Entry tags:
(OOC?) Doveren Memory Tape
MEMORY TAPE: "Sleep" (For Maruki)
The atmosphere in Leblanc’s attic is heavy as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are all gathered up, each having taken their respective places amongst themselves. Ren sits silently, gazing at his phone’s calendar as the clock ticks.
February 2nd, 2017.
There’s discussion among the Phantom Thieves about their failure to reach the top of Maruki’s Palace in time, how they failed, how they must still be uncertain of their own feelings about Maruki’s reality… but Ren just continues staring, and staring at his phone.
He failed. He tried so hard to stay on the right path, but the weight of it all sat on his shoulders and made it that much harder to keep moving. Even now, he can feel the weight of Maruki’s world, of Maruki’s power, crashing down on him.
What was he supposed to do? Such a decision to bear, and in the end not a thing to show for it. He couldn't show the resolve for either which path, and that distant look in his eye, one of vague panic and fear speaks volumes as the rest of the Phantom Thieves discuss what went wrong, how they'll surely figure something out.
Among it all, he finally lifts his head, turning to look at Akechi. He stands in the back, head lowered. The look on his face unreadable due to his eyes being obscured. He's never seen Akechi like that, and it instills a greater concern, a greater dread. He wants to reach out to him, to speak, and just as he does--
...Akechi, without a single word, storms away. He can’t even bear to look at Ren, to spare him a single glance after all they've been through together.
That is when the Earth completely collapses from beneath Ren's feet.
‘There's nothing we can do tonight.’, the Phantom Thieves say. 'Let's get some rest, and gather up again tomorrow.'
And Ren just stares at the door Akechi went through, and he has the sickening feeling that this might be the very last time he'll ever see Akechi, the real Akechi, again.
He can't explain it, the flow of time as everyone goes their separate ways. He vaguely notices Sumire sparing him a worried look as she leaves the attic, and barely processes Morgana tries to console him before he lies down for the night in what's almost an auto-pilot.
Tomorrow. They're dealing with this tomorrow. He'll see Akechi tomorrow. They'll stop Maruki. There has to be a way.
Right?
And so he goes to sleep, and at first it's just the depths of dreamless rest… but if only it were so simple. He feels his awareness slowly returning to him, his hands and feet heavy as he tries to adjust his eyes to the strange lighting. It's after a few more seconds that he realizes he's in prison garbs, in chains, and right before Maruki in the nurse’s office of Shujin Academy.
He wants to open his mouth to speak, but he finds himself tongue-tied. It's all crashing down, the weight of his failure, the betrayal to Akechi, his own personal dread as he can practically hear the loud 'tick-tock' of the clock.
Maruki sees the look in his eyes, how he's found himself frozen in inaction. He seems regretful. 'He didn't realize the pain he'd cause Ren', he says. 'I hoped you'd come to accept my reality of your own free will'.
But he won't have to suffer the indecision anymore, as the doctor decides that the best way to ease Ren of his burden of choice is by letting him dream. And dream. And dream…
It all fades to white…
…
…
…
Things grow surreal. The scene becomes colorful and bright, yet blurred and confused. It's hard to parse just what is happening on the screen, but it's warm. There's smiles. A cheerful earworm of a song. All the nonsense of a dream.
It continues on for minutes with only vague semblances of people and figures coming into view. Most of the time it's just Ren and his friends, but every so often something tries to reach through.
That scarf-wearing young man with the brown coat, looking at the screen with his face blotched out.
"…Wake… up…"
Before he's ripped away, replaced with more of the same old.
It's after two rounds of this that flashes of reality slip into view as Ren sleeps away on his bed, and the days and nights pass. That is, until, it finally ends on a gentle, rainy day.
Ren stirs slightly, but eases back into his sleep. And at first, it almost seems as nothing else will happen… until a small, white butterfly emerges into the room, and footsteps can be heard trailing behind…
The atmosphere in Leblanc’s attic is heavy as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are all gathered up, each having taken their respective places amongst themselves. Ren sits silently, gazing at his phone’s calendar as the clock ticks.
February 2nd, 2017.
There’s discussion among the Phantom Thieves about their failure to reach the top of Maruki’s Palace in time, how they failed, how they must still be uncertain of their own feelings about Maruki’s reality… but Ren just continues staring, and staring at his phone.
He failed. He tried so hard to stay on the right path, but the weight of it all sat on his shoulders and made it that much harder to keep moving. Even now, he can feel the weight of Maruki’s world, of Maruki’s power, crashing down on him.
What was he supposed to do? Such a decision to bear, and in the end not a thing to show for it. He couldn't show the resolve for either which path, and that distant look in his eye, one of vague panic and fear speaks volumes as the rest of the Phantom Thieves discuss what went wrong, how they'll surely figure something out.
Among it all, he finally lifts his head, turning to look at Akechi. He stands in the back, head lowered. The look on his face unreadable due to his eyes being obscured. He's never seen Akechi like that, and it instills a greater concern, a greater dread. He wants to reach out to him, to speak, and just as he does--
...Akechi, without a single word, storms away. He can’t even bear to look at Ren, to spare him a single glance after all they've been through together.
That is when the Earth completely collapses from beneath Ren's feet.
‘There's nothing we can do tonight.’, the Phantom Thieves say. 'Let's get some rest, and gather up again tomorrow.'
And Ren just stares at the door Akechi went through, and he has the sickening feeling that this might be the very last time he'll ever see Akechi, the real Akechi, again.
He can't explain it, the flow of time as everyone goes their separate ways. He vaguely notices Sumire sparing him a worried look as she leaves the attic, and barely processes Morgana tries to console him before he lies down for the night in what's almost an auto-pilot.
Tomorrow. They're dealing with this tomorrow. He'll see Akechi tomorrow. They'll stop Maruki. There has to be a way.
Right?
And so he goes to sleep, and at first it's just the depths of dreamless rest… but if only it were so simple. He feels his awareness slowly returning to him, his hands and feet heavy as he tries to adjust his eyes to the strange lighting. It's after a few more seconds that he realizes he's in prison garbs, in chains, and right before Maruki in the nurse’s office of Shujin Academy.
He wants to open his mouth to speak, but he finds himself tongue-tied. It's all crashing down, the weight of his failure, the betrayal to Akechi, his own personal dread as he can practically hear the loud 'tick-tock' of the clock.
Maruki sees the look in his eyes, how he's found himself frozen in inaction. He seems regretful. 'He didn't realize the pain he'd cause Ren', he says. 'I hoped you'd come to accept my reality of your own free will'.
But he won't have to suffer the indecision anymore, as the doctor decides that the best way to ease Ren of his burden of choice is by letting him dream. And dream. And dream…
It all fades to white…
…
…
…
Things grow surreal. The scene becomes colorful and bright, yet blurred and confused. It's hard to parse just what is happening on the screen, but it's warm. There's smiles. A cheerful earworm of a song. All the nonsense of a dream.
It continues on for minutes with only vague semblances of people and figures coming into view. Most of the time it's just Ren and his friends, but every so often something tries to reach through.
That scarf-wearing young man with the brown coat, looking at the screen with his face blotched out.
"…Wake… up…"
Before he's ripped away, replaced with more of the same old.
It's after two rounds of this that flashes of reality slip into view as Ren sleeps away on his bed, and the days and nights pass. That is, until, it finally ends on a gentle, rainy day.
Ren stirs slightly, but eases back into his sleep. And at first, it almost seems as nothing else will happen… until a small, white butterfly emerges into the room, and footsteps can be heard trailing behind…