seaofhearts | i will burn my dread

i will burn my dread

Who: Everyone!
What: Welcome to the Dark Hour!
Where: In the Strega warehouse.
Warnings: Possible blood and gore, Persona 3/general SMT-level disturbing topics, possible violence (knowing this group). Will edit if needed.

[When he first wakes up, Ken finds himself lying on a bed. That in itself isn't so unfamiliar, but this one has dents where it should, the shape of a small body pressed into it over weeks and months, and the sheets are soft and scratchy in just the right places and -]

[Oh no. He sits up and pulls himself out of bed, reaching almost automatically for Koromaru but... he's not there. Of course not. He'd been expecting the Tower, but this is worse, because they're not here because this is his Heart, not theirs, and because -]

[No. He has to think of what to do. He grabs the dangpa that Shinjiro made him and the copy of Gae Buidhe that Diarmuid gave him, strapping them onto his back. He needs to stay defended in this place, no matter what - the last Heart taught him that much.]

[The familiar pressure of the Dark Hour doesn't bother him, but it's worrying. It should be gone now. They won. It's over. Even in his Heart, it shouldn't be around. But it is, and there's a brief flare of panic before -]

[No. He needs to get going. The puzzles aren't going to find themselves.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Dining Area]

[He should have expected this. He runs the tap and - nope. Blood. It's definitely the Dark Hour, though his TV is working. It must have something to do with Hearts being weird. He frowns, turns the tap off, and opens the fridge.]

[Oh. It's just Suppressants. At least Koromaru's food is here, if he exists in this place. He could have sworn he heard him somewhere... but no. Hopefully they won't get desperate, because dog food is edible. He's learned that before.]

[Electronics Room]

[Jin's room, obviously. The computers are locked, and he's not sure what the passwords are. It's not like Jin kept stuff around on sticky notes or something. The explosives around make him nervous, but they always did. Jin knew what he was doing, though. Usually.]

[The Revenge Request board makes him a little worried, though. Not that he should care what people thought of how they got most of their money, but... well. It's not something other people really would understand. He stands there for a bit, looking at the faces of the people they killed. ... It wasn't right. Was it the only way? He's not sure anymore.]

[Art Room]

[Chidori would have hated random people stomping around the warehouse. He doesn't like it either, but at least in her room he can have a moment of peace. The mannequins aren't in the best shape, but they always worked. He walks over to one of them, carefully holding the sleeve of a half-finished dress. ... Would she ever get a chance to finish all of these? It hurts to think of the time that they might not have, even as they swore to do what they could with the time they had left.]

[The moment his eyes snap open Liao is out of the coffin without a second glance at anything. He's sworn on his honor to Rabbit, and he treasures his honor more than anything. He will not fail.]

Entrance Hall
[Poking around the crates, Liao wonders at all these items and knickknacks and gadgets. Cautious at sticking his hand out at anything he doesn't understand though, he leaves them untouched, only investigating the boxes in hopes of stumbling upon a puzzle.]

Second floor Bathroom
[There wasn't any indoor plumping in 2nd century China, which is why he doesn't quite understand the function of this room. Those little knob things look like they can be turned though, and he places a hand on one of them tentatively.]

Open-air art area
[Paintings! Yes!! And Liao's somewhat relieved to see them framed up on the wall. Not because he has a secret artistic soul inside him somewhere, but because it's finally something that's familiar to him. Sure the art-style's really different from the traditional Chinese paintings, but anyone can recognize paint slapped on paper. He'll just take a quick look around the room, see what he can find.]

Edited 2016-01-25 13:40 (UTC)

[Easels, charcoal pencils, brushes and paper. This room must belong to an artist. Liao steps inside and gives Ken a nod in greeting.]

Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?

[ Entrance Area ]

[Harley had woken once more with a start, sucking in a quick breath as her eyes darted around. It's with a grim sort of realization (lord knows how many times her Puddin' had shoved her into a coffin or tied burying her alive over the years, the big kidder) that she notes what it is she's laying in and she makes quick work to pull herself out again. Once out of the oversized coffin, Harley's gaze moves around the warehouse. She makes rather quick work of trying the windows and front door, but it seems they are securely locked; at least for now. She moves to the crates, pulling the tarps off one at a time.]

Just like Christmas! Come ta mama!

[While her teammates may consider it with some degree of horror, Harley feels extra uneasy and is making certain to look out for number one: herself. A few minutes and a handy crowbar later, Harley has the crates open and is loading up with several favorites; don't think you'll see everything. A few knives get stowed away within her bodysuit (how???) and she's managed to find another mallet. However, she's also got a loaded .45 revolver in a holster at her thigh, the weapon looking almost too big for her petite form.]

Eat yer heart out, Lara Croft... [She smirks and begins digging through one of the explosive crates, grabbing and tossing things into a pile nearby.]

[ Second Floor Bathroom ]

[Having loaded herself down with an assortment of weapons that make her feel (slightly) less uneasy, Harley continues moving through the warehouse. She still wasn't sure what the Cat had meant about competing to get out, but she wasn't slowing down to mull over it.

If it was a competition, Harley was aiming to win.

Though, under the unease was a niggling doubt that none of this even mattered. What was there to go back to, anyway? Mistah J needed her, right? Bud and Lou? Even Pammy had to be missing her by now... She passes the dining area and stops short of the bathroom with a soft inhale, falling silent at the sound of claws on floor.]

H'lo? [It had sounded like a dog, but she doesn't hear it again. With a shiver moving down her spine, she shrugs it off and steps into the bathroom to look around.]

[ Child's Bedroom ]
[Drawn by the sound of the television, Harley makes her way into the child's bedroom in the loft. She creeps in, mallet in one hand and her eyes widen as she sees the fire escape in the other end of the room. She curses when she finds it locked, nearly stumbling as she hears the foot steps again.]

Who's there?! I heard ya, so don't try no funny business, huh???

[Not knowing if she actually heard anything besides the television, she begins digging around the bedroom for clues.]

[ If Harley looks under the bed, she will find a sheet of paper. It reads as follows:

"Bring me to the one who understands the tale of starcrossed lovers, family tragedy, and death. This is his room, not yours."

In anyone's hands but Ken's, it is a simple sheet of paper. It cannot be burned, torn, ripped up, or thrown away. If attempted, it will go back under the bed. ]

Edited 2016-01-25 13:56 (UTC)

[ When Liao turns the handles on the tap, instead of water, blood will begin pouring out. It is clear water is meant to pour out of here, as this is a restroom, but... it is, instead, blood. Very fresh blood, it seems, as it floors rather freely.

It will continue to flow until he turns the handle back to the off position. ]

[ Ken will note the feeling and sound of being watched.

He will also note that as he walks and moves about, it sounds as though a dog is following him, the clacking of nails on varying floor materials close behind him. When he stops, the sound will stop with him. He will never see or feel anything to indicate the presence of a dog, but he will also occasionally hear sounds of breathing.

At times, he will feel as though there is a heavy weight around his neck, and that the room is colder than it should be, but it will eventually ease off with movement. ]

[Like a scene out of a horror story, blood gushes out of the tap. Disgusted and horrified, Liao quickly tries to turn it off!]

It looks right... I think. I -

[There it is again. He reaches a hand up to his throat, touching nothing but his neck, even though it feels like...]

... I can still feel the collar... of course it'd be here, too.

[ Once turned off, the blood will stop gushing from the spout. ]

[Harley is snooping around for a while, picking up and examining the various action figures, when she accidentally drops one and manages to kick it under the bed. She shifts, leaning over to find it and pats around underneath with her hand before leaning over more and looking beneath. She spies the figure and grabs it, before noticing the sheet of paper.

Now, it's likely that in other situations she might pay one sheet of paper no mind, but it's out of place. There is nothing else under the bed but that sheet, and it's enough to nag at her curiosity.

She reaches and snags it, pulling it out from under the bed. Sitting on the floor she reads the note on it, a frown pulling her lips and creasing her brows.]

One who understands starcrossed lovers, family tragedy an' dearth ... This is his room, not yers... his room...

[She leans back against the bed and looks around the room. It's several moments before her gaze settles on the television again and her eyes widen slightly. She takes in the spandex suited superheroes and their robots, recalling what she and Ken had spoken about just a short while ago; even if it felt like ages.]

Ken...

[She pushes to her feet, tucking the paper into her bodysuit for safekeeping. She gives the bedroom a final look over, returning the action figure to its place before stepping into the hall again. She needs to find Ken.]

KEN??!

[Harley is yelling for Ken as she makes her way through the warehouse, that nagging sense of unease boring a hole between her shoulders. She continuously looks over her shoulders, half turning as she scrabbled to find the younger boy. Her eyes are wider than they should be, that clicking of nails on floor echoes as she passes through the room with crates that she'd already dug through, a bark causing her to nearly trip. She stumbles, catching herself against the wall and coming face to face with the red X's.

Her eyes widen and she stumbles back, realizing what this was and solidifying that this was Ken's Heart.]

Geeze, they were kids... [Kids killing kids. She back pedals and another bark, echoing eerily behind her, sets her racing again.]

KENNY?!

[She skids around the corner of the art room, grabbing for the wall and kinda flinging herself into the room in a half circle. She's gasping softly, looking back over her shoulder as she backs into the room. She backs right into a dressing mannequin and yelps in surprise, spinning to punch before she can help herself.

The mannequin's head goes flying.

It's only then, eyes still a bit wider and whiter than they should be, that she actually sees Liao and Ken.]

Ken! [She moves over to the pair, though she still glances over her shoulder and her hand falls to the holster at her hip.]

This place gives me the willies worse than jus' about anywhere... I keep hearin' things... [Have one super shaken up Harley. She digs into her bodysuit, eyes constantly moving around the room their in, fumbling out the piece of paper she'd found.]

I found this under the bed in yer room. [She doesn't get into how she knew it was his, but she seems pretty damn certain that it was, so you should just trust her on this, Ken.]

[The sudden appearance of Harley throws him off, and he dashes to catch the mannequin's head. He manages it, barely, and walks over to the mannequin to put its head back on its shoulders.]

Hearing things - oh. I guess that's probably Koromaru. I can't actually find him, but he's a good dog.

[He frowns at the paper, taking it. He can't blame her for looking around, even if it was his room. ... What's this?]

[Thank the gods. Liao grimaces at the unholy sight and turns away. What else can he find in the bathroom?]

[Another day, another Harleyplosion. Liao whips around the moment she crashes into the room. He notes that she's picked up one of those strange items in the entrance area; with how her hand curls around it, he can assume she's picked it up for protection. After her behavior with Lalli in the other world, he's going to be keeping a careful eye on her.

For now they'll focus on the note. Liao switches his gaze over to Ken, watching the boy carefully.]

And there are no other dogs other than...this dog of yours? [Why can't you people have easier names, even your pets are named with tongue twisters.] And what do you mean by a collar?

Edited 2016-01-26 01:38 (UTC)

No, he'd be the only one. He could use Persona like we could - a part of yourself that certain people can use to fight. ... And even if he couldn't, I probably still would have tried to keep him. And the collar... we all had collars in the Tower. They suppressed our abilities and kept us from seeing how things really were.

[Yes, Liao, she has a gun... it'll do one helluva lot more damage than the knives she has hidden on her person, but not nearly as much as the bombs she squirreled away. If this uneasy feeling didn't go away, she was going to start putting down trip wires. She wasn't crazy... Okay, she is crazy... but she knows when something don't feel right and this place doesn't feel right.

She frowns though, when Ken speaks of the Tower.]

That's the place ya were talkin' about before, right? [She's going to say more... maybe try to lighten the mood and make a quip about being treated much like the ghost dog that was seemingly floating around, but the words die on her lips. Wasn't she treated that way on pretty much a daily basis by just about everyone around her; whether in the asylum or out? The thought goes unvoiced and she shrugs slightly to cover the pause.]

I dunno what it is, exactly, but when I looked at it, it said: "Bring me ta the one who understands the tale'a starcrossed lovers, family tragedy, an' death. This is his room, not yers." I figured, while it seems like several'a us match that description, it seemed ta be yers. [She looks a touch uncertain, but he hadn't denied the bedroom was his when she'd said she found it.]

Edited (Phone tags full of fail! :() 2016-01-26 03:35 (UTC)

[Electronics Room]

[Perhaps surprisingly, Sasuke is actually up and about again. Especially odd since he never showed up for the pizza party, but... At least he seems to be in one piece?

Currently, he's looking over those photographs with the red Xs, though he'll eventually make his way to the back of the room and the locked door to see if he can't find the way to get it open.]

[Ground Floor]

[The most obvious place to look, right? He's most interested in what appears to be the warehouse exit, since doors seem to be good places to start when it comes to finding - and subsequently solving - puzzles around these places.

He has to make himself useful here, after all...]

[ There's an ominous feeling about this place and Hinata himself can sense it already. It's the feeling of dread that runs down his spine and feels heavy, but he decides to ignore it for the time being. This is fine. At the very least, he can deal with this kind of thing for long periods of time.

The first place he visits is the dining area, and when he find that there's no food he can't help but worry a little. This reminds him too hard of the Funhouse and he wonders if there isn't going to be anything to eat while they're there. Which is is kind of unsettling because he's... actually starved himself to near death for several days, and that isn't exactly a fun experience. That's fun.

Later, he decides to visit the electronics room and out of curiosity decides to go ahead and check the computers to see the password input screen. He isn't going to type anything just yet, he just wants to see how many characters he can put in and if there is a password hint before attempting some investigation. Of course he could always utilize Kamukura's talent as a hacker, but-- he isn't sure if he should risk that chance. ]

[Oh... hey there. Ken walks up near Sasuke, watching him look at the photographs. Hm. Well. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised that people find it odd.]

[His eyes flick over to Ken briefly before settling on the photos once again.]

...It's a little ominous.

[Just a bit.]

[He can't help but let out a little bit of a sheepish laugh at that.]

They were hits.

[Hah. Although his eyes narrow for all of a fraction of a second, he remains surprisingly calm.

Well... With a background like his, it's not like he can really judge.]

Yours?

[Or did someone else do it?]

They didn't let me go on those outings with them. Still it... wasn't that hard to figure out.

[He'd heard them argue about it. He was too young, they didn't want to make his life worse and expose him to that kind of thing... ugh. He reaches up to his neck and touches the... no. It's not there.]

[ Exactly 20 characters can be entered on the computers in the electronics room, but there is no provided hint set. Everything is in Japanese. A scrap of paper can be found taped to the back of one of the monitors, which reads as follows:

"Hey, stop snooping in my shit! I'm not letting you borrow my laptop just to watch videos about cats or some dumb shit again."

... Seems whomever owned these was well-aware people liked to touch their stuff.

Hinata will also note a general sense of unease the longer he is here, as though being in this room makes him feel as if there is no hope; that he will inevitably die. That he does not feel well. In general, the hair on the back of his neck will also be standing on-end the entire time he is in the warehouse. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 10

i will burn my dread

no subject

no subject

Art Room

no subject

Child's Bedroom

Bathroom

All Over

no subject

no subject

no subject

Child's Bedroom

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Mod Ping at your convenience! <3

no subject

no subject

[Electronic Room]

[Electronic Room]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject