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kaisou2024-10-03 12:45 pm
October Event Log (Space Horror Edition)
OCTOBER EVENT: HEAVY
TRIGGER WARNING: This event features heavy use of hallucinations, reliving past traumas, mental corruption and PVP death. Please proceed with caution.
Day OneWherever you drift off to sleep certainly isn't where you wake up the following day. Or... you assume it's day, as there is no natural light to truly clue you in. You wake on a bunk in a metallic room along with three other app users, also tucked into their comfy little bunks. A quick survey of your surroundings, and you will find you are on a sizeable spaceship. Outside the window, a blue planet slowly turns- those who have a knowledge of space might be able to recognize this as Neptune- you are far, far from Earth. Stepping out of the bunk room, you will find other doors opening to other bunk rooms, with similarly confused app users inside. No one has any idea how you got here. You will find your communications devices do not work- after all, you're a long way away from any cell towers. You'll be glad to see your abilities work just fine. Telepathy outside of the ship is impossible- perhaps distance matters here, too.
Exploration of the ship will show a worrying absence of any crew. You can see dried blood on several metallic surfaces as you move around. Canteens are stocked with freeze-dried astronaut meals, all perfectly edible, but there is no sign anyone has been eating anything in here for some time. You can see another ship docked outside the one you're in- the name on the side claiming it as The Lewis and Clark. There doesn't seem to be any way to get to it currently, though. The door leading to the docking station is locked tight. You eventually come across the bridge, with blood-crusted computer systems still running. Those tech-savvy amongst you might be able to get some informational screens up, which tell you that you are aboard The Event Horizon. This is a scientific vessel which was researching a means of faster space travel. They intended to do this with something called "The Gravity Core" - a device which would create an artificial black hole, which would in theory allow the user to bend space-time and cut a journey of thousands of years into a single day. So it turns out you're sitting in a spaceship with the means to create the most destructive force in the galaxy right next to you. Super! A few of the video files are corrupted, which will need some work getting to play. Ominously, every now and again the screens of the computer flash up a single, desperate message: Libera te tutemet ex inferis.
If you so decide to check out that Gravity Core, you will find a tunnel with sharp, moving sides. It moves like a meat grinder. Luckily there is a narrow walkway- wide enough for you to walk single file through it without getting hurt on the spikes. Worrying, some more of that dried blood can be seen on the spikes as they rotate. It's probably fine. The tunnel opens up into a big, circular, spiked room. There's a pool of water at the bottom of the room, and in the centre is a strange contraption, a ball with three spiked rings, about 10 meters in diameter. For now, they're just turning around one another slowly, never stopping. Congratulations, you found the Gravity Core! Anyone with demonic or holy ties will be deeply unsettled by this device. They can't put their finger on what it is, but they know it's deeply unsafe, and feel intense discomfort being anywhere near it. For now, there doesn't seem much to do other than get used to their surroundings. They can check the lock that could take them to the Lewis and Clark- their only way off this ship, but the lock is a complex series of rusted cogs. There seems to be no way to undo these locks no matter what you try- not even abilities will work on it. It's like some outside (or inside) force is preventing you from an early escape. For now, it seems you're stuck here.
Day TwoAt the start of day two, the whole ship shakes- anyone near the Gravity Core will witness the rings suddenly all line up, stopping their slow spiral. Everything is still for a moment, and then the center of the Core suddenly glows in a blinding flash of light, then... it settles- the lights around the center pulsing on and off like a heartbeat. The entire surface of the ball at the center of the core turns into a shimmering, water-like substance. Anyone nearby will feel an overwhelming urge to touch it. Should you give into the intrusive thought, you will find your hand sinks into the center as if it is made of water. With no warning, something on the other side GRIPS you, and pulls you in with a sharp tug. No one around can grab you in time before you vanish into the sludge.
For a moment, everything is still- then as quickly as they were pulled in, the poor souls dragged into the Core are unceremoniously spat out. The Core returns to normal, the rings spinning slowly around one another again. Those spat out will lay on the ground, catatonic, eyes open wide, staring in terror at... something - nothing seems to wake them. You may be left worried about what to do with your friends, but there's something else too. Something prickling at the edge of your consciousness. Perhaps it's a distant noise that almost sounds like a voice, a shifting shadow you swear was a person. Today, these things linger just on the periphery of your senses- there to unnerve you, but you cannot put your finger on what they are.
About an hour after they were spat out by the Core, the poor souls dragged into it suddenly bolt awake, that "the darkness is coming". It takes a hot minute for them to settle down again, and realise where they are. If you were one of those unlucky people, you cannot remember what you saw while you were inside the Core- all you remember is that it was terrible- and yet, you want to go to it again. You are convinced the absolute right thing to do is to open the Gravity Core again and for you all to step inside it. It's where you all belong. For now, you can be convinced to not do the blatantly stupid and dangerous thing and restart the Core, but as one day moves into the next, those urges only grow.
Day ThreeThose who were dragged into the Core are much, much worse off the next day. Your feelings about needing to restart the Core are even stronger - and those who weren't pulled in will need to guard the controls to prevent it from being forcibly started up. Those who fell in start calling themselves "corrupted" and you will do everything in your power to convince everyone that you need to open the Core. Perhaps you want to embrace what's on the other side of that Core- the horrors you saw. Or perhaps your spirit was so broken by the terrifying mixed-up memories you can only partly put together that you feel it's inevitable- that you may as well submit to the Core because there's no escape from it. The way you all speak about it makes it sound like hell, quite literally, and nothing will sway you from your desire to go back into it and drag everyone on the ship with you. You will be willing to fight and attack your fellow prisoners on the ship, to lie to and cajole them - anything that gets you to those controls.
Things aren't so hot for those not corrupted by the Core, either. The flickering visions you had yesterday turn into full-blown hallucinations today. These hallucinations are steeped heavily in your mental traumas and regrets. Perhaps you feel responsible for the death of a loved one- that person will appear and speak to you. Or perhaps you were attacked by someone in your past- now that attacker will stalk you through the ship. Perhaps your actions inadvertently caused a great disaster- victims of that disaster will appear to you, fingers pointing in blame. No matter what weakness of your mind is preyed upon, these hallucinations will chip away at your grasp of reality fairly quickly. They will do everything in their power to convince you to attack the others on the ship- be it through cajoling you or through simple trickery such as appearing before someone nearby, making you lash out at them, unaware you have struck the wrong target until it is too late. Worse still, everyone can see everyone else's hallucinations- there is no hiding from them or pretending they are not real. They are here and they are ready to push everyone into attacking one another. Those fully corrupted by the ship may see hallucinations of their own, too- but nothing overrides their desire to get the Core restarted.
Either through the efforts of those with tech-savvy skills, or from following old, tattered manuals you find stuffed behind a console, you are finally able to uncorrupt the ship's video files. The first shows the original Event Horizon crew, they are smiling and happy. The captain states they are about to open the Gravity Drive for the first time and hopes that soon they will be light years away from here, with minimal effort. Confidently, he smiles at the camera, stating "Ave, atque, vale. Hail and farewell." The screen suddenly goes fuzzy, and screams can be heard in the thick static. The screen goes dead. What follows are small video clips, tiny glimpses into madness. Once smiling happy crew go through a living nightmare as their world crashes down around them. You might see one sobbing about seeing her dead best friend she couldn't save, or perhaps another screaming at an invisible foe- you will even see the crew turn on each other, the camera catching the glint of a knife or a thrown punch. No matter what, it's clear that the previous crew went through exactly what you are going through now- and they destroyed one another over it.
There is one final video to play. This is of the captain, his face is bleeding from a deep gash in his cheek, and one arm hangs limp and useless at his side. In the background, screaming can be heard:
"I stashed the explosives around the Horizon. It's the only way to get the damned doors open. She won't let them free. She'll take them to hell. They won't even fight it. They're not interested."
Static fills the screen for a moment, and the screaming is louder, followed by banging. The captain gives a frustrated groan and smacks the camera with his good arm, clearing it up.
"If any of you are still alive, you've got to blow the doors apart. The ship's hull is designed to take it, just get into the umbilical and get the fuck out- it's oxygenated. Don't let her win. Don't let her drag you into hell with the rest of them. Don't-"
A loud CRASH occurs off-screen. The captain turns, to be tackled to the ground by someone else, covered in blood and barely recognizable as human. The figure drops to the ground on top of the captain, out of view of the camera. But his screams are heard. Terrified, bloodcurdling screams. When they stop. The figure stands. It's one of his crew, the woman who had been talking about her dead friend. She raises her hand, stained with blood, looking at it curiously for a moment, before turning to the camera.
"Liberate tutame ex inferis."
The video cuts out and there are no more.
The message is clear- the only way off the Event Horizon is to blow up the doors and get to the Lewis and Clark - preferably before the Gravity Core is activated again and you are all dragged, quite literally, into Hell.
Day FourSo now you know what you need to do. You need to find the explosives stashed around the Event Horizon and blow those doors to kingdom come. Not a simple task, with your corrupted friends and your own hallucinations trying to stop you from doing just that. You will likely have to fight your friends plenty in the search for the explosives- as the corrupted folks absolutely do not want you to escape. There are fives explosives to find, hidden in The control room, the engineering room, the med bay, the kitchen and finally, unhelpfully, near the controls of the Gravity Core. You will need to gather all of them and get them attached to the doors. They are, thankfully, simple to use and soon blow the doors clear off. They open to a yellow tube that leads into the waiting Lewis and Clark. There's no gravity in the tube, even if it is oxygenated, so you will have to float your way there. But...
The Event Horizon SHUDDERS in what you could only describe as anger when the doors are blown off. The captain's warning was right. The ship certainly doesn't want you to get away from this. The corrupted finally managed to get the Core started again, gleeful at pulling you all into hell. There is no switching it off, all you can do is fight your own hallucinations to get to the Lewis and Clark. Perhaps you have enough of your senses to try and pull the corrupted folks aboard with you- but they will fight you every step of the way. The only way you'll get them aboard the Lewis and Clark is by incapacitating them and dragging them to escape.
The Lewis and Clark is, blissfully, pre-programmed to return to Earth- though it may take a real long time to get there. Ship instructions bleep at you to put yourself into stasis for the long journey, but luckily, you do not need to worry about that. The Lewis and Clark pulls away from the Event Horizon- blasting quickly away. All you can see of it is a bright blue light as the Even Horizon swallows in on itself- taking whoever so remained on board with it. The hallucinations abruptly stop, and you are left only with the stark reality of all that has happened as the ship zooms forward.
After only about fifteen minutes on the Lewis and Clark, you feel yourself enveloped in a white light- then suddenly you'll find yourselves in a pile at the entrance to Blue Fish Park- as if you were spat out by any other spirit gate. Those who died on the Horizon will find themselves amongst you, none the worse for wear. Physically, at least. The corrupted will find their minds clear of the Core's influence, their memories of what they did aboard the ship can either either fuzzy or crystal clear. Regardless, you are now all back in Kaisou and safe- though the mental trauma of what happened may linger for a while.
The dominant element this month is Earth! Anyone with an affinity to the wind element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Water will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.
The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. There will be a midmonth Zodiac post on the 15th. If you wish to have your character in this event, you MUST SIGN UP by October 6th.
Characters NOT involved in this plot ARE allowed to comment as hallucinations that the characters on the ship are seeing. However, these hallucinations are hallucinations ONLY. They cannot relay any information the hallucinating character doesn't already know, and the real version of the hallucinated character will have know memory of being a hallucination.
no subject
But then, there's a new voice echoing around them. A voice that sends a chill down Ace's spine even though he doesn't recognize it. The tone, the words, everything about it tells him it's something conjured to spook the other man in the hallway with him, but something about the challenge in those words, the mocking--
Ace may not know the voice speaking to Jonathan, but that doesn't mean he doesn't recognize the base components of it.]
JoJo-- Jonathan. [What, is he supposed to echo the words of warning his friend had given him? Is Ace supposed to be the voice of reason, now? Even with that laughter coming echoing back once again, a Zeeehahahaha! that wraps around Ace's throat like it's a physical object so, so close despite sounding so damn far away?] They're not here, right? Mine or yours?
[It's less of a reminder of reality and more... a last, desperate grab for assurance that this is just all in their heads.]
no subject
I killed that man. I told you that very tale, [he adds, swallowing once again.] Do you understand?
If he were to be here, I would not be able to exist!
no subject
But Ace has never, ever been reasonable in any life. And something deep in his chest is telling him that even if what Jonathan is saying is logical, he just… can’t. He can’t let this be.
So, he moves forward to rest his hand on the side of Jonathan’s arm, trying to calm him down as best as he can.]
You did. But that’s all the more reason to check, right? To make sure that they really are just in our heads?
[He turns, looking towards that bend in the hallway, and breathes out slow and careful, a spark of flame on his breath, even before he raises his other hand up to conjure some fire in his palm, both a reassuring threat to anything out there, and an extra bit of light.]
It… wouldn’t hurt us to at least check.
no subject
But instead he finds himself nodding. Slowly, sadly, but he finds himself nodding.]
But we move cautiously, [he emphasizes.] Slowly- we must watch for the slightest sign of something amiss, we must.