#plot branch

“Oh, Nikki!”

“Hey! Are you alright?”

“I thought I slept enough hours, but somehow I still feel tired… So I just opted to chat with some people.”

“Aside that, yeah, I’m fine! You?”

“Not bad but not great.”

“Yeah, I understand… I feel the same.”

“Back in the hall, what the hell was all the noise about?”

“The hall…? Oh!”

“I already told this to Jade but, basically, Steve and Takumi got in an arm wrestling match. And well… Steve got his ass kicked. Metaphorically, of course.”

“Wild. So that’s why...”

“I just don’t understand how I was dragged in the situation, but well… That’s done.”

“Anyway! Nat!”

“Yes?”

“How many animation festivals did you go to in your life, you’d say?”

“Hm… About a dozen. I’ve actually been in a panel much less frequently that I’ve been going. Maybe twice or thrice, if I recall.”

“I often go to watch what the others’ styles are, and their techniques… I ask questions to understand as well as sharing my experiences. I also apply what I learned from others to my future projects.”

“Did you befriend anyone in a festival?”

“A few but my most memorable one is…”

“When I got a table, two years ago, I shared it with someone, and it happened to be Theo!”

“He is tall, but also very gentle. Theo is a children’s book author as well! You might have heard about him likely!”

“Theo… Theo...”

Theo, huh? I wasn’t sure if I recalled someone with that name… Unless… There was English and French translations of the books he authored…

“Oh! I remember who you’re talking about!”

Of course, I saw some of his books translated on the shelves of the libraries in my town. I wasn’t going to dive in children’s books, but I certainly remember who he was.

“Yeah! So, I did met him there, and we talked to each other about our occupations.”

“Around the end of the festival, before we packed up, I took the chance to ask him out..! I was so nervous!”

“And what did he say?”

“He said yes! I could tell he was nervous… But it was genuine. We did take our time to know each other better. Though, it was almost like destiny brought us together!”

“Aw, this is sweet! I hope it’s been doing well for you two..!”

“It has! We kept in touch since then.”

“...Well. Until I ended up here along with you and the others.”

“Yeah, same.”

“What about you, Nikki?”

I spoke to her the same thing I told Takumi about my boyfriend, we asked to each other questions about our boyfriends. It was overall a very pleasant conversation. Eventually, our topic went on to her sign language.

“Tell me, Nat… Mind teaching me some sign language..?”

“Of course! Just tell me what you wanna know and I’ll help you with that.”

I asked her about her province’s signs and alphabet in general. It wasn’t simple, but I think I got a hang of that.

“Learning sign language does require practice, so it’s okay if you don’t always get it right the first time, keep going and you’ll get better!”

“Yeah, that’s fair...”

“Still, thank you for taking your time to teach me! I am more than happy to learn.”

“No problem, we can resume tomorrow if you’d like!”

“Yeah, of course! Talk to you later!”

“Yeah, see you!”

Waving at her, Natacha did close the door after I went away from the room. It was pleasant to learn more about her and the fact that she didn’t mind taking her time to teach me her first language is what’s really cool. I feel more at ease today.

“Long story short, Steve challenged Takumi to an arm wrestling match and got absolutely destroyed.”

“...”

“I… See. That’s. Fascinating how some people just are like that.”

“Indeed.”

“Moving on… I wanna know more about you, if you don’t mind?”

“Oh..! Sure!”

“I’m a child of deaf adults. Or CODA for short. My parents are both deaf, but I don’t have any issues with my hearing. Learning sign language with my parents was enjoyable and really easy to learn and I was asked to interpret for them whenever we had doctor’s appointments or any other important matter once I reached a certain age.”

“I don’t mind helping my parents, however having my school schedule conflict with appointments then trying to bear a big responsibility when I was only a kid… That was a lot.”

“Things did get better when years go on, I was sometimes still asked to attend to help them understand thoroughly, but my parents had enough conversation skills with writing that they needed me less and allowed me to have my own time.”

“Aside that..! At home, I really do get along with them and I’m thankful they raised me. I got to learn from two worlds, you know..? I’ve also made friends in the deaf community there, because I already knew the sign language… So, that was neat!”

“Ohhh, it’s really interesting to hear about it!”

“What sign language do you use at home?”

“Brazilian Sign Language!”

“Oh, sweet! And how did you pick up more sign languages? How many do you know?”

“Travelling with my friends was part of a reason. I’ve been to Canada, United States, but also in Europe, mainly France, went to England once… I’ve had to study JSL for Japan as well, when I was there some years ago.”

“So you already went to Japan before? What for?”

“It was only meant to be a fun trip, but coincidences had that I met more deaf people in Japan and I was asked if I knew any JSL, I said no but I was willing to learn anyway! So that’s what started this. I stayed in touch with them and improved my signs. I’ve been doing my best, but these are the few sign languages I can fluently sign now: Brazilian sign language, American Sign Language, Japanese Sign Language. I do know some French Sign Language and British Sign Language, but not enough to be fluent.”

“I intend to learn Québec Sign Language for Natacha, though!”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to know!”

“Huhu, I hope!”

“Well, I’m glad we got to talk. Next time, though, you gotta tell me about you!”

“Haha, I will! It was a pleasure to learn more about you, Jade! See you later?”

“Sure thing! See you!”

“Yo, Takumi. Thanks for the meal again!”

“It’s a pleasure. I hope you’ve been doing well?”

“Aside hearing this death game nonsense.”

“Well, you could say that. There was something I wanted to tell you...”

“And what is it?”

“Holy shit, I did not expect you to win this many rounds this morning. I know I wasn’t too thrilled with being the referee, but you winning many rounds in a row...”

“What’s your secret, dude?”

“Doing it out of pure spite. It’s not often I showcase my strength, but I thought that game was really dumb. Still, Mai-san wasn’t weak, so I had to give it my all while keeping my composure.”

“Maybe I did go overboard. Either way, I do believe the matter is settled.”

“Unless some other idiot is up to challenge me.”

“...”

“What if I am the idiot?”

“What?”

“What. I got the strength. Plus, this is just theory.”

“Even so, please don’t. We’ll more than likely create chaos.”

“That’s fair. Anyway...”

“You said you had a boyfriend, right? Could you tell me more about him?”

At that question, Takumi considerably had a more relaxed posture, instead of having his arms usually crossed, he put his one hand on the hip and the other just hanging. He leaned on the wall before talking again.

“Sure. He does go by the nickname of ‘Non’, never got his real name, but that’s not important. We met some years ago online in a forum, where we share crafts. I do jewelry as you imagine. Non, on the other hand, focused on the antiques. I was always curious about antiques, since I do like the aesthetic, and he was curious about jewelry. So...”

“We started talking there, then eventually it got to the point where we did an art trade, if you will. I made a set of jewelry for him and he sent me a wooden ring along with some other cute stuff.”

“It was really neat.”

“I hope it’s still safe in my home, I’d hate seeing it here. Anyway…!”

“We still chatted, and got closer with time. He asked me out at some point, but we haven’t… Actually kissed until we met in person about a year ago. And well, the rest is history.”

“Aw, I’m glad for you..!”

“And you?”

“Well… How I met my boyfriend was purely coincidental! I was on a trip to Italy and went on a gondola. And guess who was the one rowing it?”

“I was smitten. But I first did want to get to know him more so we met in a cafe and started talking.”

“Before I knew it, we got closer with time and we did start dating.”

“It was probably the best two years of my life since then..!”

“I really cherish the time I spent with him!”

I continued to blabber on about my boyfriend like an absolute fool, but Takumi didn’t seem to mind. He talked a bit more about Non when the opportunity rose, then we went on to talk on the more casual topics.

“...Hey, Takumi?”

“Mhm?”

“Have you checked your closet?”

“Just to grab my clothes.”

“Have.. You noticed anything else that’s strange?”

“Whatever do you mean by ‘strange’? It’s weird enough that someone knows what I wear. knows what you wear and put them right in the closet… But what else?”

“..... I wonder if some of our items are missing?”

“It’s possible, but why do you ask? This is such an odd question...”

The jeweler went in his room, then searched in there as well…

“My… Watch… And my phone…? Where are they?”

“Whoever fucker took my watch, they will pay for this..!”

Oh. I went in my room to look for mine and I didn’t find these either... As I went out of the room, Takumi was going downstairs… I could only hope he found what he wanted, but few minutes later, he went back and clearly, it was not there…

Who… Could have our precious items… And why? What for?

“‘lo. How are you?”

“I’m okay, could be better.”

“I’d be lying if I said I was completely fine.”

Okay, that’s fair.

“Yeah… I don’t think anybody is really at ease right now…”

“Yeah huh… Well.”

“Did you want to tell me something?”

“Actually, yes. I would like to know more about you! I’m aware I’m repeating myself, but I’m curious as to how you found your passion as a radio host.”

“Ohh, that. Well...”

“I wasn’t certain what I’d want to do with my future, I felt there weren’t many options for me that wouldn’t necessitate a lot of adjustments. I then figured that maybe I could try out radio hosting, and it was a perfect fit…!”

“I just really love to talk about stuff, and also exchanging opinions with guests from time to time!”

“Most of the public didn’t know much about my disability, and given that I choose to not make much of public appearances, it was for the best usually.”

“Did some well known figures talk shit about you?”

“Surprisingly, it doesn’t happen this much, it was mostly strangers who just try to take pity on me that I tell to fuck off.”

“It’s damn annoying that I get a lot of attention cause of my condition, but most people who then find out later that I’m the same person who is on the radio, they usually shut the hell up. But some still don’t shut up and it’s their loss.”

“Either way, I’ve become more known than I expected, and I was asked to talk, if possible in other languages. Of course, I learned English as secondary language and then French as third. I don’t have much trouble speaking both, but I still struggle with French while writing.”

“Yeah, the French language has so many rules and exceptions, it’s wild.”

“Also, mind if I ask what’s exactly is your disability?”

“Well...”

Leon rolled up his pants, and I could clearly see what he meant then.

“Oh, that… I see.”

“Yeah, it sucks. I’m not good at running fast ‘cause of that.”

“But well, I’m fine, aside that so…! It’s just one minor thing that doesn’t really affect my job so...”

“That’s true.”

“Staying cheerful and positive as you talk while it’s broadcast… It’s been harder than I thought.”

“At least for a period of time...”

“Has life been rough on you?”

“You can say that. Both I and Vinzent… We kinda had issues of our own and I tried my darn best to be there for him. And so did he for me.”

“But there was definitely a sunshine in our lives..! Lena’s a real sweetheart.”

“I can tell she really cares for you both...”

“Yeah..!”

“Do you get along with your parents..? I haven’t heard you mention anything about them, sorry if it’s a sore spot...”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! I actually do get along with them well! I just feel closer with people my age, you know? But yeah, we do get along and I really appreciate them for being around as well!”

“I’m glad.”

“Man, I haven’t talked this much for a bit, it feels good to be able to chat comfortably.”

“Did anyone tell you how approachable you are? ‘Cause it’s the truth.”

“Mmm… Not often. At least not in my younger years.”

“Oh… I see.”

“But I do try my best to be friendly and I’m just glad that currently most of you guys are really nice to me. That’s what matters right now.”

“You’re really sweet, I can tell.”

“Next time, though, you gotta tell me more about yourself!”

“Hahaha, okay! That’s a fair trade-off. You’re going to rest or something?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“‘Kay. See ya!”

I waited until he went upstairs and in his room before I headed to mine.

“Heya!”

“Oh, hey!”

“What’re you doing..?”

“Trying to see if I can do jackshit with the connections. I’m not specialized in programming complex stuff exclusively but I’ve had the chance to learn some, so I’m trying to put what I know to use.”

“Ohh.. Yeah, I wonder. Currently, we have no way, right..?”

“Correct. And considering if we’re really underground, it might be more difficult but...”

“It’s still worth a shot, I believe.”

I nodded, at least better than nothing. So Lena was right that Vinzent would try something with what we have. Then again, she knows him better than I would, after all. I watched him trying to reach the core of the server, I assume there’s one, and occasionally glancing at his ID.

“Say, Nikki… Would you mind helping me? And I’d like your help too, Leon.”

“What of it, bro?”

“Hm?”

“Try to find a connection in your IDs, see if something’s odd.”

As he asked, both I and Leon went through tabs and the main page looking for anything that pop out…

Oh!

“Oh sweet, it w-”

Or not. Just as I was about to express disappointment at the immediate failure, the screen returned to normal. I then saw that a new message sprang out. Looking at the corner, it seemed that the rules need our attentions. I opened it ahead, kind of expecting it but god. It would be a lie to say that the immediate prevention kind of freaked me out. Granted, there’s someone controlling the sheep for sure, but how would they notice something so fast…?

In any case, I glanced at the rules, all seemed normal… Oh no, wait.

[NEW: Anyone attempting to tamper with the ID provided by Monosheep will get a swift punishment.]

And as if on cue, the sheep appeared out of the blue.

“Boy, I thought I had told you all to kill each other, but you’re turning against me.”

Amusingly enough, all of us four present at the stairs rolled our eyes, as if we kind of really get each other.

“Well, joke’s on you. No one’s going to do that. We’re not bloodthirsty.”

“I wonder. I wonder if it’s true.”

“Hey, fuck off with your game bullshit!”

“Well, unless you really want to lose an hand or two, you’d best not try to mess around with these IDs. They’re costly first of all, and two, it’d be a bother to fix it back. So, don’t try!~”

And to further prove his point somehow, this sheep pulled out a… knife from his wool, pointing it menacingly at the long haired boy, while talking somehow.

“Am I clear now?”

“Yes..!. Please stop pointing that knife at me.”

“Asshole! Why are you so insistent on the game? It’s not like we’ve have any reason to play it!”

“A reason, huh...”

“I’ll think about it!”

“Wait, no- This isn’t what I-”

“Okay, see you later!”

And gone he was. Leon, on the other hand, was visibly regretting what he said.

“I-I don’t....”

“This can’t be helped, I feel like this was gonna happen regardless of who says it first.”

“.... Boy. Now, I can’t do anything useful.”

“I’m sorry...”

“Well, what now..?”

“I actually… Wanted to talk to you. Like getting to know you a bit better, it’s been only since yesterday we met, so I figured if we could have something.. About your work, maybe? Or like, how you began...”

“...”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

“I’ve.. Always had an artistic spirit so, it was more a matter of ‘what job would suit me best..?’ I’ve been really good at visual arts since I was young, and with the technology growing, I wondered if I could try to use it to my advantage.”

“Needless to say, I found what I’ve always sought after and really… I’ve had a lot of fun working on different projects, sometimes collaborating with other teams.”

“As you know, I do take care of how the general plan would be visually and offer options to discuss for the optimal presentation. There’s much better coders than me, so I do share the work with them as a team so it’ll go smoothly. Though, I was taught how to code so I’m never against trying to improve, just that.. For the best quality work, I’ll leave it to professionals while I’ll try to improve myself.”

“I do aim to get better though!”

“But what you did just earlier… I was honestly impressed. I’d think you’d get years upon years of practice.”

“Well, that’s kinda true but… Sometimes, even first attempts can be successful.”

“Anyway, I’ve been told I have an eye for detail and aesthetic, so I’m especially knowledgeable in what would look best theoretically, and I often suggest changes in order to improve the work.”

“Then again, this whole thing needs quite some people to make the projects successful.”

“That’s true...”

“Do you have a favorite project in particular or did you like doing all of them?”

“Well, I don’t have a favorite, but there was some I wasn’t too fond of. Though in general...”

“I would say I enjoy having projects to do, it’s just really time consuming after all. So it’s that feeling of that I do like it but I would rather move on to newer projects sooner and be done with the previous ones, heh.”

“Ohh, okay, I getcha.”

“Oh yeah… About yesterday...”

“Oh right! Well, if you got anything to ask, I’m game to help you understand better!”

“Sweet! Here I go...”

We talked about the sun sign we share, and I explained in summary what my field would consist of, it still ended up a long talk, but really, I wasn’t minding it at all. Vinzent asked some more questions and I happily answered. While there wasn’t much said for now as we both talked a lot, I felt that we were less miserable than earlier.

“This is really cool, do you intend to pursue your talent further..?”

“Well, not exactly? I’ll still keep it as hobby, but I do plan to be a social worker!”

“It’s what I’ve been thinking about for the longest time, so I decided finally recently.”

“Yeah, I understand that. I hope it’ll go well for you!”

“You too, dude.”

“Ah damn, look like I’ll have to go charge my laptop. It’s been running low on battery.”

“It’s okay! We can talk next time!”

Waving at him, the artist left to go upstairs, leaving me at the stairs. While I’m glad he’s fine, the new rule was quite inconvenient. I do know Monosheep did state he’d add a new rule whenever he feels like it... But it was.. Really too soon. It’s not like he’d let us go easily. 

“Are you okay…?”

“Well, not really, but.. I’ll just move on. Eventually.”

“You were doing what your heart told you to, after all. It’s not a bad thing to try to be positive in this mess...”

“I’ll do what I can to help you, even if a little…!”

“Thank you..”

“I appreciate it.”

“Well… If it’s okay with you… Tell me more about your field; I recall I wanted to talk about it yesterday, right?”

I perked up, right away was I going to talk about it! Especially after this tiring attempt at conversation just earlier (No, Alex really doesn’t count here).

“Sure thing! Would you like me to talk about it in general or do you have anything specific you want to know..?”

“Just a general overview would do for now! I haven’t looked at it much so I don’t really know much things.”

“Alright!”

Leaning on the stair handrail, I explained to Shoko what it was, and what it would be its purpose… All details in the overview, so as long as I didn’t talk too much about one specific topic, so to not confuse her. In turn, Shoko seemed eager and asked some more specific questions which I was glad to answer. My throat was starting to hurt at this point, since I really did chat about this particular topic in a rather short time, but I didn’t care! I had fun talking with people who were interested in it. The comic artist then gestured at me to stop, which I did. I was a bit puzzled.

“What’s the matter..?”

“Er… Are you okay? Your voice seems to just start sounding weird.”

“Ah… Er… I’m fine.”

“You talked a lot more than I thought… Let me..!”

“Huh? Shoko, wait-”

The girl left the stairs and went towards the kitchen, bringing back a glass of water minutes later towards my direction.

“Have you drank anything?”

“... You didn’t have to do this...”

“Please, just take a break. It’s okay. I can talk about myself.”

“‘lright.”

Taking a big sip, would it even be a sip if I practically emptied the glass?, I exhaled. Honestly, had Shoko not paid attention to that tiny detail… I might have not minded at the risk of hurting myself over talking too much. But well, gotta take care of myself, I suppose. Shoko, after waiting that I finish drinking, spoke.

“So… I’ll start with how I started my job and such, okay?”

I nodded, my attention now fully focused on the girl.

“I’ve… Naturally always liked to draw, I knew it was gonna be a difficult path, but I’ve always had drawing as my dream job. So I did all I could to reach that dream while living in Ontario.”

“Honestly, I really surprised myself with how much I’ve done to reach this point in time. I kind of expected to be really good maybe by adulthood, but… I’ve been told that my works were really amazing by the time I was barely 14 years old. So, I’ve worked on it, learned new skills by staying in the flow, learned to work with efficiency, since there’s a lot of pages to draw and color...”

“But.. Just because I’ve done work in a professional way, and just because I’ve been doing it since quite few years… I’ve.. Been questioning myself.”

“I didn’t have a whole lot of sleep required, some deadlines were really crammed as I had to work for some comics. Some… Comics had a bad plot, I am not happy to have worked with the writers sometimes.”

“To this day, I refused to have my name on any comic I deem bad, but I know people would recognize my style anyway, and I’ve received less than pleasant comments.”

“Internet, huh.”

“Internet indeed.”

“Ah, well… Despite that...”

“For the majority of time, I actually did enjoy drawing and learning as I was working on more comics…! Improving my art was one reason I kept working on what I was doing.”

“Still, don’t overwork yourself, okay? I’ve heard it can have bad consequences...”

“Oh don’t worry! I made sure to stretch my arms and my hands. I always make exercises so I don’t hurt myself!”

“Okay. Say...”

“How did your parents react to your career choice..?”

“They are really supportive! I was surprised, honestly. But they said they wanted me to choose my own path and since I focused on drawing, they made sure I was happy with it and was comfortable working in this field. I initially thought that maybe they’d say something negative, but no… They’ve been kind and respected my choices..!”

“Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I just… Hope they’re okay.”

“Yeah... I can understand that.”

It was no surprise that family would be an important topic, regardless of whenever said person is heavily involved or less so. Although, I’m quite glad that Shoko got all the support she deserved, it was reasonable to understand that what the artist told me did in fact make her who she is today.

“And you?”

“I just have my mother. And I have a boyfriend too. I worry for both of them...”

“You have a boyfriend?! Wonderful!”

“What’s his name?”

“Valentino. Although, I just call him Vale, I never really call him by his full name, it’s nice but eh, habits.”

“Ohh, an Italian?”

“Italian-Japanese, actually.”

“Ohh… I wonder how tall he is...”

“Hahaha, well, he’s taller than I expected but still he’s exactly a foot shorter than me if we’re going by the imperial system.”

“To be exact, he’s 6’4”. And I’m 7’4”.”

“So, you’re- This makes sense. Seven, four... That would be how much in centimeters? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Me? I’m 223 cm tall.”

“Dang! I see that. That’s… Certainly alot.”

“It’s alot. Dare I say, too much even. Many times did I wish I was shorter but, well. Gotta roll on with that.”

“I can imagine… Well.. Do take care of yourself. I kind of want to go chill elsewhere, so if you don’t mind, we can stop this conversation now.”

“Oh, not at all! It’s okay, I don’t mind. And you too, take care of yourself.”

Waving goodbye at her, I went to walk around. At least, I did learn some things about Shoko..! She’s sweet, I can tell.

“Sure.”

“Tell me. In what instance did you ever think that that would be an appropriate response to the speech? It might be true we don’t have a way out yet but that doesn’t mean that it’s dumb to try looking around again!”

“Like some secret exit? That’s hilarious.”

“The one you could technically reach yourself, with your own height, is still blocked. Yet, it’s the only viable exit, aside that door.”

“Or would one of the canvases be hiding something?”

… I have considered that but I didn’t know if there was any point to look for at least twenty or so canvases. There were probably more. Plus that huge painting did in fact hide our ‘ultimate exit’, or so it seems.

“Not a dumb idea in itself, considering the giant painting in the reception but I don’t think that many would be an ideal size to crawl in for all.”

“I.. Well...”

“Even if it was true, would Monosheep really let us go this way if we find that? There isn’t a whole lot of cameras visible in here but.. They could have been hidden for all we know.”

“I’m being realistic when I say that there’s no other way to get out. At least, safely that is.”

“I suppose you have a point. Still...”

“Couldn’t you have worded your thoughts, back in the dining hall, in a less irritating way?”

“Maybe I could, but I didn’t see the point. Besides, having too much hope can do more harm than good.”

“Can.. Can it really?”

“Of course, don’t fool yourself with believing the opposite.”

Frankly, I’m not convinced.

“... Yeah, whatever you say.”

“Are you really put on this earth just to stir up some drama?”

“Funny you say that, it wasn’t like that always. At least not until a certain age.”

“But it’s rather funny that some people are so easy to have their limits tested.”

“Just like someone right here..! Man, you get angry easily, aren’t you?”

I was fine until we had a conversation, asshole.

“But anyway, not necessarily. Didn’t exactly have a goal so I’ve been just.. wandering kinda. Trying to figure out what I wanted.”

“Turns out I was really good at mathematics, so I went from that to finally learn about accounting.”

“Wasn’t the most thrilling shit ever, but it was good enough that I’ve improved a lot since then. Lots of paperwork as well. Apparently I was the best in the domain so I stayed.”

“So there you have it. I wasn’t too invested in drama, unless the situation would make it really funny.”

“There’s nothing funny about drama, it’s just exhausting.”

“For you, maybe. But it’s not like I really care about it. When things are lively, I kinda find it interesting.”

“Anyway, I assume we are done h-”

Just then, there was a distant noise coming from… One of the bathrooms?

“Oh boy.”

Ignoring completely what Kristofer was going to say, I mean we already have concluded the conversation, so what point is there for letting him finish the few extra words? I headed to the bathrooms. I had no idea what was going on but I should be sure that everything was okay.

“Wondering about Alex?”

“Don’t worry. He just needs space.”

“I see...”

“He did talk to me before going in his room.”

“Alex mentioned that you talked to him about astrology..?”

“Yeah, he wanted to know some stuff so I explained everything that he asked about.”

“Told him we can continue the conversation later if he wanted to.”

“I kinda feel bad for asking him about his life..!”

“You… Don’t have to. Again, you don’t know the whole story, so it’s understandable that you would want to know someone better.”

“I’m just glad the conversation about the first topic was fun. But yeah...”

“If he feels ready, he’ll be willing to talk to you. Alex just doesn’t like talking about his personal life in public spaces anyway.”

“Okay… I gotcha. Then I’m glad he’s okay.”

“Oh yeah… Mind telling me a bit about yourself, Ann…?”

“Sure..! Let’s see...”

“I got in comedy at a pretty young age, I think… 9 at the earliest. At first, I did some innocent jokes, funny enough to get a laugh out of the audience. But I didn’t get a big show until I was… 13.”

“I was more or less suggested to speak my mind but not going too hard on it. ‘Cause apparently they thought I was too young to receive criticism especially with such a public that have some weird expectations of comedians...”

“If they thought I was gonna listen to that advice, they were really wrong. I wasn’t gonna let that opportunity slip away just to please everyone.”

“‘Course I did expect some backslash, but some people have been.. Particularly brutal. Like downright cruel.”

“...”

Without realizing it myself, I’ve been muttering few swears under my breath. Why are people like this… But then again, on one hand I can get the worries of whoever gave Ann the advice, but on the other… Whoever were giving backslash to the girl in uncivilized ways can eat shit.

“Awful. Tried to make you quit the scene, did they?”

“They suuuuuure did. And I got sent nasty reviews. But after regaining my composure, and seeing where it has gotten ridiculous in the shitstorm, I decided to make fun of the unnecessary points they’ve ‘raised’. To see if they were really right or if it was just overreaction ‘cause of spaces.”

“In the end, while I did lose some audience, mostly guys, other people closer to my age were still interested in my shows and enjoyed my humor.”

[CW Parental neglect/abuse implications]

“I honestly didn’t expect to make a living out of this passion.. But I did, and so did Alex. So we were able to feed ourselves and have clothes.”

“As for a roof...”

“...”

“Er… Did you have terrible parents…?”

“You know what, I’ll tell you that.”

“I and Alex’s only technical other family was our mother but… She never liked us. Only kept us in the house for financial reasons. Just to get some form of allowances.”

“It might seem obvious, but.. Alex has quite some severe anxiety. I wonder if mom hadn’t treated him like shit his whole life, that maybe he wouldn’t be this way. I was mostly neglected, but that lady only really was nasty at Alex.”

“I stood up for my brother as much as I could, however the arguments were hellish to deal with. I really did try to look for other relatives to confide to, but they didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“Holy fuck. That’s...”

I had no one else to look for me but my own mother, and even so… My mother was really kind and did all she could so I’ll be happy in the future… That one tiny luxury… Doesn’t apply to everyone huh. How do I say that… Best to not say it. I don’t know. Ann and Alex really did have it worse than me, I’m sure of that.

[CW END]

“I’m so sorry, Ann...”

“I just.. Had to survive with Alex. Even if we were in the same roof as the lady… We kept our distance. I managed to make some decent livings as well as Alex did but we really were considered too young.”

“This year would have been great cause Alex just passed his 16th birthday not too long ago and we would have moved out with least trouble possible. Of course, waiting two other years could be possible but… I was fed up.”

It’s… Wild how the youngest of the two is the most composed… I still can’t help but feel bad for them.

“Guess life had other plans though. And not in the totally best way.”

“Yeah, that’s true...”

“But no matter what, we’ll figure this out..! No one’s going to die.”

I nodded firmly in agreement. Even if things don’t seem to go right… As long as we’re careful and look out for any threats… This should be fine, right?

“Yes. ...Be careful, Ann.”

“By the way… I’m sorry for dumping it all on you. I felt that you were trusting enough. Can you… Keep it between us?”

“Of course I will.”

”If you need to talk to me whenever, I’m all ears, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks...”

“Well, then if you’ll excuse me. I’ll be going.”

I nodded and waved at her while Ann headed for the stairs… That.. Was a lot more than I anticipated today.