hi because I'm too sad to think, Kat and Maggie playing video games together until one of them goes into a sensory overload and tries to hide it until the other notices what's happening??
god concept
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“Think you’re ready?” Maggie asked.
“I was born ready.” Katherine replied.
“Okay, so second boss. Slightly harder. This guy’s name is The Missionary. The interesting thing about him is that he has absolutely no symbolism behind him, which makes me believe he’s just a regular person that Heather is just seeing as a monster.”
Katherine nodded, gripping the controller tightly as she maneuvered Heather Mason through the darkness. The volume on the TV was up relatively high so they could hear sound effects, so the loud, heavy footsteps definitely made playing this horror game late in the evening even more thrilling.
“How do I kill him?” Katherine asked while panning the camera around and searching for the hideous man-creature.
“So, The Missionary is kinda blind. Not completely, though, because he can see the light from your flashlight, so turn it off.”
“Oh, it’s dark.” Katherine winced a little as she pressed the button that’ll shut off Heather’s flashlight, “Very dark now.”
“Alright, now just wait there for a moment and...” Maggie gave a slight nod as the footsteps quieted down, “Okay, so now he’s looking for you. He should stop moving completely and you can go after him, but move quietly or he’ll hear you.”
“This is intense,” Katherine laughed slightly as she made Heather equip a shotgun. “Oh, I see him!”
“Shoot him, shoot him!” Maggie urged.
Aiming carefully at the faint bulky figure in the darkness, Katherine pressed a button on the controller and a blast went off, followed by the horrendous, distorted scream that signaled the bullet hit its mark.
“Yes!” Katherine cheered. She moved Heather in closer to try and get a few more hits in. “Oh, hey, he’s laying down. Is he dead alr-” She yelped out loud when The Missionary suddenly sprung up, slashing Heather with his bladed hands. Watching Katherine flail her character around in a panic to try and get away was hilarious, but Maggie still started to feel panic creep up into her chest.
Oh god, not now
“Check your health,” Maggie said, forcing her voice to stay steady.
“Oh geez.” Katherine laughed slightly when she saw that Heather’s health was in the red zone. She quickly selected a health drink to regenerate a little. “What was that?”
“His strongest attack, I believe,” Maggie answered. She took a deep breath that Katherine luckily missed because she was reloading the shotgun, “He’ll play dead and then jump back up and attack when Heather gets close. Does a lot of damage.”
“Clearly!” Katherine laughed.
Maggie chuckled dryly. She shifts in her spot on the couch, trying to get comfortable again. The cushions felt scratchy on her legs, like it was trying to rub all the way through her skin. The sound effects from the game were so loud, too. Too loud. Louder than they should be.
Breathe. Just breathe. Breathe and it’ll be okay. Just breathe just breathe just breathe why can’t I breathe why can’t I breathe why can’t I-
“Do you think I should use my pistol or shot- Maggie?”
Not caring that Heather just took a few nasty hits from The Missionary’s blades, Katherine paused the game and turned her attention to Maggie, who was hunched over her knees and had her skull clutched in her hands.
“Woah, hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Maggie took in a shaky breath, which ended up turning into a cough.
“Yes,” She forced out, but her voice morphed into a tight whimper. “No. No, Kat, I- Loud...!”
Sensory overload. This realization finally dawns on Katherine.
“Oh! Okay, okay...do you want me to call Bessie? Or get Jane? She’s just upstairs.”
Maggie shook her head, gripping her hair tighter. She was starting to pull, which definitely wasn’t a good thing.
“Don’t do that,” Katherine chides lightly, trying to pry the grip loose. “Here- Take a deep breath. I’m going to...”
She shot to her feet and ran to shut the blinds and close the curtains. Even though it was relatively dark outside, any light being dimmed would be helpful. Then, she turned off the TV, not caring about saving. The ambient Silent Hill sounds cut out, leaving only the noise of heavy breathing, upstairs chatter, and Maggie’s body hitting the floor.
“Maggie!” Katherine cried, but quickly shut herself up when she saw her friend shudder violently and curl up further.
Katherine darted down to her side, hands fluttering a little before they close over Maggie’s ears. The guitarist flinches slightly before relaxing under her touch. The two move closer together, with Maggie halfway propped up against Katherine’s side, and just sat in silence.
Eventually, after five minutes, Maggie took in a deep, slightly less shaky breath. Katherine glances down at her.
“Better?” The young queen asked.
“Better.” The young guitarist replied.
Slowly, Katherine moved her hands away. Maggie scoots over a little, giving them both some space.
“Thanks,” Maggie said, exhaling another deep breath. “And I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Not your fault,” Katherine told her, “It could have happened to me, too, you know. And you would have been there to help me out, right?”
“Right.” Maggie nodded without hesitation. “I can’t believe you didn’t save.”
Katherine laughed loudly, realizing they were going to have to start the fight all over again.
also this is just how i think of it, but kitty has ADHD-PI (predominantly hyperactive) and maggie has ADHD-C (combined) (and anne has ADHD-PH (predominantly hyperactive)) -🐝
ooh, i like this! I agree! It’s so much more mature and neat and accurate than me just spewing out “Maggie has ADD!!!!!”
