you can hear people around you in the crowd whispering, looking at each other surreptitiously. when they notice the three of you, however, they move out of the way, making room for you to push your way to the front. and when you are at the front, you're greeted with... well. a sight.
the creature from before, the horrible furby with long legs, sits on a stool behind a poker table set up. it is wearing clothes, this time, a snazzy little suit befitting a casino employee, and it is examining its nails. behind it are three more stools, with people sitting on them...
threemensit on these stools, gagged and bound. they're in various states of tattered - their clothes are ripped and bloody in places, and they seem to be leaking some sort of strange red static from their mouths as they watch the three of you approach. when they see you, they start to try and move off the stool, and then - scream, muffled, as something invisible seems to shock them back into place. the screams seem weird, somehow? very real, but... wet. weirdly wet, and not completely coherent.
the creature - the uwu, you know instinctively - waves at you, letting out a horrible mechanical laugh. and there's this sharp pain at the back of your neck for an instant, an electric shock.]
Pway game wif me. Now.
[it says idly, tapping at the table in front of it.]
[ his expression falls when he sees the captives—one of them a stranger, the other two all-too familiar. he can feel a mixture of dread and guilt clench in his chest—even if he doesn't really believe any of them to be here, something feels like it's their fault that they are.
he jolts when he feels something knife into the back of his neck, and he grimaces as he seats himself down at the table. ]
...I think we ought to do what it says. For now, anyway.
[Estelle's eyes widen at the sight of the three men, and without thinking, she lifts a hand to reach out to them... but stops when those screams reach her ears. There's something wrong about that sound -- something wrong about all of this...
That hand then flies to the back of her neck as a sudden pain shoots through it. She looks to the others with uncertainty, then moves to stand beside Sylvain. She doesn't sit right away, but instead faces the creature warily.]
[ diluc freezes in place, upon seeing the three men. two of them are familiar and one especially gets his attention...his eyes close as they scream, trying to ignore the horrid noises, only to open again when the sharp pain hits his neck. he winces.]
Do not let down your guard.
[ he'd love to just kill this thing, right here right now, but that would surely only end poorly...much like last time. for now he'll just have to play along, but not without staring it down first, as estelle addresses it.
once it answers, then he'll take a seat, across from sylvain. ]
[it seems like it could be poker. or a card game in general. the uwu slides a laminated piece of cardstock towards the three of them, and then picks up a deck of cards to start shuffling them.]
RULES: 1. Get higher or lower card than me 2. If you do you move on to the next round 3. If you don't, you face consequences
[it waits, expectantly, for them to all sit. and when it does, it taps the deck of cards it has placed down on the table. it takes one, and holds it, and then warbles: HIGHER.
the three of them are allowed to take a handful of cards, and place whatever they might think will be higher than the uwu's card. oocly, from now on, roll a d20 and include the number in your tag when you place the card! that will be your card that you have chosen.]
the uwu looks down at what is placed. and then - the lights in the place flicker as it blinks, slowly.
it places down a 4. silence, and then - behind it, there's another chorus of agonized screams behind it as the three men writhe with that same electric shock. the uwu climbs onto the table a little, swaying back and forth.]
[ there's relief that they all cleared the first round, though it doesn't last long.
sylvain's hand curls into a bony fist, like he's considering climbing onto the table and enacting violence on the uwu, as unlikely as that's about to happen in his present state. he grits his teeth, and plays another card. 16. ]
the uwu places its card down. a 2. for a moment, there's this sort of electricity in the air, a tension. and then the uwu lets out a sort of shrieky noise, and all the lights in the casino go out. there's the sound of shuffling, in the dark, and then - the lights come back on.
estelle has placed a six. diluc has placed a nine. and sylvain has placed... a two?
the uwu cackles as it puts down a sixteen.]
Win! I win!
[it says, proudly, tapping its feet.]
CONSEQUENCE!
[it shouts. and in front of them, the numbers one through four appear. what will you choose?]
[ if sylvain didn't have BONES FOR HANDS he'd flip the entire table. and also strangle this creature. ]
What the hell...
[ but at least... the fake hostages don't seem to have been harmed.
he reaches out to select number 3. if they're playing high or low again, he'd rather stick to the middle and ensure either estelle or diluc have a chance at winning. ]
[this time, it doesn't even ask for higher or lower. this time, it just cackles, climbing up onto the table. neon lights in a rainbow of colors spell like a marquee over its head as it tip-tap dances in place.] SYLVAIN: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: SWORDS. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
ESTELLE: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: BODY. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
DILUC: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: EYES. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
you feel that sharp pain again, in the back of your neck. it digs in, and you cannot move. you are frozen to the stool, for the moment. but out of the corner of your eye, you see mikazuki stand up.
he's normally so serene - he normally is not afraid. and today, he's still not. he is calm, but the expression on his face is... regretful. mournful. every step he takes towards sylvain is like he's fighting it. it doesn't seem to matter much, in the end, because he approaches, and slowly pulls his sword - him, his true body - from his belt. it sounds like he tries to speak, but it's garbled, far more than just the gag should do. and this close up... you can see the gag is stained red with blood.
he shifts his stance, and with a precision, a speed that only someone as ancient as he is can possess, runs the sword through sylvain's stomach, and twists, as he pulls it back out. the force knocks sylvain to the floor, and mikazuki stands there, sword dripping, breathing harshly.
... he puts a hand to his stomach.
estelle.
you too, feel that sharp pain again. but rather than be frozen to your stool, something different happens. you stand. and you walk to your hostage. he watches you, solemnly. he knows what is going to happen.
estelle looks at him, and she is filled with the urge to hurt him. she wants to torture him. whatever skills she possesses, whatever power she has - she finds it at her fingertips once again. there's something in the back of her mind that tells her that isn't right, but - no. no, it is right. this is what she does. she always hurts people.
how would she like to hurt sieghart?
diluc.
you, last but not least, feel the sharp pain in the back of your neck. you are frozen, just as sylvain is, stuck to your stool. for a moment, there's silence, and then from behind the uwu, kaeya stands.
he looks furious, behind his gag. his steps are staggered and lumbering, and he coughs, gagging on the blood in his mouth. static drips to the floor as he makes his way to diluc, fists clenched.
he places his hands on either side of diluc's face, like he's going to pull him in to kiss, almost. it's oddly soft. and the expression on his face is heartbroken, for a moment, as he drags one hand over one of diluc's eyes. and then -- there's a sharp, horrible pain as a jagged shard of ice pierces through, so cold that it burns. the spray of ice goes everywhere - coats half of diluc's face, his chest, and - probably hits the others, as well.
... red static drips down from under kaeya's eyepatch.]
[ strangely, this doesn't feel... surprising to sylvain. after all the times he's spoken with mikazuki, about war and punishment and loss, this feels like judgement delayed.
he closes his eyes, accepting his fate, even as his belly is pierced, even as the force of it being wrenched from his gut sends sylvain toppling painfully to the floor.
he looks up to see his wound mirrored on mikazuki, and weakly murmurs his name.
and then, he looks to estelle and sieghart, to diluc and kaeya with dread.
while estelle makes her decision, the very temperature of the room seems to drop, and a fragment of ice lashes against his cheek. he flinches when he sees half of diluc's face swallowed by vicious frost. ]
[Estelle stands and walks to Sieghart. She doesn't look at her friends' suffering. She can hardly bring herself to think about it. Maybe that's her fault, too. She can hardly keep track of all the suffering she's caused, directly or indirectly.
She takes the man's hand in hers as she gazes into his eyes. It would almost seem like a tender moment, a gesture of compassion... yet no such sentiment can be seen in her empty eyes.
With no emotion whatsoever, she takes one of his fingers, and in a sharp motion, snaps it backward. Then she does the same with the next one. She'll keep going until they're all broken, and then she'll find something else to break.
If someone wants to stop her, they should kill her.]
[ he watches as mikazuki strikes sylvain in the gut, blood dripping as he topples to the floor. his face contorts and his focus is immediately shifting as estelle stands, watching as she strides up to seighart.
but then his focus is stolen, his eyes snapping to focus on kaeya, who now stands before him. the hands on his face are soft, it almost puts him at ease for a moment, like maybe this won't be too terrible, but that look on kaeya's face...]
Kae—
[ a searing pain. similar to one he's felt before, but this seems to burn more than anything he's ever felt before. the pain travels through his eye and into the rest of his skull, down his neck and chest. it's cold, yet hot... he yells out in agony, other eye clenched shut tightly.
the sound of bones breaking gets him to open that eye, blurry, as he looks to estelle. ]
E-estelle... Stop!!
[ he's going to attempt to break free from kaeya's hold, the side of his body that is unaffected from the frost, moving. if he can just get away from kaeya...he can run to estelle and grab her...stop her. that's not her, she would never bring harm to others... ]
[mikazuki stands, unsteadily, watching as the blood blooms across his front. and then, after a moment, he glances at sylvain again. takes a step forward, staggering a little. and without any sort of finese, begins to stomp on sylvain's arm with a great amount of force, like his aim is to shatter the bones.
sieghart - flinches. he doesn't make a sound, but there's a flinch, every time she snaps a bone. and every time she does, she'll feel it too, the snap of her own fingers breaking - not that it stops her. she barely feels it at the moment.
she can break anything she wants. she could break his ribs, she could snap his arms, his collarbone, she could do anything she wanted.
kaeya staggers backwards a little, putting his hand over his eye. the blood seeps out from under the patch, and he groans, just a little, trying to get his bearings. diluc can try - he can try to move around kaeya to get to estelle.
the pain of losing his eye seems to have staggered him just enough, and he falls back against the table. diluc is allowed to pass to get to estelle, but he's bleeding heavily, and he feels a little stiff from the cold.
through all of this, the uwu is just laughing. you don't know what will stop this. there has to be something, right? something. someone?]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guestservices) wrote2022-07-10 03:36 pm
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you can hear people around you in the crowd whispering, looking at each other surreptitiously. when they notice the three of you, however, they move out of the way, making room for you to push your way to the front. and when you are at the front, you're greeted with... well. a sight.
the creature from before, the horrible furby with long legs, sits on a stool behind a poker table set up. it is wearing clothes, this time, a snazzy little suit befitting a casino employee, and it is examining its nails. behind it are three more stools, with people sitting on them...
three men sit on these stools, gagged and bound. they're in various states of tattered - their clothes are ripped and bloody in places, and they seem to be leaking some sort of strange red static from their mouths as they watch the three of you approach. when they see you, they start to try and move off the stool, and then - scream, muffled, as something invisible seems to shock them back into place. the screams seem weird, somehow? very real, but... wet. weirdly wet, and not completely coherent.
the creature - the uwu, you know instinctively - waves at you, letting out a horrible mechanical laugh. and there's this sharp pain at the back of your neck for an instant, an electric shock.]
Pway game wif me. Now.
[it says idly, tapping at the table in front of it.]
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he jolts when he feels something knife into the back of his neck, and he grimaces as he seats himself down at the table. ]
...I think we ought to do what it says. For now, anyway.
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That hand then flies to the back of her neck as a sudden pain shoots through it. She looks to the others with uncertainty, then moves to stand beside Sylvain. She doesn't sit right away, but instead faces the creature warily.]
What would you have us do...?
[She looks at the table. It's poker...?]
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Do not let down your guard.
[ he'd love to just kill this thing, right here right now, but that would surely only end poorly...much like last time. for now he'll just have to play along, but not without staring it down first, as estelle addresses it.
once it answers, then he'll take a seat, across from sylvain. ]
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RULES:
1. Get higher or lower card than me
2. If you do you move on to the next round
3. If you don't, you face consequences
[it waits, expectantly, for them to all sit. and when it does, it taps the deck of cards it has placed down on the table. it takes one, and holds it, and then warbles: HIGHER.
the three of them are allowed to take a handful of cards, and place whatever they might think will be higher than the uwu's card. oocly, from now on, roll a d20 and include the number in your tag when you place the card! that will be your card that you have chosen.]
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She draws a card... and it's a 16! There's a 16 in this deck? Neat. She places it.]
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setting his drink down, gathers his cards, drawing one and also placing down an 8. ]
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the uwu looks down at what is placed. and then - the lights in the place flicker as it blinks, slowly.
it places down a 4. silence, and then - behind it, there's another chorus of agonized screams behind it as the three men writhe with that same electric shock. the uwu climbs onto the table a little, swaying back and forth.]
Again. Again. HIGHER.
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sylvain's hand curls into a bony fist, like he's considering climbing onto the table and enacting violence on the uwu, as unlikely as that's about to happen in his present state. he grits his teeth, and plays another card. 16. ]
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Wait... if we win, then they...
[She's hesitant as she draws and presents another card. 9.]
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Dammit...
[ he's not happy about this, in the slightest...but still, he draws a card. 6. ]
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the uwu places its card down. a 2. for a moment, there's this sort of electricity in the air, a tension. and then the uwu lets out a sort of shrieky noise, and all the lights in the casino go out. there's the sound of shuffling, in the dark, and then - the lights come back on.
estelle has placed a six. diluc has placed a nine. and sylvain has placed... a two?
the uwu cackles as it puts down a sixteen.]
Win! I win!
[it says, proudly, tapping its feet.]
CONSEQUENCE!
[it shouts. and in front of them, the numbers one through four appear. what will you choose?]
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What the hell...
[ but at least... the fake hostages don't seem to have been harmed.
he reaches out to select number 3. if they're playing high or low again, he'd rather stick to the middle and ensure either estelle or diluc have a chance at winning. ]
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[Estelle is somehow scandalized that this horrible nightmare-beast is not playing fair.
She reaches for a card...... number 2.]
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[ diluc, also thinking about strangling the uwu, to be honest. but alas...bones.
he reaches for the number 1. ]
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SYLVAIN: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: SWORDS. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
ESTELLE: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: BODY. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
DILUC: YOU HAVE CHOSEN: EYES. WILL YOU TAKE THE PUNISHMENT? OR WILL YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION?
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Unless any of you wanna trade...
[ otherwise, he'll stick with what he drew, bracing himself for whatever's about to come next. ]
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[She shuts her eyes... then shakes her head. Her selection will stay.]
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[ he sighs. he's going to keep his selection. ]
Steel yourselves.
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you feel that sharp pain again, in the back of your neck. it digs in, and you cannot move. you are frozen to the stool, for the moment. but out of the corner of your eye, you see mikazuki stand up.
he's normally so serene - he normally is not afraid. and today, he's still not. he is calm, but the expression on his face is... regretful. mournful. every step he takes towards sylvain is like he's fighting it. it doesn't seem to matter much, in the end, because he approaches, and slowly pulls his sword - him, his true body - from his belt. it sounds like he tries to speak, but it's garbled, far more than just the gag should do. and this close up... you can see the gag is stained red with blood.
he shifts his stance, and with a precision, a speed that only someone as ancient as he is can possess, runs the sword through sylvain's stomach, and twists, as he pulls it back out. the force knocks sylvain to the floor, and mikazuki stands there, sword dripping, breathing harshly.
... he puts a hand to his stomach.
estelle.
you too, feel that sharp pain again. but rather than be frozen to your stool, something different happens. you stand. and you walk to your hostage. he watches you, solemnly. he knows what is going to happen.
estelle looks at him, and she is filled with the urge to hurt him. she wants to torture him. whatever skills she possesses, whatever power she has - she finds it at her fingertips once again. there's something in the back of her mind that tells her that isn't right, but - no. no, it is right. this is what she does. she always hurts people.
how would she like to hurt sieghart?
diluc.
you, last but not least, feel the sharp pain in the back of your neck. you are frozen, just as sylvain is, stuck to your stool. for a moment, there's silence, and then from behind the uwu, kaeya stands.
he looks furious, behind his gag. his steps are staggered and lumbering, and he coughs, gagging on the blood in his mouth. static drips to the floor as he makes his way to diluc, fists clenched.
he places his hands on either side of diluc's face, like he's going to pull him in to kiss, almost. it's oddly soft. and the expression on his face is heartbroken, for a moment, as he drags one hand over one of diluc's eyes. and then -- there's a sharp, horrible pain as a jagged shard of ice pierces through, so cold that it burns. the spray of ice goes everywhere - coats half of diluc's face, his chest, and - probably hits the others, as well.
... red static drips down from under kaeya's eyepatch.]
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he closes his eyes, accepting his fate, even as his belly is pierced, even as the force of it being wrenched from his gut sends sylvain toppling painfully to the floor.
he looks up to see his wound mirrored on mikazuki, and weakly murmurs his name.
and then, he looks to estelle and sieghart, to diluc and kaeya with dread.
while estelle makes her decision, the very temperature of the room seems to drop, and a fragment of ice lashes against his cheek. he flinches when he sees half of diluc's face swallowed by vicious frost. ]
Diluc—
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She takes the man's hand in hers as she gazes into his eyes. It would almost seem like a tender moment, a gesture of compassion... yet no such sentiment can be seen in her empty eyes.
With no emotion whatsoever, she takes one of his fingers, and in a sharp motion, snaps it backward. Then she does the same with the next one. She'll keep going until they're all broken, and then she'll find something else to break.
If someone wants to stop her, they should kill her.]
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but then his focus is stolen, his eyes snapping to focus on kaeya, who now stands before him. the hands on his face are soft, it almost puts him at ease for a moment, like maybe this won't be too terrible, but that look on kaeya's face...]
Kae—
[ a searing pain. similar to one he's felt before, but this seems to burn more than anything he's ever felt before. the pain travels through his eye and into the rest of his skull, down his neck and chest. it's cold, yet hot... he yells out in agony, other eye clenched shut tightly.
the sound of bones breaking gets him to open that eye, blurry, as he looks to estelle. ]
E-estelle... Stop!!
[ he's going to attempt to break free from kaeya's hold, the side of his body that is unaffected from the frost, moving. if he can just get away from kaeya...he can run to estelle and grab her...stop her. that's not her, she would never bring harm to others... ]
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sieghart - flinches. he doesn't make a sound, but there's a flinch, every time she snaps a bone. and every time she does, she'll feel it too, the snap of her own fingers breaking - not that it stops her. she barely feels it at the moment.
she can break anything she wants. she could break his ribs, she could snap his arms, his collarbone, she could do anything she wanted.
kaeya staggers backwards a little, putting his hand over his eye. the blood seeps out from under the patch, and he groans, just a little, trying to get his bearings. diluc can try - he can try to move around kaeya to get to estelle.
the pain of losing his eye seems to have staggered him just enough, and he falls back against the table. diluc is allowed to pass to get to estelle, but he's bleeding heavily, and he feels a little stiff from the cold.
through all of this, the uwu is just laughing. you don't know what will stop this. there has to be something, right? something. someone?]
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