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?  ...
...........
................
:)
|
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. ] |
![[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
Sorry.
[ his back hurts, but he tries to speed up in walking, anyway. ]
Over there.
[ it looks like an abandoned building?! it's a bit far, but it seems like the only other place for shelter at the moment. ]
no subject
At least abandoned building does seem to be a viable option; it's not exactly promising looking, but it's better than wandering around out in the open, and seems to be their best bet right now.
He just has to make sure Yata doesn't end up recklessly getting hurt before they get there.]
no subject
thank god.
there's no reason to relax yet, though. who knows what other threats are there? ]
no subject
For now it doesn't seem to be an issue as they round the corner. It doesn't take too much more to get to shelter, such as it is. Once they've ducked inside the relative safety of the abandoned building and it seems as though the creature outside has passed by in search of them without being able to find them, Fushimi turns to Yata and points at the ground.]
Sit. You need to be looked at.
no subject
he slouches, but that makes him feel an immense amount of pain in his back, which makes him cry out a bit. and if fushimi ever checks yata's back, he'll find that it's now blue and purple, with a hint of red. this giant bruise is going to take a while to heal. but it's nothing yata can't handle. he'll be able to ignore the pain later on. ]
no subject
He scowls as Yata cries out, but only because he's concerned. He is going to check Yata's back; he lifts the hem of his shirt up as gingerly as possible, pushing it up and out of his way towards Yata's shoulders. With this other hand, Fushimi traces the bruises that are already standing out against his skin, hand glowing softly with blue light. He doesn't have the ability to restore things or make the pain go away with his aura, but the touch is cool and gentle despite that fact that Yata's skin is rather warm under his hand.]
I know it's asking a lot, but you'll have to do your best to avoid doing something stupid for a while [He lets his fingers ghost over the rest of Yata's back, from the small of his back, trailing upwards towards his shoulders and even around to his sides, pressing lightly in certain areas.] Somehow I think you're going to be okay, Misaki.
no subject
and the blue clan member might not have healing abilities, but yata's feeling a lot better by being comforted like this. of course, his body disagrees with his mind as it continues twitching here and there. fushimi might be gentle, but it doesn't help that yata has soft spots in various places and he feels like he's being tickled. ]
It wasn't stupid, [ he says, looking at his shoes. it's the only thing he can look at without feeling totally ashamed of what's going to come out of his mouth. ]
I want to protect you, so I'd do a lot of stupid things just to do it.
[ he's totally serious, too. don't laugh at him, fushimi. ]
no subject
It takes him a moment to process what Yata says, hand pausing in its exploration of Yata's back. He lets out a small, surprised huff as he pulls his hand away from Yata's back, aura fading. Yata has proven time and again how far he's willing to go to protect the things he cares about, no matter how dangerous. And now, thanks to Fushimi's carelessness, Yata's back is mottled in bruises that are still going to spread.
He slowly brings Yata's shirt down with the other hand, making sure not to drag it against his skin. It's obvious how serious Yata is and laughing is the furthest thing from his mind.] Misaki...
[Though they're not even facing each other, Fushimi ducks his head, fingers wrapping themselves in the hem of Yata's shirt instead of letting go. He's definitely mumbling, shoulders hunched.] You-- [He gives a light, careful tug at Yata's shirt.] Protecting... it's important to me too.
no subject
it's just like yata to act before thinking.
and thinking about it some more, he smiles. not that fushimi can see, but yata's smiling because of him. ]
Heh... Then you do stupid things, too.
[ IS YATA COOL YET??? ]
no subject
There's only one of us that does stupid things, and his name is Misaki. [And with that he's letting go of his shirt, so that he can scoot backwards a little and stretch his legs out on the ground.]
Even though you've got the energy for saying ridiculous things right now, you should be saving it and resting while you can. [One of them has to stay practical.]
no subject
but anybody who knows yata would know that he doesn't mean to suddenly be violent and raise his temper like that. ]
'ch. [ he looks away and pockets both his hands. damn this guy for ruining a moment! ] I'm fine now.
So, you know. [ a beat, and his cheeks flush red. ugh!! why did it have to be this way. he turns his back on fushimi again just so the other guy won't see how he looks like. ] Thanks.
no subject
He's almost sure that he's gotten Yata to move on from embarrassing things that get dangerously close to talking about feelings, but even though Yata's not looking at him, his body language speaks volumes. If he thinks that Fushimi can't tell he's probably blushing just because his back is turned, he's wrong. Saying 'thank you' always seems to trigger that reaction for some reason.]
I don't mind it... hearing things like that. [He feels silly, talking to just Yata's back, but it's better than looking right at him for now.] If it's from Misaki, it's fine.
no subject
but once he does, though, a huge weight gets taken off his shoulders. it feels great. and it even feels greater when fushimi agrees with what he feels.
except he's really not good at keeping this kind of conversation up, so he changes the topic quickly. ]
So, what's the plan now? What do we do? That monster's unbeatable.