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Fear and Loathing in Excelsior
Who: Balthier ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
portolan and anyone else!
What: A mysterious object leads to a horrific week of fear and misery
When: May 21
Where: Excelsior
Content Warnings: death, violence, phobias, memories of characters worst traumas – this is fear based; please tag specifics for your threads.
CWs: death, violence, phobias, memories of characters worst traumas – this is fear based; please tag specifics for your threads.
OPT OUT OPTIONS: Don’t be in Excelsior or don’t be hit by a spell yourself. Players may also limit to smaller scale fears, or avoid specific fear topics they don’t want to play out.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW —
Afraid of being ignored? Day 1 you might notice more people are ignoring you. As the spell progresses, no one is returning your calls or texts, people are avoiding you, and you are having trouble being served at coffee shops. By the end of the week, congratulations, you are no one can see or hear you!
EXAMPLES: One day 1, you might be increasingly aware of your significant other's flaws or the health of the relationship. By midweek, you may find yourselves hitting each others buttons and fighting constantly. By the end of the week, you both may be compulsively playing out every flaw the other person perceives you to have.
If you have a nemesis from your past who haunts you, you may find yourself having more memories and dreams of them on Day 1. By Day 3 you might start seeing their face or signs of their work around town, or impacts of their presence. By the end of the week, they may full-on appear in this world, with all their powers, threatening to repeat that terrible memory if you don’t stop them.
EXAMPLES: You hate the cold and can't shake a chill. By midweek, the temperature around you is literally 10 degrees colder than everywhere else. By the end of the week, you are the eye of a blizzard.
AFTERMATH —
portolan and anyone else!What: A mysterious object leads to a horrific week of fear and misery
When: May 21
Where: Excelsior
Content Warnings: death, violence, phobias, memories of characters worst traumas – this is fear based; please tag specifics for your threads.
CWs: death, violence, phobias, memories of characters worst traumas – this is fear based; please tag specifics for your threads.
OPT OUT OPTIONS: Don’t be in Excelsior or don’t be hit by a spell yourself. Players may also limit to smaller scale fears, or avoid specific fear topics they don’t want to play out.
FEAR AND LOATHING IN EXCELSIOR
An ancient artifact releases three pixies intent on spreading as much fear and chaos as possible. When they hit someone with their spell, their fears manifest, with effects worsening the longer the pixies are free. To escape the spell, characters must face their fears or be trapped in the fear cauldron. Once the pixies are captured, the captured souls will be released and the manifestations will fade, though the damage caused will remain.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW —
Downtown Excelsior may seem like an odd location to open an antiques store. One wouldn’t think that the chic youth of today would be interested in dusty relics of the past. Yet ask anyone and they will tell you this shop has been around for decades. Rue Moore once reported that it's particularly beloved by the Society and that was how it was able to stay afloat through the changing times, speculating that they use it to move black market goods.
Step inside the high end building and find yourself disoriented by the clash of differing time periods. French Rococo chandeliers, a pristine settee owned by John Adams, an honest-to-god suit of medieval armor, and a few framed sketches by Rembrandt and the like. There’s an electric thrill, as if you could reach out and touch history - though some of that may be the high number of protection magicks being employed.
Whatever you touch is probably worth more than your annual salary. You break it, you buy it.
Balthier is standing at an antique desk plucking away at a laptop as the first few volunteers arrive. He gestures for them to head to the classy bar tucked in the corner. You’re free to enjoy a glass of rich wine and high end appetizers, chatting amongst yourselves about the task at hand while the host finishes his work. As the crowd gathers he shuts his computer and ushers them into the back room, where even more antiques are carefully stacked. Among them are the offenders from the network post and a stack of additional concerning items.
Step inside the high end building and find yourself disoriented by the clash of differing time periods. French Rococo chandeliers, a pristine settee owned by John Adams, an honest-to-god suit of medieval armor, and a few framed sketches by Rembrandt and the like. There’s an electric thrill, as if you could reach out and touch history - though some of that may be the high number of protection magicks being employed.
Whatever you touch is probably worth more than your annual salary. You break it, you buy it.
Balthier is standing at an antique desk plucking away at a laptop as the first few volunteers arrive. He gestures for them to head to the classy bar tucked in the corner. You’re free to enjoy a glass of rich wine and high end appetizers, chatting amongst yourselves about the task at hand while the host finishes his work. As the crowd gathers he shuts his computer and ushers them into the back room, where even more antiques are carefully stacked. Among them are the offenders from the network post and a stack of additional concerning items.
A Little Bit Of Pixie Dust
The biggest puzzle of the night is a medieval cauldron. Intricate carvings depict great tales of monsters and magic. The most notable carving of all is three human faces engraved next to three creatures: a fae, a shade, and a troll.
Search as they might, there’s no record of this object in any database. At the end of the day this one is the only one left identified. As the last remaining investigation team members turn away to pack their things, they miss three small lights slowly rising from the carving’s open mouths. As the door shuts behind them, they may miss the sound of giggling. Or the soft swish of a tricky spell hitting you squarely in the back.
Pixie Magic is unfortunately difficult to detect, after all.
But the first spell cast is a sign these fickle spirits are picking up an old game. Who can create the most chaos? They're powered by human suffering. All fear that they collect returns to their cauldron, making them stronger and increasing the distance they can travel from it.
They are not discriminating and their targets are random. Anyone hit by their spells will become the victims of their fear manifestation spells. Each pixie specializes in a different kind of fear.
The first specializes in internal conflict. Think you have a face like a horse? Well now you might be Bojack Horseman. Worried you’re annoying? Well now you can’t stop doing every annoying habit you’ve ever had. Terrified you might be stone-cold and heartless? Congrats! You're turning into a statue.
Search as they might, there’s no record of this object in any database. At the end of the day this one is the only one left identified. As the last remaining investigation team members turn away to pack their things, they miss three small lights slowly rising from the carving’s open mouths. As the door shuts behind them, they may miss the sound of giggling. Or the soft swish of a tricky spell hitting you squarely in the back.
Pixie Magic is unfortunately difficult to detect, after all.
But the first spell cast is a sign these fickle spirits are picking up an old game. Who can create the most chaos? They're powered by human suffering. All fear that they collect returns to their cauldron, making them stronger and increasing the distance they can travel from it.
They are not discriminating and their targets are random. Anyone hit by their spells will become the victims of their fear manifestation spells. Each pixie specializes in a different kind of fear.
The first specializes in internal conflict. Think you have a face like a horse? Well now you might be Bojack Horseman. Worried you’re annoying? Well now you can’t stop doing every annoying habit you’ve ever had. Terrified you might be stone-cold and heartless? Congrats! You're turning into a statue.
Afraid of being ignored? Day 1 you might notice more people are ignoring you. As the spell progresses, no one is returning your calls or texts, people are avoiding you, and you are having trouble being served at coffee shops. By the end of the week, congratulations, you are no one can see or hear you!
These fear spells may be defeated by the character facing their fear or someone where someone helping them see they are still wanted or safe despite their flaws.
The Second Pixie specializes in interpersonal conflict. Maybe your love life explodes. Maybe your worst nemesis returns to harass and humiliate you. Whatever it is, you’re having trouble with others.
The Second Pixie specializes in interpersonal conflict. Maybe your love life explodes. Maybe your worst nemesis returns to harass and humiliate you. Whatever it is, you’re having trouble with others.
EXAMPLES: One day 1, you might be increasingly aware of your significant other's flaws or the health of the relationship. By midweek, you may find yourselves hitting each others buttons and fighting constantly. By the end of the week, you both may be compulsively playing out every flaw the other person perceives you to have.
If you have a nemesis from your past who haunts you, you may find yourself having more memories and dreams of them on Day 1. By Day 3 you might start seeing their face or signs of their work around town, or impacts of their presence. By the end of the week, they may full-on appear in this world, with all their powers, threatening to repeat that terrible memory if you don’t stop them.
These fear spells may be defeated by literally defeating the other person, or by reconciling with them. They could also be defeated by accepting reconciliation is not possible but removing the person's access to you (or to destroying the city, RIP).
The Third Pixie specializes in person versus environment conflict: packs of angry chihuahuas. The weather. The sidewalk opening up to swallow your ankles. Awakening dormant magical creatures. A super volcano going off.
The Third Pixie specializes in person versus environment conflict: packs of angry chihuahuas. The weather. The sidewalk opening up to swallow your ankles. Awakening dormant magical creatures. A super volcano going off.
EXAMPLES: You hate the cold and can't shake a chill. By midweek, the temperature around you is literally 10 degrees colder than everywhere else. By the end of the week, you are the eye of a blizzard.
These fear spells may be defeated by overcoming the physical obstacle through whatever means necessary.
Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter...
Perhaps you failed to overcome this challenge. Just as you succumb to your worst fears, your eyes open and you find yourself standing in an empty space. Others are there with you, looking equally as forlorn and lost.
And then it transforms.
You and your fellow victims are now trapped in a HELLISH LIMBO. You’re living out one fear after another – whether it’s yours, or that of one of the others who failed to overcome their fear in the world outside.
In this hell your very worst fears are realized. And there’s no way out. The pixie’s magic brings things in, but it doesn’t let them out.
Those who have not succumbed to their fears may be drawn to the back room of the antique shop, finding the cauldron abandoned but overflowing with power. The magically inclined may be able to find the seam on this pocket dimension and ATTEMPT A RESCUE.
But more concerningly, the carvings on the cauldron appear to be glowing. What was once a fanciful depiction of ancient battles now appears to be a warning that the worst is yet to come.
These powerful creatures need to be defeated and returned to the cauldron. They have fanned out across the city and will be encountered separately, so teams may wish to form. They cannot be killed, but wounding them will bleed out their power until they can be re-sealed on the cauldron.
The only trouble is you need to find them.
And then it transforms.
You and your fellow victims are now trapped in a HELLISH LIMBO. You’re living out one fear after another – whether it’s yours, or that of one of the others who failed to overcome their fear in the world outside.
In this hell your very worst fears are realized. And there’s no way out. The pixie’s magic brings things in, but it doesn’t let them out.
Those who have not succumbed to their fears may be drawn to the back room of the antique shop, finding the cauldron abandoned but overflowing with power. The magically inclined may be able to find the seam on this pocket dimension and ATTEMPT A RESCUE.
But more concerningly, the carvings on the cauldron appear to be glowing. What was once a fanciful depiction of ancient battles now appears to be a warning that the worst is yet to come.
These powerful creatures need to be defeated and returned to the cauldron. They have fanned out across the city and will be encountered separately, so teams may wish to form. They cannot be killed, but wounding them will bleed out their power until they can be re-sealed on the cauldron.
The only trouble is you need to find them.
Transformation
As the pixies amass more and more power from the fear they’re generating, the range they can travel from the cauldron increases. The further they can travel, the more fear they can inflict. And where better to feast than a city built upon consumerism, where fear isn’t dealt with but bought off. Perhaps you may spot the flickering light of a pixie out of the corner of your eye, but it’s gone in a flash.
Eventually though, they trade speed for power. As their power crescendos the pixies begin to change shape. By the seventh day, all three of them have shape shifted into much larger and more imposing forms.
The first pixie will become a beautiful and terrifying fae. They make themselves at home in the city’s enormous man-made park and offer fae bargains to those foolhardy enough to trust them. Strength won’t overcome them, but a quick thinking mind might.
The second becomes nothing but a shade. It slides under cars and along walls, hiding in people’s shadows and whispers their darkest fears. This entity can’t be held down or stopped with physical force, but it recoils from the light.
The third rampages throughout the business center in the form of an enormous troll. Like the other two, this entity cannot be stopped with force. Excelsior’s artificial weather systems may be needed to slow this beast down.
Eventually though, they trade speed for power. As their power crescendos the pixies begin to change shape. By the seventh day, all three of them have shape shifted into much larger and more imposing forms.
The first pixie will become a beautiful and terrifying fae. They make themselves at home in the city’s enormous man-made park and offer fae bargains to those foolhardy enough to trust them. Strength won’t overcome them, but a quick thinking mind might.
The second becomes nothing but a shade. It slides under cars and along walls, hiding in people’s shadows and whispers their darkest fears. This entity can’t be held down or stopped with physical force, but it recoils from the light.
The third rampages throughout the business center in the form of an enormous troll. Like the other two, this entity cannot be stopped with force. Excelsior’s artificial weather systems may be needed to slow this beast down.
AFTERMATH —
Once the pixies are restored to the cauldron, their fears in the city fade away and trapped characters are released, physically unharmed but mentally shaken. The damage any fear manifestations did to the city remain, but any people or objects they conjured fade away within the day.
The cauldron cannot be destroyed, so something will need to be done to keep it from wreaking havoc again.
The cauldron cannot be destroyed, so something will need to be done to keep it from wreaking havoc again.
IN SUMMARY...
- Balthier asks for help identifying magical objects. Characters interacting with one object in particular awakens sleeping magic inside.
- When the pixies first awaken, they must stay close to the cauldron to sustain their power.
- Each pixie's fear spell works on a different kind of conflict (though characters can be affected by more than one, or cured and then affected by another). As the week goes on, the manifested fears will worsen.
- Characters can defeat the fear spells by facing their fears or by someone else helping/interfering.
- The pixies must be defeated and returned to the cauldron.
- Comment HERE if you'd like to be involved in taking out the pixies!
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Fine. He blurs in and goes for a gut punch because he's up against a 6'4" demon. A hook isn't going to hit him square in the jaw.
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He can't be COMPLETELY certain, but he could hope. Thing was... Even as Tommy punched Belasco and the demon stumbled back, David knew where his focus was. The Demon let himself fall back, grabbed a sign post, and tore it from the ground to swing, full force, at David.
"Fuck."
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Tommy had tried to split his attention, moving David and trying to reach out to vaporize the stop sign like that axe before it, but ... something went wrong.
David's fine. Tommy's fine. The stop sign is also likely fine... it's just fine inside a giant block of ice. 'Block' is something of a kindness - it's more like Salvador Dali painted an 8 foot high poop emoji in ice..
"Technopathlightsabersice. What the fuck, David?"
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"I can't make ice, Tommy. The psionic projections are my only potentially offensive power. Is there someone else around?"
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Are there are other people around? Maybe hiding, if they're idiots with no self-preservation, but Tommy has to hope that they're smarter than that.
"Leavingasidetheirony, I didn't see anyone on the way in. I would've moved them first."
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Because yes, he had lost his heart before this. It had turned to literal stone and he'd, well, not handled it well.
"I have to kill him."
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This isn’t the time for it anyway. “Okay. Sounds right to me. Kill the heart-stealing demon with your shining sword. Very knightly. How do I help you go medieval on his ass?”
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"Alright," he says, going into 'plan to win' voice. "What would help is if he was still. If you can figure out how you made the ice, find a way to restrain Belasco for me, I can finish him. I think a blade through the heart would be perfectly fitting. You think you can try and manage that? I mean, I know you can do it, you never let me down in a fight."
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That’s halfway, right? Look, David’s asking for a lot on the fight side; Tommy absolutely wants a nine dollar coffee if they swing this. He talks fast, keeping on right on cusp of unintelligible. “Say you’re right and I’ve just inadvertently found Iceman powers because I’m apparently not cool enough for kinetic energy- you think I can just do it again at will? The last time I got powers, I blew up a building, and we’re already in a cracked dome.”
He gestures to the crack, which suddenly has ice stuck over the crack like a giant wad of blue raspberry bubble gum. “Oh come on, you don’t get to be right about this! Fine! Can I get through your shield without being zapped or do you need to drop it to let me out?”
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"I'll always buy the coffee, or make it at home. If I'm alive. And around. Hope I'm alive. Josh will kill me if I die again."
He sounds more irritated by the idea than seriously taking death as a thing he should worry about. Perhaps in this world he should. But after enough, you just get jaded.
"Hey, you've already got kinetics sorta. freezing things is basically just the other side of the explosions coin. Your explosions accelerate matter. Freezing is just slowing it down. So try thinking of it that way. I'll draw him off. Maybe he's aware of you, but he's always going to be after me."
Though he is pleased to see he was right. Maybe one of these days, if they get back to good, he can tease Tommy about ice downhill while a speedster, just to poke fun at how fanboy the guy was at his boss.
"I can open parts of it at will, so long as I can focus. Which, uh, sorta divided right now. I'm not Quire levels of power or multitasking with this."
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The way Tommy sees it, the choices are make outs or getting punched if your stupidity leaves you to getting killed when no one’s looking. Things to worry about later.
“Slowing it down. I can do it. Plan B is getting you the hell out of the way as fast as possible, and I like that one better but we’ll try it your way.”
Tommy jumps his weight from one foot to the other to signal readiness. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Don’t split your attention - just let me out.”
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Some of the Five were Omega Level, but Josh was a step ahead. Really, the Five were mostly needed to help with those who had been dead a long time, and to preserve Josh from killing himself in the process of doing it. It's a team effort, but some are more powerful than others.
But the agreement was something he could go for. David nodded then took a deep breath.
"Let's go," he said, and like that the shield drops, a more personal sized one on his arm and a blade in his hand. And he moved left, leaving Tommy to act in his own way.
Describe the effect as you need it.
When the shield drops, Tommy waits long enough to read that David's going left, and then he goes right, looping around Belasco and skidding to a halt in his blindspot. He's not sure if he can speed up and slow down at the same time, and this is NOT Tommy's personal self discovery time with his powers.
But he tries to do purposefully what he's done accidentally twice now, protect instinctively by reaching out as if he was going to blow something up but with the intent to shield. Only now, he's actively thinking about deaccelerating the electrons, not accelerating them.
no subject
Still, one day David might want to talk to Tommy about having some fun testing with the new power that the speedster has manifested, because the effect? It's pretty cool. Pun, of course, unintended. He's known two people before with ice powers, and neither seemed to do it like this, with the ice seeming to start as a frost and then growing thick. Belasco started to slowly turn toward TOmmy, because that was the best he could do.
And David lunged at the demon from the other side, stabbing him with the blade of light.
"More ice, Tommy!"
no subject
It's less of a feeling of building up the energy until it bursts and more like it's taking something out of Tommy to do it. He thinks that makes a sort of sense - he's probably slowing himself down to do it? Maybe? He can work with that idea, anyway, and leans into the sensation. He can't focus on an item to explode, but he can focus on the empty space that he wants to fill with ice.
He knows that he should move before Belasco fully turns, but he's going to push it to the very last second to do so.
no subject
Belasco roared in anger at the stab, actually ignoring Tommy's action a bit more. Because, in the end, his obsession was with David. The demon swung an arm at Tommy, but mostly he tried grabbing at David's blade. David released it and ducked, an axe forming in his hands so he could slam it into Belasco's side.
"Doing great, Speed. Quick on the uptake as always."
For him it was just second nature to give Tommy positive feedback in a fight.
no subject
Tommy has to bite back a question about the axe, because he doesn't need to help alert Belasco to the new weapon. But if David's going at Belasco from one side, then... he'll be open on the other side, right?
What if the ice wasn't quite so turd-shaped? What if it was pointed, like a stalagmite? If he could just get it form quickly and... maybe from the base. Like it was growing out of the ground and pushing the point higher and higher. Like the cold was exploding upwards, rather than in a 360.
no subject
He wants it destroyed like he had been.
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But that's a thought for another time, he's too focused on shaping and sharpening the ice, trying to get it to grow faster and faster but yet the cold requiring the exact opposite.
And something clicks and he can see how it's exactly dissimilar to exciting the electrons and suddenly a 12 foot shard of ice shoots upwards from the ground to pierce the demon's body, and Tommy's thrown backwards from a shockwave of frost.
no subject
Except his slouching down is perfectly timed for the ice to shoot up through him, and David himself is thrown back too. Holy shit.
"Wow Speed," David groans as he pushes himself to his feet and finds Belasco there, so very still. "That's amazing. Like, shit, wow."
He wants to say it's 'cool' but, well, that's a horrible joke. David pushes slowly to his feet, his sword that had disappeared reforming, larger, in his hands. "Let's finish this."
He just needs to take the thing's head off he thinks.
no subject
Or rather, here Tommy is, still on his ass on the street. He might admit to being wobbly. If he has to get them out of here, he can, but unless it's dire he's just going to metaphorically take a knee. Catch his breath. It's not worrying at all. "You've got this, Prodigy! I've got your back."
CW: Non-Graphic Beheading of a demon.
And with that he shifts his grip on his sword, and moves forward. Raises the blade. Let’s it fall.
And of course with the blow dealt, Belasco starts to disappear into fire and smoke, like he’d never been there, save for the still lingering ice.
“Thanks, Speed, for the save.”
no subject
It's going to take awhile before Tommy forgets about by the nature of his very soul. He thinks it's a load of crap, but... the assumption will irk.
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"Trust me, I don't want to see any more either. Reliving murder trauma over is too much for me. I've died too much lately and I'm so tired of it."
And Belasco was one of the deepest figures of his nightmares now.
no subject
Eventually (but quickly to everyone else), Tommy pulls himself back together enough to appear crouching next to David with a hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be all right? I can get you somewhere safe.”
Okay, so it’s still more churlish than sympathetic, but there’s concern there.
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