RPG
Introduction
Facedown,
in a population
that God has left behind.
In these barren streets
the neon lights
will be your guide.
All their limbs are stretched,
holding tight what could have been.
No one here is innocent
because we can't forgive.
God made this place a haven
for the motionless and weak--
a paradise of endless hope,
no progress to be seen.
The houses are abandoned
by those who could escape
while we will be the future
and you,
you will never change.
Washing your hands in blood
won't take away the stain.
Since there's no room in Heaven,
He made this town,
this town, your grave.
The cross they bear,
a burden that they just can't stand.
They're holding on to nothing;
time is slipping through their hands.
So easily they point their finger,
the first to pass the blame
while we will be the future
and you,
you will never change!
-This Town, Your Grave by IPS-
in a population
that God has left behind.
In these barren streets
the neon lights
will be your guide.
All their limbs are stretched,
holding tight what could have been.
No one here is innocent
because we can't forgive.
God made this place a haven
for the motionless and weak--
a paradise of endless hope,
no progress to be seen.
The houses are abandoned
by those who could escape
while we will be the future
and you,
you will never change.
Washing your hands in blood
won't take away the stain.
Since there's no room in Heaven,
He made this town,
this town, your grave.
The cross they bear,
a burden that they just can't stand.
They're holding on to nothing;
time is slipping through their hands.
So easily they point their finger,
the first to pass the blame
while we will be the future
and you,
you will never change!
-This Town, Your Grave by IPS-
***************************************************************
"You clever mess, you!"
Two people stood side-by-side at the edge of a rooftop, looking down at the barren street below. The one who had just spoken, a tall boy with black hair and an absolutely contagious smile, was holding a rusty knife in his hand. His companion, who was considerably shorter than he was and had sandy brown hair that stuck up every which way like he'd just gotten out of bed, had a small pad of paper and a pen.
"Just say your part, Jared," he said, obviously quite pleased with himself, "You said you had an idea before I told you mine."
"Oh yeah," Jared-- the black-haired boy-- mused. He was still wearing that playful little smile, "I was just thinking that maybe we could hack one of the Lights to favor us. Y'know, when it ought to say 'go' we can make it say 'stay' instead."
"It wouldn't work."
"But Neil--"
"Do you remember me telling you about Drew?" Neil interjected with a suddenly sharp tone.
Jared nodded slowly.
"That's how The Swan got him. Hacked Lights. The system is too well-constructed for something like that to go unnoticed. I imagine it's a Rule now, actually..."
He paused for a moment and then flipped through the pages of his writing pad until he reached one that was covered in spidery handwriting. Quickly, he scribbled a new line at the bottom of the page, flipped back to the one he'd been on earlier and looked back over at Jared.
"Anyways. Shall we test this or what?"
"Yeah, of course. So I just jump?"
"Mhmm."
The smile on Jared's face faltered a little when he looked back down at the street six stories below. His fist tightened around the knife and his jaw tensed. He had the strangest look of nostalgia on his face, almost as if he'd jumped off a building before.
His next comment made it clear that he had:
"God, that apartment building was so much higher..."
He was just about to step over the edge when the ground gave a mighty shiver, causing him and Neil to lose their balance and tumble over backwards.
Neon light flooded the hazy grey sky with a bloody glow.
"Crap! What does it say?!" Jared yelped, trying desperately to regain his footing even though the building was still trembling a little from the 'earthquake'.
"Find them." Was Neil's curt response. Already upright, he was staring across the street at the neon sign that had appeared out of thin air atop the opposite building. "Looks like we'll have to test your theory another time then."
Jared finally managed to get up and immediately started for the door that opened up to the staircase that led down into the building they were standing on. Neil trailed along behind him, occasionally glancing back at the sign and muttering to himself.
It was bright red. He'd only ever seen a red Light once before, and the events that had followed its appearance hadn't been good. A quick glance at the horizon caused him to freeze just as he was entering the stairwell.
The horizon was hazy. Barely visible, in fact. The Swan was going to arrive soon, it seemed. Now panicked, he ran down the stairs two at a time to catch up with Jared.
"It's shifting again," he said frantically, "The Black Swan is coming; we need to find 'them' before anyone else does or we're screwed."
His companion studied him carefully but said nothing. He instead focused on descending, clearly eager to leave the building as quickly as possible. When the two finally burst out of the front doors and on to the street, Jared spoke again:
"How many strikes have you got left?"
Neil checked his wrist in the manner that one would glance at their watch to see the time, only he was looking at the pale flesh of his wrist rather than a timepiece. His face went white an instant later.
"Only one... This is why I never keep count. What about you?"
"I think I have two. Let's get going; others have probably seen the Light by now."
There were no signs of any other living things on the street or in the dilapidated buildings on either side of it, but Neil nodded solemnly nonetheless and the two set off running straight down the center of the asphalt path.
Their feet kicked up billowing clouds of dust mixed with ash that were very clearly visible to the dark shadow perched on the very ledge that Jared had been about to leap from a few minutes ago. It watched them vanish around a bright street corner that marked the start of a much more vibrant part of the city.
When it could no longer see their clouds, it simply vanished like a wisp of smoke dispersed by the wind. The only sign of its presence on the rooftop was the single black feather that drifted down to rest precisely where it had been standing.
***************************************************************
Everything has a way out.
That includes life, whose way out happens to be its opposite: death.
Most don't leave until its their time and others will force their fellow man out prematurely, but few actually depart of their own free will. It is only the broken, the fallen, the desperate who show themselves through life's back door via suicide, being unable to take it for another second.
For whatever reason, you are one of those people. Fed up with your world, you extinguish yourself using whatever means you deem appropriate, expecting it all to end with blackness or else the supposed fire and brimstone of Hell. Heaven is too good for you, after all.
Perhaps you do catch a glimpse of Hell or maybe even Paradise, but then something wrenches you away before you see more than a flash of color and you are met with something that feels uncannily like sleeping.
So you welcome the peace. You sleep.
When you awaken, you find that you are very much alive and that you bear evidence of your suicide quite clearly on your body, be it in scabbed-over gashes or in ugly bruises painting your neck black from where the noose dug in. Maybe you've even got some broken bones; it all depends on how you went out. Fortunately, these wounds heal rather quickly and you are left with no more damage than a few scars and perhaps a bit of a limp.
Welcome to Fulgor.
***************************************************************
Character Skeleton
Description
- Code: Select all
[size=200]Full name here.[/size]
[size=110][u][b]-::Age::-[/b][/u][/size]
[size=90]Anywhere from fifteen to... uh... I dunno. Teenager to young adult.[/size]
[size=110][u][b]-::Gender::-[/b][/u][/size]
[size=90]Male or female, derp.[/size]
[size=110][u][b]-::Physical Appearance::-[/b][/u][/size]
[size=90]I like a lot of details here. Don't ask why; just write until you think you've described your character enough to give me a good picture in my head. And no, a real picture won't do.[/size]
[size=110][u][b]-::Method of Suicide::-[/b][/u][/size]
[size=90]How did they kill themselves? Try not to use the same method as anyone else if you can help it.[/size]
Personality
- Code: Select all
[size=90]Pretty straightforward, I suppose. I like really detailed personalities too. I'd rather not have an army of stereotypical "emo" kids.[/size]
History
- Code: Select all
[size=90]Just give me enough of a *realistic* history here that I understand why they killed themselves.[/size]
Rules
This is my first roleplay here, so sorry if I get confused and mess up. It's liable to happen.
- I'm used to a really literate community, so literacy is obviously necessary. You don't have to write a novel for every post, but don't do anything excessively short either.
- No godmodding, etc. These are normal people, so they won't be doing incredibly crazy things.
- Sorry if this is confusing.
- Be creative, of course.
- I have an obsession with good grammar and realism. It's not like I'll murder you for misspelling something, but make sure that your writing is legible and makes sense. If you can't do it, odds are you character probably can't either.
- Anything involving suicide is liable to have some dark, potentially disturbing themes. There will be blood, there will be violence, there will be death. If you have a self-harm problem, some of this stuff may be triggering; I don't know, it generally doesn't bother me but I'm not you. So be careful.
- I'm perfectly okay with romance taking place, just follow the guidelines and all that.
- Use your brain.
- Let's have a character limit of two unless we need more people.
- Don't be a drama queen. I understand that your character just tried to kill themselves, but so did everyone else's.
- Be sure to listen to me and any co-GMs I might appoint.
- Wait for me to describe your character's surroundings before they go about exploring the city and doing stuff; it's not like the normal world. Things will be messed up.
- Don't just jump to the conclusion that something is really important if I seem to take a lot of time in describing it. If you do, I'll end up using those false conclusions to take advantage of your character's stupidity and lead 'em on to a horrible demise or something. Because I'm sadistic like that.
- Everyone has just turned up in Fulgor unless I grant you permission to have your character not be a "newbie". As a result, they have no idea what's going on, etc.
- Things will obviously be explained as we progress IC.
- If you have a superawesomeohmigawdthisisamazing idea, please don't hesitate to PM it to me. I wanna hear.
- Erm... I feel like there are a lot of rules, I dunno. I'll stop now. I guess.
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Places in Neon Grave
29 postsFulgor
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OOC Notes
The more inhabited areas of Fulgor-- the ones where the streets weren't covered by a generous dusting of filth-- actually looked rather normal to anyone who wasn't scrutinizing it for strange details. Sure, the cracks between the sidewalk were glowing slightly and all of the signs and advertisements were for companies that didn't exist anywhere in the world, but that wasn't particularly strange. It could just be a particularly artsy, modern foreign city or something.
Then again, foreign cities with strange brand names plastered on the brightly-lit buildings generally didn't have English words printed on every single sign with no trace of a different language to be seen. There were people from all walks of life milling about-- wealthy-looking businessmen in fine suits, middle-aged women, college kids, teenagers, you name it-- and they all seemed to have somewhere important to be. There were no cars on the street, but people stayed off of it nonetheless.
Every now and then, wild-looking people who just had a crazed, almost enlightened look about them would suddenly dart down the sidewalks. The others avoided them, refused to look at them as if they were homeless wretches begging on the streets and preaching doom. Buildings occasionally blurred or glimmered, but no one took notice of that detail either. They were apparently all too intent on going in and out of stores, restaurants and workplaces to be bothered by such things. It really was quite like normal city life minus the noise of vehicular traffic.
But that was in the heart of the city. The further out you went, the less people you encountered. The buildings started to become more and more run-down at some point, and at the very edge of the city they were crumbling to the point where going inside was likely dangerous. Not that the edge of the city was easily accessible; the whole place was so extensive that it would literally take over a year to get from the center to the edge, and no one has returned to speak of what is there. Standing on even the tallest structure grants you a clear view of buildings stretching endlessly over the horizon and nothing more.
Between the point where things turn to slums and the center of the city is an in-between place, the kind of area where you'd expect to see average, middle class people. It is there where the new arrivals appear on the streets, groggy and confused from what they thought was death. It is there where people wander about, still injured from their attempts on their own lives and oblivious to the neon signs that occasionally burst into vibrant life high above their heads. The only people who seemed to be able to see those were the "wild" ones…
It is there in the streets on which "newbies" appear where our story begins.
(( Hopefully it's not too confusing. Basically, just… wake up there and be confused. Unless your character was already in Fulgor to begin with, that is, in which case you can just be, like, wandering around aimlessly. Or something. ))
---
When Jared and Neil finally reached their destination, they were out of breath and breathing heavily. It had been a long run from the deserted streets they'd just been on to the one they were on now. They actually had an apartment here somewhere from when Jared had first arrived in Fulgor, but they had neglected to use it for so long that it would take some heavy thinking to remember where it was and they were in too much of a hurry to do that. They needed to find "them", after all. Too bad they had no idea who the Light had been referring to. Their best bet was that "they" were new arrivals, though, therefore they had made the section of the city where such people could be found into their destination.
Only one problem: now that they were here, they were at a complete loss for what to do next. Jared had his attention focused on the building tops in case anymore Lights appeared, but so far the sky was lit only by the falling sun and the flickering street lamps. Fantastic. Really.
"What now?" Neil said in a rather dulcet tone, "We're goners if we don't figure out what to do. Well… I am, anyways."
"Let's just look for people," his friend replied, "I mean we're bound to find at least one of 'them' if we search long enough, right? I'm actually surprised there's no one here. Honestly," he gestured at the empty street, "there're usually at least one or two wandering around…."
"Eh, it's cold out. Plus this area is kind of intimidating to be alone in. They probably went inside, that's all."
"So do we look inside…?"
"Not yet. Let's try out here first."
"Okay then."
That settled, the two started to walk again. To anyone else, their confidence and lack of fear or confusion would stand out quite a bit from the usual disposition of pedestrians here. It was pretty obvious that they knew what they were doing.
Then again, foreign cities with strange brand names plastered on the brightly-lit buildings generally didn't have English words printed on every single sign with no trace of a different language to be seen. There were people from all walks of life milling about-- wealthy-looking businessmen in fine suits, middle-aged women, college kids, teenagers, you name it-- and they all seemed to have somewhere important to be. There were no cars on the street, but people stayed off of it nonetheless.
Every now and then, wild-looking people who just had a crazed, almost enlightened look about them would suddenly dart down the sidewalks. The others avoided them, refused to look at them as if they were homeless wretches begging on the streets and preaching doom. Buildings occasionally blurred or glimmered, but no one took notice of that detail either. They were apparently all too intent on going in and out of stores, restaurants and workplaces to be bothered by such things. It really was quite like normal city life minus the noise of vehicular traffic.
But that was in the heart of the city. The further out you went, the less people you encountered. The buildings started to become more and more run-down at some point, and at the very edge of the city they were crumbling to the point where going inside was likely dangerous. Not that the edge of the city was easily accessible; the whole place was so extensive that it would literally take over a year to get from the center to the edge, and no one has returned to speak of what is there. Standing on even the tallest structure grants you a clear view of buildings stretching endlessly over the horizon and nothing more.
Between the point where things turn to slums and the center of the city is an in-between place, the kind of area where you'd expect to see average, middle class people. It is there where the new arrivals appear on the streets, groggy and confused from what they thought was death. It is there where people wander about, still injured from their attempts on their own lives and oblivious to the neon signs that occasionally burst into vibrant life high above their heads. The only people who seemed to be able to see those were the "wild" ones…
It is there in the streets on which "newbies" appear where our story begins.
(( Hopefully it's not too confusing. Basically, just… wake up there and be confused. Unless your character was already in Fulgor to begin with, that is, in which case you can just be, like, wandering around aimlessly. Or something. ))
---
When Jared and Neil finally reached their destination, they were out of breath and breathing heavily. It had been a long run from the deserted streets they'd just been on to the one they were on now. They actually had an apartment here somewhere from when Jared had first arrived in Fulgor, but they had neglected to use it for so long that it would take some heavy thinking to remember where it was and they were in too much of a hurry to do that. They needed to find "them", after all. Too bad they had no idea who the Light had been referring to. Their best bet was that "they" were new arrivals, though, therefore they had made the section of the city where such people could be found into their destination.
Only one problem: now that they were here, they were at a complete loss for what to do next. Jared had his attention focused on the building tops in case anymore Lights appeared, but so far the sky was lit only by the falling sun and the flickering street lamps. Fantastic. Really.
"What now?" Neil said in a rather dulcet tone, "We're goners if we don't figure out what to do. Well… I am, anyways."
"Let's just look for people," his friend replied, "I mean we're bound to find at least one of 'them' if we search long enough, right? I'm actually surprised there's no one here. Honestly," he gestured at the empty street, "there're usually at least one or two wandering around…."
"Eh, it's cold out. Plus this area is kind of intimidating to be alone in. They probably went inside, that's all."
"So do we look inside…?"
"Not yet. Let's try out here first."
"Okay then."
That settled, the two started to walk again. To anyone else, their confidence and lack of fear or confusion would stand out quite a bit from the usual disposition of pedestrians here. It was pretty obvious that they knew what they were doing.
OOC Notes
Justice was, more of less, exhausted. She'd been wandering for hours, maybe days, she wasn't sure. With the back of her forearm she wiped the sweat from her brow, then continued to make her way through the streets. She and her friends had bad been seperated days before; she still wasn't sure how it actually happened. Some crazed fool had ticked Rodney off, and that was the last she'd seen him. Zach... well, she didn't want to think about it. Of both of her friends, Zach had always been the closest to her. He'd had those perfect chocolate eyes and the most heart-warming smile. It was not surprise that she'd begun to fall for him.
But he was gone as well, taken; by whom, she was unsure. They'd been sitting out one night and she'd fallen asleep, resting against his chest. When she was shaken awake by his sudden movement, she'd jumped to her feet just as he was being dragged off. "Zach!" she had yelled as she had raced after him. But she'd been to late. Justice shivered at the thought. It was so unfair that a damned soul like her should have to suffer more and more. Everyone loved her whether it was for her looks or for her personality. And everyone who loved her was damned.
Her frail footsteps were barely heard even in these lonely streets. It was surprising that she could even hear her own breathing at this point. She needed to sit down, to find somewhere to rest. The people who were here, though, weren't welcoming to stragglers. Justice hated this overbearing feel of weakness. She was always strong, always ahead of the game. But she was only strong when she was with others, and clearly the 'others' in this situation were missing.
As she walked, her blood-shot eyes fell upon two boys, or rather, young men. They appeared to be searching for something; maybe they were just as lost as she, not literally speaking. But then again, they had that air of strength around them, and she took immediate comfort in that. "Hello?" she called. It startled her to hear her voice so scratchy and pathetic. More than anything she was angry with herself for letting herself be pushed to such limits. "Can you help me?" she added, but if they had heard her, it was a miracle.
Justice struggled to catch up with them. Theirs strides were long and confident. She was struck with a wind of jealousy. Why couldn't she be that strong? Sure, she could act like it, but never could she give off the air that they did. But that jealousy was dying quickly in the hope that they'd give her some guidance, or even some raw help. She swallowed thickly before continueing after them.
But he was gone as well, taken; by whom, she was unsure. They'd been sitting out one night and she'd fallen asleep, resting against his chest. When she was shaken awake by his sudden movement, she'd jumped to her feet just as he was being dragged off. "Zach!" she had yelled as she had raced after him. But she'd been to late. Justice shivered at the thought. It was so unfair that a damned soul like her should have to suffer more and more. Everyone loved her whether it was for her looks or for her personality. And everyone who loved her was damned.
Her frail footsteps were barely heard even in these lonely streets. It was surprising that she could even hear her own breathing at this point. She needed to sit down, to find somewhere to rest. The people who were here, though, weren't welcoming to stragglers. Justice hated this overbearing feel of weakness. She was always strong, always ahead of the game. But she was only strong when she was with others, and clearly the 'others' in this situation were missing.
As she walked, her blood-shot eyes fell upon two boys, or rather, young men. They appeared to be searching for something; maybe they were just as lost as she, not literally speaking. But then again, they had that air of strength around them, and she took immediate comfort in that. "Hello?" she called. It startled her to hear her voice so scratchy and pathetic. More than anything she was angry with herself for letting herself be pushed to such limits. "Can you help me?" she added, but if they had heard her, it was a miracle.
Justice struggled to catch up with them. Theirs strides were long and confident. She was struck with a wind of jealousy. Why couldn't she be that strong? Sure, she could act like it, but never could she give off the air that they did. But that jealousy was dying quickly in the hope that they'd give her some guidance, or even some raw help. She swallowed thickly before continueing after them.
OOC Notes
While Jared stopped and turned, startled by the sound of a female voice behind him, Neil kept on walking. It wasn't that he hadn't heard her or anything, it was just that Jared probably had this covered so there was no need for him to stop looking for more people. It wasn't like they were joined at the hip; they didn't have to do everything together.
Besides, they needed to find more than just one person and sometimes it was actually better to approach the frightened ones alone. Two strange people walking up to you is a lot more intimidating than just one, especially if that one happens to be as nervous-looking as he was.
Jared stayed where he had halted his progress, allowing the girl to catch up. She didn't look so new-- there weren't any obvious remnants of her death-- but she sure as Hell looked exhausted. And lonely. The latter wouldn't be too difficult to change, now would it?
As she drew nearer, his omnipresent smile grew a little warmer. It was always a good idea to make people feel comfortably welcome, especially in a place like this. You never knew what they'd been through, and he'd heard some pretty terrible stories about other people's pasts. It was only to be expected in a city of suicides, of course, but sometimes you forget just how terrible some people's lives can be.
"Hey," he said gently, "what's up? I'm not Superman or anything, but I imagine that I can be of some assistance. Name’s Jared.”
As he spoke, his eyes did a quick scan of her body. He wasn't "checking her out" in any way, just making sure that this wasn't a trap. It had happened before; he and Neil had been approached by a girl in a very similar manner to how this one was coming to him for help now. Turned out she'd wanted them dead for whatever reason, and they realized that a second too late; Jared took a knife to the side. Fortunately for him, it missed anything vital and he survived with nothing more than a little scar just below his ribcage and the knife that had inflicted it.
His attacker? Well he was generally opposed to harming girls, but this time had been an exception. She'd stabbed him out of nowhere, Goddammit! At least Neil had gotten him off of her before he did too much damage.
At least he was ready this time in case Justice had a knife too.
Besides, they needed to find more than just one person and sometimes it was actually better to approach the frightened ones alone. Two strange people walking up to you is a lot more intimidating than just one, especially if that one happens to be as nervous-looking as he was.
Jared stayed where he had halted his progress, allowing the girl to catch up. She didn't look so new-- there weren't any obvious remnants of her death-- but she sure as Hell looked exhausted. And lonely. The latter wouldn't be too difficult to change, now would it?
As she drew nearer, his omnipresent smile grew a little warmer. It was always a good idea to make people feel comfortably welcome, especially in a place like this. You never knew what they'd been through, and he'd heard some pretty terrible stories about other people's pasts. It was only to be expected in a city of suicides, of course, but sometimes you forget just how terrible some people's lives can be.
"Hey," he said gently, "what's up? I'm not Superman or anything, but I imagine that I can be of some assistance. Name’s Jared.”
As he spoke, his eyes did a quick scan of her body. He wasn't "checking her out" in any way, just making sure that this wasn't a trap. It had happened before; he and Neil had been approached by a girl in a very similar manner to how this one was coming to him for help now. Turned out she'd wanted them dead for whatever reason, and they realized that a second too late; Jared took a knife to the side. Fortunately for him, it missed anything vital and he survived with nothing more than a little scar just below his ribcage and the knife that had inflicted it.
His attacker? Well he was generally opposed to harming girls, but this time had been an exception. She'd stabbed him out of nowhere, Goddammit! At least Neil had gotten him off of her before he did too much damage.
At least he was ready this time in case Justice had a knife too.
OOC Notes
Slanted eyes fluttered open with in quick, forced blinks as Cora's irises focused her pupils to the appropriate size with this new lighting. It felt like she'd been sleeping for an eternity, and had awoken because she'd been stuffed inside a microwave and was slowly dying. Pain filled her mind, blocked out any other sensations that she might have felt in that moment. She instinctively stumbled up to her feet, clutching her forehead and not bothering to repress a facial expression that mirrored the pain she felt. Why the hell wasn't she dead? Actually, where the hell was she? Her skin felt like it was on fire, and she scampered forward in unpredictable patterns because of the extreme, excruciating feeling. Jitters racked up her body occasionally, like a bad twitch had strangled her into submission and taken over her body. Cora hadn't expected to ever gain consciousness again, not after she'd plunged into the frigid waters of her crummy apartment's bathtub and thereby proclaimed herself dead with the invitation of her good old friend, the radio. The song that'd been playing as she died circulated her brain right now the same way the electricity had circulated her body... how long ago was that?
Again, where the hell was she? With another and particularly strong aftermath tremor racking her body, she crumbled back to the asphalt like a broken doll, her feet tucked haphazardly underneath her body. She put her face in her hands, chocolate dreads sprawling out around her like some sort of shower curtain. "Goddammit."she hissed angrily through clenched teeth, frustration pumping through her body.
She was supposed to be dead.
Her incessant depression should have been cured.
Was she in some weird version of hell or had she just dreamt it all? She really hoped that her suicide hadn't been some fantasy lived out through her sleeping, otherwise she'd have to do it again and that would be such a mighty blow to her pride. It'd be worse, though, if she'd simply botched her suicide. Then everyone would know she tried to kill herself and failed, and if that happened she'd blow her brains out because of humiliation instead of the troubles that haunted her. She pulled her tanned face from her palms, noticing the discolored skin on her hands. They were burns. So she had botched her suicide. But, wait a second, why didn't she feel like she was stuck in a deep fryer anymore? She looked at her body in wonder as she realized that she'd already healed quite some bit. She whipped her head back and forth, tendrils flying about as she did, and looked at her surroundings for the first time since she'd arrived at... whatever this was.
A bland, relatively empty cityscape greeted her, and she felt her arched eyebrows furrow atop her amber eyes. She ignored the tremor that moved her body as she stared skeptically at the environment she'd been placed in. She didn't recognize it at all. It didn't even seem real...
"What. the. fuck. One hell of an escape this was." she mumbled bitterly, eyes still scraping against her view as if she was suspicious that someone was going to jump out and scream "YOU'VE JUST BEEN PUNKED, YOU SELFISH, PSYCHOTIC BITCH." It didn't happen, mind you, but she was prepared for it if it did. Then, there in the distance, she spotted a single brown haired male, probably a couple years younger than herself based on his height, walking forward. If she could see correctly, there were also two other people farther away from him. She felt her feathers ruffle with suspicion, zipping up her jacket on instinct. She looked around her to see if she could use anything as a weapon, but couldn't see anything. If she was attacked, she'd use her fists. She was a good fighter, anyway. At the moment though, she tensely waited whatever may come with a deep set frown and an angry, confused,desperate glare.
Again, where the hell was she? With another and particularly strong aftermath tremor racking her body, she crumbled back to the asphalt like a broken doll, her feet tucked haphazardly underneath her body. She put her face in her hands, chocolate dreads sprawling out around her like some sort of shower curtain. "Goddammit."she hissed angrily through clenched teeth, frustration pumping through her body.
She was supposed to be dead.
Her incessant depression should have been cured.
Was she in some weird version of hell or had she just dreamt it all? She really hoped that her suicide hadn't been some fantasy lived out through her sleeping, otherwise she'd have to do it again and that would be such a mighty blow to her pride. It'd be worse, though, if she'd simply botched her suicide. Then everyone would know she tried to kill herself and failed, and if that happened she'd blow her brains out because of humiliation instead of the troubles that haunted her. She pulled her tanned face from her palms, noticing the discolored skin on her hands. They were burns. So she had botched her suicide. But, wait a second, why didn't she feel like she was stuck in a deep fryer anymore? She looked at her body in wonder as she realized that she'd already healed quite some bit. She whipped her head back and forth, tendrils flying about as she did, and looked at her surroundings for the first time since she'd arrived at... whatever this was.
A bland, relatively empty cityscape greeted her, and she felt her arched eyebrows furrow atop her amber eyes. She ignored the tremor that moved her body as she stared skeptically at the environment she'd been placed in. She didn't recognize it at all. It didn't even seem real...
"What. the. fuck. One hell of an escape this was." she mumbled bitterly, eyes still scraping against her view as if she was suspicious that someone was going to jump out and scream "YOU'VE JUST BEEN PUNKED, YOU SELFISH, PSYCHOTIC BITCH." It didn't happen, mind you, but she was prepared for it if it did. Then, there in the distance, she spotted a single brown haired male, probably a couple years younger than herself based on his height, walking forward. If she could see correctly, there were also two other people farther away from him. She felt her feathers ruffle with suspicion, zipping up her jacket on instinct. She looked around her to see if she could use anything as a weapon, but couldn't see anything. If she was attacked, she'd use her fists. She was a good fighter, anyway. At the moment though, she tensely waited whatever may come with a deep set frown and an angry, confused,
OOC Notes
It was an oddly bleak last sight to see. A dozen people were stood up on the platform at the time. Just stood there, watching with mouths gaping open. Nobody made any attempt to help of to stop it happening. A few of them slipped thier cell phones out of thier pockets and began recording video. They were about to see someone die, and seemed more concerned with the spectacle than anything else.
As it happened, there wasn't a great deal of a show. The train hit Elin at such a speed she was dragged under nearly immediately. A few people yelled and screamed, others cursed, some just carried on taking pictures. In death Elin had lived out her worst nightmare, being totally and utterly unimportant.
It seemed to be a long while later that she opened her eyes. It was rather hard to tell, like waking up after sleeping for a long while. She was somehow aware time had passed, though she had no idea how long. There were a few moments of slight confusion before her memory kicked in, and the full awfulness of the last few weeks began to hit her again, and after recovering from that familiar wave of horror another thing lingered. How one earth was she still alive? Had she not managed to do it properly?
After a little while, she hazarded opening one eye, and reaching around beneath her. She felt cold concrete, and the area where she was was nowhere even close to where she had been, staring down an approaching express train.
Tentatively she reached backward, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She grimaced as doing so sent a grining ache through her ribs. She reached forward to grasp them, feeling rather sticky, partially knitted skin across her ribs in a wide band though a ragged tear in her sweater. Further searching revealed that seemed to cross onto her wrists.
...like a train track...
She lifted her hands to examine them, finding several other jagged marks on her arms, following the stinging on her face she found several more, as well as one across her neck and on the side of her forehead. She didn't want to apply too much pressure to them..they looked like they had been pretty horrific injuries...at some point anyway.
The girl got to her feet, gazing around. It was nowhere that she knew...though that was probably just as well. She started to walk, keeping a slow pace to reduce the pain in her chest to a managable amount. She tried to get her brain in gear, tried to come up with some plan of action...but it wasn't really working. This was so far from anything she could have predicted. Jumping in front of a train usually only had one consequence...and now...well she wasn't entirely sure what happened next...or if it was all some sort of dream. If it had been, Elin wished her subconscious could've come up with something cheerier, dreams were supposed to be an escape.
As it happened, there wasn't a great deal of a show. The train hit Elin at such a speed she was dragged under nearly immediately. A few people yelled and screamed, others cursed, some just carried on taking pictures. In death Elin had lived out her worst nightmare, being totally and utterly unimportant.
It seemed to be a long while later that she opened her eyes. It was rather hard to tell, like waking up after sleeping for a long while. She was somehow aware time had passed, though she had no idea how long. There were a few moments of slight confusion before her memory kicked in, and the full awfulness of the last few weeks began to hit her again, and after recovering from that familiar wave of horror another thing lingered. How one earth was she still alive? Had she not managed to do it properly?
After a little while, she hazarded opening one eye, and reaching around beneath her. She felt cold concrete, and the area where she was was nowhere even close to where she had been, staring down an approaching express train.
Tentatively she reached backward, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She grimaced as doing so sent a grining ache through her ribs. She reached forward to grasp them, feeling rather sticky, partially knitted skin across her ribs in a wide band though a ragged tear in her sweater. Further searching revealed that seemed to cross onto her wrists.
...like a train track...
She lifted her hands to examine them, finding several other jagged marks on her arms, following the stinging on her face she found several more, as well as one across her neck and on the side of her forehead. She didn't want to apply too much pressure to them..they looked like they had been pretty horrific injuries...at some point anyway.
The girl got to her feet, gazing around. It was nowhere that she knew...though that was probably just as well. She started to walk, keeping a slow pace to reduce the pain in her chest to a managable amount. She tried to get her brain in gear, tried to come up with some plan of action...but it wasn't really working. This was so far from anything she could have predicted. Jumping in front of a train usually only had one consequence...and now...well she wasn't entirely sure what happened next...or if it was all some sort of dream. If it had been, Elin wished her subconscious could've come up with something cheerier, dreams were supposed to be an escape.
OOC Notes
It was a relief when one of them stopped. Justice slowed herself down to a pace that she could handle, since she'd been pushing herself to catch up. She groggily rubbed her eyes as she made it to him. Her many sleepless nights were evident by her blood-shot eyes and the frail expression on her lips. Insomnia didn't make any of it better. She was used to the lack of sleep from that, but these extra burdens were just stacking up way too high.
"Justice," she replied to his statement in her cracked voice. "JT if you want..." Her shyness crept over her and she immediately avoided looking at him. It wasn't only because of the shy instinct, but also because he came off as fairly attractive to her, and she didn't want to be caught gawking. "Do you know anywhere I can get some water... or.. water?" she asked while staring insensibly at the ground. After a moment's hesitation she lifted her gaze back up to his. "Or... somewhere to sleep?"
Her head was swimming, the world beginning to twist. This was the reason she had given up on life and had ended it with her own hands. She wasn't built for the strains of being alone. Her whole personality - her soul - circled around the interaction with other human beings who suffered like her. Justice sank a little before catching herself by locking her knees. "I.. I'm sorry, I've been through Hell lately." She put her hands to her knees and took several calming breaths, then met his eyes once more, a tired, mischievous smile finding its way to her lips. "Ironic, isn't it? Escape life only to suffer here.."
By this point in time she had become painfully aware of her heartbeat. It was like dying all over again. Truthfully, she pain hadn’t been much to swallow. What had really hit her hard was how everything had gone dreadfully silent; that is, everything other than the desperate beating of a dying heart. Just listening to it once more while standing there in such a sorry state was enough to make her want to cry. Yet she held it in and waited for Jared’s response, though it was clear that her eyes were watering with strain.
"Justice," she replied to his statement in her cracked voice. "JT if you want..." Her shyness crept over her and she immediately avoided looking at him. It wasn't only because of the shy instinct, but also because he came off as fairly attractive to her, and she didn't want to be caught gawking. "Do you know anywhere I can get some water... or.. water?" she asked while staring insensibly at the ground. After a moment's hesitation she lifted her gaze back up to his. "Or... somewhere to sleep?"
Her head was swimming, the world beginning to twist. This was the reason she had given up on life and had ended it with her own hands. She wasn't built for the strains of being alone. Her whole personality - her soul - circled around the interaction with other human beings who suffered like her. Justice sank a little before catching herself by locking her knees. "I.. I'm sorry, I've been through Hell lately." She put her hands to her knees and took several calming breaths, then met his eyes once more, a tired, mischievous smile finding its way to her lips. "Ironic, isn't it? Escape life only to suffer here.."
By this point in time she had become painfully aware of her heartbeat. It was like dying all over again. Truthfully, she pain hadn’t been much to swallow. What had really hit her hard was how everything had gone dreadfully silent; that is, everything other than the desperate beating of a dying heart. Just listening to it once more while standing there in such a sorry state was enough to make her want to cry. Yet she held it in and waited for Jared’s response, though it was clear that her eyes were watering with strain.
OOC Notes
In all Robbie's sanity, he could've swore the walls were staring at him. The two dents placed precisely parralel from each other were the eyes, and the mouth was a torn strip of wallpaper, teeth and all. The webbed cracks descending into the floorboards were the skin, and the ever so often breeze that strolled in to generously flutter the torn and hanging wallpaper only strengthened his theory.
He needed out.
Too bad, out, was out there and he was in here. Some run down shop that sold he didn't know what--another thing added to his list he didn't know.
He had started out in the alleys. Though the trash and smells that burned his sinuses. He supposed it was a bad idea to hide if he were lost, but he repelled from the main road like it was the root of all evil none the less. No particular reason, and no particular motives. It was more of an impulse thing. 'Cause when you wake up in pitch black, hit your head against a brick wall, and the first thing you remember is thrusting yourself torwards jagged rocks and waves wanting vengeance, it isn't your best day.
In all honesty, he felt like crying. The pressure behind his eyes and the buzzing going on behind his ears was enough to figure that out. He was scared, and clueless, and lost in God knows where. Not one soul had passed by for him to ask. Not even the sound of cars. Thinking of it now, there wasn't anything. It was the kind of silence that made you want to kick a bottle over or talk to yourself, just to make sure you hadn't gone deaf. It was strange, but he was past strange.
He was just scared now, and not once in his life had home seemed so appealing. He wanted his mom, and he wanted his dad. He wanted out.
Repositioning himself on the floor, he cocked his head back against the wall and listened as the walls and floorboards whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
Maybe he had died and gone to hell.
He laughed dryly and gruffly stood up. Running his tongue over his teeth, he let the floorboards guide the soles of his shoes to the otherside of the room. He kicked the wall, surprised by how easily it gave in. Then proceeded to desperetly tear the wallpaper down, coughing momentarily at the musty smell and dust collecting in his lungs. It left a gritty taste inbetween his teeth. As the dust particles started flying, he stopped and covered his nose with the back of his forearm, squinting his eyes before they started to get red rimmed and watery. Making the puddled grey color in his eyes stand out more than he thought was possible. He blinked and kicked it one more hard time before stepping back and coughing and doubling over.
Hell was looking a little bit too good right now.
He needed out.
Too bad, out, was out there and he was in here. Some run down shop that sold he didn't know what--another thing added to his list he didn't know.
He had started out in the alleys. Though the trash and smells that burned his sinuses. He supposed it was a bad idea to hide if he were lost, but he repelled from the main road like it was the root of all evil none the less. No particular reason, and no particular motives. It was more of an impulse thing. 'Cause when you wake up in pitch black, hit your head against a brick wall, and the first thing you remember is thrusting yourself torwards jagged rocks and waves wanting vengeance, it isn't your best day.
In all honesty, he felt like crying. The pressure behind his eyes and the buzzing going on behind his ears was enough to figure that out. He was scared, and clueless, and lost in God knows where. Not one soul had passed by for him to ask. Not even the sound of cars. Thinking of it now, there wasn't anything. It was the kind of silence that made you want to kick a bottle over or talk to yourself, just to make sure you hadn't gone deaf. It was strange, but he was past strange.
He was just scared now, and not once in his life had home seemed so appealing. He wanted his mom, and he wanted his dad. He wanted out.
Repositioning himself on the floor, he cocked his head back against the wall and listened as the walls and floorboards whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
Maybe he had died and gone to hell.
He laughed dryly and gruffly stood up. Running his tongue over his teeth, he let the floorboards guide the soles of his shoes to the otherside of the room. He kicked the wall, surprised by how easily it gave in. Then proceeded to desperetly tear the wallpaper down, coughing momentarily at the musty smell and dust collecting in his lungs. It left a gritty taste inbetween his teeth. As the dust particles started flying, he stopped and covered his nose with the back of his forearm, squinting his eyes before they started to get red rimmed and watery. Making the puddled grey color in his eyes stand out more than he thought was possible. He blinked and kicked it one more hard time before stepping back and coughing and doubling over.
Hell was looking a little bit too good right now.
OOC Notes
Truth be told, Neil wouldn't have noticed anybody at the moment unless he walked right into them, and the (as far as he knew) empty street was expansive enough that such an occurrence was unlikely. He was preoccupied with things that were admittedly more vital than obeying the Light, primarily the dark shadow that moved around the city in a wake of whispers that named it as The Black Swan. People vanished when it arrived, and to where was a mystery. He'd had a close encounter with the mysterious being a few years ago and it had left him paranoid that the Swan was after him. In a place like this, the unknown fate that it brought was perhaps the most terrifying thing that he could perceive.
Perhaps he had walked past one or two people-- he caught flickers of movement in his peripheral vision-- but he was distracted. Now, if those movements had come from people and said people were to make themselves known by calling out to him then maybe they could have broken his concentration but he was otherwise oblivious.
That really wasn't a safe thing to be, oblivious. Things could sneak up on him, catch him unprepared. Jared wasn't there to look out for him, after all. Fortunately the worst he'd have to deal with at the moment was likely just a scared, confused person, and they were actually what he was supposed to be looking for. Win-win. Sort of.
Justice's questions were met by a curt nod followed by a gesture down the street towards Neil's slowly retreating figure. "My friend knows a place. You should come with us. We're just trying to find someone, and then we'll head a little deeper into the city. We don't bite; promise."
So she probably wasn't out to kill him. Shyness like she'd just exhibited couldn't be faked very easily. That was good. Jared relaxed noticeably despite having shown very few signs that he'd been poised for attack. The smile dropped from his face and was replaced by a fleeting look of concern when she caught herself, evidently on the verge of collapse.
"You okay?"
Not that many people here were, if any at all. Even he and Neil had their problems. Now he was prepared to reach out and steady her if she were to falter again. That was liable to happen sometime soon considering the way she was wavering slightly. Hopefully she'd be able to make the walk, although he was perfectly capable of carrying her if she couldn't. She didn't look too heavy, after all, and he was a relatively strong guy.
Nothing bothered Robbie in his hiding place for the time being aside from the monsters that his mind was making up for him. His attack on the wall was rather noisy, sure, but either it had gone unheard or else anyone who may or may not have been nearby was ignoring the sounds. If that was the case, more noise could potentially attract attention.
A slight skittering noise cut through that suffocating silence that was causing him so much mental anguish. It was probably a mouse, but then again he hadn't seen anything so far that suggested there would be normal animal life here. Still. It was safe to assume that it was a mouse and leave it at that. At least it proved that he wasn't completely alone.
Perhaps he had walked past one or two people-- he caught flickers of movement in his peripheral vision-- but he was distracted. Now, if those movements had come from people and said people were to make themselves known by calling out to him then maybe they could have broken his concentration but he was otherwise oblivious.
That really wasn't a safe thing to be, oblivious. Things could sneak up on him, catch him unprepared. Jared wasn't there to look out for him, after all. Fortunately the worst he'd have to deal with at the moment was likely just a scared, confused person, and they were actually what he was supposed to be looking for. Win-win. Sort of.
------------
Justice's questions were met by a curt nod followed by a gesture down the street towards Neil's slowly retreating figure. "My friend knows a place. You should come with us. We're just trying to find someone, and then we'll head a little deeper into the city. We don't bite; promise."
So she probably wasn't out to kill him. Shyness like she'd just exhibited couldn't be faked very easily. That was good. Jared relaxed noticeably despite having shown very few signs that he'd been poised for attack. The smile dropped from his face and was replaced by a fleeting look of concern when she caught herself, evidently on the verge of collapse.
"You okay?"
Not that many people here were, if any at all. Even he and Neil had their problems. Now he was prepared to reach out and steady her if she were to falter again. That was liable to happen sometime soon considering the way she was wavering slightly. Hopefully she'd be able to make the walk, although he was perfectly capable of carrying her if she couldn't. She didn't look too heavy, after all, and he was a relatively strong guy.
------------
Nothing bothered Robbie in his hiding place for the time being aside from the monsters that his mind was making up for him. His attack on the wall was rather noisy, sure, but either it had gone unheard or else anyone who may or may not have been nearby was ignoring the sounds. If that was the case, more noise could potentially attract attention.
A slight skittering noise cut through that suffocating silence that was causing him so much mental anguish. It was probably a mouse, but then again he hadn't seen anything so far that suggested there would be normal animal life here. Still. It was safe to assume that it was a mouse and leave it at that. At least it proved that he wasn't completely alone.
OOC Notes
Elin edged her way out on to what she guessed was a street of some sort. Everything was quiet, to an unnerving degree...and she really disliked the quiet. It left far too much room for self-reflection. She'd never enjoyed silence before...but it had been only intensified after the matters lately.
Some worrying thoughts began to enter her head as she wandered around, something she'd never really considered before. Maybe she was dead, and this was some form of horrific punishment. Solitude until the end of the universe. Elin tried to push back that frightening notion and quickened her pace, despite the aches and pains involved.
Even a snarling tramp would've been a releif...so when she turned a corner and caught sight of the form of Neil closeby, she felt nothing but an enormous amount of releif. Another person!
She rushed over to the young man with an awkward gait, raising one arm and waving.
She attempted to call out, though initially only emitted a rather alarming choking noise, sending some half-dried blood sliding out of the cortner of her mouth. She coughed a few times, before attempting again, managing to get some words out.
"Hello there!" she yelled, sounding a little raspy, but intelligable.
Some worrying thoughts began to enter her head as she wandered around, something she'd never really considered before. Maybe she was dead, and this was some form of horrific punishment. Solitude until the end of the universe. Elin tried to push back that frightening notion and quickened her pace, despite the aches and pains involved.
Even a snarling tramp would've been a releif...so when she turned a corner and caught sight of the form of Neil closeby, she felt nothing but an enormous amount of releif. Another person!
She rushed over to the young man with an awkward gait, raising one arm and waving.
She attempted to call out, though initially only emitted a rather alarming choking noise, sending some half-dried blood sliding out of the cortner of her mouth. She coughed a few times, before attempting again, managing to get some words out.
"Hello there!" she yelled, sounding a little raspy, but intelligable.
OOC Notes
“Fllllllllllllhhhbbbbb,” Brian Rose sputtered. Failing his attempt at intelligible speech, he carefully sat himself down on the grey concrete stairs he was climbing. He must be on the tenth or eleventh floor right now – why the him of a few minutes ago had thought it was a good idea to climb stairs was a complete mystery. Something was wrong, or had been wrong, with his head. Like part of his mind had been frozen…
Lack of oxygen… brain damage, Brian realized, and complimented himself on the coherent thought. It had to be healing fast though… minutes ago, he had not even been able to fully control his body. Struggling his way into lucidity had been an odd experience – a strangely easy one, though. He still couldn’t speak, and his left eye refused to focus properly, but it was getting better.
Brian rose to his feet and slapped the dust off his no-longer-black clothing. He had initially thought this was a dream – or a hallucination – but this experience was too detailed and vivid. Where was he? Not his apartment, that’s for sure. Let’s see where this is then, Brian decided and grabbed the stairs' iron railing. He ran up the stairs to the next floor and passed through a bland wooden door to the residential area. Seeing no windows, he carefully opened one of the many doors. It swung open.
It was massive, endless. The city that stretched out behind the broken glass of the room’s large window was huge, mind-blowingly so. Let alone his apartment, this wasn’t his city, not even his country! Did someone transport him after his suicide? No… he locked his room. Left a written apology to the caretaker and all…
“Whht t fk?” With his inability to grow facial hair, Brian yanked out one of his short, dark-brown hairs. Dyed to the root. Not much time could have passed.
Brian decided not to think about it. As a convinced atheist, his mind told him this was an hallucination. His instincts told him this was merely a new reality, and a completely unexplainable one at that. He had undergone some basic training for situations like this… although being taken hostage by a world was a bit of a twist. First, he’d need to secure his surroundings. It was pretty clear the apartment was deserted. Second, a weapon – not regular curriculum for a field doctor, but his instructor had not believed in humanity’s innate pacifism, a sentiment Brian shared. Broken glass was far from ideal, but he could wrap it in a piece of his jeans… that would work.
Brian, now equipped with a makeshift dagger, descended the fire escape, scouting the eerily empty streets for any sign of life. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of movement. He considered hitting the steel construction he was on with a rock or something – the sound would carry with this little interference – when he heard a faint whisper.
“…llo there!”
Brian jumped down the fire escape and neatly landed, breaking his fall with a roll. At least his motor skills had returned, even if his mind could not differentiate between an m and an n yet. The voice had come from the north, if that dull, fading sun was the sun he was familiar with. Brian wasn’t sure it was.
Lack of oxygen… brain damage, Brian realized, and complimented himself on the coherent thought. It had to be healing fast though… minutes ago, he had not even been able to fully control his body. Struggling his way into lucidity had been an odd experience – a strangely easy one, though. He still couldn’t speak, and his left eye refused to focus properly, but it was getting better.
Brian rose to his feet and slapped the dust off his no-longer-black clothing. He had initially thought this was a dream – or a hallucination – but this experience was too detailed and vivid. Where was he? Not his apartment, that’s for sure. Let’s see where this is then, Brian decided and grabbed the stairs' iron railing. He ran up the stairs to the next floor and passed through a bland wooden door to the residential area. Seeing no windows, he carefully opened one of the many doors. It swung open.
It was massive, endless. The city that stretched out behind the broken glass of the room’s large window was huge, mind-blowingly so. Let alone his apartment, this wasn’t his city, not even his country! Did someone transport him after his suicide? No… he locked his room. Left a written apology to the caretaker and all…
“Whht t fk?” With his inability to grow facial hair, Brian yanked out one of his short, dark-brown hairs. Dyed to the root. Not much time could have passed.
Brian decided not to think about it. As a convinced atheist, his mind told him this was an hallucination. His instincts told him this was merely a new reality, and a completely unexplainable one at that. He had undergone some basic training for situations like this… although being taken hostage by a world was a bit of a twist. First, he’d need to secure his surroundings. It was pretty clear the apartment was deserted. Second, a weapon – not regular curriculum for a field doctor, but his instructor had not believed in humanity’s innate pacifism, a sentiment Brian shared. Broken glass was far from ideal, but he could wrap it in a piece of his jeans… that would work.
Brian, now equipped with a makeshift dagger, descended the fire escape, scouting the eerily empty streets for any sign of life. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of movement. He considered hitting the steel construction he was on with a rock or something – the sound would carry with this little interference – when he heard a faint whisper.
“…llo there!”
Brian jumped down the fire escape and neatly landed, breaking his fall with a roll. At least his motor skills had returned, even if his mind could not differentiate between an m and an n yet. The voice had come from the north, if that dull, fading sun was the sun he was familiar with. Brian wasn’t sure it was.
OOC Notes
Relief flooding over her once more. Good, at least someone here wasn't out to kill her. Justice looking him over once, trying see any sign that he wasn't what he said. But he seemed fairly true to her word and she wasn't about to give away this opportunity because of suspicion. She straightened a little as he asked of her condition. She hated being weak. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl. To fight from being seen as weak she had become a delinquent, a problem child, and in the end had taken her own life. She was far from weak; but for now, that's all she seemed.
"I'm fine," she said in what she hoped was a strong voice. "Let's just say, I... I lost everything I had." Part of her felt as if he was like her, that he'd been through despair as well, whether it was here or back in regular life. "And I don't mean I'm a newbie. I've been year for a while now. But..." Justice trailed off, sniffing a little. The loss of Zach and Rodney - but mostly Zach - still struck her as horrible. It was almost as bad as looking Newt.
Her tired sea-blue eyes fell upon the figure of Jared's friend in the distance. Judging from the way he walked and the way he held himself, she could see he was older and most likely a little more experienced than the young man before her. "I really hate to ask, but, uh... may I?" The brunette hesitantly placed a hand on his bisept to help her stand. Her cheeks were painted red with embarasment and she was once more avoiding his gaze. "Sorry to be a burden," she mumbled after a moment.
"I'm fine," she said in what she hoped was a strong voice. "Let's just say, I... I lost everything I had." Part of her felt as if he was like her, that he'd been through despair as well, whether it was here or back in regular life. "And I don't mean I'm a newbie. I've been year for a while now. But..." Justice trailed off, sniffing a little. The loss of Zach and Rodney - but mostly Zach - still struck her as horrible. It was almost as bad as looking Newt.
Her tired sea-blue eyes fell upon the figure of Jared's friend in the distance. Judging from the way he walked and the way he held himself, she could see he was older and most likely a little more experienced than the young man before her. "I really hate to ask, but, uh... may I?" The brunette hesitantly placed a hand on his bisept to help her stand. Her cheeks were painted red with embarasment and she was once more avoiding his gaze. "Sorry to be a burden," she mumbled after a moment.
OOC Notes
They all had had their own personal conception of afterlife or lack thereof.
She hadn't known what to expect. Be it heaven, nihil, reincarnation, paradise - or even hell, though she couldn't imagine what should have brought her there ...then again, you shouldn't mess with the believes of your family.
Well, whatever it was she could have imagined - this wasn't it.
The lights were far too bright and colorful to be elysian, according to her mother.
She had said them to be soft and soothing, a nice whiteish glow that would call her home. These lights were anything but. Where heaven was supposed to be calm, this place was loud, in a way. She didn't felt like home, she didn't even feel welcome. Infact, it made her eyes sting. But it was too silent for hell.
The knowledge of existing was too evident for this to be nothingness, according to her father.
He had told her that she wouldn't even know she was dead. But she could remember the fire clearly, her own screams.
This wasn't were she had been before and this wasn't a hospital either. This had to be death, of sorts.
She knew she existed when she probably shouldn't.
The recalling of her memories excluded rebirth, according to her brother.
He had argued that being reborn, you'd be a small infant, and even if you could remember your last life then, you would forget it soon. It wasn't how it's supposed to be. Proof was him not knowing his past life. You could argue about that but they had done that far too often already. Besides, she was still pretty much twenty.
This was no garden. There had to be a nice garden, according to her sister.
Then again, according to her sister, there always had to be a garden. She was pretty new to their religion debate, being the youngest. It didn't seem like judgement day either, so she thought it safe to say this wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Though, if they all had been wrong, then noone had been right. Her mind searched for a description of afterlife that fit this.
But there were no rivers, no boats, no gods that wanted to weigh your heart, no devils or angels. People looked as passive as they had in the town she had lived in before, she assumed they were as human as she was... used to be?
Perhaps she was a ghost.
Her first impulse was to punch someone and find out if he screamed but she didn't find anyone she dared to try it out on.
Another tempting thought was running against a wall, just to see if she could pass through it. But a headache wasn't really what she wanted. Instead she cautiously put her fingers against the building, feeling the palm of her hand sting and very substantial.
Fine, so that theory was wrong as well.
Sighing, she sat down again, her legs crossed and her shoulders relaxed, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander. Just a moment to think and sort her thoughts.
Her name was Helen... eight days before the fire, she had turned twenty. Good.
Now, the fire was a different matter completely.
She could remember it clearly. It had been warmer than she would have thought.
She wondered how her family were feeling about her gone... would they understand? Probably not. Even she couldn't understand the seemingly perfect logic behind that any longer.
Her fingers touched her face, searching for burns. As far as she could tell, her hands and legs had taken the most damage. There were some blisters along her cheek and lips... but they would heal in time.
When she had been a child, she had burned her fingers by trying to carry her mothers frying pan without gloves. The blisters had hurt but turned to something merely uncomfortable and disappeared after two weeks. It would be the same with these. Strange though, she had thought them to be more painful. Then again, she had been a child and a child's mind tends to exaggerate.
Her arms and legs would probably heal as well, perhaps leave small scars. It didn't seem all that bad.
It would all recover.
Her scorched skirt, on the other hand, probably not so much.
She had really liked that skirt.
It had been her favorite, actually.
She hadn't known what to expect. Be it heaven, nihil, reincarnation, paradise - or even hell, though she couldn't imagine what should have brought her there ...then again, you shouldn't mess with the believes of your family.
Well, whatever it was she could have imagined - this wasn't it.
The lights were far too bright and colorful to be elysian, according to her mother.
She had said them to be soft and soothing, a nice whiteish glow that would call her home. These lights were anything but. Where heaven was supposed to be calm, this place was loud, in a way. She didn't felt like home, she didn't even feel welcome. Infact, it made her eyes sting. But it was too silent for hell.
The knowledge of existing was too evident for this to be nothingness, according to her father.
He had told her that she wouldn't even know she was dead. But she could remember the fire clearly, her own screams.
This wasn't were she had been before and this wasn't a hospital either. This had to be death, of sorts.
She knew she existed when she probably shouldn't.
The recalling of her memories excluded rebirth, according to her brother.
He had argued that being reborn, you'd be a small infant, and even if you could remember your last life then, you would forget it soon. It wasn't how it's supposed to be. Proof was him not knowing his past life. You could argue about that but they had done that far too often already. Besides, she was still pretty much twenty.
This was no garden. There had to be a nice garden, according to her sister.
Then again, according to her sister, there always had to be a garden. She was pretty new to their religion debate, being the youngest. It didn't seem like judgement day either, so she thought it safe to say this wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Though, if they all had been wrong, then noone had been right. Her mind searched for a description of afterlife that fit this.
But there were no rivers, no boats, no gods that wanted to weigh your heart, no devils or angels. People looked as passive as they had in the town she had lived in before, she assumed they were as human as she was... used to be?
Perhaps she was a ghost.
Her first impulse was to punch someone and find out if he screamed but she didn't find anyone she dared to try it out on.
Another tempting thought was running against a wall, just to see if she could pass through it. But a headache wasn't really what she wanted. Instead she cautiously put her fingers against the building, feeling the palm of her hand sting and very substantial.
Fine, so that theory was wrong as well.
Sighing, she sat down again, her legs crossed and her shoulders relaxed, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander. Just a moment to think and sort her thoughts.
Her name was Helen... eight days before the fire, she had turned twenty. Good.
Now, the fire was a different matter completely.
She could remember it clearly. It had been warmer than she would have thought.
She wondered how her family were feeling about her gone... would they understand? Probably not. Even she couldn't understand the seemingly perfect logic behind that any longer.
Her fingers touched her face, searching for burns. As far as she could tell, her hands and legs had taken the most damage. There were some blisters along her cheek and lips... but they would heal in time.
When she had been a child, she had burned her fingers by trying to carry her mothers frying pan without gloves. The blisters had hurt but turned to something merely uncomfortable and disappeared after two weeks. It would be the same with these. Strange though, she had thought them to be more painful. Then again, she had been a child and a child's mind tends to exaggerate.
Her arms and legs would probably heal as well, perhaps leave small scars. It didn't seem all that bad.
It would all recover.
Her scorched skirt, on the other hand, probably not so much.
She had really liked that skirt.
It had been her favorite, actually.
OOC Notes
It actually wasn't the words that got Neil's attention as much as it was the weird choking noise; it wasn't like he heard stuff like that every day so it snapped him out of his reverie almost immediately. The words just sped him up when he started to turn around.
Oh. Oh dear. Her body had patched itself up quite a bit by now, but it was still pretty clear that her suicide had been really gruesome. He just stood there, staring, for a moment before stepping forward to close the gap between them.
It was generally bad manners to ask people how they offed themselves, but she just looked so… so mangled that he couldn't help himself: "Wh-what happened to you?"
The stammer wasn't intentional, but it didn't really make sense; his voice was relatively confident despite the quietness. Then again that tended to happen when he talked to people who weren't Jared, especially girls.
"I understand."
Jared probably didn't really get what she'd been through, but his words were pretty convincing to say the least. Coupled with that winning smile of his, the tone in his voice made him pretty easy to trust. He found the fact that she wasn't a newbie yet was still wandering around here to be a little odd and all but before he asked about that, she had a hand on his arm. That contact, no matter how hesitant, was enough to stop all thoughts for a moment.
"Err, yeah, I don't mind. It's not a problem. Not at all. Let's catch up to Neil, okay? Looks like there's someone talking to him, so… yeah. He's not moving away."
He started to walk with a careful, measured pace so the girl he was supporting didn't have too much trouble staying at his side. It was harder than it sounded; he was almost a foot taller than she was and therefore had longer legs, so he had to take unusually small steps.
Oh. Oh dear. Her body had patched itself up quite a bit by now, but it was still pretty clear that her suicide had been really gruesome. He just stood there, staring, for a moment before stepping forward to close the gap between them.
It was generally bad manners to ask people how they offed themselves, but she just looked so… so mangled that he couldn't help himself: "Wh-what happened to you?"
The stammer wasn't intentional, but it didn't really make sense; his voice was relatively confident despite the quietness. Then again that tended to happen when he talked to people who weren't Jared, especially girls.
------------
"I understand."
Jared probably didn't really get what she'd been through, but his words were pretty convincing to say the least. Coupled with that winning smile of his, the tone in his voice made him pretty easy to trust. He found the fact that she wasn't a newbie yet was still wandering around here to be a little odd and all but before he asked about that, she had a hand on his arm. That contact, no matter how hesitant, was enough to stop all thoughts for a moment.
"Err, yeah, I don't mind. It's not a problem. Not at all. Let's catch up to Neil, okay? Looks like there's someone talking to him, so… yeah. He's not moving away."
He started to walk with a careful, measured pace so the girl he was supporting didn't have too much trouble staying at his side. It was harder than it sounded; he was almost a foot taller than she was and therefore had longer legs, so he had to take unusually small steps.
OOC Notes
Elin hesitated for a few moments, before the memory of the nasty bands of scarring hit her again and she realized that she must have lookedrather unpleasant at that point. She also realized she had a gaping hole left in her sweater, and hurriedly pulled in closed.
"Er...thing is...I don't really know..." she replied haltingly, shifting from foot to foot as she regarded the young man, rather concerned that her ridiculous story might scare him off. She wasn't aware that in a place like that it wasn't nearly as deranged as it sounded in her mind.
"I think...well...I just woke up in an alleyway closeby...and...I was looking like this. I really don't know how I got here...er...you wouldn't happen to know what this place is callled do you?" she asked.
She decided not to talk about the whole train thing, it didn't seem like something she wanted to mention to a complete stranger.
"Er...thing is...I don't really know..." she replied haltingly, shifting from foot to foot as she regarded the young man, rather concerned that her ridiculous story might scare him off. She wasn't aware that in a place like that it wasn't nearly as deranged as it sounded in her mind.
"I think...well...I just woke up in an alleyway closeby...and...I was looking like this. I really don't know how I got here...er...you wouldn't happen to know what this place is callled do you?" she asked.
She decided not to talk about the whole train thing, it didn't seem like something she wanted to mention to a complete stranger.
OOC Notes
Brian crouched on the first floor of a decayed building – almost all of its walls had been knocked out, but a small corner remained to hide behind. He had climbed up here to observe the two people he’d heard – a curious albino girl, and a considerably less remarkable brown-haired youth. Judging by the words exchanged, they were strangers. Brian briefly considered his options.
Ignore, ambush, approach. He discarded the first option – his situation begged explanation. An ambush, then? Impossible. Disregarding his poor equipment – the large gas canister he’d used to kill himself, his awkward glass dagger, and two packs of chewing gum – he was on foreign terrain, and he could not realistically follow the pair without giving himself away. Besides, the young man had a certain air over him… like he knew what he was supposed to be doing, and straying into easily-ambushed alleyways did not seem to be a part of it. And perhaps most importantly, how wise was it to threaten someone in a place Brian himself might have entered by dying?
Peaceful approach, then, he decided. The first impression was important, after all. Brian rose to his feet, picked up a piece of glassy debris from the floor, and moved away from the pair of youths. On the side of the building, he jumped into one of the many depressing, last-century street lamps and carefully – silently – slid down to street level. Peering around the corner, he saw the two still engaged in conversation. Brian weighed the piece of glass in his hand. It would make some noise. He took a couple steps back and threw it, in a high arc, over the pair’s heads. Here’s hoping they’re not hostile.
Ignore, ambush, approach. He discarded the first option – his situation begged explanation. An ambush, then? Impossible. Disregarding his poor equipment – the large gas canister he’d used to kill himself, his awkward glass dagger, and two packs of chewing gum – he was on foreign terrain, and he could not realistically follow the pair without giving himself away. Besides, the young man had a certain air over him… like he knew what he was supposed to be doing, and straying into easily-ambushed alleyways did not seem to be a part of it. And perhaps most importantly, how wise was it to threaten someone in a place Brian himself might have entered by dying?
Peaceful approach, then, he decided. The first impression was important, after all. Brian rose to his feet, picked up a piece of glassy debris from the floor, and moved away from the pair of youths. On the side of the building, he jumped into one of the many depressing, last-century street lamps and carefully – silently – slid down to street level. Peering around the corner, he saw the two still engaged in conversation. Brian weighed the piece of glass in his hand. It would make some noise. He took a couple steps back and threw it, in a high arc, over the pair’s heads. Here’s hoping they’re not hostile.
OOC Notes
Justice shrugged. She didn't really care where they were headed as long as she was getting water and sleep. Sleep... God that sounded amazing. Just the thought of it made her want to smile, but her lips felt heavy and burdened so it remained a mental feeling. Although he was helping her, the way Jared was walking to make sure she could was alright was purely amusing. A tall guy like him taking such little steps was like watching an elephant woddle like a penguin. She giggled a little, and the first smile in two days finally met her lips.
As an explanation to her laughs, she looked up at him with that giggly-smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but wonder how pathetic we must look. Oooor I'm going mad," she added, smile disappearing and her attention turning back to the road. Justice didn't exactly like seeming like a fool; it really was funny how they were walking, and she just hoped he wouldn't think her rude for giggling about it. It was much easier to go along with the support he was giving. It made her want to send a thanks to... no, she didn't believe in him anymore.
Something flying through the air caught her attention, and when it hit the ground and shattered she physically stiffened. "I left all my weapons bag on Juniper Ally," she murmured to herself in a grimace. "Did you see what that was?" she asked as her eyes searched for where it had come from.
As an explanation to her laughs, she looked up at him with that giggly-smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but wonder how pathetic we must look. Oooor I'm going mad," she added, smile disappearing and her attention turning back to the road. Justice didn't exactly like seeming like a fool; it really was funny how they were walking, and she just hoped he wouldn't think her rude for giggling about it. It was much easier to go along with the support he was giving. It made her want to send a thanks to... no, she didn't believe in him anymore.
Something flying through the air caught her attention, and when it hit the ground and shattered she physically stiffened. "I left all my weapons bag on Juniper Ally," she murmured to herself in a grimace. "Did you see what that was?" she asked as her eyes searched for where it had come from.
OOC Notes
Alrighty then. She wasn't going to tell him. Fair enough. Most people didn't, and his prying question hadn't really been all that courteous. He could just come up with some far-fetched story of his own if he wanted to. Or not. That was weird, or at least something that Jared would do in an attempt to be funny. Out of nowhere, he'd come up with something completely preposterous and yet strangely plausible at the same time and it would make sense in a weird sort of way and everyone present would laugh because it was so ridiculous.
But nah, Neil couldn't do that. He was too logical a thinker. Leave the crazy imagining stuff to Jared; he could handle all of the facts. Like the question that the girl had just asked him, for example.
"This is Fulgor. A lot of people call it the City of Suicides, though."
As he said this, the piece of glass made its glittering path above their heads, catching his attention right away and causing his voice to trail off at the end of the sentence. His eyes followed the projectile until it broke against the ground then he realized that somebody had to have thrown it and he looked cautiously in the direction from which it had come. It was around a corner-- go figure-- so he couldn't tell if there was anyone there or not, but he thought he saw the shadow of somebody standing there.
"Hello? Is someone over there?" he said tentatively, just loud enough to be heard by somebody standing around that corner. "It's alright to come out; we're not dangerous unless she's some sort of psychotic killer, although I highly doubt that. So yeah. Safe."
He could only hope that Jared was somewhere nearby.
Justice's comment was met by a little chuckle on Jared's part. He had to fight back the urge to go "Awwwwww" to that look on her face when he glanced down at her; it was adorable, plain and simple, and much different from the miserable expressions that most people wore in this part of the city. God, traveling around with Neil had made him forgot how cute girls could be. He could get used to this.
When he felt her body tense against him, his eyes automatically searched for the source of her alarm and he found it in some glittering object that had just soared right over Neil's and whoever he was with's heads and exploded into shiny fragments not he ground. Was somebody attacking? It was possible, although it was generally the person you're attacking that you aim for and not the air over them.
Enemy or not, he wasn't going to take any chances. "I have a knife; it's okay," he hissed, pulling the weapon from where it had been shoved rather carelessly into a belt loop. He moved a little closer to Neil and the girl and then stopped and kind of scooted Justice to the side so that they weren't just blatantly standing there in the middle of the street. He was no doubt ready to sprint forward and protect his friend at a moment's notice if push came to shove.
But nah, Neil couldn't do that. He was too logical a thinker. Leave the crazy imagining stuff to Jared; he could handle all of the facts. Like the question that the girl had just asked him, for example.
"This is Fulgor. A lot of people call it the City of Suicides, though."
As he said this, the piece of glass made its glittering path above their heads, catching his attention right away and causing his voice to trail off at the end of the sentence. His eyes followed the projectile until it broke against the ground then he realized that somebody had to have thrown it and he looked cautiously in the direction from which it had come. It was around a corner-- go figure-- so he couldn't tell if there was anyone there or not, but he thought he saw the shadow of somebody standing there.
"Hello? Is someone over there?" he said tentatively, just loud enough to be heard by somebody standing around that corner. "It's alright to come out; we're not dangerous unless she's some sort of psychotic killer, although I highly doubt that. So yeah. Safe."
He could only hope that Jared was somewhere nearby.
------------
Justice's comment was met by a little chuckle on Jared's part. He had to fight back the urge to go "Awwwwww" to that look on her face when he glanced down at her; it was adorable, plain and simple, and much different from the miserable expressions that most people wore in this part of the city. God, traveling around with Neil had made him forgot how cute girls could be. He could get used to this.
When he felt her body tense against him, his eyes automatically searched for the source of her alarm and he found it in some glittering object that had just soared right over Neil's and whoever he was with's heads and exploded into shiny fragments not he ground. Was somebody attacking? It was possible, although it was generally the person you're attacking that you aim for and not the air over them.
Enemy or not, he wasn't going to take any chances. "I have a knife; it's okay," he hissed, pulling the weapon from where it had been shoved rather carelessly into a belt loop. He moved a little closer to Neil and the girl and then stopped and kind of scooted Justice to the side so that they weren't just blatantly standing there in the middle of the street. He was no doubt ready to sprint forward and protect his friend at a moment's notice if push came to shove.
OOC Notes
"...city of...suicides?" Elin asked haltingly, rather shocked by this. She began to wonde,r guessing she had done it....althougth that didn't explain a great deal of things. Like the not being dead part. At the very least it seemed to mean people didn't know her or what she'd done. Her face had been plastered all over the papers of her home city, and being an albino it was distinctive enough that most people could point her out and pass judgement. It appeared to be a clean slate...where no-one knew what she'd done...
She was interrupted by the appearance of the glass, which in turn heralded the appearance of another figure. Seemed a rather odd way to greet people, but in all honesty she was just extemely releived to see that this place wasn't deserted. She reached up at waved a little at him, smiling nervously. Hopefully he wasn't going to come and do somethign awful to them.
Neil's mention about being a killer was oddly ironic, and made her more determined not to mention the whole incident that led up to her date with the train. In a roundabout sense, she was a killer after all.
She was interrupted by the appearance of the glass, which in turn heralded the appearance of another figure. Seemed a rather odd way to greet people, but in all honesty she was just extemely releived to see that this place wasn't deserted. She reached up at waved a little at him, smiling nervously. Hopefully he wasn't going to come and do somethign awful to them.
Neil's mention about being a killer was oddly ironic, and made her more determined not to mention the whole incident that led up to her date with the train. In a roundabout sense, she was a killer after all.
OOC Notes
Brian quietly facepalmed. Shouldn’t have tried that with the sun still out. At least he’d proven this wasn’t a dream – not his dream at least – because that did not go as planned.
Brian picked up his large gas canister and slung it over his shoulder. Dagger hidden in his back pocket, he casually rounded the corner. The first thing he noticed were the approaching figures in the distance, but his attention was then drawn back to the albino girl, who nervously waved at him. Her smile was disarmingly shy – it was sort of endearing. The brown-haired boy - no, young man - however, was all business. Brian liked him already. These kind of people were comfortable to interact with.
Brian put his canister down with a satisfying clang of a large chunk of hollow metal hitting pavement, then slowly retrieved his dagger and gently placed it on the ground as well. Both hands open, posture as unthreatening as possible, he slowly approached the pair.
“Sorry about that,” he said, flashing a practiced smile. “Guess that didn’t work like in the movies. I’m Brian. So, are we dead?”
Brian picked up his large gas canister and slung it over his shoulder. Dagger hidden in his back pocket, he casually rounded the corner. The first thing he noticed were the approaching figures in the distance, but his attention was then drawn back to the albino girl, who nervously waved at him. Her smile was disarmingly shy – it was sort of endearing. The brown-haired boy - no, young man - however, was all business. Brian liked him already. These kind of people were comfortable to interact with.
Brian put his canister down with a satisfying clang of a large chunk of hollow metal hitting pavement, then slowly retrieved his dagger and gently placed it on the ground as well. Both hands open, posture as unthreatening as possible, he slowly approached the pair.
“Sorry about that,” he said, flashing a practiced smile. “Guess that didn’t work like in the movies. I’m Brian. So, are we dead?”
OOC Notes
Her eyes flashed to the dagger that Jared held. There were moments of insecurity, where she wanted to move away just in case this was all an act. Because this world-down-under was full of lies and cheats, aimed at trying to make you as miserable as mossible. And though Justice was, in fact, fairly miserable at this point, she didn't want to lose her life - again - because of her stupidity. When Jared stepped off to the side so they weren't in the middle of the street, she did scoot a little farther away from him. In the process she twisted her hand slightly where it was on his arm, exposing the X markings on her skin.
It was like being naked. For anyone to see markings such as those was a stab to her honor. Justice immediatly pulled her arm away and folded her arms up against her chest to hide the X's on her wrists. They didn't bother her much, but she didn't like the way people stared, and stare they did. It was as if they'd never seen someone who'd committed suicide before.
But now wasn't the time to be worried about appearance. The brunette's eyes lingered on the dagger for a few more seconds before they traveled up to the two standing in the street. They were facing a young man who had just moments before placed his weapons to the ground in a non-threatening fashion. "Must be new here," she mumbled to herself. He validated her hypothesis as he asked the famous question, and she couldn't help but grin a little.
It was like being naked. For anyone to see markings such as those was a stab to her honor. Justice immediatly pulled her arm away and folded her arms up against her chest to hide the X's on her wrists. They didn't bother her much, but she didn't like the way people stared, and stare they did. It was as if they'd never seen someone who'd committed suicide before.
But now wasn't the time to be worried about appearance. The brunette's eyes lingered on the dagger for a few more seconds before they traveled up to the two standing in the street. They were facing a young man who had just moments before placed his weapons to the ground in a non-threatening fashion. "Must be new here," she mumbled to herself. He validated her hypothesis as he asked the famous question, and she couldn't help but grin a little.
OOC Notes
Neil eyed the gas canister with evident curiosity on his face as if it was just about the weirdest thing anyone could possibly be carrying around. And it sort of was in other circumstances, but here it was pretty obvious that it was linked to his suicide. Had he gassed himself? That was a fairly rare method. Hm.
The fact that the guy-- Brian, he said his name was-- had put down his potential weapons was comforting to say the least, and his questions were a huge relief. He was a newbie. He'd listen to what Neil had to say and hopefully not choose to believe that it was all a bunch of lies and brain him with the gas canister.
That would not be a fun experience.
"You must be new," he said in a sarcastically condescending tone, shaping his hand into the classic imitation of a gun and raising it up to his lips. He mimed firing said "gun" before continuing: "I shot myself like four years ago, so I'd say that we're dead. A bullet right through the brain isn't exactly something you can survive, especially without enough damage to turn you into a vegetable. And I'm not a vegetable, as you can probably tell. I'm actually quite smart despite the severe brain damage I ought to have, and if you've got questions then I've probably got the answers so ask away."
Needless to say, Jared looked thoroughly impressed with Neil's display of confidence. He was usually a lot quieter and less… was bubbly the right word? Sure. He was usually less bubbly than this. Then again, he had been sort of a little bit enthusiastic when he'd found Jared himself three years ago, so maybe this was just his first-impression way of acting. It wasn't like they usually went around looking for newbies, so they hadn't really done much explaining to people during their time in Fulgor.
Seeing as Brian had set his weapons down, he saw no use in keeping his at the ready any longer and therefore returned it to its previous location stuck through his belt loop. It was around then that he sort of picked up a tiny air of nervousness from Justice, but by the time he glanced over at her to see if she was alright she'd already let go of his arm and covered her scars. Her pride was safe for now.
Not that he would have stared or anything; he had his own scars. Only they were so faint that it was sort of hard to see them unless you were actually looking for scars.
His gaze lingered for a moment on that tiny smile on her face. Dammit. Girls were too cute. This girl was too cute. But he wasn't going to just stand there staring at her; he needed to keep an eye on Neil. Just in case Brian had one more weapon on him. Or if that other girl had something pointy/blunt/dangerous on her. Oh. He hadn't thought of that. Now there were two people to keep an eye on, and that obviously took a bit more focus than watching just one.
The fact that the guy-- Brian, he said his name was-- had put down his potential weapons was comforting to say the least, and his questions were a huge relief. He was a newbie. He'd listen to what Neil had to say and hopefully not choose to believe that it was all a bunch of lies and brain him with the gas canister.
That would not be a fun experience.
"You must be new," he said in a sarcastically condescending tone, shaping his hand into the classic imitation of a gun and raising it up to his lips. He mimed firing said "gun" before continuing: "I shot myself like four years ago, so I'd say that we're dead. A bullet right through the brain isn't exactly something you can survive, especially without enough damage to turn you into a vegetable. And I'm not a vegetable, as you can probably tell. I'm actually quite smart despite the severe brain damage I ought to have, and if you've got questions then I've probably got the answers so ask away."
Needless to say, Jared looked thoroughly impressed with Neil's display of confidence. He was usually a lot quieter and less… was bubbly the right word? Sure. He was usually less bubbly than this. Then again, he had been sort of a little bit enthusiastic when he'd found Jared himself three years ago, so maybe this was just his first-impression way of acting. It wasn't like they usually went around looking for newbies, so they hadn't really done much explaining to people during their time in Fulgor.
Seeing as Brian had set his weapons down, he saw no use in keeping his at the ready any longer and therefore returned it to its previous location stuck through his belt loop. It was around then that he sort of picked up a tiny air of nervousness from Justice, but by the time he glanced over at her to see if she was alright she'd already let go of his arm and covered her scars. Her pride was safe for now.
Not that he would have stared or anything; he had his own scars. Only they were so faint that it was sort of hard to see them unless you were actually looking for scars.
His gaze lingered for a moment on that tiny smile on her face. Dammit. Girls were too cute. This girl was too cute. But he wasn't going to just stand there staring at her; he needed to keep an eye on Neil. Just in case Brian had one more weapon on him. Or if that other girl had something pointy/blunt/dangerous on her. Oh. He hadn't thought of that. Now there were two people to keep an eye on, and that obviously took a bit more focus than watching just one.
OOC Notes
Brian saw the younger man relax at the sight of ditching his weapons. His obvious interest in his gas canister was humorous, and a faint smirk started to form on his mouth. Didn’t the Art of War say something about this? Confuse your enemy? Well, confuse your undetermined in this case, but hell, he was doing it.
“You must be new.”
Brian politely listened to unnamed young man, and nodded approvingly at his method of suicide. A proper gunshot to the palate was much more reliable than one to the temple, and it was quite impressive he had known that at whatever age he was four years ago. Thirteen? Fourteen, maybe. His manner of speech was a tad too arrogant to address someone his senior, but only by the previous world’s standards. Brian honestly did not care about seniority here – nor could he afford to. In fact, he was quite taken with the young man, who spoke such refreshingly blunt words. False modesty was just another form of lying, and this person was proving himself to be anything but a liar.
“Ah, wonderful. I’ve managed to kill myself then,” Brian said, voice filled with genuine relief. “I was sort of worrying about what I’d do if I hadn’t. Botching a suicide… I’d never live it down.” He grinned, and sent a playful wink to both the youth and the albino girl, hoping his play on words would draw a laugh. He also spared a quick nod to the other pair who had joined them - an excited raven-hair, and a rather exhausted-looking girl.
“Oh, and of course, I will thankfully accept your offer. I have a question straight away, actually. Would you all mind giving me your names? You’re making me feel uncomfortable here,” Brian said, equipping his face with a relaxed smile, lying through his teeth.
“You must be new.”
Brian politely listened to unnamed young man, and nodded approvingly at his method of suicide. A proper gunshot to the palate was much more reliable than one to the temple, and it was quite impressive he had known that at whatever age he was four years ago. Thirteen? Fourteen, maybe. His manner of speech was a tad too arrogant to address someone his senior, but only by the previous world’s standards. Brian honestly did not care about seniority here – nor could he afford to. In fact, he was quite taken with the young man, who spoke such refreshingly blunt words. False modesty was just another form of lying, and this person was proving himself to be anything but a liar.
“Ah, wonderful. I’ve managed to kill myself then,” Brian said, voice filled with genuine relief. “I was sort of worrying about what I’d do if I hadn’t. Botching a suicide… I’d never live it down.” He grinned, and sent a playful wink to both the youth and the albino girl, hoping his play on words would draw a laugh. He also spared a quick nod to the other pair who had joined them - an excited raven-hair, and a rather exhausted-looking girl.
“Oh, and of course, I will thankfully accept your offer. I have a question straight away, actually. Would you all mind giving me your names? You’re making me feel uncomfortable here,” Brian said, equipping his face with a relaxed smile, lying through his teeth.
OOC Notes
Elin gazed round at the assembled people, taking note of each of them carefully. No, she didn't even vaguely recognize any of them. So it was true...she was still finding the whole thing rather overwhelming, so her brain started to focus on the direct situation. It could come to terms with the 'being dead' part of the situation later. Itr seemed so utterly alien she just abandoned thinking about it entirely and focused on the immediate.
"Er...I'm Elin..Elin Fisher." she replied awkwardly, twirling a finger around a strand of her hair in a nervous fashion.
"...I uh...I got hit by a train."
It seemed rather odd to say, but was none the less true. She tilted her head upwards for a moment, remembering to people watching on the platform, the boy taking photographs, and then the sensation of being torn to bits by the tons of speeding steel. She gave a slight, involuntary shudder at the recollection.
"Er...I'm Elin..Elin Fisher." she replied awkwardly, twirling a finger around a strand of her hair in a nervous fashion.
"...I uh...I got hit by a train."
It seemed rather odd to say, but was none the less true. She tilted her head upwards for a moment, remembering to people watching on the platform, the boy taking photographs, and then the sensation of being torn to bits by the tons of speeding steel. She gave a slight, involuntary shudder at the recollection.
OOC Notes
When a whole gaggle of people walked directly past where Cora had been crouching, a new fear crept up her spine. Was she invisible as well as dead? Now that would be funny, to be more damned than the rest of them for whatever reason. She decided to stay in her position, which wasn't far from where a crowd was beginning to form, sitting down in the shadows. At least she wasn't being attacked or some shit. She watched them all with curious, skeptical eyes, listening to their simple conversations with awe. They all seemed so normal.
Upon hearing the brown haired boy who was the first person she'd seen surface in this place say "This is Fulgor. A lot of people call it the City of Suicides, though." she nodded approvingly. So, she had killed herself. At least that was right. There was more conversation before another person made themselves known and he was labeled as being "new here" and that Mr. Brown-hair had all the answers. That's when she decided to move. She, too, was obviously new here. Even the stubborn Cora had to admit she had no clue what she was supposed to be doing. So as much as her stomach churned thinking about openly asking for help, she knew she had to get done what needed to be done. These people were perhaps her only chance, and Cora had always been a "do-er" anyway. She was a woman of action, not of words. With that in mind, she stood to her feet and was pleased to find that she was no longer shaking. Her dreads and clothes were still damp, though, and they felt cold on her back. She was only thankful that she'd decided to go out in her clothes, shoes and all. At the time she thought it wise 'cause she didn't want to cops seeing her naked, and she loved her boots too much to part with them right before her death. She'd owned them for years, one of the only things she hadn't discarded when she moved away from home. It seemed that the leather was ruined, but oh well. If she hadn't done that, she'd probably be naked right now. Yikes.
She strode over to the group just in time to hear the guy with the can ask for names and a pale girl introduce herself. "Well, now to test if they can see me or not." she thought experimentally. Cora sniffed and avoided eye contact. This was all very humiliating, you see. She coughed out a "I'm, uh... I'm new here. My name's Cora. It's nice to meet you." she said, not standing particularly close to any of them, hands in pockets. While she knew from what she'd heard and seen that they meant no harm, she couldn't help but feel like she was prey. This whole place gave her the creeps. She awaited a reaction to see if they'd acknowledge her presence. If not, she'd just have to ride solo- something that she could both agree and disagree with.
Upon hearing the brown haired boy who was the first person she'd seen surface in this place say "This is Fulgor. A lot of people call it the City of Suicides, though." she nodded approvingly. So, she had killed herself. At least that was right. There was more conversation before another person made themselves known and he was labeled as being "new here" and that Mr. Brown-hair had all the answers. That's when she decided to move. She, too, was obviously new here. Even the stubborn Cora had to admit she had no clue what she was supposed to be doing. So as much as her stomach churned thinking about openly asking for help, she knew she had to get done what needed to be done. These people were perhaps her only chance, and Cora had always been a "do-er" anyway. She was a woman of action, not of words. With that in mind, she stood to her feet and was pleased to find that she was no longer shaking. Her dreads and clothes were still damp, though, and they felt cold on her back. She was only thankful that she'd decided to go out in her clothes, shoes and all. At the time she thought it wise 'cause she didn't want to cops seeing her naked, and she loved her boots too much to part with them right before her death. She'd owned them for years, one of the only things she hadn't discarded when she moved away from home. It seemed that the leather was ruined, but oh well. If she hadn't done that, she'd probably be naked right now. Yikes.
She strode over to the group just in time to hear the guy with the can ask for names and a pale girl introduce herself. "Well, now to test if they can see me or not." she thought experimentally. Cora sniffed and avoided eye contact. This was all very humiliating, you see. She coughed out a "I'm, uh... I'm new here. My name's Cora. It's nice to meet you." she said, not standing particularly close to any of them, hands in pockets. While she knew from what she'd heard and seen that they meant no harm, she couldn't help but feel like she was prey. This whole place gave her the creeps. She awaited a reaction to see if they'd acknowledge her presence. If not, she'd just have to ride solo- something that she could both agree and disagree with.
OOC Notes
Neil gave a coy sort of smile at Brian's wordplay.
"Haha. You're punny. You'll get along with Jared. He's that handsome devil behind me." The 'handsome devil' part was of course said rather sarcastically and with a little roll of the eyes as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in Jared's direction. The boy raised a hand in a half-wave and did that little upwards tilt of the head that guys often used to greet each other with.
Neil didn't really react to Elin's confession about her suicide, just nodded a tiny bit. It made sense, enough so that it made him wonder why he hadn't thought of that himself. It was pretty obvious now that he looked at her a little more closely. Jared, meanwhile, chipped in his own cause of death in an inappropriately cheery manner. Everyone else was doing it, after all. Peer pressure.
"Seeing as we're all sharing: I jumped off a twenty-story building."
Then Cora walked up and introduced herself. Neil stared at her for a brief moment and then grinned in that inside joke sort of way as if a particularly funny thought had just crossed his mind.
"I guess I should introduce myself quickly before anyone else turns up. I didn't know I was such a people magnet. I'm Neil, and it's nice to meet you too, Cora."
He looked at her, taking in the dampness and the fading electrical burns. The ol' toaster in the bathtub trick or something similar, he presumed. It was effective but seemed to him like it would be rather drawn out and painful. Electrocution wasn't a very fun thing.
"Haha. You're punny. You'll get along with Jared. He's that handsome devil behind me." The 'handsome devil' part was of course said rather sarcastically and with a little roll of the eyes as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in Jared's direction. The boy raised a hand in a half-wave and did that little upwards tilt of the head that guys often used to greet each other with.
Neil didn't really react to Elin's confession about her suicide, just nodded a tiny bit. It made sense, enough so that it made him wonder why he hadn't thought of that himself. It was pretty obvious now that he looked at her a little more closely. Jared, meanwhile, chipped in his own cause of death in an inappropriately cheery manner. Everyone else was doing it, after all. Peer pressure.
"Seeing as we're all sharing: I jumped off a twenty-story building."
Then Cora walked up and introduced herself. Neil stared at her for a brief moment and then grinned in that inside joke sort of way as if a particularly funny thought had just crossed his mind.
"I guess I should introduce myself quickly before anyone else turns up. I didn't know I was such a people magnet. I'm Neil, and it's nice to meet you too, Cora."
He looked at her, taking in the dampness and the fading electrical burns. The ol' toaster in the bathtub trick or something similar, he presumed. It was effective but seemed to him like it would be rather drawn out and painful. Electrocution wasn't a very fun thing.
- 29 posts here • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Neon Grave: Out Of Character (OOC)
Most recent OOC posts in Neon Grave
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Oh, my internet died in a most spectacular fashion.
Spent most of the weekend onto various call centres being told to do lots of useless stuff to the router. D:
Thankfully it's back for now and I can finish my research work.
Spent most of the weekend onto various call centres being told to do lots of useless stuff to the router. D:
Thankfully it's back for now and I can finish my research work.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
It's chill, I was just panicking. My thoughts were literally like: "OHGAWDWHYISNOBODYPOSTING. THEY ALL HATE ME. NOOOOOO."
Because it's been a week and all. xD
Because it's been a week and all. xD
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Sorry! I'll try to post soon, had a busy weekend and running 10-hour schooldays ;_; hate.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
I've been moving back to my college acocmodation, so have been rather behind on everything. In fact most of my stuff is still packed.
D:
D:
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
D'awwwww. I guess we should have. D:
Sorry for being so negligent. Business and all that jazz. Ugh. I do not want to go back to school tomorrow; it's too soon.
Sorry for being so negligent. Business and all that jazz. Ugh. I do not want to go back to school tomorrow; it's too soon.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Neil's not a twit. He's smurt. And can be blunt sometimes. And stuff. :3
Happy new year. I need to find me a corner to hide in once people start showing up at my house. Have fun with your headaches~
Happy new year. I need to find me a corner to hide in once people start showing up at my house. Have fun with your headaches~
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
A rude character would make a good addition. Except maybe for Cora, everyone (including my character) seems to be a relatively polite twit.
He can square off with Brian °v°
On an unrelated note, happy new year everyone. Well, in two hours where I live, anyway. Leaving now to engage in meaningless headache-inducing social interactions with friends and family! Wait shit, I'm channeling Brian. fsgdsgs
He can square off with Brian °v°
On an unrelated note, happy new year everyone. Well, in two hours where I live, anyway. Leaving now to engage in meaningless headache-inducing social interactions with friends and family! Wait shit, I'm channeling Brian. fsgdsgs
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Would it be okay for my to drop another character in? I feel like offsetting Elin's meek, nervous attitude with Oren's emotionally dead, blunt rudeness.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Maybe you could link your character into my latest post? I intend for my character to wander off, TORMENTED BY THE INCESSANT CHATTER OF well, whoever. :D
(Do you suppose a good bludgeoning would fix up Robbie?)
EDIT: I hope my post doesn't restrict other people. Apologies if it does.
(Do you suppose a good bludgeoning would fix up Robbie?)
EDIT: I hope my post doesn't restrict other people. Apologies if it does.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Hm, I wonder if it would be wise for Helen to go on a walk. Perhaps she could find Robbie before he goes insane.
Any objections?
Any objections?
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
I did iiiit. Yay. I hope you didn't suffocate waiting, because that would be bad.
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
No worries, I doubt anyone's holding his or her breath till you post - this time of year and all. Well, except for me. hnngggh
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Yeaaah. And I've been sorta busy today. Gah. I'll try to force myself to post by tomorrow. X_X
Re: [OOC] Neon Grave
Yes, same Earth/universe. And let's go with MAGIKZ as a response to the language question, because that totally slipped my mind when I was making this. Or British Brian because then we get to read all of his dialogue in a British accent.
