Day 8: Evening

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: April 1st - April 15th, 2020 ]

The light rain has changed into a downpour, coating the island, its forests, and its people in a constant barrage of water. After the events of the afternoon, it's like it's all being washed away.

Except it isn't, because the events of the day all happened. They're all real. And social media is abuzz about the loss of Harsen Island's mountain. Now, it's all just flat. There are forests, but Craydon is no longer a mountain-side town. Instead, they have a cog train that rolls horizontally across the flat ground from the main train station and over into their very flat town in the woods. Bamborough's hillside hotels with dozens of floors higher up for an ocean view are now down with the rest of the buildings, and only the highest floors can see out over the touristy area to the water. Far Haven, in contrast, has barely changed. You can't flatten something that's already flat. The only textures left on the island are the silver humps of two ships, one near Far Haven and the other near Bamborough. There's also a hump at the center, the cave entrance, leading down into the cave where the bodies were. For anyone who goes to look, there's a new body there now.

- [1] -

The participants in the fight against "Eight" put up a valiant fight, eventually defeating it in a show of heroic justice somewhere along the tracks. In all the rain, its yellowed body is disappearing away into the ground as it washes away.

- [2] -

#childlost

Sxicq is... somewhere. The internet lost them again. Wherever they're at, it's not out on the surface of the island.

- [3] -

The monsters, meanwhile, have returned back to their home in the garden. At least, the ones who seem to live there.

Five and Six are in their rooms on the main floor with the doors open. Five is laying on her bed, tacking away on her flip phone. Six is in his room, sitting on the edge of the bed, also on his phone. If there's anyone in Four's room, it's unknown due to the closed door. Also on the main floor is the Wizard. She's casually sitting in one of the more plain of the thirteen chairs, reading an unnamed book. There's a steaming mug of cocoa on the coffee table in front of her.

On the second floor, Ten's room is the only one open. The doors for Seven, Nine, and Twelve are all shut. If anyone heads in to look for Ten, they'll find him writing in a small notebook with the title "Chef Notes" on the front.

On the top floor, Eight's door is shut but has a small "Text me" sign dangling off of the handle.

- [4] -

If anyone goes looking for the newly surfaced space ships, all they'll find is the smooth metallic surfaces of them rounding out of the terrain. If there's a way in, it's not obvious to others

The Weather
Heavy rain.
59°F / 15°C
A constant wind.

Prompts:

5:00pm Onward: Monster House, The Garden: For any heroes who are up for meeting any of the monsters, this is their opportunity. Some closed doors will have no one behind them, but the open doors are a guaranteed someone to talk to. Will they talk to the monsters, each other, or the Wizard downstairs in the sitting area?

5:00pm Train Station, All cities: All trains have been suspended, citing the "unknown conditions of the island's tracks" after the events of the day. No one is allowed to ride the rails, no one is allowed to go anywhere. Is your hero trapped at a train station waiting for an uber? Does another hero come to their rescue? What's the deal?

?:00pm General Post, Anywhere: Does your character go to investigate things around the island? Do they meet with other heroes somewhere over coffee? How are they handling being cut off from the world? Their family? Their loved ones? How do they feel seemingly being made the enemy of all people of the world?

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

OOC Mortality Warning: Any hero who actively seeks out the Protector IC will be at a high risk of death in some manner. He is on the move, tread carefully!

Activity Check: April 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: April 1st - April 30th, 2020 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Luka has retreated back into the Garden after the events of the afternoon settled (as much as those particular events could be settled), brazenly turning tail and running away from Harsen Island and all its troubles. He needed a moment to breathe, he justifies to himself, though the knot in his stomach only twists tighter.

He's found himself back on that bench by the lake, unsure of where else to go. He's looking oddly pedestrian tonight - no makeup, minimal jewelry and a downright average attire. It's clear he dressed himself, and in a hurry. The few belongings he'd grabbed from his Craydon lodgings rest beside him: his old guitar and an uncharacteristically silent phone.

Luka's blankly laying across the length of the bench, facing upward toward the Garden's artificial night sky. He picks up his phone occasionally, sighing in frustration at the absolute lack of response from some of the few people he trusted enough to give his contact information to. It hurt being so powerless to explain himself, and with another sigh, he lets his phone fall from his hand into the gravel beneath.

This is not what he expected to see when he came to the lake. He's here to find some measure of peace after the day, a chance to listen to the water and meditate. He's pacing the circumference of the water when he spots someone laying on the bench.

It's not until he's gotten much closer that he realizes who it is, and his steps quicken along the path, eager to see the Princess again today. He slows the moment he reads his mood though, coming to a stop a few feet away from him.

"Luka?" he murmurs, unsure whether the man wants any company at all with how blank and dressed down he looks.

Luka wasn't expecting anyone to come upon him here either, and startles when he hears what sounds like approaching footsteps. He feels a sense of relief when the other speaks up, however - of all the visitors that could encounter him here, this was one of the better possibilities.

"Gyre." He says, scrambling as he sits up. His instinct is to act like nothing is wrong at all, but he knows that Gyre knows that's... absolutely not true, for any of them. Trying to play it off wasn't going to work.

"I didn't know where else to go." He says, pulling his legs underneath himself to make room for the other on the bench. "Craydon's a mess, you know. No one's even talking to me."

"Oh, you--" he starts, raising his hands as if to pacify him as he scrambles up like that. He hadn't meant to disturb him, and his face twists sadly. He has known that things were hard, but something about seeing Luka here like this makes it all come home for him. He shifts forward a few steps, hesitating a beat before sitting down next to him.

He starts to speak, "Ah," but he doesn't know exactly what to say yet. Instead, he reaches up and runs his fingers lightly through his hair, then down his cheek gently. He settles his other hand on his knees, just touching him as if that will make it all better.

"We can change their minds. We'll make it better." He doesn't know if this is what the man needs to hear, but it's the thing that's kept him going all day basically.

"I know. We have to." He sighs at the small comfort of Gyre's touch, but his words are shaky and unsure. He moves his hand over Gyre's thoughtlessly, wishing he could have the confidence to believe everything would work out so easily.

"I hate how he's silenced us." Luka's other hand clenches tightly at his phone as a miserable anger rises within him. "Every second we're prevented from setting this straight is another second someone who believed in me thinks I've betrayed them. I could never. I'm nobody without them."

Luka knows Gyre's equally as powerless to fix the problem as he is at the moment, but it felt cathartic to put his thoughts into words, and anything was better than burying them and stewing in his misery.

Gyre nods very slightly, pausing for a few moments to let his concerns settle in. It hadn't occurred to him that they might be blocked from talking to anyone. He'd only seen the message from the Protector. It's not like he had social media accounts to notice being deleted. He has to turn the thought over a few times, before he takes a deep breath and reaches out to squeeze Luka's wrist softly.

"The Wizard and Nine, they can help us make a video like his. You'll be able to explain all this soon." He pulls away after that, rubbing the other's knee.

"You can't talk to anyone on that thing anymore...?"

The idea stirs an inkling of hope buried deep within Luka. If they could pull off a worldwide broadcast as the Protector had been able to do, it just might be the only thing that could redeem them in the eyes of the world right now.

"That's..." He starts, his expression brightening just the slightest bit. "We have to do that. I want to be able to make our case."

His attention is pulled to his phone as Gyre mentions it, and Luka shakes his head sadly in response.

"The Protector blocked access to our accounts, somehow, so we're not able to post anything online. I can call my family... but it's probably safer for them not to rise to my defense right now." He explains. "Not that anyone would believe them, really."

He feels tension slide out of his body as Luka brightens just that little bit. It's good to see, and he squeezes his knee softly.

"Mmm, maybe you could call them once we've gotten out message out," he murmurs, trying to figure out a way for Luka to keep in contact with the people important to him. His thoughts wander after that though, and he returns to the previous topic.

"I'm trying to find a way to stop him long enough for the rest of you to record something. You and the other knights."

"I'll do that, too." Luka says, quietly. "Garrot's been insisting I call my mom twice a day, and if I stopped for any reason, well, it wouldn't end well."

He can't help but chuckle sadly, thinking about his poor worried mother and all their previous phone calls over the past couple of days. He knew she'd never believe the Protector's claim, at least - in her eyes Luka could do no wrong.

There is a pause as he picks apart the implications of Gyre's next statement, and he lifts his head quizzically.

"What does that mean? Don't do something stupid."

Gyre wrinkles his nose when he mentions Garrot. Garrot forcing him to do something. He pauses a moment here, a few irritated scraps of thoughts drifting through his head. It's not the time to complain about that man though, and so he shakes his head a little, watching Luka curiously.

"You still talk to your mother?" he asks curiously, pausing a beat and then taking a short little breath in. "Oh, that's common for you all, right?"

The second question catches him a little off-guard, and he makes a short amused noise, shaking his head slightly.

"I won't. I'm going to make my power stronger, so I can hold him in place. He won't be able to get to me." Or well. That's the plan anyway. He still hasn't found Eleven to find out how feasible that option is yet, but Luka doesn't need to know that yet.

"Y...es?" Luka's surprised that this, of all things, caught Gyre's attention and he momentarily forgets his troubles. "Well, not everyone does... but it's common. You don't?"

Luka hadn't considered Gyre's relationship with his parents until that moment, but he supposes it makes sense that he wouldn't be in contact with them. He seemed to lead a solitary lifestyle, but at the same time Luka had gotten the impression that community was still an aspect of it.

"How are you going to get stronger? We don't exactly have the Protector around to hand out power anymore." Luka frowns, raising an eyebrow. "And... why does it have to be you? It's dangerous to do something like that alone, no matter how much stronger you get."

"No," he answers automatically, sounding bemused at the idea of keeping in contact with any of his parents. "I haven't met a wild elf who does. Do you... continue to learn from her?" He asks this like it's the only reason he can think of to continue contact with a parent, tilting his head curiously.

For once, this kind of conversation feels easier then this second bit. He's been avoiding trying to explain himself this entire time, hoping that people will just let him do this so that their plan can go off without having to work too hard.

"The Wizard told me to talk to Eleven. She said they might be able to do something. I'm going to find them tonight," he explains the easier part of this, sighing faintly and looking away for the next bit. There's a long pause here, as if he's going to ignore the more complicated part of this question. He takes a deep breath.

"There isn't anyone else," he finally declares. "I have a shield that can keep him away from me. No one else has anything like that anymore. You need to speak to the people. Matilda can't fight. Garrot should stay with you in case I fail. I don't see another option."

"Yeah." Luka confirms, the corners of his mouth curling into a wistful smile. "I don't get to visit as often as I used to, but she always has some wisdom to impart... whether or not I want to hear it."

He can't fault Gyre for not keeping in contact with his parents. Luka himself couldn't wait to be independent of them in his younger years, though he can't imagine never returning to his family at all.

Luka listens intently to Gyre's explanation of his plan, his expression falling into an apprehensive frown.

"Garrot can fight. He can back you up." He says, his hands finding Gyre's at his knee and taking one in his to idly hold. "I don't need him to protect me. Olivia and Haizea are good enough, if it comes down to it."

Gyre tilts his head slightly, trying to understand that smile. The idea of enjoying someone giving advice you don't want or don't need sounds annoying to him, but Luka is smiling to sweetly. He supposes it must be different coming from a parent. He can only imagine it feeling like you're a child again though, and that idea sounds so completely infuriating that he decides to set it to the side for now. He can ask more when there are fewer stakes. After the Protector has been dealt with.

He gently squeezes Luka's hand, reaching up to cover his, engulfing his hand with both of his. He sighs faintly, looking away.

"I... want to talk to him. The Protector. While he's trapped," he admits softly. "And I don't think Garrot can hold himself back long enough for me to do that, if I can even convince him to talk in the first place."

"I want to talk to him too!" Luka insists, just slightly exasperated. "I have a thousand things I've been dying to confront him about. Even before he turned on us like this."

He sighs in resignation, his shoulders relaxing as he exhales a small part of the tension wound up inside him.

"But... my fans are more important than him. I need to reassure them about our loyalties more than I need answers from The Protector." Luka says, though he's not entirely accepted that he can't be in both places at once. "What are you going to say to him, when you do?"

Gyre makes a faint, flustered noise when Luka gets exasperated with him. He sits up straighter, squeezing his hand again, trying to resist jumping in to explain himself.

"I-I want him to talk to everyone," he says quickly. "But if he'll talk to me, I trust him more, to talk to you. Ah, he hates me. So much." He takes one hand away to run a hand through his hair awkwardly. "Does that make sense? I won't do it if my shield isn't strong enough. W-we'll figure something else out then."

He wants this man to approve of his actions, much as he feels strange to admit it to himself. He's pretty sure he knows what he's going to do, unless someone changes the game again, but he would absolutely listen if Luka really objected to this.

"I don't know what I'll say. I want to... talk to him. I want to understand him," he murmurs, sighing faintly. "If he wants to save us now, he should want to save us somewhere else, right?"

He's still... not sure, about this whole plan and it's reflected clearly in his current expression.

"Why do you think he'll be more willing to listen now than before? Now he thinks, or... he says, at least, that you've turned his Princess and Knight against him." Luka asks quietly. He's more concerned and curious than he is combative. "And... how can you be sure your shield will be strong enough?"

"I hope he'll listen if I take away his ability to fight," he says, forcing himself to sound more certain then he feels. It's what the Wizard had told him, and she hadn't been wrong so far about how that man would react.

"I'll talk to Eleven about it. And the Wizard. They'll know how strong it needs to be. If they can't make it strong enough, then I won't do it." Though if it's close, he probably will. He won't say that though, given how unsure Luka already looks about this.

"Maybe he will. What else could he do but listen, then?" Luka says. He's trying to be hopeful despite his wary skepticism of the plan. "Either way, you shouldn't do it alone... maybe one of them can go with you."

He exhales softly, weaving their fingers together idly in a vain attempt to distract himself from the thought of possibly losing another Knight to the Protector's vengeance.

"Have you spoken to the Wizard? About the stuff we learned at the bridge?" He's eager to change the topic, and curious to know if Gyre had gotten any answers that he hadn't yet.

He watches their fingers wind together, mirroring him and sighing as well. He's also thinking about dead Knights. He's already dead and resilient besides. The rest of them seem so much more delicate to him, and he can't stand the idea of them dying. They have lives to return to, children and partners and hobbies. He truly doesn't want any of them to come with him.

He lets it go though, following Luka along to a different subject. They'll have time to figure out logistics for that plan later, when the other Knights are around as well.

"We talked a little," he says, grabbing the back of his own neck with his free hand. "Honestly, I'm not sure I understood a lot of that stuff. She told me to ask that person about a couple things next time I'm there though." He shakes his head a little, feeling decidedly disappointed in admitting that.

And then he brightens as he remembers the one thing he did manage to learn. "Aldyn Malax Tierra, that's the Protector. She said there wasn't anyone that we could contact to stop him."

"You should use that name when you talk to him. Maybe it will remind him who he really is supposed to be."

Learning the Protector's name was interesting, though Luka is unsure that it would get through to him at all. Nothing, it seems, could shake the Protector's will and determination - especially not something as mundane as the Knights learning his name.

The follow-up that there was no one overhead to call on was disheartening, but expected. Their planet was gone and they had no way to signal anyone from here.

"She's the robot, too. That protection unit thing." He adds. "But I guess you know that, now."

He nods softly, returning his free hand to Luka's knee and squeezing both it and his hand.

"Mmhm. She doesn't mind which name we use for her, the Wizard or uh, the other one," he adds thoughtfully as he turns over the idea of calling the Protector by his old name. He decides he's going to try it automatically, but that leaves him wondering how that man is going to respond to a reminder of where he came from.

"Do you think that'll work? Do you think he wants to remember?"

"It's worth a try. If he doesn't want to remember the effect might be even greater, honestly." Luka says, sighing softly.

"We need to employ everything we can to make him come to his senses, even if the experience proves unpleasant for him. It's not going to be easy... the man's totally lost in the sauce." If Luka were in a more pleasant mood, he might laugh at his own words here - but in the moment all he can offer is a brief, disgusted scoff.

"I wonder what it is that made him snap suddenly. I thought he still trusted Olivia and I, at least a little bit."

"Maybe he saw us together," he murmurs, making a low, amused sound in his throat. "We were uh, brazen last night." He brings Luka's hands to his lips, kissing the back of it and then grinning against his skin so he can feel it. He's definitely teasing, trying to keep it as light as he can in the face of all this.

"Or maybe it was the sword..." he muses after that, recalling the blade as it was pulled out of Luka's head. He hopes Twelve wouldn't have done that if it put them in danger though, and........ his thoughts stop there. He rewinds what Luka just said, and clicks his tongue in confusion.

"What is... the sauce?"

"If he watched us... well, that's on him. No one made him do that!" Luka smiles, reveling in the sudden affection. It was, if nothing else, a very easy way to take his mind off of his worries. "But if he couldn't look away? Hey, I get it."

Luka laughs, moving himself closer toward Gyre as he does. His thinking is single-minded, but then Gyre's sudden pause makes Luka stop too. The question takes Luka by surprise and despite his best efforts, he can't help but laugh more.

"I guess, in this case," He explains through a few errant giggles. "It's like when you're in something way too deep. Lost in the sauce."

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure:

Sad boy hours, Open

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