03.50 - week three, saturday

[afflictionmods]

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.

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.”

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.

OOC NOTES

OOC: Here are some important things to note for today’s event:

- 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:
break someone's bone, make someone bleed, get someone to cry, cause someone an injury that leaves a long-lasting mark, tell your partner what you hate about your relationship, tell your partner/someone in general your deepest secret, get someone to reveal a time in which they were emotionally very vulnerable, tell someone what you like about them, make someone angry, fight someone and win, kill someone's doppelganger, have someone kill your doppelganger, tell someone what you think is their worst attribute, tell someone what you think is your worst attribute 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.

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[festiverogue]

[Madara only hesitates for a moment, not because he thinks it's ridiculous, but because it--and Idia--reminds him a little of someone.

Then he locks pinkies with Idia and gives a suitable little shake.]

You've got my word. Pinky promise.

[ignihidden]

[Idia returns the grip. It's a little childish but also nice and firm. If it were broken, he would at least have an excuse to be angry. Violating the sacred promise had consequences!]

[When he loosens his hand back, he rests it at his side, holds it with his other hand across.]

... Um, so... ... I look like this... [that's not the secret, of course]

... I look like this b- because of my family. Because of who we are. The Shroud family has... responsibilities. I don't-

[He thought this would be easier. Somehow, as he tries to form words, they start to grow and turn into blockages in his throat.]

[festiverogue]

[Madara is silent, but he wonders if it'd be easier if he looked more idol-y. Maybe a smile? He'll try that. One of those encouraging MaM smiles he gives on TV.]

[ignihidden]

[That ends up making it difficult because he does feel like he's being an oversharing fan. He slams his eyes shut like maybe if he doesn't see anything it will be easier. Instead, behind his eyelids, he flashes back to images he doesn't want to see again.]

[So, he opens them again, noting that the figure of the boy right across from him is blurry from tears in his eyes.]

[Suppress it. Push it down. Push it down so you can endure it.]

... when I graduate, I'll be returning home.

[the grip on his own arm is tight]

... so it doesn't matter if I excel, o- or stay in my room all day...

[festiverogue]

[He can't help it. Hero or not, nobody needs to suffer on their own, even if the thing they're fighting is their own sadness or insecurity. Their own fate.

Madara reaches out and puts a kind, bracing hand on Idia's shoulder.]

[ignihidden]

... I'll disappear.

[He says it with a resignation. The words he couldn't quite say: he was never asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. A hero in an adventure was something impossible for him to become. In order to become what was expected to him, anything he built up at school would have to be shattered.]

I've known that for a long time.

[festiverogue]

[Madara is silent for a moment, looking at him with something that falls well short of pity, more like understanding.]

That sort of thing happens to the best of us. I don't know your whole situation, but I hope it doesn't have to change who you are. You're a pretty cool guy, from where I'm standing.

[The burden of responsibility can be too, too heavy. Madara can relate to that much, even if their stories aren't the same.]

[ignihidden]

[There were heroes that shook off their responsibilities to do what needed to be done. There would be heroes where their responsibilities were what needed to be done. And they would be done.]

... I don't want... [a little sniffle, as some of the emotions finally well over,]

... to be hurt... or have others hurt by it... So, it's better if it just happens someday. Just, poof! Gone.

[festiverogue]

[Madara frowns. As someone who frequently wants to disappear, and someone who also never thinks about how that decision impacts others, this feels weirdly personal. If someone like Idia disappeared, someone who makes himself unobtrusive but has intense passions and incredible capability... someone who might be making himself small just so the void he leaves behind is smaller... if someone like that suddenly left a hole in the lives of the people around him, it'd be a thousand times worse than someone like Madara leaving. The people who treasure Idia probably care about him as much as Idia cares about idols, or technology.

So it's partly the idol in him, and partly the idiot, that gives unsolicited advice.]

Believe me when I say sudden goodbyes hurt a lot. They leave kind of a gaping wound that heals over fast, but ugly. That scar sticks around forever. If there's a way you can explain it to the people you're going to leave behind, you might want to think about doing it. Leave them a letter or something, if you can't do anything else. Because I refuse to believe you don't have people who'd do anything and everything to hold your memory close.

[ignihidden]

[An idol who comes in and out of people's lives could cover a wide stretch but when they faded from the public eye it wasn't necessarily as personal. Plenty of people wouldn't notice if Idia were gone. The ones that did, though...]

... l- like I said, I've been trying to avoid it! [the emotional tears hold off for something a bit sillier,]

Then this whole thing starts and I'm told to be close to someone... a- and-

["And I think it will hurt him when I go. I think it will hurt him more than others. I think I'm doing a bad thing by not telling him."]

And that's why the pinky promise! N- No telling anyone!

[festiverogue]

[He drops his voice a bit, gently.]

I won't tell him.

[Because Madara respects Idia's right to make whatever decision he wants to live with. It's the same respect he'd want, in that sort of situation. There've been plenty of people who tried to make Madara disappear for good, and not in the "out of the public eye" sense. He's never, ever spared a thought for the people he'd leave behind.

Well. Not until very recently.]

But that wound I was talking about goes both ways. The second you realize somebody cares, it changes how you see the world. Think on it long and hard before you just vanish.

[ignihidden]

[Leaving people behind, being left behind, it was something that occupied Idia's thoughts when he wasn't knee-deep in a game. He really wished the university had a good set of consoles...]

... it's not like I can change the vanishing...

[... but he knew the date, he gets the idea. Think about it until that moment. Try to leave it without regrets for those people.]

... a- and, like I said, don't tell anyone, i- it's not like this is only about Cater!

[festiverogue]

[God, and he even has to say more after this confession to do his end of things.

A smile, faint though it is.]

I've got plenty of secrets I'm keeping. I'll just tuck yours away, safe and sound. Nobody'll know unless you tell them yourself.

[He leans in slightly.]

And I'm not just saying that because of the pinky promise. I'm saying that because I respect you. Pinky promises are pretty great, though.

[ignihidden]

I- ["really don't know why you do."]

[It's hard, especially after admitting some form of his own cowardice, but he tries to accept that maybe some part of what he's accomplished here has earned him respect.]

... w- well, of course, if you break them you have to swallow a thousand needles. It's the perfect silencing incentive.

[festiverogue]

You've got that right! I'm saying "no thanks" to sharp objects this month.

[He pauses, then barrels forward.]

So, I'm gonna go ahead and tell you what I think is your worst attribute. Now, keep in mind this is kind of an uninformed opinion, but...

[He smiles.]

I think it's pretty terrible that you don't accept your own value. You barely let me compliment you just now, and it was totally sincere. Nobody's the same. No two people have the same things to offer the world--this one, mine, yours, whatever. Take that compliment and let it warm you up from the inside out, if you can manage it.

[Advice Madara ought to learn to take for himself. But there's his ever-present double standard. He looks like a bright and shining idol on the outside, but the inside is a miserable mess.]

I mean it. I do respect you. You're a quick thinker, and you're braver than you think you are. I'd trust you to watch my back.

[After a beat, Madara holds up a hand for a high five. Like this is a high-five event or something.]

And I'll be counting on your support from now on.

[ignihidden]

[Look, he had his moment of emotional vulnerability for the session! He's reacting to Madara's speech as if he's being told he needs to floss more, or that he won't get any taller if he doesn't eat his veggies. He got plenty tall, thanks!]

Right, right, I'll add it to the pile of flaws.

[... still, despite his left-over sniffles and congestion to tearing up, he manages to at least say that with a good sense of humor.]

[And he does tug down the end of his slightly-too-long sleeve to apply a high five. It's not the hardest one but he does try to use enough force that it makes the appropriate bap! sound expected of a high five.]

Support-class Idia Shroud, present and accounted for~... I guess.

[festiverogue]

[That's the spirit! Brush off genuine concern and have a good laugh! Madara's favorite coping mechanism! He sees you, Idia. But he also gets it, and offers a little laugh in return.]

You guess? I think you showed right up. Look.

[He whips out his tablet.]

That's the last of my points. You're a lifesaver.

[ignihidden]

[He was doing! His best! He dealt with one whole issue this conversation! That's a maximum!]

A something-saver, I guess. In exchange, please send me a cute picture of M'lady Shizuku.

[...]

You can be in it too... I guess...

[festiverogue]

[Hey. He's an idol.]

You're asking the right guy. I'll send you the best Shizuku pic I can get. And just Shizuku, unless you really are my fan, too.

[ignihidden]

... I'm just a casual fan for you, sorry.

[He doesn't deny fan! But... but Shizuku solo pic...]

[festiverogue]

Then you better go as hard as possible for Shizuku, or I won't even think about letting you off the hook.

[Just wait for that pic, Idia.]