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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[Finally, the train arrives, speeding by in a blur of gray steel in only a few seconds. Alcor watches impassively, and he lets go of Adolf, releasing the wire once the danger has passed.]
...Should I not have done that?
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In response to the question, all he can do is shake his head and try to find some grounding for himself. ]
...No. It's— [ what does he even say, jeez. ] —Thanks.
[ First things first. ]
But, this wasn't about wanting to die.
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[It just seems a little strange to him, an outsider who hasn't had the particular phantom experience Adolf or others have been having. However, given that ghosts are everywhere...it wouldn't take him long to put two and two together. Still, he wants to hear it from the other man's mouth directly.]
I am open to the possibility of other motivations for placing oneself in the midst of a life-threatening situation.
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After choosing the right words (which takes a noticeable few seconds), he finally answers: ] Visions. I'm guessing that it's the work of the spirits that've flooded into this place, but they took a familiar form. Asked for a request.
—Mine just happened to take me here.
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Malicious spirits taking on familiar forms in order to lure others to their possible deaths...that isn't unexpected. Have you been able to perceive their forms? They're certainly out for blood.
[His last statement is punctuated with an eerily serene smile as he thinks about it. Spirits that stuck around for this long, sealed for so long, would more often than not be malicious (an understatement). This sort of thing happening just reminds him of a part of his work back home, with demons, angels, and spirits of all sorts. It's a bit of a comfort, a touch of familiarity, even if it's not the most welcome kind.
However, he won't pry into the matter of what kind of familiar form Adolf saw, since it's not his business.]
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[ Meaning, yeah, they're pretty much out to lure hapless victims to their doom without considering the morality of their actions. Not surprising, really.
Alcor's general demeanor would be enough to rub someone on edge the wrong way— eerily level, for someone who's just witnessed a potential death— but it's comforting to Adolf, who finds some sort of solace in treating this as clinically and rationally as possible. ]
Has any of this been affecting you at all. [ Because his own nausea's only gotten worse with the breaking of the wall, and now he has a frame of reference to attach to his general Bad Health. ]
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[He sighs, and makes a motion toward his...everything. The spikes jutting out of half of him, the wires haphazardly coiled around his being, the sheer inhumanity on display right here.]
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And, with some definitiveness, he finally says: ] I wasn't sure if that wasn't normal for you.
[ This is the driest, possibly rudest 'joke' he could have made in this situation, but.
It Was An Attempt. ]
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[...He's still not good at jokes. Terrible, in fact, in case Adolf couldn't tell.]
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My definition was "typical". [ Far be it for him to criticize anyone for odd features, anyway. If he's relatively calm about this whole thing, it's because he wouldn't appreciate being regarded as 'strange', either. ] I can't assume that these things aren't mundane for you, after all.
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[...]
Not all are as accepting as you are, I'm afraid.
[Surprisingly, he chuckles lightly, but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. They have every right to be scared of him in his Septentrione form, after all, but he still can't help but feel a bit melancholic.]
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