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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Some. I'm adaptable and able to defend myself. That's all that matters.

[Friendly. Open. A devil summoner - whatever the hell that is. The familiarity is key and Akechi digs into it. A question answered with brevity. There's no need to explain further - palaces, Mementos. Who gives a shit. ]

Explain your previous experience, if you would, and what you mean by a Devil Summoner.

My, you're a demanding little fella, ain'tcha? Here.

[He delves a hand into his pocket and tosses something at Akechi, lightning fast. If he catches it, he'll find it's a.... matcha-flavoured Kitkat bar.]

The sugar boost'll do you good. [With that, he unslings his backpack and rests it at his feet, while he sits down himself.] And I need to sit down for this. Man, I feel so old...

[His leg was aching something fierce, but he compartmentalised the old ache with easy experience. He digs into his pocket again and brings out another Kitkat bar - Sakura-flavoured this time. Just how many Kitkats did this guy have on his person...?]

A devil summoner is someone who, you guessed it, summons demons. Or rather, makes contracts with them for various reasons. You need to win the genetic lottery to be able to perceive them though. The average human can't see demons, so are easy prey for them, which is why you have those like me who... guess you can call me pest control, but for demons. Heh.

[As he speaks, he unwraps his Kitkat and carefully snaps one bar off.]

I kill 'em, exorcise them, seal them, negotiate with them - whichever needs doing in the moment.

[LITTLE FELLA? OKAY.

The item's caught mid-air - easy and practiced. A bewildered expression at the reaction - not the toss, but the snack itself. A matcha kit kat of all things.

He doesn't need the man's pity, but that persistent hunger rumbling through his body is enough to make him pocket it. Save it for an emergency and if he needs it for the stamina boost in the throes of battle.

More kitkats come out. Whatever. The man got lucky finding decent loot off the back, which is expected given that's all Akechi's seen him do in the last ten minutes.]

I see. My assumption is the demons you speak of - the ones contracted with and controlled - are similar to the ones trawling around this area?

[It sounds like personas and shadows. Helpful, if that's the case. Someone of value in this shithole that can actually do something.]

And do you still have your ability to summon?

[Shun'ya munches on his kitkat, making a vague humming noise. It did nothing to dull the hunger pangs gnawing at him, but he already suspected the hunger to be supernatural in nature, rather than biological. He wonders what crazy nonsense the demon in charge of this situation was cooking up for them...]

Your assumption is right. The demons out there are likely the same as the ones I deal with day-to-day. I mean, there're COMPs. That's how most modern devil summoners wrangle them nowadays.

[Shun'ya, of course, has shoved his own stupid COMP into the backpack for now, refusing to deal with it until he's properly braced himself for the humiliation that is using a COMP like he's a fucking novice devil summoner pleb on the first week of the job. His soul was cringing. He was a traditionalist. He still used Kuzuha no fū ma-kan, with the ancient summoning chants and all! It was physically painful for him to even contemplate using those stupid fad COMPs! HE DIDN'T WANT TO USE IT!!!!! THIS WHOLE SITUATION WAS STUPID AS FUCK-!]

Their ubiquitousness amongst the common devil summoner is due to how easy they are to use, and the fact that magnetite or magatsuhi isn't required to power them. [Shun'ya's tone maintains its light, friendly cadence. He does not let his internal temper tantrum show at all. He's a master at the friendly poker face.] So, for complete novices, you'll find them quite helpful when facing off against the demons outside. They are limited in ther functionality though, and depending on what model you have, they can do different things so... I'd get familiar with your COMP before you have to use it in anger.

[And now, for the... the painful thing to admit..... nngngghghhghggh.]

As for me... hm. It seems whatever mysterious force brought us here has sealed my demons in their Kuzuha no fū ma-kan. [He tapped one of the tubes strapped to the holster crossing his chest.] I'll have to poke around and experiment to see what I can do to unseal them, but for now I'm using the COMP - just like everyone else.

[And he is incredibly pissed off about it. Deep down. Inside.]

[Information flows easy from a man eager to be helpful. Akechi absorbs every word, every piece of familiarity.

He doesn't want the goddamn COMP. Wants Hereward and to blast through this reality in a cacophony of a shattering world.

His eyes follow the tapping of the tubes, information on unsealing - Akechi's interest is in that. Hereward likely where this man's own missing 'demons' are.]

Thank you - that was useful.

[In a shocking twist, someone in this reality is!]

I won't beat around the bush - since you provided information, I'll do the same. I'm familiar with these creatures. I can summon one on my own, without use of this shit provided. If you find out how to unseal yours, follow-up with me promptly. I'll do the same.

Hm? Really? That's curious...

[Shun'ya's gaze turns scrutinising, looking the young man up and down, but he didn't see any other demon summoning tool - traditional or modern. Unsurprisingly, humans had adapted a myriad of ways to call upon and shackle the supernatural to their beck and call, so the Kuzunoha tubes or the COMP weren't the only ways but... they were certainly the most reliable - and safest.

Without use of any tools though, that was leaning awkwardly into 'demonic possession' territory, which never ended well no matter how indomitable the human's willpower was. Even Shun'ya baulked at the idea, and he was fairly reckless when it came to experiments or grasping for ever more powerful means to fulfil his promise to his mentor.

Shun'ya takes a contemplative bite of his Kitkat. Well. Not his circus, not his monkeys, he supposed.]

But sure. I'll let you know.

[He finishes off his Kitkat and brushes the crumbs from his fingers.]

What's your name, by the way? Unless you want to be known as 'young man' for your entire stay?

Akechi. You?

[No he doesn't want to be known as 'young man' - not that in matters in the grand scheme of anything. This guy and him need to interact out of a shared necessity to do so and nothing more.

He opens a small drawer in the cart beside them - nothing inside. Probably in this guy's shitty bag. Unreal.]

[Oh, just family names, huh? In which case:]

Just call me Rosie.

[Nickname given, he watches Akechi open a drawer and scowl at its empty contents. He rests his forearms across his knees, watching him with mild, absently amused interest, knowing exactly the cause of his scowl and - yes, it is in his shitty bag <3.]

Oh, I've already cleared that out. You're probably best checking the next cart over, Mister Akechi.

Rosie it is.

[None the wiser - it's a name.

Another cart, another train car, another problem - he does need to get supplies, however few, even if only to negotiate with.]

Hopefully we're able to share information soon. Try not to get killed before then.

[And if 'Rosie' has nothing left to say, he's going to wander off to the next area to scrouge around before any other hoarders find their way in.]

[Rosie does indeed have nothing meaningful left to say. He just gives Akechi's retreating back a cheery wave and an equally cheerful: "buh-bye~ don't let the demons bite!"]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[DAY 0] TDM.

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