It Just Keeps Happening

[pocketspa]

Welcome To The Void Meme

Stop what you're doing!

No, really. Stop what you're doing. Put the pause on that tire fire you call your life. No, don't un-pause it. Leave the pause on.

Where you are now is not where you were before. The details are...vague. The details are always, often, rather vague. A place that's similar, or not. Fantasy Costco down the hall, the Voidfish in the basement. The calm waves of a never ending void somewhere off a while, and inches to the left. And everywhere else. And tapping on your shoulder. It's fine, just don't talk to it.

You're here now. You're here now. You're here now.

A lot of you are here now. A lot of.... you, are here now.

Might as well have fun with that.

[ooc: a general mingle to start us off! Doubles welcome and encourage. Only TAZ characters (canon-only) to start! Post your character's name and relevant aus/craus in the headers!)

Comments

[weedbgon]

[ That bargain that went "well I'm not going to take her soul immediately so I guess she lives forever now and the future is a foreign concept". Something like that. He thinks. ]

Well. Comin' over here was about as far as my plans went. Is there something I'm supposed to do about it? I don't have any angel of death guidebooks on me. What I do have is a few Pan chic tracts. Maybe some booze? I haven't checked out the ol' inventory in a while.

[ MERLE THIS ISN'T HOW LOOKING COOL WORKS, AT ALL. ]

[deathfindsaway]

[Well, that's about as much effort as he expected out of Merle, if he's being completely honest.]

I have all the knowledge on the gods as I'm ever going to need, seeing as I've been in service of one for many years. But I could do with a good drink, if there's somewhere on the base you'd recommend.

[weedbgon]

[ All his effort went into his death count. ]

I'd normally ask Avi, but he's not really around, either. Ah, there's all kinds of places to check out, though. Wine place, breakroom, the spa. Fantasy Costco might have something worth pickin' up. You know, an awful lot of funding winds up in wine up here.

[deathfindsaway]

That's not even close to a surprise.

[Spoiler alert, that's where most of his funding goes, too. Don't even get started on 'but you're dead' or 'can you even drink it' because shut up, buddy, if there's anything he was gonna find out how to do after death it was get drunk with no consequences.]

Though do you really want to go somewhere so quiet and out of the way with me, considering you previous hangups? Though I can assure you, if I had any interest in dragging your soul back to the Astral Plane, I would have done so already before you made an attempt at insults.

[weedbgon]

Ah-- just because you don't feel insulted doesn't mean they weren't insults.

[ Bring Merle your hungry, your poor. Your servants of death looking to get wasted. He starts waddling towards the nearest location he remembers seeing alcohol in. ]

Anyway, you can't take two steps without seeing someone looting or touching all our stuff. I'm no trust-junkie and I don't care about going off-grid, but I think I can play my odds.

[ Kravitz: makes a valid point about how if he were here to collect, he would've already.
Merle: pretends that has nothing to do with it. ]

[deathfindsaway]

[He snickers just a little bit, following after Merle with measured steps.]

Alright, then, your attempt at insulting me, noted. Trust me, I've heard them all. No escaped souls like to be taken in, so I've heard a grand number of attempts to hurt my feelings.

[Besides, all things considered, Kravitz would say he has the upper hand on Merle.]

[weedbgon]

[ It's such a familiar sort of attitude, really. Familiar, but not too familiar. A vague feeling he can't place and then writes off as indigestion. This guy's not smug, per se, but he's not not smug. Like he's got this worldview where Merle's merely a fly in the ointment.

Hell, objectively, Merle actually is about as impactful as a fly in the ointment. ]

You ever think about trying some yoga to deal with gettin' put down all the time? Not the regular yoga. That sauna stuff. Ah, bah, buh, b-bertram. Bertram yoga.

[deathfindsaway]

[Frankly, all people are flies in ointment to a guy whose lived as long as Kravitz. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be paid attention to. Or kept an eye on. You never know which one of 'em is going to slip out of the pot and end up knocking over the whole goddamn table.

Small things that become large. He's used to keeping his eye on things.]

I've thought about it, I suppose. But it's rather pointless to focus on relieving stress in a physical body when I don't quite have one. Even this is just... appearances.

[Because it makes mortals feel more comfortable. Because sometimes it makes him feel more comfortable. Regardless.]

I imagine meditation is supposed to help that sort of thing, but it's difficult to center on idealized versions of gods or the nature of existence when you're living those very things.

[weedbgon]

[ Ancient beings and their lack of real flesh bodies. Kids these days.

Merle heads through the door of some shop or restaurant or what have you, wasting basically no time in letting himself behind the counter. There's booze here and he knows it. ]

I'm not even living 'em and I agree with you. I mean, that just sounds boring. You sit there for an hour and think about stuff you could think about anyway. Wastes an hour!

[deathfindsaway]

[Listen, Kravitz isn't gonna fuckin' stop him. What is he, the cops? I mean, he's kind of the cops. The Death Cops. Not the alcohol cops though, and certainly not moonbase security, so hey, fuck it.]

I believe the purpose of it is supposed to be the intent of carving out a time of day to recenter yourself with the cosmos. Which would work fine for people who aren't already thinking about those things constantly. When it's essentially already you're job, it's mostly just a bore.

[It's also, like, really hard to give your issues over to a god when it's the god who gave you those issues in the first place. And not even in a "oh I was born because of them" way, like a "I need these reports on my desk by 6" kinda way.]

In the end, it's harder to believe in someone all-knowing when they have failed you personally, after all.

[weedbgon]

Preachin' to the choir there, grim. [ He makes kind of a "bleuch" noise. Mostly because he hates that he can relate to that.

The well of Pan has been coming up awful dry when he needs it most lately, though, and that's hard to deny.

Merle emerges with most of a bottle of crappy tequila, which is fairly obviously a part of some sap's personal stash, not sold in present stores. ]

But hey, sometimes believing in someone and having faith in 'em are two whole different ball games. Look at Pan! Do I worship him? Yeah. Doesn't mean I expect him to show up just because I might die or have some kinda "urgent question". That dude's a huge flake. It's-- pick 'em flaws and all, that's all you gotta do.

[ Some shit like that. ]

[deathfindsaway]

[At this point, Kravitz is just kind of leaning against the nearest surface, watching Merle work with an idle curiosity. This isn’t exactly what he planned on doing today, but very rarely does he get to talk to other types who work with gods- you know, because most of them are clerics who usually, uh, preach life-y things. Not types like Kravitz, who do the exact opposite of that.]

The way the world has built up language around gods implies them to be rather all-knowing and infinite. Rarely does the common person put such limitations on someone like that. But it would be equally wrong to say they don’t have limits at all.

[He eyes the bottle of tequila and speaks the next line totally deadpan, as if he already knows the answer and even he feels stupid for asking.]

You’re just going to drink straight from that, aren’t you.

[weedbgon]

[ Merle likes a deity he can think of as a friend. Like wearing a tuxedo t-shirt and maybe asking about his hobbies once in a while. Pour a shot of good whiskey onto a burnt tree stump and say a quick prayer.

That's a preference thing, he guesses. ]

Pf, what, you scared of cooties? Wanna keep looking around 'til we find you a snifter of brandy?

[deathfindsaway]

[He just looks. Entirely done with this entire scenario already. This is so charming on Taako, why is it not here? God, maybe he’s just that in the hole for beautiful men. Sigh.]

Merle, I am immeasurably old, beyond the point of death, and my body is an illusion. Do you honestly think I could give even half a fuck about a disease that isn’t even real.

[He holds out his hand as if to say ‘give him that’, because fuck you, fuck you is why.]

merle and kravitz on a platonic garbage tequila date. my favorite lunar interlude.

[weedbgon]

[ Wine, pottery, and emotionally connecting chats with a beautiful elf versus cheap stolen booze and no-tact conversations with a crunchy dwarf who wears socks with sandals. The beauty lies in the details. ]

Hey, that's the spirit, kid! [ Merle hands it over as if to say CHUG IT CHUG IT CHUG IT. ] Live a little! You know. All things considered. If you can find fun anywhere, you gotta go for it fast.

hard same though, why haven't they done this sooner

[deathfindsaway]

If anyone's going to be calling anyone 'kid', here, I hardly think it's the direction in which you just used it.

[Well, he'll never be Taako, but. Maybe it's better there's only one of that anyway. These men all put his soul under stress in incredibly different ways. In the meantime, though, he absolutely tips his head back and takes a swig. Fuck it. What does he care anymore. The world is not the boss of him, he's Death, he can get drunk midweek before 5 pm if he wants. Time isn't real.]

It also continues to be ironic that you actually just seriously said 'live a little' to me.

[He hands it back over, because otherwise Merle is probably going to wrestle it from him.]

[weedbgon]

[ That is a true assessment of Merle's booze-hunting commitment. He would snatch it out of Death's cold hands. ]

Sorry I don't have flashcards for hangin' out with timeless dead guys! On a regular day I either can't hang out with 'em at all or I'm the dead guy. Kinda the same principle. You moonlight as a professional party pooper?

[deathfindsaway]

[He is so tired, okay. He's just not as young as he used to be. Let him be dead in peace.]

It's hardly moonlighting when it's a full time job, considering my profession consists entirely of dragging people to another plane of existence to be trapped there for all eternity.

[So, like, yes, actually, he's very good at it can't you see.]

Sorry to crush your dreams of Death being a party master.

[weedbgon]

It's okay, buddy. People can always change. You could get there!

[ One day, Kravitz will learn to party. If Merle has to siphon it out of his own party points, he'll do it, by thunder. ]

[deathfindsaway]

[He lets out a little snort of laughter, because goodness, as usual, Merle has entirely missed the point here.]

Well, under your tutelage, how could I possibly fail?

[Give him the alcohol back he wants more.]

[weedbgon]

[ Fine, he GUESSES Kravitz can have some more. ]

Exactly. I'm a certified professor on at least one plane, y'know. That was a pretty wild year.

[deathfindsaway]

[Good because he's taking it. He's got a damn high tolerance, considering its a bit difficult to get a being without a body inebriated but boy howdy does he try.]

Really now. Dare I even ask what you were teaching? Because I sincerely hope it wasn't botany.

[weedbgon]

Any botanical institute would be lucky to have me. And I'd be gettin' lucky to have it.

[ What if we pick up merle and push him into the cleansing waters of the ocean ]

But nope. Wasn't botany. I invented, and then taught, interpretive jazz dance!

[deathfindsaway]

[Kravitz groans, puts his face in his hand, and then just takes another chug. He can't handle this. He officially can't handle this. This is so much worse than he actually thought.]

Interpretive. Jazz. Dance.

[How does he even process this.]

How... how did you even get there? Not usually something that comes with being a cleric type. Unless Pan is secretly the god of dance and I was entirely unaware.

[weedbgon]

[ Welcome to the disaster zone. ]

He's not against it or anything. I didn't have to go teach dance in an empty warehouse in secret. I just had a year to kill on a pretty nice world! All about creativity! Some of us did music, some of us did arts and crafts, some of us danced. You might not know about that once since I didn't die there. Pretty cool place.