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

[353]

[ Mike's eyes widen. ] Bad men from home or bad men you've never seen before?

[ Not that it really matters - bad men are bad men. They're too out in open right now. Eleven is right - they need to hide. ]

I know somewhere. [ He'd take her back to Castle Wheeler-Byers immediately but he's a little worried that if the bad men are following Eleven, they might follow them back to where Will was, putting him in danger too. Mike thinks of the treehouse - they can hide there until the storm (hopefully) calms down. ] Follow me. [ He grabs her hand and starts to run, not too fast so Eleven can't keep up with him, leading her to where the treehouse Frank built is.

Once they get there, Mike gestures for Eleven to go up the ladder. ] It's okay, you go first. I'm right behind you.

[voidmage]

[That is not a question she can really answer. There were people at the lab she'd never seen or can no longer remember. But this man had tried to kill her and the bad people at the lab didn't want her dead. Probably don't want her dead. So all she can do is shrug.

Mike has always believed her, though. Even when they'd only just met and she was this weird kid who came out of nowhere. So he doesn't really need much of an answer before he believes her now too. El is glad for the hand holding so neither of them get lost in the storm as they run. She has no idea where she is or where they're going, simply going to wherever Mike leads her.

They don't stop until they get to a tree and there's a little house in the branches, almost like a floating version of Will's hiding place in the forest. A nod of her head and she climbs as quickly as she can, turning to look down at Mike once she reaches the top.

Though her gaze doesn't stay on him for very long as she searches for any other figures following them just in case.]

[353]

[ Mike is climbing the ladder fast - maybe a little too fast, and with how slippery the ladder is from the rain, it's only inevitable what happens. Mike loses his footing and then suddenly a big gust of wind hits him and before he knows it, he's falling. One last look up at Eleven, then he's squeezing his eyes shut for how much the fall is probably going to hurt him when he hits the ground, maybe even kill him...

But he'll come back, right? Please let me come back, he thinks, the faces of everyone he knows and met here flashing before his eyes and there's no time to say goodbye to any of them, not even in his mind. That's the worst part. ]

[voidmage]

[It's the sound of a shoe scraping against wood that draws El's attention back to Mike just in time to see him lose his grip on the ladder, to watch his eyes close as if accepting his fate. This moment makes her think of another time over three hundred days ago. When Mike was falling, having jumped from a cliff because a couple of mouthbreathers made him.

She doesn't even have to think about it, she just reacts. A hand shooting out as El draws on her powers to stop his descent right before he hits the ground. This time she doesn't have to recall all of the people who have hurt her or the people she cares about. El just wants to save him.

Mike only lingers near the ground for a brief moment - close enough to touch it - before she lifts him up, bypassing the risk to climbing the ladder a second time. It takes a little more concentration and emotional support to keep him from just blowing away in the wind, to keep him steady. Raises him up until he's next to her in the treehouse and sets him down gently. Fresh blood oozes from her nose adding to the dusty mess that was the previous one.]

It's okay now.

[353]

[ Mike waits to connect with the ground, or maybe to wake up in the reset room...

But the moment never comes. It's as though he's been frozen in place for a moment, Mike opening his eyes in confusion to see himself floating just above the ground, as if by magic. Mike knows what this is - it's happened to him before. He stares up at Eleven looking down at him with her raised hand and watches her get closer and closer, moving through the air like the most ungainly superhero until he's dropped in front of her, with a much more gentle landing than the way he landed on the cliff back home (not that he'd complained at the time - she'd saved him). She's just saved him again and Mike doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms back around her in gratitude, his hold on her even tighter than before, heart pounding from such a close shave. ]

Are you feeling okay? [ His face pulls back to look at hers again, worried by the fresh blood trailing from her nose. He wipes it away carefully with the end of his wet sleeve. ] Not that I'm not grateful but you've gotta be careful about overusing your powers... [ What he's suggesting: his life isn't worth her almost dying for him. ]

[voidmage]

[Over the last year El has used her powers however she wanted, from simple acts like changing the channel on the television or unlocking the door for Hopper. And for seeing Mike. And when she was angry with Hopper.

She doesn't have to use it because someone told her to now and only because she wants to. And nothing has ever been as important as saving Mike - from bullies, monsters or horrible accidents. El is not about to be reunited with the boy just to lose him because he fell from the tree. Just like the last time, El could not stand by and just watch him get hurt. No matter what he says, she'll continue to save him even if the cost is her own life.

El rests her forehead against Mike's shoulder when he hugs her again, her hands finding their way to his clothing. Curling her fingers into the fabric with the strength she has left in her body. She lets him wiping away the blood without protest.]

I'm okay. [Tired but not too tired to run again if necessary. It wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't moved the train car before showing up here. El hadn't needed to kill the bad man that attacked her, just push him away and someone else took care of the rest.] There was a lady. She had powers too and took care of the bad man. [Sorry Mike, but she doesn't feel the same way. Your life is worth everything to her.]

[353]

[ As okay as she says she is, Mike senses she could be feeling tired - Mike's a little tired himself after running - so he leads her by the hand over to where Frank built a blanket fort. Frank might say it was for Mike and the rest of the kids' benefit, but he knows Frank likes blanket forts too. (Frankly, Mike didn't trust anyone who didn't like blanket forts.)

He sits cross-legged opposite her and now the adrenaline is gone from the fall and getting to safety, he's smiling happily at her, still holding her hand. ]

Yeah, there are people with powers here too... People like you. [ He assumes she didn't meet anyone with powers last time she was in Reims. ] I'm glad you're back. [ Does he need to say he missed her? It goes without saying, really, written all over his face. ]

[voidmage]

[While resting would be nice, El also can't let herself fall asleep out here. There are too many dangers running around and so she has to stay awake so they don't get hurt. The sight of the blanket fort is comforting. Even with everything else happening, it was a safe place in her mind.

She mimics him for now, though her smile is smaller but no less happy.]

A lot of people? [Even after El met her mother and her sister, the idea of other people having powers is amazing.] Back?

[Does he know that she was in the Upside Down or was it just that he was glad to see her in general?]

[353]

[ Mike doesn't think sleeping right now is a good idea, which is why he's making an effort to sit up, even if the urge to curl up with Eleven in the blanket fort is strong. ]

I don't know how many... There was this guy on the network - while you were gone - trying to get everyone with powers to put their names on a list [ His face says it all about how he feels about that: it was stupid. ] But I know you wouldn't put your name on there. You're not stupid. There are dangerous people here but they won't die so we just have to... learn to live with them, I guess. [ He hates having to live in the same city as Kilgrave, but it's something he has to accept. Grudgingly.

He looks a little confused when she repeats the word 'back' to him. He figures maybe he's just confused her. ] You know, when you were here before?

[voidmage]

[Sleeping is not good so she'll just sit here and try to regain her strength instead of lean against Mike like she had after using the Bath to find Will.]

Why? [Why would he do that? Eleven wouldn't go around telling some guy about her powers unless it was absolutely necessary. She shakes her head because she wouldn't. Couldn't put her name down where everyone could see it.] The bad men won't die?

[The one from earlier looked pretty dead to her. Should she try and disintegrate them like she did with the demogorgon?

El frowns because it's very confusing. She doesn't even know where "here" is. Hawkins? Istanbul? The Upside Down?] Where is "here"?

[353]

I dunno, he made up some bull excuses to defend the idea but it smelled fishy to me. [ He tends to trust his gut instinct. ]

Not just bad men. People like us - people who got brought here from different worlds. People die but then they come back... It's like in a video game or something. You almost get rebooted, I guess? But I haven't experienced it and who knows how many lives we've got each. There has to be a limit to how many times you die before it has a negative impact on you.

[ He feels like he's probably rambling too much and Eleven has no clue what he's on about... Ah, the good ol' days! ]

Here is called Reims, in France. But I think it's another version of France.

[voidmage]

[It does sound fishy and if even Mike doesn't like the idea, El definitely can't agree to go along with it.]

We come back to life? [Coming from anyone else, that would be impossible to believe but they're friends and friends don't lie. The idea that people come back to life is both frightening and a little reassuring. It meant Mike wouldn't die forever... but if someone bad died, they'd come back too.

She doesn't understand everything but El still listens anyway.]

Not Upside Down France. [The feeling she has is wrong - it's not the Upside Down version of the world. Something different.]

[353]

It's happened to some people I know. [ Actually, who she knows too - or so he thinks. ] It happened to Frank. You remember Frank, right? He built this place. [ He gestures to structure they're sitting inside. ] Will and I helped. I can't wait to tell Frank you're back - he'll be so happy.

[ He remembers them forming a bond before, which pleased him because they were both so important to Mike. ]

[voidmage]

[She frowns at the mention of a Frank, especially when Mike asks if she remembers him. There were a lot of people at the lab who's names she doesn't know but the way the boy speaks of the guy, Frank can't be a guy from there. Hopper's first name isn't Frank either. Will's brother is Johnathon and Nancy's boyfriend is Steve. The man who had first tried to help her was Benny.

No Franks. So El shakes her head.] I don't remember Frank. Don't remember being in France either.

[This seems like a problem. Eleven doesn't feel like she's forgotten anything but apparently has.]

[353]

You don't? [ Mike thinks back. ] You don't remember when I found you under a table when we first got here? Or... when we went to see the sound eaters? Or when we splashed in puddles together?

[ He's not upset she doesn't remember - though she might be - but he does find it odd. ] That's so weird... What's the last thing you remember from home? [ Maybe they ought to start there. ] We could be from different times... So I'm from Halloween, right? But Will is from the future, I guess? The future for me, anyway. Then there's Max who seems to know everything... [ He grumbles that last part. Does it bother him that she knows more than he does about the future? Absolutely. ]

[voidmage]

[None of that sounds familiar but since Mike's the one saying it, she believes him. El shakes her head at every question. No, no, no, no. There is nothing that she remembers.

She wants to ask why she forgot or say that she's sorry but El can answer that question.] After Halloween. I wanted to be a ghost and go trick-or-treating but Hopper said no. I found mama and mama told me about sister. The bad people had hurt mama so I found Kali. She can make people see things that aren't there. She helped me get stronger. [The name Max does not ring a bell at all.] I pulled a train car across the ground.

[353]

[ He couldn't tell her why she'd forgotten even if she did ask, and he'd hardly want her to apologize for it. It's not her fault.

He's pleased she's actually from the same time as him at least, though everything she says after has Mike's eyes widening. He can't even focus on the part about her wanting to dress up as a ghost to his ghostbuster, which would have been awesome if Hopper had let her. It definitely would have made up for Max being there, anyway. ]

You have a mom and a sister? [ Well, of course she had a mother, otherwise how was she born, but a sibling too? ] A train car? Holy shit, El... that's amazing. All of it. I mean, not the part about your mom being hurt, but you have a family. [ He smiles, happy for her. ]