Welcome Back Winter Once Again

☆ Marco Mason, SHSL Lyricist ☆ ★ Currently in Astral Cabal: Blue ★ ● ● ● ☆ Status: Dead ☆ ★ Chapter: ENDGAME ★

[lostinnotes]

"She was so shocked by Elara’s words that her jacket magically vanished again."

I want someone to draw this tbh

[strictrulesofthetrack]

how do people even draw things

I don’t know how 

[shsl-mentalist-trio]

Never forget

[istioploia]

When Monokoi isn't home || ZACH|| [ATTN: Marco Memeson]

[lostinnotes]

distanttrombone:

"Nah, you’re good," Zach responded, "I just kinda wanted to test this out!" 

The musician tapped against the bell of the horn and enjoyed the clink of his cuff links against the hard metal. Been a while since he heard that. It was like coming home after a long, long trip.

When was the last time he even played? Maybe the night before he died. Who knew! He was going to play once he got this thing tuned. 

"You know, I killed someone in here. Well, back in the sea center, anyway. It was in a kitchen, anyway. Brings back memories."

Zach you are terrible with small talk. He gave a couple of blows into the instrument and started moving both of the slides on the back every few blows. 

"She totes deserved it tho. But I’m trying to leave that behind me. Can you tell me if that last F sounded a little flat? I think it is but I’m not sure."

Ah, yes, because the kitchen was the perfect place to test musical instruments out. The acoustics in this room were really quite... something. Well, whatever, what did he know? This guy was the professional here. Probably.

The way Zach was so casual about the murder he committed put Marco on edge. For several moments he found himself at a loss of what to say. Was he supposed to relate? Sympathize? What was socially acceptable? Eh, guess it didn't really matter at this point.

"Well, good thing it's not haunting you or whatever. I know I can't even think of an infirmary the same way again. Too much guilt."

Marco more than welcomed the topic change. He had seen Zach bring the mouthpiece up to his lips but it didn't register that he was actually going to play it until he did. His heart leaped into his throat and he was quite thankful the other couldn't see the way he jumped from surprise.

"Gh-! What? Flat? Eh, now that you mention it it did sound kind of off. Guess it was flat."

[shslherbalism-archived]

"..."

After a few moments frozen with a terrified expression, the herbalist relaxed his muscles a bit. He had almost soiled himself.

Seeing the other to not lunge at him like the bloodthirsty vengeful spirit Atohi had depicted the being to be, the herbalist anxiously sat, watching the other move, not quite rational yet to listen to the lyricist's words.

...

"A-Ah, you... are a ghost...?"

 Blurting out his mumbled sentence, Atohi shirked back slightly, expecting retribution from this non corporeal person. 

This was madness. Yes, 'they' did assure them that the... other students would be present. But... like this...

[lostinnotes]

Marco couldn't really blame Atohi too much. It wasn't as if he himself had been paying a whole lot of attention to what was going on. calling him a 'ghost' was a bit of a stretch though.

He looked down at his hand and took a few seconds to think of an answer. Typically ghosts couldn't touch stuff and were a bit more incorporeal. Besides, being a ghost sounded lame. For however long Marco had left he wanted to consider himself something cooler than a ghost.

"... Nah, I'm a zombie."

With a grin he raised his arms in a typical 'zombie pose', fingers extended and wiggling in poor Atohi's direction.

"We're back from the dead with only one thing in mind! Dancin'! ♪ 'Cause it's a thriller, thriller nightttttt! ♫"

Marco had a horrible time not bursting into a fit of laughter. Atohi had heard the song before, right? If not this situation became 500% more awkward. Or 500% more hilarious!

[istioploia]

We've Been Down That Road Before, But That's Over Now | Shinobu | RE: Marco

[choreographershinobu]

Shinobu stood in place and waited for a response. Watching his movements, she felt slightly guilty. That wasn’t how you greet someone. He was Marco. Looks like him. It has to be him…

Although she didn’t dwell on that thought for long. Upon seeing his smile she felt warmth fill her chest. She didn’t think she’d see that, but how could she help it? She was hoping that he was alright. Hoping he wasn’t in anymore pain, and just hearing that made her feel some peace.

Then she froze again. How weak of her, but a hug from him? It felt so nice… Well now she knew for sure what she was feeling. Could he hear or feel her heart pounding? She hesitated for a moment before moving her arms to hold him back. She let out a soft giggle while holding him tightly, thinking over what to say.

"That’s great to hear… I’m so happy to see you again. Missed you lots."

[lostinnotes]

Marco wasn't sure what he expected. It'd make sense if she pushed him away and quite frankly he wouldn't blame her. He wasn't used to this whole... touchy feely thing. Or rather, being open about it. It was strange but pleasant how she felt warm. So he could still feel heat. That was nice.

"I missed you, too. More... than I know how to describe."

This wasn't the time to get emotional. How totally uncool would it be if he started crying from pure joy? He was about to find out. Something hot streamed down the right side of his face. He moved a hand away from Shinobu and rubbed his cheek to discover his sleeve stained with water. Blinking only caused more to fall, forcing Marco to let go of Shinobu and step away to attend to his gushing emotions.

"S-Sorry. Ah, crap. Uh, give me a moment."

He turned around and took a few breaths, continuing to clear his eyes. When he eventually calmed down he still didn't have the courage to face her and instead turned to glance to the side.

".... Did Monomi say how long we had until we're... wherever we're going?"

[shslherbalism-archived]

"Gh..."

Oh dear. Had he gotten lost again?

Scratching his head, the herbalist took a glance around, puzzled at his surroundings. Spending his time isolated in his cabin had done Atohi no good, and it seemed at the time a breath of fresh air would be much more appealing. At least it would not be so chilling.

But here he was, even more lost in the labyrinth of this ship. Letting out a sigh, believing his luck could not get much worse, Atohi felt a chill run up his spine.

There was indeed a presence behind him. 

...

But... he was the only person in the section of the ship, yes? Was he going mad in this deafening silence.

Then a hand passed through his shoulder.

"Gh-"

Stumbling over, Atohi fell on his bottom, eyes panicked at the form he saw before him. 

It was one of the deceased students. Coming to haunt him for his misgivings at their trials.

"-aAAAAAAHH-"

Letting out an uncharacteristic screech, the herbalist sat frozen in terror. 

[lostinnotes]

Oh, shit, he didn't mean to scare the poor guy. Marco became incredibly uneasy as Atohi flipped out and went so far as to topple over. He took a step back, retracting his hand, and started going on the defensive.

"What!? Why are you screaming?! C-Calm down! You're going to freak out everyone here! I ain't gonna murder you!"

Was that what this was all about? What's one of the rules that they couldn't kill each other? Sure, he was a hologram that could somehow grasp stuff but what good would it do to kill someone again? Everyone already knew his secret. What good would it do to kill anyone else at this point?

..... What would even happen to them?

Shaking his head Marco crossed his arms and let out an overly dramatic sigh.

"Seriously. I don't have any weapons on me. Stop howlin' and get off the floor. You're embarrassing me."

[istioploia]

Weesnaw, Atohi-chan. Weesnaw. | Marco | Hallway | ATTN: Atohi

The idea of not really being here physically still weirded Marco out. Venturing around, he couldn’t help but glance down at his hands, or his shoes, or at his reflection whenever he passed by a smooth surface. How much longer was he going to have to walk around and talk to everyone? What all was there left to say? What should he do for now?

A part of him wanted to check out where Zach got that trombone from. It’d be nice to play the guitar one last time. Maybe he could take it with him.. wherever he was going. With nothing to lose Marco turned on his heel and headed towards where he thought the Music room was.

Out of all the places for someone to be there was someone standing right in the middle of the hallway in his way. Fantastic. Wasn’t this someone from his class? The.. herbalist, or something? That sounded right. Whoever this guy was he was gonna need to move on out of Marco’s way. He was on a mission!

When he drew close enough Marco extended his hand with every intention of tapping Atohi on the shoulder.

"Ey, you’re in my-"

Uh oh.

In attempting to get Atohi’s attention Marco watched his hand not press against Atohi’s shoulder but sink in, as if he was incorporeal. God, he really felt like a ghost now.

"…. Sure, sure, they have funding for all of this but not for better working holograms, huh? amazing."

[shsl-classicalcomposer]

tfw

[istioploia]

When Monokoi isn't home || ZACH|| [ATTN: Marco Memeson]

Zach was a simple boy and all of this didn’t make sense to him. Not a single thing. The last few minutes were just confusing. He heard voices bicker so fast it was like his trial all over again. 

Then he was just as confused as before, but in another place. He was planning to give his ‘best friend’ and piece of his mind. She threw him under the bus like that? Sure, she was the mastermind but no one was perfect. Deception… disgrace… Goodbye fake friends. 

With a hearty and over dramatic sigh he started to wondering around. He couldn’t see anything and now he didn’t even have a real form to feel around with. Man, that sucks! But his musical abilities (or rather sheer dumb luck) lead him right into the music room. Jackpot. 

Then he walked out of there with a trombone case and into the kitchen. Boy, maybe he could get Toki in here again and-

BAD ZACH. No.

"Too soon?" he asked himself as unlatched the case and felt the metal against his fingers, "Nah, she totally deserved it." No regrets.

"Shame no one will let me cook for them anymore, though. My penne a la vodka is fuckin’ astronomical."

It seems that Zach is still a jerk. Some thing’s just don’t change, even after death. His love of food and music stayed constant, even after being smacked against a drum like one of those sticky plastic hands.

[lostinnotes]

Death didn't have as strong of a power as people gave it credit for. Sure, sure, maybe it was different for everyone, but after a small lapse in judgement Marco found himself only a little different than before. One thing that certainly didn't change was Marco's craving for pizza.

... Oh, hey, cool, this place probably didn't have a kitchen that he was terrified to use. Nice! What were the chances of getting a pizza that wouldn't get burnt? Time to find out.

After parting ways with Shinobu the lyricist made his way to the kitchen and looked around. Looked like someone else had beat him here. Oh, it was... one of the guys from Perasmata. Wasn't he the guy who appeared there with Marco? his memory was a bit fuzzy.

As he stepped in Marco's attention dropped down to the trombone case. where the heck did he get that?

".... Typically people dont, uh, play music in the kitchen. Unless you're, like, going to serenade someone. Do I need to leave?"

[istioploia]

We've Been Down That Road Before, But That's Over Now | Shinobu | RE: Marco

That was certainly a ride to say at least. It made Shinobu feel weird for once. A pinch of guilt and a pinch of sadness. It clenched her heart hard through out the events. Even though she tried to pull through it and actually watch the execution no matter what. Then hustle on out with the others.

She was happy to have a few of her belongings with her. She knew something weird would happen since the moment she asked Monokuma about it. It made her feel peaceful when they took off. Made her smile again. That was nice.

Upon getting off the the helicopter and stepping into the main area, she felt a ball of happiness swell up. The new faces gave her excitement. The other class is here? Maybe she can find him. The holograms. No one is left behind!… Well, hopefully they are going home too. Maybe she could…

"That doesn’t really help… But thanks anyways."

Well that wasn’t reassuring. Some of it was and some wasn’t. She was personally aiming for a full reassurance, but 50/50 was enough for now. At least everything will be alright.

Her initial action was taking a stroll and grabbing a snack, but her plan was stopped when she was called out too. Hmm… She decided to let her curiousity lead the way and follow the sound. To what it lead her to certainly made stop cold in her tracks and stare in shock. Honestly she wasn’t expecting this.

"Makun? Is that you? Are you… alright?"

[lostinnotes]

What an odd question.

Marco blinked, staring, then slowly dropped his gaze to his hands. His knuckles weren't bruised and bloody anymore from punching walls. But... this wasn't his body, was it? It certainly felt like it. He could still feel his heart beat in his chest or when it stopped when he saw her.

After everything that happened, all the forced killing, the executions, himself getting burned to a crisp, then sitting in that dark place for weeks he was here, wherever here was. And where he was going, what would happened to him, was a mystery.

Despite all of that he looked back up at Shinobu, a soft smile warming his face.

"Yeah... I'm alright. Couldn't be better."

He took a step closer to Shinobu, and then another. Even if he told himself to stop he doubt he could have. The flood of emotions that washed over him were too powerful for self restrain. Now standing right in front of her, Marco wrapped his arms around her and pulled Shinobu into a big bear hug.

[istioploia]

A Traveller's Always Travelling

We’re traveling towards some sort of destination… But where will that lead us in the end?

Welcome to your place of temporary shelter and residence— Istioploia. Remarkable, huh? Now then— Get over your amazement, because we’re about to go over a few base rules of how this blog is going to work until endgame.

General Disclaimer & Overview

Istioploia is an area of safety and relaxation for the remainder of the trip back home— Or, wherever this ‘destination’ intends to bring you. It’s unclear, that’s certain… But you’ll make use of the information you can.

In this blog, all students are able to post and participate. At this point in time, the Blue kids have just arrived on the vessel through the air and you, the Black kids, are half way home. All of the dead kids from both games are here, too— INCLUDING the MASTERMINDS!!— But as holograms!! Feel free to talk with them and chat with them as you would as if they were alive. A transmission center is included, but is not necessary since— Hey— They’re holograms coming from it after all.

In Istioploia, you can access all indoor areas that have previously been accessible in both Black and Blue with the exception of a new joined bunking room. If it was in your game, don’t hesitate to ask to travel there. You can do it automatically without a mod’s approval! It’s already per-approved.

You Can

interact with everybody— alive kids, dead kids, black kids, blue kids… everybody!

inquiry usami and monobear about where you’re going, what’s going to happen, and anything having to do with what you’ve heard previous before you left your respective testing center!

You Can’t

murder another student! seriously. what the fuck?

go outside whatsoever. usami and monobear won’t allow you!

utilize the main game blogs any longer.

There are currently three NPCs accessible in Istioploia. Those are Monobear, black’s monobear, Monomi, blue’s monomi, and Usami, a bot found on the vessel, turned on, and re-activated. Apparently this one was supposed to be used for one of the journeys, but wasn’t! Shocker.

Black’s Monomi was left behind on the travel as well as Monokoi and Tsusami. Monokuma (now deceased) from Blue was also left behind.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact one of the two main GMs! Until then— Have fun with Part Two of Astral’s Interractive Endgame!

[istioploia]

Monobear Theatre - Good Morning!

[ ♪♫♪♫ ]

"GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY! A pleasant day out, is it not? That is… If you could go outside! Kyahahah—!!"

"Ehh… Forget that one. It was probably a bit mean… Oh, heavens— How did I let that slip past my rude-regulator? Uhuhu…"

"No matter, cuties. Usami-chan has the Tountra kids arriving down here at in any minute! Fine, fine— Lay in your beds for a bit…"

"But don’t say I didn’t warn you they were coming! They’re gonna see you all silly and messy! Come on, come on— Brush out that bedhead. You’ve got another shining, sparkling, glistening day ahead of you!"

[istioploia]

Monobear Theatre - Checking In

[ ♪♫♪♫ ]

"Ahh… Look at the lot of them, Usami! It’s so great to see their faces again!"

"Ehh—?! ‘Great’? It’s more than great, Monokuma-chan! But— Quick! We have to make haste! I can hear it coming— It’ll be here soon!"

"Usami-chaaan… Why do you get to handle all of the cool stuff…?"

"You hush, Monokuma-chan!! I’ll be back down in a little bit with the others— You just stay here niiice and tight with the Okeanos kids, alright?"

"Ahh… Alright, alright. I couldn’t complain, anyways— They are the beary best after all! Kehehe—!!”

[istioploia]

Monobear Theatre - Rise & Shine

[ ♪♫♪♫ ]

You roll around in your bed for a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position. Everything was slightly rocking back and forth… It was hard to forget where you now temporarily stayed residence. Yawning, you tried covering your face back up with covers to get some more shut-eye… But it seems your two lovely ‘protectors’ had a little something else planned.

[ ♪♫♪♫ ]

"Hello…? Helloooo—!! Is anybody there? Wake up, wake up! It’s gonna be a good day as always!"

"Wise and shine, evewybody! We’ve hit half-way point! We’re almost at our destination, kyuhuhu—!!"

"Come ooon—!! WAKE UP!! What’s with you sleepyheads today? Yeesh— I just can’t take it! I want to plop back into bed myself!”

"Ahh… Bed sounds nice wight about now, doesn’t it…? I’d wove to go back to bed— But we have to do the intwoduction!!"

"Ahh—… Is that so~? Well, then… Let’s get to it! Wake up, everybody! Come on, wake up—!!"

[tountra-blog]

Monobear Theatre - Farewell, Despair!

"D…don’t look behind! Monokuma-san will be fine! He saved us all, it is all that matters!"

"Now, i-if you’re all buckled up and ready to depart… Let’s go, to build a new future!"

It was only when the helicopters were from a long distanced radius away from their initial spot that everyone felt the frustrations and negativity fade away, the more they distanced themselves from the dreadful Tountra Snow Center, leaving behind all memories of despair.

It is then that, for the first time, they felt hope.

[tountra-blog]

Monobear Theatre - No One Is Left Behind

"B—but Monokuma-san!! Y-you can’t just stay here by yourself—! We can take you along and you’ll be fine!"

"Oh sh—shhh-shut it, pansy! L..listen out… I r-run on the en..ergy of the Tountra S..snow Station… which is… currently sh..shutting down… M…my system is already co..corrupted enough as it is!! I am b..beyond repairing…!!"

"These are… m..y last moments, so p..please leave be..f.. before I drop cold… Or s..some weird desp..pair thing happens again…"

"……………."

It is without adding any last words that the Monomi unit guided the remaining students to the helicopters of the rescuers.

With his last resources, Monokuma dropped low onto the ground to his knees and watched them climb on, one by one.

"……………………………………."

At last, the time had come.

"Soon… I will… join y..our decea..sed… classmates… I will become… mere leftover data… like all of them…"

THUD.

“It was fun…”

[tountra-blog]

Monobear Theatre - You've Climbed This Whole Mountain...

The end was near— At the top of the mountain awaited two helicopters, large enough to fit the entire number of survivors and evacuate them from the sector.

Perhaps, this would be the last time for some of the students that they would see the eyesore vastness of these snowy mountains…

"L..isten up… before you le..ave… I have to sh..are a word with y..ou. I hav..e… an incoming m..message from… the headq-quarters…"

“PLAYIN..G… RECORDED ME..SSA..GE…”

“Students of… Hope's Peak Academy… You will b..e… departing fro…m… this testing fa..facility momentarily…”

"Plea..se… excuse in advan..ce this AI’s lack o..f… proper art…articulation, as it… is… lackin..g… the p..proper quantity o..f.. energy…”

"The… coordinates… have already b..een… given to y..our fellow heli..copter pilots, it w…ill be a sm..ooth flight… from there out…”

"We apo…logize for the lack… of time… We c..annot allow yo..u to spare a moment t..to retrieve y..your items… that you m-may ha…ve… left behind. On anoth..er… note, this Monokuma unit w..ill have to stay be…behind… as it has.. shown too many… defections t..to allow it b..ack into our… headquarters.”

"F..follow clo..sely the instruction..s.. of your p..pilots, they will t..take good care of.. you… and will ta..take you to your f..final destination!!”

“END OF M..ES..SAGE.”

"A..alright y..you heard that person… you.. you have to g—go on w..ithout me."

[tountra-blog]

Monobear Theatre - R I S E

Loud thudding sounds of the mechanics and gears of the lift station resonated, and an uplifting noise ringed, as if to make clear that the lifts were now fully operational. And as a matter of fact— the wires that connected the top of the mountain to the base started moving according to their guidances. The lifts slowly left and arrived by turns.

"This is… the final stretch b…efore yo…you can leave…"

"There are pe..ople waiting at th..e… top of the m…ountain."

"Your voice sounds cut-off, Monokuma-kun… Will you be alright?"

"Didn’t… you he..ar me…? Get the f…ucking kids in t..the robot."

As not so nicely instructed, the survivors were crammed into the lifts with as many students as possible in each. It was just as the two lifts peacefully took off that the students finally started feeling the pressure of the past events leaving their spirits.