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theafflicted2022-06-11 05:38 am
afflictionmods) wrote in theafflicted2022-06-11 05:38 am
03.50 - week three, saturday
W3 SATURDAY
Another Saturday rolls around. Some of you had an… interesting night, perhaps, but that’s still no excuse to sit out on your lessons. There’s another announcement, another time to meet before your lessons start today. This time is just a bit different, though. This time you’re not meeting up at campus. You’re told to meet up at the park in the Museum District - and, as always, you’re expected to show up. How you get there is irrelevant, but you better try to be on time.
Florence is waiting at the park, and behind them is another dark, ominous orb. Even as far away as you are, you can hear its whispers. It’s calling to you with promises it can show you a new life, a better life, it can make you someone better… But then Florence is speaking, as if they cannot feel the hear the whispers.
“I will be accompanying you on this lesson, as I said in the brochure I handed out on Thursday. I will do my best to assist you.” There is a pause, though their face voice remains emotionless. “It is hard to say what it will be like inside - however, your goal for this lesson is to close this place for good. I may be unable to assist with that personally, so we are relying on you.”
They take a step back, turning towards the orb.
“I would advise you to do what is asked of you while you are in there - and a word of warning. Through our observations, we have noticed something strange. This seems capable of creating replications of those who enter it.” They let that information hang for a moment, before continuing. “We are unsure what these replications are truly capable of, but please be careful.”
Then Florence gestures for you to follow, and they’re stepping into the orb.
Florence is waiting at the park, and behind them is another dark, ominous orb. Even as far away as you are, you can hear its whispers. It’s calling to you with promises it can show you a new life, a better life, it can make you someone better… But then Florence is speaking, as if they cannot feel the hear the whispers.
“I will be accompanying you on this lesson, as I said in the brochure I handed out on Thursday. I will do my best to assist you.” There is a pause, though their face voice remains emotionless. “It is hard to say what it will be like inside - however, your goal for this lesson is to close this place for good. I may be unable to assist with that personally, so we are relying on you.”
They take a step back, turning towards the orb.
“I would advise you to do what is asked of you while you are in there - and a word of warning. Through our observations, we have noticed something strange. This seems capable of creating replications of those who enter it.” They let that information hang for a moment, before continuing. “We are unsure what these replications are truly capable of, but please be careful.”
Then Florence gestures for you to follow, and they’re stepping into the orb.
THE RINGMASTER
The inside is still the same park, but it has been transformed into a carnival. There are booths with games and food set up everywhere, a large ferris wheel, a tent. It will be a familiar carnival, to some of you, but all the lights are off and there are no people there. There’s a tug, a pull, that draws you towards the main tent - to center stage. Stepping inside you will be greeted by someone dressed as a ringmaster, whose voice is lively and energetic despite how hollow they seem on the outside:
“Hello and welcome! It’s time for your performance! And every good performer wants to do what the people want, don’t they? There’s a list on those little tablets of yours, and you need to do whatever’s asked of you!”
The ringmaster laughs brightly, and it echoes throughout the tent. “The more you do, the more we’ll all enjoy it, and the better chance you will get to stay you! But if you refuse… Well, that won’t be any good, right?”
The ringmaster makes a wide, sweeping gesture with their cane.
“We’re very generous here, though, and realize some things are easier to do with others! That’s why one refusal won’t be an instant loss. We’re assigning task cards, you see. Kinda like bingo cards! Each time you do a task for someone or someone does one for you, you get 50 points! The more you do, the higher the score, and once you reach 200 points, you're capped! But every time you refuse to do something people ask you to do, even if you're at 200 points… you lose 100 points ! And if you don’t do anything, well, you get no points and you lose automatically! You also can’t just sit around doing the same thing with the same person over and over again! Gotta spice it up! The same thing over and over again is just boring.”
There’s a click, and noise starts up outside of the tent. It sounds like the carnival’s come alive.
“Your little tablets will track your points. I really do recommend playing along, because if you fail… You’ll lose something. Something that makes you you! A memory, a precious item, something that makes you who you are and can’t be replaced so easily… Who knows what’s at risk, here! Though who am I kidding, it might be more fun to see what you'll lose. Don't ya think? Maybe you should just give up now and we can all laugh about it!
Anyways, all you gotta do is live until the timer runs out. The timer, by the way, is gonna be at the top of your tablet thingamajigs.”
There’s a tip of the ringmaster’s hat. The timer reads 90 minutes.
“That’s all for now! Go find that pesky little robot who’s been snooping around if you want more answers, because I am very busy.”
“Hello and welcome! It’s time for your performance! And every good performer wants to do what the people want, don’t they? There’s a list on those little tablets of yours, and you need to do whatever’s asked of you!”
The ringmaster laughs brightly, and it echoes throughout the tent. “The more you do, the more we’ll all enjoy it, and the better chance you will get to stay you! But if you refuse… Well, that won’t be any good, right?”
The ringmaster makes a wide, sweeping gesture with their cane.
“We’re very generous here, though, and realize some things are easier to do with others! That’s why one refusal won’t be an instant loss. We’re assigning task cards, you see. Kinda like bingo cards! Each time you do a task for someone or someone does one for you, you get 50 points! The more you do, the higher the score, and once you reach 200 points, you're capped! But every time you refuse to do something people ask you to do, even if you're at 200 points… you lose 100 points ! And if you don’t do anything, well, you get no points and you lose automatically! You also can’t just sit around doing the same thing with the same person over and over again! Gotta spice it up! The same thing over and over again is just boring.”
There’s a click, and noise starts up outside of the tent. It sounds like the carnival’s come alive.
“Your little tablets will track your points. I really do recommend playing along, because if you fail… You’ll lose something. Something that makes you you! A memory, a precious item, something that makes you who you are and can’t be replaced so easily… Who knows what’s at risk, here! Though who am I kidding, it might be more fun to see what you'll lose. Don't ya think? Maybe you should just give up now and we can all laugh about it!
Anyways, all you gotta do is live until the timer runs out. The timer, by the way, is gonna be at the top of your tablet thingamajigs.”
There’s a tip of the ringmaster’s hat. The timer reads 90 minutes.
“That’s all for now! Go find that pesky little robot who’s been snooping around if you want more answers, because I am very busy.”
THE AUDIENCE
Once the ringmaster’s done with their speech, you’re free to travel around the carnival and explore it. It’s an eerie, quiet place, but… you’re not alone, and it won’t take you long to realize that. Those of you who had seen this carnival before - Miach, Shinei, Herlock, and Xingqiu - probably won’t be surprised when the doubles show up. They’re near perfect recreations of you - but near perfect doesn’t mean perfect. Their mannerisms might be odd, or their movements might be jerky and uncanny… but at a glance, it’s impossible to tell who is the real one and who isn’t.
And this is something that makes these doubles very, very angry.
They want you to fail, and they’ll do anything they can to ensure that happens. They’ll sabotage you - or your partner - all in an effort to make you lose points. They'll taunt you if it seems like you're ready to open up, they'll tell you about all the reasons why being honest is a bad idea. For physical prompts, they'll taunt you, call you a monster... They also seem to believe that if you fail, they’ll get to replace you. They will get a chance to get out of here and be the real one. They’re not always convincing, but they are dangerous, and there’s just as many of them as there are of you.
And this is something that makes these doubles very, very angry.
They want you to fail, and they’ll do anything they can to ensure that happens. They’ll sabotage you - or your partner - all in an effort to make you lose points. They'll taunt you if it seems like you're ready to open up, they'll tell you about all the reasons why being honest is a bad idea. For physical prompts, they'll taunt you, call you a monster... They also seem to believe that if you fail, they’ll get to replace you. They will get a chance to get out of here and be the real one. They’re not always convincing, but they are dangerous, and there’s just as many of them as there are of you.
OOC NOTES
OOC: Here are some important things to note for today’s event:
- A simple breakdown of the rules is as follows:
- The cards know, meaning that they'll know if something is not answered earnestly. Prompts that are answered falsely will not go away on your tablets. They will only go away if they are answered truthfully.
- Failure is NOT a bad end! In fact, we have some plans in the instance where not enough people pass the exercise. If 5 or more people fail the exercise, that is considered a group failure. Those who failed individually will face the consequences of losing the important memory/item/etc.
- We are asking people to make their own task cards. Here is a list of prompts:
You may also add one custom prompt tailored to your character, if you wish.
Please toss the prompts into the textbox at the top of this site. Under "Configuration Options", the card size should be 3x3 and the center space should have Normal selected. All characters will get a total of 9 prompts on their cards. It is okay to have prompts that your character would not do; it would just increase their chances of failure.
- A simple breakdown of the rules is as follows:
You cap at 200 points, but you must maintain those 200 points until the timer runs out.
Mutual agreement on completing a task nets each person 50 points.
Getting turned down or refusing to do one makes you lose 100 points.
You cannot use the same person to complete all your tasks. You must have only one prompt per character that you cooperate with.
- The cards know, meaning that they'll know if something is not answered earnestly. Prompts that are answered falsely will not go away on your tablets. They will only go away if they are answered truthfully.
- Failure is NOT a bad end! In fact, we have some plans in the instance where not enough people pass the exercise. If 5 or more people fail the exercise, that is considered a group failure. Those who failed individually will face the consequences of losing the important memory/item/etc.
- We are asking people to make their own task cards. Here is a list of prompts:
You may also add one custom prompt tailored to your character, if you wish.
Please toss the prompts into the textbox at the top of this site. Under "Configuration Options", the card size should be 3x3 and the center space should have Normal selected. All characters will get a total of 9 prompts on their cards. It is okay to have prompts that your character would not do; it would just increase their chances of failure.
CATER
Hm........ ]
... Cater. I need to talk to you.
no subject
Yeah...? Something up?
no subject
[ How can he leave something like that on a person he's fond of, and moreover, who looks after their appearance so well? It feels like a sin. ]
Moreover, if you have one for me, we can do it together. I have no intention on anyone falling below 200 points.
no subject
[Sin or no, he also has no intention of letting anyone fall below 200 points, if he has a say in it, so Hien reaching out for help doesn't really feel... off. He might balk at what it is, but they'll surely figure something out.]
There are a few left on mine, if you really wanna see, but... Cay's super fine with just helping you out.
no subject
[ Cater needs to have something done too. It's only fair. ]
no subject
[But, well, he trusts Hien wouldn't pick something he couldn't handle, so he turns over his tablet to show the chart.
(At this point in time there are probably a bunch still open, but the not planned for ones are "make a long term mark", "make someone angry", and "make someone bleed"!)]
no subject
[ He did it to Mae, and he can certainly do it to Cater.
... ]
But my prompt for you is that I have to cause an injury that leaves a mark.
[ He has a very obvious expression on his face that is different from his usual blank look, that shows that he doesn't want to do it, but he doesn't want neither of them to lose points. ]
no subject
[He's... actually been pretty worried about having to make someone bleed, all told. He's considered going to Idia, and reopening the wound on his hand a bit, but... Idia uses his hands a lot, and doing that seems unnecessarily cruel.
Almost like Hien's task for him. But denying it at this point would lose Hien points, and he can't do that.
He also can't accept right away without a deep breath to steady himself.]
That's fine~ People totally love scars, right? Can you put it on my back, though?
[So it doesn't... show... without him knowing it's going to.]
no subject
[ He's giving Cater all the choices possible on this. ]
I can probably double up on it too, so we can both get the points.
[ He quietly breathes out. ]
I'm sorry.
no subject
[Making the choices himself feels oddly masochistic, but... well. Hien was showing concern for him by offering, so it'd almost be rude to not take him up on it.]
If... you don't mind doubling up, then we can... but you have to show me where, too.
[And... there's an apology, and he waits until he's pulled his shirt up and out of the way to respond - in no small part because that does help to hide his expression.]
It's... well, it's not okay, but it's not your fault, so... I'm not upset at you.
no subject
Alright. How about a bruise? It'll be there for a long time, but it'll also fade eventually. A bruise is still technically an injury.
[ Hien digs through his bag and gets out one of his cozy sweaters. ]
Wear this. I'll make a bruise through the sweater, so it won't hurt. Regarding the bleeding, you can just prick my fingertip with a knife. That'll be enough.
no subject
That's fine, but, I... don't mind if you want to do worse, just to make sure it counts...
[He'll pull on the cozy sweater no matter what, though.]
It'll be really bad if any of us go back without enough points, after all.
no subject
[ Thankfully, Hien's doppelganger is nowhere to be found to be pesky because someone already killed it. ]
Alright. Ready? I'll get you in the shoulderblade area.
no subject
[It has to work. Right? Right.]
Ready...!
[Braced for impact...]
no subject
Okay. Got it. How are you feeling?
no subject
Appearances can be deceiving, surely.]
Fine... for now, but totally not looking forward to taking this off.
[He'll have to - and the pain-dulling aspect would wear off, anyway - but for now... It helps.]
Did it work?
no subject
[ For a reason. Hien looks at his tablet. ]
Yeah, that worked.
[ thank god ]
no subject
[He has to keep things light... or else. Anyway, he does seem to brighten when he hears it worked.]
Good, good! I totally wasn't looking forward to what else you might have to do if it didn't...
no subject
[ Please. ]
Now, your turn.
no subject
[He doesn't want to hurt him that badly, and Hien implied he had A System.]
no subject
[ He hands over the kitchen knife so that Cater can take it by the handle. Hien can be considerate at least that much. ]
Take the tip of the knife and poke my fingertip, kinda like how you would poke it with a needle. Just a little bit of that should make a drop of blood and it also heals within a minute or two for most humans. I can hold the knife steady for you as you do it.