destinystrings | Like Bulls in a China Shop: Taurus Log

Like Bulls in a China Shop: Taurus Log

▼ The Darkening Days

Who: Everyone. This is a general catch-all Taurus Event log. If you would like to do your own separate logs either due to pacing or easier loading, by all means, please do so!
Where: The Entire City
Summary: The last days of the Taurus event as things start to sour dramatically. During the 13th hour, Mutation Skills are unlocked for certain people (see the info post here) and now people have a chance against the swarming mechanized bulls. Unfortunately, for some, this means the paranoia hit a new low....if you want, you can get together and join each other's posts to try to hold the city down and protect everyone!
Warnings: Strange Attitudes, NPCs, Attacking, Battles.
Note: Please mark your post with what date they are happening. We are allowing anywhere from the 23th to future-dating to the 26th itself. Go on and have fun!

▼ The nights grow weary and a pattern seems to be forming...(days until the 26th)

Most of the Taurus civilians had willingly put themselves in confinement. As their symptoms began to rise, at the very least, there was little chance for them to cause problems. It looked like, hopefully, that they could hold back a lot of the damage and deaths to the city.

How completely wrong they would end up being...

▼ The day of reckoning...(April 26th, before the 13th Hour)

In retrospect, they should have realized something was wrong. While the Scorpio civilians were screaming about doom much like it had been predicted, Aquarius and Leo were not.

More research was needed...but there was no time now.

Somehow, everyone that had gone to the holding facilities were being freed from their confinement areas. No one knew who or got in, or how they got out, but many guards were injured in the process-- or worse.

The city turned into an all too (unfortunately) familiar sight. The Taurus civilians were causing havoc in the city, joined by others that the city had not predicted. Observers and Researchers quickly realized that these were all the earth signs, and a signal was given out; but too little, too late.

The city needed to fight back, lest it lose even more of its members. The situation was dire, but they had the Visitors on their side.

...For better or for worse.

▼ The Hour at Hand...(April 26th, 13th Hour)

13th Hour.

By now, the city was in chaos. For those who had witnessed the Scorpio outbreak it was an unfortunate similarity they might want to forget, but for others, this horror was brand new.

Giant mechanical bulls patrolled the city and continued to swarm, the police force trying to contain them and help as many as they could.

As time went on, mechanical parts and rocks fell to the floor from the bulls. Once the 13th hour hit...the remaining ones mutated, standing on two legs. And that wouldn't even be the worst of it...

And yet even in this Hour, there is hope. Power surges in a select few, and with a new skill at their tips, the battle may be won yet. But remember your mission: you came to protect this city. That includes the people living here. With so much chaos, you'll also need to help them and reduce the number of deaths as much as possible...and try not too look too closely at a looming figure in the Taurus Ward...

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[For the few that wanted to specifically thread Kairi grabbing them! Otherwise, you can just jump on down to the actual locked up post.]

[Whether you know exactly how you got here or not, here you are. You may vaguely recall a feminine voice, possibly a familiar one, assuring you that you'd finally be safe and telling you how much she cared for you on the edge of your memory, but otherwise... what in the world was going on, and where are you?

Observing the room the walls seem to be completely seamless, though in the middle of one of the walls is a cloth that has been hastily attached. Moving the cloth aside, there is a frame where you would expect a door to be, but no actual door or any sort of defining features present, save for what appears to be a sealed over keyhole off in the general area you'd expect a doorknob to be. Upon closer inspection, you'll find several other people apparently in the same pickle as you, looking equally as confused and alarmed at the situation at hand. Furthermore, there's a table set up with party hats, streamers, party favors, and some drinks and snacks you'd expect at a party, with a rather large banner hanging across the wall reading 'WELCOME HOME!'. That... was rather disconcerting, wasn't it?

With no exits in sight, perhaps it would be best to talk to some of your fellow captives and figure out just what to do with this situation, or perhaps ponder over what exactly that weird keyhole was...]

((for the most part, kairi will have grabbed characters from behind and knocked them out before sealing them in the room. a few will have specifically threaded out situations, and they'll be icly given a teeny bit more information so that characters'll be able to figure out exactly what's going on! a couple'll characters will be icly added to the room at a slightly later time, specifically those that have keyblades that would be able to undo kairi locking down the door, so that everyone who wants the chance to participate in this can without immediately undoing everything.))

[General mingle area for the 'OH GOD WHAT IS GOING ON' fun times.]

[Eikichi and friends crash through the wall just in time for Riku to unlock the door.]

[For those who want to thread with crazy Taurus Kairi during the event, possibly with some of her followers joining in on the fun. Fighting is a possibility!]

Edited 2013-04-26 02:09 (UTC)

[So there was a rather disconcerting gap in Joshua's memory... one moment he was alone at home feeding his cat and avoiding all human contact-- scratch that, all contact with any sentient beings in the entire city-- and the next...

He has now woken up to a five year old's birthday party. A cheap one, in a room that apparently had no door and several other people that either he didn't know or he really didn't want to see. Including his... other self. Standing across the room. This felt like some extremely generic nightmare cropping up from childhood trauma or something else equally pretentious....

Joshua stands before the not-door and pushes the cloth aside, staring at the keyhole with a heated glare, hoping to somehow blow the thing apart with his mind. If only he had just a fraction of his powers...]

Would anybody in here happen to be a demolitions expert by any chance?

[Action; JP's Headquarters; April 24th into the 25th]

[Normally, Fumi is a paragon of calm and logic in the face of overwhelming odds. Unfortunately, however, this time the zodiac is not on her side. As a Cancer, she has been slowly succumbing to paranoia and madness. Ever since the morning of the 24th, she's locked herself away in the JP's headquarters building in the Leo ward, desperately throwing herself into her research.

Though the building is locked to the general public by layer upon layer of both physical and digital security protocols, fellow JP's members with the appropriate access will be able to find her surrounded by books and computer monitors, reading and typing away and largely ignoring the world around her.

She spends the entire day of the 24th researching, but by the time the evening of the 25th rolls around, it's clear that she's been busy with something else entirely. Both JP's operatives and others can see this, as Fumi finally takes to the network once her plan is complete. The video feed shows her standing in the middle of a large magic circle drawn on the floor.]

[Video; JP's Headquarters; April 25th]

We're running out of time here, so everyone shut up and listen to me. I've found the source of the current chaos in the city. The bull monsters and the strange behavior of all of the Tauruses can be traced back to Moloch, the bull-headed Canaanite god of sacrifice. Traditionally, the only way to sate the god's hunger is through a ritual in which children are burned alive.

[She gestures to the floor.]

As you can see, I've already done the preliminary work of setting up a magic circle to channel the energy directly to the god. All I need now are the children. Moloch is one of the most bloodthirsty of the old gods of the Levant region, so I'd say he's going to need at least a dozen children before he'll be satisfied. I can't risk leaving here, as I'm the only one who knows how to perform the ritual, so I'm going to have to ask the rest of you to help me out here.

[Fumi's expression is as blank as usual, but her words come out faster than normal - a clear sign that she's trying to hold back the panic she's feeling.]

And if you're just going to respond to lecture me about the evils of human sacrifice, save it. I don't have time to get into a debate about the morality of sacrificing the few to save the many. Let's all survive first. We can have that discussion later.

[She closes her eyes, wincing and taking a breath before addressing the camera one last time.]

Hurry.

Edited 2013-04-24 02:40 (UTC)

[ This pink haired girl is out and about at any given day, shopping as well as not dealing with any bullshit.

She'll be trying to protect any allies and breaking up fights, but that doesn't mean that she won't fight if forced to. She might even give penalties to the biggest of idiots, too.

IT'S ALL A PART OF MESSING WITH YOUR LIVES 101, after all... ]

....Are you frikkin' high!?!

[honestly that's about all he can think of to say right now.]

Shijima. Do I look like I'm trying to commune with the Rainbow Serpent or appease Xochipilli? No! If you'd studied more, you'd know that entheogenic ecstasy wasn't practiced in the Levant region. Now stop wasting my time and bring me a child.

[And just like that, the entire city had gone completely batshit!

Daichi wasn't aware of the why, but the fact that he was a Leo meant life was currently awful. The weirdo bull monsters, all of the zombie citizens, it felt like practically the entire city was after his hide! He suddenly knew how Kaito felt during the last attack-- but he's glad he himself apparently wasn't crazy at least.

He'd been spending most of the day running around, trying not to get his own ass kicked and trying to avoid kicking anyone else's, because come on he was pretty sure they were actual people and oh god he didn't wanna hurt everyone can he got off the world right now--

On the plus side, Aries was at least familiar territory for him after the Tournament, which meant he'd been able to tuck himself a way into a corner between building that most of the crazy people were missing in their...craziness. He was stopping to catch his breath now, currently with his comp glasses out trying to see if anyone had any idea what to do.]

[Ludwig, as one might expect, put the pedal to the metal the second news of the bull monsters and brainwashed civilians reached him. He was on the street, spamming Persona attacks and pistol shots against the bull monsters like it was going out of style. However, there was more to this situation than just defending the city. As the day went on, Ludwig began to feel more and more unsettled. Ordinarily, he might be able to ignore this feeling, because chaos was expected when messes like this broke out, right? ...But the chaos was starting to get to him and needle his mind like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He felt an urge to quell all forms of chaos, whether that meant keeping people in line or forcefully eliminating (or at least knocking out) the cause of the disorder. He was also dead convinced that everyone who tried to meddle with his situation would only make it worse by inviting more chaos. Soon, he started to bark orders at pretty much anything at anything and everything, from "Escape!" to "Stay where you are, or you'll just contribute to this mess!"

So, basically, it was business as usual for Ludwig, but more so. Much more so.]

[what]

....what?!

[what]

D-Dude, no! You can't just sacrifice kids to some Levant Canaan god!!

[There was no way in hell that Apollo was going out while the city like this. If he needed to explicitly define his reason, all he needed to do was look out the window. He had never seen creatures like those bull monsters, and needless to say he was terrified. He wasn't a water sign, but it seemed that his anxiety was the trait chosen to spike, so Apollo got to experience the most pleasurable sensation of his mind going fifty different directions at once. Unsure of what else to do, he turned on the COMP and started yelling out a voice post.]

What's going on?! What are those THINGS?! Why is this happening?! I had a client to meet today! Does anyone see my client out there? His name is... you know what, I don't even remember what his name is now! Just let me know if you see a tall blonde guy with a "24" tattooed on his right arm! I don't know the meaning of it, so just go with me on this, okay?! Just... somebody, anybody, HELP!

[So useful, Apollo.]

[Guess who was even dippier than usual on this fine day? Sasha Fyer, that's who! She was basically just wandering around the city, trying to use her fire spells (Persona and natural magic) and failing because she was an air sign and not a fire sign. All the while, she had a pleasant smile on her face, even as she had to dodge and flee from monsters that it didn't seem to occur to her how to attack. (Have you tried using Assault Dive and Chariot Crash, Sasha? No? Go figure.) Why was she smiling so happily amidst all this destruction? Because this was fun, that's why! Fun and adventure were great, and there was tons of it here! This was why she loved Hinoto-Ri so much! Giggling, she zipped away from a bull monster and started to charge... into another pack of bull monsters. Hopefully this time around she'd try to use her physical skills.]

[ Non-jacked up Joshua chuckles to himself darkly at his counterpart's question, inspecting the decor. He was annoyed, separated from at least half of his responsibilities, and somehow, in between trying to get at the bottom of this mess, he hadn't had the presence of mind to actually notice the gentlest girl in his experience coming up behind him and...? Actually, he didn't quite remember what happened after that. It was all a bit of a blur... which was even more frightening than knowing how she did it, if he were to be very honest with himself. ]

Demolitions expert, in the party room, with the key out of here. [ Two of three would be nice. ] I'd appreciate some competence too, but I think we may have to aim our expectations a little lower.

Yurippe!

[Hinata ran to her in a panic, clothes disheveled. There were red marks around his neck, slowly starting to bruise, and his eyes were red and puffy with recent crying.]

Are you alright!? W-we have to find somewhere safe... [No kidding. Those under the sign of Taurus, and the other earth signs, seemed to have gone completely insane... he only hoped that Yuri wasn't going to tackle him and try to kill him too.]

[Video, 4/25]

[Latooni appears on the video, dressed in her frilly EGL gear as usual. Unlike usual, she appears to be broadcasting from a mecha cockpit. And speaking in utter deadpan.]

I should point out that this city can't possibly survive. From the sheer standpoint of conservation of energy, a closed environment like this will not be able to sustain human life for much longer. No obvious conservation efforts are being maintained, and this is a completely closed system, so either food or energy will run out very soon. I have run the calculations on this, and the data is incontrovertible.

In the meantime, however, I will be using Wildraubtier to terminate demons. It won't do anything in the long run, but this is all I'm good at anyway.

[Action, 4/26, Pisces District]

[Polite requests to free the imprisoned civilians and Visitors had been ignored by form letter. Latooni decided that, as a soldier of the EFA, she would not let these innocent Tauruses be imprisoned. It would be easy enough to safely crack open one holding area...]

[Vasilisa hung above her in Wildraubtier's cockpit, her enemy-detection skills far more precise than the 'Raubtier's own sensors, as Latooni circled the bunker. For more than ten minutes, she ran, re-ran, and triple-checked firing solutions for the mech's air-to-ground missiles and waited for as many government guards as possible to move outside to observe what she was doing. Building schematics were loaded on her COMP glasses and cross-referenced with her sensor data. A few more moments and she could be sure everyone was clear of the collapse...]

[Out of the clear, blue sky, she fired a single missile at the holding bunker, watching people scatter in predicted patterns as the rocket's shaped charge collapsed a hole to the sky for the prisoners. Not a single "enemy" blinked out in Vasilisa's vision. Good. Collateral damage was unacceptable. Well, a few blocks might be without water pressure for a while and doubtless some were injured by the blast, but casualties should be at 0k.]

[She landed near the new hole in the ground, Wildraubtier drawing its Hyper Beam Rifle to cover the Tauruses fleeing their confinement.]

To anyone who was a prisoner of the government in this sector, you are now free. I will cover your escape.

[She delivers this over her COMP in a deadpan monotone, but with a satisfied edge lurking in the back of her voice.]

Edited 2013-04-24 04:17 (UTC)

[Being an Aquarius, he'd been feeling just fine while all this nonsense started going on around him... Until now, of course.]

[Hinata's exaggerated trait? White knighting. Watch out ladies, this badass is going to be leaping into danger like chivalry on steroids.]

[~~What a moron.~~]

[Are you in danger? Do you appear to need help? Hinata and his ethereal dog persona will come rushing into the fray, the former wielding a baseball bat. About to get attacked? He'll recklessly jump between you and the attacker, obviously more concerned with the health of others over himself. Just standing around? He'll ask if you're doing alright, desperate to do something to help get you out of danger.]

Edited 2013-04-24 04:03 (UTC)

Would you rather everyone in the city die while you're debating your ideals? It's either a dozen children or all of us. I'm prepared to make that choice.

[The last thing Nano remembers was what she originally thought was a surprise hug from behind and a slightly familiar voice reassuring her, and then everything just sort of went black. Slowly waking up, she rubs at her head - it must have been hit pretty hard to jar her enough to knock her out like that, given her construction.]

W-where am I...?

[Sitting up with her legs folded under her, Nano begins to look around the room, taking note of all of the party decorations. Normally she'd enjoy this sort of thing, but right now it's only serving to worry her more. Most surprise parties don't start by knocking your guests unconscious, after all.]

Hello? Is anyone here?

[And the details are slowly coming back to her now, as she stands and starts making her way around the room to have a closer look at everything.]

K-Kairi...?

[Out of the Fungeon and into the fire, apparently. Nano's been busted out along with the rest of Kairi's friend hoard, but she's far from safe. Apart from the usual demonic fare, rampaging earth sign characters, and the Taurus boss itself, there's also a thunderstorm raging outside. And if there's one thing that terrifies Nano like almost nothing else, it's lightning.]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! S-somebody help...! Don't let it hit me!

[She isn't exactly sure what will happen if she's struck by lightning, but she's sure it's nothing good. After all, she's a robot. Don't sudden power surges screw up computer systems or something? Fry circuits and wipe memory and all that? The thought is too much to bear, and Nano can be found unsuccessfully trying to return home, stopping every time she hears thunder to scream and cower.]

[Video; 4/24]

[Someone is a very unhappy penguin king right now.]

I dunno what the hell's goin' on out there, and I don't really want to know. But panic like this ain't good for business. Club's closin' down until this shit blows over.

I'm not just gonna lock my doors and leave people high and dry, though, so anybody ends up stuck in the Taurus District with nowhere to go, you come find me.

[A short pause and a grumble.]

'Less you're one of the ones causin' problems in the first place, in which case you're on your own. I'm not gonna put up with that shit here.

[Video; 4/26 during the 13th Hour]

[DeDeDe's certainly made good on his promise to lock himself in his club until everything has blown over. In fact, at this point he's just huddling back in his office with a half-dozen succubi that normally staff the club. One of them seems to have gotten hold of his COMP watch, turning the video around to herself to address the town.]

Hiiiiii, Hinoto-Ri~! Hope you're all having fun out there! The boss sure looks like he's having fun in here! Check this out!

[The video turns to show a shot of the floor of DeDeDe's office, which is covered in hundred dollar bills and gold coins. As the shot pans around, it eventually comes to rest on a shot of the penguin king and four succubi tangled up and writhing in a mess of silk blankets - mercifully, there is no visible naked penguin crotch, but it's pretty clear what's going on here. DeDeDe lets out a loud groan before noticing he's being filmed, reaching over to pick up a small pile of coins and hurling them at the demon doing the filming.]

Kyaaaaah! Gotta go~!

[The watch is dropped, and the feed ends.]

Nano!

[As she cowers, a few shots from a handgun go off very close by, followed by the agonized hiss of a few monsters as they recoil.] Come on! [He hooks his hands under her arm, all but dragging her to her feet and pulling her along with him into an alleyway for cover against the taurus, the demons, and the newly added cow beasts roaming around.]

[Assuming she lets him, of course.]

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Page 1 of 23

Like Bulls in a China Shop: Taurus Log

THE MEGA KAWAIIRI CATCH-ALL POST (4/26)

GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL

KAIRI'S SUPER AWESOME FUNGEON OF FRIENDSHIP

MEET AND GREET

THE GREAT ESCAPE (RIGHT BEFORE THE 13TH HOUR)

OH GOD KAIRI WHAT

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Fumi Kanno (4/24 and 4/25) - Video/Action

yuri nakamura ♛ any day

video

video

Aries District let's rock and roll

26th

video

26th- feel free to report that you've seen Apollo's client and possibly drag him out to find him.

26th

no subject

Afternoon of the 26th

Latooni | 4/25 and 4/26 - WARNING: explosions in Pisces

26th

video

no subject

Nano Shinonome (4/26, 13th Hour)

King DeDeDe (Video - 4/24 and 4/26 during the 13th Hour) - second prompt rated PG-13

no subject