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etrayamemes2024-09-05 05:44 pm
etrayamods) wrote in etrayamemes2024-09-05 05:44 pm
Entry tags:
TDM 004
 ⏵ the usual arrival ⏴ NOTES\WARNINGS: Horror elements, themes of addiction, supernatural changes, light mind control Arrival goes as anticipated. Characters awaken in the sterile white glow of artificial lights, the hum of soft machinery thrumming in the background like a mechanical lullaby. The hospital room is pristine - almost too pristine - sterile, but oddly calming. Every surface gleams in a way that feels calculated as if someone had specifically designed the space to be comforting. Yet, a faint whiff of antiseptic clings to the air, and the silence feels unnatural. The first face they see is Aurora's: her smile appears to be warm, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. She might offer a quick explanation, or leave characters to figure it out for themselves depending on their approach. The door to the room swings open, revealing a hallway that stretches out ahead of them. They're free to explore their surroundings now, but something tells them this place is more than just a hospital. The lobby is a stark contrast to the sterile rooms above. It's warm, almost welcoming. Currently, an array of cookie trays are strewn about the area just inside the door that leads them to the outside world, decorated with frosting shaped into leaves, pumpkins, and the occasional snowman. They aren't perfect, but - the companion bots tried their best, they're still figuring out this whole cookie decorating thing. At least most of the cookies are normal cookie flavors this time. However, it doesn't feel as if this is what they should be eating. Something is telling them to go outside. To find something more filling.  ⏵ the unusual arrival ⏴ Perhaps you skip all of that, somehow, slipping through the cracks of the system. You arrive outside of the normal purview, outside of the hospital walls. Perhaps you come to, standing in line for a food truck covered in slime. You could be anywhere, though. At the Diner, perhaps the apartments, or a random shop. Anywhere. It’s okay, though. This has happened before, and they are more prepared for it. No matter where you are, the helper bots will be ready with a quick and convenient remedy. A companion bot approaches you, bidding you to step into a clear tube. Should you do so, it will seal before power-washing you from head to toe in an efficient handful of seconds. And then it will release you, sopping wet but clean! Oh dear, are you catching a bit of a chill? …They will come up with a solution for that next time, I’m afraid.  ⏵ lunchtime ⏴ As the swelter of summer begins to fade into the first hints of autumn, a small fleet of food trucks arrives in each part of Etraya. When you arrive at one they offer a stamp card with a little map of Etraya and the location of each truck’s loop. "Make sure you don’t lose it," the cashier warns in a friendly tone despite their vague and shadowy visage. Once you begin sampling their offerings, stopping becomes near-impossible. The food is delicious--or seems to be. However, each dish comes with a catch, and the more you eat, the more its effects intensify. To break this curse, one must sample all and fill their stamp cards.
 ⏵ nova city ⏴ Nova City, vast and sprawling in its corner of Etraya, remains mostly abandoned. Its towering buildings stand silently, watching over empty streets where only stray cats and the occasional bird roam. The dragon, Zhaera, perches protectively atop the tallest spire at the heart of this desolate city. She has been guarding her egg since her arrival, waiting for the young dragon within to mature enough it can survive in the outside world. As its incubation period draws near, her anxiety grows. A tremor spreads through Etraya, an instinctive call to those nearby. As the egg nears its hatching, strange forces awaken within Etraya itself, spreading too into Nova City. Shadowy creatures crawl out from the ground, surrounding the tower the dragon and her unborn child have taken shelter on. The air crackles with the energy coming from the egg itself, and the cats throughout the city seem unsettled. The sheer amount of magic the egg gives off is enough to attract anyone capable of sensing it. The dragon, normally composed and fierce, appears to be visibly distressed by the changes going on in the city below it. Her maw opens, sending flames to ward off the inky black tendrils intent on getting to her egg. But she may need some assistance keeping it safe. This TDM covers September and October. The events happening in the TDM are game canon. Threads can be kept as game canon if wanted! For any questions relating to the contents of this log, please use the mod queries thread. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. |
osamu dazai | bungo stray dogs
[He's here to defend his universe's existence, is it. A fascinating explanation for a kidnapping, to be sure; he'll certainly give them points for creativity. But there's a flaw in the sales pitch right out of the gate -- most people, when confronted with such a notion, will immediately assume that the metric used to determine "worthiness" would have to do with the strength of their character -- those who are the kindest, the most honorable, the firmest in their convictions must be the ones deemed fit to spare, right? Except if that was the case, then it would make entirely more sense to have brought Fukuzawa or Kunikida in his stead. Since it's him, he has to assume there's another criteria at play, so what is it? Ruthlessness, cunning, manipulation? Or perhaps what they want is to test the limits of gray inside his empty heart, learn what he will and won't do when backed into a corner. Rude, honestly, especially when he doesn't have a cheat sheet.
The easiest way to start gathering information, then, is to do some stress testing of his own. He starts by making a pest of himself at the cookie table, munching and crunching obnoxiously loud, spewing crumbs here there and everywhere, swiping cookies before others can get to them ... anything that might provoke a reaction. What kind, and how well the individual is able to recover their composure, remains to be seen, and will say a lot about the general level of ease or lack thereof among the kidnappees.
Soon enough, though, that well of investigation is pretty much tapped, and he follows the nagging at the back of his mind out the door, where ... he witnesses the spectacle of someone materializing out of thin air covered by slime and approached by a robot to clean them off.
That person is almost certainly not in the mood for the annoyingly cheery, singsong-y voice that intercepts them, but alas:]
Excuse me! Before you get in that tube, could I get a sample of that goop there?
[w-why does he want it .... don't worry about that. it's fine.]
ii. lunchtime
[Even for someone as observant and cautious as Dazai, it takes him a few days to realize what's going on with the food trucks, perhaps if only because his first stop was the crepes. Night terrors are nothing new, after all, and despite their increasing frequency, he thinks nothing of them -- and perhaps it's the exhaustion from that which allows more time to pass than might have otherwise before he wanders by some of the other trucks, noting the whiplash between others literally growling in front of Bau Haus while those in front of Owlfeather are draping on each other affectionately. He avoids the crepes that day, but there is no relief from the night terrors, so on a hunch....he decides to try to fill out that stamp sheet after all, but that means taking on all the rest of the curses as well.
Which means when it's time for Bill's Buffalo Burgers ... well. In the interest of getting this over with as quickly as possible, he's decided it's much more expedient to neither ask permission nor forgiveness, really. Don't mind him creeping around with a pair of scissors looking to take a little snip from someone with long enough hair that they're unlikely to notice. Or maybe that's your hair that the snippy snippy is approaching, and you've caught him in the act? Sorry not actually sorry, bud, it's for a good(?) cause. His sanity is questionable enough as it is without being tampered like this.]
iii. lunchtime 2 electric boogaloo
cw flippancy about suicide
[Bearing with the effects of each curse until he completes the stamp sheet is ... more challenging than anticipated, though. The Milk Man, in particular, has gotten to him, and one might find him sprawled pathetically on the ground shivering. Hypothermia really does not feel like an elegant way to die, frankly, especially without a beautiful woman to do so with him? Now that would be an excellent double suicide, holding each other in their arms for warmth until the chill overtook them, hearts ceasing to beat in unison...!
On his own, though? Now that's just ugly and pitiful looking, and certainly not clean, bright, or cheerful.
The nearest person who has the misfortune of making eye contact, then, gets the saddest doe eyes this disaster of a man can muster, and a plaintive:]
Help meeeeeeeee--
[He flaps his nearly finished stamp card in the air, showing indeed, just one more cursed stop to go. And yes, he is looking for a piggy back ride. Uppies pls.]
lunchtime 2
Richard is a simple man, one not of science of of heart and emotion, who has no real idea of how to treat hypothermia. That is perhaps fortunate in this case, for he only looks flabbergasted at first at the main sprawled beneath him. It's an uncertain look, a smile that tries to fix itself into something comforting but falters several times, before he finally nods, seeming to get the message, ]
Well, I typically only offer my services to fair maidens, but you do seem to be in distress...
[ There's an awkward huff of breath that can't quite pass as a laugh; a man in a knight's attire has to opportunity to refuse though, and so he'll sink down to his knees in between Dazai's legs and lean back to allow Dazai to latch onto him. The "Knight" seems to have understood the assignment, at least, despite having no idea what the fuck is going on otherwise, ]
If you would...
[ Latch onto him! You're not a woman so he's not doing all of the work here! ]
no subject
But this is convenient for him, at least. Climbing onto someone's back is more comfortable than say, a bridal carry, though he's shameless enough to accept either. He really is still shivering, honestly, but that doesn't stop him from offering a thousand-watt smile, and chirping:]
Ahh, my knight in shining armor.
[Literally, apparently, what's that about.]
Thank goodness you came. I was getting really worried!
[Well. He was getting really uncomfortable, anyway, which counts in his book. The gratitude is genuine, even though he's going to be aggressively himself about it.]
Might I get my savior's name?
Unusual Arrival
So when he hears the cheery voice, the mammoth couldn’t help but shake his head and look at the smaller creature with a deadpan look. He could already tell this person's going to be a headache to deal with.]
What do you need it for?
sorry, i lost this notif!!!
But he rallies pretty quick after he realizes what he's actually looking at; fixing the mammoth with a thousand-watt smile and chirping cheerfully:]
For science, of course!
[Without waiting for actual permission or literally any semblance of shame, he just waltzes on up and picks up a wad of the goop on his index finger. If that massive form is an ability of some sort, those tusks will be useless at goring him. If not ... well, it'll probably be a quick and painless death, if nothing else.]
lunchtime
There was also that incident with Shira.
But alas, somehow, the burger truck got her in one of those moments where she feels like she needs to get stronger, so she thinks to herself: maybe I just need to get over it.
And so, she eats the burger. It is obscenely delicious, which she doesn't know how to feel about.
And then there's the caveat.
Of course, she has little time to process that before she suddenly feels a presence right next to her. She whirls around, putting distance between herself and whoever's getting, like, way too personal there -- only to find a young man wielding a pair of scissors. ]
What are you doing??
no subject
You know, there's an American saying -- "no such thing as a free lunch". As it turns out, it's especially literal in this situation! So, what do you say to a trade?
[They both have hair and a need to pay the cursed burger toll, so, c'mon. Snip snip time.]
1/2
2/2
Still looking less than pleased, she glares directly into his eyes. ]
Ugh. Fine.
no subject
At least he does not in fact proceed to actually cut her hair himself. Now that it's a whole and proper exchange, he hands over the scissors instead. Shockingly normal behavior from Osamu Dazai.]
Hopefully we won't be getting into any more hairy situations, after this.
[--aaaand he ruined it.]
no subject
She's not happy about it, but honestly, after everything that's happened here? She's also glad it's just hair. Snip, snip, off it goes.
Finally, she holds her hand out, offering the scissors back to him. ]
Cut yours now. Then we exchange.
no subject
Where Rin carefully cuts an inside bang that won't be easily noticed, Dazai instead selects one of his bangs that's grown a little too long not to get in his eyes from time to time. See, not trying to hide anything, this is all on the up and up, alright? And if it makes him look a little foolish, cutting a lock of hair a little unevenly right at the front of his face, well -- that won't go amiss either.]
Shall we do it on the count of three?
no subject
His offer is surprisingly cooperative, though, so she notes that as a positive and nods. ]
On three.
no subject
But one must carry on, and so at the count of three, he does hand over his own lock of hair in exchange for hers. The hair-in-the-mouth feeling fades, which is truly and genuinely disturbing. If that sensation can go on and off like a light switch, it has to be an ability, doesn't it? He's certain No Longer Human is still active, yet he can't deny what he just experienced, either.]
The cuisine here is certainly unique, isn't it? I would love to steal a glance at their recipes.
[Perhaps literally, even. He needs more time to familiarize himself with this place before he goes and does any Crime, but it's noted down as a project to pursue later.
no subject
So that exchange went over smoothly, at least. This guy is a little weird, but can be reasoned with. So far.
And he is someone she's never seen before, so perhaps new -- though the population has grown big enough that it's hardly possible for Rin to know everyone. ]
Hmm, I think this is the first time the food actually does something to you. Before, it was just weird combinations. Like natto cupcakes.
no subject
[Neither his tone nor his expression changes, but he's only half-engaged in this conversation at this point; his mind can't seem to let go of how the strange sensation faded contingent upon having the other individual's hair in hand. The mood changes, the disturbed sleep, even what he is certain was a hallucination of Odasaku at Muy Biento he could explain away as pharmacological side effects of ingesting some unknown substance. The only explanation he can think of for this is an Ability user. But that's impossible. And yet --]
That certainly sounds entertaining, at least, if not especially appetizing.
no subject
[ But, y'know. In some ways, those always feel like simpler times. Wait, what? Since when does she feel nostalgic for times in Etraya? The last mission really did a number on her. ]
I've been here since the beginning. About six or seven months by now.
[ She's giving a bit of a thousand yard stare as she realizes this. ]
That long...