04 - week four

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[undertakings]

i. the eighty-sixth sector (cws: euthanasia, gore)

[The first thing that would hit your senses is the scent of burnt flesh and metal. In this dark, claustrophobic space, only the dim light of the three optical screens around you provide any sense of what's outside. Peering out through the screens reveals the ruins of a devastated city street, asphalt dotted with the rubble of collapsed buildings and the twisted carcasses of fragile war machines mixed in amongst felled enemies, scattered about like crushed insects. Perhaps the one blessing here is that the battlefield is mostly silent at this point, signaling that the fighting has already subsided.

And while it's easy enough to raise the metal canopy above your head with a simple pull of a lever situated besides the hard, uncomfortable seat, you may catch the glimpse of a small, black-haired boy dressed in oversized desert camouflage fatigues and a scarf climbing out of his own machine and running over to one of the others--one with the front caved in so severely it might even be enough to crush a person.

But regardless of what you're feeling about this right now, you're here. What next?]


ii. the daily life of the spearhead squadron

[You find yourself standing in front of a very colorful chalkboard. As the rest of your senses catch up, you can hear the din of people hustling behind you and the noise of machinery inside the rest of the hangar. If you find yourself turning around to take a peek at what's going on around you, you'll see more of these crappy war machines sitting around as the maintenance crew tunes them up.

Either way, at some point a familiar face will his way here, dressed in a desert camouflage uniform accented with a pale blue scarf at his neck. As Shin slips past with a clipboard in hand, an older man with a ponytail and dark shades marches up to him and starts yelling.]

Shin! Shinei Nouzen! Ya fucked it all up again, ya little shit!

[This sure is a way to start things off.]

---

[ooc note: just a heads up that the memories can be interacted with but for the most part, the overall outcome won't change! because of this, i'd also rather keep some degree of nerfing on for powers to the extent that what's being done should still be kind of within human limits; so for example, while you may still be able to conjure a palm-sized fireball, you can't instantly incinerate a house or something.

also i have a spreadsheet here for non-interactable memories if one of those catch your fancy more; just let me know if you're interested in any of them and I can write up a custom starter for that!]

II

[herlocksholmes]

[Upon arrival, Sholmes examines the surroundings, hurrying to take a closer look at the war machines. What's...this is pretty advanced! Far more advanced than any war machine he's aware of. This is Shin's world, isn't it? Sholmes already knew this world was quite different to his own, but seeing this sure drives that fact home.

Speaking of Shin! Looks like he's over there...getting scolded. Welp, time to snoop! Hiding behind the nearest object of his size he can find, Sholmes tries to get as close as he can to find out what's drawing this man's ire at Shin]

[undertakings]

[As the man approaches, Shin seems pretty unconcerned for the most part; almost like this is a routine he's entirely used to, as one of the other kids seated by one of the war machines startles and runs off to avoid ground zero. Anyway I'm not typing out this whole convo!! But the man makes it clear from the start he's pissed off at Shin being making a mess of the machine he uses. He rattles off the issues with the parts that are particularly hosed up, but despite his... rough way of expressing it, it's pretty clear he's not keen on Shin dying as a result of his reckless fighting. It also seems like supplies are an issue considering the man talks about running out of parts, and then we get this charming exchange:

"My spare?"

"Ah, yeah, the spare. We do have a spare, don't we? Gotta have one when the captain keeps trashing his rig left and right. Ya come to us for repairs three times more than any other Processor. D'ya think yer some kind of prince or somethin'?! Huh?!"

"The Republic abolished the class system in the revolution three hundred years ago."

...In any case, the man seems like he's going to go on another mini-rant again. Shin is... well, probably more or less the same as what Sholmes knows of him so far. Is he going to keep snooping?]

[herlocksholmes]

[Oh, yes. Definitely yes to snooping around in the area. Looks like you got into trouble, Shin. Let's see how bad it was.

If Shin's machine is a mess right now then perhaps he can find it, or at least narrow it down to just a few. He's curious just how it looks like...and what kind of damage it might suffer. What are you fighting, Shin? He has wondered that ever since the first day]

[undertakings]

[Wow Sholmes out to get him huh!!

Thankfully, Shin's machine is not actually that difficult to find and the two's conversation actually makes it clear which unit it is: it's one they're standing right next to, identified by the small design of a headless skeleton hoisting a shovel emblazoned on its side. Despite the man's complaints about the machine being wrecked, it seems most of the damage is related to the legs and some of the internal systems; while the main body is lightly scarred and scorched on parts, it looks pretty intact as far as things go. Either way, it's hard to say what might have hosed it up; it doesn't look like there are any bullet holes or anything, and whatever scratches and gashes would look more like they came from shrapnel rather than a direct hit of anything.

Either way, as the conversation goes, Shin brings up the possibility of taking parts from a machine owned by someone named Kujo--someone who is now dead, as the man makes apparent from the way he asks if that's something Shin is okay with. In as nonverbal a confirmation he can give, he simply knocks lightly on the side of the machine, right by the skeleton mark.

'Yeah, too late for that, I suppose... Ain't that right, Undertaker?'

The man seems resigned to the whole thing, but Shin remains as impassive as ever.]

[herlocksholmes]

[Fascinating. Sholmes finds himself very enraptured by this machine...and notes that indeed, the damage doesn't make this machine be as damaged as this man's shouting made it sound. Why, this has time left before it's destined to be scrapped in some junkyard!

Well, it's time to attempt to meddle. Meddle, and see how things go]

Pardon me!

[Sholmes calls aloud from beside the machine. Can others hear him, he wonders]

[undertakings]

[From the way the two of them look in Sholmes' direction, they sure seem to be able to hear him, at least. Interestingly enough, they don't appear to look particularly surprised either, even as the man raises an eyebrow behind his dark shades while Shin just watches quietly beside him.]

Huh? What, did somethin' happen to one o' the other rigs?

[Compared to when he was speaking with Shin, the man's voice is certainly less severe in tone when addressing Sholmes, kind of like he's treating him like a... co-worker?]

[selfconcept]

[ An order of "It's your fault" and "... brother", please!! ]

[undertakings]

[The portal takes Hien to the vestibule of a small church, where three figures are gathered. Two of them, one a teenager with
blood-red hair and black eyes framed by spectacles and the other a small boy with black hair and red eyes, hang back from the front entrance as the boy hides behind his older brother's legs. As the loud knocking from the entrance continues incessantly, the last of them, a silver-haired man dressed in a priest's cassock, finally pulls one of the wooden doors open. On the other side are a pair of soldiers in Prussian blue uniforms, assault rifles slung over a shoulder as they greet the priest less than cordially with clear annoyance and scorn in their voices as they complain about 'wasting their time delivering things to pigs' before rattling off a letter followed by string of numbers.

Spooked by the soldiers' ire, the boy clings to his brother even more tightly, although the teenager mollifies him with a brief smile and a quick pat on the head before lightly extricating himself from the boy's grip to step forward and receive the delivery with a grim expression. Immediately after a few papers are roughly thrust into the teenager's hands, the soldiers sneer at them and quickly take their leave.

As the priest leads the boys over to a back room, the three of them walk straight past someone standing right by one of the pews, not even sparing him a glance. The Shin that Hien knows, for his part, merely stands and watches the figures quietly from where they just breezed past him, gaze fixed on their backs. Looks like he's along for the ride for this one too.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien has been used to stepping inside portals and being able to affect the memories personally, so that's why he's surprised when no one even spares him nor Shin a glance even when they're right there and horribly out of place.

He doesn't like how the scenario starts though, and walks up to Shin. ]

Are we like ghosts in here...?

[undertakings]

[As absorbed in his thoughts as he is, Shin actually tenses up for a second at the sound of Hien's voice.]

...It seems that way.

[Meanwhile, the three figures disappear behind a door and the surroundings seem to fade soon after, only to be replaced by the walls of a plain room with a small kitchenette. Seated at one of the chairs by a modest-sized table was the little boy--Shin, at eight years old--who looks confusedly between the priest and his older brother.

There's a noticeable tension in the air, most of it emanating from the older brother as he stares at the paper on the table--a notification of death, plain and unadorned with naught but a simple printed statement confirming that someone was deceased. With an identification number used instead of a name, it provided the bare minimum of information in the most impersonal way possible. The priest, resigned as he seems, looks over to the older brother with sympathetic silver eyes.

'...Rei.'

The older brother, Rei, doesn't answer as he tears his eyes away from the notice and looks over to the small sheaf of papers in his hand--an enlistment directive from the government of the Republic of San Magnolia, emblazoned with a coat of arms at the corner.

While there's a moment of awkward silence in the memory, Hien is free to move around as he wishes for a bit if he wants to look around the area even if he can't interact with anyone directly. Shin, for his part, will just stand in a corner as it all plays out.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hm. Since it seems Shin wants to stay in the corner, Hien goes to look around. His first object of interest are the papers that Rei is holding. Shin as a tiny child looks cute, but he doesn't like seeing children look too confused or worried. ]

Who's getting enlisted...

[ He looks over at older Shin. You? ]

[undertakings]

[The papers are written as formally as you'd expect an official government document to be, with the first page dedicated to outlining some sort of legal guarantee to enlistees; particularly, 'the restoration of civil rights and restitution of seized properties will be granted to individuals and their families after serving a term of no fewer than five years' and other similar language. One of the other sheets is the notice itself, but the language that's used is forceful, making it clear that refusing isn't an option. And the rest of it is just forms and paperwork to be filled out by the enlistee.

As for the who, the papers are unfortunately not too helpful in answering that question considering the notice is addressed to the same string of digits that one of the soldiers rattled off earlier. However, Hien can probably infer that the ID number refers to Rei; older Shin will also confirm that by shaking his head at the implied question and directing his gaze to his brother.

And despite the clear tension in Rei's frame, he keeps a lid on his emotions for the most part, although there's an increasingly noticeable crinkle left on the papers as he skims through the pages. At some point, he drops the papers on the table and slips out of the room.]

i;

[fabulation]

[ This is extremely disorienting, but you know what, apparently he's here now.

Xingqiu carefully inches closer to where the other has run over to. To see what's going on, and maybe see if someone is either injured or even still alive, even after the obvious damage to the machine.

What's going to happen next? ]

[undertakings]

[Good call, Xingqiu. Because it does in fact seem like there's a faint groaning coming from the machine the kid ran towards. The canopy right over the cockpit is out of alignment enough that there's a significant gap present--one that the kid is attempting to exploit as he tries to pry the thing open with his bare hands, but he honestly doesn't look any older than eleven or twelve years old. Predictably, it looks like he's having a difficult time with it.

Standing and watching is an option, and a few of the other young soldiers who left their machines are doing exactly that, with expressions that are either indifferent or tinged with scorn. It doesn't look like anyone's going to interfere at any rate, so Xingqiu is free to do as he wishes.]

[fabulation]

[ ...He has no idea what's going on.

But, he comes even closer.

Is there any way for him to help the kid open it? He will try that first with his own hands, to see if it will cause anything to happen, after taking note of the other soldiers. ]

cw: gore

[undertakings]

[Poor Xingqiu... stepped into the wrong genre today.

Xingqiu can certainly manage with his hands, especially since the metal is already warped and misaligned as is. It's also surprisingly light and thin as far as metal goes, so it won't actually take too much effort for him to move it. That action, though, elicits a surprised look from the boy as he turns to look over at Xingqiu with wide red eyes before quickly lowering and averting his gaze.

Despite the avoidant behavior, he still mumbles out something loud enough to hear.]

We have to get him out... he's still alive.

[And indeed, the teenager sitting in the machine's now-revealed cockpit is certainly still moving slightly, eyelids flickering as blood flows freely from a head wound. But more importantly, only the soldier's top half can be seen as the distorted metal completely obscures and seems to have even cut through his legs; the smell of blood is thick in the air, and it's clear that this person is probably not going to be alive for much longer.]

[fabulation]

[ He will just give the boy a reassuring look??

But not sure if he saw it since avoidant time. ]

Oh, I don't mind helping with that.

[ Then he looks and...sees all of that. Hm! He's glad he didn't have anything to eat before coming in here. ]

...Hm, he does appear to be critically injured. But, let's do our best, shall we?

[ He will...reach in to try to grab whatever nearest part of him that he can, like his shoulder of something, looking at the other to maybe grab onto a part of the poor teenage so they can like...pull or something. ]

cw: gore

[undertakings]

[rest in pieces if anyone had lunch

It's certainly unclear if the kid saw but Xingqiu being cordial seems to get him to relax just the slightest bit as he nods in response. But if he's going to go for a shoulder, then the boy will go for the other one so they can hoist the person over the side of the machine. With the two of them, it goes easily--or rather, it probably goes too easily even with both working at it, because it is immediately apparent that the teen's legs are still in the cockpit.

And yet, the boy seems to be so focused on dragging the person out that he either does not notice the entire mess, or is really great at ignoring it. Either way, they can get the teen down and settled on the ground before the boy just sinks to his knees in exhaustion.]

i;

[imitationsoul]

[ This is familiar in all the worst ways. For as much as Miach talks big game about wanting a more violent world, she is not super eager to return to a state of active warfare.

This can't affect her, she assumes. It's just a fragment of something, forced upon her by Lorelei or whoever. She can move freely here.

Which right now means standing back and simply watching that little boy. ]

cw: gore

[undertakings]

[That little boy is currently scrambling over chunks of rubble and apparently making an attempt at wrenching open the canopy of one of the grounded machine. The kid's small frame means that the metal cover, however light, is still large and unwieldy to move for a child that looks no older than eleven or twelve. If nothing else though, he's persistent--the crooked metal being partially bent away from the cockpit makes things easier, but he eventually manages to shift it away enough to partially reveal the figure of a teenage soldier.

The soldier, frankly, does not look like he's doing particularly well with the blood running down his head and just the general state of the cockpit being painted in dark red, but the boy seems to be reaching in and attempting to hoist the teenager out anyway, heedless of the smell and mess. And depending on how close Miach is, she may also notice that the person's legs... well, they may not be attached to the rest of the body anymore, let's just say that.]

[imitationsoul]

[ It's sickening. Miach is in love with death and decay, but she is not entirely immune to its inherent repulsiveness. The sight of severed legs, the smell of blood... they do make her stomach turn - she merely chooses to ignore it as she approaches.

It would take a miracle to save this one and she doesn't think anything of this caliber is available here. ]

... it's too late.

[ Speaking in a soft voice, to get Shin's attention. ]

Do you want me to help you carry him anyway?

[undertakings]

[He stiffens in surprise at her voice, too focused on finding a way to properly hoist the other boy over his small shoulders to pay much attention to anything else around him. He turns around slowly to stare at Miach with a hint of bewilderment in his dull eyes, but Shin's gaze snaps back to the teenager when he makes a quiet groan.

That's enough to get a hesitant nod from Shin, but...]

We can still save him.

[In spite of how quietly he says it, there's a clear conviction in those words, fueled in a way that can only be done by a child's naïveté and stubbornness.]

[imitationsoul]

[ The denial is not unexpected. Some things need to be experienced to be properly believed - Miach is all in favor of letting people make experiences and learning for themselves.

This, though, is certainly cruel.

She decides to make good on her word then, climbs up the mech a little and takes hold of the teenager on the other side. Blood gets on her hands, her clothes... but that's fine. None of this is real and even if it were, is this really worse than what she went through so long ago? ]

On three.

[ Miach isn't strong, but two people is still better than one. ]

One... two... three...

[undertakings]

[Bringing his arms out from under the older boy's armpit, he waits dutifully for the signal before pulling on his end as well. Two people is indeed better than one, and with only... one half to lift away from the cockpit, it's certainly feasible even if it might not have been the most elegant in terms of movements.

With the street so full of dust and rubble, however, there aren't really many places to put the teenager down besides a comparatively clear patch of asphalt a couple meters away from the machine, so Shin will slowly try to lead them over there. And even if the teen isn't all there, he's still heavy enough that the exertion makes Shin sink to the ground once they lay him down.]