#isola event: to die for

[isolaradiale]

"What is that?" Two of the Stars sat huddled over two of the many computer monitors set up within their abode. It had been a few days since it had appeared, prompting the city's defense systems to seal away half of the branches. One screen showed an impossibly long chain of code, while the other flickered through various images from within the quarantined areas.

The Mistwood's trees had been dyed crimson, affecting the lighting. When the screen showed the Sky-Strewn Islands, you could see what looked like bodies walking over the edge of the floating isles. "A gift. Likely from the ones who infiltrated through a backdoor at the beginning of the year."

"Bloody hell. Are those bodies? Is it affecting all of the life in the simulation? Even the plant life? What sort of virus is this?" A glance at the coding was all they needed to identify the cause. "It's glitching the data? Altering its behaviour... Like zombies? How long will the system be able to suppress it? Long enough for us to counteract it, I'd hope?"

"Not zombies, fortunately. Their behaviour is similar, but... Perhaps disconnect Ofiuco from the network for the time being? They've been banging on the barrier for 26 hours. I don't think it'll hold for long with that much data crashing into it. Actually, never mind. It already collapsed. Maybe activate the emergency protocols."

Cracks could be seen forming in the barrier on the second monitor. It didn't take long for it to shatter, unleashing hundreds upon thousands of bodies that crashed into the city. Anything living that these bodies crashed into became infected with a virus and then moved to attack anything that hadn't been infected.

But while the Isolans from other worlds would be attacked, they couldn't be infected. So killing them would have to do instead.

"Erm. Slight issue?"

"What?"

"It has infected the emergency systems. We only have one charge."

"[CENSORED]. That's not good."

WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING!?

Zombies! ...Kind of! A virus has spread among NPC people, animals, and even the plant life. While the characters won't know what the Stars are officially referring to them as, they have been simply codenamed "The Glitched". Anything "living" they come into contact with will become Glitched itself, with the exclusion of the player characters.

That said, The Glitched will see the player characters as prey nonetheless and will try to kill them instead. There is also a glitching effect visible over them to indicate their status. Lets go over the types of Glitched in more detail:

GLITCHED NPCS Your standard "zombies". They were the NPCs that lived among the player characters this whole time. They resemble traditional zombies in many ways. They shamble, they moan and groan, and their movements can be unsettling. But they aren't decaying at least! They will attack in ways similar to zombies, running at you in hoards, thrashing, and biting if needed. Whatever it takes to kill their targets. That said, they're generally slow.

GLITCHED CREATURES Animals and monsters are also affected (not including character pets). They've become much more ravenous, including those that would normally avoid people altogether. If you've ever been terrified of the prospect of zombie squirrels crawling in through your vents to get you, well... Depending on the animal or monster, they might be faster and / or more dangerous than a regular Glitched.

GLITCHED PLANTLIFE While not as outwards dangerous, infected plant life affects the environment. Any infected plants will glow crimson red and, once enough plant life in a contained area is infected, even the sky will begin to glow an ominous red. This phenomenon will spread north as the virus spreads.

EVENT MECHANICS

ABILITY DRAIN

At the beginning of the event, every characters will be uncapped entirely since the Stars activated the emergency systems. However, these systems have lost power since. As a result, every usage of a character's powers will cause all of their abilities to weaken regardless of the one used, little by little, until their powers disappear entirely. This means that the characters will need to be smart about using them once they realize this. This also applies to weapons, and their durability will degrade after each fight until they're liable to break. While we won't be policing this, we ask that you don't ignore this mechanic completely.

NO RESPAWNING

The respawn system is part of the emergency systems, so for the duration of this event your character will not be able to respawn. If they die, they will remain dead until the conclusion of the event! If you go this route, they will exist as something akin to a ghost that cannot interact with the living world, but will be able to interact with other ghosts. If your character is still alive and has the power to see and hear ghosts, though? You'll still be able to interact with them!

MODIFIERS

The ones who installed the virus in the first place also installed a modifier system. Every encounter with ten or more Glitched will trigger a modifier wheel to spin on the phones of every player character nearby and will all land on a single modified that may affect the Glitched or the characters themselves depending. A new modifier will be rolled every hour, replacing the current one. You can find a list of what the effects do here, as well as the wheel to spin before each thread here! You're not required to use the wheel, but we do recommend it especially if you're doing multiple threads! Characters will be able to check their phones at any time to see which modifier is active.

GLITCHED TERRITORY

At the beginning of the event, the southern branches are already completely dyed crimson and rampant with the Glitched. They've broken through the barrier and are now entering the city en masse. Throughout the event, they will move farther and farther north, leaving your characters with a choice. Will they hunker down in the city to try and ride out this storm, or will they flee to the branches across the water? Unfortunately, eventually nowhere will be safe.

FAQ

When does the event officially end? The official end time is 11:59:59PM EST on Friday, April 18th! You won't be able to make any new minis, opens, or starters after that point!

What are the requirements for participation? All you need is one IC post within the event scenario!

What if we're not very good with horror elements? While the Glitched take a lot of cues from the zombie genre and you could portray them to be as physically bloodied and ravaged as you'd like, because they aren't technically undead, you could portray them without less or no emphasis on what might make them visually disturbing if you need to!

Can we kill the Glitched? What will happen to the NPCs that are killed this way? You can! They'll respawn as if nothing happened at the end of the event, but the characters themselves won't know this. This will surely bring about a moral dilemma for some, especially those that know specific NPCs personally.

If my character is killed, can I write a thread with them set before that death? Of course! As long as it's set chronologically before they died, it's fine!

Will my character have any way to defend themselves if they have no powers? Yes! Characters that are powerless can access an app in their phone that will allow them to assume their avatar from the Fantasia Intraspace simulation! Even if you weren't in the group during this event, you can create this avatar by picked a player race and spells!

I have another question! Feel free to ask through the masterlist! We'll answer it as soon as we're able to! We ask that you do not ask event questions in the server for this event, just so everyone is able to see the answers if they have the same questions!

[cerebralbleu]

The land itself seemed to exhale with furious grief, an aroma of overheated machinery filling the air. One could feel the instability beneath their feet as the ground quaked with disturbance. Legato was no stranger to calamity, he had prayed for it with bloodied hands for as long as he had the capacity for memory.

This was different though.

This was not the end of times that he had envisioned.

When the horde of glitched anomalies had broken through the city's barrier, the first thing he had heard was a long, piercing collective of screeches that echoed across Golden Ward. Like a sandstorm of bodies shambling into the streets, they were encroaching the storefronts and choking out the alleyways, flooding the residential areas to a point of no return.

Legato had made it to the docks, hyperaware of his surroundings; at some point, he felt them-- he felt the familiar tug of thousands and thousands of microscopic threads branching out from the base of his skull. Had his power finally returned to him? Fitting that the stars release him from his metaphoric chains just as the day of reckoning arrives.

-- A familiar face catches his attention. Legato locks eyes with Fiyero, takes in a breathe, and calls out in a sharp voice:

" Why are you out here on your own? "

He turns his head as another echo of screeches hits him. Legato's expression hardens with focus, far off and distant compared to the more curious energy that usually clung to him.

" Those creatures out there are devouring everything they see-- we have to kill them before they kill us first. "

Legato steadies himself, raising a hand to ready an attack.

" Stay with me. I have means of stopping them, help me however you can-- "

He seldom asks for assistance in combat, but Legato understood one thing about this island: nothing was predictable, and the more guns drawn, the better the chance of survival.

@viladlind -> @astrallithid

[charadrxxmxrr]

… ah.

It seems like … in their haste to run away, Chara had left their phone behind at Vash and Wolfwood’s home.

…

they don’t … really know this area at all.

Chara stands in a corner of the street, trying to make themself small, and hugs around themself.

stay determined . . .

[thiefguild]

@swordsovereign modifier wheel: HOOOOOOOOARDE!

already on edge, Titus knows things are about the get a whole lot worse when he looks down at the spinning wheel on his phone. he can only hope for something mild, as he had been doing a fairly decent job at evading the creatures roaming the streets thus far. he was scared out of his damn mind, but he was trying to keep up a brave face, keep his head up and all that...

until the wheel stops and the thief could've shit his pants at the results.

he breaks into a sprint as a nearby glitched person lets out a bloodcurdling howl.

"HEYYY--!" he bellows to the only other normal person he can spot in his path, waving one arm at him. "YOU GOTTA RUN, ALRIGHT? SHITS ABOUT TO GET WAY BAD!"

[deathsang]

@hollowfaith modifier -- where!?

...huh?

stuck out in the streets, Luka feels like a target for the shambling masses that have slowly begun to infest the city. he has little idea of what exactly is going on or how to deal with it, but common sense told him he should do everything possible to return home and barricade himself inside. he'd seen what these...things were capable of and, while not necessarily afraid, he was also not keen on being torn to shreds.

however, when the group of glitched suddenly blink out of existence, there one moment and gone the next, Luka freezes. were they gone? was the danger over or was this some kind of trick?

he takes a hesitant step forward, uncertain.

[blackmagi]

@thegreatfraud

[Message] (!?)

So everything's going to shit. Again. I'm sure you're like 'what the fuck I'm getting this message', yeah, I don't know either. Though I'm sure you're a powerful one with all of your allies. Yeah, I kinda remember that.

So you see, our powers are unhinged now. Even easier than before. But. They said something about 'using them wisely'? whatever that means, I hate it.

Power is power, and power must be used. That's all. The strong rise, the weak fall.

So I've been in this city for like (years??) some time, and I know when an opportunity arises. In short. When the city's defenses fail or something weird happens, it is our chance to have fun. And I mean it.

We'll just have to take care of whatever it tries to kill us, but that's no news. C'mmon, I wanna see strife, show me your powers.

Eh, what was your name again?

Or I'll just call you 'deceiver' or something like that?

[eternalunderstudy]

@moraypower

It's been tough, but Luigi's managing this situation okay! ...He thinks. That doesn't stop him from wishing someone would save him and bring him back home.

He turns around from his excellent hiding spot--the next of one of many--to see a group of... eels?! Where did they come from? Not to mention... what are they doing out of the water? Are they okay?

Still... they're big, and those teeth look pretty sharp, so Luigi can't help but be nervous despite his concern.

"Wah!! N-nice eels..." Luigi attempts to placate them--and keep them back--by holding and gesturing his hand in front of him; his other hand shaking and preoccupied by his hammer. Hopefully it doesn't come to that... He really doesn't want to have to hurt them! They're kind of cute... in a way? Reminds him of doggies somehow.

[fatedefiance]

"Okay, well, this is fucked up." Possibly not the most messed up thing he's ever seen, but still. Zack rubs the back of his neck after cutting down another one of the... somethings. Undead? Zombies- is that the word he's looking for, here? He tries not to think about how familiar some of the corrupted faces look like.

"Stuff like this normal 'round here or..."

[cerebralbleu]

With the bisected beast shaken off of him, Legato could steady his breathing. He ducks into an alleyway, dumpsters and old garbage thrown askew. It appeared as though someone had attempted to barricade this area with the bins and a few wooden palettes, but it had been broken through, leaving the debris on the ground. Staying here for the long term wasn't optional, but it gave Legato an opportunity to catch his breathe.

Slouching against the side of one of the buildings, he exhales sharply, and listens to Mira. She was so light in his arms, and trembled. So fragile, it felt as though she could blow away with a strong enough gust of wind. Legato knows better than that though-- she was remarkable-- this vulnerable state was only temporary.

He looks down at her with narrowed eyes. Both of them were covered in dried crimson. Legato frowns, the thought of trusting strangers went against every last bit of his personal comforts, but if Mira believed that they were reliable, then he needed to swallow that paranoia. At least temporarily. At least until they were safe.

" Archimedes, " he mutters, feeling around for his phone in his pocket.

" We can get to Archimedes-- " Legato pulls up the map.

His powers were waning. Mira was falling apart. They would have to run for their lives. Legato Bluesummers isn't familiar with this feeling. He had always longed for death. He embraced it. But, death was not permanent in this world.

Despite that truth, the thought of putting the Soul Tender through any more despair made him feel something. It was something akin to the fear he had of disappointing Master Knives.

" I-- " An exhausted exhale. Legato wipes his face, body aching.

" We'll get there-- We'll get to Archimedes-- I swear-- "

It's when he's firmly stating that he won't die, in a tone she's never heard coming from him before ever, that ceases her feeble attempts to free herself from his arms and in turn, fingers move back to gripping tightly at the fabric as her mind races.

How could he be so sure? It seemed like every attempt to try and get to safety had gone wrong in the end somehow.

Yet, briefly, she's recalling words he'd spoken some time ago to her, how he felt compelled in a way to make sure she was safe all because she could handle his company. Is that why he was so determined? Because of that still?

Tensing for a moment, she's letting her eyes squeeze shut before she's feeling him stumble, making her move her arms to be wrapped around his neck to hold on to him better and in hopes it helps him in the slightest as she all but hides her face away.

All she could do was rely on him now, that as he said, they would make it through this.

Even with her face hidden away, she speaks up loud enough to be heard, to try and offer ideas.

"There's a place in the Archimedes Ward we can try. A friend of mine was trying to have people he knows gather there. I got separated from him earlier as we tried to locate another."

She tries to ignore the feeling in her chest at the thought of Fiyero and everyone else not making it to the Nest.

"Another possibility, but I don't know if the panel is still active through all this, maybe the Space Station? I doubt the creatures will be able to use the panel."

[isolaradiale]

TO DIE FOR: MODIFIER SUBMISSION

Hey guys!

We thought it might be fun to leave the door open for you guys to suggest your own modifier ideas to the masterlist, and at the end of this week we'll add the ones that would work to the wheel so there are more options for everyone to work with! You'll be credited on the list once it's officially added!

All you need to do is submit it to the masterlist with a name and a short description formatted like the ones that are already on the list! This is entirely optional and only if you would like to, however!

-- the island stars.

[cerebralbleu]

@allhesaid

Extract Willem Sprunghart and escort him to the rest of the group for safety. The job itself was simple. Locating people was something that Legato had done countless times for the Gung-ho Guns. Having never met this man before, all he had to go off of was a description from Fiyero and Balduran, and information about his whereabouts. It was imperative that he find this man and usher him to safety, apparently.

Tracking him down turned out to be quick task, but the swarming beasts would prove to be an irritating obstacle. It appeared that Willem had holed himself up in his residence-- the rest of the neighbors had already evacuated the region, leaving nobody to come to his aid, except for the lone gunslinger. With little hesitation, he lets himself into the residential building, using an entrance that seemed to have been clawed down.

He's alerted by the sound of someone distraught in the hallway-- someone cornered by two of the beasts, both eager to infect another living being.

Legato draws his handgun from the holster in his coat, and fires off a bullet. His aim is true, it slams into the back of the undead's head, sending a wave of crimson into the air as its unmoving collapses to the ground. He repeats the same action to the anomaly's accomplice, reaping its life without so much as flinching.

With both of the beasts dead on the ground, Legato comes face to face with who he presumed to be--

" Willem Sprunghart? " He inquires flatly.

[charadrxxmxrr]

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

There are so many plants in Vash and Wolfwood’s home. But somethings been … wrong, today. Something that’s causing dread to settle in Chara’s stomach.

The people outside are restless. The plants are becoming restless too.

Chara had been hiding in the garden when it happened. One moment, everything was fine except for the foreboding discomfort they were feeling.

and then, the plants reacted, and Chara’s memory fades to white. Their soul snaps in half, their father’s words ringing in their ears.

you cannot give up just yet

— They wake back up at the save point inside the house. The single save point only they can see — they had just used it this morning — but the panic of being reloaded after so long of not having a reset sets them off.

they don’t think about vash or wolfwood or the cat or the plants or the garden they promised to help with. They’re in danger, and the save point is weakening — they can’t —

they can’t waste it.

Chara is out the door without thinking, stumbling into the world — afraid, and alone. They don’t have their shoes on but they don’t care. The little child bursts into a run, panting heavily, trying to find somewhere safe to hide.

they need to live.

they need to live.

as their feet slap against the pavement, their fathers last words to them ring in their ears:

Chara ! you cannot give up just yet. stay determined . . .

[kyouufu]

There were very few beings in all of creation whose survival Legato could truly claim to care about when faced with impending doom. And judging from the single encounter he'd had with Knives, he could presume he could fend for himself - yet it still put an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach to think about.

Perhaps he should be there, even if his presence wasn't wanted. It begs the question how useful he could even be with his limited abilities.

What he does know is that he'll much rather take his chances outside than stay in his room while the siren blares around the city area. Perhaps one of those things roaming the streets could release him from this laughable second round of existence. It truly feels like a joke of a cosmic level. All those who longed for an eternal life, all those who begged for their lives in their final moments. And someone out there chose to give a second round to Legato, whose only goal had been to die after fulfilling his duty.

Funny. No, overwhelmingly hilarious.

The area he is passing through is crawling with those things, yet all of his concentration locks onto the man who seems to be the only one unaffected.

And what a shame that he isn't.

Legato's brows knit into an irritated frown, fingertips twitching. Instead of his intended move to push the group of glitched back, the numerous threads weave down deep into their nervous systems, halting their twitching bodies into place. The immense amount of strength makes his stance stagger, the realization dawning onto him in those frantic moments.

Another subtle movement of his hand, and the entire group is torn apart limb after limb. It feels deeply cathartic, like something vital had finally returned to him.

Once more, silver eyes land upon the other, this time narrowed with spite. A threat is worded, and it's the first thing since Legato's arrival to this place that ignites excitement in him.

It's an invitation to bring eventual suffering to Nicholas D. Wolfwood, once they got out of this. That alone was good enough reason to stay alive.

" I can ensure you'll live, only so none of them get you before I get a chance to, " the words are spoken calmly, yet underneath, he is seething.

Given everything that had happened recently, his own world's Legato-fucking-Bluesummers was the last person he wanted to see. Under any circumstance, anywhere, in any situation. If he wanted to see any version of Legato-fucking-Bluesummers, he knew where to go and who to ask. And he didn't want to do either, or have to deal with some existential crisis of conscience or or fate or whatever topsy-turvy bullshit was going on with time and space. Shit he never wanted to think about past a momentary that guy isn't me.

Particularly right now. When he couldn't go hide in his tub and wax and wane over his now fully healed (never-even-got-hurt healed) spine. His scars itched from the newly reinstated regeneration trying to smooth over cells.

And as much as he wants to avoid it, it seems he's shit out of look, as the ominous words show on his phone:

THEY'RE LOOKING

At the same moment, every glitched in the area turned their head to him. And at that same moment, he made eye contact with the only other non-glitched here.

"Fucking hell."

Was the last deadpan words he could say before he swung the Punisher around, whacking a bunch of incoming glitched as he rips the cover off. "I'll kick yer ass later, we need to get the fuck out of here."

@kyouufu

[thiefguild]

@curseshared modifier wheel: ick, crimson fog

Titus very nearly bumps into the woman in front of him, stopping mere inches before contact. the thick, crimson colored fog had rolled in very suddenly some handful of minutes prior, covering the streets and limiting visibility. he had first thought it might be poisonous and tried to hold his breath, but quickly realized it wasn't.

at this point, the thief was mostly annoyed with it. already half-blind, anything to obscure what sight he did have was sure to put him in a sour mood.

realizing this person was someone he knew, however vaguely, brought him a small sense of comfort, though.

"Boy, I'm sure glad you're not one of those glitchy freaks. Sorry 'bout almost plowin' into ya, though. Friendly fire ain't a good thing in bad situations."

[deathsang]

event notes and starter call

bc i'm kind of busy finishing up with this semester, i'm not doing anything crazy with Luka here so he's just...normal

which, yeah, means he'll probably be pretty useless in a fight, but he can try!

he's fairly smart though, so...maybe he can help come up with a plan

i'll probably base threads on one of the modifiers!

this whole event is just 'local adult man triggers his asthma by running from zombies'

this is a small starter call!! cap is 2 for right now, but if we've interacted before you can be exempt from that :)

[eternalunderstudy]

@pavlovianpoet

It seems like it wasn't enough for him to be kidnapped--now he has to be chased by monsters, too?! Oh, what did he do to deserve this... And where's his brother?!

As Luigi peeks over his crafty hiding spot that's been serving him well for the past...30 minutes...he feels a presence suddenly behind him.

He screams, dropping his mallet and instead opting to clasp his hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Please-a don't hurt me!!!" But when he isn't immediately attacked, Luigi opens his eyes to see a human--not some horrifying creature.

"O-oh! Imma sorry! I thought you were one-a those m... monsters," He firmly places his cap back on his head (it briefly went flying since he jumped in fright.) "This isn't-a some kinda trick, is it...?"