destinystrings | Ινιθυις Ξασιβυς

Ινιθυις Ξασιβυς

♠ ♣ A Game of Chance ♥ ♦

Who: Anyone
Where: Aramid Room
Summary: You enter the Dream World and are given a key. But will you use it? (Note that your character does NOT have to come to this log, the dream only happens for characters you want to come to the Aramid room)
When: Futuredated to the 13th
Warnings: Some characters may have terrible desires. It depends who is there, but this IS the Aramid Room.

That night, you find yourself falling asleep. It does not matter if you never sleep, somehow these things always find a way, if you wish to come here. The blackest pitch and the sound of nothingness is your companions for a few tense minutes; you can try screaming out, but nothing comes from your mouth. But when all seems truly lost...

The first thing you are aware of when rousing from your slumber is the distant, muffled music of a piano.

It coaxes you roughly back to the land of the living, and when you open your eyes - all you can see is a ceiling of pure red.

This is the Aramid Room - or rather, your own personal room within it. The room looks pretty lavish at a glance; pretty flowers, polished furniture, silky looking bed sheets... but when you look closer, you realize those flowers are fake, the furniture is of veneer, not actual wood, and the bed sheets are nylon. It is like a tacky love hotel - hell, even the bed is shaped like a massive heart, with black and red sheets.

Resting on the bedside dresser is a plain white mask, a bowl of apples which never seems to run out, no matter how many you eat, and a small red key. The mask has a little note underneath that says "Please wear when leaving for the lounge, thank you!". There is even a bell for room service beside it - or so you presume in any case, since this place is mimicking a hotel so closely...

As for entertainment, there isn't really much. Just a small television mounted up on the wall, and its remote resting beside you on the bed. If you try the television, all that is displayed is static, except for brief moments of clarity, where it seems just commercials would play - commercials that, strangely advertised for your deepest, darkest desire, no matter how fantastical or illegal it is...

But that's if you wish to stay in the room. You might want to explore, right? If that's the case, all you will have to do is don the white mask and leave. To your right, you will see rows of locked doors stretching infinitely down the hallway you entered into - no matter how long you walk, you'd find them all closed and impossible for you to get in. You could try knocking if you want, but who knows if someone else wants to answer. The stairs to the lower levl will be to your left.

Follow them, and enter the lounge beyond...

▼ OOC : Instructions

▶ Welcome to the Aramid Room. There are but a few instructions here:
▶ Create your posts and if you want others to knock on your door, leave it open. Otherwise, have fun creating the commercials tailored to your desires!
▶ The lower level post will be coming a little while later.
▶ You do not have to play out all the request ends or beginnings. In fact it's encouraged to just use the forms (reply this month for a request, reply the next month saying the request is done) and handwave. However, the mods will be happy to do a reply, if you wish!
▶ To get a new Persona, you go to [HERE] and pick a public persona, then fill out a request [HERE]. NOTE THE EXTRA RULES AT TAKING OUT A PERSONA IN THE ARAMID ROOM, THIS IS VERY IMPROTANT!! Remember, public personas only! You can request a Persona (or two if you are a previous Persona user).
▶ You can requests can only be given to Edgar this month [HERE] and remember you only get one request per month.
▶ You can interact with characters in the upper levels if you'd like, and go to each other's rooms, hang around, have a drink (what is in that drink anyway?) or just talk between yourselves.
▶ The masks makes it impossible to know who the other person is, unless they tell you their names. Even if they are un their underwear. Yes, you are allowed to use a fake name.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Not a clue."

If he had been without the mask, Sam would have cowered, held his hands up apologetically, anything to make him appear submissive and harmless. With his identity unknown thanks to the mask, however, he just stands straight, letting out a short laugh.

There would be no pretending here.

"I'm just curious- can't fault a guy for being that, right? And now 'm even more so...what world are you talking about?"

"Hmm..." Joshua tilts his head and twirls a lock of hair around one of his fingers.

"These masks are meant to promote a sense of anonymity, correct? I'm not one to satisfy such curiosity so easily even under normal circumstances, let alone ones where it's clear that we're supposed to keep our identities in check... I think it's a better idea if I keep to myself for the time being. Besides, what good would it do for you~? You'll never end up there."

"How should I know? This place is strange...I mean, I got sent to another world in a tower only a week or so ago. So it could very well happen."

He chuckles, giving a shrug.

"But isn't it the opposite? I don't know you, you don't know me. It's better telling others about your sordid secrets if you know you'll be sure never to see them again."

"People like you don't end up in a place like that."

The way Joshua said it, it sounded like he might have actually been talking about Sam's character, the way he acts. Of course, unknown to Sam, that had nothing to do with it. This masked man before him... if he hadn't been created in the facility, he didn't belong there, and would never 'show up' there. After all, they'd all originally believed they'd been taken from their worlds to that place, only to discover that they were actually copies...

"I'm not exactly sure that this place is meant to act as a confession box, but you're free to confess all you'd like." He rolls his eyes. "Despite the convenient anonymity, I highly doubt that a mask alone is enough to obscure my identity if I begin pouring my soul out in front of a total stranger. What is it that you want, anyway?"

"How do you know, huh? You don't even know what sort of person I am. Tsk, judging so quickly, are you?"

And at Joshua's second statement, Sam just folds his arms, letting out a hearty laugh. What he wants? Oh dear Joshua, what doesn't he want.

"You tell me, hahaha. Really, can't a guy be curious?"

"Perhaps I am judging too quickly, but I'm assuming that you are the 'original' you... If not, well then, maybe you're right, perhaps you do belong there."

Joshua brushes some of his hair away and shakes his head, blinking his eyes at Sam condescendingly before giving him a look from behind his mask, one that could be made out just from the narrowing of his eyes behind the eyeholes.

"I've come to be far too wary over the course of the past year and a half to indulge peoples' curiosities... I suppose you think it's amusing, my brash action..." He glances up at the wrecked TV before looking back at Sam. "The last time someone found out something about me that I didn't want them to know, I made an enemy for life. Believe me, I don't think you'd like me on your bad side~"

"Now what do you mean by that? In a way, I'm not the original me." He laughs quietly, as if remembering a particularly good inside joke. "In a way, I am. So, be a little more specific, and maybe I'll be able to pinpoint exactly where I fit in."

The eyes behind Sam's mask are sharp and dark and cold- if someone were to recognize him now, they would be taken aback by how cruel he looks.

"Of course I find it amusing. Why wouldn't I? Believe me, I've done some checking in the other rooms, and my, oh my, they do show the most interesting things. So, with you breaking your TV must mean that something really ticked you off big time about it...so why wouldn't I be interested? What should I do, just ignore it?"

"Well, you say that...but the whole point is, most of the time? People aren't on my bad side. Even if they're murderers or criminals or whatever, I'm okay with them. let them do what they want. All I'm interested in is whether or not they're intriguing enough to observe a little closer."

And another laugh. "I mean, we're all monsters when we get down to it, right? Why should I see you as a bad guy when in some ways, you're almost as monstrous as me?"

"As I mentioned previously, I'm not exactly in the mood to give out specifics. If you really need to know, perhaps I'll tell you then."

Joshua stares back over at the TV and just shakes his head. "It wasn't anything devious or interesting, trust me. I'm pretty sure I was just being mocked." Showing him images of his dead 'sister' had to be mocking, right? That's what he'd come to get used to from Val...

He turns sharply to look back at Sam when he's called monstrous, though, apparently not enjoying the description. "Ahh, do I look like a monster to you?" There's a bit of a dark laugh in his voice. "I'd like to think differently about myself, to be honest. Why are you making the assumption that I'm a monster? I'm a perfect stranger, after all."

"Mmm, I'll think about it. Maybe I do need to know about it, maybe I don't."

He follows Joshua's gaze to the broken television, before shaking his head. "Even if it was mocking, it really got you quite upset, didn't it? Interesting, that something can get so deep under your skin like that..."

And he turns back to meet Joshua's gaze, and his eyes almost glimmer in dark amusement. "Because everyone's a monster. They just don't want to admit it. I admit it, and I'm fine with it, even more powerful for knowing it, even. It's the ones who fight with what they are that are the weakest and lose out, in the end."

"I've had to deal with it for quite a long time... everyone reaches a point where they've just had enough, hm~?" He shakes his head a little and turns his gaze away from Sam at the further implication of him being monstrous...

"The only monsters there are would be those who lost their humanity... I know many people who've never lost sight of that, and are strong because of that..." Joshua runs his fingers through his hair a bit.

"So, no... not everyone is a monster. I know for a fact this isn't true. So what makes you so sure that I am?"

"Ah, so I got to see your breaking point?" Sam's dark eyes narrow in sordid amusement at that, and even though it's not visible, there is definitely a wide grin on his face at that. "How nice."

"Not necessarily." A waggle of the finger, as if he's scolding a child who is refusing to listen. "Sure, humanity is a wonderful thing and all, it's true. But simply having it doesn't excuse you from anything at all."

And he moves closer, to Joshua as he speaks, eyes never leaving the other's mask. "You see, even the worst monsters have humanity too! Like the serial killer who loves his wife, no matter what, or the person who tortures others mercilessly because it's his coping mechanism for dealing with the death of his daughter. In fact, I would hazard to say that humans are the worst monsters of all. Because some are so amoral and do terrible things that would make even the king of hell himself shudder...and then turn around and do things like donate to charity or some other nice deed. Such a beautiful, beautiful paradox..."

He lets out a laugh. "So, give it up. Everyone is a monster when they get right down to it. It's the ones who pretend that they aren't who are just setting themselves up to ruin."

Joshua has to laugh at that. Heartily. He puts his hand over the mask where his mouth would be and throws back his head as he laughs. "Hardly!!" The Composer shakes his head as he chuckles, one of his hands shoved into his pockets and the other flourishing through the air. "You witnessed me getting short with these antics. A mere slip of my temper. The psychological games have become stale, they're far from breaking me."

Whether or not that was entirely true, of course, he was going to keep to himself...

And Joshua is no less amused by the strange logic presented by the other masked man. He pulls his hand out of his pocket just to give a short, sarcastic clap.

"Bravo, then. Only I believe there's one fatal flaw to your logic. By claiming that humanity is capable of existing in monsters as well, by claiming that some have the morality to commit atrocities and then turn one-eighty degrees and perform the kindest of deeds, you've only proven half of your claim: Everyone is capable of being a monster."

Joshua takes his own step closer, inspecting the other with insatiable curiosity. "I wonder what sort of monster you are, then... Are you as two-faced as the devoted serial killer, or the coping maniac?"

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Ινιθυις Ξασιβυς

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