cordibus: (Apple.net)
cordibus ([personal profile] cordibus) wrote in [community profile] applenet2017-05-13 05:57 pm

COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY

The peaceful life of the city has been shattered once more.

Many had thought it over, but a few days ago it happened again. Bodies slashed and mutilated beyond recognition so that that only dental records could be used to ID the victims. Pieces of bodies strung along power lines and roofs.. The same horrifying events as nearly a year ago...

Back then, the response from the Eddan city council and its police force, however draconian it seemed at the time, was necessary. As death after death of normal citizens began to pile up and a pattern emerged, a lockdown was ordered after sunset. Companies shifted their hours around and before long, the city had adjusted to a daytime only work and school schedule. Many businesses opened dormitories to house those employees stuck working late. Only police, hospital and firemen units operated at night for emergencies.

The city seemed to return to normal. Horrific deaths were few, and blame was usually placed on the victims having for breaking curfew. Despite extensive research and cameras stationed around the city, no culprit for the murders was found. The murder(or murderers) simply were nicknamed Shadow(s) by the media.

Before this new string of murders, many had pondered if the curfew could be lifted soon, that the culprit was a serial killer from another country that left the city after the police came too close to narrowing them down. But now the murders are starting again.

And that's about when you come in.

You could all say it started with a strange icon that popped up on your phone that day. May 13th, 2017.


Did you press it right away out of curiosity? Did you press it accidentally trying to dismiss it? Or did you wait long enough for it to cover your entire screen, forcing you to interact with it? Either way, congratulations! You've got...a Terms of Service popping up in front of you?

Terms and Conditions ("Terms")
Last updated: May 13th, 2017


Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the http:/www.applenet.net website (the "Service") operated by AppleNET ("us", "we", "our", "horse", "goat", "etc.").

Your access to and use of the Service is predicated on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms and agree to be part of The Team. If you disagree with any part of the terms then that's too bad. You already agreed to them by reading this far.

AppleNET has no control over and assumes no responsibility for content posted or user privacy. You further acknowledge and agree that AppleNET and its affiliates shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods, death, night shifts, or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance the laws, by which we mean with little regard to its conflict of law provisions. Are you still even reading this?

Changes
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will try to provide at least 0 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. You don't have much choice.

Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.


You quickly notice there is no contact number or address. Uhh---

DO YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS?
Yes | Hell Yes

It really seems like you don't have much choice. After pressing one of the two buttons, a new screen greets you.

21 DAYS REMAIN BEFORE AWAKENING

Welcome, stray lambs! We'll be your friends for a tiny bit. I'm sure the others are looking forward to meeting you in the future, but for now, we are asking you to answer these questions as truthfully as you can. Don't worry if the answer sounds 'bad'. After all, you're already hired!


Are they... acting like they’ve just hired you for a new job?

The first (and only) question for today is:

You find yourself in a neighboring city where the police have captured an individual who has stolen bread from a grocery store to stay alive. For the sake of this morality lesson, let us say that the penalty in this city is death, and a very painful one. This individual is a childhood friend. Knowing all of this, what do you do? Please pick one of the following:

1) I stand up for them and propose to be their lawyer so that they get a fair trial.

2) I stand up for them and propose to be their lawyer so that they get a fair trial. I have no idea what being a lawyer could even be, but that way I can figure out a way to save them and give myself more time.

3) I stand up for them and propose to hire a lawyer so that they get a fair trial.

4) I let the city decide, as the law rules above everything else.

5) They shouldn't have let themselves be caught. It's their own fault and I just let it happen.

6) They bullied you as a kid despite being a friend and you're just happen to see them getting their just desserts. It's pretty great actually.

7) Society is unfair. I'm are already preparing to bust my friend out of the jail so they can escape.

8) I visit jail that night and give them items so that they can escape but no one can pin it on me. The rest is up to them.

9) I show up that night in jail to kill them to save them from the future suffering from the death penalty.

10) I use my vast amounts of fortune / skills to put the blame on an innocent so that they can get out. Hey that other guy is a stranger, so it’s not my problem!

11) What do you mean I showed up in that city? I can barely find my way around this one.

12) I propose to exchange my life for theirs, then I try to bust myself out. Take that, corrupted justice system!

13) I go back home and watch the trial on the local network with a fresh bowl of popcorn. This shit's gonna be good.

As you go to pick out an option...or try to exit out of it, you witness an all-too brief memory of a life you think isn't yours. A flash that makes you think you were hallucinating. Your head hurts, your heartbeat increases dramatically, and you can barely see anything ahead of you...

Wait, did you already pick something? You don't remember touching the screen, but something's already been highlighted and pressed for you. Staring at the 'saving' prompt, you would later find out it was a deeper memory from your heart. It might terrify you, what you've picked.

After that, the program displays nothing else for a few seconds before a chatroom (appleNET chat v.301.01) boots up, with a username already attached to your account and a little icon, either a sword or a ship steering wheel, next to it. More worryingly, your answer is the first thing posted from your name. Not even a hi or hello.

Well good thing no one has any idea who you are....right?

[OOC: The memory should only last for a few seconds, but it would be something significant that would surprise them. It could even related to this question!

All mentions of their own name, profession or other clues that might reveal who they are would be changed to [INFORMATION LOCKED]. The only name they can refer to themselves by is their username, which is the name of the demon you chose for their Persona. 'Family members might be able to find each other via their writing habits, but for now that's the limit.

Welcome to the game, and have fun!]
eyeofcute: (think)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
I mean, if like people being sent to their deaths, I wouldn't think swearing is that devastating to you, but...
Do you want any recs?


[oh my fucking god]
anovelidea: (Hate Plague)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
Swearing is the fastest way to show ones' own lack of decorum and ignorance. [ A beat. ]  And I don't like people being sent to their deaths!

[ But yet.

The curiosity.

It calls us.
]

What kind of recs?
Edited (html fail) 2017-05-14 00:44 (UTC)
eyeofcute: (genuine)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
Depends on what you like. I mean... crime dramas, good mystery novels, snuff films...

[one of these things are NOT like the other

But she understands the curiosity. The need for learning. Even the most terrible things.]


Anything worth watching.
anovelidea: (Creepy Children Singing)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ Okay who cares about the creepy app hijacking her brain and the weird puzzle-mystery-thing to solve in the questionnaire - THIS is a conversation she could get behind. ]

I already write mystery novels and I refuse to read anything I have not written. Crime dramas, however, never appealed to me. Too much focus on the police drama and not the actual crime. I admit I have never encountered a snuff film. I do not peruse the internet enough to find such things.

[ Yet, she knows what a snuff film is. ]
eyeofcute: (wink)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[This is terrible. They're both terrible.]

You could say I'm a science student, to leave this vague. I've seen a few to satiate my curiosity.

[tfw you realize cagliostro is a neckbeard on r/watchpeopledie or something]

If you write mystery novels, you might like to take inspiration from real life!
I wonder if I can upload links through this app...


[GUYS

EVERYONE IN THE CHATROOM CAN SEE THIS]
anovelidea: (Ax-Crazy)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Everyone in the chatroom can see this.

Which means everyone can enjoy learning things. For science!!!
]

Boo, I never go to the science wing. Too many people lecturing me. It's rude.

I'm not sure if you can directly make a link, but perhaps just write out the address?

For research, of course.
eyeofcute: (aaah)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
[For s-science, yes...]

Unfortunately, I've got nothing on the murders in my home, Eddan. Obviously, or else the police would've solved everything quickly.
There's a lot from other countries, though! Much less secure ones.
Do you want to see axe beheading or death by fire first?


[Yeah, she's not holding back. Um, this is just getting more and more dubious by the second.]

Or gunshot wounds, executions, drowning, traffic accidents...
Here's some:
[insert liveleak equivalent here

please... please don't watch it, fam, it's probably someone getting stuck in an industrial machine and being turned into dust, you're not even a science student, you don't need to see this, you'll end up on a list somewhere--]
anovelidea: (Evil Is Visceral)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh hell no, she's watching it. A part of her is disgusted and horrified, but something came with this app. Something amused.

So she watches For Science while happily typing away on the phone. Oh, so that's what happens when an arm is torn from its socket-
]

Eddan? How coincidental. I would love to see a recording of how our recent victims died. Writing it off as mere 'Shadows' feels like third-rate writing.

Do you have anything for explosives? I've been toying with involing C4 in an upcoming novella, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of my descriptions.
eyeofcute: (genuine)

this entire thread is just a giant tw for every kind of gore

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[For Cagliostro, who has always kind of seen lives apart from her own and her friends to be rather cheap, mostly watch these to remind herself about how easy it is to die. Turn left without looking on the road? Boom, dead! Walk into the wrong neighbourhood? RIP, you're gone.]

A few, but mostly terrorism videos. Those aren't very high-quality, unfortunately.

[...Unfortunately...]

Here's a close-up for a suicide bomber: [whew lads]

But you're in Eddan too, huh? Maybe this is an Eddan-only app.
Honestly, those security cameras all over the city should've captured SOMETHING, at least. I'd love to look through them for anything good.
anovelidea: (Hate Plague)

it's ~*~educational~*~

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you very much, dear. I may call for your help searching for more videos in the future. My own ability to navigate technology is lacking and my daughter has

Different talents.


[ Ouch. ]

Eddan-only... I do not remember it mentioning that in the Terms of Service, but I know my memory is bad. I've been trying to think on a connecting factor between all of us users, but it couldn't be that vague. The amount of comments would be much higher.
eyeofcute: (sparkle innocent)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Different talents, huh... yeah, she can understand the implications.]

Sure! Let me read your stories too!
And I haven't met anyone else outside of Eddan here. When it came up, they all said they're from Eddan too.
Maybe the police is spying on us!
That'd be bad for me, wouldn't it?
anovelidea: (Earn Your Happy Ending)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ Read her books. Haha.

...Actually, this one might not be so bad to have as a reader.
]

I prefer to work under aliases, so you may have read my works already. I've made a point to be mysterious, so giving out the solution so fast feels like cheating. Riddles are fun when you don't know the answer. However, as thanks for the videos, I would not be averse to giving a hint.

And if the police are spying on you, then they're looking for two people living in Eddan named Haagenti and Dantalion. I would love to see what type of logic they'd spin together to justify such a slip in sanity.
eyeofcute: (cute default)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Hah, haha...

This sounds fun, though. Cagliostro hasn't had the time to check out many murder mysteries as of now. Maybe she should consider looking up this 'Dantalion'.]


Well, I'd say I like to solve mysteries on my own, too. So I'll look for your aliases myself. Though, maybe a riddle to point me in the right direction? For a writer, that shouldn't be too difficult, right?

[you dont need to make one up you can just insert some vague meaningless riddle here]

I guess that if this is a social experiment, too, whoever's doing it might be weirded out that two people are posting about death here. But they did ask a question about execution and trial by fire, so...
anovelidea: (The Fog Of Ages)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Putting me on the spot like that. I might be a bit too drunk for that. How about a compromise. Keep an eye on the next month's literary journals. In one of them, Dantalion shall take a new man's visage. It can double as a fun test to see if any of us are intertwined in reality as well as in text.

It's a terrible social experiment, though the reactions have been interesting. With such a morbid topic they can't be too upset if the discussions themselves turned morbid.


eyeofcute: (sparkle innocent)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
Haagenti: I'll certainly look out. Haagenti should track you down, quickly enough!

Well, in my opinion, they should've made the choices more vague. Instead of telling us a situation, why not show it to us? Design a story for us to read, and get invested in our 'childhood friend'. As if we have memories with them that are real.


[...Memories, huh...]

Then, bam! Put them in this spot. Then, we'd get more genuine responses.
anovelidea: (Cold-Blooded Torture)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
A challenge! Should I expect you on my doorstep?

[ That last part gives pause though. Design a story and show it to get them invested. Maybe it's not the question, but the illusion?

She's interested.
]

Did your hallucination show you a childhood friend?
eyeofcute: (serious)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
{There's no response, for a moment.

The fact that these 'hallucinations' are, indeed, something that happened to everyone opening this chatroom is... strange. Cagliostro does, eventually, manage to answer.]


Someone related to a childhood friend, I suppose.

What? You mean everyone's getting these weird dream-things?
anovelidea: (I'm A Humanitarian)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nailed it! It's so great being right about things aaaaa- ]

I cannot say "everyone" as most people have preferred to complain about the app or argue about their display names, but I and two others I have asked have confirmed seeing things. One person is an anomaly, but this many is

Let's go with disconcerting.
eyeofcute: (tsk)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps it's the UI. The power of suggestion is pretty strong, and I heard some kinds of music or language can make people think about certain things.

But whatever I saw, it had memories I don't actually remember. I haven't seen

Whatever I did see.

Anyway.


['Disconcerting' is correct.]
anovelidea: (Hate Plague)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
Wouldn't it be the same memory for all of us in that case? And I have never heard of music suggestion leading to that powerful of an influence.

But what does that leave? I enjoy writing and solving mysteries, but this is just

Strange. Worrying. Disgusting. Pick your adjective.
eyeofcute: (wink)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
Intriguing.

[She goes for her own choice, sorry.]

It's something you'd think isn't possible.

Like magic.

Maybe it's a city-wide brainwashing scheme.

But it's something to break up the normal day routine! Other than the murders.
anovelidea: (Nothing Is Scarier)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ "Magic isn't real."

Typing the words feels viscerally wrong, so the "Dantalion is typing..." line vanishes.
]

Brainwashing is such a third-rate trope, through.

The murders were a nice touch though. I wish I was allowed outside at night to see for myself. The ineffectiveness of our police force is embarrassing. Even a mystery enthusiast like myself could do better at this point.
Edited (html fail x2 wombo combo: the failening) 2017-05-14 03:49 (UTC)
eyeofcute: (cunning)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Magic is... well. Magic isn't that real. But science. Science can be very, very magical.]

In all honesty, I'd rather see them on camera. Seeing it in front of me would mean I'd probably be targeted next. Call me a coward, but I'd also like to keep my life.

Honestly, though. How can someone be strung up in the phone lines and yet NOTHING is caught? Instead of locking the whole place down at night, why not have actual patrols? I don't care how scary the murderers are, I'm pretty sure they're all susceptible to bullets.

I've always thought the murders were fishy. Maybe they know the murderer... but they won't say. Someone powerful is behind this, perhaps. Something to that extent.
anovelidea: (Absence of Evidence)

[personal profile] anovelidea 2017-05-14 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Well, one good thing about this shady program is we can have conversations like this. Last time I tried talking about this I dragged to the [INFORMATION REDACTED] and almost fired.

Oh. That's new.

How about my boss's office, does that work?

Good. The entire thing was always very suspect from the first place. A string of murders happens, they tell everyone to stay inside, and... it stops? If I were one for conspiracy theories, it sounds more like there's something out at night they don't want anyone to see. Possibly whatever's doing the murders.
eyeofcute: (sparkle innocent)

[personal profile] eyeofcute 2017-05-14 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that happens when they think you're posting personal information or something.

I say Eddan has a huge drug/human/both trafficking ring that only comes out at night! I mean, come on, every glamorous big city has one of those. I'm sure we're no exception. With a Mayor strong enough to shut us indoors after curfew? It'll be chicken feet for him to run something like that!

And anyone who sees anything there aren't supposed to are strung up on the telephone wires. So they're 'protecting' us by shutting us inside, so they won't have to kill us if we know too much.

Buuut, maybe that's just a theory. Teehee!


[Who types 'Teehee' in a chatroom?!]
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