#thescarletmansion

[yellowsforest]

They keep pulling up the floorboard.

it seems like they don’t notice that this is a fruitless endeavor. Yellow’s mind is stuck in a loop, the determined thought of there’s something under the floor, and I must get it ringing through their head.

Again

and again

and again

and again. . . . .

[thescarletmansion]

SHIROGANE

SACRED | LEGENDARY | VERSATILE WEAPON

A weapon forged from the metal of a fallen star, Shirogane has always appeared in times of need to a hero worthy of wielding her. Blessed by Lugia, her form becomes solid air when masterless and deactivated, until she is attuned to a new, worthy master.

Former Masters: Elrick Snap, Master Smith Sakaki, Unnamed Ancient Hero of Johto, at least two other wielders Current Master: Giovanni (@earth-master)

STATS

Shirogane is sentient and can communicate, to a degree, with her wielder. It is mainly in feelings or the changing temperature of her hilt to allow her wielder to know her thoughts.

STR: -- CON: -- DEX: -- INT: 12 WIS: 15 CHA: 12

When unattuned, Shirogane will take on the properties of a Longsword.

Longsword - Melee Weapon (Martial, Sword, Versatile) - 1D8 Slashing Damage

When attuned, Shirogane will take on the properties of the weapon that best suits her current master. A player character must make a daily roll to try and attune with her, until she is finally attuned. The requirement succeeding on a DC 15. A critical success allows an additional +1 proficiency.

Here are the categories players can choose from:

Longsword - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee (Martial, Sword, Versatile) 2D8 Slashing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Greatsword - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee (Martial, Sword, Two-Handed) 4D6 Slashing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Whip - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee (Martial, Finesse, Reach - 10 ft) 2D4 Slashing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Spear - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee (Range 20/60, Thrown, Versatile) 2D6 Piercing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Bow - +3 Weapon Attack - Ranged (Martial, Two Handed, Range 60/120) 2D8 Piercing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Dagger - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee (Range 20/60, Thrown, Finesse) 2D4 Piercing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Hammer - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee Weapon (Martial, Hammer, Versatile) 2D8 Bludgeoning Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

Axe - +3 Weapon Attack - Melee Weapon (Martial, Hammer, Versatile) 2D8 Slashing Damage + 2D4 Radiant Damage

FEATS

Shirogane's feats can be accessed/unclocked according to the player character's levels. and how many previous masters Shirogane has. When passed on to a new wielder, she will be able to unlock a new ability.

1st Feat - Baneful Weapon (Master Sakaki)

At first level, Shirogane is considered a vorpal weapon, no matter the level of a player character, so from the get-go, Shirogane will decapitate a creature of size Huge and smaller, upon rolling a crit.

2nd Feat - Sword Beams (Hero of Johto)

At second level you gain access to the cantrip Eldritch Blast at fifth level. Thereby allowing you two beams instead of one. It otherwise levels up as normal.

3rd Feat - Bane of the Undead (Unnamed Hero)

At third level, Shirogane will help guide you against undead creatures. When attacking undead creatures, you will roll at advantage. Aside from this, Shirogane will passively glow whenever an undead creature (seen or unseen) is within 50 feet of her, giving her wielder a +2 initiative bonus, if they are not incapacitated.

4th Feat - Critical Mastery (Unnamed Hero)

On 4th level, Shirogane can crit on a 19 or 20.

5th Feat - Water Dancer (Elrick Snap)

On fifth level, while wielding Shirogane, her master has access to one charge of the Water Walk; this charge is reclaimed at dawn every day. The spell is contained only to the wielder of Shirogane, however.

6th Feat - Changer of Fate (Giovanni Sakaki)

Once a day, Shirogane's wielder can roll 1d20 three times and store 1 result of the three to be swapped out later with another roll. When a new day begins, the wielder must roll for a new result to store.

7th and over have yet to be unlocked as Shirogane currently only has a total of six masters.

[redlegend-a]

He's wiping sweat off from under his bangs before putting the hat back on his head.

You good?

@cursedmystic

[monterraverde]

A soft wind chime jingle seemed to echo from her Magatama as she picked it up in her hand, and she maneuvers carefully through the room, stepping over books and such... and the closer she got to the area in the photo, the more she felt a pull, as if someone had grabbed her tie and yanked on it.

She starts pantomiming at the air, expecting an invisible wall of some kind, until she eventually winds up on her knees, shoving the cushion aside, and finding a loose piece of the carpet, wasting no time with holding her breath and yanking it back...

Underneath, there's a trap door, with the moon symbol drawn on it.

"Paydirt." She chuckles. "Oye! Over here! I found a door!"

@earth-master @redlegend @godstrain @orrerunaway @cursedmystic @yellowsforest @moonkssd

[cursedmystic]

Elrick: "That bastard won't be easy to get rid of, or to stop. You'll be needing my old weapon to actually make him stop. You can use my camera, but that menace needs stopping. If you can find the Armory, you should find my old weapon."

--thescarletmansion

The whispers that are ghostly nonsense to many of the others are as loud as if Elrick was at his side and speaking to him. In the past, it would have bothered him -- now, he's quietly thankful of his skills here.

"I see. I mislike resorting to violence, but if that's what it comes down to, we'll have to see what happens."

He rubs at the back of his neck with a sigh before turning to relay the message to the others.

[orreanintrepidness]

What do you desire?

It was not easy to find something in that dried up desert heart of yours, but it finds something. Deep, deep down. Covered by sand and old bones, it's there. And that's how the scene of a hospital room begins being etched onto the canvas you found, drawing him in closer...

It's nine am and you're seeing her again. It's been a week since that life saving operation you busted your ass doing forever to get. It was hard facing her, too, but now the fear of it has ended down enough to can look at her without feeling too bad.

You weren't too late. What a relief.

You need to run out and do a few more jobs as hospital bills are expensive, but you're managing. Soon you can take her to a new home. Say good bye to that shitty place. This place they're in got more concrete and metal than their old home, but she's better cared for in Unova.

What do you desire? I can give it to you.

A nurse passes by to ask you for something. If you needed anything. And it's a long long process before you decide to put a bullet between her eyes. There are screams but you learn to ignore it.

People are always screaming in Orre.

It was a nice dream while it lasted though.

I can give you what you desire.

Like many things in your life, you manage to toss away this canvas before it takes you over completely. On the canvas that tries enthralling you, you can see the half finished scene of you in a hospital room next to her bed.

--thescarletmansion

"I don't desire things that are impossible to attain." A simple response, the only kind he would deign to afford to whatever was trying to mislead him. Over the years, Alistair had learned to recognise false promises and such. "Whatever is doing this, this canvas is akin to an insult more than anything else.... And as such." The Orrean's boot gets planted firmly through the canvas. That image is not tolerated.

[godstrain]

The night before they were to tackle the mansion, there came a dream. More like a nightmare.

Of that time as a child, helplessly unable to do anything. Rather, more like you were witnessing it happen to others, as a bystander in your own dream. Unfamiliar, yet familiar girls were being treated poorly within this 'home' that had them all trapped.

Yet, somehow, it didn't seem hopeless for them. Something in this house, was now starting to stay the hand of cruelty. Like a silver wisp, ethereal like moonlight. It was protecting these children, these lost souls, as there was no better way to describe them.

There was an unfamiliar gentility when you try to grasp this elusive light. You do not know it, but you can recognize a force of good, as alien as it might be to you. You fleetingly think of Chris, who, in such a situation, would have done the same; helping these lost souls. Aiding where he could.

Now the question was, when you wake up, just what would you do?

--thescarletmansion

there had been something rather peaceful about staying at the shrine for the days leading up to this mission / this looming sense of deja-vu. lady aya was a wonderful hostess, polite and wise- it was easy for him to relax, to fall asleep. and that was about where the sense of peace ended. his dreams had been strange at best, but this? this was a dagger to the soul.

at first, he sees himself as a child, standing silently among many others. he listens to some lecture about how humans had failed. how the children (himself included) were better. superior to the dead ends of mankind. he turns to look at the little girl beside him- platinum blond with pale blue eyes- she says her name is alex. she says something else, but he can't really figure it out. he blinks, and when he opens his eyes, she is different- she looks softer, her hair is dark and her eyes are a warm but sorrowful brown. she says her name is kohaku.

there had been a rather eerie balance of boys and girls when he'd started his life as albert wesker / buried albert wilde. they were all ambitious in their own ways, but one by one they disappeared. sometimes, he wanted to disappear, too.

kohaku holds out her hand, an invitation of some sort. he wants to say that they'll get in trouble if they leave. the home they live in is strict. the punishments will be severe, but when he opens his mouth, no sound comes out. he takes her hand and they walk quietly down familiar yet foreign hallways. she's quiet while they walk, and he's not sure where they're going- he catches their reflection in the windows / the dark haired girl and the blond boy, both no older than ten- until the lightning flashes and the thunder crashes and the screams start.

kohaku isn't there, and wesker's no longer his ten year old self. instead, he feels the familiar weight of the tactical vest from his days as captain of S.T.A.R.S. he finds comfort in the samurai edge in his hands. he notes trails of blood and follows the path he knows all too well. arklay was his home, once, wasn't it? but this isn't arklay, is it.

when he finds kohaku (why was he following her? why was he searching for her?), she's quite dead. her body is broken and she lays among ninety-eight other girls- some her age, some older. he sees a woman standing there- beautiful and deadly, adorned in silks and wearing strange jewels. and she sees him. the lightning flashes and the thunder crashes and the woman (chi-yuu, he knows from the reading he had done) is no longer there. but oswell spencer is. at his feet are the bodies of the children who had once been called superior, now deemed failures. oswell takes a step forward and wesker takes a step back, stumbling over the body of another candidate / another girl. chi-yuu reaches out when his back is against the wall and spencer whispers that there was only one survivor. the result of his project w / her quest for immortality- the apotheosis they've been waiting for-

he expects death, but it never comes. instead, there's a silver warmth and the horrors slowly fade. the wesker children / lost girls regain the color and vibrance of the living. a gentle hand rests on his arm. the silver warmth speaks in a voice that he knows, because of course he'd know chris redfield anywhere. chris, who, for all his recklessness and disobedience, was always his best man- chris' voice telling him that they could still be saved. chris' smile- chris- !

wesker wakes with a startled gasp, looking around the room. he's in the shrine. nearby, his faithful hound perks up and comes to lick his hand to ground him in reality. this reality. chris isn't here- but neither is spencer. he finds sorrow in the former but relief in the latter. still, it takes time for his breathing to steady / he knows that not all of what he saw was real, but a great bit of it was an omen. of course it was. he's going into a place that reminds him too much of the past, and of his failures. of the things he loved most / only realized when it was too late.

this time would be different. if only he could share the moment with the team he had lost.

[yellowsforest]

The canvas that drew you over was blank at first, void of any thought, logic or reasoning. An empty slate. However the longer you stare, the more it comes to life and the more you are drawn in...

What do you desire? That was what was being written before your eyes.

The message bled, swirling over the canvas, overtaking your gaze until it is darkness....

It's the first again. You're all alone. As usual. Nothing to be done for it. People didn't like coming in here. Said it spooked them greatly. Some even said it was alive or haunted, depending on who you asked.

And you...you are...

Going to be in so much trouble, you lost track of time, your mom is going to kill you!

Finishing up with picking some good herbs for dinner, you head on home. Home. To where your mom and dad waited for you. With big smile and big hugs.

Your family isn't rich or famous, but they're yours. A lovely old couple who have done nothing but spoil you with love.

What do you desire...?

The call begins, digging deeply into your mind, your soul. Dragging out these moments and showing what it could offer you.

Look at their smiles. Their loving gazes. They could be yours.

But you know better.

Even if it hurts to know better.

What do you desire. I can give it to you.

It takes a lot of strength, but you tear yourself away before you go in too deep like the others. Your spirit too strong to be bent with placating lies. That ship has sailed. And you're still here. But you aren't alone. Not anymore.

The canvas is tossed aside, along with the image of you and that happy family in it.

--thescarletmansion

In this never ending nightmare you’ve spent at the mansion, this is the cruelest thing done to you.

worse than being sucked into illusions, worse than hearing the cries and pleadings of the dead. Worse than being the sole person who knew Yuri only had half her heart.

worse than all of that, because you’re not fooled for a moment.

you know it’s not real. From the moment you look at your loving mother and father, you know.

Because you’re always been alone.

You want to believe, though. You’re so tired; you want to pretend that it’s real. You want to just sink into the illusion and Stay, because you are so tired. You are tired and scared and you feel more alone than ever, even though so many people are near you.

You can read all their hearts, but you can’t let them know yours.

Because if they knew …

They couldn’t rely on you anymore. You’re the healer. You’re the one who protects people. You need to be strong because if you’re not, things will go Wrong. You need to be kind and headstrong and determined becuase people rely on that strength.

So you pull yourself out of the dream, with more force than necessary. You tear yourself away from the canvas as your nails dig into the blankness, tearing it from the force.

destroy it. destroy it. destroy it.

You’re not allowed this dream.

— it’s only after you’ve torn the canvas to shreds, that you realize you’re crying.

And, to your frustration, you find that you can’t stop.

[thescarletmansion]

Meanwhile--

[redlegend-a]

scarlet mansion interrogating fuji

cw horror

@moonkssd/@thescarletmansion

It's been a while since Red's last visit, and he had a feeling it won't be the last in the times to come. Things have been shifting in the world as of late, and he wondered why the boy hadn't come running sooner.

Though there was something serious going on, Fuji gave the younger man a welcoming smile, before ushering him into his home.

"I take it there's something you want to ask me?"

Up the mountain, and back again. Then off to something else otherworldly.

Kanto after every trip always felt alien, so Red gravitated towards the familiar in the mysteries of this odd disappearance.

It was why he asked to do an entire shift at the house of memories, the solemn and familiar place to think enough to reset his head away from the recent failed ascent up Mt. Silver and the complications of this new mystery.

Routines, too, were comforting. It's why he took the travel teapot out of the House and took it with him to Fuji's house with two teacups and a manila folder with copied papers in it.

He took his shoes off before entering, holding the tea up and nodding.

Tea first.

So he entered and set the pot down on a coaster around his low table, pouring a cup for each of them and signing.

<< I'd like to talk to you. Can we talk? It's something serious.>>

-

Tea was always an appreciated gift, perfect for calming the spirit and soothing over, perhaps, what will be choppy discussion. Considering the grave expression on Red's face, Fuji knew things were truly going to be difficult for the next while.

He nodded gently, going to grab a few simple snacks to go with the tea. Probably unneeded, but it was the principle of the matter, much as the tea was. An offering for an offering.

When they were both settled, tea and snacks set down on the table, Fuji nodded slowly, eyes having already taken heed of the conspicuous folder Red had.

"Of course, Red."

-

He sat, the quiet around them broken up by summer storm winds blowing in and knocking the chimes outside. He pulled the hat off his head and set it on the floor beside him, putting the folder down and pushing it towards him.

<< This is going to be painful, but I need your honesty. >>

He had been loyal to Fuji and not to a blind point. The man had been honest with him to what he saw as an acceptable end.

<< I need you to tell me about this. More about it. >>

-

The papers are taken gingerly, opened calmly on the table before Fuji. There was a soft hesitation, as he sensed there would be something he would profoundly dislike within these files, but he sallied onward, if only because he trusted in Red and his judgment of the situation.

He wouldn't bring up painful things for no reason; he had a good head on his shoulders.

As each paper was sifted through, eyes scanning the information, his brows furrowed. Rather than pain and anguish, there was more confusion than anything else. Fuji truly could not comprehend what he was seeing, yet old not deny the connections to him, even the avaguest links, he could see it.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself and taking a moment to think, running a hand down his face.

"There's a lot to unpack, son, so you are going to have to ask me what you want clarified, because I can tell you one absolute truth right now: I personally have no direct connection to this incident."

-

<< I want to know about what you were connected with. What do you know about this place and anything in it. >>

Fuji had a reaction. He saw it too. What happened here? Why did it lead back to him?

<< I need help. I'm going there to dig up bodies. I don't know what I'm going to find. I need to know anything you know. Anything at all. Tell me about the girl. >>

-

The girl. For a brief moment, his mind went back to decades ago. To a time when that girl had been his whole world. When she'd been born she had been his everything. And when she died --

His hand was on the police report and he couldn't help the sardonic chuckle that came out, looking at the name there. "I don't know this girl personally, but I can't help, but think that fate is cruel to put me on the path of something so similar to my eloped Amber again…"

Waving a hand for Red to wait, the old man slowly got up, knees creaking from the action. He silently cursed being old, but gamely made his way to a cupboard, opening it up to reveal an altar. Like many old families, he kept a family altar tucked away, with the pictures of loved ones there, an incense burner ready to receive. Reaching in he pulled out an old photo among the other relatives, bringing it back and showing Red.

"Do you know, son, the dead aren't the only ones who make ghosts?" Fuji asked, almost idly, yet there was a point he was hoping to make. "Sometimes, even te living can create ghosts."

A pause. "This is…Amber, my danter. She died….oh, I guess even before you were born,I'd say. Taken from me by an accident."

-

He took the photo.

I've seen this girl.

More recently was the visage in the photo. The photograph he takes carefully like it would break in his touch. the paper's old. The ink is old. Again, old wounds were opening themselves.

<< I'm sorry. >>

She must have been loved enough to make pain appear on his face.

He set it down beside the papers, looking at the mystery with the effort that he looked at everything with. The world is large and small. Everything matters. Everything is connected, including this.

<< I know my experiences. What do you mean? >>

-

"Grudges, son." Like the kind a parent has when their precious children are ripped from them before their time. Like that which festered and grew in his heart until it became its own being and possessed him for years trying to get her back --

Fuji sighed deeply, steepling his hands on the table and laying his forehead against his laced fingers.

"In Tohjo takes, humans are often the cause for many spirits existing. And some of them exist because of our inability to leave well enough alone. Bonds and attachments can be both a blessing and a cursed. If the living do not let go, what becomes of the dead who cannot pass on?"

-

<< You never let go? >>

Of course not. He doesn't miss the lesson that was being reiterated. Let go. Let go. Of course Tohjo is full of monsters and magic. The people suffered for a long time. Some of them still suffer and those feelings manifest in the supernatural.

<< They become monsters.>>

He would know.

<< What else can you tell me about her? >>

-

"About the missing girl here, not much but it's interesting her name matches my daughter's almost exactly. Kohaku means 'Amber'. But without a photo I wouldn't be able to tell you if they're linked at all."

Of course, Red would not truly mean Kohaku. After opening the old wound, the questions would obviously be more about Amber, wouldn't it?

His hands shuffle through the papers, hoping to find another clue, to perhaps find something that had nothing to do with Amber, hoping his daughter could just rest in peace. She'd been though enough. The whole family had. He even became estranged from his younger brother because of his own actions against the cycle of life and death.

Actions he was still paying for today.

"What a strange arrangement of papers you have…did you decide to go digging into old events?" Fuji remarked. "But yes, I did not let go…even going so far as to….well, the least harmful thing I might have done would be when I partook of a clinical study around that time. I hoped I could see Amber again, if only in passing somehow. The birth rate in our regions have been staggeringly low, even now…I wonder if that is the consequences of our actions in the end?"

More shuffling. "I couldn't let go…and as a result, I may have more children in the world now. Who knows? I left it to chance, letting my genetic material be used for artificial means of gaining children. Perhaps nobody picked me, or perhaps I have now fathered dozens of children who would have resembled my Amber…but I hope that she would not have become a monster…"

A sad, tired smile entered the old man's face.

"My Amber was too gentle for that, I'd like to think."

-

<< Looking into recent mysteries. Missing people that look like a little girl like this. Exactly like your daughter. >>

He listened with thought, as he always had from the time he came in here for the crying cubone and took him. There were lessons here and horrific mistakes. There wasn't any point in asking what he was thinking or why Fuji had done what he had done. It was grief. Pure and simple.

<< It is a consequence of the actions taken. Sure. But it's also the war. It's the water. It's a thousand things people need to take responsibility for. >>

He sips his tea, setting the cup back down to look at the reflection on his eye inside the liquid.

<< Anyone is capable of anything. >>

A beat of silence followed.

<< What do you want me to do? >>

-

Exactly like his daughter.

Exactly like him, people had been forced to lose a daughter under mysterious circumstances. The grief and anguish caused by that would be monumental, especially if nobody had any clue as to what happened. If that deep emotion hadn't been turned into a curse already…

Closure….closure was the best thing. And while many couldn't let go for a long time if they were all indeed lost, then the best thing for them was to know the truth.

"The truth is…I did try to bring Amber back…by any means possible. To the point it became an obsession that consumed me." He remembered those dark times, his vision so narrow that he forgot all reason.

"Other than donating to a sperm bank, my past was….I went to truly unethical ends to get her back without thinking about what anyone else wanted. When the supernatural means we're impossible, I turned to science…and even then….it didn't work…and my grudge against the world grew deeper that it affected the healthy Pokemon around me…"

He recalled an incident where Mew clone failures had escaped, the Pokemon now known as Ditto. How aggressive they were. How hateful they'd been. He's unsure where they were now, but hopefully they died out or had such things bred out of them with time.

"Pokemon can, unfortunately, also carry the grudges of humans, too. I only pray that it was not come to that…"

The tea has been untouched up to this point, and it would be long cold. Fuji stared at the brew, noting how aged he'd become. He hardly resembled his younger more daring and stupid self.

"Bury them. Set them to rest of you can, Red. Be careful, of course. Things have gotten so much more dangerous as of late…"

-

He nodded, not immediately moving to sign anything for a good, long time. It was the missing piece to a decades-old mystery he'd started finding the pieces of in Cinnabar, and then, before. What exactly did it take to break a person to this level of myopia and despair?

This. One person creating enough despair to drag an entire nation to its knees multiple times over. It's a testament to the singular strength of people.

<< Thank you for talking to me. >>

He signed it, brooding over the information, and filling both of their cups to the brim again.

<< I know. The Mountain is awake. >>

And he didn't know what that meant, but he did feel everything else waking up in Kanto. Things were waking up.

It's why they needed the Warden program in the first place.

<< Fuji-san, I will do this for you. I grieve with you, and hope you can be at peace after this talk. >>

-

"Ah, yes…that Mountain. It has eluded me in my youth. It will elude you, too, son. And I fear many more generations to come. But we all must live by it, somehow."

The Mountain was ancient, older than many who still stood. What it was, what slept within, nobody could truly fathom, but what was understood was that it no longer allowed everyone around it to live peacefully, not entirely.

Though it would be high impossible to entirely surmount in this lifetime, he had faith perhaps in Red setting down the foundations for a better future.

Even as reckless as he was, back then, Fuji could tell he was a good boy.

And that was all he could ever see, honestly. Though Red had grown into a strong adult, with convictions and a great perception beyond his years, he couldn't help but to see that boy that had helped him long ago.

He felt sorry for making him help again.

But perhaps in the time he still had left on this earth, he could make up for some of the trouble he allowed the boy to inherit from him.

He picked up his teacup and toasted Red with a sad, tired smile.

"To you, my boy. And the work that you do. Cheers."

[monterraverde]

@redlegend | X

"You knew about this?" She'd sign, but her hands are full, taking the picture back after finally releasing her Magatama. "There's a lot going on there... As for the Lugia, I thought it was my moms influence. Her spirit seems to manifest from the magatama as Lugia, but... This looks far more ominous and dark then her presence..."

A pause, and she passes the polaroid to the other hand again, resuming clutching the jade bead on her necklace.

A Comfort object.

"If this is invasive, I'm sorry, I didn't expect the camera to do that."

[cursedmystic]

The canvas that drew you over was blank at first, void of any thought, logic or reasoning. An empty slate. However the longer you stare, the more it comes to life and the more you are drawn in...

What do you desire? That was what was being written before your eyes.

The message bled, swirling over the canvas, overtaking your gaze until it is darkness.

You are in its hands. That thing from a time immemorial. A thing so powerful in its nameless was, that mankind had to drain some of its power by giving it a name.

The Black Fog. A god in its own right. A monstrous being that was now causing untold death and destruction. You are practically helpless in its grasp. There is nothing you could do...

What do you desire....? It's a creeping voice, a resonating sentence that echoes sweetly and poisonously.

A bright light saves you, freeing you from the monster. Cutting it's sinking claws into your body, your very soul. Claiming you, but no more.

Rainbow feathers now curl around you as an ethereal light emanates and blasts the darkness away, like something out of mythology. You are living them now, becoming part of it. Chosen by the golden bird of eternal happiness....

What is it that you desire...?

You...have to give this up. At least for now. It was a good dream, but that's all it is. An illusion. A mockery of one of your wishes. Not even Yuri had ever gone as far as do this to you, despite her powers. Empower you, yes. Pep you up. But never do something like this.

The empty promises of someone who did not know you invading your mind is a gross feeling, and you toss it off at the same time you toss aside the canvas, not containing an image. It depicted you and Ho-Oh standing together against the darkness.

What is it you desire? I can give it to you.

The voice is enticing, but false. There are others around you still trapped in the thrall of whatever was behind these canvases.

--thescarletmansion

This place knows what haunts him. The art room opens and everyone scatters to investigate -- and what draws him is a canvas of deepest inky black, like a hole in the world a person could climb through.

It drags him in like a claw, like a tongue lolling out of an infinite, infernal maw. An eye the size of a building turns to look at him and he's caught in a waking nightmare all over again. None of his Pokemon can stand against this thing older than time that has seen fit to claim him.

He can feel the stinging nettles of Jellicent's limbs in the exposed skin of his arms and neck, where the jellyfish tries to pull him from the vision, and all it does is remind him of the poison that had seeped through Saffron City.

As the nightmare sets him to trembling, there is a different sensation of claws digging into his shoulders and then lashing through the shadows in a bright spark of golden light. The wings overhead are a brilliant red and green and flash an array of colors impossible anywhere else in nature.

It's the brightening dawn overtaking the endless night. It makes him weak in the knees to see it and he staggers, which takes the canvas off the wall before him.

The image is empty. It's just black paint smeared across the canvas, with no meaning behind it, and he throws it to the ground.

It is something he wants, desperately and without relief, but it's not something he can count on in this case. He just. . .can't.

Jellicent warbles, frightened, and he insists the Pokemon let go of him. It leaves rash-like marks across his forearms and his neck, which he tightens his scarf to cover even as numbness spreads through him.

He should wake the others.

[orreanintrepidness]

He isn't even phased by the sight, actually. Everyone else can turn away, but him? No. No he won't. That's just a normal sight to him. In fact. Alistair has seen, created, far worse.

[tsm-comic]

hey dudes this is a sideblog for me to post my concept artwork and eventually the actual comic detailing the adventure from @thescarletmansion !

About the comic: The Scarlet Mansion is a horror based campaign meant to add character development and the likes for the players involved! based on a discord dice system, we sure had a lot of things go on! With how EPIC everything was, I thought that it absolutely deserved a comic rendition! The actual written storyline can be found on the main page for TSM which is tagged at the top of this post! We also have a handy google doc that has everything compiled together from all of our blogs.

for simplicity's sake, this comic is going to be mostly from the good old noclipped thru the multiverse wesker perspective, since it is way easier for me to do it from the view of the character I wrote, but no details will be left out!

I am not fast at making anything ever, but I truly hope that you all enjoy watching me make this and I am hoping for a pretty heckin cool final result :)

About the artist: hey dudes you know me as percival. i run many blogs haha. As an artist, this is my first time making a comic, I've never done any story boarding before, but how will I improve in art if I never push my limits?

player credits under the readmore!-

@moonkssd / kei (moon maiden yuri, also our GM)

@redlegend / cas (red)

@godstrain / percival (wesker but he got noclipped to a new dimension, me the artist)

@monterraverde / shiro (rika [scarlet version])

@simplifiedstrength / grace (larry)

@earth-master / syd (giovanni)

@yellowsforest / sapp (yellow)

@orreasshole / rye (alistair)

@cursedmystic / vlad (matsuba)

[yellowsforest]

They’re sleeping soundly through this disaster…

[thescarletmansion]

CHAPTER 1 - The Mansion

Night had fallen, making it the perfect set-up to get the large doors to open.

Irina had taken on an illusory form through the use of Metronome, somehow getting the exact effect she wanted with a little waggle of her finger. The Clefairy took on the shape of a little girl seen in one of the photos that the group had. The Pokemon studied it before deciding on what to do.

She would be the key to help open the way.

The conditions were set, they all waited until the whistling sound so many witnesses spoke of sounded. Being so close to the entrance, the door opened for the disguised Pokemon immediately, practically beckoning her to come in. It was in that moment that everyone would have a chance to rush inside.

Rika, dragging along Larry, followed by Alistair and Yellow. Red held up the rear, making sure Matsuba, Giovanni and Wesker made it in before hopping across the threshold.

When they all made it in, the doors behind them shut closed. No amount of super strength would make them budge. There was no lock, no handle. The other side of the gate was smooth.

The night that they ventured in to rescue Yuri, there was but a sliver of the moon left within the sky. It was not yet the night of the new moon. Yet upon passing the threshold, what should have been a gentle silvery light illuminating the corners of the room was as red as crimson filtering through the ornate windows.

After the initial panic of being unable to get back out the way they got in, came the further realization that everything was off. On the blueprint of the old style Johto mansion, there should only be three doors. One represented in the way they came in and one on each side of the initial hall they were in. It was only apparent something was off about the mansion layout after one of the other doors...

Choose your door...

WESTERN DOOR or EASTERN DOOR

@orrerunaway @godstrain @monterraverde @earth-master @simplifiedstrength @redlegend @yellowsforest @cursedmystic

EXPLORATION PHASE!

Look around the room, speak with your fellow explorers on your next move. To interact with the current room, send in an ask with your appropriate action. The GM will ask you for rolls depending on what you seek.