It's time to write our own story

[anagnorises]

Who: COMPLETELY OPEN! This is for everyone to take advantage of me going nuts with the wonderkind event. Tag around and come up with your own plots as you wish!
What: Portals, portals everywhere. Encounter ballet-themed threats, watch dancing, meet a witch! Prompts will be in the comments.
When: Throughout April
Where: Throughout Trench

Content Warnings: Ghosts, a giant rat, clown puppets that may turn you into one. Warnings for each prompt will be in the comment titles.

Comments

[violetlies]

[Kokichi doesn't usually put too much stock in the mystical. Not after Angie had her precious Atua trying to guide everyone. Not after Korekiyo had his stupid rituals that were cover-ups for murder. Now he was in a place where the occult was very real, however, and so he'd let his cynicism fall by the wayside. Just a tad. That wasn't to say he'd let go of all of his snap judgements, not at all, he was still quite paranoid, as distrustful as ever, but...he was making an effort to be a better person.

It was out on a walk one day, passing by a building, that he saw it. A portal. This time, it wasn't a scene of the Gifted Inmates Academy, it was of an unfamiliar place with an elderly woman with wild hair. Kokichi paused, and the woman offered him a smile.


"Hello there, young man." She spoke, in a heavily-accented voice that was gentle from age. "Would you like to have your fortune told?"

Kokichi tilted his head, humming.]

I, uh, couldn't really give you anything in exchange. Anything worth anything, at least. I've got shiny rocks. But I'm saving up stuff for a project. Sorry, um, Miss.

[The old woman chuckled. "No. It's fine. I do not ask anything in exchange. I would just like to know your name."]

...Kokichi. Kokichi Oma.

[ "Kokichi. You must have good fortune already. Your name means 'little luck', did you know?"

Kokichi chuckled weakly.]

You'd be surprised.

[The woman had shut her eyes, that small smile still on her face. "You are someone not at ease with himself. I see. You fear being known because it is a mortifying ordeal to you. If people know me, they know the bad parts. I do not know myself. Is that something you think often?"

Kokichi hesitated for a moment.]

...Yes.

[The woman slowly nodded. "But. The future holds much hope for you, Kokichi. If you persist in this kindness, you will one day know how to accept yourself. And others will accept you. You will no longer have to fear being alone. Perhaps, even...someone you adore will return to you. Kindness is often returned in kind, Kokichi. You've been a bit of an abrasive person in the past, so I would hope you would know the opposite." Her tone ebbed with amusement, even if guilt flickered across Kokichi's face for a brief moment.

All of that were things he'd like to believe, but reality usually wasn't so kind. Still, she seemed to almost know him better than he knew himself. He paused for a moment, fishing some of the shiny rocks out of one of his pockets.]

Here. I don't like owing people for things they do for me, so...

[The old woman got up, hobbling towards the edge of the portal. She looked down at the rocks, and gently replied "Keep them." Kokichi put them away, only to be met with the woman holding out another item.

A small, elegantly designed music box.

"Here. For whenever your anxiety is at its peak. Wind this up, and it will play a melody - one from the heart that soothes you."

Kokichi stared down at the music box, then at the old woman with a questioning eyebrow raise, before taking it into his hands carefully. Normally there'd probably be precautions about taking things from strangers, but--

"If you are fearful, try it tonight. You'll have good rest. I promise."]

Okay. Um. Thank you.

["Just remember to be kind, Kokichi. Change isn't your enemy."

Kokichi nodded slowly, before reaching up to tip his hat. The old woman gave him a small wave goodbye, as he began to stroll off.

What a weird encounter...still, it could be useful...]

[anagnorises]

[Fakir has, at this point, seen a number of the beings that came through the portals. But he hadn't yet seen one of the open portals themselves. He doesn't hear the end of the exchange between the older boy and the woman in the portal, but he sees her offer the gift.

It seems like a friendly exchange. Still, as he draws nearer, Fakir is compelled to be the skeptic.]

Is that safe?

[violetlies]

[Ah. Another boy...one younger than him. He holds the gift close as he pauses. The portal behind him seems to close, and Kokichi shrugs.]

I don't know. I'd like to assume so. Could be worth a shot?

[Kokichi, too, is distrustful by nature. That's why he doesn't blame the other boy for being a skeptic. It's something worth being skeptical about, but he's usually good at reading intent behind expressions. The older woman didn't harbor any malice, to his knowledge...as long as he was right.]

[anagnorises]

[Fakir glances at the portal as it closes and fades from view. There's nothing overtly ominous about what little he sees of the woman or her house. And, of course, there's nothing overtly ominous about the gracefully wrought box in the older boy's hand. He notes the winding mechanism - a music box, then.

Fakir nods. It could be worth a shot. But it's probably best not to test that alone, right?]

What does it play?

[violetlies]

...The lady told me it played 'music from the heart'. It's supposed to soothe anxiety. Or so she said.

Guess we can both give it a listen, see if it works.

[He shrugs lightly, adjusting so he can wind it...

And it begins playing a familiar tune. This...gets Kokichi to pause.]

Ah...so it's this, huh.

[He glances down at the box. His smile is relaxed - surprisingly so - but mournful.]

A friend of mine considered this her favorite song. She's not around anymore....but she played it for another friend of mine while we were in school.
Even passing by, you could probably feel something. I kind of watched, too. Secretly. I don't think she would've minded if I'd made my presence known, though.
But I'm pretty sure anyone who heard it and knew her would...know her spirit is in this, too.

[Not literally, obviously.

But there was no composition that better encapsulated Kaede's spirit like Clair De Lune. There was no other song that could put the students in the Gifted Inmates Academy at ease quite like it. They'd all know.]

[anagnorises]

Debussy?

[Fakir can't help but smile a bit himself. It feels nostalgic, and makes him realize how much he's been missing having this kind of music so regularly in his life.

The older boy's story fits his bittersweet expression. She's not around anymore. But the song still is. It can still be played for others, even people she didn't know she was playing for. Or people in another world.]

Sounds like it was a good gift.

[Well, stranger things have happened.]

[violetlies]

Yup. Clair De Lune. You're familiar?

[The other boy admits it was a good gift. Kokichi nods gently.]

An unexpected one. But I'm gonna keep it safe. So maybe someday, if she finds her way here...she'll be able to enjoy it, too. It's the least I can do.

...I'm usually not this sentimental. Heh.

[He supposes even he couldn't help but be touched by Kaede's heartfelt melodies. Even now.]