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

[entreats]

I don't think this place truly cares about what we think about forgiveness. [ The girl huffs.

Sure, this place's entire theming has been centered around that. Even way back when she first showed up here. But with everything that's happened so far and with how cynical Ange is, it feels easy to just assume this much. ]

Besides, if they'd really do all that to you and your friends just to teach you a lesson about that, then that's literally crazy. Who'd do something like that?

[garbagecanned]

Who knows...

[he shrugs at her question, though.]

Like I said, everything's fucked up. [a beat, as he turns his gaze over to Ange.] I'm glad to see you're hanging in there through all this bullshit, though.

[entreats]

[ Without hesitation: ]

Of course. I'm not just going to let this place win because it's doing something this stupid. [ Of course Ange isn't entirely unaffected by everything that's happening - but it's also like Ange to pretend that she's fine all the same. That this isn't a big deal.

She's not hiding it because she doesn't trust Yosuke. Quite the contrary. He seems so troubled about his own situation that Ange just doesn't want him to have to think about her too. ]

Do you need help getting back to where you were going earlier? I don't think it's safe for anyone to be out by themselves right now. It makes you too easy of a target.

[garbagecanned]

[that is such an Ange answer, isn't it. to just be so unaffected -- or maybe she is, and Yosuke just hasn't leveled up that social link yet.

he takes a deep breath, and then lets it out slowly.]

I'll be okay. I have my Persona -- and if you take me all the way there, you'll have to come back by yourself, anyway. So either way, one of us is going to be alone at some point.

[he'd rather it not be her. not because he just wants to be taken out right now, but because she's his friend, and he doesn't want anything to happen to her.]

[entreats]

[ There's a slight twitch on Ange's face.

Not the sort Yosuke may have seen before, considering she definitely has gotten annoyed around him in the past, the kind of twitch that's the indication of the start of a tsun fit that's only barely being held back.

This is a little different. She's holding back something else entirely. A worry Ange doesn't want to show, but that's slowly starting to leak out a little bit more, considering how worked up she has been about their circumstances. ]

You-- [ She starts, then stops. Ange swallows, trying really hard to keep her emotions under wraps here, but failing a little. It shows slightly in her face, that worry. ] You can't let anything happen to you then while you're out there by yourself, alright? I'll never forgive you otherwise.

[garbagecanned]

[... Yosuke blinks at her. he didn't really expect this sort of reaction out of her -- he knows they're friends, but it's still strange to see her be actively kind of concerned about him.

but then he smiles, and nods.]

Okay. For you, I won't let anything happen to me. I'll even text you when I get home, will that make you feel a little better?

[it's kinda cute, but he's not going to ruin the moment here.]

[entreats]

.. yeah.

[ It's admitted a little reluctantly, since Ange never really likes showing it when she's worried. But she is telling the truth here, and it feels important to do so when Yosuke's life is on the line. When all their lives are still on the line for as long as this situation is still ongoing. ]

I mean, t-- thanks. [ She's forcing out the words, but at least she's managing to say it at all! Baby steps. ] Stay safe. I'll hear from you.

[ Because the alternative - that something might happen to Yosuke along the way - is simply unacceptable in her mind. ]