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childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 12:10 pm
diceofthegods) wrote in childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 12:10 pm
EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING
A CRASH IN THE NIGHT
In the dark hours of a snowy early morning, a sudden BOOM can be heard all across Town. It is swiftly followed by sounds of warping metal and then a screeching crash. Curious, albeit groggy, residents emerge only to find a smoking wreck just a mile outside of Town.
The strange craft appears to be almost nautiloid in shape with wrenched, broken tendrils streaming out the opening.
Much of it is metal although some of it almost seems... organic.
Those who with to get a closer look will be met by Charlie and Dimitri who are already on the job. They request curious onlookers keep their distance since this craft is, without a doubt, tremendously dangerous.
Later in the day, there appears to be an outfit of officials coming from the west to investigate and clean up the wreckage. Thankfully(?), you will all find out soon enough what's going on.
The strange craft appears to be almost nautiloid in shape with wrenched, broken tendrils streaming out the opening.
Much of it is metal although some of it almost seems... organic.
Those who with to get a closer look will be met by Charlie and Dimitri who are already on the job. They request curious onlookers keep their distance since this craft is, without a doubt, tremendously dangerous.
Later in the day, there appears to be an outfit of officials coming from the west to investigate and clean up the wreckage. Thankfully(?), you will all find out soon enough what's going on.
INVESTIGATION & PROTECTION
Deathcard Cabin by Jonah Senzel
4:07 / 13:06
▶︎
From the Inscryption OST: A unique and haunting sound paired with a unique and haunting game.
Charlie reports to the citizens of Town that an Illithid cargo transport. The pilot did not survive the crash, but they appeared to be transporting some kind of new breed of Intellect Devourers.
"We do not yet know what this new breed is capable of, but..."
Charlie does give everyone a rundown of what an Illithid and what an Intellect Devourer is, what they are capable of, and a keen warning to tread lightly. Many dead ones were discovered in the cargo but several of the enclosures were damaged in the crash and the likelihood of escapees is high.
Charlie reiterates: These creatures are to be killed on sight, or contained until someone can kill it. If you are not confident in your combat abilities, please remain in your homes as much as possible and seal all openings to your dwelling. Those who are capable though are urged to begin patrols of Town alongside Slayd, Dimitri and himself to ensure that Town and the surrounding areas are safe.
Please travel in pairs or groups, do not be alone! Attack from a distance when possible. Hoshiko will offer her assistance as a markswoman as well by picking off any Intellect Devourers from a distance that she can for those that are forced to travel alone. (Don't worry about any jokes she makes of her service not being cheap though. Charlie wouldn't actually let her charge you anything.)
Unfortunately, not even they can predict the blizzard that rolls through Town in the midst of all this. If you happen to see anything skittering through the snow, don't panic too much. It could just be a tiny woodland creature looking for a warm burrow to hide away in!
At least you hope it is.
"We do not yet know what this new breed is capable of, but..."
Charlie does give everyone a rundown of what an Illithid and what an Intellect Devourer is, what they are capable of, and a keen warning to tread lightly. Many dead ones were discovered in the cargo but several of the enclosures were damaged in the crash and the likelihood of escapees is high.
Charlie reiterates: These creatures are to be killed on sight, or contained until someone can kill it. If you are not confident in your combat abilities, please remain in your homes as much as possible and seal all openings to your dwelling. Those who are capable though are urged to begin patrols of Town alongside Slayd, Dimitri and himself to ensure that Town and the surrounding areas are safe.
Please travel in pairs or groups, do not be alone! Attack from a distance when possible. Hoshiko will offer her assistance as a markswoman as well by picking off any Intellect Devourers from a distance that she can for those that are forced to travel alone. (Don't worry about any jokes she makes of her service not being cheap though. Charlie wouldn't actually let her charge you anything.)
Unfortunately, not even they can predict the blizzard that rolls through Town in the midst of all this. If you happen to see anything skittering through the snow, don't panic too much. It could just be a tiny woodland creature looking for a warm burrow to hide away in!
At least you hope it is.
PROMPT #3
Hybrid intellect devourers are unique from the regular ones in that the goal is not to kill their target, but to gather intelligence and act as a kind of spy network.
They will flee when confronted directly by greater numbers, but will attack a lone target. They do this by jumping at the target's head and wrapping a wet tendril around their neck. They will choke who they've wrapped around if anyone tries to remove it. They are also far more likely to try and attack sleeping target (hence the advice to keep your homes closed!).
These hybrids emit spores that will keep the target asleep during feeding. Their primary goal appears to be infiltrating the targets' minds and absorbing some of their memories. The target will have their mind left mostly intact... though they may suffer short term memory loss, confusion, distress, fatigue and head pain.
Here's where the fun starts!
Once one of these critters has fed on someone, they are onto their next target. When a fed Intellect Devourer feeds from another target, that target may absorb some of the previous target's memories. This can span across multiple victims and be erratic in whose memories taint whose mind. The memories will cross-pollinate in the form of dreams or waking visions and hallucinations.
If one of these creatures is killed, it will explode, releasing a powerful psionic wave and the memories it had absorbed from any recent targets. Anyone within ten (10) yards of the dying creature will be afflicted with extreme head pain in the short term and also witness the memories of it's previous victims.
Enjoy your muddled memories and leggy brain-hunting!
The outfit of people who have come to investigate are from New Svihelen's disaster containment squad and are investigating the hybrid creatures and the possible reason for an Illithid ship to crash here of all places. Right now, the running theory is that interference from the selfsame summoning circle that brought you all here could have caused the interplanar navigation systems of the ship to malfunction but nothing has been determined yet.
Eventually, these creatures will all be rounded up and taken care of. They are persistent and stealthy though in their efforts to survive above all else. Charlie assures that they're doing all they can to make Town safe once and for all but it will take some time.
They will flee when confronted directly by greater numbers, but will attack a lone target. They do this by jumping at the target's head and wrapping a wet tendril around their neck. They will choke who they've wrapped around if anyone tries to remove it. They are also far more likely to try and attack sleeping target (hence the advice to keep your homes closed!).
These hybrids emit spores that will keep the target asleep during feeding. Their primary goal appears to be infiltrating the targets' minds and absorbing some of their memories. The target will have their mind left mostly intact... though they may suffer short term memory loss, confusion, distress, fatigue and head pain.
Here's where the fun starts!
Once one of these critters has fed on someone, they are onto their next target. When a fed Intellect Devourer feeds from another target, that target may absorb some of the previous target's memories. This can span across multiple victims and be erratic in whose memories taint whose mind. The memories will cross-pollinate in the form of dreams or waking visions and hallucinations.
If one of these creatures is killed, it will explode, releasing a powerful psionic wave and the memories it had absorbed from any recent targets. Anyone within ten (10) yards of the dying creature will be afflicted with extreme head pain in the short term and also witness the memories of it's previous victims.
Enjoy your muddled memories and leggy brain-hunting!
The outfit of people who have come to investigate are from New Svihelen's disaster containment squad and are investigating the hybrid creatures and the possible reason for an Illithid ship to crash here of all places. Right now, the running theory is that interference from the selfsame summoning circle that brought you all here could have caused the interplanar navigation systems of the ship to malfunction but nothing has been determined yet.
Eventually, these creatures will all be rounded up and taken care of. They are persistent and stealthy though in their efforts to survive above all else. Charlie assures that they're doing all they can to make Town safe once and for all but it will take some time.
Notes
⁂ The partner plotting post for this event/quarter is also up!
⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available for people to read about updates, clarifications, and housekeeping items!
⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!
⁂ For even more ambient event music, you can check out this this playlist!
⁂ Full Navigation ⁂
⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available for people to read about updates, clarifications, and housekeeping items!
⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!
⁂ For even more ambient event music, you can check out this this playlist!
Bites this so I don't have to make a new TL also CW for NPCs being transphobic
One explodes a bit too close to Wedge, Genesis’ fire still searing through its flesh when it combusts, swells, and bursts.
What follows is a wave of emotion that bubbles like magma. Anger and hurt, and something deep and cutting beneath. A wound that almost feels deserved. The crush of self-doubt, barely masked by rage. Then, the memory unfolds in steel corridors, mirror-like pillars and near-black glass. The dark, sterile clean of the ShinRa building, and an office behind walls of polished glass.
The scuff across Genesis’ cheek aches as he presses it against his folded forearms. Hunched over the far side of Director Lazard’s desk, he keeps his head down, and his shoulders bunched. He’s taken to hiding in here as of late, when his temper gets out of hand, and Angeal is away on missions. There’s little other reprieve without him, though he’s learning to slowly open up more and more to the Director. Who's offered this space as an escape occasionally, though this is the first time Genesis has slinked in here without prompting.
Lazard hadn’t asked him what was wrong, they both know the answer, and there’s no need to pick at the wound. He’d simply nodded at Genesis, tried not to grimace about just how hard the young Second Class slammed the glass door behind him, and continued his work. The boy doesn’t disturb him, as he merely silently swallows his rage until he’s ready to talk, and that is when Lazard glances away from the email he’s writing. He’s learned the little tells, and begins to think that Genesis is starting to, dare he say it, actually like an authority figure? At least one ready to be a sympathetic ear. So he leans an arm on his desk, and gently drums his gloved fingers over the dark navy of his sleeve. A slight tip of his head, the arch of a brow over the silver rims of his glasses, ready to listen to the boy’s fiery ranting - except it doesn’t come.
Genesis lifts his head from where he’s been sulking, the scuff on his cheek even more red on his youthful face after being pressed on. But his brows are furrowed, and his eyes are glanced away while slightly narrowed with clear concentration. Many of the SOLDIER recruits have enhanced senses, but he knows Genesis’ hearing to be sharper than any others. He must hear something Lazard doesn’t, and he could almost imagine that if Genesis were a cat, his ears would be swiveling to-and-fro to catch the best angle for whatever has his attention so suddenly.
Lazard doesn’t prod. He’s a patient enough man to know Genesis will tell him when silence is something they share. But it is interesting to watch the way his expression shifts the whole while. It’s quite the journey.
What first caught the young SOLDIER’s attention was the tread of footfalls. Boots, certainly. And on this floor? It would only be fellow SOLDIERs, likely coming from the medical bay, given the direction. In fact, the gait was familiar enough that he could pick out the walking pace of four of them. Young, light, probably Seconds and Thirds. Then came their voices, and Genesis visibly bristled. Enough to have Lazard sit up a little straighter.
“That uppity bitch seriously had to go and burn my shoulder like that?”
“You kinda deserved it, man,” a second voice chimes, sounding unimpressed.
“What, ‘cause I said the truth? SOLDIER ain’t for little girls. We’re supposed to be the best-” The first voice spits back, and Genesis curls his lip in anger. The only sick satisfaction he gets is the note of pain underlying the bastard’s tone. That fira spell he’d caught him with won’t soon be forgotten.
“What’s your excuse, then?” A third voice cuts in suddenly, one of the pair that had initially been silent.
“Huh? I ain’t a girl.”
“Neither is Genesis. So what’s your excuse for losing to him, then?” That third voice presses, and Genesis hears the way he pushes the pronoun just a little harder than the rest of his words. “‘Cause if you think he’s not supposed to be here, why’d you lose in the training match?”
“It was just a lucky shot!” The first voice protests, clearly put on the backfoot. He sounds as though he’s stopped walking. The rest of the footfalls cease a moment later.
“I don’t know, you barely scratched the guy. Doesn’t really seem like luck to me. He had you totally beat in barely a minute.” Which makes the fourth voice finally chime in with, “maybe you’re the one not cut out for SOLDIER, actually.”
“What? You guys can’t be serious!”
There’s a long note of silence, that even from this distance, Genesis swears he can feel the tension of. Then, the second voice chimes in, and begins walking away.
“C’mon, we’re supposed to be the best, remember? This guy is just gonna slow down our training,” and his footsteps take a determined pace. The other pair follow a heartbeat after, and all alone, the first yells after them with a multitude of obscenities before running off in the opposite direction.
Genesis blinks owlishly, voice caught in his throat as he seems to suddenly remember he’s not alone, and that the Director is patiently regarding him with a curious look, oblivious to the entire conversation. Genesis looks as though he might speak, but the words die on the tip of his tongue as the trio of young SOLDIERs suddenly comes around the corner, and spot the pair through the glass doors. There’s a brief moment where Genesis’ bright blue eyes meet the one leading them; equally intense mako-bright eyes are so focused on the fiery red that he slows his pace. Lazard clearly notes the tension too, settling his shoulders, perfectly ready to keep this from escalating when he sees the way Genesis’ fingers have curled into his palms so hard the knuckles are bone-white, and his nails have dug crescents into skin.
But all the other boy does is give a brief nod, so slight Genesis nearly misses it, before continuing on his way with the other two in tow.
Genesis lets the tension bleed from his shoulders only when they’re well gone, and looks back to Lazard.
“Were they the ones giving you trouble?” Lazard finally broaches the subject.
“No,” Genesis says, shaking his head. He turns as if he can still hear them there, and maybe he can, for all Lazard knows. But instead of growling or bristling as he might expect, Genesis simply lays his cheek down on his arms again, but looks far more relaxed this time. As if some weight has been lifted from his shoulders, his body slumps with relief. The red idly reaches a hand to roll a pen along the smooth surface of the Director’s desk, but Lazard thinks he catches the tiniest hint of a smile half-hidden by the press of his cheek. “They’re not so terrible,” he mutters, but doesn’t elaborate beyond that.
Lazard could press him, and his burning curiosity does wish to be slaked, but seeing the usually angry teen quite so calm is an answer unto itself. Better not to pry, not to test that thin cord of trust he’s managed to loop between them. Smiling behind his hand, Lazard makes an affirmative sound, and returns to his work. Subtly, he makes note of those three for later, before returning to work while Genesis settles down with him.
The memory fades out after that, the click of keys and rustling of pens being the last sensation before it blurs into noiseless blackness. What remains is a flood of warmth and confidence that lingers between the pair in the waking world. Genesis exudes it like a proud flame, brightly burning as if nothing could snuff it out. But once it was an unsure spark, barely kindling, and it hardly takes but a glance to see that the angry boy in the Director’s office is now this proud, sultry warrior that twirls a massive and beautifully crafted blade as red as he is. The bright eyes have only intensified, and once short-cropped hair has become a fiery mane that spills out down his back.
“Apologies for the mess,” he drawls, a hand draped over his heart. With it comes the slightest of bows. “I hadn’t thought to hold myself back with another in range of these ugly beasts. Genesis Rhapsodos, at your service.”