04 - week four

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[partymagician]

i; (cw: child abuse, confinement, mass death, suicide, curses, gaslighting)

[ What lies beyond this portal in the courtyard is hard to discern at first, but as it looks like it lets out in the middle of some sort of stone building. What is immediately apparent, however, are the piles and piles of bodies lying on the ground. The number of bodies seems almost endless, and the space feels almost completely void of life.

That is, until there’s some movement up ahead. There’s a boy, his tangled blond hair down past his waist, moving them into one large pile at one of the stone walls, looking like he's going to attempt to use them as some sort of stepping stone. He struggles, his skinny frame making it difficult to move much at all.

OR;

That blond figure might be sitting down on the ground instead, another (yet different) portal opened up next to him. He looks afraid, yet hopeful at the same time as he shrinks in on himself. His voice is so quiet that it's impossible to tell what he's saying as he speaks to whoever might be in that portal. ]

ii;

[ Near the book store is a portal that leads to a snowy area. It’s bitingly cold, the wind harsh and the snow underneath your feet firm. It’s also quiet, at least until a slow rumble starts to build and build. If you look to your side, you’ll see that an avalanche is approaching, and quickly.

…

Until it suddenly isn’t, as the large block of snow seems to be gone, wisps of magical energy floating up from the ground in the space it once occupied. ]

Are you alright?

[ The voice certainly sounds like Fai’s, although much younger. And sure enough, it is a younger Fai. In his heavy coat and round face, it’s obvious he can’t be older than twelve or so. ]

iii; (cw: mass death, there may be mentions of child abuse and gaslighting with this prompt)

[ Anyone who steps through this portal will find themselves in at the foot of a long step of stairs leading up to a castle. The weather is harsh and cold, and the silence hanging over the castle is ominous.

Fai is just a few steps ahead, running as fast as he possibly can up the stairs. When he senses another presence behind him, he stops and whirls around on the stairs. Concern fills his face as he furrows his brows. He doesn't recognize this person as someone from Celes, but— ]

You need to leave. Now!

iv;

[ There are a few portals around campus and the surrounding areas with various memories from Fai's travels. ]

a.

[ The café in this portal is warm and inviting, and talking can be heard coming from behind the bar. It sounds like there are three voices—Fai's, a young girl's, and a creature's. ]

Great work! I knew you'd get the hang of it, Sakura!

b.

[ Tall, almost never-ending skyscrapers surround the small empty lot Fai is in as he works on a tiny, almost egg-shaped vehicle with small wings. Two more vehicles sit next to him, bright and glossy like they've just been cleaned.

He's pretty focused on what he's doing, since he needs to get it as nice as he can before the preliminary race that's coming up in just a few hours. ]

((i've listed some content warnings on the prompts that should need it, but check out fai's opt out post over here if you'd like too as well! replies for prompts i and ii will be coming from accursedtwin!))

ii

[selfconcept]

[ He was about to unlock his Future Mode to devour all that snow, but then he doesn't have to. He looks down at the kid. ]

Oh...

[ Fai is so cute............. what the fuck ]

Thanks.

[ Eloquent. ]

[accursedtwin]

You're not hurt, are you?

[ He furrows his brows, clutching his staff to his chest as he looks Hien over from a few feet away. ]

i; cw hint of emeto

[cloudalike]

[ Horrifying doesn't even begin to describe what Chongyun is seeing here.

He'd approached the portal because he'd seen a flash of what looked like Fai, who Chongyun likes a lot. If Fai were the sun, Chongyun would be the diligent flower turning his way every morning. That was the sort of warmth and comfort the man inspired in him.

But this.

It takes him a moment to realize he's shaking, that his breathing is too quick, too unstable, that the taste of bile is rising up his throat. He grits his teeth, clenches his fists and has to just - hold it together. Hold it in. Don't drop to your knees, Chongyun. Because if this is Fai, then Chongyun is not going to crumble should Fai need him. He doesn't know what's happening here, but he's all too aware that this is a very dangerous, very tense situation. Everything here is wrong, wrong, wrong. ]

... Fai? Is that you? [ The nigh overwhelming emotions within him making his voice come out raw. ]

[accursedtwin]

[ Fai stops, turning to the other voice he hears. It's been so long since he's actually heard someone else speak that it's a shock to his system. ]

Y-you're alive? How?

[ But then he registers what this person is asking and shakes his head. ]

Fai's... up there.

[ He points upwards, and if Chongyun raises his gaze high enough, he'll see a small platform up high above the tower.

But if this is Fai's memory and Fai is supposedly way up high... then what's going on? ]

iv - a

[goodfaiths]

[ Hopefully this memory is a nice one. He's stepped inside of Miach's and Rideaux's, surely nothing will go wrong here, right...

Riku enters the cafe and hears the voices. He turns to look at the bar. ]

Fai-san!

[ He gives him a little wave, not expecting any recognition. ]

[partymagician]

[ Fai pops his head out of the little kitchen area, surprised that someone's calling him by name. Most people here have called him Big Kitty... ]

Ah, must be one of Syaoran's new friends...

[ He waves, and before Riku can say anything else, a small white creature in a tiny apron comes bounding towards him.

"A customer! Welcome to the Cat's Eye!" ]

II

[herlocksholmes]

[An approaching avalanche wasn't something Sholmes expected to encounter anytime soon. That when it happens he's unprepared to face it, well, it's something to be vexed about.

And then Fai stops it. Sholmes stares at him for a moment before recovering]

I am, my good fellow. Thanks to you.

[accursedtwin]

[ He nods, looking out at the snow and letting out a small sigh of relief. ]

There shouldn't be anything else that could endanger you out here, but let me know if you run into any trouble.

wildcard aka ending divorce arc

[selfconcept]

[ After the tent memory, Hien abruptly wakes up one Friday morning (amazing) and rushes over to his dorm room, using his keycard to unlock the door swiftly and opening the door. ]

Fai--

[partymagician]

[ Fai is surprised to hear the door open when it’s so early still… honestly, he’s surprised that it’s opening at all. But maybe he shouldn’t be, after everything that happened in that portal.

He sets down his mug of coffee as he turns to look at Hien, a small smile on his face. ]

Welcome back, Hien.

i, starting from first half

[selfconcept]

[ Frankly, Hien is used to being around heaps of corpses, so it doesn't really bother him at all when he gets there. However, he sees a child with absurdly long hair and weakness. He arrives without his mask, and he is definitely not suited for the cold weather, but this child... ]

... Hey, you need to rest.

[accursedtwin]

[ He turns, his expression filled with fear. ]

How... how are you alive?

[ No one is supposed to be alive here, and that sentiment shows on his face. But with his voice sounding the exact same as the last memory Hien stepped into, and his blue eyes, Hien should know for sure whose memory he's stumbled upon. ]

i; cw corpse talk......

[sicklysweet]

[The piles of bodies don't catch Owen's attention for more than just a moment - he wasn't expecting to cross through a portal to so much death, but, well. It's not the first time Owen's seen a pile of corpses, and it won't be his last time, he's sure.

The boy struggling to move bodies reminds him of a legend he's heard before. About the Lake of Death with it's silent ferryman, a young child who would carry endless corpses to the island of the center of the lake... He doesn't think that boy struggled as much as this blond is.

It's more curiosity than pity that gets Owen to gesture, calling upon his magic to simply move the bodies for the boy, stacking them up in a neat ramp.]

Is that what you were trying to do?

[accursedtwin]

[ A look of shock passes over his face as the bodies pile up into a ramp. He stares at it for a long moment before turning to look at the only other living being down in the bottom of the tower.

His bright blue eyes likely give away his identity to Owen. ]

Magic...? How?

[ No one in Valeria can use magic here. Is this person from another country...? ]

iv, b!

[cheerfuldays]

( oh... this is almost familiar, but also not quite? the city is huge, larger than anything she's ever seen... and the vehicles are definitely unlike anything she's seen in real life! idly walking around, shizuku gazes at the world around her.

she then promptly almost trips on the tools. whoops. )

Oh-!!

[partymagician]

[ Although he's focused, Fai can still easily sense another presence nearby. Said presence doesn't feel dangerous, so he's content to work as he watches her out of the corner of his eye.

But then she trips and he rushes over to try to keep her from falling. ]

Are you alright, Miss?

i

[festiverogue]

[This is... not a pleasant memory, obviously, but it's the worst thing Madara thinks he's ever seen. Somehow it doesn't turn his stomach, but rather leaves him feeling an odd mixture of rage and detachment. Then the movement catches his eye, and he sees that young boy doing unthinkable labor...

And for some reason, his first instinct is to approach.]

Need some help, there?

cw corpse mention

[accursedtwin]

[ He startles, dropping the body he had been using to create a hill against the wall. ]

Y-you're alive?!

iii.

[iubar]

[ That's sure a greeting. He glances around his surroundings briefly, looking for the threat that seems to have Fai panicked before settling on him. ]

What's going on?

[partymagician]

[ With the way Fai glances back up at the castle, it seems like the threat might be inside. He looks back at Ace. ]

I thought I evacuated everyone from this country...

[ And he doesn't have the time to take this guy back to the bordering country either. ]

Your life is in more danger the longer you stay here.

iii

[mirrite]

[Marcus definitely has a bad feeling about this. In his experience, castles are almost never a good thing, and the whole atmosphere just feels oppressive in a way that signals to him that whatever is inside is something that probably shouldn't be messed with.

Which is, in his mind, all the more reason to tag along.]

Sorry, no can do. I may not know what's in there, but no way am I letting someone just run in all by themselves.

iv - a

[catarou]

[ He still doesn't know how he feels about entering others' memories, but... hm. So it goes.

This is, luckily, a seemingly pleasant memory. It's comfortable, at least, and blessedly, he's found himself in a cafe. Gentaro's content to remain here for a bit, and when he hears Fai's voice, it puts him a little more at ease.

He's quiet as he takes a seat; he doesn't want to bother them. He's just curious and fine with listening. ]

iii

[selfconcept]

[ You can't tell him what to do. Hien attempts to bypass Fai to continue up the stairs. He has a bad feeling about this memory too, so he's going to go and deal with it as soon as possible. ]

i

[exofractured]

[Once Phantom realizes that magic works inside the world of memories, he's less tentative about stepping through them. He might be regretting that choice more than a little at the sight of the bodies. He's seen death before, but not on a scale like this...

But he's not just going to stand there gaping when he catches sight of the child. He approaches carefully, making his voice a little softer than his usual.]

What are you doing here? Are you hurt?