voidtreckermods: (train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2022-01-19 06:02 am

Fissures of Time: Ongoing


FISSURES OF TIME: ONGOING



... POI 10-12

FOR SOME, THE MISSION HAS BEEN MORE MENTALLY EXHAUSTING THAN PHYSICALLY. Distortions sprout around the domain without rhyme or reason, and the camps must be moved every new day to meet them, as well as stopping a distortion from deciding to form under them from their presence.

While there's bare-bones vegetation, at least they have their own resources to help one another, as well as what can be retrieved from the Ministry base during return trips to take misplaced civilians to safety. It's straight-forward so far...

...but that wouldn't be standard for the Voidtreckers, and some in their ranks don't want straight-forward. Starting during the early hours of Poi 10, there will be occasional rumblings throughout the land. They last for a few seconds and then stop, seemingly for hours; but then they return, and as the days go on, so do the tremors increase.

It seems the distortions too have become affected...

THE UNQUIET CITY. (CW: People unable to die/rising from the dead, body horror)

A city of rubble and ruin stretches far out around them, where once there were hills and vegetation. Much of the rubble is still smoking as fires smoulder. The fighting isn't over, heard before it's seen.

It must be connected to the same skirmishes seen in other distortions, and so most of you are prepared to meet warriors on foot and mount. But what awaits isn't only the horror of bloodshed. No: the reason that the fighting still continues even as the city lies in ruin is because fighters fall and rise again, as if death were nothing but a short rest.

Puncture marks litter skin and armour, holes from weaponry and blessed-magic visible in torsos, even the spaces of where portions of one's skull and brain should be.

Yet they cannot stop fighting. They cannot fall to the ground, rest. Whatever drove them to fight this war still inspires them to continue, screaming as much in pain as in some sort of twisted ecstasy. Perhaps they are too shocked to do anything else. A city locked in eternal war, distorted in time, doomed to repeat itself.

It's hard to set the equalisers here. Not much is stable and fights are likely to break out wherever there are people. The people of this city have their factions, but they will not hesitate to band together to fight intruders.


EYE OF THE STORM. They might feel this distortion before they enter it. A spine-chilling thrill, the feeling one might get at the edge of a storm.

—For a storm it is. The moment they enter it their vision will be obstructed, winds howl around them and rain lashes down furiously making a swamp of the ground below them. It's freezing cold and as they walk they will feel something in the storm. Almost as if there are icy hands, reaching out to grab at them, to pull them further into the worst of the weather.

It's hard to know where to place the equalisers, hard to see where the edges of this distortion are. Easier, not by much, to move further in, to find the epicentre and try and take it down from there.

It's a treacherous journey, but the centre truly is calm, water frozen like crystals. Yet temperatures are dangerously low, so it's in everyone's best interests to set the equalisers quick and get out.


MEAN AND GREEN. As the rumbling continues, there comes a strange and worrying distortion. Worrying, as this distortion can be seen from the outside. A hazy blur that seems to move across the countryside, along the left side of the camp you're stationed at. It gets dangerously close at times, and when it does...

Green tendrils of plant life burst out, entangling people to pull them into the distortion. Or chains of flowers spread from the distortion out across the countryside. Beautiful and colourful in the otherwise sparse environment, but those flowers work as anchors, spreading the distortion, expanding it.

To get rid of it they will need to enter, and inside is a thick jungle of vines and bright colourful flowers awaiting them. The foliage is thick and the air musky and sweet. It's easy to get separated, and getting lost is only a matter of getting turned around. The leaves are sticky and vines move seemingly on their own, curling around unsuspecting limbs, trying to trap people in this colourful paradise forever.

And up in the sky above, a woman's laughter can be heard, the heat of the sun bearing down that becomes uncomfortable quick. But don't look up - you may find a large yellow eye - yellow iris, yellow pupil, golden yellow everything - peering back at you, and find yourself being pulled in by the very ground itself by a powerful force.


NO SANCTUARY. Protecting the camps hasn't been difficult, despite it being a Purple task. Other than rowdy refugees breaking out into fights, little else has appeared to disturb them.

'Eiiiiliiifii.... Siiiiliiifiii...
Merios? Herios?
Don't hide... don't hide...

Everything will be so perfect soon...'


People are woken abruptly in the early hours of Poi 11. If by some special sense, or by a grab at their throat, by a body falling on top of where they sleep, someone else stopping the refugee who was about to take a knife to them.

The refugees have become uncontrollable, raving about wanting 'their Gods back'. The ground rumbles as the woman's voice from the hazy jungle - ethereal, so divine - speaks from below. Grass rises and the sky above burns with a brightness like an approaching sun.

Setting an equaliser will calm the refugees, but only those in the camps. Starting from lunchtime, more warriors and civilians will be found appearing from the distance and from thin air, seemingly knowing where to find the Voidtreckers' camps - and after some very specific people.

Those with divinity, control over weather, nature, and death will be especially targeted, along with anyone who received blessings from the Gods.


OOC NOTES
OOC post. Ask questions here. Let us know about shenanigans here. NPC requests here, set up a thread here. Rewards go here.

TL;DR: Starting on Poi 10, there will be odd tremors around the domain, and more aggressive time distortions. From Poi 11 refugees will lose control of themselves and start attacking Voidtreckers, in and out of the camp.

It will happen abruptly to begin with, but some keen to reading energy will find that it is shifting; like something is breaking in from somewhere else (similar to the time distortions).

  • Extra equalisers can be picked up from the Ministry base and they will be there to help, but there are also more distortions happening around the domain, so they'll be dealing with those. The Ministry will advise that any non-combatants should stick to the base, and even use the scouting drones to help from afar, if they really need to help.

  • Undead warriors can be found outside of time distortions, and not all of the people outside of distortions will be 'permanent' people. Equalisers can be kept going for a few hours to keep these people away, but will also need go into recharge/cooling mode.

  • Don't worry if you're still busy with the Starting log! Or if you've been meaning to tag, jump in here!
  • fivemilesdeep: (But if we try this)

    [personal profile] fivemilesdeep 2022-01-22 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
    Inigo is here. Thank the gods, Inigo is here-

    He grips Inigo's hand briefly - definitely to steady himself more than anything else - but then lets go. His job is to get out of the way of the warriors, to let them handle the situation, and to take care of them once the fighting is over. He points at the person still trapped in the fabric of the tent, struggling to get out - "Yeah." - and then gets the hell out of the way.
    nutkrusher: (You've Stepped In It Now)

    [personal profile] nutkrusher 2022-01-22 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
    Cassie turns away from another zombie she's just kicked into next week.

    "Sorry. Better to get brains on you than out of you."
    silver_eyes_rose: (pic#14217771)

    [personal profile] silver_eyes_rose 2022-01-22 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
    “I know, I know. Ew…” Ruby grimaced before turning her scythe on another, slicing them apart.
    nutkrusher: (Rifle)

    [personal profile] nutkrusher 2022-01-22 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
    "I'll try to keep 'em further away from us."

    With that, she brings her rifle to her shoulder and prepares to mow down another row.
    flameinthedarkness: (Angry 03)

    Idia Shroud | Orange Team | OTA

    [personal profile] flameinthedarkness 2022-01-22 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
    Mean and Green
    He’s so done with this place. All of it. It’s kind of felt good doing something, and there was currency on the line, but Idia is so over this. He just wants to go back to the train and rest. But if this gets him there faster then he’ll do it, he’ll ‘help out’.

    And in a way this was a way to deal with his frustration and anger of this all; burning his way through the vines and flowers that spread over the land. He’s less cautious with his magic this time, less reserved than he had been so far, calmly walking through the thick layers of plants as he burnt down everything in his path.

    “Careful about getting too close.” He warns those that came with him to try and figure out what was going on. “I don’t want to burn you.” It’s said as his fire continues to spread out around him, an arch reaching out in front of where he walked and creating a wide cone of burnt and destroyed plant matter in front of him, before he stepped over the destruction, crunching it under foot.

    Wildcard
    ranoutofbuts: (Tank1)

    [personal profile] ranoutofbuts 2022-01-22 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
    His expression hardens, serious again. "Agreed."

    He steers the tank directly through the worst of winds, and even it's sturdy form is feeling the weight of it's force.

    "How many equalizers do we have?" It would be great not having to call in anyone else to help, "I have 1 set. I'm thinking, this storm could have a calm center within it. We could try and position them within there if it's possible."
    Edited 2022-01-22 02:55 (UTC)
    ranoutofbuts: (Flustered)

    [personal profile] ranoutofbuts 2022-01-22 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
    A strangled gasp escapes him. "Ah- None..." Oh man, way to disappoint his fellow crew mate users. Faux awkwardly brushes at his hair, and shrugs. "Got pulled in before I could grab some more to contain this."

    "Well, I have this 1 leg for adding onto a full equalizer set," gesturing to it hanging off his thigh, "but it's only to amplify, it doesn't have the power of a full equalizer." And the only reason he has it with him is due to the other 2 limbs being trashed in a particularly nasty time distortion.

    It's most likely not enough though. But who knows, maybe they could make it work.
    flameinthedarkness: (Calm 05)

    Back in Camp

    [personal profile] flameinthedarkness 2022-01-22 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
    Idia had thought those previous missions he had been on had been tough, to have limits put on him with his magic and technology. But this one seemed so much worst, and he had access to both!

    He was tired. He had been using a bit of magic and really needed the rest. And maybe due to said tiredness he had gotten a little careless with setting up the last couple of Equalizers. It was nothing major, snagging his fingers on moving parts. Luckily they were nothing major, all easily able to be bandaged up, he had even stopped off to get the items to do so from some medical supplies, just... hadn't gotten around to putting them on. It's not like it's the first time Idia's hurt himself working on tech. It came with the territory, but rushing tech set up was never a good thing.

    If anything the worst part of how he looked was with how tired he appeared. Even for Idia with his constantly dark bags under his eyes, he looks tired. Maybe that's why he's kinda just staring into the fire, holding the medical supplies limply in his hands but not using them quiet yet, his mind not really there in the moment.

    Glancing over he seems to take a moment to register Romeo's face, then answering. "I'm fine, don't worry, just... tired." He wishes he had energy drinks with him...
    mystic_mongoose: (Mina2)

    [personal profile] mystic_mongoose 2022-01-22 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
    "I got a spare." Mina said, nodding. "I hope two's enough. If not, it'll weaken it enough someone else can jump in and finish it off."
    cureofmanyworlds: (Nozomi - Wha...?!)

    [personal profile] cureofmanyworlds 2022-01-22 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
    "Just a leg?" Oh, that's not good. Nozomi quickly turned around to find her equipment, digging through it. She hoped that getting bound didn't ruin anything...

    "Ah... oh, whew. I... I got one." she said. "I just hope it works."
    fivemilesdeep: (yIKES)

    4. For Thanatos

    [personal profile] fivemilesdeep 2022-01-22 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
    Staying in the camps isn't an option - not when they're all being targeted by refugees and people appearing from seemingly nowhere - so a number of those targeted have left, Ryo and Thanatos among them. For the most part, Ryo is keeping to himself, trying not to get in the way and keep an eye out-

    And yet, somehow, they still get taken by surprise, because some of those after them were enterprising enough to set up an ambush. They're working in groups- they're setting traps- this is bad-

    And one of them gets ideas and launches himself at Ryo, catching him in a flying tackle and knocking him against someone else. Ryo yelps and struggles to get away, not noticing that the person he's been slammed against is the person he's been trying to avoid: Thanatos.
    myblueskies: (don't hurt him!)

    Re: Eye of the Storm

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
    "OKAY!"

    It's hard to hand on. He's small and the wind is heavy but he braced himself, staring out in the direction he thought her voice was coming from.

    It takes a few moments but then he sees a glimpse of purple through the storm. Mina has purple hair!

    "I think I can see you!"

    He tries ever so slowly to make his way to her.
    myblueskies: (don't hurt him!)

    Re: eye of the storm

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
    Was that a voice? Romeo's head came up, even if that made the rain stinging his eyes even worse. "Hello?"

    Wait was that glowing? Were glowing things bad? Or good?

    Only one way to find out! He began trying to move over, keeping low to the ground to avoid being buffeted by the winds too much.

    "Is anyone there? It's me! Romeo!"
    myblueskies: (big brother)

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
    No need to look sheepish Madoka! Romeo smiled at her kindly. "Mister Ryo and Kiyoiri have been teaching me about bandages! So I can help you!"

    It didn't look too scary, just a little cut but she still needs help or she will bleed a lot and that would be bad!

    He crouched down next to her and began finding the things he needed.

    "We got to wash it first, or it will get bad bugs in it and make you sick."
    myblueskies: (Alfredo is speaking!)

    Re: Back in Camp

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
    "If you're tired you should sleep sir!" Even if it was the day time, people were up and around at all times here, sleeping whenever they could was important.

    And Idia did look very tired. More importantly though he did have a bleeding finger and he had a bandage but was just... holding it.

    "Do you not know how to do it." He pointed at the medical supplies.

    "I can help!"
    myblueskies: (the world is beautiful!)

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
    He sat down, doing as he was told and holding out his hand so Ryo could unwrap the bandage from around it.

    "I don't know 'cause I've not really got many powers except my shinki spells and borderlines but in that place I could help people get better."

    He hadn't thought he would be able to do it now!

    "Madoka and mister Idia were cut and I was helping them with bandages and I really wanted to stop them from hurting and then! Their cuts went away and went on my hand instead, just like in Diagad!"

    And now his friends didn't hurt at all! He smiled at Ryo, wonder in his eyes.
    myblueskies: (Alfredo is speaking!)

    [personal profile] myblueskies 2022-01-22 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
    "Um..." Maybe. The carts were probably better than tents at least and Esteban was definitely right about the water!

    "Somewhere in the middle as well, if people are attacking, so we can get people there easy..."

    He looked around for threats as well.

    "Maybe when we find someone else they will have a good idea! There's lots of people who know all about staying safe!"
    mystic_mongoose: (Default)

    Re: Eye of the Storm

    [personal profile] mystic_mongoose 2022-01-22 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
    Mina looks up and smiles as she sees a form approaching. It's quite small for its size, but she's sure she knows who it is.

    "Good! Hang on! I'm on my way!"

    And she starts pulling herself towards the figure.
    ranoutofbuts: (Tank1)

    [personal profile] ranoutofbuts 2022-01-22 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
    "Great! Two full sets should at least reduce the size of this thing." Perhaps the best they can achieve for now. They'll have to figure out what to do afterwards.

    As they agree on the plan, the tank trundles forward in what Faux can only hope is the right direction. The worst of the cyclonic winds hits them, and he feels the tracks starting to slip fractionally now. Not nearly enough to lift them, but its disconcerting. Unsure if they've hit the middle of the storms peak, an unpleasant feeling sets upon his circuits when the temperature dips even further down, enough now that he can recognize cold and colder.

    Suddenly, a clawing sound emanates across the tanks casting. Slicing and a definite crackling get louder. A warning goes off at his screen now. Something is outside trying to get at them, and his tank is starting to loose chunks of itself from the strength of it.
    fivemilesdeep: (But if we try this)

    [personal profile] fivemilesdeep 2022-01-22 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
    Ryo's hands still completely as Romeo explains. He'd kept his Diagad power, which was evidently the ability to take other people's wounds on to his own body.

    This could go so, so badly so easily. Oh gods.

    (Of all the things to learn right in the middle of a mission.)

    He takes a breath, lets it out slowly, and finishes unbandaging the cut. It doesn't look too bad - it's a small mercy, but he'll take it. He enables his mana drive, draws the healing energy from it, and takes Romeo's injured hand in his, letting the energy spread and heal Romeo's wounds. He doesn't let go of Romeo's hand, taking a moment to steady himself before looking Romeo in the eye. "When this mission is over, come find me," he says with all the calm he can muster. "If you're going to do this, then you're going to need to know how to tell whether a wound is fatal or not. Promise me that you won't use your power again before the mission ends." He does not want Romeo getting himself killed while trying to help someone else.

    (The parallels to his own issues will hit him when he thinks about this later; for now, he's focused on the matter at hand.)
    longforgottenpromise: (thoughtful)

    Re: Mean and Green

    [personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2022-01-22 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
    "Tidus!" He's glad to see him, as he dodges out of the way of another vine. "I think so... There were some people before... Some people got dragged in though..."

    And probably were not in a position to deal with it.

    "Do... Do you have one of the equalisers?"

    He might have not really left the camp this mission but he's paying attention, he knows how to neutralise these threats.
    longforgottenpromise: (contemplation)

    Re: camp life

    [personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2022-01-22 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
    Taiki likewise has missed his friends, but he doesn't want to cause extra trouble for them. He doesn't want them to worry about him getting sick around them, he doesn't want them to have to be cautious and careful for his sake.

    So even though he misses Inigo, he doesn't seek the other out. Being so busy helps, he might not be out there in distortions but there is plenty of work to be doing around the camp.

    He is very glad to see him, though his heart fills with worry when he sees that look on his face. He moves closer, to hug him, not caring if it makes him feel sick. Inigo is clearly having a rough time and Taiki has been a terrible friend.

    "I made soup." He tells him without breaking the hug. "If you don't mind just vegetables..."
    longforgottenpromise: (blood)

    [personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2022-01-22 06:59 am (UTC)(link)
    He just stares in horror as Naoya moved, his eyes still fixated on the man, on the blood, the weapon, Naoya wiping blood off the weapon.

    He's seen blood before, far too much of it. He's seen death before, more than a kirin ever should. He's caused death before but he's not thinking about that because he's already clinging on to calmness by a thread.

    Naoya is speaking, telling him to breathe. He does, taking a deep breath and instantly regretting it as he is overpowered by the smell of blood.

    He reached out, even if Naoya had just killed he is still someone he knows, someone safe. It takes a lot to move at all, his hand where it touches Naoya is burning hot.
    longforgottenpromise: (confused)

    [personal profile] longforgottenpromise 2022-01-22 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
    Were there more assailants? He can feel her watchfulness and he doesn't want to cause any trouble so he lies there silent, trying to stop the tears from escaping.

    He makes himself small, lying there in horror. He doesn't want her to fight again, but this is Xion... He can barely help her understand things in the best times never mind right now.
    ranoutofbuts: (Flustered)

    [personal profile] ranoutofbuts 2022-01-22 07:06 am (UTC)(link)
    At least someone is prepared. "We might be able to disrupt enough of this distortion," or whatever else they can do in their situation. This thing is big and nasty, "I'm concerned though that this place might attack the equalizers before we've set up." Especially if placed wrong.

    For where to put them though. It's not a good plan to go back into there, but Faux thinks he may need to retrieve the drone after all if placement will be an issue. "I have a drone, came in with me. Problem is," he slumps, gritting his teeth, "it's trapped back where I came from."

    Page 7 of 43