EVENT #9: ADVERSITY 6468468

[expiationmods]

EVENT #9: INFECTION

When characters wake, they’ll find a message splayed across the screens of their tablets; it reads clearly:

⚠️ GNOSIA INFECTION DETECTED

THE ERADICATION OF YOUR EXISTENCE IS IMMINENT; PLEASE TREAT THE INFECTION ACCORDINGLY. YOU HAVE 7 DAYS BEFORE YOUR PROJECTED DESTRUCTION.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ELIMINATE THE GNOSIA.

As their devices flicker to life, another message follows shortly thereafter, a single word, one of the following: GNOSIA, DOCTOR, GUARDIAN ANGEL, AC FOLLOWER, or CREW. The word fades as quickly as it appears — characters will know instinctively what they must do, whether they’d be typically predisposed to it or not. Some may know less about how their role functions than others.

The game has begun. The air has changed, as if time has slowed to a halt. Aldrip is perfectly static and still, and a sense of foreboding will soon come over the city.

DAYS 1-2

The borders surrounding Aldrip have been sealed off by an invisible barrier. It cannot be pierced or damaged in any way. This is the first sign that something has gone terribly awry. Chosen will notice it: the way the city closes in on itself, the buildings much closer knit to one another, as if trying to ensure everyone has as much proximity to each other as possible. NPCs are present, but “lagging,” so to speak, often glitching out or taking longer to “load”. A sense of uncanniness permeates within the city – as if everyone is caught in a waking dream.

CREW are hit with it first: an overwhelming instinct that allows them to tell the truth apart from lies. They won’t realize what it is initially, but when they interact with others, they will frequently be saddled with a nagging instinct that indicates how truthful a person is regardless of the context they’re speaking or acting within. This instinct does not apply to every single interaction and manifests differently for everyone. DOCTORS will feel more in tune with the body, more keenly aware of anatomical knowledge they may not usually possess. GUARDIAN ANGELS will feel an urge to protect someone – or conversely, find someone to protect. GNOSIA will begin their transformation and AC FOLLOWERS will be drawn towards GNOSIA. GNOSIA can recognize other GNOSIA, but not AC FOLLOWERS.

Much of the city still operates despite the Gnosia infection; the NPCs seem largely unaffected by it. And yet when you interact with them, they are visibly off kilter, as if programmed incorrectly. Some may even appear as people from home, only to then glitch back to their normal selves. There is still a sense of calm over the city, but the first 3 days are an opportune time to host and participate in meetings, begin witchhunts, find hiding places and either choose to travel in groups or by your lonesome. Beware of the night: that’s when the Gnosia are most likely to interfere with the space time continuum and make their kills. Anonymous channels will be opened up to cultivate discussion.

Days 3-5

The tension wraps around everyone in Aldrip. Shadows gnaw at every corner. The city is far quieter, the darkness imposing, contributing to the evergrowing sense of paranoia.

CREW will begin to experience prophecies of the immediate future. Visions of what’s to come. Whether or not they’re at liberty of disclosing this or if anyone will believe them is the real question.

GNOSIA will have a go of it: in dreams, your worst memories, regrets, fears, everything you’ve compartmentalized in the hopes of forgetting and letting go of, will play on repeat for the duration of these days. Other Gnosia and AC FOLLOWERS may even intrude on these dreams and catch a glimpse. It will bring out the most vulnerable and darkest parts of you, especially in the presence of other Gnosia. This may lead to friendly fire – or it may be a bonding experience.

The HUMAN SIDE will experience the opposite in these dreamwalking scenarios: you will dream of your loved ones from back home; the things you cherished and were forced to leave behind when you came to Aldrip. Wracked with homesickness, you may begin to wonder: how willing are you to turn on the people you’ve come to care for here? How far are you willing to go in pursuit of victory?

DOCTORS and GUARDIAN ANGELS will experience manic highs and adrenaline rushes when they successfully treat or protect people. Their energy levels will increase, but they will also become prone to reckless or stupidly happy behaviors they would not usually engage in.

On these days, an especially peculiar event will take place: Chosen will wake in the square outside of City Hall, facing each other with a screen dividing them. The screen will project a series of questions; if they answer untruthfully, it will flash red.

The questions are as follows:

01. DO YOU LIKE HURTING PEOPLE?
02. WHO HURT YOU THE MOST?
03. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF?
04. HAVE YOU KILLED SOMEONE? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT?
05. WHAT WILL YOU SACRIFICE TO BE HAPPY?
06. WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF?
07. WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT OTHERS?
08. WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED METHOD OF MURDER?
09. WOULD YOU HURT THE PERSON ACROSS FROM YOU?
10. WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR THE PERSON ACROSS FROM YOU?

At the end of the questionnaire, characters must vote whether or not the person they’ve been matched with are Gnosia or Human. If both characters answer the same thing, they will find themselves “tethered” to one another, either mentally or physically, and will be forced to spend the rest of the night together. If both characters answer differently, they will be free to go. Will you be cruel enough to share what you learned with the others?

DAYS 6-7

As the population of the city thins and the NPCs grow more sparse, Aldrip begins to resemble a ghost town more than it does a metropolis. Desperation is potent. Buildings are blocked off. People have retreated into themselves, makeshift clinics to treat Gnosia infection have been created, and the typical liveliness of the city has whittled down to nothing.

GNOSIA will be more volatile than ever; their instincts to kill will extend to fellow GNOSIA. It doesn’t matter who they murder – so long as they’re able to find a victim, be it amongst their own or otherwise, they will gladly take it. The aggregate consciousness of the Gnosia will be stronger than ever. GNOSIA and HUMANS alike will hear each other’s internal voices in bursts, all at once, and be privy to things they shouldn’t be.

DOCTORS and GUARDIAN ANGELS will need more help than usual. Their abilities have slowly drained their energy reserves, and they will find themselves veering into deep emotional lows alongside being saddled with a physical exhaustion they cannot fight. Alliances with CREW and former Gnosia will be pivotal in their path to victory. In these final days, CREW and AC FOLLOWERS have heightened stealth that make it significantly harder for them to be detected by Gnosia. Use this to your advantage.

Eventually– the skies of the city darken and time skids to a halt.

The week has ended. Everything stops.

Who has claimed victory? The Gnos, or the Humans?

Wildcard

Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it can’t happen. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below! Otherwise, get to tagging!

♡

Comments

[arachnerina]

That's fair. Me and Peter have been doing the same. [Today, however, someone had to feed Spock's cats, and someone had to stay and mind the new formula of webbing they created, so here she was, on cat duty.

And very much regretting it.]

Ow, ow, the claws! [She doesn't appreciate the laughter, not when she's been cornered by these vicious little monsters!! She at least manages to get the one off that climbed up her back, but that doesn't stop another from trying to climb up her leg.]

Can we not? [Please help her, Scott. She has no idea what she's doing.]

[laserguy]

[Scott would never claim that he's amazing with animals, but he's not leaving Gwen to all these cats. He's a good friend, sometimes. Mostly, he's definitely going to bring this up later if he needs a favor or something. Probably. But with a small snort, he starts kneeling down, as if trying to get some of the cats to put their focus on him now. Look it's the mutant with the sunglasses here.

He also reaches to gently grab the cat that's climbing up her leg, trying to pull it away without having those claws dig further into Gwen's limb.]

Come on, you're not getting food that way. Be patient.

[arachnerina]

And people think having pets is relaxing?? [Yeah, she's not getting it. But then again, these cats are probably used to a lot more attention, and more frequent meals, given that her and Peter haven't been able to get out here quite as much as Spock probably did. Whoops. But they're trying!! It's just during a damn apocalypse.

Gwen finally gets the bowls filled at least, gets them all put out, and watches as the mobs of cats and kittens all rush to start stuffing their faces. She steps back, and sighs.]

Well, that was fun.

[laserguy]

Yeah, not really my thing either.

[Although, he is a big fan of Whitey... maybe it's just fine bothering other people's pets without having any of his own. So when he feels like having an animal around, he can go bother someone else and leave all the hard work to them. Perfect plan

But as the food finally gets spread out with satisfied cats eating their fill, Scott slowly gets up to his feet before smiling a little at Gwen.]

So, whose cats are these? Assuming not yours.

[arachnerina]

We're doing good just to keep ourselves alive and fed.

[And spiders are chronically broke. No time or money to try to take on pets, when you're always off fighting crime, or always blowing something up in the name of science.]

Spock's. Or he just feeds them, anyway. He's...infected, so. Peter and I have been trying to help. He had a whole notebook on all the strays he feeds, which...honestly isn't surprising, if you know anything about him.

[laserguy]

[And just like that, any levity that was in the air dissipates. Scott honestly thinks that Spock is the most annoying alien on the planet, but hearing that he's infected... it sucks. Part of him is surprised that Spock takes care of so many cats, but that really isn't important right now. He knows when to take things seriously.

So, while he nods to Gwen's comment about Spock having a whole notebook for taking care of cats, he still fixates on the other part of what she just said.]

You have him bound somewhere? He hasn't tried to use that killing blow?

[arachnerina]

No. We tried. [Gwen sighs at that, finally pulling off her mask and looking at Scott with her own eyes. It's been a long couple of days. She doesn't always sleep well on a good day, but the uneasy sleep since this all started is probably evident by the bags under her eyes.]

Jim's infected too, by the way. Peter and I webbed them up, thinking that would hold them, but Spock's crazy strong. Not as strong as us, but-- they caught us off guard, made a mess of our place, and escaped.

[rip their bathroom :(]

[laserguy]

[Jim, that's the one dude that hangs out at STEM club, right? Scott thinks he can put a face to that name. Regardless, hearing that they've been dealing with two infected at once... it's no wonder she looks exhausted. Even for superheroes, this sort of thing is draining. Having your friends be taken over by some awful infection, turning them into ruthless killers, guess there's no amount of preparation or prior experience that would make it less difficult.

He's sure all of this would be a lot harder for him if Kotone wasn't by his side. Although, there's been a part of Scott has been able to push a lot of that stress and anxiety down, especially when confronting the danger head on.]

The infection's probably changing their physiology to some degree, right? Might explain their extra strength. So, both of them are out there?

[That's pretty worrying, right? They could be hurting others right now, although he knows that he doesn't have to point that out to her.] If you need extra backup, Kotone and I can assist.

[arachnerina]

[She unfortunately has some experience, but that doesn't make this any easier.]

Yeah, we thought about that, but we didn't have a lot of time in the beginning. Definitely not enough to come up with something stronger to hold them. We tried what we had, and it didn't work.

[She smiles, giving Scott a small nod when he offers him and Kotone's help. That means a lot, even if she knows she probably won't call in that favor. With Spock as powerful as he was, she wasn't sure she wanted to risk their friends. It was going to be hard enough for her and Peter to overpower him.]

Thanks. I appreciate it. We're pretty sure we know where they are, but we've been trying to make a new synthetic webbing that will hold him. Peter's back at the lab, running some tests now. If it works? Well, maybe we'll have them back to their old selves again by tomorrow.