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countryclub2022-04-27 07:28 pm
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2022-04-27 07:28 pm
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APRIL 2022 TEST DRIVE MEME
APRIL 2022 TEST DRIVE MEME
A MOSTLY PLEASANT ARRIVAL
A DIM REFLECTION
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
CODING
Another month, another test drive meme! Our test drive memes are open to anyone interested - regardless of whether or not you join our game!
All Test Drive Memes are game canon. Players can choose to keep their TDM threads canon or not. TDM threads can be used for AC and can be used as your writing sample for your application.
Our TDMs serve as a way to build into the actual lore and worldbuilding of Deer Country and we strongly encourage everyone to enjoy and participate! Current players are always welcome to pull prompts from the TDM to reference on the Network or bring into logs as well as tag out to new characters top-leveling on the TDM itself.
Characters will always be able to actively die during TDMs as this is an extremely dangerous world. You can still have this be game canon! Check out how character death in Deer Country works here.
If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask down below!
IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Delicious, Gelatinous Fruit Treats]
[Image Two: Women in white dancing around a May Pole (Animated)]
Prompt Two
[Image One: A woman turning away from a mirror. ]
[Image Two: A woman trapped inside a mirror with disembodied hands grabbing at her. ]
Prompt Three
[Image One: A Forked Trail on a Wooded Path]
[Image Two: The Grim Reaper at the end of a sewer tunnel]
All Test Drive Memes are game canon. Players can choose to keep their TDM threads canon or not. TDM threads can be used for AC and can be used as your writing sample for your application.
Our TDMs serve as a way to build into the actual lore and worldbuilding of Deer Country and we strongly encourage everyone to enjoy and participate! Current players are always welcome to pull prompts from the TDM to reference on the Network or bring into logs as well as tag out to new characters top-leveling on the TDM itself.
Characters will always be able to actively die during TDMs as this is an extremely dangerous world. You can still have this be game canon! Check out how character death in Deer Country works here.
If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask down below!
Prompt One
[Image One: Delicious, Gelatinous Fruit Treats]
[Image Two: Women in white dancing around a May Pole (Animated)]
Prompt Two
[Image One: A woman turning away from a mirror. ]
[Image Two: A woman trapped inside a mirror with disembodied hands grabbing at her. ]
Prompt Three
[Image One: A Forked Trail on a Wooded Path]
[Image Two: The Grim Reaper at the end of a sewer tunnel]
WHEN: May
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Forced honesty, personality changes, physical changes.
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Forced honesty, personality changes, physical changes.
Congratulations, sleeper! You're one of the lucky ones to arrive in a month that is not awful to come ashore. The transformational process is almost alarmingly quick and painless. In fact, it is so quick that it is deceptively easy to change back into a squid and do it all over again! Partial transformations are not uncommon during this month for the first twenty-four hours after arriving, and even brief transformations of minor facial features like hair color, eye color, height, weight and a few more extreme possibilities have been known to happen. Don't worry, because the transformations are all temporary and none are inherently monstrous (Unless you already are a monster, in which case good luck with that!). Greeters are present in force to help accommodate you as you make your way, your welcome backpack and items all freshly and neatly cleaned and ready for you as they put the robe on. Everything is so welcoming and inviting that it almost seems like they're having a party.
This is, in fact, because they are. The Wild Moon is about and festivities are in full swing throughout the month of Bauphomette. May poles are set up and it is possible to dance around one if you should wish. Doing so can help to ground oneself in their current form, which may help new arrivals settle in a bit better. Even ignoring that, it feels good to sing and dance, and everyone is very friendly. Even the usually grim Hunters who guard the roads and entries to the shores seem to have less stern smiles on their faces, though their eyes are ever watchful to keep the peace of the festivities.
SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK
Decorations this month are decidedly floral in nature. Everyone is dressed in white, regardless of their usual preferences. Flowers adorn many of the people of Trench and the weather throughout the first week of May is pleasant. Even if it rains, it is a refreshing, light and pleasant rain, and there are many awnings and umbrellas to take shelter underneath.
And of course, there's refreshments. What festival in Trench would be without them? The foods this month have a very floral theme to them. Edible flowers have been grown and prepared especially for this time of year. They've been used to help create infused and gelatinous sweets, Floral spring rolls and edible flower cookies and the like, along with floral teas that are meant to calm the mind. Additionally, the people of Trench will note that any of the foods present can have a beneficial, albeit transformative effect on the mind and body. They promise it won't last long, but if you're really concerned there is hard tack and water available that's quite filling.
Changes from Food will last a few hours at most. There are several options available among the drinks and foods. These may be combined as the player sees fit. Drinks have mental effects, while Treats have physical ones, the Trenchies will inform:
Pomegranate Juice: Sweet and tart, anyone who drinks it or has some of the fresh pomegranate and seeds will feel compelled to speak nothing but the truth. Pomegranates are found littering makeshift shrines to Bauphomette throughout the party, and Trenchies insist they are free to take.
Petal Infused Hot Tea: Pungent and aromatic, it is relaxing. The heat gives a warmth and vibrancy that fills a person with confidence, to the point of arrogance and fearlessness, leading the emboldened to try something that they might not otherwise do, even if it's very risky!
Floral Iced Tea: While refreshing, it feels like there's something just a little lacking, and anyone who drinks some will feel that they need more but not what they need more of at first, making them clingy and affectionate towards other people, especially strangers.
Iced Water: It's not the tastiest, but has a way of washing things away. Water can cleanse and remove the effects of other drinks, though it leaves the person feeling emotionally drained if it is used this way.
Floral Spring Rolls: Trying one of these surprisingly edible treats will have the added effect of giving a person plant traits temporarily. Hair may convert into tresses of ivy or carefully manicured moss, or perhaps a mushroom cap! Skin might become bark-like or chlorophyl green. The more that one eats, the more that they change.
Gelatinous Sweets: These curiosities come with a note. “Have you ever wondered what it is like to walk in someone's shoes?” Eating one has a profound physical effect, causing a person's appearance to transform into that of another person in Trench! It may not even be someone they've met, or seen yet! It would be awkward to meet someone, not looking the way you're supposed to, or worse? Looking like them!
Edible Flower Cookies: They come with lovely notes saying “Eat Me!” What could be sweeter? Well, like something out of Alice and Wonderland, eating one can cause a person to grow or shrink by a foot. More cookies can cause the height difference to become worse and worse, though if you're only a foot tall, it's a good way to end up an inch tall! So, maybe eating more to fix the problem is risky.
Hard Tack: Like the water, it can fill the stomach and remove prematurely any physical effects, though if it does so, removing a physical change physically drains the character.
This is, in fact, because they are. The Wild Moon is about and festivities are in full swing throughout the month of Bauphomette. May poles are set up and it is possible to dance around one if you should wish. Doing so can help to ground oneself in their current form, which may help new arrivals settle in a bit better. Even ignoring that, it feels good to sing and dance, and everyone is very friendly. Even the usually grim Hunters who guard the roads and entries to the shores seem to have less stern smiles on their faces, though their eyes are ever watchful to keep the peace of the festivities.
Decorations this month are decidedly floral in nature. Everyone is dressed in white, regardless of their usual preferences. Flowers adorn many of the people of Trench and the weather throughout the first week of May is pleasant. Even if it rains, it is a refreshing, light and pleasant rain, and there are many awnings and umbrellas to take shelter underneath.
And of course, there's refreshments. What festival in Trench would be without them? The foods this month have a very floral theme to them. Edible flowers have been grown and prepared especially for this time of year. They've been used to help create infused and gelatinous sweets, Floral spring rolls and edible flower cookies and the like, along with floral teas that are meant to calm the mind. Additionally, the people of Trench will note that any of the foods present can have a beneficial, albeit transformative effect on the mind and body. They promise it won't last long, but if you're really concerned there is hard tack and water available that's quite filling.
Changes from Food will last a few hours at most. There are several options available among the drinks and foods. These may be combined as the player sees fit. Drinks have mental effects, while Treats have physical ones, the Trenchies will inform:
Pomegranate Juice: Sweet and tart, anyone who drinks it or has some of the fresh pomegranate and seeds will feel compelled to speak nothing but the truth. Pomegranates are found littering makeshift shrines to Bauphomette throughout the party, and Trenchies insist they are free to take.
Petal Infused Hot Tea: Pungent and aromatic, it is relaxing. The heat gives a warmth and vibrancy that fills a person with confidence, to the point of arrogance and fearlessness, leading the emboldened to try something that they might not otherwise do, even if it's very risky!
Floral Iced Tea: While refreshing, it feels like there's something just a little lacking, and anyone who drinks some will feel that they need more but not what they need more of at first, making them clingy and affectionate towards other people, especially strangers.
Iced Water: It's not the tastiest, but has a way of washing things away. Water can cleanse and remove the effects of other drinks, though it leaves the person feeling emotionally drained if it is used this way.
Floral Spring Rolls: Trying one of these surprisingly edible treats will have the added effect of giving a person plant traits temporarily. Hair may convert into tresses of ivy or carefully manicured moss, or perhaps a mushroom cap! Skin might become bark-like or chlorophyl green. The more that one eats, the more that they change.
Gelatinous Sweets: These curiosities come with a note. “Have you ever wondered what it is like to walk in someone's shoes?” Eating one has a profound physical effect, causing a person's appearance to transform into that of another person in Trench! It may not even be someone they've met, or seen yet! It would be awkward to meet someone, not looking the way you're supposed to, or worse? Looking like them!
Edible Flower Cookies: They come with lovely notes saying “Eat Me!” What could be sweeter? Well, like something out of Alice and Wonderland, eating one can cause a person to grow or shrink by a foot. More cookies can cause the height difference to become worse and worse, though if you're only a foot tall, it's a good way to end up an inch tall! So, maybe eating more to fix the problem is risky.
Hard Tack: Like the water, it can fill the stomach and remove prematurely any physical effects, though if it does so, removing a physical change physically drains the character.
WHEN: May
WHERE: Throughout Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Paranoia, existential dread, hallucinations, possession-related horror.
WHERE: Throughout Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Paranoia, existential dread, hallucinations, possession-related horror.
They warned you about mirrors. Every once in a while, one of the locals in Trench might have whispered it, made a sign of warding when they passed by mirrors, but nothing seemed out of place. They told you that you might see yourself in it, and you would never be the same. However, every time you've looked it's been fine. So, maybe they were being superstitious about something? It certainly wouldn't have been the first time someone had gotten paranoid about nothing in Trench, would it?
How wrong you were. Maybe it was when you were looking down at a puddle rippling in a light breeze. It might have been a formerly polished piece of bronze covered in tarnish that adorned a building. Perhaps it was that lovely bit of obsidian in the shop where you caught your reflection garbled by the shape. It happens only when a reflection is seen in a distorted surface, especially those that are naturally occurring, though occasionally damaged and weathered surfaces that were polished will work. When you were looking at the image, it seemed to look back at you and something was wrong, distorted, imperfect. By then it was too late.
The natives were right. You saw some part of yourself there in the mirror. It might be something that you've hidden from others for a long time, or it might be an exaggeration of a single part of yourself that you aren't proud about. What it is, is a distorted and incomplete part of yourself, something that you try to keep controlled and in check, and it was there, smiling at you and winking. The moment it winked, it was like you were riding in your own skin, watching and unable to act as you changed into a self that reflected that distorted, unnatural and incomplete side of yourself. What shadows do you hide from yourself?
This effect lasts for, at most, one solar cycle. From the rising of the sun to its setting, or the moon to its setting, the effect can last no longer than that. Especially strong-willed people, particularly palebloods, can end this effect sooner through force of will, though it usually lasts at minimum an hour. The character is, for the duration of this effect, changed in personality to behave in accordance with some singular aspect (of the player's choice) of their personality that they do not usually focus on in their day to day behavior. This change can be subtle, or it can be drastic and even dangerous. Its goal is to make sure that everyone sees and witnesses this change, and goes out of its way to impact others in a memorable fact, making sure that they see there is more to the character than what they are revealing. This could be relatively innocuous or extremely dangerous, depending on the person, and the whole while the dominant personality is riding inside their skin, forced to watch what is happening.
How wrong you were. Maybe it was when you were looking down at a puddle rippling in a light breeze. It might have been a formerly polished piece of bronze covered in tarnish that adorned a building. Perhaps it was that lovely bit of obsidian in the shop where you caught your reflection garbled by the shape. It happens only when a reflection is seen in a distorted surface, especially those that are naturally occurring, though occasionally damaged and weathered surfaces that were polished will work. When you were looking at the image, it seemed to look back at you and something was wrong, distorted, imperfect. By then it was too late.
The natives were right. You saw some part of yourself there in the mirror. It might be something that you've hidden from others for a long time, or it might be an exaggeration of a single part of yourself that you aren't proud about. What it is, is a distorted and incomplete part of yourself, something that you try to keep controlled and in check, and it was there, smiling at you and winking. The moment it winked, it was like you were riding in your own skin, watching and unable to act as you changed into a self that reflected that distorted, unnatural and incomplete side of yourself. What shadows do you hide from yourself?
This effect lasts for, at most, one solar cycle. From the rising of the sun to its setting, or the moon to its setting, the effect can last no longer than that. Especially strong-willed people, particularly palebloods, can end this effect sooner through force of will, though it usually lasts at minimum an hour. The character is, for the duration of this effect, changed in personality to behave in accordance with some singular aspect (of the player's choice) of their personality that they do not usually focus on in their day to day behavior. This change can be subtle, or it can be drastic and even dangerous. Its goal is to make sure that everyone sees and witnesses this change, and goes out of its way to impact others in a memorable fact, making sure that they see there is more to the character than what they are revealing. This could be relatively innocuous or extremely dangerous, depending on the person, and the whole while the dominant personality is riding inside their skin, forced to watch what is happening.
WHEN: May
WHERE: Dream worlds
CONTENT WARNINGS: Existential dread, disturbing visions
WHERE: Dream worlds
CONTENT WARNINGS: Existential dread, disturbing visions
It happens when you are asleep one night. There is no warning for this effect, and it comes without apparent cause. One night, you go to sleep, and then suddenly you find yourself in a dreamscape, on a path. You can sense eyes on you the whole time that you are present in this field, and though they have a sense of benevolence to them, there is a deeply alien element to the experiment, almost like you are being observed by a scientist through a microscope. You are not alone on the path, either. One, or possibly more than one, other people that you may know or not know, they seem to have entered the same dreamscape. Behind you is nothing but shadow, and before you is a path. Might as well get going if you want to wake up, right? That's how these things work.
Introductions and questions aside, there's nothing but the path and dense, impenetrable woods on both sides, so eventually you and your companion start walking. As you do, shortly you see a branch in the path ahead of you. The fork has two paths, one of which shows the traffic of many feet, footprints grooved well into the worn cobblestones and mud. One of you will somehow recognize that the footprints are their own, and will notice that the other path has no footprints or very few. That is when the compulsion hits. It is inexorable and impossible to deny, the curiosity to see what is down the path that those footprints do not travel.
Travel, walk and taking that path, you will be treated to a vision. It is a moment in the dreamer's life, where they see something that happened in their life, which involved a choice. Did they go left or right? Did they say yes, or no? A choice they made, even one that seemed immaterial at the time, had some profound effect, and now you and they watch as the other choice was taken. And, within the hour, you will see the results, to your horror. Something terrible will happen to them. It could be anything, but it will be life-shattering, perspective altering and ghastly. They might even die from the experience or see a loved one die. The horror of it will still be in your hearts as you stand there for a moment, trapped in the sight of the aftermath, trying to come to terms with what you have just seen, and just at this moment, after a few parting words are said, both will wake up in a cold sweat.
The event that plays out can be from either character. Close CR is not required. Bauphomette has summoned the characters into the dream directly, and is sharing a distorted mirror of an opposite choice that could have been made. Actual “What if” canon events such as alternate timelines in Supernatural could be used for this, or the entire event can be concocted for this scene. The characters themselves are witnesses, and cannot be personally harmed in any physical way, but the horrific ending for the 'vision' version of the one whose dream this can be as awful as desired and take any form wished so long as it is unpleasant. Please be aware and mindful of each other's Content Warning Preferences in setting these scenes up.
Introductions and questions aside, there's nothing but the path and dense, impenetrable woods on both sides, so eventually you and your companion start walking. As you do, shortly you see a branch in the path ahead of you. The fork has two paths, one of which shows the traffic of many feet, footprints grooved well into the worn cobblestones and mud. One of you will somehow recognize that the footprints are their own, and will notice that the other path has no footprints or very few. That is when the compulsion hits. It is inexorable and impossible to deny, the curiosity to see what is down the path that those footprints do not travel.
Travel, walk and taking that path, you will be treated to a vision. It is a moment in the dreamer's life, where they see something that happened in their life, which involved a choice. Did they go left or right? Did they say yes, or no? A choice they made, even one that seemed immaterial at the time, had some profound effect, and now you and they watch as the other choice was taken. And, within the hour, you will see the results, to your horror. Something terrible will happen to them. It could be anything, but it will be life-shattering, perspective altering and ghastly. They might even die from the experience or see a loved one die. The horror of it will still be in your hearts as you stand there for a moment, trapped in the sight of the aftermath, trying to come to terms with what you have just seen, and just at this moment, after a few parting words are said, both will wake up in a cold sweat.
The event that plays out can be from either character. Close CR is not required. Bauphomette has summoned the characters into the dream directly, and is sharing a distorted mirror of an opposite choice that could have been made. Actual “What if” canon events such as alternate timelines in Supernatural could be used for this, or the entire event can be concocted for this scene. The characters themselves are witnesses, and cannot be personally harmed in any physical way, but the horrific ending for the 'vision' version of the one whose dream this can be as awful as desired and take any form wished so long as it is unpleasant. Please be aware and mindful of each other's Content Warning Preferences in setting these scenes up.
no subject
...Someone in my family used to treat people liked that. Never respected him. Not once. He's one of the reasons why everything's so ruined. So many people just...accepted their fate around him. Rich people, right? Tch.
[Still, he chuckles from inside the stall.] ...Oh, so you're used to that kind of work? Then I guess this stuff comes naturally to you. It's hard to change what natural talents you have. Like me being charismatic and cool.
[A pause, as he slips his pants, then shirt on.] I forget. Did you ever say your name? ...I should know it, since we seem to get along pretty well. Ihihihihi.
no subject
Still, she laughs easily. Because now she's praying for a miracle of coincidence rather than an awful prank by fate, blinding herself to let an illusion of perfection by happenstance survive for just a few moments more.] Damn bourgeoisie. It's a difficult to convince your coworkers to unionize when they're all sixteen and will quit in three years tops, unfortunately.
And I think I misheard you, since you obviously meant, "tryhard and obnoxious," kyahahaha!
[Sayo leans against the wall of the stall to keep herself upward, shutting her eyes. Please. Please let this be the neat ending that a monster like her didn't deserve.]
...you first. I don't want to give up my advantage quite yet.
[Always a coward. Always letting the initiative fall to the other person.
Had she truly changed at all, these past few months? Or was that all just another illusion?]
no subject
This girl. He knew her. And she probably knew that he knew her, considering he acted the same way around any individual, given the opportunity. Battler didn't hide away parts of himself from anyone.] Eh, well. That just means y'gotta have an in. Someone willing to help ya out.
[And he almost laughs.] You're brutal, aren't you? [And then there's a pause, and the silence hangs in the air for a few seconds. He pats at his hair, tugs one strand out. It's red. He's back to normal.
This was like a friendly chess game after all, wasn't it? What was it he'd heard Doctor Nanjo say once? ...Chess is equally a game about getting to know other people. To spend time with another person. And, in this case, a stranger. Saying his name would break that illusion - even stepping out of the stall might.
It might've become readily apparent to Sayo, in that moment, that Battler knew that no matter if he told her an alias, she'd see right through it with his face. If he refused, she'd know who he was anyway. And if he said it...
It was putting himself into checkmate voluntarily. There weren't many moves left, anyway. And Battler never intended to die in the middle of a match, unlike his grandfather had more than once before.]
You make it sound like this is a tactical maneuver. You've even got me nervous now.
[Finally, he takes a deep breath in. He's a man. If he were the one to break the illusion...it wouldn't be the first time he'd tried to tear apart such things. He turns around...and he opens the curtain. The smile on his face is resigned, as he looks to Sayo. Distant. As if to say you've seen my face. That's enough, isn't it?
But he still said the forbidden words.]
Battler.
Ushiromiya Battler. A pleasure.
1/6
2/6
3/6
4/6
5/6
6/6
Still drowning in heaving, rattling sobs, Sayo clutches her face, witch's claws digging into her skin and drawing glittering blood.]
Why now... why after- after how hard I tried- after all I've done-
Why NOW?!
[Without another warning, Sayo drunkenly lunges forward, grabbing him by the lapels. There's surprising strength in her grasp, evidence of the changes she's worked so hard to hammer into her body and the sheer depths of rage in her abyss of despair.]
EVERY TIME! EVERY TIME, YOU COME TOO LATE!
WHY DO YOU KEEP TORTURING ME LIKE THIS, BATTLER-SAN!?
[The witch in her voice slowly fades away as her resurrection falls apart, an illusion as it always has been. All that's left is choked, muffled crying.
Sayo Yasuda, perpetrator of the Witch Legend Serial Murders, hangs her head, entire body going limp as if she was a puppet with her strings cut.]
Too much... It's too much...
[She sniffles. Lowly, pathetic, shabby, dead, rotting, furniture.]
Why can't you just close the casket on my corpse and be done with it?
1/2
W--Wait, you're--
[She's digging her fingernails into her face, drawing blood. He knew the reaction would be bad, but he had no idea how much. Not like this. His sheer appearance has caused this to happen. It's him. He doesn't have answers for her questions, and he has far too many of his own - but obviously, none of those are going to get answered as she lunges at him in that feral way, grabbed strongly by the lapels.
He doesn't even cry out. He actively stops himself from doing so, from making a sound, apart from his breath catching in his throat. Then there's the accusations, screamed at him in that familiar voice. Somewhere, hidden within this girl, is a spark of Beatrice.
She's not Beatrice. That much is unmistakable. Beatrice is her own. He can see flickers of others within this girl - Shannon's sociability, her bright eyes, her smile and natural charm. Kanon's firm presence, unwavering until the very end, a defiant angry fire burning quietly. And then there's Beatrice. Her wrath. Her wit. It's all there. This girl standing before him...
She was none of those people. She was her own.
But she carried unspeakable burdens. Burdens of her own and burdens of others.
He was at the center of this. It was a hurricane, swirling around him, like the hurricane that kept the Ushiromiya family stuck to Rokkenjima, like a girl's heart, not to be understood. And, as someone who has been at the epicenter, there's nothing you can say to make this better.
There was absolutely nothing Ushiromiya Battler could say that could make this situation better. But he couldn't just remain quiet and stare, bewildered, either. That would be even worse.
Don't apologize. It's demeaning.
Don't brush it off. It's insensitive.
This is the thinnest ice. There was no more friendly chess match. His companion - his formerly-friendly opponent - had tossed the board up into the air in justified wrath. The pieces stuck to it, as if bound. And then she picked it up, ashamed of what she'd done.
And then she wept. She'd lost all desire to play. Chess was such an exhausting game, if you played it too much.
There was no more logic. Just emotion.
Without love, it cannot be seen.]
2/2
No answer I give will be good enough. Nothing I do will make up for it - including offering up my own life, claiming I won't blame you for whatever happens, or just saying we can never speak again after this moment and you can forget I'm even here. It would be insulting to you to think that it might, and so I won't delude myself. Or try to delude you.
We exist on the same gameboard. Of course our paths will cross.
But I...I see you. Probably not everything you'd hope I'd see. Your fate isn't bound to mine.
We are both human. With no one power over another.
Don't let my existence - here or otherwise - negate that. Even a little.
And that's...that's a suggestion. Not an order.
no subject
"We are both human." She wants to say no, she's nothing but shabby, rotting furniture, but she remembers Kainé's wide smile and Anna's clumsy understanding, all the other less-than-humans and she can't bring herself to choke it out.
"including offering up my life-" She wants to taunt him, reach out and stab him through the chest like he'd done to her so many times, like the way he gouged out Beatrice's iron will and left a hollow husk. She wants to choke the life out of him, she wants to rip his guts out and taunt him with her brutality, that she truly was a heartless witch. But she remembers the promises she's made, to Rin, to Jessica.
"I have no desire to see anyone dead by my mistake."
Sayo just stares at him.
Then, her ferocious grip changes to another kind of grasp, the one where she buries her head in his chest and sobs like she's forcing an ocean's worth of tears from her eyes.]
"Your mistake...?"
Liar... liar!
It's... it's too late for that... your sin, my sin, I...
[She sniffles.]
No, I can't even blame you.
It was... only an illusion, wasn't it? From the start.
[She loses all strength in her limbs, pathetically falling to her knees while still grabbing at Battler.
Dragging him down.
As always.]
no subject
...Just his words alone send Sayo crying into his chest. She doesn't have the energy to fight anymore. Neither does he, and it was a battle he couldn't have possibly won, anyway.
She calls him a liar. It's too late. Deep down, he knows it's too late. Beatrice disappeared. He still can't see the absolute truth, but what he does see is a girl falling down. Dragging him down into the depths below, down where he may drown and never return. Again, he doesn't cry out, even if she's dragged him down. He just...gently wraps an arm around her.
It was only an illusion from the start.
Why was he crying, too?]
It was magic. Magic depends on belief.
[And yet, he still couldn't bring himself to believe. That was why this - whatever she expected of him - wasn't reality. He'd broken through that, yet again. Incompetent Ushiromiya Battler finds his way through yet another mystery by ruining it.]
While some people may believe from their entire being, some...may not ever fully be able to accept that.
[Maybe if he believed hard enough, Beato would appear, right then and there, and she'd say that whatever this test was, he'd passed, and she'd laugh in his face for being overly emotional. Maybe if he believed, this beach would be, in itself, washed away, and replaced with the Golden Land. His family would appear again, safe and sound. His being would feel refreshed. He'd have no burdens, no desires left unfulfilled, no wants, no needs.
But the Golden Land didn't exist. None of it were that easy. If reality itself could be an entire fabrication based on the kind lie of 'magic', if he could convince himself into that - sometimes he'd wished he'd been built differently. Not with Endless Nine, but with a belief so strong that he'd make even little Maria proud.
Battler Ushiromiya, the Endless--it had a certain feeling to it.
No. He couldn't.
That wouldn't help. Not here.
He was too late.
Tears fell from his own eyes, a familiar feeling, warm and wet. Nobody won this game. It became a stalemate. And, like Kinzo's infamous last chess match...it would remain unfinished.]
I can't believe in magic.
And that's my failing. Not anyone else's.
Your belief can create beautiful things. I wish I were able to see them, sometimes. I'm sure if I could, they'd be stunning. My...reality is cruel.
Don't let yourself accept it. You're stronger than that. That, I know for a fact.
Even if I may incompetently know nothing more.
no subject
Only a steady stream of tears she had thought long dried, flooding her heart, her mind, her entire world.
She is drowning, is drowned, a corpse on the seabed. And what makes it even more painful is the light she can see faintly glimmering from above, a hand reaching for her flesh-stripped fingerbones-
And grasping nothing but a corpse, for she cannot be saved.
Sayo digs her face deeper into Battler's chest, her sobs only growing more violent, each threatening to rend her lungs apart with the force.]