unknownseas | GRADUATION

[ There’s a spark in the darkness outside the dome, somewhere. The pale rainbow of some kind of bio-luminescent jellyfish. Then another. Then two more. Then ten more.

Within moments, the seafloor around you is illuminated by jellyfish, shining brighter than nature should allow, and you find your surroundings changed. Statues, piles of gold, paintings, all of them lie scattered around for as far as the eye can see in any direction. Just a disgusting amount of wealth.

The frosted glass box in front of all of you just… vanishes. And standing at a podium that doesn’t at all match the previous silhouette, you finally get to see The Professor, in all his slightly ghoulish glory.

Honestly? This might be exactly the kind of man you pictured he would be. ]

Allow me to introduce myself properly, boys and girls. I am Professor Gunnar Maelstrom, one of the five sitting members of the Faculty here at VILE. I suppose, one way or another, this is where it ends.

[ You’re getting close, gumshoes! Don’t give up! ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hey so, does it sound like electric humming in here?]

Acronym's little on the nose there, don't you think?

VILE? Really?

Oh, you have no idea. It stands for Villains International League of Evil - or Valuable Imports, Luxurious Exports if you're talking about our cover company.

[ yeah she's just drawing Rose's sword, everyone else can deal with nerd things like "conversation" and "figuring out what he wants" and shit ]

In fairness, I didn't choose the name.

You are far too proud of that for your own good. BTW, keeping the title. Maelstrom sounds too cool for you.

God. Why do all of you look like this.

So just as a quick question, because you've felt the need to give me an existential crisis on top of everything else: are you puppeting our bodies around somewhere else, or are we the genuine article?

[ are you for fucking real ]

So was that on purpose from the start, or did you get halfway through the acronym and then decide, hey, I can make this even more stupid?

[ big mood! ]

You did choose to run it though. Couldn't get a vote agreed upon to change it to something less on the nose?

As tempted as I am to refuse to answer, I'll at least give you that you are all your original selves.

You know how people can be about traditions.

What, exactly, do you get out of refusing to answer us now? Unless you're mad about the comment on your looks, in which case the fact that you look like every employer I've ever had is not my fault.