Anywhere But Here !! Katahiko !! C1C2 !! Closed for Emilia
Katahiko was doing... questionably during motive. While he generally kept a smile plastered on his face, he still froze up frequently and fled to his room a lot more often than an obligate socialite like him seemed to prefer.
When he wasn't doing whatever all that was, he could frequently be found in the halls singing loudly, as he was today. So Emilia was probably not taken by surprise when he stumbled upon her in the rec room. He slid an elbow onto one of the tables like a singer seductively leaning onto a piano and grinned. One corner of his mouth was twitching a little, but it be like that sometimes.
"Fancy meeting you here~ Whatcha playing? Or looking to play, ehe."
He flinched suddenly, gaze averting, before looking back to her. His grin held firm.
Wake Me Up Inside | Mariko | CH1 Motive Reaction | Closed for Katahiko
It's all your fault, you know?
All your fault. How dare you try and run and hide? With something like this on your shoulders? Good luck.
Mariko scraped at the area below her ear, wanting nothing more than to rip the thing off and have some peace. But if she did that, then she'd have to face some unknown punishment, and how is that any better? Who knows, though. It could be a blessing compared to this.
She shivered, running down the hallway searching for any kind of distraction. She almost body shoved her way into the dining hall, grabbing a chair and sitting down. She then bent over, clutching her head in her hands.
It's not like it was that simple. Life isn't two sides of the same coin, black and white deal. It's like an old rubber ball you get out of a gum machine, play with for a day, then throw it in the back of your closet to gather dust and weird molds.
...Yeah, that's not quite it either. She propped an elbow on the table and sighed, hoping that the next few days would go quickly while picking at her newly bandaged hand. She could hardly move it right now without feeling a dull pain, but it's bound to pass. Hopefully.
Appetite for Destruction !! Katahiko !! C1C2 !! Closed for Yuri
3:00 p.m. was an excellent time for breakfast when you've been up for about twelve hours already. This course of action in no way reflected any actual disorganization in Katahiko's mind at the moment, no sir. Noooo sir.
He sat in the dining hall, eating cereal, one Chuck Taylor off on the floor nearby. It was a little odd to be drinking lemon water and eating the cereal dry, but hey. Crunchier. Just because it tasted better that way, not because he was trying to drown out the transmitter as much as possible or anything. Yyyyep. All good here.
He was sufficiently zoned out to not notice anyone entering the room. Crunch, crunch. Crash. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH.
It’s only been a few hours. Enough time to have a conversation or two, or three if you’re the fast-talking type. Time to check out the dorms that are apparently yours, and feel some alarm at finding your belongings already there and ready to be unpacked, as if it were your room back at the school, where you’re supposed to be. It may even be enough time to look around a few of the other rooms in the area, enough to note the total lack of windows or exits, enough to see that while all the essential basic needs are covered, Jamie was right. You’re trapped here.
The closest thing to a way out is the set of doors in the area you all first woke up in. And that’s what you see flickering on the screens of your ElectroIDs when they vibrate to get your attention and light up. The doors, and the Kurita twins. Kiki is fussing with a panel she’s clearly pried off the wall, while Kazuya stands a few feet back, warily watching the entrance to the hallway.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” They say in an anxious but resigned manner that gives the impression this is not by any means the first time they’ve said it.
“Still waiting for you to come up with a better one, Zuzu.” Kiki replies without looking up from her work. “Less nervous talking, more letting me know if that creepy blonde is coming.”
“No…” Kazuya says, leaning to look right and left down the corridor, and failing to notice the metal plating on the wall behind them sliding open. Jamie steps out of the hidden passage, and straight up to Kiki, who jerks away even before the taller woman’s robotic hand closes on her shoulder.
[CW: Throat Trauma, Implied Choking, Blood + More Throat Trauma in Picture]
“Scheisse-!” Kiki’s cursing is left at that as Jamie’s hand flies to her throat instead, lifting her bodily off the floor and pressing her against the still-closed doors far too easily.
“Kiki!” Kazuya has whipped around, taking a step backwards reflexively, away from the intruder.
“I see you’re already causin’ trouble. Thought that might happen, now we’re gonna have to make an example of you.”
That certainly explains why this little show is playing out on the screens of your ElectroIDs now. But what’s going to happen? Do you have time to run to the area it’s happening in? What could you actually do to stop it if you did? Is this even in real-time, or is it a recording? Whatever it is, it’s not pausing for your racing thoughts to reach a conclusion.
Kiki is squirming and clawing ineffectually at Jamie’s arm, wrinkling the synthetic skin covering it but doing no damage. But Jamie’s wide sharp grin and glittering green eyes are fixed on her, and not on Kazuya.
Kazuya, the Ultimate Archer, who has just snapped open their compound bow and drawn an arrow from the quiver on their back in seemingly a single elegant, practiced motion.
“Let her go!”
Jamie glances back, but is still holding Kiki in place.
“Now, don’t-” She starts to say, and doesn’t finish. Because suddenly there’s a twang and suddenly there’s a whisper of something cutting through the air and suddenly there’s an arrow blooming from her throat.
Jamie blinks, and drops Kiki, reaching instead for the arrow in her neck with an air of perplexed curiosity. She barely touches the end of it before Kiki reaches up and grabs the shaft, yanking it out. Blood spills and spurts. Jamie grabs a fistful of Kiki’s hair and slams her head against the metal doors, once. The smaller woman collapses. And then Jamie starts walking towards Kazuya - swiftly, purposefully - and Kazuya yelps out a string of curses and sweeps another arrow into place and at exactly the moment she’s close enough to grab them - thfft!
[CW: Eye Trauma]
Jamie’s head jerks back, for a moment she forms a graceful arc, her remaining green eye wide in an expression of mild surprise as she collapses. A second arrow jutting out of her head.
[End CWs]
“Kiki! Kiki!” Kazuya, visibly shaking and with tears already streaming down their face, races around and past the dead woman on the floor and over to their sister’s crumpled form. They don’t notice the shape coming out of the same opening in the wall Jamie had emerged from. It’s all gleaming metal, an android, followed by another, and another…
Your ElectroID’s screen goes dark. Your heart is pounding. What… what just happened…?
--
[Feel free to submit reactions to the event, or send asks or DMs to investigate the scene. Kazuya will be unavailable for threads until further notice.]
[Art Credit: Thank you Nathan for volunteering to make the lovely event art!]
Second Time Around || Ch1 Suffering Game || Pt. 4 (Feat. Mariko)
Of course she had to get wrapped up in this. All he had to do was take whatever happened, and she’d--no, they’d all be fine, but of course! Things can never go that easily, can they!? Ugh. Nevertheless, the words about killing them all if they resist rung in her head. She didn’t have a choice, did she? If she made a big point about not doing it, then one of those robots would probably just gun her down and call up the next person.
Like hell she was laying her life down. No, she’d just figure out how to get through this. If she was lucky enough, she’d maybe leave without having some big bombshell about her life dropped to everyone around. They wouldn’t...know. Right?
She clenched her fists, walking up to the wheel with all the confidence in the world. She rested her left hand against it, muttering something under her breath before spinning.
For yet another time the wheel spins, the clicks that much more ominous now despite the lack of bloodshed. Was Teddi’s result a relief, or only a greater concern? Yellow didn’t seem to be quite the safe harbor one might think, if his tears are anything to go by. What else could the people running this know about all of you? What else might they be willing to reveal?
It doesn’t seem like you’re likely to find out just yet, because this time the wheel coasts to a stop on… Cyan.
[CW: Finger Trauma/Hand Trauma]
When the wedge lights up, it shows a silhouette of a closed fist with one finger extended - the pinky finger, by the looks of it. There’s probably not much need to explain what that means.
Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. She could spin again, theoretically. She already got screwed over by someone else, did it matter if she did the same thing? But…
She couldn’t get the last spin out of her head. Did they know? Could they know? Would anything stop them from saying it, right here? Would she be willing to lose a pinky to avoid the risk? Well, the answer was fairly obvious. She could still write, take calls, do all kinds of things without it. It can’t be that big of a deal. “Sure, fine, whatever. Take it, assholes.” She holds out both of her arms, looking both angry and tired.
Instead of Kazuya saying or doing anything this time, they simply nod, looking away as tears continue to roll silently down their cheeks. One of the metal plates on the wall slides open, but there’s no time for anyone to make a break for it before a line of androids are rolling in. They’re clearly made for function rather than form, having blank faces with a single robotic eye like the lens of a camera in the middle. Their legs end in simply shaped feet with roller skate type wheels that allow them to move quickly across the floor. The wall slides shut again behind them. Five in total. Three move to surround Mariko, while the other two park between her and the rest of the students, as if to prevent any potential interference.
What happens next is… more or less exactly what everything that’s led up to this point would have you expect. Regardless of her level of cooperation, Mariko’s left hand is seized by an android’s metal fingers and pulled out straight ahead of her. A second android stands on her other side, keeping the rest of her held in place so her ability to struggle is minimized. The third android is the one to step up, small sharp blades sliding out of joints in its fingers and beginning to spin quickly enough to make a sound like a low hum.
It separates her little finger from the rest with its other hand, and then brings the blades up, closing them around the base of her finger.
There’s blood, and then something small drops to the floor, the whole thing took less than a few seconds.
As Mariko shakes, so does Kazuya, obviously avoiding looking in her direction. But they wipe their own tears away and take a few rough, steadying breaths before they answer, keeping their voice as firm as they can.
“Yes, that’s... it’s over, for now. If you want more medical attention you can, um, follow us... otherwise...”
One of the androids pops open a compartment in its arm and turns it to drop a few packages on the floor. Boxes of bandages and tubes of antiseptic.
“Someone will check on you later.” This is directed at Mariko, though they still can’t seem to bring themself to do more than dart their gaze at her and away again.
For a moment they look back up at all of you, their gaze coming to rest on Kiki, who has stood like a statue throughout the process. But now she speaks, “I’m sorry, but why... Zuzu, I never asked you to-”
Kazuya interrupts her with another shake of their head.
“You didn’t have to. You’re my sister, Kiki. This... isn’t your fault.” They look back over the rest of you.
“There will be another announcement later, a... a motive that will start taking effect tomorrow. But for now just... please just go.”
The androids beep and start rolling towards the wall, which slides open again, and after a moment of hesitation Kazuya follows them through, whether or not Mariko accompanies them. The plate slides shut behind them, and a section of metal on the other side of the room slides open, leading you all directly back into the short hall between Rooms E and F. There are no other turns, no other exits. There’s nowhere else to go.
But like Kazuya said, it’s over. For now...
--
[Reaction Posts may now be Submitted. Motive will be posted tomorrow, Sunday the 23rd, at 1pm PST. It will be announced on the 6th IC Day, or the ‘1st Day’ of the New Cycle/Five-Day period, so you’re free to start some post-Suffering Game threads that take place on Day 5 Evening.]
[Art Credit: Thank you to Kaz/Ley for Kazuya’s sprites. Skyler made Teddi’s sprites.]
Teddi Time || Ch1 Suffering Game || Pt. 3 [Feat. Teddi]
The wheel itself looks simple enough, grab the edge, give it a spin. Without the full context there wouldn’t be anything sinister about it, but knowing what the colors mean lends the whole thing an unsettling, tense atmosphere. The colorful wedges continue to blink, lighting up in a steadily alternating pattern. Occasionally when they light up little images are visible, just for a moment. A hand. A syringe. An eye.
Probably best not to think too much about what that means, right now.
Teddi eyed the wheel as well as Kazuya, His hands clenched and unclenched. He wasn’t scared he was pissed off. With bold steps forward Teddi approached the wheel. He wouldn’t show whoever was doing this the satisfaction of seeing him sweat. Kazuya wasn’t doing this of their own free wheel and Kiki was standing right there. So Teddi held in the desire to deck Kazuya in the face as he reached up and grabbed the wheel. He heaved and the wheel spun.
Click click click click… It’s not hard to imagine that sound will quickly take on some very negative associations. Around and around the colors go, the spinner at the top dragging against the pegs sticking out of the colors until finally it coasts to a gradual, harrowing stop.
Magenta.
The wedge lights up, showing the silhouette of a disembodied arm.
Teddi’s face dropped from cold defiance to something uh…… Distraught. He took a wild guess what the punishment showing a disembodied arm would be. Absolutely not. He understood that there was a chance he could die but he would literally rather die than relearn how to do basically everything if he was unlucky enough to lose his left hand.
“Pass, I think the Fuck not. You can kill me but you’re not taking my fucking arm. May i just fucking say Kazuya, I know this isn’t your fault. But. Bitch.”
“...Just spin again, then. Someone else will go when you’re done.” If Kazuya is judging this decision at all it doesn’t show. They sound and look resigned.
“Eat shit.”
Teddi reached out and spun again Making direct eye contact with Kazuya. No muss, no fuss. His face twisting to anger. He didn’t know what Cyan or Yellow would bring him but here we went anyway.
Once again the wheel spins… and spins… click click click click click… and finally, it slows and rocks to another stop. On Yellow, this time. When it lights up, it shows a question mark.
“Fuck it. Fuck this. Fuck your boss. Just fucking, I don’t know what’s this one? Getting hit with a car? Bring it. You can’t hurt me in any way that matters.”
Teddi is being bold. Maybe putting on a front for the rest of the class. Like maybe if he just had enough bravado the incoming impact would be lessened. He was a fool but he was a stubborn fool. He stood there arms crossed. Waiting.
For a moment after the result is confirmed, there’s quiet. Kazuya shakily lifts a hand to their ear, touching the device there as if to improve the sound or reception. Their eyes widen. “I can’t - ...” As quickly as they’d started to speak, tone almost frantic, they stop. There’s a silence that stretches for a few seconds but feels longer, and then they take a deep breath, and start again.
“Teddi Tatsumi left his boyfriend, Junpei Takeba, for dead. Because of his association with Teddi, Junpei was attacked and severely injured. He survived, but is now paralyzed from the waist down. Teddi never bothered to check on him after the incident.”
Silence, again. A brief but poignant one. Kazuya is visibly shaking as tears start to quietly fill their eyes.
“That’s all. You can go stand with the others, now. Th-the next person who has to spin is... Mariko Tomomi. You should come up here and get it over with. I’m sorry.”
“One of you will be chosen to spin the wheel.” Kazuya is speaking again, moving with the heavy tread of the condemned to stand next to the wheel, then turning to face all of you - though once again they make it a point not to meet anyone’s eyes. “What it lands on will determine the, ah… s-sacrifice that you’ll be making. I…” They trail off for a moment, gaze going vague and unfocused.
“Kazuya…?” Kiki finally speaks, taking a step forward, but Kazuya’s gaze snaps up finally and they shake their head firmly. Kiki reluctantly steps back again, biting her lip. The look in the archer’s eyes is… hollow and frightened.
“...Someone will have to spin. There’s no… just, trust me, you have to. They will let us go if we get through this, but… they’ll also kill us all if we don’t play. So please… I know it sucks, but… someone has to spin. One person, because there’s one ‘ring’ unlocked. If you land on magenta, cyan, or yellow, you can refuse whatever punishment comes up - but then you’ll have to spin again, and another person will, too. Every time you pass, another person will be required to spin. And if the wheel lands on white, you can’t refuse. You’ll die. And, uh… in five days there will be another game. After that game, the doors unlock, and you get to move on to the next ring. Unless… one of you kills another one of you. It has to be a… subject. Me... k-killing Crowley didn’t count. I…” Kazuya closes their eyes for a moment, their hands clench into fists for just a few seconds, and they take a deep breath. Let it out again.
“I don’t count anymore, either. I have to replace her. That’s my punishment.” They pause. Breathe. Continue. “S-so… if one of you commits a murder, there’ll be a trial instead. Every time there’s a murder there’ll be a trial, and after each trial another ring unlocks, even if there hasn’t been two Suffering Games, so… keep that in mind. Ugh. Alright, um, so… the first person who has to spin… is Teddi Tatsumi. I… I’m sorry. I’m really fucking sorry.”
Kazuya’s head tilts again, as if listening. Then they hastily step away from the wheel, while making a vague gesture towards it to indicate to Teddi that he can step forward and begin.
