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ryslig
WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 *** CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS has joined 018.07.154.55 <Daisy>This is Basil! I'm not around right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to it as soon as I can. <BANNED USER> SCREENED MESSAGE. UNSCREEN? Y/N -- sample for when you ban someone <USERNAME> First sentence of message. <USERNAME> First sentence of message. | ||||
no subject
He shakes his head a little, and when Max reaches for his tail, it reacts to her reflexively, the edge of it trying to curl around her wrist. The tip looks so much like a flower, with its long, soft texture that's almost velvet, fur-like.]
I don't care.
[Is what he finally ends up saying, which is- like everything else he's said so far- the truth.]
A bad person...w-wouldn't have helped me and Gladion like you did. Or take me on rides in her car...or make me laugh, when I feel like I don't have anything worth laughing about anymore.
[That much...he can feel confident in saying without the magic stopping him. Because it's all true.]
You...aren't perfect. Maybe you...aren't good, either. But you're not bad.
[Not unfixable, like he is.]
We can just... [A weak sort of derisive smile works its way onto Basil's features, because he's not just talking to Max now, as It watches him over her shoulder.] ...be not good, together.
no subject
He doesn't care, everything he's seen so far... It outweighs the rest of it.
And though it feels good—the assurance, the reciprocation to her request for physical comfort—
(she hadn't thought it would feel like this. so soft.)
She has to set him straight. If he knew, he wouldn't say that. She just has to explain.
Except she still feels dizzy. Maybe it's worse with her eyes closed, so she blinks them open, even though her head feels too weak to raise. She thinks the non-broken antler's digging into his shoulder. ]
Nn- no, you...
[ Much like Basil, she can't let that stand. ]
Basil... You're not... You're- so nice. And sweet. You...don't even get mad when I- say you're a nerd or, when I'm being just a- total bitch. You aren't- broken.
[ Right? ]
major omori spoilers from here on
He has to protect Sunny. He promised him that everything would be okay.
But Something is still watching him from the corner, as if daring him to continue to try to lie.
Basil's breath suddenly hitches, a painful catch in the back of his throat. He shrinks back slightly, but it isn't Max he's hiding away from. Actually, he's...hiding behind Max, turning his head away, against her shoulder, unable to bear the weight of Something staring into his soul. It's that same corner, always watching, never leaving...]
...t.....there's no way out of this...
[Is there?]
no subject
And it reminds her. The question he'd first asked, do you see it, too?
He's hiding. He's hiding from something, and she'd forgotten.
Max finally summons the strength to lift her head. The flowers on Basil's horns finally aren't blinding her, probably because of the angle. Still, as she tries to see what he cowers from, there's nothing there. ]
Basil...? What...are you hiding from...?
no subject
N-no....no no no....stop- please stop-
[He's whispering, fervently, yet he has not drawn away from Max at all. It's not as if he's telling her to stop. If anything he's curled up even smaller against her. If he was alone, he would have curled up entirely into a ball by now in the hopes that he could block out the noise, but he can't.
It's the noise. It continues, sounding eerily like Sunny playing his violin.
He sucks in another breath, this one sounding like he's heaving, and when he exhales smoke comes with it.]
Everything is going to be okay...everything is going to be okay...
no subject
But right now...
Right now it sounds like it's a more like a noose. ]
Basil? B-Basil- who's- hurting you? [ He's curling up against her. She's still leaning against him to stay upright, but now he's hiding against her, they're leaning on each other, and it really is like the Pale Fog, isn't it?
One hand holds his tail. The other, shaking still, rests against his head. ]
Pl- please... I want to know. I want to help.
[ She can't be anything but truthful right now. ]
cw: suicidal ideation
You're the worst, Basil!]
I'm...I-I'm the worst...
[He breathes, exhaling on a shaking laugh as he draws away from Max. He doesn't move far enough that she won't still be able to hold onto him in some way if she'd like, but he's no longer curled up small against her, trying to keep himself hidden from the world. He leans back on his heels so he can look at her directly, and his eyes...they almost look red, in the light.
For the first time possibly ever, he looks scary, like this.]
Max...if you knew, you'd hate me. You'll hate me.
[The words don't spill from him frantic and unprompted, now. This is something he's apparently thought for a very long time.]
You'll hate me as much as I hate myself. And then...
[...]
Everyone will be gone, again.
[His parents. His friends. Sunny.
He'll be alone, in his room, with only Something to keep him company, urging him to finally put an end to his suffering.]
cw: suicidal ideation
Now, she's stuck staring at his eyes. That's not right.
This isn't right. ]
Wha... [ Her mouth feels dry, which is funny, considering how much lake water she's swallowed today.
If she asks him, he'll have to answer. That thought lays unbidden in the back of her mind. ]
I don't...wanna leave you.
[ Here, huddled on the ground in a dark room, gentle blue glow enveloping them... It feels like Max is back in the attic of the Creel House. There, she ripped herself open voluntarily, and for her troubles Vecna spun her a vision wherein her worst fears came true—that when those she loves most hear what's in her head, they'll reject her.
They'll egg on the pain dragging her down into the depths of her own misery.
Is this like that? Are her and Basil...more similar than she'd realized?
Max holds as firm as she can to his tail. It's not firm at all, and if he wants he could probably pull it free, but still. ]
I... I thought everyone would leave me too. If- if they knew. So... I pushed them. I- pushed all of them away, instead. So...they wouldn't know what kind of person I am. How much [ a swallow of nothing, her lips trembling ] I wa- wanted to die, how much I- prayed for something...terrible to happen to me.
[ It's happening again. That attic, only filled with blue light, where she spilled her guts. Where she died. Even though it feels like she's a step from death again, she's not there. This isn't there. She keeps reminding herself that.
And she keeps talking, more voluntarily than she could've imagined. ]
But if I'd s-said something, sooner, maybe... Maybe it wouldn't've turned out like it did.
[ Bleeding so much she went numb. Eyes white and milky. Unable to even feel Lucas' arms around her. ]
If I'd talked to the- the people who loved me, maybe... I wouldn't've... [ This one she holds in. Because if she says it, it'll derail everything. She bites down on her lip, just staring into his inexplicably frightening eyes, until the wave of pain passes. ]
I want- to stay. I want to- listen. I want to listen to you.
no subject
If he gives it now...it will be over. Even though he's so far from home...he's convinced himself of that fact.
...but then he remembers. There is one other, isn't there? And a promise they'd made.
So many promises. One day, Basil will be so burdened by them that he won't be able to take it anymore. But as the truth dances on the tip of his tongue, he realizes it's his only escape.
For a moment, his eyes dart. Then, he's reaching for Max's free hand, holding it tight in his own. It's warm, but not hot.
He wishes he could talk about something else. About Max...literally anything. But that, too, feels selfish. To focus on someone else's struggles, to try and hide from his own...]
Y...you have to promise me. Promise, you won't tell anyone.
Please.
[He has no more time left, after this. He can't put it off any longer, as the violin screeches through the window, frantic and spiraling.]
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Whenever they're made to her, they always end up being broken.
But right now, as she sits here, she remembers, "Do you accept the risk?" and where it got her, and how in the end she'd do it all again, if she could help her friends.
All of it. ]
I promise. [ She tries to squeeze his hand, but she's too weak. ] I promise, I won't tell.
MAJOR omori spoilers do not pass go do not collect 200, cw: death/suicide/suicidal ideation
Which means when he tells you his story, you will really keep your promise.
...but that doesn't mean he isn't already crying, before the words leave his mouth. He can't help it, it feels so much like this is going to be the end. Even Katurian, who knows so much, doesn't really KNOW. He doesn't know the full story, and how Basil was the orchestrator of the entire lie.
But even through his tears, Basil speaks, because he couldn't stop himself if he wanted to. He's...not even sure if he's telling this on his own terms, though he wishes he could see it that way. It would make things so much easier.]
Back home...four years ago. I u-used to have a group of friends. We were all really close...and we did everything together. They were...t-the first real friends I ever had, and they meant everything to me.
Sunny and Mari were brother and sister. T-they were going to have a music recital...with Mari playing the piano, and Sunny on the violin. We...we were all supposed to head to the auditorium together, b-but...I decided to hang back to wish them good luck.
I came in through the front door...but I could hear yelling. They were arguing, at the top of the stairs...S-Sunny...he'd thrown his violin onto the ground. It was all broken...
...and. And then he-
[Basil tilts his head up a little, looking past Max once more. The eye bears down on him, and for a moment he fears for his life. If Max wasn't there, he could have stopped this by now.
But he continues, even as the words pitch high in the back of his throat, distorted by his sobbing.]
No. Something pushed her... [He exhales deeply, smoke ekeing its way past his fangs. He feels sick.] And s...she wasn't moving.
I c-couldn't...if I didn't do something, they'd all think Sunny did it. He'd never do something like that! He's a good person!!
[Like they aren't.]
.....I dragged her to the backyard. I...I hung her. It looked just like...like she...
[...]
Something killed Mari.
Something ruined all of my photos.
I didn't say anything...
...I'm scared.
And Then Max Misinterprets Omori, cw: domestic abuse
She said she wanted to, and she does. She promised. She won't break it. She's been handed something so, so precious, and she won't break it. His most vulnerable parts. The things that could destroy him.
Basil looks behind her, and Max almost follows his gaze. Now, however, she's starting to understand.
It's like Billy. A creature got inside Basil's friend, Sunny, and he did things that he would never do.
(It isn't exactly like Billy. Billy still hurt her—but, he wouldn't have tried to kill her. He wouldn't have grabbed for her, screaming about how he would gut her—)
He killed his sister and Basil, out of fear for his friend, covered it up.
Max blinks out tears. She doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know what to say. Everything's coming up blank, except for one thing, as she keeps holding his hand— ]
I... I get it. I understand.
[ She sounds breathless. She feels breathless. She'd forgotten how that felt until today. ]
I don't hate you. I— Basil, I'm...so sorry.
cw: suicidal ideation
He ruined everything. Their wonderful lives, their happiness...
Now Basil is really crying. Not barely restrained, whimpering cries, but full-on, body wracking sobs. He wails, choking on his own breaths because there's nothing left to hide anymore.
He hates how his shoulders feel a bit lighter, having finally told someone, even if it isn't someone who could really do anything about it.]
I h-hate it, Max! It hurts! And n-now...now Sunny is leaving me, he's m-moving away...!
[Away is said with an unusual amount of vitriol that drips from the word, like Basil is incensed at the idea that Sunny could just...leave him, like that. Alone, to carry this burden by himself.]
...b-but maybe...
[...]
If I'm dead...it doesn't m-matter anymore, does it? If I died, it wouldn't matter.
[Basil at this point...has nothing left to give. He has more he could tell her, sure, but this is obviously the big one that's been haunting him. And now he seems smaller than ever, hunched up and shivering as he pulls his wings around himself. And maybe, for the first time, Max will see them.
Eyes, on his wings. Staring up at her.]
cw: suicidal ideation
Max watches Basil sob with wide eyes. She watches him, so completely open for perhaps the first time. Wailing and sobbing in front of her, as she holds his hand, his tail.
And I want you...to make me disappear.
Her confession in that quiet attic. The first time she'd said it out loud. The very first time she acknowledged it, to anyone, to herself, didn't just let it float around in her head.
The blue lights. Back in that quiet attic, now she's the one standing on the sidelines like Lucas, listening. In the vision, Lucas spoke up. He condemned her. It was something he'd never do, but Max fell for it anyway, in her emotional state. Vecna could've spun anything and in the moment, she would've believed it. She was vulnerable. The most vulnerable.
Like Basil is, right now.
Max pulls with what little strength she has on Basil's hand. She wants to pull him into a hug, the tightest one she can manage right now. ]
No. No, no, no it- it matters. It still matters. You still matter.
[ The eyes stare at her. The eyes on his wings. It's terrifying, unnerving.
But it's also dark. With the little light and her own damaged eyes, it's hard to study them.
And what matters most right now is Basil, anyway. What she says to him, in this moment, matters. And her mouth, as it always does, goes without her permission.
Thankfully this time, it doesn't say anything she disagrees with. ]
I'm sorry. I'm so, so so- sorry, but you- you matter. You matter so, so much.
no subject
So when Max settles into that postion all on her own, it's so overwhelming that it's almost too much. Max pulls his hand, and she barely needs to exert any effort now to get Basil to move. He practically falls into her arms- though not so much as to knock them both over- his own wrapping unconsciously around her because it's what he needs, right now. The compulsion to bare everything has worn him down and exhausted every terrible thought, leaving him feeling hollow like he's been scooped out.
You matter.
Basil's grip is weak, but he holds onto Max in return. He hugs her, and though he can still see It in the corner, he's able to more easily ignore its presence watching him as they kneel on the floor together. She's...so cold, and normally that might be more of a problem, but Basil's heat balances it out. Between the two of them, somehow, they make up one normal body.]
...I d-don't deserve you.
[He suddenly whispers, his head laying gently against her shoulder now.]
A-all that stuff...you said...
[Basil shakes his head a little, tail curving around the both of them.]
Y-you've proven it wrong.
cw: domestic violence, homicidal ideation-ish, car crashes, abuse logic
No. No, I'm... I'm still- n-not a good person.
[ He's so warm. So, so warm and he's wrapped around her sick, aching body. Max's own tail, laying limp, curls to a spiral. ]
You remember, don't you? In the...the fog. I know you- heard him. My stepfather- my...ex stepfather.
[ Screaming on the other side of the door, letting her brother die.
Max blinks away tears. ]
I wanted him to die. [ Her voice wavers, but she continues. ] My brother. I... I prayed...f-for him to...for horrible things to happen to him. I- imagined it. I imagined him- crashing my- his c-car, and never- ever coming home again, 'cause I thought- it'd be better.
[ A horrible pit in her stomach. Her legs, sprawled out to the side so she's not putting weight on them, shake and tremble, prompting more red moss to slither out. ]
It wasn't. It made- everything so, so much worse, and I- he saved us and I wanted to- I stood there and watched and he- s-said he was sorry and I k-kept- begging him to wake up, I w-wanted him to die, I wanted it bu- but I didn't. I didn't!
[ Her admission and insistence break into sobs, like those in the Pale Fog. Crying onto his shoulder, body hitching. Basil explained, as best he could, but Max can't even begin to. The Mindflayer, Vecna, all of it. ]
cw: domestic violence/depression/suicide
It's terrible, all of it. Especially when Basil can't...blame Max for thinking like that. He's no stranger to his thoughts going to incredibly terrifying and dark places. Even back when he was 12, and somehow knew how to perfectly tie a noose using a jumprope. Max, it seems, struggles with the very same. Not just terrible thoughts turned inwards, but those turned out as well.
Her explanation of events is fragmented and a little confusing, but even without the full context, Basil is able to piece it together. Her stepbrother died...and Max feels that she could have done more to save him, or anything at all, but didn't. She's struggling to cope with that fact.
She wanted it, but she didn't. Not really.
And as she battles between the two ideas, Basil tightens his grip on her. He renews his hold, realizing that this awful magic isn't going to stop tearing them open until they've got nothing left to be unraveled.]
M-Max...
[He turns his head away from the corner, instead looking at the side of her head. He can feel her antler knocking into his horns, the way it's drip-dripping against the top of his head. He doesn't care that it is.]
You're not a bad person. A-and...if I can still matter, after what I did...then so can you.
[His claws squeeze her tighter, yet they manage to stay gentle regardless.]
Y-you...you were hurting. Suffering. Just because you thought those things...even if you meant them. It doesn't m-mean you're bad. It doesn't make it your fault.
You...you didn't do anything wrong.
[That, he says with conviction.]
cw: mild emeto
"You ever have thoughts like that about me?"
"Normal people don't fantasize about killing other people, Max."
"I thought you were getting better. But you're not, are you? You are sick."
The lie's all she's had, and overtime, it's become her one and only truth. Her single reference point for how someone would react. It was what she feared. It's started to paste over what experience and logic dictate Lucas would've said—that it was okay. That she'd been through so much. That he didn't hate her.
It's just what Basil's saying now.
Max cries so hard it hurts. So hard her useless organs ache inside her. She tries shaking her head, but she's trembling. She's shivering too hard to do much but sob until she starts to cough.
And...keep coughing. She worries for a moment she's going to cough until she breaks apart. Wouldn't that be awful, literally crumbling in Basil's arms, dying again literally on top of someone she cares about?
It turns out it's not that, however, and she realizes with only moments to move, very suddenly starting to shove Basil away. It may look like she's rejecting his comfort, but that's not it, truly!
She's merely trying to put some distance between them so she doesn't cough the water that's been stuck in her lungs up onto his shoulder. ]
Agh— cr- crap—
no subject
There is so much more that the music could compel him to talk about. His complicated relationship with Sunny. His fears about losing everything back home. His near constant worry that something is going to happen to his Grandma, leaving him truly alone. But before any of it can be tempted to rise to the surface, he feels Max shudder against him, coughing violently. He still doesn't know what happened to her out at Lake Fors, only able to guess at why she stumbled in all wet and injured. It could mean anything, in Ryslig, they just hadn't really had a proper chance to talk about it.
It isn't until Max abruptly pulls away and starts to cough up water that Basil feels truly alarmed, and...despite Max and her best efforts to push him away, he's already trying to get close again, reaching gently for her shoulders.]
Oh...oh no- Max! Max, are you okay!?
cw: hypnosis, drowning
If... I try and say yeah... I think the freaking violin's gonna cave my freaking skull in. [ Grimacing and blinking out tears from this time the force of her body expelling what was left in her lungs, Max raises her head to look at Basil. ] I- I was trying to help. I wanted to make the music stop, but...
[ Voice scratchy, she starts to explain... And she shakes her head. ]
I'm- really, really glad you weren't out there. The song...changed. It...made people try and throw themselves into Lake Fors.
no subject
I-...is that what...?
[It explains why she came stumbling into his room, soaked and waterlogged. She'd tried to go into Lake, and...she said she was trying to help, right?
Well, the how and why of it doesn't matter right now. Basil is overwhelmed- they both are, for different reasons- but none of that is going to mean anything if Max dies. He doesn't care that she's undead; he knows that doesn't mean anything here.]
Are...are you cold? M-maybe I can warm you up...
[He knows Max is cold as a baseline, and getting her too hot would be a detriment, but...]
cw: cannibalism
And then she straightens a little bit, wiping her mouth with her arm. ] Oh, like— Um, s-sure. I...actually am, kind of cold.
[ For a second it sounded like some kind of line—but like, sincere, because even after all this Max can't think of Basil as not sincere. At least not with his emotions. But then her brain catches up with her, and she gets it. ]
I think really I just- I need to get dry. And... [ She winces. ] Probably eat something.
[ Max wonders if she's going to start growing the moss again soon. Maybe over the injuries on her legs. ]
no subject
But this is more important than how he feels about it. This is about Max, and thus it takes priority. That, and...honestly, they probably should both eat something, but fortunately the Palazzo is well stocked with their kind of fare that's easier to stomach than...well. You know.
For right now though, Basil sits back on his haunches again, bringing his hands between them. He's very, very careful not to touch Max as he holds them- palm up- and just...sits there, seemingly. And for a few minutes, nothing seems to happen.]
C-come on...please...
[But after some effort on Basil's part...the insides of his hands start to glow a hotter red, like a little warm heater placed between them.]
L...let me know if it gets too hot, okay? I'll stop.
no subject
This moment... They're nothing alike. But the focal point draws the comparison, as they're about the same distance apart, and in the minutes she's waiting, she's utterly silent. It's only the way her eyes flicker from Basil's hands to his face that indicates she's not just a still corpse. She's just about to say that it's okay—he doesn't have to, they can just find some fans—
And then his palms glow, like a space heater. Her eyes widen a little, as she can feel the water sunken into her skin start to dry. ]
H... Holy shit. [ Max sounds breathless again. Perhaps it's just because she sounds so soft and scratchy with her sickly, slightly feverish appearance. ] You've b-been...practicing, haven't you?
[ She's been terrified of getting too warm. Ever since getting literally burned and how badly her body reacted, she's been so scared. But, she doesn't feels scared right now. If she did, she couldn't hold it back, would be blabbing without a second thought. But she's not.
It makes her want to reach out and hold his hand. She won't, because that would be dangerous. But she wants to. ]
Thank you.
no subject
And so, his hands glow with warm light between them, and it's very much like sitting beside a space heater during the winter. He is so, so very thankful that this seems to be doing her good, and not hurting her...if Basil weren't feeling so miserable, he'd probably smile.]
U-uh huh...a little.
["A little" is an understatement. He's just glad that, for once since he changed, he can utilize this form for something...good. Not just for himself, but for someone else.
MOSTLY for someone else.]
When...when you're warm, a-and not wet anymore...we need to look at your legs. Okay?
[He's...really worried. Max was bleeding- well, "bleeding"- a lot when she stumbled in here, and the fact she can't even stand is even worse.]
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cw: drowning ment
cw: internalized ableism (re: chronic pain and disability) coming up
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cw: cannibalism mention, hallucination
cw: self-loathing, internalized ableism, panic attacks
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cw: nonconsensual surgery/medical horror mentions
cw: death/panic attack mention
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cw: gore, corpse desecration????
Omori spoilers, cw: gore/cannibalism mention
cw: cannibalism, corpse decay mentions
cw: corpse decay
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cw: drowning adjacent descriptions
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cw: drowning, suicide mentions
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cw: postmortem decay
cw: cannibalism
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cw: cannibalism cont
cw: cannibalism cont, suicidal imagery
Omori spoilers, cannibalism
corpse decaying, cannibalism
cw: extreme cannibalism/blood/gore/disassociation
cw: hypnosis/domestic violence/euthanasia/lost time/dissociation/body horror/cannibalism
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism, corpse decay descriptions
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism cont
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism cont
cw: extreme gore/cannibalism/disassociation
cw: corpse decay, mild cannibalism. how can cannibalism be mild.
HOW CAN CANNIBALISM BE MILD
cw: MILD CANNIBALISM BC WE'RE MENTIONING THAT SHE ATE PEOPLE BUT NOT BEING EXPLICIT ABT IT???? IDK
SHIT u right tho, Omori spoilers, cw: cannibalism