February Event Pt 2

[recollecters]

EVENT

PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV

CONTENT WARNINGS:
Some mild body horror/the appearance of lots of eyes (Prompt 2) and encounters with flesh-eating monsters (Prompt 5.)

Prologue.
It's been a strange few weeks, hasn't it? Things might have seemed quiet and simple for many of you as you worked to boost your defenses and formulate items of balance. Some of you may have completely ignored it. Nothing was actively attacking the city this time and it may have been easy enough to figure out how to reign in your emotions. There's something driving you toward trying though, and though the iridescent sheen on your skin doesn't wear off, in the days leading up to the 17th you'll feel yourself growing stronger and more powerful. Your agility's up, along with a slight boost in strength and speed. Should you experiment, you may even find that you bleed and bruise less easily. Was this what the liaison meant about making preparations? It's hard to say given he was out of office for a while thanks to some of you.

Regardless, it's on the evening of the 17th that the clock runs out and your phone chimes again. The map you've obtained via completing this test mission will take over your screen, a red light flashing to draw your attention to the location of your silver door. The QR scanner remains embedded in the center of each door, and at this time, you may scan your newly generated QR codes. The door swings open, allowing you to peer straight into the dark and soon something materializes in your hands. Is…that…dog jerky?

Never mind that for now. Along with the jerky comes a new text message, a mass announcement to all on the app.

I got a read on the layer below. Find the centers and dismantle them to sever the bonds under the city. Clear the areas, search everything, and watch out for monsters. Their numbers grow the closer you get. Any questions, listen to Anna.

While it's not much, it's something. Naturally, you don't have to do anything. You could completely ignore the message and close the map. The doors won't pull you through themselves, but they'll remain opened almost indefinitely until used. On the other hand you may wish to attend to them lest someone off the app falls through.

Onward and forward, brave travelers.

I.
Those who enter the doors will find themselves immediately and indefinitely falling through the dark, passing by several walls of fire, rock and soot. Dark swirls of blues and greens and purples flash before your eyes, and as you finally land you'll find yourself on a rocky shoreline next to a dark, inky river. The rocks will jab into your hands and feet, pinpricks that force you to move as your eyes adjust to the darkness.

The river gently laps against the shore, acidic and black as hand-like structures appear in the waves. Try not to draw too close; this river has the ability to make you into a blank slate...literally. The river of souls will pull you in, and as the hands lovingly wrap around you to drag you down you'll find yourself losing track of time. While you may fight them off and save yourself from the waters, it will be increasingly difficult to recover the features (both physical and emotional) that make you who you are.

On the other side of this rocky plain is another river, just as dark with white wisps floating above it. The water flows faster here, rapids bubbling underneath as it quickly moves south. There are no hands in this river, but it does appear to be a bit shallower.

The only way to proceed through this land is by crossing one of these two rivers. Even if you walk along the shore, the route is endless and you'll find yourself in an infinite loop. Those who choose the acidic river will suffer their consequences of loss, while those who choose the faster route will be struck by blinding, deliberating pain all over their body except for one particular place. Perhaps this is the small of your back, or your big toe, or even your heel. Though the pain is overwhelming, crossing to the other side will leave you powerful and invincible. Nothing can touch you or harm you…unless someone finds your weak point, that is.

No matter which river you cross, you'll find that what lies beyond are several buildings crushed and crumbling around you, black poplar trees in bloom, and the sound of silence as small, ash-like flakes float through the air. You'll recognize buildings such as the Towers, the Stardust, and other staples of the city that are wrecked beyond repair yet still standing. This land is a direct mirror of the city you love and left behind, though a few buildings are missing. Franchises that appeared seemingly overnight such as Big Bang Burger, From Dust til Dawn, and Rainbowland are nowhere to be found. The city is fairly empty, though every now and then an anguished groan or screams of pain can be heard echoing from somewhere far off. Buildings can be explored and ransacked, allowing you to stock up on supplies or items you may find useful. While most of what can be found are everyday items such as non-perishable food items, clothing and small gifts such as books and toys, a little digging will also lead you to find weapons such as crossbows, flamethrowers, healing items such as those found from the Moogle shop and Circus of Values and even items like tranquilizer darts and bear traps. Despite the path you take through the city and all districts available, your feet seem to lead you in a certain direction.

At the end of your path, three wrought-iron gates stand before you. Oh, and in front of these gates is a sleeping friend. Do your best not to awaken the creature, though he is easily roused and will attack on-sight. With a bit of luck and strategy you can slip right past him and in through one of the gates.

Will you continue? Or will you turn back?

II.
Those who enter the first gate will find themselves in a desolate suburbia. It's quiet and calm here, the screams from before lacking and the sun just a little brighter. However, it feels as though everything here is just a little too perfect. There isn't a clip of grass out of place, nor a spot of paint missing from the matching trim of each house. Every building in this large neighborhood matches in size, shape and color, and the sleepy street lulls you in further.

As you veer away from the entrance of the cul-de-sac, it becomes a little more clear that something is amiss. Though the area is perfect and beautiful, you're overcome with the sensation that you're being watched. A small, skin-crawling sort of feeling washes over you, and should you catch a glance at your hands the sensation appears to be more literal than you'd like. It's tiny, almost innocuous movements as small ripples appear in your exposed skin, a feeling of pressure somewhere in your head as slow changes overtake you. Some of you may develop claws or scales, while others will find horns beginning to sprout from your forehead or furry stripes mark your body.

Animal instincts begin to take over, aligning with the creatures you were born under. You're still very much you, of course, but the changes you undergo only worsen the longer you linger. Trying to run only shows that the gate's locked behind you, iron bars trapping you in this idyllic wasteland.

And it's then that the eyes appear. Blinking open, eyes of all shapes and colors begin to make their presence known appearing over the walls of the houses flanking the street, popping up in the centers of the picture-perfect daisies lining the sidewalk, watching from their place embedded in the picket fences and drawing ever closer. They monitor your every move, scanning you and picking you apart from their stationary place. You can't walk very far without a pair of eyes following you, but for those who look closely you'll find a small CRT TV on the porch of every house. The screens mirror your every move as though you're on camera, reflecting everything you're doing while standing on the street, and though it may become harder to focus one may soon realize that the eyes have it. Small, glass surfaces line the pupil of each eye as tiny cameras zoom in and out to get the best shot.

The answer, of course, is to render them sightless. For every camera that's covered or broken, the picture-esque scene begins to crumble away. The walls of the houses fall, flora begins to wither up and die, and the sky cracks to reveal a larger, more ominous set of cameras from above. It will take more than one group to destroy and dismantle these spy cameras. You may not be able to escape just yet, but you can certainly recruit others to join you through the gates. They'll open wide enough to let new people in at any point in time. Good luck controlling your instincts.

III.
Those who enter the second gate will feel the shift from rubbled pavement to something soft and malleable. The gate swings closed behind you, and the dirt beneath you gives way to your footsteps as you enter a field surrounded by magnificent guardians and fruit-bearing shrubs. The black poplars can be seen from a distance, but you aren't alone here.

Then again, it may be a little hard to navigate through this field at all seeing how there are thousands upon thousands of people here. Faces you don't recognize will listlessly watch you and even beings with indescribable features appear in the crowd. Some are more solid than others, and if you aren't careful you can easily walk right through one or more of these beings at a time. The field appears to be endless but several miles away, one can spot the makings of a small obsidian fortress. A large blue crystal can be seen mounted near the top, pulsating every now and then as it sends little shockwaves through the ground beneath your feet Something in your head seems to urge you forward toward the crystal, the inexplainable knowledge that you have to destroy it nestling between your thoughts and driving you onward.

Though the goal is in sight, it’s a dangerous road to travel on as you make you way across the field toward the fortress. The crowd thickens and brushing through the mist-like beings allows their essence to linger on your skin and seep in. Your appearance begins to change to someone you don’t recognize at all. Your age, appearance, and even your gender may begin to shift as memories begin to fill in, backstories that aren’t your own coming to light. Your motivation to step forward and destroy the crystal begins to waver heavily, and you may even stop moving at all.

If you can fight through it and hold on to who you are, the distance seems shorter and the energy radiating off of the crystal is almost palpable. Made of thick, sharp glass, this gem may be broken by physical or magical means, cracking and fragmenting with each hit. Getting up to the highest point of the fortress may give you trouble, the walls almost too slick for climbing and too high to jump. Working harder and working together to break in will be a viable option as well, and it’s only when the crystal breaks that your curse will be broken, too.

The shattering of this crystal will free you and the thousands of souls around you from the bonds tying them here. Let’s hope you have the strength to do it.

IV.
The third gate swings shut immediately after you step through the threshold and there's no wonder why. The dimly lit, dank building sits merely yards ahead of you and the door's wide open and hanging off the hinges. Glancing at the buildings nearby just outside of the gate one might realize that the location of this facility is in the same space as the Wiffle-Waffle waffle house in the city of Recollé. Trying to step around the building appears impossible as it seems to shift with you, the door appearing before you with every movement. It's only when you enter the building that the lights flicker on from above, a soft buzzing noise filling the empty halls and giving you an overview of the area.

What must have once been a refined, beautiful facility has become dismal and rotten, cracked and falling apart with every step. Several rooms line the black and white marble hallways, each growing more desolate and dingy by the minute. Expired medications fill cabinets hanging from the wall, overturned gurneys will block your way, and as you split up and explore the sound of several beating hearts will begin to echo above the buzz of the lights. Medical charts for past visitors may be found as well indicating both physical, mental and emotional ailments that those who checked in were seeking cures for. Dated around seventy-some years ago, many of the words have smeared and smudged to become illegible.

It's only once you reach the back of the facility and begin to explore other levels that it becomes a little worse. Comfortable hospital rooms are replaced by iron-barred cells and wire bird cages meant to house adults and children alike. Glass cases fill in the spaces of walls and shelves and small, multi-colored organs seem to thrum under a watchful eye. The skittering of something clawed and alive echoes through the empty facility, and it's then that you may remember the liaison's words a bit too late.

"Their numbers grow the closer you get."

Guided by the scent of fresh opponents, panels in the room begin to burst open as swarms of creatures arrive. Some of these monsters appear to be interested in devouring you, but others will go straight for the organs instead to try and break the containers and take them for themselves. Those who attempt to stop them will be met with claws and gnashing teeth, and the wendigos will change targets immediately. Though rabid and feral, each monster also bears a small, tarnished bracelet with an identification tag attached not unlike a house arrest bracelet that bounds them to this building.

The wendigos will block the path and it becomes a question of whether you plan to try and pacify them, sneak around them, or outright kill them. Those who have dipped in the fortifying river will have an easier time fending them off, but should you be bitten the salvia seeps in rabidly and insatiable greed overrides your senses. You've always wanted to turn on your friends and rip them from limb to limb, haven't you?

The wendigos are after something as they continue trashing the facility, opening new walls and panels to reveal rows of active observation monitors, computers, and intricate cages binding organs and jars of colored smoke. Rows and rows of data fly across the screen, alarms being fed to someone afar that you've broken into this layer of existence and are working to dismantle everything. The wendigos are driven by the scent of human flesh and a tortured mind, but a clever strategist or even someone with dumb luck can trick a wendigo into destroying the research rooms. Be careful with the physical assets available to you; allowing a wendigo to touch the smoke or consume an organ will be another soul lost. Fight your way through the facility and destroy everything inside. Cut off the point of communication and kill the signal going out to free the souls and destroy the wendigos. It's then and only then that this area will be cleared and the hospital will fall silent.

INTERLUDE.
It will take work in all three areas and breaking down the sources of power in order to free the layer beneath the city from Vanderweele's grip. Should one area receive less attention than another, the damage done will begin to unravel and repair itself. The magic in place will strengthen and the layer will remain unstable and in Vanderweele's control. Talk to one another, Retrospecters. There are break periods between tasks you may use to update one another, strategize, and even tap out to take a breather.

Under the watchful eye of the wizard, you'll wish to stick together. Do take care not to get in over your head.

V.
What about those of you who choose to stay behind? The city remains, outwardly, normal as ever. The sun's shining, the birds are starting to sing again, and doors around the city appear to have a dark energy lingering around them visible to those who pass by. A black, swirling layer seems to block out the silver glint of the doors and as you look around you'll see the blue thin lines running through the ground pumping energy directly into them. With this mass encompassing the doors, your friends who have gone beyond may have a hard time coming home. The lines grow easier to see as days pass, but de-powering them will take a bit of effort. You can try to break them apart with gardening tools or standard exorcise methods, but the curious and the determined can start to follow the lines back to their source.

As you track the leylines through the city, you’ll find yourself being led right to the very center of Recollé and the ground beneath you becomes softer and easier to sink into. Lying in wait under a layer that’s grown thin rests a grotesque entity whose eye appears to be shut. Asleep and dreaming, this entity’s tentacle-like arms are moving and pulling the energy lines to rearrange them around the city, fueling the different doors and changing the direction of the darkness. It seems like it’s made itself at home and is something that’s been there for longer than you may know.

Standing too close will engage the creature, tendrils slithering up to wrap around an ankle or a wrist and bound you in place, a touch opening your mind’s eye and changing the reality you perceive. Around you you may see visions of your loved ones in pain, or oversized bugs ruling the city, or talking animals that encourage you to try to fly. The strange and uncertain begin to filter into your mind, slowly bringing themselves into reality to change the city one more time.

Breaking the bonds tying you down or simply destroying the leylines will awaken the creature. The earth begins to rumble the more it’s disturbed until eventually it uproots itself, moving to other parts of the city. It will attempt to change the reality of anyone in its path, but depending on where you try to fight it, it will retreat in the opposite direction.

Drive this creature away from the city and send it packing. It’s the only way to stop the cycle and stabilize the world around you for now, allowing for the doors to be cleared and to bring your friends home from the sixth layer.

NOTES.
Welcome to recolle's February event part two!

You can claim three freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for heading down into the sixth layer and exploring the rotting city below. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by choosing a gate and working to help dismantle the objects and buildings there. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by working in the city and trying to destroy the leylines. This thread must at least five comments from you.
-While the leylines will make it harder for characters to leave the sixth layer, players will have the freedom to send their characters in and out of the area as they please. While characters must complete a task once they're inside one of the three gates, they will be able to explore the main city on their own and then come back.

Finally, any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for additional information as well!

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( coding by fleeting )

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS

[recollecters]

Please leave mod questions here!

[hauntedsavior]

interlude. the only truth as myth remains

Guess it's time for me to play Operator for once.

[the message from Anna shows up on the network clear as day shortly after Zee's message comes through. she can't flavor blast everyone's phones with it like he can, but she can at least make an entrance.]

Still taking the time to recover from this one. Not going back down there myself yet, but if you have questions about what's down there then ask away. Zee's right. I know my shit on this one.

Let me know what you find, too.

x. in my glory i will stand [wildcard]

((i'll probably put up another thing for prompt v later but i wanted to get in early on this one! let me know if you want to do anything specific either here or at roseward.))

[godcards]

I.-A
[ The second river - that is, the one without the creepy hands - seems like it’d be an easier choice to cross. The fact that it is shallower is reassuring, because seriously, come on, who is going to drown in this? Not Malik, despite the fact that he’s pacing back and forth like he’s maybe considering that possibility. Maybe he’ll just lay face down in the dirt and scream about it. Which is actually a tempting offer, because the amount of pain he feels from just testing the waters, literally, is pretty awful. Not enough to get him to stop, if only because he realizes pretty quickly that he’s trapped on the shore if he doesn’t make a choice. And he picks this one.

So he’s just wading in like, two feet of water and swearing in Arabic for anyone to find. This is fine. ]

I.-B
[ Malik’s specialty is taking things that aren’t his, so to be let loose in a place, even a decrepit city, where he can take literally whatever he wants - he is not nearly as freaked out as maybe a normal person should be. What screams in the distance? He doesn’t care about that, he just wants to take, and take, and hey, it pays to be prepared for whatever the hell situation he’s been thrown into, here. The worst of it all is when he finds a nice folding buck knife, because obviously this is a person who should be trusted with sharp, pointed objects. Be thankful that he left his Millennium Rod at home.

He’s a little territorial though, and easily falls back into his past aggressive tendencies, should anyone cross his path during one of his little stock raids: ]

Hey, back off, that’s mine.

[ It literally doesn’t matter what it is, he wants it, especially since someone else does. ]

IV.
[ Let’s see what’s behind Door Number Three!

Horror and rot, evidently, and the creeping dread that Malik feels isn’t exactly subtle. Not even to someone as emotionally unaware such as himself. His progress is slow, deliberate, as he observes his surroundings. It’s not just the atmosphere that is making him unnerved, but some vaguely related memories of an oppressively dark, desolate place. Maybe this was a bad idea, but it’s not like he could very well turn back. So he explores further, despite the unsettling sounds and having some knowledge of horror movie tropes. He’s not too far in, scrounging around like he did in the crumbling city earlier to try and find anything useful.

Hearing a noise behind him - louder, more distinct - he whips around, buck knife at the ready. Sorry, he wasn’t expecting company. ]

[drydrown]

[I.]

[Does Cumore really want to be here? No. No, he does not. He has had more than his share of metaphysical bullshit in the year's worth of time that he's been here, and in his experience, do you know what this sort of shit leads to? Spiders. It invariably leads to giant fucking spiders and frankly, he doesn't like that. Do you like that? Didn't think so, so don't judge his lifestyle.

...That said, he's here anyway because of goddamn course he is. In one of his stupidly expensive suits, because of goddamn course he is.

At the very least he's armed this time; the rapier is a bit on the thin side, but it's light and at least he actually knows how to use it now. It's remaining sheathed at his side for now, and under his jacket he's also got the usual combination of mace and lighters that have served him well for quite some time up until now, and anyone who ends up down here with him can find him staring at the actual river of souls like it's the most repulsive thing he's ever seen. He's kinda poking at them with the end of his sword? Kind of like they're collectively a rat and he's trying to ascertain if it's dead, and he's offended by the fact that they are not.]

Oh, not this again...

[If you want to cross here, you be his guest; he won't even look over at you, but he will speak up eventually.]

I wouldn't do that, were I you.


[III.]

[Okay, so it wasn't spiders this time. That's...good? It's good. Cumore is not entirely sure that this is any better, admittedly, but he can deal with the creepy blank-faced people. Maybe. He can probably handle them better than proper monsters, at any rate.

And besides, there's something that's urging him forward, at the very least; he can't say he likes that very much, but just the same here he is, and he doesn't like the thing at the top of that fortress, either.

It isn't blastia, but it's close enough, he's fairly sure; it at least operates on the same principle. Bring it down and whatever's happening here will fall. Simple enough. Getting to it is going to be miserable, but he acknowledges that and is generally operating under the assumption that he'll figure out how to actually deal with the fortress once he gets there.

In the meantime, fields of people he doesn't recognize and weird faceless things. That's lovely! It's fucking lovely, and it's going to remain fucking lovely until one of them brushes up against him a little too hard and his mind is immediately hit by a memory that he knowshe's in a car with a girl that loves him far more than he loves her, and they're driving fast up some winding road in the country in a place he's never seen before, and she's laughing and even if he doesn't love her he does love her laugh, and the memory is ultimately nothing to him but the sense of peace and calm it brings with it is more than welcome, it's just a nice night and the stars are bright and -

- and he's got that mace and one of his lighters out before he even thinks, turning on whatever specter he just touched and looking for all the world like he's going to set this person on fucking fire.]

Stay out of my head if you know what's good for you.

[fiddlestick]

I. It's like Oregon Trail meets the River Styx
[It didn't take any real convincing to talk Elliot into going down into this place. Sure, he was scared and worried about what could be down here- especially after hearing what happened to Anna's eye. But he knew this was their best chance to fix things, to stop the city and the world itself from getting worse. Even if he was terrified, it was important to go.

If only he could get his nerves to stop screaming for five seconds, that's be great.

Currently, he's at the rivers near the entrance. Using a little ball of magic light to guide him, he took a quick inspection of the water to decide that yeah, stepping into it was probably a terrible idea. So he started to walk along the shore, hoping to find a way across. And he keeps walking, and walking....except it just seems to loop around, over and over]

Um...pretty sure I've passed this stone three times now.

[He whines a little and looks around, trying to figure out what to do. He's near the shallow waters- maybe you should convince him to cross.]

II. Hoppity hop hop
[Sneaking past that sleeping guard dog was no trouble for Elliot, having a sleep spell ready just in case someone did wake up. He had decided to start with the first gate, for the simple reason it was first.

He hadn't expected to land himself in some empty suburbia land. It looks so...perfectly ideal, almost creepily so. Of course, being someone who grown up in an urban- at first he just figured that was par for the course of suburbia. It was better than hearing the screams anyway. But as he goes deeper into the suburb, he too starts feeling...unnerved. The feeling that he was being watched, despite no one around. His head started to feel a pressure and more...twitchy. And goodness, did someone turn up the volume? He always had good hearing, but why did everything seem so...loud?

For those traveling with him, the physical change is easy enough to spot. A pair of rabbit ears, the fur matching his hair, grow in atop his head. Proportioned to fit his head, they move around like the real thing. Maybe you want to let him know.

He tries to focus on the mission, but the longer he stays here? The harder it is to focus. You might find him hopping around instead of walking, or digging through one of the gardens to see if he can find any vegetables to eat. ]

Interlude: Set after Prompt II
[Eventually, he was finally able to get out of the suburbia nightmare. He knows there's still work to be done, and he's not keen on crossing that river anymore than he has to, so he's taking a break in the city ruins. You'll find him exploring and trying to scrounge for supplies, or simply finding a comfortable place to rest.

Still being in the sixth layer, those bunny ears are still on top of his head. Guess that's something to talk about. ]

Wildcard
[Got another prompt for me? Come at me! Elliot is able to go into any of the gates and can use magic that might be helpful for any fights, as well as heal. ]

[manufactured]

[I.]

[There's something good, perhaps, about Wesker's past life being what it is; he doesn't like the notion that he's anything like that individual, but having so many of that man's memories and his experiences and his general lack of emotion at the whole thing makes it perhaps startlingly easy to shut everything off and just let his recollections of the person he used to be take over. It's like scaling the buildings on his dates with Jaeger, just a bit more thorough; trusting that that person would know what he's doing, and letting his instincts and lack of fear wash over and take control. A shift in mindset, though not in personality; it's almost comforting to just autopilot into situations like this.

He believes in holding onto who he is, but he's not opposed to using who he used to be.

As such, Wesker can be found fairly easily wandering the city, wet like he's just come through one of the rivers, and given that he doesn't seem to be having too many problems with eerie blankness it's likely he took the shallow route; it looks like he dressed for the party, and his motions are incredibly deliberate, if more than slightly wary. He doesn't bother with formalities after the screaming starts, and "formalities" in this case apparently include "opening doors like a sane person" - he simply kicks them open like whomever's inside owes him money and enters the building with his handgun drawn. The assault shotgun is strapped to his back, and he's got the submachine gun with him as well because there's apparently no kill like overkill; that doesn't stop him from briskly going through whatever area he's in, looking for pretty much anything that might be of use to him in any way.

Of course, if you happen to be anywhere near him, this will probably mean that he's going to be turning over an actual fucking flamethrower in his hands before holding it out in your direction without even looking at you. He could be handing a literal child this, and he would...honestly neither know nor care.]

Take it; it's just going to slow me down. If you don't know how to use it, I would suggest you acquaint yourself rather quickly.


[IV.]

[His first thought upon wandering in here is that Birkin would have loved this place.

He's sure that his past life would have at least pretended to love it; maybe he legitimately would have, if he had something interesting enough to work on. But the fact of the matter is damn, Birkin would have loved this place, and Wesker himself seems a little blank in response to it because he's going to very determinedly not have thoughts or feelings about that right now.

He can be found, for the time being, in the first area of the facility; he's going through some of those medical charts, actually. He doesn't recognize everything, but he recognizes enough - he's got an aborted medical degree and a subsequent career in pharmaceuticals behind him, after all, and this is proving interesting. Antequated, yes, but interesting.

Just because he's busy doesn't mean he's distracted, however - entering the room from out of nowhere will get a voice called out to you from over his shoulder.]

Stop and identify yourself or be shot. Those are your only two options, and I suggest you choose quickly.

[scythegun]

I.

[Okay, so the hell rivers? Definitely not Jaeger's idea of a good time. He's made it through the second river, the one without the horrible hands grasping at him. It was far more painful than he'd care to admit, but he's made it through and he's now in the city. It looks like Recollé, with some parts missing. Jaeger certainly is curious whether or not his own shop is still here, but he has his priorities in order.

The first priority is to obtain a bag, and the second is to stock it full of as many guns and ammo as he can. You'll find him at the shooting range, carefully sorting through what he can find there, humming to himself while he works. Despite the run-down and gloomy surroundings, he doesn't seem all that bothered at all.]

Hmm, perhaps first aid supplies would be good as well...? I'll have to see if I can locate any of those.

[He pauses when another one of those shrieks echoes through. Despite his cheerful mood, he doesn't really want to stick around here for too long. He's a bit faster about packing after that.]

IV.

Ah. I'm glad to see we've stepped into a horror movie.

[Or possibly a video game. Either way, Jaeger's not really a fan of this setting? He probably should've picked another gate... Oh well, there's no turning back now.

If you didn't enter with him, you can find him checking out some of the files in some of the first rooms. It's difficult to make anything out here, but the dates seem pretty consistent.]

I wonder... Where are we, exactly?

[His grip tightens on the briefcase at his side as he sets the files aside.]

Well, no sense in hanging around here, ja? Shall we keep going?

[...Apparently you've now been roped into coming with him. You up for an adventure?]

[morgrim]

I.

[This probably isn't the sort of thing Shigure should get himself into. He's still new to the whole Retrospec thing and it's not like he has any awesome magic powers or anything. He's a perfectly normal human, and he's probably more of a liability down here than anything else. It's not like that's stopped him though, and now he's hanging out on the riverbank, looking between the two rivers curiously.

When he catches sight of you, he'll wave you over.]

I'm not the only one thinking that river's gotta be way worse, right?

[He's pointing at the river without the creepy hands.]

This one looks worse, so whatever's going on there has gotta be at least as bad. Probably a lot worse, though.

[. . .]

So which one do you wanna try?

[He says, still completely laid-back about the whole damn thing.]

V.

[So Shigure's back in the city for the time being; he's not nearly as useful down there as he'd like, but perhaps there's something he can do here. The leylines are definitely something he can handle, and he'll take out most of the ones he comes across, at least until it finally occurs to him that maybe he should see where they lead.

...That sure is a mistake.]

Wow.

[Shigure's thankfully not close enough to risk upsetting the thing, though he's probably not out of tentacle-grabbing reach entirely, should it decide to attack. He'll turn to look at you, expression somewhere between amused and mildly confused.]

You're seeing this too, right? My mind's not making this up? Has this thing always been here and I just didn't notice it until now?

[He doesn't sound all that worried about it, though...]

[thisloveisjustice]

I-A

Tatsuo immediately regrets his decision to venture through the doors. As he falls through the darkness, all he can do is hope Zee knows what the fuck he's doing, saying they're ready to do this. Once he reaches the bottom, it takes him a minute or two to move from the crouch he lands in, as his heart rate returns to a more reasonable tempo. But once it does, and his eyes adjust to the dim light, he straightens up and takes quick look around.

He doesn't like what he sees. The moment he sees the hands reaching out of the river, he quickly backs up several steps. And if he spots anyone even remotely near the edge of the river, he'll call out a warning.

"I wouldn't go near that if I were you, unless you want to forget pretty much everything."

Hello River of Souls, my old friend.


I-B

'Watch out for monsters,' Zee had said. Tatsuo knows the drill at this point. Look around, find anything that might be useful, and don't get eaten or killed.

He'd brought some food in his pack, but Tatsuo doesn't hesitate to pick up any extra food or healing items. At the very least they can be shared about with anyone else who's decided to come down here. He's tempted by a crossbow he finds. It would be pretty nice for larger monsters. But he hasn't used one since two Augusts ago.

"Hey, want a crossbow?"

He'll be offering it to anyone he crosses paths with until he either finds someone who wants it or it ends up in a weapons stockpile for everyone. But in order to make a stockpile, they need a base camp. So Tatsuo sends out a text over the app.

Hey, those of us down in the sixth layer should try to pool resources. And maybe set up a base camp. If you're interested, let's meet at the Towers and go from there.

Maybe a little overly cautious, but this is Vanderweele's territory. Can't be too careful what they say over the app.


III

Tatsuo decides to head through the second gate. As he walks through the crowd of people, Tatsuo does his best to not touch any of them, something about them just... making his skin crawl. But the further he gets into the crowd, the closer he gets to the obsidian fortress and its blue crystal, the more often he accidentally brushes up against one of them.

As the the lives of the people around him start seeping into his head, Tatsuo slows to a stop. His fingers clutch at the sides of his head as he tries to sort through the memories, remember who he is. But which life is his?

He was a farmer in 1930s California... He owned a store in Seattle in 1941... He was a student in Tokyo in 1960... No, he was a police detective in Tokyo...

By the time someone finds him, Tatsuo might not look quite like himself. His hair is longer and straight, black instead of brown, and he's gotten taller with a longer face. Though he is wearing the blue jacket from his past life, which has been a pretty common fixture of his wardrobe for over a year. So... it's not impossible to recognize him?


interlude: set after prompt III

After the whole creepy soul field experience, Tatsuo needs a break. But it's kind of hard to properly relax when the only place you've got is a blackened mirror universe version of your city.

He can be found catching a nap at the base camp, using his jacket as a pillow, or maybe chowing down on some granola bars and jerky. He's found some cans of beef stew, but he has nothing to heat them up with.

Anyone have a flamethrower?


[have something else in mind? HMU @ anacrusis]

[armati]

[Va.]

[So. Arthur has no combat abilities, no magical abilities, and honestly no earthly idea what he's doing; what he does have today is an acceptable amount of knowledge with regards to purification, and as such he can be found near one of those doors with the mass of darkness over it, one of those leylines feeding directly into it.

He takes his time in approaching it, instead taking a while on the ground nearby, settled back on his heels and getting supplies out of the bag he's brought with him. They all seem pretty mundane - a canister of salt, a few vials of oil, things along those lines - and there's a pendant around his neck that he bought earlier that's a bit dark with imperfections but that's fine for his purposes. He's pretty sure literally nothing is going to come of anything he does today anyway, but he imagines it's worth a shot.

He can be found pretty easily, just standing in front of the door with his head tipped to the side. He's got one of those oil-filled vials with him, opening it but not doing anything with it quite yet; honestly, he's not sure how much he really wants to touch this thing, but he'll get himself sorted eventually.]


[Vb.]

[Eventually everything traces back to a source; the leylines seem to be no different. The shock, then, comes with the realization of what the source is - the eye, the creature, the...everything that's taking place in the center of town is more than enough to get him to stop, and he stops a little too close, and when the thing catches his wrist the shock that comes with the touch is enough to drop him to the ground.

It isn't a sudden drop; his body just kind of decides to sink to its knees without him having any say in the matter, and it doesn't really matter because the visions pouring into his mind are taking priority. The city shifts and daylight seems to fall away, leaving nothing but an infinite starry sky above and white buildings stretching ever upwards into it, and other than that there's...nothing, there are no people and no animals and no greenery, all of it just appears cold and empty but everyone is still here, they're just whispers now, sounds in his head that he can't quite get rid of, and the words they murmur into his head are all strange but not unintelligible, they're just coming so fast that he can't formulate a reply and most of what they're saying is nonsensical anyway, and-

And he should get up, he knows he ought to get up but the fact of the matter is that he isn't moving to; he just remains on the ground, settling there bound at the wrist to an eldritch horror like this isn't an alarming thing, or a bad thing, or even something he's at all aware of. Come close enough and maybe you'll hear what he's hearing too; the reality-changing is slow, but surely you can hear them. Can't you?]

[invocate]

I
Something's not right. As Li-Na falls through the darkness, she can't help but feel... off. Tired, like something is draining her of energy. Is it the environment? The darkness? Li-Na tries to make sense of what's going on, but her head feels like it's stuffed with cotton, to the point she nearly muffs her landing.

"Owwwwww..."

Li-Na pulls her hand away from the sharp ground and straightens up, glad her Innocence is pretty much impervious to everything. Brushing her hands off on her uniform, she looks around, and as her eyes start to adjust to the darkness and she spots the two rivers. The one with hands just... doesn't look right. But just because the second river looks less suspect doesn't means she's going to step into it.

"Water Shackles."

Once her boots are transformed, she steps out onto the surface of the second river. The current starts to pull her downstream, but despite that she doesn't loose her balance. She takes a second step, then a third, angling herself upriver slightly so she more or less ends up crossing in a straight line.

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKING, VANDERWEELE. WALKING ON WATER.


II

After spending some time exploring the ruined version of Recolle, Li-Na decides to pass through the first gate. The difference on the other side is... startling to say the least. For a moment, all Li-Na can do is stand there and blink at how bright everything is.

And perfect. Too perfect. It grates and it chafes, and it makes Li-Na want to scream. She doesn't realize the crawling feeling in her skin is actually doing anything until she unconsciously rubs her arms... and something pulls at the fabric of her uniform. She glances down and freezes... because there are scales on her hands and her fingers end in claws.

She manages to dig out her phone and switch on the camera, letting out a small gasp as she sees the way her violet irises seem to fill her eyes, and how what little sclera still visible is black. Then there are the shimmering scales, framing her face and running down her neck. Blue shading into purple. It's the horns that really stand out, branched like a deer's antlers and sweeping back from her temples.

"That's... different... I look like the Azure Dragon."


IV

After resting for a while, Li-Na ventures through the third gate. The first gate hadn't been bad really.

Oh look, another extremely questionable laboratory. Li-Na has never, ever seen one of those before. If this ends up being like last month, she is going to be so mad.

She stops to glance at the medical charts and files, but doesn't spend much time studying them. They're mostly incomprehensible to her, though she does notice the few dates she can read are from the 40s. She mentally tucks that bit of information away and moves on.

While the sound of hearts beating is very creepy, Li-Na takes it as a sign she's headed in the right direction. When in doubt which way to go in a derelict building possibly used for questionable medical experiments, always find the creepiest path and stick to it.

And then she finds the first room with barred cells and cages. Yep, definitely on the right track.

"This is sick."


interlude: set after prompt II

After finishing up with the first gate, Li-Na heads to where she's heard the base camp is. She needs to rest. She's never been to bone weary in her life and she's a little concerned that the dragon features aren't going away.

Once she arrives at the camp, she deactivates her boots. Though she's still really tired, the draining sensation she's been feeling immediately stops. That... that is a concern. But one she'll need to address later. Right now, she just wants to sleep. First though... some food would be good.

Li-Na retrieves her pack from where she'd left it earlier and finds a relatively clear spot to sit down and dig things out. if anyone is nearby, she'll offer a homemade granola bar, trail mix, or jerky.

"Want some?"

Don't mind the blue/purple scales covering her hands, or the horns growing from her head, or the incredibly dark circles under her eyes. She's fine.

[have something else in mind? HMU @ anacrusis]

[psykick]

I

"You know what... that... that does not look right."

Rinka gives the river of creepy grabby hands a very dubious look as she backs away. She thinks she could phase through the hands, but at the same time, she doesn't really want to. Which leaves the second river and it's steam.

"Here goes..."

Rinka lets herself go intangible. The trick is making sure she says in contact with the ground. But she's noticed her control over her phasing has gotten better of late, which is the only reason she's willing to try walking through this river.

She takes a step forward, then two, then three, until the water laps through her ankles. She stands there for a moment. Nothing. Great. She turns back to someone still on the shore and holds out her hand.

"I've not tried to phase someone before, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to do it, if you want to try."

Go on, let her try.


II

Rinka doesn't think much of the first gate. Perfect little suburbia lifestyle? As if. After all, that's where she lives, Suburbia, where everyone tries to be perfect and everyone is fake. Her family is no exception.

So it doesn't take her long to start smashing cameras once the eyes appear. She might not have much technique yet with her batons, but they're still great for breaking things.

"Stop looking at me!"

For one, it's creepy. For another, she's kind of feeling self conscious over the ears peaking through the mane her hair has become.


interlude : post prompt II

"Does anyone have a brush I can borrow? And maybe some elastics?"

Rinka sits on a block of concrete at the base camp, trying to tame the mess her hair has become due to her horse traits. Being able to run faster than she previously could is pretty cool, but this hair keeps getting in her way. Please help her brush and braid it. Please.


[have something else in mind? HMU @ anacrusis]

[standalonehuman]

I:

As Togusa promised, he is completely tooled up when he enters the doors. He is dressed in full set of all-black riot gear, and he is followed along by the Tachikoma, Isamu. The Tachikoma is a large blue robot, about the size of a sedan car, and Togusa has re-outfitted him with his main guns that he didn't need while working in the library.

The river of souls. It's something he's been hearing about for long enough, and he even took a trip down in November. Did it extend all the way down here to the..where are they? Fifth? Sixth? Layer? Togusa is cautious when he approaches the shallower side of the river.

"You think you can make it across?" Togusa asks Isamu.

"Of course! Piece of cake!" Isamu turns around and rolls as far away as he can to get a run-up. "Here I go!"

Isamu accelerates towards the edge of the river, legs crouch underneath it, and at the last second, it springs upwards, using its legs much like the spider that it appears to be. "Yahoo!" The Tachikoma flies through the air..

..and falls short of the far bank. "Uh-oh!" Splash!

"Isamu!" Togusa rushes forwards, forgetting some of his caution, and as soon as he steps into the shallow river, he is hit with a blinding pain. He cries out and stops in place. What is this?

III:

A random guess led Togusa through the second gate. He is, at first, amazed by what he sees, it's almost beautiful. But he points out the giant blue crystal to Isamu. "Blue. That's usually the hint."

Isamu holds up one claw-hand. He is almost the exact same blue. "Is this set of light wavelengths significant to people?"

"Really, all of them are," Togusa explains. "But in this case, notice how little else has that color to it?"

Isamu's front part nods up and down.

As Togusa gets closer, the mannequins become clearer, and he can see the absolute lack of features on them. He hesitates, shocked, but they are all acting as if they belong here. "Be careful," Togusa advises. "We don't know what they can do."

He has no idea that he has benefitted from his trip across the river, and has very little to fear here, physically.

[sleepingknight]

I.

[Yuuki... actually surprisingly has a sword sheathed at her side down here! It's not actually anything special, just something bought online, but it's the one weapon she knows for sure she can use, so she might as well do so.

Anyway. She's made it to the river full of hands, and you know what?]

Yeah, no thanks.

[Nuh-uh. Not happening. Instead, she turns and thumbs a different direction to whoever's nearby.]

I'm gonna see if there's another way over. I am not dealing with whatever those are.

IV.

[She definitely has the sword drawn in this place, her movements quiet and cautious as she peers from room to room. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for her to find trouble - or more accurately, for trouble to find her.

Others may stumble in on her staring down a wendigo, blade at the ready as she holds her breath. The wendigo doesn't seem to be going for her yet, but it's definitely turning its head this way and that, apparently searching for something or another.

If she notices your character, she doesn't speak, instead looking at them, and then the wendigo, and then at them again - nodding towards the creature. Should they try to take it on?]

Wildcard

[If you want to do some slightly other scenario in one of these areas, or an interlude, hit me up! Alternately, contact me for plotting at danidanidanica!]

[dereban]

❤ option i-a.

[ In spite of all the warnings about how potentially dangerous it is down there, Raina isn't exactly the type of person who just simply sit around fiddling her fingers and do absolutely nothing - that just isn't the kind of lifestyle that she lives.

And more importantly, this was definitely important.

Sure, maybe other people were going through. And sure, maybe she could leave things to them? But the trust issues that still lingered there practically screamed that there were things that had to be done for herself.

But of course she isn't alone, as she finds herself falling, finds herself instinctively screaming for a moment before she finally lands onto the ground. If you're nearby, you'll probably hear some more shouting, sounding rather bitter and frustrated. ]

How the fuck do you fall through a door?! What is this, Alice in Wonderland? Am I suddenly going to find an 'eat me' item?

[ Priorities...

Although she is definitely trying to stray herself away from the rivers, given how overly cautious she is, not to mention actually observant. But if she does see someone attempting to get dragged down into the drink below, she's going to absolutely revolt and run over (even more so if she knows you personally) and make an attempt to drag them out in spite of her not exactly being the most athletic or strong person out there.

But this much should be fine. Hopefully she doesn't struggle too hard, though, lest she get pulled in with you.

That would probably be bad. ]

❤ option i-b.

[ After dealing with the 'blank slate' problems, while Raina might be a little shaken up by the ordeal, that doesn't necessarily mean that she's showing it in her expression, instead just letting out a sigh, running her fingers through her bangs as they find the divide between the two rivers.

Um.

Hm.

Turning to whoever's closest, she asks, inquisitively: ]

Sssso. Do you want to split or choose one?

[ She's honestly kind of wary of rivers now considering the last one and it shows in her voice, just a little. ]

❤ option i-c.

[ "The city you know and love--" is a phrase that isn't meant for Raina, who hasn't exactly been here for very long and doesn't necessarily have any good experiences or memories in the city so far, either. The fact that there's nobody here is a bit of a concerning sign in some ways, too, but...

She kind of feels that she's in a spot the difference book, trying to pinpoint all the differences between this one and the last.

Of course, she's also here to figure out what's going on, so she's immediately inspecting all the empty buildings and quietly taking note of the screams of pain and the noises.

But that's not what she's about here. What she's about is getting some supplies to prepare herself up for anything that might happen in the future. She's passing on the weapons for now, since she doesn't know how to use them and it's best not to use things that will make her even more reckless. It's a bad idea.

However, she is taking a look at some of the more everyday items, squinting at them a bit. Especially at-- ]

I wonder if anyone will actually care if I stock up on led. . . I mean, if nobody exists here, then it doesn't matter if I take it or not, right?

[ Right?? ]

❤ option ii (cw body horror).

[ Even if she's fully prepared for a lot of things, continuing onto the first gate does not prepare her for this.

'This', of course, being the feeling of being watched. It sends shivers running down her back, but the worst part of it is how she looks at her hands, now trembling as she can feel her fingers shifting into claws, the transformation agonizingly slow and yet visible enough for her to notice. The metal (because ha ha, metal dragon, am I right?) runs up her hands, enough to still her breath as her eyes grow wide with shock.

Of course, that isn't the only new appendage that she has to deal with, as wings sprout from the small of her back, a tail from behind her and dark horns that come out from the side of her head - enough for Raina to let out a loud scream of her own that releases out blue fire from her lips.

Better watch out for that, actually, as she might just scorch you. Even if it is by accident. ]

❤ option iv.

[ While she might still be part dragon, she doesn't exactly have much experience using her claws (or fighting much in general) and while she can punch things in the gut, there's just way too many of them to just overpower her.

Sure, she's remembered the words - she has a rather impeccable memory, after all, but by the time she recollects it?

Well.

It's too late for her, as she gets bitten and there's only one thing on her mind.

Greed.

But it's of a nature that's cruel, and more than the greed itself, there's something worse as she looks at the nearest person, cruelty in her eyes. Darkness is the only thing that's settled itself there. And more than that?

A rather obvious emotion as she asks the question. ]

Hey... are you happy?

[ Jealousy. And a greediness to rip that away from others. ]

❤ wildcard.

[ Want to play something else? Let me know here, via PM or at endlesseight! ]

[brushy]

ＴＵＲＭＯＩＬ ＩＳ ＣＯＭＩＮＧ ☀️ (a wildcard)
( consider this a catch all for all event activities with ahmi! please get in contact with me so that we could hash out something to play, either by pm or liberos! there’s so much to do that i’d love writing a prompt out for you :’)

ahmi will have the features of a fire dragon based on this, in the sixth layer and will breathe fire 🔥 open to everything and anything! )

[blondferret]

I: Where in Hell am I?

Falling for that long, through the fire, rock, soot, and the swirls of color, disorientate Derek for a bit. Once he lands he crouches down and places his head between his knees and tries to breath evenly.

Thought there isn't much time allowed for that as the terrain of where he landed is really jagged and he's rather be walking than standing on it at the moment. Everything around him is pitch black and he can hear water nearby. Luckily he still has his wand in his hand and he holds it out.

"Lumos!"

A light appears at the end of his wand and no one in sight.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Not the smartest move in the book, but what else do you do when you are in a strange place?

IV: Even Hogwarts wasn't this Scary

Searching through the facility really freaks Derek out. He's having flashback to the Forbidden Forest, and that wasn't as bad as this. He's just waiting for some hooded figure to burst out and scare the shit out of him.

He frowns when he sees the cages.

"What the hell? Were they keeping people in those?"

He then sees the jars with organs in them.

"Bloody hell... this is more scary than the stuff I see in Snape's potions supplies. What the hell happened in here?"

[allforyuu]

III.

[Eventually, it becomes impossible to avoid the shadowy crowds. Mika tries to acts as nonchalant as he can as the ghost-like shadows seems to walk straight through him, leaving marks like smoke on him. That's not the only thing they leave. As he tries to brush them away, whispers of others' destinies brush against his mind.]

[Your sister is dead. Her soul is--]

[Mika turn around abruptly, looking for the source of the voice. No one in the crowd seems to notice. He brushes his hair away from his eyes, realizing with a lurching horror that it's longer than he remembers.]

[What would you sacrifice to get a contract with a demon?]

[The squirming anxiety and hope sits in his gut even as he looks around with his own eyes. Something is definitely wrong. Scared and unsure, he touches his own face, panicking as he looks around.]

[tarotcards]

( option i. )

[ well, that's one heck of a fall. falling for who knows how long onto a rocky shoreline definitely isn't what souji was expected, but it's one that he's semi-prepared for. with a persona with resistant to any physical attacks, landing on one of his knees and hand doesn't do much asides from leaving a very dull sensation of pain. however, the same can't be said to others so he turns around to whoever decided to fall into this place with him. ]

Hey, are you all right?

[ shifting his sheathed sword into his left hand, he extends out his right hand to help up the other person, if they need it. if they also need it, he is right here with his personas to heal. ]

( option ii. )

[ did you know that bunnies can apparently sleep up to eight hours a day? and that some of them just tucker out cutely on their sides like this? well, that's exactly what souji is doing right in the middle of the road. his newly formed rabbit ears are tucked, his long whiskers twitch occasionally, and he's just happily snoozing by. ]

[ ... and he seems to have absolutely no intentions of waking up. feel free to trip over him? wake him up? do anything? but be careful if you do try to intentionally wake him up. rabbits have the tendency to bite when they're suddenly awoken! ]

( interlude - post-prompt ii. )

[ in one of these rare break periods, souji just rests over in a corner. he's... not particularly bothered by his new rabbit features, but he does have this sudden urge to just keep grooming himself. he can be found occasionally pulling down his ears, trying to clean them. as he does this, his sword rests against some slab of concrete. ]

If you don't have a weapon, you can take that.

[ he nods his head towards his sword as he continues to just clean his ears. honestly, he's luckier than some others, having all of his personas, so he doesn't particularly need the sword. he brings it along to not overextend himself using his personas, but he's learned how to properly measure his usage so he'd be perfectly fine without a physical weapon. ]

( wildcard. )

( ooc: feel free to come up with another option if you like! you can contact me through a pm to this account or a pp to my rp plurk at northpaws! )

[flametheif40]

1a) So it begins.

Him going down the black door and into the darkness...too much like a memory he had already, so no fun, and having a backpack with a cooler along with drinks and a few snacks didn't make falling any better.

Hand river can screw off, he isn't touching that with a 10-foot pole.

"Okay, so...not going with the creepy hand river, let's just go with the other one. That might only try to freeze us to death."

Oh yeah, he hates rivers.


1b) The clown laughs at pain.

You'll find Al happy like a kid in a candy store, looting whatever isn't nailed down.

What's got him really curious is the circus of value machines, especially the freaking creepy clown laughter that echoes all over the place along with the happy circus music sort really puts Al on edge, but seeing how there are medkits, food and ammo in there, he tries to get it through the cheapest way possible.

Al is trying to open the damn thing, cause screw caution, he already went through a river that hurt like hell.

"commmee ooonnn...let me see all the freaking things inside...FUUCCKKK! THAT HURT YOU LITTLE ASS-OOOWW!"

Al got shocked, then kicks it in anger, only to get shocked again.

The electricity coming out of it goes a short distance away shocking him and anyone unlucky to be a foot or two away.

Which of course the machine laughs with "come back with some money buddy!"

Al is not happy.


2) I wanted blue eyes, just not like this. (If you don't want scales, or any more body transformation just say so :))

Al had seldom walked far in this picture perfect down when he starts to shiver like crazy.

"What? Sinnccee? Wh-en Did it get so-so coolld?"

Al hugs himself and rubs his arms to try to get himself warmer.

Problem, he already had a hard enough time feeling warm and now he is turning cold-blooded.

His eyes have changed too, they are a very vivid blue with a black vertical stripe in them, just like a snake!

His eyes feel heavy and is fighting to keep them open now, while he has the urge to sleep.

Please help him get warm...fire would do it, he likes fire.

[hauhra]

i. all in the family.

[ For a moment, Bakhura wants desperately to pull each and every one of those hands from the river’s depths. What if one of his relatives from his original world was on the other side, waiting only for the chance to be rescued by Retrospec and given a new life in the city of Recolle?

Not that Bakhura would recognize any such individual as a relative should that idle thought of his turn out to be true, of course. After all, the two other "Bakuras" had never even been able to cough up so much as names; but in their defense, neither had the snake-like beast that’s been floating beside him since he had first landed on the rocky shore. Indeed despite its supposed connection to the thief Bakura's hometown of Kul Elna, it acts as though its memories, too, had been wiped on coming to this world, making it a true reflection of his renewed soul.

Then again, the beast has never had much to say about anything to begin with.

It does, however, offer another, less foolish solution than diving headfirst into the river in search of something that may not even be there, both to Bakhura and any curious passersby: a way over the water if you can convince the young man to whom it belongs to let you hitch a ride. ]

ii. the crawling chaos.

[ Hot like the light of some far-off white star, the pain comes first.

How it even got there in the first place is anyone’s guess; except for the leylines and the hourglass that had shown up on his doorstep earlier that morning, Bakhura’s day had otherwise been normal. Nevertheless, the twinge contained itself largely to the muscles in his left arm — coincidentally, the one with the hand that his other self had lost control of during one of his so-called Shadow Games.

Then comes the yelp, loud enough to shatter any thoughts racing through Bakhura’s mind about the connection as well as the the deafening silence enveloping the underground chamber up until that moment.

It’s too bad the stinging in his arm and the visions of things that aren’t actually there have immobilized him by the time he realizes that he’s been sharing this space with an eldritch horror all this time.

Help a guy out before anything else he does wakes the thing up? ]

iii. wildcard

[ Same as always! Hit me with whatever you've got or ping me at hauhra to talk about the details. ]

[usurpers]

ＦＡＲＥＷＥＬＬ ＴＯ ＳＩＬＥＮＣＥ 💥 (a wildcard)
( another catch all for all event activities, now with eren! please get in contact with me so that we could hash out something to play, either by pm or liberos! )

[cardcaptured]

i-a ; ain't no river wide enough

[Against all logic, he was doing this.

As much as he disagreed with Zee's plans, and what he wanted to do... he didn't want to be left in the dark about what was going on. Not any longer. (It's not like this wasn't the first February where he missed a ton of school, anyway)

With a lit fire talisman in hand, he observes his options in the dim light, not liking the looks of either of them. The river full of hands just screamed bad news, and while the other one looked innocuous enough, there had to be a catch hidden somewhere. Still, after an hour or so of walking and still no sign of any change, he had to suck it up and pick one, any one, so he could get out of this place.

So the non-handsy river it is! After a minute or two to get his shoes and socks off, along with rolling up his pants legs, he begins to wade his way into the water. His wind talismans would have made it easier (and drier) to cross, but light took priority over comfort (especially in these surroundings), and he couldn't wield both at the same time, anyway. That very quickly comes to bite him in the ass, however, as the first wave of pain slams into him, causing him to cry out suddenly and buckle into the dark current. It's almost as bad, if not worse, than the curse marks from Magatus, each and every nerve ending alive with agony as his choppy breaths echo in the air.]

Dammit...!

[The curse slides unbidden from his lips, the pain (or maybe something else entirely) removing his reservations on such things, getting him to grit his teeth in frustration. No. He wasn't going to let this cow him. Not now.

With sheer stubbornness fueling him, he sucks in another ragged breath as he staggers a few feet further in, somehow keeping his talisman lit despite him getting increasingly drenched thanks to all of his stumbling. Someone's got to either drag his ass from this river before he tries to cross this entire thing himself, or at least provide him with some better lighting options, because this dumbass is going to accidentally drown himself in this pain water if he's not careful.]

i-b ; i feel dead people

[Somehow, someway, Xiaolang's made it across the river and into this spooky double of Recolle, and it's hard not to get a sense of deja vu when looking around. Not because of the obvious reasons-- of course a mirror version of the city is going to look familiar-- but he couldn't help but think he's seen something similar to this before. The feeling only grows stronger when he cuts through Tribunal Terrace, his eyes unfocusing as his steps slow, looking out into nothing in particular. If that's not unsettling enough, especially with the screams in the distance, he's going to glance at whoever might be with him, or around him, his face set in a troubled mask and his posture tense.]

There's something off here. I can feel it.

ii ; monkeying around

[So you're exploring this creepy suburbia too? Great! Hope you're not carrying any important weapons or items while passing under any trees, because there's going to be a set of nimble hands swooping down to snatch it from you!!

Quick as a wink, the culprit is going to swing down on his tail and launch himself towards another tree, hoping to make a swift get-away with whatever he's just taken, and-- oh my god, that's Xiaolang. That's definitely Xiaolang. What the fuck.

Let's just hope he didn't just run off with something too dangerous.]

iii ; all grown up aka Luna stop harvesting Tsubasa for ideas (set before prompt ii)

[Somehow, someway, you make it to the end of the spooky mist people field, and to the fortress at hand. In front of it is a man, about mid-twenties and on the taller side, dressed in a button down shirt, sweater vest, and slacks. There's a familiar sword clenched in one hand, and a talisman in the other, and he glares up at the crystal above, trying to suss out a plan. Without warning, he slams his sword into the slip of paper, shouting out the incantation to activate it.]

Obey thy command! God of Thunder, come forth!

[A strong crack of lightning leaps hungrily from the sword, striking the crystal head on, but... alas, it only cracks it slightly. Tsking slightly in annoyance, he takes a step back, his eyes finally glancing upon whoever has just come to join them.]

It's no use. No matter how much I attack it, it's hardly making a dent. I don't think I have enough power to take it down myself.

[He then pauses at that, a troubled look crossing his face, as if he didn't want that detail to slip. He shakes it off, though, continuing on:]

Do you have any ideas what we should do?

wildcard

((Come at me with any other prompts, or hit me up @ Urameshi if you want to hash anything else out! Also Xiaolang's forced to be 100% honest with his feelings for a week thanks to Retrospec regain effects, so feel free to take advantage of that however you like in the prompts!))

[belligerentwarrior]

I. More words, please--more memories

Falling. What is it with these layers and always bloody falling?

[Freya grumbles as she pushes herself up. She descended down into the layer prepared, after Zee's text; she's sporting a small camping pack and several weapons, most notable being a large red spear, a pistol at her hip, and what looked like a crowbar on steroids tied to her pack.]

[As she looks around, the tall woman continues voicing her displeasure in a mock tone.] Oh, look at me; I'm a mysterious portal to metaphysical BS, but I can't do anything except be literal. Some welcome.


IV. Tell all your friends to visit; it sharpens the dream

[The other gates at least made them work for whatever they were down here for. The door hanging broken and open like a taunting invitation was enough to make the back of Freya's neck prickle in warning.]

Well, that's a challenge if I've ever seen one. Be rude to turn him down, mm? [Freya taps that double-headed red lance of hers twice against her shoulder, and casually strolls forward.]


Wildcard

[Surprise me, or I can write another prompt at request!]

[floret]

i.

[ catch him listlessly sloshing through the creepy hand river in either direction, possibly holding a large duffel bag up over his head ]

Oh!
Um, how's it going?

ii.

[ catch him scampering around the sides and backs of the houses, phasing through the fences as often as not, and occasionally cautiously sticking his face straight through walls to peek inside. he might be swishing his vaguely gross fleshy tail around or absently scratching at his vaguely cute round ears.

if you approach from behind, he will jump four inches into the air, spin around 180 degrees, and grab the hilt of the sword at his waist like he's gonna fuckin duel you. if you approach from in front, he'll just start running away before you're close enough to recognize!!! ]

iii.

[ catch him looking haggard, competely mobbed by spirits. he's got his sword drawn and is stamping their foreheads with the bottom of the hilt... slowly, deliberately, one at a time. the souls fade away after getting stamped, but others immediately take their place. ]

I'm begging you... please form an orderly line...

iv.

[ the wendigos are following him. oh my god he has earbuds in, he can't hear you. oh god. ]

interlude.

[ catch him sprawled out on his back at the park, motionless. a squirrel is throwing acorns at him, but the acorns pass harmlessly through his semitransparent body. ]

v.

[ catch him slashing frantically at one of the tentacles ensaring him... only for any damage he inflicts to instantly heal in a gentle burst of red sparkles. ]

You've... got to be kidding me...