Mortal Escapism follows the story of otherworldly entities in charge of running a system that consists of helping human souls' traversing through the process of death to to their eternal slumber, as well as documenting every person to ever live. All is...somewhat well until a human soul ends up doing the job along these beings, and as it turns out working for Death itself is no easy task for a past mortal, unsurprisingly.Residing in a place called The Limbo, Chandler–our unfortunate post-mortal, attempts to settle into his new role. As soon as he somewhat gets used to the mundane work, a particular soul of a young adult girl crosses paths with him, starting a whole new curiosity regarding Limbo’s functionality.
Let’s take a tour.
Limbo is for the most part barren and empty, its architecture consists of equally rather vague structures, however the detail of said structures can indicate its importance. For example: structures containing offices and regular workrooms will be simple and featureless, however rooms such as Moréna’s courtroom or higher-up meeting rooms can possess detailed patterns in forms of chessboard or various square patterning. Doric and Ionic types of pillars are also quite common to be implemented in the architecture.There’s inspiration taken from architecture types of Brutalism, Maximalism, and a smidge of Art Nouveau for more detailed structures and patterns.Limbo’s representative design is its rectangle patterning along with shapes reminiscent of a cross, which are majorly scattered around its barren lands.Limbo is fueled by a soul’s arrival, the moment a document of a soul’s passing is created and successfully curated by a clerk, it is then safely stored into an archive room. Said archive room fulfills Limbo’s circle of life & death by feeding off of a mortal’s personal documentation.
In short terms, soul’s successfully moving into Afterlife allow for Limbo’s infrastructure to function, along with its employees.
It is fully dependent on the mortality of humans and their departure to Afterlife.Time does not pass here, there's no way for one to figure out time of day or date, nothing ever changes.
Limbo, and the story of Mortal Escapism, are not explicitly tied to any form of religion. This factor is left vague on purpose to allow room for the viewer to interpret their own beliefs and theories into this universe. No hypothesis is deemed incorrect here.
Limbo's inhabitants
Limbo is littered with beings of all sorts of shapes and sizes, they’re simply referred to as “workers”, you will not find anyone living here in a sense, every being you come across is a mere cog in the machine working hard for Limbo to function.
What makes a worker tick?
Workers are uniquely made by Moréna with the help of The Workermaker (Unique, I know.) However one cannot get too hasty with creating a brand new vessel, so as to ensure there aren’t excessive amounts of workers around overwhelming Limbo’s infrastructure. If one goes defective or at worst, completely defunct, Moréna has resorted to tasking The Workermaker to reanimate them; how they manage to do that is unknown.
It’s good to recycle! Some workers have been around for thousands of years, just refurbished every now and then.“But some workers are rather irritating/seemingly unsuitable, why aren’t they fixed?”
As long as they’re relatively doing their work one way or another, Moréna does not concern herself with reanimating them, it’s only when the worker is physically unable to fulfill their tasks, or somehow begins to possess explicitly violent behavior.There are loads of types a worker can be structured as. A handful may have completely unique traits that help them operate–the logistics or benefits of said traits can be debatable, Moréna has been experimenting least to say.The main basis of these entities’ anatomy is that they are in no way human, there is never any flesh or anything you’d find in an organic being. They are fully inorganic and fueled by the Limbo’s own powersource. If, hypothetically, a worker were to exit Limbo’s plane into a different universe, they’d eventually be worn out and potentially go defunct due to the detachment from Limbo.
This is where their own mortality comes to mind, as workers are completely immortal and cannot even feel pain for the most part, some are more numb to physical damage than others. A worker is only at the risk of “dying” if they were to be detached from Limbo as previously mentioned.
(Workers do not have souls and cannot cross the border to the Afterlife, the sense of mortality here is that they can no longer be reanimated if out of Limbo’s hands, therefore their existence in terms of pure conscience ceases to exist.)
They do not age, sleep, and are incapable of consuming any form of liquid or nutrients as it is pointless, they’re simply vessels for Limbo’s functionality.Limbo cannot function without its workers, and workers cannot function without Limbo.
Limbo’s fashion style
This is purely for design notes on how the greenies are designed, some of the designs are purely for artistic means. (art and animation wise i need to save my sanity)
First of all, green.
Second of all, squares & crosses.
A worker’s uniform can determine their rank and hierarchy, (which we’ll dive into more explicitly later!)
In certain ranks there is a unique design pattern or physical body mould to be followed, notably Limbo’s guards.
But other times, they may be completely unique or even one of a kind, as previously mentioned there’s been a bit of experimentation going on.
Workers usually wear attire reminiscent to military uniforms of varying historical points or corporate uniforms in general, there’s simply not much lore reason to this. Some workers may lack clothing of any sort and be more on the abstract side. (Eg. Omen)Checkered insignia - A must have on every uniform. The checkerboard pattern is notably asymmetrical. This insignia can also be purely implemented into a worker's physical form on some occasions. (eg. Amias’ checkered half face, Bishop’s nose, Omen’s sleeves)
Dot Insignia - Alternative form of Limbo’s Insignia, it usually means the worker bearing one is a special rank in their department. Meaning of said rank can vary.For instance, Cameron specially possesses a different form of dot insignia for her role of being Limbo’s Vice President, a very high rank.
Chandler bears one for his notable combination of being both a file clerk and soul guide. And he’s just unique in general.
Amias’ handles…a lot of things.
Bishop is annoying so they let her have one.
Limbo’s Hierarchy
The hierarchy of the workplace functions as almost any regular corporate ladder would, with a few changes here and there.
Workers are usually strictly tied to their sole department, but some may need to maneuver between other ones to complete specific tasks.
Workers on lower tiers may be restricted to classified information and vice versa.Overseers are mostly the all rounders, supervising workers in all sorts of departments and reporting back to their higher ups.Guides work with human souls specifically, assisting when needed so they may cross the border to Afterlife, they sometimes also interject with Archivists for potential documentation of a mortal’s information.Mail handlers manage and deliver all incoming and outcoming letters of Limbo.
These letters need to be properly overlooked and managed, as they range from intricate information on a soul that has passed to letters borrowed from the mortal realm for Limbo to assess.
Soul arrival & Departure
When a person passes, they are sent to Limbo’s grounds for assessment, but not all souls go through this process. With how many mortals pass from the living plane, there wouldn’t be enough workers to properly manage them all, so only souls who left the mortal realm with some sort of obstacle preventing them from reaching the Afterlife manually are to be assessed, the meaning of said obstacle can greatly vary.An assessment usually means consulting with the soul verbally or double checking their file for any oddities.Some souls simply get lost on the way and require no checkup, so in that instance they’re naturally guided by Omen with no word, there’s no need for one.Now you may be thinking that you’d get frightened seeing someone like Chandler after you pass, since he’s a being beyond human shape and could be intimidating for some, but Limbo is there to help you be at peace, and so its atmosphere naturally keeps one’s psychological response to remain composed, in most cases.When a soul is properly assessed, they’re then escorted to the border to Afterlife, where they are then released from Limbo's hands to move on, marking the end of their documentation. What lies beyond the border is unknown.
Limbo’s locations
Some significant places to mention within Limbo would be the offices, where most workers reside managing paperwork and general workflow. Limbo has no clear structure, buildings can move and be rearranged. Offices themselves are usually featureless and blank, only consisting of whatever furniture and objects a worker may need for their job.Some workers are restricted to specific locations, and are unauthorized to enter certain areas. This ties to the worker hierarchy.Otherwise, Limbo is massively empty. Workers are not advised, more so forbidden to leave its base area, The Outskirts of Limbo are dark and beyond barren. We don’t go there. If a soul were to somehow end up there, it’s out of Limbo’s reach, and will be unassessed.
More images are planned to be added, check back in later!
Chandler
No one truly knows as to why Chandler specifically ended up in Limbo. A divine punishment? Some sort of mistake? One can wonder.
Chandler is now immortal like the rest of workers, while he has a soul he wouldn't be able to cross the border to eternal slumber even if he fought tooth and nail for it, therefore Moréna decided to give him a chance to make himself useful and work for her, albeit it's more of a burden he will carry for the rest of his infinite existence. He does his job relatively well, and refers from stepping out of line, but the impact all this has had on his mental state is concerning to say the least.
The others wonder when his memory of his past life will slip away fully, while he desperately clings onto his last bits of humanity.Chandler’s last breath was taken in a housefire, it’s crudely ironic he’s been reanimated into a walking candle.
Percival
Deemed a failure from the beginning, his existence in this place is also a mystery. Reanimated just like Chandler after passing yet with no memory to recall to, and no good purpose to serve due to his rebellious nature.
Percival often feels like the mockery of the workplace, and takes his frustration out on those around him with a mocking and sarcastic demeanor.
Moréna begrudgingly keeps him in her chains, she knows that while he behaves this way, he doesn’t have the option to do anything in his situation; in her eyes it’s only a matter of time before he gives up his foolish behavior.The Workermaker is eerily obsessed with Percival, constantly in his footsteps, dedicated to making him fit with the others. Little do they know there really is no true way to repair him. There never will be.
Šárka
A young adult girl, with a puzzled background–the thing is no one in the Limbo can figure out her cause of death or find any sort of mortal documentation, which is obviously a huge deal. Šárka’s soul is therefore unable to cross the border to the Afterlife since there is no file that the system can successfully archive, causing a stagnance in its tracks.
Chandler, feeling sympathy for the girl, takes manners into his own hands and attempts to resolve this issue.
While he’s in no way classified for such duty, and usually he would follow the rules like normal, he just can’t help but shake off a feeling that something bad would happen if he were to let the other Limbo workers take her fate into their hands this time.Percival’s nosy habits of course quickly catch wind of this, and he decides to stick along with Chandler’s foolhardy plan.Šárka can be rather quiet but isn’t afraid to put her foot down in most scenarios, and her natural curiosity, and at best stubbornness, guide her through this strange new world.
Moréna
Death itself, Moréna is the all seeing eye of Limbo. Mostly engulfed in her own personal manners and tasks, seeing her personally is almost impossible for a lowly worker, only very few higher-ups are capable of consulting with her. And if you were to get the chance to actually be in her presence, you may just feel constant dread creeping up your spine. She is a quiet and soft spoken entity, eerily gentle, but if one were to wrong her she is quick to make them learn their lesson.
Sylvester
Limbo’s kind face, Sylvester is a courteous overseer who likes to tackle most issues with a positive overview. Due to his kind and overly gentle nature he has been assisting in the guide department as of recently, as he managed to possess more knowledge on the mortal psyche than his coworkers thanks to Chandler. Him and Sylvester are quite close.
Amias
A rather peculiar worker, their rank and overall history is all over the place. Amias is a very troubled person struggling to stay on schedule with how many tasks they are being given, Cameron and Moréna herself are very keen on other workers staying out of their way and conversing with them. Whenever they get the chance however, they prefer to chat in secret with Chandler the most.
If you'd like to view reference sheets of all cast containing fun facts and design notes, you can view them down below!
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Please note some of these images may be reworked and rewritten :) Nothing's set in stone!
also there's grammatical errors here and there i'm just a guy
you can also view my ToyHouse for extra images!
Have something to ask regarding this project?
here are some ways where you can reach out to do so!
this is mainly just for fun :)
please note asks sent via straw.page will still be posted on the Tumblr blog for organization, this is just an alt option for people who don't want to have a Tumblr account to send an ask
A handful of questions have been anwsered on my personal Tumblr blog, so check there if you want, too! The blog listed here is purely for the possibility of Mortal Escapism becoming a comic series of some sort in the future where I'd like to share content for it. No promises though...and it might take a looongg time...