[personal profile] hot_mess_express
Who: unfortunate (?) souls
When: Day 15, afternoon
Where: some shady tent

Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth.

[Oh boy it's Trial time guys!!

That is to say there's the usual slight shake of the train, and outside a trial area appears! This time it's a highly decorated cloth tent, reminiscent of a fortune teller's stall, and the voice calling the heroes forth is a deep, aged and manly one. A warm light peeks out from behind the curtained entrance, welcoming you inside.

Those who go in, by their own will or compulsion, will find themselves in what seems to be a theatre lobby. There's a pretty, golden fountain with bench seating around it and lovely flickering oil lamps on the brocade walls.

For a little while, you're left to mingle.]

SIGNUPS ☆ PREGAME MINGLE ☆ RULES ☆ ROOMS ☆ WINNERS & ENDGAME
spectacularluck: (pic#12635944)
[personal profile] spectacularluck
Who: Everyone
When: Day 13, afternoon
Where: Public Lounge

[ Guess who's trying to earn as many Sparks as possible? This guy. So on Day 13, sometime during the day each Team may have received a quick visit from this guy, encouraging them to come to the public lounge during the afternoon to partecipate on a get to know each other exercise. For anyone who asks, he'll explain on very generic terms that it's just a game of truth or dare or kiss, and he's going to try his best to convince people to actually show up.

For those who do show up at the public lounge in the afternoon, he's going to explain the basic set up ]

All right, so, the whole thing is pretty simple. Usually, I guess there should be something to spin or help with randomly selecting people, but that's going to get complicated, so let's skip that one. You see someone you want to get to know, you partner up with 'em.

Here's the rules. You ask your partner to pick Truth or Dare, and ask or provide your challenge accordingly. As the person who's been asked or challenged, you will have the option to back out of it by kissing your partner instead. Doesn't have to be anywhere specific, there's kids here.

You won't win anything out of it except, huh, my gratitude for taking part, I guess.
trainmasters: (Default)
[personal profile] trainmasters
Who: Everyone
When: Day 12, evening into night
Where: the Aurora

[As evening approaches, you hear the jingle associated with an official message from your Chain. It's the same balloons and confetti animation as the last time newbies arrived, and the same message as well:]
WELCOME NEW HEROES

[As anticipated, some newbies are waking up in their rooms, in the usual nondescript undies or team pyjamas.

Just after this, however, something much more startling happens...

Outisde, the bell tone gets all the louder, a beautiful resonating sound that fills the air. Then, suddenly, a flood of strange square-shaped sparkles appear, floating around like magical fireflies, bringing with them a pleasant warmth. They increase in size and volume until the air itself whites out with a bright but pleasant light. While you can't see, you can hear the bell, and the distant rumbling of stone.

Abruptly, the sound stops, and the bright light fades to reveal a sky painted in sunset hues. Where there was once a dark and hostile jungle with cracks in the ground, there's now a colourful rainforest environment and a floor thick with bright moss. The sounds of birds and insects and regular wildlife rise over the previous silence, and the aggressive plantlife is replaced by large flowers and succulent fruits. In one direction, a dirt path winds through the trees, and in the opposite, the brush gives way to a stone formation with a flat top and an opening flanked in carvings of water and plants.

If one were to enter the new cave entrance, they'd find the previous moon crystals replaced by rainbow ones that reflect sparkling light onto the floor, and feel soothingly warm to the touch. Further into the caves, there's a carved stone path that leads to the beach you initially arrived on. There stands the Prism: a large floating cube in the center of gyproscope-like concentric rings. Where it had been glowing black, it's now a royal purple, and the light and energy from it are significantly less malicious than before -- though still far from pure. The beach itself is now covered in fine white sand, and the sea no longer tries to pull you in -- provided you don't go out too far.

Because not all is well on this Star just yet. While the nearby water contains a reef of colourful fish, 100 meters or so out to sea the water turns black again. While under water in the safe area, you can occasionally see the shadows of great and terrible monsters deep in the dark.

Likewise, should you choose to follow the first path, after ~1km you'll find the forest fades back into the previous dense, dark jungle. At the edge of the darkness, there's something new -- the remains of what looks like a modern town. It's all overgrown, cottages twisted into ruins and streets covered in vines and prowled by tiger monsters and a new threat: towering reptilian creatures that climb the crumbling shells of apartment buildings and the empty City Hall, like geckos increased to dinosaur size. They're fast, and if they catch you they'll swallow you whole. On the one side, that makes it easier for someone to save you -- they could cut you out. On the other, those unable to be rescued will find their skin and muscles becoming slowly more transparent and stiff, the colour and feeling leaving them until their minds are trapped in a useless shell. Those found in that condition later must be saved via the healing pods -- but they'll remember their stay in their glass bodies, with their blood running and heart pumping like a living anatomical model of their organs.

On the Aurora, however, you're welcome to enjoy the first sight of the sun in 12 days. As the brilliant sunset moves into a night reigned over by a gentle moon, the Heartbeat Festival remains in full swing. So celebrate your victory with a glass of shimmery alcohol and a kiss, because you've done it -- your love has purified a part of this Star!]

[[OOC NOTES: CONGRATULATIONS on your first Prism purification, guys! There is a toplevel for ICly suggesting train upgrades here, so check it out! Next week we'll post a poll, and the week after the upgrade will be implemented.

The updates to the Setting page to reflect this post will be made soon, so keep an eye out!]]
trainmasters: (Default)
[personal profile] trainmasters
Who: Everyone
When: Day 12, morning into afternoon
Where: the Aurora

[Morning today comes easily, the early stars of a false sunrise shining in with the same cool softness as usual. Though it remains the eternal darkness of the corrupted jungle, it's a little warmer than it's been so far, as if something somewhere is emitting a comforting heat. If you're outside you can hear a faint ringing like the chime of a bell, off in the direction of the beach. It's a bit far to walk through dangerous jungle, but you could try, if you're determined.

Back at the Aurora, however, things are also awfully... cheery. When you wake up in the morning and leave your carriages, you'll find the hallways and public areas lit with tiny pink, red, and golden hearts, shifting and glowing on the walls with no apparent source. On your Chain is a message that comes without any annoying jingle:
Good morning, heroes! You've had a hard time so far, so here's a little gift from me. Today is the Star Kingdom's most lovey-dovey holiday: Heartbeat Festival Day! First, let me tell you the local legend:

"Once upon a time, a beautiful girl lost her home to war. After wandering the universe for awhile, she noticed that the further she traveled, the more a certain pink constellation began to resemble a heart. With no destination in mind, she followed it until she arrived here, in the Star Kingdom. Stopping to warm her hands with a hot drink, by chance she bumped into a handsome young man at the same stall -- a man who happened to be the newly crowned Star King! Under the light of the Heartbeat constellation, the two fell in love at first sight. Their union was blessed by the universe, and when they had a child, she was born with twinkling stars in her hair and eyes. And that's where the royal line got their sparkles!"

The festival is a celebration of love -- for friends, lovers, family, and the whole universe. It's a time to show your appreciation with gifts, kisses, and a whole lotta drinking! We could use some love right now, so even though my kingdom can't celebrate today, you can do it for us.

To foster some affection, the drinks we've provided will give you a bit of a boost... but it's all harmless, I promise! So cozy up and show some affection. If you're lucky, you might stumble into the most heart-racing kind of love: romance!

In accordance with the message, the dining area in the lounge car has plates of various desserts in chocolate or strawberry flavours, and trays of champagne glasses full of drinks with several different colours of edible shimmer. Each one has a different effect, and is more alcoholic than the last:
☆ Gold: Those who drink this sweet, vanilla-flavoured concoction will find their hand gravitates towards the nearest person's. Once you're holding hands you're glued together, for an hour or until you're both having a good time. The drink has a star-shaped charm around the stem.

★ Pink: Strawberry champagne is valentine's Heartbeat Festival in a glass! Drinking it unfortunately roots you in place, along with the first person you see. You're stuck until you share a kiss -- any kind of kiss will do! This drink has a pursed lips charm around the stem.

☆ Red: A bright raspberry liquor, this drink is berry tasty, and makes your heart flutter. After drinking, you'll find your affection for other people enhanced. It's based on what you already feel, so you won't be attached to someone you dislike, but you'll feel extra adoring towards your friends, and any crush you might have will turn into true love! Effects last anywhere from one to four hours. This drink has a heart-shaped charm around the stem.

★ Brown: Though this drink smells and tastes like hot chocolate, it's actually very potent, both in its alcoholic effects and its nudge towards love. Drinking it enhances your desire for physical affection -- platonic or sexual is a real coin toss. Effects last anywhere from one to four hours. This drink has a rose-shaped charm around the stem.

Drinking multiple drinks will stack effects -- you can have all four at once if you like. This will go on til evening -- where something else magical might just happen!]

[[OOC NOTES: This is a harmless cute Valentine's post! It has the potential for NSFW threads, so please be aware, and remember to put a warning in the subject line or move such threads offcomm.

Placements are tomorrow: and with them comes a major IC update! Please look forward to it!]]
joybound: (118)
[personal profile] joybound
Who: everybody
When: Day 10, sunrise
Where: mainly outside

[Sometime early in the morning, there's a deep rumble, as the ground shakes. The vines previously grabbing at the Aurora and its heroes multiply rapidly, completely coating the train and shutting out starlight. For a moment everything creaks, as if the metal itself is about to cave in.

But then it stops. Somewhere far away something roars, and suddenly the vines retreat, leaving only a few remaining cracks in the ground. Below, the caves have only the harmless glowing mushrooms which, should you choose to attempt eating them, prove to quickly fill one's stomach and leave them with a burst of energy. You can follow the tunnels still, though -- now that they're free of monster plant, you'll find it's one big connected network. There are various small caves in which iridescent white crystals grow, letting off a faint light reminiscent of the moon. From them drips a translucent liquid which feels soft and cool on the skin, until it seeps in. Once it's in your bloodstream you'll find yourself caught in a euphoria that encourages acting on your every impulse. If you want to steal something, you will. If you want to kiss someone, you will. If you want to kill someone...

...Well. It's possible to overcome the compulsions, at least. You need only picture someone you care more about than yourself, and concentrate. Unfortunately the high that comes with it can be addictive, so one must take care when exploring the caves.

It's unlikely anyone will get much exploring done before sunrise, but if you're not in the deep dark where signal is poor, you'll be woken at dawn by a loud and cheerful jingle on your Chain. Even if you were previously dead, you're sure up now! Accompanying it is the slight shift in the train that usually comes with a trial, and a message that just says:
come outside

If you follow the summons, you'll see that rather than a scary tower or spooky house, there's what appears to be a really flashy convertible, painted a shimmering deep rose. Leaning against the hood is a man who appears just over twenty, with long hair and bright eyes, both quite literally twinkling with stars.

His voice might be familiar, if you were one of the first arrivals. But the tone, rather than sad and soft, is... frankly annoyingly full of energy. As is his smile as he waves at everyone coming out.]
"Good morning, my lovely heroes!"

[[OOC NOTES: Anyone who died will be revived at the time of the prince's arrival, even if it's earlier than the 1 day revival timeline. Injuries can still be there depending on your character's timeline, but there are a couple of hours between the plants leaving and the prince appearing, so everyone should have had time to catch their breath and take a shower at least.]]
trainmasters: (Default)
[personal profile] trainmasters
Who: Everyone
When: Day 9 til ???
Where: places

[The plants and cracks that appeared yesterday evening have continued to grow, leaving the air full of the sweet, relaxing scent of night blossoms. In fact they're grown a lot, over the evening slowly covering the nearest trees in a choking layer of black vines.

Abruptly, around midnight, the train rattles as if being shook. It only last a bare couple of seconds, but anyone going outside will see that the vines have sprung up from the ground to begin coating the train itself -- and they're coming up from more of those mysterious cracks. This time, too, the cracks are bigger, and it seems as if the train is in peril of falling right through the ground.

From the intercoms, and displayed in text on both Chains and the big screen in the lounge, comes a message in the Construct's artificially chipper voice.
Systems have detected imminent danger. We are currently unable to relocate. Please remove obstructions from the train's exterior as soon as possible.

However, no matter how many vines you pull away, more grow rapidly to replace them, and the caustic sap when they're broken will get all over your hands and clothes. It doesn't seem like the vines are going to consume the train, though. They've grown just enough to hold it down, and will stop at that point even when they grow back.

The heroes, however, may find themselves in a trickier spot. Around the same time as the message, characters who go outside might find a crack suddenly opening below them, vines popping out to yank them down into the abyss below. These can even show up within the train floor -- in the hallways, anyway. The actual rooms seem to be safe. The cracks, this time, are oddly supernatural -- they close immediately upon swallowing someone, leaving no trace behind.

Those who've been dragged in will find themselves in an underground tunnel. Inside, your Chain can't connect to anyone else, and you're alone except for one other person -- or two or three, if you're lucky. With your partner(s), you must traverse a strange pathway coated in vines and filled with different colours and shapes of glowing mushrooms and flowers. The only light comes from the flora, and from the occasional gently wiggling blob of what appears to be some kind of living jelly.

These blobs seem harmless and cute from a distance, but when approached perk up and shift, growing upwards into a new form -- one that represents a fear or insecurity of one of the heroes in front of it. This could be a swarm of spiders or an angry parent, but regardless of the form the creature is quite intend on doing whatever harm it can to you and those with you. But it's only a blob -- any attacks magical or physical are ineffective, as it regains it shape nigh instantly. The only thing that can stop the attack is exposure to the opposite emotion: you have to be able to laugh. Characters who, with the help of their partners, are able to face their fears with a smile will find the blobs melting into inert puddles.

If you can't kill them with kindness, you could also run. You'll find the blobs are more numerous in one direction and fewer in the other. Running away from them will eventually lead you to an open crack and thicker vines you can climb to escape the tunnel. Facing them head-on (or running in the wrong direction), though, will lead you to a dead-end, where a glowing, pulsating mass of vines roughly the size of an adult human is affixed to the wall. Should you destroy this "core", the blobs will melt and the vines inside the tunnel will drop their flowers and turn into solid, dead wood, leaving only the mushrooms to guide you to the exit.

If you're not lucky enough to escape or destroy the tunnel's core, however... well. That's just a shame for you, isn't it? Characters killed by their fears will be devoured by the blobs to feed the plants, and will wake up in their bedrooms after approximately one IC day, fully healed but groggy and (optionally) with the sense that they've had a bad dream they can't remember.

There are many tunnels, it turns out, and the plants don't seem keen on leaving any time soon. Meanwhile, the announcement on the train repeats roughly once every hour, but after the first hours in its stead on the main screen comes a different one:
What's going on?

You can try to talk to the Construct or to free the train, but it's clear that something big is trying to eat you.]

[[OOC NOTES: This event will last OOCly til February 3. ICly, it lasts as long as you guys want. You are welcome and encouraged to make posts advancing time, especially if your character has ideas for addressing the plot as a group. If you need a refresher on the effects of the vines and their flowers, they're the same as the ones from this post. The mods won't be running the monsters, so it's up to you guys to attack your friends with your own fears!

You'll find a turn-in comment here -- on the third the mods will tally how many tunnels were cleared (core destroyed), escaped, or failed (all characters dead). Based on these numbers we'll post a follow-up. More info on turn-in is in the comment, but all results have pros/cons so play as much failure as you like! Characters can be swallowed as many times as you want, and you can keep playing after turn-in. You're also welcome to avoid it entirely, either by having your character stay within the rooms of the train or just through luck.

You can also talk to the Construct under this toplevel. It'll be more responsive than usual due to the plot -- but only sometimes, and about some subjects. Depending on what you ask/say you may get canned answers or a real response. It's a gamble!

Effects from the Dragon's game are still in effect, but you can have them wear off at any point if you wish. If you have questions, please reply to this comment, or ping Cleo on discord.]]
[personal profile] thereisnowhy
Who: Ginger & guests
When: Day 9 afternoon-ish
Where: Ginger carriage

[The newbies have been here almost a full day by now and Ginger "won" at a trial! Maybe it's about time for some regrouping?]
[personal profile] hot_mess_express
Who: Heroes
When: Day 9, Midday
Where: The Dragon's Tower


Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth.

The earth rumbles beneath your feet with a mighty roar. This time a crumbling stone tower looms above you, unscalable and unbreachable. At the top of the tower is a single window with a single light, beckoning. The only entrance at the base is an arched wooden door which creaks in protest when you open it.


Upon entering the tower you will find yourself in a large room with high walls constructed of dark, uneven brick stone. The ceiling is so high that you cannot see anything but darkness as torches lining the walls serve as the only source of light. The room itself is achingly cold. It’s reminiscent of a dungeon… or a treasure room.

But the only treasure to be found lies in the middle of the room; a small pile of seven bracelets, each one inlaid with a beautiful jewel corresponding to each team’s color. It may be fairly obvious, but just in case anyone is slow on the uptake:

“What is it that you treasure in this world? What are you willing to give up? Until you can decide that much, you will not be allowed to leave this room. It matters not to me if you rot in here.

However, I will tell you this much; should you decide who among you is most precious, only they may bear the weight of your altruism.”


Mingle | Pre-Game Rules | Hostages | Rooms | Endgame
trainmasters: (Default)
[personal profile] trainmasters
Who: Everyone!
When: Day 8, evening
Where: around

[It's a beautiful evening in the jungle tonight. It's warmer than usual, and some new plants have appeared, black vines that climb up the trees near the Aurora, opening hundreds of tiny white flowers that glow in the darkness. They let of a sweet smell that's soothing like a chamomile tea, and are filled with a dew that, if consumed, leaves characters feeling relaxed and just a little more likely to act on positive impulses.

However, the vines of this plant aren't so harmless. When broken they drip a milky white substance which irritates the skin, leaving red welts that burn and last anywhere from an hour to a full day, depending on how long the substance is in contact. Eating this won't kill you but it'll give you really intense heartburn and nausea for a few hours.

Additionally, if you're walking around in the nearby jungle, you might trip over one of the small cracks that have appeared in the forest floor. Mostly they're not visible underneath the grass and underbrush, but the bigger ones have caused a slight unevenness in the ground that can catch careless toes. There doesn't seem to be any particular pattern or origin to the cracks, nor do they have any other affect on their surroundings. They're just there, suddenly, in a roughly 100-foot radius from the train.

But there's plenty of reason to ignore these natural phenomenon, because there are some new teammates waking up in your carriages! In response to this new wave of arrivals, existing players will hear a cute jingling ringtone come from their Chain. Upon checking, the screen displays... a silly animation of balloons and confetti and the words "WELCOME NEW HEROES", which goes away on its own after a few seconds or when characters tap it. The same display is shown on the big screen in the lounge, in which trays full of colourful drinks have mysteriously appeared. The drinks taste like Kool-Aid and change some part of you the corresponding colour -- pink hair, blue skin, purple eyes, or maybe just a literal green thumb!]

[[OOC NOTE: Newbies can review the arrival scenario on the navigation page if necessary. The drinks in the lounge come in any colour you want, and cause colour shift in whatever and however large an area you want. It could just be a strand of hair or it could be your entire body, whatever you feel like playing with.]]

Most Popular Tags