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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So lost in his mind, he doesn't even notice the other approaching him until Ryo lays a hand against his own. He jerks back violently from the touch, wide eyes snapping to the other's face. For a man who initially presented himself so passively and aloof, in this moment his emotions are worn naked on his face: terror, panic, and overwhelming grief, but a hollowness of truly looking at the other at the moment. It's as if he's seeing through him.

His eyes squeeze shut against the pain of the ambient sunlight, the physical pain pulling him ever so slightly from his mind. Enough, enough. He nods, but can do little else as he clutches at his face again, as if he can hide away, disappear from everything that hurts, yet so much of it is inside himself.

A shattered gasp for air breaks from him, his lungs struggling to remember to breathe through the grief.

He pulls his hand back as Essek jerks away from him. It's the same way Thanatos pulls back when he's grabbed- why does he keep doing this to his friends- he's just trying to help!

But this isn't about him right now, and turning the blame on himself isn't going to help anyone. Essek needs help. Focus. He knows the emotions on Essek's face - he's felt them himself - and hopefully he can ease Essek through them.

And Essek is nodding, which means that he can hear Ryo, and...okay. Okay. He can work with this. "Listen. Just...breathe with me, okay. Slow breaths. In-" He takes a deep, slow breath, and pauses for a moment. "-and out." He lets it out, just as slowly. "Alright? In...and out." He repeats the process a few more times, and hopefully - hopefully - Essek will catch on. Hopefully he'll calm down.

(That is a lot more hopefully than Ryo likes to work with, but it's all either of them have at the moment, so it'll have to do.)

Edited (Ah, typos, the bane of my existence) 2021-07-21 00:59 (UTC)

The lack of air is spiking his panic further, causing the pervasive numb tingle of anxiety and grief in his chest to crawl up the back of his neck and head. His hearing is starting to fuzz out, as if muted by thickly draped windows, but enough slips in, enough for his mind to grasp at.

He tries to follow suit, listen to Ryo's directions, but his quiet breaths are choked and stilted past his raw throat. His nails bite against his scalp, enough to draw him to the present, enough to focus on his breathing, pull air haltingly into his uncooperative lungs. It's hard when Just... breathe reminds him of his loss, when trying to stall his panic and breathe reminds him of all of who he's lost.

But eventually his breathing is more steady, though still shuddered and grief stricken, he's no longer gasping and choking on every inhale. "Tha-..." he clears his throat, "thank you..." his voice is rough, torn, shaken.

Edited 2021-07-21 01:27 (UTC)

It takes time - and gods, it hurts to listen to Essek gasp for breath in the meantime, knowing there's little else he can do to help - but eventually Essek's breathing steadies. He's not calm yet - he's nowhere near fine - but he's better. It's the first step, and it's better than where he had been. "Of course," he says gently in response. "This is what friends do, isn't it?"

He pauses for a moment - there's not really any way around this, is there - and sighs. "I want to check if you're hurt, but I have to touch you for that - it's how my magic works." He lays his hand on the ground near Essek's, palm up. "Will you give me your hand?"

Essek's brows knit together tighter at the mention of friends, having to take a shuddered breath to not cave into the grief of the ones he lost. So many use the term lightly, even he himself has, but it hurts to hear when the friends he wanted so badly to see safe and alive are gone now. One hand is still hiding some of his face, fingers curled into his hair, he allows himself to grip his hair to keep his despair from overwhelming him again.

The question gives him pause, everywhere tingles sharply with a pain he doesn't realize is merely a lingering memory. No, he felt every piece of him get torn apart, down to past even the metaphysical. Sitting up weakly, he haltingly puts his hand into Ryo's, though it flinches and shakes, he doesn't draw back even as the contact causes the tingles to sharpen and stab as they prickle along his skin.

There's nothing physically wrong with him, beyond probably lack of sleep and eating, all the pain he endured was purely psychological, though he isn't aware.

Essek moves to sit up, and Ryo reaches out to help-

And stops before touching him, pulling back slowly. He's...not reacting well to being touched. That's why Ryo asked for his hand. He can't fix this just yet - it is killing him to pull away, to leave his hand on the ground and wait for Essek to make the next move, but he doesn't have another choice if he wants to actually help.

But Essek finally does make that move, and Ryo takes his hand gently and reaches out with his magic, connecting his life to Essek's and checking him over for injury. He comes up empty - there's even the tiny jolt as his magic redoubles back on itself, a pop of metaphysical static electricity - and he drops the connection. He opens his fingers but doesn't move his hand from under Essek's - maybe he'll stay, maybe he won't, but either way it'll be Essek's choice. "You're not injured," he says, for all that helps. Essek was still terrified, grief-stricken, unable to breathe, in agony-

And in a world of illusions, where everything seemed real by default.

"What did you see?" The question is quiet; he almost doesn't expect an answer, and if it sets Essek off, he'll do what he can to calm his fellow Voidtrecker. It seems Essek can barely sit up, let alone stand, Ryo isn't strong enough to carry Essek himself, and he's definitely not leaving Essek alone like this, so for now, they're stuck out here.

Essek is wobbly as he pulls his knees to his chest and lets Ryo do what is needed to check him for injuries. It's lucky for them that this street is not highly populated, because it takes an effort for Essek to swallow the pained gasp when the magic redoubles and shocks him, causing him to full body flinch. Only through active effort does he not pull away from Ryo immediately, but he does draw his hand back hesitantly when he feels the young man's fingers release him.

The words don't make sense. He can still feel how his body was sundered again and again, how every fiber was picked apart and seared with pain. There's no way he's not injured, he looks at his hands, they shake and flinch as he turns them over, but he doesn't sees nothing but unmarred skin, not even where he was shocked. He knows what he felt , he-

What did you see?

"N-" there's a long moment as his eyes squeeze shut like he doesn't want to think about it, but he doesn't have the mental fortitude to fight against it. "There was...we parted the illusion and-- there was a hand of burning energy... it grabbed us and-- people burned... we couldn't, we-- then pain... pain and n-" his voice catches as he buries his hands in his hair, gripping it as he curls tighter, his face hiding against his knees.

"Nothing," he chokes on the word as his mind catches on that. Nothing, nothing nothingnothingnothingnothing-- he shakes like he'll fall apart. His breathing starts to go erratic as his grief moves to overwhelm him again, because he has nothing. He can't fathom why he would be alive but to suffer everything he's lost.

We parted the illusion- people burned-

They'd gotten too close, tried to get out, and whatever had created this place had punished them for it. Tortured them. Everyone else is still missing, as far as Ryo knows, and Essek is-

"Essek," he says firmly, with a strength he himself doesn't feel. He's worried, but Essek needs someone to help ground him, and that's much more important. "Slow breaths, in and out. Remember?" He demonstrates, and hopefully Essek will pick the cadence back up again.

If he does, Ryo will move to sit next to him - close enough to be present, but not touching. "You're not alone, I promise." He, for one, isn't leaving Essek's side until Essek is stable and somewhere safe, away from where the vengeful public could easily find him.

But he is alone, he's lost everything. Everyone that mattered, everyone that made him want to be a better person. Why was he made to live without them when he just learned that life was richer when lived for more than just himself. He-

It takes a moment, listening to Ryo's breathing, listening to the reassurance, letting it sink in, finding himself following along slowly. There was someone else next to him, so no he wasn't alone, not technically... it's a weak logical thought, but it's enough to pull himself up enough for air instead of letting the rough waters pull him back under. It was enough to settle his breathing from erratic and choked to something steady again, though still shaken, still upset.

"I'm-" he shakes his head, tries again, "Sorry, I-... what happened?" It could be so many things, he doesn't care, he just doesn't want to get asked about what he went through again.

At least he's breathing again. The fact that they've had to reestablish that baseline is worrying to say the least, but what about this situation isn't?

He rests the back of his head against the wall and sighs. He doesn't think more information is necessarily going to help Essek, but it's better than letting him sink back into panic again. "The five of you have been missing for a few days now. They're playing video of you attacking people and calling you terrorists. People are...upset, to say the least. Angry. You're lucky I found you before anyone else did." Though getting him someplace safe was going to be a whole other task entirely. "I don't know where the other four are yet, but I don't think anyone's dead. If they were, we'd know about it." There'd be a victory celebration across all the screens, a vicious triumph that he doesn't think he could stomach seeing.

Essek listens, though his brow pinches as he tries to make sense of everything he's hearing. The words are distant and hard to grasp, hard to make sense of, his mind too muddled with everything to think clearly, to fully comprehend what he's told, but he keeps trying until it does, until something gets through. Eventually, when it does, he nods, the heels of his palms against his forehead while he keeps his hands in his thoroughly disheveled hair.

Of course they would be branded terrorists, something he knows he would have deeper thoughts on if his mind was capable currently. It feels strange to hear they have been missing only days when it feels like so much longer, all sense of time was lost to him.

But more importantly... "Are--...you think they could be? Alive?" Could Caleb be alive? He feels so sure he lost him, positive they were all dead, that he was alone. He can feel how he starts to shake more, wanting so badly for that hope but so sure it's false.

If he hadn't checked Essek over himself, he would've thought that Essek had a concussion - it's taking him too long to process things. Then again, he had just been tortured for days by whatever malevolent illusionist is holding them all captive - the fact that he's cogent at all is a blessing of the gods. He breathes, and he gives Essek time to work it out in his head. At least nobody's getting too close - his Sense picks up on a mass of humanity, but no one stands out near them. Not yet, at least.

And then Essek speaks up, sounding like he's holding on to hope by his fingernails, and Ryo isn't about to leave him hanging. "Yes," he says, simple and calm. "I'm pretty sure they are." The explanation as to why can come later, when Essek has the space to process.

Taking a deep breath, Essek tries to bring back down his shaking, eyes closing as he lets that sink in. If he came back alive, then the other four could have - should have - too. More importantly, Caleb could have come back, he could be alive. Though if he went through what Essek did, he must be in a bad way, if not worse than himself, the man always had a strange mix of strength and fragility.

Opening his eyes again he nods. He takes the seconds he needs to organize a thought before speaking, "I-... I need to find him," he needs to know he's alive. To know he's not as absolutely alone as he feels.

He's patient, waiting as Essek gets a hold on himself and puts his thoughts back in order. There's no urgency quite yet - not unless someone gets too close. For now, they have the time, and if it helps put Essek back together, then it's well spent.

And then Essek speaks, and Ryo closes his eyes for a moment. He always does find the ones who don't know how to rest, doesn't he. "You can barely sit up," he says gently. "You need to rest first." Did he forget the part where the entire city is hunting them?

...well, maybe. Essek is very badly rattled, after all.

"Who are you looking for?" Maybe he can help with that much, at least.

As much as part of him wants to rail against that, Ryo has a point. He can feel it in the weakness of his limbs, the ache throughout his body, he needs to regain what failing strength he has. Right now, he knows well enough that he wouldn't offer anything more than to make them a bigger target if he could even find one of the others to start with. Especially as he tries to engage his float, his simplest of abilities, and can't. His mind is too feebled to even latch on to the simplistic reversal of his gravitational force, any incantation he tries to latch on to is like water through his shaking fingers - held a scant few seconds before it slips away.

He is so lost in trying to grasp his magic through his addled mind that he almost misses the question. Ryo might even think he did for a moment, since he doesn't answer right away.

"Caleb," he whispers it with a voice that cracks, making it hard to hear and understand. "I... He's a friend."

It's not the first time in this conversation that Essek has needed time to process the question before answering it. Ryo isn't about to rush him.

But that answer...

"From home?" Essek hadn't been on the train for long before the mission had started; either he had really hit it off with Caleb, or he'd known Caleb before either of them had arrived here, and the latter seems more likely.

Caleb had also been involved in what he now knows was an attempt to take out the illusion. Caleb is also missing. Given that the city is on high alert, no news - no publicly broadcast news, at least - is good news.

There's a hesitation, because he doesn't know Ryo, not really, and even with all his kindness, trust has never come easily for Essek. And through all his hurting, all his grief, he finds it difficult to not be wary.

Eventually though, he takes a shaky breath and nods.

If he's already dead, what does it matter if he's a friend from home. Someone he lost, a home he lost, all the other friends and people he cares for there also lost. They're all- He shakes his head and starts to take measured breaths, trying to keep his mind in the now, to keep the hope that maybe there's still someone, not everything was taken from him so absolutely.

"I-..." he furrows his brows in frustration, the thought escapes him, vanishing into the fog and he just shakes his head and gives up on it. He's too exhausted to chase it.

The nod is answer enough, and the determination and desperation makes so much more sense in context. He'd be going out of his mind if Endon or Orion had ended up here, in danger, and he couldn't find them. He reaches out to take Essek's hand, to comfort him, and stops- no, Essek had pulled away once already, don't make it worse- and drops his hand into his lap instead. Gods damn it all, why isn't there more he can do?

But focusing on that isn't going to help Essek any, and the least Ryo can do is keep him stable enough to recover. "We'll find him," he says gently. "You turned up - I'd imagine he will too." At which point it's a matter of a friendly face finding him and hiding him before anyone who would do him harm does the same. That's...he doesn't know what the odds of that are, but worrying about it isn't going to help at the moment.

The words give Essek some kind of hope, even if it's fragile and layered in the certain despair of how he's lost everything. He wants Ryo to be right so badly, he wants it to be true that Caleb is okay and he will be found. Never has he needed something to be as true in this moment as this. He made a promise to himself, that he would see him safely to the end of everything, he just...

With a trembling breath, he nods. "I-... hope you're right.."

His mind starts to go blank, like it's turning off, like everything is finally too much and it needs to just... disengage with everything. It makes him feel dead inside, even as his heart still pounds and his body still shakes, even as his breathing remains uneven. For now, he rests his head against his folded arms, trying to rest like Ryo said. They would need to move for safety reasons soon, then perhaps once at a safehouse he can see about finding his missing friends later.

"Me too." He doesn't know what he's going to do if he isn't.

Bu...if Caleb dies, he'll wake up in the luggage car, right? He'll be there waiting for them once this is all over. Right?

Worrying about any of it is borrowing trouble. For now, Essek needs time to recover his strength, and Ryo isn't about to leave him to the nonexistent mercy of the public. He settles in next to Essek, close but not touching, listening to his Sense and keeping an eye on either end of the alley.

(Eventually, Essek will recover enough to walk, and Ryo will help get him someplace safe. Eventually, Ryo will leave him in that safe space to go look for Caleb, and return to find that Essek is missing too. Eventually, but not yet. For now, they rest.)

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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CW: Panic attack things, probably should say that for the previous few tags

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