If the apocalyptic weather conditions, rampaging animals, and earthquakes haven't convinced you to stay at home, do yourself a favor and get inside. The fight between the Anonymous Movement and the Deities isn't ours.

Things like this--things that feel like the promise of significant change--have happened before. The clock has behaved erratically before, and we've been offered freedom before. It's always the same: There's a build-up, a day or two of chaos, and then we're back to whatever curses the City has scheduled for us. Ultimately, nothing changes. It doesn't matter who controls the City or what promises they make. The Deities and the Anonymous Movement are puppets, bureaucrats--administrators who lack the power to alter the City in a meaningful way.

Don't fight for them. Fight for yourself or your friends or your convictions if you have to, but not for them.


( [Private // Unlocked to Neil and Todd] )

[Midday, a new arrival--or perhaps someone familiar to those who have been in the City for more than a few months--appears by the fountain. His button-up shirt (buttoned all the way to the top, as usual), khakis, and loafers aren't exactly seasonally appropriate, but at least he managed to avoid the icy fountain.

It's not as if the cold can bother him that much, anyway.

He looks around for the device that he knows will be nearby and--yes, there it is, just like always. He dusts stray snowflakes off of it, checks the date, and switches it to record.]

This is Justin Pendleton. If anyone who knew me is still here, I'd appreciate a response.

Who's currently running the City? Anonymous? What state is the police force in? Again, answers would be appreciated. Thank you.

[He moves to end the recording and hesitates.]

Neil, Todd. You'd better still be here.

[There, good. He cuts the video short and pockets the network device. Until he hears from his flatmates, Justin resolves to check out the City and see what has changed in the four months he's been gone himself.]


[ooc: Feel free to contact him via the network or run into him in person! And don't forget that it's National Hug Day. <3 Justin does so hate love hugs.]

While you're here, please try to conduct yourself appropriately. If something is illegal in your world, it's likely frowned upon in the City; don't do it.

The police are still here and working in spite of the recent revolution. We can be contacted via the network in the event of an emergency.

[Now that business is out of the way:]

I'll be checking my messages all weekend, if there's anyone I know here.


[ooc: Backdated to whenever-o'-clock this weekend and open to backtags for the rest of forever! Anything goes. ...Except killing. No killing.]

This isn't over.

The deities didn't create rules--they enforced them. Whoever or whatever is above them is, presumably, still there. The only thing that this revolution has changed is who oversees us. We're not free. Our problems aren't gone.

We can't be sure that we'll be better off. What do we know about the people who have replaced the deities? Do we know where they came from? What they truly want? Now that they control whatever power the deities had, what are they going to do with it? They've made promises, but what have they done for us? Were they any more forgiving or any less ruthless than the deities during the fighting?

Nothing gets better in the City. Maybe this time will be an exception, but I see no reason to hope for much. We'll still lose people we come to care about. We'll still be at the mercy of our captors, even if they aren't the ones we're used to.

Be careful. Don't hesitate to contact the police if there's trouble.

[The video shows... an unimpressed cat. It is most definitely not Justin's cat, but it's in his room.]

Does this cat belong to anyone?

[An orange tabby--that's Justin's cat--jumps up to sniff the intruder.]

He's been here for almost three days. I'm sure his owner is worried.

[That's actually a lie. The video doesn't convey it, of course, but the black cat is quite capable of answering any questions Justin might have. This isn't a real inquiry so much as an indirect way of asking him to leave.

There's little else that needs to be said. The feed ends.]


[ooc: Justin and Mao were handcuffed together and someone has decided to stick around. Possible action for Neil&Todd (who can't know that this is a talking cat) and Mao.]

[text]

I don't suppose anyone has evaluated the lifeboat situation on this ship.


[action (boat)]

[Justin has received his message and his target. He has significant doubts about the veracity of the message's claims--if escaping is as simple as murder, he can think of a few citizens who should be home by now--but what if it is legitimate? The City has offered false hope before, but what if, just this once, escape is possible? The message's wording was so reasonable...

After an initial inspection of his cabin, Justin chooses to take stock of the ship and its occupants. He wanders the deck and makes his way through as much of the vessel's interior as unlocked doors allow. His jacket conceals a gun. Whether or not he'll be able to use it is anyone's guess. A life seems a small price to pay to escape the City when death is impermanent, but he can't help but mistrust the City. Would he kill for a chance to get out and move on to whatever awaits the dead? Maybe. Justin has been in the City for years; it's a wearying existence. Can he murder without any certainty that the act will have the desired outcome? He isn't sure. The thought of killing someone (again) is sickening, to say the least.

Then again, the someone in question is, according to the anonymous message, Jimmy. It's almost regrettable. The man who shares his face has admitted to multiple murders and armed robbery, but Justin had sympathized with him when they spoke during a body swap. Maybe it'll be easier if he imagines that Jimmy is him.

Justin doesn't look like someone contemplating murder as he makes his way through the ship.]


[ooc: Text is for everyone! Anyone on the boat of death can run into Justin.]

( Action for Neil & Todd / Off-Network In All Conceivable Ways )

[Public Voice Post]

I don't remember if this has been asked before, but is there any apparent pattern where the handcuff curse is concerned? Are the participants usually friends? Enemies? Strangers? Given the unlikelihood that I would be handcuffed to a friend, I can't believe it's coincidence.

[And if you know Justin, you will also know that he has three friends in a vast City. The odds of randomly being attached to one of them are slim to none.]

It's nothing important. It just seems that there's significance in what happens here more often than not.

[As soon as it becomes apparent that the City is more crowded than usual, Justin does what is, for him, the unthinkable: he makes a post. There's no deliberation, no planning, none of the typical reluctance to interact with the world outside of his very small comfort zone.

Just a rushed public service announcement.]

If you haven't been here before, this is the City. It's difficult to explain and you likely won't be here long enough for an explanation to matter. Stay calm. You'll only be here for a day or two.

If you have been here before, try to set a decent example.

[But that's not the real reason for this post.]

Euphie? Are you here?


[ooc: Fourth wall post! Very much open, even if your name isn't Euphie. Absolutely anything goes, including face twins/movie spoilers/telling Justin he's a fictional character. Hit him up on the network or feel free to run into him somewhere in the City.]

The deities are calling them an infection. "Unwanted, unregistered guests." Beings that the deities didn't let into the City and, apparently, can't force out.

Considering their lack of control over the situation, I have my doubts about their suggested methods of extermination. I've seen fire in action. The infected catch fire well enough, but the ashes only breed more of them. Do not set the infected on fire.

Corralling them is ridiculous without superpowers. A human who tries to herd these things into a stadium will end up dead or, if they're lucky, just bitten. And why corral them? What does Fice want to do these infected monsters that wear the faces of people we've known?

My recommendations:
- Stay in a reinforced building if you don't fight. Avoid windows.
- Don't be a hero.
- Keep your distance if you can.
- The infected don't always die. I was only able to kill the two I knew.
- Destroy the heart or destroy the head.
- Hearts are difficult to shoot. Aim for the head.
- Remind yourself that this is the City. The City doesn't import undead versions of people we know, but it has a history of torturing us with specters of loved ones. This is a trick.
- If you need help, call someone. The police are doing what they can.
- DON'T BURN THE INFECTED.

[Justin wakes up in a place that is definitely not his room. This, however, is a thing that he notices only after the initial wave of agonizing pain subsides. Looking at the video feed, a careful observer will notice that this doesn't look like Justin. There's something different about the face, the hair...]

What...

[He's in the Welcome Center in one of the guest beds. Therefore, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Penny's voice can be heard in the background.]

Jimmy? Do you need more medicine?

I don't-- [Oh. Oh. Realization dawns--and is immediately derailed by pain. What the hell did Jimmy do?] Yes. Please.

Just give me a minute, okay?

Thanks.

[He notices the device's recording light. With a sigh that becomes a groan as moving proves to be a bad idea, Justin grabs the device. Before turning it off--]

Jimmy. I have something that belongs to you.


[ooc: Most pointless bodyswap of all time! Jimmy and Justin have swapped, Jimmy was clever enough to let House do a painful surgical procedure, and purple is Penny. Replies will come from ohcurses 

TRIGGER WARNING for the thread involving Carla.]

[This is Justin making a post. Reluctantly. If there weren't people he hopes to see again, he would happily spend the day in his room with his cat and a book. As it is, he's in the garden with his cat and a book.]

For those of you who are new to the City, don't panic. This happens periodically. It's temporary. Anyone who arrived today and hasn't been here before: Don't panic. You'll go home soon.

"Don't panic" is actually the best advice I have.

If you're looking for me, I'll be in Xanadu.


[Private to Ken Ichijouji]

I'd like to discuss something with you, please.


[ooc: Anything goes! Replies may be sporadic due to NaNo.]

The police department has received several dozen phone calls regarding wounds inflicted by mysterious falling objects today. Please don't report any further incidents. It's a curse and it's beyond our control. And if you inexplicably live through what should be a fatal accident, don't complain; consider yourself lucky.

Try to keep a solid roof above your head for the remainder of the day if at all possible.

[A click signifies the end of the recording... or not. It clicks back on.]

Angela Montenegro appears to be gone from the City. I've only been to the Hall... if someone would--could check...

[A pause and then a final click.]


[ooc: Slightly backdated!]

[A very wet hand grabs the recording device. After a moment of darkness, the device is set down (with absolutely no gentleness whatsoever) on the edge of the fountain. From off screen:]

I'm not surprised you're here.

[After a few moments full of drippy noises--the sounds of someone wringing his shirt and hair out, maybe--the device is retrieved and turned to show a wet and unamused Justin.]

It hasn't been a year, has it?


[ooc: Yeah, I brought him back. Do appraise him of the police situation!]

[As they sometimes do, the network device turns on of its own accord. There's nothing interesting to see; Justin is hunched over a never-ending pile of paperwork, still trying to put the police force back in order in the only way he knows how.

A group of laughing officers comes into view. One of them--a rather pretty woman--breaks away to set a piece of paper on Justin's desk.]

We found the person responsible for the break-ins.

Thank you. Where is he?

Being held.

And the items reported as stolen?

Found those, too. We just need to get things back to their owners.

Good. Please keep me--

[The officer grabs Justin by his shirt collar and kisses him, effectively cutting off that particular sentence. The device only offers a view of the back of the female officer's head until she breaks away. Justin looks horrified; her expression isn't visible.]

...Updated. Please keep me updated, Johansen.

[The other officers are trying not to laugh. Johansen returns to them, blushing furiously.]

I--yes. I'll do that.

Thank you.

[As the officers retreat (one of them slapping Johansen on the back in a congratulatory fashion), Justin glances at the network device. Of course it would turn on. Thank you, City.

He reaches over to turn it off without comment.]


[ooc: Purple is an npc officer named Johansen, apparently. Action is welcome. Really.]

[action]

[Justin, looking older and more worn than usual, is in the garden. If his rumpled appearance or the cigarettes don't indicate a cursed state, his complete inaction should. He's seldom idle, usually, and the police force has been keeping him occupied lately.

But right now, he's sitting under a tree. Smoking. Looking either bored or blank--it's difficult to tell. He's not going anywhere soon.]


[text]

This again. And again, and again, and again. The details change but the plot repeats itself. Not just one weekend a month or even here alone. Listen to the clock. Each tick is just like the one preceding it, like the one following it. Tedious second after tedious second. Identical seconds, adding up to minutes and hours and days and years that blur together into a single unremarkable life until, finally, we have the privilege of dying.

I wonder why we bother living through the tedium.

Why do we consider life so valuable when it ultimately comes to nothing?


[ooc: Cursed with The Years That Never Were. This is a Justin I've been working on for a while, so there's an explanation for the curious. Responses will come from the curse journal, mostly.]

Welcome--or welcome back--to the City.

I'm around if you need me.


[Action]

[It's a lackluster post to the network, but Justin isn't worried about making the strangers feel welcome. There are a very few, very specific people he's looking for. He delayed the post, unsure if seeing them would be a good thing or a bad thing.

Better to regret, perhaps...

Justin can be contacted via his network device or found in any of his usual haunts--the fringes of Xanadu, the police station, the apartment that he's currently sharing with Neil and Todd. He's exceptionally melancholy today (and has been, for some time), which is no small achievement considering his usual disposition. Approach at will. Should anyone choose to check the apartment, they may have to face Justin's recently-adopted tabby in addition to an abysmal mood.]


[ooc: Anything goes. No, really. Anything. Text, video, action, friends, strangers... anyone brave enough to prod the brooding nerd is more than welcome. (Replies will be sporadic, as life has decided to be busy. This shouldn't make them any less enthusiastic, however!)]

What do you believe happens to the dead once they leave the City?

I won't contest religious beliefs.


[Flagged to Dean // Open to Police Force Members and Affiliates]
I'd like to request a few days off, assuming no one else gets murdered. Please.


[ooc: Euphie left, she and Justin had a weird thing going on that was rather emotional, and Justin's dealing the only way he knows how that doesn't involve self-destructive habits he has outgrown, which is... thinking. (For those keeping score, he was already upset about Mara and the police force's lack of fixing things.)]

I don’t remember the curses on a weekend like this being so uniform. It’s a comfort, almost, knowing that so many others are afflicted with the same thing.

It’s also startling to wake up and find that, not only is your body not your own, but someone you know is living a radically different life than they were yesterday. Startling, not surprising. Living in the City makes surprises few and far between (and those few surprises are almost inevitably unpleasant)—or so I think.

If you’re unhappy about your situation this weekend, remember that it won’t last. Nothing, good or bad, ever does.


[Justin is—like much of the City, it seems—not the same gender as usual. Also like many others in the City, he has decided to distract himself by drinking. After stopping by the police station to grab some work to do, he heads to one of the smaller bars in town. It’s not quite a dive, but only just. On a normal day, he would hide in the corner. Cursed, however, he feels confident enough that no one will recognize him and instigate a conversation.

Should anyone meander into this bar, they may see a young, willowy woman sitting alone, staring morosely at a stack of papers and drinking almost absently.]


[ooc: Genderswap, 'cause all the cool kids are doing it. Feel free to either reply to the text or run into Justin at the bar or... really, whatever strikes your fancy. Replies wil be from ohcurses ]