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GRAVEYARD ✨
POPULATION: GHOST TOWN
You die - and then you wake up.
For a second, it feels as though you can't breathe, and then your head breaks the surface. You crawl out of a pool of blood and into a large, crystalline room. Moving images play across the crystal walls, and if you watch close enough, you'll realize that you're seeing the land of the living; a familiar space station with familiar faces. You can watch these images for as long as you'd like - there are several very large benches (as in, you have to climb them to sit on them) around the room for you to rest on while you do.
Regardless of how you died, it seems as though you're not quite gone completely. You're in one piece, at least. That's good news. However, your surroundings are not exactly what you remember.
When you exit the first room, a bleak, empty city sprawls out ahead of you.
The city itself is large. The framework of it seems to tower higher and higher than you can see, up into the black opal sky that shivers and curls every so often. A river entirely made of blood runs through the city, winding around buildings and ending at the crystal room. The most noticeable thing about the buildings themselves is the fact that thorny vines made of pure white steel dig into the walls and floor, cracking the foundations.
The residential building is worn down and old. It's two floors, and has a few small studio apartments built for one or two people to live in. The beds are extremely uncomfortable. It has a communal area downstairs, but the TV is broken, and the couches are torn apart. Sometimes, this building feels obscenely hot in temperature, and smells like rotten eggs.
The grocery store is your typical convenience store. There's a large selection of food in this area, but it all tastes the same - like chalk. On top of this, every so often there will be bloodstains on the walls, the floor, and the displays. They change in size and location, each time you enter the store.
The clothing store is thrifty in nature. All the clothes here are uncomfortable and scratchy, and don't fit quite right. While you're here, time feels... weird. Distorted, almost dreamy. As you're picking out clothes and trying them on (no money needed, just take what you want), you swear you can hear a gunshot in the distance.
Enjoy your time in this city, and remember...your story isn't quite over yet.
no subject
yeah... he isn't about to break it down but—he'll offer his own laugh and shake of his head. tearful reunion? definitely not. but it's something. ]
You won't want the answer to that.
[ yeah, how dare he show up here, right? given how their last conversation went..? the fact that he's here proves to be so counter-productive but sometimes you just stop and forget about the bigger picture. law's not above being petty. though guess that doesn't matter right now and he's no good with this sort of thing but there is one thing he remembered and...
he'll slowly reach for one of steven's hands. just a few fingers at first. whatever steven calls him just rolls off his back like water on a duck. especially when there's absolutely no bite to it. terrible. ]
I guess that's what I deserve.
1/2
And then it hits him, really. Law's right here. ]
2/2
Then he had a conversation with Luca, where he, though only loosely, admitted in words that Law did mean something to him for better or worse, and even then, he had held his thoughts in careful objectivity.
And he watched through the entire trial, speaking not a single word to anyone, watching as they caught Law -- and the man hardly fought, nor tried to scramble his way out of it, instead admitting to it all. Steven almost wanted to be derisive about it, but it felt right for Law to go out on his own terms. Even in the execution, in the end, he did it in the way that was most honourable to him.
It was Steven's goddamn fault. Law's murder, his execution, his brutal death in cold lonely space. And this son of a bitch has the gall to smile at him?
Fuck this.
When Law reaches for his hand, when Steven holds it back and realizes he's fucking real and he's right fucking here, he pulls Law into a hug. There aren't tears, but the misery in his body language is palpable, the dam cracking. ]
You weren't supposed to die, jackass.
no subject
idly he thinks of a conversation he had just before he was sentenced to death and, well, at least the dead tell no tales. ]
If I remember right, neither one of us were supposed to.
[ he means it in the lightest way possible remembering certain other words but not saying them. law isn't the best at comforting people; it's not something he really worries himself over. however, this is different. there is a lot of things that are different here and thankfully steven hasn't started crying yet. he wouldn't know what he'd be doing if he was. still for the time being law knows there a few things.
he just doesn't know if it'll be helpful. he'll wordlessly return the hug and keep steven close. the last time law held anyone like this... when was the last time he held anyone like this? well, whatever. law will dip his head closer to steven's and only speak loud enough for the two of them. ]
Do we just have to stay out here or is there somewhere else we can go?
[ because if they're going to have emotions, law would prefer them behind closed doors and prying eyes. ]
no subject
Then again, Steven's never actually experienced death, or literally honest to God watched someone he gave a shit about die like that in front of his eyes and then come back. Not as a vision, but actually. Maybe it just drove in the point that he had so little and it was all so sacred.
He'll let go though, his expression quietly a smile though burdened. ]
Guess I should tell you what's what, since you're new here and all.
no subject
some time later. for now, he'll let steven keep his hand if he wants it and look out to the scenery before them and just see what "hell" has in store them. if there's anything to wax poetic about here, he keeps it to himself and just lets things move accordingly. later....they definitely had some time later. ]
That might be helpful to get an idea of what to expect around here.
[ just because he has to make the joke/reference... ]
Should I be ready for fire and ice?
no subject
He only gives a slight laugh, a muted noise through the receding wave of despair that threatened him momentarily. ]
I'm afraid it's not that interesting. Come on.
[ He'll show you around to the places they have access to. Clothing store and grocery store first! All the explanations included about how everything sucks (clothes being effectively thrift and threadbare or not very well-fitting, you can tell Steven dug out his new outfit from here; the food tasting more like talcum powder than any semblance of real food, the "taste" of things just a bare shadow underneath the chalkiness), but seems like it could get better over time slash indulgences.
Yeah, they're not enirely free of indulgences. Even if it is technically optional here this time. ]
no subject
whatever, he just quietly notes everything and makes casual commentary here and there about what he sees. surprised about the clothing store (and suddenly glad that he is fine with his current outfit), unimpressed about their food situation (did they even have to eat? or was it a habitual thing...), and finally the knowledge that indulgences were optional...
hmm. why did that have to play into the kind of things he would prefer to have with steven than not? finally getting to enjoy whatever it was they wanted to without it being a necessity? (though the more they indulged things would improve...??) ]
Well, there's more here than I would have thought there be. [ he didn't know what he expected but he didn't expect actual locations. ] Do we just stay out here in the middle of it all when or if we decide to sleep?
[ does not ask about perceive other reasons for this. ]
no subject
They had one night and then got CUCKED. Steven learned his "lesson". ]
Fortunately not. There's a proper residential building. If you're feeling like making the beds a little bit more comfortable, I recommend "borrowing" some clothes while we're here for bedding. It's not the world's worst, but it could use some work.
no subject
[ "lesson"????
but he gets the feeling and judging from how the rest of this place seems to be shaping up, whatever awaits him at this residential building is far from anything "nice". there is something he has, though he doubts it'll matter, it didn't matter when they were alive. ]
How bad are we talking about and are there name plates outside of each room?
[ which would be a little unsettling but it's fine. ]
no subject
It's just like sleeping on a really stiff mattress. Better than the first day or two, honestly felt like I may as well have just slept on the floor for the same effect.
There's no assigned rooming, so I just took one. Doesn't look like we're in any arrangement regarding that. Why not take a look for yourself?
no subject
though that's neither here or there because law will make a face at their accommodations. ]
Can't expect comforts in the in-between, can we? I think that'd be too much for us to ask for.
[ again, do people like them deserve creature comforts like soft beds and luxurious accommodations? especially given the current population. no one here is free of sin; it's more of a matter of what kind of sin. ]
Sure, show me where I'll be spending my nights or whatever times in-between.
no subject
Not for now, no. There isn't much in that regard yet.
[ Come on then, it'd just be easier to show you anyway. ]