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.

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Trunks shifts slightly, letting her get a better look at the video. "Familiar, right?"

"Shhhhhh."

She shushes still more intensely, her face showing clear annoyance, before cycling back to the beginning again. Then, once it's finished, she turns to him.

"That's Morse code. They use that back home."

"I figured it was some kind of signal. Didn't the other train-passenger, have a robot with her?" He'd never heard of Morse Code. But that Cassie knew it, was enough for him. "What's it say?"

To this woman, it was an ordinary day. She got up, she had her coffee, wished her cat a good day and went to work.

Any description from Anan might have mentioned big glasses, but those were missing from this version of herself, she didn't need them.

The suit she was wearing was a uniform that suggested she was a member of the D-Force.

Trunks would not see her at first, no, instead she was watching him. Most people moved about their lives with purpose, and she didn't think he was doing that. She fell into step behind him, walking with her hands in her pockets, tailing her suspect.

Cassie lets the question hang for a moment, sitting beside him and looking forward.

"I think we should take a break. Talk this out over some nutritea at Moondust."

A long pause as she lets him catch her meaning.

"Like, right now."

"Phone? Yeah, that's fine." Zelgadis has taken a mental health day, because he's already in that state between 'not sure which set of memories is correct," and going to work feels like a bad idea.

He couldn't do anything against the person dragging him away, his limbs were barely responding to his commands and he couldn't think clearly. Articulating anything at the time had been incredibly difficult.

That meant he was equally left to Wash's mercy, but the carry and the escape was something he was going to be incredibly grateful for. It could be a lot worse.

By the time he's in the safe place, he wasn't entirely well, or back to normal nothing like that. His brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend what was going on and whatever movement he was making looked painful, but he wasn't harmed. Not physically.

The pain actually stopping and his brain realizing that it had stopped were two different things.

"I..." Senku began, his voice thick like he was trying to speak like his vocal chords were trying to vibrate through mud. That was okay, that was how his brain was working too.

He may not have seen her, but he'd been enough in combat situations to know when someone was watching him. It took him a bit to spot someone. Was that...

Well, now Trunks started heading for a less populated area. If this was going to turn into a fight, he wanted no chance of people getting hurt. Hopefully, he could wake her up.

Around a corner. Down a street, two blocks, then another turn.

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.

Edited 2021-07-20 02:00 (UTC)

It hadn't been that long since he spoke to Frankie, and that at least of course meant that he recognized them.

The illusion didn't matter for him at this point.

He was going to try what he'd been succeeding with - approaching carefully and being as gentle as he can.

"Hey, how's it going?" He opened with. After this mission, he was definitely going to need some introvert decompression time.

"You mean no more cat video?" Trunks said, grinning up at her. Before turning the phone off entirely. Removing the battery, checking it, looking to disable what he could. Just in case. "I think, it's a date, wife-of-mine." With that grin turning into a half-smile. "I was getting sick of that music anyways."

Loki scowls at the soldier. "Getting away may be your primary goal, but it should not be. Rather, the goal should be to get away and make sure whoever has done this is unable to do so again. You may have your train to protect you after you escape, but the rest of us do not. If we are returned to where we came from, what is to stop the entity from kidnapping us again? And then they will be even more prepared for your interference and another rescue will be that much more difficult. No, we need to break their power. Whether by negotiation, exile, death, or some other manner, we cannot leave this entity be."

He's more appreciative when he turns to Conan. "All of that will likely be useful. For the spy, and for anyone who might be sent in to rescue them, should things go wrong."

A hard-to-read expression flashes across Cassie's face at those last few words. Something between amusement, warmth, and a wistful sadness.

For posterity's sake, it shall be noted that Cassie will not take her ring off even once the illusion is clear to everyone.

"Love me some cat videos," Cassie says. "But yeah. Time to go."

Neither had Trunks, and he moved to twine their hands while walking. Bringing hers up, and kissing her knuckles. Over that ring too. Illusion it might've been, but it had been...alluring. Hard to let go of, in some ways. "We're in this together, Cas. Promise."

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."

She'd actually felt a little guilty about it - as though it was because she'd liked being his wife so much that she'd stayed in the illusion a little longer than he had. But she won't let herself feel guilty for how she feels about him any longer.

She smiles. "Promise."

"Yeah, ideally, we defeat him for good," Cassie says. "We should go for it if it doesn't jeopardize the escape of most of us here. But if we get away without defeating it for good we're still good to try again later, even if it is more prepared next time. If we don't get out at all, being stuck here for good is the best case scenario.

"We're on its turf, in a world that it made. If we come swinging for that thing, we'd best not miss."

Edited 2021-07-20 02:13 (UTC)

"'s it the voidtreckers?" [The boy gasps with worry. Everyone has been on extra high alert already, he would hate to think he somehow is getting in the way of something important. He glances back to the direction she came from, unsure of what heinous group must be around the corner. He can't go that way so surely he should run alongside her!]

"I know you." [And any adult in Jinnjar you know you can trust!]

"Y-you're Sky-- no...Sun--" [Not right either.]

"C-Cloud.. [-something.]

"No, but uh... when you got your head about ya, turn your location off on your phone an' log onto an account an' tell your sisters not to come home. Make it sound like they should still be under this spell. The house is gonna be under a lotta surveillance." Tani's been gone for days and he's lost track of Madoka, which might be for the best at the moment, loathe as he is to admit it.

He huffs out a breath. Raven really took a beating.

"Think it might be both. Too focused on y'all at this point than to be fixed."

He pats her shoulder before getting back up and going back to what he was doing. "Grabbin' you some stuff. They'll probably come by here to search this place so I can only keep ya for so long. But you should have some time to get some of your strength back."

He shakes his head. "This ain't my first time helpin' someone run. Maybe I shoulda figured this'd happen sooner than later."

"Oh, right. Well, I'll just push the button then. I'm sure there are enough explosives to do some kinda job. You seen Orange team? Properly motivate 'em I'm sure they could blow anythin' up."

He chuckles at his own idiot joke before leading her down the street. "C'mon, shit might get real soon so let's play it cool an' try to do the family bonding routine."

Except, you know, stick a little family bonding in there.

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."

Raven blinked, before pulling out her phone. She had to squint, and it hurt a bit, but she was able to encase the phone in dark-energy. "Azarath metrion zinthos!" Hissed out, Raven putting her annoyance and hints of anger to good use. The dark-energy crumpled the phone completely.

Then she took another sip of water. "Better if I just destroy it. I'll find another way to get a message to Tani and Madoka. Maybe."

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."

"Sounds good to me." Raven said with a small laugh in her chest. Falling into step beside him. Family bonding, even if it was an illusion, did sound nice.

"Exactly. The odd thing is that the blankness left by the spell started to be repaired, all on its own. But I suppose I did too much damage, and whoever controls the city decided to turn it into destruction rather than repair it wholly." He conjures an illusion of the park as he saw it to illustrate. There's a furrow of nothingness running through it, but the grass and paths push into the edges on their own, as if trying to close the wound.

"I have become used to being a fugitive over the past few years, and I am full of tricks," he starts to dismiss the offer. "However, I have never been confined to a single city that is under the control of the enemy hunting me. If you have experience and advice for that, I would be quite interested in hearing it.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

Re: Day 6

Re: Day 6

Re: Day 6

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Gen Asagiri | OTA

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Noctis Lucis Caelum | OTA

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II

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Crumbling, Crumbling:

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