☆ WELCOME TO HELL, YE POOR SOULS.

[raisingproject]

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.

---

Comments

Friday

[perfectbeing]

[You know how the very first thing listed under Szayel's dislikes is "losing"?

The reason for that will become very apparent for those who happen to be around the Inn to bear witness to a lot of crashes and shitloads of expletives being thrown around behind the door to Room 8.

It seems that swiftly losing a fight and dying a slow and rather agonizing death on the floor of the morgue struck a bit of a chord with Szayelaporro Granz, someone who previously viewed death as something that would never reach him. It doesn't take him very long to tire himself out due to how things work on this side though, and all he manages to do is knock some things over in that once immaculate room of his.

Great.

It takes a while, but he eventually emerges from his room to do what he has always done when something new presents itself: investigate. As much as he doesn't want to be on this side, he knows that he needs to get himself up to speed because no matter which side, there's work to be done. Maybe...approach him carefully if you plan to though, because he looks more angry than he ever has in the past.]

[raisingproject]

You're quite the angry one, aren't you?

[The ghost who replies to him is one he'll recognize by voice. It's June. Of course, she has no means of identification outside of her general shape, being completely static from head to toe. Although you can at least tell by her outline that she's wearing a dress and has her hair tied up in a scrunchie.]

I suppose it's... a pleasure to meet you properly, regardless of the circumstances. Dire as they are.

[perfectbeing]

[He very nearly lashes out as a kneejerk reaction because he's not in the mood for quips right now, but he reins himself in when the voice registers.]

I would like to believe that I have a very good reason for being angry, June.

[It's jarring to be in her presence again for a few reasons...mainly, he didn't expect that she'd end up being unidentifiable even on this side. It's tricky to put a codename and voice to a face when she...doesn't have one.]

Excuse me for being rather blunt, but I would have preferred to have not met you properly. Not here, at least.

[raisingproject]

I know.

[Her voice evens out, even though the corners of her lips form a grin. But it's not one that's condescending.]

Dying isn't a nice feeling, after all. [How many times has she died? She's lost count, at this rate.] And don't worry. I'm not offended. I would not wish death on any soul, human or otherwise.

[perfectbeing]

[Even if it's not a condescending grin, it still intrigues Szayel just a bit. It's simply an unexpected expression given the subject. He figures it has to do with her situation back home...]

It certainly isn't, and that feeling is only magnified by the fact that if my abilities had not been stolen from me, I would not be dead.

[raisingproject]

Then it's kind of ironic, isn't it? Abilities that were lost in the living world... are all regained in death. Of course, mine doesn't apply when I'm dead.

[perfectbeing]

[...]

I'm sorry, what?

[HE HADN'T GOTTEN AROUND TO TESTING THIS, UM.]

[raisingproject]

"Then it's kind of ironic, isn't it? Abilities that were lost in the living world... are all regained in death. Of course, mine doesn't apply when I'm dead." ... is what I said.

[She actually repeated it word for word.]

1/2

[perfectbeing]

I heard you the first time.

[It just took him a moment to process...and for his seething rage to kick back in once the gravity of June's reveal hits him like a bus.]

I spent all of that time searching for a way to get my abilities returned to me, only for on to be stolen from under my nose, the others eluding my grasp... And now of all times they are returned to me?!

This is the cruelest fucking joke-

[perfectbeing]

[...

Thankfully, he catches himself before he completely goes off. Conserving his energy is for the best right now. He can take his anger out on the one his ire is truly directed at later.

So, he clears his throat and takes a deep breath to compose himself.]

Excuse me.

[The lightest of apologies. I am so sorry June.]

Your ability...it has something to do with alternate universes, correct?

[Subtle topic change...! He is just so mad, he doesn't want to talk about the actual ability situation right now.]

[hawthorned]

[Well isn't that perfectly relatable. She hears the familiar voice not too far from her own room in the Inn, but she doesn't quite put two and two together that he's dead. To his credit anyway, Szayel did seem like he'd survive through to the end.

Dahlia steps out of her own room, half expecting Zack to have caused some stupid commotion if anything. She raises an eyebrow at Szayel, but doesn't say anything to him. Why bother, after all? it's not like he can hear or see her.]

[perfectbeing]

[Potentially to Dahlia's surprise, when Szayel senses a presence he turns and looks directly at her. While he already didn't look pleased in the slightest, his expression just sours even further. Not that it's Dahlia, but...because it's Dahlia. Though if anyone was to remind him of his fate, it could be much worse than one of the people he actually enjoyed being around.]

...Dahlia.

[That's it. That's all he can come up with at the moment.]

[hawthorned]

[That does surprise her, visibly so even. Luckily for Szayel, she's not obtuse enough to point out the obvious about his current status. If anything, she's quite bitter about it.]

I assure you I'm not pleased to see you here either, but the glaring seems unnecessarily hostile, Mr Granz.

[And that's the only thing she'll say about that before business as usual.]

What was the last thing you saw?

[perfectbeing]

[It actually hadn't occurred to him that he was practically glowering at Dahlia, so he does his best to correct that when it's pointed out.]

Consider it part of my continued adjustment to this developing situation.

[Is it that hard to apologize, Szayel. Really.

He appreciates going straight to business though. It's better than continuing to dwell on...things.]

A flash of pink. I made an attempt to fight back while in my magical form. But every slash I made, every strike...countered, like my movements were as plain as day.

[That sour look returns, if only briefly. It's the worst way for him to lose a battle. It's like back at Las Noches. The very reason he chose to accept the offer to come here...]

All activity stopped once the fatal blow was delivered, so I imagine she left rather quickly or simply concealed herself to confirm her kill. [...] I did not die instantly, though I was unable to get a message out as my injuries were severe enough to make my body useless until I finally succumbed.

[hawthorned]

[That's ok, she wasn't looking for an apology from Szayel in the first place. If anything, she could have started the whole thing off with a simple 'hello' herself rather than griping right off the bat, but hey. Nobody said the dead had to be chipper.]

Don't get too used to this, Mr. Granz. I'm told whether we help or not the other ghosts fully intend on going through with that ritual. If it works, we will all return to life and this town is destroyed in the process. But the fossils amongst us seem to think we'll be returned home before that. Including, of course, Zange. [While her tone had been one of poorly veiled contempt, the girl's name is said with a particular venom behind it. Her expression clears marginally as she continues.]

I saw something similar myself. There was a flash of pink and white in the mirror. I turned around and attempted to defend myself, but... clearly I failed.

[perfectbeing]

[While there's quite a bit to touch on there, one thing in particular sticks out to Szayel.]

What about Zange?

[Assume he hasn't discovered this tiny little fact quite yet...

What sort of bombshell has he walked into here.]

[hawthorned]

Ah.

[This is harder than she initially thought it would be, but not because she has even a modicum of compassion for Zange. She doesn't usually have so many angry words to say that it's hard to marshal them into a coherent story from start to finish. Who knew choking on rage was actually a thing?]

Zange is the mastermind. [There that's a start. She lets that hang in the air for a good second before the rest of her vitriol comes tumbling right after it.]

If you talk to the others here, they'll tell you a ridiculous sob story about how she's been trapped here for a millennium and has been forced to run the murder games lest her own world be destroyed. What's pathetic is that whether that's true or not some of the fools here are actually defending her, like she's worthy of anything other than a slow and painful death.

[perfectbeing]

Ah.

[..."Ah", indeed. Where does he even begin with this information? He never got along with Zange and still thinks she's full of shit about the goddess thing, but to now discover that all of the times M had irritated them...that was Zange. An "online persona" indeed.

The absolute flattest look on his face tells it pretty plainly that he doesn't know whether or not to be surprised, angry, both...neither? He can't believe she actually managed to hide that double-life from all of them.

He'll keep processing it as Dahlia continues...and really, none of that helps.]

No wonder why she didn't manage to get offed during the early weeks. She had an advantage over us from the very beginning.

[THE SALTIEST RESPONSE. But that's the best he can come up with that isn't a rousing mess of expletives. That is hardly a stimulating conversation!]

I won't even get into what I think of that story. We would be here for hours. [He makes a light tch,] Unbelievable.

[telecosmetic]

[Eliza has been...well, following him from a distance since she figured out he was dead as well. Kind of awkwardly, since, well...he's still mad. She finally screws up her courage to approach him, though, looking kind of embarrassed.]

Um...hey. I wanted to apologize for thinking you killed me...

[perfectbeing]

[It's not difficult for Szayel to sense that he's being followed, but he chooses to ignore the presence if they're not going to bother actually approaching.

Eliza does eventually though, and...she's going to be met with a rather angry and bitter expression from Szayel. He has a lot of questions about that apology, but more importantly...]

I believe you have far more to apologize to me for than simply that.

[Not that he intends to accept any apology, but he just wants to hear it after the ridiculous stunts she pulled on him.]

[telecosmetic]

[She stares intensely at him.] That wasn't because I thought you killed me. It was because you were bothering my friend! And also pulling out a weapon during a serious ceremony! So I'm not going to apologize for that!

[lol sorry you're not even going to get an attempt at one]

[perfectbeing]

He. Planned. To. Make. An. Attempt. On. My. Life.

[He says the words separately for emphasis.]

But oh, I suppose that makes it fine since he didn't actually succeed. No, he killed two others instead. But again, that was not me, so I have no right to be angry and he does not deserve any comeuppance for his actions. Is that it?

[telecosmetic]

He thought you killed me! And it's not like you're any different! I heard what you and Miach were saying yesterday.

[A pause] Besides, if he shows up, I'll hit him for that, just like I did to Tamamo and Joshua and Kaine.

[perfectbeing]

I never once said any of that morality bullshit applied to me. I am simply calling you out on your own use of it.

[Oh dear.

And in regard to the second bit...he makes a small snort.]

Ah, indeed. Such a proper punishment.

[telecosmetic]

[She glowers.] You're too late to lecture me about that anyways. The ghosts here said enough durign that trial. And I'm not sorry for what I did anyways, so I'm not apologizing. [Teenage girl pout face.]

So? They've already been executed, or died horribly in Kaine's case. There's nothing I can do to match that anyways!