towerofanimus | "Love Fool" Player Plot Log

"Love Fool" Player Plot Log

Characters: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and anyone affected by his curse or who wants to get caught up in the chaos!
Setting: March 29th-April 4th. Anywhere in the tower during the beginning of the event, primarily in and around Room 4-16 later in the event.
Format: Any!
Summary: Instead of being mostly inactive, Diarmuid's curse starts being active most of the time and it's affecting both men and women! Chaos ensues! An OOC plotting and sign up post is here.
Warnings: Death, violence, blood, worms (X.x Kariya...), psychological torture, swearing, shenanigans of a romantic nature, and ANGST! I will update as it is needed!
Notes: Being affected by Diarmuid's curse requires a tag on his permissions post here so please make sure to stop by! If the log gets too big, I will make a second, overflow log and link it here. While most sections have dates on them, they are only references for the time of the week that the events are going on and not when the section is available for posting. All sections are open for posting just as soon as the log goes up and will stay open throughout the event.

Notice: The log is open! Have fun everyone and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Background Information:

One of Diarmuid's most defining traits is his curse, actually a gift given to him by a spirit of love, beauty, and youth as repayment for something he did for her. Unfortunately, while something like that might be an actual gift to a fellow spirit or god, giving it to a human doesn't work quite so well. Being a honorable man, though, Diarmuid has never taken advantage of those affected by his curse. Instead, he has done his best to let them down gently and guide them through the pain caused by it. Sometimes this has worked and sometimes it hasn't. In either event, he remembers vividly every person he's ever hurt because of it.

That approach works well until the woman who falls in love with him is his Lord's fiancee and a princess who won't take no for an answer. She places a geis on him that forces him to run away with her. Many things end that night and a great many more begin. At least, that's how the legends go.

In the tower, his curse has been weakened somewhat so that it is only rarely active. However, when it activates and for how long is random, and he doesn't know when it is happening until those affected start acting oddly toward him. Those so affected seem to remain that way for a week or two and often have some success controlling their reactions to him if they have a strong will or know that they are under the curse's spell.

Event Information:

During the event instead of activating only once and a while, Diarmuid's curse will almost constantly be active. It will also affect men and women meaning that almost everyone he runs into in the tower has the chance of being affected. He will not know this right away and will continue going about his normal patrol routes, meetings, and so on until he finally realizes what is going on. Once he does, he will start hiding in his room to limit the number of people affected. However, this won't work out so well because with him staying in one place, anyone who is under the curse's spell and trying to find him isn't going to have to look very hard.

Every day he will be spending at least a little time out of his room so that a character can be hit by the curse whenever they wish to be during the event. Anyone is welcome to have their character affected whether or not they actually have CR already with Diarmuid. This is actually a good time to start up CR if you have wanted to, but not been sure how since he will be checking in with people to make sure they are okay once the effects of the curse have passed. New players are also welcome!

How strongly and how long a character is affected by the curse is totally up to that character's mun. And remember, your character doesn't have to be affected by the curse to participate! Do they want to troll Diarmuid by acting like they are affected when they aren't? Do they want to slip him a gift or thank you but have been too shy to until they have the chance to do it under the guise of something else? Might they just be passing by Room 4-16 and get caught up in a fight? Do they have a friend who is affected and are trying to 'help' them out? Anything is possible and creativity is encouraged!

Below I have set up several locations and times to have things going on, but feel free to start something elsewhere if you wish! Private meetings between characters working together or other similar posts are welcome. Just be sure to mark what is going on. In an effort to try and keep everything to one log, I have made sub-headings for his Mailbox and for Network posts should characters wish to use those things as well to show their feelings. Because people are competing for his attention to the point of fighting in some cases, please be aware that I am encouraging threadjacking and sneaky tricks like stealing gifts out of his mailbox or from his room. If you want to make sure that a thread isn't interrupted by others or a gift stolen, please mark the thread's subject line with the word "Locked." Any thread marked in such a way should only have Diarmuid and the thread starter replying in it unless other arrangements have been made. All other threads are considered open for interruption, but please remember to be polite.

Important Note: To help keep things organized, please make sure to put either "Open" or "Locked" in the subject line of all newly started threads so that people know if it is okay to jump in or not. It is all right if you decide to change the status later in the thread--just adjust the comment title in the next post.

Diarmuid will not respond to threads that aren't marked until they are marked, and I would ask others not to either since once replied to, comments can't be edited. Once the thread is marked, it is fair game to be replied to.

During the end of the event players will find it harder to get into Diarmuid's room because the way will be blocked. Master Kariya Matou (

vermicompost ) will have ordered his Servant Berserker (

chevalier_mal_fet ) to guard the door. Far from what it looks like on the outside, both men aren't trying to help protect their friend from those affected. Instead, they have also been affected and are tying to keep away all other potential suitors! Can anyone say Boss Fight? Will those affected team up to take them down or maybe just sit back and let them take out a few rivals to thin the competition? It's all up to you guys and how nuts you want to get!

Important Note: When tagging the 'Boss Fight' section, in addition to marking your post "locked" or "open" in the subject line, please also state if your character is meeting Lancelot in his true form--which will mean having to deal with him in some way so your character can get through to the room--or in Diarmuid's form--which will mean he will greet your character and act like Diarmuid in an attempt to lead your character away from the room. Your character is free to be fooled or see through his deception as the thread progresses. Just be aware that Lancelot's mimic ability is high level and will take either knowing Diarmuid and his quirks well or having a lot of magical knowledge to see through.

Finally, while the tone for the event is mostly fun and humorous, if you want there can be more serious consequences. If any character is involved in a serious incident or dies because of something related to the event, please make sure you put a comment in this section with your character's name, journal, a quick blurb about what happened and, most importantly, if you want Diarmuid to know what happened. Obviously, because of his nature, he is going to want to contact anyone who is seriously impacted by or killed because of his curse.

That's it! Go forth and cause chaos! If there are questions or problems at any time, please feel free to contact me via pm though Diarmuid's journal (

oathshackledbird ) or on Plurk at

NekoSandy

IC Event Introducton:

The day starts off like any other for Diarmuid and for that he is glad. After all that had happened at the end of the month in February, quiet and routine days are something he is not going to argue against. Besides, with so many people who are from some version of the world he knows having arrived this month, he would really like them to have a chance to settle in before things get too chaotic again. There are those he would also like to spend as much time with as possible before anything else happens. So many people, himself included, need as much time as they can get to just sort out the things going on in their heads.

The problem is, will the tower give that time to them? Diarmuid knows each quiet day is one more step forward so that they can all be prepared for whatever the administrators throw at them next.

A small smile crosses his face as he takes off to make his first patrol of the tower. After that, he will probably have something to eat at the cafeteria, before taking some time to visit friends. Sometime before nightfall, he will make another patrol of the floors before retiring to his room for the night. It's a simple day and considering how quickly things can go bad in the tower when things get too complex, he's not bothered at all by that simplicity.

It's just a shame that he doesn't realize, as he leaves his room, that things won't stay simple for long. Not with his curse suddenly becoming active in a way it never has before...

Section Links:

Diarmuid's Mailbox #0091
Network Posts
Diarmuid's Room (4-16) on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Outside of Diarmuid's room on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Anywhere in the Tower on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Diarmuid's Room (4-16) on April 1st-April 4th
Outside of Diarmuid's room on April 1st-4th
Anywhere in the Tower on April 1st-4th
Boss Encounter with Berserker on April 3rd-April 4th
Serious Incident/Death List

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[If the man won't silence himself, Lancelot will have to be the one to silence him. For his own good, of course. This cannot continue.

He moves faster than even the enchanted metal can track, and seizes hold of Waver Velvet once more. He pins the Magus against the wall and holds him there, not with his sword, but with his arm. With one long, large hand, he covers Waver Velvet's mouth.

He intends to deprive the man of sufficient air until he looses consciousness. But Berserker's purpose is in killing, not in bodily restraint and mediation of force. Lancelot, in watching the Magus' eyes as he struggles for breath, perhaps underestimates the damage done to the man's insides.

The quickcilver he ignores, as it is no threat without its Master's voice.]

I will have Silence, Magus-- and an end to this folly. Sleep.

[Fuck.]

[It was already nigh impossible to breathe; this was definitely just the finisher to what had been a laughably one-sided battle from the start. Honestly, he'd expected to be afraid of death. It was a surprise to be suddenly aware that all he felt was the same old endless frustration with himself.]

[Of course he couldn't protect anyone. Of course he was never anything but pathetic. He was still that incompetent child with delusions of grandeur, wasn't he? Diarmuid had risked his life for him, ten years ago. Fought and bled and suffered all for the sake of some imbecile that hadn't known anything about anything, and as payment Waver had utterly failed to do the same.]

[Idiot. And here you thought you had changed...you're still the same wretched worthless Waver Velvet.]

[He was almost glad his life didn't flash before his eyes. That would have just been the final nail of humiliation in his slightly more than metaphorical coffin.]

Edited 2013-04-04 20:01 (UTC)

[It's only when he releases his hand that Lancelot realizes that the thread of Life that he had thought grown merely thin-- is snapped.

Waver Velvet's injuries must have been more serious than he had reckoned. Lancelot lets the man's body sag against him as he bears its weight away from the wall. The Magus' familiar seems still.

His armor, he banishes. If the sight of him holding a corpse before Diarmuid's door does not ward off those who would linger, then he knows not what will.
Lancelot may not leave the area before the door, but neither can he think what would be right to do, now this thing has happened. This thing that he himself brought about.

He had not sought Waver Velvet's death, but still the man has died by his hand.
Lancelot shifts to and fro before the door. It is odd, but he wishes to speak with his Master more than anything.]

[It's then that Kariya thinks to check on Lancelot, and the first thing he sees is Lancelot, his armor gone, holding Waver, and Waver lying limp in his arms. His eyes widen. He had told Lancelot to guard the door, but this wasn't something he'd expected. He'd only wanted Lancelot to chase people away, not harm them. Or not much.]

Lancelot, what did you do?

[He isn't angry, at first, so much as surprised. And a small, cruel part of him isn't that sorry, so long as it means that Diarmuid is still safe and still with him. He knows it's wrong to feel that way, but he can't help himself. He wants Diarmuid to be his. And it's not as if death is permanent here.]

[It is odd since Kariya hasn't left Diarmuid's side all day for the man to do so. Of course, by now Diarmuid has realized the man is under his curse's spell. Lancelot as well. But with Kariya so deeply affected and easily hurt, Diarmuid hasn't tried very hard to break the illusion yet. He's not sure how.

And he has to admit, he's been glad for the quiet having Lancelot at the door has provided him.

Still, he hears the scuffle at the door and the low tense voices worry Diarmuid. It makes the dread that had hit him not long before even stronger, so he quietly makes his way to the door.

What he sees when he gets to the door make his heart stop. Before his mouth can even form words, tears start sliding down his cheeks.]

Why... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

[Suddenly, he's shaking so hard that he has to reach out for the door frame to keep himself from collapsing.

It can't be... Waver...]

No...

[HOLY SHIT]

[That was the only way Lancer could describe the scene in front of his eyes. Holy Shit.]

[He had gone away from the door for a while, content in the knowledge that Diarmuid seemed alright. But he had come back to a limp Waver being held by Lancelot and Diarmuid crying.]

Bro...?

[He turns his eyes onto Lancelot.]

...What did you do?

[Lancelot himself seems dazed, shaken even. He is well used to death, to killing, but not to ending a life on accident. He truly had not wanted to kill Waver Velvet. Yet the man lies dead in his arms. What is to be said?]

He would not yield. I only sought his silence. But he would not yield to me.

[A light growl rises in Lancer's throat.]

Well, he's silent enough now.

[His hands clench into fists at his side.]

Does he still live, Lancelot?

[He desperately wants Lancelot to say yes. Kariya and Lancelot are his friends and so is Waver. He would hate to know that his friends and his brother are hurting, much less killing, each other.]

He would not yield. Though I begged him.
I did not put him to the sword-- I did not seek his death, I swear to you!

[Though still unknown to him, the Curse pains him, spurs and maddens him. Diarmuid's tears are nearly enough to undo him, but they are true. This is what he is. Betrayer. Destroyer.]

But words from my mouth can be no comfort to you. There is naught to say in my defense, the fault is mine.
I cannot ask your forgiveness.

[Diarmuid hardly hears Lancelot's words. Unconsciously, he reaches out toward Waver's body, but stops, suddenly jerking his hand back like he's been burnt.

Is this his punishment? For the time he killed Kariya to end his suffering all that time ago? Now Lancelot has killed the man who is the only person Diarmuid will call master? One master's life for the other?

Even if Lancelot hadn't been in the tower when that had happened?

Diarmuid leans his full weight against the doorway in an effort to stay on his feet. The effort is in vain though, and he starts sliding to the floor.]

Master... Master...

[The words slide from his mouth, child-like and broken. Almost like as if he's a child calling for his mother, begging her to come back. Waver has been a much needed anchor ever since he arrived here and now he's gone.

And Diarmuid can't even turn to his brother for comfort since things are still so strained between them.

He closes his eyes, desperately trying to center himself, but instead of finding that center, he finds an empty void.

And begins to fall.]

[Lancer doesn't say anything, but he rushes over as his brother begins to fall and catches him, gently easing him into a kneeling position on the floor with Lancer himself kneeling next to him. Still silent, he hugs Diarmuid tightly and leans over so their faces are right next to each other.]

[He's not sure how much comfort he can offer Diarmuid now, given how awkward things have been since he was affected by that curse. More over he, should be yelling at Lancelot for doing something so cruel, but currently, he feels more concerned than angry.]

It's all right. He'll be back soon.

[Kariya feels a little callous saying this, but he only means to reassure. His own death in the Tower had been long and painful, and at least Waver's was quick, he thinks, but he doesn't say as much.]

Don't worry, Diarmuid.

[He comes to kneel beside Diarmuid himself, feeling a pang of jealousy at the sight of Diarmuid and Lancer's closeness in spite of the selfishness of it. But why can't he be selfish sometimes? He can't control the way he feels.]

He wouldn't want you to be upset. [He thinks this is true and says it gently.] I'm sorry. I only wanted to give you some peace. It's my fault this happened. [Selfish or not, Kariya is quick to heap blame onto himself.] But he'll be all right.

[It feels strange to say that about someone who's dead, but that is true here, not that he means to make light of Waver's death.]

[Diarmuid is weeping, nearly insensate in Cu Chulainn's arms, and he can find no proper words to answer the other Lancer, the object of Diarmuid's affections. His own voice sounds hollow to his ears. Waver Velvet's body is cooling in his arms.]

Yes, he is Silent-- he is dead. I can only think he could not get his breath, for I never touched him with my blade. I only sought to restrain him.

Not this. I swear it.

[But his Master is speaking and he find it so strange to turn there for discipline, for reassurance, when he has never sought these things from this man before-- yet he does.]

I did not wish to harm him, Master. He simply would not stop-- no matter how I warned him or fended off his attacks.

I only wanted him silent. Master-- I must beg your forgiveness as well.

[There are people around him. Arms lowering him to the ground. Voices trying to calm him, but none of it makes it through the fog of emotion that is surrounding him. It's a lot like the fog that had surrounded him after killing Kariya. So much pain. So much shock.

So much guilt. So very much guilt.

It swirls around him like a dark, suffocating mud coating all parts of him, darkening him, staining him.

Why? Why is this happening? Has he really been so bad? Done so much wrong?

Of course, he has.

A choking sob tears itself from his throat. Diarmuid tries to speak, but no words come out. Instead, there is just a low moan of agony.

And as that terribly broken and lost sound claws itself from his throat, the tears slipping from his eyes begin to tint in color. They are no longer clear, but red.

Blood red.

He man not be fatally wounded physically right now, but emotionally? Mentally?

He feels like he's very slowly bleeding to death. So much has happened this week and this is just the horrible conclusion.

If it's the conclusion, why is he still alive? Shouldn't it be ending in his death? Isn't that how it's suppose to be?]

[Cu Chulainn raises a hand to wipe away his brother's tears. He wants to yell at Kariya and Lancelot. Tell them to leave because they've already done enough. Scream at them that they, more than anyone else, should have understood Diarmuid's feelings. That of all people they should not have been the ones to destroy what little happiness Diarmuid had found.]

[But right now, he's silent because he knows Diarmuid doesn't need any more noise.]

[Until he realizes the bloody tears streaming down his brother's face.]

...Brother?

[His eyes go wide in fear and confusion.]

Brother, what's going on? Are you hurt?

[He frantically wipes at Diarmuid's face with his hands but THE BLOOD JUST KEEPS COMING.]

Diarmuid!? Brother!

[Even as he wipes at Diarmuid's cheeks, he glances around the hallway, staring at Kariya and Lancelot and everyone else. He doesn't say it, but he's desperately hoping that someone will take the hint and go get a healer. Right now, he cares less for punishing Lancelot than making sure Diarmuid is alright.]

[Kariya looks at his Servant. He feels a closer bond with him here than he ever did back in the "real" world. There's an understanding that passes between them, and he knows what Lancelot means. It must be easy for him to hurt someone by mistake. He may not be berserk, but he's still Berserker, and he doesn't have the same kind of control another Servant might. Kariya knows what it's like, not to have control. To make choices and regret them. To act rashly.]

I know. [And there's a pause before he adds:] I forgive you. Be much more careful next time. Don't hurt anyone unless I tell you to. At least he'll be back to himself soon enough.

[He turns back to Diarmuid.]

Diarmuid... He will be back. It'll only take a little while and you'll have him again, just like before. [There's a pleading note in his voice. He wants to help, but he doesn't know how. That's all he'd wanted, to help Diarmuid. Can't he do anything right?] I promise.

[The blood tears give him pause. They remind him of his own tears. He hadn't thought to see something like that from the much stronger Servant. They must have a different meaning. Diarmuid isn't weakened as he is.]

It was all an accident. A misunderstanding. [His hands shake slightly, as does his voice. He doesn't want Diarmuid to be upset at all, let alone upset with him. That's the last thing he wants.] I didn't mean for anything to happen. I love you. I'll do anything I can to make it up to you.

Yes, Master-- I know, I shall.

[His Master's words are some small comfort-- after all, the Magus will return to life, and that right soon. The understanding flowing through the bond they've been working to build comes as a relief to Lancelot.

But by the look of Diarmuid us Duibhne, the man might be beyond words. Even such words as Kariya speaks to him. Or such urgent questions as the other Lancer asks.

Waver Velvet's body is a dead weight against his chest as he casts about the hallway, spying a few stragglers and calling to them to fetch a Healer if they may-- but those here still labor under the Curse Diarmuid casts and he knows not whether they will go, or how quickly. His Master certainly is not able to move at speed, and he would not have the man leave his sight in any event.]

Diarmuid, I beg you, calm yourself, heed my Master. He speaks the truth in this.

Truth? Truth?

[A sick, twisted laughter claws itself from Diarmuid's throat. Honestly, he's not sure who has said what to him. The words swirl around him in a blood-stained, suffocating vortex. Something dark rises inside of him bringing with it a blissful kind of separation, a separation that numbs the pain that what is left of his rational mind feels while releasing a rage that first found freedom several months ago and has yearned for it ever since.

The blood flows more freely from his eyes now, but he doesn't seem to notice it as his gaze rips and tears into those around him.]

There is no truth besides this...

[His voice is an almost animalistic snarl that only raises in intensity as he speaks.]

Any happiness I find is always torn away from me by those who 'care' for me and whom I do nothing but help. I sacrifice everything for them only to have what little I have left trampled upon by those who only care for their own greed!

[His maddened gaze finds that of Cu Chulainn who is still kneeling at his side.]

I curse you who swears love, but knows not how to love. Whose sweet words and promises are nothing but hollow lies.

[His eyes dart to Lancelot who stands not far away-who is still holding Waver's cooling body.]

I curse you who swears to loyally protect that which he loves, but knows only how to betray and break all that comes to his hands.

[Finally, his eyes find Kariya's tearing into the man like daggers.]

And I curse you who speaks of love when he knows nothing but blind obsession. He who is too weak to truly ever know real emotion.

[A sound that is cross between a growl and a choked sob tears its way out of his throat.]

I curse you all! I curse this place! Did I not suffer enough before? Why? Why do you all think my suffering so beautiful it must continue like this forever?

Why?

[Diarmuid reaches up drawing his fingers down the side of his face in a clawing motion smearing the blood there even further. The words that he speaks next come out in a voice far too calm to be sane.]

Remember my pain. Remember my agony. The next time you feel your own, remember! This is what I feel! This is what I want you all to feel! I will not suffer alone any longer!

[Another choking sob tears its way from his throat and he buries his head in his hands.]

[When Diarmuid starts screaming, Cu Chulainn freezes. His first thought is that such rage does not fit his brother. And yet, if there was anything that could spur the other Lancer to rage, it would be this event.]

[As he listens to the other Lancer's curses, a different sort of fear starts to fill his eyes. The words are horrible, but they are true.]

[And when Diarmuid curses him directly,to his face, it feels like someone cut his heart out. No, not that. It would hurt more if his heart were cut out. Instead, he just feels numb and empty.]

[One part of him wants to scream at Diarmuid and shake him. Tell him that's not true. Lancer wasn't a liar, and he did know love of all kinds. He loved Emer. He loved Misaya. He loved Ayaka. And yet, he never expected either of his Masters to love him in return. Diarmuid as well. When had he not placed his brother's safety and happiness before his own?]

[Ultimately, he stays silent. Though that one part of him rages, another part of him accepts the curse as the truth. For all his promises, for all his love, the most important promises he made turned out to be hollow.]

[I'll save you]

[And Misaya had died.]

[I'll protect you]

[And Ayaka had slipped through his fingers.]

[I'll love you]

[And he couldn't love Diarmuid the way his brother had wanted.]

[Even as he feels horrified, there's a bizarre sense of relief. His brother is finally blaming him. Finally acknowledging the truth of Cu Chulainn's failures. Finally, the blame falls on the right head.]

[It's better than seeing Diarmuid wallow in self-blame, at least.]

I'm sorry.

[He mutters. The sound is small and broken and barely audible against Diarmuid's screams and sobs.]

[He's still rooted to his spot. He doesn't move, except perhaps to wrap his arms around Diarmuid a little tighter and to lean his head on Diarmuid's shoulder.]

I'm sorry.

[He mutters again, and falls silent. Maybe he cries, but he no longer notices at this point. He's too caught in his thoughts of self-blame.]

[In fact, the way he's complete still, it's like he's died or become a statue. The only thing he can barely register about the outside world is that Diarmuid is still crying.]

[Kariya goes completely still.

And I curse you who speaks of love when he knows nothing but blind obsession. He who is too weak to truly ever know real emotion.

He can't hear anything else once that's said, and he forgets everything else that's been said before it.]

You--you--

[How could someone say that about him, he who's been so loyal and so patient, who has always tried to think of other people first? He's always acted out of love. He's loved Aoi all his life and served her patiently, always thinking of her happiness before anything else. He's tried to do the same for Diarmuid. He cares about him so much. And Diarmuid's willing to throw all that away, to act as if it isn't even real.

Weak. It's just like something Zouken would say. The word stabs at him, slices through him. He might have made mistakes, he might even be a fool, but he isn't weak. Why does everyone underestimate him, treat him like he's something to be cast aside?

How dare someone say that about him? After all he's given up. Why should he be cursed when he's done nothing but try to do what he thought was best, what would make others happiest? He would die for Diarmuid. It makes him angry as well as sad and upset. He feels his stomach twist.

His thick veins pulse as the worms react violently to the intensity of his emotion. The ones in his face, so close to the surface, break through his skin, causing blood to stream down his face on both sides. The pain is intense, and it's all he can do not to scream. He does open his mouth, but no sound comes out. Instead, there's a rush of blood and bile and no few worms, the dark creatures squirming through the dark liquid as Kariya stares at them, hating them, hating everything in a single dark, painful moment. If he could speak, he might curse everything himself, but he can't.

Before he has time to say a word, he's overcome by another wave, and another bloody mess rises from his mouth and spatters across the ground, the range of the spray more than wide enough to strike both Diarmuid and Cu Chulainn, if not Lancelot as well. A few of the worms that he's vomited up raise new wings, and one or two even buzz up into the air, sprouting teeth and opening eyes. They circle Kariya's head, their long bodies dripping blood.

Kariya feels faint, his head light. So much blood... He's lost so much already, and more is still seeping and squirting from the wounds in his face, not to mention the new wounds forming down his left side, made by the worms. There's already blood all over his shirt. He lets out a groan and clenches his teeth.]

Master!

[The momentary shock of Diarmuid's outburst is nothing to the sight of his Master, white and swaying where he kneels on the floor, vomiting blood, surrounded by the bodies of his cruel familiars.

So much blood already, and he can feel his Master's pain and wrath rising in the bond they share. Whatever else, Kariya Matou may or may not be, he is Lancelot's Master-- and Lancelot will act on his behalf.

He lets Waver Velvet's body fall from his arms to the floor, bending to lift his Master to his feet, supporting his slight weight easily. He feels a kind of cold fury at the state of his Master, at the state of himself-- at Diarmuid's words, and at the man himself, sat weeping in a pool of his Master's rapidly cooling blood.

He lifts Kariya easily to his chest, supporting the man at his shoulders and beneath his knees.
Yes, it is a cold fury, not the hot wrath that consumes him betimes. His words are always mastered by that anger, taken from him. Now they come all too easily.]

Your wish those who never cease to Suffer to remember your agony, as well as their own?

I will grant that it is your pain speaks for you now, Diarmuid ua Duibhne, for if I did not, I would find your words hard bear honorably.

[There is pain of his own as he says these words-- for lately he has felt so drawn to the man, so well-disposed and fondly loving. But it is his Master he thinks of now.]

Curse me if you like, if it eases you. But leave my Master in Peace.
Your Master will return from Death tomorrow. Mine dies every day, with every minute that passes. But perhaps his suffering lacks Beauty that would give it Meaning, in your eyes.

[Lancelot smiles, and it is a grim and joyless thing.]

Lay any curse you like upon us. There is no black name you may give either of us that we do not already bear, nor nothing you might wish stripped from either of us that has not already been taken-- or that we have not already squandered.

Know that when you curse us, you curse the damned.

[He holds his Master close, pressing the man's wounds tightly with his arms, his hands, his chest. He is aware of the his Master's slowing heartbeat. Soon now, he knows he must seek a healer. He will not allow his Master to die.]

[There are things going on around him. Movement. Yelling. Screaming. But every time Diarmuid tries to focus on anything enough to figure out what it is, that thing is caught up in the swirling of emotions in his mind and lost. The yelling and screaming disappear into the screaming of his own pain, shame, and agony. The movement disappears into the bubbling, twisting vortex of blood and darkness that fills his mind.

The end will come soon, right? Just as it had back then? The swirling pain and agony will soon fade into the nothingness of death.]

No.

[As much as it may feel like it, he is not dying. Not this time. Does that mean there will be no escape? That this will never end?]

No!

[And suddenly something finally breaks through all the pain and agony swirling through him.

The need to run.

He has to escape. He has to find a way to get away from all of this before he drowns. Before he suffocates.

Someone is holding him. That much manages to make its way into his mind. He has to break free of them no matter what.

And then he can run. And then he can escape.

The struggling is sudden and silent, as he bolts forward desperate to make it away from whoever is holding him and into the hallways. Diarmuid doesn't care where he ends up.

He just has to get away from here.]

[Cu Chulainn's mind is almost complete blank as Lancelot talks, but at the end, he can hear the words.]

[If only because they cut into him as hard as Diarmuid's had.]

...Not the only one.

[He mutters, in a strange, cracking voice that doesn't even seem to come out of his own mouth.]

You're not the only one.

[Who is he talking to? Lancelot? Diarmuid? Who is he talking about? Lancelot, Diarmuid, Kariya, or himself?]

[All of them are dying inside and all of them are damned.]

[If Diarmuid's words had frozen his blood in his veins, then this anger stirring within him is heating it up again.]

So you've got no right to tell anyone what to do!

[And that's when he notices his brother stirring. It's like someone flips a switch in his brain. He has to be by Diarmuid's side. To protect him better than he had before. So that his promises will no longer be empty.]

Brother...

[The harder Diarmuid struggles, the harder Cu Chulainn holds him. He would be his brother's support, his brother's shield.]

[Diarmuid would never have to alone again.]

[No, rather than that, Cu Chulainn doesn't want to be alone to drown in his failures.]

I-I'll do better now, Brother!

[Go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be anything you want...This time I'll keep my promise so just don't leave me...]

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Kariya's usual content warning: graphic blood and worms

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