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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ Seriously, she's not sure what evolution even looks like, or how it happens so quickly, but she's crouching down a little to put her closer to Weavile's level. ]
I'm sure it must have been very impressive. And look at how amazing you look!
[ Otome, could you not gush proudly over Silver's Pokémon like a proud mom. ]
no subject
as long a she doesn't . . . coo at them . . . silver is good. he will allow it. weavile does look amazing, he will not deny that. ]
He deserves it— Only he knows how much he's worked for it since the battle with Steven. [ alas— he'd like to stand around and chit chat about pokemon, his inner nerd does enjoy it, but . . .
he looks around them. he can't really shake off the edge that comes creeping back to him, and how it suddenly feels way too quiet for comfort. ]
. . . We should stay sharp.
no subject
[ Otome straightens up, all senses suddenly on alert-- aside from her head, which is still pounding. Kazfiel drifts in closer, protectively. ]
no subject
We should find a place to rest, for later.
[ because nobody is crazy enough to fight ghosts for days on end— they didn't even know how long this would last. ]
no subject
[ But it might be worth looking into. ]
no subject
What keeps ghosts away— Rituals?
[ he's only ever heard of them. ]
no subject
[ WHAT'S GENGAR WEAK TO, MAYBE THAT'LL HELP. ]
no subject
Even if they're different from Pokémon, I'm not taking my chance. [ at least, with what he knows, hence weavile being out instead of anyone else. ] Weavile has resistance to ghost types. [ it may not be the same, but— it's what he has. and so far, it's worked. ]
no subject
[ Silver and Weavile included. ]
no subject
—Come on. [ that's all he really says as a signal to keep start ( keep? ) walking, voice a low tone as they trek. it's still deathly quiet and that doesn't quite aid their feelings . . . they still had to look for a place for resting, even if it meant following other people with the same idea and form on big resting area, ghost free. somewhere over them, there's the ups and downs of whispers. murderersmurderersmurderers. if you look in the direction it comes from, it stops.
and bit by bit, they seem to get closer, corner them if they notice.
thiiiiis isn't looking good, is it. ]
no subject
And holds her cellphone up slightly.
What descends from the sky is something like a white-purple light, settling over the area-- before it gets a little too blinding to stare at directly, and the whispers turn into shrieks of agony.
Otome nudges Silver's shoulder, voice soft but urgent. ]
Run, please.
no subject
and he was never, never the type to run. not anymore. ]
And what, you'll stay here? Or we'll get chased around?
[ he doesn't look at otome when he says this, a small twitch of disgust at the thought— weavile stands in front of silver, spits out a hiss, claws out, ears folding low. it's the darkness that seems to seep to them that is only a bit alarming, but not enough to strike fear. his heart beats harder inside him, but he's as ready as any. ]
We'll finish them wherever we are.
[ as a response, weavile agrees— his claws gleam, visually forming blades as he swipes into the air, each time seeming like a dance that grows more frenetic the more he twirls and lifts his fighting spirit, until he stops where he once was and holds his claws forward in harsh ending, tail feathers swishing and twitching. they were coming, but they'd be ready for it. ]
no subject
[ Kids these days and their refusal to seek safety when there's an impending fight-- is what Otome would say if she was old and/or grouchy, but thankfully, she's neither. She thinks it through very quickly - he's young, but he has ways of fighting, he's stubborn, but not idiotically so - and then she sighs, calling Hariti to her side.
The demon shifts into the empty space beside her, and Kazfiel presses closer. ]
Just make sure they don't touch you.
[ This is non-negotiable. ]
no subject
nevertheless, weavile is as ready as can be. the ghosts suddenly seem to spill from their corners, spouting their hissed words and stretching what the could of their bodies to grab at something, grab at anything—
silver instructs weavile to their left. ]
Night Slash!
[ and with bullet speed, the pokemon cuts through an oncoming group with glowing claws and waves of black that lash out from them, causing the ghosts to screech once hit, like suffering searing burns. ]
no subject
... No that's it, that's really the only reason why. Besides the fact that it could be harmful.
But as Weavile attacks to the left, Otome nods to the right, and Hariti gestures impassively. Lightning dances forth from her fingers, and the ghosts that encounter it crumple with high-pitched shrieks. ]