Probably not a secret sex dungeon where Patience keeps her whips and chains.
... After all, if this is like one of those things where your preconceived notions affect your perception of a place, I might be shooting myself in the foot to have any expectations at all.
[ please don't ask about xillia world mechanics, there are things that actually do function like this and they'd probably have at least writings and legends about it. ]
You'd think maybe, endless peace might get boring, right? Or discomforting. You're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. 'What's the catch,' you might ask. It's a happy dream. It's a dream that isn't meant to last.
So maybe this just means that I'm not suited for a life of peace. Maybe I've spent too long fighting to be comfortable with the opposite. Maybe I don't deserve it, after everything I've done.
But I'm tired, mysterious voice. All I've ever wanted...
[ “this is the mission of those born with power. i vow to end our families tragedy with us.”
... a childish dream. ]
... Maybe it would be more accurate to say that— I want that life of peace not for myself, but for the people I care about.
... Yeah, that was a bit much, wasn't it. Sorry about that.
I don't know, actually? I keep thinking I want peace, but I don't know if I ever would be comfortable with it. Sorry that it's not much clearer of an answer.
don't get me wrong, normally I wouldn't mind and, hey, I'm just a figment of this reality
...but I need a specific answer to let you in I'm like a sphinx, you see, but with less riddles and more questions and only the right answer will allow you passage
I imagine it gets incredibly dull, simply existing to be a gatekeeper even if you may or may not be a figment of my imagination. Or this reality. Whichever the case is.
[ he'll uh, turn around in his seat to see what the heck that is though. what just slid out. ]
[The voice doesn't speak again, at least not for now, and when Julius turns he'll see that the horse's gleaming eye in the paining has protruded. It looks like it can be turned.]
[When he turns it 360 degrees, it thunks automatically back into place. The wall to his left, where the glass panel once was, disappears. There's no one on the other wise, of course. Only a staircase on the floor, leading downward into darkness.]
[It's all fine! As he descends, it gets warmer instead of colder. At the bottom of the staircase, the walls are all stone, hot, though not burning, to the touch. He stands in a short hallway leading to a single door at the end, and this, too, has a light filtering out from the other side.]
[ > all your worst suspicions ooc start coming true. extra true. i mean the hot pink text was the start of kickstarting my uno brain cell but now,,,
icly however like this is. fair. this is fine. nothing can go wrong here. good thing he's already dead, because what's the worst that can happen.
does the single door have any like, peephole or window like the confessional window, or is it a solid door. if he stands to the side of it and listens, will he hear anything? ]
[ thanks, he hates it. meanwhile, i personally, am going to kill you if there are bombs here dani i am HAUNTED
aaaanyway, he is absolutely testing that door, and since it's unlocked he's going to. open it and steal his way in. because of course he is. besides, he was invited, after all! ]
[It's fine, Julius! The ticking seems to just be coming from the clock on the far wall, which ticks as it swings. As for the rest of the room, it's obviously a bedroom. Pretty clear who it may belong to.
There's a closed set of double doors that indicates a walk-in closet, another door open enough that he'll be able to tell it's a bathroom. Overall, it seems fairly normal in here, for all the strangeness guarding it. Aside from the bed in the center, there's a nightstand, a vanity, pillows shaped like hearts, and a large zebra-striped blanket thrown over a chair.]
all things considered this is ... yes, very normal. too normal, compared to the leadup to it and the general atmosphere of where it is they're staying, but he supposes something had to be. it's almost a little awkward knowing he's snooping through a lady's room, even if she is a thot.
first off, nightstand and vanity, let's go. anything neat on either? ]
[The nightstand has a frilly lamp on top, but not much else. There is a drawer, however! The vanity, at least at a glance, seems to just have a variety of standard cosmetics and supplies for her hair and skin.]
[ Well. This would be useful if a: he actually knew how to do anything with makeup, and-- wait, do the dead still get sweaty and gross and shit. We don't have bathrooms or showers. Please say no.
closes eyes i can't believe i'm doing what mounts to a panty raid i refuse this timeline, that vanity is being ignored
The nightstand drawer on the other hand, is fair game. ]
[ There are probably secrets in the vanity too, all things considered, but are they secrets I want to find? No.
Does Julius know what he expects to find at this point? Also no. That said, Patience is still a bit of a mystery, so of course he's tempting fate and picking up that diary. ... Maybe the bag too, though he's going to attempt to look inside it first just in case he's not depriving her of things like lube or condoms or shit, goddess who can probably just magick that up or not. I hate that I just typed this. ]
[ Thanks for not being like Tiger, Patience, even though I had nothing to do with bad ideas bears and the ill-fated bedroom raid.
> skim through diary y/n-- who am I kidding, of course it's y. Though he might not quite do a super close reading of it just at this particular moment, considering he doesn't quite want to find out whether or not it's possible to talk his way out of ending up in her chambers by offering the d just yet.
... This may or may not warrant further study. To tempt fate by reading more deeply right now or not...
Yeah okay he's reading it, fuck it. Bad ideas bears lives on in spirit. He'll do it at the vanity maybe because he wants to get a closer look first at all the cosmetics to see if anything looks off about them. Maybe the mirror will help him keep an eye out while he's at it, both looking over the vanity and reading a little deeper into the ledger. ]
[It looks like it goes over the tallies for each god in the competition week by week. There aren't names attached from player to god, but it does show the numbers as they've moved around, pluses and minuses likely keeping record of the defections as they occur.
The names appear as the dead arrive from weekend to weekend, different symbols appearing by names, though there isn't any key to bring any clarity to what these symbols may mean.
An odd distinction: Fortune's name has been crossed out, but Ruin's hasn't, despite them both having been killed.
After a certain point, Ai's also had her name crossed out.]
[ WELL he can guess at what some of this is for given she's been upfront enough with him on that part as of a few weeks ago, but then there's the rest of this which he does not have the time to unpack and mull over right now.
So it looks like we're carrying on a proud tradition of stealing from gods for the time being. It's fine. You might get. This and the bag back via offering bowl, Patience, sorry. Maybe.
Let's see. Bathroom he's not inclined on searching through, so if there are SECRETS there unfortunately we're giving those up as lost, the supposed walk-in closet may or may not hold a variety of costumes, who knows,
well, okay, he might. He's not expecting anything as weird as the ledger, maybe, but let's take a look inside anyway. What's in here, fabulous god robes for every occasion? ]
[ 'Mostly.' Well, if that mostly doesn't imply that there's something very obvious that we'd be a fool to not notice, it's probably safe to just. Close the closet again.
One last onceover of the room before he thinks about quitting while he's ahead and booking it! There's the heart shaped pillows, the vanity he hasn't investigated very deeply, and the blanket over a chair-- does the blanket look like it's draped over anything more than just the chair itself? ]
[ Yeeeaaaah he's booking it. Closing the drawers or anything else he might have disturbed, taking the ledger, velvet bag, and bailing, let's go!
Listen I seriously debated the merits of having him attempt to memorize anything else that stands out about the ledger to relay it later but honestly he's just. Going to take it so he can review it properly, whoops.
Maybe this way it'll see more of the light of day too. I mean what? ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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What gives you that impression?
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a way in, perhaps?
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That said, I'm afraid you've caught me. Call it a healthy sense of exploration, if you will. I've sat idle around here long enough, I think.
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[The voice cackles again, gleeful.]
what do you think you're going to find?
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... After all, if this is like one of those things where your preconceived notions affect your perception of a place, I might be shooting myself in the foot to have any expectations at all.
[ please don't ask about xillia world mechanics, there are things that actually do function like this and they'd probably have at least writings and legends about it. ]
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[...]
want to see?
I'll open the door for you, if you want
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Well, who would I be to decline such an offer?
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there's just one thing: you have to answer a question for me
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You'd think maybe, endless peace might get boring, right? Or discomforting. You're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. 'What's the catch,' you might ask. It's a happy dream. It's a dream that isn't meant to last.
So maybe this just means that I'm not suited for a life of peace. Maybe I've spent too long fighting to be comfortable with the opposite. Maybe I don't deserve it, after everything I've done.
But I'm tired, mysterious voice. All I've ever wanted...
[ “this is the mission of those born with power. i vow to end our families tragedy with us.”
... a childish dream. ]
... Maybe it would be more accurate to say that— I want that life of peace not for myself, but for the people I care about.
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you're more of chatterbox than I expected.
So, your answer is excitement?
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I don't know, actually? I keep thinking I want peace, but I don't know if I ever would be comfortable with it. Sorry that it's not much clearer of an answer.
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and, hey, I'm just a figment of this reality
...but I need a specific answer to let you in
I'm like a sphinx, you see, but with less riddles and more questions
and only the right answer will allow you passage
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[ this is ludger pictured but just pretend it's julius too.
please don't tell him that anyway he's going to overthink a 50/50 chance and then where will we be. ]
Here's hoping that your comment earlier wasn't a deliberate attempt to lead me astray, then. Excitement, I suppose.
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[The voice cackles, and then goes quiet. The question disappears, and right behind his head, Julius hears the sound of something slide forward.]
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[ he'll uh, turn around in his seat to see what the heck that is though. what just slid out. ]
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A figment of this reality, a fake shadow behind the door. Smoke and mirrors...
Anyway of course he heads down the staircase, he came here for a reason after all! Why would he back out now!! ]
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icly however like this is. fair. this is fine. nothing can go wrong here. good thing he's already dead, because what's the worst that can happen.
does the single door have any like, peephole or window like the confessional window, or is it a solid door. if he stands to the side of it and listens, will he hear anything? ]
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aaaanyway, he is absolutely testing that door, and since it's unlocked he's going to. open it and steal his way in. because of course he is. besides, he was invited, after all! ]
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There's a closed set of double doors that indicates a walk-in closet, another door open enough that he'll be able to tell it's a bathroom. Overall, it seems fairly normal in here, for all the strangeness guarding it. Aside from the bed in the center, there's a nightstand, a vanity, pillows shaped like hearts, and a large zebra-striped blanket thrown over a chair.]
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all things considered this is ... yes, very normal. too normal, compared to the leadup to it and the general atmosphere of where it is they're staying, but he supposes something had to be. it's almost a little awkward knowing he's snooping through a lady's room, even if she is a thot.
first off, nightstand and vanity, let's go. anything neat on either? ]
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closes eyes i can't believe i'm doing what mounts to a panty raid i refuse this timeline, that vanity is being ignored
The nightstand drawer on the other hand, is fair game. ]
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Does Julius know what he expects to find at this point? Also no. That said, Patience is still a bit of a mystery, so of course he's tempting fate and picking up that diary. ... Maybe the bag too, though he's going to attempt to look inside it first just in case he's not depriving her of things like lube or condoms or shit, goddess who can probably just magick that up or not. I hate that I just typed this. ]
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> skim through diary y/n-- who am I kidding, of course it's y. Though he might not quite do a super close reading of it just at this particular moment, considering he doesn't quite want to find out whether or not it's possible to talk his way out of ending up in her chambers by offering the d just yet.
Velvet bag is snagged though, thief that he is. ]
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Anyway, a quick glance and he'll notice it's actually less of a diary and more of a ledger. He'll catch a glimpse of his name, among others.]
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... This may or may not warrant further study. To tempt fate by reading more deeply right now or not...
Yeah okay he's reading it, fuck it. Bad ideas bears lives on in spirit. He'll do it at the vanity maybe because he wants to get a closer look first at all the cosmetics to see if anything looks off about them. Maybe the mirror will help him keep an eye out while he's at it, both looking over the vanity and reading a little deeper into the ledger. ]
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The names appear as the dead arrive from weekend to weekend, different symbols appearing by names, though there isn't any key to bring any clarity to what these symbols may mean.
An odd distinction: Fortune's name has been crossed out, but Ruin's hasn't, despite them both having been killed.
After a certain point, Ai's also had her name crossed out.]
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So it looks like we're carrying on a proud tradition of stealing from gods for the time being. It's fine. You might get. This and the bag back via offering bowl, Patience, sorry. Maybe.
Let's see. Bathroom he's not inclined on searching through, so if there are SECRETS there unfortunately we're giving those up as lost, the supposed walk-in closet may or may not hold a variety of costumes, who knows,
well, okay, he might. He's not expecting anything as weird as the ledger, maybe, but let's take a look inside anyway. What's in here, fabulous god robes for every occasion? ]
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...no, it's full of just a lot of clothes, mostly.]
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One last onceover of the room before he thinks about quitting while he's ahead and booking it! There's the heart shaped pillows, the vanity he hasn't investigated very deeply, and the blanket over a chair-- does the blanket look like it's draped over anything more than just the chair itself? ]
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There's a sound of water splashing and a yawn from the bathroom, also.]
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Listen I seriously debated the merits of having him attempt to memorize anything else that stands out about the ledger to relay it later but honestly he's just. Going to take it so he can review it properly, whoops.
Maybe this way it'll see more of the light of day too. I mean what? ]