video | un: Da Silva

[rosae]

( The feed opens to a woman who's clearly seen better days, hair a mess of disheveled layers and eyes circled in dark. Fellow Warmbloods might be able to relate to the way she moves — as though hardly daring to, even the most subtle shifts of her body resulting in little stabs of pain.

Despite the wince that flinches across her features as she settles back against a nest of pillows, the woman offers a quiet laugh. )

This is probably the worst time to show my face on here, huh. But I hope the rest of you who have this flu, or whatever it is, are taking care.

Anyway, since all I can really do is sit here... ( —a wry little smile; it's been weeks and she's still not too thrilled about being home-bound— ) ...it's been giving me a lot of time to think.

( She reaches very slowly for something that was just off-screen, drawing it gingerly into her lap. It's a brown teddy bear. )

This is something from my home that ended up here with me. It's my daughter's. When she was little, she had a very hard time with sleep. ( An understatement to be sure; the progressively dangerous sleepwalking spells are what she now knows were supernatural callings to her daughter's fractured soul. But Rose won't divulge that quite so openly. )

This guy brought her comfort, so in turn, he brought me comfort, too. ( She can't quite hold the stuffed animal to her chest the way she wants to, not with physical contact being as painful as it is, but one arm dares to loosely curl a bit closer around it, protective. )

Do you have anything here with you, from your home? If you don't mind sharing, what does it mean to you? This sick old lady would love to hear your stories.

Comments

[rosae]

It's something I've been thinking about a lot, since I came here. The things that people choose to keep with them... And the things this place lets us keep. For all the horrors here, that much seems like a little dose of mercy.

( Unless it's meant to be cruel, but... for Rose, having little items of her daughter's was the only thing keeping her going when she first washed up here. )

It's nice to meet you, Kokichi. ( She's listening to him, smiling at the words, picturing the scenes play out in her mind. ) That's really incredible, and it seems very meaningful that you chose to keep the hat afterwards. I'm sure he'd be glad to know that you're still taking good care of it here.

[violetlies]

It does. We need all of that we can get. I don't think it's all bad here, though, since we've all got each other. It'd be much harder if we were alone.

[...He's got experience with that.]

Nice to meet you, too. [He beams, nodding.] I mean...he'd probably be surprised, really. I wasn't exactly the nicest to anyone at home. So this is kind of me turning over a new leaf, too.

I'd like to assume he'd be happy, though. That's what I always hope for.

[rosae]

No, that's a very good point — I agree with you. Community helps a lot. ( And for all its strange similarities to Silent Hill, this place is much less horrific in some ways. Which is.... an odd awareness to have. The standard of horror has certainly been shifted for her, these days.

Rose is still smiling as she listens, tilting her head thoughtfully. )

That sounds like a difficult thing to do, turning over a new leaf. But a very rewarding one. And I do think in some ways, this place can be... a kind of second chance, can't it? I feel that way, too.

( It's almost like getting to live a new life. Rose is still adjusting to that thought, but she's progressively wanting to embrace it, too. )

[violetlies]

[Kokichi sees it as amazing leaps and bounds of improvement over the Gifted Inmates Academy, which...isn't difficult, but it's the biggest spark of hope he's had for a while.]

It's definitely hard. I was confused where to start, but I've got a general idea for where I want to take things now. Accomplish what I couldn't at home with this second chance.

...Which is making people around me feel better 'stead of worse. Hard to say exactly how in some ways, but I've thought of opening a toy business. Toys and games are kind of an untapped market here.

[rosae]

Oh! That's a wonderful idea. ( Rose's smile brightens at the thought. She hasn't heard anyone around here talk about something like that, yet. )

There are so many kids around here, and the orphanage.... I think that would be such a great addition to this place.

Would you make the toys yourself? I'm sure there are people around here with woodcarving skills and things, who would be happy to lend a hand with something like that.

[violetlies]

I'm glad. Most people I've proposed the idea to seem pretty positive. And the orphanage kids are gonna be my test group. Whenever I've got a new toy, I'm gonna let them try it. Give their thoughts. Maybe leave a few more 'test' copies out for any kid who can't afford 'em, and sell to anyone that can buy.

[He hums, nodding.] But you're right. I should get some more people to help. I'm a pretty good inventor, but the more hands I get with expertise, the more creative I can get. Maybe I should make a network post when things are calm enough~