Season 2 / Tatsuko Onizuka- “Out of the Frying Pan” [Second Trial Projection]

MILGRAM

Although Sie is aware that Tatsuko isn’t generally interested in being cooperative, they still approach her with their usual fairly docile attitude.

“Hello - Prisoner 004, Tatsuko Onizuka…? Your second projection is ready, if you are.” Or even if she isn’t. “Please come along to the projection room.”

With a frown, Tatsuko looks up from where she is lounging on her bed. “Oh, it’s you.” She puts her head back down. “Why should I?”

Sie blinks in surprise, as if this reaction was unexpected. “Um… you have to. I think the MILGRAM… won’t work, if you don’t? Please, I don’t want to have to call in the other wardens to help bring you there.”

“I have to?” Oops, bad word choice. “Well now I don’t wanna.”

This earns her one of Sie’s big, imploring stares. “I don’t want to restrain you further, but if I need to, I will…”

Tatsuko gives them a disgruntled look, seemingly weighing her options. “Fine, whatever. Go into my head and take a look and see stuff you don’t like and put more voices in my head since you think you’re so fucking important. See if I care.” With that, she gets up from her bed, still grumbling, and heads to the projection room, at least appreciating that she gets to admire her handiwork.

—

Again, Sie shoos you away so the chosen prisoner can be guided down the long hallway alone. By now it’s clear this walk is the only thing the wardens are so particular about keeping the prisoner alone for. Once they reach the courtroom, they don’t bother to keep you away as they set the prisoner up in the burnt chair as properly as they can. Perhaps it’s not worth the effort. Perhaps how you behave in the projections is a test in itself.

Regardless of their motives, a few of you make the trek yourselves today, finding the hallway only marginally less lonely with your company. The walls still seem stifling, the unnatural murmurs pressing in on you tighter.

But the courtroom is wide open, if barren, and there’s not much else to be uncomfortable about until the prisoner of the day is secured in place. A strange…—machine? Somehow enough of it remains in shadow to obscure any useful details—emerges from the wall to hover around the prisoner’s head, then everything but you and the wardens is swallowed by utter darkness.

It only lasts a moment, though. Once the shadow subsides, you find yourself seemingly somewhere else…

—

Tatsuko Onizuka

You stand before a large torii gate acting as the entrance to a shrine. Beyond the gate, you can see what looks to be the set-up for some sort of festival, with a variety of different stalls. Despite the festive atmosphere, there doesn’t seem to be any attendees, save for a single man sitting to the side of the gate. Next to him is a display of different masks and a small painted sign. The man in question is wearing a dragon mask, though it’s tilted slightly askew as he lights the cigarette in his mouth.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent had been told by Tatsuko in advance that he could come to her projection, but he hadn’t been sure ultimately if he would or not. But as he spots Tatsuko being unhappily taken to the projection room itself, it’s a now or never type decision. And so, on the spur of the moment, he ends up following behind and entering the room this time, giving a nod first to Tatsuko as she’s strapped in.

…Ah, though, it seemed as though Suzune was also here, Vincent realizes belatedly… While he has no True issue with her, he knows his own presence is definitely unideal for her at least. But it would be kind of weird to skip out now, wouldn’t it? Maybe if she sees him in time the can make the call to stay or not herself knowingly (or not), so he at least tries to make his presence known to her before, of course, out of the frying pan and into the arsonists projection they go indeed.

And… huh. Vincent wasn’t sure What to expect, but seeing something like this wasn’t that. This is like… a religious Japanese thing? Or something. Maybe a celebration of some sort, regardless.

“What sort of festivities is this for, do you know…?” He asks to the others gathered here, just in case someone else knows HDHFFHJF

Dragon mask guy, huh…? Well… May as well understand what he’s looking at first, so he steps up and looks at that painted sign!

Tatsuko Onizuka

Erin | Vincent Churchwell May as well understand what he’s looking at first, so he steps up and looks at that painted sign!

It’s a small wooden sign stuck into the ground. There is no writing on it. Instead, it features an illustration of three figures - a dragon, a devil, and a human - all holding hands and smiling. The drawing seems to have been done in crayon somehow, as though someone had drawn it on paper, then transferred it to the sign. Maybe it’s a just stylistic thing.

Sylas Grey

Look. At this point, Sylas? He’s Here, Too. He saw one of these things going on and figured whatever Tatsuko had in her head HAD to be better than the last one he went to. Right? It’d be fun!

…And it does look fun! He stands with his arms on his hips in front of the torii gate, making the low whistle of an Impressed White Guy.

“Wow! That’s a good shade of orange! Big fan! Is this made of WOOD??!”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Huh… what a peculiar little sign. The three figures seem to be happy hand in hand like that at least-

He also gives a nod to Sylas as he spots him, also glancing up at the gate.

“Oh? I suppose it is rather pretty, yes…” Though Vincent himself sure does not know the significance.

Next, Vincent looks to the Masks themselves yet, just to get a peek at em-

Tatsuko Onizuka

Erin | Vincent Churchwell Next, Vincent looks to the Masks themselves yet, just to get a peek at em-

Though there are numerous different masks, they all seem to fall into one of three categories. The demon masks available feature Oni and Hannya masks, while the dragon masks are mostly just the same mask in different colors. The human category features the most options, allowing you to take your pick of items resembling Hyottoko, Okame, and typical Noh masks.

Chula - Suzune

Well, Tatsuko was one of those people who was slowly painting a picture of the kind of person she was to Suzune. But, it still felt that there was much to learn, including on if she was even truthful in her opinions of not caring. Reckless, sure, but. Was there something beneath that, perhaps? Thus, upon seeing the firestarter beginning her projection, Suzune found herself drawn in, like a planet catching the orbit of a meteorite.

A bit unfortunate and awkward that Vincent was here, though. She had no intentions of telling him to leave Tatsuko’s projection, though. That was none of her business.

“Oh, it could be plenty of reasons for a festival. These are popular in the summertime, but you’ll see them other times a year, too. It’s a pretty big income draw for shrines, you see.” These aren’t terribly religious anymore.

At least. With some exceptions, like the torii gate that Sylas is looking at. She trots up beside him and examines it herself. “Usually they’re wood or stone!! Be careful, though, torii gates are to be respected.”

Tatsuko Onizuka

Chula - Suzune With some exceptions, like the torii gate that Sylas is looking at

It’s a normal wooden torii gate. Seems to be serving its purpose well enough.

Sylas Grey

“I’m the most respectful guy I know!”

And then he tries to run through the torii gate. Like a dippshitte

Tatsuko Onizuka

Sylas Grey And then he tries to run through the torii gate.

Despite there seemingly being nothing in the space between you and the shrine grounds, Sylas’s run is suddenly halted with a loud “BONK”, almost as though he has run straight into a wall. Ouch.

Hearing the loud sound, the man, who had previously not been paying attention to you, turns his head toward Sylas, though he makes no effort to move. “Uh… You okay there, kid?”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

He gives a nod to Suzune! Even with the weird tension between them, he was still more than willing to interact normally with her.

“Ah, I see… Thank you, that does make sense. Churches do that sort of thing on their grounds from time to time to I suppose, if they have the space for it.” Not usually the Small churches, though, or at least not usually something Quite so involved. But religious places did be needing money sometimes- “I’ll be careful with anything I see, too.”

Though it does strike him that Tatsuko has before Wanted to be disrespectful for at least Christianity. Unclear if she feels the same for Japanese things DHFHJFJG

Then he blinks as Sylas runs through and??? Ah??? Vincent steps up to him in case he needs a hand getting up, also subtly looking him over a bit justttt to make sure he’s actually ok.

Then he turns to look at the dragon mask man!

“Ah, apologies for the ruckus, I had just been meaning to ask if you were in charge of these masks…?” He asks! Whether Sylas is ok is on him to answer GDFHFJFJ

Tatsuko Onizuka

Erin | Vincent Churchwell “Ah, apologies for the ruckus, I had just been meaning to ask if you were in change of these masks…?”

Chula - Suzune “It’s nice to meet you, sir! So sorry about the trouble.”

The man chuckles. “Well, aren’t you some polite ones. Don’t worry about it. It always gets a little hectic around here during festival season, so I can’t exactly blame you kids for messing around. Livens the place up. This’s gotta be your friend’s first time, right? So he wouldn’t know how it works ’round here.” He nods. “Yep, at least for right now. People need festival masks, I give ’em festival masks. Pretty easy work.”

He looks back over at Sylas discerningly. He hesitates for a moment before shrugging. “Eh, he’s talkin’ alright, so he’ll probably be fine.” Probably not the best medical advice, but that’s what he’s got.

Chula - Suzune

Ack! Suzune wnced at the bonk. Sylas…. Sylas. She chuckled, but with her projections first-aid kit in hand, she gave him a once-over for any injuries. “Let me know if you need anything, I’ve been keeping this on-hand for projections, soooo… Proper band-aids this time, instead of a ribbon, hm?”

She turns to the man who’s arrived and gives a quick bow. “It’s nice to meet you, sir! So sorry about the trouble.”

Sylas Grey

Sylas lies on the ground Peter Griffin style and moans in discomfort.

“Why does this always happen to me? Sweet, loveable Sylas!”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent is sure to make sure not to be in Suzune’s way now that she’s also coming over to maybe bandaid Sylas, though he does make food on that helping hand up when Sylas is ready to get off the floor HFFHJF Upsidaisy…

“Yes, and it’s… admittedly my first time as well. Can I ask what you mean by ‘how it works around here’ as well…? Do we need masks to pass through…?” He asks the man! A pause. “And… do we need to pay for them?”

He’s not sure what mask to pick, but there are three categories holding hands on that sign…

Tatsuko Onizuka

Erin | Vincent Churchwell “Yes, and it’s… admittedly my first time as well. Can I ask what you mean by ‘how it works around here’ as well…? Do we need masks to pass through…?” He asks the man! A pause. “And… do we need to pay for them?”

“Quick on the uptake, aren’t ya? Anyone’s free to go in, as long as you’re wearing one of these masks. For a group like yours, I’d suggest a different kind for each of you. Y’know what they say, good things come in threes.” He taps the sign with his free hand for good measure. “It’s all ’bout the duality of man, or whatever. Or, uh, triality, since it’s three. Triplicity? Is that a word?” He mutters the last part, mostly to himself, before shrugging, evidently moving on from the thought.

Chula - Suzune “Oh, wow! How much are you selling them for?”

He takes a drag from his cigarette before waving his hand. “Nah, don’t worry about paying. It’s not like you’ve got any money on you, right? Plus, making you pay kinda goes against the whole purpose of the festival.”

“As for how things work, you can pretty much just do whatever the hell you want. We’ve got a real big, important event at the end, though, so you don’t wanna miss that. Gotta prepare for it too.”

Chula - Suzune

Ohhh, festival masks, that’s so fun!!! Now having confirmed that Sylas appears to be just fine, she meanders over to the masks herself and takes a peek. “Oh, wow! How much are you selling them for?” She asked, nearly at the exact same moment as Vincent. Admittedly, though, that one was kind of funny. She laughed lightly. Still, it wasn’t that she arrived to Milgram with her wallet or anything. It wasn’t as if she had money on her, but you know. It was the thought that counted.

“I’m a little torn between a Hannya or an Okame. My go-to growing up was always a Tengu mask, though hehe~” She didn’t see a Tengu mask, so she could make do. But, you know. Birds. She loved birds. Tengu were her favorite yokai story.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent looks a little relieved it’s ok they don’t pay, he does Not have money on him either. He does tilt his head at the rest of that though!

“Thank you, that’s kind of you. And I was thinking the same, that we may want to each pick a different type, if the two of you have a preference…?” He glances to Suzune and Sylas with that last part. Then he looks back to the man! “Though, oh? What important event is that, can I ask? Do we need to do anything to prepare?”

Tatsuko Onizuka

Erin | Vincent Churchwell “Though, oh? What important event is that, can I ask? Do we need to do anything to prepare?”

From the man’s tone, you can tell he’s grinning. “Glad you asked. Y’see, it all ties back in to what the festival’s all about. Sure, there’s food and games and shit, but it’s really a rite of rebirth and discarding the past. At the very end of the festival, we have a massive bonfire, and all the festivalgoers can cast anything that they feel is holding them back or is unwanted into the fire. Really cathartic and freeing, y’know.” Just in case you forgot whose projection this was.

He eyes you all (or at least you think so, from what you can see of his eyes). “From what I can tell, you didn’t bring anything with you, did you? That’s fair. No one wants to walk around with all that baggage normally. You can probably find some stuff around here. Doesn’t gotta be for yourselves either. Anything that seems like it would bring up bad memories will work.”

As you put on your respective masks, you notice that the world beyond the torii gate seems to change slightly, as well as the man’s demeanor.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell In that case, Vincent will be looking to put on a dragon mask as he waits for an answer, preferably a black and white one if that’s a color option-

As Vincent puts on the dragon mask, the festival seems to come to life. The stalls all light up with colorful lighting, and music begins to play from somewhere. Seemingly out of nowhere, the festival is filled with countless people all wearing different masks, moving about the grounds.

The man takes a look at your mask. “Black ’n white? Not what I expected from you, kid, but it’s up to you.” He reaches up and ruffles your hair once, rather roughly, but still somewhat affectionately.

Chula - Suzune Suzune takes the Okame mask and puts it on!

Suzune puts on the human mask, and nothing seems to change. The festival looks the same as it did before, and the man’s tone is about the same. “Oh, yeah, we’ve got fireworks too. Real nice ones.”

Sylas Grey Sylas already has an Oni mask on.

As Sylas puts on the Oni mask, the already empty festival seems to become even more devoid of life. While everything stays in the same place, the once well-decorated stalls are now rundown. It feels almost as though it’s been abandoned.

The man no longer looks at you. You get the sense that he heard your comment, but is intentionally ignoring you.

Sylas Grey

Sylas already has an Oni mask on.

“Does this make me look handsome? Heh!”