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'S LIKE CHRISTMAS ONLY ACTUALLY LIKE THE OPPOSITE OF THAT
When others die, he is the one who persists.
Nanako died because of him. His whole team dropped like flies around him when Izanami showed them what it means to have power. Minato died to save him. Link died because of him. Dipper died to save him. Mars and Yuri just died, in front of his eyes. Merlin and Hyoubu died beside him.
And Yosuke died to save him.
Death. Death. Death. Death. In the Labyrinth, he'd kept walking. As if a ghost had possessed his frame and play-acted at being Yu Narukami in his stead, gesturing and moving and breathing, but the real person within felt nothing. Was nothing.
For the first time, it's a little different. There's a knowing in him, now. He's not so blinded by grief that he can't stop. But he's not doing the sensible thing: he's not retreating, to see Yuri, to regroup with Naoto and Rise, to get his mask erased so he's not such a liability on the field. Normally even in the wake of such a death those are the exact steps he'd take. Yu Narukami is nothing if not a sensible leader, and he knows what would be the best moves right now.
He just ... can't make himself care.
Certain things have been able to snap him out of his pain, though. Mabel was one. She'd won his instant concern, and he'd done everything he could to get her to safety before they were separated. He'd lost track of her after that. He doesn't know what happened.
Dipper is another. Dipper can snap him out of the drone in his own mind, bring him crashing back down to earth and make him aware, again:
He's needed. ]
Dipper!
[ He calls out, anger tearing through him at the sight of Dipper still out on the field, still fighting, but his mind catches him up with the scene in front of him and makes him realize what's happening at the same time, and horror follows swift on rage's heels.
Dipper is using fire. Dipper has powers.
Dipper is not looking at him.
Dipper stole his kill.
All of these realizations sink in, condense into a singular point of horror, and his mind blanks out into a single word:
Mabel?
Without a word, without thinking, Yu drops his sword. He can retrieve it later, or not at all. This is more important.
He runs over to Dipper, eyes on the sky as the Flamines continue to swarm, and simply yanks Dipper into his arms. Yu picks him up bodily, with no real trouble, and runs.
In this state, he knows Dipper wouldn't listen if he asked him to go, tried to talk him into going. So he just takes him and sprints for safety, his little brother held under his arm like a sack of potatoes.
They'll fight. Dipper will be furious. It's fine. It's fine, as long as he lives. ]
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Yu will be able to carry him, but not for Dipper's lack of trying to get away. He squirms against Yu's grip, pushing against his arms, but Yu's just stronger than he is, and Dipper can't break free.
That doesn't stop him from shouting. Screaming, really, his voice raw and spent, raked across the coals. ]
Let go of me, Yu! Let go!
[ It's not enough. It's never enough. His efforts go slack for a moment, but then he remembers he can teleport now. The thought doesn't occur to Dipper until they've made it a decent distance from where they had started out, but it might not be as far as Yu wanted to go. There are less Flamines nearby, but that's the opposite of what Dipper wants. He focuses - on his code, on just getting out of Yu's grip so he can get back to what he needs to be doing. And then -
He vanishes out of Yu's grip and reappears a few feet in front of him, wearing a dark look unbecoming of him. He meant to get farther away. Something has distracted his single-mindedness. ]
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[ He doesn't try to soften the blow. His voice is blunt and flat, as is his expression. ]
I feel the same way you do. I know what it's like.
[ To lose a sibling, is what he means. But to go through the pain of someone you love dying, regardless of who that person is to you - he means that, too. ]
I know it's hypocritical of me to tell you to stop when I'm doing the same thing. But Mabel wouldn't want you to die. We have to live, Dipper. Both of us.
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A strangled sound somewhere between a cry and a harsh laugh lodges in his throat. Yosuke is dead. Of course he is. Like Mabel. Like the rest of them will be, soon enough.
Mabel is dead, Mabel is dead, Mabel is dead --
Jaw clenched, Dipper glares at Yu with eyes blazing. How dare he. How dare he use her against him like that. How dare he assume what Mabel would want, what she'd think. It doesn't matter now anyway, does it? ]
Live? Live?! [ His voice is tight and cold. It doesn't belong to him. ] Look around us! It's over! My sister's dead and it doesn't even matter, because when this is all over, no one's going to know any of us even existed! [ Then, tremulously, through clenched teeth: ] But I'm not going down with a fight, so don't try to stop me.
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[ Level. Even. Maybe infuriatingly calm. ]
Whatever you plan to do, I'm going to stop you. Even if you teleport away, I'll follow you. Dipper, this fight isn't over. We can handle this, like we've handled everything else. We can't do that if you're dead.
[ God. What has he been doing out here? He's no better than Dipper. Burning out his rage at the unfair world that took his boyfriend, that's tried to take all of his friends at one time or another, with no care for the ones he's left behind. No care for himself.
Yosuke would be so angry. ]
... I've stayed out here for the same reason you're here right now. Once Yosuke was dead, I... [ He pauses, his mouth thinning into a line as he tries to control his emotions. ] ... our friends need us, Dipper.
i'm really extremely sorry about this
Yu tells him they can handle this. That the fight isn't over. That their friends needed them, and what a great lie that is. Mabel and Yosuke needed them too, but look what had happened to them.
- eyes glassy, empty, like they were just some thing to be possessed, that the life could be taken out of them so swiftly -
Dipper's hands ball at his sides. ] Stop it. Just - stop it! [ Yu's logical appeals had always worked on him before. There was still a purpose to them fighting here, and maybe that was true, but Dipper can't believe in that anymore. Not when the life he would have after would be one devoid of his sister. The Nexus Code is torn and broken - he has no hope of her miraculous reappearance in there. She's gone, and the future they had fought so hard for on a battlefield that wasn't too different from this one is lost to him forever. ]
I don't care anymore, Yu. Why do you get to decide what's best for everyone, anyway? [ He shouts, absolute fury in his voice. He doesn't think his next words through - he just spits them, like barbs, because he knows they will hurt and maybe Yu will stop being so goddamn calm and he'll get out of Dipper's way. ] Is it because you're the leader? You already let me die twice, so what's one more? Third time's the charm, right?
YOU CAN NEVER BE SORRY ENOUGH FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE
You already let me die twice, so what's one more?
By necessity, he is a difficult person to rattle. He watched his little sister die, held her hand while she closed her eyes for the last time, and kept it together enough to chase who he thought was her killer down. He's watched his friends go down in battle countless times and kept it together, given the orders to heal them and get them on their feet and hold the team together. He's watched his friends drop like flies around him and tucked all his emotions beneath his skin so he can keep whoever is left alive as best he can.
But that ... doesn't mean ... it didn't ...
Yu presses a hand over his mouth, trying to control his expression, his eyes still very wide. It's subtle. Everything about Yu is subtle. But he took those words like a slap to the face.
After a long moment of silence, he lowers his hand. His eyes are pinched with grief, but that's the only sign he gives of his pain. ]
That's true. [ His voice is rough. ] I've failed you. More than you should accept. I don't blame you for being angry at me. But even if I keep failing, I...
[ He swallows. ]
... I won't stop trying. You ... mean too much to me.
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But when the dust of those words have settled, Yu is still standing there. He hasn't moved. He hasn't doubled over in sorrow.
I won't stop trying. You...mean too much to me.
Dipper's eyes widen in surprise - whether at Yu's words, or at himself, or both, it doesn't matter.
Even after that, even after he said something so cruel, Yu would still stand by his side to protect him?
A strangled sound rents his throat. He squeezes his eyes shut, balling his fists in his hair and pulling off his hat and throwing it on the ground. ]
It's not up to you, it's not - fair -
[ He sinks onto his knees, knees that he had scrapped badly earlier when he'd seen her body. He keeps his eyes tightly shut, like that can keep it out. The light of this dark, exquisitely cruel world, and the form of the only person who might be capable of saving him from himself right now. ]
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Dipper will hear him approaching, first. Slow, steady footfalls, before there's only the shift of cloth.
And then he'll feel his hat being gently placed back on his hair. Yu's hand stays on top of it, pressing down, warm. ]
It's not. [ His voice is just as quiet. ] You're right about that, too.
[ His other hand finds Dipper's shoulder. He doesn't try to hug the other boy. Doesn't try to move him. Just keeps his hands there, a steady, unmoving reminder that Dipper is not alone. ]
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He shudders. Knowing that Yu is there at his side, comforting Dipper when he's suffering himself and even after the savage words Dipper had said to him...Dipper's mind starts to process again, instead of burning with white-hot, reckless fury. ]
She's not coming back, is she? She's - they're both - gone.
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[ It's the honest answer. He doesn't dare hope they might return, because if he does, and he's wrong--
god, it would feel so much like losing Yosuke twice.
All the same, up until this far, death has not been permanent. There is a chance, however slim, the people they love could return.
The hand on Dipper's head moves to grasp his other shoulder. They're in danger here, still, Yu's broken mask like a signal flare for trouble and more death. They have to keep moving. ]
But I know what they'd want for us. No matter how much it hurts or how angry we feel.
[ He understands. Why Dipper wanted to hurt him. ]
Can you stand?
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Through everything they'd been through together, Mabel had always found a way to cheer him up. To make him smile again. Dipper had disappeared on her, died on her, and now he hadn't been with her at the time when she needed him most. But if she miraculously reappeared in front of him right now, well and whole again, wouldn't one of the first things she do be try to comfort him and cheer him up?
She's not here to do that.
But it's what she would do, all the same, just like every time she had before.
He turns his gaze up, dropping his hands from his face and fixing swollen eyes on Yu. ]
I-I...
[ He's tired. So tired.
But he nods, something resolute in his expression as he grips Yu's wrist like its an anchor and unfolds his legs from beneath him. ]
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Then he stands, and pulls Dipper up with him. He isn't smiling, but something has gentled in his eyes. Something warm and proud. ]
Let's go back together. I'll be counting on you.
[ Yu can provide the raw firepower they need to survive, but he's exhausted beyond reason, and if his focus is on that, it's harder for him to pick out safe routes. It's why he's spent most of the day running, not hiding. That is: he'll be relying on Dipper to lead them to safety. ]
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Before moving though, he gives Yu's wrist a gentle squeeze. ]
Yu...what I said...I didn't - you know I'd never really think that - [ He swallows. ] I'm sorry.
[ He had to make that right first. ]
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He could have handled it, maybe, if Dipper had kept hating him. Kept blaming him. He could have found ways to use that anger, do anything to keep his little brother alive.
But it would have eaten him up inside. He knows that. He loves Dipper too much to deny that to himself.
So in the end he just nods. He doesn't try to explain it away anymore than he already has. He just accepts Dipper's apology, because that's what they both need right now. To start over. ]
I know.
[ He gives one last squeeze himself before he lets go. His sword is lost behind them, and he doesn't consider going back to get it. Instead he lifts his arm, looking at the broken mask still affixed to it. Then he looks at Dipper again, determination giving his expression new life. ]
Let's go.
[ His rage has been fueling him until now. But now - he's changed his mind. He'll return. With Dipper. ]