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

O

[herlocksholmes]

[Finding himself in this house is an unexpected development. This child is unmistakable, though. Sholmes has seen the older version quite often during the last month or so]

Committing some old-fashioned breaking and entering.

[Not a response he should be giving in a situation like this, but he does so anyway]

[escardos]

[ maybe that isn't the answer that sholmes should be giving a nine year old, but...

after a couple seconds of staring fixedly at the new addition to his household, he nods, and continues speaking in a hushed tone. ]

Okay. You'll probably be okay. You're not part of it.

[herlocksholmes]

[Hah, hey, all is well that ends well! Which is why he leads into the obvious question:]

You'll have to forgive me, young one, but given I snuck into this residence in a whim I'm unaware about any situation. Mind explaining what you mean?

[escardos]

You didn't sneak in. I would have noticed. You appeared.

[ which is, again, something that would concern anyone normal, but to the boy it doesn't seem to matter. as for the sholmes' question, the boy does not hesitate to answer in the same bland tone he's used throughout this exchange. ]

They're going to try to kill me.

[herlocksholmes]

........

[Oh, that's a straightforward response, both of them. Flat really has been someone who takes things as they come, ever since he was a kid, but there's something different about him at this age. The spark he's used to seeing in Flat sure isn't present right now.

Maybe it's because his life is in danger, or maybe it's something else. He doesn't know for sure]

Why?

[Why would they try to kill you?]

[escardos]

Because it's their mission.

[ there's a hint of something there, in the boy's voice. whether it's fear, sadness, or something else, not even he would know. his body freezes up like a prey that's figured out that it's being hunted down.

but the boy continues, softly, as so to not get caught. ]

They have no other choice but to kill me.

[herlocksholmes]

[Few things get Herlock Sholmes in high alert like the possibility of an impending crime.

This may be a memory. This may be something that already happened and Flat survived it -- he's alive and much older in the present, after all. But despite that, Sholmes can't bring himself to nod and sit back to see how things develop. He's here, and things are reacting to him.

He must at least try to do something]

Detectives are quite the weary sort. We're called after tragedies take place, and have to sift through remains and clues to set right something that went wrong.

[Having said that, Sholmes looks around]

With that in mind, it must be obvious that now that you said that I cannot wait and allow a tragedy to happen here.

[Especially if it's true that since he's not from this household he has some form of safety]

[escardos]

It's not wrong. They're not wrong.

[ a detective, huh? there's a spark of curiosity in the boy's eye as they glance towards the stranger. they've read a little, but not nearly as much as flat will read over the years. at best, he just knows that detectives are people that solve crimes. but to this boy, there is no crime taking place. just two parties trying to defend themselves from the other.

... ]

I'll survive. Because I can see it.

[ a pause. it's a long shot, considering the lack of magical energy in this stranger's body, but... ]

Can you see it, sir?

[herlocksholmes]

I loathe to say it, but I cannot see the same you do.

[Really loathes to say it, especially because 'it' can't be something simple to understand. It probably would need an explanation, and there most likely isn't any time for that]

[escardos]

... Of course not. No one does.

[ the boy is disappointed at the detective's admission, but it's a disappointment that they expected. no one can see it except for him, after all. that's been made all too clear. ]

That's why they want to kill me. Because it is scary.

[herlocksholmes]

I must ask who wants to kill you, and what 'it' is. I give you my word I will not flinch no matter what the answer of what 'it' is.

[escardos]

[ . . . ]

Mother and Father.

[ it's up to sholmes to determine whether that's an answer to what 'it' is or to who's trying to kill him, as obvious as it may be, because that's the only answer he's giving. there's no point in explaining what 'it' is in the boy's eyes, if the detective has already admitted to being unable to see it. like explaining the blue sky to a blind man, flat is simply not capable of explaining what 'it' is. ]

They'll be here soon.

[herlocksholmes]

[That they'll be here soon means they're not here right now, thinks Sholmes. If Flat was asking if he could see 'it', then 'it' had to be here at the time moment. Then...that means this answer the question as to who is trying to kill him.

Well, this is unacceptable]

Come along, young one. As long as I'm here I will do all I can to prevent you coming to harm.

[escardos]

There's nothing you can do. You're not like us. Not a mage.

[ and that's that. if anything, the boy wonders if he's going to have to protect this weird stranger, but ultimately they don't think that there will be any need for it. as long as they can't see sholmes, then he'll be fine.

he presses an ear against the wall for a couple seconds, and then... ]

I think I'm going to ask them if they can send me to school. Do you think that's a good idea?

[herlocksholmes]

Would such a thing protect you? They want you dead.

[It's true that would keep him away from them, but he does wonder if that's a sensible solution]

[escardos]

...

[ he shrugs. really, he doesn't seem all that bothered by the fact that his parents want to kill him at all. ]

My parents won't teach me Magecraft, but a lady said I could learn there. It's in London. It's where all the Magi go study, she said.

[herlocksholmes]

.......

[Sholmes looked right at Flat]

Yes.

[He lowered his voice]

You remind me of someone I know. Somebody who can look at any situation and face it without being bothered at all. Someone who would do something like playing trombone to annoy somebody with power over them and aid in a detective's antics without asking questions. Quite an admirable fellow! And with a past just as heavy as yours, if not more.

[Sholmes talking to Flat about Flat, yeah]

Your situation may not be like his, but I have the absolute certainty someday you can be like him -- and if a great detective gives this reassurance, you can be certain it's as true as water is wet!

Go to London and learn magic. It's a most marvelous metropolis, where I myself come from. You'll find a way to get there one way or another if you do want to do so.

[escardos]

...

[ there's something in the boy's eyes, seemingly vacant and unreadable. what the man in front of him is saying doesn't make sense, but it's piques his interest. what part of him could remind this stranger of that? unless, perhaps, he could be something like in those books he's read? time travelers or alternate universes...

what would the him of another universe be like, the boy wonders? that question grabs his attention, and he's about to ask when--

...!

the boy gives no warning before turning around to face the entrance, where a man and a woman are raising their hands, each firing a spell rife with a killing intent and desperation that should even be palpable to sholmes. even for the non-mage, there should be no doubt that they mean to kill the boy in front of him. an average human would not be able to survive it.

and yet...

the boy does not budge when the hit lands on him, nor does he fight back. he simply takes the spell head on... and nothing happens. from the clear look on the couple's faces, this is not an expected result. ]

How could that happen?! How could you take that head on!?

[ the boy looks at his parents, seemingly unperturbed by the murder attempt. of course, he still has no way of showing these emotions. ]

I don't know. I just did it and it worked.