Aewin

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

@Vocab you monster

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

Was this how things were going to be like? Going by the reactions of the infinites around Braden, it looked like it wasn’t their first time watching somebody they called a friend die in a brutal way. It was a silly thing to hope that nobody would die again; everybody would be out for themselves. But a nagging thought never left Braden’s mind, even as he lowered his tired body into bed an hour after watching people he hadn’t known get killed for this silly game.

Would he be willing to kill, or would he let himself be killed?

---

Waking up to Monokuma’s morning announcement surprised the ventriloquist. He had no idea when he had fallen asleep after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, but despite that he felt fresh and ready to start anew. A quick shower and a check in the mirror later, Braden was out and following his nose towards the delicious smell emitting from the dining hall. It seemed like he was beaten by a few others, some new faces, some even newer (was that really somebody eating on the floor in the kitchen?!), but the puppet in Braden’s hand was drawn to one figure in the dining hall.

Without taking any breakfast, Braden seated himself on the other side of the booth Alice was sitting on. “Ohh man, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Thought I’d never see anybody I’d recognise ever again!” The puppet cried dramatically.

"Hm?" Alice hummed in curiosity, her mouth stuffed with bacon. The recon had been silently watching some of the newcomers, plus Rika, get their own breakfast as the dining room became more active than when she first arrived. Swallowing the food in her mouth down, she finally spoke up to the puppet. "Well, I would ask if that was obvious due to my eyepatch, but I do know what you mean." She replied, moving her plate to the side. "It's...always odd to see new faces after a trial."

Elias giggled. “Oh luv, that was all your imagination~ I would never make jokes about a lady’s personal matter~” The puppet would have given the recon a wink, but, it’s a puppet. Braden looked around the dining hall, watching it fill as more infinites began piling up inside to get their hands on some of the delicious smelling breakfast cooking in the kitchen while the puppet continued to watch Alice. “So is this what happened last time? You got to see the conclusion of another trial?” Elias cocked his head to the side curiously.

"No, we only arrived back at the resort once the first blackened had been executed." Alice explained, resting her head on her hand. "I'm not sure why we were shown a different game's trial though, but at least this time was quicker."

“Do you think our game is being broadcasted to others like theirs was?”

The recon nodded in response. "With there being more than one game, it's a high possibility that they're being broadcasted to one another, even ours."

Braden returned his attention to Alice, his free hand moving to rest against his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what the purpose for all this is. This is waaaay too elaborate for just despair. Why make it into a show?"

"I'm not sure, hell, no one is." Alice answered. "The mastermind's motive isn't exactly crystal clear, so we just gotta hope for the best, right?"

"Hope... how far will that get us?" He thought out loud. "I mean, Marianne had hope, right? So did the last victim. Yet they're dead. Erin had hope that he'd trick us all and escape if he commited a murder, yet he is also dead. Hope hasn't exactly helped us a lot."

Braden's thoughts left the recon silent. He was right, hope wasn't helping them. But it couldn't be just that, right? Once Alice found the right words to respond with, her expression seemed to darken slightly. "It's cause they trusted the wrong people." She said, her head hanging low. "If you trust others too easily, you're bound to get hurt, one way or another. It's why I try to close myself off from people, why I don't get so attached. Cause it won't be hard to accept the pain of death, even here..."

When Alice realized what she was saying, she scratched her head in embarrassment. "It's funny, out of everyone here, there’s only a few of us that make the most sense, but hell if I know." The recon said, laughing nervously.

"Buuuuuut~ You seem pretty bestie with the doctor chick. Is there some history or...?" The puppet's voice grew higher in pitch, a teasing inflection making it seem like the puppet was teasing Alice. It would've even wiggled it's eyebrows if it could. "And you seem to be pretty chilly with me too soo~ Are we besties too?"

"Mercy's an old friend of mine, from back in the military." The recon explained to Elias. "I usually saw her working with the other medics in the field, but other than that she usually hung out with me like I was her younger sister, but I never knew why." Alice held her head in thought, before looking back at the puppet. "Oh, and I don't mind us being "Besties", but do you really consider me as one?"

The puppet hummed loudly. "Weeeell~ Are you plannin' on killing us or getting yourself axed anytime soon?" Elias moved closer. "No? We good."

"But of course not! I'd never kill someone innocent, not here." Alice answered the puppet. "And if I die now, I'd be abandoning you guys."

Braden gave Alice a brief smile before looking away again. "Ohhh~ Not here? So you admit that you've killed an innocent before~?"

"More like the saying, a life for a life."

The puppet sunk into itself. "Awwwww. Woulda been so cool if you were secretly some serial killer or something." Elias sighed heavily, but then perked back up. "But it just means you're not gonna Barty Crouch junior my ass soooo I'm not gonna complain~" Elias giggled, the puppet's hands moving up to cover his mouth like a shy school girl.

"Fine. We gonna honour the bestie code and not kill each other, 'kay?"

"Sounds good." The recon agreed, a smile on her face.

"Deal~" Elias giggled again as Braden stood up, clearly intending to leave. "Let's go meet Parker. Think it's a good time to introduce her to everybody, no?" The puppet's hands gestured Alice up, waiting for her to join him.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to see her after yesterday!" Alice said, quickly standing up herself. "Let's go!"

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

---

Someone had possessed Ice to bring him back to his room after the execution. Someone must have had to, for Ice didn’t remember taking the steps to do so. Someone must have brought him to the bathroom and wiped off his face. Washed what he could off the hand that couldn’t move its fingers and bind it against some popsicle sticks he had found lying around in the medicine cabinet. Someone must have used Ice’s hospital gown to make a makeshift sling after he washed off all the blood on his skin. Some of his bandages were loose again, then again, nothing much could be done with only one working hand...

Where was he? Where had he come from? Why did it have to be so lonely in a place full of other people?

This was not the time to get emotional, he was so close to breaking, so close to ripping at his wrists with his fingernails or hanging his neck just to end it all. Now was not the time to get emotional at all, now was the time to forget, to freeze... To be, as cold as Ice.

Thinking more logically, the first thing to do was to get away from this room and go seek medical attention. It might be good to have everything given a once over again by Mercy, to align his fingers, check his scratches, tidy up his bandages, and check his throat for damage from his retching.

His stomach growled, even if he could freeze his heart, it still beat. He was still alive. Calvin had almost-

Food. Food was needed for survival, and his stomach definitely needed some. Checking his sling in the mirror to make sure it wouldn’t fall apart right away, he slipped some candy into his pocket, grabbed for one of the blood angel candies and slipped open the door to his room that still looked like someone had puked up every piece of vampire merch they could find.

If he had opened his door a minute later, he would have had the pleasure to avoid what anybody would call an annoying encounter. “Cello Mr Matthews!” Krista called from the other end of the hall, one foot out of the door and her hand stretched out in a wave in his direction. She quickly moved to lock the door to her room and checked the handle before scurrying over towards the blood donor.

She gave him a quick, warm smile. It surprised even Krista that she could deal with being so chipper despite all that had happened, but it was clear she simply did not want to think about how she felt about everything that happened. In fact… “How are you feeling? You lost a lot of blood yesterday…” The violinist tugged lightly on the strap of her violin case, feeling the familiar weight pressing against her back.

Ice’s blank eyes turned up to the sound of his own last name to confront the blonde coming towards him. While he may have wanted to just scurry on by her, he remembered what Davis had done last time he attempted to do so. While it wasn’t like Ice cared for what Davis thought of her, it was the opposite for Krista. Through Aleecia the two of them had talked, at least a little bit, and Krista did seem to be a decent conversationalist. Though her humour...

With her question, Ice’s eyes downcast even more and he felt his stomach knot. “Fine,” he chewed at the inside of his cheek. Such a clipped answer would definitely fade out any chance of a conversation, and maybe Krista’s friendship along with it. “...Floating caca, look I really am-” As the younger girl reached him, an epiphany struck him, “...That was a quip, wasn’t it?”

Clipped answer or no, Krista remained rooted to her spot near Ice, hand still wrapped around the strap of her violin case. “Sorry, I don’t know when to give it a rest.” Despite her words, there was still a proud grin on the violinist’s face. She wiped it soon after, with a softer smile. “But really, I do also want to know how you’re doing. You had a really hard time yesterday.”

A sigh escaped Ice’s throat, he gave her a sideways glance before staring down the hallway ahead of them. “There’s nothing much to blabber about. Everything...” He adjusted his makeshift sling, avoiding Krista’s eyes. “Let’s just say that it ended my big revenge plan. I guess I’ll have to find something else to live for...” Ice cleared his throat, his pale cheeks taking on a reddish hue. He turned around quickly, grabbed onto the Violinist’s hand and slipped a candy in it. “My apologies for yesterday's events... I owe you.”

After saying that, Ice started heading for the dining hall, forcing his stride to be slower in case Krista wanted to walk with him. A layer of bandage becoming so loose off his head that it slipped down his shoulder and against his back.

Krista was grateful for the slower strides, the heels on her boots clicking on the marble floor being the only sound for a brief moment before her hand reached out to grab Ice’s shoulder with a soft grip. “Wait!” She quickly stopped him before the conversation could move on too quickly for the violinist’s liking… or before Ice’s bandages could fall off completely from the blood donor’s movements. Her hand held the bandages up before they could slide off Ice’s body, giving him the chance to adjust it correctly, forgetting briefly that the donor could not do such a good job with only one hand. “You do have something to live for. Your siblings. I… don’t think you should listen too much to what Erin said… He’s- He was a trickster… he would’ve done anything to get under your skin…” Krista’s heart ached at the echo of Erin’s words. She could only imagine how much it would kill Ice to hear that again… She wished to give Ice a hug again, like the day before, but he did not seem to be in a physically good enough state to receive it. “So… You should try getting out of here, for your siblings! Make sure you survive so you can see them again!” If she could not hug him, she could try helping him find his hope…!

She then immediately moved her hand away from his shoulder to rub her cheek. “I-I mean… It’s good to have hope! I… think. Herman is my hope… but I want you and Calvin and everybody to survive too, so you guys see your family again. That is my hope too…!” She gave an awkward laugh, feeling her face heat up. “Too cheesy?”

Unfortunately for Krista’s gesture, without being able to use his left hand, Ice was only able to awkwardly wrap the bandage around to the same degree he had done when the Violinist had first seen him. As Krista talked on, his body stiffened slightly, as it always seemed to whenever he heard about his siblings. The girl seemed to be doing her best to try to cheer him up, and that really touched him. People like her and Calvin were trying to patch up the gaping hole inside of him when he couldn’t even fix the bandages on his physical body, let alone do anything for what’s on the inside.

Now no one had really seen him make the expression Ice made then since before his coma. The reminiscence of his former life along with the help of someone he could call maybe call a friend. Ice’s right hand came up to Krista’s head and patted it, ”Not at all. Thanks. If you’re ever in trouble or feel like you’ll lose that hope, come a knockin’.” He slipped his hand off the smiling blonde’s hair and motioned to continue onward to the Dining Hall before stepping forward again when-

The sound of monokuma’s voice rang throughout the hallway. “Firstly, back by popular demand is Aleecia Marvic. She's all thawed out in the pod room if you want to say hello.”

Ice’s body stiffened again, but for an entirely different reason. “Blasted pigeons... Wasn’t she going to be sent back?!” His face lost any kind of sweetness as it filled with worry and panic. He gripped onto his tie and turned to Krista, “Will you come with me?”

The Monokuma announcement had rung across the hallways of Axis Mundi as Krista tried her best to help Ice wrap the bandages with her little skill at first aid. Without Mercy, the least she could do was ensure nothing was falling off. According to the announcement, there were even more new people joining them, and a few familiar faces on top of the new patients. Aleecia was awake, it should mean that she is healthy and fine, right? But that just meant she was returned to the killing game, where her ailment would leave her vulnerable to some of the opportunists in their group… Krista shivered uncomfortably. Even her hope to send the note out to the outside world was crushed, but what mattered more was Aleecia’s safety. She nodded in Ice’s direction finally, “I want to see if she’s really okay too.” Krista understood there was something special between Aleecia and Ice- not in that way but… in a purer wholesome way, and Krista wanted to protect that purity to the best of her ability.

And so she gave Ice another encouraging smile, masking her worries for Aleecia to give Ice another brief moment of hope. “Come on, let’s go greet her!”

Minutes to Manhattan

@Dirty Pretty Lies

Minutes to Manhattan

meanwhile audrey: #alwaysforget

Minutes to Manhattan

@Dirty Pretty Lies


#neverforg-- oh wait...



there we go

Minutes to Manhattan

@Altered Tundra #neverforget #riphoe

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

^{A lot of thought and barely any action. Would recommend skipping this if you want action instead.}

---

Despite the surge of pride she felt as Max and Felix agreed with one of her many desperate attempts at theorising and defending Shaun's innocence, the moment did not last very long as Ice placed his hands on Krista's podium, with an aura that did not feel very... welcoming. One by one Ice picked out the contents of the wallet, letting it spill across her podium with little care, leaving Krista no room to argue.

There was no denying that Shaun was the owner of the wallet. Or was it Erin now? Krista could not tell whether she could call the web designer Shaun anymore. “I…” What? Did she want to apologise for being so horribly wrong? To stop Ice from mocking her desperate need to protect? Krista shut her mouth , feeling it fail her in that moment. She couldn’t say anything, there was nothing to say. She was wrong, and everybody else knew it too. Her eyes remained lowered in shame, glued to the identity cards left on her podium as Ice began to retell his encounter with the mafia, the awful group responsible for murdering and butchering Ice's younger brother so heartlessly- the group Shaun was a part of...

Was she really defending such a cruel person...?

And why was it always her that was being used in such cruel a way...?

Krista was barely around to listen to the entirety of Zach's rant, unable to think past Ice’s story. All she could imagine was being in Ice's position: losing Herman in such a cruel way until she was left with nobody to turn to... Her hands wrapped around her body, clinging on as if she were trying to give herself little comfort from such dark thoughts. Would she even be able to live without him? Krista was only suffering through this death and despair to return to Herman... without him... Krista would have nobody... She could barely imagine the pain Ice went through, her heart was hurting too much to even begin to imagine it and yet...

"Ha..."

The chuckle was so dark, so full of despair and insanity... Krista shivered as the chuckle grew into something more sinister. Tearing her eyes from the cards on her podium, she finally looked at Shaun and felt her body grow cold at the sight. The innocent boy she was trying to protect was no more... instead, a monster was in his place. This was not the boy that reminded her so much of her precious brother... This was what Ice was trying to tell Krista.

The trickster did not even seem the least bit ashamed of his past actions, taunting Ice and even Davis with a cruel sneer. Every reveal was no less horrifying than the last. It took Krista so long to realise what she had been trying to defend so passionately and yet the smallest part of Krista could not help but wish that this was all just a dream...

But alas, no matter how many times Krista pinched the skin below her elbow until it bruised and bled from the pressure under her nails, she would not wake up. She had been so blinded by her need to protect a friend, someone she so suddenly had come to think of as like a little brother, that she had ignored the evidence and vehemently argued as if Shaun could do no wrong.

"Pl-please..! T-tell them I didn't d-do it! I-I didn't k-k-kill anyone..!" The monster in Shaun’s clothes then directed his attention towards her, his eyes pleading her for help the way it had done back in the dining hall. Only this time Krista realised that it was not innocent, but all just a trick.

Krista immediately looked away, feeling her stomach twist in guilt and shame for falling for the act so easily the first time. Jezabel really was right, she really was stupid. “N-no… stop it… I won't do this again... please...” Krista’s grip on herself grew tighter, till all she could feel was pain to avoid looking into Shaun’s eyes and get fooled by his innocent act. Calvin tried to help: Krista acknowledged his outcry telling Erin to stay away from her with a surprised look, but everything was still not over…!

There was a clash beside Krista as she snapped to look towards Ice’s podium, only to realise the blood donor had disappeared sometime before, and when she finally spotted him she could see the hunger for revenge in Ice’s action, filling the air with tension and…!

“Calvin!” Krista cried out in surprise as the dark-haired metalsmith stood in Ice’s path, and she felt absolutely terrified for him. There seemed to be no stopping the blood donor and yet he stood in the way to protect E- no… to protect Ice. Calvin’s actions began to make sense as he tried talking Ice out of his plan to hurt the gleeful trickster, only to be shoved away. Krista wanted to leave, to help, but her legs didn’t seem to want to listen. Both infinites hit the ground, both looking in rough shape but there was no time to celebrate. Krista turned on her heels, the heels on her boots making a squeak against the flooring as she looked at Mercy, then at Dr. Killgood desperately.

“Help them! Ice is bleeding…! Calvin is hurt!” She urged the plague doctor to help, the only one with the skillset out of the rest of the group to do so. She looked at Monokuma, expecting the bear to shine the spotlight onto the infinite she asked for help from, to give the doctor permission to leave her podium.

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

my reaction to the @vocab post

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

---

Krista’s second rebuttal against Jezabel did nothing to stop the trickster from trying to argue Krista’s points with assumptions and theories, with even more personal attacks against her. Despite knowing that there were faults, Krista couldn’t put it to words. Her mouth grew dry and no sound seemed to want to escape her lips. ‘Why are you doing this?’ They both wanted to protect their friends, but why was Jezabel so forceful that it was Shaun?

Shaun finally spoke up for himself, and Krista shot him a big smile for support. The poor boy was shaking as he emptied his pockets and revealed his shirt beneath the large jumper and scarf he hides under, the scars along his left arm visible to everybody around him. Both Felix and Cyrus supported Krista by calling out the flaws in Jezabel’s argument but the emergence of Cyrus (mentally dubbed as Ragerus) absolutely terrified the violinist, fearing that after wrong thing she’d suggest during the trial, or otherwise, would trigger the assault of words against her. Ragerus made Jezabel taste her own medicine, and Krista felt slight guilt seeing Jezabel look miffed and actually stop derailing the topic… only because Cyrus accused someone Krista would have never guessed: Alice Masson.

Alice deftly avoided the subject, but showed she carried nothing but a pocket watch and a handbook - Krista held back her question as to why she’d give away her note like that when she clearly had a pocket in her jacket, but her attention was stolen by Ice calmly interjecting his own take on the case.

...By revealing himself to be the wallet retriever.

“Wait!” Krista called out desperately, gripping the podium tightly whilst staring at Ice. She had to ignore Jezabel’s taunt… this was just too important... “Show us the contents of the wallet first! We… we can’t just take your word for it! You mentioned fake IDs, right? How would you be able to pin these IDs to Shaun? You’re asking us to trust what you’ve found without giving us any proof!” She looked at Shaun then Ice, her body shaking from adrenaline.

There were too many things to take in, Krista could feel her head starting to hurt. She was supposed to be helping Shaun damn it… why was this getting worse and worse? Was she making a mistake trying to help him? Did she wrongly assume Shaun was innocent? Going by what Ice was saying… it felt so easy to just turn back on Shaun and accuse him of being the trickster; everything seemed too perfect.

“You say that it’s Shaun because he could be the only one to throw that wallet and be the person refered to in the trickster notes, right? But what if we’re going about this the wrong way? What if Cyrus made a mistake with the notes?” She then scratched her chin, thinking hard for more suggestions. “O-or, as Alice said! She could’ve been followed into the vault too! Or Shaun! You found the vault without Shaun or Alice’s help right? Wouldn’t anyone else be able to do such a thing too? They could know about the vault and throw their wallet there, thinking it would be safe because they thought nobody else had found the vault yet!”