EVENT #13: ADVERSITY 8765546

[expiationmods]

EVENT #13: THE BEAST INSIDE US ALL

THE STORY SO FAR (click to expand)

-Over time, characters have discovered that the world of Expiation is actually a large, elaborate simulation run by an AI that seems to be intent on helping them atone for their crimes. This news is well-known by the Chosen, enough so that any new character who wishes to handwave this knowledge is able to do so.

-In September 2024, that AI needed to be reset as a consequence of some catastrophic systems failures. So far, there has been no downside to this reset–but the AI has also been strangely absent since then.

-Things have been quiet in Aldrip since September, aside from the routine arrival of new Chosen. The locals seem less than happy with the Chosen, though, as if they have already branded them all criminals. As if they no longer trust them…

EARLY MARCH / MARCH 11TH

Something doesn’t feel quite right, does it?

There’s a strange feeling in Aldrip, something tense and strained, as if something’s about to happen. The black lines outside of the Aldrip travel further into the city and begin to spread the miasma. The fields, crops and the portion of the forest continue to wither away as a result. The signs of catastrophe. The air is thick, as if it itself is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Very abruptly, it does.

The earth quakes as something erupts from the ground: huge, snakelike heads, towering as tall as a two-story building. These heads seem to circle the city of Aldrip: a ring of threat, keeping everyone and everything within the city limits. These heads don’t change locations, and they only attack if someone gets too close. They seem almost like they’re waiting for something. At first, however, they’re invulnerable to damage. Those who get too close may be injured or even killed if they try…

TRANSFORMATION

As soon as Fauna hears the rumblings of the Beast, detects the presence of a monster, she's off without waiting for any information. Confronting monsters is what she does, after all. She transforms and attempts to destroy the Beast with her full might, but despite the fierce fight, she's unable to land any decisive hits. Eight heads are too much to fight alone, and as the fight drags on, she's cornered, and takes the Beast's attack head-on, canceling her transformation and sending her flying. But as she's blown away, from her pockets, seeds fall- A pair of seeds to grow trees from, or something greater. The seeds, divine items with no divinity to empower them, fall to the ground, and are absorbed into the Beast's black body...

What is it you wish for, deep down? What do you desire?

Those Chosen unlucky enough to be affected by wish seeds may find this wish consuming their thoughts and driving their actions. Slowly, surely, they find themselves…changing, turning into something that is not a human. These changes may be slow and painful, or they may be instantaneous. We encourage you to be creative in these changes, both physical and mental, but also to warn for potential body horror or any body part trauma that might need a content warning.

I wish… I wish…

Driven nearly to madness by their own desire, by whatever’s happening to them and whatever physical changes it brings, these Chosen may be dangerous, with uncontrollable urges or new powers they aren’t used to. Can their aggression be directed toward the coming fight? Time will tell.

SLAY THE BEAST

So much anger, hatred and pain, all rolled into a single calamitous entity, baring its fangs at the entire world. It's almost a little embarrassing for it to be out in the open like that, even if the other Chosen don't necessarily realize it's a part of him. It's not too long after the Black Beast's first appearance that Ragna makes his way to face it, though not before he makes sure everyone else has some information necessary to finish the job afterwards. But first, he would need to ensure they even stand a chance against the monster, and he came up with only one solution that could work ─ and that's to do so from within the Beast itself. And so, with a final sigh, muttering "What a pain in the ass," under his breath, Ragna approaches the giant creature unarmed. The nearest heads turn their attention to the man, immediately attacking and ripping him apart, devouring the remains.

Something has changed. Impervious until now, the Black Beast soon shows evidence of wear and tear: hits land, cuts remain, and its fighting becomes more vicious…but more desperate, too.

If the Chosen have any hopes for defeating this creature, now will be the time. Maybe if they hit it with everything they’ve got, they’ll be able to bring it down–one head at a time.

SAFE...TY?

In the past, there’s been protection. In the past, there’s been so-called “safe houses” that have been created by the environment for noncombatants or those who don’t wish to fight.

But no such thing appears.

Nothing will hold the monsters back, nothing will hold the effects of the Black Beast back as they rain destruction on the city. It seems as if the Chosen are on their own – for those who don’t wish to fight, or can’t fight, they must band together to find protection of their own. Characters who are able to fight may need to help protect these areas where those sorts of Chosen have decided to hunker down for safety. The locals have vanished completely, locked so tight into their own houses that Aldrip businesses come to a halt.

That is, unless Chosen work together to keep it going.

AFTERMATH

The Black Beast is finally put down after the hard and exhausting fighting. The black lines around the city fade away, and it seems the Chosen who have transformed… are unaffected. Those Chosen who find themselves confronting their “wish” will discover that they soon change back, shedding monstrous forms for their familiar forms. However, the Chosen who don’t confront their wishes will keep their monstrous forms, either fully or partially, for the indeterminate future. They might continue to struggle to keep their sense of self and fight against the monstrous urges. Maybe they continue to be more aggressive, have a hard time recognizing a friend from a foe and have a distorted view on what is their wish. Effects don’t wear off over time, this time. There’s no magical “reset” where they wake up one day and find themselves back to their normal selves.

No, either they confront their wishes, or they stay like this for… ? It’s up to the Chosen.

WILDCARD

Make your own fun! Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Have at it! Go crazy! Try not to break anything (too much)!

♡

Comments

[orphne]

[She squeezes his hand gently in response to that tremor she could feel, as if somehow that little gesture could be reassurance. Her own hand is shaking a little, too, from anxious nerves and guilt, the fading adrenaline of having Phoenix turn on her stopping her from controlling that for Scott's sake.]

Okay, [she agrees softly, even though she will be getting him some water very shortly if his voice is really that raspy. She can start by just making sure she's there for him, whether Phoenix wants her there or not. Her thumb rubs the back of his hand gently, again in a gesture meant more for herself than for him as she takes a deep breath. She just wants to close her eyes and pretend that Scott's not hurt, but Yu and Yosuke had taught her that nothing good ever comes from doing that, right? So...

Another deep breath, and she steels herself, looking up to meet his eyes with uncertainty written all over her face.] Yeah?

[laserguy]

[He feels the slight trembling from her own hand and Scott wants to force every part of himself to stop that on his end, because he wants to be strong for her. Yeah, lying beaten up on a hospital bed, but she's just so important to him. However, no matter how much feeling he puts into it, his hand still occasionally shakes in hers, a certain restlessness to it.

Maybe he can at least cover that up by his focus on her.

His visor centers on her face, reading the uncertainty there, so visible that he literally forces himself to push closer to her. He gasps slightly from his own movements, but he raises his mostly healed arm to her face so that he can gently cup her cheek. Another point of warmth that is soothing in so many ways, but he wants to make one thing clear.]

I... I don't blame you at all, okay? [His voice is quiet, but firm. Like he believes everything that he's saying.] It's not your fault what happened. You just lost control-- not even that. You were influenced by something else entirely.

[orphne]

Be careful! [she scolds gently at that gasp, though she still takes his hand, holding it there in place in case that will somehow help him not be in pain. She closes her eyes, presses her cheek into his hand, focusing on the warmth of it against her skin even as it trembles -- or maybe that's her own lips that are trembling. She can't really tell the difference.]

I-I should have been able to control it. I... [she presses her lips tightly together and sucks in a deep breath, forcing herself to open her eyes even if they burn at the edges like she's just on the edge of tears.] I love you, and I... I tried to kill you. That's all wrong.

[Even when he'd been possessed, Scott had never hurt her, not really. He'd always been able to retain that piece of himself. But she'd been so confused, so sure she'd been doing the right thing even as she screamed at herself, that... how could she really ever make up for that? How could she not be blamed for that?]

[laserguy]

[A small, weak laugh leaves Scott at the small scolding. He doesn't want to say that he suffered through a lot more pain than this to try and be close to her when that literally just happened not too long ago. Too soon. Not to mention he'd never say something like that to her. Instead, he does his best to curl his trembling fingers against her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin, truly just trying to soak in this simple touch.

This is familiar. Reassuring. Her transformation to Orpheus was something else entirely and just another incident that Aldrip puts on them. It's the fault of the Black Beast and Fauna's wish seeds. They can start putting all this behind them, right? He won't dream and think of Kotone beating him or how difficult it was to breathe and the moment when he thought he would actually die for once.

All of that is done with. Fully.]

You couldn't control it, no one has been able to. [He reassures her, gently stroking her cheek, not noticing the way he momentarily spaced out there. How he's been overthinking and stuck in memories. He's just been focused on Kotone this entire time, right?]

So, it's okay Kotone. The only thing to blame is the Black Beast, it caused all this. I-I still love you more than anything else.

[orphne]

I should've been able to, [she protests softly, closing her eyes and shaking her head. It's a tiny gesture, because his hand is still on her cheek and she doesn't want to even accidentally cause him more pain, but... she should have been able to. She lost control of her Persona around this time two years ago. She should have been prepared. Been ready.

There's a part of her that knows that it's impossible to have prepared for literally transforming into a Persona herself, but even still, she should have kept Scott from getting hurt. Somehow. Her voice breaks as she opens her eyes, trying to meet his.]

How can... how can you trust me not to do it again?

[laserguy]

Kotone, look at me. [He'll give her a few seconds to do so, before continuing in a voice that's somehow stern, despite the condition he's in. It's like he wants to make sure she understands.] No one was able to control themselves, that's what the wish seeds did to people. You had even less control than when Phoenix controlled me-- other me. And you didn't kill me.

[Scott leaves out the part where Kotone might've actually killed him if Ryoji didn't arrive just in time. They don't know that for sure, so why bring it up? Maybe she should've stopped before the final blow, maybe not. Don't think about it. He doesn't want to think about it, it's behind them now. It feels like a mantra that he keeps repeating to himself, because that's for the best. Kotone shouldn't have to feel guilty about this-- even though he knows that's impossible for her.

He'd feel the same way in her shoes. If he lost control like that.

He just wants to ease that as much as possible. And it's not like he likes recalling those memories either. It's not often he ever feels that way with her, wanting to forget something, but she wasn't herself.]

If you can still trust me after that, why wouldn't I do the same for you?

[orphne]

[He might leave that part out, but she's thinking it, just the same as he is. If Ryoji hadn't been there, she might have killed him. She could have killed him. She probably would have killed him. Her face scrunches up in spite of herself, and she ducks her head again, squeezing her eyes shut as she takes a deep breath to try to compose herself.]

I don't ever wanna hurt you, [she manages, choked through gritted teeth.] Not like this, not ever. You're... you're the most important person to me.

[She'd die to protect him, over and over again. And yet... she'd still done this to him. Cupping his cheeks gently with both hands, she forces herself to look him in the eye, trying to impress her seriousness upon him.] I gotta do something to make up for it. Please?

[Maybe it's selfish, but it feels like she has to do something.]

[laserguy]

I know.

[Something heavy lodges in his throat, but he does his best to push it down. Kotone needs him to be strong right now, right? Well, other than him being physically beaten down, but emotionally, yes. He can do that. She's the one that hurt him badly, there's no changing that, and he needs to reassure her in any way he can. It feels more important than ever.] You're the most important to me too. I love you.

[That's easy to say at least, without any hitch or doubt in his voice, letting her cup his cheeks as he looks at her through the protection of his glasses. This is one of those times he wishes that he could take them off, let her see the emotion and assurance in his eyes, but he can't. He just has to let it convey elsewhere, wanting her to read him as much as possible, when he might be trying to cover up otherwise with someone else. She's the only person that he's fully vulnerable with, they promised long ago.

He brings his hand over to one of hers, keeping it there.] I want you to take care of yourself, okay?

[...Is that not enough though? He knows how Kotone is. Probably because he'd react in a very similar way.] And stay by me. Having you near me helps.