First Vote (OTA!)

[gatetohell]

who: Joe and you maybe??
what: Catch-all for Oct/Nov? We'll see! But for now, his arrival!
when: End of October (for now)
where: 2nd Floor Right Wing Bathroom, Nurse’s Office, Track Field, Star Room #5, Common Room Bathroom
warnings: Prompts are tagged! List updating as need be: YTTD Spoilers, Blood (the blood paintings specifically), Emetophobia (actual puking), death discussion


(( Please read over his permissions & cw's/opt-out before replying! Unless you let me know to avoid spoilers they're probably gonna come up! ))

Arrival

2nd Floor Right Wing Bathroom (OTA)

(( CW’s: minor YTTD Spoilers ))

[ Joe Tazuna’s eyes snap open suddenly as if waking from a bad dream. Sweat drips down his face as he takes in ragged breaths. His eyes dart around, trying to take in where he is. Which is… the bathroom? When did he get here exactly? He can’t remember no matter how hard he tries.

Pain shoots up from his fists when he realizes he’s holding them so tightly, and he loosens them to hold his pounding head. He feels terrible like a fever is setting in. Why did he even come into school if he felt so sick? What’s… wrong with him?

Joe looks toward the mirror in front of him, and his eyes go wide when he sees something in it he shouldn’t have. It’s him and his two best friends, Ryko and Sara, at their favorite cafe together. But something seems off… and he realizes it’s the uniforms. They’re wearing a bright teal instead of the one he has on now. He tries to disregard that for the moment, more closely focused on the three of them. How Sara playfully punches Joe’s arm. The way Ryoko laughs. How Joe holds up his phone and motions for them to join him for a picture.

As the three pose together, there’s a flash that fills the whole mirror. And then it’s just Joe in the mirror, staring at himself. He reaches out, laying his hand over the mirror.

And while he doesn’t know why… he starts to cry. ]

Nurse’s Office (OTA / TDM rollover)

(( CW’s: possible YTTD Spoilers ))

[ Joe ends up at the nurse with a migraine not too long after waking up in the bathroom, trying to rest in a cot for awhile. It seems no matter how much he tries, though, he just can’t settle. His head hurts too much, and he feels like he’s swimming through fog whenever he tries to think hard on something.

There’s something wrong… very wrong. But everything seems to be working against him to actually sort it out.

Joe gets up with a sigh and walks over to the sink just a few steps from the bed. He turns on the cold tap, and although he knows he’s going to regret it a lot later, he sticks his head under it. The product starts to wash out the mess that is his hair right away, but it feels too good to stop now. He’ll fix it later…

Even when someone approaches him, he doesn’t look up. But they don’t go unnoticed. ]

Just… give me a minute...

Track Field (OTA / TDM rollover)

(( CW’s: possible YTTD Spoilers ))

[ The school day finishes, and Joe manages to get himself cleaned up and his hair fixed. He tries to find another place to be by himself. He ends up by the track field, taking in the fresh air to help clear his head. It helps with the lingering headache, but it doesn’t do much for the lingering fog.

Joe’s not sure when it happened exactly, but a white cat seems to take interest in him. It approaches him with little worries and makes itself at home in his lap. It gets a laugh out of him, and he gladly pets it’s back while looking toward the sky.

As some time passes, he starts speaking without realizing it. ]

… I had a bad dream, I think. I can’t remember it, though. But I think… something really bad happened to me in it. Even if it was a dream, I can’t shake it. Heh… Maybe I’m just too dumb to remember.

[ The white cat continues to purr quietly in his lap, offering no other response. He just lets out a soft laugh in response and closes his eyes for a moment.

Even just like this, though, he feels unsettled. ]

Star Room #5 (Closed to roommates or visitors)

[ As it gets closer to nightfall, Joe gathers his things from his locker and starts heading toward the dorms as he’s been directed. It’s been a very disorienting day, but he feels a little better having familiar things in his hands and on his body again. He’s already put his usual accessories back on and tucked the dog keychain in his jacket’s pocket once more.

He stands outside his new room nervously, antsy on his feet as he tries to work up his courage. He takes in a breath before knocking and then pokes his head in while opening the door. ]

Yo… anyone home?

[ Doesn’t seem like it at a glance, but if there’s one thing he does notice is that this room is well decorated. There are a lot of cute things hanging around, and he likes how the beds are made up. He’s never had roommates before, but this bodes well, he thinks! ]

Huh… this room is pretty cute actually!

Common Room Bathroom (OTA)

(( CW’s: YTTD Spoilers that could turn into big spoilers, Blood (the blood paintings specifically), Emetophobia (actual puking) ))

[ Close to bedtime, Joe wanders back to the dorm’s common room in an effort to explore a little more. He wants to know where the people he knows are staying, but also where he’s going to be living. Throughout the day, his memories have slowly been coming back, and he knows for sure this is not his school or his home. But he’s trying not to freak out too much over it. He wants to be strong for his friends.

But as he observes around the common room, he notices something disturbing. All the walls’ art seem to be covered for some reason, and his eyes land on one that stands out from the rest. A red dot is forming very, very slowly on the cloth that’s over it, and his heart starts to race when he realizes it.

Every ounce of his body tells him not, but Joe’s curiosity gets the better of him as always. He reaches out and slowly pulls off the cloth. The sight of a bleeding painting sends bile up into his throat suddenly, and Joe clasps his hands over his mouth while he takes off running.

He bursts into one of the nearby bathrooms, not paying attention to which gender is listed on the door, and while a loud slam of the stall door, he collapses onto the bathroom floor over a toilet. Joe vomits until his stomach is empty, coughing loudly and sniffling when he finishes. Hot tears run down his face, and he reaches out to flush the toilet with a loud sigh. He doesn’t think he’s going to puke again, but it doesn’t make him feel any less unsettled. And he isn’t sure if the paintings were too much or if it was his migraine or… something else…

Something else… yeah… that was not a normal reaction, was it? Especially not when he can feel strange phantom pains over his body. The back of his neck, his leg, straight through his chest….

When he hears someone else enter the bathroom, he glances toward the stall door and realizes he hadn’t locked it. So he calls out miserably as a warning. ]

O-Occupied…

Wildcard

(( If these prompts aren’t working for you, feel free to make your own! Plot with me at sekoshi!! ))

Comments

[samuraiwomen]

D-date with Ryoko??

[ Its such a simple, instantaneous reaction, totally at odds with the lie she's trying to weave. But Sara can't help it, her stiff body language falling away into scandalized shock for a moment. Learning your best friend since middle school has a boyfriend, did she approve of this? Were flashy guys Ryoko's type? N-not that Ryoko can't date anyone she wants but...but...they were on a date?

She has to cough into her palm, waving a hand for Joe to continue. Right, she'd been afraid of the stalker that night. Joe had gone with her...how kind. Sara didn't know she had a friend she could confide in like that. ]

Yes...I remember that too. [ He seems distressed, and Sara steps forward, her hand come down onto his shoulder in a familiar gesture she's not sure how to process. ] Er...don't force yourself ok. We were in a death game...but you were with me during the first floor, right? We handled it...?

[gatetohell]

C-Come on don't act so surprised!

[ Joe sighs, scratching his reddening cheeks. She had been surprised then too, huh? But it was easy to laugh off back there. Here... it's a little different. It's not so easy to make jokes about things that embarrass him. He just feels pretty vulnerable right now.

But he glances down at her hand on his shoulder then up at her face. Sara is as kind as ever. So... why does it hurt? ]

You... don't remember, huh?

[ He glances away, rubbing the back of neck. ]

I don't... remember everything either. I think I'm missing something important. But... no matter how hard I try to remember, I can't. I dunno why, Sara.

[samuraiwomen]

Er..N-no I'm not making fun of you!! [ She waves her hands, looking embarrassed. Now she feels like a jerk, to Ryoko's boyfriend no less. ] Er...ah... I just hadn't thought about it in a while thats all! Sorry, so sorry.

... [ She remembers plenty. And the other two, Sou and Rio, they know she remembers much past the first floor. But she can't admit that, or Joe will ask. But she can't lie to him, because...Joe will probably talk to the others eventually, and this will all fall apart. So she doesn't say anything, waiting for Joe to glance away. ]

You don't have to remember anything. [ She's surprised how fierce her tone is, a conviction she didn't know the origin of. ] It's fine. If you forgot it, then it's probably best not to know why.

[ And so...she has to steel herself to continue, dropping her eyes down to her shoes as she takes a deep breath. ]

Joe...this is a school where...people are saying we're dead. Like a purgatory.

[gatetohell]

[ Joe groans quietly but tries to wave it off. Really, it's not the important thing right now. But it is alarming when she speaks so strongly. It's... alarming she's so obviously trying to cover something up. But what exactly?

But he tries to brace himself when she mentions the death thing. It's like a steak through his heart. A pain he doesn't quite understand.

Even still, he tries to respond strongly back, but he can only muster a whisper. ]

I... know that. [ He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. ] That's what that Ranger guy said anyway.

[ He can't look at her, but the expression on his face reveals how hard he's thinking about it. And the way his fists clench show how much it frustrates the hell out of him. ]

Sara I... I know I'm forgetting something. Something really important. I just... I think I should remember because it is important... but I don't know what's wrong with me...

[samuraiwomen]

And I'm telling you, its fine!

[ It comes out harsher then she meant, her words almost a yell as she raises a hand to gesture at the entire school. She feels bad, Joe looks uncomfortable and scared, and she isn't even lying well. Going along and supporting him, that would be logical.

She can't. She can't because he's dead. She knows he's dead. She's always known, from the moment Midori mentioned him with that smug little look. She had a friend she forgot, and there's no possible way it was something pleasant.]

Click.

Nothing's wrong with you. If its unpleasant, if its horrible, if it will make you unhappy, you don't need to care! It...it won't matter! We'll get out, and everything will be fine!

[gatetohell]

[ Joe flinches when she snaps like that. He's heard Sara like this before, but he's rarely been on the receiving end of it. It hurts.

But even still, he shakes his head, and he manages to look at her again. ]

It does matter! Because if it was important, I need to know so I don't let it happen again! How will I learn otherwise!?

[ He carefully picks up the cat and sets her aside as he gets up to his feet. His uniform is coated in white cat hair, but Joe tries to ignore it. ]

I... I'm not gonna be spectator, Sara! Not when you might be in danger! I can't! I just... can't...

[ His voice fades out as he starts to lose the muster behind it. He just can't shake his unease. The pain in his heart...

He presses his hand against his chest. It... actually hurts.

Why does it hurt so much? ]

Damn... it...

[samuraiwomen]

You idiot!

[ It's all she can snap back as he gets to his feet. Now she can't glare over him, but she gestured hurriedly, full of frantic energy.

Honestly, she's not even sure what she's saying. The words keep spilling out. ]

I might be in danger? Of course I am! Don't make me laugh! Why would it help anything to just hurt yourself now? You can't fix it! You can't take it back!

[ But he winces and she's falling all over herself in worry again, anger vanishing like a wisp of smoke. ]

Don't hurt yourself. Please...I...can't you trust me? I can't stand anymore painful things.

[gatetohell]

[ Joe grits his teeth and stubbornly shakes his head. She can call him whatever she wants, say whatever he wants. He can take it. He can take the pain he feels now, too. He can take the pain that remembering what he forgot might bring him too.

But he... can barely take the pain of what he realizes now. ]

Sara... I do trust you. I always have, and I always will. But... I can tell you don't feel the same way.

[ He doesn't know why, but he can't shake the feeling it's related to what he's forgetting. So Joe can't help but assume it's his fault. Something is different with Sara, and it hurts.

His friend... feels like a stranger. ]

Just... if you have something to say, I wanna know, Sara.

[samuraiwomen]

...

[ It feels helpless just to look at him. The emotions in her heart don't have a reason. Trying to think why is just like running into a brick wall. A wall he wants to bring down. Can't they both just remember nothing? ]

Are you smart? [ It's a strange, aborted question, the kind you'd never ask to someone you know. ] You want to know? Do...do I have to explain it? We're in a place where dead people go.

[ She isn't dead...she refuses to believe that...but Joe. ]

I'm being immature. I'm sorry...its not your fault. It's mine really. It took me a lot of floors to learn why, but its because of me. I'm really sorry.