YOO JOONGHYUK

[perceivedrevalry]

Note to myself: find out what 'killing Constellations' means in that canon.

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Week 0 -.-- Monday

[perceivedrevalry]

[The Opera House is pretty much the one place he hasn't visited yet. Now it's open! It's time for exploring!

Perhaps he should have known that, given how many fellow people are trapped in this city with him, he wouldn't be alone]

[malewife]

[ He is here! In the opera house... Looking at the angels that seem to support this place. ]

You.

[ Not derogatory. Just normal. ]

[perceivedrevalry]

[Revali's face when he sees someone else here is of pure annoyance. Oh, great. Fine. Frankly, he has a bit of a feeling that, if he tried to back down now, Medli would have many objections. Today she has been trying so hard to get him to rein in the aloof disdain he feels towards the majority of the people here, much to his chagrin. He can pretty much feel her disapproving stare]

Seeing how you're here I may as well get some information from you.

[Definitely not mentioning he's talking to someone else because his daemon is pretty much forcing him to. Extending a wing towards the angels, he demands to know:]

What exactly are these winged...

[...what were most people here, again? Not Hylians! Damn, he didn't find out the terminology. Well, whatever]

...people who seem to be so valued in this city, if their likeness being used to hold this temple-like place is any indication?

[The search 'are there theaters in hyrule' brings no useful results. Well! The kingdom isn't in much state to have entertainment like theater plays in the middle of the Calamity, anyway!]

[malewife]

You don't need to be here if you don't want to.

[ Joonghyuk isn't want to try to play nice when he doesn't want to. He can tolerate presences when he wants to, act out when he doesn't want to. Revali is fine. ]

They are angels. [ ... ] Are there gods where you are from?

[perceivedrevalry]

Of course there is. The Goddess Hylia, the one who protects Hyrule and whose powers are bestowed on the royal princess of the kingdom, to defeat the evil in the land! [He leans forward, looking at the statues with some befuddlement] In a way these look similar, but there's no way depictions of Goddess Hylia would be found so far away from home!

[And since it's not her, it's something else -- something that looks similar]

[malewife]

Then you have a frame of reference.

[ Despite Joonghyuk's somewhat cold and standoffish exterior, he's not a bad teacher. ]

Angels are generally depicted as a god's messengers. They would act on the god's will and order. It may be different here, however.

w1 monday

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk is somewhere with a stream coming into the bubble and there are fish and some critters swimming in it. Fortunately, his fishing gear was brought to this city, so he's ready for fishing. He does turn to look at Revali when he notices a presence, wolf daemon also staring. ]

Have you adjusted?

[perceivedrevalry]

I'd be adjusting better if I knew what I'm looking at!

[There's Revali, arrows on his bow already. He isn't even looking at Joonghyuk, looking at the critters around the city with...quite a bit of distrust or something similar. _It's the first time he sees stuff like these ones! Doesn't even resemble monsters from Hyrule, for the most part! Look at all those shells and teeth and what not!]

I can't tell what's edible around here! Hunting was so much simpler in the other abandoned city.

[Looks like he's still taking pretty seriously the offer he had made during that meeting last week, when he said he was willing to hunt around. Others are handling the fishes -- thank you for your efforts, Joonghyuk -- but hey, having some variety for food is a good idea!

Now if only he could figure out what's potentially poisonous or would get other people sick...it'd suck if the total party kill is because someone brought the wrong food to the table]

[malewife]

... You can always feed Power and see if she gets sick.

[ Yeah. Joonghyuk is technically going to do that (of course after cooking the critters). ]

[perceivedrevalry]

[Revali looks at him. He looks kind of amused at such a suggestion]

Can she even get sick? She seems like the sort that'd eat anything. Almost like someone I knew at home.

[Most people would immediately say 'no you asshole' but apparently Revali isn't ruling out doing that to Power]

[malewife]

Eating anything doesn't mean she won't get sick.

[ Joonghyuk is betting on it, though. ]

If she doesn't get sick, then the test would be useless.

[perceivedrevalry]

True enough. [Revali shakes his head] I have no idea how someone like her can exist. Or how she's not the only one with that sort of personality. They're exhausting!

[It's not hard to guess what kind of people he's talking about -- Power, Sholmes, Rin, Flat, among others. To say that he's not used to dealing with them is an understatement!

And worse, something he's not going to admit: every single time he talks with them he gets outmatched in so many ways. It's maddening]

w2 wednesday, post-event

[malewife]

[ Wherever Revali is, unfortunately Niah bumps into a strange glass... The world transforms and changes into a memory.

Your name is Yoo Joonghyuk. You are twenty-eight, a professional Esports player, and you're on your way to pick up your younger sister, Yoo Mia. It is busy on the subway, as it always is in Seoul. You're used to it and keep your eyes on your smartphone... Looking up the report the private investigator you hired has finally sent you. It is then the subway abruptly stops. It's then when the world changes. A white fluffy goblin shows up and tells you the stage is ready for the upcoming apocalypse.

A blue system message pops up to every person on the train.

< Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value >
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: Kill one or more creatures.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Reward: 300 coins
Failure: Death

Of course, people protest. They try to ward off the goblin with yells and screams in their panic, but it makes an example of them. Pop pop pop, three heads explode. Participate in the scenario of die the exact same way. Blood splatters onto people and the window panes... You're scared. There's... Only people here. In less than a minute, fights start breaking out around you. No one was spared and eventually everyone chose to kill to survive—elderly, men, women, and children. You, too, choose to take another's life.

More system messages flood.

[ Great Sage, Heaven's Equal has donated 200 coins for your first kill! ]
[ Maritime War God has donated 100 coins for your perseverance! ]
[ Abyssal Black Flame Dragon demands more carnage! ]

You don't want to die. Mia... Will she be okay? You have to return to her. You have to find her.

But you don't last long. By the time you and the other survivors could get out of your train cart, the dead start rising and snarl. The only thing they know is hunger now, so they swarm their prey: you and the others. Screams ring again in your ears, but they taper out. You can't tell if it's because they've been caught or your senses are fading.

You've taken someone's life to live for how long? Ten more minutes? On the floor, you can feel your blood pool beneath you as human teeth snag onto your neck, eating away at your flesh. You die from blood loss.

Then you wake up again, on that train, and repeat. Again, you must take a life. Again, you have to survive. This time hopefully longer than the last.

Ah, this time you hesitated. You couldn't take the life of a small girl... She reminded you of Mia and you hesitated, so her mother took that chance to kill you instead.

You wake up again, on that train, and repeat. Again you must take a life. Again, you have to survive. This time hopefully longer than the last.

The man that helped you against those that attacked you ended up strangling you when you let your guard down. Those messages keep popping up. You're getting the sense that your life is like a drama to these... Constellations—gods—who tuned into the livestream. White hot disdain swelled inside of you, mixing in with the smell of bile and blood before your eyesight goes.

You wake up again, on that train, and repeat. Again you must take a life. Again, you have to survive. This time...

At the end of it, Joonghyuk doesn't seem unsettled at all. He's used to it after the first day now. ]

[perceivedrevalry]

[The surroundings are a mystery to Revali. Here he is, in the eyes of someone else, looking at a device that kind of reminds him of the Sheikah Slate he saw one time. Huh. So, in other worlds there's more than one of those? Can it also take true to life images, somehow?

Idle thoughts he has while he watches things happen on that vehicle, thoughts that vanish the moment that goblin appears. Doesn't take a seasoned warrior to recognize this is wrong! And once people's heads start exploding, Revali really wishes this wasn't a memory so he could go and stick an arrow on this thing! But that wouldn't have changed a thing, would it? Because, once it was gone, carnage began, people killing each other. He can see it's to survive, he can't blame them for killing to survive.

...doesn't make this any less horrifying. Revali is a fighter, yes, but he's one who is also pretty invested in protecting his home and people. That something -- many somethings, turn out! -- are making this happen for whatever reason...it's horrifying to him. These are just people who were going with their lives until suddenly they had to kill each other just to stay alive.

And among them, Joonghyuk, who also sullied his hands with blood, just to die when one of the dead kill him. For a moment Revali thought that's where it'd end, and that it meant Joonghyuk had been dead before this whole murdergame began, but then the memory continued.

Again, and again, and again. Killing and getting killed. Joonghyuk was supposed to survive, wasn't he? That was why this kept repeating! By the time the memory is over, Revali is, well, he really has to wonder, asking Joonghyuk the question:]

How many times did it take?

[Revali sounds pretty serious. Even if the memory ended with Joonghyuk being victorious, surviving, and getting away, he asks that anyway. This was quite the rough memory!]

[malewife]

[ ... He sighs, finding these memories annoying to be flaunted to others. He never liked his story being watched like film reel. He has enough of it at home where the Constellations dare pay him for his suffering. As if that kind of compensation is ever enough for the trauma and sorrow. ]

This is a nightmare, though I did experience this. I progressed and adapted quickly my second time around onward and cleared more scenarios ahead.

[ Which isn't much of an answer. ]

I've gone through the Scenarios 1,864 times.

[perceivedrevalry]

One thousand--!

[Revali actually sounded horrified at such a thought]

How haven't you gone insane?!

[This is the sort of punishment you hear about in legends, and more often than not, it doesn't end well for whoever's undergoing it!]

[malewife]

[ To be honest, fair point. ]

... I suppose my dreams were enough to keep me going.

WEEK 4 --- MASQUERADE BALL

[perceivedrevalry]

[Thankfully, after several hours Revali has gotten used to charades, getting proficient enough to have conversations without much confusion! Even though he can't say a word, at least his gestures should be able to convey responses appropriately!

The balconies are a nice, more private spot, too. There's Revali, watching the crowds below. In general he seems satisfied. Being here has been a total headache, but...eh. He's still glad he came]

[malewife]

... Revali.

[ HOW WOULD ANYONE NOT SEE THROUGH THIS? ]

Have you enjoyed the festivities?

[perceivedrevalry]

[Truthfully, after gems such as 'not realizing Wild Tiger is Kotetsu' and 'discussing the existence of birds' and the such, Revali's faith in the group's observational skills is pretty damn low. He wouldn't have been surprised if several people around here hadn't realized his identity.

Revali turns his head when he hears someone calm. Ah, Joonghyuk. The question makes him consider it for a moment]

I wouldn't say this has been an enjoyable time.

[Seems death hasn't made him any less blunt, although the effect of his words is a bit diminished given he's, well, using charades. Still, he adds:]

But I don't regret coming. At this point I appreciate every minute I'm alive and breathing.

[Metaphorically, given he's neither alive nor breathing, but...well, the century he spent dead in canon and now the week he has spent dead here in Chasma really makes him appreciate the "second chance" he got here in this murdergame. True, that second chance is now gone because, well, he's dead again, but the sentiment is still there]

Final Night

[perceivedrevalry]

[So, everything is over. Presumably. Is it? Revali didn't see Metatron or Xaphania disintegrating into nothingness or dying in horrible agony, so he's not convinced it's over.

But everything sure feels like...they somehow managed to succeed. Incredible]

Do you truly believe we have managed to reach the end of this all?

[In a way he's sure Joonghyuk is one of the few that would share to some extent his concerns there's something else going on. Fortunately for everyone, such concerns are unfounded. This truly is endgame, yup]

[malewife]

[ They might not have seen it, but the Watchers are no longer dusty? He understands Revali's apprehension. ]

I do.

[ He does believe that, wholeheartedly, and he can only hope that the dead are returned to them when morning comes for some of them. ]

And if the Angels come, then we can fight them again.

[perceivedrevalry]

Hmph. For a bunch of all-powerful entities trying to force worlds to obey them no matter what, they proved to be weaker than expected. How pitiful.

[...well, no, he knows very well it wasn't easy at all. A special bomb was required, after all!]

[malewife]

... I was thinking of using a bomb in my world to take out the gods, seeing as how well it worked here.

[ This is a joke, but also he's like ??? ]

[perceivedrevalry]

If a bomb does not solve your problems, a large beam of destructive energy tends to help.

[Revali says that and it's not a joke. A giant laser hit Calamity Ganon very hard. You should look into giant lasers if you haven't yet, Joonghyuk, it'll help]