il ne pleut pas

PREMISE
As you arrive, you hear in the distance the faint sound of a little girl's voice singing, "10... 9.... 8... 7.... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1~! Ready or not, here I come." You've got nothing on you save the clothes on your back and perhaps one or two personal belongings, and there's nothing before you except for the ruins of what used to be a beautiful city. But as night sets, it's a completely different story. Not everything is as it seems.

Loosely based on the movie Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek and the LJ game letsplayotokoyo: (It's a really fantastic movie, so you should watch it if you ever get the chance.)

The film is based around "Otokoyo" (オトコヨ?, lit. Man Hunt), a game of hide and seek played by children, wearing fox masks, near the ruins of an abandoned old city. The children who play this disappear, believed to be spirited away by demons. Kakurenbo follows Hikora, a boy who joins the game with hopes of finding his missing sister, Sorincha. The storyline is built on the idea that Tokyo is losing its natural aesthetic, which includes child's games such as hide and seek in order for industrial progress to ensue i.e. lighting the city of Tokyo costing innocence of childhood games.

SETTING
The city is small, and looks as though it used to be beautiful. But for whatever reason, it is now in ruins. Anything that could've been considered useful toward surviving and every day living has already been taken or used, leaving behind nothing but rubble and vermin. There are no people in sight save the people who arrived along with you. On one side of the city is a large body of water; it's hard to say how big exactly that water is, but without the proper supplies, going out into it would mean death. On the other side of the city is a long, winding road that seems to stretch out for miles upon miles with absolutely nothing in sight. You can try to leave, but either way you go, you probably won't last long.

Night, however, is a different story. Blink, and you'll find yourself in the same city, but now well-lit and bustling with activity. The buildings that used to be fallen apart have somehow rebuilt themselves, and there are now people who weren't there during the daytime: shop owners, villagers, even law enforcement. The bonus? Everything seems to be free, so take whatever you want and feast to your heart's desires. ... Or... maybe not. Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems. Creatures lurk in the darkness, or perhaps the food is poisoned; whatever the trial or obstacle, it differs night by night, so stay on your guard. As for the townspeople, they seem nice enough, just don't ask them any questions about the city, because they'll immediately become strangely defensive. They won't know anything about ruins, for they've lived in this city for years, and they don't recognize you at all.

GAME PLAY
Posting. Because of the way this game is set up, the timeline will be a little different. 1 full day in game = 1 week in real life. Each "day" will be Monday-Wednesday, and each "night" will be Thursday-Sunday.

• Players are free to post Day posts whenever they'd like.
  
• Night posts will be made weekly by the mods and players are encouraged to make their own threads in those. The body of the post will describe the 'event' that will occur that particular night.
  
• Players are welcomed to use the NPC villagers as they'd like. However, remember that actions do have consequences, so becoming unruly or picking fights with the NPCs will result in the appropriate consequences. Depending on the event, mod-controlled 'monsters' or obstacles may thread-jump at any time. If you'd prefer not to have that, simply mark the thread appropriately.
  
• All posts will be face-to-face. There are no networks, cell phones, computers, etc. here.

ABILITIES, ITEMS & POWERS
You arrive with nothing except the clothes on your back and various small, non-harmful personal items that you happened to have been holding/carrying when you were suddenly taken into the city. (For example, if you had photos of your family in your pocket, those can come along. But if a pocket knife or gun will mysteriously disappear.) You will find yourself completely powerless and without abilities.

Powers will come back during the nights, but slowly and with time. Each consecutive night you experience in the city will increase your powers by just a little (this will be entirely player-regulated, so please use your own discretion. If you feel another player has been unfairly powering up their characters, please let them know/grab a mod.) However, whatever abilities they've earned during the night time will not carry over during the day.

Everything from the previous night disappears when a new day starts. However, anything that you were holding in your hands from the night before will stay with you. You're only allowed one item at a time per night, and it must be in your hands in order for it to stay (not in your pocket, not stuffed in a bag, etc.) so choose carefully. Thankfully once the item has seen the light of day they won't disappear ever (unless consumed/destroyed/expired/etc.), so it is possible to end up hoarding together a pile of belongings and building yourself something super fancy if you wait long enough. (Or you could just collect food for the next day.) This is not knowledge that will be given to anyone, so it is up to you to either figure it out or make friends with a veteran who's willing to share information.

DEATH
Once you die, you may be brought back, however you'll lose every item you've accumulated and all your memories of your time in the city. Your powers will start at the beginning as well.

All dropped characters will die. Feel free to write out your own death by using the drop post. If you don't, a death will be chosen for you based on the events of the closest night post.

ACTIVITY AND APPLICATIONS
This is an invite-only/referral game, so players will have to know someone already in game to join. There are no applications and everyone is allowed up to three (3) characters. Characters are first-come-first serve, but if there is a character that seems OOC, please notify a mod and it will be reviewed by a committee of peers.

Canon characters from all different fandoms are welcomed, as are OCs. However, AU characters will not be accepted at this time unless they are canon AUs. While applications are not required, a post or link to more character information is, for those who are unfamiliar with the character.

Activity checks will happen monthly. Players will simply have to show some sort of proof (minimum of five (5) comments made by you to count) of activity within the last month. Threads that were started the previous month but continued into the current month may be used as long as they have not been used for past activity checks. AC will occur the first week of each month, and only comments made in the previous month will count. (Example: July 1st-7th will be for activity made in June. Only comments made in June will count toward the five comments minimum. You may use a backdated thread that is continued from something that was started in May so long as it was not used for May's AC. Posts/threads started in April can not be used but we highly encourage continuing them regardless!)

Hiatuses may last up to a month. If you've dropped a character or could not make AC, you must wait up to two (2) weeks before asking for the character again. (But remember that your character will have died in those 2 weeks and will be starting all over again.)

Please remember that, while RP is meant to be fun, that it is still a social game, so while the activity requirements are not extensive, it wouldn't be much fun if everyone only did one thread every AC just to pass.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS?
Feel free to comment here.

[ The voice coming from the Dreamberry is puzzled. Puzzled, but for the most part very calm. ]

Those who die, return? Is this a new act in God's play?

[ A small pause. As though the speaker is taking time to process this information for himself. ]

How?

[ Suddenly, a wail of pure anguish. ]



[ The voice sounds sad. Almost in tears. ]

Why them, God? Are they your loyal servants? Do they speak your word?



[ Then, pure anger. Hatred, even. ]

And yet you did nothing to save Jeanne. My sweet Jeanne. Your most loyal.

You cast her away.

[ A pause.

Silence. ]



[ And we're back to the beginning again. Calm. Collected. As if none of the above had happened. Almost like this audio broadcast has just started. ]

Do all who die, return?


[[ ooc: This entire post is in anonymous voice; all responses made by Caster will be in voice. Due to how quickly he switches emotional states, it was best to link icons to demonstrate. This post can't be traced or hacked, sorry.

As for victims, they are free to notice similarities in his voice and make the connection. :3

Also, as a side note, the Dreamberry lists him as 'Bluebeard' who... is an actual thing. So, if someone is familiar with the stories at all and happens to be looking through the list, that might be a clue. Though, really far out there. ]]