idolpro | ??? Explora Session 2: 6PM PST/8PM CST/9PM EST Start

[ You reach the top, though perhaps not without injury, to find yourself presented with two gates. The first of the pair is filigreed, pearlescent and raised open, inviting you in.

Beyond it, a second gate is shut. This gate is not the same as the previous—it is latticed, with enough space to put a hand through but with sharp enough edges to caution one from being too hasty in yanking it out afterward. They reach up to the vaulted arches of the ceiling, apparently impassable. ]

[ You advance into the courtyard and immediately, you're made keenly aware of how silent it is: it might remind you of when Tokyo-F was plastic, if you were around then, for there are no ambient sounds, nothing that would indicate that this place has any life—though unlike Tokyo-F, there are plenty of signs that people were here before.

Trees line the marbled square, stone slabs jutting out from the walls that the previous occupants evidently used as tables, for silver platters sit on the slabs along with trinkets, glistening in the sunlight brightly—perhaps even too brightly. On the platters are various fruits, as well as pitchers; unrelatedly, there are various trinkets too.

The food isn't just localized to the stone tables; cloth is spread on the ground near a few trees with those silver platters as though one were having a picnic before abruptly leaving. Some slabs have what looks like game pieces, markings etched into the stone. There are also, it seems, various sticks and balls and little nets set up, as though this courtyard was for people to play games in.

Everything here is bright, and you can almost see the motes of light settling, as if only just stirred. The air itself is palpable, and breathing it in feels sharp—like your throat is dry, or like you're drinking a carbonated beverage. It doesn't last, the pain is hardly mentionable, but the weight clings to your throat, heavy.

From here, there are a number of entrances, though most gates are completely sealed shut. However, there's one gate that's open for you, leading down a hallway.

You may also turn back to the gate, if you really wanted to. . . ]

[ You enter what seems to be another courtyard of sorts, though this one seems to be less for playing and eating; here, there are flower-shaped fountains that depress into the marble like so, only rose-shaped. Each outer petal has a lining of water running through, and every inner petal is another step deeper into the fountain; by the third step, one would be deep enough that they could take a bath in this fountain. All told, there seem to be five of these fountain-baths in this room.

And perhaps bathing is what this place is for; etched into the marble in front of you is some sort of scripture, difficult to read, but if you concentrate you can see the shapes move to become readable:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Given where you are, is it wise to take a bath right now. . . ? ]

[ You’re in a garden. It’s lush, beautiful, and almost too wild with growth to quite merit the term "garden." There are fruit trees here, their trunks twisted and knobbled with age, their branches still low enough to easily reach. The ground is carpeted with colorful wildflowers, and flowering vines and wild roses twine around trees and golden trellises alike.

In the center of this roughly circular area is a broken-down stone fountain. The water sits stagnant, and nothing remains of the fountain’s design except a basin and the shattered base of a once-golden sculpture.

The light here is twilit—or just kind of dim, if you want to be less romantic about it. Looking overhead, it’s easy to see why: actually, the sky isn’t visible from this place at all. Instead, there’s a dense canopy of branches forming an almost perfect dome.

Perhaps this place is familiar to you.

Or… perhaps you aren’t truly here at all? Each step you take, the ground beneath your feet seems to shift and then dissipate, like fine mist. ]

[ as soon as he reaches the top he notices the set of gates and, oh, great. he's THRILLED. trots through the first and stops at the second, NOT APPROACHING, and instead looking around for a key or some sort of stupid ass mechanism, because he's not running head first into them. ]

Edited 2020-12-20 02:09 (UTC)

[He carefully peeks through the lattice to see what's on the other side]

Edited 2020-12-20 02:10 (UTC)

[ fortunately(?) somehow(??) completely uninjured! hops off of pentium's back and wanders towards the gates, hands behind his back (for now) as he leans in for a closer look ]

Oh? Are we finally going to storm the gates of heaven and tear God down from his throne?

[ ...huh.

well, she's going to cross through the first set of gates without preamble to inspect the second set.

obviously if you find your way to actual heaven you go in, right? ]

Assuming God is even here.

Well, isn't this welcoming. [Bladed lattice work and all.]

[Looking over the lattice work gate, tapping his chin.]

[ Through the grated gaps in the gate, you can see beyond: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

[Heading right up to the second gate to peer through]

[ Through the grated gaps in the gate, you can see beyond: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

See anything?

[joins Cobalt to see what he can see]

[ The material is strange, nothing that you've ever seen before in imeeji; it's gleaming and white. It is also Very Strong; there are some scuff marks as if it's been battered in the past, and just found to be unpassable. ]

Wahaha! Even if God isn't there, there's always someone on the throne that needs to be torn down!

[ The material is strange, nothing that you've ever seen before in imeeji; it's gleaming and white. It is also Very Strong; there are some scuff marks as if it's been battered in the past, and just found to be unpassable. ]

[ nudges him from behind. ] Do you think you could make me small? A couple of us, actually. I think we might be able to open the gate from the other side. [ grabs a mouth full of his clothes and drags him over HERE to look. ]

[ Through the grated gaps in the gate, you can see beyond: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

[ hushed, ] Let's see if we can't steal a couple of things.

[ They're walking through the first set, and then stop to scan the second with Achilles Radar. ]

[She takes a moment to look around when she first gets to the top –– she never made it to "Heaven" last time, after all –– then strides to the gate, the obvious place to go.

Peering through, looking for if there's a button or a mechanism or something to open it up.]

Well, that's great.

[Let's touch it! Raises a hand and raps on the shut gate with his knuckles. knock knock]

[Scruff marks...] Why were people trying to break in... [And why wasn't it ever cleaned up. Odd with such pearly gates.]

??? Explora Session 2: 6PM PST/8PM CST/9PM EST Start

THE GATES

THE COURTYARD

THE FOUNTAINS

THE GARDENS

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