THE CLEANER

[foundationmods]

THE CLEANER

Atsushi wakes up in his room on monday morning, with a staff member indulgently smiling down on him. They're aware that he needs guidance, and they want to provide that for him during the game. So they have a special task, just for him...

OOC GAMEPLAY

- The Cleaner is a Third party role that is tasked with killing inactive players during the week.

- The Cleaner faces no punishment for these murders, and will not be tried.

- The Cleaner is protected by the Resort for a period of time, after which the Resort will leave his fate up to the rest of the game.

- The Cleaner wins if they make it to the end of the game alive.

TIPS

Do what comes naturally. Also, you must feed the Rats by the Resort's requests, so get ready to do that a lot.

Comments

[moonlightbeast]

[It feels like the weight of the world is pressing down on his shoulders, and he almost doesn't hear this staff member over the road of his mind screaming 'no, no, no!' He feels so sick, he just wants to crawl under the bed and hide but he's frozen in his place right now.

He's shaking a little. That, plus his rapid-fire breath, are the only external signs of his inner turmoil.]

I don't- I can't- I don't want to-

[She did just say uncooperative people need to be removed, though. Would he be removed too?]

I-I-I-I'm not in the mafia anymore!

[foundationmods]

Oooh? But you are.

[The staff member comes closer - she's rather small for one, isn't she? All the others were at an eerily uniform height - and kneels down, gently grabbing his chin.]

You're in a new mafia for the next few weeks, Mr. White Reaper of the Port Mafia. Did you really think you could get out of something you've been steeped in for years?

Ah, what was it he used to say? I know it, it's right on the tip of my tooooongue....Oh, I remember☆

[She tilts his head up with ever so gentle slowness and yet with an iron strength, forcing him to look up at her face, right into those red eyes.

With a giggle, she quietly, lovingly says it, ringing loud and clear:]

Are you disobeying my orders, Atsushi-kun?

[moonlightbeast]

[He wants to pull away. He wants to slap her hand away, to run out of the room and go find some, anyone to help him.

But he can't.

He's been conditioned to believe that help will never come for him, and you can't undo a lifetime of conditioning with just a couple weeks of relative freedom.

Atsushi stills when he hears that line, and he swears he can hear his heart stop. Dazai is dead, he knows Dazai is dead, but that voice...he can't help it.]

Just...

[He squeezes his eyes shut, and two trails of tears start to trickle down his face.]

Tell me what to do. Give me an order.

[He can't escape it after all, it seems.]

[foundationmods]

Good boy.

[She lifts her other hand, and with a snap of her fingers, his old collar appears on his neck.]

Isn't that better? Hm? What do you say?

[moonlightbeast]

[And there it is. The familiar leather and metal, the press of spikes that threaten to rip into flesh if he moves too quickly, the heavy weight that makes it difficult to even breathe. Familiar, reassuring, but also depressing.

The metal spikes are clean and cold, though he knows both of those statuses will change before too long.

If he could sink into the floor and disappear right now, he would.]

Th...thank you.

[foundationmods]

...Good boy, good boy.

[....It seems almost instant, but she suddenly....starts petting his head??? Much like one would do to a cat.]

Aaah, you're such a good boy that I can't stand it....Bern would never in a million years act like this. Actually, I kind of took a few pages from her playbook, huh? I'm sure she'll forgive me~

Though now I'm just thinking about how much fun it'd be if I could tie her up like this....Bern all trembling and scared, hanging on to my every word with a collar around her neck...Oooh!

[After that...strange rambling, she stops - smiling much more normally.]

Okay, Atsu-kitty. You'll listen to me from now on, got it? Just treat me like your old boss, and we'll be just fine. If not....You understand what'll happen, right?

[This time, she even mimicks Dazai's tone along with the smile - but bounces back quickly.]

The game's just starting, so you don't have a job yet. Oh! But you can feed the rats. The Staff here's starting to fall apart, and I just couldn't stand it if this game got cut off halfway through. That'd be just an anticlimax, don't you think?

Alriiiiight~! That's enough from me for now, okaaaaay? Be a good boy, and before I forget -

I guarantee that for the next three weeks, Atsushi Nakajima will not be killed or executed by any method!

[How the fuck did she do that with her mouth]

...There! Well, see you laaaaaaaaaater~!

[And with another snap -

She's gone.]

NOT REAL

[moonlightbeast]

[Maybe she should go jump off a building like Dazai did.]

OKAY REAL TAG NOW

[moonlightbeast]

[...okay that red word thing is Concerning and he probably should be worried about it. Did he just make a deal with the devil? Because he feels like he just made a deal with the devil.

But he. He's too broken right now to even care. All he can do is slump back down in bed and curl up in a ball.

He won't be sleeping much tonight, but he's not going to move from that spot until morning.]

[foundationmods]

[There's a pause -

And then, as he's lying in bed?

Something sits down on the bed with him. There's an indent, as if someone was sitting there, but...]

[moonlightbeast]

[Atsushi flinches at first, and he lifts his arm just a bit so he can peek at where that indent is.

...ah. But nobody is there. He must be hallucinating now.]

Hah...You must be pretty disappointed in me. Aren't you, Dazai-san? Even now, I still can't-

[His breath catches in his throat, and he squeezes his eyes shut as he curls up just a little tighter. When he speaks again, his voice is cracked, betraying just how close he is to crying.]

I can't! I need you, I don't know what to do!

[foundationmods]

[The weight shifts a little, as if taken aback.

After a moment -

The weight moves closer to him, and it feels like the weight of an arm gently rests on his side.

It's not warm.

And yet - it feels like it should be.]

[moonlightbeast]

[It's more comfort than he's ever gotten in his entire life. And when he starts crying- by turning his face into the pillow to muffle his pitiful sobs and dry his face- it's not from relief. It's out of grief, as he realizes that even Dazai wouldn't be comforting him like this.

No, it's probably a hallucination. Nobody cares enough to try and reassure him. Just s fever-dream he's experiencing to cope with the pain that is his everyday life.

And yet, somehow, he would probably feel worse if that arm were to go away.]

[foundationmods]

[....

The arm is removed, but only for an instant. instead, Atsushi feels the pressure of an arm wrapped around him, and the feeling of something solid pressing on his back.

Would he even recognize a hug, like this?]

[moonlightbeast]

[Not really, because he hasn't really been hugged before. It actually is a shock to his system, enough that he will turn his head sharply to look behind himself to see who is there.

But he lets out a pained noise and instantly reaches for his neck, and when he pulls his hand back there will be blood on his fingertips. So much for his collar staying clean.]

Ah...this again...

[And yet, despite the collar having an easy loop to remove it by, he makes no effort to take it off.]

[foundationmods]

[The pressure doesn't abate - but that arm does move.

He'll feel fabric brush against his fingertips, and the blood will be gone. The same fabric will brush up against his neck - much more gently this time - taking the blood with it.

Then the hug continues.]

[moonlightbeast]

[...what the fuck

No, seriously, what the fuck just happened?

Atsushi is reaching up to his neck again, but hey, the blood is gone! And the cuts are already healing, since healing factor and everything.

So he's....not...hallucinating?

???]

Um.

Th-thank you?

[What do you even say to an invisible person who just drank your blood?]

[foundationmods]

[...

The presence fades, if only for a minute or two. After that, the door opens to let a piece of paper and pen through, which settles down at the bed's nearby end table.

The pen is picked up, and it writes -]

You're welcome.

I thought you needed someone to let you know they were there.

[moonlightbeast]

[............................]

Please tell me you're an ability-user who can levitate objects.

[PLEASE DON'T BE A GHOST???]

[foundationmods]

[You got hugged by a ghost, nerd]

No, I'm not.

I'm dead.

[moonlightbeast]

...

Dazai-san?

[IS IT DAZAI? IS HE TROLLING HIM FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE???]

[foundationmods]

[Oh honey.]

No.

I'm The Apprentice.

FAKE

[moonlightbeast]

I'm surprised Trump didn't fire you for taking his orange glow.

Re: FAKE

[foundationmods]

we don't talk about the POTUS like that mister

even if we hate that he IS the president

[moonlightbeast]

The Apprentice? If that's so, then who is your master? And is he a ghost too?

[foundationmods]

[The pen hesitates.]

No, it's....giving my name right now would be a bad idea. I don't have a master - the only person who would be close to that killed me.