expiationlogs | { Player Event } What's true of all the evils in the world is true of the plague as well

Entry tags:

{ Player Event } What's true of all the evils in the world is true of the plague as well

Who: You. (Open to all)
Where: All over Aldrip.
What: This is the log for what we’ve been affectionately dubbing The Organ Player Plot. Various places around Aldrip are facing dangerous supernatural occurrences. It’s a scavenger hunt in some way.
Warnings: MANY SNAKES, Body Horror, Organ Trafficking, Horror Themes, Violence, and we will be updating this as we go along.

A waking scream in the darkness is the first unheard omen.

Snakes, hundreds if not thousands, slither forth from the depths of Lorentia Cave and swiftly invade Aldrip. They are the heralds of the terrible things to come, and there are no corners safe from their encroachment. The serpents come in all shape and sizes, venomous or not, and are quick to become agitated if approached. Their readiness to strike and unwillingness to back off once provoked indicates the lack of survival instinct to flee. They are on the search for what's missing, and they will put up a fight.

An invisible haze sets upon the city , filled with anguish and fury, afflicting residents as it washes through the air and buildings. Children, the elderly, and the sickly are the first to complain of ailment. Within the next few days, patients begin to flood the doors of any hospital or clinic with more serious conditions-- fevers burning from them inside out and excruciating phantom pains that make them writhe in bed.

The longer what's stolen is not returned, the worse things get. Who knows how many bodies will pile high from these plagues if nothing gets done...

ooc//
[ Dara is currently locked behind a barrier in Lorentia Cave to stave off the further spread of deadly miasma. Please retrieve a protection talisman from Seimei and retrieve what she’s lost (and hopefully return it…) !

How This Works–
To begin the search for the supernatural sources a participant can select a number that corresponds to one of the squares on the map (seen below). To go on a route head on down to the numbered top levels in the comments and reply to it. This is your character kicking off their investigation. Some routes will lead to nowhere, some to something, and others to ;)? You’ll find out.

During exploration you will receive responses from either

quizpersona or

cursegod. This is not an interaction with that particular character unless indicated otherwise.

This event will handwave wrap up by the 20th if no conclusion is reached before then because Dara needs her poor organs back. ]

The Map

Happy Belated Easter lol

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Unfortunately, Yu does not "get away from that thing," but he does take out his sword, and step protectively in front of his friends. #LeaderSwag and all. They don't have a Navigator, so the onus is on him to assess the situation, which he does with an analytical eye: there are several snakes falling from the table, and the first one that emerged seems like it's eyeing them up just as much as he's trying to observe the snakes.

This feels important. He can't figure out how, though, not just yet.]

That sound, [he says to his companions, but he's making eye contact with the spookily-lucid snake as he speaks. This noise, the bells, also seems important.] You guys hear it, too, right?

[A weakness? Huh.... It feels like when Gogol had called him 'collateral damage.' The implications that he doesn't matter. Or could only be seen as something in the way-- or as this creature implies, a means to an ends. He can't help but scoff a small laugh at it: just a bit of amusement.]

If you say so. Surprises me that this is the first you're learning of it. You're really deaf and dumb when she's whole, huh?

[Thankfully he's not stupid enough to approach the barrier-- despite being stupid enough to goat the curse God a little. Instead he stretches and shrugs ]

And I'm here because I wanna see the other part of her. Like it or not, restrained or not, you guys are the same now.

[Izuku comes to a dead stop a few steps in, when the sense of something being off fully hits. He assumes it's Danger Sense, at first, but it doesn't feel quite right -- which actually makes it even more distressing until he's certain it's not One For All getting messed with. Just one of his normal senses. How comforting...

Once he's confident he's not actually picking up an active intent to cause harm coming from anyone (or anything) deeper inside the building, he moves to get a better look though the door to that room. If they have to sweep the building, they may as well do it properly, and he's the one with the built-in attacker detection so he should probably lead.

Which he tries to explain to Todoroki, but who knows how much of it he even gets out before one of them realizes there's an issue there. Communication shenanigans incoming...?]

Shoto certainly doesn't like the shiver up his spine from the sudden look of the place. He can see why the people ran out, but not ran out screaming like they did. His eyes are elsewhere, his mind is focused, but it's not until he hears something thrumming under whatever that sound is that he looks at Izuku standing beside him. He's trying to say something, that's clear enough, but the squint of Shoto's eyes and the tilt of his head indicates he has no clue what that is.

He notes that as he speaks his own voice is being drown out by something. It can't be another quirk user, that doesn't equate to what's going on. This place has stumped him before with the weird shit it's thrown but this is the pinnacle. Either way his hand moves to Izuku's arm to drag him closer and try speaking moderately loudly toward his ear. If Izuku can hear him, it's staying together and sweeping, just like the other hero thought. Mind you, Shoto will always follow Izuku's lead, but that's not to say he doesn't suggest the common thought to confirm it with his classmate at that moment.

[So Izuku's anxiety is already not in a great spot. He's still able to keep it contained within the persona of Hero Deku, externally, but internally? He gets dangerously close to panic spiraling when his friend suddenly grabs him and pulls him back, because oh no oh crap did something get past Danger Sense what has Todoroki noticed that Izuku missed--

He stares at Todoroki, wild-eyed, before he realizes the other boy is trying to say something to him. Trying, and not quite succeeding, because it sounds like his friend is muffled even though he can see that he should be able to hear him.

Oh. Oh, shit.

Okay. Alright. They can deal with this. Raising his voice feels like a risky move, but they need to know if they can hear each other at all in here, so reckless play it is. Just in case, he pulls out his tablet-smartphone and types what he plans to say into the notes app, so he can hold up the screen as a sort of makeshift subtitle.]

Team sweep, I'll lead. [He taps his temple four times with one finger -- he'd rather not announce Danger Sense right now, staticky sound-void or not.] You wait, I enter room. Follow me on all clear. Sweep room together, find next room, repeat. Okay?

[Granted, he's not entirely sure how he'll give an all-clear when the audio balance of reality is shot. Walk back out? Send a text? Whatever, he'll think of something.]

[Between the spray of bullets and the crushing force of Toph's bending works to clear out the remnants. Their serpentine bodies twist in agony, leaking blood before their existence simply dissolves into concentrated miasma. Even with the talismans, they may still feel some sort of minor effect...

But the tangible threat of oncoming snakes has been dealt with! Except for the one already halfway up the woman's chest in its effort to swallow her whole. At least the man has passed out, but he's looking feverish on top of odd red welts popping up on his skin.]

[Just going to give those a wide berth. She might not know what snakes these were but she had seen some things about what some venoms could do. Even if Yu had a persona that could heal, she'd rather not need it.

Had they been clinging to the underside of the table? She hoped so, but it seemed unlikely with the amount.]

A ceremonial bell? [She was looking around, but she couldn't pinpoint it. Her hand going to her holster.]

Nice work!

[ Whichever snakes didn't perish in the gunfire are made quick work of by the slab of rock Toph pulls from the ground. The manner in which they perish should probably not go unnoticed, however. They only release more miasma into the already clouded air. But Miller is now focused wholly on the woman they were intending to save, even though it also means ignoring a slight but still palpable feeling of muscle weakness that has begun to creep over him. It manifests as beads of sweat clouding his gas mask as he casts his gun to the side in favor of a trench knife pulled from its sheath.

So much for the makeshift plan—but given the size of its attempted meal, the creature is not likely to be able to make any fast moves. He follows his first instinct to get low and go straight for stabbing the snake in its head. Should this prove to be an issue, he's confident his companion is already making moves of her own. ]

As long as this thing is dead, we can cut her loose!

[ He just hopes she's still alive in there. ]

[ A shrine built in his honor. He's. He's doing his best over here to keep it cool, but a derisive huff of a laugh escapes, pausing his hand so as not to unceremoniously blot any ink on his paper. ]

How simple it is to tolerate a person once they're finally gone.

[ His chanting doesn't slow down or miss a beat, keeping pace until absolutely everything's back up, seeping into the ground beneath Emet to immediately stain. ]

Water.

[ He orders to the onlookers without turning to face them, though with his tone much calmer perhaps the worst of it all's passed. He'll give Emet a helpful push away from the stain he's just made so he isn't going to be marinating in it while already ink-stained fingers are retrieving the onmyoji's brush. ]

Normally I would say the residual pain from such a taint would last over a week.

[ A dip of the brush into the ink, and Seimei's drawing characters across the newly tainted ground. ]

Considering you could hold that much inside you for that long and still speak, however, I'm admittedly uncertain how long you will need to recover.

[ Luckily for Scott he only needs the one hand. He's just taking a closer peek to see if this is something that will linger or eventually fade.

Which is admittedly tricky to navigate when yes, there are indeed multiple unique--presences? Not quite gods, not quite spirits, but close enough to leave him at a loss for any other way to describe them. Just one is already a heavy presence for most humans to deal with and there are?? There are so many???

He's definitely keeping an eye on this girl later. Right now, though, he needs to focus on finding Dara. ]

...Mm. Tell me, how have you been feeling since seeing this memory?

[Huh?! Why does he have to explain this?! He doesn't even use a Persona!!

If the situation was just a little less serious, he would be gaping at Kotone, because what, but instead he takes in a low breath and holds it, just so that he can get his thoughts in order. Okay, so he kind of knows about Persona stuff, mostly because of said girlfriend that's tossing all this work on him. Geez, it's a good thing he really loves her!!]

There are multiple Personas-- spirits inside Kotone. They're all representations of her soul, proof of her connections with others. She has full control over them. [Usually.]

[He's the one who'd taken the challenge to "find the other Persona-users in town" seriously! Besides, it's like a time-honored tradition to foist off the difficult exposition on someone else. She trusts him to do it right, and that trust is proven by the explanation he gives. He gets a small, appreciative smile back over her shoulder before she focuses her attention back on Seimei. How has she felt...? Normally, she might tell him she's fine, but Scott will call her on the lie even if the other man doesn't.]

...My mouth tastes like blood, [she admits, trying for a smile as if it's not a big deal.] And... I'm really tired. Like I lived through what she experienced.

[Silco watched the slithering mass of snakes, his blue eye narrow at the split second view of flesh. That had to be it, be why they had come here. It made it obvious why the snakes and the toxic miasma had twisted up together in a space like this. And Levi was gracious enough to steal attention of many snakes along with one another.

Protective. And why not?

He moved forward slowly and carefully, keeping Levi between him and the writhing mass of snakes as much as he could. Those to the sides and behind he could do nothing about, but the goal was forward where he had spied that flash of flesh.]

Use the shovel to move the snakes away from that area.

[He pointed with a hand. Would he be willing to reach in and grab it? Maybe. The risk remained high, but death also wasn't permanent apparently. Still, success needed to be measured carefully.]

[ They don't have to go very far in that search. As if to invite them further towards the center of the room the static humming begins to morph further in order to adopt more of that gently but steady beat. The nearer they draw to that first common room the more they may realize it resembles something recognizable.

Should either of them concentrate enough there are a great many things they can discover. The first is that whatever it was making it hard to hear each other wanes the further they venture into that specific room. The second is the eerie way their own heartbeats begin to stutter and align with the one echoing off these four walls. Lastly, that it's hard to determine where exactly the heartbeat originates from—but ultimately it’s coming from below their feet somewhere. ]

[ That poor snake on a stick. The last thing it sees is Yosuke's very bravely screaming face before a whirl of trees and ground flashes before it's eyes as it soars through the air. It lands somewhere further into the forest with a rejected sounding hiss.

That sound indeed is very reminiscent of a ceremonial bell. One that is drawing closer from the pathway towards south. Smooth movement very low to the ground can be just barely seen approaching. The snake that Yu had been maintaining eye contact with is the first to break it. The little creature turns to look in that direction as if having expected it. Some of the other snakes follow suit second later. Others do what can only be described as cowering in fear.

Will they wait to discover the thing that approaches them with intent? ]

Shoto remembers that one time that they were supposed to just sweep an area and not shove their face into something crazy. And yet he should've known that he and Izuku would've found something much more than that with both their knacks for getting in trouble. The resonating sound hits his ears and he frowns as he begins to realize it isn't just his own guess at what the sound is that's thudding waves through the very air around them.

The flutter in his chest isn't unnoticed, either, and his hand settles there very clearly uncertain of what's going on. He's not clear which it is, the sound resonating into his chest, or his chest resonating into the sound. His hand, again, grabs onto Midoriya's wrist and he pulls gently. He's unwilling to stop, but also, he pats his chest in time with the beating of that sound, trying to gesture that it's the same as his own. When he's done it, he points at Midoriya with a questioning look on his face.

They have no choice but to go on, of course, someone could be in trouble with how the people ran out of here. With how his heart is reacting. If he knew why that beating was happening and why the reverberations were under their feet, he might be able to just freeze the house section by section but without knowing who is there... He may hurt someone instead. Use of sound is a quirk in his world and even if it may not be someone from his world, he doesn't want to find out about them at the funeral he caused.

[ He had a funny feeling that that was exactly what she was going to say. He isn't sure if he's disappointed or not. Her being here without any use of her magic is a foolish endeavor, he knows that, and a part of him wants nothing more than for her to bow to reason and accept that she has to leave. But he can appreciate her bravery, too, the desire to help others, the desire to get to the bottom of things. It's a desire that Claude shares.

He knows, too, that if it comes down to putting himself between her and danger, he'll do that. He'd be a real piece of shit not to. But she doesn't need to know that, does she? He's always put on his fair share of bravado, has his reputation as a schemer and a coward (he still remembers how disappointed and disapproving Edelgard and Dimitri looked when he turned tail from those bandits, tutting about a lack of courage as though it's meaningful to get your throat cut), but that's only when he doesn't have someone else to care about. ]

I'll be just fine, [ he promises her. ] But I want you to remember one thing, and that goes for both of us: it's never cowardice to run. The only winner in battle is the one who gets to live another day. Nothing more, nothing less.

[ It's more than battle strategy. It's his life philosophy. You can't do anything when you're dead. ]

So if it's looking bad in there? We get out. Both of us. Got it?

[ His speech done, he takes a deep breath, makes sure to put the bulk of his frame in front of Ange, and forges onwards. ]

[ A nod. ] For the moment, that's to be expected. As far as your body and spirit are concerned, you did live through her experiences.

A sliver of the curse is stuck to you much like a splinter. It isn't an immediate danger, and with time and care may ease itself out, though if mishandled may also burrow further in.

Allow yourself at the very least the remainder of the day to rest. I'd like to have another look at it once you've had some chance to regain your strength. [ Looking over to Scott, ] Keep watch over her, and inform me immediately if anything in her condition changes.

[ no complaints here -- sha-ming drops to the ground immediately, very pathetically flopping onto his back. his throat is tightening, vision hazy, fingers twitching idly as he slips in and out of reality. ]

Probably should start coverin' my stomach, [ he grits out. ] Whoopsieeee.... am I gonna die, Mr. Priest...

[ Well that works. He has to stop what he's doing for a second to grab and drag Sha-Ming a little closer, but even a thin mat under you is slightly better for morale than the middle of a street, right? ]

You aren't going to die, but I would wager the next few hours aren't going to be the most comfortable.

[ Okay, he's making quick work of covering the lung in a layer of talismans so he can safely set it aside and give Sha-Ming and those bite wounds his full attention. This'll involve a little more grabbing and dragging, propping up as much of Sha-Ming's upper half that can fit onto Seimei's lap while his hands are up and multitasking again the second they're free--lighting up a new incense stick, freshly grinding out some ink and wringing the tip of his brush. ]

Keep your breathing as even as you can. Alright?

[ The miasma choking the air is starting to really get to Toph, who doesn't have an air filter like Miller, crumpled her talisman earlier, and keeps crushing snakes right next to her. Normally Toph is a paragon of self-control no matter how snappish she gets, but now rage bubbles up inside her, oily and twisting.

She strides forward on her tingling feet, shedding pieces of metal as she goes, face contorted in anger. ]

Let go of the knife, [ she says crisply, coming to a stop with one hand raised, fingers stiff and angled. ] I can cut it apart without hitting the woman in there. It's just more metal.

[ This is not an application of metalbending Toph would ever look for on her own, but presuming he lets go and presuming it works, under the influence of the miasma it feels viciously satisfying to direct Miller's blade to carve the snake into gory pieces. It whips through the air and through flesh back and forth with precise strokes, blood spraying. ]

[Tugging the hair out from the ceiling seems impossible. With each yank, the hair grows along with the motion, creating a small pile of on the floor where the extra length drapes. However, the use of the knife brings more success. The handful that's sliced away sits in the palm before mysteriously disappearing in the blink of an eye. The space that's been pruned remains empty, with the remainder overhead growing back. Give it a minute and it will be back to half length, with two minutes back in full.]

[While the base of the stairs is pitch black, ascending leads to a gradient of light cutting through. The stairs empty into a large, dilapidated room without any doors or furniture, and its light source are several holes in the ceiling that has been through the slow process of caving inward.

The chill remains, dust still suspended in air, and there's the addition of an odd dripping sound plip plop plip plop...

Nothing in particular stands out about the room, but Ange might pick up on something unseen inside the walls-- a sense of magic resonating the closest to wherever Claude's blood-stained glove touches a surface.]

Edited 2024-04-28 19:34 (UTC)

[The stab to the snake's head is enough for its body to start a slower evaporating process, but it's Toph's crazed slashes that brings disaster. Sure, she's able to rid the woman of its existence, but Lila is covered in its blood. The miasma completely sets in. Although freed, her unconscious body begins to jerk violently while the stained skin begins to decay before their eyes. It's like several freak medical disasters happening all at once, and by the end of it Lila is dead. If they don't move her friend out of the concentrated miasma zone, he may be joining her soon.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 11 of 14

{ Player Event } What's true of all the evils in the world is true of the plague as well

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject