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

[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. ]

[tailoredfate]

[Look they're gods it's.... it's fine. They're also dead, so why not let the children indulge, as long as someone's watching over them?]

You will. And you'll need to sit down.

[Once again, they're on the same frequency. She'll follow Beatrice to the bar and take a seat, letting the witch choose the drink. This is her party, after all.]

I can't be certain of all that's happened, but things were... not as they were in the past weeks.

[tripartites]

[ yeah, she sits next to aglaea and—yep, girl is straight up just pouring herself a glass of whiskey. whoops. ]

I've heard less than you might think. I was a house servant, not a bartender... I lack Quark's knack for getting people to open up. Besides, "dead men tell no tales," and all that.

[tailoredfate]

You should give yourself more credit. Maids hear far more than some might think. Even if you don't know the ins and outs of it, do you know who killed and who was killed, at the very least?

[She watches the amber liquid fill the glass, and a shadow passes her face. It's... it's not rage, not a twisting anger, but there's a sharpness to her expression that's probably the closest thing to anger Beatrice or Sayo has seen on Aglaea's face.

Her nails, with the golden polish almost gone now, drum against the wood of the bar.]

This wasn't like the past weeks. No hesitation, no remorse. [... She's not going to beat around the bush. Aglaea's not one to hold back like that, and if everyone who died shows up here... for better or for worse, Beatrice is going to find out eventually.]

I was slain by Zvei, because I saw him attacking Mutsumi and Mortis. I led him away before I could see what happened, but it didn't look promising.

[tripartites]

[ she simply hums in response to the initial comment, pleased with the reassurance and nodding at the question asked. but... then aglaea's expression sharpens, and those next words come.

and her blood runs cold.

sayo's eyes, briefly, go glassy and distant. and then beatrice scowls, taking in a ragged breath and downing her glass in a single draft, before throwing it to the floor. it shatters, then the shards disperse into golden butterflies and vanish. ]

The damn bastard. [ she rests her hands in her lap, gripping tight handfuls of her skirt. ] Cruelty with no delicacy, no elegance, no foresight—! I ought...!

[tailoredfate]

[There's a hand on her shoulder, strong and firm - but not admonishing. That shadow is still there on Aglaea's face, and she looks very much like she wants to let her go. But...]

Your rules. They apply to yourself too, don't they? For your sake, don't break them.

[Not his. She could care less what happens to Zvei. But this place is obviously some kind of comfort the dead have made for themselves in this afterlife, and she doesn't want Beatrice or Sayo to be exempt from that.]

... But if they show up here... I'm sorry. I did my best to protect them.

[tripartites]

[ bloody truth seeps into the world with the next words, ground out in a voice heavy with curses and hatred. ]

They only apply within these walls.

[ a breath, though. in, out. and... beatrice, or sayo, or whoever this is—in this moment she's not sure, she feels unmoored—catches herself leaning slightly into the contact, as butterflies constitute themselves into a new glass. she pours more of the whiskey. ]

... I... we know that you must have. Thank you.

[tailoredfate]

Then I've no reason to hold you back once we step out those doors.

[Said lightly, like they're having a perfectly normal, calm conversation over drinks. Maybe she'd advise more caution, or a different route to vent her frustrations if it'd been any of the other convicted, but...

Well. She thinks of who else might have been a victim, if they'd been out that late at night, and she can almost taste the acid on her tongue.]

... At least they had each other. They weren't alone.

[tripartites]

[ she's reminded, not for the first time, that for all of her similarities with mutsumi and mortis, she's quite different. for herself, there would be no truth to claiming she wasn't alone, just because of the presence of her other selves.

how lovely. how wondrous. it takes two people to create a universe.

sayo drains half of the glass in one pull. ]

... Yes. I suppose they weren't.

[ she gazes into the amber liquid, idly swirling the glass once. ]

Honestly... I'm much more worried about what Zvei's presence may do for everyone's peace of mind, should he join us. Theirs, especially, but... [ she glances askance towards aglaea. ]