ALL ABOARD!

「 So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. 」 Mobile Links ▸18+ players only. ▸ Mutual-killing roleplaying game based off of Danganronpa. ▸ Chapter IV: Treacherous Waters.

[lastatsea]

No Holds Barred | Chapter 4 Investigation

It’s hard to admit when you’ve lost someone.

Friendships easily fall apart due to miscommunication. People drift apart, never to talk to each other again. Eventually, someone passes away and the other person will never know. Human beings are so fragile. Their relationships are even more prone to breaking.

So, when Ayato Akiyama, Echiko Kamiyama and Akaji Hibayashi see Yasumi Shizuma’s lifeless body right in front of their very eyes..

What do you exactly call that?

Before anyone can react or send a message to the group chat, the cruise intercom turns on. Anyone who’s near a television can see it flicker on, Marina and Mizu on the screen as Mizu seems to be dressed in a maid outfit similar to Marina’s, her hair wrapped up in a bun that’s covered with fabric. She’s standing awkwardly behind Marina, as Marina crosses her arms.

“Well. Looks like someone finally took the fucking shot after all. Eh. Not shot, you get the point. Whatever, you know what to do now. If you need a refresher just ask Mizu. She’s better at dealing with all of you than I am.”

Marina turns her head, her mouth looks clenched as she’s barely keeping her temper under. Mizu adjusts her glasses, peeking over Marina. Everyone can hear Mizu, loud and clear. As if she never left.

“You.. al- all have a time limit again, and once you’re done, you’ll be summoned to the trial room.. try not to resist, please. All of the rooms are unlocked, including y-your private quarters. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to c-call for me..” 

She glances over at Marina before hiding behind her again. Marina scowls. You can hear how pissed off she is over the speakers.

“Oh yeah. Almost forgot. You’ll be sorted into groups for this investigation. Don’t fucking ask me why. I’m not the one running shit right now.”

The intercoms along with the televisions turn off suddenly, leaving you all with an eerie silence.. and another question: who was the one who killed Yasumi Shizuma?

[Investigation starts now! Groups will be posted in the discord server along with more details.]

[lastatsea]

Autopsy Report 3 | Yasumi Shizuma

Like a morning alarm, your phone goes off.

Victim: Yasumi Shizuma (Akumi Ushitora) Cause of Death: Drowning Time of Discovery: 9:17 AM Discovered by: Ayato Akiyama, Echiko Kamiyama and Akaji Hibayashi Location: Kraken Deck (Pool) Marina’s Notes: Well there you go. How the fuck you took this one down, I have no idea. Mizu’s Notes: ...

[lastatsea]

Down for the Count | Body Drop

It’s a beautiful day outside.

The birds are singing, the sun is out.. the weather has cleared up recently despite it looking like it was going to rain a few days ago. It’s a good time to get a breath of fresh, saltwater air. 

It’s early in the morning when everyone is just waking up and going into their daily morning routine. Hinata and Tomomi are still resting in the infirmary, with Katashi and Nozomi recently patched up from their last encounter with the Marinabots. Noel hasn’t been around as much due to the poison and Yasumi.. well, you soon understood that she couldn’t hear any of you, yet you all heard her yelling. 

Typically, the morning would start with a buffet full of breakfast food greeting you, and Marinabots running around the restaurant making sure everything was running smoothly. Mizu checked up on them to make sure none of them got stuck in any bags of flour. But since the Gamemaster took over, the buffet has a smaller selection of food, less freshly made and prepared for you. It tastes cold and stale in your mouth. No Marinabot is to be found unless they’re the ones following you.

Despite things turning for the worse, the Kraken deck is open and available for swimming or going down the water slides, despite the ones who are operating them are the red Marinabots, just watching you silently. When Ayato invited Akaji and Echiko out for a morning swim..

Nobody could’ve predicted that all three of them would find Yasumi Shizuma, with no life in her eyes.

[lastatsea]

Misery Loves Company | Chapter 4 ???

It was easier said than done. You don’t press your button for the sake of your friends.. and they don’t get their room entirely flooded or their execution played on loop for two hours. Even if accidents happened, it could be safely stored away.. never to be touched again.

If only things could be that easy. Maybe your teacher wouldn’t be dead, and he would still be here with you now. Maybe Koharu’s last words to you could be easily answered. Maybe Mawar wouldn’t have drowned because of an accident.

Maybe Echiko would still have her arm.

The day after your buttons were distributed, your television turns on. The gamemaster stands there, before his head tilts. You hear a distinct popping noise as his neck cracks.

“Dear passengers. I have been a gracious host. I was polite enough to warn you that your passiveness will see you suffer. If you thought yourself above my gift, then I shall see you suffer too. Only two of the ones I thought were better have pressed their buttons and made their wish. One with a purpose and the other a..”

Although you cannot see his expression, you can see how his fists clench so tight that his knuckles are now a stark white. He lets out a short exhale.

“A mistake.”

He cracks his knuckles as he continues to stare at the screen.

“Do not worry, dear passengers. I will make sure that this does not happen again. As of now, those with buttons must make a wish. I will also publicize those who are punished as well as the extent that they are harmed. A stuffed animal given by accident awarded Ms. Kamiyama two hours of viewing her execution. A first aid kit awarded Mr. Hibayashi with a near death experience. Do not think yourselves above my word.”

He pauses. His face is still hidden, but you can almost hear his smile as he leans forward towards the camera.

“However, these punishments can be avoided if one of you chooses to kill. Your wishes will be granted, if you are worthy of one.”

The Gamemaster leans back into his seat.

“Dear passengers. Starting once this video ends, you have ten hours to decide your wish. Remember, that you will be severely punished if you do not. You shall play by my rules or suffer alongside your “friends”.”

There’s a pause as he stares at all of you through his mask.

The television screen, mercifully, turns off.

[You all have 24 hours OOC to decide what your character’s wish is. If they don’t happen to figure out any in time, just tell the moderators that. Good luck.]

[lastatsea]

Trust Fall | CH 4 Motive

Marina isn’t around, for once. She isn’t pestering you guys with constant announcements or yelling at you through the intercom. She isn’t even being angry and stomping around in that weird maid dress the Gamemaster put her in..

After solving both puzzles and earning more than what you would like- the Marinabots are nowhere to be found other than the ones found with Echiko. It’s quiet, but not for long. You always knew that, it’s just a routine around here.

Hours after finding Echiko and making sure the rest of you got patched up from the wounds you got from the escape wounds, the televisions suddenly flicker on. No matter where you are, his smiling mask is on the screen.

"Dear passengers, it brings me so much joy to see that you were all capable of solving the puzzles presented to you. Did you have fun? Did you enjoy yourselves, dear passengers? I would hope so since you were all so insistent on breaking several things when there was no need to. In any case, you gave satisfactory performances expected of Hope's Peak alumni. Some of you, that is. Now then, after all of that excitement I hope you did not think that was the end, dear passengers. Let's have another test, shall we? You were rewarded with your lives and the return of one of your friends. I hope you don't disappoint me again."

Two Marinabots hold up a device to him- a button- he holds it up to all of you.

"Now that your friend has been returned to you, you find your group at an even number. Isn't that lovely? I can see how much you trust one another. I do have to wonder, though, how deep does that trust run? Let's test that, shall we? Exactly half of you will receive a button. This button can grant you a reasonable wish when pushed. You may receive a specific tool not available to you, perhaps even a weapon to make killing that much easier. I can even provide luxury items such as new clothes, alcohol, or even a few minutes of internet connection. Anything you so desire. Outside of your release, of course. While I would enjoy nothing more than throwing some of you overboard, I think leaving you to die in the middle of the ocean is far too cruel."

He presses the button, it turns green before shortly glowing red.

"Does this sound too good to be true passengers? Ah. It might be. There is no give without a take. While some of you will get the carrot, others shall receive the stick. When the button is pressed and the gift received, another shall face a punishment equal to that of the wish. The better the wish, the worse the punishment. Be warned, dear passengers, none of the button holders were chosen at random. I, and many others, believe that some of you are fit for survival. Some of you hold great potential and can achieve many great things. The rest of you are better off dying for the sake of your friends. Maybe then you can be of some use. In any case, no matter who presses the button, the reward will still go to the initial owner. If you feel as though you deserve a button, we can negotiate something."

And with that sad, he lazily waves at the camera to shoo it away. 

The feed cuts, your reflection is seen on the blank television screen. Only some of you are being given a button- even then, something bad will happen. He didn’t exactly specify.. and you only know by giving the button a push.

[lastatsea]

Puppet Master | Chapter 4 Start

When Marina was in control- people woke up with the sound of her cackle on the television screen as she threatened you with some new thing, or to the sound of her voice barking everyone over to the ballroom on the intercom.

Her robots did little tasks all around the cruise ship, they never directly interfered with anything you were doing unless Marina told them to do so. They usually waddled around the ship, cooking meals for you or cleaning up the last mess someone caused- knowing the tiny robots would do so.. but things are different. 

When Kameko fired shots into the restaurant and everyone gathered into her room- things changed. Things needed to be more strict- the game master's grip needed to be tighter. He wanted everyone to know that he was in control, and it was now that things were going to change according to him.

In the middle of your slumber, just when the sun seemed to be rising with the light peeking into your windows, you see red in the corner of your eye. In everyone’s rooms- is a red Marinabot who watched you sleep. Even when you get up to move around the room, it seems to shuffle along, moving smoothly compared to how they stumbled last time, staring directly up at you.. 

Your television turns on before you can ask the group chat about what’s happening. On the screen, dressed in a maid’s uniform and her hair redyed into pink- Marina stands there with her arms crossed. Looking absolutely pissed off, but unlike her usual times where she throws a tantrum, she just looks a bit exhausted despite being a robot.

“........Hello… Everyone… You all have… some great new decks open to you now… The Kelpie Deck and The Kraken Deck. Check em out if you want, I guess… The Marinabots have been ordered to watch and follow your every move, and now have orders to retaliate if harmed. They’ll back off if you need to like… Shower or change or whatever though.”

She sounds like she’s struggling to get through her words. And she’s glaring directly at the screen the whole time, but somehow- you feel like that gaze isn’t directed towards you at the moment.

“...Whatever. Just follow the fucking rules. Don’t be idiots and die.”

The television screen turns off, leaving just you… and the Marinabot that’s carefully watching you with big, red eyes. Despite the sunlight peeking in from earlier, the clouds look grey. It looks like it’s going to rain.

[Chapter 4: Treacherous Waters starts now! You’re allowed to freetime roleplay as the rest of the deck is open, but keep an open mind for the Marinabot watching you now. More details on this chapter and what it means as the last case chapter will be detailed on Discord.]

[lastatsea]

A Blessing in Disguise | ???

At some absurd time at night, you wake up to the sound of sirens going off- your television suddenly on and the screen displaying various flashing symbols- painted in red and static. Different types of sirens are going off as the intercom has an automated voice telling you to evacuate- but the voices are all jumbled together as they all speak at once.

And then, suddenly- all of the automated voices speak at once.

“There is an important announcement from the gamemaster. Please proceed to the ballroom. I repeat, there is an important announcement from the gamemaster. Please proceed to the ballroom.”

When you all arrive in the ballroom, probably still dressed in your pajamas if you didn’t have time to hastily put on actual clothes in the midst of the chaos- Marina isn’t there. Nor is Mizu, or any of the Marinabots- until you hear the door kick open from behind you, as Marina is at the entrance- looking furious. In contrast to her usual, blue and cheery appearance, the whole room is painted in red lights as sirens continue to go off, signaling.. something is off. Before she can start throwing her tantrum, the large screen where you all watched the VR sessions happen- flickers on. Suddenly and all at once-

“My deepest apologies, passengers. It seems as though you haven’t found your accommodations to your liking. Tell me, passengers, do you find it amusing to disregard simple instructions? Do you think yourselves above death? Have I not been a gracious host to you all? It’s far more than what most of you deserve. You’re liars, cheats, and disgusting people who know no limits to your own selfish gains. So long as you’re happy, why concern yourselves with others?”

He clasps his hands together in front of him, leaning slightly more forward. The mask obscures his eyes enough that you can’t make out what they look like. You can just feel him staring down at you.

“That does not matter now. I will correct the course my terribly kind assistant has led you on. Marina was a godsend to you people. I will no longer allow for any mercy.”

He leans back to stand properly and releases his hands. He keeps them in view of the camera as he does a sweeping motion outward with his palms facing up.

“From this point on, total control of this game will be in my hands.”

You could almost hear a laugh in his tone. One of his hands moves upwards as his fingers obscure the mask’s mouth.

“Marina, dear, consider yourself demoted. I am generous enough to consider all of the hard work you put into this, but I cannot turn a blind eye to your incompetence. You will still serve as my watch dog so do not worry.”

He moves his hands down to his side as he continues to address you, staring directly at the camera.

“As for the rest of you, I do hope you made peace with your gods and loved ones. You will understand what brought you vile creatures here. Perhaps some of you will prove yourselves worthy of surviving.”

He then waves at you.

“Now then, dear passengers, have a good night.”

He tilts his head, as the mask smiles at all of you. Red tears falling down from the stranger’s eyes. The screen suddenly flickers to all black, in red text displays: GO BACK TO YOUR ROOMS.

Some Marinabots suddenly appear, staring up at you as the hearts in their eyes suddenly scroll like a slot machine- before turning all red.

[We are in a transitional period. Chapter 4 will start soon!]

[lastatsea]

Your Ex-Lover is Dead | Chapter 3

Days go by since you all last met up for a cup of tea- but for once.. nothing happens. Usually in this time period, things are tense and eventually- everything comes to a breaking point when someone wanders into the wrong room and finds their dead classmate on the ground.

… That is not the case for today.

None of you wake up with Marina telling you there’s a corpse aboard on the cruise- none of you get to feel that slight guilt and relief that you somehow made it out another day. Nobody gets to crowd into a room and stare down at the last reminder of who somebody was, washed up ashore or laying dead in their own bed.

Marina breaks the silence, but the tension is still there. She calls you all to the ballroom, where the VR machines still sit there. She’s pacing around- almost nervously around the stage as Mizu is once again nowhere to be seen.

“Well, well, well. You all had fun with this one huh? All this time and none of you’ve actually cracked enough under the pressure to kill like you were supposed to. I don’t know what you were expecting. There was no bluff with any of this shit, y’know? Why didn’t you just do as you were told? You know I’ll have to punish you now again, right?”

Marina stops, as if she realized something.

“But not like last time no… No, this time, I’m releasing all those little fucking secrets to the public. You won’t mind, will you? You all seemed so content with sharing these things with each other, after all~ And ah, I’d aaaalmost forgotten!”

Some Marinabots stumble in front behind her, waddling up with massive, almost comical hammers before they raise it into the air and slam it down onto the VR goggles. One by one, all of them are in bits and pieces before your eyes.

“Maybe THAT will teach you guys a fucking lesson. Never doing something FUN like that for you again, yeesh. Murder for this round is off, you all fuckin’ FAILED.”

Marina walks off, her rage barely contained as the bots follow her, leaving the hammer behind for you all to look at the smashed remains of the last chance- to ever reconcile with the copies of your dead classmates.

[No murder this chapter, means no trial this chapter. Although there is no trial, doesn’t mean the chapter will close just this. Wait for more, and the mods will also discuss if anyone prefers submission trials over live discord ones.]

[lastatsea]

Late Afternoon Tea | Chapter 3 Event

Whatever your initial reaction to the “gamemaster’s” ultimatum, the hours begin to pass by, and more of these dreaded truths and lies about your classmates come to light. The uncertainty of it all is undeniably tough to deal with—will someone really kill for something like this?

Eventually, though, your thoughts are interrupted with a text. It’s not from the group chat—rather, it’s addressed directly to you.

Akaji Hibayashi: ok im just copypasting this message to everyone so its not gonna be personalized but this situation is total bullshit so ikehara and i are planning on meeting up p soon in the ballroom to talk about stuff and try and figure out what were gonna do next? itd be cool if as many ppl came as possible, also were gonna have food lol

… Okay, maybe not the most eloquent invitation you’ve received, but it’s a call to action nonetheless. You’ve clearly been summoned to the ballroom for some sort of group meeting.

When you arrive, you’ll notice that the VR stage and chairs are still there—but that’s not the focus here. No, what really grabs your attention is the large table set up off to the side, made up of several smaller tables shoved together in order to form a square. There are also sets of paper and writing utensils arranged on the table, presumably so that people can take notes. The table is surrounded with just enough chairs for you and all of your former classmates to have a seat. Was this furniture taken from the restaurant? Jeez...

Speaking of the restaurant, there’s yet another table set up not too far away, long and rectangular and supplied with a wide manner of refreshments. It… kind of looks like most of it has been taken directly from the restaurant buffet as well. However, it seems as though some actual tea has been provided as well, with several varieties and hot water available as well as things to put in it if you’re not intent on drinking the leaf water straight.

Akaji and Kameko are already here, making a few last-minute adjustments. Or, more accurately, Akaji taps away on his phone while standing near Kameko as she makes a few last-minute adjustments. Is this an actual meeting or just some excuse for a get-together?

Only time will tell.

[This event will last over the weekend in real time. Feel free to have your character enter or leave as you’re available! An IC summary of the discussion will be written up and sent out in the IC group chat once the event concludes.

Also a big thank you for Azura and Georgie for conducting this event and writing this post!]

[lastatsea]

Oopsie Woopsie! | Chapter 3

Before your secrets even start to drop, Marina comes back on over the ship loudspeaker. At least there’s some familiarity with her, opposed to the strange voice you’d heard prior. But… Knowing it’s Marina, there’s a sense she’s not bringing any good news.

And you’d be right about that.

“Saaaaaad news guys! One of you was snoopin’ around where you shouldn’t have been, and seeing as we here consider hardcore interference as against our rules, I had to do a liiiiitle bit of killing myself this time! What a shame, truly sorry to see Ayumu go like this! Buuuuut at least it’s just more fuel for you all to know not to mess with me~” 

Despite the fact she is announcing the death of one of your former classmates, she seems as chipper as ever.

“Ah well! I cleaned up the body for you all too, so you’re welcome for that! Aaaand there’s not gonna be a trial for this one, obviously. Since I did it, and I like, warned about not fucking with me! But hey, that’s really all I gotta say!~ Have fun with your secrets, idiots!~”

And with that, the loudspeakers shut off.

That’s really it huh?.... Just like that, Ayumu Katou is dead.

[lastatsea]

Fun & Games | Chapter 3 Motive

The VR game was only a harsh reminder of who you really lost.

Your teacher’s support. Mawar’s resolve to fight back. Echiko’s friendship. Koharu’s stubbornness.

And Mizuki.. Fujimoto…

… What did you lose from h̖̓e̘͙̔̀r͔̾ ̜̺̒̒̽͢a̹͕̋̐g̹̣̜͈̫̽̐̊́̕å̢̬̲̮̝̾̇̓̕ị̢̘̺̼̋̀̈͆̑n̡̠̠͓̙͑́͂̃͘?̧̮̬̞͔͌͒̎̆̚

All of you are woken up by a rough sounding voice on the intercoms, much deeper and distorted compared to Marina’s general.. enthusiasm to cause you all as much pain as possible.

“Greetings. This is the first time I speak to you, but it will not be the last. Tell me passengers, did you enjoy the little video game we set up for you? Make sure to thank my lovely assistant, Marina. You must be wondering who is speaking to you now.”

There’s a pause as the audio crackles a bit with his chuckles.

“I am this ship’s captain and the gamemaster behind our fun adventure. Don’t worry. The game’s just beginning.”

“I had hoped you would have taken the initiative to kill already but I see that is not the case. Let’s play another fun game together. Have you grown closer, passengers? Do you feel as though you can understand and trust the people you are being held captive with? That’s good if you do, but better if you don’t. For this motive, every five hours, I will release two lies and one truth about each one of you. Once all are released, the rest of you are able to guess which one is the truth. If three of you correctly guess someone’s truth, then that truth will be released to the public along with their dirty little lies.”

“I do mean the public. Not just your poor companions, but people around the world will know about what you try to hide.”

“This, of course, can be avoided if one of you kills. Do not disappoint me, passengers. I hold your secrets and your lives in my hands.”

The intercom turns off, leaving you all to wake up with an unsettling feeling in your stomach.

The past can only haunt you so much.

[The mods will slowly release the truth and lies along the day, until all of them are out. If you’d like to try and guess in-character, you have only two chances to try and guess correctly. Guessing your own secret right counts to revealing it. Good luck.]

[lastatsea]

In Another World | Chapter 3 Event

Only a day passes from when your phones alerted for the six of you to head to the ballroom for a special event. Regardless, it looks like Marina wants all of you to come to the ballroom for now as you’re all woken up that morning with Marina’s voice blaring over the cruise’s speakers--

“What’s up losers?! Gonna need you all to report to the ballroom right NOW!!! I think y’all know not to test me by now, so I’ll be waiting, babes!~”

When you enter the ballroom, it looks.. a little differently than you last all saw it. Instead of the dance floor, there’s a big stage where six chairs are all facing each other, and Marina stands happily in front of it with a microphone. Despite Mizu being missing in action for the last few days, she’s standing behind Marina, not looking at any of you in particular as her glasses glare in the light. Marina steps up to the microphone, as some of the Marinabots behind you shut the doors to the ballroom when everyone eventually shuffles in.

“I got a special little event for all of you!~ Think of it as a big “sowwwyyyy” for your little punishments if you want. But anyway, you get to play a fun little virtual reality RPG game! Ain’t that fun? You’re all gonna be participating, but we got six up for the first round! Noel, Ayato, Katashi, Kameko, Tomomi, aaaaand Yasumi! Get your asses up here!”

She beckons you all forward.

“Y’all can all watch the current players on these screens here, but none of you can interfere! Lest you want some punishments! Oh! And nobody’s leaving until the quest is complete, or all the players die! Winning will get you prizes in real life though, so keep that in mind!”

“Don’t worry, by the way. No injuries or KO’s in the game are gonna affect you in real life. Buuuut take it seriously to the extent of like. Actually playing it. Or else I’m gonna get pissy! And y’all know how I get when things don’t go my way!”

She winks into the crowd.

And with that, she turns the floor over to the first six players, allowing the Marinabots to hook them up and log them into the game.

[The VR event will start soon on the discord server. Those spectating cannot participate, but they can comment and watch.]

[lastatsea]

Back to Sea | Chapter 3 Start

It’s late into the night at the island when Marina calls you all back to the cruise ship.. according to her, if anything is left behind, you’ll never see it again, so it’s good to take what you can before you’re whisked away to sea..

For once, Mizu isn’t standing next to her when she has her big bullhorn, and instead, a bunch of Marinabots surround her on the deck as you’re all rushed onto the boat. The cruise ship starts back up again with a loud horn, and sooner or later you all see the island drift away from your view.. until there’s nothing left but the vast ocean all around you. 

You’re back at sea again.

The next morning, you’re all woken up by the television suddenly turning on again as Marina is in focus, lounging as usual on her chair except.. Mizu still isn’t there. She’s alone on the screen with a Marinabot waddling forward to hand her a tablet.

“Welcome back to the ship everyoneeee~ That sure was a wild fucking trial, huh? Well, at least now you know that your actions have consequences!~ Anyway, to the point, y’all got a new deck open! The Siren Deck to be exact! It’s where the ballroom was and shit. So hey, maybe y’all can practice your dancing or whatever. I don’t really give a shit! Lol!”

She laughs, loud as ever.

“Well! That’s all I got! Have fun idiots! Try not to fuck shit up again like you did at trial!”

And with that, the television shuts off, and you are left in silence. As you always are.

[Last at Sea Chapter 3: Reflection starts now! A new map will open.]

[lastatsea]

Requiem | Chapter 2 Finish

Throughout the night, Mawar’s music doesn’t stop. It doesn’t help that you can distantly hear people open their doors to receive their punishments, and one by one, everyone gets what Marina threatened to do to them. It might be harder to focus with a bruise blooming on your ribs or a stab wound on your side, but unlike the television turning on when Koharu and Hitoshi died, relaying the old highschool days you all used to be apart of- there’s a rustling noise from underneath your door. A bulk of paper is quickly shoved underneath, and if you check…

It looks like a photobook, but on the front, Echiko is modeling. When you flip the pages, most of them are blank, some modeling pictures of her are defaced, her eyes crossed out with a black marker. And then, you all see it.

A picture of her asleep as the sun goes down behind her, whoever took that shot got the perfect angle of her sleeping if it weren’t for the blurry peace sign coming through and.. an obvious indication of who it is due to the hair poking through the frame of the picture.

The next one is a picture taken of her and Kameko at lunch, sitting on a nice picnic blanket as both of them have handmade lunches for the day. In the next shot, Echiko reaches down with her hands to grab a piece of her food as Kameko quickly reaches for a water gun that’s on the floor next to them. The next one has her being sprayed in the face as Kameko looks at her with a smile.

The next set is one involving Katashi, Akaji and Ayato, this seems to take place after the recent loss of Katashi’s hair piece. Iroha is in the shot as well with Echiko as the other two seem to be messing around as Ayato sits to the side. Echiko smiles. In the background of the picture, you all faintly see Mizuki, who seems to be talking to Hinata.

There’s a few more pictures in the book, that seem to be the class picture you all took in your last year at Hope Peak’s Academy. Hitoshi, Koharu, Mawar and Echiko are all scribbled out of the picture with a marker, while Mizuki has a big, black question mark on her face.

The last picture is taken before graduation, as the cherry blossom leaves just started to sprout. Echiko seems to be form fitting a jellyfish dress on Mizuki as she smiles down at her, as Echiko seems entirely focused on the dress with pins in her mouth.

The high school pictures seem to be the last ones, until you keep on flipping to the last page of the photobook, which has Echiko, wide-eyed and staring up before her death.

… The television flickers on. Mawar’s music stopped playing on the cruise ship speakers, and instead- plays in a soft melody through the television.

You all hear a very familiar voice. This is his will. Mawar Satyalim’s last will.

Though, your television doesn’t suddenly turn off when Mawar stops speaking, his music still goes on, in closer range, somewhere you can’t escape. It seems that only in the morning, things will get better. There’s only 12 of you left.

… It’s getting harder and harder to remember who Mizuki Fujimoto really was.

[Chapter 2: New Horizons End]

[lastatsea]

Final Photo Op | Chapter 2 Execution

The chains come for her then.

The show’s been stalled for long enough.

[♫♫♫] 

[tw: disemberment]

Instead of darkness, a blinding light greets the model as the screen flickers to focus on her. It takes her a moment to recover, wiping her eyes with a sleeve. A faceless crowd has gathered around the stands, cheering for the appearance of their favorite meme girl.

A green screen flickers behind her back as the lights finally dim long enough for her to see out into the crowd more. A spotlight lands on someone in the crowd. She takes a step back, ready to bolt the minute they speak when -

"Do the pose!"

…..Huh.

"The pose from the sixth limited edition summer cover."

She’s knocked off her game as she squints into the crowd. Are..Are they serious. If this was how it was gonna go down, then maybe...As long as she followed along, she could get out? Gradually, she lifts her arm out in front of her and stands on one leg. The crowd is silent.

“N-Nya..?”

The crowd practically explodes. More and more spotlights pop left in right through the sea of people, words mixing up together into the air.

The requests continued on. A younger her could probably last for as long as evertines request was fufiled just so they could all leave her alone. The little girl filled with nothing but spite was but a memory now. In her place was a woman who hasn't done anything remotely like this in years. It feels like she's been stuck here forget; a muse to thousands who barely know her name. Light turns to a burning sun the longer she's under it's light.

The crowd cries out for more. Echiko moves her arm to try and do another pose only to find the world spinning. Her head hits the floor. Everything is ringing, and it’s hard to hear whenever or not the crowd is cheering louder or booing her anymore. Her body refuses to cooperate, tired from the trial and performing for so long.

She’s...She’s done enough, right? They should be satisfied now.

A shadow looms it’s way over to where the model lies. She tries to move, pushing all of her weight onto her arm to get out of the way of the unseen threat. She can hide in the crowd. Anywhere is fine but here. As long as she can inch a bit closer -

A camera’s shutter goes off. A bright light enguls the camera again and there isn’t a chance for her to scream before

The feed cuts.

It takes a few seconds for it to come back on, but once it does, the space has been emptied. The ceiling has been caved in, to say the least. Like a watermark, Marina’s signature has been stamped into the runway. The only thing left of the model outside of the blood is her now lone arm lying limp on the ground.

Echiko Kamiyama is dead.

[lastatsea]

Memorial | Chapter 2  | Trial Start

The time allotted for your investigations has passed, and once again, Marina’s voice blares out over the oh so familiar bullhorn as you all find yourselves near the pier once more.

“Well, that’s time! Siiiince one of you did end up killing, that means you’re all free to get back on the ship now! Which is great! Cause you’re all going straight down to our fun little trial room! Remember? The one from last time? Well it’s back, baby! Aaaand if you don’t get back on the ship, I could just leave you here to rot buuutttt I kinda don’t wanna play any games right now! So get your asses moving or you’ll be the next one lying dead in the water!”

She laughs. It’s a joke to her, as always. But… Perhaps it also wouldn’t be the best to test her right now. You all saw what she was able to do to Koharu once her crimes were discovered. There’s really no doubt she could probably just as easily off any one of you for disobeying. So, at whatever pace you choose, you all eventually file back onto the boat once the entryway seems to open up again. 

Upon getting back onto the ship, a crowd of Marinabots usher you all onto the elevator, sending you down to that place you likely remember oh so well. The room remains dimly lit, with the same 15 podiums standing in a circle. Of course… now two have no one to occupy them, but when you get closer, you can see Koharu’s podium releasing sparks as it’s soaked in water, while Mawar’s empty podium has seashells with sand littered on it. A cruel reminder of what was. As you all take your places, Marina and Mizu enter the room once again, Marina dominating the conversation as she tends to do.

“Let’s get this going then, huh? Pretty sure I don’t need to explain to you guys the rules again but if you really did forget, for whatever fucking reason, I’m sure Mizu can remind you guys what you need to do once we get started.”

She glances at Mizu giving a wink and a giggle before facing the circle once more.

“Well? You heard me! The trial to find Mawar’s killer starts now!~”

[Trial will begin on discord shortly. Good luck!]

[lastatsea]

Two for two | Chapter 2

Everyone surrounds Mawar’s body now, looking on with all manner of various reactions. As one would probably expect in regards to a situation like this. But, no one gets too much time to process everything, before Marina is yelling into that bullhorn of hers again.

“Heeeeyyy! Looks like my little motives are doing pretty good after all, huh? That’s two for two so far! Let’s see if we can’t keep this ball rolling baby! But damn, what a shame. That guy reeeaaallly hated me though so like… I’m not complaining! Got any comments, Mizu?”

She laughs and presents her with the bullhorn, giving her a chance to speak her mind if she so chooses. Mizu hesitates before taking the bullhorn, turning it on to speak.

“.. Remember.. you all have a time limit. If you can’t find who did this in the next.. few hours, you all will die in the place of the murderer as they.. go home.”

She pauses, as if she’s going to say more but she quickly hands the bullhorn back over to Marina, adjusting a hair behind her ear as she stares at you all from afar. Marina takes it, and gets right back to it!

“Yeah, yeah! What she said! Rules are the same as last time. You got like what… two hours to investigate? Then we’re throwing you back into the trial room to find the killer! So chop, chop! Let’s get to this!”

She cheers, and shuts off the bullhorn, smiling down at you from above. Looks like it’s time to start your investigations.