Palace Game 6/5

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

[survivaltricks]

[omg]

Ritsuka. . . you need to spring clean.

[NATURALLY, BEING A PROTAG, HE GOES TO THE TAROT CARD. time to pick it up and examine it!]

[fujimaru]

You try dealing with a room full of overly enthusiastic presents, okay!!

But the card gives him this memory, without the attendant game chatter. At least it's a nicer memory of the man who is trapped downstairs.

1/2

[survivaltricks]

[oh]

[this is the dead guy]

[when the emotions of the memory fade, he feels his heart sink a bit— because that just had to have made the loss all the more painful, right. . .?]

[he holds the sun card close to his heart for a silent, reverent moment, until—]

[survivaltricks]

— wait, are these your crushes??

[OH NO]

[TOUCHING DOKKAEBI NEXT]

[fujimaru]

WOW????????

Unfortunately for his theory, this does not appear to be any concrete memory of anything. Instead, it's a tiny whirlwind of emotions: a sense of curiosity and confusion, and a cheerful sort of agreeability--a good-natured shrug distilled into emotions alone.

Under that, though, deep under that, is a sense of loneliness too. It's the kind of thing that has been neatly shunted off to the side for now, but it's also powerful enough to drown in, if one looks at it for too long.

[survivaltricks]

[oh]

[not her crushes 8(((]







[can he put the dokkaebi under the bed]

[fujimaru]

Nothing is stopping him except for the judgmental gaze of hundreds of bright red eyes from that tentacle figurine. He is probably close enough to realize that it is not a figurine after all.

[survivaltricks]

[. . . hewwo??]

Don't look at me like that. I don't want her to feel lonely.

[fujimaru]

Hewwo wots dis

None of those eyes have lids, so they cannot blink. They can just all stare at him, and for a thing that is probably half as long as his forearm, it seems to be very judgmental.

[survivaltricks]

[points a finger at the tentacle beast, immune to the judgmental nature of that thousand eye stare]

I don't see you trying to help.

[he is reaching for the torn up bingo card next!]

[fujimaru]

The bingo card looks like it was first torn into quarters, and then two of sections further torn up. Either she got tired or distracted partway through the destruction, maybe. It is definitely one of the cards that got handed out during doki doki bingo, though.

[survivaltricks]

[can he pick up the pieces and fit them back together? he is doing that!!]

[fujimaru]

He can do it, as long as he is patient and persistent... as he works on it, there is a sense of growing unease and uncertainty, a feeling of being out of step and alone. There's a feeling of wistfulness, a hand reaching out and stopping just short. This isn't something for me, it says, with resignation.

[survivaltricks]

[he is! determined! so he'll keep piecing it together until the card is whole again]

It is, if you want it to be.

[he is also occasionally glancing at the tentacle creature to see if it's still judging him]

[fujimaru]

Of course it is. It's a tiny baby rageball, it is only capable of like five emotions and three of them are different flavors of judgmental.

The card, when fully assembled, looks like this. The feeling of not really belonging does not go away.

[survivaltricks]

[:/!! to you too tiny baby rageball!!]

[if he takes the pieces apart again does the feeling go away?]

[fujimaru]

The more intact the card is, the stronger the feeling is; if he takes it apart, they don't go away, they're just quieter. He might get the feeling she is pretty used to things like this.

[survivaltricks]

[:/!!!]

[shoves the pieces of the card under the bed, too]

[fujimaru]

Thanks, Akira, you're a pal(?). The ragebaby does not appear to be at all appeased, but it can't really do anything. It might have those multiple tentacles, but that does not come with feet.

[survivaltricks]

[WHATEVER, RAGEBABY!! with that finished, Akira finally stands to address the creature directly]

. . .

Who are you?

[fujimaru]

It doesn't have a mouth, but it does bristle at him. This would probably be more intimidating if it were bigger, but as it is, it's just a small mass of many-eyed tentacles. Out of everything in this room, too, it appears to be the only thing capable of independent movement.

[survivaltricks]

[omg]

You're just an angry little guy, huh. . .

[. . . tries to poke the tentacle creature??]

[fujimaru]

It slaps at his fingers, like an angry cat swiping at the contact.

[survivaltricks]

[adeptly avoids the slapping and continues to poke. pOKE POKE POKE POKE]

[fujimaru]

It continues slapping at him, but you know, the longer this goes on, the more likely it is that the thing is going to get a lucky hit in.

And those eyes, without lids, are in fact pretty sharp.