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

Raven lets herself levitate, before flinging a dark energy shield up around the monster. A blink at the girl--the resemblance really was uncanny. ...Dani--one of Danny's 'sisters' in this illusion. They'd all been to the movies.

And really why had their illusionary parents named both a son and daughter who looked alike a variant of the same name, anyways?

Raven nodded her head in greeting.

Edited 2021-07-18 03:02 (UTC)

Vlad is not a creative man.

But with the monster in a barrier of darkness, Razzy landed on the ground, slamming down her hands, and throwing ice up along the ground to come up around the monster from below to freeze it place.

She looks at Raven and pauses. She looks at the dark energy, she looks at her. "So....junior hero'ing?" She asked casually.

Because magic was a little trickier to escape from then most things.

"Past experience." Raven responded easily. "Before the train took me." For clarification, although it was a risk too. Outing herself, when she didn't know if Dani was part of the illusion or not. She felt too real to be simply part of it however.

"Oh good. Sorry, magic is way more of a wild card for easy get away and I don't exactly like beating up my mind controlled f-"

She paused and shook her head. "Well, Danny's friends. I do not want to beat up Danny's friends. Or work associates? I should have probably asked who you all were."

"Magic takes knowing what one's doing, or they can get into real trouble." Raven replied, not judging but reinforcing that caution. "We work together on the train. He's also a dear friend. I'm not used to having them, either." She'd gotten better, but Danny had been Raven's friend from early on the train. When she was still so tense and new, having to start over.

"You have a plan for where to put this beast?"

"That has been my general impression of magic. Lotta mediation and stuff," Razzy said with a nod. "But I was more concerned because I can't phase through all of it. Some it works, others it doesn't, so. Wild card."

"I've gotten used to friends?" What she isn't used to is not knowing the people who are brainwashed she has to fight. Because usually her friends are among them and she has Priorities. "But Danny is a good one to have, especially when you're not used to them. He's great."

"Well, the ice will last at least a few hours. I've been looking around for the actual breaks in reality and planning to deliver a bunch at a time. Or see if they get dissolved naturally. Its a bit of an experiment," she said and knocked on the ice. "I don't think these are sentient, anyway."

"He is a very good one to have." Raven agreed, fondness shining through her tone. "You can't phase through...can you show me?" Because Raven might be able to.

Turning towards the captive beast, Raven turned her attention to it. "I can't sense them being alive, so..." At least this one wasn't--she was getting no sense of emotions or life from it. Both hands raised up, she chanted her mantra softly. Breaking Dani's ice, but also fully encasing the beast in a dark-energy dome.

"Let's try some experiments. Starting with putting this thing somewhere it won't do trouble." Dani could lead the way.

"I mean, it depends on your magic. I can phase through all the stuff here so far. I've just encountered magic that could keep me contained," Razzy said with a shrug. "Then I have to get creative."

"If its easier, I can carry it. They weigh like a couple of grapes or something to me," she said. Ghost super strength is weird like that.

Razzy hummed and pointed towards one of the building. "Couple streets that way is a quarantine. So there's rooms with nothing in it."

"It's fine, if conspicuous." Raven said, having no trouble with the beast in the dark energy bubble. "I can try and phase through, see if it works. Lead the way."

"So you can phase too?" She asked, floating up over the rooftops, seeing if Raven can follow all right.

"Not quite like you and Danny, but yes." Raven replied. "I'm an Empath, I can teleport, and I can manipulate Dark Energy. I'm also a healer." Danny trusted this alternate version of himself--and that was worth something to Raven.

"A healer is always good to have around. I can do a little thanks to this thing," Razzy said, holding up a bracelet with a green orb on it. "I've meant a really strong mentalist, teleporter and dark energy is new though."

"It's just how my power manifests." Raven replied. "I'm from a different Earth than Danny, but was on a super-hero team prior."

"Oooh, just like comic books?" Razzy asked.

"So Danny's told me, when I've talked with him about it." Despite her calm and even tone, there was a hint of fondness there. Illusion aside, she hadn't minded at all having Danny as a brother.

"They always seemed really cool. I mean, I've only read a few comics, but it seemed nice. A bunch of superpowered people working together, always saving the day...it makes for a really nice story," she said. "And they seemed to like the found family thing, which makes sense. Can't fight together without liking each other for long."

"There are times, believe me." Raven debated telling her about stankball, but somehow she had the impression Dani'd be the type to enjoy it. "I...miss my friends. But it's better that I'm on the train."

Razzy looked over at that and-

"So what kind of doom do you think you're responsible for?"

Because she knows that tone all too well.

Raven stopped suddenly and turned to the other girl. At least nothing was reacting to her powers and the mild distress she'd felt. A slow blink, before Raven sighed. "Destroying the world."

"....well, that is definitely upper tier."

Listen, a lot of people agreed with shady guy running a murdercave for a wish for Very Legitimate Reasons.

"Sooooo, have you taken advantage of the whole multiverse thing to find a solution to your problem that seems inescapable when you're stuck at home?" Razzy asked.

"I have one. It's called being on the train." If her father couldn't get to her, he couldn't use her. That simple.

"So no," Razzy said. "Do you share the reason why the end of the world is your fault? Because there are like.....so many solutions out there. A lot of skills. A lot of weird."

Raven was quiet again, before she sighed. "I'm not generally a very open person. Right now I'm trusting you so much based on Danny's trust, and my limited experience with you."

"....okay, I am gonna say, maybe he improved, but while you can definitely count on Danny to distrust for a very good reason, him trusting is a lot more questionable," she said.

Speaking as someone whose absolutely fooled him and the guilt was enough for her to agree to shady murdercave deal to not hurt him a third time.

"Not that I blame you. Or him. Figuring out trust is hard." Extremely hard.

"But I am talking from experience. I went somewhere to get a wish. And it didn't make it easy for you to earn it. My wish was a lot simpler then others, but there were a lot of people with wishes who found other solutions thanks to the people they met there. Sometimes it was as simple as enemies both got stuck and found common ground. Other times, it came down to someone knew a kind of magic or technology or something that fixed something that wasn't going to be fixed in their home as it was. The multiverse is a very, very big place and people are weird. And kind. A lot are willing to help, even when you feel like some terrible thing."

Edited 2021-07-18 05:00 (UTC)

Raven was listening, at least. While they all hovered there, with the beast in a cage of dark-energy. "I also don't sense you necessarily trying to deceive me right now." Raven offered, while she thought about the rest.

"The solution to my problem would involve removing a multi-dimensional threat. It's easier to run. To find a place where it won't find me."

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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