[General Log] Tuning Towers, Sept. 22 onward.

[theearth]

Who: Any and all!
Where: The site of Tuning Towers (and/or en route accordingly), at the heart of the business district in Locke City's downtown.
When: September 22nd and onward.
What: Following that mysterious buzzing sound to its strongest point! Perhaps you made plans with numbered associates for a trip downtown, or perhaps you went a-wandering alone to follow the noise yourself - surely you'll hardly be the only one.



[Tuning Towers, the third-largest building in the United States and Locke City's most prominent feature, from a tourist perspective in one sense and quite literally by another - look up and marvel, if you will, should you not be a bit too distracted by the circumstances.

Even if you needed to focus to tune into the buzzing in your brain at the start of whatever trip you took, you'll find that by the time you come close enough to the tower to feel a rising sensation of tremors beneath your feet - unnoticed, as far as one can tell, by the crowds, which almost never lack presence around the building - you'll be able to hear it very easily without even trying. It isn't terribly intrusive in the first couple of days after the return of the lights in the sky. As September moves on and into October, however, the intensity will grow all the more overbearing.

It is, indeed, even worse if you enter the building - only the ground floor is accessible to the unauthorized by the tower's maintenance and management or personnel of the companies making use of it. Apart from that, among the indoor crowds, you'll find nothing unusual on the ground floor - and if you'll find that the buzzing loses its strength the higher you go if you take a trip up to one of the observation floors.]

Comments

[unimpressive]

[This is exactly the kind of thing Roy's gonna yell at him for later. Maybe. Possibly. (If he doesn't go along with it, too, anyway.)

Vaughn can hardly bring himself to care though, not with everything that's happened lately. Lights in the sky, a mysterious buzzing, and he can actually follow it? No way he's passing that up. Just the very thrill of finding out where it's coming from is enough for him.

He leaves campus first chance he gets, focused on finding the source. ...So focused, he just barely avoids walking right into some kid's cane.]

Wh-whoa, hey! What are you... Sorry!

[metalbent]

[ If anyone were looking out for Sophie, she'd get the same, but.

Her instant reaction is a frown, before... ]

Huh?

[ She's spoken to that voice before, several times, recently. ]

Peppy?

[unimpressive]

[Vaughn takes a step back, eyes widening in surprise. He recognizes that voice. In fact, he remembers speaking to its owner not too long ago.

And that name? That cinches it.]

Sophie? What... What are you doing?!

[metalbent]

Uh, walking?

[ She sounds as deadpan as she ever gets. ...Which is pretty damn deadpan and sarcastic, to be honest. ]

It's this thing people do sometimes, you know, when they want to get places.

[unimpressive]

[...Well. That would be obvious. He raises his hands in front of him defensively. Okaaay, so, blind? He hadn't been expecting that. But he can't say he would put whacking him with that cane past her so, for once, he keeps his mouth shut about that.]

All right, all right, I get it! [A laugh.] All by yourself? Where to?

[metalbent]

[ Well, if he weren't someone on the network she wouldn't really have an answer, but... ]

You hear that too, don't you? It's annoying.

[unimpressive]

[He pauses, coming to a stop.] Heh, so you're hearing it, too...

Yeah. I don't know where it's coming from, but I'm gonna find out! So I guess you are, too, huh?

[metalbent]

Yeah, for a bit now. And if you're going, you'd better come with me. If this is a whole "blah blah blah you need to see it to believe it" thing, I could use the help.

[ she might even play nice. ...ish. ]

[unimpressive]

So you just want me to tell you what it looks like, huh? [A beat.] Okay, then, let's go! Don't think you're gonna get to find out what it is and I won't!

[Nice.... ish... is probably as much as he can hope for.]

[metalbent]

Yeah, you can be my seeing-eye-person.

[ that's a glorious role to have, clearly. ]

I think it's strongest in that direction. Hard to tell, though.

[ she gestures, with the non-cane hand. ]

[unimpressive]

[RELEGATED TO SEEING-EYE-PERSON. Truly, the most exciting of roles.

He falls silent as he turns in the direction she gestured in, frowning just slightly, before...] You think so?

[Well, he can't really tell the different just yet, but... He shrugs, even knowing she can't see him.]

Then, if I'm your seeing-eye-person, come on! Let's go! We've gotta hurry if we wanna get there before everyone else does, huh?

[metalbent]

[ Maybe someday he can make EXECUTIVE seeing-eye-person - okay no.

Sophie shrugs. ] I think so. I've been trying to hone in on it for - well, about ten minutes.

[ And she nods, although with a pause after. ]

Just tap my arm or tell me if you're going somewhere I'm not, uh. If that happens.

[unimpressive]

[Nothing but a pipe dream... A PIPE DREAM.]

Huh... That way, then, [he says firmly, stopping only to make sure she's facing the right direction before beginning to move forward.]

Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you! But I don't think you're gonna get lost, huh? Not with that buzzing.

[...WHATEVER, it'll be fine.] You're going the right way anyway!

[metalbent]

Nah, just worried you'll run off randomly, Pep. You have that sort of feel to you.

[ You know, the shounen hero runny off sort. ]

...So, did you figure out it was a just-us thing before talking to anyone about it?

[unimpressive]

H-hey, I'm not gonna go and get lost! No way! [AW, COME ON, HE... totally would run off, probably.]

...I didn't, though. I was just gonna go look anyway! [A short laugh, more of an exhale than anything else.] All the exciting stuff's been happening to us anyway.

[metalbent]

Well, you'd better not! I'll have to track you down, then, and no one wants that. [ SHE KNOWS YOUR TYPE, PEPPY. ]

Yeah, I'm just thrilled over here. Shining lights! Oh boy!

[unimpressive]

[HE'S INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY... WHICH IS QUICKLY ENOUGH.] Jeez! You won't have to, you won't have to! Trust me.

[Wait, what's that? Just what in the world is she talking about--

...Ohhhhh. And because tact is hard:] Oh, you couldn't see them, huh? But you don't need to see anything for this yet!

[metalbent]

[ Vaughn is so lucky that Sophie actually appreciates bluntness. And is not yet a horror who punches people all the time, although she will gain the ability to aim later on. Yes. ]

Yeah, so you can imagine how interesting all the "wow lights did you see the lights wow gosh" posts were. But this? This I don't need eyes for yet, you're right.

[ She taps the ground with her cane once, for emphasis, before going back to using it to, you know. See. ]

[unimpressive]

[He's safe from painful punches. For now.]

It's just that weird buzzing now, right? That's the important thing! So whatever's making it probably isn't that important to look at. Don't worry about it! [...He hasn't yet perfected the ability to pull inspiring words out of his ass, okay.

Seeing that tap though, he focuses on moving forward for the moment. Boy, the buzzing sure does seem to be getting a little louder.]

[metalbent]

[ SOON. soon. ]

We're in the business district, right?

[ She's trying to mentally keep tabs on where she is, yes. ]

[unimpressive]

[His downfall.

Eyebrows raised, he looks around them, before settling back on Sophie.]

Yep! I guess it wouldn't be that weird if something in here was making the noises, huh?

[metalbent]

Depends. Does anyone look remotely concerned? I don't hear anyone talking about it...

[ and no matter what the location, if no one else but them seems to be responding to something, it's weird. ]

[unimpressive]

[He shakes his head then, remembering she can't actually see that...]

No. [A laugh.] It's kind of weird... It's just getting louder and louder and they don't even flinch!

[metalbent]

Then I think it's pretty weird, yeah. Whatever's making it happen, it can't be natural.

[ she's a bit miffed about that, since she first mentioned "what the hell is that noise" to her mom. ]

[unimpressive]

[Awkwaaaaard...]

You think it's gotta do with... [He pauses, frowning.] It's probably like the water and all of that, huh?