sinking down, down

[facultwist]

Death is a drop into a blackness that swallows you. You feel the movement of not air but shadow across your face as you plummet, and there is no bottom. No crash.

If there is another side, you do not reach it.

It is neither the light of heaven or the fires of hell that greets you when you wake. And wake you do, to the buzz and flicker of old fluorescent lights.

You are laid out beside a full-size competitive swimming pool, half-filled with stagnant water. The doors out are blocked off by locked doors covered in caution tape. The locker rooms are long since emptied, paint peeling from the humidity. The only signs of habitation are a few pieces of scattered graffiti.

Welcome to your new home. There's no sunlight, no indication of time passing. Just you and each other and your thoughts. the stagnant water bubbles a little occasionally, but there's nothing in it.

Before long you'll realize that you no longer need to eat or drink. You might notice your hand go through something if you don't focus. You're a ghost now. What's that they say about unfinished business?

Comments

[bellpepperexercise]

[Kana's head feels so heavy. She remembers drifting off a bit, not quite sure what's happening, and Kohaku leading her...somewhere? Is this the conservatory? Wherever it is, Kana rests her head. God, it's gonna be embarrassing if she falls asleep here, but maybe if she just closes her eyes for a few minutes, she can get up whenever Kohaku gets back...

...

...her eyes flicker open, and she's staring at the ceiling of the basement.]

...huh?

[Oh, and she's in a swimming pool.]

HUH?!

[Kana scrambles out of the pool with a confused slightly grossed out shriek.]

I'm in the seance pool?! Who the hell brought me all the way over here--crap. I-I have to...

[She looks around. If she's been dragged in here, somebody must be planning something. She needs to get back to the ground floor--]

...what...what is this?

[sweetsynergy]

Not Hell.

[She was waiting to at least see Dorothy and Kohaku pop in. Just for- she's not sure what. Closure? Gloating? Some undefined third thing?]

[But she's sitting on the edge of the pool, looking down as Kana wakes up. She gets up as Kana scrambles out.]

Technically.

[bellpepperexercise]

....what?

[She's sure not happy to see Vanity of all people, but with the pieces coming together...]

How.

[sweetsynergy]

Same as about half the people here.

[Yeah yeah no one's happy to see Vanity, at least you're not actively attacking her.]

You actually want the how, or the who?

[bellpepperexercise]

[She can't bring herself to do that. At least not for now, since she's pretty occupied with the shock of realizing that she's died.]

Who--I'm trying to figure out what I did to...make someone wanna kill me.

[sweetsynergy]

Oh, that part's actually easy. Absolutely nothing.

[She actually sounds a little somber here.]

This wasn't actually about you at all.

[And, not quite as an afterthought-]

Sorry.

[bellpepperexercise]

I don't know if that's better or worse. Like, I'm glad nobody here killed me because they hated me, but...jeez.

[trustheart]

Kana…

[ Oh my god she has no idea. This is gonna be rough. She needs to put this gently. ]

Kana, it’s me, Chris. You’re dead now.

cw carbon monoxide poisoning? Kana's dumb

[bellpepperexercise]

Chris? Oh my god, how are you--

Wait, what?!

[Kana's hands go to her face, as if trying to feel if she's lost the flow of blood to it or something.]

How...was there a gas leak!?

[trustheart]

[ Chris frowns, and crosses her arms. ]

You were murdered, girl. We just saw the trial go down. It was Kohaku.

[bellpepperexercise]

...huh? Kohaku? But she was...

[Kana processes what's been said along with the little vestiges of memories. Right. She was having tea with Kohaku. She got really tired. Then...]

...why? Did I do something to upset her?

[trustheart]

No. Kohaku was just trying to protect someone important to her. That was it.

[ Chris sighs. ]

Look, are you going to be okay? This is a lot, I know…

[bellpepperexercise]

...I don't...I don't know.

[Kana knows she's far from the only person dealing with being dead. Her grief isn't even entirely for herself. It's for the entire situation.]

What am I supposed to do?

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ She's here. Of course she's here. Chris was right, after all. What matters most... It's Kana.

Eyes red and brimming, face streaked with tears, she leans over Kana. ]

Kana-chan... Kana-chan, I... I'm so...

[bellpepperexercise]

R-Rinne?

[Kana doesn't think about the implications at all when she sees her again. She just throws her arms around her best friend, because that's all she's wanted to do since she's lost her.]

I'm sorry. I-I hurt you so much, I couldn't even keep your letter safe, I...

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Her letter?

(No one's told her.)

Rinne pushes it aside. It doesn't matter. She holds onto Kana tight. Tighter than she ever has, in her stupid, stupid restraint. ]

No.

No, n-none of it- none of it is your fault!

[ Lottie was right. She bought her a week. That was it. ]

[bellpepperexercise]

It's not yours either, dummy! You just got stabbed!

[Kana is a little hysterical at this point. The fact that Rinne is here and also so upset just makes Kana want to hold onto her and sob until she can barely speak. She's so, so selfish.]

I've been such a lousy friend...!

cw depersonalization

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ It's like before, thinking Anthy killed Kana. Something painful fills her up. Something wild and real. Anthy, Kohaku, Doloris—they'd called each other things. That's what Rinne feels like too. A thing that's a step away from being a real girl. The weight of this grief, it feels too heavy, for a thing like her. ]

No. [ She pushes it out. ] I w-wanted to- I wanted to keep you safe.

[ And...even with her jealousy— ]

I-if I could just be near you, that was enough.

[bellpepperexercise]

Rinne...I'm sorry I didn't promise anything like that to you.

If I knew, I...I don't know.

You're still my best friend. Is it selfish of me to not want to lose you?

[Rinne is kind, and probably won't tell her it is. Even so, asking in itself makes Kana feel selfish. Hearing someone tell her they want to be near her is all Kana's ever wanted, after all.]

[thatsplato]

Hi Kana. [You know what’s so dire?

Waking up to find Misty perched on the edge of the pool, swinging her legs like she’s perched somewhere much less dire.]

cw drug use

[bellpepperexercise]

--oh god, Misty.

This is bad, isn't it? Did I die or are you finally taking nightmare revenge on me for eating your mushrooms and giving away your plant collection?

[thatsplato]

I wouldn't take nightmare revenge on you! [Misty beams, and ceases her swinging legs. There's a lot to say there, like how hard she worked on the plants and maybe it would have been good for Kana to have something that induces vomiting on hand, or that Kana should maybe utshay upyay aboutyay ethay ushroomsmay. But instead, she gets down to the point of it all. Kana's here. Kana's nice. Kana had seemed to like her, before the Crystal thing, and really, after all of this, she should be able to look past this-- out of all of the others here right now, Kana's the most likely to understand. Misty's not a bad person.]

After all, we're friends!

cw dismemberment mention

[bellpepperexercise]

...we're friends?

[Ohhh man. Kana had been able to compartmentalize her feelings about Misty after she died, but now? Things get weird.]

You...you consider me a friend.

[Yes, that's exactly what Misty said, but she's stalling while she considers everything up to and including that Kana is dead and stuck with the girl who murdered the soccer girl in theater that Kana actually liked and dismembered Sayo a few weeks ago.]

[thatsplato]

[It stings. Kana will see it, for just a split second, because she’s still young, still has those moments of weakness where things like this cut her. A flinch, as short as it is—- a sign she’s still human, still victim to this kind of—-

Just as soon as it was there, it’s gone. And she giggles, pushing through.]

Of course! We both like the same things. And we were roommates! And everyone likes you, you’re so nice and easy to make friends with.

[bellpepperexercise]

...

[Seeing Misty briefly look hurt does make Kana pause the urge to completely reject her. Yes, there's clearly something deeply, deeply wrong with Misty, but it doesn't seem like Misty even knows where to start fixing that.

So Kana bites back the sarcastic comment about how Misty just appointed herself her and Rinne's roommates without asking. She can't fully stop the other comment though.]

Not everyone likes me. I needed to dial back on ego-searching for a reason, you know.

And Misty... [Kana sighs. It won't do either of them any good to sugarcoat it.] I was nice to you because I was worried about you.