(no subject)

[tramitem]

Who: You and all your friends
What: Catch-All log post for the plot
When: For anything involving the Invasion between 9/22 - 9/30
Where: All around NYC
Rating/Warnings: Please put appropriate warnings in the subject line of your threads where needed
Notes: If you want your character to ask for Bureau help, the Bureau will help. However, players will need to handwave that interaction because the Mods don't have time to play out all of that.

The droids are everywhere! There are strange patches of alien worlds - also full of droids! Good luck, fair Different.

Comments

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

More Like Geonnoying, amirite

Jecht planted his back against a rock, sank slowly to the ground, and tried to breathe.

Maybe the others were more used to this, maybe they'd been through crap like this before? The way people were babbling through that special secret only-us-weirdos-allowed though, he wasn't betting on it. Hell, he was using everything he had not to freak out, and if he hadn't spent his life in the public eye...

"Ugh, this sucks!" he said, louder than was wise. His voice rang off a couple of the stone pillars, and a short ways away, a pair of battle droids turned first their heads, then their bodies, in his direction...

We Will We Will Rock You

After holding, weighing, and judging a few different options, Jecht finally picked up the rock he felt most comfortable with. Unsurprisingly, it looked vaguely like a football. Not that he had any delusions about it being that easy to throw... but all he had to do was get it a short distance indeed.

"Two of 'em," Jecht muttered, ducking behind a stone column again to keep himself hidden from the battle droids he'd decided to target. What he really needed was assistance -- someone to help, however briefly, so he could take out both...

buddy you're a young man, hard man

[darkenedmoon]

The distinctive crack of a gunshot rang out as one of the droids reeled back, a bit of electricity arcing along its suddenly-ventilated head. If Jecht had wanted a distraction, this certainly might seem a godsend.

A smaller form ducked behind his column, crouching next to him. "I'll need one of their rifles if I'm to be any help beyond this, that was my last bullet," Yotsuyu explained, though her eyes were bright and there was a tight smile on her face. "I was saving it for something like this."

But it had served its purpose, that bullet.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Uh. Yeah, that'll do.

Being able to act under fire came with the territory of Competent Sportsball Player, and with a quick motion Jecht hurled the rock he held. The second droid, looking for a sniper, suddenly found itself dealing with a vastly more medieval assault it hadn't been prepared for, and it promptly collapsed as its processing units crumpled.

"Hi," Jecht said, now allowing himself to be amazed that a gun-wielding Yotsuyu had shown up to help.

[smilingarmor]

Trouble right here in New York City

Emberto was alerted to the change by the lights in his office going out. And by the sudden ceasing of the sounds of conversation in the hallway outside it. A moment of it might not have been so suspicious, but the longer it dragged on, the greater the sense of unease he felt.

He headed down the hallway toward the theater lobby, calling for the members of he troupe that he knew should be in the building, but received no answer. And then he stepped out into the lobby and stopped in his tracks. Because when he looked through the glass of the front double doors, the charming coffee shop across the street was gone, and in its place, an alien landscape full of what looked like giant mushrooms. "Dios mio...", he whispered.

And marching through the giant mushrooms were a small group of gangly looking robots. Their appearance might almost have been comical, had it not been for the unmistakable guns they carried. Clearly, wherever they had come from, they weren't just there to take in a show. And if they were so close by it likely meant that he wouldn't be safe there for very long.

After another quick check of his theater, just to be certain none of his troupe had come with him, he hurried upstairs to his apartment and grabbed the knapsack he usually used when going to the other world. Some things were packed in it already. Others he threw in just in case. Bottles of water. First aid kit. Granola bars. Two changes of clothes. And a few other odds and ends he thought he might need.

After contacting the Bureau, to alert them to the situation and somewhat reluctantly ask for assistance to safety, he slipped his phone into his pocket and its charger into his pack; the theater seemed to have lost power, but he was willing to bet that the Bureau had backups. And after a moment's hesitation, he grabbed his sword as well. He doubted the simple blade would help against robots, but somehow, he felt more confident with it in his hand.

Then, after locking his apartment and doing a quick check out the front door of the theater to make sure there were no robots immediately visible, Emberto took a deep breath, quickly crossed himself, then stepped outside. The place he was meeting the bureau's agents wasn't far, but it seemed a great deal farther with the threat of those robot soldiers running around.

You’re safe, no one will find you, your fears are far behind you.

The place the Bureau had taken him and some others to was quite cozy. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that he was back in his old college dorm room, and not hiding out from murderous robots.

But that was the keyword wasn't it? Hiding. Somehow, it galled him. What would his past self think of him now, sitting there safe and comfortable while others did the fighting?

And yet, what else could he do? He knew a bit of basic self defense, and thanks to practice with Elliott, was coming along in his sword skills. None of which would help him take down those robots. ...So why did he still want to try?

Wildcard

Choose your own droid-related adventure.

[darkenedmoon]

Communication Error

Yotsuyu was about to pitch her phone across her room--she'd intended to call Gino Galvus about some tidbit of information she'd gathered, but there was absolutely no reception, all of a sudden. Just what in the seven hells was even going on?

She peeked out the window--and instead of the other buildings huddled across the street was a wide expanse of--sand. And it looked hot. What in the seven hells, indeed...

Yotsuyu changed quickly--work attire was not suitable for beach or desert, whichever this was--and soon was out the door, attempting to do a bit of reconnaissance.

What she found jarred her other self's memories a bit--and also had her realizing that this was not good. The machinery--the magitek, what Yotsuyu remembered of it, was a bit more advanced than this, but even she knew the power of sheer numbers...

Good eye, sniper

Yotsuyu knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up. For all the fact that she'd had her pistol in her purse, she lacked the most important thing: Ammunition.

Then again, she hadn't thought that she'd leave the house to stumble into a desert that hadn't been there yesterday! If she got back there, she'd have to be sure to pack more--but with the condition of the current world, even that was a finite resource. Yotsuyu was not sure she wanted to break into a gun shop to get more, even if the proprietor did seem to be absent...

Though perhaps the idea was, then, to turn the droids' own weapons against them? The thought had merit. Now--to avail herself of them!

Wildcard
(got an idea? this is your prompt!)

[howkickassiam]

York was going for a walk, of all things, when it all happened. It was kind of early, but that didn't mean he could explain away what he was seeing around him. A blazing desert, and a line of advancing marching... were those robots?

He spots Yotsuyu coming out of the building just then.

"What's going on?" he says. "Are you okay?"

[darkenedmoon]

"York! I'm fine, but clearly certain things are not," she said, gesturing at the oppressive desert and, further beyond, the line of droids.

"I tried to call my employer as well and nothing, so I've no real idea of what happened, but I'll take the chance and pray he's safe." Even if he was hard-headed and entirely too self-interested.

"What brings you out here, though?" Yotsuyu knew enough to realize he wasn't the type to run heedlessly into danger, so she hoped it was mere coincidence...

[howkickassiam]

"I was just out for a walk..."

He turns to look at the robots.

"Uh...they're getting closer."

Right now the thought of his memories from that other life remind him what it's like to have biomechanical body armor for this kind of situation. He'd sure like to be in that armor right now.

[bearshermark]

1. Test

It was a stupid idea. Probably even worse than joining the Bureau, if he was honest. B u t... If it worked, then he had a weapon- weapons. It should work. There wasn't really any reason it wouldn't. Just whether or not it would be effective.

"It'd be cool if they were like pokemon, huh?" Elliott laughed quietly behind the building debris he'd taken refuge behind.

If it didn't work... Well, then he'll have pissed off a group of metal monsters and have to run away really fast.

His mark lit up. Elliott took a deep breath and peeked over his cover. Energy- magic?- surged through his arm. He stood and threw his arm out. Electricity discharged from his fingertips in a narrow bolt that struck the nearest droid. Lightning crawled over the center of its body and sparked over its joints. The droid collapsed.

"Ah," Elliott said, largely disappointed despite the small victory. That bit of magic hadn't been nearly so impressive as the one from his memories. And now he had slightly less than a half dozen other droids turned in his direction.

Heart leaping in his throat, Elliott ducked back down and ran.

"Uh, hey!" he said as he spotted another living soul as he weaved between buildings in an effort to lose them, "Don't go that way!"


2. Training

Well, now he knew one of his abilities worked anyway, but not keen on repeating his flight through the city, Elliott had decided that he should probably test all of his abilities in a slightly safer setting before trying again. There were plenty of empty buildings to choose from, now. Most of them were in some level of disrepair, but that worked perfectly well for his purposes, because at least one thing was going to be on fire.

Minutes later, many bits of decrepit office chairs were on fire. Elliott dove for the fire extinguisher, but the smoke alarm got there first.

"Really?" he moaned beneath the shrill shrieking while foam began to quell the flames. "The fire alarms work, but not the security alarm?"


3. Alien Flora

"Wow," Elliott gasped amid a stretch of alien plant-life. It was hot all of a sudden, the air sticky, but his wonder outweighed discomfort. He was drawn deeper despite the strange terrain, hopelessly fascinated. "This place is amazing."

Elliott whipped around, peering about for enemies, then drew his phone and snapped a few quick pictures.

"I wish I knew anything about collecting samples.."


4. Battle! tw; minor injury

Since the initial attack, Elliott hadn't gone anywhere without his sword. But he'd stayed largely at range, calling up transparent barriers edged in a slight glow with a prayer to ward off enemy fire and tending to the injured.

He'd only popped out to briefly cast a trail of fire across the ground to help hold the line, but it was enough that a stray laser clipped his shoulder.

Elliott dropped back behind cover with a short-lived yelp, green-tinged fingers immediately going to his injury to heal it.

"Ow. There sure is.. a lot of them, still. There probably really is a command center around here somewhere."

3;

[traceofeffort]

Lisa was not well known for caution most times, especially not when she had someone to cover for her... or someone she needed to cover. But also, the flowers had been pretty this morning and she wanted to see them again. So going with Elliott had seemed like a fair enough compromise.

Unfortunately, it's humid as hell, and so even having switched to a T-shirt, jean shorts she thought she'd retired for the season six weeks ago, and a ponytail, she felt like she was melting. Still, can't just stay at home. Not when something's going on. She'd silenced her phone, packed for exploration of unknown lands, and gone back into danger. But hey, she could appreciate the flora again. "Isn't it? None of this stuff looks familiar." She snapped a few pictures of her own, before stashing her phone. "Hey, you could probably just take a cutting. As long as you don't touch it, it's probably fine, right?" Why there was a set of kitchen shears and a Ziploc in her purse all of a sudden was an open question, but perhaps it'd have benefit.

[bearshermark]

"Probably," Elliott said with some caution. The plants could very well be as dangerous as they were beautiful, but he wasn't stupid enough to be the first one to try touching them. ...But if it happened by accident, then he'd at least know one way or another.

"I wonder if they'd only grow in this sort of climate, or if they'd be invasive if we tried to transplant one on Earth..."

He blinked as Lisa rifled through and pulled out appropriate tools. "Um... do you usually carry those around...?"

[traceofeffort]

“I don’t know! But I want to,” Lisa replied, chipper but a little quiet just in case, as she took a brief look around. “It’d be cool if stuff like this grew at home, yeah?”

She grinned at the (otherwise perfectly fair) question. “Nope! I came through some of this earlier and already had the ‘I want a sample of this!’ thought separately.” An oven mitt, cotton and thick enough to be slightly unwieldy, came out next; she must have taken things out to fit these tools. “So, I thought, why not bring stuff in case I came back?”

[chenqing_player]

Party at the Bureau

Wei Wuxian wanted no part of whatever the hell was going on outside. So he made a beeline for the Bureau with some necessities and didn't plan to emerge until this place figured itself out.

Plopping down on one of the dorm style beds he looks around at the other refuges. "Anyone up for a party? We can have a cookout and play some games and most of all..get drunk and forget what is going on out there."

Because when Wei Wuxian says he brought necessities...it mean he brought every thing he could need for a party. He holds up a bag that included some hot dogs, chips, salsa, and various snacks and things he figured would go bad just sitting around the apartment and another bag that was just full of the strongest alcohol he had in his apartment. Which considering he works in a club with a bar..is some high quality stuff.

He may never have gone to college, but he does know how to party like a college kid.

Arrival 9/25

[howkickassiam]

Since this whole thing has been going on, York has been finding himself relishing fighting the droids and using their own weapons against them. However, even when doing something is fun, one will tire of it after a while. So York makes his way to the Bureau a couple days after it begins. He's ushered in and sent to the quarters where others among the Different have been holing up without him.

When he enters, of course he makes a beeline for where Xian lies reclining on the bed. He's so glad to see Xian's okay, but he doesn't express his relief as such. He just says, "Got the party started without me, I see."

[chenqing_player]

Wei Wuxian nearly drops the drink in his hand when he hears York's voice. He looks up at the other and he has never been very good at hiding his emotions so relief is evident in his expression as he sets his drink down.

Standing up, he doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the other man and pull him into a hug, "What the hell you jerk...you've had me worried. I thought one of those robots ate you or something." Can robots eat? He doesn't care. Knowing York is safe is like a huge weight lifted.

[inquiryguqin]

Seeing the other refugees taking refuge in the bureau is a relief. Some others are still out there, having a good time fighting the robots.

He's in front of a fancy laptop, writing up lessons. He's dressed up in a fancy suit for work as a college professor when the dimensional shift happened when he needs to go to work...and he ends up here. "I don't drink."

But he looks up, "A cookout you say? Is it time to eat?"

[chenqing_player]

Wei Wuxian tries to keep his expression steady as the other man speaks to him. He's never been one to hide what he is thinking or feeling so stuffing down the feelings of fear and uncertainty that this man seems to keep causing to rise in him is a struggle.

But he holds up the bag of hot dogs, "There doesn't have to be a specific time to eat. You eat when you want to eat. And since we are stuck in here, might as well treat it like a never ending party. And when at a party the food is always available."

Anakin and Lisa

[darkforcerising]

Anakin had a pretty good set up going for them at the top of a ten story building. Over the past few days, he’d managed to procure an arsenal off the dumber droids, and from there he’d built up stores of grenades and then also salvage the thicker armor from the more durable droids.

The armor he’d set up as make-shift protection they could hide behind.

“Okay,” he said to Lisa. “First, have you tried firing one of these yet?” He held up one of the standard blasters all the droids carried.

[traceofeffort]

Lisa was not, and probably would never be, an expert marksman. Support, she could do! But given she needed to at least be able to hit the proverbial broad side of a barn, well, here she was. She nodded slowly at Anakin's question.

"Mm... I have, but it turns out I'm a terrible shot so I only tried the once, before I shot something important."

[darkforcerising]

Anakin nodded, but he didn't tease.

"Okay, first is safety," and then he went over the safety features of the blaster. How to put the safety on and take it off. How to hold the blaster, the safest way to hoist it. How the trigger worked, where it resisted at frist an the sweet spot where it gave way and fired.

That out of the way, he focused on how to actually use the blaster.

"Do you see these two nubs here-" he pointed to the sight line at the end of the blaster barrel, and then the one near the tail stock.

"We're going to start there. Looking down the barrel of the blaster, line up the two nubs with your target then fire."

Across the street on top of another building were targets at varying distances.

"Aim at the closest target first."

Martin, For Any Injured

[not_as_i_do]

This was less than ideal. The lights had gone out, and when he'd opened the blinds in his office to see what was going on, he'd found himself in the middle of a desert, not the park district view he was used to. Martin immediately swore under his breath and called for his staff.

When there was no response, he opened up the bottom drawer of his desk and took out the army kit bag he hadn't used since his fort days. "Well, Lisa," he muttered, "you were right. Here goes nothing."

Nestled underneath it was an oatmeal-colored cardigan, something he would have remembered putting there, and didn't. But it looked comfortable, and deserts were meant to get cold at night. He stuffed it into his messenger bag along with his other personal things, and headed down to the streets to see if anyone needed him ...

for all the injuries

[darkforcerising]

The battle Anakin had just survived had left him more than a little scuffed up. Sure, the scorch marks hurt, but something about them just didn’t faze him. It was as if he still had the energy and fortitude to continue fighting. It was very odd.

Habit to seek medical attention drove him to find Martin, after he’d made that Network announcement.

So, more than a little blood and torn up, he knocked on the door to Martin’s practice. He was probably more than a shocking sight for more than the scrapes alone – he was carting with him a belt full of grenades, his lightsaber, and more than a few blasters. When you traveled in this droid-filled world, you had to go out there prepared.

“Hello? This is the place to get patched up, right?”

John - Open to Any

[madman_with_a_box]

He really should have been terrified.

He'd been just about ready to set out for the morning, wheeling his bicycle out of the door of his apartment building, when all Hell had broken loose. For a half second, he had been certain that this was another one of his Memories manifesting, based on how similar it was to what he had experienced, but it only took a moment for him to realize that, while he was standing on the front steps of his building, across the street, it was snowing. Not only was it snowing, but a massive, endless swath of ice desert and rocky outcroppings stretched out for miles before him under an unforgiving sky. The sound of what was unmistakably blaster fire filled the air somewhere nearby, and he drove out of the way just in time to dodge an errant blaster bolt that hit the building behind him. He hit the pavement hard, but managed to avoid any large injury or abrupt death.

"Bloody hell!"

Knees smarting and hands scraped, he jerked up from the pavement and a rush of...elation and amazement washed through him. His suit and tie were rumpled now, his hair a mess - He really should have been terrified, but this...this!

This was -

Familiar. I know this. Well. Not these robots, but this. Earth. Invasion. Planetary weirdness. I know this. I -

Bicycle forgotten, John turned and began to rush down the sidewalk, noticing then how otherwise empty the streets were. No one was running, very little screaming - just these robots, and the weird patches of landscape intermingled with that he knew as New York -

He began to fumble for his phone, hoping to find something on the Network, text Jack, something! Anything! He could just see robots of some sort filing down the street, looking armed to the proverbial teeth, robotic voices shouting in the air. It was both familiar - and yet wasn't at all. Almost as if he had seen something like this once, as if in a dream, but it hadn't been quite like this. Earth, yes, but the city felt wrong, the shape of the robots was wrong, the blaster fire...His blood rushed in his veins, the thrill of the moment overtaking him.

"Hello! Hello, yes! Yes, are you seeing this?" He was shouting into the phone, not even sure if he was on the Network, on a call, or just shouting at the device fruitlessly.

Re: John - Open to Any

[captainspain]

Jack chose that moment to yell "Duck," as a rock flies through the air and smacks directly into one of the droids grinning at it hits the mark knocking the droid into several others as it struggles not to fall over into the ones beside it.

He then turns to John grinning, his blue eyes sparking with excitement. "See I told you they are like turtles."

Re: John - Open to Any

[madman_with_a_box]

The sound of Jack's voice over the din in the city first caused John to turn in immediate acknowledgement, and then he did quickly as he was told. He ducked just in time to dodge the rock that Jack had thrown at an unseen assailant, then turned as they all stumbled and fell over. He laughed, a sharp, wily sound, and hopped the low fence over to where his friend was. He reached out and gripped Jack's forearms fondly, almost an embrace.

"Turtles! You're so right! They look like something out of Star Wars, eh? Swear that's what they remind me of." He chuckled a little, and reached down to take Jack's hand. "We should probably get out of here before they try to get up or figure out that they can shoot from the ground. Do you have any idea what's going on? I mean! Two blocks from here, half of Central Park is a snow field, and the Empire State Building doesn't exist anymore! And - and there's no people other than the Different that I've seen! The streets are abandoned!"