Superbia Intro Log

[cancrymods]

SUPERBIA

With the dragon of greed thoroughly slain, the Executors are at last free to escape the sensory hell of the Avaritia Underside and descend to the next Layer. There's still sound and chatter, of course, but compared to where you've been spending all your time until now. Welcome to Superbia. And make yourself comfortable... because now that you've arrived, the stairs that guided you down here have disappeared and you won't be leaving any time soon. Feel free to use this arrival log to chronicle your initial misadventures in the Pride Layer of Purgatory. As noted in the location page, several locations will require further investigation if you'd like to get some information on them, so get investigating! Drop a comment down to the Investigation Request subheader if you'd like to explore. Get out there and have fun!

Comments

[ourtomorrow]

No, I didn't mean -

[ He messed this up. Far from laughing, Monarch looks worried. Nervous, and obviously trying not to show it.

In other words, he is really bad at the "not showing it" part. ] Let's go in.

[alchemistake]

[...huh. That wasn't the kind of reaction he was expecting. So far, most of the students here have been relatively outgoing, not exactly shy wallflower types. Either they're that, or they're bullies. Amber can't help but wonder...]

Right.

[He'll let Monarch step in first (because he looks like he wants to melt into the floor) before he follows shortly after, pulling the door shut behind him.]

So uh...I guess we must not share all of the same classes. I figured I would've run into you before now.

[ourtomorrow]

I'm new.

[ Monarch's possessions are few: a small bag (of supplies he'd brought intending to do a cursory examination of the Layer) and a soccer ball (...impractical, but it makes him feel brave, so he'd brought it, too.) He looks around for a good place to put his things.

Okay. Infiltrating. His roommate is still trying to make conversation, which means he's trying to welcome Monarch. Which means it's OK for Monarch to be here, which means he can try to relax. This is part of the mission, too. He just has to focus. And ask the right questions. ]

Is this a good school?

[alchemistake]

[Funnily enough, Monarch seems more prepared for school than Amber is, who...doesn't have any supplies visibly with him. Maybe his bag is still somewhere in the dorm? Either way, it's not something that seems to be too pressing for him right now either way as he makes his way over to "his" side of the room. Or, what he supposes will be...it's near the bed he woke up in, so that's what he's choosing to go with.]

Good? Well, uh...

[Amber, not known as someone who minces words, wobbles one hand a little.]

It's alright...I guess. I mean, when you're getting along with everybody? Sure.

[That black eye he has is probably hard to miss.]

But all of the classes are pretty easy, so. It can beeee a little bit of a chore.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch hadn't wanted to inquire. Everyone has things they'd rather not talk about! But that information, in conjunction with the black eye....

Does that mean what he thinks it means? Is this the kind of school where.....where people are...

Well, it's Purgatory. Monarch schools himself (no pun intended by him, anyway) for expecting - what had he even expected? He isn't sure. But he has a mental concept of School with no room for physical violence. It's a place to study.

More importantly, Amber. He might have hit a sore spot. But more than that...

His gaze sharpens in concern. He looks, if such a thing is possible in Purgatory, alive. ]

Are you all right?

[alchemistake]

[The concern is...a bit surprising, he'll admit, but not unwelcome. Usually he'd deflect, but he's pretty sure if he doesn't say what happened, Monarch would figure it out on his own eventually. It's probably gotten around the whole school, by now.]

I'm fine, yeah. Just got into it with some other kid who thought they'd be able to push me around.

"it's funny because he sucks at talking", she thinks, then feels bad about no tag hooks...

[ourtomorrow]

I see.

[ Push him around....Would Monarch do the same, in that situation? No. He doesn't think he would. But it would eat at him, from within. He feels ashamed.

Does that mean he's...beginning to value himself, a little? That he doesn't want people to get the better of him? It could also just imply he's sensitive about being vulnerable, but he hopes it's the former. He has to take care of his heart. He promised Rei-san. ]

SOMETIMES THATS HOW IT BE

[alchemistake]

[Amber eyes Monarch for a moment as a bit of a silence lapses between them. Now normally, Specters are going to likely act a lot less...perceptive. Like they're still about as functional as people as you'd expect, but they probably wouldn't be watching Monarch the way Amber is watching him now, very pointedly as if trying to gauge what his deal is.

He moves to take a seat on the edge of the bed he woke up on, claiming it more-or-less as his own.]

It's no big deal though, it's been dealt with. Turns out the Guidance Counselor here is...actually pretty good.

[ourtomorrow]

Are they...?

[ That was - was that one of his fellow Executors? Monarch feels like he's heard something along those lines. Mona-san is in the infirmary, and Medic-san is....well, not supposed to be in the infirmary, but frequently there anyway....

....and Amber is still watching him, even as he thinks. Did Monarch do something suspicious already? He thought he'd been far more conspicuous in Avaritia and the Specters there had...

....

.......it can't be. Can it?

He rests his things on the other bed. ]

Sorry. May I ask a question?

[alchemistake]

Huh? Oh, uh- sure. Go ahead.

[Though he's...not quite sure what this kid COULD ask him. Maybe something about the school...?]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch's heart is pounding. If he messes this up, he could blow their cover! But, on the other hand, if he's able to help....if he's able to find them an ally.....return what everyone else did for him... ]

Do you - remember? Where we are.

[alchemistake]

[Oh.

Where Monarch is worried about messing up, Amber...seems a little looser with whether or not he cares about trying to inquire with other specters as to what they know. It's like Achilles said- the most they'll do is avoid the subject or not understand if you try to explain what's going on to them.

So, he decides to reply plain and blunt.]

Do I remember that I'm dead? As far as I know...yep. Couldn't tell you what happened to me, though.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Oh. OH! That makes this much simpler. Monarch suddenly feels a lot better. ]

Then you're an Executor, too.

[alchemistake]

[Executor. Yep, that rings a hugely familiar bell.

Recognition dawns in Varian's expression as he leans back against his palms.]

You're looking at one as of today, yep.

1/2

[ourtomorrow]

[ He was right... ]

Both of us...and we're roommates.

[ A hand goes to his chin. Monarch is Thinking now.... ]

2/2

[ourtomorrow]

[ ...until he Thinks himself into what should have been a clear next step. ]

Um - welcome. It's good to...have you along.

[alchemistake]

[If it helps, Amber doesn't seem to mind the awkwardness. If anything, it makes him laugh. It feels...familiar.

Very familiar.]

Hey, don't sweat it. Achilles mentioned that talking about like..."being dead"- [Airquotes] -and stuff with the other people around here doesn't tend to go over well. I don't blame you for not saying something sooner.

[ourtomorrow]

[ He's met Achilles-san....And probably Rei-san, too, then.

Amber's reassurance does help Monarch, who starts thinking instead about what Amber might need from him. He's the more experienced Executor....um...

oh a. a welcome. that would probably be good ]

I hadn't expected to room with someone who was like me. Let's do our best together.

[alchemistake]

[If nothing else, Amber is getting the sense that Monarch isn't so different from him, and not just in terms of being an Executor.]

Right. Is there anything specific we should be doing now, by the way? I know we're meant to find the person in charge here, but I'm not really sure what to be looking for.

[ourtomorrow]

We just got here ourselves...

[ Coincidence, or - no. What they need to do now. ]

But you're right we have to find the Authority. One way is to look for a person in power, but also -

Do you know the Seven Deadly Sins?

[ i would say "this is the nerdiest executor 101 anyone will ever be given" but

medic exists

so monarch forever is denied that crown ]

[alchemistake]

[It’s okay Monarch you get a shiny silver second place medal instead.]

They’re not a concept that I remember, but Achilles did mention them. That each of these…”layers” have seemed to represent one so far.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch nods. ] We're fairly sure we've seen Envy and Greed. That leaves Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride.

If we identify which Sin this layer represents, the person who most embodies it is the Authority.

[ He just. Keeps getting stuck on. Why any one of those. Would be a school. ]

[alchemistake]

[Yeah...it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to him, either. Then again, this is kindof his first exposure to schools...as far as he can remember, anyway.]

So the Authority...they're going to be someone who was already here, right?

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch nods. ] Does anyone stand out?

[ Not that "consciousness", by nature, is part of being a Specter, so Amber's extended time here may not assist in solving the puzzle. But just in case. ]

[alchemistake]

Not really...I mean, the only people I've met so far that stand out to me at all are you guys, and you can't be the Authority if you just got here.

[He thinks.]