Event: Reminiscence, Part One

[snowblindmods]

REMINISCENCE

Another message from @ADMIN appears on the network on the morning of day 80. It might be familiar to some, speaking of adjustments to anomalies as it does, so maybe the events that transpire won't strike people as all that shocking. At least, maybe the general idea won't. Monsters find their way to the travelers--one for each person, meaning that traveler groups will find themselves followed by identically-sized monster groups. Everyone will find a monster suited to them: their monster resembles someone from their home, albeit twisted and warped, marred with static, joints that bend in the wrong places, and bodies that don't move right. They chase after characters as expected... With a difference. These monsters seem to be capable of understanding basic speech. Nothing complicated, of course, but if told to stop, they will hesitate. If the names of the people they resemble are called, they will respond. If told to go away, sometimes they even listen... For a while. While these ones are more responsive than any monsters before them, they are also far more persistent, following characters from building to building and remaining there the next day. At least these can be convinced to back up and allow characters to escape buildings. Still, something is going to have to be done about them. Maybe, after a day or two, a solution will present itself? Players will be allowed to create their characters' monsters. All monsters will be recognizable as the character they resemble, but must also be malformed. They cannot be a character that is currently in Norfinbury. Monsters can understand basic commands and phrases, but will not respond to complex sentences. They may be able to recognize canon-specific terms/names of people, but will not be able to understand more complex canon concepts, even if the person they look like would. Monsters cannot speak, but they can make sounds, if the player wishes it. If you have something specific in mind your character would try and want to see how a monster would respond, post a reply to the questions thread here and we'll get back to you.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[snowblindmods]

[despiteeverything]

As with normal anomalies, I'm assuming if a character tries to stay in a building they'll have to barricade the anomaly out?

[snowblindmods]

Correct.

[despiteeverything]

On a related note if Frisk were to be followed by a being that... doesn't use normal methods of travel... meaning they typically travel through the ground except for that one running away thing what was that about even.... a. would this be possible and b. would he be able to pop up in a place Frisk is staying or would the house's foundation presumably keep him out.

Look I'm not saying I'm considering Frisk being trailed by Flowey but I'm considering having Frisk being trailed by Flowey. It's like Undertale all over again.

[snowblindmods]

It would not be able to travel through the ground, and so it couldn't get into the house.

[despiteeverything]

Small favors at least. I'll figure something out for how he travels, then. Thanks for answering all my questions, guys!

[headjacked]

Does HoloJack get a monster too, or just Rhys?

[snowblindmods]

Just Rhys (although, if you want, the monster can be someone relevant to HoloJack instead).

[deus_ex_phs]

Does a monster look the same to everyone who views it? E.g. if Kunsel sees a monster version of President ShinRa, and he's traveling in the same group as Zack, will Zack also see President ShinRa (along with whatever monster is Zack's monster)?

[snowblindmods]

A monster looks the same to everyone who views it.

[deus_ex_phs]

Will one character's monster ever chase another character? Or is that monster focused solely on the character it "belongs" to?

[snowblindmods]

It's fixated on the character it "belongs" to.

[deus_ex_phs]

Will monsters that belong to other characters respond at all if your character addresses them? Like, let's say Zack's monster is Director Lazard. Will Monster!Lazard respond if Kunsel called him by name or told him to stop?

[snowblindmods]

They may react, yes.

[deus_ex_phs]

Thanks!

Re: QUESTIONS

[rattlingthestars]

For groups would the monsters appear in staggered or would it suddenly be six monsters from nowhere?

[snowblindmods]

They would all appear at once.

[rattlingthestars]

.... yay.

Thanks!

[phaseshifter]

If the character a monster is based on has powers we've seen a monster have (like short range teleportation??), would/could the monster have those too?

And if so can monsters teleport inside buildings? I'M ASSUMING NOT

[snowblindmods]

The monsters will not be able to enter a completely sealed building.

[phaseshifter]

AIGHT THANKS NERDS

[warriorscribe]

Is there a particular trend towards the type of person the character knows? Positive relationship, negative? Is it always someone the character knows well, or can they also be only acquaintances?

(Also I am assuming they cause the usual proximity symptoms?)

[snowblindmods]

It has to be someone they know fairly well, but the nature of the relationship is up to you. They do cause the usual proximity symptoms.

[warriorscribe]

Thank you! One more: how dependent on their memory of them is this? Could it be someone they used to be close to but they died years (read: centuries) ago?

[snowblindmods]

They do have to have some memories of them, but it could be someone who has since died in their canon.

[warriorscribe]

One more! Can monsters have injuries the character they resemble wouldn't have until later in the player character's canon, or are they tied to the time the person they belong to is from?

[snowblindmods]

They can reflect how they looked earlier or later in canon, sure, as long as they're still recognizable to the character.

[warriorscribe]

Awesome, thank you so much!

[inruins]

OKAY, my question lay in just how corrupted can we get with the anomalies? I kind of want to have Asgore toddle around after Toriel and I was thinking of this AU floating around tumblr. Would either of these be too extreme?

[snowblindmods]

Either of those would be fine!

[inruins]

Awesome, thank you!

[blessedmaiden]

Welp, I picked the worst time to take Rydia's memories from home- anyway!

Will be real 'monsters' allowed? Because I was tempted to bring Mist Dragon to some degree...

[snowblindmods]

That would be allowed. Incidentally, you can have her regain some of her memories related to her monster's identity, if you wish.

[blessedmaiden]

I ended up opting for Rydia's mother, thank you for the reply but- I will stick with the price she had to pay to return to life. Even if it'll eventually be traumatic later knowing her mother was roaming around, to some degree, and she couldn't even properly try to interact with her.

And since she'll have no memories of people from home she'll probably try to talk about her past through closed doors. And she will probably try to hum familiar lullabies too (We have no canon for Rydia's mother, just that she was a wonderful woman and mother so-) and will have some specific questions:

1- Do I know you?
2- You died?
3- You died here? (Even if she received no reply)
4- You want me dead?
5- Did I hurt you?

She's, of course, keeping a safe distance while questioning it.
And one last question: is it possible to take a picture of those anomalies or not? Will it be distorted and all?

[snowblindmods]

The monster will show signs of recognizing the songs Rydia hums. It doesn't seem capable of answering the questions, but the last two make it seem uncertain about if it actually wants to--it will show signs of backing off a little.

The pictures come out very distorted, stretched and covered in static.

Re: QUESTIONS

[ninjainviolet]

What about the Summon Spirits from Sheena's world? They're not exactly people, but she does have a close relationship with them.

And if not, I know who to use... La la la

[snowblindmods]

That would be allowed.

[warriorscribe]

Starting a new thread for specific monster response

RNG has decided his monster is going to resemble Lucifel, who...well all of you have processed a Lucifel app before. Point is he's Enoch's best friend and he'd follow him anywhere and all that.

Would these monsters respond to yes/no questions with gestures or differentiated sounds? If so, he'll ask the following questions after determining he'll get an answer:

1: "Are you really Lucifel?"
2: "Have you been here long?"
3: "Are you looking for something?"
4: (if yes to 3) "Does it have to do with your state now?"
5: (if yes to 3) "Will whatever it is help you?"

[snowblindmods]

They would not respond to a yes or no question in a way that signals yes or no. It would obviously be listening, and would recognize the name Lucifel, but questions like that are a bit too complex.

[warriorscribe]

And I assume that attempting to instruct the monster to respond with a certain gesture for "yes" and another for "no" is also too complex? (and basically I should be treating its ability to respond like a highly intelligent dog at best?)

[snowblindmods]

Correct on both counts.

[warriorscribe]

Gotcha, will update this if I think of anything else for him to do!

[eclecticbassist]

Would a character that has, I dunno, a sword stuck through their gut still use it? Assuming they're within stabbing distance of someone, obviously.

[snowblindmods]

It would not. Death by a monster is always bloodless (unless someone impaled themselves on the sword, I suppose, but that would be weird).

[bookofnope]

Hello yes a quick one! Does the monster have to be strictly a person, or human-ish? The thing I'm thinking of using is a specific entity, but it manifests more like a freaky huge mass of shadows, though it can take the form of a humanoid silhouette. Would any of this work?

[snowblindmods]

They don't have to be a person, and could be mostly incorporeal and made of static. They still wouldn't be able to get into a properly closed room, though.