[She stands outside the impenetrable simulation chambers, hand gripped on her thorn bow and glowering. Her head snaps to Todomatsu the second she hears his footsteps, reflexively drawing but not yet taking aim.]
[ well, he was already feeling very disoriented and on edge, and he tenses up pretty hard as he watches her hand on the bow, like he thinks it might end up pointing at him at any moment. ]
Ah. [ he swallows, his throat dry. ] Um, okay. Thanks.
I know, I know. [She nods along, taking him by the shoulder.] I know it's scary right now, and we're not sure of what's happening or whether we'll find out at all. But we're still here, and we're still trying. And eventually, we'll get somewhere.
You know, like, categories for TV shows or movies or books or whatever. Like this one started out as kind of a scifi comedy when we were having stupid plumbing mishaps and playing party games, but it just seriously veered off course into horror territory with this.
[ ...well, that. makes a whole lot of sense, actually, looking at her, though he doesn't think they've ever personally encountered characters from a completely different (but familiar?) fictional universe before, so that's... kind of something else to wrap his head around. huh. ]
Yeah, I do know it. [ thinks... ] I don't think we ever parodied it like we did with Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood, though.
You parodied— oh. Hmm. [This is awkward. She's not sure how that would play out, whether the original stories get involved at all.] I think Little Red would get a kick out of it. I don't know what Cinderella might think. She can be very serious sometimes.
[Perhaps that is more owing to her most recent iterations, though.]
Anyway, I know how you feel. When your story goes wrong. I mean, look at me! [She gestures (needlessly) to the briars.] It's very easy to get discouraged, especially when something so dreadful happens. And then keeps happening, and gets worse, and...it can seem like there may not be hope.
[ tbf the little red one barely counts, it was just a two minute thing of him playing her and doing the "what a big mouth you have" thing to the guy playing his grandmother who said it was all because of genetics and then they just cried. ]
Honestly, we don't really have much of a story [ beyond being neets who are doing nothing with their lives ], we're just a gag anime. So a lot of the time whatever we do in one segment has nothing to do with whatever comes after it.
[ whatever consequences there are rarely extend to future episodes, and serious plotlines where the threat of permanent death is genuine are usually reserved for late in the season. ]
That's why this is—
[ he bites his lip for a moment, frowning. ]
We're not even in our own universes or stories or whatever right now, are we? So we can't count on things working like we're used to because we're under a completely different set of rules.
Akatsuka-sensei and... whoever created yours. [ did the brothers grimm create that story or just rip it off, he doesn't know. ] They don't have anything to do with this.
["Gag"? So it's more like a comedy? The description lends itself a little better to her antiquated ear, she nods thoughtfully as she imagines what that might be like. Definitely a lot more fun than some fairy tales. But maybe limiting in other ways. She would like to be able to do funny things, but not at the expense of everything else.]
I think that's true, yes. [Frightening as it may be. She flinches as he mentions his Author by name, barely repressing the urge to cover his mouth.]
Shh— not so loud. It's better not to draw their attention. [Speaking the word aloud still made her blood chill. It's inviting forces beyond your mortal comprehension to gaze upon you. Maybe act upon you.]
They might. If they got bored enough with our old stories, they could have plucked up and put us in new ones. Either that or...we've been taken out of the realm of story entirely.
[Which is her bigger fear. That makes the likelihood of passage home nearly impossible, and the chances of being rent asunder too great.]
I won't lie, I don't understand a lot about this place. And I don't know what we can expect from here. The best we can do for now is rely on each other, and keep out of their sight.
[ ...well, okay, looking at her and those awful thorns, he guesses maybe he can see why she'd be wary of her creator, but it's different for them. they have akatsuka-sensei's framed picture hanging up in their room. his spirit helped save them from hell!! ]
Wait, wait. Being... taken out of that realm is exactly what I'm worried about, yeah.
But if that's what happened, Akatsuka-sensei definitely wasn't the one who did it. He's been dead for like, twelve years! And anyway, this is totally not his style!
[ sure they all had their lives threatened by a criminal boarder that one time when they were kids, but it was still technically comedy, even if it didn't feel like it. ]
I mean, our whole thing is supposed to be that we're a 6-for-1 package deal, so there's no way they'd...
[ ...
well, i guess there was that one time... but kicking me out of the canon so completely that i don't even exist in the same universe??!! there's definitely no way that happened!!! there's so much merch of me out there!!!! ]
She's left blinking and bewildered by a fair amount of this. Especially the floating thoughts at the end.]
You've already been expelled from your story?
[Then how did he get back in? Also how did he come to know his Author? What did he mean 6-for-1? Was it him and his friends? If so, she was a 6-for-1 deal, and she's missing five very dear friends who should be here and would help her figure this out, and also maybe have stopped the murder and the sudden barrier and helped her figure out this godforsaken space-vessel life much more quickly.
Enough. Rosamund shakes her head. This isn't about her. She has to help him sort himself out.]
Todomatsu, I don't think it was him. Especially not if he's been dead for twelve years. Listen — they're not the only ones that can affect the worlds of story. Sometimes things within those places get the powers to move between worlds. And they can edit them.
Or, it's a completely different... [Oooooh she doesn't wanna say it.] Arthur who plucked us out and put us in someplace new. I don't think it was anyone you already know. Especially not to put you somewhere where you're so out of place, and in danger.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
WEEK 0: First Friday
They're locked. Don't bother.
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Ah. [ he swallows, his throat dry. ] Um, okay. Thanks.
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She checks quickly over her shoulder before trotting his way, slotting the arrow back into the quiver.]
You don't have to be okay. It's all right to not feel okay.
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I mean, I definitely don't feel good. I just don't— I don't understand what happened. None of this should be happening now!
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[ i mean, what the hell kind of genre shift is this already? weren't we just dealing with horny mold the other day?! ]
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What do you mean, genre?
[She won't pretend she didn't hear it.]
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[ he also blinks. ]
You know, like, categories for TV shows or movies or books or whatever. Like this one started out as kind of a scifi comedy when we were having stupid plumbing mishaps and playing party games, but it just seriously veered off course into horror territory with this.
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Anyway Rosamund just stares at him. Some of the words are frankly, gibberish, but books makes the cut, as does the general sentiment.]
So... [She cocks her head.] Todomatsu. Is your life...
[How to put this prudently.]
You're aware of what we are. Is that it?
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he nods. ]
Mm. I'm an anime character.
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...Okay I don't know what that is. [Suddenly she's smiling, putting a hand to her chest.] But actually, I'm Sleeping Beauty!
Have you heard of that story? It's okay if you haven't, it's not all that exciting.
[Unlike this mysterious anime]
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[ ...well, that. makes a whole lot of sense, actually, looking at her, though he doesn't think they've ever personally encountered characters from a completely different (but familiar?) fictional universe before, so that's... kind of something else to wrap his head around. huh. ]
Yeah, I do know it. [ thinks... ] I don't think we ever parodied it like we did with Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood, though.
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You parodied— oh. Hmm. [This is awkward. She's not sure how that would play out, whether the original stories get involved at all.] I think Little Red would get a kick out of it. I don't know what Cinderella might think. She can be very serious sometimes.
[Perhaps that is more owing to her most recent iterations, though.]
Anyway, I know how you feel. When your story goes wrong. I mean, look at me! [She gestures (needlessly) to the briars.] It's very easy to get discouraged, especially when something so dreadful happens. And then keeps happening, and gets worse, and...it can seem like there may not be hope.
But I promise you, there always is.
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Honestly, we don't really have much of a story [ beyond being neets who are doing nothing with their lives ], we're just a gag anime. So a lot of the time whatever we do in one segment has nothing to do with whatever comes after it.
[ whatever consequences there are rarely extend to future episodes, and serious plotlines where the threat of permanent death is genuine are usually reserved for late in the season. ]
That's why this is—
[ he bites his lip for a moment, frowning. ]
We're not even in our own universes or stories or whatever right now, are we? So we can't count on things working like we're used to because we're under a completely different set of rules.
Akatsuka-sensei and... whoever created yours. [ did the brothers grimm create that story or just rip it off, he doesn't know. ] They don't have anything to do with this.
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I think that's true, yes. [Frightening as it may be. She flinches as he mentions his Author by name, barely repressing the urge to cover his mouth.]
Shh— not so loud. It's better not to draw their attention. [Speaking the word aloud still made her blood chill. It's inviting forces beyond your mortal comprehension to gaze upon you. Maybe act upon you.]
They might. If they got bored enough with our old stories, they could have plucked up and put us in new ones. Either that or...we've been taken out of the realm of story entirely.
[Which is her bigger fear. That makes the likelihood of passage home nearly impossible, and the chances of being rent asunder too great.]
I won't lie, I don't understand a lot about this place. And I don't know what we can expect from here. The best we can do for now is rely on each other, and keep out of their sight.
Can you do that for me, Todomatsu?
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Their...?
[ ...well, okay, looking at her and those awful thorns, he guesses maybe he can see why she'd be wary of her creator, but it's different for them. they have akatsuka-sensei's framed picture hanging up in their room. his spirit helped save them from hell!! ]
Wait, wait. Being... taken out of that realm is exactly what I'm worried about, yeah.
But if that's what happened, Akatsuka-sensei definitely wasn't the one who did it. He's been dead for like, twelve years! And anyway, this is totally not his style!
[ sure they all had their lives threatened by a criminal boarder that one time when they were kids, but it was still technically comedy, even if it didn't feel like it. ]
I mean, our whole thing is supposed to be that we're a 6-for-1 package deal, so there's no way they'd...
[ ...
well, i guess there was that one time... but kicking me out of the canon so completely that i don't even exist in the same universe??!! there's definitely no way that happened!!! there's so much merch of me out there!!!! ]
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She's left blinking and bewildered by a fair amount of this. Especially the floating thoughts at the end.]
You've already been expelled from your story?
[Then how did he get back in? Also how did he come to know his Author? What did he mean 6-for-1? Was it him and his friends? If so, she was a 6-for-1 deal, and she's missing five very dear friends who should be here and would help her figure this out, and also maybe have stopped the murder and the sudden barrier and helped her figure out this godforsaken space-vessel life much more quickly.
Enough. Rosamund shakes her head. This isn't about her. She has to help him sort himself out.]
Todomatsu, I don't think it was him. Especially not if he's been dead for twelve years. Listen — they're not the only ones that can affect the worlds of story. Sometimes things within those places get the powers to move between worlds. And they can edit them.
Or, it's a completely different... [Oooooh she doesn't wanna say it.] Arthur who plucked us out and put us in someplace new. I don't think it was anyone you already know. Especially not to put you somewhere where you're so out of place, and in danger.