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}
no subject
On the other hand, "ignore" might not be the correct word. More accurately, it's like he doesn't actually hear her speak at all. He remains where he is, hunched at his fallen sister's side, one hand balled in the fabric of the sheet that conceals her body. The other hand obscures his face, but not to keep his grief hidden.
He just can't bear to see her anymore, and his eyes are too swollen with tears to keep them squeezed shut.
He doesn't move. He's not sure if he even could, if he wanted to. Moving would make this even more real. Every step he took from the moment of his discovery cemented its reality. And that is not something he is prepared to deal with yet. ]
no subject
She can't expect him to move. She can't really expect him to do much more than stand there, quivering. And he shouldn't have to. That's the horrible thing about this moment. He's a boy, a child, and for all his resourcefulness and cleverness he, like Mabel, should not be here. Their place is in a pine forest, somewhere in America, enjoying their life. Not in some forsaken hellhole surrounded by chaos and death.
She shouldn't be in their life. That's not her place, and she no more belongs in their life than they do in Cerealia. The thought of the injustice done to these two sweet children makes her blood boil all the more, but there's no time to dwell on that. The enemy will return, in greater numbers.
Bending, she reaches out and pulls the sheet back down over Mabel's face, then slides an arm underneath the girl's body to pick her up. Her voice cracks, strangled and hoarse, but still sharp.]
We must move.
[A hand drops to his shoulder, fingers bunching the fabric as she grips it tightly. When she speaks again, there's no emotion, hollow and hurt but laced with command. She knows what Mabel would want, now. Dipper. She has to keep him safe.]
Now. We can't stay here, Dipper. I will not leave you alone.
no subject
[ He pulls himself away from her grasp. The response is automatic, instinctive, like he's afraid she's going to take him away from Mabel's body. From the memory of her. He's completely beyond reason now, even if some small part of his brain acknowledges that Mars is right. It's too dangerous for them to stay here.
...But does that even matter now? The danger. His sister is dead. His sister is dead -
Dipper turns abruptly to Mars then, eyes flashing. ]
What happened? [ His voice is thick. ] What happened to her?
no subject
[Mars voice comes out lower, rougher, when she picks up the body now. Holding it to her chest and rising she stares down into his eyes. There's pain there, as she'd expected, but also listlessness. The look of someone who's world is crumbling, and someone beyond reason. she doesn't want to get into this, but it's only going to get worse if she doesn't answer.]
She was stabbed by a Flamine.
[Her boot slams down on the charred form that'd come flying down from her explosive entrance, a thick black ooze marring the pavement. Her stoic, calm voice wavers, lip trembling slightly. It hurt thinking about it, her failure to sense what was coming. That was twice now. First Yuri back in the prison, now Mabel, and it was beginning to shake her core, her whole body quivering.]
I don't know where it came from, and she was gone in an instant. That's what happened.
no subject
He doesn't flinch. He doesn't even blink. He only stares at her, eyes wide with shock.
If Mars is going to get him to move, this would be the time, while he's too numb to think to do anything else but follow her. ]
no subject
I'm sorry, Dipper. I did all I could.
[But she's no healer, no medic. It's just no possible for her to do anything about living matter, or anything like this.]
It wasn't good enough, but the thing...that did it. It won't hurt anyone else.
no subject
[ His voice is a quiet, wavering thing. He sounds out of breath, but it's not from the pace they're walking at.
Numb numb numb stay numb.
Mabel is dead.
His hand tightens around hers. ]
Did it suffer? [ Did she make it pay? Did it cry out in pain in a very near way to what his entire being wants to right now? ]
no subject
I don't know. I don't know for they can even feel pain.
[Her eyes flicker back to that ooze, baleful flames licking the air around it.]
But I stopped it. It screamed once. And then it burned.
no subject
He could make them pay for what they've done.
Dipper's hand tightens on hers even further. He doesn't say anything else, but the numbness he'd been filling with moments before is slowly giving away to white, hot anger. ]
no subject
Eventually, she does speak, low and hushed, her words rough.]
Dipper. Did you get all of my power, or just fire?
[Because there's more to it than that. There's more things coming, and she doesn't want to be caught in the open with a body and a boy.]
no subject
I'm...not sure. I've only tried the fire powers.
no subject
[It's less a request, coming out more as a command. If he's listening, then he's more pliant. And having him able to fly without needing to be carried might help.]