of those blackholes & revelations

[capemods]

WHO: All imPorts.
WHERE: Atropos.
WHEN: January 7th to January 14th.
WARNINGS: Death and destruction.
SUMMARY: Atropos has risen in the night, and the inevitable has come: with her jaws she shears away the City from Earth and swallows it whole.

But the City is not yet dead.
FORMAT: Whatever you please.



The formless mass of metal haunting above, hovering like a lunar tombstone, begins to take shape. Asteroids plummet into the cheeks, the eyes, carving out bone structure. Her features howl with fury, with triumph, as she stares down below, savoring her conquest. A cavity opens. Metal swoops to form jagged, angry shears. Her teeth are born.

She waits as the world rotates, its spin more wobbly than it used to be.

And then she leans down to feast, her bite vampiric. She takes the City and then some, and all that it encompasses, so that every single imPort is captured. She takes the time to drink in any stragglers, any imPorts elusive to the City's thrall.

She holds the City on her tongue as she draws back her fist to punch the world.

And then teeth close to the shuddering, glass shattering vibration of a cosmic laugh. The jaws close, and there is no light for about an hour -- until Atropos begins to siphon solar energy from the sun into her veins. She is dissatisfied with its dying tint, or perhaps she cannot stand the redness of color, so once she injects this energy into her her body (her most intimate domain), she turns it bright yellow again. The universe within her is illuminated.

The City is a floating chunk of broken skyscrapers and puckered asphalt streets. The trauma of consumption has wrecked the usual infrastructure: buildings are half collapses, or skeletal, vehicles are flipped and strewn across the layout. Whatever vegetation that is still clinging onto life has rejoiced under the return of normal sunlight.

You can breathe. It isn't too hot, or too cold -- it's unusually pleasant, in fact. The sunshine veins that light your world are not overwhelming. There is no blue sky to complement the atmosphere, and whatever water still in the City will be constrained to the bottled kind found in shops.

But there are other floating pieces of worlds, and they might have water. Or food.

If you live in the City, your possessions should still be in the City. While about 76% of the natives have fled the City (which had gotten the brunt of focus over the past week), there are still some natives who were too sick, too sentimental or too stubborn to leave.

You'll find that your powers work normally, though you can't teleport within Atropos. You probably wouldn't want to teleport outside of her, anyway.

She swallows, and the City gentle glides down a slick throat. Dust and particles create stunning visuals, like the aurora borealis, except in warmer colors. Light reflects so easily from solar veins and starstrewn flesh.

While you can breathe easily, gravity is fickle. Physics is often defied. Atropos was never one to play by the rules.

Comments

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya huddles down as the debris flies over her head, holding cake by his collar. just a glowing girl and her dog with his own glowing necklace, right on the edge of the rubble peej was buried under. in normal circumstances, she might scold her for not being more careful, but she's too relieved to see someone else in this mess, and someone with her abilities especially.

she brushes back the hair between her horns as she straightens herself back up. ]

Thank goodness. You can fly.

[boobwindow]

[ She looks down with surprise to see Kanaya, dipping lower (and finding there's something odd about the gravity as she does so) so they're able to converse without having to shout. ]

Are you both okay?

[ Her mouth drops again before her head snaps in the opposite direction, her expressing growing increasingly worried. ]

Oh... no. My cat!

[ She's flooded with dread as she gazes upon the wreckage, wondering if her cat was able to escape Atropos.

But he must be frightened out of his wits. ]

[glowsferatu]

[ times like this kanaya wishes her powers weren't broken, she could put her at least somewhat at ease if she could find the cat, but opening that sense would get her nothing but a headache. it's hard to tell landmakrks with things as they are, or maybe she just hasn't paid enough attention to them since her movement isn't so often limited, but she might need to find april's apartment, see what state it's in. ]

I left mine in another's care. Seemed like one more thing that wouldn't do to worry about on top of everything else.

Where, uh, did you last leave it? [ she could at least try looking, even if it's probably already dead. ]

#cat owner problems

[boobwindow]

[ Normally, she does not fret before others. She has a reputation to uphold. But right now, she's like any other invested cat owner and panicking over whether or not her cat has been flattened into a pancake. ]

The MAC... oh god. [ Her gaze flicks to the buildings, trying to make out where the MAC is in all this mess. ] Just give me a sec --

[ She doesn't complete her sentence and disappears in a blur of white and red.

About ten minutes later (wherever Kanaya is or if she's waited) she returns with an orange cat secured in her arms. The cat's hair sticks out on all ends, its ears pulled back and emitting a low growl. ]

Kitty, I am so sorry.

[glowsferatu]

[ last kanaya heard about the mac, it had gone to spaghetti, so she doesn't say a word. at this point there's basically no chance that the cat isn't dead, so when karen flies off with barely a word, it's a bit frustrating to be left alone again so quickly. she lets out a huff and gives it about a minute before she continues on her way. maybe she'll manage to find someone else, some sense of what to do through all of this. maybe see how well april's apartment made it out.

she's made it a few blocks before the whooshing comes back in from behind her. her expression is surprised and scrutinizing at the same time, she really hadn't expected her to come back. ]

Oh, uh. He probably isn't too fond of the flying. Cats are always climbing into places they can't get down from, and that's about the epitome of one.

Did you...happen to see anything else on the way?

[boobwindow]

[ She plants both feet back on the ground, though the cat remains on edge, burrowing his face against her chest.

She looks at Kanaya, a heavy sigh following her question. ]

I can't see through anything. It's like something shut off my X-ray vision.

[ Whatever it was that "ate" this portion of the City. ]

[glowsferatu]

[ x-ray vision? that sounds a little dangerous. ]

I've encountered similar difficulties with my own abilities. Like the Space of this... [ what does she even call it? ] ...dimension? Is alien. Distorted.

But I would hope you might be able to achieve something of a better vantage point from the air.

[boobwindow]

[ She screws up her face at the mere memory of what were definitely teeth sinking hard into the stone and steel, before it swallowed them whole.

They're sitting in something's stomach. ]

Most recognizable landmarks are gone. [ She looks up and down the street before her eyes fixate on Kanaya. ] But if we're still here, that must mean Lachesis... the Porter... is around.

[glowsferatu]

[ the idea of being digested is one she's been trying to avoid. slow, painful, acidic, it's hardly a way she'd want them to go. she'd prefer to keep her definition of their surroundings more abstract, and luckily the atmosphere doesn't disagree with the idea very much. ]

Is that actually tested? I can't recall a time when Lachesis hasn't been a thing, there's no telling if we'd be sent elsewhere in her death.

More likely we'd only be stranded.

[boobwindow]

Not a clue, but I'd like to remain positive.

[ As positive as she can. She rubs her cat's neck gently. ]

I say we go and look for the Porter building.

[glowsferatu]

[ she glances around the area, most of the landmarks she would have worked from are all either in pieces or somewhere they shouldn't be. she reaches out to feel the threads again, hoping the problem might have been temporary, but quickly doubles over, clutching her head as her breath escapes in a gasp.

it's too much, too tangled. if she suspected before this Space wasn't hers, she knows it now. there's no room to be positive as far as she cares, but they can make due with what little they do have. ]

My movement...is going to be more limited than it should. I hoped you might be able to scout ahead, given what you can do. There's little illuminating about this perspective.

[boobwindow]

[ She keeps her cat pressed close, sighing heavily as she peers up and down the street. She can hear people, scattered all about this portion of the City. ]

I'll have to stick to the ground mostly. I could carry all of us, but I doubt our friends appreciate traveling that way.

[ Her cat certainly doesn't. ]

At least here the sun isn't red, so I've got my powers back.

[glowsferatu]

At least most of them. [ if the x-ray visions's still blocked. if not, that could be very useful. it's the useful they need to focus on, kanaya decides, if they're going to make it through this. she'll need to make use of herself so that karen can do the same. ]

I could keep an eye on them. It would give you the opportunity to scout ahead, as we'll only be wandering aimlessly otherwise.

[boobwindow]

It seems that way. It's not right, however... it's got to be magic or lead tampering with my vision.

[ Otherwise it should be working.

She glances between her cat and Kanaya. ]

Are you sure? He's really... [ His ears fold back and he whines. ] In a bad mood?

[glowsferatu]

[ she narrows her eyes at the cat. two can play at that game, buddy. ]

Well, he can join the club, perhaps as the official mascot. It gives the two of us a commonality right from the outset.

[boobwindow]

[ Her apprehension eases up bit by bit as she approaches Kanaya, trying to steadily hand over the cat that is now sinking his claws into her uniform and stretching the fabric. ]

Easy, kitty cat. We've got our work cut out for us.

It's Kanaya, right?

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya reaches over to extricate his claws carefully, but grits her teeth when he only digs them into her own sleeve as a result. she's glad her coat is thick. once she has him in her arms, he only looks more tense than before, still attached to her sleeve. ]

Yeah, and you were Karen, yes? [ "power girl" is a name she's yet to hear. ]

not the best icon for this but does tags before renewing account

[boobwindow]

[ Peej manages to gently remove the cat from her frame. He swipes at exposed skin, though she feels nothing. It really helps when dealing with an angry cat who doesn't want to take a bath or get his nails trimmed.

As she hands the cat over, she freezes, mouth hanging a little open while staring back at Kanaya. ]

Uh... [ The temptation to slap herself is great. ] Should have known that place would bite me back in the —

[ She groans. ]

Power Girl... and Karen. I'll explain later.

[glowsferatu]

This is one of those things, isn't it. [ she's been around superheroes long enough to grasp it, but her direct experience with them has been limited, aside from a certain moonlighting goblin. ] But an identity is can hardly be kept secret without some degree of actual concealment.

[ but that's all kind of needless pedantry. ] I suppose it doesn't matter now, either way.

[boobwindow]

[ She claps both hands on the side of her head and rolls her eyes. ]

Do me a favor anyway and please keep it to yourself. Unfortunately, there's still some folk from home who would gladly use that sort of information against me.

[ She had to butt heads with the Riddler and Two-Face. ]

[glowsferatu]

Uh. Right, sure. [ she'd ask exactly what home that is, but it's pretty late in the game at this point. there's not much relevance to the information anymore.

plus, she has a cat digging his claws in her arm and slapping his tail around in his own unease, right against her nose. this is no setting for sharing life stories. ]

I doubt there's really many left for me to share it with, and even less reason to. We've far more important concerns now.

[boobwindow]

[ It's a complicated answer anyhow.

She winces when she notes the cat's claws are out. ]

It's hard to tell whether or not things are going to remain the way they are or blip out of existence after all. I've seen enough of these situations to know it doesn't always end nasty, but...

[ As she lifts herself back into the air, she shakes her head. ]

Something about this isn't right.

[glowsferatu]

You mean there's anything to it that is?

[ kanaya looks up at her incredulously as she tries to stay close as she can without traveling on a z-axis. even if peej has to put some distance between them as she scouts, kanaya'd rather not let her out of sight. ]

[boobwindow]

No, it's...

[ She narrows her eyes. ]

There's usually something else. Someone else. Someone who's provoked the multiverse, like Luthor or Superboy-Prime or cosmic gods.

This started somewhere, somehow.

[glowsferatu]

A mouth generally has to be attached to something if it intends to bite.

[ it's hard to tell from the sky, but the cracks all seem to imply the shape of a canopy. something they could be inside. ] Whoever it is that owns this Space, that will be the one behind it. But the last time I felt it in such chaos, we were on a different Earth.