A Graveyard Smash

[vivariummods]

Happy Halloween Vivarium! The day will start not with Calhoun, thankfully, but with Monster Mash playing. Well, that's cute. That's what you might think if it didn't play again immediately afterwards. Then again. And again. It won't stop all day, enjoy. Anyone who goes to the first floor warehouse will be greeted by the entire room decked out in the cheapest, cheesiest Halloween decorations available- plastic bats that vibrate angrily, ghosts that make obnoxious sounds and lights when passed, orange and black streamers every five feet. Calhoun is sitting at his equally decked out shop, dressed in a little witch outfit. When anyone approaches he'll seem pretty upbeat. "Happy Halloween, Test Subjects! I figured you sorry lot would enjoy a little festivity, so here you go! Don't say I don't do anything for you ungrateful subjects." "I have a little gift for you too! Seeing as it's Halloween and all, I thought hey, why not play a little trick or treat? In this case with memories! So here's the deal, everyone gets a free memory, but I'm gonna guarantee you here it's going to be a spoooooooky one!" He cackles. "Of course that can mean a loooooot of things, huh? Your choice! Just go through door number one over here-" He gestures to the door always used when people are taken away for memories. "-or just sit back and enjoy! Boy, it sure will be interesting to see what people pick! I'm on the edge of my seat here." Shockingly he isn't. BASIC INFO ✖ MEMORY ✖ MINGLE

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah. I dunno how it'd be for anyone else, but it hurt like hell. I could feel the heat from the flames, too. Well, I guess you could say the whole memory came back to me like a shot." Not very peaceful, this one...

"I'm still glad I got it back, though."

[not_that_sasuke]

"...Because now you know what happened?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"That's only part of it," said Heiji, waving a hand.

"Like for the first, don't you think it'd be disrespectful to just stroll along, choosin' not to remember something like that? All it caused me was a little remembered pain. Even if he was a murderer, Sakata was a cop; he spent 20 years on the force helping people. He deserves to have someone remember what happened."

[puzzlinglad]

Hershel was so over these ghosts, god damn. He rubbed the side of his neck as he spoke. "I remember something... nice, actually. I suppose it was scary, but in a fun way. It was just... Randall, the boy from the ruins, he was insisting I play this scary game with him to prove my adventuring spirit or some nonsense. We did, I suppose that's what was scary about it."

He couldn't help a small smile. "Well, that and Angela coming in and startling us. She's another friend I think, she seems like a lovely girl." Wow he lucked the hell out, huh.

[puzzlinglad]

[Surely he won't regret that.]

Yes, I believe so. I guess that means this game started sometime in September, it's been well over a month now. [Depressing thought.] Ah, I meant to ask, did you decide to get a memory back?

[not_that_sasuke]

[Definitely not it's just an ordinary cookie after all.]

Yeah, I did. I'm not sure why it's supposed to be scary, though.

[Like. It definitely was for some reason, but... he can't quite figure out why. Unless...]

[not_that_sasuke]

A little remembered pain of a bullet wound, yes.

"And you don't think he ever told anyone else?" Though it would be understandable, given the circumstances. Still, wanting to remember events like that for the sake of others, especially those who most people would rather look down upon...

Heiji's a really good person.

[puzzlinglad]

What happened? If it isn't too nosy to ask. [Hershel took another bite of his cookie, regarding Sasuke curiously. He wondered what he even meant by that, maybe Calhoun messed up and didn't give him a real scary memory back? Mysterious.]

1/3

[not_that_sasuke]

No, it's alright. I was just talking with another student about all of the other first years who joined the art club. I think she was collecting names for some reason... After I named a few, she seemed to get an idea and was about to leave.

...It was a little weird, though. She said that Yuusuke-

2/3

[not_that_sasuke]

[-? Why is he suddenly so...]

3/3

[not_that_sasuke]

[With hardly any warning at all, he abruptly crumples to the ground like a beautiful snow white who just ate a cookie spiked with Soporil β.

Happy Halloween, kid.]

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh?" Heiji looked suddenly interested, elbowing Hershel a little and moving closer. "What's this about an 'Angela', now? Was she cute? You sure she was just 'a friend'?"

Congratulations, Hershel. Now he thought you had a crush on your best friend's girl.

[puzzlinglad]

Heiji you're a menace. He turned red. "I-it's not like that! She kept calling Randall 'Randy,' I think maybe they were together." He said as if nicknames are enough to prove this and Randall didn't call him Hersh anyway.

"I think I remember her from something else, though I can't think of what." He frowned for a moment, apparently thinking deeply about something before giving up. "Maybe I mentioned her to Clive? That conversation is still cloudy, I'm not sure. Regardless, I guess I was lucky, that could have been much worse."

[puzzlinglad]

[Hershel frowned, trying to figure out why this was the memory Sasuke got back when-]

Ah, Sasuke! [Full fucking worry mode, what if Sasuke was sick or in a coma or something?? He just. goes to try and make sure Sasuke isn't like bleeding from a head injury or burning up or something before hefting a deep sigh. What the hell, Halloween, fuck you.

When Sasuke wakes he's probably going to find himself on the comfy couch with Hershel's red cardigan over him as Hershel was probably reading one of the shitty magazines nearby worriedly, or with Hershel just not around if you want a thread end. Happy Halloween indeed...]

[detectiveofthewest]

Look, getting shot wasn't... that bad... maybe... okay, it did kind of suck.

Heiji crossed his arms. "I'm sure he had to go through his story down at the station. It wouldn't be the same thing, though. Since you weren't there, maybe this isn't gonna make a lot of sense, but... when he confessed, I could feel the weight of his words. It was the confession of a man who'd been waiting twenty years to finally tell someone what happened. Whatever he told anyone after that, it wouldn't have been the same."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji put his palms up in seeming surrender. "Well, you never know. I mean, she might've called you 'Hersh', too."

Eheheheheheh

That bit about Clive did sound interesting, though. "Maybe Clive'd know more about her, then? I mean, provided they met and all. If she was cute, then she might stick out in his memory."

[not_that_sasuke]

[He's pretty groggy when he first wakes up. What happened...? The sound of Monster Mash in the background reminds him that they were in the middle of some sort of Halloween celebration, but--

--Oh. Right. The cookie.

He slowly sits himself up, pressing a hand to his head. It figures they couldn't be trusted after all.]

[blind_badass]

Just a little. I remembered something that scared me. I think...I think my sister might have been a tad insane as a child.

[blind_badass]

Oh, Sasuke? Yes, I'm getting there. Just a little twitchy with the new memory I got.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Well... kids usually are, aren't they? What happened?" At the very least, it seemed like this wasn't as extreme as the last memory. That was a good start, wasn't it?

[not_that_sasuke]

Ah... Even though he couldn't know the weight of the words himself, he does seem to understand a little. "And you're the person he chose to confess to on his own terms." It's not quite the same if it's just something you're required to do...

"...Still, I'm surprised you got involved in something like that to begin with. It sounds like you handled it really well, too." All things considered, escaping from that situation keeping both himself and Sakata alive seemed like a feat in of itself.

[not_that_sasuke]

[Well that's a cause for concern.]

Was it that bad...?

[detectiveofthewest]

What? Sasuke wasn't going to scold him about how dangerous it was -- oh wait Sasuke wasn't Hershel, never mind.

"Of course!" said Heiji, perking up a little. "I wasn't gonna let him just off himself like that! Though it does kinda make me wonder where all these other marks came from."

He held up his hands. "It's probably best if everyone gets a memory that ain't too scary, though, right? Like you and Hershel."

[not_that_sasuke]

...No comment on that first part. He can only hope those memories aren't too painful in both the physical and mental sense.

"Hershel got a memory back?" He wasn't sure if he'd go for it, all things considered. It's hard to really blame anyone here for being apprehensive about getting what was guaranteed to be a scary memory of some kind.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, but it was kinda like yours: not all that scary." Heiji cracked a smile. "Although if ya want, you could always ask him about 'Angela'."

Eheheheheheheh.

"I think it was partly my fault he went in there; probably hearin' my story made him extra determined to go in. I'm just glad it wasn't a bad one."