So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

[voidtreckermods]

---

JUST Ā̸̛͇̹̈́͌͐͛̐̋͝Ǹ̵̠͍̲̘͈̮͈̺͔̤͙̳̓̔͑͌̒̓̃́̄̚͘Ớ̶̻̱̄̓͆͂̈́̄̔͋͌̽̀̕͘T̵͙͍͓̻̩͙̻͙̹͎̫̘͇̱̈́̌̓͝ͅH̶̭̻͇̰͈̯̦̹̦̗͐̒́Ẽ̵̡̡̘̳͉͇͚̼̗̣̩͎̞̏͒̈́̏͂̈͝Ř̴̠͋̐͘ NORMAL DAY

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"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!"

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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.

Comments

Rui Ninomiya | Voidtrecker | Orange Team | OTA

[partofthecrowd]

I. Lost In The Illusion

There was nothing for it, Rui was still mixed up in the coffee shop, going about her day all smiles and serving people delicious, much needed caffeine.

Presumably.

It was hard to say if those from the train knew to find her or not, but she’s going to keep at it, greeting the visitors with a smile.

“Welcome, what can I get you?”

II. Cinema

With a much better selection, what’s a better time to go and watch some action flicks.

Hero movies are just the best aren’t they? The individuals that put their lives on the line to save everyone and protect the common person.

Rui found herself being drawn there in the evenings for a pleasant time and of course, some crunchy buttery popcorn.

III. Fun Park

For someone who’s not combat-oriented...or is she...she’s a mean one on the dance machine. Rui is fairly fit and she’s all smiles as she bounces along, doing the steps on the screen.

A little harmless fun never hurt anyone! After all, the news implored people to go at a great discount.

It’s enough to avoid worries about some silly Voidtreckers.

IV. Wildcard

[ooc: feel free to do anything with her, she’s got to wake up sometime...]

I

[fivemilesdeep]

Getting people back to themselves has proven to be a more difficult task than initially expected - the people who had figured themselves out were fine, but those who were stuck tended to be really stuck. Getting them to remember themselves without getting suspicion on him himself is a fine line to walk, and it doesn't help that the death powers this world had given him had already left Ryo with something of a poor reputation.

But if he's going to be damned either way, he might as well help. He'd found Rui - it's hard to forget someone when your first impression of them is internal trauma - and she seems to be well and truly stuck. Time to do what he can.

"I can't decide - I was hoping you could recommend something for me?" Greet her with a smile, start the conversation, and hopefully steer it from there.

lan jingyi | closed starters

[jingyeets]

( OOC: Hit me up on the plotting post if you want anything set up for us! Starters are attached below this comment. )

for ryo | cw: for blood, blood, injury style

[jingyeets]

( ooc: feel free to switch to action brackets, i'm just starting off in prose! )

He could feel the general setup of the city by now, the circular structure where the outside edges were collapsing faster, while the centre itself was holding firm. More importantly, the people here were people, and by their nature in sheer numbers largely strangers. Strangers who did and didn't see through the illusion, but who certainly were trapped; and the weird monstrous creatures of changing form who may or may not be real, but seemed to source from the things which were real. After all, the illusion animals had disappeared, and it was the real ones who ran about once their illusionary cages started breaking down.

Extracting people out while fighting monsters was more like an ongoing night hunt that didn't have the courtesy to knock it off for a day or so; then again, maybe 'missions' were missing that logic, too. It'd be his life.

He has his SCA with him, and he's in his robes—splattered with blood, most not his own, but it's rather conspicuous on white. Notably absent is his qiankun pouch, or his sword. While illusion-reality has been steadily falling apart, it's left him using himself as his best weapon.

One might have thought that meant he'd be fighting more as the larger, better naturally equipped dragon, but it was the opposite. For one, people responded poorly to seeing one more large creature fighting, and for another, he wasn't a beast. Which was why, as he had to haul two young teenagers out of the inbetween and into the city centre section, he was also fending off an attack from what might well be a squid's worst meeting with a bear. Also some kind of bird, if the tufts of feathers are anything to go by.

Shoving the kids in the direction of one of the standing buildings, he twists around just as a tentacle lashes out and wraps around his arm.

"Seriously?! Can we cut out with the tentacles already!?" Close to shouting as the creature tries dragging him in, Jingyi moves with its momentum, slamming into the squid-bear-bird and bringing a knee up to... incapacitate it. Permanently.

Then stand there, tired and with a look of disgust on his face as he pried the tentacle still wrapped around his arm off, stepping out of the mess he'd made wearing even more on his robes, and ignoring the blood dripping down his arm from the tears the hooks within the tentacle's sucker left on his arm, through the layered fabric of his robes. They were not bearing up all that well under the ongoing onslaught, and as he continues to grimace and also wave on the two teens who'd stopped to look back at him with mixed expressions on their faces, he wanted a bath so badly. How did that even work here? Now that he could see the shapes beyond the illusion, everything was... weird. Was he missing the train for once?

Now that was a horrifying concept.

"Get inside, huh? I'm not here to chase down every monster, you know? Tsk."

Lea | Kingdom Hearts (CRAU) | Blue team | OTA

[hotheadwarmheart]

Day 5 Home Sweet Home?

Lea'd seen the reports on the identified Voidtreckers, some he recognized from the train, some not. But now he at least had an idea of where to look for some of them. And he'd been digging up a few leads of his own too; on a hunch, he'd checked the websites of various colleges and schools, looking for any listings of a science teachers named 'Even'. After an hour or so of searching, he'd come across one. It might be a long shot, but if he was right...

He set out toward the college campus keeping an eye out for signs of other Voitreckers or general commotions from people who thought they'd found one as he went. Hopefully he'd be able to meet up with more beyond Kairi and Demyx.

Day 7- Let Loose

It didn't take a genius to tell that his was bad. The illusion city was coming apart, and if they couldn't stop it, it'd take them down with it. But for the moment, he had more immediate problems.

Like say, stumbling upon a freakish, constantly shape-shifting creature threatening a small group of people foolish enough to be out after dark. Well, no time for subtlety or sneakiness here. He summoned his Keyblade, waving its glowing blade to draw the creature's attention. "Hey, you!", he shouted at it. "Why not pick on someone who can fight back?"

The glowing blade was pretty attention grabbing for people other than the creature too, as was Lea's shouting. Any Voidtreckers- or people looking for Voidtreckers- wouldn't have a hard time finding him after this one.

Day 8

Well subtlety was pretty out the window at this point, at least in Lea's mind. But he was at least trying to wait until someone smarter than him decided it was time. In the meantime, he was doing what he could, which mostly amounted to helping out the people being evacuated to the dubious safety of the city center, providing an escort to keep monsters and newly liberated zoo animals at bay to make sure they all reached their destination.

And he tried not to think too hard about what they might end up doing if that started falling apart too.

Wildcard

(OOC: Want to do something else with Lea? Here you go.)

Day 5, On Campus

[anxiousbookworm]

Ienzo wasn't what Lea had had in mind when he came to the campus, but he was there nevertheless, playing the part of a student. Perhaps predictably thanks to his own illusion magic, he'd come out of the illusion a bit earlier than some of the others, day three instead of day four. Still, he was a bit ashamed that it took him even that long. Living in this alternate reality, without the weight of his guilt and with being able to have a real life and a real family? It had been too tempting for his mind to want to give up so easily. Then again, that's how the best illusion magic worked- playing on the desires and/or insecurities of the subject. If you gave them either what they wanted or thought they deserved, they'd believe it much easier than some random thing.

At any rate, when Lea showed up, Ienzo was shuffling between classes. Despite knowing it wasn't real, he really enjoyed the university aspect of all of this. He wondered if he could find a way to continue his education somehow, either on the train or eventually when he went home. He'd have to look into it.

He stopped in his tracks and blinked when he saw the other man. "Lea?" he asked, clearly surprised. He wasn't sure if Lea was out of the illusion yet, though he assumed probably by now.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

I. Enlightenment

[The dreams had been persistent, growing in clarity as time progressed but Kaiba was always a skeptical man, that's why he had ignored those thoughts, pushed them aside as he went about his daily grind. There came a time when the inconsistencies became impossible to ignore, like why did he have a locket with a young boy's picture in it he didn't recognize? Or why did he feel more comfortable fiddling with electronics then bossing around pupils at the training center? Though- actually.. he did get a little kick out of the snide remarks but it was the work as a personal trainer that felt off.

So when he saw some of the faces emblazoned on the screens it was an epiphany moment. He could have sworn he recognized the three look-a-likes for certain.

He was standing in the middle of the street when it hit him and he made no attempt to conceal his ire. ]

I'm so sick of all these interdimensional mind games!

II. Seeking familiar faces

[From what information Kaiba had managed to gather from the news feed and available network he wasn't the only one here to originate from Domino city. In fact if this was connected to the Voidtrecker Express, there should at least be an alternate universe version of himself and Yugi here.

He had the peculiar experience of having met a few former passengers of the train before in a place called Havenwell. Not everything he'd learned about the pair sat well with him but they should at least be able to clue him in on the finer details, assuming they even knew what this was about.

So it was with this in mind that he began scouring the city for the others. If the tech wasn't on the frizz sporadically he would have located them in no time. He was forced to resort to asking questions to those he ran across ]

You there. Have you seen a guy with tri-colored spiky hair lately? He's much shorter but hard to miss.

[He wanted to ask after the other him but that might seem too weird to the populace that was already growing anxious ]

[Should he find a familiar face he'll say something more along the lines of:

"It's about time." While sounding frustrated and put out like it's the other person's fault that they had to be found in the first place. "We need to talk". ]

[blue_ice]

[ As for the Kaiba of the train, his adventure of the last few days has largely turned to sneaking around and subtly searching for his allies. He's found many, though others are still missing, and a post on the net would be far too obvious.

A cryptic post might be safer, but could he count on all of them to solve it? Doubtful.

So he's doing things the long way, on foot, when he locks eyes with an extremely familiar face. Trick of the malevolent time-waster in charge of all this, or parallel timeline visitor? Hard to say. ]

Well that's not suspicious at all. But I need to sate my own curiosity, so...come on.

[ They should probably get out of public though. Twins are rare and naturally draw attention, even with this Seto's glasses. He inclines his head in the direction of an out of the way alcove and starts toward it. ]

okada izō | fate/grand order | 4th wall guest

[hitokiri]

① LOST & LOST

[ it should really come as no surprise that izō is among the last of those still trapped in the illusion. he's had the dreams — nightmares, really — and the odd headaches, but those are hardly compelling reasons to want to question the reality that he knows. he's content. he has people here. it's not like his life in this place has been too much of a departure from the life he had when he was still human. he still runs the streets with his friends and starts fights, and gets into trouble. getting into trouble's easy when you can make an easy getaway; no one ever looks at a stray dog and wonders if it's the suspect they're looking for.

but of course, it doesn't last. he hears the rumours before shit starts getting really strange and he finds he's more irritated about the heightened presence of hero-types running around than anything else. it's the ultimate in escapism. like a bottle that never goes dry. just choose not to see it.

it's on around dusk when he decides to sit outside for a bit while the sun sets and unwind. he'd done a job today with the others, but if you asked him what it was, he probably wouldn't be able to tell you. someone else might've questioned this odd gap, but izō has never claimed to be smart, so why should he expect his memory to be any better? content is a good way to describe what he's feeling right now, just having a smoke before he heads back. he's not interested in running into any weirdos in the dark either.

he's been zoned out for a bit, just mechanically going through the motions, but when he brings his hand up again for another drag, he finds... nothing! a quick look confirms that he hadn't dropped anything; the cigarette in his hand had just vanished into thin air. ]

Fuck, really? Again?

[ yes, it's not the first time this has happened. but sometimes shit happens, right? no explanation. it's just a thing! a mystery to everyone. he's choosing not to see it. change his mind? he's in the middle of patting down his pockets. ]

Better not have takin' my lighter...

② LET LOOSE

[ willful ignorance is hard. he's been getting caught up in loops — trying to get somewhere, finding he can't, forgetting why. streets he's known all his life (as he believes) keep looking weirdly unfamiliar. it must be all the... renovations. in his defence, he only has to spin a line of bullshit to convince himself, which is a skill izō honed to perfection in his real life.

it all has him preoccupied enough that he misses movement further down the street he's about to cross as he heads for some other nebulous place he thinks he needs to get to. at a four-way intersection, he pauses, that feeling of strangeness returning all at once to make him second guess where he's going. was it straight? or to the left? if he'd kept on going, he might've been fine, but standing out there; he eventually draws the attention of whatever else is alive around here.

he turns at the sound of a growl and the click-click of claws on pavement, staring at the beast — which manages to seem familiar somehow even as the street he's standing on doesn't — for an almost comically long time. move. that's what he should be doing!

izō turns and takes off running, (justifiably) rushing around the first turn he gets to — only to crash directly into someone else. it seems his attitude is more or less the same in one world or the next as he isn't bothering to wait and see if they're okay, just struggling to get back onto his feet and go before he's an appetiser. ]

Gotta go! Don't ask fuckin' questions; just run!

[ there, he's given a warning, at least. it's not like the situation won't become very clear very soon. there's no shame in running from big ravenous monsters when you're unarmed. he's not sure why he thinks of it because it feels completely irrelevant in the midst of things, but he does. ]

③ WILDCARD

[ ooc; want something else? hmu @ koutenko! ]

Let Loose

[jan_ken_hacking]

[She thought she'd spotted him a few times, but she hadn't been sure. There aren't too many heroic spirits she's seen in casual clothes; it's happened enough, sure, but Izo by far wasn't one of them. In normal clothing, he almost looks...normal.

If she thinks about it that's the case for everyone here though.

Now, though. Now, the chaos has brought Izo's social circle in a crossover with 'hers'. Now, with chaos and beasts in the streets, there's no real way to avoid everyone.

Now-] Nhgh-!

[Now...she's surprised.] I...Izo...niisan..?

[Hold on, did he say-

Run?

The sight of gnashing teeth and familiar gleaming eyes is plenty enough.] Right! [Kiyoiri immediately starts running with him, channeling a bit of energy to her legs as needed for the extra boost.]

[azrthmtrnznthos]

Day 5: Encroaching Dangers
Raven still had one 'sister' who was kept in the illusion--and her heart ached about it. But it wouldn't stop Raven from being who she was. She needed to help people. So, wearing a dark blue cloak and cowl not unlike her own, over a wardrobe of dark blue and black, she would go out late. Walking the streets, and keeping her eyes and ears and Empathic senses open.

For anyone in distress, and for monsters.

Day 6: Help from Within
Moondust Cafe
Raven kept up her act as a student, although she'd not been to school that day. It was tiring, keeping up the act. Good thing she'd been known to be the quiet type. Her friends were given some excuse about nerves and stress over finding a school--she just needed some time.
She was testing some information she'd heard though, and was pleased when it worked. Downstairs, she pulled out a blank notebook. Looking for familiar faces, and starting to gather information from familiar faces or non.
How had people broken out of the illusion, was her primary question. Where they came from, was the secondary one. Maybe she was behind, and someone had compiled this already

Day Seven: Let Loose
Raven wasn't hiding as much. She kept Yondu in the loop, and worried over Madoka, and their other sister Tani. But people needed help, and she was used to help. She couldn't NOT help. Dark blue cloak and cowl, with black and dark-blue clothing underneath, she headed out.

Staying high up if she could, patrolling the city and trying to avoid notice unless she needed to. Like helping with one of these beasts. That shifted from wolf, to something else, to wolf. Throwing a shield of dark-energy up to pen the beast in, while she waited to make sure civilians got away.

[Wildcard]
Got an idea? Hit me up.

Encroaching Dangers

[dnaofahalfa]

So hey, there sure was that girl who looked exactly like Danny save for age and gender who cropped up. One might think that was just more of the illusion.

"Get back here!" Except then there's a monster dashing around a corner followed by Danny's now ghostly doppleganger, throwing blasts of ice after the monster.

[bestbrotherever]

Day 5: Fugitive

During the day on Day 5, a new special alert pops up about a terrorist attack at a (thankfully empty) park. It appeared to be some sort of bombing, and two suspects were spotted fleeing the scene: Loki Odinson, a Hero on transfer to the local forces, and Sunset Shimmer, a teenaged Jinnjar City native. Motives are unknown, but both are assumed on the run and highly dangerous. Civilians are reminded not to engage the fugitives but instead to report any sightings of them to D-Force immediately.

Late at night, a suspicious man might be spotted by the night owls, lurking in an alley. He's carrying a bag, which he selects an item from and throws a green light on, causing the item to disappear. He then disappears and, after a few minutes, either reappears somewhere nearby, or a D-Force squad shows up and starts searching the area. If D-Force doesn't show, he'll pick a larger or more valuable item and start the process again. If they do, they'll find nothing, and the man will be gone.

Day 6: Cafe

Loki has his ear to the ground and a friend doing the same, so it's not long before he finds the cafe and says the right words to be let into the downstairs room. He spends most of his time there at a table near the entrance, taking note of every new arrival but usually just going back to his cup of tea or toying with a strange-looking phone. Sometimes he'll have a flash of recognition and either try to make eye contact or look away, apparently ashamed.

After several hours of watching and listening he finally speaks up.

Day 7: Mischief

The bulletins about the suspected Treckers and the park bombers are still being broadcasted, and today you might notice someone watching them with a smirk. If the person notices you watching them, they'll wink and, when Loki's name and picture come up, momentarily seem to match his appearance. The stranger will then continue watching until you either approach, go for your phone, or leave. Though if you do either of the latter, they'll be gone the next time you look.

Day 8: Crumbling

Loki, sometimes illusioned to look anonymous and sometimes not, wanders the areas where disappearances just happened, looking aghast. Sometimes he casts a spell and shakes his head, sometimes he's just poking at where things were or should be. Should you get close to him, he'll say, in a slightly breathless voice, "I swear, this is not my doing. The whole city is breaking on its own..."

Day 8: Crumbling

[azrthmtrnznthos]

Raven has also been surveying the disappearances. Sometimes with her cloak and cowl on, sometimes as a civilian. She has a notebook with her, and seems to be noting locations and what's missing. Searching for patterns.

The man's comments cause her gaze to look at him, an eyebrow raised. She's in her civilian clothes for the moment. "What do you think is breaking it?"

closed to crowley;

[irrationally]

Alice hardly notices anything.

Or, well, even she starts noticing a few things when it starts to slowly feel like the city starts falling apart, with the illusion failing more and more around the edges. But on the other hand, Alice's brain is very much used to tuning out things like that. It's that Wonderland experience - the experience that's still there, even when the memories of it have been blocked out by other things. She's so used to things being odd, that the way the city slowly glitches more by the day doesn't even really occur to her. She's just living her life, not seeming to care about too much, even as some of the other Voidtreckers are starting to wake up from the illusion and starting to fuss.

So when Alice returns home today, finding her mother there, she doesn't really seem too bothered by anything, or even aware of anything. She just casually says: "I'm home!"

[agathokakological]

Crowley wasn’t sure how to tell Alice what she knew. The facts were, she didn't have it all pieced together yet. Yondu was the first person to tell her she wasn't crazy, that everything she was remembering was real.

Of course, hearing that their current lives were a fabrication sent Crowley spiraling. The first thing she wanted to know was her family- did they not exist? But Yondu had eased her mind almost instantly. Alice, she's your girl, and your husband, he's your angel. Nothing changes that.

It was important that Crowley brought them out together, as a family, so that they could fight this as a team. The problem was, there was no amount of preparation she could do that would make it easy. Crowley sits, brooding in a corner when Alice enters. She looks up, trouble in her eyes, but tries to force a smile.

"Have a seat," she says hoarsely like she had been crying, "We have something to talk about."

Danny Fenton | Danny Phantom | Team Purple

[schrodingersghost]

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.

Day 6

[bestbrotherever]

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.

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

[wewillwewill]

[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.

[just helping to set up the scene, am aware of masumi and roland!]

[voidtreckernpcs]

The congress park is a maze of inconspicuous traps. Kind traps, for the usual meaning of the word, and dependent on one's perspective if they're kind at all. Rooms inside buildings that should run a city, a world, an interstellar relationship - all lies made possible in rooms for those who might pick up the truth.

But the lies haven't all been well-covered. There have been slip-ups, like the libraries not as well fortified, with stories inside them, but not what anyone with a scholarly eye would know the way facts are written. Stories surround this world: the stories that have been implanted on those from other worlds, stories of what this world is. A story is being told now... will it be a good one?

Visitors to this park do not bring any disturbance to the energy inside it. People are free to come and go, to walk into illusions to make them pleased and happy, to offer them what they're looking for. But Elidibus, Masumi Sera, and Roland Crane have navigated the illusions, and found the depth of where the energy is the strongest, a building they cannot enter - they will need to stop to stand where they feel 'safer', in an environment that may once again pull them into stories that aren't theirs.

At its steps, Elidibus speaks, and they will hear a voice; slumbering, deep yet whispering, voices layered upon one another. Indecisive, not knowing how it will sound.

'Hmmm... three travellers from different stars... arriving to my play. A carnival tent, ah...' A chuckle echoes in the air around them. 'I will always permit entry into my shows... my grandest show yet. A place for weary travellers to worry no more.'

Before them at the top of the stairs of doors larger than any human man, the grand stairs slowly begin to open. But beginning to approach, if they do, one will sense the same illusionary energy strong in the rooms of the congress buildings.

Is it safe to go up and in? Be cautious.

KATSUYA JONOUCHI | AU/CRAU - BLUE TEAM | OTA

[luckydragonsfoot]

[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?

overexposure

[blue_ice]

Seto is on the run...as a precautionary measure. He does not want to risk what the fool in charge of this reality can do to any passengers who are captured before they have enough information to effectively fight back.

He can't help but wander, though, as inconspicuously as possible. They need that info. And it conveniently takes him right to a familiar face.

"Nothing about any of this is good," he grouses.

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

[seacub]

[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!!"

Curufin | OTA

[so_dark_a_road]

Home Sweet Home:

Curufin is a D-Force Hero, but he is also a Voidtrecker and now he knows it. When unexpectedly he encountered his brother Maglor not long ago, a cascade of memories descended upon him, starting with the memories of his life and death in his own world, and then of his life in other worlds -- including his life on the Voidtrecker Express. He keeps his SCA pushed up under his sleeve, so that no one will see the train emblem. But he keeps doing his job, which is to keep others safe.

He checks the media here and discovers that his face is shown as one of the faces of suspects. Someone has identfied him as a Voidtrecker, and he will most likely never know who it was. If anybody challenges him, he will try his best to deflect that person's attention to some other subject, and he may do it by using his superpower, that of creating and projecting illusions.


Lost and Lost:

Things are disappearing. Curufin, as a D-Force member, has to clear areas which are displaying a lot of disappearances. People are muttering about how this must be the work of the Voidtreckers, and Curufin is doing his best to pretend he knows nothing. One thing is for sure, though: this isn't the responsibility of the Voidtreckers.

He works with other D-Force members to get bystanders away from an office building that is disappearing room by room. "Please, go somewhere else!" he says to one of the office workers. "Your building is being destoyed slowly, and there is no telling what may happen if you are in some part of the building when it disappears. You wouldn't want to disappear along with it, would you?"


Let Loose:

Curufin finds himself facing a rhinocerous that won't stay in its own lane. It keeps charging at him, as though trying to clear the way for itself and other zoo animals. And it won't stay in its own lane in another way, either! -- it keeps changing from one animal to another. At the moment, it has a lion's head and tail and is growling at him.

"Hey, cool it, kitty!" he says.


Crumbling, Crumbling:

The whole city is disintegrating. The skies are full of crackling colors that are painful to look at. The people around Curufin are clutching their heads either in pain from the colors or in pain from the memories that afflict them and inform them that they are not from this world at all. Their whole lives here are lies.

Curufin stops pretending he is not a Voidtrecker. He says to one of the afflicted people, "What is happening to you has happened to me as well. I'm a Voidtrecker, but I didn't remember that until a few days ago. And don't worry, we Voidtreckers are not causing these catastrophic events. We were sent here to help you survive this disaster."

Crumbling, Crumbling:

[zombiemessiah]

His head is killing him. So much for being any kind of useful. Yeah, he knows he's a Voidtrecker now, but he's rarely been kneecapped this bad. Last time something hit this hard it was a horde of zombies smashing to their deaths in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and all of it reverberating back into his mind.

This is just a hateful sky digging back at him.

"No fucking kidding," he says to Curufin, overhearing. "I don't think even some superteam up could pull off a level of pain in the ass or pain in the head quite this big."

Thanatos | Hades Game | Voidtrecker - Red Team

[controlsthedie]

Ripped weaving

[ Thanatos is in a strange liminal space. He knows the life he lives isn't what he lived before, isn't real. Baker isn't his last name. Ryo isn't his twin. He's not a law student. He doesn't even have powers over life. The gaps and holes grow too wide to ignore, but... he can't seem to fully break free from the illusion either. He might for a bit. Then he falls back under as if chains pull him in another direction.

It's not that he wants the illusionary life, but he doesn't know who exactly he was before. Everything he recalls comes from different extremes, leaving him confused. And honestly, Thanatos wonders if he even should remember because he has the overwhelming feeling that he's... hated, feared. Not only by others but by himself.

As the city destabilizes and crumbles around him, Thanatos simply tries to stay out of the way. An uncomfortable neutral. He doesn't aid the VoidTreckers. He doesn't stop them. Same goes for the D-Force. He's already hurt enough people by trying and failing.

Currently, he's off on his own, lost. Thanatos stares at a cut on his hand after stumbling to the ground from another painful light induced migraine. In the glimpses of his past, Thanatos sees so much red blood. So much red. But what he sees dribbling down his fingers isn't red. It's gold. ]

I'm not even human....

Unraveling tapestry

[ Finally, Thanatos has regained himself, even if he's still in the shaky state he was in before the mission. His powers of life are gone and thus so is his ability to heal. (Attempting to use those powers pulls him under the illusion too easily.) His powers of death are little help, as usual, on these missions.

So he tries to keep track of areas where the illusion is falling apart the worst. Thanatos can float and shift his location somewhere else. If any entire area disappears suddenly or if a wild beast approaches, he can keep himself safe. ]

Wildcard

[ Hit me up if you want to do something. ]

Ripped weaving

[zombiemessiah]

[Murphy's not been helping all that much, but that's because Murphy cares significantly less than usual. Like the fucks he has to give just tinkle around obnoxiously at the bottom of the jar.]

[But he's out anyway, because now he's got nothing to even pretend to be doing since a lot of the non-essential buildings he'd been working in are disappearing, and all the food he might want to eat tastes like paste, and he's so, so hungry in a way that now he can kind of name but he doesn't want to have to.]

[It's in this cranky state that he comes across Thanatos.]

...Why do you care?! [He throws up his hands, his own headache still drilling into him.] Humans are overrated. They think it's their way or the highway. Best thing I ever did was stop thinking like a human. It made me a better person.

[Well... by millimeters, it made him a better person. Anyway, there's more red coming at him, this time in the form of a lanky zombie man pulling him to his feet.] I hate being someone else's puppet, no matter what I am. [He grunts as he does so.]

Bucky/Soldat | Purple team

[worthallthis]

I. Day by Day - Days 5/6, OTA

Soldat makes an attempt at keeping up appearances. They go to their morning job, but... Steve is there. It's distracting. And they don't have James's control over the metal, and James himself is too traumatized by no longer being alone in their shared head to be of any help. (How's that for shitty luck. SHUT UP... PLEASE, ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP.... No. Be nice, Asset. Sorry, James, I know this sucks.) So the work isn't as good as it should be.

They go to their afternoon job, but the "training programs" make them feel sick. Seeing the creator of this place-- surely it's the being from the last three missions-- turning their defense of other worlds into that farce makes them all so mad. Even the Pit, even James himself faced with actual memories of the missions, are pissed about that.

They go home to dinner, but... Misty is there. Misty who they don't know whether she's real or some illusion. They can't see through her when they concentrate, but this illusion is powerful. They can't bear the thought of her not being real, but know they might have to. So they're awkward at home, too.


II. Shaking It Up - Days 7/8

By the seventh day, James has managed to learn how to share properly, and they can at least handle construction work again. Training... isn't happening. They instead spend their afternoons prowling the city, looking for confused people who need help, people accused of being Voidtreckers to rescue, wild illusion animals to hunt, and glitches to snatch people out of if necessary. They have to avoid the D-FORCE themselves, but they're adept at being a ghost, more than James even was.

At least by then Misty and Steve (and Natasha, good god) know who they are. That makes it bearable.

[yondu]

It's the morning of Day 6, even before the bar is due to open and it's still the asscrack of dawn, when Yondu's on Soldat's doorstep knocking. He's got that viral video booted up on his phone. It's way too damn early and probably not a person in their brain is ready for the task, but Yondu needs to know if those noises mean anything because he knows that damn robot.

He waits for an answer, and he's lucky for the faux vigilante lifestyle because he knows people expect them to be coming and going at all hours of the whenever.

closed to siebren;

[katzenpfote]

[After the Storm]]

The dispelling had been a disaster. That was the only way he could describe it, but...

Right now Caleb can't describe much at all.

He comes to in an alley somewhere in - he doesn't know. He doesn't know and there's no one around he recognizes and he has to run.

He has to run, but he can't move. He can barely breathe, and the pain in his body is still there, his limbs lead and impossible to move. His chest burns as he tries to push himself up - nothing.

Just left here to die, maybe. How long until he gets pulled back in? How long until someone finds him and kills him? He doesn't have the answers to the questions he desperatey wants to ask.

Everything is far away. If he could move he would summon Frumpkin - but no. Instead he just lies against a wall next to a trash can, perilously close to flopping on the ground.

[namethattune]

The footage is wrong; of that much, Siebren is certain. That particular group of Voidtreckers would never commit such atrocities, and this is a world of illusions; it is likely a lie as much as anything else is. Still, with the city on high alert and golden orbs beginning to follow people, Siebren has been keeping an eye out, waiting for them to reappear.

(He has been destroying orbs in the meantime. The sheer number of times he's gotten away with the 'something has fallen from a high place and accidentally crushed the orb, oh no' trick ought to be criminal - and likely will be, if anyone discovers he is a Voidtrecker himself.)

It is only the fact that he has been specifically looking for the lost that leads to him checking alleys and seeing a bit of orange out of the corner of his eye. He slips into the alley, following that color, only to find Caleb slumped against a wall. Success, as it turns out, is terrible.

He waves a hand. Trash cans float and resettle themselves across the alley, blocking traffic - and, more importantly, view. He takes a knee in front of Caleb. "Caleb. Can you hear me?"

Raven --Day 8 (Aftermath)

[azrthmtrnznthos]

Closed to Yondu
She'd known they'd get a reaction--she hadn't expected that reaction. She thought she'd have time to teleport them out, even though it would've been hard. But nothing had gone according to Senku's plan, she thought.

When Raven reappears, she's in her blue and black outfit, with cloak and cowl around her. Curled up, fading in and out of consciousness. It hurt--it was all in her mind but it hurt. It took most of her effort to simply try and crawl to a more out of the way section of where she was, before she passed out again.

On the Run
There was work to do. The reaction (and torture) that Senku's group had suffered only firmed her resolve. She still hurt, knew something in her was broken--something in her mind. She boxed it up as best she could to set aside, while she meditated after Yondu'd rescued her. Patched her up as best they could.

Raven knew she couldn't put this off for long, but for now there was work to be done. She's grateful her cowl hid her face, although she's trying hard not to linger too long in her civilian identity either. Staying out of the way, moving with purpose when she needs to but not furtively she hopes.

[yondu]

He'd agreed to meet her not too far from their "house" (which he's lucky is still standing). But when she hadn't shown up, he'd gone looking. He'd found her, curled and struggling and hidden after way too long looking.

He'd been hoping that it'd work.

He's gotta be discrete about it and knows she's probably running on empty, so he takes her all the way back to the bar for now. To that back room where he has to resort to putting her down on an old couch that he now realizes was manufactured to look like it was there for ages. And it feels like it took a goddamn age to get there, considering he didn't have a vehicle that'd allow for one lucid person to transport one unconscious soul.

But eventually that's where she ends up. On some old couch in his dive bar, draped with a tablecloth like it's a blanket, with Yondu in the dark background trying to gather up some items for her.

(Future)Trunks Brief | Voidtrecker | OTA

[light_of_willpower]

Day 6
Trunks had been free of the illusion sometime on...he was guessing day 3? It was about 2-3 days ago. Not that the illusion hadn't been nice. Very nice in some ways--he and Cassie married, starting a life together. But he was getting sick of illusions, and really wasn't a fan of being trapped here.

Trunks replayed the video again. It was really getting on his nerves, but he was sure the beeps and boops were familiar. Equally sure they were a code, he just wasn't getting it. Maybe you find him on a bench, staring at the video. Or walking down the street, trying to make sense of it.

Day 7

As if it wasn't enough that there were people missing, things were rapidly getting worse. It was a good thing Trunks looked at least a little different while transformed. He'd joined most of the other heroes (official and not), helping find and stop the loose animals. He was also keeping an eye out for Anan's friends who'd vanished.

Day 6

[nutkrusher]

Cassie's memories had been trickling back over the past few days, after the initial flood of Trunks's revelations. Her ears seem to prick up as she hears the beeping from the video Trunks is watching.

She quickly pulls up beside him and begins to watch intently over his shoulder. Without even asking, she reaches over to pull the vid back to the beginning, shushing him as she listens closely to the sounds.

Guri | Voidtrecker | Purple (CW: It gets rough. Think how people reacted in 'Frankenstein')

[marvelous_murderbot]

Day Five - Home Sweet...Home

She still hadn't understood, entirely, who she was, not really. But the authorities had obliged her. Her face had led a broadcast, entitled "the Machine Menace." That had told her what she needed to know, torn away the last vestiges of the illusions she hadn't wanted to lose. For a while, she'd just gotten to be. To feel normal, to just exist in a community - among flowers whose names she could no longer remember. She'd had a life, calm and productive. She'd had a chance, maybe, at love. All of it was gone now.

And then the mob reminded her of what organic beings usually thought of beings like her.

She'd still been reeling, still putting back together just who Guri was when she'd heard them, just after dark. Gathering, surrounding the entrances to the shop in a semi-circle. Screaming every insult she would have thought of - monster and freak foremost among them. The first rocks came soon after. The molotov cocktails after that.

And the shop, the remains of her life...burned.

Of course, they were hounds to the hunters - driving her out the back and into an ambush by the security forces. Anguished, unprepared, still sorting out who she was - she'd found out in a hurry that bullets did not kill her. Four bullet wounds, none doing more than puncturing the skin. Nor had the batons harmed her. But she'd had to break some bones to escape.

Which the next edition of the news had insisted was the monstrous actions of an unfeeling machine, tearing innocent security forces limb from limb.

And so now she hid, keeping to sidestreets. Seeking refuge, seeking...solitude.

Right now, she didn't want anything to do with people.

Day Six - Aid and the Cafe

The signal hadn't taken her long to decipher. Three seconds to realize it was a code, four more to make comparisons and find the repetitions...teen seconds total, to double check.

But she didn't seek it out. She instead watched it, from the nearest vantage point, an abandoned, leaking apartment. She didn't know...how she felt. More than once in the course of the day she'd just switched her emotions off, shutting down entire segments of her brain and its programming. So much ate at her. So much hurt.

Hurts she'd never felt before.

There were people she knew, in there. But she didn't...want to see them. Or...did, it was hard to say. When the emotions were switched off, it was easier. Then she just told herself she didn't need anyone. Organics, people - they were unreliable. She was not one of them.

And worst of all, she'd fooled herself into thinking she could be, here.

Day Eight - Crumbling

She emerged when the creatures did, because even n her state she couldn't leave people to harm. Whatever she was, she wouldn't be like them and leave them to harm.

The worse it got, the more she reasoned there was something that had to be done about it. And she had only a few skills with which to address the collapse of a reality.

And so she marched, down one of the main boulevards. One arm held a riot shield - the other a baton, both taken from her pursuers. Her hair was singed in places; her clothing torn and the skin underneath punctured, including a bullet hole where her sternum was. Her expression was flat, determined.

At the other end of the street was a D-Force barricade. It wouldn't be there for much longer, she had decided.

day eight

[irrationally]

Maybe Alice would have noticed what happened to Guri if she would have been more aware. But truth is that she's hardly been noticing anything at all for the past few days. The return of her memories had been a rough, rough ride, considering the nature of some of them, and it's left her out of it for days.

Only to return back to her full senses when everything is already chaos. It's overwhelming all in its own way, but Alice knows that can't stop her in this case. Not when she only knows that the people who had been her 'parents' in this world are still alright, but has no idea how the rest of her friends are doing.

So she heads out. Having no idea where to look for her friends, Alice just ends up randomly wandering the streets, trying to deal with the feral animals she comes across as well as she can--

All the way until she spots Guri there. About to head into what looks like it might just be the worst possible confrontation.

Sure, there's a lot of awkward matters to address with Guri, but this isn't the time. This so is not the time for that.

So rather than speaking up about any of that, Alice just grabs the baton arm, tugging on it to try and drag Guri into the shadows, out of sight of the D-Force up ahead.

"Guri, c... come on..!"

Gen Asagiri | OTA

[fun_thementalist]

I. BEFORE THE FALL

Before the experiment - as Gen would like to call it - he was having a much more entertaining time trying to draw out Voidtreckers, potential allies. Just how was he doing this? Well, in a way that wouldn't seem odd to either the illusion's keepers or people who actually remembered him - in a performance.

This time, he actually had the stage and supplies to do a proper job. The theme of this performance was 'seeing the true self'. He'd begin by calling volunteers to perform some card tricks in front of the audience. Another volunteer he'd call would let him perform his little fortune-telling bit - appearing to read that person's mind on stage. But once warming them up - he'd move into the main performance.

Of course it's a bit of escape artistry - Gen displayed a box, beautifully painted, and opened it up and showed the inside. He would ask for one more volunteer to padlock and then chain the box while he was inside.

"Ah, my friends -" he said, muffled from within, "I'm getting some broadcasts that I'm perfectly safe within here, away from any Voidtreckers!" There was some laughter in the audience. "Ah, well, I'm quite bored with being safe - I think it's time to break out!"

The lights flickered. "Oh no! Maybe they heard me!" Gasps and murmurs -

The lights went out.

About thirty seconds later - the lights turned on again - and Gen was standing on top of the box, freed. "Ah! Now was I set free using magic, or some additional help? I will leave it for you to decide, my dears -" and bowed.

He'd meet with fans after his performance, and happily so.


??. THE FALL

His friends were gone - Senku was gone - the kingdom they'd built destroyed, Xeno probably - because Gen was taken they were all dead -

And the Voidtreckers - they left him to die, left them to die - the Senku he knew and married was dead, and they said Gen was useless - left him to wither and rot -

Alone. Alone, on an empty world, free from any illusion -

It was only for half a day, but to Gen, it was an eternity -


II. AFTER THE FALL

Senku was the ringleader. Gen was his right-hand man. Why stick him in another illusion? He was dumped, unceremoniously, for the D-Force to find. But perhaps that wasn't even necessary.

Gen shook and shivered, suddenly finding himself in the city again. But - what was the point? He'd been abandoned. Everyone he'd loved - in his own timeline, and those he met on the train - were dead. There was no lie that would erase the truth that things were hopeless.

Curled in a doorway, Gen couldn't even summon the energy to hear the reports blaring on a distant radio - that he and Senku were terrorists and traitors.

This was as good a spot as any to give up.

II

[bestbrotherever]

Loki's been on the lookout for his "fellow terrorists", though it seems strange to think of them as that, as he's never consulted with most of them. A day with them supposedly being on the run but no sightings at all has him worried that they were secretly captured, so it's a relief to see one of the now-familiar faces in a doorway. Even if he looks more dead than alive.

Loki sends a quick message off to everyone he knows is watching for the "terrorists" and ready to take them into safety. Two words, "found one". He doesn't know the young man's name, that can be sorted out later. Right now they need to get moving. He reaches down to give the young man an arm.

"Come on, we must be away quickly."

Noctis Lucis Caelum | OTA

[canyounoct]

DAY FIVE

Nevermind all the fake memories - Noctis could try and deal with those later. Nevermind that he'd been actually kidnapped by the train and, you know, not everything the propaganda said was untrue. That was how propaganda worked. It took slivers of truth, blew them up with huge lies, to paint a picture of evil.

Noctis needed to prove he was a counterexample. He's not sure how long he can keep pretending to be Not a Voidtrecker - but he could keep being an excellent example of one. If he was ever revealed - nobody could say he was anything but helpful, heroic, and friendly to anyone who needed it.

It's not much of a plan, but he couldn't think of a better one.

He'd start with helping people who were stranded by the malfunctioning air-taxis and telepads - warping up to the poor stranded passenger. "Uh, hey, do you need a hand? I can help you get where you need to go."

It's a good thing that his warping ability within this illusion let him carry other people, Noctis thought. The one upside to this place.


DAY SIX

Finding things that literally vanish wasn't something Noctis could do effectively - but he'd still offer. Especially when things seemed to entirely vanish beneath someone's feet ...

Noctis warped to grab them before they could fall. He'd hang onto them, as they both dangled from a ledge, staring below them at the vanished room which used to be.

"Shit," Noctis swore quietly, but then looked at the person he rescued, "you okay? I'm going to get us down in a sec, just, take a deep breath.


DAY SEVEN

Why was it always monsters?

Always always monsters.

Still. Whether or not you're fighting at his side, or you need a rescue - Noctis was there, sword in hand, to beat the nasty thing back. "How does that many teeth fit in that mouth?" Noctis had to ask, swinging his sword to strike it.


DAY EIGHT

Calming down someone who's a bit panicked was something Noctis didn't feel too terrible at. Panicking happened. Brains tended to suck. It's a survivable suck, though.

"Deep breath, in an out," Noctis told them, very gently. "Look. I'm a Voidtrecker, too - I'm not going to hurt you."

Day 6 Evening- Fake defector is a go | Locked to Loki, Leia, Sunset, and DFORCE

[bestbrotherever]

Loki took a deep breath. This was it. He'd found as good of a location as any, a side street in the business district that was deserted after dark, just out of sight of a D-Force station. Solar had scouted out hiding places within short teleport distance. They had all practiced their stories and the way Leia would restrain him, as well as how he would break free. It should look believable to the authorities while still allowing himself and Solar to escape, as well as a chance to rescue Leia if she wasn't believed.

He looks to his companions, checking the demon illusion over Solar one last time. "Once I dispell that door, we will likely have less than a minute before D-Force is upon us. Are we all ready?"

[motherofresistance]

Leia took a moment to center herself, and then nodded. She was glad that they'd practiced how she intended to restrain him ahead of time; it would require a strong but precise use of Force power. Too much and he might not be able to escape or might even be injured. Too little and it wouldn't be believable. It had to be just right.

"Ready," she said. Really it felt a bit like the old days for her. Here was another hostile government to help bring down, while protecting the people who were stuck under its control. A delicate balance, but it could be done. It had to be.

Essek Thelyss | OTA | Post Troublemakers Consequences

[essek]

[CW: Depictions of Psychological Torture]

I. This world is not made for you

It's suffice to say that... well, the consequence of their action was beyond the scope of anything they had prepared for.

And he had tried to be prepared, be careful, that's how he did things, but Caleb was mad and jumped at the chance, so Essek followed. He was used to the Nein's style of planning, plus he had the requisite magic. Though, he did intentionally make sure Beauregard was not involved, hopeful she could at least save Caleb if they got arrested. But they hadn't been arrested, no... the entity had taken them captive and-

He remembers pain, so much pain, as if his soul was being sundered, his mind rent, his body broken. Everything he knew was pain, yet his mind clawed out enough to bargain, to plead, anything between screams for Caleb to be spared, that he would take on his punishment as well, but he was met with silence. Silence. Silenc-

Such deep and profound darkness, deadly silent. The loneliness and despair that took him was worse than any pain, his heart now the one to be torn apart. And he knew they were all dead... his brother, Caleb, Jester- everyone. All of the Nein were dead and gone and he was alone, everything that mattered was taken from him so absolutely.

And then he was on a street, back against a garden wall, where he was curled up and barely out of public view. He clutched at his face as the despair echoed through him, each reverberation only growing in strength.

He knew it would come to this one day, that he would be alone, that his thawed heart would break again and again as he watched each of the people he loves pass beyond the veil. That was his lot in life, being an elf who came to care for those with shorter lives. But he was supposed to have half a century at least before that started. There was supposed to be time, but they are gone. And he was alone.

An anguished, dry sob cracks through his raw throat as he lays there unable, unwilling to help himself as the grief took him.


II. They're trying to catch you

Essek can't think clearly. His mind is a whirl of grief, pain, and an anguished hope that feels like it will shatter him beyond recovery if not realized. A hope that Beauregard or Caleb might be alive. And while his heart is so set that he lost them all, the logical part of him that breaks through the fog says differently. This is the illusion world, he didn't involve Beauregard intentionally, she might have been spared. Caleb-

He has to believe if he came out of what happened alive then... then- More than anyone, he needs Caleb alive. He can't explain the depth of heartache the very idea of losing Caleb again invokes in his already shattered heart. The idea of who he may become should he lose everyone he has reason to be better for...

So, he leaves the temporary safety he was dragged to.

His magic is hard to reach, his mind too fractured, his hands too shaken, but he slips between buildings and tries to avoid sight as he looks for them. He keeps his hood up as he tries to keep unobserved, but his movements are sluggish, his actions not without fault.

He's sloppy, if you don't notice him, the DForces or some wanna be hero will, and if he knows that, it doesn't stop him from pushing forward with his single-minded hope.

I

[fivemilesdeep]

Ryo doesn't believe the footage. He knows the people in it, for the most part, and they wouldn't do that. It's illusions again, and for now he keeps an eye out for the missing people (and for any of the yellow orbs floating around, because he does not trust those in the slightest).

He's moving through alleys and buildings as best he can, trying to keep out of sight of the more zealous of those hunting Voidtreckers, when his Sense picks up someone familiar. He can't place them immediately, but someone familiar generally means Voidtrecker, and they're a safer bet than most, provided they're not still under the illusion. He heads towards it, cautiously, and finds...well, a familiar face, and he is not doing well.

He takes a knee next to him, gently laying a hand over his. "Essek?" he says, voice quiet. "Can you hear me?"

wei wuxian | the untamed

[weifinder]

( toplevel to follow, hit me up ooc if you want something! )

for raven, day 5/6

[weifinder]

"The energies are strongest in the city centre," he says, nodding in the direction of where the construct of political buildings stands, when what he primarily sees are the shapes of those emotionally fraught energies. "Keeping closer to there is ging to be difficult when it's where people told they're defending the public well being are also stationed, but I'm afraid if we don't set up areas there, our efforts out this way will end up too compromised."

However it was that he ended up joining efforts with this young woman, it was for reasons he very readily understood himself. The targeting of people suspected to be Voidtreckers has increased, and it's dangerous, any population lashing out in fear. There were real enough reasons for that fear that the scapegoating, even without outside interference from the presence responsible for them all being here. Wei Wuxian can't fault people for that.

He can, however, work with others to plan forward. There's no Yiling to bolt to here, so they simply need to make their own safeguards, best they can.

"What do you think?"

Tetra | LoZ:TWW | Guest

[princessofpirates]

To Abide by the Laws

Tetra goes to class that last day more out of curiosity than anything, only to find that half her homeroom isn't there.

Funny, she laughs to herself, who'd have thought the pirate would be one of the last ones standing? And that- she's not a pirate, that's dumb, but the general sentiment seems to be true. Dad and Uncle Zel look like they're seeing through her, so many people seem to be sheltering in place-

Maybe she should too. At lunch she sits outside, looking up at the crazy sky with her heart in her throat. It'd probably make her family happy, no matter how weird they've been acting recently, and there's a voice in the back of her head... It is far too dangerous for you to join us... it is my wish that you wait here in hiding until we return.

Something inside her wants to obey. Something else in her revolts at the though.

"Like hell," she says to herself, and then throwing her bag aside she's off.

There's got to be something at home she can use to defend herself. And she'd rather be on the streets than safe.

A Return to the World

Come down the wrong corner of the city, and enjoy the nice refreshing feeling of a giant ball of water hurled into your face.

"Fuck!" And then there is Tetra, eyes still narrowed even as she realizes her mistake. Thankfully she hasn't followed that up with a blow from the bat now balanced on her shoulder, but it's a close thing.

"Sorry, sorry- I thought you were something else. You ok?"

Wildcard

Hit her with anything, there's plenty of chaos about.

Is this okay? Sorry, I didn't get here as soon as I had hoped!

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin is also fascinated by the crazy sky, and he's wandering around outside looking for people who need help. That's his job, being a D-Force Hero. Even though he knows by this time that he's a Voidtrecker.

He sees Tetra and then suddenly she flings a giant ball of water into his face. SPLASH! His face and hair are drenched, and he blinks the water out of his eyes.

"It's okay," he answers. "What did you think I was?"