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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"Eh, it happens. I'm sure I'm not the only one around with a complicated family situation." Danny mostly functioned day to day by not thinking too hard about it.

He grimaces. "If by celebrity do you mean I have fan clubs and unofficial merchandise which I definitely am not getting any royalties for, then yes."

"No kidding. I hate magic."

To use, yes. She could admit there were...greater things, beyond that, however.

Things she could barely understand.

I have seen marvelous things from it. But terrible things, as well.

"I've seen too **** much of the bad side of it."

"Middle Borough. Right, okay..." Now that Jeremy says that, it seems so much clearer. Like he could close his eyes and be right in those halls again, moving towards his locker, spinning the dial...

Finding a shoebox full of strange grey pills hidden in the back of the metal container. Rich feels his head throb again, and he nearly doubles over, but he catches himself, holding onto the edge of the table so hard his knuckles are white.

Don't think about that yet. Don't think about something that hurts... Rich grits his teeth, tries to think about the friends Jeremy is mentioning. Of course the two of them are friends, he has a brother (not brothers? Rich feels his heart ache with worry for Yosuke and Asch, but he holds that back), he has- "Jakey D?" The nickname comes to him so easily. "Holy shit, we were best friends, weren't we? He got me to try out for drama club... is that... how we met?"

He seems to remember something surrounding that school play.

Her answer, at first, is just to offer a hand to help her stand up.

"It is the logical set of actions," she replied. 'Mind' would be a tricky word, right about now.

Mimi is scared but... but she needs a moment to collect her thoughts. For all the good that Nory would be for her, right now she needs a moment to take it all in and... and consider what questions she's going to ask her dads. If they were her dads? Did they even know? Have they been lying to her, or... if they didn't know, did that mean that she would have to tell them that she was not their adopted daughter? Such thoughts were racing within her head and she knew that she would need a moment to truly consider what approach she would want to have.

As Nory--or, was it Agent 3? As the one that was her friend turned to leave, a question came to Mimi's mind, clear as crystal. "Wait." She insisted, worry beginning to take hold. "What are you going to do?"

Despite the fact that she was in no position to do anything about it, a part of her worried for Nory and wanted to make sure she was going to be safe as the world seemed to be falling apart around them.

Thinking for another moment, she answers slowly, "Sometimes I have these other dreams...I'm living in this big place with a bunch of other people. But none of the people in those dreams are anyone I recognize from here."

"That's a noble cause," Selene had to admit. Dangerous, but noble. And it made her think of Caesarion, her dear older half-brother. He would've taken up this cause, if the opportunity was provided to him. He was good and kind, and everything she believed a man and a leader should be.

She could at least try to be like him.

"How can I help?" She's not a fighter. Her only power had been the Shard, but she didn't seem to have it with her; clearly the entity controlling this world didn't want anyone having something that could be used against it.

Logical.

Alice isn't too sure of that part either, but then again, maybe her own mind is slightly biased against her. How could she view herself as important enough that it'd be logical to protect her under these circumstances, when many different lives could instead be saved?

But since Guri isn't saying she does mind, Alice doesn't further protest.

She's too tired for it, anyway.

So she just moves to take that hand, allowing the other to help her up.

"Let's go to that safe spot then."

She can only nod in response, letting her eat, for a time. It can cause great pain, after all.

It had cost Amaya a sister, and worse still the folly had been of their own making.

He's never heard about this place from her, so he tries to keep her on that track. Both for his sake and his own curiosity.

"What kinda people? What'd it look like there?"

It takes the better part of half an hour to make it, between dodging security patrols and some of the escaped creatures. And what Alice will see, even more than usual, is just how little sound Guri makes, when she wants to. Her movements around the train are practically clomping by comparison.

When she needs to, she moves with speed far greater than that of a human, making use of every cover and shadow, motioning Alice forward.

Finally, she shoulders open the door to a building.

"Up the stairs," she says, "first door on the left."

What's up there is an apartment that, generously, would have been termed a 'rat trap' - the living room is open to the air now, half a wall gone. But there's a bedroom, and it's intact. And warm enough when burrowed beneath blankets.

"When you awake," she says, gesturing towards the room, "I will venture out for some water and what food I can find."

"I, too, think it is a noble cause," said Curufin. "And I have great respect for anyone who has come here and is trying to help, Voidtreckers or Voidscouts or any others."

He nodded to Anan to show that respect, and then to Selene. "I'm not sure exactly what you could do to help. Do you have any special powers or abilities?"

Edited 2021-08-07 05:36 (UTC)

There's two good things going on here. The first is the fact that Guri is able to be so stealthy right now. Not that Alice is totally bad at that sort of thing. She doesn't like having to do it, but she can do it when she tries.

It's just that she's way too tired to try it now. Her mind is too much of a mess, so she just lets Guri lead the way. Following the other as best as she can without weighing her down.

The second good thing is that living circumstances back in London were so bad that it practically makes this run down, half-destroyed place look like home. Which means there's absolutely no complaint about the state of the apartment when they enter. Instead Alice just drags her legs over to the bed before letting her body drop on there. She already feels like she's half-drifting off to sleep, even without having pulled the blankets over herself yet.

".. What are you going to do while I sleep?" She asks, though in her current state, it's a little mumbled.

"Is it...everyone? That I know? Or are some of them fake?"

There's urgency. Why specifically, she can't quite articulate. But this fear is deep, and familiar, and any future actions may hinge on the answer.

"I'm going to scope out the situation. I don't know much about what's in the waters, but I will soon enough." That's what Agent 3 needs most of all. Right now, she only has a vague idea who the major players are in... whatever this is, and that needs to change. She's not a squid to flop on the sidelines.

Agent 3 smiles, "So, don't worry about me. It'll be like I've got Ninja Squid equipped. Sneaky."

Mimi didn't understand what that last part meant, but the plan sounded sensible. Right. When you don't know something, the best thing to do would be to gather more information. She needed to do the same.

"Okay." Mimi nodded in agreement. "Be careful. We'll... we'll see each other soon?" She hoped.

"We will. I'll jump on by later tomorrow. I like sleeping in, so don't expect me in the morning, okay?" Inklings are not morning people.

With that, Agent 3 makes her exit. It's up to Mimi to find the answers she needs at home with her fathers.

It is the first moment where the old Guri wants to pop up. To turn back on the emotions so she'd know what to do, what to say. To stroke Alice's hair, and tell her everything will be fine. But she also knows the weight that comes with that simple expression of warmth - the part of her that had a shared world with Alice, in which this could have been an important moment; a gentle time to share, to truly feel warmth and romance.

And that's ashes now.

So they remain off, but she does adjust the blankets over her. That much is common sense.

"I will stand watch," she says, quietly, moving to shut the door.

"Pretty sure everyone here is a real person. Even if their. Their lives here aren't real," Soldat says, and hopes to hell they're right. "Don't know how the entity managed to steal you all, the amount of power it must've took-- but we're not the only ones remembering. Yondu ran into a little girl trying to convince her father this wasn't their home yesterday."

Not only do they hope they're right, but they hope it helps. They know this is hard to take. But they're not sure they could take it is Misty rejected them, if they had to go on the run from her of all people.

"You won't get bored?" Alice says. Instinctively, without thinking, because her heart aches when she thinks about Guri doing all of this for her sake.

But she then realises. With how everything has changed, with the way Guri is acting right now - there's no way she's going to think of boredom as even the slightest concern.

So Alice shuts her eyes for a moment, slowly breathing out before trying again.

"I mean.. I feel slightly guilty just making you stay here for my sake, not doing anything or being able to rest yourself.."

"If you think we can set one up with just us, I'm willing to try. I'm hoping to get other people familiar with magic to help too." Yes, the more people helping would make it dangerous, but if they were varied it would also be harder to spot them.

Edited 2021-08-08 12:51 (UTC)

"Yes, and....sort of." Raven replied, fatigue in her voice. "I'm alive, at least."

"Perhaps." He leans over slightly and actually faces her now.
"Do you have any suggestions on how to do so?"

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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