October Plotting

[reveriemod]

Hello, Reverie Operators!

This is an OOC post regarding our upcoming player plot, which is kicking off on October 1st. Your characters have probably had a stressful few months, what with living on a hostile and possibly sentient station that seems to be actively trying to kill you. Why not relax... with some music?

Shortly before the event, Venus will find an old radio from back home. With Erika Mishima's help, she'll then wire it into the station's communications system for everyone to hear. Don't worry: she's a considerate DJ! She'll keep broadcasting to public areas, and she'll even turn down the volume past midnight. Your character's health comes first!

Don't worry, though - there's more to the event than space Spotify. See, radios have a certain significance where Venus is from. They aren't just for music, or broadcasts, or weather reports; they're for fighting, and casting spells, and communing with the divine. It's a radio that lets teens like Venus hear God's voice if they need guidance, and it's a radio that lets those same misunderstood teens hear the devil's words. With a radio and a willing soul, you can let the devil into your heart - shedding your old, fallible body and becoming something greater. With a radio, and enough people, you could practically flood a place with newborn devils. You could make Hell right where you stood, if you really wanted.

And that's exactly what Venus plans to do to the station.

At midnight - right as October 1st rolls in - Venus will make a brief announcement to the station before hooking in the radio and tuning in. For the next weeks, characters will hear the devil's voice whenever they pass through communal areas - the bar, the mess hall, the outer ring of the observation deck, and so on. The devil sounds like smoke and honey; she is kind, and speaks softly. She will tell your character how much she has missed them - them, specifically - and how much it hurts to watch them suffer. And she offers them a choice: to let her help them, or to push her away.

From here, your character can take one of two major paths:

If your character chooses to let the devil in, the devil will speak to them privately and directly. What she says here will differ from character to character (and you are free to play it out!), but it will always boil down to the same thing: she will identify a source of pain or inner conflict for your character, and do what she can to help. This will result in two major changes: a mental one, and a physical one.

Mentally, your character will mostly be the same as before! However, even if the problem isn't fixed, the devil will make them more able to address the problem and work it out. A character with trust issues might not immediately trust everyone, but they certainly would be capable of acknowledging the problem and working with others to fix it. Similarly, a character stuck on a trauma from the past might feel the distance they need to process it and work through it.

Physically? Your character's got a big storm coming. Their body will change into a new, devilish form, one that reflects their issues to some extent. For a few examples, Venus becomes a being of light and eyes because she wants people to see her as she is; Jupiter grows "a hand for every kind of touch" because of a lifetime spent denying her urges for physical contact. You are free to go as wild as you want with this: the world's your oyster! Do you want a few simple changes reflecting the change? That's fine! Do you want a full on, gory body horror transformation with a massive redesign? That's fine too! However, one important thing should be noted: past the initial pain of transformation, your new devil probably shouldn't dislike their form. The devil is doing this for them, not herself!

Finally, after their "deal" with the devil, her voice will no longer come through the radio. Instead, they will hear music. What your character hears is up to you, but it's something they would find personally beautiful!

Notably, as this plot has been mod approved, these do not have to be temporary; you are free to keep any number of changes as permanent for your character! Please err on the side of caution and choose design aspects on an aesthetic basis rather than a power-based one.

If your character chooses to rebuke the devil, however, things will go very differently. The moment they take an actual stand, they will stop hearing the devil's voice - permanently. Instead, they will hear deafening static mixed with other sounds: screams, sobs, and general panic. Notably, this group will later have the opportunity to make a major impact to how the plot resolves! This will be addressed in a subsequent writeup.

Characters who consciously avoid making a decision will continue to hear her voice throughout these two weeks, until either the event ends or they make a decision. If a character asks for time to think, or is simply hesitant, she will wait patiently for them before asking the next day. If you choose this path the whole way through, your character will not be directly impacted in any way outside of other characters.

Part one will last for two weeks, ending on October 14th. Part two’s OOC writeup, concerning the corruption of the station and subsequent fight to “cleanse” it, will be posted a few days before then. Stay ready, and stay sharp - hell's not meant for humans!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[reveriemod]

Re: QUESTIONS

[wentnuclear]

Hello! I know there will be another write-up coming, but can we get an idea of the station "corruption" and what possible resolutions/failures might look like? Action based or spiritual, that sort of thing? As a canonblind player I don't know what impact people dealing with the devil will have on surrounding characters. Basically since it reads like this is the only thing planned for the entirety of October, I'm concerned if you rebuke the first half and then the second isn't necessarily going to develop anything for those characters either, lack of engagement with the game will continue to be an issue. Player events are awesome but I feel like most of us that have been struggling were hoping for mystery-of-the-station type events that would progress the overall game plot.

[hyperfresh]

Question one: Can Marina play music on the station when it is doing normal music things, because yes please

Number two: How strongly do you have to rebuke the devil for it to count? I know how it works in WKTD canon, but for characters who don't have that frame of reference/aren't even human enough to get the cultural reference exactly, what counts?

[eraserdad]

hello, i touched on this on plurk but asking the question properly on the post so other people can see/plot depending on the answers:

aizawa has an ability called erasure (described in detail here), which allows him to cancel out other people's powers, specifically ones that require "activation". i was wondering if there's any chance he could use his Erasure to revert corrupting portions of the station temporarily(?) or interrupt a character's transformation while it's in progress (with player permission), especially once it becomes known that the transformations are what's causing problems on the station.

Re: QUESTIONS

[veristitalian]

Quick question! I've got two characters who are going to rebuke pretty much instantaneously. The sound clip is awful, and played in their heads at deafening volume will kind of knock them out of commission for the first two weeks of the month. I'd like to find a way for them not to hermit through the event.

Do you think we could get some leeway there, in terms of it maybe being intermittently deafening, or loud but not actually too loud to prevent functioning socially or sleeping some nights? Deafening for the first 24 hours but fades gradually?

DEVIL DESIGNS

[reveriemod]

A place for brainstorming, art and anything else relating to devil design.

[floriographys]

Sup I've got Ideas here, and also art!!!

I'm still trying to piece together how I want to put the design, but I know a few things I really like:

-Kinstukuroi(Making Jun have cracks in his skin that are sealed together with gold)
-Stars!
-Flowers
-Hermes
-Clocks???

I've got two designs right now: [1] [2]

I'm kinda leaning toward the second one but I'd love some input if anyone has any ideas. I am pretty sure I'm going to stick with the stars for his hands and feet, and the kintsukuroi. He's going to be succumbing to the devil to get over his guilt for becoming a puppet of Nyarlathotep, and for his self-loathing which comes from his parents fighting and his mother's disdain for him.

[contorta]

HELP WANTED

prax's ic nickname is "plant guy" bc he's a botanist and loves plants (esp soy beans but he likes all plants okok) and he says about himself that he's better with plants than with people

I WANT HIM TO TURN INTO ACTUAL PLANT GUY but i am uncreative what would be a good plant guy design

something something greenish hue to his skin and maybe something with photosynthesis and that's about as far as i've gotten really

Tyl Regor: Plotting, etc.

[biochemastery]

The only mysterious female authority figures Tyl respects are not nice people, and would never say they care about other's suffering. So! He's not going to be convinced by the soft touch approach. He is 100% going to reject the offer, and be not in the least bit concerned about the horror movie ambiance that he starts hearing. Look, he's a mad scientist, sometimes this happens.

He is going to be interested in the people who start changing, though, and will be wanting to examine the changes, including taking samples to study. Maybe even under the guise of helping, though honestly, he just likes poking at cool stuff.

And if anyone starts growing parts they don't want? Come to him! Grineer are great at removing defective or unwanted bits of themselves, and Tyl's especially fashionable about it!

[wingstosee]

okay, but. this is the best possible place for tyl regor to just... be himself? and basically what i'm getting at is that this is the perfect place for venus to meet the rambling tubedad. (he doesn't get to cut any part of her off, though. those are hers, thank you very much.)

plot n' shit

[bu773rfly]

Erika has long been one of the less rowdy of the station's resident teens, and one of the local hackery programming types, and the primary occupant of the VR room...and now she's an accomplice in some Weird Ass Shit!

Not that most people will know that. People with fairly advanced computer know-how might be able to sniff out her involvement if they look into what's going on with the radio, both in terms of her coding style and connections to her comm.

When the devil stuff kicks off she'll become a little bit abstract and a little bit insectoid, capable of turning into a cloud of butterflies (sort of) (kind of). She's also rather enthusiastic about all this! So if you have a character who's on the fence, wants some reassurance (that may or may not be effective), want an explanation (that may or may not be credible) or just wants to talk about the existential and practical implications of all this and whether it'll improve their life in SPAAAAAACE, I have a semi-tangible presence who might be interested in talking it over with them.

[hyperfresh]

Marina will definitely be looking into this from the computer side of things! She wouldn't recognize Erika's programming style, but maybe she could connect it to Erika's comm and be like hey what's with this whole creepy voice thing and also what's up with the hallways turning into intestines?

Re: plot n' shit

[wingstosee]

https://youtu.be/vmC3rJR7E98

ryo asuka ( devilman crybaby )

[luciformis]

I'm stoked to be coming back from hiatus to this, to be honest.

Ryo is actually Satan already (surprise?). So, that leaves him in a very interesting position. Ryo, therefore, will be subconsciously accepting who he is already. Because, again, he already subconsciously knows who he is. That's all it takes. Ryo will not have a chance to consciously accept her or rebuke her as Ryo. He'll be one of the first to experience changes as a result of it.

However, she won't have an impact on him. More, his body will experience further manifestations toward what he is, but will seemingly fit the bill of letting her in. Ryo will be left confused about it, because he'll think he hasn't, but he has pretty sizable gaps in his memory here and there. He won't be able to say for certain.

But, as a result, his hair will become significantly longer and he'll gain slightly pointed ears. Think Elf Farrah Fawcett. He'll look like this. He'll be retaining his changes after the event ends because they're parts of his true appearance to begin with.

ALSO: Did you know Satan is telepathic? Satan knew. So, for all you out there that retain some kind of demonic inclination, you can now telephone Ryo directly (if he allows you) and vice versa after this event provided you opt-in.

Beyond that: Ryo will be greeted with music enough to make most mortals weep. So, if you'd like to experience this very peculiar encounter and subsequently cry your damn eyes out, please go for it. Tune into Ryo's station. It's great. 10/10, would be sad again. Here's a suiting tune.

[wingstosee]

filled out that permissions post, and here's a question: given venus's proximity to "real satan" (being the initiator of the event) and ryo's status as "real satan" (lol), combined with his new telepathy, would it be fun for them to have a direct link the whole time? (it'd keep up after too, but probably dismissable/ignorable from either side - i assume.)

edit: also we're doing the hair log. don't think i forgot

Marina: Plotting

[hyperfresh]

So, Marina's going to be on team rebuke the devil. She is not totally sure what the implications of the devil trying to win her over are, but she's had experiences which mean she really doesn't want to follow some voice that promises to fix her problems and make her part of something greater.

So, once things are really going crazy, she's going to want to try to stop this. She'll be trying to track down the source of the problem, either physically or via her computer skills, so if anyone wants to help her out/try to get her to stop doing that, hit me up. She isn't going to want to fight anyone or anything, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't defend herself. She'd be more interested in trying to convince people that this is not something everyone agreed to and not something everyone wants and please stop okay?

[hopefragment]

yes

please let hajime help, he's useless but he wants to Help

9S plotting

[twoaffirmations]

9S will try to rebuke the devil at first, but he's going to give in pretty quickly thanks to experiences he's had with his CR. They've made him realize he needs to live for himself, and well, he feels like God's abandoned him and some of the people he care most about. Once he accepts, his desire to be loved/acknowledged/close to people will manifest as...

A pleasant warmth that radiates from him, like sitting next to a toasty fire, and...

Cat ears & a tail.

Because humans love cats? Duh?? He's seen how many cat videos you guys saved. 9,000 years in the future and cat videos have survived the fall of mankind. He's also touched Rhea'li's cat ears when he was in the game and has confirmed for himself that they're very alluring.

Anyway come give him pets and affection or call him out on his shit, you know, whatever works. His mental state's gonna be basically the same.

[thefaulty]

/DISTANT SOUND OF ARID JUDGING

Alucard - PLOTTING

[reposing]

Alucard will eventually accept the devil albeit with hesitancy at first as he waits to determine the best course of action. After all, there has never been a God that would love him, but the Devil could be of true help. Wracked with fear that Sypha and Trevor did not actually return to Wallachia and may, in fact, but gone forever, Alucard is concerned how to confront his father when he returns inevitably, and wants more than anything to be of better help to others.

So he will transform into something like this and become much more serene and willing to accept his role as Wallachia's inevitable messiah. His hair will flow around like it's in water but it's not, it's just majestic looking. He will be bleeding from his hands and offering his blood to people who are either (a) injured or (b) people who are constrained in their role/fate/destiny as he will be looking to relieve you of that burden.

Just a good vampire boy trying to lend a hand you know how it is.

[twoaffirmations]

alright come pet kitty 9S with ur weird blood hands, also he could use some relief of some burdens too

Connor ~~~ Plotting

[rk800connor]

Alrighty, so Connor has been low key worried about his deviant thoughts/deviating from his programming. In his canon, this is a huge no-no. For those canon familiar, the devil's voice he hears will likely sound like Amanda.

So, he'll be going full machine-Connor. If anyone needs help with anything, he will follow basically any order given to him to the best of his ability. Visually, he'll be looking a little more android-y as well, especially in his movements.

I'm not sure how interactive this will end up being, but it's what he thinks he wants >-> (he is wrong)

[twoaffirmations]

9S is gonna be pretty upset about this... Especially after the current inbox thread we're working on.

[devilmind]

This event is going to be very big for the Operator, as they will take the devil’s deal and gain the willpower they need to face their currently untouched memories. This is going to be very upsetting for them because 1) their memories suck and they have none of the support here to deal with them that they did in canon 2) remembering stuff is how they unlock all their crazy void powers, so. They’ll be dealing with their traumatic past while also shooting energy blasts and turning incorporeal for a bit. Still haven’t decided what their physical changes will be, but I’m definitely open to suggestions!

As for Arid, she’s going to be turning the devil down and will be there to kick your devilish character’s ass if need be (ง'̀-'́)ง

[wingstosee]

if the operator needs any help with the whole "trauma and in pain" thing, venus will be around and willing!!

as for physical changes... got any fave warframes >B]

Hajime Hinata: plotting

[hopefragment]

Hajime is 100% going to rebuke the devil. Not because he doesn't have a lot of issues to work through, but because he isn't going to trust a strange voice over the radio. He'll also be pretty open about this distrust, and once he starts seeing the actual physical results he's going to go out of his way to try to dissuade people from listening to it. SO if you're looking for someone to actively try to prevent your character from letting the devil in, Hajime is your dude. Your very tired, very suspicious dude.

Once more details are made clear, he'll also be more than willing to actively fight against it as well. He can't actually like, do much, being a normal teenager, but he's definitely willing to try.

[wingstosee]

i love that hajime is taking the most sensible option possible

"okay even if you ARE the devil i'm not listening to some voice in my head? that's weird??"

also "he can't do much to fight" yet, phase 2's gonna be fun

Venus - PLOTTING

[wingstosee]

So Venus is going to be a little busy, what with Fucking Up Literally Everything for Literally Everyone during this event! However, she'll still have plenty of time for doing what she does best: talking to people and being a generally bad, if well-meant, influence. What does this mean for your character? It's simple: if you want someone to talk about all this with, whether it's asking for help with what you've become or yelling at her for making a terrible decision, we can make it happen! She's got a fairly unique experience with this specific brand of sacrilege, after all.

She'll be spending a decent chunk of time watching over the radio to make sure nothing happens to it - which coincidentally means she'll probably be seeing/intercepting a lot of people who want to know what the hell's going on. She'll also be kicking off the event with an announcement that makes it explicitly clear just who's responsible for all of this, so if you want to track her down - for questions or retribution - feel free to drop some plotting threads here!

Note: I'd prefer that the radio itself not get taken down until the second part of the event, since without it... the event doesn't happen. But past that, I'm game for doing just about anything with/to Venus that people want!

[floriographys]

Kira will probs want a chat with her about this, which will be pretty interesting! Because he's not going to be like "HEY this isn't me", he'll just be more like "haha cool"

Jun- Plotting (and some with Kira too bcuz heck yes devils)

[floriographys]

Jun is giving in to the devil. It won't be hard, he thirsts for acceptance and forgiveness like it is water in a desert, and he will likely latch onto it once it is as if... he gains that forgiveness that he wants so much.

It won't 'fix' him immediately, of course, but it'll be a big push in the right direction once he gets it in his head that he wasn't actually at fault for everything. He will be careful in proceeding as well, since he's been misled by one supernatural entity before, but you know. This one will actually go well! And then he'll be more confident and outgoing, perhaps???

As for Kira, he is already the devil and while he absolutely will not salt her game, he will also be like "Sup that isn't like, me though." Which I guess could be good or bad depending on how you view it???? He'll think it's a clever lie, probably just some high-ranking devil who has enough power to spare and loves spreading chaos. This is now a Lucifer-approved occurrence.

[luciformis]

it's ya boi, elf farrah fawcett.

okay, but seriously: you wanna converge with the amnesiac satan at some point? ryo isn't actually technically accepting the devil, because he already is. he's just "responding" to it. he won't get a proper chat with the devil, just a quick blurb and some depressing music. so, that's a fun anomaly. he'll just think he accepted it without being able to remember it, but i'm debating some possible discrepancies for the second half which could be fun... it could be a possibility to come upon the fact that he's had some physical changes, but they're not very extensive so that can lead to many weird conversations.

also jun needs to meet ryo. come say hi to ya boi.

Raphael | Plotting

[bedsidemanners]

Okay, so Raphael has been drinking the devil haterade for a couple thousand years (also, he might or might not have only gotten here recently), and be pretty on guard and disturbed about any sweet offers to ease all his self-inflicted pain. Probably because it's only audio. He holds onto his problems like a miser holds onto cash.

Thus he'll be rebuking the devil and here to watch and attempt to treat any and all transformations on a symptomatic basis, because otherwise he's just fiddling as Rome burns. In pain? Raphael can help. Bleeding profusely? Raphael can help. Really enjoying your new form/your newfound ability to work through your issues? ... Raphael will lineface and judge and maybe silently stew (or fight, if push really comes to shove), and be moved to try and figure out exactly what's going wrong and how to stop it.

[wingstosee]

oh man, raphael. i'm not actually angel sanctuary familiar - despite loving the cast we have going here - but i know THAT name. i don't know if you'd be interested in threading out two conflicting viewpoints on theology?? but regardless, i'd love to thread venus against raphael at some point.

(although her form's... not changing. she's just like that, whoops)

Emori | The 100

[emori]

she took the chip ALIE offered, but that was like, six years ago. she might be strong enough now to ignore the voice.

buuuuut stuff with john might make her give in.