-Joseph Takuma : Disconcerting Duress-
Slowly seeping into a dream, waking, seeking, seeing, dying, lying. Submerged in his own mind was the mixed mess of discomfort and duress. It felt despairing, like a nightmare... no, it was a nightmare to say the least. It always started with the imagined academy and upon entering was greeted with a gruesome sight - bar in hand, head beaten in, body desecrated to the point where it was unrecognizable. Joseph wanted to scream, but yet he found no strength to. And then and then, the face... that face.
It was teeming with psychotic ecstasy... or was it sheer jealousy? Regardless, they had a smile that made him comparable to a ravenous wolf dining on a meal they had subdued. Joseph couldn't take it... but why? That's what he always pondered upon. Backing away, he began to trudge away, before something different arose.
Josephs head was smashed hard by something, and it was as if he was now a watermelon. The ichor dripped out and the landscape turned even more surreal, with masks, happy and sad haunting him with memoirs of smiling people he once knew... who ended up melting into goop... and soon he felt the same. This was different than the other times; why was it prone to changing now? It itched... he pealed a piece of skin off... it hurt. All of it... it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt! Why, why, why, why, why?!
WHY?!It was at this singular moment he was aroused from his slumber.
Joseph's breathing was spiraling out of control, as it went in and out at a marginally swift rate. His lungs felt like they were on fire and his whole face was drenched in sweat... and the back of his head, no... his whole head was in pain, especially the back! Arising from his position, a disgruntled looking young man shoved himself up from the risers, rubbing the back of his head, shuffling around the follicles in the process, though it didn't make any difference. The only think that could be denoted was a large frown and darkness under his eyes.
He did not at all look content and appeared to be ready to cut a bitch... despite the contrary.
Still, taking a quick gander at his surroundings, he discovered other people about, awake before he was... and there were a couple who hadn't stirred. Still, an ear piercingly childish voice managed to garner the attention of Joseph, who winced in pain at how loud it was... then again, that could be a side effect from the ringing in his ears, but eh.
Looking up, he found a black and white doll standing erect on the stand, giving his or her explanation to everyone in thew vicinity. Was this thing a robot or something? Joseph heard about this accepting the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the talented, so that must of meant this bear was conceived by some person who was considered to be the best of the best in their field of creating robots! Yeah, that had to be it! Although, this robot was super annoying, looked rather aggressive, and was just... bleh.
Ooh, maybe he could learn how to make a robot too! That would be interesting!
"Maybe I could create a robot that looks adorable and not sound as annoying as this... Monokuma thing!... wait" Oh, right, he just mentioned they were going to be stuck here for the rest of their lives. Before anyone could retaliate, the toy continued to explain at an exceptionally swift rate, saying that leaving is futile... unless they murdered someone...
What.
Eyes widening in surprised, Josephs hands were like claws of a tree, trembling as a brisk wind brushed across. Mouth slackened, he was completely dumbfounded. Did he or she really expect one of them to murder someone?! Wait, he did have notes! He heard about something... about acting? No, that's incorrect, it had to manifest with the psychology of people!... or was it general psychopathy? There were a lot of psychopaths in history that were conceded with myriads of things, but not limited by being caged... until they were caught and persecuted... and... wasn't Joseph forgetting something?
...
... oh, right, everything else. Other people exist, right.
Trials? You mean like court ones? Were they all going to be lawyers or detectives? ARGH, TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH! Breathing in and out and a slow rate, Joseph closed his eyes as he listened to the monologue, trying not to deceive himself that something peculiar was happening. Right now, he had to focus.
"In and out, in and out, make the white noise become black..."To reiterate, they had to murder someone to leave, lest they would be stuck here forever... seriously... that's incredibly inconvenient and stupid, even with the food it mentioned. There were other options like not believing the words of someone who was pulling their leg, or rather if it came to it, why not kill the one forcing them to do murder someone? Then they could leave, right? Opening his eyes, the final words spoken from that thing were uttered... and in the blink of an eye, it dissipated into thin air.
"... th-this is obviously a trick... insanity... no way anyone would stoop to abrasive lows to steal the soul of another being to quell their inert sense of panic," Joseph muttered to himself as he stared at each of the contenders around, departing from his resting place as he planted himself on the floors. Gazing around the place, he found some banners indicating their location... even though he did not want to admit it, this was the prestigious academy he was formally invited to.
... but why were things like this? Why?
Shoving his hand into his pockets, he attempted to find his cellphone, but that was for naught as the only thing available was this tablet. Procuring it, he studied it for a moment, but not before a voice disrupted the newly found silence. A boy who was just about as tall as he nervously stammered, seemingly nervous. Was he shy or was it the predicament they were all in? Still, another voice rang out who skipped to introductions over who she was, almost unfazed by this all.
Seriously?... then again, that bear-bot thing had no indication of telling the truth maybe as the only thing he knew about this place was the metal plates covering up some places and the facet that they only knew about the gym. It wouldn't hurt to check and analyze the place. Staring at the duo, eyes half opened, jaw slightly adjacent, he shrugged before taking a seat and watching the whole spectacle until his turn came.
Putting one of his thumbs to his lips, he began rubbing it against, learning about who the first person was, who proclaimed herself proudly as the Ultimate Engineer, Maya Mallik. She had darker skin than the rest of the awakened people, save for a couple of others... to top that off, she was wrapped in a robe that reminded him of someone being an Indian... not the Native Americans; there's a difference. She seemed somewhat... nice and mature about the whole thing instead of panicking. Reception was a bit cold and disconnected to him, but what did he know?
Next came a lovely young lady who he recalled being the Ultimate Chef! Deluxe delight's, scrumptious sustenance, and creative cuisines! Of course, he only saw her in cooking magazines, but she was certainly prettier up close then he could imagine. Of course, she seemed composed too, but that must meant she saw the light in this situation, like that cute, but ice cream coldish engineering missus!
Along with that, everyone else continued to give their full names, along with information regarding why they were accepted into this prestigious place. After identifying most, it seemed he was going to be the next to come. Standing up, he gave out quite a verbose yawn, as he stretched and approached the crowd of amazing people... whether they were known for infamy or their profession. Clearing his throat, he still looked provoked to a degree, though he had a smile on his face that might of caused some dissonance.
"Well, I guess it's my turn then, eheh," Joseph spoke as he waled forward, rubbing his eyes. Giving a small wave, he continued;
"My name is Joseph Takuma, Ultimate Ma-" Before he could finish, there was quite a bit of wailing emanating from a truly despair filled individual who seemed to not take Monokuma's words lightly as he dashed out of the gym, much to the surprise of Joseph who seemed fairly off now to that little display.
"H-hey, wait!" Joseph called out, his hand reaching outwards as if to grab him, but alas, it was rather late seeing as the man had completely forsaken interacting with everyone and skipped to freaking out... which was understandable... there was a lot to sink it, especially the part about someone having to get axed. It was like something out of a horror movie and Mirai Nikki, except it lacked Yuno screaming Yuki 24/7, or a masked sociopath with a chainsaw.
Still...
"Uhm... introductions aside for a sec since we all seem rather content at the mome; should we actually believe that bears words? For the most part, it could be lying..." Joseph shrugged as he procured his handbook and began using its functions for the most part. Toying with it, he eventually found the map function and turned it to that, swiping the screen, he began to look at the locations before walking to the gyms exit. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about how that other man was dysfunctional over the speech...
Maybe some good cheer could come up.
"I'll learn about the rest of you later, I'm gonna check up on that one dude," Joseph said, giving a wave and a smile under the layers of fear and discontentment. Opening the door, he disappeared into the next room... and was greeted with the same dude leaning against the wall, eyes closed.
"Heya, you ok?" Approaching the man, Joseph immediately stood in front of him, his voice sounding almost droll and irked. Staring him down, the boy awaited an answer as he put one of his hands to his hips.