//SCENARIOS.EXE
PHASE I [ 16 00 ] At 4:00 PM, the lightly falling snow will stop and no sounds will be heard.
What will be heard is faint sound of ‘hohoho’ and ‘sleigh bells’ faintly in the distance distinctly in one direction but when you turn that way it seems to disappear and you can’t pick up a trace of sound. It will keep occurring intermittently no matter where you are and each interval of 15 minutes, it will sound as if it’s gotten closer but the same things will occur.
by 6:00 pm, when it sounds really close (like right behind the character or next to them), when they turn they’ll hear the sound of laughter that comes from someone they greatly admire or care about to one side of them. However, unlike how everything else has disappeared, that person remains and even seems to recognize they are there. At first, it seems well enough as they will ask innocent questions such as “What are you looking around for?” and if told the truth, their important person will kindly brush them off as joking and tell them they are imagining it. If told ‘nothing’, the important person will prod them with curiosity (you can have it be annoying, whiny, friendly--however that character would most likely nag them to let them in, including things said such as “you can tell me”).
Regardless of choice from there, the person will eventually decide to assist in locating this sound, as your character will hear it once more and from the sudden surprise on the other person’s face it seems they may have heard it, too.
At 6:30pm, the person will give up, suggesting you guys go back (go home, go shop, go eat, whatever the character would suggest as something fun and interesting. if they are the type of character who would just simply part ways with the other and say they will meet them back somewhere else, that’s fine, too!) In the end, they will start to walk past the PC if they are in front of them, but as soon as they are behind him the PC will get a hand on the shoulder and pulled to be whispered to by that person in the ear (or any variant of it at the player’s discretion to sound more like said individual): “You always did have a habit of looking for the things you can never find. A trait of only the most worthless.” followed by a strong wind that drowns out laughter of the person when they came, but this time much crueler. The wind is gale force so the character will not in any way be able to turn around fast enough to see whether the person walks off or disappears.
Looking to the ground, there are footprints, though, that suggest that person was there. Unfortunately, the snow is light and not wet, so unless the character looks quickly they may miss the evidence. And with the wind starts the heavy wet snow, increasing until blizzard conditions are reached.
OOC NOTES:
- If doing this prompt, people who tag into other people’s top levels can choose if they also have an important person that’s come to them in the same way or they can simply be alone.
- Both characters can see each other’s important persons (assuming the individual tagging the top level has one), and they will treat the other PC polite enough but would do what they normally do with strangers while around their PC. Players might want to take the opportunity to do some simple ‘npcing’ of their character’s important person in relation to the tags their top levels receive or the tagged into, but it is by no means required. Just one more potential thing you can add to your threads if it helps or will be more fun/interesting ).
- If any player-characters would happen to have the same important person, the player-character entering the thread will have their version start to slow down in their movements until they are behind them and no longer keeping up. When they turn around to look for them, they won’t be there any longer, but they will be fully acknowledged by the spectre and act as if the newly arrived isn’t remembering correctly (they ran ahead to find the player they are with now or etc.)
- The spectre should at least be believable to be able to cause doubt on whether it is real or in their heads or some other type of trick. If directly asked, the NPC will never quite say one way or another, but sort of be sympathetic to their uncertainty or laugh it off or dismiss it… again, however that character’s NPC would react to being doubted.
- It doesn’t have to be their “MOST IMPORTANT” person. Just someone that they are close enough to that their opinions matter/the player character really misses/they would be bothered by them not finding them worth anything/etc.
PHASE II [ 1700 ] Now that blizzard conditions have suddenly come into play, including white outs, all that lighting doesn’t seem to be much help (and that’s before any lighting finally ends up blowing out due to the conditions). You might want to look for that person that was with you, because you swore you saw footprints in the dry snow before it was all erased with the force of the wind.
Traveling outside may be more dangerous than you intend, however, not because of the cold, but because you can’t see who’s (or what) coming at you nor who’s (or what) coming behind you… or from any other direction, either.
Pretty convenient for an accidental murder in the form of a hit and run by a moving vehicle.
...Or a sleigh speeding forward by the work of nine reindeer and equipped with saw-blades used for ice cutting in place of the normal runners. You will want to get out of the streets as fast as you can because, while you will not be consistently chased, increased attempts at various times will be made on your life the longer you stay out.
While your character is welcome to run into the nearest place they can or continue to stay outside despite being an intended murder victim, the combination of the disorienting whiteout along with the sleigh attacks will strategically attempt to push characters towards the large mall that has been now shut down for the evening. They will find the doors unlocked and most likely others there that have be also driven here by the same situation. Somethings not right, though. Because the mall suddenly doesn’t look the way it once did, especially if you were just there earlier in the day. You are about to find out that the lot of you aren’t much safer, inside, either. Be prepared to run or fight your way out.
PHASE III [ xxxx ]
Depending which side of the mall you enter from depends on the layout of the mall and what you’ll be finding. Please note Cerealia’s mall is incredibly large so it would be quite the effort to go from one end to the other. However, it is possible, and if you reach the middle of the mall, the two variations of the mall will collide with one another. Once you step over into the other version, whatever dangers you faced from the other side will cease. However, now you have the other sides dangers to face, as well.
3A: WARM
The mall looks as if it’s been abandoned suddenly—there are no guards or any sign of movement initially. Despite the power being out, you will actually be able to search if your characters want to and get the power to turn back on. Be aware that turning the power back on in the mall will result in a change noted below for both prompt 3A and 3B.**
Regardless of whether you turn the lights on first or stay in the dark, you will find the multi-levels of the mall scattered with various gifts, left for all of you as gratitude for complying with coming to the mall. These may or may not be your definition of a gift, however. Every package is addressed to someone who has shown up at the mall, yourself included. While wandering by a gift that doesn’t have your name on it will do nothing, doing the same for one that does… Merry Christmas to you! Santa’s elves will be busting out of the packages and will solely be focused on you and you alone. They’ll be sporting just about anything and everything you could think of they could use to harm you, but it’ll be in the form of a creepy toy or candy (to try and choke/suffocate you with if they manage to get close enough to you to do it)—basically anything that could be harmless but is now not, but they will avoid any direct death methods. Their intention is incapacitate you to the point they can eat you. Note they are not easy to kill, but they are killable. However, there will always be at least one elf out chasing you. You might want to team up to take these guys out. (think of them as the hardest normal enemy on a map for your level).
Whether you turned the lights on yourself or not, at some point the lights will come on and make your lives more festive: different elves will be appearing on the upper floors with just about and every possible projectile weapon. There is probably even a canon or two, as well, so watch out! But probably nothing bigger than a canon… and no rocket launchers because there would be no fun in that if everyone died too quickly during playtime. These types of elves are more numerous but they are easier to dispatch and do not have a specific target. They also don’t care if they kill you, but they are more likely to try and slow you down so they can watch you become dinner for one of the bigger ones.
3B: COLD
The other side of the mall looks like quite a bit different and in heavy disrepair.
It is also possible (although more difficult) from this side of the mall to turn on lights (even if the lights will be a lot less numerous than on the other side of the mall.) There are no christmas decorations here, just the snow littering the wrecked structure. Even though it is clear there is a hole in the roof, for some reason the blizzard outside is not through it. Instead it’s just a quiet and light snowfall.
But this is side of the mall where there are LESS, but quite a bit more dangerous enemies. The elves that appear are identical to the ones in packages on the other side of the mall, however, they do not sport weapons other than their sharp teeth and claws (despite pictures, these features aren’t super noticeable on the ones on the other side of the mall like this side until they get at your throat). They are also faster and while they also want to eat you, they don’t care if they rip you apart in the process before getting to eat. All-in-all this would be a lot more of a visually gruesome death to experience as well as watch as the victim will end up in pieces. Since these are a little stronger than their counterparts hiding in the presents, there also aren’t as many (probably 1 for every two characters at all times). They would be the strength of a small mini-boss.
But, it won’t be long because you hear some inhuman snorts and growls that don’t sound very animallike, either. looking up you’ll find that it looks like Santa’s let his 9 reindeer out for the hunt and they’re coming in after you.
There’s only 9 of them (you know dasher, dancer…etc. etc..), but they are each the strength of a harder mini-boss. They withstand a lot of damage and the more injury they take, the more aggressive/frenzied they become. They will eat you/tear you apart/trample you/impale you with their antlers, whatever. While you’ll see them come in from the roof, they act like predators and use the shadows and disrepair of the mall to their advantage to try and corner you and otherwise surprise you. Your best chance with them is to stick together as one of you alone won’t be able to kill one of them), but they will make every effort they possibly can to separate all of you to take you each out one by one (and, why yes, the reindeer will gang up on you once they separate you like a little lamb from its heard…).
This side of the mall is definitely a team-effort survival trip. Each reindeer is slightly different in its methods, but who can really tell the difference when things are at this stage? Rudolph IS THE BOSS OF THE PACK… taking him out first will help your characters greatly, although he’s also the most difficult (and your characters would have to icly figure out killing him will actually help them out, too).
***CONCERNING TURNING ON THE LIGHTS (PROMPTS 3A + 3B): If characters on either side end up turning the lights on manually, they will also end up releasing a creature that is unkillable and will stalk your characters until you are too far away from it and it gives chase to another (so you have to run away when it finds you). The trick to encountering it the least amount of times is to constantly keep moving, although this will make any strategic things difficult against other problems being faced. It is possible to stun it/slow it down temporarily to aid in characters escaping when it shows up if the character has the ability to do it (summons, magic weapons, superhuman strength characters, etc).
This monster is also the only one that will not cease its attacks and ignore you should you cross between the center of the mall. So, yes, if it’s chasing you and you run straight through… it’s gonna CHASE YOU STRAIGHT THROUGH into the other version/side of the mall, so don’t stop D: !!
PHASE IV [ xxxx ]
And if you didn’t run to the mall, or didn’t get chased by santa’s killer sleigh, or heck, maybe you stayed inside your apartment all day? Don’t feel too safe for too long. If you aren’t celebrating christmas properly, aka in an area (a building, an office, a bathroom stall, your apartment, your bed etc etc) that is lacking either a Christmas Tree or the proper milk and cookies for Santa to assist him while he is so busy this night, he’s not going to be happy. Which means, he’s going to come punish you for your lack of respect for the hardworking. It doesn’t pay to be impolite to your elders, you know. This is why we can’t have nice things.
The room/area has to have both the Christmas Tree and the milk & cookies in order to be safe. This is literally the only way to keep Santa from coming at you with a machete like a jolly serial-killer. He starts with a machete, but he can pull just about anything out of his toy sac (semi-automatic machine gun, you got it…). Because Santa is magical, he is unkillable and you can’t injure him, either. The best you can do is break his weapons to stall him and hide, but he’ll stalk around looking for you, telling you what a naughty boy/girl you’ve been and now you’re hiding from the consequences! You can hide from him under beds, in lockers, closets, etc, and while he won’t open any of those things unless you make noise to alert him, he will leave. Don’t stay in the hiding spot for too long, though, because he will come back and that time he will find you.
The trick to getting off of Santa’s murder list? While he disappears once he’s lost sight of you (maybe 15-20 minutes is the grace period that he’ll leave you alone), get a christmas tree and get those milk and cookies out. OR run to a place that has both of these things.
While Santa is chasing/stalking you, he will talk to you and give hints on what the characters need to do to be spared (things along the lines of “good little girls and boys always leave Santa milk and cookies for his long journey” and “where is your christmas spirit? not even a christmas tree for old santa to put his gifts under.” etc etc.).
Once you complete this, he will return and be planning to be murderous once more, but once he sees the tree and cookies he will immediately stop and be extremely jolly and forget you in favor of the cookies in milk as well as putting a couple presents under the tree like he didn’t just terrorize the living snot out of you with sharp objects. And then he’ll be heard with his trademark commentary for those familiar with the Santa Claus lore: “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL GOOD NIGHT…” and disappear without (anymore, or at least, yours) bloodshed.
BONUS [ whyo'clock ]
{ there isn't a bonus this event, apologies! but we will do our best to remedy this for you guys on the upcoming test drive by connecting it to something appropriately traumatizing for mental processing. Please stay with us :D! }
[ 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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Perhaps he's just comfortable for once with the way Shinpachi's fingers gently thread through his hair. Or maybe he's getting tired from the blood loss.
Either way, his breathing does even out as he relaxes just slightly. It's definitely better to be in this shitty situation with someone else, especially his best friend, but he can't relax completely.
Not with those heavy, stomping steps in the same room. Gritting his teeth against the remaining, throbbing pain, he tightens his grip on the hilt of his sword. He'll be as ready as he can be if the blood trail is followed.
...Gods, please don't let this guy be smart enough for that. They're basically out of luck as it is and that would just end their day awfully quickly.]
no subject
So Shinpachi grits his teeth, and even if he doesn't let go of the other guy, his free hand also drops to the hilt of his sword. Just in case. Just in case, the both of them have to be prepared. Even if that thing might not be able to get stabbed - well, what else can they do?
He has no clue for how long it lasts. At one point, however, Shinpachi can see the fat guy directly in front of the closet, the red of his suit the only thing visible through the tiny openings in the door. And as he laughs that annoying "ho ho ho" laugh and talks about that sure being two naughty boys, he's so sure the other guy found them. He's half tempted to slam the door open in the guy's face and just take off running and somehow drag Sano along, since this tension is getting unbearable.
But after a few moments that feel like they stretch out into an eternity, the guy turns around without opening the closet, and the footsteps slowly get softer and softer until they disappear entirely, the sound of a door slamming following it.
.. Is that it? Is the guy really gone? It's almost hard to believe, and out of sheer suspicion of the situation Shinpachi doesn't even move an inch after the sounds have died out, still silently sitting in the same position with Sano. He can see Sano's eyes still closed when he glances over, but the soft rising and falling of the other's chest against his own indicates - thank god - that he's at least still kicking. ]
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Shinpachi is even more tense and Sano can feel him shift enough to do something - he's not sure what, exactly, but it's probably to get a grip on his weapon - and he bites down on the inside of his cheek to really keep himself quiet.
And then, unless Sano's ears deceive him, the footsteps drift away until they're gone.
...Are they gone? Has the man given up? Did he somehow not notice all the blood that had to have been glaringly obvious?
Sano keeps his eyes closed for a few more moments, almost afraid if he opens them that the last few seconds (minutes?) have been some sort of dream and he'll be looking death in the face.
(He's done it before more than once, but he's honestly getting really tired of it.)
But after being shot and then dragging himself around and testing his limits and then having to hold it all in, Sano can't keep quiet any longer.]
Dammit...
[He takes in gasping breaths to make up for their hiding time in the closet and pushes himself from Shinpachi's hold. As much as he'd like to just stay here and as much as his body likes the thought of sleeping this off, he knows that's dangerous territory. Besides, there's no way this hiding spot is foolproof. Who's to say that guy won't be back?
And if he comes back...]
We can't stay here.
no subject
It's a mess. There's so much red - on Sano's makeshift bandages, on the rest of his leg, his clothes, it's even rubbed off on Shinpachi's own hakama.. It hasn't been enough to make Sano pass out, but by god, who knows how much longer he'll be able to hold on like that?
They can't stay here, but they also can't leave while he's still like that. Shinpachi's expression moves into a frown as he untangles the last bits of them to be able to stand up, hand moving to his wounded shoulder for a moment - with a slight wince when he touches it. ]
Take care of that first. [ Wrap something else around it, clean the bandages - at least enough so he'll be able to hold on until they manage to get him to someone who can look at it better. Or at least somewhere they won't have to deal with that damn Santa. ]
I'll go look in the meantime if he's really left for now, then we can hightail it out of here. I'll be right back.
[ And nope, he's not even going to give Sano the chance to protests if he wants to, Shinpachi waltzes straight into danger no problem.. although he'll at least be careful about it, don't worry. But he sure is walking back already after that statement to go look while giving Sano the time to clean up for a moment. ]
no subject
He doesn't want Shinpachi to go out there on his own, either, but it's obvious out of the two of them who can play reconnaissance better right now. So he just nods and reaches up again for another shirt.
...His arms feel a little weak and his fingers are going kind of numb. Shit.
But he doesn't stop. He raises the shirt to his mouth and, using his teeth, starts to rip it apart so he has more standard bandages. He's getting to be a little to familiar with this kind of process. The thought is ridiculous and he lets out a weak chuckle as he changes the makeshift bandages as quickly as he can, tossing the bloody shirt out into the room.
Pull everything tight, but not too tight.
Then he attempts to pull himself up again, but when he doesn't have anything to grab onto within easy reach, his legs buckle beneath him, and he's sure all the work he's just done is going to be for naught. Because fuck that hurts and it burns and he cries out for real this time.
It's embarrassing how weak he's become in just a matter of minutes. What happened to the Sano who was dragging himself all over the kitchen counter and throughout the apartment, somehow hobbling on one good leg and one leg that probably doesn't even work anymore?
...Without that adrenaline he really is just a weak, pathetic human. Why does this shit keep getting drilled into his head?]
no subject
But thankfully there's no such problem. Even as Shinpachi peeks out the apartment and wanders down the hallway for a moment, he can't spot the guy anymore. Even stranger, there's not even a single sign that someone has been wandering down the hallway of the apartment building to begin with, let alone someone that big.
.. weird as hell. But then again, everything in this place is. And if it means that the coast is clear for a few moments-- hell, he'll take it.
It's why he quickly moves back into the apartment to get Sano. But instead of finding the other there ready, he instead spots him still sitting there on the bottom of the closet. Which means that his injury really must be so bad that he can't even really stand.. Shinpachi knows there's no way in hell his best friend would let anything smaller hold him back that much. ]
Damn, Sano.. [ He doesn't let anything more than those words slip from his mouth though. Not comments about how he's a real piece of work or anything, since he's sure their collective prides have already gotten enough dents tonight. Instead he just reaches over, wrapping an arm around the other man's torso to help him up. But since he's pretty sure letting go now just means Sano will end up down there again, he keeps holding on even when the other is up.
If getting him to stand is already this hard, then walking is going to be even more of a pain. Running is out of the option. And if they waste too much time, and that thing comes back..
.. well. Whatever. It's not like there's any other choice but to try to make it out of here at whatever pace is allowed while Sano is like this. Shinpachi isn't going to leave his best friend behind. Not when it's very much clear that the fat guy from just now was very much out for blood.
He's not going to let Sano die. The very idea of it makes his chest feel a little tight, but he tries to ignore it, instead shoving his leg against Sano bad leg and hauling one of the other's arms over his own shoulders, hissing for a moment in surprise and pain as the skin hits his wound. (God, in the middle of everything, he almost forgot that was even there.) But there's no time for that, no time-- ]
Ever had a three-legged race as a kid? [ Because that's the only way they're going to get out of here with how bad Sano's wound is. Shinpachi is strong, but carrying Sano might even be beyond him - just bodily supporting him like this and being a crutch is at least something he can do. ]