TEST DRIVE MEME #01

[nextnightmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME #01

Hello and welcome to the The Next Night's test drive meme for May-June! Thanks for your interest in this GPSL! In an effort to streamline our application process and avoid future confusion between incoming and existing players, we do not have a reservation period. Applications will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

At this point in time, characters have not yet ICly unlocked the ability to bring in new people. However, we hope that will change in June! As soon as we set a date for applications to open, we will post an update to the OOC community as well as to plurk.

While you're here...

• Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with The Next Night.


• Note that we will have an application cap of 20 apps for new players for this upcoming round only, and that the game has a player cap of 60. In future months we expect to limit this to 10 apps per round. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.


• TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.


• Threads with new arrivals must ICly take place after the mechanism for bringing in new characters has been re-enabled in order to be kept canon. We understand this makes keeping track of dates a bit tricky and may require some timey-wimey handwaving but please try to keep this in mind when deciding if a thread can be canon or not.


• Note that top-leveling is not limited to new characters! If current players wish to post a starter, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts. In addition, any threads from the TDM will be forward dated to when these mechanics are restored.


• If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).


• You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.


• As we no longer plan to have a bimonthly game-wide HMD meme, we will require all new applications going forward to have a HMD post somewhere on the journal and we will ask for this as part of the application process.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

EMERGENCY LANDING.

You've arrived.

Where, exactly? Well, that's quite hard to say. All around you is darkness. Even the stars above seem dimmed, as if it were possible to turn down the brightness on the sky. The only light immediately apparent is a lantern placed directly beside you. The handy-dandy tablet also provides light, but not enough to help much. Seems like you're going to have to find your way in the darkness.

Whether you find yourself in a dusted, rusted old amusement park, a spectacularly creepy abandoned orphanage, or what seems to be a museum with a very abrupt water feature in the middle of it, it's very clear you're not where you were when you closed your eyes. If you look back, what do you remember? Your death could be vivid, complete with the injuries that brought it, or a distant memory that almost seems like a dream. Either way it sticks to the back of your mind, whether you want it to or not.

And it might not be the best of ideas to worry about how you died or how you got here alone in the dark. Because turns out, maybe you aren't so alone after all. It might be a feeling, a crawl up your spine. Or sounds, bumps and wheezes and scratches hidden in the dark. Or it might be eyes, shining out in the shadows. It might be a good idea to start running, and hope you aren't the only one that found yourself stranded in this strange place.

Whatever you do, make sure you bring that lantern with you. Diverting too far from it makes you feel faint, and pushing past that feeling is not advised.

---

Turns out, it's not just new Beaconites that are turning up all over the place. The automated system is doing its best, but, there's some kinks to work out. The good news is, there's supplies coming into Beacon after almost two months of nothing! The bad news is, the supplies are showing up all over the place, with no rhyme or reason.

There are blankets and clothing items scattered on the dilapidated track of the Euthanasia coaster. There's a pile of food in the midst of the mostly destroyed sculpture garden, almost looking like an artistic statement on consumerism. Need some new tools? Hope you like climbing, because they seem to be precariously balanced in the branches of trees. There's a fax machine settled by the Bonfire, and nobody really knows what that's about.

Whatever it is you find, it's all helpful things that the residents of town could probably use. Though, admittedly, it'd be more helpful if it were in a place it could be used. Just like cargo off the ferry, it'd be a good idea to haul all this stuff from its landing place to the store, or wherever else it might be helpful. Or for those feeling less charitable, just grab what looks good and squirrel it away. Surely nobody is around to mind that you're helping yourself to more than your fair share!

As a final warning — tread with caution. Because with everything appearing at relative random, the next place it appears could be directly above you. And nobody wants to be under a pile of building materials when it ultimately lands.

KATAKLYSMOS.

All around you are signs of a devastating flood. Debris is still washed up against trees and buildings, walls have been knocked over, roofs caved in, and there's even a massive sinkhole in the Town Hall. Sandbags and trenches decorate the salvaged buildings.

And to the forest spirits, this seems to be cause for celebration! Are they excited that everything flooded? Are they just trying to cheer people up? Is this some festive holiday they've adopted from previous Beacon residents? Hard to say. But little pop-up booths reminiscent of a street market start to take shape around town, made out of collapsed homes and downed trees. The spirits offer snacks and drinks (probably pilfered from whatever was left of the sorry supplies, so think sliced spam and Tang), and "souvenirs" of people's ruined personal belongings that had washed out of their homes.

The best part, though? Water-based activities, fun for the whole family! Yes, the spirits are running around with buckets full of water to dump on everyone! Congrats, you survived the flood, here's more water! Watch out - if they can't find buckets they might just steal your shoes or hat and fill those with water instead!

As with most forest spirit prompts, feel free to NPC them yourselves - they're of slightly above animal intelligence and will come up with inventive ways to get you soaking wet when you least expect it.

network prompts

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

So you've found yourself in Beacon's eternal darkness. Well done! One of the first things most do here is check out the folding tablet they arrived with. On opening it, a prompt requests that you enter a network username.

But the instant you hit "OK", the screen redirects you to a welcome app. Which seems like it should be a good thing! But whether you select that you'd like it to be read aloud or if you would rather read it yourself, it seems to be a completely glitchy, bizarre mess. Parts are barely readable, but some parts look perhaps intentionally altered. Surely this isn't how the people of Beacon intended to welcome you, right?

Once it finishes, or once you manage to close out of it (a challenge, perhaps, since finding the right button on the screen to touch is difficult - the X shifts, the screen gets covered in static, and what is that sound) the network opens, prompting you to read the latest posts or make a post of your own.

WHISPERS IN THE DARK.

It's late. Or it feels late, it's always hard to tell in Beacon. Something pulled you from sleep, or whatever you were working on. A whisper, just nearby. A familiar voice, quiet and distant, and getting increasingly louder.

After some investigation, it becomes apparent the voice is coming from the tablet. There's a cryptic post, asking simply Do you hear me? And any time that particular post is pulled up, the voices won't stop.

The voices are distinctly ones that seem familiar. Maybe someone you've met in Beacon. Maybe someone you knew before then. Maybe it's someone you shouldn't be able to hear at all, and yet, you do.

There's no chance at actual conversation, though — the voice is simply asking if it can be heard. Softly, at first. A tinge confused, in some cases. The confusion escalates and is tainted by panic, as the voice keeps calling for an answer, an acknowledgment, that seems impossible to give. Even as the voice begs to be heard, please, please just say you can hear me, even as it fades into screams of frustration or terrified tears, no amount of response seems to break through.

The comments are open — maybe you can get your answers that way?

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

jill valentine | resident evil

[dodgeshot]

landing.
[ Well. This just sucks.

It's not the unknown territory or the lanterns or anything else that bothers Jill especially on first arrival. It's the quiet and the stillness, the way everything seems to have completely gone silent where she is. That and, well, she's alone at first. Alone means no back-up, no Carlos... No monsters either. She could cling to the silver lining for what it is but the truth of the matter is that she doesn't think she can trust it. Just because she's alone for now doesn't mean she won't be later.

The lantern's dull. She'd say it's not very usable but it clips to her belt and at least it works, unlike the flashlight that'd been strapped to her person. She still has her guns, still has her knife. It's workable for the moment, and so it is that she treks up the path and begins to explore.

And it's probably the fact that she's got a nearly full arsenal slung around her person that makes her all the more definable. Maybe she looks intimidating or maybe she looks ridiculous, especially when she's trying to climb one of the trees. There's a crowbar she can see dangling just out of reach with her name on it, one she's easing out onto a limb to snag.

The branch sways, dips; the crowbar falls. And she'd be happy to leave it at that, starting to pick down, when she sees a shadow of a watcher nearby. Her gun is drawn, leveled. ]

Step out slowly. Let me see your face.



technical difficulties.
[ We don't have time to unpack all of that.

Jill does, she guesses, listening to the welcome message and trying to get a handle on the information. Her memories don't provide her a proper explanation to what she's been giving, implying her death when she can't remember when or how or why. It's not the only thing she lingers over but it's one of them. The rest she has to unpack on her own.

But the text that finds its way to the network is simple, under the username valentine. ]

I have a blanket and a plaid shirt if someone has ointment. Willing to trade. I just need a couple swabs of it. Alcohol works fine too.



whispers.
[ She doesn't know what to expect when she pulls the post up and listens to it. The overlay of voices is too much to parse out at first. But as she listens, again and again, she can make out one voice in particular.

Jill sits up, trying to get the device to work. ]

Chris? Chris, can you hear me? It's Jill.

[ His voice is on loop, just asking if someone can hear him. And it dissolves into a frustrated yell, almost pained, before it stops at long last.

Finger shaking, Jill types out another message. ]

Can anyone hear the person on this post? Do you know where he is?

[ If there's a chance Chris is here too, she has to find him and make sure he's okay. ]



wildcard.
[ Anything else! Find her exploring, looking into the weird market, just hanging out. Hit me up via PM or dirges. ]

landing

[callada]

[A very, very tall shadow indeed. The shadow claps a hand to its chest, barely illuminated by dim light, and as he steps forward, this time he's audible - footsteps, a rustle of fabric that hadn't been there a moment ago.]

Sure. Didn't mean to scare you.

[Rosinante speaks evenly as he pulls the prism-like mechanism off of his lantern and swings it and the strap it's on around to his chest, out from under his coat. The engram is a tool sold to him by a Night Market merchant - it dims his light and disguises it as a jeweled stone, making it less conspicuous, less of a target should the spirits wise up, and that, plus his silencing ability, makes moving around in the woods less hazardous while he's still trying desperately to find survivors of the recent flood, or their belongings.

But well-lit now, he emerges from the darkness at his full near-ten feet in height, and holds his hands out in a gesture of peace.]

I heard movement. Figured I'd better be cautious. The things that live out here aren't always friendly. Uh - do you want me to get that for you?

[His eyes are solidly on hers, and on that gun, but he tips his head slightly in the direction of the crowbar.

Who is she, and what is she doing all the way out here?]

technical difficulties.

[statecrafter]

[ she gets a response from l.laurel soon enough: ]

Managed to find two bottles of ointment at the strange market those 'spirits' are hosting.

I'll be willing to give you one of them if you can swap out the shirt for another towel or something similar. I'm more concerned about keeping my place dry and clean at the moment.

landing.

[ultraviolents]

[ someone with that kind of arsenal stands out, especially when that someone is a new arrival in a place like beacon. elektra had been trying to find some of the supplies that had been spotted throughout town when she'd spotted the glow of a lantern from a distance and had been following her since, at first to find out what she is and then, once she'd determined she wasn't a spirit, to find out how she'd gotten here.

the shadow is deliberate at this point, and when jill orders her out elektra comes out of the deeper ones with her hands showing. her sai are strapped at her sides and she's dressed in all black, except for the trim of the collar covering the lower half of her face, which is pulled down a few moments after she makes her request.

her eyes cant to the ground, where the crowbar's landed a few feet from where she's standing before focusing back on the woman. ]

You might find that thing more useful around here.

Junghoon | Original Character

[dirtspoon]

I. LOGS


A. ARRIVAL

[ It's not a pleasant "awakening" as Junghoon lurches violently to his feet, hand smacking roughly against his forehead where he can still recall the explosive pain of a bullet ripping through his skull just moments ago. At least, that's what he thought he recalled, but as he pulls his hand down to eye level, squinting in the darkness at his palm, he can't see any traces of blood. There's no pain in his head either, aside from the slight sting of having just slapped himself. He seems okay.

Though as he stops hyper-focusing on the head wound he may or may not have gotten, he starts to realize that okay is a very relative term.

There's no sign of the palace, or the bloody coup that had finally breached its walls after days of ripping apart the rest of the country. There's no sign of the prince he was desperately trying to flee with through servant's passages when he got...

Shot.

He presses his hand to his forehead again, a little more tenderly this time, while he surveys his surroundings. It looks like a defunct amusement park, something straight out of a horror game, and as he takes a shuffled step forward his foot bumps into the the metal and glass lantern still sitting on the ground. It's the only thing providing any light, and Junghoon doesn't even think twice about bending down to grab onto the handle, furrowing his eyebrows and grabbing what looks like a tablet resting next to it.

Holding the lantern up high he tries to survey the park around him, doing his best to ignore the involuntary shiver that runs up his spine as he turns slowly in spot. A shape moving in the shadows near the coaster, and what almost sounds like something sharp scraping against tile. With a small voice, Junghoon tries calling out to the form. ]

Hey?

[ Only to hear a growl in return.

And nope. Absolutely not. Hell no. That's all it takes for Junghoon to turn and bolt full force in the opposite direction. Good luck to anyone who might be in his path, because he's slowing down for absolutely nothing. ]


B. FESTIVITIES

[ Junghoon's interest in taking part of these water spirit games is absolutely nonexistent. The thing is, it's not like he's being given a choice in the matter. While he can kind of stay away from the booths, still creeped out by the abnormally behaving animals, he can't do much about a very impressively coordinated group of raccoons coming up behind him and dumping a bucket of water over his head.

That responding scream of Junghoon's is absolutely piercing. Who knew a grown man could get his voice up that high? ]


II. NETWORK

UN: plainbones

[ Listening to the question in that voice is hard as hell to hear. He tried responding at first, calling out his name, asking if he could be heard back. By the time the question turned to sobs he debated throwing his tablet at the wall in frustrated anger.

Instead he angrily types out a question in the comment section. Some people have been here for awhile, and if something is going to be fucking with him like this he wants to know so he can brace himself now. ]

What the hell is this?

ia.

[unwieldy]

[ Haein normally doesn't travel far from the Landmark, and considering the amusement park is a good distance away from the hotel, it's kind of weird for him to be here. But after his recent exploration to the dilapidated orphanage, and the subsequent discussion of what they'd come across, Haein had filed the amusement park away as a place to visit some time.

That some time being now.

He's not really sure what he's looking for, but figures he should at least pick up some of the fallen supplies as he roams around. It's a mystery where they're coming from, though not something he dwells on for very long. Without the ferry, they need everything they can get, and if it's falling from who-knows-where, then so be it. He's got a backpack stuffed with whatever he can carry, and hopefully he'll be able to dodge anything that might land on him.

Unfortunately, he's so busy keeping his eyes peeled above him that he doesn't see what's coming right at him until it's too late. Someone plows into Haein and sends him falling to the ground, though not before he jerks his lantern up and holds it out of the way from the ground. The last thing he needs right now is for his lantern to break and kill him in the process.

There's a second or two of dazed silence before Haein pushes himself up to a seated position, wincing a bit as he does. Gods, there's no catching breaks in this place... ]

What the hell are you running into people for?

[ Don't mind him as he angrily hisses out the question. ]

Merwen the Impatient One | A Door Into Ocean

[theimpatientone]

Arrival - Museum
[ In the garden in front of the museum, Merwen awakes. The stone beneath her isn't surprising, though that she feels it is; only corpses end up lying on stone, but she hadn't imagined being in any state to feel it.

Merwen sits up, looking out into the darkness, trying to discern her surroundings and seeing only... humans of stone. Strangers. Her skin is the shade of amethyst, she is completely naked, and she is hairless from head to toe. Her toes, like her fingers, are extraordinarily long, nailless, and webbed with translucent membrane. A scar runs down her neck, just visible by the light of the lantern beside her.

There's a sound in the darkness, something she can't identify. She's never seen something quite like the lantern but its purpose is clear. Merwen lifts it as she rises.]

Whatever is there, do you speak?

[ She pivots, looking hard into the darkness. ]


Kataklysmos
[ This sort of destruction is almost familiar to her, and Merwen walks among the stalls with a thoughtful expression on her face, the light of her lantern glowing through the webbing of her fingers. The apparent celebration before even cleaning up seems strange, though, and the strange creatures that seem to be running it aren't like anything she's seen either. She does nod politely to them as she passes.

The splash that hits her from behind stuns her; she turns, then begins to laugh in disbelief, the laughter of someone who hasn't laughed in a very long time, verging on hysterical.]


Whispers
[ The voice wakes her from a light and troubled sleep, and she reaches for it rather gingerly. The tablet is something Merwen has paid little attention to, setting up an account but little else, though it seemed important enough to keep track of. Now, of all the voices she could be hearing, few would stop her the way the voice of her lovesharer would.

Her username is clickfly.]

Usha, if that is truly you, we share hearing. I am here.

Arrival

[axecop]

[He sees her silhouette lit by the lantern first. In the darkness, he can't immediately tell anything strange about her, so he is quick to answer when she calls out.]

Yes, ma'am. Hello.

[He tucks his gun back into its holster and approaches her with his hands free, his own lantern secured to his belt.]

I'm glad to find someone else. Are you hurt? My name is Detective-

[Oh, hey, she's naked. Joseph's eyes go wide behind his glasses and he instinctively looks away.] Wow. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to-

[Okay. Get it together. This isn't the time to be worrying about social mores surrounding nudity. He can't be reliable if she thinks he's embarrassed. So after the initial flap, he forces himself to come off calm and together.

This also helps him cope with the fact she is quite purple.]

Detective Oda, KCPD. Are you okay?

Kataklysmos

[paletteswap]

[A ways behind her is a man in leather and metal armor, carrying some salvaged supplies to a more suitable location. He frowns at the spirits as they happily scamper away, the furrows in his brow indicating he frowns a lot.]

They do this sometimes. Play jokes and taunt people. I am pretending that it means they like you.

[At least she seems to find it funny. A little funnier than it should be, but he'd be a poor judge of that.]

arrival

[callada]

[That sound was probably Rosinante tripping on the uneven, flood-scoured ground and falling flat on his face. It's quite the thunk, given his height. The light drew his attention - for there haven't been many yet who have gone to look at what remains of the museum aside from Fitz, and he's hopeful to learn something about what's happened in there, or head on in himself.

But he picks himself up, dusts himself, off, and comes closer. There's a slight hesitance in his stride because uh, whoops, naked - and he averts his eyes.]

Uh - sorry. Um, you must have just arrived. Do you need help finding clothes? Seems like our stuff went everywhere this time.

[The nudity is unexpected, but the rest? Well, maybe she's a fishman. He keeps assuming people are and then finds out they're something else - orcs, a couple times now - but in his brief glimpse she looked like she had some webbing. Maybe he's right this time, and maybe the portal grabbed someone from his own world this time, which is sure a rare thing.]

Joseph Oda | The Evil Within

[axecop]

(I'm easy re: formatting. Please respond in brackets or prose as you prefer.)

Emergency Landing

[He doesn't think twice about grabbing the lantern. The light is soothing, a bulwark against the encroaching darkness. He hasn't been afraid of the dark since he was a child, but given what he's just been through, even he can't blame himself for the slip. With a bit of ingenuity and his handcuffs, he straps the lantern to his belt to free up both hands for his gun.

The halls of the museum are eerily empty, and the whole place looks abandoned. The building has been rent in two by some great tremor, and a fissure splits the grand hall in half. Water flows from up above in a makeshift waterfall. The noise would be soothing if he wasn't absolutely certain it was covering up the sound of something coming for him in the dark.

He does hear a noise. Something loud, a crash, followed by a shout. Another person? Though part of him wants to duck somewhere and hide, the other part, the one that wears the badge, can't fathom abandoning someone who might need help.

Joseph follows the noise down a hall. The fossil displays lie ahead. He briefly considers how bullets might impact some kind of horrible animated dinosaur skeleton, because that's the kind of day he's been having.]

Is anyone there?


Kataklysmos

[You know what? This is an improvement. Spirits are refreshingly fantastical after the grisly psychopath technological shitshow. Spirits are fine. Almost cute.

It'd be cuter if they clearly weren't doing their thing over the flooded remains of what was clearly a settlement, and one that nobody's cleaned up yet. There are a lot of personal belongings scattered around. That suggests that few survived the flood. The lack of bodies could mean that the survivors have prioritized dealing with the dead first and ignored all material things. Or, for a more cheerful theory, maybe the populace fled and haven't been able to make it back here before now.

The "souvenirs" are too ghoulish for him to even look too closely at. But he does accept a Dixie cup full of some refreshment from one excited being. Tang? Tastes just as awful as it did when he was a kid. (Note to take later, taste buds functional. Eating and drinking functions seem normal. Further investigation required.)

He doesn't need to worry about finishing the cup off, though, as a bucket of water is thrown on him from behind. The cold soaks through his clothes instantly and he yelps, stumbling forward. His eyes go blurry and he hears the telltale skittering of his glasses getting washed off.]

Ah! Wait! [Crawling through a puddle, he feels around desperately for them. If there's anyone standing nearby, he will frantically look at them.] Watch where you step, please! My glasses--


Technical Difficulties

username: detjoda

[Well, that was... neat. At least the distortion is happening on a screen this time and not in his own vision. In his own head. In someone else's head. The revelation that he's allegedly dead also lands with less alarm than it probably should have. For one thing, he doesn't feel dead. Presumably death should feel at least a little bit different than life. This doesn't feel different. As far as he knows, he's still trapped in STEM as he's been all day. Day? Has it been only one day? It's felt like months. Not even counting the blanks in his memory, it...

Jesus, he needs to stop thinking about that as hard as he is.

Thank God this is text, where nobody can hear his voice in case it starts shaking again.]

There's amazing reception here I could make a comment about misplaced priorities.

My name is Detective Joseph Oda, Krimson City Police Department. Is someone available to answer some questions? I imagine I'm not the only one who has them.

First, though, why is it "Beacon?" [Because shit is that an unfortunate coincidence.]


Whispers in the Dark

[It's not a friendly voice that Joseph hears through the static of the tablet's tinny little speaker. It's the low, cruel rasp of a voice that is simultaneously familiar and strange, one that he's never heard before but one that's spoken to him in dreams. Nightmares. The unwaking hell of STEM.

But Ruvik isn't taunting this time. He's pleading to be heard. Some spiteful part of Joseph wonders since when he's started having problems with that. In a strange way it comforts him, because if Ruvik can't enforce his will on the world, if he can't make himself be heard-- maybe this isn't his world.

Maybe this is real.

He still doesn't trust his voice to come across as collected as he would like it. So he types, instead.]

Did anyone else hear a message from a man just now?

whispers in the dark.

[dodgeshot]

[ The sound of Chris calling for someone, desperate to hear another voice, is not something she'll forget anytime soon. The memory of it burns in her thoughts while she fusses with the tablet, tries to hear it again, tries to ring him down. If he's on this network, he's got to be here, right?

She starts to type something out when a message pops up. Jill's eyes skim it, pausing, wondering.

detjoda

It's not a name she recognizes but, even so, she has to tread carefully. She sends off a message from 'valentine'. ]

I did.
Did you recognize his voice?

lorem laurel. | original character.

[statecrafter]

emergency landing.

[ when she wakes up, her brain no longer feeling like it'll collapse upon herself, lorem sees she's in a greenhouse of some sort. one of the shabbiest ones she's ever seen but that's not the point. the fact she's here at all is already causing alarm bells to ring in her head. as she stands up and dusts off the dirt and leaves off her clothes, she tries to collect her thoughts and examine her situation.

the office. midday. she put off a call from laura because she didn't have an interest in fighting with her again. it's all jumbled up in her aching head but- the last thing she clearly recalls is being in her office, overlooking a treaty she was drafting a report in the latest trade developments...

something catches her attention as she's trying to leave the building, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together with the hope of fresh air to clear her head. it's a bed of bright blue flowers, the blossoms so small and fragile-looking but she knows (she knows) they're sturdier than they look. the sight of them causes her to freeze up, her brain coming to a blank at the flowers of all things. how did they get here? who planted them? why did someone plant them because-

creeeeeak.

when the door to the greenhouse opens, lorem realises she had frozen up and wasted precious time. now she's stuck in a building with the only possible entrance/exit blocked by someone coming in. she tenses but also calmly turns to the direction of the door, raising her chin in both greeting and defiance. ]

Oh, don't mind me. I only dropped by to admire the flora you've managed to cultivate. [ she doesn't have any information or idea where she is but she refuses to lose face. not in the strange circumstances she finds herself in. ]

kataklysmos.

[ she ends up at one of the booths when she finally arrives in the town proper. she's curious to see what they have 'in stock', so to speak. it'll give her an idea of what's left, what's needed, and who's where. (a thing to note: whenever a spirit attempts to toss water at her during her inspection of the wares, lorem is quickly to summon a force field to keep herself dry with nothing more but a flick of her wrist and a sideglance at the disappointed... thing looking at her with disappointment.

no thank you, spirits.)

she's managed to haggle for an item in particular, more interested in her attempts to converse with these creatures than actually acquiring the bargained item. when the deal is about to be made, that's when she realises someone is staring at her. ]

... Do you have an issue with me getting this? [ she raises the item in question up for better viewing, making sure to pause for a second like she's shy to do she. she puts on a worried front by tilting her head and frowning in concern at the individual as if she's suddenly self-conscious of her actions. ] If you do, please let me know. I would hate to make a poor impression when I'm so new here.

technical difficulties.

un: l.laurel

That was certainly a charming message to be greeted with. You all certainly put a lot of panache into that one. Ad captandum vulgus?

Now. If you don't mind me seriously asking: What are the most serious matters that must be addressed at the moment? I can already tell that there are multiple issues that have to be resolved, all thanks to this flood that passed through Beacon, but I'm sure you've all already prioritised what must be done first.

[featherknives]

[Xayah equally freezes in the doorway, two pots with plants in her hands. She did not expect people to come over today. Not that greenhouse belongs to her exclusively, but she sleeps here and is more often than not, trigger happy with her feather knives.

Luckily for everyone involved, her hands were full and busy. But her ears perk up as if trying to gauge just how dangerous this woman is. She doesn't want to drop the plants that she barely managed to save, but if she's attacked she won't hold back.]

The flood washed away half of it, [Xayah says, her purple wings folding behind her like a cape.] We are trying to grow some food since Ferry isn't coming around regularly anymore.

[She scans her up and down-] And seeing you don't know that, you must be new. How did you end up here? Did the Ferry arrive? [It would be great to get some supplies.]

Noctis Lucis Caelum | FFXV

[sacrifi]

◼ Emergency Landing

[The afterlife wasn't painful- it was the trip to there that was. The thoughts had left him as the Ring fulfilled its duty and got rid of the darkness, once and for all, and he expected to fall into a very long, deserved sleep.

No rest for the wicked they say.

The crackle of the fire nearby pulls him from whatever little slumber he was in. Familiar sound and yet it feels odd. There's no smell of Iggy's cooking, or the sound of Prompto humming and fiddling with the camera, or Gladio cleaning his sword.

He forces his eyes to open, the body still heavy a bit, and leaned back against the tree trunk. This... is not a campsite. It can't be, because he died. Is this some kind of memory? But there's no tent, and he's in his royal raiments too. Noctis pushes himself to sit up, with a wince and a groan, looking around in confusion.]

...anyone there?

[He can feel the familiar tingle of the armiger, however, so that's comforting. If anything attacks, he can defend himself. Despite the bonfire, it's still so dark.]

◻ Kataklysmos

[He's still getting used to the fact that these "forest spirits" aren't as aggressive as daemons. It's kind of hard to switch the mindset after battling it for such a long time.

Nevertheless, he ends up with a ton of random, broken stuff in his hands, from half a plate, twisted fork, a shoelace, something that could've been a picture frame and a damp book, with pages all, stuck to each other.]

It's hard to say no to them, [Noctis sighs, jumping off to the side to avoid spirits rushing down the path with buckets.] That won't end well...

◼ Technical Dificulties

[Noctis doesn't have a lot of trouble learning the new device. Sticky fingers here and there, but the app is pretty simple. More importantly, he has a question.]

UN: Noct.Gar

Has anyone been to the Lighthouse?

I've read it's an important landmark for this place and impossible to reach. But with this flood, did anyone went up to check what's going on?

Or are the spirits still guarding the path to it?

Emergency Landing

[luxoraculi]

[ It's disorienting, being back here, she thinks. Some things are the same, at least; she's found a few familiar faces and landmarks. Others, not so much -- the cabin that she used to reside in, along with her ridiculous bounce house, are gone. Lost to the floods, she's been told.

The bonfire, however, is one of the landmarks that she's happiest to see. What with the whole never ending darkness bit, it is literally a comforting light in the night, other than the lanterns, and she is drawn to it like a moth to the literal flame.

But right now, it's not the warm glow of the bonfire that's caught her attention. No, it's the tired looking man that's in front of it. He looks different than before -- older, more rugged, more tired, but she could never mistake him. ]

...Noctis?

Link || Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[timesensitive]

Arrival + Item retrieval

[Link here may have just arrived a day ago--somewhere around there, he's not even sure--but that hasn't stopped him from jumping right into trying to help fix up the town. If the so-far-constant darkness bothers him, he hasn't shown it yet, but he clearly seems new by the way he's more than willing to venture right into the more heavily forested areas to retrieve things.

Or up into the trees, as he can be found doing more than once. A small group of spirits has managed to convince him to retrieve them things from high branches--some blankets, a tripod of some sort, some very waterlogged books. The blankets in particular he's decided to hook with the sword he came with, he himself perched precariously at the edge of a branch.

Otherwise, he's around town, carrying debris to put in piles or supplies to put in neater piles, his lantern hanging from his waist.]


Technological impairment

UN: link

[After coming up with the most creative username ever, it's time to brave the network! It's very confusing, and whenever anything happens onscreen, he has to pause and squint suspiciously at it. Or each time there's static, yelp and drop it.]

hello

am i doing this right

i think ive broken this. what do you call it?

88yjenykaolenk

i can understand this but ive never seen this writing before.

help?


Kataklysmos

[There's a half-drenched teenager running around, chasing a gaggle of spirits that have not only been tossing buckets of water at him, they've also stolen his hat and somehow, a single boot. Help? Or laugh at him, he might not even notice, as focused as he is to try to catch at least one spirit with the bucket in one hand.]


Wildcard

[Choose your own adventure!]

( prompt: technological impairment. )

[statecrafter]

[ oh dear.

looks like she'll need to intervene before something happens. ]

Hello.

I believe I can help you. If you're having issues with your tablet, we can work on it step-by-step.

First of all: What's your name? I'm Mrs. Laurel.

Caleb Widogast | Critical Role

[katzenpfote]

Landing

[The last thing he remembers is a clash of waves and wind and horrific creatures, whiplike tendrils as hair. He remembers the flash of blood on the deck of the ship... and two bodies, lying lifeless as the group fought. Paralysis, and then... pain. It's fuzzy. He's not sure what this means.]

[He summons a small flame in his hand, but it doesn't seem to give out much light. Curious, he turns to the lantern that seems like it is actually producing light and picks it up carefully.]

[He jerks as he realizes where he is. The beds... the small beds... and a sound that seems like scratching and thumping. He can't find Frumpkin, but he can deal with that later, snatching up the lantern and scrambling to his feet, wildly gazing around to take in the scenery as he flees out into the night. Maybe someone else will be there.]


Technical Difficulties

[Time to explore this strange thing - ... well. That... certainly is a message. He flicks through it with a little difficulty, but he's pretty sure he gets the gist.]

[There's only one thing a wizard in desperate need of supplies can do, so...]

Does anyone know where I can find high quality chalk and incense here? I am in need of it.


Whispers

[He jerks up from his half-dozed seated position and looks around, trying to find the source. He pulls the tablet close to himself, and looks around, trying to se if anyone is up. He doesn't answer for a few long moments, just listening to the voice. It's his mother, and that's a dirty trick. Still... nothing ventured, right?]

Ja, I can hear you - ah. I must write it. [He taps that in, and adds an extra message for the thing.] State your name and purpose here. I can hear you.

[... He knows it's not her. She's dead. She has been for a long time. But hearing her voice still hurts.]

technical difficulties

[sacrifi]

I was told that the flood flushed away and destroyed a lot of things.

Small items like that are probably the first to perish.

Perhaps there's something left in the general store?

Elden | Pathfinder Oc

[spitefullight]

Landing

[ it's a replay all over again. Arrows strike a vital spot, no time to fix the damage, it's just blinding pain and then fade to black. It's when he wakes up it's muddled with confusion and fear. The same darkness, this same feeling of oppression. When his eyes set sight on the familiar lantern, his lips purse into a thin line.

Back in this dead place where light found a hard time to shine. As much as he wanted to help here this is not how he remembered coming here. This was far different. Why hadn't he come on the boat?

Too many questions go through his head and all immediately silenced when he hears the sound of something cracking. Was it a branch breaking in the wind or did someone or something cause it? He turns swiftly in the direction of the noise, holding his lantern out towards it. ]

Come out! If you're not some freaky monster you don't need to hide but if you are uh...don't try it? Because I can blow you up.

[ That's a good threat, right? ]

Technical Difficulties

[ It's not like he hasn't used this before, so; ]

Hello? This is Elden. I'm not sure if there's anyone here who remembers me but, I remember this place.

Uh so there's a big question I have;

Did this place get even more depressing?

Wildcard
[ ooc: Have a different Idea of what you want to do? Throw a Private message at me or contact me via pp on plurk @ christhehost ]

@cherylbombshell

[sweetwater]

The abyss of disappointment to be found here is truly bottomless.

trafalgar d. water law | one piece

[countershocks]

landing.

[ he wakes up in darkness, alone, on the floor of a room that at one point must have housed multiple people — now it's falling apart, and the floorboards creak as law pushes himself up. the darkness isn't much of a bother, neither is being alone; in fact, he quietly thinks it's preferrable to waking up to someone else there. he picks up the lantern, slungs his sword over his shoulder, and leaves the house.

if someone had asked him what he thought death would look like, this wasn't what he'd have described. but in the end, it doesn't matter: he's here, now, whatever or wherever this is. the thought fills him with a flash of annoyance — a new place? why? he has nothing to do here, nothing to accomplish.

law huffs as he lets the door swing shut behind him... and promptly freezes. there's — something. in the darkness. observation haki has never been his strongest point, but this? he thinks even those without would be able to feel it.

slowly, he moves forward, a blue flicker over his palm. calling out, matter-of-fact, ]

I know there's someone there. Make a move, any move, and I'll cut you down.

whispers.

[ it starts out slow. a whisper there, then another, too quiet for him to make out who it is, or what they're saying. but then it keeps going, can you hear me?, once, twice, and law...

law thinks he's probably going crazy. maybe his mind has finally had enough and has just — snapped. he wouldn't be surprised.

he ignores the voice. ignores it, until it becomes loud enough for him to recognise the speaker (and maybe he did, maybe he was just trying not to think about it, any of it), and the first syllable is enough to have law grip his tablet and nearly chuck it as far away from him as possible.

shut up, he thinks, because he's about 95% certain if he were to try and say something, absolutely nothing would come out.

instead, he opens the post, reads the responses.

and upon confirming that he's not the only one hearing... things, he writes,]

I'm assuming most of us can hear the voice. I wonder... is it the same for everyone? If you hear it, do you know the speaker?

[ trying to gather as much data as he can and figure out what the hell is going on seems like a solid plan right now. and also something to stop him from thinking of —

anything.]

wildcard.

[ the usual go-for-whatever-you-want option goes here! no need to even ask, just go wild. ]

landing

[callada]

[The thing in the trees ahead is massive but that's all Rosinante has been able to discern. He's out here looking for stranded new folks and hoping desperately meanwhile that he'll come across the cigarettes he tried to request in the new portal system, but so far he's been out of luck. Thankfully the pounding headaches have receded over the last couple of weeks but it doesn't make him any happier about not getting a smoke since April.

As he stalks soundlessly forward through the trees, trying to tell if the sounds ahead are coming from the long legs that move between the trunks or if there's a person there as well, the door of an old cabin shuts and the edge of it is barely illuminated in the darkness by someone's lantern. Phew. Non-spirit. He doesn't recognize the voice, but whoever that is ahead has noticed the thing in the forest as well.

With a thump of his hand on his chest he releases the calm. The guy's on edge and he'd like to keep his head attached to his body. He calls out from some distance behind, but keeps his eyes fixed on where he last saw that enormous spirit - an antler, maybe, an appendage, something had blocked out a star for a moment.]

Back away from that thing slowly. Come over here. I don't know if it's dangerous, but you probably don't want to find out.

one || drakengard 3

[acuition]

emergency landing
[ In the sculpture garden by the museum, a young woman is slowly getting to her feet. Which isn't particularly interesting to any observers, but she does have a rather large chakram in her possession.

She notices a few things, rather quickly-- that she's (somehow) able to move, even after Zero had killed her. That she isn't anywhere near the Cathedral City. And...most strangely to her, that she can barely see anything around her.

It would almost be a relief, that after so long being tormented by her far-sharper-than-normal senses, that they've become far more manageable, but she can already hear soft noises. Far away, but grating and getting closer.

So much for that. She swings her weapon up into one hand, at the ready, and picks up the lantern with the other. No sense in getting too cocky, with one of her senses almost entirely muted.

Eventually, she finds a path and begins following it-- though of course, she's not alone. There's something following her, and eventually, as she continues on, there's something that sounds like less of a something and more of a somebody... ]

If you understand what I'm saying, stay where you are.

[ Even if she's uneasy, she sounds confident enough. Though who knows if whoever is out there can understand... or if they're not being followed, as well. ]


supply landing
[ Shortly after she's gotten up to speed on everything here, One will begin helping out with all those new supplies that have landed...basically everywhere. She's taken one of the blankets and has been using it as a makeshift bag to carry as much as she can-- which is a pretty respectable amount, thanks to freaky Intoner-strength. Of course, that only helps until the blanket catches on something and tears and...oops, there's a bunch of supplies that were going to the store, all over the path.

While trying to gather up as much as she can, she'll stop people who walk by, too. ]

Excuse me-- are you able to carry some of this to the store?

[ Of course, feel free to accept/turn her down/tell her to try lifting with her legs and not her back/etc. ]


technical difficulties
[ She is definitely not one for technology (pun not intended), having come from a world where things like this definitely do not exist. When she's prompted to enter a name, she just enters her own-- One. And then she reads the welcome information.

Well. No. She tries, but it is not working, and no matter what, she can't seem to make the message more clear, and-- oh, now it's gone. Still struggling with the new technology, and a bit frustrated, she slowly manages to type a message out. ]

Hello?

[ ...and yes, that's it. ]


etc.
[ Want to hang out with a character from a mediocre-to-play but absolutely bonkers action RPG but didn't have anything in the prompts you wanted? Feel free to run into her somewhere-- she'll probably gravitate toward the church once she finds her footing, or helping out where she can-- or make fun of her name or whatever.

...or if you were thinking of test driving one of the other Intoners, please throw them at her. ]

supplies

[callada]

[Why yes, the freakishly tall person approaching her is capable of carrying things - or he would be if that can hadn't rolled over right as he was about to put his foot down. He immediately slips on it, seemingly unable to recognize that's something he should have avoided stepping on, but maybe he was distracted by the person with her immense mess of things, which is fair. He goes down hard, and the ground actually shakes a little as he hits, but what else did you expect given his height.

He sits up and shakes it off, then scoops up his hat from where it fell on the ground.]

I - yeah. Sorry about that. Give me a second.

[Gotta stand up first.]

Xan of Evereska | Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms

[evereskan]

emergency landing

[Near the Bonfire square a small, lithe figure creeps around with a drawn sword. The blue flames along the enchanted blade light up his delicate features, though only barely. Any real illumination around him comes from the lantern he's desperately clutching in his free hand. He's not sure why he's clutching it, he just feels like if he leaves it behind something terrible will happen.

...Sooner.

Something terrible will happen sooner. Speaking of terrible, his sharp ears pick up of the soft crunch of approaching footsteps.]

Whoever is out there, show yourself.

[The demand doesn't have much bite to it.]

Whether you're here to eviscerate me or make my life a bit more annoying for a few minutes you'd might as well hurry up and be done with it.

.

kataklysmos

[The sullen looking elf has not avoided the attention of the forest spirits despite his best efforts. From a low branch something dumps a bucket of water over him and he trudges back to the Bonfire to dry himself.

As he sits, scrolling through the network on the tablet more forest spirits appear and start braiding flowers into his hair. He ignores the creatures, hoping they will get bored eventually and leave him alone.]

technical difficulties

[So far, the strange tablet is the least bizarre part of this whole mess. Xan has never seen anything like it but it doesn't take him long to figure out at least its basic functions. He could, he supposes, invest some energy into learning more but what's the point?]

UN: greycloak

What is this?

( prompt: technological difficulties. )

[statecrafter]

[ there's a message soon enough, one from a l.laurel- ]

If you mean what you're replying to, you're on the network. It's where people can message one another if they can't meet face-to-face.

Katakuri Charlotte. | One Piece.

[hndzhn]

i. emergency landing.

( Just as the stars in the sky have dulled, so too does Katakuri's Observation Haki. It's like he can't quite access that part of his brain like he used to. Feeling strange and empty, Katakuri moves on, the sounds of waves splashing at the harbor growing distant as he goes.

His footsteps come quicker as he passed through the forest. This is so desolate, so strange, and he wonders for a fleeting moment what autumn island in the Grand Line this must be to be so dark and cold.

Then he remembers, and it's then that he draws into the Bonfire Square. His mother's outrage at his loss, his death—

He exhales, and calls to someone in the Square a few yards off. )

You. I—

( For the first time in Katakuri's existence, he balks. )

—What island is this?

ii. kataklysmos.

( He doesn't have his scarf, and therefore his teeth are on display. He doesn't like this based on habit of hiding his mouth since he was a child. Some small part of him tells him to give up that habit, that he's dead now and he's free of his mother and her terrible voice and power.

He stubbornly hangs onto the sentiment anyway; it's been that way for most of his life, after all.

So he's sort of just ... hovering, sticking out like a sore thumb in the Bonfire Square where all the stalls are lined up, looking out of place and very much coming across like he wants to say something to someone.

Really, though, he wants a private place to eat. )

iii. network | k.charlotte.

Where are you hiding.

iv. wildcard.

( please feel free to put katakuri anywhere! and i'm @ ragekind if anyone wants to plan anything :o )

YELLS LOUDLY also ii

[flangirl]

[ Pudding is out looking around for supplies, because yes!! more food!! It's been so long and they've run so thin. Now she can feed everyone again without thinning everything down to soup or stretching gravies with too much flour. (Or, quietly, the iron-rich dirt from the greenhouse when the plants themselves ran out of yield; powder-fine ground sand from the beach to weight the food with false substance; too much salt to stimulate thirst and fill the belly with drink. It's all dirty tricks she's not proud of, but what choice has she had?) ]

[ She's been saying kind hellos to the spirits she passes, letting them have the food they've collected because they're passing it out to everyone, after all! She's found a new-looking crate behind one of the stands, half hidden by the roots of a washed-down tree, and is prying at a loose board to get a peek at its contents when her brows knit. ]

[ She looks up as the shadow passes by the booth, certain she's imagining things. He was the wrong height, anyway. ]

[ But she has this feeling. ]

[ No one's going to run off with a crate this size without a lot of effort, right? She hesitates, but ultimately pulls herself up, brushes dirt off her knees, and goes to at least look curiously around the corner -

- oh. ]

[ Oh, no, he's so small? And there's no sign of his scarf. It's got to be some kind of illusion, something the spirits are pulling, some trick of the light... but there's no mistaking those tattoos, even with the orange light of the bonfire doing its damnedest to wash out the pink, and -

- and he has a lantern. ]

[ Pudding wobbles on her feet, holding onto the edge of the lean-to of a stall. ]

....Katakuri-nii?

Vinsmoke Reiju | One Piece

[p0isonpink]

i. landing

[ A tall young woman in a decidedly attention-drawing dress wakes up in a corner of the amusement park. She is sopping wet, dress and cape plastered to her body, hair slicked flat against her face. She coughs, sputters, and retches up seawater as she awakes.

Once her lungs are clear, she stops and looks around. She does not call out or ask for help; in a flash, she goes from sodden, half-drowned (entirely drowned, actually) to wary preparation, rolling from her seated position against a decaying game booth to a crouch on the balls of her feet. ]

[ This is not where she was a moment ago. Nor should it be, because she -- ]

[ -- does not want to finish that thought, not right now. Whatever happened to her before she awoke here, it does not matter until she is oriented and knows the current situation. ]

[ She notes the lantern and tablet lying on the ground near her, but does not immediately connect them with herself. Seeing no immediate threat, she rises and moves away from them, into the darkness -- but retreats in confusion as the lantern begins to dim and her enhanced muscles lose their strength. ]

What...?

[ She returns to the lantern, watching it brighten with her approach. ]

Ah. Hm.

[ She gathers up the lantern -- and the tablet, which she frowns at. It does not look like any piece of tech she is familiar with, and her family represents the cutting edge of her world's technology.

Is this what happens after you drown? She wants to examine it, but then hears -- or perhaps senses -- your character's approach and stiffens, turning toward the source of the sound.]

Who's there?

ii. kataklysmos

[ She's managed to get herself reasonably presentable; the combat outfit is nowhere to be seen, replaced with a dry dress, and she looks like a normal, affluent young woman (albeit still somewhat damp). ]

[ She makes her way out of the amusement park and into the town, only to frown at the booths popping up in the darkness. A night festival of some kind? She would expect it to be better lit. Curious... ]

[ As she takes a step toward one of the booths, a sneaky bucket of water in the hands (?) of a forest spirit attempts to take her from behind. Immediately, the image of a well-dressed, wealthy girl is shattered by the tight reflexes as she twists to the side, whirling to drive a hard kick to the bottom of the bucket so that it voids its contents onto the spirit instead of her. ]

[ When she speaks, her voice is hard and cold. ]

Don't.

[ Someone is feeling a little touchy about her recent death by drowning. ]

iii. technical difficulties

[ That introduction was like nothing she's seen before, but this network thing might be useful, and the information she could clean through the glitches was a good start. ]

user: lady0
This is not what I expected from death.

I don't suppose anyone has considered putting together a directory of those who are here? It seems many of us arriving now seek familiar faces.

iv. wildcard

[ Come at me, bro! If you wanna plot or discuss something specific, hit me up @ whalesharks! ]

SLAMS IN HERE FULL FORCE iii text @purin also 1/

[flangirl]

[ Pudding happens to be on her tablet when the new post pops up. Oh, a new user! ]

Hello there! I'm sorry you ended up here, but welcome to Beacon all the same. The network does log a list of all users, let me fetch that for you! I hear the new user message is still being intensely unhelpful.

[ She sends that text before she goes to pull up the link, and when she gets to the user directory, glances down to check the name next to the new arrival's username - ]

Eponine Thenardier - Les Miserables

[lutin]

Logs
Landing

With a shuddering gasp, Eponine opens her eyes. Not that opening her eyes has made much difference. The dark seems to press in on her as she slowly sits up and looks around. The last thing she remembers is her death, the bullet shooting straight through her hand and lodging into her chest. She lifts her hand close to her face, but she can't see a wound. Her shirt though, is ripped and sticky with what she presumes is blood. Her blood.

She takes her hand away and peers around again. ]
Hello? [There's someone here with her in the dark.She's sure of it, even if she can't see them. Is it hell? Is it a demon? Another lost soul? Satan himself? Her heart starts to pound. Has she somehow managed to survive? Could it be? A spark of hope jumps in her chest. Has he nursed her better?] Marius? Monsieur? Please - show yourself. [It's not Marius. Fear creeps into her gut and curls there. Her voice wavers but she stands up, clutching the lamp she's found next to her.] Come out and show yourself to me. I'm not scared.

Kataklysmos

[She's drenched. Her tangled hair hangs in rat tails about her face and she shivers as she shuffles through the rows of stalls. She stops, looking in interest at the different bits of trinkets. Some people might see it as rubbish, but something to call your own is better than nothing, and Eponine looks about cautiously before she pushes a ruined book into one of her pockets. A few bits of bread follow from another stall, but her request for water from one of the spirits is met with a ghostly laugh and what feels like a bucket of water being thrown in her face. She reels back, spluttering, bumping into whoever was unfortunate enough to be stood behind her.]

Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean - I'm... I'm sorry.

Whispers in the dark

['Can you hear me?' The voice wakes Eponine up in the middle of the night. It's him. He's here and he hasn't forgotten her. She scrambles for the device and opens it, pressing buttons till at last she makes it work.]

Marius? Monsieur Marius? I can hear. It's me. It's Eponine... Can you hear me?
[But the cry goes on. Maybe he isn't looking for her? Maybe he doesn't want her? and why would he anyway? But the shouting doesn't stop. and in the end, the screams echo all through the room, her mind and she's growing desperate. In despair, she seizes the device and shakes it, and presses buttons at random until at last an option to message pops up.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to type, thank goodness and she hurriedly taps a message out]

How is there a voice in here? how does it go away

[p0isonpink]

[Reiju tries, but does not quite succeed, in stepping out of the way quickly enough to avoid a collision. If Eponine is paying attention, she'll note that it doesn't quite feel like a normal fleshy person she's bumped into -- almost more like an impact with a statue. Too hard.

But it's only a quick contact before the pink-haired woman steps back, putting distance between them again. When she speaks, her voice is cool, but not unfriendly.]

No, no, I'm sure you didn't mean it.

[But she's definitely gotten wet again, both from the contact and from a little overspray from the bucket, and her nose wrinkles slightly in distaste.]

Some welcome this is.

390-H (Hope) | Republique

[390h]

[emergency landing]

In spite of everything, she doesn’t feel particularly scared. The tablet, and it’s glitched out welcome message, certainly managed to confuse her, but after watching the destruction of Metamorphosis, reuniting with Cooper, getting a glimpse of the real world, hearing the Headmaster panicking on that ship –

She can’t seem to muster up the energy to be frightened. She’s gone through so much today already.

Hope makes her way across the shore towards the distant light of a bonfire, realizing after a moment that she’s quite dry for someone who was supposedly just in the ocean. Then again, based on what the tablet has told her, maybe what she’d been doing before this didn’t matter. Maybe none of it matters anymore, if she’s truly dead. She believes it.

She also believes that she just saw several blankets appear out of thin air and float gracefully to the ground several dozen feet in front of her.

It’s what finally gets a reaction out of her, as she stops and blinks hard for a few moments. The blankets remain, corners flapping gently in the slight wind, so she decides that the only sensible thing to do is to go get them. It brings her a little closer to the town, and as she arrives at the pile, she spots another figure running to join her. They’re a stranger, but everything is strange right now. Like the flying blankets.

She opens her mouth to say something, but realizes that she doesn’t know what to say. This is awkward.

Maybe this person owns the blankets.

[whispers in the dark]

[Can you see me?

That’s not what the caller said, but it is what Hope is very much reminded of. Her own words, from long ago, it feels like. So she responds as fast as she can, telling the tablet that yes, she can hear them, and then typing it our when the voice doesn’t respond. When that fails as well, she spends several minutes trying different things – holding the tablet different ways, yelling into it as loud as she can, even trying the camera for a few moments before she realizes that it’s too dark to take any photos.

She’s not used to using a...forum? like this, so her replies come through in several sections, spoken and written.]

- Hello? Are you okay? What’s wrong?

- You’re quiet but I can hear you. Are you okay?

- Yes! I can hear you!

- Can you see this? I think your phone is broken. Can you hear ME?

- I’m here, I promise – I can hear you but you can’t hear me - please just answer -

[At this point she’s becoming almost as distressed as the mystery voice is. Instead of keeping the mic on so she can cry into it, she mutes herself and types to no one.]

im scared


[misc network prompt]

Hello? Um...[The speaker sounds like she’s holding the tablet a little too close to her mouth. The next words are a little clearer, as she moves back to an appropriate distance.] Hi. I just got here, and…I had a question.

If we are dead, then...aren’t we spirits? The welcome message mentioned them, but...it sounded like it wasn’t talking about...us. Maybe I misunderstood it.

[…] um, thank you. Goodbye.

misc network

[evereskan]

un: greycloak

What everyone calls "spirits" appears to be the inhabitants of this particular plane.

A more appropriate name for us would be corporeal memories. Make of that what you will.

I certainly don't know what it all means...I doubt it's anything good.

Manjirou "Mikey" Sano (bad future) | Tokyo Revengers

[rebelscause]

arrival - amusement park.

[What?]

[There's a ringing in his ears momentarily, and Mikey brings his hands up to the side of his head. The fingers of one hand find traces of light scarring, the mark left by what should have been a fresh bullet wound. He makes a quiet noise of frustration and sits up to stare out into the darkness.

Is he still alive? Is this a purgatory that won't allow him peace? Is that what he deserves?

There's a light coming from somewhere around his chest. He turns his gaze downward to find a small replica of a paper lantern hanging from a chain around his neck. Almost inconceivably, there's a tiny flame burning within. He leaves it alone for now. Staring at it too long will only make it harder to see when he looks away from it, and right now it's his only light source. By it, he can see that he's still wearing the same clothes he had on when he died. Or should have died.

When he moves forward further, the ground beneath him suddenly tilts and sways. He finds himself stumbling into another seat across from him, and he has to sit there a moment until the ground beneath him stops moving again. He's in a carriage of some sort, and its suspended from the air.

The moon is bright enough to allow him to see some of the outline of the contraption he's on, and he realizes with a disbelieving laugh in the back of his throat that he's on a ferris wheel. He's not all the way at the top, only part-way up, but it isn't running. He's stuck here unless he wants to climb down.

And he might as well. He should be dead as it is, what else is he going to do?

He slams a foot into the door, sending it flying open. He hadn't even tested to see if it was locked shut first. It's not easy to keep his footing once the carriage is rocking, but he manages to climb out and on top of the car. From there it's just a matter of following the wheel down, isn't it?]

kataklysmos.

[He might have laughed at this, once upon a time, but as Mikey stands next to a snack booth soaked from head to toe he begins wishing he had his gun back. Sadly, that had fallen out of his hands before he passed on. Not that bullets would likely do anything against these spirits anyway.

He'd put a hand over his lantern automatically to keep water going through the top. Should he have let them put it out? It seems like a shame when he's learned so little.]

It looks like the fires of Hell have been doused. [He says dully to no one in particular.] Did I miss the big freeze?

technical difficulties.

This app is fucked.

[The username is mikey, and this is all he's saying for starters.]

amusement park

[390h]

[In the quiet of the night, it's easy to hear the gasp from the car below him. A moment later, a head pops out to peer fearfully at him.]

What - what are you doing?

[She's gripping the closed door tightly, but then disappears back into the car. When she reappears, her head is accompanied by an arm holding onto a lantern of her own. Despite her fear, she seems pretty interested in what he's up to.]

demyan reyes | original character | OTA

[tasteofink]

i. emergency landing.

( Honestly, this place doesn't look too different than home -- or, at least, the state he left it in. Lightless and strange is lightless and strange, sure, but ... The atmosphere of the place sinks into his bones and makes him shiver all the same.

He stumbles in the dimness and laughs, drawn through brush to the Square with a lantern in hand.

What an eerie sound ... )

Stolas? Where are you?

( Then, a string of words in a strange, lilting language. )

ii. kataklysmos.
tw: injury, some (cosmic) body horror potential here

( He's stable now.

Or as close to stable as he can get.

Sitting on the ground, soaking wet, with a bloody nose and blackened eye is Demyan; he looks more inconvenienced and irritated than anything else. )

Hey — sorry to bother you, but do you have anything to wrap this up with?

( He motions to a cut on his chest, shirt open to reveal the wound. )

It's more messy than anything else, you know?

iii. network | un: cloudprince

question for the locals: do you ever get used to this shit?

question for the new folks: do you think you can get used to this?

[vampirella]

depends on what you mean by 'get used to it'

tolerate it better? sure. like it? no.