PHASE I [ 9 00 ] 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. ] |
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She didn't have minutes here. A craving for blood claws at her stomach, a phantom pain there and in her throat (burning, an urge to cough and cough) and she looks at Souji with wide eyes. She's heard stranger things here and her mind races with possibilities.
Unfortunately, Yuri's pretty sure Souji is just the right amount of aggressive. She did, after all, just totally invade his mind. But her eyes dart to the side, to the all-too tempting edge, and she flinches and turns away from it.]
...Let's get away from here first. Please. [Her voice is raw, harsh and she shudders] I'll explain, I promise.
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[ without a word, he turns on his heel and moves, not bothering to turn his head and see if Yuri’s following behind. For a moment, he seriously considers leaving her behind. He might not know the reason behind what just happened, but the situation seemed easy enough to understand. He saw something of hers he shouldn’t have seen, she saw something of his that he never wanted anyone to know about. It’d be easy enough to dismiss it along with all the chaos. Easy enough to pretend that nothing had happened. ]
[ He doesn’t slow down until they’re back on the main streets, then he whirls around without warning to look at her, his face cold and his body tense. and hungry. But he pushes that sensation as far as he can from his mind, even as the dull ache in his throat persists. ]
Well? And don't even think about lying to me, unless you want to die. [ ...though in retrospect, that kind of threat was... his lip curls. ]
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When Souji suddenly stops and whirls on her, Yuri stops as well, slowly looking at him. Unless you want to die, he says, and her eyes go flat, gaze sliding away.] ...That's not a good motivation at a time like this.
[She's quiet a moment, gathering her thoughts. Where to even start? The beginning, maybe. A sigh and she crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive posture, but she looks at him straight on.]
I lived at the base of a mountain infamous for suicides. People would travel from all over to end their lives there. [She holds her hand up briefly in a 'wait' gesture, because she's going somewhere with this, she swears.] Before, there used to be shrine maidens that worked on the mountain, helping the people who came. They would come onto the mountain, choose a shrine maiden they liked, and the priestess would be there with them. They'd...watch the suicide, help the person ease their passing into the next life. They had a...special ability, called 'mitori'. It allowed them to, um...
[She pauses again, shifting uncomfortably.] ...To take on the person's memories, their last thoughts, their sins... Things like that. The relive those deaths and die, over and over... [A neverending cycle of feeling every death. Super cheerful stuff.] The mountain's corrupted now, and none of the shrine maidens live there anymore, but the survivors and descendants of the shrine maidens still have that power. [Yuri's not actually sure if she's a descendant or if her powers are just a freak accident, or only became awakened because of the things that happened to her.
Either way, it doesn't matter. There's no use in confusing the issue there. Yuri crosses her arms tightly again, shrugging uncomfortably.] Normally... I don't use it on the...living. I can control it. [Mostly.] But this place... It must be doing something and interfering.
...I'm sorry. [She looks at him straight on again, because she means it sincerely.] I didn't mean for that to happen. Even if you don't believe anything else, you should believe that.
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I believe you. [ usually, that should mean that he forgives her, but his tone is too cold for that. ] But an apology is pretty meaningless at this point.
[ even though he’d probably be mad if she hadn’t apologized either, so ]
Is it always like that then? I see the memory the same time you see it? [ is he implying that she might have done this before without him knowing??? he is ]
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Too many people have been relentless in their forgiveness and it's been strange for her. Souji still being angry, not letting her just get away with it-- it's strangely refreshing. She's not sure how she'll make it up to him, or if he'd even allow her to; this is a rather unprecedented situation, after all, so Yuri has no idea how to proceed.]
Yes, that's how it works. I told you, I don't use it on the living, not intentionally. [Her eyebrows twitch, a brief expression of annoyance at the implications regardless of the fact it's a perfectly understandable one.] But... It's not supposed to work in reverse-- you're not supposed to see my memories too. [She makes a vague hand motion as if to indicate that's one more thing this place is doing in fucking with her power.] I mean, I... guess I could project them, but I've never done that before.
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[ and right now... it's difficult to say if he'll stay angry forever. he sure is angry now, and it's not helped with the knowledge that none of it is really Yuri's fault. She hadn't grabbed him first, so that would make it his fault and by extension CERES. He's not dumb enough to ignore that. he should probably apologize here too, shouldn't he. for seeing that memory. But apologies don't come easy to Souji either. He talks as soon as she stops, derisively. ]
I don't care whether it's the ghosts or this place or whatever that's messing with your power. [ he's not too interested in the real reasons why (even though he really should be, considering his own rasetsu abilities). ] Like you said, it's not like you can take it back.
[ 'neither of us can', he thinks. which is annoying, and why can't his problems be simple? why can't people die here and why couldn't it have been an enemy who saw? that way he could kill them and be done with all of this. he swallows, throat dry. minutes might have already passed, but that feeling's still there. what should he do? maybe he should ignore it? but he's not like Hijikata, who could hold off on making big decisions based on the small fact that they might not turn out to be a problem, is he? ]
...Seriously, how annoying. Is an apology really all you can give? You'd better think of something else, before I make a decision for you.
[ that's unfair of him tbh and he knows it. maybe he just wants her to say 'i can magically make myself forget' and solve all their problems for him!! ]
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She doesn't consider herself close to him, but Souji's a prickly person. He taunts and teases and pushes and pushes and pushes, an Yuri isn't sure if giving in would be a win or a loss. She can't tell, with Souji, but it almost feels like everything is a test, that every answer or response is being measured against Something that determines her worth to him as a person or a tool or a something. It's frustrating and childish at times, but at least it keeps her on her toes.
She also knows that Souji is dangerous, for all his smiles and teasing and taunting. He's got a sword and he knows how to use it-- she's caught glimpses of things in Kashuu's memories. He was--is?--a member of the Shinsengumi and all that comes with that.
There's no fear, however, though Yuri knows she should be afraid. Maybe it's because it's just death, and Yuri has never feared such a thing. She feels, instead, strangely calm, and wonders if that too counts as a "loss" here.
Her head tilts and she blinks slowly.] Something else... What do you want? If I can, I'll give it to you. [She has a feeling that whatever he wants isn't actually something she can give-- i.e. "forget everything"/"pull those memories away"]
...Do you want to kill me? [it's not quite an invitation, but she figures that might be on the list anyhow.]
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[ he pins his still-cold eyes directly into hers, as if he hadn’t been thinking about anything at all, then ]
There’s no point in killing someone who'll just come back.
[ it’s a fact that he just lets unfurl between the both of them, bringing them back to the square they never moved on from. ]
I want you to forget about it. [ he continues quickly, before she can interrupt ] Don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, and keep it to yourself.
[ in a way, this is for Yuri’s sake as much as it is for hers. The memory may not have been obvious, but it wouldn’t take long for Yuri to connect the dots if he gave her the freedom too. For now, he thought, he won’t mention the shinsengumi at all. Let her think that it’s just him who’s the monster. ]
If you can’t do that much, then I really will kill you.
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The fact he wants her to forget it so badly just guarantees she's going to be analyzing it later, once everything's calmed down. They are, unfortunately (fortunately?), neighbors, so she's sure she'll end up dropping by to press her findings on him sooner or later. It's dangerous and stupid, maybe, but.. Well, she could try going to Kashuu about it, being his sword and all (that was so weird o think about if she tried to think about it more deeply than 'Kashuu is Souji's sword but not this Souji but also yes this Souji and yeah moving AWAY from that thought now--) but...
Yuri glances at him, to the swords at his side, then back. 'Keep it to yourself,' he was asking. She could do that much.
(Except maybe warn Kashuu, later down the road when she's preparing to confront Souji, that if he doesn't hear from Yuri within a set time frame to send a rescue squad in.)]
...Alright.
[She lifts her hand slightly, then hesitates and lowers it back to her side, feeling stupid for the inexplicable want to comfort him somehow. It was uncomfortable to have your thoughts invade. Miu might have stabbed Yuri herself (might as well have with the hatred in her voice and her eyes) when Yuri had stupidly barreled into her memories in an attempt to understand. She wasn't any good at comforting people anyhow, so her hand just dropped back to her side with a self-depreciating amusement. Physical comfort wouldn't be a good idea right now anyhow, nevermind the fact that she doubts Souji would've accepted it in the first place.]
And, about what you saw... [She can't demand the same restrictions, because while personal it doesn't get at her the same way Souji's memories had clearly gotten to him. So instead Yuri sighs deeply and shakes her head.] ...No, do what you want. I don't have the right to ask anything of you.
I'm...not like that anymore. Not so much. [As in, 'not suicidal' but then when paired with 'not so much'... Well. Ouse had been more than willing to let Yuri die with her, a promise to 'not die alone' and Yuri wouldn't lie and say she wasn't tempted.]
What now?
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[ Honestly, he's not sure he even trusts her, but her vocal agreement seems to be enough to him for now. ]
Not so much? [ he echoes it, because yuri please... ] Is that why you're out here alone?
[ are you trying to get murdered by robots, yuri??? ]
Never mind. It's not any of my business. [ even though he made it his earlier at the bridge ] If you want to die, then keep on wandering out here by yourself. If you don't, then I'll take you to someone who won't mind a burden.
[ like kashuu maybe. or sousei because he bets that would annoy him. rude af tbh. ]
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[I'm here with you, so please, just stay with me. Even if it's just for a little while. Yuri had gotten the chance to turn those words around at last, had spent night after night obsessively braving the suicide mountain and spirits and everything else just to rescue her. She'll be damned if she dies permanently before she sees it through to the end.]
So you should be careful. The spirits might try to trick you, too. [A light warning, because hey if it happened to her she has no doubt it might happen to someone else.
Besides-- Yuri shakes her head.] I don't want to die. But, that's pretty kind of you. [What's the catch, is what she seems to be quietly implying.]
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I've seen it all before. Boring tricks aren't that interesting.
[ 'or effective' he thinks without knowing how close he's come to falling for that exact trick recently... Then several shades cooler, ]
You've got a warped definition of kindness if you think I'm being kind to you. [ He picks up on that implication, but he's also like insulted by this compliment?? he's not kind, ugh. who knew Yuri could insult him so easily with such a simple sentence. ] I've got things to do tonight that don't involve looking after you. That's not too hard to understand, is it?
[ regardless, he turns around and starts walking, fully expecting Yuri to follow, but at the same time not feeling too bothered about the possibility that she won't. this time, he'll let her decide. ]
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You haven't killed me and you're taking me to someone who can look out for me. That kinder than most people. I didn't realize being thought of as a good person would be such a bad thing. Should I insult you instead? [Well he's kinder than she's come to expect from people in general, really, but she doesn't feel like she has to say that out loud. He could, after all, just abandon her entirely. But he hasn't, so: Kind.
She follows after him easily enough. Really the same could be said of her; she doesn't need the protection of anyone, but she's curious as to what kind of person Souji would think to leave her with.] Who are you taking me to?
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If you can't keep your assumptions to yourself, then I won't bother taking you to anyone. [ as for who that anyone is... at this point, he's just keeping his eyes open for familiar faces. ]
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[The last thing she needs is for him to actually stab her. It'd be horribly inconvenient, for one thing. She still thinks he's being kind, but given that her capacity for understanding what constitute as kindness is generally around the vicinity of 'isn't actively trying to kill me' that's probably not saying much.
But no, she'll be a good girl for now okay.]
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There he is. [ he briefly says to Yuri, then quickens his stride as he approaches. ] Good evening, Sousei-san. I found someone who needs your help.
[ That's Yuri. Who probably doesn't look like the typical damsel in distress. But Souji's not going to waste any time here!!! ]
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Sousei was minding his own business!! You know, stabbing ghosts with his exorcist sword, the usual. It's just Sousei being Sousei, trying to do damage control.
And that's when Souji shows up to drop a metaphorical puppy on him.]
...What are you doing, Okita?
[Though even as he says so, he's glancing over Yuri. Not someone he knows, but... this clearly is becoming his problem for a reason.]
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She's still quiet as they approach, eyeing Sousei with a mix of curiosity and wariness. If he's someone Souji knows, what does that say about Sousei... Her eyes dart between the two men as if trying to find a connection.
After a moment though she looks back at Sousei when he looks at her and tilts her head, normally passive features turning to one of slight sympathy and apology. This wasn't really her idea either, sorry bro.]
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You're the type who can't leave helpless people alone, right? [ wow ] She shouldn't be too much of a burden, but she almost fell off a bridge, so.
[ so???? He looks at Yuri. ] Don't worry, he looks strict and mean, but he's alright. [ then, with a pause and eyebrow raised ] Aren't you going to introduce yourself?