divus: (Default)
Plasmatio Mods ([personal profile] divus) wrote2019-03-03 01:40 am
Entry tags:

THE GRAVEYARD

THE LANDING
You’re having an out of body experience. That’s how it starts, dying. There isn’t any pain anymore, and for a moment, not much of anything else. Your thoughts are a dim hum in the back of your brain, the tips of your fingers seem miles away. Despite that, you find yourself moving, moving, moving from the last place you were in your own body and forward, until you reach a door that you haven’t seen since the beginning of the game. A door that wouldn’t open. A door cold to the touch and seeping with mist. It opens before you, and as if of someone else’s design you walk through it. As it closes behind you, you get the distinct feeling that if you turned around, you’d find it vanished.

What takes up most of your attention, however, is the tolling of church bells. They clang in rhythmic, almost maddening persistence--seems you’re just going to have to try and ignore them, as they show no signs of slowing or stopping, wherever they are.

Once the cacophony becomes easier to manage, the bong, bong, bonging evening out to a pulse inside your ears, you realize that where you are seems to be a world that's incomplete. The floor is nothing but a landing of invisible matter, a spooled red carpet leading you to a few rows of pews and a lone confessional.

You will notice, immediately ahead of you, a cute little mailbox fit for a suburban home. It bids you welcome, though the cheery paint job is a bit muted in this dark place.

Simple and neat furnishings dot the edges of where the landing seems to be: railings mark the unseen edges and draperies and sconces float in the void, giving an illusion of walls. Be careful, however, because they can easily be fallen through if leaned against. Fortunately, someone seems to have kept that in consideration, as a helpful sign warns just this.

On one side of the confessional, a room with bookshelves, a writing table, and pens and paper has been provided: a minimalist study for when you need a bit of privacy to think. On the other side, a wing of dorm-sized, lockable bedrooms provide another bit of space to oneself. There may not be enough for everyone, but nobody really has to sleep--so just take turns!

To the left of the pews, it looks like a miniature bar has been crafted with a small but decent selection of drinks. There's a small television seated on the counter, but it only seems to ever work two times a week: the week's opening announcement on Monday mornings, and Saturdays, tuning in at the beginning of the trial and tuning back out again at its conclusion. There's also a piano to one side of the bar, allowing anyone to provide musical accompaniment to their drinking.

Perhaps most interestingly, an ornate black doorway at the far end of the room leads to a curving hallway that ultimately leads to what appears to be a temple. It's similar to the altar room they'll remember from the living side, but there are no power inscriptions, and the only furnishings are wavering, grayscale candles on the walls that never seem to burn low and great sculptures of leaping rams. The two black-marble statues meet in the center, curved horns joined above a platform, decorated with nothing but a lone offering bowl. The dark marble of the item is cracked, but it seems like it'll still get the job done. Try sending something, if you wish!

Maybe this place is meant to be more. But for now, Patience is the only notable figure you have to place your attention on, and she comes forward to welcome you immediately.

"Welcome to my dominion," she greets in her usual, cheerful candor, and points at your hand, where you hold your godly token. "Now that you've been eliminated, I'll take that back and return it on your behalf. Don't worry, though, I'm not leaving you empty handed."

OOC NOTES
Hello, eliminated competitors, and welcome to the graveyard. Although it isn't much to look at, now, this area will be growing and expanding in time with the help of your characters' actions and participation in weekly events. What they unlock will have an impact on the living side, overarching plot elements, and ways to communicate between both planes!

When it seems like there isn't much to do, there's always one option left: gathering information. So sit back, enjoy the afterlife, and put on your thinking cap!

hymned: (тнeѕe wordѕ ѕealed wιтнιn мe)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-22 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Given some of those I know for a fact that Ambition made an offer to, I wonder if it was because they were trying to encourage a trait that certain people didn't have enough of in themselves.

But in the end I suppose I wouldn't know for sure. That's interesting, though. Outside of Cunning, most of the gods I've spoken to have been surprisingly candid. I'd wondered why Piety would have selected me, given that no Elympion puts much stock in higher powers these days, much less my family, but then they answered later that they approached those whom they felt had an unshakable conviction.

It makes one wonder how much of our lives these gods have seen, or if they're gambling semi-blindly from only fleeting impressions and judgments.
in_a_bottle: Zombie, offering help. ([z] no like this)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-22 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
So it was a self-improvement thing? Maybe. They definitely each have their own reasons.
hymned: (ι'м ѕтιll нere and ι'м ѕιngιng ғor yoυ)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-22 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
Could be. For all I know, Ambition might have looked at you and decided you were sure enough of yourself already. I couldn't say.
in_a_bottle: Zombie, unimpressed. ([z] give it a rest)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-22 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
I'm in the business of working with what people think of me, so I suppose it was important to think about. Is it like that for you, too?
hymned: (ιт'ѕ a converѕaтιon ι jυѕт can'т нave)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-22 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
Similar enough, maybe. I was something of a public figure, I suppose, being the director of a large, and more importantly, influential corporation. Not quite to the same extent that the CEO might have been, obviously, but... well-known enough to have my own following, at the very least.

[ closes eyes at the canonical julius fanclub ]
in_a_bottle: Zombie, mulling something over. ([z] spoilers i'm dead)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-22 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
A following for a businessman? I guess it's true, anything's got fans these days. It must've been a lot of work.
hymned: (тιl yoυ're nυмв oн ιт'ѕ вegυn)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-22 09:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'm as surprised as you are, really. Might've been the GHS developments I was responsible for, though- though I think some of the other people here call them cell phones?

[ gotta love world specific terminology. ]

I wouldn't say I'm as much of a businessman as I am an engineer, though. I have a colleague who amassed a similar following for his advancements in medical technology, so I suppose just about anyone can be subjected to this sort of treatment.

[ it's also definitely not because they're attractive or anything, please ignore the screaming of certain people in discord. ]
Edited 2019-03-22 09:18 (UTC)
in_a_bottle: Zombie, concerned. ([z] ding dong you are wrong)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-22 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Fangirlism and marketing. That's what it usually boils down to. As long as you know how to approach your fans, you've got a good start. In the old days, idols were supposed to be polished and untouchable, but nowadays, they have to be someone you can feel like you know so fans watch them grow and support them. What's it like for you?
hymned: (ѕend мy regardѕ тo нell)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
It certainly keeps PR busy, that's for sure.

I don't mind the things that you'd expect to come with the job, really. Press conferences and statements or the general schmoozing and making nice with investors and bigwigs that happens at company events and dinners... On the other hand, my landlady and brother both probably could tell you a number of interesting stories about certain fans who have ah, tried to follow me around.
in_a_bottle: Zombie, sickened side-eye. ([z] whatever i'm done)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Ai bites her lip and would probably pale if she weren't decomposed and covered in bandages.]

Please tell me no one shipped you lingerie.
hymned: (jυѕт тo ѕee yoυ ѕмιle agaιn)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
... I can very happily say that if anything like that has ever happened, the secretaries and mail sorters at Spirius have never informed me of it before they caught it and tossed it out.

[ he does not want to know. ]
in_a_bottle: Zombie, concerned. ([z] ding dong you are wrong)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad for that, at least. I really do love the fans, but some of them go a little overboard trying to get noticed.
hymned: (down ғor god'ѕ applaυѕe)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly, the colleague I mentioned before- he'd be much more into that sort of thing than me, all things considered. He's a dramatic peacock who loves the limelight.
in_a_bottle: Zombie, offering help. ([z] no like this)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
It does take all sorts. Especially if you're working with other people.
hymned: (we ĸnow ғor ѕυre тнey're тellιng lιeѕ)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps. Maybe I've just never really known what to do with that kind of attention, though.

[ but he shrugs, easily, and: ]

What about you? Any stories from home you feel up to sharing?
in_a_bottle: Zombie, quiet and sad. ([z] tmw you're wrong)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
From before or after I died?
hymned: (yoυ can lean on and тrυѕт)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
... whichever you're more comfortable sharing, if at all. You don't have to if you don't want to.
in_a_bottle: Zombie, sighing. ([z] ughhhhh)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I saw a girl have a water bottle thrown at her once, and when they caught the guy, he said it was because he wanted her to remember him. But if you want something more current, one of our members hasn't crossed the line into lucid. I had to rework a few songs so we could cover up her "urgh, argh"ing. And the fans love her. It's kind of charming when it isn't weird.
hymned: (all вe eraѕed alongѕιde тнιѕ)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
Huh. I'm no expert, but isn't it expected for each member of a group like yours to have their own little idiosyncrasies?

Lucid, though. So you mean to say that- [ well, 'whatever you are' sounds rude, and zombie just seems a little,,, ] you don't necessarily just wake up aware and cognizant. ... I imagine that must have been disorienting.

[ it doesn't have to do with how much the brain might have rotted, does it. ]
in_a_bottle: Zombie, sulking. ([z] considering i'm undead)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 07:20 am (UTC)(link)
You've got that right. I heard we attacked the crowd our first time out on stage.
hymned: (ι'м ѕтιll нere and ι'м ѕιngιng ғor yoυ)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-23 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah. I imagine that must have been quite the media circus.

[ but, moving on, since that doesn't seem like a fun topic, ]

How does choreography work, anyway, with those conditions in mind?
in_a_bottle: Zombie, offering help. ([z] no like this)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-23 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
With Tae? A lot of working around her, but she's been learning to mimic even if I'm not sure she understands what's going on. Her dancing leaves a little to be desired.
hymned: (blow the ashes to free the sky)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-24 06:58 am (UTC)(link)
I see.

[ No he doesn't. ]

It seems you had a good rapport with them, though. Will you be glad to be back with your group, once all this is over?
in_a_bottle: Zombie, fighting down a panic. ([z] ai was here stormclouds are losers)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle 2019-03-24 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
...I don't know. I have nowhere else to go now. And sometimes we don't get along, but I know they're trying. We just don't always agree on what the right path is.

Do you ever have that problem?
hymned: (мayвe yoυre looĸιng ғor ѕoмeone тo вlaмe)

[personal profile] hymned 2019-03-25 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
... Yes, I do. Most of what I say probably wouldn't mean much without context anyway, or just seem too far removed like corporate squabbles usually should, but even Ludger and I have our disagreements.

Even if you had nowhere else to go... [ or maybe, because of it?

His head tilts just a little, gently. ]


Even though it wasn't always smooth. Were you happy, at least?

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 02:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 02:42 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 02:53 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 03:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 03:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 03:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 03:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 03:47 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 04:09 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 04:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 04:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 04:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 05:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 05:23 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 05:29 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hymned - 2019-03-25 06:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] in_a_bottle - 2019-03-25 16:19 (UTC) - Expand