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nomans_land2023-05-02 05:02 am
nml_mods) wrote in nomans_land2023-05-02 05:02 am
Entry tags:
On The First Day
It had been months.
Months of terror, of families ripped apart, refugees racing against the Ark in the sky, against the Plants that had once been their only source of survival on the world and had now been turned against them, raining lightning and death down on them like the hand of a vengeful God. Humanity pushed to the brink, fleeing their homes and communities, waves of refugees fleeing across the sands as more and more towns and cities fell to the reign of destruction that had been biting at their heels every step of the way.
And then, as the last descendants of the survivors of the Big Fall clustered in the city of Octovern, spiilling out into the streets, every available, livable space filled to capacity and beyond, what felt like the final days of humanity began. The sounds of artillery fire filled the air, the sight of the Ark and its grotesque ruler loomed overhead, and in the distant sky high above, the previously-inconceivable reinforcement ships from Earth took up orbit around No Man's Land. Throughout the night, explosions lit up the sky, thundering with deafening reports through the air, and yet the civilians below had settled into a still, terrified, anticipatory silence. They couldn't see, from their perspective, the figures atop the ruins of the Earth's space destroyers that had already fallen to the ground, locked in battle for the future of the people far below. But the sight of Millions Knives high above, terrifying and grotesque with the power of the Plants he had absorbed, was omnipresent, a never-ending threat, the harbinger of doom, biding his time until he could make good on his promise to wipe every last one of them off the face of existence.
And then something had changed.
Electrical currents rippled through the air above the downed ship, carrying screams on the wind. To the people below, Millions Knives' massive form had shifted, writhing, bellowing with unholy rage and pain and despair. And then it begun to unmake itself, shredding, crumbling, tearing itself apart at the seams and floating to the ground in tiny, shining, white particles. Tiny, white feathers drifted on the wind, closer and closer before, one by one, they began to settle to the roofs of the buildings, to the tops of cars and to the streets, and to the heads and faces of the humans staring up from below.
The instant that contact was made between feather and skin, a connection was made; between Human and Plant, between each person standing side by side, minds thrown open in bursts of light and expanding consciousness, and through the doors sprang multitudes of memories spanning hundreds of years. Suffering, laughter, pain, sorrow, joy, enslavement, death, pride, love. The Plants had made the connection to their creators - their keepers - that they had been silently pleading for since their first containment, and with it every man, woman, and child on the surface of the world began to see and feel and hear their stories and their cries for help. They did not want this war, they did not want this destruction. They had seen the promises of vengeance and a paradise for their kind atop the bones of humanity offered by Millions Knives and they had felt the hopes and dreams carried by Vash the Stampede of a kinder, more loving world, and they had made their choice.
Let there be love and peace in this world.
In the chaos that followed, as the bodies of the Plants began tumbling to the ground in a writhing mass and the screams of shock and confusion began to rise from the sea of humanity below, something rippled in the air, a last gasp of those silent voices before the connection was lost.
This was...different. New. As if reality had taken the distraction caused by the calamity below to shift itself sharply to the left, and then snapped. It started at the core of the mass of angelic bodies as men and women began to rush to their aid, a shockwave in the fabric of creation that rumbled silently in the atoms of the world and ricocheted outward, along the ground, through the air, until it had enveloped the entire planet. Time froze for an instant, and to the eyes of all who had the capacity for sight, that leftward shift became manifest, the world doubling on itself as the ground shook beneath their feet.
Wails of confusion and fear rose into the night sky, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world were about to unmake itself on the molecular level. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the distortion snapped back into place with a loud, ear-splitting CRACK, and in the stunned silence that followed, only one thing could be certain; things were not the same as they had been mere moments ago, as if everything and yet nothing at all had changed, all at once.
The world of No Man's Land was as it should be, but all across the surface of the planet, pockets of reality had split open, sending the inhabitants of mirrored existences tumbling through wide, unseen rifts. People and places outside of time and space found themselves staggering to their feet in a world that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, found themselves face to face with their own reflection made flesh, tossed about by the pleas of a race reaching across the fabric of creation for aid in putting a stop to a war that had been fought time and time again, across reality after reality, without fail.
Thus began the new chapter in the history of No Man's Land.
[Wherever your character was, whatever they were doing, when the rifts in reality opened, they will have found themselves rocked by a massive earthquake that lastes a few short seconds before settling with a loud crack, like thunder. While no damage will be left in its wake, the characters themselves will realize that though the planet appears to be the same, it will quickly become evident that they are in an alternate reality of the place they call home. Are they standing in the rubble of a once-destroyed city now remade whole? Is the bar they had been taking refuge in suddenly gone, leaving them tumbling to the sand with nothing but their drink in their hand? And what of the friends that had been standing by their side seconds before? This is where your stories begin.]
Months of terror, of families ripped apart, refugees racing against the Ark in the sky, against the Plants that had once been their only source of survival on the world and had now been turned against them, raining lightning and death down on them like the hand of a vengeful God. Humanity pushed to the brink, fleeing their homes and communities, waves of refugees fleeing across the sands as more and more towns and cities fell to the reign of destruction that had been biting at their heels every step of the way.
And then, as the last descendants of the survivors of the Big Fall clustered in the city of Octovern, spiilling out into the streets, every available, livable space filled to capacity and beyond, what felt like the final days of humanity began. The sounds of artillery fire filled the air, the sight of the Ark and its grotesque ruler loomed overhead, and in the distant sky high above, the previously-inconceivable reinforcement ships from Earth took up orbit around No Man's Land. Throughout the night, explosions lit up the sky, thundering with deafening reports through the air, and yet the civilians below had settled into a still, terrified, anticipatory silence. They couldn't see, from their perspective, the figures atop the ruins of the Earth's space destroyers that had already fallen to the ground, locked in battle for the future of the people far below. But the sight of Millions Knives high above, terrifying and grotesque with the power of the Plants he had absorbed, was omnipresent, a never-ending threat, the harbinger of doom, biding his time until he could make good on his promise to wipe every last one of them off the face of existence.
And then something had changed.
Electrical currents rippled through the air above the downed ship, carrying screams on the wind. To the people below, Millions Knives' massive form had shifted, writhing, bellowing with unholy rage and pain and despair. And then it begun to unmake itself, shredding, crumbling, tearing itself apart at the seams and floating to the ground in tiny, shining, white particles. Tiny, white feathers drifted on the wind, closer and closer before, one by one, they began to settle to the roofs of the buildings, to the tops of cars and to the streets, and to the heads and faces of the humans staring up from below.
The instant that contact was made between feather and skin, a connection was made; between Human and Plant, between each person standing side by side, minds thrown open in bursts of light and expanding consciousness, and through the doors sprang multitudes of memories spanning hundreds of years. Suffering, laughter, pain, sorrow, joy, enslavement, death, pride, love. The Plants had made the connection to their creators - their keepers - that they had been silently pleading for since their first containment, and with it every man, woman, and child on the surface of the world began to see and feel and hear their stories and their cries for help. They did not want this war, they did not want this destruction. They had seen the promises of vengeance and a paradise for their kind atop the bones of humanity offered by Millions Knives and they had felt the hopes and dreams carried by Vash the Stampede of a kinder, more loving world, and they had made their choice.
Of course, but...what would he do at a time like this?
I wonder if he'll laugh again
I wonder if he'll follow his ideals again.
I see. You all know him as well. That young man with a gentle smile.
Little Red Brother.
Let there be love and peace in this world.
In the chaos that followed, as the bodies of the Plants began tumbling to the ground in a writhing mass and the screams of shock and confusion began to rise from the sea of humanity below, something rippled in the air, a last gasp of those silent voices before the connection was lost.
Help Us. Help him. Please.
This was...different. New. As if reality had taken the distraction caused by the calamity below to shift itself sharply to the left, and then snapped. It started at the core of the mass of angelic bodies as men and women began to rush to their aid, a shockwave in the fabric of creation that rumbled silently in the atoms of the world and ricocheted outward, along the ground, through the air, until it had enveloped the entire planet. Time froze for an instant, and to the eyes of all who had the capacity for sight, that leftward shift became manifest, the world doubling on itself as the ground shook beneath their feet.
Wails of confusion and fear rose into the night sky, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world were about to unmake itself on the molecular level. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the distortion snapped back into place with a loud, ear-splitting CRACK, and in the stunned silence that followed, only one thing could be certain; things were not the same as they had been mere moments ago, as if everything and yet nothing at all had changed, all at once.
The world of No Man's Land was as it should be, but all across the surface of the planet, pockets of reality had split open, sending the inhabitants of mirrored existences tumbling through wide, unseen rifts. People and places outside of time and space found themselves staggering to their feet in a world that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, found themselves face to face with their own reflection made flesh, tossed about by the pleas of a race reaching across the fabric of creation for aid in putting a stop to a war that had been fought time and time again, across reality after reality, without fail.
[Wherever your character was, whatever they were doing, when the rifts in reality opened, they will have found themselves rocked by a massive earthquake that lastes a few short seconds before settling with a loud crack, like thunder. While no damage will be left in its wake, the characters themselves will realize that though the planet appears to be the same, it will quickly become evident that they are in an alternate reality of the place they call home. Are they standing in the rubble of a once-destroyed city now remade whole? Is the bar they had been taking refuge in suddenly gone, leaving them tumbling to the sand with nothing but their drink in their hand? And what of the friends that had been standing by their side seconds before? This is where your stories begin.]
no subject
...but medicine is terrifying. All the needles and solutions and things that made her veins burn and things grow inside her. It's so frightening, and it is so hard to trust, even when it's someone just like her. ]
I'm so s̝͈̪͞ͅc̢͎̖͉̟̜ͧͪa͈͖͙̓̾͝r͓͚̣͉̹̠̰̋ͦͥͦeͬ͑ͭͩ͋ͭ̂d̛͈͚̔̌͆ͪͤ, Vash. I can't stop it sometimes. I'm sorry.
no subject
I know. I know, I'd be scared too, but they won't anyone hurt you, right? [ He smiles, a little shakily, up at the wings hovering above them, surrounding them. Guarding them. ] Even if it's me, and that's good. It's good to have somebody to protect you.
[ His little feathers wave cheerfully, twining around her arm. If he was bigger, he could maybe do more, but what can he do? He's just a kid, and there's nothing around but sand, and rocks, and sky. There's nothing he can do for her. ]
no subject
[ She agrees, and somewhere under it all she gives a tired, pained smile. Yeah, the sisters won't let anyone hurt her. Even if that means destroying everything in their path.
Humans, wams, plants. Anything.
Her eye-wing looks at the little waving feathers and some of her own gently waves back, a few curving around his like a mimic of their hand-holding. Just two kids, out in the middle of nowhere. ]
I think... I think you're s̭̺̗̃åͯͦ̃f̟̝̦̬ͬ̕e͔ͫ̽.
no subject
His feathers stretch out more, a baby chick version of the canopy overhead, moving on their own to cover her and keep her from any more harm. ]
Do you sleep? [ As soon as he says it, he realizes it's a silly question -- everyone sleeps! ] You should stay here and rest. I'll go find help. [ He gives her hand a squeeze. ] Not people, I promise. Just stuff. Water and... and stuff. It'll be okay.
no subject
Don't f̧̟̘̿̓́ͬ̑́̈o̟͔̺̎͐̈́̆͋͂r̄͑ͥ̂̆̎g̞̩͋̈ͮ͝eͥ̊ͧt͎̯̳̱̻̱̞ͧͭ̚ about me. Please. P̈ͨ̔͑͂́l̇ͪ͒ͧe̸̫̘̳̤̯ͤ͋̿ͬ̉̉ͨa̭̘̩̲̞ṣ̳̳͕͓ͭ̓̏͒e̼ͦ̐̑̚.̰͔̳̮̙͗̄͝
[ Tessla isn't sure what she would do if he left her here forever. It might snap the last threads of her sanity. ]
no subject
[ She's family -- how could he possibly forget about her?
If she can sleep, then he'll know that she's not hurting when he runs to get whatever supplies he can find. ]
I won't be long. [ And then, to their other sisters hovering above: ] Can you pick me up? Way way high, so I can see all around?
no subject
[ Tessla repeats softly, before the wings drag her into the middle of the cocoon to keep her safe and away from everything else. Maybe she will sleep, or maybe she will just lie there and wait. Having any kind of hope that the pain will stop is new, and it's frightening to even think about.
She's hoped so many times, but in the end there had been no point. She didn't think she had any left, but... he was like her. Just like her. It had to mean something.
Some of the wings around the cocoon creak and snap, moving apart to raise Vash on top of the tight formation of feathers. It's not much higher than on the roof of a truck, but it's something. ]
no subject
The wings lift him up, and it's not as high as he was hoping but it's more than he could see from the ground. One hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright suns, Vash scours the horizon, looking for any sign of people. There's nothing... nothing... and then he spots what he thinks might be smoke, way out beneath the bigger of the two suns. Smoke means people! ]
There! [ He pats the wings eagerly. ] Put me down, put me down! [ That smoke looks to be a long ways away, but he'll run as far as he has to for her! ]
It's gonna take me a long time to get there and back, but I'm coming back! Tell her I'm coming back!
[ It might even be dark by the time he's able to return, but he'll find them. He's sure he'll be able to find them again. ]
Take care of her until I'm back!
no subject
COME BACK
P̭͔͎̫̲ͦ̃̈̊̚͡R̢̤͙̃̌͐O͚̓̉̍̑͌ͭ̀M͚̯͖̻ͭI̛̹ͮ̉ͩͪS̢͇̻̹̘ͅȆ͖̈́ͬ
[ The voices say, Tessla's somewhere in the mix of eldritch cacophony. She's trying her best to hold on to everything Vash had said, his promises, but her consciousness is fading. Just talking to a little brother while in misery is enough for a young plant to lose any strength she had. ]
no subject
I promise! I promise, I won't be long!
[ With a wave, he takes off running full tilt toward the smoke he'd spotted on the horizon. He'll run out of steam at some point and need to walk, but the more distance he can cover right away, the faster he'll be able to get back to her!
If the plants are watching, they'll see a little blond boy in light blue, bright against the red desert sands, running with all his might toward a spot in the distance. And then, maybe a mile or so out, he simply vanishes.
Sorry Tessla. ]