You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
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:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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ota!
[Yuri takes a deep breath, and then another, staring at the alter in front of her. Blood? Hair and ornaments...] These sorts of things together don't bode well...
[She trails off and carefully picks up a few of the items, brow furrowed in concentration. But after a few seconds she drops the items and takes a step back, expression disturbed.] That's weird. They're too--clean. [Who is she even talking to? Herself, mostly, because the sound of someone's voice is comforting.
She continues to pick up items, concentrate, and then drop them again, growing increasingly disturbed and confused.] This is impossible.
[Phase III]
[Having eventually made her way above ground, Yuri finds her situation hasn't gotten much better.
The would-be dance studio is creepy, but not as creepy as, you know, everything else. Really this building doesn't stand out to her too much, but she wanders in anyhow.
--The mirrors could show anything from her life, honestly. But lucky you, player, get one of THREE options:
Option 1: Yuri's first suicide attempt.
Option 2: Yuri failing to save her first case and watching Fuyuhi slit her own throat.
Option 3: or the aftermath of Hisoka saving Yuri from the first memory, and giving her life a little meaning again. (1:07:46-1:08:42 write up here in case your internet is slow)]
1
this is just..creepy. Like cult creepy.]
What's it mean? [he says, probably scaring the shit out of her. he also peeks over her shoulder at the altar]
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It means, I-- [She hesitates a little, because while she's been using her power more to help people around the shrine, it's still weird to discuss openly. Instead she focuses on picking up the hair bundle again, mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown.]
...It means whoever did this made really sure to not leave any traces. Either they don't want us to know who these belonged to, or they really don't want us to know what happened here. [She sets the bundle down and looks at the blood stains.] Sacrifice, maybe...?
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....Has this stupid thing sacrificed us to some cult monster? Are we screwed?
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All of this looks really old. This blood isn't fresh, it's been here for days-- a couple weeks even, maybe...? I wonder if its possible to get it analyzed. [Assuming they find a way out of here, of course. Cheerful.]
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I
[Carefully wiping off his hands on his robe with the fastidiousness of a scientist or forensic investigator, Koumei stood before the strangely neat 'altar' to join Yuri in her assessment. Such matters, though outside of his general job details, weren't completely unheard of. Sordid affairs happened underneath the Palace grounds, and someone needed to keep tabs on the details.
Delicately picking up a bit of cloth --pink with lace, almost reminiscent of his sister's voluminous sleeves-- he held it up to their meager light source for a better look. The blood stains on it had long since become dried, and there was nothing besides texture and color that could identify the kind of person it had belonged to.
He was too new in this city. He didn't have all the information.]
The better kind of question to ask would be about what sort of person would even need an arrangement like this.
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She watches him, partly out of curiosity and partly out of interest- he seems to know what he's doing, that's for sure. Everything handled rather methodically, logically-- it was impressive, of that Yuri would admit.]
Are they offerings, or something more... [more sinister, she means. She picks up another piece of cloth and tries to concentrate again, but in the end she shakes her head with quick exhale that betrays her annoyance.]
I can't get any readings on anything. It's not that they aren't there, but... It's like someone left their fingerprints all over, but wiped them clean. They're there, but I can't follow them or collect them. It's not natural-- this sort of thing should be impossible.
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[Koumei set the bit of fabric back in it's place on the gruesome altar and looked up at Yuri, his eyes shadowed in the darkness as he suppressed his natural, emotional reaction in favor of pure rationality. This was no time to get carried away, not when everyone's safety was at stake.]
But this alone might be a clue about where we are at right now, and the nature of whatever it was that brought us here. These appear to be personal effects-- not typical items for an offering. But thinking that it might be something else...
[He trailed, leaving the rest of his sentence unspoken. The implications should be plain, given where they stood.]
phase iii!
[ So when his gaze, desperately looking for anything that's not glass or memories, latches onto Yuri's familiar figure in front of him, Souji almost feels relieved. Then he looks again, at the glass surrounding her, and a sudden prickling of dread fills him. Not again, a part of him says, but he looks on. ]
[ He recognizes that woman, no that woman's voice. He thought he'd forgotten the memory he saw last time, but apparently he hadn't. It's warm and comfortable. Souji should be relieved to have seen one like this, and not something worse. But he's not. The vulnerability of that memory, of that warm situation affects him in ways a traumatic memory wouldn't. ]
[ Souji swallows, but his voice is steady, almost lazy. ]
I'm guessing this isn't your fault this time.
[ Not like last time had been Yuri's fault either, but you know. ]
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Except she sort of is, since she doesn't respond right away. Her hand reaches towards the glass, towards Hisoka's image, then hesitates; fingers curl uncertainly into her palm, and Yuri drops her hand to her side again.] 'Sometimes life is merely a matter of coffee and whatever intimacy a cup of coffee affords.' That's what Hisoka used to tell me. I don't think I really understood it, even then.
[She rubs her arm, feeling cold in a way that has nothing to do with the actual weather, and forces herself to turn from the image to look at Souji properly.]
...No, it's not my fault this time. Sorry you had to see it anyhow. [She shrugs though, as if to say 'but it could be worse?' and looks more distracted than usual. For good reason, sure, but she can't focus right now.]
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Are you going to stand there all day?
[ His tone is a tad sharper than he meant it to be. Why did he say anything? He could just leave Yuri by herself to the privacy of her memories. But… No, he doesn't know. He hardly ever does when it comes to him and Yuri. ]
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She pauses again and tilts her head enough to peer at him over his shoulder; she doesn't really have to say anything here, the question 'are you coming?' obvious. The words 'thank you' are on the tip of her tongue, but she can't bring herself to say them-- likely he'd get aggravated at her for doing so in the first place.] Let's go.
[Once back outside, Yuri clasps her hands behind her back and takes a deep breath.] I hate this place... [She says it more for the sake of having something to say, trying to shake herself from her haze]
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phase 1
[ Like a cat, she appears without a sound, her usual enthusiasm and clumsy traveling noises silenced by the effects of the mask that still hangs at her shoulder, feathered and cracked. She's in pyjamas, but there's blood on her leg and face that give the lie to the creepy 'innocent blonde at bedtime' thing. Also she has a shotgun strapped to her back.
That and she's hanging from the ceiling by her hair, dropping down only now so she can speak to Yuri at ground level. ] Do these things look familiar to you? Do you know why they're here? Why we are here?
[ Her voice is absolutely flat: an eerie, dissonant monotone interrupted only by that "we", where mistrust and suspicion break through. ]
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The questions and Rapunzel dropping to the ground make her step back in mild alarm, regarding her cautiously] It looks like a sacrificial altar of some sort-- or at the very least a place to give offerings.
I'm afraid I can't find out any more information, Miss...? [She trails off, hoping to prompt a name]
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My name is Rapunzel. I came here for answers. Who are you?
( CONTINUED HERE! )
phase 3 (option 1)
He places a hand on her shoulder, intending for that to be a gentle touch of...assurance? Solidity? Warmth? And doesn't speak just yet. ]
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Yuri glances over her shoulder, and just who she sees is certainly a surprise too.] Oh... [It'd be bad enough if it were a stranger, but to be someone she knows but isn't terribly close to is somehow even worse. She could've at least pretended to be a normal person a little while longer, right? Ah, well.
She sighs and looks away, nudging a shard of broken glass with her boot.] ...Sorry.
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You have nothing to apologize for. It was...my fault for intruding.
[ Even if there was absolutely nothing he could have done to pick and choose particular memories to see. ]
...Do you want to leave this place?
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phase iii - option 2
It's never easy seeing it end like that. [The way he talks, it's like he's speaking from experience (spoilers: he is), though considering how they first met before, with him helping her fight off the ghosts in ViViD, let alone the flashes of memory playing around them, perhaps it's not as surprising as it might seem.]
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She doesn't flinch at the nudge, but she does glance at him a little more fully, fingers curling and uncurling. What does she say to this? Her mouth feels dry.]
...I couldn't help her at all. In the end, I couldn't even grant her last wish. [Which didn't play out on the glass there, but still.] I couldn't do anything...
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[His gaze flickers over to the scene of Enhou revealing herself as a Madou Horror - some days he still wonders if they could've saved her from that fate, being turned against her will and that will nearly rotting away completely until her last moments - but he immediately turns his gaze back to Yuri.]
And that's more what others probably would've done.
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I! apologies about recaptcha orz
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if you'd like, sorry for the long delay hhh