theafflicted | 04 - week four

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.

SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That little boy is currently scrambling over chunks of rubble and apparently making an attempt at wrenching open the canopy of one of the grounded machine. The kid's small frame means that the metal cover, however light, is still large and unwieldy to move for a child that looks no older than eleven or twelve. If nothing else though, he's persistent--the crooked metal being partially bent away from the cockpit makes things easier, but he eventually manages to shift it away enough to partially reveal the figure of a teenage soldier.

The soldier, frankly, does not look like he's doing particularly well with the blood running down his head and just the general state of the cockpit being painted in dark red, but the boy seems to be reaching in and attempting to hoist the teenager out anyway, heedless of the smell and mess. And depending on how close Miach is, she may also notice that the person's legs... well, they may not be attached to the rest of the body anymore, let's just say that.]

[ It's sickening. Miach is in love with death and decay, but she is not entirely immune to its inherent repulsiveness. The sight of severed legs, the smell of blood... they do make her stomach turn - she merely chooses to ignore it as she approaches.

It would take a miracle to save this one and she doesn't think anything of this caliber is available here. ]

... it's too late.

[ Speaking in a soft voice, to get Shin's attention. ]

Do you want me to help you carry him anyway?

[He stiffens in surprise at her voice, too focused on finding a way to properly hoist the other boy over his small shoulders to pay much attention to anything else around him. He turns around slowly to stare at Miach with a hint of bewilderment in his dull eyes, but Shin's gaze snaps back to the teenager when he makes a quiet groan.

That's enough to get a hesitant nod from Shin, but...]

We can still save him.

[In spite of how quietly he says it, there's a clear conviction in those words, fueled in a way that can only be done by a child's naïveté and stubbornness.]

[ The denial is not unexpected. Some things need to be experienced to be properly believed - Miach is all in favor of letting people make experiences and learning for themselves.

This, though, is certainly cruel.

She decides to make good on her word then, climbs up the mech a little and takes hold of the teenager on the other side. Blood gets on her hands, her clothes... but that's fine. None of this is real and even if it were, is this really worse than what she went through so long ago? ]

On three.

[ Miach isn't strong, but two people is still better than one. ]

One... two... three...

[Bringing his arms out from under the older boy's armpit, he waits dutifully for the signal before pulling on his end as well. Two people is indeed better than one, and with only... one half to lift away from the cockpit, it's certainly feasible even if it might not have been the most elegant in terms of movements.

With the street so full of dust and rubble, however, there aren't really many places to put the teenager down besides a comparatively clear patch of asphalt a couple meters away from the machine, so Shin will slowly try to lead them over there. And even if the teen isn't all there, he's still heavy enough that the exertion makes Shin sink to the ground once they lay him down.]

[ This is hopeless, Miach thinks as she catches her breath and looks at the dying teen in front of her. The loss of limbs has cost him so much blood, there's thing chances of survival without a transfusion... and even then, it is hard to tell just how much else is wrong here. The blood coating the head is not a promising sign either.

So instead of attempting futile first aide, Miach just gently tries to rouse the teen into a last moment of awareness. ]

Hey... you've got somebody who wants to speak to you.

[The teen is just barely conscious at the moment, eyes unfocused in a haze of pain. Still, Miach's voice is enough to get him turn his head vaguely in her direction, although it's debatable how much he's actually taking in considering there isn't much else of a response.

Shin, for his part, just seems a little baffled at Miach's gesture as he blinks a few times before opening his mouth to speak.]

No, that's...

[He trails off like he doesn't know how he wants to finish that sentence and starts looking around the area instead, like he's trying to find something that can help here. But his eyes fix on someone walking towards them instead, boots crunching against the small bits of stone littering the area.

The silver-haired teenager pulls a gun out of leg holster.]

[ There are two options for what this person is going to do, but one seems more likely than the other. Miach looks between the dying teen and the gun and understands that by some margin this is the 'right' option.

She wonders if she'd want it, if it were her bleeding out on the ground. Or if she'd want to feel every bit of it, every agonizing moment.

Not that it matters.

A better person might have told Shin to close his eyes, but. ]

I think he can hear you. Say your goodbye and watch. That's all you can do for him right now.

[Shin's head swivels back to Miach at the words, brows furrowing in confusion. The teenager with the gun is almost certainly within earshot now as he racks the slide back and points the muzzle at the downed soldier.]

But... we can still treat him. We can still--

[Three gunshots. Without warning, three bullets tear into the injured teen's skull. Whatever life was left in him vanishes instantaneously as his head simply flops to the side as a puddle of blood slowly starts to form underneath. Looking dispassionately at the scene, Isuka holsters the gun before scoffing at Shin, who now stares blankly at the corpse.]

Treat him? Have you forgotten where we are?

[ Miach doesn't look away from the death - she did not know this kid, has no reason to care for them, but she feels like she has to inhale all death around her in order to sharpen herself. To become worse and worse until she is entirely unpalatable to all who wield power.

But against her will, her body tenses up and revulsion rises in her all the same. Blood and brain matter - they're disgusting things.

When Shin doesn't seem to respond, she looks up at Isuka instead. ]

He won't forget it from now on. I know his conviction.

[Shin slowly looks up from the corpse to glance at Miach before his eyes finally land on Isuka, brows furrowed in something accusatory. Meanwhile, Isuka makes an expression like he feels the whole exchange is tedious, his eyes almost sneering at her for making such an assertion.]

Is that right? ...Hey, Shin. So that means if you saw another dying idiot like this, you won't waste your breath dragging his corpse out here. Is that what she's saying?

[Shin shakes his head, although it's unclear if he's actually answering the question or just wanting to deny all the reasoning being thrown around in this whole conversation.]

We still should have tried to treat him. If we did that, then maybe we could have saved him...!

[There's definitely an "I told you so" in the annoyed look that Isuka tosses Miach's way.]

04 - week four

cw: gore

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cw: euthanasia, gunshot wounds

cw: euthanasia, gunshot wounds

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