Doki Doki After Party Club

[myliteratureclub]

[Later into the evening, everyone will find familiar handwritten notes on their doors. It's pretty obvious who it's from:]

"Please come to the cafeteria if you don't want to be alone or talk some things out. Emiya (Shirou) will be preparing food. You're also welcome to bring your notebooks if you'd rather just write with company."

---Monika
[Those who decide to come will find nothing has really changed in the cafeteria, but Monika sitting at one of the tables while Shirou cooks in the kitchen. She has a new stack of notebooks and pens with her in case someone needs it. Monika does her best to greet everyone with a smile. The only real comfort though is the smell of good food.]

Comments

[curseoclock]

Yup. I mean, now it feels pretty good, honestly. But at the start, it's all dark and suffocating, until you learn to get used to it. You just push it down and stuff.

...It kinda reminds me of that feeling.

[buriedearth]

[ Terra tries to think about how he feels when he uses darkness--it's not exactly suffocating for him. When it surfaced, it seemed because he was desperate, if anything--it just felt natural. From as much as he had remembered at the time, anyway.

...Either way, he's just sitting there, turning over what he said in his head, moving one hand to place his hand on his chest. ]

I...don't think something like this will ever feel good [ He's sure Henry knows that too. ], but I'm sure once we have time to process everything, maybe it won't feel as overwhelming as it does right now.

[ ...Since this is relevant, there is something he wants to ask. ]

Can you tell me a little bit about why or how you learned dark magic?

[curseoclock]

Oh, well... It's not like I one day woke up and decided I wanted to be a dark mage or anything. My parents just didn't wanna deal with me anymore, so they shipped me off to magic school.

After I awakened to my magic first, that is.

[buriedearth]

They just did it without a care?

[ That kind of bothers him a little, but...school can be good, so-- ]

How did it go?

[curseoclock]

Eh, not like they were all that attached to me anyway. And I did just kill several people, so they wanted to get rid of me quick.

[you know, as you do]

Oh, just your standard school experience. Lots of studying, lots of tests, I almost died a buncha times, that sorta thing. Pretty boring, mostly!

[buriedearth]

Wait, what?

[ Holy shit Henry -- okay when Terra asks that there's definitely a record scratch dealio going out there somewhere in the multiverse. ]

...First, why did you kill several people? Second, what's this about almost dying "a bunch" of times?

[ Buddy. Buddy. ]

[curseoclock]

Ah, well. I was friends with this wolf that lived in the forest near my village, see? And one day she wandered into the village to come see me... so some hunters killed her.

That's when my magic awakened and next thing I knew, those people were dead.

[...Yep, that sure is a thing that happened.]

...Y'know, I kinda forget that I guess most people don't almost die at school? At least, Akira says it's not normal. But detention could be pretty deadly at my school!

[buriedearth]

[ ... Okay. That sure is a thing that happened, but it's not like Henry killed someone knowing he could in a blood-crazed frenzy for no reason at all. ]

...I'm sorry that happened.

[ He just...give him a moment. ]

Akira's right. It's not normal for a school to be like this [ He never went to a true university or school but he still knows that they exist because Master Eraqus. ] or the one you went to. Was it anything like this place at all?

[curseoclock]

Eh, it was ages ago. I mean, I was like... gosh, I don't even remember anymore. Six or seven or something?

Ancient history!

[It is, perhaps, possible that killing a bunch of people at a super young age may have fucked Henry up a bit.

Just a little.]

Hm... Parts, maybe? I mean, it was an actual school with classes and stuff, so way beyond what this place is doing. And the rules were way stricter. I mean, I was in detention just about every week!

I guess the way they deal with death is similar? Though it's not like they were pushing us to kill each other in magic school, they just didn't care much when accidents happened.

[buriedearth]

[ The brunet opens his mouth and then closes it--what can he say to that? Even he can't manage any words. He'll be thinking on this later, though.

He definitely wants to kick them all in the ass for it. ]

...That's not right.

[ Now he knows why Henry is so fucked up. ]

Were you ever able to do anything about them?

[curseoclock]

Hm... Do anything?

Like what?

[buriedearth]

Stop their school from operating.

[curseoclock]

[He pauses. And then laughs.]

Why would I do that?

[buriedearth]

[ .... ]

...Because of what they did to you? Or at least try to make it hard for them to run things as it should, if you could.

[curseoclock]

I mean, that's just sorta how they do it there. I'm not upset about it or anything.

Heck, it's kinda nostalgic.

[buriedearth]

What?

...You're not? Why?

[ He knows Henry is kind of...yeah. But he wants to hear it from himself because he can't logic this together, um. ]

[curseoclock]

Well, why would I be?

It's not like it matters or anything!

[buriedearth]

How could you say it doesn't matter...?

[ He sighs and then shakes his head. ]

I don't think I'd be able to say the same after all of that.

[curseoclock]

I don't know. It just doesn't?

I mean, it made me loads better at magic! It's just some near death experiences, pssshhh, I have those like, several times a day, usually.

[Unless it's a very slow day.]

It's not like I was really thinking about school anymore once I finished anyway or anything, I was busy with soldier stuff.

[buriedearth]

...I'm guessing that's just because of what you do back at home.

[ Bruhh...Terra's sure that his life wasn't like that before he came here. Then again, it's still not like that even though he is here. ]

Still, I think it's pretty amazing that you managed to just move on from it like that, but...people do react to situations differently from each other.

[ Even if it's radically different from how others would. ]

[curseoclock]

Sure. I mean, I'm on the front lines a lot, it's pretty deadly there! Though I've missed all the interesting battles that were happening before... you know, all this.

[Sigh... Them's the breaks, sometimes.]

It's not like there was much to move on from. Stuff happens, who gives a crap, right? It wasn't anything I really cared about. And I learned lots of important stuff, even outside of magic.