(no subject)

[personadean]

a. A day in the life

Welcome to yet another day at Vanderhall University. The sun is up, the trees are green, and it’s a little cold but not all that bad. Go to class, or don’t! It’s your day, to do as you want on this perfectly normal college campus that has nothing wrong with it. Clearly.

b. When the clock strikes twelve...

It’s college. Almost no one is in bed by 10, 11, or even midnight. Currently it’s 11:59, and many students (and non-students) are out and about. Some are at the library, working on late night projects or cramming for a test (or several). Some are probably a little, or more than a little, drunk, wandering around with friends or alone. A few might be in their dorms, watching Netflix or just trolling the internet.

But then the clock strikes midnight...

...and suddenly, everything changes.

That computer you were working on, or that phone midtext? Shuts off. It looks like it’s died, but looking around... no technology around is working. Worse, any people you were talking to, or who were even nearby, are now replaced by coffins according to their height. The moon hangs pale and large in the sky, and the entire world is cast in an eerie green light.

Anyone who’s left awake will have maybe a few minutes to take in their surroundings and panic as a result before something else appears. No matter where they are, they will attract creatures like nothing they will have seen before. Even though they’re completely foreign, anyone with a work sense of self-preservation will have their instincts screaming one thing at them.

Run.

[ooc: The game is open! Please feel free to make a top level for one or both prompts; tag around and have fun!]

Comments

[princelydetective]

a.

Naoto spends most of her time working- what this means varies greatly. If she’s not in class, then she’s working on various projects in the library, or sequestered in a corner as she talks quietly on her cell phone to who knows who. She’ll be happy to chat, and may even strike up a conversation with people she knows, but... good luck getting her to do anything ‘fun.’ She’s too busy for that.

b.

For her part, Naoto’s been working in the library and lost track of the time. She’s quite used to staying up at least until midnight, keeping an eye for a certain Midnight Channel and all. She only barely acknowledges the clock, finishing up her current project and shutting off her computer. She still has work to do, but she would rather do detective reports in the privacy of her room.

She’s barely outside of the library when she feels a chill crawl up her spine, and it’s with a startled motion that she turns to look at the world around her. Naoto’s never seen exactly this before, but she’s seen similar... and she already knows what this is.

“This is impossible,” she murmurs, staring wide eyed at the coffins that used to be her peers.

Unfortunately, she knows quite well it’s not actually impossible, and she doesn’t have time to stand around and just let it happen. Naoto pulls out her gun, holding it at the ready even though she knows it won’t do her much good. She can’t summon Yamato-Takeru outside the Midnight Channel, and she doesn’t have an Evoker. She won’t be able to stop anything... but she might be able to help some people survive the hour.

[ooc: basically Naoto is going to be running around trying to help people if they look like they’re in a dire situation. Feel free to have her pop into your character’s situation, or try and help her out!]

b;

[unjointed]

"Ah." Lucky him, he guesses, watching the lights of the vending machine he's crouched in front of flicker off. One more second and he would have lost a few yen to the sudden blackout. But whatever fortune god he prayed to at the local shrine at New Year's must be on his side tonight; the can of coffee dropped just moments before he could've lost it. Fishing it out and pressing his hands to its warm aluminum surface, he straightens and takes a look around. This is no ordinary blackout, is it? He doesn't think the other blackouts he's ever experienced involved the moonlight turning green...

The couple that was making out a few feet away definitely turned into coffins, too. Was he dreaming? Doubtful. Fortunately, he doubts the powerout situation would prevent him from entering his dorm since they were given actual keys instead of cards, so he's about to turn in the direction of that building when he sees someone... with a gun? Weren't firearms banned on this campus? He pops the can of coffee open, listening to the short hiss of pressurized air escaping its prison as he watches her get closer. She doesn't seem to be heading at him specifically, but if she's armed, should he avoid her? catch her off guard?

"What are you doing?"

Ask her stupid questions it is.

[princelydetective]

...Perhaps Naoto should be used to strange things and strange people. Personally, she feels like this boy is having a rather intense under reaction to the situation. However, the Shadows haven't already destroyed him... would that mean he has the potential? (Admittedly, that is hardly Naoto's expertise in understanding. She may have to call Mitsuru-san as soon as this is over.)

"Being on guard," is her answer; if he hasn't seen Shadows yet, there's no sense in trying to explain something that abstract, "Are you alright?"

[unjointed]

Intense under-reaction is his middle name. He's takes a sip of his coffee, sighing when the drink warms him up on its way down his esophagus. Ah, this is relief. There's a part of him that tells him he should feel bad for not offering it first, or at least not waiting until she's passed to drink, but he can't help the blackout and if he let it cool, it'll ruin the whole point of buying a hot drink. He ignores the voice and raises an eyebrow at her.

Then chuckles. What is this, is it an actual emergency?

"Yeah, I'm fine... is there something going on?"

b;

[gongshow]

If she wanders further, then somewhere on the route between the library and wherever, it is quite possible that Naoto will hear what sounds like a struggle coming from a nearby alley.

The source of said struggle, if she investigates, is a young man wearing a hockey mask, laying into a Shadow with a baseball bat as if his life depends on it.

(To be fair, it probably does.)

[princelydetective]

Sounds like that are exactly what she's listening for. She hurries down the alley, gun out and ready to fire. (Though, honestly, considering that he doesn't have a modified weapon or a persona? He's doing quite well for himself.)

Naoto aims carefully, firing at the Shadow to drive it back before heading forward. "You won't be able to kill it with that. Come on!"

[gongshow]

He may know nothing about Shadows or the Dark Hour, but Casey knows plenty about hitting the other guy hard enough to be sure he goes down before you do. ("The other guy," in this case, isn't really the best word for it, but he doesn't know much about semantics, either.)

The voice catches his attention, though not enough to get him to turn his head (because you don't take your eye off the ball, that's stupid), and he takes a step back, bat still held in front of him warily. Backing down on a fight isn't really in his nature, but the amount of abuse that thing has already taken does support what he's hearing.

And he's not really sure what he even ought to be targeting, given the lack of distinct anatomy.

"What is this thing?"

She sounds like she knows some shit. Might as well ask.

B

[windyflower]

Fuuka too had been in the library these past couple of days. With so many exams and papers all due within the same time period, it wasn't any surprise that she spent most of her nights in the library trying to get everything done. Of course, she too had been known to accidentally sleep in said building before someone decided to wake her up.

Sadly, this was not one of those days. Instead, when the clock turned midnight? She found herself staring at a blank computer screen. At first, she was wondering what was going on before she realized that all the lights too were turned off.

"What's going on?" She said before running straight out of the building as she looked around. As she saw people turning into coffins, the only thing she could do was to just be scared.

All she could do right now was to just run and try to figure out what was going on.

[princelydetective]

"Yamagishi-san!"

As soon as Naoto spots the woman, her instinct is to call out. In the back of her mind, she knew that some of the Shadow Ops also attended school here... but it wasn't something she was expecting to have to call upon. (And considering the scenario, it was likely they were as unprepared as she was- most people couldn't carry guns, even fake ones, on campus.)

She runs to catch up with the woman, hoping she'll be heard and that Fuuka will slow down enough for them to talk. "Are you alright?"

[windyflower]

If Naoto was unprepared, so was Fuuka. Right now, she needed to get a hold of Mitsuru and fast. With so many shadows lurking around, it was only a matter of time before people would seriously get themselves hurt. Of course, without her Evoker, she was useless. She could sense Juno telling her where everyone was but it was fruitless if Fuuka couldn’t summon her. However, just then, she heard a voice.

“Shirogane-san?” Her eyes immediately widen before shaking her head. “I’m fine but what about you? Are you okay?”

[sugartreats]

OPTION A
[What's what? School work you say? What school work? Who cares? He can be in class tomorrow. Right now, Byakuran is enjoying the weather.

He can be found either lying on the ground with his long men's cardigan spread out underneath him, and a packet of marshmallows on his stomach, or wandering about town with the sweetest iced coffee from the local Starbucks cafe.]


OPTION B
[The only reason why Byakuran is still out and about and not in his room getting work done is because he'd just been in the library and getting work done there. And the only reason why he's doing such a thing at butt o'clock in the evening is because he gets lazy, and enjoys procrastinating a little too much to get things done immediately, unless it's about getting his regular fix of sweets and treats.

But he's not so tired that he doesn't notice what's going on. He notices when some kind of green tint is suddenly cast over his surroundings, and he looks up and around.]

Eh?

[Okay what the hell. His watch has just died which is impossible because it's brand new, the two people who were passing in front of him have suddenly turned into coffins (right before his very eyes!) and... what is up with the moon?]

Aaaaah, all right Wade, Mark, you can come out now. This is a pretty elaborate joke, I'm impressed! It's all very realistic! [And he taps on the two coffins before him with his knuckles. But despite his flippant words, Byakuran is nervous.]

A

[windyflower]

[Right now, Fuuka was doing all that she could to try and get all her work done in time. She usually wasn't one to do everything at the last minute but these past couple of days were hectic. She had to finish a paper, study for a test, do another paper, have an assignment due all within the same day. Of course, it would mean that she would eventually fall behind in some of her school work!

Which was why as she was running to the library to get all her work done, she wasn't looking where she was going. Hope you don't mind Fuuka running into you!]

[sugartreats]

Oof--

[Oh, he's so lucky he's already on the ground because that kind of impact would have knocked him down. So at least his bones and brain aren't jarred. ... Too much.]

Aah, easy there! You can run someone over like that. [He's not quite angry-- a little annoyed actually, but he manages to keep a friendly tone and a slight smile on his face.]

[windyflower]

Oh, I'm s-sorry!

[Fuuka studdered as she tried her best to grab all the papers off on the ground. How embarassing, she thought to herself, how could she start off a day like this?]

I wasn't looking where I was going, I was trying to get to the library as fast as I could and... [She trailed off as her face was still looking toward the ground.]

Where is it...I could have sworn..

[foepas]

a.

Alec will go to class, not because he strictly needs to (these freshman classes offer little enough of actual value as far as he’s concerned) but because it’s a way to stave off the boredom, and because professors react better when he shows up during their office hours to argue about their research with them if he’s actually their student, and actually showed up at their class.

When he’s not there he can be found in the dining hall, picking at what anyone else might consider a half-portion of a meal or with the food long gone cold in front of him and a book taking up his attention instead.

b.

Alec had been at a party, and he’s more than a little drunk when the world starts acting strange, and he spends a moment considering that there may have been something slipped into his last drink before he decides that he needs to get out of there. People seem to be in coffins, but that’s likely a hallucination, and he needs to get where there aren’t people. The outside world is still green, and that’s not like anything Alec has had before, and that’s enough to frighten him.

And then he comes face to face with a creature. His eyes are wide in fear and disbelief and maybe even a little fascination, but he doesn’t really have the intention to run. Instead he stands still. His survival instinct isn’t what it should be.

b

[princelydetective]

"Run!"

Knowing what she does about Alec, Naoto has a fairly good guess about why he's not running from the Shadow. But even if he is frustrating on many levels, that doesn't mean Naoto can in good conscious leave him be.

She fires a few shots at the Shadow, using the time it's delayed (but certainly not killed) to rush forward and grab Alec's arm. She doesn't care if he likely won't take that well. "That won't kill it; we have to move!"

[foepas]

Alec is fairly certain that Naoto shouldn’t waste his time on Alec, but he’s also mostly convinced that this is still some sort of bad drug trip, and he therefore can’t understand the urgency.

He does feel a pang of relief, though, at the fact that Naoto’s touch against him feels solid. Maybe part of this is real, then, and that’s enough for Alec to start to move the way Naoto wants him to, even if his feet are a little unsteady from alcohol and the rest of it.

[princelydetective]

And of course Alec is drunk. Well, she should probably expect that of her fellow college students, even if now is an incredibly inconvenient time for that.

She drags him away from the shadow, which luckily looses interest in them for the moment with how fast Naoto is determined to move. When they're a decent distance away, she'll let them stop, looking around at Alec. "Are you alright?" she asks. It's probably a bad sign that she's already bracing herself for a sarcastic answer.

[straighttotheheart]

Richard's survival instinct, on the other hand, is quite up to scratch. As soon as the creatures appear, he knows he has to run and hide. As he runs through the grounds, he notes that he is the only human around. Everyone else has been replaced by the coffins that he remembers, though until tonight he had pushed that experience to the back of his mind.

He knows the school well, and manages to lose two Shadows which were on his tail. Panting slightly, he rounds the corner of a building and notices another human standing face to face with one of the monsters.

"The hell are you doing?" He grabs the gun at his side shoots at the Shadow, which does close to nothing, though it seems stunned. He hadn't had a weapon when he was in Japan, but it looks like it wouldn't have mattered. Running is still the best option. The student (presumably?) still hasn't moved, so he grabs his arm in a vice grip and pulls him away. "You have a death wish? Run!"

[foepas]

This doesn’t really seem like the right time to answer a question like that one with yes. He’s also not really being given much of a chance, as Alec can’t seem to pull away. (He’s also not certain how much he wants to try, but that’s a completely different matter.) Still, there’s a different between running and being dragged, and Alec gives it another moment.

“The world’s probably ending,” he says instead. “And you want me to run?” Okay, maybe that’s being a little extreme, but this is also apparently a man who’s carrying a gun and maybe if Alec is lucky he’ll just shoot him in frustration. That seems like it would be both quick and dramatic.

[straighttotheheart]

"It isn't." He knows that much. The world remained intact after the nights he had experienced.

He lets go of Alec's arm, and starts walking quickly, almost jogging. The student has long legs - he assumes he can keep up.

"You've got nothing to lose by taking my word for it." He jerks his head backwards at the Shadow, which is slipping towards them slowly, but picking up speed. He still has a tight grip on his gun. "And a lot to lose if you don't."

[gongshow]

A)

If hockey practice is going, you're not going to catch Casey anywhere else.

If it's not? There's a good chance he's spending some of his own time on the ice, or he might just be at the gym doing something else. Less frequently, he might be around the coffee shop or other student hangouts, but he's never been all that great at finding a social life, either.


B)

And if it's midnight, you might catch him doing something else entirely.

He's not too far from campus when the Dark Hour strikes; there are always a few opportunists waiting to catch students leaving drunk from the bars. If they're looking for an easy target, they're not going to get it tonight. Casey doesn't go out with a full wallet - he goes out with a hockey mask, a baseball bat, and a bad attitude. Anyone who starts shit on his route is going to think better of it.

Three against one isn't the most promising of odds, but these guys don't seem well prepared to deal with anyone who's sober and itching for a fight, instead of drunk and afraid of one. So he's not too worried about how it's going to end. Dodges a punch from the first one, takes a swing at the second -

- freezes, and stares, as his bat connects with a coffin, and not the person who was standing there a second ago.

He takes a step backwards, pulling his mask up with one hand to make sure he's not just seeing things.

"The hell?"

[foepas]

Alec had been walking — okay, maybe staggering a little — when he’d heard the sound of violence, and he’d followed it. If nothing else, it might make for a half-decent show.

But then there’s eerie green light, and his heart in his throat, and nothing following any rules.

He takes a half-step back the direction he’d come from, more alarmed by the coffins than the dangerous person still standing around with a baseball bat.

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

[gongshow]

The dangerous person, at least, doesn't seem to have much interest in hitting anything but his chosen opponents - not even their coffins, which means he's lowering his weapon for the moment.

And turning to see who's stumbled by.

"...is it like that on the main drag, too?"

A bizarre localized phenomenon that's only happening in the alley would be weird enough, but if everyone out in the regular streets is like this, too, things are gonna be even more worrisome.

[foepas]

Not as interesting, that. Safer, though, and if Alec doesn’t always manage safe he doesn’t exactly feel like pushing in that direction at the moment. Maybe the alcohol has unsettled him, or maybe that’s just the situation.

“Green and weird, yeah. I don’t, it doesn’t make any sense.”

And it doesn’t feel safe either, and it’s as if that thought is the cue for some of the creatures to appear, to start approaching them. Alec cuts off from what else he had been going to say, staring at them.