/the cracking of knuckles heard 'round the world

[lucetimods]

ARRIGHT FOLKS it's well past time that we get this show on the road.I hope you've all had enough fun over the last seven years that this won't hurt for you as much as it does for me, sob. But let's go out with a bang, shall we?

Romaeus has made the announcement: characters will be venturing into the center of the planet to duke it out with one big spirit monster in the hopes of winning their freedom. Here's the OOC explanation that comes hand in hand with his little infodump.

First of all, a while back one of the interns made a post offering some additional information and ways to prepare for the inevitable escape. Hopefully everyone has taken advantage of that information, and if not… well, maybe you'll just get lucky. Either way, a couple of things were recommended:

• Characters were advised to work on correcting or defending against their weaknesses, physical, mental, and emotional
  
• Ami was asked to create programs in the Battle Dome that could help characters focus on those weaknesses and make them available for free use
  
• Rin was asked to get people to help him collect supplies for the journey into the core, as well as resources from around the world in case equipment repairs needed to be done

For 2 and 3, please let me know in the mod thread below whether or not this happened! As for 1…it ties into what Romaeus said, about facing down the core spirit and earning the right to leave the world.


THE SET UP

Characters will be led into the tunnels in groups, where Romaeus and his team have created a path deep into the center of the world. Best bundle up, because unlike most planets, it gets colder the further down you go- no molten core to heat things up after a certain depth is reached. Those extra layers will come in handy later, though, trust me.

After a day or so of traveling, the tunnel opens up into a cleared-out zone with a handful of caves, all of them guarded and sealed by the organization's security forces. Miniature barriers have been set up at the entrances, making them protected areas, though characters themselves should be able to pass through without issue. There are tents and various makeshift shelters as well, as most of the caves are filled with equipment and research teams hard at work. There's a couple of additional tunnel offshoots, but they are marked with warning signs, and a cold, foreboding feeling permeates from within. Entering the tunnels unprepared will cause considerable unease and discomfort and is generally not recommended.

Lucetians will be responsible for supplying and maintaining their own shelters in the open area, although characters with applicable abilities are free to make caves of their own, and there are a few unclaimed tents if characters neglected to bring them along. The general area is buzzing with nervous excitement- they're right on the edge, and everyone is very excited to be going home.

There's fear as well, though, because facing one's greatest fears and weaknesses is a daunting hurdle to overcome. That's why one of the caves is devoted to counselling and advice, for those who feel unprepared or not quite up to the task. A handful of therapists, massage experts, and personal trainers are available to help anyone who comes to visit. Characters are of course encouraged to work these issues out for themselves, but if working with a peer hasn't helped so far, maybe a professional would ease their nerves.

And of course, the core of the planet is not exactly… safe. The core has a defense mechanism that activates at night, once there are enough people in the tunnels- an unnamed threat, but resembling Shift Hunters (except creepily translucent and less… rotted).


This is what they look like.

These beasts will attack indiscriminately. Unlike Shift Hunters, however, their goal is to get as many bites in as possible and make a run for it- back into the tunnels and to the Core Spirit they came from. Why? Because each and every bite saps something from the victim. A memory, a personality trait, a sense… it's an instantaneous Death Penalty. Killing them returns the stolen traits back to its victims, no harm, no foul. But if the creature makes it back to its master, they're gone for good.

The creatures are pretty easy to kill, and they don't seem like much of a threat when running solo, but much like zombies, you don't want to let yourself get swarmed. An entire pack could take someone out in seconds and suck them dry in under three minutes, leaving an empty husk- it's hard to fend off a monster when a single bite can make your body forget how to move your arms. Residents will be strongly recommended to travel in pairs or groups while underground, for their own safety.

Here's a map of the area to give you an idea of what to expect:



Landmarks:

• Tunnel: route from (and to) Luceti, obviously
  
• Water Source: where characters can bathe/use the facilities. Minimal privacy, but it's better than nothing.
  
• Shelter: Mostly occupied, but characters needing a quick, safe place to sleep or recover from injuries can use beds from NPCs who are working during the day. This is also where the above-mentioned counsellors and trainers are hanging out.
  
• Research: where Shift equipment powering the barriers and exit portals are. Characters will be mostly kept out of this area unless they have a good reason to be there in case some idiot wants to sabotage things, but characters wanting to learn about Shift equipment will be invited under guard (and/or unarmed, just in case) to learn how to use and maintain them.
  
• Exit portal: where characters will be leaving!
  
• Supplies: food, clothes, blankets, equipment. Anything Lucetians can contribute are welcome. This is where Rin's collected requests should go.
  
• Militia: where the guards hang out, basically. They'll be on edge but not antagonistic, and will happily provide advice on how to deal with the spirit dogs described above. They're very glad for the back-up, that's for sure.
  
• Tents: Available shelter for those who don't have anywhere else to sleep.
  
• Blue Dots: guard locations, though there are others patrolling the cave. They're more chill during the day. No one likes the night watch.
  
• Core Spirit Entrances: Please see below…!

THE ENDGAME

When characters feel ready, they can attempt the true gauntlet: they must walk down the marked tunnels… and walk straight into the Core Spirit itself.

Who here has seen Princess Mononoke? WELL.

What they will feel, at first, is similar to the sensation experienced by those who "died" because of the Cultist sacrifice bomb dropped in Zompania, as described in the IC description and the mod post from back then: "the sensation of being watched and examined / the sensation of floating in the middle of black abyss alone/dissolving away into a bottomless, hot ocean/suffocating or drowning"

That feeling is somewhat temporary, though for some it may linger. Otherwise what they will experience next is similar to the Dream Shifters: they will be trapped in a dream-like state, only instead of a perfect world or their dearest wish, they will face their darkest fear or biggest weakness. Some examples of what characters might face:

• characters afraid of tornadoes may find themselves in the middle of one and survive it without losing their head
  
• characters afraid of losing their loved ones may suddenly be left by themselves in the darkness, overwhelmed by loneliness and grief
  
• characters afraid of monsters will have to slay one
  
• a character whose flaw is a lack of compassion will be forced into a situation where they will be asked to save someone.
  
• a character whose flaw is an inability to listen could meet someone with a speech impediment with whom they must share a conversation without interrupting
  
• characters might face themselves, Persona 4-style, announcing their flaws openly

How the fear is "defeated" will vary by character and situation, so if you have any uncertainty or questions about what qualifies, feel free to ask. Also, if you're not sure about what your character's weaknesses might be, think back on moments that were particularly stressful in canon and bounce off that. Alternatively, think back to the weaknesses section on your character's application to get some ideas!

Here's where the ending will come in. The purpose of this test is so your character can demonstrate to the Core Spirit that they have, during their time in Luceti, grown in some way. It craves the knowledge of what's changed, how their time in the world was used, or if it was wasted and they haven't changed at all. If they can prove themselves to be both brave and capable of growth, they will be permitted to leave the core without being devoured, and their forced connection to the world will be severed.

Thus, there are two ways your character can conclude their time in Luceti:

The "Good" End: they overcome their weakness and the spirit grants its approval, therefore severing their connection with the world and allowing them to leave.
The "Bad" End: they are unable to overcome their weakness and the spirit consumes them entirely. Even failure, after all, is a learning experience, and the spirit loves to learn.

If you decide on #1, your character can leave the spirit and walk back out into the tunnels, free to say their farewells to their friends and loved ones, many of whom they will likely never see again, and then walk through one of the organization's Shift portals, which will send them back to their world.

If you decide on #2, because you're a bad person and you should feel bad but you also like tragic endings, your character will not come out of the Core Spirit- they will, in fact, become a part of it. Forever. Whether this will be, for the long term, either heaven (a peaceful relief), hell (a punishment for failure) or simply a cessation of existence is kind of up to the character's outlook on life, the mood of the spirit, and one other thing which will be outlined below.


THE "ONE OTHER THING"

Now, some of you may be wondering something rather important: what if my character doesn't want to return to their world? Alternatively, what if they can't go home?

This was requested by a number of people ICly during the intern post, and it's a very good question, isn't it? Children born in Luceti who have no homeworld, those who have died back home, or even folks who have no desire to leave at all because they've found a place for themselves here- there are a number of reasons why someone might not want to leave. Technically, people who aren't leaving don't have to undergo the trial at all, but it's… kind of recommended. Strongly recommended, actually. If you want to hang out in somebody's house, you should at least meet the landlord. However, once that meeting is concluded and the character walks out alive, they are then free to go right back up the tunnels whenever they please and carry on living as before. That won't prevent history from repeating itself, however, so there is an alternative, one that the organization folks will actively encourage. In fact, some of them will be trying it out themselves.

The idea is that once the vast majority have visited the Core Spirit - and as many people as possible have returned, hopefully - the negative energies that have been festering in the spirit for hundreds of years will have been balanced out somewhat. A little bit goes a long way, and success is a great encouragement. Good vibes, happy feels, all that sappy stuff. Love is gonna save the goddamn universe. The downside is that sending people home doesn't mean that the Core Spirit can't just pull in a bunch more people and force them to live here forever instead. Out with the old, in with the new, right? Yeah, we don't want that.

Thus, characters who desire to stay on the planet, after undergoing their trial, need to band together and enter the Core Spirit for a second time, in order to negotiate the terms of their lives here. Communication with this spirit is much easier than that of the spirits on the surface- it has all the knowledge of every living creature it's ever consumed, after all, so speech is pretty easy. And it would just love to chat.

I won't tell you what exactly to say to it, or how it will end, but I will tell you this: history is the key. Now go save yourselves.


QUESTIONS
What if my character walks through the Go-Home portal without meeting the Core Spirit?
Technically nothing is stopping characters from going through the portals without overcoming the trial, but it won't work. It could be tomorrow and it could be five years from now, but eventually they will be pulled back to Luceti. It all depends on how you want to go out. But if your character has some unfinished business back home and wants to come back at some point, then hey, this is a totally valid option, though there's no guarantee when they'll come back.

Do characters have to undergo the spirit's trial by themselves, or can they bring someone with them?
Just like the above question, nothing would prevent going into the core with a partner, or even a group. However, additional people has the potential to make the trial that much harder- characters will have to face their own trial as well as that of the additional character(s). The extra trials won't be as difficult depending on what the trial is, mind, because it's not their weakness, but characters can't actually do the trial for someone else, they can only support their companion. For example: a character whose weakness is an inability to fight walks into the core with a fighter character whose weakness is a lack of compassion. The fighter passes his test by saving an innocent person from danger at great risk to himself, encouraged by the non-fighter. Then a monster attacks the non-fighter, who can't bring himself to fight back, so the fighter slays the monster and wins the trial. In this case, the fighter would be free to go, and the non-fighter would be devoured.

Characters who compliment each other well are most likely to survive together in the trial than, say, people who are similar, so be careful who you partner up with if you choose to go that route. Because of the potential support, however, it's recommended that characters hook up with a friend, family member, or significant other (heck, even a supportive rival) so you don't have to face your trial solo, just in case it ends up being especially intense. (Obviously this makes it easier to thread the trials out, and it would help create more positive feelings for the Core Spirit- win by the power of love and friendship…!! Or. Something.)

The partner may not be immediately obvious - going in with a loved one could make it worse or impossible to complete the trial depending on what it is - so choose wisely. Going in with someone who can smack some sense into you could be better than a close friend who'd coddle you, for example. This doesn't apply to everyone, though, so use your own judgment!

Can my character stay in the core after the trial is done? Like, say, if their friend just got devoured right in front of them?
You can, but it would totally suck in there, and someone should probably go back out and share the bad news with everyone else. Also, an extended stay in the core spirit would encourage it to keep testing you, since you obviously like it so much. Over and over. With a nice difficulty curve. Fun times!

What if my character is dead in their world? Will going back return them to life?
Alas, that is not possible. The Core Spirit controls life and death on this planet, but it can't control it on other worlds. If you choose to go home, and you're dead, you go back to being dead. Sorry! But that does bring to mind another question-

Can my character go to someone else's world?
The most frequently-asked question, I think! This one's tricky. Technically characters who pass through the portal go immediately back to where they came from, and it's a one-way trip. Romaeus has a way around this, however. Ever heard of the red string of fate? Well, his power is sort of like that. It's how he found the core in the first place. (Long story.) This is also similar to the AU event we ran previously, where characters were able to venture to someone else's world, thanks to Bil's research. This time is meant to be more permanent. Basically, he can connect one character to another, so when those characters pass through the portal together, they'll be sent to the same world. The first to go through should belong to the world they're trying to reach. Characters who are dead can go to other worlds and stay alive- until they die in that world, anyway. But that's out of our hands |D

Romaeus will pass along a warning with this, however- there's no way to know how it will affect that person's world. It could change the course of history or create an alternate version of it to account for the unknown invader. It could wreck everything. The risk is yours to take, so be sure that the other person is totally worth it.


Any further questions can be directed to the mod thread below. There'll also be another thread for characters who want to stay on the planet, so we can get a feel for how many there'll be.

The journey begins March 27th!

Comments

Questions

[lucetimods]

[misterbrief]

If one character completes their trial successfully, can they go back in with someone else for their trial without having to essentially redo their own?

Example: Vegeta completes his trial by himself, but then goes in a second time with his daughter. Will Vegeta have to endure his trial with his daughter again or will it be just Bulla's trial?

[distressedude]

Just two questions here!

1. Will characters remember Luceti when they go home?

2. Can multiple characters be sent to someone else's world? Like, could Kari offer to take multiple people back to her world? (Maybe they could all just red-string each other like a conga line of fate?)

[blessingone]

For people who don't have dimensional powers like Kari, is it limited to the two-person thing or is it also an "increased people are an increased risk" thing?

Also: thank you - and to all mods past and present - for having made Luceti what it is. At this point, I'm glad that the endgame is happening while I am still here so that I can see the game to its end, but Luceti has shaped so much of my life and it will always be an extremely fond memory, and it's because of you that it's been able to be such a lasting and wonderful experience. Thank you so much. I'd say more but there'll probably be better places to say it later.

[tomodachi]

Do those who wish to go to someone else's world instead of their own have to complete their trial before they'll be able to do so?

[ofwesternwinds]

Quick question regarding memories but:

I understand characters have the option to remember Luceti upon departing. However, what about characters who are separated by different canon points? Rudy here is from an earlier canon point than his castmate, Jane (disastergirl).

Would that cause an issue with memories/time-breaking paradoxes for one? If not, is there an option to have their memories temporarily erased until they catch up in an effort to prevent said potential time-breaking paradoxes?

still the wrong account weeps

[collegedropout]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere - can characters take home gifts or trinkets? I may have Sayo or Kotetsu do a thing where they suggest photos and trinkets and etc.

[thefinaljedi]

This one doesn't seem to have been answered yet, but what about pets? Do they have to undergo a trial to leave? Or can they just go with their owners, no problem?

I ask specifically because of R2-D2. Luke would never, ever subject R2 to anything he didn't want to deal with, but R2 would probably try and follow him into a trial anyway.

For those staying in Luceti

[lucetimods]

Just let me know if you're keeping a character in the world. :|b

Re: For those staying in Luceti

[ferels]

Arietta will be staying.

Gore's Gang

[niceguypose]

So here's preliminary thoughts on my characters:

*Aang: I intend to see if Katara will be his partner for the Core Trial, otherwise it could be someone else among his canonmates or close CR.

-Fear Trial: May depend on who he's partnered with, but will likely involve a storm in some capacity along with some of his personal fears involving letting go of people. It could also alternately involve his fear of losing humanity, in which case his enemy will be a version of him in the Avatar State who is General-like.

For Aang, I'm considering several things for after the Core:
-He may choose to stay in Luceti, but only for several years or so. He knows his life is waiting for him back home, so he won't stay for good. But he wants to be able to help those who stay behind get on their feet and to be there for any of the Luceti-born kids who remain in the world so they have some familiar faces growing up.
-I may look into memory removal for him for the purpose of making sure he doesn't change his future.

*Rock Lee: For his core trial, I will probably look into a Rapunzel team-up. Otherwise, it can be one of his close CR or few remaining canonmates whom he teams up with. Depending on Rapunzel's plans, he may stay in Luceti for a while after the trial.

-Fear Trial: One kind of depressing idea will be having Lee be overcoming a fear of his own limitations. Essentially, it will be about him grimly facing the reality about the limits of shounen determination. He was always set on getting himself to fly with Luceti wings and to save everyone, including the people he had seen die back home. He will finally be facing that is not possible, and his enemy will be a flying version of himself who is hoarding away all of Lee's precious people.

*Kurt Wagner: It will probably be someone from amongst his canonmates/close CR, but I am less decided there. My motivation for him has been horrible, but I want to try to play out some closure for him at least.

-Fear Trial: It could be facing a fear of who he is or possibly something Mystique-related.

*Jade Curtiss: I'm thinking he will most likely team up with Sophie Lhant for the Core Trial and they'll become incredible dorky bros. And he'll probably be heading home afterwards.

-Fear Trial: I'm unsure, but one potential scenario could be him facing off against a board game where the pieces are people he knows, good and bad, alive and dead, and he has direct control of their destinies, but the pieces will act on their own whenever he releases one of them. He will have to let go of the board game in order to overcome his fear of losing his humanity in order to gain control of life or death.

*Wreck-It Ralph: My motivation for him sadly has died out for the most part. I'm thinking that I'll handwave his trial (if any remaining close CR wants, they can handwave doing it with him) and I'll try to brain him for some farewell threads. He'll be going home.

In general all of my characters will be available for threads of things in the tunnels and for farewell threads for after the Trials (the only exception is that Ralph will most likely only be available for the latter unless I can get reinspired for him).
-For characters in the tunnels: I am all for playing out encounters for the beasts. I'm not sure yet if I want there to be any permanent losses, but I would like to play around at least with regaining temporary losses (I have dumb sappy scenarios in mind like Character A loses memories of beloved Character B, Character B has to convince Character A to help anyway in tracking down the best to restore the memories).
-I didn't list fear trials because I haven't nailed them down yet, and some of them may depend on how the endgame teams line up, but if anyone has suggestions for any of them, feel free to run them by me.

In general, I'm open for a lot of last things. I've gradually fallen off the ball over the past few months as I've gotten into other games, but if anyone wants to backdate anything for pre-endgame or get me to try to pick up any threads I've dropped, let me know and I'll try for it. Thank you for everything over the years, Lucetians, and I hope we all get to have a very fun endgame.

[lostinmyway]

Just throwing out an idea, but would Aang be willing to help Sophie with her trial? She's going to be facing the loss of everyone she loves as her trial, and Aang seems like a pretty good person to help her overcome it (even if that's probably going to be pretty tough on him!). Y/N?

[deathsdoctor]

It's my final one of these. End of an era.

Law will be going into the trials with Itachi, and then be going with him home. Red string of fate is so fitting for these two and everything in their canons. I'm up for farewell threads after the trials for closure and perhaps some shenanigans before diving into the Core. No permanent losses though.

Everyone, it's been a pleasure. Thank you for nearly half a decade of the best RP of my life. From laughter to tears, we've had it all. Let's bring this to the end it deserves.

[windandrain]

You know, we do need to do a pair of goodbyes. At the very least. Our CR has more significant other-y types that need to be the focus of the trials, but we need to do that much at least.

Sorry I know this is mega late.

Cilan & Crow

[cilantro]

My last plotting comment in Luceti...wow...

Okay, so these are my current thoughts right now.

For Cilan: He'll be going home after he does his trial, but he will likely wait until he's absolutely sure that all of his friends have done what they needed to do (especially Ash and Iris), and once they have all safely left and he's said his goodbyes, he'll take his leave too.

As for the trial itself, I haven't decided yet about all of the details--though honestly, it'll probably be something similar based on the fear of losing his friends and loved ones. (As well as somehow reflecting the fact that he feels like he's lost a little of himself in this place too, despite attempts to keep from falling apart--one idea I had was to do something involving literally "unraveling at the seams", like a loose thread being caught and attempting to pull him apart...)

Naturally, I'd love if any of his remaining close CR would like to help out with it once I've figured everything out. (If you want him there for your trial too, that's also acceptable!) He'll also be available for tunnel threads for anyone who wants them as well, though I'd probably wanna talk first about whether or not he might lose anything permanent due to those beasts. (Actually, that might make what I said above about his trial even better/worse lmfao)

For Crow: Unlike Cilan, he is not going home. Going home means death for him, so he's choosing to avoid that at all costs and instead find a way to stay with Seto. They've been debating over whether to stay here in Luceti, or go elsewhere, as Firo has offered to let the two of them come back with him to his world. As soon as their trials are done, he's probably only going to stick around for a couple of goodbyes before he takes his leave. Also unlike Cilan, I think I might handwave his personal trial, but if anyone wants him for theirs, I can totally toss him your way for that. Same goes for tunnel threads as well.

Everyone, thank you so much for making my stay here in Luceti as much fun as it has been. Thank you for providing a home for me for the last couple of years, and I hope I'm able to help give this place an ending that's in good taste.

[foundafamily]

Firo's offer definitely still stands for Crow. <3

I'm still hashing out what exactly I want to do with Firo for tunnels/trials, but would you be up for at least one more thread? Maybe with them right before they leave or something?

Firo Prochainezo

[foundafamily]

Firo will be narrowly making it out of the trials (either alone or with someone, I'm open for either). His fear will likely be Szilard and/or his loved ones being hurt, so having someone else there could even make it more traumatic fun!

If anyone needs a trial buddy, he'll be willing to go back in for anyone he's had good rapport with before.

Firo will most definitely be going home after this, but he'll stick around after the trial a bit for any goodbyes. He'll be asking Seto and Crow to go home with him if they want, potential effects on history be damned. Gangsterworld is more fun than Foreveralone Land.

In sum: Firo'll be available for threads at pretty much every stage of the game. Thanks a bunch for everything, guys. <3

[thefinaljedi]

Luke would really like to say his May The Force Be With Yous to Firo, for sure. /is so late.

DHAOOOOOS

[whatdeheckisdat]

I think I'd like to have Things happen even before trials begin, so if you want Things please, please hit me up! (or post and maybe I'll hit you up haha.) Most of Dhaos's change has been of the really slow barely-noticeable sort, since his problems haven't been very evident to others in the first place-- he mostly ignores them, so while there is NO WAY I'd ever give him a bad ending it might take some narrative finagling to get him home. Or, you know, help. XD

Dhaos is going to be super worried about his frands because he would like to accompany them but knows he'd probably make it harder, or outright fail if he has to face himself while helping out. So I think helping out would have to wait for after he's had his trial and is more sure of himself, but he does worry about you guys. ;~; ESPECIALLY YOUNG FOLKS. He tries to give out good advice, really he does, so feel free to poke about that, too.

Assuming Dhaos succeeds (which he will) then he'll be determined to go home and face the consequences of his actions-- mainly his own death. But he'll want to say goodbye to anyone he knows first.

AS FOR HIS OWN TRIAL... If you dragged him in there right now, it'll mostly be him dealing with his failures and the futility of his life for the past several years, not just in Luceti but in his canon. But if things happen before he goes in, then it will adjust to reflect that-- PLOTTY THINGS.

He'll be torn between being frightened enough to ask Grune for help and not wanting her to see the absolute worst of him and learn the truth XD; He also believes, no matter his misgivings, that Cless of all people should go home especially since he doesn't know Cless's canon point and sort of wants to make absolutely sure the whole Demon King thing gets put to rest so he'll end up poking Cless eventually.

IDEAS?

[lostinmyway]

Dhaos, do you really think you're going anywhere near that Core Spirit without Grune. :| She's going to be True!Grune at that point, so she's just gonna charge right up to him and tell him flat-out that like hell is he going anywhere without her. She is going to see all your bad points, Dhaos, and you are going to like it. :|

AS FOR PLOTTY THINGS BEFORE, we absolutely need to do the fallout from the Valentine's event. Like, right now. (A visit with Sophie would be cool, too.)

Vyc's pair

[lostinmyway]

OKAY SO. I didn't want to put this up before I had spent a day thinking about it, but a day has passed and so here I am.

Grune is going to have a complicated time of things. Because I want one more chance to play with her with her memories this scenario is far beyond what she was intended to handle without her memories, the closer she gets to the Core Spirit, the more of her memories she's going to get back until a switch just flips. Kind of the opposite of everyone else with those creepy doggies and all!

In the waiting period, she will have her memories and will definitely be going out and touching base with as many of her friends as possible. She'll also be willing to face the Core Spirit as many times as her friends need her help, because no risk is too great for the people she loves. Anybody who needs someone compassionate who will also not hesitate to smack them up the side of their head, Grune is probably a good bet!

Her trial will be facing the idea of Schwarz in Luceti, unmaking her friends with Grune powerless to stop her. Grune will have to realise that she doesn't have to do everything alone--she can count on her friends to fight with her, her equals in determination if not power. She also will need to realise that she can't force them to stay out of the fight and be safe: they have their own choices to make, even if they might die as a result of their choice.

Once her experiences with the Core Spirit are finished, she'll return to her amnesiac state. And, in the end, she'll be going back to the Legacy, because its fate kind of really rests on her stopping Schwartz! However, her time in Luceti has taught her that it's okay to be a little selfish, and so she will be using her dimension-hopping powers to drop in and check on her friends once in a very long while.

Sophie...is not going to have an easy time of things. Anyone who would like to give moral support to the traumatised six-year-old who's about to be even more traumatised, that would be really nice.

Sophie's trial will be facing the disappearance of all her friends and family one by one so like a normal day in Luceti really. She'll need to accept that sometimes, people leave, that it's not them abandoning her, and while it's of course all right to grieve, in the end, she can't live in her grief. Iiiiiiiiiit's...kind of a lot for a six-year old-to manage, but manage it she will. Just.

After that, she's going to want to go where Fenimore does (sorry, Stella!). Out of everybody in House 34, Fenimore is the one she'd feel least able to leave.

Anyone who would like to do plotty things before, during, or after the Core Spirit shit, COME AT ME.

[tomodachi]

Oh man, I don't know what I'm doing for Crow's trial, but I definitely want him to get a chance to talk to Grune, both when she has her memories and without--either way, he absolutely refuses to leave this place until he's had a chance to do so.

[memoryboxes]

Sayo will be facing her trial, which is two separate parts — one will be her being swept away by a big dark shadowy ocean that stands for the Kagedama she used to have in her head, but now that her mind is strengthened by the removal of it, she can finally gather the strength to overcome this. She'll also be facing her husband who abandoned her and her son (with some kicking input from Sanji, hahaha), and she'll eventually come to terms with him as well. After she does the trial, she'll stay long enough to say her goodbyes. Ginko will likely be around during her trials. :|b

Wolfwood will be staying in Luceti with his family, but is still facing his trial as well. His will be of himself, and it will eventually mold into his abusive guardian — he'll deal with it all and come out on the other side, and retire his cross. :') That said if anyone wants to see the icky Gunsmoke world lemme know, haha.

Kotetsu will be facing complete powerlessness, his Hundred Power completely drained while getting the shit kicked outta him lmao. Eventually it will end with him saying goodbye and Letting Go of a lot of pent-up shit, and Tomoe will speak with him before dying in her hospital bed as a symbol of accepting things and letting go and being okay with those feelings of helplessness and isolation and etc. BY ALL MEANS COME IN, it will be Sternbild and he will be getting the tar knocked out of him. But vocal peptalks are always good!!

[halfnhalf]

So, somewhat tentative plotting here!

Teddy is definitely going home. He'll go on to face his trial, likely with Billy by his side. His trial will be of himself, though it'll shift into different people before Teddy figures out who it really is. His other self will put him down for all of his flaws, imperfections and failures, possibly hurt him too, until Teddy can come to terms with the fact that he is who he is, flaws and all, and that he should embrace them and move on rather than linger on them forever.


Luke's initial plan is to face his trial, then go home, which he knows will lead to certain death. The plan is to have Asch and/or Jade (or others can join in!) talk him out of this and, instead, go back home without facing his trial. He'll still die, but this way he can come back after a few years, plus his world won't be completely doomed. He's pretty dead set on going back, though talking him into staying can be attempted!

If he does face his trial though, it'd be a recreation of the Akzeriuth disaster, only there'd be no one to lead him back onto his path this time. No Tear, no Guy, no Jade, no one. Anyone he does run into will scorn him for what he's done, or for being a replica. The goal here is to let go of the past, even though he'll always keep it with him, accept who he is and what he's done and go forward. Help with this will be appreciated if he ends up going through with the trial, although the preferred method is the one where he goes home without it!


Stella is a bit undecided, though I'm leaning towards her staying in Luceti. She'll go with her trial either way, which I'm also undecided on for the moment! If she does stay, this means she'll have to part with Sophie, which will be devastating, but she'll pull through. Still, she'll need all the support she can get with that as well as her trial, once I think of what it is...!

[blessingone]

Sorry for accidentally stealing your daughter! Fenimore and Stella will definitely need to talk, though the exact contents of that will depend on where Stella ends up.

Also I liked the idea that Athena mentioned in her plurk about Legendiahouse recognizing that so many of them will be parting ways, so I've been pondering the idea of some kind of multi-person thread involving a bunch of the House 34ers talking about the future. Haven't checked with anyone else yet, but I thought I might start floating the idea at people.

[vulcanblazer]

Last one of mine too here... hah, feels strange, even if I've been exceptionally quiet.

Adell will be going home after his trial (or trials, if he faces multiple because he wants to help people). Home is all he's wanted for quite some time.

Adell might decide to face his own trial alone, though I won't count out a volunteer. His trial will revolve around acceptance of himself and of others, and the use of non-violence to save the things he loves. Though this is similar to his path in Disgaea 2, I intend to take this up to eleven for his Luceti trial: Throw him into cursed version of Holt Village/Luceti hybrid and force him to deal with his problems without throwing a punch he doesn't have to. Got a couple of curveballs to throw at him too which will remain a secret.

He'll make it through, either with help or without... but he'll probably be completely and utterly exhausted after. Because, you know, gotta earn your happy ending.

Likewise, if anyone wants to help him, or wants Adell's help, hit me up.

[thefinaljedi]

A long, strange road gets to come to an end. I've got my trials plotted out, but man, I want to at least have a May The Force Be With You moment. :)

[blessingone]

So Fenimore is getting canon-updated to after her death (which is to say: three minutes after her current canon point). It'll happen overnight one night before this goes down so there's no general moment of "WELP THERE SHE GOES" at least for poor Sophie. If anyone wants to have a moment of WELP then it can be arranged so they'll notice before she gets back, but otherwise people will find out only when the next day she looks younger and (a centimeter) shorter. She will have weirdly mixed feelings on dying since, on the bright side, it frees her up since she wouldn't really be able to properly go back home anyway but she wouldn't be able to go anywhere else if she didn't get that done first.

I have a somewhat distressing number of options for Fenimore's trial, but I'm likely going to settle on survivor's guilt. She'll probably succeed even if she does it alone, but I'm hoping to do it with a partner. Current plan is to put her back during the events when her village was destroyed or when the villagers were imprisoned thereafter with the opportunity to try to fix it with unlimited retries, but rigged so that she'll fail no matter what anyone tries. The goal is more or less to have her accept that sometimes bad things happen that you can't stop and that she shouldn't feel guilty that she was the only one to survive. I may also throw in a Persona-4-style element to it as well. We'll see.

After the trial, she'll be taking Rei up on her offer to go back with her, which she can do now that she's dead back on Melfes and there's no option to go back there alive.

I'm going to try to tag around more than I have been for the endgame, so I'm very open for threads around these and other wrapping up stuff. It's kind of surreal that the game is ending but I want to do the ending justice.

[whatdeheckisdat]

Dhaos needs to say goodbye to Fenimore. THANK YOU FOR BEING A RELIABLE EXISTENCE IN HOUSE 34 FENIMORE. Also Grune and Dhaos will be actually dating so there will actually be things for them to talk about.

Pfffft poor Fenimore. Suddenly you are tinier again.

[goldenglasses]

Vash will be getting a goodbye thread for anyone who might want to say goodbye to him! Vash will have conflicted feelings about facing his trial. Partly because he doesn't really WANT to go home. Gunsmoke is not a nice place to live, but he knows he must return to face his brother. If he returns without his trail perhaps he could fight his brother then one day come back so he can see his best friends and godson who will be staying behind again.

In the end he will face his trial because he does need to help make Gunsmoke into the world Rem dreamed it should be. He won't really be happy if he leaves the people of Gunsmoke to their fate as Rem gave her life for them so he needs to make sure they'll be alright and her sacrifice not wasted.

Looking to people to thread with the trials! I want to thread as much as possible so I'm willing to do MULTIPLE trials! So far have one planned with Meryl, but I'd really like to have someone else to thread a trial with too because I'm going to miss you all so much!

8D And thanks for all the fun!

[windandrain]

I'm really not sure what we should do, ZZ But I feel like I at least want to have goodbye threads with Saori and with Luke.

[ribbonbon]

So, Pilouette's trial is going to key in on a couple of her insecurites and fears. Since she usually lets other people make the big decisions and just follows them, she'll be facing an illusion of her younger self who will try to goad her into choosing between having her memory erased and going home to her old life at the price of becoming who she used to be or stay in Luceti and keep being the person she's become without the risk of everyone back home possibly not liking who she is now because she'll suddenly be different to them. She's going to end up making her own option: going home and keeping all her memories because she genuinely likes who she's become, even if she's a little scared about how it will affect everything.

If someone wants to go thread this out (or wants Pilouette to join them on their trial), I'm totes willing to try and work something out. I would like to do goodbye threads with anyone who would like them, as well!

[foundafamily]

I'd love for these two to have one last thread, if that's all right! Whether it's in a trial or just a goodbye one.

[tailasoldastime]

As anybody would've suspected, Beast's biggest weakness is his temper, and his fear is losing his friends when they find out about his curse. Therefore his trial will involve him being confronted by an alternate human version of himself (more like what he would've been if the curse never happened - i.e. still a spoiled brat), who will berate him for what he has become, or at least what it claims he has become. He will be facing his trial with Rudy, who will face a very similar test so their friendly support is the ultimate solution.

After that, Beast will likely be procrastinating his going home to bid his farewells as thoroughly as possible to all of the friends he has made. Due to the condition of his trial, he will be more open than before and will no longer keep his curse a secret. Once this is all taken care of, he will finally tread on to his happily ever after.

If anyone wants a particular interaction with him during this time, or want to drag him to a trial, say so here! I know my activity had been all but nonexistant in the last several months but I am back in motion now so hit me with your best shot (and fire away)!

[cuteisawayoflife]

Quinn is going home to Lawndale. Her major weakness is her past self, the shallow brat she was before her time with David Sorenson and even longer before the time she spent in Luceti. Her fear is sliding back into those habits and forgetting all she's learned.

She's going to say her goodbyes and take ages with it, the friends she's made here mean too much for her to just say "see ya" and it's not like they can write and send letters through different dimensions. At least not from Lawndale!

Looking for anyone to thread this out with her!

The Ax Gang

[thefinaljedi]

So late, but here's the Cliff's notes.

Luke Skywalker:

Is going home, and facing his trial with Han and Leia. His trial is to face himself, and the whole Skywalker legacy, much like the Magic Tree scene in Empire Strikes Back.

He'll be open for goodbyes and pre-trial jitters.

Rei Hino:

Is going home, facing her trial with Harry Dresden. She'll be taking Fenimore AND Sophie Coolidge with her. Her trial is to face down her father, and her own harsh opinions. Ami had it right, Rei needs to learn to forgive.

Mostly open here to goodbyes.

Saori Kimura:

Is going home, and will be going into her trial with Vegeta. Her own trial is to stare down the spirit inside her, to accept that she's been running from it out of fear of loss. That's always been her biggest fear, loss.

Beforehand she'll be fighting dogs to preserve memories, and trying to encourage her friends to be brave. Goodbyes are also open, as she realizes just how important the people here have become to her.

Krillin:

Going home, with 18. His trial I'm undecided on and that's up to Melon. He may face it alone, because DBZ: Abridged aside, Krillin is still a shounen hero. It's mostly his self image that he'll be dealing with, and passing will be pretty draining. If you want Krillin anywhere let me know.

Moiraine and Chun-Li:

Are both going home, and as most of their CR has dropped, I'll probably handwave these trials. If anyone wants either of them, let me know.

Whew, that's done.

Thanks Luceti, for a wonderful 4 years, and an introduction to journal roleplay. I don't know where I'd be without this game, and I know for certain that I wouldn't be RPing if it hadn't been for the amazing welcome Luceti was to the hobby. It's still hard to believe it's ending, but after all this time? I can understand that.

Thank you, everyone. I'm glad we made it, so let's end this all with a bang.

Ginko

[biophilia]

I said my most heartfelt goodbyes once upon a time ago. This has been a wonderful reunion, and I'm grateful to the mods and all of the old (and new!) CR who graced me with tags.

Making a plot post here, because it's likely that I won't get around to threading any endgame stuff until May (there's only two or three people I anticipate wrapping stuff up with, so if you'd like to be pinged please do let me know!)

Ginko will be going home, no question. He'll most likely face his trial in tangent with Sayo and Sanji; essentially accepting with grace what he's feared/learned in Luceti (to tell people how much they mean to him) and in his own world (facing his inevitable disappearance and fate-worse-than-death de-humanization, as well as the fact that he will have to return to his old life remembering what he's lost in Luceti). He will dissolve into Tokoyami and become-- well, his namesake.

He'll spend a week or so in Luceti with Sanji before saying a final goodbye and going home.

[savedtheworld]

I'm sorry I've been horrible at keeping up with Aang things over the past few months, after finally getting a chance to play with you. But I do hope that if it's possible, they can have some kind of last thread and farewell.