SO YOU WANT TO STEAL SOME CHILDREN (Endgame Catchall)

[facultwist]

Welcome to the container for your endgame! This will be the place where you can perform your polterheist (we really love that portmanteau), and where you'll be able to commentate on the final trial!

ICly, the whole heist will take place Monday, while the final trial watch will take place Thursday. For anything not related to endgame, please continue to use the main deadland post!

Comments

[trustheart]

[ A visible anger rises in Chris, that would be evident in Chris. This anger is evident as she asks her next question with the planchette. ]

H-O-W-D-O-W-E-H-E-L-P-K-I-L-L-H-E-R-?

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne doesn't say anything to this...but she keeps her eyes on Chris. Watching. ]

[emptynester]

[ ... ]

I understand that you dislike her. I also dislike her. But if that's what you want, I won't help you. I won't stop you, but I won't help you. I didn't become a teacher and a mother for that.

[trustheart]

[ Chris lets out a scream of frustration as she slams the planchette down with a clatter, getting up and storming off with tears streaming down her face. ]

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

...

[ Without a word, Rinne stands to follow her. ]

[trustheart]

[ Chris ends up in the locker room, where she's sobbing loudly, head in her hands as she sits on the bench. Nearby, the trash pile Misty spent so long neatly piling up has been knocked down in frustration. ]

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne calmly walks over to Chris. She takes a soft breath and sits on the bench next to her.

And, she doesn't say anything just yet. She simply places a hand on Chris' shoulder. ]

[trustheart]

[ Chris tenses when she feels Rinne touch her...but when she realizes who it is, and who it isn't, she eases up. ]

...It has to mean something, Rinne. Everything we've been through. Everything we've suffered through. Everything those previous versions of us experienced...

It all has to mean something! She can't...she can't just get away with it...!

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

Will it only mean something if you kill her?

[trustheart]

[ ... ]

What else could I possibly do, to make it right? What else...what else could I do to make all this pain go away?

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

I don't know. I...still don't know how to forgive Kohaku. How to even look at her.

But, I do know...had I tried to channel my anger into hurting her, it would've just hurt me.

You told me that.

[trustheart]

[ She had told Rinne that, hadn't she? Even as her mind wanted to scream that this was different, she couldn't come up with an actual argument as to how it was.

Well. There was one way. ]

You still have Kana, Rinne. You would have lost her as a friend if she saw you hurting her. I don't...I don't have anything anymore.

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

Are you sure?

[ ... ]

I...

I think of us as friends, Chris-s- ...Chris-chan.

[trustheart]

...

[ Chris looks up, her face red. She blinks a few times, staring at Rinne for a long moment. ]

R-Rinne...I didn't mean...that is, I...

...I'm sorry. You're important to me too...

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne smiles. It's gentler than her normal polite one. ]

You may feel alone...but you aren't. I think...that's something all of us could do to learn.

[trustheart]

[ Chris stares at her for a long moment, a warmth spreading through her upon hearing Rinne's words. She takes the other girl's hands, squeezing it, leaning closer towards the other girl. She closes her eyes, thinking on her words...

...She's not alone. How long had she felt that way? Even before death, that's how she'd believed herself to be. Whose death was she really chasing? Not the Headmistress's. Was it her own pain she was seeking to bring to an end? Either way, it all felt so much better around Rinne.

Chris leaned closer...and before she knew it, her lips were pressing against Rinne's. Chris held them there for a moment, before realization hit her and she pulled back with a start, eyes wide, surprise and shock at what she'd just done, her brain screeching to an absolute halt. ]

cw a little depersonalization

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne doesn't realize what's happening, at first. She's never kissed anyone before, never been kissed. She's had plenty of fantasies, but the reality of it? It shocks her.

She doesn't pull away. But she does stare in surprise, hand rising automatically to her lips. ]

A-aah- Ch-Chris-chan, I- I'm- I'm sorry, I- I don't know, if I'm—

[ Her face feels hot. Like she's real. ]

[trustheart]

[ Chris swallows hard. She's unsure of what to do, or say for a moment. How does she handle this? This is a delicate matter...she has to be soft, like Rinne was with her. ]

It's...it's fine. I just. I do like you. You don't have to return anything, Rinne. It's enough that you were there for me.

[ She smiles a genuine smile, continuing to hold Rinne's hand through it all. ]

You deserve to know...if someone loves you.

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Her. Someone, loving her.

Prioritizing her.

Hearing all of the ugly things inside her, everything she was terrified to express, everything that was wrong with her, and still. Still, looking at her in the way she'd always dreamed.

That seems like the fantasy. But, if everything else that's happened here is real, so is that. If her heart could beat, it would be pounding right now.

She ducks her head, but at the same time she squeezes Chris' hand. ]

Th-thank you. [ It's enough to be there for her. Hadn't she said that to Kana? ] ...Thank you!

[trustheart]

[ Chris wraps her arms around Kana, hugging her tightly. Right now, there is only them in this moment. ]

No, thank you...! Thank you for stopping me...! Thank you for...thank you for showing me I'm not alone...!

[ It's enough to just exist, right? Together. Right now. ]

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne quietly returns the hug. She doesn't have to figure this out right now. She can just be. Both of them can.

After a time, while everyone else is preparing, Rinne eventually speaks up again: ]

Chris-chan... We should...probably fix Miss Misty's trash pile. Before she realizes.

[trustheart]

[ All good things must come to an end. ]

…Yeah, probably.

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ She looks much more put together now...but a nervous tint remains in her smile. ]

It's alright. I'll help you.

[trustheart]

[ Chris’s expression brightens. ]

Thanks Rinne.

[ They’ll help each other. ]

[sweetsynergy]

[At some point once cleanup had begun, Vanity wanders in, a slightly fixed, manic grin on her face.]

Okay! So we're definitely finding out if a ghost can kill whatever the alleged headmistress is, right? Right.

[Her mania takes on a slightly worried l, nervous edge as she continues.]

...no one ghost-hurt in here? Physically? Shit is that the right word- ectoplasmicly?