Chapter 1 | Variable | July 17 - July 31
A day passes.
Some spend their time getting their reports in order. Others check on their peers. A tea party is held. A machine is tested. A basement is explored. Boats are built. And, you REMEMBER.
No matter how well or poorly you’ve prepared, you will survive whatever comes next.
You have no choice.
...
The building plunges into darkness. Did someone overwhelm the Fabricator again?
But, even when the lights come back on, they stutter and falter. The bravest of you face unfamiliar, dimly lit halls as you venture out for answers. They’re too long. They’re too short. There’s too many doors. They’re old. They’re new. The red light of a camera blinks as it watches you run or cower, but they do not help.
Eventually, you stumble across the group– or the group stumbles across you. A warning beep at your H4-L0 and a tinnitus reaches a crescendo in the back of your mind, the same as it did yesterday when– when you REMEMBERED Arcturus died– except this time you realize that you’ve been hearing it this whole time. It is sharp and piercing, like microphone feedback. The sound resolves into a voice.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
You are filled with the certainty of this truth.
WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
The tower itself has made itself inhospitable to you.
STAY IN THE [LIGHT/DARK]
They are watching you, you rat in a cage.
When the ringing in your ears finally stops, you notice Ithika is standing among you. They inhale. They exhale. Their face twists into a sneer– and then, breathlessly, they laugh.
“Did you feel it?”
“A domain has just opened.”
They turn to look at the rest of you and–
“We are going to kill this godforsaken phantasm from the only place I believe we can– inside its domain. Or, we are going to die trying. As many times as it takes.”
“... No more questions, at this time.”
The edges around them distort into all colors– cyan, magenta, yellow– and they vanish.
–
We have entered Chapter 1’s Variable Phase!
The variable phase will go for 14 OOC days, and IC-ly takes place over the span of 1 week.
In this phase:
Your characters will be affected by the variables. Use them as an opportunity for threading prompts!
Variables
There is No Escape - During this chapter, rooms feel claustrophobic. It is difficult to sit still. Doors, stairs, and halls move, appear, and disappear.
Technical Difficulties - Seems like tech is on the fritz. Light switches have static shocks, doors lock or unlock unpredictably, and the elevator has become liable to leave you stranded or take you to places you didn’t mean to go.
The Spotlight - Shadows harbor the unknown, but when you’re in the light, you too are seen. Staying in the dark for prolonged periods increases your anxiety. Staying in the light for prolonged periods increases your paranoia of being watched.
