Who: Everyone ever.
When: ooc: 10/30 to 11/04 ; ic: 09/26 to 09/28
Where: Cerealia - all five districts.
What: Clowns, Murder, Outrage and One Direction.
Happy Halloween :D
Rating/Warning: PG-13 to R. [ image within includes brief flash of scary clowns, scroll down quickly if you don't want to see it! ]
//event004.EXE
Queen of the Mountain
It's morning when the lights go out completely. Not a single one remains on except the glow of the device and whatever flashlights anyone bothered to stock up on. However, a single hologram in the Shopping District broadcasts along a billboard for a Very Important Announcement. After that, you hear a song so tender and beautiful that it must have been composed by angels at the dawn of time.
"Baby, you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed… "
When you go outside to investigate, a friendly clown will be inside a stolen(?) ice cream truck, looking to get all your attention before he talks through the speaker on the truck.
"Greetings, Cerealians! It's nice of you to join us at last. Are you worried about the power coming back? Oh, I'm sure CERES is working on it now. Rest assured that they have their finest technicians on the job. You won't be without your precious personal computers and robot-pets much longer.
In the meantime, let's play a game shall we! The rules are rather simple:
♥ You see that necklace on your chest? That's a lantern. You're going to want to hold onto that. If you lose it… well, you don't want to know what will happen to you if you do.
♥ Now, for the fun part! Collect the necklaces any way you wish, though we prefer the naughty way. Kill a friend. Kill a foe. Killkillkillkill until the streets are paved with blood.
♥ Whoever collects the most of those lanterns, gets a special surprise! They get to go back home, back to their friends and loved ones and away from CERES' endless lies and trickery. Don't you know it's all a lie? Your worlds weren't destroyed. This is a penal colony, and you've been suckered into the biggest prank of your life. But I'm here to help, of course. Just bring me a garbage bag full of the lanterns, and I'll show you, the lucky winner, the way out."
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//SCENARIOS.EXE
PHASE I [ xx xx ]
You're going about your business, wading through the dark, finding supplies. But you're not alone. After the broadcast happens, everything is in full swing. Some masked participants decide to start breaking into shops, classes, apartments, you name it. There's no escaping them. They're on the hunt, they're after you 'cause they're hungry like the woooolf. You can choose to engage them, fight your way out, jump into the game, or head to the sanctuary located in CERES academy. The choice is yours. Be sure to make the right one.
PHASE II [ xxxx ]
Spiders, spiders everywhere. For those who decided to surrender their lanterns, the first twelve hours of the game are a breeze. Then, come the spiders, hungry critters that will attack and try to catch you in their many webs strewn through the colony. Be sure not to get stuck in one while they chase you.
PHASE III [ xxxx ]
Feeling weak? Not quite keeping up with the clown-faced gentlemen? Or maybe even your former friends and lovers? Well, there's a solution for that! You'll find another masked man happily pedaling some Pulse for you to take. The temptation is there with the promise of extra strength and a boost of power and speed. He won't hint at any side-effects, but oh, how you'll feel them when they hit. And those trying to dodge that fate, don't put your drink down anywhere or take your eyes off your food. Someone just might slip a little extra to get this game really going.
PHASE IV [ xxxx ]
It's the last day of the game. You're tired. You're weary. You may have stabbed a roommate or ten. But the lights are gradually returning while the CEO appears as if from nowhere with a public apology on all the billboards. You're welcome to spam your disgust and contempt in his inbox. His explanation for not being around? Quite simple! He was off on an expedition this whole time and wasn't aware of the situation because he gets no reception out in the jungle. See, he was doing it all for the good of the colony and trying to look for more habitable terrain. Isn't that kind of him?
Any further complaints will be forward to his underlings, Elias and Lucius.
BONUS [ whyo'clock ]
You know what's fun? Jumping castles! Someone happened to surreptitiously leave one in CERES' large garden. Do you want to go in and see what's inside? For a limited time only, you can escape the madness and murder to jump to your heart's content. There also might be another clown-faced murderer watching you as you jump. And jump again. He'll just be in the corner. Breathing. Watching.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y 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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//RUN.EXE
Welcome to CEREALIA's fourth official event. For your convenience, we have compiled an OOC post explaining the event in greater detail. Feel free to ask questions there if you have anymore lingering concerns or inquiries.
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[or is he? the truth is that he hasn't really thought about it much. that's an afterthought, though it sure would be a hell of a lot easier to take two lanterns in one go. it's not as if hijikata had really given him time to actually do anything about it anyway.
not that it really matters right now. even hijikata's words are little more than a wasted effort at this point. souji wants to go in for the kill and take out every murderous feeling that courses through his body out on hijikata. it's not really all that surprising that the attack gets parried but there is one surprising factor in all of this.
seeing hijikata break out his rasetsu form is a surprise. and not just because he did it, but even in this state, souji knows he's never seen this. he had absolutely no idea that hijikata had drank the ochimizu—it's enough for him to jump back a little.
it's also enough for hijikata's slash to connect, leaving a deep gash in his arm.]
Hijikata-san, too... [there's a bitterness that continues to coat his voice. in the back of his mind, somewhere that isn't overruled by the pulse, there's a certain level of panic that sets in. it's not out of fear, but out of concern. when did this happen? what had driven hijikata, of all people, to succumb to this? why didn't he know about it? was anyone else a rasetsu now that he's unaware of?
but that all remains unseen on the surface. on the surface is someone who is bitter and vindictive, but beginning to falter. the gash in his arm closes itself up quickly, but as the pulse begins to wear down, he's tiring out. he can't move as quickly, and there's a certain level of fatigue that's setting in. it's probably more obvious to see outwardly than souji would like, especially in the way he grips at his sword so tightly that it looks like he can snap it. the progressing moments and making them shake, unsteady and unable to move with the same strength and finesse he may normally use.
and that's especially dangerous, when the playing field has been leveled by their rasetsu forms. he's still trying to fight though, stubbornly not giving in, even though he's leaving a number of much sloppier opening for hijikata to strike him down with. subconsciously, he knows that too, but he still refuses to surrender.
it's a matter of pride, after all.]
no subject
For all Hijikata wants to stop Souji, there is definite conflict in his actions when Souji's reaction seems slightly out of place and the next thing he knows his weapon has cut into and left blood that somehow manages always to be such a stark contrast to him seeing it on Souji. The colorings of a rasetsu make that even moreso but the real unsettling issue is the blood is his own.
(He's long since come to hate blood splattered on this person that belongs to him even more than from others. It just reminds him of everyday Souji got worse and never recovered. And losing him so soon after Kondou had just been—)
But Hijikata can't stand down with Souji acting this way and still putting a fight up. The fact he's wearing down is like some mocking false hope when all it resorts to is the fact that he may have a lot of openings but nothing he can see that can incapacitate the younger man instead of kill him.
And it's getting to him, and the linger it goes on, the more hopeless it becomes. ]
Goddamn stubborn—don't fucking make me do this, Souji! [ is he too soft to be letting this affect him, knowing Souji and his pride are ultimately at the core of this refusal? Yeah, probably, but how the hell is he supposed to be fine with taking out the last one of his family he has?
Yes, the others are like family, but Kondou and Souju have and will always be different and special and precious in ways he can even begin to properly express. The thing is, that all his heightened emotions along with the fact that he's not completely void of pulse influence himself makes for a bad combo. The emotional distress only metabolizes the drug faster and makes his movements just that more intense, although it's clear he does seem to avoid taking opportunity with an opening.
That'll have to end eventually, Souji's still his responsibility and as much as he'd give his life for the other... he can't be selfish and leave even a weakening and frayed unstable Souji to wander across anyone else. For the sake of that person and for Souji himself, he can't.
But it doesn't mean he's happy about it and when he finally comes to the point he sees one of those openings and he's felt he's run out of options... ]
You really are more than enough trouble to last me beyond a lifetime. [ his words are strangely bitter after their swords clash for the nth time, but, in order to take the chance for an opportune counter he lets Souji's blade through his own defense. It's just his left arm, though, and that pain burns far less than the acidic furnace building in his chest as he jerks his sword back enough in the half-second or two gained by taking the hit in order to thrust it forward into's Souji's chest. And his voice cracks, and is much quieter, the volume just unwilling to come now and hell he's not even sure anymore if he's still trying to talk to the Shinsengumi captain or just himself. ]
...But the only thing easy is knowing killing you is the hardest thing I've ever done. [ and he's sure, when push comes to shove, the world will be hardpressed to make anything to come even harder than this.
( It's like reliving failing to save Souji from his illness, losing him to an enemy he can't win against no matter how badly he wants to or how long and skilled he swings a sword.
It's exactly like that.
All fucking over again. ) ]
no subject
there's a certain knowing that comes with that. it's one that means souji realizes his end is near; as much as he wants to fight back and plunge that sword through hijikata for the second victory of the night, he also knows how much energy that'll take from him. he can feel his movements getting more sluggish—everything starts to feel like it's moving in slow motion, a haze fogging over his eyes and making his vision a little more unsteady. and though he holds his ground well, though his feet remain firmly planted with all of his will, he's unable to do much else.
so really, there's no way for him to avoid hijikata's return blow. he sees it coming, and he doesn't falter. as much as there is still a deep sense of bitterness that emanates from him, and as much as he wanted these roles to be reversed... if someone had to be the one to take him out, it was better that it was hijikata. even in this state, there's a flash of his memories of haven that passes through, a bitter memory of mitsunari catching him in his rasetsu form, and the vow he'd asked mitsunari to keep if he'd ever lost his mind. yeah, it was definitely better this way. definitely better it was hijikata with the full understanding of just how fucked up it all was to be the one to put an end to his life.
it's not like it's really the end, anyway. that's not how it works in these places, not where death is some arbitrary existence that has no permanence. life and death have lost their meaning in this state, and though his more rational side would see full well that it still has plenty of lasting effects on them if nothing more than through physical scars and psychological trauma, he's still not quite there. he's still unhinged enough that he can only see the parts instead of the whole
and that's why he lets out a weak and pained laugh even as the sword plunges straight through his chest. it hurts. it's an unfathomable amount of pain.]
Really... the hardest... [his words come out in a weak and breathless hiss. it takes a lot to muster up the strength to even say that much one he's been run through. it's the last of his consciousness and his will power. it's a last bit of defiance and bitterness as the world begins to blur and fade. his body begins to slump, strength leaving him as the white flickers away and fades back to its normal shades.
if he has to die, it's better this way. somehow, it hurts his pride a lot less, even if that means hurting hijikata a whole hell of a lot more. but maybe somehow, souji knows that he'll have to pay that forward to hijikata one day, in a place like this one where everything's a mess and the deaths "don't matter."]