(no subject)

[vicedirector]

You awaken to blackness. Frightening, although familiar--this is the same terrible thing you narrowly avoided during your first trip into Lebensbaum. The pain of your death is still real, echoes of the wounds you suffered appearing on your skin. Inspecting your surroundings will tell you that you've woken up inside of the cooled, empty bonfire pit....and the town as it was is nowhere to be seen.

The sky is a whirlwind of blank, dark void. What previously acted as roadblocks on either side of the town seems to have moved upward, blocking out most of the sun's light. The street is barren, filled with piles of broken concrete, shattered glass, and smoking craters where many of the buildings used to be. Old bloodstains dot the pavement, mixing in with overturned cars and crumbling brick walls. Lebensbaum is a dead town, in more ways than one.

Except for the hotel. It stands, as dusty and abandoned as it ever was, but no worse for the wear. Scorch marks can be seen on the ground around it in a clear border, as though it had a barrier protecting it from whatever destroyed the village. If you venture inside, everything is in its place, as though the outside wasn't completely obliterated.

The living can be seen walking around, going about their daily lives, and if you concentrate, you can even see the buildings as they once were--in working order, clean, and in one piece.

As of Monday on Week 10, however, there is a door, seemingly pasted into the middle of the street. As the days tick by, the doors will increase in number, one for each victim.

Comments

[crazily]

[ There's a familiar heaviness in his chest as Break starts to come to, and as soon as he takes what feels like a first breath, it comes with a weak cough. He's laying face down in the bonfire pit, and it takes him a moment to work up the strength to move. After all, his death wasn't quite at the hands of a demon, or not directly. He bears the wounds of getting stabbed, but what had actually killed him in the end was what he had been worried about the entire time he had been here. His body finally gave out on him.

Break starts to shift up to his hands and knees, though it feels like quite the process for him, as if every limb was made of lead. He opens his eye out of habit, but it immediately gets him to flinch and curse under his breath.

There's light, and that's something that Break hasn't seen in many weeks now.

He quickly and sharply reaches up to cover his eye, since he'll have to adjust to that sensation again, which is more than a little disorienting. He can see again, but for however long it'll take for him to process that, it might not matter. After all, there might be people around noticing Break slowly getting up at this point. Please don't kill him again, guys. ]

[princessantly]

[ Alisha won't kill him. Other people will probably kill him instead, but she's approaching rather hesitantly.

Because at least someone remembers he's fragile, even if that may not matter anymore. ]

Sir Break... please, take it slow. It's hard to adjust at first.

[ SHE MIGHT BE TEARING UP. ]

[crazily]

[ So assuming this takes place in the nebulous way that concurrent threads do, I'm waving my hand vaguely at that part... ]

[ Break hears Alisha's voice, and it gets him to smile, albeit in a tired way. He keeps his hand covering his eye, since he's letting a little light filter through his fingers to adjust to this again, but he still turns his attention her way once he's sitting up more. Through his fingers, she's just a blur, but that blur is still... surprisingly familiar.

It gets him to laugh, since it's funny, isn't it? He had made that association passingly, but it seems like perhaps he had been onto something more than he thought.

The laugh gets interrupted by a small cough, and he just shrugs as he sits back tiredly. ]

Well, at least that answers one question. If I'm here, then at least that still "counts."

[princessantly]

[ Yes, let's ignore how he's going to be bodyslammed-- ]

[ Alisha hesitates, then crouches down in front of him, offering her hand. ]

... I'm sorry. I didn't want you to end up here at all. [ It's not very pleasant and she has to babysit reckless idiots and suicidal Chosens who try to kiss dragons, it's terrible. ]

[crazily]

[ Break hesitates, but he ends up taking her hand to help himself up after all. He definitely still has his eye covered, though, so that might be a bit odd. ]

What? You're not the one that should be apologizing, Miss Alisha~.

[ It definitely sounds like he's forcing cheer into his tone there, and he seems to catch that too. He laughs tiredly, then shrugs as his voice shifts back to more serious. ]

It was inevitable, if I'm honest. Don't worry too much about it.

[princessantly]

How could I not? I-inevitable or not, it's not as though I wished for you to suffer...

[ Break had suffered enough, hadn't they? Hadn't they all, in their own way, suffered more than they deserved? But she won't mention that, instead taking a closer, concerned glance at his eye. ]

... Does your eye hurt?

[crazily]

[ That's the sort of sentiment that absolutely humbles Break, and there's definitely a solid moment where he's not sure how to respond. He'd like to deny it, since that's his reflexive reaction, but he knows at least that this isn't the right thing to do. But simply accepting a kind sentiment like that, well— He's glad to have something else to focus on as she continues, to say the least.

Break draws his hand away from his eye slowly, though he's still squinting as he adjusts to the light. He laughs, though it's definitely soft and tired. ]

It does, but it'll go away.

[ This part he has more difficulty with, actually. Getting something like this back definitely doesn't feel like something he deserves at all, but at least there's no one to thank for that. ]

I can see. [ After a pause, he adds lightly: ] Or, I should say, I will be able to in a bit~. Goodness, I'd forgotten how bright things were.

[princessantly]

[ Alisha blinks, momentarily disconcerted at this revelation-- until she thinks about it, and well. He is dead (sort of), so maybe that's some sort of minor concession. ]

There are, ah... darker areas of the town, if you need to let your eye adjust for a bit.

[crazily]

It's fine, it's fine~.

[ He waves her off with a playful tone in his voice, albeit weakly. He's still pretty tired, so he'll have to regain some energy before he's resuming that clownish act. Though after a few moments, he ends up ducking his head lightly, and it's almost bowing his head to her a bit. It's a bit bashful, oddly, but that's because as his vision clarifies, this is definitely odd. The resemblance is a bit startling. ]

...Thank you, though.

[ Break seems like he isn't sure what to say, but he breathes out a sound that's somewhere between a sigh and a laugh before he looks back to her. ]

For keeping these idiots in line, and for helping out on this side.

[princessantly]

[ If only she'd had a big brother Break as a tiny ojousama and not a hottie betraying teacher, things might have been a little better for her. Ah, well. ]

You really don't need to thank me. I did what I could, of course, but ultimately, it wasn't much...

[stupidly]

[Okay so yes, Break's just died probably a painful and traumatic death, and it's not looking like he's doing a whole lot better now that he's dead, so he probably should be handled carefully--

But Gilbert (and probably everyone else, let's be real, this is probably just the beginning of an avalanche of ghosts) doesn't have the self-restraint for that. So of course he's just sort of, you know. Launching himself DIRECTLY AT BREAK and tripping over the edge of the firepit in his haste and probably landing on him.]

Break—!!

[But also he's definitely getting the biggest damn hug Gilbert's ever given him in their 10 years of stupid friendship, even if he's squashed.]

[fourleafcleaver]

[following not far behind: one tiny pink force of nature just straight-up fuckin launching her entire self at this hug in progress with a shriek, because while yes we should probably handle poor fragile dead grandpa with care, Clover is made up entirely of impulse and emotional volatility even at the best of times so do you think she's thought this plan through any further than needing a group hug to occur immediately?? no

+1 crying pink child for the ghost avalanche!!!]

[detanimetion]

[Undyne's been screaming in rage ever since she saw Break's and Rhys's bodies - almost as loudly as she screamed when she saw Papyrus's - but her screams finally turn into actual words when she sees their ghosts.]

Break! What the fuck what the fuck how can it be both of you what the fuck RhysBreakwhy--

[...okay, so they're not comprehensible words. Mostly because she's screaming them while running towards them at the same time, shoving whatever unfortunate ghosts happen to be in the way aside and looking kind of like she's about to murder both of them--

But nah, she just hurls herself right into Gilbert's and Clover's sides so she can try to hug Break (and Rhys if he got trapped in the cuddlepile too) as tightly as she can as well.]

[crazily]

[ Really, he should expect this. He should absolutely expect this, because this trio hasn't exactly been gentle or careful at the best of times, so why would they be now. As soon as he hears his name, Break looks towards Gilbert, and there's a laugh on his breath, but it's also rather quickly replaced by horror as he sees Gilbert trip and come hurtling toward him.

He thinks to himself if only for an instant that he really didn't want to be the test subject for if a ghost could also die, thanks.

But that's quickly gone as Gilbert collapses on top of him like a dang dingus. That's enough to knock him off balance and wind him in one fell swoop, but the tight hug prevents him from regaining that breath. Then in a flurry, there's quickly another person, and then another feeling like they're squeezing the life out of him all over again. He closes his eye tightly, since the light still hurts his eye, but it's not quite hard to figure out the other two from voices alone. It's all he's had up to this point after all.

He's... actually a little overwhelmed by that. It's not strange for Gilbert to be so happy to see him, but for anyone else? It's hard for him to believe. He's didn't think himself the sort of person deserving of this kind of reception at all, and especially not when he feels that he's failed all of them. It's humbling and overwhelming all at once, but—

He also can't breathe.

Like, even a little. ]

[stupidly]

[GIVE HIM A FEW SECONDS HERE as he just continues with the death hug, totally heedless of the fact that they've now been joined by two more goobers and even he feels like his lungs are being crushed a bit...

But eventually he'll realize, hm! That's kind of weird! Break isn't saying anything, even to shout at them and call them all morons...!

At which point two and two finally click together and he scrambles to let go but he's caught up in a hug tangle so that's a bit easier said than done, currently. He's trying. He might just end up elbowing Break in the process instead of being useful, though.]

Er— Guys, I don't think he can breathe!

[fourleafcleaver]

[it takes a second for that to register through all of the CRYING AND EMOTIONS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, JUST, IN GENERAL, but once it does:] ...oh! Oh, shit—

[NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE IS NOT A FUN FEELING BEEN THERE DONE THAT, otherwise she'd probably just be like "suck it up you can't die twice" and let this happen but not wanting to inflict strangulation (by hug) on anyone else is enough to get her to wriggle away from the hug tangle so Break can breathe again. Or, like, she's trying, anyway. This is basically up to Undyne at this point.]

[detanimetion]

[wow why are we leaving anything to Undyne this is a terrible plan all around also ghosts don't need to breathe gosh]

We're ghosts, we don't need to breathe! [BUT FINE she'll start untangling herself from the hug

right after she lifts every single one of them at least a foot off the ground in one massive final group cuddle. She can canonly bench press seven children at once don't fucking question her on this.]

[crazily]

[ Even though Gilbert was the one to save him from a double-death, he's also the one to take the brunt of Break's annoyance here. He has seniority over Clover and Undyne, so unfortunately for him, this also means he gets the most beatings. As they start to untangle from the hug, Break gets elbowed, and his immediate response is just to sock Gilbert in the stomach right back... He may not have his cane, but he'll still beat Gilbert up.

Though once he starts to be able to breathe again, he takes a deep, rattling breath, even as he's just lifted off the goddamn ground. This is so uncomfortable. Whatever nice, shonen-esque feelings he may have been having a moment ago are being quickly replaced, because he's instead feeling the deep concern that he may have made

Friends. ]

You're all complete, total, and absolutely useless idiots!

[ He starts to yell at them just like old times, but no, he still actually is recovering from a death by lung hemorrhage, so he breaks out into coughing after his first bit. If ghosts bleed, they may be unlucky enough to get some on them, but regardless, he's also not done with his rant just yet. Even though he continues coughing through it, Break just continues to be a grumpy old man. ]

Now put me down! I just died once, so I'd really prefer not to immediately repeat that experience!

[disapproved]

[ break is the person she's most shocked to see in the graveyard, but, then again, before she died that would have been herself. she approaches him tentatively, making her steps more known than she normally would — surely he'd be as shocked as she was when she died, as strangely content yet disappointed in herself.

a sigh. ]

I am a tad disappointed, I must say. All those left alive lack the resourcefulness you possess, as well as any sort of spine.

1/2

[crazily]

[ By the time Morrigan approaches, his eye has at least adjusted more to the light. He removes his hand almost blearily as she sighs, but it's followed with a laugh. His voice is weak and soft because of how the heaviness of his death still sits in his chest, but he's hoping that'll go away with time. ]

Well, that goes for both of us, at least. I didn't actually think that I would live, mind you, but...

[ He trails off there, since that's not quite something he's ready to get into. Break shifts to start to stand, and it provides a convenient way for him to change subjects as he groans lightly with effort. ]

—But thank you. You do me more—

[crazily]

[ But he cuts off again, since as his vision adjusts and he properly sees Morrigan for the first time, well. She is not wearing much, and Break is a little bit more of a prude than you would potentially expect from him. That is a lot more skin than he was expecting to see, and he stumbles over his words in his surprise before he quickly turns to politely avert his eyes. He doesn't know where to look??? So he just. Doesn't. He tries to play it cool and continue his train of thought there, but of course it's just stupid and obvious now. ]

Er, that's very kind of you to say, I mean.

[disapproved]

[ well.

morrigan didn't like this. her face turns stern, and she folds her arms as if she's an angry mother walking upon her child scribbling on the walls. ]

I take it your eyesight has returned. [ a click of her tongue. ] I do hope you continue to think of me as Morrigan, and not merely as a woman. Sight notwithstanding, I am still the same woman you have met before, the same who eviscerated two corpses, so I trust that your regained sense will not be an issue.

[ a weighty reminder, perhaps, but a necessary one. it wouldn't do for break to see her differently from rhys or gilbert — she was just as capable as them, despite her form. ]

[crazily]

[ Ohhhhh no. As soon as he hears that tone in her voice, Break feels a pang of fear, because, well. He knows it well. It's also usually rather quickly followed by a fan coming to smack him rather violently, since having been taken in by a household where the women were the ones who held power, well. To say that they didn't tolerate slights or disrespect was something of an understatement. ]

That's- not.... [ Break trails off lamely, since he pretty much immediately realizes that no matter what he says, he's just going to dig himself into a deeper hole here. He just ends up sighing, and he nods rather meekly. ]

Pardon me for causing offense. It's not that I'd think of you differently, but it's... a surprise.

[ Which is about all he can say, since saying "I'm not used to seeing that much skin" just opens up new doors to either be mocked or for Morrigan to get upset at him. He coughs into his hand and looks back to her, but his face is still rather rosy. In fact, it's actually because he does like Morrigan that he's having this reaction at all, since apparently he's more okay with this if it's, say, a Baskerville. You do you, Break. ]

[disapproved]

[ she can accept that. she guessed. it could be worse, at least — break wasn't a total alistair, like, say, rhys, so it wasn't wholly entertaining to knock him around, though she didn't expect him to be quite so bashful. she sighs. ]

'Tis.. not a bother, then. Let us forget about it. Please.

[ PLEASE. let's just go back to being business partners, fellow shady. ]

There is still much to do. Times are changing around here, I suspect, and our beloved purveyor seems to be unraveling thread by thread each day. With luck, the fools yet living will not simply sit on their hands as she careens towards her ultimate goal.

[crazily]

[ Break nods, since yes, he's glad to just move past it, and he will do his best not to be flustered over Morrigan being far more comfortable showing skin than he's used to... At least talk of business gets him to push aside being a Victorian, since he frowns, but nods quite seriously. Part of him would like to take some time to rest, but another part of him won't allow that at all. ]

...Well, unfortunately, I wouldn't put that much faith in the ones remaining.

[ Everyone he likes is here, if he's honest. ]

But they'll have to manage, since there's no other choice. Though of the ones remaining, I have doubts that they'd be able to do what's necessary.