ALPHINAUD;

[goalsides]

anais a shitpost plz

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[arcsplainist]

[ By now I'm assuming Otome has handwavily done her thing because loltime, so Alphinaud is not the grime coated, utterly smelly mess he was earlier. Yay! He's in his issued school uniform now, his old clothes lost to cyoa hell forever, a proper amount of bandages on where necessary—which is a lot of places, but details.

Alphinaud just seems to be standing around somewhere across campus, where few people go, lost in thought? Just enjoying the scenery while the sun sets? Who knows! But then Taichi's voice ventures into the silence; Alphinaud looks up, surprised. ]

... Mayhap not. I apologize—I needed the air.

[ like, literally ]

[goalsides]

[alphinaud your clothes...and your grime...and your everything? at least he looks a little less worse for the wear but there's a nod of understanding as he approaches.]

You picked a good place for it. [...] Mind the company at all? I was just making sure things calmed down after earlier.

[arcsplainist]

[ Well, now that he mentions it. ]

I could use for the company, I think. 'Twould be preferable over allowing my thoughts to wander.

[goalsides]

That doesn't surprise me to hear. [usually when people go through something strange, being alone isn't a great idea anyway.] You guys...kind of look like you had a pretty hard time.

[arcsplainist]

[ His shoulders slump. ]

Trickery or no, never would I wish that horror upon mine greatest foe.

[goalsides]

[the thing is, taichi's not always great at emotional support. he's not always good at comforting people either, but he can at least make an attempt.]

...do you wanna talk about it? Or is it the kind of thing you don't want to re-live?

[arcsplainist]

[ If only not speaking of it were enough to forget. Alphinaud doesn't think he has it in him to go terribly into depth, however: ]

First a death, and now this...

We had been whisked away for what felt like days. I fear for what else others may be subjected to.

[goalsides]

Days? [what the absolute fuck, actually.] To where?

[he will get back to the others...in a bit.]

[arcsplainist]

Would that I can say precisely where. It was our—

[ Quickly, he stops himself short, pursing his mouth into a thin line, and then: ]

A home, surrounded by many others, but we spent our days in that house.

[goalsides]

[this is already concerning...]

Like a neighborhood? Were you locked inside the house?

[arcsplainist]

Locked inside...

[ He echoes quietly to himself, as if he needs to think about this. ]

In a manner of speaking. That is to say, our very wills were, yet we had the freedom to leave it.

[goalsides]

So more like something compelled you to stay. [why is compulsion such a thing here, he hates it.]

What was the house like?

[arcsplainist]

[ Guess who hates it now, too! ]

It... hm. Speaking from my [ mostly ] sound mind now, it was... unlike any I had ever walked into afore. I suppose, thinking on it now, its architecture is similar to what exists here, with much of the same modern conveniences.

Yet, in the moment, it were as if I had always lived there. Even now... it is difficult to shake that feeling.

[goalsides]

So it sounds like the house itself is what convinced you that you had lived there forever. [illusions? hypnotism? brainwashing? oh, the possibilities.]

...what did you guys do in all that time?

[arcsplainist]

[ Alphinaud falls silent, reluctant. ]

Nothing good. In the end, all we could do was run, and by the grace of the gods, we had finally made our escape.

[goalsides]

[there is a lot of context missing there, but hm...]

I'm glad you got out. Sounds like the whole thing really messed with your head.

[arcsplainist]

... I confess, it has. I thought I could clear my mind here, in the relative safety of these school grounds, yet my mind only drifts back to those past few days.

And I worry this may happen again—to others.

[goalsides]

I don't know if it's that easy. It all felt real, didn't it? So even being back here...I dunno. [there's a slight frown.]

I'm starting to wonder the same thing. There were eight of you that left, and none of us even knew anything about it. And you guys didn't even end up in the same place. So how...?

[arcsplainist]

Would that I could say.

There was no warning for it. It was if I walked through a door into another existence entirely, as easily as it is to walk anywhere else. I imagine 'tis the same as our own arrivals.

[goalsides]

At least with our own arrivals we had sort of a guess. But this is...[he shakes his head.]

Just try to take it easy. You're back now, so hopefully that's a permanent thing.

[arcsplainist]

[ he just—exhales slowly ]

Yes... Yes, I am back, and I can take solace in that. I realize I should not be so far out, but I assure you, I shall not push myself.

[goalsides]

Hey, I trust you to know your limits, dude. I think you're doing what you need to do and that's good enough.

[arcsplainist]

[ ...

He slips out a short, wry chuckle. ]

Oh, I've just prepared myself for some scoldings, is all. If my sister knew, I would never hear the end of it—namely for being a giant hypocrite.

[goalsides]

[haha, that sounds familiar in a sense.]

You think? Then again...people around here are pretty good about the scolding thing, so I can't say I'm that surprised.

[arcsplainist]

Nor am I. I have been accused of being overbearing, in the past... I suppose I can now see why some may feel inclined to wander off in spite of their injuries, however.