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

"Okay, good. You are her because I'd be a little confused if another Octarian knew my real name, but you seem nice enough, so it's okay." Back in Vista City, she had gotten mad at someone who hid their identity and skills to his allies. Secrecy is good and all when needed, but so is letting your squad know what you can really do.

This clearly falls into the latter portion. "You should be able to change back and forth like me. Only, I turn into a squid and not an octopus like you."

As if to show her point, Agent 3 changes back and forth between her forms. (She's not squidbagging; she swears she's not about that. Squid parties only!)

"Octarian...?" The word made her think of all sort of things in a moment, only to be pushed aside by the crushing will of the illusion.

"O-Okay..." She noticed the demonstration and tries to 'understand,' but its a complicated process. She closes her eyes and imagines how she used to be -- the stance, the posture, the form... for a moment it looks like she's getting it, as a pillar of person begins to form where the octopus used to be.

She was just about to form the eyes when the gooey mess that was her body startled her. In a moment she felt a rush of ink fall back to the ground as she returns her form to one of an octopus. "Ohhh fishsticks! I was so close!!"

"Ngyes! That was really close! Give it another try." Agent 3 demonstrates again, trying to do so as slowly as possible in case it'll help Mimi do the same. (Now, that is uncomfortable. It's strange being in-between for so long.)

"You've done it before. You just have to remember how to do it again."

The octopus nodded and makes a second attempt. The feeling is strange... and strangely familiar... Seeing the slowed version helped, but not really for the demonstration purposes. Were she to do this on her own she would struggle and balk at how strange being the only one to do this. With Nory nearby doing the same thing she didn't feel alone in this weirdness.

The rate of reforming was faster this time, slowing down at the creation of her fingers and finer details. She opens her eyes and is covered in the extra goo, fluffing it off to finalize everything.

"Whoa..." She mutters, looking over at her newly made fingers. "So this is what Octarians can do?"

"Well, I guess I should have said octolings, technically, but that's what your kind can do." Agent 3 makes a small thinking noise. "So you really forgot but remember something else instead. It really is like Vista City, only with less inkredible tunes."

Kinda boring if you ask her. At least the brainwashed people on her last "mission" got to be rock stars. Or maybe the strange powers are their rock star equivalent. "How do you feel right now? Feel fresh enough to get moving again?"

So much of this didn't make sense, but one thing she knew was true: Nory knew what was up and she was a friend. If she stuck with her maybe things would start making sense? What did she mean by you really forgot but remember something else instead?

She tested her foot against the pavement and felt the same sensations that she expected. One would not have imagined that the leg was malformed ink just a moment ago. Weirder still, it felt familiar. Just what was happening?

"I... I feel alright... er... fresh. Um... can you help me go to my place? My dad's... they must be starting to worry about me. Its been a while since I normally come home."

"I don't... know if I feel safe going alone." Please don't leave her, Nory. She's one crashing wave away from a full blown crisis.

"Where do you live? I'll take you there," says Agent 3. She may not be able to stay, and she may know that this is some illusion. However, that won't stop her from helping someone in need. She offers her hand to be both friendly and give Mimi someone to lean on in case her steps are still a little jelly. "You can rest, and we can meet up again sometime later."

In other words, Mimi won't have to rush anything, and it's a promise that Agent 3 will see her again.

"I don't live far. We're about half way." She was grateful, and noticing that she was acting in ways that she was encouraged to behave at her agency. She was Nory, but she seemed... different, bolder. Like she had been doing this for a lifetime.

At the offer of rest, Mimi shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine. Let's keep going." Answers. She needed answers, and she kenw that the one place she was going to find it was going to be home. Her dads... they knew something. Her heart knew it was so.

"Nory..." She asked while being lead home. "...what do you know about me before that day we met in the aquarium?"

Okay, not far. That's good because Agent 3 doesn't want Mimi to falling apart on her. The question makes her nibble her lip with her beak a little. There's no good way to put it.

"... I don't really know you specifically. I just know about octolings in general.... Sorry."

Oh. Well, it's something. "...its... okay. This is all so much to take in."

Hmn... "When I look at you... before now, I mean... I felt that there was a connection between us. I can't explain it, but it felt more than just... familiarity." She smiled a little. "Are you an octoling too?"

Be careful what you ask, Mimi.

Oh buoy. This is even more awkward.

"Uh, maybe it's a time thing! It happened when I was saving people in Vista City. Some were from the same place but different tides. Being Team History during the Splatfest probably got me into trouble here." She laughs, just a tiny bit nervous.

"I'm an inkling. See? I have ten tentacles. You have eight." Yup. That is totally the best way to describe their differences to someone who's forgotten everything.

Sadly, the lack of context makes Three's first statement seem like a jumble of words more than anything. Hearing the word 'inkling' struck closer to home. There was a familiarity to it... an 'inkling' of a memory.

So was recognizing that Mimi had eight tentacles and Three had ten. "....oh! You are a squid--AH!" A hand shot out to grab hold of something as a disorienting wave came over her. The Squid Menace... Enemies of the Octarians... The Selfish ... Ruiners of... Surface. Her other hand raises to her head as she tries to straighten her thoughts.

Taken a moment to reorient herself, which was only the illusion reclaiming her into the fantasy. One thing stood out to her. "We..." She gulps, the hand holding Three beginning to shake. "...we are supposed to be enemies...?"

Of all the things she had to remember, Mimi has to remember that. What a bunch of abalone.

"No," Agent 3 says firmly as she offers her arm once more to Mimi while she has a case of the jellyfish legs. "We can be whatever we want. Don't let anyone but you make that choice."

Meanwhile, she'll keep them heading towards Mimi's home because even if Mimi decides she's an enemy, Agent 3 will make sure she makes it some place safe.

She continues to hold her head, one eye closed to manage the pain. "That's... good... I don't think I want... to be your enemy." She knows in her hearts that Nory was kind, energetic, and active. She had many qualities that she admires. If... if Mimi's memories were going to tell her that she was going to have to fight her, then she would deny those messages with all of her might...

There was something that felt... right about them being together. And right about them squaring off. They... fought? Perhaps... but those feelings were a world away... The illusion takes hold of those doubts and her desire to turn away from everything and strengthens its hold on her.

Strengthen but not make absolute. "...Nory, are we... Voidtrekkers?"

"VoidTrecker?" Agent 3 frowns. She's heard of them on the TV, but it's never been something she called herself. However, she knows from experience that the brainwashed usually fall under the same side of those trying to stop intruders.

"I've never been called that. I'm Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. I guess you could also call me one of Gold and Silver's rescuers, but that was back on Vista City and not Jinnjar City."

She hums a thoughtful note. "But, I don't think the VoidTreckers are the bad guys here either. I think I'd rather side with them than these D-Force people." She pauses a beat. "Your parents aren't part of the D-Force, are they?"

Agent 3. Of all the words that she said, this statement gets hung tight, but she's still not sure why. The words play against her head and clash against the reality of the world, and a part of her wants to hold onto it and a part also wants to remain within the illusion. Nothing made sense, but she knew she could trust Nory. That much she could believe.

Breaking away from her thoughts, she instead draws her attention to the question posed. She weighs the question in her mind, pushing it to side to side as she considers. "...no, I don't think so... Caleb's a scultper and Essek works at the university... they..." They had been acting weird, too. Did they know something? Did they see the "truth?"

Her lips trembled as a new thought entered into her head: were they even her parents? She was scared to know the answer. "I need to get home." One way or another, talking with them would make everything clearer.

She just hoped they'd still be her dads by the end of it.

"Okay. Good, you'll be safe." The only thing Mimi needs to really worry about is getting there. It may not be her true home, but it's familiar. Plus, it beats having an existential crisis on a public street.

They don't have much further to go to Mimi's place, so Agent 3 stops to look at her. "Do you think you can make it the rest of the way on your own? I don't want to put you in danger of hooking the attention of those D-Force creeps."

Until they meet again later, like she said. It's all about managing risk and choosing which battles to fight. Right now, Mimi needs time. Hopefully, she'll have her answers by the next time they see each other.

Mimi is scared but... but she needs a moment to collect her thoughts. For all the good that Nory would be for her, right now she needs a moment to take it all in and... and consider what questions she's going to ask her dads. If they were her dads? Did they even know? Have they been lying to her, or... if they didn't know, did that mean that she would have to tell them that she was not their adopted daughter? Such thoughts were racing within her head and she knew that she would need a moment to truly consider what approach she would want to have.

As Nory--or, was it Agent 3? As the one that was her friend turned to leave, a question came to Mimi's mind, clear as crystal. "Wait." She insisted, worry beginning to take hold. "What are you going to do?"

Despite the fact that she was in no position to do anything about it, a part of her worried for Nory and wanted to make sure she was going to be safe as the world seemed to be falling apart around them.

"I'm going to scope out the situation. I don't know much about what's in the waters, but I will soon enough." That's what Agent 3 needs most of all. Right now, she only has a vague idea who the major players are in... whatever this is, and that needs to change. She's not a squid to flop on the sidelines.

Agent 3 smiles, "So, don't worry about me. It'll be like I've got Ninja Squid equipped. Sneaky."

Mimi didn't understand what that last part meant, but the plan sounded sensible. Right. When you don't know something, the best thing to do would be to gather more information. She needed to do the same.

"Okay." Mimi nodded in agreement. "Be careful. We'll... we'll see each other soon?" She hoped.

"We will. I'll jump on by later tomorrow. I like sleeping in, so don't expect me in the morning, okay?" Inklings are not morning people.

With that, Agent 3 makes her exit. It's up to Mimi to find the answers she needs at home with her fathers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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