[DAY 0] TDM.

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Error in final launch sequence:
Failed to execute MI command:
target remote localhost: 01633
Error message from debugger back end:
Cannot access memory at address 𝟹͚̽𝚡̰̍̂𝟸̠̯̘ͭͧ𝚌̭͉̺͖ͥ𝟿̳̰̒̇ͅ𝟷̦ͣ̉͌̅𝚋͓͎̈̒̀𝟻ͭ̌͂𝟷ͩ̓𝟾̦
Failed to execute MI command:
target remote localhost: 01633
Error message from debugger back end:
Cannot access memory at address 𝟹̖͇͕̃𝚡͉̹̯͇̻̉̓̂𝟸͚̹͈͓̩͚̲̼͒̾𝚌̱̠͙̝̪͇̈̌̂̃̄ͭ𝟿̱̜̪͓̳̹ͤ̊̈́ͦͥ̑𝟷͖̱̝̀̒̇̂̄̈́̓̇ͅ𝚋̥̯͉̹͛͛̊ͤͦͩ𝟻̬̮̈́̋ͯ͛̉̐𝟷̋ͩ̔̔𝟾̼
Waiting for debugger connection...
Debugger connected
Debugger connection lost.
Waiting for debugger connection...
Debugger connected
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Target is not responding, retrying...
Debugger connection lost.
Shutting down...
Rebooting
Download in Progress:
File download complete
Time elapsed during download operation: 00:12:33.131
Rebooting
Launching Demon Summoning Program. . .

You open your eyes to the end of the world, but you do not see it.

Instead what rouses you is screaming and crying, blood and tears: all around you are signs of life. Inside the overturned train, people begin to awaken, sprawled on the ground as if thrown violently from their seats, broken bones and bleeding wounds struggling to rise from the carpet of shattered glass from the windows at their feet. Emerging from the wreck, characters will find themselves at the edge of a dense forest, a towering stone wall at their backs. Bright eyes peer out from the shadows of the foliage, more and more blinking into view like stars in a darkening sky, but despite being drawn to the scent of blood that hangs heavy in the air, nothing steps out of the forest. Not yet.

None of the passengers can recall what happened, what they were doing on a train, where it was going- there's more they can't remember, but overshadowing the gaps of memory are things they have gained in return. A familiar item that is not theirs. A gemstone that feels lighter than it appears, as if hollow inside. And a device that wraps around their wrist (or rests on their head, or hangs around their neck, or however it presents itself to each character) that starts up on its own the moment the character turns their attention to it, as if waiting. Each character's COMP has a "navigator" selected at default, either "A☆L☆A" in bright neon orange, or "K5" in cool slate blue, although the presiding navigator can be freely switched between them.

Heya, boss! My name's Ala, your new navi!

You wanna know something really funny? Go ahead and touch the map on the corner of the screen to enlarge it. See all those little red dots? Those are demons out to kill you. Haha! You're surrounded!

Heya, boss! You can call me Keigo, your navigational AI.

If you touch the map on the corner of the screen, you can enlarge it and see the positions of all your allies. Looks like some of you are already heading out: see those little blue— oh. That one just disappeared. ... Try to stick together.

Along with providing a map with enemy/ally positions, the navigators will walk characters through the demon interaction, recruitment, and summoning processes, with advice varying between the two navigators (click to expand)

Just beat 'em up and force 'em to join! They can't say no if they're dead!

Nobody is immune to bribery, not even demons. What do you even have, though...? No matter what, don't let them get that life stone.

More demons incoming! Ooh, you're screwed. You'd better run! Don't worry, I won't tell.

Let's hide here. We'll wait here until that demon passes, then move!

Look, a body! Are they still alive? Wonder what's in their pockets...?

It's already too late to help. But better them being demon food than you.

Or, you could stay. There is nothing forcing anybody to leave the relative safety of the train. Those who stay behind will find the conductor's cabin empty, save for a small black cat perched on the headrest of the driver's seat that peers out with bright golden eyes at those who enter. Otherwise, there are no signs of a fight or struggle inside the cabin. Elsewhere, there is unclaimed luggage in the overhead compartments with an abundance of clothing and blankets, although characters will not find any of their own clothing except what they're already wearing. The dining cart is still stocked with enough food and beverage to last each passenger at least two days— maybe longer, if people keep leaving/dying... But at the same time, maybe shorter, considering the pervasive hunger that gnaws at the pits of everybody's stomachs, an emptiness that yearns to be filled by something... more.

As minutes stretch into hours, it becomes painfully clear that nobody is coming to help. Everybody only has each other, this town, its inhabitants. The forest is dark and unforgiving, near impossible to navigate even with a map. Strange creatures jump out from the shadows, eyes bright, mouths salivating, hungry. Strong hands claw through the dirt underfoot to grab at people's feet, pulling themselves up, mouths wide open, hungry. Sharp talons swoop down from the skies above, snatching characters up into the air, crushing skulls and snapping spines. Hungry. The demons here seem delighted to see such a feast wandering right into their home; those who are stopped for attempted conversation express surprise that characters are able to see them, but ultimately the hunger wins, and hunger does not listen to reason.

Casualties are inevitable. Blood mist permeates the air, and follows even as characters break out of the forest and across town, all the way to the fraying end of the world. Out in the open, however, the sun rays beat down bright and harsh, and those hungry eyes shy away from the sunlight to remain in the shadows, inside husks of buildings and thickets of overgrown fields. Characters will be able to find refuge in the greenhouse and the church, and some of the standing houses are truly vacant (as opposed to "surprise! there's actually a demon inside!" vacant); the only eyes that follow you are those of photographs hung crooked on the walls, of familiar strangers and forgotten friends. Look, there's a picture of you too.

Other locations require more caution to explore:

The sound of crying can be heard from the upper stories of the school building, thin wails echoing up and down the deserted halls, and human-like shadows peer out from the broken, unboarded windows, as if watching. A barricade inside the front doors makes it difficult to enter from the main entrance, and with most of the windows boarded up, the hallways inside remain dark even during the day. The smell of rot is prominent, heavy and cloying, especially in the auditorium-become-mausoleum that is littered with crushed bones, thin and brittle, every last scrap of flesh already nibbled away. A flock of demons crowd around outside principal's office, where a blizzard blows through the entire hallway, rendering visibility near zero and temperatures below that.

The hospital is also deathly cold, breath visible in puffs of mist that sometimes form into screaming faces, and when all is still and quiet, you look up and see yourself. Shadows form into mirror images of the characters who enter the hospital, silently approaching others and attacking once the person's guard is down. If a demon borrowing your face isn't bad enough, Phantoms go a step further and take the form of people who are close to your character: friends, family, foes. Exploring the hospital may or may not be worth the potential backstabbing, considering the fact that the supplies found are maybe not the most sterile, half the equipment is rusted or corroded, and a lot of the medicine is unlabeled tablets and capsules inside unlabeled bottles (essentially, take at your own risk). Moreover, hordes of all sorts of demon ghosts will bar characters' way down to the basement, gathering in massive numbers anytime somebody tries to descend. Electricity bounces around the top of the stairway down, while bright flames lick the bottom of the stairs; particularly unlucky characters may be hit with a confusion spell, liable to throw themselves headfirst down the stairs to be consumed by the waiting demons below.

Hauntingly beautiful music can be heard from within the concert hall, and listening to their song puts you fast asleep— possibly in the middle of the street if you're not careful— while those who manage to make it past the front doors are immediately frozen in a hunk of ice or electrocuted to a crisp before being kicked to the curb. The concert hall appears to be actively guarded, and it's clear that strangers are Not Welcome. Even the other demons keep clear of this building, drawn to the music but lingering far enough to not be overwhelmed. Characters may have an easier time of initiating conversations with demons from around town or inside the houses nearby the concert hall.

The crackle of electricity can be heard from inside the power plant's upper stories despite the blackout, and the entire building shakes from time to time, as if caught in a thunderstorm, or an earthquake. A slow drip... drip... drip... can be heard throughout the building, of amorphous demons clinging to the walls like mold and leaving puddles of caustic acid Everywhere. Anybody who enters the power plant's front entrance is met with a massive agglomerate of black Ooze that has expanded to fill the entire first floor from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, preventing anybody from going upstairs while it remains. Arms and legs poke out of the demon's body in places, desperately clawing and kicking, weaker, weaker. done.

OOC

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Welcome to Day 0! What better meet-and-greet is there than everybody being tossed into the fray to fight for their lives? ('': For convenience, here are the game info, locations, and demon compendium pages; please use these as reference for what more can be found in the setting.

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The characters' COMP will turn on only after they notice and focus on it. If they do NOT activate the COMP, they will not be able to see the demons or interact with them in any way other than being killed. Activating the COMP will allow characters to see demons and somewhat understand their language, with an added effect of allowing physical attacks to harm demons, and mitigating the damage taken from demons.

»

For characters who app and are accepted, please report demon recruitment here. Characters who are just tdming do not have to report. Recruited demons are inclined to listen to their summoner, but are not necessarily friendly at the beginning: if your character shows weakness, the demon may be just as likely to eat them as they are to protect them.

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There will be no NPCs in this game other than the two navigators and some key demons. You're on your own for now!

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This first event/tdm is open to the public, and can be used for test driving at any time after the game starts. I'll be keeping a pulse on threads for when characters have gotten their bearings and seem to have a general idea of how they want to proceed into the next day, and we'll go from there.

Comments

Kate | Shadows House

[sootprints]

train // a girl with no face

[ In an overturned train car, one might notice the body of a girl in a red dress lying face-down on the floor (or technically the wall. it's the "floor" now that it's all flipped around). Long black hair obscures her features, and for a long time, she remains still. One would be forgiven for thinking she's dead.

But then she stirs. Perhaps she was out cold, or maybe she was just playing dead while most of the other survivors fled the car. She'll climb to her feet and try to quietly slip out too, with her disheveled hair covering her features. But should someone try to approach her, even if just to check on her, she'll immediately pull away. ]

Stay away!

[ She faces your character for just a moment, but a moment is enough to see that something is off about this girl: she has no face. Where one would normally find eyes and a mouth, there is only darkness. ]

forest // encounters in the dark

[ Perhaps Kate did manage to slip away from the other survivors. If you're bold enough to venture into the forest yourself, or if you caught a glimpse of a girl sneaking away and felt inclined to follow, you may spot Kate's silhouette out in the tree-shrouded darkness.

When she thinks she's alone, she sets down a suitcase taken from the train and opens it, rummaging through the clothes. Maybe she can find something to cover herself with...

... Not far from her, there's a glint of eyes watching from between the trees. A lurking demon, ready to lunge at its prey. ]

hospital // shadows shadowing shadows

[ In the hospital, one might come across a strange sight: two identical faceless Shadows, staring down one another in a hallway. Both appear to be a girl with a long hair. One folds her arms in a sort of a haughty gesture. ]

... That doesn't seem very satisfying.

[ ... Mimicking someone with no face, that is. It's hard to say if her words have any effect on the Shadow, since it can't make any facial expressions like this. ]

wildcard // etc!

[ Hello, I'm Pazu! I have an info/permissions post for Kate that you can view. Feel free to PM me or message me on Plurk (pzue) if you want to plot, ask questions, or anything else! I'll roll with anything, so feel free to toss me a starter and encounter Kate anywhere in the setting! You're also welcome to mistake her for a demon. Attacking is okay! ]

Train

[blastoffed]

Woah!

[Kaito sure had been coming to check on Kate! But then she leaped up, and he could swear for a moment there was no face! But nah, that had to be a trick on his eyes. A shadow hitting her right at the most coincidental moment, he's sure. People have faces, after all!

Well, priorities. Try to see if she's okay. He's not approaching, but he sure is looking at her up and down to see if she has broken bones!]

Hey, you alright? Things are looking real bad around here, are you hurt?

[sootprints]

[ She very quickly turns her head to face away from him. ]

Yes. Nothing's broken.

[ ... She says, but then she does stop to pat herself down, as if to make sure. There's no blood staining her clothes, but there are some dark stains, as if from smoke and soot. That might seem a little odd, considering nothing in this car is on fire. ]

We can get out through the back of the car, right?

[ The windows and side doors don't seem like a great bet right now, with the whole train car turned over on its side. ]

[blastoffed]

Good! If you feel any aches later don't hide them, it could mean something really bad.

[Curious thing, that soot...but it's not blood, so Kaito kind of dismisses that instead of making mental note of it. He really doesn't delve into this kind of thing too much; logic has never been his strongest point]

That's about right. Less glass that way, too! But don't go stepping out of this train without preparing, you hear me? You gotta be ready for anything!

[sootprints]

[ Kate walks up to the door on the far end of the car, making a beeline to it so she can get out of here as quickly as possible. But she's impeded by a pile of suitcases she has to carefully step over, and she's impeded again when she has to stop and think about what Kaito just said. ]

"Anything"? ... Like what?

[ How do you prepare for that!! ]

[blastoffed]

Anything! Like wild animals. Or snow. Or even the possibility of being a week worth of walking from any and all civilization!

[Anything indeed]

[sootprints]

[ .........

She just pushes the door open and peeks outside. ]

There isn't any snow.

[ That's one possibility scratched off the list, right? ]

train

[compendiem]

[ If there's one good thing about Minato, it's that he doesn't put much stock into faces; his own tends to be a bit difficult to read, although right now it's clearly "oh shit, okay" as he not only takes a step back but turns his head away as if Kate were a skittish wild animal and direct eye contact would only be seen as a threat. ]

Okay. ...sorry.

[ His hands slide into his pants pockets. see? not a threat. except he will proceed to stand there awkwardly instead of taking the hint and leaving. ]

[sootprints]

[ She quickly turns her head to face away from him, hoping that maybe he'll assume he was seeing things. ]

... Aren't you going to evacuate?

[ Most of the other survivors have. ]

[compendiem]

[ The question makes him turn around again, despite himself, looking as if this is the first time he even thought about evacuating. they should, shouldn't they? a broken, run down train like this. ]

I guess... eventually. Wanted to look around first, in case I don't get the chance to later.

[ Like in a video game where you've got to click A to inspect Everything just in case there's a hint or an easter egg to be found. hastily leaving the train without seeing what all it has to offer would be a waste. ]

How 'bout you? Okay to walk?

[sootprints]

[ That's fair. There could be some missable loot in those suitcases. Kate isn't a video game character, so she has no appreciation for such things. ]

Yes...

[ She stops to pat herself down a little bit, to feel for any surprise injuries or soreness. ]

Nothing's broken. We can leave through the back of the car, right? I will do so.

[ In a bit of a hasty tone. ]

[compendiem]

[ yeah, collecting junk and never emptying his pockets is the best part of being a video game character ]

It's a train, so you can leave through the back, or any of the sides. Or even the top of the train.

[ he points at ...well, it's the side of the train now, but the emergency exit is supposed to be on the top, in cases just like this one here in case the train tips and the normal exits are blocked by the ground ]

[sootprints]

The top...? [ She looks, and sees that emergency exit. ] I see.

[ She tries to open it. But she struggles with the hatch with her pathetic baby-level strength. ]

forest, REACHES FOR KATE... god i need to catch up

[rimingcouplet]

[The demon lunges for Kate, jaws slavering... but a white blur gets there first. Before Kate can get more than a glimpse of the Hare of Inaba at her feet-]

Trafuri.

[-there's a flash of white light, and she's standing before a nonplussed Alice in the underbrush, far away from what is now a very confused demon.]

So. What kind of idiot stops in the middle of a monster-infested forest to rearrange her luggage? I'm dying to know.

[sootprints]

[ What happens next is a blur, and when she finds herself facing a stranger, Kate doesn't know how to react right away. ]

Idiot...!?

[ She's indignant for a moment, but then she realizes she's face-to-non-face with a human, and she staggers back a step, bringing a hand over her face to try to obscure it. ]

I... I can't be seen like this.

[ She casts a glance back at the luggage, but realizes it might be a lost cause. Maybe she should make a run for it in another direction... ]

[rimingcouplet]

[When Kate steps back and covers her face, there's a twinge of emotion in Alice's expression, a tiny fracture in her resting bitch face that she quickly smooths over.

...Alice can empathize a bit, that's all.

Grumbling, she takes off her baggy orange hoodie and tosses it at Kate.]

Here. Wear this until we get your stuff back.

[sootprints]

[ ... ?

She takes the hoodie and turns it over, glancing between it and Alice. Then she slips it on over her head and pulls the hood up. It clashes with her clothes, but it does the trick: in the dark forest, with a hood over her head, she can hide her lack of a face. ]

... Why?

[ Why do this for a suspicious-looking stranger? It would be understandable if one assumed Kate was a demon, or some other danger... ]

[rimingcouplet]

You're a kid, [Alice says, enunciating each syllable like she's talking to an idiot. (Not that Alice has any room to talk, she looks like she's two, maybe three years older than Kate.)] It's just common sense to help.

[Not that the "faceless shadow" thing isn't offputting, but Alice doesn't let any emotion other than cold disdain show on her face as a matter of policy.

As the demon that attacked Kate wanders off, having lost interest, Alice creeps through the underbrush and gestures for Kate to follow her. For a moment, she considers showing some vulnerability and sharing why exactly she was inclined to help Kate hide her face, but the idea of opening up to anyone, let alone a stranger, is so instantly repulsive that Alice almost shudders at the thought of it.]

Easy now. Watch your feet, make sure you don't step on any twigs. We don't want to attract any more attention, [she whispers.]

[sootprints]

[ It's common sense to help a kid? If only that were true everywhere.

Kate's expression is unreadable, of course, but she follows quietly. ]

I know. [ She says softly, when advised to step carefully. This isn't her first time sneaking around in the woods, and it does look like she's able to move silently. It's just that the last time she did this, the "monsters" weren't inclined to attack her. It seems the same kind of gamble won't pay off here. Lesson learned.

A little more time passes in silence as Kate watches to make sure the demon is far away, and then she speaks again, keeping her voice low. ]

Were you on that train, too?

train

[purport]

[ The Princess had edged nearer to check on her, if only because whatever they're inside of, it has clearly been knocked violently onto its side. She halts when spoken to, remaining where she is. Her stillness is almost unnatural, disrupted only by the sway of the chain dangling from the shackle on her neck.

The girl's face — or lack thereof — doesn't disturb her. She'd only met one other person before awakening in this odd place, and of his features, the most discernible were eyes that seemed luminous in the dark. ]

Are you hurt?

[ She respects a boundary having been set. She'd called for the same. Checking on her can be done from a distance. ]

[sootprints]

[ Kate stands there, holding a hand up over her face for a few moments... then slowly lowers it, cautiously, when the young woman she's facing doesn't move any closer. ]

No. I'm okay...

[ If she sounds uncertain, it's because she's not sure why she was asked that instead of why her face is like this.

But also, that chain around the woman's neck? Hello? ]

... Are you?

[purport]

I'm not injured either.

[ Not enough for her to observe and note it, anyway. A few cuts and bruises adorn her fair skin, but judging from their surroundings, it could have been consderably worse. It's a marvel she hasn't yet encountered anyone worse off, in her view.

It escapes her consideration entirely that the shackle would be an object of concern, accustomed as she is. ]

Seems we're lucky, with whatever happened here.

[sootprints]

[ What did happen here? A crash? More importantly, where is "here"? Kate turns her head to look around. ]

This doesn't look like the Soot Train... Where in the world are we?

[ She faces the stranger again. ]

And... that chain. Were you being held prisoner somewhere?

[purport]

I was, for a long time.

[ And in her altered memory, she'd gotten to enjoy her fleeting freedom before winding up in this place. How she got here is a mystery, but it feels real enough. ]

But that was before this.

[ She waves a hand at the train. ]

...What's a soot train, exactly?

[sootprints]

It's the only train that runs on Soot Island. Only a select few are permitted to ride on it.

So... this must be somewhere else.

[ Somewhere that isn't Soot Island, or the lands just beyond the sea. Somewhere farther away, unknown to Kate. A place that isn't necessarily any kinder or safer than the places she's familiar with. She has to be careful... ]

... You don't seem that surprised to see me. Have you seen people like me before?