achates | [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

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.

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.

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

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's someone's apocalypse, at least. Not sure that it's mine or yours.

[Alice keeps watch as Kate gets to her suitcase, nudging Frankenbun to keep an eye on her six.]

I was hitching a ride on a three-week express cruise from Earth to Mars before I came to on the train. You walk and talk like you're from a different century. [Plus there's the whole "living shadow" thing, but Alice gets the feeling that's a sore point for Kate and she has just enough tact to not bring it up.]

It's more likely that something brought us to the literal backwoods of some podunk town in its own world than the two of us sharing a reality that also includes all this, [she gestures in the general direction of... everything,] nonsense.

To Mars...?

[ Are they from different centuries...? Different realities? Their clothes certainly look different, but... how can that be possible?

She picks up the suitcase. Going through it will probably have to wait until she's found shelter, now that she knows the creatures here won't leave her alone. ]

... I was at a party at the manor. I remember feeling faint, and saying that I was going to get some air... That's the last thing I remember. It must have been some kind of magic that spirited us away so suddenly...

[From Alice's perspective, this is the only thing that makes sense. Separating all of this magical bullshit from how she thinks her universe operates is the only way she's able to keep moving. She'll be dead meat if she stops for long enough to try and puzzle out how any of this works in the bounds of "common sense."]

Please don't catch another case of the vapors until we're somewhere actually safe. [If Kate strains her ears, she might hear a note of actual concern somewhere in the snark. Probably. Maybe.]

C'mon, let's move. If we're lucky, town will at least give us more cover. [She starts jogging toward the buildings peeking over the skyline, gesturing for Kate to follow.]

I won't!

[ A little indignant. She's not that frail! But there's really no explaining the situation that led to that, so all Kate can do is answer with what might as well be a childish nuh-uh.

When Alice gets this hoodie back later, she'll find soot on the inside of the hood. But for now, Kate will follow along as they head towards the buildings. She notices how run-down they look, how many have boarded-up windows... ]

Everything looks abandoned...

[ Calling it an apocalypse might not be far off, she realizes. ]

Good. That means it'll be easy to find somewhere to lay low. [Alice presses on, moving from shadow to shadow and gesturing for Kate to follow.]

No townies is less trouble for us anyways. It'll be easier to find supplies. [It's surprising even to Alice how apathetic she is to the fact that hundreds, maybe thousands of people must've died here; Kate might notice the slight hitch in her step when she says that.]

...maybe if I swing by the hospital...

[ Kate blends into the shadows naturally as they sneak along. She shifts her grip on the suitcase from one hand to the other; it looks like she doesn't have a lot of strength for running around while carrying it, but she does her best to keep up with Alice. ]

... for the medical supplies?

[ She wonders if there's any specific reason for that, or if it's just that those are bound to be both useful and in limited supply in a place as dangerous as this. ]

It might be dangerous. [ Everywhere is, but still. She can picture a lot that can go wrong in a place like that. ]

[Kate's stealth skills are impressive, even accounting for her "natural advantage." She gets a single approving nod from Alice, which is as much acknowledgment that Alice is willing to give to anyone. If she doesn't make any more stupid mistakes (and that's a big if), she should be fine on her own for at least a little while.]

Mhm. [While it's true that Alice is on the hunt for medical supplies, her priority is... something else. But Kate doesn't need to know about that part.] And if I have to watch your back while you don't have any demons to protect yourself with, we'll both get torn to shreds. I don't know about you, but I'm not looking to get myself killed today.

Stay low. Find somewhere safe to hunker down. If you spot any demons, consider very carefully whether or not you're willing to risk them eating your face before trying to contract with them. Got it?

[ ... In other words, Kate would just slow her down. It stings a little, but she can't argue that. They are only strangers, so there's no reason for Alice to babysit Kate all day. And... Kate would, in fact, slow her down. She just doesn't have enough strength or stamina to keep up with other people.

So after a moment, she sets down the suitcase and removes the hoodie, holding it out for Alice. There's a little soot on the inside of the hood now. ]

... Understood. I'll give this back to you, then. Thank you for helping me.

[ She gives a little bow while she's at it. Then, she pulls out her COMP to take a glance at the map, and gives Alice a nod. ]

Please, take care.

[...she really is so young. Just like-

Like...

Like what?

That lost train of thought locks Alice's face in a stony expression, even as guilt faintly tugs on her heartstrings.]

...you too. [And that's all Kate gets before Alice is off.]

[DAY 0] TDM.

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let's move toward a wrap since we need these two to get separated

thumbs up!

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