GRAVEYARD

[pandatreasure]

[You know you must have died—nothing is ever easy around here, certainly not quick, so you must remember burning, bleeding, falling, dying?

And yet. You're waking up.

Do you recognize it here, once you pick yourself up off of the hard floor, maybe half-strewn across a couch or beanbag chair? This room died, too: you're in the library, good as new and maybe better than that, only barely smelling of burnt paper and you only sometimes kick up ash, just like those old wounds that finished you off only ache every now and again, dully.

The book selection isn't quite the same as you remember it—all the bad erotica that didn't die is missing here, sorry to say, but so are the books on everyone's home worlds. Snoop around enough and behind the librarian's desk, you'll find tablets: one for each participant of the game, and with enough experimentation, you'll find the one that reacts when you press the button. You're already logged into your Recyclr account and can read the feed, but the same rules apply: 140 characters, one tweet a day. The voting app is gone, replaced by a sort of security monitoring kind of app. Characters can view different rooms of the school, or even place a few side by side so they can view a few at a time, and they'll be able to see the living go about their day to day lives. There's even an archive of recordings, but only the important ones: murders, executions, investigations, trial highlight reels, and major events like libraries being burned down. Was watching yourself die once not enough? Boy have I got good news for you!!!

It's kind of exciting that you can go around touching stuff, probably, despite being super dead and vaguely transparent in a way you notice like your own breathing; you don't and then you do and it's all you can think about, but your tangibility only extends to the inanimate: try to touch any of your fellow deceased and you'll find that you just pass right on through like touching cold air.

The windows aren't bolted up with those big metal plates on this side of things, but look out of them anytime and it's just pitch-black and still outside, so that's demoralizing. There is, of course, the door out of the library—but for now it's locked up tight. Whatever is a ghost to do?]

((Recyclr

Offerings/Letters
Day 11
Day 14
Day 16))

Comments

day 18

[fineprinted]

[ there's a lot of commotion in the library now, some familiar voices... but for once tsumugi isn't going to tell them to keep it down. in fact, he really doesn't want to meet anyone else at all.

he'll be busying himself with books yet again, the desk covered with books stacked so high up that it'd be impossible for him to spot at first. but if one does bother to take a peek around the books, they'll find tsumugi jotting down more notes for him to write for recyclr later, the floor already cluttered with scrapped ideas. and for once there's actually a knit between those brows of his.

yeah, he's. he's not actually happy for once. and not in an emotionally detached way this time. ]

[flamingprick]

[Do you really think Rin wouldn't go looking for him?

Yeah he's peeking around those books.]

Tsumugi! There you are!

[fineprinted]

[ sorry, he's just going to focus on his notes just a tad longer

before he looks up to rin with that plastic close-eyed smile of his. ]

Rin-kun. I didn't expect you to join us here so soon.

[ too fucking soon ]

[flamingprick]

[Too fucking soon indeed.]

Yeah, a lot of stuff happened, and it got a bit out of control.

[fineprinted]

That's understandable. Everything happened so much on the other side that I couldn't keep up myself. Then again, I was too hyperfocused on getting my message to Hiyori-kun, hoping that it'd finally get through to everyone.

Yet he had more votes than Will.

[ his smile hasn't wavered. ]

It's funny how that turned out.

[flamingprick]

[...why does that smile remind him of Yukio?]

Yeah, that definitely went badly. Sorry about that.

[fineprinted]

Are you, really?

[ he's still speaking casually, but there's a bit of a darkness in his tone now. tsumugi is trying his very best to hold back at this point. ]

Hiyori-kun risked his life out there, getting all the negative attention just so he can prove that he's right all along. Since last week. And even with Dazai-san's help over the network, nobody believed him.

It just feels like both our efforts have been useless the entire time, you know?

[flamingprick]

Well, he was right. Will confessed in front of everyone when he was pushed about it. So I'd say that your efforts weren't useless.

[fineprinted]

And yet he's still down there. So is Hiyori-kun.

Do you know that Will doesn't listen to music at all? Maybe he hates idols like us that badly. Why else would he even target me in the first place?

[flamingprick]

Because he's gross and takes advantage of kids, that's why. It's not anything against you specifically, there's just people like that out there.

cw suicide OH BOY

[fineprinted]

No, it's always been me. Somehow he'd gotten the hint that I [ want to fuckin die ] share the same sentiments as Dazai-san and used that to his advantage.

But it's okay. It's all my fault anyway. It would've been less of a hassle if I just died all by myself, but I just had to be selfish and brought Dazai-san with me.

[ his voice cracks at the last sentence but he brushes that off, smiling despite it. ]

He didn't deserve this.

[suppressthedark]

[Yeah, he...

...knows he fucked up. Really badly. He's sure that Tsumugi doesn't even want to see him right now, so he sees Tsumugi writing, and just...

...quietly turns the other way, wishing him well in his head.

And then fucking walks right into a pile of books that were positioned on his blind side.]

-GAH!

[There he go, on the floor like the idiot he is.]

[fineprinted]

[ his librarian instincts quickly kicks in and looks over to who it is...

- ah. okay, he's getting up, holding out a hand for ichigo to hold on too. ]

Are you all right?

[ yeah he'd still have to be altruistic, unfortunately. ]

[suppressthedark]

[Sorry, Tsumugi...

Ichigo looks up, and he at least as the grace to look guilty as he takes Tsumugi's hand, hauling himself up to his feet.]

...Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you.

[He can't even look at Tsumugi right now, his gaze down and to the left.]

I, uh - I'll leave you alone.

[fineprinted]

[ and he'll gracefully take that offer! so he nods with that thinly-veiled smile, going back to his desk to continue his work.

he has nothing else to say here. or rather, he doesn't want to say anything. he'd been so needlessly mean to rin as it is. ]

[locktouching]

[Pfffft.]

[purrtagonist]

[aaaand there's Tsumugi, hidden behind a stack of books. naturally, Akira peeks around them to seek him out!!]

Tsumugi. . .?

[fineprinted]

[ SHONENS DON'T INTERACT ]

Mm? You need any help in the library, Akira-kun?

[ without even looking up from his notes, damn ]

[purrtagonist]

[THERE IS NO SIGN SAYING THIS!!]

No, I-- wanted to talk to you, actually.

[fineprinted]

[ HE'LL MAKE ONE LATER he's still not breaking his attention away from his work ]

I'm all ears.

[purrtagonist]

[POOR, POOR TSUMUGI]

. . . what are you working on?

[fineprinted]

Just writing down ideas on what to tell Hiyori-kun on recyclr. Don't want to waste my last chance and all, since this will be the last killing night.

[ he's all but given up lol ]

[purrtagonist]

[yeah. yeah, he gets it. they didn't exactly have a great showing there in the last trial, did they? especially since Will's still alive and all!! he folds his arms, pillows his chin against them, expression turning distant]

. . .

I trusted Graham, too. A little bit.

[he admits, quietly. softly. he knows that Graham didn't escalate things with him like he did with Tsumugi, but. . .]

[he doesn't know. maybe. . . it'll help, for Tsumugi to know that Will was able to fool other people, too?]

[fineprinted]

[ he pauses in his writing, mulling over what to say next. should he even say anything? can't he have the right to remain silent after everything? ]

We all did. Me most especially. I even thought he was cool at one point, because of his credentials as a former cop and teacher.

But of course he would use his abilities to his advantage. I just didn't think that his grudge against Dazai-san would run this deep to the point that he'd use someone like me to get to him.

[purrtagonist]

[of course he does. Akira's expression hardens]

He's the lowest of scumbags. A coward who deserves every bit of karma he gets.

[closes his eyes, burying his nose into his arms next]

I'm sorry we didn't do better to hold him accountable for everything he put you through.