SILENT HORIZON [master infopost/signups] [modplot]

[letsgolegion]

SILENT HORIZON
[CW: This plot is a sci fi/horror plot with elements taken from canons like Event Horizon, Hellraiser, and Silent Hill. While some scares will be more psychological in nature, there also will be gore, body horror, and other graphic horror elements. Players should only volunteer if they're comfortable with this, should stay in close communication with threadmates to avoid each other's squicks/triggers, and should expect their characters to be seriously disturbed by the events of the plot.]


BASIC INFO

After the UP builds a ship with an experimental FTL drive that doesn't require a Kwai guide, the ship disappears and is later found derelict, floating around a star. Though there are no life signs aboard, several crew members were Robotican, meaning their deaths would have to be confirmed by boarding. The UP asks the Legion to investigate and once they go onboard the ship, they'll find themselves cut off from communication and facing a terrifying struggle for survival.

A brutal and horrifying lifeform boarded the ship while in transit, hitching a ride back to the the Legion's universe, and starts turning the ship into a living nightmare, filled with monstrous creatures and mind-bending sights. Some Legionnaires who've dealt with horror and trauma will find themselves susceptible to the being's siren call and start transforming into monsters and attacking their friends. The Legionnaires that are immune to the transformations will have to destroy the being and its pocket dimension once and for all -- before the transformations of their teammates can't be undone.


THE SETTING

The experimental UP starship, Silent Horizon, has been completely overtaken by a pocket dimension created by a being called the Faceless. Characters will find themselves waking up in the Faceless' domain, the In-Between, with only fleeting memories of being assigned the mission, docking and boarding the ship, and seeing some horrifying video logs of the previous crew killing each other in a blood orgy.

The In-Between is a strange and surreal nightmare realm, that shifts based on their thoughts, fears, and traumas. Many parts of the In-Between are covered in rust, organic-looking growths, and gore. However, the realm can shift to look like many different settings and is not necessarily limited to an indoor industrial vibe. The setting can quickly shift to foggy outdoor settings, scenes of past traumas for the characters, or even MC Escher-like mindbending horrorscapes.

(Ex: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)

The unifying presence among all these nightmares is the occasional glimpse of a body part, like a heart, or rib bones, or vast lungs inflating and deflating, that make it seem as if the entire realm is contained inside a giant grotesque body.

Players may bend the setting to their will, imagining up the most terrifying and surreal images that they can think of. Alongside the monsters and enemies described by the mods, players can invent other npcs that can torment their characters. (For instance, a character that has traumas related to children can be attacked by malicious children's drawings come to life).

Due to the shifting nature of the In-Between, characters can sometimes be separated by walking through dimension-shifting doorways, getting sucked through walls, or falling through holes, allowing players to team up characters with different pairs and groups.


TRANSFORMATIONS

Some Legionnaires, particularly those that have been deeply traumatized or forced to become inured to trauma, may find themselves hearing the siren call of the Faceless. There are two ways these characters can fall under the spell of the Faceless:

1) Their traumas will be exploited until they're at a point where their will is weak enough to be overcome, or 2) the influence of the Faceless and the nightmare realm on their minds will make them feel as if the monsters and gore of the setting are natural, until they succumb to the feeling of belonging in the In-Between.

When a victim's mind is pliable enough for them to become altered, the Faceless himself will appear, feed the victim his black blood, and they'll start to transform into one of his Phalanx. Alongside the slow psychological transformation, this gruesome physical transformation slowly turns the victim into a Silent Hill-esque monster, altering their bodies in gruesome ways.

This transformation usually leaves the victims bleeding from various wounds caused by their shifting monstrous bodies. When they've bled enough for their hearts to finally stop, they belong to the Faceless forever. However, if the Faceless is defeated before they die, it may be possible to transform them back to their normal selves.

Those transformed by the Faceless will believe they now belong in the nightmare realm, and will turn against any un-transformed companions. Since those that aren't turned into the Phalanx can still become part of the In-Between by dying and having their flesh subsumed into the gory flesh-growths of the realm, the Phalanxed members of the team will want to make this come to pass by killing their former companions.


ENEMIES

While players can make up any npcs they need or want for the plot, there are several constant threats.

The Faceless: The Faceless is a nightmare-being that spends much of his existence outside of space and time. He sneaks into different dimensions various ways and feeds off whatever sentients he can pull into the depths of his pocket dimension.

Whether they become one of his Phalanx, or are killed and absorbed into the flesh-mass of the In-Between, the Faceless consumes all who cross his path. A being of pure evil, on the surface he's sarcastic and slightly nonsensical, but underneath lies a sadist that takes an almost hedonistic pleasure from the suffering and mental domination of others.

The Faceless will appear to interact with characters in the plot's final showdown (in Part 2) but if you would like to request interaction with the Faceless in your threads in Part 1, there's a place you can do that under in the comments below.

Handsy: A massive being that seems to be made of only hands and arms, Handsy roams the halls and spaces of the In-Between. Unable to speak, and capable of opening and breaking most doors and barriers, Handsy's coming is forewarned by the gentle slapslapslapslap noise of its hands pressing against surfaces. It is unknown what would happen to someone who is caught by Handsy but it definitely wouldn't be good.

Damage to Handsy does nothing as new arms and hands are quickly regenerated, making it so that running and hiding are usually the only options when facing the monster.

Handsy never speaks. Players can npc Handsy in their threads doing whatever they need, as long as they keep in mind the creature never speaks and is basically indestructible.

The Phalanx: The Phalanx are monstrous creatures that were once alive, victims pulled in from the various dimensions the Faceless has fed on that succumbed to the siren call of the Faceless. Though some of the Legionnaires will join the ranks of the Phalanx, they won't be stuck that way permanently if the Faceless can be defeated before they die.

Players can npc Phalanx monsters in their threads and have them say and do whatever they want for the plot.

(Ex: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)


POWERS

Characters can retain their powers in the In-Between. However, players can handwave that certain areas are capable of sapping their character's powers if they want them depowered for something. Character can also retain powers or lose them when they're monsters, based on player preference.


PLOT EVENTS

PART 1: THE IN-BETWEEN

In part 1, characters will have to work together to survive the many horrors of the In-Between. Characters that are susceptible to the siren song of the Faceless will find themselves slowly transforming into monsters, until they eventually turn on their friends.

PART 2: FACING THE FACELESS

The Legionnaires that have retained their minds will have to face down the Faceless and work together to stop him by damaging the core of the In-Between. They will find themselves facing down any teammates that have been transformed into Phalanx and must stop the Faceless before their transformed teammates bleed to death and die -- which would make it impossible for the transformations to be undone.

PART 3: THE ESCAPE

After the Faceless is defeated, the Legionnaires will find the last few dangerous surprises, and have to escape to the Legion cruiser in time to survive.


SIGNUPS

Signups are required for this plot. Players may only volunteer (1) character for the plot. There is a general signup and also a signup for any players that think their volunteered character will transform into one of the Phalanx.

However, players do not have to sign up for defeating the Faceless as this is a multi-faceted task that will be a group effort.


PLOT START

Signups will be possible until Jan 1 11:59 PM EST.

Plot will go up on Jan 2.


Please direct questions, concerns, signups, and other issues to the comments below.

Comments

GENERAL MOD QUESTIONS/CONCERNS/MOD HELP

[letsgolegion]

For the duration of the plot, you can ask the mods anything here.

[goddamngrenades]

QUESTION: Both York AND Delta have been traumatized/inured to trauma in their life & death BUT Delta was literally created from trauma- as he's plugged into York's brain would that trauma take precedent and leave D a monster Phalanx puppeting a deeply terrified York until he too succumbs?

[strangebargains]

Are we choosing what our characters' monstery forms look like or willl it be prompted by the plot?

Re: GENERAL MOD QUESTIONS/CONCERNS/MOD HELP

[walkingballpit]

QUESTION would the whole screwing with powers thing make it possible to swap Robbie's powerset to the "Penance" powers while he's transformed?

Not sure if I'll go that route even if the answer is yes, but it's a lot more suitable to the plot motif than bouncy colors.

GENERAL SIGN UPS

[letsgolegion]

If you'd like to sign up a character for the plot, do so here. Each player can only sign up (1) character.

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[strangebargains]

Signing Strange up, this is right up his alley!

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[the_real_sir_prize]

Victor wants nothing to do with any of this, but is going to be here anyway.

(Thus begins "Precognition is the WORST POWER!")

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[captainbuzzkill]

Signing up Dipper!

[goddamngrenades]

Signing up York!

[agnominal]

Signing up Locus.

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[stophamatime]

Signing up Ken (and the doge, by proxy).

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Signing Garrus up for this!

[vata]

I know where I belong.

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[meanmonkey]

Signing up Sariatu, as discussed

[steelandtemper]

Cortana's in. She'll be riding with Sombra if the Chief's not there.

[thewildflower]

oh boy

signing up Rebecca

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[justicecoulduseanap]

Signing Ana up!

[zippity]

Signing Tracer up!

[ka_sera_sera]

Signing Roland up!

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[wherenoonegoes]

Signing up Hiccup

Re: GENERAL SIGN UPS

[ghost_bait]

Signing up Miku because I am a monster.

[i_got_this]

Singing up South Dakota for her first shindig!

PHALANX SIGN UPS

[letsgolegion]

If you plan to have your volunteered character turn into one of the Phalanx during the course of the plot, also sign up here. We'll need this to keep track to coordinate parts of the plot. (And to make sure at least a few characters will remain un-transformed to save the day).

[strangebargains]

Also signing Strange up for this!

PLAYER PLOTTING

[letsgolegion]

You can plot with other players for the plot here.

Re: PLAYER PLOTTING

[the_real_sir_prize]

Hey guys, Victor's a short-term precog. That means you can write out a tag of TERRIBLE HORRIBLE THINGS happening to your character and have it be one of his visions. Which he then has to figure out a way to prevent because it was awful enough seeing it the first time, he doesn't want to see it a second.

Also, this poor dumb figure skater is NOT PREPARED for this kind of thing, so he's probably going to need some rescuing himself.

FACELESS NPC REQUESTS

[letsgolegion]

You may handwave Phalanxed characters being fed the blood of the Faceless, but if you'd like to play out them succumbing to the Faceless' call, request it here and provide a link to the thread.

[agnominal]

Please and thank.