The last family picture that was taken when Carina was still alive has gone missing from it's frame, which is still right where it was left. A third gaping hole, but this one comes with impact. A different window of the house was shattered, and the shambles were arranged to form a few words:

"In this place, people lie, people cry, and people ask why. In this place, they sleep. What am I?"

roman baudelaire, welcome to the hide & seek! who are you playing with? well, wouldn't you like to know. your character is missing two family members and one sacred object. they can choose to search for them, or they can get lost in their worry and don't. (but who knows, maybe they'll find their way back home on their own). your character was sorted into search group number 5, alongside finn, aeragon and spencer.

please post this plot drop and your character's reaction to it, which can be as short as one paragraph, or as long as you want. you can make two choices for your character: are they searching for their lost family members? can they solve their riddle or not? please include these choices in your reaction response.

“Fuck me,” he grumbled as he shifted in his lumpy bed.  It had been ages since he slept that deep and it brought back the terrors that plagued his dreams in the past.  The question now was, how many drinks did he have the night before, but he only remembered a few before turning in early.  Roman sat up and took a moment before pushing himself up out of the bed, not noticing the shattered window on the other side.  No, he was too focused on making it to the bathroom in time.  “Fuckin’ prostate.”

As he made it to the bathroom, he noticed the sight of blood and a small window shattered, shards scattered across the tiny bathroom.  “You got to be shittin’ me.”  How drunk did he get?  Sure, he had the occasional fist fight with the wall, but this was another level.  Barely holding it, he quickly walked through the hall into the living room to see even more damage, but was unable to focus until he made it outside to relieve himself.

Once that was settled, he walked back into the trailer and his eyes wandered all over the place as he cursed under his breath.  But even worse, the last photograph that his family took before the death of Carina was missing from its frame. What the hell happened?  Fear struck him, did he do something that he was going to regret?

Roman began frantically searching the trailer for the photograph.  It was already bad enough his children hardly had much to do with him.  But if he destroyed the last photograph of them with their mother, well he was positive that would be the end of anything with them.  Wandering around the trailer in his boxers and white tank, he continued looking.

 It was when he stepped back into the bedroom to see the glass slivers arranged saying something on the otherwise of the bed.

"In this place, people lie,  people cry, and people ask why.  In this place, they sleep. What am I?"

Now this was creepy as fuck, he may be a belligerent drunk at times but this was beyond him.  Confused and scared, he decided to reach out to his three children.  Needing to know they were okay. And what the fuck did this message mean?

The darkest, oldest witches are usually also the wisest, no matter what they use their magic for. They have met almost every single use of power, and yet, Lana is still affected by the night of endless and deep sleep, that nobody in town can overcome. Darkness clouds her mind like it clouds the others’, and when she can finally wake, her place has changed.

Her obsidian ring is missing from it’s usual place, but it was taken without someone else leaving a trace. Though there is something for her to see left behind: A riddle, written out of flowers ripped from the ground, smelling suspiciously like death.

“A misty curtain, rarely to be lifted, you must be certain, or you could be rifted. What am I?”

svetlana romanova, welcome to the hide & seek! who are you playing with? well, wouldn’t you like to know. your character is missing one sacred object. they can choose to search for them, or they can get lost in their worry and don’t. (but who knows, maybe they’ll find their way back home on their own). your character was sorted into search group number 1, alongside natalia, lino and cole.

please post this plot drop and your character’s reaction to it, which can be as short as one paragraph, or as long as you want. you can make two choices for your character: are they searching for their lost object? can they solve their riddle or not? please include these choices in your reaction response.

Lana had a huge grin on her face. The sun was shining down on her and her big brother as they sat on the grass, a nearby oak tree providing shade in the open backyard of a three-story, three-winged mansion that highlighted the detailed craftsmanship and structural innovation of Antoni Gaudi. I always hoped that it had been something like this — heavenly, calm, and vivid. Basically hope, without the prerequisite misery.

❝ Have you already figured it out, Svetlana? ❞ her brother asked, a worried expression on his occasionally blurry face.

❝ You always have bad timing, brother, ❞ Lana heaved a sigh, her bright smile turning into a disappointed scowl. ❝ This is my dream. I will take my time. ❞

❝ T̷̹̯̙̜̜̻̹̠̘͂i̵̡̨̺̹͎͗̊ͅm̶̺͑̌̃͗ě̷̢̼̦̟͉͉̪̬̗͘ ̵͕̀̽̾̎́̒̈́̕i̷̲̗̦̤͋͋̄̽̈́s̷̛̜̮͍̰̤̲̈́̌̋̓̈́̓͘͜͝ ̵̖̪͖̜̖͕̙̈́͛̈́̈́̀͑̋͜͝ͅn̶̢̨̫̼̱̰̩̦̝̊o̴̥͙̞̣͈̥͚͝ ̵͎̀͐̽͛̃͋͝l̵̨̨͙̜̠͍̝̞̩͑o̷̟̓n̸̥̫͋̉̇́̄͗̏̕͝g̵̡̎̓̆̂̋̅ē̶̡̡̪̦͇̱̝̘͎̊̂͒̌̚r̶̪̣̘̟͔̉̆ ̸̧̳̝͖̪̯̥͖̲̭͒̒͑ẙ̶̭̜͓̻̈́͋͆̍̈́̉̾̓̚ò̸͓̻̩̮̲̰̲̫̫̀̃̈́͂͊̏̍u̷͚̒͋̍̾̈́͌̓̐ṛ̸̡͙̣̥͇̖̜͘ ̴̮̳̙̱̝̯̳͈̼̣̎f̸̛͎͈͓̱̳̈́̑͐̋̃͝͠r̴̢̩̮͒́̇̋͐͆́͆́ì̶͕̼̻͌̈́̃̊̈e̸̡͇͚̤͕̱̋̅̽̕̚͝n̵̩̤̠̤̿̉̉̎͌͠͠ḑ̸̭̰̟̝̼̠̈́̅̓̌̕,̴̻͍͖̩̟͎̩̟͘ ̸̛̀̑̔̇́͒̀̒͘͜d̴̬̖̺̘͇̀̇̋̂̌̔̑͘a̵̧̢̮̤̠͙̭͍̭̟̋̍̀̂͝r̷̨̪̘͈͈͓͓͓̮̥̒k̷̢̨̹͚̗͉̩̰̮͑̃̀͆̈̏̉̾͘ ̶̛͈̩͒̿́̈́̌c̷̢̀ḩ̶̼̩̼̯̻̣̀͐̀ͅi̵͚̘̰͕͖̭̖̖͍̋͝l̶̨̯̱͕͌ḑ̸̛͓͔̼̱͎̰͇͌̍̀̾̃͝, ❞ her brother’s features began to morph, twisting into a nightmarish form that barely resembled his barely visible likeness, now resembling Lana’s own, though deformed and hellishly grotesque. The malformed abomination suddenly appeared behind her instead of where it had been, wrapping its spindly black arms, ❝ ̴̧̡͈̣̙̳̬̞̆͆̃̇͝ͅͅI̶̥̦͑̇͋̇t̸̬̯͙̟̞͎̼͋̚ ̵̨̣̳̳̻̪̮̖͛̉̇̔̀̎̓̉h̶̯̬̑̏̽̅͒͐͛͊a̴̢̛͎͖̝͐̍̅́͆͝͝s̸̟̤̣͋͑̉ ̶̛̗̙̍̍͒̃̋͛̚̚a̵̮͉͠b̴͉̪̯̗̼͓̹̑͜a̵͓͂̚͝n̴̡̡̨̰͍͇͊̉͂͂͗͆̓̚̕͠d̸̞͉̣͍͈͖̟̟͛̏͆́̂ǫ̷̜͍̰̽̐n̶̢̹̘̱͙̙̙̰̆̓́̂̅̉̊̽̅̂è̷̞͎͙̞͚̝̜̟̲̝d̷̨̗̻́̏̊̇̉̌́ ̵̢̻̟̻͚͚͖̩͚̙́͛͌̃̀̉́͝͝ý̸̧͙̘͍̲͙̉̉͆͘͠o̸̻̩̞̫̙͈͍̭̯͇̾̈́͋̆u̴̡͍̮͕͍͑̓̈́͌̽̊͊̓̌,̷̖͋̓̏̈́̇̈́̀͑̐̚ ̶̡̜̥̭̺͈̭͍͓̲͐͘a̴̦̯̓̓̏̈́̇̄̀͐̉̇n̵̮̆̓͗́́d̷̺͔͔͖̜̲̫̓̓̿͜ ̴̧̗̬̾̑̇̍̄͒̾͝i̴̛̫͔̋̓́f̷̼̩͕̪͉̺̙̥͑̍̋́͊̆͜͝ͅ ̵̧̤̠͕̭͎̤̹̌̈́̃͊̉͝y̶̰͖͂̃o̷̧͓̥͔͎͛ȗ̶͉͎͉̲͕̝̝̮͊͑̆̔̕ͅ ̸̡̝͕͖̓̏͗̋̐̅̀̑̇d̴̲̳̽̄̈́͊̏̈́̌̏͝ọ̴̥̱̫̱͋͒̈́̒̓̉͘͝ͅͅn̸̢̡̨̩̠̣̼͚͈̅̈́̓̐̕'̶̗̠͔͍̂́̓̅̉̋̋͑͂̚ţ̵̺̺̲͆ ̶̨̪͓̱̇̒͑̋̽̉ḩ̴̫̫̯̻̱͙̈́̉̒́̃͋̈́ͅu̴͉͓̓r̵̡̼͙̭̄̿̀͋͆͘r̷̘̭̯͔̟̦̊̿̿ͅͅy̵̮̩̙͉͇̟̦͂͑͐̓̎͜,̵̖̭̺̭̺͈̜͈̠̞̈́́͌́̚͝ ̷̠̖̹̗̬͔͌̿̅̉͘ỵ̴̦͕̦̤͕̠̠͋͒́̇̀̚o̸͕̱͂͑͒̓̉ű̸̡̖̮̫̮͜͠ ̵̨̛̦̬̿̄̒͋͆̿w̶̛͈̠̳̲̬͎͈͇͂̈́͐̈́̇͑̅͝i̴̺͉͙̪͍͓͌͝l̶̨̳͍͇̦͈͓̭̺͓͛̆̋͊̐͗̕͝l̵̡̲̰͍̠͓̊ͅ ̷͓͈̫̟͙͕̎̎̈́̊̋̉͜é̸͓̟̫̜̖͔̭̓͆͆ņ̵̭̗̟̹̟̎̓̂̇͠d̸͖͛̈́̒̒̍͒̒̓͘ ̷̛̜͖͖͈̼̪͓͉̦͔̎̌̏̑u̸̯͍͈̹͐̎̔̎̈͝͝ṗ̵̨͇̻̩͈̪̀̽ ̵̩̼͉̪̻̖̘̃ȃ̷̢̜̘͓̩͐͌͌͌ḇ̵͙̩̱̳̀̓̈́̍̈̏͑á̶͖͌͜n̸͔̤̳͕̰͛̌ͅḍ̴̡̦̳̞͔̀̎͛̈́̍͘o̶̡̜̗̖̊́̈́͑͝͝͝ṇ̶̪͎̺̣̋͗̔ī̵̟̱͇̩͂̉̏̏̓̔͠n̵̹̯̼̦̺̺͋́́͊̾̀g̶̢̧̘̜̹̳̤̠̼̰̽̉̐̆̀ ̶̡̧̟̗͔̗͉̮̱͐̆y̵̺̜̩̟͇͈̓̔͐̔̏̈́̑ō̷̡̦͖̩̭͔͗̕͠û̵̧̩̳̗͎͙̹r̶̢̤̝͖͐̄̿̀͑̿͑̀̍͘s̸̫͍̫͙̰͓̲͗͑̓͐́͐̈͜ȩ̸͖̫̼̜̖̪͙̻͛̔͜l̵̜͇̫̩͍͍̓̽͑̔̓͊̀f̸͙̲̒̌̆ͅ! ❞

Lana screamed, breaking out of her nightmare and violently returning to her body, arms and legs flailing in bed, tossing and casting aside white sheets and pillows, as she furiously forced herself awake. Heaving and panting, she placed a hand on her forehead, beads of sweat all over her bare skin glistening as patches of sunlight breached her room.

Then she remembered something, what that thing had said, and with eyes wide in horror, she dashed to where the obsidian ring was, finding nothing but the stinky riddle in dying flora once more. Lana knitted her eyebrows together, letting out a very annoyed tsk followed immediately by,  ❝ I guess I really have to start searching for that ring now… ❞  

As if the death of the King of the merfolk has not brought enough instability into the ocean, many things go wrong in the night during which nobody wakes. One of them will be the havoc that breaks loose when the res of the merfolk discovers that Amaros’ necklace has gone missing. But that is not the only thing gone and vanished from their usual spot, Umi’s pearl necklace is nowhere to be found, either. 

Waves crash harder against the beach than they usually would, kind of as if the water can feel the rage spread out through the city and sea. 

However, someone has arranged shells and corals on the ocean ground to read a riddle for her to solve, and they are not affected by the heavy waves, in fact, they are not moving at all:

“Some seek me, others fear me. I reveal truths but never speak. What am I?”

izumi tokugawa, welcome to the hide & seek! who are you playing with? well, wouldn’t you like to know. your character is one sacred object. they can choose to search for it, or they can get lost in their worry and don’t. (but who knows, maybe they’ll find their way back home on their own). your character was sorted into search group number 3, harlow, myles and daphne.

please post this plot drop and your character’s reaction to it, which can be as short as one paragraph, or as long as you want. you can make two choices for your character: are they searching for their lost family member? can they solve their riddle or not? please include these choices in your reaction response.

Umi stared at the unmoving shells and corals, abandoned abodes and skeletons of the denizens of the deep, all what remained and were left behind by those before them. She herself floated unfazed, more annoyed than anything.❝ Someone has their sights set on us, ❞ she mumbled to herself, though that someone might even be a something. It wouldn’t be the first time for her. She did initially think that this attack was more of a statement against the changing of tides in merfolk society, but when she found out her pearl necklace also went missing, she realized right then and there that whatever was going on involved her more than she understood. ❝ Someone with a thing for mirrors. ❞

EVENT 002: THE HIDE AND SEEK

Twelve hours after some of Westray's population has gone missing, the emergency service teams have sorted the volunteers into groups of four, assigned them areas to search and briefed them in case they're met with an emergency. The segments to search are small, thanks to the massive amount of volunteers, and so the volunteers are allowed to split up, as long as they're careful and don't leave their assigned area. Each search group is given two flashlights, two torches, one map of the city and forest and a small amount of water and food, all pushed into one backpack.

THE SEARCH GROUPS

GROUP NUMBER 1: natalia, lino, cole, lana | southern forest

GROUP NUMBER 2: maia, simone, abbie, aries | nothern forest

GROUP NUMBER 3: harlow, myles, daphne, umi | eastern forest

GROUP NUMBER 4: levi, liam, marlowe, sam | western forest

GROUP NUMBER 5: finn, aeragon, spencer, roman | the mountains

GROUP NUMBER 6: alexios, rosita, amaros, laurent | the city

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS

KATE HASTINGS: take care of those that return to the city hall and need help.

OOC INFORMATION

Even the oldest and wisest beings in the city are not safe from the deep sleep the whole town was put under in this fated night. Not even the Leader of the Fae. Surprisingly, most fae have lived through the night without further harm or being taken from their safe beds. However, their objects have disappeared just like they did for the other species in town, and sometimes even twice as much went missing.

Aeragon is only missing one thing: His scroll with his family tree has vanished from it’s usual place and is not returning. A different message was left behind for him to read, and it’s created from words ripped out of books in his home:

“I’m enjoyed by all, yet I’m gone in a flash. What am I?“ 

Aeragon Clarion, welcome to the hide & seek! who are you playing with? well, wouldn’t you like to know. your character is missing one sacred object. they can choose to search for it, or they can get lost in their worry and don’t. (but who knows, maybe they’ll find their way back home on their own). your character was sorted into search group number 5, alongside Finn, Spencer and Roman.

please post this plot drop and your character’s reaction to it, which can be as short as one paragraph, or as long as you want. you can make two choices for your character: are they searching for their lost object? can they solve their riddle or not? please include these choices in your reaction response.

A cold, quiet fury settled in Aeragon’s chest, a feeling far deeper and more chilling than mere displeasure. To see his library, his sanctuary, so desecrated was a violation of the highest order. Leather-bound tomes that had survived centuries, some even millennia, lay broken and splayed open on the floor like fallen birds. Delicate pages, brittle with age, were ripped from their bindings, their elegant script and intricate illuminations shredded into a meaningless confetti of knowledge. The very air, usually thick with the comforting scent of aged parchment and cedar, was tainted with the sharp, raw smell of torn paper and a lingering, alien presence.

And for what? His eyes narrowed, tracing the crude arrangement of torn strips pasted against the far wall, a mosaic of violation forming a simple, almost childishly scrawled message.

“I’m enjoyed by all, yet I’m gone in a flash. What am I?" 

“You are a sunset.”

He mused on the words, the initial rage momentarily giving way to a bitter, analytical calm. A sunset. A magnificent, fleeting spectacle of fading light just before the inevitable dark. Was it a threat? A poetic insult, implying his time was ending? Or was it a twisted compliment from an enemy who saw beauty in his decline? The ambiguity was galling, an intellectual puzzle crafted from the guts of his most cherished possessions.

His gaze swept across the carnage again, a meticulous inventory of the damage taking place in his mind. The Chronicles of the Elder Days… defaced. The Treatise on Celestial Alignments… its spine snapped. Then, a sudden, sharp intake of breath. A cold spike of dread pierced through the simmering anger. Amidst the scattered debris, there was an empty space on the mahogany shelf where his family’s scroll should have been. It wasn’t torn or discarded; it was gone.

Suddenly, the other books didn’t matter. They were replaceable vessels of knowledge, but the scroll… the scroll was memory. It was irreplaceable. On its impossibly long, winding parchment were the names of his former lovers, carefully inscribed in his own hand, often humans whose brilliant, flickering lives had long since been extinguished from the world. Each name was a story, a universe of shared laughter and quiet sorrows. It was his private litany against the erosion of time, the one tangible thing that proved their fleeting, beautiful lives had truly mattered. That was enough. That was everything. The theft was no longer an act of vandalism; it was an act of soul-theft.

A new resolve hardened his features, turning his grief into a whetstone for his anger. This was not a random act; it was personal, and it was part of a larger, cruel game. He was not the only player. He knew Finn, Spencer and Roman. They too were victims of this malicious hide-and-seek event, each having lost a piece of their past, a part of their soul. A grim understanding settled upon him: alone, they were just grieving individuals, but together, they could become hunters.