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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. Day 5 (closed for firewalled)

Jeremy's been having a fine couple of days. No anxiety, no tenuous social standing, no problems! Which feels... eerie, and familiar, but good. It's good. Everything's fine -

Until he takes a tele-pad shortly before they're reported as broken. A headache - no, a migraine, not that Jeremy has had one before - knocks him on his ass as he swears he hears a familiar voice. It starts in the back of his mind and forces itself to the forefront.

The shouts in Japanese don't make any more sense to Jeremy than the swirling hallucinations (which fade into auras and then nothingness as he gets his bearings). When it's over, something in his head slots into place. Jeremy's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he's had his world flipped and turned upside down enough times to realize that something odd is going on. And there's always been one specific person who can fix it.

Rich.

He's gotta find Rich again.

Jeremy shakily gets to his feet and makes for the park where he last saw Rich. As he passes through busy walkways and narrow corridors, his head filling up with spiraling worry until he's outright sprinting.

(A digital display on the sidewalk lights up under his feet, trilling out a note with every footstep until Jeremy's gone again.)

ii. wildcard
[[I had no other plans for Jeremy as a fourth waller, but if you would like to interact with him, please do so!]]

Things have been... weird, the last few days. People have been more agitated than usual, not often staying to listen to the music he's playing. The colours in the sky have become more blinding, and looking at them reminds Rich of the strange nightmares he's been having, as much as he's been trying to avoid thinking about them. Everyone's stressed, including his siblings. Rich has been trying to push his thoughts aside, focus on reaching out and keeping his siblings together, so he doesn't at all need to think about the possibility that this isn't his family...

Because it isn't one. This is where Rich has always belonged, and he's not going to fuck that up by entertaining some messed up dreams.

He's sulking in the park, idly strumming at his guitar, when he hears someone approaching. He looks up to see that guy from before, but he looks like he's on the verge of a panic attack. Rich frowns, putting his guitar to the side, and immediately, he reaches out to grab the boy's shoulders.

"Hey. Woah there, man. Are you alright there?"

Jeremy screeches to a halt and stumbles into Rich's arms. He's out of breath.

"Oh, thank g- Rich, what the hell is going on here?"

Jeremy's expectant wide eyes lock onto Rich's as he clutches at Rich's shirt. But there's something weird there too. Uncanny. As Jeremy catches his breath, he lets go of Rich cautiously.

"...The SQUIP's not on again. Right?"

"You know my name...?"

Does he know Jeremy's name too? Wait, where did that name come from? He's never met this guy before a few days ago, right? So why does it feel weirdly familiar, holding him steady like this and waiting for him to recover?

He doesn't know what the SQUIP is, but it still makes something in his head grind together, causing him to wince and grab at his own head. Fuck, these headaches are just getting worse.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dude. I've never heard of whatever that is! Listen, I won't rat on you if you're high, but you should probably get to a hospital or something."

Jeremy's got a whole sentence and a half on his tongue and ready to spill out of his lips, some protests and explanations, but as Jeremy processes that answer, he freezes.

"You haven't heard of the..." Jeremy studies Rich's face to figure out if he's joking. It doesn't look like it, but Jeremy's not great at knowing that kind of thing. He keeps one hand on Rich's shoulder in case Rich drops to the ground.

"Are you - Rich, tell me what's happening. Are you getting shocked?"

"Getting shocked? What the hell are you t-talking about...? God, why is my head throbbing?"

He massages his temples and manages to look up at the stranger with a deeply burrowed brow.

"What the hell are you doing to me, Jeremy? I was fine before you showed up!" Everything was fine until Jeremy showed up at that park! There were no dreams, no headaches... he had a family, a purpose, a life. Who was this guy to try to take that away?

Jeremy pulls back in surprise.

He doesn't know... exactly... what Rich is reacting to. Not spinal stimulation, maybe no SQUIP at all, but there's something wrong with Rich's head either way.

"Shit, you're getting the same headaches? I think one of them legitimately knocked me unconscious. There's something toxic in the air or something." Jeremy glances around to see if anyone is wandering around acting vicious or supernatural but, so far, it's just the two of them. "We should go inside somewhere. Get you some water." He searches Rich's eyes before, in a rare burst of confidence, he grabs Rich's hand and squeezes it. "Deep breaths. Okay?"

Rich's breath is ragged, and there's still a bit of distrust in his gaze as he forces himself to look at Jeremy again... but he nods, rubbing his temples with the hand that hasn't been taken.

"Right. Deep breaths..." In for 3, out for 3. Who was it that had taught him that again? He needs to stop thinking... if he just sits down for a minute, he'll be okay.

Relieved, Jeremy tugs Rich along. There's a brunch place nearby, and as they go in, Jeremy mentally orders two waters (big spender!) on the digital order kiosk. He eases Rich down, sitting across from him at a polished-steel table.

"Okay," he says with a frown. His hand is still clutching Rich's on the tabletop. "Rich, you're safe right now. Do you know where you are?" Jeremy's not stellar at grounding exercises but he knows enough to get by.

Rich looks down at their joined hands, and he struggles to come up with an explanation, maybe an excuse, as to why this feels familiar. He's still trying to keep his breathing steady, but the panic seems to creep in with every piece of scenery his eyes catch. The question certainly doesn't help.

"No! I don't know where I am! One second I'm in a cafe, and every time I blink, I'm in some hospital I've never seen before in my life? And you're there, but I met you a couple days ago! Tell me I only met you a couple days ago!" He suddenly finds himself squeezing Jeremy's hand as he pleads with him.

Jeremy is dumbfounded.

It's not hard to understand the gist of what's going on, but... Well, he can't say he's never seen Rich like this. He has. And Jeremy screwed that one up permanently. Rich is in no real danger so Jeremy should be able to help! Right? Right?!

Jeremy's own breathing speeds up and he forces it not to show on his face.

"Rich. Rich, there's something that's keeping you from thinking clearly right now. Where we are isn't important, okay? We can talk about how we met later. But right now you're with me and you know that for sure." He squeezes Rich's hand more tightly. Rich's skin feels the same as Jeremy remembers - that hasn't changed. "Right?"

Rich isn't sure there's something stopping him from thinking clearly. He thinks right now, he might actually be more aware of his thoughts than he ever had been since coming here.

Coming here? Hasn't he been here his whole life?

"Here with you, and I don't even know who you are," Rich comments, but there's a hint of doubt in his voice. "Why are you so worried about me?"

Maybe because they have more in common than they realized. Maybe because they saw themselves in each other, in the most painful ways. Maybe Jeremy just wants to help the version of himself that was too scared to question what was going on around him when...

Rich winces and rubs at his forehead again. "I keep... remembering pieces, and then pulling myself back, just before I realize what it means."

Jeremy blinks in surprise, but - "You know me," he insists. "You wouldn't - you -" He holds up their linked hands for emphasis. "You know me," he says more insistently, not to argue against Rich as much as to clear away any self-doubt. "This is just a bad high. Not literally, I mean, but you know there's definitely been times where I've felt- anyway. No. Yeah. You're not as bad off as you think."

He smiles encouragingly at Rich. It starts fake and thin but becomes more genuine as Jeremy convinces himself and studies Rich's expression. "Like if things were really bad, you'd be hearing something and I'd recognize it. But you're not. So you're in a pretty good place, actually."

He chews on his tongue, thinking, and then pulls his hand out of Rich's. "Okay, so, it's a little different from a drug trip? Like, Rich, you're here right now." He holds up his pointer fingers, touching each other and pointing at the ceiling. "In the middle of two places. You can't stay in the middle. So you can either go over here-" He moves a finger to the right.

"And blue pill, I help you try to calm down here in the cafe, focus on everything you can see and feel and try to get you more stable. Or," Jeremy slides his other finger over to the left, "I can bombard you with memories you can't explain and kinda overload your system until you reboot your mind in safe mode.

"So that would be more intense? I don't know which one is right." He drops his hands and offers his palms as if they really had pills. "It's up to you. Calm down or freak the hell out? Both are, um, good."

"I... really know you? You aren't just a stranger." He means for it to be a question, but his tone carries a finality. No matter how hard it is to remember... Jeremy is part of his life. He has been for longer than he remembers.

He isn't sure what to say at everything Jeremy is trying to explain to him. The information he gets isn't enough for him to piece it together, but it does remind him just enough to get his head throbbing again. He massages his temples, sighing softly.

"I don't know if I can handle a drug trip... or like, any of this." He looks up to study his friend a little more closely.

"If I take this blue pill, like in the Matrix, are you just... never gonna tell me why I remember you? Because I don't want that. I want to, to figure this shit out. Even if I have a meltdown, I mean, at least I'll know why."

Jeremy shrugs with a small smile. It doesn't escape him that Rich remembers watching movies that definitely don't exist in this world.

He opens his mouth to provide reassurance, because Rich calming down doesn't mean they won't ever talk about the subject again, but Rich's last sentence sounds like a definitive choice.

"Okay. Red pill it is." But he's not going to start throwing information at Rich rapid-fire like an asshole. "The world we're in now, I don't know how much of it is real. But either way? You and I aren't from here. We grew up in New Jersey. We go to the same high school."

The waters finally arrive, mechanically dispensed, so Jeremy makes a gesture that forces a series of random electronic objects in the store to pass the cups along until they reach the table. Half of the water has spilled out on the journey. Jeremy pushes one of the cups toward Rich as the electronics settle back into place. "No magic in our world either. Just sufficiently-advanced technology."

Rich seems to be physically bracing himself, but he nods decisively.

"Yeah. Red pill it is." He isn't ready to swallow it, but at least Jeremy is going easy on him at first. He mouths the name of the state they were in before all this to himself a few times. It does sound familiar. And the school...

"The same high school is... Middle... Middle something, right?" It's on the tip of his tongue, but before he can properly tackle that, Jeremy keeps talking and something about it makes a shiver run down his spine.

"Is the tech like... like the drink dispensers?" He has a feeling it's more than that.

"Middle Borough," Jeremy confirms with a nod, backtracking as he registers Rich's question.

Jeremy makes a face. "Not exactly." He hesitates, but it's easier for him to get his thoughts together when he talks it through. When there's enough of a silence that he feels like he's allowed to ramble, he plows ahead. "You and I both went through a, um, traumatic experience with a piece of tech." He doesn't say the word 'SQUIP' yet. "That's how we got to know each other - first in a bad way, then in a good way. We're friends now, or - okay, timeline wise, you don't - that doesn't matter, it - yeah, we're friends," he says with another nod. That was true post-SQUIP even if this version of Rich hasn't gotten close to Jeremy yet. Same squad.

"But there was more to your real, um, not that this isn't necessarily real if we're all experiencing it - more to your life at Middle Borough than the bad thing that happened." Although, to be fair, Jeremy knows more of the bad things than the good ones. "You have a brother and you get along. You used to be super into art but you're still trying to get back into the swing of it so you're rusty. You have a best friend named Jake Dillinger who's this, this big ol' jock." Jeremy's brow wrinkles. "You're kind of a perv but that's probably still true here, huh?"

"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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

Jeremy Heere | Be More Chill (musical) | Day 5

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oh okay hold on rich, i got this. deep breath IT'S FROM JAPAN-

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SCREAMING...

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

Jeremy Heere | Be More Chill (musical) | Day 5

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oh okay hold on rich, i got this. *deep breath* IT'S FROM JAPAN-

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SCREAMING...

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oh okay hold on rich, i got this. deep breath IT'S FROM JAPAN-