heckinooc | TDM 005: Ch-ch-changes!

TDM 005: Ch-ch-changes!

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

A, Garden Level - Autumn Celebrations!
[It may be November in the real world but when you're dead time is fake! So this week/month GARDENFEST is happening...........aka a bootleg mishmash of Oktoberfest and an Xmas Market. In general: PARTY TIME.

Drinks! Foods! Bad singing!! Drunkenly built gingerbread houses! You're thrown in a festive identity clash of imps and cherubs in the garden playing music that doesn't match or shoving drinks at you. Don't worry, if you don't want a mug of beer, it might just be gingerale! Anyway sorry you died but PARTY PARTY JOIN US JOIN US--]

B, Hell Level: ICE to meet you!
[Down at the HellRaiser hotel, the hellish amenities await your every need, but spooky season is over. Aside from the usual, er, allure of Hell, it also seems to be slowly freezing over. Ruh roh. It's not much now, but occasionally you may be hit by a teeny tiny icicle as you explore, awww. Other times it's a whole fucking STALACTITE crashes down on you. Better dodge or hope someone pushes you out the way!! Look out for slick sidewalks too!

Otherwise, hey have some fun in Hell!! Go to a club, get some drugs, go to a casino, win and get mugged!! Ever have a drink made out of literal MAGMA? Go on, try it!! Slaps hell's cobbled brimstone you can fit so much chaos down here!]

C, Heaven Level: Spice, spice, baby.
[Heaven-side, the cherubs are ready to welcome you and give you the VIP treatment!! Massages! Manipedis! Lavish outfits and attention! You can raise your hand and just get a fucking cat sat on your lap! Truly, this is bliss!!

Oh, but it's also cozy season in Heaven! So along with the best fits for the chillier weather, There are an assortment of beverages being offered by angels for you to sample (CW Mind Manipulation):

Apple Spiced Latte- Tasty and earthy! But you suddenly feel more subservient.
Cranberry Spiced Latte- A bit tart but it works. This might make you sassier than usual.
Stuffing Spiced Latte- There is no effect. Why would you drink this you monster.

For the TDM you can find small cherub-run kiosks with these drinks on any level you prefer! If that's not your cuppa joe, feel free to explore the beauty of Heaven per usual! The beach! Boardwalk! All the cafes!! Whatever heaven should have, you can likely find it.]

OOC NOTES:
-I KNOW THIS TDM IS BIT LACKING SO TBH FEEL FREE TO PULL PROMPTS FROM OLDER ONES TOO, DO WHATEVS
-This TDM is open to all! You do NOT need to join the comm to play in it!
-As a reminder, THIRD CHARACTER APPS are now street legal!
-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

[During the single moment Jonouchi has to nod at the cherub before Marik turns back to the griffon, Jonouchi is, well, nodding at the cherub.

Go little buddy. Be free. Be free.]

I came at y' from th' side! Yellin'! [Jonouchi protests in the meantime, half whining.

The half-whine doesn't disappear when Ra comes up though, and in fact he just dramatically puts a hand over his heart.] An' I got torched two times, an' ended up dead f'r half an' hour! I'd say, Ra owes me, at leas' a little, [Jonouchi huffs. His wings, and tail for that matter, even give a slight shake. He's firm in this thought!]

That's blasphemy.

[ But it's also not the most important element of this situation. Marik, switching gears, simmers down. He'll deal with Jonouchi's gall at resembling the Winged Dragon of Ra - or at the gall of whoever decided that'd be clever - later. When he has a better sense of the situation. Right now, he needs Jonouchi cooperative.

He needs information. He needs a plan. Jonouchi, as a friendly(?) face, can help with that. ]

If you're here, though, I suppose we really aren't dead. As you say, not even God can kill you....

[ This is a compliment. Probably. ]

He c'n take it up w' me if he feels tha' bad.

[That's also blasphemy,

But so far so good! Jonouchi is ~Cooperating~. And he Does have a friendly face! Look at that face. It doesn't get much more friendly than jet black beak with a head of fire for hair right???]

Hehe! Well hey, thanks! Been kinda weird so far but considerin' I was in a group b'fore comin' here, knowin' it's all clerk errors or whatever has been a real load off!

Bet you'll be back t'...uh...

[No wait hold that thought.] Y'know, come t' think, what were you actually doin' in Egypt after charges got cleared...

[What does one do, after crimes are over??? Mysteries...]

[ Marik tilts his head, slightly. ] What charges?

[ You can't be charged if no one knows it was you, because you hid behind your shadow, a robe, and a magical mind control stick! He's seen in the paper that many of the Ghouls have since been apprehended, but what business of that is his anymore....? Just puts a further end to that period of his life, and good riddance. Marik may eternally bear the guilt of his patricide like the scars on his back, but he lives in the light now. ]

Mnnn...well I mean, they had yer name, so stands t' reason somethin' got dropped righ'?

[Understandably, in Jonouchi's reality, they were all dropped because no one saw his face and couldn't connect a damn thing.

Rishid was more difficult, but they figured it out.]

But like, tha' was kinda th' most we heard, which stinks, kinda wanted t' hear more about the 'havin' fun livin' part.

Really? You did?

[ That feels - surprisingly good, actually! Both because it means Jonouchi will definitely be more amenable to helping him out here, if his opinion of Marik was that good after all, and....

Well. Marik had meant it when he'd said, at the end of Battle City, that he'd wanted to be friends. But all his interactions with the Domino City group since have focused on getting the Pharaoh to his eternal rest. Is this an opportunity to lay groundwork for more, even once they have managed to return to Earth....?

Marik has been enjoying the surface. But "friends" are one thing he's yet to fully get the knack of. Is this his in? ]

I'd love to tell you all about it. [ True. ] But my head's spinning from everything that's happening here, I don't know how good a job I'd do....

[ Not....entirely true. Orientation, please.

What is "asking for things like a normal person instead of playing 4d chess"? Marik is an Ishtar. We don't DO that. ]

Well yeah man! I mean, sure phones exist 'n all tha', but catchin' up ain't th' same on a phone!

[What do you mean they only saw you a month later, and then dipped after the Pharaoh moved on, and did not in fact have to just rely on emails and texts for a half year while said Pharaoh floated about like a dingus???

This is absolutely an in. Probably.]

Ahhhh yeah... [Still, Marik's excuse works! Jonouchi hums, nods, and crosses his arms in apparent understanding.] 's pretty overwhelmin', which is weird since they don' tell us anythin' when y' think abou' it...

I'm still sortin' shit out myself honestly, 's been weird. And like, Heaven's great, but Heaven also sucks..?

[Before he can be asked how that can be possible in any way, Jonouchi clarifies.] I gotta come down here t' swear man. They bleep yer swears like it's a TV special it's creepy..!

[ They what?

Also, that's Jonouchi's priorities? Rishid, does he have to talk to you about your taste in friends....? But Marik can work with this. He lets his concern show. ]

They're really serious about being "good", then....

[ ....Though. He has obtained something akin to a halo, if his glimpse of himself in one of the ponds here can be believed. He's got a Ra solar disc. Does that mean that this place, even with such a strict rubric....Have they....

.....But that can't be. Marik needs more information. He's committed the most terrible sin ever. Even if he isn't getting his heart weighed in this fake Afterlife, shouldn't that....? Or.....

....More information. He needs more information. ]

[Swears are important Marik. How will he express himself!]

Super serious. Also apparently they got all th' coffee..? I don' drink th' stuff, but people complain abou' it enough...

....anyway I dunno tha' act'lly doin' somethin' bad gets y' smote or whatever, I think a cherub jus' shows up an' like...frowns.

[He's been surprisingly good on account of being in hell when he beat the living shit out of Kaiba (and had the shit kicked out of him in turn), so.]

But, y'know, lookin' at you, seems t' me like we could jus' go upstairs and you see for yerself?

We can go down too, they jus' get prickly about it.

Edited 2024-12-19 12:33 (UTC)

[ Marik does remember that injecting Jonouchi full of his own erstwhile hatred of the Pharaoh, and then of Yuugi, unlocked a potty mouth on this young man, yes....

Anyway. Heaven tour! So long as he's not ACTUALLY dead, Marik's outlook has brightened considerably. What is this if not a new place to explore, new things to see....? He even, it seems, has new, useful powers in his Heavenly body. And if it's true that he's paid for his crimes, then this is his reward. He'll make the most of being here, then return home when he's ready. ]

Up. Definitely up.

[ He starts moving, nudging Jonouchi along simply by example. You know where we're going. Lead the way. He wants to go! Come on! ]

Do you know who's working on getting us back home?

[ After all, he can't leave something as important as "returning to his family" up to just anybody. He must make their acquaintance. Offer them his assistance, in fact. Surely the likes of Marik Ishtar will be able to straighten out this error in no time. ]

[Yeah yeah, he's going he's going!

And good lord are they in for a wild ride if the topic of That duel ever somehow comes up, but anyway.

Jonouchi, fortunately, is skilled in the art of walking and also talking, and does that while leading the way to the lift he just finished coming down in. Bugging Kaiba can come later.]

From what I got, it's basically every cherub an' imp available, but given how they don' know what's goin' on, I ain't confident in it goin' fast.

[A beat- because that's like, the worst thing to say, good job self- and he adds,] But th' part where they can definitely get us to th' Exact time we were at kinda fixes that at least. I mean, there's people who've been t' space here! Like, full on captains in space stuff, imagine!!

[IT'S AMAZING MARIK ISN'T IT AMAZING??]

Space, huh? Incredible....

[ What a waste. What an absolute waste, that this place - whatever it is - should have the ability to touch other dimensions like that, yet its power is held by the hapless likes of the cherubs and imps. Is no one organizing them? Is no one thinking about what they could do with that power? All the places they could see, could go.....

Marik is free now. Free means free to pursue any avenue he chooses. Without losing a moment of his life at home, with his family.... ]

Keh keh keh keh keh......

[ Wow who's making that devious-sounding laughter can't be the angeldragonchickenslime nope he's been told he belongs in Heaven. ]

Space!!

[And he has this weird feeling of unease crawling over, super weird, why is-

Annnnnd Marik's laughing,]

Oh y' actually laugh like tha' huh...

[What was that?] Uh, anyway here's th' elevator...

[Alright in they go, time to go to happy peace cloudland...] ...Hey, you like cats?

Cats?

[ We're on the way to Heaven, which Marik definitely isn't in the middle of contemplating taking over (if for its own good). Why are we talking about cats? ]

Heaven's got cat cafes, [he says like that explains it.]

Like...Everywhere, more than home.

[Not that Domino really had any animal cafes, but, y'know.

...Right???]

[ Why would there be -

Ah. Marik nods, as if this is a perfectly obvious deduction that you'd have to be an idiot not to make. ] As rewards. I see.

[ He ponders this. ] It's an oversight that fact hasn't made it into any religion's scriptures - they'd get more adherents. Heaven really doesn't have any kind of centralized government, does it?

[ the line from "many cat cafes" to "marik ishtar should rule heaven" is a straight line what u talkin bout ]

Uhhhhh...

[Y'know he has to think about that one as the elevator dings.] I guess?

[Fortunately for them both, the elevators coming down inside the hotels makes everything a lot easier to pace oneself on. It's not really that overwhelming, stepping out into a very nice hotel lobby.]

Hones'ly I feel like they had t' add all this stuff way recent, y'know? Like, people started showin' up an' going 'what's with th' milk an' honey, where's my phone??', tha' kinda thing.

[ Heaven's a hotel? Don't get Marik wrong, he likes hotels, hotels mean you're traveling, traveling means you're seeing new things and having new experiences....Well, he'll take this experience as it comes. Certainly can't complain about the luxury of the decor. ]

So something changed that caused this error and made the living appear. And that exposed the flaws in Heaven's infrastructure.

[ Marik puts a hand to his chin, smirking. ]

That's got to be really hard on the cherubs. Can't believe no one's helping them.

[ No one IS helping them....yeah? ]

Yeah, seems like!

[Oblivious, thy name is Jonouchi.

...No wait hold on, that look Marik has seems just a Smidge conniving. Like things are being plotted. Plots are being planned. Plans are being...

Thinged?

He was going somewhere with that, he isn't sure where though.]

...Y'know tha's a good question. Hard call if they'd take it, act'lly. They're like....real particular about their standards of 'good'. F'r themselves, I mean.

[Something something 'we can't possibly ask for help' something.]

But that's a shame!

[ Surely you imagined that conniving expression, Jonouchi. How could someone THIS concerned be plotting, planning, OR thinging anything?! ]

They're doing so much for us, preparing this hotel....If you hear of anyone we can talk to to thank them, you'll tell me, right?

[ "Thank" them. ]

[Marik,]

Mnh...

[Jonouchi seems a bit conflicted on something. No, maybe not conflicted, just lost. His tail shifts side to side, the fire-hair crackling all the while.]

I mean, sure I guess, I dunno tha' they'll be easy to find whenever I do know, though...

[Don't worry about it, or something.]

We got like, a whole tour and stuff t' go through first though. I mean, could grab yerself a room first, but there's still th' rest of heaven, y'know?

[A jabbed thumb toward the hotel doors.]

[ That there is. So Marik grins, and he doesn't have to feign his anticipation. ]

Definitely the rest of Heaven first!

[ Heaven. He's....He's in Heaven. After everything he did.....Somehow....There's a new world, new powers.....And a friend here. (Even if that "friend" DOES resemble something he has no business resembling.)

What will it be like, he wonders? Aside from cat cafes, milk, and honey. (Heaven is...twee?) Will it be everything its reputation claims, or will the entire place be in need of Marik Ishtar's assistance? This hotel certainly looks nice enough. Will Heaven be big? Marik hopes Heaven is big. He likes wide, open spaces, with no horizon in sight....! ]

Don't skimp on the details, either. I want to see everything.

Awright!

[Hell yeah! Partners in taste! He's gesturing to his winter coat as he leads the way out.] Y' can probably already tell they got fashion stuff up here- actually, I couldn't find a thing like my usual up here, 's been weird...

[That does explain why his clothes actually look good.]

Th' cherub I was shown around by kept sayin' sorry about how little of heaven we get access to, but bein' honest? I don't see what they were talkin' about!

[As he says that, they go out into the pleasantly sunny land in the clouds, birds chirping, angels going to and fro, roads paved with gold...

...Is that nearest building a library? Probably.] I'm pretty sure th' place is bigger than all 'f Tokyo, let alone Domino!

[ .......There's so much light.

For once in his life, Marik Ishtar falls silent. His eyes widen, his jaw relaxes. It's beautiful. Even if the buildings hadn't been beautiful, even if the streets hadn't been literally paved with precious metal - the sun. The light. The radiance.

The sky.

Watch out behind them, Jonouchi: Marik's wings are popping into existence again, as his eyes look out and up, up, up..... ]

Kha ha....ha....

[ This isn't enough. He has to see more. More, he wants to soak it all in, and he wants -

His feet leave the payment as his wings flap, and Marik throws back his head, an expression of childlike bliss on his face. He can. He can!

He's drenched in the light, and he can FLY! ]

...an' over there I'm pretty sure is a games place actually, tho' they only got like...rated E f'r everyone stuff, an'-

[It takes a good bit before Jonouchi realizes, hey, someone has gone missing. Someone has taken to the sky. They're way up in the sky!!

He has not tried these wings.]

Nyh-

O-OI!!!

[It may well be that Marik just flies off on his own for a good while. Just, disappears. It's fine, clearly. He'll see him later then.

...

:[ ]

definitely, just like everything (?) marik does,

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Me like 'ive forgotten whats canon or skein, works out'

canon never directly addresses it! no one is in a coma and that's all that matters! :D what mafia?

im so amused that the f[jou voice] 'DUDE THE WORLD DOESNT IGNORE CRIME WTF IS WITH THE 90s'

don't you live in domino, sir

Bold of anyone to assume he thinks his arguments thru

oh right this is yugioh. however could i forget

i read that in marik's voice. somehow it feels like a thing he'd say, 4th wall be darned,

KEH KEH KEH (i type, and then realize he's going to start chuckling in the tag. MARIK,)

Treat it like a doubled vision- oh wait lmao

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