Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 7, 2023 12:05:24 GMT 9
Sarthor had learned, over his years of work, that authority figures citing something as "not to be done" meant only that the meek would avoid it. Lesser folks would see the email the "Professor" sent out and quail at the sight of it, unwilling to challenge themselves. The reckless, conversely, would see the warning and lunge, blind, and cast themselves off the edge.
There was power in discretion, but one must also act. That was the only way true discoveries could be made.
So, when he had seen the notice, he had gone straight for the area, the place where a barrier no longer was. And there, he waited, standing at the edge of it. While there was no true "barrier", there was still a clear line between safety, and uncertainty.
Wysteria stood at his side, looking into the distance with bright eyes, tail twitching in unkempt fear. She was weak- but that was alright. She would learn, eventually.
He heard footsteps, and turned, offering the newcomer a soft smile. "Oh, hello!" He said, voice airy. "Are you coming to explore too?" Behind him, the edge of Mistra, and the Corruption, lingered, inky black and unyielding.
WYSTERIA || 150/150 |
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Kazuki
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You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 9, 2023 0:13:07 GMT 9
Heavy footsteps trudge, crossing dry earth to enter the border of the Steppes. The newcomerâs soles are stained lightly with an unidentifiable black sludge, a souvenir from his brief orientation with Professor Bunya. But his attention isn't on them. They stick to the rain of inky black that lies just beyond the border.
He stops moving a few paces away from Lacrimosa, green eyes taking him in. âMaybe I am.â
This one has a curtain of white hair, but the rest is wrong. âSay, Horns, you see another white-haired bastard around?â He flaps his hand near his temple. âAbout my height. Built like a brick shithouse. Acts like he has a lamppost shoved up his ass?â What elseâŚ?
A little puff of green pops out from behind his shoulder, this pair of eyes much easier to read by comparison. They shine with open excitement and wonder. <You!>
âAh. Right.â Kazuki taps the side of his head. âHe also has cat ears.â
Sprigatito leaps from his trainerâs shoulder, landingânot quite so gracefully. He ends up rolling until heâs lying on the ground beside the unfamiliar trainer, watching his mirror image upside-down.
<Um, I meant to do that.> He says, blinking at the new kitten. <Youâre just like me! Hi!>
SPRIGATITO || 150/150 |
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 9, 2023 4:24:37 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
Lacrimosa offered a thoughtful frown. White haired, about this man's height, well built, crass attitude... cat ears. Surely such a man would be incredibly distinctive. Lacrimosa had never seen anyone fitting that distinction. In fact, precious few people had opted for- What had the menu called them? "Animal Decoration?" Eye color, sure. Jewelry, naturally. Even strange clothes. But this was more rare- why? A fear of breaking away from what was considered human? What was considered humanity?
"Oh- with a little cat?" It was a simple enough guess. "I saw him run by maybe... ten minutes ago? He looked angry..." He said, casting a glance towards the darkness of the new area. "Maybe we could go look for him together...?" It's a gentle non-offer. If this man- rude as he was- went in, Sarthor would stick to him.
Wysteria blinked as another sprigatito fell into view, staring down at him curiously. <Hi! That looked silly!> They said, laughing a bit. <I'm Wysteria- who are you? Are you nice?>
Lacrimosa moved back a step, letting Kazuki go first into the new area, and delicately trailed after him. The first step yielded... not much. The sky pulsed, like something was meant to happen. But outside of that? Not much. The cat didn't seem to agree, plying near instantly against his leg, letting out some terrible, strangled noise. "It's alright," He coaxed, eyes not on her, but on the darkness around them.
And, slowly... it started to make sense. Not just black forms, but... something more. He saw them, and knew they were code, the precise hex of the colors, the data points of the shape and curve. He turned, and as his hair swung, he felt the physics engine work, heard the whine of the headset in his chest-
Felt the mechanics that synced all their thoughts, countless, innumerable, together. He reached out, wondrously, idly, as if his fingers could brush the strands of thought and wire, the myelin that kept them all in the vast dream.
The world was new, now, striking and different than it had been. He knew it, as intimately as he knew the workings of the body and brain- maybe more so. As intimately as he knew his own home, his own body, his own thoughts. He could see it, perhaps, the actions being made into code and electricity, shot through the game- and Sarthor could see it, almost, almost, Alistair in the basement, by his body, looking over the data they'd already collected.
"This is incredible," He said, voice rising not in sound, but in code, a clicking of keys and a translation of binary, printed along the side of his vision, stored in a computer miles and miles away. His heart pounded in his chest, mirrored by the electric-mirrored sensations on the game. Sarthor was not a separate thing, not someone invited in, but something part of the infinities of this code- He was part of the living spectre that thrived in the machine. He was part of this. He could use this. He could use this.
He knew how to use this.
Wysteria, upon getting no support from Lacrimosa, had pressed herself against sprigatito and Kazuki, trembling and shaking. The dark shapes were moving, rising, and there was a terrible screeching, like something trying to get out- or in. <I- I want to go home!> She cried.
WYSTERIA || 100/150
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Kazuki
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You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 16, 2023 20:31:12 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
Kazuki clicks his tongue, eyes moving to the endless gloom past the playerâLacrimosa, as the floating name tag saysâand trying to spot a familiar silhouette. âAngry, huh?â Not unusual, though he wouldnât expect Verai to dive headfirst into a quarantined zone without reason.
The cat is more than enough reason.
He doesnât respond to the strangerâs offer to help, only walking ahead. He doesnât have time to spare if he wants to catch up to his target. (And, honestly, the stranger seems like a combination of Verai and the kid he got stuck with in terms of mannerisms. The ultimate goody-two-shoes. Unlikely to be a problem.)
Sprigatito puffs up at being called silly but brightens at Wysteriaâs introduction. <Iâm Sprigatito! I donât have a nickname, but I am nice! You seem nice, too!> He rolls over, standing up to walk alongside Wysteria as the trainers begin moving. He tries to ask a few questions, but all attempts at conversation die as they breach the zoneâs threshold.
It isnât⌠inhospitable. Barren, mostly. Kazuki keeps his gaze forwards, the act of staring at the sky causing his eyes to strain. Something off about the colors- they look iridescent. Oily. The darkness wisping around them is also difficult to look at, shifting like TV static. It causes his unease to climb yet isnât enough to deter him.
He doesnât know why. Even the cats, made for this environment, are losing their minds; Sprigatito retreats from the prospect of a new friend to cower by his ankles. The kitten's plea for retreat falls on deaf ears.
Kazuki moves, pulled by a string drawn from the abyss, knowing somewhere there is something he must find: a light beyond the tunnel, a precognitionâa promise.
At the back of his mind, he hears Lacrimosa speak in reverent tones, his voice distorted but intensified, as if every syllable is being recorded and played back in real-time. It joins the looping crunch of his soles treading dead earth.
The veil doesn't stir. It settles in space, presenting itself with open arms as a stage without curtains. Where Lacrimosa reaches to brush his fingers, the inky tendrils flow, magnetized to the arc of his avatarâs hand.
Kazuki wades through the tar-colored sea in relentless pursuit, the darkness coalescing around him. Its fringes drag across his skin in a sensation like gloved hands, slow and clinging- building bit by bit, until finally, he moves to take a step, and finds that he canât.
âIââ He looks down. Sprigatito meets his gaze, his little teeth sunk into the fabric of a pant leg, pulled until the fabric strains in an attempt to stop his trainer. The tracks in the dirt show how long he's been trying. The other cat, Wysteria, wails in fear as the sea writhes, unleashing an inhuman sound that shreds what remains of his fugue.
The fear that douses his heart is sobering. The darkness entangling him finally registers; revives memories that make him want to tear out of his skin. He tries to yank his leg free, but to no avail. âI canât- I canât- move!â He slams his fist against his thigh, feeling nothing. It's a total break of immersion. He knows now with visceral awareness what he is, can practically feel his thoughts being funneled through the headset clamped over his skull- each iota of self broken into intangible pixels.
He's breathing fast. He knows this because he's finally noticed the air. It doesn't smell of nature, dirt, or dust. It's cold and metallic, with a sharp, synthetic edge.
The darkness around them begins to curl inwards, the screeching drawing near, growing clearer. It screams, as high and shrill as blades dragging across steel.
SPRIGATITO || 100/150
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 18, 2023 11:04:43 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
Lacrimosa looked back when Kazuki began to scream. He had frozen there, trapped like a fly on a web, a clot in the veins of the world threatening failure. He drifted to the man, just looking at him, past him, beyond him. "How interesting," He breathed, like in the presence of a god, or lover, or something both. "How wonderful." He reached forward, not to help Kazuki in any way, but to brush fingers across his cheek, marveling at the touch.
"I can see you," He said. It was understatement- he could see every pixel, every facet that made up Kazuki, every neural input translated to movement, to breathing and blinking and slamming fists wildly. "How," He, too, was breathing hard- entirely unlike Kazuki. His eyes were bright, blown out with a wild excitement. "Beautiful."
Wysteria's experience was cared not for- for she was nothing, ai coding and a simple cat mesh, adorned with slim grasses and color. Kazuki- Kazuki was more interesting. Interesting in that he had wandered here- here- after someone else, and interesting still in all that he was. In pixel, in code, in thought. In person. He can see the frantic jolting of aliased edges, the thoughts, shrieking, i can't move i can't move i'm trapped i can't get it off get me out.
The dark shadows rise up, but in lieu of some hulking monster they simply settle again, curling around Lacrimosa like a cloak, like an affectionate feline, like a ghost. He welcomes the embrace, the knowledge, the potential.
"What's happened to you?" He breathed, circling Kazuki's avatar, now, fingers trailing across his chest and shoulders as he moved. "Who hurt you, hm? Atsushi Himura?" Every syllable is pronounced, given its own space to breathe, and his eyes never, never leave Kazuki. Never leave Atsushi, laying there in a half-stripped bed, a leg bound in a heavy cast.
Lacrimosa looks, looks at the strands interwoven, strung around Kazuki like a thousand million puppet strings, and grabs one, and pulls.
WYSTERIA || 50/150
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Kazuki
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You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 23, 2023 13:18:16 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
The panic of his inability to move seizes Kazuki hard enough that he doesnât notice Lacrimosaâs approach, doesnât see how fluidly the newcomer he had dubbed harmless wades through the corruption as if born for it. When it becomes apparent none of his efforts will free him, he raises his head and finds the other a hairsbreadth away.
The sound of his voice is once again, all he hears; soft and lilting words as gentle as the brush of his hand, with none of the comfort. Itâs all cold, painting goosebumps over his skin.
And yet it doesnât come close to the sheer terror inflicted by the look in his eyes. For a second, it appears Lacrimosa isnât seeing him, which is ridiculous since heâs staring straight into his eyes. Kazuki has never been one to back down from eye contact no matter how withering the glare, but thisâ this stare that doesnât pierce, but instead shines a light down on him, as if heâs a specimen on a table with no hope of escape, as if everything he is can be peeled apart at will.
âDonât fucking touch me,â he manages to grit out, trying to remind himself that this isnât real. That this is just some- some fucking weirdo without a sense of boundaries. He can still move his hands, and he reaches to grab Lacrimosaâs wrist. âI donât know whatâs happening to you, but you need toââ
The dimming sound of knives dragging hush. Lacrimosa doesnât move as the shadows drape over him, fitting like a glove. It overwhelms the rest of the landscape, leaves only Lacrimosaâs pure white as the spotlight, the beacon in the vast ocean of ink.
What the hell is he?
Sprigatitoâs scream sounds from the ground near Kazukiâs feet. The cat scrambles for purchase on his leg, trying to climb to sanctuary as the darkness pouring around Lacrimosa threatens to drown him. <Wysteria! Whatâs happening? Whatâs your trainer doing?!> He doesnât know what to do. He tries to look to his trainer for guidance, only to find the man deep in the other trainerâs thrall.
âYouâre fucking with me,â Kazuki says, smiling crookedly despite not believing it himself. âI borrowed the guyâs face, but Iâm not him. I donât know why you think I am.â
This isnât real. This has no effect on him. This canât hurt him.
Lacrimosa reaches forwards, and he realizes heâs holding his breath. The pale hand flicks, tugging at something he canât see.
What follows is sharp, blinding pain.
His avatar is a lattice of programming language interpreting synapse. It is wound tightly together with safeties and ready to abort at any moment to ensure players never experience more than theyâre supposed to in the game. The problem with Kazuki is that he can realistically experience a lot, and that heâs a stubborn bitch who refuses to take anything less than that.
He curls over himself, a feeling like being unwound ripping through him. His senses flicker, an unusual error causing stimuli to crash together and emerge as nonsense. Colors and shapes change. The sound changes. He sees, for a second, a dull wall with a mounted screen, a pretty but empty room, and a cast.
â̡ĚÍÍÍSTO̡ĚÍĚ°ĚŻPĚľÍÍ!â His avatar screeches, lunging for Lacrimosa as its form fizzles and twitches with instability, still tethered to the ground by an unmoving leg.
SPRIGATITO || 50/150
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 24, 2023 5:09:51 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
Lacrimosa stepped back as Kazuki reacted violently, sound pitching and straining far worse than it had before. It left his ears ringing-
And then, there was nothing.
Lacrimosa was still standing there, in the plains, a patch of darkness swirling at their feet. Kazuki in front of him, broken and in pain.
Everything was exactly as the game wanted it to be.
"What-" His voice was.. normal. Soft, pleasant. There was nothing mechanical, no clicking of keys on a keyboard, no strings of code whirring in the back. The man's name, too, had been ripped from him- only fuzzy memories of a hospital room remained. This was a game, a program, one connected to the mind and the dreams and he no longer
knew anything.
Lacrimosa felt his head spin. He knew, though, didn't he? He knew that there was code around them, programs that moved the grass and pokemon and even their own breaths- He just- He reached for it, mentally, physically, and nothing was there. Nothing responded. Nothing listened.
He looked at Kazuki, lips pulling back into a snarl, eyes bloodshot and wild, face morphing into something terrible. "What did you do?!" He howled, like a beast possessed, grabbing at Kazuki's arm again- but the grip lacked so much, now fully representational of the form Lacrimosa was taking. "You do not get to steal from me!"
The shadows behind him moved- and then Lacrimosa grabbed at Kazuki again, more desperately, with both hands- as he was being pulled. Not tethered, like Kazuki had been, but dragged, down, into the dark puddle he had once displayed mastery over. "No!" He shrieked, clawing at Kazuki, and then the ground-
And vanishing, swallowed entirely.
Wysteria had, at some point, simply stopped moving, eyes fixed at where Kazuki and Lacrimosa had been entangled. Her eyes were fixed on where her trainer had been, but now were unmoving. The swirling darkness did not move her fur, and she didn't seem to even be breathing- simply stuck, frozen, unchangeable.
Until Lacrimosa vanished entirely, and Wysteria seemed to just dissolve, leaving no trace of either of them.
WYSTERIA || 0/150
irmgGRuA1-20
1-20 |
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Kazuki
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You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 25, 2023 3:18:30 GMT 9
TRIGGER WARNING | LOVECRAFTIAN / COSMIC HORROR, UNREALITY
He tries to reach him, the fucking monster that is tearing him apart, but a single step is all it takes for the opportunity to slip from his grasp. He crashes to his knees, the sound of his voice deafening to his earâ
And then it just. Stops.
He opens his eyes to see his hands on the ground. Color drapes down his skin, cohesive, sweeping, and beautiful. They stay solid as he tries touching his face. The game simulates the feeling of skin and body heat perfectly.
He can hear Lacrimosaâs voice whisper a single word, and it is so small. So meek and human. He doesnât respond, too busy getting back up to his feet.
The other trainer loses it. When Kazuki looks up, he sees the madness painted over his fawn-like features. Hands come to snag his arms, causing him to teeter, and a barrage of outrage assails him, and he canât be damned.
âHah,â he says, mouth hitching into an uneasy but wide smile. âHa. Hahahaha!â The laugh is unhinged but he canât bring himself to care. Heâs on his feet. Lacrimosa can scream and claw at him all he wantsâhe still turned out right in the end.
âSomething wrong?â He snickers, the hold on his arms tighter, but what he assumes is more of Lacrimosaâs outburst quickly wipes the smile off his face.
The shadow under Lacrimosa pries him down. âShit! Let go!â Kazuki hisses, pulled by the other trainerâs grip. He tries prying off the claws digging into his skin and ends up falling backward onto the ground. He watches from where he sits as Lacrimosa, shrieking and struggling, disappears into the earth.
<Kazuki!>
He blinks. Sprigatito on his shoulder cries, pointing to Wysteria, whose form dissolves into thin air, the fear frozen on her face as she goes.
âOh, fuck.â Kazuki scrambles, getting back up. He takes Sprigatito from his shoulder, the cat now inconsolable and wailing upon seeing his new friendâs demise. Green eyes search the landscape, trying to find an opening among the fog to escape from, but to no avail.
<Iâm scared! Iâm scared! Kazuki!> Tears fall on his shoulder, dribbling down his skin as the cat burrows against him for comfort.
Nothing but darkness. Nothing but pitch black for miles. âI know. Shit, itâll be alright. JustâŚâ He lays a hand on the back of Sprigatitoâs head and swallows. Itâs better if he doesnât see this.
<I wanna go home! I want Purrai! I wanna go HOME!>
He keeps petting him. âWeâre going, itâs alright. Itâs alright.â
The shadows under his feet stir, widening like a creature opening its mouth.
âDonât cry.â
He shuts his eyes and falls.
SPRIGATITO|| 0/150
QAzA9QQv1-20
1-20 |
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System Admin
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Administrator
Posts: 1,405
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
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Post by System Admin on Apr 25, 2023 10:29:25 GMT 9
HELLO, KAZUKI [tangent=  PARASITECORRUPTION SUBCLASSTIER 1 - This subclass equips itself to the player at Tier 1. It cannot be removed until fully unlocked or replaced by a different secondary subclass.
Characters afflicted by this sentient subclass are a bane to the natural world. Plants rot and shrivel in their presence, vitality leeched away by something sinister. Nearby People and Pokemon may find themselves afflicted by violent or unnatural impulses as this player's proximity triggers unpleasant memories.
If the player chooses to continue unlocking this subclass, there will be visible changes in their Pokemon, who will come to resemble Corrupted Pokemon. This subclass's presence may also manifest as a voice that only the player can hear. You are free to characterize the Parasite as you wish.
] PARASITE[/tangent] HAS BEEN EQUIPPED
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