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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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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It's easier than having to look at Stahn, after all, when he feels this tired. Leon can feel his breathing ragged as it is, and he hates that he's--still this weak. Even now, there are opponents he can't take on, even to protect Stahn.
Even to help make sure Stahn gets home, to protect their worlds.
So he ignores Stahn's attempts to engage him in conversation, even if he should probably respond. For now... for now, he's silent, because his focus is entirely on making sure they get somewhere safe.
He keeps his eyes ahead of them, and when he can no longer sense or hear any monsters, no matter how he listens... he stops.]
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stahn follows behind at a labored pace with the words hanging on the edge of his tongue, and of course, dymlos is reprimanding him for not dodging quick enough. it's bad. it's a bad situation all around, and while dymlos eventually stops when stahn is clearly not even bothering to put up a fight... it doesn't help much.
by the time leon stops, stahn is clutching at his side in pain; he's doing his best to stay upright and fight through the pain, but it hurts, and for all that he's grown, he's still something of a baby himself sometimes. his breathing is labored once again, and he's a bit pale (and maybe almost... greenish), so he's fine enough with stopping when leon does.
...even if there is that hint of dread for what follows.]
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Leon slowly breathes out (he still feels short of breath, which is irritating) and then turns to face Stahn, pointing to a piece of broken down wall.]
Sit. Let me see it.
[They have no idea how long they'll be stuck here; Stahn won't survive if he bleeds out out here. Leon will take care of it, and then...then we'll come up with something else.]
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[he says it quietly, trying to mask the pain behind the few words he utters. which... is probably a sign that all is not well in itself.
stahn isn't about to argue it though; he's in too much pain to fight this with any sort of conviction, so he just takes a seat atop the most steady and solid portion of that broken wall, waiting for leon to do... whatever it is he'll do. aside from the odd heal spell in battle, he's never had leon tend to any of his wounds before so... stahn doesn't really know what to expect at all.]
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unnecessarily 90s turtleneckto get at the injury, inspecting it critically. They don't have a lot on hand for dealing with injuries, but he can at least apply pressure and stop the bleeding and.... hope that they can get out of here before any infections set in.There's a long pause--and then he sighs and pulls out his dagger to chop off the entire bottom of his cloak, raggedly but certain.
And then he folds it up and, mercilessly and mechanically, he presses the swatch of cloth to Stahn's injury, applying pressure thoroughly.
At least he knows what he's doing, even if he still looks pretty unhappy.]
no subject
he winces a bit when leon pulls his shirt up, looks on in surprise when leon uses the dagger to tear the cloak's fabric, and lets out a small hiss of pain as leon puts pressure to the wound. part of his wants to look away, because he feels like a disappointment for getting hurt to the point where leon needs to do this for him at all.
but at the same time, he can't look away. he watches the way leon works so swiftly and expertly, coming up with a plan on the fly to tend to the problem. it's one of those things that stahn admires endlessly about him—leon is quick on his feet, smart and capable... and despite everything, he feels incredibly lucky that he can call leon his friend.
even if he looks unhappy.
even if they're both unhappy beyond belief right now. but even though he's in visible pain and he's upset about more things than he lets on, he can't help but to watch on with that sort of dumb admiration that stahn has always had for leon since the first time they fought.]
no subject
It won't help either of them if he pitches over from overdoing it.
So instead he keeps the pressure there, keeps his head bowed and focused on said injury instead of Stahn's face, and when he's determined that the blood flow has lessened enough, he uses the ragged cut up remains of that swatch of cloak to tie the makeshift cloth in place as snuggly as he can. Stahn still shouldn't move too much, but... Leon knows when they're in a tight situation, and he needs to be able to move when need be.
And then he sits back on his heels, hands a little bloody and expression almost unreadable, and for a moment, he just sits there, staring at Stahn's armor (but it's pretty clear his thoughts are further away than that).]
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getting hurt to save leon isn't something he could ever regret—he'd do it a hundred more times if that's what it takes. but leon having to take care of him to the point where he's covered in stahn's blood... why does it pain him so much? it wasn't supposed to be like that.]
...Sorry. [he mumbles as his gaze shifts away from an admiring look to that of just feeling plain awful about it. he caused leon to worry. he got hurt. he needed to be taken care of. it's hard to look leon in the eye that way, and he's sure that leon is probably also still furious with him for what he did.]
...But thank you too, Leon. [for still helping him even if he's furious.]
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He frowns tightly, wiping his hands on the tattered remains of his cape, and stands sharply.]
You are an idiot.
[Ah, yes, he's Not Happy.]
What, exactly, did you think that would accomplish? I am more than capable of taking care of myself--are you trying to insult me?
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[stahn protests almost immediately, briefly looking up at leon before his gaze shifts again.
of course, stahn will be blunt and earnest in his intent, even if it's not the easiest thing to say.]
It was moving too fast... I couldn't—I can't watch you get hurt, or worse. I didn't mean to get hurt either but... I couldn't....
[stahn squeezes his eyes shut—after having seen the mirror memories, leon's death is fresher in his mind than ever. the idea of seeing leon get hurt or killed right in front of him again is something he just can't bear right now. he's not in the most stable state right now, but he still thinks he did what was right, no matter how stupid it may have been.]
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[It's said sharply, tone raising, if only out of distress. Stahn... Stahn still doesn't get it. He still thoughtlessly leapt out to cover for him, despite the fact that Leon is dead and Stahn is not. Despite the fact that everything rides on Stahn's shoulders--
He'd be willing to throw that all away to protect Leon.
And that...that's unacceptable. Leon has nothing. Nothing to return to. Nothing to live for. Stahn has everything, and that is as it should be. The thought that being around Leon is putting Stahn in dangerous situations like this (like Marian) is almost too hard to swallow. He...doesn't want to give that up. But if he has to, he'll pull away from Stahn to keep him safe.]
You still fail to understand, don't you? Sacrificing yourself for something like this is pointless.
no subject