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

"More like I forgot how to breathe for a second," Link joked as he got his airway working again. "Don't worry."

"Oh! Okay! I didn't know Faeries could forget how to do that," she said, awed.

"It...might just be a me thing."

Shadow was going to laugh himself sick over this later.

"Wow...." She was still so impressed by that as she started to eat. "Tell me more about your world and what it is like?" Being a Faerie, that is.

"Uh..." Link had no idea what she was talking about. He decided to just talk about his life in general.

"I live with my brother and our dad. Shad does some acting work, he's really good at it. Dad's a professor, his hobbies are studying and making other people study. I hate school, uh, can't wait to graduate and not do that anymore. I like shop class, and I'm really pretty good at welding already. I aced all the welds Mr. Soldius taught us so far."

Link crammed his mouth full of food before continuing. "I like helping out on Malon's family's ranch. And napping. And fishing."

Her head shot up. "He's an actor?" AND A FAERIE?! "How did I not know that?" She was bouncing now. "Would he talk to me, do you think? About acting I mean? Once I appologize to him properly?"

"I'm sure he would," Link had never known his brother to ignore anyone. "And I'm still sure you don't need to apologize to him, at least, not from what you've told me."

"Of course I do! It is only proper and polite!" she insisted. But to talk to another actor... a Faerie actor specifically....

"If you say so," Link shrugged, munching another piece of sushi. He still couldn't fathom why she'd need to apologize to Shadow. His twin hadn't mentioned any sort of conflict with anyone, and usually Link was the first to hear about it.

He'd had to soothe more than one set of ruffled feathers.

She nodded emphatically, also helping herself to food as her mind wandered a bit.

Talking to an actor... she's been dying to do that ever since she arrived in that weird other place. But there were Faeries there, so she was okay with being there. She just needed to get back home soon. she was going to be yelled at for sure for stalling the filming, since she had just landed a new role, and she hadn't been practicing her ninja skills as much as she should be, which was bad. An actor's body was her tool for her job and she had to keep practicing. Even if her sensei there was different than Hio's grandfather.

Still, she arrived here with her swords, wherever here is, so she should be practicing. So that she'd be ready when she got home. Whenever she got home. How was she supposed to do that, though?

Oh wait! Corn was able to get to her world, and Avalon and this world both had Faeries!

She looked up, startled. How had she missed that? The answer was right here! All she had to do was ask.

Her head sank, gloom over taking her. She should give a Faerie a gift before asking him for a favor, but what could she give to Link so that he would use his Faerie magic to let he go home? Or better yet, to teach her how to travel back and forth herself?

She set down her chopsticks and started riffling through her side pouch. Her swords were upstairs, and besides she couldn't give those away... What else did she have?

She pulled out several hand made dolls and set them on the table. They were all professional level quality with almost disturbing realisim. There were two figures that most of the dolls were of. Both were males, tall and slender, one with dark hair and one with blond hair. The blond hair ones all looked a little worse for the wear, like they might have gotten thrown around a lot. The dark haired ones... at least one of them had a removable face with another expression underneath, which he'd discover when the stern looking face of one came off to show a shocked expression under it.

She put the face back on, and it adhered. Then she went back to digging. She pulled out a small change purse and set it among the dolls. It looked like it was meant for coins, and not much else, though there was clearly something hard inside that pushed at the edges and just barely fit, and something else that eh could hear moving as she shifted the pouch.

She pulled out a few small vials and what looked like lip balm, then her shoulders sank and she looked miserable.

"I don't have any good gifts after all," she said quietly, depressed.

If Link had been befuddled before, he was sincerely and completely bewildered now. Granted, he'd had a few weird moments in the past day or so---finding a tattoo he didn't remember getting, feeling incredibly happy to see his twin when they had just had breakfast together that morning---but, this was a new level of strange.

He wondered if he should try to text his dad for a ride.

"Why would you need a gift?"

"For you," she said as if that were obvious. "You should always give a Faerie a gift before asking for a favor." And that was said as if it was common knowledge.

"You just bought me lunch," Link pointed out. "I think that counts. Uh...what kinda favor are you thinking about?"

He realized belatedly, that maybe, just perhaps, he should have led with that question.

"But... that was just to get you to have lunch with me, so I could experience lunch with a friend..." she said, blinking. Going out with Moko didn't really count because they never went for meals, and Moko always complained about feeling guilty about whatever they did eat. She had had food once with Mr. Tsuruga, but that was work, and she got Ramen with the Box R cast, but that was mostly in character.

She would not think about eating with Sho for all those years.

Though as much as she said that she wouldn't think about it, she had thought about it just enough for a dark aura of rage to surround her. No. No. She wouldn't think about it. Wouldn't!

She shook her head rapidly to dislodge thoughts of her shameful past and the idiot.

Where had she been? Oh yes, sharing food with friends. She and Corn had shared that horrible drink in Guam, but that wasn't a meal. So...

This was her first real meal with a friend!

She perked up, happy about that... and then immediately depressed. She was seventeen and this was her first real meal with a friend. Her shoulders slumped.

Wait, had he...

"Did... you just ask me a question?" she asked, miserably.

Oh, Kyoko. Talk to those two boys when they're once again their usual selves.

Link nommed another piece of sushi. "What sort of favor did you want? I'm not a real good student, that's more Shadow. But, I can make you something if you need me to."

"Well, Faeries can move from world to world, right? So, maybe you could teach me how? Or at least help me get back home?" she asked, eyes wide with hope.

"....uh....sure? What's your address? I know the city pretty well."

"Not this city. I'm from Japan. I'm looking to get back to Tokyo."

He could help? HE COULD HELP! Happiness surrounded her. Or at least glittery sparkles did. She started putting everything back onto her side pouch. "I just need to get my ninja gear from upstairs and thank the couple who have taken me in, then I'll be ready to go! How do we travel? Do we fly? Will a flying horse show up to take us there?"

Link stopped mid-bite and stared at her for a minute.

"Japan?" It didn't sound familiar to him. "Flying? I can't fly, I mean, there's lots of heroes here who can, I'm sure, but, that's not in my powerset. I can make it rain, but, it's really hard and not really worth the effort....."

And in a city where people are desperately looking for people claiming to be from other worlds to blame their troubles on... Kyoko... is ever Kyoko.

"Oh... You're actually from here? I've seen so few Faeries here I figured you had to be from a different world, like Corn when he visited my world. I'm not from here at all..." she slumped forward, depressed again.

Her head hit the table beside her plate.

"Of course I'm from here, we all---"

He trailed off at her admission. "But...sure you are. I mean, you have a job here, you go to school here, you belong here...."

"I have three jobs here actually, and one in Avalon. But I also have work back home. So if I can find a way to travel I can do all of my jobs." Somehow. She could find more hours in the day, right?

"In Avalon I work in a Coffee shop with Harry. And at home I work at Darurama, and for LME of course. And I have some TV work...." She was not going to admit to being Bo, mind. Not only was there no pride in being a giant somewhat deadly chicken, there were also two people back home she absolutely could NOT have finding out she was Bo. She kept her head on the table, the life seemingly sucked out of her. But She could talk about Box R and Lotus in the Mud. Even though one was ending and one hadn't even started filming yet.

IT was weird to think that soon she couldn't be Natsu anymore. It was sad, like saying goodbye to Mio had been.

Of course... Ever since she arrived in Avalon... Mio, Natsu, and even Kuon had been taking her over. A weird version of Mio had taken her over here too. That was why she needed to speak to another actor.

She pulled one of the dark haired dolls out of the pouch and stood it on the table, so it was looking down at her.

"And this is why you'll never make it as an actress," she said in a male voice, projecting it at the doll. "Someone who can't keep her roles in check lacks professionalism." She made the doll put one hand to its head. "I'm disillusioned with you, Ms. Mogami."

She winced and closed her eyes, nodding in agreement to the lecture she was giving herself via the doll.

Link had no idea what she was talking about. "Did those voidtreckers do something to you?"

"Huh?" she glanced over, head still on the table. "Never met one. Why?"

"Well, you're talking...weird. I mean, we're classmates and we've been classmates, I remember seeing you in the halls at least---and you're saying you're not from here."

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Re: no worrieOne last reply before bed.... >.>

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