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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It's a bad memory, she knows, which is why she doesn't question it so much. Not until she's sure he's safe.]
I see. This again. [She hisses angrily.] It has happened before. Differently, sometimes they twist the vision of someone we know and love. [Wait.] Games where we have to save them from death. Once, a vision of ourselves during a darker time. This I endured. But...those were because of the system, some were in ViViD. What of now?
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But pointing out the fact that those things are unpleasant is hardly productive, so the only way he relays some sort of surprise is through a measured look at Vietnam over the top of his collar, finally able to because her words put things into perspective. ]
Not sure. I didn't think I believed that any of this could happen until now. [ sure, ViViD makes a lot of things possible, but in Cerealia proper?? Though that's not saying much, is it; this place has done weirder things, in and out of the games. ] ...If you've been through this before, then you would know the safest way to keep yourself out of trouble.
[ Not phrased as a question, but it's implied: 'you know how to protect yourself and not have to suffer this BS again, right'. ]
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He's still a Cerealia baby...]
It's...one of the darker things they can do, yes. [She tries to remember if anything was out of ViViD, and there was that one time during Christmas. So she heard.] Unfortunately not. It just seems to get us when we least expect it. We can only hope that it doesn't get us, or that we are with someone unaffected.
[Then they can punch them back to reality. Oh wait...maybe she shouldn't have answered that, that just encourages him.]
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But. That aside, he stops in his tracks for a moment to consider where the safest place to go would be: not the Residential District, probably. The wall is literally RIGHT THERE, so that's... probably not good. Thanks, Cerealia. ]
Is it safe for you to be hanging around me, then.
[ JUST...WONDERING. ]
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She stops with him, wondering what he's thinking. But now she's thinking that he probably thought she should go away because he's a pillar of unsafe.]
It is fine. It is easier for more than one person to be together, as the one can wake up the other.
[Or you know, carry them?!]
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But once he decides that the gardens are as good a place as any to head to, he motions for Vietnam to follow him again as he makes his way through the street. ]
...If there's strength in numbers, I'm fine with taking the practical approach. [ Ah, look, cooperativeness...! Though he's still internally stewing about this, he can set it aside for a more important purpose: namely, helping Vietnam Not Die. ] We're heading for the Gardens. It might be quieter over there.
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And off she goes, following after him again.]
Yes, it did help a lot to approach this in such a manner. [Lots of shaking around, but you know. This is an improvement! Then again they've worked together well before, so.] The Gardens sound like a better idea than where we are, yes. Perhaps others are there already.
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But, still. There's a runner of stiffness as he makes his way to the Gardens, weaving through whispers of ghosts that chant 'murder' (thanks guys, real reassuring).
When he finally breaks the silence, it's only to say: ] Stay close.
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The ghosts, though, aren't making it easy. It's definitely no walk in the park (you see what I did there)
As urged, she moves closer, not for herself but also so she can protect him.] I wonder what these accusations of murder is all about.
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[ You don't use a word like 'murderer' and actively try to murder everyone you see unless you have a pretty good reason, Adolf is sure. Things get a bit quieter as they near the Garden, thanks to the dwindling amount of machinery that the ghosts can possess— but still. Better to move quickly.
He quickens his pace, and makes sure Vietnam is following. ]
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[It's true, it's like when Maris came and tried to flood them all. Everything was all because of CERES, so this was probably a similar case. Would the spirits be victims of CERES then, she wonders.
When he quickens his pace, she tries to pick up her own speed to match him.]
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[ He tosses that word out there, 'die', as casually as ever— as if it's not anything worth thinking about, or if it's just a fact of life.
But here they are, at their destination! It's a relief to see it, despite the fact that he can't be sure of how safe this place might be. At the very least, it seems peaceful enough for now. ]
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[That might be contradictory, only because she easily "died" a few times before. That being said, Himaruya may have added that they lived...through death.......which means she's going to punch him harder?!
A moments peace is enough for them to rest and think about their next move.]
You should rest for a moment. The shock of what happened may have been quite...intense.
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She suggests that he should rest, though, and Adolf shifts on his feet, glances towards the nearest bench and falls silent for a second to assess whether or not taking that seat will say too much about his current situation.
But, in the end, it's not worth agonizing about: he walks over to it, settles himself down without breaking neutrality in expression. ]
The only shocking thing about it was that I fell for it. I'll be fine.
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She'd probably make him sit anyway, since they should take a break whenever they can. This fight will be constant, not until CERES does something about it, or they all reach some kind of compromise.
As he sits down, she follows suit and settles down beside him.]
It must've been someone important back home to be able to draw you into such a trance. [She doesn't mean this in the way he probably would think, since lol coincidence. It's just that seeing friends or loved ones has been so frequent that it could've been terrifying. She had to help Namazuo save a vision fo his brother from Hangman okay!!]
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So, finally— he owns up to it, that heavy weight that's sunk into the pit of his stomach. It's common knowledge back in his world, anyway. He's rehearsed all of this a million times, had a year to perfect his act. ]
Yeah.
My wife.
[ It hurts to say, but it's the truth. His expression remains carefully steady throughout this confession... ]
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She's not sure why she's surprised. If she would ever think back on this day, she would probably say it's the shock of just seeing your own wife lure you to your death. It's easy for someone as good as he is to find someone to love and love him back. It's not easy to see her try to kill you though.
But no wonder it shook him so hard. She sits back and leans against the bench, exhaling.]
They really managed to dig deep.
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It was an obvious choice.
[ Because it is, why wouldn't it be? He has a ring around his neck instead of on his left hand, but it still weighs as much as it would anywhere else. Of course the spirits would latch onto that as a vulnerability. ]
I'll know better than to expect that she'd be here, if there's a second time.
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It really is. But...[She rubs the back of her head. What can she say to even make it better?]
I will stop you again, once it happens. To fall weakness to love isn't a bad thing.
[God if only she knew.]
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You make it sound so noble.
[ That sounds snide, maybe. Sarcastic, possibly. Definitely dry, as if he doesn't believe that it was anything so selfless, that he walked onto those tracks.
(It wasn't— it was just another way for him to deny his problems, to walk into a wall.) ]
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It's something humans have that we can...well, it's almost something my colleagues and myself can never get.
[Remember that time Monaco said "If only we can spend holidays with family and lovers like humans, right?!" YEAH, THAT'S IT.]
So I think as painful as it is, it can be quite noble.
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But man, he's almost forgotten (completely forgotten, even) that Vietnam isn't quite human, mostly because the idea that she's actually a nation is... still something to get used to. Or understand. But her conundrums feel legitimate, even if he doesn't have the capacity to understand immortality or all the baggage that comes along with it.
He's sure that his problems are small, in comparison to hers; it's selfish, isn't it, to pretend that they aren't. ]
...I wouldn't know. I can't measure these things or speak on behalf of humans about them.
[ A careful tilt of his head towards Vietnam, before he faces forward again. ]
If the subject is difficult for you, we don't have to discuss it.
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She doesn't mind at all because she's used to it, and it seriously takes some mentally strong people to just accept their life as is. She's accepted it. Talking about it doesn't hurt her.]
You do not have to worry about me. It is something I already know and accept. If I cannot talk about it, then I am not strong enough to be what I am. Rather, I am curious about what it is like.
[Would that explain all the dramas? Not really, but it does show she has very little knowledge about it and seriously just wings it.] I am actually happy for you. That you are loved. [LAYS DOWN ALL THE SHIT look it's not her fault okay IT'S HIS CANON'S FAULT?]
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But no, wouldn't it be great if he could spend one moment of his life actually believing for a moment that things like love and being human were accessible to him, What If. He steadies his expression so that it doesn't waver when Vietnam says that she's happy that he's loved, because the irony of those words and his situation stings; like falling on an old wound, tearing at a half-closed gash.
But, still— a part of him feels for Vietnam, as misplaced as that emotion is. She's beyond pity or empathy, isn't she— she's far stronger than that, far stronger than to fish for sympathy from the truth. ]
...It's not something that you should be happy about.
[ A dismissive comment, which he makes sound like his usual tsun shyness— as if he's trying to wave aside the topic of conversation because it embarrasses him, not because it's a barb in his heart. ]
I'm not the best person to talk to about these things.
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She's heard of stories of some countries falling in love. Although it really is something that just passes, or sometimes they later say it wasn't really romantic love. NicoNico is probably the closest person they will ever know who has a wife and child, but he's long since left his country brethren.
Vietnam does think of Adolf being a tsundere when it comes to this, not because his life is thoroughly torturing him for no reason whatsoever. She could've been a lot more delicate about this, or held her tongue, but Adolf has made no mention about how uncomfortable his relationship is, and so her assumptions...]
Why should I not be happy about it? [Her greatest worry was that he didn't feel human, and he really is more human that he makes himself out to be.] You have more experience than me, at least.
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