idolpro | Nemesis and Hurricane's Ideal World: Session 2

Nemesis and Hurricane's Ideal World: Session 2

[The sky above is a deep, unnatural crimson, filled with roiling clouds and creatures that are a sickly oil-slick black. They writhe and wriggle like something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare; they have entirely too many eyes, and entirely too many wings, and when they open their mouths, they have entirely too many teeth]

[Below them, the city of Tokyo is half-shattered; above the rooftops, mechanized suits the size of people hover in the air, darting in out of the chaos, laser blasts and explosions and wickedly sharp blades fighting tirelessly against the endless onslaught]

[Until finally, the last creature falls]

[All at once, civilians flood the streets of the city; the lights come on in all the buildings, which somehow have become whole again, safe and unharmed. A cheer goes up from the crowd. Overhead, a stunning fireworks display paints the night with light and color]

[And they all lived happily ever after]

[The end]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The farther you walk, the more the light fades from golden hour into an uneasy twilight glow.]

[And there at the edge of the graveyard, you find a church.]

[The church is still mostly in one piece, though the stained glass windows facing you have all been shattered. Around to the side, you can just make out the shape of several open graves, dug into the hard soil.]

[In front of the church stands a man with a megaphone in long, white robes. Or at least, they used to be white. They’re kind of a sickly grey now, especially near the hem, where they’re so caked with grime they come close to black. He looks awful, haggard and grey.]

[He looks dead.]

[He lifts the megaphone and speaks into it:]

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

[From here you can ENTER THE CHURCH do not, why are you even still here, no one should be here or RETURN TO THE GRAVEYARD]

[ We are absolutely going to enter the church unless we need to make another saving roll first, but Lupine is giving the proselytizer a very unimpressed look. Muttered, ]

Regular zombies aren't bad enough, huh?

[ He would genuinely rather fight this man than be lectured about religion, but like, that's such a low bar. ]

[Yes please roll some WIS saves,]

[WIS: 17]

[ WIS 15! Take that, creepy af atmosphere! ]

[This is no religion that Alisaie is familiar with, but the shape and form of it she recognizes well enough.

[She takes a picture.]

This doesn't look like any kind of paradise, does it?

What do you make of it all? I'd rather not tangle with him if we don't have to. If I had my magic it'd be another thing entirely, but I can't see the purpose in picking a fight if there's no logical way we can win.

Yeah, I think the dread is coming from inside the [ ~~house~~ ] church. Walk right past him, unless he tries to attack us.

[Neither of you like this]

[The man looks tall and scrawny, decidedly underfed.]

[He looks like you could take him. But then again, some part of you screams with the impulse that he's much taller than you, much bigger than you, it isn't safe -]

[He doesn't seem to hear you, however, likely because he's being quite loud. He lifts the megaphone and speaks into it again.]

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

[But nothing stops you from continuing towards the church]

[ Oh boy is he ever taking some photos of that and sending them to the text chain before they go inside. ]

[Inside, light is streaming in through the shattered windows, the late afternoon sun catching the dust motes, slow and lazy. The rest of the room is dark, all elegant lines and deep shadows.]
[The pews are full.]

[There are a lot of people – more people than you've seen in one place since the day the skies were torn apart.]

[You squint, half sun-blind from stepping into the church from bright daylight; the silhouettes are familiar shapes, the features all familiar faces.]

[There's Nemesis, all her scars unzipped, more blood than person.]

[There's Alphinaud, crushed beneath the snow, lips blue and frost in his hair.]

[There's Hurricane, drowned and dripping, face purple from the lack of air.]

[There's an angel, riddled with needles that protrude from his skin.]

[There's Hurricane, neck a bloody stump, head cradled in his lap.]

[There's Nemesis, skin waxy-pale, stabbed more times than you can easily count.]

[There's Alisaie, so covered in blood that it's impossible to tell what the killing wound was.]

[There's King, and Yugi, and Intensity, and Requiem, motionless and charred.]

[There's Nemesis, burnt and blackened, her still face lined with pain.]

[The sight of them comes with pain, a low, persistent throb somewhere in the center of your chest. Your eyes sting with tears; an overwhelming sense of regret closes in on you, near suffocating.]

[ WIS 18, so. He's gonna tug his snoog up over his mouth and nose and turn to Ali, ]

Pretty much as ugly a horror show as we could get, but—

Edited 2021-12-29 03:52 (UTC)

[WIS: 7 (1 + 6)]

[Considering... everything, Alisaie's held up very well so far, really.

[This?

[This is the point she can't do that any more.

[This is where everything breaks.]

[Indeed]

[For Alisaie in particular, it is difficult to be here--to want to stay here, amongst the dead--the corpses.

It is hard not to feel the crushing failure and guilt at the sight of them, these people you loved--these people you've failed.

It is hard not to feel like you shouldn't be here--at least, not while alive.

It is hard not to feel like you shouldn't be here in these people's place.]

[ oh shit ] [ Okay, he's going to just slide between her and the aforementioned horror show, hands settling on her shoulders, trying for eye contact. ]

It's not real. [ Beat. His eyes shut, then reopen. ] I know it probably was, all of it. [ The snow... ] But it's not real right now. None of them need your help. None of them are really hurting.

[ ~~And for PERSUADE, rolling CHA 20 somehow. Thank you dicebot.~~ ]

Edited 2021-12-29 04:06 (UTC)

[For a moment - a held breath, a drawn-out skein of silence - she simply stares.

[For a moment, it seems she has heard nothing.]

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