. You can also start preparing merchandise to sell; or maybe, perhaps, you'd like to save that street performance for the Flea Market? Either way, you've got a long week ahead of you…
…but it won't be all rainbows and sunshine.
KEEP DREAMING.
Late into the night on Saturday, you will dream. What that dream consists of varies with each individual, but you will have one, even if you've never dreamed before. This dream could be a core memory, or perhaps about something you've always wanted, your worst fear...the list goes on.The next day, anyone who enters the Nekyia will find that, aside from the strange "Palaces" that have popped up, things aren't right yet again…but for an entirely different reason. No matter where you are, you enter the Nekyia to a hallway full of dressing rooms. It's a fairly long hallway, because venturing down it will eventually lead you to a door that has your name on it.
Why don't you journey there and find out what awaits?
–
After seeing "Sayaka" and finding your door, you'll find something even more strange.
That dream you had last night? Well, it's here. Your dream may manifest as a small, contained landscape from your dream; a creature that you may have dreamt of might be scurrying around; another version of you, different from a Shadow; or you could be unlucky and have one of your memories on full display for everyone to see.
This phenomenon will last for the next two weeks, and dreamscapes will shift with the different dreams characters have. It won't be a one and done ordeal, unfortunately…but there is, perhaps, a way you can stop it.
(OOC: Sayaka's top level is NOT time sensitive, nor is it a mod-run event. This can be treated like a regular top level to be tagged at your own pace!
Please see the "A Dream Unraveled" commission for some details on what's causing the dreamscapes to appear! Welcome to your dreamwalking/memory share event!)
WEATHER FORECAST
Temperature: hot and humid, but gradually getting cooler! Surprise showers may occur during these two weeks when you least expect it, so stay sharp and don't get drenched!
Characters who journery into the Nekyia when it is raining may find HP-restoring items dropped during combat with Shadows.
Characters who journery into the Nekyia when it is raining may find HP-restoring items dropped during combat with Shadows.
COMMISSIONS
REAL WORLD COMMISSIONS
NEKYIA COMMISSIONS
OOC
READ ME!!!!
- Welcome to your log for Weeks 7 and 8! Feel free to use this log for any developments that happen during the next two weeks. There will be no log posted next week, but a top-level for the charity event will be posted instead on next Saturday!
For plotting, please feel free to head over to this post on the OOC comm to post your plotting top levels.
For Nekyia commissions, you can assume that the Shadows will respawn until they've been beaten enough times to go back to normal.
Don't forget that the deadline for applications and character swaps is on September 28!
no subject
What else he'll notice, though, is that "Sayaka" obtains that very same little wound on herself, though it appears oddly--a sharp, glass-like crack in her skin.]
Oh, stuff it, you can't just take...
[The Me Patra works, surprisingly, and even more surprising is that it makes "Sayaka" perfectly solid again. She seems to startle at this, looking down at herself and over to Fray, and at their current lack of enemies...but she seems stunned for a second, startled, and there's a brief flicker in the yellow of those eyes.]
...Do that again. I...I remember my name now, but there's something...else, I think, maybe--
[Well. It seems like something's managed to work here, though "Sayaka" isn't sure what.]
no subject
Fray casts another Me Patra on her, head inclined curiously.]
Do you remember anything else?
[He's still keeping an eye out for threats, but this seems promising.]
no subject
cw: parental neglect, brief anger issues mention
The memory is of a cloudy spring day. The streets of Tokyo are congested and busy as ever, and your point of view is incredibly small. The adults around you practically tower, though they all seem faceless and blurry. But there's a purpose in each step you take--across the streets, following the crosswalks and sidewalks down to a building with many rooms in it, anticipatory and briefly happy. You--or perhaps it would be accurately to say a small girl, greets the owner of it politely when she walks inside, and the elevator ride is lonely up to the 12th floor.But you see her face in the reflection of the elevator. A no doubt tiny version of the girl you knew, but it's still Sayaka nonetheless. Hair somehow even longer than her normal, and yet still trying to smile. She barely looks to be in elementary school, and yet she does this all by herself. There's a brightness in her expression, a tired hope in there as she exits the elevator and goes to find her door.
All of that sinks when she ends up finding it, trying it for a moment--locked. A sinking feeling enters her stomach, dulled only by the lack of surprise. But it's disappointing nonetheless. A brief flash of a day before goes through her mind and into yours of a promise that a faceless man made days prior, and yet her look is unsurprised but still saddened as she looks under a welcome mat and finds a key, unlocking the door to an empty, small, cold apartment.
"Dad...I'm home."
It's hopeless. He's not there, and she knows it, discarding her backpack and going into the kitchen, she finds a small microwave meal and a note on the counter.
I'm sorry I broke our promise. Work called me in today, and I don't know if I'll be back. We'll eat dinner together some other time.
- Dad
"...Of course you would. Of course you would, you--"
The note crumbles in the small child's hands, and you can definitely hear her start to sniffle. She's alone. Her father made a promise and he broke it, as he's done so many damn times--innumerable amounts, for as long as Sayaka can remember, some of them flashing briefly by. And yet, she hopes each and every time that he'll actually be allowed to keep his word.
If he actually means it. A shadow of doubt creeps in, and it results in Sayaka crumpling the note and stuffing it into a skirt pocket. Anger wells in the small girl, looking and seeing the small convenience store meal and proceeding to throw it into a wall with as much force as she can muster.
It's, unfortunately for her, pathetic. It makes a bit of a mess on the floor, and immediately, Sayaka's on her way to clean it up. Because that's what good girls do. They clean up their messes. They clean up their father's messes. They clean up every mess until there's nothing left. And this is just another one of life's messes that she'll be forced to bear.
It's not long before Sayaka takes matters into her own tiny hands, bringing out a pot and pan and timer along with some rice to cook while she reheats the meal, and settles in front of a device with a big, currently blank black screen. She presses the button and a beautiful idol stares at the screen, talking about dreams and the beautiful things about this world--
And then she starts to sing, and it brings Sayaka some sorely needed comfort.
[...It's as if no time has passed at all, by the time Fray comes back to, and what started as a hairline crack seems to have cracked and traveled up "Sayaka's" arm as she places a hand on her head.]
...Yeah. I...I remember some of our talk.
[It sounds disoriented, genuinely, though "Sayaka" looks to Fray for a moment.]
...You saw that bright light too, right?
no subject
Fray shakes his head as if to clear it.]
So I did. I saw a memory. One of Sayaka's, I believe.
[He looks to her, eyes trailing along that crack running up her arm. He doesn't think that's a good sign.]
Do you remember that?
no subject
["Sayaka" pauses, though she catches him staring at her arm and quirks her brow in confusion. She elects to ignore it for now.]
...It's a memory I brought up to her. To prove that...I was part of her. Yeah. Yeah, that I was...
[The crack goes further up, and even a little piece of that glass-like substance falls off--nothing initially comes out, but one can make out a black, wispy substance coming out.]
...That's all I remember, but we talked about that when we first arrived here. ["Sayaka" looks shaken, but she shakes her head.] Come on, we can talk and walk at the same time.
[Thankfully, the next set of double doors that Sayaka opens--with her good arm, notably, lead to a smaller, practically pristine hallway. It looks like a set of offices; suited, eyeless (but not mouthless this time) and formless people walk around talking about various business, and they don't pay you all any mind.
...Not yet, anyway. Though something seems to try and attack your brain again, and this time, you need to fight it harder. It comes when one of the suited, women-like shadows comes up and eyes them both.]
Oh, excuse me--did you need to speak to one of the managers? Who might you two be...?
Ah--Maizono Sayaka. You have my apologies for the trouble, ███████████, but we just need to get to the end of the hall... [Say what one will, but "Sayaka" can pull off Sayaka's doe eyed, demure schtick when needed.] Right, ████?
[Huh. How odd it is. There's a pervasive static not unlike what happens when "Sayaka" tries to swear, but it's unintelligible this time. Including what can only be assumed to be your own name, that exits her lips.
...You do remember it, right? (10+ to succeed; 5-10 your choice in how it goes, 1-5 failure+battle)]
no subject
He doesn't have long to ponder that before Sayaka leads the way onwards and he follows. Sayaka sells the act well enough, but the problem comes when she says his name. Is that his name? It must be his name if she's saying it, because she must remember it, right? Sayaka would know. But this isn't truly Sayaka, is it...?
Ugh, this is doing his head in. He raises a hand to his head and shakes it, trying to get rid of the fog and interference that is making it hard to think, to focus.]
...Yes, yes, of course.
[So he lies. He can't remember his name (7) but he trusts that she wouldn't lead him astray. He can play along for now, but this is... definitely a worrying sign. Is it because of the memory? Is it because of something this place is doing to him? Regardless of what it is, his response isn't exactly the most certain.]
cw brainwashing and depersonalization
████? What's going on? ████, come on, you gotta--
[Perhaps surprisingly, though, the so-called manager seems to step forward, not into Fray's personal space, but a pair of glowing, yellow eyes form on the woman's face, and her voice sounds oh-too gentle and sugar sweet.]
Oh, are you sure? You look a little confused, sir...you poor thing, she's trying to trick you and lead you astray, isn't she?
T-That's not--! Hey!! Let go!
[Two of the managers try to grab Sayaka's arms, and she thrashes to try to get them off to no avail.]
You must be one of the new security guards they're training, then. [It borderline sounds like brainwashing in the way she says it.] It makes sense why you'd be keeping an eye out for defects! They're nasty little things, aren't they?
[Despite the words, the manager's tone never leaves the realm of sugary sweet.] I'll tell you what; lay down your weapon and hand over the girl quietly, and you can get right back to work. How does that sound?
████, snap out of it!
[It almost sounds like an order from the manager, despite the pleading tone of the other--who may not even be who she says, and it may be a struggle to oppose what's in front of you. Do you?
(roll: 10+ to succeed. 5-10 to resist (no attack). 1-5 failure (brainwash, pick a memory to lose). 12+ to remember your name and 15+ to get an advantage.)]
cw brainwashing and depersonalization
The look on the girl's face is all too familiar (though there's something about it that's off, somehow) and he struggles to cling to the last memories he had; what he was doing here, why he was doing it, and what they were doing. The two of them were going somewhere together, weren't they? Was it really just to turn her in as a defect?
...No. No, she isn't a defect. She's Sayaka, and she is fighting for herself here. She's fighting to free herself and she needed his help and—
And just like that, his eyes flash red and the sword is back in his grip in a battle stance, ready to attack.]
Do you truly think I could be swayed so easily? I have come here for a purpose, and I'll not let you take her from me!
[Fray moves with practiced ease, spurred on by the realization of who he is, what he's doing here, and the pure fury that comes with being forced to forget such vital things. (20!) His sword strikes down the manager in one clean swing, and he turns on the guards before they have a chance to react. That sword once again strikes with precision, taking out first one guard, then the other, without even coming close to scratching poor Sayaka. Fray's eyes are still burning red even as he finishes both guards off, though he extends a hand to Sayaka anyway.]
Are you hurt? Do you need me to heal you?
[He can apologize for forgetting himself and their mission in a moment, but this is more important.]
no subject
...Holy [POO POO], you showed them!
["Sayaka" sounds outright awed and impressed, and she looks to Fray and to herself--finally seeing the cracks on herself (which have sadly increased thanks to the grip of the guards--there's a few more holes with that wispy black substance coming out, and one seems to be starting to form on her face), grimacing slightly, before shaking her head.]
I don't know if you can do anything about this, but...I should be fine. Thanks. For saving us.
[For saving me, she refuses to allow herself to say. It feels weird to call herself her own being when she's just...this, right? She's not Sayaka. She doesn't want the same things, some sort of comfort or anything, right? She's not the one who's practically bonded to the man, and she stares at him for a moment before she hesitates, glancing away.]
What about you? They didn't fuck with you too hard, did they?
[Come on, let's at least get to the next set of double doors--]
no subject
[Okay, Fray, calm down—
Anyway, Sayaka is doing a little worse for the wear here, but he casts a Diarama on her anyway, even though he doubts it'll fix the cracks or mend those holes.]
I'm fine. I'm more irritated that they were able to make me question myself in the first place.
[He's done quite enough of that here, thanks!! He'd rather focus on freeing Sayaka than his own identity crisis!!
But yes, let's move on so he can stop thinking about it!!]
no subject
I'm not mad at you for what happened, and if I could've--
[As if on cue, they reach the double doors and open them, and another white flash of light overtakes their visions. Another memory.]
cw: the idol industry, panic attacks, emotional abuse, blackmail, brief violent fantasies and very mild gore fantasy (mostly blood)
It feels like a bunch of memories all at once, that connect to a bigger whole.The audition process, and the rigorous training that Sayaka makes herself endure to get a spot. At first, it's well worth it; she's brought into a group of girls that need a proper center stage girl, and Sayaka's charisma even at a young age manages to impress the managers on duty. She's but a preteen at the time, but her eyes are starry with hope for the first time in her life. Sure, her father barely pays attention when she talks about it, but he does seem happy for her. (She tries not to be too miffed when her father mispronounces her group's name so many times.)
For a while, things are good. The managers drill into her head how much she has to sell herself; she is an escape now, as the other idols were for her, for the people who need a fantasy. If Sayaka was to be the ultimate fantasy for them, then she'd play her role well as a cute and innocent girl next door; no boyfriends, no boy friends, to maintain a pure and innocent appearance no matter what. She didn't like playing this up, but she did lean a lot into her natural charm at this point--it was enough for her to make friends with her group, and some even outside of it.
The managers didn't like that last part, though. Sayaka was always careful with what she said, but the managers were already keen on taking every bit of Sayaka's time for themselves. If she didn't have time to spend with her friends outside of her group, they could isolate her. Manipulate her. Not that she realized it at first, the memories vague and uncertain of the things she heard them talking about.
It takes them calling her into the office with smiles a bit too razor sharp and explaining the scandal that one of those outside groups were trying to get Sayaka into trouble that she'd never recover from. Rumors of a boyfriend, of smoking--of having an impure image, and it sent Sayaka into a positive panic. How could someone do this to her, when she'd done nothing at all? How could they? How could they?! All she wanted was to be good, to be good and loved, and this is the repayment she gets? What would her fans, her growing fanbase think? What would her father think, if anything at all? She couldn't disappoint them, she couldn't--
The managers prey on that insecurity. They whisper that they can fix it, but that they need her unflinching help to do so. Sayaka, desperate, agrees.
The scandal is reversed onto the girl that attempted start the rumor in the first place, and her whole group's career is ruined. Sayaka feels sick to her stomach, wanting to dismiss herself, but her managers oh-so gently remind her she has a handshake event to attend to, and oh, she can't be late! So she stuffs her feelings down and gets back to being everyone's smiling, beloved idol. No matter how much pressure they put on her, no matter how much she asks to have some space, they invalidate it as easily as breathing and all but ensure that her every waking hour that isn't spent at home is at the agency building--or monitored by one of the managers. Privacy and choices are no longer hers, at this point, or at the very least they're very minimal, and that's not even considering tabloid writers...
It gets easier as time goes on. Easier to isolate Sayaka, to manipulate her and her group--Ayaka, their strong leader, helping to coordinate everything. Satomi, bubbly and ditzy and with an ear to the ground. Harumi, elegant and levelheaded in all circumstances. And Kanako, who played a role as cute and clumsy, but also very calculated and good with distractions. The managers knew that Sayaka was the group's heart, always keeping them together and offering her gentle, easy words to help soothe tensions and keep them on task.
Fourteen other girls fall victim to this game before Sayaka finally puts several pieces together. About information that she didn't even speak of--that no one would know besides her managers gets used against her, and she finally confronts them about it.
For a moment, it seems like she has the upper hand. That she has power over the situation, using her analytical abilities to scrutinize them and poke holes right into their stories, until she's got them admitting with clammy hands that they orchestrated all of this. That they did it.
But then the managers gazes all turn sharp like razors, and they ask Sayaka what she can actually do about it. At the end of it all, she's the one who came grovelling to them for a dream, right? And it's not like anyone would believe her over this multi-million dollar company. Even her own groupmates would turn against her in a heartbeat at their say-so, and try as Sayaka might to convince herself that it wouldn't be the case...she finds she can't truly believe it, because she knows those girls better than anyone.
They're all masks. Precious, masked friends of Sayaka, but masks nonetheless. They remind her of what she'll have left if she tries this, and they even bring out recorded, manipulated messages and screenshots--stuff that they could use against Sayaka to completely ruin her, and it stops her cold.
...It stops her cold and briefly, she imagines lifting the chair up and starting to just beat these people to death. She shakes, bunching her skirt at the thought of killing them, of making them pay for what they've done, at a room filled with nothing but red and the bodies themselves tastefully unseen in the vision, but the catharsis clear.
She's back in the cold reality afterward, staring at her managers, who all smile too easily. They know she's trapped, and she knows she's trapped too. All she can do is bow her head as deep as it will go, put a smile back on her face, and apologize until they've decided they're satisfied and let her go.
Back into the cold reality of knowing she's alone, and knowing that she can't have any connections with anyone now.
[The next hallway is dark, though strangely enough, there's nobody here this time. It seems...dark, almost--a red hallway, the lights barely working, and doors with faceplates you've never seen before. The air is hostile, uneasy, and deeply unnerving, though thankfully the pervasive mind alteration isn't here this time. Maybe Fray scared it for good.
Unlike before, however, you can see the names and faces clear as day of the people who should live here, but the rest of the school is gated off--you can make out what should be a bright, white area in the distance, but you appear to have been walled off to the dorm rooms for now.
Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy.
Furthermore--"Sayaka" isn't with you at the moment. Do you want to start by checking doors?]
no subject
How frustrating it must have been. How lonely. He can feel her rage and anguish as if it were his own, and it's hard to return to himself after the memory loosens its grip on him. He's left with a strange, unfamiliar hallway lined with doors. And Sayaka is missing, which is his first worry.
Fray's weapon is still out, and he approaches those doors preparing for a fight. Is there one with Sayaka's name on it?]
no subject
Oddly enough, the nameplate for the room seems...loose? Like it was recently replaced, or...perhaps even swapped with someone else's.
As of right now, though, there's a pouring, wispy darkness that comes out from underneath the door. You can faintly hear someone breathing, though...it sounds more like they're wheezing, at this point.
Do you wish to enter? The door is unlocked...for better or for worse.]
no subject
Fray doesn't hesitate, he pushes the door in and readies his sword, just in case. He sincerely hopes this isn't what he thinks it'll be, but... Is Sayaka in here, or is he going to have to go check the bathroom...?]
1/2
2/2, artistic gore cw???
...Or, well. More accurately, someone makes a very good attempt at it (10), barely missing him.
It's Sayaka. "Sayaka"? It barely resembles the girl you know--the creature still has that poofy pink dress, but it's covered in blood, blood that runs down the front of her body as the knife protrudes horribly out of her. Her body has shattered a few places, big holes opened on her arms and one of her arms wholesale being turned into a blade that she uses to support herself. A blade that's bright red, and Fray can likely barely make out the redhead in the background who lays on the ground dead.
Her face has crakced pretty significantly, eyes bright yellow with a sickly, horrible glow to them. She stares at Fray, she stares through him, and half of her face is normal while the other half has some of the barely contained shadowy energy. And somehow, the light from that eye glows even brighter.]
...
I am a Shadow, the true self. This was...inevitable.
[The tone Sayaka says this with is echoy, reverbing throughout the room. It's hard to tell if it's truly her or whatever this place has done, but she points her bladed arm at him with a blank, wide-eyed expression that betrays nothing.]
Inevitable. Inevitable as always. I'm...going to kill you.
[...And despite it all, there's something small that Fray may be able to make out if he strains his ears.
A familiar, soft voice--calling out for help that seems to reverberate under the words of the shadow. As she hesitates.]
...I'll make this quick.
no subject
Sayaka is in there. And if Sayaka is in there, he doesn't want to risk hurting her. This is the sort of thing that should be a battle, one he would fight tooth and nail for in order to drag her out, but...]
Sayaka, I know you can hear me. Both of you.
[The girl with the yellow eyes and the trapped girl within. Both of them.]
Is this truly what you want? What will killing me accomplish? Will it give you what you need to free yourself?
[He doesn't think it will. Though his grip on his blade is tight and he hates the very idea of what he's about to do... Fray sheathes it. If she wants to fight him, then she'll have no resistance. After all, how could he hurt her, when she's already been through so much?]
Let me help you, Sayaka. I don't want to fight you; I don't want to hurt you like so many others have.
[And then, just like before by the docks, he holds out his arms and awaits her reaction. It's taking a big risk, and one he doesn't like at all, but he's counting on Sayaka - either of them, both of them - remembering and wanting to put a stop to this.]
no subject
Thankfully, that soft voice breaks through a little bit--the shadow's eyes don't flicker, not like Yoon's did. But even so, his words do manage to make her hesitate (12) briefly.
He asks if this is really want she wants. What they want. What those splintered emotions, the ones she's bottled down and refused to acknowledge for so many years wants, and they want so much.]
...I want to hurt. I...want someone. To hurt like me. To hurt like I have, for so many years. Someone needs to pay. Someone needs to understand it. I'm so tired of hurting. I'm tired of being hurt. If I hurt them before they hurt me...then I'll be safe. Nobody will hurt me again.
[The words come out monotone, but even still, it takes all of her will to hold herself back. He can likely see it in how she struggles to keep herself at bay.]
Who am I, really? A broken little girl? A broken doll of an idol with one hundred million strings controlling my life and movements? Perhaps...I'm more akin to a witch. Yes. One that would manipulate and destroy all that's in her way.
Maybe after this...I'll finally be as evil as I've always known I am.
[It's the sheathing of the weapon and the open arms that see her eyes widen, briefly, and it makes her practically tremble.
She's evil. She doesn't deserve or want this. She'll get reprimanded, an evil person doesn't deserve this kindness, this comfort, this broken doll deserves to be slain and discarded--
Come on...come on, please. Listen to him. Listen to him, please--]
...Why? Why aren't you attacking me? I'm not good. I'm...not...I don't deserve...this...
[It comes choked out, shadowy wisp pouring out of her eyes like a mimic of tears.]
no subject
[If I hurt them, maybe he'll listen. Maybe he'll take me seriously. Maybe he'll understand. It's for his own good.
Hadn't he thought that in preparation for his confrontation with V'rhas? He'd wanted to lash out, to hurt the people who had used V'rhas. This is the same. A desperate person, angry and hurt and looking for a reason to strike.
He understands. Maybe he hasn't fully seen what she's been through and how she's been hurt, but he's seen enough to understand that pain and frustration and that desperation to push others away, so she can't be hurt again.
Fray doesn't budge, though. He keeps his arms held out, waiting patiently.]
Why do you have to be good, Sayaka? Why do you have to "deserve" something I am willingly giving you? You've suffered enough. You don't have to fight anymore.
I am not a "good" person either. I too chose to lash out at others to protect myself and V'rhas. And yet it is only here and now, with distance from my actions, can I acknowledge I was wrong.
I have decided that you deserve the comfort and affection I can give you. You will not be able to change my mind.
[The last part is a little lighter, though definitely not a joke. He means every word of it; Sayaka has more than earned his friendship and devotion.]
no subject
...Or it doesn't make sense.
[She's spent her whole life trying to rationalize everything that's happened to her. She's spent her whole life trying to make sense of it all, because the concept of bad things happening to good people has never made sense to her. It's all supposed to balance out. It's all supposed to make sense, it's--
Sayaka attempts to rush him down again (16).
But a bright white light covers the room, first.]
cw: neglect, a rather nasty fight, suicide adjacent cw
"Dad, will you please listen to me! I'm not saying that you have to give up your job, but you've been letting it use you so much, it's--""This job has been my whole life's work, Sayaka!"
"I know it is, but there has to be better out there! I have money now, we could get out of this place and go somewhere else--"
"To where?! Where can you even go that your actual fathers would allow?"
There's a very notable pause when Sayaka hears that, and it's barely reflected in the mirror behind her--the one where she and her faceless father argue in, and she seems like she's been practically struck in the face.
"Wh...what...?"
"You haven't needed me in years. Why are you so insistent upon it now?" Her father's tone is unflinching, though he seems to shake with a white knuckled, barely held back anger. Maybe even sorrow. "They've been perfectly capable of taking care of you and picking up where I've failed. Are you happy? I can acknowledge that I've been a failure of a father to you, Sayaka, and you know what? I'm sorry. I took on all of these hours in the first place because of you, and--"
Sayaka doesn't hear anymore of the words he says. It's like a pervasive static that threatens to deafen her to the world, and it strikes all at once.
It's her fault. It's her fault that her father has worked himself to the bone like this. If she wasn't around, where would her father be? Would her mother still be with him, even?
She doesn't respond. Her father tries to reach her, because somewhere in this he's realized he's absolutely screwed up, and Sayaka walks away and slams the door shut behind her.
She doesn't cry. She literally can't at this point. Her emotions are so broken that she literally can't do anything but smile brokenly, her smile showing up vaguely in a vanity mirror in her pink room.
There's a letter at her desk that she grabs. One addressed to her, from Hope's Peak Academy. A place where humanity's brightest are scouted. A place where you're assured success if you graduate, no matter what.
...
The next night, she's making arrangements and packing her bags.
[...The shadow's attack doesn't connect.
Through all of the messy, painful feelings, when Fray finally comes to, he can see that the arm blade has basically shattered. The shadow barely even has an arm left.
But the one that is left hugs him so tightly, and sobs into him wretchedly like she did that night before.]
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm...I'm...!
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And then she's hugging him tightly, and it can't be comfortable this time either, because he's still wearing the armor, but he hugs back just as fiercely.]
You needn't apologize, Sayaka. I know you were fighting it. I know you were trying to stop it.
[His voice still isn't exactly soothing, but he's doing his best. Fray's careful with his gauntlets so he doesn't risk hurting her any further, but his grip is tight.]
You won't be alone again. I'm here for you, and I'm not going anywhere.
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The body goes away. The stains, the marks--all of it dissipates, and for a brief moment, the room goes back to a semblance of normal. "Sayaka's" grip is still tight on him, but...
There's a sharp crack. There's not much time left.]
...I'm sorry I hurt you. [Her voice is so small, so tired, and her grip starts to slacken a bit.] All of these feelings, I've let them bottle up for so...so long. They've been so volatile. And I...
I still don't know what I want, at the end of it all. But thank you. Thank you, for not leaving me alone.
...Good night, Fray. I love you.
[And with an utterance that sounds almost familial, an uttering of something she's wanted to say and mean it--something she's wanted to hear for years--the shadow's body shatters all at once.]
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...Well, maybe nothing visible, but...
When Fray steps out of the room, he can see a faint pink orb go into the room of one Makoto Naegi.
Perhaps you should follow...?]
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[It's too late. She's gone. Fray lingers for a long moment, hands grasping nothing. Some part of him knows this isn't the "real" Sayaka, but even so... Even so it hurts, like he's truly lost her and that this isn't some kind of bizarre dreamscape that will eventually fade.
But he doesn't wake up.
He's remained in this room for long enough and it would seem that his time here isn't done yet. So Fray exits the room, looking for any sign of... hells, he doesn't know. Any sign to point him anywhere. He's feeling so much that he'd just like to get back under control—
And then he sees that pink orb. There's no hesitation, he goes for the door immediately. Is it unlocked?]
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Hers.
Well, sort of. There's still an exceeding amount of pink in here, and the busy streets of Tokyo below are visible, but it's a time both of you are familiar with. The early morning sun rises, brightening the room very slightly, and while Sayaka isn't here, there's much to see.
Her vanity is perfect and maintained, along with her bed being perfectly made. But what's likely surprising are the dolls sitting and gently propped up on her bed...
Including one of you, Fray. The little pink orb floats towards it, as if gesturing him to come closer. Will you?]
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