estoria | //EVENT023.EXE

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//EVENT023.EXE

Who: Everyone + ~~the ghosts of Christmas past~~ the ghosts who aren't the ghosts of Christmas past
When: OOC: 12/16 to 12/23 ; IC: 4/22 to 4/26
Where: All around Cerealia
What: We have some new friends visiting.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for violent and dangerous situations; please let the mods know if the rating needs to go up or the log needs to be locked!

//event023.EXE

The metaphorical sun is shining today -- until it isn't. All of a sudden, there's a creeping sensation up your spine, and the sense that something bad is coming. The day seems a little darker. And those closer to the source who are in their homes in the residential district will understand that sensation better than anyone.

The pure of heart throughout the city who have been feeling under the weather lately will suddenly feel a terrible sense of all-encompassing dread overcome them. A loud metal groan will echo throughout the city as once again, the city undergoes surprise renovations. But today it is not what has been keeping the residents in – but rather some surprise visitors who have wanted out.

And there's a message on the wind, one that might be heard for anyone who listens hard enough...

Murderers.

Murderers.

Murderersmurderersmurderers.

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ 900 ] The peace of the morning in the Residential District shatters just as the wall caves through. It’s a small segment of wall -- no more than five feet across at most. And yet the crash and groan of the metal being stretched is ominously accompanied by the distinct piercing screech of metal and another sound. A raucous noise, a combination of ungodly wailing and sharp, victorious laughter spills forth from the hole left in the wall as a myriad of ghosts and spirits erupt from the newly created exit. Characters with any type of spiritual sense will find themselves nearly overwhelmed by the amount of negative ghostly energy that suddenly floods Cerealia and characters with no sense of preservation will find any attempt to enter the hole blocked by the fiercest of ghosts, met with deadly force if they try to pass, as the ghosts won’t hesitate to do things such as reach straight into your body to try to stop your heart.

These ghosts are out for blood, and they don’t seem to stop no matter how you try to talk to them -- they just hiss out, over and over again, “Murderersmurderersmurderers.”

From there, the ghosts move on. Their true target, after all, is CERES… but to them, there’s no difference between the character players and CERES. They’ll go for whoever gets in their way, phasing through walls and becoming tangible long enough to reach for characters before fading away again. Characters with special abilities will find themselves in a similar state. Their abilities may increase and decrease in power sporadically, or be completely gone. They may attempt to cast a spell only to find that the wrong spell is cast instead, or an attempt at healing may end up a more dangerous spell. Be careful with your own magical skills!

Those with items or powers specifically intended to ward off spirits will still fulfill their intended purposes when used – unless malicious spiritual energy gets to them first.

PHASE II

[ 1400 ] It seems the ghosts have more tricks up their sleeves. It seems that a not-so-friendly ghost has decided to play a game with you. It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing, because a moment later a voice calls out -- Hey. Can you see me? -- and once you turn your head, you’ll come face to face with a surprise.

Who is it in this world (or your world, or any world) that you have managed to disappoint the most? A family member? A friend? Yourself? They face you now, eyes full of sadness, and they say, “I need you to do something for me.” Without another word, they’ll turn away and begin to walk. Your vision grows foggy, focused solely on the need to do whatever this person wants – they need you, after all. Your legs move to follow them, unless you manage to somehow resist.

But you apparently don’t seem to notice that you’re the only one who can see this person – or that they’re leading you stray toward that monorail track with the sound of the train coming closer, or that busy intersection, or right off the sky bridge.

PHASE III

[ 600 ] Other ghosts don’t feel like borrowing faces in order to inflict damage. No, they’ll inflict their damage on a far more personal level. They manifest suddenly and without warning – then all it takes is a simple touch. A ghostly hand reaches out to you and it feels like the cold wraps around your heart, and your vision skews, and then... they leave just as suddenly as they came.

Those who have been around for awhile may very well recognize the ghosts, at that.

But the damage has already been done. Depending on a character’s assigned sense, they will feel one of the following changes:

Sight: Hopefully you aren’t in the habit of bending the truth. Dead men tell no tales, they say. But what happens to a living person unable to tell lies? Any attempt at telling any lie or falsehood will cause the character to feel as though their throat has closed off, and they can do nothing more than choke.

Smell: The cold passes, but in some way that it never really leaves. And then everything seems perfectly normal. Nothing has changed, right? You're fine -- except that in a short period of time with how crazy things are, it becomes apparent that you're unable to feel pain. The damage to your body is the same as ever, but dangerously, you can't feel a thing.

Taste: It would appear as though the ghosts have a sense of humor. From those who rest in eternal slumber, try a few days of being unable to sleep. Everything seems fine at first... but slowly but surely, that lack of sleep will start to take its toll.

Hearing: Most others would feel relief once the ghosts left, finally a moment of peace. But you? You don’t feel anything – nothing kind, anyway. Rather, you have been left unable to feel joy. Everything seems either bleak or as though it simply has no emotional impact at all.

Touch: How many deaths have been caused in the name of heroics? Apparently in an attempt to keep future casualties down (or perhaps for their own laughter), the ghosts have left you unable to be brave. Suddenly, a situation you'd face fearlessly is one that has sent you running, panic sharp in your chest.

These effects will last throughout the event, if a character is caught by them.

PHASE IV

[ 1000 ] While chaos erupts throughout the city, some of the more misguided ghosts (but still bloodthirsty, so very bloodthirsty) just happened to run into the wrong part of town and don’t know how to give a proper scaring. One ghost seems to think that it was a great idea to possess a masseusebot from the Spa. You’re grabbed suddenly! You fight for your life but can’t seem to get yourself out of its metal grip! With expert precision that only a robot can mange, it finds your pressure points – and releases all that tension from this Incredibly Bad Day. The ghost inside the robot is confused, distressed -- why is this human suddenly so relaxed? It only wants to murder. But the only illegal thing happening here is how good this massage makes you feel.

Maybe later you’ll walk down the street and get stopped by the ghost that possessed a balloon dispenser. Perhaps a ghost has possessed the friendly McCERES mascot, and is now handing out coupons with murderous intent. And of course, there are always the hug bots...

Look, they tried really hard, okay.

Of course... they might end up possessing technology a little closer to home as well, at which point it's not so funny.

BONUS

[ xxxx ] Hopefully you have friends who have ghost-fighting skills. Or ghost-taming skills. Or ghost-bellydancing skills, who knows, we won't judge them if you don't. But what of those poor people who come from worlds where the supernatural is some weird television show?

Worry not, poor souls, for CERES is here to provide! Some time after the ruckus begins, characters will find what looks to be a hand-held vacuum cleaner situated innocuously in their rooms (only one per person, you greedy gus). The logo on the side will helpfully inform you that this is of CERES make, because the paper pamphlet beside your new device? Well, it's more like a picture book. Observe Stick-Man Sully as he uses his vacuum cleaner to capture ghosts! Learn from his stellar example! Do not stick the hose in your mouth or attempt to give the vacuum CPR, there's a big X over that picture. Also of the one where Stick-Man Sully sets his captive ghosts free once more, we don't want that, do we?

Your new ghost vacuum should prove effective against any ghastly ghoul that shoots your way, but beware! Should you capture a ghost and not turn in your vacuum to CERES for weekly ghost disposal, your ghost will serenade you in the wee hours of the morning with its song of choice. If you capture a whole horde of ghosts, well, congratulations. You have a boy band living in your vacuum.

[ 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's DECEMBER event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last from 12/16 to 12/23, or IC 4/22 to 4/26. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Phase I

[Because of all the illnesses around the city, Leia's stepped up her patrols. Until things are back to a quiet norm for this place, she can't leave the force just yet. Han's at their apartment with Takeru while she's out walking the streets to make sure that everyone is safe.

So, when the wall explodes, she's not that far away. The spirits scare her for a brief second, but she gets herself in control quickly. But her empathy is going wild. Hatred, angry, grief are so overwhelming that she can't think. The grip on her blaster loosens as it falls to the ground as she grabs her head to block it out.]

St-stop.

Phase III

[It's some time after her sensory overload that Leia slowly makes her way towards the apartment. She might be safe there. Hopefully. She's unsteady on her feet, her empathy still overwhelming her but she's able to at least walk with the help of a hand on the walls.

Just as she makes it to the Residential District, something brushes her face from out of nowhere. It's eerie, but her face doesn't change from the hard, determined look as she slogs through the streets back home.]

[While Takeru knew it wasn't a good thing to go against Leia or Han's words, he just couldn't stand back and do nothing! The moment that he heard the ~~titans~~ wall go down, it didn't take a genius to know that something went wrong. Despite running a fever, he still wanted to go down and help everyone!

And by the time he does? With all the ghosts and spirits roaming around, he momentary took a step back and held on to Patamon for dear life. Maybe it was his sickness talking but as he swallowed a gulp? He quickly charged head on and wanted to see if anyone needed some help! After all his nightmares, he doesn't want anyone else to get hurt thank you!

But when he saw Leia in a state of shock?]

L-Leia-san? A-Are you okay? [...He was probably going to regret disobeying her wasn't he?] C'mon, we got to get you out of here!

[Leia's head snaps up at the familiar voice and she forces herself forward, angry at seeing the boy out.

She snatches her blaster up as she moves and grimaces as she can feel his fear added to the pile.]

Why are you out of bed? You're supposed to be at home.

[Yup, he's totally regretting this all right! But now wasn't the point!]

I-I know but when I saw all the ghosts out? [Sniffle] I was really worried about my friends! And I didn't know if they were going to be safe or hurt or...if something bad might happen to them.

[Pause] ...You're mad at me aren't you?

[Once she's armed again, she reins in her empathy to a point where she can function with only a grimace.]

You have a CEREvice, or did you forget how to use it? [She knows he hasn't.]

Exponentially. You're ill. Go back home. Now.

[Yup, totally grounded]

N-No but with so many ghosts around, I didn't think they would look through their CEREvice. They would be too busy and they could have gotten really hurt!

But what about you though? Are you going to be okay?

[For life. Until he's old enough to drink, and not with Hyoubo. EVER.]

Takeru, you're ill. The fact that you are out of the apartment means that Han is looking for you right now. Which means he might be in danger as well.

Stop worrying about me and take care of yourself. I'm a lot tougher than that girl in the movies we watched.

[And even then she's never been some shrinking violet.]

I will be easy and able to help others if I know that you're safe at home.

[That...was a really good point. He didn't think about his not!dad going after him did he? Which was why there was a look of horror for a brief moment before it was replaced with guilt]

Then we'll...you can try and find him right now? I don't think he'll be too far away from here! I wasn't running for too long anyway!

[Can you hear that? That's the sound of a young boy starting to panic a little.

Oh dear, what has he done now?] But all right, I'll go home if that will make you feel bet-

[Just then though? That's when he quickly turned around and saw a ghost coming after them! Now what?]

[She hadn't meant to scare him, but it looks as if it's working anyway. His safety is the most important thing to her at this point in time.]

I can try and find him, yes. I have a way.

[She touches his shoulder, shoving away his panic to try and stabilize him.][She looks up to see the ghost and lets out a low growl. Takeru's safety is the most important thing right now. Without a second thought, Leia picks the boy up and starts to run.]

When I get my hands on one of these CERES people, I'm going to strangle them. With the Force.

[FORCE NECK HUGS FOR EVERYONE!]

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