Heart Game: Intensity (Turn 5)

[idolpro]

In the beginning, there is nothing but darkness and silence. A sleep that gives no rest but one out of necessity in order to keep functioning. Behind closed eyelids, the numbers of a clock tick down - one painstaking second at a time.

TIME UNTIL REBOOT:


And then you wake up.

As you shift to a standing position, you feel something sharp and pointed press against your side. Digging into the nearest pocket, you will find two small puzzle pieces. And from their odd shape, it looks like they would fit into a 3D spherical puzzle. Odd. You've never seen them before, but you do get a sense that these are a currency of some sort. Spend them wisely!

Game start.

Comments

OOC Bookeeping

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Instructions / Info

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

During sign-up, you will have been assigned a faction/NPC based on Intensity's perception of your character and various other factors. Where you start and your relationship with Intensity will determine your standing with the different NPCs as well as your power set.

What you know:

Intensity's heart will reboot in exactly 4 hours.

Puzzle pieces are a form of currency and are used to align with different factions/NPCs.

If you started in Hell, you will have powers appropriate to the wish you were granted (assuming you sign the contract).

If you started in Heaven, you will have canon powers.

If you started anywhere else, you will have the same abilities you have in Imeeji.

How to win (this is known ICly):

By siding with the faction/NPC that has the most puzzle pieces after all Heart runs. You do not have to ICly give puzzle pieces to NPCs. You can also just use the turn-in (see below) after finishing the Heart Game. If you do ICly hand a puzzle piece to an NPC (or lose one), you can't give it to someone else later.

Making changes to Intensity's central programming without causing a core dump. Attempt too drastic of a change and it won't stick upon reboot.

Other OOC information:

In general, I am playing this as everyone is in the same space/time continuum for the first 4 hours of the Heart.

Then Intensity will wake up (hopefully!) and I'll let you exploradora at your own pace and will backtag as long as you want to.

What factions are available:

Hell - The King of Hell

Heaven - Mokuba

Blue Eyes

The True Heart

K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̮͉̏ (Canon Intensity)

[[P.S. Sorry if any of the fonts/styling bork when viewed on mobile. Webdev or CSS master, I am not.]]

Turn-In

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Please comment to this thread with who you gave your puzzle pieces to and whether your run is scored/unscored.

Character Specific Introductions

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Bark

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You're back home in a very familiar labyrinth in a very familiar kingdom. A bowl of edible(?) plastic fruit sits on the bedside table.

But you ignore it because you're busy. And why are you busy, you might ask yourself.

Because you have a hot date.

With Bottle.

And you have no idea what you're going to wear. Or even look like for that matter -- as a second Slot poofs into existence. This one with a beard.

You tap your chin as you inspect the other Slot.

"Too much?" It asks in return.

"Yeah. Maybe."

It poofs out of existence and you drag your hands down your face. Ugh. You made it look so easy but actually this was really really hard.

Maybe you should ask Primrose or Juno or Peanut.

Maybe you should ask Dusk?

Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Draping a cloak over your shoulders, you head out of the room to find Dusk's Court and---

You wake up again.

[[ Powers:

Smooth Operator: You have enhanced skills of persuasion/charm. Roll a 1d10 to show off your stuff. This abilities is twice as powerful in prisons and against daddies.

Spoilers: There are no daddies in Intensity's heart. Sorry, Slot. :( ]]

[[ Proceed to here ]]

Seto

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

The darkness and the silence return for you.

Neither last for long.

A woman appears in front of you, hand reaching for yours. Behind her, around her - the image of a dragon fades in and out of view, pulsing with a white blue light.

Her smile is fond. As if she had been waiting for you.

"Seto-sama."

And her hand grips yours.

"I missed you."

And it's warm and familiar and it's home. In the distance, you hear someone start to sing in your mother tongue.

And then the vision fades.

[[Powers:

My Pride and Soul: You can summon Blue Eyes to your side at any location in the Heart. ]]

[[ Proceed to here ]]

Heaven - Main Branch

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You enter a very modern and very corporate office space - obviously of some higher ranking official in the company. If the pricey decor wasn't enough to give that away, the fact that you can see nothing but open sky outside of ceiling-to-floor length windows is just another data point to that fact. Also, if you have any experience with corporations or negotiations, you'll notice that this is a high-ranking reception room due to its sparse furniture. And no chairs on the customer-facing side of the desk indicates one meant to intimidate.

On various surfaces on the room, a single word has been - for lack of better description - erased. Where the company name should be (K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̮̏) and the first letter in the company logo (K̵̭͋̀̇̽), it looks like static if you stare at it too long.

Behind the opulent desk (which still manages to have a 90s-style CRT desktop), the chair is turned away from you and facing the windows. But by the sound of fingers tapping together, it is obvious that someone is there.

On the edge of the desk sits a large crystal bowl that one might use to serve candies at a party. It currently has one (1) puzzle piece.

There is only one exit: [ Behind you ]

Re: Heaven - Main Branch

[rollyourluck]

[ well gonna start off by peering over the chair at the person working ]

What are you working on?

King of Hell's Office

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You find yourself in a wide, expansive cathedral with ceiling to floor stained-glass windows and heavy columns lining the unnecessarily long walkway. Pews are lined up neatly (perfectly so) on either side of you and a dark blue carpet framed in silver cushions your steps.

There is a figure at the end of that carpet, lounging comfortably in a silver throne behind a silver desk. A symbol of everything that is modern and all things technology in comparison to the layout of the room.

Even at this distance, you can see that Intensity's skin is paler, almost porcelain-like, and his hair has a bleached-silver sheen to it. Probably even more noticeable is the two giant white metallic wings that spring from his shoulder blades and the long dragon's tail that peeks out from the hem of his coat. Oh. And one more thing. You can very obviously tell there's not a single inch of human flesh on him - he's 100% artificial.

The King of Hell greets you with cold eyes and a colder smile, lacing his fingers in front of him.

"Excellent. I'm so glad you could make it."

There is only one exit: [ Behind you ]

Re: King of Hell's Office

[iamverybadass]

[ Talon's on edge immediately, taking stock of the single exit and eyeing the windows uncertainly. He's pretty sure there's never a good reason to just find himself in a mysterious cathedral with a monstrous, at least partly robotic version of an ally smiling down at him. No way is he letting his guard down. ]

I thought it would be unwise to keep you waiting.

Enter Kaiba [ 1 / 2 ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Before your eyes even adjust to the dimness of this room, you are bombarded with feelings that are not your own. A vengeance that is not yours. But, oh, for those few precious seconds, how it sings in your veins as if it was.

You've (They've) been searching for years for this person - this wretch who took everything from you (them), your (their) purpose, your (their) loved one, your life's work, and left you there, a shell of your former self - only to find them dead, dead of natural causes, the end of their normal lifespan they had glorified so much while looking down on you. They've left your reach with everything they've ever wanted - celebrated and at peace, propped up on a pedestal and praised to high heavens while you're still drowning in the muck they threw you down in. You can't stand it. All you had left in life was to find them and make them pay. All you had was them, and they even took that from you. You can't stand it. You absolutely can't stand it.

But you don't have to let it end this way. You can bring them back.

Compared to your real talents, graverobbing was arduous but simple. Their death was recent enough to leave their body still mostly intact, so there's only a few things you'll have to replace to revive them. It's perfect: you'll make them into one of your own creations, the things they scorned so much, and you'll force them to know the real value of your work firsthand. Fingers, eyes so they'll finally have to look at you, and then when you place a heart in their chest and start their life again, they'll become a mockery of their own legacy. And then finally, after so long, so long dreaming about it, finally, finally, with you're own hands, you'll kill them. Over, and over, and over.

Enter Kaiba [ 2 / 2 ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Once the vision leaves you, you open your eyes to the interior of a grandiose space station overlooking Earth. It appears no expense was spared in this particular endeavor. The twinkle of hundreds of LED lights and dozens of screens display more data than can be ever consumed by a single person in real time.

Across from where you are standing and behind a set of evenly spaced-bars of light stands "Intensity" looking out over this view. For those who remember the Rift or Liar Hell, yes, those are indeed the very same prison bars. It doesn't seem he has noticed your presence, laser focused as he is on some giant contraption putting together a large pyramid-shaped puzzle in zero-gravity.

If you do step forward to take a closer look at the screens, you will notice that there are pictures of the other occupants in the Heart Game and what they are doing.

There is only one exit: [ Behind you ]

The Pharaoh's Palace

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You arrive in a very opulent and expansive throne room (minus the people), the room surprisingly cool and comfortable for being in the middle of the desert. As you glance toward the throne itself, you see a figure enshrouded in light. But it's too bright - you can't tell who it is.

After a few more uncomfortable blinks, the light vanishes and you're left alone. And the sound of singing drifts in from your left. The words are unfamiliar (unless you are fluent in Ancient Egyptian), but you understand them all the same:

The corpse sinks to the floor The vessel becomes sand, becomes dust Even the brightest gold, Even the Sharpest sword Is wrapped in the sheath of time Woe to the pharaoh, for his body lacks even his name Time is the battlefield of souls I cry the song of battle, the song of a friend To the place far away where souls meet Guide me

There are two exits: [ Behind you to the desert and left to the palace gardens ]

[deifiedwhitedragon]

[The vision is long gone, and the light shortly gone, but that doesn't stop Seto from looking around frantically like he might see someone.]

Kisara—??

[He's distracted enough that it takes him a few moments to realize this place is... mostly familiar, and that he really shouldn't be here. And a few moments after that to begin to process the song.

Once he does his body goes still, listening to it until the end.]

The Pharaoh's Palace - Gardens

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[ You arrive in the palace gardens - a perfectly manicured space covered with all sorts of greenery and a lotus pond taking up most of the space. Off to the side, there is a table with two chairs and a senet board for those who have played the game.

Seated on one of the chairs is this girl who is the source of the singing. She has yet to notice your entrance. ]

There is only one exit: [ Back to the throne room ]

[deifiedwhitedragon]

[As soon as he sees who's singing, Seto stops cold again, watching her for a few moments unnoticed before his voice escapes from him again, unconsciously.]

...Kisara.

King of Hell Reception Area

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[ One potentially familiar face greets you when the door opens. You're obviously in a waiting area. A small room with one plush chair with Nine-Nine lounging on it comfortably. (And none for you apparently.) He's paying more attention to the phone in his hand than he is you. ]

Congratulations, brat. You did it.

There are two exits: [ In front and behind you ]

Re: King of Hell Reception Area

[iamverybadass]

[ just makes THIS FACE ]

I don't suppose you have anything actually useful to say, do you?

Death-T Room - cw: blood; death; gore

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You enter a long narrow concrete hallway, light from somewhere outside filtering in through tiny slits of window. Otherwise the room is dark and damp. It makes your skin crawl and the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Everything about it seems to scream "Stay away! Get out!" And for obvious reasons. In the center of the room lies one (1) very dead Intensity, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling as a spear is stabbed straight through his chest. The spear is tagged 'Day 47'. Before he expired, it seems Intensity attempted to write a message -- in his blood of course. Dramatic person that he is. Losing means death. On a long concrete table lining the hallway, there are trinkets and items all lined up neatly in a row. They are tagged and on display on stands and in cases as if they were museum pieces: A single blank Yugioh trading card with no image An Oujia board marked Day 25 A bloody pentagram drawn directly onto table marked Day 25 A manila folder marked Day 68 A volleyball marked Day 78 A sniper rifle marked Day 78 A metallic collar with a device attached marked Day 86 A single floating balloon marked Day 111 A bone ring A jeweled ring marked Day 155 As you take in the room around you, you swear that you can feel something watching you from the shadows. There are two exits: [ In front of you and behind you ]

[[ Mechanic: For every comment you make in this room, roll a 1d10. If you roll 1-3, please ping the Heart Runner. You do not have to do this if Kaiba is in the room with you. ]]

[[ Mechanic: Kaiba will leave the hallway in 5 comments. ]]

Re: Death-T Room - cw: blood; death; gore

[criminaljustice]

[... bone ring without a date what?]

What's up with this one?

Central CPU Core

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

When you enter this room, it's very much like being transported inside the Future is Now dorm. All the surfaces are slick, silver, lined with fluorescent neon lights and, of course, cube-shaped. The center of this room is dominated by a large glass box with four screens overhead, counting down the time from the start of the game. The same timer you saw when you arrived here. And in that box, breathing but otherwise unmoving, sits Intensity. Numerous wires are coming out of the base of his neck and disappear down into the floor. He does not look over at you upon your arrival. In fact, he doesn't seem aware of anything around him. The rest of the room consists of three walkways leading to three exits, and the fourth leading to a large bulky 90s computer (much like the one in Intensity's lab) with two large dual flatscreen monitors that are much more modern by contrast. TIME UNTIL REBOOT: There are three exits: [ Heaven , Hell, and the elevator behind the glass box ] Beneath the walkways is a dark abyss. You cannot see the floor.

Re: Central CPU Core

[iamverybadass]

[ WHAT ]

[ Talon is PRETTY SURE he does not want to mess with...whatever is going on here. Yet. But he's going to go tap on that glass to assess how durable it seems and look for any access points before he moves on. Is this Intensity actually safe in here?? ]

Kaiba Land

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You enter an amusement park.

No. Scratch that.

You enter the most ridiculous amusement park of your life.



Everything, I mean everything is Blue Eyes themed. The buildings, the gates, the rides, the concession stands. Even the fucking bathrooms are Blue Eyes themed. And that Intensity statue at (10). How tacky, right?

But there are a lot of faceless, nameless children running around the park screaming with delight as they run to and from each attraction, trying to cram as many in a short time as possible. So. It looks fun?

There are three exits: [ The entrance (1), The Death-T Experience Theater (9), and K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̏ Corporation Future Branch (2) ]

Though you are free to explore any of the other attractions.

List of attractions:
(1) Blue Eyes Gate
(2) K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̏ Corporation Future Branch
(3) Duel Stadium
(4) W.C. (Restroom)
(5) K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̏land Official Hotel
(6) Blue Eyes Monorail Entrance
(7) K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̏man Show
(8) Battle City: The Movie
(9) Death-T Experience Theater
(10) Blue Eyes Ultimate World
(11) K̵̭͋̀̇̽ȁ̴̗͕̰̄̚ì̵̭̹͍̬̋͘b̴̰̦̝͕̆̇̈́ȧ̶̮͈̏ Castle
(12) Blue Eyes Burst Stream
(13) W.C. (Restroom)
(14) Concessions stand / Gift shop
(15) Blue Eyes Adventure
(16) Mokuba's Capsule Monster House
(17) Concessions stand / Gift shop
(18) Monster Horror House
(19) W.C. (Restroom)
(20) Blue Eyes Jet Coaster

Re: Kaiba Land

[iamverybadass]

Intensity, what the Hell?

[ Unless there's anyone around here that looks like a possible minion instead of just faceless fodder, he's going to check out the Death-T Experience Theater, making sure to utilize his new Stealth ability before he even gets close to it. ]

Death-T Reception

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

You enter a simple room that has no furniture save for a very Future is Now style table and chairs. They edges of the furniture bathe the entire room in a warm silver-blue light.

Something small and gold glitters on top of the table.

There are two exits: [ In front and behind you ]

Re: Death-T Reception

[criminaljustice]

[going to inspect the shiny]

Snake Pit

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[ If you've ever been to the Future is Now dorms, then you know this hallway. This is the reception area, also known as the Snake Pit. And it seems like a pair of twins are blocking your path. ]

[ You are first greeted by someone who looks like the spitting image of Man Eater (Rizumu) but her demeanor is anything but. She excitedly clasp her hands as she turns to address her "twin": ] Look! Look! Visitors!

[ Izumu (Man Eater) oh so casually leans on the lever to open said snake pit with an expression somewhere between bored and anticipating. Maybe today will be the day he gets to pull the lever. In contrast to Rizumu's warm greeting, he just says in his normal smug tone: ] I see that. Password?

There are two exits: [ Behind you and in front of you]

Re: Snake Pit

[criminaljustice]

Angel is the cutest in all of Tokyo-F.

[this is probably not the password]

FiN Common Room

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

		You arrive in the Future is Now common room, and it looks just like it does in the waking world, except for one very obvious thing. It's. so. crowded. The images of 20 people wander around the interior space, some more opaque than others - chatting and interacting with each other. Heated games of Go Fish and Candyland take up one section of the room. Popcorn and a small group of people huddled around the Danny Devito movie "Twins" in another. Origami piled high in a corner as even more FiNs add to the stack. And one, two, three... yes, three mom bots fussing over the various inhabitants. And at the very center of the room (near that cube table and those awful cube chairs) is a very colorful espresso machine, playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as a new cup of coffee has been freshly brewed.

There are four exits: [ The snake pit, Angel's room, Intensity's lab, and the laundry room ]

Re: FiN Common Room

[criminaljustice]

[wtf when did this espresso machine happen.

IT'S TIME FOR COFFEE?]

Intensity's Lab

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

The room you arrive in is plain and simple in contrast to everything you know about Intensity. There is one bed large enough to fit two children at most pressed up against the far wall. A chess set sits on a folding table with two chairs. Yu-gi-oh cards are scattered atop the rest of the table's surface - this one sitting proudly on top. And the far wall is almost entirely dominated by this image. In the center of the room sits an Intensity that can't be more than 10 years old and... smiling. Like. Actually smiling as he carefully puts together a 3D puzzle that looks like it would take a long time to complete even for an adult. But he seems to be entranced with it as he carefully slots two pieces together. Perfect fit. He looks up at you as you enter.

There is only one exit: [ Back to the Fin Common Room ]

Re: Intensity's Lab

[criminaljustice]

[.... oh no.

he found a cute.

waves.]

Hey, Intensity.