tabularasa_rp | 006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

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006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives New Imprints ▲ Comments The Ground Shakes
It begins unremarkably enough, with the light tremors of the ground so small they might easily go unnoticed, or else dismissed as the movement of some creature nearby. As time goes on, however, those little tremors begin to grow in both strength and duration, the length of time shortening between each one. To begin with only small, light, unsecured objects are rattled loose by the rumbling of the ground, but as the tremors grow in strength there is a growing danger of much larger things being moved.

The realm’s clear lack of understanding of how things work cannot be relied upon in such a situation. If the tremors have grown strong enough to throw all the books of Hammerhead to the ground and throw over all the clothes rails and capsule machines and furniture in the Academy, then what if they grow strong enough to move the heavy blanket of snow atop Mount Silver? What if they grow strong enough to damage the caverns within?

Then there is the question of how, or why, the realm has made the land shake. It must surely have picked up the idea of an earthquake from someone, right? An answer to the question is not immediately forthcoming, but should one stay low to the ground and listen, they might well hear the muffled, distorted sound of screaming.

Creature Chaos
As the rumbling and shaking continues, it is clear to see that the local wildlife has been disturbed, and they seem remarkably active. Critters can be seen running and flying to and fro, and any who go out to investigate may find themselves the center of attention. Brushboys may paint arrows on the ground in an effort to lead them somewhere, or bluurgobos might actively offer rides, or the flying cat-like creatures will excitedly circle someone before attempting to lead them somewhere. Going along with them will lead to one of two places:

The meaty, pulsating, cavernous tunnels of Mementos shudder and convulse in a way quite unlike before, and closer inspection will quickly reveal why. The flesh has been cut and torn, hacked apart, leaving gaping and bleeding wounds to spill over the subway tracks. Whichever critter has brought someone here excitedly gestures towards the wounds, and as it does a giant and painful shudder goes through the tunnels and shakes the earth. All those earthquakes… could this be the source?

The road to the Hammerlocke Citadel Ruins are as long as winding as ever, and precarious with the risk of an earthquake dislodging snow and rock from the mountainside. The animal that has taken the lead is on a mission, however, as unclear as that mission might be. On arriving, it turns its attention to a group of the spiky, bear-headed beasts that are lazing about as though the land is not currently shaking and quaking around them, and tries to draw their attention. Clearly, these bear heads are expected to do something, and they aren’t doing it.

First Words
Though the tremors have finally stopped, they have left a significant change to the World in their wake. Where the ground above was once flat and untouched, there now lay cracks and fissures that glow with a strange, but enchantingly warm light. There doesn’t seem to be a single area that has been left untouched by them - though the number of cracks are denser in some places than others, it’s difficult to find a place completely devoid of them. Could this be the world’s attempt at trying to heal itself?

If all of that wasn’t enough to warrant investigation, the sound of whispers that appear to be coming from they might do the trick. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that the whispers aren’t coming from the lights, but from inside your own head. Focus a little more, and some of the voices may sound familiar…

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You did not lock us to talk about the earthquake.

(And quite frankly, it is nerve-wrecking. Not that he expects anything bad from Tifa, but simply being without escape makes his heart skip faster, his sweat go down the temple.

Perhaps he can be forgiven for the bluntness, but she was the one who was acting suspicious. Did someone tell her about his past? Fuckfuckfuck.)

[She shakes her head.]

You caught me.

[Although she didn't lock the door to prevent him to escape. Rather, it's important to her that no one bursts in on what she thinks might be a more private conversation. She knows the risks of having talks out in public like this, and she wouldn't have wanted someone walking in nonchalantly on her own; this is no different than that.

As if trying to ease his nerves, she smiles and pats the seat next to her.]

Have you been hearing things in your head too? Voices? Like, someone here in this world is trying to say something to you? ... Maybe trying isn't the right word.

[Wow, she sounds crazy.]

Yes.

(He doesn't have any reservations about sitting next to her, so he joins, and takes his notebook with him. It was supposed to be gone, he had given it to Sojiro back in Tokyo, but the one he originally brought still remained.)

I think it's accidental.

Figured.

[She waits for him to take his seat, eyes on his notebook, before she folds her hands on the counter in front of her. She pauses, silent, as she thinks for a moment longer until she decides to get up from her own seat to move behind the counter. It's been a while since she's been back here, but it feels... right. Almost like she'd never left as she searches for something to mix drinks with. Non-alcoholic of course! He's still a kid.

She smiles across at him sheepishly as she pulls a bottle and a pair of glasses from the shelf.]

I know it's none of my business, but... I think I might've heard something I shouldn't have.

[Not sure how best to breach the topic, Tifa is tiptoeing around it a little.]

Did something else happen when you were gone? Something you didn't tell me about?

(Before she confesses, he already knows what it is. He had someone immediately ask what 'juvie' meant. It makes sense that this whole awkwardness is related to that, even as she tries to minimize it by going behind the counter.

Ren's thin fingers find a strand of hair from his bangs to curl, anxiously although in exterior, he remained somewhat calm. He knows what she's asking.)

I spent a few months in juvenile detention.

(She came, and while she did lock them up inside, she didn't seem to be less friendly towards him. Rationally, he should know that Tifa knows him better than most. Emotionally, he's still scarred and healing from the whole experience, from his probation to his return to his parents. He awaits, eyes searching for a sign of mistrust that could come from her.)

[It's not something she expected to learn about him, given what she knows—he's so calm and friendly with everyone that it surprises her a little, even after having heard the news through these strange thoughts traveling between them. But there must be more to it than meets the eye, and Tifa was never quick to judge anyone.

She gets to work mixing a drink but maintains the conversation, not wanting any silence to make him feel more uncomfortable than he likely already does.]

Was this because of what you did? Being a... Phantom Thief?

It's... A part of it.

(Fight or flight is kicking strong. He has to take a deep breath to recenter. It's not fair to Tifa, after all this time. Cloud even said it himself - he can't expect them to just tell them everything while withholding all the information about himself.)

A year ago, a drunk politician was harassing a woman and I stopped him. He fell on his own, but he made the woman testify that I had pushed him. I was put on a year probation over it. To take him down and protect my friends, I had to testify as a Phantom Thief, and since I had a prior, there wasn't much to be done.

(He speaks!! He SPEAKS!!)

[Tifa's jaw tightens beneath her neutral expression, and a fire ignites in her red eyes as he explains. Harassing a woman, and then punishing Ren for it? He's still just a kid. The kind of person to do something like that...

The worst kind.]

You ended up taking the fall for it.

[The ice clinks against the inside of the glass, as if to punctuate the thought, and when she pours the drinks, it's a bright red colour with a sweet scent.]

Why didn't you say something?

I'm the leader.

(The moment he decided to become a Phantom Thief was the same minute he knew that, if everything went south, Ren was going to take the blame for the entire team. They have lives, dreams, and Ren had a previous record to his back. If anyone was kind of doomed from the beginning, it had been him.)

I didn't want to give you a reason to mistrust me. You have no reason to believe what I'm saying.

(BIG. TRAUMA.)

[Tifa slams his glass down in front of him a little harder than she intends to, but her face speaks volumes as she stares over the counter at him.]

What made you think I wouldn't trust you? Or not believe any of it?

[Out of everything he's told her so far—about their world and the Phantom Thieves—this is the least out there thing she's heard from him.]

Give people a reason to mistrust you and it's over.

(Even something small, as the setting of the cup, already makes him tense. He doesn't dare to look up, not yet. The wound is still open, and she's picking on it, and with everything he told her? She has a right to ask her questions.)

I've been through this already.

[Her arms fold across her chest.]

And what reason do I have to mistrust you?

[This is the second time since their nightmares that someone has been wary of Tifa in some way, and while the first one went unbeknownst to her for so long, she isn't about to let it happen a second time. She's been having a hard time finding a reason for anyone to think of her as untrustworthy or... anything else, really, and this isn't making it easier for her.]

(It hits him with a ton of bricks. Tifa trusts him, even now that she knows what he has been through. Even if he showed her a small piece of the bigger puzzle that is his reality at home. For a few seconds, he's speechless, eyebrows furrowed as his shoulders square in tension.)

... It's just how things are when you have a criminal record.

(He finally speaks, quietly and serious. He doesn't even reach for the drink, instead taking his pen to loop around his fingers. It's what he can do to ease it a little.)

I'm sorry I kept it from you.

No, it's not.

[Tifa's voice is firm, but once she's able to take a sip of the drink, she gives a sigh. Silent for a moment longer, she comes around the side of the bar so that she can sit next to him once more, not wanting the counter to be between the two of them.]

You don't have to tell me everything, you know. [Just gonna get that out there. She doesn't expect anyone here to share their deepest darkest secrets with her, and that's fine. She has some of her own to keep, too.] But... don't keep things from me because you feel like you can't trust me, okay?

[...]

That wasn't your fault, was it? What happened with that woman?

Usually is.

(And he doesn't want to go into it, hopefully she can understand by herself what he means. Even his parents turned their back on him. It's not a baseless fear, instead a reaction to the situation he found himself.

She comes close and it doesn't help much. At least it shows him that she's not running away, from the lie or the fact itself.)

My friends found her and she gave her testimony. I was released.

Right. But you didn't hit her.

[And that's the important part. Whether he was locked up or not, her trust lies within whether he was guilty of said crime or not. If it had been her in his position and had to choose whether to strike or not, she would have done the same.

... And probably would have punched him into the next week.

Anyway.]

Did you really think I'd hate you if you told me?

I didn't hit anybody. Shido hurt himself, blamed me for it because I wouldn't let him harass her.

(And before Arsène came to him, he had been depressed about it. He never regretted it, but it sure did ruin his life enough to make him loathe the situation, until he could dig his heel and search for his own form of justice.)

I thought everybody would.

I think you're underestimating a lot of us, you know.

[Tifa lifts her glass and looks into it, tilting it from side to side and watching as the liquid catches the light, but never drinks from it.]

My hands aren't completely clean either.

[And she knows there are others here that are the same, so who are they to judge each other on what's right and wrong?]

I know. It's just the way it's been, and I got used to thinking of things that way.

(In no way, shape or form is it solely about her. Of course the idea of telling her has been terrifying from day one -- he'd hate to lose her... But his experiences just shaped his view too much to see past it. He wouldn't even have touched that with Yusuke, hadn't Ryuji brought it up.)

Were you ever planning on saying anything? Telling someone?

[To her, or to anyone?]

Kinda happened accidentally.

Some saw my arrest, or the interrogation after.

(Cloud included in the latter. The man has seen, felt, him be beaten into a pulp over things he didn't do, whether he believes it or not.)

I planned on telling you. Cloud... Said I can't poke and not give back. He's right.

[Tifa laughs quietly under a breath.]

Course he said that.

[Cloud is always looking out for her, even if he sometimes goes about it in the worst ways. He can be a little surly sometimes...]

Anyway... can't speak for anyone else, but no judgement here. I know that doesn't change anything about what happened, but if it's any consolation at all...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

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