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RUINS I HAD LEFT BEHIND.
WHO: Everyone in game!
WHAT: Our next event, primarily set in the ruins.
WHERE: Anywhere in the core or ruins.
WHEN: During ruins exploration.
NOTES: Surreal horror, body horror, and possible violence. Please use common sense when warning for other content.
WHAT: Our next event, primarily set in the ruins.
WHERE: Anywhere in the core or ruins.
WHEN: During ruins exploration.
NOTES: Surreal horror, body horror, and possible violence. Please use common sense when warning for other content.
Art by Nicolas Lopez
CALL ME MAYBE.
The weather begins to change, the haze that hangs over the ruins thickening into a mist. It remains thin in the trees, but transforms into dense fog in open areas like the glade, bog, and swamp. Here, it's nigh impossible to see more than ten feet at a time. St. Elmo's fire becomes more and more prevalent, dancing through the vapor. At the outskirts of these spaces, animals call to each other in alarm, sensing something amiss. Anansi settle low in trees, clicking ominously from their perches. Cherts flee to their burrows. The sound of singing moss grows to a fever pitch, before sudden silence descends across the forest.
The radios still hiss with white noise, but the sound is choppy with little spits of interference. Sometimes, you might hear the voice of someone you once knew calling your name, stilted and distant.
Following the sound will lead you to old bones hidden across the ruins. Sometimes they're twisted and malformed, to the point it's impossible to tell who or what they belonged to. Other skeletons are easily identified as nonhuman, while others are unmistakably human. Some even appear to have received some semblance of burial, in contrast to those left subject to the elements.
And some bones are sealed in stone coffins—or so you realize after you open one. While there are tombs that only take a sharp shove to open, others require two people, even with super strength; they have contraptions that require two sets of hands to unlatch, on opposite ends of the casket. It's fairly basic (cinch and lift), but very child proof.
So if you want to (perhaps inadvertently) rob one of these graves, it's gonna take two of you.
The radios still hiss with white noise, but the sound is choppy with little spits of interference. Sometimes, you might hear the voice of someone you once knew calling your name, stilted and distant.
Following the sound will lead you to old bones hidden across the ruins. Sometimes they're twisted and malformed, to the point it's impossible to tell who or what they belonged to. Other skeletons are easily identified as nonhuman, while others are unmistakably human. Some even appear to have received some semblance of burial, in contrast to those left subject to the elements.
And some bones are sealed in stone coffins—or so you realize after you open one. While there are tombs that only take a sharp shove to open, others require two people, even with super strength; they have contraptions that require two sets of hands to unlatch, on opposite ends of the casket. It's fairly basic (cinch and lift), but very child proof.
So if you want to (perhaps inadvertently) rob one of these graves, it's gonna take two of you.
BLACK SUN.
For those of you who remained in or ventured back into the core, the black blot remains in lieu of a sun or moon, like someone sawed a circle out of the sky. But while this dark splotch doesn't seem to cast or reflect light, it remains eternally twilight in this part of the world. The light doesn't change even as the circle in the sky rises and sets.
In the stairwells that lead to the ruins, fossils in the walls seem to shiver with repressed movement, like ancient fish swimming through their surface. You might catch some minuscule movement if you stare too long, like a trick of the light, but turn your back and it's as if the world shifted without you even noticing.
Other than that, it's peaceful, inasmuch as a constantly rearranging world can be considered peaceful. The snow has stopped and the temperature has stabilized at a relatively comfortable 10°C (50°F) to 15°C (60°F). In fact, it's so peaceful, it's as if the weather has departed entirely.
However, while the air might be stagnant, the shadows still stir.
In the stairwells that lead to the ruins, fossils in the walls seem to shiver with repressed movement, like ancient fish swimming through their surface. You might catch some minuscule movement if you stare too long, like a trick of the light, but turn your back and it's as if the world shifted without you even noticing.
Other than that, it's peaceful, inasmuch as a constantly rearranging world can be considered peaceful. The snow has stopped and the temperature has stabilized at a relatively comfortable 10°C (50°F) to 15°C (60°F). In fact, it's so peaceful, it's as if the weather has departed entirely.
However, while the air might be stagnant, the shadows still stir.
I LOST YOU, DIDN'T I.
Get ready for some body horror.
The shadows continue to behave erratically, trailing after anyone who gets too close. It's a steady pursuit; even if a shadow isn't fast, all of them are tenacious and one could easily ambush you. They cling to anyone they catch, touch icy enough to burn, and long-term contact could result in frostbite. Like before, extended contact fills you with longing and the sense of being adrift somewhere vast, like you're chasing something beyond the horizon.
If you shake the shadow off, you feel a sense of loss, as if it stole a piece of yourself in the same way it steals your silhouette before melting away. You want back whatever it took, even if touching it again fills you with pain. For hours or even days, you can't stop seeing little flickers of movement out of the corner of your eyes.
...Unless the shadow burrows beneath your flesh, first.
It's as creepy as it sounds, physical darkness scurrying across your skin like a parasite that's truly alive. And then it's gone like a trick of the light, leaving you pondering if it ever happened at all. It leaves no blemish behind and, as a boon, other shadows begin to ignore you.
But it won't take long to realize you no longer feel the cold...or warmth.
The shadows continue to behave erratically, trailing after anyone who gets too close. It's a steady pursuit; even if a shadow isn't fast, all of them are tenacious and one could easily ambush you. They cling to anyone they catch, touch icy enough to burn, and long-term contact could result in frostbite. Like before, extended contact fills you with longing and the sense of being adrift somewhere vast, like you're chasing something beyond the horizon.
If you shake the shadow off, you feel a sense of loss, as if it stole a piece of yourself in the same way it steals your silhouette before melting away. You want back whatever it took, even if touching it again fills you with pain. For hours or even days, you can't stop seeing little flickers of movement out of the corner of your eyes.
...Unless the shadow burrows beneath your flesh, first.
It's as creepy as it sounds, physical darkness scurrying across your skin like a parasite that's truly alive. And then it's gone like a trick of the light, leaving you pondering if it ever happened at all. It leaves no blemish behind and, as a boon, other shadows begin to ignore you.
But it won't take long to realize you no longer feel the cold...or warmth.
I THINK I LOST MYSELF.
For anyone infested by a shadow, it starts out small. Food loses its flavor. Sounds become muffled, like you're underwater. Colors lose their vibrancy and smells cease to register. Touch turns into nothing more than dull vibrations. You lose small but intrinsic parts of your existence, distracting enough that you might not even notice the darkness that has resurfaced on your skin.
It doesn't burn. It doesn't feel like much of anything at all, despite the way it steadily consumes you. At least, you don't feel it physically; mentally, it makes you more volatile. The shadows erode and subsume your sense of self, just as they overwrite your body with their own.
The appearance of the parasitic shadows may be symbolic of your inner self, your thoughts and feelings, or simply something important to you (from a player standpoint, you can do whatever you want with the way the shadows look as they grow from your character's body). The shadows are also a mild form of hive mind, which means you can sense the presence of other shadows and other hosts. It doesn't matter where they are; you know each other's location and general state of being, to the point you intuitively understand how to cooperate.
Possessed individuals remain semi-aware (and how much they remember is up to players), but the line between yourself and the shadow possessing you blurs more and more. But if the parasite is removed, you'll realize the shadows are echoes of people who once lived here. They may not have been human or come from this world, much like yourselves, but they lived in these ruins as well as they could.
The memories themselves are unclear, more emotional than anything concrete, but you'll vividly recall a disaster, as if cobbled together out of dozens of apocalyptic films. And you'll know that whatever happened is what left these people as nothing more than shadowy dregs of themselves.
It doesn't burn. It doesn't feel like much of anything at all, despite the way it steadily consumes you. At least, you don't feel it physically; mentally, it makes you more volatile. The shadows erode and subsume your sense of self, just as they overwrite your body with their own.
The appearance of the parasitic shadows may be symbolic of your inner self, your thoughts and feelings, or simply something important to you (from a player standpoint, you can do whatever you want with the way the shadows look as they grow from your character's body). The shadows are also a mild form of hive mind, which means you can sense the presence of other shadows and other hosts. It doesn't matter where they are; you know each other's location and general state of being, to the point you intuitively understand how to cooperate.
Possessed individuals remain semi-aware (and how much they remember is up to players), but the line between yourself and the shadow possessing you blurs more and more. But if the parasite is removed, you'll realize the shadows are echoes of people who once lived here. They may not have been human or come from this world, much like yourselves, but they lived in these ruins as well as they could.
The memories themselves are unclear, more emotional than anything concrete, but you'll vividly recall a disaster, as if cobbled together out of dozens of apocalyptic films. And you'll know that whatever happened is what left these people as nothing more than shadowy dregs of themselves.
DESOLATION, ISOLATION.
For anyone unaffected, it's possible to avoid the parasites. In fact, the secret lies with the bones.
If you have one or more coffin-plundered bones on your person, the shadows may shy away and avoid you. It's a bit luck of the draw; the long and the short of it is the shadows respond specifically to bones that belonged to them, once upon a time. Shadows will stay in the general vicinity of their bones, to the point of moving a host closer to where they lie, regardless of where they were originally possessed.
Also, it's possible to communicate with anyone possessed by a shadow. They aren't necessarily rational and have no coherent sense of self, but they seem to have personalities. If caught and restrained, some will threaten their captors and others will beg for their lives. Others will mimic their hosts, or shift through various personas. They're a hive mind, after all.
Removing the shadows from someone is trickier. While some of them can be convinced to leave and may even return to their tombs, you need to force others to give up a physical form. You can do this by destroying their bones; once you find the right skeleton, you can turn the corresponding shadow to dust.
If you have one or more coffin-plundered bones on your person, the shadows may shy away and avoid you. It's a bit luck of the draw; the long and the short of it is the shadows respond specifically to bones that belonged to them, once upon a time. Shadows will stay in the general vicinity of their bones, to the point of moving a host closer to where they lie, regardless of where they were originally possessed.
Also, it's possible to communicate with anyone possessed by a shadow. They aren't necessarily rational and have no coherent sense of self, but they seem to have personalities. If caught and restrained, some will threaten their captors and others will beg for their lives. Others will mimic their hosts, or shift through various personas. They're a hive mind, after all.
Removing the shadows from someone is trickier. While some of them can be convinced to leave and may even return to their tombs, you need to force others to give up a physical form. You can do this by destroying their bones; once you find the right skeleton, you can turn the corresponding shadow to dust.
LOCKED IN A MEMORY.
Some quick things to remember about the ruins (which you can freely explore, as per the previous log):
- The archive is OOC knowledge only; characters need to ICly learn info through trial and error. Or gossip.
- It's impossible to see the sky overhead, but sunlight does make it down somehow.
- All plant life, including those in the archive, glow if an area is dark enough.
- All flora and fauna, including those in the archive, bleed black. Many of them may also smell of rot.
- Attempting to remove a living organism from the ruins will kill it. Removing anything with special properties will nullify those properties, unless they're treated (boiled, cooked, etc) first.
- You can handwave something's existence if it's generic, not permanent or recurring, and won't interfere with other players' fun (e.g., random fruit trees, nondescript rodents, general weather).
( RUINS: EXPLORATION | ARCHIVE )
i.
He considers stopping to respond to the broadcast itself, but he thinks he heard it twice; once from the radio he's picked up, and once from his surroundings. So he shifts attention to follow it instead, soon locating the person responsible--a real person, not just a disembodied voice this time--and... Is that a coffin?
"What are you doing?" He asks in English, assuming that's probably the language to go with, and though his English is rapidly improving it's still pretty clear by pronunciation that it's not a language he uses a lot. He's figured out the radios translate, but that's annoying and slows the whole process down so he'll only resort to that if necessary.
no subject
He hurriedly clicks it off. “I want to open it.” He tries to keep the words simple—feels a little exposed in doing so, his desires that much closer to the surface. He touches his left hand to his right shoulder: “My arm—there's a catch, a trick—”
He sighs, takes a step back. Flicks the flashlight back on, plays it over the tomb. “Did you come here by yourself?” he asks, which should've been the first thing out of his mouth, the first thought in his head. “You shouldn't be alone.”
no subject
So he just blinks hard a few times while William explains, but despite the distraction the response is simple enough that he doesn't have to do much mental translating and therefore gets pretty much everything said to him. Before answering, though, he steps closer to the tomb and reaches out to touch it, using the light from William's flashlight to look it over.
"I'm fine, thank you." It isn't flippant at all, completely genuine--he appreciates the concern but it's unnecessary--and quietly certain. This situation is weird and fascinating and probably a little dangerous, but he's been in worse. So far.
"Why do you want to open it?" That's a more interesting topic of discussion, and it's curious rather than judgemental; part of Koushirou is not super into the idea of opening a casket, for several reasons, but the other part of him definitely wants to find out what's inside. Everything that's going on right now has to be happening for a reason, right? And exploring everything involved is the best way to figure out what that reason might be.
no subject
As for the question, he sighs. Switches off the radio, though of course that makes no difference—it squeals a little with feedback and keeps on hissing. The answer, the real answer, is that he's afraid. Afraid of what? Afraid they'll open it and there'll be nothing there. Not that the grave will be empty—that they'll strain and strain and lift the lid off a void.
He can't say that.
He scratches a hand—the wrong hand, his arm twinges with pain—through his hair. “Because someone built these buildings. Someone wrote on that wall. Someone made this, this tomb. I need to know, I just—” He turns away from Koushirou, extinguishes the flashlight. “I can't do this with you. There could be anything.”
no subject
He watches William's movements, not great a that sort of subtle body language stuff, but he's still getting the impression that William is... Agitated, perhaps, is a good word. Of course, it's probably not unwarranted considering the situation, but it's still a little concerning. The response, though, is one Koushirou can mostly understand and relate to, because--
"I want to know too." And more than that, he intends to know. So whether or not William wants a partner in opening it, Koushirou is going to figure out a way to get it open regardless. Might as well work together, right?