heckinooc | TDM 004: BACK TO SCHOOL

TDM 004: BACK TO SCHOOL

[ SEE GAME NAVIGATION TO READ UP ON HECK GAME BEFORE PLAYING IF YOU SO DESIRE ]

A: Garden Level - Fall IN!
[The garden is full of fruits and overflowing with milk and honey as usual, truly a paradise. But gasp, what's this? A PALLET CHANGE? Instead of the typical lush green, it's taken on more Autumn colors for Aesthetic^TM. It's still pleasantly warm as usual though, for current denizens and newbies alike, and it's gosh darn nice to hang out in.

But speaking of newbies and passerbys! If you pop in, you'll find yourself landing in a pile of colorful leaves. But these ain't no normal leaves!! Depending on the color, you may experience the following:

Yellow- Get energized nerd!! Despite just dying, you're suddenly filled to the brim with joy, and far more amicable to the first people you see.
Orange- Ever heard of love at first sight?? IT'S HAPPENING NOW. You may become absolutely smitten with the first few folks that help you out of your pile.
Red- Or the complete opposite! You're filled with the POWER OF AGGRO and ready to argue or fight with whoever you see first!

Or maybe you fall in a pile of mixed leaves that give you a combo of effects, or nullify the effect so nothing happens! Up to you. ]

B, Hell Level: Spooky Scary Skeletons
[Down at the HellRaiser hotel, it's already practically halloween 24/7, but now even more so! The standard hellish hotel amenities are available--massages, hot saunas, all the booze and drugs you could ever want, room service, etc!

But the perpetual night life is where it's at. In celebration of the most unholy season of the year (citation needed), the clubs are HOPPING and playing music loud enough it could raise the (un)dead. . .literally! You could be walking on your way back from getting a burger, and skeleton or zombie bursts from the ground! They might attack you or. . .try to get you to dance with them. Weird. Either way, don't linger too long, or they'll try to get you to go back further into the depths with them. . .

Alternatively maybe you're just accosted by some normal party demons/imps and dragged into a club. Have fun!]

C, Heaven Level: The Holy Spirit Halloween
[Heaven-side, the heavenly hotel is its normal, pampering self, complete with every luxurious amenity you could imagine. However, it seems some parts of the hotel are decorated with more. . .demonic accents??

It's not just the hotel either. Outside, spot angels in all sorts of costumes, ranging from black cats to silly godzilla rubber suits. That's right, TIS THE SEASON, and it's the only time angels get to indulge in more silly ~sinful~ desires! Is this cultural appropriation?? Don't worry about it.

As for you, if you're not chillin' at a cat cafe or the gorgeous beach or a coffee shop, you may find a cherub stuffing you into a silly costume. When in Rome!! You may also come across huge golden depots full of costumes, so feel free to shop around! The cherubs within will also see to your every need, as if they're extensions of the hotel as well]

OOC NOTES:
-"Ash this TDM seems kinda half assed" i don't have any excuse this time i'm just tired
-This TDM is open to all! You do NOT need to join the comm to play in it!
-Post questions for the mods here
-Remember, playing in the TDM does NOT guarantee your entry or app being accepted into the game proper later down the line!
-Apps open!! Be sure to read the rules linked there and check the current taken list!
-For current players: TDMs count as game canon AND threads may be used for AC if you wish!
-Remember regardless of your alignment, you are free to travel to whatever level you wish!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Cupid is not one for violence. She is very very very VERY much "MAKE LOVE NOT WAR" especially as that's the best way to stick it to her father: Mars, the god of war.]

[However, WITHOUT FAIL, every time she comes down the elevator, she gets attacked. What is wrong with this place?!]

Lady Lute! Are you okay?

[... Lute looks like she's having a blast, but this time Cupid doesn't wait for a rescue. Mainly because the skeletons aren't keen on talking. She retrieves the bow in her necklace, expanding it to full proportions and just starts blasting! Good thing she got that practice in recently!] Taste the power of love and rainbows! [Yes. Technically rainbows are still Iris' domain, but she usually acted as the interface for Cupid to convert the arrow arrows and get them through the spring to hitting people.]

[It's true, after the initial surprise of the attack, Lute found her balance and is making swift work of the nearest skeleton. She slices its head clean off, and when the body keeps moving, Lute gives the skull a good kick, sending it sailing off into the air.]

Me? This is a good workout for me! We'll kick their asses.

[Projecting confidence. No need to mention that the numbers make it tougher. They're only dumb skeletons. She glances over at Cupid, ready to protect her if necessary. It seems the other angel can hold her own. That bow is impressive.

Then Lute has a sudden realisation. Those arrows...]

Cupid, you better not be making those skeletons fall in love right now!

[She can't help giggling in spite of herself, and despite hearing the slang "ass" come from another angel!!!]

[So her arrow sails off and hits a pair of sheep imps who start making out.]

No! See, it just disintegrates undead! [But she's giggling so much she has to wait until it subsides to shoot again!]

[Lute's fairly good at curbing the bad language when it isn't appropriate, but if you're fighting beside her, you run the risk of hearing a lot worse than ass!

She smirks at the sight of the sheep imps.] You're a good distraction, I'll give you that.

[But Cupid's still giggling, and Lute's next words are a touch sharper.] Focus! They're only skeletons, but anything could happen.

[They're not invulnerable here. (They never were.) Lute neatly slices another skeleton.]

They're all bone. Weak at the joints. Whatever power holds them together, there's not much to it.

Yes, Lady Lute!

[That's a familiar reprimand, but to be fair, it's actually a lot gentler than Mars, so it doesn't fire up Cupid's rebellious streak, just actually does set her to focusing, determined not to seem as weak/young as the sheep cherubs.]

[She fires the arrows off with a lot more determination before!]

Something from Pluto perhaps? [All the brow furrowed. She's not sure how this works with Tartarus or this place, all told.]

Better. [She has no complaints about Cupid's next arrows. Fast and efficient. Lute's aggressive fighting style means that she's in the thick of the melee, making short work of the skeletons - but she's also good at staying out of Cupid's way, so the younger angel can fire without much risk of the arrows hitting Lute instead.]

Could be Pluto. I haven't seen these down here before. [She can't help a twisted grin as she severs a skeleton's arm.] More errors. More of one realm bleeding into another. This place is getting worse.

[Then, almost as an afterthought-] You can call me Lute. I'm no high-ranking seraph. [She could probably claim commander, if she wanted it, but that would be a constant reminder of ~~who~~ what she's lost, and it's stupid when her exorcists aren't here for her to command anyway.]

Makes sense. [But EXTREMELY worrying. And she doesn't know how to fix it.]

Ah... yes M-- [Ma'am is worse. Her brain filters/half glitches on what she would call her Aunt if given the half-chance (hint: it's Auntie) vs. Venus/Mom, Mars/Dad, Jupiter: LORD Jupiter (she has no idea he's been hiding himself as her pet for years...) but then shifts out of the Celestial realm to humans. Not that Lute isn't a scary badass angel, but Gill would have gone mental if Cupid couldn't adjust to just his name, nothing weird added/modifying it.] Yes, Lute.

[Pew pew!] Are your swords part of you like my bow is? [She's been assuming so, but also very curious about it. She has to assume they're separate holy artifacts, not from the Dii Consentes obviously, but that's odd too.]

[Lute isn't all that fussy about what she's called, but Auntie would definitely have gotten a double-take!]

Part of me? It depends what you mean. How is your bow part of you?

[She's honestly curious, and for now there seem to be no more skeletons - although she's staying vigilant as she listens.]

[Lute would be big sis! A scary big sis. Claris would be the not-scary big sis??? Maybe. Although Cupid did call Gill Mom once accidentally.]

Oh it's powered by my soul I guess? Or spirit?

[Puts it back to necklace form.] And I can't ever separate from it! See? Or if I do, it returns really fast. But Dad -- I mean Lord Mars would yell at me for it. And I don't like making the angels work harder

[She's nodding as if this all makes perfect sense - which in a way, it does. Spiritual power is very real.]

Mine isn't like that, but watch-

[Lute holds up her sword, and then it totally vanishes. She gives Cupid a sideways glance, and then the sword appears in her hand again.]

I can put it away in my hotel room when I don't need it, and bring it back when I do. It's not always with me like yours, but functionally it's the same. And this sword [looking at it admiringly] is made from angelic steel. Kill a demon with this, they won't ever come back.

[That is not true here but she doesn't know that yet!]

Whoa that's so--!

[Cupid starts off kind of starry eyed and then--]

[Drops it completely.]

You're not going to going to do that here without extremely good, reason, are you?

[It takes so very much to bring out this side of Cupid, especially considering her absolute terror of demons, and yet....]

[Here she is, once again, ready to shoot to defend them for reasons she can't explain even to herself.]

Chill. I am not going to kill any demons without a good reason.

[That Lute and Cupid might have different definitions of good reason isn't something she's going to dwell on right now.]

Fighting's what I'm good at, Cupid, but I don't kill innocents. Right now that means I have to be really careful because of all that clerical error bullshit that might put people in the wrong place.

Yes. [Okay scariness off! No more defying Mars here.] Some angels are put in there for reasons beyond their control -- [It gives her a weird gut wrenching feeling. Not like her usual empathy but something buried deep from childhood and her own memories??? Well, she ignores it for now.] And some demons are even in heaven, but for the most part they're trying to be better. Maybe thats naive of me, but so long as you give them enough room to either prove or hang themselves that's all I ask, not that you let them harm others, okay?

And by "good reason" you mean they're an immediate threat... right?

[It can't be helped. Lute is like all the worst sides of both Minerva and Mars and kind of terrifying.]

The angels in Hell have my deepest sympathies and they're the ones I'm concerned for. Demons in Heaven? They need to be watched closely. [Lute is keeping an eye on Husk, well aware that he's doing the same in return.

Cupid sounds annoyingly like Charlie right now and Lute doesn't like it.]

By good reason I mean good reason. Not harming others is a very good reason. If I know there's danger, I'm not going to wait until someone gets badly hurt before I do anything about it. If they're not any kind of threat, they've got nothing to worry about.

[It would very much not comfort Lute to know that she is not the first or only person to identify how 1 for 1 Charlie and Cupid are to each other, especially since the other person constantly saying it was Verosika the succubus.]

Everyone's a threat to someone else at some point. You're a threat to all demons, but they're not allowed to strike you first. [Sigh. She doesn't miss Mars. She didn't go through all those years away from him to miss him when it ~~~got too tough~~~ like he said she would. She just doesn't know how to handle ANY of this, and she wishes he was the one talking to Lute, they'd get along really well.]

I don't know. The dangerous demons from my side were all slain by Mars and the others in the wars. At least supposedly. Maybe I'm being really naive. I was really surprised that most of them were less aggressive than humans or Dad's divine soldiers. Maybe you're right, and it's all a farce, but then why don't the others show that? They have more to gain than lose by doing so.

I think... you might regret it, if you kill them before you have to. You can't undo it. I was using my love arrows on humans without thinking about it, just because Mars said it was good for them, and they always seemed happy and better for it. But it was failing, and I wasn't doing as well. And I thought they couldn't even fall in love without me, but they can? And.... at first I was insulted. But then I was really happy. Their way works better for them.

But I can't undo all the times I pushed them without thinking about it. Demons aren't supposed to be able to have friends. Like these skeletons. They're supposed to be so drowned in their negative emotions they would only hurt and attack even each other. But the demons I've met do all have friends, ideas and other people they care about and want to love and protect too. And when one of them is hurting, others hurt too. Remember that okay? Or it might hurt you back, and I don't want that.

It can be dangerous when people pretend everything's equivalent and there's no difference between good and evil. Their way is wickedness. I'm a threat to demons. Demons are a threat to innocent people - and having demonic friends doesn't mean they're not evil. Of course they can have friends. They'd probably betray each other over practically nothing, but they'd be friends first.

Maybe it's harder for you to see because Mars did get rid of your most dangerous demons. He won the war that my people are still fighting. One that I'm not sure is winnable, because there are so many demons, more all the time, so what we're doing is fighting them just to maintain the balance of power. Your situation is different. Maybe your surviving demons are. Here? Neither of us can rely on it being exactly like home. That means caution.

I've never regretted killing a demon. It's my purpose. That doesn't mean I'm going to fly around Hell killing everything in sight. It does mean I take danger seriously.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM 004: BACK TO SCHOOL

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