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 Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 7:44 pm
The ways that Lionel's life had improved since he'd jumped ship were...myriad. He had a new job now. A kind of boyfriend--at least, a cute guy he went out with on the semi-regular. An outlook that was far more positive than it had ever been with the Negaverse.
And sure, he carried some reminders of his sins--a black ribbon with blue and pink stripes, to remind him of his mistakes--but that was probably healthy. Couldn't move forward without looking back occasionally.
His job paid well, and that had meant taking Leandro out for a nice dinner--and then powering up to spend an evening as Lionel and Laeradr, because everything was better with someone else along. At least, that was his general feeling, now that he had people to be with.
Something caught his eye from the side of the road, as he walked, and he made a little noise of surprise, bending down to look.
A pair of...dice?
"Hey," he said, tossing one to Laeradr, "you ever seen anything like this before?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 7:57 pm
Laeradr had had a wonderful time at dinner. A nice dinner. With a cute boy. A cute boy he'd met as Laeradr so he didn't have to worry about being Leandro and finding out later that Fionn was Negaverse or something. Lionel and Laeradr set out to patrol after dinner, and it was nice to have backup like this, with someone he was at ease with. Someone he really, really wanted to kiss. And stuff. Lots of... stuff. Lionel pulled Laeradr from his thoughts and he caught the die, looking it over. "Are you asking if I've ever seen a dice before?" he asked, bemused. "I've played plenty of board games in my time, Li." At some point between looking the innocuous looking dice over and then turning to look at Lionel again with a goofy little smirk, the world faded. No more streetlights and cars parked on the side of the road. Instead, an endless expanse of black, then, slowly, boxes of light appearing on the apparent ground beneath their feet. "...Did I do that?" he asked, blinking.
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 9:08 pm
Quote: Space 5: A dog barks, fierce and frightening. You can hear its growl and the hackles stand up on the back of your neck. You can practically feel spittle on you. It’s close. And it’s big. And it’s angry. If this beastly dog could reach you, no doubt it would try to tear you to shreds.
As he was explaining, the world shifted around them. To something...dark and different. And oddly...
"Huh," he said, bouncing the die from one hand to the other.
"I don't think either of us did that," he said, "I think...I think it's these dice. I think I heard about this? You have to play the game, and if you do, you get out. So, uh..." He held up the die, and then tossed it. "Good luck, I guess? I'll see you on the other side?"
God, he hoped there was an "other side" and they got there fast.
He took his steps forward, and paused for a moment to orient himself--but he didn't have a moment. Because there was a bark.
Lionel was not generally afraid of dogs, but part of him was sure--this was no loyal, friendly pooch.
"Don't hang around too long on a space," he called back to Laer, as he followed his own advice, moving forward quickly. "I don't know how dangerous these things are and I don't want to find out!"
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 9:14 pm
Quote: Space 3: A strange fog rolls in once you land here. You lose sight of nearly everything, including the game board. If you want to roll, you’re going to have to get close to the ground to even see where you’re supposed to go next. Hopefully nothing sneaks up behind you. Oh, no. Laeradr didn't like this. "Never seen a dice like this before, no," he called out lamely, sucking a sharp breath in through his teeth. "And trust me, I don't plan on lingering. I hate weird ghost s**t, and this stinks of weird ghost s**t." He loved Halloween. It was awesome. But when things started getting actually freaky in real life outside of a haunted house full of actors and horror movies, he lost his mind, turning into a terrified Chihuahua. He rolled the dice, watching it land on three. Eugh. Alright then. He picked it up and trotted to spot three. "I hope I catch up to you soon—oh, <******** me, really?" he called out, twisting and turning as a dense fog rolled in around him. "I can't see anything!" This sucked.
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 9:21 pm
Quote: Space 6: You hear a shrill, humming noise; it sounds almost like something is firing past you–and sometimes, you even feel a sharp burst of air, like something has just missed you. Maybe, even, it does get a slice out of you. Sharp, bladelike threads seem to string up around you; you’d best be careful not to get cut on any of them between now and your next dice roll.
Ugh. A one. He'd gotten such a good start, but apparently luck wasn't entirely on his side. And who even knew how long this thing was?
He took his step forward, and almost immediately felt something rush past him.
"Oh, s**t," he said.
Thin threads. Just catching in the light. Razor sharp, he'd ********." He'd have to move slowly--not ideal, given the circumstances. But slow would keep him alive.
He wasn't perfect. A thread caught his shoulder, tearing through his fuku and making him bleed.
"s**t. Ghost s**t or no, it can hurt you."
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 9:56 pm
Quote: Space 9: The smell of saltwater fills the air, and you can hear the water lapping against the shore. You hear boards creaking, and bells in the distance. And then, a song. Haunting. Ghostly, and calling you. For a second, you fall in love. And then, water fills your lungs. You’re choking, you can’t breathe. The song is loud and seems to caress you, even as a wet chill gathers in your square. Scaly hands reach for you, you gently caressing, and try to lure you into an endless sleep. "Oh, s**t, be careful!" he called out. "How bad's the hurt? Should I get worried?" He knelt on the ground and carefully rolled the dice, watching it like a hawk. Destination sort of known, he snatched it up the second it settled and powerwalked out of the fog. As he passed through Lionel's space, he paused for a brief moment to blow him a kiss, and then returned to dodging the string. When he stepped onto his designated square, he relaxed as the sounds and smells of the beach washed over him. The beach was his home. He let his eyes fall shut and breathed in deeply. "I got a pleasant one! Try to roll a four!" he called out over his shoulder, a faint smile on his lips Then he heard the ghost. For a moment, it was okay. In the next moment, nothing was. He gasped and choked, eyes flying open. He flailed, coughing up water and wheezing with each normal breath he managed. ********, ********, <******** class="quote"> Noir Songbird
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 10:13 pm
Quote: Space 12: The smell of smoke is in the air. You can’t see what’s burning, but you can hear distant screams, and–carnival music? It feels like people are running past you, and the air fills with panic and alarm–but there’s nowhere for you to go, and the smoke is so thick. You’d better roll quickly so you can get out of here.
"Beach sounds great," he said. "Hey, do you want to take a trip together this summer? I can't remember ever leaving the city. Because, you know, I lost my memories." That would be nice. A few days down at the beach to enjoy the sun, the sand....the hotel room....the privacy....
He moved past Laer's space, quicker than he might have liked, looking for him briefly but seeing nothing--and the game board didn't allow him to linger long.
And when he landed, he couldn't pause either.
Fire. Smoke. Choking--screams and strange music--like a carnival ablaze.
He booked it for the other end of the square.
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 10:32 pm
Quote: Space 12: The smell of smoke is in the air. You can’t see what’s burning, but you can hear distant screams, and–carnival music? It feels like people are running past you, and the air fills with panic and alarm–but there’s nowhere for you to go, and the smoke is so thick. You’d better roll quickly so you can get out of here. Laeradr rolled his stupid dice as quick as he could, barely registering the number three before sprinting forward, all the unpleasant sensations evaporating the second he was off the square of beach death. Yech. "Yeah! Beach trip, next year!" he promised as he ran headlong into the same square Lionel was in. Great. From drowning in water to possibly burning up in a fire! Absolutely ******** wonderful. Oh, and dying while listening to carnival music! Put that on his worst nightmares list, thank you!! He kept running forward, nearly bowling Lionel over but skidding to a stop in time. "Hey, hot stuff," Laeradr said, unable to stop his stupid little brain from the desperate need to flirt by pun.
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 10:39 pm
Quote: Space 13: At first, the square is quiet. Nothing seems amiss. It’s unnerving in how safe it seems. But then, it only takes a few seconds before you understand why. It’s just taken a moment for them to get to you. The patter of tiny feet is rapidly approaching. There’s no light to see them, but there’s a reflection in their beady eyes. Rats. Thousands of them. Chittering, frothing in the mouth. These are strangely grotesque, mutated abominations. They’re running at you like they haven’t got a fear in the world–only, hungry. And rage. If they get to you, they’ll eat you alive. The ground is trembling with their weight. You’d better roll quickly if you don’t wind up a meal.
The little flirt, the cute pun, the promise--he caught Laer's arm and tugged him over for a quick kiss.
"Same to you. And it's a promise. You, me, the beach, coming summer 2026."
He let go of Laer's arm to roll the die, and audibly groaned when it came up a one.
"See you soon, babe," he said, as he stepped onto the square--and winced. The quiet was...unpleasant. Mostly because he didn't trust this place.
Maybe the horrific chittering was a little bit of a relief. It was a known danger, something to run from. Rats were gross, sure, and there were a ******** of them--but it wasn't some looming threat.
He booked it. He'd roll when he got closer to the other edge.
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2025 7:46 pm
Quote: Space 17: Something howls in the distance. It’s loud and echoes with such ferocity it seems to shake you. On the other side of you–another howl. Closer. This one is loud enough to hurt your ears. The ground trembles with the force of something charging at you. A growl, a snarl. Yellow eyes staring you down. There’s not just one monster out there–there’s several, and they’re all coming for you. Laeradr swooned a little at the kiss, beaming and feeling warm and fuzzy despite the atmosphere of where they were. That was nice. Man, he wanted more of that, but they had to get out of here first. He rolled and ran. The howling startled him. His head snapped up and he looked around—another one, closer, and he winced sharply as it rattled his eardrums. Okay. Not good. He didn't want to take his chances on random possibly magical wolves. The eyes and the shaking ground convinced him to chuck the dice across the square and bolt after it, planning to read it once he got there. He hoped it wasn't a low roll. He could almost see the end of this nasty place.
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2025 3:18 pm
Quote: Space 18: You smell something poison, something noxious. You pass through a haze of strange, green gas as you enter the square, but it fades after a few seconds. You feel cold. You feel empty. You start to decay. Maybe a part of you knows it’s an illusion, but in that split second when your body feels like it might go limp and when you look at your hand and see skin melting. You see bone. You’d best roll the dice so you don’t wind up a skeleton prop for the next player.
"You've got this," he said, "we'll be out of here in no time."
And then he came to a stop on his own square, in a strange poisonous fog.
Of course the damn gameboard had one last surprise.
And of course it was nasty.
The fog didn't linger. But its effects did. Lionel looked down at himself and yelped, when he saw flesh sloughing off ********! Oh, are you ******** kidding me!"
He had to get out of there. He was not testing how powerful this place was.
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2025 6:18 pm
Quote: Space 18: You smell something poison, something noxious. You pass through a haze of strange, green gas as you enter the square, but it fades after a few seconds. You feel cold. You feel empty. You start to decay. Maybe a part of you knows it’s an illusion, but in that split second when your body feels like it might go limp and when you look at your hand and see skin melting. You see bone. You’d best roll the dice so you don’t wind up a skeleton prop for the next player. Laeradr did not want to step into the square his lovely boyfriend had just entered. He'd seen what was going to happen, thank you very much, and he desperately did not want to watch his own flesh go all melty and gross!! Yuck!!!! Unfortunately, whatever made the gameboard forced him insistently upon the square and he let out a little whimper as the gas flooded the area. God, get me out of here, please, I can't die a virgin! He did not like looking at his own bones even on X-rays!! "Gross gross gross gross," he whimpered, "Oh, ******** this."
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Noir Songbird rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2025 7:05 pm
Quote: Space 20: The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
If he refused to look over at Laer, it was only because he did not want to be thinking about Laer looking like that, ever. Nor did he want to think about how he looked.
He ran for the edge of the square, and past one, two more--
And he found himself standing in warm, opalescent light.
"Laer! I'm at the end, it's not far--come on, let's get out of here!"
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genovianprince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2025 7:06 pm
Quote: Space 20: The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best. Laeradr launched himself out of the square as fast as possible and finally breathed easier once they were both back in Destiny City proper. Thank God. ...Maybe he could convince Lionel to come home with him, or something. That would be a lovely end to the evening. Better than... whatever the ******** that gameboard from hell was.
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