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

[flamingprick]

That's you're Satan or one of his kids, mostly. It's extra-strong fire.

[purrtagonist]

[oh. okay]

Got it. I'll keep an eye open.

[flamingprick]

Oh, but if there's a nerd with glasses and moles on his face, he's okay.

[purrtagonist]

So someone who looks kind of like me, only with a mole. Got it.

[flamingprick]

With several moles. He's got three on his face alone.

[purrtagonist]

At least it makes him easy to spot in a crowd.

[flamingprick]

Yep.

I think he'd like you. He'd probably think Ichigo's a bad influence on me, but you'd be right up his alley.

[purrtagonist]

[quirks his brows at that]

I don't know about that. I am a formerly convicted criminal, after all.

[HE SAYS THAT SO LIGHTLY]

[flamingprick]

Ichigo set off my temper like four times in a single week. You haven't even done it once yet.

[Admittedly it's not hard to set off Rin's temper, but still.]

[purrtagonist]

[uuuuuuuuuuuuh]

Yoooou seemed pretty set on punching me after. . .

[Ichigo outed him as a killer!!]

[flamingprick]

Oh, good point.

Okay, you did it once, compared to Ichigo doing it four times.

[purrtagonist]

[GOD]

Speaking of Ichigo. . .

[trailing off]

Would you mind talking to him for me? Not for me, but. . . for me.

[because that makes a lot of sense]

[flamingprick]

[Oh boy.]

What did you do?

[purrtagonist]

[gives him a long, long look]

[what do you think he did, Rin]

[flamingprick]

You tell me what you did with your own words or I'm going to do something you will not like at all.

[purrtagonist]

[oh fucking boy]

Wait, what does "something I don't like at all" entail?

[flamingprick]

You could find out by being a chicken shit and not admitting to what you did. Because if you're stalling like this, then it IS something you did.

[Akira. Buddy. Rin might not be an expert in love, but he DID grow up with a twin brother. He knows what it means when someone won't admit to something.]

[purrtagonist]

[TECHNICALLY HE DID ALREADY ADMIT TO IT, HE CONFESSED TO ICHIGO FIRST]

[he sighs though, crosses his arms and leans his shoulder against the wall. also oh boy he gets to do this in PUBLIC where people can OVERHEAR HIM]

I killed someone, Rin. For whatever my reasons were, I still did it.

[I MEAN, KIND OF GLAD THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING REVIVED, BUT ALSO KIND OF NOT THANKS TO THE RACCOONS BEING OMINOUS ABOUT IT? IT'S HARD]

And I didn't tell Ichigo about it until ten minutes before we had to lock in our votes.

Everything was fine last night, though. I thought maybe. . . [ttttrailing off]

I don't know.

[flamingprick]

[Isn't it great being a ghost with no privacy?]

So what're you worried about, exactly? That he'll be mad? That he'll dump you? That he'll blame himself for not realizing something was up?

[purrtagonist]

[no it sucks]

He is mad.

[OBVIOUSLY]

I was prepared for that. I was prepared for worse than that, actually. From everyone.

[Rin included!!]

I got my hopes up last night, but maybe it isn't something so easily. . . forgiven, after all.

[flamingprick]

[Rin is the type to get mad quickly, but he is also the type to forgive quickly too. His emotions are like a flame: quick to spark up, and quick to die down. Funny how that works.]

Well, it might take some time for him to forgive you, sure. But do you think avoiding him is gonna make that happen any faster?

Take it from me: I'm a huge fuckup. I mess stuff up all the time! You know what Dad always used to tell me? "Mistakes are how you grow." You messed up, but if you learn something from it, then it did some good in the end.

[purrtagonist]

[actually tilts his head towards Rin with a smile-- a genuine smile-- when he hears that]

Good philosophy. I live by it too, you know.

[it's why he's staring Erika in the face, talking to Tsumugi and Dazai, trying to hold his chin up and confront the things he did wrong]

But I get the feeling he doesn't really want to be around me right now.

[flamingprick]

Maybe not at this exact moment, but at least try to approach him every day. He's one of those people that hides when they're hurting. If you wait until he comes to you, he'll think you hate him or something.

[purrtagonist]

[he is like FAIRLY CERTAIN that it is the opposite!! but]

That's why I want you to talk to him for me. Just keep him company, and make sure he's okay.

[flamingprick]

I'm gonna anyway. He's my friend, I'm not gonna let him be alone. But you're his boyfriend, it'll mean more coming from you.

[It hurts a little to say that, because it really shouldn't make a difference, but Rin knows it does. Dating changes things.]