( open ) Reminiscence ＊ Photographs Lost in Time

[adoringpast]

WHO: you and sena, later on
WHERE: his dreams
WHEN: 8/20
WHAT: Sena falls into the abyss and you have to save him, unfortunately.
WARNINGS: allusions to stalking, kidnapping, and generally creepy behavior because canon sena be like that sometimes

[ you'll find yourself in a pitch-dark location, with the only source of light a flashing red one at the end of a hall. the light keeps blinking in and out at slow intervals at first, so it should be tempting to follow that light instead when it does come on. the other way's a dead end though, so there's really no other way than forward, even if the trip would take more or less 15 mins, as if it's just dangling in front of you like a damn lure just so your legs can get some exercise.

the source of light came from inside a door, the sign above flickering the words darkroom in use. if one can listen closely one can hear tiny sounds of water splashing and paper being printed, so there should be someone working inside?

the door opens as if on its own accord, red light flooding your vision and blinding you momentarily until your eyes adjust to the darkroom. it's rather cramped, with a table that contains various equipment used to develop photographs during the old days.

there are three stacks of photography paper, all seemingly blank, along with a two sheets of papers taped to the table. the first one is a set of instructions on how to use the equipment, though since this is only a dream it'll only list down the most basic procedure - just douse a sheet of photography paper into a basin full of chemicals for a few moments until an imprint appears, after which you put it up with clothespins on the thin lines of rope above you for a photo to form. just basic stuff. the second piece of paper contains another list, this time indicating the photos that you are to expose and develop using the equipment provided - 1) family photo, 2) sheet music, and 3) makoto yuuki (5).

there's a framed photograph of a certain bespectacled boy nearby as a reference, in case you don't know who the third request looks like, how weirdly convenient. actually the red-tinted walls are covered with various photos of said boy, but you shouldn't worry about that right now.

well, then. time to get to work. will you go through the stack of papers that said past past, present past or... yumenosaki academy? ]

Comments

[thesettingsun]

[What the fuck, Sena.

There's nothing to be done except follow instructions. Shuji looks over the stacks of papers before settling on 'Yumenosaki Academy' to start developing photos from. Sena's own past is too personal for Shuji to root through, but what his other self did isn't a reflection on him.

What does the first picture he develops show?]

i am so sorry about this

[promisedyou]

[ This sure is very unfortunate... but also, screw the rules, you can't tell me what to do, meta text!! Instead of immediately following the instructions, she's going to make an attempt to investigate instead and see if she can do anything else besides what she's told.

So, as an experiment: what happens if she makes an attempt to remove any of the images of the poor bespectacled boy off the wall? Because she is absolutely going to do that. Let's go. FIGHT THE POWER......!! ]

are you ever sorry, len

[adoringpast]

[ people really out here trying to defy meta... mio can try anything on those photos, but it's as if they're made of very indestructible material; they simply could not be destroyed whether by being ripped off or be burned, like they were stuck to the wall with super-duper-ultra glue.

no one is allowed to tarnish this beautiful boy's face and figure, after all.

ever. ]

cw strangulation? lordt

[adoringpast]

[ are you sure about that other self thing, shuji? because the photo will soon show an image of izumi in his summer school uniform, wrapping his hands around tsukasa and choking him, but it's more of a style from The Sampsons than anything. still, it can be rather a shock to see.

the following words also fade in: "Come on, just come over here. I really won't bully you, okay? ♪ ]

[thesettingsun]

[Oh, that's... that's unpleasant. Especially since Shuji knows Tsukasa and is on friendly terms with him.]

I think that qualifies as bullying by anyone's standards...

[But it's still past Izumi, not current Izumi. None of this is his fault. So it's just onto the next picture, business as usual.

...after he takes that picture down and puts it face-down where he doesn't have to see it. Not Makoto, not sheet music, not a family photo, therefore it's getting forgotten Forever.]

[adoringpast]

[ forgive and forget, huh... good idea. if only sena's able to do that to his own self, rip.

the next photo that'll develop is a photo of makoto!!! this time looking very young, around seven years old or so. he's smiling at the camera as serenely as he could, but even an idiot would notice that the smile is forced as hell. oh well, that's the child modeling life for you. ]

thinks about it long and hard...... no

[promisedyou]

[ Look, if you give something that can be potentially messed up... Mio is absolutely here for it. Especially since this is the creepiest shit. It reminds her of yanderes that she'd see in those anime and manga. Disgusting.

Realizing that she can't really do much else here, she decided to go through the papers, starting with the Past past. Which is a dumb name. She thinks it's dumb!!! ]

exactly

[adoringpast]

[ in that case, buckle up. this is going to get ugly... maybe.

past past is a stupid label, yes. there's nothing that can be done about that. this pile is actually a bit smaller than the other piles, all of them blank for now, waiting to be developed. ]

[pronounces]

[ there have been all kinds of strange dreams in recolle lately, but this one gives nazuna a really, really bad feeling. he steps into the dark room anyway, though, pulling the door shut behind him and letting his eyes adjust properly. it's too dark to properly see the pictures on the wall, at least, but he looks at the stack of papers.

past-past, present-past or yumenosaki academy.

it's probably not the right choice. he and sena have talked about their memories, but even nazuna's kept things under wraps. the curiosity gets to him: nazuna slowly picks up the first picture from yumenosaki academy and sets it in the liquid. ]

[thesettingsun]

[Ah, children being made to do things they clearly don't want to do.]

...If you're not enjoying modeling, I'm worried about why there are so many photos of you to find... Did people listen when you said you didn't want to?

[Did he ever say he didn't want to?

No matter what happened, that's part of his objective found, so he'll keep that one hung up. Next photo?]

[idolworship]

( it's going to ... take him a minute to catch his breath, but thankfully not as much as he realistically would need given this is only a dream. but once he takes in the scene and catches sight of the instructions, sees the boy framed on the wall as well as the labels . . . hm. he isn't sure who this is, really, but he's not sure he wanted to know this much arguably alarming information about someone very likely within his circle of acquaintances.

finding no other options but to do as the instructions say, he chooses to develop the present past. )

[adoringpast]

[ the photo that will show up is a bit boring, at first glance - it's just a runway at what seemed to be a school gym, decked with silver and white. no one seemed to be there...

but the back of the photo says otherwise, with tiny handwriting to make these words fit on the paper.

"Little, clueless, silly Yuu-kun… was the only one who looked at me with eyes that sparkled like jewels.

He praised me. You’re so amazing, he said.

I want to be like you, Izumi-san. So innocently.

I was so happy, Yuu-kun.

But… if you turn into someone like me, you’ll just be repeating the same mistake, Yuu-kun.

I knew that, but his innocent praises got to my head… as a result of that, I only watched as Yuu-kun sunk into the bloody pond until his neck.

So I thought I shouldn’t let that happen the second time, but…

Despite acting like I’m better than him as a senior, I guess in the end I was still a brat."

there's also a #1 scribbled at the corner of the paper, indicating that there might be another photo that goes along with this. ]

[promisedyou]

[ Can't get any worse than what she's already seen of her own past life, right? Well, at least this seems to be a small pile, so let's just get right to it and develop them as soon as possible so she can get her ass out of here. Hopefully it won't take too long... ]

[matchbreaker]

Oh... I like this lighting.

[ It's dark, and with her ability to see in the dark, Elda can't help but feel weirdly at home in here. That said... a dark room. The chemicals smell, and within here, it really gets into her head. In that regard, even if she did come in here... She doesn't really want to linger? So she does have her objective, but her first thought is- ]

Hey, someone was sloshing around in here before, right? Someone here?

[pronounces]

[ it's probably bad form to touch a picture that's just developed, but nazuna's thumb strokes over some of the words in the background of the picture. izumi sena, mizuki sena... seeing either of them like this is strange. he seems so vulnerable, and like always, it comes right back to makoto yuuki.

it's nice to be loved, to be admired. nazuna certainly understands that: his juniors are precious to him, and having his siblings look up to him is one of the best feelings in the world. it's almost an innocent desire, in a way. to want something so simple as to just be loved.

he spots the #1 after a moment of contemplation, brows knitting together. well...only one way to see what's next, right?

he takes another picture and starts to develop it. ]

[adoringpast]

[ look... there's nothing to be worried about. for now, anyway.

the present past is a good choice: the first photo that'll appear is a photo of a dark-haired sena looking like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide with a bit of blood streaking down from a deep gash from his cheek; the feathers of an arrow that's been shot can be seen from this angle, along with a silver-haired boy who looks just as shocked as sena, a bow in his hand.

welp, congratulations. you've retrieved a memory of one of sena's near-death experiences. ]

[adoringpast]

[ sena's a professional, so it's hard to tell whether he loves his career or not... such is a high-profile job such as that.

the next photo is makoto that looks like his original high school, this time! shuji's on a roll today, how lucky. only this time it's a photo of him with his wrists bound behind him and his ankles tied up together, backing up against a wall of what seemed to be a dance room, with izumi hovering over him while trying to feed him sustenance -- all with an... interesting look on his face. hm. ]

[idolworship]

( his first reaction is concern; he recognizes sena instantly, especially since he'd just seen him black-haired not too many weeks ago. the second is . . . a different sort of concern, albeit still prenatal, since he knows for certain sena does have a general connection with yumenosaki and makoto, and he doesn't recognize the other boy.

still, it's not as if this location is ... too weird just yet. a little unnerving by via ambiance, but not particularly incriminating. and so, miai being miai, chooses to give him the benefit of the doubt; sena's connection to this might be coincidence too, after all.

though this doesn't seem to be one of the photos requested by the list, it still feels a shame to just discard it. miai chooses to hang it up, and then...

hm. he really is curious now, though, to whom this dreamscape is connected. he chooses to develop from the yumenosaki pile next. )

[adoringpast]

[ smart thinking, dumping them all in the chemicals to make the process much quicker. the basin can only hold around four photographs though, but she'll see sena - albeit with his original dark hair before retrospec happened - in the following:

1) a selfie with the front gates of recolle university, the boy's expression cool and aloof as always,
2) a photo of himself in a teen's fashion magazine that's dated around four years ago,
3) another photo of himself in a dark alley, this time looking around seven years old or so, stooped down to provide a bowl of milk to a stray cat with a genuinely soft smile on his face
4) a photo of himself, this time face to face with a certain kei shigaraki. both of them look awkward and out of place - or at least sena looks like that; kei just looks blank as if they don't know what to say to each other. avoid uncle at all costs was written at the bottom in permanent marker, even though the words fade in like the rest of the photographs. ]

[adoringpast]

[ finally, someone who likes the eerie atmosphere of this certain dream. unfortunately there's not a peep in the room, the sloshing sound only coming from the chemicals in the basin as if someone had come along and refilled it, the liquid rippling in the container before someone had disappeared into thin air.

weird. ]

[promisedyou]

[ Well, good to know she knows which fucker this dream belongs to now. She does recognize Kei, though-- as he's the person who actually saved her life when she was still ill. But avoid uncle at all costs?

She can't help but be alarmed, just a little. ]

Well, okay. It's still kind of eerie I'm left here alone. I bet nothing's going to happen until the rest are done. I hope...

[ Let's just take the photos out of the chemicals and just. Let's try and see what's in the other paper stacks. The present past should be next. ]

[adoringpast]

[ the next photo doesn't connect with the first one nazuna found, but it's one of sena and a yawning leo this time in an empty classroom that's orange-tinted with the setting sun outside; leo's sprawled all over the the floor with his latest competition while sena looks exasperated as ever yet doesn't want to leave, like so.

there's more writing at the back, this time a series of staffs with music notes on them - a composition entitled A Little Sena Izumi as written on the top. looks like you've found the sheet music, at least. ]

[adoringpast]

[ now the present past pile is a bit bigger compared to the past past stuff, including most if not all his memories in the present while in retrospec. but as usual, she can only fit four photos into the basin, and the photos that will fade in after a while are the following:

1) one photo of himself in casual practice clothes, helping tsukasa stretch and dance in a practice room with snow falling outside the windows,
2) another photo of himself and that bespectacled boy, makoto, holding onto his back as they ride down on his motorbike late at night, though the photograph's a bit unclear because of the fog that was rolling into the city last october,
3) looking wasted as shit in a bar, also late at night, head slammed down on the counter with his face unseen in the picture,
4) practicing on his own this time, scribbling more lyrics into a worn-out looking music sheet. the composition of said song shows up at the back of the photo too, though it's looking a little disjointed due to how little sena remembers it nowadays.

this is pretty much like gacha at this point, really. congrats on getting some of the needed ssrs. ]

[promisedyou]

[ Mio's luck is just that good, considering her UR luck on Doki Beat... but good to know, since she's checking both sides of the photos anyway. But let's just take those photos and put them aside and do the next four from Yumenosaki Academy. Gotta catch 'em all and all that. ]

[adoringpast]

[ such alumni... like gacha, miai will "pull" a photo of sena and leo together in knights uniforms in an empty classroom, with leo on the floor and sena looking like he's So Done talking with this weird, yet doesn't want to leave.

the composition of A Little Sena Izumi shows up at the back of the photo as well, though incomplete because you can only fit so much in a single photograph. a photo is worth a thousand words indeed. ]