middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

JUST Ā̸̛͇̹̈́͌͐͛̐̋͝Ǹ̵̠͍̲̘͈̮͈̺͔̤͙̳̓̔͑͌̒̓̃́̄̚͘Ớ̶̻̱̄̓͆͂̈́̄̔͋͌̽̀̕͘T̵͙͍͓̻̩͙̻͙̹͎̫̘͇̱̈́̌̓͝ͅH̶̭̻͇̰͈̯̦̹̦̗͐̒́Ẽ̵̡̡̘̳͉͇͚̼̗̣̩͎̞̏͒̈́̏͂̈͝Ř̴̠͋̐͘ NORMAL DAY

"Jinnjar citizens. Unfortunately, all train travel will be closed due to issues on the lines. Members of the Voidtrecker Express have been located around the city, and are deploying trickery to agitate and confuse us. We ask any volunteers at this time to help us locate any suspicious objects and people, and to restrain them.

For the f̴̘̯̰̦̺͖̔͌̋̃ũ̴̢̖̦͙̩̼̺̪͚͍̥͈̜̝͋̌̒̊̚ẗ̶̪̺͕̤̯̞̤͓̝́̑̄̎̊̕future of our city!"

A TL;DR notes version of days/prompts: (click to show)

EVENT BASICS:

DAYS 5 & 6:

By now, some people have broken out of their fake lives while some haven't. Tension is rising in the city as people are led to believe this is by the Voidtreckers, which some will believe due to illusions and messing with one's heads is believed to be one of their many tactics.
Some oddities are occurring with travel, and glimpses of how the city is made beginning to show. The streams of colour - the void - are getting brighter. Electronics are not working well. Some monster sightings are seen, but not to a large degree.
The prompts here are light to give characters and players time to ICly coordinate, as Voidtreckers are being more actively hunted. Some faces are known. You know who you are, troublemakers.

DAYS 7 & 8:

The world is really starting to go a bit wild now, with more things disappearing, animals on the loose and more monster sightings.
By the end of day eight most people have realised the truth though those who are very susceptible to mind control or very stubbornly wanting to believe in this world will still be trapped, believing this is the Voidtreckers doing.
There are monsters to fight, people to keep calm and a plan to make.

[ HOME SWEET...HOME? ] By day 5, the people of Jinnjar are in a state of anxiety more than before. There's those who realise they're not a part of this world, never were, while there's those who still cling onto this life. Health services say that the source of confusion comes from the colour trails that are brighter than ever in the sky, while the D-Force/Heroes have it confirmed - internally and publicly - that there are Voidtreckers amongst them.

The media shows pictures of potential suspects, some Voidtreckers, some not; a man with the same face as two others, one who made a show by creating ice in the middle of the street. Your face may be shown, but don't worry - they're asking people not to play vigilante.

That'll surely keep people behaved.

[ TRAVEL REVIEW. ] As if it couldn't get more frustrating, most of the trains are down. Air taxis are still available for short journeys, yet some people have the bizarre occurrence where they end up in the wrong spot, and even remember going in this wrong direction...but never say anything about it. Those using the tele-pads will also find themselves not always arriving where they should, or worse, suffering intense headaches, swirling colours behind their eyes, their thoughts jumbled for as long as ten minutes before it passes.

You might want to walk.

[ MAKING DO. ] Still, with all the chaos, many are trying to live. You have a life here, no matter what some other force is trying to make you believe,

For our HEROES: The cinema has rethought its showings due to the worrying happenings of the last few days. Clearly a boost in morale is needed and so they have pulled out some of the great films of the past. Action films that show heroes beating the bad guys, disaster films where the good guys beat the aliens, stop the natural disaster or thwart the secret agency looking to take down civilisation from the inside, at the last minute. Even the childrens films have taken on a pro-hero and triumphant air.

It's not quite distraction though, how could it be when every film has a warning before and after. REMEMBER TO REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO DFORCE and WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW. REMEMBER TO WATCH YOUR SURROUNDINGS AS CAREFULLY AS YOU DID THE SCREEN.
Fun Park: It's for the kids, but one of the largest arcade parks has a special discount on everything to anyone who come visit. It's even advertised across the news: For half the price, get amazing fun and even better food! Kids younger than eight or from the orphanages get free access everywhere!

It's time not to think too hard, and to ignore the trouble! Play laser tag, racing cars or get a high score on the dance mat!
Encroaching Dangers: Something new is beginning to happen, as the city continues to shift. It starts at night, those that stay out past when the streets go quiet might see a shadow, might hear a growl.

Rumours and reports start to spread about monsters on the street.

DAY SIX: HELP FROM INSIDE

[ AID. ] DIAGNET is full of videos but one that has started doing the rounds is of a small droid and a cat. It's not hard to see why it has gone viral, the cat and cleaning droid are chasing each other around an apartment, caught on a home security footage. The cat tries to catch the droid but every time it gets close the droid turns to chase it and the cat runs away. It has been uploaded with stirring orchestral music, which adds to the madness.

But... For those Voidtreckers who have already regained their memories that little droid seems familiar indeed. As do the sounds that punctuate the music.

beep beep beep boop | boop

boop boop beep | boop boop boop

boop boop | boop boop boop | boop boop boop | boop beep | boop beep beep | beep beep boop | beep beep beep | boop

boop beep boop beep | beep boop | beep beep boop beep | beep

boop boop boop | beep boop beep | boop beep beepp | beep | beep boop beep

boop beep | beep beep boop | boop | beep boop beep | beep beep | boop | beep | beep boop

Of course it might not be anything, just weird droid sounds that haven't been fully edited out of the video.

[ MOONDUST CAFÉ. ] It might be that they figured out the message or, it might be that a friend is dragging them to the cafe. But for those that make their way there, they will find the Moondust Cafe is a bustling cafe on the edge of a park, near local transport links.

For those that say the right words, a slightly bored looking teenager manning the counter waves them to a side door. "Best sit downstairs, service will be quicker."

Downstairs has a fair number of tables and booths and is lit by coloured lighting making everything look a little obscure. There's soft music playing, not loud enough to make it impossible to hear each other but enough to make it a little harder for evesdroppers.

Mingle, discuss. This is probably the closest to a safe space there is.

[ LOST & LOST. ] You may have spotted it already - that is, spotted what's missing. There's been the pets, the birds in the sky, a pen or apple or wrench from the garage. But now, with every single bad thing going on, more is starting to disappear. Machines stop working, from air conditioning, freezers, your Jinnjar MP3 player, to TVs and more.

And in some business buildings, even entire rooms are gone, their floors empty of more than the door you opened to find this out. Even the heroes seem worried and they quickly clear any affected areas, chasing away bystanders and sealing off whole wings of office blocks.

None of them have answers though, except that this must be the Voidtreckers doing. After all who else but that group could have power enough to do such damage?

DAY SEVEN & EIGHT: UNRAVELLING

[ OVEREXPOSURE. ] Everything is starting to escalate. The headaches are getting regular the more you're outside, buildings are starting to go missing around the outskirts. People see parts of the city flickering, and when they reach certain sections of the city, they find they can't go beyond it.

Life tries to go on, but as more areas of the city begin to be sealed off and considered dangerous, even those who are most stubborn about pretending everything is normal can see that is is not.

[ LET LOOSE. ] The breaking down of the city has caused a lot of chaos, but one of the biggest problems are that parts of the zoo have vanished. Walls, fences, enclosure roofs. Meaning that the animals inside are no longer confined and are now prowling the city streets. Real birds now fill the sky that the fakes left empty.

And they aren't all that's there. Twisted creatures are becoming more common on the streets of Diagad. Creatures that look almost like animals but warp and twist between them, one moment a bear the next it has horns and then it is a wolf. But no matter how they look those claws and teeth are bad news for everyone.

[ CRUMBLING, CRUMBLING. ] By day eight whole streets are disappearing. homes, houses. people need to be moved in closer around the congress sector. Colours crackle through the sky like lightning and the world shakes often.

It's not just the infrastructure but the memories of those in the city. Dreams have come realities and all but the most stubborn have begun to realise that this world is not their own. They are from another place. What is going on? Why are they in this city? Who are these people who are their 'family'?

Confusion and anger are growing in the streets and it is perhaps time for the Voidtreckers to come out of the shadows.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

"I can only speak for myself, but yeah. I got something." But it's not the power he wants to focus on, the way this conversation was unfolding....

"Why go through all the trouble, though?" He offers Anan, to the group in question. "Let's say that they're recreating Diagad out of their own memory. Let's say they want to bring back the glory days. But what's the point? And more importantly, why are we here along for the ride?" He looks to Masumi, remembers their first encounter with the entity in Kamakan.

"This thing's angry, right? It made a threat - that it'll get us eventually." A paraphrase. "Now, I think it's one step closer to doing just that. Still. Why?" Roland shakes his head, bangs loose against his cap. "It might have even hijacked an existing planet, forced its people to subjugate under the illusion to draw us in. Anan, are all the people in this planet native to it, or are we all kidnapped from elsewhere? Is there a way to find that out...?"

Because between saving everybody and breaking free, why not hit two birds with one stone?

Tidus's smile widens with Inigo's compliance to feeding him, grabs the menu to the side to scroll through the menu. How about a burger and chips? Chips so he can let Inigo nibble a few (like he wouldn't anyway!) and a drink. He hums and only glances at the other guy when he speaks.

"Hmm? About what? Oh, the thing you were talking about?"

Whatever that was?

"Most of them think they don't have parents." If they do or not, that's another question completely.

"Can... Tidus do you remember? The train?" Perhaps it was best just to ask outright after all, rather than dancing around it. Who knew how much time they had? Everything was strange, stranger than before even.

"I don't mind at all!" He shook his head. "It's always best to work together!"

Day 5
After the initial freakout and some long conversations, Danny had cautiously returned home and re-entered his false life.

It was a little weird, but also kind of nostalgic. Seems like if he wasn't public enemy number one for being a ghost, he was public enemy number one for being a voidtrecker.

At least this time he wasn't living under the same roof as the people trying to hunt him down.

And despite everything, this was a great chance to reconnect with his.... cousin.

Danny nervously makes attempts to figure out whether the other members of his family remembered anything, and also makes a few short trips out into the parks and the arcade, trying to find other voidtreckers.

Day 6
Eventually Danny finds his way to the Moondust Cafe. He looks around nervously, hoping to find someone he recognized. Someone had to have a plan to fight back by now, right? And Danny was ready to do some punching.

Day 7 and 8
By Day 7 Danny had taken to spending most of the day patrolling. He keeps an eye out, ready to disappear if anyone from DForce showed up. But otherwise he spends his time rounding up zoo animals and occasionally stopping to fight one of the monsters on the streets.

[OOC: This event would occur after meeting Anan at the Moonlight Cafe but before Senku's TL 'Troublemaker']

The Congress District may have increased security and police presence, but people work here, they tour here and in general are often encouraged by one means or another to centralize here. It's a pattern even an amateur observing from the outside could notice after a few minutes study.

Here is a 'seat of power' in more ways than the general public may be aware of.

Elidibus had not immediately sought to investigate Congress after his intial meeting with Roland Crane. This may be in part due to his current vessel; doing the bare minimum to keep 'Olivia Curtis's' social and family circle unaware of anything unusual is child's play to the ancient soul. But it is a necessary part of the game. There was the meeting at Moonlight Cafe- this 'Morse Code' had certainly interested him and he made note to memorize its patterns later- which had given some relevant information. This delay had also allowed Masumi Sera a chance to join this investigation. Elidibus had a couple of reasons for suggesting they not go as a larger group than this, though one of them was obvious; too large a gathering might draw suspicion.

It had placed the entity's possible motives in a sharp perspective that was worth pursuing another matter. One kept largely to himself, at the time. After all, he wasn't entirely certain he could find this entity if it did not wish it. He was still in the cage for better or worse and the being had a great deal of aether at its disposal.

Roland and Masumi would notice the 'woman' with them seems to have a goal in mind once they reach the District and begin to make their way toward the eponymous building. Elidbus would have mentioned his ability to trace patterns of energy- 'aether'- and study at least parts of the spell's structure that aren't 'whitewashed' with excessive amounts of it.

What it means in the end is that it's surprisingly simple, relatively speaking, to pinpoint a place where the heart of this energy proverbially beats. Whether Roland or Masumi need help or can stand on their own in face of the strong spells that have deterred anyone- even the supposed lawmakers themselves- from attending the very building they should be working at- Elidibus will see them to this location. Once within the deterrent's sphere of influence, shockingly obvious that something is wrong. Like a bubble of calm in a storm of bustle and city life, the abandoned building and its grand steps are a stark contrast to the rest of the District. Unsettling in how normal it might appear other than that lack of any life.

Except maybe one. "Yes, this would be the most likely place. Shall we see if we might obtain an audience?"

...Wait, what was that Elidibus?

'Olivia' raises a hand, turning the palm toward her own face. A semi-transprent sigil in red appears before her features and remains even after her arm drops to her side again. She turns to face the doors of the seemingly abandoned Congress building. When Elidibus speaks, he asserts the words in his own voice.

It would be the first time Roland would have heard the masculine voice of the real Elidibus come from the woman's lips. Masumi has heard this before before in the random call that helped jog her thoughts into thinking about her predicament. Even so, there are several phrases in which both the 'male' and 'female' tones speak in sync before it settles into the Ascian's own.

"To the one whose intervention has brought us here I offer my greetings. I am Elidibus, the Emissary. And I would ask that we speak on matters of importance. Will you permit us entry?"

One must properly knock and ask for an appointment when it comes to these matters. However unconventionally and of short notice.

Edited 2021-07-18 00:06 (UTC)

[ Even with the illusion, the brief meeting he had with Della last time is more than enough to make Jade notice her again. Especially considering the... circumstances. ]

Need a hand?

[ He calls, just so she's somewhat aware before he does it. His plan to help her isn't going to be very subtle, but it is going to be effective. Wait until she's behind him...

And then slam down a giant wall of ice between them and the approaching mob. Again, not subtle, but effective. And his face is already on the news, he can't make it much worse. ]

This isn't exactly going to lose them, but it will stop them from following us while we get out of here.

[ He's already scanning for an escape route, but he affords her a quick smile. ]

Fellow 'Trekker, by the way.

Jade's been doing some investigation of his own, and it's only smart to consolidate resources, so when he sees Senku investigating the same area he is, he makes his way over.

"Any luck?"

"Eheh. Might have been overkill, sorry. Are you all right?" He can't exactly heal - he doesn't have his scholar job stone with him. He can't exactly heal as a dragoon, either.

Someone at a shadowy table near the entrance recognizes him. Sort of.

"Do you have a twin sister?"

Danny might recognize Loki, too, from the warnings about a suspected bomber at large.

"Not Laufeyson either. That is a name I have never claimed." Loki's voice goes a little harsher when he says that.

"I am not certain what is the best course. If she's broken out of the illusion suddenly, her powers could have a negative effect that gets our captors' attention and her labelled as a danger to the public."

He gives a dry laugh. "The one constant in this whole mess, we are always in the dark. Though now the authorities' lack of transparency makes sense and we know that if we want answers we will have to search for them ourselves."

Danny squints a little at the guy. He looked a little familiar, maybe? But not from the train.

"Uh, not that I know of? I have sisters, but none of them are twins."

Jazz was older, and Razzy looked several years younger.

He's not the best at gauging ages. "Do either of them look like they could be you, but for the age and sex?"

"The whole galaxy?" Okay, that's bigger than a one planet problem. That's a bigger than what he's had to deal with, and he had a moody planet.

But he will worry more about that later, since now that makes this person feel like a more fixable problem.

He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. "A lot of us had accounts already set up for us when we showed. Like we'd been here forever. A lotta names line up, too. Might wanna take a look an' see if you know nobody." He offers it to her.

Edited 2021-07-18 01:37 (UTC)

"Honestly, I'm not either." Raven snorts a bit at herself. "And I'm a little bemused that I trust you--but I don't sense you lying to me." Besides, he was a victim of all of this himself, wasn't he.

"I can show you my notes I've made so far on the locations. We could find another one, start trying to predict the locations of the bigger parts missing." It was something to do, at least.

"How do you know Razzy?"

Danny has to pause a moment to think before he gives the name. He was so used to thinking about her as Dani with an I. But if she'd found a name of her own she was happy with, he was determined to support that.

There also might have been a slightly overprotective tone. He was a Fenton, it was practically genetic.

"I met her on the day the sky changed. I advised her not to worry about it, which I now hope she ignored." He shakes his head ruefully, thinking of how fervently he'd tried to uphold the illusion then.

"I never did get her name. At the time, she was just another civilian, watching a likely dangerous phenomenon, in a place where she could come to harm if she lost herself."

"Best we've figured this whole place is made from whatever magic that person uses," he says quietly, covering his mouth and patting the seat across from him.

"You alright?" He's gotta check up on her first, make sure she's doing okay. He's worried about the team.

Wash is just...silent. If Diagad's entire damn system is gone without a trace, that puts the potential that they're dealing with the Hunger back on the table, which makes this all a whole lot more dangerous.

The fact that there's no plan for displaced people who aren't Voidtreckers - like him - only makes it worse. He'll take death if it comes as a consequence of his own decisions - he's already done that once, and it sucked, but at least it was a result of his actions - but getting yanked into an entirely different dimension and possibly being stuck while it crumbles around him is some existential horror he is not prepared to deal with.

So he's quiet. Yondu's got the right idea - let their informant see if she recognizes any of her crew on the local internet, and they can go from there. Nothing else has any answers yet.

Raven had figured out things on Day 2, but had tried to blend in. Keep things normal, and like Madoka, it seemed like Danny wasn't breaking out easily either. So she played 'normal'. In this setting, they were half-siblings. Seemed appropriate really.

In any event, she's been out and about patrolling too. Blue cloak and cowl over an outfit of dark blue and black---it's close enough to her home one, and to her own cloak. It keeps her face in shadow. She was relieved to spot a familiar face though, doing the same.

It...was a risk, but it was one she was willing to take. Letting herself fly closer to him. "Danny?"

Danny relaxes a little at that information.

"Yeah.... I think its safe to say that we both thoroughly ignored any warnings about the sky."

A frown. "But since you're asking, I'm guessing you changed your mind about this place too?"

He was pretty sure he'd never met this guy before. There were enough people on the train that it was possible that they just hadn't met. But it was also possible that he was like Razzy. Someone who had been pulled into this from another world.

[FOR OUR HEROES]

Katsuya, somehow, was not on the news. 'Somehow'.

It helps that he's not exactly much different. The way he thinks, the way he moves, they're all...'the same'. No one's looking for the punk kid who can't even manage more than a C average, and all that.

Which is why, as part of the ongoing 'maybe we'll find clues here' effort, he's in a movie theatre. So far, he's gradually nudged a few people to get to thinking. Maybe he can do that here too?

The movie plays- it's definitely got a focus, even he isn't missing that- but the warning before? ...And also after???

"Yeesh," he remarks as the ending warning fades out. "Ain't this th' kinda crap they did with old-time war movies or somethin'..?"

[OVEREXPOSURE]

Movies, monsters, and growing panic...

Yeah. This place is going to crap. So far he's not entirely sure how they're going to fix this, let alone when. There has to be something right? The city has even started flickering though, like it's some kind of hologram instead of anything else.

Heck, more than th-

CLONK-

"ACK- GEEZE..!" Katsuya shouts as he walks face first into the invisible wall at the end of the city section. "Th' hell..!?"

It doesn't really look like there's anything wrong beyond that point. Looks can be deceiving of course, but it doesn't...well.

"...Ah hell, that ain't good."

He can't be the only one 'seeing' this right?

[HOME SWEET...HOME?]

Emporio is dressed in multiple colours, accented by blacks and whites. It's the easiest way to keep from drawing attention to himself as an ally and member of the VoidTreckers, with the next easiest part simply being the long-sleeved, wool sweater dangling to nearly his finger tips.

If he's asked, it's to practice gathering static on the go.

(He hasn't used that power for a few days now)

As the morning progresses on the fifth day in this place however, Emporio watches the news with a concern that cannot be hidden. His cap may shadow his eyes, but the motion of chewing his lip is plain.

His face isn't listed, at least. He's been good at playing 'normal'.

But he can recognize a lot of them, and that fact has him shaking.

[CRUMBLING, CRUMBLING]

The world is falling apart.

"Hahh-hahh-hahh-hahh..!"

The world is falling apart, and he just tried running from a bear-wolf-dragon-whatever, only for it to static and glitch out of existence along with the supports on the nearest building.

"Hhhh-hahhh...!"

The world is falling apart, and there is no sense in hiding anything now. What's the worst that will happen? Something tries to kill him?

The building is falling over, and with a scream Emporio throws his hand forward- "WEATHER!"

Misting into existence as a series of white clouds becoming a 'man', the wind howls and roars and pushes against the building with enough force that while glass shatters, the walls are at least pushed into place. Now he just needs to get outta there.

Or, well- "Ah-! Hey, you-!"

Him, and whoever else was almost squashed now. "We need to go!!"

He sighs at that. Okay, okay. Looks like she's still deep in it. Which could be safer for her, but she's still one of the best people on his team experience wise.

"What about Misty?"

Wait, the real Misty? It finally occurs to him that she might not have just been a figment of Soldat's imagination. She might be the real thing. And she might have a harder time accepting reality without Kitty and J-Soldat there to help her.

He smears his hand down his face. "Alright, alright. You got a li'l' bit we can talk?"

[Athena immediately hops up next to her and places an insistent paw on Della's leg. Hope Della doesn't mind fifteen pounds of gray Norwegian Forest Cat demanding her attention.]

[Wash turns that information over in his mind, silent as he thinks. There are a number of possibilities here, but two stand out: either the Voidtreckers actually are helpful and the propaganda has been wrong, or they're harmful, the propaganda is right, and Della is either deluded or lying to him. He doesn't have enough context or information yet to figure out which possibility, if either, is correct.]

So being a Voidtrecker isn't voluntary - it's a draft.

[One for the Not Good column.]

If you're helping worlds, then why does the propaganda here paint you as villains? How would this place have even known about you?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 16 of 84

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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Danny Fenton | Danny Phantom | Team Purple

Investigation of the City Center [Closed to Masumi Sera and Roland Crane]

Home Sweet Home

Investigation

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Day 6

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Broke order again while I'm awake and my head doesn't hurt.

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Sorry for the slow. I'm v. sick rn.

Broke it? Or made it better?

Day 7 and 8

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KATSUYA JONOUCHI | AU/CRAU - BLUE TEAM | OTA

Emporio Alniño | JJBA (Stone Ocean) - Orange Team | OTA

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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Danny Fenton | Danny Phantom | Team Purple

Investigation of the City Center [Closed to Masumi Sera and Roland Crane]

Home Sweet Home

Investigation

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Day 6

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Broke order again while I'm awake and my head doesn't hurt.

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Sorry for the slow. I'm v. sick rn.

Broke it? Or made it *better?*

Day 7 and 8

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KATSUYA JONOUCHI | AU/CRAU - BLUE TEAM | OTA

Emporio Alniño | JJBA (Stone Ocean) - Orange Team | OTA

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Broke it? Or made it better?