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magisteriaexe2024-11-17 04:12 pm
magisteriamods) wrote in magisteriaexe2024-11-17 04:12 pm
Event #003, Part I: The Symphony of Disruption
🌠The Symphony of Disruption đźŚ
Part I: The Darkness
OOC Notes: Here it is! The game's first "Intense Event"! Some special notes for this event --
* Death is possible, and PCs can also kill citizens or creatures in the distrct. This event will have special revive mechanics which will be explained later, and PCs will not have to go through the usual revival process for an in-game death. "Light Sentinels" can even kill fellow PCs as a means of saving them, and this will be briefly explained to them, though the means of revival and specifics around this won't be revealed until the event's second half.
* For the corruption element: your character does not necessarily have to be corrupted. If and how they are is up to player discretion, as is the extent and manifestation of the corruption. They can just get lucky or manage to resist through will power, however you want it. Characters can be brought back to themselves by the power of Light Sentinel allies, or by the alignment switch Blessing from the game's third TDM. If you wish to engage with the event both corrupted and un-corrupted via separate prompts/TLs, that is Fine.
Dark City
Locals familiar with the Supernatural Undercity will tell the Otherworlders that, during the autumn and winter seasons, it’s not unheard of for Magisteria to feel different. The spookier residents have a way of making their presence more known, and those with spooky potential have a way of going… more feral. The succubi and the demon women of the Entertainment District are known to come with a lot more bite, and only the biggest of daredevils would be advised to purchase their services during the apex of the season.
It’s different from year to year, but these seasonal changes are always mitigated by the Authorities of each district and their powers. The spooky season in Magisteria becomes a respectful celebration of the diversity of the undead, demons, succubi, and other creatures, and both locals and Otherworlders are encouraged to cede respectful distance to those who may be experiencing enhanced primal urges during these months.
This year, something is different. One night, a darkness falls which overtakes the Bios in the Entertainment District and the bright corners of High Rise Village.
The darkness is as heavy as a tangible thing. At night, the stars and moon disappear. When day comes, the sky is grey as slate.
A Grey Day
When dawn arrives, those living in High Rise Village will begin to hear notes of music. Dissonant, eerie, chaotic: disruptive. A symphony composed of a cacophony of sounds. Moreover, different people may hear different tunes. The only commonality is the lack of rhyme or reason, the lack of cohesion.
The songs play and weave through invisible algorithms, beckoning to the district’s citizens to unleash their inner turmoil, and other sides of themselves.
Holograms appear informing residents to take shelter and advising of the safest locations within the district. For weeks, most of the people and creatures of High Rise Village have been migrating to Evergreen Terrace, entrusting their protection to Arwyn. The apartments are brimming, full, and busy. The streets, by contrast, are ghostly, empty, and disorganized.
But not everyone can simply wait in the apartments and ride out the storm. After all, if this is an attack, someone(s) has to form a counter-strike. So Enforcers and other members of Magisteria’s various law enforcement agencies and vigilante groups are out and about, along with others who are not afraid of a conflict and who have sufficient training for battle.
No one demands that Otherworlders leave the safety of the apartments unless they have specifically expressed a will to do battle or unless they have a specific role to play in stopping – or ending – what’s coming, but should they enter High Rise Village, they will encounter the Chaos.
Chaos Comes to High Rise Village
Everything has the potential to become or manifest a twisted version of itself. The people, the animals, the buildings – even those in opposition, such as the fighters and those aligned with law enforcement. Even they can be Changed and altered by the chaos in the district.
Of course, those with powers are using them to resist in various ways, relying on their forces of will, but it’s like the whole district is in a trance, a hallucination, or perhaps a simulation.
But if that’s what this is, it feels all too real.
Throughout the district, spider-shaped lepidoperatives on thin, silver webs jump and move about. They’re fast and small and difficult to spot. Connected to the invisible mechanisms of Phantom Cipher’s Manifestation, these metallic insects can affect everything they touch by planting tokens on them: known as void imprints, wraith marks, and eclipse sigils, these tokens can induce a being to manifest or become a phantom version of themselves.
I. Alignment Shift(ed)
Otherworlders, natives, and creatures may become, or manifest (or both) different versions of themselves. In keeping with the spookier time of year, this other version could be a werewolf, a vampire, a ghostly manifestation, or a cryptid, or it could be One’s Self, Inversed: there is no apparent rhyme or reason to what you may become or what you may apparate. There may even be more than one “you” at a given time, depending on how far the effects of the corruption tokens reach.
Affected Otherworlders may find themselves attached to the silver webs, becoming like puppets. You may find that allies are now enemies, or enemies are allies. Nothing is as before, and everything is thrown into Chaos. Your actions may no longer be your own, and what you do or whom you fight may no longer be your choice.
II. Mecha Monstrosities
The district pulses with cyborgs and phantom creatures, and those who, like Phantom Cipher himself, seem to be a mixture of both. The Fractured have returned. Only now, they are walking about in the daylight, or what passes for daylight in the corrupted district.
Androids with barbs and spikes patrol the district, and many are not shy for conflict. Like Lysa’s “pet,” Grimm, these androids are powerful and can regenerate a certain number of times when attacked. Some will attack on sight, and others may try to “play” with the Otherworlders, or with citizens or creatures in the district, whether the latter are corrupted or not.
Of course, alignment-shifted PCs may also be able to ally destructively with such entities. Those on the path of destruction may find common ground in trying to take down the infrastructure of the district.
III. The Party of the Damned
All around, people, organic and inorganic, appear with skull-like features. There may even be faces you recognize, from work, from the clubs, from elsewhere in the district. But now, their features have changed.
These skull-faced citizens of Magisteria insist upon partying just as they do within the clubs in the evening. They dance and sing along with the music, encouraging Otherworlders to join them.
If anyone speaks to them or asks what is going on, the answer is the same:
Nothing. Nothing at all. This is who we are, who we’ve always been. Why do you look so strange, Otherworlders?
This is the paradise city… the city of all our dreams. Magisteria. Light and Darkness.
Bios and Umbra. This is what’s always been inside all of us, all along. Inside of you all... inside of Everyone...
Are you only just now seeing it? But this is what we’ve always been. The skin hangs over the bones, but the bones are inside, underneath…
They move and move, like puppets, but with a strange sense of freedom nonetheless. Beckoning. Whispering. Just let it out. Let out what has been inside of you, all along. It's inside of us all. The darkness that walks with the light. Bios and Umbra. Look at what we can become when not forced towards "Perfection." Inside of Magisteria, all along. And these party-goers do not slow or tire. Though their movements are haphazard, like zombies from films, still they keep moving, keep going, never growing exhausting, never ceasing...
IV. Elemental Nightmares
News comes that the source of the “hack” is Magisteria’s Elemental Control Center. This central zone is a bit like a giant brain that regulates elemental magic within the district. Now, the magic becomes chaotic. Giant tornadoes of raw elemental power sweep through the district. Alleys and buildings explode into gust-fed fires, and tides of water burst forth over the district. The ground trembles and all of the elements are out of control.
Those with magical powers are (if still in control of themselves) encouraged to work to stem these tides, to ebb the flow of the elemental disasters which are occurring throughout High Rise Village.
Gilgamesh | Fate đź‘‘-- Alignment Shifted to UBW-esque incarnation! With some Magisterian twists
Gilgamesh is Having a Day: That's It, That's the Whole Top Level
[ Truthfully, looking around Magisteria at the present time, the King of Heroes cannot believe that he did not attain his present conclusion sooner: namely, the forms of life within this city-state have grown far too abundant. They've become a sort of rabble, a humanoid litter. In a world in which every being claims to be exceptional, there can be nothing that truly is. And, in any case, such unique status is the right and prerogative of the King alone. At this moment, Gilgamesh has no faith whatsoever in the future of Magisteria. Just look at these mongrels dancing like something from some sleazy film. Just think about that carnage going on that has been broadcast.
Clearly, there is only one solution to mongrels who ruin their own city-state in such a manner, and that solution is Judgment.
The presence of that being, Arwyn, whose characteristic trait drives others in the city-state to "Absolute Perfection," suits Gilgamesh just fine. Having switched from his other class summoning, he may not have access to his magic, but his enhancements with technology, his charisma, and his EX-rank good fortune more than make up for this lack. In this world, the omnipotent wish-granter, the Holy Grail, is a being named Soraya.
Using the Magisterian technology Gilgamesh has learned and the upgrade of his gift to create a Miracle with Arwyn's power and his own, it is simple enough to clone data structures of that woman's magic into the translation of technical form as programming: Bios and Umbra. Simply imbue them with Gilgamesh's golden Bios and the Umbra of the Fractured, and he has coded himself up an approximate facsimile of a Grail. ]
This city... it's grown exceedingly unsightly.
[ He's been filling his vault with cyber-weapons, and now it even contains his own personal aircraft. It's not so unique as the Vimana, which is another problem with this world: again, that abundance of everything. In a world of luxury where just any mongrel can own their own aircraft... what is the value in any individual piece of technology or any life? There's too much superfluity; those "Fractured" are the proof of this concept.
But presently, Gilgamesh does not utilize flight. He will if he needs to, of course, to best use the Grail. But for the time being, he is simply strolling down the flaming streets. The flames, of course, part around him, for his Bios is blazing as golden as his soul, but if anyone gets in his path or irritates his vision, he simply shoots them down with his swords -- the smaller ones, preferring not to waste anything significant at such a moment. ]
It is time to desist with this modern world. Purge and begin anew.
It's Tenma Time!
First, there had been dealing with Kushinada-san's predicament as a favour to her other self, but it seems her responsibilities don't end there! She's been given power to save all the people corrupted by these alignment shifts, and she feels compelled to see this through to the end. Even if it means tangling with the King of Heroes at his absolute worst.
"Miles to go before I sleep..." Tenma shakes her head, and draws her swords. "Let me guess; if your Caster self is the humbled, older and wiser King, then the Gilgamesh standing before me now is the young and foolish version, isn't it?"
It's Douchebag Time!
Gilgamesh does recognize Musashi, and he does have some memory of their encounters in this world. But those memories feel akin to a dream. His mind is now too saturated with disdain and anger for everything which he beholds. And, being Gilgamesh, anything he believes in one moment becomes his Absolute Truth at that instant. All he can think, therefore, are thoughts of doing away with this corrupted city-state. The need burns inside of him, overwhelming all else.
"Foolish?" His gaze drifts over the shapes of her swords. Gilgamesh, of course, readies his golden portals, knowing this could be a quick draw sort of situation. For all his arrogance, he is not going to entirely underestimate a legendary master of the sword -- after all, he does still have the memories of tangling with one such being. "What's foolish is this ruckus. Magisteria has become a disappointment."
The supposed paradise city has fallen. In so doing, it has shown its underbelly. And right now, Gilgamesh cannot see that it worth saving or investing in. The tide of his thoughts has turned too absolutely. Of course, he cannot comment on Musashi's observation about his other self: the difference in perception is too opposite as to make one unable to internally reconcile the difference, but if she knows him, she knows that whatever he is in any instant, he is 100%.
"Do not get in my way, Saber."
no subject
Tenma looks out towards the city, balancing her katanas over both shoulders. "Ooh, I don't know about that." She admits cheerfully. "Seems like kind of a lively place to me! Maybe a bit out of sorts at the moment..." She turns to regard Gilgamesh again. "Sort of place that could use heroes more than destroyers, wouldn't you say? Come on, let's put this aside and go out there and help some people, ne?"
no subject
Luckily for her, she'd been uncorrupted, and she's not a torso on a big chrome spider body anymore. Go team.
It doesn't solve her other problems. Smasher is still out there, though Lucy's doing her best to dissuade any Otherworlders from seeking him out. She's still running on sheer terror, but even her resilient mind can't function like that for long: days after Smasher's appearance, the terror has become blunted from exhaustion. Or maybe it's even worse. She can't tell. Her heart is still beating too hard, always, all day.
And then she sees fucking Gilgamesh on a city security camera setting fire to shit.
When she gets there, he doesn't sound like Gilgamesh at all, and-- shit. He's been corrupted, hasn't he? That's terrible fucking news, because when Lucy gets corrupted she can still be beaten by excellent fucking fighters. Who the fuck is going to beat a corrupted Gilgamesh? She stands precisely zero chance. But she's got to try anyway. ]
I think people are gonna have an issue with that plan.
[ She makes herself known behind him, blowing out a cloud of vapor from her verve vape, deliberately casual. ]
Besides. If you purge everything, who's going to be left to begin it anew? I think I found a flaw in your plan, goldilocks.
no subject
When she speaks to him, Gilgamesh turns to face her. Though his mental state has presently switched to a different one, he does remember her from before. He had even been growing to feel a certain respect for this woman, had he not? He had even been looking to her as someone to potentially form a contract with. It's not that those memories are altogether gone... but Gilgamesh is in a quite different frame of mind, now. ]
Who else? [ He laughs, a sharp sound. ] Me, of course.
[ In one sense, Gilgamesh is in a terrible mood right now, one might say. But in another sense, he's in an excellent one. Looking at Lucy now, he seems quite pleased. Well, you never know, Lucy -- if there's any way Gilgamesh can lose to a non-Servant, a mere mortal, it might just be through his under-estimating them. But then, luck would not be on her side, as he has never particularly under-estimated her, and even now, that seems to transfer over. He also knows about the wires, and he's very fast. But if she will try to oppose him, at least that's some spirit he must commend. At any rate, Gilgamesh looks entirely unbothered. The fire brings out the gold in his hair and the red in his eyes, also casting shadows over his face.
It's still him, of course. It very much is. It's just -- ]
You did not truly think you have seen all that I am, did you? I told you... but I do not think you truly comprehended. The gods created me, the union of a goddess and a human, to oversee the progression of humanity. But as I am a King, I am also made to Judge. To be the Arbiter. A tempest, the north wind who remonstrates the masses. The version of me you have known before... came from a summoning in which I chose to stand with my city-state during its time of need. The version of me you behold now... is the one who passes judgment upon such filth as the masses have left us with.
[ To Gilgamesh, there is no contradiction whatsoever in the different sides to him. There can be none. Unlike humans, unlike other beings, he is an Absolute being, and so anything he thinks or feels in any moment is Absolute. But that does not mean he can or would simply switch back. Not without something to actually bring him back to that other mindset -- no. Besides, he rather likes the feeling of embracing these chaotic energies once again. It's been a while since he's experienced this side of himself. When he leans into it, he really does. ]
I suppose you could say I am very disappointed in this city. [ His jaw sets, thinking about that broadcast and its implications. ] It's reverted to base, mongrel behavior...
[ Its chaos has reverted him to his origin temperament, but the worst version thereof. Which means he's fully dangerous, yes. And while he knows he could revert back to his other self... or be changed... well, watching the world burn is Fun, after all. ]
no subject
[ Lucy snorts. ]
Kinda takes two to tango, Gil. Unless you can asexually reproduce, or bud off a few clones, or something.
[ Lucy officially has no fucking clue how to deal with this. His Bios is glowing so bright he almost hurts to look at, and Lucy has no idea what his combat capabilities are, but she knows she probably wouldn't stand a chance. And yet, she might just fucking have to try to fight him, if he continues with this bullshit idea of scouring the city clean. ]
Mongrel behavior, huh? Think you'll have to sling a few examples my way, because trust me, the people here are way more polite than where I come from.
[ She takes a step forward, like they're just friends having a chat. Like she's just hanging out having a smoke, loitering on whatever street corner is more convenient. ]
no subject
[ But he seems rather unbothered. Almost indifferently, Gilgamesh flicks his gaze up to the Grail hovering in the sky above him. Granted, Lucy might not recognize it as a Grail. It looks more like a circular shadow of pure darkness encircled by a ring of mysterious light. But Gilgamesh supposes he should explain -- ]
That is my creation. There is no Grail here, no, but that woman who grants wishes -- it's a similar enough magic, isn't it? So I simply turned my Sight upon her and transcribed that magic into code of the Magisterian sort. The makeshift artefact, I imbued with Bios and Umbra. A King such as myself can weaponize both, even if you mongrels cannot. [ Actually, it's more like he just duct-taped everything together through sheer force of will. He does not really know what he's doing exactly with these forces, but there's no reason Lucy or anyone else has to know that. ] Therefore, the Grail spills its curses and grants all wishes I command.
I can simply create my ideal wife, should I so choose. Though such a matter is of less interest to me now than my primary wish... which is, of course, the complete purging of the city-state of Magisteria, that I might take the reins.
... do you truly believe the people here are any different than elsewhere? [ He cannot restrain a laugh. ] You are an intelligent woman, are you not? Do not be so naive. We have merely seen a view that those who summoned us here wanted us to see.
Are you so foolish as to not wonder why we have been restrained to a select handful of districts? Have you no imagination not to wonder why there is a barrier around the city-state, why these 'Authorities' are so frequently preoccupied elsewhere, or what they are hiding that our view of this world has remained so limited?
[ People are people, anywhere. But honestly, someone with Lucy's background would do well to be a little more jaded. For self-preservation reasons. In his other form, Gilgamesh might still encourage some skepticism. It's just that his skepticism is swollen through and through with abject cynicism and anger, now. Like the current state of the world is a slight on him, personally. But, in his current nihilistic mindset, Gilgamesh also feels somehow... disappointed in how contented Lucy has become. Can she not see that there must be layers of darkness in this world, too? Simply accepting the propaganda about the 'paradise city'... as if humans can ever truly change their nature, anywhere... ]
But let us see how you will oppose my treasures, hm?
[ It could be interesting. Anyway, philosophy aside, Gilgamesh is in a frame of mind where he just wants to watch the world burn. So he opens a few portals and begins firing out his weapons, directing them right at his former comrade-in-arms. ]
no subject
[ Maybe she has become a bit too content. Maybe she's been too desperate to buy into the idea of a paradise city because all she wants is a happy ending. She took up a job doing cyber surveillance in a heavily trafficked adult lounge specifically so she and Musashi could spy on people's conversations to see what secrets this city is hiding, but sometimes... sometimes she wants to buy the lie. Sometimes it just feels easier. Sometimes she's just sick of struggling against the world.
Maybe that makes her weak. Whatever.
Gilgamesh, though. Sometimes it's easy to forget how strong he is. He took a woman's magic just by looking at her and wrangled it into a force of creation bending solely at his will, a dark eclipse in the sky threatening to swallow the whole city if he wishes it. There's no fucking way that Lucy's beating him in open combat, no matter what upgrades she gets.
What she does have is an ace up her sleeve. A couple months ago, she and Gilgamesh had gone into the Vplane to create digital Echoes of themselves, something they were encouraged to do to in the fight against the Phantom Cipher. She hadn't understood why at the time, but now she does; they're to fight against the corruption the Phantom Cipher had been planning.
But how does she force the digital Echo into him? She's not telepathic or magic, and he doesn't have any neuro-gear. They're incompatible formats.
And that's when Gilgamesh opens some fucking portals and starts firing at her.
Lucy fires up her new symphogenic augments, slots in the meat of her palms that open and spark with orange heat, propelling her backward. Her heart is thumping almost too hard to concentrate, but she's good under pressure. Always has been. If she can bundle up the digital Echo with a hit of Bios and convince him to absorb it -- or just smack it into his face and make him absorb it -- that might just work. She just needs to get close enough. ]
So if something's kinda corrupted, you need to tear down the whole city, huh? I guess part of me kinda approves. You've got a bit of that edgerunner spirit, Gil.
[ She ducks below a sword aimed right at her head, and something she suspects might be a missile. Getting closer the whole time. ]
no subject
[ He says it as though "they" are the same as they ever were, as if his disposition change does not fundamentally change who he is or was. In one sense, that's not the case, because the change in attitude renders Gilgamesh's priorities utterly different and incompatible with Lucy's, making them enemies where they had previously been allies... but in another sense, as she might now have noticed, he is still Gilgamesh in a way that the other "corrupted" people are not exactly themselves. ]
Besides... it's entertaining, is it not?
[ The best news for Lucy is that he's not going all out against her. Even if Gilgamesh has come to have a certain respect for this woman, he does not think she, a mere human, can successfully hold against him, a Servant -- even if he is composed of Bios now rather than mana, he still has his Noble Phantasm(s). Really, he could open his vault and launch hundreds, thousands of weapons, but instead, he's flinging them almost casually. Lazily. Feline-like. Which is another side of Gilgamesh's demeanor. ]
And perhaps you will have a chance to show me what you are capable of, hm?
[ If there's anything Gilgamesh respects, after all, it's a Worthy Adversary. ]
no subject
Sure. It's entertaining, I'll give you that. You've always gotta go big, huh?
[ He is going easy on her. Weapon after weapon flies at her, and yet, Lucy is able to dodge all of them. The thing is, his digital echo isn't the only ace she's got tucked up her sleeve, and she's mostly just working on getting close enough that she can use the second ace to deliver the first. If she does it too soon, he'll pull up some kind of defensive shield, or just vanish, or explode the city or whatever. She's got to be quick. ]
You're such a drama queen.
[ With that, Lucy takes off a dead sprint. And then dissolves, the air glitching where she used to be.
Thank you, brand new upgraded bodysuit.
She reappears moments later, mid-air like she's about to spike a basketball, a blob of digital echo-infused Bios cupped in her palm, hand swinging for Gilgamesh's cheek with the intent of slapping the shit out of him. ]
no subject
If he were thinking more deeply about such matters, it would make sense that one might develop additional abilities within this world, of course. But, here and now, this particular one catches him off guard. It's true that he has not been going all out against her -- no, rather, he has been somewhat playful, akin to a cat toying with a mouse. Arrogant carelessness has ever been Gilgamesh's greatest flaw in spite of (or because of, rather) his considerable talents, powers, and abilities. At least, this iteration of him.
The sting of the slap is not much to him, of course: Gilgamesh is a Servant, after all, and thus he's far more durable than a human. It's not the physicality of the act, no, but rather, something else. Whatever she's touched him with, it jolts through his entire body and nervous system. He makes a shocked, indignant sound. ]
What do you think you're doing?
[ The last word is emphasized by the sudden shock. Gilgamesh reaches up, clutching his face, but he is peering out between his fingers, eyes angry red with an expression she is sure to have never witnessed on his face before.
He hasn't realized what it is yet that has been implanted within him. Only knows he sees the phantom circuits -- the ones from their first challenges at the Neon Nest so long ago -- appearing on his body, glowing to life on his skin, as if the body/mind were some kind of technology being reset/written over. The circuits look so similar to the magic circuits of mages that he feels a disgusted sort of amusement, seeing those patterns glowing on his complexion. ]
... to think you, a commoner, would have the conceit to challenge me...