![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Heart game writeup
Hisoka's heartgame writeup! Game was here. Players were: Lloyd, Tsuzuki, Ginshu, Bonten, Roxas, Mark, and Shirley.
Prep-work, pre-planning, and technical notes
Because why not! I thought people might be curious as to How Haru Heartgames.
STEP 1: Write up a top-level blurb of plans and stick it at the start of a gdoc. This can be like ... anything basically. Not everything in it will be used. But it's basically my pool of "shit I want to do". I usually add to it through the early stages of figuring things out, then stop once I am actually writing up the heart. Here is what I have listed as Plans (green is what I kept, red is what I got rid of as I developed further):
- Hisoka's heart is both multi-layer (lots of trains of thoughts or feelings being handled at once) and simultaneously very straightforward.
- Hisoka is very able to detect foreign intrusion (due to his psychic powers) and so will be more aware that the heart-divers are foreign entities visiting him than my other characters are aware. Signs, notes, etc.
- Symbolism: It's not that his heart lacks symbolism, it's just that he's very self-aware about his own symbolism and it breaks down to detailed things. So the cowboy hat won't represent a broad concept like "grief" but instead represents like "the awareness that by indulging my own ego and ignoring others I can cause irreparable harm and even death".
- Most items will not identify themselves by themselves but if someone talks to them they will talk back, even if inanimate. THey know what they are and can identify themselves, after all. (Alternately, labels? Does that make everything too easy?) (Note that nobody actually asked any of the items what they were since there was always a Hisoka there instead, but sometimes items 'projected' some of what they were or were trying to do onto people)
- Path to the True Heart - simple to get there, but you can't open it until you have found access through Traumatic Impact, Keep in MInd, and Hopes and Dreams. ("Keep in Mind" got revised to "Life Lessons").
- Empathy - ask up front for players to please try to keep in mind what their character is feeling/where that changes, and give it in their comments wherever possible. Some part of the room (walls/ceiling/etc?) will change colour in response to a dominating mood/swirls of different colours. (I used this very very slightly but didn't keep it an overall concept. )
- As well, each room will project some slight emotional affect. Not strong per se but for example "Like a cloudy day, it's hard to keep your spirits up in here." (every room description included how the color of it made you feel. Not forced emotional affects unlike Rolo but playing off symptahetic responses.)
- Before each 'room' inside a path are a short hall that splits off into the different areas. There are bookcases in these halls containing relevant memories to replay. The rooms don't contain the memory 'replay' but instead carry the emotional artifacts, impact, etc. (Basically kept, minus actual bookshelves and only with books)
STEP 2: Figure out the 'mechanic' behind reaching the True Heart.
For this heartgame, I decided what I wanted to do to access the true heart was that the player had to somehow become part of Hisoka's constant internal process of analysing events and trying to understand his feelings, role, etc about them. I wrote an essay on this once but basically the reason Hisoka copes so well with things generally is that he never gives his own behavior a free pass -- he always analyses it afterwards, figures out why he was doing something or feeling something, etc. Which doesn't mean he isn't incredibly emotional about it, but he's always constantly striving to check himself. SO in order to reach the 'true', ideal Hisoka, the player had to become part of this process -- whether it was confirming the current paths of analysis or arguing against the current paths of analysis. They had to engage with that system, provide agreeing or alternate viewpoints, and when this occurred in the three 'areas of concern' in each zone, the Filter (the version of Hisoka who integrated the internal arguments and 'displays' it to the whole) would produce a key to the True Heart.
STEP 3: Figure out the 'dominant metaphor' of the heart.
Every time I run a heart game, I try to give a dominant metaphor to give it a feeling of cohesion, then build the layout of the heart around the metaphor and mechanic. With Rolo, the metaphor was time (the clock shop), with Kanji it was the media running through the big city/small town morals, etc. For Hisoka, I decided that what I ultimately wanted to do was organization. Hisoka is a very mentally organized person! He is constantly thinking on multiple levels at once but he's very self-aware, very determined to separate himself out from others (key as he's an empath -- he's always constantly checking what is 'him' and what is 'other people' so he can act as himself), etc. He's an office worker, on top of that. So when I designed the heart I designed it to reflect "Organized Categories".
It looks something like this:
(Note that the Id/Ego/Superego aren't exact to Freudian psychology or anything in that for Hisoka the elements I listed as Id are only desires in so far as they are reactive desires around things he does not want/wants to react to; the Ego is the critical consciousness here and thus takes on some of the moral criticism Freud would ascribe to the Superego, and what I listed as the Superego is more 'reasonable desires that can be achieved through balancing of the Ego and the Id'. But given that there were three areas, a negative, neutral, and positive, I thought it was funny and labelled them like that anyway.)
ANYWAY, as you can see, the heart was defined by an organizational category tree, in levels. The top level is the full heart; the 'entry' area was his subconscious, and from there four 'folders', one of which is locked. Each then breaks down further.
The three main sub-areas, which are the key to development in the heart, are very distinctly tucked into three different 'elements'; so even if the same event is being reviewed (Riko's death for example) it's the different approach that is highlighted -- so parts of Riko's death show up in both Hubris/Grief and in Take Care.
STEP 4: Write all the flavor text. I ALWAYS TRY TO DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN ADVANCE to keep myself up to speed. This includes all the stuff I C&P in as description, but also notes to myself on symbolism of objects, what the 'review/reinactment' is in each area, etc. I keep the stuff I intend to C&P in a different colored font to make it easy for me to tell where it starts/ends while replying rapidly and juggling different groups.
STEP 5 Output to word doc and make every area Header 1, 2, or 3, then make a table of contents at the start of the doc (if you ctrl-click on table of contents in word docs, you are brought immediately to that header via an internal link) -- basically I do this so I can quickly jump from one section to another of the heart since different groups usually split up to different areas.
STEP 6: RUN IT
ok all that info out of the way let's talk about what you're actually here for:
Heart Walkthrough
Entry - Immediate Subconscious
Room Description
You find yourselves in what seems like a very nice office room. There's a desk and a rolly chair in the middle of the room, the carpeting is plush but not too thick, and the walls are coloured a comfortable pale green. On each of the four walls is a door. The four doors are labelled, in brass plaques with lovely script on them: "Traumatic Impact", "Life Lessons", "Hopes and Dreams", and "True Heart." True heart has a lock on it that has three keyholes; the other three doors all have papers pinned to them with writing on them.
As well, you will probably notice large words swirling into being and then fading out again all over the wall, phrases and fragments: This feels different -- Other people? -- It must be a game. -- Maybe I'm dreaming. -- What will happen? -- Focus, focus.
When people look at the papers on the doors:
The paper on "Traumatic Impact" reads: "NTS: Contained in this area are memories and situations that have caused damage to the Heart as a whole. Exercise caution when manoeuvring through this area. Tends to cause moodswings, increased anger. No good for team or friends, but important history nonetheless. View sparingly."
The paper on "Life Lessons" reads: "NTS: Contained in this area are life lessons, cautions, and situations that I have to keep in check in myself. Some pleasant but mostly painful, but worth revisiting and analysing to prevent future problems. Remember to assign blame correctly, not either put it on anyone else or take it all for myself."
The paper on "Hopes and Dreams" reads: "NTS: Here's the stuff that creates a future I might actually want to achieve. Work on cherishing it -- I'm not very good at it, but if I don't try, I'll never move past myself and become someone who can keep on going for anything but hate. Worth a shot."
The desk:
The desk is a big work desk; the chair is a rather comfy leather rolling spinny chair. Good times.
The desk is covered with memos on sticky notes stuck all over it: "Stop being such a bitch all the time, seriously." "Don't just go ahead and put your viewpoint out first." "Don't shut people down." "Try to learn to smile" (And appended to the smile one, "But don't feel obliged to if it doesn't feel natural."). "Keep learning." "Examine 'forgiveness' more." "Don't worry too much about your behavior."
There is a single drawer on the desk. There's no lock in it, and inside are a pile of sticky notes, some loose paper, and a pen.
Notes
- Writing on the walls = Hisoka's subconscious mind reacting to feeling the presence of other people. He's an empath, so he's able to discern other people's emotions, and he has a constant subconscious job of separating other people from himself since he actually feels their emotions of his own. So his mental monologue is reacting to their presence.
---> When people touched it gently or reassured him or so on it would 'blush' pink under their touch -- it's basically his rush of dere in reaction haha. CYCLE OF MOE. anyway.
---> Limited ability to communicate; limited because his mind's running on its own tracks as well as trying to focus on communication, because it's his subconscious, and because he's asleep. Not the most coherent.
- Papers on the doors are his personal warnings TO HIMSELF about analysing events. They're not actually to the players but they're basically that moment of steeling himself before analysing something. Basically it's like OKAY I NEED TO REVIEW SOMETHING TRAUMATIC I HAD BETTER REMEMBER TO KEEP MY REACTIONS IN CHECK but it's still important to do BUT DON'T OVERDO IT, ME.
- Sticky notes on the desk are his super immediate conscious "notes to self" that are always at the back of his mind. Writing notes and leaving them for Hisoka will alter/add things to what's going on constantly in the background (or removing them)
---> Shirley added 'remember that Hound loves you', which has no effect because Hisoka doesn't even need to think about that; he can feel it.
---> She also added "No matter what happens, everyone who played this game cares about you.", which has the affect of him feeling genuinely reminded of their feelings for him even if he didn't know them before (Hi Mark). May have some dissonance if he picks something else up from them.
Traumatic Impact
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Traumatic Impact' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted a deep and striking red, a colour so shocking that it may make you feel uncomfortable to be in here, like the area itself may cause a sympathetic emotional ache, somewhere between painful and agitating. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a tree painted on it; one has a barred window painted on it, and one has a sword painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. A barely-pubescent boy of 12 or 13 -- a younger version of Hisoka quite clearly, with his ash-brown hair and his startlingly bright green eyes -- sits on the chair. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
- By visiting all three rooms and engaging with the Hisoka (and/or other key props and figures) who represents the issue in each room, a key will appear in Hallway Hisoka's hands, which he will give them. All three keys from all three areas must be achieved to open the True Heart.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
- The walls - red - emotional reflections of the unresolved pain associated with these issues. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
- The books - Memories associated with trauma.
- Hallway Hisoka - Young - This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "the origin of revenge via a response to trauma" and will admit as such if asked. He is young because many of the origins go far back in his childhood and relate to the damage done in his childhood and his inability to have an adulthood. Reviewing the strongest traumatic memories.
Memories
- The book in his hand is Hisoka getting raped and murdered. (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/10550.html)
- Book 2: Childhood abuse (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/2779.html)
- Book 3: Tsuzuki going insane and Hisoka feeling it (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/4270.html)
- Book 4: Riko's death (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/8920.html?#cutid1)
- Book 5: Damaging the war/the tengu's trial. (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/13269.html)
Notes
---> I laughed when Tsuzuki asked Hisoka if he was reading a "good book". ("No, it's a terrible book.")
---> No changes here! Lloyd and Tsuzuki were both physically affectionate to the Trauma Filter, but that didn't cause any changes (the Filter functions pretty smoothly already and that's most of what it'd do, give encouragement).
The Sakura Tree
- Loss of innocence / senseless pain and destruction, the birth of vengeance.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a deep, solid red. The colour is deep and sharp and more blinding than the hallway itself had been. It hurts to look at and the entire area is likely to leave you agitated, if you're sensitive at all to emotional things.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. A red moon stands out almost pinkish against the deep red of the room's walls. You are on a hill; there is a cherry blossom tree, gently blowing cherry blossoms around. Under the tree is Hisoka, the same 12-13 year old version as from the hallway, barely clad with a yukata tangled around him, limbs akimbo (bloodied and worse), arms tied over his head and ankles bruised. Bending over him is a tall, broad-shouldered man with silver hair (Silver, to anyone who knew him in Aather at all), his shirt untucked and belt unbuckled, in the process of drawing red glowing magical lines on Hisoka's bare chest with a fingertip. Hisoka seems disassociated, gaze straight up and unfocussed, while the man seems quite intent. They are both completely frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* a gas lamp on a table, burning at a moderate brightness, with a dial that could allow this to be adjusted.
* A small ugly and grungy doll of Hisoka with its eyes torn out
* A pair of gloves tucked away in a corner and turned inside out
* A bowl of water, beside the frozen tableau Hisoka.
Tableau
Players can interact with either of the two figures in the tableau via touch, speech, etc. They will be responsive like dolls that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions they will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Gas lamp - desire for revenge at all costs. Currently on moderately bright because he still wants it very badly but is less likely to bad decision dinosaur than before
Doll - Sense of disgust with himself for having been in this situation. Self-aware that this is victim blaming but difficult to examine too closely (eyes). Sense that he has become tainted and dirty.
Gloves - The desire/fear of touch. Inverted because he can't stand touching people unless he pushes past that right now.
Water - is salt water/unshed tears. Grief that this is how he died.
Notes
---> Tsuzuki punching Muraki amped up 'violence/punishment' as an acceptable method of dealing with Muraki's violations (and similar events)
---> Tsuzuki discouraged self-blame (which Hisoka is disinclined to anyway, honestly) and encouraged justice over revenge.
---> Tsuzuki putting Muraki in a corner made the wrestling with the issue less 'immediate'.
---> Tsuzuki dimming the lamp lowered the desire for revenge at all costs.
---> By turning one of the gloves right-side-in, Tsuzuki amped up Hisoka's comfort with touching others and being touched.
---> Using Hisoka's unshed tears to try to clean up the physical signs of the rape/murder, Tsuzuki literally created some 'catharsis' over the method of his death through rape and black magic -- use of tears for clensing. This is also why Hisoka started crying immediately on waking up. These tears have been used to help lance that wound.
---> Because of Tsuzuki giving this Hisoka an ofuda for protection Hisoka is analysing the potential to protect himself by relying on others back into his past. This will cause some dissonance as one of the painful points of the memory was that no matter how much he screamed for help nobody came.
The Basement (The barred door)
- Lack of family, childhood abuse, the need to disassociate.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted a deep, solid black. It's such a deep black that it almost makes you inclined to despair, looking at it, like it wants to swallow your happiness. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits in the room.
You appear to be in a very very small room in a basement. A window is painted on one wall, casting light in a small rectangular beam into the black room; it is barred over both vertically and horizontally, thick black chunks taken out of the patch of moonlight. Sitting in the middle of the floor, in that patch of light, hands to his face, is Hisoka, somewhere around the age of 6 or 7. Although it looks like he's in the middle of sobbing, he is frozen in tableau, tears staying where they are instead of rolling down.
Every 30-40 seconds you can hear voices and sounds, as if it's audio being piped in on a regular basis, one phrase or noise, then silence, then another, then silence... "This child is too creepy!" "Kill him, Nagare, kill him now!" "He's a monster!" "This is your grave, Hisoka." "You're not our child!" "You're disgusting!" "I wanted a normal child! What am I supposed to do with you?" "If you're too weak to kill him, at least take him out of my sight!" The sound of fists on skin. Etc.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A futon, rolled tightly in the corner.
* A sword, hanging on one wall.
* A cushion, torn to pieces. A few have been carefully put back to form part of the cushion's original shape.
* A small, box tightly-sealed (with packaging tape)
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Futon - rolled tightly -- (in)ability to find peace when looking back on his family situation.
Sword - The sharpness of his own reactions to other people as a result of years of childhood abuse.
Torn cushion - Difficulty showing a softer side of himself as a result of years of training to not show his (or anyone's) emotions.
Sealed Box - Inside the box is his resentment. He is trying to keep it under control.
Notes
--->Lloyd tried to tell the voices to shut up, but they wouldn't. There was no actual way to stop them; the voices are an inherent part of the situation that Hisoka is constantly struggling with.
---> Lloyd encouraged Hisoka not to listen to his parents' voices, to not think of himself as wrong, and to trust his instinct. This basically was reinforcing the conclusions Hisoka usually came to.
---> By giving Hisoka the sewing kit to help him fix his ability to express his emotions, Hisoka will view himself as having the tools to fix his self-expression.
---> By encouraging the window to shine in more, Lloyd helped increase the awareness in that analysis that there was more outside that (basically, if that was only a small part of the world, helping settle it more firmly in the past).
The Desert (The Sword)
- Stubbornness leading to loss and grief. Causing the death of others through rash actions.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a hot, bright yellow. The colour is quite the strain on the eyes, making you somewhat nauseous and distressed, if you're sensitive at all to emotional things.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. It is midday, a blazing sun bright white against the yellow of the room. You are in the desert; sand dunes rise around you. Kneeling, arms wrapped around himself, and sobbing as if his heart were breaking, is Hisoka. He's his current age -- but nearly unrecognizable, covered in vicious burns so brutal that here and there are exposed muscle, tendons, and bone. He is frozen in tableau mid-cry.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A tiny doll-sized cowboy hat on a nearby dune.
* A table with a dragon figurine on it. It is cracked.
* A billowing fire, as if part of the floor had caught.
* A string of juzu beads
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Cowboy hat - Grief over rash decisions which caused harm to people he should have been protecting.
Dragon figurine - Responsibility for one's own rash actions
Fire - the desire for power which leads to rash action.
Juzu beads - Punishment and guilt for rash actions.
Notes
---> Lloyd casting Cure on Hisoka (repeatedly) reduces the overall pain associated particularly with Riko's death.
---> Lloyd encouraged Hisoka to just take what he could from it and soldier on through the grief, which reinforces Hisoka's natural tendencies.
---> Lloyd also encouraged Hisoka to basically -- give it a rest. Let the guilt get less sore before he continues to analyse the heck out of his own actions.
Life Lessons
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Life Lessons' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted a solid blue, steady and a bit calming, if kind of depressing to look at too long. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a dragon painted on it; one has a ring painted on it, and one has a lotus painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. Hisoka, in a tidy gray suit with a casual and loose tie, sits on the chair. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
Same as above
- When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
The walls - blue - emotional reflections of the calm determination (but depression) associated with these issues. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
The books - Memories associated with learning things he carries forward.
Hallway Hisoka - Normal - This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "using the situations I find myself in to better myself and my situation" and will admit as such if asked. He is his current age as this is half of his current self, and wearing a suit because this is his 'home' self more thoroughly.
Memories
- Book in his hands: Even a madman has reasons for what he does ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/6809.html)
- Book 2: Sohryu was mauled because of me (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/7690.html)
- Book 3: Healing Kotaro (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/11701.html)
- Book 4: I'm not that scared little boy anymore (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/12547.html)
- Book 5: Bad Decision Dinosauring ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/1615.html)
Notes
--->More physical affection for the Lessons Filter! Same as above, no real change, but it's nice.
Imaginary World - Bedroom (Dragon)
- Acting recklessly can cause long and painful repercussions for yourself and those around you.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted an unpleasantly grayish blue-green; the air feels thick, almost stagnant in here, discomfiting and a little nauseating. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits.
You appear to be in a bedroom. It is extremely old-fashioned and elaborate, wood-work beautifully carved. The dominating feature of the room is a four-poster bed, with curtains carefully pulled back around it. Nestled in the bed, unconscious, is a beautiful but severe-looking middle-aged man, tall and strong and regal, with long blue hair splayed out on the pillow. What is visible of his broad barrel chest under his blankets and yukata is bandaged, with blood seeping through; blood and bruises mar his collar, neck, and face. Standing by the bed, gaze downcast in what seems to be guilt and horror, is Hisoka. Both Hisoka and the man in the bed are frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* An empty clay pot, cracked, with a "1 cent" stamp on it, on the bedside table.
* A camellia flower on the floor.
* a pile of dirty, used bandages.
* a puzzle box made of interlocked metal bars.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Clay Pot - Awareness that acting stubbornly and selfishly may lead to the deaths of those you love
Camellia Flower - Awareness that however justified your feelings and actions on an event are, others will feel otherwise and that is their right.
Bandages - Awareness that if you have forced others to pay a cost, you yourself must pay an equal cost to start to balance the debt of your actions.
Puzzle Box - Determination to break free from a cycle built in the past and learn to act for other people's benefit.
Notes
--->Lol good job finding the guilt dragon Bonten
---> Bonten encourages Hisoka to learn from his mistakes but also to forgive himself.
---> Ginshu offered Hisoka reassurance and basically gave a guided experience through the angles Hisoka usually takes when analysing his role in letting Futsu no Mitama go free.
---> Offering Hisoka the puzzle box and bandages did nothing without doing something with them first.
The Ring - (Aather)
- As part of a 'team' you both bear responsibility to take care of others and must recognize that others will look to you to both lead and follow.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a dull, grayish green. It isn't exactly unpleasant to look at, though it's a little -- odd seeming, unfamiliar, and uncanny.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. You are in the ring area; here is the nail tree, though it seems to also be producing fruit, some strange meld of the two. Hisoka is here, halfway up the tree, reaching for some fruit and ignoring the way the nails are scoring his skin. He is frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A large, green battle-axe.
* Seven fragments of an emerald brooch; they have been arranged in the base of the brooch so they fit together, but they are clearly separate pieces.
* A book; it appears to be Kipling's "The Jungle Book" on closer inspection.
* A … … bottle of lube...
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Axe - The realization that it is not only my actions which cause problems, but can lead other people into problems as well.
Brooch - As a team, all of our actions define whether we sit together as a group or separate into individuals simply bearing the same color
Book - It is not only on the team that one gives guidance but off the team as well.
Lube - Having started down a path of action, how far is it fair to change that path when you realize your situation has changed?
Notes
---> Good job finding the lube, Ginshu!
---> Ginshu encouraged the following approaches: It's okay to guide others, but you shouldn't get hurt doing it; accept your friends' assistance.
---> By bandaging this Hisoka's hands she built the association that even if he gets hurt trying to pave the way, his friends will help heal him.
The Lotus (The garden outside the restaurant)
- No matter how bad things get, if you give up, you only guarantee they will not improve.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a deep blue-green. The color has just enough intensity to build a sense of urgency in you.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. The rear of an old inn/restaurant is nearby (painted on a wall), but the area here is cleared. A pond is near, with koi and lotuses. The air smells thickly of flowers. Hisoka and another man are facing off against each other here; Hisoka is soaked with blood and the scent of viscera mingles with the smell of flowers, but Hisoka’s gaze is fixed on the other swordsman. They are frozen, as in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A sword, bloodied and on the ground
* A security passcard.
* Some green ribbons.
* A tangle of roses.
((Note on this: I had somehow C&P'd over what I intended to do with this room so I had to make it up/recreate it on the spot.))
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Bloodied Sword - Effort must be spent and sacrifices made to move forward.
Security Passcard - Even if the things you want are apparently unreachable there is always a way.
Green ribbons - Even if we're facing almost certain death, we'll do it together.
Tangle of Roses - Frequently the things you care for are tied up in politics; that doesn't mean you care for them any less.
Notes
---> Lotuses are a symbol of purity and koi is of course an homonym for 'love' -- this area is heavily weighted towards implying a pure love behind the violence here.
---> Bonten reinforced that Hisoka can't give up if what he needs is important enough.
---> By tying the ribbon around this Hisoka's wrist, Bonten established that as long as Hisoka is fighting for what he believes in and won't give up on, he'll always know his friends and team will back him up.
Hopes and Dreams
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Hopes and Dreams' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted an energetic Emerald green, easy on the easy and bright enough to cheer you up. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a gemstone painted on it; one has a star painted on it, and one has a fire painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. Hisoka, clad in Emerald uniform but looking a few years older -- maybe nineteen or twenty -- sits in it. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
As above with other areas.
When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
The walls - green - emotional reflections of the warmth, energy, and determination associated with his hopes and dreams. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
The books - Memories associated with learning things he carries forward.
Hallway Hisoka - Older- This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "aiming towards a healthy and positive future for myself" and will admit as such if asked. He is older because this is how old he would have been had he started to age, and wearing Emerald as a symbol of association with his team as his family.
Memories
- Book in his hands: Trying to save Tsuzuki from suicide (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/12394.html?#cutid1)
- Book 2: Opening up to Tsuzuki for the first time (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/8602.html)
- Book 3: We can only go up from here ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/2957.html )
- Book 4: Romantic eye gouging ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/1943.html )
- Book 5: That time Watari and Tsuzuki turned themselves into kids ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/5871.html )
Notes
---> You can probably notice here in the thread with Shirley where he argues back with her how much more autonomous the filters are than the 'tableau' Hisokas; this is because they are actually the part which analyses and comes to conclusions, so they're -- well, able to do that. The tableaus are mostly spitting out ideas and being altered and changed by viewpoints.
---> "This has got to be the single most awkward way to meet someone." "No, I can guarantee I've had worse." I MAKE MYSELF LAUGH. MORBIDLY.
---> Roxas was the only one to review a memory, and picked "Dumb Shit", which was the absurd deaging memory. This memory was important to Hisoka as representative for -- well, the dumb shit which is filling his life between all the terrible shit, and which kind of... represents having family and friends.
Gemstone (Emerald / Office)
- A place to belong/ a family
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted the same warm and energetic emerald green as the hallway; looking at it may make you feel more relaxed and ready to do anything. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits.
You appear to be in some strange melding of the Emerald cabin and some kind of big office room. The layout is the same as emerald, and the beds etc are there, but there are desks against one wall, rolling chairs, etc. Hisoka is seated at one of the desks, paperwork in front of him, the back part of one pen against his chin as if he were scratching it. He is frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A photocopy machine
* A large and solid, unflawed emerald gem, set into the floor.
* Red sheets on Hisoka's bed only
* A shovel, leaning against one wall.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Photocopier - The thought that family may be a thing that can continue to regenerate itself just by existing, rather than a thing that requires constant work to maintain.
Gem - Hisoka's personal vision of his team as solid, rich, and inherent to the situation upon which he stands.
Red sheets - The vision of family, love, relationships, as something you can rest inside.
Shovel - Family is not limited to what you have right now; it can be dug deeper, expanded further outside yourself, endlessly.
Notes
---> I think the only room that was visited twice, first by Shirley (who didn't trigger the tableau), and then by Mark/Roxas (who did)
---> Shirley's starting the photocopier didn't change much -- previously it represented the 'ability' to regenerate family; with it actually copying it represents the 'actuality' of regeneration of family.
---> Roxas thanking the gem for projecting was one of the few times someone treated the items as conscious (Lloyd talking to the window was the other), so it got acknowledgement.
---> Mark helped reinforce that even if family is aware of your feelings, it's still important to express them and not take your family for granted.
---> The dirt on the shovel represented the sense that family has been dug deeper -- work has gone into it. By cleaning it up Roxas and Mark reduced the overall sense that Hisoka has put effort into developing as a family with Emerald (however, since the dirt was left on the floor, albeit in a tidy pile, he's more likely to feel like Emerald put effort into developing it with HIM).
---> Roxas helped reinforce that family was outside of blood.
The Star Room (Outdoors at Night)
- Overcoming my own limitations
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted the soft colours of sunset, splashes of warm reds and oranges fading into a starry black. It feels progressive, broad, and while you may feel small under the vastness of a sky, it feels like there is so much more that can fit inside this "room".
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. A white moon is painted on the ceiling. You are outside Emerald, judging by the (admittedly hard to navigate) sunflowers; a warm breeze blows them gently. Hisoka is here, head tilted up towards the moon. He is frozen in tableau, clothes not blowing in the breeze. Manacles are fastened around his arms and legs.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A large egg, surface showing faint cracks.
* A literal puddle of blood, set in a sinkhole. Some cracks are starting to form at the edges, blood rivulets forming, so the puddle is looking slightly drained, judging from the waterline marks on the side.
* The chains from the manacles on Hisoka, running into the walls of the room.
* A large crack in one wall, through which the wind is blowing.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Cracked egg - The struggle to break out of his own shell to become something other than a vengeful spirit. (If they crack it open, a child Hisoka will be inside). Cracked because this is in progress.
Puddle of blood - The use of hate as a vehicle to drive himself so he can gain more and more things that will help wean him off the hate. Slowly draining/becoming less full.
Chains - His current restrictions into who and what he is; he hasn't changed that much yet.
Crack in the wall - the winds of change, drive to work to change himself as soon as possible.
Notes
---> The manacles on Hisoka are tight (as Shirley discovered) and heavy, but not painful. They're an okay burden, but Hisoka's 'goal' is still to remove them.
---> Shirley birthed baby Hisoka! Er... which is to say she broke open the shell and helped the child Hisoka out. This child is, as above, the conceptualization of himself as something with room to grow and change, and a sort of 'reborn innocence' as such. She encouraged him to grow up big and strong, and he then goes and curls into tableau Hisoka's arms, holding onto the manacles. Thus the method to remove his chains (limitations) will be through growing this 'other' self.
---> After getting advice from the filter to "encourage him" to help the chained Hisoka, Shirley encourages him to rely on his friends and loved ones, but that he himself has the power to get free. No big change here (this room basically represents that very thing), but she pushed the reliance on others enough he's more likely to view that possibility as the way to approach things.
The Burning Room
- Learning to prioritize important people over my most important goals.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which was once some kind of scientific lab with white walls and shiny metal tables and glass lab equipment, but it is, unfortunately, on fire. The fire burns hot and thick, but painlessly when you pass through it, and the smoke, rather than choking, fills your lungs with a sense of -- promise?
Hisoka and Tsuzuki are here. Tsuzuki is wearing a blood-stained plain yukata and has tear tracks all over his face; Hisoka is in jeans, a jean jacket, and an orange t-shirt. They are clinging to each other, arms wrapped tight around each other, as if they are desperate to not let go. They are frozen in tableau, unmoving.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, and not themselves on fire, are:
* A photograph of Tsuzuki, in a golden frame.
* A group photograph of Emerald, minus Hisoka, plus all the ones who have since left, in a silver frame.
* A photograph of some people and creatures from Hisoka's home (Watari, Tatsumi, the chief, Saya and Yuma, Gushoushin, Riko, if anybody recognizes them from Hisoka's memories), in a bronze frame.
*A blank piece of paper, in a steel frame.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment . Trying to interact with Tsuzuki will get "I'm so tired" "I don't want to live anymore" and "I don't want to be alone".
Items
All four photographs represent the value of the concept of 'others' to Hisoka, and how he is learning to try to place them above his own very inherently selfish values (there is no photographic representation of Hisoka in this room). His selfish values were needed for him to survive -- he's not at the place where he can just live for others, if he ever will be -- but it's basically reordered priorities. In order, they are: Tsuzuki, Emerald, his friends at home (who also stand for his friends here -- people not necessarily on the level of team and Tsuzuki but very important generally), and the potential for making other important people and prioritizing them.
Notes
---> This was an interesting place to write up because it definitely doesn't look like it should be part of a hope for the future, but it is the single most inspirational moment in Hisoka's life -- that moment of realizing that even if he would rather live with Tsuzuki, he'd still rather die with Tsuzuki than live alone for revenge really drives him; after they survive it he talks about how he's okay with using revenge to keep himself going, because now he's sure that he and Tsuzuki will push past the things holding them back and keep going. Essentially, as someone murdered out of nowhere and forced to forget about it for the entire length of his death, only remembering later... if he hadn't had this opportunity with Tsuzuki to confront his mortality on his own terms, to decide his survival or death on his own terms -- and realized that fuck everything he fights for, he just wants to be at Tsuzuki's side, whatever world they're in -- he wouldn't be capable of the actualization he's striving for.
---> "I don't think there's a not awkward way to say well, I'm glad you have somebody that you care about enough that you'd die with them when they were a selfish suicidal mess, hope it worked out, excuse us while we look at all your stuff." Best quote of the game Mark omg.
---> By putting all the important people photographs around the tableau, Roxas slightly increased the feeling that Hisoka is surrounded by loved ones even in moments like this etc.
---> When Roxas tried to explain to the Tableau that they still had each other/aather aftermath etc, they weren't capable of understanding; they really exist 'in' this moment, as a method of analysing it by replaying it.
---> Roxas slightly reinforced Hisoka's conclusions from this scene (It's okay not to live for vengeance alone but for someone else).
True Heart
- the ideal self
Room Description
With all three keys, you are able to open all three locks. When you do so, the door swings open...
Inside is a small, comfortable room, decorated in Emerald colors. Hisoka is here, surrounded by plush dolls of -- well, nearly everyone he knows -- with Tsuzuki's plush doll held in his arms, Lloyd and KK's on either side of his pillow, the rest of Emerald and Hermana and Maleficent on the bed, other plush dolls spilling off to fill the room. He looks older here, as he did in the hallway, nearly twenty and tall, broad-shouldered, and despite the dolls there's no boyish quality to his expressions or movements, but -- he looks bright-eyed and happy, smiling. It's actually the first time you've seen him smiling.
It is nearly impossible to not be happy in this room.
Hisoka sits up and gestures you in. "Hey guys," he says.
Notes
---> True heart is only accessible by actively interacting with the tableaus in EVERY ROOM. Doing it for each room in a single area earns you a single key; you need all three keys to access the True Heart. Once unlocked it remains unlocked to everyone who came here.
---> Adult because that is who he is, but with the boyish comforts of childhood he never had. The people he cares about are plush toys (even Citrine's Silver is here, though without the harsh look of Muraki) because he is able to treat them softly, hold them comfortingly, etc, attach to them as 'additional' members of family outside himself, all the thing plush dolls represent generally.
---> Friendly, open, accessible, a lot less tsun though still given to joking, etc.
---> As the ideal self, this is sort of a combination of "who Hisoka is" and "who Hisoka is capable of being".
---> I totally will pick up true heart threads, I've just been having some burnout /o/
All in all, a very cathartic and reassuring game for Hisoka!
NOW IS WHEN YOU ASK ME QUESTIONS :) :)?
Prep-work, pre-planning, and technical notes
Because why not! I thought people might be curious as to How Haru Heartgames.
STEP 1: Write up a top-level blurb of plans and stick it at the start of a gdoc. This can be like ... anything basically. Not everything in it will be used. But it's basically my pool of "shit I want to do". I usually add to it through the early stages of figuring things out, then stop once I am actually writing up the heart. Here is what I have listed as Plans (green is what I kept, red is what I got rid of as I developed further):
- Hisoka's heart is both multi-layer (lots of trains of thoughts or feelings being handled at once) and simultaneously very straightforward.
- Hisoka is very able to detect foreign intrusion (due to his psychic powers) and so will be more aware that the heart-divers are foreign entities visiting him than my other characters are aware. Signs, notes, etc.
- Symbolism: It's not that his heart lacks symbolism, it's just that he's very self-aware about his own symbolism and it breaks down to detailed things. So the cowboy hat won't represent a broad concept like "grief" but instead represents like "the awareness that by indulging my own ego and ignoring others I can cause irreparable harm and even death".
- Most items will not identify themselves by themselves but if someone talks to them they will talk back, even if inanimate. THey know what they are and can identify themselves, after all. (Alternately, labels? Does that make everything too easy?) (Note that nobody actually asked any of the items what they were since there was always a Hisoka there instead, but sometimes items 'projected' some of what they were or were trying to do onto people)
- Path to the True Heart - simple to get there, but you can't open it until you have found access through Traumatic Impact, Keep in MInd, and Hopes and Dreams. ("Keep in Mind" got revised to "Life Lessons").
- Empathy - ask up front for players to please try to keep in mind what their character is feeling/where that changes, and give it in their comments wherever possible. Some part of the room (walls/ceiling/etc?) will change colour in response to a dominating mood/swirls of different colours. (I used this very very slightly but didn't keep it an overall concept. )
- As well, each room will project some slight emotional affect. Not strong per se but for example "Like a cloudy day, it's hard to keep your spirits up in here." (every room description included how the color of it made you feel. Not forced emotional affects unlike Rolo but playing off symptahetic responses.)
- Before each 'room' inside a path are a short hall that splits off into the different areas. There are bookcases in these halls containing relevant memories to replay. The rooms don't contain the memory 'replay' but instead carry the emotional artifacts, impact, etc. (Basically kept, minus actual bookshelves and only with books)
STEP 2: Figure out the 'mechanic' behind reaching the True Heart.
For this heartgame, I decided what I wanted to do to access the true heart was that the player had to somehow become part of Hisoka's constant internal process of analysing events and trying to understand his feelings, role, etc about them. I wrote an essay on this once but basically the reason Hisoka copes so well with things generally is that he never gives his own behavior a free pass -- he always analyses it afterwards, figures out why he was doing something or feeling something, etc. Which doesn't mean he isn't incredibly emotional about it, but he's always constantly striving to check himself. SO in order to reach the 'true', ideal Hisoka, the player had to become part of this process -- whether it was confirming the current paths of analysis or arguing against the current paths of analysis. They had to engage with that system, provide agreeing or alternate viewpoints, and when this occurred in the three 'areas of concern' in each zone, the Filter (the version of Hisoka who integrated the internal arguments and 'displays' it to the whole) would produce a key to the True Heart.
STEP 3: Figure out the 'dominant metaphor' of the heart.
Every time I run a heart game, I try to give a dominant metaphor to give it a feeling of cohesion, then build the layout of the heart around the metaphor and mechanic. With Rolo, the metaphor was time (the clock shop), with Kanji it was the media running through the big city/small town morals, etc. For Hisoka, I decided that what I ultimately wanted to do was organization. Hisoka is a very mentally organized person! He is constantly thinking on multiple levels at once but he's very self-aware, very determined to separate himself out from others (key as he's an empath -- he's always constantly checking what is 'him' and what is 'other people' so he can act as himself), etc. He's an office worker, on top of that. So when I designed the heart I designed it to reflect "Organized Categories".
It looks something like this:
(Note that the Id/Ego/Superego aren't exact to Freudian psychology or anything in that for Hisoka the elements I listed as Id are only desires in so far as they are reactive desires around things he does not want/wants to react to; the Ego is the critical consciousness here and thus takes on some of the moral criticism Freud would ascribe to the Superego, and what I listed as the Superego is more 'reasonable desires that can be achieved through balancing of the Ego and the Id'. But given that there were three areas, a negative, neutral, and positive, I thought it was funny and labelled them like that anyway.)
ANYWAY, as you can see, the heart was defined by an organizational category tree, in levels. The top level is the full heart; the 'entry' area was his subconscious, and from there four 'folders', one of which is locked. Each then breaks down further.
The three main sub-areas, which are the key to development in the heart, are very distinctly tucked into three different 'elements'; so even if the same event is being reviewed (Riko's death for example) it's the different approach that is highlighted -- so parts of Riko's death show up in both Hubris/Grief and in Take Care.
STEP 4: Write all the flavor text. I ALWAYS TRY TO DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN ADVANCE to keep myself up to speed. This includes all the stuff I C&P in as description, but also notes to myself on symbolism of objects, what the 'review/reinactment' is in each area, etc. I keep the stuff I intend to C&P in a different colored font to make it easy for me to tell where it starts/ends while replying rapidly and juggling different groups.
STEP 5 Output to word doc and make every area Header 1, 2, or 3, then make a table of contents at the start of the doc (if you ctrl-click on table of contents in word docs, you are brought immediately to that header via an internal link) -- basically I do this so I can quickly jump from one section to another of the heart since different groups usually split up to different areas.
STEP 6: RUN IT
ok all that info out of the way let's talk about what you're actually here for:
Heart Walkthrough
Entry - Immediate Subconscious
Room Description
You find yourselves in what seems like a very nice office room. There's a desk and a rolly chair in the middle of the room, the carpeting is plush but not too thick, and the walls are coloured a comfortable pale green. On each of the four walls is a door. The four doors are labelled, in brass plaques with lovely script on them: "Traumatic Impact", "Life Lessons", "Hopes and Dreams", and "True Heart." True heart has a lock on it that has three keyholes; the other three doors all have papers pinned to them with writing on them.
As well, you will probably notice large words swirling into being and then fading out again all over the wall, phrases and fragments: This feels different -- Other people? -- It must be a game. -- Maybe I'm dreaming. -- What will happen? -- Focus, focus.
When people look at the papers on the doors:
The paper on "Traumatic Impact" reads: "NTS: Contained in this area are memories and situations that have caused damage to the Heart as a whole. Exercise caution when manoeuvring through this area. Tends to cause moodswings, increased anger. No good for team or friends, but important history nonetheless. View sparingly."
The paper on "Life Lessons" reads: "NTS: Contained in this area are life lessons, cautions, and situations that I have to keep in check in myself. Some pleasant but mostly painful, but worth revisiting and analysing to prevent future problems. Remember to assign blame correctly, not either put it on anyone else or take it all for myself."
The paper on "Hopes and Dreams" reads: "NTS: Here's the stuff that creates a future I might actually want to achieve. Work on cherishing it -- I'm not very good at it, but if I don't try, I'll never move past myself and become someone who can keep on going for anything but hate. Worth a shot."
The desk:
The desk is a big work desk; the chair is a rather comfy leather rolling spinny chair. Good times.
The desk is covered with memos on sticky notes stuck all over it: "Stop being such a bitch all the time, seriously." "Don't just go ahead and put your viewpoint out first." "Don't shut people down." "Try to learn to smile" (And appended to the smile one, "But don't feel obliged to if it doesn't feel natural."). "Keep learning." "Examine 'forgiveness' more." "Don't worry too much about your behavior."
There is a single drawer on the desk. There's no lock in it, and inside are a pile of sticky notes, some loose paper, and a pen.
Notes
- Writing on the walls = Hisoka's subconscious mind reacting to feeling the presence of other people. He's an empath, so he's able to discern other people's emotions, and he has a constant subconscious job of separating other people from himself since he actually feels their emotions of his own. So his mental monologue is reacting to their presence.
---> When people touched it gently or reassured him or so on it would 'blush' pink under their touch -- it's basically his rush of dere in reaction haha. CYCLE OF MOE. anyway.
---> Limited ability to communicate; limited because his mind's running on its own tracks as well as trying to focus on communication, because it's his subconscious, and because he's asleep. Not the most coherent.
- Papers on the doors are his personal warnings TO HIMSELF about analysing events. They're not actually to the players but they're basically that moment of steeling himself before analysing something. Basically it's like OKAY I NEED TO REVIEW SOMETHING TRAUMATIC I HAD BETTER REMEMBER TO KEEP MY REACTIONS IN CHECK but it's still important to do BUT DON'T OVERDO IT, ME.
- Sticky notes on the desk are his super immediate conscious "notes to self" that are always at the back of his mind. Writing notes and leaving them for Hisoka will alter/add things to what's going on constantly in the background (or removing them)
---> Shirley added 'remember that Hound loves you', which has no effect because Hisoka doesn't even need to think about that; he can feel it.
---> She also added "No matter what happens, everyone who played this game cares about you.", which has the affect of him feeling genuinely reminded of their feelings for him even if he didn't know them before (Hi Mark). May have some dissonance if he picks something else up from them.
Traumatic Impact
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Traumatic Impact' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted a deep and striking red, a colour so shocking that it may make you feel uncomfortable to be in here, like the area itself may cause a sympathetic emotional ache, somewhere between painful and agitating. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a tree painted on it; one has a barred window painted on it, and one has a sword painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. A barely-pubescent boy of 12 or 13 -- a younger version of Hisoka quite clearly, with his ash-brown hair and his startlingly bright green eyes -- sits on the chair. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
- By visiting all three rooms and engaging with the Hisoka (and/or other key props and figures) who represents the issue in each room, a key will appear in Hallway Hisoka's hands, which he will give them. All three keys from all three areas must be achieved to open the True Heart.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
- The walls - red - emotional reflections of the unresolved pain associated with these issues. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
- The books - Memories associated with trauma.
- Hallway Hisoka - Young - This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "the origin of revenge via a response to trauma" and will admit as such if asked. He is young because many of the origins go far back in his childhood and relate to the damage done in his childhood and his inability to have an adulthood. Reviewing the strongest traumatic memories.
Memories
- The book in his hand is Hisoka getting raped and murdered. (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/10550.html)
- Book 2: Childhood abuse (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/2779.html)
- Book 3: Tsuzuki going insane and Hisoka feeling it (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/4270.html)
- Book 4: Riko's death (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/8920.html?#cutid1)
- Book 5: Damaging the war/the tengu's trial. (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/13269.html)
Notes
---> I laughed when Tsuzuki asked Hisoka if he was reading a "good book". ("No, it's a terrible book.")
---> No changes here! Lloyd and Tsuzuki were both physically affectionate to the Trauma Filter, but that didn't cause any changes (the Filter functions pretty smoothly already and that's most of what it'd do, give encouragement).
The Sakura Tree
- Loss of innocence / senseless pain and destruction, the birth of vengeance.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a deep, solid red. The colour is deep and sharp and more blinding than the hallway itself had been. It hurts to look at and the entire area is likely to leave you agitated, if you're sensitive at all to emotional things.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. A red moon stands out almost pinkish against the deep red of the room's walls. You are on a hill; there is a cherry blossom tree, gently blowing cherry blossoms around. Under the tree is Hisoka, the same 12-13 year old version as from the hallway, barely clad with a yukata tangled around him, limbs akimbo (bloodied and worse), arms tied over his head and ankles bruised. Bending over him is a tall, broad-shouldered man with silver hair (Silver, to anyone who knew him in Aather at all), his shirt untucked and belt unbuckled, in the process of drawing red glowing magical lines on Hisoka's bare chest with a fingertip. Hisoka seems disassociated, gaze straight up and unfocussed, while the man seems quite intent. They are both completely frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* a gas lamp on a table, burning at a moderate brightness, with a dial that could allow this to be adjusted.
* A small ugly and grungy doll of Hisoka with its eyes torn out
* A pair of gloves tucked away in a corner and turned inside out
* A bowl of water, beside the frozen tableau Hisoka.
Tableau
Players can interact with either of the two figures in the tableau via touch, speech, etc. They will be responsive like dolls that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions they will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Gas lamp - desire for revenge at all costs. Currently on moderately bright because he still wants it very badly but is less likely to bad decision dinosaur than before
Doll - Sense of disgust with himself for having been in this situation. Self-aware that this is victim blaming but difficult to examine too closely (eyes). Sense that he has become tainted and dirty.
Gloves - The desire/fear of touch. Inverted because he can't stand touching people unless he pushes past that right now.
Water - is salt water/unshed tears. Grief that this is how he died.
Notes
---> Tsuzuki punching Muraki amped up 'violence/punishment' as an acceptable method of dealing with Muraki's violations (and similar events)
---> Tsuzuki discouraged self-blame (which Hisoka is disinclined to anyway, honestly) and encouraged justice over revenge.
---> Tsuzuki putting Muraki in a corner made the wrestling with the issue less 'immediate'.
---> Tsuzuki dimming the lamp lowered the desire for revenge at all costs.
---> By turning one of the gloves right-side-in, Tsuzuki amped up Hisoka's comfort with touching others and being touched.
---> Using Hisoka's unshed tears to try to clean up the physical signs of the rape/murder, Tsuzuki literally created some 'catharsis' over the method of his death through rape and black magic -- use of tears for clensing. This is also why Hisoka started crying immediately on waking up. These tears have been used to help lance that wound.
---> Because of Tsuzuki giving this Hisoka an ofuda for protection Hisoka is analysing the potential to protect himself by relying on others back into his past. This will cause some dissonance as one of the painful points of the memory was that no matter how much he screamed for help nobody came.
The Basement (The barred door)
- Lack of family, childhood abuse, the need to disassociate.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted a deep, solid black. It's such a deep black that it almost makes you inclined to despair, looking at it, like it wants to swallow your happiness. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits in the room.
You appear to be in a very very small room in a basement. A window is painted on one wall, casting light in a small rectangular beam into the black room; it is barred over both vertically and horizontally, thick black chunks taken out of the patch of moonlight. Sitting in the middle of the floor, in that patch of light, hands to his face, is Hisoka, somewhere around the age of 6 or 7. Although it looks like he's in the middle of sobbing, he is frozen in tableau, tears staying where they are instead of rolling down.
Every 30-40 seconds you can hear voices and sounds, as if it's audio being piped in on a regular basis, one phrase or noise, then silence, then another, then silence... "This child is too creepy!" "Kill him, Nagare, kill him now!" "He's a monster!" "This is your grave, Hisoka." "You're not our child!" "You're disgusting!" "I wanted a normal child! What am I supposed to do with you?" "If you're too weak to kill him, at least take him out of my sight!" The sound of fists on skin. Etc.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A futon, rolled tightly in the corner.
* A sword, hanging on one wall.
* A cushion, torn to pieces. A few have been carefully put back to form part of the cushion's original shape.
* A small, box tightly-sealed (with packaging tape)
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Futon - rolled tightly -- (in)ability to find peace when looking back on his family situation.
Sword - The sharpness of his own reactions to other people as a result of years of childhood abuse.
Torn cushion - Difficulty showing a softer side of himself as a result of years of training to not show his (or anyone's) emotions.
Sealed Box - Inside the box is his resentment. He is trying to keep it under control.
Notes
--->Lloyd tried to tell the voices to shut up, but they wouldn't. There was no actual way to stop them; the voices are an inherent part of the situation that Hisoka is constantly struggling with.
---> Lloyd encouraged Hisoka not to listen to his parents' voices, to not think of himself as wrong, and to trust his instinct. This basically was reinforcing the conclusions Hisoka usually came to.
---> By giving Hisoka the sewing kit to help him fix his ability to express his emotions, Hisoka will view himself as having the tools to fix his self-expression.
---> By encouraging the window to shine in more, Lloyd helped increase the awareness in that analysis that there was more outside that (basically, if that was only a small part of the world, helping settle it more firmly in the past).
The Desert (The Sword)
- Stubbornness leading to loss and grief. Causing the death of others through rash actions.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a hot, bright yellow. The colour is quite the strain on the eyes, making you somewhat nauseous and distressed, if you're sensitive at all to emotional things.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. It is midday, a blazing sun bright white against the yellow of the room. You are in the desert; sand dunes rise around you. Kneeling, arms wrapped around himself, and sobbing as if his heart were breaking, is Hisoka. He's his current age -- but nearly unrecognizable, covered in vicious burns so brutal that here and there are exposed muscle, tendons, and bone. He is frozen in tableau mid-cry.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A tiny doll-sized cowboy hat on a nearby dune.
* A table with a dragon figurine on it. It is cracked.
* A billowing fire, as if part of the floor had caught.
* A string of juzu beads
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Cowboy hat - Grief over rash decisions which caused harm to people he should have been protecting.
Dragon figurine - Responsibility for one's own rash actions
Fire - the desire for power which leads to rash action.
Juzu beads - Punishment and guilt for rash actions.
Notes
---> Lloyd casting Cure on Hisoka (repeatedly) reduces the overall pain associated particularly with Riko's death.
---> Lloyd encouraged Hisoka to just take what he could from it and soldier on through the grief, which reinforces Hisoka's natural tendencies.
---> Lloyd also encouraged Hisoka to basically -- give it a rest. Let the guilt get less sore before he continues to analyse the heck out of his own actions.
Life Lessons
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Life Lessons' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted a solid blue, steady and a bit calming, if kind of depressing to look at too long. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a dragon painted on it; one has a ring painted on it, and one has a lotus painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. Hisoka, in a tidy gray suit with a casual and loose tie, sits on the chair. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
Same as above
- When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
The walls - blue - emotional reflections of the calm determination (but depression) associated with these issues. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
The books - Memories associated with learning things he carries forward.
Hallway Hisoka - Normal - This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "using the situations I find myself in to better myself and my situation" and will admit as such if asked. He is his current age as this is half of his current self, and wearing a suit because this is his 'home' self more thoroughly.
Memories
- Book in his hands: Even a madman has reasons for what he does ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/6809.html)
- Book 2: Sohryu was mauled because of me (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/7690.html)
- Book 3: Healing Kotaro (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/11701.html)
- Book 4: I'm not that scared little boy anymore (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/12547.html)
- Book 5: Bad Decision Dinosauring ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/1615.html)
Notes
--->More physical affection for the Lessons Filter! Same as above, no real change, but it's nice.
Imaginary World - Bedroom (Dragon)
- Acting recklessly can cause long and painful repercussions for yourself and those around you.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted an unpleasantly grayish blue-green; the air feels thick, almost stagnant in here, discomfiting and a little nauseating. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits.
You appear to be in a bedroom. It is extremely old-fashioned and elaborate, wood-work beautifully carved. The dominating feature of the room is a four-poster bed, with curtains carefully pulled back around it. Nestled in the bed, unconscious, is a beautiful but severe-looking middle-aged man, tall and strong and regal, with long blue hair splayed out on the pillow. What is visible of his broad barrel chest under his blankets and yukata is bandaged, with blood seeping through; blood and bruises mar his collar, neck, and face. Standing by the bed, gaze downcast in what seems to be guilt and horror, is Hisoka. Both Hisoka and the man in the bed are frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* An empty clay pot, cracked, with a "1 cent" stamp on it, on the bedside table.
* A camellia flower on the floor.
* a pile of dirty, used bandages.
* a puzzle box made of interlocked metal bars.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Clay Pot - Awareness that acting stubbornly and selfishly may lead to the deaths of those you love
Camellia Flower - Awareness that however justified your feelings and actions on an event are, others will feel otherwise and that is their right.
Bandages - Awareness that if you have forced others to pay a cost, you yourself must pay an equal cost to start to balance the debt of your actions.
Puzzle Box - Determination to break free from a cycle built in the past and learn to act for other people's benefit.
Notes
--->Lol good job finding the guilt dragon Bonten
---> Bonten encourages Hisoka to learn from his mistakes but also to forgive himself.
---> Ginshu offered Hisoka reassurance and basically gave a guided experience through the angles Hisoka usually takes when analysing his role in letting Futsu no Mitama go free.
---> Offering Hisoka the puzzle box and bandages did nothing without doing something with them first.
The Ring - (Aather)
- As part of a 'team' you both bear responsibility to take care of others and must recognize that others will look to you to both lead and follow.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a dull, grayish green. It isn't exactly unpleasant to look at, though it's a little -- odd seeming, unfamiliar, and uncanny.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. You are in the ring area; here is the nail tree, though it seems to also be producing fruit, some strange meld of the two. Hisoka is here, halfway up the tree, reaching for some fruit and ignoring the way the nails are scoring his skin. He is frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A large, green battle-axe.
* Seven fragments of an emerald brooch; they have been arranged in the base of the brooch so they fit together, but they are clearly separate pieces.
* A book; it appears to be Kipling's "The Jungle Book" on closer inspection.
* A … … bottle of lube...
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Axe - The realization that it is not only my actions which cause problems, but can lead other people into problems as well.
Brooch - As a team, all of our actions define whether we sit together as a group or separate into individuals simply bearing the same color
Book - It is not only on the team that one gives guidance but off the team as well.
Lube - Having started down a path of action, how far is it fair to change that path when you realize your situation has changed?
Notes
---> Good job finding the lube, Ginshu!
---> Ginshu encouraged the following approaches: It's okay to guide others, but you shouldn't get hurt doing it; accept your friends' assistance.
---> By bandaging this Hisoka's hands she built the association that even if he gets hurt trying to pave the way, his friends will help heal him.
The Lotus (The garden outside the restaurant)
- No matter how bad things get, if you give up, you only guarantee they will not improve.
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted a deep blue-green. The color has just enough intensity to build a sense of urgency in you.
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. The rear of an old inn/restaurant is nearby (painted on a wall), but the area here is cleared. A pond is near, with koi and lotuses. The air smells thickly of flowers. Hisoka and another man are facing off against each other here; Hisoka is soaked with blood and the scent of viscera mingles with the smell of flowers, but Hisoka’s gaze is fixed on the other swordsman. They are frozen, as in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A sword, bloodied and on the ground
* A security passcard.
* Some green ribbons.
* A tangle of roses.
((Note on this: I had somehow C&P'd over what I intended to do with this room so I had to make it up/recreate it on the spot.))
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Bloodied Sword - Effort must be spent and sacrifices made to move forward.
Security Passcard - Even if the things you want are apparently unreachable there is always a way.
Green ribbons - Even if we're facing almost certain death, we'll do it together.
Tangle of Roses - Frequently the things you care for are tied up in politics; that doesn't mean you care for them any less.
Notes
---> Lotuses are a symbol of purity and koi is of course an homonym for 'love' -- this area is heavily weighted towards implying a pure love behind the violence here.
---> Bonten reinforced that Hisoka can't give up if what he needs is important enough.
---> By tying the ribbon around this Hisoka's wrist, Bonten established that as long as Hisoka is fighting for what he believes in and won't give up on, he'll always know his friends and team will back him up.
Hopes and Dreams
Hallway (filter)
Room Description
When you go through the 'Hopes and Dreams' door, you find yourself in a short and mostly featureless corridor. The walls are painted an energetic Emerald green, easy on the easy and bright enough to cheer you up. As well as the door you came through, there are three other doors set into the walls -- one on each side, and one at the end. One door has a gemstone painted on it; one has a star painted on it, and one has a fire painted on it. In the middle of the hall is a chair. Hisoka, clad in Emerald uniform but looking a few years older -- maybe nineteen or twenty -- sits in it. There is a book in his hands, and four more in a stack at his feet.
How to get the Key:
As above with other areas.
When players return to the hallway after having completed one 'reenactment' - Hisoka has closed the book in his hands and rests it on his knees.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed two 'reenactments' - Hisoka has put the book on the floor and is clasping his hands together.
- When players return to the hallway after having completed the third 'reenactment' - Hisoka is holding a key.
Items & People
The walls - green - emotional reflections of the warmth, energy, and determination associated with his hopes and dreams. Players can scrape away with them, use paint if they have some with them or otherwise ability to do so, write on them, etc.
The books - Memories associated with learning things he carries forward.
Hallway Hisoka - Older- This Hisoka is the Hisoka representing "aiming towards a healthy and positive future for myself" and will admit as such if asked. He is older because this is how old he would have been had he started to age, and wearing Emerald as a symbol of association with his team as his family.
Memories
- Book in his hands: Trying to save Tsuzuki from suicide (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/12394.html?#cutid1)
- Book 2: Opening up to Tsuzuki for the first time (http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/8602.html)
- Book 3: We can only go up from here ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/2957.html )
- Book 4: Romantic eye gouging ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/1943.html )
- Book 5: That time Watari and Tsuzuki turned themselves into kids ( http://tsundead.dreamwidth.org/5871.html )
Notes
---> You can probably notice here in the thread with Shirley where he argues back with her how much more autonomous the filters are than the 'tableau' Hisokas; this is because they are actually the part which analyses and comes to conclusions, so they're -- well, able to do that. The tableaus are mostly spitting out ideas and being altered and changed by viewpoints.
---> "This has got to be the single most awkward way to meet someone." "No, I can guarantee I've had worse." I MAKE MYSELF LAUGH. MORBIDLY.
---> Roxas was the only one to review a memory, and picked "Dumb Shit", which was the absurd deaging memory. This memory was important to Hisoka as representative for -- well, the dumb shit which is filling his life between all the terrible shit, and which kind of... represents having family and friends.
Gemstone (Emerald / Office)
- A place to belong/ a family
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which is painted the same warm and energetic emerald green as the hallway; looking at it may make you feel more relaxed and ready to do anything. The door you entered by is behind you. There are no other exits.
You appear to be in some strange melding of the Emerald cabin and some kind of big office room. The layout is the same as emerald, and the beds etc are there, but there are desks against one wall, rolling chairs, etc. Hisoka is seated at one of the desks, paperwork in front of him, the back part of one pen against his chin as if he were scratching it. He is frozen in tableau.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A photocopy machine
* A large and solid, unflawed emerald gem, set into the floor.
* Red sheets on Hisoka's bed only
* A shovel, leaning against one wall.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Photocopier - The thought that family may be a thing that can continue to regenerate itself just by existing, rather than a thing that requires constant work to maintain.
Gem - Hisoka's personal vision of his team as solid, rich, and inherent to the situation upon which he stands.
Red sheets - The vision of family, love, relationships, as something you can rest inside.
Shovel - Family is not limited to what you have right now; it can be dug deeper, expanded further outside yourself, endlessly.
Notes
---> I think the only room that was visited twice, first by Shirley (who didn't trigger the tableau), and then by Mark/Roxas (who did)
---> Shirley's starting the photocopier didn't change much -- previously it represented the 'ability' to regenerate family; with it actually copying it represents the 'actuality' of regeneration of family.
---> Roxas thanking the gem for projecting was one of the few times someone treated the items as conscious (Lloyd talking to the window was the other), so it got acknowledgement.
---> Mark helped reinforce that even if family is aware of your feelings, it's still important to express them and not take your family for granted.
---> The dirt on the shovel represented the sense that family has been dug deeper -- work has gone into it. By cleaning it up Roxas and Mark reduced the overall sense that Hisoka has put effort into developing as a family with Emerald (however, since the dirt was left on the floor, albeit in a tidy pile, he's more likely to feel like Emerald put effort into developing it with HIM).
---> Roxas helped reinforce that family was outside of blood.
The Star Room (Outdoors at Night)
- Overcoming my own limitations
Room Description
You find yourself in a -- room? Which is painted the soft colours of sunset, splashes of warm reds and oranges fading into a starry black. It feels progressive, broad, and while you may feel small under the vastness of a sky, it feels like there is so much more that can fit inside this "room".
The reason it is hard to describe as a "room" is that while it is clearly all contained in a room -- you can see the walls and ceiling if you squint, as well as the door you entered by though no other exits -- it also appears to be an outdoor scene. A white moon is painted on the ceiling. You are outside Emerald, judging by the (admittedly hard to navigate) sunflowers; a warm breeze blows them gently. Hisoka is here, head tilted up towards the moon. He is frozen in tableau, clothes not blowing in the breeze. Manacles are fastened around his arms and legs.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, are:
* A large egg, surface showing faint cracks.
* A literal puddle of blood, set in a sinkhole. Some cracks are starting to form at the edges, blood rivulets forming, so the puddle is looking slightly drained, judging from the waterline marks on the side.
* The chains from the manacles on Hisoka, running into the walls of the room.
* A large crack in one wall, through which the wind is blowing.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment.
Items
Cracked egg - The struggle to break out of his own shell to become something other than a vengeful spirit. (If they crack it open, a child Hisoka will be inside). Cracked because this is in progress.
Puddle of blood - The use of hate as a vehicle to drive himself so he can gain more and more things that will help wean him off the hate. Slowly draining/becoming less full.
Chains - His current restrictions into who and what he is; he hasn't changed that much yet.
Crack in the wall - the winds of change, drive to work to change himself as soon as possible.
Notes
---> The manacles on Hisoka are tight (as Shirley discovered) and heavy, but not painful. They're an okay burden, but Hisoka's 'goal' is still to remove them.
---> Shirley birthed baby Hisoka! Er... which is to say she broke open the shell and helped the child Hisoka out. This child is, as above, the conceptualization of himself as something with room to grow and change, and a sort of 'reborn innocence' as such. She encouraged him to grow up big and strong, and he then goes and curls into tableau Hisoka's arms, holding onto the manacles. Thus the method to remove his chains (limitations) will be through growing this 'other' self.
---> After getting advice from the filter to "encourage him" to help the chained Hisoka, Shirley encourages him to rely on his friends and loved ones, but that he himself has the power to get free. No big change here (this room basically represents that very thing), but she pushed the reliance on others enough he's more likely to view that possibility as the way to approach things.
The Burning Room
- Learning to prioritize important people over my most important goals.
Room Description
You find yourself in a room which was once some kind of scientific lab with white walls and shiny metal tables and glass lab equipment, but it is, unfortunately, on fire. The fire burns hot and thick, but painlessly when you pass through it, and the smoke, rather than choking, fills your lungs with a sense of -- promise?
Hisoka and Tsuzuki are here. Tsuzuki is wearing a blood-stained plain yukata and has tear tracks all over his face; Hisoka is in jeans, a jean jacket, and an orange t-shirt. They are clinging to each other, arms wrapped tight around each other, as if they are desperate to not let go. They are frozen in tableau, unmoving.
Also in the room, scattered around like normal objects in any room, and not themselves on fire, are:
* A photograph of Tsuzuki, in a golden frame.
* A group photograph of Emerald, minus Hisoka, plus all the ones who have since left, in a silver frame.
* A photograph of some people and creatures from Hisoka's home (Watari, Tatsumi, the chief, Saya and Yuma, Gushoushin, Riko, if anybody recognizes them from Hisoka's memories), in a bronze frame.
*A blank piece of paper, in a steel frame.
Tableau
Players can interact with Hisoka via touch, speech, etc. He will be responsive like a doll that can be manipulated into other tableau elements. If asked questions he will answer in terms of how Hisoka is debating that moment . Trying to interact with Tsuzuki will get "I'm so tired" "I don't want to live anymore" and "I don't want to be alone".
Items
All four photographs represent the value of the concept of 'others' to Hisoka, and how he is learning to try to place them above his own very inherently selfish values (there is no photographic representation of Hisoka in this room). His selfish values were needed for him to survive -- he's not at the place where he can just live for others, if he ever will be -- but it's basically reordered priorities. In order, they are: Tsuzuki, Emerald, his friends at home (who also stand for his friends here -- people not necessarily on the level of team and Tsuzuki but very important generally), and the potential for making other important people and prioritizing them.
Notes
---> This was an interesting place to write up because it definitely doesn't look like it should be part of a hope for the future, but it is the single most inspirational moment in Hisoka's life -- that moment of realizing that even if he would rather live with Tsuzuki, he'd still rather die with Tsuzuki than live alone for revenge really drives him; after they survive it he talks about how he's okay with using revenge to keep himself going, because now he's sure that he and Tsuzuki will push past the things holding them back and keep going. Essentially, as someone murdered out of nowhere and forced to forget about it for the entire length of his death, only remembering later... if he hadn't had this opportunity with Tsuzuki to confront his mortality on his own terms, to decide his survival or death on his own terms -- and realized that fuck everything he fights for, he just wants to be at Tsuzuki's side, whatever world they're in -- he wouldn't be capable of the actualization he's striving for.
---> "I don't think there's a not awkward way to say well, I'm glad you have somebody that you care about enough that you'd die with them when they were a selfish suicidal mess, hope it worked out, excuse us while we look at all your stuff." Best quote of the game Mark omg.
---> By putting all the important people photographs around the tableau, Roxas slightly increased the feeling that Hisoka is surrounded by loved ones even in moments like this etc.
---> When Roxas tried to explain to the Tableau that they still had each other/aather aftermath etc, they weren't capable of understanding; they really exist 'in' this moment, as a method of analysing it by replaying it.
---> Roxas slightly reinforced Hisoka's conclusions from this scene (It's okay not to live for vengeance alone but for someone else).
True Heart
- the ideal self
Room Description
With all three keys, you are able to open all three locks. When you do so, the door swings open...
Inside is a small, comfortable room, decorated in Emerald colors. Hisoka is here, surrounded by plush dolls of -- well, nearly everyone he knows -- with Tsuzuki's plush doll held in his arms, Lloyd and KK's on either side of his pillow, the rest of Emerald and Hermana and Maleficent on the bed, other plush dolls spilling off to fill the room. He looks older here, as he did in the hallway, nearly twenty and tall, broad-shouldered, and despite the dolls there's no boyish quality to his expressions or movements, but -- he looks bright-eyed and happy, smiling. It's actually the first time you've seen him smiling.
It is nearly impossible to not be happy in this room.
Hisoka sits up and gestures you in. "Hey guys," he says.
Notes
---> True heart is only accessible by actively interacting with the tableaus in EVERY ROOM. Doing it for each room in a single area earns you a single key; you need all three keys to access the True Heart. Once unlocked it remains unlocked to everyone who came here.
---> Adult because that is who he is, but with the boyish comforts of childhood he never had. The people he cares about are plush toys (even Citrine's Silver is here, though without the harsh look of Muraki) because he is able to treat them softly, hold them comfortingly, etc, attach to them as 'additional' members of family outside himself, all the thing plush dolls represent generally.
---> Friendly, open, accessible, a lot less tsun though still given to joking, etc.
---> As the ideal self, this is sort of a combination of "who Hisoka is" and "who Hisoka is capable of being".
---> I totally will pick up true heart threads, I've just been having some burnout /o/
All in all, a very cathartic and reassuring game for Hisoka!
NOW IS WHEN YOU ASK ME QUESTIONS :) :)?