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seasonsrpg2023-07-14 11:04 am
- !event,
- attack on titan: gabi braun,
- attack on titan: hange zoe,
- attack on titan: historia reiss,
- attack on titan: jean kirstein,
- attack on titan: levi ackerman,
- attack on titan: reiner braun,
- d4dj: rinku aimoto,
- end roll: kantera,
- everhood: purple mage,
- fate grand order: oryou,
- fire emblem engage: alcryst,
- genshin impact: aether,
- genshin impact: kamisato ayaka,
- genshin impact: tartaglia,
- gintama: hijikata toshirou,
- honkai star rail: caelus,
- my hero academia: midoriya izuku,
- original: chipp,
- original: evangeline,
- original: nenonen,
- original: noah leclair,
- original: shigeru miyata,
- tales of vesperia: judith,
- tales of vesperia: yuri lowell,
- trails into the sky: estelle bright,
- witch hat atelier: qifrey
Event #3: Can't Defeat the Temple
Can't Defeat the Temple
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
A new message appears on everyone's smartphones. There's been a change in the Temple of Life: the door has finally opened! No one knows how or why, but the sensors left by quest goers alerted them to it suddenly being open. Preparations are made in each guild to finally explore what's inside it.
Those interested in helping are greeted by researchers in the guilds that will provide everyone with one single use item: Escape Rope: an item they found out about while investigating the temple. Should the Temple really prove to be a place "no one can return from" they should be able to use this rope to escape. It should teleport the person using it (just one) outside of the place they're in (can only be used indoors). Of course the rope can be saved for later use if it becomes unnecessary. Everyone also gets basic climbing and survival items, just in case. They have no idea what to expect inside, but better safe than sorry, right?
The new Teleport Crystal system will get you to the Temple of Life in a minute, but no one is forbidden to use a longer route if they want to travel rather than take the easy route. Once they get to the Temple (the teleport stones take them to the surroundings of the fountain in the courtyard) they will notice a lot of natives collecting various tropical fruits as the area is safe and the fruit are nice and nutritious. Anyone eating a fruit will notice a boost in stamina, too.
All that's left now is to climb the stairs and enter the Temple of Life.
Inside the Temple of Life is a "lobby". It's actually just an empty room made with the same stone as the temple, but it has four different doors, each with a different symbol: lightning strike, snowflake, fire and a hurricane of sand.
Characters inside will notice that the door they walked in from is now gone (of course) and they may feel different as the temple has stripped them off of all their powers, including Seasonal ones. Instead they may feel like they're lighter (their jumping ability has increased to triple their normal one) and that they have three holographic hearts on top of their heads.
There's a holographic display near the doors and a shelf for laser guns. The display says the following:
This is the Gigaman simulator. Welcome, players. Each of you have been given three extra lives. Once all of your total of four lives have been used inside the levels you will get a Game Over. For native participants this unfortunately means you Die.
However, otherworlders! You are in luck. If you die four times inside the simulator you will be thrown out of the simulator, into the courtyard of the temple and you can try again! Dying is painless. Getting hit, unfortunately, is not. You have ten regular hits before you lose a life. Your lives are indicated by the hearts on top of your heads.
Things that will instantly kill you include: lava, falling into an endless pit and spikes.
Please take a laser gun and enter the level. You may bring any other items as well, but your powers will be gone and so will the special effects of the items. Except for the legendary "Escape Rope". That is something that can bypass our system. Keep the rope at hand if you get scared. If you lose your other items inside the levels, do not worry, they will appear outside. However, if you lose your laser gun it will reappear next to you.
Oh and you may keep the laser gun afterwards.
The question is: cAN yOu deFEAt [redacted]?
Well, the choice is yours. Do you enter one of the doors or use the escape rope to get out of the temple?
All of the levels start with a normal room of just the environment of the level. But there, in the starting point of the place, there are natives of Ellipsa sitting around with a look of defeat and desperation on their faces. They're physically fine as the simulator grants you the ability to just ignore hunger and other basic needs, but they're also stuck here. It seems the simulator is just too hard for them to get past. Most of them have no holographic hearts over their head or just one: they're close to dying and don't want to take the risk.
Escape ropes are their only hope of getting out of the place and they promise anything if you give them the item and help them escape.
If you give away your Escape Rope, the only way to leave is to either Game Over or Finish the Level. Good luck, players.
(There are also some natives in various other parts of the game, too scared to go further or go back. They can also be saved by taking them with you to the end and defeating the boss monster together but if they die, they die, so there is a risk in that method.)
The Levels [ Click to Expand ]
All basic monsters and boss monsters are weak to the laser gun. Some can even be jumped on to decrease their health.
Electricity
Design: A factory with plenty of platforms and conveyor belts over bottomless pits (or spikes) that change directions occasionally. The main hazard of the level is the beams of electricity that will damage players. They can be switched around with buttons, but deactivating one beam will activate another.
Instant Deaths: Bottomless Pits, Spikes
Basic Monsters: Ufo Catcher (a claw with googly eyes that will try to drop characters into a pit or spikes), Small Robot (small robots that throw wrenches at players), Slinky (slinkys with googly eyes that won't stop for anything)
Final Boss: Squirmle: A slinky minion mass-producing machine (looks like one of those Worms on String with googly eyes, but mechanical). Occasionally fires electric shocks that stun players for 5 seconds while the minions attack them. Weak to Smokescreen as the sand jams its machinery and makes it temporarily lose the ability to produce minions.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Electric Shock (damages and has a chance to stun the opponent)
Snowflake
Design: A snowy mountain cave with active waterfalls. The ground is slippery (ice physics!) and some of the platforms have a limit as to how many times you can jump/walk on them (they reappear after a time). Occasionally, while on a normal platform, a strong stream of water will fall on it, intending to push players into a bottomless pit (it can be predicted by a few drops of water before it).
Instant Deaths: Bottomless pits
Basic Monsters: Snowmen (throw very sharp carrots at players), Skeletal Fish (fish that appear from the waterfalls and spit out lasers), Yeti (a monster that will try to stomp on players)
Final Boss: Frosty: A bipedal monster made of spiky ice (doesn't have a distinct form to refer to, just looks like a giant block of animated ice) that breathes a frosty breathe that both damages and makes players go slower. Tries to stomp players by jumping high in the air. Weak to Fire Bullets, as they will melt it little by little.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Ice Beam (damages and has a chance to slow down an opponent)
Flame
Design: Inside of a volcano where all bottomless pits are lava pits. Platforms are mostly normal, until a notorious section where the only way to get over a lava pit is to jump on disappearing blocks. Learn the pattern and follow it. Occasionally lava rocks will fall from the ceiling (but luckily not during the disappearing block section).
Instant Deaths: Lava
Basic Monsters: Demonic Fireballs (fireballs that jump around from spot a to spot b and hurt a lot when they hit), Lava Bomb (occasional lava rock with googly eyes that can move towards players like a homing missile), Fireman robot (a robot that will try to douse fires with scorching hot water).
Final Boss: Lavadoom: A volcano headed monster (a volcano with eyes, mouth, arms and legs) that shoots fire bullets and lava rocks at players. Occasionally makes part of the floor be literal lava that burns players health little by little. Weak to Electric Shock as it will stun the monster for long enough to turn off the volcano on its head and then you can jump on it.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Fire Bullets (damages and has a chance to cause burn damage over time)
Sandstorm
Design: A desert area full of bottomless pits and rocks with spikes. The floor is mostly quicksand that can only be crossed if you stay constantly in movement. Late in the level massive sandstorms will block players' view and push them towards the pits and spiked rocks, making movement during it very dangerous.
Instant Deaths: Bottomless Pits, Spikes
Basic Monsters: Walking Cacti (cactus that shoot spikes at players), Angry Missiles (ride the sandstorms and try to hit players), Sandworms (appear from the sand and try to bite the player)
Final Boss: Hurrisand: A bipedal sand monster (looks a bit like a it could be a human, but at the same time has animal features, not to be mixed with a certain Looney Tunes character) that will turn into a literal sandy hurricane that makes it hard to see anything and makes bullets miss. Weak to Ice Beam because it slows it down so that it can't turn into a hurricane.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Smokescreen (enables easier escape from situations)
You're free to challenge all of the levels and gain all of the upgrades to the laser gun, which you can then use outside the temple as a weapon. Even after all of the natives are rescued or all of the levels have been beaten, you can re-enter the levels and do them again. You won't get the boss loot again, however.
Back in the city, the weather is strangely cold in every district (except the central one that's safe due to the artificial weather there). Even the hottest of them, Solarpeak, is advising people to wear long-sleeved shirts, just in case, even if the temperature only drops to +10 Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit at worst.
The reason for the unexpectedly cold weather is simple: a cold breeze travels through the whole city. Sometimes the wind even appears white, as if it's laced with snow and ice. It's easy to tell that this is not a normal sort of wind, but a very magical one.
The wind indeed has a special effect: there's a chance of the wind freezing someone's heart. This doesn't instantly kill anyone, but instead it starts to freeze people from inside out. This effect especially targets people who either have secrets or have feelings that they hide. The freezing is a slow and painful process, taking two weeks to completely encase someone in ice. Once that happen they will end up breaking into pieces and die.
Somehow this wind doesn't affect the plant life or animals at all.
Scientists are quick at work to work on a cure. They have found that there are certain ingredients in all four of the Segments that when mixed together into a potion will undo a frozen heart. So, to help those affected, there are some options that you can do.
Stay in the City to take care of the affected. The key to healing a frozen heart is not only the potion that they will make but also affection. So those brave enough to touch someone who feels cold as ice to touch are encouraged to hug and cuddle, tell them positive things about them and making sure they're comfortable. This will ease the pain and slow the spreading down.
Head to one of the Segments to find the ingredients. The guilds are helping with the preparations to go outside and providing anyone interested clear instructions and maps on where to find them:
• Winter Segment: Bottom of the Unfrozen Lake, a coral that can survive in cold temperatures
• Spring Segment: Breeze Hills, the eggs of a monstrous Firebird (a bird that has wings made of fire that spits out fireballs, not to be confused with a phoenix)
• Summer Segment: Deserter's Desert, a special cactus flower that only blooms during a sandstorm
• Autumn Segment: Mushroom Sanctuary, a special mushroom that only grows on top of the mushrooms that are a size of a house
Once all the necessary ingredients have been found and delivered, people can also participate in potion making. The more people helping with making potions, the quicker everyone affected can get their potions and be cured. The potion is successful if it smell like a warm fireplace during a winter night.
The VR Arcade of the Underground is holding a special event: they have managed to come up with a technology where you can minimize yourself and enter board games! They're looking for volunteers to test this new way of gaming.
For example, there are games like Jenga, Monopoly, Chess, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Checkers, Scrabble and many, many more! The games are made to fit the tiny people, but are also very realistic. Oh and Monopoly has an actual jail, but the money is as fake as can be.
It seems Jenga in particular is at its regular size and people will have to climb to push pieces out. That definitely seems like a fun challenge? Everyone gets a safety rope that's attached to poles around the Jenga towers, that will act as sort of a safety bungee jump rope.
Usually the minimized effect wears off once you end the game and leave the game board, but occasionally the technology glitches and leaves players small. The unexpected side effect wears off between 2 to 12 hours.
Anyone who did participate in the experiment will either get a month of free VR gaming time or a handheld gaming console with classic 8-bit games like Tetris.
Those stuck in a tiny form longer than expected may discover jumping platforms to the fairy mall. It's located in the ceiling of the Underground Mall and is fit for small people like fairies. Here the fairies are all visible as they go about shopping and relaxing. They're all friendly and will make sure you have a lovely time relaxing in this small fairy oasis. Be warned, however, that the food here is strictly for fairies so if you eat it, you might end up sprouting fairy wings for a week. And not necessarily on your back.
Don't worry, you can't turn back to your regular size in the middle of the fairy mall. The magic there prevents that for the duration. Once you return by jumping onto one of the cushions left below the mall, you will return to regular size.
For souvenirs, why not buy a little bit of fairy dust? It's useful for potions, as it gives them stronger magical capabilities but used as is will make anyone be able to fly for 24 hours. The problem is you cannot use it on yourself or else it will horribly backfire and turn you into a talking frog for 24 hours.
• Ask event related questions here.
• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a private entry of your own (your own entry or a new locked post on the comms).
• Remember to content and spoiler warn as necessary!
• All of the prompts happen around the same time but you can get affected by the frozen wind after visiting the Temple of Life or the other way around.
• All natives will be rescued by the end of the month, but the Temple can be accessed later just for fun.
• The frozen hearts potion will be done by the end of the month as well.
Temple of Life
• More Escape ropes can be picked up from the guilds to save more natives, but there's no way to tell there's someone trapped inside until someone goes in, so they'd have to get back after the first visit.
• Smartphones do not work inside the Temple of Life.
• You are very much allowed to work together inside the temple.
• The boss door will only open once the previous group of players has defeated it and have been transported out of the Temple. Then the boss will respawn.
• No one will have basic human needs inside the temple. It's basically a simulator so it doesn't matter how long you spend in there. Once you get out you might need to refuel on touch energy and food as soon as possible, but other than that all one needs to worry is surviving the temple.
• We admit the inspiration for this came from "I can't defeat Airman" without shame.
Frozen Hearts
• The event can affect anyone, not just those with secrets and hidden feelings.
• At the same time, the event can completely miss people as well.
• Samples of the wind can be collected and analyzed but it will turn out as a classic "it's magic" explanation.
• Reminder that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on July 31st, at 23:59 PST.
no subject
It's probably been waiting for pickup; get on that cosy tent, Hange!]That's right. Honestly, this lake seems pretty safe compared to the other one... you'd think the slightly warmer one would have more species, but apparently not.
[Granted, it doesn't feel much warmer... luckily his heat regulation magic is doing its work!]
And yeah, snowskeletons will sneak up on you in the snow and pull your clothes off you, layer by layer, if you let them. At first I thought they did it so people freeze to death and they can eat them, but apparently they just want our clothing for themselves.
no subject
[Because pfft, who needs safety!
Hange, evidently.][Hange may not have full diving gear but they do at least have a pair of flippers to put on and a little snorkel mask to help them see better under the water, which they slip on as the two finish their preparations.]
Well that's better than them simply being perverts. [Stripped by skeletons? Seriously?!] Has anyone tried just... giving them extra clothing? Like having a few cheap shirts or trousers on hand?
[If that's what they want, can't they avoid the conflict?]
That art is so cute... I love it when AoTs get to have fun!!
[This can be an upcoming experiment (but Hijikata will most likely sit it out)!]
As for the other lake, there's nothing fun in there either, unless a weird air-filled underwater grotto full of natural mirror walls that make your reflection come alive is your idea of fun.
[Or the plant octopuses and icicle hippos, but he already mentioned those!]
fun in the official arts because no fun allowed in canon ever rip
[Who even knows, but it sounds like it's worth a try to Hange. Skeletons being cold does sound silly, but so do skeleton thieves so who the hell knows!]
...Hijikata. That does sound fun? That lake really has such things?! Ah.. why couldn't the coral be in that one instead..
[Suddenly looking DEFLATED. Some people get all the fun!!]
Well! Let's hurry and try to find that coral! Then maybe I can go take a look before we head back to the city.. [Hange no..]
🥲
No. First of all, the lakes are a few days' journey apart, even with the snowmobile. We can't afford that kind of detour when we have people waiting for their medicine ingredients back home.
[Usually Jean often has to be the voice of reason to hold Hijikata back from some rash, ill-advised meathead idea... how the tables have turned in this new constellation!]
What's more, the reflections can be really dangerous when they leave the mirror. They won't necessarily act like you. A friend's reflection almost took me out.
[Granted, Saya is exceptionally dangerous, but even so!]
I'll hurry nonetheless. You be careful!
[And with that, he dives down... he'll be back next tag to answer any potential further questions on the mirror doppelganger stuff or anything else! Hopefully nothing's going to happen up here in the meantime!]
no subject
[No??? You can't just go around telling Hange no! Nobody does that! Well- nobody aside from one person..]
Geez, you're beginning to sound just like Levi..
[It's always "Hange no" or "don't teach Eren how to shoot fireballs in titan form" and now "don't go to the underwater mirror lake" talk about a couple of wet blankets!!]
[But the reasoning is sound enough, if it really is that far away then they do not have the time to be making such a side-trek when people are in need of aid.]
If it really is as far as you say, then it will have to wait for another time.. you're right, let's focus on this for now.
[Hijikata dives down and Hange waits a few moments before following suite, diving down into the water behind him, ready to act as bait if needed.]
no subject
The lake turns out to be pretty empty. With the sun above them it's easy to see all the way to the bottom through the clear water, and apart from some small unremarkable grey fish that quickly flee from them there are no signs of life. While Hange probably stays near the surface or at least swims up for air ever so often, Hijikata can take his time inspecting the lake ground.
Once he sees some rock formations ahead he beelines towards them, and after inspecting the small biotope for a minute he finds a few corals that match the description. He breaks them off and, after circling around the rocks once more to make sure he didn't overlook any, swims back to Hange with a happy thumbs-up gesture, then continues on to the surface. Once there, he takes his mouthpiece off to talk while showing off the corals in his palm.]
This is it! There's no mistaking it. Let's get back on land, alright? There may be more, but who knows how spread out they are, and we shouldn't burn up too much mana just keeping ourselves warm.
no subject
[Hange watches from a respectful distance, close enough that they can swim up and provide a distraction to creatures if necessary but still close enough that they can swim up for air as needed. Looks like any worries are unfounded, because nothing comes to disturb them and eventually Hijitaka floats up to the surface once again, signaling some good news.]
Ah, that's definitely the right ones! Good job!
[Hange agrees with a little nod, already making their way back to the shoreline and rising out of the waters.]
It's cold! Too cold!
[But they have something for that- a little camp fire had been started before their trip into the lake, but using their summer powers Hange is able to manipulate the flames into something larger, and immediately they begin to give off more heat.]
Do we go easy on them or throw something scary at them?
You can change back first! I'll start making our dinner in the meantime.
[He brought a pan, eggs, bacon, and a lot of other good things (mayonnaise too, of course)! They can enjoy a calm evening and travel back in the morning. Maybe they'll even see some fluorescent hares or sky orcas tonight! (Or maybe a banshee, or a warlock skeleton... but he decidedly isn't hoping for those!!]
maybe they can have a little scare as a treat
its almost like a second levi]Alright, I'll be back out in a moment!
[Their bag was already thrown into the tent earlier so Hange walks right on into it, only taking a few minutes to strip out of the wet clothes and change into the dry set they brought for the journey.]
That tent has so much room! Is it comfortable to sleep in?
The wet clothing is wrung out to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible; once dinner is cooked they can rest above the fire for a while to try out.]
👻
Stop thinking that, Hange!! For a start, Levi actually can cook-- wait, never mind, there've been rumours on the wind of his pizza raisin stew...]Yeah, it's great! It's as comfortable as a bedroom!
[With Hange done changing, he goes put his uniform from home on again, then likewise hangs his wrung-out wetsuit up to dry and settles down by the fire with his quest partner.]
Now, let's...
[He trails off, staring into the middle distance. Following his gaze, Hange will see what looks like a woman moving across the snowy plain... only that she appears to be floating rather than walking. Even from far away she appears haggard, with long unkempt hair and a tattered long dress. Hijikata's voice is quiet as he speaks.]
She can't be a ghost, otherwise we wouldn't be able to see her.
[Is he saying that to assure Hange or himself? Either way, the eerie figure pauses and then lets out a horrifying, drawn-out wail. Shit.]
Plug your ears!! Plug them!
[He's doing the same, because hell if he's going to die from hearing a banshee's cry! (Little does he know that the banshees around these parts usually cry to warn of impending changes in the weather...)]
👻😱
The pizza-raisin stew isn't even that bad tho....]Well, Eren's pokemon is a ghost type- [And can be seen, is what would have followed, but Hange looks over to what Hijikata is focused on and nope that is a legit, ghostly person hovering towards them.]
[Hange's confused and wants to ask what it is exactly, but the panic in Hijikata's voice is legitimate enough and after a life of being in danger you attune yourself to reacting to the emergency callouts of comrades before taking the time to process they 'why' behind it.]
[Hange slaps both hands over their ears rather forcefully to cover them up quickly, and also jumps behind Hijikata to peek over his shoulder. You're also a human shield now, thanks for that!]
Wh-what is it?!
[Who knows whether he actually heard the question or not, since they are trying hard not to hear anything!]
CW: Attempted Monster Immolation
A banshee!! It's a banshee! Its scream can-- oh, shit!!
[It's coming towards them! Visible or not, it still is way too spooky! Without any warning he sets the eeries creature ablaze - he's proficient enough with his fire magic by now to not need his hands to summon and direct his flames; he simply brings them to live them right in the enemy's hair and clothing.
While the banshee, supernatural being that it is, doesn't take the same kind of painful damage from the fire as most enemies would, it panics at the sudden heat engulfing it... and steers right towards the two humans at an even higher speed, now a living(?) torch.]
Oh shit, oh shit!! No!!
im dying rn (feat: further monster immolation..)
Ehhh?!
[It's getting closer and Hange's mind is going at 500mph trying to work out what they should do. Jump in the lake? Try to run? Try to kill it? There's a trusty knife in their little pack, but nothing to hold it with if both ears need to be covered. Besides, the fire doesn't even seem to be damaging it! Perhaps it needs more?]
[With that in mind, they take their hands off their ears for just a moment- just long enough to whip up a fireball in their hands (a rather large one, funny how much magical power you can put into something when the adrenaline is running!) after which Hange tosses it directly at the sprinting banshee before covering both ears once more.]
[Because obviously adding even MORE fire to the mix is going to calm the thing down, right?? Oh boy. The end effect is that the monster is still coming directly for them, seemingly a lot more panicked, yet now the flames are even larger and it's only by pure luck that it hasn't spread any embers to the grass or trees.]
Oh no! Shit!!
[So much for that idea!!]
Should we swim across the lake??
[Hopefully Hijikata heard that or at least gets the idea, as Hange begins moving closer towards the lakeshore...]
no subject
No!! We can't abandon our camp! You keep your ears covered!
[The banshee is wailing louder than before (and who could blame it, really), but someone has to stop it! The fire engulfing it turns bright green as Hijikata removes its burn effect, and he steps in its way, stance broad and sword drawn. He's still scared, though...]
Aaaah!!
[If he masks it as a battle cry, it doesn't count as fear, right? Well... the banshee gets scared nonetheless. It stops and then flees, still wailing (now in fear) and burning with those cool green flames. Whether it would eventually have succumbed to the fire while it was hot, who knows, but now it'll probably just stand out from the crowd for the rest of its life(?) unless it decides to dive into the snow or water!]
..?
no subject
[And they're rather hoping it doesn't, because that would mean that Hijikata's attack failed, and hearing its scream is apparently bad news? They can't die here! They're both going to be in sooooo much trouble when they get home, if that happens!]
[Hijitaka readies his attack and Hange hopes for the best- but then the creature just sort of..... runs off?]
Huh?
[blink blink. it keeps on going, so Hange removes the hands from their ears.]
I don't know what you did, but it worked... what was that, anyway?
no subject
A banshee. They're... harbingers of misfortune. Depending on how the legend goes, if you hear their scream either someone you love will die soon, or you will die.
[At least that's what he learned on Avalon.]
I heard it, so if I die, tell Jean I'm sorry, and for him to tell the others.
[Mukuro and Shoto. Jean will know.]
If you die, I'll die too.
[Once Levi hears of this.]
no subject
What...?
[Suddenly, the shocked expression on Hange's face turns to one of pure tension and worry. The two have not known each other very long, but Hijikata is a nice enough guy, and Hange definitely doesn't want him to die. They wouldn't wany anyone to die, but he's one of Jean's closest people, it would be devastating.]
There's a way to fix it, right....? Right?
You can't die because of it! That doesn't make sense! Besides, I heard it too when I threw my flames at it!
[And suddenly, the realization of that settles in...]
...I can't die either! Hijikata! You don't understand, Levi's going to KILL ME if I die!!
This expression is so Gintamacore!
[He says that in a totally deadpan voice while furiously typing on his phone. Seconds later he reads out the result of his search:]
"According to legends, those who hear a banshee cry three times will lose someone close to them. Those who meet a banshee alone are destined to die soon themselves." Well, we weren't alone. So hopefully we're going to survive.
...
How often did it cry?
[It seemed like continuous wailing, but he's pretty sure that it made brief pauses ever so often! Just how many distinct cries did each of them hear?
In the distance, the real reason for the banshee's cry is becoming apparent: Sky and ground appear to become one behind a veil of snowflakes. A blizzard is coming.]
It really is, hange would probably go with the gintama flow tbh
Hmm.. what counts as a cry? There were definite pauses, but some of them were more like it was stopping to draw breath and continue, rather than ending its crying. So would that make it two cries total? Or four? At least with what I heard.
[Certainly not three, which is probably good, unless it means at least three in which case it could be bad. Losing a loved one is far worse than dying themselves..]
Why would someone we care about die instead? That's so unfair, they aren't even here.....
💯
Shit. Looks like we're getting a snowstorm on top of the banshee. Let's get our stuff into the tent!
[He says that, but what he does first of all is quickly take some provisions - bread rolls and sausages -, spear them on sticks they collected on the initial way to the campsite, and put them over the fire. By his calculations they have enough time for them to be ready by the time the blizzard hits!
It works out, just barely. Half an hour later he and Hange are sitting in their storm-proof, spacious, nicely temperate tent, each having a couple of warm hot dogs to eat (of course Hijikata will offer mayonnaise, too). They have more provisions, but it's nice to have a meal from the campfire (which has probably already been buried in fresh snow by now). Hijikata is still on his phone, going through old network entries.
Man, this is so unhelpful. Some people who heard a banshee's cries say that nothing happened at all, some say that someone they know died up to a couple of years later... I only found one report of someone dying right the next day, but it wasn't really someone close to the adventurer. It was his mother's neighbour's uncle.
no subject
Are there such things as different species of banshees, or.. perhaps they behave differently in different areas? It's hard to figure out any kind of real connection with these stories!
[Hange pauses for a moment to set the phone down and add a squirt of mayo to the sausage, they said they'd try it out after all! It tastes... well. It's a little weird honestly, but it isn't inedible, so they carry on eating away while their free hand doomscrolls on the phone some more, but nothing relevant seems to be there.]
...Can we ask Dawn, the Guild Leader? We took Eren to see her once when we wanted to know if the Titan curse was still active in Ellipsa. If we're destined to die, surely she would notice it?
Or we can ask the research center about the 'banshee'?
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[This sucks!! How are they supposed to even fall asleep tonight with this predicament hanging over their heads, let alone spend days travelling back to the city on their snowmobile? The mood has totally gone to shit, even though they found the valuable coral. Even the fact that Hange accepted and, if nothing else, doesn't seem to dislike the mayonnaise can't make Hijikata happy right now.]
Talking to Dawn or... was it Helene who leads the Research Centre? Talking to either of them is probably our best bet, yeah. I met with Dawn before; she's a nice person.
[Easily side-tracked, but friendly and sincere.]
But Helene - or someone on her team who specialises in moster research - might be more knowledgeable on this front. What do you mean about Eren's titan curse, though? Wasn't it a given that it was still there since he can still turn into a titan?
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[It sucks that this little incident has put a little downer on their fun camping adventure, but what can you do! It seems like they have no option other than to wait until they get back to the city and hit up the guilds or research center. Providing nobody drops dead before then...]
[Hange actually pauses once Hijikata mentions Eren's curse.. it had been an offhanded comment about meeting Dawn, but whoops, it kind of had huge implications. Well, he asked, so Hange feels inclined to answer...]
It isn't something that is common knowledge. Aside from Eren and Reiner of course, I reckon that Levi and myself are the only ones who know about it.
[Being Titan shifters, it makes sense that both of them would. Does Gabi know too? Hange isn't sure, was that sort of info common knowledge back in Marley? Either way the implication is there- not to blab about it to people like Jean or Mikasa!]
Those who gain titan powers are subjected to a limited lifespan. You only get around thirteen years before your life ends, though I don't know what that entails exactly.. it seems it was common practice to have the next titan shifter eat the person before they died...
[Yeah, sorry Hijikata, but there really are many more shitty titan facts than you could ever imagine! Not only would you know how long you have left to live, but you're likely to get eaten too.]
Anyway, we took Eren to see Olwen and Dawn, the guild leaders, to see if they could sense anything, but they couldn't tell us much..
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...
How long does Eren have left? Who did this to him, anyway?
[Eren never talked about it, and Hijikata didn't ask, but he can't imagine that he did it on his own volition... but then again, who knows? If Eren knew about the succession process and saw it as his only chance to protect his city... yeah, then Hijikata wouldn't put it past him.]
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