pandatreasure | GRAVEYARD

[You know you must have died—nothing is ever easy around here, certainly not quick, so you must remember burning, bleeding, falling, dying?

And yet. You're waking up.

Do you recognize it here, once you pick yourself up off of the hard floor, maybe half-strewn across a couch or beanbag chair? This room died, too: you're in the library, good as new and maybe better than that, only barely smelling of burnt paper and you only sometimes kick up ash, just like those old wounds that finished you off only ache every now and again, dully.

The book selection isn't quite the same as you remember it—all the bad erotica that didn't die is missing here, sorry to say, but so are the books on everyone's home worlds. Snoop around enough and behind the librarian's desk, you'll find tablets: one for each participant of the game, and with enough experimentation, you'll find the one that reacts when you press the button. You're already logged into your Recyclr account and can read the feed, but the same rules apply: 140 characters, one tweet a day. The voting app is gone, replaced by a sort of security monitoring kind of app. Characters can view different rooms of the school, or even place a few side by side so they can view a few at a time, and they'll be able to see the living go about their day to day lives. There's even an archive of recordings, but only the important ones: murders, executions, investigations, trial highlight reels, and major events like libraries being burned down. Was watching yourself die once not enough? Boy have I got good news for you!!!

It's kind of exciting that you can go around touching stuff, probably, despite being super dead and vaguely transparent in a way you notice like your own breathing; you don't and then you do and it's all you can think about, but your tangibility only extends to the inanimate: try to touch any of your fellow deceased and you'll find that you just pass right on through like touching cold air.

The windows aren't bolted up with those big metal plates on this side of things, but look out of them anytime and it's just pitch-black and still outside, so that's demoralizing. There is, of course, the door out of the library—but for now it's locked up tight. Whatever is a ghost to do?]

((Recyclr

Offerings/Letters
Day 11
Day 14
Day 16))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[heh]

Maybe I'll just cheat death altogether, then. I don't consider this round a loss, after all.

[he can be zero for four!!]

Ah, because of the revival thing? I'm expecting that they might revive us all wrong, but I suppose that won't really matter much...

Well, yes. And no.

[since the raccoons have threatened imperfect revivals, he is sort of now considering his motive kind of. . . a last ditch solution. . . HE HAS A BETTER IDEA!!]

Have you seen the messages we posted to Recyclr?

I have. . . but what about them?

[jerks a thumb towards the locked door!!]

I think, if we keep solving them and relaying solutions to those who are alive, we can escape this place.

We just need to make sure they don't get so caught up in hating each other they ignore us.

Well, there has to be at least one person alive that is decent enough to pay attention.

[ She wants to believe in at least that much. ] Although I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up arguing in circles about other things. But even if we escape, then what?

Minako. McGonagall. Shuichi. Akechi, on a good day. Ulaz.

[he does have faith in those who are alive, at least!! NOW JUST INPUT 'DETH' INTO THE GD PACMAN MACHINE]

I can't say for certain what comes after escaping. But I think it's a pretty good start.

"On a good day"?

[ She should be glad she hasn't been paying attention enough to see him on a "bad day". ]

Well, I suppose. I wouldn't be surprised if it's worse out there than it is in here, though. But doing something is better than doing nothing.

I'm kidding. He'd help.

[what he isn't saying is that Akechi probably wouldn't help for anyone but him. . . . . .]

Bingo. Even if we hit a dead end, we wouldn't know the dead end is there without trying.

[ I mean.... fair. Illya would totally understand that train of thought though, since she's pretty similar in that aspect. ]

That's true. Just don't get your hopes up too high if it's a whole lot of nothing.

. . . I've never felt like an optimist before coming to this place. . .

Hm? Why?

Because everyone else seems content to sit back and say things like, "don't be disappointed if you fail, don't be disappointed if it doesn't lead anywhere, don't be disappointed if you get a whole lot of nothing in your results."

I can't be the only one here who isn't thinking like that.

That's probably because a lot of us don't have much to live for, I guess. But I suppose disappointment in getting so far and receiving nothing out of it is only human.