raisingproject | ☆ WELCOME TO HELL, YE POOR SOULS.

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graveyard

☆ WELCOME TO HELL, YE POOR SOULS.

Magical Girl Raising Project

Graveyard

The last thing you remember is dying. Whether it's by murder or execution, that's was all it. But surprisingly enough, you wake up in the hotel room that you were assigned in, as if you had never died to begin with. However, once you walk right outside, you'll start noticing that while this is the Town A you remember, there are some slight differences that you notice.

The first thing is the fact that while you can see those who are still alive, they simply cannot see you. In fact, they pass through you, as if you were a ghost. And spoilers: you kind of are one, now. The second thing is that sometimes, if you look at a building for too long or too closely, you'll notice that it fizzles a bit, almost glitchy.

But that's completely fine, isn't it? There is, however, one more thing to keep in mind: there are voices of other people, mumuring. Of course, these other people, unlike you, don't have a complete shape; they're just a silhouette of themselves, looking like static.

However: it wouldn't be Town A without an announcement, would it? Of course not. Hence why upon rearriving, there will be a message, typed out:

Welcome to the afterlife, everyone. This is a greeting message to introduce you to how exactly this works. You have the ability to send one message to the living a week, so choose your words wisely. Of course, there are limitations to what you can say! You cannot reveal the mastermind's true identity, even if you know it. You cannot reveal a culprit or a victim, even if you know it.

Also, all messages will be sent to all players during the trials. If there is no trial, the message shall be sent on Saturday. You may investigate as you wish. If you have any questions to ask of me, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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[Eliza spins around, looking embarrassed at being discovered. She's not...really surprised to see Dahlia there, though, considering how her body is right there.]

Um...I thought so, until Monday. I'm just doing this now because I don't like picking on Zack and we're running out of mana, so I can't really throw things at him anymore...also Hinata keeps stopping me. [She might pout a bit at that last comment.]

[Until Monday... meaning:] .... Kaine.

[That's a look of obvious surprise; for so many weeks she'd been certain it was Szayel.... and for so many weeks she hadn't cared that Szayel might've killed Eliza because Szayel was better company than most. And to think that Kaine had yelled at her for accusing him during the trial and then lectured her over dinner....

Feeling genuinely amused, she dissolves into giggles between words. The pointlessness of the truth only seems to make the fact even funnier.]

For all of his talk....letting One take the fall.....all so he could wish upon a star...

[What a singleminded simpleton.]

...it's not really funny. [Eliza just...stares. This doesn't really seem like the "hysterical laughter" she's heard about.] He...wanted to protect someone back home. And she wasn't his hostage, so maybe it worked...

[She pauses.] I still punched him, though. [Or maybe she just tried to. Who knows, that thread is still in limbo.]

Oh, don't mind me, Miss Eliza.... I don't expect you to share my sense of humor.

See? [She'll point at the heart that her corpse is holding onto here.] I can even see how that'd be very funny to my killer, even though...experiencing it was... shall I say, less than pleasant.

[She shakes her head and straightens up though, all giggling now done.]

But if you ask me, he deserves much more than a punch.... and if he has any shred of decency, he'd know that, too.

[Eliza's just going to...quickly glance at it to confirm that yup, that's her heart there. She's honestly been focusing more on messing with Szayel during all this.]

...I don't think there's any way it could be pleasant.

[She blinks a few times at Dahlia's comment.] Well...he already got sliced up by that serial killer. And...I can understand him wanting to protect someone more than anything else. [Isn't she biased as well, after all?]

[Stated with pure indifference.] He did, yes. So what? Just because he died terribly and you find him relatable, that automatically entitles him to your sympathy?

[A beat and a subject change. She just realized how much she doesn't really care about Eliza's perspective on this subject.]

Well, that's your prerogative. For now it seems as though we all have to cooperate more anyway.

...that's mostly why people feel sympathy in the first place, isn't it? [She seems...kind of confused by this new side of Dahlia.]

[She just nods quickly at the second comment.] I guess so...Hinata suggested we might be better at locating the areas along the boundary for the ritual.

Is it? [She laughs and waves her hand dismissively.]

In any case, you're aware that this information about the ritual comes from Miss Zange, aren't you? [And yeah,that is unmistakable contempt when she says that girl's name.] Do you really trust her of all people?

She wants to end this too! [Eliza sounds somewhat indignant.] She's being forced to run these games, or else her world will be destroyed! And she's been trying to gain enough power from everyone's anger to do it, but she doesn't have enough. So the ritual is her only chance...

[The indignation is a little predictable from Eliza, truth be told. Dahlia merely smiles.]

I'm sure she's painted a pretty picture of herself as a martyr, weaving and spinning sweet stories to help make it easier for her to fall asleep at night while other people bleed because of her. ... Ah, what's that phrase again...."cry me a river?"

[A giggle.]

You want to know something curious, Miss Eliza? In history, the most malicious villains are the ones who believe they're the heroes. There's no phrase more deranged than "I have to do this for the greater good."

She's not even fully in control of this whole thing! Fav has been giving out motives without her input as well! [Eliza stomps her foot, which is kind of childish, but she doesn't really care.] Besides, the other ghosts have been here longer than us, and they also agree this is the best way. I'm sure some of them would have figured it out if she was lying for so long!

[It'd be more of a shocker if Eliza was acting maturely. The fact that they're having this discussion about Zange while her corpse is within a few feet, however, is doing unpleasant things to Dahlia's mood.]

How very convenient. The other ghosts have been here for up to a thousand years, MIss Eliza. Have you ever been to the zoo?

[A beat. She's not going to wait for an answer to that question.]

Do you know what happens to animals that have been kept in captivity for too long? At first they're angry, then they're sad...and eventually, they hit a psychological breaking point. People are similar... Stockholm Syndrome. Have you heard of that?

[She turns away from the murder scene.]

[Eliza turns to keep facing Dahlia, taking a few steps away from the scene as well.] I...I don't think I've heard of it before. Where does that name even come from?

[Yes, good, Dahlia will keep walking away from the changing rooms and start heading outside.]

It's when victims of crimes like kidnapping develop feelings about their captor. For instance, they might start to believe that their captor is actually on their side, looking out for them. They may even start wanting to protect their captor.... I couldn't say why, but perhaps it's because believing a sweet lie makes it easier to live than living without any hope at all.

[She looks down at her feet as they leave the place.] She didn't have to reveal herself to us or anything though. She didn't do that with the first people who arrived here. [Eliza might have been the first one to meet Zange like that, as a matter of fact.] Besides, she's also trapped here, so that shouldn't count, right?

You take far too much at face value, Miss Eliza. I can't have been the only one to tell you that.

...maybe I do, but isn't it better to be willing to trust people? [Even if her trust has been broken so many times...] I don't want to give up on trust...

Then don't.

[She shrugs.]

After all, people can generally be trusted to think of themselves first and foremost.

[She just keeps following, not speaking much.] That's...true, I guess. But not everyone's as selfish as that! [She's...thinking about Recette, mostly. She can admit deep down that she's a selfish person as well.]

[Then they'll keep heading towards the general direction of the park in partial silence together as Dahlia isn't going to tell Eliza to scram. Mostly because she's in the mood to vent.]

Generally, I said. The ones that don't are fools who are constantly being taken advantage of. .

Edited 2017-04-29 08:33 (UTC)

Is that what you think about Recette? [Eliza's voice is soft. Even if the other teen is apparently older than her, she still feels a lot like the older sister sometimes.] ...she has people looking out for her, at least.

She's a simple girl. [In more than one sense.] But what does that matter now, Miss Eliza? There's no point in gossiping about Miss Recette is there? She's not part of the bigger problem with this stupid town.

You mean, these games?

That's exactly what I mean. There's only two things I care about right now. The death of the one who killed me and of course, the end of Zange herself. Everything else is simply lower down on the list of priorities.

That's...really serious. I just want them to stop...not die. [She'll probably change her tune on Saturday...]

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hawthorned - 2017-04-30 04:02 (UTC) - Expand

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