❧ Whispers From Different Worlds

[luministimods]

[any and all conversations being held on the CATs suddenly cease all at once, and in the next instant, a little alarm begins to sound. none of the townspeople appear fazed by the strange happening, writing if off as yet another malfunction that has plagued the communications systems in town for the past week.

however, appearing only to the residents' CATs is a video transmission featuring someone whose face is obscured in the shadows, but from the timbre of the voice, it's a young man.]

Please be patient! We're going to help you, but we need a little more time. Keep an eye out for a message from--!

[the transmission cuts out suddenly and is replaced with a picture of a blue screen that simply reads: "Signal Lost." it takes a few moments for that screen to go away, but what--or who--appears next may surprise the residents...]


❧ Plot Details: Whispers From Different Worlds

Welcome to Luministi's Fourth Wall event! As you might have guessed from the above IC portion of this entry, this event will be part of the game's canon and it's all thanks to those malfunctioning CAT devices! However, visiting characters will not appear in the town itself. They will appear in video transmissions alone.

For this entry alone, the vidscreens are still down and most of the CAT functions are down as well with the exception of the video function, enabling residents to communicate with visiting characters, and visitor can also communicate with other visitors as well. Think of it like signals being crossed. And to make things a little easier for everyone, the video transmissions are clear and normal as they would be any other day and don't feature the strange solarised/flipped quirk that they have had for the past week. In any entries made after this one on until the end of the plot, the CATs functions will return to what they were like at the start of the plot.

For those of you new to the game, the CATs, or Communications Audiovisual Transmitters, are personalized communication devices about the size of your palm, and for this day only, visiting characters will have this device. From a video broadcast standpoint, you'll be able to see the the immediate surroundings of the person you're talking to. More information about the CATs can be found on the FAQ page.

In-game time, this event lasts a day, but you can tag for however long you want!

Ah, one more thing! If visiting characters app into the game following this entry's events, memories about what was said and who you spoke to will be able to come to you upon proper entry into the town, but not before then. Characters in-game already will be able to remember their time talking to the visitors and will be able to react to them after the fact.

So yes! Tag in and threadhop in this entry as much as you like! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave an OOC comment here or PM me.

Hope you all have fun and welcome again~

Comments

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that I need any help at the moment, but you certainly have my attention.

Now, would anyone who hears me right now happen to know if the phone signals here are always so poor?

[sevensecondtour.livejournal.com]

[Bartimaeus catches the very last of Seiya's words as he appears on the CAT screen in his usual guise of Ptolemy. He peers blearily at the screen for a moment before a slow smirk slides into place.

He's not sure what's going on here, but he'll bite for entertainment.]

If I were to be any judge of it, I would say it's due to some magician dabbling in magics beyond him.

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

[Totally unsure whether or not to take that answer seriously;]

I'm afraid I'll have to respectfully disagree with that assessment for now - I would prefer to think that I've seen enough magic and miracles for one day. It seemed more like there was someone nearby interfering with the radio frequency that these little devices- [gently giving his CAT a tap with the tip of one of his fingernails;] -use, but only briefly, and I'm not sure why.

[sevensecondtour.livejournal.com]

[As one who never likes to appear not in the know, he thinks quickly to work out some reasonable lark that this unknown might bite at.]

Respectfully disagree? [he puffs out his chest a bit, holding the CAT at arms length to fully encompass his disdain.] Mortal! Do you have any idea to whom you have the good fortune of addressing? Perhaps¹ I know more of things that you might assume!

[¹ This "perhaps", of course, being a thin rag thrown over a not even cleverly composed lie.]

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

[With an appropriately dramatic shrug;] Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue. I don't believe we've ever met, and we haven't even properly introduced ourselves yet. I can't exactly read minds.

[sevensecondtour.livejournal.com]

I have many¹ names, human. None of which I shall see fit to share. A name gives one power over another, after all.

Which I assume you are aware of since you have not been so kind as to offer your birth name...?

[¹"Bartimaeus of Uruk", "Rekhyt of Alexandria", "Necho of Jerusalem", "Sakhr Al-Jinni", "N'Gorso the Mighty", the "Serpent of Silver Plumes", and "Wakonda of the Algonquin" to name a few. If it wasn't for that whole possible enslavement thing, he wouldn't hesitate to begin name-dropping.]

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

Power...? I'm not really- [Cutting himself off in an attempt to prevent another outburst;] Oh, yes, of course, excuse my rudeness. My name is Ichijou.

Now, just how am I supposed to know who I'm speaking with if he refuses to tell me?

[sevensecondtour.livejournal.com]

[He's taken aback for a moment, not quite believing that he might have just been handed over a birth name. Surely it's not his true name, though?

...no, surely not! Unless...]

Choose a name as you see fit, human. As I said -- I have had many names. [He rubs his face slightly, watching the CAT screen with one eye.] Wearing one more will not weigh me down.

[He pauses.]

Am I right in assuming that you are not a magician?

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to come up with a name for yourself, even if it was completely and obviously fake? If you really, truly insist, I can think of something. I just find it unusual that you seem to believe that telling me a name would give me more power over you than handing me the authority to give you a name.

You're right about not being a magician- anyone who calls me a magician, a devil, or anything else along those lines is probably just looking to blame me for something that is mostly out of my hands.

[sevensecondtour.livejournal.com]

I think it's more to the point that I would find it undeniably entertaining to see what name a human can come up with for someone such as myself.

Here we are perhaps kindred spirits! I, too, am frequently blamed for things that are most certainly not of my doing¹. [He rests his chin on the heel of his fist as he's moved to sit cross-legged while talking on the CAT.]

In fact, I can't² see why anyone would want to blame innocent, enemy-less me for anything!

[¹ Never directly, at least.

² "Can't" and "refuse to take on even an ounce of accountability" being largely interchangeable here.]

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

Fine, fine... [Beginning to pace around, inspecting the image from the CAT from several different angles;]

Isn't that just sad? There are so many out there who would rather attack those they perceive as "demons" than face their own shortcomings and perfect themselves. And then, of course, those "demons" are cornered into defending themselves. What an ugly little cycle.

Anyway, I think I've come up with something. What about Carnelian? It's not too common but not too unusual, and as long as the image I'm getting here is true to color that namesake would definitely flatter your skin tone.

[desertdaggers]

Phone?

It's been playing up a bit lately.

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

[Tilting his head juuuust slightly and holding up his CAT;]

These little things - you seem to know what I meant. I wonder what the problem is... Was there a storm or something before they started acting strangely? I would know for myself, but-

Ah! That's right! Please pardon my forgetfulness, I completely neglected to introduce myself. My name is Ichijou - I just moved here earlier today.

[desertdaggers]

Ah, I don't think I've heard of them as that before! [he shakes his head] I didn't notice anything like that. There were the alarms, but most likely those were to tell us something was wrong.

I'm Hawk. Pleased to meet you, Ichijou! How're you finding it so far?

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

In that case, that little transmission and temporary downtime was probably intentional.

The feeling is mutual! This place is pleasantly surprising, all things considered - though I could do without the alarms and mysterious messages. I've honestly hardly had a chance to look around before receiving that, and it makes me wonder if I've missed something important.

[desertdaggers]

Enough to be worried over, but not informed. Of course. [shakes his head]

Mm, looking around might at least let us know if anything seems out of place. Not a bad idea!

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

For all we know, it could have all been a distraction from someone who suspected that we would all just wait patiently for another clue.

[A pause and a deep sigh;] I really must apologize again. I'm just all over the place right now, aren't I?

[desertdaggers]

All the more reason to see if we can spot anything for ourselves, then.

Well, it's a little disorientating, arriving somewhere new. I'm sure you'll find your feet soon enough.

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

[Taking a little bow;] I appreciate your understanding.

Where should the investigation begin, then? [Then pulling a folded piece of paper (map) out of his pocket, unfolding it, and pointing/drawing imaginary lines all over it with his finger as he speaks;] Right now I'm here [top-right], I'm not sure where exactly you are. If it seems like a good idea to investigate as a single unit, obviously it will likely take longer to cover the entire area [a broad, totally unnecessary sweeping motion] but there will be an immediate and constant source for a second opinion if that sort of thing is required, or if something unfortunate should occur.

Now, if we were to split up, clearly that would be the most efficient way of covering this, but it would be less thorough. In that case, we could continue to communicate via these CAT devices, and could easily split the area into halves [one horizontal line, a pause, and a vertical line], thirds [a "T" shape], or quadrants [an "X" shape].

Since you appear to know the area quite a bit better than I do ((and he's a bit lost without being commanded in some way)), I'll trust your judgment.

[desertdaggers]

I'd say we should start around the town hall, and go from there- clockwise, perhaps. I'm not too far away, we could meet up there. That seems best to me.

[manicurious.livejournal.com]

Mmh, that sounds reasonable. Considering the location, it seems that it would be likely that if something significant had occurred, someone in that area would know about it. At least, I would assume that news spreads quickly in a small town.

[Already heading out and in that direction while re-folding the map to stick it back in his pocket, then breaking into a dash rather than a walk as soon as the map is securely in place;] I'll be there in just a moment!

[desertdaggers]

Mm, there's always someone else who knows other people's secrets in this kind of place! Unless you're very, very careful.

All right! [and Hawk's standing out in front of the hal, hands tucked into his sash.] Hello again!