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Entry tags:
- !event,
- athena | borderlands,
- benedict dearborn | original,
- carver hawke | dragon age,
- daenerys targaryen | game of thrones,
- eliot waugh | the magicians,
- ellie | the last of us,
- ivar ragnarsson | vikings,
- lee sung-hoon | duel,
- logan | marvel,
- octavia blake | the 100,
- robbie reyes | marvel,
- ruth aldine | marvel,
- vin venture | mistborn,
- will graham | hannibal,
- william | westworld
BONFIRE LIGHTS IN THE MIRROR OF SKY.
WHO: Everyone in game.
WHAT: Our first event log!
WHERE: Anywhere in the world core.
WHEN: After the storms begin.
NOTES: Expect surreal horror and possible violence. Please use common sense when warning for other content.
WHAT: Our first event log!
WHERE: Anywhere in the world core.
WHEN: After the storms begin.
NOTES: Expect surreal horror and possible violence. Please use common sense when warning for other content.
Photo by drainrat
PREVIOUSLY, ON THE WASTEYARD.
The world remains divided into a land where either a hazy sun shines muted light above or a full moon casts silvery shadows below. They hang fixed, as if nailed in place, more like theatrical props than far-off heavenly bodies. And you can still see only one of them, depending on which side you arrived.
Meanwhile, the storm rages.
On both sides of the world, the rain starts and doesn't stop. The temperature drops, transforming torrential rain into icy snow. Gusts of wind become gales and spin detritus into shrapnel, man-made disasters turned natural. Shadows spin wildly—almost comically—in cyclones, before bursting into nothingness; if you aren't careful, the winds will snatch you, too. Out here, the only protection you might have is cooperating with each other.
Indoors, it's certainly warmer, but that just means water doesn't freeze. Buildings flood with chilly water that rises no matter how many stairs you climb. Architecture groans under the pressure of earthquakes, sending more water cascading through the ceiling before it disappears into cracks below. Is anywhere safe?
Well, yes. One place, splintered into many. The mirrors in ash-gray frames stand sentinel, scattered throughout the world. They emit warm light from the other side; sunlight spills moonside and moonlight reflects sunside. Water impossibly flows around and away from them, leaving behind untouched earth that stays still and silent. Standing in front of them gives you a respite, a tiny bubble of safety to wait out the worst.
Meanwhile, the storm rages.
On both sides of the world, the rain starts and doesn't stop. The temperature drops, transforming torrential rain into icy snow. Gusts of wind become gales and spin detritus into shrapnel, man-made disasters turned natural. Shadows spin wildly—almost comically—in cyclones, before bursting into nothingness; if you aren't careful, the winds will snatch you, too. Out here, the only protection you might have is cooperating with each other.
Indoors, it's certainly warmer, but that just means water doesn't freeze. Buildings flood with chilly water that rises no matter how many stairs you climb. Architecture groans under the pressure of earthquakes, sending more water cascading through the ceiling before it disappears into cracks below. Is anywhere safe?
Well, yes. One place, splintered into many. The mirrors in ash-gray frames stand sentinel, scattered throughout the world. They emit warm light from the other side; sunlight spills moonside and moonlight reflects sunside. Water impossibly flows around and away from them, leaving behind untouched earth that stays still and silent. Standing in front of them gives you a respite, a tiny bubble of safety to wait out the worst.
INTO THE LABYRINTH.
Once you plunge indoors—unless you're really that determined to take your chances in the storm—you'll find every building with electricity experiencing a brownout. The overhead lights flicker and radios crackle with static, warbling broken news reports and tunes. They eavesdrop on strings of Morse code and private confessions on ham radio. If it's ever been broadcast on the airwaves, public or personal, you might hear it if you tune to the right station; you might even hear yourself, replaying a conversation you've had or will have. And sometimes the audio seems pointed, preternaturally so, as if tuned to your own thoughts and words.
Meanwhile, the waters continue to rise. The halls stretch long, seemingly infinite and twisted into knots. In some of them, no matter how far you walk, it seems like you never get any closer to the end; in others, you hit one dead end and can't stop hitting dead ends, no matter how many times you retrace your steps. None of that's unusual.
But if you delve deep into dark enough recesses (whether accidentally or intentionally), the world calms. The water recedes. Mirrors materialize in the dead ends, scratching out an "X" in the frame before your eyes. If you touch one, the glass falls away in ribbons, flowing like quicksilver and fleeing farther into the darkness. It reveals a hole on the other side, so deep a black it looks flat. Wherever it goes, it's so dark you can't see the other side.
And that's when you hear a sound like someone inhaling and then exhaling, steadily breathing around you. No...you feel it. A presence that has no form no matter how hard you look, but follows you in creaks and groans. It feels like being stalked by a monster in a maze.
Running from it only intensifies the feeling. Attacking makes it even worse. Calm acceptance is the only way to lessen or even neutralize it, but that's something you'll have to discover for yourself. In the end, there's no way to defeat it. You have to trust your instincts and believe it's there, despite the fact that you can't see or touch it.
Meanwhile, the waters continue to rise. The halls stretch long, seemingly infinite and twisted into knots. In some of them, no matter how far you walk, it seems like you never get any closer to the end; in others, you hit one dead end and can't stop hitting dead ends, no matter how many times you retrace your steps. None of that's unusual.
But if you delve deep into dark enough recesses (whether accidentally or intentionally), the world calms. The water recedes. Mirrors materialize in the dead ends, scratching out an "X" in the frame before your eyes. If you touch one, the glass falls away in ribbons, flowing like quicksilver and fleeing farther into the darkness. It reveals a hole on the other side, so deep a black it looks flat. Wherever it goes, it's so dark you can't see the other side.
And that's when you hear a sound like someone inhaling and then exhaling, steadily breathing around you. No...you feel it. A presence that has no form no matter how hard you look, but follows you in creaks and groans. It feels like being stalked by a monster in a maze.
Running from it only intensifies the feeling. Attacking makes it even worse. Calm acceptance is the only way to lessen or even neutralize it, but that's something you'll have to discover for yourself. In the end, there's no way to defeat it. You have to trust your instincts and believe it's there, despite the fact that you can't see or touch it.
CHANGING SIDES.
Elsewhere, it starts as a smell.
As the ground shudders and cracks, the stench of rot comes from the fissures. Mirrors and windows melt off walls, and a strong sense of vertigo comes and goes, like cresting waves. Looking out a window shows buildings and bridges breaking off of the labyrinth and drifting—or plummeting—away. They dissolve into nothingness as they vanish into the abyss, like they were bathed in acid. The already fragile world is falling apart.
It comes with a pervasive sense of wrongness, perhaps ironic in a world where everything is already wrong. But that's when it happens: You look up and realize you're no longer where you started. The sun or the moon, whichever you expected, is no longer in the sky. Instead, on the horizon lies its opposite.
It's a phenomenon unique to areas with high concentrations of ash mirrors and hallways, particularly when there's someone else on the other side. Sometimes the instability flips your positions, so one of you is now in the dimension where the other previously stood, while other times it drags you both together into the light of the sun or moon. It's like you resonate, magnets attracting or repelling each other in little pockets of peace.
As the ground shudders and cracks, the stench of rot comes from the fissures. Mirrors and windows melt off walls, and a strong sense of vertigo comes and goes, like cresting waves. Looking out a window shows buildings and bridges breaking off of the labyrinth and drifting—or plummeting—away. They dissolve into nothingness as they vanish into the abyss, like they were bathed in acid. The already fragile world is falling apart.
It comes with a pervasive sense of wrongness, perhaps ironic in a world where everything is already wrong. But that's when it happens: You look up and realize you're no longer where you started. The sun or the moon, whichever you expected, is no longer in the sky. Instead, on the horizon lies its opposite.
It's a phenomenon unique to areas with high concentrations of ash mirrors and hallways, particularly when there's someone else on the other side. Sometimes the instability flips your positions, so one of you is now in the dimension where the other previously stood, while other times it drags you both together into the light of the sun or moon. It's like you resonate, magnets attracting or repelling each other in little pockets of peace.
THE LOCKED ROOM.
Amidst the chaos, as the world shifts and there's no telling where or when you are, you slip through a crack. Or maybe you're a weirdo who climbed through the hole left behind a mirror.
In either case, the fissure is both literal and metaphorical, influenced by the unstable world and your actions. Maybe you step through a door, crawl through a crevice, close your eyes, or do something else to take you between here and there. Whatever the case, you find yourself in a room unlike any others you've seen in this distorted world. Well...once you look closer, anyway. On the surface, it may just be another kitchen, ballroom, or cellar.
But in these rooms, it doesn't matter which side of the divide you were on. Not only because you can't see whatever lights the sky, but because they lie between dimensions. There are no windows and no doors; you'll only find walls the same mottled gray as everything else in this place. Attacking them gets you nowhere. Any damage is there and gone, like the erased moments between flashes of a strobe light. There is no easy way out.
But there is a mirror. Hairline cracks run through its surface, shattering a single reflection into multitudes. Set in an ash-gray frame like so many others, it's left somewhere in the room, whether hanging on a wall, haphazard on the floor, or leaning against some furniture. It emanates the skin-prickling sensation of being watched. Turning away doesn't help; you can feel it gazing at your back.
The haunted feeling only subsides when you stare back. And you should stare back, because these mirrors are your escape route. Staring into them will reveal someone on the other side with the same predicament. Surprisingly, you can hear each other when you speak. It even comes translated if you don't speak the same language, although your mouths still sync to your native tongues. It's like a poorly dubbed movie.
Touching the mirror gives you the impression it's somehow leeching off you, trying to fill those cracks. Try to pull your hand away and you'll find it's a little difficult, like unsticking your tongue from a cold pole. Moreover, you'll feel a compulsion to tell the truth, to do something real.
In either case, the fissure is both literal and metaphorical, influenced by the unstable world and your actions. Maybe you step through a door, crawl through a crevice, close your eyes, or do something else to take you between here and there. Whatever the case, you find yourself in a room unlike any others you've seen in this distorted world. Well...once you look closer, anyway. On the surface, it may just be another kitchen, ballroom, or cellar.
But in these rooms, it doesn't matter which side of the divide you were on. Not only because you can't see whatever lights the sky, but because they lie between dimensions. There are no windows and no doors; you'll only find walls the same mottled gray as everything else in this place. Attacking them gets you nowhere. Any damage is there and gone, like the erased moments between flashes of a strobe light. There is no easy way out.
But there is a mirror. Hairline cracks run through its surface, shattering a single reflection into multitudes. Set in an ash-gray frame like so many others, it's left somewhere in the room, whether hanging on a wall, haphazard on the floor, or leaning against some furniture. It emanates the skin-prickling sensation of being watched. Turning away doesn't help; you can feel it gazing at your back.
The haunted feeling only subsides when you stare back. And you should stare back, because these mirrors are your escape route. Staring into them will reveal someone on the other side with the same predicament. Surprisingly, you can hear each other when you speak. It even comes translated if you don't speak the same language, although your mouths still sync to your native tongues. It's like a poorly dubbed movie.
Touching the mirror gives you the impression it's somehow leeching off you, trying to fill those cracks. Try to pull your hand away and you'll find it's a little difficult, like unsticking your tongue from a cold pole. Moreover, you'll feel a compulsion to tell the truth, to do something real.
THE GREAT ESCAPE.
For those of you left behind where the sun and moon still shine, keep an eye on your own mirrors, especially broken ones that seem to be influenced by something invisible. They display a room that most decidedly isn't your own, acting more like a window than a mirror. And whoever's inside, trapped, might call on you for help. You won't be able to hear them, though, so how are you with body language?
Meanwhile, for escapees...
No matter how you escape the rooms, you might notice something a little strange once you get back to the labyrinth. Well, stranger. For a brief window of time (one that grows longer with each room you escape), you'll discover the sun and moon occupy the same sky. The area you've entered is a temporary nexus of sorts, one that fuses the dimensions into something that almost seems stable.
It feels right, but the world isn't strong enough to hold itself together for long.
Meanwhile, for escapees...
No matter how you escape the rooms, you might notice something a little strange once you get back to the labyrinth. Well, stranger. For a brief window of time (one that grows longer with each room you escape), you'll discover the sun and moon occupy the same sky. The area you've entered is a temporary nexus of sorts, one that fuses the dimensions into something that almost seems stable.
It feels right, but the world isn't strong enough to hold itself together for long.
no subject
Hopefully he won't argue this one, too. Ellie was hard-headed enough.
no subject
"I.." he begins, then stops. She has, he realises with a sinking feeling, a good point. He growls, paces a tight circle, then comes back.
"I'm not your team, kid. I'm your team leader. I can take care of myself in this place. I'll be okay."
no subject
Team leader is like headmaster; it stops meaning anything when the structure around it is gone. Two people might be partners, but Ruth doesn't think they're a team that needs a leader. Not at this point--not for the sake of a broken mirror.
no subject
As always, anger rises up to fill the crack in his mental foundation, burning through the sadness. Something about it feels wrong, more wrong than usual, but he ignores it.
"Sorry, Ruth. You," he snarls, pointing a finger at her, even though he know she can't see it, "don't get to decide that. I need to take care of you. That's what's goin' on here."
no subject
Everything is changed, not just their surroundings.
no subject
Now, though, it grates against him. Something about her being hurt sends him back to being her teacher, her protector. The man who stood up to Scott because he was sick and tired of seeing unprepared children put on the firing line.
But he does understand.
He stands in front of the mirror for a few long breaths, turning his thoughts over in his head, examining the places where they're fractured and weeping something darker than blood.
"Fine. You're not. But you're.. someone I care about." He looks at her, sitting there so small and calm. The truth pushes up against his tongue. He lowers his eyes down to his hands. "I failed you once, Ruth. I can't.. I can't do it again."
nb: suicide references
The world, and the people in it.
No, she tells herself. Not that. Something in her mind. Something stopped working. The future stopped working--but time obviously continues, with or without her, or Logan wouldn't be here, talking like it's his fault she was going to pull a blade out of its razor. Something in her was broken, in ways beyond anything had broken before.
"Me," she says, because the truth seems to pull at her until she says it. "Yes. Pardon. Something broke."
nb: suicide references
He knows what she's talking about. Has been there himself, more than once. Sat with his knuckles pressing into his jaw. Woke up with his head ringing and memories reforming around damaged brain tissue, spitting out bullets and bile.
Broken. Yeah, he knows what that feels like.
Words push at him but he closes his teeth on them, just stands there, head hanging, feeling the not-mirror and every ache in his bones.
tbh, nb: suicide all the way down
"Did you find Scott? Please." Ruth's leaning in, hair falling around her face, like she's peering at him. (She's not. He's angry enough without more blood smeared on her skin.)
nb: suicide discussion continues
"Yeah, I found him. You.. told me too. About what you saw." He's still not sure how much she knows, besides the fact that he's ahead of her.
no subject
She reaches out, running her fingers over the strange, hungry surface of the mirror as she might the surface of a pond. It's such a strange feeling, like she could close her fist and pull some of it away if she wanted--something warm, something nearly alive. There's more dimension to it than there should be.
"Death," Ruth agrees, softly. "Nothing but death."
no subject
"We've seen that before," he says, after a moment. "People tellin' us this and that about the future. Sometimes it's true. Sometimes.. we slip the net. Find a way out."
Bought with blood, he wants to say -- almost does, and manages to fight it down. Thinking of Daken, and Evan. Of the countless futures he's seen, the different versions of himself probably still fighting out there. Always fighting. Never at peace.
"You saw death, kid," he continues. "I ain't gonna tell you that you saw wrong. But you passed on the message. Could be you saved us without knowin' about it. I know it's ironic as hell comin' from me, but.. believe me, death ain't always gotta be the ending. There's.. hope." He clears his throat, the next few words coming low, almost a whisper. "I have hope."
no subject
I can't.
She's quiet for a long moment after he speaks, the whole world shuttering down to the sound of her breath, the rise and fall of her chest. His hope sounds like a promise. It doesn't sound possible.
"I don't..." she starts, head drooping a little, and takes another breath. Ruth doesn't want it to come out, but the sentiment is desperate to escape her lips. Her fingers rest on the glass; they feel like they're threatening to be sucked inside of it. (Would that be so bad? Encased in glass, bled dry by whatever's pulling at her skin right now. It would be over.) "Pardon. I don't remember what hope feels like."
no subject
He recognises what she's saying. Knows that feeling. Usually he chases it down with a shot of whiskey or gets himself into a brawl or two, but here he has nothing to offer her except more words.
"I --" he starts, then feels a warmth under his palm, and a shimmering light rolling down across the mirror as the cracks melt away. He manages to stop himself falling forward as the mirror's surface disappears. Just like with Ellie. They'd been having a pretty intense conversation then, too.
Shit, he thinks, this place is feedin' on our secrets.
But there's more important things to worry about right now.
"Kid. Ruth, we have a way out. You feel that?"
no subject
Turning, she goes back to her things. Before they can take the out, she needs to wrap up the sleeping bag, shove it in the backpack. Stuff in the cans she found as well. When she has everything together, ersatz cane included, she returns to the mirror. "On three?"
no subject
He looks up at her as she returns.
"On three." He reaches out to grab the bottom of the mirror, fingers sliding weirdly into nothingness near her feet. "One, two, three."
There's the same warmth and light as he hauls himself up and through the mirror, coming out with a heavy step into the same long hallway he'd reached with Ellie. He glances around, then at Ruth.
"You feel ok, kid?"
no subject
She stretches her arms like she's just waking up, unsure what to do with the sudden sense of freedom. This is better than those cagelike rooms. This is...it's unending possibility.
"Yes. Pardon," she murmurs, bending over in search of her cane and bag. "I think...yes. This is okay."
As okay as it's going to get, anyway.