( two broken teenagers enter the maze. in another story, perhaps only one would come out. but in this, they're both plagued by horrible, awful little whispers in their minds. mafuyu clutches her head, hunched over and legs shaking as her mother admonishes her more and more for not listening- if she'd been good she wouldn't be in this mess.
and then noah tumbles in, shocking a brief but startled scream and an actual flinch out of mafuyu before she stops herself, staring- when noah does look at her, he'll see that her eyes are red from tears and she looks tired. )
Ah- Ebalon-san...?
( she- he's real, right? visual hallucinations didn't just become a thing in the last few mirrors? --no, no, just... just audible. after a moment, she crouches beside him, offering a hand. )
[I mean, only one could come out if you wanted that, murder is okay—
Anyway, Noah immediately dissociates. Which doesn't say a lot about him as a person, or maybe it does, who's really paying attention? Time to slap that happy persona on and pretend he didn't just try to punch glass. Hey, someone else is sad! Whack! He can help with that probably, he's very cool!]
My ego's a little damaged since I fell, but I'm okay! [To the left of him is an image of Clamor dying in a mirror's reflection, but it's okay, he's ignoring it. He's ignoring the screams and pleas and the blood being spilt oh god please enough he's seen this before—] What about you...? You look... no offense, but you look not great.
it's probably going to be cws the whole way down lets be real
mafuyu watches quietly before- Mafuyu... look at this. Aren't you embarrassed? This isn't like you. You're better than this. Now this carnie is worried about you- and the words in her ears are making her flinch again. almost instinctively, she looks away with a muttered apology to someone who isn't there. )
Oh- um. No... it's... it's just hearing things. It's okay. I'll be okay.
[But by Elria's Light, he's going to force himself to be happy, for himself and for her, for all the fucked-up shit they're having to deal with, so—]
Hey, c'mon! Let's get outta here. [He'll offer a hand out, making the cheeriness return. To his left, blood splatters across glass and a scream rings out from somewhere distant and unknown.]
( unfortunately, mafuyu's always been good at seeing through masks. less unfortunate, she at least recognizes there's a reason for it, and calling him out won't make anything better at the moment. hell, most of the time she's perfectly fine letting people go about with their facades- the only time she hadn't been, she'd been hurting and she wanted to hurt others just as much.
her mother sighs and she can hear her belittling her choice in rescue- no one is ever good enough. no one, no one, no one.
she still takes his hand, nodding quietly. )
Alright. ... I- I don't like the red mirrors. Can we avoid those?
( because she's used to her mother's voice. but that twisting transformation makes her feel ill. )
[Sometimes, there's only one path forward. Sometimes, that path forward takes you through a stupid red mirror, and your legs become long and gangly and fucked up and flat, and you have to crawl across the sticky floors and—
Noah shudders, visibly, and then slips easily into his facade again.
The blood splattered floors of Seven Tower loom ominously in his peripheral.]
When we're out, [he says as they walk, to keep the hallucinations at bay,] do you want to try some of the weird food they have here? I haven't tried everything yet! I got a lot of tokens to buy stuff with, though. It'll be my treat!
( and yet she finds her mother scolding her in her ear so much more comforting. because at least she's used to that, on some level.
she lets him lead the way, careful not to look at the mirrors at all, and listens. it's... a plea for comfort, his talking. a distraction. something to focus on that isn't what the mirror is doing to them.
that's alright. she doesn't mind. )
... Sure. But... I can't really taste anything. So you'll have to tell me how bad it all is. I still can feel textures though.
You can't taste anything? Is it... er, genetic? Or did something happen to you otherwise? Sorry if that's... if that's personal.
[But it's probably easier to talk about why her tastebuds don't work than to focus on the memories flashing in every reflective surface near them. Probably easier for her, too, he thinks, as he squeezes her hand in his.]
( ... does he know what zinc is? either way, she wouldn't be surprised if he just assumes it's natural, given how other deficiencies can work and the lack of real common knowledge. )
... I've been rather glad I can't while we're here, though. Someone had me try the fried jello...
( mafuyu pauses to let the confused terror sink in a little before shaking her head. )
Perhaps someone else should be in charge of cooking, then. ... My friends and I go to a diner, whenever we complete a project. Mizuki always gets fries. They're her favorite, but she's sensitive to heat so she waits until they get cold.
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amuze2022-09-08 12:04 pm
★ Death Reversed (cw: emotional abuse oh god)
and then noah tumbles in, shocking a brief but startled scream and an actual flinch out of mafuyu before she stops herself, staring- when noah does look at her, he'll see that her eyes are red from tears and she looks tired. )
Ah- Ebalon-san...?
( she- he's real, right? visual hallucinations didn't just become a thing in the last few mirrors? --no, no, just... just audible. after a moment, she crouches beside him, offering a hand. )
It's okay. You aren't hurt, right...?
cw these are just two sad children
Anyway, Noah immediately dissociates. Which doesn't say a lot about him as a person, or maybe it does, who's really paying attention? Time to slap that happy persona on and pretend he didn't just try to punch glass. Hey, someone else is sad! Whack! He can help with that probably, he's very cool!]
My ego's a little damaged since I fell, but I'm okay! [To the left of him is an image of Clamor dying in a mirror's reflection, but it's okay, he's ignoring it. He's ignoring the screams and pleas and the blood being spilt oh god please enough he's seen this before—] What about you...? You look... no offense, but you look not great.
it's probably going to be cws the whole way down lets be real
mafuyu watches quietly before- Mafuyu... look at this. Aren't you embarrassed? This isn't like you. You're better than this. Now this carnie is worried about you- and the words in her ears are making her flinch again. almost instinctively, she looks away with a muttered apology to someone who isn't there. )
Oh- um. No... it's... it's just hearing things. It's okay. I'll be okay.
( liar. )
no subject
[But by Elria's Light, he's going to force himself to be happy, for himself and for her, for all the fucked-up shit they're having to deal with, so—]
Hey, c'mon! Let's get outta here. [He'll offer a hand out, making the cheeriness return. To his left, blood splatters across glass and a scream rings out from somewhere distant and unknown.]
no subject
her mother sighs and she can hear her belittling her choice in rescue- no one is ever good enough. no one, no one, no one.
she still takes his hand, nodding quietly. )
Alright. ... I- I don't like the red mirrors. Can we avoid those?
( because she's used to her mother's voice. but that twisting transformation makes her feel ill. )
no subject
[Sometimes, there's only one path forward. Sometimes, that path forward takes you through a stupid red mirror, and your legs become long and gangly and fucked up and flat, and you have to crawl across the sticky floors and—
Noah shudders, visibly, and then slips easily into his facade again.
The blood splattered floors of Seven Tower loom ominously in his peripheral.]
When we're out, [he says as they walk, to keep the hallucinations at bay,] do you want to try some of the weird food they have here? I haven't tried everything yet! I got a lot of tokens to buy stuff with, though. It'll be my treat!
no subject
she lets him lead the way, careful not to look at the mirrors at all, and listens. it's... a plea for comfort, his talking. a distraction. something to focus on that isn't what the mirror is doing to them.
that's alright. she doesn't mind. )
... Sure. But... I can't really taste anything. So you'll have to tell me how bad it all is. I still can feel textures though.
no subject
[But it's probably easier to talk about why her tastebuds don't work than to focus on the memories flashing in every reflective surface near them. Probably easier for her, too, he thinks, as he squeezes her hand in his.]
no subject
( ... does he know what zinc is? either way, she wouldn't be surprised if he just assumes it's natural, given how other deficiencies can work and the lack of real common knowledge. )
... I've been rather glad I can't while we're here, though. Someone had me try the fried jello...
no subject
I have this friend— [Noah begins, almost bouncing on his heel,] that made everyone jello salad once. Half of us got sick!
[
yes I am making Elesis's jello salad canon outside of PSLs now, also consider: this jello salad is 5x worse because this would be Flame Lord—]no subject
Perhaps someone else should be in charge of cooking, then. ... My friends and I go to a diner, whenever we complete a project. Mizuki always gets fries. They're her favorite, but she's sensitive to heat so she waits until they get cold.