week 7

[airlockedmods]

[For the first time in several weeks there is no new memorial in the garden. No new body in the morgue, no bloody mess for the roombas to clean. Choromatsu is still in need of time to heal and constant vigilance but he's alive. They're all alive for once on a Sunday and, even with the terrible realizations their returning memories may bring, there's a sense of hope for the first time in a long time.

There is no new floor this week.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday



[ooc: Don't forget to to turn in your activity for week 6, submit your memory regains and put in your threads for the Benefactors!]

Comments

[myocordial]

[Heart still makes it a habit to start his day off in the dining room, even though he doesn't need to eat or anything. So there he is, seated at the table. And a few seats over, there Heart is, seated at the table.

...wait.

No, actually, you did read that right. There's not one but two Hearts right now. One is staring at the double with some fascination, while the other is... doing the same, but staring at nothing. Perfectly copying everything the other is doing.]

Fascinating, isn't it?

[Other than... that... Heart spends his day in several places. Usually as just the one person. He spends some amount of time in the garden, near the memorials. If you look closely, you might be able to tell that he's holding a piece of paper in his hand. He's... quiet and it's hard to tell what exactly is going through his mind. Afterwards in the afternoon he'll actually spend some time in the bowling alley, because screw it, he needs to keep himself distracted. Bowling works.]

dining room

[daughterofthemark]

Sir Heart--

[wait

What the fuck]

Who are you?!

[myocordial]

It's only me, Arianna. And I do mean only me.

[The second Heart is still mimicking everything the other is doing, which in this case is turning to look at Arianna, of course.]

Not that I blame you for being surprised.

[daughterofthemark]

[Well at least now she knows which one is the real Heart.]

This is another sabotage? Like last week?

[myocordial]

I assume so, yes. Well, it's not much of a sabotage. I activated this myself. It was a little shocking the first time.

[A little.]

[daughterofthemark]

You've been given the skills of a ninja!

[????????????????????]

[myocordial]

...

[...]

...Pardon?

[daughterofthemark]

They are warriors from the far east who hide in the shadows.

[myocordial]

Ah, no, that's... I'm familiar with the concept of a ninja, I assure you.

[daughterofthemark]

Ah. You seemed confused, so...

Garden

[misanthropicprinciple]

[...

He knows he shouldn't. He knows it's not an act of trust, nor is it kind or even warranted. But Junpei Tenmyouji hasn't survived two (2) murder games to let his guard down now, even on a day as seemingly silly and full of good will as this one.

So, invisibly, moving softer than one might think he can, Junpei tries to get close enough to read what's on Heart's paper.]

[myocordial]

[It's a paper Junpei has seen before, though not the one he paid the most attention to previously. Still, he should recognize it.

It's the list he created of every Roidmude. From 000 to 108. Completely unaltered, from the looks of it. But still, well... essentially a list of everyone Heart has lost.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Just as depressing as he assumed, though at least less alarming than he'd feared. He backs off a few steps, then goes un-invisible. Which is to say, visible.]

Hey.

[Just a quiet greeting to let Heart know he's around. Michi, often near the memorials, flutters over to land on his shoulder and coo a quiet greeting herself for Heart.]

[myocordial]

[Michi's sudden appearance gets a light smile.]

Hello. [Junpei gets a nod, even as Heart stays more focused on the memorials.] ...I'm not in your way, am I?

[Because if anyone else needs time at the memorials, he's prepared to just, y'know, go.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

Nah. I'm just here to pick up Michi and Tie.

[He lingers, though, half his attention on the memorials, the rest on Heart. After a moment, he says:]

You know... that one, over there. [He nods towards one in particular.] Yuuri made that one for her younger sister.

[In case Heart feels he needs permission to do something similar.]

[myocordial]

Did she?

[He'd wondered about it, but he figured it might be... something personal like that. Yuuri... He stares at it for a moment. Then he looks at his list.]

...Memorials are very human things. [A simple statement of fact, he doesn't say it as if it's good or bad.] I don't think anyone of my kind has ever had one.

[misanthropicprinciple]

Isn't that up to you? Deciding what traditions apply to your people or not.

[If they were all created by two guys around the turn of the millennium, after all, it's not like there are centuries of culture to buck or cling to.]

As far as I know, memorials can belong to anything with the capacity for memory. Don't you think?

bowling alley

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Church at first is just a not-so-blue streak speeding by, right up until he steps wrong, slips, and goes spinning down one of the lanes.

Strike, by the way.

He manages to crawl his way out of the way of the machinery to reset the pins, still at a speed he probably should not be able to reach with a normal human body, and flops across several of the seats. His legs kick uselessly in the air for something physical to do.]

Ow.

[myocordial]

[Well that... uh... it... it sure happened? Heart outright just drops the ball he was holding in shock. It rolls uselessly into the gutter as Church does all of... that.

He stares for a bit longer, before...]

...I see you've finally improved your technique. Your first strike, I believe?

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Church definitely Happens a lot today.]

Fuck-you're-right! I'll-be-super-good-at-bowling-if-I-just-hurl-my-body!

[Wow he is. speaking really quickly. He stares at Heart upside-down, kicky legs only increasing in kicking motions.]

What-about-you are-you-improving-your-technique are-you-imagining-the-pins-to-be-your-asshole-creator?

[myocordial]

I wouldn't really recommend--

[Oh god, Church just keeps going and that is... real fast. Geez he's gonna have trouble keeping up at this rate.]

...N... No, I wasn't imagining anything like that. Though I might start. Are you... okay?

[motherfucking_ghost]

Oh-yeah I'm-super-fine I'm-just-moving-real-fast like-REAL-fast everything-is-slow-and-the-lights-are-bright-and-I'm-like-a-race-car! I-feel-like-I'm-normal-and-everyone-else-is-slow??

Are-you-okay? You-gotta-tell-me-if-you're-not-okay cuz-that-motive-was-fucked-up it-was-really-fucked-up.

[myocordial]

...Right. I see. [Jesus Church, breathe.] I wonder if this is what it felt like for people when I slowed down time...

[It sure seems like that might be the case.]

No, I'm... alright. It certainly was messed up, we're in agreement there. And I won't say it hasn't been on my mind. But that's all.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[WHAT'S BREATHING HE CAN BREATHE REALLY FAST IF YOU WANT]

Are-you-sure cuz-we're-friends and-friends-talk-to-each-other-about-fucked-up-shit-sometimes and-I wanna make-sure-you're-okay and-keep-you-company-if-you-need.

[kick kick kick kick--he stops in mid-kick, then rolls over in the seats with his chin propped in his hands. kicking shall resume!]

I-thought-about-it-if-I'm-honest I-really-thought-about-it-for-a-hot-second but-I-think-almost-everyone-did-so-it's-okay don't-feel-guilty-or-anything.

[myocordial]

Are you really in the right state of mind for a conversation like that right now?

...Well. If we are being completely honest... I did as well. [Think about it, that is. But considering he has a long list - an actual literal list even - of people whose fates he'd want to change, that's not a surprise.] Not a serious consideration, of course. Even if you weren't my friends... Even if all of you meant absolutely nothing to me, it's not in my nature to simply trade lives in such a way.