HEARTGAME DRESS REHEARSAL

[finalbows]

thank u rah u hero

tracking sheet
 

[ ..somewhere in the pasture, Angel Devil falls down.
His clothes have twisted away into bone-white rags, leaving a body covered over with only thick swathes of red fur, and downy feathers. His long tail is curled into a tense arc, banded fur standing on end.

The air wavers like he’s a heat mirage, not a man. He’s boiling away with absolutely stupid amounts of arcane power… and, most frighteningly, he does not seem in control of the fact that it is there and being brought to bear. It’s impossible to get any closer to him.


When he speaks, it’s quite timid. ]

Ah,
I thought… I had a little more time.

[ (and in a blinding flash of light, there is the sound of something breaking.) ]

~KRRSHHK~

[any observers will see, strangely see-through and superimposed on the scene, some kind of vast tree, illusionary roots twisting over and around to frame a door.  the door itself is wrought of opaque stained glass in blacks and whites and greys; a stylized rendition of Angie in that strangely ragged, feathered form, curled in on himself, eyes closed.  Angie himself is nowhere to be seen. ]

instead, a shadow . . . steps into view from behind the door.  for a moment it looks like nothing so much as a second genome – then it turns, gaining features and definition with the movement.  The monkey tail separates into three plumes; a ponytail unfurls into wings that lift up from the sides of the head.  

Teleute(?) is here, dressed in her customary black, but there is colour in her skin, and her hair and eyes are blue.  she’s frowning.]

. . . well.  This is the least I can do before I go, in exchange for the safe harbor.

[she lifts her head, nodding to any observers, and gestures at the door.]

You’ll want to head in there now if you don’t wish to lose your flockmate, I think.  Even the false-death of this place won’t be much help to him, if his soul is left to finish pulling itself apart.

My sisters and I can maintain the way into and out of it for you, but we were not made to knit such wounds by ourselves.  Have a care.

Comments

THE APPROACH

[finalbows]

[ behind the door,
at first, you find something beautiful:



A towering castle over an endless rolling field of houses, that builds itself eternally higher, to the heavens.
There is only one path to follow, so, that path is where you go.


But it's strange.
Those buildings down below... are familiar, aren't they?

That one.
Right there.
That's one you once stayed in. Years ago.

Those clouds, high up to the west,
are exactly the same as the ones up in the sky
on one of the happiest days of your life.
That window on a castle parapet, that just rose up before your eyes,
is to a room you could never forget.

It doesn't make sense. This is Angel Devil's soul. Why are you pieces of you in it? Pieces you certainly could never have purposefully shared, in their sheer minute intimacy of detail.

But no matter why it's happened, for some brief, painful moments, you can look down on scraps of home, lost in a patchwork. ]

[ <a href="https://youtu.be/EtWdGlNRh4s">behind the door, </a> at first, you find something beautiful: <img src="https://images.plurk.com/26kAVtSrEuc0CESfMT3hIT.gif" width="206" height="359" alt="" /> A towering castle over an endless rolling field of houses, that builds itself eternally higher, to the heavens. There is only one path to follow, so, that path is where you go. But it's strange. Those buildings down below... are familiar, aren't they? That one. Right there. That's one<em> you</em> once stayed in. Years ago. Those clouds, high up to the west, are exactly the same as the ones up in the sky on one of the happiest days of your life. That window on a castle parapet, that just rose up before your eyes, is to a room you could never forget. It doesn't make sense. This is Angel Devil's soul. Why are you pieces of <em>you </em>in it? Pieces you certainly could never have purposefully shared, in their sheer minute intimacy of detail. But no matter why it's happened, for some brief, painful moments, you can look down on scraps of home, lost in a patchwork. ]

THE APPROACH II (final save point before the end.)

[finalbows]

[ if you stay the path, move on past the moving figures of people you miss out of the corner of your eye, the "door" of the castle soon awaits.

it looks like it was once a familiar barn door, but it's already fallen apart into rotten pieces.
Mist, whispering of death, anger, and despair, rolls out from the darkness beyond the empty frame.


do you want to take a moment to collect yourselves? speak to one another, if someone else real happens to show up while you make up your mind on how to proceed?

because, after this point, you simply cannot turn back. ]

[ if you stay the path, move on past the moving figures of people you miss out of the corner of your eye, the "door" of the castle soon awaits. it looks like it was once a familiar barn door, but it's already fallen apart into rotten pieces. Mist, whispering of death, anger, and despair, rolls out from the darkness beyond the empty frame. do you want to take a moment to collect yourselves? speak to one another, if someone else <i>real</i> happens to show up while you make up your mind on how to proceed? because, after this point, you simply <b>cannot turn back.</b> ]

NOTES FOR CHANGES

[finalbows]

- customize the 'identifying question' so that it hopefully provokes a response of one of angie's names
- edit the points of no return to mention the birds' offer of an escape rope. give players a SINGLE BLACK TELEUTE DOWN that can remove them from the heartgame instantly.
- THE APPROACH -> THE APPROACH II (MINGLE WITH OTHER DIVERS HERE) -> ONWARD... -> something something endgame-y. -> FINAL JUDGMENT (featuring keith david)