[OPEN+CLOSED] don't you let go

[subtract]

Who: Add & others
When: March
What: yogen divorce arc aka catch-all for the month
Warnings: depression!! possibly some suicidal ideation at some point. will update if needed!

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Comments

closed to CR/plotting, March 5th

[subtract]

[After the incident, all he can think of is getting away. The void is his haven, as always, and he can cry and scream and break things as much as he wants... but eventually, he has to leave. He can't stay there forever. At some point he has to return to the Yogen where his actions have consequences and people have, unfortunately, decided to care about his existence.

He doesn't want to show his face, so going back to his room is out of the question... the workshop is also too obvious. Not this soon. So instead he picks a place he's sure no one will bother looking, which turns out to be the side of the school roof that's inaccessible from the stairs. He sits with his back to the clock tower, knees pulled up to his chest along with a small pot of dirt in his arms, a few sprouts just barely starting to poke out of it again.

and... waits? for this to blow over? for the annoying tightness in his chest to go away? he's not sure, so maybe he'll just wait until he forgets what he was so mad about.]

ay

[heroicpolonaise]

[it's true, it's not someplace kaede would normally look -- but she's been looking for him anyway, because sara's reaction to add himself had garnered her attention... someone go after him, she'd asked, even while she was hurt herself by the very same.

of course kaede would.

it's the last place she decides to try, since nothing had shown on the more accessible side of the roof... to some, climbing while wearing a skirt would be the definition of a bad idea, but to her, it's actually quite convenient! it's also very dangerous for her to be doing this! her upper body strength? shit! her finger grip? absolutely insane! it's fine! she's making her way up, pulling herself clumsily onto the roof with a grunt of exertion.

...

okay.

she brushes herself off as she stands, looking around to spot where add is, and seeing at least something sitting against the clock tower is enough for her to tread closer. ah, that's him alright.]

... Add-kun. [it's not a pitying tone, it's not an angry one. it's more of a curious, questioning sort.] Is this seat taken?

yo

[subtract]

[It's a girl he barely knows that finally shows up... and maybe that's why Add doesn't try to run off again, even when he raises his head and stares right at her. Or maybe he's actually a little impressed she went to this much trouble climbing up here. It's not like she could say she bumped into him by chance...

He stares, but by the time she addresses him he's looking away again, gaze firmly locked on his knees.]

It was her fault for getting in the way... she'll be fine, a distortion like that is hardly anything at all. I'm not going to apologize.

[it's not at all what she asked, but it's what he assumes she's here for. he doesn't feel guilty at all, or worried, of course not.]

u come here often

[heroicpolonaise]

I'm not asking you to. Sara... wanted someone to go after you, so I decided to come.

[since she doesn't know who else would, and sara's her roommate. kaede takes it as no one else is sitting here though and slants her legs aside as she takes a seat a few feet in front of him, brushing her skirt down.]

She was more worried about you than herself, you know.

[though it'd been a shock to see for sure.]

looks up, well it is my catch all so yeah actually

[subtract]

[of course she was. it's more optimal for her to manage him, isn't it? make sure he's not a threat, or...

he scoffs, burying that unpleasant thought away. no, that's not important, Sara is usually that stubborn... she probably was worried about him. that's just the kind of person she is.]

... you can tell her I'm fine. It's not like I'm the one who got hurt.

open, March 6th - ???

[subtract]

[Anyway,

He's not hiding anymore, but he is back to his old ways—no more cozy nights sleeping in a bed or talking to people intentionally. It's common to find him passed out in the workshop every few nights, though sometimes he'll poke and prod around the science lab during the day instead of sticking only to his machine projects. The workshop is his "home", though, so that's the place he's most likely to be at any given time.

His current project appears to be dismantling the de-skinned robot maid that's been sitting in the scrap pile since November. Lots of good synthetic organs to harvest on those metal bones!! Don't worry, she definitely died(?) of natural causes before all of this, it's fine, what are you a cop?? don't worry about it.]

[kanbai]

( kaoruko, more or less freshly "awake" and just casually passing by—

stops. stares. tries to decide if she wants...... to ask......... or if she should just keep moving and leave the obviously psychotic man to his work. ugh... that poor girl(?). it is a girl, right? does sex and gender matter to hunks of metal like that? does it especially matter if it's dead? actually, can something like that be dead, because it is every actually alive in the like, dictionary human definition sense of the word.....

she's just standing in the door of the workshop staring at add's current project i'm sorry if he needed to get in or out or if he didn't want company but she's not moving she's just. there is a lot to process here, add. )

[subtract]

[He's messing around with the neck area right now, trying to see how the head detaches... and while prodding at some of the more interesting parts contained within, he manages to bump something on the voice box. The machine makes a shrill electronic screeching noise, not unlike a pained scream.

Whoops!! Guess it still had some power left in it! It's fine, he's gonna whack it a couple times until the screeching stops while hissing under his breath.] Ugh, would you shut up? Stupid malfunctioning... not even worth the repair job...

[He still hasn't noticed Kaoruko watching all of this.]

1/2

[kanbai]

( AAAAAAUGHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHE HATES THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS )

2/2

[kanbai]

( no......... calm down, kaoruko... you are an elegant and graceful young woman... do not cry. Do Not Cry!! )

...Ahem! Y-You there! You oughta be a little more gentle with girls, e-even if they're weirdo hunks of junk... Hittin' stuff never made it shut up anyway.

[subtract]

[He looks over his shoulder at her as he gives the head one last twist, and pop—

yeah, that's the head finally coming clean off. The screeching stops! The body slumps onto its side, lifeless and defeated.

anyway, who the fuck is this? he raises an eyebrow at her]

... You'd be surprised at what's effective. Leave the engineering to the engineers.

[rearranger]

[ Ranger has been avoiding the workshop, as he finds that it has the same unpleasant air about it that the meeting room had. Even so, every now and again he finds himself visiting it out of need for one thing or another. It's why he's here today, but the sight of a person dismantling a stripped synthetic body does catch his attention.

It should unsettle him, being made up of parts and wires and synthetic organs himself, but he feels nothing at all watching as the object is dissected. His own artificial heart still beats in his chest, after all, and such sights are nothing if not commonplace where he comes from. It's sensible. It's recycling and repurposing. It's taking from a life that had never mattered.

Curious eyes linger for a few seconds too long before he shakes his head and steps over to the pile of scrap that students seem to be endlessly adding to. ]

I was wondering who that belonged to.

[ The words are flat, betraying no emotion. It doesn't quite surprise him. ]

[subtract]

[Add looks up, pausing, his own gaze lingering for an equal amount of time before he quickly looks away again, back to his work... he doesn't dislike Ranger. They're not especially close, but he's a fascinating specimen, intelligent, useful... he'd wanted to speak to him more, get to know him better. Talk about spatiotemporal physics and programming and whatever his interests happen to be, he's sure it'd be interesting, he has no doubt it would be.

But Ranger is also... someone that's dear to Komaeda. They're frequently together, and they hold hands like it's a natural thing... and even if his tone is flat, Add can't imagine there's anything but disdain behind it. They're only acquaintances, he crossed someone like Komaeda, so it's only natural that Ranger would dislike him now.

It's a shame. He truly is an interesting specimen... ah, well...]

Club resources are available to all members, so long as the project is something worthwhile... upkeep is important, so use them if you need it. I have no use for something like this myself.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ It's not right away, because she has to check in on a couple of people, and she's not entirely sure how to even, like... approach him, after what happened. But she cares about him, so it was never like she wasn't going to check on him.

She has to ask around a bit to find out where his usual haunts are, but before long she's tracked him down to the workshop - and stops dead in her tracks when she sees the body he's working on.

Wait-- it's a robot. Okay, that's... better? Probably? She hesitates uneasily on the threshold. ]

Add-kun... may I come in?

[subtract]

[It's a robot he's currently peeling a big square of realistic back skin off of. Very normal robotics club activities, right here.

But he does pause at her voice... scowling (not that she can see), hunched over his work, considering whether he should pretend he can't hear her or tell her to go away. He settles on something in the middle.]

The door is open, so use your brain. [if she needs something from the room... whatever, he'll just leave if it gets annoying.]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She steps in, looking around and taking the room in - she's never had reason to come to the home ec workshop before, so everything's kind of... distractingly interesting, here. Of course the most interesting thing here is what Add's working on, though, so she kind of stops halfway into the room and stares at it for a while. ]

Is that... a real robot?...

[ She's oblivious to how many of her friends are actually AIs. ]

[subtract]

[he sighs, and... actually does turn around, at least enough to shoot her an unimpressed look. somehow, she always manages to get him like this... how is he supposed to just ignore such a stupid question??]

Were you expecting a fake robot...? It's called the robotics club for a reason, idiot.

If you want something, spit it out already. I'm busy.

03/07 – 1/2

[socialize]

( oh. well, add seems to be hard at work.

there may or may not be a dismantled robot girl involved in this hard work but, well, you know how it is; that would be a her problem anyway. maple is just going to stand in the doorway for a moment to give him a fair chance to notice her, tray of tea and teacups in hand, but she'll eventually glance over at the door instead. using her free hand, she'll go ahead and tap her knuckle against it in a light knock—try to get add's attention )

Add, it's Maple. ( science types, you know, gotta properly announce yourself. ) Hiyori and I wanted to come and thank you.

2/2

[antitoxin]

A pleasure. Maple has told me much about you.

[ his voice comes first, and it's in a matter of seconds that midori comes from the side of the door; it's almost like he wasn't there at first. he's ominous like that. standing behind the female, he gives a smile where both the corner of his lips go up, and his eyes are closed enough that the corners crinkle only a bit.

slowly his eyes open, and he looks at the individual that's caught maple's interest; the "dog" in the cage that holds out a paw, and she's just too enthusiastic in wanting to bring it home. he has to do a routine check between the eyes, the fangs, and personality to see if he's a perfect match for them. ]

I do hope we aren't interrupting anything.

[ he sounds apologetic as he says so. ]

[subtract]

[He has the sheet of skin rolled out over his bench, checking for any marks or damage when Maple knocks on the door. He's been jumpy and irritable the past few days, but his expression softens just a tad when he sees her... he doesn't dislike her, but more importantly, she's someone he's not that close to. It's a comfortable degree of unfamiliarity, distance. A business exchange and nothing more.

well, it softens until an unfamiliar man steps out from behind her.]

... that's "Hiyori"? [??????? well, on second thought, he knows Shin's real name isn't Sou Hiyori... is it just a coincidence? his fault for not checking. he sighs.] Never mind... it's fine. I was just finishing up.

[one 30x50cm square of synthetic Nasod skin, complete with self-repairing cells and nerve endings! now compatible with ASUNARO products, buy yours today]

[socialize]

( maple returns his confusion with a look of equal curiosity. not... quite sure what he's so surprised about, but... right, right, she supposes there is somebody else using hiyori's name right now, but they're of no consequence to her. instead, she'll focus on what is: add and the real hiyori, nodding first as his question, and then smiling. )

Oh, good. Then it's the perfect time for you to take a rest.

( she's sure he's been working hard for their sake, so it's the least she can do to encourage a break now that they're here. making her way over, she'll set down her tray on a nearby surface—a teapot, three cups and saucers, and a small plate of pastries. it's everything they'll need for a proper tea party. )

I've even made some tea so that we can chat. Do you like sweets, Add?

post meeting somewhere in the hallway before he gets to the roof bc i say so

[necrophily]

[ it's not that he isn't allowed into meetings, but dito gets the temptation every now and then. like this time. even though he doesn't give a shit about the semantics or the details of the casework, but he's oh so interested in the details of the brutality and the death and the gore--

it's hard to stay away, although he knows it would end in a mess. which makes it tempting enough to waltz in, anyway. what are they going to do, he wonders.

it's why he's wandering past the meeting area this time, considering if he should go in -- but they seem to be having enough of a messy time without him. it's almost hilarious. between this and the recent network posts, dito can only laugh. it's amusing and all, but he still craves the ability to dig his own hands into the circumstance -- quite literally. delving your fingers into a chest cavity, feeling along the slick internal organs, blood staining all over your fingers, hands, arms--

he's interrupted from his own fantasies when he sees add, man of the hour, leaving the meeting. oh, that was all too good. he's leaning against the side of the entrance to the meeting room door, back slouched against the wall and arms crossed. it's sort of a lonely and pathetic look he's giving, but he's acting like it's otherwise.

either way, he's pleased both by what he's seen add do in the meeting and seeing him storm out.

the corners of dito's mouth turn up, and he waits until add's stomping a few feet down the hall before pushing himself up into a standing positioning and taking a few steps toward the other, waving a hand. ]

Hey, good job in there!

[ he's not even being sarcastic, since everyone on the brunt are people he doesn't like! ]

crying

[subtract]

[Add storms out of the meeting room via portal, remotely slams the door... then immediately exits at the other end of the hallway just to slam that door before he leaves, because lonnie said so and who am i to deny this? It is at this exact moment that Dito calls out to him like he didn't just attack one of his only friends and badly injure another.

... well. actually, he's calling out exactly like Add did that, but that's more of a Dito thing.

Add stares, momentarily stunned by the audacity of this and whether he should (pretend? actually?) be proud of it or not... but lingering here would mean giving more people an opportunity to follow him, so he scowls and goes back to stomping out the door and loudly slamming it behind him. if Dito wants to follow anyway, so be it—but he won't allow anyone else the chance to do so.

he heads towards the school building. lots more doors there he can slam... desks to throw off the roof... it's a good place to start.]

[necrophily]

[ thank you for indulging my wishes

nonetheless, it's because add attacked one of his friends and gave them a run for their money that dito's even bothering with interacting with the other. it's funny. it's good. it's fucked up.

dito's smiling as he half jogs to catch up with add. ]

What, you gonna ignore me? Don't tell me you're embarrassed.

[subtract]

Shut up.

[he holds out a hand as he walks, reality bending and snapping again... but he's not making a portal, just something sharp. he slices off a fingertip against a shard of reality, flecking blood onto the grass.

the other school is quieter... aside from Dito being here, but whatever. he can take as much time as he wants... no one else can interrupt them now. he spins the shard over his hand, ignoring the pink blood running down his arm.]

Good job, tch... she wasn't even the target, spare me your empty words.

[he's still angry, still wants to see something shatter and break apart... his fingers twitch, there's too much empty space between the dorms and the school. the only standing target would be...]

You must be confident... if you think you can talk to me like that.