Test Drive #1

[haibanemods]

Test Drive Meme #1

Prompts Waking up: You wake up in a bed that is not your own, in a room that is not your own. But the more you think about it, you can't remember what your room looked like. In fact, you can't remember anything at all! But hey, at least you're not the only person around. Reach out, find someone, and get some answers. The Dream: Haibane enter this world without most memories, but they do remember one thing: their cocoon dream. But it's not so easy to understand, is it? Maybe talking through it with someone else will help you figure out just what your dream means. Wings aren't easy to use: So, you're a Haibane. Awesome. But you know what's not awesome? Getting used to these darn wings, that's what. Suddenly having two extra limbs that you're not sure how to control isn't easy, and they're liable to bump into things and just plain get in the way. Actually, you might want to apologize for unintentionally hitting that person in the face, or help clean up that lamp you knocked over. On the town: Glie is a beautiful city, and there are a lot of places to explore! So why not check some of them out? Everyone seems friendly enough, and the townspeople are more than willing to help anyone who gets lost. Check out the setting page, pick a spot, and go check it out! Wintertime: It's wintertime in Glie, which means snow, snow, snow! And even though it's cold, the sun is shining, so the cold is bearable today. What are you going to do? Go sledding? Have a snowball fight? Make snow angels? Well, that last one should be a lot easier to do now. Player choice: Don't like these prompts? Come up with your own! The city of Glie is quite large, and there is a lot to do.

Comments

N Harmonia | Pokemon Black/White

[pawnable]

[It's funny how much the clean, white snow reflects how his mind has been feeling. Or rather, it would be funny if it wasn't so incredibly frustrating. He swears he can feel the sharp edges of memory trying to pierce through the blank whiteness, but they always manage to elude his grasp.

He is fairly certain, however, that whatever his past involved he did not have wings. The appendages feel very foreign to him; as their jerky unsure movements clearly display. At the same time he finds himself absolutely fascinated by them and somehow pleased to find them there.

So there he stands, a tall and awkward individual, trying his best to get a good look at the pinions over his shoulder. Almost like a small child trying to investigate some new toy.]

[garudynamic]

[He doesn't recognize the stranger- must be from another nest? Not that he really knows himself, but that seems to be how things work here. But how he's trying to look at his wings is a familiar newcomer thing, so might as well be friendly, right?

Something about trying to befriend newcomers just feels familiar and right, so he walks right over, looking amused, hand on his hip]

Don't bother, man. You can't reach them.

[You kinda look like a dog about to chase it's tail, dude]

[freeasabook]

[While the other boy also has green hair, he's tiny, and has closed body language, and has neatly folded his wings into a heart shape on his back.]

...that's not going to work. You need a mirror.

Yosuke Hanamura | Persona 4

[garudynamic]

On the town (with a little side of sorta Wing hijinks)

[He was supposed to be picking up some supplies. Nothing exciting here. And it would have been a simple task, if it wasn't for the fact that he was still getting used to all his new... parts.

Not the wings this time though. Something a little higher up]

H-help! Damn it, this is so stupid...

[One might find a nearly panicking young man under a tree, flailing his hands above his head and trashing a bit. Seems like he got his halo stuck on a low hanging branch and is just making it worse by struggling instead of staying calm and just reaching up to untangle the floating piece of metal.

Watch out, as he's flapping his wings wildly, as if the tiny limbs can actually do anything to help his predicament]

[knightmare_princess]

[ Lately, Cornelia's mishaps with her wings had her feeling... distinctly like a giant loser. That was no a familiar feeling to her. Even with no memory of her past, all this bumbling around and knocking into things was, she knew, just not right.

So seeing another haibane failing far more miserably than she ever could actually made Cornelia feel a little better; she almost laughed, looking up at Yosuke, as she walked by.

Yosuke, the beautiful woman looks like she's just going to keep walking on by without helping. ]

[scanningutterly]

[From farther away, Orlando thought there might be a serious problem. That flailing could mean someone was hurt. But as he jogged up, it became clear what was actually happening.

He shouldn't laugh. Really, he shouldn't. It's not like this whole haibane thing is easy.

But he's laughing anyway.]

Cornelia li Britannia | Code Geass (just using her canon name for now)

[knightmare_princess]

Dream

The dream. Everyone of them has their cocoon dream. That is simply a fact of being a Haibane. What it means is obviously a very different story - although Cornelia has a very distinct idea of what her's might be about, it's very... fuzzy. The meaning of a dream can be metaphorical, and simply taking the most literal interpretation could be folly.

Perhaps it's the small glass of cheap liquor on the rocks in her hand that has Cornelia, normally someone quiet about her feelings, a little more talkative. "Is everyone's dream terrifying?" she wonders aloud, totally pretending she doesn't want a response that she absolutely wants to hear.

Wings

Why? Why do they have wings? Someone explain this to her. Cornelia has already felt a little off being assigned as a store clerk, but from day one, she's had to worry about her wings knocking stock off the shelves, and making messes to clean up, or even breaking things.

If this keeps up, will she be fired? What will happen? Failure is unacceptable, but...

"Nng..." she bites down to resist the urge to curse as her wing nudges a glass jar of jam... and then with a shout she dives down to just barely catch it in time. "I can't even fly with them..."

Wings

[itwasfeyt]

You know what's great, ending up doing things like that in front of people. Like Maya, for instance, who was standing just a few feet away from where that jam jar nearly met its fate.

She crouches just a bit, eyes wide and looking down at the woman. A pair of wings sticking out of the back of her clothes, and a dimly glowing halo floating above, should have told Cornelia enough about what she was.

"Uhh... wing problems much?"

dream

[scanningutterly]

Orlando looks up from the book he had been reading, surprised that she had spoken. There's no way she had been talking to him. But it's not like anyone else is answering.

"Terrifying?" His own dream is hazy, of course, and he feels like he can't quite trust the memory of it even when it seems clear. But he doesn't feel fear, thinking of it. No, the closest thing would be- despair.

He shrugs, a movement made awkward by his wings and the nonchalance he's trying to force into it. "I don't know. It's a dream. It can be anything." He drops his eyes back down to the page, though he's certainly not reading again yet.

Maya Fey | Ace Attorney

[itwasfeyt]

Winter in Glie
[Snow was lightly falling today, blanketing the ground in white. On days like this, she found herself going outside, sometimes just to watch the snow drift down.... though, there was also another reason.

It felt... familiar, to some degree. Like something she couldn't quite grasp. Had she lived somewhere cold, once before...?

...Or, maybe it was just that she enjoyed making snowballs, which was already happening. A small pile had accumulated by her feet, and she was eyeing up the first person that came by. Watch out for that snowball coming at you.]

Wing problems
[Crash!

Oh no. No, no, no, no. She was supposed to be cleaning up around Old Home and now, thanks to her wings, a vase was broken. Was it expensive? She wasn't sure. I looks expensive, auuuugh.

Not a problem, she could still fix this! And by that... probably make it worse. So, there she is, crouched in the hallway, delicately picking up the pieces of the vase and trying to find what fits where. What awful luck.]

winterrrr

[lionson]

[Maya why, Shiro is just an innocent old man trying to get back to Old Home with some groceries, how could you be so cruel

Since Shiro's hands are occupied, he had no chance to dodge or block the snowball, so it hits the side of his face.]

Cold!

[He quickly shifts the bag to one arm so he can wipe the snow off of his face with the other. Then he turns to Maya.]

Oi, watch where you're throwing those!

[heart_scope]

[ It did not take someone with super hearing to pick up on the sound of that vase breaking, but it did help Athena's response time. Energetic footfalls announced her presence before she even rounded the corner, halting just in time to avoid stepping on anything — or anyone — in the way. ] Whoa! [ Arms out for balance, Athena wobbled backward onto her heels to steady herself. Eyes wide, she took in the scene. ] ...what happened here? [ Yes, she has eyes, but she isn't psychic. Not yet anyway, so there is plenty of opportunity for the other young woman to offer an interpretation besides the obvious. Seems only polite. ]

Wing problems

[garudynamic]

[He was doing his rounds, looking for Cocoons and picking up any messes he saw along the way, when he hears the crash. Running over just in time to see her picking at the vase, looking pretty pathetic.]

...please tell me a cat or something knocked that over.

winter

[tropism]

[ giorno was trying his best to control his wings, and does so with a certain impatience, a kind of frustration that comes with this strong idea that he was used to being able to work things out for himself no matter how strange or illogical it was. or - someone, or something was always with him to work things out. that emptiness has been bothering him all day, and every time he tries to use his wings it stirs that familiar emotion.

he was lost in his thoughts when the snowball hits him, and glancing at the source, he gives a wry smile. ]

You interrupted me.

I hope you're ready for a fight, then. [ he says as he calmly picks up a ball of snow, obviously getting ready to volley one right back. ]

Shiro Fujimoto | Blue Exorcist

[lionson]

On the town

[Fun fact: pretty much all of the Haibane are young. Most are children or teenagers, and even the oldest appear to be in their 30s at most. But Shiro? He's old. He looks like he has to be in his fifties at the very youngest. Suffice to say, there is no other Haibane around that looks as old as he does.

Despite being an oddity, Shiro takes it all in stride, and he can be found doing normal Haibane things: working at the school, buying groceries, that sort of thing. But despite Shiro's good attitude about it, it is easy to see that he definitely does not fit the usual description of a Haibane. The people who live in the city, the ones who aren't Haibane, they all regard him with curiosity and caution.

What about you? Do you approach and talk, or keep your distance?]

Time for sewing!

[You know what sucks about being a Haibane? How every piece of clothing you get has to be modified to accommodate the wings.

Thankfully, Shiro is actually pretty talented with needle and thread, and on this day he can be found in one of the big room at Old Home, cutting and sewing holes and flaps onto shirts for all the little kids who are Haibane. He is just finishing up a shirt for one of them, when he looks up and smiles.]

Hey. Got something that needs holes in it?

sewing buddies (ignore lack of icons...)

[guilloteen]

No. [He's modified his own clothing already, cut and hemmed the slits for the wings with an ease that didn't really surprise him, even if he can't remember where he learned to sew. He's come over to the old man for another reason, a reason currently concealed under the scarf pulled up around the lower part of his face and the bandanna tied over his left eye.]

Do you have extra fabric? [The boy isn't as sure of eye patch construction as he was with the rest (maybe he hadn't used one before? that made no sense). He knows he'll need more than what he has, and the ban on buying new clothes means he can't just go and get one.

Without waiting for an answer, he starts rummaging through the man's pile of fabric.]

Town grocery shopping!

[pinnedbangs]

[Wow, what a wrinkly guy! That guy has wrinkles on his wrinkles! Rin's never seen someone so old! Hell yeah he's going to talk to this person. Rin hadn't been doing anything except watching the other Haibane go about their business, but seeing someone who looked that unique piqued his interest enough to get him to carefully approach the older man.

As he walked closer, he noticed that not only was this guy old as - anything - he was also really tall. Old people needed help carrying things, right? On one hand, it would give Rin something to do. On the other hand, it gave him a reason to talk to this person. On the third hand - okay there wasn't a third hand - but if there was, it would be another good reason to talk to someone.

Or anyone, really.]

Hey. You need help with those bags?

sunako kirishiki | shiki

[fearfactor]

[The snow is all fun and games until it gets in the way of everyday life! Which is why she can be found outside the Old Home with broom in hand. Luckily, someone else has done the real heavy lifting since the last major snowfall but that doesn't stop the wind from scraping the top layer off the drifts and covering the walkways. Hence the broom. It's only prudent to keep the courtyard more or less clear.

She's diligently sweeping away when she hits a slick spot hidden beneath the powder. Even though she's bundled up against the cold she is hardly wearing snow boots - were those mary janes? - and the lack of traction takes her away.

There's either going to be a yelp and a very significant snow angel in the closest snow drift...

or a kind passer by assists the poor girl. Or they can get hit in the face with the broom head.

Honestly, it's all up in the air.]

[freeasabook]

[Yep, that's a snow angel. After a moment Nageki comes, shoes crunching on the snow. He keeps his wings folded most of the time so they're not visible from the front, but the halo's pretty obvious.]

Did you hit your head?

conan edogawa | detective conan

[alteregoist]

[ a. central plaza | He had never been so fussed over in his life. Or at least, if he had memories of it, it certainly wouldn't have been as bad as this.

It was as if every wingless adult in the entire nation had come to flock over him, as if to remind him how small he was. How vulnerable. They each patted his head to assure him that everything was okay. They'd find an older Haibane soon! Don't cry anymore little boy!

He actually just wanted to gag.

Eventually, some Haibane he'd previously seen in passing was pulled towards the group. As annoying as this all was, (Conan) was ready to figuratively jump into their arms. Anything to get away from the baby-talk posse. Though he wanted to ask around for info, it'd have to do for next time. When people actually take him seriously. ]

[fearfactor]

[So, who knows why the villagers thought Sunako would be the best choice of Haibane to herd over but here she is in all her slightly older glory. Thirteen is definitely old enough to foist a child onto. Definitely.

She's not completely sure what the fuss is about, Conan doesn't look like he is in any trouble, but she doesn't want to let the concerned citizens worry so...]

Are you okay?

[At least she is asking his opinion and not jumping to conclusions.]

Orlando Gardiner | Otherland

[scanningutterly]

[He was on the end of a few surprised or curious glances on his trip into town, but here, at the base of Glie's clock tower, no one seems to think a haibane is out of place. The tension that had been building up in him begins to ebb away. The way some of the citizens looked at him made him uncomfortable- he felt like he wanted to argue with them, though he couldn't say what he'd be arguing about.

He'd say those looks reminded him of something, except, obviously, he can't be reminded of anything.

For now, he's content to stand here in front of the clock shop window. Alongside the decorative pocketwatches on display there's a clock with its face removed, all the cogs and pins and arms working away. It's easy to get lost in the steady, precise movements of the machine. Soothing, almost. He doesn't realize how close to the window he's become until it mists over with his breath.

There's a haibane who works at the clock tower, isn't there? He doesn't know everyone yet, but he's sure he heard that. He tries to straighten up (thankfully not falling over because of his wings), before approaching the next person.]

Hey.

[strengthtohelp]

[He needed to take a walk outside to clear his head. A funny thing to say perhaps, when there's barely anything there that he remembers. There was that dream of course, but that was all fuzzy figures and fragmented timelines he couldn't make sense of at all. It's a disconcerting ordeal, and he's not sure how to deal with it.

Perhaps there's significance in his trailing up to a nearby clock shop. At least, these crafts pieces have some semblance of time. They know what hour, minute, and second they exist in at this moment. He, on the other hand, is so confused, he almost doesn't feel present, like this itself is another dream.

And the voice that beckons plucks him out of his reverie. He's about to remark with a "huh?" when his wings spring out from his back and he yelps instead. It's by some stroke of luck that the kickback that breaks his balance knocks him away rather than toward the stranger. No one wants a feathered appendage smacking them in the face.]

A-ah, I'm sorry about that! [He scrambles to accordion his wings back into place -- quite the ordeal. When he folds them down, he looks back up and notices the stranger adorned with a pair of wings of his own.] Oh, you're one too. A haibane, that is.

giorno giovanna | jjba

[tropism]

A. AROUND TOWN.

[ something is wrong.

he notices it in the way everything looks so foreign to him, from the architecture to the technology to the wings on his back. he notices it in the way he was ... alone. he shouldn't be. he had no proof about this otherwise, but he's not contesting it. he's a new guy in a new town, after all. making friends and learning some names wouldn't be a bad idea.

he walks around for a while in an attempt to stave off the utterly frustrating feeling of not being able to remember what things were, until he makes the decision to leave that off for a while. his memory doesn't seem to be planning on returning anytime soon. whatever he had lost, it doesn't seem like he'd be able to regain it in a day or so; he's not counting on that either. the worst part of it all is that he doesn't know anyone at all, and ... he's not meant to be alone.

he doesn't feel like he should be worried about the town at all. everyone had seemed so friendly, despite the fact that he was a stranger in their midst with no recollection of how he was there in the first place.

he'll be walking up to someone to just ask them a few questions: ]

You look frustrated about everything, if you don't mind me saying. That makes two of us.

Do you like the town so far?

B. WINGS

[ a bird's wings are more than twice the length of its body so it can support itself during flight. the ones that he has are too small, and are probably for decorative uses only. he looks comical with them.

you can see him trying to reach over to try and ... pull the wings ... but all it does is make him wince. ]

This would be a lot cooler if they expanded, or were a lot bigger. As it stands, they're quite useless ....

[ you can hear him muttering "useless, so useless ..." while he tries to walk without having the wings tug him one way or another or bump into someone. ]

b

[ribbow]

[ Umm. It's a sheepish little noise that's made from behind him, the younger pink-haired girl in a spot that isn't so easily seen. Was she following him? It wouldn't be that difficult to accuse her of it since she seemingly came out of nowhere.

Truth was, she wasn't used to seeing others. There were a large number of things she wasn't used to admittedly, having no memories before her arrival, but some things came naturally. A step there and a skip here, those were easy to recollect. The uneasiness she felt when around boys (or a man in this case) isn't known to her so the delay in speaking up is plain as the wings along her own back. ]

They aren't so bad. [ Her voice is quiet, almost as if she's afraid of speaking her mind. ] They're kind of cute.

[ Who calls a grown man cute? ]

Rakka | ....take a guess?

[charcoalfeather]

In town

[Winter... was a special time in Glie. The gently falling snow and the growing chill meant several things for the growing Haibane population. Many of them needed clothes that were suitable for the weather, wing covers too. Now normally that may fall to several Haibane, but it seemed only one had volunteered this year.

Rakka thought she could handle it... She thought wrong.

To anyone out on the main street, they might spot a lone Haibane. Walking... stumbling technically, about with a large box of clothes in her arms. The people around her have, thankfully, provided the Haibane with a wide berth when they saw her... as she couldn't see them.

...Nothing could help her, though, when Rakka stepped on a patch of ice and her and her box were sent to the ground with a startle cry.

And now she knew why a group did this.]

Other

[Old Home generally always had something happening in it, even with most of the older Feathers out in town, there would always be someone staying behind. Today, that Haibane was Rakka, and she.... wandered off.

It takes some searching, but if you really want to find her, she'll be in one of the old rooms, one that was for another Haibane, long ago. From the general mess, the mats and stacks of equipment and cans, this was an art studio. Several paintings sat off to the side, already complete. While the room had a small collection of dust, those did not.

And there she stands, Rakka, looking at one of the painted canvases before gathering it up in her arms. She's very careful with it, handling them like they might break if she wasn't extremely careful. If she sees someone passing in the hall, she'll call out to them.]

Hello! Excuse me?

[warrioreidlos]

[Winter certainly had a bit of added challenge with these new wings. Reiner had tried tightly folding his wings against his back and wearing his patched sweater over them, but that hadn't been much of a success. Certainly they were warmer that way, but the tight pressure had been anything but comfortable. In the end he had let them free once more. He could handle the chill, he couldn't handle the pressure.

He spies Rakka just a bit too late. If he had seen here a few moments earlier, before she had fallen, he probably would've offered to help her with those boxes. That kind of set up was just an accident waiting to happen. But before he can say anything, the accident has happened, and Reiner winces slightly in sympathy. Ice and cobblestones can be a pretty damn painful thing to slip on.

Coming to a halt, he goes down onto one knee, extending one broad, calloused hand --though hell if he knows what he has got those callouses from-- a clear offer to help her up.]

Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?

Sonic - Sonic Archie Comics

[quickster]

[ A new place meant new places to explore. And luckily, Sonic happened to have found himself in the industrial district to the West. There were lots of factories, machines, and moving parts to keep ones attention.

He whistled as he strolled along, eyes darting every which way as he looked at the sights. ] Love what they've done with the place.

[ It was just then he spotted someone nearby, someone like you! He trotted right up to them in order to get a bearing on where he was at. ] Yo! I've never been here before. What part of Mobius are we on?

... but does this mean Sonic looks human, but winged? : D;

[shootaro]

[Industrial district, huh?

Well, Sonic, you've caught up to one of the Abandoned Factory's newest arrivals. The boy turns, giving Sonic a slightly annoyed, confused look. Raising a brow, hands on his hips, overall giving the air of someone who did not want to be disturbed by cheerful strangers, he still managed a curt response:]

This isn't Mobius.

This is the city of Glie.

Trip | Pokemon Best Wishes!

[shootaro]

[Well, he isn't quite sure how he got here, but all he really gets is that he's in some kind of nest or at least, that's what the people here described it as. Oh, yeah, and the people here? They have wings. He thinks it all sounds kind of ridiculous somehow, but it's hard to doubt any of it when he woke up the first time suspended in fluid he could breathe and had to claw his way out of a wet, papery cocoon.

There were some things said about a dream, a city, jobs, and names, but it was all too much to keep up with and frankly, all the attention was exhausting and he didn't like having so many people around. He couldn't make sense of half their answers anyway.

The best way to figure things out was to figure them out on his own. So, he decided to leave that bed, after convincing everyone to leave by acting like he really wanted to get some sleep— well, he was supposed to be feigning sleep, but he dozed off for real, but only for a little while, he was sure of it— he decided to go ahead with his plan of exploring this dingy, run-down looking place. He didn't really have anywhere better in mind to compare it to, but it smelled and looked... bad somehow. The walls were grimy and blackened, like there had been a lot of smoke here, once. It was noisy too, he could hear people running and shouting beyond the walls too...

Wandering the factory, he kept on silently searching for answers of his own as to what was going on... he felt a little tired and warm, but it wasn't going to keep him from exploring! Maybe he'll find something interesting?]

[hachimaki]

[his head's full of cotton and his ears are full of water by the time green eyes open into... sewage, that's what he swears it is, a panicked hand reaching through pulpy vines, a fighting response that's ingrained in him when he feels cocooned, trapped, drowning -- ]

[he can... breathe? was he always able to breathe under water? is he a thing that can? quizzical limbs search through soft padding, ripping it, rejecting it, clawing his way to freedom with nail and fang]

[the torrent of amniotic fluid gushing over dirty factory ground is a roar, the smack of wet knees and palms the final punctuation from its yell, and a teenager comes bumbling out of a great cocoon webbed between two old and run-down machines only but a few hours after the equally aimless boy wandering the area had]

[hacking coughs are more for panic than requirement, lungs forcibly switching from the sea to the sky]

You -- [it's a rasp at first, one eye locked shut and breath heaving, reaching for the table's surface to help lift himself up; his hand finds a tool instead and he crashes back down with a metallic clang]

Tch! Oi, who are you? [quick one to make demands, isn't he? but he answers his own call quicker than his wayward company can] ...who am I?

Gaius | Fire Emblem: Awakening

[stickyfingers]

Side A - Waking Up + The Dream

[ Maybe being tired was a normal feeling for most people when they woke up. Maybe feeling like your energy levels are at an all-time low is normal, too, as he sits with his back against the wall his bed--'his?' bed--was leaned up against, looking out into the room with a dazed expression on his face. His mind is a fog, and there's a niggling feeling crawling up the back of his neck that made him feel one thing: that he should understand his surroundings, and the cloud of thoughts in his head.

He didn't. He doesn't. There's no recognition in any of his surroundings, and he feels like he's still dreaming. Even if the faces in the room were far clearer than the faces in his dream, and even if the room wasn't as tense as his memories tell him they were.

His fingers grope at his side, feeling for a knife that had been concealed there, under his shirt, in the dream. It's not there, and that feeling is almost as uncomfortable as being naked might feel.

His lips curve down as he leans forward, giving his head a shake to try to wake up. ]

...What in the name of seven hells is going on here.


Side B - Wings! + Town Shenanigans

[ There might not be much he remembers about himself, his home world, the people he knows or the things he's experienced, but if there's one thing he can remember enough, it's the fact that where he comes from? Wings aren't just for decoration. Pegasi and Wyvern had wings, and they could use them to fly just fine, couldn't they.

Yeah.

Knights rode around on winged horses, and...

Well, he could MOVE the damn things, see. So it should beg to reason that they'd be able to be used just as well as any other creature with wings, right.

Don't stand too close to the weird ginger muttering what sound like archaic curses to himself, you might get a face full of feathers as he attempts, once again, to stretch the dust-coloured wings out in his childish attempts to see if they're really anything more than just an irritating decoration.]

a

[hachimaki]

[the face that greets him is a handsome but seemingly young one, if it weren't for those too-alert bright green eyes and the scowl that seems permanently etched into the hard granite of his expression, attesting to years of distrust and sternness he has no recollection of, just like every other Haibane here -- just like this neophyte still sleeping away in a borrowed mattress]

[the samurai's own wings are already sprouting proudly from the juts of bone in his back, each scapula a nest for ashen downs, and his halo hangs at a ridiculous crook above his head that slants heavily towards his left eye and threatens his vision with each bounce of footfalls]

[a path that takes him to the bedside, gaze drifting to where fingers search his own person]

[(a weapon, he knows -- why does he know that?)]

You won't believe me if I tell you.

[it's less of a snap-judgment and more about pure experience; who the hell would? "congratulations, you're dead but you're not gone"? is that comfort or just torture? even he hasn't decided]

[there's a length of dirty, sturdy rope in a clenched fist, and its presence seems almost as ominous as his words:]

You'll just have to experience it.