grimmoired | END OF CHAPTER 1 ; EXECUTION

The Story Continues...
END OF CHAPTER 1 - WEEK 134 Narrators Remain ;

It's execution day, naughty murder children.

Breakfast is served in the dining hall, all the better to fortify you for what is to come. Wherever you might wander in the castle, you will find yourself drawn to the foyer when the clock strikes not twelve, but ten.

In the distance, there is the sound of clanking armor. Ann Takamaki appears, flanked on either side by suits of armor, escorting her to her punishment. She stares straight ahead with each step closer to the group that they take.

A moment later, the Tiger appears on the foyer's staircase. Her hand trails down the banister as she sashays down it, and she takes her place at the head of the group, standing in front of what appears to be a wall.

"Come along, darlings," she says. "The execution awaits."

You blink, and then it's there — a door leading to the outside. The Tiger steps through it. You have no choice but to follow.

Welcome to your second execution post!

Please see here for the results of yesterday's voting. In addition, make sure you fill out your CR Chart for Chapter 1!

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[when it's all over, Akechi (and his black eye) takes a step towards where Eichi stays knelt against the floor. he hesitates, like he isn't. . . really sure what he's supposed to be doing, here. like this is all so new to him. like he's stepping onto unexplored territory, trying to navigate his way through foreign emotions and gestures]

[but in the end, he crouches down, and touches Eichi's shoulder]

[The hand, as friendly as it is, makes him flinch automatically. He relaxes immediately afterwards, when he realizes it's nothing harsh, but still doesn't look up from the floor. It's just reflections of the lights, but he could swear he still sees Ann's face.]

What a painful way to die. Panic, the inability to breathe, and attempts to do so automatically only making it worse. It looks peaceful towards the end, but it's quite the opposite.

[the way Eichi puts it. . . it's almost poetic in its morbidity. although Akechi finds himself flinching back when Eichi does, his hand falling uselessly to his side]

They forced you into this.

[there's no telling who Akechi means by "they." those who put down "Happily Ever After?" or the Crafters, who wove this game into being in the first place?]

It's crueler than anything I've ever done.

[lol okay Akechi]

...I was one of the ones who chose this choice. "Happily Ever After." In a moment of rage over her outing you so suddenly, for attempting to drag you down with her...

[His fingers curl into his palms where he stays on hands and knees.]

It's a fitting punishment for me, isn't it? For being so cruel as to do that. My feet couldn't stop moving each time I walked, but at the water itself, it wasn't a forced action. It was a forced feeling.

I couldn't hold back, but because of that, it felt more like I did it myself. [A pause.] I did do it myself, in the end. Perhaps I should have attempted to resist even more.

[taking. . . responsibility. . . for one's actions??? what is this????? honestly, Akechi can't comprehend it]

Why do you blame yourself when there are others far more culpable? The Crafters, for one, for forcing this onto you.

[perhaps, though, this is a good insight into the kind of mindset Akechi has been operating on all along. a constant shifting of the blame, an inability to really comprehend that what he's doing is. . . wrong]

[Let Eichi have his redemption arc, Akechi]

An Emperor should always take responsibility for his own actions. [He says it simply, proudly, even if that empty look is still on his face. He's lost in thought.] Just as Takamaki-chan was forced to take it for hers.

[drag Akechi right into it please, Eichi]

[either way, he gives a slow blink, and then reaches out to touch Eichi's shoulder again. attempt number two!!]

That sounds like it just makes things harder on you.

[akechi???]

[Eichi is quiet at that. Of course it's harder. It's incredibly hard, which is why he has to do it. But, in response, he'll at least cover the hand on his shoulder with his own hand, appreciative.]

Who was it that hit you, by the way?