CASINO EVENT > SUBPLOT | Night IV
Things like this have to be witnessed in order to fully comprehend.
And even then, it's a wonder if those who witness it are ever allowed an unbiased interpretation of what they saw and experienced in the heat of the moment. Because things happen so fast. And in this place, even with things so much more lively and positive, life is fragile. Peace and quiet and safety are not real, only the absence of war, chaos, and danger.
Because, really, no matter who you are or what you do, one small change could change your life. Being in one place at one particular time could save your ife, but it could also end it, too.
It's the open floor that greets those entering the casino that is the setting for what's to behold. Slot machines, card game tables, roulette gambling table, pool tables: a sample of everything and anything you would find within the casino that has to do with traditional gambling. Open bars litter the main floor, even some small restaurants, although the extravagant dining and bar experiences are up above, overlooking the main floor. The atmosphere is positive; crowded and lots of noise, but it's a surrounding that breeds excitement rather than dread. And after four days of this place being normal, it's almost comforting to find so many people moving around in a place in a city that has been vacant far too long.
And things continue to go well through this night as well. Lucky gamblers, those spending the evening with another, even good times with some friends over a game of cards or in the bar as discussions run wild. But, maybe everything going so well-the unnatural lack of loss and disappointment in an establishment that, while entertaining, ultimately makes its money by having its patrons suffer losses-should have been the first hint. Maybe the hint should have been that this is the fourth night the casino has been in Nuadoria and that such a number holds unlucky attributes in some cultures. Or maybe the hint should have just been that this is a dead and ever rotting city and nothing is going to change that stigma. No matter what "plane" is currently dominant over the city, or what amenities appear, Nuadoria still is a wasteland, a mass grave that's only vacant and not littered with bones because circumstances crushed all into nothing.
It's not until 11:59 PM, according to clocks if one was happened to be looking at one, that this lively scene takes a drastic turn.
11:59 PM. One minute to midnight. Significant to some, not to others. Some are watching the clock, waiting for the night to transition. Some events start special at midnight, afterall, and people are impatient for them to start. Others are drunk and celebrate the count to midnight similar to those celebrating the coming of a new year. And still others are not paying any attention at all.
But at 11:59:59 PM, everything stops. It's faster than anyone could confirm, but it's as if time has suddenly stood still. There's no time to really think it through, however, as the lights cut out almost simultaneously. And with the casino falling into blackness (the obvious hum of the energy lighting up the floor, running machines, keeping track of electronic chips, even security cameras dying in a sickly hum that wasn't noticeable until you see how quiet it really is), so does the noise level shift. There's a deafening silence and a few screams of panic at the lights cutting after that short span of silence. There would have been a low buzzing of confusion to follow most likely if things had gotten that far.
Instead, whatever happens happens so fast, but at the same time it seems like an eternity.
A spark ignites itself in the dark, so small and so quick it's impossible to illuminate anything or identify what causes it, but it's blindingly obvious in the pitch black. And then, your character will feel cold, like a wind is blowing or a suddenly drop in temperature has occurred but there is no wind and you can tell the temperature in the room has remained constant. It's unnerving, however, prominent and defined almost like there's some type of presence lurking within the vicinity-directly behind you.
Something's wrong. And for some, they'll hear the awful heavy sound as something sinks into flesh-so heavy it's almost more of a feeling rather than a sound at all-and the crackling and splintering of wood. The scream of metal being ripped and carved violently into. The echo of thick glass being slammed into, metal screeching against it before it cracks like a spiderweb and breaks apart into pieces. All accompanied by the heavy thick thuds of a mass of weight being forcefully slammed against such objects. And some people just might be unfortunate enough during all of this to be splashed with something heavy, warm and wet; the burning smell of corroding iron filling their scent.
Or you may just be one of those who notices the lights go out and nothing more until the power returns.
Regardless of your experiences, when the lights flicker back on, there's a scene to behold. You may not be able to see it or you may be right next to it, but either way people (if not you yourself) will scream. Because there is blood painting the floors, the tables, the machines, the walls, the people within the radius of an unfortunately victim that has been impaled and stapled to the nearest solid object: a wall, a game table, a slot machine, perhaps even the floor. They're all dead, perhaps even impaled more than once. While close inspection might actually find a bladed weapon of some sort, the most obvious "weapons" are not weapons at all, but things within the casino creatively and forcefully used to do the same damage a blade would do. Kitchen knifes, splintered legs of destroyed chairs, metal decoration rods: the sight is fascinating if you're one for violent creativity. It's something entire different if you're not.
These people were fine seconds earlier, maybe even have been within your company. And the worst part of it is that you never saw it coming. And even if you thought the worst when the lights cut, you couldn't stop anything even if you tried.
You may not move, but many of the other people panic at the sight of the murdered. It becomes more than chaos, people getting up from whatever they were doing to head-to run-towards the exit at the fear this is only the beginning. Security is seen pushing through these people while other members of security attempt to slow down the herd of people stampeding and practically tripping over one another to get out. You may even be pushed back by the crowds, but eventually even if you stick around (even if you've blocked out the entire world except that body that's near you or that blood you're covered in), you'll be escorted out (with force, if necessary), away from the crime scene. And no matter who you are, somehow there is not a thing you can do to avoid this. Because if you fight, more security will come and the harder you protest the more overbearing security becomes (you may insist then and there they can't possibly be human to hold you down) and they will force everyone out of the casino. Preferably in a professional manner, but however is necessary to empty the casino save for the dead.
[ This is where it all goes (link to log thread where above SHOULD have been posted but was too long to fit) ]
[OOC: All right, then, if you volunteered your character for getting killed, they'd have been on the main floor during the experience. You guys are welcome to post some sort of accidental voice post or something, but they're going to be dead by the time anyone can see them in the casino. No lingering onto life. Dead dead by the time it's over. You're also welcome to write a tag reply to the linked thread of their death experience and give others a chance to react personally to them should they have been someone important to them. Anyone else who doesn't know the victims personally or doesn't react to one of them in particular (I don't know, maybe your character was randomly standing next to the before they were killed), is also welcome to reply to the thread. Please make sure to only reply to the linked thread rather than another character's response unless they are interacting directly with the person in question (I think this is already self explanatory, but in case you weren't sure.)]
And even then, it's a wonder if those who witness it are ever allowed an unbiased interpretation of what they saw and experienced in the heat of the moment. Because things happen so fast. And in this place, even with things so much more lively and positive, life is fragile. Peace and quiet and safety are not real, only the absence of war, chaos, and danger.
Because, really, no matter who you are or what you do, one small change could change your life. Being in one place at one particular time could save your ife, but it could also end it, too.
It's the open floor that greets those entering the casino that is the setting for what's to behold. Slot machines, card game tables, roulette gambling table, pool tables: a sample of everything and anything you would find within the casino that has to do with traditional gambling. Open bars litter the main floor, even some small restaurants, although the extravagant dining and bar experiences are up above, overlooking the main floor. The atmosphere is positive; crowded and lots of noise, but it's a surrounding that breeds excitement rather than dread. And after four days of this place being normal, it's almost comforting to find so many people moving around in a place in a city that has been vacant far too long.
And things continue to go well through this night as well. Lucky gamblers, those spending the evening with another, even good times with some friends over a game of cards or in the bar as discussions run wild. But, maybe everything going so well-the unnatural lack of loss and disappointment in an establishment that, while entertaining, ultimately makes its money by having its patrons suffer losses-should have been the first hint. Maybe the hint should have been that this is the fourth night the casino has been in Nuadoria and that such a number holds unlucky attributes in some cultures. Or maybe the hint should have just been that this is a dead and ever rotting city and nothing is going to change that stigma. No matter what "plane" is currently dominant over the city, or what amenities appear, Nuadoria still is a wasteland, a mass grave that's only vacant and not littered with bones because circumstances crushed all into nothing.
It's not until 11:59 PM, according to clocks if one was happened to be looking at one, that this lively scene takes a drastic turn.
11:59 PM. One minute to midnight. Significant to some, not to others. Some are watching the clock, waiting for the night to transition. Some events start special at midnight, afterall, and people are impatient for them to start. Others are drunk and celebrate the count to midnight similar to those celebrating the coming of a new year. And still others are not paying any attention at all.
But at 11:59:59 PM, everything stops. It's faster than anyone could confirm, but it's as if time has suddenly stood still. There's no time to really think it through, however, as the lights cut out almost simultaneously. And with the casino falling into blackness (the obvious hum of the energy lighting up the floor, running machines, keeping track of electronic chips, even security cameras dying in a sickly hum that wasn't noticeable until you see how quiet it really is), so does the noise level shift. There's a deafening silence and a few screams of panic at the lights cutting after that short span of silence. There would have been a low buzzing of confusion to follow most likely if things had gotten that far.
Instead, whatever happens happens so fast, but at the same time it seems like an eternity.
A spark ignites itself in the dark, so small and so quick it's impossible to illuminate anything or identify what causes it, but it's blindingly obvious in the pitch black. And then, your character will feel cold, like a wind is blowing or a suddenly drop in temperature has occurred but there is no wind and you can tell the temperature in the room has remained constant. It's unnerving, however, prominent and defined almost like there's some type of presence lurking within the vicinity-directly behind you.
Something's wrong. And for some, they'll hear the awful heavy sound as something sinks into flesh-so heavy it's almost more of a feeling rather than a sound at all-and the crackling and splintering of wood. The scream of metal being ripped and carved violently into. The echo of thick glass being slammed into, metal screeching against it before it cracks like a spiderweb and breaks apart into pieces. All accompanied by the heavy thick thuds of a mass of weight being forcefully slammed against such objects. And some people just might be unfortunate enough during all of this to be splashed with something heavy, warm and wet; the burning smell of corroding iron filling their scent.
Or you may just be one of those who notices the lights go out and nothing more until the power returns.
Regardless of your experiences, when the lights flicker back on, there's a scene to behold. You may not be able to see it or you may be right next to it, but either way people (if not you yourself) will scream. Because there is blood painting the floors, the tables, the machines, the walls, the people within the radius of an unfortunately victim that has been impaled and stapled to the nearest solid object: a wall, a game table, a slot machine, perhaps even the floor. They're all dead, perhaps even impaled more than once. While close inspection might actually find a bladed weapon of some sort, the most obvious "weapons" are not weapons at all, but things within the casino creatively and forcefully used to do the same damage a blade would do. Kitchen knifes, splintered legs of destroyed chairs, metal decoration rods: the sight is fascinating if you're one for violent creativity. It's something entire different if you're not.
These people were fine seconds earlier, maybe even have been within your company. And the worst part of it is that you never saw it coming. And even if you thought the worst when the lights cut, you couldn't stop anything even if you tried.
You may not move, but many of the other people panic at the sight of the murdered. It becomes more than chaos, people getting up from whatever they were doing to head-to run-towards the exit at the fear this is only the beginning. Security is seen pushing through these people while other members of security attempt to slow down the herd of people stampeding and practically tripping over one another to get out. You may even be pushed back by the crowds, but eventually even if you stick around (even if you've blocked out the entire world except that body that's near you or that blood you're covered in), you'll be escorted out (with force, if necessary), away from the crime scene. And no matter who you are, somehow there is not a thing you can do to avoid this. Because if you fight, more security will come and the harder you protest the more overbearing security becomes (you may insist then and there they can't possibly be human to hold you down) and they will force everyone out of the casino. Preferably in a professional manner, but however is necessary to empty the casino save for the dead.
[ This is where it all goes (link to log thread where above SHOULD have been posted but was too long to fit) ]
[OOC: All right, then, if you volunteered your character for getting killed, they'd have been on the main floor during the experience. You guys are welcome to post some sort of accidental voice post or something, but they're going to be dead by the time anyone can see them in the casino. No lingering onto life. Dead dead by the time it's over. You're also welcome to write a tag reply to the linked thread of their death experience and give others a chance to react personally to them should they have been someone important to them. Anyone else who doesn't know the victims personally or doesn't react to one of them in particular (I don't know, maybe your character was randomly standing next to the before they were killed), is also welcome to reply to the thread. Please make sure to only reply to the linked thread rather than another character's response unless they are interacting directly with the person in question (I think this is already self explanatory, but in case you weren't sure.)]