Arrival

[letsplayamod]

The moment is a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you were just minding your own business somewhere, others may have been in more... dire circumstances. Regardless, you were approached by a figure you can't quite picture, and they offered you an accord; in exchange for aiding them in the healing of a world lost to chaos, you would be granted something almost unheard of. Godhood.

And each of you said yes, more or less.

A blurry hand, shifting and rippling, reaches out to you. You feel a glow of warmth, unlike anything you've known before. As soon as you think you can describe it, you wake up.

The room you're in is plainly furnished, but it's about the size of a small flat. Plenty of room to stretch your legs. Don't get too comfortable, however. On the bedside table each room has is a letter; handwritten, it's wrapped around a bronze key. The lettering could only be described as the platonic ideal of 'neat and precise'.

If you are reading this, than our deal has been made. You've awoken in a place that will surely feel strange, so I want you to take some time to acclimate. Meet with the others. Breathe. I shall be along shortly.

-A

Whatever that means becomes more apparent as you step out of your housing and behold the world around you. The building you were in, and every piece of architecture you happen across, is blatantly pre-modern. Yet, something about it is otherworldly. Stone and iron and glass as far as the eye can see.

But above you was where the real questions were. It wouldn't be right to say the sun was shining on you now, nor would it be right to say it's the dead of night. Instead, the sky is a hazy mixture of both, wrapped in suffocating storm clouds that are threatening rain. Everywhere you look, into the horizon, it's the same.

Welcome home. Take your time and explore. Nobody ever said godhood was easy.

Comments

[liedol]

[ Ai said yes because she didn't have any other choice.

There wasn't time to think. One second, everything was spiraling, her thoughts, her heartbeat, the whole world slipping sideways. And then the voice came, smooth and strange, a cool balm to her feverish thoughts. She remembers trying to form words with her mouth - she'd been trying to say help but if she's here, she must have said yes instead.

It must be a dream, she reasons to herself. She had no idea her imagination was this good but there's not really any other explanation. Never mind that everything feels too solid, too real for this to be a dream. Never mind that she knows very well that's not what this is.

And never mind the fact that she spends a good ten minutes before she can bring herself to leave her room with her face pressed into the pillow, trying very urgently not to cry. Nobody needs to worry about that.

Eventually, when she can trust herself to stay composed, Ai wanders out into the hallway, at least allowing herself the indulgence of looking just as confused as she feels. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise should she spot anyone else - but then she gives a little laugh. ]

Oh, phew! [ Her smile's a bit wobbly, but that's understandable. ] I was starting to worry it was just me here.

[ She doesn't wander too far from their living quarters. In an unfamiliar place like this, caution trumps her curiosity so she doesn't go any further than the hero's pavilion. You mind find her stooped, brows knitted together, as she reads her own plaque. ]

Of all the trivia you could go with, why'd anyone pick this...?

[ Eventually, her wandering takes her to the pantry. She has absolutely zero plans to eat anything here until she knows what's going on but it seems prudent to at least make sure they have food here. Unfortunately, though... ]

Oh jeez... is there really no cup ramen...?

Pantry

[sweetsynergy]

[As Vanity also squats, looking through a cupboard.]

It's a little ostentatious, isn't it? Nothing but the fresh stuff.

[Showing off is one thing, this is overshooting the mark.]

[liedol]

It must've cost them a ton of money...

[ Eyeing all this fancy fresh ingredients with a deeply wary expression... she has a horrible feeling she's going to have to subside on raw veggies for the forseeable future unless there's like, a magic microwave in the kitchen. ]

I mean, we're really far out from any cities right now, it looks like. It'd cost a ton just for delivery.

[sweetsynergy]

Well, yes.

[Obviously? Odd way of phrasing it, though.]

They must be drowning in debt over this. Trying too hard to show off.

Hallway

[phototraces]

[Wendy would have liked to have a few minutes to herself for an old fashioned breakdown but it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen. She pulls in her breath, trying to settle her nerves. She doesn’t feel His eyes on her right now—]

Yeah. It feels so empty, right?

[liedol]

Mm. It's kind of like a museum. ... or like a movie set, I guess...

[ She casts her eyes up and down the corridor. ]

It's really... not old fashioned exactly. Just straight up old.

Pavilion

[cannotunravel]

It's not so bad. It just means at lunch you won't be offered the one thing you dislike. Spares you some annoyance.

[Misane stares at that trivia like she's committing it to memory so hard, to never forget it]

[liedol]

Ah, well...

[ Ai laughs in the slightly forced way of someone who isn't finding this particular whatever-it-is very funny but feels compelled to anyway. Maybe it's just to break the ice. ]

Sometimes you don't really get a choice. Like, if someone's prepped food for you, you kinda have to eat it no matter what, right? Or it's rude.

Pantry

[latinumsbetter]

[at some point, some weird orange guy with huge ears is going to poke his head into the pantry, looking around, before he scowls in annoyance]

They don't even have a basic replicator in here! What kinda place is this?

[liedol]

[ She starts to answer without fully turning around; ] Ahah, I think that's a little fancier than-

[ But that's as far as she gets before glancing over her shoulder and seeing exactly who she's talking to. And whatever else was on the tip of her tongue gets thoroughly derailed when she gives a little yelp of shock, stumbles right back into the pantry shelves and sends some poor produce raining down from above. What a waste... ]

pantry

[psychonductor]

[Crito leans over her - but just barely. Ai might not have noticed them there - but they announce themself very suddenly with a question:]

What's a 'cup ramen'?

[liedol]

- whoa!

[ Perhaps unsurprisingly, she jumps. A little more violently than you might expect - she upends no less than three of the jars lined up on the shelf - but still. ]

Jeez, you scared me...! [ A hasty, shaky breath. ] It's... you know, instant ramen that comes in a cup?

Hero's Pavilion

[catsgothistongue]

Tell me about it.

[Someone else is sharing Ai's exasperations, staring at their plaque with disappointment etched on their face with a snort.]

Seriously, there's so many cooler things they could've brought up! And I thought these guys were supposed to be fans of us...

[Why else would they be handpicked? Ranma does take a cursory glance over to Ai's, if only to see what she got.]

Makes ya' feel any better, I think I'd take being a picky eater as my fun fact than what I actually got.

[liedol]

[ Well, good to know she's not the only one who got snooped on. Not that any of this stuff is really snooping - there's barely anything here apart from the sort of things you could find in any half-decent B-Komachi fanbook or fansite so that's not a surprise.

But seeing Hoshino there - the part of her name Strawberry Productions guards like a state secret - feels a little...

But that's nothing any of these strangers need to know about. ]

What would you pick instead, then? You'd want it to be something kinda fun if it's supposed to be a fun fact, I guess...

hero's pavilion

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex towers over Ai. But with the way he's hunching his shoulders, all drawn in on himself... Well, it sure doesn't seem like it, somehow. His presence is so much smaller than hers.

He stands about a foot back from the statues, fearful of getting too close, squinting to read. But he can hear her. A scratchy, low laugh devoid of humor slips out of his mouth. ]

Tell me about it.

[liedol]

[ The sound of his voice makes her head whip around just a little too fast and sharp. But she seems to relax just as quick as she started and she manages a wobbly smile. ]

Is yours kind of a weird pick too? I haven't taken a look at any of the others yet so for all I know, you guys've got a leg up on me.

[threeapplestall]

No microwave, either...

[The great Minami-chan and Ta-kun cooking for their daughter? Perish the thought! They have sooo much work to do!]

[liedol]

I guess it makes sense. Like, where would you even plug in a microwave in this place? It's all stone.

[ Long suffering sigghhhh... ]

I'll just have to eat salads for a while...

pavillion

[atu709]

If it's any consolation, the only thing they could think of for mine was telling the world that their new Goddess of Love is underqualified.

[liedol]

[ Slightly strained laugh. ]

Ah, that makes two of us at least. How are you supposed to qualify to be a god, anyway?

pavilion

[markofnobility]

...it is a bit personal, is it not? One's personal tastes are usually not something anyone knows.

[liedol]

Hm. I guess it depends? I've talked about it on streams before so it's not like it's a big secret.

[ And B-Komachi fans do so love their pointless trivia about their pet idols. ]

It's just not really... interesting. You know?

pantry

[raisethemoon]

...what, praytell, is "cup ramen"?

[She was just passing by, having concluded a while ago that a lot of this food is Weird, but hey! Why not!]

1/2

[liedol]

[ Said casually as she turns to face Luna; ]

It's, you know. Cup ramen. Instant noodles you make in a

[liedol]

horse.