Fantasy Chaotic, Labyrinthine (A Backrooms Inspired rp)

[StrixDesmodus]

It's easy to question reality in places like this, separated from much of what you've known. Maybe this place isn't real. Maybe nothing in here is either, but you're not alone in these vast, segmented walls. Others from outside this labyrinth, from worlds alike to and unlike your own have arrived in as mysterious a fashion as you have, passing through what was thought to be a solid surface, but unable to get back to your original side.
Anomalies have abounded in this infinitely indoor world long before the outsiders came, though they are often far between though not few. Try not to get lost. But then again, you may be already.

 

[Shawdios]

- Flame -
[Grouped with: Vagabond Spectre , StrixDesmodus ] ​

He’d been running down a hotel’s steps between floors on his way to the train station to meet up with James and Bezel before they all headed to Harjewel… Why in Light’s name was he waking up in this bleached yellow colored room?

A sharp stabbing pain rang through Flame’s head as he tried to stand. He quickly aborted at that and laid back down. Light damnit, what happened? Everything felt wrong and out of place, like the molecules of his body were shifted two inches out of tune. Maybe it was the fact that he was in some weird building with no knowledge of getting there, but Flame vaguely remembered feeling as if his wing got shut in a door, panicking and cursing because of it, then hitting the wall as he tripped.

His stomach rolled as he sat up but the stabbing pain didn’t follow, only a slight ache right behind his eyes. He winced as he looked around, the lighting was like someone screeching into his eyes. The room around him was empty, with only one doorway as an exit that led to a hallway to the left and right. His bag was over in the corner with his hat placed on top, as if carefully positioned by a caring hand. It put Flame on edge, because he ached as if- well… as if he’d been thrown down some stairs.

So why weren’t his belongings in the same state?

He stared blankly at his hat and backpack, wondering what magic could have done this. Teleportation? Energy manipulation or some sort of summoning used to make gas to knock him out? The little color in his face drained from it, Oh light had Ritz finally found out where he was and come to collect? Was this Ritz's screwed up way of doing it? Knocking him out and placing him in some weird building? So he could watch him struggle and flail? Looking up towards the corners of the ceiling, Flame noted that there were no cameras. Or at least, none he could see.

Flame held himself stock still, fearing the consequences of fidgeting if this situation was Ritz’s doing. Then buried his face in his hands and let out a long warbling profanity in his native tongue. He was sure to not pull at his hair, again, just in case this was Ritz.

Slowly, he stood with a hand leaned on the nearest wall for support. The pounding in his head intensified as he straightened up, but began to tone back down to a manageable level after a few seconds as he stood unmoving. Once the ache was tolerable, Flame shuffled over to his stuff and riffled through his bag to make sure nothing had been taken, a habit he’d learned as a drifter. With a nod to each item, Flame pulled out and cataloged everything. Nothing was missing. But his hand froze at the crinkled and crushed photo at the bottom. It was either a sign this was all Ritz’s doing with an attempt to screw with his head, or a cruel coincidence.

Without taking the photo out, Flame put the box of tapes back in the bag, clipped his walkman to his waist and settled the headphones for it around his neck. He put his hat on before pulling his backpack over his shoulder and stumbling out of the room he’d woken up in.

If this was Ritz screwing with him again, there’d be cameras. But as Flame stepped out into the hall and turned, watching the corners of the hall’s ceiling, he found just as many cameras as he had in the first room. Zero.

But what if he found a way to watch people without a camera? Flame chewed on his lip as his thoughts spiraled, was that how Ritz could have tracked him down? He made sure to get as far away from Blitzety as he could! Oh light had Ritz put a tracker on him?! If he did it couldn’t be on his clothes, throwing Ritz’s gifts away was the first thing he’d done once he was able to replace them. It’d have to be inside him.

The urge to vomit and tear open every organ hit at the idea of a tracker being inside of him. Flame halted his walk down the hall and took a deep breath, restraining the need to pull his hair, to calm down.

He was being irrational. He needed to be Rational. James and Bezel weren’t here to tell him he was spiraling, he needed to do it himself. Ritz didn’t put a tracker in him, there’s no way he wouldn’t’ve felt that. But what if it was in his food and– No. he would have digested it by now and Ritz would have needed to plant another. That was Rational. Ok. ok. Ritz likely didn’t do this. There's no way he could have been hunted down, not with his erratic traveling and lack of paper trail, nor would Ritz care this much.

But Ritz would! He loved to play mind games and– Nope! Rational thoughts only! Not to mention he hadn’t seen any cameras, if Ritz put him here to mess with him Ritz would want to watch. No if's and's or but’s about that. So, for sure not Ritz. All of the tension left his body with that logical deduction and he began tapping his fingers on his walkman. But, that didn’t mean he was alone, there could be other people or the reason he’d ended up here.

Flame turned a corner and started calling out for help. If there were things going to hurt him it wouldn’t matter, he didn't have any food or water so he might as well call out in hopes there's other people here.

 

[YsFanatic]

It was supposed to be a regular trip to another reality. Charon had booked passage on a small passenger shuttle away from Hell's Heaven to a world that was supposed to have this amazing barber, and thus android wanted to go there and see if he could learn anything useful from the barber to help his own business. It would only take a few days and he knew that his only employee, Elizabeth, could take care of the shop until he got back. Of course, with his height the soul eater was forced to travel in the cramped cargo hold as he would never fit in a regular passenger seat. Which meant that he spent a good few minutes pacing before deciding to just lean against a wall in low power mode until the trip was over.

Only to find himself falling through the wall and then downwards for a few feet before his armored body slammed into the floor of a yellow colored room. With a loud cry of "Hacks!", the android sprung to his feet, alert for any danger as his sensors went to work trying to make sense of what happened, where he was, and most importantly, if whatever portal or whatever brought him here was still around.


Juju seasonedcat Tiguidi

 

[StrixDesmodus]

Mildred Krawiec
Vagabond Spectre

Mildred had just been about to return the axe to its place in the shed when she failed to open the door. Instead, her hand went right through the door handle and the rest of her with it. There was no sensation of splintery wood, but instead she fell forward against a wall made entirely from black slate. In her surprise, the axe she held was let go and clattered against the cobblestone floor.
She could almost immediately feel the horrible itch of rapid transformation, a familiar sensation from every full moon she could remember. It was the middle of the afternoon, or so she thought until she sprouted claws, but oddly as it was, she was still on two legs.
Waiting a minute for the transformation to continue, but finding that it didn't, Mildred straightened out her clothes, not bothering with her allergy pills.

"Hello?" She called out, turning to face the end of the long, narrow corridor.


Skelly
Vagabond Spectre Shawdios


This poor being had been marching along with the others in his unit, on their way to King Geadwyn's Castle. Unlike the others, Skelly fell through the ground as though returning to his grave, only to find himself surrounded by a completely unfamiliar terrain. A drab yet gaudy yellow, and a floor much harder beneath his feet than the dirt he had been walking on. He landed with a slight clacking sound, upright. Though he nearly toppled, his spear kept him upright, much like a staff.

"Egads! What is this place? Where is my master? My comrades? The trees, even!"

 

[Juju]

Yophie & Chubbi

YsFanatic seasonedcat Tiguidi​

"Chubbi, wait! Don't run off or-- OOF" Yophie stumbled into a roll, her wings and halo knocked askew as she slid to a stop on the musty carpet. "...Or this will happen..."

Yophie picked herself off the floor and dusted off her shorts and shirt. She glanced up to make sure her halo was floating straight, and just for good measure, she gave it a light tap with a finger. An angelic chime rang out from it.

Appearance fixed, she let out a tired sigh. "I'm never getting that package delivered on time. Ok, first thing's first... find Chubbi."

The little beastie was nowhere in sight, so the messenger angel walked down the unusually blank hallway and cupped her hands over her mouth, shouting, "Chubbi! Come here, boy! I have your favourite treats! Yummy, yummy~!"

---​

Unbeknownst to her, Chubbi had already found what he was looking for. The little cherub was so round that the sudden change of direction had done little to break his stride. Quite literally, he hit the ground running. On stubby little legs he navigated around an old office wall to find a purple android. Seeing him, the holy monstrosity galloped up to his feet and began chewing on them.

To Charon, he would look like a rotund, fluffy ball with wings and way too many eyes. Golden slobber was also being smeared over his feet.

 

[Tiguidi]

MIKA ABYASS​

Red eyes darted to each side of her body as she tried to find her way inside the creepy mansion she and some other students were exploring. While ghosts and other undead most certainly existed in the Underworld, it didn’t mean that they necessarily had their place inside people’s mansions. … Even when the occupants died some years ago… Anyway, Mika turned a corner, fishing into her hoodie’s pocket to take out a talisman, when she bumped head-first into a wall.

Well, she didn’t quite bump into it, rather passing through the wall, the dark halls of the mansion suddenly being replaced by yellow-ish hallway dimly illuminated by flickering lights. “Ow…! Is that a secret entrance…?”, the half-vampire pondered, massaging her head, which still managed to make contact with the ground when she fell through. She quickly turned around to inform the others of this discovery, only to see more of this disgusting wallpaper. “... Saslog? Barol?”, she called out towards the wall, waiting a few moments for a response. Pouting when none came, the small girl sighed and put her hands behind her head, deciding to start exploring this secret passage. There were some magic shenanigans, she was sure of it. Maybe the mansion was trapped? No, surely there would’ve been a sign of anything activating…

Hearing some noise in the hallway, Mika cautiously hugged the wall and slowly went towards it; wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to fight monsters while exploring creepy places! But the further she walked, the more it sounded like it was someone -a girl, calling out? She didn’t recognize the voice but neither did she have the insight of avoiding a potential danger. Hastily turning another corner, Mika finally came face-to-face with another girl, though she quickly yelped and took a step back, her tail nervously lashing behind her. “C-Celestial-!?”, she let out, pointing an accusatory finger at Yophie. “What are you doing in the Underworld!?”

Being part demon and part vampire, it was obvious that anything holy was a big no-no for Mika. Fortunately, angels and other celestials were forbidden from entering the Underworld; how did this one get through!? Was she dangerous? Probably, if she managed to enter…
-
Interacting with: Yophie ( Juju )
YsFanatic seasonedcat
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEIL BLUES​

“That’s… not the workshop.”, Neil deduced as he walked along the yellow hallway, curiously looking around. A part of him was glad he wore his tinted glasses because the flickering lights on the ceiling were already getting on his nerves. But more importantly, where was he? Only a few minutes ago, he had arrived at the workshop, only to fall through the floor and arriving in this weird… maze thing. “Maurice, is this a prank?”, the magicborn nonchalantly called out. “Practicing illusion magic? Didn’t even know you learned that.”

Nothing. Furrowing his brows, Neil activated his arcane sense, his eyes lighting up in a dim purple as he scanned his surroundings. Nope, that was no illusion magic… There wasn’t even any residue of a teleportation spell. That was… strange, to say the least. “Err… okay…”
-
Vagabond Spectre Caffeinated Joy StrixDesmodus

 

[StrixDesmodus]

Truffle
Tiguidi Vagabond Spectre Caffeinated Joy

Truffle hadn't the foggiest idea where she was. One minute she was trying not to offend Uncle Napoleon's friends, her back beginning to strain a bit from standing on two legs for too long, the next, after leaning on the wall to ease her aching, she fell backwards., staggering, but not falling completely. She knew she musn't make too big of a scene, and caught herself.
Maybe I'm just dreaming. But how would I be aware of that? How does anybody dream and know that they are dreaming? Truffle pondered this, but it seemed that there was nobody around.
Nobody.
Not a single human eye upon her to judge whether she'd be less than them for standing on four legs. No mother, father, sibling, or uncle to tell her off. But none of her friends, either, in this unfamiliar place. It seemed that there was nobody at all but herself, at least until she heard a voice.
"Practicing illusion magic? Didn't even know you learned that."
How puzzling, Truffle thought, Perhaps magic is how I got here. Or rather illusion, if that rabbit was telling the truth. She once had seen a magic show, and afterward talked to the magician's rabbit. While he had told her little more than that his boss had some clever tricks to make it look like magical things were happening with no real magic whatsoever, the idea stuck with her that some things are not as they seem, even if they remain unexplained.
Maybe they're all hiding. They've gotten out of my way so that I don't fall on them. This is still the old Jones's house. The wallpaper looks the same. It's even peeling a little bit, like always. But where is the table? Where is the rest of the furniture? Why have the walls moved from where they usually are?
But as she wandered, she found nobody but a man in strange clothing, his eyes glowing purple.
"Comrade," She began, speaking plainly to him, "Where did everybody go?"

 

[Caffeinated Joy]

Nyklas
With: Tiguidi Vagabond Spectre StrixDesmodus

Nyklas sat down at his computer, cleared his throat, and began to type:

User Agreement

You're about as likely to read this as I am as likely to get a good tan. You will scroll to the bottom, click "I accept", and then act surprised and outraged when you get caught violating the terms.

Nyklas hit the backspace key and shook his head as the words disappeared from his screen. It was time to stop playing around and get to work. He glanced at his notes, then lifted his gaze to the window and the open air beyond, thinking how nice it would be to just take a bit of time off and maybe fly somewhere. Maybe he would, after this job was done. Grunting softly, he pushed his chair back and stood, deciding a cup of tea would be nice. It was also a procrastination tactic. Humming tunelessly under his breath, he grabbed his tablet, strode into his kitchen and hit the button on his always full electric kettle, mentally working over the syntax of the user agreement he was to finish by the end of the week. He swore, this would be the last job he took with a start up company. Especially one run by humans. Much too eager to change the world, and bloody impatient about it. Yawning widely, he turned to grab a mug and his jar of tea leaves, and found himself facing a wall covered with aged, yellowing wallpaper.

He scowled and turned around quickly, his hand unconsciously moving to touch the scar around his throat. How could they have found him again? Gleaming white scales suddenly ran up the length of his body, appearing and disappearing in a wave as he fought to urge the change in this narrow hallway. They wouldn't collar him again. Not ever. Slowly, he moved down the hall, peering around corners before continuing forward. So far, there didn't seem to be any doors along the meandering corridor, so where did this lead to? He stopped suddenly. What was that? It smelled like...he lifted his chin and opened his mouth slightly, lifting his tongue to lightly press against the roof of his mouth. A human and....pig? His nose wrinkled as he got closer. Magic.

He turned another corner and stopped when he saw a tall, blonde haired human man with glowing, purple eyes, and Berkshire pig wearing a blue dress and pearls.

"Umm..." He said slowly. "I must have fallen asleep at my computer...or my tea was drugged...or...excuse me, Miss...erm...Pig?"

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

The Farmer

Another hard day of work. Said the Giant Human, wiping the sweat off his brow. The sun sinks down into the clouds, the muted turquoise sky now painted with the warmth of dark orange and red, until it eclipsed the horizon. With a large brown sack of vegetables and wheat dangling on his shoulder, he marches on the yellowing wheat landscape. From the far distance, a trail of clouds emerged from towering tubes and chimneys. Large moving rods and simultaneous cranking cogs are seen from afar with their monstrous size.

Hopping into a six-wheeled wagon with a Black Unicorn creature feeding off the tall grass as it awaits its master to load the day's harvest. Whipped the horned horse into motion. Just the electric bulb overhead, the dark dirt road, and the dark unicorn pulling the bronze wagon down the trail kept him company. Nightfall approaches as darkness befalls the road he has trailed hundreds of times. The horse whines and halts as it jolts back, refusing to go down the road. The farmer's face was perplexed as no matter what attempt was made, the Unicorn would not budge in any way. Descending down with a warm lamp in hand, he searches ahead into the darkness. Into the tall grass beside them.

The Unicorn watched the Giant search ahead and with each step, it whined and neigh in terror. The giant's lamp spreads its flames on the floor before extinguishing after crashing the glass. The Farmer was gone.

---

???

His eye opens to the low ceiling droning him. The silence was the first thing that came to his senses, so silent that he could almost hear his own heartbeat in clarity.

"Where... Art I?" Sitting upright and rubbing his nape. If he were to stand, his elbow can touch the ceiling. To which he tried and confirmed to be true. He pats to his chest, then to the ceiling. All rock solid. Where did he fall to? Why did it feel like he awoke late? Why is he in a place that's small? Many questions with no answer in sight.

It was a square room with one dim light bulb in the center. There is only one exit way, a small hall connecting horizontally to a long hallway. Trailing in this cramped environment. He could notice that it is one long hall, and the right side only has a dead end at 10 meters. The left however leads to a cross intersection the same distance from the opposite dead end. He tip-toed to the hall. Not sure whether to make a sound or not. His stomach felt empty and cold from the hall alone. His ears use more than his eye. As he nears the cross the section. A lack of lightning above was lacking. It was dark to conceal anyone who stands under the shadowy cross-section. Stood he did on the cross-section. All three new directions leading to more endless tunnels. Going back is no option. Closing his eye to listen to his surrounding. Fists clenched as he listens through the silent ringing and picking up the tiniest of ambience of life.

Mentioned: StrixDesmodus (Skelly) Shawdios (Flame)

 

[Shawdios]

- Flame -
[Grouped with: Vagabond Spectre , StrixDesmodus ] ​

Flame walked, turned left, and called out. His hope dwindled as he continued on with no call back. He walked, turned left, and called out. At this rate he was gonna be trapped here all alone till he died and his friends would never know what happened– No! he was gonna find someone and find a way out. He walked, turned right, and– Actually, no, this is getting him nowhere. A loud frustrated trill escaped him and his wings flared. Light damnit, maybe he just needed to be even louder?!

Switching to his native tongue, Flame started to screech and scream, ‘HELLO!? ANYONE THERE!? SOMEBODY?!’ sounding like a trapped bird as he did so. Very quickly, he regretted the decision and rubbed his strained throat. Then he groaned at his own stupidity, no one but other Birdfolk would have understood that screeching, he probably just scared off anyone who may have been nearby. So instead of screeching again he opted to stand still, nurse the growing headache that screeching did not help, and listen.

There was clacking and clicking somewhere nearby. Could be someone's heels on this cement floor, but it didn't sound the same as his own heels clicking. Flame continued down the hall and peered down each intersection, halting in surprise as he saw a skeleton down one.

“Uh, hello? You friendly?” he asked, staying in the intersection and prepared to run if the being turned out to be aggressive.

 

[YsFanatic]

Spoiler: Interactions

Juju Tiguidi
Confirmed with Juju that Charon would be able to freely pick up Chubbi

Charon looked down with annoyance at the angel-dog-thing as it spilled its slobber all over his feet. Being caked in blood and gore didn't bother the android, but fluids from the mouths of fleshies? That was almost as bad as the time he set his head down on a table only to find out it was sticky. And since angelic things had the annoying tendency to be 'innocent', he couldn't even enact any final solutions on the critter to make it stop, permanently.

However, it turned out that he may not need to as he started to detect another angelic signature, a larger one. There was another entity with them, but that didn't matter to Charon at the moment. Picking up the angel dog, the android backed up from the direction of the other two entities as much as possible before tucking the slobbering critter under an arm like a football. Then he burst forward into a sprint directly towards the other angelic being, the thrusters on his back meant to help boost forward movement flaring to life for a moment for that bit of extra speed that he needed to shoulder tackle through the cinderblock wall with an explosive crash.

Ignoring the fact that his actions had caused the two beings on the other side to be coated with dust and pelted with small bits of debris, Charon thrust both hands out towards Yophie, holding the angel dog out to her. When he spoke, the volume was turned all the way up, turning the simple statement into something capable of inflicting headaches and ringing people's ears if they were standing too close to him. Which unfortunately was the case for both Yophie and Mika. "TAKE CARE OF YOUR DOG."

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

The Banker​

"See ya later, Ganha! I'm off for lunch break!" Lifting the reflective black suitcase off the ground. The sun over the shining glass dome overhead seeps with its rays down on the golden pillars of the Neo-classical inspired bank. From the marbled tiles to the crowned chandeliers above. By passing those in the station, appearing human except for the fact that everything seems to be made of inorganic material, even the denizens of this bank.

Entering a golden framed door from the back of the desk area. Passing steel vaults, and circular doors with num pads way too large to press by any of the current employees. Taking a turn left, the suited lad enters a plastic white door that made no creaks. Inside is an ordinary plastic white pantry with little to no inspiration to be as grandiose as the bank shown outside. It almost looks. Liminal.

Before he could run to the fridge, a loud crashing of what hears to be toppled items were heard through a closet door. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Furrowing his eyebrow as he slowly tip-toed towards the closet door ahead. "Is that you, Fizo? You are supposed to be back to work 20 minutes ago." The door creaks open, with a flick of a switch. Lights revealed toppled mops and buckets in the center of the rather large room. No one in sight, no one to find as from the doorway angle, there is no blind spot. What did capture his eyes was a wall to the left. Slightly muted in color it looked older than most of the white wallpaper. It almost has a pattern. It was unexplainable why he was so drawn to it.

Carefully he reaches out into the shaded wall. His hand immediately sucked through. Gravitating his hand so quickly he didn't have time for violent reactions.

???​

The face was lifted off the stinking floor. A strangely familiar but unrecognized bulb overhead. "Hello? Where am I? I've never seen this part of the bank before..." Just a couple feet ahead was his suitcase. His face twisted into an uneasy expression. The loneliness was suffocating. Quickly running out of the empty room he was in. He realized, that the way the place was built was nothing like he has seen and appeared to be not made for people like him.

He dashed off into the long corridors and empty doorways, rooms without furniture and purpose. No signs leading anywhere. It was like a maze.

"WhereAmI?WhereAmI?Hello!?ANYONE!?SOMEBODY!?ANYBODY!?HELLEP!?" The more frantic his cries came, the faster he ran. Turning to every turn he could find himself in. Felt like running in circles. Lacking the body to perform dashing through endless halls, he collapsed to the floor. Panting heavily as he stares blankly into the drab flooring. The air felt tighter to his inorganic lungs.

He froze stiff. Seeing a Humanoid figure across the hall. Distant enough to be unfamiliar but the shape of consistency is familiar. Should the figure approach him, One would find his hands slowly crawling backward. Trying to get up and flee. It was Human but why does it look, almost uncanny?

Interaction: Tiguidi
Mentioned: StrixDesmodus Caffeinated Joy

 

[Tiguidi]

NEIL BLUES​

Neil had to pause, blinking a few times. He canceled his arcane sense, the purple dim in his eyes vanishing, and looked down at the… pig, that approached him like he was someone they’ve known for a while. Now this wouldn’t be the first time the magicborn has encountered a talking animal but there were a lot of confusing events that were piling up in quick succession. He needed a break already.

“Uhhh…”, he began, pausing when a humanoid shape appeared around a corner of the sickly yellow maze; another human? At least that’s what it looked at first. Regardless, Neil had no idea who these people were so that at least confirmed that he wasn’t somewhere at the workshop, instead being… "... Shit, where even ARE we…?"

“I don’t think any one of us has fallen asleep, seems a bit too real to me.”, he mumbled. “It looks like we’re the ones who went away. Uh, somewhere…”, he added, glancing down at the pig.

A sound in the distance grabbed his attention. Furrowing his brows, the magicborn tilted his body so he could see behind the towering pale humanoid, noticing another humanoid, this one on the floor and looking absolutely terrified. “And another joins us.”, he flatly commented.
-
StrixDesmodus (Truffle) Caffeinated Joy (Nyklas) Vagabond Spectre (Arlund)

 

[StrixDesmodus]

Skelly
Vagabond Spectre Shawdios

"One wouldst hope, as long as thou art not of King Geadwyn or his kin." His tone was ambiguous, but leaned slightly to warmth.
Skelly shifted his position so that instead of leaning on his spear, it lay slack in his hand. The lights in his eye sockets, previously a bright yellow, now became slightly greenish and dimmer, though it was difficult to tell in the brightness of the halls.
"Beware, though, that there is something gargantuan afoot in this bedeviled place. Can thou hear it also?"


Truffle
Caffeinated Joy Tiguidi

"That makes more sense, but sir, please watch your language." Truffle then turned to face the other man, the one who was paler than most of the humans she'd ever seen. "What's a computer, anyway?"
Truffle could hear panic and hyperventilation in the distance, and eventually came to see another human-looking being.
"It appears so," She agreed, "Perhaps we should try and help." She approached the third humanoid, her hooves making a muffled click though the carpet. When she got to Arlund, she dropped to all-fours to better examine him.
"Are you alright, sir?"

 

[Caffeinated Joy]

Tricia Bourque
With: SavannahSmiles StrixDesmodus

There was nothing quite like playing the opening cords of a song and hearing the audience lose their shit. Even better when all you had to do was play, because every single person out there knew the lyrics and took over singing. It happened almost every time the Vicious McMuffins sang Monsters at Midnight, and tonight was no exception. She glanced over her shoulder at Luthien, on the drums, then at Alais, on bass, shooting them both a grin. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, even as exhaustion wore at her. This had been an amazing tour, and this show, in her hometown, simply epic.

The lights dropped as the final wails from her guitar filled the air like the cry of a banshee, mingling with the cheers and thundering applause. She closed her eyes to soak it all in and shook out her hands, readying herself to perform their first of three planned encores – maybe 4 if it went well, and it likely would.

The sudden silence seemed deafening.

She opened her eyes, sucking in a confused breath at the yellow walls and flickering lights.

“Luthien?” She called, “Alais? Whu…what’s going on? Luth?” She strained to hear anything, only getting the electric buzz of the lights above. She’d heard horrifying tales of fans using magic to teleport performers right off the stage, which is why they had paid a lot of money to put anti-magic shields up on the stage, and around the seating. Whatever magic had brought her here, it shouldn’t have worked.

She turned around, spotting an endless hallway, and the aux cable for her guitar trailing behind her, no longer attached to her amp. The first tendrils of worry clenched like a fist in her stomach as she picked the cable up and coiled it neatly. In front of her, the hall corridor continued, turning right after about 4 meters.

“Where the ever-loving hell am I?” She asked softly, walking forward, "Hello?" She asked, in voice sounding much braver than she felt, "Is anyone here?"

---

Nyklas
With: Tiguidi Vagabond Spectre StrixDesmodus

Nyklas shook his head, “I don’t know where we are. This place smells…old, but…not? Weird.”

He looked at the pig, “What’s a computer? You’ve never seen one? Well, it’s…” He paused, trying to thin of the simplest answer, “Well, simply, it’s a device that takes digitized data and manipulates it for a result based on a program, or software, or…a series of instructions. Like a game, or word processing, or music. D’you know what I mean?”

Now what was that smell? He turned slowly as the sour smell of fear reached him, and spotted a human looking, but definitely not human smelling, young man desperately trying to scramble away from them. “So there is.”

He held out a hand in what was supposed to be a calming gesture, and took a carefull step forward, trying to puzzle out the odd, waxy smell of him, “Easy, there, young man. You alright?”

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

The Bank Manager

The blonde purple-dressed person was not alone. Just around out came two more figures, one looking similar to the glowing-eyed man but their eyes brought them to draw back into the hallway. The other one was stouter and barely resembled a human. It was actually a pig in a dress when revealed under the fluorescent light.

"No! Please!" Still attempting to retreat backward. Even with a careful approach. The lad bashed his black suitcase toward the dressed pig. No intentional damage but enough to be shoved to the dragon-eyed individual who was reaching out their hand. Successfully jolting back up to his feet. Making a mad dash towards the hall behind him, as his shoes squeaked to a hard left turn. His speed made him look like he covered the distance with just a couple of steps down the hall.

If one were to follow, One would find him, cowering inside a dead-end yellow room. Shielding himself with the black suitcase, fidgeting behind so. "Please... I-I don't know where I am! Or who or what you are! Just! Stay back!" Huddling himself tighter into a ball until the suitcase can nearly shield him.

"Wha -- Is this feeling!? Why is it so... Revolting!?" Still fidgeting as he mumbles to himself.

Interaction: Tiguidi StrixDesmodus Caffeinated Joy

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

The Farmer

There were voices, they were close. It just rumbled and bounced across the hall. A drop of sweat streams down to his temple and down to his chin. The air down here was not that of above. It was no time to be idle as he lurks fast into the halls. Despite his size, his footsteps remained stampless. Leaning himself against a wall corner. Taking a small peek around the corner.

It was only a quick peek but it was enough to withdraw to his position and stop his beating heart. A deep breath and a step towards the hall. He made his presence known. He was in the clear. His whole body filled the height of the hall. Able to remove a lightbulb without fully extending his arm.

"You thou. Both of ye. Step into the light." It sounded more like a father calling to his children. His face was fierce and squinting trying to make a clear view from the two poorly lit figures but judging from what he can see. They are strangely stout, Child-sized to his perception.

Interaction: StrixDesmodus Shawdios

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

The Human

​

​

It was nearly evening, and the sun sunk to rise again for tomorrow. The walls darkened and the colors muted, a lone student under the fluorescent light, left alone sweeping the tile floor. Clean enough as it can get. Her long hair was black as the night. Her blue eyes are devoid of energy as the dry streams on her cheeks kept her from cracking a peaceful look. Broomstick in hand sweeping tiny specks of dust. Dusting the dim locker room, every nook and cranny was cleaned. All for a lone locker in the last row, just by the corner. Tattered with Post-it notes, markers, and lipstick all over. Her fist clenches, veins rooting out.

Gently, she picked off the notes and used said notes as wipers to the remaining stains. Seeing the profanity and inexplicable messages made her drop the pile of papers in hand to bash her arms against the locker. Rattling and crashing in violent beats. Stopping into a punch that turned her fist red momentarily. Her breaths are heavy as she looks back down at the mess she made. She sinks her face into her hands. There were no other students around at a time like this.

The time to sob alone was done. Rising to meet the dark corridor of the school. Before she could reach the end of the school exit door.

---

She awoke in the hum buzz office-type corridor. It was an unfamiliar space. Nothing made sense, it was nowhere near anything she has seen despite the concept of the new environment she is now on. Her broom. Laid on the floor nearby. She found herself leaning against a dead-end wall. The only place she could go is forward.

A slow stroll to her new environment. There was not much to see as she was just being ushered by her shoes down the droning long hallway. Again a dead end in front. But she was given another route leading to the right, then a short left.

Her ears perked as her glasses glints through the hall.

Standing in the long hallway, there was a human figure. At least it looked human. It had hair, a lot of it. Her stance was still and her face blank as the walls itself. Waiting for the figure to come closer.

StrixDesmodus

 

[Juju]

Yophie & Chubbi

YsFanatic Tiguidi seasonedcat​

"Eep!" Yophie started, unaware of the other girl up until she pointed a finger and spoke some very accusatory words. The angel whipped around, hands held up defensively and eyes wide. "H-huh? Is this one of the underworlds? That means you're a demon... Oh no."

Almost as an act of defence, the faint sound of angelic singing filled the air. Yophie had tapped into the holy choir to make herself seem more powerful than she was. "D-don't even think of trying anything or else you-"

She was interrupted by an explosion of cinderblock and wallpaper. Shielding her face, and then her ears, she looked through squinted eyes at the android who was holding Chubbi. It took her a moment to process things, but most importantly she wasn't going to be fired today.

Ears still ringing, she picked up the fluffball. "Chubbi! Thank the heavens! You need to stop running off! If I lost you I'd be in serious trouble!"

She hugged onto the Cherub, who hung ragdoll in her arms, “Thank you for your service, denizen, but I should depart now. May you go forth in blessings and- huh. Oh no…nonono.” Yophie had taken out her divine scroll and was shaking it in a panic, touching the walls as if they would somehow open up. “Why isn’t this working?”

She turned around to glance between the demon lady and the android. Come to think of it, underworlds very rarely had robots in them. Yophie had only seen a few advanced worlds with talking machines, but she had never known underworlds to be full of them. She really should have paid more attention in her classes.

“Uhm… what world is this, exactly?” she took a few steps back from the demon-lady, Chubbi held tightly against her chest.

 

[Shawdios]

- Flame -
[ Grouped/interacting with: StrixDesmodus , Vagabond Spectre ] ​

Flame blinked a couple times, the olden English barely being understood through his fluent knowledge of Universal. But the clearly sentient skeleton did not seem aggressive, or at least aggressive in the sense that he’d need to fight the skeleton right now. His own posture shifted to a more relaxed one with his wings settling from their flight prepped position.

“I’m not under any King’s rule..?” he replied tentatively, then said more confidently while adjusting his hat, “I’m a traveling musician.”

His English was a little rusty but it wasn’t too far a leap from Universal for him to make. The only race he and his bandmates encountered that spoke English were humans or those who were part human, and even then English didn’t always work. It was odd to hear it out of a skeleton’s mouth.

Flame tilted his head and listened for a second. Now that the skeleton had mentioned it, he could make out a faint bit of sounds not coming from him or the skeleton.

“I hear a little bit of something–” A voice that was also using an olden English interrupted him from behind. Ritz?! No It can't be him, Ritz doesn't talk like that, or really sound like that. But what if he has a voice changer? he did that once didn't he? Flame froze and slowly turned around, wings hiked up and pinched uncomfortably by his backpack. its not Ritz, its not Ritz, calm down, oh but the tone- It's Not Ritz. Forcing his wings to relax and settle against his back, he looked the giant up down.

Now, while he had encountered some pretty big people in his travels– the crystal workers and rock laborers of Harjewel who had enjoyed hearing him and his bandmates music to name a few– none had been over twice his size and presumably a branch of human at the same time. So with the curiosity of meeting someone of a race he hadn’t seen before overpowering his nervousness, he stepped into the clearer light.

Voice puffed full of fake confidence, he introduced himself, “Name’s Flame, a traveling Porcilavian musician from the town Flurmere." While doing so, Flame took off his hat with a flourish and extended the wing that was not blocking the giant’s view of the skeleton. Afterwards, he grit his teeth at the increased pounding of his headache and watched both of the olden speaking beings with a hardened grin.

 

[Caffeinated Joy]

Nyklas
With: Tiguidi Vagabond Spectre StrixDesmodus

Nyklas caught the pig woman before she could fall, the solid weight of him not moved in the slightest by the sudden collision. “You alright?” He asked softly, peering after the young man as he scurried off, his voice high and fearful. Ask any dragon, and they would have to admit a small part of them enjoyed the smell of fear, harkening back to a time when dragons were the scourge of the skies, hunting anything smaller and weaker than them. Nyklas was no exception, much to his chagrin. Perversely, it reminded him of the tea he’d been making for himself before showing up here, and he sighed mournfully. He'd planned to have a couple of chocolate biscuits with it.

“Thank the skies for automatic shut off.” He muttered. “My flat would burn down otherwise.”

He straightened and followed the strange, wax-smelling boy, following his scent, finding him curled up against the wall of a small, empty room and holding his briefcase in from of him with two hands, like the world’s worst shield.

Nyklas stopped about 2 meters away from him and hunkered down into a squat to appear less imposing and pushed his glasses up on his nose. He didn’t need them, anymore than he needed the blue contacts he wore, but it was better than the stares he got without them. “Alright, then. I’ll address your issues one at a time. We don’t know where we are. That’s the big question. Or how we got here. We don’t know what or who you are, either, but judging by your smell, I’d say no more human that I am.” He tilted his head. “What are you feeling? You mean fear? You’ve never felt it before? Well, it doesn’t smell awful, but I’ll agree with you in that it feels horrid. You might want to try a few deep breaths, lad. I’m Nyklas.”

He paused before confessing what he was. Even today, a lot of people tended to have a knee-jerk negative reaction when finding out his race. Well, nothing like ripping the band aid off. “I’m a dragon." He said conversationally, "You? I've never smelled your like before”

 

[StrixDesmodus]

Truffle
Tiguidi Caffeinated Joy Vagabond Spectre

Nearly losing balance dodging the briefcase, she was caught by the pale stranger. She didn't really acknowledge the aid, as she was too distracted by her feelings about what Arlund had done.
"How rude of him," She commented under her breath, angered at the waxy-smelling one's attack, but soon reasoned that strangers are strangers, even in places stranger than those who meet there. At a slightly less bated volume, she continued. "Though I suppose this place is alarming enough without me being in his face."





Fledge Founder
SavannahSmiles Caffeinated Joy

The light of the Safeway sign glowed above, but not for long, and the setting sun was muffled by a few remnant rainclouds. It was a nice sight, but Fledge couldn't enjoy it long. Their dad was coming to pick her up any moment, but he would not find them on the bench where they intended to sit until he came.
Fledge fell right through the solid concrete, and landed on musty, brown carpet. It took them a moment to stand up, sore from the landing, but the glare of fluorescent lighting glared their eyes as the pain in their hip and shouldet subsided.
When they saw the yellow wallpaper and knew they didn't fall asleep on the bench, their eyebrows twitched uncontrollably, and without a word their breathing became stertorous. The urge to sprint in any direction they could was creeping upon them and fighting the instinct to stay as still as possible.
"This is bad. This is baaaaaad!" They repeated as they forced themself down one of the corridors, trying not to run but only managing a gate as twitchy as their eyebrows.

"Is anyone here?"
The question, in a voice unfamiliar to Fledge, echoed around the winding corners. The words said before it had been made unintelligible by the obnoxious buzz of the lights, which Fledge always had trouble ignoring in favor of more important sounds. It took a lot of focus to discern where the voice was coming from, but Fledge was certain that the other person was just as disoriented as they were.
"Hey, I can hear you! What is this place?" They called out, the relief of having heard another person evident in their voice.


Mildred Krawiec
Vagabond Spectre

"Do you know where we are?" Mildred asked, half frantic when she saw the girl come into view. She considered picking up the axe, but figured it could wait. She'd come back to it when she could, but for now she had questions, and would approach Azumi empty-handed. She knew that she looked frightening enough in this half-morphed form to not need an axe to complicate things.
"I was just in my backyard a minute ago."



Skelly
Shawdios Vagabond Spectre


"A musician? I count myself lucky to have music in a place like this."

Skelly approached the giant, his grip on the spear tightening enough that it wouldn't drag on the floor.

"I have no true name, but my master calls me 'Skelly,'" He declared, "I do not think that there is yet a name for what I am, aside from maybe that."

Skelly's "eyes," becoming more intense in their glow, look upon Alfred with intense curiosity. Giants weren't unheard of in Norepson and neighboring countries, but they didn't tent to be found withing buildings, let alone be the type to not attack by now.

 

[Tiguidi]

MIKA ABYASS​

The angel looked like she was as surprised as Mika. Of course there would be demons in the Underworld, what did she expect!?

She was about to add something else when her expression scrunched up in annoyance. A chorus of celestial noise suddenly filled the air. The half-fiend bit her lip in agitation; while such angelic effects wouldn’t exactly hurt her, it was enough to make her feel nauseated. “Urgh, knock it off, it’s annoying-!”

Her palms darkened as a shadowy aura unconsciously started to manifest around her hands but before she could even notice that, a nearby wall burst into pieces, as if hit by a powerful impact. “What the-!?” Coughing replaced her voice as she was now covered in dust from the yellow wall exploding right next to her. “Dude, what the hell!?”, she let out, covering her mouth with a sleeve. And, of course, it wasn’t all as a loud, booming voice came out of the being who appeared from behind the debris, holding a, urgh, celestial-looking beast towards the angel. What was this, an invasion!?

She turned her gaze back to the angel, eyes squinting, though they turned to slight curiosity when she saw her fiddle with a scroll of sorts. “... You sound like you didn’t even want to come here in the first place. Err, though I have no idea where exactly we are…”

“Gargh, no, you’re trying to distract me… or something!”, Mika accused. “You angels are all the same, buying time while your ‘super righteous’ soldiers burst through walls to get us demon-blooded!”

She turned to glance at Charon. “Though you don’t look like you’re with her… Urgh, this is so confusing…”

YsFanatic (Charon), Juju (Yophie & Chubbi), seasonedcat (Níþimion)

---

NEIL BLUES​

Neil sweatdropped as the pig told him to ‘watch his language’. What was she, a child? Well, no point in starting an argument over that. “Huh, you don’t have computers where you’re from…”, he said, mostly to himself. That didn’t make a lot of sense; technology was pretty much everywhere. Unless…

His train of thought was interrupted by the sharply-dressed young man on the ground letting out a scream and scurrying away in fear. He raised an eyebrow at what he thought was a bit of an over-reaction at first but sighed. Shrugging, he followed the other humanoid down the hall, in search of the terrified man.

He kept his distance when they finally found him, but couldn’t help but listen to the exchange. “... A dragon, huh?”, he voiced, not sounding too surprised despite the reveal. “Dragons normally use an ongoing transformation to keep human form, though…”, he commented with a hint of curiosity, not having detected such a spell with his arcane sense.

"Uhh, sorry to randomly burst in like that but where are all of you from?", he idly asked. He started to have a good idea of what was going on but he needed more information. Just to make sure.

StrixDesmodus (Truffle), Caffeinated Joy (Nyklas), Vagabond Spectre (Arlund)

 

[YsFanatic]

Charon couldn't help but to start cackling at the confusion the two humanoids before him had. Based on their reactions thus far, it seemed that they both had not grasped what had happened yet. "Underworld? Heaven? Oh no, this isn't anything like either of those. Some entity or another seems to have done something like hacking existence to drag us to this reality, maybe even an entirely different multiverse, and trap us here. And I do mean trapped, the portal I fell through closed up immediately. If we want out, we'll have to go find an exit elsewhere! And if I am lucky I'll find some things I can HUG!" The android's voice took on a rather aggressive and enthusiastic tone with the last bit.

Then the soul eater paused for a moment as he recalled something about how angels and demons typically behaved towards each other. "And you two best not have those stupid prejudices towards the other's race. If this place is anything like the time I was trapped on Ravenloft, you will not survive if you turn away possible allies due to such beliefs." Having said his bit and hopefully stopping a situation he didn't want to deal with, Charon turned his attention back to his sensor readings of the surrounding area while visually looking around as well, evaluating all possible paths that could be seen from where they were for anything of interest. He didn't see any point in lingering here and thus would be moving on momentarily. "Now, who's ready to explore!?"

Spoiler: Interactions

Juju Tiguidi seasonedcat

 

[Juju]

Yophie & Chubbi

YsFanatic Tiguidi​

"That's because I didn't want to come here!" Yophie retorted to the demoness while holding Chubbi up like some feathery shield, "I should be delivering a prophesy right about now. So much for climbing the ranks... at this rate all my previous hard work will be meaningless..."

Her shoulders sagged with a heavy sigh, only for them to tense up again as the demon-lady accused her yet again of deception. "Hey, listen here you! The 3rd Choir isn't "self-rightous"! If it wasn't for MOTHER's mercy there would be countless universes consumed by the dark! As far as I'm concerned there is a very good reason for keeping and eye on demons!"

The angelic voices continued to chime faintly and despite Yophie's intention to use him as defense, Chubbi was already falling asleep in her arms. The rotund creature's eyes were closed and the sound of snoring began to intermingle with the beautiful chorus. Yophie looked down at the cherub, her only form of defense, in horror.

Concern and fear painting her face, she listened to Charon's side of things. She didn't understand all of it, but it was enough for her to know that she was trapped here. If this was some sort of limbo space then she would have to look for somewhere that her scroll could whisk her away. In the meantime, making enemies -- even demon ones -- was not in her best interest.

The choir of angels fell silent. She took a deep breath and tucked Chubbi under her arm, "Alright, fine. For everyone's interest we should work together. I'm ready to explore. By the way, my name is Yophie. It will be easier to work together if we all know eachother's names."