GRAVEYARD

[cartesio]

The other side...?

Have you started feeling at home in Cartesio yet? The town has offered you every hospitality that its citizens could think of. They love every corner of this town and they want you to feel the same. Have you accepted Cartesio into your heart yet?

Then it should be comforting to wake in your hotel room. A ceiling you have gotten used to, the warmth of a blanket surrounding you, your own breathing... and silence. All-encompassing silence.
It perseveres when you leave your room, it perseveres when you leave the hotel... Cartesio is quiet because there is nobody in Cartesio who could be making noise. It's a ghost town.

There is only you now, you think. And then, just as you've given up, a noise comes to your ears. A voice, unmistakably. It's time to follow it.

As of Week 5 you may see random objects and buildings of any size flicker. For milli-seconds they seem to glow on and off, blur around the edges, even distort a little. It only happens for a moment at a time, but it happens fairly often.

Welcome to the Cartesio Graveyard. Your character has woken up in a version of the town that is devoid of citizens, but there do seem to be a few people around. Time to explore the mysteries of the other side. For a more thorough OOC guide, we have compiled an FAQ.

Links

Graveyard FAQ
Living Community

Comments

Sunday

[doublelammy]

[When Millium wakes, it's almost like one of those night terrors where you trip and fall in your dreams and wake with a start in your own bed. ...Which is more than a little upsetting, because she didn't fall asleep in this room. This bed is in the wrong spot.

But here she is. She can still almost feel the tingling of hands on her back as if it wasn't just a dream, but it's easy enough to shake her head and have those feelings fade.

It's less easy to dismiss the way her blood runs cold when she looks at the wall across from her. Oh, great, more blood! Because that's exactly what she needed right now, and —

Hi Millium

Yeah, no, that's it, she's out of here, and out of the motel. That it's all silent and empty doesn't even occur to her until she's outside, staring down into the dent outside the motel.

It's at this point that everything clicks, but she makes one last attempt to prove it to herself, raising her hand to the sky.]

Lammy!

[...Nothing, just like the first week she was here.

She lowers her hand and just slumps against the side of the motel, staring at that dent and trying to make sense of things.

Once she's a little less freaked out, there are people here she's going to want to see. But right now? Nope. Sorry. She needs a minute or several.]

[linearcrash]

[ Seeing someone who should be dead while she's still coming to terms with all the shit sounds like a good idea, right?

Nine will see her slumped against the motel. Not even going to give her a warning as he moves quickly to her side and kneels down. Putting his arms around her to pull her into a tight hug. It hurts seeing her here. It hurts seeing her like this. All of the screaming into the void or doing his best to try to make sure she would get another shot out of here...

But he's also glad he can actually hug her like this again and he hates himself for it. ]

Hey...

[doublelammy]

[Wow, way to scare the hell out of her, Nine, because she absolutely jumps and yelps at the sudden physical affection.

And then she realizes exactly who it is, and...




...you know what? She can't even be upset. There's so much to be upset about, but right now? None of that seems to matter, because she's just throwing her arms around Nine and burying her face right into his shoulder as her eyes well up.]

Nine!

[linearcrash]

[ He's good at this.

Squeezing her tight, and trying to ignore the way his own eyes are blurring with tears. ]

Yo, it's been a while, huh.

[doublelammy]

[Nine will definitely be able to feel his shoulder growing a little wet as Millium can't help but cry for real.]

...Ehe... yeah. Yeah, it sure has...

[She clings a little tighter, too, rubbing her face against him almost like she's nuzzling against him.]

...I really missed you.

[linearcrash]

[ She'll get an actual nuzzle in return as he squeezes her tight. Bear hug? Bear hug. ]

I missed you too, hey. I really missed you.

[ He can admit that now that she's actually hear. ]

Didn't really want to see you like this though.

[integratedsoul]

[ Though Cian's largely spending her morning in confusion, simply exploring, there's always been a subconscious longing to find Millium and then a hope that she just won't, that Millium somehow survived, that it's somehow alright...

And of course it isn't. That only gives her pause for a very small second before she finds herself rushing forward to pull Millium into a hug. ]

[doublelammy]

[Millium is less shocked by Cian than she was by Nine, mostly because Cian has the good sense to approach her from the front. Still, there's no denying how wide her eyes are when Cian's pulling her in for a hug.

Not that that stops her from hugging back.]

C-Cian?!

[...She knows what this means.]

Y-you too?! But how...

[integratedsoul]

[ ... ah... right, Millium can't know yet. That's.. embarrassing mostly. Cian doesn't let go while she answers. ]

I was... it was stupid... I saw the note you received and I thought... I didn't think much at all, I just didn't want to be too late.

But I was. I'm so sorry...

1/2

[doublelammy]

[Oh.

That's embarrassing for Cian, maybe, but it's all but a knife through the heart for Millium.]

...for... for me.

[She repeats it numbly, like the idea that someone else would lay down their life for her is just something she can't believe.]

2/2

[doublelammy]

[And yet, she doesn't have a choice, does she?

She clings to Cian that much tighter, feeling her eyes well up all over again.]

What... what d'you have to be sorry for?! It's my fault for being stupid... 'cause of me, you're...

[She sniffles.]

And... and I promised Natalie I wouldn't be, but I was anyway and now we're both... she's gonna be so...!

[integratedsoul]

[ Oh.... oh no... She hadn't meant to make Millium cry, though in retrospect that reaction seems obvious. Cian gently runs her hand in soothing circles on the girls back. ]

It's not your fault, it's not your fault at all. You were tricked, I only knew what was wrong because I knew where Keith was... that's all. He's probably upset, too....

We can... maybe we can apologize if something like the jukebox or the casino happens again...

[kingbomber]

[ Bakugou's not sure if he's been prepared to see Millium here, even if he's known for awhile at least that she died due to the portrait. But seeing her makes his stomach sink, and his hands clench into fists. How could it not?

He considered her to be a friend, even if he was pissy about things like he usually was. It's true that his last memories of her before dying had been pleasant, however.

He stops in front of her, hands in pockets. ]

Looks like you finally arrived in this shithole.

[doublelammy]

[So far, everyone else has gone and hugged Millium. Not this time.

This time, Millium gets to take charge. It takes a second for her to do so, even if she knew she'd be running into Bakugou sooner rather than later – she just sits there with wide eyes for a moment, like she's seeing a ghost.

...Well. She is, but that makes two of them, doesn't it?

Either way, that moment doesn't last long before she's scrambling to her feet and throwing herself at him, arms around his waist and going from zero to full koala in as few seconds as she feasibly can.]

Bakky...!

[kingbomber]

[ Bakugou probably should've expected this, but the reality of the matter is that he didn't. How could he, when he'd seen her like that, against the motel's wall? ]

Oi, wait a damn--

[ And then suddenly he has (1) Millium like this, at first kind of grumbling, but just letting it go for once because you know what? She died, she probably deserves at least this. He'll just pat her head for a moment. ]

Tch, whatever. Been awhile since I've seen you too.

[ He guesses that this is her way of saying 'I missed you' or something. ]

[doublelammy]

[If Bakugou thought he'd be free with that headpat, he's sorely mistaken. Headpats are basically Millium's favorite thing in the entire world. Sorry, Bakugou, you're here forever.

He's not wrong, though. That's entirely what this is.]

Why should I wait?! You died!!

[Solid point. Except for one thing: so did she.]

...

I'm sorry I was stupid and followed you...

[even if she didn't strictly. mean to]

[kingbomber]

... Yeah, I did. So did you, you fucking idiot.

[ He sounds more weary than pissed off when he says that, even if he undoubtedly sounds just close to as pissy as he usually does. He doesn't like to be reminded that he died, and it wasn't like he had even intended for it to happen in the first place. Though he's sure it's the same for her. ]

Fuck, how'd you even go and get yourself killed? All I could hear were those idiot townspeople saying who killed who, but it was hard to follow how you ended up meeting your end at that hands of that piece of scrap metal.

[theserpentsmiles]

[He knew she'd be here. He steeled himself for a reunion...it was only four days, and he hadn't gotten super close to anyone, so he's expecting short and kind of awkward. He approaches from the front, but he might be doing that thing where he's really hard to notice until he's a lot closer than expected. He's not invading her personal space, though.]

Orion-san. [It's been a while.] Are you... I'm sorry to meet you again like this.

[doublelammy]

[Well, this is sure as heck an unexpected face.]

...Wait. Wait, hang on, weren't you from the first week?! Why are you dead?!

[#tact]

[theserpentsmiles]

[Sup.]

I am, and as far as I know, I'm not. [He isn't convinced anyone is actually dead, at this point.] I'm missing the two weeks between the end of our stay and when Nine-san and Zinzer-san showed up, but I think I'd remember actually dying.

What I do know is none of us actually went home. Some of the others are around and active, like me. The rest...you might've seen around town.

[doublelammy]

I know I saw Rean at the refinery and Sakura-chan saw Her Highness at the flower shop, so I at least know they're alive...

[She frowns.]

Well, um... congrats on being half a ghost, I guess? Um...

[A beat.]

I'm gonna be honest. I knew you for like, less than a week, and I totally don't remember your name at all.

[WHOOPS? But hey, they can fix that now, right?!]

[silvertongueheir]

...you're here too. [He's...lying on a bench in the park, looking exhausted about everything.]

[doublelammy]

[okay wait WHAT THE HELL]

...Franzy?

[She approaches him, utterly baffled.]

What... what are you doing here? We're... we're dead, aren't we?

[silvertongueheir]

[Ah yes, she doesn't know.] I lied when I said I wouldn't go for the motive. [A sigh.] I thought I could save Sakura, at least.

[doublelammy]

You were... trying to bring Sakura back with you? Or leave with her...

[Despite all appearances, though, Millium is actually quite perceptive, once the initial clues are given to her. It doesn't take her too long to piece together this mystery from there.]

...'cause you figured she'd never get a medal on her own? Is that it?

[He's not exactly wrong, if that's his line of reasoning... sure, Sakura would never approve, but Millium's not really in a place to judge in that regard.]

...um. Does... does that mean you're the one who...?

[Guess who never saw her assailant?]