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thisavrou_log2017-07-09 01:05 pm
pillz) wrote in thisavrou_log2017-07-09 01:05 pm
The Demon Plot: DEATH OF GRINDING MADNESS [July Player Event]
Who: Ensemble production, all individuals who opted in to the plot
When: July 9-21
Where: Two inhabited planets around the Ingress
What: The demon plot kicks off, in which malevolent shadow beings, copies of existing characters, begin to materialize and harass the PCs across the worlds. Plotting post is here, and a network post will go up within the next 2 days from several PCs advising on how to end the plot.
Warnings: Violence, psychological themes, possibly past trauma, etc.
When: July 9-21
Where: Two inhabited planets around the Ingress
What: The demon plot kicks off, in which malevolent shadow beings, copies of existing characters, begin to materialize and harass the PCs across the worlds. Plotting post is here, and a network post will go up within the next 2 days from several PCs advising on how to end the plot.
Warnings: Violence, psychological themes, possibly past trauma, etc.
Death of Grinding Madness
The Demon Plot
(mild spoilers for The Raven Cycle)
The Demon Plot
(mild spoilers for The Raven Cycle)
On July 9, a demon begins to make its way through the Ingress, summoned through by a shitty teenager.
July 9-12
Harrying
Harrying
It's innocuous in the beginning. A movement in the corner of your eye, a shadow through a curtain-- merely a tree. But then the shadow figures begin to emerge into full being. Black-eyed wraiths that look like enemies, friends with whom you've had past conflict, or even you yourself. At first, it's merely harrying, minor harassment. Threatening gestures, broken gestures, jump scares.
Pursue them, and they disappear-- you might even catch a glimpse of how. They melt down into black slime, racing away across floors, through sewer grates, up walls, impossible to follow. By now, the worst of the climate freeze is over, but residual ice does pose a needles extra obstacle.
Pursue them, and they disappear-- you might even catch a glimpse of how. They melt down into black slime, racing away across floors, through sewer grates, up walls, impossible to follow. By now, the worst of the climate freeze is over, but residual ice does pose a needles extra obstacle.
July 12-15
The Violence Escalates
The Violence Escalates
In the days that follow, the situation only gets worse.
Sporadic harassment turns into outright attacks. The targeting is unmistakable. The shadow beings who can speak tell cruel tales of animosity, spite, even hatred. They are as deadly with their hands or strange powers as their doppelgangers are, and worse, they're functionally indestructible. Rip off one's head and it merely reforms out of sticky black ink. Limbs regenerate just as easily. The being might dispell for a few hours, but no doubt— it'll be back, if not to hurt you then someone you know.
The Savrii begin to notice. It's hard not to. While there is hardly an epidemic of panic, the disruptions are hard to miss-- broken windows, screams, random violence. Soon, the authorities begin to open safehouse facilities at which characters can seek shelter.
Sporadic harassment turns into outright attacks. The targeting is unmistakable. The shadow beings who can speak tell cruel tales of animosity, spite, even hatred. They are as deadly with their hands or strange powers as their doppelgangers are, and worse, they're functionally indestructible. Rip off one's head and it merely reforms out of sticky black ink. Limbs regenerate just as easily. The being might dispell for a few hours, but no doubt— it'll be back, if not to hurt you then someone you know.
The Savrii begin to notice. It's hard not to. While there is hardly an epidemic of panic, the disruptions are hard to miss-- broken windows, screams, random violence. Soon, the authorities begin to open safehouse facilities at which characters can seek shelter.
July 15-18
The Golem
The Golem
On July 17, something horrific begins to happen— several shadow beings merge to form a massive golem in Kauto R1. It is a grotesque, horrifying spectacle, of limbs and eyes and pulsating flesh. It reaches almost sixty feet in height. Combined together, this shadow creature is considerably less intelligent than the individual beings were. However, it is also immensely strong and regenerates just like the smaller ones did.
Within the mall, hundreds of daytime shoppers are trapped within. Luckily, they have food and climate control. Perhaps you're one of them-- or perhaps you're trying to get in to provide medical care.
In the meantime, the attacks from the individual shadow beings don't stop. Despite the intelligence exhibited by some, all of them seem mindlessly bent on tormenting their targets until they are killed.
Within the mall, hundreds of daytime shoppers are trapped within. Luckily, they have food and climate control. Perhaps you're one of them-- or perhaps you're trying to get in to provide medical care.
In the meantime, the attacks from the individual shadow beings don't stop. Despite the intelligence exhibited by some, all of them seem mindlessly bent on tormenting their targets until they are killed.
July 18-21
The Sacrifice
The Sacrifice
On the 9th day, a network post goes up (link pending, will be OOCly forward-dated to July 10th latest) revealing how to remove the invincibility of the attackers.
And by the 21st, the remaining beings utterly vanish without explanation— unless you happen to bear witness to the events that take place at St. Monmouth.
And by the 21st, the remaining beings utterly vanish without explanation— unless you happen to bear witness to the events that take place at St. Monmouth.
OH SHOOT I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE D:
Her focus was on him. She's not deviating. He can't stop.
If you stop now, you can't stop her.
Nihlus knows this part of R1. Knows the streets, knows every nook and cranny, which turn to take and when to take it. Had explored the region, mentally mapped it all out exactly for this kind of occasion. He knows that if he holds out for a bit more- just a bit more-
The tail end of a shockwave swipes his heel, sends him stumbling. Nihlus catches himself on his hand, turns on his knees and yanks up the shield between them.
:toot:
There's no pain, no scream, not even a grunt as she hits the shields. Nothing that would give any outward signs of dissatisfaction. But as the shadow maneuvers itself, throwing itself back, then forward, omni-blade slashing in a quick tri-stroke, it's not hard to feel the ire baking off. Each downward stroke each calculated for the maximum force, to bash manually until the thing gives, until the shade of Shepard can move forward, hit, rend, and do real damage to her target.
And he was always her target. So much chafe, to get through to the wheat.
Whipping the pistol across the shielding in a sharp grind, she pushes with her whole body, pressing the muzzle into the barrier.
no subject
She comes at him again and again, barely giving him enough time to get his bearings, barely enough time to catch his breath. Sparks fly with each bash of her omni-blade, hairline cracks forming in the shield.
And then she pushes, gun nozzle sizzling against flash forged silicon-carbide.
Nihlus dismantles it, lets the woman's own weight betray her. His mech arm snaps out to knock the gun from her hand, knee slamming up into her gut, elbow coming down on the hard on the amp embedded in the back of her neck.
Close the distance. Don't let her use Throw. Don't let her use Warp.
Whatever she was, she didn't seem to feel pain, but biotics still needed neural paths to light up in order to be activated. If he can keep disrupting that, he can stop her from completing the mnemonics.
Just pray that this gamble is the right one.
no subject
Slashing out blindly with her omni-blade, the shadow holds back nothing, only intent on hitting something, anything it can.
no subject
No time to celebrate it though.
She staggers back and Nihlus resists the first instinct to kick her away, shifts his weight instead. Summons an orange glove around his remaining hand, redirects the incoming blade with a sharp snap of sparks. His heel locks against the back of Shepard's boot and he brings his mech arm up, the handless stump glowing-
That's about all the warning the shadow gets before he tries to decapitate it with a super heated garrote.
no subject
--And suddenly, the shape of Shepard seems to dissolve, cease, dropping to the ground, dropping on Nihlus, in a viscous pool of oil-slick ooze. For a half-second, it seems finished. Defeated.
Until the liquid seems to regroup, with a mind of its own. Until the liquid on Nihlus, any liquid, goes from simply oozing, to burning, acid eating through whatever material it can get in touch with.
And the globules not on Nihlus begin to reform.
no subject
No blood, no bones, no connective tissue, no arterial spray. Nothing human at all in that stump, but all he sees is the replay of the tether cutting into her throat like some kind of horrible nightmare.
No. No. No no nonono spirits no, Jane-
The freeze costs him.
Slime spills onto his clothes, his pants, his coat, thick and tarry. Mindless reflex make him snap back, but it's too late. He's still struggling to push past the numbing horror of having just killed his lover when the black starts burning.
Nihlus hisses a curse, reeling the super heated line back into his arm as he tears his clothes off, tears chunks of his pants off, stumbling back, stumbling away. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the writhing, shapless mound gathering itself up and kicks his half eaten boots off with a renewed panic.
The frozen road under bare feet was an unwelcome shock, but he ignores it and starts running again.
no subject
It is then, then, that Nihlus begins his desperate dash. The half-formed shade bares its teeth in silent anger, and takes aim.
The M-77 Paladin heavy pistol is not a long-range gun. But it is nothing, if not accurate — and exceedingly powerful.
It fires six times, in two rapid bursts of three.
no subject
A round punches clean through his thigh in the middle of throwing himself into cover, knocks his leg out from under him, a fine spray of blue splattering over pavement. He hits the ground shoulder first, rolling into the alleyway and crashing into a pile of empty crates.
The pain hits then and it takes everything to swallow down the scream. Arching, Nihlus shakily clutches at the bleeding thigh, gasping between choking down cries.
Medi-gel. Get the medi-gel. Steady your breathing, don't go into shock. Find an escape.
There's blue everywhere, bright smears of cobalt all over his tunic as he pulls the tube of gel out of his pocket, the coppery smell of it hanging heavy in the air. He nearly crushes the container, squeezing it into the gaping hole in his thigh, smearing it in, sobbing as the topical anesthetics set in, as the gush of blood cut off into nothing.
For a second afterwards, he just lies there, staring at the mouth of the alleyway, listening to the liquid, oily drip and slide and screech of metal, inching closer and closer.
It's cold. It's so cold.
Get up, Kryik. Find an exit.
His eyes fall on the sewer cover he'd been lying on and he summons a prybar with his omni-tool. By the time the shadow manages to pull itself into the alleyway, all it will find is a smeared trail of blue leading down into an open manhole.