tabularasa_rp | 006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives New Imprints ▲ Comments The Ground Shakes
It begins unremarkably enough, with the light tremors of the ground so small they might easily go unnoticed, or else dismissed as the movement of some creature nearby. As time goes on, however, those little tremors begin to grow in both strength and duration, the length of time shortening between each one. To begin with only small, light, unsecured objects are rattled loose by the rumbling of the ground, but as the tremors grow in strength there is a growing danger of much larger things being moved.

The realm’s clear lack of understanding of how things work cannot be relied upon in such a situation. If the tremors have grown strong enough to throw all the books of Hammerhead to the ground and throw over all the clothes rails and capsule machines and furniture in the Academy, then what if they grow strong enough to move the heavy blanket of snow atop Mount Silver? What if they grow strong enough to damage the caverns within?

Then there is the question of how, or why, the realm has made the land shake. It must surely have picked up the idea of an earthquake from someone, right? An answer to the question is not immediately forthcoming, but should one stay low to the ground and listen, they might well hear the muffled, distorted sound of screaming.

Creature Chaos
As the rumbling and shaking continues, it is clear to see that the local wildlife has been disturbed, and they seem remarkably active. Critters can be seen running and flying to and fro, and any who go out to investigate may find themselves the center of attention. Brushboys may paint arrows on the ground in an effort to lead them somewhere, or bluurgobos might actively offer rides, or the flying cat-like creatures will excitedly circle someone before attempting to lead them somewhere. Going along with them will lead to one of two places:

The meaty, pulsating, cavernous tunnels of Mementos shudder and convulse in a way quite unlike before, and closer inspection will quickly reveal why. The flesh has been cut and torn, hacked apart, leaving gaping and bleeding wounds to spill over the subway tracks. Whichever critter has brought someone here excitedly gestures towards the wounds, and as it does a giant and painful shudder goes through the tunnels and shakes the earth. All those earthquakes… could this be the source?

The road to the Hammerlocke Citadel Ruins are as long as winding as ever, and precarious with the risk of an earthquake dislodging snow and rock from the mountainside. The animal that has taken the lead is on a mission, however, as unclear as that mission might be. On arriving, it turns its attention to a group of the spiky, bear-headed beasts that are lazing about as though the land is not currently shaking and quaking around them, and tries to draw their attention. Clearly, these bear heads are expected to do something, and they aren’t doing it.

First Words
Though the tremors have finally stopped, they have left a significant change to the World in their wake. Where the ground above was once flat and untouched, there now lay cracks and fissures that glow with a strange, but enchantingly warm light. There doesn’t seem to be a single area that has been left untouched by them - though the number of cracks are denser in some places than others, it’s difficult to find a place completely devoid of them. Could this be the world’s attempt at trying to heal itself?

If all of that wasn’t enough to warrant investigation, the sound of whispers that appear to be coming from they might do the trick. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that the whispers aren’t coming from the lights, but from inside your own head. Focus a little more, and some of the voices may sound familiar…

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[ Raihan, who is nowhere near where Akechi is, picks up on the expletives from his location in Hammerlocke, making sure that the earthquakes haven't displaced the snow enough for a potential avalanche. there aren't many glowing lines around here, but enough that he can tap in and respond to the familiar voice.

he whistles in surprise (in his head; apparently, just imagining the sound is enough) - Akechi didn't strike him as someone that would use that kind of language, but now he's interested in what brought it on. ]

What's got you cussing up a storm? This weird mind link-thing doesn't have content filters, you know.

Ah- Raihan-san?

[Ah, indeed. For his part, Akechi's struggling to put himself mentally back together after being viscerally shoved out of Meatmentos. Luckily(?) Ren's explained the very basics of the ley lines to him, but it's still disorienting to hear someone's "voice" in his head.

For one thing, it fucking terrifies him. His mind used to be the only place he could completely be himself. Now he apparently doesn't even have that, at least for the moment until he can control it properly.]

My apologies... I'm afraid I'm still getting used to this form of communication. You... aren't anywhere near the tunnels, are you?

You got it! [ he lets out a brief chuckle. ] No worries here - I'm not the easily offended type, but someone else might be, you know?

[ he's not here to make fun of Akechi... well, not much, anyway. he's more interested in getting some experience with communicating through the ley lines, and happened to be focusing enough to hear the forcefulness of his words. he's not very keen on the idea of his thoughts being streamed out without intent either, so he's doing his best to be deliberate about his stream of consciousness.

but at the moment, what concerns him more is the hesitation in Akechi's voice. he puts aside the teasing for a moment, listening intently. ]

I can be. Did something happen?

[ with the tremors, his first thought is that there was some sort of collapse down there. a cave-in wouldn't bode well for the underground academy, and would be even worse for the train routes. ]

What's the range on this?

[The thought slips out before he can stop it, and he grimaces. It's not even that it's a bad thing to "say," it's that he didn't intend to say it.

He shakes his head, quick to add,] No, that's not necessary. It's better if you aren't, to be honest. The walls started to convulse and converge on themselves as I was-- making my way through.

[It takes a supreme force of will not to say "cutting." The thought nearly slips out anyway, resulting in an awkward-sounding pause.]

More importantly, I didn't realize the tremors were so violent above ground. Is everyone alright?

Dunno... I haven't had much of a chance to test it yet. I'm in Hammerlocke, if that helps any.

[ hm. while he wants to give Akechi the benefit of the doubt, he doesn't like how quickly he answered. it's not that he doesn't think he's telling the truth, but rather...

well, he can hear what he's saying to Ren right now, too. he's not sure if he wants to give that much away just yet, and while he knows he should be trying to block it out, he's already heard enough to tell him this might be worth looking into. ]

Did you make it out alright? [ There's something you aren't telling me, mate. ] No one's been hurt, as far as I've seen. Flygon and I were checking out the mountain to see how stable it was after the last quake - the last thing we need around here is a bloody avalanche...

Hammerlocke... that is quite a fair distance away, then.

[Wow, listening in on his angsty teen moments, Raihan? Cringe.]

Minor injuries, nothing more. I'm glad no one was hurt.

[Even he's surprised by how honest that sentiment is. It's true, though; there are very few people in the Void he actively wants harm to befall. Not to mention that if people find out he was the one who caused the tremors, well. Best no one get too badly hurt, otherwise it'll be hell for him, specifically.]

These fissures... if you're in the sky, can you see how far they spread? Do they make any kind of pattern?

[ it wasn't intentional, honest! everyone's messages are getting mixed together, so is it really his fault if he heard a few things? sometimes you gotta be a little cringe before you can be poggers. ]

You getting hurt counts for something. Take it easy, alright?

[ he was on the ground, but is already mounting Flygon when Akechi asks his question. it takes a moment for them to get high up enough to be able to see a larger picture. he had seen a few lines when he first got here, but now... there are denser areas than others that glow with the lines of light, but it's difficult to find a spot that isn't touched by at least one.

interestingly enough, he doesn't hear anything when he tries to send a message out from the air. it prompts him to land back down at the foot of Mt. Silver, where he can see a few branching lines. ]

Could you hear me at all when I was up there?

I won't.

[It's not what he was intending to say, but it slips out anyway. Oh, fuck this method of communication. It's far too honest for his tastes, too immediate, impossible to edit or think too carefully about. It would have been much better to laugh and reassure Raihan that, "of course he will." God damn.

The ensuing silence is almost nerve-wracking in a way, the idea that he might have insulted Raihan warring with the idea that he simply doesn't care. Yes, he needs these people, but honestly, should he really be so worried about their opinions of him? Probably not. For his part, he rips apart some pieces of his borrowed uniform and starts patching himself up, passively trying to figure out what everyone else is saying through the fissure.]

What? [he says finally when he realizes Raihan is back and addressing him.] I- no. I didn't hear you at all. Were you speaking? What did you see?

[ lucky for Akechi, he doesn't hear that rude little quip! being up in the air means that he's out of range, leaving him unaware of the young man's brutal honesty. maybe it's for the best. ]

Yeah, the whole time! I was basically giving a play-by-play. [ how strange... and something to keep in mind. ] I guess that means we have to be close to the glowing cracks to talk like this, right?

[ of course the convenience had to come with a catch. ] --Anyway. I didn't really see a pattern, but... geez, they're everywhere. Wherever you look, they're all connected to at least one line.

Edited 2021-01-24 19:29 (UTC)

[The best for Akechi, anyway.]

I suppose that makes sense, as much as anything makes sense around here.

[He sits back with a hiss, bringing a bloody hand to his lips in contemplation. Most of the blood is from the underground, not his own; he'll worry about bandaging up his actual wounds later.]

So as long as one is close to one of these fissures, he can communicate regardless of distance. How very curious.

Have you ever seen anything like this, Raihan-san? Do you think you'd be able to draw a map of the lines?

No kidding!

[ he dismounts off of Flygon back in Hammerlocke, close to one of the deeper-looking cracks. out of curiosity, he starts to follow it on foot to see where it takes him. ]

I don't think you're getting the scope of this, mate. There's way too many lines to be able to plot them all out. [ and he'd only seen a small sample of them. if they went as far as the void, who knows where else they could be? ] The bigger ones, maybe... but it sure wouldn't be a one person job.

006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

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