MAY EVENT LOG

[monstertruckers]

code

Out of the thorn brush, the land still looks twisted and broken. And it turns a lot more jagged as rocks burst up and out of the ground like teeth… And keep reaching upwards, in defiance of all the gravity that should be pulling them down. The further up the rock spires reach, the more they splinter until the stones are free floating. The same happens to the threadbare trees, their branches and leaves breaking off and hovering in empty air. The nature of this place becomes clear: reach too high, and eventually gravity gives up.

01: BATTLE GROUND

The ground grows rougher, pockmarked with craters and rents, like the landscape is scarred. A little further up the road is the source of those wounds. Curious Drifters will find a tangle of rock and metal reaching high up to the sky. It’s a snarl of wrecked vehicles, rock spires… And bodies.

Robotic hunters are half melted into the bones of a giant monster, and the lights have long since gone out of their lens eyes. Many of them still clutch weapons; swords, guns, and bullets by the bag-full. The hunters and weapons remain locked with the corpse of a horn crowned monster with arm length teeth, and it’s clear this tangle is the only thing that keeps the hunters or their weapons from floating off. Drifters can potentially loot the weapons… They just have to be careful about not floating off while they salvage equipment. The footing here is uneven, and the ground looks ready to break with a wrong step.

These hunters also carry prayer screen beads, but the data on them is horribly scrambled. Any attempts to tamper with them cause them to repeat a single message: “I STILL LIVE” before shorting out and shutting down.

02: HEALTH INVERSION

A building grows out of the valley; a hospital that has been turned upside down, and its foundations reach for the sky like weird tree branches. The hallways inside are all sorts of twisted up, and the building can’t seem to decide if Drifters should walk on the ceiling or the floors.

Twisted as the building is, ruins gutted by time and overgrown with vegetation… There is salvage available. Medical supplies, healing potions, healing herbs, all of it is bountiful in the hospital. The hospital is also rife with Husks, but all of them are inert… Or have already been broken apart long ago.

Then there’s the matter of the hospital screens flickering on in the wake of the Drifters. Warning lights try to flicker on, as old electronics try to scan the Drifters. The machines give up flickers of data, declaring Drifters to be “infected.” The old restraining systems of the hospital are still active, as manacles and straps alike shoot out, trying to restrain Drifters. The bonds keep them inert until they can be sedated and enclosed in what look like holding pens for violent patients. Best hope there’s someone around to help break a Drifter out.

03: SHARED THOUGHTS

The valley is overgrown with strange plants that glow with eerie light. Sometimes in camp stray glowing tumbleweeds roll through… And any contact has interesting side effects. Drifters will find they’re more aware and capable of picking up on unsaid things. These powers can the month. Each glow confers different abilities:

Blue Glow: Makes Drifters more empathetic in a psychic sense. They can register the emotions of those nearby, and may start to feel those same emotions.
Green Glow: Makes Drifters capable of projecting their emotions to other people.
Purple Glow: Gives Drifters telepathy, to hear and send thoughts to others.
Orange Glow: Grants Drifters limited psychometry. (Object reading.) Using it in the hospital or the battleground will yield unique visions and messages. Please comment to the mod/NPC thread below if your character wishes to do so!

Drifters can stack these effects, but this can overload their minds and force transformations. Those with Swarm traits will find it easier to handle psionic abilities. Additionally, ALL DRIFTERS who experience psionics will find themselves susceptible to Events 4 and 5.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, HIVE-MIND

Worryingly, extra contact with the glowing plants can not only stack mind abilities, but also force Swarm traits. The more a Drifter is overwhelmed by psionics, the more likely this is. Drifters will have access to all Swarm traits for this event, and the following:
+Psi Hunger. A need to eat psychic energy in the form of dreams, psi-infused objects (like sage brush) or even psychic minds.
+Psi Senses: luckily, Drifters can glimpse heavy psychic energy in the brush through enhanced senses, and pick out strange brain monsters. These are good eating for Swarm monsters… And there’s an unnervingly high number of them.
+Group Mind: compelled to link thoughts with other Drifters, to share emotions, memories, and achieve cohesion.
+An increasing reliance on telepathy/empathy/etc in place of speech.
+Increasing collectivist mindset. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; this becomes more evident during high stress situations.
+Compelled to spend more time in the wilds, absorbing power from plants and hunting prey in wilderness. May also be compelled to share this prey with others.
+Gravity Affinity: If possessing wings or the ability to wall climb, may freely hunt/traverse corrupted gravity areas.

05: WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

On several nights the wind picks up, and sage brush is uprooted and sent tumbling into camp. The plants trade their prior glow to something more baleful and crimson. With the wind whipping through the camp, it’s almost impossible to avoid unless a Drifter is already secure in the Convoy.

The effects aren’t immediately obvious, until the Convoy sleeps for the night… And that sleep is different. Namely the sleep is connected, showing both memories and dreams from other Drifters.

Memories from their pasts can blend together to form a strange dreamscape, that connected Drifters can travel through. But those dreams can easily turn into nightmares. Those who were exposed to the fear toxin in February will trend towards nightmares and may have their old fears make a reappearance.
If those nightmares are vivid and unsettling enough, they can force a transformation. (This may be either current monster traits, or a Swarm monster!) And then…

06: BRAIN ATTACK

It happens just before dawn, during the blue hour… Or perhaps it might be more apt to call it the red hour, with how the sky is stained crimson. It’s just bright enough to distinguish something moving in the hills. Drifters can pick out a rustling in the brush; something that isn’t wind. There’s something moving, crawling on claw tipped legs… And looking less like sage brush and more like a brain.

The Intellect Devourers numbers in the hundreds. Their claws scour the ground as they race towards the Convoy and smash into the shield. Numbers start to overwhelm the generator, along with the chaos the brain brush has sown with their psychic echoes.

The psychic echoes increase as they swarm the campsite, trying to drive Drifters into a frenzy with nightmares, fears, and strange visions. The brains are also ready to use those long sharp claws to tear anyone disoriented enough into ribbons, and start feasting on them.

06-A: BRAIN BRAWL

Hallucinations: The Intellect Devourers try to whip up more terrifying visions. Anything to disorient the entire Convoy, or drive the Drifters into a madness that leaves them transformed and too wild to easily counterattack. These hallucinations may be past trauma, or something a Drifter fears happening; the ultimate goal is to leave Drifters panicking, changed, and vulnerable.

Rally: Still, there’s one thing the Devourers didn’t anticipate: and that is how sharing a mental link has given the Drifters an anchor with each other. With all the psychic echoes spreading through the camp, any and all mental links from before can easily flare back up. Drifters who have shared dreams or some form of mental connection may still transform, but their mental link can keep their minds stable and coherent instead of growing feral.

Scars: Whether through brute force battles or mental link resistance, eventually the Convoy is able to shrug off the attack… But there is still some damage done. The shield generator has shorted out, and the Convoy itself has taken a few gashes and gouges. Not to mention any transformed Drifters will still need to be talked down. Luckily the mental links are still in place to help with that, and there’s a truck full of medical supplies to help with patching up any hurts.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Disorientation: When wandering through the brush, Drifters may experience a swarm of disorientation: their thoughts suddenly scramble, they forget where they were going or what they were doing. They may also come to with a set of gashes along their legs, and a sense that they may have seen something in the sage brush move… Or maybe it was just the wind.

Float: Occasionally, parts of the road just give up their hold on the ground and go drifting skywards. Hopefully those chunks of road don’t take Drifters and their vehicles with them. Tough vehicles can likely survive the drop, while Fast vehicles can speed away before they float too far upwards. Drifters caught outside their vehicles will have to hope they have fast reflexes… Or are either good fliers or good jumpers for the leap back down.

Raining Down: On occasion, gravity will flicker and warp oddly… And that means that other odd things can fall where they used to float; rocks, plants, not to mention the odd bit of hardware and buildings. Watch for falling objects of various shapes and sizes!


NAVIGATION

Comments

blake belladonna | rwby

[andnevermore]

✘ ⸻ battleground

[ As the lands that they drive through start to turn rocky and strange, Blake's feeling a little better than she has the past couple of months. Driving is a little more difficult now -- two massive bat wings sit mantled at her back, black and deep purple, slits cut in her jacket to accommodate them -- but her back doesn't hurt anymore beyond the healing of wounds where Yang had had to cut her wings free, and her bloodlust is better managed now.

Perhaps she should have known that a bright spot on the horizon just meant more havoc in her future.

She hadn't thought much about the plant with the orange glow. It had made her fingertips tingle a little, but not much more. And now, as she wanders what can only be the fossilized remains of a battleground, its affects are about to be made apparent. Some giant monster's bones lay in the cracked dirt; Blake picks her way through robot corpses and scattered weapons, shading her eyes with her hand as she looks up to the floating mounds of rock above. She finds herself stopped in front of a mechanical person half-melted into a massive rib bone, their arm extended with a dark-bladed dagger clutched in their fist. Blake gently pries it loose, but as soon as she has a firm grip on the hilt--

She staggers back. She sees: a mechanical soldier striding toward a wall of monsters. A tangle of wings and claws and horns, people barely clinging to their humanity. Some are praying to the moon, others are just watching it hopefully. In their fists are clutched pendants, a weeping eye above a moon. Blake blinks, and the vision vanishes, but she's left on edge, bat wings half-spread in defense, white-knuckling her grip on the dagger. A footstep behind her has her whirling, brandishing the knife, expecting monsters-- but she drops her hand as soon as she sees another Drifter. ]

Sorry. I just saw... [ Blake exhales a frustrated sigh, ears flat. ] You'd think I'd be used to random visions by now, but I guess not.

✘ ⸻ what dreams may come

[ When they stop for the night, Blake chooses to sleep in the back of her van. The wind is a lullaby against the windows, sage brush tumbling against the van's wheels, and she drops off into sleep faster than she'd expected, curled up under her scavenged blankets.

A nightmare takes hold of another Drifter.

You're on the floor of a school building, fire creeping up the walls. Monsters roar outside, rattling the windows; the screams of terrified people echo through the door, the sounds of dozens of feet running. A man stands over you. Red hair dark in the firelight, black bull horns swept back from his face, a white monster's face mask covering his eyes. Your face hurts where he hit you, knocked you to the ground. You feel so many things when you look at him: guilt, fear, the bitter remains of love.

All I want is you, my love, he drawls, stooping over your fallen body. And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. A blonde appears in the window, shouting your name, looking for you amidst the chaos. Yang. Adam's lips curls into a smile under his mask. Starting with her.

Before you can hope to do anything, he draws a red blade, and stabs you in the abdomen. You cry out with the pain, and it draws Yang's attention. She whirls. You murmur no, please, reaching out for her. She screams. Her hair catches ablaze with golden fire, fury written on her face. She leaps, lunging for the man, fists first.

His blade flashes. Her arm shears off above the elbow. Yang falls.

What do you do? ]

✘ ⸻ brain brawl

[ After that nightmare, Blake doesn't sleep for a long time. The next night, she finds herself patrolling the convoy as it rests for the night, wandering at the edge of the shield. Her bat wings are looped close around her like a mantle, expression troubled as she walks.

It doesn't take long for her to notice the rustling in the distance.

Before she knows it, the weirdest little monsters she's ever seen are hurling themselves at the barrier, like brains on legs, horrible little skittering things that are threatening to overwhelm the shield. Blake plants herself next to the nearest Drifter, short katana in one hand, wings spread wide to shield any other Drifters behind her. ]

If you can fight, stick with me! [ She raises her voice to be heard about the noise. ] If you can't, get behind me, and get inside the cars.

✘ ⸻ bonus track: emo metal

[ In a pocket of peace after the attacks, Blake winds up sitting on top of her campervan, legs dangling against the mural that Yang painted on it. Despite the rugged surroundings, the spraypainted mural of the sexy big-booba ninja versus the sexy big naturals wizard has held on surprisingly well. Blake still thinks it makes her campervan look like she sells shrooms out the back of it, but she's become fond of it now.

The night is calm. Big rocks are floating in the background. And My Chemical Romance's Welcome to the Black Parade is playing on her stereo. Blake half-smiles at the person that approaches. ]

If I was still fourteen, this would be my new anthem. I would have found my soul's soundtrack. [ There's a laugh buried under her words. ] Isn't it great?

What Dreams May Come

[guidemyway]

[Ruby remembers the night well enough that it doesn't take her long to pick up on what's happening. She wasn't always the brightest banana in the bunch, but when it came to matters of the heart she was pretty quick.

Not to mention the aftermath of what happened here was an image that still haunted her in dreams.

Still it's weird to have this new context to the event. She had seen images of Adam in the news and drawings- but this was much more real and terrifying in it's own right.

The heat- the fear of that night bubbles up inside her and she just wants to curl up and forget it all.

But at the same time it adds in some new context. Helps her understand what her team and family have had to go through. So- She doesn't act right away. Ruby just lays there and watches. She has a feeling she can't just change things anyways.]

[andnevermore]

[ The man turns, and you know he's going to finish Yang off. He flicks his blade neatly to clean off the blood. And all you can do is wrench yourself upward, flinging yourself in front of Yang. Every inch of you is trembling and weak and blood is seeping from your side, but you have to protect her.

He frowns down at you, heartbroken. Disappointed. Vengeful.

Why must you hurt me, Blake?

His blade swings again, but you aren't there to meet it. You've already picked up Yang, arms firm around her middle, as you run as fast as you can. Through fire, through Grimm, through other White Fang tearing through students.

And the scene seems to slow. You are no longer in Blake's place, you are Ruby once again, separate. Blake all but collapses as she lowers Yang to the ground, and she changes too, no longer the Blake from Beacon, but the winged, fanged version of her current self. Still, her cheeks are streaked with tears as she bends over Yang's body. ]

I'd... almost forgotten how bad it was. I've been trying so hard not to think about it.

[guidemyway]

[To call it a terrifying and harrowing experience is the understatement of the century. But Ruby forces herself to take in all the details of the situation. This was her family in so many ways and she needed to understand the pain had experienced. It was the only way to help them heal.

It's only when she separates from Blake's "past self" in the memory that she takes the moment to shudder before she realizes that Blake has changed back to herself.

She's cautious when she approaches but she leans down and puts a hand on Blake's shoulder.]

I'm sorry we couldn't all be there for the both of you.

I think in a lot of ways that was the worst night of all our lives.

Battleground

[electrifyking]

"Yeah, this place... Got a way of keeping you on your toes. And finding some whole new way to surprise us.

Or 'some whole other shit' is how Shinji would probably say it."

[He's... Honestly, really, and desperately doing his best to keep this casual. After the blood sucking encounter, Akihiko has been trying to keep it cool. Better to give her some space, and maybe not bring up the whole 'hey remember when we almost killed each other?' thing.

That's lasted as far as the wastelands. Stumbling into an even weirder landscape has him looking for anything familiar, and counting his allies.]

"...Mind if I ask what you saw?"

[And there's another change. His ears are unbound and changed now, and clearly perked forward out of interest, instead of pinned back in fear or anger.]

[andnevermore]

[ Admittedly, Blake has spent the past two months... kind of avoiding the people that she harmed. It's one part oh they definitely won't want to see me because I almost killed them and one part I feel way too awkward to cope. Still, she's been running into them anyway.

She's already inflicted a big apology on SecUnit. Honestly, she thinks SecUnit had been even more awkward about it than she was.

And now, here's Akihiko. But before she can open her mouth and apologize, he's already talking. Blake's gut lurches. Gods, he's so casual. Like she didn't almost rip his throat out. The people here are so much better than she deserves. ]

I saw... a cyborg, about to fight a huge mass of transformed humans. A lot of them were praying. They had pendants that looked like this--

[ She takes the dagger, and uses it to draw in the dirt. A symbol of a weeping eye above a moon. Her own ears are flat, awkward, even as she's struggling to try to be normal around him. ]

Have you ever seen this?

[electrifyking]

[He crouches down to take a closer look at the dirt drawing, still doing his best to keep it casual and relaxed. Well, she hasn't attacked OR ran away, or vocally shut down, so he's considering this a win right now.

All the more reason to keep his focus on the symbol, and think back. He combs through his memories, frowning over them (and how some of them are extremely violent, even by his standards.) before shaking his head.]

"I... No. Sorry, nothing comes to mind. But it sounds like people have been taking this stuff seriously; any time there's symbols or emblems, it means something important...

...Hell. Might even have something to do with the marks everyone is still carrying on their bodies. Either way, seems worth keeping in mind."

battleground

[undyingcrow]

[Akechi lands nearby. His wings shave made maneuvering the ridiculous gravity... somewhat manageable, if nothing else.

He's now sporting a scorpion tail, looking slightly disheveled but otherwise calm.]

You wouldn't be the only one... Though, it's likely that our visions differ a great deal.

[andnevermore]

[ Blake tucks the knife back into her palm, giving herself a moment to adjust, letting her racing heartbeat calm down. Needless to say, she's not a big fan of having random visions out of nowhere.

But she's glad Akechi is here, actually. Out of anybody she's met here, he's the one that will be most likely to be able to give her some context. She's pretty good with puzzles, but she's nowhere near his level.

She crouches down, and with the tip of the dagger, draws the symbol she saw into the dusty earth. A weeping eye above a moon. ]

Have you seen this before?

[undyingcrow]

I believe that's the mark of the Silver Tears, based on the information in the Convoy Database...

He places a hand below his chin, examining the symbol closely.]

Based on the evidence, I believe they're the ones who erected those shrines we encountered before. The tower also seemed to be a result of one of their rituals, if the messages across its surface are to be believed...

[He'll have to note this down, but moreover...]

Did your vision involve them?

( bonus track )

[airskate]

[ Man, this month has really sucked. Not that they've had much in the way of good months, lately, but things can always get worse.

The point is, when he wanders near the camper van and hears that she's discovered new music—or at least, music he himself hasn't heard yet—he's only too eager to approach. Anything to take his mind off of everything.

He listens for a moment longer after Blake asks her question, ears twitching this way and that as he takes in the buzzing notes and the rise and fall of lyrics. Then, finally, he nods. ]

It is. Did you just find it?

[andnevermore]

No, this was one of the ones I found back when we were scavenging, actually.

[ Blake's just been kind of obsessively listening to Evanescence and Taylor Swift, and not really exploring the other ones as much as she could be. Whoops.

She sets her phone down -- she'd been reading one of the books that SecUnit has given her, horror novels from the far future -- and beams down at Shadow. Blake pats the roof of the van next to her. ]

Want to come up? The acoustics are even better from here. They're called My Chemical Romance.

[airskate]

[ Hey, Shadow's not one to judge. He own music preferences are pretty rigid, though they're getting more flexible by the day.

He's happy to accept Blake's invitation, spreading his wings in response. They're still relatively new, but he's had time to adjust. He leaps into the air and sweeps his wings down in one smooth motion, and the a few more wing strokes gets him up high enough to touch down on the van next to Blake. ]

'My Chemical Romance'...

[ He's run into some strange band names thus far, but this is definitely one of the strangest. ]

What does that mean?

Emo metal

[mytearsaremine]

It takes Jolie the whole day before she will come out of her car after the attacks, go near any other person. That's about how long it takes for the sensation of a raw, aching brain and the too-much feeling of other people around her to fade to something bearable.

The blaring music is what has her drifting over Blake's way. "I am fourteen," she comments. Then: "I've never heard music like that."

Look, her childhood was fairly limited when it came to current cultural touchstones. Or anything not folk music or gospel.

[andnevermore]

"There's a lot of different names for it. This is more pop-punk; this other CD I found is gothic metal. We had similar bands back home, but these are really good."

If she's never heard music like this before, Blake is about to blow her mind. She hops down from the roof of her van -- aided by her new bat wings, outstretched to soften her landing -- Blake opens the door, and starts switching CDs.

"I found a bunch of these a few stops back," she explains, "in some wrecked cars. Some are compilations, or more like regular pop. There's this one artist called Taylor Swift who's amazing." She hits pause on My Chemical Romance, and inserts the Evanescence CD instead. Blake shoots her a smile. "Check this out."

battleground

[faceguy]

[When he'd seen Blake across the old battlefield, he'd angled toward her. He hadn't meant to startle her, though, and when she whirls around, weapon in hand, he quickly raises his hands to show it's just him.

At least she realizes it fast, and Leo lets an easy smile slide over his face. No harm done!

He's wearing a blue cloak now, to cover up the gaping holes in his shell, but other than that he seems the same old turtle boy. He comes closer, wondering why everyone else seems to get visions when he doesn't. Maybe he just doesn't touch the right things.]

Maybe you keep seeing them because you're a real visionary! [Yep, that one was especially forced.] Was it, uh... bad?

[andnevermore]

[ Blake tucks the dagger back into a different grip, angling it away from Leo. She's still so-- jumpy in this place. She wishes she could figure out a way to stop being paranoid about every small sound and irregularity, but her Huntress instincts are constantly being triggered with the continual dangers. ]

It was... a group of transformed people, like us. A cyborg was going to confront them. A lot of the people were praying to the moon, holding onto this symbol... a weeping eye above the moon.

[ Blake uses her free hand to rub at her temple, warding off the headache that wants to spring up. ]

I guess it's something that happened where we're standing. I just wish I knew what it meant.

SOMBER PIANO INTRO GOES HERE

[definitionofcrazy]

[She's tried not to make it obvious when she just Checks Up on Blake, but she's never had much of a poker face, and she's sort of accepted that it'll be obvious anyway. To be honest, she'd rather worry about somebody else's crap than her own right now anyway. Less depressing, more feeling like she's helping. Everybody wins, right?

She's a little surprised to hear a few minimal notes on the stereo. Is Blake a classical fan? Didn't seem like her. Her confusion only increases as she hears the guy singing.

And then she hears Blake extolling the song's virtues from above.

Uh....]

Yeah, sure. Sounds... nice.

[She doesn't sound altogether persuaded.

The vocalist and the drum line are definitely not her thing... but she's never really been the type to be picky about music, so whatever floats, right?]

[andnevermore]

[ Blake holds up a finger. ]

Just listen.

[ Look, she gets Faith's trepidation. The song starts off simple, just a slow piano tune underneath the singer's voice. But as they listen, the parade drums start kicking off, a rattling beat to accompany the piano. And then in comes the guitar, a soaring melody to start bringing everything together, the singer's voice turning jagged around the edges.

Blake grins. ]

It's one of those songs that keeps getting better and better. What music are you normally into?

battleground

[hexrot]

[ a funny mirror flip flops back at her: jayce, with cervid ears up with attention, then flopping down to relax with his own melancholy sigh. he sees the knife. his own hammer is down. ]

You're not so far off, [ a joking huff as he gestures to her blade; he knows he looks like a monster. is a monster. the last time he really sat down to talk to blake, they . . . were definitely going through the horrors, blake at a more heightened alarm than jayce had been. different positions in their similar, albeit different changes. jayce had already been dead, then. today, and now, he is quite a bit more cervid. he has the ears, a tailored fit in his slacks for the tail, the handsome (but rotting) antler rack and two hooved legs in the place of human ones. at least, the weight of his shuffling hasn't changed. he still limps with a distinct cli-clock of hooves dragging on stone and small little metal snaps from the brace that hugs his left leg. modified now, to fit how he's become digitigrade. ] what'd you see?

[andnevermore]

[ Blake flips the dagger to a backhand grip, idly shifting it out of the way as she takes in-- well, Jayce's everything.

He's changed so much since she last saw him. Suddenly, Blake and her new wings don't feel so awkward, but she still huddles them around her shoulders anyway, a self-soothing motion after the vision that had blazed its way into her corneas. She really can't tell what kind of undead Jayce is; she hadn't been able to figure it out before, and she can't now. Admittedly, her knowledge on zombie lore in a little lacking. She'd always been way more into vampires and werewolves. ]

I, um. [ Blake has to take a second to recover from the sight of him. She turns, and starts searching the half-melted cyborg to see if the dagger has a sheath. ] It was... a cyborg, like this one, marching to confront a group of transformed humans. Some of them were praying to the moon.

[ The sheath she finds is simple, black, and unadorned. It fits well when she straps it around her thigh. With how much fighting they've done lately, she's started to think that more weapons might be useful. ]

And this symbol was there. [ With the tip of her dagger, Blake draws the symbol of the weeping eye above the moon. ] Have you seen this before?

What Dreams May Come (You Know I Had To)

[fists_of_funny]

The nightmare doesn't have to go far. Yang finds the van vastly more preferable to the sterile rooms of the Convoy, and she's ridden shotgun with Blake enough that its become homey enough for her as well. So when Blake curls up to sleep, Yang is right there beside her. And they both remember this moment.

At first, Yang thinks this is her nightmare. The fire, the screams, the roar of Grimm swarming the Beacon grounds as the life she'd become so accustomed to burned down around her. This is the night that broke Yang, for a long time. She'd already been fraying, but this, this moment is what that unravelled her completely.

But the nightmare has never been from this perspective before. And the thoughts and feelings—Blake's thoughts, Blake's feelings— overwhelm Yang in that moment, making her initially unable to parse what is happening. And Adam with his stupid hair and edgelord mask and smug little smirk...

Adam Taurus still fills Yang with feelings of dread that mingle easily with Blake's. Part of Yang's mind is trying to be heard over the flood of Blake's recollection, trying to assert itself herself, but Yang can't quite fully hear it before Adam stabs her.

And then she hears exactly what she expected to. Her own voice screaming GET AWAY FROM HER with a rage Yang hadn't realized she was capable of before that moment, and she can only watch with a kind of horrid fascination as she sees the dream of herself engage her Semblance and launch towards them.

Brothers, her form was sloppy. It's like everything slows down just so Yang can truly understand how easily Adam baited her. She does exactly what Tai criticized her for, she overcommits to the attack, she doesn't even try for a misdirect, she leaves herself wide open because Yang knows all she can see in that moment is Blake with a stab wound in her gut and and doesn't know if she's already too late. Yang wants to call her past self an idiot, but...

There was nothing else she would have done. And Adam does what he did. This part is new. Yang remembers a single, searing moment of pain greater than any she'd ever known, but she was unconscious before she even hit the floor. She didn't have to see her arm continue to arc through the air, getting farther and farther away, disappearing into the flames.

Blake has to live with this memory every day.

"Goddamn, you really love to hear yourself talk." It's a bitter condemnation, and all Yang has in her to do or try. Trying to fight Adam or change things would be pointless, but this is the closest look Yang has gotten at him, and honestly? She's already sick to death of what a bag of hot air he really is.

Then she puts her head down. "I'd really like for us to both wake up now."

[andnevermore]

Blake, still in the grips of the nightmare, watches it play out. The memory is perfectly crystallized in her mind; every sensation, every word.

She watches as she throws herself in front of Yang, as defiant as she can be while bleeding from the gut. Adam flicks his sword to rid it of their blood, stalking toward them. His voice is heavy with disappointment when he asks, "Why must you hurt me, Blake?"

He swings again. But neither of them are there to meet the blade. Blake's shadow separates at the neck, but she's already gone, carrying Yang out of the room. She often wonders about that moment. He would have decapitated her had she not already left. Did he know he'd only hit shadow? Or had he truly been meaning to kill her?

The scene freezes, or rather, the players have left the room, leaving it empty, crumbling, fire still flickering. Arcs of their blood still on the floor. She sees Yang standing across from her, yellow prosthetic bright in the firelight, and it takes Blake a long few moments before she realizes what's happening. This isn't the first nightmare she's shared, though, so she's able to put it together.

Blake's expression crumples.

"I'm sorry, Yang. You shouldn't have had to see this."

emo metal

[androidvictoriam]

[ The man approaching the van doesn't ordinarily get anywhere near it, partly because the mural does in fact give precisely that impression and it repels his general Disapproving Buzzkill Dad energy like a magnet, and even now, he's just passing by--but he's still stopped to listen, his expression mingled wariness and curiosity and his lupine ears pricking up of their own accord.

(He pretends this is not happening. Having ears that look anything other than human is a new and embarrassing development for him.) ]

Well, the lyrics are certainly...evocative. I'm not clear on why the singer finds it necessary to shout, but I will give it points for poetic merit.

[andnevermore]

[ Blake quirks an amused little smile, and sagely informs him: ]

Shouting makes it more emotional.

[ He must be a relatively new arrival, because Blake hasn't seen him around before, and the convoy's small enough that she knows most of the people in it. It also means that she can tell those canine ears are new: he's got the look of someone who's not quite sure what to do with them. It's a look that Blake's familiar with now. ]

New ears?

[ She nods at said ears, looking sympathetic. She was born with hers, so she can only imagine how weird it must be getting a whole new sensory organ one day. ]

Are you having any problems with hearing? Oversensitivity?