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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.
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[The excitement does seem a bit more subdued.]
O- Oh. Um, [that somehow made it more mortifying to be positive.]
... w- well, I also have to talk-! About what my worst attributes are! [so he pivots, like a coward]
We could go ahead and turn it into a whole conference. "The Dissection of Idia Shroud" or something like that...
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...
Idia doesn't need to be broken. ]
Alright. I'll go first, if that's okay with you?
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Ah, o- okay.
[little fidgeting]
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[ This should absolutely count, because Hien means it too. ]
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... eh, well, [with simple things, he probably would have rushed to change it if Hien said something]
[This is much harder because it feels like a piece of himself, something that's wedged in so tightly, is causing the issue.]
... i- it's not like being confident in myself is any better. Standing out is just a way to make enemies. Jealous people flock around and pull apart the things you say and like. If you're outnumbered, play dead~ something like that.
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Are those examples based on real people you know?
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... plenty of people, since I started attending school. "Why does Idia get to do that," "the Shroud family's famous, after all"...
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[He would fight for whatever privilege he could grab because, well, there was an end in sight, where he wouldn't get to play around any longer.]
... it's not like I don't hate that about myself either. There's simply only one "me" I can be.
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Do you hate yourself that much, Idia?
[ Perhaps for Idia, it's a simple question with an easy answer. But for Hien, it's an incredibly loaded question that he honestly... shouldn't have asked. The only reason why he's at peace right now is because he doesn't know how everyone feels regarding themselves here. He doesn't have the powers to suddenly know everything regarding the self.
And that's why, to ask Idia this very question, he feels-- ]
What would you say is the worst thing about you?
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... ah, well, I'm socially awkward, I judge people easily, if someone's not particularly interesting I forget them...
[those ones he can rattle off like it's a laundry list]
... but the worst thing about me is... probably how I let people down. The people who do believe in me. Who care about me. Inevitably, I'm going to mess it up.
[Another bad quality was "giving up easily" but that was really, in his mind, a kindness. Someone couldn't be hurt if there was that distance there. And from his own experience, it would keep happening.]
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[ And would he put in the effort? Hien won't ask that, since he thinks that's already implied with what he asked. ]
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[That's adamant, at least, a bit more fiery than his usual morose tone.]
If, if I were better... If I were... something...
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[ He doesn't mean to, but he sounds like he's the whispering voice of the devil on his shoulder now. ]
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... I would gladly... trade this useless self, if he were back.
[The "price" was already paid. He could become perfect now and that wouldn't change the past.]
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[ Hien slowly blinks. Does Idia have a crush on someone? Is he waiting for someone?? ]
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[There's a familiar feeling of something building up inside of him, self-loathing, grief, shame. There was nothing to burn it away.]
... he certainly thought I could do anything. He was the most important person in my life. Or, s- so... I thought... if he was the most important then how could I have let him slip through my fingers?...
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Idia.
[ He quietly breathes out. A crack forms somewhere, and Hien can feel it. ]
If we all thought like that, we would have no one to deem as important in our lives. If no one wanted their loved ones to leave, it would be a very different world.
[ Like resurrection. Some people just don't want to come back after having made peace. ]
... I had someone who was like a son to me. I cherished him like he was my own. He was very important to me. But even someone like me--maybe you think I'm strong. Maybe you think I can do anything--I can't. Not even I... can be like that.
[ He feels the crack grow larger inside him. ]
Your brother, despite your loss, is still important to you. Always has been. Sometimes, unfortunate accidents happen, and while extremely unfair, we can't... do anything about it. It's just how it is. Goodbyes are a part of life. It's what you do with what happened that shapes you.
[ His voice gets quieter the longer he talks. ]
Your brother thought you could do anything. Wouldn't you want to hold yourself up to that? As a form of respect to your brother.
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[What if they hadn't made peace? What if it was just a horrible accident? What if it could be reversed?]
[It's hard, when Hien is clearly sharing something about himself, but his own person hurt is bubbling to the surface. "Not even I can be like that." Well, why not? Why can't someone challenge death and win? Why not me?]
[If Ortho believed I could do anything, why not that?]
... y- you know, there's- there's a story- ... about a man who goes to the land of the dead. He manages... he manages to get the person he loves back...
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[ Hien looks at Idia evenly. ]
Tell me.
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[And while there was some value in the idea that not everyone could... the desire was always there.]
... do you think it's just a story? Or do you think someone actually did?
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I'm a firm believer that if something exists, something related to the thing must also exist somewhere.
[ Kinda like r34 but in a more of a existentialism sense. ]
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... I- [he closes his eyes, thinking]
I want to be the one that does. I want Ortho... t- to smile happily... and I want us t-to go on an adventure someday... L- Like the kind that jumps between worlds.
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