lifeaftr | August Event: The City is at War

AUGUST EVENT: THE CITY IS AT WAR

Who: Everyone!
What: You pick a side, or you pick up the pieces
When: August 16th to August 23rd
Where: Primarily Nastrandir, though also Ensō
Warnings: Violence, injury, forcibly altered mindsets via magical influence, possible character death. Potential (and fully optional) dissociation and identity crises. Potential (and fully optional) spontaneous combustion. Otherwise, tag as you go!

We All Lose in the End
On cue, the recently uncovered...and decidedly faulty merotome shatters on the morning of August 16th. Those close enough may recall an odd popping noise, like a lightbulb exploding, or find a shard of some odd, rubbery substance caught in their hair. The wave that shoots out across both islands barely seems to stir the air, but the aftershocks of its passing are to be felt for the week to come.

Whether or not you noticed the sweeping burst of light as it roared over just about everything, you're bound to hear the loud, wailing sound that starts to emit from all over Nastrandir. It sounds like the world's worst kind of alarm, and it just keeps on going.

That's to say nothing of the automatons rising steadily from the murk, or the fact that you might find that some of your fellow explorers are suddenly seeming a lot more trustworthy...and some of them are seeming a lot less. Maybe you latch onto personal terrors and preexisting grudges to justify the new onset of violence that starts to divide you from some of your fellows...or maybe it just feels right in some unquantifiable sense.

Regardless, those impacted by the merotome will find themselves gravitating towards Nastrindar sooner rather than later. Members of the Red Team are likely to initially head towards the ruins on C4 and D4. The swampy water flooding the island will eventually drive you to seek out more mountainous areas; the need to keep dry will vary from a strong desire to an absolute necessity, depending on the individual. As territorial instincts rear their head, this group will find that the war automatons no longer view them as hostiles. Now, these mechanical killers may even take basic orders, such as watching a certain location, fetching some basic materials, and, of course, upon whom they should aim their primary fire.

Meanwhile, the Blue Team will congregate along the shorelines, striking out inland through any route that keeps them close to a body of water - or in it. More likely to travel and fight in a pair or group, it's unlikely that members of this group will stay from the main party for too long, as their power is largely in numbers. While no automatons accompany them into battle, the waters surrounding and soaking into Nastrandir are their greatest ally, as they are capable of replenishing strength and healing minor wounds. Members of the Blue Team will be capable of continuing the fight for much longer than their Red counterparts, and their affinity with the waters will make them difficult to locate or pursue unless they wish it.

You Don't Get Another Shot
For those more resistant to the effects of this sudden shift will find that they're now unfortunately adrift between two warring factions, potentially with friends on either side. There is hope, however - those previously silent sirens are now blaring constantly, and it's very possible that their destruction could turn the tide against this needless bloodshed. The more of those you break, the looser the grip of this altered mindset will become, and the less hostile the automatons will be.

Keep in mind, however, that while you may feel unaffected, the possibility stands that you've been marked for one side without your knowledge. And though this may prove advantageous to getting through to those that identify you as their own, those that do not may take your attempts to shake their morale badly.

Even violently.

Stick Around and See How It Ends
Thus far, the teams are as follows. If you see any problems, inconsistencies, or wish to change teams, please don't hesitate to contact us! While we're no longer accepting sign-ups to be RNG'd into a team, you can still decide retroactively which side you'd like your character to be situated on, if at all!

RED TEAM	BLUE TEAM
Alexei Dinoia Amaterasu Anthony J. Crowley Asgore Dreemurr Connor Murphy Edward Elric Erika Fisher Jules Dagger Samari Leonard Church Muffet Tim Wright Yukio Okumura Zidane Tribal	2B Alisaie Leveilleur Agent Washington Ben Hargreeves The Drifter Epsilon Héctor Rivera Herbert West Horatio Nullbuilt Kravitz Legion Mollymauk Tealeaf Ren Rin Okumura Steve Rogers

In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Intro
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] August 16th: The merotome breaks, issuing a mind-altering wave; the sirens go off, and definitive sides in a conflict start to form
[ ♆ ] August 23rd: The conflict ends when those who have not been freed from the mind-altering influence either break free or burn to death
[ ♆ ] August 24th: The monthly Storytelling occurs late; characters who have died are revived in time to participate
[ ♆ ] September 4th: Extra time is allotted to those participating in the monthly Storytelling to compensate for the later date, and the Storytelling closes

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He tilts his head when the other man approaches. It's odd - he's not immediately identifiable as belonging to either side. And the name - that's just the means to an end as well. Sort of. It's his - he knows that name belongs to him, but there's no sense of history behind it. Other than some guard on a beach named Steve.

"Yes?" He doesn't brandish the gun but does straighten up a little. Alert. Wary.

The lack of immediate recognition makes Bucky tense. It's subtle, though, the sort of motion you'd have to really be paying attention to to notice, but it's there. He eyes the weapon Steve's holding, because even if he can heal quickly, being shot is something to avoid. He shifts his stance a little, something approaching relaxed, but still ready to fight at any moment.

"You need to come home."

"I am home."

It's not flung toward Bucky in the same way a weapon might be, a verbal grenade meant to trip someone up and give the assailant time to enact their plan. It's just - there. This is his home, this little strip of beach, and his tone of voice suggests that Bucky ought to know that.

It might not be intended to hurt, but the hurt washes plainly across his face just the same. He rears back like he's been struck, though Bucky is nothing if not stubborn. He doesn't retreat.

He can appreciate the irony. Not so long ago, Steve was yelling at him to remember things HYDRA had forced him to forget. "Yeah? Where do you sleep? Don't tell me it's out in the open. Even when I was at my most desperate, I found a place inside to sleep."

And the hurt ricochets back onto Steve, causing something to falter - just for a split second - in his expression. Something about the other man experiencing any sort of grief just isn't right, and he takes a step forward as himself, concern just as plainly on his face.

Until another round of claxons start, and the original personality is submerged beneath the foot soldier again. "I sleep here." Almost casual, except for the lack of any sort of tone. His voice is almost as blank as his gaze.

Bucky clenches his jaw, working it. The wheels are turning in his head, trying to figure out how he would have reacted, when in the grips of HYDRA. He tips his head in consideration. "But it's wet," he says, indicating that the tide almost certainly makes it unpleasant. Not to mention exposed.

"Where do you eat?"

"Food is irrelevant," He opines after a moment of thinking. Surely he has eaten before, some little voice inside his head insists that's right, but as long as the sirens are going, the important thing is guarding the beach. Guarding the boats. If he eats or doesn't eat is beside the point.

Steve straightens up, his expression hardening. Clearly this guy is trying to trick him somehow. "Why are you here?" Because 'bring you home' will go in one ear and straight out the other.

Bucky chooses to ignore the first statement for the time being, because in the short term, Steve is technically correct. He knows far more than he wishes about just how long the human body can survive without needing to eat. Damn these sirens, maybe it's possible to drag Steve away from the noise, though he's clearly not going to come willingly.

Bucky shrugs. "I was thinking of offering those fighting food and water," he lies.

What he needs is to get Steve's guard down. He doesn't want to fight his best friend, but when it comes down to it...

His stance adjusts, a little more relaxed, far less like a fighter. "A body can only last a couple of days without water."

Drag away? Maybe. It depends on how strong that arm still is. It broke Steve's face beautifully in DC. Could be easier just to knock him unconscious - or wrestle the gun away and shoot him with it. He's not completely invincible.

"Oh?" That makes a little sense. He's not part of the other team, because Steve would already know that. (Why he'd know that is something that he's trying very hard not to think about. The noise helps.) "I guess I can drink what's here if necessary."

Not that it's the most hygenic solution.

It's true. His arm could hurt like hell, should he choose to use it. But right now, he doesn't want to do that, if he can avoid it. The idea of hurting Steve is....

"You don't want to drink salt water," Bucky says carefully. even though he's not so sure Steve would notice ill effects as he is right now. "It'll kill you faster than not drinking at all." He knows he's not likely to get Steve to come further inland, but he's honestly not sure what to do.

Steve was the master strategist, not him.

Well, hurting Steve was something a good portion of Brooklyn's male population did back in the day, so maybe it'd be more like reviving an old pastime. Just on the wrong side of it. Which - yeah, Buck probably wouldn't go along with that even if Steve was being a little shit on purpose.

"I'm fine as I am now," He insists, although the inner fighter is starting to get restless. "Are you here to join the cause?" Hey, a lowly soldier can hope.

He never did. Yelled at Steve after the fact every single time, but even at his angriest, Bucky would never have dreamed of hurting Steve. Which makes the prospect of doing so now all the more bitterly ironic.

"Maybe," Bucky says, hoping the answer isn't too vague, that maybe he can get Steve to drop his guard enough to...

Well. He'll understand once he's himself again. Probably. "What did the other side do to you guys?"

He opens his mouth promptly to tell Bucky exactly what the other side has done, but another rolling peal has him distracted again, and there's something decisive in his expression when the moment passes.

He lifts the weapon, swinging it directly in Bucky's direction.

"You know what you did."

Okay, so maybe there's an even bigger problem here. Maybe it can be solved by repeated punches to the face.

It's definitely a problem, and one that Bucky reacts to quickly. Using his left arm as a shield, he does his best to sidestep around the brandished weapon, aiming to charge at Steve. The quicker he can knock his friend flat, the quicker he can move them both out of range of the siren.

He'll apologize later.

August Event: The City is at War

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