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

Loki opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. She did have a very good point. He puts on an offended expression that's also creeping into a wicked grin.

"I suppose I could be the enemy of both sides. And make it convincing to the entity, as long as I limit my interactions with other interlopers from here on out. But I do have a couple conditions."

He raises a finger. "One, do not forget who came up with the plan. Two, I do not want to actually be captured. Neither imprisonment nor re-brainwashing are appealing and I am certain I can be of more use while free. Third..."

His expression softens a little into genuine concern. "Whoever does take the role of defector, watch yourself and do not get killed. I do not want to be responsible for another's death at the enemy's hands."

"It's not the most subtle, but as I said, I have other skills too. Mostly magically based. We would stand a better chance with two." Raven didn't have much to add otherwise, but she was noting faces as she could.

"I agree with him." She nodded at Loki. "I don't want anyone actually captured and getting re-brainwashed sounds fun for no one."

And no one should get killed. Even void-killed. Still bad enough. "But that sounds like something that might work, if you think it's worth reasoning with the entity."

She shrugged, "If nothing else, if this entity is holding this place together we don't want to do anything to make it... less stable, until we have a way off."

"Don't misunderstand my intentions. Getting a villain to change isn't about them being forgiven," she said. "Really not about them being forgiven," she muttered. Because she certainly hadn't been by most of the people she hurt for a while. "That is something they have to earn later, if ever. Just....making the world a little less dark."

She looked at Loki and grinned a bit. "Considering how much is illusion based, I bet you could put up a convincing show of the raging she-demom. Make it seem all us other train people are crazy. Maybe since she did exist and hopefully I'm a harder read, it might even trick the entity. Then she teleports away when you get captured, enforcing the need to team up for our 'enemies.'"

She looked at Raven and Anan. "....that's a good point." She looked at Raven. "Do you have a place you usually teleport onto the train? Or something on your person that connects to it? Or more teleporters on the train? A friend of mine was able to get an interdimensional portal to always stay open using magically tied books as a trail to follow. I might be able to rework that work if you have anything to tie you to the train," she said, free hand fiddling with her necklace. "It'll take a lot of power, but if we have more people offering up trust and raw energy, I can most likely channel it properly. Make up for a lack in theory."

(deleted comment)

Conan had been quietly listening to all of this. Going unobserved was one of the few advantages of being trapped in this body.

But when he sees an opportunity he speaks up.

"If you need inside information on D-Force, I can provide that."

An unseen and previously figure finally pipes in.

"Alright, now we're finally talking about what we should've been talking about from the start," she says.

"Look, nice as it'd be to solve this boogeyman's problems and ours at the same time, that's not our objective. Our objective is to get the hell out of here, and the way we get the hell out of here needs to be the first, second, and third things we talk about. If we go with an inside man plan, that inside man's gonna have to coordinate with whoever we have on extraction."

"But we're just talking about breaking into the D-Force. What's that got to do with breaking out of here than thinking there's some link to the guy behind all this?"

He looks to Anan then. "We want to get people outta here. Is there a way you think we can do it? Send people back home? We can get back - it's everyone else that's the problem."

"I'm saying that's the question we've gotta be asking," Cassie says. "If whatever we're getting out of infiltrating D-Force doesn't help us with our immediate objective - which, again, is getting the hell out of here - then we need to ask if it's worth the risk. 'Cause that risk is a big one.

"Personally, I think it could work as a distraction. If we could get a line to Mr. Sandman, it might be a decent red herring to shift the attention of whatever's maintaining this giant illusion."

Edited 2021-07-19 23:07 (UTC)

He lets out a breath, shrugging with his hands coming up. "Then try that government area. A few of ours have been saying it's weird over there. Some kind of energy, but I don't know what. Unless you know something about the D-Force we don't."

And that last part he says to Conan.

"You guys have a way back to the train? What's the way back?" Sunset asked, pulling at her bag and grabbing a book, opening it to a blank page. "I assume its not just 'walk there' since that would be an easy out."

"I have memories of the office layouts and the operations," Conan offers. "If any of that would be helpful, I can provide it."

Ask him why he knows any of this, and he'd be a little more evasive.

Loki scowls at the soldier. "Getting away may be your primary goal, but it should not be. Rather, the goal should be to get away and make sure whoever has done this is unable to do so again. You may have your train to protect you after you escape, but the rest of us do not. If we are returned to where we came from, what is to stop the entity from kidnapping us again? And then they will be even more prepared for your interference and another rescue will be that much more difficult. No, we need to break their power. Whether by negotiation, exile, death, or some other manner, we cannot leave this entity be."

He's more appreciative when he turns to Conan. "All of that will likely be useful. For the spy, and for anyone who might be sent in to rescue them, should things go wrong."

"Yeah, ideally, we defeat him for good," Cassie says. "We should go for it if it doesn't jeopardize the escape of most of us here. But if we get away without defeating it for good we're still good to try again later, even if it is more prepared next time. If we don't get out at all, being stuck here for good is the best case scenario.

"We're on its turf, in a world that it made. If we come swinging for that thing, we'd best not miss."

Edited 2021-07-20 02:13 (UTC)

"I'm willing to take the role of defector here," Leia said. "I've got some experience with infiltration and espionage. And if it comes down to it, I've been well trained to resist interrogation. But all the same, yes, let's try to plan this well enough that that doesn't need to be a factor. I've got no interest in being forced to jump down any more garbage chutes because of poor planning."

"And I agree that our end goals here should be to both put a stop to this entity's activities one way or another and to get everyone here safely back to where they belong, whether that's the train, their own worlds, or elsewhere. The purpose of this mission will be both as a distraction and as potential information gathering; if we can find out more about what the entity hopes to accomplish with this massive illusion, we may have a better chance of stopping it. And of getting out of here with our skins intact."

She smiled at Conan and Cassie as they joined. "It sounds useful." She told Conan, any information was. The more they knew the better.

She sighed. "If this world really has no native people or creatures, there's a way we could at least keep it here."

She doesn't want to put their hopes up too much. Especially since there are still a lot of people here, who need to get out of here. People without voidcraft to retreat to...

"I need to find my crew first though. I don't... This is going to require them. And information. Your infiltration plan isn't bad."

They're set on doing this idea, and Tidus is still wary of it, but he's not going to say any more. Not when Anan brings up about her crew, and them possibly being able to do something about what's going on.

"Where are they? You know?" Oh- "Can you give us any pictures or info about them?"

Trunks had been keeping his thoughts to himself. Clearly there were strong opinions and personalities dealing with this, so he just listened. His attention swiveled back to Anan with her comment about her crew.

"I can focus on that, if you want. Especially if you can give us descriptions, if not pictures or info. I'm fairly sure I can avoid being caught by D-force, and haven't really brought much attention to myself yet from this entity." A hint of smile. "Not that I wouldn't mind people helping me."

"All right, so order of priorities: Have a way to get people away from here for if and when this place destabilizes," Sunset said and looked at Loki. "Defeating our enemies is good, but an escape plan irregardless is important. Worse comes to worse, we live to fight another day."

"Which is second priority: Neutralize the entity. Talk them down, trap them, kill them, whatever it takes so they can stop doing this. Always be on a look out on how to get to them," she said, and is starting to draw circles and runes in her book.

"But for escape, we need to find out who and who is not real and how to wake them up so they'll be ready. High ups in DForce, people with powerful abilities of transport or high pools of energy, the crew-" She paused, staring at what she's written down. "And...I think anyone with mental abilities. Hopefully they're already free or won't be hard, but if we can get a bunch of empaths, telepaths, anyone whose got stuff to touch the mind..."

She looks up to Leia and Anan. "Your crews, do you have standardized communication devices? Would everyone have them on their person regularly?" She asked. "The Magic of Friendship-the Elements of Harmony, everyone who has an element is a siphon for power. Potentially an enhancer with the right circumstances. Loki might be able to get me a lot that way. And I know I can get magic to go through technology. Gets weird, but it goes. If there is a path for me to follow, there's a good chance I could force a mass wake up, especially if anyone has really good ways to get at most of your people emotionally, or any other mentalists who can send their own messages with mine."

Edited 2021-07-20 21:29 (UTC)

"Define a high-pool of energy." Trunks asked. Because he could think of 3 besides himself off the top of his head. He was fairly sure he'd be able to get them to participate, too.

"Magic, energy, technically anyone with really strong emotional connections with people could probably also do the trick," Sunset said. "Teleportation and portal magic would be a lot of spellwork and using what experience I and other people have and trying to get things to work. Which isn't impossible, I'm brilliant with that sort of thing, but it still has plenty of room for error."

"This, however, is purely Element of Harmony. And the Elements are the most powerful force of my homeworld. Its in every creature in Equestria, its capable of granting magic to those who don't belong to my world, at its core, its harmony itself. Not control, not power, harmony. It can take in anything and everything with enough desire for harmony and use it. Honesty is a core tenet. A giant lie is the sort of thing it will not allow to continue. And like I said, everyone with an Element can technically be a siphon, but I'm also one of the easier ones because my part is specifically meant to allow others in. Magic is the only one better because that's spark of everything," Sunset explained, her hand going to her necklace.

"But....that is the risk. And why....this could work," Sunset said. "Its called the Magic of Friendship because the way to activate it most easily is friendship. People who will work through discord for the sake of each other. But it doesn't have to be long friendship. It just needs the spark of it. Which is why I need people to have trust and faith in me, and have it in turn, and I think it will be enough to know there is a risk," she said, frowning a bit. "I don't control my empathy. I direct it. I can touch someone looking for something specific and learn it, I can use it to help others into anothers mind, I can see through false memories with focus. But I touch someone whose in crisis and I get every thought, feeling, and memory necessary to understand that crisis. Perfect understanding. And I don't get to say no. If there is someone I can help with understanding currently suffering, if there's contact, I know. It doesn't take long." Which is why she's been so effective at helping villains and probably gives strong context for that belief. "So everyone who helps has to risk me learning things about them. And trust that I can keep it secret. But if they can...this is a power that can make or destroy a world. And at least...it either works or it doesn't. I can't push that far without it working with me. If it fails, then at least it probably won't bite us."

Edited 2021-07-21 03:20 (UTC)

She opened her mouth to answer Tidus but then paused as Trunks and Sunset spoke, letting Sunset explain about her Magic of Friendship first. She nodded along, magic wasn't her strong point but she was able to keep up with the explanation at least.

"My crew are Jin-Roh, Pepper, Sendez and Malin. Sendez is a Senurin and Pepper is a Mimnun. The others are human."

She paused a moment.

"And? Communication devices?" Sunset asked.

"Ah apologies." She smiled at her, the question forgotten in her interest in the explanation about Magic and Friendship.

"These." She showed her the small square watch-like device on her wrist. "But it's currently not working. I can't get through to them."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary. What I'm looking for is some kind of connection to follow," she said. "Which...well, another it works or it doesn't, no harm, no foul."

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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