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expiationlogs2023-09-11 06:30 am
- !event,
- ai tsf: mizuki date,
- arcane: caitlyn kiramman,
- arcane: jinx,
- arcane: silco,
- arcane: violet / vi,
- blazblue: ragna the bloodedge,
- bungo stray dogs: nikolai gogol,
- bungo stray dogs: sigma,
- final fantasy xiii2: noel kreiss,
- fire emblem three hopes: marianne,
- fma:b: pride,
- magia record: mitama yakumo,
- original: astralin turnont,
- persona 3 portable: kotone shiomi,
- persona 4: yosuke hanamura,
- persona 4: yu narukami,
- persona 5 royal: goro akechi,
- umineko wtc: ange ushiromiya,
- x-men movieverse: scott summers
{EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475
| 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 ten days 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. |
WHEN THE FOG ROLLS IN
On the night of September 10, an impenetrable fog covers the town of Aldrip. When characters wake in the morning, they find that Aldrip has disappeared, replaced by a large, enclosed maze.
Characters will wake up in one of three different levels of this maze, and they may—but don't have to—find that they are not alone. As they explore the maze, they will encounter trials and stumbling blocks both physical and mental. It seems the maze is testing them, poking at their fears, their past, their feelings. Confronting these questions about themselves and their very nature will allow them to progress through the maze in hopes of eventually finding the exit—and hopefully the town along with it.
While they do not all wake up in the same level of the maze, all characters do, in theory, have to complete all three trials in order to leave. This may not be so easy to achieve; due to the nature of these trials, if someone cannot get past one area, they may remain stuck there. Other characters are able to help them confront these issues, and may instead (or in addition) pass through that way if they choose to. Aside from the level where they wake up, characters may approach these levels in any order as they so choose.THE GROUPS
GROUP A:
Serah Farron
Elidibus
Nakahara Chuuya
Tsunayoshi Sawada
Rei Suwa
Caitlyn Kiramman
Ragna the Bloodedge
Kotone Shiomi
Monkey D. Luffy
Yuja Wightshade (WoL)
Yosuke Hanamura
Astralin Turnont
Dazai Osamu
Ange Ushiromiya
Hythlodaeus
Ethlyn
GROUP B:
Violet (Vi)
Silco
Mizuki Date
Claude von Riegan
Noel Kreiss
Kazuki Kurusu
G'raha Tia
Jinx
Marianne von Edmund
Goro Akechi
Sooyoung Han
Saito Sejima
Nikolai Gogol
Erichtonios
Emet-Selch
GROUP C:
Yu Narukami
Pride
Sigma
Usagi Tsukino
William G Maryblood
Scott Summers
Gundam Tanaka
Quentin Quire
Akira Kurusu
Mitama Yakumo
Med'an
Ken Amada
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya
Echo
EXPLORING THE MAZE
The walls of the maze are made of stone slabs; tall, solid, and imposing. As far as one can see, there seem to be no cracks or seams in the wall. They're cool to the touch, perhaps a little dampened by the foggy weather. Some of the stones seem to glow with a dim, inner light. Most of the corridors are stable, but some are a little more risky. Walls or ceilings could collapse, leaving passages blocked and some Chosen trapped within tunnels or rooms of the maze.
Some corridors within the maze are less built up, as well, more like dug-out caverns that look somewhat like mining tunnels. In these tunnels, you can find the raw form of those glowing stones, which seem to light the darkness, allowing the Chosen to see at least a bit. They're enchanting, and some may have a hard time resisting trying to pull them out of the walls.
Occasionally, characters may find larger rooms with small tables of food, equipment, and supplies set up. These areas seem to be safety zones, untouched by the trials, where Chosen can eat, rest, treat any wounds, and replenish their energy.
ii. PERILS IN THE DARK
As the Chosen progress through the challenges of the maze—both illusions and real—the air itself may begin to feel more oppressive and heavy, making movement feel very difficult at times. As the week wears on, characters may find themselves worn out faster or feeling more sluggish than normal. More than that, they may find that their emotional lows become more intense: characters may become more easily frustrated, paranoid, scared, or impatient. In general, this seems to exacerbate the worst parts of their personalities.
On other occasions, Chosen may feel as if they are being watched. They get the feeling that something lurks in the shadows of the maze, that they are being watched or followed. They may hear something scratching or skittering across the walls. When they look…there is nothing there, nor any evidence of creatures stalking them through the halls. Characters who had bad luck in the Casino are particularly prone to this feeling; occasionally, they may feel as if someone—or something—is tugging at their hair or clothes, or breathing against their neck. Try to keep your head, Chosen. The hardest part is yet to come.
THE TRIALS
iii. A DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL [TRIAL A]
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what location or event triggers the beginning of the trial; it seems to be different for every character. Chosen will find themselves in a long corridor, laced with fog. As they progress down this corridor, they begin to see and hear hallucinations and illusions that highlight their greatest insecurities: their flaws, their weaknesses, the darkness they suspect dwells within their soul.
These illusions may come in a variety of different forms. Perhaps they experience voices or images of peers issuing criticisms that they fear are accurate, or they may face a shadowy figure that bears their appearance that embodies all of their worst qualities. The form these illusions take is up to you, the players, and whether other characters are able to see those illusions can also be decided between players. Confronting, challenging, debunking, and/or accepting these criticisms and claims is the key to exiting this level.
Once they have confronted this challenge, the illusions and hallucinations stop immediately. The fog lifts, revealing a turn in the maze they didn't notice before. They may progress in their exploration.
iv. THE SHAPE OF YOUR FEARS [TRIAL B]
Similar to the first trial, this seems to trigger with little warning or fanfare. At some point in their exploration, characters will find their way blocked by something representing their deepest fears. This can be literal—a dark hallway for those who fear the dark, as an example—but can manifest in a myriad of other ways, too. A character could see someone from their past that represents this fear, or a monster, or an object or memory of something that connects to that fear. These fears will be made tangible and visible to anyone around them, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. In order to progress, they must be able to pass by these fears, and may do so in any way the player chooses, whether it requires fighting a monster, negotiating with an authority figure, finding a light in the darkness, or anything else players and characters can imagine.
The nature of this trial can be as massive or mundane as you, the player, chooses. Whether they need to simply turn on a light to abate their fear of the dark, or whether they need to take down a massive beast to confront something bigger, the area they find themselves in seems to accommodate the size of their trial. Once they have confronted this fear, it disappears, revealing a hallway that might not have been there before, allowing them to progress.
v. IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE [TRIAL C]
As with the first two trials, this one seems to emerge from the darkness when a character is ready to face it. They enter a room lined with obsidian mirrors. When they approach these mirrors, characters are confronted with memories related to the crime they have been charged with. This can be a specific moment or a series of moments related to their crime either directly or indirectly. Characters may become lost in these memories and may need help navigating through them from other people: the longer they remain lost in these memories, reliving them again and again, the more they run the risk of losing those memories entirely, either permanently or temporarily. Only by addressing the crime, the way they feel about it, the relationship that crime has to reality and to who the character is, can characters be free of this particular trial.
Once they have surpassed this trial, characters find themselves able to step back through these obsidian mirrors back into the maze, where they can continue their journey.
Navigating all three trials elicits no special fanfare or celebration. Upon completion of the third trial, they find themselves in a foggy corridor, where they will find an exit from the maze.
OPT-OUT AND AFTERMATH
Those characters (or players) who do not wish to interact with the maze will occasionally find quiet corridors that mysteriously place them outside the maze, unable to reenter. They will find that the town is, indeed, gone, as are their living quarters—hope you don't mind roughing it for a while. However, thanks to recent efforts to bolster the town's supplies, some of the underground storehouses organized by Claude and Marianne seem to remain intact and are available as temporary emergency shelter, should your character choose not to camp out.
After one week, the maze will disappear and life in Aldrip returns to normal. As for the locals? They don't seem to notice that anything strange has happened at all. Maze? What maze? Strange weather we're having this week, eh?
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.
B for murder group solidarity
Don't be silly boy. If this is what you're seeing in this place then you've been stuck here for a while. It's only fitting it should happen physically too.
it's the support group meeting here
The fuck would you know about it, you peon. [He hisses in anger, hands tightening in a grip. Oh, he'd love so much to grab the clown by the collar and choke him. But, he does remember that this man is unpredictable and dangerous. So he stays put. For now.]
no subject
Believe it or not~ I do know what being tormented by someone's death feels like. Just like you!
[ The scene he walked through to get here paints a picture, that's for certain. It's one rife with abject tragedy. Thinking far too deeply about it it's easy to imagine it's the reason why the young detective is the way he is. An emotional wound like that is hardly appropriate for gouging his fingers into deep to tear it wider for his own alleged amusement. On the other hand seeing Goro squirm a little might be worthwhile. Those two facets of Gogol meet halfway to ask what he's going to ask. ]
So! Did you kill her yourself?
no subject
At the question Akechi turns back to face the corpse lying in the tub, expression cold and distant. Unaffected by the horrors that are present.]
Yes.
[And as far as he is concerned: that is the truth. He might have not forced her into the tub and slit her wrists but he is the sole reason behind it. The straw that broke the camel's back, a curse to plague young woman's life to a breaking point.]
no subject
By the time Nikolai makes eye contact with the brunette again the heartlessly sanguine mask has been slipped back on. ]
You admitted it without any hesitation! That's so frightening... But you know, [ pause.] I've always wanted to play role reversal. So today I'll be the detective.
[ Walking over to plant a foot on the lip of the tub he begins to reach down in order to fish the body's wrist from the water. ]
How did you do it?
no subject
Cause of death is quite clear, isn't it? [Akechi huffs and steps next to Gogol, looming over him as the other 'inspects' the body like a senior investigator would. The clown is right that this is hardly your typical murder scene, despite being labelled as 'civilian' he had been allowed to countless crime scenes like these. But.. Not everything is always what it initially seems like it.]
So, Mr. Detective. What does the crime scene tell you about the possible motives?
no subject
[ Always a possibility; he should know with his own history of forcing others to commit suicide in horrifying ways. A police man, a Vice Minister of Justice's secretary. These are personas that Gogol has adopted to suit a purpose in the past.
So is it a mask when Gogol gently places the body's arm back into the water. Or it is merely a rare moment where his maskless face reflects how he's acting. All his attention flips from the corpse to searching the youth's face for a shred of emotion with a look over his shoulder. ]
What was her relation to you?
no subject
[which, however, doesn't remove the possibility of the coercion altogether. there are many ways to make one commit a suicide, and they both know it.
the red eyes are more focused on the man in front of him, carefully studying his body language. The gentle and almost somber manner he's treating the corpse is so alien, complete opposite of what he's used to see from him. But then again, this Clown is an enigma and as far as he's concerned this could all be just another act.]
She is my mother. [One would think that such confession would bring out more emotion from him, but no. Akechi is just as distant and analytical as before.]
And the murder weapon? It should be somewhere there unless the culprit hid it.
no subject
[ A smile curls Gogol's mouth upwards. Predictably the very moment Akechi decides to study his reactions he shifts again. Which one is the act, Detective? Figure it out. As a blithe afterthought he corrects himself. ]
...My mistake. Was your mother!
[ Following a second of consideration his arm dips into the water around the corpse to look for the murder weapon. In her hand perhaps? Mindful of where his hand lands he feels along the torn skin of the arm down to the hand to see if it's been planted there. There's a confidence in finding it because: ]
Those committing suicide don't have time to hide anything after the fact.
no subject
Akechi just continues to watch the man's foolery, not entertaining that little slip of error in grammatical tense with a reply of any kind. But just because his expression stays stern and unresponsive it doesn't mean that Gogol's grotesque acts doesn't have an affect on him. His stomach twists and turns, bringing a sour bile up to his throat as his visions blurs. Still -- all he can think is how poor the man's crime scene manners just are.
But he waits for him to be done. Funny, how he can't remember what the weapon had looked like -- or what even it was. All clues would imply a knife, perhaps a razor? But that detail had always went past him as a child. His chest tightens at the thought of the Clown pulling out a bloodied blade from the bottom of the tub, all while grinning at him. Or worse, offer that piece of shit sympathetic smile.]
Don't. [The word leaves from his lips before he even realizes it. His voice dry and hoarse, like he was trying to hold something back.]
no subject
A spontaneous expression of one's emotions recaptures his undivided attention. Heeding the word Gogol pauses to consider involuntary outburst. ]
Don't what?
[ A calm prompting to continue. Pulling back once more he plants his blood soaked hand on the side of the tub. He watches the youth with a neutral expression, eyes dark. ]