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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so he only looks over the altar just for an extra check... maybe he'll be lucky- or something... but nothing. third time isn't the charm this time, isn't it? ]
Two of my comrades were here before, and I don't see anything. Or anyone else back from my home.
[ how disappointing. the fact that he's been desperately searching for his own Souji, and only to find pieces of Yasusada's haori here is... well, it wasn't the hope he was looking for, honestly. but he'll at least point it out to Lili. ]
Let's see... I met these two people here, specifically. [ shifting Horikawa's ribbon and the piece of haori over to the side. ] But they ended up disappearing even before my two comrades went missing.
[ he doesn't really know why he's telling her all this??? he was seriously about to just drop this all and leave it like nothing happened, trying to not let it bother him. he just wants some answers maybe. ]
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Lili looks at the scraps and she hates that she doesn't recognize them. Yes, she's only arrived here recently but it's still unacceptable to think that these were once people and now this is all that's left of them. So she instead chooses to move to pick them up, holding them carefully in her hands so that they won't be stepped on.]
.... I see.
Who... were they?
[As she holds them in her hands, she feels like it's rude not to know.]
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One of them was my sword.
[ some bitterness still lingers in his tone, though it seems to fade and there's a sort of fondness speaking those names instead. it has been awhile since he's talked about the swords. he remembers when it took him awhile to come to terms with them being walking and talking versions of the swords he, well, literally uses to kill... but in he became close to them, Horikawa specifically, pretty easily, to his surprise. he couldn't help but to be attached to a sword that's always been by his hip- right? ]
I guess, in a sense they were my comrades despite from being in another world. The Shinsengumi is like family after all, no matter what. [ he watches Lili hold the two pieces of the swords, but then his gaze flickers down to the altar- still searching. ]
But you didn't come here to hear all this, right.
[ he's getting carried away with himself, isn't he? ]
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Oddly enough, the part regarding the swords is not one of them. Upon hearing that she's holding pieces of swords, her chest aches and the surprise shows on her face. Could it be then? Could this happen to Kashuu or Mutsu or Imano or Kousetsu or any of the other names that flash through her brain as she realizes that maybe they're not as invincible as she'd thought? There's a little gasp on her end as she looks down at the pieces in her hands.
The rest doesn't entirely mesh with her. Even though he's getting carried away with himself, she repeats the word as encouragement to go on:]
Shinsengumi?
[Idly, she thinks that perhaps she should introduce herself if she's going to question him so much about... everything.
.... Well. In a little bit.]
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a part of him wants to talk about it... ... ... he hesitates, he's already said so much. being around this altar is pretty draining, mentally at least. to the point to talk about these things to a stranger- well, obviously he needs to readjust his focus.
there's a nod, and he'll just give a small answer.] It's... A group I help lead, I suppose.
But that look on your face- you know the others as well? [ by that he means the other swords that are still here. ]
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I train with Kashuu at the dojo, so I have the most contact with him. I've met Mutsu, though I find him overwhelming and buffoon-ish at times. There is also Imano and Kousetsu and I presume a few others, but they're so difficult to tell apart from humans, I'm never sure.
[Complete and utter honesty. She shows her hand politely, because she will follow that up with:]
What type of group is the Shinsengumi?
[She only hopes that he believes in fair exchange.]
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[ 'was'... but Hijikata isn't going to really delve into Kashuu's past specifically, that's something he should do himself! so he'll leave that kind of vague. ]
He was particularly close to Yasusada, however.
[ BUT... he only raises an eyebrow. ] You're really curious, aren't you. [ but might as well..? there's no harm in it, really. maybe a part of him is at least enjoying the fact that he's not stuck down here completely alone with this creepy altar. ]
It was our job to protect Shogunate. At first we were just some group of Samurai that people looked down on, well- we still are. People never really liked us but we still managed finally we able to get enough recognition from the emperor to police Kyoto. [ another hesitation... hm... well, okay. he'll say it??? introduction time! ]
Unless Kiyomitsu has talked behind my back or something to you, [ because HE WOULD. ] I'm Hijikata Toshizou. I'm the Vice Commander.
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That sounds like something he would do [HONESTLY] but I've never heard of you. [Can't she say it less harshly...] My name is Lili An, I'm the--
[A pause. "The daughter of the General of the Water Tribe" is about to neatly roll off her tongue, a full introduction in exchange for his but.... she appears to think better of it.]
... Forgive me, what I was about to say doesn't matter.
Do you know Saitou then?
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and he really doesn't take offense to it, really? he kind of holes himself up in his apartment doing deskwork??? what is being social. ]
If you're going to say things at least don't hesitate. [ even though he's been doing that a lot just now. oops! but he nods. ]
If you mean the Saitou here, I know him but he's not my Saitou. He's from another world, different from mine... Apparently there are sometimes copies of us... [ which is weird as hell, but... ]
But it's not wrong to say we're in the same group, technically. [ because to Hijikata, if someone is Shinsengumi they're practically family. even if they're from another world. he cares about the Shinsengumi a lot okay! it's almost like second nature that he can't help but care (in his own special Hijikata(tm) way) for them despite being from other worlds. ]
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[Which probably gives away what she was about to say. If not that, then the fine robes she's wearing or the absurd amount of gold in her hair pin will probably betray it for her. It's not like she hides that she's high-class in general -- but to a stranger, she doesn't think that he needs to know if he doesn't care to ask.]
That's.... confusing.
[Okay. Actually. Give her a second here??? Because what.]
So you know a different Saitou from the one here.... [is he just as otome, this is the real question] but you can't find him? Is he the one that you're searching for?
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[ (it that a compliment!?) throw it away, or simply not care about it- which Hijikata still struggles with, honestly. ]
Basically. [ WELL... he's... pretty otome...?! very tsundere too. he's kind of mean though, unlike the moe Saitou that's here in Cerealia right now. ] I'm the only one here from my world. Maybe I was hoping there would be some traces here- of everyone.
Looks like I'm unlucky today, though.
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What? You don't even know me.
[S-So don't call her strong, baka...!!
(Someone save Lili from herself.)
Still though she's just going to simmer a little bit even at his explanation and.... the only one here form his world. That sounds vaguely familiar.]
... I understand the feeling, to a degree. But I... would rather hope that the people that I don't see here are elsewhere... somewhere safer than this.
no subject
Hijikata has to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his amusement. ] I might not, but it's pretty easy to ready your face. You know that?
[ it's taking a lot of strength to not tease her? gosh, Lili. ]
I suppose. Although, I'd rather know where they exactly are. Wouldn't you be curious? Especially if you lost something. [ because well... it basically feels like he lost a lot of important men that he spent years watching over. usually when people are gone they're presumed dead- so he just wants to find them. ]
[1/2]
no one's called her out before ]
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M-Mind your own business...!
[ gaaaahhhhhhh
That said.
There's an indignant little huff.... because he's saying things that are correct and. ]
Of course I'm curious.... Are the people you're looking for distinct?
[ so she can keep an eye out for them....
But she won't say that.... ]
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Fine, fine.
[ well, if they ever meet up with each other after this weird thing there's always more room for teasing, right? besides, he has better things to think about. ]
Hmm. They're my men, naturally I can pick them out of a crowd.
Why? [ say it, Lili... say it. ] If you're asking that... Does that mean you want to look for them, or something? [ once again... this girl is Pretty Easy to read. ]
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Why any of this. The questions are just flustering her further - which in turn also manages to annoy her further.]
Are you making fun of me....?!
[UGH.]
Of course I want to look for them, I'm not so cold-hearted that I would just leave this sort of thing alone, you know. Don't misjudge me!
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What makes you say that?
[ but... it's kind of weird honestly. sure, it's maybe not being cold-hearted but he's literally just met the girl. SO... he'll actually ask about it? except the surprise is sort of evident- he's not trying to sound mocking at all, really! ]
Shouldn't you be looking for your friends? Are mine that important to you even though you just met me? [ look... a lot of people isn't like this to Hijikata, okay. ]
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