MOD LOG #3

[bequiet]

MOD LOG #3

Arriving in style
Content Warnings: Fighting, death, violence
Themes: Survival, plot

It's early in the day when it happens. The red dust that seems to be everywhere sweeps through the city streets, mixing with the steady patter of rain and making it hard to see and breathe. All red and leaving the taste of copper if inhaled, what could have been an easy day without any trouble quickly becomes anything but. While those in the community are heading for cover or finding ways to continue on through it, the new arrivals begin waking up in different cities all over the world. There won't be anyone to greet them, and leaving the room through the door is their choice - after doing so, they'll immediately step out into the city they were assigned. The streets are empty, houses abandoned, everything crumbling and in ruins. There will be signs noting their location, which they'll catch a glimpse of before a sharp push forward causes darkness to engulf them.

Waking up for the second time, in Reims but not in the Reset Room, they'll come to inside the red dust as it whips through the streets of the community. They won't be alone for long. Another person will be waking up beside them, and after a few moments of disorientation, try to attack. They might have weapons or use their hands, and they will not stop until they've taken a fatal blow. Their blood is dust, and they, along with their weapons, disintegrate after they've died. Can you stop them on your own? Will someone come to your aid?

The Sight of Lightning
Content Warnings: Poison, sex
Themes: Survival, plot

The day after the storm, the same red dust will find its way through Reims and come into contact with every person. Since the dust is everywhere, some might not notice that it's floating through the community and know that something is off. The effects don't begin until night fall, where everyone will feel the desire to seek out companionship of many different kinds. Though it is not always the case, the people that saw each other in color will "want" to be with that person more strongly than they might already, and will be more likely to confess or do something about it. Some might feel an intense need to be around another person, though not necessarily sexually - almost as if they need that person around them to be happy or content. For some, it might be a desire that can only be fulfilled by more than one person.

The effects wear off the next time the person gets wet. This can be a splash of water across the face or fully submerged. Or even drinking something.

OOC
From your mods:

Please be mindful of content - if something triggery comes up or if it goes up a rating to say, something sexy, mark your threads in the subject line. We're very flexible and allow any material; we just want our players to be respectful of each other. If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment to the appropriate post below. Have fun! The OOC Plotting Post.

NAVIGATION

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Comments

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky moves fluidly, punching the man in the gut with his metal arm and then bringing down his other elbow to connect with the man's temple once he's doubled over.

The blow is hard enough to knock a normal man from consciousness and as he falls to the ground, his body disintegrates into dust. ]

I met you in Wakanda, didn't I?

c:

[hairington]

[ steve's blood is bumping loudly, instincts taking over more than anything as he continues to watch the body on the ground. it doesn't sink in what he's doing, that the body covered in dust and reaching around for purchase is a person and not a monster. doesn't sink in that he might have just killed someone. instead, steve tightens his grip, rolls his wrist with the bat, eyes dark and intent on the figure. ]

Hurry!

[ the body curls up on itself, the sounds inhumane and feral, and steve almost yells out for the girl again. they're not going to have time, if the woman gets up again, steve doesn't know if he'll be able to swing at her, looking at her face. still, he prepares for it just in case, a sick, twisted sense of understanding settling somewhere under his ribs. he doesn't know what will happen, if the girl takes too long. he doesn't think he can reach forward and pull her away without risking them both. the only thing he can think of is to keep the attention of the crazy woman and hopefully, pleadingly give the girl enough time to get up.

that's when the hand wraps around his wrist, and her voice breaks through his trance. steve blinks, looking to her - i won't leave you behind - and then the woman, slowly rising to her knees. thats when the body careens off and that's when it all feels a bit like it comes crashing down and steve suddenly feels like maybe playing the hero isn't the best idea. ]

Right, yeah- [ he drops one hand from his bat, letting her grip around its wrist tug him away as his eyes hover on the body for just a second or two, stumbling over the dust as they walk, before he turns to join her. ] C'mon, this way! [ he motions off towards a nearby building, just needing to get out of the open, glancing back over his shoulder to see if the woman is following as they run off. ]

[criticality]

That wasn't a beast... that..

[ But again, he's given pause. He is highly suspicious of what the red dust means, and how it can potentially turn humans in to... that. His face twists again and he sinks his hand into the mud. ]

No. I would bleed and break.

[ He sounds resigned but he's not so sure she's actually going to attack now. He's searching her face for any hint of compassion, really. Maybe there was hope talking this through. ]

[lednikovyy]

hey, I'm plenty cynical. Still feels like I've been thrown on my ass sometimes.

[ Maybe that's not entirely true. Bucky is wary and he's seen some dark things that have to change a person, but he's still got a sense of optimism about the world that he hasn't shaken yet. There's always just enough to keep him going. ]

[poppycock]

( he knows when he's owed a due. —her sarcasm is met with nothing but a serene smile and the weight of his even gaze as he considers her for a moment. he's not unamused by her spirited attitude. klaus sucks in a breath and moves to walk past her, back towards whatever counts for civilization here. ) Well, I'd say so, considering you were a moment near death. ( he points a finger up to punctuate the 'moment near death' bit. )

[possidetur]

( there's a hesitation at first, a caution at the thought that they're supposed to only stay on the sand paths. she doesn't believe that they'll be immune to making noise but between them their steps are quiet, and vanessa's wanted to see more of this place.

she follows, steps catching her up to him with his pause. she rests a hand on his elbow for a few seconds as they walk, making sure she's balanced on the grass before the touch falls, letting the quiet night carry them.

her touch comes again to his elbow as the area opens up, fingers light to draw his attention before vanessa gestures a question. left or right? )

[rakuyo]

[The compassion he seeks, he finds. Maria's face finds that tinge of remorse she so distinctly lacked beforehand. It's a condescending kind of care, however, seeing a pity and taking it upon herself to have mercy. Emotional and frail with conviction, she thinks. A sad state to be, honestly.]

I shan't leave you in desperate straights, nor deny you a swift death. Which shall it be?

[vdova]

[ She doesn't-- but Natasha understands well enough, especially after Dorothy holds up the first aid kit. She nods, removing her hands from her knee and settles back, giving Dorothy the space she needs to work. ] Thank you.

[purpose]

( Yes. )

[ The refusal is stubborn, steeped in denial, but this isn't her first foray into refuting the truth. Her need for emotional self-preservation outranks her need to believe him. ]

( You told me I meant something, and then you tried to kill me like I was nothing to you. Tell me again how that isn't a lie. )

[ A dare in its own way, no matter how certain she is that she doesn't want to hear anything further on the subject. What's done is done. ]

[personify]

[Now you've made Mystique feel bad, Eddie. She didn't mean to make him think that his friends might be dead. She does look apologetic as he types back. Her life has gone one direction thus far, so cynicism has wrapped itself around her like a glove. But she doesn't have it in her at this point in her life to stomp on the hopes of a child. She's not passed that level of heartless just yet.] I'm sure they're okay. You're probably right. [She'll try to believe that too. At least for the moment. When she's alone again to ponder it all, who's to say how she'll feel.]

His daughter? What's she like, I don't know her. [It's hardly a surprise that Logan would have one. These things were bound to happen and he's been around for quite some time too.]

[persevere]

[It's getting late, or at least it feels like it. Time drags when there isn't as much to do, when the adrenaline of the day before has worn off and you're left with nothing from home and none of the things you use to distract yourself.

She's sitting on the edge of her bed, one not nearly as comfortable as the one she's left behind, the one she couldn't even get back to at home. This city is just another barrier between her and her home, and the only thing that feels like something she knows is, well...

...him.

She hears him in the doorframe before she looks over, her device picking up his message. It's only then that she finally meets his gaze, a strange calm washing over her as she acknowledges his presence. Her lips press together, her teeth press gently into her bottom lip, and then she's checking what he's sent.

She huffs a breath of laughter at the message, so simple in its delivery, so lacking in demands, and she relents. She gestures for him to come in, not bothering to tell him where to sit. Unconsciously, she's hoping it's close.]

[criticality]

[ He sags a little on the ground, upset that he doesn't have the means or strength to put up a proper argument and that he is essentially in her care. Unless he uses powers that he has no desire ever coming into contact with again. He shakes his head slowly, clearly not enjoying the last option. ]

Of course I don't want to die. Who would want that?

[ He sounds so very sad when he says it. He struggles to a crawling position, careful not to put any weight on his leg. ]

I need to get indoors. Before the rain stops. Or we will both definitely die.

[ It's his round about way of asking for help. ]

[vdova]

[ It's almost — almost — like being swung around by the Hulk; at the sensation, her heart seizes just slightly, but it's not from fear.

The carpet plowing through bodies, too, isn't an unusual sensation for her. She does nothing more than buckle down and hold still, maintaining her balance surprising well, despite the speed and the, ah, speedbumps. ]

[list_maker]

I don't know. [Arya answers frustrated, she wishes she knew what's going on but she's only reacting at this point. All she knows is these things are attacking innocent people and she needed to help stop them.] Are you armed? [It's not intended to be a facetious question to the one armed man, but perhaps he'll take it that way. Sorry Vash.]

[persevere]

[She stands stiffly.]

I didn't say I was that hungry. [She was hoping for blood bags. She didn't do this. She made it a point not to.

At least he asks the appropriate question first. There's a comment on her lips, about not needing to scare the poor man just to ask that, but then he confirms there's nothing of the sort. At least he doesn't look like he wants to scream anymore. (Little does she know...)

Her jaw clenches and she stomps over, her expression angry.] I'm fine.

[vdova]

[ Her brow furrows and, for a second — just a second and nothing more — she considers lying. He'd been so happy to see her, like they'd known one another, that it causes her physical pain to think about disappointing him.

But he trusts her, and that's something she doesn't have a lot of these days. If she lies now, and he finds out later, it's gone. So she doesn't. She nods at his admission, pulling her own device out. ]

I don't. I'm sorry. It's nie to meet you again, Eddie.

[warfares]

( Because I haven't done it. ) [ He manages to reign in his own temper, remembering that that had been the point where he'd lost her before. ]

( The last thing that I remember of you, of before, was grappling with you for my grandfather's saber. The blade split. I'd thoughtㅡI don't know what I thought. )

[personify]

[She follows him, but her eyes are narrowing as they walk. Raven is also painfully aware that he could just leave her out here or hurt her if that were his prerogative. Still, she's not going to act like some wilting flower or fawn over him for helping her, that's just not in her nature, especially not when he's acting like he is.] I would have thanked you. But I was kind of busy.

[monomachy]

[Diana is relieved that the girl listens to her, and the Amazon wastes no time standing squarely in front of her, knees bent and arm raised for protection. The footsteps draw closer, and she looks over her shoulder to flash a smile of all things.]

Don't worry. I will.

[As careful as she can be, which is hardly at all. Diana has never had to be careful about much in her life--certainly never in a fight against anyone besides Antiope. Even with Ares, she had been reckless, never thinking her attacks through during their battle. The only thing she needs to mind right now, she thinks, is the girl behind her.

Another figure finally looms out of the dust, and before Diana can see the whites of his eyes, she leaps forward, shield aloft, meaning to smack it against the assailant's skull.]

[rakuyo]

[Maria could certainly answer his question, but she stays silent, nodding in response. She had been the aid to far more wretched individuals than Vash was. Her duty, ultimately, to put them down when they failed their task. She wouldn't mind doing the same for him, if he wished it.

Leaning down, she places her hands under Vash and hefts him to his feet. She'll stand to his injured side, allowing him an arm over her shoulder. She realizes late he didn't have the other one. If she had caught the fact earlier, maybe she would have gone easier.

She'll need to lean down some, since he wasn't so tall as her. She could try and carry him over her own shoulder, but it injured from the knife wound and Vash was still heavy, this would have to do. It would also make him easier to toss aside, if another assailent needed to be dispatched.]

Do you know the way to safety?

[monomachy]

[That is a feeling Diana understands well, and it's hard not to laugh out loud. She actually presses a hand to her mouth to stop herself, with a firm mental reminder that any kind of noise is unacceptable. Even the children are silent most of the time, and she can't be less disciplined than her students.]

I was an only child for a long time.

[Forever, really, but she's learned that it's sort of difficult to explain.]

So I was good at making my own trouble.

[vdova]

[ She frowns, flexing the fingers of one hand, wishing she had some kind of weapon. The knife in her hand had vanished when the body did, and she doesn't like the implications of that. Monsters, magic, all of this — it's not her forte, and it never will be. She's not some genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, or a genetically modified super soldier, or an alien god. She's human. And this, this smell of blood in the air and in her nose, soaking into her clothes with the rain, bodies vanishing after you've killed them, it disturbs her.

She's wary of Barnes, posture aloof as he gestures. ] What about at all? Are you sure the people here haven't just been waiting?

[misplacesfriends]

[Yeah, most of Finn's day had been trying to separate it all, as well as make sure the paths were fixed so that people could get around properly.

Nothing to interrupt, really, guy was just walking for the sake of walking. He doesn't have much of anything to do for a change and it's...odd. At home they always had something to do, the inactivity is getting to him.]

Nah, I was just walking.

[monomachy]

[Diana had demolished the last church she'd been to, but doesn't mention as much. It really had been a shame--even the rough stonework of Veld held a certain charm she couldn't deny. And she's seen a few bell towers and spires outside the current path system that looked promising as well.]

I'm glad I found someone who cares about the history of this place. [She offers another smile, and adds:] My name is Diana.

[monomachy]

[Diana doesn't see a reason to quell that hope. Even though she had begun to lose hope on the Avagi, she'd ended up here, hadn't she? That meant the Ingress must still be working in some way. So she smiles, nodding.]

We should begin soon. You have a lot to learn.

[No matter what Arya already knows, there is always more to learn.]