//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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Stay here. Don't move.
[He turns around to make a call. With him speaking just above a mutter and the weather happening around them, it's not an easy conversation to hear. Either way, the call is short so that IV can turn his attention back to Yuya. The last thing he needs right now is the kid running off while he's looking away.
"Maybe some minutes? We were looking together."
IV's noticed the trend by now. Precious people who appear laughing, engaging in conversation like they normally would, before they run off with the wind and more laughter meant to hurt. Something like that. It's disorienting. He shakes his head, his hands resting on his hips, ready to pull in Yuya if the kid decides to wander again.]
I don't know what happened with your dad, but this isn't the place to be wandering.
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...It's only snowing out. [OBVIOUSLY SANTA HAS NOT PASSED BY HIM YET.]
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He can't be sure that the same tactic he uses for someone more rough around the edges like Ryouga will work on Yuya. Probably not. Who knows. Yuya might just need a distraction.]
You're right. It's only snowing. So there's no need for the goggles, is there?
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He could spit out a 'Isn't it obvious? Why do you care?', but Yuya opts to stay silent with a small shake of his head. He's wearing them because he's trying to hide how pathetic and worthless he feels. How much Yusho's words have dug so deeply into him in such a short amount of time, ripping open old insecurities along the way, and that the only thing he can do is hide the physical signs (and even then, just barely). The last thing he wants to do is cry in front of someone he only met recently.
He just wants to be alone...and he probably deserves it too, if his dad can easily leave him behind.
So when he turns to walk off again without a word, he's actually doing so on purpose instead of in a daze.]
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I don't care about those.
[He's already guessed the intention behind the goggles, anyway, but he won't voice his assumptions on that. Pausing, IV takes a quiet breath before he continues.]
So what if he left? If he's gone, you should be proving that you're worth his time. Make him come back. [He grits his teeth.] Moping around and walking away when the going gets tough won't solve anything. Don't run like a coward!
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Shut UP! [He turns back towards the other teen, tugging his arm away hastily, but at least he doesn't look like he's going to bolt. No, Yuya's standing his ground out of the anger that's flaring up from IV's words.]
My dad and I aren't cowards-! And don't act like you know what I've been through!!
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Despite the growing tension, this is good. Yuya isn't going anywhere, and he's angry. Anger is a good distraction.
He breaths in and out through his nose, using that fleeting moment to consider his next words.]
It doesn't matter if I know. What I'm seeing is pretty clear. Don't tell me what you are and what you're not. If you're not a coward, show it!
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Yuya! IV!
[And with only this much said he tries to stand between the two of them, to keep them away from each other. He gives Yuya a concerned look, before he sends something that is very close to a glare in IV's direction.]
What is happening here?
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Guilt is the second fastest to hit him, given that Yuto is obviously worried. That's the last thing he wanted to do ever since he brought him to Tellus through ViViD. Dammit, IV. There's a hard grimace as Yuto looks towards IV and away from Yuya, and he takes the moment to shove his goggles up, rubbing the back of his wrist over his eyes to wipe away the moisture there, and he somehow manages to force a smile on. It's a struggle, so it wouldn't be very convincing from how worn out he looks. He's pulling this 180 for Yuto's sake, even if everything still hurts and he's still angry at IV.]
...Yuto...Don't worry about it. We were just talking.
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His scowl fades as he looks away. He's not truly angry, but the sour outcome of the brief shouting match with Yuya leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. Now that Yuto's here, he won't dwell on it. It isn't about him.]
We just finished. He's yours.
[Good grief, what a mess. He's leaving.]
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Once IV is gone, Yuto turns to Yuya. He sees that forced smile. If Yuya was trying to reassure him with it, then it's not working at all. If anything, it makes Yuto even more worried than before.]
It didn't sound like talking to me. [More like yelling.
And even though that's all he says for now, it is obvious that he's waiting for some kind of explanation.]
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Then Yuto's unsaid question for answers puts the tension right back on. At least he doesn't have to worry about being called a coward. His fake smile twitches at the corners, a moment of weakness making it hard to maintain even if he gets the sinking feeling that Yuto already knows it's just there for show.]
It's a long story. [Not really, but he doesn't want to tell it either.] Let's...go somewhere?
[He's a little confused about where they are in relation to the apartments, so maybe they can head into a store instead. Unless Yuto knows the way.]
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Let's go then.
[Thankfully he knows the way towards the apartments. He starts heading in the same direction he came from. It would probably be easier and quicker if they just head into a store, but right now it's best if they talk in a quiet place. And Yuya looks worn out, too. He probably could use some rest.
Yuto walks quite slowly, glancing back every now and then to see if Yuya is following him.]
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Y-Yuto! [Yuya forces himself forward and reaches out blindly for his twin. He fumbles at first before latching onto an arm. Tightly, desperate to keep Yuto with him until the snow dies down a little.]
...Sorry...I-- [There's a noticeable crack in his voice which makes Yuya shut his mouth as he swallows down the painful sound.] I don't want us to get separated.
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It's fine. And don't worry, we won't get separated. [He speaks calmly, hoping it would sound reassuring. He doesn't move from his place and waits patiently until Yuya decides they can resume their walk.]
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Okay... [Obviously he's not taking any chances of losing his twin, even when they begin walking again. Losing Yuto along with Yusho would make this day quite unbearable, and he doesn't want to know what sort of cruel words Yuto may have about him. He only just recently was able to get past his guilt for interrupting Yuto and Yugo's duel.]
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When Yuya grasps his hand, Yuto squeezes it in reassurance that everything will be okay.]
I promise, I won't leave you.
[He doesn't know why, but it feels like he needed to say that.]
icon keywords are perfect for this
Thanks.
[He'll be silent the rest of the way, and even when they reach their apartment and enter, he looks around from his spot in the doorway as if expecting to find someone. He did tell his dad that they should go back to his apartment. There's a slightly disappointed, and then he finally lets go of Yuto's hand even though he doesn't really want to. The first thing he does afterwards is move to sit down on the couch, lean other while supporting his elbows on his knees, and rub his eyes.]
yuya... ;;
Since Yuya is silent, Yuto doesn't say anything either as they walk, but he thinks to himself that it's so strange to see Yuya this quiet. The way Yuya seems to look for something (or someone?) when they enter the apartment, and the way he sits down and rubs his eyes... all of this gives him more reasons to worry.
Yuto is watching his twin for a moment longer, before he sits next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
He doesn't ask question. He waits, until Yuya feels like talking.]
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Three years ago, my dad was the reigning champion for the Action Duel Championship. He was supposed to be dueling Strong Ishijima for the final match...but he never showed up.
[The memory is so vivid in his mind, he has to stop and draw a deep breath. His eyes are on the ceiling and his voice remains low.]
It's like he really disappeared. Mom and I never heard a word from him after that day, and didn't even know why he left. Everyone, even his fans, called him a coward for not showing, and I was "that coward's" son. I got bullied a lot too. [But at least he had Yuzu and Gon to stick up for him. He'll always be grateful to them.
It's hard to breath when he gets to the real issue, and his voice strains when his gaze shifts to the floor:] Dad--...I got to see him again today. I was so happy...Really, really happy. I thought we could be together again.
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He wishes there was something else he could.
With a concerned look in his eyes, he nods and waits for Yuya to continue.]
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We were searching for some noise or something, I don't know. I just wanted to talk to Dad. [So a lot of blind following happened.] It took us awhile, and Dad said he thought it'd be better to go inside 'cause of the snow...But he ended up leaving me behind.
[There's a particularly pained look as he remembers what was said:] 'Even with the pendulum, you always did have a habit of looking for the things you can never find. A trait of only the most worthless.'
[Another lapse of silence follows as his hand clasps around the pendulum (still hanging from his neck even if he doesn't deserve it) and moisture prick at the corners of his eyes. He doesn't want to believe it, but it still hurts so much. What if that's the real reason his dad disappeared from the very beginning? No, no-- he that can't be true, right? This back-and-forth of thoughts in his head is only giving him a headache, and his eyes squeeze tight when a tear rolls down his face. His free hand comes up to roughly wipe at his cheek as he mutters to himself.]
I just wanted him to be proud of me. But if that's the real reason I got left behind, what am I supposed to do?!
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But now it all makes sense, why Yuya was so afraid, why he didn't want to be left behind. Again.]
Yuya...
[For a moment he's trying desperately to find words that would be comforting.]
...I don't know why he said that but it's not true.
[He stops himself from saying what he thinks of Yuya's father, but anger still shows on his face.]
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...I don't want to believe it either. [Yet all this doubt still lingers over his head. It's suffocating. The mental image of his father was always perfect-- a gentleman with a sense of humor, a star that he'll always admire, and someone with an infinite amount of patience. So meeting him today and hearing his last remarks feel like a photograph has forcibly taken and ripped in front of his eyes.]
But I don't know any other reason why he left. [No one can be perfect, right?] If he had told me or mom or someone...w-why... [Maybe this wouldn't be so painful.
Yuya takes a shuddering breath, still wiping at his eyes because the tears won't stop welling up. It's a little hard to see Yuto's expression, not that he actually wants to look at his twin directly when he feels so horrible right now.]
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Yuto doesn't know how it feels to be left by your own father, to be told cruel things by someone important to you, but that doesn't change anything. He wants to help Yuya, comfort him, convince him that he isn't at fault here at all. The person who did something wrong is obviously Yuya's father.
Frowning in worry more and more with every minute, Yuto moves a little closer to his twin. With his free hand he tries to catch Yuya's hand and squeeze it lightly, hoping silently that the action would make Yuya look at him.]
No. It can't be the reason, because you're not worthless and you’re not a coward. Don't you remember? Back then, I gave you my Dark Rebellion, because I believe you can change the everyone's future for the better. [His voice is firm. There is no doubt in his words.] You saved me so many times, too...
[He closes his eyes and falling silent for a brief moment.]
I don't know anything about your father, but... [He pauses. He probably shouldn't say this, but he has to.] ...a real father wouldn't act like he did.
[He says that quietly, trying no to sound angry.]
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