Your past is always close behind

[letsplayamod]

[The last thing you recall is likely your own death. Whether it was fast or slow, it's over now. And you're... where are you?

One moment, you were among the living. The next - you may be one of the unfortunate ones who actually died. In which case, you've found yourself flowing in the lazy rivers of the river Styx, unfathomably deep underground. Just for a moment, mind you. It's not long before your consciousness is yanked from the waters by some scary monsters, shoved into a healed body, and pushed through a portal.

Or, maybe you were caught red-handed and sentenced to your doom. But, instead of a proper death, you were whisked down into the Veins of Tartarus. And there's really only one place that could lead to.

Welcome to Tartarus.

Here, you are stranded. Lone platforms of unearthly stone float amidst a sea of stars and galaxies. None of it is familiar, some of the constellations are even in shapes of Typhon or a few gods you haven't met. Even stranger, occasionally, you might hear a voice that could be your own. Voicing a fear. A disgust. A regret.

Looks like this is a prison after all. But it's also... calm here. Maybe you can breathe, for now.]

[In Tartarus, the 'dead' have been revived, healed of injuries, and imprisoned. You don't need to eat or drink here. You still have all of your abilities and god powers, as well.]

Comments

the afterparty to the afterparty, as it were

[tripartites]

[ it might be hard to say how long it took for you to come to your senses in this dismal place. but wherever you find yourself, whether you’re alone or you’ve encountered another in the void already, the flickering and almost hallucinatory sight of glowing, golden butterflies will enter your sight. the witch’s illusion whispers its invitation. a few of the butterflies will coalesce and turn into an ornate envelope, trimmed in gold leaf and sealed with wax. inside, on heavy high-quality paper, an elegantly handwritten message greets the reader: ]

Welcome to Tartarus, my fellow fallen gods. Was your island getaway a pleasant one?

I, Bᴇᴀᴛʀɪᴄᴇ the Endless Witch, am pleased to extend you an invitation to my tea party. Should you choose to attend, you need only accept the scene before you as it unfolds. I hope that this refuge will be enjoyable, despite our present circumstances.

Your participation in the tea party hinges on certain strict conditions. The Golden Magic will not harm you, so above all, I must insist that you do not deny the truth of your five senses. Furthermore, violence against your fellow guests will not be tolerated within my parlor. In either event, violating either of these two rules will result, at minimum, in exile from my territory and the loss of the sanctuary I offer. Abide by these simple requests. That is all I require from you.

Should you refuse my invitation, then I wish you well regardless. My sincerest wish, in such an event, is that you may change your mind.

I await you all in my small slice of the Golden Land. The butterflies will show you the way.

Bᴇᴀᴛʀɪᴄᴇ the Golden

[ should the new arrival accept the invitation’s premise, even if only silently to themselves, the letter and envelope will once more scatter into a cloud of golden butterflies. following their path will eventually lead to a walled structure on the stone platform, and the butterflies will appear to land on a door before winking out of existence. the door has clearly been defaced with marks signifying the room’s new master. its surface bears a near-obliterated relief of typhon’s face, encircled by the roughly etched shape of a butterfly.

inside, the illusion is in force, strengthened by each new participant and the lack of outside observers. the room appears as a richly furnished parlor, centered around a long table with comfortable leather chairs. golden butterflies flit here and there in the room, and music drifts from a record player against the far wall, the setup half-encircled by large cushions on the floor. the table is piled with a tea tray and an array of baked goods, along with a few decks of cards and whatever board games happen to be in progress. a long, low bookshelf is stuffed to the brim with mystery novels. a liquor cabinet sits unlocked near a fine wood-surfaced minibar, an antique tea cart and a pair of stools. the cabinet seems to always manage to have a bottle of something familiar and desirable sitting towards the back. the closet seems to have whatever board, card or tile game someone could want, regardless of its time or place of origin.

many of your fellow dead gods may be there when you enter, as if nothing happened to them in the first place. naturally, yasuda sayo—or is she beatrice in this moment, or someone else altogether? it really can be difficult to tell—plays hostess, greeting new guests, offering refreshments and playing games. the dead may have no need of food or drink, but it certainly helps to ease the endless boredom of the void outside, does it not?

welcome to the witch’s tea party.

why not enjoy yourself? as for the dead who have been here longer... well, are you making the best of it?

either way, sayo seems to be enjoying herself. though, seeing that some of these new faces have joined the ranks of the dead may well change that. ]

[tailoredfate]

[In the brief haze between death and... this next stage of death, there are still a few thoughts that manage to cross Aglaea's mind. One, that this is far from the field of white flowers that Stelle had described on her journey with Castorice, and two-

Ah, two, she thinks that Mnestia might be coming for her for dying twice, for letting her powers slip through her fingers yet again. The golden butterflies...

The golden butterflies aren't only a symbol of Mnestia. It's this thought that manages to ground Aglaea as she's forced into her own form again, and she follows the trail to the door. She smiles when she sees the way Typhon's image has been defaced, and with little hesitation, pushes open the door.

... It's no bar room, but her new surroundings do get a soft laugh out of Aglaea.]

Well. You certainly seem like you've been busy here, Beatrice.

[tripartites]

[ the expression that crosses sayo's face at the sight of aglaea entering the room is... well, complicated is certainly a word for it. it starts on surprise, then... journeys for a few stages before eventually landing in wistful territory. ]

Lady Aglaea. [ she manages a vague smile, offering a slight curtsy as she approaches. there's very little of beatrice's bravado here, more... the blurred being who exists in those spaces between beatrice and the other personas. the closest thing to a core "yasuda sayo", perhaps. ] Welcome. I can't say I'm glad to see you've arrived, under these circumstances, but...

[tailoredfate]

At least yours is a face that's welcoming to see.

[If she'd woken to see Zvei first, she's honestly not sure how she might have handled that. She'd felt the closest thing to anger in several centuries at seeing all that red staining Mutsumi, felt a burn in her limbs as she moved that she's sure was the same fire that fueled Mydei in everything he did.

Even though she'd failed that first time. She might not have been able to stop herself from charging in again.]

... I'm not sure I want to ruin the mood of this party of yours, but I bear news that might be... unpleasant, to you specifically. And it might be fair to warn you.

[tripartites]

[ oh, of course. death hardly comes with good news, does it? ]

... I have the feeling that I'll need a drink. [ and that i should be sitting down for this. ] Join me? [ and she gestures towards the bar. is she even of legal drinking age where she comes from? uhhh don't worry about it. ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex is here. There's not much else to do, is there? Not anywhere to be?

So he's here. Quietly tending to any of the others—yes, any of them. Seems he doesn't hold any ill will to the girl that got him killed. A lot of the others are...doing worse than he is, after all. So he's helping out with the Endless Witch's tea party, in lieu of anything else at all to do.

When Aglaea walks in, he nearly drops the teacup he's holding.]

Aglaea? No, that...

[tailoredfate]

[Ah...

Her smile doesn't falter at all. Aglaea keeps herself too composed for that, for the most part. But there's somewhat of an ease of tension, when Alex speaks up.]

I assure you, I'm truly here, Alex. As real as the rest of you.

[rockymountaindie]

[ That doesn't seem to reassure him. In fact, his jaw sets tight, he visibly swallows, and— ]

But you shouldn't be!

You shouldn't've died again!

[cannotunravel]

...oh. You didn't survive.

[Seeing Aglaea here isn't entirely unsurprising, since Misane had seen Zvei right when she was dying, but there had been a chance Aglaea had been somewhere else, that she hadn't gotten killed. But no, since she was here, it meant she had been murdered...]

[tailoredfate]

[Aglaea wasn't upset about her own death. Even as a demigod, she knew she'd die one day. Here, in this world, she knew there was a chance. It wasn't the dying that feels like a hook in her side...

... It's seeing Misane. Knowing she failed. That's what gives her an unpleasant taste in her mouth. Her last death had been useful, she could be assured, and she knew the journey would continue onward on Phainon's strong shoulders. But this....]

... I'm sorry, Misane. I tried to stall as long as I could, for the three of you.

[cannotunravel]

I managed to get Mutsumi and Mortis to safety, and knocked on so many doors, but looks like nobody answered. Perhaps there was interference from Typhon making them unable to hear me.

[Apparently a way she has of coping is pondering about things that don't matter anymore. Why else would she be thinking about this? Even if she's doing pretty half-heartedly]

[necromants]

[Ivilezlei arrives late. But then, of course he does; he's had plenty to sort through on his own and even more to try to come to terms with within those memories finally returned to him. He isn't particularly interested in this tea party, but that doesn't stop him from coming anyway. Might as well, right? There has to be some reason to keep moving, he thinks.

(Granted, that reason for Zvei was recovering his memories. That reason for Ivilezlei was to follow Szyi's dreams of helping Ize-Vti. What is he supposed to do now, the shattered remains of a man who wanted to do better, and a man willing to do far, far worse to reclaim what was stolen from him?

And that's to say nothing of Seymour, who is even further beyond his reach now. Maybe someone better will be able to bring him some measure of comfort.)

So he sits at one of the tables staring off into space, not particularly interested in socializing or eating, instead just... thinking. His expression is once again completely blank, the usual smile long gone.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ It's awhile before Alex approaches Zvei. He's been sitting there, empty, and that's just that.

When he does, it's not with his usual friendly but awkward gait. It's with purpose. And oh so much anger. ]

Get up.

[ He growls it.

This isn't a smart thing Alex is doing. He has never once in his life won a single fight. He'd asked himself already, who could have killed Aglaea? And now he's here, confronting him? Who knows if he could lash out again? Who knows what could happen? What...happens, if they die again? They don't know that.

But still. He stands in front of the table Zvei sits at, no hint of the kind, careful boy that Zvei had come to know in his features. ]

[necromants]

[He blinks owlishly when Alex approaches, yanked from his own thoughts for the more pressing reality of the situation that oh right, everyone here is going to be pissed at him (understandably so) and it would seem it isn't just the killers gathered here. He should expect a visit from his own victims, at some point.]

...Would you prefer to take this outside?

[He stands, though. Ivilezlei's tone is completely neutral, just as blank as his expression. Zvei would have hid behind a smile and his usual flippant behavior, but he isn't exactly Zvei anymore, now is he? So he doesn't bother pretending.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ The lack of reaction, of anything... It infuriates him. ]

Duh. Sayo said no fucking violence, you dick.

[cannotunravel]

...I kind of wish the rule against violence wasn't there.

[Ah, Misane is here. She doesn't seem happy in the slightest -- and how would she be happy, obviously? This is pretty rough. Dying was absolutely horrible, and from time to time she touches her chest like she expects there to be a bleeding wound there.

She's busy staring at the golden butterflies because yeah, she's dissociating. Joining the ranks of the people who do that!]

[rockymountaindie]

[ When Aglaea walks in, Alex almost dropped what he was holding.

When Misane does, there's no almost about it. The illusory teacup shatters at his feet, and he doesn't even react with his characteristic fright—not to that, at least. ]

Misane?! No- no, not...

[cannotunravel]

[Misane turns her head when she hears the teacup shatter. Oh...]

Alex!

[She doesn't get up because yeah, she's still coming to terms with the whole being dead thing, but at least she smiles at him a little]

I'm sorry I'm here. I made a critical misstep and paid for it.

[She really should have turned off the doll. She understands that in hindsight. Perhaps she'd have noticed Zvei coming towards her, if she had done that]

[rockymountaindie]

[ He's stuck in the shock for a long moment. Aglaea hadn't mentioned anything about Misane. He walks over the teacup shards (they've become golden butterflies, it seems) with lead in his feet. ]

I never wanted you to know what that feels like.

[ The dying part. ]

Misane, what... what happened?

[tripartites]

... Take it outside, if you must. [ yeah, guess who's heard some of what happened, by now. sayo—more beatrice now, it seems—speaks softly as she approaches the new guest. ]

You too, then? I'm sorry, Misane.

[cannotunravel]

If you provide me with an empty teapot, I will.

[Just one smack to Zvei's head with a teapot and she'll be satisfied! And probably dead for a second time because yeah, Zvei might not take kindly to that, but oh well. It's not like she has anything to lose now that she lost her life]

Yes. I'm sorry. Perhaps if I hadn't died, Mutsumi and Mortis would be alright.

[She assumes they died because that wound was horrible, and Misane died before anyone came out of their rooms to help. Chances are, Mutsumi and Mortis bled out...]

[atu709]

[ dissociating is a fine response to death, snow thinks, but she has done quite enough of it. she must take command, if only of herself.

so she arrives at the tea party in... perhaps oddly high spirits, considering the state she's been in the last month. which is to say that she's in a halfway-decent mood.

four of them. four new arrivals. my, but the living have been busy, haven't they? she wonders what riled them up so badly.

the one living person who could knock her completely out of her Coping isn't here, so it's fine. she doesn't know what she would do either way. but there's something freeing about it just being four people who likely hate her, rather than the one who certainly does and whose opinion she properly values.

it's a bit of a farce in general, her attending a tea party. but then again, what greater farce is there than a tea party in hell? ]

Historically princesses and witches don't make for very good company, you know.

[tripartites]

You and I are hardly a typical princess and witch, Snow. [ she seems to consider something, though. ]

May I get you anything? I don't know if you can enjoy the act of eating or drinking, but... well, I would be a poor host if I didn't ask.

[atu709]

Times such as these cut us into the right shape for strange fellowships.

[ she sighs. ] For the first time in a long time, I wish you could. Thank you for the offer.

[tripartites]

Kehehehe... it seems they do, at that. [ snow might catch a glimpse of a genuine smile at that, as sayo begins busying herself by riffling a deck of cards. she inclines her head at the thanks, letting out an amused huff. ]

But of course. It's a shame I can't grant that wish for you, then.