imeeji_frontstage | BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER

Who: Traitors and Survivors, Exael
Where: The Game Tower, and leaving it
When: Day 25, morning-- it appears that game lasted the bulk of day 24 into the night.

[ Abruptly, the nightmare ends.

You, in the rooms you kept restarting in, awoke. Before you can even panic, before even despair, the elevator doors were open in front of you to take you downstairs again. It could be a trap, sure, but your head is quiet— those fucking ghosts are gone. You also appear to be wet like someone dumped, perhaps, a bucket of holy water on you while you were asleep. All your wounds are gone, and you have been left bereft of any physical damage from your ordeal.

Unless you choose to take some with you. Nothing prevents you from taking any of your spoils downstairs with you, if you wish it, though all revolvers will have no ammo.

On the screens as you descend back to the lobby, Exael is clapping on screen, broadcast showing her in the mansion's entrance hall. "And so close the gates to this forbidden garden, and so closes this chapter of our story! Just as—" her hologram flickers as she doesn't seem to notice, chattering still to the cameras, "so too will—" fzzt, fzzt. Static, flickering, and then back into focus, "So give them all a hand! Everyone, you've done well! You stand before us still, ready to present us all with more marvels after having survived such grisly wonders with—" "—in the balance!"

As she speaks, she doesn't notice a figure approaching behind her. He's in a slick suit with both hands in his pockets, and you've seen him before— his portrait is in the foyer. His shoes are utterly silent as he walks across the marble floor, till he's right at her back.

"Audience and actors alike, we've been blessed with—" Her hologram doesn't flicker this time, but she stops speaking. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what's amiss, and only belatedly begins to slowly look over her shoulder.

"Exael," he says with a friendly hand on her solidifying hologram shoulder, the effect spreading beneath his touch, "We need to have a chat about your requisitions paperwork."

She tilts her head, eyes wide with a finger tapping against her cheek as she thinks, "I didn't do any!"

"Yes," he agrees, smiling with all his teeth. "I know."

The broadcast cuts. The doors open to let you leave. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mirrors?

[He reaches out to touch Shuten’s shoulder. He’s moving strangely and it’s worrying. So is what he’s saying. Everything is so worrying right now.]

[he freezes, at the contact. for a few moments he's just utterly scarily still. and then he's dropping a hand onto Abi's as if to keep it there, as if to soak up that contact desperately.]

...AlcheMe could put people in mirrors for a hundred years. And did.

[oh....]

That’s...why everyone ran.

[when members of AlcheME showed up, that is.

He squeezes Shuten’s shoulder. There’s something about the concept of the mirrors...and Shuten or Hiryuu being in the mirrors that is deeply unsettling to him. Like, even beyond the obvious, it’s upsetting but he doesn’t know why.]

Anyone with good sense who knew about it should've run. Definitely.

I'm glad you didn't have to deal with that.

[Shuten tentatively reaches out to ruffle Abi's hair.]

[he leans into the hair ruffles...]

I still...

[he still fucked up. And, like, killed people.]

...I don't know if anyone didn't.

[i mean shuten technically didn't but that was because mirror jail and bad luck.]

[He shakes his head. Not really in disagreement, because he knows Shuten is right, but because he can’t really reconcile it or forgive himself right now.]

... Well. You aren't in the wrong, to be feeling like that.

Let me know if I'm overdoing it, dear. I'm not so good at people anymore.

[But he's reaching to tug Abi into a hug.]

[he lets him...hugs are nice and good. He even sort of relaxes into it, because it’s nice to be close to someone without worrying that they’re going to stab you.

Because he’s pretty sure Shuten won’t stab him. Pretty sure.]

[if Shuten plans to stab him, he seems to be going for the long game, because the hug is just warm solid but also utterly escapable, like he'll give Abi an out the moment he indicates he wants one.]

[he doesn’t seem to be moving away. After a moment he buries his face in Shuten’s shoulder, kind of giving in to the impulse to hide his face because he doesn’t really want to show his face right now.]

[Shuten isn't being entirely altruistic with this. It's been a solid century since he's felt another person's touch, and he's not missing this chance to innocently soak up as much contact as possible. Abi is a sweet young man. Shuten thinks he won't begrudge him this, just like Shuten doesn't blame him for needing a hug. He rubs soothing circles on Abi's back with a hand.]

[Yeah, it's true, he doesn't mind at all.

he also eventually might like

pet Shuten's hair a little. Since Shuten seemed to like pettings before.]

BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER - END

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