If I can't undo what's been done

[hellofishies]

WHO: Arkady + OTA!!
WHAT: Arkady can see the pat and future and other things when she wants to and she finally wants to! So if your character is new or you haven't been able to find a way to get your character some plot information, this could be for you!
WHERE: Dorms rooftop, Central Square Park, wandering streets at night
WHEN: Different times throughout December, feel free to specify a date/time you want.
WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption, discussion of violence and murder, discussion of overdosing, drugs, existential crisis???



A. ROOFTOPS

Hank said not to blame herself. Not to beat herself up over could have been. But he doesn't know. Nobody knows. That's the problem when you don't really talk about yourself. Nobody really understands. There's so much she can do. Or should be able to do. Some things are all mucked up here. Teleporting has limits. It shouldn't. Projecting has limits. It shouldn't either. Back home she's pretty sure there's nothing she can't do. Especially together. Though she's not together here. It's just her. A thought she refuses to entertain for long.

"Work to be done." The sun's setting and so far she's been lucky enough to not run into people up here. She has her legs dangling off the side of the roof with her FreakAngels jacket crumpled up next to her. There's a bottle of alcohol next to her that's only half gone so far. "I haven't let myself look but it's time." Her eyes close and when she opens them back up they're glowing a bright white.

Images flash inside her mind. A man? Two men. The same man twice. Another person. A bot? Yes. A bot. Two more. Four more. Five? There's so much fear inside the man. A name. T? Travis. He's so scared. Oh no, oh...he's so so scared. The bots move to him and they start to--

Oh. Arkady's expression twists as her mind shows her the bots circle the man and then putting their hands around his arms, legs, and head. They pull like it's nothing. Nothing at all to them. They keep pulling, ripping his limbs off while he screams and screams. There's blood, so much blood, so so much and she wants to stop looking but she can't. There's flashes of other people being ripped apart. Limbs. Blood.

Finally she screams out loud and her eyes turn back to their normal violet hue.

"Is this how they do it...?" There's tears coming down her face as she reaches for the bottle next to her. "We're all super fucked."

A. WALKING AROUND THE STREETS

For once Arkady's got her jacket pulled tightly around her. It's not that it's cold. It's more that she's cold. It's getting worse. That much she's noticing the more she looks with her abilities. And that's what she's doing. She's walking around the streets in the afternoon and she's looking. Sometimes when she walks by someone her eyes glow briefly as she slips into their mind and hits the wall. It doesn't hurt as much as it did that first time. That's probably not good that she's getting used to the feel. It's like hitting your head against a steel wall over and over. At first it's shocking and it hurts. Her nose bled that first time. Now it's just numb and...scary.

She's scared. She pulls the jacket around her tighter as the realization hits her. Scared. A tiny laugh escapes her lips as she passes by another person that has the wall feel. It's a nervous laugh. How many people that have been brought here like her know about this? How many people realize the number of citizens that are replacements? The thoughts are weighing on her and she's not really paying attention as she walks and then bumps directly into someone with her glowing eyes.

"Oh, you're not--" she cuts herself off before shes says that they're not a replacement. "Sorry." She blinks, her eyes returning to violet, and then she smiles at the person. "It's good you're you. Stay you!"

A. CENTRAL SQUARE PARK- NIGHT

It's night when she goes to the park. Every time she's passed by it recently she's felt something off. Something wrong about it. A chill down her spine. There's whispering sometimes. Or she thinks there is. Maybe it's just something in her head. It's hard to tell all the time. Maybe she's really actually going crazy this time. Or maybe there's something there. Or something will be there? She's been getting bits and pieces for days. Or maybe weeks. She's so bad with time sometimes. It all blurs together. Answers won't come from outside the park though.

"Time to go in." She says to herself, holding on tightly to a bottle of vodka she's brought with her just in case. Just in case what? Sometimes it's overwhelming. When she steps into the park it's dark. Death. It's heavy with death and bad. Bad bad things. She moves further in and eventually just plops herself down on the ground without any concern for getting dirty. Or if anyone else is around to watch a bald girl with a bottle of vodka sit down in the center of the park.

One leg folds over the other, her eyes start to glow, and then she opens up to what there is in the park.

"I can't die now. Not yet. There's so much I still have to do. I have tot ell him I loved him." It's a voice she doesn't know but the voice is so frightened.

"I don't want to die like this. Please, please gods don't let it go like this." Another. Just as panicked. Just as scared.

"Who knew it'd end like this. I never imagined this would be how it all ends..." Defeat. That's all there is in that voice.

There's tears. So many tears. "Why is this happening? Why are you doing this to us?" The voice is pleading. Desperate. "Why?"

"No, no, please, please..." there's more begging. Invoking gods names that she doesn't recognize. Pleading. Death. Death is coming. Or it came. Or both. Why is this happening? What's happening to them?

Tears start to stream down Arkady's face and she chugs half the bottle of vodka she has with her and then lets out a scream. She can't help herself. It's anger and sadness all in one. She pushes a hand out and a force of telekinetic energy smashes a nearby tree.

"Sorry, tree. You didn't do anything," she says with a frown on her face. Anger doesn't usually get the best of her like this. Her eyes start to glow again and she reaches out towards the tree in an attempt to put it back together. The pieces move and push together leaving it almost like nothings happened to it at all.

"There. At least I can fix that." Even though it looks like they can't fix anything else here.

[ooc: ping me on discord at selkie#4018 if there's a different scenario you want to play out! If your character has psychic abilities or is able to sense things feel free to have them pick up on the spike of power. ]

Comments

A. CENTRAL SQUARE PARK- NIGHT

[be_notorious]

Drifter's followed his usual scavenging nature through the city, and the park is devoid of anything useful. The trees are utterly normal, the ground is well manicured. The lights are all symmetrically placed and lit in nighttime brilliance. It's absurd normalcy, a false Golden Age.

No one's told him what's going on, but he doesn't have to be told to know this place is eerie and wrong.

He hears the scream, the splintering of wood, and like a fool he heads towards the sound in curiosity rather than doing the well-advised thing of moving away. A bad sign but god, this city is as boring as it is creepy. He wants something interesting!

And there's a nice-looking skinny bald lady healing a tree.

He leans against a tree and waits as she heals it, just watching the show at first. Then clears his throat. "Sounds like you're havin' a night, Sister. You want a drinkin' buddy or are you plannin' on takin' out your frustrations on more of the flora."

He gestures loosely towards Arkady. "You can call me 'Drifter', by the way."

[hellofishies]

"The flora didn't deserve it." There's a guilty hint to her tone, as if she really does feel bad for having hurt the tree. Hurt had enough of a hold on this place. She shouldn't have added more to it, even if it was an accident born of frustration.

"You shouldn't be here, sweets, this place is wrong." He knows that though, at least she gets that feeling from him. He probably knows as much as anyone knows. There's more she should know. If only she could find it and not just find the whispers. Was that going to be coming? She hakes her head as if it might shake the whispers that were echoing out of her mind. Nothing works that way though and the voices still linger. This place is so dark and heavy.

"Do you have more to drink? I think we need more if we stay here." She will at least. Somewhere among the other voices she could hear Miki chastising her for using this to cope. Luckily, Miki's not really here to say too much. "But I never mind company." She offers him the weakest of smiles. "Hello, Drifter. I'm Arkady." There's a forced peppy quality to her introduction. Usually she's better at hiding her negative emotions but this place has her all mixed up inside.

[be_notorious]

"Well ain't you the one sweet as honey for callin' an old sourpuss like me that. Don't worry, Sister. I'm from the kinda place that collects a lotta wrong in it here and there." Though it has him looking around. He pushes away from the tree, though, curious.

Like when he was with Jane, the voices start again for him. Not the ones from the park, the other ones, the hungry ones, the quiet whisper for attention.

He wishes that damn thing would shut the hell up! If it weren't for that one single tagalong, he'd finally have some peace and damned quiet. But the fact it's chattering verifies what she says. This is a bad place.

He holds out his hand, still a little greasy from the gunmetal he was working with, but still an offer to help lead her out. "Lets go have this conversation where the moods'll a little lighter, huh darlin'?"

[hellofishies]

"You don't seem like a sourpuss," she lets out a halfhearted giggle. Considering the somber mood she's been in, it's actually somewhat impressive she manages it at all. As he moves towards her she tilts her head curiously as a strange feeling pricks at her again. Bad. For a second she wonders if it's coming from him, but quickly she stifles those thoughts. This place is the bad place. Without further hesitation on her part she takes his hand and hops up.

"Okay," and she immediately starts to walk out of the park, still holding onto his hand. "The mood is dark everywhere here. Worse here. But everywhere is getting dark. People should be more worried than they are." Sure, there are plenty of people who do recognize how much they should worry about this place. It seems like there's an equal amount of people who just don't get it though. Or aren't trying to get it. Somewhere it occurs to Arkady that maybe it's just they don't want to get it. Maybe they're normal people and they don't want to think about the big implications of the bad here. Or maybe they're just stupid.

[be_notorious]

"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta to keep people's energy up, you know? You let the world get dreary around you, they start givin' up. And there's nothin' worse in the world than someone who's given up."

He doesn't let her go, just because, hell, if someone's gonna keep touching him and don't have ill intent, he's happy for the contact. Been a long while since he's had so many people around with friendly hands.

"The people of this city, you mean? There is somethin' funny about 'em. Like they don't mind bein' watched all the time. Me? I went out to the far reaches of space to avoid that kinda thing." He rambles, because he's one of the people that doesn't know yet.

walking around the streets

[fuzzbeat]

[ As she walks around, getting to know the city, Harriet pays more attention to the buildings and shops than to the people. It reminds her of New York in some ways. Crowded, bright, more than a little messy. She should feel right at home except for how she's acutely aware that she's not.

She's also aware, all of a sudden, that she needs to pay better attention to her surroundings, because she just bumped into someone and suddenly they're talking and it's... not making a whole lot of sense, even if Harriet can understand much more easily than before. ]

Thank you...? [ Her face conveys her confusion as she signs. That's another thing. People here understand sign, even if they don't sign back. Harriet doesn't mind that, even though she's curious as to how it's possible. ] Are you okay? You were kind of in a daze.

[hellofishies]

Oh. [ The signing isn't something Arkady is overly familiar with. It's interesting that she just understands though. Though, even if this place didn't have some way of making them all understand each other she probably still could. There's something a bit uncomfortable about this place doing it for her. Another thing to add to her list of reasons she doesn't like it here.

She tries to give a smile but barely manages something that doesn't look like she's forcing it. At least she's trying though? ]

Yes, I'm okay. [ No, she's really not. But little white lies are familiar to her at this point. ] I was just trying to figure it all out. How many people are different. [ But she really shouldn't just be saying that and she looks down quickly. ]

[fuzzbeat]

[ Right, first off, that smiles gives away that the girl is not okay, and second, what. ]

That sounds like quite a project. [ Tell her more tell her more. ] Would you like some tea or something? I'm new here, and I'd really like the company if you can spare the time.

[ One needs allies in strange new places, and also, Harriet wants to be sure the girl is at least looking steadier before she leaves her on her own. ]

I'm Harriet.

[hellofishies]

[ The sad part is that after her last accident, Arkady makes more sense than she used to. This is more sense than she used to. It's not a fact that's lost on her. She knows she's not always there and not always clear. ]

Projects are what I'm supposed to do. I experiment and test. We all have roles. [ She inclines her head slightly and gives a lopsided smile. In her world that's the role she took on: the one to experiment with the powers they'd been born with. She made projects for herself to test what the limits might be. Here it's slightly different but the same idea. ]

Welcome to Dualis, don't trust anything. [ There's nothing threatening about her mannerisms with the statement. It's presented as a fact more than a warning. ] Would the tea have vodka? [ She probably doesn't need more vodka. And maybe she's just kidding anyway. ] I never mind company though. It gets lonely here.

[fuzzbeat]

[ "We all have roles" sends a chill down Harriet's spine, because "supposed to" speaks of orders handed down and no choices being allowed. It's everything she hates and part of what she works against back home. (Maybe, if she were psychic, it wouldn't be so chilling a thought.) ]

Got it. [ She'd kind of assumed she shouldn't trust Dualis or its government, but confirmation is always nice. ] It can have vodka if you want. God knows I wouldn't mind some.

[ She shrugs. It's always A Day when she ends up in another world. ]

No need to be lonely right now, but I do need help finding a place to have spiked tea.

a

[blitzcheer]

He shouldn't be going up to the rooftop, is the thing. Tidus tells himself each time to not go, to find a new spot for fresh air. But the dorm roof is usually quiet, it’s private, the air is nice, and even if it always hurts for a while, he somehow has yet to convince himself to stop.

Except there’s someone up here this time, when Tidus takes an initial scan of the roof, closing the door behind him. Someone he can only see the back of and the familiar sight of a bottle beside them, and really, he isn’t surprised.

'Is this how they do it...? We're all super fucked.'

“There’s always a chance even at the very end, isn’t there?” They could be speaking about anything, but Tidus pipes up anyway--a comment to lighten their mood, because the scene--her scene--from where he stands looks hopeless, and it’s a natural response.

Not that she may be referencing how Tidus decides to take it himself (everyone there in the city, the robots, the death), but that’s what happens when you interrupt someone brooding on their own.

[hellofishies]

The sound of an unfamiliar voice causes her to turn around. There are tears welled up in her violet eyes that she tries to brush away as she looks at Tidus and tilts her head. There's something slightly upsetting to her about someone seeing her like this. Usually she tries to be bright smiling face when everything is all sorts of fucked up. It's the role she gave herself. She explores their powers and she tries to cheer everyone else up. But in this place she's all by herself and it's a bit overwhelming. Especially with what she just saw.

His words ring in her mind for a second. Do they actually have a chance if this is what they're facing? If she was home, if she was with the others like her, then she would say yes. They can do anything together. But with the people here? She's not so sure. But she forces a smile and hopes that it doesn't completely betray her fears.

"I usually think so. I thought we could fix the world back home after we broke it. I think we did." She's still a bit off. Like her mind isn't quite there completely yet. She focuses in on Tidus though and then shakes her head. Everything starts to clear up a bit more, come into focus, and she frowns slightly. "But this is different. This place has very bad things happening in it and not everyone understands how bad."

[blitzcheer]

The only problem with the smile is that it's one Tidus has seen on different faces to know what it means, tells more now than it hides. He knows too that it’s best to just answer with a smile, and does, one small but acknowledging. He won’t address the tears, it’s not kind to, but he settles on her words, looking up to the sky as he lets his feet take one or two idle, slow steps.

“No…” An agreement--no, they don’t understand how bad. “I can’t say I know anything, and everything I do hear, it’s bad. Sounds like if they really wanted, we could be done with like that.” He snaps his fingers, then falls silent a moment, glancing at her before letting his head drop. “I don’t know if I can compare it to anything back home, really."

As bad as it was, this was its own beast. But Tidus lifts his chin back up, looks over again. “But it also sounds like, do something or don't, with one, at least you tried, right? You won’t find out anything if you don't.” He raises his hands, gesturing for emphasis. “You have to try, even if everything’s super fucked. More than you could’ve imagined. What else can you do?”

What else can they do, but--stop? And he can't see it. He can't imagine Hank doing that. There are plenty of people who won't do that.

"Just... some of us are gonna be better at doing something than others."

[hellofishies]

"We could. They've done that to some people. They plucked them apart like a flower, petal by petal, all at once, and then something else took their spot. And nobody noticed that something else took their spot." There's more urgency and a hint of distress in that last sentence. Substantially more than she usually would have let slip into her voice when talking with someone she doesn't know. Or with anyone at all. All of the information is a bit more than she usually would allow herself to let out. Kirk told her not to tell people about the things she saw. It freaks people out he says, or it just makes people angry.

She moves her legs over the side of the building and swings them back and forth.

"That's what I'm doing. Trying. I didn't want to at first," or didn't think she needed to. At first she thought pushing her powers here wasn't completely necessary. There's clearly more going on that people realize, but it wasn't overtly threatening. Not until the roboclones. That's something that had left her more shaken that she's told anyone. Or plans to tell anyone. That plus her increasing conversations with Hank. He's someone that made her realize there's a lot to find about what's going on here.

"I think everyone can do something. You're right. They just have to try. And want to help. I want to help."

[blitzcheer]

It’s not that the description doesn’t bother Tidus, but he knows: he knows too personally how easily it is to take any of them, and the distress she says it with only makes the reality of it all the more true. As if he needed it to be more real.

As if any of them needed it.

“I mean, I didn’t really think I could do anything.” Does he now, still? Not really. But Tidus lies better with his voice, and it’s not completely one when he says, giving her an encouraging--if small--smile. “But someone gave me hope. Hope can get you through a lot.”

Hope to at least help one person. That’s enough for him. Tidus approaches her to cut some of the distance between them, nods to the free space of the wall.

“Mind if I join you?”

walking around the streets

[final7thheaven]

Admittedly, Tifa is on her way back to the dorms for the night, after closing up the bar, and she's not paying the best of attention to everyone around her. She has a lot on her mind, a lot that keeps swimming around in her head until she can't really make sense of it. So she might be just as much at fault as the person she literally runs into.

"Oh! Sorry," she apologizes, taking a step back to make sure the other person isn't hurt. "Guess I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?"

[hellofishies]

"Neither was I. Or I was but not here." She was paying attention to minds around her and not to the actual people walking by. It's careless to walk down the street that way, but it's something she felt she needed to do. Mostly for herself, to see just how many people weren't the same anymore.

"You didn't bother me." It's a careful way to not answer if she is or isn't okay. She does offer a smile though, though it's strained. "It was mostly my fault I think."

[final7thheaven]

As far as Tifa is concerned, they're both at fault. Both were buried in their thoughts and weren't watching where they were going or who was around. Tifa waves away the apology. Her caretaker instincts are perking up just by looking at the other person. 

"I'm Tifa," she offers. "There's a lot to think about in this city, I think. Some you don't recognize until later." 

It's a careful bridge, laid between them with steady hands in the hopes that Arkady will feel comfortable enough to offer even a little piece of what's bothering her.

[hellofishies]

"Arkady. It's nice to meet you Tifa." She offers a smile but there's definite hesitation in it that might not be there in another situation.

"There's a lot we didn't recognize." Especially herself here. "People aren't right anymore." Did other people know? Or have they noticed yet?

[final7thheaven]

Those words are startlingly familiar and rather haunting, given the murderbots the other month. Tifa hesitates. They're out in the open right now and there's no telling who or what might overhear out here. But if she can convince Arkady to come with her to the bar, they'll have a slightly more private space to talk. No iterations wandering around her bar, at least. 

"Things do seem to have shifted," Tifa agrees carefully. "Are you hungry or thirsty? My bar isn't far from here. Maybe we could talk over drinks."

It's a casual offer, something not meant to seem like anything at face value, but underneath there's a hidden offer of somewhere more safe to talk than the open cityscape where they are now.

A. Rooftops

[chaosvessel]

It's something of a miracle they haven't run into one another up here, but tonight is a night for changing things, it would seem. The very nature of the city was overwhelming, oppressive even, especially to someone so easily overwhelmed by other people, and so he'd retreated to the rooftops only find he wasn't alone. The sun was just sliding beneath the horizon and it casts a glow upon Arkady's skin that keeps him from interrupting her.

He watches with a growing panic as she reacts to whatever her glowing eyes are seeing, but he doesn't move to intervene, not until she screams, and then he reacts all at once, moving to her side, but not reaching out. Instead he quietly overs, vibrating with a nervous sort of tension, frowning.

"...Arkady?"

[hellofishies]

"They ripped him apart! Five of them and they pulled them off like a doll! Like the dolls that hang from the jacket, that's what they do when they change places." Her voice is shaking and she's speaking swiftly. The words all jumble up as tears well up in her eyes and roll down her face. That's what they want to do to all of them, isn't it? They want to rip them apart and then take their place. But why? And is it easier for the robots to replicate the people who were native to this place? When her robot clone at attacked she had noted that it wasn't complete yet. At the time she had been extremely grateful that it just seemed like a surface copy without her abilities. Is the Head trying to figure out how to replicate powers too? Is the goal perfect copies? Is it easier to replicate normal humans or easier to replicate the people that are supposed to be here? There's no answers.

"There's no answers. Just that. They've done it to a bunch of people too I think! I don't want to see it." She wishes she could take back having looked. Now that's burning in her mind, the knowledge and the images of someone getting ripped up and then replaced like that. It's not the first time she's seen something visceral. She's done things like that to other people. But the questions are what's really swallowing her up. The questions and the knowledge that things are much worse than she had really been allowing herself to think about.

[chaosvessel]

Her words were difficult to follow, but he gathered the gist. It was more than foreboding. It was sickening, if what her jumbled ramblings suggested were true: that the robots they'd fought were somehow part of a plan to change places with the rest of them. He didn't know what to do about the situation save telling someone, but who? In the end, it didn't matter where they went with this information. It had to go somewhere, and something had to be done about it, but in this moment, there was only one thing he could think to do.

He moved to her side and and moved an arm around her thin shoulders, pulling her into an awkward but comforting embrace. He didn't say anything, not trusting his words to be the right ones. Instead, he stood there, a quiet but defiant protector. If he could help it, nothing would harm her, so long as he still commanded his faculties.

[hellofishies]

It was surprising to have him pull her in like that. Usually he's distant and hesitant. Awkward. This was awkward too in it's own way, but it's not bad. In fact she takes a great deal of comfort in it, throwing her arms around him and crying quietly into his chest for a few minutes. The sobs are soft and clearly ones that she's trying to fight back. They come out in brief bursts only to be stiffed back by her vain attempts to not sob in front of anyone. Truth be told she kept her tears back in front of the other FreakAngels for the most part. Perhaps it's unfair of her to hide so much of herself from others, but it's the path she decided on and it's the thing she's gotten the most accustomed to doing. Be cheerful for others and forgo her own emotions. It's just easier.

Another few moments of silence go by as she tries to reign the feelings of distress and fear that overwhelmed her so completely after what she saw. Finally she pushes away for him and wipes her hand across her face trying to push the tears back that way.

"I got you all wet. I'm sorry." She sniffs and looks away, out to the city, as if by doing that she could just forget about it all. Maybe she can forget about if she gets lost in her own feelings. She grabs the bottle of vodka and takes a long drink. Maybe a bit too long. It'll be empty soon and she probably shouldn't be drinking the entire thing in one sitting. Oh well.

"I saw something."

[chaosvessel]

He didn't comment on her dampness. He didn't mind her tears soaking his shirt. It was something he could do for her, perhaps the only thing at the moment, and he was happy to. That thought alone gave him pause. He was happy, at least marginally so, and he couldn't remember the last time that was the case. He gives her the time to sort herself out, frowning his concern at her back as she turns away.

"What did you see?"