Entry tags:
graveyard
Graveyard
the town
Welcome to Deda
So, you're dead. Sucks!
Except you might not feel dead—after what feels like a long brush with dreamless sleep, you wake up in a quaint hole: a coffin in an uncovered grave, blanketed in fog. Entombed with you are any personal items (unless they're trial evidence, sorry), and a strange feeling of... lightness? Whatever corruption was in your blood seems to have cleared away with your death, and your injuries are healed, besides any cool scars and lingering aches.
Once you make your way out, a quiet, verdant graveyard (literal) awaits you. You could take a look around the various locations, but the same fog that greeted you surrounds this place, keeping you from venturing too far outside of the town limits.
Still, you may as well get yourself situated. You're not done yet.
Except you might not feel dead—after what feels like a long brush with dreamless sleep, you wake up in a quaint hole: a coffin in an uncovered grave, blanketed in fog. Entombed with you are any personal items (unless they're trial evidence, sorry), and a strange feeling of... lightness? Whatever corruption was in your blood seems to have cleared away with your death, and your injuries are healed, besides any cool scars and lingering aches.
Once you make your way out, a quiet, verdant graveyard (literal) awaits you. You could take a look around the various locations, but the same fog that greeted you surrounds this place, keeping you from venturing too far outside of the town limits.
Still, you may as well get yourself situated. You're not done yet.
Welcome to the graveyard! Here's a quick primer:
You are dead. However, characters are healed of their critical injuries; they may keep any scars or lingering pains that you like. Additionally, they are no longer corrupted. The monstrous force inside you has subsided; this means characters will no longer have powers, etc.
● Setting ● The graveyard has the overall look and feel of a small New England town from the '90s; characters can travel any of the Graveyard Locations, fenced in by fog and forests. But the fog makes this place otherworldly, and strangely permeable. Maybe you can influence your surroundings?
● Living Watch ● Where there are screens, you can view the living side. This includes televisions at the bar, Heaven's Night, and in the apartment lobby—you may even spot a passing glimpse of them in a mirror or glass of water. Only public gatherings like mingles, trial, etc, can be seen and heard this way.
● Items ● Personal inventory transfers over to the graveyard, including items that may be stolen during trial. The only items that stay on the living side are ones that are voluntarily given away. Thursday victims will receive their items in their rooms on Sunday, after Execution. Those who arrive any other day will have their items in their grave with them.
● Injuries and Death ● Characters can still be injured and die here. While characters do not stay dead, please let the mods know if it does happen, so we can inform you of how it works.
● Audiences ● You can audience Death in person, but none of the other NPCs are currently available. You can ignore the note section and go to the apartment penthouse directly to visit, or meet him wherever.
● Effects and Events ● Weekly effects still hit the graveyard, and you may use items on the living unless otherwise noted. Mini-events will go up at the same time as their living counterparts. CYOAs are still available for our sweet deda.
● OOC Notes ● Alluding to the fact that the graveyard exists OOCly is okay, but please keep details of what it looks like, what happens here, plot, et cetera, to yourselves. Feel free to ask the mods if you're not sure about anything!
You are dead. However, characters are healed of their critical injuries; they may keep any scars or lingering pains that you like. Additionally, they are no longer corrupted. The monstrous force inside you has subsided; this means characters will no longer have powers, etc.
● Setting ● The graveyard has the overall look and feel of a small New England town from the '90s; characters can travel any of the Graveyard Locations, fenced in by fog and forests. But the fog makes this place otherworldly, and strangely permeable. Maybe you can influence your surroundings?
● Living Watch ● Where there are screens, you can view the living side. This includes televisions at the bar, Heaven's Night, and in the apartment lobby—you may even spot a passing glimpse of them in a mirror or glass of water. Only public gatherings like mingles, trial, etc, can be seen and heard this way.
● Items ● Personal inventory transfers over to the graveyard, including items that may be stolen during trial. The only items that stay on the living side are ones that are voluntarily given away. Thursday victims will receive their items in their rooms on Sunday, after Execution. Those who arrive any other day will have their items in their grave with them.
● Injuries and Death ● Characters can still be injured and die here. While characters do not stay dead, please let the mods know if it does happen, so we can inform you of how it works.
● Audiences ● You can audience Death in person, but none of the other NPCs are currently available. You can ignore the note section and go to the apartment penthouse directly to visit, or meet him wherever.
● Effects and Events ● Weekly effects still hit the graveyard, and you may use items on the living unless otherwise noted. Mini-events will go up at the same time as their living counterparts. CYOAs are still available for our sweet deda.
● OOC Notes ● Alluding to the fact that the graveyard exists OOCly is okay, but please keep details of what it looks like, what happens here, plot, et cetera, to yourselves. Feel free to ask the mods if you're not sure about anything!
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no subject
Nona seems to be keeping it together, so why can't he? He can't even look up anymore, too affected by what this strange lighthouse is trying to throw at him. He flinches away from the burning touches of these apparitions, the cries seeping into his mind, and he quickens his pace. ]
We're— [ His voice is a rasp, and Aventurine halts his speaking in an attempt to keep his voice from trembling but fails to do so. ] We're almost there, Nona.
[ Encouragement for her. Encouragement for him. ]
no subject
I'm sorry.
[for what? not being able to do anything to help them? that they led miserable lives knowing there would be no reward at the end, motivated solely by their love for the world?
it's all nona can do to hold onto that same feeling, even though the horrors are so fckin real right now!!]
... Yeah. [a deep breath] We are.
[almost there.]
no subject
the nona that clings briefly to the railing and to her—her expression changes at the whisper apology. from pained and scared to just... resigned. there is nothing left in her expression as she falls away, down the lighthouse, down into the pile of bodies collecting there. she lets go without so much as a farewell, only leaving the cursed burns on the one nona that's left.
aventurine can cling to his sanity as they ascend, even when a hand grabs at his leg, pleading for him to look. the scrimshaw is his only source of reprieve—maybe because he's too weak to stand up to the horrors on his own. it helps, at least, even if it means ignoring the anguish and death of his friends.
but in the end, no matter the difficulty, they arrive at the summit, where there is a lantern, full of bright, nearly blinding light. the source of the light is some sort of small-ish object, like a stone. similar to the tomes on wednesdays, it feels as though this object is what you've traveled this way for, but there is no promise that it's anything worthwhile.
aventurine—it's been a hard journey. everything has been so painful, and you're tired. all the terrible things in this lighthouse are behind him now, and he could just... leave. he can hold onto this scrimshaw and just leave the rest behind. it would be so much easier; if he lets the scrimshaw go, everything comes back; all the horrors it's been keeping at bay will fall right back onto his head. it has everything he wants desired in its ivory enamel, and it will help him make them a reality. he can see his sister. he can have something of his own. he can only leave with one of these objects.
nona—you have the weight of so many lives resting on yours. even after killing, even after living, there is further to go. more to save. but aventurine is in her way—he's holding onto this scrimshaw, and it's stopping you both from getting what you came here for. she will be pressed with an urge to stop him at any means possible. if she doesn't, all that sacrifice will have been for nothing.
though, alternatively...
getting the scrimshaw for herself will mean that she can escape the horrors here; that all those miserable lives might be saved, with no effort at all. she just has to get rid of him, and she can save so many people.
so, go ahead with your choices. ]
no subject
No chance. As alluring as the shining stone in the center of the lantern may be, it hasn't been the object that's been alleviating Aventurine of all his pain and loneliness. Abandoning this scrimshaw would mean abandoning his sanity. It would mean going back to that dreaded, wretched house and everything that haunts him from within.
His grip tightens around the scrimshaw as he backs away from Nona, some part of him knowing that she means to take it. Forgotten is the journey they'd both taken to get here, how he'd helped her through the window, how she'd asked after him when his cuts had bled.
It's plain to see what his choice is. He means to keep this tooth. ]
no subject
even if aventurine is potentially a horrible, untrustworthy person, nona doesn't really want to kill him as a first resort? sometimes you are the kind of person who believes in compassion for your worst enemies. and, in the end, no matter how painful everything might be—she's not here for herself, any more than her other incarnations chose themselves above the world.
so ultimately, her choice is AVENTURINE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THROW AWAY YOUR TOOTH.]
Aventurine... Sorry, but I think you have to let that go. It's the only way we can move on.
[physically or, apparently, emotionally?? she grips her knife because while, again, she doesn't necessarily want to take drastic action, she'll fight you if she must, mister.]
no subject
as for the object in the light... it represents something uncertain. there is no determinate future by choosing this path. it offers no promise of a better life, no comforts; it is, perhaps, a return to reality, and nothing better than that, and maybe not even that. it is the hope of something real, instead of illusion. the scrimshaw is delusion, but it is a kind and easy one. even for nona, she can tell it promises meaning to all the sacrifice, and success, if only she's bold enough to take it.
anyway you guys can pvp and get to a decision and call me back hehehoho ]
no subject
No, without this, we'll never be able to leave this place. Move out of the way, Nona.
[ He's too convinced. There's not an ounce of doubt in him as his feelings toward the tooth become more and more protective. Possessive. ]
no subject
but in the end, she is aware—the only thing that can give meaning to all of the loss is what's real. cause and effect, the consequence that follows everyone's actions. that's something she should know better than most, as the weaver of fate.
so whatever the object in the light is, they need to take it, instead of the scrimshaw. aventurine is in the way of that. especially if he might be evil and crazy and that last part isn't entirely just because nona is also a little crazy right now]
Aventurine, you know you're lying to yourself. [what have you got there, nona? a knife! aka she brandishes it.] I don't want to fight you, but I will if that's what it takes to wake you up.
no subject
His eyes narrow as he studies Nona and the knife she's brandishing. He has the height advantage and he's no stranger to combat. The only issue is that he has no idea what her capabilities are, and that makes him cautious.
He doesn't want to hurt her, that much he knows. So if he can just get past her, get down those stairs...
Without another word, he runs toward her in an effort to catch her unaware and grab her wrist. If he can simultaneously disarm her and head straight for the stairs, all the better. ]
no subject
she was kind of expecting that reaction from him, although to be honest, fighting with a knife is not her specialty. thus, when he goes for her, she panics a little and just immediately tries to stab him in the shoulder. whoops!]
no subject
Maybe it's because he didn't think she'd have it in her to actually go for a stab, but he is absolutely caught off-guard. He tries to move out of the way, causing the blade to catch him in the upper arm rather than the shoulder, and leaving a deep cut as he yanks himself back a few paces. ]
... You actually tried to stab me.
no subject
[she grips the knife more tightly, again.]
Please throw that thing away, Aventurine.
no subject
Well, no. It doesn't. But Aventurine feels offended on its behalf as he stares down at it, the intricate carvings, the lovely colors, and (nu voice) the pointy end. ]
... I can't.
[ If Nona wants to knife duel, he will knife duel as he swings the scrimshaw at her. ]
no subject
Why is that thing so important to you, anyway!?
[she can get an idea, but she wants to hear it from his own mouth.]
no subject
I can't go back down there without it! I can't see them like that again...!
[ All those faces, those anguished cries, the burning touches. Reminders of his past and present and everything that he's lost along the way.
This scrimshaw promises to ward those nightmares away. ]
no subject
this hurts to say, when she's seen a glimpse of what aventurine's gone through. his loss and trauma, why he might so badly want something more hopeful. but...]
Remember what you were told, Aventurine—or have you already forgotten? We can't choose our beginnings, but we can at least choose our journeys. What journey is there for you if you cling to an illusion?
no subject
... No, he hasn't forgotten... Or maybe he has. Until now, his mind had clung to one thing only, a temporary relief in this strange object in his hand, but now, he's grown uncertain. The journey, yes. And at the end of it, he'd be able to recount the stories to his family, his father, mother, big sister. They'd smile, stroke his hair, and tell him how proud they were of him.
He hesitates here, leaving an opening as he tries to grapple with the truth. ]
no subject
Um—I'm sorry!
[she will try and jab the hilt of the knife into his gut to wind him and maybe even get him to let go of the scrimshaw? help.]
no subject
Aventurine doubles over, falling to one knee at the jab and releasing the scrimshaw on the way down. It slides across the floor, and Aventurine reaches for it, only to pull his hand back at the last second.
He's still fighting with himself. ]
no subject
Come on, Aventurine... You're stronger than this. I know you are.
no subject
So in an effort to combat his madness, Aventurine will dig his fingers into the deep cut on his arm, dropping to both knees this time to lean forward and press his forehead against the cold floor.
He refuses to watch the scrimshaw get kicked down the stairs, too afraid of chasing after it. Instead, he will remain curled up here, on the ground, inflicting as much pain on himself to try and keep his mind distracted. ]
Nona, [ he mutters her name through gritted teeth. ] Grab the stone.
no subject
nona stares down at him in concern for a moment—a part of her doesn't want to leave him, for a multitude of reasons—but ultimately, she knows that staying where she is won't be productive.
doing as aventurine says, she turns on her heel and runs for the stone.]
no subject
and so when nona grabs the stone, the hot, blinding light instantly fades. the lighthouse itself reverts back to a very normal, if dilapidated building. there is no great promise or happiness, nothing beyond the potential of what they can accomplish on their own. and maybe... that's for the best? maybe the hope of what's real and waiting isn't so bad, though you'll never know for sure.
none of the horrors they've seen stick around either, but their injuries will stay, as will some of the effects they've suffered (in aventurine's case, hallucinations, and in nona's, a struggle to feel happiness), at least for another 24 hours.
as for their reward, in her hands is a small, slate-like rock, with runes and images carved into it. from it, she can feel the potent thrum of magical energy, but to what end, she won't know from just a touch. more research may be required.
you may both keep custody of this, or otherwise do what you please! if it does change hands away from one of them, please let us know. good job breaking into this super normal building! ]