Fourteenth Staff ♞ resumption after a weak cadence

[beknightedheroine]

Characters: Sayaka and your name here.
Setting: You can interrupt her when she's still in room 1-05, some vaguely-located part of the staircase,
Format: Prose is my preference, but I will match you.
Summary: Backdated to the morning of the tenth. Sayaka's back from her destroyed world, woke up in costume - and is pretty much sick of the tower's bullshit.
Warnings: Angry teenagers trying to ignore recent traumatic experiences. Also, she's currently dressed up like a spitting image of Ruana in her red-and-black outfit from week 3 from infighting, so that's fun/might lead to a flinch-worthy moment or two.

She'd never gone 'back' before.

Sayaka had heard enough about what it was like, she'd looked through those viewfinders on floor five before - but knowing or distantly seeing (and immediately dismissing) isn't the same as living.

Now that she's back in her room in the tower, rather than the desiccated wreck of her room at home... she turns her head every which-way, drinking in the uniform sterility that pervades every floor, and the not-so-much uniform personal touches brought about by her and her roommates from the long months of residence. It looks like they gained a fourth person in the room while she was gone.

How long was she gone? She's never had any particular skill at gauging long amounts of time, though she's pretty sure time spent, uh, outside the tower works on the same linear scale as time in it.

When she actually stands up to leave, Sayaka half expects something from under the bed to snatch at her ankles - that was what happened the last morning before she'd... disappeared, right? - but nothing does. Well, that's progress.

Then her overwhelming disorientation fades enough to realizes there's blond hair hanging in her face.

"...What's with this outfit...?"

When she pulls on the new hair, she realizes it feels distinctly fake (like a wig?) but that it won't come off.
..Typical, really. It's not long after that she finds the pumpkin, and it's with an air of exasperation that Sayaka greets the rest of the tower, to hunt...
...candies. This is just so stupid, and it's impossible for it not to have some deeper 'awful twist' - but really, why - should - she - care?!

Storming down stairs two at a time, Sayaka nearly just kicks the first piece she finds rather than pick it up. This is so dumb, and it doesn't even matter. She's done this song and dance. Strange things happen, then it gets worse, then people die - then they're back! Then it all just happens again!

"Don't they ever get bored?!"

Similar grumblings can be heard as she descends the floors of the tower, not terribly trying too hard to look for candy - but as it's currently in ample amounts and it's early in the day, she's ~pretty darn unconcerned~.

And Sayaka became a real Yolo that day.

Comments

let's say dorms

[heartfeltfancy]

[SUP BEST FRIEND

Have Madoka dressed up as one of those spooky Japanese ghost girls. Think Kayako from the Grudge.]

S-Sayaka-chan? You're back...

Re: let's say dorms

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[Sayaka plasters a smile on her face when she sees Madoka. It's half genuine - Madoka is still here and alive and that is awesome.

She first has to push past the mental image of what had happened to that path they'd always taken together to school, Madoka and Hitomi and her - concrete irreparably cracked, the view reduced to long-dead witherings - to actually be able to properly respond.]</sub>

Sorry for vanishing on you. I wasn't gone that long, was I? Is it Halloween already..?

[heartfeltfancy]

[She waves her hand in passive dismissal. And she purposely doesn't mention the time period.]

Looks like it! Hehe.

[morituramfides]

"Nope. Seeing us scramble around is just too damn fun."

Well, he still had his glasses because otherwise he'd literally be functionally blind, but guess who was stuck with an odd bald cap, some fake-looking make-up effect stitches, and a rather iconic tie and white shirt?

Guess who was also carrying that stupid pumpkin with a bunch of candy and eating a piece like it wasn't no thang

This guuuyyy

[beknightedheroine]

"It's practically a formula by now. You know, I thought that before, too - like, with the scalpels?! Gee, was that a surprise!"

It takes a double take to snap her out of going mid-rant and into noticing Jin's new look. Alertness hasn't exactly been her prized skill the past week.

"..."

She can't decide if the forced costume choice is insulting, or if the presence of the stitches is somewhat gratifying.

"Ss, seriously? Out of all the costumes in the world..."

[morituramfides]

"Seriously."

You can see just how goddamn amused he is yeeaaah.

"Maybe if I'm lucky I'll find a scalpel in my pocket and complete your surprise. Looks like we've got a pair to match. I think they're making fun of us."

dorms

[puppy_lancer]

[Look who's up and similarly gloomy? Lancer had woken up in a dog kigurumi with a tutu around the middle, and was desperately trying not to be noticed as he slunk around the tower. Of course, this happens to be the perfect time for the hood to fall over his eyes, causing him to trip and come tumbling down the stairs toward Sayaka.]

[beknightedheroine]

She hears him coming before she sees him - Sayaka turns quickly around and nearly loses her footing herself (ugh, she is not used to these shoes--) then has to think fast in the seconds she's got.

Okay, so Lancer is a full grown guy, so she probably can't catch him without inadvertently joining to tumbling party herself - but she can at least step aside and try to grab his arm.

..Seriously, the guy doesn't deserve however many floors worth of stairs to the teeth.

[puppy_lancer]

Having his arm grabbed is just what he needs to at least temporarily slow his fall. It's just enough for him to land awkwardly and on his hands and knees, but at least he didn't completely fall down the stairs.

He picks himself up and turns to the girl who grabbed him.

"Thanks."

stop! roomie time (in 1-05)

[cullscuttlefish]

It had been a few days since that one awful day where everyone had woken up with a monster under their bed. They'd survived the ordeal, but only just, and that thanks to quick thinking and Feferi being good with a trident.

Sayaka hadn't been back since that night, and a new girl had come in. It was almost a relief to hear her voice. A relief, until she turned and heard Sayaka's voice coming from --

"What the shell?! Are you Sayaka, or are you that - that beach that was around when we were in the pods? Ruana or whatever her name was? If you are, you betta give our Sayaka back. Or else."

oh boy oh boy

[beknightedheroine]

"--I look like who?!"

Her voice cracked on that last word, because WHAT

There's no way there's another body swap happening - and in the first place, Jason wouldn't be able to lay a single finger on freakin' Ruana for any hair brained scheme or other.

[starofpleiades]

"Ah, Sayaka! You're back!" Coming up the other way on the stairs, Kazumi waves cheerfully. She's wearing black cat costume suit and seems pretty happy about it, waving her little pumpkin bucket.

[beknightedheroine]

"--Eh, Kazumi! Yeah, news of my departure was, uh, greatly exaggerated."

She steps aside a bit to give Kazumi room to pass - but then has to have a Moment because wow Kazumi you look adorable.

"Woah, lucky draw! They gave you a really cute costume!"

cafeteria

[mephistofeels]

[S'up, Sayaka. Whenever you get down to the cafeteria, there's a really weird kid there.

For one, ze's still wearing the white jumpsuit.

For another, ze's willingly eating the oatmeal. Ze seems to be 0kay with it, despite the oatmeal being the oatmeal. Ze seems to be 0kay with being in the tower, too.

Ze hasn't noticed Sayaka though, and isn't exactly eating in a human fashion either. Ze is bent over the oatmeal bowl and is licking at it, very much like a cat.

Welp.]

Re:

[beknightedheroine]

--Woof! That took forever!

[Sayaka hops up to sit on the table rather than the seats proper - the pumpkin she's carrying clatters a bit as a consequence, and she has to move fast to prevent a spill as a piece or so of candy threaten to fall out.

Then she sees she accidentally put herself in awkward potential conversation range of someone hunched unnaturally over their oatmeal, licking daintily at the gross stuff. ..and they're wearing the jumpsuit. It looks like they got another weird one this time.]

Uuuhmmm. I can show you where the spoons are, if you missed 'em.

[pengeen]

[He for one woke up in a very similar circumstance. He made a little trip back home himself, though it only lasted about 2 or so days. He's a bit surprised it was ended so soon, but at the same time, considering that he woke up in some fancy costume and found the pumpkin soon after, not so much.

He was irritated, and it was pretty obvious by the way he was holding himself that he didn't really want to be bothered by something like this. For one thing, trick-or-treating is kind of childish, so he was pretty embarrassed to be walking around the tower in his little costume looking for candy. And for another thing, not only was he in costume but he also found out that his hair was completely unbraided/undreaded and those things were bitches to braid.

So you might not even recognize Kidou, being goggless and having long, fluffy hair as opposed to his usual dreadlocks. He's wearing a nice dress shirt, a flowing black cape, and he's got fake fangs in his mouth, too. Not to mention he's a lot paler than normal, thanks to some.. makeup?

And though you might not recognize him, he can recognize you underneath that... Ruana... costume......]

Yo, Sayaka. [Well at least he wasn't the only one in costume..]

[verismo]

[...and she's going to just bump into a tired looking guy who's just well.

Shuffling around to his room.]

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[..Since he's tired, he's probably less than alert - Sayaka calls over to him before she approaches, in the hopes that he'll, y'know, stop before heading into his room.]

Kyousuke!

[okay so she maybe sounded a lot little more freaked out than she meant to there]</sub>

[myblueskies]

Romeo hadn't seen Sayaka in a while and was afraid she had gone forever; but when he saw her he didn't recognise her at first in her costume. He reocgnised the costume though and his eyes went wide, when she turned though he saw who it was and he ran forward.

He was dressed as a superhero, as Princess Powerful; Molly's superhero name, and he was wearing a hat. A hat with antlers. He didn't mind the costume, he was just scared that the bad people were going to hurt everyone again.

"Sayaka! You're back!"

[beknightedheroine]

"Romeo!"

Guess who's totally going to turn Romeo's run forward into a hug? No prize; it's Sayaka. Because wow is it disturbingly nice to be back in a doom tower and not in a place that she is not going to think about right now, there's a Romeo to hug -

Ow, and then she nearly jabbed herself in the eye due to his antlered hat.

literally random hallway nonsense

[nodeviations]

"What are you even wearing."

That is the first thing out of Jay's mouth, cueing up the touching reunion neither of them would have really gone through anyway.

Also, unstated question: what is HE wearing.

[beknightedheroine]

Sayaka gives a good, hard stare at Jay. Give her a moment, she just spent a while in effective mental shutdown and is still warming up all the engines again.

She knows his face and his voice but wow, she honestly wasn't expecting this one.

...

...Moment's over. Sayaka gives a noncommittal shrug and gives him a look that pretty much asks the unstated question here. "Black and red are the new white, didn'tcha know? Soon you'll see the whole tower decked out like this."

[prayed]

Sayaka was probably the only person Kyoko cared about enough to actively seek out and it was with a certain amount of relief that she found her, at a glance barely recognizable if not for sound of her voice. Those complaints are enough to get a grin out of her, in spite of the less than desirable costume that she was stuck in, as she approached.

"Oi, Sayaka! Long time no see." She paused just long enough to Sayaka's costume another look over. "Nice costume."

[beknightedheroine]

Sayaka twirls a strand of her newly-blonde hair, at first with a wry grin on her face as Kyoko draws closer.

"Yeah, I took a little vacation stay in the hellwastes and came back dressed like the biggest psycho here, no big de..."

...that outfit is certainly different. Looks like Kyoko's been drawn into this, too.

"Are those the transfer stu..eh, Akemi's stockings? Seriously, it's got the diamonds, and the purple..."

Sorry how late this is, feel free to ignore it if it's too late

[firstofthefallen]

"Doubtful."

Someone else has taken to pacing the tower. Lucifer had contemplated attempting to stay in his room given the ridiculous little costume they had given him. It was wretched, not just for the mockery of the devil that image had always been, but the costume barely fit: the horns were too big and had become lopsided on his head, the red suit itself baggy, and the tail seemed like it would fall off of the stitching at any moment.

Yet standing still wasn't something Lucifer was accustomed to. And even if he was insulted he couldn't contain his need to wander. He's in a rather foul mood himself, truth be told, and willing to whine along with anyone else.

"Those with enough power tend to find the amusement they can have is infinite, even if it should grow stale to the rest of us."