forum All my roleplays are dead please give me attention // closed oxo (I'll do more though)

Started November 22, 2021 by @Fraust

tune

"Yep! We can get started if you think you understand the controls." Aiki smiled brightly and Eiji started up the game. The familiar countdown played on the screen, and the both of them quickly set off after it went to zero.

Farah blinked and did her best to keep up, but her car kept steering wildly over the track. "Oh!" she cried as she drove straight into the barricade. "Wait, that was the wrong button." Slowly, she began to improve as she understood the right buttons to press at the right times.

"You're doing great! See? You're figuring it out already." Aiki encouraged, their focus on Farah since they and Eiji had already completed the three laps. "You've still got the assisted steering on, so that should help you stay on the track."

"It's not doing very much assisting, is it?" Farah muttered, managing another turn without steering her cart off course. "Isn't this supposed to be fun?"

"It should be fun once you get a hang of the controls. You're already picking it up a bit, see?" Aiki offered an encouraging smile, and Eiji watched the screen curiously.

Finally, Farah's character crossed the finish line, and Farah sighed with relief. "Well that was quite an interesting game," she murmured.

"You did great! We can do some more practice if you wanted to try an actual game against the computers later, but you don't have to if you don't want."

"I'll try it," Farah gave in with a sigh. "But I'd really just prefer to watch you two play. The stress I got from that race was too much for a game!"

Aiki laughed softly. "We'll have you try one more round against the computers, and then you don't have to play anymore if you don't want to, okay?" Eiji set up a game with the computers set to the easiest difficulty.

Farah smiled and shook her head. "Alright. I don't know how you rope me into these things…" Her gaze alternated from the tv screen to Aiki to Eiji and back again.

"Because I'm cool and fun!" Aiki insisted with a bright grin, and Eiji snickered a bit as he started the game. "Pfft… sure you are, Ai. Keep your head in the game." He ruffled his twin's hair and turned his attention back to the screen while Aiki pouted.

Farah observed their banter with an almost motherly gaze, and when Eiji turned his attention back to the screen, Farah did too. She felt a pang of jealousy for one moment, and then it was gone. Aiki had been reunited with his brother, but she lost her Saul. A quick shake of her head forced her to focus on the game, at least for the time being, and enjoy it.

Aiki got focused again as well, intent on beating their brother at the game now. Eiji started the race and he and Aiki set off, taking the top two places pretty quickly. They seemed pretty close in skill, although Eiji was noticeably more strategic.

Farah quickly fell behind and cursed under her breath as she did so. After a lap, however, she began to work her way back into sixth place.

Aiki and Eiji were still swapping first and second place with each other, but by the end of the three laps, Aiki managed to narrowly snag first place. He cheered and Eiji groaned, setting down his controller.

Farah finished solidly in sixth place, and she was a bit excited. "God, I did it," she enthused, reading the scoreboard results.

"Hey, that's pretty good!" Aiki looked up at the scores, smiling brightly. "Way better than when we first started out, although you did have a pretty amazing teacher." He preened a bit, clearly pleased with himself.

Farah laughed. "Yes, I did. Although I must resign myself to watching the two of you. I'm not sure if I'd be able to perform so well again. Repetitive luck evades me."

"Alright, if that's what you want." Aiki smiled softly and Eiji started another game for the two of them to play. They seemed to enjoy it, and they were good enough at it to keep the top couple of spots most of the time.

Farah alternated her gaze from the fictitious cars on the screen to the twins. Her eyes softened as she watched their brotherly competitiveness, and she felt herself deeply missing her Alfea "found family."

Aiki and Eiji bantered while they raced each other, and although things seemed like they were returned to normal, Aiki still felt a twisting in their chest. The game was a nice distraction, but he still hadn't really gotten an opportunity to vent to his brother about his less-than-enjoyable experiences in Alfea. They just wanted to cling to him and cry into his shoulder for a while, but they couldn't bring themself to ruin the fun that the two of them were having now.

Farah, seeming to sense Aiki's feelings, gently touched their arm as they played to ease their emotions. She felt truly bad for him because of his experiences in the Otherworld. Once Rosalind was stopped or eliminated, maybe Farah could bring them back and have them experience Alfea the right way – maybe even with Eiji.

Aiki glanced up at Farah at the touch and smiled weakly before turning his attention back to the screen, continuing his bickering with Eiji as usual. Maybe later, after Farah has gone to bed… I'm sure Eiji will have questions for me anyway. I think he can tell something is up. They looked to their brother, but Eiji was seemingly caught up in the game at the moment.

Farah glanced longingly at the door that had sealed her fate for the time being. Her mind continuously wandered back to Saul – hoping, wishing, praying that he was alright. She dreamt that Luna used her gateway ring again to reopen the gateway and Saul would come through the door and crush her in a hug then kiss her until she couldn't breathe. But until it happened, it was only a dream.

(Skipping through dinner because that's boring 😩)
Eventually, the time came for everyone to go to bed. Aiki had given Farah a quick tour of the house to show her where the bathrooms and bedrooms were, and brought her to their older sister's vacant room. It was very clean, and clearly hadn't been used for a while. The whole room had a pale blue color scheme.

When Aiki returned to his and Eiji's shared room, Eiji finally asked him what had happened and if he was alright. Aiki choked and drew in a wavering breath, rubbing at their eyes as they sat beside their brother and recounted everything that had happened to them. Eiji soothed him gently, using his power to get and calm him down a bit more, and just allowed Aiki the time to be vulnerable for once.

(Fair. I was going to suggest that pretty soon lol. Also, question, where do they live? Like in a town, out by themselves, etc;)

Farah sat alone in the room that once belonged to Aiki and Eiji's older sister. When Aiki left, it finally gave Farah the opportunity to let her emotions out without having to worry about others feeling them too. She laid on the bed for a long time, letting the rawness of her pain sweep over her, and she closed her eyes if only to picture Saul's face and imagine that he was beside her.

(They're in a neighborhood on the outskirts of a city ^^)
Aiki sobbed into Eiji's shoulder for a while, clinging to him for comfort. Eventually, they fell asleep in his arms and he sighed softly, simply laying down with Aiki. He figured that they could share a bed for the night if it would help Aiki, after all. They'd been through a pretty stressful experience.
(Feel free to go to morning if you want 🕺)

(Kk, cool. By the way, I'm sorry I'm not on as much anymore. My parents have decided that I spend too much time on my devices, so I'm not allowed to have them in my bedroom late at night anymore 🙄)

Farah didn't remember what time she fell asleep, but when she woke in the morning, she didn't remember where she was. Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat bolt upright to take in her surroundings. The confusion was quickly replaced with a wave of sadness. Though this room was homey, it wasn't her home. She longed for her Alfea bedroom where she knew Saul was down the hall if she needed someone to talk to. Though she had Aiki here, it wasn't the same – just like she knew that she wasn't the same as Eiji when Aiki was stuck in the Otherworld. Even if it meant Rosalind lurking around every corner, that was more familiar than this First World home she was currently trapped in.

(Np ^^)
Aiki woke up before Eiji and carefully separated themself from him, heading to their own bed and laying down with a soft sigh. He figured that Eiji wouldn't bring up what had happened the previous night, but he still thought it would be better to not be cuddling with his brother consciously. Eventually, they got up quietly and headed to their older sister's old room to see if Farah was awake. He hesitated before carefully opening the door and peering inside.

Farah had let her hair down from its perch, and she brushed it out slowly with her fingers. Her eyes were glazed over like she was physically in the bedroom but mentally somewhere else. The door opening made a quiet noise, but it was enough to relieve Farah of her stupor. Her eyes blinked, widened, and darted over to the door to see Aiki. At the sight of him, she relaxed and motioned for him to enter deeper.

"Good morning," she murmured, an easily forced smile taking over her features. Back to masking.