[text]

[unpocoloco]

Hola, Haven. I'm Héctor. Adding myself to the list of those asking strangers some even stranger questions, but after talking with some people, I'm wondering how many here are familiar with their world's afterlives. Who's been there and can you tell me what it was like for you?

With no connection to the other thing, I've also heard that the gods here sometimes give people powers. Whoever's willing to share that, what did you end up getting? Do you have any guesses why?

Comments

[whenyouneedme]

Ain't sure bout that first one.

[His world just had folks that sometimes just... didn't die?]

I got electric powers while I was here tho. Not super sure why, but they're handy for keepin my bike charged.

[voidbug]

i have seen ghosts. but i am not sure where they go after they are gone

[unpocoloco]

[It be like that sometimes...]

Mina mentioned you when I talked to her. It certainly sounds convenient. Do you know when you got it?

[unpocoloco]

I'd imagine it's common, to not know where they go. Do people in your world normally see the dead?

[whenyouneedme]

geez uh... over a year ago, I think. Maybe it's just cuz she already has a quirk, but Mina's seems to have gone way easier for her. Mine was pretty wild at first, kept blowin lightbulbs up on accident

[unpocoloco]

Ouch. That would make sense though. I had a place give me wings once, of all things, and I was hopeless with them for months. People who already have magic in their worlds tend to adapt better when these weirder things happen, I think.

[voidbug]

i don't think so

[Really doesn't seem likely, but, hard to know for certain.]

[whenyouneedme]

man you'd think wings would be cool but i bet they must have been weird.

[Reyson's always seemed like they were great until it came down to things like... sitting on a couch or going to bed. Not enviable.]

but yeah having a frame of reference is probably super helpful. I got it under control after a while and then they got stronger so that was neat i guess

[unpocoloco]

Just you then?

I haven't run into people who could see the dead before, but, this is also the first time I've been in the living world in many years. That sounds like it could get very hectic, if a lot of people want to talk to you. Or talk through you.

[unpocoloco]

Extremely weird. It's like if you grew another set of arms, but far more inconvenient. I could barely move without getting them tangled up with each other and once I did get in the air, it took me even longer to be okay with the heights. I'm great at flying now, but it's a useless skill since I don't have them anymore. Still, wouldn't have gotten anywhere if I hadn't had Nekane's help.

[Good thing he was already a side-sleeper. Couches were a struggle though and falling on them was not a good time.]

It's good you got a handle on it, even if you didn't have as much to go off of. Strange to think the gods would just give something like that for no reason though. I keep wondering if it was a reward or something they hope you'd use for something, but I guess there's no way to tell.

[voidbug]

i did not always used to. needed some help

are you dead?

[unpocoloco]

You needed help to see the dead?

[So, they learned this on purpose?]

I was dead. I consider myself a dead man, but I'm in a living body now in a living world so I guess I am alive currently. Somehow.

[voidbug]

i needed it in order to do something [How specific!]

but i never heard of the dead coming back that way

[unpocoloco]

[Very specific.]

And... what was that?

I imagine you wouldn't have. Being revived by another world is new to me too. But the rules of each world are different. That's why I was curious about what it was like for other souls.

[voidbug]

to save the kingdom

[...Slightly more specific.]

so it was this world that brought you back?

[unpocoloco]

[Slightly...]

That sounds like a long story.

It is. These gods did it, I think. Though, I should say, that even before that I was saved from disappearing entirely by another afterlife. That was not the same as being alive again though. Death was fickle in that place.

[voidbug]

why would there be two afterlives? [Or...did they misread that?]

[unpocoloco]

[Behind his teeth, the bitter words snarled: God was a bastard. He's not going to type that though.]

The universe is very big and very weird. I think the one was at least something experimental, though I wouldn't say it was a mistake. One was connected to my world alone though, while the other was connected to many. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

[voidbug]

[It doesn't really explain much. Why does everything have to be so complicated...]

is it supposed to be normal?

[Something about that question, was making them feel a bit uneasy for some reason.]

[unpocoloco]

I can't say. I'd have to know more about other worlds and their afterlives. My guess is no. There were a lot of mistakes made in the one.

[menaretrash]

I haven't really 'died' necessarily but I was forced to disappear when everyone forgot I existed. When that happened, I woke up in a prison filled with despair. In the end everything worked out but, that's really the only experience I've got to draw on.

[unpocoloco]

[Wow, that's... stunningly familiar in a very, very painful way. It's actually breathtaking how much so.]

I think that counts enough. We have something like that, in my afterlife. When no one in the living world remembers you, you fade away. The final death. I'm sorry that you know what that's like.

If it's not too painful, what was this prison of despair?

[menaretrash]

It's what happens when you get pulled into an unfair game with a God that makes sure you can't win. Even still, I'm sorry that's the sort of thing you have to deal with, too. I hope you DIDN'T have to deal with that, at least.

[ Because she and her friends had gotten lucky, after all. They hadn't remained 'dead' for long, and in the end they'd come out on top and flipped that shitty 'game' to their advantage. ]

It was really strange. I hadn't been there before, and my other friends were there too, in different cells. We were just all really sad that all of our efforts at the time hadn't been worth anything, but one of our other friends showed up and reminded us that wasn't true. He helped us get the will to stand up and fight again.

[unpocoloco]

[An unfair God that makes sure you can't win...]

I wish I could say I didn't.

[But that's what it felt like, in the end. Experiment, deal, whatever anyone wanted to call it, it was all just a cruel game. They were all toyed with.]

But it does seem different.

It sounds like your friend was a good help, to help you see there was more to try for still. That's very hard. And you even got out. That's something to be proud of.

Does this prison have a name?

[menaretrash]

I'm so sorry. I'm glad then, for your sake, that you're here now!

[ It's meant to be encouraging, at least. Because from the sounds of it, things aren't looking that great for him at home... ]

We made a good team, and I'm really grateful for him. He was actually here for a while, but he's gone now.

My friend called it the Velvet Room. He'd been there several times, but that was the first for the rest of us.