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vestigelogs2021-03-17 09:43 pm
vestigemods) wrote in vestigelogs2021-03-17 09:43 pm
(event) TWISTS AND BLOODY TURNS
MARCH EVENT: TWISTS & BLOODY TURNS
MARCH 18TH - 23RD
► INTO THE MAZE
- The sky is a crisp, clear blue on the morning of March 18th. The breeze brings the pleasant aroma of flowering topiary, and the early spring sun warms your skin rather pleasantly as you wake.
Which is kind of a shame, since none of it should be possible if you're still in your bed where you fell asleep.
You aren't, as it turns out. In fact, you aren't anywhere recognizable at all - you lie on a well-trod layer of grass, framed to your left and right by hedge walls tall enough that it's truly a wonder the sun managed to filter down to you at all. With minimal investigation, you discover that though the hedge corridor you've awoken in does indeed end in a bend, turning it does little more than present yet another corridor just the same. The good news is, you're not alone! Others, too, are waking or soon to wake in this very same labyrinth, perhaps even nearby. With luck, they'll be even angrier and more confused than you are. Nothing like being the rational one in a crisis to boost your self-esteem a bit.
► AMIDST THE MAZE
- The bad news is that you are not alone. Beasts roam this maze, some massive and others deceptively innocuous in size, and none are quite what you see on the surface (unless what you see is 'a goddamn problem'). Worse yet, they all seem quite interested in you. It seems like it's been a while since they've had-... no, 'prey' sounds terribly alarming. Let's say 'esteemed dinner guests'. That's not so terrible, right?
Well, at least there's a way out! A nice little courtyard sits at the center of the maze, one lined with benches but otherwise quite clearly designed to hold a little stone building with a barrier-protected archway. And beside that archway, an engraved plaque-... What? No plaque? Forgive me, it seems that because "we're already over budget, Conrad, stop being so fucking aesthetic all the time", the 'engraved plaque' bit has been replaced by a pair of carefully-laminated notices pinned to the archway. They make it pretty clear that the only way out is through that barrier and the only way through that barrier is to kill a fellow maze abductee - and yes, you sissies, a mercy kill does count, so maybe consider not trying to save your buddy just this once.
If you need a little more incentive, the beasts seem to be getting bolder as each day goes on. Bolder and closer until not even the courtyard sanctuary is truly safe anymore. All the while you're getting thirstier, hungrier, increasingly angry that you skipped dinner the night of the 17th because ~it's fine, you'll eat a big breakfast~. Y'know what's great for venting anger? Murder. Just something to think about.
► SAY GOODBYE TO THE MAZE
- On the morning of the 23rd - day six of this godforsaken foliage hell, if anyone's counting - those still trapped inside will find that the labyrinth itself seems to be collapsing around them. Crumbling right to the ground, falling segments of shrub-covered brick and everything, in a terrible ruckus that kicks up enough dust to burn at your watering eyes and to make you choke and cough.
But when the dust settles, things make even less sense than they did when you were still trapped. Around you is the totally ordinary statue garden, with entirely mundane normal-sized hedges forming what very much seems like a joke of a maze at this point.
One thing seems for certain: The ordeal is over, at least for now. It's time to haul yourselves home, have a good meal, and sleep off this nightmare.
► MOD NOTES
- This is a catch-all log for top-levels pertaining to March's Twists & Bloody Turns event. Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
- This event takes place between the IC dates March 18th and March 23rd.
- All event information can be found on the Twists & Bloody Turns Infopost! The logs are largely flavor-text to supplement the information offered in the infopost.
- Please take care to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location (e.g. inside the maze? in the courtyard? scouting around the outside of the statue garden?), so that others can see at a glance if their character can hop in!
- Those who begin the event outside of the maze can enter the maze later on - consult the above-linked infopost for more on that!
- A reminder that phone service does work and those inside the maze can communicate with the outside, though signal is scratchy for audio/video messages.
- Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.
Vivi Ornitier | OTA
[The last thing Vivi remembers is being curled up on the couch in his apartment with a comfy blanket, reading a book he'd found in Foodland. Really more looking at the pictures in it, a lot of it didn't make sense to him, but that's fine. Well he's not in his apartment, he's not definitely not on the couch. The ground is hard and very uncomfortable, but groggily he'll push himself up, pat himself off and fix his hat.]
... h-hello?
[He'll look around, the high walls of the maze daunting and not giving him any answers to questions he may have.]
Is anyone here?!
[Vivi tries again, hoping he's not alone.]
MUISTIVARAS: 20th-WHENEVER HE FUCKING DIES
[If he had met up with others after waking, some how they got separated or are still together. Regardless, Vivi walks clutching his staff against himself, sniffling and shaking. This is all very terrible and scary, but he's dealt with scary terrible stuff before! He even tries to think of nice things, things he can't wait to get back to if he can get out of this maze.
Like the bathtub in his apartment! A nice warm bath would be so... uh... no, wait, what was he thinking about? What about the cute kitties and doggies that were fattening up from all the food he'd been leaving out for months in town? Yeah he loved seeing them every day... and... and uh... for whatever reason all he can seem to focus on is how dismal and horrible everything is right this second. Vivi is crying as he skitters around the maze trying to stay alive, but anyone who happens on him will see he's got something trailing a little ways a behind him, if not along the walls of the maze up where he wouldn't see if he immediately turned about.
waking up
She'd been wandering a bit before she sees a familiar face, and runs up to hug her friend.] Oh Vivi! I'm so glad you're here.
no subject
[Vivi is more than happy to accept a hug right now. He hugs back, giving Fran a good squeeze.]
This place is so spooky, you're the first person I've seen so far.
no subject
no subject
W-We should see if we can find anyone else. I wouldn't want anyone to be alone in here.
Geralt of Rivia // OTA
[ It's immediately clear, as soon as consciousness returns to him, that he is not in the farm house. With that realisation, he is awake in an instant. He doesn't expect to find his sword when he reaches for it, and while the relief is small, it's still great relief.
At least he'll have some tools for whatever this is going to be.
If they were courteous enough to give him his sword, though, he has every expectation that they'll want him to use it in some way he won't agree with.
Sword in hand, he stands up, and squints up at the sun for a moment to navigate. This is probably the maze in town, which means the center will be to the north.
Someone might run into him trying and failing to cut his way through the maze, a confused frown on his face when the brick wall reveals itself. Was that always there? He hasn't actually explored the maze before. Wouldn't surprise him if they put it there for this little game.
Eventually, he'll start trying to find his way out. If this is the maze in town, the exit should also be north. Not that he expects there to be an exit. Still, it's worth a look. While he's at it, he'll keep an eye out for any other unlucky soul that's also stuck here. ]
B. Exploring - morning of 19th - monster encounter prompts
[ It takes way too long than is frankly reasonable for him to find the outskirts of the maze. Of course, he doesn't actually know he's approaching the outskirts, because he can't see, but that's where he is. At this point, though, he's about ready to give up, and he throws his free hand in the air with a sigh.
When he speaks, it may be mostly to himself, but it's very much audible around the corner or further down the corridor. Or, you know, if you've been essentially accompanying him, feel free to pipe in. ]
I don't know what I was expecting.
C. Wildcard
[ I have every intention of getting Geralt killed this event but nothing's been decided yet. I specifically would love for him to be killed by another character rather than a monster, whether that's because that character wants out or because he tells him to. Been doing some plotting that hasn't been finalised on the discord server but I'm also at plurk
waking up
She hopes.
She clutches her axe in both hands, big as it is at the moment, keeping it raised warily against potential predators. Only what she does find is a Geralt, and she sags in relief a bit] Oh thank goodness, another person.
no subject
Her wariness is noticeable even without seeing her, so when she finally comes into view, he actually offers her the slightest smile. It's just an upturn of the corner of his lips, but it's clear enough. ]
All right?
no subject
I'm Fran. I don't think we've really met, before.
no subject
We haven't. I'm Geralt.
no subject
Oh what a bother, there it goes again. It's nice to meet you, Geralt. My axe is... a bit silly, at times.
no subject
Just strange. ]
Is it magic?
no subject
no subject
So he decides to drop it. ]
What have you found in this maze?
no subject
Jiang Cheng
Hungry, 19th, OTA
We can't continue like this, waiting isn't enough.
[ Jiang Cheng stands up abruptly where he is huddled with a group of people at the center of the maze. He is holding his sword, his face dark, body taut with the fury he has been feeling ever since they found themselves trapped here. ]
If what the Technicians say is true, we will be stuck here until the monsters kill us. [ His eyes take in the people, wondering who may go for the shortcut. ] We need to make sure we have food and water in the meantime. The monsters are hunting us, but we have to hunt them, too. I'm not going to go hungry here.
Brooding in the maze, 20th, OTA
[ It's grueling to survive in here, and leaving the group by yourself on purpose is the height of foolishness.
Yet Jiang Cheng can be found sitting in a dead end on the ground, head buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking like he is fighting against tears - which he is, indeed, a fight he is quickly losing. They won't escape this place, not without dying, and watching everyone he knows die...
No, he doesn't know how he is supposed to handle that. ]
for Wei Wuxian
I know you're not willing to wait any longer.
[ Jiang Cheng has been fighting for days and watching people die for days much like everyone else has. It feels a little bit like the Sunshot Campaign all over again, only here Wei Wuxian is no insurmountable weapon who can take on armies by himself. The creatures they face here are dangerous to everyone.
So they fight and retreat and fight again, with less and less of them returning - and while he is grimly resigned to it, he can see it getting to Wei Wuxian in a different way.
He shakes his head, face grim as he sizes him up with a glower. ] I won't tell you not to do whatever you have planned. But I won't let you run off alone.
20th
He hears Jiang Cheng before he sees him, as quiet as he is. When he does see him, he doesn't really intend to say anything, because of all the people in here he's definitely one of the last Jiang Cheng wants to see. Especially in the state he's currently in.
Except there are monsters in this maze, and they're moving closer to the center, and Jiang Cheng has lowered his guard to be miserable. It wouldn't be right to leave him to whatever fate decides to do. ]
Do you want to get eaten?
Renfri
[ Renfri is not having a good time.
Waking up in a place that is distinctly not where you went to bed is bad enough, but this place... It is giving her the creeps, and her first inspection of the hedges points towards it being some kind of elaborate trap.
Still, she gives slashing the hedge another try, though at this point she can't even say if she is slashing her way further inward or outward. ]
Please be the outer wall [ she can be heard muttering as she hacks away at the foliage. ] Don't be something that a monster is hiding behind...
[ Yet as she digs her sword deeper, all she hits is solid brick and she freezes, her face going tense, eyes hunted.
Yes, it's a cage indeed... ]
20th, near the outer walls of the maze, for Daemon
[ She has tried. She has really tried to be good, to keep focused on fighting the things that hunt them and protect those who can't protect themselves. But Renfri is hungry and thirsty and tired, and her panic has long since crossed the point where she can honestly make herself care about others - a skill she doesn't have in spades even at the best of times.
But there is an escape...
And so now she finds herself hunting, bloodied sword in hand, her clothes and hair a mess from days of battle. For monsters, yes, but also... Well, if she runs into another person. People at home do say she is a monster, too. ]
The End of the Hunt is Nigh~
He drops the bloodied corpse of the memory-eating creature and flexes his hands. With the well of his power far shallower here than in his home world, days of being trapped without rest have drained him more severely than is comfortable. The faint light within the large black stone on its chain around his neck pulses sluggishly.
His senses have yet to dull, however, and the sound (and psychic presence) of an approaching individual calls his attention. He does not bother to move from his kill. He stands over it in full view at the center of the lane between hedges, casually cleaning his hands with a probably now-irreparably stained pocket square, and waits with a predatory patience for his neighbor's presence to come within view. He's been to the center of the maze, after all, and knows the conditions for the exit door—taking advantage of it is not off the table quite yet.]