December Event: No Rest for the Wicked

[lifeaftr_mods]

DECEMBER EVENT: NO REST FOR THE WICKED

Who: Anyone and everyone
What: Your trials by fire
When: December 15th - 18th
Where: On Maati and Ensō
Warnings: Character deaths and violence are both likely - please mark as you go!

The Trials: Only Then Can We Begin

As noted in the OOC info post, your Trials will all begin on December 15th. As many of you will not be deposited into your trials with food and water (or any items of your own at all, in most cases), the Trials will last only as long as December 18th. If you've failed to complete your Trial by this deadline but have not used up all the deaths allotted to you, you will awaken by Maati's mana pool at the event's conclusion. If you have not failed your Trial by using up all your deaths, this will not count as a character death, and you will not need to submit for a penalty; you simply won't be able to obtain the reward you would get if you had succeeded! When your character wakes in their allotted Trial, they will discover that their starting chamber has been inscribed with the name of the Trial, the names of those participating, and the number of deaths they have remaining - though the latter aren't labeled in any way. You'll simply have to learn it the hard way; every time your character suffers a death, the number will go down by one. If it wasn't obvious what those numbers stood for at first, by the time the dying starts properly, it certainly will be. And you probably don't want to see it go all the way down to zero...

Should you reach the end of your Trial, you will step out onto the rocky cliffs of Maati, exiting from one of the seven doors set into the cliffs at the seven points of the island's star shape. You see, those doors you discovered earlier weren't the entrances to the Trials at all. They were the exits. And set into the towering cliffs...why, those house the winding mazes that comprise the Trials themselves.

There will be a top-level below for each Trial. Remember to plan with your groups and communicate with your thread partners! Whether you choose to do mingle-style threads or lengthier group threads is up to you.

Once you know the outcome of your Trial, success OR failure, please do let us know so that we can ensure your character gets the reward that befits their triumph...or lackthereof.

Remember also to let us know if your character uses up ALL their deaths during this event. While death penalties will not be inflicted during Trial deaths, if you use up all the deaths allotted to you and die for real, your death penalty will NOT be reduced.

The Water: Don't Let Them Get Away

The rest of you have plenty to contend with as well, of course. If you've opted out of this month's event, be advise that the waters creeping across shores of Ensō, along with the rest of the island, aren't going to take evasion kindly. They'll seek you out, spread along every inch of the island if they can, until they can find you. There is a top-level below, if you're intrigued! Though if you end up top-leveling yourself, we may very well reach out and find you anyway...

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] December 15th: The Trials on Maati begin, and the water begins to rise.
[ ♆ ] December 18th: The Trials reach their end.
[ ♆ ] December 19th: Those who have "perma"-died in their Trials are revived.
[ ♆ ] December 20th: The monthly Storytelling occurs.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

TRIAL OF THE BRAVE

[lifeaftr_mods]

You are the kind of person who rushes fists-first through all obstacles...

STARTING POINT: TOP RIGHT

[antepone]

⚔ Yeager, Asgore, Aster, Héctor

STARTING POINT: BOTTOM RIGHT

[antepone]

⚔ Legion

STARTING POINT: LEFT

[antepone]

⚔ Ren, Mira

[antepone]

♟ empathy struggles: ren.

[ They start out together, and for that, Mira is thankfully. She's still recovering from the run-in with the Oolick, so her reflexes are a little off. She's still getting over the overstimulation of everything--particularly in regards to her empathy. She hasn't told anyone here about it, and there's always that fear that someone will find out, someone will be angry at her, someone will--

Allura's here. Her expression is... guarded, closed-off, suspicious. It's so unlike what she's used to seeing from Allura that it makes her stumble a little. ]

Allura-- [ she starts to say, but the princess's eyes narrow.

How could I let a monster like you trick me? the vision says, and it's so harsh that Mira's breath catches. Her hand shakes, and with it, the sword in her hand. She steps in front of Ren, and she can't fight... but she can protect her.

Or she can try. ]

✿ overgrowth: héctor.

[ By the time she comes across Héctor, she's already died twice to the thing in front of her. She's tired, emotionally and mentally and physically. She just wants this to end, she doesn't want to see Lance like this ever again. It's bad enough seeing it in her dreams but...

It's real. Too real. And Lance is advancing toward her once again. ]

✖ hostility & departures: open.

[ Honestly, she's had about enough of this. Mira's tired, tired of dying and coming back just to face what she fears most. Again and again, a loop of pain and stress. She wants to get out, check on the others and make sure they're okay. Because if she's involved in something like this... maybe her other friends are, too.

She misses them so much it's an ache in her chest. She hopes they're okay, but then again, they're strong. Stronger than she is, at any rate.

Mira takes a moment to catch her breath, several times throughout the maze. She's ready to just lay down and sleep, but she needs to press on. She looks up, if someone approaches, and she offers a weak smile. ]

Are you doing alright?

★ wildcard.

[ plop a starter here, or hit me up on the plotting discord! plotting comment, for reference. ]

[journalname]

💙 patience

[He died, and it separated him from the group he first woke up with. He hopes they are doing well. It is probably better that he is not with them. He couldn't even help fight on their behalf to begin with, and they are not likely to want his company now, once they realize what it means that the child came for his life like that. He's worse than useless here.

This time, Asgore remains sitting where he awoke, frowning up at the wall. He's holding the torch to cast firelight over the letters inscribed there, though the sword is sitting untouched on the ground nearby.]

Why do you suppose it is called the Trial of the Brave? Are they saying that we are brave...?

💜 perseverance

[Asgore's left the torch behind for this attempt. He can't see perfectly in the dark by any means, but he can do it more clearly than a human. Fighting the ghostly children is out of the question. Perhaps evading them is not.

But the darkness doesn't save him.

This child comes at him without warning, wielding nothing more than a tattered notebook that they swing at the towering monster with all their might. The heart hovering above their chest casts a purple glow; its reflection off their glasses hides their eyes.]

I won't give up!

[Asgore dodges the blow, surprisingly nimble for a monster his size, and runs.]

💛 justice

[Asgore stands in the cavern, paws folded, looking up at the wall.

Asgore Dreemurr - 1

The meaning of the numbers became clear to him quite a while ago. He's got one left, then; only once more into this underground maze, and then this will all be over. With any luck, it will just lead to him resurrecting at the Storyteller's temple, the way he did when the goldenrod grew too much.

That's not so bad. He's died enough that he's starting to lose the fear of it.

He doesn't bother to pick up the sword or the torch as he turns to go. Just one more time.]

[forwearemany]

Toplevel for ren

When they wake up (still something they are unused to) they are alone.

It is a non ideal situation. Worse, they do not recognize their location. It is hard to see in the darkness – though they adjust their eye to be brighter, the effect is negligible – but what little they can discern is unlike anything on Enso they can recall. Their omnitool does not activate when they command it, and the sword is ignored in favor of the torch, that they might see more of what is around them.

...A maze? The corridor stretches out into the distance, and it does not take them long to come to a fork in the path. Faced with the option of going straight or turning to the left, Legion chooses left.

When they see the lights shining in the darkness, they are curious, but they do not allow themselves recognition until the light of the torch reveals the sleek silhouettes of fellowGeth. They abandon caution in their rush to make contact, to verify the reality of what they are seeing. Their mistake is only realized as heretical chatter fills the air and then their fellow units begin to fire at them.

Their shields are gone. Unwilling to fight, they stumble backwards, and are quickly destroyed.

Even now, when they wake up they refuse to take up their sword. The sight of fellow Geth does not give them hope, but they attempt to approach again. When, again, they ready their guns, Legion flees.

They’re hiding, when Ren finds them.


Passive fear

The Geth do not always shoot them.

Sometimes, when they round a corner, it is not the Heretics’ guns that greet them but the rage of those who perished in the skies of Rannoch. It is hard, perhaps, for a non Geth to understand what it is like to be cut off of a whole you were once part of, and to see that whole explicitly functioning without you, to no longer be welcome in what, from your perspective, is home.

Easier to understand the words, the accusations, that they are a traitor, a murderer. That their perspective is directly harmful to the collective, and the Geth will function better without them. They are shunned by their people the way Quarian-Creators exile criminals.

They are, aside from the presence of whoever is with them, alone.


Active fear

If you ever wondered what other Geth were like … well this isn’t it.

These are indoctrinated Geth who serve the Reapers – Heretics – and they’re on a mission to kill. Their primary target is Legion, but they’re more than willing to riddle you with bullets as well.

Considering Legion is the only one capable of hurting them, maybe you should get out of the way and let them do the fighting.


Your fear

This time, it’s your fear that needs confronting.

anytime after his first death - open

[vagabone]

[Once again, he's faced with a stern-looking skeleton in a lovely purple dress... and being scolded. All his annoying habits of his laid out, things Imelda has rediscovered after almost a century. (The real Imelda wouldn't, and hasn't had a chance to relearn these things, but she's far far away and it seems very real to him.) The way he snaps his fingers at people, so rude. The way he rolls out of bed sometimes, never waking up, and those moments where he frightens the daylights out of people by flinging himself down the stairs. So nervous sometimes, so impulsive others. Promises made on the spur of the moment tend to be forgotten later. So many flaws.

He doesn't speak up to defend himself. He's not saying a word. Just standing there, unhappily fiddling with the rim of his hat, and listening. There's no great great grandson here to stand up for him.

The sword and torch are on the ground behind him, forgotten. And it's only a matter of minutes before he starts to shimmer and spasm again, inexplicably fading away to nothing.]

TRIAL OF THE TRUSTING

[lifeaftr_mods]

Your concern and care for one another led to a delicious victory...

Arrivals

[pidgeypidge]

[The chambers in which each group wakes are all pretty similar in that a single wall is labeled with the same information: Trial of the Trusting in a bold script, the name of the pair occupying it and a pair of 5s.]

Allura, Foster, Taako - Party Member Go Down Da Hoooole...

[diplomacycheck]

It had been a difficult fight to manage on her own, and she learned quickly that she isn't nearly as strong as she should be. Thankfully, despite this, she is a trained hand-to-hand combatant, even if she's much better with a polearm or a whip. Perhaps that is the blessing of her companion falling down a hole: a long stick barely remained where the trap lay.

"Are you okay down there?" she calls down to him, when she hears the sound of hooves beating against the stone floor. Allura freezes, holding tight to the makeshift weapon. "...I'll be right back. See if I can find some help."

She can't just leave him there, even if some of his jokes are worse than Lance's. At least they were recognizable as such. She treads carefully, back against the wall as the sound gets louder. She holds the large stick like a bostaff, even if the end is on the curved side. She steps around the corner and freezes, coming face to face with a-

"A centaur?" Well, and here she was thinking a minotaur. No, it just happened to be "run into creatures that could have come out of Coran's Monsters and Mana manuals" day. She lowers the stick, frowning. "My name is Allura. My companion, Taako, is trapped in a hole he fell into having failed to back me up in a fight. I can't get him out by myself."

TRIAL OF THE FORGIVING

[lifeaftr_mods]

Your sure-fire accuracy put an end to the mayhem...

STARTING | OTA

[crosslaced]

[One can find Laurent contemplating the inscriptions on the wall. His face is, by all interpretations, blank; but there are many here that know the face can be taught to do anything. That know to look at the eyes- that are narrowed as they take in the chiseled script, the TRIAL OF FORGIVENESS, whose blueness is almost acidic.

The writing is on the wall. It’s an Akielon thing to do, carve shit straight into walls. Laurent certainly doesn’t favour it.]

agent washington | ota | cw violence and death and stuff

[counterblows]

arrival ; i've been let loose and now i'm crawling up the walls

[He wakes up, and he's not where he was. He takes the time to process his surroundings - regarding with wry puzzlement the inscription of TRIAL OF FORGIVENESS, and a list of names and numbers - before quickly turning his attention to who else is trapped here with him.]

[He's still shelled in full body armor, battle rifle mag-clamped to his back, sidearm at his thigh, and he still has two frags remaining, plus every combat knife he took off Felix. He does a mental check. Manual inventorying takes longer when his H.U.D. is fried the way it is, but it's an instinct he can't shake.]

[Wash straightens. He's still armed, at least.]

Forgiveness. [It's dry and skeptical, said with the air of: what a fucking joke.]

felix, hargrove, and the director ; word is i got away and now i must be caught

[Doesn't take long for him to start seeing things. He gives his head a shake, like a horse trying to shake away flies, but it does nothing to dislodge the remarkably clear vision, stark and familiar: SCOUT-class helmet, aping the MJOLNIR style, dark gray trimmed with orange.]

[No one can see Wash gritting his teeth to whatever Felix is saying. But his grip on his rifle tightens.]

[The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. The Director's unhurried, Southern drawl. Chairman Hargrove's clipped Earther accent, regionally specific in a way that Wash can't identify.]

[He's on a knife-edge, but he doesn't open fire. Those of you who aren't preoccupied with your own demons might be capable of prompting him away from that precipice - or pushing him right the fuck over.

sigma ; my flat line inhibition is my ammunition

[That all changes when hears it.]

Hello, Agent Washington.

[Sigma's tone is diplomatic, pleasant, soiled smooth and direct. He's larger than he ever was as a holo-projection, his avatar approaching human size. A fragment of a tortured soul he watch[ ]ed die, three times over; now wholly distinguishable from the man he was based on.]

[A silhouette of a burning man stands with his arms folded behind his back. His eyes are like live coals.]

[He smiles.]

What a pleasure to see you again.

agent washington ; i'm a mess and you're worse

[It's all a game of this or that. He's held himself back, bit down on the kneejerk impulse to open fire and kneecap the specters that dog him. Maine was worse, he tells himself, over and over. Maine was worse, because he knew him.]

[He glimpses it, static, unspooling - Mark V variant, yellow paint highlighting his shoulderguards, the motocross-style helmet set atop the armor built to mirror a real SPARTAN's. He recognizes him by his voice.]

Get them, Meta! Get them!

[Washington, the real Washington - only gets point two seconds to rein back his impulse, and he fails. His heavy barrel rifle's burst-fire is cut short when the shots slam into his own spine instead, tunneling through titanium nanocomposite and punching in through his body suit and spearing into cartilage, muscle tissue, and bone.]

[Testament to his resolve: he doesn't scream. He just grunts as he goes down, nerves blitzed out from the initial shock.]

[The nerve-dense unfurling of pain rolling down his spine, terminating in a haze of cloudy red, comes after.]

wildcard ; just spit me some direction i'll be your infection

[Maybe I'll do some closed prompts later. Who knows. I can play it fast and loose.]

Ardyn Izunia | ota | cw violence, death, suicidal ideation

[scourgingstars]

[a; i'll never be your chosen one]

[There was something almost like alarm on Ardyn's face as he took in the enclosed space--no, there was a clear open exit and he was able to move, that mitigated the sudden tension. He pulled his hat down a little bit further over his eyes against the light, looking over the writing on the wall. His name, a number, THE TRIAL OF FORGIVENESS-]

[A sharp exhale one might mistake for a laugh met those words, Ardyn's mouth curling into a cold smirk.]

Very funny. Well, I'll be on my way if it's the same to all of you.

[b; my heart was flawed I knew my weakness]

[Ardyn was quiet as they traveled the unsettlingly long halls; what did he care for whatever hallucinatory nonsense was going on, really? If they wanted to kill one another and themselves stupidly, fine; he didn't really have a chocobo in that race. Until...]

Elder brother! [The eager voice came from a young man in the blue of an almost medieval outfit, bearing a striking similarity to one Noctis Lucis Caelum. In response to the greeting Ardyn had frozen in place before slowly turning to look over his shoulder like the implacable rolling in of storm clouds before a hurricane. The fake smile was gone, every inch of posture and expression screaming kill, kill, kill-]

Rather...I'd nearly forgotten you're just the Accurse--

[That was all it took, Ardyn grabbing the young man's collar and slamming him against the nearest wall with a wince of his own that was quickly ignored. Swords of magenta light burst into existence in a flash, forming wings at Ardyn's back before rearranging themselves to all point at the newcomer like thirteen rifles poised to fire. A vicious smile was beginning to spread across his face that looked more like the snarl of a feral wildcat staring down a wounded rabbit.]

It's been far too long, Somnus.

[c; hold my hand consign me not to darkness]

[The numbers made more sense now. He was down a few himself: after Somnus asked the seemingly innocent question 'who let you out of Angelgard', Ardyn had just snapped his brother's neck and dropped on the spot himself, body vanishing into black smoke just as it did every other time he died.]

You should have stuck to healing. Then again, you were scarcely very good at that either.

[But Ardyn caught back up relatively easily, even if half of that was just trying to outrun his damn brother. This was accomplishing nothing, even if it was incredibly satisfying to kill the bastard. Who cared if it took Ardyn down with him, it wasn't as though survival was ever much of a priority.]

The Crystal chose me, not you.

[...Then again. Spite was Ardyn's sole motivation in everything he did, and this should have been no different. Why waste his time and energy regenerating however many times for his worthless brother's sake? Wouldn't it have been so much more satisfying if the commanding and overbearing Founder King went ignored entirely? That almost sounded fun.]

...You're aware he doesn't actually care about you, right? The advisor's just keeping a pet daemon-

[CRACK went Ardyn's fist on Somnus' jaw, his own head snapping back in a mirror image.]

[No one ever said Ardyn was known for his patience.]

laurent | ota | cw: mentions of violence, incest, minor self-harm

[crosslaced]

1. [govart] i never knew daylight could be so violent;

[Govart appears first. As large as Gladio, infinitely uglier- greasy, hairy, stains on his rumpled tunic and pants. Right in the middle of the corridor, picking his nose and sneering. ]

Hello, Princess.

[Laurent frowns. Then he smiles, slowly and with purpose, cold enough to freeze steam.]

What rathole did you crawl out from? I thought I drowned you for good.

[angry:] Look at you sneering, you bitch.

I’m sorry, I forgive you. [and when nothing happens:] No, I jest. I said that so I’d go free and you’d continue rotting in hell.

[Because he is no longer injured and tied to a chair, Laurent ducks away from Govart’s first swing. Then he sprints for the opening he’s created. After this much time in the multiverse, Govart is easy. Govart has always been easy- without the complication that is Uncle, Govart is nothing. It’s almost refreshing; he hasn’t gone off on someone in a while.

If you’re caught in this corridor too, better hurry past before this specter notices you.]

2. [laurent] no light, no light in your bright blue eyes;

[He knows something is up before he comes across the Wraith. The pixelated miasma that fills up the corridor, the faint static in the air- these are all damning tells. Still, he doesn’t realise the full extent of the problem until well into the encounter; he doesn’t notice how the Wraith’s circular eyes shine the same blue as his Soul Gem.

The Wraith speaks with his voice.]

Fancy meeting you here.

[So this is a Nyoi-Cho type of event. Ergo, its goal is attrition. ]

What’s gotten your tongue? I thought we’d have much to talk about.

[It’s goal is his death, likely. Laurent finds himself fumbling- transforming on instinct, calling out his sword. But the Wraith’s eyes gleam in a way he reads immediately (because this is him, after all.) -and he stops himself before he makes any mistakes. ]

Do you think you’re being clever?

[Laurent forces himself- carefully, casually- to sheathe his sword. He tells himself he does not need it on hand, he can draw it quickly enough. Steadying his breathing is harder. He still breathes too loudly. But it will not affect his speech. ]

Look in the mirror, you’re just a used dishrag. What do you have that you think is so useful?

You’re me-

-and you’re a Wraith. You fucked up, so own it. Lay down and die.

[Laurent’s worst weapon is not his sword.]

3. [aimeric & ignis] you want a relevation;

You still haven’t come up with an insult I haven’t heard before. Try harder, Aimeric.

[It’s not- difficult, to not slap Aimeric’s eyeballs out of his head. The impulse is certainly there, but he keeps the results of his last outburst in his mind and holds back. The last time you were like this- Damen had said, back when they were enemies and he was right about most things. There’s an edge in Laurent’s voice after Aimeric brought up brotherfucker again and Laurent had took the bait- again. He’s reasonably sure the red on his face will darken into bruising if he makes it out. Oh well. Occupational pitfalls.

Aimeric is twenty, young, fairly handsome in his own right; in a way that could be described as “beautiful”, like Laurent. And like Laurent, Aimeric is Pissed Off and calling the blonde different variations of “traitor” and “murdering son of a bitch”. Laurent has managed to deal with most of them, save for the one aforementioned. At least, until he turns a corner and there-

-is Noctis.]

Hey.

[The blonde certainly has no love for the way Noctis’ name sounds out of Ignis’ mouth, or really any Chocobro’s, but the young man himself invokes nothing but a prolonged stare. Then a sped up shuffle away- the same reaction to witnessing awkward PDA in public and wanting to divest oneself from it Immediately. ]

You’re not gonna do anything to him? What good are you?

[Shut up, Aimeric.]

Laurent?

[“Noctis’” voice has changed. Laurent stops. His fingers, already clenched into fists, cut crescents of red into his palm. The room grows from clammy to flat-out uncomfortable, though he can’t pin down how. It’s too hot, too cold simultaneously. ]

Even if you run from me, the truth still remains. You love too much for-

Shut up, Ignis.

[Fuck. He knows he cannot lift a hand against Ignis Scientia. It will come back around to him, with how the islands work. He knows this. He keeps it close to his heart like a albatross hung from the neck.]

Hey, hey. Your Highness. You’re an embarrassment, but you know who’s worse? That guy. You look so much worse next to him.

It does no one any good for you to be making such a fuss. When will you realise that?

[The satisfaction of decking Ignis is not worth the risks.]

He makes you look like a dog that bites everyone who tries to help you. Get rid of him. Come on.

Shut up.

/strolls in late with Starbucks

[achievementhunter]

i. and the sun's a harsh reminder why
[They're attracting quite the crowd.

Literally a crowd. So many, of all different shapes and sizes- every corner is another monster crawling out of the woodwork; some begging for help, some yelling their insults- more still, asking for the same thing, over and over.]

Chara, you should have stayed Determined.
Empty inside, just like me.

It's not our fault, like-
This whole "psyched for the destruction of humanity" thing, it's totally-
On you, you know? You like, died and stuff.

You were the future of humans and monsters.
What we are now- isn't that what you wanted?

Your very existence is a crime.

Chara wasn't a very good person.

[Back straight, Chara doesn't look at them. They don't acknowledge anything around them beyond the white-knuckled fists at their sides, striding down the corridor and taking each turn as it comes. It's loud, yet louder. Loud, yet louder.

They have better things to do than acknowledge any of this.]



ii. we are feeling barely human

[In fact, it's that refusal to acknowledge everything that gets them so far... their first time through. Round and round they go in hopeless circles, the only indication that they're even getting anywhere the way the corridors do grow shorter over time, to the extent of it being noticeable. They probably are walking in circles, Chara supposes. Round and round to the center, and whatever awaits them there.

What awaits them is a door.

And in front of that door, a skeleton. One they'd hoped never to see again, and it hurts to be proven wrong. A white-hot knife of regret and anger jabbed into the center of their very being, full of what they did.

Full of what he didn't do.

They finally stop.]

Heya, kid.

Looks like we gotta have a talk.

TRIAL OF THE MINDFUL

[lifeaftr_mods]

Try as you might, you continue to be yourself...

Prompto - Room F

[want_to_belong]

[OOC: Prompto's room revolves around fighting through a base of imperial troopers by using stealth, taking the weapons of enemies, and properly using what weapons are available to take out the enemy. There's a map for the general area, though people are free to play around with the details. It's mostly to have a visual point of reference for everyone.

Enemy Reference
Imperial troopers will shoot unless someone gets close, then they'll melee.
Imperials snipers are just that. They'll try to snipe from afar.
Imperial axemen have to be close to attack, but they hit hard.
MA Hoplomachus is a mech. Missiles, guns, stompies.

Defense Nodes will activate dormant magitek troopers in the area if it detects an intruder.
Attack Nodes will release a wave something similar to lasers in a circle if it detects an intruder.
Just consider these floaty balls of doom.

Alea Bazooka - It's a bazooka. Big boom.
Sagitta Rifle - Sniper rifle.
Rapidus SMG - Machine gun type.
Lumen flare - Like a grenade.

Ammunition is limited to what is in the weapon when it's taken, making finding new weapons important. Using the correct weapon at the correct time is also important to survival. In close quarters a bazooka will hit to person using it, too, but 20 enemies will get to you before you can snipe them all. There can be a seemingly endless amount of troopers if one stands around.

The facility is full of rooms as well as upper and lower gratings with stairs leading up to them.

This trial is likely room "F".]

As they made their way to the next room, Prompto got an eerily familiar feeling. Cold, gray walls. A machine sitting in front of a door, with a screen on it to scan codes for anyone to go inside. The moment he laid his eyes on that his heart sunk. Much as he didn't want to address it, he knew deep down exactly what it was for. Who it was for.

In the back of his mind he was hoping that he was wrong, but he knew he had to say something for them to even think of proceeding forward. He glanced over at 'himself', still not feeling comfortable with it for more reasons than he was willing to divulge, and suggested weakly, "Umm... You can try holding your wrist up to it?"

Would it even still read it after he'd covered it up? To the naked eye it looked like he just had a normal tattoo on his wrist now. They'd be really fucked then, if they couldn't even open the door, but the ink might be different, and the machine might be able to tell the difference between the two.

Arrival Mingle

[savedbyasong]

They come to awareness in a chamber, the words The Trial of the Mindful and underneath it are eight names.

Tim Wright IIIII
Chip Abaroa IIIII
Frisk IIIII
Bucky Barnes IIIII
The Hollow Knight IIIII
Shion IIIII
Prompto Argentum IIIII
Lance IIIII

Those are the people in the chamber, though it is very quickly obvious that something is wrong.

[OOC: I figured having an arrival/reaction thread might be helpful as well as all the trials. Here is the body swap list for reference.]

Room B - map room (cw: descriptions of death traps)

[savedbyasong]

[The first chamber is mostly bare except for the huge map on the wall and the dark tunnel leading off into the labyrinth. The map is sprawling and complex but there is a clear bath marked through the labyrinth from entrance to exit.

Prompto, in Shion’s body will need to be able to memorise it. He will have the advantage of having Shion’s memory, but it is not an instant thing. It requires concentration and a bit of time to study the path as it weaves through the labyrinth.

Shion himself will not be able to remember it, no matter how much he studies it but the others can have a go to help Prompto out!

Once they step through into the labyrinth a door slams down, sealing them in for better of worse. The labyrinth itself is lit by fire torches but is not too dark. As long as they stay on the right path. Because the wrong paths lead to so many not good fates. Rooms where pressure pads trigger spikes erupting from the floor, incinerators, platforms that give way and send you tumbling to your fate. Monsters prowl the corridors, they do not enter the correct way but they can be heard.

Even if the others have the skills to survive the ‘wrong’ path, they will run out of food eventually so it’s probably for the best that Prompto (hopefully) memorised the map!

Even on this right path there are challenges. Three to be exact.]

TRIAL OF THE PATIENT

[lifeaftr_mods]

You waited, still, for this opportunity...

Arrival

[thermalwind]

[Free for all for everyone's arrival. Have at. Key details to remember -

The trial's name is listed, along with names and numbers for deaths (but what the number is for isn't said. It counts down with each death).]

TRIAL OF THE HUMBLE

[lifeaftr_mods]

Your original style pulled you through...

As detailed, each room contains a puzzle that you must solve. Once it is solved, the door to the next chamber will open. Your puzzles are as follows.

1.1: A simple jigsaw.
2.1: Answer the question: "How would you put new door into one word?"
3.1: Add one line to make the equation correct: "5+5+5+5 = 555"
4.1: Another simple task.

1.2: A simple jigsaw.
2.2: Rearrange the following letters into just one word: "O O U S W T D N E J R"
3.2 Use one line (it needn't be straight) to divide this figure into two equal parts.
4.2 Another simple task.

5: Play a game.
6: Go to "specific puzzle" at the bottom left and search puzzle number 4,310,081.
7: You are allotted 6 disks and 4 pegs, and you must complete it in 17 moves or less.
8: The final test is little more than a question that you must answer aloud: Why were you brought to this world?

group 2: ct, molly, shepard, damian

[tuskenlancer]

[ Trial of the Humble.

The sign on the wall is frustratingly useless. CT has no idea what it means, what she's doing here, or, to make it all that much worse, who any of the people she's stuck here with are.

The only thing of any interest in the room is a jigsaw puzzle, but whether it's just there to provide some entertainment in their prison cell or is the key to something more, CT's not especially interested in giving up and playing along just yet. Instead, she's exploring the chamber, looking for any other way out. Anyone who does start working on the jigsaw gets a disdainful look thrown their way and a mutinous mutter. ]

This is stupid.

TRIAL OF THE GENEROUS

[lifeaftr_mods]

Even when you felt trapped, you took notes and achieved the end...

TRIAL ROOM: ABYSS

[lightlessfuture]

[ It is difficult to see much here, in the darkness.

You are required to dig yourself out of the uncomfortable, poky mass you have found yourself in. And as you push and struggle to the surface, and it becomes just a little clearer to see, it becomes easy to understand the true nature of this place.

The task ahead seems easy enough - climb upwards and escape to the light, far above. But even moving is difficult, when the dead cling to you.

They don't beg or plead, because they have no voices to do it with. But their empty, broken stares are haunting - and the only way to get rid of them is to deny them, physically, verbally or mentally, and understand they can't be saved or carried out of here.

The Knight is here too, though at first they're hard to distinguish among the thousands of broken masks and bodies stretching onwards into the dark, a limitless and nightmarish pile of corpses. But right now, all they can do is shiver and wrap their cloak more tightly around them and stare, not quite understanding what it is they need to communicate. ]

???? | anywhere | ota

[thankgods]

[ For those left on Enso, they will begin to notice some...unusual behaviour from the enroaching tide.

Slowly and patiently, the sea finds its way into refuges and hiding places where all else should be dry, moving like water should not. The pull of the tide drags those unfortunate enough to be caught into watery darkness.

For what purpose? Who knows. But it moves with a focused, unnatural intent. What you choose to make of it is up to you. ]

[promiselisting]

[ So uh. How unnatural of a movement are we talking. If she were to start say uh. Climbing things. Like a tree or the side of her house. How well would that work out. ]