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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Essek turns when the other talks, his eyes wide with unsuppressed fear, his breathing heavy and erratic, not just from his movements but from the spike of panic that laces through him. His mind feels numb as he takes a step back, away. People were looking for him? Who? Why? Because he was shown to kill those people? The man before him is familiar, but he's having trouble thinking passed the fog of grief and fear across his mind.

Though, as the man keeps talking, he hesitates. Trying to digest the words as he squeezes his eyes shut, trying desperately to think clearly. His body is shaking as badly as his mind is, rattling in a cage.

"I-... I need to- I-" he shakes his head harshly, as if that will dislodge the thoughts trapped in his mind, his shaken voice strained with rough, broken pain, "I have to find my- I cannot leave Beauregard and Caleb- I need-" He makes a frustrated sound at his inability to form thought, the cloud of paingriefguiltpanic suffocating him.

He chokes on a breath, his voice raw, "Please, I must find them." I need to know they're alive, echos softly against the fog.

The names Essek mentioned weren't familiar to Lea, at least not off the top of his head, though if they were from the train, he might recognize their faces if he saw them. But he didn't need to know them himself to be able to tell how important they were to Essek, and that was enough.

"You likely won't find anyone wandering around here," he said. "The whole area has been pretty much cleared out; I was surprised to run into you. But I can take you to the safehouses the people from the train have been setting up. If any of us found them the way I found you, that's where they'll have taken them." And it was a much better option than being out in the open at the moment.

There's a pinch to Essek's brow that shows he's listening, trying to absorb all the information, but his mind is slow, stilted, so it takes effort to actually hear them. But eventually he does nod, it makes sense, the safe houses would be the best places to find them, at least the one of the better places to actually look. He'd been so set on not wanting to get caught, that he hadn't even paid attention to where he was going or how unpopulated or fractured it was. There was little else behind his reasoning, just the need to find the others while avoiding eyes.

It was unpleasant to realize that... for a man who's always been so meticulously careful and thoughtful about everything he did, to run on pure instinct was incredibly disconcerting. Yet still, his mind was thick so with agony, grief, loss, even that realization was muted behind it.

"That-... yes," he felt so monosyllabic, but it was hard to form a thought, let alone voice it. Still, this was the best lead he had. "If there's a chance, I--..I'll go."

Lea, on the other hand, was far more used to just following his heart and running on instinct. Not that that helped a great deal when things were this chaotic. Still, he nodded, then gestured for Essek to follow him, figuring a simple, easily understandable gesture might be a better option at the moment, since he didn't know just how scrambled Essek might be mentally.

"You can lean on me if you need to while we're walking," he said as they started off. "I know you're in rough shape, but we need to keep moving." With bits of the city disappearing seemingly at random, Lea didn't want to find out what would happen if they happened to be in one when it went poof.

It was easy for him to follow initially, the gesture universal enough that he got it without much thought. He wasn't fast, there was a slowness to him, his movements careful as if he was moving with an unseen injury, running with any speed would be decidedly difficult.

"I--" he isn't fond of touching, even more so now that every touch makes his skin prickle like claws being dragged over it, his being feeling barely held together after being torn apart again and again. But- no, if he starts to be a burden, he might have to endure that, he won't endanger this person. "If.. if I--should I-" he takes a deep breath, trying to organize the thought that needs to be said, "if I begin to, ah-- fall behind, I will."

Lea nodded. It was fair, and he wouldn't force the guy unless he had to. He tried to keep his pace to something that Essek wouldn't have too much trouble keeping up with even in his current state, while keeping an eye out around them. There might not be many people left in the area, but there may be some escaped animals or those constantly shape-shifting monsters. Or even those weird lights that had taken to hunting people since the incident that had landed Essek in his current predicament.

All in all, though, their trek went relatively smoothly, until they rounded a certain corner. Lea had crossed a nearby bridge in order to get into the area and knew of no other way to get back to the relative safety of the city center. But what had been a solid bridge a few hours previous was now flickering in and out of existence, and would obviously be gone before too long. "Crap... this isn't good," he said. "We need to get across here if we're going to get where we're going."

He looked around for alternative routes, but the drop below the bridge was too high and sheer to make jumping or climbing down and back up the other side even a remote possibility, even for someone in good shape. "And can't use a dark corridor," he said, thinking out loud. "Even if I was willing to try it without protection, you're in no shape for it even with a black coat. But I don't see any..." Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait..."

He summoned he Keyblade, then waved Essek back slightly. "Keyblades are supposed to be able to lock or unlock basically anything, even things you wouldn't think of. Maybe it can lock the illusion of the bridge in place long enough for us to cross." But it wasn't something he'd ever tried before so... best to have Essek standing back a bit. Just in case.

Edited 2021-07-22 05:22 (UTC)

Essek frowns at the flickering bridge. It would be an easy solution if his mind was well enough to channel magic, but his hands shake too heavily and his memories too muddled for him to even recall his spells, let alone cast them. He feels useless and absolutely vulnerable, at the mercy of this person leading him, having to trust him purely because he's familiar and a fellow train passenger.

He hates to be put in such a position, but he kind of placed himself in it, let his instincts override his scattered logic.

Watching the other, he mentions some things that have no meaning to him personally - dark corridor? black coat? - but he's having trouble keeping up with the man's stream of conscious at the same time. He does however, understand needing to stand back and does so. His eyes a little wide on the summoned blade. It was, well, atypical looking, unlike anything he's seen, but the other seemed to have an idea of what he intended to do with it, how to wield it.

He kept his eyes locked on the other's movements, curious, but keeps out of the way.

Yes, Keyblades did tend to look atypical compared to most ordinary swords, and Lea's Keyblade was atypical even by Keyblade standards, at least in terms of appearance. If Essek was curious enough to ask later, Lea would gladly explain what he knew about them, but for now, there were more pressing matters.

Lea pointed the Keyblade at the bridge focusing on how much they needed to get across to the other side. He was sort of expecting a beam of light to shoot out of it and strike the flickering bridge, which so far as he knew was how Keyblades worked their locking magic. But he didn't get a beam of light. Instead, he got a portal.

It would be clear to Essek that this wasn't what Lea had expected to happen at all as Lea took a step back himself in surprise at the sudden appearance of the gateway. It swirled with magical energy and light gleamed and radiated outward from the center. "Okaaaay, that's new...", he said. He cautiously stepped forward to get a closer look at it. "It... almost looks like a Dark Corridor, except... well, not dark."

He stared at it for a long moment before making a decision. "Wait here a second," he instructed Essek. "I'm gonna try something." With that Lea took a deep breath and stepped forward into the portal.

Passing though the entrance to a Dark Corridor felt like passing through a heavy curtain made of strangely solid and unpleasantly clingy smoke charged with static. The sensation of entering this portal he could only compare to stepping into a pleasantly warm bath, if that bath were both vertical and strangely solid and also not actually wet. That was, there was a sensation of passing through something that offered little to no resistance, but was definitely there, and left him with a sense of soft warmth and calm as he crossed into it. Instead of swirling darkness or chaotic colors, what he passed through was suffused with a soft glow that cast no shadows and seemed to come from everywhere.

And then, a moment later, he was stepping back out into the crumbling city... except he was stepping out of a second, identical portal on the opposite side of the bridge. "Whoa..." He would definitely have to tell Vexen and Ienzo about this. Xion and Kairi too. But the important thing right then was, they had their way across.

Not wanting to risk the portals closing due to disuse, Lea stepped back through and out of the original portal. "It's OK," he told Essek once he was back on his side of the bridge. "Follow me. I'm... not entirely sure how I made these portals, but they're safe and they can get us across."

Edited 2021-07-25 01:10 (UTC)

Essek watches curiously, squinting against the late sun and light of the portal that Lea accidentally summoned. The weapon was so strange and the portal it seemed to have created made his pained, tired mind want to be interested, but the focus, the concentration wasn't there.

All that was in his fractured mind was the a sudden and intense spike of anxiety when Lea steps into the unintentional and clearly unknown portal and vanished from view. Part of him expected Lea to not come back, to just be gone and Essek would be alone again, left to try and find a way across a flickering bridge and no magic to do so. Once again absolutely alone.

The longer he waits for the other to return, the more his breathing picks up and his eyes grow wide with growing fear.

And when Lea does comes back, the relief makes him feel so light headed that he has to actually reach out to the other person to keep from crumpling to the ground as his knees give out on him. "You-" he has to gasp for air as he talks, "you're back, I-I thought... yes, I-"

There's enough mind to know magic has limits, so he nods and holds on to the other for help through the portal, even as the touch stings with knife sharp tingling. He can steady his breathing when he's back across it.

Edited 2021-07-28 03:37 (UTC)

Lea caught Essek reflexively as his knees buckled. "Whoa hey...", he said letting the other lean on him as much as necessary. "Nah, I wouldn't leave a guy behind in a place like this." He flashed him a brief but hopefully reassuring smile. Under other circumstances he might have said more, but Essek's labored breathing was worrying him; if it became a serious problem, there would be very little Lea could do. Best get him a cross and nearer to further help as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the portal was only a few steps away and soon Essek would feel the same sensations Lea had as they passed through the entrance. The passage of the portal was bright as it had been for Lea, but the light was soft and diffused. And where the darkness inherent in Dark Corridors fed into any dark emotions it could find in a person's heart, Essek would find that the sensation of soft warmth and calm that filled the space was more than physical. It wasn't nearly as intense as the effect of Dark Corridors could be- the light wasn't nearly so hungry as the darkness-, but it was there, gently bolstering he shreds of hope and caring he was clinging to.

The trip didn't last any longer than it first had for Lea, and a moment later, they were both back out in the city. Lea guided Essek a few steps away from the portal and onto more reliable ground, looking for a place where the other could sit down a moment if he had to, as the portals closed behind them. He finally settled for a large brick planter in front of a now abandoned shop, helping Essek over to that and letting him sit on the edge if he needed to to catch his breath.

Essek doesn't hesitate to let the other lead him through the portal. While the magic was foreign, Lea seemed pretty confident that it would be safe, so he could trust that at the least. There wasn't much other way to get across as it were anyway.

At first, Essek braced for the pain of the light of the portal, but it was gentler than the sun, soft in the way of touching cashmere when expecting steel wool. His mind wanted to much to pay attention to the magic, the use of the portal, the way it functioned, but every time he tried to focus it shattered against the ebb and flow of his panic, the dull grate of his mind. Each thought scattered to the wind before they can form strongly.

But it's strange how by the time he's out of the other side, there's a lightness to his thoughts. Beau and Caleb were probably fine, he knows if they died they would return to the train, right? That's how he heard it worked. Perhaps everything else was lost - and that was heart wrenching agony - he still had them, as bittersweet a hope it was. He's lost in the thought enough that he barely notices when Lea sits him down on the brick planter, how he's already working to steady his breath as his hand comes up to shield himself from the glare of the late sun.

"Ah, thank you," he looks a little startled to find himself here, his slowing breath hitching. "I-... I might want to.. ah-- ask you about that sometime. But not-- not now."

Lea was relieved when Essek's breathing began to slow and settle though it still hitched a bit. "Don't worry about it," he said. "And yeah, this isn't exactly the time or place for a long talk about magic, even if you were in any shape for it." Plus, there was the little fact that even he himself didn't know how he'd done what he'd done, so it wouldn't be much of a discussion unless he learned a bit more first.

"You good to keep going? We can't stay here too long, but if you need a minute or two..."

For once, Essek can't help but agree. It was a topic better suited to another time, especially when he would be more mentally healthy to handle such discussions. His mind is still a whirl, but it's easier to bear the darker thoughts now that there's some... sliver of hope.

"Yes... I should be, ah, good," he stands on shaky legs, but but gestures the other to lead the way. For now, he will follow, slowly but surely til Lea gets him somewhere safe. And this time he'll try to stay for as long as the hope does.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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