Obscene Symphony

Obscene's Scratchpad

WIP - Maya Desrosiers

________________________________________ Miriam "Maya" Desrosiers Female | 22 | Cosmic _______________________________________________ "Don't you dare come in here and tell me HR wants to talk again." ________________________________________

"Why should I be careful? What, am I gonna extra-die?" Appearance Maya is a decent height for a woman at 5'7", though she's usually boosted a bit taller with heels. She has a slim but shapely build, fair skin, and long, straight black hair. She prefers business casual style, preferring short skirts, stockings, and blouses. Her eyes are a dark wine colour, and her face, conventionally pretty, is often slack with boredom and mild contempt. When an unusual job comes up on the board, however, those eyes take on a dangerous, thrill-seeking glint at the prospect of some rare excitement. Weapon Maya wields a long hammer with an angled head, equipped on the reverse with a short bladed spike and combustive boosters that allow her to add some extra kick to a swing or directly blast an enemy. The boosters are controlled by a trigger on the shaft. From tip to tip, the hammer is about as long as she is tall. Magic Maya's field of magic is Cosmic, specializing in spells having to do with the manipulation of gravity. Kounia - Maya's most commonly used spell, Kounia is a spoken spell that allows her to change the direction of the gravity affecting a person or object. Opprimunt - A written spell that allows Maya to multiply the force of gravity in a designated area. Usually prepared in advance as a trap to impede enemies. Gravis - Similar in effect to Opprimunt, Gravis is a spoken spell that affects only one target. Duratus - A spoken spell which neutralizes gravity's effect on the target entirely. Maya is still working on this one; it'll take some tweaking of velocity as well as gravity to get it perfect, but the goal is to be able to use this spell to stop a fall. Currently only works on one target, but she's working on expanding it to multiple. "How did you die?" "Isn't that supposed to be rude to ask? Whatever, I don't really care. It's a short and kind of bullshit story anyway. I was 22, your classic goody-two-shoes - came from a nice family, got good grades, didn't get pregnant before twenty, all that. Didn't really do much interesting; you know how it is, half of everyone you know tells you to get your crazy out before you're too old to party and the other half says that can all wait until you get your education and you're out on your two feet. I kinda split the difference; didn't party too hard but wasn't a loner or anything. Went away for school, joined a sorority. The usual. Anyway. There I am, wasting my life studying for some bullshit physics degree, thinking I'll go have a real life once I'm done, and then - BAM! Meningitis. Like, are you fucking kidding me? What kind of bullshit is that? You french one guy at a party, go to bed the next week with a stiff neck and never wake up again? Give me a fucking break. But that's what got me, and then my dumb ass wakes up here, dead, and what, I'm supposed to just be cool with that and move on to the After just like that? Yeah, okay. Fuck that. I barely spent any time on Earth! I never got to live my life there, so I'm damn well gonna live it here until I'm good and ready. I guess that's what brought me to this job. I spent like, I don't know, a year or so just hanging out in Decibitus at first. Really trying to let loose, you know? Live a little? Ha. But it didn't take long for that to get boring - I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a city full of dead people with mortality issues is kinda lame. So then I remember they told me I could be a Reaper (which at first I was like, no, I didn't die just so I could get a nine-to-five in limbo) and think hey, maybe slaying demons or whatever that entails will be more exciting than nightclubs full of reincarnated geriatrics. Of course, now I've been on for about a year and a half and... yeah. No. I mean, sure, you get a little action every now and then when there's a wisp that got a little too mature or some especially uncooperative dead guy on Earth, but Jesus, who figured death would still have paperwork? And like, an HR department? You're telling me I still have to deal with payroll when I'm dead? So yeah, turns out the afterlife isn't that much more impressive than normal life - although not being able to really die again is cool, I guess. And now with the train out of whack things are even more annoying. But hey, maybe whatever's holding up the train will be a bit more of a challenge."

Decibitus

Alright, think I might do a girl who's a year or two into Reaping and uses a hammer. Kind of a bored, live-hard-die-young risk taker type who really thought this job would be cooler than unmaking wisps and doing paperwork.

Decibitus

Double post for afterlife beaurocracy vibes to brainstorm ideas to

Decibitus

@PapiTan Do the dead always remember their life/how they died, or can they forget?

Obscene's Scratchpad

✦ Maya [surname]
✦ 22
✦ Female
✦ Faceclaim and/or physical description
✦ Weapon

✦ As opposed to a personality or bio section, I’m going to request that you do an in-character response to one of the following prompts:
✧ The way your character died (and thus entered Decibitus). Please be aware that all souls that enter Decibitus have significant personal reason(s) to not simply move through to the After.
✧ A brief excerpt of your character’s first job as a reaper or a job that impacted them significantly
✧ Your character has just been given the offer to become a reaper, what brought them to say “yes”?

✦ Magic Branch
✦ Magic
For the sake of balance, I’m going to give everyone pokemon syndrome and limiting initial spells to 4 per character to start with. Please note that these are specifically significant spells that can be used for combat or have a massive effect in setting. Spells for day-to-day living do not have this cap. Spells in this list should be within the same branch of magic–if you tell me your magic is elemental, I want your spells to be elemental.

Decibitus

<Snipped quote by Obscene Symphony>

A good question! I will clear up that every departed soul is okay to linger in Decibitus without issue, but reapers are uniquely able to linger for long periods on Earth without ego decay.

That said, they are able to move on to the After whenever they feel they're ready under normal conditions! Just... Not at the moment, now that the train is borked.

@PapiTan

Followup, how does a Reaper find out they're eligible to become a Reaper? Is that something they're aware of during their life or only when they die? Do people on Earth even know about Reapers?

Decibitus

@PapiTan So am I understanding correctly that Reapers are people who have lived a life on earth, died, and passed on to Decibitus, but who have unique traits that allow them to essentially loiter longer than other people without ill effects? Is a Reaper ever expected/able to move on to the After?

Decibitus

I like the look of this.

The Shattering of Aegis

_{✧ Location: Soft Haven Bounty House ✧ Purse: 12 copper ✧ Collab with @Hero ✧}

Kyreth had to smirk as he parted with Lilann. He definitely had one hell of a story for her, that was for sure. But that could wait; there was no time to waste if he wanted to make a good impression on his new… employer? Teacher? Whoever he was, he was going to great expense to afford a total stranger the opportunity of a lifetime, and Kyreth owed it to him to repay his show of good faith in kind.

To that end, Kyreth searched the room for a head of blonde hair, and approached the highborn eleven woman, politely clearing his throat.

“Excuse me, Miss… Eila?” he asked, “Thank you again for lending me your cloak, and… or, I’m sorry, I hate to impose, but could I— ah.” Kyreth cursed his inexperience with highborn folk as he tried to string together a polite request. His newly-freed tail curled around his leg in discomfort, much the same way a normal person might wring their hands. Goodness, was it by Selene’s grace alone that he made it through his encounter with Lord Mystralath without making this much a fool of himself, or he was that much less prepared to face this friendly rich lady than he was to face a potential execution?

At long last, he managed to force out a full sentence. “Would it be possible for me to return it to you later tonight?”

Eila gave Kyreth a polite smile as he approached her, mentally biting her tongue. She had a myriad of questions begging to be asked, but it wouldn’t do to bombard the poor thing so soon after what must have been a stressful meeting. His struggle to speak to her was a little concerning–he must have been shaking like a leaf the entire time with Lord Mystralath!--but she patiently waited for him to finish.

Letting out a polite chuckle, she waved him off. “Why not take it for yourself? The color suits you better than I,”she told him.

Kyreth’s eyebrows shot up, and he immediately shook his head. “Oh, no, I couldn’t - I mean, thank you for your generosity, but I only need it for the afternoon. The Lord asked me to run some errands for him…”

He trailed off as he noticed the look on Eila’s face, polite but clearly unimpressed. She wasn’t going to budge on this, was she?

“Okay,” he sighed. Defeated, Kyreth conceded the cloak, but still pulled at the clasp holding it closed. It was a fine piece of jewelry on its own, a little gold bird with gemstones for feathers, and it was certainly too expensive for him to let Eila part with so casually. He unpinned it with excessive care and offered it to Eila. “At least take this back, then. I can’t keep this.”

Looking down at the all-too-familiar bird, Eila held back an earned ‘tut’ on her part. The gemstones brought a subtle elegance to the cloak, though she supposed he may have thought it too girlish on his part. Even her father often opted to use clasps without gemstones. Still, Eila thought that he should keep it.

“It’ll be harder to keep the cloak close to you without the clasp,” she pointed out.

“I’ll find a way,” Kyreth insisted. “There’s a button on my old cloak I can sew on, it’s no problem. I just— I cant keep this. People will think I stole it, and the guards in Soft Haven will be all over me.” After considering his options for a second, he gently took Eila’s hand, pressing the clasp into her palm and closing her fingers around it. He gave her a pleading look. “Please.”

Sew?! Into such dense wool?! No, no, no, the button wouldn’t last a week, he would be in a constant battle of string and button and material! Eila did her best not to look alarmed, albeit a sudden flash of amber struck her eyes. She let out what she hoped as a polite laugh, her other hand patting his. She had to salvage this without further alienating the boy.

Clearing her throat, she gently took the clasp without argument–though that didn’t mean she was going to let him get away just yet. “I am afraid a button would struggle to hold things together,” she said gently. “You’ll need a clasp.” Her sentence was insistent on that point. “You mentioned errands, did you not? I am sure we can find something simple in the market that will suit your tastes.”

Kyreth was a little jarred when the woman’s eyes changed colour, but he was even more jarred when she patted his hand after finally capitulating to his offer. A brief sadness swept over him as he realized the gesture reminded him of something Berta might do, but it was gone as quickly as it came after Eila spoke.

Kyreth had to confess some shame; unconsciously, he discovered he'd been using some old manipulation tactics he learned as a child to get Eila to see things his way. The habit was hard to shake off. But she was throwing it right back! If not for her obvious good breeding, he would have wondered if she grew up in Buscon, too.

He rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable with her offer but also understanding that refusing wasn't really an option. With that in mind, he had an idea. He wouldn't normally want to impose, but if she was set on helping him, then he might as well make the best of it. “You really don't need to do that,” he said, “but… if you insist, then would you mind helping me a little in town? The merchants might be a little friendlier if I'm with someone… reputable.”

Perfect. The pair could shop, she could ask questions of curiosity without arousing too much suspicion, and she would save her old cloak the shame of sporting a button. Everyone would win! Eila clapped her hands together, all too pleased with Kyreth’s suggestion. She needed to navigate this as carefully as possible; Kyreth may have trembled like a leaf in the wind, but he was acutely aware of the state of things.

Of course, in the back of her mind, she hadn’t given much thought to the whole Tainted business. There were a myriad of horror stories and the occasional report on one having mugged a merchant or some other, but she supposed that Kyreth’s nature seemed to go opposite the rumor. It was like meeting a bear for the first time and finding it afraid of you instead of vice versa–wholly unexpected. It helped that he didn’t appear the same as the other Tainted she had encountered; his features were softer, kinder, more fearful than arrogant or frightening.

Putting those thoughts aside, she replied, “I am happy to be of service. We can leave right away, unless you have other business here?”

“Only if you’re comfortable with it,” Kyreth added insistently, giving Eila a chance to change her mind. It occurred to him that the air of naivete he was sensing on the woman might mean she didn’t understand the full extent of what he was asking her to do. “It can cause… issues for people like you to be seen with a Tainted. I don’t want to ruin your reputation in a new place.”

The quieter the reputation, the better it would be for her, she supposed. After a moment, however, she realized what he meant. Well, being seen with a Tainted couldn’t be the worst thing, could it?

Nonetheless, Eila waved his concerns away. “The only thing merchants care for is gold. Everything else is secondary,” She informed him. “I assure you, you have nothing to fear.”

Kyreth bit back a groan; it turned out his suspicion was correct. Dammit, what was he going to do now? The part of his brain that still lived in the Dregs told him to let her have her delusion and go with it; having her around would probably make his job a lot easier. But the honest part he was trying to cultivate told him that taking advantage of her status to her detriment was wrong and that he should break off their little excursion now, before he had the chance to taint her reputation for the worse.

And then again, just like with Berta and her fence, Eila seemed quite set on this task. It would probably upset her to take back his request now without fully understanding why he was doing it. And while he could justify upsetting her in the moment to save her the more serious damage to her reputation later, he doubted he could convince her of the problem until she saw it for herself.

Kyreth rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable with his options, until he finally decided. “Fine,” he conceded, “but don’t hesitate to change your mind. I won’t be insulted, I promise.” She would just have to learn through experience; she’d probably understand what she got into the first time a shopkeep stopped him at the door, and decide better of associating with him.

The Shattering of Aegis

_{✧ Location: Soft Haven Bounty House ✧ Purse: 12 copper ✧ Collab with @McMolly ✧}

Kyreth wasted no time heading back downstairs, tome clutched to his chest, and found that Aleka and Cerric had finished their speech by the time he reached the foyer. Aleka was still at his desk, and Kyreth took the opportunity to skirt around the others toward him, brandishing the name book.

“Um, the Lord asked me to bring this to you,” Kyreth offered, quietly enough that the others wouldn’t hear. Aleka continued writing in a different book, not acknowledging Kyreth’s presence until he had rocked his blotter over the last word. When he finally did look up, he fixed the Tainted with a long, indecipherable look. Kyreth shrank under his gaze, and for a moment thought the man was going to refuse the offer. But he didn’t; after what felt like a silent interrogation, Aleka finally cleared a space for the tome on his desk and went back to work, apparently satisfied. Relieved, Kyreth left the desk with haste, making a mental note never to give Aleka another clerical problem ever again. He didn’t make it very far before a hand took him by the shoulder.

Lilann pulled him aside into the same tenuous seclusion they’d had before. Even unmasked, her expression was difficult to read, but in those icy eyes there were embers of concern.

“Well?” she asked, voice a conspiratorial whisper. “Are you alright? What happened?”

Kyreth whirled to find the source of the hand, but was relieved to find it was just Lilann, allowing her to pull him aside. He was a little surprised by her concern, but not unpleasantly so.

“I’m fine,” Kyreth stooped so Lilann could hear his whisper, eyes darting the room. He tapped his chest, the signet ring and letter beneath, but struggled to think of an answer. Where would he even start?

“It’s a long story, but…” he began, searching for a way to phrase the situation. “...Well, the Lord of the House tasked me with running some errands. I’ll explain more later.” In practiced Tainted fashion, he flipped the conversation on Lilann. “What about you? Did you get assigned a ‘trial’?”

If she was dissatisfied with the answer, she didn’t show it, though it was clear enough that she had more questions to ask. He beat her to the punch though, and she took a deep breath.

“We did. They have the lot of us escorting some Red Fern heiress on a delivery. Doesn’t sound particularly exciting on the face of it, but plenty of good stories have slow beginnings. And besides—” her eyes flicked across the room, to the others, and she smirked. “I won’t want for interesting company. Ten days, Cerric said—he’ll be joining us. Will you still be here, you think?”

“Ten days? Wow,” Kyreth murmured. Not that Lilann seemed unfamiliar with traveling, but it seemed like quite the trek for a trial contract. Especially in a party with their gruff new friend Ceolfric.

As for her question, Kyreth nodded. “Yeah, I’ll still be here - Selene willing,” he replied, a bit of leftover disbelief sneaking into his voice. He was still wrapping his head around this whole apprenticeship arrangement, and the thought of it lasting anything more than ten minutes still seemed far-fetched. He cleared his throat. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow morning,” she said, a thoughtful look coming to her. “Gives me time to look more closely into the…stranger aspects of this place. I was going to ask Cerric more about this ghoul—the one that left the claw marks, not Ceolfric. I’m not sure I buy all that business about a demon, or a spirit or what have you, but it could still be worth checking.”

“Oh, right,” Kyreth cringed at the mention, recalling the claw marks those poor graveyard attendants were probably still trying to cover up. “I don’t know, seems wise to maybe leave well enough alone…”

Another look at Lilann’s face, however, reminded Kyreth that she probably wasn’t the type to let sleeping dogs lie. “Or, be careful, at least,” he added, eager to change the subject. “Anyway, I need to head into town soon, but… meet me back here sometime tonight, okay? I’m rooming in the House for now, and I’ll explain everything then.”

She seemed pleased by his concern, rather than annoyed, and nodded when he asked her to return later.

“Suspense, I like it,” she said, smiling. “I’ll expect a good story, Kyreth Bertasson. See you tonight—and good luck.”