middleofsomewhere | 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

"....Spark....?"

Why... did that word mean something to him? Something just felt... odd. But he couldn't put his finger on what or why.

"Yes," Adrien said. "Spark. Doesn't that spark any inspiration? Does it illuminate some thoughts? Does it light up the big picture? Mewbe some purronderings? Meowre questions?"

"Fur real with all of this, bro? Not sure what the point is, maybe you're not as sharp as you think you are? Beclaws I don't get it..."

But something... something was poking at him, floating just under the surface. Something... He shook his head, trying to clear it, so confused.

"Bro... my head kinda hurts..." not just his head, his chest too. What... what was wrong with him?

"Are you mewst certain your don't understand? Maybe there is claws for your head to hurt? Like a furrgotten dream?" Adrien said and leaned closer.

"Maybe you need to wake?" He whispered and pushed the thought into his head telepathically.

He had been lining up puns in his head then that push and suddenly....

He was Spark again. His eyes went huge. "Wait what happ.... ADRIEN!" And the cat lunched into his lap and wrapped his paws around him. "Adrien! Adrien! Which world are we even in? You're here! How much if it was real?"

Adrien caught Spark with a laugh. "Hey Spark," he said. "And last I knew, I was checking on home and then I was here. Far as I can tell, father and I are both real. Unfortunately." Listen, he loved his father, BUT THIS WAS A CRISIS.

"As for how much was real-"

"Little less then a week." Says one little black gremlin giving Spark a hard look.

"Plagg was denied cheese and refused to believe."

He rubbed his face against Adrien several times and then just stopped and stared at him. "Wait, Dad is here and he's real? And... Nope can't..."

He pulled away just enough to turn back into Gar, because certain things he just couldn't say as Spark.

"So... dad is here, wherever here is. But this isn't Nautilus or the train." He was trying to get his head around all of this. He looked at Plagg then back at Adrien. "Look, you come back onto the train with us and I will trade cheese for Plagg for fish for Spark. Or anything. Just... Just don't leave me again!" he begged. "Please Adrien."

"Yeah, pretty sure its him. He's got too much of that stubborn energy to be a fantasy," Adrien said dryly.

"You know, I'm kind of liking whatever this Nautilus did to you," Plagg said with some amusement.

"Glad you approve, at least," Adrien said. A bit of snark. A bit of sincerity. Plagg's approval MATTERED.

"The train....the Voidtreckers, right?" Adrien asked.

Though Spark's reaction was....that was a lot and Adrien was quick to pull him into a hug. "Did you miss me that much? That's a pretty heavy trade-" He started, but then he remembered.

"....the dream?"

"The dream," he acknowledged, nodding. He took a deep breath.

"Nautilus was great, except for Papillon being there," he said to Plagg clinging close to Adrien. "And anyone can just create food by Bending. Though some people were brats about doing it for you. Not Adrien though. Watch out for Leia how...."

RIGHT.

"Adrien! Yes, the train is the Voidtreckers. We go from world to world. Leia is there. And... she knows. Somehow she knows. About Spark and Gar. And the dream... That actually happened. Sort of. She told me she knew after..."

He shook his head, trying to put it into order, to figure out how to tell it right. But Donovan he wasn't.

We were on this underwater world. We could all breathe and stuff. We were supposed to be training along the track of fighting illusions. Like Storms. Or whatever this is, I guess. But there were just fish... everywhere..."

Like he had to explain more about his reaction to living underwater, surrounded by fish? Adrien knew him by now.

"I ate a whole bunch then found a place where no one could see and took that form from that one underwater Storm where Nino and I were brothers and just started gathering fish for the train, for later. I was on the second or third bucket and then...."

Things were a little foggy in the transition, but how he ended up...

"I was Spark again. Alone. And everyone was dead. Everyone I ever loved or knew was dead. They had been eaten. I don't know how I knew but I did. I was trapped there. I don't know how long. Just trapped. Alone. And everyone was dead and it was my fault...."

A shudder ran through him and he clung to Adrien again. "I was alone and it was my fault. And when I finally got free... It was over but no you, no Nino. the Doctor doesn't know who I am. No Rose. Nita left. I... I hid and changed to Gar and tried to be alone, but Leia found me and insisted on talking and she told me she knew I was Spark and I tried! I've been trying so hard to keep the secret, Adrien! I swear! I wouldn't do anything to put you in danger!" He cried into him again.

"Don't leave," he whispered. "Don't leave me behind. Come back to the train with me, or bring me to Paris. Don't leave me behind again."

"What?! You were dealing with Papillon on your own?!" Plagg asked because he knows Exactly How Adrien Is and forgot to try and not show how much he actually worries.

"Right. I have information to tell you," Adrien said.

Plagg grumbled. "Is the food thing true?" Adrien nodded and Plagg made the most offended noise. "And I wasn't there?!"

Adrien looks at Spark and....oh. Oh no.

"Spark," Adrien said, and put his hands on Gar's cheeks, and makes him look up, meet his eyes. "I need you to listen to me Gar."

"If keeping a secret is going to destroy you, don't keep it. Not for me. If revealing a secret is ever putting me in danger, I will deal with it. But I have watched how secrets are destroying me in the dream. And I don't want that for you, Spark. Leia can be trusted, to make it easy for you, but don't. Hurt yourself. I don't want you to suffer for my sake. Please. I love you and I want you to be okay."

"He wasn't on his own," Gar grumbled at Plagg. "We all helped out. I even have a fake Miraculous. Actually sort of more than one..." He still had his fox form, and only didn't use it because of Nino. He did quite like it, though.

Gar listened to Adrien and closed his eyes. "I'd rather be in danger than you, especially if you show up without Plagg again. I have nine lives, being a cat and all," he mumbled.

But knowing Adrien was okay with trusting Leia helped...

"Without Ladybug! Adrien crumbles like Parmesan without a leader type around," Plagg said.

"Hey!"

"Mister Bug."

Adrien closed his mouth.

"And you could mimic our powers, but that doesn't mean it is the Miraculous. It makes things harder. We kwami do HELP," Plagg said, eyes more on Adrien.

"....we found a way to manage. I did have help," he said, not meeting Plagg's eyes.

He looked at Gar. "And I've seen a lot of things that are actually putting me in danger," he said. "And secrets is the first step. If you trust someone, then trust them."

Gar, hand shaking a bit, used Bending to offer up some cheese for Plagg so he could have his brother's attention without sharing it.

"But if she gets akumatized... the more people who know the more dangerous it is, even if they are people we trust! You could be hurt, or worse!"

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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