A SURREAL WEEK

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A SURREAL WEEK

While that sensation of wrongness that surfaced following the changing of their marks persists, the situation around the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning only becomes stranger the following week.

On Monday morning, the marked residents begin to show a startling but familiar symptom. Much like Kitty Pryde had the night of their reunion several months ago, they all begin to blurt out seemingly random things. Ideas and opinions that aren't their own. Memories of things that never happened to them. Confessions of emotions they've never felt. Knowledge they've never had before. These utterances (whether spoken aloud, written, or otherwise expressed) happen without warning or prompting. Sometimes they remember what they've said or done, but just as often these fits come and go without notice.

This unusual behavior continues as the days pass, becoming more frequent and more extensive, resulting in no small amount of confusion. The students take notice. The other residents of the mansion take notice. And the marked are, once again, left struggling to understand what's happening to them.

The situation comes to a head in the middle of the night, in the earliest hours of Friday morning, when all of the marked experience vivid dreams. All too real, but incomplete, visions of another life that stay with them after waking. They jolt out of sleep with their marks glowing brightly and a visceral sense of connection to that other self that puts the earlier part of the week into some kind of perspective...for better or worse. Scott Summers texts them all, shaken enough to insist on a late night meeting in the kitchen to talk this out. At least they have enough sense to have hot drinks on offer by the time everyone arrives, though.

Now, let's try to hash this out...

THE REALITY

This section is OOC and informational. A peek behind the curtain for clarity moving forward and for approaching the events of the week!

Every character with a mark is inextricably linked to a single version of themselves from one of the infinite realities outside of their own. The characters do not know this (yet) and the nature of this connection will be explored further as the metaplot unfolds, but the dreams and the random utterances the characters are experiencing this week are a reflection of the life of this other self.

This alternate reality version of the character can be anything you want! Are they from a reality with no mutants and just having a chill time? Are they from an established Marvel canon like 616 or Age of Apocalypse? Are they the result of the character making a different decision at an important crossroad? Are they so different that they're unrecognizable? Lean into whatever appeals to you/whatever you think you'd have the most fun reacting to as a character! But keep in mind that this will come up again later on and that there will be opportunities to play in that space if you choose to. You'll never have to play your character's alternate self, but your character will have access to their memories, their experiences, and the like.

So be ready to commit to the bit!

Note that you may reference other PCs and NPCs in your concept. They might be around! They might not be! How other characters exist in your character's alternate reality is your call at the end of the day, but checking in with other players if you plan to use their character in a significant way would be cool and also fun probably~ ♥ For the sake of clarity/simplicity, each character is connected to a version of themselves from a unique reality, so no two characters' alternate reality selves are from the same place.

Use the Planning section below to discuss and brainstorm ideas as you like. Once you're ready, let us know what's going on with your character in the Forms section.

THE WEEK ⮾ THE WEEKEND ⮾ THE FORMS ⮾ OOC

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THE WEEK

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Any threads occurring from Monday to Thursday can be placed here!

WEDNESDAY: Illyana & Manuel in the Music Room

[empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath)]

Manuel has never heard the song that's currently pouring out of the music room before, but that doesn't stop him from recognizing the skill with which it's being played and his attention is instantly piqued. As he paces up the hall, he's already going through the students in his mind and trying to guess who the pianist might be. There are only a few feasible options, but he realizes that he'd be pleased to be surprised by any of them and smiles faintly. He's...become somewhat attached to them.

The door to the classroom is open (he'll have to remind them to close it next time), so it's easy for him to pause there and look inside. His surprise at seeing Illyana Rasputin, sitting there with her fingers flowing effortlessly across the keys, shows on his face. But only for a moment. Then he composes himself and squares his shoulders and walks inside.

He won't disrupt her, but he'd come back here for a reason and it's his classroom, after all.

Still, he continues to listen in reluctant appreciation of her skill and to steal glances in her direction as he heads toward his desk and starts to unlock one of the drawers with a key on his keyring.

...she's quite good. Not better than him, obviously, but genuinely quite good.

WEDNESDAY: Illyana & Manuel in the Music Room

[allhell magik 🖤 illyana rasputin]

Illyana has also never heard this song before, and yet nonetheless she knows it. Her hands play the tune of their own accord, like automatic writing, but it's nostalgic to her in a strange way despite the fact that she missed several decades of music and culture and has yet to properly catch up on them.

When she finishes her rendition, she plunks a few keys maladroitly. This is about her natural level of proficiency with the instrument. It's as she's doing this that she realize she isn't alone in the room and glances over her shoulder at Manuel.

"You're lurking again," she observes. Now that she's not thinking about it, her right hand plucks out an arpeggio on the piano.

MONDAY: Emma & Manuel in the Kitchen

[empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath)]

While getting back to teaching this morning had given Manuel a distraction and a temporary sense of reprieve, that uncanny dissonance that had started last week still lingers and he's already beginning to feel tense again as he dismisses his students and leaves his classroom. Exhaling a sigh, he walks at a brisk pace down the halls toward the kitchen. He doesn't teach again until the afternoon, but he intends to keep himself busy with grading or lesson planning or his own coursework. Anything. After an espresso. He'd slept poorly again and he feels that he's earned that indulgence.

His mood lifts a bit when reaches the doorway and spots Emma already at the counter. Even a short time with his friend is always welcome. All thoughts of how she might commiserate with him or have new gossip to share fades as he approaches her from behind, replaced with...nothing. He isn't thinking at all when he steps close to her and places a hand low on the small of her back and presses a tender kiss to her cheek in greeting. "Good morning, mi amor."

Then the moment passes and he doesn't quite register it. He was in the doorway and now he's by Emma, standing a little too close. Abruptly, he reaches past her to get a demitasse from the cabinet in front of her and steps back, silently accepting this unspoken justification.

He's more tired than he'd realized, apparently. What had he been saying? But he notices the way she's looking at him before he can try to remember.

"...Are you all right?"

MONDAY: Emma & Manuel in the Kitchen

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

Emma doesn't turn around when Manny enters the kitchen - why would she? She's in the middle of making an espresso, and they can greet each other properly once they're both properly caffeinated. About to offer to make his for him, the words die on her lips at the deeply uncomfortable touch on the small of her back and the unusual pet name. Even the kiss feels oddly different. Her entire body tenses and she snaps to look at him, her task essentially forgotten.

Why is he looking at her like she's being strange?

"Why did you...?" There's nothing in his mind that offers an answer. "What's wrong with you?"

THURSDAY: Kitty & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

Emma is feeling more and more impatient to get back into Cerebro, and for obvious reasons. The entire week has been like hell, leaving her feeling like the one thing she can have control over is getting them an exact location to go to so they can ideally end all this.

She'd asked Kitty to breakfast to discuss the state of the machine - she doesn't want to rush her, but she also wants to know if there's a timeline, or any way she can help. And she's actually made a proper full breakfast as an apology for putting pressure on her. So she sits in the kitchen, staring at her coffee instead of drinking it.

THURSDAY: Kitty & Emma

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

Kitty strides into the room like she owns it, which is sort of strange, considering she's just in a big cardigan and leggings. They do need to talk about getting Cerebro up as soon as possible. She hadn't slept much at all last night, or many of them this week, and she's sure with just a little more time she can get it functional.

Instead of saying any of that, she extends her hand to Emma, and greets, "Madame Vice President. Good morning."

THURSDAY: Scott & Manuel

[empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath)]

While Manuel is certain that quietly canceling his classes and his individual lessons with the students for a few of days is the correct decision, it's left his days lacking in structure. He doesn't care for that. And, as the week nears its end, he's found himself with time to kill and restless energy to burn. This is what has brought him to Scott Summers' office. The man isn't teaching until later this afternoon and, with any luck, he'll be able to pry him out of whatever he's doing for a workout. Perhaps a little sparring.

Scott could, of course, knock his lights out. But isn't that the point? And he could stand to have some sense knocked into him, anyway.

He stops at the open door to the man's office and leans in, assessing. He hasn't been here since the motivational posters went up and his eyebrows briefly lift before he returns his attention to the other man.

"Hey Scott. ¿Estás ocupado? You can make time, no?"

THURSDAY: Scott & Manuel

[seeingred scott summers ⊗ cyclops]

Scott looks up in surprise. Manuel is a rare visitor to his office—not for any negative reason, but their class concerns rarely overlap, and they've never been close like that. Maybe it's his fault. As a boy, Scott was seriously wary of Manuel's powers, and part of him still dislikes the idea now, even as he understands that the other man is doing his best to act responsibly with a gift he never asked for.

Still, he thinks they're friends. Right? Scott can count the number of close friends he has on one hand, but the chat log full of cat pictures would suggest that they're friends. (God only knows how these thoughts are registering to Manny's emotion perception.)

"Of course." He pushes aside the report he was reviewing. "Come in. Or... don't come in, if there's an emergency...?" His fingers move to his desk drawer, ready to grab his visor if needed.

WEDNESDAY: Scott & Kitty

[seeingred scott summers ⊗ cyclops]

When Scott steps out of the Danger Room, there's a message from Kitty saying she's found something. He cleans up quickly and detours to the kitchen for coffee, and is carrying two mugs when he steps into Kitty's office.

But instead of placing coffee on Kitty's desk like he normally would, Scott stands there stern-faced and asks, "Did you know about Rachel?"

WEDNESDAY: Scott & Kitty

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

Kitty looks up, a little bleary eyed, a little more anxious because of what she has to tell him in just a few minutes. The coffee smells really good, though, enough to wake her up even from here. She reaches for her mug, but Scott doesn't put it down. He looks sort of mad, actually. Kitty tilts her head, and opens her mouth to ask what's going on.

But her posture corrects, she pulls her curls back from where they've become strewn across her forehead, and answers in a voice kindly but professional, "I think Rachel really does miss being normal. Why don't we come over with the kids next week?"

WEDNESDAY: Scott & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

On a break in between classes, Emma makes her way into Scott's office, feeling out of sorts. She's been thinking about horses all day. She was flustered this morning because she couldn't find her favorite cowboy boots (she does not own cowboy boots). She said a few weird things in class. Maybe seeing Scott will soothe her a bit. Plus, she has a request.

After shutting the door behind her she moves around to the other side of his desk to kiss the top of his head and loop her arms over his shoulders from behind. "Can we stay in my room tonight? I'm fairly certain I heard Kitty rehearsing a speech in the middle of the night and I just don't want to deal with that again."

THE WEEKEND

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Any threads occurring Friday or after can be placed here! Reactions to dreams can also go here.

FRIDAY: Scott & Emma

[seeingred scott summers ⊗ cyclops]

Scott jerks awake, trembling from a sense of wrongness—that he is not who he is, that he is not where he should be. A dream. Just a dream. His sleep mask sits over his eyes, reminding him to keep them shut, and he blindly reaches for his glasses.

But he can't get up. There's someone soft and warm lying on his shoulder, and he places his hand on her arm instead. "Jean," he says.

FRIDAY: Kitty & Manny

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

The last rose-filtered images of her dream still feel burned on to Kitty's corneas. Everyone had seemed so happy. Waking up in her room is waking up to everyone's suffering, the cold grey of early springtime. Heaviest is the reminder that she had in fact made whatever critical early mistake that had launched her trajectory from being the president of a peaceful world to scrapping for survival.

It's impossible to sit with, even after holding Lockheed to herself, ignoring his wriggling for a moment because she wants a hug. Two walls in her room connect to other residents'. She looks at Scoot's wall, but she's being a good friend and not invading his nighttime privacy if it's not an emergency anymore. She releases Lockheed and strides silent several doors down the other way, to see who's awake first. She catches the light of her glowing mark in the mirror as she goes, so feels justified in this excursion. No one hears her or sees her in the first few rooms, but she sees stirring in one, and sinks to the floor level, still phased. "Can I come in?" She asks Manny, halfway through his wall already.

THE FORMS

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Place completed forms here.

UTTERANCES

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<b>CHARACTER:</b> Character's name. <b>UTTERANCES:</b> Generally, what sort of utterances did your character make throughout the week? Were they subtle enough to go unnoticed or were they jarring in terms of content/tone/etc.? <b>NOTEWORTHY UTTERANCES:</b> Did your character say anything particularly unhinged or troublesome that you want to be public knowledge or that you want to go into more detail about or that you want to pick up a thread for? Discuss it here! <b>RESPONSE:</b> How did your character respond to the utterances? Did they try to deny anything was happening and keep on keeping on? Were they too embarrassed to function and canceling their classes? Did they treat them like a puzzle to be solved? How're they feeling as the week progresses? <b>OTHER:</b> Any other information you'd like to include?

DREAMS

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<b>CHARACTER:</b> Character's name. If it's different across realities for whatever reason, specify that here. <b>ALTERNATE SELF:</b> Outline a concept for your character's alternate reality self. Include as much or as little detail as you want. You can flesh this out as time moves on, so think of this as a starting point. <b>DREAM:</b> The characters will not get a clear recollection of the lives of their other selves immediately, but some of that knowledge is starting to take shape in their minds. What details/events/people/etc. were prominent in their dreams and stuck with them after waking? <b>OTHER:</b> Any other information you'd like to include?

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

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You know the drill. ♥

MOD QUESTIONS

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Hello! Aiming to let ya'll lead the response to all this a bit more on this post, which means fewer details from me upfront. So! If your character wants to try anything or investigate anything during this IC/OOC, just let me know and I'll respond here as quickly as I can so you can roll with any ideas you might have.

Additionally, please hit me up for any clarifications, questions about the sort of experiences your character can have if you're wanting to push the boundaries a little, etc.

PLANNING

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A subheading for planning dreams and alternate reality selves and chaos~

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

Hit me up if you want to thread 🥰🥰🥰🥰 can't wait for everyone to say and do weird shit

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

I have a lot of thinking to do BUT if anyone wants to thread with Kurt, let me know.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

I too love this so so so much and want threads with everyone, Kitty can blurt out state secrets all over the place. Or whatever is Fun 🥰

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath)]

Hi hello~ ♥ My son is struggling this week and I'd love to throw him at anyone/everyone for shenanigans. Hit me up if you wanna! 😌