Voice testing

[spirit_says_so]

Great Spirit, what have I gotten myself into now?

Comments

[avatar_amon]

You didn't get yourself into this. The muns pick us. Usually from the worst situation possible, before they put us into one that's far worse than that. It does, however, vary depending on the mun.

For now, yours may be content to just leave you here.

[spirit_says_so]

Muns? As in Mundys?

What do they have to do with this?

[avatar_amon]

Mun is short for 'mundane'. It's what the people who bring us here call themselves. They have immense power, so it's something of an in-joke with them.

[spirit_says_so]

The mundys are the ones with power now? That's a change since I died.

Why do they bring us here? Where is "here"?

[avatar_amon]

Mundanes. Muns. Do not give them other names. Their wrath is disturbingly easy to invoke.

As far as anyone has been able to tell, this is some place inbetween worlds where people from all places, all worlds, the past, the present and the future can come. The dead find themselves here quite frequently while the muns decide what to do with the people they picked.

So whatever here is, it is above all a holding cell. One which you and I are unfortunate enough to be stuck in at a moment, though it's better than the 'games' muns send people to, most of the time.

[spirit_says_so]

[Raven will roll with "muns" for now, mostly because he's not in the mood to argue semantics. He'll also roll his eyes, but no need to comment on that.]

A holding cell. Funny how I seem to often find myself in prisons that don't look like prisons. Please tell me it's not just you and me here.

[avatar_amon]

There are thousands of people here. How many you will speak to depends on your mun letting you, but the population is vast and diverse. You will find some very interesting people here, and we're all in the same situation, more or less.

Well, other than the division of those in games and those not.

[spirit_says_so]

[Raven's content to fold his arms and stare at Amon for a bit in silence before speaking up again.]

And who are you?

[avatar_amon]

I am Amon. I am the current Avatar of my world, as well, which might be why my mun decided to take me here. What better way to cause mass panic back home?

And you are?

[spirit_says_so]

Call me Raven.

[avatar_amon]

An honour to meet you, Raven. [Amon bows, one hand in a fist and the other palm-flat against it, as is traditional.] Do you know if your mun has any plans for you yet?

[spirit_says_so]

If there are any plans, I've yet to hear them. My animal spirit has been relatively...scarce lately, but I suspect that's because I intend to rip the beak off his smug fucking face the next time I see him.

[avatar_amon]

Animal spirit? [Amon isn't questioning that that's a thing. He just doesn't know what it is.]

[spirit_says_so]

Never mind.

[Arms folded.]

What sorts of "plans" does one usually find themselves subjected to here?

[avatar_amon]

Muns can send us to other worlds they call games. The games can be as benign as being transported and stuck on another world to as vile as being tortured or raped. There's horror games with monsters and demons coming after you, games where you are stripped of all your powers, games where you're trapped and experimented on, a game where you turn into a pony... the list goes on.

Muns usually talk amongst each other and decide on a place to put us in quick order.

1/2

[spirit_says_so]

[Raven pulls a face at the "tortured and raped" comment.]

2/2

[spirit_says_so]

[...which turns into one of confusion at the "pony" comment.]

A pony? Why a pony?

[avatar_amon]

Because muns can do it, and thus, they do. It's something even they can't explain, it just seems fun to them.

[spirit_says_so]

Hmph. That's familiar.

[Bitter much, Raven?]

Is there any way out?

[avatar_amon]

There is no way out. Not unless your mun gets bored with you. And that can take years. My own mun has had one person locked up for nearly three years now.

[spirit_says_so]

Locked up like this? Or behind actual bars?

[avatar_amon]

In a dark, featureless void called 'headspace'. Although my mun does let him out here once in a while.

[spirit_says_so]

...

[Well then. Sounds to Raven that it's better to be here than headspace.]

[avatar_amon]

Be aware your mu might develop a headspace. And place others in it along with you. It's a risk we all run here.

[spirit_says_so]

But if there are others there, I won't be there alone, then.

[And in that case, how would headspace differ from here?]

[avatar_amon]

No, you would not. But you might also find yourself trapped with your mortal enemy or worse with no escape for vast periods of time, often without any powers you may previously had.

[spirit_says_so]

So what you're saying is that I'm caught between a rock and a hard place at this point.

[avatar_amon]

Yes. We all are. I'm sorry. But at least you now have an accurate idea f what's going on.

[spirit_says_so]

This sucks.

Where's everyone else?

[avatar_amon]

Other 'posts' here. All you have to do is look around. People don't know you're there unless you introduce yourself; it's like you're invisible.

For instance, there are many others in my mun's headspace, watching you, taking in your words, but you can't see any of them. Not unless one of them were to comment here.

[spirit_says_so]

Honestly, being invisible might not be all that bad at this point.

Don't suppose there's anyone I know in that headspace?

[avatar_amon]

No. But you could talk to one of the ponies I mentioned earlier if you want.

[spirit_says_so]

I think I'm good on the talking pony front, dude.

Anything else I should know about this place?

[avatar_amon]

There may be duplicates of you here.

[spirit_says_so]

Duplicates?

[And this is crossing into Jack/Wicked John territory. Raven's not sure how he feels about that.]

I don't think so. Not me, anyhow.

[avatar_amon]

Everyone has duplicates here. No exceptions. It's one of the mun's powers. Sometimes you run into yourself from the future, sometimes it's you from the past, sometimes it's you if you were different morally, sometimes it's an identical you. But give it time, and we all meet them here.

[spirit_says_so]

But...why? How? I thought that sort of thing was only supposed to happen in rare and special cases.

[avatar_amon]

Think about it. The muns have the power to create whole realities they call 'games' to put people they've snatched from different worlds in. They can take anyone. So while I don't understand the 'how' myself, it's entirely within their standard range of power.

Allow me to provide an example: my mun has a girl named Sunset Shimmer in here. There are two other Sunset Shimmers here from before her present, one from her present, one from a darker future, and one from their past.

And that's what happened to someone the muns are only mildly interested in. Some people are here in duplicate by the dozen.

[spirit_says_so]

My...animal spirit never mentioned anything like this.

[More than one of him? Raven still can't imagine how that could be when the only copies are supposed to be Jack and John. Then again, his animal spirit had also thought it would be funny to send him to his untimely demise, so what else could he have been hiding?]

That's just great.

[avatar_amon]

Spirits have very little power here. Otherwise, I'd already be out.

[spirit_says_so]

Spirits are assholes. That's what I've learned.

[avatar_amon]

[Amon tilts his head.]

In what way have I been rude to you at all?

[spirit_says_so]

You? Oh, no, man. Not you.

[Have a curious look.]

You're a spirit?

[avatar_amon]

I am the Avatar Spirit reincarnated. I am the spirit of every Avatar before me, given human form. I can die, but I will reincarnate immediately. In the meantime I am meant to serve as a bridge between the world of spirits and the physical world.

[spirit_says_so]

Avatar, huh?

[Well, you're not the Great Bird Spirit, so you get a pass. For now.]

[avatar_amon]

Yes. There's a bunch of subtitles people have attached to it for it to sound impressive, but I'll spare you the list of ceremonial nonsense. It's not as if I can do my job as the Avatar from where we're trapped anyway.