aterat | Up Against The Echo In The Mirror

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Up Against The Echo In The Mirror

Who; Anyone!
What; Mirrorverse swap Logs
Where; Around Aterat ( will be replied to with account

signalinterference) and the Mirrorverse (will be replied to with Mono’s regular account

monochromatically )
When; Early October for a full week
Warnings; A very tall man for the Aterat side, probably warnings for stalking if he decides your character is a problem and violence if a fight breaks out. Might be some fighting on the Mirrorverse side as well if Mono and whoever he meets run into something bad.
NOTE; For info please see his journal at this link HERE.

Mono in the Mirror World Log - OTA

Mono hadn’t meant to slip through the mirror. In fact, he made it a habit to avoid mirrors in general for his own awkward feelings towards his reflection, even before the weird portal mirrors had appeared in Aterat. When the portal mirrors had appeared and Mono had randomly caught sight of his reflection once or twice, an anxious feeling always welled up inside him. He still saw himself, everyone did, it was just that Mono’s other self did not look like Mono as he did now... Instead it was the too tall, imposing, looming figure he had feared for a long time... Still did, if only in a slightly different way.

So Mono had avoided crossing in front of the mirror portals or getting close to them as much as possible. It was fairly easy. It wasn’t like the televisions in his world. Those beckoned to him and demanded his attention in order to open the door and let that version of himself free.

It worked out well enough until suddenly it didn’t. His powers had been acting up a little more in the last month for reasons he didn’t know or understand... without even trying to do anything with his ability, reaching for a mug of cocoa had caused it to fly off the end table and across the floor. With a yelp, the boy had hurried to clean up… only to trip and tumble through the mirror.

Leaving Mono's ever present moth friend to flutter about frantically, trying to figure out where her dear little friend had gone...

... Now he was stuck wandering a gloomy, unfamiliar city. If Mono were honest, the energy of the place and way things looked reminded him a little too much of his world in the worst ways. It hadn’t taken long for the boy to fall back on old instincts. Moving cautiously, keeping close to cover and making as little noise as possible when he explored to try to find a way out.

Mono was hesitant to approach anyone, choosing to sneak about from building to building above. Using various (sometimes risky) methods to move across larger gaps. Sometimes… Sometimes there’s a wistful feeling that distracts him, thinking of times when he had someone there to help make things a little easier. He tries to dash those thoughts immediately though, because it’s hard to not think about how poorly that ended for him last time… No, it was better to work alone in these kinds of places.

Doesn’t stop the boy from being curious, though, as he spots a familiar figure that he didn’t expect to see here. He isn’t innocent or naïve enough to approach immediately, though. He needs to make sure they are who they look like. Not whatever strange version exists in this world… And if it is an alternate version of someone, he at least needs to know they aren’t dangerous.

(ooc: Mono will probably be the first to approach your character, so feel free to write your character exploring the mirror verse in whatever way you like. If you want something different, I’m game for that! If you want your character to notice him first, that’s cool too, but his reactions will vary if addressed or approached directly. This goes for Aterat people he knows or the mirror versions of them! :D)

Thin Man Wandering Aterat - Option A - OTA

It’s too… something. Colourful? Noisy? … Alive? He hadn’t cared for the other place he was on the other side of the mirror. Nothing for him to do, no way to reach viewers in the usual manner, but he’d still carved out a little portion of the city to loom about in without bothering much with the others that had arrived there given teamwork was a joke that he'd been the punchline of so long ago... He respected the other powerful arrivals boundaries and (mostly) didn't bother with anyone more than strictly necessary. In that way, it wasn’t entirely unlike his world, where the monsters each ruled over their particular location. The Pale City was his, The Maw was The Lady’s (though from what he could spy from the few televisions there… that may have changed) and so on and so forth.

Still… Clearly no one on the other side of the mirror or in this more lively world had ever been touched by that which everyone, even he himself, was meant to be led by. Hard to tell if it was disappointment or jealousy that he felt as he considered that, but he decided on disgust in the end.

Oh, there was one or two things he did find he favourable about all this, though. The Tell-Phone for one. A fascinating device, so different from the useless hunks of plastic that sat around in his world. These were small, portable… And capable of broadcasting video across some kind of network by anyone who happened to have one. Everyone was easy to reach out to. Accessible anytime, anywhere! How much easier, how much faster, would spreading the signal be for him and the Eye if they had something like this to work with instead of just the television?

For another... he was getting a rather interesting chance to stretch his legs for a lot longer than the usual cycles allowed at this point, and you didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If the eye ever did extend its reach to this place, well, he was here and he would answer to it again if needed… And it always needed him.

But for now...? For now, he was going to wander around. To see this other city that his smaller (naïve, stubborn, annoying…) self had been running around in for however long he’d been here.

Thin Man Wandering Aterat - Option B - OTA

So you made the mistake of going out too late at night, ignored the prickling sense of dread that crept up on you and now you’re being stalked through the streets of Aterat by a very imposing person… Are they a person? Perhaps an ‘entity’ was the better word for it. He certainly doesn’t move like a normal human. More like something out of a scary story, all tall and menacing and definitely threatening. It looked to be dressed like a detective from those old black and white films, but his skin was pale and his eyes sunken… Is he alive or is he the living dead? Whose to say? All you know is that you should probably focus on getting away rather than trying to strike up a conversation.

Unfortunately, every time you think you’ve lost him, there he is again. Sometimes he’s humming a low, ominous tune. His voice is raspy and harsh from a lack of use, and his gaze conveys a level of disgust with either the sight of you or the fact that you’re insisting on this pointless game of cat and mouse that you clearly can’t win.

What do you do? Do you try to escape into a building and hope he’s too tall to fit inside? Keep hoping that you lose him? Or do you stand your ground and see what happens? Up to you, hopefully at least one of these options is the right one.

(ooc: On the flip side, you could also go with your character intervening to be a big ol hero if the other way doesn't work for you)

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Thus far, there was no better advice, and no one else to help them. Yin, also, didn't know better than Mono, so his age was of no consequence. Later, after she meets July back in her own world, he will remind her of Mono. Quiet, thoughtful and mature for his age. For now, there's something akin to gratefulness rising in her.

She can feel the dampness in the air, even if she can't see the fog.

"A sink will work," Yin confirms for Mono, as long as it has running water, of course, and as long as water still pools on the ground. And wherever he wants, streets or otherwise, Yin follows Mono's footsteps.

The confirmation is enough to motivate him to start looking for a good building to try first. “There were some weird noises coming from some parts of the one I was climbing before. So maybe not that one…” He said quietly, glancing back the way he’d come before meeting Yin. There were probably better places they could try, and he didn’t want to make a mistake and put either of them in danger… That had happened a few times in the past, honestly, and the boy wasn’t looking to repeat those experiences.

“So… let’s find a way into this one over here.” He started towards what looked to be a rickety old building that leaned slightly towards the next. “It looks like it’s an apartment kinda place like the ones back on the other side… Which means there’s gotta be a lot of sinks to pick.” If they were lucky, this one might have less activity inside than the other… At least he hoped that would be the case… But if it wasn’t, then he would settle for making sure that Yin didn’t end up in danger, he’d promised himself that much wouldn’t happen again to a friend if he could help it.

The door, unfortunately, seemed to be rather stuck when he tried it. Hm… Good thing he was great at breaking stuff, right? “It’s stuck, but I bet I could get it open. You should stay away from the door till I do, though.” He said quietly, though with fewer explanations than one would probably hope on the subject.

Yin shakes her head, very slowly. "Not that one," she confirms, but more because Mono didn't seem keen on it. She decided to consider that for future situations. A building with noises in this place? Not somewhere she wants to walk into, blindly.

When Mono mentions Apartments, Yin's head lifts some, and she nods.

"Is it a quiet place?" No noises, she hopes, because then they should look somewhere else.

That is an interesting thing to say, for certain, and other people might have asked about it, but Yin, instead, takes a step back. Hands folded in front of her, she stares blankly, straight ahead, just waiting for Mono to do...whatever it is he is about to do.

After all, she will only be able to hear it, and still, likely, won't have questions.

The question is a good one, and Mono looks up at it again for a moment. “I think so, or at least when I was going from roof to roof earlier I didn’t hear anything inside this one… Maybe ‘cause the door is stuck. Nothing could get in.” He responded carefully, hoping it wasn’t the situation where there were things stuck inside because of the door and they were just quiet.

Plus, one could also argue that he couldn’t hear the inside of an entire apartment building from the top floor…

But they had to try a building, and this one seemed like the best candidate with his exploration thus far. So Mono thought it was probably worth the risk over the others… And he would be really watchful for trouble!

Once she took a step back, the boy nodded to himself, that should be far enough… His abilities weren’t really working right, nor had he really gotten the hang of this particular skill… but either the door would straighten and unjam, or it would maybe break in pieces… So it was a win/win regardless of how it turned out. Raising a hand, and leaning forward slightly, he called up the power inside him, the door starting to creak and a static filling his eyes at the flair of power.

The time weathered door started to straighten and realign… And then there was a very unfortunate snap, and the wood burst into splinters and chips that flew out of the frame. Which was why he made sure Yin stood back. “Darn it! I nearly had it that time.” He mumbled to himself, sounding just a little disappointed. Though being fair, maybe if he didn’t have something causing his powers to flair irregularly, he might have really done it the way he wanted this time…

Still, the door was open… Well, gone… And that was going to have to do for now. “Um… I opened it. Kinda.” He started, turning back to Yin and reaching out to catch one of her hands. It was an old habit of his from his time with someone else, a very old habit, but not one without reason. “We should stay close, since it’s still sort’ve a big building.”

She's pretty sure Mono himself couldn't open a stuck door - unless he had abilities, like Contractors do, and it sounds like that is a possibility. She notes that, silently, for later. After all, Yin heard the splintering wood, the pieces hit the ground.

Yet, she isn't going to pry. Today.

When he takes her hand, Yin holds Mono's in return. Holding hands is helpful for her, until she finds some water, anyway, and she definitely doesn't mind holding hands with people she cares for. Mono falls into that category.

"We will stay close," Yin nods her head in agreement. "Safe." It seems far safer for them both, that way. Though, it does sound a bit like Mono might be able to take care of himself more than Yin first thought. That's a comfort.

She didn't miss his frustration, though - perhaps his powers don't work as he wants, yet, and that would mean they aren't reliable. Together, then. Another nod of her head, and Yin takes a step forward.

Mono would, of course, try his best to answer if Yin ever did decide to ask. For now, he was slightly relieved that no questions followed his attempt at fixing the door. Questions were not something he was good at answering, at least based on prior experience… But he always tried, at least, if the subject was brought up. His powers were also, indeed, not reliable right now. The boy had picked up something recently around Aterat that caused them to be more unstable than the simple clumsiness of someone learning. He was still unaware of what was causing it, though, and would likely rely on them only when necessary.

It was quiet as they entered the building, and there was a comforting familiarity in wandering around hand in hand. Although the boy did feel a small anxious worry about what happened last time, he had to make sure he and Yin both made it out together… And he didn’t mess up!

“Yeah, safer, and it’ll be easier to talk quietly. So if there is anything around we didn’t know about, it might not hear us.” He agreed, glad that she seemed to be of a similar mind. He carefully took in their surroundings, dusty and largely empty, as one would expect an abandoned building to be. There were doors along each wall, not entirely unlike the apartments around Aterat… So if they were lucky, they wouldn’t have to go far for water. Glancing around, he tried to keep an eye out for a good place to start.

Hoping to find doors unlocked and not in need of breaking, the boy lead Yin to each and tested the doors quietly until they found one that turned easily. Wincing slightly as it creaked on its hinges, he looked around beyond the doorway. “This one’s open. Maybe we can find a sink in here?”

Luckily for Mono, then, Yin isn't the best at asking questions, or being curious. She does have some form of curiosity, and it is growing. She is starting to ask more and more questions, but right now, they have other focuses.

"What things might be around?" Yin asks, some form of curiosity rising.

Yin nodded her head, and though, ultimately, she was counting on Mono to see a sink for her, she still entered the room with her hands reaching out, to feel around, grasping at the wall.

There is, indeed, a sink in this apartment, multiple ones. It was just a matter if they have running water in this place.

The boy’s face scrunched a bit at the question, unseen by Yin for the moment. “Um… I’m not sure, but when I was outside, I saw stuff moving in the shadows. Some weird creatures, and some that looked kinda familiar… If they were what I saw, I bet they could be inside places, too.” That explained nothing, but it seemed the boy was afraid to paint a clearer picture of what he had seen.

The sink is a welcome distraction, and as cautious as the boy was? It was hard to not feel a little excited to have accomplished the first task since they teamed up. Mono’s steps quickened a bit as he drew her towards the kitchen sink. “There’s a sink here, it’s the kitchen one, so it’s pretty big too. Will that help?” Maybe they should have done a more thorough search, but the opportunity to get his friend water was hard to ignore.

Mono's description seems more than enough for Yin who nods her head. She's easily placated, at least. Usually.

So far, Yin hears nothing off about the building they're walking into, but she's on alert, senses ready, just in case.

Yin's head perks up when Mono moves toward the sink.

"Yes," Yin nods her head, again and makes her way in the path she heard Mono's footsteps go. She reaches out, feels cold metal, then works her hands down to a knob. She turns it. Tension, slight as it is, drains from her at hearing the water run. At least this means she can look at the world around them and find an exit. Hopefully.

Mono pulled himself up to peer over the edge of the counter into the sink, watching the water flow the tap with some growing curiosity. “What are ya going to do with it? Should we find something to bring some with us?” He asked, not quite sure what the next step was here. If it was going to help them progress, though, it seemed pretty important to make sure they had access to it when Yin needed it.

There was a faint creaking sound. Perhaps the door swinging near where they came in. Drafty old building that it was, it was easy to write off as nothing more than that… But, of course, that didn’t necessarily mean that was the case.

"If you can find something to bring with us, we can," Yin points out, but otherwise, she will commit everything to memory, and they can at least get out. That won't help with monsters, beasts or unwanted surprise guests who might not be present when she looks through her specter, however.

While Yin can't see like this, she still turns her head in the direction of the creaking sound, her ears, and other senses, being highly sensitive.

She notes the direction it came from, but stops up the sink, lets the water build, then puts her hand in it.

(ooc: Sure we definitely can if you want. We can fade out or we can wrap it in a couple of tags depending on your preference!)

“Maybe there’s a bowl or something. Places people live usually got those?” The boy mused, watching as she plugged up the sink and let it start collecting water. He slipped back to the floor and began poking around cupboards, plans to be helpful. At first he doesn’t notice the sound himself, hearing not quite as good as Yin’s. That said, a sound of footfall thumping awkwardly across the floor does get him to stop. “Um…” He frowned, closing the cupboard door where he’d been pulling a bowl out.

It’s getting closer, but they have time to get what is needed and move. With any luck, maybe they could get by without being noticed and find a standing mirror in a room or one of the neighboring apartments?

[ ooc: to a wrap works for me. I like Mono and Yin's interactions. ]

Yin's eyes widen - she hears the footsteps. They are definitely pressed for time.

Luckily, the building has a lot of dripping facets, and standing water.

Her voice still seems as monotone as ever, but anyone accustomed to her more slow speech patterns might notice there's the tiniest sense of urgency in her tone.

"Two floors above us. Three doors to the right." She turns to Mono when he brings her the bowl, dips it in the sink and picks up enough water she can work with. They need to go.

[ooc: Okay, I’ll move this towards the wrap, then. I like their interactions too :3]

Mono noticed the slight shift in her tone as minute as it was, used to subtle quiet shifts and queues when he was working with someone else where he was from. It was easy to tell why. The stumbling thumps are weirdly familiar to the boy, and he really doesn’t want to run into it here. Not when they were so close to finding a way out! Nodding quickly as he let her fill the bowl, he turned to look back the way they came. “Two floors up. Three doors to the right.” He confirmed in a low whisper, they can make it there… Then they can put this whole weird place behind them.

And hopefully that means the other him will be pulled back here and out of Aterat before he can do any damage, he hopes.

“Let’s go… I’ll go ahead.” The boy said, not wanting Yin to lose her water if something tried to tackle them.

Mono takes the lead and moves ahead with quiet, careful steps. The thumping is getting closer and as he comes up past one of the rooms in the apartment, he sees something large stumbling towards them. It’s larger than both of them. It would be towering if it weren’t for the slouch and clumsy steps it takes. Mono doesn’t let his eyes linger on it for too long, not after he sees the wrinkled folds of skin where a face should be, he’d seen something like this far too often where he was from… And it would chase them relentlessly if he didn’t do something.

Reaching out with his powers, he uses them to pull on the door that was ajar. It swings shut with a loud slam and a thump of the thing running into the door. “Let’s go!” He urged in a higher whisper, steps quickening slightly as they make for the stairs outside the apartment. There is more thumping to be heard as they go up and pass by doors, and Mono is careful to watch for any surprises. “This floor, right? The third door?”

Despite Yin's seemingly calm demeanor, there is more urgency to her pace as they start to move. She follows Mono, just as careful, hand splayed in the bowl. Worrying about what's behind them isn't something Yin is used to. She has a team that would take care of that sort of thing. Her job is to get them out, that's what she's going to do.

Mono becomes urgent, and Yin actually runs, water splashing from the bowl. She's still graceful in her movements, step for step right behind Mono, all the way up the stairs.

She nods to the floor, then points to the third door, still able to see the mirror on the other side of the door, with what little water remains in the bowl.

There’s a few more stumbling sounds of footfall from behind doors, and Mono is careful to keep them far from them if not clumsily trying to use his ability to close doors as they pass. If the boy weren’t feeling a bit panicked and frantic himself, he would be pretty impressed with how graceful his friend was and how well she was keeping most of the water in the bowl as they ran. Another time, maybe Mono would admit as much, but right now he was as focused as she was on finding a way out.

He keeps an eye on her, and on the doors ahead of them as he waits for Yin to confirm the door they needed, before feeling a small flash of hope as she pointed to the third door. They were almost there! He hurried forward, and doesn’t bother to worry about if he breaks another door or not as he shoves the door both with his arms and his power in case it’s locked. There’s a snap as it opens and thuds against the wall behind it, “Let’s go. Once we get through the mirror, we should be back where we should be!” Well, maybe where they should be was debatable, being from different worlds… But Mono liked Aterat and he’d rather be there over most places. It was also where they should be other than here.

The boy waits for Yin, though, wanting to make sure she gets through before he tries. Leaving someone behind or failing to get them out of a bad situation, it didn’t sit well with him… And he didn’t want Yin to grow to dislike him as someone else had.

Panic in this situation is more than understandable. Even Yin seems to sigh with relief when they breech the room with the mirror in it.

Regardless of where home is, Yin doesn't feel one way or another about Aterat, and still, even she would call it where they should be, now. And definitely prefers it to this place and the thing stalking after them. She sticks close to Mono until he speaks about the mirror.

With a nod of her head, Yin might be slow - still faster than her usual - but she steps through the mirror, once she feels ( her specter shows in a nearby kitchen sink and watches them both ) where it is.

This is Yin, though. Even if she was left behind on purpose, she wouldn't dislike anyone over it. Accidents are even more blameless. She waits on the other side, bowl useless and unable to connect her to the other side to keep an eye on Mono, but she listens for him.

That Yin wouldn’t blame him or dislike him if anything should happen of that nature was definitely something the boy himself needed to learn over time. He’d had a particularly bad experience in the past, unfortunately. So, for now, he would try his best to avoid accidents or actions that might lead to someone being left behind or harmed.

So he waits until Yin is through the mirror, eyes darting between it and the doorway as those clumsy footsteps draw ever closer before finally making a dash to get through himself. He just about bumps into Yin once he does, skidding to a halt and his gaze settles on a less dark and abysmal looking kitchen. The lack of oppressive dark and thuds of footsteps eases his worry. They were safe on the other side of the mirror.

Taking a couple of steps around Yin and away from the mirror, he let out a little quiet breath of relief. “We made it!” He said, voice still a quiet whisper but with an edge of relieved excitement all the same. His eyes land on the specter in the sink and then he looked between it and Yin curiously. “Thanks Yin, I dunno know how much longer we would’ve been stuck there without you finding the mirror.”

It's more than understandable Mono isn't comfortable with a situation that might result in someone being left behind, even without the bad experience. Yin herself was simply not the sort to take it personally. She doesn't have the emotional capacity to be hurt. She would probably just stay in place until someone came to get her, or she could figure out where the mirror is, herself.

She isn't even entirely sure they are free of the other place, beyond the change in noises. Everything sounded more alive, while less foreboding. When Mono speaks, though, there's no doubt.

"Thank you, as well, Mono." If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been able to find the water in the first place. Who knows what would have happened, then.

Mono managed an uncertain, clumsy smile at that. “Yeah, we kinda made a good team.” He added with a little nod, before looking around the room carefully and the urge to go home started to creep in… And to see if anything had happened out here while he was inside the mirror, and if maybe he had to worry about what might come of it if something had happened.

So the victory, while a relief, is slightly short lived on his part. Fixing his hat and tugging its brim lower, he urged himself to start moving to actually do the above as not fun as it might be. “We should go back home, huh? I um… People are probably gonna wonder where I went.” He added, knowing they sometimes went looking for him if he was late or missing… And he really hoped they hadn’t. “You gonna be okay to get back to your place?” He added cautiously, just to be sure, before he started towards the house where he lived with Nida and Ignis.

"We...." Yin looks back in the direction they just came from as these words process with her. "We were a team?" If that's the case, she might enjoy it, sometimes, working with new teams, even if she misses her team from home.

She nods her head. "I will manage." She can get more water in the place they've returned to and figure it out from there.

"You should check with these people." It didn't do them any good to have people worried over them.

“Yeah, I think so anyway.” The boy confirmed with a solemn little nod. Because they had both worked together to get back, and no one had gotten hurt or lost along the way. To the boy that seemed like a team. At least the kind of team he’d been on once, but this one had gone well! So that was a nice bonus.

He tilted his head for a moment to consider if she meant that or not, sometimes people said things that they didn’t exactly mean… But she didn’t sound uncertain or worried about getting back, so the boy would trust her word on that this time. “Okay, then. I’ll go home and do that. See ya around, Yin.” He responded as he fixed his hat a bit and hurried off towards the exit.

[ Yes, agreed! I'm taking a break for March, but would enjoy doing something with both Mono and Waver in April. Both CRs have been fantastic. You are welcome, and thank you, as well. ]

[ We definitely can do some stuff in April! I'll probably be pretty slow for March myself. I hope you take care and have a good month and I will look forward to figuring out new stuff when you get back! ]

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Up Against The Echo In The Mirror

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It probably is time to find them a way out?

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This seems like a good closing point? Thank you again for the thread, I love their cr <3

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