Third Vote (OTA)

[gatetohell]

who: Joe and You!!!
what: Joe accidentally gets poisoned, only fun things happen :)
when: 2/4~ (Date’s flexible at this point as needed for investigation/event things)
where: Hallway, Nurse’s office, Bathroom, Dorm Common Room
warnings: YTTD Chp 1 spoilers, accidental drugging, hallucinations related to trauma & guilt (prompts will have more specific tags)

I. Morning

( Hallway / Nurse’s Office | CW’s: minor hallucinations (voices only) | Hallucination Level 0% - 20% )

[ It really starts like a normal day: wake up early for a jog, shower eat breakfast, then head to class to clean before the bell. It’s the routine he’s had even before he came to this Hell School, and he tries to maintain it even now. But he doesn’t realize something additional was accidentally added to his meal today.

One thing Joe isn’t used to is getting sick. He doesn’t think much of it at first, just feeling a little unwell and sweaty. But as the school day goes on, he starts to feel worse and worse within only a few hours of class. To the point where he asks to go to the nurse’s office finally with the help of their kind, new president.

When passing him in the hall, he’ll try to laugh it off, minimizing the situation as much as he can. ]

Everyone has an off day, r-right?

[ Joe will try to sleep it off in the Nurse’s office then for a few hours, but it’s anything but restful. He seems in pain even in sleep, his face drenched in sweat and panting loudly. Whatever he’s dreaming about, his face shows how much he clearly

His eyes snap open suddenly, and Joe gasps out loud as he wakes with a start. They dart around the room, trying to remember where he is, and after a moment, he calms down a little before he runs his hand down his face. Not any better health wise, but at least it was just a dream, right? ]

”Is that what you really think? When are you gonna accept what’s happening?”

[ Joe’s head snaps in the direction he swears he hears a voice room, wide eyed in shock. But… it’s just another transfer student in the nurse’s office for one reason or another. He blinks slowly and tries to find his own voice again. ]

Sorry… did you say somethin’...?

II. Midday

( Bathroom | CW’s: minor YTTD Chp 2 spoilers, Unreality, Blood/Hemophobia, Emetophobia (no puking), Body Horror/Uncanny face in linked image | Hallucination Level 60% )

[ Eventually Joe’s sent back to the dorms from the nurse’s office when it’s clear he needs some serious rest. He’s dragging, and it’s taking a ton of effort to get back to his room. It seems no matter how far he moves, the hallway keeps going and going. And going… and going… and going-

Joe blinks and suddenly the whole hallway is red. It’s swirling, and it’s such a bright red. The walls are closing in around him and it’s so red, so red-

He blinks again, and it’s back to normal. His breath is ragged again, and instead of trying to push himself down the hall again, Joe ducks into the bathroom rathly loudly from slamming the door open.

He thinks he’s going to be sick at first as his stomach churns but manages to stumble over to the sink. He turns on the cold water with shaking hands then splashes his face with it. It seems to snap out of it for a moment, but when he looks up at the mirror, it’s no longer his own reflection. A scream traps in his throat from how dry his mouth goes suddenly. ]

“Hey, Joe. Ya ain’t looking too good.”

[ Joe has to take another moment to find his voice again. ]

I-I know…

“Haven’t you had enough of this already? How long are ya going to keep pushin’?”

People… are depending on me…

“You’re kiddin’ right? Who the hell needs a worthless guy like you? Stop wasting everyone’s time and just stay dead this time, would ya?”

[ His eyes flick down to the running water over his hand. It’s a deep, dark red; no longer water but blood now. It runs over his hands, over the sink, onto the floor up his ankles. It’s so much. It’s everywhere. He’ll drown in it soon he thinks. ]

Aah… aaaah….

III. Evening

( Dorm Common Room | CW’s: Blood/Hemophobia, gore imagery, body horror description, violence, death mention | Hallucination Level 110% )

[ Somehow despite it all, Joe makes it back to his room. He tries very hard to sleep again, hoping when he’ll wake up it’ll be over. But it doesn’t. It gets worse.

The walls are red. The floor is red. The bed he lies in is covered in red. It soaks into his hair, clings to his skin, stains his clothing. And it smells of rust so badly it burns his nose. It’s an unbearable scene to the point where he forces himself back out of bed.

He stumbles out of his room, the blood trailing behind him. He doesn’t make it far however as he trips on his feet and falls over. Joe groans in pain, and it takes his remaining strength to turn himself over. His chest unsteadily rises and falls from his ragged breaths, and suddenly his chest starts to sharply hurt. He can’t stop a cry from escaping him when he touches his chest.

Blood pours from the open wound right over his heart, and he doesn’t know how to stop it. Joe doesn’t think it’s possible anymore. A miserable laugh bubbles out of him, and tears roll down his face. ]

“What’s so funny, Joe?”

[ Joe’s eyes widen in horror as a familiar face hovers over him. Long black hair spills around her smiling face, but it’s only within moments that Ryoko’s pretty face distorts. She’s covered in red from head to toe, and her eyes blacken into deep holes. Even her smile that he loved so much unsettles him now. ]

“Are you having that much fun, Joe? Making the most of your circumstances?” [ She leans in to whisper in his ear. ] “You replaced me so fast. You’re just awful.”

[ Joe chokes back a sob, trying to shake his head in response. ]

Th-that’s not it… it’s not like that-

”LIAR!”

[ Ryoko slams her foot down on Joe’s wound, and he cries out loudly in pain. He reaches to push it away but can’t actually bring himself to do it. Whether from the lack of strength… or maybe he thinks he deserves it. He’s not ever sure of himself anymore. ]

Ryoko… I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...

[ The hallucination laughs in response, shaking her head and digging her foot deeper in. To the point Joe can’t even breathe anymore. ]

“You think what you did is forgivable? Not just replacing me! You really thought you could come crawling back from that game, and it’d just be fine? What you tried to do, I’ll never forgive you for it! You aren’t worthy of being my boyfriend! You aren’t worthy of being Sara’s friend! Do us a favor and drop dead!”

[ Joe wheezes for air but can’t catch his breath. All the red in the room starts to turn black, and he recognizes this feeling. It’s the feeling of dying. It’s cold and painful, and Joe closes his eyes in hopes it’ll end soon. ]

S… orry…

IV. Wildcard

(( If none of these are working for you or you want to do a variation of one, feel free to contact me at sekoshi or on the discord server! ))

Comments

[gatetohell]

Water...?

[ Joe blinks quickly, trying to see what she's seeing. But he can't. He tries to wipe his eyes and smires the blood on his hands across his face. She must be mistaken, right? There's so much blood... how can she not see it? How?

He wants to reach out, and he does try at first. But when he sees his own bloodied hands again, he stops, shaking his head and stepping back. ]

"Don't ruin another good person. You really need to stop dragging others into your problems, Joe."

I-I can't... you'll get dirty, Nanami...

[ How can he wash this blood off? The sink is just overflowing with more of it. Are they all doing that? He reaches for another without thinking and turns it on, and there's just more that rushes out. ]

Ha... haha...

[ He's laughs, but there's no humor in that laugh. It's hollow and pained. But the Joe in the mirror is also laughing at him even if Nanami can't hear it. ]

[protect]

... Mmn. It's fine. We're friends, aren't we? So we'll get through this together.

[ It's slow, but Nanami allows herself to move just a little bit closer, reaching her hand just a little bit closer. Whatever else he's doing, whatever else Joe sees happening in the room, her gaze says squarely fixed on him. The gentle, patient smile is plastered on her face and mixing with the way her eyebrows knit and the concern in her eyes. It doesn't show on her face, but her heart beats a little faster in her chest. There's something familiar about this, something frightening.

Every time. It was the same every time. Each and every time, one of them felt that they needed to act. That loneliness, that heartache, it would catch up with them, and then their numbers would decrease - by one, by two, by three, and it was all too sad when just a few words might have saved everything. Because she was too late each and every time.

But she's here now. Nanami can do something this time. ]

You don't have to do this alone.