Eclipse's Heart Game ☉ Session #2

[idolpro]

You drift like you're floating in water. It's almost relaxing, actually. As long as you don't think too hard that what you're floating in may be bottomless, because under you lies only a deep darkness that only the ocean can provide.

Then something grabs you and drags you deeper, down, down, down into the abyssal depths. You can't breathe, but that's not on the forefront of your mind now, is it?

There is a mounting sense of anxiety and dread.

Who do you want to become? Will you even get to see tomorrow? What if all roads lead to ████████? Can you still stay '███'? If people see the ████ you, will they think less of you? Will they feel cheated?

You want to live. Even if it's a ███, even if your hands must be covered in █████, you want to live. You want to be '███'.

Finally, a voice pierces through the darkness. It a woman's voice.

"My, how unfortunate. Your journey ends before it even begins."

"... Just kidding. That would be terribly boring! I suppose I can do the boy a favour just this once."

You feel someone grab your arm and pull you up to the surface.

...

When you come to, you are standing somewhere else.

Comments

INFORMATION

[idolpro]

OOC INFORMATION

[idolpro]

Both Imeeji and canon powers are OFF.

All characters in the run occupy the same spaces, so you can talk to each other.

You can have whatever items you would have on you. Technological items don't function, except for your phone. It's stuck on one screen, displaying instructions.

This is an exploradora! You are encouraged to poke around and talk to the NPCs. All the Heart NPCs are generally trying to look out for Eclipse's emotional wellbeing. If you ask them, they can suggest or advise on things characters can do.

There is a non-zero chance that you may die or get badly injured in this heart, though it's very unlikely. I don't expect combat to happen but idk my bff Imeeji. You'll be fine when you get out if that somehow happens.

IC INSTRUCTIONS

[idolpro]

Your phone displays the following:

Once, there was a maiden...
...who set sail with a Captain she did not know. The sea came over the side as a creature with teeth. So, she set it on fire, until only the teeth were left. It wasn't expecting that to happen.
She noticed the ship was crushing the waves and told the Captain to steer the ship higher, so that it could be above them. "But not too high," she said. "I'd hate to crush the clouds."
A face in the depths glared at the Captain. The maiden got angry. She broke the face, and broke the depths, and broke the sea, leaving only the white caps of the waves. "Why did you do that?" asked the face.
"Rarely is travel peaceful," the maiden said.

- Explore as much as you can
- Talk to people and honour their requests
- Learn more about him
- Meet the True Heart

The Waterfront

[intheshade]

You are standing on an elevated broadwalk made of wood and stone. In front of you is a view of the sea and docks. Behind you, the city stands tall and casts its long shadows over you and the port. It's not pitch darkness, but dark enough that you probably wish you had a little more light to see a little better, even with the distant glow of sunlight in the horizon.

In the sky above hangs a solar eclipse. Strangely enough, the sun does not seem to be reflected in the water.

There are a set of stairs that seem to let you head down to the beach. Further down along the broadwalk, the glow of blue lanterns outside a blue building catches your eye. In the opposite direction, you can see there's a path from the broadwalk that leads you into the city.

START

[intheshade]

You're not going to get to enjoy the view for long before light just...coalesces right in front of you, in the shape of a person. Then, it snaps its fingers and the light shatters like glass, 'pieces' of it falling off and disappearing to reveal a ...

... Young girl ... ? No, it's probably more right to say it's a short lady. Her white hair stands out against bronzed skin, her eyes bright like amber, and her fine clothes a verdant green. There's a blue veil draped over her head, trailing behind her like a curtain.

She doesn't bow, or give any kind of polite deference to you as a guest. In fact, she just smiles and spreads her arms wide.

"Welcome, interlopers."

And that is definitely the voice of whoever pulled you out earlier.

[featherbeaned]

[ Tea's all puffed up and bristled like a startled cat ]

What was that? What's all this? Where am I, what?

Re: START

[asonoficeandfire]

[looks around for a second before he looks back to the girl]

Uh... interlopers?

Re: START

[overworker]

[ That is most certainly a greeting. Not really terribly surprising, after all that happened just for Serenity to be standing her on the dock. ]

...I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening right now. But-- thank you. For earlier.

Re: The Waterfront

[asonoficeandfire]

[let's head for the city, this time!]

Re: The Waterfront

[intheshade]

To the city with you.

The Azure Pavillion

[intheshade]

When you arrive outside the blue building, there are two signs hanging above the door, each in a different language. Even if you don't know the languages, you understand that they both basically say the same thing: 'The Azure Pavilion'.

Once you're inside, you're in a lounge area that is a cross of traditional and modern. On the table there's a tray with a teapot and some tea cups.

A woman dressed in fine blue clothes sitting is playing a guzheng, across the table. The song she's playing is beautiful, and she currently seems so absorbed in it that she hasn't noticed you. She looks quite similar to Eclipse, actually ...

Re: The Azure Pavillion

[asonoficeandfire]

[pauses outside for a bit, listening to the music before he carefully steps inside.

he doesn't really want to interrupt, so he won't speak up until she comes to the end of the song]

Hello...?

Re: The Azure Pavillion

[intheshade]

Now that she's looking up, the similarities to Eclipse are more noticeable. She's wearing a purple silk flower in her hair.

"Oh! I didn't notice you sooner, goodness... Welcome to the Azure Pavilion, dear."

Re: The Azure Pavillion

[overworker]

[ ...of course it's the Azure Pavilion. How fitting.

Stepping inside-- Oh... Serenity goes very quiet. She takes a seat at the table with the tea, not wanting to disturb the woman playing. She'll listen for a while. It's very lovely and soothing. ]

Re: The Azure Pavillion

[intheshade]

She keeps playing and only looks up when she's done with the song. Up this close, the similarities to Eclipse are more noticeable. She's wearing a purple silk flower in her hair.

"Oh! I didn't notice you sooner, goodness... Welcome to the Azure Pavilion, dear."

The City Streets

[intheshade]

You could probably sort of tell from where you were at the waterfront, but actually walking into the city gives you a better sense of its scale. Everything seems to tower over you. Shops and houses are piled onto one another, as if the city decided that rather than build outwards, it should build upwards. There are doors accessible only through exterior stairways and catwalks. The buildings seem to drunkenly lean together, with rickety rope bridges on different levels connecting them.

The streets are fairly narrow, and you might realise that you aren't so much walking on ground as you are walking on floorboards. There's clearly more of the city under you that you cannot see. The shop signs and lanterns have a neon glow reminiscent of Tokyo-F's, bathing the street in some light.

Around you, people are going about their business. There are a lot of completely foreign faces, but there are also various random people in Tokyo-F mixed in, albeit dressed in a manner more befitting the setting.

There are some very conspicuous signs showing the way to several places:
"ARCHIVE, 3F"
"MUD, DOWNWARDS"
"WATERFRONT, THAT WAY"

It seems that if you follow the corresponding signs, you'll end up at one of those places.

[featherbeaned]

[ A not insignificant part of her sees the mess of catwalks and wants nothing more than to parkour ]

[ PARKOUR PARKOUR PARKOUR - ]

[ But for now, she follows the signs to Archive 3F ]

[intheshade]

I hope you like stairs.

Re: The City Streets

[asonoficeandfire]

[he stops and gapes a little at the sight of the city, a little in awe that the buildings haven't toppled over yet.

... also going to eventually inspect the signs and head for MUD, DOWNWARDS]

Re: The City Streets

[intheshade]

The city is an architectural marvel, for arguably the wrong reasons.

I hope you like ladders.

The Archive

[intheshade]

The signs lead up the stairs of a building to the third floor. Down the corridor, where a shop would normally have been, there are two signs in different languages hanging above a door. Even if you don't know the languages, you understand that they both say 'The Archive of Principles, Perceptions, Competencies and Miscellany.' A green lantern hangs by the door.

When you walk in, it's immediately apparent that the inside is bigger than the small outer facade would imply. There are shelves upon shelves of books, going almost all the way up to the ceiling. If you check them, they seem to be different sections, such as Skills, Tokyo-F and Creation. The Tokyo-F section in particular has a sub-section called Units.

A little further back in the room, there are two whiteboards, with things written on them.

There are three exits: The door you came through, a doorway on the western side of the room ('Principles'), and another door a little further up ('Perception') next to it.

[featherbeaned]

[ oh no ]

[ books ]

Eclipse really likes knowing things, huh.

[ She makes her way towards the whiteboards first ]

Mud: The Cart

[intheshade]

The signs lead you to a ladder that goes down beneath the floorboards. The climb down feels more like a descent into darkness.

...Or it would, but as soon as your feet touch the marshy ground, you can see the glow of a lot of lanterns on a cart nearby. The light lets you see that you are right outside what appears to be a labyrinth of alleyways, somehow more claustrophobic than the streets above. Perhaps it's because of the ceiling above you. At least upstairs, you could see the sky through the buildings.

There's a tall man with braided flaxen hair and purple eyes nearby the cart. Around his neck is a red bandanna. He perks up when he notices you, and waves you over.

"Oh, hey!"

Re: Mud: The Cart

[asonoficeandfire]

[he's at least not out of breath from climbing. the darkness is a little concerning though.

he steps over to the man, though]

Hello.

Maze: Entrance

[intheshade]

The alleyway is narrow, lit up by the occasional torch on the wall and lanterns hanging from ropes above you. To one side there are some shops, or at least the back doors to what are presumably shops, but they're all locked or sealed.

You can go straight on ahead south, or go around the bend east.

((Map for players' reference is here.))