![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
- !event; countdown; day 21,
- alucard,
- chikusa kakimoto,
- featherine augustus aurora,
- jaune arc,
- jirou sakuma,
- koujirou genda,
- lenka utsugi,
- louis,
- mako,
- makoto fukami,
- minako arisato,
- mitsuru kirijo,
- miu matsuoka,
- nakigitsune,
- nobunaga oda,
- okuyasu nijimura,
- pharos,
- raidou kuzunoha xiv,
- sakuya kira,
- sion astal,
- tatsuya suou,
- yuuri katsuki,
- yuuto kidou
COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY
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---
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!]
no subject
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...
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
[ 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?
no subject
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?
no subject
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.
no subject
But whatever I saw, it had memories I don't actually remember. I haven't seen
Whatever I did see.
Anyway.
['Disconcerting' is correct.]
no subject
But what does that leave? I enjoy writing and solving mysteries, but this is just
Strange. Worrying. Disgusting. Pick your adjective.
no subject
[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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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?!]
no subject
[ There's a long pause here after reading that.
Can she adopt this kid? This is a good kid. She needs more people like this in her life. ]
I like that theory! What if the mayor is just a figurehead, placed by the trafficking ring. This app is how they find their targets - get us to answer questions until our real lives can be discovered, then they'll break into our homes and ship us away without any hope. Those of us who are not qualified to be sold to the slave trade are made examples of, strewn as garlands about the city, a decoration of fear for the masses so the charade can continue on.
Ahhhh, I want to write about it! My editor will kill me but I want to write about it!!!
[ At least Cagliostro will know what type of story to look for in the coming weeks. ]
no subject
[Despite seemingly being a pretty morbid
kidperson, Cagliostro is more interested in the aftermath. How people will pick up afterwards. How they'll dive back into chaos again once they realize that this city is a little too expensive to keep up without that tricky slave trade business, etc.]Well, you can write it in secret! Get a less boring editor.
no subject
[ She is gonna adopt this kid. Ahhhh~ It's so nice when other people get it!! Somewhere in reality, her daughter can sigh in disgust as Isabelle starts shouting in hype and demanding papers from her maids. Poor dear. ]
My writer will cave before my demands, as he always has before my glory! This inspiration must be given flesh!
[ Cags what have you done.
r e p e n t ]
no subject
and then probably leave 10 pages of critique SORRY FAM]
There, that's the spirit! Fight against the institution! Throw out all expectations forced upon your being! You are a creator and you were made to create!
[She feels like... she's given this speech before, but. Whatever.]
Editors can't exist without their authors' works! He has nothing on you! What's the worst that can happen? Speak up or forever hold your breath!
[Cagliostro's getting a bit into it.
Yes, she's projecting.]
1/2
Well said! No one needs the chains of society weighing them down! The only way to ascend over the common filth is to discard the trappings of humanity. We are Creators. We are above needing such foolish mortals to create our Univer
no subject
Where did that come f
Her Universe?
Her face feels wron
Please excuse the delay, she needs to go vomit out the sensation of hallucinations clogging up the brainstem. Ten minutes later: ]
Perhaps the wine was a bad choice.
Regardless! You have a point, and my Editor can go out at midnight. Self-publishing books is too expensive. I've heard there are online methods in this day and age, but I'm terrible with computers. Do any of the schools in Eddan offer online courses?
no subject
But once she reappears, Cagliostro immediately recognizes the Dantalion username + her writing and grabs the phone again.] Starting a webseries or something, you mean?
I'm not great with computers myself. Not my field of study. But there should be easy guides on how to set up pretty-looking websites to post whatever you want! Like blogs, or online journals.
Eddan should offer some classes in web design.
[She doesn't realize Isabelle literally just. Can't use a computer.]
no subject
Dear, I believe you just spoke to me in French. I usually use my computer only to convert my writing. My publisher wants everything in "rtx" now. My knowledge of anything further is spotty at bes
Oh! I also know I have to turn off the adblock thing my daughter installed if the website asks me to!
[ She is that bad. ]