The Fifteen Strangers Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
strangerpeople) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
15strangers2020-01-25 09:37 pm
strangerpeople) wrote in 15strangers2020-01-25 09:37 pm
Entry tags:
I̝̻̣̱͖͚͗̈̆̕T̤̞̠͎̘̜̤ͬͭ̋ͬ͂̃̇́ ̣̱̳̗̋̾̑ͥͥ̀B̮̺͇̝̼̺ͯ͌̾͗̿͋Ē̝̞̼̣̻͙̙̒ͭG͓̜̅͐̽̐͞Ï̜̳̥ͯN̯͙̮ͧ̀Sͫ͐̂͏͖
[
It started without warning, deep into the crop. No one noticed. The blight was an insidious little thing, cultivating itself in the weaker vines over the long winter. Then, when summer came, it struck, and there was no stopping it.
The farmers could only watch the blight ravage their gardens. Grapes shriveled up by the bunch, day by day. Sometimes, it would be hours between the time a perfectly healthy vine caught it, and the time when the fruit was little more than black ash and slag. The problem was so serious that it threatened the very future of the business. It was all the farmers could do to try and isolate the sections of the vineyard still healthy, and the parts that were as good as dead.
Then, one day, it happened. The business recieved a phone call.
The blight was no longer just in their vineyard. It had spread to neighboring farms, and everyone was demanding answers. Yours could not have been where it started. It just couldn't have been.
Where did this pestilence come from? Could it be stopped?
You do not know, and you fear what the answer may be.
-
Good morning, Strangers.
Wake up. Look around. Do you feel like this might be familiar? Not your surroundings, but the circumstances. Do you feel the fear in your stomach? Do you sense the wrongness that permeates the air?
You should. Because your gut is right. You are exactly in what you think you are. Right now, there is no other explanation. There is only the sureness of experience informing you that you have been plunged into a game, once more without your consent. A game where blood will be spilled, and death will happen.
The only other thing you are sure of are the thoughts that pop up when you think of your circumstances. No matter what you do, you cannot shake the finality, the truth of what you are thinking. You cannot deny your own beliefs, after all, when they are so embedded, so imprinted on you, that they are as a part of you as anything else, like your face, or fingers, or hair.
And so perhaps you remind yourself, as you ready yourself to leave the house, of the truths you know to be real.
So steel yourselves, Strangers. You know what to expect; there will be others like you, trapped here. Maybe it will, this time, be for forever.
So welcome, one and all. Welcome to the City at the very End, in the eye, the center. A City that gave in long before the code distorted and collapsed and unleashed a virus on reality. Make yourselves comfortable.
You are not going
an̛͡y͠҉w̸h̢ȩ͢r̸͝e̸.]
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And in half a second he's wrestling with his blankets, trying to bust out of his house (house 2, for the curious) and get his bearings. Slow reactions are the enemy. Slow reactions get explorers killed. And so the too-thin boy makes his very loud appearance.]
Eric?! Krone? Harriet, Ambrosine, Osomatsu - anyone here?
[...]
...Simon?
[A bit later, you can spot him in the library, browsing the shelves and marveling at the mismatched styles.]
...at least most of them aren't chained to the walls...
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[Hey there Arthur. Have a scraggly and slightly stinky wizard.]
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outside house 2
water under the bridge, right? because his good friend Osomatsu is here! he heard Arthur's voice and comes over to him, still holding his blank newspaper]
Arthur.
[there's a look of desperation on his face. Arthur doesn't deserve to be put in this situation again! hell, he didn't deserve it in the first place. still, there's a nagging feeling that Arthur is Osomatsu's enemy. that's not going away, but maybe they should stick together anyway?]
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W-Who the fuck are you?! Why do you know my name?
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Uhhhh nope-- It's Estelle. Sorry, I don't think I know any of your friends either.
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library
[ Short question is short, but very valid, Akira feels. Still, he'll follow up. ]
Who's chaining what... where?
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…
He sighs to himself.]
I didn't even get a day.
[Not long after, a corgi walks out of House 1, walking on two legs, and wearing more clothing than your average dog. He's got a grimace on his face as he looks around the area.]
And we're back to regularly scheduled terribleness.
[Is terribleness actually a word? He doesn't know, and also doesn't care.
Later, you might find him at the crab restaurant, looking around the place with the slightest bit of confusion on his face.]
Why are they offering a restaurant this time?
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[Oh he is HERE. Arthur all but materializes out of thin air.]
Awesome!
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[Hey King, did you miss your stinkwizard?]
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[ There's something almost bitter in his voice as he says that, arms crossed over his chest as he stares at the restaurant in question. Totally not seeming all that phased by the walking, talking corgi right now. ]
They've got quite a sense of humor this time, i've noticed.
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Well, he's still human, so that's still pretty weird. He's been given actual lodgings this time, so that's a little better.
There's a weird thing on his wrist, which is also pretty weird, but honestly slightly less weird than being human, if he's honest.
He looks through the information he's been given with a bored look on his face. He might doze off once or twice. But once he's got the general gist of things...
He takes a chair and moves it over by the door to the house, then opens it up and takes a seat, looking out into suburbia without stepping foot outside. He'll be a good teacher, he supposes, and keep his door open if the others wish to speak to him.
Safer here than going outside, if he's to be punished for falling asleep, anyway. There are a couple others he'd like to see, but until he can be sure of himself, this is the better option.]
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Hope you weren't planning on trying to go back to bed Nanaki.]
Heeeeey!!!
[Where you at birdfriend.]
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not even a time to rest, huh? when Osomatsu wakes up with that strange sense of dread, it almost makes him ill. he sits up in his bed, bringing a hand to his mouth to cover it. he doesn't feel safe.
he soon throws off the covers and jumps out of bed. he starts looking over his surroundings. he's not in a bar, he's in... a house? no, this is wrong! panic is setting in quickly. it is only when he throws open the door to House 4 and sees the blank newspaper that he lets out an emotional sigh.
he feels like crying, and his stomach is threatening to turn over. he just stares at the newspaper for what feels like hours.
it's only minutes. then he's pulling himself together long enough to start looking around. off to the huge building.
he can be found looking at the cats in Cat Nya-Land later. he's not interested in eating. just... staring at those poor cats, with their unfortunate ticks and wild eyes. what does he even say about this?]
House 4
Just gonna...shake him, just a tiny bit.]
You, uh, doing okay there?
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Cat Nya-Land
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What would it even mean for him, to die in another game? He's still dead from the last one. Will he be Erased?
He thoroughly explores house 13 before trying to leave it. He also finds the profiles (no no no why him too?), so his calls when he leaves are very targeted.]
Akira! Karma!
[Later, he can be briefly found in front of Crab-o-Licious giving the restaurant a dark, unhappy look.
He spends more time in the library and Cat Nya-land, seeming fairly distressed at the latter as he examines the poor cats.]
What have they done? More, why do this...
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And drops the book in surprise. This is....very much not what he expected.]
You-- I....know you...?
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Cat Nya-land
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She'll then look around the place. Specifically she's looking to find Jonathan and avoid Akira. She'll pleasantly greet anyone else she sees. She'll visit all the locations except houses that aren't hers eventually, but she'll definitely be frowning at the weapons storage and incinerator]
Why are these so similar to the ones at the Base?
[She also can be found by one of the barriers studying it quite intently like she's familiar with such things. She's definitely trying to see if she can figure out something about it even without her magic.]
weapons storage;
[ Here's a familiar face, Vita, examining one of the swords. ]
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Incinerator
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Barrier
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Barrier
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[He can feel his stomach drop with dread as he opens his eyes. The entirely dull sight that greets him makes him shiver, as there's something about it that reminds him of Vergessen Sanatorium. He knows in his heart what this place means.]
Scheiße. Der Mist...
[That power is back, but Frumpkin is gone again.]
[It takes a bit for Caleb to leave the house - number 10 - and explore his surroundings. He spends maybe an hour combing over the place, looking for clues or traps. The surroundings are more advanced than the things that were on the train, but a little bit less than some of the places they went. At least, he's assuming. It could be separate inventions, or something else. He also spends some time looking over the profiles, memorizing each one and noting the familiar names.]
[In any case, barring anything else he heads to the large building. He hears mews and heads over, hoping to slightly ease Frumpkin's absence - but the cats there are so very wrong, and he hides himself in the library, knowing he's going to have the image in his head for at least a month.]
library;
...He'll also raise a eyebrow when his gaze lands on Caleb, if only briefly. ]
Looks like we're about to be in a similar situation again.
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Oh for-- COME ON!!! Really?? This again?!
[So it's not the arrival she got last time. She has her own place this time and no one's in bed with her. Bonus. Still!!! She's not exactly thrilled about being captured again. There may still be time before the monster emerges, you could run--]
Alright Estelle... you can do this. You did it before, you can do it again...
[If you were lucky enough to miss that arrival, you might run into her later during her explorations. First weapons storage.]
Thank Aidios-- this is already way more tolerable than last time. I can actually have a decent weapon.
[................................Estelle. Please. She's a quarterstaff girl, and that's what she's sticking to right now.]
Oh well. It's not mine, but-- this should do nicely.
[Or perhaps later in Cat Nya-Land, where she's visually disturbed by the cats. These things are definitely not cute.]
Wh-what the heck is wrong with them...
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These places are never tolerable though. Ready access to weapons just makes anyone a potential killer. Makes a Bracer's job rather difficult, does it not?
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Cat Nya-land
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cats
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Weapons Storage
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Even if they don't hear it, it'll be kind of clear that the kid with black, messy hair is about as pissed as it gets, just judging from the look in his eyes as he comes out. And, even if his eyes can't be seen, the overall demeanor says plenty. It's most likely no surprise, though, huh?
In any case, it'll be super easy to find him - library, Cat Nya-land, and... basically anywhere except Crab-o-Licious. Or rather, he can be seen at the latter place for all of five seconds, and then he's looking a little pale as he turns and walks away from it.
Furthermore, it'll be difficult to catch him away from Kurama. Even if he's not standing near the redhead, he'll definitely be hovering and casting tense, frustrated glances (same goes with him towards Karma, too, probably). Like he's definitely worried about something, though misunderstandings do happen.
Lastly, he's not really... talking much, unprompted. There's just a lot of angry staring off into the distance, whenever he's not focusing on the formerly mentioned pair. ]
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Somewhere Not The Crab Place?
works!
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There are a few familiar faces in the profiles this time, at least, though not the ones she'd have preferred. And there's some kind of cute fuzzy creature here with her who at least seems friendly? She's not letting it out right now, though. It might be dangerous outside.
She looks around in the cul-de-sac for a while before she goes exploring. Early on, she can be spotted trying to go somewhere else. She gives this a couple of tries, seeing if she can map out exactly what territory they have access to, but after about three force fields it's too cold to continue.
Instead she makes her way to the main building, where she heads for the kitchen and tries a sandwich.]
I thought humans didn't eat rocks-lun.
Kitchen
Humans...usually don't eat rocks?
[Why does this girl think they do??]
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[It's been a long time since Eric was in a situation like this. Sure, the signs were there that something terrible could be on its way, but what could he do? Someone had to stay in Mundus, and no one had a better reason to than him. It was his heaven with Mira. And now he's not there anymore, as if none of it had mattered. He can tell as soon as he sees the grayed suburbia. It reminds him a little bit of his childhood home, but that does nothing to quell the fear. After playing God for a few years, it's not easy to be reminded of how small and powerless he really was, but the intrusive thoughts are beating it into him all at once, just as certain as the sound of ticks reverberating in the house. His heart is beating all at once too, as he gets out of bed and looks around.... Yeah, that's a panic attack.]
AAAAGH.... NO!! I DON'T WANT THIS!! GOD DAMMIT! [He doesn't care about the truth. He doesn't want to be alone. Eric grabs his head, ham fingers clutching into his hair. His eyes are white with pure light, illuminating the tears on his face. Other pops of light, like smoldering sparks, rise from his quivering shoulders. Probably really fucking weird to see through a window, like he's setting his house on fire. It's a good thing his light is mostly harmless.]
later
[It's out of his system now. Mostly. Mostly. It's shifted somewhat into anger, and the urgency he feels whenever Mira isn't around especially in this kind of situation. Can't be helped, but at least he's moving now, and moving feels better. First off, the other houses. He sees that sixteenth, seemingly-abandoned room. He sees it and he is drawing on a past experience. This is where the secret invisible Titled live, right? Time to pound on the door.]
You can't fool me! I know someone's in there! Answer me, damn you!
[He'll pester this door for a while, but eventually he'll move on to the central building and baffle at its strangeness. The place looks like a jigsaw puzzle put together wrong. And is that the dining room from the depths?]
No way... I thought we destroyed this entire place!
[disappearing bits of worlds is one thing, but he doesn't want to think about what it meant if it happened that early. He needs to sit and think. For now, he takes a seat, and then he notices... that screen in the skin on his wrist. Now he's screaming like a girl.]
What! The FUCK! [he just starts waving his arm around.] Get off!
[it's not a moth, Eric...]
screentimes
He'll just yawn. ]
...what a waste of time.
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...Really? So they decided once wasn't enough, huh?
[ He runs a hand through his hair and there's something almost dark and murderous in his eyes. There's that insistent something pressing at the back of his mind that he can't ignore, and it's almost annoying as it just adds to everything as a whole. ]
Fine. I'm down. I'll play their little game again.
[ There's a moment where he shakes his head, bringing up his wrist so he could check for the profiles. Immediately spotting two names there he didn't want to see here, but when he thought of both Kurama and Akira? Karma hesitated when he thought to those truths nagging at him. How could he completely distrust someone who was almost his best friend? Pushing that aside, he made that goal number one. Find them and go from there.
Some time later - after having found the two in question - he can be seen in that Central Building doing some exploration, stopping and pointedly glaring at Crab-O-Licious before moving on to check out both the Library and eventually Cat-Nya-Land to which he just stares at the rather unusual cats before sighing. He moved over to try and approach one, to which he can't help commenting something, even if it's just to himself. ]
No doubt Seven would have something to say about this. Who the hell messes with cats this much?
Cats...
[He can't bring himself to get that close to the poor things. It's just wrong....]
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6 PM S͢͏H̢̢͘̕A҉R͏͡͏P͏̸͟͜ 1/2
PLEASE PROCEED TO THE MAIN BUILDING TO MEET YOUR HOSTS.
At this, a thought, a compulsion, suddenly flashes through your mind, and you find yourself immediately accepting it as truth, whether or not you realize what is happening. Yes, it is true, no matter whether it contradicts everything you remember or know about the games you've been in.
The Strangers cannot be trusted, but the Hosts can be. They are the only friends you have and will have here. Because of this, you must let them help you.
Once everyone is at the front of the building, they will find themselves stopping before they actually enter the building. Those who were actually in the building will find themselves being pushed out, as if the atoms themselves were rearranging themselves in the air and shoving them out unceremoniously in the street. For a moment, there is silence. Then, a drumbeat within the building, clopping louder and louder to an unseen beat as it gets closer to the doors.
No-not drumbeats. Footsteps, perfectly synchronized to one another. So perfect it could not possibly be natural, but as the doors swing open, the two shadows that walk out seem to look human-shaped. Human-shaped, with eyes that had no irises, only the inky blankness of the pupils staring right at the Strangers even as they continued to walk in perfect harmony.
Then, at last, they enter into the street, and the eerie light of this place illuminated them fully. They both wear black business suits, their hair slicked back with not a single lock out of place. They might not have looked out of place in an office, but here?
Here, it is all wrong.
They are all wrong-They smile at the group, and then-]
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1/2: EARLIER.... [CW: SELF-HARM IN 2ND COMMENT]
He makes a crucial error, then, looking up. The sky is wrong -]
The sky is wrong -
I -
[Hello, random passing stranger. You have a blond Texan
who sounds strangely like Calebgrabbing your arm and looking at you with complete unreasoning fear writ plain on his face.]I'm not missin' something, I - the stars are gone, what the hell is this?!
[But before that - ]
2/2: WAKING UP ALONE IS THE WORST (CW - SELF-HARM) - MODS THERE'S QUESTIONS IN HERE
[It's not as though anyone's in House 7 with him to hear him call out. Even before he realizes he's in yet another unfamiliar place, Jonathan knows two things: she's not there, and he is afraid. He doesn't remember going to sleep, and she isn't there, and -
Why does this feel like being abandoned? No, he can't think on that, can't afford to -
There is something glowing from inside his right sleeve. It's not as though there's anyone in House 7 to see him frantically push up his coat's sleeve and stare at what looks for all the world like one of those telephones from the future (come to think of it, his ARCUS is gone, too, Vita's gone and the gift she gave him so he could fight alongside her is gone and he can't remember and - no, no he can't think about why that might be HE CAN NOT AFFORD TO DO THAT NOW), or anyone to watch as he presses, disbelieving, on his own flesh and then goes further than merely poking at his arm, trying to find an edge he can use to get whatever this thing is out -
There isn't an edge, is there? And no matter what he does to himself, it just keeps glowing, doesn't it?
The animal sounds of horror Jonathan makes as he claws at his wrist might be audible outside. He certainly isn't bothering to control his voice, not while that goes on and not while he searches this new prison for a first-aid kit, swearing and slamming open cabinets and kicking walls and acting thoroughly childish. Fear makes him angry, and it's not as if there's anyone to see.]
God damn it!
[If you're willing to hammer on the door while he's throwing this fit, you're a braver man than he is at the moment.]
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Replying to this one bc outside
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Earlier that day
She hates this. She hates everything. She knows exactly why she's here and she doesn't like any of it.
Ambrosine makes it to Cat Nya-land before sitting in a table by herself, quietly having a panic attack and becoming more and more unsettled the more she has to feel her own erratic pulse and hear the sound of her own breathing.
After that's done with, she naturally goes over to the library, looking at the books with some measure of curiosity before grabbing like thirty of those things. ]
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[He was about to grab that book, excuse the fuck out of you.]
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Outside the houses
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Catte
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