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! |
![[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}
incredible
[He doesn't even have time to comment on her RUDE REMARK. Look, he doesn't make lame puns on purpose! And if he did she'd better appreciate them!!
But there are more important things to focus on right now, like running away from the Flamines and also making sure Okuni is actually here and alive and not some weird alien mercenary trick. She's the first bean he's seen back, okay!]
What're you doing here—? Wait, wait-- Hold that until we get to some shelter, actually.
I COULD NOT RESIST
We're running away? But that's so boring!
[WHACKING A FLAMINE WITH A STOP SIGN AS SHE SAYS THAT, the flamine is very offended that she's attacking it first tbh. she dodges its angry swipe and scoots on closer to Kashuu]
Is there even a place safe enough to hide in? Maybe you should just concentrate on getting your hands back. Try waving them around or something!
GOOD get back in my inbox u
Except yes, he's totally lucky ugh.]
Duh, we're retreating! I can't cut these guys with my bare hands, y'know - I thought we already had this talk.
[He's not a sword-handed, sword-faced sword tsukumogami or anything!! Though he will stupidly take her advice and wave his hands around a little...]
—Whatever, let's do this somewhere with a little more cover, at least!
BARRELS ON IN
Oh, alright! [BATS A FLAMINE AWAY, but Okuni is ready to run as soon as there's an opening, pelting ahead with full confidence that Kashuu will follow. it's a good thing she's not trying to steal Kashuu's vessel!!!]
[WHILE EN ROUTE, she snags a rope from out of nowhere on the ground!! okuni's magpie eyes are always activated...] If worst comes to worst, then we can just tie the sword to your arm. That would be funny to see!
[for who]
CARRIES U AWAY
I'm not tying it to my arm! I need to be able to wield it!
[Which he can't do because of his ghost hands ANYWAY but hey, look. Look. He'll just feel more comfortable if he has it at the ready when he needs it... Even if Okuni's holding onto it right now, so really, all of this pondering is just pointless.
SO, ONWARD, RUNNING AWAY. On the plus side, the flamines don't chase Kashuu! Hopefully they won't bully Okuni, either.]
DON'T THROW ME INTO A RIVER THO
Hey, do you mind if I use you to kill some of these while we're running? It seems like a waste not to...
NO PROMISES
...I mean, if you need to and you're careful with me, then it's not like I'll say no.
[Mostly because a sword is a better weapon than a stop sign no matter how you slice it.]
why do u choose betray
Of course! You don't have to worry. I'll make it fun no matter what!
[that whole bit about only needing to and being careful GOES UNSAID BECAUSE IT'S GUARANTEED OBVIOUSLY!!]
[she slows down long enough to duck behind a corner, beckoning Kashuu over.]
There, that building! [pointing to one of the few wholly intact buildings in the city probably...] We can hide inside there. How's that?
it is in my nature...
[NYOOMIN ON AFTER HER toward the building!! Ah, sweet relief... For however long the building actually remains intact, anyway. He doesn't drop his guard even there though, of course, considering there are Flamines just kind of hanging out all over the place. Even if they've ignored him up until now, he's not keen on giving them an edge advantage of surprise.]
Fighting our way outta this one's gonna be pretty tricky, huh?
screencaps this as proof
Hmm. There are a lot of them, so that part is kind of annoying. [most of the stuff she's pulling out seems to be junk tbh?? eggs?? a giant water gun?? a whole array of fireworks!! a couple of tennis balls, someone's wallet, a small compact mirror, and lots of random sharp implements used to stab things probably] But they can still be killed, so we have a good chance of survival, I think!
[i think...]
They're the so-called Flabbies, or whatever right? Didn't they want money or something in exchange for destroying things? Did the CERES people not pay them?
[WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING]
NO NOW I CAN NEVER HIDE AGAIN
Hey-- I hope you didn't loot that. [The wallet, that is... Hilariously that's the only thing he has something to say about. The rest of that is just Okuni Being Okuni, presumably.
ALSO, FLABBIES.]
Flamines, yeah, and they did. CERES basically hired 'em to destroy all of our worlds and then dipped out on the bill, so now they're pissed and here for Bellona. That's great and all except one- [Holding up a finger!] -we don't know where they are and two, they're attacking people with broken masks.