You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
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:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ 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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OTA
I
[To be honest, the recollection of their earlier conversation and the offered ration was almost enough to earn a chuckle from Koumei in this dark and desperate situation. The giant crab, while edible, was the furthest from 'good food' that Koumei had ever eaten in his life, and even the water around them was suspect without heavy distillation first.]
Thank you for the offer, but won't that put you at a disadvantage right now? Putting yourself at risk for someone who is just an acquaintance isn't very wise.
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[And that seems to be her complete explanation. It's common sense to her anyhow.]
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Then I thank you-- it's very kind of you to offer.
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They're very filling anyhow. You can go a whole day on just one. Or that's what my Elders like to say.
[She probably could but someone with a bigger appetite... not so much.]
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[The less that they needed to carry on their person while on the road was for the better of everyone. They could pack more of the items that were more worthwhile, like weapons or tradeable goods.]
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I
Ah, thanks- [Her stomach growls loudly] Ahahaha... that sounds pretty good right about now!
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It was a long walk, wasn't it?
[She deposits the pill into Hajime's hand. It's not tiny by any means, around the side of a rice ball. It's not necessarily a huge meal either but at least it's rather filling and sweet!]
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[She has to stop herself from gobbling it down immediately, pulling up just short of popping the whole thing - yes, the whole thing - into her mouth, instead taking a modest little bite out of it. The taste is simple, rough, but it's sweet and it's the best thing she's had in hours]
Mmmm, so sweet!
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Have you been here very long, Hajime? In Cerealia, I mean.
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[She didn't think she'd soon be in a situation that would be even worse than that. Though at least that she'd known was just a game in ViViD]
How about you?
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phase i!
[ But it didn't spare him from hunger, apparently. After a moment, he reaches over to pluck it from her hand. ]
Ration pills, huh? So you always have these on you?
[ He peers at it, then pops it into his mouth.... why not ]
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[A day of training may necessity a momentary snack before dinner after all. She may not have a huge appetite but she did still have one.]
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[ He chews in thought. ]
What else do you carry around?
[ extra SWORDS MAYBE? ]
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[Said sword is settled against her left hip, chiefly hidden by her cloak. She didn't have quite as convenient of an excuse as not needing to sleep though. This was a new environment still and after waking up in trash heaps as well as swamps, the demon wasn't very keen on the notion of being unarmed or unprepared. She very rarely leaves her sword behind now and stays prepared.]
iii!
Kaoru is certainly used to things going wrong by now - though this is sort of next-level even for "things going wrong in the colony", honestly. If nothing else, that has Kaoru's guard raised even higher than usual, if at all possible. Everything is given careful scrutiny, and when Yukina's voice rings out from inside the building, Kaoru approaches cautiously rather than quickly.
It's still fast enough to see the image reflected back in that shard, though.]
...Miss? Are you all right?
[Quietly, with just as much caution.]
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It fades out quickly though as Yukina's attention is wrenched from the scene unfolding before her again up in the direction of the voice. She blinks almost uncomprehendingly a moment before she breathes out:]
Kaoru.
[Kaoru? What had she just... Yukina almost looks back down to the shard, then freezes in place.]
These mirrors...
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[There's worry and concern present for Yukina, but Kaoru has been in the city long enough to understand what kind of trap this is. Lingering is a bad idea, in case the mirrors decide to show anything else from either of them.]
Here— [A hand offered outward toward her, in case she needs it.]
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Thank you.
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[Kaoru will help her to her feet, but there won't be much of a pause before turning to head back toward the exit. The glass underfoot crunches noisily, but it reflects back nothing for the time being.]
It's best if you try not to let these things upset you. They happen often.
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phase iii;
his attention remains that way until he realizes the imagery has shifted—these aren't his memories, they're someone else's. it feels invasive to him to watch them, though from the words he's hearing... it's a little hard to help. shaking it off, he presses forward until he spots yukina. she looks frozen in place, like he'd been earlier... and just like others had done for him, he wants to do the very same. they may have only spoken once, but he can't let someone else go through this kind of painful experience too.
so stahn makes his way to her, standing in front of her to block her eyes from directly looking at the mirror.]
Hey... tune it out. Try not to listen to it... [but even stahn can't help but to falter as the imagery blends with shards of his memories in the other mirrors. while some contain what yukina is recalling, others have the image of stahn being held back, kicking, screaming and crying. his own voice ringing out "We can't leave Leon! We have to go back down!" in another shard, an unseen, deeper voice booms "What the hell are you thinking!? That's impossible now!"
it's a strange blend of terrible memories for them both, and that's why stahn keeps his eyes fixed on her, trying to draw her attention while trying to ignore the threats to his own focus.]
Can you walk? We should get out of here.
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She blinks a time or two before her eyes seem to focus on the blond. When they do though things seem to snap quickly back into the moment for her. She nods slowly before moving to her feet, careful of the shards around her.]
I can, yes.
[She's doing her level best not to look now, even if she's still shaken by the memory that had played out for her all over again.]
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That's good. [he offers her a bit of a weak smile—he's definitely not nearly as energetic as usual for the obvious reasons. but he'll try anyway, because it's just his nature to do so. but as they can start moving away (not that it matters when the imagery follows them—getting out of the building is the key here), he feels he can speak again. maybe it'll keep them both from being too focused.]</small I'm sorry... I didn't mean to overhear any of that.
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... Ah, you could see it too?
[That's when it strikes her that she had seen something separate from her own memory as well. And now she can't help but look at him in surprise.]
Was that yours?
[Maybe it's an odd way to put it but she's not certain if it's a memory like her own or not.]
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[he'll admit it quietly; he could apologize for her having seen it, but all things considered, that was probably not as bad as some of the other things... so while he feels bad, he still decides it's more prudent that he'd conveyed his own apologies for being so intrusive to her own memories.]
I don't know what this place is but... I guess it can show us memories, or something like that.
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