MOD LOG #3

[bequiet]

MOD LOG #3

Arriving in style
Content Warnings: Fighting, death, violence
Themes: Survival, plot

It's early in the day when it happens. The red dust that seems to be everywhere sweeps through the city streets, mixing with the steady patter of rain and making it hard to see and breathe. All red and leaving the taste of copper if inhaled, what could have been an easy day without any trouble quickly becomes anything but. While those in the community are heading for cover or finding ways to continue on through it, the new arrivals begin waking up in different cities all over the world. There won't be anyone to greet them, and leaving the room through the door is their choice - after doing so, they'll immediately step out into the city they were assigned. The streets are empty, houses abandoned, everything crumbling and in ruins. There will be signs noting their location, which they'll catch a glimpse of before a sharp push forward causes darkness to engulf them.

Waking up for the second time, in Reims but not in the Reset Room, they'll come to inside the red dust as it whips through the streets of the community. They won't be alone for long. Another person will be waking up beside them, and after a few moments of disorientation, try to attack. They might have weapons or use their hands, and they will not stop until they've taken a fatal blow. Their blood is dust, and they, along with their weapons, disintegrate after they've died. Can you stop them on your own? Will someone come to your aid?

The Sight of Lightning
Content Warnings: Poison, sex
Themes: Survival, plot

The day after the storm, the same red dust will find its way through Reims and come into contact with every person. Since the dust is everywhere, some might not notice that it's floating through the community and know that something is off. The effects don't begin until night fall, where everyone will feel the desire to seek out companionship of many different kinds. Though it is not always the case, the people that saw each other in color will "want" to be with that person more strongly than they might already, and will be more likely to confess or do something about it. Some might feel an intense need to be around another person, though not necessarily sexually - almost as if they need that person around them to be happy or content. For some, it might be a desire that can only be fulfilled by more than one person.

The effects wear off the next time the person gets wet. This can be a splash of water across the face or fully submerged. Or even drinking something.

OOC
From your mods:

Please be mindful of content - if something triggery comes up or if it goes up a rating to say, something sexy, mark your threads in the subject line. We're very flexible and allow any material; we just want our players to be respectful of each other. If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment to the appropriate post below. Have fun! The OOC Plotting Post.

NAVIGATION

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Comments

[priwen]

[ Intense is one word to put it. Fighting would usually not be a problem for a seasoned warrior like him, but he has had to heal several people and it takes a toll on his spirit. Not to mention the necessity that forced his hand to use dark magic - the catalyst for it burns against his skin even now, an uncomfortable reminder of the double path he chose to walk.

Such brooding curses are easy to keep in check when he's well rested. They may sustain him through lethal injury, but are hardly conducive now. ]

Just winded.

[ The weakness of aetheric drain pulls at his entire soul. ]

There's been no trouble for you, I hope?

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima rolled his shoulders as if marking off the tail end of a good stretching session. If anything, he seemed noticeably more relaxed than usual; the movement was almost languid. ]

Nah, nothin' I'd call trouble. Had to do a little cleanup -- but it's been a while since I got to stretch my legs, so I ain't complaining.

[ He motioned to Alexandre. ]

Dunno how that magic of yours works, but I've got some snacks around here, too. If that'd help.

[priwen]

[ Ordinarily, Alex would have refused. However, he cannot tap the aether in this world, and he has the experience to acquiesce when he cannot be independent. ]

If you can spare some. [ A pause, before he closes his eyes: ] I'll repay you for it in the future.

[justbeingknife]

I've heard worse deals.

[ Majima pulled out a bowl of fruit, which he typically used for garnishings. Still perfectly serviceable produce, though. ]

So, what's it like out there now?

[priwen]

[ He gives the fruit a once-over, recognizing several that are of the same type as those in the greenhouse. Something easier to eat would help, perhaps an apple. ]

Thank you.

[ If there's a knife anywhere, he would try to peel it. ]

Most of the illusions are gone. [ The people of the red dust. ] A couple of the new arrivals got injured, but nothing too serious.

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima plucked a fruit knife out of one of the drawers and slid it across the counter for Alexandre to use. ]

Illusions, huh? That what we're callin' em?

[priwen]

[ He peels the fruit as he talks, his gestures much more careful and delicate than his size might suggest. ]

I choose to call them that. They are illusions, albeit realistic ones.

[ They even ping in his Echo sight, but... they were still dust, in the end. A flicker of tiredness crosses his face, but he forces it down quickly. ]

... what do you think?

[justbeingknife]

[ He scowled in frustration. ]

You don't wanna know what I think.

Like for starters, that dust. How the hell's it gonna do a different thing all the time, even if it looks the same under a microscope? How can people be made out of it?

Maybe it ain't even really dust. Maybe it's like that one flick in Antarctica, the one where it's some kinda thing from beyond and it can change into people or cats or what the fuck ever.

[priwen]

[ There's a silence as he inspects the fruit before him, carving neat lines into the skinned apple. ]

Magic, you mean?

[ Odd eyes flick upward to meet Majima's, briefly ]

Those illusions - they are quite real. They felt lifelike, to me. They had intent, even if it was only to kill. Fear, and anger.

[justbeingknife]

[ Ugh, why'd he have to say the 'm' word ]

Yeah? What else can ya tell about 'em? They feel different than the Sound Eaters?

[priwen]

[ Ah, he supposes he has to explain. ]

I can sense the life force of things around me. The Sound Eaters don't appear in my aetheric sense at all. The illusions... at least, they had something.

[justbeingknife]

...You asked some of the dudes back home, they'd probably say they were ghosts or some shit.

[ Majima didn't believe in ghosts. Then again, he also didn't believe in interdimensional travel, or aliens, or elves.

But here they were. Here they were. ]

[priwen]

[ The Elezen shakes his head ]

They're not. Not the type that I am familiar with, at least...

[ The illusions felt so human. Yet they bled dust. ]

I had a theory once that the Sound Eaters were birthed from dead humans. Maybe... they were an echo of that, somehow.

[justbeingknife]

That ain't such a far-flung theory. Basically what happened back in Paris, far as I can tell.

An echo of the folks who died, right? When they first showed.

[ Majima wasn't a particularly superstitious person, but it was hard not to absorb at least a little of the general character of the country he'd grown up in. The idea of anger and fear remaining in the world past the deaths of their owners was not a new one. ]

[priwen]

Yes.

[ Alex takes a bite of the apple, chewing it in silence. ]

... I wish I could understand them.

[justbeingknife]

If ya could, could ya help them?

[ DUNNO, MAN... Majima was thinking the best way to help them would be to make sure they were dead for good. At peace, in some way. Hard to figure there was a way to come back from being red dust ghosts. ]

[priwen]

I hope I can.

[ He really does not want to kill them a second time. But there's bound to be a permanent solution somewhere. There has to be. ]

I don't understand why I can't get through to them. We need more information to make any sort of decision.

[justbeingknife]

[ Who had two thumbs and already killed them a second time? Thiiiis guy. ]

Alright, so back up a second. If they were normal ghosts or spirits or whatever, you'd be able to talk to 'em just fine?

[priwen]

[ The Elezen nods. ]

I received a form of magic in my home world that lets me communicate with others regardless of language or medium. It... does not work all the time, though.

[ Like now. It's almost crippling, to no longer be able to convey his intentions, but he supposes it would hit its limit eventually. ]

[justbeingknife]

If it ain't work, that mean they can't understand what anyone's saying? Like they ain't have the capacity? Or more like that power of yours's just cuttin' in and out?

[ Because this distinction seemed important. ]

[priwen]

[ He's quiet for a while, raising a hand to signal to Majima that he's thinking. ]

It feels to me that it is the former. From what I know of my own ability - it works by letting me reach out to someone else's soul. They... don't have a soul.

[ He thinks. ]

[justbeingknife]

Oh.

Well then, don't I feel better.

[ This was sort of half-true; Majima hadn't been feeling particularly remorseful about dispatching any of the attacking horde, but it did lighten his mental load a little to have his suspicions confirmed. ]

Hey, can you use it with the androids? What about Teddy?

[priwen]

[ Alex shakes his head, just once ]

I cannot sense the androids, but it is easy enough to know that they are as human as we are.

[ They speak and think. But these illusions... they would not listen. ]

[justbeingknife]

So they ain't have souls, after all? Tough break.

[ Sorry, 9S... ]

Still, that just goes to show ya ain't gotta have one to be decent.

[priwen]

No, not really. I don't doubt that they are people.

[ he frowns a little, trying to form words in his mind ]

They just are not... born. They are not flesh and blood. They are made differently from most of us, is all.