There's No Place Like Traumabonding for the Holidays

[beebs]

HOLIDAY MURDERGAME WHERE ARE THEY NOW MEME



It's the hap-happiest season of all, and what better way to celebrate than by remembering that one (or more) horribly traumatic experience that permanently changed the face of not only your relationships but possibly your outlook on life itself?

Any character (including NPCs!) who's ever been in any murdergame is invited! Feel free to share with your friends!

Regardless of how you choose to use this meme, there's two blanket rules:
1) Make sure the header of your comment has your character's name, home canon, and murdergame listed. If you used the same account for several murdergames, you can use the same toplevel for all of them.
2) No blank comments! First and foremost this is a chance to catch up with old murdergame buddies, and maybe make new ones if you choose! Thus, your comment should go into whatever degree of detail you like describing what life has been like since the murdergame ended. Did life go back to normal? Did they get married? Have a kid? Move to another universe entirely and start over with their found family? Have they kept in touch? Go into as much detail as you want, just put something!

You can use this meme to set up any kind of "canon" or canon-compliant holiday threads with your castmates, big holiday party or no.

OR... you can pretend that there's an interdimensional all-murdergame nondescript winter holiday party that you've been invited to attend! Maybe the Curtains narrators made sure the Denny's was conveniently empty (don't mind the weird old guy in the woods out back), or maybe there was some other convenient arrangement. Either way, you received an invite, and you're here now! So spike the eggnog and check for mistletoe, because the night is probably going to get wild.

(If you're not down for one option or the other, just note that somewhere in your top-level.)

Have fun, and Happy Holidays!

Comments

Mary | Ib | The Newlydead Game R2

[scribbly]

[ooc notes: this toplevel is assuming interdimensional murdergame party as opposed to being tndg-exclusive! also, quick cw for a brief mention of underage (sixteen, not nine lmfao) drinking as a prompt, but i won't have mary actually imbibing (or having done so) unless you pick that prompt and don't stop her lmfao.


These icons may be of an absolute infant but that sure is a whole entire sixteen year old here, so marginally less of an infant! Her hair is up in a ponytail and fades into a dyed bright green at the ends, and with the sleeves of her ironically ugly Christmas sweater (it matches Ib's) rolled up, it's easy to see all her tattoos: most of them stick-and-pokes of varying quality, but there's one obviously professionally done one on her upper forearm, a butterfly with blue circuitry patterns in its wings. There's a large sketchbook under her arm, and occasionally she pulls it up and takes a pencil out of her pocket to quickly sketch something out.

She spends a lot of time near Ib, but she's a remarkably social girl. If you're a stranger, she'll happily say hi if you're getting snacks near her, or even just if you're looking lonely. If you're watching or your timing is lucky, you might see her going for whatever party alcohol is available, but she's clearly not old enough for it...]

Wow, all kinds of people end up at this sort of thing, huh!

[Unclear whether that remark made as she sort of just edges through a crowd is about the party or about murdergames...

As for the young children in the crowd—not so much her fellow teens, but proper bitties, if she sees you looking uncertain, she'll crouch down to eye level and brandish her sketchbook.]

Hey there! Do you have a favorite animal?

[escardos]

Right! I love events like these.

[ flat seems to not really mind the underage drinking-- he's seen reines do more than enough of that throughout his time in the clock tower.

he, too, is also in a hideous christmas sweater, because that's what the spirit is all about, right? ]

I'm a big fan of your sweater! It's artistic!

[scribbly]

Hey, thanks! [She strikes a pose to show it off!!! It's very ugly.] I'm matching with my sister.

[She gestures to Ib across the way. If Flat looks, they, uh, don't really look like they're related at all. Meanwhile she goes to take a sip of the punch she's acquired and IMMEDIATELY she makes a face. This was a mistake, actually. She hates this. But she's still holding onto her red solo cup because it would be SO UNCOOL if she just ditched it immediately???]

Oh, so are you an artist, too?

[escardos]

[ no no, this makes absolutely perfect sense. they are now siblings in his head and no one can convince him otherwise.

he admires her pose, though! likewise, he crosses his arms, trying to look as cool as possible. this, of course, is a failure. ]

Nope! I'm more like a...college student! But art is cool, isn't it? I love reading manga and comic books, and oh, I've visited the Lourve a bunch, too! Movies and anime are really awesome too, so yeah!

[scribbly]

Oh, for real?! I wanna go to the Louvre some day... [WISTFUL SIGH

anyway this tag made me realize that this version of mary is definitely lowkey a weeb]

Oh, oh, but what kinds of manga do you like?!

[escardos]

[ cursed content, except i absolutely love this. let her be a weeb. ]

Hmm... there's not much I don't like! Oh, but I really like stuff that's like Full Metal Alchemist or Naruto! Evangelion is a classic, too, both the manga and the anime! Sci-fi stuff is really cool, but even better when it gets really weird.

[ he hums, thinking about what else he likes... it would probably be more difficult to find something that he doesn't enjoy. ] But horror is also really good-- in fact, I think that Junji Ito was probably possessed by the god of Manga. I'm still sure that there's one out there, even if my Professor said otherwise.

[scribbly]

[Mary nods along eagerly, grinning wider and wider.]

Yeah, yeah! I love weird stuff, as long as it's action-y too, you know? My sister likes all sorts of artsy things but I just get bored watching them... Oh! And I love Junji Ito! You're so right!

[She begins flipping rapidly through her sketchbook, grinning wide.] I draw fanart of his characters sometimes. Take a look!

[i tried to google 'worst juji ito monsters' for examples and the first thing i got was a cat with WAY too many spider legs coming out of its mouth so i stopped googling. But that's the one she's drawn and his showing him, clearly quite proud of herself. She's an impressive artist for her age, honestly, and while she's certainly far from imitating Junji Ito's style, she's getting the grotesque details down alarmingly well, all things considered.] This is one of my favorites. Super cute, right?!

[WHAT]

[ranked27]

Indeed, it seems there's a startling variety of people out there -- and the point we all have in common is that we have gone through bloodshed and mayhem. My, my, small world.

[There's this man. This party's invitations are quite powerful, bringing him back to life even if it's for a while. He sure won't say no to a bit of a break from, you know, being dead]

[scribbly]

[She's in the middle of putting together a plate of food—mostly sweets—as they speak, so she isn't really looking at him, not right away. The way his voice strikes something in her doesn't stop her from continuing:] It's almost too bad, you know? But I guess if stuff like that is gonna happen, it's good that everyone can...

[And then she turns around.

Mary's whole expression falls, eyes gone wide, jaw hanging open. But this can't be right. All these impossible things, but this seems like too much. She squeezes her eyes shut, hard enough that her vision is fuzzy when she opens then again. When it clears, he's still there.

It occurs to her that of course he doesn't recognize her. By her teenage standards, she's practically an adult now. Taller, more confident in the way she carries herself, trading her frilly dress for paint-stained jeans. But even so, she hesitates, her throat closing up around an introduction. It takes her a moment to finally manage to say something—quiet, careful, uncertain. Not ready to hope she's right.]

Ronove?

[ranked27]

[Ronove had seen Mary soon after arriving. He hadn't been able to recognize her right away, but after a while -- finding out Ib was there too, Mary's interests, and the resemblance that is still there, made it likely this indeed was Mary.

But even if she was, he had thought, that didn't mean it was the same Mary he once knew. He had seen Kyrie to a side, and although he made sure not to interact with her he figured out that wasn't the same Kyrie that had been in that game, so perhaps this was a different Mary. That thought was...a little disheartening.

So when he approached, gave a pretty noncommittal comment, he wasn't sure what to expect. Mary immediately knew who he was, and that's when he knew: this really was her.

Ronove bows, hiding his expression, but it's not hard to tell he's very relieved and glad right now]

Indeed. I'd offer you something to greet you, but there was no time to prepare anything for a reunion. I will have cookies for you next time we meet.

[If it happened once, it will happen again -- and of course, he will do his damn hardest to figure out how to have something next time. Death shouldn't stop a remarkable butler like him from doing what he does best, after all]

[scribbly]

[It's him. It's really him. He has all that certain steadiness and easy consideration—that he remembers the cookies, that he says next time—that helped make him a bastion when she had been more lost than ever.

Mary smiles, a little, in the shaky way of someone unsure if the expression is the right one, or if it will even hold. There's a break in her voice, too, when she speaks, with the same kind of unsteadiness.]

Maybe we can trade. Everyone tells me I've gotten pretty good at baking, too.

[She takes a breath. It's careful, like there's a part of her afraid that if she does too much the moment will shatter and she will lose it and she will lose him again.]

It's really you.

[And then you know what? Fuck it. Utterly careless, she lets her sketchbook and her plate clatter to the floor as she flings open her arms and lunges at him for a hug.]

[ranked27]

I'd gladly try anything you'd bake.

[Why, he sure would try it and then deliver a careful and very well thought critique on the quality of the baking, for constructive purposes. Pretty much a treatise because baked products and good tea are something he cares about greatly.

Mary may have left decorum aside, but even when given such a tempestuous hug, Ronove keeps up the professionalism...for like a second, before she pats Mary on the head. He can't help it, he's quite glad]

Mary, you have grown splendidly. I trust your life has been peaceful and free of any worries.

[He really hopes so, at least. This girl deserved only good things, and if anyone got in the way of that he sure is going to remember it and seek just retribution somehow. Demons aren't to be underestimated! Dead demons...probably aren't to be underestimated either]

[scribbly]

[She is trying her very best not to sob, because if she starts she doesn't know if she'll ever stop, but it isn't working entirely—she sniffles against Ronove's shirt, hugging him tighter as he pats her head. He's solid here, and real, and here, and she holds on like if she stops he'll be gone.]

Yeah! Yeah, it... [Though she pulls her face away enough to at least speak, she barely knows what to say. She's a brand new person now, in more ways than one, but at the same time, she feels like that little girl delighted, despite all else, to do something new alongside someone who cared about her.] I live with Ib, her parents adopted me. I've been to the beach, I'm, I'm doing pretty okay in school, I... [The words tumble out, all these things that matter even if they don't make sense. There's so much to say, she's lived such a life, she does not know where to begin or what is important or what she has time for. It's all too good to stay, isn't it?]

Oh! And, I'm, I'm learning how to do tattoos!

[Potentially an alarming prospect, considering old times. When she finally releases him, she sniffs again first, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm and her nose with the back of her hand. Then she pulls her sleeve up and presents her arm to Ronove so he can see the art crawling all up and down it.]

The first one I did—well, first I did a couple just to practice, you know? [She points at a few clumsily-drawn roses here and there on her arm, not any bigger than a large coin.] The first real one I did was this, though.

[There's a butterfly on her wrist. A little scribbly, but in a way that feels intentional. One wing green, one wing yellow.

She supposes she doesn't know if a ghost would keep those sorts of marks. It feels like it's been so, so long; if they don't, would he remember?]

To...to match.

content warning for past child abuse

[holyironmade]

[Jeanne would like to think she is inching her way out of the bitty age at twelve but there is still a foot of difference in their heights. The tattoos and dye of it all are incredible. Jeanne has a smallness to her, even in her elegant dress, like her body has never been her own to decorate.]

...I have always seen a nobility in the lamb.

[we will see how long it takes for Mary to make the connection to christianity,]

[scribbly]

[What a weirdly formal child! Mary takes it in stride, though, likely mistaking Jeanne for someone younger as she nods, contemplating this seriously.]

They're cute, right? That's a good pick! Let me see... [She flips to a new page in her sketchbook and promptly begins to scribble on it, not letting Jeanne see. There is an intense focus to her as she does, but it isn't so all consuming that she can't ask as she works:] What's your name?

[holyironmade]

[There's a flicker of a giggle as she ponders the cuteness of lambs, too. Their whiteness and fluffiness.] Jeanne. Only Jeanne. And yourself...?

[Jeanne is very patient, standing still and not peeking. After a bit she volunteers more information too.]

I was confined in Ira Academy. It is my understanding that this occurred relatively recently.

[Like... the people she overhears saying it's been five years or even more... what??? That's like half her life.]

[scribbly]

I'm Mary! [She remains exactly that chipper after Jeanne speaks again, and she offers in return,] Oh yeah? Is it nice to be out of there? [Casual, friendly, as if this were anything but what it was. Every now and again she looks up at Jeanne and then returns to rapid sketching.]

[holyironmade]

[The knife icon is killing me. Fortunately, Jeanne is very hard to kill.]

Although I am still not used to it, I never quite forget to thank God for the feeling of fresh air on my face.

[She clasps her hands together and shakes her head with a bright smile.]

Oh, no, of course. You are referring to Ira Academy. Yes, of course I am glad that the threats are over. However, it was structured in an unusual way. We spent some time there without threats, and that was an extremely pleasant time.

[scribbly]

[LMAO IT'S MY ONLY "HEY LOOK AT THIS" ICON

anyway! That comment about the newness of the fresh air does not strike her as particularly weird because, like, same? I mean less of the God stuff but same??? She nods along, though, understanding.]

It's good to appreciate downtime. I was your age when I got pulled into a game, too, and when we weren't in danger, I had fun, too! And! And, I'm always really happy when I get to feel the fresh air and the sun, and even the cold, too. It's nice to be able to go outside!

[She does a final few dramatic strokes with her pencil and hums thoughtfully before turning her sketchbook around to face Jeanne with a,] Tah-dah! [She's drawn a little chibi sketch of Jeanne next to a lamb!! Jeanne-drawing is petting the lamb on the head, and the lamb looks so pleased about the whole situation. Mary is an impressive artist for her age, but given that she had a reference for Jeanne and not the animal, of course there's a slight disparity in quality.]

How's this? I was just gonna draw the lamb at first, but your dress is so pretty that I wanted to draw it, too.

[bluescreenofdeath]

[Takane had never expected to see her again, especially not seeing how she’d grown up so many years later, so it takes a moment for her to recognise the blonde teenager across the room. But the more she looks - the eyes, the sketchbook, the tattoo, and seeing her next to the brunette red-eyed girl… It’s not too much to hope, is it?] They sure do, you’d be surprised who you run into.

if i die here im taking your ass down w me js

[scribbly]

[The remark is so idle that she isn't even really looking at anyone when she says it—she wraps up a scribble in her sketchbook, she doesn't even look up right away. That voice, though—she pauses, there. Why does that sound...?

Mary looks up. There is something odd in her face, something that is only nearly recognition. She only knew Takane, this shape, for a moment, after all. But that something is shifting, then settling; eyes gone a little wider, mouth hanging open, just so. It can't be. Even here. Even among impossibility, this is too much.

She stares for longer than is entirely appropriate, but not so long that the silence needs to be filled. Mary takes care of that herself, though quietly, carefully, as though she will say the wrong thing and it will break the spell.]

E...ne...?

I’m ready to embrace death

[bluescreenofdeath]

[That’s all the confirmation she needs. Takane is running over and hugging her tight]

Hi Mary.

[scribbly]

[Mary had hesitated in recognizing her, and hesitated again in speaking it, but now that Ene is here, here, real and solid and holding her tight, Mary wastes no time whatsoever dropping her sketchbook, flinging her arms around Ene in return, and bursting into hysterical sobs. Being a Cool Teen was fun while it lasted! Bye dignity!!!]

[bluescreenofdeath]

[who needs dignity. They can be Cool Teens in front of other people and just let themselves weep now, grinning even as she tears up. Takane is ridiculously short. She’s 5 foot nothing. Last time she saw Mary, Mary was smaller than her, but look at her now. Look at her precious girl so grown up!] You got so big.

[scribbly]

[Mary is on the tall side of average and she absolutely doesn't know how to cope with being taller than her big sis, but that's pretty low on the priority list of the many things she can't cope with right now!! Holy shit!!! When she's done crying, or at least settled enough to speak—which takes a bit, because Ene's remark just starts her bawling all over again, bowled over by how long it's been—she hiccups out, trying to laugh,] Mom and Dad say I shot up like a weed.