adsum | npc contact.1

[ "I absolutely don't remember much from middle school" as if middle school weren't like two months ago. I was originally going to have her call him "Sena-senpai" because that felt right but then I saw that both him and Komaeda are first years and went oh ]

Nuh-uh! There's absolutely no way I could ever mistake you for somebody else, Sena! I've been watching you for a long time, so—-

[ She claps a hand over her mouth because no, stop talking. He doesn't need to know that. Deflect. ]

...I'm the best artist. It's me.

[ There's some snickering around her, but nobody says anything, because they're too busy drawing to do anything more than eavesdrop, to save me the trouble of writing 2473804920 npcs at once. ]

[ look sometimes you just pretend that you wanna forget everything that happened in middle school and start anew. but is that really what's going on here? he shoots komaeda a Look at the blanket comment and rolls his eyes, even though he should be thankful that his ""pet"" is playing along...

he stares down at the girl for a moment, unblinking, then at the rest of the artclub who were giggling among themselves just now. man, if looks could kill. ]

So you've been eyeing me ever since? At least you know how to use 'em. [ her eyes, that is. because he's pretty. but who knows if she can put them to good use in terms of art, especially with that declaration. ] It's also suuuuper weird that I don't know your name at all, so if you could just spit it out already so that I'd know who I'm working for here, it'd be very appreciated.

[ he's still senpai in spirit, so it's aight. probably. ]

And another thing, I'd just need to know one thing before we start. Did Okane Aiko-san drop by the art club a few days ago?

Edited 2021-04-20 07:25 (UTC)

( komaeda remains silent, lips pursed into a straight line as he hears the light chuckling of students around them. that doesn't sound like they're on her side, but a little praise here and there might be able to make her budge when it comes to information? you never know. komaeda fakes it, gasping as he looks at the female who claims she's the best here. )

Do you really need to have Sena-kun stand here to paint him? If you've been watching him since middle school, and even now... ( he turns to the other, and komaeda raises his better arm to slip his index finger under izumi's chin, lifting it up. he gets a good look at how thick the male's lashes are, the way his lips stand out, and the contours of his face only to drop his hand down and look towards the female once again. )

You should be able to paint him by memory...

( should he tack on that izumi doesn't do good with joining a club filled with liars? it's an idea that passes in his mind, but he ignores it to follow up on his next question. )

That too... I heard Aiko-san's the best when it came to art, but if you say it was you... I'm just a little disappointed.

[ Do you ever lowkey/highkey crush on somebody for a very long time and they turn around and say they don't even know your name?? holy shit ]

Aiko-san this, Aiko-san that! Her art's not that great! She doesn't— Not like-

[ uuuuuu no, even she can't badmouth her dead senpai, and she clutches at the piece of charcoal on her lap to stop herself from beaning Komaeda in the middle of the forehead with it. ]

Was she the one you were interested in, Sena? Then you should have come by more often— she always went to club if she didn't have a meeting to be at.

[ HE'S JUST A VERY POPULAR GUY HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO KNOOOOOOW

izumi couldn't get a chance to stop komaeda showing off his pristine features, and it takes more than a hot second before he can smack his fellow transfer's hand off of him. no touchy the property! :/

but now he's faced with another weird conundrum - how is he supposed to tell her he's not interested in girls... just because he sings about escorting princesses doesn't mean he'd actually do that IRL?? if he could get away with that since idol purity shit is always at play, rip. ]

Don't just put words in my mouth! I was busy, all right? I didn't know that something like that could ever happen here! [ except he now does, with the body in the case. he takes a deep, tired breath. ] I'd remember your name if I could. If you could say it again, I'll try to drill it in my head.

[ keyword "try", because most of the time he wouldn't care? but in this instance he might be able to get some mileage out of her. ]

( chile, not izumi's delimma that komaeda can't do anything about, and of course, he allows his hand to be smacked away. he shakes it like he's trying to do away with the sting against his flesh as he rubs the area with his mechanical hand softly. oh, that hurt! well, not really, but he can continue to act like he's been hurt. )

That's no good... ( he starts, shaking his head as he stares at the idol slightly disappointed in his words. he has to do more than that to make it up to her, and to do that, they must go the extra mile. ) How else will Sena-kun ask you to prom if he doesn't know your name.

( yes, this is a path that only izumi can do because komaeda's not about to. if anything, he's still curious about how she's so aware of him and the gaps between their memories. ) I'd be embarrassed having the man of my dreams walk up to me to ask me out and yet... he can't even say my name... Imagine how much of a laughingstock I'd be... How you'd be!

( small sigh. ) With Aiko-san dead, you can have him all to yourself. She was just a stepping stone for your lovestory. ( yeah, he went there. )

[ OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH MY GOD

First the both of them keep hammering it in that she's so unremarkable that Izumi doesn't know her name, then Komaeda has to ridicule her about prom, and then make light of her senpai's death?? She shoves roughly her easel to the side, the canvas and her paints and charcoals clattering to the ground as her fists ball up at her sides, angry tears in her eyes. ]

Shut up! SHUT UP! Don't talk about Sena or senpai like that!! What did you even come here for!?

[ She throws one (1) punch Komaeda's way, but whether or not her fist connects with the side of his face, the other art members finally jump in and try to stop her, one of the older students grabbing her around the middle and bodily lifting her off the ground because she is that tiny, yelling "Chiaki, stop that!" while the other members are split between A) apologizing to Komaeda and Izumi on Chiaki's behalf, and B) telling Komaeda to go fuck himself. ]

( with how komaeda's luck work? that punch will be connecting right to his jaw and there's nothing he can do about it. nice job, chiaki! you're the first to get a swing in on him, that's actually pretty impressive. as she's pulled back by her classmates, komaeda raises a hand to his face to idly touch where he's been punched. the area is sensitive with every touch that his eye twitches on that side, but emotionally speaking he doesn't react so much. for the girl to be jealous of her classmate to the point of speaking about her in a love quarrel, she sure did get aggressive when komaeda did the same thing back.

alright, what to do about these untalented people swarming them. especially when they're so focused on them, komaeda is placing a hand on izumi's shoulder to shove him slightly towards chiaki's direction... maybe he can console her like in the romcoms for information.

as for everyone else? )

Ah, now, now! I just wanted to help.

( he raises his hands up like he's been caught, laughing sheepishly with a shake of his head. )

I thought that would make Chiaki-san happy... though, I guess not. ( alright npc #827386 in the go fuck yourself crowd, komaeda's looking in your direction. ) I want to formally apologize... Do you know her whole name ( wasn't it lucky to make a small mess and get her name in return? ) and homeroom... Maybe if I sent a few flowers...

[ JESUS CHRIST HOW IT ALL ESCALATED INTO AN ALL-OUT BRAWL IN A MATTER OF A FEW SECONDS

izumi just... gives komaeda a rather incredulous look, like how he couldn't believe he'd go all out and beyond just to extract a name from that girl. hate how he's suddenly reminded of leo back in their more cavalier knights days just now, rapidly shaking his head to get it out of his thoughts as he comes to chiaki's aid. ]

Chiaki-- [ ugh it's kinda weird since he had a classmate named chiaki back then (ori im watching u) ] Don't pay attention to that freak. I never should've let him come here.

[ he turns to glare at komaeda, though it's a bit more muted than usual. that idiot... making izumi feel guilty about all this... ]

Let's get back to business then. But know this - letting your feelings get in the way is going to hinder you in the long run. I'm not talking about how you feel about me, but... in general. [ because komaeda's the type to strike you where it hurts most. conceal, don't feel. ] And that goes for all of you. I just wish to know what Okane-san was doing in the art club before the incident. That's all.

[ and then I fell asleep but it's fine, that was a very satisfying punch and Chiaki looks like she's about to throw a second if she weren't already getting pulled back and elbowing her poor club member in the gut, but at least that snaps her out of it and apologizes to him where it's due.

NPC #827386 makes a face at Komaeda asking for her full name and class because she's right there! the pain and humiliation of not being remembered must still be raw, and Chiaki furiously scrubs the tears off her face because fu Komaeda!! Even Izumi ignoring all of this and pressing to move on stings, as if her feelings aren't important enough to not immediately move on from, as much as she struggles in finding the capacity to be grateful he's not making a big deal of this mess.

Controlling your feelings... impossible. She wouldn't know the first step in doing so. One day you're going to find Komaeda with a palette knife in his throat and you'll immediately know who did it: ]

Chiaki Kudo, class 1-A. You can apologize by staying until I've finished drawing— but you [ pointing at Komaeda with a swiftness that makes the club member next to her reflexively reach out as if afraid she were about to smack Komaeda on the face again ] are not allowed to speak anymore.

[ She drops her hand with a little huff, and pushes the other club member away so she can crouch down and pick up her scattered art supplies. ]

Aiko was working on her painting, obviously. You'd know if you even cared enough to come visit sometimes... [ So he only cared about Aiko after she was dead, out of morbid curiosity and not any interest. Somehow, she can't feel any happiness, realizing that. ] Whenever she didn't have a student council meeting, she was here, I told you already. She was painting pieces for the auction next month, so she was working hard with what time she had.

( that punch did a number and ori i respect... orispect it as i should say... he put izumi in charge of getting information out of her, but he does manage to wave his hand in her direction and offer a sweet smile to let her know that he's aware of her acknowledgement of him. she thinks she can tell him to be quiet? an ordinary, untalented individual like herself believes that she can control him? well, she's right for now because he's not even paying attention to her anymore. instead, he's walking away from both of them and out of range of the female's fists to sit down with one of the random, nameless npcs, and there's a hand pressed against his cheek where he was punched.

he sighs, glancing towards the ground as he doesn't matter his prey... but they've been chosen. sickly, pale green eyes looks towards ... whatener npc this is, probably #66666 with how everything is working out in this classroom. he waits for when izumi talks to chiaki — so that his voice is blocked out because all she pays attention to is him — so that komaeda can speak with the other person. his voice is low, but not sex operator low, got to save that.... )

I should've thought properly before speaking... I didn't know she enjoyed Sena-kun's company that much.

( a sigh, a believable one at that. )

Can someone's heart really be that dedicated since middle school?

( leave him alone, he's being good now. he's in his down phase. )

[ komaeda would be surprised. some crushes would last a lifetime, never to be acknowledged by the other party for a myriad of reasons. and for someone like izumi, who's popular in his own right even in this certain high school, it'd be hard for him to notice anyone else while he keeps chasing down leo or some other idiot who caught his attention. he just has a Type, okay? sometimes stupid and cute is more than enough.

he turns to stare at komaeda, giving him a look that said "i'll talk to you later". because yeah the more the guy opens his mouth the worse it'd get for their investigation. he'll take over from here.

chiaki kudo, huh... still doesn't ring a bell, but doesn't that mean izumi's too wrapped up in his own world to even notice her? ]

Mm. Is it all right if I can see them? In exchange for modeling for you today. [ at least he doesn't sound so huffy anymore. ] It's not that I like her or anything like that, don't get me wrong. It's just that... you wouldn't know how much you'd miss someone who you see everyday in school until they're gone.

[ is he speaking from experience? most likely. he's seen it all before. ]

[ NPC #66666 looks mildly distressed that Komaeda is speaking with him but settles down a little when Komaeda says something not weird. Yeah, somebody's heart can really be that dedicated, he says, but he thinks for Chiaki it's a little different, because artists always have an eye for people and little things grab their attention. Izumi is, bluntly put, objectively beautiful. So sometimes you content yourself in watching and never getting involved, and it was never something Chiaki had wanted to let slip and brought attention to. Watching is nice sometimes. Somebody watching you while you watch them? oof.

Still... she gets to talk to Izumi... not that they've never talked before with all her asking him to the art club, and not that he's really seeing her anyways, even now, asking about senpai first and foremost.

It's a start, she tells herself. Things all got to start somewhere.

So she leaves her stool and goes to one of the cupboards to find where Aiko's paintings have been set aside, collecting them and bringing them back for Izumi one by one: a painting of the black cat snoozing in a sunbeam with the tips of its fur lit up like fire in the direct sunlight, a painting of the clock tower at dawn with its clock face a perfect mirror of the sky in soft pastel pinks and purples, an in-progress painting of the wisteria tree in the dark blues of night with its branches sagging heavily as if in the middle of a rainfall. ]

...I get it. Even if we didn't talk that much, whenever somebody moves away or- or just doesn't come to school anymore, they leave so much emptiness and regret behind.

( how many strokes of bad luck will they meet in this room, well, he guesses that something positive will happen in the end concerning them or chiaki. either way, it's worth the way, so he'll focus on npc #66666 for now and the information given to him. it's not a foreign concept to love someone, but the beauty of a person... can that be more than enough to encompass someone's entire heart? that's none of his business though, and komaeda's not going to start digging into the business of her and izumi's lovelife, instead.

komaeda smiles softly, his eyes bright as he keeps his sights on npc #66666 as if he's really changes his way after a subtle explanation. his lack of empathy makes his understanding of them difficult, and that's because only komaeda knows what he's interested in. )

Did you attend the same middle school with Kudo-san?

( his words are thoughtful, and he thinks from her perspective for the most part. he isn't sure how much he'll be able to learn in regards to izumi like this, but it doesn't hurt to try. his curiosity goes back and forth between the two as he glances over to them, watching as chiaki carries a couple of painting over to the idol for him to see. that's a romance alright, but komaeda won't third wheel them yet... not when he has npc 66666-kun... don't want to make him sad. )

If so... Did something happen to Sena-kun, she seemed pretty hurt that he didn't remember! What if he was involved in a pretty bad accident... haha, that sounds really lucky, actually.

( oh, that must sound bad. so let him shake his head. ) Because he forgot, he was able to meet her again when she needed him most.

[ it's too bad the pda's don't have a camera function, because izumi would've snapped a couple of those photos for future reference. reference for what, he's not sure -- but he'll take any clue he can get while he's still in chiaki-chan's good graces. he hates to admit it, but komaeda's better at these investigation thingies more than he does... but maybe it's because he's gone through something like this before?

ugh, why does he care anyway. so long as they can get more information about aiko's death... it's too bad, though. the art doesn't look half bad. chiaki truly has competition in the art department, so that could be enough motive for murder.......... ]

Yeah, exactly. At least she left these as a remembrance for all of us. [ he'll take his position then. me googling some random pose so he's gonna sit like this now ] Are you two friends? Did you guys talk about things while she's painting? Like what we're doing right right now.

[ he's not the type to talk while posing, but for now he'll make an exemption. ]

[ NPC 66666 gives Komaeda a strange look. Didn't all of them attend the same middle school? Or is he also so unforgettable that Komaeda doesn't remember his name... At least Komaeda has an excuse, but his dementia had better not be some infectious prion disease Izumi's caught too. ]

Some gift... they were supposed to be auctioned, and now they're no good for anybody- nobody's going to own them, and they're not going to help charity either. We didn't really talk that much anyways, and our art styles are pretty different too... Here, I'll show you!

[ She leaves Aiko's paintings in his care and leaves to a different storage closet with the surety of somebody who knows exactly what she's looking for, and plops this masterpiece in front of Izumi and stands beside it proudly. ]

This one's mine!

[ THE BEST. SHE'S THE BEST. GUESS WHO THIS IS A PAINTING OF. ]

( komaeda smiles softly at npc 66666 as he tries to reassure him, it's not that komaeda forgot him... or maybe it is, he does have an illness that prevents komaeda from actually retaining his memories. of course, he closes his eyes and slowly begins to think back, but there's only so much (rather, so little) that he knows... he's concerned about what the other is trying to say, and his eyes slowly flutter open as he laughs it off. )

Roku~n, I wouldn't forget you... ( made it up on the fly.. he doesn't even know if that's his name, but listen npc 66666, komaeda's doing his best. ) Rather... I've forgotten a lot to do with me... won't you tell me something that we did together back then? ( because his dementia is a bitch, and that should be the very reason why he should be given sympathy, and maybe some backstory from his dear roku~n.

let komaeda check on izumi and chiaki by looking over to them since he heard chiaki get up quite gleefully and run to one side of the room to get something and come back. he's squinting and then soon after, he has the O_O, but it softens, purely elated as he claps from where he is at the masterpiece. of course, he's looking at npc 66666 to see if they'll give a round of applause as well....

is that...

what everyone thinks it is... )

[ oh

oh

is this what he thinks it is? it's as if his mind is short-circuiting at this rather... expressionist piece-- no, wait. he has to make sure first... ]

Kudo.

[ he addresses his not-so-secret admirer with an all-too bright smile, voice raised an octave higher. ]

Who is this?

[ if there's anything his kouhai, especially tsukasa, know about him, it's that his smiles outside the camera is usually a bad sign. this is one of those times, depending on chiaki's response.

well? who will it be? ]

[ No round of applause. Roku~n was about to tell a heartwarming tale of his and Komaeda's childhood escapades, when he too sees Chiaki set the canvas down on the ground and the words die from his lips. He doesn't look surprised to see it- he's had to see it for days and days as Chiaki worked on it- but he does look wildly conflicted, like he can't decide whether he should intervene or not.

It's too late.

Chiaki beams at Izumi. ]

It's you, silly.

( not their childhood escapadesssss, which, they'll have to come back to when chiaki is showing off her hardwork. in all honesty, komaeda's actually enjoying himself when chiaki admits who the portrait is supposed to be. like this, he crosses his arms over his stomach and leans against roku~n, bumping shoulders with him as his eyes clothes in his attempt to stifle his laughter. there's tears in his eyes, as he chuckles softly, but going against izumi's sanity is one thing he just has to do — )

Wow! Amazing...! ( as i'm on call with enh right now, crying about this tag, he wanted me to say that edgar loves chiaki's paintings and praises her for them. this piece especially considering it capture's izumi's nature well. (because he's ugly inside is the meaning behind it, but chiaki doesn't need to know that). edgar valden is a supporter of anything that chiaki does, so he better not make her cry — ) It looks just like him! I love it!

( komaeda is sickly you know, so he takes a deep breath afterwards as he stays leaned up against his childhood friend... apparently. the leash also manages to slide into the male's lap from how komaeda is positioned, so don't worry about that. it's better off there than being in izumi's grasp considering how the idol seems to be "handling" the painting. he raises up his organic hand, and he's already wiping away the tears from his eyes. oh, it's been awhile since komaeda has been given this gift of humor. )

Don't you think it's great, Sena-kun!?

[ OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GODDDDDDD DOES SHE KNOW HE'S FUCKING STRAPPED TO THE NINES HE CAN BLOW THAT PAINTING OUT OF THE WATER AND POINT IT AT KOMAEDA IF HE HAS TO

AND HELLO??? HE DOES NOT NEED MISTER EDGAR VALDEN'S COMMENTARY OR ANY SHIT FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY OVER THERE!! WHO ASKED THEM?! DO THEY ALL THINK THIS IS JUST A JOKE? DO THEY NOT GET THAT BEING BEAUTIFUL TAKES A LOT OF HARD WORK??? WHAT DID THIS GIRL EVEN SEE IN IZUMI ANYWAY?! WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!

SOOOOOOOOOO ANNOYIIIIIIIIIIIING ]

[ those thoughts flood izumi's mind like a neverending downpour, face unreadable as his ears barely register the snickering coming from that stupid mutt. it'd be soooo easy to take that portrait of hers and break it over his goddamn knee before stomping away and effectively failing this mission. god. fuck!!!

instead, he smiles again. ]

You know what I think? I think it straight-up sucks. [ ouch. ] If you want to go all expressionist or whatever since that shit's out of my league, not gonna lie -- you're gonna need to do better in choosing color schemes. Like, why yellow? You do know blue's my favorite color, right?

[ he sighs, clutching his head for a bit. he could actually get a headache from all this. ]

Do it over now that you've got a closer look of me. And you better not fuck it up this time. I don't have all day.

[ at leaaaast he didn't lambast her over the art style? all those years of looking after leo's songs has given him some sort of tolerance over weirder expressions of art, but that doesn't mean chiaki-chan should go about it all wrong. ]

[ EDGAR IS HER BEST FRIEND AND IZUMI HAS SHIT TASTE

Chiaki blinks in surprise when he fails to praise her, because hello?? She slides the portrait closer to him, in case he needs a better look at it. ]

Open your eyes, Sena! Yellow is the color of happiness!

[ There's plenty of blue, and there's basically a rainbow on this canvas because maybe in her heart of hearts she knew. ]

If expressionism is out of your league, you're just talk out of your ass and you have no grounds for critique.

Even the eyes are perfectly matched... observant. ( big as FUCK boi. ) Even the mouth looks like you from the side...

( komaeda loves it, actually, not because it's making izumi go mad with anger, but the fact that... okay, maybe that is the reason. when he does finish laughing, his eyes stare over at the idol as he smoothly cuts to the chase on his feelings, and wow... that was done exceptionally well. there's a bite to his words, that onslaught of anger hidden carefully as he speaks while using a few vulgar terms to get his feelings through. ah, this is also hope! he didn't break as bad as komaeda thought, but he didn't let something like that break him completely — he guesses...

if it wasn't for chiaki's response, komaeda would have said his signature line — bullying a girl? not cool, sena-kun. — luckily for them, she's able to handle herself. at this point, he doesn't see why roku~n was so worried about her to begin with. though, there's something about her paining that stands out to him too.. )

Roku~n...

( he points to her painting, looking back at him slightly curious. what has his attention is... is that red in her painting? roku~n... what's that... better have an answer because komaeda remembers coming in with saihara and there wasn't any of that here. does he have to put a hand... on his friend's leg.... to be cute or something.... please. )

But you're still painting with me in mind, right? Of course I should put down my two cents about it. It's up to you whether you want to take them or not.

[ yeah, it's gonna take more than some smitten girl's bizarre art style to break him. this is nothing compared to the songs leo made for him at his own expense. try putting up with hits such as the "I Hope Mold Grows All Over Meanie Sena’s Body And He Dies An Agonizing And Painful Death" song, among other things!! so annoying!

although - now that he mentioned it and got a closer look on the painting... there is something weirder in the works here and it's not just the bulging eyes and the garish color scheme. ]

Also... Why are there touches of red here? Are you trying to tell me something?

[ recalling that the color red isn't available in the art room from the start... gulp. ]

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blair voice: go reply i want to see the reaction to this

closes my eyes i am innocent

me half asleep at 2am heheheing over my name choices

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