letsplayamurder

Entry tags:

intro log,
week 1

Arrival

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.

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[ When Ferdinand wakes up he lays there for... awhile. Processing. Re-reading the note. Accepting the grief that's running through him. Checking and re-checking his body for the wounds the Alliance had given him.

Maybe he has a bit of a breakdown. But no one but whatever gods lived here get to see it. Especially since once he calms he makes his way to his flat's bathing room and takes a shower... once he figures out the controls at least. Thankfully his clothing was as restored as his body, so he only feels a bit gross putting them back on before heading out.

The note had said there were "others" after all. He intends to make a proper first impression! So he steps out looking clean and fresh, waves of hair perfectly combed and curling just right. As if this was an expected social event.]

Greetings! I am Ferdinand von Aegir. It is a pleasure to meet you all!

[ introductions complete it is time to explore! He finds himself lingering at the statues, looking up at... himself!]

Amazing... how were they able to craft our likenesses so quickly?

[ and being right there means he finds the rules soon enough, his cheery mood turning to a pensive one]

Hmm... a bit ominous, is it not?

[ 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...?

[Vanity groans, sitting up in the privacy of Room 9. She stretches painfully, working through the residual sore muscles left after that rest. And pauses, squinting and looking around, taking in her surroundings. Maybe that dream- hallucination? Offer. Had been legitimate. This certainly didn't look like where she'd expected Echo to leave her, and she can't imagine there were any Aegis employees in a position to do anything about it. Maybe- no, this wouldn't be her style either.]

[She reaches down to the end table and- ah. Her glasses are missing.]

[Maybe this was whatever her sisters had in mind after all, or she'll need to have words with the host about boundaries and personal effects.]

[It takes her a while- say long enough to conduct a thorough search of a room for a few small but critical possessions, hypothetically- to emerge from her room, carefully locking it behind her, glasses-free, and looking around carefully.]

[Spotting anyone else, she'll approach with a carefully assessing grin that doesn't quite reach her eyes and an offered hand.]

Should have expected there would be more people here. Are you a guest or an associate of the mysterious "A"?

[She can otherwise be found generally all over, exploring their new shared space and examining the sparse information available. Notably she can be found poking at the mysterious barrier on the temple stairs, pushing at it and taking a few powerful-looking kicks at the determinedly solid air.]

[And later still, in the kitchen, looking over the supplies available.]

Well, at least that won't be a worry.

[And- over some of the available equipment with less enthusiasm.]

A drip maker? Ugh, guess it'll do.

[Fine she'll MAKE a pot of coffee but she doesn't look HAPPY about it.]

[She absentmindedly crunches on an apple as she watches the pot brew. Like a peasant.]

[Wow. You're kind of a lot, huh. But with only a moment of hesitation to look Ferdinand up and down, Vanity extends a hand with a slightly too-forced grin.]

Vanity.

[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.]

[ Ferdinand's handshake is strong and firm. Maybe a bit TOO strong, though lacking the squeezing or crushing of an attempted intimation. Maybe closer to trying too hard to impress]

Vanity! I take it our mysterious benefactor invited you here as well?

[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?

[Actually, same. Maybe trying to crush Ferdie's hand just a little.]

So it seems! Something about rebuilding a world, yes?

[She's just a little careful, probing for information before revealing more.]

[ he does not rise to the squeeze, but his eyes flick down at their hands and then back up. He notices, but his tone maintains the smooth ease of a politician.]

Indeed! Though I will admit it all happened so quickly- everything is still a bit blurred.

[ he keeps up the shake. He will not be the one to back down]

[Oh is this how we're playing it, okay. She can keep up the pressure, game on von Aegir.]

Literally, I have to admit. Did you actually get a look at our benefactor?

...

[the staring Ferdinand is getting isn't exactly intense, because that would imply a force that isn't quite there. but it is a stare, alright, and one definitely could hear a pin drop for a bit.]

Whoa...

[is she... impressed? it's hard to tell.]

[It's been a long time since Aglaea dreamed. Her dreams for the past few centuries now have been simply echoes of her memories; Cifera's eyes, wide and filled with a yearning for acceptance, for acknowledgement. Phainon, the blank hollowness of his face being overtaken with wonder and hope as he stepped into Okhema for the first time. The smiles of her teacher. Hysilens' music. All of this is what flits through her mind as she sleeps, and it's what filled her mind in that gap between fading into nothingness and hearing that voice reaching out to her.

This, too, also feels like a memory. It's not the same, of course, but it feels so much like the whispers of Mnestia's voice as Aglaea took her Coreflame a millenia ago, that she can't help but reach out.

... And then she wakes up. Curious.]

The Era Nova certainly does look different from all we've imagined.

[A mumbled joke to herself. Aglaea's smart enough to know that something is wrong, even before she left this strange room. Even before she found the key. It's time to investigate just how wrong things are.

As she leaves her room, anyone passing her wouldn't be foolish in thinking that Aglaea... dresses like she certainly could belong here. Dressed in elegant white and gold robes and laurels in her hair, she's the very image of a Greek goddess, striding forward with purpose as she makes her way to the pavilion. She stops for only a few moments, head tilting ever so slightly this way and that as she scans the rooms with eyes that seem far too blank... before making her way over to the scroll storage.]

Unsurprising. Burning information that might leave us in the dark. But the work seems sloppy... let's see if there's anything that can still be found.

Edited 2025-07-06 16:15 (UTC)

[ he certainly seems to be reading it as impressed. He flips his hair slightly, and one can almost see the Pantene commercial playing in the background]

Come now, there is no need to be intimidated!

Trust me, not the problem.

[should she put her hand up, to shield her eyes? this guy is practically radiating sunshine. too bright...]

I wasn't expecting so much... enthusiasm.

[Cerejeira might blink a little more at how, well... godly this girl looks, but she's been around a surprising number of gods even before all of this madness. as it is, she just blinks a little bit.

the scrolls are a little more interesting for now, actually.]

...Man. Seeing so many records destroyed almost makes me want to cry.

Whyever not? We have been given a rare opportunity today!

[ even through his cheer there's a slight wrinkle to his brow, and a wide manic-ness to his eyes that suggests he's not AS blind to this terrifying madness as he's trying to be]

[ It is a wonder, she thinks thinks, that she even now is subject to the whims of fate. Her body is repaired, at least, that much Snow White can tell, but she can still feel the thorns growing, tearing-

No. Once upon a time, Snow White awoke somewhere new, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. What happened between then and her opening the door to her room, bearing restored, is between her and God.

She looks around the Hallway and, seeing that she is not the only one out here, does what she does best: pushes down her true feelings and plays the part of a princess. ]

Hello there! Thank goodness, it would have been awfully lonely if it was just me.

[ Later, she can be found at the profiles, reading her own. ]

Seems somewhat contradictory, granting me the title of Goddess of Love and then mentioning my own shortcomings in the department. Though perhaps that is the point.

[Misane Mikoto doesn't remember all the details of the conversation that led to her being here. It's like a vague memory even though, uh, it all happened just now, she's pretty sure. It's very frustrating her memories are now flawed for real.

But what can one do about it, really. Perhaps she can just ask this A about the details again. She trusts her own judgment, so she's sure whatever discussion happened was reasonable. Misane comes out of her room, with no hesitation. She strolls around without any fear or concern.

Soon she arrives to the edges of the island, gazing out to the sea from atop the cliff. She's keeping her distance from the barrier, content with staring out at the ocean. She seems to be deep in thought, at least until she senses someone is nearby.

Without much of a greeting, she says aloud:]

Do you remember much about the person who brought us here?

[Maybe she just got a bit distracted or something during that chat with A, who knows.

Later, she has returned to the hero's pavillion, and you can find her at the lift. She's currently poking around the controls, trying to activate anything. She pulls from levers and presses buttons, attempting to make anything work, but it just isn't working out]

This seems to be off. Perhaps we should figure out how to make this work. We could get to somewhere new.

[Or so is her guess, really. She moves a lever up and down several times like that'll do the trick!]

[First thing that registers in Ranma's mind is how comfortable the bed was. Almost made him want to close his eyes and drift off back to sleep. But he can't. That 'dream' repeats on loop in his mind. He's no stranger to people coming to him for assistance. This was simply the first time he hadn't be strong-armed or cajoled into helping clean up their messes.

Maybe that's why he said yes? Did he say yes? He must've, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Might as well lend a hand.

Ranma gets dressed and leaves Room 23, still in the middle of doing his usual morning stretches. The pigtailed teen doesn't get far from the living quarters before the hero's pavilion captures his attention. Whoever chiseled these sure weren't any slouch, but... Those that see the martial artist will find him inspecting his own visage as if he's attending an art exhibit.

It isn't long before he approaches the nearest person and tap on their shoulder with a stage whisper.]

Psst, does it look like they got my pigtail wrong to you?

[Pointing to his statue. It's indistinguishable from the real deal. Like one for one. There's nothing 'wrong' here.

Later on in the day, he'll stop by the kitchen, already rummaging through the pantry like a trash panda in trash can. No, we don't mean a raccoon here. He figured 'aiding in healing a world lost to chaos' would take a lot of effort and time, yet he's still pleasantly surprised by the surplus of food in stock.

Better put them to good use, plus he's starving. Ranma decides to prep something quick, frying up some eggs while he sits on the counter top snacking on a bowl of apples. Anyone who enters will be met with a head nod and a]

'Sup. Didja get picked for 'world-fixing' [Gesturing with his hands, tossing half an apple in the air and catching it while his gaze is turned to his fellow newcomer] duty too?

[All things considered, he's saying that like that's something normal formerly mortal men talk about in their daily lives.

Further exploration yielded in him finding the training grounds. The moment he wanders in, he's practically glued to it. Any self-respecting martial artist takes to training grounds such as these the same way a master chef takes to a kitchen or a painter to a blank canvas. He's positively bouncing on the balls of his heel, throwing a couple brisk punches at a dummy. Ranma watches it wobbles in place before it regains its balance.]

Gotta hand it to 'em-- [Flicking the practice dummy's head to make it teeter-totter back and forth again] --these ain't too shabby. Not as strong as the ones back at the dojo, but they'll do.

[Simple shrug as he muses that out loud, not really paying any mind to whether anyone else is listening.]

Edited 2025-07-06 16:39 (UTC)

Everything about this situation is ominous, from the first contact with A. We shouldn't be surprised.

[Ominous it is, but Misane seems to be taking it all pretty calmly! As if this is all just nothing to be too concerned about]

More like a job. Must be nice being able to be so chipper about it.

[well, she does notice the weird vibe, actually. but it's probably better not to say something, in a situation like th--]

Or are you freaking out and just good at hiding it?

[oh never mind she went for it]

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]

[Misane doesn't hesitate to give a handshake, pretty firmly]

Since I said yes to their deal I guess that makes me an associate? We're supposed to work together for something.

[.....]

I can't remember what it is. Something about healing.

It's strange the scrolls are burned but the room itself isn't burned at all. The fire can't have happened here, so these scrolls were moved here from somewhere else...

[Misane isn't searching in the scrolls yet, instead looking around with interest, like she's trying to figure out anything hidden. At least her comments seem to be directed at Phainon]

Are you no good with loneliness?

[Well that sure is a direct question, without even a greeting. Apparently Misane isn't one to beat around the bush, even with potentially touchy topics]

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Arrival

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First Impression

Pantry

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Hallway

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first impression

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scroll storage

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Rules

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Pavilion

handshake

Scroll Storage

Hallway