nysalogs | ( OPEN )

Entry tags:

( OPEN )

Who: lance (

competing) & anyone!
What: catch-all for the first part of the october event
When: oct 1 - 15
Where: around
Warning(s): none at the moment! will update if necessary

market district | day of attack

[ he was along the outskirts of the market district when the explosion occurs, sidelined in his usual patrol by an overenthusiastic child regaling lance with his exploits during playtime of the previous day. one second laughing to the young child's uncanny imitation of his nanny, and the next lurching forward reflexively, protectively, when suddenly the ground shuddered and screams erupted in the air. tehro is already crying from his confusion, rushing out of lance's hold to crash into his mother's, who stood terrified nearby, eyes turned towards the sky. lance's gaze soon follows, feeling dread pool at the sight of a thick cloud of an unnatural purple waft into the air. he takes a second to swallow down his fear, before shouting for everyone around him to vacate the premises as quickly and calmly as they can. (spoilers: they only manage to do one of these things.)

he runs the opposite way, pace slowed by the throng of people eager to escape. by the time he gets to the scene, all he sees is chaos. ( 1 ) he rushes towards the nearest person on the ground, reaching out to help them back onto their feet. ]

Hey — I got you, I got you, it's alright—

[ ( 2 ) if you are one of the able-bodied, he might try to flag you down with a shout. ]

Over here! [ he's in the process of trying to lift a wooden stall that had overturned on its vendor. given his noodle body, he could definitely use some help... ]

around | days after

[ the next couple of days are kind of a blur. ridden with guilt, burdened by his dwindling confidence, lance winds up throwing himself into doing as much as he can for the people who lost the most that day. at any time during the day, you can find him doing any number of the following:

( 3 ) pushing around a wooden street cart, its sign and his wares changing from day to day. one day he could be selling produce from a local farmer, another day he could be selling questionable, ah, toys from another local business person. some days he might be accompanied by an npc (the vendor's bored child along for the ride, their grandparent out to make sure lance is marketing right, etc), but every single time he'll be out there, running that motormouth of his dry, trying to get everybody, anybody to stop and consider a purchase.

( 4 ) getting chewed out by a local, far too upset to realize he has long since stopped saying anything, and instead just stands there with his head lowered, nodding mutely to their angry accusations. this is all your fault, where were you, you should have been there, you think you can try to make up for it now, etc... he stands and listens to it all without protest. ]

shooting range/training yard | days after

[ he's stopped wearing the royal guard insignia. he's still dressed in all-black, though, but only really because it had wound up encompassing most of his attire anyway, but he hasn't actually been back near the barracks or the yard in some time. hasn't felt right, in all honesty.

but today he wanders close to the training yard, which bustles now with activity. everyone working double-time to try and find the culprits, probably, doing just about everything lance isn't — can't — which explains why he keeps his head low, avoiding any eyes.

he's got his rifle in his hands, but he doesn't seem intent on training with it. rather, it looks like he's trying to subtly turn it back in... ]

cyoa/notes

( if none of these prompts work for you, please feel free to work something else out with me! you can reach me at

ellipses, PM this journal, or my plotting comment!

also, please let me know if you'd like to know about the RUMOR that lance overhears, and i can work it into our thread somehow! c: )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Fortunately, there is a water fountain nearby and that makes Tarrlok's task of helping with the stall on the vendor much easier. The way he moves his arms as he guides the water is smooth and fluid, and for the moment, it's like the water is coiling around the stall like a snake.

It's in this manner that Tarrlok is able to lift the stall off of the vendor and set it down just off to the side. The water is promptly returned to the fountain as Tarrlok kneels down beside the vendor and glances over to Lance inquiringly.]

Do you know first aid? I'm afraid I never learned much about medicine or healing.

[ he's awestruck as he watches the older man work, silent and frankly a little nervous, not entirely sure what to expect of those water coils, yet he doesn't step away from the stall until the vendor manages to crawl out. vaguely, lance wonders if this brand of... magic... is anything at all like juvia's, but it is a dim thought that he'll come back to later, he's sure, once he's made sure the vendor is okay. ]

Um — no, not really.

[ fortunately, there is a small triage being set up by some local healers and doctors. lance points towards them. ]

We can take him there, though—

[Despite the sedentary nature of a political career, Tarrlok has stayed in good shape - good enough physical condition to personally lead the Task Force he proposed to combat the equalists. It helps that bending is a combative art, and thus involves physical activity. He's never let himself slack off on it.

He crouches down, assessing the condition of the vendor. Nothing looks life-threatening on first glance, but he still had something heavy land on him and will need some care.]

Grab his legs and help me walk him over there.

[He's already positioning himself to lift from under the man's arms so that he can support the head.]

The legs — right.

[ despite having called tarrlok over himself, he's more than ready to acquiesce the lead role here. easily slipping into the role of a follower, he nods sharply and positions himself at the man's legs. carefully, he wraps both arms around the man's calves, and together they lift him gingerly.

by the time they get to the makeshift triage, a local healer already rushes over to assess the man's condition. in the process, essentially ushering both men away.

lance lingers by, absently running a hand over the back of his neck. ]

Man... Thanks for showing up when you did.

[Tarrlok is quite ready to assume a leadership role. It's something he's worked toward for years in his life, and he's practiced at it by this point. Lance is a nice kid, and he already has at least one useful skill that Tarrlok knows of, but ultimately, he is still a kid, or just barely into adulthood. If he's any older than nineteen, Tarrlok will be shocked.

And so, Tarrlok's going to attempt to be diplomatic and reassuring about it.]

It was a good thing you got my attention. I didn't notice the man until you called me over to him. It looks like he'll be fine after some treatment, though.

[He gestures in the direction of where the healer is working on the man. It's not much, but the man's arm can be seen moving. Always a good sign.]

[ lance's smile is strained, and the laugh that comes out of him is more reflexive than genuine, a mere puff of breath than anything else. ]

Yeah... it's kind of crazy.

[ he glances around. things have begun to finally slow down, many of the bodies that had been caught in the fray now standing, heading towards their own healers or tending to others who need more help. ]

What happened...

[ he has an idea. but it's a terrible one, and one he hopes isn't true... ]

We can't say for sure, and it could have simply been an accident due to negligence and faulty technology...

[Except, Tarrlok has very recent experience combating domestic terrorists, and that's exactly where his mind jumps. An accident with faulty technology would be a more reasonable assumption if the explosion was smaller and came from a business. This seems like it was planted exactly where many people would be impacted, rather than an accident.]

But we also can't rule out the possibility of an attack. Walk with me, Lance. You've got sharp eyes, so keep an eye out for either people who need help, or people who are behaving suspiciously.

[ there is a pause before lance's response; heavy enough that seems to imply he doesn't really believe tarrlok... despite how much the look in his eyes screams he wants to. so when the man continues with the mention of an attack, his breath comes out short, sharp. punctuated with a nod as he falls into step beside the older man, lifting his gaze to pan around them. ]

Should I be looking for anything specific...?

[He knows that look - that look of wanting to cling to the best possible option despite one's gut instincts screaming that it's something far worse. He's not going to reassure Lance that everything's going to be okay the way that one would a child.

Instead, he's going to offer guidance, because that's what people need the most when they are worried, want to help, but don't know what to do.]

Look for more people who might be trapped under debris, first of all. As for people potentially responsible for the attack, they won't look shocked like everyone else. They'll be looking to leave and trying to use the chaos around us to not be noticed.

[It's the harder of the two to spot, but it's something to watch for.]

[ lance nods mutely, glancing around. he tries not to look too obvious about it, worried he would give his own self away in the process. but he's on frayed nerves, and there's no denying it in the way he moves, the way his eyes dart around. it's a weird sort of adrenaline — the restless kind that burns with a need to do something, but hindered by overwhelming uncertainty and insecurity. it couldn't have been more than a week ago that he failed to prevent a murder from happening within this very district, and now this... ]

—there, [ he rasps. he points towards a man in a hat glancing about, trying to push his way through a crowd. his mind pulses. ] Maybe him??

Good eyes.

[Yup, that's about who Tarrlok identified as suspicious in this crowd, too. There's a possibility that the man's looking for his loved ones and trying to keep his cool, or perhaps he's just not someone who shows emotion easily, but it's certainly worth investigating.]

The next step is to see how he'll react if people approach him to ask him some questions. An innocent person would assume they were being questioned as a possible witness. A guilty person would want to avoid being questioned.

[ lance nods along, quickening his pace. he makes eye contact with the man briefly, but he doesn't seem to be spooked, despite looking mildly wary. it's difficult to get through the crowd to get to him quickly, but lance doesn't keep him out of his sight. ]

Are you a policeman back in your world or something? You really know what you're doing...

I am the chairman of a council of five that runs a nation.

[Or he was, anyway. He's not going to mention the way he screwed up his own career by attacking the Avatar when she wouldn't cooperate with him.]

When a domestic terrorist group was causing problems within our nation's largest city, Republic City, I formed a task force and worked closely with the police.

Whoa, so you... really know what you're doing. [ not that he had had any reason to doubt before, of course. it's just surprising how close this experience must be to him.

they're nearly onto he other man, who'd been slowed down considerably thanks to the throng of people. ]

Did you get to catch them? The terrorist group?

[Tarrlok is keeping his eye on the prize as they continue their conversation. While it was true that his task force was somewhat of a vanity project, he was entirely genuine in his desire to protect Republic City from the Equalists and willing to put himself in harm's way to do it.]

Some of them, but not all of them. Our investigations revealed that the group was larger and far better funded than we'd imagined. One of the great industrialists and inventors of our time was financially backing them and making weapons for them.

[ lance's eyes bug out, and he momentarily forgets their mission. ]

No way — that's so crazy!

[ that kinda stuff sounds straight out of the comic books.. though, considering lance's own life, who is he to even say that?? ]

You got that guy, at least, right? Tell me you at least got that guy.

He escaped, but we did seize all of his assets that we were aware of.

[Unfortunately what they were aware of was the big problem. There was plenty that they'd been unaware of.]

The storm hit before anything else. I know their leader is currently still...in recovery.

[He chooses his words carefully, because he knows the Natha would not appreciate any slip ups around the locals.]

[ lance responds with no more than a short, understanding nod, because they've finally caught up with that jittery man. he's quick to rest a hand on the man's shoulder, halting him and holding him steady. ]

Excuse me, sir? Could we have a word??

[Tarrlok is glad for the change of subject, because he doesn't want to get into further details about the Equalists. Not when he was seconds away from losing his bending at their hands, and especially not when he recognized the grip that held him in such a vulnerable position in the first place.]

We'd like to ask you a few questions about any suspicious behaviour you might have noticed around here.

S-Suspicious behavior? [ the man's eyes dart around nervously, sweat starting to bead at his brow. ] I haven't seen anything...

You seem distracted, [ lance cuts in suddenly, arms folding across his chest. ] Looking for someone?

Edited 2017-11-06 20:47 (UTC)

I...I'm just worried about my wife. She was shopping around here.

[It's not said with conviction and Tarrlok isn't convinced. But he pretends that he's at least considering it.]

What does she look like? We'd be happy to help you look for her. If she's pinned under something, you may need the extra manpower to help her.

[ lance isn't convinced either, but he's a lot more willing to hope that that may well be the case. the man goes on at length to describe her in detail, even down to the bright pink headscarf she'd worn outside of the house that day. despite himself, lance begins to look around. ]

Do you know where she might have gone to shop?

Practically every store in the area? She loves to have a fully coordinated ensemble, and has to look at five plus stores before she'll make up her mind on anything.

[Tarrlok is still suspicious, and the amount of detail the man used to describe his wife is actually more suspicous to him rather than less. Aside from one fashion designer he met, he's never known any men to be able to describe their wife's attire with that degree of detail. If Lance wants to look around to be helpful, Tarrlok's not going to stop him, but he's not letting this man out of his sight. He's also going to watch Lance's back, because he's worried this man might attack Lance from behind.]

Where were you when the explosion first happened?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( OPEN )

Attack - 2 | Okay to make our TDM game canon?

yes of course! c:

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject