august event.

[falsitates]

AUGUST 1 ~ 15

Vitae appears to return to normal as the night draws to an end and the new month's first day dawns. Its vanished citizens gradually begin to repopulate the city, and everything returns to normal. Everyone talks about how quickly July went by. August sure has come and gone in a blink of an eye, huh? How funny. They all laugh as they go about their business.

According to the news, the next two weeks will be cloudy, gloomy, and surprisingly chilly.

  THE MISSING

The news also reports that an alarming number of people have gone missing. Citizens of all ages, from young to old, have mysteriously vanished without a trace. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the population has gone missing. Local search parties have been organized and posters have been placed on bulletin boards. A group of volunteers goes into the forest and the abandoned castle every day to look for clues, but they always come up empty-handed.

Rumors quickly spread throughout the city about the disappearances and how spirits must have abducted them. Some of the more superstitious stockpile table salt and hire bogus exorcists to purify their homes. Others visit the shrine and begin praying to gods who have been forgotten. They claim to sense a presence that wasn't there before, and they use it as evidence that a higher being is present and will assist them.

From the trees, four crows watch. When members of the app approach the shrine, they all squawk and flap their wings. Only one flies down to the offering box and dares to come close. The other three remain on the sidelines.

  BRACELETS AND SIM CARDS

Every app user, new or old, are fitted with a watch on their left wrist. It's impossible to remove, and even the most powerful tools fail to make a dent in it. You simply have to live with it. Its user interface has changed since last month. It now has an identical copy of the app, allowing those who frequently forget their phones to have access. It also has a SIM slot on its side, but inputting any regular SIM card appears to have no effect and it's spit out. Anything else is spit out as well.

But for those who kept their mysterious SIdo M cards from June, as well as recent newcomers who wake up with one in their pockets, will find that the bracelet will accept them.

When it is inserted, it displays a city map. It looks a lot like the one that was unveiled last month. It updates every hour to show the user's immediate surrounding area and the precise locations of... something. White dots can be found in random locations, such as the middle of a beach, the back of a supermarket, and dark alleyways. There's no other information about these dots, and it's unclear what would happen if someone went to them.

There are a few scattered throughout the city. Do you dare to go?

  VITAEGATE

Your phone begins to vibrate.

It will not stop until you pick it up and when you do, it's cold to the touch. The buttons become unresponsive as it shuts down. Then, just like all the previous times, white lettering appears on a black background.

WELCOME TO WEEK TEN.
A NEW MODULE HAS BEEN UNLOCKED.
IT HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVIDING VALUE.
DE OMNIBUS DUBITANDUM

The app now includes a new section. It reads 'forum.' The section is exactly what the name says. It's a simple forum where anyone can post comments, but they're all anonymous. No one can tell one from the other.

There are already a few comments.

  DECISION TIME

Your phone vibrates again on the 15th.

ALLY?
BETRAY?

You must choose one of the two options. You won't be able to use your phone otherwise.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [ALLY/BETRAY].
CHOOSE A USER.

The message is followed by a list. It contains the names and photos of all of the app's users. Your phone will remain unusable until you make a decision. Those who are adamant about not making a decision will notice moments before midnight that their watch begins to slowly overheat, with an ominous timer counting down from ten minutes. The options appear once more. After that, the timer will disappear.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [NAME].
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER.
PLEASE WAIT PATIENTLY UNTIL THE NEXT UPDATE.

Comments

missions.

[falsitates]

Please comment with what you would like to investigate and discuss all matters relating to missions underneath this comment.

[cislunar]

oh, yes, murrhannes has no sense of self-preservation when it comes to discovery.

so he's going to end up going to a random point on the map....... also i'll just ask this here too -- since murr has inanimate object memory magic, does reading the sim card/watch with that nab anything of interest?

[ehero]

hope murrhannes brought table salt with him because he's going to immediately feel ~cold spots~ when he arrives at a random point. would he like to go the peaceful route of helping a spirit pass to the afterlife or fight with an asshole spirit

just to make sure, do you mind giving me an example of murr's object memory magic? like if he were to read some random rock, what would he find out? want to confirm how i think it works so i can answer properly!

[cislunar]

oh. cool. he's still recovering from getting mcstabbed and he'll die from a stiff breeze so i'll take the peaceful option

And sure! In summary he just... sees what the object's experienced or witnessed. Here's a short specific example of it in canon. In that, he reads a fireplace and sees the events that happened around it, in the room it's placed in. If he were to read a random rock, he'd likely just get a lot of feet. Maybe see someone who tried to pick it up..... STUFF LIKE THAT

[ehero]

weak. don't ever talk to judai again.

but okay! peaceful option. this involves an old man who is lost and confused. he doesn't know that he's a spirit. he says that he doesn't remember how he got to this area (wherever you want to meet him) or what happened to him previously, but he does vaguely remember the faces of the app users and will ask if he met murr before.

he'll have to be informed that he's no longer alive, which he will deny and fight against for a while. however, once he finally accepts it, he will ask if murr can do this old man a favour. he wants to at least have someone go to his apartment and take care of his dog. it's also very elderly and won't fend well by itself. he would also like to go there and say his goodbyes. he doesn't have any kids or family so after this, he will thank murr and pass on.

in his spot, a coin with a crescent moon appears

for the sim card, murr will only know that they were created in a factory. mass-produced and all that. nothing very interesting about that. as for the watches though, those were hand-made. made by a woman. occasionally handled by a mouse??? that's about it!

[cislunar]

f to the old man and murr's relationship with judai's duel monster deck ;_; i guess he's stealing a dead guy's dog, to later sic on watch making ladies.

BUT THANK YOU ICHI!! just checking: is the coin relevant now, or is that for Later Use

[ehero]

Later Use! it will come up eventually like how the sim cards were brought back up!

[cicadashell]

What will Jiro and Nier find if they look for the source of the map dot behind the supermarket? relevant thread.

[ehero]

nier was right! they will find a ghost! do you want an aggressive one that you can punch or a cute one that you shouldn't punch?

[cicadashell]

Bold of you to assume Jiro wouldn't punch the cute one too. (no preference)

[silentends]

Nier will be torn about punching a cute ghost but he'd probably do it honestly I'm fine either way

[ehero]

we're going for the cute option because i want to see if you guys actually resort to punching

this ghost is a little boy, around the age of seven. he will be found crying, scared, and lost. he wouldn't understand what's going on and it'll take a bit of time to calm him down. you can punch him but things will go Badly if that's the case

do you still wish to punch

[silentends]

Oh my god....f

Nier wouldn't do it because he's a giant softie. Also guess who else is young, crying sometimes and scared....Niko!!! Gets reminded of pq rei, can't punch

[cicadashell]

No punching unless that ghost boy provokes them or turns into something monster-y.

[ehero]

boo. boring. 0/10 cowards

anyway, the boy will eventually calm down once he realizes that nier and jiro are here to help. he'll say that he was with his mom at the supermarket but then something happened and now he's here. he doesn't remember anything asides from a castle. furthermore, he won't know that he's a spirit so that will have to be brought to his attention.

he asks if they can take him back to his mom. he doesn't know the exact address but he knows what neighbourhood they live in. he'll lead them there and eventually find his house. from here, you'll have a few options.

1. ring the doorbell and speak with the mom. she looks dishevelled and pale. any mention of her son will result in her asking if they know where he is. telling her that he's dead will not end well.

2. leave the boy. after arriving, he'll be anxious to run inside and say goodbye. you can say your goodbyes here and simply leave after he phases through the door. this may come to bite you back in the future.

3. convince him to move on. this one will be more difficult as he'd refuse to and it may take a few days before he agrees. the best way to reason with him is that it'd only hurt him if he were to stay with his mother while she can't see him and that she'd want him to move on. if this route is chosen, he will thank them and fade away. in his spot, a coin with a crescent moon will appear

[cicadashell]

The consensus is we're going with 1.
(ס_ס;;)

[silentends]

Yep we're going with 1

[mathodical]

HI LIAM IS HERE TO INVESTIGATE THE SHRINE which... does it appear as a random dot on the map to investigate or is it just an ic hotbed of rumour activity?

also he's particularly investigating the crows, since the fact that only one is willing to approach seems particularly sus. does the crow lead him anywhere if he approaches it? or is he just going to get stuck in a staring match with the crow, rip

i'm thinking of doing a shrine investigation top level in general so any information that he can deduce from his surroundings that i can build into the thread (things like, does the shrine look well maintained/creepily abandoned, what areas look like they've been more visited than others) would be helpful, or general outcome if he pokes around and maaaaaaybe trespasses into places that he's not supposed to be.

[ehero]

the shrine is just an ic hotbed of rumour activity! but there is a dot nearby. you can choose to investigate either one! as for the crow, there will be a staring match until a mission pings up on liam's phone/watch. it will read:

the shrine is abandoned. we have been long forgotten. we cannot help like this. help us and we will help you.

the shrine is extremely old and has not been maintained for years. the well is filled with algae, the offering box is mostly filled with old leaves, the sign is crooked, and the statues are covered in moss. even with the increased surge of people coming to pray, none of them have made an attempt to clean the area. the honden is locked, but it could be broken into. does liam dare to try...? it may not be smart to break into a sacred building...