middleofsomewhere | No Place Like Home: Outside

No Place Like Home: Outside

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: OUTSIDE

HOME SWEET HOME

You find yourself not on a wide station platform, in the clothes you last remember, holding what you were when you went through the glas door. There's no longer a train behind you, no sound of its whistle, with no other passengers around you in similar style of clothing to your own.

You're somewhere familiar, or just - the last place you remember being before your life became tethered to the Voidtrecker Express. A field, a city, a kingdom, or perhaps even a space station. You should be nowhere, yet you find yourself somewhere, despite all odds.

People - if there are people - don't at first notice you; but attract enough attention to yourself, and that will all change. Friends, family - are they near, a phonecall away? It's either everything you wanted or everything you imagined (for good or worse), and it could seem unbelievably real. But it is real - you're off the train, back somewhere you know.

Finally - the journey is over...

...If only.
You're moving away from where you arrived, for whatever reason. Who wouldn't? You may be far from home, have business elsewhere, or want to go sightseeing. It's time to return to - and live - your life, and that doesn't include sticking to one place.

But you'll find that when you reach a point, the world becomes...foggy. A fog that you hadn't seen in the distance before it appears, and when you walk through it, you'll find yourself in a place some have already found themselves in.

Because for some passengers, there was nowhere for them to return, and so the barriers lead only to fog, and then straight back onto the platform. The Voidtrecker Express may be stationed, or there may be a blanket of fog where it should be; sometimes, it can be caught trying to leave the station, only to come back a few minutes later. The doors are shut tight, and the windows are obscured, showing nothing inside.

Those who came from somewhere can go back, should they go through the turnstiles again. And if they want, they can take people along with them, too...

But sometimes, they go to a world no one knows. They go through the barriers into nothing, a black emptiness. Not space, for those that know space, and it doesn't seem to be the void either. But it is a void, devoid of anything at all. Just a darkness so complete they will not be able to see anything at all, they will only know their companion is there through touch and sound. How they are breathing, how they are living at all, is a mystery; one probably answered only by the SCA on their wrist.

Being there brings an unease deep down inside them. This place is not natural, not somewhere that they should exist in. Not a place that should exist at all. Luckily they are never there for more than a few moments before they return once more to the station, fog covering them like a safety blanket.

A DIFFERENT CORNER: LOCATIONS

In the first couple of days (whatever that means, when time doesn't match up between most places), the only way to move to another's tethered location is by them leading another there. But after that, individuals will show up in other locations when they reach close to the distance limit. Indeed as time goes on everything gets a lot less stable. They may know their five miles perfectly but still one step to another leads them back to the platform. Attempting to return to their world leads them somewhere else entirely.

And there's quite a few places to end up.

SETTLEMENTS

Buddhist Temple, China ( Koumyou Sanzo | TL )
Rebel Camp, Lothal ( Hera Syndulla | TL )
Homestead, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA ( Nell Ingram TL )
Capsule Corp ( Trunks | TL )
School Grounds, College ( Idia Shroud | TL )
City Ruins, beach ( Najaran | TL )
Hakkei Palace, Tai ( Taiki | TL )
Gusu Lan, mountain sect (China) ( Lan Jingyi | TL)
Lotus Pier, riverside, China ( Jiang Cheng | TL )
The Endless Abyss, Hell ( Shen Qingqiu | TL )
Hyrule Castle Town ( Zelda | TL )
Haven Palace ( TL )

COMMUNITIES

Spaceport ( Yondu | TL)
Mobile Station Base ( Kiyoiri )
Arkwood, Town (Ryo | TL )
Techstead, Town ( Devero | TL )
Tatsumi Port Island ( Ken Amada )
Mor Dhona / Town, Mountain, Lakes ( K'zeka Tai | TL )
Hyrule Field & Lon Lon Ranch ( Link | TL )
Ishigami Village, Japan ( Senku Ishigami | TL )
Aether Paradise/Artificial Island/Natural Preserve ( Katsuya Jonouchi )
Nautilus ( Spark/Clef TL Clef | TL Spark )
The Underworld, Hades ( Zagreus and Thanatos | TL )
Sanctuary ( TL )

CITIES & KINGDOMS

Saillune City ( Zelgadis | TL )
New Mantle, City ( Ruby Rose | TL )
Brooklyn, New York City, USA in 2017 ( Jake Peralta | TL )
Azabu-Juban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan ( Usagi Tsukino | TL )
Hau'oli City ( Eva Iden'no | TL )
Gauig City ( Little One/Buttercup | TL )
Kyoto, Japan ( Masumi Sera | TL )
Shinjuku, Japan ( Yosuke Otoha | TL )
Kingdom, Evermore ( Roland Crane )
Garlemad, Kingdom ( Zenos | TL )
Kingdom of Knothole ( Mina Mongoose | TL )
Domino City ( Yugi Muto | TL )
Amnity Park ( Danny Fenton | TL )
Garlemald ( TL )
Lothal ( TL )
Los Angeles ( TL )
The First - Crystarium and Lakeland ( Elidibus | TL )

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here.

LOCATION TOPLEVELS: Since it'll be easier for players to engage with settings presented by those offering them, when we see a toplevel for one of the above locations put up, we'll add it to the list! We've also included the OOC comments for settings to the side, so any questions can be left with the player, as well as extra details. Please always speak with the player first if you intend to do anything drastic to the setting!

A REMINDER: Time of log is Poi 22-25, but time within worlds can last up to a maximum of two weeks. Minimum is whatever you want it to be.

During Poi 22 and 23, characters will need to be led to a location to be able to access it. From Poi 24, people will show up in locations regardless of invitation.

The second half of the event will go up during 20th to 25th February (Poi 26-28). But as always, play around in here and do as you like!

If your character's setting isn't above, link us to it in the Questions post, along with your toplevel! We'll add it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She covers her mouth with both hands as more of those... feelers reach under, staring in horror at the stranger so very, very close to her. She tries huddling into the smallest shape she can, but one of the glowing things is sweeping right for her.

Just before it touches her, she breaks, trying to swat it aside and shoot out from under the table in the same frantic motion.

"You know," Koumyou lets her get partially out before his hand shoots down, like a striking snake, and grabs her by her hair to haul her up. His voice remains conversational, cheerful.

"Not only has Devero lived through much scarier shit than you're contending with right now, but he did it all while protecting other people. And even while keeping a cool enough head to organize others."

Just going to haul back on that hair once he's got her to her feet, making her lean back hard, "So, explain to me how you're so much better than him?"

Valdana can't help but scream when he seizes her by the hair and hauls her up, the same way she's done so many times to Devero. Tears streak her face and her eyes are wide and shocky as they meet Koumyou's.

It's his tone of voice that's the scariest, she realizes dimly as she claws at his hand in her hair with both of his. He could be talking to her about the week's upcoming menu in the c-kitchen, he's so casual. It's terrifying.

She's able to remain on her feet when he bends her backwards so effortlessly, but barely. "I-- I--" she gasps, her mind racing to find a way to talk herself out of this. She can talk herself out of anything, can't she?

Well, he's fixated on Devero. Start there. "He was-- trained--" she forces out, fighting for each word. "Guard-- dangerous. Made him dangerous!"

"Hardly," Koumyou chuckles, "you think he's dangerous? What about the sinkhole someone opened under him and everyone around him with a bomb, when he was out doing work for your culture's people?"

If anything, the priest's grip on her hair tightens, twisting a little.

"Devero had the spine to look that danger in the face, and rescue everyone around him, consequences be damned. And when he was busted out of the Guard for breaking the rules in order to do that, you swept in and burrowed your way into those fresh mental wounds like the disgusting infection you are. Just admit it, the cameras are all off. It's just you and me."

"How do you-- know that?" she manages. "The cameras-- how?"

"Because I know what an EMP is. Thanks for the baton, by the way. It's a lot easier to throw lightning around when there's a source I can feed and channel it through! I've done that with Dev's batons too, without blowing them up. Real useful."

The demons on Erda hadn't thought so, but fuck 'em.

"It's still going, too, inside all the wiring in here? I'm still feeding it. Probably fry half the shit in here before I let up. Other than Babysitter, of course, because it's search and rescue. Real durable! Real good at protecting the guy inside, and at telling him the current's unsafe to exit yet. Although if it's not even connected to the system anymore, then all the better. Less cutting for me."

Koumyou's still so very cheerful about it all.

"Speaking of cutting."

Oh boy, oh good. Koumyou hands her hair off to a curling tendril of the sutra, which hauls up on it hard enough to make her go onto her toes.

She just stares at him, as he starts talking about unbelievable things, as the tendril of whatever this is takes her from him and lofts her even higher in the air. She grabs at it, feet scrabbling as she tries to make herself as tall as possible and relieve the searing pressure in her scalp, but her eyes are fixed on him the whole time.

"What--" It's a barely a squeak. She swallows and forces the words out. "what are you?"

"An agent of karma, seems like," Koumyou smiles one of his serene smiles that don't really reach his eyes. He gives her a tap to slowly spin her around to face away, and a moment later, something cold and sharp touches the skin right over her emID transponder.

Handy that Dev showed him where these go, earlier, isn't it? And if hers isn't in this spot, that's no harm done to him.

He's got a scalpel from the medical car, plucked from his ARMs band. He'd pocketed it with emergencies in mind, but it'll do just as fine for this.

"You know, Devero is the sweetest, kindest, most loving man I have ever had the privilege to meet. And all he ever wanted from you was for you to give a shit about him. Maybe even love him. But you just kept kicking the puppy anyway, didn't you? Every time he came back with his tail tucked, shaking all over, desperate for a scrap of care. You just kept on kicking."

Valdana absolutely freezes when she feels the touch of a blade against the base of her neck, even her breath catching for a moment. She forces herself to listen through the panic, listen to what he's saying; it's the only way she's going to survive this.

"I did-- I do take care of him!" she babbles in protest. "He's precious to me! He knows how I feel about him!"

"As a bargaining chip, as a party favor, as a bribe, as a big and handsome slab of meat you can beat down to make yourself feel bigger," Koumyou counters calmly, "someone you can inflict all your cruelty on in the safety of absolute secrecy. A beautiful piece of arm candy who can dance like a professional and make you look oh-so elegant and refined in public."

The priest digs with the blade, looking for a little bit of non-organic mass.

"Tell me, what's his favorite stream? What's the first thing he does when he wakes up? Favorite color? Does he prefer tea or coffee? Does he like kids? Is he funny?"

Yeah, she can't answer those questions. She doesn't know the answers, and though her silence is damning, it's probably a better bet than lying to this maniac who seems to know Devero well.

Besides, she has something much, much more pressing to focus on. "What are you doing?!" she demands, voice shrill with pain as he-- surely he's not cutting into her, even if that's what he implied, even if that's what it feels like. Surely not!

"It was very shocking, when you set off that little bomb you had with you, like a total lunatic, after trying to attack a poor helpless teknull multiple times with it. Very shocking."

Koumyou just keeps on digging as he speaks.

"It was even more shocking when you cut your own emID transponder out, right here by the worktables, while the systems were still down. I could barely even guess at what you were doing."

Maybe it's a little to the left? He pokes around some more, not caring about any extra damage done with the blade.

"And then, while all the cameras in the area were still not working right... well, you took off, didn't you? Couldn't face having your dirty laundry aired like that, definitely didn't want to be questioned by the Guard you hadn't even called yet. When you couldn't kill your accuser, you blew shit up and you ran. I honestly didn't know you had it in you, but even animals will chew off their own legs to escape a trap."

"Nnn-- no one is going to be-believe this story!" She starts to fight now, twisting back and forth as she kicks at the floor for purchase. She grabs behind herself for the knife, or his hands, or-- she doesn't know. She just grabs.

"The Guard are already on their way," she says desperately. How could he know they aren't? That must be a lucky guess--! "They won't hesitate to k-kill you when they see what you're doing to me!"

"Even if they don't believe it, it's amusing for me, and that's what really counts at this point where you're involved. Besides, never finding a body isn't going to hurt the story. You've convinced people you're so very clever, I'm sure that version of you can pull off a fantastic disappearing act."

Valdana gets to struggle a little, finds bits of him to claw at before more tendrils of the sutra wrap around every limb that comes his way, forcing them back down again.

"And if they are on their way, they're very slow. And if I can create a lightning bolt out of your toy from four meters away, and control glowing paper tentacles, what makes you think I'm worried about a few people in armor with weapons? Like I said before, they'll just end up in a cute little nap pile. I won't hurt the people doing Dev's old job."

Maybe the little lump is to the right?

"You know, I've never cut something like this out of someone before. Bullets, sure. Shrapnel, of course. The occasional knife, claw tip, shard of something sharp... but this is just so tiny."

At this point, he's basically talking to himself. The tip of his scalpel scrapes something. Is it bone? Or what he's after? Best dig around it to find out!

"I want you to know, Valdana, that Devero is wonderful. He's sweet, and kind, and smart, and selfless, and full to the brim of empathy for others. He deserves better than me, and I know it. But I'm still a huge upgrade over you. So until he's ready to move on from me, I will do everything I can to keep him safe, and to make sure he knows he's loved, and so, so very cherished. I really would have let you go, for him. Anything at all for him."

He finds what he's hunting, and flicks it out onto the floor with a generous ooze of blood.

"I have less than no reason to lie to you. You could have gotten away, if you'd just been a little smarter and a little less full of yourself."

The further he restrains her, the harder she fights, for all the good it does her. The pain is overwhelming, unlike anything she's ever felt before, and a thin strained sound escapes her gritted teeth. He may be mostly talking to himself, but she listens to every word he's saying, and--

And--

The same way Devero had trouble comprehending certain aspects of things outside his experience when he first boarded the train, it's impossible for Valdana to fully understand everything that's going on right now. All she can do is grapple onto the aspects of what's happening that she understands and react to those.

And one of the things that she understands is that Devero isn't worth all of this.

"There-- there has to be more to this than j-just him," she says desperately. "What do you really want? Whatever it is, I can get it for you or make it happen, I--"

That's about when she feels the hot, sharp jerk in the back of her neck, and screams.

"You really can't even conceive of loving someone other than yourself, can you?" Koumyou feels... pity, distantly. It's there in his voice, too.

"It's too bad you didn't get help for that at some point in your life."

"I'll get help," she says desperately. "I swear it, if that's what you want. I'll submit myself voluntarily for behavioral evaluation, I'll-- I'll resign as Administrator here until I'm cleared! You don't have to kill me, please!"

"Too late," Koumyou says with some actual gentleness, "I genuinely hope you do better in your next life, Valdana."

And without further ado, he uses the sutra's grip on her various parts to snap her neck. Quick and clean.

It's several minutes more before he's stowed her body and his scalpel into the ARMs band, and has let the electricity dissipate from the systems it's running wild in. He's dismissed his barriers on all the doors, and then he steps into the hangar in search of Devero and his big green hardware-self.

"Dev?"

Edited 2022-02-21 05:48 (UTC)

Babysitter is obvious, the only exo in the room that's active and out of its cradle. Its rescue lights are on and flooding the area directly in front of it with brilliant white light-- light that illuminates Devero's huge form kneeling on the floor in front of Babysitter.

With someone else.

"Koumyou!" he calls out, lifting an arm in a backwards wave without looking up from what he's doing.

The sutra, of course, streams into the space behind Koumyou and takes up a similar floating pattern as it had in the other room, lighting things up with even, golden light. The 'someone else' has Koumyou's hackles up. Who got in here while he was distracted in the other room?

Koumyou's not going on the attack only because Devero doesn't seem in immediate danger. Not if he can lift an arm unhindered.

"...Are you okay?"

The light of the sutra does make him sit up, looking around at Koumyou over his shoulder. The person with him looks too, propping herself up on one elbow and squinting against the light.

"I'm fine," he calls, waving Koumyou over. His eyes roam the over the priest, flicking to the sutra and then back up to his face. "Are you? What happened?"

"Yo, Dev?" The person beside him shifts like she's going to reach up to him, but her left arm is limp and dead at her side. "I'm seeing some weird shit all of a sudden...."

The priest follows the wave, coming over, the sutra overhead swaying gently in the air like seaweed in an ocean turned sideways.

"Fine enough," Koumyou answers, gently. They'll talk, but later. Now that they apparently have company, "Who is this? How did they get in?"

"This is Chihyoon," he says, turning his attention back to her. "Lay back down, boss, your systems are still calibrating. Might, er, explain why you're seeing something weird?"

Devero you are such a bad liar.

But the woman seems to accept that and lies back down, folding her right arm behind her head. As he gets closer, Koumyou will see that while her right arm is normal, both her left arm and left leg are elaborate prosthetics. She's wiry in the way Koumyou is wiry, though without the lifetime of deprivation behind it, and clearly hails from the Asiatics.

"Got a notification that someone who should be in hospital had just accessed the hangar," she says before Devero can start to explain. "Came down to check it out when something-- exploded? And all my hardware went down at once."

"Ah," Koumyou says as though that makes total sense, and just sort of reels the sutra in, one tendril after another fading out of existence like a weird hallucination.

"There was a bomb, I think. Electricity? But all the zappy stuff pretty much just went up. Then the lights went out."

There you go, Dev. Latch onto a proper lie, as told by your innocent teknull. Zappy stuff, indeed. Koumyou folds himself down into a proper seiza next to Devero, in Babysitter's lights.

"Some stuff fell down, too, I think."

"A bomb?" Both Devero and Chihyoon say that at nearly the same time, with Devero looking taken aback and Chihyoon just suspicious.

"Vices," Chihyoon continues, "was it a current bomb? Who the hell brought a current bomb in here?" She looks from Koumyou to Devero, but he's still looking at Koumyou.

He runs his tongue along his teeth nervously. "Was it her?" he asks.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject