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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Ooooh shit. He must've overdone it. He throws a quick look to Leia; it's hard to convey anything coherently, but he's silently asking her if this is the entity she was talking about, and prompting her to ask what she considers most important while they have its attention.

His heart is racing and he starts to breathe too fast. That feeling in his head- it reminds him of Thanos. Or is it of how he was when under Thanos's thumb? Either way, the voice is now that of the Mad Titan's, and Loki can see his purple form in front of them, even when he closes his eyes.

Gritting his teeth, he throws a much more minor illusion-dispelling spell at his feet, in case the shackles are as unreal as everything else. While he's doing that, he answers, some part of him hoping that it'll act as a distraction for the entity. "You dragged me here and have not let me leave. What do you expect me to do?"

Razzy looked over to Raven and she quickly moves to her side, a hand going to her arm to help stabilize her. "Raven? Are you okay?"

....a beagle.

Really.

Well, he had no intent of showing himself. He can just keep being a shadow and pushing her.

Someone else has been lying to you. About everything.

"Yeah, pretty sure its him. He's got too much of that stubborn energy to be a fantasy," Adrien said dryly.

"You know, I'm kind of liking whatever this Nautilus did to you," Plagg said with some amusement.

"Glad you approve, at least," Adrien said. A bit of snark. A bit of sincerity. Plagg's approval MATTERED.

"The train....the Voidtreckers, right?" Adrien asked.

Though Spark's reaction was....that was a lot and Adrien was quick to pull him into a hug. "Did you miss me that much? That's a pretty heavy trade-" He started, but then he remembered.

"....the dream?"

"It won't take," Chat said, the grin fading. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to be rough if you hurt yourself. It wouldn't be heroic to allow that to happen."

"We're not in Nautilus, father," Adrien said. "You haven't been planning anything. They're implaneted memories. We're not home, we're not in Nautilus, I can guarantee that."

Chat tilted his head and he sighed. "Which means you need to take your emotional health more seriously," he said and gave them both a pointed look. "Both of you. Especially if Carapace can access his power solo. I've broken plates before because I gotten into an argument. Health. Not repression. "

He looked around and he moves a hand to Plagg. "We should move from here. Someone might have heard something."

When the small droids appear, Sunset is quick to throw fireballs at them. No need to not take the chance to ruin their gear. It wasn't likely to do them much good, and it was more threatening then just random empty places.

Then her feet are locked down, not yet mimicking flight, and suddenly-

There is so much.

Her legs buckle because Sunset isn't just an empath, she's an extremely powerful empath.

There is the rage, the anger, but all of that is nothing. Blinding rage is something Sunset knows well. Rage had been all that made her demon form the times it appeared. Rage and emptiness and crazed madness. That would be nothing to face up to, because one does not experience a corrupted Element of Harmony without paying the price for that level of disharmony.

What hits harder is that pain, the grief, the memories of laughter and joy and despair and she feels the tears in her eyes, a sob leaves her before she could stop it as her heart aches. Over and over there are memories, thousands, in an instant understood because-

That is her soul.

That is her Element of Harmony.

That is what makes Sunset Shimmer Unique.

And with the pain, what grows inside her is a singular, screaming, desperate need.

She wants to help. She needs to do something for this person suffering.

Loki's illusion is there, but he will find there is form under the fake wings, as light grows at her back because this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her, this is her-

Clarity.

Through the pain and suffering and it being so much.

She pushes through the magic of teleportation, because she can do nothing if she's trapped, to be free of the shackles, to appear near Loki.

And then there is her. There is light in her, a desire for harmony singing through her, and there is complete and utter sincerity as she speaks, reaching out, trying to understand, get them to understand, try to understand the entity-

"I want to help. This isn't the way to heal, let me help you. You don't have to be alone, there's a better way. Please, let me try."

Edited 2021-07-22 11:41 (UTC)

She pauses a moment. Then she smiles. "You remember," she said.

Because she knows that train. She's seen it a few times now. And it didn't take near enough digging to have the fake ones be that strong.

"We really should talk."

Edited 2021-07-22 11:38 (UTC)

"To be fair, it takes years of practice. If you're talent," Sunset said. "So, how are you taking things right now?"

"And then what?"

Well.

This isn't exactly how the spell works, but he supposed it worked in theory.

And he could use theory to make Nautilus' gift bridge the gap.

The impulse turns into a feeling of understanding.

Sometimes there isn't a choice. When it counts is usually when its hardest.

"Well, that's unfurrnate. This would be a lot easier if they weren't, but if I don't know..." He sighed. "Sometimes its hard being the good guy."

Listen, Cataclysm can end things quickly.

He supposed its the harder one it is. "Lets see what a little fire does then," he said, spinning his staff, fire building up over the ends and he swings at the creatures with the flames, see if that's enough to send them running.

"You wouldn't have," Razzy said simply. "Intangibility is extremely useful, remember? And I'm real good at it."

"So, no questions about the color change?"

Wash nodded at that. "Got basic descriptions I could use?"

At least he is Very Good at finding people.

"I mean, we don't know each other. At least as far as I know," Wash said. "But I don't personally forget people without weird happening."

Wash hummed thoughtfully. "So music not a factor, or just if you want to do bigger stuff?"

What do you know - while the water spell managed to push the monsters away, make them annoyed, the fire noticeably burns them, actually gets tiny squealing out of them. Jumping and hopping indignantly, opening mouths and coming running back at Adrien like they want another go, showing their teeth. Look at them!! They're tough!!!!!

"Oh, sure!" Tidus during that says with well-more-deserved indignation. "Always the element I suck at!"

But he can throw out a smaller fireball of his own, and - the creatures he's been fighting are a bit wet, but still they jump up cartoonishly high to being singed.

They might start second-guessing this attacking plan soon...!

"Hey, it took me months to get fire down and that was with a cheat!" Chat Noir said.

Wherein the ability got dropped into his head during another AU event to get him started. Also trauma.

A lot of trauma.

Practice was trying to overcome that, actually. Master the thing that killed you therapy!

But he sees the creatures coming at him, and since he knows fire works, he keeps them up on the staff and spreads it down to his feet and even the end of his tail because hey, the suit is basically fireproof.

He rushes for the creatures, twirling around the staff, hitting it like a pole vault as he swings around, and honestly, its a fire dancing routine mixed with a little breakdancing.

And Kyoko, of course, was of no help whatsoever, still off in lala land. She was now trying hard NOT to think about Setsu. She shook her head rapidly. Think of something else, Kyoko! Think of something else...

Right. There is a Faerie in front of you, Kyoko. How can you forget that? She focused on Link again. And realized he was turning colors. "Are you okay I is it a curse? Do you need a magic spell?"

The woman, not following, shrugged and walked off.

Kyoko can't help but grin. It was always nice to have her guts appreciated. She pushed harder, heading for the woods. She could rest when they got to the woods. She could rest when they got to the woods. She saw some planks of something leaned against a box. Natural ramp. She took it, launching them into the air....

"SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?!" She yelled, still spinning about, looking for whoever was talking to her. "I'm used to it! So what?!"

"Too late," she said, lifting her bloodied hand to her scar, tracing it in blood. "There is nothing left of me to hurt. But I suppose I can practice on you..."

"And then he'll get down on his hands and knees, crying, his stupid pride crushed, and I'll go on to be a star that all of Japan admires and m..." she cut herself off there. No need to tell anyone about her mom, after all.

"I'll make him weep a million years worth of tears and drown in them, and he'll be sorry he ever treated me that way! His pride will be shattered and he'll be the one to go back home, broken and ashamed!"

[ Seto's hands clench and unclench several times. Oh, he's tempted to lose control and lob a punch...but he's had this argument with himself before, in his own head. And looking back in the mirror, at just who he is when he's deepest in that safe and alone at the top mindset?

No, he's certain that he's chosen the right path. But...Stark...?]

I've already had this argument with myself. Let's go through it: bonds are weakness, winning's all that matters, isolating at the top's the only thing that's going to keep Mokuba safe, blah blah blah. That might work in Domino, it's even necessary with the target the wealth and power paints on you but if you haven't noticed, all that wealth and power you have means nothing here. Which means no target.

And I had a choice. I could fume in my corner about how superior I was and continue to make things unnecessarily difficult...or I could meet people from other worlds, who could expand my knowledge far beyond Earth. And I could be...happy, for the first time in years. Not about the situation, I still have to wrangle void travel to get back to Mokuba, but what I've gained from knowing my teammates is invaluable.

[ He turns to go, with a genuine little smile. ]

But if you're absolutely certain a loser like me has nothing to offer you, I'll leave you to it. I have to find my friends.

[ He emphasizes the last word deliberately. ]

Edited 2021-07-22 13:09 (UTC)

"And then what?"

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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Are there woods in the parts they can access? Or are they heading for a barrier?

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