[Phone]

[The news have spread. Everybody in town is a copy - a phony. She remembers arguing with that one kid - Pokey, was it? - months ago; he had his theories, and she shot them down.

She was always afraid he'd be right.

Maybe she should have just stopped hanging on to hope once it turned out the town was a simulation. If the town's fake, so are they.

Maybe it's silly to come to the phone at a time like this--

But it feels like it's what she has to do.]


So we're all fakes. People called it, I guess.

[A pause that lasts a little too long.]

What's the point now? What the hell are we - [she groans] - fighting for?

[A. 1333 Benny Road]

[Lauranatis family, your favorite neighbor is here. He'll just let himself in, no need to trouble yourselves with getting up.]

Liet! I heard you were like totally diseased and stuff so I made my wife make you something to make you feel better!

[Hope you like Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise!]

[B. Phone - Filtered to Stone 456]

Hey Lizzy! Ditch your obnoxious husband for the afternoon and lets go shopping, I'm bored.

Oh and while we're out I want to annoy the shoe salesman who was harassing me about wanting to try on the polkadot heels before I bought them last week.

We can make him pull every pair of shoes in the store to fit us with--you take the ladies side and I'll take the men's side-- and we won't buy any of them! I figure we can make him break down and cry after an hour. Maybe forty-five minutes if we're totally on our game.

It'll be fun!

.: at 456 Stone St :.

[It's a sleepy, uneventful morning in the small house, and then the unhappy housewife bears down with a frying pan on the intruder into their kitchen with a loud, echoing clang.]


.: Somewhere down Mitchell Rd :.

[It's also a peaceful late morning, with the children already gone to school, the birds settling after foraging for food, and a large tank making its way noisily down the street to grind to a halt right outside 1449 Mitchel Rd. With a deafening sound, it turns its somewhat outdated canon to the house, before a loudspeaker rattles the window in a rather feminine voice. :.]

Young man! Get out here with my motorbike, or else!

.: around 456 Stone st :.

[Later in the day, Hungary is happily hosing down her newest regain. She's also whistling to herself as she does.]

[Action A - 458 Stone Street, Morning]

[This morning's mail had a package in it for Dakki, and she greeted it with the usual enthusiasm that she greeted packages addressed to her.]

I've got something! It's here! I've got something!

[...which is to bring it to the kitchen table, tear off the packaging, and prepare to share it with everyone. Out comes a compressed blue item cube, that then immediately blips away in a flash of blue nano transformer light. And in the next instant there's a visor-like set of goggles upon Dakki's face.]

Oh!

[It's a bit disorienting at first. It's her own pair of goggles from home, but they're still configured for her previous audio and visual sensors. So there's some rapid blinking of her remaining active eye, and a hand comes up to start making some adjustments.]

Well there's something I didn't know I missed until it was gone....

[Action B - Neutron Diner, Lunchtime]

[Why not do something a bit different today? Rather than just fixing herself a sandwich at home, Dakki took it upon herself to have lunch out instead. Just a simple cheeseburger and fries, with a chocolate milkshake to drink... But it felt like a treat. Even if the most she could taste from the food was salty and greasy, the milkshake had a flavor profile more suited for her CAST senses. Sweet, creamy, a sense of vanilla, a sense of chocolate... She seems a bit lost in her own thoughts as she eats, but if she spies anyone that she recognizes? She'll be perking up and waving them over.]

Ah! Hello! Come on over, why don't you have a seat?

[Action C - 458 Stone Street, Afternoon/Early Evening]

[The "novelty" of wearing Mayfield clothing again is starting to wear off, and Dakki would much prefer to have her armor back on... if it weren't so dinged up and scorched and filthy. So that was this afternoon's project. Her armor was laid out in pieces on the front porch, and she was meticulously scrubbing out the dirt and buffing out scratches by hand. Every so often she stops and frowns and looks discouraged, but it's not long before she's back at it again.

Although there are also occasional periods of staring off into nothing and scrubbing very, very slowly. This is a CAST with a lot of things to process, it seems.]

[Action: In front of 457 Stone Street]

[Bail finds a package addressed to him in the mail, as apparently happens now and then. He opens it to find... technical readouts of some sort? And gives it a distinctly puzzled look.]

[Phone]

Has anyone else ever received a package that they cannot identify at all?

[(OOC: This post contains some Hymmnos font, it can be found here, but it is not necessary as the english writing for it is also provided, but it helps aesthetically. If you choose not to get it, you'll simply see the english writing for it twice. Aurica will be able to use the language from this point on, so expect more of it in the future.)]

( Some flavor text here )

[On this Sunday afternoon, a tower will suddenly appear in the backyard of 458 Stone Street. Even if you don't notice or care about the tower, a sound will be heard from it a few minutes later, a song that might have a slight calming effect. It reaches for many, many blocks, the voice amplified by the tower's structure. It is up to you if you can hear it, though, as you could just be way too far away to hear it clearly or properly.]

♫ BGM: RE=NATION (Lyrics)

Negawakuba, kono uta wo, yobikikase, tamae,
      (Please, listen and receive this song,)

yuruku fuku, akatsuki no, kaze to narite;
      (that becomes the lazy wind of the dawn;)

Madoromu inochi, kooreru, yume ni,
      (Please, release the drifting and lost people,)

tadayohite mayoeru hito tokihanachi tamae...
      (whose sleeping lives are still in frozen dreams....)

[There is silence for many seconds, as if whoever is singing it is hesitant to continue. The tower's features then glow alight, its operation beginning and the voice returning just as serenely and vibrant.]

Amatsutahi kuru tori wa, futata ni, tada mukafu.
      (The birds that are flying together with the sky go towards the sunlight.)

Shiro ni azayagu tsubasa, saki ni, kibou no asu, tsutaete.
      (The white and shining wings are announcing a hopeful tomorrow to the future.)

Was yea ra waath near en hymme RE=NATION mea.
Was yea ra waath near, en hymme RE=NATION mea.
      (I'm very happy to sing my song of rebirth for a life.)

[The singing continues like this for a few minutes longer. If you're near enough or have decided to come check it out, the tower will look much like this, but not nearly so big and the greenery at the base is missing. The top half is denser than shown here, with it resembling more like a castle tower, as well as an observatory at the top floor where Aurica will be. The height looks to be about 10-20 floors tall, roughly. A long antenna at the top of the observatory marks the structure much taller, however.

In the greenery's place on the bottom, A large door with carved markings much like a Sumerian script or structure looked can be found, but no useful way to access it will be apparent at first. The only ways to interact at this point would be to either:

A.) Try to get her attention at the top of the tower, or
B.) Wait for her to come back down after the song finishes. We can handwave the interim if you prefer!
C.) Alternatively, you can try your hand at the door anyway, or just observe the tower if you're inclined to technology you haven't seen before.]

{ACTION} Mayfield Elementary; before class
[Despite seeing and hearing some things he didn't want to encounter during the trip into the void, Czeslaw has been attending school without missing a day. Dressed in a white shirt with a tie (fixed to be straight by his drone mother) and jacket but missing his usual hat, Czes makes his way on campus, arriving a little bit early.

He bumps shoulders with people sometimes, uttering a small "sorry" whenever he does. But if he sees a face he recognizes, he looks up with the best smile he could plaster on his face.]

Hi... good morning! How's it going?

{ACTION} Stone Street; afternoon
[Czeslaw received something in the mail after coming home from school. It was just an envelope with a card inside, but what's important to Czes is what is dran on the card. It's a two-panel comic, a simple picture of a human with a wound in the first panel; the human's wound is healed in the second. He looks at it for a couple of seconds before he pales and nearly drops it, turning white and running inside the house.]

{PHONE} filtered to Firo Prochainezo
Firo! Hey Firo, can I talk to you?

[First he calls Firo, because this is the guy he was living with back home. First he's got to call Firo and see if he's still alive and around, and tell him what happened. He already tried to see if the mail wasn't joking, and sure enough it was real. The cut on his lip he bit down on it earlier healed in seconds.]

Not over the phone, though -- I can come to to your house or meet you anywhere, but I need to talk to you!

{ACTION} Nelson Street; nighttime
[Czes was also going to try calling Elmer C. Albatross but instead he runs. He remembers that Elmer lived on Nelson Street, so he runs as fast as he can to that street, hoping he'll find the house. But it's the one with the treehouse, right?

He's running so fast he might crash right into a passerby, saying "Sorry!" and hoping he won't get pulled into a conversation.]

[Action: 456 Stone]

[Clover is scared.

It's not the first time. The half-droning back during Christmas was terrible. The surgery? She still had nightmares about it, sometimes. The zombies... not as bad as you'd think, but still not something she'd like to see again. The carnival? Fuck the carnival, and fuck the weird death-y dejá vù too, whatever that was.

But it's different, this time - like the voice she heard is still echoing inside her, crushing her lungs and making her heart beat too fast.

She has been pacing around the room for too long. She needs to make a call.]


[Phone; filtered from drones]

Uh... So...  [Her voice sounds shakier than usual. Welp, there's no hiding how terrified she is, is there?] So I was in the last portal-- dunno what the fuck came over me, but--

[No, no. No, Jesus fuck, no.

She knows what to say, but not like this.]

Ahhh, forget it.


[filtered to close CR (feel free to bug me if you're not sure); very much unprotected against drones of close CR]

( Read more... )

[726 Anderson Lane.]

[Luke had only been gone a little over three hours, but the way he's stumbling into the house makes it look like he's been gone for a week. The front of his shirt is covered in blood, and he has a nasty bite on his shoulder. Despite that? He doesn't look scared or traumatized, as he usually does with each horrible event the town puts them through.

Instead, he looks really tired.

He darts towards the kitchen, and rummages for something to eat and drink. He's tempted to find someplace to sleep, but there's still a few things he needs to do first. The first thing he needs to do is make a phone call...]

[Phone.]

What all was found in those portals? What did everyone see? The more you can tell me, the better. We ought to start making a record of our discoveries as soon as possible.

[Around town.]

[After a fresh change of clothes, Luke doesn't look that much better, but at least he's not covered in blood anymore. His first goal is to check on the people he traveled with in the void and make sure they all came back in one piece. While he's mostly interested in checking up on people he knows, he'll stop for just about anyone.

When he's finished making sure everyone is okay, he'll go pay a visit to a certain sea creature at the lake.]

[462 Stone Street - Late night]

[The event may be over, but Luke's paranoia gets the better of him. He's spent most of his day fighting sleep and stalking his Mayfield family just in case they don't get eaten by a glitch or something. But even as he tries to go to bed, he still keeps waking up in the middle of the night thanks to some very nasty nightmares.

Deciding sleep is a lost cause, he slips out of the house in the middle of the night, still in his pajamas. He makes his way over to 462 Stone Street to check up on a certain puzzler. Worried about waking them up, he ends up sitting outside the door like a creeper while he decides if he should knock or not.

Unfortunately his lack of sleep catches up with him, because before he can make a decision, he dozes off on the doorstep of the Nigma family. If Edward or Ema checks outside in the middle of the night, they'll find Luke curled up and fast asleep on the porch.]

( Ar Tonelico 1 post-game memory and Mayfield-induced nightmares here for reading )

[A.) Thursday, September 6th, Morning/Afternoon - The Dairy Portal, Locked to Chen & Dakki:

Aurica walked down the street, tailing the unfamiliar robot-thing that was claiming to be Dakki, her not!mom from the last time the girl was here. She was warned to not follow, but she couldn't help herself; as much as she wasn't sure to trust her, she wanted to know what was going on.

Though, with her acting just like how her drone self would, she couldn't ask directly, either. Not that she thought Dakki would tell her, at any rate. Mothers are nothing if not caring for the security of their children, real or not. She stepped out from a corner, eyeing the portal that her supposedlynot!mom was preparing to enter.]

[B.) Sunday, September 9th, Morning/Afternoon - The Church of Salvation:

Normally when one prays in the church, they close their eyes, don't they? It's what one does when they reach into their soul, to feel for what they believe in to support themselves. Something to feel good, wholesome. Better.

If one would look closely at the girl sitting there on the empty pew, they might just see that she had her eyes open briefly. If one pays attention for longer though, they could notice that the girl didn't close their eyes at all, all that time.]

[C.) Sunday, September 9th, Afternoon - The Post Office (Feel Free To Intercept At Any Point):

If you decide to walk anywhere near this area today, one might find a girl in Mayfield-style clothes dragging herself along, arms lifeless and head bowed, her posture somewhat off-balance. As she passes by the Post Office itself, she stops and looks up towards it for some time, before she lowers her head again and continues to walk by, her pacing uneven.]

[D.) Sunday, September 9th, Afternoon/Evening - John Doe Park:

It's a casual day for living, and that means recreation in the park for a lot of people. Some are having fun, playing games, and others are relaxing, just taking in the sun and air. Aurica will be one of the latter, seemingly, as she's propped up on a bench. Most of the bench actually, as she's lying down on it, an arm lazily hung downward and a finger twirling around some grass on the ground.]

[E.) Sunday, September 9th, Evening - Phone:

Most of the time people talk on the phone if they're on it. You might be yapping away, with whatever important things or otherwise talkative conversation you're expressing, but there's someone listening in to these things that won't be very cheery. It'll be a surprise if the person even talks at all to you, really. Though, she may not be in the right mind to appreciate you trying to talk to her. You won't know until she starts talking to you.]

[F.) Monday, September 10th, Morning/Aftenoon - Mayfield High:

There was a better step in her feet today, the girl with the long braid that bounced around as she walked through the crowds of students into the faculty office. When Aurica heard that she had to go back to school, she was a little happier. That is, until she found out that one of her favorite teachers no longer taught there. In fact, the drones acted like he never existed.

She moved as fast as she could to the music room, opening the door, and it was... empty. Save for the piano that sat there at the front, where she both heard and played music that touched her deeply.

For those that roam the halls today, you might hear musical notes being played, and if you want to follow it or know where the music room would be and have a reason for being there, you might find the girl there at any time of the day, randomly poking at the piano keys.]

[G.) Monday, September 10th, Afternoon/Evening - Front Porch of 458 Stone Street:

Neighbors or those walking by could see a girl on the steps of the front porch to the house. She's sitting there, back hunched over and arms folded over her knees. She's been there since the end of the school day, not budging at all. In fact, if you come across the residence or look out your window later on, you might see her still there. Did she even eat dinner?]

[Things in Mayfield have been weird since Ema's return to it.

Much of her free time has been spent experimenting with/taking down empirical data concerning the apparent lack of stability of the town's stasis functions. When the respawn system was destroyed, the death-and-rebirth cycle had been irreparably damaged. There's no reason for her not to hypothesize that something similar is in play here.

The arrival of a certain letter has increased her level of concern, so to the phones she goes.]



[Phone]
This is Ema. Ema Skye. For those of you who don't already know: I'm back. I don't have any of my things from back home, but I have my sense again. It's enough.

[A pause.]

I'm curious what observations everyone has about recent events here, scientifically speaking. That letter especially.

Does anyone who works in the library want to talk about the librarian? I don't really know anything about her except for what's in the letter. If I'm going to seriously consider jumping through a portal to assist her, I feel like I should be better informed as to her current state.


[Action A - around town]

[Seeing as Ema currently had no form of employment, she's spending her day as she's spent most of her days since things in town started becoming strange: camping out in various parts of town and taking notes on what she sees. Already, she has a notebook full.]


[Action B - 462 Stone Street]

[Ema is gathering scientific data on the loss of structural integrity of physical structures around town. While she doesn't have a clear grasp on why the walls sometimes allow objects to pass through them, she's doing her best to at least attempt to establish data on its frequency.

As such, she is currently walking into her front door. Repeatedly.

Sometimes, she passes through. Just as often, however, she ends up hitting it full-force with an unpleasant whack. She just keeps reminding herself that this is for science. Sometimes, science looks silly to an outside party. And sometimes, science hurts.

She seems to have recruited her drone children to help with the experiment. They're walking smack into the door as well, thanks to mommy convincing them that this is a game. Whereas she yelps every time she hits the door, they're giggling.

At least someone's having fun with this.]

[Action, Stone Street: Good morning, someone's breaking into your garage! Barton was out on the street this morning playing fetch with her pet, the blue German Shepard. One of those times, though, the ball goes bouncing off and through your garage door. Which is then followed in by the dog. When he doesn't come back out again, Barton will come over to investigate. That was pretty damn weird. And like hell she's going to bother to ask, she's just going to open up your garage door and let Buster out. Unless it's locked, then you might find her knocking on your door instead.]

---

[Phone call to all:]

This stuff goin' on... This is some pretty bad news, ain't it. What do we do?

( Intro... )

[ A ; 459 Stone Street ; Early Morning ]

[ Seiko looks pensive as she sits at the kitchen table. How long has she been sitting there? Who knows. She hasn't even changed out of her pajamas.

Seiko stays quiet for the most part, with her shoulders hunched over the kitchen table. She appears rather dazed and confused. Her eyes are wide and her arms are crossed over one another. She makes make no attempt to move from her spot at the table, and the only thing she appears to be doing is watching the woman -- the person who claims to be her mom -- making breakfast.

Her eyes show the slightest hint of suspicion every time the woman speaks to her. Seiko never gives her a response, and the woman never pushes for one. ]

[ B; Around Town; Morning ]

[ Seiko is still a daze. There's no school -- apparently they have school here as well -- so she has nothing else to do. Besides, she needs to get out of the house. She needs to go somewhere... anywhere.

Maybe you'll see her along the way? Even though Seiko will smile and greet anyone and everyone, she will seem very unenthused. Shellshock can do that to a girl. Plus there are just too many things on her mind. Especially her arrival here, her best friend Naomi and the burning sensation across her neck that she just can't shrug off.

She will more than likely zone out at some point, with a hand pressed to her neck. Perhaps she will bump into you if she isn't paying close enough attention. ]

[ C; Downtown Mayfield; Afternoon ]

[ Seiko is popular.

Seiko spends the afternoon in Downtown Mayfield, walking from shop to shop. A bunch of teenager drones follow her around like little ducklings, chattering and giggling as you'd expect.

And Seiko... doesn't seem to mind? She actually looks much more cheerful now than she was in the morning. She smiles and chats with the drones, just like she would anyone else. She doesn't make any attempt to break away from them either. In fact, she even stops to wait whenever one drone falls behind her.

Eventually afternoon turns to evening, and the drones take their leave. Seiko waves them off. Once she stops though, her expression changes immediately. The smile dissolves into a pout. Her eyes droop. She shakes her head.

And she'll stand there, staring off into the distance. ]

[ D; Phone ]

So this is how everyone keeps in contact? Is this how phones normally work in America? [ She lets out a rogue giggle. ] Doncha think plenty of people would screw up their calls? I bet someone, at some point, must have let slip something really embarrassing for the whole town to hear! I wonder, I wonder...~

[ There's a pause. Seiko tries to stop herself from snickering. The possibilities... ]

But that's not my point of calling though. I actually wanted to introduce myself to everyone! I'm Seiko Shinohara - err, Stanfield! Just call me Seiko though~ it's nice to meet all of you!

Now I know I'm stuck here, same as you, but there's no point in being miserable! Might as well stay hopeful and make the best of this, am I right? And what better way to do that than make some new friends?

[action - around town in the afternoon]
[There's a small little boy walking around town. A flat cap pulled down over his eyes, and a brown jacket even in the middle of July. His outfit choice looks a couple decades out of date, too, although the clothes are definitely from the right era. Fashion statement?

Seemingly lost in his thoughts, Czeslaw Meyer-Stanfield is not paying much attention to where he is going. He passes by houses, by shops, by people. He might accidentally bump into people, at which point he will blink the surprise away and smile sheepishly, with a natural-sounding]

Oh...! Oh, I'm sorry [mister, or miss]. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. I didn't mean to run into you. Good afternoon!

[action - 459 Stone Street]
[Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope. He can't handle this family arrangement. His "mother" won't let him hole up in his room, though, so he's sitting in a chair in the corner of the front room watching the door so he'll never be surprised by his "father"'s homecoming.]

[Action: 457 Stone]

[It's almost a relief to wake up in Mayfield proper. After the lack of food and water... and then the fog incident. Bail is almost surprised to be waking up at all.

He slowly makes his way down to the kitchen for the first actual meal in some time]

Good morning...

[Action: Outside 457 Stone]

[Bail has managed to change into his regained robes and is now sitting out in the sun with a blanket, trying to counter the chill he just can't shake. He'll wave slightly at anyone who happens to pass by.]

[Phone - accidentally open to all, meant for Dr. Ilsa Higa. Backdated to an hour or two after this.]

[When his voice comes over the line, anyone who'd spoken with Jazz in the month since he's been here will be able to hear the almost-hysterical, wrecked tone that's become of his normally dulcet voice. He's barely keeping himself under control and can barely seem to keep from hyperventilating, and if the phone sounds like it's rattling, it may or may not be because he's unable to stop shaking.]

Dr. Higa, I-I...I...h-...hhhow predictable is it f-...for people t'come back from the...[His voice cuts off and for a long time, the only sound that comes over the other line is ragged gasps. He comes back only to make an abrupt change of subject, putting a bit more strength in his voice then he had before.] W-w-would you be able t'write me up some sorta reference on all th'weak points on a human body? L-like places t'be careful of if I'm tryin' t'restrain someone. My martial arts trainin' only taught me about my own species bodies an' humans are a lot weaker'n I don' know what's diff'rent an' what might hurt 'em if I do it wrong 'cause it's diff'rent an' I don' wanna kill anyone 'cause I put too much pressure or twisted wrong or-or-or...!!!

[Which is where his voice finally reaches the panicked, horrified keen it had been threatening at the entire time and he simply dissolves into sobs. The phone makes a bit of a thunk sound when his head hits the kitchen table, curled up in his seat, feeling like he's going to be sick, like his entire body is numb, like he's tearing apart from the inside out and he doesn't know how to stop it.]

[Action - Hours later]

[He hasn't left the house since he got home. He's barely spent time away from the make-shift bedroom they'd set up in their garage. Things were too hard to think about at this point, hurt too much to process, and yet it was all he could do, curled up under the covers on their sleeper-sofa in a tight little ball, hugging Prowl's pillow like it is Prowl. It's only by the grace of the no-family-in-the-garage they've put on the drone families in their houses that he's had any peace, and Thank Primus that the drones actually listen to little things like that, like they really are the "man of the house." The wife would come from time to time, knock on the door and ask if he was coming in for dinner, but when he gave no answer, would simply flutter off to do whatever pre-programmed thing she'd been set up to do.

Which is just as well. He doesn't have the strength right now to throw her out. He doesn't even have the strength to even care right now. Physically he's fine. He's had enough experience with shell shock, has suffered it enough and remembers the distinct hurt it caused, to know that's what this is. And he just doesn't care. Just when he thinks he's cried himself out, some image will cross his processor and he'll burrow his head into the pillow as it starts all over again.

It does hardly any good, knowing he's supposed to be coming back any time now. The deaths he's known have all been permanent. He's been fighting a war for millions of years. After that much death, you don't simply lose the emotional reaction it causes in you simply because someone tells you "it's not real." Not when you did it with your own hands]

((ooc: Action and Phone tags to the phone call are welcome. Action tag to Jazz-in-the-garage is reserved for Prowl's mun.))

[ACTION A: the hospital]

[Candy Striper Jane Barton is seen all over the hospital today, instead of her usual spot of looking bored and irritated behind the gift shop counter. Today, when the drone doctors and nurses aren't looking, she's making off with supplies - bandages, IV bags, disinfectants, blankets, whatever she can grab. She heard Pokey's call and agreed that they'll have to be ready on this end for if and when the people who got sucked into the fun house world come back.

When leaving that day, she'll be carrying several large bags with her, which looks like more than she should be able to carry. She seems okay though. And is that last bag just floating after her...? Yep, sure is. Feel free to stop her and see what's up now or while still inside the hospital.]

--

[PHONE/ACTION B:]

[Barton makes a quick call to the town.]

I got a buncha stuff from the hospital. First aide supplies 'n' all. I ain't good with this kinda stuff, but if someone who does wants 'em, I'm at 487 Stone Street. the more people with some, the better. Come pick 'em up.

[After that, she's in the garage as usual, tinkering at her various carpentry projects and engineering studies. The large bags of supplies are sitting near the garage door. Come say hi?]