sweetdevil | 14th ♫ | the nightingale is still locked in the cage

14th ♫ | the nightingale is still locked in the cage

Kyouko Kougami/Reflector Heart CMO

A CMO/voicetest for Kyouko Kougami/Reflector Heart, an OC from a magical girl verse Daydream Reflection!

You're free to pop in with assumed CR, new CR, AUs and whatever else i'm not that fussy i just wanna thread man just plonk a character in a comment down below, give me a scenario and let's do some RPing!

PROMPTS:

Random Scenario Meme Prompts
Jamjar CR Meme Prompts
Murdergame Meme Prompts

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[ She looks down. ]

I'm listening to her. I'm listening to you, too. But more than either... I'm going to listen to my own heart.

[[ BGM ]]

...Goodbye, Reflector Heart.

[ As she looks up, she gets close enough for the shadow expanding at her feet to cross where Kyouko's standing. From within it, a jet-black vine suddenly lashes upwards, wrapping itself around her wrist and moving at once to hurl her aside with great force. ]

[ Usually, Kyouko would be able to take a hit like that. She's strong enough to tank blows from monsters and come out not much worse for wear. But the idea that Yuka is her enemy has her knees weak. Her stance loose and unguarded.

So when she's thrown, Kyouko goes flying. She doesn't even have the time to give a proper cry of surprise. All that comes out is a yelp before she's winded by the impact of crashing into the ground. She skids a few feet, kicking up mud and water and shattered fragments of crystal, before she can stop herself and starts struggling up onto her knees. ]

Stop it! I don't want to fight you! I thought we were supposed to be partners, weren't we?! We're supposed to be fighting together, not each other!

[ It hurts, watching her take a hit like that. She never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all her best friend. But... she had already prepared her heart for this.

Reflector Shade advances slowly but surely. As she moves forward, black vines grow from the ground in front of her, and fade and wither behind her, as the black circle follows her steps. ]

Then join me and Diamond, and help us rid this world of sadness. Join us, or face me. I won't let you answer me with half-hearted words alone.

[ It would make attacking her easier, if she would just hit back. ]

[ Kyouko grits her teeth. She hurts all over, her whole body feels like a massive bruise, but not enough to stop her from struggling back up to her feet. It isn't with the intention of fighting back, but instead pulling herself up to her full height and staying right where she is. ]

Then that just proves you don't believe anything you're saying! If you really, honestly thought this was the right thing to do, you wouldn't be trying to beat the message into me! You'd try and talk to me!

Paragon Diamond's been telling you big fat lies and you know it!

[ Yuka stops, a pace short. She looks down, frustrated, teeth clenched. ]

What... am I supposed to say to you...?

What can I tell you that will make you turn back? That every morning, I dread having to look at myself, and remember that I'll never be the person I want? That I can't imagine any future where I'm truly happy?

[ Several vines spiral together behind her into one enormous vine, rising over her to smash down at Kyouko. ]

I don't know if I could make you understand or not. But I know beyond any doubt that, now that I've abandoned that world, I couldn't possibly bear going back!

[ No, Kyouko thinks suddenly. She doesn't think she could really understand. She's hated what she's seen in the mirror before -- when she was at her worst, sickly and pale and her face drawn enough that her cheeks were practically concave and loathing her reflection and everything it embodied. But she'd always known that sooner or later she'd get better. Her cheeks would be full and rosy again and her breath wouldn't come out in shallow rasps.

What must it be like to hate not just your reflection but every part of your body? What would it be like having to spend every day knowing there was nothing you could do to change it?

What must it be like to go through that alone? ]

Then I'll do it!

[ Kyouko throws out her arms, like she what Yuka's preparing isn't an attack but an embrace. ]

If you don't think you can come up with a happy future for yourself then I'll do it for you!

You...

[ She hesitates for a moment. It's almost enough.

Yuka steps backward, recoiling from the gesture of affection as the circle at her feet expands again. Vines lash out and wrap themselves around all four of Kyouko's limbs, desperately trying to hold her back. ]

D... Don't just declare that on your own with no basis! There are things that can do, and things that you can't! No matter how much you say you care, there's nothing you can do for me, Kyouko! This is the only way!

[ Kyouko strains forward like she's leaning into the winds of a hurricane. It feels like her arms are going to come off at the shoulder, popping out of the joints like a broken action figure. But she doesn't stop. ]

If it's the only way, then why were we fighting so hard before?! You saw it, I know you did! Every single time we stopped a monster, things got a little better for people in the real world! It wasn't perfect but we were still making a difference!

And if I can make a difference for all those people, for strangers I didn't even know, then what makes you think I won't be able to do that for you? What makes you think I'd ever stop before I did that for you?!

B-Because...

[ One by one, the vines break as Kyouko pushes forward. Yuka looks up, tears streaming down her face. ]

...Because I don't deserve it! Because I'm a coward who just ran away from all her problems! I gave up, even knowing that it would hurt you! I betrayed you because I'm too weak to keep on living the life I was given!

Just hurry up and give up on me! I haven't done anything to deserve your kindness!

I'm not giving up on you!

[ When the vines finally come apart, Kyouko's momentum carries her forward a few steps. She almost falls flat on her face but instead of coming to a stop, she keeps moving. Towards Yuka.

Before the other girl can protest or even think about moving away, Kyouko throws herself forward and wraps Yuka up in the tightest hug she can muster. She hurts all over and her arms are screeching in protest at the overexertion. But she's not giving up on Yuka. And more importantly, she's not letting Yuka go. ]

You really think you can call yourself a coward after you lasted so long like that, all by yourself? All that time you spent pushing on, even though there was no one you could talk to? And then when we found out about this world together, even though everything'd been so hard for you, you decided you were going to make things better for everyone with me!

You're amazing, Yuka-chan! And if you're a coward then I'm-- I'm just useless! I'm useless because I couldn't see how bad you were hurting. I got so caught up in trying to save everyone else... I didn't see the person right next to me who needed saving too.

[ I'm not worth it. Fighting for me will just end with you getting hurt again. I can't be saved. All the things she wanted to say vanish in Kyouko's embrace.

Her words make Yuka realize one thing she had overlooked - Kyouko was suffering, too. But it wasn't because of some dream she couldn't realize or something she wanted to become, it was because she hadn't been there for her best friend. If the worlds merged, then that wound would stay open forever. Could such a world - one where she could erase her own pain at the cost of Kyouko's happiness - ever really be worth it?

Slowly, hesitantly, Yuka reached up to hug her back. She clung almost painfully tightly and cried into Kyouko's shoulder, overwhelmed by her warmth and kindness. ]

It's... not going to get easier... Even if I go back... I'll just end up wanting to run away again...

That's okay! That's-- it's hard. Living in the real world when you know all the bad stuff that happens, especially when you have to live through so much of it! Wanting to run away from it to somewhere safe doesn't make you a bad person, it just--

[ It just makes her as human as anyone else.

Kyouko's arms tighten around her. ]

Any time you feel like that... every single time you feel like you have to run away, just come find me, okay? And if you ever do run away I'll just come and find you. You don't have to go back and face up to all that by yourself.

[ From this close, they can't see each other faces, but even so, Yuka does her best to put on a smile. It's shaky, uncertain, and stained with tears, but it's for Kyouko, she can at least try. ]

...I think, maybe... I can face that world again... as long as... I'm with you...

[ Yuka finally recognizes the feeling taking shape in her heart, the emotion she had mistaken for simple gratitude. There are so many things she wants to say, if she can figure out how.

I never want you to suffer because of me.
You're the reason that I can be strong.
I want to keep you at my side forever.
I love you. ]

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14th ♫ | the nightingale is still locked in the cage

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