✦ so it goes

• 𝐂𝐇𝐀̂𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐔 𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐄́𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐌𝐄𝐒 •                       ‧͙⁺˚*･༓ A DISCORD MFRP

• YOU AWAKE IN A HAZE, head throbbing and body aching. A cloud of mental fog clings to your mind as you drag yourself up off the ground and onto your feet; You have... no idea where you are. Laid out before you is an old castle turned hotel, sprawling hundreds of acres over the lush and extravagant countryside. Turning and looking into the valley, you can see a modest city off in the distance, as well as a towering Spire erupting from it's center. Without any idea as to how you got here, and that city being much too far to walk to at the moment, you have no choice but to head inside.

Despite being so old, the insides of the hotel are immaculate and very well kept. It looks to be a place fitting of royalty! The front desk is empty, but behind it is a list of rules that all 'tenants' must follow, as well as a guestbook with room keys and a list of names. The hotel has everything one might need; Luxurious rooms, a large fully-stocked dining hall, a gorgeous courtyard, and even a pool. But... no staff.

Who's keeping this place so tidy? Why does the hotel fix itself over time? Why can't anyone leave?  Why is the town desolate? This place seems to be rolling with mystery, mysteries that you will all have to band together to figure out the answers to! Good luck! •

Unless another RPC comes around, I will shift my Maya muse over to my kinda dusty indie blog @cloud-kill​! Airachnid will stay at the same URL if I go indie with her.

I heavily, heavily encourage any of my mutuals to add me on discord at soozie#7790 to keep in touch! Please also feel free to follow my twitter @ phasel0ck. If you have any questions, my DM’s are always open.

Best of wishes to all of my mutuals! I hope to see y’all again in another RPC someday soon!

   THE SMELL OF SMOKE IS UNMISTAKABLE. Even from around the bend, Maya could pick up on it wafting over the trees. When she’d gone on her jog this morning, it felt like any other day on the islands. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special... But now, as she picks up her pace and crests the hill to look over the city, she realizes how wrong she was.

    There’s a pang in the pit of her chest as her brain pieces things together. It felt like all of Beaulieu had started to crumble in the short few hours she’d been gone, and that included her own living space. Her mind races, asking questions like ‘are my friends okay?’, ‘are my things okay?’, ‘what is going on?’. She has no answers. Arm drawn up over her mouth, she pushes through the treeline, and beholds her worst fear; Her own home falling under the weight of the fire.

    The Siren hits a standstill, hands falling to her sides. Witnessing the flames pushes several memories to the front of her mind. Memories of Hero’s Pass, and the choking smoke of the lava. Of Sanctuary getting assaulted and blown to smithereens after Angel’s betrayal. Of... a voice. A voice she’d forgotten, somehow, up until now. Her hands clench into tight fists as the same sentence plays in her head over and over.

   ❝ Child, you have so much left to learn! ❞

ALRIGHTY. I only have 3 replies left in my drafts, and those’ll be done tomorrow since they’re all event stuff. Once those’re sorted, then i’ll be shifting over to my other blog and writing starters there. ( Which hey, if you haven’t followed it already; @airachniphobia​ )

“A desert? So… water? Cactus water?” he leaned forward to grab his own, sniffing the outside like that’d help him understand it more. Instead, all he got was the smell of Cold. 

If Maya was attentive, as she assuredly was seeing as she spotted him staring way quicker than anyone else would have, the twitch of Pucks hands at the word ‘funeral’ would stand out like neon green in the calming neutrals of the aisles. 

“Should drinks even taste like sand? That defeats the whole purpose of liquids buuut…” he turned the bottle over in his hands again, sticking his tongue out in concentration “I wouldn’t doubt half of this tasting like sand, or rocks.”

Having no money on hand, and not being very interested in the idea of stealing, the Baja Blast was returned to its Baja Brothers. 

“Maybe that’s the newest fad, weird gritty drinks! Now at your local Mini Mart! Limited time only. And then something about like… terms and services applying” he waved the rest of the bit out of the air. Probably went a little too hard on the joke but who could turn down doing a funny commercial voice?

    EVEN IN HER SLEEPINESS, Maya picks up on the apprehension. She doesn’t make any outward indication, but she silently notes that maybe she... shouldn’t go so heavy on the ‘I might die here’ angle. She’s relieved when he does start cracking jokes though, his bit earning him a half chuckle from her.

   ❝ If that’s what food fads are like on Earth, then I wanna go home. ❞ She turns on her heel as she says this, starting her trot towards the check out, ❝ Well, more than I already did but hey, that’s beside the point. ❞

    As she moves, she knocks a few more things into her basket; Instant ramen, a couple energy bars, and some hostess cupcakes (yanno, the ones that come in pairs of two). Again, this isn’t the healthiest of eating, but she could afford to cheat a bit.

    Before she gets to the front, she does at least turn to look at her new friend again, tilting her head.

     IN other words, they’re there for the exact same reason. He can’t help growing excited at that development! He’s accustomed by now to solo excursions in dangerous areas like this, but he vastly prefers company.

❝ Then would you object to me tagging along? I focus better when exploring with at least one other. ❞

He admits. Otherwise, he can enter a state of fixation. Being severed from your User has several unpleasant side effects that he’s learned to cope with.

*:・ﾟ☆

    MAYA BLINKS IN A BIT OF SURPRISE, before a soft smile spreads on her face. She, also, liked to have people with her while exploring. Helps to have extra eyes watching your back when the planet you live on wants to kill you at every turn.

   ❝ Not at all, you’re more than welcome to! ❞ She chirps with a polite nod, ❝ Last time I was out here, I nearly died so... having some back up is much appreciated. ❞

  Unfortunately, even the mere hint of of annoyance was more than enough to ignite the serpentine spirit’s mischief streak. It wasn’t even like he’d caught it. No, it was just the request for him to do something that made him want to do the opposite. Snatcher raised a brow with a short scoff, flicking his tail in amusement. He moved as if to lift himself off the lanes, however, probably relieving the other players.

  “ Yeesh. You’re pretty bossy, y’know. If you were dealing with someone rude or evil, he might up and do the opposite, just because of that. ”

  … As if on cue, he did a full 360, knocking down another’s pins as he flopped right on her lane. Seemingly pleased with his own actions, he let out a short, almost cartoonish laugh. Resting his chin on his claws, he stuck out a forked tongue. A silent, ‘ try me, kiddo. ‘ What a brat.

  “ –We’re playing a new version, anyway! It’s called Bowling With Snatcher! You roll the ball my way, and you hope you can get it past. Not your style? TOO BAD! It’s what we’re doing! ”

    AS IT JUST SO HAPPENS, Maya has had plenty of experience with rude and evil people. Probably the rudest and most evil of all, if she was being honest. Though this sentient Halloween decoration had little on Handsome Jack, she still found her gaze narrowing into a tight glare.

    If there was one thing in this galaxy, or the next, that Miss Maya Eupraxia Thelpousa hated the most, it was being told what to do.

   ❝ Yanno, as fun as that sounds, I think i’ll play by my rules, thank you. ❞

    What happens next would be hard to describe to anyone who’d never seen it before. The swirling blue marks on her arm come alive with a loud, otherworldly crackle and an up sweep of her hand. In that same second, Snatcher is ripped up off of the lanes and constricted tight within an orb of shimmering energy a few feet off the ground. It contorts him, bending his form in ways he probably wasn’t supposed to bend.

    It’s entirely unpleasant for him, but entirely funny to her, based on the smug look on her face.

  The answer to his question only leads to so many more questions. At this point, Noriaki’s not sure if he can even hide the confusion. Is he talking to a genuine, humanoid alien? Or is this lady just messing with him? He thought he was used to weirdness, considering the nature of stands, but this somehow beat all of that.

  Would… would it be rude to ask if she’s an alien? What are the chances that’s a bad question to ask? She doesn’t explain any further about the space travel, so it might be a cultural norm around here (or she’s faking what she knows, but that’s not something he’ll assume without just cause). He’ll have to come back later to study up on that.

  Oh, right. The reason Noriaki came here in the first place. He can wonder about this encounter afterwards. “I’m looking for books on the history of this city, but I’m not sure where to start.” Logically speaking, he should start at the beginning, but who knows when the important information begins. “Do you have any suggestions?”

    SHE NOTES HIS FEW BRIEF MOMENTS OF CONFUSION with a glance and nothing more. He was, undoubtedly, from old Earth, so it’d be absurd for her to fault him for not knowing what the hell she was going on about. She’d be confused too if she was in his shoes.

   ❝ Historical records? ❞ She quirks an eyebrow at his answer, ❝ It depends on what exactly you’re looking for. ❞

    The Siren rises to her feet, setting her book to the side and stepping over to one of the large shelves behind her. She runs her fingers over several rows of book spines, shifting over one shelf before she stops. Pulling out two books, one at a far end, and another in the row beneath it, she marks out a specific section of rather old and dusty pieces for him.

Gaige was thrilled to already be in contact with one of her friends from back on Pandora.  Even though she’d agreed to this “pairing project,” socializing had never been an easy thing for her back in school, and friends were sparse in those days.  Fighting for her life alongside a bundle of misfits had led to a wider social circle than she’d ever really known, most of whom she genuinely enjoyed hanging around with.  Without that incentive there, she wasn’t sure how much she’d get to reach out around here.

But having Maya here meant she had nothing to worry about!  She already had someone to start from.  How long had Maya been here, anyway?  It hadn’t been that long since she’d last seen her…right?  She’d ask when they met up- hopefully there was a lot of excitement to catch her up on!

FROM: Gaige TO: Maya

[TEXT] : Beaulieu?  Hang on where is that

A few seconds passed before her next message would arrive- having handily figured out the phone functions, she was looking to the map to see from where Maya would be coming.

[TEXT] : You’re on the other island?! [TEXT] : Maya are you just gonna run here the whole way??? [TEXT] : I mean there’s no catch a ride stations here but there’s gotta be a cab or something you can take! [TEXT] : Or one of these canals?  Idk but no way you have to run the whole way

 She didn’t doubt that Maya would be able to do it, of course- the woman was an absolute badass and would probably just be kinda winded by the time she showed up.  It just seemed…unnecessary.

[TEXT] : Oh yeah and uhh cappuccino is where my apartment is

    IF GAIGE THOUGHT THAT MAYA would waste any time in coming to see her, then she had another thing coming. She’d been here long enough that a unique kind of loneliness had been starting to creep up on her; A longing for Pandora’s chaos and the family she’d cobbled together in it. Why anyone would miss that place would probably be a mystery to most people, but maybe it’s something only Vault Hunters could understand. Who knows.

    Initially, Maya leaves her on read until she crests a hill and slows to a stop. She could see the other island in the distance, and her estimate was at the rate she was pushing herself, it’d take another 7 minutes to hit the canals. Not a problem for her. In all honesty, she missed running like this, so she couldn’t help but chuckle as she types out a reply.

★ FROM: Maya ★ TO: Gaige

{ TEXT } : I’m fine, Gaige. I’ve been slacking on my exercise anyway, so this is good for me! :) { TEXT } : I have a few friends in Cappuccino. I can walk you over there when we meet up, if you want!! It’s pretty nice from what I can recall. { TEXT } : Think you can find your way to the center of town?

    With that, she stuffs her phone back in her pocket and starts trotting down the hill. Of course Gaige was right, she could absolutely call a cab or something to that effect, but Maya was never the one for subtlety. She was also astoundingly stubborn, so there was no talking her out of this choice now.

    Sirens were exceedingly hard to get rid of.

    When Maya’s hand broke the surface of the water, it was followed by the loud hiss of the phase shifting. She sank her glowing fingers into the sand, and her other arm soon joined it in hauling her heavy body out of the water. Salt stung the corners of her eyes, but it helped in drawing attention away from the beating pain in other parts of her body. As she flops over onto her back, she can still hear the ring of the Leviathan’s roar in the back of her head rattling her brain.

    She did it. Despite everything this wretched island threw at her down there, she did it. She was exhausted in every sense of the word, but she was alive, and she had a bag full of books and documents to justify all that suffering. Inhale, exhale, appreciate the fact that you’re breathing real air right now. Briefly, she struggles to catch the air in her lungs, sputtering and coughing up saltwater.

    As she stares up at the sky, she holds her bag close to her chest. Distant stars twinkle above her, and she can’t help but wonder which of those faint lights is Pandora. Another cough, and she closes her eyes. She doesn’t have the energy to be angry anymore, all she wants is to do is lay here and fall asleep. But before she does, she heaves a sigh and says...

@sirens-wrath ​// STARTER CALL.

  Lasers? Darkness? Now THIS was his kind of place! It was like they made a game just so he could feel at home. More or less. With his glowing face and massive size, he was impossible to miss within Lights Out– even if he was just coiled up like a snake and chucking bowling balls. Into… other people’s lanes. What? Enjoying himself didn’t mean he couldn’t torment everyone else. He would have been playing laser tag, but apparently using his own lasers was ‘too deadly’ and ‘not allowed’. Ah well. 

  The visage of electric blue hair was plenty to distract him, anyhow! He watched her own attempt with intent curiosity(?)– though, understandably, the fact he was all but draped on the lane made actually rolling impossible. He really didn’t plan on interfering! Totally not! Well, it wouldn’t have legal consequences, with this not being professional and all… 

  “ –Now, don’t mind me! ” He rested his chin in his hands, flicking the end of his ‘tail’ in a way similar to that of an intrigued cat. “ I’m just an audience! Can you blame a guy for wanting to watch some good ol’ fashioned bowling? Humor me, kid! ”

   BOWLING WAS AN ARCHAIC INVENTION by the time Maya was born into the universe. Before she’d shown up here, she hardly even knew what it was. And that’s saying something, considering the fact that she knew pretty much everything there was to know about anything. Bowling was a strange, far off concept of a world long gone before her time, and in her endless curiosity, she simply had to investigate.

   As it turns out, the game was a much more advanced concept than she originally thought. Just walking into the place was sensory overload, with all the loud noises, bright colors and gaudy carpets. And then came the shoes, sizing, picking a ball to actually play with... Did she even know the rules? Absolutely not. This was turning out to be another situation of her feeling intensely out of place again, wasn’t it.

   Admittedly, figuring things out might’ve been marginally easier if it wasn’t for the large entity taking up half of the lanes; Something she quickly noticed once she actually came up to the approach. Maya wasn’t the type to question things anymore, so it wasn’t a matter of why something like him was there. It was moreso her questioning if a stage hazard was a normal part of the game or not. She didn’t think so, and the way this being addressed her as she came closer got on her nerves quick.

   ❝ I don’t mean to be rude, but maybe there would be something for you to actually watch if you weren’t in my way. ❞