[OPEN] it happens every night / I watch my world ignite

[longwei2go]

WHO: "Yin" Longwei and you!
WHERE: around town
WHEN: throughout October's event days
WHAT: fog stuff, nightmare sharing, and other associated spoopiness
WARNINGS: strong language, violence, probably talk of losing limbs, various trauma, basically this will be a very Heavy log so be ready for that and let me know if you need me to warn for or avoid anything

[ weeks of awkward dreams, of waking up in a cold sweat, and then slogging through work without being fully rested was taking its toll on her. tonight's goal had been for Yin to work her way into a warm bed for the night. this bar was typically a good place to accomplish that because she wasn't new around here and people knew her well enough not to be too weirded out about her arm (one way or another).

that plan went right out the window when he started advancing on her. Yin burst out the front door, nearly taking it right off the hinges in the sheer panic of her escape. the tall, dark figure she was trying to get away from ran out of the alley and down the street after her. when she looked back, she swore loudly, because there's no way someone could have made it all the way around the building that fast. even though, no matter how fast either of them ran, he never seemed to catch up but she also made zero headway into outrunning him.

the foggy air seemed to choke her. Yin's lungs burned. she ducked around a corner, leaning against the wall, for a moment not caring if that menacing stranger caught up with her. every part of her ached. her stump more so than usual. she thought that if he came around next, she'd brace herself and confront him. get all this over with.

when sounds of movement approached Yin finally threw herself back out from behind cover, her cyborg arm up and poised to strike — ] Yaaaaaaah!


((OOC: there's many options here for the fog business! either someone was running right along after her, or in the same direction, and should probably stop, duck, or block that fist from hitting them. she'll redirect her punch at the last moment, don't worry! (Unless you want someone to get hit be my guest.) or, no one is there, and they came up upon Yin from another angle. or they're running from their own fog-created nightmare. I'll roll with anything! but the man pursuing Yin, who will come back later, cannot be harmed so be ready for that.

shared nightmare stuff is a lot more draining for me so I'm gonna go with people I plot with but it's not too late to get in on that if you're interested!))

Comments

Fog etc

[long_live_the_queen]

[The sound of footsteps that weren't there were by now had started to become normal in this fog. Normal ones, ones too big to be a person, ones accompanied by the clanking and clicks of metal. As long as they stayed away, flickering ghosts in her peripheral vision, it was...not fine. Lucy's paranoia was bad enough.

But she couldn't just stay in the house all day without winding herself up even more severely. And despite her best efforts, she still ended up with shifts that let out right into the fog.

Lucy stalked to where she knew the bus stop was, staying on the sidewalk where there were more questionably useful lights. There was a tumble of crates and pallets she needed to skirt around and metal coming at her face—]

Fuck!

[Lucy launched herself back, vectors thrumming as they scraped lines into the pavement and smacking into the crates, making the pile wobble precariously. The fog made the spectral hands especially easy to see.]

[longwei2go]

[ the footsteps were a lie. at least, the ones that Yin thought were hot on her own heels. her hand struck nothing and she nearly whirled herself dizzy in whiffing at the air. though she momentarily lost track of where she had been running from, or to, she knew that the loud crashing sounds were not too far away.

given the circumstances, the smart move was to run the opposite direction. so long as her legs could still carry her, anyway.

but that was a voice. a voice that was familiar, and did not belong to the dark figure that Yin couldn't see anywhere.

so she stormed over in the direction of that other tussle, hands tense and ready to pound something if it needed it. ] Who's there!?

[long_live_the_queen]

[The thrum in the foggy air got louder and louder as Yin approached, until—

—a barrier was in the way, invisible but there, holding her back.

Whoever was beyond it had Opinions about this whole situation.]

Who does it sound like?!

[Yep. Lucy definitely knew that voice. She also almost just fell on her ass, but.]

[longwei2go]

Luc—!? [ Yin nearly ran into that headlong but bounced back more annoyed than harmed. ] The fuck? What's going on?!

[long_live_the_queen]

[The shield lingered a moment, and then disappeared once there was no longer pressure up against it.]

It's the stupid fog!

[Neither of them was moving, it sounded like. So where were those footsteps coming from? Those...footsteps that didn't sound like footsteps. They were too big.

Something like a car's headlights began to gleam through the mist—three of them, set in a triangle. The distant lights swept through the fog, like it was looking for something.]

[longwei2go]

Hang on, I'm gonna... [ Yin reached out with her right hand, figuring it was safer to try to give whatever this was a knock or two without there being a risk of losing flesh.

then she reared back like she was going to punch it hard instead but stopped when the lights appeared. then, when they moved, she pointed. ] —what the hell is that?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy jerked her head back from Yin—she knew what winding up for a punch looked like, even with the fog blurring the edges of things. But the blow didn't land.

She snapped her head to where Yin was pointing, shoulders bristling.]

Do you want it to find us—?!

[It was a bit too late for that.

The beams of light swept across them, burning some of the fog away—and stayed, locking onto the girls. Whatever it was approached, a strange resonant hum to its steps. There was no grinding of wheels—it didn't have any.

A machine stepped through the curls of mist, oblong, metallic, larger than a flatbed truck. It seemed to be floating at first glance—suspended on spectral hands and arms much like Lucy's, but twenty times the size.]

[longwei2go]

Well?? If it has lights maybe it'll help!

[ though the closer that Thing approached and the more Yin got sight of all the oddness surrounding it, the less sure she sounded of herself. ] — yeah, okay, maybe not.

Run. We should definitely run.

[long_live_the_queen]

It's not here to help us! [Lucy said, her own vectors distorting the fog around her. She was backing up too, but with the brick wall behind them they'd need somewhere else to run—

From above the trio of headlights, a fifth ghostly arm appeared. It stretched much farther than Lucy's power could reach, bending in the middle like an elbow—and swiped across thirty feet of sidewalk in front of it, like it was shooing away mildly annoying insects.

Lucy turned her vectors against the hand, and they didn't...work. Nothing happened. The resonant hum dimmed and flickered out of Lucy's mind, but the hand kept going, catching against her side and bowling Lucy off of her feet.]

[me_matey]

-WHAM

The blow crashed into May's raised arms, blocking the strike. But the effects were impossible to not notice, with the smaller girl pushed back a considerable distance, her strength enough to absorb the blow, but not keep her own balance, rolling back and letting out a few curse words.-

God DAMN Yin, what the hell was that?!

[longwei2go]

[ the voice is what breaks Yin out of her trance-like anger and fear just a moment too late. her limbs shake from all this adrenaline on a (mostly) empty stomach and she nearly loses her balance following through on that punch. ]

Jesus fuck— May!
Don't just!
You scared me!

[me_matey]

Scared YOU? What about me?! -May felt a need to buck up, all the tension and anxious feelings bubbling over, but she still had enough sense to just growl and throw a punch at a wall instead, leaving a small dent.-

Sorry...

[longwei2go]

[ Yin half-started a number of replies to that but just cut herself off by spinning around and making sure that someone, or something, wasn't sneaking up on them.

once she was reasonably sure, she let herself collapse back against the wall and catch her breath. ]

What. Are. You doing. Out. Here?

[me_matey]

What's with the third degree? I could ask YOU the same question! -All she had on her was her anchor and a pretty large backpack... Given it was May, Yin had every reason to be suspicious that the pack had been stuffed with ill gotten gains, taking advantage of the fog, but May really hoped she was just going to not bring it up.-

[longwei2go]

[ honestly? it's the anchor that gets Yin's attention second. the first being — ] I.... just ran from a bar, where some fucking CREEP, was chasing me!

[ that left out a few important details. Yin may feel more sober now after that run but there's still a few tells that she had been a few drinks on her way toward a nightcap by the time shit hit the fan.

her yelling was directed outward more. too much confidence now. ] Heh. I'd like to see that fuckboy step up now that you're here...

[me_matey]

Chased by a creep? -Already, her voice seemed to quiet, hushed in her words, and the color drained from her face as she stepped in to close the distance between them, whispering.-

... Wait wait wait, was he in, like, some weird bed mech thing?

[longwei2go]

[ Yin gave May the weirdest look. ] A what? No! He was just — he had a shotgun I think.

Or a sword. [ her brain filled in "or maybe both" but that seemed beyond ridiculous so Yin left it out. ] What's this about a bed mech?

for Vera

[longwei2go]

[ Yin did not want to be out here at night. she didn't want to be anywhere near here at all. but when the bus she was on broke down and kicked her off a fair distance from her house, this was the closest apartment in running distance.

she didn't see that creep in the fog, but she felt those hidden eyes burning holes into the back of her neck. with desperation and the need to get to cover overriding any sense of shame, Yin banged on Vera's apartment door. first with her normal fist, then her metal one. ]

Yo! Wake up! Hey! [ the banging intensifies along with the volume of her voice. ] Excuse me, do you have a few minutes to talk about our lord and savior Jesus fucKING CHRIST, OPEN THE DOOR, WEISS!

[heiroglyphs]

[Vera had finally escaped from her own fog horrors, and had planned on locking herself away until this madness blew over. Now there's some aggressive knocking at the door, and someone yelling that sounds like... Yin?

Grabbing Myrtenaster for safety, the heiress tiptoes to her front door, cracking it just enough to peek through.]

Yin...? How did you even get up here?

[longwei2go]

[ she immediately jammed her fingers in the gap and clamped down on the frame. ] I ran! Now, open, up. [ Yin sucked in a breath. despite the literal fire in her eyes, her look turned resigned for a brief moment. ] Please.

[heiroglyphs]

[Vera jumps as her friend's hand pries open the door, along with the burning red eyes, it made for quite the sight. Still, Vera's hardly in the right state of mind to argue right now, so she backs away and lets the door swing open.]

[longwei2go]

[ once in, Yin slams it shut behind her and props her back against it. it's obvious that she's all but run herself ragged the way she slides down until she's sitting cross-legged on the floor, panting. ]

Lock it. Shut the blinds. [ she didn't even check if they were already. ] Don't. Answer for anyone. Got it? [ and now, adrenaline rush aside, her body starts to shake. ]

[heiroglyphs]

Okay.

[Vera claps twice, prompting the electric shutters to close in the apartment and the dim evening lights to turn on. Now she'll just... gently clamber over the taller girl to lock the deadbolt on the front door.]

Yin, what happened out there? Are you okay?

[longwei2go]

I'm — [ the mood lighting is familiar. Yin frowns, but it can't be helped that she remembers it all given where she is.

pushing all that aside, Yin tries to calm herself enough to get her eyes to fade to their "normal" color. ] I'm fine. There's just ... some asshole was chasing me with a sword in the fog. It's not the fist time. Your place was just the closest.

[ in some measure of "close" considering the lengths she went through to reach this floor. ]

[heiroglyphs]

[You just wanted comfort from the tiny girl you think is cute. It's okay to admit it, Yin.]

...You too? [She exhales, dropping to her knees beside her.] Mine had a chainsaw.