purl four | video | january twenty-fourth

[thorny]

[those who know this network id well enough should know that usually its user stays exclusively to voice and text. today seems to be the first break from this pattern, however, as the feed opens to Rose standing in the morgue. those not intimately familiar with the place will have difficulty pegging it as such - the angle of the camera leaves only the very edge of the corpse fridges visible.

Rose's face is carefully neutral, although she's far too pale for comfort. she stands stiff and ramrod straight, the first indication that something is very wrong. when she speaks, her voice is tight but calm.]

We've returned from our mission. I'm afraid that we ran into more trouble than we could handle.

[without changing expression or moving her gaze from the camera she reaches out and in one swift motion pulls on a slab, bringing the body of one Yosuke Hanamura into view.

she was very careful in angling the camera so that the damage done to his arm wasn't visible - it was bad enough that she had to do this in the first place, there was no need to make this any harder on anyone than it had to be.]

I don't - [she cuts herself off, swallows hard. Rose hates tripping on her own words, hates losing her composure in public, but it's so difficult to keep a handle on everything this time. she hadn't even been back to her apartment yet, caught up instead in the whirlwind that her arrival back in the city with a dead body on her shoulders had caused.

she was very tired, and her work still wasn't done. keep it together, Lalonde. you brought this all on yourself.]

There haven't been any arrangements made. I suppose that whoever takes charge of his effects will have to plan that out as well.

He left me something to give to a friend but I'm afraid that he wasn't able to specify which, only that he had a girlfriend. [she pauses, shifts a little. for a brief moment Rose looks as lost as she feels as she murmurs, words encompassing more than just her last wish dilemma]

I don't know what to do.

Comments

[not here] 1/2

[dungenessmaster]

[did he fall asleep without sopor somehow and start having a weirdly lucid nightmare?

this is a joke, right?

what'd she do, slap a dumb-looking bird wig on a scrawny mannequin? it doesn't even LOOK like him, it's all... waxy... and... and pale.

this isn't happening. and in the off-chance it is, it isn't fucking funny. ]

[text] 2/2

[dungenessmaster]

ROSE.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

Video

[pishirogane]

[Naoto blinks, but then stares, horrified, her eyes widening marginally. Of course there was a chance of this occurring to any of them, but...]

Senpai... [Her voice is weak and low. She had told him not to go, told him to remain in Death City and get through this. But he decided to go gallivanting off on a mission. Naoto never changed her position; he should have remained to recover and not attempt to vent his frustration on a mission]

[What could have been done... that's all it is. Her face becomes expressionless once more and her tone void of emotion]

I'll be handling the necessary affairs. [This is meant to be done by his family, but they're without them now. It isn't the first time she's been part of funeral arrangements.]

Video

[thorny]

Thank you. [she rubs an eye tiredly, almost in spite of herself. Rose won't say it, but she's incredibly grateful that someone else is taking that burden off her shoulders]

I know that it hasn't been long, but I thought it would be better to ask now rather than draw the process out.

[Video]

[daddyscythe]

I'll help you with it.

video;

[cursemarked]

[She can only stare in horror, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. She feels both sick and horrified and every other myriad of emotions. This is different from people just being taken home. This is a flashback to screeching wheels and being thrown from a car and to the blood and--]

No. [It's whisper-soft, and then a little louder] No! That can't-- This can't be real...

video;

[thorny]

You can come to the morgue yourself if you'd like more concrete proof. [her voice is soft even if her words aren't exactly the most sympathetic. Rose has never been skilled with comforting others, especially not when she's wrapped in her own guilt.] I wouldn't lie about something as serious as this.

[ video ]

[blue_wayfinder]

[She'd never spoken to this girl before. Mostly she was browsing the network because she was stuck at home with nothing to do. She had listened to the entire post because she was worried about the way Rose looked. (Maybe Itou was right. Maybe she really was a bleeding heart.) But her grip tightened on the communicator when the corpse was pulled into view. That was--

Even if they hadn't been that close. She'd known him, liked talking to the boy despite the way how awkward their first meeting had been. And she was still talking to him two days ago and he'd been alive.

A small part of her didn't want to believe it. To deny the truth because while she knew death was a very real possibility somewhere deep down she'd never believed it would happen to anyone she knew.

But she didn't have the time to for that. Maybe she'll grieve later (more likely she'll just push it back. Constantly telling herself that she'll deal with it later without any intention of actually doing it at all) but right now? Right now it looked like there was someone else who was hurting.]

Are you all right?

[ video ]

[thorny]

I sustained some superficial wounds that have already been treated. Nothing was incurred that I won't be able to brush off.

[Rose knows damn well that she isn't inquiring about her physical being, but getting emotional over the network is something that she has no interest in. she cried enough in Australia.]

[scalemate]

[Wow this... Sucks. She didn't really know Yosuke, so obviously she isn't quite slammed by grief like the rest of them are, but he was nice enough, and Karkat and Sollux seemed to know him really well.]

WH4T H4PP3N3D?

[...Tact, Terezi.]

[thorny]

We went on a mission and ran into more than we bargained for. Perhaps I should have spoken more loudly on my initial post about this subject, people seem to have difficulty grasping it.

[Video]

[ombrasolare]

You'll need to take care of yourself as well, Rose. It's good that you made it back, though perhaps it doesn't seem that way right now.

[Video]

[thorny]

I'm grateful for my survival, even if it's currently one putting me in the company of the dead. [she tilts her head a little to indicate the lockers]

But I've met my quota of unwise actions for the month. You won't have to worry about my neglecting my health.

[Video]

[zodiaconigiri]

[She feels sick when she sees the body of Yosuke on the screen, even looking a bit ill. Tohru didn't really know him fairly well but, a loss was a loss. It was painful for many it seemed.]

Are you okay? Y-you weren't hurt too badly were you?

[Video]

[thorny]

My own injuries were superficial at worst, and they've already been seen to. I'll live.

[not here] 1/2

[timelessummoner]

[Raidou freezes, all color draining from his face. Yosuke is-- He can't be--]

[video] 2/2

[timelessummoner]

[Of course he had known the reality of war. People could die without a warning. But knowing that isn't the same as seeing a friend lie there, dead, a mere two days after you spoke with him. As worried as he had been, he had been certain Yosuke would come back. Injured, possibly, but alive.

He stares at the video, unable to think of anything to say. What can he say? Ask what happened? He can't ask the girl to talk about that. Demand to know why she agreed to take Yosuke along at all? No, there is no point in blaming her. Not when he hadn't tried harder to stop Yosuke either.]

...Thank you for bringing him back. [That is the only thing he can think of right now.]

video;

[heretolookhot]

[She saw a few dead bodies back in Winnett, innocent townspeople who had been slaughtered by the Kishin before they had a chance to be saved.

But never anyone that she knew. Yosuke was someone she'd flirted with, laughed at, teased for liking her friend. Were they close? No, not at all. Did it make her feel sick, and at the same time, so glad Brittany and Kurt were both safely back home? Yes. So much yes.

It took a while to push down the urge to throw up, made even harder thanks to her years of being encouraged to vomit. One deep breath later, Santana finally spoke.]

The fuck is wrong with you? You could have just said, "hey guys, he's dead," you didn't have to be all dramatic and pop out his frozen corpse like it's a goddamn horror movie.

video;

[thorny]

When faced with a deep personal loss a person's first reaction is often to vehemently deny it. By displaying the corpse I looked to forgo the tedious and repetitive argument over the veracity of my statements.

[because she's horrible at sympathy and loss to begin with. in her current state Rose couldn't possibly have argued the same painful topic again and again without snapping]

[Video]

[jazz_enpsyche]

[Jazz knew Yosuke. Not as closely as many of the others that seemed to be responding to this, but he'd been funny and charming in that odd way of his. He'd unknowingly helped her and now...he was dead.

Dead and with no way of being spoken to again.

She didn't respond right away, mainly because this was her first dead body that she'd seen outside of text books and videos. So that took a bit to get used; now though she's focusing on Rose.]

It's a standard question, and the answer maybe sort of obvious but...are you okay? Physically.

[Video]

[thorny]

I've already been checked over by medical personnel and found to be in good working order. There's nothing to worry about in regards to myself. [and although she specified physically, Rose hopes her tone conveys the fact that this sentiment also covers her emotions]

[video]

[yamagishi]

[Fuuka rarely talked through video but this was one of those rare occasions. While she didn't know Yosuke that well, he was still her friend and a fellow persona user. The sad truth on knowing Yosuke's death was that she had been too comfortable here. At any minute, she could die. Suddenly, she's grateful of her survival here.]

I don't know what else I can do but...[Pause] I-I'm glad that you're okay.

[video]

[thorny]

Although it may be a selfish reaction, I'm also glad that I survived. It wouldn't have been right to force another team to come looking for our bodies. [she sighs a little. comfort really isn't her forte.]

There's going to be a service in the coming days. I think that attending is really all anyone can do now.

[shihandai]

[She doesn't know this person--has never met them--but there's a dead body and someone is dead. And she very well could be dead if she goes home. She could be dying in her own timeline.

But now is not the time for that--
So she's trying hard not to throw up as she stares with a steadily paling face. That poor girl. If something happened to Rangiku--any of her friends here..her voice comes out strangled:]

I'm so sorry. Did he give you..any information about her?

[thorny]

I'm afraid not. He wasn't in a condition where I felt comfortable pressing him for details. [aka, he was pretty much on the way out at that point. she swallows once, but that's the only indication that she's bothered by the recollection.]

A reaction [Action] because well er.

[topgun_textiles]

[He didn't believe it at first. That wasn't funny... not in the slightest. Who the hell jokes about that? But the more he stared at the feed, the more he realized this was really happening, the more he wished this girl he didn't know was joking.]

[Yosuke-senpai was dead. He was dead, and just a couple of days ago he was urging him to be careful, to not let things get over his head.]

[He had nothing to say. Karkat and Santana had pretty much covered whatever he could possibly add. Instead, he would just do. Those living around the third floor of Creeping Crypt would probably hear his response: A solid punch against the wall and his agitated pacing, proverbial hackles raised, before he left for the morgue. He hoped the girl would know better and be gone by the time he got there.]

[video]

[starfruitfrog]

[Keroro didn't react so much to Yosuke as to Rose. He recognized her as the girl who worked at the old Metokkori. He didn't really know her that well even now, but Rose worked for him and that made her part of his team. Team-mates take care of each other.]

If you need it...you can take time off of work, de arimasu. Eve-dono and I can fill in for you, de arimasu.

[video]

[thorny]

Thank you, but my own injuries are negligible. As such I have no reason to take time off.

[she tilts her chin forward a little, proud even now. to miss a day meant this had affected her, and she wouldn't allow it that triumph.]

[Audio]

[dead_black_eyes]

[So that's what Rose looks like.]

I fully believe that he's dead. That really does suffice, as far as proof goes. He's identifiable, and more or less intact... and he doesn't look terrible, all things considered. His girlfriend should be pleased about that, at least.

If something of this nature happened to me, though, I would not want video of my corpse broadcast over the networks. He didn't specifically request it, did he?

[Audio]

[thorny]

He wasn't in the condition to specifically request much of anything; for all I know simply bringing him back to the city went against his last wishes. [she knows this isn't a sensitive way to treat a body, but her family has never been shy of corpses - just look at how Jaspers had been trussed up and put on display. it was second nature to present the most obvious proof of her claims.]

I'm afraid that once again interpretation of what to do at the present moment has been left up to me. Whether or not one deems the actions appropriate, the onus is squarely upon my shoulders.

[Text]

[knightime]

when the fuck are you gett
...
im heading over
youll still be there in a few minutes right???

[He was so angry. Not at Rose of course. Or anyone at all. Just angry. Angry that Yosuke was dead. That Rose was losing her shit. That he was losing it too. That this really sucked.

But he swallowed. Fuck.]

seriously
im like
already running my shit over there
and everything

[Text]

[thorny]

If you manage to arrive before the grieving friends do you might just catch me. Any time later than that and I'm afraid you'll have to cool your heels until I make my way back to the apartment.

[she had no intention of sticking around for when the people intimately acquainted with Yosuke showed up to see the body. it wouldn't end well on either side, and she was quickly losing the steam to engage in another battle of insults and guilt]

video;

[silicomb]

Arrangements? Wait.

For what?

[ No nope not tuning into everyone else's responses, not yet. He wants this himself, wants to hear this himself and even if he can't fucking see he wants to behold it himself. ]

What happened?

action;

[espionagegamer]

[He doesn't speak for a while, doesn't even move an inch. Quiet breaths, hand itching for a pack of smokes that hasn't been there since what feels like forever. They'd come in handy now, give Sollux something to focus some form of emotion on.

He's waiting, watching and waiting to see just what's going to happen. Going to be there if and when he's needed-but it's taking too long. He can't see him fidgeting, even Mihael circling around their feet seems restless just from the thick of the air. The unknown unease.

There's only so much internal tension he can take before the coil snaps, his patience running too thin to hold out and wait for someone else to do it for him. There's really no choice, is there?]

Corpse party or something I'm guessing.

[Flicking his zippo open and closed, a nervous habit that sticks even if he doesn't have his smokes to ease said nerves.]

Yousuke's dead.

[scatterflower]

*Chika stared at the screen for several moments, just staring in complete shock. Yosuke... he was part of SEES. He had helped make SEES here, and he was one of her bosses over at Triple A.

He couldn't be dead, but there he was. His body. Completely still and very much dead.

It took quite a while before she could actually turn on the transmission herself, hand clenching at counter she was standing at.*

... What happened? On the mission, I mean.

*There was no reason to ask if Rose was okay. Of course she wasn't, and she'd already answered like, nine times.*

[thorny]

We encountered more trouble than we were prepared for. [and they were stupid, reckless, unprepared, wrapped up in arguing. she should have been paying more attention.]

[voice]

[heartkicker]

Wh-

[...this was fucked up. Fucked up more than she could really handle. She'd thought him getting the anger out of his system might do him some good.

Great conclusion that was, Envy.

She doesn't try and say anything else for another few moments, but when she does, there's obvious strain in her voice.]

What. The fuck?

[What happened, what went wrong, just... what?]

[voice]

[thorny]

We were careless. [and that's really all there is to it. details don't matter, they don't make him any less dead.]

[bass_instincts]

[Shin almost skipped this video, but seeing Youske, he froze.]

No.


No way.

[thorny]

I'm afraid it's true. You can come down to the morgue for yourself if you won't take my word for it.

[video]

[trageteas]

[He barely knew Yosuke; he was only a friend of Souji's that Jules saw ever so often. And yet... they had exchanged words just days before, and now he was gone. It happened here just as much as anywhere else -- even at home, it was not rare to hear of friends of friends dying of diseases -- but the sight of a corpse, and the vague knowledge of how Yosuke must have died made things feel so much more real and shocking.]

You-- someone has told you what to do with him by now, I assume?

[video]

[thorny]

A friend of his has stepped up to make the necessary arrangements for his burial and services, yes. My responsibilities end with this post now. [thank god. this was draining enough for her to do.]

[video] laaaaate

[wildcardette]

....................................

[... Minako swallows thickly once, and then again, her knuckles going white where she clenches them against her sides, bundles in the fabric of her skirt.]

I...

[She closes her eyes and presses her fingers to the corners of her eyes.]

... t... thank you. For getting him back.

[... what else can she say.]

[video] never too late for trauma!

[thorny]

Leaving him there wasn't an option. [said simply and truthfully. it had been hell moving him on her own, but Rose had never stopped to consider just dumping him. the dead should be respected.]