⇨ THE GAME CUBE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone who gets caught in the game.
When: Day 97
Where: Hellbound Hallows, the game inside of a cube inside of a city inside of a computer.
What: On Day 97, a massive Game Cube drops on the city of Mainframe, forcing those caught inside to fight against the User for their lives. This log is 100% Hellbound Hallows gameplay. Plotting deets are here.
Warnings: Diablo-esque violence, characters dying, and edgy video game aesthetic gore.

HELLBOUND HALLOWS↴ The Game Cube drops close to the entrance of the carnival - so much so that it will end up pulling a lot of people from it in, out of sheer terrible luck. Alternatively, your character may have seen it coming down and understood what allowing the programs to fail would mean, dashing in to be caught beneath it out of sheer heroism. Maybe you entered the game for some reason in between. Either way, once the walls of the Cube have passed you, you'll find yourself in a new reality. You find yourself somewhere in the levels of a dungeon crawling game with a dark aesthetic. Some binomes and sprites from the city have been pulled in with you, and all oft them know what to do. It's time to Reboot. Use the icon button the Ringmaster gave each of you. Tap it twice and say "Reboot", and you'll be able to assume your new form. Maybe it's useful, maybe it's not, but it's probably better than nothing. Probably. Now, figure out where you fit in to the structure of setting, and wait for the Game to begin. ► LEVEL ONE: Level one is where the Users will enter. With a cold blue aesthetic, it appears to be some manner of underground fortress, filled with many hallways and grand archeways. In a standard game, the enemies here would be theoretically the easiest to defeat, but you are under no obligation to follow those rules. Level one is ruled over by Sora, rebooted into the form of a vampiric overlord. He must be defeated in order for the Users to gain access to level two. ► LEVEL TWO: The colour pallet shifts to purple here, the corridors becoming darker and only lit with scattered braziers and the occasional stream of lava. Banners and tapestries depicting some hellish god line the walls. The traps here are primarily fire based, with lava traps or geysers of flame becoming more common. Level two is ruled over by Yamato, who has rebooted into the form of a fiery hellbeast. He must be defeated to access level three. ► LEVEL THREE: As the colours shift into a sickly green, the Users will reach the final level. The architecture is shaped based on the screaming faces of the damned, and the rooms are large and dramatic, filled with vast obelisks and deep chasms. Subterranean plant life haunts the floors and shadows of this place, and poison traps become deadly and common. Level three is ruled over by the man Gongenzaka, the final boss of of the game. If he is defeated, the Users have won. Do not let this happen.

Comments

[periphrasing]

Peridot yelps and stumbles backwards in surprise at Elsa's sudden appearance; she flares her wings out on instinct, trying to make herself appear larger, like an agitated bird. "What!?! You-- Where did you come from!?!"

So apparently she's at least okay enough to still be a rude little turd.

[handwringing]

"I came out of the walls..."

Elsa cringes a little, realizing that's a weird explanation. She doesn't really get it herself - she's moving on instinct at this point.

"Um... Nightmares can turn into sand and sift through cracks."

[periphrasing]

Her wings sag back down. "Nightmares," she repeats flatly, uncomprehending. "Wwwwhat are you talking about."

[handwringing]

"That's what I am right now."

She looks down at herself, then back up. "It's a monster from where I'm from. I don't know why I, um... booted into it, but I did."

Booted? Rebooted? She doesn't understand this terminology.

[periphrasing]

Peridot cocks her head. "Oh. So you took on a form of something familiar to your home universe. Interesting..."

She looks back over herself, frowning. "Lucky you, because I have no idea what I am."

[handwringing]

"Um... some kind of imp? I think. I'm a little less familiar with it."

It's the closest she can think of. With the wings, and the tail...

"You look a little more... doglike, than I would have thought, though."

[periphrasing]

"Doglike," she repeats with confusion, glancing down at herself, before looking back up with a frown. "I have no idea what an 'imp' is, but I know what dogs are, and I have to say I don't understand what evidence you are drawing that conclusion from."