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! ... is anybody else feeling some deja vu?

Comments

[schardynfreude]

......Yes, but give him a second. This might be the guy who blindly walked into pitch darkness of an unknown uncovered underground stairwell after sending off his only companionship that could have gone with him. Chiron is...perhaps just a little bit more cautious than that now.

Huffing out a chilled cloud of air, he's going to text Phoenix. Do you know where the gymnasium is? It was locked, but I've opened it now.
It's not good.
I could use some assistance before I get myself into trouble.

let's get this bitch some backup first, bitches love backup

[discutio]

Provided nothing's moved around, yes. I'm on my way.

His work at least paid off, given it didn't take him too long to get there once that answer was sent, pausing at the doorway.

"...Chiron? Why is it so cold in here?"

[schardynfreude]

"An excellent question that I do not have an answer for. It's all...destroyed. Not unlike a massive beast had a very bad day here. Do have your cane fully at the ready to mind your step. There are holes all over...everything." And even though Phoenix can't see it, Chiron looks over at him. There's no real need to hide anything of his face, here, and the sunglasses might only keep him from noticing a small detail or another. "You do smell that, yes?" Hard to miss even for him.

"Shall we?"

[cancrymods]

First of all – now they've made note of the general destruction, is there anything in particular the two of them are searching for? Presumably Chiron will be sticking with the uh visual component of that, but are there any small details they're trying to find?

[discutio]

On the less, shall we say, immediately obvious side--is there anything suspicious smelling that isn't pneuma-related? (Stagnant air is probably a given, but you know)

[cancrymods]

It's mostly just old, spilled pneuma. Since he's going to be walking along the floor and presumably feeling around with his cane, Phoenix will occasionally come across gritty sections on the floor that should feel familiar from his investigation of the broadcast station in Invidia.

There's... a lot more of it here.

Whatever happened here, it was a bit of a bloodbath.

[discutio]

Cool, he hates it!

How's the general vibe of the place, given we're all ghosts anyway?

[cancrymods]

The vibe of the place is haunted as fuck. There may not be literal ghosts here, but you definitely get a haunted, miserable sort of vibe. The cold also feels pretty unnatural, but that may just be because of how wildly it contrasts the weather outside.

[schardynfreude]

And on the visual component side, are there signs that maybe it was actually some kind of monster of a sort--claw marks, hair, something like that? Or maybe explosive residue if it isn't? Basically anything to indicate what, specifically, cause This Wholefuck Damage

cw: implied violence & gore

[cancrymods]

There's claw and teethmarks in various places that definitely point to this being some sort of monster rampage as opposed to like, a bomb or something. There doesn't seem to be an obvious entry or exit point for the thing, though that's mostly because the place is so befuckened it's hard to tell where the damage begins or ends.

As mentioned upthread, there's also splatters of old pneuma all over the place in ways that suggest biting and clawing as opposed to a bomb blast.

[schardynfreude]

good good good great awesome good this is probably where our missing students went fantastic. It's becoming increasingly clear to us as players but let's just make sure all our dots are connected: does any of the ~event~ stuff scattered about by any chance indicate a graduation? Healthy assumption, given the gym's where that's supposed to take place and all.

And does the cold seem to radiate from anywhere in particular, or is there any visible source it might be coming from? Or is it just. there bc that's the psychic impression left after tragedy baybee

[cancrymods]

Ding ding ding! There is absolutely some graduation stuff scattered around. It looks like some hasty attempts were made to clean it up but there's torn banners and bunting scattered around – enough for him to get a good idea that this is to do with the graduation anyway.

As for the cold, there's no visible source but there's a kind of vibe that seems to be coming from the elevated platform serving as a stage at the head of the gymnasium.

[schardynfreude]

mmmmmmmokay well, Chiron can't make good decisions ALL of the time, so. Spooky stage giving off Bad Vibes? Let's check it out with a little hyup up onto it.

[cancrymods]

Up close, upgrade those vibes from Bad to Atrocious. Just, terrible vibes all around. It's like the feeling you'd get if you stood at the edge of a cliff and dangled your foot into the air like you were going to take a step.

The air almost feels charged with electricity here – the kind of thing that gives you goosebumps and make all the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck prickle. It's a little bit like the feeling that comes with descending into an Underside for the first time but there's something very wrong about it.

[schardynfreude]

Is this what a panic attack feels like? It feels like this might be what a panic attack feels like. Bottom of his gut dropping out and a fearful alarm and the worst feeling of Wrong. It's dizzying even after he scrambles back down from the platform and closer to the door. Stick his whole face out the door, in fact, back into the warmth and outdoors and just exist in that for a bit. Good thing Phoenix can't see shit because hoo boy that face sure can scourge!

Great! Great. This place is great. He's just going to be over here remembering how breathing works (which is funny, since he doesn't really need to breathe, since he's dead-). No big deal! Investigating can resume in a moment. It's all fine. Phoenix does not need to be interrupted.

[discutio]

“Chiron-?”

It wasn’t like he was interrupting much, with how little Phoenix could feasibly find at the moment. He walked over to put a light hand on Chiron’s back, both for his own reassurance and an attempt to ground his friend if necessary.

“What is it?”

[schardynfreude]

He shudders for a moment and feels...silly for the reaction. Whatever happened is in the past, but it's also trapped in this moment forever. Until they find a way to fix this.

"It's like a curse. Whoever was standing up there on that stage, I do not know if they simply got the worst of whatever happened here," yes worse than being torn asunder by a monster, "or if they were the worst of what happened here." He breathes in the summertime air nice and deep. "It's left a psychic mark on this whole building, but particularly up there."

[discutio]

“…I felt something of it too.” He didn’t pull his hand back, stepping a little closer. “Are you alright?”

[schardynfreude]

He wants to say yes, wants to say of course, wants to brush it off with a wave and a laugh. But he bites it back.

"...I will be." There, that's more honest. "It, ah...overwhelmed me, the feeling. Have no fear, I'll not leave you to explore this on your own."

[discutio]

“I wasn’t afraid of that.” Phoenix answered with a quiet laugh. “I’m not going anywhere without you either, so you needn’t worry.”

[schardynfreude]

"...I'll never quite understand you, I think." He breathes out a laugh, shaky but present, and draws himself up to full height. The more solid, the more here that he is, the more control he has, the more he can control his...appearance, even if it doesn't matter at the moment. It's his own little litmus test. Medic might be proud.

"Let me know if you get too cold or likewise want to take a turn in the sun. This place is..." He shakes his head, even if the motion is lost on Phoenix. "We can't keep the children, of course, and they've seen worse. But still. It's a difficult place."

[discutio]

"I don't mind if you can't understand me." Maybe he liked it a little better that way. After all, Phoenix wasn't fully sure he understood himself more often than not lately. All the same, he put a hand on Chiron's arm with a faint smile.

"I'll be fine. Should we keep going?"

[schardynfreude]

"Yes. Yes, I believe so. I'm uncertain what more there is to find, but we'll do it...together, surely." With a firm clap of a hand to Phoenix's shoulder.

[discutio]

"Lead the way, if you would. It might be best for us to stay close, for both our sakes."

Preventing nervous breakdowns and/or tripping.

[schardynfreude]

"Perhaps sticking together, quite literally?" He moves his hand down from shoulder toward hand. Hold hands? Hand holds y/n? Yes, Chiron sounds a bit more back to himself if he's going to go with that.