expiationlogs | EVENT #9: ADVERSITY 6468468

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EVENT #9: ADVERSITY 6468468

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!

♡

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 1-2.

[Yosuke has no fucking clue what a Gnosia is. but he'd seen it on his tablet, seen the network text of the person cautioning them against them. he was one. what did that mean??

it meant there was an instinct to kill something that was starting to get louder into his mind. it was the thought of looking at Yu's dead body, that made him leave their house, going to work or something. being anywhere but home except for a few hours.

do you see him working? not that there's a whole lot of people today, and you might see him scrolling on his tablet with shaky fingers. do you see him walking around? he'll be extra jumpy. or you might see him getting something to eat -- if he bumps into your character, he's just as liable to drop his food and try to get out of the confrontation.

subtlety was never his strong point.]

Day 3.

[he's out and about again. the feeling of dread is getting worse, of wanting to kill. he knows that he can't, and he won't. he just won't.

but on top of those feelings, he's getting new ones. of remembering when he was jealous of Yu, jealous of him being popular, of being the leader... just everything about him. an AC follower or another gnosia might see a vague scene of Yosuke punching Yu. about it feeling good. but this scene isn't the canon one -- it's more violent, as if he's fighting Yu to be on top. instead of being equals, like he'd wanted in the first place.

he ends up standing over a bruised Yu, grinning and mouthing the words I won, though you can't hear it. but he looks like he's yelling it, shouting his victory to no one in particular.

OR

the scene that others might witness is a small group of boys hanging around him.

"Thank god we got rid of that loser."

they're talking to him like he's not there, but he certainly is. but he's unable to move, but instead just watches as the boys turn their backs to him and keep gossiping.

"Yeah, the only thing he was good for was his money. He tried too hard, man."
"Did you see that he kept texting us? Pathetic."
"He's a nobody, so Inaba will be right at home for him."

he throws something that's in his hand finally, to try to bring him back to this reality. it might be a bottle, his tablet... something. the crashing of it seems to bring him back to his senses almost, but he still seems... dazed.

is he good?]

Anytime after Day 3.

[when Mikey cured Yosuke, the first thing he'd felt was relief. that instinct to hurt, kill and destroy no longer existed. but a new feeling had overcome him in the days afterwards, even though the two had tried to talk to him about it.

shame.

he'd almost tried to kill Mikey. when he was unsuccessful, he'd gone after Yu. killing Mikey would've been one thing. Yu would've been extremely upset, maybe even furious with him. but killing Yu would've been unforgivable.

Mikey had pointed out that he'd felt the same. and now that that situation was turned around on himself, he felt like the biggest asshole in the world. so he still might be keeping his distance when he can while he licks his emotional wounds and tries to get over it. he'll still go about his regular routine until it gets really bad in the 6th and 7th days, but now he seems... out of it. distracted. he's more liable to bump into your character as if he didn't see them to begin with.

finally, he posts something to the network. it's anonymous, though.]

changing our memories were one thing. making us want to kill each other...

it's unforgivable.

if i had done it, i wouldn't be able to live with myself. probably even if it was that person from home.

[he has to talk to someone about it, even if it's the void. he's got to get it out somehow.]

[ Ange doesn't go out too much anymore. She knows better, given the rising tensions with what's going on in the city. Yet she can't fully sit still either - feeling like maybe there's some way to put a stop to this situation if she could just find it. Maybe it's alright as long as she avoids places with people. Less chance of a Gnosia getting to her then, right?

(Usually she wouldn't care so much, but-- every single time she puts herself into the slightest danger she can see Claude's disappointed face flashing in her mind, and she kind of hates it. At least being somewhat careful it is.)

So when Ange spots Yosuke, she knows she should just ignore him. He could easily be one of those things.

But--

He seems strange. Not Gnosia strange. Just.. strange in general. He isn't even looking her way, likely hasn't even noticed her yet. He's wandering the streets like he's some sort of zombie, and despite the fact that Yosuke is not exactly her best friend or anything, it still worries the girl.

At least enough to speak up. ]

Hanamura-san?

[he hadn't even really noticed her, for once. normally he might've said something about seeing a cutie on his walk or something, but he doesn't. instead, he jumps out of his skin when Ange calls out to him.

and then he tries to laugh it off when he faces her, hand going to the back of his head... but he just seems nervous.]

Hey, Ange-san... you aren't planning on attacking me, are you?

[he's just. going to make sure here.]

[ Her initial instinct is to tell him that if she was, he'd already be dead.

Somehow it feels a little tasteless right now though. Even to her - so that's saying something. Rather than letting those words escape, Ange just swallows them back up before they can, shaking her head a litte bit. ]

No.

[ She's telling the truth, sure, but she also knows it's hard to trust anyone right now. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't trust her, honestly. ]

But if you're worried about getting killed, then.. are you sure you should be walking around by yourself like this? [ Especially if he's spacing out. It just makes him an easy target. ]

[there is a point, even if she didn't say it. everyone was going apeshit insane right now, so... it's a high possibility he'd be killed.

he crosses his arms, and shrugs.]

I just can't stay cooped up, either.

[maybe something will take him out though -- it might make him feel better for taking another life.]

So then why are you out? You shouldn't be, either.

[ That answer is actually not very surprising. She'd say there's something very Yosuke-like about the idea of being so unable to stay cooped up that he'd go out, even under these circumstances. Even though - at this point - most people know better than to go out too much. And the less targets out here, the more likely that you will be the victim if you're the only one out. ]

Who knows? Maybe I'm Gnosia. Then I would be safe out here, right?

[ She's not.

But Ange is kind of curious what his reaction would be here. Hey-- Maybe it'd scare him off enough to get him to go back home and stay safe. It'd be just fine with her if things worked out that way. ]

[he believes that Susano-o can protect him, even if the thought of summoning him makes his insides twist. he'd used him for awful things...

he blinks at her, and then shrugs.]

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe they'll even kill each other at this point.

[I was a Gnosia.]

[ Ange frowns.

It's weird, isn't it? The way he's talking. The way he's reacting. If it wasn't for the fact that he hasn't made a single move on her yet despite the two of them being the only two out here, Ange would have instantly believes that Yosuke was infected right now.

But if it isn't that - and this isn't some weird, weird long con - then what it is? ]

.. What's wrong?

[ Something of the usual harsh edge to her tone fades when she says this. Not even purposefully. It's just that she's kind of worried, even if she wouldn't admit to it, and that sneaks into her tone way more than any of her usual sarcasm or dryness. ]

I know it sounds ironic in this dumb situation, but you don't seem like yourself right now. [ Not at all. And sure, not even Yosuke would probably scream about cute girls in the middle of an actually lethal situation, but--

This is strange even beyond the lack of that. ]

[you doubt his horniness--

but yeah, at least Ange has hit the nail on the head. and if it weren't for her opening up (hell yeah social linking!), he might have just walked away. and it's the tone in her voice too, that makes him think she might actually care.

even if they did go back and forth, sometimes.]

I'm just tired.

[there's a long silence, and he takes a deep breath.]

I was... a Gnosia. And I killed someone. I can't quite get over that, yet.

yosuke hanamura | p4

after day 3!

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day 1

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day 3

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