cancry | Invidia Underside Log

INVIDIA DUNGEON LOG
For the Executors who've travelled down to an Underside before, today's trip isn't out of the ordinary. But for those of you new to all this... well, buckle up because it's a bit of a ride. Though the cold green light makes it hard to see, if you squint through the glare, you'll spot a wide, steep staircase leading down from the fissure into the light below. As you descend, it feels for a frightening moment as though you might be walking blind but eventually the light gives way to the sight of the Invidia Underside waiting a great distance below you. By some trick of perspective or just wonky Purgatory logic, however, it seems to take hardly any time for you to descend the stairs and set foot in the Invidia Underside.
THE UNDERSIDE
♪♫ Lyx – Sakuzyo The only saving grace of the Invidia Underside is that its layout and structure is more or less the same as Invidia itself. Some of the paths have turned a little twisty and there are buildings here and there that have gone missing, but if you can navigate your way around Invidia then you can more or less find your way around the Underside. The atmosphere on the other hand is where things really start to feel different. Where Invidia is bustling with life, the Underside is just as quiet in contrast. Some sounds filter down from the city above but they sound not just distant but muffled, too. This, coupled with the eerie green light that illuminates the city from above gives the feeling of being trapped at the bottom of some sort of lake or seabed. But more notable than all that is the screens that usually blast Esme content into everyone's eyeballs. Down here in the Underside, all of the screens are either apparently dead or displaying looped clips from TV talk shows, vlogs, movies and the like starring a person none of you have ever seen before. They have a vague similarity to Esme, but they're clearly not the same person. There's a shine to them and a sense of authenticity that was missing from everyone's least favorite Envy Authority that just feels... correct. If Esme was some kind of counterfeit then this is undoubtedly the original. There are no clips of Esme – or any sort of media with her at all, in fact – anywhere to be found in the Invidia Underside. AREAS OF INTEREST ⚝ Park: The park seems to have fallen victim to the same odd spatial distortions at play in many other places in Purgatory. While from the outside it doesn't seem that much bigger than it was originally, once you actually enter the park you'll find that it stretches on far enough that you can't quite see all the way to the other end, not helped at all by the fact that the area seems to have become fogged over, thickly enough to make it hard to detect the presence of Revenants here. Usually, the glowing trees would be enough to guide you through, but thanks to the presence and occasional outbreaks of violence of the Revenants, the trees are looking, uh... a little busted. Many of them have been gouged or even completely uprooted from the ground with wires spilling messily out and all over the ground. And... the less said about whatever the hell that colourful liquid coming out of them is, the better. Just tell yourself it's the stuff you see inside glowsticks and move on. Of course, moving on might be a little hard, as when you reach the very center of the park, you might just stumble across exactly what had the Revenants here so worked up in the first place... ⚝ Mall: Those of you who were fans of the conbini in Limbo: congratulations! Those of you who were fans of the mall in Invidia being normal: my condolences. While the mall hasn't changed much physically down here in the Underside, the shopping experience certainly has. The items up for purchase have fallen prey to the same effects as the ones in Limbo and so everything is a little... off. Food comes in strange shapes and flavours, clothes don't look quite right and any books or written media you pick up to try and read will just be a jumble of text that only occasionally becomes discernable. The same unfamiliar person who was all over the screens outside can also be found here, looking for all the world like the average celeb. It won't be easy finding anything to read, though, because the mall is crammed full of Revenants who seem to be doing their level best to full on loot the place. Take great care in your investigations, because if they get the idea that you're trying to steal anything from the mall, they'll set on you quicker than you can blink. ⚝ Rooftop Stage: Given that the rooftop stage was the last place you all saw Esme, it's not a bad idea to check there again to see if that's where she's ended up. There's an eerie similarity between the rooftop here and the one back in Invidia, too – just like that one, the rooftop here is in disrepair, as though it's been subject to some sort of violent tantrum, with all the equipment smashed to bits and the stage itself almost completely demolished. At second glance though, it becomes a bit more obvious that this place has been systematically broken down to allow as many of its components as possible to be harvested to construct what looks to be a gigantic cage right on the stage. And what's inside the cage you ask? You'll have to see for yourself... ⚝ Mansion: Esme's mansion seems to be the only part of Invidia that has escaped the warping and confusion of the Underside. The gate at the front is locked again but the outer walls no longer grow in height to keep outsiders at bay, so if you want to get in then scaling the wall is your best bet. No problem for the Executors, of course! Once you're inside, you can look around and see that not only has the interior escaped the uncomfortable twisty-turny distortions of the Underside but it also looks... lived in. Like "the bed still isn't made from being vacated this morning" lived in. There's food in the fridge. Was she... living here...? ⚝ Broadcasting Station: See for yourself. HAZARDS ⚝ On The Spot: Though there seems to be no actual source for them, large spotlights sweep through the streets of Invidia. They're easy to see coming and not too large that you can't dodge out of the way if there's one coming at you, but take care – if you happen to be caught in the glare of one of these spotlights, then you'll be plastered all over the screens that are scattered about the city and find yourself beset by Revenants who all want a very literal taste of you. ⚝ Structural Damage: Many of the buildings around the city have fallen into disrepair due to the presence of the Revenants here. Some have taken extreme structural damage and are on the verge of collapse so be careful not to end up trapped in a collapsing building, or you might be stuck waiting for a fellow Executor to fish you out. ⚝ Revenant Types Present: Henricus, Rigaud

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ her grip drops from his sleeve to the hem of his shirt when he moves to pat her down; she thinks to reassure him that it's not her blood, that she's not hurt, but it seems slow to come to her tongue.

at his question, she nods, mutely. it seems like she'll follow wherever he wants to sit her down. ]

[Not far. If she weren't in a bit of shock, he'd suggest they scale the wall to make their way inside, but this seems a little more immediate. Chiron snatches one or two of the couch pillows he'd nabbed inside and settles them on the ground against the wall to sit on. He takes her gently by the hand to go sit, and then, once settled, puts an arm around her shoulders, pulls her in against him.]

We'll get you somewhere more comfortable soon. Home, I should think, for a dip in the bath and a change of clothes. Hot food and a long nap. You know Phoenix is bound to whip up something for the lot of us again, when he's up to the task. Does not like being cared for, and yet insists on doing all the caring, that one.

[ although Mona herself only reached for that tenuous thread of contact, she goes easily when Chiron pulls her close. her head rests on his shoulder, eyes shut, pliant and heavy with exhaustion rather than relaxation. ]

... He probably wouldn't have gotten hurt if I were better at this. [ she can't stand that both Beast and Phoenix came out of that fight with such injuries, and she didn't get a scratch. but she didn't know what else she could have done, in the moment. ] Is he okay?

[ she saw him after he got healed, and he looked alright, but she can't help asking to be sure. ]

Everyone who has come through here is going to be alright. Medic and I know what we're doing, more or less.

[He rubs her arm.] You are just fine the way you are, you know.

... But, I... [ she takes a slow, deep breath and then releases it quietly. takes a different tack: ] ... Phoenix was fighting, and he told me to look for its weak spot, so I—

[ when she, Ariel, and Kingslayer fought the huge Revenant in Limbo's Underside, her participation was largely reactive. she'd blocked its swings, locked it in place, swiped at it with her weapon — she had barely been thinking, and she'd had little to do with bringing the thing down. but this time, it had been deliberate. she'd had to consider it not as a threat, but as a living creature whose life could be ended, and how to most effectively do so.

its weak spot. what an awful-sounding thing. if someone was going to kill her, would they look at her the same way she had looked at that monster? would they look for the softest, most vulnerable part of her to skewer through? her ranseur had sunk into the gap in its armour, and she can't help thinking of that place as its throat. ]

I looked at it, and I was just... thinking about the easiest way to kill it. [ her hands curl into fists, tangled in the ruffled skirts of her Executor outfit. she shakes her head against Chiron's shoulder. ] That scares me more than anything. I don't want to do that. I don't want to be able to do that.

...Oh, my dear. You seem to come from a place where fighting is not common, or at least not for young ladies. Nor should it be. But in a battle of life and death, well, you don't really want to die, do you?

Again, that is. We are all already dead, even those beasts. They were once people, as far as I understand it, but once they reach that point, they simply...stop.

If you would rather have a more supportive role in future fights, that is always an option, but when you or your friends are on the line, one does what one must. It's no pretty thing. Nor an easy thing. But to continue on as safely and effectively as we can...there will be fighting.

[ she closes her eyes, tense, like the words are painful. ] I know. I don't want anyone to be hurt like Beast and Phoenix were today, especially not because of me. I just...

[ it doesn't matter how many justifications there are for taking action — it still won't sit well with her. it doesn't help to think of it as a beast, or a monster; to remind herself that it's already dead; to say that it's something that has to be done, to keep herself and others safe. regardless of what the reason is, she is still causing harm with her own hands. she still regarded that creature with the intent of violence. the idea twists her gut into painful knots on its own, but even worse when she thinks of the people she knew when she was alive, their gentle guidance, their willingness to protect her.

Fran wouldn't have ever gotten blood on his hands this way. he didn't even want her to handle chemicals that were too dangerous. Impey didn't teach her about machines that could hurt others; Saint-Germain showed her avenues of escape. and— ]

... I think Lupin would be disappointed in me for using his lessons to hurt someone.

[ the memory is there, suddenly. a man who would never kill anyone, telling her in a kind voice that it's okay for her to run away. ]

Disappointed, perhaps. And yet, better for you to get out alive, and to help others get out alive. [An impatient handwave:] For a given definition of 'alive' in this case.

You put quite a bit of stock into what you think others think of you.

Invidia Underside Log

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