November Player Plot: Moon's Haunted

[luneminary]

DARK HOUR PLOT: FULL MOON SHADOWS

It takes only a mere stroke of the second hand for Aldrip to turn upside down. The sickly green hue it now takes is the least of their problems – electricity is cut off, and twisted versions of the Chosen roam around unchecked. A heavy oppressive energy seems to weigh down on everyone, pervading emotions of helplessness and despair. How this all started might seem uncertain at first, but one thing is for certain: there is a way to end this crisis, and this needs to end fast.

THE ARCANA IS THE MEANS BY WHICH ALL IS REVEALED

The vital key to this operation lies in the super bosses known as the Full Moon Shadows. They consist of twelve monsters representing one of the Major Arcana of the tarot – starting from Magician, and ending at Hanged Man. Scattered across Aldrip, they are the main source of our troubles that began with the Dark Hour.

They may be invisible to the naked eye, but those with sensitivity to mana or any similar energy source would be able to feel their presence in an area: a foreboding chill, the kind that makes your hairs stand on end. Regardless of their location, each area would feature a mystical door that will open to anyone who dares to enter. Only by delving into this unknown abyss could one confront the Full Moon Shadows and find any hope of defeating them.

BATTLE FOR EVERYONE’S SOULS

There are six routes in total, each housing two full moon shadows simultaneously. Within each route is a challenge tailored to the arcana pair it houses – this can be something as simple as drawing a painting, or as dire as escaping a deadly trap. Regardless of what you might face, your mission is the same: solve the challenge of the route, and defeat the shadows.

You are free to group up with other Chosen to form teams of any size; There will be no rng signups. Cooperation and teamwork is paramount in order to defeat these challenges, and so it is best to have someone you trust to watch your back. There are no limits to how many challenges a Chosen can tackle, nor are there limitations on how many teams could tackle as single challenge. If you are looking for someone to tag a particular route with, feel free to leave a comment here.

For the most part the routes are silent and unwavering as they observe the Chosen delve beneath their paths. However, every once in a while your team may encounter disturbance from the shadows in a bid to protect themselves. Remain vigilant, and victory shall be at hand.

EVEN THE DARKEST NIGHTS LEAD TO DAWN

All it takes is one team to defeat the challenges set in order to defeat the full moon shadows. After one is victorious, everyone shall be ejected out of the route and its surrounding area shall begin to recover. The putrid ichor and the grim environment shall remain, but one would find it easier to breathe and think clearly. A single route defeated doesn’t do much overall, but it would stop the spread of Apathy Syndrome and other symptoms of the Dark Hour.

Once all twelve full moon shadows are defeated shall the final route reveal itself. Victory of this route shall spell the end of the Dark Hour, and the beginning of Aldrip’s recovery to normal.

♡

Comments

QUESTIONS / COMMENTS / CONCERNS

[luneminary]

[solitarysoul]

If we decide our characters can't see/feel the doors, can they still be led inside by others? And will they see stuff normally once inside?

[coordinatroll]

For Hermit & Empress task, do both participants need to answer to proceed, or is one answer enough to pass through?

PARTY FINDER

[luneminary]

Wanna go against one of the Shadows, but only have a single member in your measly party? This top level is for you! Simply comment here or reply to your would-be buddy in order to team up!

JUSTICE/HANGED MAN

[nightwild]

Fauna's heading down Justice/Hanged Man! She's... probably intending to go it alone, but getting group backup from similar-minded people can't hurt.

[followyourstar]

Dante is capable of sensing the Full Moon Shadows, as well as any other shadows that pop up as they go, and they will be interested in seeking them out. While they've gotten better at using a firearm thanks to Vincent's training, it's important to note that Dante is a non-combatant and will act as a strategist/navigator during fights or help with puzzles and the like during challenges.

I'm good with any of the challenges available if you need someone, but will not be doing Justice/Hanged Man since Dante's a terrible fit.

Magician & Strength

[theskyaccepts]

Offering Tsuna for this one. He's been through a few ordeals himself!

[rebellions]

I'm offering this dumbass mostly for Magician & Strength scenario, in case anyone would be interested in getting stuck in a time loop! Because I'm THAT predictable. Other than that, he can help out in things that require fighting/raw strength, but puzzles and figuring stuff out? Miss him with that shit, we'll be stuck there forever.

[coordinatroll]

Also offering Mitama for... pretty much anything, though I'm leaning towards Emperor & Lovers, Hermit & Empress or Fortune & Hierophant! She will be able to sense the Shadows easily, so she can be your guide. Keep in mind that despite being a magical girl, Mitama's magic will be useless against Shadows, so if it comes to an actual fight? You're on your own. She can offer limited support and the ever-helpful art of Not Getting in the Way™, but she's better suited for solving puzzles and mental challenges in general.

[izanagis]

I'm interested in any of these:

Justice & hanged man: Yu's crime doppelganger stuff is going to be focused on similar themes of "can a crime ever be justified," so I'd be interested in tackling this with someone. Yu feels very strongly that laws are not always just, so he'd be pretty decisive in this one.

Magician & strength: I'd be interested in either sharing Yu's memories, or having him see another person's memories. For Yu's memories...if we're talking about ordeals or challenges, Kunino-Sagiri could be fun. For canon-unfamiliar, this particular boss uses a unique skill to take control of the party members and make them fight against the protag. In the manga, it's flipped, where protag is the one being controlled. I'd be interested in playing this out with either party being controlled. (But again, I'd also be interested in sharing someone else's memories!)

I'd be into hermit/empress or emperor/lovers as well, but my ideas for those are less solid!

Re: PARTY FINDER

[starstrailblaze]

I'm very interested in having Caelus take on the Chariot & Priestess challenges or Hierophant & Fortune if anyone would like to join him!

CHARIOT & PRIESTESS.

[luneminary]

You wake up in a room, and before you is a challenge. On one side lies an obstacle course, and the other up ahead is a puzzle. This is where you discover that you are not alone.

Regardless of how many individuals are present, you are separated into two groups – one requires physical fortitude, the other requires a sharp mind. A series of challenges are presented before you: some must be solved separately, others require coordination from the two groups.

Once one problem is solved, you shall be allowed access to the next room – and there lies before you is another challenge. Soon you will discover that the contents of these challenges do not matter: they vary in difficulty and are seemingly given to you at random. They are all meant to be solvable, yet also designed to wear one down. What lies at the end of the road? Is it even a destination that exists, or is it an unreachable goal?

Only one thing matters against the eyes of these Shadows: You must never give up.

EMPEROR & LOVERS.

[luneminary]

Welcome one and welcome all, to the Esper Game! This activity requires two individuals to play. Haaaaaaaaaaaaave fun!

Where did this crowd come from? How are there so many lights with the electricity gone? And why are you on a stage as a game show contestant?

Deafening cheers and blinding spotlights aside, the objective of the game is simple: One person shall be the King, and the other shall be the Knight. A particular phrase is chosen, and the King must be able to guess it in order to win. The Knight is aware of what the phrase is, and the King is allowed to ask the Knight for context clues. HOWEVER! Directly stating out the phrase will cause the entire game to reset, and for a penalty to be given.

What kind of penalty, you say? We all had embarrassing moments in our lives, ones we don’t want anybody to know – like the one time you farted inside a full elevator, or when you use the bathroom only to discover there’s no tissue paper present. Break our iron-clad rule, and one of those moments will be broadcasted for everyone in the area to see! How devilish!

But it’s too hard, you say? Here is one tip: The phrase pertains to something the King and Knight have in common. Now that’s what you call an ice-breaker!

scott + kotone

[laserguy]

[There's a deep knot of exhaustion somewhere in Scott, but it's now more than ever that he pushes it down. The Dark Hour. Shadows. All of this is so deeply connected to Kotone (and Minato and the rest of SEES) and it was supposed to be gone. She sacrificed her life to stop all this and yet it's here, ever persisting. As such, Scott can't rest, even if his body screams at him to, not when she's out here too. He doesn't want her to face it alone... and a part of him is afraid that he'll lose her somewhere in all this.

His hand curls even tighter in her grip as they face the door together. He knows that whatever is on the other side of this will be something difficult, a hardship that might strike deep in some way, but he can at least make sure that he's with her every step of the way. The fiery presence running through him only seems to agree. He... he doesn't want things to repeat in Aldrip like they did in her world.

But the door opens, inviting them, and when they eventually go through...]

...Huh?

[There's a crowd?? Are they on a game show?? Have fun???? They're going to play charades?? The entire situation is bizarre enough that Scott can't help but look dumbly at Kotone, as if expecting her to explain what's going on. He's not fully letting his guard down, because they are still in the domain of the Shadows, but this is still so unexpected.]

JUSTICE & THE HANGED MAN

[orphne]

"Please sirs, you have to believe me, I only stole it to feed my family--! They said somebody helps poor folks like us escape through these woods, that's you, right? You'll help me?"

A babbling man dressed in peasant clothes cowers before you, sobbing and shaking with the force of his pleas. The burlap bags torn open around him from the overturned cart are full of both food and coin.

He's not crying because of you, though. Or at least, not entirely. Beside you stands a marble statue of a woman easily twice the height of an average person, and though it does not move, though its eyes are covered by a blindfold, you can somehow sense that its gaze is on you. Its lips don't move, and yet you can hear her whisper as clearly as if it were a shout.

The penalty for theft from the lord is death. Is that Justice?

In one hand, the statue holds a sword. In the other, a noose. In the distance, the sound of baying hounds getting closer and closer, the man's sobs getting louder and more desperate.

Help him escape and be chased through the forest, potentially fighting the lord's guards, or end his suffering now by forcing him to answer for what he's done? The statue says nothing more, but the weight of its sightless gaze is entirely on yours.

fauna + yu

[nightwild]

As Fauna enters the door, she gives a glance out of the side of her eye to the guy walking alongside her. The cook at the hot springs... Is he going to be any use? Does it matter? She'll defend him if she has to, defeat him if she has to. But...

Taking in the situation around her, she growls. A statue of Justice... a sword, a noose. The sobbing man.

"Like hell that's justice." She lifts her hands, cracking her knuckles. "Get out of here, old man."

She turns to face the approaching noises... but glances again at Yu. Is he okay with that choice? Is he a damn narc? Is she going to have to take down one extra threat, or does she happen to have an ally? She's not sure yet.

yu + mitama

[izanagis]

[Is that Justice?

Yu has his own answer to that question. Breaking cycles of loneliness and grief; the expectant eyes of a child; a killer in handcuffs;

Justice, true justice, comes in many forms.

The sword, the noose, and the hounds. Those don't mean much to him, really, because this man is sobbing on his knees, begging for mercy. Because the items he stole are things that bring life, and in the pursuit of "Justice," they've been tossed carelessly upon the ground. There's a saying about an eye for an eye, and as cliche as it is, it's not far off from how Yu feels about this.]

Of course it's not justice. [He exhales a soft sigh; only then does he look at Mitama, his expression slightly apologetic.] I'm sorry. You'll have a tough time convincing me not to let him go, if that's your plan.

HERMIT & EMPRESS

[orphne]

REUNITE THEM

Upon entering this door, there's a small pedestal with a palm-sized figure of a queen. Might want to take her with you. Before you stretches a long, darkened hallway, just wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, leading into a dimly-lit maze gently sloping downward. Every so often, there's a crackling hum like electricity and a roar of a creature within, but there's no source to be seen for a while. The hallway twists and turns, branching off into dead-ends and long corridors -- a maze.

Eventually, you come to a fork with both ways forward sealed by a forcefield. One path is labeled YES and the other NO, answers to the question engraved above.

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR LIFE'S JOURNEY

Answering the question honestly, out loud, will remove its forcefield -- however, should you lie, even though the way appears clear, eventually the maze will return you to this same point. A correct, truthful answer results in a burst of electricity, disabling the forcefield permanently and allowing one to progress forward. This may mean splitting up from your partner if you have one! Don't worry, you'll probably come back together again shortly after.

Probably.

Deep within, electricity surges and a creature roars, hinting at an inevitable confrontation below. You just have to find your way down there, first.

[ooc note: there will be three questions to answer total before a confrontation with the final boss. :)]

Ethlyn & Yu

[baldrshand]

[Ethlyn has had enough of her complaining Other Self following her around, to say nothing of the monsters roaming the streets and attacking innocent bystanders. She's ready to fight these full moon shadows, and in a rare concession to reasonable caution, she's got Yu with her.]

Sorry. This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I hired you to help out at the Clinic...

[She opens the door and sees not a beast, but a maze, crackling ominously.]

...I suppose we wouldn't just open the door and find the Shadow, would we.

Mitama & Levi

[coordinatroll]

[ Being a guide for others isn't exactly new for Mitama; her role as a Coordinator could be described as such, after all. Being able to participate in a hunt for whatever is causing the current crisis at hand is somewhat new, however, and the girl would lie if she said there wasn't that tiny part of her that's excited by the prospect. Even if it's just as a navigator, it gives her something to do... to feel useful, rather than just staying back and hiding in her shop. Some might say she's a little overly enthusiastic given the creepy atmosphere, but there again, she's like that most of the time, so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Mitama moves in front of the fork in the road they've arrived at, her Soul Gem shining faintly in her hand. She can sense the presence at the end of the road, similar to a Witch... yet different at the same time. ]

It looks like both paths lead to our goal, so there's no right and wrong answer here. Curious, isn't it~?

[ She figures it might be related to the answers they give being truth or not, and while she doesn't necessarily mind answering this one too much, she'd prefer to test that hypothesis first. And it just so happens there's a perfect guinea pig that she's brought along for the ride... ]

MAGICIAN & STRENGTH

[memori3s]

Should a Chosen summon the courage to enter this door, they are greeted by a blinding white void. When the light finally fades, a voice echoes all around them:

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment.

Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Attaining one's dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination."

Each Chosen will find themselves thrust into a memory of an ordeal or challenge experienced by the other participant. Surviving and overcoming the memory sequence will allow both Chosen to reunite in an unusual lobby before climbing the staircase to exit the bizarre dimension.

ooc note: Whichever memory the other Chosen experiences is up to the player. How each Chosen interacts with the memory is also up to the player. Completing the challenge will defeat the Magician and Strength Shadows.

yu narukami + scott summers

[izanagis]

["I have to save that girl!"

The air is oppressive, here, in sharp contrast to the elegant-looking castle grounds, to the sunny sky full of rainbows and clouds. It looks like something out of a little girl's fantasy. It's also quite possibly the most desperate Yu has ever looked, standing opposite a frantic-looking man holding a small child. She protests, reaching out for Yu, gasping for breath, and Yu's eyes go wider.

"Namatame! Give her back!"

The next few moments are a blur: the child is rescued, swept away in the arms of someone who must be a friend. The man cries out in frustration -- "Stop interfering!"

And then he becomes a monster.

This seems to be the moment when Yu realizes he's not alone -- that this is only a memory, no matter how realistic it feels. His teammates are gone, replaced instead by one Scott Summers, whose appearance seems to clear some of the cobwebs of confusion still lingering in Yu's expression. This is a challenge, clearly -- and one they have to face together. He nods in Scott's direction.]

We're going to have to fight it. Get ready.

minato arisato & yu narukami

[memori3s]

[ Darkness swirls around Yu as soon as he steps through the door. It engulfs him, oppressive shadows immediately weighing him down. Anguish, despair, sorrow: the culmination of it all manifests before his very eyes, a wave of it washing over him and sapping his strength. It is an endless struggle that seems entirely futile. He is wholly outmatched.

Yet, something compels him to struggle back to his feet, to pull him back up in spite of it all, as though the hands of many were reaching out to grasp onto him to help him rise each time. It is for those very hands that he must stand again and again, the voices of everyone he held close to his heart cheering him on. He gets up over and over again until he is finally able to reach within himself, unleashing that seed of hope to finally stem the flow of desperation pouring into the world.

And then it all fades away, leaving Yu feeling a bone-deep fatigue as his vision begins to clear. He lies on the floor with a familiar figure hovering over him, concern etched on his face. ]

...Yu? Are you okay?

[ It's Minato, kneeling at Yu's side with a hand on his shoulder to gently shake him awake. ]

FORTUNE & HIEROPHANT

[memori3s]

Should a Chosen summon the courage to enter this door, they will find themselves in an art classroom alongside another Chosen.

A series of blank easels with a set of charcoal pieces sit in a circle, each accompanied by a stool. You may select any seat that seems to call to you. At the center of this circle is a bust which speaks the following words:

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guides oneself.

Recount to me a tale of oneself upon the canvas before you, one that shall provide guidance unto those who will follow in your footfalls."

The bust goes silent as the word "joy" or "sorrow" appears in cursive lettering at the top of your canvas.

ooc note: Once the participants are seated, I will flip a coin for each of you. Heads for "joy" and tails for "sorrow." The bust may or may not respond to any questions, and it may or may not comment on each Chosen's drawing. Completing the challenge will defeat the Fortune and Hierophant Shadows.

Scott + Caelus

[laserguy]

[Scott's not quite sure what he's going to face when he walks through that door, which is somehow both imposing yet inviting at the same time. Maybe a giant Shadow to fight? Doppelgangers? Something that brings out the worst in himself?? He thinks he's on theme as those thoughts pass through him, but there's only one real way to find out. Besides, he has to do this. For Kotone, for all his other friends, he wants to do his best. So, with a slow breath, as if to let himself focus and push that familiar anxiety down, he opens the door and--

An art classroom??

The mutant slowly blinks as he looks around the room, noting the easels set in a circle around a bust. That's probably fine, right? And call it intuition, but Scott has a feeling they're related to the challenge he and the unfamiliar person that's with him must face. Which--]

I'm letting you know now, I suck at drawing.

[Great introduction so far.]

ALL ROADS LEAD TO DEATH.

[luneminary]

Once every other Shadow has fallen, the path towards the Thirteenth shall open, one that shall make itself known with a beacon of green light. And at its entrance…lies a young boy in prison clothes.

Unnatural blue eyes gleam against the moonlight as he greets everyone with a smile.

“I have been waiting for your arrival.”

[nightwild]

[A hero, somewhat haggard by now, is the one who arrives at the entrance. She's tired, but she's not going to stop now. One more push... This feels like the last one. A last boss feeling. She can do this.]

And you are?