panopte: (Default)
panopte ([personal profile] panopte) wrote in [community profile] achates2024-09-17 10:10 am

[DAY 1-]



The night drags on.

The moon, full and bright, illuminates the world below as demons rise in indulgence of the hunt. All those who are not securely tucked away become prey, whose blood runs freely down the streets, whose screams fill the air in symphony, whose lives are snuffed out one by one as the night grows darker- but not quieter, no. Towards the far west, wind picks up in a deafening howl that tears through the forest violently enough to uproot trees, followed by a thunderous explosion atop the wall that sends large chunks of rock crashing down on parts of the immobile train, creating shockwaves felt all the way into town. Dark clouds gather overhead, smothering the moon and unleashing a downpour that continues unrelentingly until dawn, when the paltry sunlight behind the clouds is only enough to see that the rain that falls is in fact blood, thick and warm, coating the rooftops and the streets. Rivulets trickle towards the east, where they spill over the edges of the world and into the cavernous abyss of a mouth below.

Those who sleep will dream. They dream of being flat on their back, lying on hard metal, a warm breeze caressing their cheek, the faint scent of cherry blossom in the air. They dream of their bodies feeling like lead, heavy and unable to move, hardly able to breathe— and all the while in complete darkness. Whether they give in to exhaustion or struggle valiantly against it, they will eventually open their eyes to a different scene: of somebody's home before here, you and that person reliving the very last memory they had before waking up in the train just yesterday. It's a memory that culminates in darkness. Give in. Struggle. Open your eyes again and again and again, and eventually you will wake up to what you wish were just another bad dream: the unfortunate plane of existence we call reality.

It may not be a good morning, but it's morning. If characters glance at their COMP, they will see a bright number 7 on the screen that disappears as their chosen AI chimes in with a good morning greeting ("Whoa! Congrats on surviving the night, boss!" or "Yikes, you look like shit. Did you get any rest at all?"). Pulling up the map function shows fewer blue ally dots as expected, but perhaps unexpectedly, much fewer red enemy dots as well: there are very few demons to be seen, and those that are, show little interest in hunting unless they are attacked first. The forest is still and quiet, red Mandrake leaves littering the floor in abundance but the demons remain rooted underground, the Hares of Inaba huddled snug within their dens, bird demons taken roost underneath the canopy to keep out of the blood rain. The concert hall is silent today, guards at the door watchful and ready to snipe intruders. Inside the powerplant, the giant Ooze spreads lazily across the first floor, filling the space wall to wall, acid seeping underneath the front doors and burning its way outside. Indoors, outdoors, demons keep to themselves, seemingly sated.

It's almost peaceful. If you didn't know better.

The drizzle of blood tapers off over the course of Day 1, replaced by normal rain once night hits. The water that falls is clear, though bitter and metallic tasting, and the stormy weather continues for several days more. The temperature outside dips, even during the daytime, and the hunger that continues to persist (unless you're BB, who ate a Pixie, maybe) is made worse by the appearance of a hot dog stand that has been set up in front of the school building. Its existence in this place is wholly suspicious, entirely nonsensical, manifested as if out of a yandere devil summoner fever dream— and yet the mystery meat smells divine, and you are so so hungry.

"Hee-ho! Get your hot dogs here-ho! What? What kind of mee-hee-t is in it, ho? Don't worry about it, ho!"

LOCATION
hot dog stand
STRENGTH
ice
WEAKNESS
fire
INFORMATION:
Jack Frost is a spirit originating from England who brings in cold weather during the winter and is responsible for the frost that forms on the windows of homes and buildings. Though it is usually friendly and innocent, it also has a mischievous personality and will freezes those it dislikes to death, smiling all the while.

SKILLS:
Mabufudyne: heavy ice damage (multi-target)
Megidolaon: mega almighty damage (multi-target)


NOTE: This demon is non-recruitable.

Can anybody resist that cute face? never mind the sales pitch. Jack Frost will operate on a barter system, though it really only seems interested in people's gemstones, or if they're willing to slaughter and bring it a Katakirauwa in exchange for a cold but still delicious hotdog dressed up in any variety of condiment. For those who muster the courage to go demon hunting to earn their meal, they will find that a single hotdog will stave off hunger for up to three days. For those who gave up their gemstone instead, K5 will be screaming at them not to do that, but also, please tell me. Maybe they'll rethink the offer, noticing that the gemstones they'd found on their person now feel slightly warm to the touch- growing warmer when in proximity to another person's gemstones, their colors more vibrant, stones faintly glowing as if with internal light.

Generous as Jack Frost is with providing dubious sustenance, it's a different story when it comes to the vending machine beside its stall. Inside are various drinks guaranteed to be cold, and include bottled water, coffee, teas, juices, blood and tears and many other questionable unlabeled liquids among its touted 100!!! varieties of beverage ("""beverage"""). Two problems: 1) there is no selection button, so you do not get to choose your drink; and 2) the machine will only take macca. Where to get macca? Figure that out yourself and earn your drink gacha.


[ Locked pending: SCHOOL investigation ]


[ Locked pending: GREENHOUSE investigation ]


[ Locked pending: HOSPITAL investigation ]


[ Locked pending: CONCERT HALL investigation ]


[ Locked pending: POWERPLANT investigation ]

OOC

»
Since I know a handful of you are still working on apps, this event log in general will be open to all players, but Investigations will be closed to current players only. See below for more information.

»
On Day 1 only, wild demon encounters will be scarce and it will rain blood all day, after which the weather will transition into normal rain and demon encounters will also return to normal rates, less during the day and more frequent after dark.

»
When characters fall asleep any time in the next several days (including victims of the concert hall lullaby that will begin again starting Day 2, as well as inadvertent naps for those of you who are like lmao yeah whatever, i don't need sleep, i'm fine), they will be able to see the circumstances around other characters' canonpoints. This dream may take the form of being a bystander, or from the point of view of the character, whichever would be more fun/interesting to play.

»
Players can advance time by posting new logs set on the current or next IC date— don't be afraid to advance time as needed! Plot beats will be adjusted accordingly, and there'll be ample warning if plot necessitates a deadline or specific event date for any reason. If you have any trigger warnings, please let me know here! Comments are screened, and warnings will be listed in the log format post for player awareness.

»
As characters investigate different locations in the setting, more aspects of the game will be unlocked and will be updated in the post above. In summary, from the previous TDM event, characters have found doors sealed by barriers in the school, greenhouse, and hospital. The concert hall and powerplant are still both heavily guarded by demons that prevent thorough investigation until dealt with.
rimingcouplet: ((alice) done with this shit)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-20 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[Normally, Alice would realize her error in allowing a moment of vulnerability to peek through, deflect, and snap at Kate for even asking. But... this is Kate. It's not a perfect fit, but something about her seals up the yawning, aching hole in her heart, just a little bit.

So fine. YOU WIN, KATE, UGH,]


...I spent a lot of time in a place like this when I was a kid. [Alice lets out a world-weary sigh, as if she doesn't look like she's just a few years older than Kate.] Everywhere I look, there's another memory. They should feel happy, or bittersweet, or Giallon, [she says that name with particular disdain,] who's in a whole category of his own. But instead...

Nothing. I feel nothing. It's like it all happened to someone else.
Edited 2024-09-20 16:36 (UTC)
sootprints: (pic#17204493)

[personal profile] sootprints 2024-09-21 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
Memories with no emotional attachment? Hm...

[ She looks thoughtful at that (well, her posture. not like she has a facial expression to show.) ]

... What kind of memories are they?
rimingcouplet: ((alice) talking)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-21 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Alice shrugs.] Picking fruits with the rest of my family, smiling, laughing. Getting between Grauphon and Noir whenever they started going at it. Hiding from one of Giallon's sick "pranks."

Eva- Mom- playing the piano. That should hit like a punch to the gut even if nothing else does.

But it's like all of those people are strangers. The only thing I feel toward them is disdain since so many were assholes about me leaving.

...it's obvious, right? Someone's messed with all of our memories. I'm no exception. [It's still bugging her, though. Something gnawing at the edges of the gigantic hole in her brain.]
sootprints: (pic#17204572)

[personal profile] sootprints 2024-09-22 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ Kate looks away from the ground, where she had been looking for footprints just before, and instead looks around the greenhouse, trying to picture it. A family like that... She's never had one herself, but she can imagine it.

It does bring back memories of her own, though... of meeting with Patrick and Ricky in a greenhouse much like this one. If only she could talk to them again now... ]


Our memories...? You're sure?

You're not the first person to mention something like that... about something missing, or not lining up right. But if I'm missing anything... I can't think of what that might be.
rimingcouplet: ((alice) discerning)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-23 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not like there are any glaring gaps in the story of my life. When I look at it from a distance, I can't see anything wrong with it.

[Alice looks at her hand, flexing it. Somewhere deep in her nervous system, there are memories that she can't consciously remember, ones that snap outward to save her from trouble with a steady hand whenever it hits the fan in Beelzeburg.]

But go ahead and riddle me this: how does a high school runaway like me have the nerve to look demons in the eye without so much as flinching, nevermind thinking clearly enough to come up with the kind of ridiculous plans I use to get myself out of trouble?

Something's missing.
sootprints: (pic#17204547)

[personal profile] sootprints 2024-09-24 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
I suppose such a thing can't be explained by sheer recklessness...

[ ... Because that's what Kate would guess as the cause, at least if it were her. ]

So you think you must have faced dangers like this before. Or that something must have prepared you for situations where you have to think on your feet. Is that about right?

... It's possible. I've seen something similar before... that is, people who lost their memories retaining the skills and instincts they had from the life they lived until then. Even if they didn't know how they learned those things.
rimingcouplet: ((alice) talking)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-25 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Bingo. I'm trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth here, but combined with how we don't even know why we're here in the first place, it's really getting on my nerves. I survive by plotting out all the angles, and missing so much of the picture puts me off.

[Alice raises a single eyebrow. She's not so much surprised that Kate's gone through some stuff- the whole "living shadow" thing implies as much- but being familiar with this particular flavor of memory nonsense is intriguing.]

Okay, I'll bite. Elaborate.
sootprints: (pic#17204405)

[personal profile] sootprints 2024-09-26 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
Ah... well.

[ Kate shifts a little where she stands, unsure of how to explain. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all... ]

The manor I was living in before coming here, the Shadows House... it is a dreadful place. The servants in its employ are children who were brainwashed to forget their pasts, and to think only of serving the House.

[ Dark smoke rises from the top of her head. ]

But the person they were is still there. And those lost memories can come back.
rimingcouplet: ((alice) grumpycat)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-27 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Show no weakness, not even to yourself. Don't let a crack of emotion slip through. Those have been Alice's rules for herself ever since, well... she was Alice, although she doesn't know why.

Still. Alice can't stop her fists from clenching hard enough for her nails to bite into her palms when she hears what Kate has to say.]


...incredible. Humans sure do love innovating slavery to make it crueler than ever before, huh. [There's a bitterness to Alice's voice that makes it clear that this is, on some level, personal to her.]
sootprints: (pic#17204449)

[personal profile] sootprints 2024-09-28 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Not just humans. But yes.

[ She won't deny the cruelty. It was painful to watch before, and it's painful to see Alice also affected by it now. Is it because of the way her own memories were tampered with, or something more...? It doesn't feel right to ask.

Smoke continues to rise from her head, staining the ceiling of the greenhouse with soot. Kate turns her head. ]


... Shall we look around? We won't find anything by lingering here.
rimingcouplet: (Default)

[personal profile] rimingcouplet 2024-09-28 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Let's get a move on.

[Alice can tell what Kate is gesturing toward, but after all her experience with Neans, her opinion is that if it walks, talks, and thinks like a human, it's a human. Trying to convince yourself otherwise is the path to atrocity.]