[Event] Whale Comb to the Apocalypse!

[trpmods]

Whale Comb to the Apocalypse!

Just as the residents of Temba have gotten used to the absence of the dreaded energy storms, the sky grows dark.

It's not necessarily a steady change. Subtlety clearly isn't the goal here. Instead, the sky simply goes dark as a low rumble fills the air, slowly building into a distinct crackle that draws your attention upwards to the sky as it flickers and fills with static.

Until it suddenly cracks open with a smooth blink to reveal a massive eye looking back down at you. It easily covers the entire city of Temba. But more importantly, it hardly looks organic. Instead, one may note distinct similarities to a- Camera lens?

The pupil adjusts for a moment. Then a voice fills the very air. It does not come through the network but simply fills the very air in all of Temba.

He-Rows.

The word is followed by a low, mocking chuckle.

No. You are no heroes. You are watched.

Now.

Entertain us.

There is half a moment of silence, then

BANG

You open your eyes, not sure what just happened. You vaguely remember it happening, however. You also remember your surroundings being different. You remember feeling different. But as you look around, as you consider yourself, you notice that everything is just- Wrong. From that strange, mechanical pupil peering down at you from high up in the sky down to whichever hellscape you have just awoken in. Maybe from the corner of your eye you even spy an ominous dark light, slowly blinking in and out of existence. Should you decide to actually look for it, you will notice a looming tower, seemingly shrouding itself in the darkness it emits.

And then there is that hunger. That urge to feed on a specific type of terror. That hasn't been there before, has it? And yet, it drives you forward. Forward to find victims, opponents or those sharing your mindset.

This hellscape is yours to explore.

|| questions || character death intervention request || plotting ||


FAQ

What is this?

Remember our Fake Apocalypse on April 1st? Know what? IT IS BACK! And it got worse. Not only has the apocalypse itself returned for real this time, but it also turned every single character into an avatar of one of the respective fears. Which means your character feels the urge to make others experience whichever fear they are aligned with. They aren't necessarily set to fight other avatars, but some of the more vicious fears will have avatars more inclined to actively pick fights and seek actual destruction.

Note: You aren't Pokémon and not every avatar has active powers meant for combat. But this isn't intended as a Battle Royale either, don't worry.

Avatars? Fears? Wait, what?!

In the universe of The Magnus Archives, there are fifteen fourteen Fears [ sorry, Extinction, you're too young to play ]. Capital-F-Fears, yes. Each of these Entities is assigned to certain sets of terror and emotions they feed on. In order to be fed, they all have their avatars to cause said emotions in other living beings in a 'Feed your Patron or be fed on.' manner. These avatars feed on the same fears as the Entity they are assigned to.

For this event, however, there are none of these Entities to feed. Your characters will still be assigned to them, gain their respective ability along with the deep urge to cause your personal brand of dread and cause some sweet terror to munch on. Congratulations, you're now a monster! At least temporarily.

Wait... what is this Watchtower - And what about the creepy mechanical Eye in the Sky?

The Eye? A blatant nod to The Magnus Archives from which this event has been derived of. Someone caught a glimpse of Jon's Happy Apocalypse Time and got... Inspired. The Tower? Well...... It used to be the blinking tower up in the North of the city that got broken by some of you and then replaced by a new blinking light outside of the city no one has been able to reach. This one? You can reach it if you want, but there won't be any way to get inside. And there are actual monsters guarding it.

Just imagine it like some tall, creepy tower with a light on top of it radiating out darkness rather than light, slowly blinking in and out of existence. As stated before, this tower will never appear in the same spot. And as for the monsters... A mixture of tentacles sprouting out of the ground, oversized insects and maybe if they're really unlucky there's even a zombie waiting for your character that has an unsettling resemblance of a person they may know.

What are these hellscapes, how do they work?

Each fear has its own hellscape and Temba will shift through these at random. There is no schedule for these shifts, so feel free to play around with them and have them shift through your threads. Be fair, however, and don't shift the city to constantly be buffing your own powers. Communicate with your thread partners, make use of an RNG or maybe a set of dice to determine the shifting of your setting. Yes, the weird blinking Watchtower will always be present and it will always change positions. As is the mechanical Eye in the Sky.

As a neat little addition, your character can encounter people in them that aren't actual player characters. These will react to your character, but also they may be people your character knows, serving as set dressing within whichever hellscape is currently active.

So what are these victims that can be found in the different hellscapes? Are they real people?

They certainly seem real. Some of them may even look oddly familiar. Like friends and family members that shouldn't be on Agra 10 at all, trapped there and left to suffer their worst nightmares. Basically, they serve as cannon fodder, if you like, giving your character a readily available source of beings to mortify. Keep in mind that your drive isn't to slaughter people, it is to scare them in a way that produces a specific fear.

Can I outsmart a hellscape?

No. We're sorry, but this event isn't one where you get to shine. Not like that, at least. The Agrii may call you their He-Rows, but someone else is inclined to differ. They will not only show you your worst side, but also set you up against one another. Fun times~

But my powers....??!

Not working here, sorry. Like previous energy storms, any of your regular powers have been disabled. Further, you have been turned into a monster and given the urge to feed on the fears and misery of others. Every type of monster feeds on specific types of fears. At least this means you don't have to worry about actually eating food for the duration of the event. Or sleep. No sleep required unless you wish to take a nap as the setting shifts around you.

The hellscapes themselves won't physically harm your character. But they get to experience their unpleasantness. And yes, avatars are not immune to experiencing fear themselves. Your character remains your character and if they are afraid of spiders, then an avatar of the Web may get a sweet meal out of them.

How do I know which Avatar my character gets to be?

That's entirely up to you. Below the FAQ is a chonky table listing the Fear Entities, hellscapes and what abilities their respective avatars bring along. Either find one that suits your character, or pick one that doesn't suit them at all, grab some dice or, well, here's the link to the RNG again <3

Please remember to mention which avatar you picked for your character when setting up a post or doing a top level so your threading partner knows what to expect. We will also ask you to include content warnings where necessary. Which we are aware of isn't always easy to do. But let's all try to be mindful.

Can I change which Avatar my character is?

No. Pick one, stick to it. It's a short event.

Wait. If I decide to be an Avatar of the Eye, can I be an Archivist?

Unfortunately, that's a rather specific role and doesn't really exist in that form here. Even Jon doesn't get to be the Archivist during this event. He will be losing that power just like everyone else loses theirs.

My character has a weapon. Does that vanish for the duration of the event?

No. They keep their weapons. Just remember that your character's urge is to inflict fear on others, not outright kill everyone they see.

But how will I do that? Inflict fear on others?

Fundamentally, be creative. We are aware that not all avatars are equally well equipped to spook others. Consider this a difficulty setting, if you like. You also don't necessarily have to go out and terrorize other characters. Your character won't starve. The hellscapes will shift regularly enough and produce whichever type of fear yours feeds in just about a sufficient amount for them to survive, yet not necessarily feel satisfied with. How they cope with this is for you to decide and play out.

Can characters leave/enter Temba during the event?

No. The ships stay grounded, the train isn't moving and if you try to approach the city border on foot, you will encounter some weirdly distorted force shield blocking your way in or out of the city.

What about the network?

Sorry, that one got disabled as well.

Okay. So they want us to kill one another, but the game has no death mechanic. I don't want my character to die!

Thank you for noticing! Because this event is actually intended to introduce our little game's death mechanic AT LAST! Do you know how stressful it has been watching you all ponder and plot out potential deaths in the past few months when we already knew what this event is meant to bring to the table? Indeed. Stressful.

And how is this death mechanic going to work?

Agrii intervention. This will be the first time of the Agrii actively intervening because they don't want any of you to die. In this post you will find a top level where you can announce your character's intended death, drop the respective link and receive an Agrii NPC ensuring you don't catch that bullet, aren't hit by that fatal blow or buried under the building crumbling right above you. Sounds agreeable? Yes, this means you won't actually die.

...and once the event is over...?

The mechanic remains, yes. You will be able to submit your planned upcoming death-to-be-prevented on the Player Plot Page and we work out the logistics with you.

You mean we can't die secretly?

No. Keep in mind that the Agrii are always watching you. And they won't let any of you die. The characters may ICly not be aware of this, however. These interventions can be subtle and often be accounted to pure luck as the Agrii responsible for preventing your deaths will also be cautious not to be caught.

Yikes! I don't want any of this. How do I opt out?

Your opt-out for this event is Sh'Ka. If you want to avoid the apocalypse, your character will be there for whichever reason you see fit, but the neither train nor ships will be moving between the cities for the duration of the event. Should your character require IC motivation to head for the train, they have roughly half an hour from the beginning of the sky darkening to the actual BANG to hop onto the train and leave. No, the train won't break down mid-way. Nor will any of the ships on their way to Sh'Ka crash. Every vessel in motion will reach their destination safely, but remain grounded from that moment on.

Is there anything to do for those that decide to opt up?

Well, yes. We have something for you as well. At least we will put some offerings on the table. Whether you wish to play with them or find your own adventure is, again, all up to you. A link to the post will be inserted >>here<< once the post is up, so... Watch this space!

How long will this event go?

Starting the 16th of October until 1st of November. You have two weeks to be bad.

Fears, Hellscapes & Avatars
"Like colours, but if colours hated me."

Here's your table for referencing stuff. Starting with the name of the Fear Entity on the left (remember, these aren't actually part of the event, but listed for reference), which fears/emotions they are tied to and what they tend to manifest in/as followed by a brief description of what Temba will shift to when assuming the hellscape tied to this particular fear and its assigned avatars and lastly what avatar traits you get to play with should your character find themself assigned to this fear.

Entity	Fear of	Manifests as	Hellscape	Avatar Traits
The Buried The Centre Choke Too Close I Cannot Breathe Forever Deep Below Creation	◊ small spaces ◊ suffocating ◊ drowning ◊ being buried alive ◊ everything crashing down around/on oneself ◊ being trapped without enough space	◊ caves ◊ dirt ◊ financial issues ◊ heavy rain ◊ underground transport ◊ tight spaces such as coffins	Imagine an ant nest sized for humans. Long, twisting tunnels that seem to be getting narrower and narrower the further one moves, yet turning back doesn't result in them getting wider again. Instead, they will keep getting narrower until one has to literally squeeze forward. But just like in an ant nest, there are open spaces between different tunnels. Reach one for a chance to breathe, then find your next tunnel to squeeze through.	◊ their presence makes one feel boxed in ◊ can induce the sensation of struggling to breathe ◊ leave behind trails of fine sand
The Corruption Filth The Crawling Rot Flesh Hive	◊ corruption ◊ disease ◊ filth ◊ The feelings of disgust, revulsion or the things or beings that might evoke such feelings	◊ mould ◊ bugs ◊ rot ◊ decay ◊ infection ◊ The feeling of one's skin crawling ◊ Can also manifest as unhealthy love and companionship	Imagine the underground catacombs of Paris, but more ghoulish. Dead, rotting bodies are piled everywhere causing insects and the stench of decay to dominate this place. At least all these pesky flies want to be your friend. Or... Do they? Yes, you may come across the rotting body of someone you care for.	◊ their touch causes things to rot, decay or can transfer diseases ◊ tend to appear unhealthy or in a manner that induces the feeling of disgust ◊ might be a living hive for one type of insect (for example worms)
The Dark Mr. Pitch The Forever Blind	◊ The primal fear of the dark ◊ what lies beyond that we cannot see ◊ the creatures hiding from our view	◊ creatures hidden in the dark ◊ shadow figures & monsters ◊ blindness ◊ coldness ◊ dark water	An abandoned factory at night. There are no stars above, no moon and, naturally, no source of light available or even functional in this domain. It's dark, cold and quiet. Safe for the occasional sound of movement, the sound of heavy, approaching footsteps or maybe even a deep growl somewhere nearby.	◊ Light gets dimmer when they are nearby ◊ Can summon a creature of darkness when in a group (creature size depends on group size)
The Desolation The Lightless Flame The Torturing Flame The Devastation The Blackened Earth The Ravening Burn Asag	◊ pain ◊ loss ◊ burning and destruction, especially with a senseless cause	◊ fire ◊ wax ◊ heat ◊ burns ◊ destruction of potential	A tall building on fire with no way out of the inferno. Cries for help can be heard from behind blocked doors. yes, you are trapped within that building. Whoops.	◊ burning/scorching touch ◊ hot breath ◊ skin moldable like wax ◊ take great joy in destroying lives and potential
The End Death Terminus The Coming End That Waits For All And Cannot Be Ignored	◊ The fear of death itself—⁠uncaring and unstoppable	◊ bones ◊various forms of the dead (skeletons, mummies, zombies, etc.) ◊Also has close ties to dreams and can manifest through them	A never ending graveyard at night. The sky is clear, yet starless and a low fog creeps across open, empty graves. Every grave has a tombstone engraved with the name of whoever passes it. There are no monsters here to actively hunt its victims. Death is patient. It simply waits.	◊ know when a person is about to die ◊ are excellent at chess and other strategic games
👁 The Eye 👁 Beholding The Ceaseless Watcher It Knows You	👁 being watched 👁 ◊ being exposed ◊ being followed ◊ having secrets exposed ◊ Can also pertain to the drive to know and understand, even if your discoveries might destroy you	👁👁 eyes 👁👁 ◊ security cameras ◊ a creature or figure that keeps constant watch ◊ Often manifests in libraries and books	A large city at night with security cameras (made of eyeballs) looming everywhere and people watching from every window. Here, the large, always present watchtower looms at the very center, its location fixed, guarded by beholders and servitors.	◊ can See through lies ◊ can Know everything (within limitations) ◊ their presence induces the feeling of being watched ◊ don't blink, ever. ◊ upon touching another being, can learn their secrets and fears and make a person remember traumatic experiences
The Flesh Viscera	◊ the fear held by animals bred for meat ◊ the human realization that we are just animated meat and bones	◊ meat ◊ corpses ◊ blood ◊ bones ◊ butchers ◊ meat-related industry ◊ Often manifests as strange bodies—bodies being unnaturally twisted, reshaped, and butchered	A large slaughterhouse run by grim glownies wearing black leather aprons and hoods concealing their heads and faces. Their (humanoid) victims wait in long queues to eventually be processed and discarded	◊ can twist and shape a body or part of it to their liking ◊ can reach into a body to remove single bones ◊ able to twist and morph their own body as well and may have more organs or even limbs than normal ◊ find joy in mutilating bodies and twist them into grotesc shapes
The Hunt	◊ being chased or hunted ◊ the primal fear of being prey	◊ predators ◊ predatory monsters ◊ animal instincts ◊ animalistic traits	A dense, dark forest at night that is entirely quiet and yet amplifies every sound the victim (prey) makes to inform their pursuer of their location. That's when the chase begins and eager footsteps can be heard approaching. It's time to run.	◊ Hunters will tirelessly pursue their prey ◊ can get lost in their fixation for the hunt ◊ may take on monstrous traits when overtaken by bloodlust or transform into a fully feral beast
The Lonely Forsaken The One Alone	◊ isolation ◊ being completely cut off and alone or disconnected from the rest of society	◊ large rooms ◊ silence ◊ crowds of faceless people	A wide, open field covered in a thick fog. You are entirely alone, can't see, sense or hear a single othe rbeing nearby. Maybe somewhere in the distance a single crow's cawing may mock you in your solitude.	◊ can cast people into the Lonely (make them disappear) ◊ may create a crawling mist around them ◊ can disappear themselves ◊ really only want to be left alone
The Slaughter	◊ unpredictable, unmotivated violence ◊ The fear of pain coming at sudden, random moments	◊ people driven "mad with Slaughter" ◊ soldiers ◊ music that either induces Slaughter or warns that Slaughter is coming ◊ in imagery of war or murder ◊ can appear wild like a frenzied killer or calm and regimented like soldiers firing on the battlefield	A battlefield where a senseless war wages and neither side will ever claim victory and none of the soldiers will ever die.	◊ angry to the point where they are hardly reasonable ◊ vicious, fearless fighters ◊ capable of inflicting serious wounds with simple/improvised weapons
The Spiral Es Mentiras (It Is Lies) The Twisting Deceit It Is Not What It Is	◊ madness ◊ that the world you know is wrong ◊ that your mind is lying to you ◊ deception ◊ lying ◊ deceiving of the mind and senses	◊ imagery of spirals ◊ patterns and fractals ◊ often manifests as hallucinations or illusions	A maze that appears to have only right turns and yet never leads to an exit. It also seems to shift while one tries to navigate it, passages closing off in some places while other open elsewhere. Even the maze itself changes. At one point it's a corn field, after the next turn it's an underground tunnel and once you look back you see the clean corridors of what might be your hotel on Risa or Cosurscant. At times, the entire corridor is filled with mirrors. Don't pay them any mind - or the distorted figure you see lingering within them.	◊ liars ◊ their presence makes one doubt what they know, see or believe ◊ can create doors into eternally twisting realms where nothing makes sense to trap their victims until they lose their mind entirely (can only take one victim at a time) ◊ Can appear from the corridors present in their hellscape ◊ appear normal, but their real shape consists of long, twisted limbs and sharp edges with long, sharp claws for fingers protuding from bloated hands
The Stranger I Do Not Know You	◊ the unknown ◊ the uncanny ◊ the unfamiliar ◊ The creeping sense that something is not right	◊ beings and aspects of beings that provoke an "uncanny valley" response: human and other being-adjacent forms, such as mannequins, wax figures, masks, and taxidermy ◊ Often manifests in theatres and performances	An old, abandoned house of wax figurines. Not necessarily good ones, and most of them lack a face. These will slowly creep towards any victim trapped here, reaching and trying to relieve them of their face and along with it, their identity. Any victim losing their face, joins the collective of wax figurines until they succeed to acquire a new face. Isn't it odd that some of these look like people you know from before you were brought to Temba...?	◊ have a need to be Unknown ◊ their prolonged presence makes a person forget who they were ◊ can freely change their identity by taking on different bodies ◊ can steal a person's face and name (please remember to get permission before attempting to steal another player character's identity)
The Vast The Falling Titan	◊ heights ◊ falling ◊ large open spaces including sky, space, and deep water ◊ the human fear of insignificance and meaninglessness ◊ losing oneself in too much space	◊ void ◊ wide-open spaces ◊ vertigo ◊ falling ◊ the transformation of something that should have a limit into something infinite	A GIANT supermarket. And if I say giant, I mean GIANT. Imagine being the size of an ant stuck in one of those real big supermarkets. No, you won't get any shopping done here, but there appear to be people? Giant people that won't be noticing your meager existence as they go about their giant shopping. You may try to follow, but will never find an exit. And before you ask: No. Nothing in here is actually edible.	◊ can induce the feeling of falling at will and fool their victim's body into believing it is actually falling ◊ electric lights burn brighter in their presence, electronics may begin to overload ◊ bring along the scent of ozone ◊ can control gravity around them and fall in various directions
The Web The Spider The Great Spider Mother of Puppets The Mother The Spinner of Schemes The Hidden Machination	◊ being controlled or trapped, especially being unaware of one's own entrapment ◊ The fear of being forced to do things against one's own will ◊ being manipulated	◊ spiders ◊ spider webs ◊ web-like patterns ◊ puppets	Literally every spider dungeon from every video game with a spider dungeon combined. There are more cobwebs here than dungeon, probably. Lots of cobwebs. Too much cobwebs. Filled with too many legs.	◊ masters of manipulation ◊ bring along spiders ◊ can transform into a large spider monster

Comments

MK and stuff involving Echo

[on_repeat]

Let's just say I never have any idea what I'm doing, planning is a construct

If I wanted to be obvious about it, I would go with Slaughter. INSTEAD, I have alternative choices to pick from:

Initial Thoughts: The Dark, The End
Runners Up: The Buried, The Vast

I may just be taking character cues, but you know.

Re: MK and stuff involving Echo

[in_extremis]

the End sounds like it could be hilarious OR incredibly tense
also you could scare Poe with BOOOONEsss

I say go with the obvious. I've sat with it all now and I'm realizing if it seems obvious, its going to be the most effective and spooky. Horror is the same movie over and over again for a reason dammit.

[on_repeat]

EXACTLy, half of The End is waiting lol. Oh no, Poeeee-- it's time for the Skeleton Dance

My laziness is saying nooo but I feel like you're right. The Slaughter's got potential for horrible.