PHASE I [ ❓❓❓ ] And then the Flamines are there.
They just appear, suddenly, as if from nowhere. They’re a race of mercenary aliens, and fighting is all they know -- they’re definitely not going to be easy to kill by any means. They seem to have a natural resistance to magic: aside from very specific types of magic (in particular, light magic and anything highly spiritual), they absorb it. Light magic and spiritual magic can harm them, but it will take a lot to take one down.
They can be stabbed, if you can get that close.
But good luck.
Of course, they look like nondescript black shapes with masks until you knock the mask off...and then you can see the true shape of the Flamines.
They’re here to kill you all. :)
PHASE II [ ❓❓❓ ] As if that isn’t enough… it seems the Flamines’ arrival was the last straw for Cerealia and the Nexus Code. There’s a tear in the sky, and from it… the Nexus Code, where all of the lost friends from before, can be seen. It can be entered, even, though remaining there too long can be detrimental to your health.
But people are there.
Old friends, strung up and lifeless, can be seen there, unmoving.
And…
Then some of them move. They open their eyes. They remember how to breathe. And they’re able to return, able to stagger their way back into Cerealia and take their first breath of air in a long, long time.
Welcome back to the chaos of Cerealia, friends.
Unfortunately, you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back while murderous aliens are rampaging, so hopefully you’re able to think fast. It’d be unfortunate to die so soon after coming back.
As for spiritual and magical characters who were not in the Nexus Code...well, when they return, they’ll find that they’re covered in old, dried blood, and their clothing might have tears in it, as if from a knife.
There are no scars, though, and they’re otherwise fine. Strange.
PHASE III [ ❓❓❓ ] As if this chaos isn’t enough… there are also the masks. Regardless of whether or not characters were around to receive them the first time, regardless what they did with them before, the masks will suddenly reappear in your characters’ hands. They can be tossed aside, but they’ll reappear again eventually, unable to be truly shaken.
Characters who received them before will receive the same mask they had before.
Characters who didn’t receive them before will receive a mask according to the trait that’s more prominent for them.
Either way...it’ll have a profound effect on the Flamines.
They will go after any character with a broken mask in a bloodthirsty rage, intent on murdering them. Characters with a barcode mask or bloody mask will be the next likely to be chased down intently by the Flamines.
Characters with a :( mask will be killed if they get in the Flamines’ way, though they will not go out of their way to chase them down.
Characters with a vine mask or feather mask will be treated with wariness, though they may still be attacked if they get in a Flamines’ way.
Characters with a grey mask will not be killed unless they are first the aggressor, as will characters with a bloody fingerprint mask.
Naturally there will be exceptions to every rule, but the masks will change how the Flamines’ generally act towards characters!
PHASE IV [ ❓❓❓ ] But something’s not quite right.
Regardless of the battles against the Flamines, it seems Cerealia’s just been under too much pressure lately. Something had to give --
And it’s the code building up the characters that really suffers.
Their code has been hanging on by a thread without CERES to maintain it, and now… it’s finally giving out. The glitches that afflicted characters before will be even more prominent now; they might glitch from place to place, or have their powers go totally awry in odd ways. There may be a lack of powers suddenly, or a sudden difficulty staying on the ground as gravity stops working on the character.
They might suddenly be unable to breathe, or go cold, or very nearly die --
But it can be controlled, too, with effort. Characters can learn to control the glitches, gaining an ability to almost teleport, or ways to tweak their powers in exciting new ways.
With a lot of effort, they could even possibly reverse a death -- but only their own, and only once.
BONUS [ ❓❓❓ ] There are also… birds?
Flamingos, to be exact. Who knows where they came from, but either way, there are plastic flamingos chilling all over the place. They’re just normal plastic; they don’t move, they can very easily be destroyed --
But if you touch one with your bare hands… it’ll have an interesting effect.
Characters will suddenly find that they have the abilities or the last person they touched -- but without any of the practice or ability to control it, of course.
Still, it might help with that pesky Flamines problem, right?
[ 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. ] |
Welcome to the beginning of Cerealia's endgame event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will begin 11/03, or IC 11/18. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you! |
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[ It starts at his fingers - a numb awareness, the feeling of feeling, and then twitching. The sensation shoots up his arms to his brain, a not-so-gentle wake-up call from his nervous system that he needs to breathe and open his eyes and -
Why does it feel like he's been asleep for so long? Didn't he just - wasn't he...on the bus? But no, he knows that's not the case before he even has the thought. He knows exactly where he is. He's been here before, hasn't he?
Dipper's eyes flash open and he starts to struggle at the threads holding him up, which turns out, ultimately, to not be a very good idea because when they do come loose from his body, he tumbles unceremoniously to the ground with a resounding thump. ]
Ooookay, could have...done that better.
[ And a moment later, he picks himself back up and heads for the tear between the Nexus Code and the colony. Sure looks like all hell is breaking loose out there, but he appears rather calm about it. After all, he's weathered one apocalypse so far. What's one more? ]
[ PHASE III + BONUS ]
[ There's something about apocalypses that tend to separate people at the worst of times, and though Dipper has found some of his friends and been caught up on some essential details of the current situation, he's somehow wound up by himself once again with the ivy-patterned mask on his head. He knows its already pointless to try to get rid of it, so he lets it sit under the hat on his head, mostly for convenience.
That doesn't mean the Flamines can't see it, though, and as Dipper flits through streets on an abandoned bicycle he "found" (or, perhaps looted would be the better word, and wouldn't Grunkle Stan be proud of him?), searching for his sister and friends, he gets plenty of dirty looks from the them. Or, what he assumes are dirty looks. It's hard to tell with their masks, but body language is telling.
Of course, even as he pedals around, the second he spots someone being chased by a Flamine, he follows in hot pursuit. Like there's something he can do about it. ]
Hey, you! Over here! Why don't you...pick on someone your own size?
[ That could have been worded better. At least now he might have gotten the Flamine's attention.
...And why are there so many Flamingos around? ]
[ WILDCARD ]
[ Choose your own adventure! Feel free to hit me up at
phase iii/bonus
Oi, are you sure that's a good idea...
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[ But, no, it's probably not a good idea. The Flamine turns its head as it advances towards them, its mask a lopsided smile. ]
G-got any better ideas?
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[ Her voice is in angry hushed tones, but it's there nevertheless. Groaning and knowing that there isn't enough time to be arguing, she finally says, sighing: ]
Let's... make a break for it.
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Right! Let's go! [ He breaks off running helter-skelter, glancing over at her to make sure she does the same. ]
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Ahaha, thanks for that, though... I thought I was going to die again.
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I'm all for cutting down on multiple deaths. Especially with all this going on!
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[ Her voice is both stern and serious. ] I'd rather keep everyone alive.
phase II
...and he grins slightly upon seeing Dipper pick himself up and talk to himself.]
I dunno dude, I'd give it at least a 9 out of 10.
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[ Still alive? Still here? Not on fire? Instead he clears his throat and straightens himself a bit, like he's got face to save. ]
I mean...what would have made it a 10 out of 10? Maybe if I'd done a flip before hitting the ground?
[ Hey, dude. ]
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A flip or the splits would've done it. I think gymnastics judges love that stuff. [Hey bro. He finally turns to approach Dipper, still in his armor and glancing around the Nexus, but as he approaches Dipper he stops suddenly and holds up his fist. Pound it.]
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But Dipper already knows there's some serious trouble going on - as if that wasn't obvious from the literal tear in the Nexus Code, Hiro looks a little weary and wary and he can only assume he's missed a lot.
He could grumble about that later. Probably. ]
So...uh. What exactly happened here?
[ Looks like a hot mess tbh. ]
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You remember those really nice aliens that threatened to come and destroy all of us a few months ago when we were out in the Labyrinth? Yeah. They actually kept their promise.
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[ And he feels fine.
He glances over at some very obvious explosions happening in buildings outside the tear. ]
I don't know what else I expected, really.
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THREEEEEEEEEE
No no no no no.
Yu doesn't just have one Flamines on his tail.
They are actually hard to count, because there's a pack of them, some with and some without their masks, and they're all furiously chasing him and his blasphemous broken mask, currently lashed to his forearm.
Hearing Dipper's voice - and whipping his head around to stare, open-mouthed, at his friend, returned from the Nexus - sends a sheet of cold spilling through Yu's blood. Because the second he turns to look, so do the aliens on his tail.
With a mental signal to his current Persona - Norn - Yu does a rather extreme pivot that really should give him whiplash and darts for Dipper, while Norn lets loose spells powerful enough to make the very air shriek. Still, it will only slow the Flamines down, not stop them. The instant he reaches his friend's - brother's - side, Yu grabs his arm and bolts. Bike? What bike? Better get your balance or somehow drag the bike along, Dipper. Yu ain't stopping. ]
Are you out of your mind?!
[ He actually sounds angry. ]
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
On instinct, his legs wheel around wildly beneath him until they have a decent footing because he knows tripping and maybe falling out of Yu's grasp is not an option. Though his legs might not be nearly as long, he manages to keep pace, feeling somehow...lighter, now, with Yu by his side, even if they are being chased by aliens that want to tear them apart.
Still he doesn't miss the hard edge in Yu's voice. Between rapid breaths: ] Would you believe me if I told you this isn't the first time I've been chased by an eldritch horror that wanted to rip my heart out?
[ This is supposed to be reassuring somehow. ]
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Dipper, he's angry that you did this, and he's worried for your life, but boy, he missed you.
He keeps a grip on the other's arm until Dipper is running alongside him, then lets go so he can lift his hand to his face. His fingers pass in front of his eyes and there's a snap of blue light before another of his personas, Sraosha, appears.
He doesn't have enough energy for this. But he's gathered quite a crowd, so maybe now is as good as any other time.
The horde of Flamines behind them vanish into a massive explosion of bright white light. Megidolaon is a ridiculously powerful spell, though draining to use, so he's been avoiding it for the most part. His plan has been to gather as many of the Flamines as he can without getting overwhelmed, and then...
Light 'em up.
This usage is a little premature, but Dipper's safety is worth it.
After a glance over his shoulder, he has to cast another, somewhat weaker Almighty spell to actually clear them away, but the Megidolaon did most of it. As they run: ]
I'd be more surprised if it was. Keep moving! We have to find somewhere to hide.
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Fortunately for us, I am a master at hide and seek. [ Yu has the badass spells, and Dipper has hide and seek skills. Equally legit. ] We should head somewhere that's already been hit. They won't expect to find anyone living there.
II
Hope you like your sister attempting to throw a bunch of whatever stuff she could find at the black blob. Yes, she's even throwing a garbage can at them too]
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Dipper jogs over to her, picking up some rubble from the street and lobbing it at the Flamine's head. Or back. Or - you know what? He doesn't know. ]
Hey, ugly! Leave my sister alone!
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No way, she thought to herself, that was...!]
Dipper? Dipper...is that really you?!
[Forget the Flamines and all the chaos around them! Her brother was finally back after all this time! Running as fast as her legs could, that's when she decided to give her brother the biggest tackle hug she could muster up!!]
Dipper, you're really here! It's you, it's you, it's you!!! It can't believe you're here with me!!
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But he's back now, and just in time for the end of the world by the looks of it. ]
Yeah! Yeah, I'm here! Sorry for...you know. Disappearing again.
[ He's got to stop making a habit of that.
The Flamine snarls then, and he steps back from his sister. ]
But, uh, before we catch up? We better run for it.
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Especially now that she had her brother here]
Then let's go already! I definitely don't want to be some alien food or something!
[Without hesitation, that's when she grabbed her brother's hand and made a run for it! Although, where to? She had no idea! As she looked back at Dipper, she really hoped that he had an idea up his sleeve!]
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Come on! This way! [ He ducks towards a narrow alleyway, the Flamine hot on their heels. ]
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