It was evening once the group reached their destination. The Danganronpa Apartment Complex. Outside of the sign, and the AI running the place, the building was identical to the Overwatch Apartment Complex. And any other Apartment Complex it would seem.
Junkrat of course stayed in the car, not wanting to be caught with the others . Chiaki Nanami led the rest of the group to her room, as the local AI programmed a guest bed for LadyPlague to sleep in. She was quick to adjust one of the pillows so that Ratigan had a place to sleep as well.
Noticing the sun beginning to set, LadyPlague decided to go to the top floor, getting some fresh air. She saw that Chiaki Nanami was already there, playing with a Gameboy.
"Hey Chiaki!" LadyPlague called out to her from the roof. Startled, Nanami almost fell off from her spot, but found herself caught in ooze, as LadyPlague carried her back on. "I'm so sorry, are you ok?" LadyPlague panicked as she examined Nanami, who looked a little afraid. She pulled the gameboy out of the ooze, handing it back to the gamer. "I'm sorry for ruining your Gameboy, I was-"
"It's ok Entertainer Plague." She gave LadyPlague a reassuring smile. "My life is far more important than a Gameboy." LadyPlague could see Nanami remove the game cartridge, determined to at least save the game. "What were you playing by the way? Tetris-"
"I don't play that game anymore." Nanami bluntly stated. "Not after everything that happened to me. Too many bad memories."
It didn't take long for LadyPlague to understand what she meant by that.
"I was playing Kirby's Dream Land. One of my co-workers kept recommending it to me, and it's been a while since I played a Kirby game."
LadyPlague took out her camera and began to take pictures of the sunset, before settling down on a spot herself. "I know I've been kinda rough on this trip, but I just wanted to thank you Chiaki. For driving us and just being patient with us. And for giving us a place to stay. I've honestly been in a really rough spot for the last 24 hours. And it's only going to get worse from here as news spreads."
"You never really answered Junkrat's question." Nanami responded. "Why is it bad in your case to be a character lover? What does that even mean?"
LadyPlague sighed. "To explain that, is to explain the Former Minister of Character Rights, one QuartzDraco."
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Once upon a time, there was a Minister of Character Rights named QuartzDraco. She was headstrong, kind, while never taking kindly to those who dis-respected the characters. The character community loved her.
One day, worker characters were first introduced, and started coming into the workforce. At first, QuartzDraco accepted it, because the collars didn't exist yet, and it served as a compromise to finally have characters working in the Capitol.
But then the Fandom Hunger Games came into existence, even with her objections.
She started to complain about every little detail, which started to annoy the other ministers.
Feeling the pressure from the other ministers, she started to feel lonely and stressed. She craved the desire to be around Warden, and so QuartzDraco had him work for her as a "Therapist".
It became clear to everyone as time when on that the "Therapist" label was an excuse to be close to her favourite character. She was openly affectionate towards him, which was something Werelynx wished to discourage. "The downfall of Steele's reign was not controlling the base urges of the fans. People cannot affectionally claim characters. They must be available to satisfy all of Fandomia."
And so one day, while QuartzDraco relaxed with Warden in the park, they were both humiliated in public, as people swarmed around her and said terrible things. "Such actions are unacceptable for a Minister." They all believed. "Character Lover" was the most PG insult they flung at her.
Combined with the increasing frustrations of the Fandom Hunger Games growing rapidly in popularity and how barbaric they were, she resigned from her position.
But that wasn't the end of QuartzDraco.
Before disappearing, she broke into the Soulkeeper's lair, and stole the souls of a few of her favourite characters, including Warden.
It was Rick, who was one of the very few characters to avoid being caught after the Alpacalypse, who helped her to get into the portal room, and make a home elsewhere.
After the events of the First Quarter Quell, she became the leader of the first known pro-character movement, but no-one took her seriously. Not even those who would've agreed with her.
All because her name had long since been associated with obsessing over Warden.
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Chiaki Nanami knew the name of QuartzDraco all too well, but certainly not this side of her. "Did you ever think this was just propaganda. To get people to disconnect with characters so much so that they dehumanize them?" Nanami asked.
"No Chiaki. This was all too real. Ironically enough, I used to be friends with QuartzDraco. So that meant seeing her and Warden together at their house alot. And I can tell you that if there's one thing I've learned about throughout my entire life, it's that expressing yourself or your fandom only gets you hurt. I've kept it contained since my arrival in Fandomia, but now thanks to that stupid 2nd Quarter Quell, now I'm next in line to be slaughtered."
Nanami looked concerned. "You might be overreacting-"
Now it was LadyPlague's turn to cut her off. "AM I!?" She showed Nanami the meme again, slowing the meme down to 0.5 speed. Slow enough for LadyPlague to point at each of the blog titles proving her point.
"Ratigan, the Next Warden?"
"Are LadyPlague's Hosting Days Over?"
"LadyPlague is a FURRY!?"
"7 Cringe-Inducing Moments of "Self-Insertion Fanfic" (1. LadyPlague getting triggered about Ratigan.)
"Who is Ratigan? (And why we should be concerned for LadyPlague)"
"10 Signs LadyPlague will Betray Fandomia"
LadyPlague sighed. "Heaven forbid I look through the comments."
Nanami yawned, but not in a bored fashion. She was just tired. "For what it's worth, I'd rather be around a character lover, than a character hater. That's the point of Fandomia, wasn't it?"
"I thought it was too. I bet most of the people thought so too. But there's very strict conduct about how you interact with the characters, outside of paying for their time in private of course. And I think with the pressure to not be one of those "rabid fans" or the next "QuartzDraco", all people can do in Fandomia is keep their interests to themselves."
"Maybe you could be the one to start a trend of being more open." Nanami suggested.
This just made LadyPlague tense up. "That's never going to happen." She attempted to calmly respond.
As the sun finished setting, the two sat in silence. That is, until LadyPlague could hear the sounds of Nanami sleeping. She carried the slumbering gamer on her ooze, placing her into her bed.
