Doubt Academy Rot

current time Embrace the roots of civilization. Now entering the lodge... Welcome to Pars Venatic. Ah, the smell of fresh wood and pine. It's quite nice isn't it? Homey, even! If you ignore the dead animals... But that just adds to the charm, doesn't it? Huh? What do you mean 'it's creepy'? This is your home now! We're a family! I'm sure we'll have our scuffles, but there's a greater cause than ourselves at stake! My friends, forge bonds and prosper in your new deciduous utopia - ground zero in humanity's new chapter of hope!

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Post-Game | Nao | Breakfast Surprise [ATTN: ???]

Nearly two weeks had passed since the game had ended, and with it, all of Nao Tamashiro’s hopes and dreams. He had come into the courtroom that day knowing he was going to be executed. He knew that they would vote for him, but he intended to put up a fight. If there was the smallest chance he could instill a little more doubt, a little more fear, a little more despair…if there was a chance he could help gather a little more data before the game was over, he would take it. What he didn’t expect was what followed. Yasuda and Kotone infiltrated the dome and everything he had ever built fell apart so quickly, so spectacularly. 

Nao had to face the fact that his purpose would never be fulfilled, since the Collective had never planned to follow his wishes from the start. More than that, Keita was a Doctrina Artifice spy who meant to take down the dome and dismantle his plans with the Collective from the start. Truly, this venture was doomed from the start. In the end he had lost seven years of his life, his mother, everything he had ever achieved, and he had left the world causing more suffering than healing it. When he woke up in his new body in Mortem Montem, he had nothing left. Well, almost nothing…

…

In those two weeks, things had calmed down considerably. Now it was only a matter of enduring… of waiting until the others could find an exit. Nao had hid himself away from almost everyone. After what he had put everyone through for ultimately no purpose, he believed it was best if he had the smallest impact in their lives possible, if they had to see him at all. It would be best to hide away from them all and be forgotten…

…Except, a guy had to eat. He was occupying a living, breathing body after all, cloned or not. Nao took one of his rare trips from his room to get some food. He walked in his usual slow way to the kitchen, and opened the door.

However, he couldn’t even take more than a step into a room before a large impact crashed down on top of him and his world went black.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

[Post-game!] The Long Road Home | Kaito | Open

Kaito had remained largely silent in the ensuing aftermath of the game. There was little reason to speak, after all. Having lived so long in the shadow of the game… the game Nao had a hand in… it was strange to have it all come crashing to a halt. Still, he had a mission, and even if the bulk of the students he knew didn’t stick around, he had to. He needed to.

Lo and behold, it was like a miracle. All of those that he thought they had lost were there, alive before his very eyes. And with that, this mission was largely complete.

And a new one could begin.

“Welp, looks like we did it, folks. We climbed th’ whole mountain. Er… kinda. But we’re fin’lly gettin’ outta this mess. One way er another…”

Once outside of the mountain, there was a pause, one that seemed to strike some more awkwardly than others. They were out of the mountain, and the game, but… what next?

Kaito considered his options, trying to think about how he would have to approach this predicament. Seven years had passed, and any number of untold things could have happened in the meantime. His family could be alive, or they could all be dead. Still, he had to take a chance on them. Kaito had traveled some in his excursions as a divemaster, so he’d have a decent idea of where to go if he found a coastline. If he got lucky, he’d find his way back to Setouchi, and maybe find his house by the sea, still waiting for him.

“So, listen, if anyone’s willin’ t’ take a chance or got nowhere else t’ go… I’m gonna try an’ find m’ old place in Setouchi. I ain’t guaranteein’ nothin’ but, well, regardless o’ what I find there I wanna make a haven. Someplace where we can be protected from all this mess, at least fer a while… or until we find out where t’ go next.”

He wasn’t really expecting anyone to take him up on that offer. After all, all Kaito had to offer were basically promises – promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. That, combined with the fact that he wasn’t sure anyone really trusted him anymore. Or ever. Still, he couldn’t just walk away from everyone he had shared the last several months with. He had to at least try. He needed to at least try.

And if no one answered? Well, sometimes it was worth wasting a little breath.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

So, What DID Happen To The DA4 Students?

Well... that’s up for the players to decide! 

As such, I’m now reopening the Rot and Rubble blogs for submissions from the players. 

What does that mean exactly? Well, basically I’m allowing the players to have the opportunity to role play out situations that may have wanted to happen post game! The DA4 endgame itself was designed to be very open ended, not incorporating many, if any, student specific ends to allow for the players to decide how their character would react and what their fate would be once the endgame was complete. I wanted to, like always, leave the players in the most control of their characters as possible. 

So, do you want to have a rp of what might have happened during a certain time in endgame? Want to have two students who left talk on that first night they get to the Doctrina Artifice Headquarters? Want to have two of the mountain students work together during the dig through the mountain, or have a conversation on the way back to civilization? Would you like to RP with Moriko or Nori, or even Monorin or Monocorn? Well, now’s your chance! 

In order to start a Post-Game thread, simply send in the post with the word “Post-Game” somewhere in the title! It’s as simply as that! It’s also good to give a quick explanation of around what time the thread or post will be happening. 

Also, I know we never got the combined blog to come out, and the Main Doubt Blog is currently being used for the app process! So, instead of spending all the time to finish up that unreleased blog, just submit all posts to Rot Main Blog! Since this is more for fun than it is for any sort of game specific information, I figured it would work perfectly fine for now! I’ll also be updating tags in a moment to include a post game tag, but don’t feel the need to tag your character! Just tag post game, and trigger warnings, and I’ll handle the rest!

If you’re at all concerned about if a thread topic or time would be feasible, or if you would like to thread with any of the NPC characters, please just contact Dazy! 

Once again, thank you all for a wonderful main game, and I’m so excited to see what you all come up with from here on out! 

[asofterdoubt]

happy endgame, everyone! what better way to celebrate than by bringing back an ancient relic a cool doubt sideblog that was never forgotten by the person who runs it. yeah

submissions are open for any game, past and present!! i finally added a link to the base in the sidebar for ease of editing. additionally i’d like to remind everyone that asofterworld has a kickstarter going on right now to sponsor their final book, which you can find here!

[floweringwisteria-deactivated20]

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

DOUBT ACADEMY

please join us on the shsl-doubt blog for the rest of the joint endgame!

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

ENDGAME | I NEVER TITLED THIS POST OH MY GOD

“Well, that was one of a kind memory trip, bearly shocking if you ask me. But oh boy, oh boy, just like how I love them - self-centered and full of me! Oh, and who knew sharks had freckles? But who cares, anyway?”

“Moving on.”

“Which means don’t move a muscle or I’ll let you have a taste of my beary paw. I’m tired of you bastards taking the spotlight! It’s Monobear’s time to shine!”

Listening to Monobear’s command, you stood still, nervously glancing at your classmates. Hopping off of his seat, Monobear quickly waved to the crowd. Next to him, a wooden crank waited. Had that always been there? Placing his paws on the handle, he still had one thing to say.

“GET DOWN, MR. PRESIDENT!”

Monobear slammed his body against the handle, pushing it down with great strength. Loud sounds filled your ears as your past passed through your eyes. Was this the end? No. It couldn’t be. You all had won, right? This couldn’t be the endroll. But it certainly was the end for the wall that separated you from the other class.

As Monobear was doing some kind of lift-ups and push-downs with the handle, you noticed how the wall slowly moved further down, becoming one with the floor. Your view was clearer without the glass; you noticed a bunch of teenagers looking in your direction, just confused as you were. What a sight.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theatre || Yoshiki || Thinking Out Loud (Under the Light of a Thousand Stars)

Yoshiki Shouda probably should have been more responsive during the entirety of the trial. He was the token kid from the dead, and he had barely taken advantage of his one time in the limelight. He faded into irrelevancy once more. He had admittedly allowed it to happen, but there was still a bittersweet feeling to being revived. It felt exactly the same as being dead: Distant.

He could not even react against the initial words implying that people thought that Hana was the mastermind. He was simply still and quiet like he had become after being off'd. He hated himself for not making some kind of scene. Why had it been so difficult to do something that came so naturally before? Had he lost his edge? Did he ever even have any? He cursed himself, for he knew that the dead could have very well been watching him.

Or maybe that was too selfish of him to assume. Who knew? He sighed, gripping his recorder. That was the one thing he had always been confident in-- the one thing that he had control over. Whilst it was a mutual relationship between him and his instrument, that feeling of control was what keep him from being too self-deprecating, he hoped.

And then it had been confirmed that the vote he had put in as a last, desperate resort was right. Staring at the bespectacled figure who he had talked to so casually just before, he cocked his head to the side in bemusement. It seemed surreal... Was this the man he had truly wanted to blame? It was true that Yoshiki had a lot of frustrations and blame he had imagined he would want to toss towards the mastermind, but all he could do was remain silent in his own confusion.

"Ah, no, no, my mistake — I should’ve given more of a warning, er… Apologies for taking you off guard. Ahaha…”

The words the ghostwriter had said bore a strange meaning to him now. In hindsight, he wondered if Keita knew that his words could be twisted now considering his newly revealed role in the scheme of things. It all seemed bitter when reflecting on it and attempting to stretch it to apply to the entire scenario, but Yoshiki did not say a word out loud against him.

Maybe he should have.

Then came the culprit execution. Many had thrashed against the murderer, though Yoshiki's own opinion had been rather neutral. To judge someone based on ignorance or having spilt blood at this point seemed ridiculous. These last weeks could have been summed up as 'lots of people turn out to be murderers and ignorant', and perhaps it was death that made the musician more apathetic towards the individual people who fell victim to the heat of the situation and were driven to kill in addition to the people who just turned out to not be well-versed in certain manners.

It wasn't their fault, Yoshiki could reason. That was what he would leave it at, and that was it. He did not care to dwell on it, and his mind had shifted gears when Yoshiki finally got to witness an execution in the flesh. However, it held no significance at first, it seemed. The executions felt like they should have been a reminder that anyone could die at any point, but this was the end, wasn't it? Even when he was alive again, there were no stakes.

However, the events of the execution itself convinced him otherwise-- that there was a purpose to all this. He watched, expecting some sort of pitiful, quick, ironic death that was particularly animated. He had become used to that. He had become used to seeing gore, as much as he would want to flinch and wince at the sight of it nowadays (if he didn't just laugh in horror).

This was inhumane.

He was witnessing what felt like the lifestory of some poor kid. He was going through it all in an abridged format as if he was holding someone's hand. He was getting to know their family dynamic and what was the worst of everything. He was feeling pity. Everything just kept going on and on, and then he had not even registered the fact that Minoru was being executed as opposed to just forced to be tortured with the past-- something that shouldn't matter, something that should just be tossed out the garbage can.

The giggling that continued and faded out sent a chill down the recorder player's spine. It was the aspect of the execution that hit home the most out of everything. Out of the disappointment from others, out of the domineering father, out of the wonder and curiosity gained from what would become his talent later on, from the relationship that was tossed out-- all of it.

Yoshiki's eyes grew wide, and his grip on his instrument became tighter. When he realized that the marine biologist was dead, his face was drained of color. That was the end? That was how it would all transpire?

Turning to Keita once more, he spoke with a serious tone in his voice that barely had a hint of his usual childish air, and his face grew dark. His smile had broken off.

"Hey, Poindexter... Or, rather, Yamaguchi-kun, huh? You deserve that much-- basic human respect, you know?"

"You sure did set up somethin' grand, didn't you? That execution right there? People might be silent against it, and they sure as hell shouldn't be--"

Unless they're fucking heartless. He wanted to add that, but he didn't. Yoshiki bit his tongue to suppress the urge before he continued.

"You might have done a crime I can't forgive, but you don't deserve a death as bad as any of what you helped orchestrate. Nobody does. I... I don't know where this is all going to go, but you've got center spotlight, so make your last words all a good one before you're a goner."

Then his smile returned, though whether it was genuine or not was another case to debate.

"Good luck. You're heading to a good place after all this, so make it a time to celebrate, you fucking sinner!"

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

[ Monobear Theatre ] | Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? | Yue You | [ Lies and Slander I tell ya ]

[ TW: ment. of neck trauma ]

Were Yue You Yu, or should we say, Fang Hua Yu, a normal and respectable person – perhaps she may have felt regret for her childish actions during voting after the real reveal. But no, Fang Hua Yu, was a bitter, and wholefully childish person. Perhaps less so then when this whole fiasco began – but putting a wig on a dog still made it a dog.

So only true unadulterated bitter jealousy was coursing through her as she watched Minoru comfort his ‘lover’. Someone he had just met, what, less than a month ago? Him, a disgusting fucking murderer – deserved comfort before death more than she had her whole life?

Huh, huhuh, wowwww.

Just fucking get it over with, cut his little dǎnxiǎoguǐ throat.

So the last thing she planned to give him was the look of a shārén bù zhǎyǎn throughout his little white-boy sob story of a death – until she was faced with none other than herself.

Fuck? What the fuck?

Was this supposed to make her feel something? Like she was the one in the wrong?

Fucking — yeah whatever, tell me my conscious was eaten by a dog but this??

Before she had a chance to full on blow up, Yue felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and the mouth that had opened to drop bombs turned into a muttering.

“ q—qù xià dì yù….. qù xià dì yù…… qù xià dì yù……. “

 ———–

With that hot mess over, she turned to face the man she’d tossed aside a serious vote on to be a little stinker.

“ So—? Ghostwriter? Hah— if you wanted to see ghosts you shoulda’ fuckin’ went to a cemetery, no need to do all this stupid shit, Ègùn. “

Quipping a wit even in the face of dubious danger? Yue You.

Of course, she’d listen to whatever was going to be said but – she sure as hell didn’t really feel like giving it all the time. They were done right? They could leave? Yue’s eyes fluttered half lidded – fuck it all.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

[Monobear Theatre] | He Sleeps With The Fishes | Natsuya | [Execution Reaction] [ATTN: S

Natsuya had spent the rest of the mastermind discussion scribbling like wildfire, eyebrows raising and narrowing more and more as things progressed, but nevertheless staying silent like always, because only the facts mattered, not his thoughts. He did not press his button to vote. There was no need to, because a majority was already being reached. The votes rolled in, and...

...They were correct. The mastermind was Keita Yamaguchi.

Keita Yamaguchi.

(The boy who was one of the few he'd talked to outside of trial more than once. The boy who he never quite trusted, but had been concerned for the welfare of, nonetheless. The same boy who had tried to verify his innocence in this same very trial. The same boy who he had genuinely wanted to help, and now, this was the result.)

(Great. Just peachy.)

"...You can't be serious. You cannot be fucking seriou--"

Wait. Forget about him for a second.

Fukui.

Natsuya Nijisaki did not like Minoru Fukui, and Minoru Fukui did not like him. It was as simple as that. There was nothing he could say to him that would change anything. Fukui and Fujimoto knew what they were doing, and this was the price.

A part of him wished it didn't have to be paid at all, though.

True to his word, he had not moved from his podium, staying by Sunny's side unflinchingly. He was not about to move now, not when almost everyone else within her barest radius had left. Still, he had no intention to pry into her nor Minoru's privacy, and so, when he approached her, Natsuya took a few steps back, turning away to indicate that he wasn't trying to listen in.

...Is this where it ends...?

When the metal collar clenched around the marine biologist's neck, the film critic stepped back to his podium immediately. If this (and whatever was about to become of Yamaguchi next) was where it all came to a close, then he would have to keep a close eye on everything.

...Admittedly, he began to wince as he realised exactly what Fukui's execution was; a showcase of his memories, by the looks of it. How...discomforting. It felt invasive, but it was no more dehumanising than all the executions that came before it, was it? He could only imagine what his own could have been like, if he had ever been the one the chain chose to take away.

He watched it all with a forced brave face, but cringed visibly when the jeering middle schoolers came into sight-- that was familiar, too familiar, maybe they were not all that different after all-- and he shut his eyes when Yu's visage appeared, because, whatever reason she was there for, some things were best left unseen.

When the so-called Fukui Minoru's last stand came to a close, Natsuya shook his head a little, looking tired.

He still didn't like the dead boy, and he wasn't going to pretend otherwise, but...

...His voice was lower than a whisper.

"...Goodbye, Fukui. ...O'Hare."

And that was that, he supposed.

But he had one more thing to do before he returned to the more...pressing matter at hand.

Turning to his trial neighbour, his friend (well, "former friend" was possibly more appropriate now), his voice still low, knowing that it was now or never with this, regardless of consequences, he murmured to Sunny what little he could say.

"...Listen...I'm not going to bother you for long, I promise. But if you want to, like...just beat the shit out of me after the trial or something, you can go ahead. I mean, let's face it, I deserve it at this point. And also, I...I'll stay by your side, alright? If you need a hand, I'm here to help you. And...I'm sorry, Murdoch. That won't change anything, but I'm really, really sorry."

He gave her a single, quick, hopefully comforting pat on the shoulder, but no more. He didn't want to invade on her grief. 

He just wanted to let her know that he was there.

But, regardless of that, this was where it began. The last countdown. The grand finale. Whatever your term of choice was, it was now the time for this place's secrets to be unravelled.

He glanced over at Asano.

If this is where it ends...thank you.

Now, to the man of the hour...

Raising his eyebrows, Natsuya Nijisaki's expression was curious, his face tense but...resigned.

The time had come.

"...The floor's yours. What say you, Spectacles?"

He wasn't sure if his nickname from all that time ago was a slip of the tongue or purposeful, but it wasn't as if it mattered.

All that the Super High-School Level Film Critic could do now was wait.

Stock still, and perfectly silent, just like always.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theatre | Shoko | Trial O’ Wear and Tear

They… were right?

They actually — no, that wasn’t entirely correct. Misaki was right. While the rest of them had been throwing around suggestions, bringing up any evidence they had found in the past few months here without a clue to how helpful or useful it would be (Shoko included), Misaki had honed in on the shreds of evidence that implicated one person, the person. If it wasn’t for her, they’d be tiredly filing out of the room after the execution, off to explore yet another path that had been unsealed.

Even with her eyes still stinging, Shoko opened them as wide as she could muster to stare at Misaki in amused bewilderment, tinged with a bit of apology. She shouldn’t have doubted her, for—

Minoru Fukui being ripped away from Sunny Murdoch broke her thoughts.

… Right, an execution. His execution. (The last execution). It would… only be fair? to watch his as well. If he hadn’t murdered Fujimoto, then they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have this trial. Granted, someone would have murdered sooner or later, but…

She stayed in respectful(?) silence, trying to calm down the lingering giddiness at having gotten the mastermind vote right, as the screens popped up and snippets of Fukui-san’s life flashed on and off, near uncomfortable recollections of the events that had shaped the boy before them. But if the past executions had proven anything, they were meant to stress the executionee. Airing out his past like laundry was no doubt another ploy to push him further down ‘despair’.

(With the appearance of a certain student she glanced over to the same girl on her left. Discomfort and anger on her face was clear, so she offered her roommate a comforting? shoulder pat and a tiny squeeze.)

It took until now, how long had the execution been going?, for her to realize that with every memory, every explosion, Fukui-san was being shocked.

Fujimoto actually agreed to— whatever. She was dead. They got their trial, they got their vote. She was dead and gone.

And with a last childish laugh, so was he.

After being filled with silence and noise, the silence forced by the end of the execution was almost.. well. It was quickly broken by her favorite duo of threats, and they quickly preoccupied themselves with each other. And now…

She glanced at the ghostwriter, and at Monobear, anticipation palpitating in her veins.

Now what?

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theater | Manolo | Hello and Goodbye, Master of the Court

" < And have a good day. > "

Manolo could have had more sympathy for Minoru. He truly could have. Had it been someone else in on the plan, he would have forgiven the idea of a suicide pact to force a mastermind vote – after all, he realized long ago that a vote had to be bought with blood, as he watched Iori and Kenshin mourn for Miko. And he knew that saying goodbye to one of the few beacons of light you had left would scar all involved. He could have sympathized more for Minoru and Sunny.

But it was the journal that had put the last nail in the coffin.

Manolo would not miss him in the least.

How many names was he trying to scrub from memory? Sully was the first, of course, and weeks after the disaster of the fifth trial he had settled on blaming Hirashi from murdering in the first place. And names like Shoko and Misaki and Alice kept wavering back and forth – too disgusting to live, too useful to die, they took Kenshin away, they're just keeping the group safe.

Even with Alice's own opposition, the other two somehow guided everyone into the conclusion that everything led back to Keita Yamaguchi. Mild, timid Keita who had never been a blip on Manolo's radar, except maybe as an alternative to killing Alice or Shoko.

Beyond the initial look of surprise, Manolo quickly changed into a glare that passed from Keita to Minoru and eventually back again, before finally settling down and sulking in Iori's arms.

By the barest technical terms, they had avenged their loved ones. They had caught those responsible for pulling the trigger or tightening the scarf, and they caught the one who ran the whole game to begin with.

It still rung too hollow to be a satisfying victory. It was just Okay.

"…Sorry." A whisper – to Kenshin? To Cerys or P.K.? "I'm sorry."

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theatre | Iori | Fervent As A Prayer

< "Fuck off." >

Even the vivid memory of Cerys pleading with Minoru  to take care of them was nothing to keep the smile off their cheeks when he was pulled away from the group. Sure he might have loved Sunny just as much as they loved Manolo and Kenshin. Sure it might have been terrifying and painful for him to sit and relive moment after moment.

And they didn't care. Not a bit

Well, a little bit.

There was.... disappointment in not seeing him dying as painfully and in such terror as Kenshin. Regardless of their previous planning or Cerys' acceptance of her fate for the betterment of the group it was still almost... too peaceful of a death. If Iori had been given their way, there would be nothing but a smear of biologist on the ground... 

Instead their arms wrapped softly around Manolo's body again. Better to keep them busy than idle.

More importantly than wanton revenge... they had been wrong about Keita Yamagushi being the mastermind.

Oh well. Seeing Minoru dead was more than enough to make them feel better about being wrong about a mastermind. Besides, Keita would have his in the end...

and none of that could bring back Kenshin anyway.

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theater | A Shocking Trip Down Memory Lane

In all of his days on this blue earth, Minoru never thought that he would die like this. After all, he expected a good life ahead of him: political power, riches, anything he could ever want at his fingertips. To have it pulled away from him was the worst thing that could happen. Minoru was yanked from his stand as sharply as his dreams were from under him. The cold metal around his neck spelt the end of Minoru Fukui. It seemed like he would have to come to terms with it.

The lights went off, plunging the room into a sudden silence. Somewhere in the distance, you could hear a muffled ‘don’t touch me,’ echoing around the room. ‘Stop that!’ ‘Unhand me!’ Yep, that was Minoru. ‘That h-hurts! I w-w-want one more minute! Please!’

Suddenly, the lights came on to static filled screens that covered all sides of the room. The remaining students were surrounded by the cold fizzle of no signal. The sound filled every corner of the room and was like an overbearing presence on the living students.

Finally, the main projector lit up and showed the man of the hour. Minoru Fukui was strapped down into what looked like an electric chair, his hands and feet bound to the cold seat by metal cuffs and a band around his chest, holding him upright. On top of that, there was a glowing crown-looking device around his head. It pulsed with electricity every second or so.

The room behind him was dark; it was impossible to tell where he was. All that could be heard from that screen was the familiar laugh of Monobear.

Suddenly the crown fully lit up. One of the screens came to life and broke the blanket of static that was polluting the air.

[MUSIC]

“You’re never going to be happy if you think like that.”

The speaker was a Japanese man, his wrinkles like valleys set deep in his face carved from rivers of stress and old age.

“Sure, we’re not doing the most ethical thing but it makes us money! Life is so much easier with money.” “That’s right , f-f-father”

Was that Minoru’s voice? It sounded like it but younger, free of the angry undertones that always seemed to lurk under the surface of every word he stuttered. Although everyone knew it was the ginger, he didn’t appear in the shot.

“Who cares if a few people get hurt? We’re rich!”

Just as quickly as it came on, the screen turned off. The screen flickered back to life and the face of a young man in a lab coat smiled down at the camera.

“I’d love to take you to the marine biology lab, little guy! I’m sure your father wouldn’t mind.”

Childish giggling followed.

“You know you can talk around me. That whole sign thing your parents do is silly. Your voice isn’t that hard to listen to.”

The screens changed again, switching from one to another with almost lightning speed. No matter where the students stood in the room, they could hear whatever the TVs played in surround sound.

“Can you try signing the ‘ka’ sign for me? Good! You’re getting so much better at this, Minoru. Maybe if you could get a better control of your shaking, you’d be perfect!”

Perfect. The word leaked from every TV set in the room in unison. Perfect was a word that haunted Minoru for his whole life. It was something he was always told he could be, but never told that he was. He was told that he was more of a-

“-disgrace to the Fukui family name! How dare you disobey me?”

It was the voice of the old man from before, his chair faced away from the camera this time. The cracking of a fire could be heard in the distance as he shouted.

“I’m your father! Unless you want to be sent back to that shit town in Ireland, you’ll do EXACTLY as I say. You know you’re only here for one reason: to-” “-tell me how you’ve been doing so well in school! Mr. Fukui, you are getting high marks in all your classes and I haven’t seen you take notes once!”

A school teacher towered over the camera, occasionally smacking a ruler down on the desk.

“Are you cheating? I know your father is a respectable man, but that doesn’t save you-” “-from what we’re about to do to you.”

The location changed from the school room to the school’s front gates.

“Little rich boy Fukui wants to avoid us? Ohohoho, that’s not going to happen.”

The camera angle suddenly shifted as if this middle schooler had picked the camera up and angled it towards him.

“Say goodnight.”

That screen then came to a shot of the camera being dropped to the floor and multiple fists flying at the lens. The distant chats of ‘fight’ could be heard over the shallow gasps and sputters coming from the camera. While this was happening, a video of Yue appeared right next to it. She was shouting.

“Bèn tiānshēng de yī duī ròu!! Yào zǒu yě gēn hóuzi bǐ diū shǐ!! Qù nǐ mā de!”

Unless you were fluent in Chinese, no one had no clue what that meant. Both of the videos started at the same time. The screen that depicted Yue showed her running away and it was replaced by the same video as the school yard fight.

“Someone get the nurse! We need-”

Both of the screens shattered.

“-a doctor! Someone, radio in a doctor this second!”

The image was now one of the high seas. Two men in diving gear and one without, all surrounding a third diver laying on his side. Off of the stern of the boat ran a river of blood, tainting the ocean a sick pink with fins cutting through the surface.

“Dr. Fukui, he was bitten by the largest sea snake I’ve ever seen! He panicked and the splashing drew the sharks in. It’s so bad, Fukui. What do we do?” “I-I-I-I-I-” “Now is not the time for you to lose your voice. You’re one of the head scientists on this mission, do something!”

The shot moved to show a deep gash in the diver’s leg that almost separated the thigh from the calf. Two seconds later, the screen shattered and the picture was lost.

If any of the students even so much as glanced over at the screen with Minoru on it, they could see that he was in pain. Every few seconds or so a large pulse would illuminate the crown he was wearing. Strangely enough, all the screens flickered slightly at those exact same moments. He would strain against the firm bindings, his eyes darting around the room as fast as physically possible.

“H-h-here you go, Mr. Suoh.”

A different Japanese man took center stage in this frame. He had a page in his hand and was scanning it carefully.

“Impressive, Minoru-kun. You always take your time with these notes, they’re so detailed.” “Well, I figured that you n-n-needed them to reme-” “Did you bring along a friend?”

Those words made the camera scan all around this small apartment. Finally, it rested on a small girl with dyed hair and a pair of glasses. Although the word never escaped her vocal chords, she mouthed the word ‘dad’ before she turned and ran into a different room. The camara man chased after her.

“Ai! He didn’t mean it!” “These pictures came out well!”

It was the same girl as before, except her expression was happy this time. She smiled up at the camera and handed over the photo booth roll. It depicted Minoru and this girl smiling and posing, he actually looked happy for once.

“This is the last time I get to go on a day trip with you before you go to Hope’s Peak, right? Minnie, please stay safe there, okay? I know you won’t forget me, so I won’t remind you to write!”

Suddenly, the screen went out like a light and broke into a million pieces. The explosions were getting more forceful with every new scene depicted.

The first voice popped up again. Minoru was standing in front of his father’s desk and he was not happy.

“You aren’t allowed to hang out with that girl. It leaves a bad image on the family name. Hanging out with such poverty stricken people, it makes me sick. You are to cease all contact with her, you understand? Don’t even think of messaging her, I put a parental lock on your computer. I also saw that paper you were writing on whales. I took the initiative and deleted that for you. You don’t need to focus on anything other than the family business.”

There was the sound of a choked ‘yes, sir’ before that screen shattered as well, sending sparks and glass into the air.

One of the only people that could stand him and he was never able to see her again. One of the larger screens showed Cerys standing in front of the information kiosk.

“Are y-y-you sure you’re okay with this? We can always go back be-before I pull the trigger.” “Please do it, it’s better for everyone.”

A gun rose from the bottom of the screen and pointed straight at Cerys’ heart.

“Any-anything you want me to pass on?” “Please take care of Yori. I just want them to be safe.” “That all? Anything else?” “No, I think that’s a-”

The gun fired mid sentence and Cerys collapsed to the ground with a soft thump. Minoru walked closer and knelt next to the body, removing her glasses to close her eyes. The screen faded to black.

“You remind me of an elephant.”

The voice came from another screen on the other side of the room. It was the face of a jolly looking woman looking down at wherever the camera was.

“Why-w-why is that?”

Again, the voice was Minoru’s, even younger than before. It almost sounded like he could barely force out a simple sentence.

“You know that your voice is hard to listen to, darling. Try signing it instead…”

Current Minoru shook in his chair and was gripping at the armrests. More and more electrical shocks came and made everything feel like it was burning. His feet and hands were swollen. The pain was more and more unbearable by the second. Sadly, the other students were probably too distracted by the light show outside to notice his writhing in pain.

The memories flashing across the screen were crystal clear, and were getting louder.

“A disgrace to the Fukui name!” “No one will ever love you, you’re so ugly. The only person who would even marry you would be after it for the money.”

The voices came in waves now, taking up different screens all over the room.

“Why do you remind me of an elephant? Well, you have your cute big ears and your buck teeth. That’s two things, but you’ll grow into those.”

She was right about the teeth, but not the ears.

“You have flat feet, you love the water. For some reason you literally charge at things when angry.”

“Ugly foreigner!” “Focus on your studies, these stupid animals will have to wait.” “I can’t believe they chose to adopt you out of everyone in that orphanage. They all deserved it more than you.” “Big brother, why can’t we call you Lyle anymore?” “That’s NOT your name anymore! Your name is Minoru Fukui, got that? No more of this ‘O’Hare’ stuff! Minoru Fukui is your REAL name now, legally. I don’t care what they used to call you. Leave that and everything else back in Ireland. You’re a new person now!” “I’ll give you a smack to the face for every freckle you got on there, kay? Maybe it’ll be enough to knock them all off!” “Twenty five people in the whole world have your gift, and I managed to basically pick you out of a dumpster,” his father laughed, “You should be thankful. You will be a successful man, even with your pathetic voice. All you have to thank is me and your… hyper… what was it?” “Big ears was the main thing. Although the next part, I don’t think this is really true about elephants, it still does apply to you, goose.” “What is the name of your damn condition? Your stupid speech shouldn’t get in the way of a one word answer!” “Hyperthymesia, sir. That’s w-w-what it’s called.” “You also have that cute, little thing where you never seem to forget a single thing!”

All the screens went black for a few seconds, the only light shining was the on the screen where he was taking his final breaths. The ginger was shaking and tears were streaming down his face. It seemed he had been electrocuted many times while no one was watching, he was just barely able to hang on.

“What’s that, m-m-mama?”

One last screen came to life, showing a large shark swimming along.

“That’s called a whale shark! Isn’t it cool?” “It has fffffreckles, just like m-m-me!” “Well, you could say that.” “Do you think I could ride it?” “It’s far too big.”

Small, pale hands reached out and pounded on the glass.

“S-s-s-sir Big Shark! I w-w-want my ride!” “Haha, be careful riding it. He might try and… EAT YOU!” “Hehehe! Mama, don’t ssssscare me like that!”

The childish giggling continued until it eventually faded out with the last screen. The courtroom was filled with silence.

Lyle O’Hare, SHSL Marine Biologist, has been executed.

art this week by amethyst ! 

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Voting commencing…

MINORU FUKUI HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!

COMMENCING EXECUTION…

( video credit goes to Naks! )

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theater - sunmin dead end ohhHHH

Well, here it was. Minoru Fukui was about to meet death first hand and there was no escape possible. His hands were shaking, his eyes darting around the room to see the look on everyone’s expressions after hearing that they were finally getting out of here. Well, almost everyone. There were two people in the room that were going to rot in this place along with the bodies of trial’s pasts.

Minoru didn’t mind that, he knew that he was going to be caught the second he pulled the trigger. He and Cerys knew that, it was their plan, after all. Push everyone to do a mastermind vote and get it right. Minoru wouldn’t be leaving that courtroom but everyone else would be. And after all these weeks watching these students suffer, he figured that his life was a small price to pay to end all of this. Thank god that Cerys was so like minded. He was going to give her and her cloud hair a huge hug when he saw her next. Without her, this wouldn’t be happening. No one would be save. Sunny wouldn’t be getting out... Sunny wouldn’t be… Sunny…

The marine biologist glanced over at his girlfriend surrounded by empty podiums. Everyone close ran over to Misaki and huddled under her wings like baby ducks when the verdict came out. It was strange how the other students could only see storm and rage where he saw the sun. When he was confident that no one was going to start berating him about his choices, he quickly trecked over to Sunny’s side of the courtroom.

“<Ssssunny,>” he started “<I’m so sorry th-th-that I did this to you. You-you-you deserved better. We all did. But I-I-I-I can’t ch-change what’s happening… I’m g-g-going to leave you in a couple of minutes and I-I’m n-n-not c-c-coming back.>” He instinctively grabbed one of her hands and held it with both of his.

Good thing he had this speech planned out before he even pulled the trigger. “<Nu-nu-numb-nu- first order of business: please d-d-don’t be mad at those who voted for me. T-t-t-they were just doing their job-b-bs and d-d-didn’t want an innocent to die. It’s j-j-just like when we voted e-e-everyone else guilty. No h-h-hard feeling, right?>”

It was getting harder and harder to talk. Every word felt like it was coming to choke him and end his life before Monobear could get to him.  Maybe it was better that way as long as he said everything he needed to.

“<Ssssecond: Please don’t t-t-think that I d-d-don’t love you because of this. I do. I-I-I re-re-really do. You kept m-m-me going th-through all of this. You were my rock in-in-in a storm. You were my ev-ev-everything. You were, no, you are my-my-my sssunshine. When you were sick, I couldn’t… I-I-I couldn’t…>”

His mind wandered back to the hours he sat outside Sunny’s door, listening to her whither away and refusing to let him in.  He tried everything to get in but it was no use. He remembered being so afraid of losing her… and he was going to.

Minoru’s shaky hands pulled away from Sunny’s and reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch. So that’s what that chain’s been attached to.

“<This… t-t-this is, ah, a pocket watch. It’s be-be-been past down my family for ge-ge-generations ever ssssince the company started. If you get this to my father, I’m s-s-sure he will pay you handsomely for it. I w-w-w-would take the offer h-h-he gives you, it’ll b-b-be enough to pay for a v-v-very nice life for you family and… w-w-whoever you date after you get over me.>” He would have taken one last look at the picture of his family inside to say goodbye but he knew that his heart couldn’t take it. He was good at keeping his emotions boiled up and that’s where they were going to stay. He held the watch out for Sunny, waiting for her to take it.

“<Finally… I-I-I don’t want you to dwell on this f-f-for the rest of your life. T-t-trust me, holding thiiiis stuff inside you can… change you. You g-g-grow angry and shhhhut everyone out of your life. No-nothing makes you happy a-a-anymore and the one thing that d-d-does b-b-becomes the only thing you care about. It ge-gets lonely and so very… cold. T-That’s not a life worth living.>”

Really speaking from experience, aren’t you, Minnie?

“<But if you t-t-take only one t-thing out of my words, le-le-let it be this: I-I-I’m not sad that I'm dying; I'm just g-g-glad that I got t-t-to love you.>”

[shsl-doubtrot-blog]

Monobear Theater - One Fish, Two Fish...

“SUUUPUPUPURPRISE!! THE VOTES STRIKE AND YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!” 

“Without one of you bastards getting their glasses cleared, unlike our one and only SHSL Ghostwriter, Keita Yamaguchi - who knows how many ghosts would have filled the damn lodge!”

“Boy, you all sure have such great team spirit - you stuck together like a stack of books. Should have worked on that a bit earlier before losing your mates to piles of flies…”

“Now that we’re on the subject of bugs, how about feeding those itty-bitties with some fresh bodies, yes? Let’s not forget worms and butterflies - we’re starting with the redhead!”