Basement Bonanza Log

[hoboagogo]

BASEMENT BONANZA



The House


The house is much like the rest of the housing around it. Victorian style with some side yards, an outside that's desperately in need of paint, and wild, fancy architecture. Along the side is a fenced yard containing a small kitchen garden, complete with a recently added chicken coop in the back.

The front door leads to a small foyer, whereas the side door by the garden goes straight into the kitchen. In the kitchen, there will be a number of foods available for anyone chipping in to snack on, with options for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. (No blood, sorry vampires, but if you get peckish you might find someone willing to let you have a bite.) Shinjiro will aggressively shoo away anyone who shows up just to get food without actually contributing. It's for people who help only!!

The interior is weird, as to be expected. They've made it mostly liveable, most of the furniture in the living spaces in new, but there's still Victorian Classics such as too many patterns and portraits of strangers on the wall, and bad wallpaper in surprisingly cozy places. There's even a restroom on the ground floor, complete with fireplace by the tub. People taking a break are welcome to tool around on the ground floor, where things are markedly more normal. Any attempts to go upstairs, where the residents bedrooms are, will be dissuaded.

There's a dog to pet (Koromaru, an incredibly intelligent white shiba inu) or a Petal Wolf (Bela) or, if you want to risk a few fingers, Fie's hyena (Alfin). The hyena occasionally breaks out into mad giggles in other people's voices, occasionally parroting contextless statements in perfect mimicry of the people who live there. Scrounging around somewhere will be Louis's cat, Juniper, and then there's the coop full of chickens outside, a snapping turtle in the pond...


But you people aren't here for the relatively normal living space.


THE BASEMENT.


The air is cooler in the basement, and with that soft scent of wet stone. It's not disgusting or overwhelming, despite how locked up and sealed the area had been, and for who knows how long. More than anything else, it's just dark. They've carried a few magitech lanterns down to the foot of the stairs, at least, in initially scoping it out to try and see what's down there: and even from just stepping off the stairs, it's clear to see that this is some sort of wild magical hoarder situation.

Walls are packed with everything from displays of oddities and curiosities to books and containers of liquids, the labels long since faded and peeled, to even rusted lockboxes, worryingly rectangular and human-lengthed, each with stiff, sturdy locks. In another corner, there's more shelves cluttered and overflowing with wet specimens preserved in jars. Many are completely unidentifiable. Many are absolutely identifiable, and it's unclear which is worse. There's everything from animals to plants to fish to even pieces of monsters or humans/witches alike.

Scattered throughout, there's lumpy sheets covering what can only be assumed to be furniture, as well as household items, baubles, trinkets, books, scrolls, and just general things crammed in any and every nook and cranny that can be found. If there was any sort of organization, it was lost well before the prior owner stopped their collecting.

In one corner, there's an iron spiral staircase that just leads into the ceiling, going nowhere. A few iron Maidens and sarcophagi can be found stored away, some of them haphazardly fallen over.

It's absolute chaos of junk layered on top of junk, pinned down by even more junk. And it's clearly going to take a lot of trips up and down those stone stairs to even begin to unearth some of the wild things stashed away.

Maybe if you're lucky, you'll unearth a friend to help light your way.


The Stuff.

I've gone ahead and written up some examples for people to run wild with-- and for anything else, feel free to either make things up, OR request something in the top thread!

Some of the Major Attractions of the Basement include:

An Iron Maiden. - Unlike many others, there's no spikes visible within. In fact, it looks almost welcoming. There's a faint enchantment to it, gently pulling at the senses of whomever gets too close. It's plush, and soft inside. Doesn't it look warm? The rest of the basement is so musty and damp and cold. Surely taking a rest would be fine.

Once someone steps into it, however, the doors close shut, and the victim is forced to rewatch their most embarrassing memory. When said memory has played out, however, they are released, no worse for the wear, and immune to the Maiden's Seduction for the next several days. Good thing you're the only one who saw that memory..... right??

A helpful (if creepy) teapot. - This teapot has one job, and it will perform it. It will serve you tea. It will not stop until it has served you tea. No, it doesn't even know what tea is. It also doesn't seem to care if you have a container to hold a beverage or not. It. Will. Serve. You. Tea.

...However, who knows what liquid is actually within it. Feel free to use this skittering, crawling friend for anything. It could be as benign as incessantly following your character like an annoying and needy dog. It could be as horrifying as using force and chitinous claws to make your character ingest something. (Which could be delicious tea. Or could be anything else. Up to you!)

A speaker of secrets. - A jarringly hideous piece of taxidermy, the ravens screech the secrets of whomever touches it. Sometimes they're wrong, though. It's anyone's guess if they're yelling your deepest secrets, or if they're just making things up. Anyway, here's hoping whoever you're with doesn't just think you're using it as an excuse. (Or, if what they speak is true, hopefully people believe your excuse. Good luck carrying this thing all the way up and through the house.)

Vaguely Insulting Dishware. - What it says on the tin. The text seems to shift and change to insult you, specifically, and often times very passive aggressively.

A beautiful, floral chair - Like a flower in full bloom, this is another object that anyone nearby could find themselves magically drawn towards. It even smells soft and sweet- almost like fresh rain and honeysuckle. It's pristine looking, in comparison to all the objects around it, covered with dust and debris, and looks soft and pillowy and inviting. It's wide enough that someone could crawl onto and drape themselves across it.

At which point the petals will pull closed, enveloping them in a sweet cocoon of which they come out.... different. The effects are, as always, up to the player, as is the duration of them. (Transmutation spells are finite, of course, and the effects aren't strong enough to last more than a few days.)

A giant crystal. - It'll take a team to move this humongous chunk of rock-- Or maybe just a duo of dragon or chimera. The first person to touch it, however, will find that it is not only reflective, but it projects. The light hitting it is projected in prisms, and all take a form based on the person who touches it. This could be a warped, twisted reflection showing how one thinks of themself. It could be a projection of deepest fantasies. It could just be whatever you're thinking at the moment. Or maybe it's a mockery. Play around at your hearts content!

Potions of any and all type! - You're not the type to just drink mysterious liquids in someone's basement (Unless you are, in which case, go for it!) but so many of these are cracked and worn. It's entirely possible some of them work on contact or inhalation. The effects can be almost anything, from Alice in Wonderland style shrinking and growing, to floating or glowing or transmuting. Perhaps one is a mood enhancer! Another could be poison. And a third could make the tips of your fingers grow hair. It's a mixed bag.

Cursed jewelry of any and all types - Same thing as the potions, these can be enchanted to have effects as minor as making your hair always look perfect (though there's a smell of cod liver that won't go away--) to as major as clamping in and biting through the skin, drinking your blood to fuel its dark powers. (Said dark powers could be anything from animatronic taxidermy coming alive to mimic your every move, to a spell to charm everyone around you, to the ability to speak with termites.) Again, go wild! And if you have trouble getting that jewelry off, there's gotta be some bolt cutters somewhere around here.... right?

There is MUCH MUCH ELSE that can be found! If you would like to be assigned a random Thing, feel free to give me the general vibe of what you're wanting, and I'll come up with something crazy for you! If you would like more than one thing, THAT IS FINE TOO!


FINAL OOC NOTES
In a list format because i'm lazy:

--NO EFFECT IN THE BASEMENT CAN BE GAMEBREAKING. Mind control, dreamwalking, and memory alteration are no-go.
--The contents of the unenchanted books in the basement are mostly nonsense or boring, but you can absolutely find some sort of burn book with hot deets on (non-plot) NPCs
--Any effect will eventually wear off. The process can be expedited with a witch. It's your choice how skilled that witch needs to be.
--"But susan someone else in a previous thread already took care of the item i was gonna use!" it's magic there can be two of them. or it can teleport itself repeatedly back into the basement. i'm not going to keep track and time isn't real.
--Mark any explicit content, plzkthx.
--Let me know if your character is enough of a jerk to try going to the second floor of the house. because a witch lives here and nearly all of them are mistrustful as hell so you know that's not gonna work out. (I'll let you know exactly how, if your character would try it.)
--If you're gonna die, talk to the mods about it first. if you're gonna kill anyone then double talk to the mods about it first.
--Go wild like you graduated from crazy go nuts university

And most importantly:

--FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS! I'm available in the top comments here, though you are welcome to PM me, or shoot me a DM on discord (Soozaphone#3966), or shoot me a private plurk ( soozaphone ) if you'd prefer it be top-secret!!

Comments

Goro Akechi | Persona 5 | Open

[fabrications]

[ Akechi seems to be more or less enjoying himself, poking around this cursed estate sale and making idle conversation with the other attendees. More of the things in here are harmless, and some are even charming. That doesn't mean he's not running into some truly bizarre finds, however. ]

( 1. Mirror that insults your appearance and gives you bad fashion advice )
[ The silver hand mirror might be the most harmless thing Akechi has picked up so far, but he looks more upset about it than anything else. That's because when he glances at its surface it suddenly speaks in a snooty, faux-British accent. ]

Darling, your hair is just terrible. And you really should be wearing more sequins!

[ He looks terribly insulted... and like he's contemplating how bad it would be to break it. ]

( 2. Radio that plays any song you ask for with perfect clarity, but every seventh note is jarringly out of tune )
[ Akechi doesn't recognize the tune drifting out of the old radio, and he's not some sort of musical genius, but even he recognizes how odd the song is. Some of those notes just sound off, particularly when the chords repeat and the strange notes end up shifting. He shuffles a little closer to whoever seems to have activated it, looking intrigued but wary. ]

Is it supposed to sound like that...?

( 3. A speaking, heart-patterned teddy bear that tries to convince you to hook up with the nearest person )
[ Akechi is not engaging with the teddy bear, but he's clearly the one it's addressing. He's closest to it and eyeing it uncertainly. ]

Yeah, you! The cute one with the brown hair! I know who your soulmate is, and it's the hottie standing right behind you!

[ Despite himself, Akechi can't help but glance over his shoulder - though he looks amused rather than intrigued. At least this one's not insulting him...? ]

( 4. A magic 8-ball that exclusively predicts minor misfortune for the people around you and implies that it's your fault )
I can't BELIEVE you're just gonna let that book fall on Akechi.

[ That's the message the magic 8-ball has for whoever just gave it a shake, and even if that person doesn't know who Akechi is it's not hard to figure out. The man in question is just a few feet away, and right on cue an old hardback book slides off a shelf and clonks him right on the head. ]

Ow!

[ Akechi takes a step back and scowls up at the shelf, but it looks like there are no more books incoming - not that the first one did much damage. Still, who knows what'll happen if the 8-ball gets another shake... ]

[galrarm]

[ First of all, magic 8-ball, he has no idea who Akechi is!! Take that. But regardless, he does hear someone let out an ow, so... while Shiro doesn't put much stock in fortune-telling, this is Aefenglom. Maybe it's not a coincidence.

He turns to the guy who's glaring up at the shelf, then down to the 8-ball. And, yeah, he does feel a little bad? More than a little bad. ]

I'm guessing you're Akechi, then? [ he says, as he gives a somewhat sheepish smile. ]

[fabrications]

[ Being addressed by name by a total stranger when you're a celebrity isn't too weird... but he's not a celebrity in Aefenglom, which makes the situation a little alarming!

However, he's calm as he turns to face Shiro, expression puzzled but friendly. He definitely has no idea who this guy is. He'd have remembered that goofy hair. ]

That's right. Have we met somewhere...?

[galrarm]

[ Shiro holds up the 8-ball with a quiet chuckle. He's very careful not to shake it. You know, just in case. ]

The ball told me, actually. It said something about how it couldn't believe I was going to let a book fall on you, so... considering how close you are to the bookshelf, it wasn't too hard to make a guess.

I'm Shiro--just so we're on the same page with names.

[fabrications]

[ Ah, that makes sense - in as far as it doesn't make much sense at all, but seems to follow the odd logic of this place anyway. ]

I suppose it could have predicted worse... [ With an amused note to his tone, he adds: ] I won't hold it against you, Shiro-san. Even if it seems to think it's your fault.

[ Shiro probably didn't intentionally, psychically throw a book at him... and if he did, Akechi will deal with it later. ]

1!

[stardustish]

[ she'd be pretty pissed if the mirror insulted her too, but nobody talks to her bonded like that and gets away with it. she walks up next to him and frowns, crossing her arms and leaning towards the mirror, getting all up in its face and all that. ]

Well, your frame is...not sequin-y! Maybe you should worry more about your own appearance than other people's, hm?

[ will the mirror reply back, she wonders. it'd sure be something if it did. ]

[fabrications]

[ Is Sylvia defending him from the mirror...?

She is, and while he's definitely amused there's something warm and fond in there, too. Though before he gets a chance to act on it... ]

And you, dear - who told you it was okay to wear those colors with silver hair? I'm surprised you can stand to be seen!

[ ... This thing is really mean. Akechi looks less and less impressed with each word. ]

I can only imagine what sort of person made something like this...

[stardustish]

Hey!

[ she balls her hands into fists at her sides, huffing at the mirror. ]

That was uncalled for! Whoever made you must've been real desperate for some horrible advice!

[ it is SUPER mean, and sylvia's having none of it. she's tempted to smash this thing into pieces, but she's learned her lesson about running into things head first, so she refrains. she looks over at akechi. ]

...My fashion sense isn't that bad, is it?

1? this is required?

[glitzandglamour]

[Is that Mirror just Mettaton...? Because he stands nearby and, upon hearing the mirror's dispensing of advice, turns to get a look at Akechi.

He may not have a faux-British accent, but he does hat the same sort of pompous air to him. Mettaton appraises Akechi with a sharp gold eye.]

My. You've quite the find there. That mirror's right, darling... And I do love mirrors. Sequins and glitter would be a fabulous look on you! You're really letting those long, slender legs of yours down... when you don't have them bedazzled!!

[He doesn't comment upon his hair, though. Even though he agrees... He could use some styling, in his most Valuable Opinion.]

[fabrications]

[ Akechi is used to getting his share of backhanded compliments, seeing how rife with petty passive aggression TV studios can be... but this is the first some he's gotten one from someone like Mettaton. Some sort of robotic bunny is strange even by Aefenglom standards.

Akechi can't managed a pleasant expression right now, though he stops short of looking genuinely annoyed. Mostly, he just seems unimpressed. He flips the mirror around, hoping it can't 'see' him like that (and prompting a parting shot of, You can't hide from the truth! Get a haircut!). ]

I'm not sure what 'bedazzled' is, but it sounds it'll be too sparkly for my tastes.

[glitzandglamour]

[A shocked look, dramatized, passes Mettaton's expression. His ears bounce bolt upright in his mock shock that is woven with real shock.]

What! You don't know the sight of something bedazzled?? What a shame!! How deprived you truly are... [Are all humans this deprived of sequins and glitter? That goes against his entire worldview! (He also hangs out with a lot of Mirrorbound who come from time periods of famine and swords and dying.)] There's no such thing as 'too sparkly,' beautiful. Long legs... are made for sparkling.

[To emphasize this notion, Mettaton casually lifts his leg and props it up on the back of a nearby... couch. On the fingers of the couch? It's probably cursed, too. Just a question of "how." Anyway, his leg is very propped up and in view, rhinestone-covered stiletto and all. So this is bedazzled...]

What ARE your tastes, if not dazzling? [He laces his fingers together and props the bends of his arms upon this suspicious couch, contorting his figure with ease.]

3

[dj_jiraiya]

[If he hadn't been dating Yu Narukami, Yosuke might end up going into "No homo" mode and, indeed, the instinct was still there. He does, however, still fluster and shake his head furiously.]

Ahahaha, no, no I'm not. I'm already taken!

[He wasn't sure he'd call his partner his soulmate, but he was pretty sure it was more likely than this guy that he met all of one time awhile back.]

U-Uh... no offense?

[fabrications]

[ Oh, it's this guy again. Akechi ignores the bear's jeering - Come on, give love a chance! - in favor of turning to face Yosuke properly. ]

None taken. I'm not looking, myself.

[ He doesn't miss that Yosuke isn't tripping all over himself to deny an interest in men this time, but he doesn't care enough to comment. ]

Yosuke Hanamura, right? It's been a while, hasn't it?

[dj_jiraiya]

[Yosuke is still frowning at the bear, no he is not going to give love a chance with someone he met one time! Stupid bear!

...oh my god, it sounds like Teddie and nope, Yosuke is not going there. He decided following Akechi's example was better and gave him his attention.]

Yeah, that's right! And you're Akechi? Sorry... [He doesn't remember his first name, Akechi is just easier to remember because it unfortunately sounds close to Adachi...] A-Anyway, how ya been? Looking for anything in particular down here?

2!

[reluctantradiance]

[ Yuma's not really a seasoned musician himself, despite having spent so much time around music back home. In fact, perhaps it is because of his constant exposure to music back home that those off-key notes are making the harpy twitch. ]

Do you mean the song or the radio?

[ It may not be nails-on-chalkboard levels of bad, but it's certainly still grating enough to make him wince. ]

[fabrications]

I meant the song, but...

[ He watches with more amusement than he probably should as Yuma winces again. ]

I'm guessing the answer is 'no'.

[reluctantradiance]

I'm starting to wonder if it's both, to be honest.

[ After another particularly off chord is enough to make him twitch, he just. You know what. He's just gonna. Put this riiiight back on the shelf where he found it. Yep.

He lets out a nervous chuckle. ] I think I'll stick to my guitar....

1

[plasticasshole]

[Connor hears the exchange and raises his brows a little. Then he approaches, because Akechi seems quite put off by the mirror.]

That was rude. There's nothing wrong with your hair.

[And nobody has ever needed more sequins in their life, honestly.]

[fabrications]

[ Akechi wasn't expecting to see Connor here, but he flashes him a grateful smile anyway. ]

Thank you, Connor. That's kind of you.

There's nothing kind about shielding you from the truth!

[ Akechi's guide slides back to the mirror... then firmly places it face down on the table. ]

I wish I could say that's the rudest thing I've encountered today.

[plasticasshole]

I wonder what it is about magically animated objects that makes them so rude.

[He gestures loosely back in the direction he came from, where a fluffy pink teddy bear is shrieking obscenities at them.]

I wonder if there's anything actually helpful in here.

2

[izanyagi]

[Yu was also not much of a musical genius but it did hurt his much more sensitive ears.]

I don't think so. It sounds like a misaligned piano key sometimes...

[He tried to change to a different channel and see what happened. No music anymore. Oh.]

Ahh...did I break it?

[Unknown to him, the radio was patiently waiting for him to ask for a song.]

[fabrications]

I doubt it. I dropped a mirror [ on purpose ] earlier and it didn't so much as crack. I suspect most objects in here are sturdier than their mundane counterparts.

[ Akechi leans in a little closer to study the radio. ]

There may be a trick to activating it, however. Do you know the name of the song that was playing?

3 is beary interesting >:3

[intrusivethot]

[ Over in his little corner of the basement of wonders Ren's fluffy ears perk up, swiveling around like a satellite dish in the midst of pinpointing a frequency. He can't be a hundred percent sure that he's the one being addressed, granted, but he has a few things on his side: good looks, a great personality, clothing makeup: boyfriend material. Let's face it, he's a catch, so of course an occult item could pick that out from miles away.

He turns, surprised but happy to bump into Akechi here. Ren shrugs and shoves his hands into his pockets. ]

I mean, it's probably right.

[fabrications]

[ Oh for the love of-- him? Really?

It's not like Akechi is unhappy to see Ren - honestly, he isn't - but things are undeniably odd between them in the way only the whims of this place can make them. At least, they're weird as far as Akechi is concerned, even if he's sure Ren doesn't know all the reasons why yet.

But odd doesn't mean bad, and if Ren's going to play along with the bear... ]

Personally, I think the ears make you a better candidate for the 'cute' category.

[ ... then Akechi may as well do it, too. ]

[intrusivethot]

[ This prompts Ren to wiggle his black-furred ears right on cue, setting aside some innate mischief in favor of said cuteness. ]

True enough. But don't count yourself out just because you're up against an impossible standard.

[ There probably hasn't been a point that their relationship hasn't been odd in some way. On some level there is still performance, there's the competitive jockeying for position, there's all the harrowing edges that they can neither deny nor afford to acknowledge.

So Ren doesn't think he's been out of line in maintaining a sort of cruise control for the last roughly two months. He probably shouldn't be surprised that Akechi tossed it right back but Ren is weirdly pleased to have another game on top of the curios that litter the basement anyway. ]

You must agree about our comparability then.