achates | [DAY 0] TDM.

[DAY 0] TDM.

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.

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[The fresh vegetables grabbed from the garden was probably better than anything canned, and she watches Ciel with at least a little sympathy at his clear distaste.

She's not great with kids, finding it awkward to try and talk with them. She had no memory of her own childhood to pull on for guidance, and what flashes of children she could remember did not lend themselves to healthy depictions of childhood or childcare. whoops.

Still, she clears her throat and steps closer, a little basket of fresh veggies and a bottle of water brought back from the train earlier in hand.]

Hey. Uhm... Here, would these work better? You should still eat something.

[He gave pause before shuffling over to look at what she was offering.

And it's all raw greenery. Not a cupcake or bar of chocolate to be found. Eugh. He wanted a fruit parfait. Or a cake. Or literally anything but greenery.

But, beggars couldn't be choosers so he tentatively reached out for a sweet potato and the water.]

Thank you.

[He tried to take a bite of the potato and... made the same face again, only grumpier. Not even half as sweet as a scone. Ugh.]

[She doesn't laugh, but she does give a little quirk of a smile] Here. Let's try roasting it. That'll make it taste better.

[And a bit sweeter, from what she remembered. If only they had some butter too... She reaches out to take the sweet potato back so she can do so]

My name is Ruka, by the way.

Edited 2024-09-10 17:03 (UTC)

[Well it's not like this thing could possibly be made any worse, so he hands over the sweet potato without a fuss.]

Earl Ciel Phantomhive, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[As much as he'd love to put his noble ways aside, he was still an earl until someone told him otherwise, so he would suffer the stiff polite mannerisms.]

I thank you for your help.

An Earl? [Her eyes widen just slightly, surprised and impressed in equal measure. She doesn't bother to try and doubt him. He could say he was a prince or a beggar for all that Ruka knew and why would she try to call his bluff on any of it? Even if he wasn't, who cared if he lied?

She moves to the fire to put something between the potato and the fire, not wanting it to turn to a crisp. She backs away to let it cook, the basket of vegetables discarded in favor of trying to find her notebook.

She flips it open to a clean page and looks at him for a moment, eyes sweeping over him as she jots down his name and some basic notes on his appearance. He's the youngest she's seen here, so it's likely she could get him confused for anyone else, but...]

Of course. [She says at length in response to his thanks] We're all in the same situation. [Ruka looks up from her notebook, tilting her head, pencil ready] Where are you from?

[He was used to such reactions by now, even when he reclaimed his family's rank there were no shortage of whispers from the other nobility. He had to work twice as hard to maintain respect and make it clear he wasn't to be trifled with.]

Such is what happens when you're the last one alive in the line of succession.

[He raises his hand to show the signet ring with the family coat of arms, a two-headed eagle behind a shield and briars.

Gave him a moment to see her taking notes. A smart thing to do he supposed, such information could be invaluable later... and if she was killed her knowledge wouldn't go to waste. Probably a bit early to be that pessimistic but he was one for thinking ahead.]

England. My family serves under Queen Victoria.

Edited 2024-09-12 01:18 (UTC)

[Ruka looks sympathetic, knowing the burden of that quite deeply.] Yes, I understand that, unfortunately... [She's the end of two powerful conflicting lines, but there's no one left alive to care about it anyhow.] I'm the last one left from my island. I suppose it's on me now to carry on with its history and traditions. I never really thought about it before.

[She examines the ring as it's presented, drawing a quick sketch of it in her notebook too. Despite her admission of being an only survivor, she doesn't seem too upset by it, just pensive and resigned. There was nothing she could do about it now, and she'd been too young to do anything about it when things have become a problem.

She writes his answers down, tapping the eraser of her pencil against her lower lip in thought.] That's quite a ways away. [A brief pause and then:] From me, I mean. I'm not sure where this place is. I'm from Japan.

[Wait. Queen Victoria? She wracks her brain.] Not Queen Elizabeth?

[A shared experience, he didn't find her distant manner of speaking of it odd. He was much the same. While the incident itself was a sore spot still, it was in the past. There was no changing it. One was to simply move forward however they could. So he gave her a sympathetic nod.]

Such it the way of it. The world will keep moving regardless, it's best not to get left behind.

[Ah, a land of knew of in passing. And occasional meal, or game, but most notably he knew them for their drinks.]

I have had some Japanese teas before, and they have yet to disappoint. Though my business acquaintances only extend as far as India and China. Please forgive me if my ignorance leads to a breach in etiquette.

[And they're all insufferable... though there was a twinge of guilt thinking of Soma.]

Queen Elizabeth? Tudor? She passed some centuries ago.

[She smiles faintly.] I won't take any. I've never been outside of Japan before, so I'm sure my manners will be lacking more than yours'. Please don't hesitate to correct me if so.

[She couldn't remember much of being a child, but she suspects she didn't act too dissimilar to Ciel right now anyhow. The notes she'd found had all said she was odd. 'Broken,' one of them had observed. She didn't really know if that was a good thing or not, considering who'd written it, actually.

She busies herself with carefully turning the potato so it can cook on all sides, making sure it's not burning any.]

Tudor...? No, she was, uhm... [Another pause. She flips through her notebook as if trying to recall, but there's nothing written in it about modern day British royalty.] The second? [She chews on her bottom lip. It wouldn't be the first time she's encountered the odd feeling of being misplaced. Dimitri had mentioned being from a kingdom she'd never heard before, and others clothes seemed off sometimes too.

At length, though, she just sighs heavily.] I'm sorry. I... have an illness that effects my memory. It's not contagious. [She says it quickly to reassure him. She is, technically, not lying. Her illness isn't advanced enough to be contagious yet...] It was an affliction of my island only. But because of it, there's a lot of holes in my memory. If it's not written down, I can't trust my own mind to be right in any details.

[Objectively a horrifying concept, but one Ruka's dealt with literally her entire life so... You know. It's fine.]

[That was an… interesting condition. So that notebook was serving as her external memory. Useful information. Not that he thought he’d ever need to, but one could change her whole recollection of events if they were clever about it. Then again, no one would probably trust her version of events if she were a witness to something important for that very reason.

It was also possible she was lying. What better way to earn the trust of others than being able to forget their secrets?

Still, since arriving he knew there was a gap in his own memory. A name forgotten. Maybe her story had merit and this place was not unlike her island.

Things to file away and dwell on later.]

No need to apologize, it’s not something you have any control over.

Curious you know about Queen Elizabeth. I can’t imagine a Queen that died just shy of three-hundred years ago would be a common conversation topic halfway across the world.

[And he’s probably about a century off in that death date compared to most.]

[More things that don't add up. She looks at him for a moment, frowning.] Well... We do learn world history too... [She speaks slowly, mind still turning it over.

Finally she just asks:] What was the date? Before you woke up here?

[Part of him knew why she was asking, but even to him the idea sounded utterly mad. Bending time like that was even beyond Sebastian's capabilities. Still, she asked, he'd answer.]

December 1889.

Oh.

[She was quiet for a long moment, flipping through her notebook to find where she'd pasted an article into it from the story regarding the last survivors on her island home. It's in Japanese, but the date on it is printed in English too. The year clearly states it as being in the 1980s.

She turns it around grimly for him to see]

It was September 1989 for me. [Almost exactly 100 years later.] ...I suppose that technically makes you older than me. [You know, if that's any consolation.]

1989? That couldn’t possibly…

[Could it though? They knew next to nothing about the reason they were in, aside from it being cutoff from home. Armin’s peculiar apparatus used when they met, and the device used to track demons was also bizarre.

That lead to a whole other train of thoughts about the future, but he stopped himself. The future as a whole did not matter to him, and she doubtfully knew of the obscure history of an English Earl- one destined for an early death.]

I suppose that is so then, though you no doubt are more familiar with modern knickknacks than I.

[She brings her notebook back, tapping a dot into the pages.]

Only a little. Some of these things are more advanced than where--when--I'm from as well. But I think very few of us are from the same time, or maybe even the same world. I've overheard a lot of strange things that don't match up with where I'm from.

It's just...weird. It's a lot to come to terms with.

[She says, despite appearing completely fine about it]

Other worlds...

[That makes him think. It could be argued that Sebastian was from another "world" or "realm", so the concept isn't entirely lost on him. However the implications of this knowledge was dire- given the ruthless ritual it took to summon that wretched demon.

Thoughts he'd keep to himself for now.]

That's curious- and you're writing them all down, yes? That journal of yours could prove to be an invaluable resource, guard it closely.

[She blinks slowly and looks at him, expression solemn and serious as she nods. Everything she sees and learns goes into her notebook; mostly for her own memory's sake, but--]

Yes. But if I die, I want others to be able to use it. [Matter-of-factly. If she dies, it wouldn't be so terrible anyhow. If her illness won't be able to spread--

She pushes the thought away, turning her attention to the sweet potato then. She uses a cloth to extract it from the fire, turning it over to expect it. Hot, but the longer it roasted, the more sweet it should taste.

She carefully holds it out for him to take] It's hot, so be careful. But it should taste better now. If you want to eat and rest, I won't be going anywhere for a while. I'll stay in the Church for a little longer.

Edited 2024-09-22 04:10 (UTC)

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[DAY 0] TDM.

Church II

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