not as it appears

[msattentionspan]

Who: City Folk
When: October 5th - October 8th
Where: The City
What: Life. City Stuff. Investigating...
Note: This is a catch-all for the full plot. Feel free to make your own logs if you're in the city or use this! Add your own sections! Make some new CR. Join the investigation. I'll be putting up INVESTIGATION sections for people that want to run into Faith and help, see what she's doing, etc. Otherwise, feel free to just threadjack and hop around! Prose or brackets are welcome!



The city has always been there. Quiet and unusually docile considering the chaos that occurs within its streets and a mere ten minutes away from its edge. The paths are well-worn and lead through alleys and streets the same, bringing you to new places or perhaps an old favorite. You rely on it to keep you wish-free, to keep you from the crazy that the castle does on occasion. You wander through the sidewalks, glancing into store windows and wondering just who made all of these items? You wonder what the people do when you're not there and when you smile and introduce yourself, you walk away knowing they might have already forgotten.

The buzz of the castle is always there. The hum of words over the pages of carried journals, the murmurings of conversations that are a bit too loud, and the hints of secrets being passed from one to another all fill the air. It gives you a sense of normalcy, because if something was wrong you'd hear it - you'd flip a page and see the words or hear the pleas. If something was wrong, you'd know - with the people warning you away from someone or something. It's what always happens when things go awry and maybe you've grown complacent relying on these things, because when you realize the noise has stopped, when you notice that the air is too still and the people in the city seem content to just let it pass them by you realize that the lack isn't right.

No, in fact it's very wrong.

The quiet has settled around you and you're not sure if you should be thankful to have been excluded from whatever has passed over the castle and those trapped within it... or worried for what goes on just beyond those brick walls. You can wait it out, expecting the castle to just carry on and give up in a few days or a week. You can grow worried and try to enter the castle to see what you might be able to do. You can do your best to try and ignore the sinking feeling that sits within your chest.

Or you can try to do something about it. It's just a choice to make and for most of you it'll just come naturally; much like one would say falling asleep should happen.

Comments

october 5th 12:00AM

[msattentionspan]

[Faith is patrolling. It's not that she figures there's actually things to patrol, but she's trying to get into the habit. It's an annoying habit of trying to not plop her ass down in a booth of a bar and drink. If her body didn't have all the benefits of Slayer healing, she's pretty sure she'd be on a one-way trip to cirrhosis of the liver.

Spoiler: Faith doesn't even know how to spell that word, let alone the health implications it carries.

She's in the middle of the street, staring at the fountain in the center of town when it gets quiet. It's not even a regular time of night quiet where you start to really understand that animals and insects aren't the biggest populations in Paradisa. It's a 'people were just here a second ago' type of quiet. Not that she can prove that, because she was staring at the fountain, but she is pretty sure that there were more people in the city a few minutes ago.

Those late night drunks trying to get their way home or to someone else's room in the castle. Those people who just lost track of time as if Paradisa is a casino that doesn't have clocks on the walls.

It's... weird.

Buffy would probably say it gave her the wiggins, but Buffy isn't here and Faith isn't going to adopt that word into her vocab tonight. So, instead, she's just going to wander a bit to see if she's just imagining things.]

october 5th early evening - investigation

[msattentionspan]

[Faith had kept her eye on the castle from a distance most of the day. (A pretty big distance, thanks to Slayer vision being what it is.) No one is coming out of it. The journal was scary quiet and she even watched someone walking toward it and instead of her being able to actually go inside, she got to the front steps and just fell to the stairs. She's pretty sure it had been Jo, who didn't seem like she was the dumb type.

Faith is not going to get close to the castle, that's for sure. Even if she wants to go to make sure that the blond didn't just crack her skull on the steps. She'll get some binoculars or something and check for blood later.

Making a face, she heads back into the city.

Maybe she should try to find those binoculars sooner, rather than later.]

[likethetragedy]

[Elektra has been keeping her distance as well. She doesn't have enhanced vision, but projection works just as well even if it is risky. It seems like the risk finally paid off though. She knows how far she can go now before she ends up like Jo and the rest of the residents. This is progress.

She pulls back and sucks in an unsteady breath. She's starting to run out of things to do. The thought of doing nothing while her people are in there defenseless is terrifying for Elektra. Thankfully seeing another person checking out the place gives her something even if it's only talking with yet another woman and hoping for the best.

She moves to intercept Faith somewhere along the way. Hopefully just seeing another person out here serves as an introduction. Elektra isn't in the mood for hellos.]

[msattentionspan]

[Faith is still wandering the city when she spots the girl. She's the one that had bought her box of knives.]

Hey. Quiet night.

[notakecandle]

[You know what would be a sight to see? A weird creature coming from the general direction of the castle. I mean, come on. That would totally be just "out there" enough for it to be a sufficient clue!

Man, if only it could happen-- wait. That is what is happening! Right now!

Hi, Faith. Have a weird short creature waddling about, a pack on its back, looking busy as ever! WHAT DO YOU DO?]

[msattentionspan]

[What the...?

Faith's head tips to the side. She's sure she's seeing things, because she's kept an eye on that castle for a while. Nothing came out of it.

Now there's a rat or... something.

She's gonna get closer to it.]

[notakecandle]

[It doesn't seem to notice Faith! At all. It's pacing about in a little bit of confusion...

before turning to scurry down an alley!]

[msattentionspan]

[Well, Faith can play that game. She watches for a bit, but then decides why the hell not -- and heads down the alley after it.]

[notakecandle]

[It's not a terribly fast creature; it moves awkwardly, almost as if it wants to pace a little bit more. But the way it carries itself does show that it does have a goal of some sort.

Throughout the length of the alley, it keeps its head low, squinting at the cracks in the ground, sniffing at the holes. Nope. Nothing big enough for it!]

[msattentionspan]

[This is weird and Faith has seen some pretty screwed up things in her life. Giant fat guy soaking in a tub? Weird.

This is pretty weird.]

Are you lost?

october 5th 2 am-ish

[likethetragedy]

[Elektra is a woman with a lot to forget despite how things had changed by arriving here. Her situation is better. She can have friends, a steady home, and not have to constantly worry about getting a bullet lodged into her brain the second she let her guard down. Sometimes she can even make a positive difference in people's lives. (Not that she cares.)

It doesn't change the past or some of the ugly things that happened during her stay here. Her way of forgetting them was throwing herself into mindless projects. Owning the Candy Bonsai opened plenty of doors for that. Tonight she is cleaning and sorting books after the doors close. She trusts someone will stop her if she is gone for too long. People care about these things here. She's no longer alone in a big house without a friend in the world. The thing is it doesn't happen. She catches herself going too long into a mindless project and no one intervened.

It's suspicious.

Elektra starts putting her pet project away and notes the silence both in the journals and town. She doesn't need to step outside to notice it. Elektra eventually does step outside to confirm it. Somehow the town is quieter than usual. She has a strong feeling it is not because of the time.

She locks the candy store behind her and begins to walk around hoping to get a better idea of what may be happening.]

October 5th - 6:00amish

[succubitch]

[Lilah hadn't noticed the quiet before she fell asleep, but she notices it when she wakes up. The journal is pretty much radio silence, and the city seems rather quiet as well. It'd almost seem peaceful, in a way, if it wasn't so annoying and creepy.

Which means one thing: the Castle is up to something and it probably isn't anything she wants to get near. In fact, she'll be staying quite clear from there -- there's a reason, after all, that she moved out of it in the first place.

But she does get dressed rather quickly and heads out, to see if things are just as quiet outside of her penthouse and low and behold -- they are.

Well, this doesn't bode well at all.]

[likethetragedy]

[It's been dead outside for hours. She might have returned to the castle by now if she knew the cause which would give her a chance to work around it. The lack of information has left her in weird stand still up until she spots Lilah. Having another person around could change things. That is exactly what she needs right now. She doesn't waste any time heading over to the other woman.]

Hear anything from the castle recently? [She already knows the answer, but it helps seeing if Lilah is on the same page as her.]

[succubitch]

[It's some small relief to stumble across someone, even more than it's someone she knows, however vague that acquaintance might be. At the question she shakes her head.]

Nothing. It seems there's been radio silence for a while now.

[likethetragedy]

That's been my experience too. [She sighs audibly.] I don't suppose you know a detective or anyone specializing in figuring these things out in the city.

[How she curses the day Renee left the castle. Her skill set does not cover this.]

[succubitch]

[She shakes her head.] The closest I know of is Wesley, and he's been on a loss as far as I know.

[likethetragedy]

How convenient. [She almost wants to entertain the idea this could be the castle the way things are shaping up so far. It's too risky an assumption since anyone with a working brain would have come to the conclusion attacking the castle directly and quietly is a great way to rid yourself of the residents by now.]

Well I'm going to get to the bottom of this somehow. Are you interested?

[notakecandle]

[Hey there, ladies. You want to know what's weird? The creatures in Paradisa. This is pretty much a common fact if one were to pay attention to the expeditions, of course, but... just in case one didn't know?

There's a little something-- someone? waddling by, a pack on its back, looking very much in a hurry!

WHAT DO YOU DO?]

various times throughout the plot-- feel free to specify, if you'd like!

[notakecandle]

[That's... weird. That certainly isn't a creature that's been seen too commonly around these parts! And there's not just one, either.

There may be a few of these weird creatures (humanoids?) scattered throughout the city. Some have heavy packs on their backs, others pick axes, and-- candles? Huh. Weird.

Well, in any case, if your character is the curious type, why not see what these things are all about? Maybe there is some correlation between them showing up and the castle going dead...]

October sixth in the evening whoaaaaa!!!

[20thcentury]

[Jenny is casually strolling across the street when she notices some of these ... things.... and stops.

Because what.]

Is that ... are those candles?

whooooaaaaaa!!!!

[notakecandle]

[This little guy stops upon hearing the word "candle" and immediately tenses up. He whirls around at the lady and, with a raised voice and an overly defensive tone says,]

NO!

crazy!!!!!

[20thcentury]

[JENNY JUMPS WHAT IS HAPPEN]

No?

IKR

[notakecandle]

[It just stares up at her--well okay, it squints up at her--with its beady little eyes. Hands seem to curl around the candle it's definitely not holding as it backs away from Jenny.]

Right! NO. It's mine!

[20thcentury]

[This thing is creepy and weird and she doesn't like it! It's also the first time she's noticed something like this in town in all the months she's been here -- is there some correlation between this surge of strange, rat-like creatures and the entire castle going asleep (or dead, or whatever is going on in there)?

So naturally she'll try to befriend it as quickly as possible. If that doesn't work, well ...

She smiles, extending her hands peaceably.]

Relax, mate. I'm not after your candle.

[notakecandle]

Oh.

[Well. That's more like it. As long as she's really not going to take it. He relaxes his grip, lowering his hands, but still keeps the candle out of her reach.]

Good.

[He looks from left to right. He's still on a mission, after all!]

Where is Dead Zone?