beholding_archivist: (Watcher's Crown)
Jonathan 'Eyebags' Sims ([personal profile] beholding_archivist) wrote in [community profile] revivalproject2021-05-11 11:00 am

(Not) Everyone’s A Hero

WHO: Jon & YOU
WHERE: Billy's fantasy city
WHAT: Supervillain Time! - Includes a 'Beat Up Some Nasty Monsters' sort-of mingl-y option?
WHEN: May
WARNINGS: E Y E S - Also low amount of Zalgo text.

While not as imposing as some of the skyscrapers surrounding it, the building of the Magnus Institute is not one easy to ignore. It has the weight of age and knowledge to it, easily looking way older than the city itself and yet no one can truly say just how long the Institute has existed.

No one but Jonathan Sims, head of said Institute despite his little habit of referring to himself as The Archivist. And maybe he does fulfill that role. Maybe he doesn't. The Archives are about as off-limit as the research lab, the artifact storage and the man's very private library. Both sit way beneath the Institute and are places he won't even bring his mothcats into. He rather lets them roam the city while he busies himself down there, keeping their eyes on heroes, villains and pedestrians while their master contemplates his most recent acquisitions.

It's an odd collection: A tape recorder, a golden lighter with a spider web design and a framed artwork of an eye that he can't help but feel very much observed by. Despite wearing thick gloves, Jon feels reluctant to touch either of these items even though he desperately wants to.

Is that eye drawn out of hundreds if not thousands of smaller eyes?

Jon shudders slightly and pulls his hand back upon realizing he has been reaching for the drawing again, but he remains unable to shake off that growing sensation of wrongness. Of having forgotten something. Of buried knowledge pressing its way back forward, trying to make itself known again.

Hundreds tiny eyes focus on him and he can feel their gaze, feel them attempting to inflict their knowledge on him and he winces, remembering. "...no."

The Tower
The sky darkens. It's a gradual effect beginning above the Institute and spreading outward from there. But what blocks out the sun aren't clouds, it's pure darkness. And as the city is swallowed by it, the Institute's building shifts and warps, reshaping itself into a massive, dominating tower, swallowing structures and skyscrapers around it as magical reality gets challenged by eldritch magic.

These two powers colliding is hardly a competition. It's a struggle of each power attempting to swallow the other, magic crackling and clashing and illuminating the dark sky above.

Down below at the steps of what used to be the Institute, the Archivist staggers outside, grimacing against the throbbing pain in his head and struggling to close bright green glowing eyes. But he can't. He has to see.

He has to see everything.


The Eye [ Jon won't react to this option. But go wild beating things up or borrow them for other prompts. ]
The sky blinks open above the city and its massive pupil focuses on literally everyone.

Everyone already adept at sensing magic will notice a much darker flow within the magic present in the city. It pulses with a need. A mindless hunger. And it gets stronger the closer one gets to the dark, now looming tower. But that isn't the only thing increasing the closer one gets to the tower. Flying monsters the size of small cars and looking like giant eyeballs with further eyeballs sprouting from them roam the streets and places around the tower.

These Beholders will stare straight into a person's very being and draw out what they fear the most to drink in that terror. If threatened, they will fire beams of twisted reality from those smaller eyeballs connected to them.

Another type of monster lurking especially around the base of the tower is more human-shaped, and, in fact, they may have been humans at some point. They appear like slouched-over figures wearing dark robes and will lie unmoving on the ground unless they detect nearby movement. Which is when these Servitors will rise and reveal that underneath the hood of their robes is nothing but a single eyeball, a little larger than a human head would be. They don't pursue as actively as the Beholders, but they will grab and hold a person daring to come too close to the tower, seeking to extract what secrets and vulnerabilities the potential intruder might have.

And then there are the cameras. Large creatures that venture even farther than the Beholders and made entirely of eyeballs of different sizes. They? Will only watch. But they will do so relentlessly.


The Archivist
He isn't touching the ground. He simply has decided that he doesn't need to and so he doesn't touch the ground. Because reality is what he makes of it.

The chuckle escaping Jon's throat is discordant, his voice shifting with a variety of distortions. He hasn't decided what his voice should be just yet. But he will figure it out. But until he has made that decision, Jon will make a few others. Important decisions such as that certain buildings in his way simply shouldn't exist. That the terrified screams of those that have just lost their homes are really just shades of purple. That this rental car over there is better off flattened for no particular reason.

Unless terror is a reason, of course. For he finds himself at the receiving end of the most wonderful dread, both due to his own actions and the creatures he has inflicted upon what reality used to be.

But just as he sets his mind on a new target, Jon spots something else. A person. One of those- Heroes?

"I̻̎ s̙̝͆̽e̼͔ͨ͆ͥẽ̟̩̰ͥ́.̫͋͐"


The Wildcard
[[ Anything else and stuff goes here. ]]
demjiin: (33)

The Archivist

[personal profile] demjiin 2021-05-12 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
There were plenty of people from Temba that had sprouted superpowers in the redesigned city. But even still, seeing someone hover a few inches above the sidewalk as they moved consistently was a little bit disturbing.

It was impossible not to notice the clash between Eldrich power and the magic that was battling for dominance above the Magnus Institute and indeed the Institute itself. So in the search for others that might not be completely claimed by the reality-warping magic, Kaz went there next. At the moment he was standing calmly on the sidewalk, both hands folded over his cane as he watched Jon float closer.
wearingthestars: (sad)

The Tower

[personal profile] wearingthestars 2021-05-12 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
What the hell is happening?? Billy looks up at the sky with a creased brow, stomach twisting in a way that can't be full attributed to his anxiety. His head hurts, and it's discomfort more than fear that urges him to get out of here.

For a moment he hesitates, catching sight of the man on the stairs. He looks like he's in pain, but then Billy catches his eye and it's like his breath had been stolen from him.

He needs to get out of here.
happybeeps: (pic#)

The Archivist

[personal profile] happybeeps 2021-05-12 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"I need everyone down here!" Poe repeats into his walkie, gesturing for fleeing civilians to clear the area. This is insane. "We need the streets blocked off from 4th to East Avenue, and -shit what was that-- "

The walkie hisses, and Agent Dameron pulls his gun on the floating figure, not sure how much good it's going to do as that car simply crumples to his right.

"That's far enough," he warns.
demjiin: (16)

[personal profile] demjiin 2021-05-12 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, this isn't going as he'd thought at all.

"I had assumed there would be more than one word."

The mannequins covered in actual human skin were definitely disturbing. Moreso while Kaz was doing anything he could to avoid touching them. This, of course, meant that he was surrounded and therefore trapped in place. The fact he just somehow knew that they were covered in skin at all was equally disturbing but for a different reason.

kree_soldieress: Lauri-Ell from Captain Marvel (Default)

The Archivist

[personal profile] kree_soldieress 2021-05-12 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[While she might not properly belong in this world, that didn't change the fact that there were things that must be dealt with when they arose, and this was one of those situations. A massive eye in the sky, fear and suffering all around, and in the middle of it Jon? No, Lauri-Ell would not stand for this.

Clad in the strange mix of her Accuser armor and the flow of plants and flowers that was the costume of Flower Power, Lauri-Ell stood in the road looking up at Jon, her hammer held in hand. She tapped it against the ground, creating a force field around herself.]


I believe we need to talk. Would you please cease your attempts to cause destruction so we might speak?
happybeeps: (Default)

[personal profile] happybeeps 2021-05-12 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"..."

Agent Dameron's eyes widen and he visibly recoils, stepping back as the bones clatter to the ground. His stomach drops like a lead weight, and he struggles to keep a level head, grip tight on the walkie, hardly hearing the hiss of the airway.

This was not good.

Nope.

He holds his palm out instead, brow set.

"...Backup's on the way. Let's just talk about this, hmm?"

He can't take him down, but maybe he can keep his attention focused on him until help arrives.
wearingthestars: (sad)

[personal profile] wearingthestars 2021-05-13 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
His chest grows tight, feet feeling rooted the ground, and for a moment Billy can't move, caught in that gaze. The fog finally spurs him into action, stumbling aimlessly to try and escape it, Jon's words echoing in his mind.

He fumbles for his phone as he tries to flee. Tommy can get him out of here. Or Mom. God, what's happening?!
happybeeps: (Default)

[personal profile] happybeeps 2021-05-13 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
It should hurt. It should be pure agony, but instead it's just...horror. Poe steps back numbly, like he can escape his own hand, unable to tear his eyes away from the mindbreaking sight.

He belatedly remembers to breathe, a cold sweat on his brow. He knows there's nothing he can do to stop it. Knows it with a certainty that frightens him, but still manages to bring the walkie back to his lips.

"M-move the perimeter back. Far as you can. Get everyone out of here-" he pants.
demjiin: (07)

[personal profile] demjiin 2021-05-13 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
Kaz was starting to feel the stirrings of real fear when the mannequins started moving on their own. If that wasn't particularly creepy, whatever Jon was doing with his voice would have been enough on its own. Disturbed and not liking the way it was making him feel one bit, Kaz pointed up at the sky with irritation.

"I'm here because this place is resisting the rest of reality warping, and if that's getting personified in you then you must be resisting it too."
kree_soldieress: Lauri-Ell from Captain Marvel (Default)

[personal profile] kree_soldieress 2021-05-13 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah. that word was not good for hopes of negotiation. It seemed conflict must be joined. Lauri-Ell lifted her weapon then, thrusting it forward toward Jon, unleashing a burst of cerulean light.]

Then you must fall!
deal_me_in: (Pkeew!!)

The Tower

[personal profile] deal_me_in 2021-05-13 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Eugh, what is even happening?! It doesn't take a genius to figure something's going on, and that that something is not good.

The Exo had been doing some sleuthing and had felt pretty proud of himself for it. Some of his friends are easier to locate after all, if you know what to look for. But as he nears the Institute he has to wonder about his timing. Which is of course impeccable. For better or for worse.

There's an unease creeping through him as he watches the dark spread across the skies and warp things, and when a giant freakin' eye blinks open he can't help for an audible yelp. "That's not right." But...he's sure he's seen something like it before...

By then when he looks towards his original destination it's changed considerably, making him stop dead in his tracks, but only briefly as he sees someone stepping outside. The glowing green eyes remind him of someone else altogether, but he brushes that thought off, breaking into a run.

"Jon!"
deal_me_in: (I did a lot of shooting that day)

[personal profile] deal_me_in 2021-05-13 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not that he was planning to stop, but there are certain tones that just demand some kind of direct response. Honestly, Cayde's not sure whether he stops because of the command itself or because of the weirdness to it. The look a moment ago hadn't gone unnoticed, not that he knows why the man had flinched exactly.

"Jon, it's me! Cayde!" he rallies on, trying a slower approach because of course weird metal men running towards you would make anyone concerned. Well no, but he supposes around here it's a high possibility.
demjiin: (21)

[personal profile] demjiin 2021-05-13 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
It's hardly a relief and really just feels like a pause before that particular wave breaks. Kaz swallowed around a throat gone dry.

"Then you're not letting in a reality that would blind you. The question is whether you would be the only one or if others could come here and start to see things as they really are too?"
deal_me_in: (Pkeew!!)

[personal profile] deal_me_in 2021-05-13 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
That admission should have been a relief to hear. It's kind of difficult when it's said that way, but Cayde's stubborn, and he forces that grin to stay on his face. Well, at least until Jon says he sees everything. That's...that can't be pleasant.

"Just calm down buddy, we'll just-" He cringes as the building implodes, staring helplessly for a moment as he hears the screams. "Oh come on! Why?!" he sputters, looking back at Jon. "Listen to me- this place, I don't know what's happening, but you don't have to ...with all this..!" He gives up trying to explain, gesturing as he moves closer.

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