warpweft | [popdrop] H3: Touko and Raijuu

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[popdrop] H3: Touko and Raijuu

[The first thing you notice is how dark it is. It’s really, really stinkin’ dark. You can’t see anything. Even if you naturally have the ability to see in the dark, well, not anymore. Which may be the second thing you notice - any powers you have, any magic is gone. Silenced. You can’t feel it, similarly to when you’re in the theme park, with an additional sense of anxiety and loss surrounding the inability to tap into it. Even a heightened sense of emotion won’t bring them back, like it might in the theme park. If you have other powers of some kind, enhanced physical capabilities or the like, they’re either gone or significantly reduced as well. You feel extremely normal and it doesn’t feel good.]

[Whether you stay still or stumble along in the dark, at least it’s not too long. You eventually catch notice of something illuminating the darkness. You find yourself drawn to it. It's a small spherical glass object. Near the edges, it's black, but bits of purple and violet appear, gradually brightening and swirling together in a spiral shape at the center. The spiral at the center is bright enough to bathe you and the surroundings in a soft violet light. As you get closer, you can feel voices coming from the sphere. You can’t tell what they’re saying, but maybe if you were closer. You feel a deep desire in your stomach to just…reach out….]

What are you doing?

[The voice, a woman’s voice, comes from behind you. You didn’t hear anybody approaching, but you’re immediately filled with an intense sense of foreboding. You turn and look, but you can’t see anything. The darkness is once again overpowering, the violet glow from the object next to you being the only thing that isn’t swallowed up by it. All you can make out in the darkness is what may be someone’s face and…two eyes. With nothing in them. Pitch-black.]

You touched the Heart…

You touched MY Heart!?

[There’s a lot of anger and it’s not making that sense of foreboding go away. The darkness and the person(?) inside it advance towards you, slowly engulfing the violet glow around you. Just when you’re thinking you’re gonna have to decide between fight or flight, here — something moves.

Towards you.

You feel something punch into your chest and before you know it, you’re on the ground, searing pain running through your upper body. A few things briefly pass through your senses. You hear a loud scream. If you tilt your head up, you can see a long black spike…embedded in your own chest. And you can taste… …yup. That’s your own blood.

That’s about as far as you get before consciousness leaves you.]

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...Thanks.

[Oof. This was painting a kind of sad picture. No wonder Hex was kind of... well, whatever.

Through the door!]

[Someone opens the door.]

Hello! I’ve been — ooh, I guess the storm got you pretty bad. Uh, come in! I’ve got some towels!

[It’s the same voice as the one that let you. It’s a young woman, she immediately moves out of the way to let you into the apartment. It’s…a pretty nice apartment! There’s an open door leading out into the balcony (which will by the way confirm that you went from ground level to several stories up if you look out over it), a big TV hanging on the wall and an exceptionally soft looking couch, equally comfortable easy chairs positioned around it. The couch must be as comfortable as it looks, because there’s a black cat napping on it, currently catching a sunbeam from the open balcony. It regards you for a second, then goes back to lounging immediately.]

[Up on the wall, there’s a kitschy little carved wooden sign - it reads “WELCOME TO THE WITCH’S CASTLE” and it has a little painting of a witch on a broomstick on it. Three guesses who lives here.]

[You’re currently in the Living Room. You can also explore the Kitchen or the Hallway.]

...Okay, but only so I don't drip all over your floor.

[Damn. How did we get from the sticks to this?]

[She'll just lean to check into the hallway while College-Days Hex is distracted.]

[There's three closed and locked doors in the hallway and not much else. The girl comes back with a towel, which she hands to Touko.]

Sorry about that! Normally it's just a little fog and some thunder in the background, you know, for dramatic effect, but it's been really bad, lately.

I’m Nell. I’m █████’s cousin. [Her mouth is fogged over whenever she says….whatever that word was.] Uh, this is her apartment! Our apartment, I guess. I live here with her. And this… [She reaches over the couch and places a hand on the cat napping there. He lets out a ‘mrrp’ and rolls over.] Is Puck!

...He's cute.

[The cat's okay, she guesses. Okay it's not Hex herself]

I'm... uh... just call me WH. It's a penname I'm going by.

Do you like ghosts? Or tea?

I love tea!

Ghosts are kind of cute, but they're more my cousin's thing. Why do you ask?

Ah... just wondering. Your cousin and I... uh... yeah. I'm one of her fans.

[Okay, she'll lean into that kitchen... if there's nothing there, maybe she'll just try that TV, just to make sure it's not showing Hex's Funniest Home Videos or some such window into her soul.]

[It's a smart TV and opens up to the saved shows.

......llllooooota Benedict Cumberbatch on here.]

Oh! You're here to, uh. Look for things of hers, right?

...You're smarter than your look.

Your silence or assistance in exchange for a short but memorable poem?

A poem sounds lovely! But...mmn... [She hesitates for a moment.] Don’t get me wrong. I’d like to help you and I’d like to help -- [She pauses for a bit, she was about to say something else, but instead says:] Hex too. But…she can be a very private person about some things. I just don’t know if I should share too much or it’d be violating her privacy…

[Puck jumps up on the back of the couch and lets out a little ‘mrow’. He walks towards Nell, who gives him a couple scratches. This seems to give her an idea.]

Oh, well, what if… [She looks at you.] Um. This might be asking too much. But um. Would you be willing to maybe. Share something of yours first? Um. I’m a witch, too, so I know a little bit of magic and Puck is pretty good for a cat, too!” [She picks up Puck. He lets out another ‘mrow’.] We can take an important memory of yours and share it with Hex…I think that’d probably make her trust you to walk around in here a little bit more, right? If you put a bit of yourself out…you can get something back!

... [It barely takes Fukawa a few seconds.]

Bright and crisp, like a gold, shiny bell,
a light in the darkness, her name, it was Nell,
Guardian of the home, shield against rain and muck,
She stood watch with her friend, the sweet kitten called Puck.

...

[At that she flinches]

Only problem is I'm the type I've pretty much vomited my entire backstory on her already...

But, I guess I can try.

[She'll try... this memory? The first 20 seconds]

Oh! That's a lovely poem! Thank you!

[Nell lifts up Puck and he lightly waps a paw on your forehead. Both of them start glowing a soft violet as the memory is lightly picked up. You can feel something in your head, but it's...subtle. Gentle. Trying to be delicate while it's in there and not mess anything up, so the process takes a few moments....]

[And then the glow is gone. Nell's eyes open again. She takes in a breath, then a frown appears on her face.]

...oh, what was the spell to open the door? That looked like just a regular security door!

[One of the doors down in the hallway can be heard opening.]

Thanks... treasure it, okay? I don't squeeze out poems like a sponge all that often.

[She'll have to think of other memories for Hex.]

Take care.

[bee-lining it for the open door]

[You enter Nell's room.]

[Nell’s room has a bed, a desk and a dresser. On the floor there’s a stack of books and a tablet that mostly seems to be for playing audiobooks. In one corner there’s a big stack of music in a bunch of different mediums. There’s neatly compiled stacks of CDs, cassette tapes and there’s even a stack of vinyl records. And there’s a cassette player, a CD player and a record player all kept neatly next to each other as well. There’s even a guitar laying against the wall next to the stack of music. There’s also a nightstand with a lamp and a couple photos on it next to the bed.]

On the desk, there's a loose stack of a few papers and photos.
On the nightstand, there's a framed photo.
There also seems to be something on the bed, under the covers.

[You can explore this room or return to the Living Room.]

[Well, listening to every last CD is probably not the way to go.]

Holy crap. Cassettes? How old is Hex??

[Mutters, before glancing over the framed photo, and then looking under the bed covers]

[It's a framed photo of Nell and Hex, both of them dressed up like witches, complete with the pointy hats and broomsticks, presumably for Halloween. Puck is with them, but he's huge. It's not clear whether this was done by photoshop or if he was actually made that big with magic for the photo.]

[You acquired Halloween Picture.]

[You lift the covers. There’s a white orb resting on the pillow. It seems to react to your presence, floating lightly towards your hand.]

... [orb looks vaguely familiar, but she's not sure how.

Oh well. TOUCH]

[When you touch the orb, clear images filter into your mind.]

[“Here, take a look at this.”
“Wh…what’s that? That’s not one of Grandmother’s books, is it?!”
“No…no, this is mine!”

You’re speaking to Nell, your cousin. You have a big book under your arms. The two of you are hidden away in a corner of your own room.

“Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know. I found it.” You shrug your shoulders…that’s a lie. But you don’t want to tell Nell where you actually got it. It’s not that you don’t trust her, but. She’s very scared of Grandmother. Everybody is. Including you, much as you’re trying to not make it obvious. “Do you wanna see it or not?” Nell looks towards the door, then ducks down a little more.
“Y…yes.” She nods. You smile. You both get on your knees and you open it up. You’re not sure how much time passes. You excitedly point out the words that you know and get her to sound them out as well. After a while, she has a big smile on her face when she can get through most of a sentence on her own. Eventually, you both jump up when you hear the door open. You turn your head and see a white-haired woman fixing the two of you with a look.

“What are you two doing?” She asks.
“Nothing, mother,” you say. “I was just showing Nell-“
“Mmn.” She holds up a finger, cutting you off. “Run along, Nell. Your mother is looking for you.”
“O-okay.” Nell stands up and takes a second to smooth her skirt over with her hands.
“And Nell?” Your mother holds a finger to her mouth. “This is a secret, understood?”
“Y…yes, Aunt Lyra.” Nell ducks her head. Your mother smiles and leans down, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Good girl. Run along.” Nell looks back at you. She gives you a smile and leaves. Once she’s gone, your mother picks you up and sits you down on the bed.

“█████,” she says. “You know to keep that book between us.”
“I know,” you say quietly. “But you were teaching me to read…so. I wanted to teach Nell. She was getting it, too! She read some words and we—“ She raises a finger to her mouth and you quiet down.
“You’re so bright,” she says. “I understand. You want to show your cousin what you know. But sometimes…we have to keep our knowledge to ourselves.” She reaches an arm out and hugs you. Her other hand flips the book closed…and slides it under the bed. “I promise. Once we do what we discussed, you’ll be able to show people how bright you are.” You lean into your mother. She strokes your head a couple of times.

“…when we do what we said and Leave grandmother…can we bring Nell?” You ask in a very quiet voice.
“Maybe, my dear,” she says. The noncommittal way she says it…you don’t want to admit it, but somewhere deep in your heart, you know she doesn’t care.]

[….both Hex and Nell are a lot younger in this memory. More striking, however, is that they’re the same age as each other in the memory. But the Nell of right now seems a lot younger than Hex. In the Halloween Picture, she looks about a decade younger than Hex.]

... [Interesting... and more or less what she was beginning to glean from her interactions already. Though it didn't explain who Aggy was. Not to mention the mystery of how the sudden age change. Either Hex made herself older, Nell made herself younger, or Nell died somehow and this was some replacement homunculus or something.

She'll go back to Nell.]

Uh, one last question. Can I share all my memories and wham-bang all those doors open at once, or should I be moving on to a new place each time?

Oh! Uhm!

If you want to try sharing a memory again, I think we can! I hope it'd open the other two doors, at least...

All right, sorry to... you know, fast-track this.

[SHARING POWERS, GO:

1. Fukawa's been locked up in a school with a bunch of strangers. She's formed an obsession with her Master Byakuya Togami, who is the sexiest, most powerful man alive. He knows her secret and has made her promise not to let Genocider Shou out.

Long story short, she locks herself in her room in complete fear.

But then the class trial happens and Togami reveals she is Genocider Shou... the betrayal makes her pass out.

2. Fukawa's woken up after the trial. Everyone's making snide comments about her and how awful Genocider Shou is. She finally lashes back at them and they dismiss her anger.

3. Most all of the other people are dead except for her, Naegi Makoto, some weird guy, some big-boobed bimbo, her Master, and herself. UNTIL the Mastermind Enoshima Junko appears. She taunts them all with mysteries they can't solve until Naegi suddenly gets the idea:

"Wait... all of our memories were erased! But what if her memories weren't erased?"

Fukawa: "W-Whose memories are you talking about??"

"Genocider Shou's! Please Fukawa, let us ask her!"

Fukawa: "Y-You're asking me to surrender my consciousness to her?? That's like accepting the death of my identity! I refuse!"

... Then Master speaks up.

Master: "Fukawa, you're the only one we can rely on."

Fukawa immediately sneezes and everything goes dark.]

Edited 2021-05-22 20:57 (UTC)

[Nell's eyes slowly widen as all of that is shared...very gradually. This is serious stuff, she wants to be delicate. It takes a bit to get through everything.]

O-oh wow...you've been through a lot, huh...?

[The sound of another door opening can be heard through the hallway.]

I'm, uh, sorry you had to go through all of that.

Honestly? There's worse. --But I'm not here because my life sucks.

Before I jump back in, is this something you might want to hold onto?

[Offers the photo frame?]

[She takes the frame and looks at it. She smiles, fondly.]

That was a really fun night.

No, I think you can keep it. I hope it'll help you.

All right. Thanks.

[And, off... off to the other security door!]

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Danganronpa spoilers

Re: Danganronpa spoilers

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