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» ARRIVAL.

It could happen at any point, anywhere: glancing into a reflective surface steals you away from your home.

You're left dreaming and paralyzed; there's fire and the slow-creep of dread across your awareness. There's the feeling of being watched.

When you awake, you're soaked through with salt water, lying face down in sand... The sun is just coming up, but that light doesn't help you feel any less horrified and unsettled. The lighthouse, a ways off, makes you feel even worse, sick to your stomach somehow...

There are other people on the beach, in various states of rest or wake, like you. You feel a sort of kinship with them already... Maybe you can hunt for answers together... You find that the grasp of their hand in yours puts a calm into your soul, just a little.

»

The curse you've been afflicted with sends most townsfolk running, which leaves you to the company of your fellow cursed. You'll be in various states of ill and well, sane and off your rocker. How to ease the curse, or get rid of it entirely?

»

You've been sorted into a Coven upon arrival, feeling a thrum of familiarity humming between you and the other members of your Coven.

» URBAN LEGENDS.
WARNINGS: gore, suicide mention.

A few days into your stay at your new home, you start hearing high school kids talking about a game called Aka Manto.

A student died last week, throat cut and left bleeding on the cold school bathroom floor. Apparently he had played the game. You feel compelled to investigate and, after some poking and prodding around town, you learn some things.

Aka Manto is a "Bloody Mary"-like game where one runs into an impossibly tall man with a blank-look mask. He's in the last stall of the boy's room on the second floor of the high school. Or maybe he's in the teachers' break room. Or, some kids will tell you, he's actually in the classroom where that girl hung herself last summer.

He asks you what color paper you'd like, and your answer will either be your death or your salvation.

"RE... d... pAPer... OR BlUE... pa... PEr?"

If you answer red, the color of his coat and the stains on his brandished knife, he nods at you and disappears in a flutter of red papers. The papers have Lorem Ipsum printed on it, with a few that have a web address, and a few still with the repeated names of dead students...

If you answer blue, the color of the sad and wide sky outside, you're dead. He draws his blade across your throat, agonizingly slow, and you bleed out on the floor.

If you answer, "I don't want anything from you!" then you have a chance to fight. His mask flies off, leaving a void of a face in its wake. The only way to kill him is to stab him with his own blade — even though blades are scary to you because of the Old God's rule — right in the heart.

» REALITY CHECK.

The ways to keep yourself sane:

» Break a mirror, cast the shards in the sea. Men at the bar near the shore will tell you this, but so will kind mothers at the park, noticing your distress and unease.

» Tell your secrets to the sea, or better yet: someone you haven't met yet. You might feel compelled to do this on your own.

» Sing the song bouncing around in your skull. A child — wide eyed but grinning, making you feel peaceful — will tell you that you should.

» "Do something that scares you," an old man tells you, "With the ones against you." You know immediately he's talking about someone from another Coven, the one that makes you shiver and shake.

» BULLETIN.

The web address from the Aka Manto game?

It leads you to a post on the network from a user posting as "J.H."...

in an impossible place, where
fire meets forest meets moon,
there's a mausoleum. i've found it and
left it unlocked.
won't you visit?

won't you dream?

won't you tell us all about it? (:

Feel free to comment on the post, though J.H. will never answer. But now that you've read the post, you can't help but feel like you need to find that impossible place...

» FIRE, FOREST, MOON.
WARNINGS: grace desecration and fire/burning.

It's in a clearing in the forest, seen only in the witching hour, only when a fire is lit.

The mausoleum itself looks like it's survived a fire and, indeed, the door is open. When you go in, you'll feel compelled to open the coffins inside and look through the bones and dust. But when you reach the back of the crypt, you'll find there's a coffin with your name on it.

You want to climb inside and sleep.

So maybe you do, or maybe you were smart and brought someone with you who can talk some sense into you. Better hope your friend doesn't find their own coffin, or you'll both be committed to sleep there and dream of hellfire until someone kind enough happens by to rouse you awake...

Should you get your wits about you in one way or another, you'll be rendered sick from the air of the mausoleum. You'll want to find it again; all you can think about is getting in your coffin and sleeping. It's all you want. Eventually, you'll talk of burning — it feels like you're on fire.

The way to calm down someone who has been afflicted so is through either physical contact and a genuine desire to help them, or to bring them to the sea and push them in. They'll be fine, but maybe a little irked at being so wet.

» NOTES.

TDM threads can be considered game canon if all parties agree to it.
Ask questions below if you need.
The Coven you choose now doesn't have to be the one you end up with, so don't feel locked down.
Have fun with it, feel free to play around with the symptoms of your characters' curse, their sanity, etc.!

code bases by tricklet

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

shadowovershiokawa

From:

seishiin

01 — arrival.

( He wakes up on the beach, and it's a little too close to how he died.

What is this? Some strange and unsettling hell? He looks at the lighthouse and feels queasy but he's walking up to the nearest person he feels a thrum of connection with. )

You ... What's the last thing you remember?

02 — urban legends.

( He ends up investigating the Aka Manto game, because of course he does. He's a Joestar, meddling is etched onto his ribs.

It is, however, a good idea to get a few other Bane members to go with him ... So he searches with them, taking the lead even when they see the impossibly tall man.

Yep. Girl's bathroom.

Jotaro answers his query: )

Give me red.

( And the papers flutter as he disappears ... )

03 — reality check.

( It's ebbing now, but he doesn't notice until he finds himself terrified to see his reflection. He has to sit or stand with his back to something if he's still, and on more than one occasion Star Platinum has punched through brick because of a hallucination.

But what to do? He paces, and maybe that's quite a lot for the other Banes ... )

04 — bulletin | un: punchghost

@ J.H.
I don't really have a choice, do I.

@ ALL
I'm getting together a small search team for the mausoleum mentioned in J.H.'s post. Let me know if you're interested and what you can offer the team in a potentially dangerous area.

I need people who can fight, or at least people worth protecting.

05 — fire, forest, moon.

Hey. Hey!

( He grips your arm hard. Having solved the strange puzzle of its location, Jotaro and some others find themselves in the mausoleum. Only someone happens to be climbing in one of the dusty stone coffins. )

Snap out of it. We're not here to die.

From:

exaltruist

urban legends.

( If one were to enter the girl's bathroom in the high school, they'd find Dimitri huddled over a sink, tap running. While he defeated Aka Manto, he also didn't come out of that fight unscathed.

There's shallow cuts to his neck, deeper slashes along his clavicles and chest ... )

reality check.

( His hands and wrists are bloodied as he returns to the baron the shore. While he feels a little more stable, he also feels a bit as though he's floating into the establishment.

He addresses the nearest patron: )

I need first aid ... Is the bartender available? Or preferably a healer?

bulletin. un: boar.prince

@ALL
What a strange invitation dressed up like a riddle.
I wish to explore this, but I don't want to go alone. All I feel is dread about this.

fire, forest, moon.

It burns ... ! Oh, Seiros, it burns!

( He's clawing at his face, as though the furrows in his skin will quench the fire that no one can see. )

Help me ...Please.

From:

ieyui

arrival.

( The sigils around her blackened eye makes her feel ugly, strange, truly cursed. People used to adore her and revere her as a Summoner and as High Summoner Braska's daughter. Now they run from her. Now they scream.

It makes her cry, sitting on a bench with her Nirvana staff clutched in her hands tightly. )

reality check.

( She sings a strange and haunting hymn because it brought her comfort even before she came to this dark, dismal place. Her voice is beautiful, carrying well as she feels herself warm up and breathe. )

Ieyui,
Nobomeno,
Renmiri,
Yojuyogo,
Hasate kanae,
Kutamae.

( She goes through the song once more as the joy of the familiarity courses through her. Then she begins to dance with her staff ... )

fire, forest, moon.

( YUna has offered her support as a summoner and healer and it looks like she's going to need the latter skills over the former.

With a wave of her staff, she attempts to cast Esuna over the hysterical person she's caring for, having pulled them out of their coffin. Will it work? Not enough, but she'll be with them aslomg as she needs. )

From:

gildedantlers

A shaking hand closes around Dimitri's wrist. Somehow, as it squeezes, it steadies.

"Your majesty," Claude smiles with everything but his eyes, a droplet of sweat rolling - nearly unseen - down his taut temple. "I've seen you in some sorry states, but this is new."

Staring directly into Dimitir's marred face, Claude has precious little capacity to ponder why they've both ended up in such a place. Instead, with some effort, he attempts to wrench the stubborn prince's hands away. "Come on, now. Nothing's burning."

From:

exaltruist

( He's breathing heavy, ragged, eyes unseeing and searching for Claude. The voice he knows, but the face seems to be ...

Nonexistent. )

I can't — all I saw was fire in that coffin, now it's in me. I ... Ithotu ...

From:

gildedantlers

The grip on his wrists soften, thumbs pressing gently against his pulse. What did Dimitri see in there? Claude counts his lucky stars (of which there are - or, were - many) that he met his old classmate before he'd wandered into the mausoleum himself, else it might be the young heir out here clawing at his face and feeling phantom flames.

Cold comfort, and all that.

"Any other day I'd say you burn brighter than plenty of people I know, but right now I'll have to ask you to trust my eyes, Dimitri - there's no fire..."

He trails off. What Claude first assumes is a nonsensical mumble gives him pause. Ithotu...?

"Can you say my name, prince?" He interjects, trying to maintain eye contact, seized by the desire to wipe that odd name off of Dimitri's lips, and replace it with one from reality.

From:

exaltruist

( Ithotu. The devouring flame. A face of black marble, its destruction and deaths it causes simultaneously horrifying and inevitable.

He's really going to die here, isn't he? )

Burns ... Burns so bad, I ... I'd take Duscur over this.

( Then he snaps, some shred of lucidity flooding him for however brief. )

Claude, I ... water. I can't see to stand them burn any longer, I need water ...

From:

lacitsym

[ She's had easier hangovers, for sure. ]

You mean before waking up in a place I definitely did not fall asleep in? Because that might sound crazier.

From:

seishiin

Yes.

( Entirely too serious. )

I'm looking for similarities.

From:

lacitsym

Magic in my universe is broken, as a friend of mine had put it. I was helping her fix it so that some apocalyptic forces wouldn't come to our earth. Or, rather, trying to fix it, before this rude interruption. Is that similar to anything you experienced?

From:

issp

𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋.
[ Jet has, and will never be, a happy person. The change in scenery just makes him ornery. The scrawling, apocalyptic sigils take up half the right side of his face, his scarred eye milky white. It's a small blessing he can still see out it — the least of his concerns. His clothes were damp, his socks were wet and his boots were full of sand, and honestly? He hated it here already. Nothing pisses him off more than questions unanswered.

There are people around him in similar situations, some gathering together, others still hesitant. He remains seated at the water's edge, the tide licking his feet. The sea stretched on into infinity, reminding him of home. This calms him a bit.

Just a bit. ]

𝐔𝐑𝐁𝐀𝐍 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒.
[ It takes him longer than it should have to congregate with others of his Coven. He only does so out of survival necessity, as the mystery of this "Aka Manto" just oozes a danger that Jet cannot ignore, but refuses to approach alone. It's the last stall of the boy's bathroom, cornered and unfortunately alone, that the damned monster decides to show it's ugly mug, brandishing a bloodied knife.

It asks its question, and Jet actually ponders on it for a few seconds. ]

...No thanks.

[ Must have been the wrong answer; the mask gives away to a gaping black hole, and Jet knew he was going to die... but somehow, this both simultaneously calms and enrages him. His vision blurs into static and white, and when he's stable again, the knife is twisted into the creature's chest where the heart should be. Jet is knelt over it, gasping, blood on his hands, lacerations on his arms where the monster had cut him. He tries to think about something, anything, but the static festering in his head returns with stars bursting in his vision. Jet groans, rolls over to lie next to the monster's corpse, his hands over his chest. ]

...I hate it here.

From:

evilgrows

[A. YOU THINK YOU'RE LOST WHEN ALL THE LIGHTS GO OUT]

[One minute Dr. Robotnik's staring at a pool of rainwater, debating the merits of shaving his head before his hair even has a chance to get unruly, the next minute he's... not. Sleep paralysis, maybe, is his hypothesis. He doesn't remember falling asleep, but on the first of who knows how many days on a desolate planet alone, it's not impossible.

But he's awake now, awake and there's sand in his mouth and his flight suit is soaked and his stomach is doing backflips and this is one hundred percent not where he left off. So what is it? Only one way to find out: get up and go.

He's not alone here, which is... unexpected, yes, and despite his general disdain for people, he's almost drawn to them?

Gross.

Common sense would dictate that a lighthouse might be a the first place to look for information when it's the only confirmed location in a strange new area, but his gut currently seems to have a problem with common sense, so he starts trudging off in the opposite direction, grumbling something about discomfort.

It's not that different from finding his way on a new planet, at least. Speaking of, he activates the voice recording function on his wrist computer, which is thankfully still there.]

Day two, apparently. New area, definitely not where I passed out, definitely devoid of mushrooms, and definitely not alone. I'm filled with a comical sense of unease...

[B. ONE REALITY'S GETTING HARD TO FIND]

[Eventually, after some time getting used to things here, figuring things out, dealing with spooky bullshit, and just generally trying to avoid people even with the natural inclination, he can be found on the beach yet again, tossing reflective pieces of broken glass into the water.

Not only that, but he appears to be singing something under his breath at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone, after all.

He's not half bad, actually, and he definitely doesn't notice anyone coming up to him until they're way too close and he lets out a sudden scream of surprise.]

[C. I'M CALLED UPON, SEEKING ON]

Anyone else run into that unnecessarily cryptic post? You know the one. It's the easiest way to, one: give people a reason not to go, and two: have them show up anyway. Almost smart, in a stupid way.

[And yet he's seriously considering it.]

[D. WILDCARD]

[wanna do one of the other prompts? bring your own prompt, or hit me up via pm to plot or for your own starter!]

From:

hierophany

[ Jotaro can be forgiven for not recognising him. He's gone out of his way to make himself unrecognisable (it's in the mirror. it's the thing that's in the mirror and it knows what it looks like, its servants know what he looks like, because his reflection is there). He's buried in a hoodie about three sizes too large for him.

He can't quite be forgiven in the same way for failing to recognise Jotaro (bane. a bane. strong where he is weak. it's going to hurt him. it's going to know where his failures are and strike at them and ruin everything and he is surviving and he is surviving and making sure other people survive and he can't afford to let himself fail). He's Bane. He's Bane and that's all he is, because if he looks too long or listens too hard then something terrible will happen.

(but surviving is tiring

he's not meant to be alive

maybe everyone else isn't meant to be alive, either)

He's made himself unrecognisable, but the green little tendrils that poke out from the cloth of his hoodie are as distinct as they've ever been. They coil around Jotaro's fingers, trying to pry them off his arm. ]

I'm tired.

From:

burnbriight

It's bullshit. But I can't stop thinking about it, so I'll end up there anyway.

Numbers might be better, right?

From:

burnbriight

Did you ... say something?

( Lio is paused in the middle of the bathroom, his own vision swimming with static that pops and bursts when he blinks. It's not fun; he's not sure how to approach this with his head feeling caved in.

Shaking his head, as though the action will clear away the snow, he goes: )

Is that Aka Manto?

From:

seishiin

( Rude. Good word for it. )

In a way. I wouldn't call anything back there magic, though.

( A pause. )

What were you doing the moment before you arrived?

From:

seishiin

( Jotaro feels as though his heart has fallen up and out of his mouth when he recognizes who is in the coffin. Yet then, as ever, he moves, acts, pulling Kakyoin up and to his feet. )

I can't imagine how tired you are—

( liar )

—but you're not going to die here.

( Everything in him refuses to see him die again when there was something he could have done to prevent that tragedy, that robbery of life.

He pulls Kakyoin closer, makes to move out of the mausoleum... )

From:

evilgrows

As much as I'd hate to admit it, it's definitely not a solo job, and I am absolutely ending up there either way, which is also stupid.

Numbers are the most reasonable way around it.

From:

burnbriight

I was thinking about going with covenmates but a bunch of us dying or going batshit in one place sounds just about as terrifying as going with a herd of Miasmas.

From:

evilgrows

I know, we're terrible.

At this rate as long as you have someone to slap you once you start spouting gibberish it doesn't matter whose company they keep.

From:

truenoonsyndrome

#1 - ARRIVAL.

[ The scent of saltwater, the grit of wet sand beneath her palms - it's all too familiar to her. She rises with a gasp, almost a choke, scrambling to her feet before she can even think to dust herself off.

It's not a relief when she finds herself somewhere other than Jabberwock Island. She wishes it was. ]

Why... What?

[ She spends a few long moments taking in her surroundings, trying to compile a mental image of it all. Image - a picture! She reaches desperately for her camera, and is relieved to find it strapped to her side and completely intact. She tests it, holding down the ON button until the tiny LED screen lights up to welcome her back. Somehow, that's the most unsettling thing so far - because while her camera is still working, the droplets of water hanging off of it implies it shouldn't be.

She raises it up to her face with shaky hands, ready to take her first photo of these strange new surroundings. Her itchy trigger finger ends up taking three. ]

#2 - REALITY CHECK.

[ Telling secrets, she thinks. Sounds easy enough.

But easier said then done. She hesitates at the shore's edge, shifting from foot to foot. ]

Um, so... where to begin? I've done a lot of things I regret in my life. I'm not sure they're good things to share with anyone else here. We need to trust each other in a situation like this, you know?

[ She heaves out a sigh, feeling the sea breeze brush her bangs out of her eyes. It's like the ocean is speaking back to her, in a way. ]

I know, I know. I'm avoiding the subject. This isn't easy for me! Not like it would be for someone else...

#3 - BULLETIN.

[ Mahiru leaves a comment on the post a good fifteen minutes after reading it. She hadn't planned on speculating, but something about it simply stuck with her - against her best wishes, of course. ]

All this talk about visiting and dreaming... This isn't supposed to be some sort of astral projection thing, is it?

From:

exaltruist

( Dimitri is of Bane; he feels an odd feeling when he regards Mahiru. It's not quite the same as the warm, true hum between him and others -- others he can tell are Bane.

No, now he feels like she is something to be protected, or maybe someone to hurt. He doesn't like that those feel like his only two options.

His voice comes out a bit choked: )

You ... Ah, you just washed ashore.

( He clears his throat, ignores the urge to shield or harm and instead puts on his personable voice. )

I've been keeping watch over the shore. Can I help ... you to town?

From:

truenoonsyndrome

[ Mahiru startles a little at his voice, gripping her camera tighter as she turns towards him. She relaxes only slightly at his offer for help. He may seem trustworthy, but perhaps it's best that she remains on guard. ]

I... if you'd like, you may.

[ She lets go of her camera, letting it rest against her hip once again. She'd like more than anything to get out of here entirely, but getting away from the beach will have to do for now. ]

From:

lacitsym

Fair enough, sometimes the definition is hazy at best. [ Woah is that an understatement. ]

I was attempting to explain said apocalyptic forces to the team I was with, and this place is great at proving that point already.

[ Ha. ]

And you?