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expiationlogs2023-07-13 02:36 pm
{EVENT #3} ADVERSITY 1665648.6754
| MOD NOTES: Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation. You can find the OOC poll here. Please pick from the corresponding options with the appropriate character journal. If you use a personal journal or a journal not part of Expiation, your votes will not be counted. Remember that if your character did something different than what is in the prompts given, leave a comment in the OOC poll entry and link to your comment in the option made available. We will provide an IC post in exactly one week with the results of the poll that will wrap up the event. You may mingle on it if you like, but the most important purpose is to share the effects of character decisions on this event. The various prompts are, of course, optional. |
FOLLOW THE FAIRIES
On the morning of the 14th, Chosen will wake to the sound of loud clanging outside as what seems like a band of fairies has arrived to town. Most of them don’t talk, they simply stare expectantly as they float above the ground and gain the attention of the Chosen. If a character tries to speak to them, most will roll their eyes or shake their heads—some possibly using rude gestures to get their point across. They seem like they’re waiting for something, and their stubborn silence might be a problem for some of the more impatient Chosen. Characters who are nice to them might get some sass, or some eye rolling. Characters who are more impatient and try to yell, fight, or harm the fairies might find themselves… afflicted. They might not be able to hear for a while, they might not be able to see—maybe they’ll be floating in the air as if in a bubble, not able to move one way or another besides squirming and yelling at the cranky fairies. It could be a lesser affliction, too—maybe your allergies suddenly act up, or you have a massive cramp in your legs so that you can’t go anywhere. These effects don’t last long, though, only about ten or fifteen minutes. Their purpose isn’t to harm anyone, they’re just trying to tell the ruder Chosen to kindly fuck off. Other lesser status effects might happen—but the intention is never to harm, just to distract.
A larger fairy comes flying up, and the others surrounding him roll their eyes in even more exasperation than anything the Chosen would’ve gotten out of them. He sighs in an exaggerated way, before putting on what seems to be a fairy’s sort of version of a Customer Service Smile. When he speaks, he’s smiling but he sounds bored out of his mind:
The fairies behind him make a motion, almost like they’re unzipping a zipper. With a sound of tear, a hole appears in the air behind him, almost as if the scenery itself has been torn. A couple more fairies pull and stretch the tear until it’s big enough for the Chosen to walk through. If the Chosen to look through the tear, they can see that there’s a desert on the other side of it. It looks to be some kind of ruins, actually—but don’t wait too long.
Mr. Expedition isn’t too happy with hesitation.
**NPC will be available for interaction at this point!
JOURNEY TO THE DESERT
When the Chosen step through, they find themselves in the middle of some desert ruins. There’s not much on the horizon to see other than sand, and an oasis that looks like it’s off in the distance. If characters try to exit the city and go further out, they’re stopped and find themselves teleported back somehow. The fairies give a little chuckle when it happens, so maybe it was them? They can’t go further into the desert than where they’re at right now. There are stone buildings, but there are also metal remains of structures scattered around the area—just about the size of Aldrip. There’s remnants of businesses, restaurants and houses. Some are standing, and some are only remembered by a single dining room table sitting in the middle of the sand.
**NPC will be available for interaction at this point!
I. THERE'S SAND IN MY SHOES
Chosen who wander the ruins may note that it looks like some of the buildings were left in a hurry. Some of them look like people just disappeared from the inside— everything remains intact, as if nothing has been moved or taken out of the building. Plates out, covered with dust and sand, as if waiting for a lunch that’ll never come, or at the bar with liquor still in smaller shot glasses. Twinkies that have been unopened and are, somehow, inexplicably,, still good—
The remnants of the interiors are covered in thick layers of dust, but when they look inside, everything is painted. Everything is treated as a mural, from the inside walls to the outside. From religious figures, partial landscapes, and even some cartoon-looking characters—there’s a little bit of everything painted. Nothing seems to be just plain, almost as if the people who had lived there had considered everything a blank canvas. There may still be buckets of paint that characters find still hanging around, dried up from disuse, but still there. Beneath piles of rubble, the Chosen can find canvases, easels and other art supplies, most in various states of disrepair from age.
Besides paper used for art work, it doesn’t look like there’s much in the way of books or newspapers.Instead, they’re able to find something that looks almost like a smartwatch: sleek, with minimal interface, but when touched, they activate a few seconds of what looks like decayed hologram log.We have to work together! We can’t let them separate us— The hologram disappears. The Chosen can fiddle with this device and try to restore the hologram, but it just repeats the same distorted words over and over in a loop.
Besides the watches are what look like datapads that are found around the buildings as well. Touching them will cause the screen to flash in and out, almost as if there’s something wrong with their wiring. But words on a screen can be found intermittently—Those bastards, they left us THEY LEFT But wait… You feel a sudden chill down your neck. Are you being watched? Was that a shadow moving from the corner of your eye? You look, but don’t see anything. No, that’s silly. Mr. Expedition is the one watching you. Of course. That’s all it was
Of course.
II. LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED
The Chosen are a thorough bunch, aren’t they? As they continue to investigate the ruins, they’ll be able to access places like pantries, drawers, closets, and basements that are still roughly intact. Kind of. There are various things in these nooks and crannies: characters will be able to find various sundries like money, or sheer metal, or old dilapidated clothing. Jewelry boxes may still have earrings or necklaces, tool boxes may still have tools inside, things like that. A lot of it is personal, tucked away in storage, waiting for owners who have seemingly not returned. Some of it is useless junk: broken toys, half-disintegrated candy wrappers, and the like.”You might want to keep those items for later.” Mr. Expedition says this over the Chosen’s shoulder, but when they turn around, he’s gone again.
What he doesn’t warn for… are the traps. There’s tripwire, and devices on the doors to ensure that they’re not messed with. What kind of traps?
Well, they’re mostly harmless.
Most of the traps are just pranks: trap doors springing open beneath a character's feet, a loud burst of firecrackers upon opening a drawer, pie-in-the-face pranks with pie shells that have long since dried up. There is an endless variety, and nothing causes more than light bruising or startling. What will the Chosen pick up? What traps will they end up springing? Well, that's up to you.
THOSE WHO COME AT NIGHT
As Mr. Expedition mentioned earlier, there are some… people hanging around. Or are they people at all? Sometimes it can be as simple as a shadow, a trick of the light...others look as if they’re merely ghosts. Whether the Chosen try to talk to them or not, they don’t say much.
Why us?
Why why why why why
It’s nothing that really makes sense to the Chosen… so maybe it’s not that important to interact with them. Right?
As the day gets darker and it turns to night, the figures become more tangible. Their forms become clearer, now: what looks like people with strange but possibly familiar markings running along their skin. They’re probably unnerving enough, with their incoherent speech that just gets louder and louder.But they're not the only concern here: the bigger problem is that something else is becoming more tangible, too. These creatures might have been humanoid, once: they seem to have two arms, two legs, and what looks like a head…but all of them look fuzzy, almost like they're half-there, with indistinct features and black holes where their faces should be. Even if they don't have mouths…they still scream when they attack.
III. DESERT'S HAUNTED
These creatures see the fairies—and anyone who might be accompanying them—as a threat, and they react accordingly. The marked humanoids ("Oh, ew, Infected!" Mr. Expedition will hastily explain, if asked), who had barely paid attention to the visitors earlier, turn more hostile at the sound of the screams, almost as if the shadowy mutations are encouraging them to join the attack. Curiously, their markings become more prominent at the sound of the screams, as well. They all seem averse to light, which might be why Mr. Expedition has encouraged the Chosen to stay close to camp. The campfire provides refuge from all of the hostile creatures, but for those enterprising enough to try exploring at night…well, good luck."Ah, yep, there they are," Mr. Expedition ponders aloud, ducking behind a group of the Chosen. "Now, let's see. What was I supposed to tell you about them? Hmm…something about 'the attack'." And then, just like that, he's gone again.How helpful.
Chosen who attack the Ghosts will find this to be a futile effort: weapons, magic, and objects lobbed at the creatures are absorbed in the black void of their bodies. Physical attacks with fists and the like are repelled: the Chosen will find themselves thrown several feet away after trying.
The Infected, as Mr. Expedition called them, do not seem to be invulnerable. The Chosen are able to attack and push them back with weapons, magic, and physical attacks, which can prove fatal to them. When they die, their bodies disappear from the field moments after they're struck down.
Both the Ghosts and the Infected are able to hurt the Chosen, tearing at them with claws. The wounds caused by these creatures seem normal enough, but are invulnerable to magical healing, and take a strangely long time to heal…
IV. KNEW THAT'D COME IN HANDY
"Aha! I got it!" Mr. Expedition cries, reappearing over the Chosen a few minutes later. "Be nice! Remember the attack! And items have power!" He bows, as if he's made the most helpful announcement in the world, and then disappears again. So…what does that mean? And why did he wait until now to even say anything?
Chosen that are able to think quickly may remember his words from earlier about holding onto some of the personal items they found in the ruins. They might also remember how some of their ranks had been Branded before, and how selfless acts helped them overcome those struggles. The Infected may stand down when they're held back from hurting others, or given a possession that someone found earlier. If given a personal item—any personal item—from the ruins, they pause their fighting, their faces going blank for a few moments. The markings begin to face, and they collapse on the ground. they're still alive, but unconscious.
The Ghosts are more formidable. They don't have the same reaction to the personal items, but they seem to be strongly affected by acts of protection. Witnessing the Chosen exhibiting these acts of kindness is what ultimately gets a Ghost to stop in its tracks. These creatures are too far gone to revert to a humanoid form, though—if their tastes are met, they simply fade away.
THOSE WHO STAYED BEHIND
We get it, not everyone trusts fairies. Those who choose not to go on the expedition to the ruins might find things eerily quiet in Aldrip. There are a few fairies who stay behind and continue to coax the ground back to life, of course—and just as before, they encourage the Chosen to help them do so.
But if they're paying attention, the Chosen might notice that something is amiss. Parts of signs on buildings have blinked out of existence. Some of the local residents of Aldrip act as if they're lagging. Some even flicker in and out of existence…but that's fine, right? Nothing to worry about.
Right?
V. IT'S NOT A BUG, IT'S A FEATURE
For those who have stayed behind, there's plenty of work to do in Aldrip and the surrounds. Buildings still sit in disrepair after the last event—haven't the locals been working on that? no? what have they been doing all this time?—and decayed wood and underbrush need to be removed from Pessiria Forest.
Now would be a great time to begin working on building up new things, too: plenty of Chosen have been talking about building homes or dorms to ease the pressure on the Inn, and some of the locals still whisper concerns about what happens if refrigeration fails again. Do they have enough crops to feed everyone, after that giant monster withered so much of the area? Where are you going to put all that debris, anyway? And what about the paths between towns that still lie in disrepair?
Unfortunately, the Chosen are almost entirely on their own for this. The people of Aldrip seem particularly helpless in the face of change, and some even seem to freeze up at the thought of helping out…wait. Are they actually frozen? They're not blinking. Or moving. …Oh, they're fine now.
This is fine!
VI. FUCK IT, WE BALL (WILDCARD)
Just because there’s not a prompt for it doesn’t mean that your character’s actions aren’t acceptable. If you wish to do anything that hasn’t been directly addressed by the prompts, leave a message for the mod team to say what your character would do. If you choose to go down this path, note it as a comment on the OOC poll when it goes up, and leave a link to your threads so that we can take all actions into consideration for the next State of the Game.
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Going to eat this twinkie...?
[Scott slowly responds, like this is the most obvious thing in the world and not finding a single thing wrong with it. He even took a good whiff to make sure that it didn't smell moldy and stuff! He has standards, 100%.]
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[ .. granted, it's pretty obvious that Scott isn't kidding. Or he's a very, very good actor, with an even better pokerface than Ange's own.
Which she doubts, considering what she's seen from Scott so far. It's more likely the guy is actually serious about this, though Ange isn't sure whether that's really better or.. just actually worse.. ]
There could be so many things wrong with that. You could actually die!
[ N-Not that she's worried or anything though, despite getting all worked up over him here, sheesh!
Don't misunderstand! ]
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It's a twinkie. They're supposed to last forever.
[He says this as if it's a known fact.]
Besides, it doesn't smell bad. It smells like normal. Here. [He holds it out to Ange as if he's 100% expecting her to sniff it and say that yes, it's perfectly fine to eat, you're right, Scott. You're not actually an idiot teenager.]
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She's of half a mind to just slap the thing straight out of Scott's hands for his own good, but on the other hand, that involves touching it.. with her own skin.. and her human hands..
Forget it. She can't imagine a less appealing idea. ]
You're pulling a joke on me, right? That's what this has to be. A joke.
[ Surely no one could be serious about just.. finding a twinkie and immediately moving on to consuming it.
Especially under these mysterious circumstances. ]
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Come on, smell it.
[No one let this kid lead the X-Men later--]
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Even if it makes her look so much more her age than anything else she usually says or does. ]
No! [ Exhibit A. ] Keep that away from me!
[ Truly the height of maturity. The fairies must be so impressed with these two.. ]
S-Scott, seriously-- aren't we here to investigate?!
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[He keeps on inching closer to her until he eventually stops, giving Ange a few feet of personal space in some act of mercy. Of course, he's not even trying to hide or stifle his amusement because this is the most amount of fun he's had in a while. SORRY ANGE...
Of course, she is right and they should be investigating this abandoned village, just give him a minute. Or two. Scott's smiling brightly, taking enjoyment out of all this, before he shrugs with that grin still on him.]
I am investigating. This is Case #1 of the Mysteries of the Abandoned Village, looking into the forever lasting Twinkie. This is totally important knowledge.
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(Because she's worried about what might happen to Scott if he actually eats that, but is she going to admit to that? No way, not even if someone would try to torture it out of her.)
She's serious about the demon thing though, actually. ]
That's just food someone left behind. It doesn't even seem important. Unless you're trying to say everyone here mysteriously disappeared after eating snacks.
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Sooo, if I eat this pastry, I might be teleported into another dimension? [It's pretty farfetched, but Scott decides to take this 'theory' and run with it.] Find the missing people? That's pretty important.
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Yeah, you'll be teleported straight into the hellish dimension known as "food poisoning."
[ Maybe not the best retort she's ever made, but it's hard when you're busy trying to balance worry with not wanting to look like you care too much. It's an entire task for the brain!
She's still of half a mind to just slap the thing out of his hands, but she supposes it's safe enough as long as it's really nowhere close to his mouth. ]
Do you think they won't have snacks when we get back or something? [ .. well, okay, maybe not twinkies.
But still. ]
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[But Scott doesn't seem bothered, not with that confidence still sticking to him. He seems to be thinking of 'nasty' in that cool sort of way, like how some dumb teenagers react to gross shit.]
I don't doubt that, but we don't know when we'll be back. [He's dropped some of that overconfident act as he speaks, because honestly, he really is hungry. And okay, it sort of sucks to think about how long they might be in creepy isolated town.] You think we'll just be in and out of here in a day?
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[ She says it so confidently too - like she thinks it's fully possible to do exactly that, as long as everyone is doing their best here.
Especially since there was that talk about things being more dangerous at night.. Well, that just means they have to hurry things up and wrap it up quickly, right? How much could there possibly be to investigate here?
(Words said mere moments before disaster.) ]
I believe we can do that. [ Maybe later Ange will look back on this and find the confidence here cringy.. It leans just a little bit too close to Belief In Teamwork and all those sappy things she'd rather not get associated with.
But sometimes you need to say cringy stuff to help a.. a f-f-fr.. S-She can't even think the word!! ]
How about you? You got that little confidence in your club members? That's not a very leader-like attitude.
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That realization causes him to swallow tightly, and he does his best not to fumble or be completely embarrassing in front of her. As she said, he is the leader. He can't possibly be the person to drag them down, besides, he does believe in them. He trusts the other members if they're here and he trusts Ange. That's enough for now-- they'll figure things out as they go along.
Scott lets out a quiet breath, before he nods and gives her a small if appreciative smile, one that lacks any forced confidence.]
Yeah, we'll figure this out. We're not going to be stuck in this creepy abandoned town for long. Besides, I can't have you starving, since you obviously won't eat a Twinkie.
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Being optimistic suits a guy better than him than being all pessimistic like her, Ange thinks. ]
I would literally rather die, yeah.
[ Even if it means that she's shifting right back to her usual deadpan. Her being kind of nice and encouraging? That clearly never happened. No one has to know this, Scott. ]
So if you really have some sort of emotional attachment to that thing, then just.. bring it along instead of putting it in your mouth. And let's go around and see if we can find something that will actually help us figure out what's going on here.
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But Scott looks at the Twinkie for one last time, before shrugging and shoving it inside his jacket pocket for emergency rations or whatever. It's probably going to be even worse sitting inside there, but they'll totally get out of here soon and won't have to worry about it. Right? Right.
At least the mutant himself seems to be taking this whole venture a little more seriously.]
Place is empty from what I've gathered. Dusty as shit too, so been abandoned for a long ass time. [He takes a small glance around the room, a more neutral look taking hold of him.] Course, I haven't yet opened all the drawers and stuff in this place. Guess they won't mind now.
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[ Even if it's hidden. Since Ange agrees - at first glance, there's really nothing too much to be found here. Just a bunch of empty homes and personal belongings without any real informational value strewn about.
If there's some deeper meaning here, it's something they'll actually have to look for. ]
Unless those fairies were pranking us. [ She wouldn't put it past them, given the fairies'.. general behaviour.. ] In which case I really just want to go back to town and kick some fairy butts.
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[Although, he still wants to see the demon. He bets it's like super scary and cool, with sharp fangs and everything. Maybe even tentacles coming from every part of its body-- or horns, have to have that. Scary red eyes-- err, not like him though!
He's getting off track again, isn't he? Scott folds his arms and lets out a small 'hmm,' his head turning slightly to look elsewhere.]
Sort of feel like they didn't just bring us here as a joke. They mentioned to be ready when night draws, right? Almost felt like a threat.
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But as her mind lingers on that idea, the thought of a threat..
.. it makes her turn her head to look over at Scott. ]
If something does attack, can you handle it? [ N-No, that's no faint worry in her eyes, or in the way her eyebrows shift, okay! You're imagining things!! ] I mean, I know you have your powers, but I've never actually seen you use them.
[ Would he just take off the glasses and start shooting? ]
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[Uncontrollable. But as many mixed feelings he has about them, he's relatively confident in their power. Tore up that giant creature's tentacles a couple of months ago, and he figures that many things aren't immune to them. Only thing that's withstood them has been Kotone's Thanatos, but Scott doesn't want to get into that or bring it up. Just thinking about that again twists something in his stomach.
Maybe he really isn't prepared for anything, just like those months ago. It's not like he's learned control.
He glances off to the side, looking almost distracted for a moment, before he nods.]
...All I need to do is look at something and it blows up. I'll be fine.
[Don't worry about him, it's okay!! Maybe.] What about you? Were you serious about the demon summoning?
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Though his pause doesn't help matters. It makes Ange figure that there's probably something a little bit more to it, even if she can't be certain what. Maybe Scott is worried about his powers or something..
...
Either way, it makes her tell herself she ought to keep an eye on him if they ever end up in a dangerous situation together - though she thankfully doesn't pry into the matter right now. She gets not wanting to throw every single personal matter out there. ]
Yeah, I was serious.
[ Not even offended by the question of whether she was or wasn't. Ange knows it can be hard to tell with her sometimes.. ]
I guess it kind of depends on the exact danger. I'm not too good at magic yet. So if there's some huge danger, then I'm pretty sure I'm toast. [ Maybe not.. the best thing to say so calmly, Ange!! ]
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[Scott's sort of reworking his initial thoughts, going from a scary demon with fangs, to something a little more puny. Maybe like a goblin or some crap? Might be best if he just asks her, but guess that just means he'll use his powers to protect her if it comes down it. He may not have control, he may not be wholly used to them, but... he wants to use his optic blasts for something good.
Protecting Ange easily fits, that doesn't take any second thoughts.]
I'll make sure that you won't become toast. [He smiles as best as he can, a slightly flimsy look of confidence, but he's doing his best!] I can't have a member of TWAT club getting hurt now.
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[ Is Ange going to reply to that last part? Of course not. She's so bad at processing people being nice to her, even if it's not the first time Scott has been nice to her, nor when it's a little easier to deal with than something more personal when it's just as part of the club.
It's still not easy though, which means Ange just awkwardly looks away for a moment, her facial expression not quite her usual pokerface, but still hard to read with how complicated it is. Something flustered, maybe mixed with something confused?
She sucks in a breath, forces her facial expression to something closer to the usual, and then tries her best to focus on the other part by asking: ]
What do you imagine a 'super scary dangerous' demon to be like?
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He knows how girls can get about stuff like this!!
Upon hearing that question, Scott makes a thoughtful 'hmm', before he straightens up and raises his hands as if he's about to scare someone. Of course, given that he's a average white boy with red sunglasses, he is not frightening at all.]
Tall, with horns and fangs. Definitely a long tail too. Really, the bigger, the better-- scarier. Oh, and it has to have sharp claws to slice children up and everything. Maybe a large mouth to eat them too.
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[ Please, Scott, how dare you attack her with a sight this ridiculous while Ange was already a little vulnerable. Usually she's so good at keeping up her pokerface, but considering it did just get softened up by her having to try to process some Friendship Feelings just now, it slips here.
Which means that the internal amusement she'd usually feel at saying something like this turns external for one, actually letting the girl let out a laugh for once. Probably the first time anyone heard Ange laugh in this place. It's not even a big laugh, but by Ange standards? Even letting out an amused sound like this is a lot.
Even she herself realises it, quick to try and cover up her mouth slightly with her hand before she can actually smile, god forbid. ]
Your impression is great.
[ And actually made her laugh, so, you know what? Maybe it really was great, if not totally accurate. ]
Demons don't have to be like that to be dangerous though, you know. [ Her tone is turning definitely more serious again here, Ange careful to try and tuck away that display of emotion just now.. ] Mine don't have anything like that, but they could easily kill anyone here if they were allowed to do so.
[ Please, Ange, don't immediately start talking about potential murder right after laughing for the first time in ages?? ]
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It continues, even as she brings up dangerous demons again.]
Sooo, they'd be pretty offended by my impression, huh? Good thing you'll protect me from them.
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