![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
CONFLUENCE 019
Who: Everyone!
What: A Confluence! With a change of pace for everyone, thanks to one Fantastic fellow.
When: Beginning of June – setting the tone for the month.
Where: Primarily Little Love.
Content Warnings: Fascist ideology.
Notes: We do suggest that all new and older players review the mod message about Fantastic’s takeover, as well as the State of the Game for June that outlines what that means in detail.
There is nothing wrong in Little Love, Kansas.
What newcomers won’t know is that Little Love is a perfect landing spot for Fantastic’s new regime: a takeover to enforce registration and control of both the metahuman and Starfallen populations. Instead of appearing threatening and disruptive, everyone’s arrival will seem frantic at first and organized by the end. After all, trying to guess how or when a Confluence will happen is difficult – especially since little hints of Confluences will be popping up all over. None of them lead to new arrivals. Not yet anyway. So, that’s a good thing for Fantastic and hiscronies loyal members of the Alliance who believe that this is obviously better for the state of the world.
So, welcome! Enjoy your stay in this sleepy little town. Everyone will be treated to an indefinite stay at a bed and breakfast. That is … assuming they don’t run off without registering. Don’t register? Well, as far as Fantastic is concerned, you’re better off living on the streets.
➢ For the first leg of new arrivals, the Alliance representatives will be showing up and trying to organize them at a booth to get registered. Their late arrival will be explained by “we never know when these will take place, pardon our tardiness!” with no further explanation before they make it clear that any newcomers are obligated to be registered. No, other options will not be presented.
➢ From the second leg onward, the Alliance representatives will be far more organized and welcoming. They’ll be using telekinesis and advanced technological devices to provide safe landings and offer any comfort to arrivals through their disorientation. The same spiel about registering will be there. Pick between the Society or the Alliance (and choosing the Alliance is clearly the better choice). That is how you’re allowed to survive in this world.
➢ Once registered, new arrivals will be given directions to a local bed and breakfast that will provide indefinite stays to them, as well as a rundown on how to access other parts of the country (outside of Central City, which is – most unfortunately – still under quarantine).
➢ Should anyone skip the whole registration process, a nice fellow will introduce herself, offer to shake her hand, or open a door and brush against them or some similar form of contact – and leave them marked for the next few months. This means that any contrary individuals will find their movements tracked for the next few months.
➢ The bed and breakfast will be tacky but homey, offering homemade breakfast every morning, as well as meals two more times a day. An old couple runs the place, and while they are most definitely humble and disarming, they are both members of the Alliance and have powers of their own. But, boy, in their old age they’re reluctant to show those powers off!
➢ Anyone who arrives is not obligated to get registered, but they will find their arrival lacking. Communication devices? Teleportation? All of this will be off the table. Fantastic wants to set a new trend, and that’s to force people to follow his rules. Newcomers are the best place to be strict about enforcing it. After all, they won’t know any better!
➢ Aside from all this Totally Normal Arrival Business with the Confluence, there is a Summer Carnival going on for the first two weekends of June! This was planned long before the Confluence to commemorate the planting season with corn and give the local farmers a chance to relax. The will be rickety old rides like Ferris Wheels, funnel cakes (or elephant ears, depending on your preference of names), trying to bounce balls into goldfish bowls to get pet goldfish, and carnival games that are hard to win! Any newly arrived Starfallen will be given free rides courtesy of the bed and breakfast they’re staying at, so have a good time!
➢ New arrivals will be appearing in Little Love, Kansas during the corn-planting season. There will also be a carnival for the first half of the month (on the weekends!) for everyone to relax in this totally cool atmosphere. Nothing is wrong in Little Love! Enjoy your bed and breakfast.
➢ Elsewhere, Excelsior is still in the process of cleanup after a ravenous rough go of it last month. Anyone who’s keen to help out will earn some brownie points with the otherwise meta-resistant population. They clearly need the help right now, as their current problem is all their fault.
➢ Central City is currently under lockdown. New arrivals are often shuffled that way, but Mechanima has stopped all travel in and out of the city (as well as he can, anyway – there are powers involved, after all). Right now, a handful of Starfallen, including Dylan Brock and Pete Ross, will be working to solve the problem there with the parasitic invasion of the pod people.
➢ Sunset Falls has a visit from Silent Mystic, who’s clearly coaching a new (?) sidekick. Want a glimpse of one of the most secretive magicians in this world? Head over to see if you can see them on the job.
What: A Confluence! With a change of pace for everyone, thanks to one Fantastic fellow.
When: Beginning of June – setting the tone for the month.
Where: Primarily Little Love.
Content Warnings: Fascist ideology.
Notes: We do suggest that all new and older players review the mod message about Fantastic’s takeover, as well as the State of the Game for June that outlines what that means in detail.
ARRIVAL
A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces. Typically, these are the occurrences throughout this world of Unnatural Change.
Wherever you were before, it doesn’t matter anymore. Now, you’re in a wide field full of – well, nothing. There are many, many rows that have been sown in preparation for the corn season, though the corn has yet to be planted. Stay tuned for that exciting development. Your landing in this field could either be rough (earlier on in the Confluence’s appearance) or calm, soft, and safe – it all depends on who’s arrived to help.
Once you gain your bearings, one of two things will happen: if you’re early, someone will rush over to try to assist you, leading you over to a large, haphazardly set up booth to begin to gather your information. If you’re late, there are balloons and flags set up to guide your way. If you’re feeling rebellious, don’t worry – someone will pop in to try to direct you to that booth. After all, it’s time to register yourself in this new world.
Welcome to Little Love. Yes, you’re on a farm. Yes, the corn hasn’t grown yet – but please don’t trample any farmers’ work after they’ve gotten them ready for planting!
Wherever you were before, it doesn’t matter anymore. Now, you’re in a wide field full of – well, nothing. There are many, many rows that have been sown in preparation for the corn season, though the corn has yet to be planted. Stay tuned for that exciting development. Your landing in this field could either be rough (earlier on in the Confluence’s appearance) or calm, soft, and safe – it all depends on who’s arrived to help.
Once you gain your bearings, one of two things will happen: if you’re early, someone will rush over to try to assist you, leading you over to a large, haphazardly set up booth to begin to gather your information. If you’re late, there are balloons and flags set up to guide your way. If you’re feeling rebellious, don’t worry – someone will pop in to try to direct you to that booth. After all, it’s time to register yourself in this new world.
Welcome to Little Love. Yes, you’re on a farm. Yes, the corn hasn’t grown yet – but please don’t trample any farmers’ work after they’ve gotten them ready for planting!
LITTLE LOVE
There is nothing wrong in Little Love, Kansas.
What newcomers won’t know is that Little Love is a perfect landing spot for Fantastic’s new regime: a takeover to enforce registration and control of both the metahuman and Starfallen populations. Instead of appearing threatening and disruptive, everyone’s arrival will seem frantic at first and organized by the end. After all, trying to guess how or when a Confluence will happen is difficult – especially since little hints of Confluences will be popping up all over. None of them lead to new arrivals. Not yet anyway. So, that’s a good thing for Fantastic and his
So, welcome! Enjoy your stay in this sleepy little town. Everyone will be treated to an indefinite stay at a bed and breakfast. That is … assuming they don’t run off without registering. Don’t register? Well, as far as Fantastic is concerned, you’re better off living on the streets.
➢ For the first leg of new arrivals, the Alliance representatives will be showing up and trying to organize them at a booth to get registered. Their late arrival will be explained by “we never know when these will take place, pardon our tardiness!” with no further explanation before they make it clear that any newcomers are obligated to be registered. No, other options will not be presented.
➢ From the second leg onward, the Alliance representatives will be far more organized and welcoming. They’ll be using telekinesis and advanced technological devices to provide safe landings and offer any comfort to arrivals through their disorientation. The same spiel about registering will be there. Pick between the Society or the Alliance (and choosing the Alliance is clearly the better choice). That is how you’re allowed to survive in this world.
➢ Once registered, new arrivals will be given directions to a local bed and breakfast that will provide indefinite stays to them, as well as a rundown on how to access other parts of the country (outside of Central City, which is – most unfortunately – still under quarantine).
➢ Should anyone skip the whole registration process, a nice fellow will introduce herself, offer to shake her hand, or open a door and brush against them or some similar form of contact – and leave them marked for the next few months. This means that any contrary individuals will find their movements tracked for the next few months.
➢ The bed and breakfast will be tacky but homey, offering homemade breakfast every morning, as well as meals two more times a day. An old couple runs the place, and while they are most definitely humble and disarming, they are both members of the Alliance and have powers of their own. But, boy, in their old age they’re reluctant to show those powers off!
➢ Anyone who arrives is not obligated to get registered, but they will find their arrival lacking. Communication devices? Teleportation? All of this will be off the table. Fantastic wants to set a new trend, and that’s to force people to follow his rules. Newcomers are the best place to be strict about enforcing it. After all, they won’t know any better!
➢ Aside from all this Totally Normal Arrival Business with the Confluence, there is a Summer Carnival going on for the first two weekends of June! This was planned long before the Confluence to commemorate the planting season with corn and give the local farmers a chance to relax. The will be rickety old rides like Ferris Wheels, funnel cakes (or elephant ears, depending on your preference of names), trying to bounce balls into goldfish bowls to get pet goldfish, and carnival games that are hard to win! Any newly arrived Starfallen will be given free rides courtesy of the bed and breakfast they’re staying at, so have a good time!
CLIFF NOTES.
➢ New arrivals will be appearing in Little Love, Kansas during the corn-planting season. There will also be a carnival for the first half of the month (on the weekends!) for everyone to relax in this totally cool atmosphere. Nothing is wrong in Little Love! Enjoy your bed and breakfast.
➢ Elsewhere, Excelsior is still in the process of cleanup after a ravenous rough go of it last month. Anyone who’s keen to help out will earn some brownie points with the otherwise meta-resistant population. They clearly need the help right now, as their current problem is all their fault.
➢ Central City is currently under lockdown. New arrivals are often shuffled that way, but Mechanima has stopped all travel in and out of the city (as well as he can, anyway – there are powers involved, after all). Right now, a handful of Starfallen, including Dylan Brock and Pete Ross, will be working to solve the problem there with the parasitic invasion of the pod people.
➢ Sunset Falls has a visit from Silent Mystic, who’s clearly coaching a new (?) sidekick. Want a glimpse of one of the most secretive magicians in this world? Head over to see if you can see them on the job.
WILDCARD.
Metaheroes takes inspiration from all walks of comics. Take a look at the CITIES to get an idea as to what day to day life is like in the other cities. Perhaps you've encountered a supervillain (or hero) who needs to be thwarted, or a metahuman with unusual powers creating bizarre effects.
QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT.
erik "magneto" lehnsherr — open
house built of metal
wildcard
wildcardish.
but all the alliance people lurking around, smiling and encouraging people to sign up with a guild now, to put down their info--is enough of a deterrent it has him cringing away from getting in the middle of it. he doesn't like any of this, it reeks of something about to go sour. he watches from a distance instead, making himself comfortable on a green telekinetic platform mid-air to watch as people drop in, to offer a hand on occasion. and julian notices erik, but doesn't--realize who he's meant to be.
not yet anyway. but he notices his protests down below when asked to sign up. notices him walking away, and opts to jump down onto his feet to follow after him when he moves to leave. waits until they're a decent distance away, before he's opening his mouth, )
Do you have a plan or is the plan just to tell everyone off?
( julian's plan is to tell everyone off, so he can't really object. he's part of the society, but. aside from that. )
no subject
Yes.
[ that's not an answer, erik! ]
no subject
julian looks at him, quietly. for a moment. raises a prosthetic metal hand to prop it on his hip. his arm shifts like it's resting it's weight in against the hand, but it's not connected to the prosthetic at all. it levitates instead, disconnected from flesh even if it responds as if it was a normal, ordinary, absolutely not a replacement hand. )
Yeah, alright. Good luck out there. Don't get shot.
no subject
How old are you?
no subject
Twenty four. How old are you?
( turnabout is fair play, after all. )
no subject
[ he's young enough to be one of charles' students, old enough to have graduated from being one of charles' students actually and that does temper some of erik's dismissal, mouth slanting down thoughtfully.
he shifts his arm, revealing the series of numbers tattooed into his skin. ]
My plan is to not be registered.
no subject
Yeah. I hate it too. ( a loose lift of his shoulders; julian chose to go with the society, but it was a choice. ) Pulled shit like this back where I came from with mutants and heroes, it didn't go well at all.
( and he's turning around, waving a hand to offer a little wave as he goes. )
Good luck keeping them off your back while you're still staying this close, dude.
( house built of metal )
Impressive.
no subject
only him. ]
no subject
Though a bit lacking in living standards, possibly?
no subject
[ his hand lifts and part of the metal side of the shipping container peels down like an anchovy can, metal alloy rising from the ground like upside down rain, coalescing into screws and flattening into hinges as the metal unrolls and fits into the empty space, a door with no handle because he doesn't want anyone to come in. ]
I think I'll be able to find plenty of comfort within.
no subject
[ he flicks his own fingers for a moment and it looks like an ordinary house on the outside. boring, almost invisible in its mundane structure. ]
registration
The man isn't familiar, but he knows the numbers on the arm, what they mean. And suddenly, he is ready to fight. ]
Hey lady, they don't have to register, and I think you know it.
[ He's wearing long sleeves and gloves, but Erik can probably tell that his left arm's all metal, and he's got a gun in a holster under his jacket, too. ]
no subject
she backs off with a flurry of excuses that all seems to sound like she's only trying to do erik a favor by registering him and lots of other justifications as she scampers off and ducks back behind the booth, eying the interloper warily.
erik on the other hand, turns to him with some level of gratitude, but mostly thinly veiled curiosity. metal arm! which is vastly more interesting than the various bits of metal around. ] Appreciated. I wasn't looking forward to the rest of her speech.
no subject
Part of Bucky's disappointed she walks away that easy, the part of him that's always looking for a fight. But the rest of him knows it's for the best. He puts his left hand on his hip, watching her walk away. ]
It's new. I only got here two months ago, and they weren't that crazy.
parker | open
🇸🇺🇲🇲🇪🇷 🇨🇦🇷🇳🇮🇻🇦🇱
🇼🇮🇱🇩 🇨🇦🇷🇩
summer carnival
Parker, however, solves that problem for her by being much more recognizable.
She hears the familiar breathy accent asking for chocolate, and she's quick to cut through the crowd.]
Bree, darling. I don't think they have a chocolate fountain here.
no subject
[ parker only half recognizes bree as her name, she's bad with that part of the grift, but she does recognize sophie's accent as virginia and then she recognizes sophie. despite her struggles with interpersonal relationships, she takes the two steps to reach sophie and wraps her in an aggressive bear hug. parker has those strong arms, it's a tight hug.
she doesn't know what to say, but the hug says enough. ]
no subject
She returns the hug as best she can, for as long as she can, until...]
Parker, it's becoming hard to breathe.
[She keeps her voice down, not wanting to blow her cover, but she does need her to let go, at least a little bit.]
no subject
Do you... know what is going on?
no subject
[He understands all this comic book stuff better than she does. She doesn't know how to translate it into her own understanding let alone for Parker's but she's sure that Hardison will make it make sense.]
It's like one of his comic book special events but apparently it's real.
summer carnival~
the enormous stuffed baron von borzoi he won seems ready and willing to engulf him fully; the snoot, longer than any protrusion from every land animal known to man evoking a sort of nobility that belies just how ruthless and desperate to suffocate this man tall enough to reach the top shelf where momma hides the cookies. and let's be honest, "snoot" is really pushing it. this is a mammalian proboscis, and hardison is losing the battle of getting it out of his damn face.
of course, if he'd simply let go of the laughably-enormous churro in his other hand, he might make more progress... )
no subject
(it's easier with sophie, with sophie there are no... pretzels.)
she wins a ring toss as she avoids, trying to settle her emotions into tidy boxes and put them on a shelf. nate has told her more than once (when she's appeared directly in front of him to pick his brain) that roman rooms are for memorization, not emotional compartmentalization but she keeps trying anyway. it doesn't work, but she wins a yellow rubber duck (it matches her dress!) and since the first person she wants to show is hardison, she does admit to herself that she needs to find him again.
just in time to save him from being smothered by an enormous stuffed villain. there she is, spider-man-ing on the semi-stable sign pole still dressed in her duck dress and huge platform shoes and pushing the hummingbird-esque snout out of the way so hardison doesn't suffocate. ] Can I have a bite of your churro?
no subject
Parker.
( another moment to register what she's said, and he almost offers his churro up before thinking twice. )
My—? No! ( except probably yes because it's parker, except—wait how did she already take it!!!!!! ) Hey!
Gus | [locked to Hunter, Amity, Eda, and Nico]
He glances up to see others falling down. They don't seem to have Palisman...because they're human. And despite the fact that 1) he's not wearing his beanie over his ears and 2) they did just all see him fly down on his staff and turn into the lizard currently clinging to his shoulder.
Which isn't causing near as much of a fuss as Gus thought it might. In Gravesfield he would have just blown his cover and the cover of all his friends, but nobody seems to be paying that much mind. Weird. He needs more puzzle pieces to put this together. But he's definitely somewhere else.
And...it feels like a bad somewhere else, for reasons that Gus just can't put his finger on. Just enough anxiety enough to be felt, but too mild to tell him anything. He can see a booth, though the signs are covered by crowds milling in the area.
It's...a fundraiser, maybe?
He makes his way through the crowds, weighing the pros and cons of trying to get people's attention. Right now, nobody seems to be paying him that much mind.
Well, nobody except the people at the booth. They're looking right at him. Maybe it's a recruitment drive?
And then one of the attendants, a chipper woman who's all too-wide smiles and too-bright voice, comes up to him and starts expounding at length on the benefits of being registered with a guild and how it's really in his best interest to sign up now and Gus understands all too clearly: It's a Covention.
Well, maybe it's not. But at the same time, it totally is. It's covens again. It's Adrian Graye advancing on him with an Abomination brand to seal his magic. It's not, and it is all at once and all too fast, and Gus backs away from her trying to talk around the tightening of his throat and the gripping of his heart. He's not quite at the level of sheer panic that made his illusions go out of control, but then nobody's grabbed him yet.]
Hey, uh, mind if I take a few days to think about it? I just got here and, uh, I wanna...see the sights first? Sure you got more than just a big, uh, field! To look at, haha!
[Is it his imagination or are other representatives moving in to block his escape as he backs away? He can't be sure, but he needs to think of a way out NOW and he's coming up empty. One thing's for sure: he came in alone. He just can't for sure count on his friends to come through with an escape this time...]
no subject
on the contrary, word has already made its way into eda's sphere—along with hunter's and amity's—that a potential new witchling had shown up in little love, kansas along with the latest confluence. on an average day, this was nothing that required immediate action. in fact, eda would argue for giving them some rope to experience the world on their own terms.
thing is, these aren't the average days.
things are rapidly changing and not for the better.
it's a bad time to arrive. an even worse time to be in an unfamiliar world where it's nothing short of an uphill battle not to get taken advantage of by opportunistic adults. absolutely wretched time to find yourself alone. it hardly matters which one of them has arrived—a rescue was the only direction that could be taken.
and the residents of the owl manor are on the case.
the first order of business is to actually locate said witchling, but that's easy enough when there's a very obvious crowd of shady looking adults trying to box someone in. hell, it's not even a question! obviously the prize is going to be right there, right in the most obvious spot.
as such, eda is immediately pushing her way past this idiot circle. )
Excuse me! Excuse me! Has anyone seen my child around here?
( then she settles her gaze on the fresh witchling. eager to confirm who it is. thankfully (or unthankfully), it's gus! the kid who didn't think she was worth interviewing!
bet he won't think so anymore.
there's no time to think too long about that. the priority is to remove him. by whatever means necessary. )
There you are. I've been looking everywhere! Momma's been so worried!
( hammed up, definitely a little forced. eda isn't actually the most natural of actors sometimes. it is, however, distracting and keeps anyone from noticing the odd way that she grabs gus by the shoulder, slipping some paper glyphs underneath his collar.
for when illusion magic just isn't cutting it.
she keeps her hold on him, but the ring of representatives have yet to disperse. their stance has relaxed, to a degree, but gus isn't any less surrounded than he had been. )
Do you still need something?
( challenging, authoritative.
one woman seems to believe that now is the opportune moment to express her concern over gus's lack of affiliation and how signing up could really help ease his transition into this new world. and as a parent, shouldn't eda want that for him? isn't it in his best interests to join the alliance, the guild of heroes? )
You're not off to a good start. This is a child and he shouldn't be making these decisions without a parent.
no subject
Even with an abomination, it wasn't that far.
Amity has tagged along on the 'rescue a witchling' mission, because like heck is she letting anyone get taken in by these guys--and the feeling is only intensified when she sees Gus. She doesn't know him quite as well as Willow or Luz, but he's still her friend. Luckily Eda is there to take the lead, or else Amity might have gone straight to doing drastic things.
Instead she hovers just outside the circle of "concerned" and "helpful" adults, her hands jammed into the straps of the backpack she's wearing. What's in the backpack? Don't worry about it. ]
Gus! Hey! I'm glad your mom found you!
[ Amity adds, with even less convincing acting than Eda. But at least it'll clue Gus in that people are here to help him, right? ]
no subject
[Barraging them with seemingly normal, upset people rather than attacking from the word go was by design.]
[Hunter suddenly appears next to them, breathing out the breath he was holding for the sake of his invisibility spell, then slams down several glyph papers onto the ground at once, activating them in a row, bambambambambam.]
[The end result is total chaos around the witches. Vines sprout and slam into multiple people, pushing them back and entangling them, gusts of wind swirl hard enough to knock people off their feet, gouts of flame flare up in front of people to force them back, and columns of ice shoot out and slam into some of them.]
[This is both a distraction and their signal to book it and start fighting their way out.]
[Hunter, a long way from being the coven guard showing up to wild witch gatherings to try to arrest people now gets to be the person throwing down a metaphorical vase and screaming "Scatter!"]
[It feels way better to be on this side of things.]
[Especially if it means keeping one of his dearest - and first - friends safe.]
[He grabs Gus's hand - part of the plan in case he needs to be flash-stepped away from people - and starts running towards the rendezvous point.]
MOVE!
no subject
Even in the Demon Realm "the magic of friendship" is kind of a corny, syrupy sentiment and Gus is never going to make fun of it again for as long as he lives. The horrible sense of deja vu has was having flipped on a dime to...well, not a comfortable sense of deja vu, they still have to escape, but Eda, Amity, and Hunter showing up in quick succession has released a lot of the tightness in his chest.
...If these "Alliance" coven goons were better at catering, maybe sandwiches would have been involved this time too.
He's got glyphs (he's pretty sure) but he doesn't need them yet. Instead, he uses the hand Hunter isn't holding to draw a spell circle. Suddenly, there's another 5 Hunter and Guses all running in different directions. Even if the representatives don't chase the illusions, it's certainly confounding enough to give them a head start.
More convincing than pretending he was Eda's kid at any rate.]
What was that?
[He's sort of addressing all of them, anyone with an answer will do.]
Why is there a Covention in the Human Realm? Why are there Covens in the Human Realm!?
no subject
it's enough to make eda confident in their plan and their ability to execute it. these are good kids, smart kids. they've got this. she just needs to help keep these bootlickers off of them until they can get out. she's always heard there's nothing good in kansas anyway!
there's only a brief window of time before the representatives begin to recover, already hitting with a counter-attack. the ground underneath them quickly begins to splinter and crack as one of the metas smash their fists into the dirt.
lightning crackles in the distance.
eda kicks her heel down, grounding herself as she flicks several glyphs through her bony fingers. )
Mask!
( a loud, clear warning for the kids about what's to come.
it's followed by the sound of shattering glass and the immediate, overwhelming wave of smoke. none of them are here to get caught in a real fight, not when they have too much of the upperhand and resources. this is just grab and go.
and it's time to goooo! )
no subject
[ The answer is shot at Gus. As Amity shouts, she's already swung the backpack off her shoulders and torn it open to unleash a bubbling torrent of slime that forms itself into a pair of massive fists on each side of Amity that she uses smash aside anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way--especially if they look like they might mean it. She lashes out, smacking at the meta trying to break the ground underneath them.
Amity is close at Gus' heels and when she hears Eda shout she tugs her mask into place, coughing in spite of it as some of the smoke manages to sting at her throat. The rendezvous and hopefully safety is just ahead, they just have to keep going a little further. Forming the slime into a humanoid shape, she sends it running off in another direction from them. In the smoke, it might be enough to convince someone--or at least provide a distraction and now that the potential fight is over (hopefully) she won't be needing it. ]
People everywhere just really want to control us, I guess.
maybe nico can tag in now?
[He throws down some more glyphs for cover, causing a wall of us to form behind the group but they have multiple directions to guard from and some of their pursuers can fly over it. Flapjack turns into a staff just in time for Hunter grab Gus's hand again and flash step them out of the way of a superhero diving towards Gus so they eat the dirt instead.]
[Then he keeps running, hand in hand. The words he says next aren't exactly comforting.]
It's not the same version of the human realm. It's a different one that pulls in people from other worlds. Some humans here have power and so do the people from other worlds, so most of the humans want everyone with power controlled.
[That's at least enough basics to operate on for their escape. Gus now knows how his impressions of the guilds being like the covens wasn't entirely off base.]
[Not far off is an abandoned barn, the shape looming up through the smoke.]
We're almost there! I have a friend waiting to teleport us away.
[He runs Gus inside it. As soon as the others are in, he wraps vines around the door handles and barricades it with ice glyphs.]
[A teenage boy with black hair is waiting for them.]
Nico, take Amity and Gus first.
no subject
Okay, yes, the plan kinda hinges on his ability to get everyone out, and the barn is wonderfully dark so he won't even have to try to wrap the shadows around them. Still.
Nico grabs ahold of Amity and Gus - no question who's Amity and Gus, as he knows Eda and Hunter. ]
Hi, nice to meet you -
[ He'll have two conversations almost simultaneously. One friendly if matter of fact, and the other shouty and grumbling. ]
Hunter, are you sure you'll be able to hold them off? I need at least five minutes in between trips -
So, this is going to feel... not great. Hope you didn't eat recently.
no subject
Probably the guy on all the banners and brochures. Fantasma? Fatalistic? Whatever his name was.]
Oh, don't tell me there's another Day of Unity coming. We only barely stopped the last one!
[The barn is dark and musty and is just homey enough that Gus can relax a little, lose a little of the tension in his shoulders. OK, this guy's name is Nico and he's Hunter's friend which is all Gus needs to know to fully trust him.
Except for one little extremely alarming fact.]
Wait, hold on, Hunter, you don't know you could hold them off? We should-
[And then Gus has the worst case of searing burning frostbite he's ever had in his life as he's teleported out of the room. And then he's in someone's foyer wheezing out the word:]
Nevermind.
no subject
[ Amity offers that scant comfort as they pile into the barn, one hand reaching out to take hold of Gus's arm. Nico gets a brief, business-like nod. ]
Hey, how's it going--
[ And then she's yanked through space in a way that leaves her stomach twisting and her face burning like she's been dunked into the Boiling Sea and the coldest snow all at once. She exhales sharply in a sharp, painful gasp and crouches down, restraining the urge to barf. ]
Ouugh.
[ She wheezes. ]
You weren't kidding.