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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He would, maybe, be surprised that after she moved off the street, she had changed form. Hair to white, eyes to green, clothes change. For some reason, someone let a kid get a tattoo.

And then she's off to hunt down monsters, and see if there's anyone else she can help.

Of course, following heroes into monsters...

Well, eventually the monsters may just find you.

It certainly does…! I would be overjoyed to join you in taking out these beasts if you’d have me!

[This was so not like her, but Kyoko was starting to rub off on her. Someone else who could cut loose.]

Someone really is pushing it.

....how do you know me? [It is very suspicious after admitting to be an illusionist.]

It does hurt. Trying to remember anything about his perfect family, compared to how easily things return to him about the complicated ones. Damn whoever created them (damn himself), he can't even think of their names! What they looked like! But Frigga, Thor, even Odin, are etched into his memory. As is Solar, human and pony. Other faces he recognized in the city reassert themselves and his head swims trying to sort them all out. It's a good thing he's still sitting or he might collapse.

"Thank you. You would know a good friend. And I know a good enemy, which is what I am as well. Whoever did this, mark my words. You will regret what you have done."

To punctuate his words, he forms his strongest illusion dispelling spell and throws it across the park. It leaves a trail of blankness in its wake, though before too long the remaining park starts to encroach on the path of destruction.

Eh, multiverse shenanigans. I met another you once, she kinda freaked at me being a part-time centaur.

Part time centaur?

[....]

[Well, she can at least see if she's being lied to, so she's tapping Kyoko's legs to get a quick weird if she's being honest.]

Sunset looked out at the park and she looks at Loki.

"The illusions that play on emotions are the hardest to dispel. Everyone has something they want to see," she said. "Though it says something being a good person was yours, you know."

Because he needs to hear it.

"Though it looks like now we've got ourselves a challenger."

"Yup!" he calls from inside. Because, as strong as he is, he's not 'lift vehicles' strong. He is, however, cunning enough to grab a couple of aerosol cans and a lighter. "Keep the change!" he shouts at the boggled, mildly traumatized teenager.

"But- but you didn't pay?!"

"I guess I didn't!" he says as he comes out to join her, not even stopping to consider it because, c'mon, he's been through this kinda chaos before. And he will absolutely pull the improvised flame thrower move if he has to.

"So when did you get back to yourself?"

Sunset was going for shock and surprise. Unfortunately she didn't quite judge the girl's speed accurately and just how hard she'd stopped.

But at least her reflexes were good and in a burst of magic, red sparkles surrounded Kyoko, catching her before she hit the ground.

And then....the awe and sparkle. Well. She supposed it had to happen someitmes.

"Faeries are, and they're terrible creatures, avoid them at all costs," she said. "You...you do know princesses and rich people just exist, right? That's a status and money thing?"

Saying Faeries were real sent her mood even higher... for less than a second. The mood shifted the second Sunset said that they were terrible people.

"THEY ARE NOT!" she yelled, dark aura surrounding her. If Sunset's magic was still holding her, she might want to set her down. Like... now. That darkness was emotion made nearly tangible. Not everyone could sense it, and those who could had varying degrees of awareness, but an empath? No way to miss it. It looked and felt like rage and anger and hate and defensiveness.

She didn't even seem to notice she was floating as her hands curled into fists.

"CORN IS WONDERFUL! I WON'T LET ANYONE INSULT CORN! HE IS A GREAT FRIEND AND I BROKE THE CURSE ON HIM SO HE CAN BE HAPPY NOW! MAYBE ALL THE FAERIES YOU KNOW WERE UNDER A CURSE AND NEEDED HELP! DID YOU EVER EVEN BOTHER TO ASK?!"

She was shaking now.

"CORN WAS SUFFERING!" Sorrow overtook the rage and the aura of darkness lessened. It didn't vanish, but now there was far more sorrow than rage, and all her hate and anger... was directed inward. "Corn was suffering! His father's hands were so big that her kept getting caught on the fingers, they shredded his wings so he couldn't fly..." She was shaking harder, fighting not to cry. "And then even once he was older... he was under a curse. He said he made everyone around him miserable. But he was wrong! Corn never ever made me miserable. He was my place of salvation!" and then the anger flared again, inward and outward. "Corn saved me so many times! I won't listen to anyone say bad things about Corn! Ever!"

"I was Thor. As always. He's who I always wanted to be. I'm still not past that old wish. And he had no place in the fantasy." He wipes his eyes as the tears restart. "He haunted my dreams, urging me to remember and be myself instead of him. That's why I haven't been sleeping. I've been running from him, from giving it up."

He tries to stand, gives up and leans back on the bench. "Maybe now his presence in my dreams will be a comfort."

Day 5-Waking up

This wasn't right. None of this was right. Razz was sure of it. She remembered being here. Having her shop, living her life in relative peace.

But she also remembered different things. The Whispering Woods. Her little hut. Swift Wind; a Pegasus, not a man with wings. And perhaps most of all... "Mara! And Adora!"

She immediately swung into gear, though what gear might not be exactly clear to anyone observing. She grabbed an old canvas rucksack and began searching through the various items in her shops back room, tossing some aside and stuffing others into the bag. She then headed out into the shop itself and proceeded to do the same thing with some of the merchandise on display. This time, if she heard the little bell above the door jingle, she barely looked up. "Sorry, dearie, no time to chat today! Razz is in the wrong place! She needs to get back to Etheria!"

Day 7- Let Loose

Well this could hardly be called a fair fight. Razz was facing down one of the twisted, shifting monsters. "RAZ-ZLE DAZ-ZLE!", she shouted, punctuating each syllable by whacking the monster with her broom. Unfortunately, it was about as effective as one would think an old woman hitting such a creature with a broom would be. The creature was being kept at arm's length for the moment, if only by sheer confusion, but the length of its arms- and other appendages- could change at a moment's notice. Razz could probably use some help.

Day 8- Crumbling

Razz hurried along, following a group of people who were being forced to evacuate to the city center, though it wasn't clear if she was really part of it. "Oh dear...", she said to herself. "Razz couldn't do anything to help before, and now it's happening here too. No Mara and no Adora either." But no, that was a good thing. It meant that Adora was still on Etheria, keeping it safe. Just like Mara had.

She knew there were people trying to help. She'd seen them around, and maybe they'd seen her too. But she didn't know where to find them. And didn't know if they'd pay any mind to a strange old lady. Still, she had to do something! And soon. The magic holding this world together was rapidly unraveling around them.

Wildcard

(OOC: A wild Razz appears! Want to do anything else with her, here you go. :3)

Edited 2021-07-15 20:47 (UTC)

Loki sighs, some of the righteous anger slipping away. He does give a small but genuine smile to Leia.

"That is quite useful to know. If the being behind this is the same as the one from your previous mission, they may likely recognize individual Treckers. Or one of you might recognize them. It would be- helpful for one of you to join them, if you think the defection will be believed."

He squeezes Solar's hand, thinking of Sidereal. How he had already been rescued and was happy, without having to lose his memories and become a different person.

"If they can be reasoned with... well, I will try to find that out. And I will leave negotiations to those who in a mood for it. But first we must get close to them. And I have my suggestion, which only puts volunteers in danger."

((OOC: I hope this is alright, Romeo is a CRAU was pretty good friends with Adrien in his past game. Let me know if you need anything changed though!))

"LINE" Romeo threw a borderline at the monster but there was another coming from the side! He's been himself for a day or so now ever since mister Yondu made him realise that this world was all wrong, he's not really mister Zetta's kid. He doesn't go to school or have a big brother. He lives on a train and helps people!

And there are lots of people to help here! But this monster jumps at him too fast and he barely has time to bring his hand up to cast another borderline when...

A cat boy drops from the air, kicking the monster away. "Thank you!" He pauses... "A... Cat Noir!"

He hadn't seen him in a long time, since the heavens, if this was even the same person. Sometimes there was more than one of a person and he was aware he might not know who Romeo was at all. But more importantly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gone?" To say that doesn't sound good is a very large understatement.

Romeo is desperately trying to find ways to help! This is the weirest mission he's ever been on. He has no idea what is happening, some people still believe they live in this city. Now there's some monsters and things are going missing and everything might be an illusion.

"No sir!" He shook his head. "I've not seen any left shoes. Except the one on my foot!"

He shakes his foot, his right foot. "I can help you look though!"

Fresh air can help a lot. Not so much when there's monsters about.

Chat is moving across the rooftops, looking for danger. For a source, but at least, he needed to protect people. He can figure out the why after he was sure no one would die.

Then he smells a familiar scent.

Nino.

What was he doing out? Did he remember?

He was moving to find him.

Only to see a monster approaching.

"Nino!" He shouted, throwing his baton as he leaped after it, to tackle into the monster.

Adrien remembered trying to be subtle, careful. Respectful to far too passive when dealing with people and their problems. It had been the memories of the past several months as he visited home.

The years in Nautilus said otherwise when it came to his father.

He had spoken to Spark. And technically he had detention, but either way, he needed to not be here. Not when Gabriel didn't really know who he was. Maybe think he was Chat Noir or something, that could work.

He opened the door and there is a pause because he does remember this fake life too. One where Gabriel was here. More attentive. Caring. Who had taken to his grief better.

He sighed, and his eyes are determined. "Father, we need to talk," he said, approaching his father, ignoring the dinner.

"Its Morse Code. Its a type of communication. I learned how to do it when I was isolated at home," Adrien said.

He. Wanted to be more subtle with Gar. With Spark.

Mostly by saying things that didn't make sense for where they were, but maybe would get to him.

Nino had been minding his business when a monster showed up, and he was about to use his energy shields when a strange cat guy in a leather suit appeared. Even throwing some metal stick at it.

He stands back, confused.

Thankfully the monster is weak and it doesn't take much to defeat it. When it's over though, Nino keeps his distance.

"Not that I'm ungrateful for the rescue, but who the heck are you and what are you wearing?"

Meanwhile Wayzz is hiding in his shell. Not using his power yet.

"Of course," he said. "We will talk over dinner," he said, taking his seat at the head of the table, waving for Adrien to take his on the far side.

How had the fake memories made him miss that? That this table was only ever meant for two? It wasn't the same as before....

No. Best not to think on that now.

"You've seen your schedule for the upcoming show?"

"I don't get detention that often, bro," he said with a half laugh, half glare.

Your boys, right? The ones what's ten, now?

[Yondu asks as he notices her muttering to herself, catching what it is as she's saying them. He was planning on just checking who was here, grab a mean and strong coffee, and heading back out, but then he parks in a chair beside of her.]

Havin' some trouble?

"Uh, you guys are missing a way big detail," Tidus speaks up. "It wasn't like we came along before and ruined its happy time illusions - it was getting people killed. An entire city got put into the delusion everything was okay while demons were coming in and picking them off! And the last mission before this one? It was sending in illusions to pick off people there, then just tricked the entire population we were with into going outside to suffocate."

He knows they can know, but he stresses it now all the same, with this talk of getting through to this person.

"These illusions can hurt- get you killed, mentally, all that! What are you expecting from this guy? Change their mind, go somewhere else? How do you reason with someone like that?"

Yondu's efforts to be discrete occasionally lead him into alleyways or under overhangs, just to keep out of the open and being his conspicuously colorful self. He's seen the images, knows a few of them are getting outed.

Hates it. Best he can do is offer some hidin' spots.

So he sees this poor girl skulking through an alleyway and he pssts at her loudly.

"Hey, hey... I'm a Voidtrecker, too. I'm Yondu, with blue team. You want me to take care of them cuffs for ya?" He pulls out a ring with lockpicks on it from his pocket, 'cause he's that kind of asshole. Prepared in the best-worst ways.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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Madame Razz | She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | 4th Wall | OTA

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Home Sweet... Home?