EVENT LOG 004

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: The dreams.
WHEN: Starts October 12
WHAT: The displaced are put to sleep.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, themes of death, gore.

> EVENT LOG #004

There is a version of reality where the displaced don't go to sleep. There are news reports where New Johannesburg lies in ruins like New Tokyo, like how New Amsterdam nearly did. This is a world where the worst keeps happening, and the foundations of the world lay in ruin. Chaos begins to lay waste to human civilization as the people of Earth begin to pressure the people of the colonies to work faster to terraform the planets so that they can have somewhere more acceptable to live. After all, the world is visibly dying around them, and the people of the colonies are supposed to provide them with the promised land.

There is a version of reality where the displaced do sleep, and that world goes on just the same. Will this be that version? Or will they set things in a different way?

For now, there are things to see – pressing matters, and an opportunity to finally see one another. Truly, in the most raw way possible. Revealed without anything obscuring that in a world where falsehoods and fears seem more real than truth.

> THE UNDERWORLD

You don't remember taking the dive or being near water. Movement is difficult, like a wheel trying to move from the mud. The pressure is overwhelming, pressing against your skin, your chest, your head. The air is thick, the pressure stifling; there's something deep in your gut that feels as if you're being undone from the inside, both physically and mentally. It doesn't subside, nor does it become tolerable, but you can ignore it in spurts in order to make sense of the world around you.

Where you are feels claustrophobic and lifeless – unnatural forms raise off in the distance, expanding in unique, abstract statues. From where you stand, you can't quite make out what these are, but they're shaped like obelisks. Even if there are no tangible walls, there is an emptiness that feeds into the claustrophobia – your footsteps are silent, and your movements flow like you're underwater. There's an echo far off, like the lurching, final call of a dying animal. Here, there is a harrowing feeling, one that buzzes in the back of your brain that there may be someone watching you.

Off in the distance, there is a light – bioluminescent in nature, coaxing you forward. The light grants you just enough vision for you to see the floating bits and pieces of dull blue debris, twisting in suffocation like faceless creatures beneath the harshness of the light. Soon, an outline of a person will brush past you, stop and stutter in their footsteps, before ending up behind you again.

At the heart of this – since it seems as if there should be a heart – there is a spear with a sharp metal head on a shaft beginning to get dragged into the ground by long, white roots, as if they were trying to swallow it down into the mud. On the edge of the head sits four copper and gray birds, their song piercing.

> THE FACILITY

◉ Dim lights coax the PCs further, but they'll find that much of their surroundings have been buried by a different form of life. The obelisks are covered in coral and barnacles that have formed in this otherwise lifeless place. They flow together, a red and white shapeless lump that conceals whatever was beneath it at one point.

◉ Where there were once large, metal pillars helping the facility withstand the immense water pressure, they're now abstract lifeforms that exist on their own. There are some stretches where it's obvious why the barnacles have latched on here, as they intently feed upon the remains of human life that were splattered there before.

◉ The overall feeling of the facility is oppressive and the pressure makes it difficult to move; even though it's a dream, it's hard to breathe. There's a constant feeling of something ripping away at their sense of self that will begin to impact their physical and mental state. Since it's a dream, time is nebulous; your character can be impacted from the start, or it can be gradual. They can be affected by either – or both!

◈ Physical effects include a headache much like the feeling of a driving spike in the temples, so painful that it becomes difficult for them to orient themselves. It's followed by bleeding from the nose, mouth, ears, and/or eyes.
◈ Mental effects include an eerie calmness that has strong feelings of detachment from emotions and body, along with a dissociation from themselves. This can be followed by strong bouts of overwhelming anxiety that cause irritation, rage or a prevailing feeling of desolation with no cause. These can come at interchangeable increments, or as one or the other.

◉ The spear with a sharp metal head on a shaft rooted to the ground will not move. Touching it causes a sharp feeling that cuts through the mind of anyone near it.

◉ Eventually the characters may find themselves standing in a cold room surrounded by the specters. A sharp, acrid smell pierces through the room. The specters range from nearly fully translucent to somewhat corporeal. They're dressed in nicely pressed lab coats with their names stitched on. These names aren't legible, blurring together and causing vertigo for anyone who tries to identify them. They repeat the same phrases in cracked, desperate voices, no matter who tries to speak with them.

◈ "What have we done? This is what we deserve for trying to be gods."
◈ "What we're witnessing is the height of human achievement. There's no turning back now!"
◈ "It was all a lie. They promised us everything, promised a better world for us!"
◈ "How can I face my son now? How can I? Forgive me, forgive me. If you ever learn about what we've done here, please … please forgive me."
◈ "Torn apart. My insides are all being torn apart!"
◈ "Why are you here? You shouldn't be here!"

◉ Dense clusters of unusual, deep sea fish and creatures swim around, all of them red in nature. They're likely unnoticeable at first. The specters and distant lights are more likely to draw the eye. Yet these creatures are on the edge of everything, feeding on what lives there now – and what may have been there before.

◉ Should anyone walk too far, they'll find themselves standing on a cliff's edge, peering downward. Malevolence wafts upward – anger, as well as the sense that anyone might be dragged down for eternity. This is a live grave. Anyone who risks jumping in will be forcibly tossed out of this part of the dreamscape. Wherever they end up next, they'll find themselves suffering from a great deal of nausea.

> THE CITYSCAPE

The sky overhead is gray and where they arrive is nebulous by definition. The ground is made up completely of limestone that paves the entirety of the city, and there are hints of days gone by visible as imprints in the fossilized stone: leaves, skeletons of birds, stones, and more.

The paths through the cities are rigid and linear, rows of different streets, set up tidily like New Amsterdam. None of the landmarks are the same: none of the districts maintain their typical appearance, instead replaced by a strange contradiction of familiarity and confusion.

There is a wealth of pathways for the characters to take. Each of these pathways are filled with buildings lining them, many shapeless and formless – a good number of them lack windows, as if incomplete in their imagining.

> CORPORATE INTERESTS

◉ As characters head toward what should be the financial district, they'll find a series of towering buildings. They aren't unlike the corporate buildings in New Amsterdam, but they're unique and fused together. A single skybridge hangs overhead, connecting Vyonation, Pulsar, and Giles Bell. There's an additional skybridge that connects each of these corporations to city hall and the governor's office.

◉ There are familiar faces in these offices, but they may not be where someone thinks they belong. Aoi Maeda drinks coffee in an office in Vyonation while numerous people surround her, waiting on her hand and foot; Jose Mercado mops up messes at Giles Bell, dressed in a janitorial outfit. Governor Lydia Gill-Jade walks about everywhere – but it's never just one of her. There are many of her, standing in office doorways, waiting for her barking orders. She never seems to have a mind of her own, repeating the same words to herself. If someone draws closer, the words will sound like the beginning of a speech, yet never make sense.

◉ Time isn't linear here, as being inside the buildings seems to accelerate the schedule outside. Once someone leaves, however, the depiction of the day outside will revert to what it was before someone stepped inside.

◉ There is no server access in any of these buildings. Technology is surface level – manifesting in a distant way, as if someone hopes to paint a picture but can't show the finer details.

◉ The monsters can attack in this section, but they can't impact it permanently. The buildings and people will persist even if the monsters destroy them. The people will remain right where they were even as the monsters attempt to ravage them. If the larger monster is led toward these buildings, they will recover simultaneously like someone hit a reset button.

◉ The potential safehouse coffee shop is here, as well. Though it's far less dramatic than the fusion of major corporate powers, the building itself is covered in vines. They don't look as if they belong to coffee plants, but on closer inspection, the flowers themselves provide beans. Upon retrieving a seed, however, it'll disintegrate in the hand of the holder. The interior is also covered in vines, with a path inside that leads deep into the underground portion of the city.

◉ While technology isn't on the same level, many of these buildings' insides will be inspired by the world as it's known to the characters themselves. Seeking out a specific person or their office isn't impossible – it just requires more guesswork and trial and error as individuals are seemingly displaced from their corporate branding.

> BE THERE OR BE SQUARE

◉ Several streets north, there is a large open square, filled with yet another festival: this one with people dressed in unusual garb with various different logos. On closer inspection, these are all sports fans, tailgating for an upcoming event. A large stadium looms off within reach, announcing the day's events on a large, scrolling monitor. Never mind the anachronistic nature of a monitor – surely it makes sense to someone, doesn't it?

◉ These fans rally around while talking about their favorite Vestica star athlete. Whatever the sports event is, there is a sense that it is somehow more glamorous than any current sport outside of the dream. In fact, today is meant to be the grand finals: a place for the different Vestica athletes to come together and show their worth. The information on the scrolling monitor details a number of different sporting events about to go down: Rugby ("Recalling the Sporting Past of Johannesburg"), a FPS competition featuring Overstrike Aeon ("Come see the best aim that our pilots have to offer!"), a timed raid in Planet of Battleforge ("See teamwork come together!") and a traditional decathlon ("Never forget the accomplishments of past Olympians!").

◉ Whether these events are an actual finals or a great exhibition of talent is unclear. There is no opposing team; there are no answers about this, either. Further investigation only leads to the impression that the Vestica athletes will win regardless of their efforts within the stadium.

◉ On the other side of the square, there is a large building, not unlike the 109 Building in Shibuya today. A large screen runs down the front of the building announcing what the various characters are doing in the world. Visiting Jose Mercado? Eating coffee beans off a vine? It seems that someone is tracking everyone's every movement. View of this building is limited to this section of the city.

◉ The base portion of this building opens up to a sports bar that appeals to the sensibilities of the displaced. There are numerous monitors that reveal the characters in action around the dreamscapes. The screens show other dreams, though the images on these cut in and out.

◉ Sound from this square reaches other parts of the city. While the sporting exhibition, whatever it might be, never seems to start, there is a rush of sound and noise elsewhere in the city. People screaming, shouts, booming beats with loud sports anthems (modern and old), as well as the cacophonous sound of vuvuzelas.

> A BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE

◉ If characters follow the river, they'll find that its mouth opens into a large, endless body of water. The entire area appears to be a large port – except an extremely unusual one, as the "docks" are glowing bridges reaching up into the gray, murky distance, reminiscent of aspects of the very first dream in the arrival log. For anyone who didn't experience that particular dream, there will be a sense of déjà vu, as if they've been here before.

◉ One of the bridges leads to a building for New Johannesburg Space Transit. There is a window for ticket sales, even if it's wrong and anachronistic. There is no entry into this building: it's locked, and the door is hot to the touch, like access here is barred for some reason.

◉ There is a paper poster on the inside of the ticketing window announcing trips to Pluto. "Come and determine if Pluto is a planet for yourself! Experience the mystical power of the edge of our solar system!"

◉ These bridges branch off on seemingly endless roads, with some ending with bright blue portals. Many of these portals are closed off with an invisible barrier blocking anyone from walking through.

> MONSTER PARTIES

◉ No matter where someone goes, there is always a risk of the monsters causing problems. The largest monster appears to be wherever the characters may be clustering – which means that it's possible to lead it to specific locations should anyone choose.

◉ The monsters are as described:

◈ One is 800m long and appears reptilian, with a tough, scaled hide. It has four legs, one head, and a long tail. Its coloring is dark, but its scales are iridescent, and shine in a rainbow of colors in the light. Its eyes, mouth, and many vein-like cracks along its body glow a bright gold.
◈ The smaller creatures are all roughly 2m in size, all have bright gold eyes, and come in three varieties:

◇ Serpentine creatures with two clawed arms. They move using their strong tails to propel themselves forward at extraordinary speeds and use their claws to climb, hook onto objects, or impale victims.
◇ Dog-like creatures with huge, powerful jaws. Slower moving, they will often track down a victim and hide motionless nearby, lunging out at the perfect moment to attack.
◇ Crab-like creatures with a large shelled back and a row of prehensile tentacles along the upper edge. Able to climb over most obstacles and squeeze themselves through small spaces, they lash out with their tentacles to ensnare and drag their victims to them. The tentacles also carry a venom which causes numbness and paralysis of the affected area for 10 minutes.

◉ There is the sense that these monsters can and should be defeated. While their destruction doesn't affect the financial district, the rest of the city can lay in ruins unless the creatures that have overrun the land have been stopped. They can destroy the stadium, any other seemingly familiar buildings, and even trample over any of the characters in the process. If it's mass destruction that can be caused, it will be caused.

◉ Killing a smaller creature will reveal that any damage they've caused will be undone. Does that mean the same will happen with the larger monster?

> UNDERGROUND CAVE WAYS

◉ Unlike the real New Amsterdam, there isn't an underground portion of the city where people live, instead replaced by a natural system of underground caves. There is the sense that the underground portion of New Amsterdam was once like this before it was corrupted by those with selfish interests throughout the years.

◉ There are numerous paths to the caves underneath the city. They're underneath businesses, through various sewer covers, as well as multiple other similar places. It's not hard to find a way in; someone just has to be inspired to try in the first place. They also connect most of the city to itself.

◉ There are also paths leading outside. One path leads to a forest, dense and humid. But tread carefully here, as the trees themselves are fragile, easily set alight or toppled by human influence. There are other areas that just lead out into water. If someone walks too long, they'll find that they may be sucked underneath. And then there are the ruins: large, deserted wastelands with no hope of life. They stretch for miles, are extremely hot, and offer someone little opportunity for escape. Walk too long, and someone may find themselves wandering forever – or until the dreams themselves are done.

> THE PERSONAL

While there are certainly places to visit, there are also the minds that have an opportunity to be understood with new context. Not every mind will have an open door – but there is a sense that they may be available at another time, in another context. For some, this is the right time and the right context – an opportunity to welcome someone in to see what needs to be seen, felt, and experienced.

> FINAL NOTES

A few final notes for clarification:

Characters transitioning between dreams: This is up to the player! Your character can find themselves in a different dream at any time.

Time: Time in the dreams is non-linear. For instance, your character may arrive in the city and see no sign of a monster attack, or they can arrive smack in the middle of the city being trashed.

World Changes: Refer to the thread below.

Can I assume something is present even if it's not described?: Yes, you absolutely can! It may not impact the world right away, but it definitely will in time. These descriptions are more cursory to give our players a lot to do, as well as highlight what we felt was significant.

I have another question! Where do I ask it?: On the QUESTIONS THREAD on the OOC Event Post. We also intend to keep the FAQ up to date.

Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for this event for all OOC info, as well as for any additional planning that needs to occur now that the world locations are more obvious. Since this event currently has no set end date, we encourage you to keep planning what might be best or more fun for you. No one is late at this stage, as aspects of the event were still up in the air!

We'll touch base with everyone on MARCH 30 to see where everyone is, and how they feel about things.

As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event. This will be granted for a thread of at least 5 action/log comments of participation in this event. We originally misspoke that they needed to use their power in the dreamscapes – they do not! They will need to reach the 5 comments required by APRIL 27 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

Our Activity Check will be posted on April 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on April 8 at 12 AM UTC. We will not post a warning list.

We will also post our April Calendar and accompanying CR meme on that day. If you still have things you'd like to do in your dreamscape, this CR meme should help you supplement your threads in progress!

> NAVIGATION

Comments

closed to markus & fitz

[blyat]

[He's jumped himself here, again, through the blistering pain in his head and the claustrophobic pressure above. Something continues to drag him back like it won't let him go. Ignoring the eerie presence of the specters, ignoring the pillars of coral-and-barnacle, ignoring even the red shapes of aquatic life on the distant edge of this hell, Cain makes a line for the spearhead wedged deep into the ground and wound in pale roots. The birds are mysteriously absent.

It takes force of determination and will to keep his mind in place. It won't last forever, but he feels fresher, having left here and returned. The first trip felt like his sense of self was struggling to peel out of his body itself -- a terrifying, disorienting loss of ego. Markus and Fitz are here with him; he doesn't look either one in the eye for whatever they've glimpsed into his psyche. He can't recall the passage of time, or how long he's been cycling through, jumping from one place to another: one mind to another, the city, this place, back to the city... Does it ever end?

So he crouches near the tangled nest of roots, frustrated and mentally exhausted. The weight of movement makes him unwilling to stand right away.]

Think we could move it somehow?

[saviorexe]

[Tossed to and fro through dreamscapes, through doors and portals and jarring transitions, Markus has been forced to realign and refocus again and again. People traipsing through his own psyche given physical form and setting; his own wanderings through those belonging to others. It’s hard to know what to expect, harder still to hold onto his original form when the meter keeps wanting to slide back towards ‘human’, but there’s familiarity in his return to this place. A remembered sight, crimson fish, a spear with a bed of roots (apparently) keeping it held in place, an immovable object.

(An immovable object? Think we could move it somehow? comes the question, and he wonders.)

He’s here with two equally familiar faces, perhaps more familiar than either of them would want to be, figuratively pressed close through their dreamlike travels. But the android keeps his gaze forward as he moves toward the spear in tandem with Cain; his mental processes feel strained, sluggish with constant cycles looping and running and analyzing in these strange circumstances, but his current body experiences no tinge of physical weariness. He stands straight, still, considering.]

The roots will be an issue.

[Obvious but worth pointing out.]

It’ll take effort, or a little bit of creative problem-solving. What do we have to work with?

[retravel]

[ In flux, that's how he feels. Never solid, with the various parts of his person (and the other) spiking and fading. Here, Fitz looks more like himself than in most other dreams: Tactical gear, with his SHIELD windbreaker over the top. The pressure takes its toll on him, a tremendous force on his brain, aggravating injuries old and new. And that's without considering the harrowing familiarity of the depths, dark and cold like the last time. Water flows through his chest like air, but he still fears drowning again.

It takes all his control to bury the panic and keep upright, hands on his hips (fingers digging in too hard) and eyes trained on the roots, shifting in the blue light. The rules of this reality are different. ]

Powers are on the fritz. [ just in case they don't know. ] Still, I open space, [ a flicker of his attention to the other, briefly searching his features. ] and Cain can move matter.

[ a manipulation more nuanced in its potential applications to the task at hand, as they all know from the strike team mission. He fishes a hand in his pocket, retrieving an obsolete multitool with the number 17 carved into the side (jagged, as if by a shaky hand). A faint twitch of his mouth (wry, 'cause he wouldn't have it, if not for the drowning, in the first place) as he flicks out different tools. A knife, pliers, wire-cutters. ]

Could take an old school approach to the roots.

[blyat]

[He responds visibly to his name, tension writing itself into every muscle from the knelt position close to the roots. Doesn't look up, if only because the frayed threads of his self-control are tenuous at best in this place, and he wants to keep concentrated. The first time he saw the spear, he'd had no desire at all to interact with it beyond brief investigation -- the disorientation of this place was enough to steer him clear, vying for a path out and away.

This time, he won't stray. Cain may not understand where they are or what's happening in this endless loop of realities, but this spear appears to represent some center of it. Will it resurface them to the tangible world, if it's dislodged? Will it do anything at all? He wants to know.]

Shouldn't touch anything if we can avoid it. [Hurt like hell last time, a pain he doesn't want to relive.] The roots, though... I dunno, maybe.

[Dragging himself to his feet with effort, Cain ignores his own fear at the weight of water all around them. He's never learned how to swim.]

I can try moving it with my ability. You could cut the roots at the same time, Fitz. Markus, what about your shield thing?

[saviorexe]

[Markus is quiet only for a beat, running possibilities through his mind, trying to offer a way synergize his own abilities in tandem with their own. His ‘shield thing’, as Cain would put it, remains relatively straightforward in application. It is meant to protect, to block, to be immovable — which upon first thought would seem counterproductive to what they're trying to accomplish.]

If we’re avoiding touching it, my shields are going to be the only thing I can offer to help. I can put some force behind it; use it to dislodge the spear from the roots if we can get it loose enough.

[They might remember Markus’ rather forceful application of his shield against a UNA soldier, ramming them aside and away. The same concept applies here.]

Maybe act as a barrier between the spear and the roots if need be.

[Honestly, however, he thinks that it's Cain's power that will make or break their success.]

[retravel]

[ Fitz moves closer, resisting the urge to reach out to the both of them as he passes. They've had harrowing days already, and this marks yet another risk. Have to be audacious, though, if they mean to survive this world. ]

Good ideas, the lot of it. [ and as a scientist, he's inclined to support as many tests as possible. ] May as well try everything, see what sticks.

[ Tipping his head this way and that to better assess the target, he crouches beside the roots. ]

Just as a note, when I cut into the coral, it was like, well — as if I'd cut into my hand, just as deep. [ flashing his pristine palm. ] No actual injuries, though. [ dragging a hand across his jaw. ] Wouldn't be surprised if most organic life has a similar capacity for self-defence down here. Fascinating, really.

[ he looks up, glancing and gesturing between them as if he just gave a wee weather update. ]

Do you want to all have a go, then? [ pointing back at himself. ] I'll cut on your [ general your, Cain or Markus. ] command.

[blyat]

[A flash of a look is spared to Fitz at the coral's macabre description. He's not comfortable giving an order if it's going to provide a chance to inflict physical pain on Fitz, but... they've come this far. And there's no evidence of injury. Teeth grit over the words,]

The second it starts hurting, you stop. Okay?

[Demand made, Cain centers his attention on the weapon. The fight for concentration is difficult with the weight of this place braced across his body, and he's tired, wrung dry both emotionally and physically, nerves chafed by an edge of impatience and frustration. Determination to get out and end this.

Wiping a tickle of blood from beneath a nostril, Cain nods his head.] Do it now. [And holds up his hand palm-up, fingers outspread to blink away the spear.]

[saviorexe]

[Fascinating, really, Fitz comments at the potential of pain in tandem with slicing into the entwined roots. He’s reminded of Kamski for a moment — Fascinating, he would always say, in response to an unexpected problem, or taxing consequence — but shakes the memory away, not wanting to lose himself in old phantoms when he needs to keep his focus collected.

A silent nod of agreement at Cain’s suggestion, however; no point in causing undue pain when they already don’t know what other issues they might have to deal with. But Markus says nothing, keeping silent as he’s apt to do, ratcheting up his focus when Cain’s power activates.

The glow of his chest heralds his own startling to life; Markus’ strains his processing, ignoring the perpetual warning signals flagging in his HUD, external assessments gone yellow with caution merely by being so deep in some unfathomable sea, assaulted by impossible pressure at all sides. Wrung raw and exposed from treks through personal dreamscapes, and caught on the hooks of his own, he relies heavily on pure bullheadedness and determination to send his shielding pushing forward, unwilling to falter. The clawing curiosity of where this all may lead keeps his feet planted squarely into ground, awkward as it is in the free-floating nature of this place.

His shield rams into wherever the spear is carried— pushing or keeping separate from the roots, shivering with the impact but holding steady.]

[retravel]

[ Fitz is already at the ready, knife hovering above the snaking roots, when Cain pauses to amend his orders. A surprised blink his way. ]

Okay. [ said 'cause he knows that's what'll keep things on track (oh, Fitz). Pain didn't stop him earlier. Wouldn't stop him now. Suppose it's flattering that they're concerned for his wellbeing, but nothing as insignificant as individual comfort should come before the mission. If they can't save the people splattered across the walls, bleeding beneath coral and barnacles, or wandering the watery halls as spectres, undrowned — then they have to find out what happened to them and why. That's justice.

Indefatigable in his curiosity and resolve despite the weariness in his bones, he gets to it. Steady hands work with precision and surprising strength, unafraid of what might come. His gaze only flickers up briefly to ascertain Cain and Markus' progress. ]

[blyat]

[THANKS, SATAN i.e. continuation.]