voidtreckermods: (train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2021-07-14 07:28 am

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.
weifinder: (smile | for better days)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-21 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Teacher should be easy enough. What, advising on how to pursue... futures? We can go with that, keeping it general. Leave it to me to do the talking, that much I can manage when needed!"

To the frustration of some, but generally to his usefulness or amusement. In this case, bamboozling suspicious folks asking after their intent should be fairly easy.

... He can always pretend it's about examining the architecture. Perfect plan.
azrthmtrnznthos: (casual conversation)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-21 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes, advising me on what I might want to do with my life, as it were." Raven agreed, offering a smile in response to his clear ease with this. "I'm known for being pretty quiet, even while I was brainwashed, so I'll be an attentive student."
weifinder: (ask | from the cold)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-22 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Great, then we have a plan, and it can only go so wrong since it's simple in the first place. Shall we head out?"

He gestures, ready to turn that into a full motion walking start, making use of the time they have. Keeping this in reasonable hours of the day was going to be important: he's noticed there's a shift in outside populations of people in a way even more stark than more natural cycles of movement in cities back home.
azrthmtrnznthos: (Casual)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-22 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Cheerful thought." Her usual dry wit in response to his comment. But he was right, a simple plan was best. It allowed them a framework from which to improvise.

She fell right in beside him.
weifinder: (smirk | next to me)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-22 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
It was a matter of strolling to teleportation points, which to him now read as immense power shifting points, ones that do act as portals, taking those who use them from one region to the next. Not along the lines the illusion suggested, but within its confines still, and those confines are not so small as to feel truly boxed in by their cage.

Once in the general area of what he perceives as the centre of this near-circular whole, he smiles and indicates a direction, settling into an easy amble and chatting over what the buildings are like, inventing as he goes.

"Nothing here is haunted," he says, "Other than the one who live here, huh?"

No spirits, however. Every energy here reads with emotion he can understand, but it isn't that of resentful energies, of unclean deaths. This city is too false, too new, and the deaths which may be coming have not yet arrived.

"Ah, looks like we've had a business failing and new tenants coming in." He nods his head toward a ground level storefront, under an office building. The For Lease sign is evident; paper on the windows, and darkness beyond. An odd way of seeing something normal, one business failing in providing what enough of the foot traffic population desires, but to their advantage, if it isn't a lie. "Turnover on storefronts like these can be high, where competition is fierce, but just as likely that someone will want to make use of this space in a lucky gamble that might succeed."

Eyebrow quirked, he looked down and over to her. Think this is a likely location?

"Nice, too, you can see it's up by the alley, must be where the waste is disposed."

Easy access point where it's less likely things will be observed without us being able to have our own measures.
azrthmtrnznthos: (content)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-23 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Walking with him, Raven has pulled out her notebook from her backpack. Making notes as he comments about the location. She's pretty sure she's understanding him well, and she gives a nod. "I have a class in entrepreneurship I was looking at taken, and location has to be an important component in starting my own business."

This looks like a good location.
weifinder: (orly | now i'm sitting right here)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-23 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"See, examples all around us!"

With a grin and a smile, he moves on: that's one location down. The next he spies not too far away, though he's puzzled by what it is.

"Blockbusterz?" Boarded over, but what in the world had it even been? "Similar idea, with this one?"
azrthmtrnznthos: (blah)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-28 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"An old video store hmm? Could be repurposed easily." Raven nodded. She was glad she'd gotten in touch with him; clearly Wei Wuxian knew what he was doing.
weifinder: (mmmno | and you know the safest)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-29 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
Finding bolt holes was an unfortunate side effect of living as he has, though it's partly awareness of city flows and where things might fall through the cracks. Also in the brilliance of hiding in plain sight. He walked right past his imposters, none the wiser.

(This amuses him, to some extent. He prefers being amused by the absurd, and annoyingly, a number of those fakes were far more financially sound than he was, and some of their construction was subsequently higher quality than a guy living on a mountain with minimal resources, oddly enough.)

"Yes! That's the spirit, seeing possibilities where others see failure or dead ends."

Speaking of, he glances toward another, narrower alley that's clearly also a walkway. Nodding toward it, he quirks his eyebrows at Raven. Shall we?
azrthmtrnznthos: (casual conversation)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-29 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
She nods back. "It's all about looking outside the box, too." Raven agreed, with amusement in her calm voice. "I'm glad I have you helping me look for those possibilities."
weifinder: (smile | from the cold)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-29 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
He smiles in turn, and once they've started down the alley (turns out there's a nice small courtyard between buildings this leads to, and there, a garden shack he'll point out), he speaks. "What we're hoping, at the same time, is the one running this whole performance forgets about what's inside their boxes, because we're making them hard to see. What do you think about that?"

Garden shack, holding tools, not so far off. It's partly disguised by a few trees, since no one wants to look at the places where practical tools are stored, but it means one more place of potential safekeeping by standing out by being so present no one looks twice.
azrthmtrnznthos: (Casual)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-07-31 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
"I think you're perfect for this. Thank you." Raven offered a smile. "And misdirection will help us. If we keep the overt attention elsewhere, then that'll make setting these up easier."
weifinder: (ask | a battle for gold)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-07-31 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
He claps his hands together, giving her a grin and a firm nod. The grin slips away as he speaks, his eyes more thoughtful and calculative, because unlike the world before this one, Diagad's illusion, even seen in more energy signatures and constructs than the beauty of the illusions themselves, makes more sense to his concept of a city. Still incredibly different architecture, but... more laid out like home, a very high stacked one.

"Exactly what I'm hoping. Though on that count, we might want to choose one to set up first, see how successful that is under whomever's eyes."

A toss of his hand to encompass the area, but meaning: the entity.
azrthmtrnznthos: (casual conversation)

[personal profile] azrthmtrnznthos 2021-08-08 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"If you think we can set one up with just us, I'm willing to try. I'm hoping to get other people familiar with magic to help too." Yes, the more people helping would make it dangerous, but if they were varied it would also be harder to spot them.
Edited 2021-08-08 12:51 (UTC)
weifinder: (wine | by you wrapped up tight)

[personal profile] weifinder 2021-08-09 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
"If you have ready names and the contacts, yes, that'd be best. Split methods, different puzzles to move through, ah? Keeps everyone guessing." Keeps them with an inventory of safe spaces that can back each other up instead of all be undone with the breaking of one.