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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That's what lives in the lake. That, and a bunch more, and they'd all like nothing more than to make you a tasty morsel.
[there's only a sliver of concern in his tone; after all, these things aren't quite as big as sea kings and geez it's not like they haven't casually punched the shit out of sea kings before. Zoro's less worried about it eating Luffy and more concerned that his captain is seeing things]
C'mon, grab hold of me and let's get back to dry land.
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Then he sees Ace again. Much deeper. Just beyond the thing. Ace is trying to wave him over, looking worse and worse]
There he is! Oi! Ace! [he manages to pull his arm up and with some effort whaps it on the things lip] Take me out to him!
[it responds by trying to eat his hand and suck him up like spaghetti]
Wha--? Hey! Stop that!
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Come back here! Stupid thing. Luffy, punch it or let go!
[as he's yanking he shifts his eye around to look and see if he can spot Ace. But there's nothing. Not a damn thing, besides this overgrown eel.]
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GUM GUM NO ROCKET!
[and they are airborne. He might overshoot Ace but maybe Ace can catch up!]
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He grits his teeth on the sword and lets it happen, because there's no way out of this. Nope. Hopefully they'll shoot over the entire lake at this rate but then Luffy had better Fuusen or it's gonna hurt.]
Well that's one way of doing it.
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life bouynakama. But as they surface he spits out water and again doesn't see Ace anywhere or feel him either. He believes it when he does but when Ace is gone...]Is it a trick, Zoro?
[cuz he can't tell]
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The giant toothy eel seems confused by where they went to, but it'll turn around and sniff them out soon enough. Time to start swimming with a rubber hammer around his neck. First, though, Shuusui goes away. He has extra reason to protect his blades, now, after all...]
Might be. A lot of weird shit's been going on. I figured it was okay since nothing seemed to happen when these ghosts touch you, but... [buh] There's still weird shit, I guess. Hang on tight.
[and off he goes striking for the nearest shore. Just keep his head turned the right direction, Luffy, or you'll be floating right back toward the hungry snake-eel creature.]
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Zoro... This pisses me off... let's find a way to kick their ass...
[it's really hard to kick ghosts in the ass. He's tried that a lot but never been very successful. He's not sure he'll be successful now but mostly he can't be too angry because he still feels like a limp noodle. Stupid water]
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Who, the ghosts? All right, if you say so. Hang on...
[he twists in mid-breaststroke, slinging one arm around Luffy to keep him from flying off or letting go, and kicks the giant water creature square in the jaw.]
I'M BUSY HERE! Go find someone weaker to eat!
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Luffy won't let it have its way and glares into the eel's eyes...
One burst of Haki later and he snakes out a hand to grab the Eel's lip as it floats dazed and frothing on the water]
Let's go, I'm hungry.
[some fire cooked unagi would taste good right now]
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Hang onto it then, now I gotta drag you and this shitty thing to shore.
[it's not far, though, he was almost there. A few minutes later he's climbing up onto the bank, keeping Luffy slung over his shoulder until they're well out of the water and away from its effects. Good, now he has use of his hands again and can slice the head off their snack.]
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But he stops when he sees Ace again, watching him. It's not Ace. It's not. He can feel it. He still can't turn his back on his brother even if it only looks like his brother so...
He closes his eyes and makes his way back to Zoro with an armful of firewood. Even still he can hear Ace calling him and it's too easy to peek. He wants to peek. To turn around and see him and look at him but it's just a stupid ghost and not even an Ace ghost]
Zoro... can I use your bandanna?
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[he, too, goes to gather up wood, definitely up for an impromptu barbecue (should he text Sanji...? Nah.), but even if he wasn't busy Zoro wouldn't see the ghost. He sees nothing but the occasional shadow, as they lurk about trying to figure out how to get to him and failing miserably]
Why? What do you need it for? [it's precious, okay? He just needs to know.]
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Zoro straightens up where he is and turns slowly to just sort of stare at Luffy. Is that why he went in the water? Were the ghosts doing this?
After a moment, he reaches to unknot the bandanna from his left arm.]
All right. You sure that'll be enough? [looks around] Where is the bastard?
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He's behind me.
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There's no way to know if anything he does will have an effect, but might as well try. Zoro strides over, pulling his bandanna free and gently pressing it into Luffy's hand as he passes and places himself back to back with his captain.]
I don't know who you are, but you're not who you look like. You want at him, you're gonna have to go through me. Show yourself, you rotten bag of wind.
[probably not anywhere near threatening enough. But he's adamant and will stand his ground.]
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And yeah. It's not him. It's not Ace at all. Just a rotten bag of wind. A big smelly fart. The one who is pretending to be Ace says something but Luffy ignores him because he can't feel him either. Can't feel heat or energy or heart or will. There is nothing there.
He touches Zoro's sleeve.]
Let's go eat, na, Zoro.
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He can see the ghost, now, it fades into view as just a regular old ghost-shape, no one recognizable to either of them. Clearly, this wall of muscle is going to prevent it from securing another victim, so it flutters off to go make trouble elsewhere.]
...yeah, good idea. We've got us an eel to barbecue.