Event - Quarter

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Quarter

➥ Quarter Dollar

There are many different departments at ADI, all of which seem to be vying for new potential arrivals to join their ranks. As the Quarterly Meeting begins, everyone is shown into the large gym below ADI where each of the departments has set up a booth. Some are more impressive than others with activities and native and off-worlders alike there to enthuse about joining up with them. Everyone is allowed to join up to two departments at ADI. Choose wisely!

Administration and Public Relations
These two departments appear to have joined forces and, as such, have gone all out for their booth. There are colors and informational signs all over the place, snacks, grinning people willing to tell you that it's great to be able to do your part away from some of the serious danger posed by fieldwork. They have set up a competitive game of Two Truths and a Lie. Everyone is given a card out with the names of people they play with. There's a place for them to sign off if a person successfully guesses their lie on the first go. There's a $100 gift card for the Castaways Vintage Cafe up for grabs to the person who can gather the most lies! Get to know each other and get some delicious (local) coffee and pastries!

Canteen and Facilities
The people in the Canteen know what will bring likely new arrivals into their fold: food. Food combined with… cleaning? Mostly, this means that they have some tasty snacks cooking on a few hot plates, or available in coolers set up in front of their booth, as well as a coffee dispenser. Their activity to get people interested is a 'consume the evil avatar' challenge. There are fruits, veggies, and other foods available to design a consumable creature. Those who participate are told that they will be given three free desserts at the Canteen. You might win a few extra if you can convince your fellow participants that your edible avatar is the best. Or… worst, as the case may be. Please remember to clean up when you're finished!

Equipment and Research
The R&D team, as it were. Although Research is a much broader department, they've teamed up with the Equipment folks to showcase their departments together as a place for nerds of all stripes. There are some interesting-looking gadgets for anyone who comes over that basically amount to very fancy fidget cubes and fidget spinners. The Research team also has a challenge for those who think they might be cut out for this department: Collect at least three pieces of information from or about people around the gym and report back. The cooler the info, the more (arbitrary) points you'll score. Everyone who participates and reaches a certain points threshold will be given one of the fidget cubes or spinners to take home with them.

Security and Investigations
The Security and Investigations departments have taken over nearly a quarter of the gym with their combined booth displays. It's a mini-obstacle course with nerf guns and targets set up. It's designed so that people have to work in teams to overcome some obstacles, the better to show that this is a team, whether you're working close to home for security or out in the field, relying on other people to have your back. Those who participate in the obstacle course will be timed. The team with the best time will be given bragging rights plus a $100 gift card (each) to the General's Store. Teams are allowed to run the course more than once or break apart to find more agreeable partners for runs.

Medical and Counseling
The combined Medical and Counseling departments have set up a very cozy looking booth area. They've got colorful standing screens that give the appearance and sense of a more intimate setting in front of their booths. The comfy bean bag seats they've scattered strategically with tables nearby to set down food or drinks only add to the ambiance. There's a gentle suggestion for a game where you find as many things in common with another person as possible, but everyone who can find even one thing in common with another person will win a prize. Said prizes are things like candy, stress balls, and handheld massage tools.

Information Technology
This particular department doesn't seem to think it needs to work to get people to join. There are some TVs set up with video game consoles that feature 2-player games exclusively. If anyone asks, they'll indicate a lot of their job is sitting around, waiting for things to break. The hacking only happens sometimes and it's really cool when it does, but they can't be breaking into things like the FBI constantly. That would be a bad look.

Staff Development
The booth here is one sad, long-suffering-looking person who's sat behind a folding table. They're handing out pamphlets. Just… so many pamphlets about potential skills you could learn. There's no game here, just pamphlets. A disturbing volume and variety of pamphlets. It's like this person seems to have become a living Craigslist, advertising every bizarre thing someone at ADI could potentially teach them, from alien languages to how to play the hurdy-gurdy.

➥ Fiscal Quarter

(cw: references to character deaths/disappearances, reference to animal attacks, mention of insects/centipedes)

Once 3 PM rolls around, everyone is herded into an exceptionally large conference room on the lower levels of ADI. People are allowed to bring their drinks and snacks, but are asked to be respectful with their volume. There's a raised stage at one end of the room, and it's onto this that Nia Lehrer steps. She is a short, dark-skinned woman with her hair styled into a tight and professional braided bun atop her head. She's in a striking scarlet pants suit and carrying a small remote that she uses to turn on a projector for a PowerPoint slide presentation titled: Third Quarter 2021. She is accompanied by another woman with a shock of bubblegum pink hair who stays to one side and proceeds to sign as Nia speaks.

"Thank you for coming, everyone." Nia directs a tight smile at the camera aimed at the stage. "And tuning in if you can't be with us today. It's been a hard year. We have new faces, but… a lot fewer old ones. I'd like to take a moment, please, a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us, whether their fates are known or not."

The slides shift and there is one titled 'In Memoriam.' It includes what may be many familiar names, but also the names of people native to this world or others from different worlds who arrived from earlier in time.

"Thank you. Now, I'd like to turn everyone's attention to our accomplishments..." Nia is a skilled public speaker, and it shows as she walks the room through two separate, major threats that ADI and its personnel have managed to contain: a ritual attempt by the Endless Sky Cult out in Montana, and an infestation of dog-sized centipedes that turned up in North Carolina. She also gives praise to those who fought against the kelpies and eradicated them closer to home. "We've identified the likely origin point for the kelpies as Bar Harbor in Maine. It seems strange animal sightings and 'shark' attacks dropped off when the population was relocated to Essex Bay. We're still looking into how they were transported and who brought them down. If anyone has any additional information, we welcome it.

"That brings me to the question of how we're obtaining our information, though." There's a pause as her gaze sweeps over the room. "Many of you are from worlds where you have magic, where you have extraordinary, superhuman abilities and there is no cost. It's just a natural part of who you are. That's no longer the case. While we appreciate efforts to gather information on our behalf, we do things the right way here. We don't feed off of other people and do exactly what's been done to so many of us. There are limited circumstances that ADI can authorize the use of the kinds of abilities some people have been discussing around here. Saving your life when you get here and keeping all of this a secret." She motions to the room at large. "I know many of you probably have an opinion on this, but I'll be blunt with you. If you have the ability to use whatever powers you possess, you are hurting or have hurt someone. You have made the conscious choice that someone else is going to suffer because you wanted or felt you needed that power. Justify it to yourself that 'they deserved it,' but that doesn't change what you are doing."

She takes a deep breath. "This is a difficult transition. We've allowed some things to slide because of that. Know that the longer you're here, the less leeway we're willing to grant you.

"Now, there are a few other threats we're tracking at the moment. Fenix Down is one of them. We have field operatives monitoring his performances and keeping track of his movements. As he seems to be in the early stages of accumulating power, he's not our highest priority. We're more concerned with reports coming out of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're still gathering intel, but there may be a ritual in the works somewhere in that area. Until we have more information, we'd like to keep most of the people here, particularly our new arrivals, busy closer to home. The source of the singing around the city is a concern. We'd like to start sending out patrol teams for the graveyards to try to find the source. Similarly, the situation in Dogtown is becoming a problem. We've never seen anything quite as vicious as what's been happening there lately. Again, we'd like volunteers to assist in routing out whatever's hiding in there and putting an end to it before it hurts anyone else.

"If you're interested in that, Reyes will be organizing the patrols. And I'll be available for 10-minute discussion blocks after the next presentation. Please check in with Reyes to reserve some time."

And with that, she heads off the stage, leaving it to the CFO, a nervous-looking man who goes over the company finances at a high level for the next 20 minutes.

➥ Quarter Pounder

(cw: animal attack, consumption of human flesh, violence, gore, body horror, potential for severe injury, including puncture wounds and broken bones, potential for choking, potential for animal death)

Once you really start looking in Dogtown, it's almost… obvious. That's not water splashed across the path through the dirt, there's a rich iron scent to it. Blood. Blood is everywhere around Dogtown. It lingers in the air, but so many ordinary people seem to just… ignore it. They can't see it. Or maybe they don't want to. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

You are not ignorant. Make of that what you will. It's the reason why you'll be able to find your way, eventually, to a clearing where the scent of blood is the thickest. Or… almost make it there. There are no paths to this part of Dogtown and wandering, you could believe you're deep in the woods, well away from any civilization. It will take a keen eye to spot the traps set out all around the clearing. Snares hung on branches and hidden amongst leaves, bear trap-like devices made of sticks and pieces of twine, spike pits, small trenches you could break your ankle in. All manner of simple traps designed not to kill, but to wound.

If you do find yourself caught, you may be waiting a long time before anything comes to check on you. But perhaps you'll get lucky and someone else will be making an ill-advised trip out into the woods! When you do finally make it out and manage to get to the clearing, it may seem to be a deceptively uninteresting place. It's just a meadow with some wild boar turning over chunks of mud near some sort of drop off. A large hole?

The wind changes and you get a whiff of what's coming from that hole. Rotting, putrid meat, blood that's curdled and a body that's just gone off. Take an actual step into that field and the boars turn as one to look at you. And then the creatures actually stand up, revealing a collection of human arms and legs writhing along their bellies. The only sound is a squeal as they charge. Ready to gore, grab, and make you another piece of their collection.

➥ Quartermaster

(cw: flooding; damage to homes and possessions; drug paraphernalia; potential for memory loss or reference thereto)

It's two in the morning when disaster strikes at Bonnie's Flophouse. A few thunderstorms have rolled in over the past week, but they were nothing in comparison to the tempest that pelts the building tonight. While residents of the ADI apartment complex are warm and safe in their beds, residents of the Flophouse are liable to learn at the worst time that their windows are less than watertight. Thankfully, all it should take is a bit of elbow grease and/or improvised dam materials to stop up those minor leaks, so while it's not a particularly restful night, no one's out of a home.

No one, that is, apart from Bonnie and the Visionary. Their shared room in the basement of the Flophouse fares much worse, water from a stopped drain pouring down the inside of the unfinished foundation. In the hours directly after the storm hits, Bonnie can be found frantically ferrying their things upstairs (there are many potted plants and sodden wall tapestries--and yep, that's a bong) while the Visionary perches uneasily in a lumpy common room chair. Show up downstairs during the crisis and Bonnie will absolutely put you to work removing things from the flooded basement or trying to figure out how to stop more water from coming in. Show up the next morning and you'll find the two of them asleep on couches in the ground floor common area.

It takes days to dry out the mess in the basement. Bonnie is kept busy with that work, directing anyone who will help and doing what she can to correct the issue so it doesn't flood again the next time a storm rolls in. She's constantly on the move; conversations with her during this period will tend to be limited to Bonnie handing out instructions for repairs or for drying things out before rushing off to the next thing she has to get done. In the meantime, the Visionary spends most of his time in the common room, seeming overwhelmed by it all. She's a thin, sickly figure with a white walking cane and a blindfold they never remove, and up until now has only been a sporadic visitor to the building's shared spaces. Despite the blindfold, he always seems to know when someone has entered the room, head turned and tilted as she listens, a hungry twist to their mouth.

"Don't tell me where you come from," he'll warn you before you've even had a chance to say hello.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. For this event, the only NPCs that should not be controlled by players for threading are: Nia Lehrer and the Visionary. These NPCs will be played by mods and available for interaction.
  
  
• QUARTER DOLLAR (25 September) - For anyone who participates in the Administration and Public Relations or Security and Investigations booth events, there is a sign-up below. The ultimate winners for those booths will be RNG'd and announced on 9/30. Characters who are already part of a department are more than welcome to say that their character is manning the department booth for a portion of the meeting. Selecting a department is something that can be handwaved. There is no official sign-up sheet. Please just remember characters can only join two departments at a time. ADI is mindful of people trying to overwork themselves as a trauma-response and will actively prevent your character from trying to do so by keeping tabs on where they're working and what hours. They'll have to leave the building, at least to continue working after a max of 50 hours each week between their assigned departments.
  
  
• FISCAL QUARTER (25 September) - Nia will be available for conversations with characters after the presentation. You can handwave that Reyes set you up with a time to meet. Please simply tag into the NPC Top Level below with your character entering into an office where Nia will be seated and waiting for them. Characters may meet with Nia individually or in pairs. Characters who attempt to use supernatural abilities on Nia may experience extremely negative IC consequences, as a warning!
  
  
• QUARTER POUNDER (25-30 September) - Characters will be able to use mundane or supernatural senses to track the blood and bits of flesh they might find along the way to the meadow. The traps have no particular pattern to them. They're simply numerous and clearly hand-made from whatever could be scavenged in the forest. There is nothing supernatural about them, but they will hurt characters who aren't careful. They seem to be fairly well hidden. Even someone experienced might not notice them. The boars will attack and attempt to rip pieces out of characters if they see or smell them. They do not speak, but will squeal and attempt to rip people apart if they get ahold of them. The hands and legs on their torsos will assist with this. Once killed, the boars will simply separate from the human pieces that are attached to them leaving them looking like they were just ordinary boars. There are multiple groups of boars that may be found at different times in the meadows. Various groups will need to eradicate them over the course of the week to finish them all off. The hole filled with meat isn't actually that deep, but there's a good handful of body parts and just chunks of meat in there. No full bodies, though.
  
  
• QUARTERMASTER (26-30 September) - As far as anyone can tell, the flooding is just that: normal flooding and water damage. Bonnie will not be available for threads; it can be assumed that anyone trying to strike up a conversation with her will be given something helpful to do and not a lot else. The Visionary will not stray much from the common room until their shared room is habitable again, and will generally be available for conversation. The Visionary is nonbinary and uses he/she/they pronouns interchangeably. Mod narration will reflect this.

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QUESTIONS and SIGN-UP

[apocalypsehowmods]

Please pose questions HERE.

NPC Interactions

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Please respond below if you would like to interact with an NPC. Please place the name of the NPC you would like to interact with in the subject line of your top-level. You may have more than one NPC thread and we welcome players to tag NPCs in pairs or one-on-one.

Available NPCs for this event are:

Nia Lehrer, Head of ADI

The Visionary, an avatar

Caduceus Clay | Critical Role | OTA

[thatsreallygreat]

OOC Note: Caduceus looks like this when he's not on ADI property. Happy to match style if you prefer brackets.

Quarter Dollar

Medical and Counseling
Caduceus is pleased with how cozy their booth area is. He adjusts one of the screens: only one of them is tall enough to obscure his height, the rest he can peek over. He tends to the table with the refreshments and his trusty little electric kettle is there so he can brew fresh tea for whoever would like to sit down and have a cup. There's an assortment of mugs set out - ones he's collected or ones he's found - and most of them are somewhat ridiculous.

He's wearing the clothes he arrived in, clean and mended and comfortable. He has an easy smile for anyone who stops by, and at some point he ends up on one of the bean bags, long legs carefully stretched out.

"Hey, there's a game we're playing. You find as many things as you can in common with another person. I've got some tea brewed if you want to sit for a while. Oh, I'm Caduceus, by the way."

Fiscal Quarter

Caduceus is quiet through the presentation, steady as Nia Lehrer's eyes sweep the room.

Is he hurting someone? Caduceus isn't sure. He's been sparing in what he does, but something... has his attention. He can feel it, he thinks, forever in the back of his awareness. It isn't quite like his connection to the Wildmother - and he believes that she is here - but the bone-deep affiliation he has with the Blooming Grove and everything it stands for. Everything his family and the Stones and the Dusts do. And he doesn't think what he's done here is wrong.

Everything dies. Whether it is sooner or later, everything dies. He can't stop that, nor would he.

Still, he looks pensive in the back of the room, considering deeply his choices. If they are choices anymore.

[I know this isn't much of a hook, but if your character is the sort of person that might be like "hey what's up buddy?" please feel free to approach Caduceus; if you are CR who has seen him use any of his magic, also feel free to check in!]

Quarter Pounder
[cw: injury, blood]

Of course he goes out to investigate Dogtown. He liked it there and he wants to understand what corruption is creeping into it. It reminds too much of the Savalirwood and he doesn't want to see that happen again.

It's the blood that is eerie to him. Death and violence are a part of nature, but this--this is excessive in a way that it is not natural. Not anything he's ever seen. Moving carefully through the woods, carrying his staff, he follows the scent of blood.

Trapped
Caduceus is generally very aware of his surroundings, but he's distracted as he focuses on the blood. And that is how he ends up trapped and in pain. His foot broke through flimsy covering and now half of his lower leg is trapped, pinned by sharp sticks or something else capable of cutting into flesh. He's trying to figure out how to get back out again without doing even more damage: the way the sticks are angled means that they will dig in if he tries to just pull his leg out.

He keeps his breathing steady and pays attention to his surroundings, aware that he's vulnerable now and that there is something in these woods that has been killing and bleeding whatever it can find. He does not want to be the next thing.

Finding Someone Else
Since the last time he was here, Caduceus has grown more cautious. He uses his staff to occasionally poke the ground ahead of him, searing for weak places that might cave in to reveal other traps. He keeps his eyes out for snares - he'd gotten snagged in one of those earlier and managed to get loose on his own.

Maybe it was only a matter of time, but he comes across someone in a dire state. He doesn't rush to get close, holding back that instinct. He tries to get a better look before he calls out,

"Are you stuck?"

Boars and Gore
[Happy to do some fighting or running and would prefer to write custom starts for this one! Let me know if you'd like one or feel free to throw a wildcard option at me.]

Quartermaster

As the storms come through with heavy rain, Caduceus wakes up to water flooding in through cracks and loose seals. He manages to find ways to keep the worst of it out. Then he leaves the room to see if anywhere else has sprung any leaks. When Bonnie recruits him to help bring things up from the basement, Caduceus has to hold himself back from casting Control Water. He could stop the worst of the flooding, he things, or at least hold it back longer. But he remembers the warning from ADI.

Come morning, he's soaked and tired, but that doesn't stop him from making breakfast and coffee (and tea, obviously) for anyone left in the house.

"Breakfast should be ready soon," he says somewhat wearily.

Later, he ends up with a list of things that need repairing or drying and he looks around somewhat helplessly for his housemates.

"Bonnie left me with a list, I could use a hand... or four."

More than he has now, that's for sure.

Wildcard

[Feel free to throw something random my way. Caduceus's plotting post is here and you can PM or ping me on givemedragons if you'd like to plot anything!]

[forethinking]

𝐈. 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫

(So, essentially, a job fair, isn't it? Ren's going to use this as a means for fun and for bonding - he's already gotten two jobs as of now, and he's sure ADI is not allowing him to have a third. Ren had what before, 5 jobs? Either way, nothing stops him from enjoying himself, right?)

𝐢𝐚. 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

(In this booth, Ren's busy making the food, chattering with those who come to see him with a beam on his face. Evidently, he's in his element, and he couldn't be more cheerful each time someone's face contorts in glee upon taking a bite of something he's made. For the contest, he's got his eyes on whatever his visitor is making, a twinkle in his eyes as he watches it come together and fetches more and more food to add to the marvelous piece of art taking form before his own two eyes.)

𝐢𝐛. 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

(Two truths and a lie can be a little tricky. There's too much Ren doesn't feel inclined to sharing, he'd like his past as buried as it can be from prying, but there has to be something he can use here, right?

With a hum as he curls the strands of hair in front of his eyes, he finally blurts out:)

I worked at a bar while underage, I'm from Tokyo, my cat's name is Morgana.

(There! All with a straight face, so that he doesn't snitch the answer. Which is it?)

𝐢𝐜. 𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇

(Ren also works at Research, so this is another booth he finds himself organizing, his time very divided between the canteen, here and other booths.

At this time, he shows the palm of his hand when a contestant arrives with new information - or so he assumes.)

What do you have for me?

(Tell him, he's dying to know. Best booth, hands down.)

𝐈𝐈. 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫
𝘤𝘸 𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘢, 𝘷𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

(It's a given that Ren is going to be here. By this time around, he doesn't vacillate about having his dagger in his hand as the stench of blood drenches his nostrils and makes his stomach spin. Every couple of steps, he needs to halt, sniff his shirt for a second to cleanse his brain from the decaying flesh that he finds himself trying to track. It's sickening, and he might have almost expelled his lunch from his stomach. This is nothing like what he's used to - he's a thief, not a hunter, and not a run-of-the-mill one at that.

Ren is, however, observant. He finds a trap, and if there is one, there should be plenty, and those things could easily rip off a piece of one's leg or foot out if they don't spot it. Ren's got enough battery from hanging calling cards at criminal spots, so he'll active Third Eye to make his trip a little less risky - it enables him to perceive the traps as glowing figures, and so, he gets going-- until he finds someone else.

The knife is pulled before he realizes that it's just another ADI person, and it drops to his side.)

Sorry.

𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝

(You guys know the drill! Ren's going to be in all booths, having a good time, and helping Bonnie as much as he can for the flood. Feel free to send anything my way, please!)

Zhao Tianyou | Yakuza / Ryu Ga Gotoku

[essenceofdeadlybeasts]

I. Quarter Dollar

a. canteen and facilities
[Zhao wasn't normally into sculpting food like it was art. He was more into simple yet tried and true effective cooking methods and putting out a dish that tasted good no matter what it looked like. But a challenge was a challenge, and fun was fun.

He had a pile of food for art, and a pile he kept eating from. Well, in theory there was a different pile for each but in practice he didn't seem to care or kept mixing them up by mistake. On his plate there looked to be something like an oni staring back at whoever looked at his food-art.]

b. security and investigations
[This is where the real fun was at! Zhao had a pistol nerf gun in one hand and a grin on his face as he ran through the course with a few different partners. It was debatable whether he actually gave a damn about the timed aspect or not. It almost seemed like he would rather play at it than win any sort of competition. Like reenacting scenes from obscure movies, he kept adding extra nonsense to his movements like rolling when unnecessary or leaping over objects only to get caught by some sort of trap and dramatically 'die' or some shit.

Towards the end of the day, however, if one was lucky enough to catch him at one of his later runs through the course, a person might catch him with a slightly more serious demeanor. Now his ducking, weaving, and bounding over obstacles were much more smooth, more purposeful, and extremely well timed. While the silly way he conducted himself earlier was much more fun, it was apparent now that he had skill behind all that previously useless agility and movement. Perhaps the competition did mean something to him after all. Or perhaps now it was just time to show his true colors and show off a bit.]

c. wildcard
[Or find him at any one of the other booths picking up information or having idle chats with whoever is manning the area. He'll check around everywhere at least a little bit just for the heck of it.]

II. Quarter Pounder

a. bloody trails and traps
[Zhao wasn't familiar with forests or woods or nature in general all that much. At best he'd head out to the park with some nice landscaped greenery for a day to enjoy some fresh air but the truth of the matter was that Zhao was a city boy. Born and raised in the urban jungle rather than anywhere near a real one.

He'd come vaguely prepared. He was smart enough to think ahead. For...most things. But this just wasn't his purview overall. While he was armed for the hunt, he wasn't all that great at tracking. Thankfully, following blood trails wasn't really all that hard. (It probably wasn't the first time he'd done it, just the first time he'd had to pick it out of leaves and grass rather than pavement and oil stains on the sidewalk.) So he got started fine on his own or with a nearby group heading in.

But the further in he went, the more out of his league the hunt became. He took it in stride, not really reacting to the concept of being lost like it meant anything. He'd figure it out if he had to. More worrisome was the traps that eventually became apparent were scattered about the further along he followed the blood trails. He lucked out of the first one that he set off by mistake, tripping at just the right moment to avoid the sprung trap. Alerted, he began to keep an eye out. But...again, this wasn't really his purview. It wouldn't be impossible to find him stuck in one or just hacking his way out of one if someone came on him lost in the forest.]

b. boar fighting
[Eventually he got close to the clearing where everything led. It was putrid smelling here, awful. Worse than anything even he had come across before, even as a killer. Flesh blood didn't smell nearly as bad as all this.

The sight was worse. Forget the bloody mess left around. The mutated boars were worst of all.]

What the fuck-

[Not the most elegant reaction to the first time he spotted one standing, showing off its extra limbs. But what else was he supposed to say or do at the sight of that? It didn't do him any favors either way as now he had the attention of one of them, too. It stared right at him. And then, with a hideous squeal, it rushed at him.]

[the_archivist]

Quarter Dollar
[This whole thing is giving him flashbacks to high school and university, going around the university fairs, and the Freshers Fair. By which he means overcrowded, noisy, and rather uncomfortable for him. There's too many people with stories here, and too many things vying for his attention.]

Do I look like someone who is in any way good at managing people and doing PR, or running obstacle courses?

[Maybe he should have tried an obstacle course in the apocalypse. It might have been the only time he would actually be good at it.

He eventually makes his way over to the counselling section and sits down on a bean bag, in a corner which is at least quiet and a bit more shielded from view.]

Fiscal Quarter
[This is like the most tedious staff meetings at the Institute. Jon can't help but feel a little... conflicted by the situation. There is so much that they obviously don't know, things that they've got wrong. But he's hardly going to point that out when doing so would reveal how much he knows, and what he'd done in another world.

He does sit there though, taking very detailed notes. Seems like he should go and speak to the person in charge.]

Quartermaster
[While Jon lives with the ADI housing, it seems prudent to help out when the flophouse is flooded. He never knows if he'll need to find alternative accommodations. He helps with hanging things out to dry, sneak some things back to his apartment to wash there and delivering them back later.

The Visionary unsettles him though, and he tries to avoid them whenever he can. Something about them makes him incredibly uncomfortable. He keeps thinking back to Schwartzwald, to asking Martin to blind himself to escape the Eye.]

I brought some clean sheets and things back. Where do they need to go?

Wildcard
[OOC: Feel free to encounter Jon in accommodation or in town too!]

harry du bois | disco elysium

[horrifictie]

Quarter Dollar (Sept 25) - 3 tag-ins only

[ throughout the day, when he isn't wandering to other booths to get more information on the ADI, harry is stationed at the investigations booth. it, to the shock of no one, one of the larger departments in an agency that has "detective" in the abbreviation. for anyone who expresses they aren't interested in the obstacle course, harry has prepared his own game: ]
[ DICK MULLEN AND THE MISSING CORPSE ]
[ the large bold letters read on a tabletop poster, with instructions on how to play the game and the prize any winners will receive. harry takes a sip of his coffee, looking quite tired, and clears his throat- ]

Take the advice. I've prepared for *every* question, every scenario. Whenever you're ready, tell me who you want to question first and the first question you want to ask. I'll provide responses and may roleplay them out.

[ DRAMA [Trivial: Success] - Who are you kidding? You are absolutely going to play it out! *Dramatically*. ]

Quarter Master - Bonnie's (Sept 26 - Night)

[ bonnie doesn't have to ask him twice for help to get it. as the storm rages on harry can be seen going up and down the building at a fairly brisk pace. sometimes he's carrying a strange knicknack for bonnie, something she is desperate to keep safe from the water less it be ruined. one of those times it's some kind of glass cylinder? the party monster in his head says it smells of drugs and he believes it. shame this is no time for a hit (also trying to stay sober, stay sober harry.)

the bigger issue is how to stop the water. harry will end up stopping people in the halls, whether they're helping to carry things or not, and go- ]

Hey, do you have anything big in your room to use as a barrier?

[ ideal, no, but he can't think of a better idea for the moment crisis. ]

Quarter Pounder - Traps (Sept 25, 27-28 - Night)

[ the investigation into dogtown brings to mind the valley of the dogs in revachol. in the fragmented remnants that constitutes his grasp on memory, a picture of a mostly abandoned neighborhood now run by wild starving dogs surfaces. he brings along his flashlight to aid him in the dead of night, going in alone like a fool would. at the same time... there's no one he can call for backup.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Incorrect. You just don't want to burden those people.

(Shut up smartass.)

so off he goes, and off he fails. he never makes it far. avoiding traps aren't his forte, even as he wants to think he gets better at it. on the following days:

september 25th (ota): on this night, nothing bad happens but he gets horribly turned around and lost in the woods. you may either find him trying to make this way through on the hunch he's going the right way, or get a flashlight shined in your face as he turns it on you by accident.

september 27th (1 only - cw ankle injury): after the flood he's back to investigating. this time, determined to not get lost, he's far more intentional in keeping track of his surroundings. only problem is he doesn't watch where he walks as well. it leads to him springing a bear trap... made of sticks? yes it hurts but it doesn't really do anything past that. he seethes, swallowing his pain, and kneels to try and get it off to no avail. the best he can do is try to break it as quick as he can or hope someone (the right kind of someone) is around to help.

september 28 (1 only - cw snare choking): yesterday's bear trap did not stop him, but it did leave him having to bandage his wounds. he's had worse injuries he can remember than that. it'll take more than an ankle wound to deter him.

(there's a dramatic irony being set-up that he is keenly aware of entering this forest again)

this venture goes much better than the others. the clearing is up ahead and he bites back a sigh of relief at the sight, not wishing to curse it. but he is cursed and always will be. he takes his steps, passing a few cautious ones that make him believe in safety for a split second. he passes by a tree and it happens faster than he can react - a snare coils around his neck, a pained gasp following as he's forced to stop. he drops his flashlight and reaches for his neck, desperately trying not to choke.

(yeah, haha, very funny! getting choked by a snare hanging from a tree, real fucking classic--)

he gasps again, trying to call for help. any further sound dies as the snare tightens around.

Wildcard
[ ooc: for any threads that don't match the prompts. if you want to plot out something just let me know via PM. ]

emily dyer | identity v | ota

[medicative]

quarter dollar.

[since Emily's volunteered to help with the setup at the medical booth, and definitely has taken the first shift, it means that she greets anyone passing by with a gentle smile and is ready to take any inquiries. otherwise, even if someone just wants to rest their feet, they're absolutely welcome, though she'll come by to check on them if they're there for an extended length of time.

she'll only be there for so long before being gently shooed off. devotion to one path is fine, but it doesn't mean she needs to chain herself to it, so they say. so off she must go, to explore the other offerings while sipping on tea that the canteen booth has provided. the equipment booth's items are curious and rather engaging, though she seems to be trying to solve them when there is no actual answer. meanwhile, it's easy to get caught up at the staff development booth, lost in the sheer number of pamphlets that they have on hand. and when it come to the investigations course...well, she'll check it out, but more be willing to encourage teams that go in rather than step in herself. that is, until someone pushes a nerf gun in her hands. help.]

quarter pounder - infirmary.

[boar attacks aren't what she's expecting to hear about to address the influx of injuries in the department, but it's not anything they can't deal with. truthfully, having more solid assignments keeps her happier, and she's on her feet aiding wherever she's needed. being in the flow suits her far better than sitting around her apartment, after all, and Emily can multitask and juggle duties well enough that time flies by.

setting broken bones, stitching together cuts, covering bleeding wounds - all of it falls under her purview, and she attends all the new arrivals as best she can with a calm but no nonsense attitude. as long as they're conscious enough to tell her what happened, she can carry on. thankfully, no one's come in close to death yet. and if they do...

well. she'll address that if it happens. the idea burns in her mind, that it could be faster, that she could do more for them. but with ADI's warning, it can't be frequent. until then, Emily'll do what she can with her own two hands, and hope it's enough. whether it's attending to the wounded or checking up on those already seen, there's more than enough to stay busy.]

wildcard.

[ooc: have another idea of something you want that's not specified? let's do it! you can contact me at moonjelly or via pm.

will match format of tag-ins!]

Steven Chen | OC | OTA, will match style

[infrastructured]

Quarter Dollar

This is at least entertaining. Steven's not going to pass up a chance to learn, at the very least, or get free food. He's a college student at heart. Wandering the stalls of a presentation is basically second nature at this point.

He manages to fail at most of the challenges, through a mixture of being maybe the most average and boring person here and among the more discreet. However, he kind of wants a fidget cube or spinner. He's never seen one before.

For this reason, he's striking up conversation with people around the job fair. "Hey there, I'm new. Name's Steven." A wry smile on his face, he waits for a response.


Fiscal Quarter

Steven listens, politely, thoughtfully, for the whole speech. However, there's always a seed of uncertainty, of unwillingness to take things at face value, of pragmatic suspicion in his heart. He's not sure how much to believe, so he outsources.

"You really believe that?" He's tilting his head towards the nearest person as he makes his way out. "No offense, I'm just new to this. And it seems... strange?"


Quarter Pounder

Steven's pretty good at taking care, but all the common sense in the world can't replace good old-fashioned trap knowledge or night vision. He's sprained his ankle five minutes into the forest. Not on a trap, he thinks - just a particularly obnoxiously placed den. He's leaning against a tree, listening, waiting... And when something approaches, pulling his gun quietly. Better safe then sorry.

At least he's not aiming at people for long. He needs help, and beggars can't be choosers.


Wild Card

((OOC: Steven's living at ADI headquarters for now, and may need help getting his hands on some of the necessities of life. Or maybe he's helping you! Feel free to come up with your own scenario.))

[aelwyn_aberration]

I. Quarterly Report

[Aelwyn can be spotted manning a research station, looking very unenthused at this whole thing. She's got a cup of coffee and a stack of books, and above her is a banner that reads "Gome Get Quizzed!"

If you want to do a quiz on entity facts she's learned, hit her up.]

II. Fiscal Quarter

[Throughout most of the meeting, Aelwyn is sat cross-legged, polite and attentive and every bit the model student and employee that she used to be. To the very observant eye, you might spot her clenching her fist or her jaw.

When the In Memorium slide appears, something in her eyes darkens. So, they've already written them off as dead. Convenient. If you want to talk to her afterward, she'll excuse herself after speaking to the boss and can be spotted leaving, her expression a lot less polite and a lot more sour.] Guess that answers that question.

III. Quarter Pounder

(A. Crossing the Threshold)

[Aelwyn knew she'd sign up for this, eventually. She could lie and pretend that it's just because it's the right thing to do or because she wants to be paid but the real answer is that this is the best source of prey there is. Monsters feed off other monsters, and she doesn't give a fuck what the big boss thinks she understands about fear.

She's careful. She's not an outdoorsman, though. And she won't come alone, so if you're with her, you're welcome to come watch her back. It's as she's walking that she spots one of these traps, and she's certain that whatever's behind this is of more intelligent design than the kelpies.]

Careful. We're being hunted.

(B. Finding Someone)

[Whether she and her partner decided to split up for whatever reason, or they lost eachother, or she came alone. She's alone now. Or she thinks she is, when she spots someone struggling in a trap, clearly in a lot of pain.

She can smell the pain. Almost taste it. It's... intoxicating. But she's not insane yet. She'll approach the person carefully, trying to keep hidden, but she will shoot a quick magical message to whoever she's found.

Keep quiet, I'm going to release you.

What she doesn't realize is that she's not alone, and that a boar that started chasing another of it's hunters is nearby and has spotted her and has decided to make her it's prey. Warn her? Or let her get gored? Your call.]

(C. War Bars)

[Aelwyn approaches the clearing, spotting the source of the boars she's already spotted around the woods. There they are. She wonders if they'll scream when she cuts them open. Regardless, she has a clear goal. Eliminate them all, by any means necessary.

She's not going to get close enough for them to spot her and charge, but she will look to whoever's accompanying her.] Let's finish this, shall we? I'm not leaving till I've killed them all.

Andrew Jaeger | Original Character | OTA

[bloodalwaystells]

Quarter Dollar

For at least some of the expo, Jaeger can be found behind the booth for Investigations, or helping tidy up the obstacle course for the next set of runners. He's adapted pretty quickly to his main department of choice, it seems, and appears to be content with his position as he watches the crowd go by and answers any questions fired his way.

However, he's also going to take a shot at the Canteen booth, specifically the snacks competition. Because he has access to cold cuts, cheese, crackers, and olives, it becomes a simple matter to present an appetizer...or more specifically, appet-EYE-zer. Apparently, there's a sense of humor under that stern demeanor after all, and he works with precise care as he does with all things, to present his masterpiece.

Free desserts are nothing to sneeze at.

Lastly, he'll be wandering the other booths with a bit of interest, particularly the Medical/Counseling booth. The beanbag chairs take him a bit of consideration, but after a while on his feet and roaming around he'll settle into one, in a somewhat ungainly sprawl, and set his bottle of water aside to fully partake in any "What do you have in common?" pairings.

"I like strawberry better than I like chocolate," is his first confession. Apparently, he's still thinking about free desserts from the Canteen.

Quarter Pounder

A: The Pits

The smear of blood is hard to mistake for anything else, dark and viscous in the daylight. Heavy drag marks stir the leaves, coupled with enough scuffing and scraping to mark the passage of something big and not especially careful.

Jaeger is armed with both camera and pistol, as he usually is for these excursions. It's long past obvious that Dogtown is not a safe place to be unarmed, and without his powers, Jaeger needs something else to protect himself. He carries the weapon with familiar comfort, tucked into a proper holster, and is quick to point out that it's prudent to carry because of the wild dogs.

Better safe than dead. He snaps a few quick photos of the mess and scuff marks, wincing at the stink of old blood, and then turns a slow circle. It's deathly quiet in the woods, but he's getting used to that. Far more quiet than it should be in thriving forestland.

"It's a clear trail, at least. Whatever it is, didn't even bother to hide itself."

B: You've Really Got A Hold On Me

Jaeger is getting better at roaming the woods, but he wasn't prepared for this little pitfall...literally.

If not for his tough, sturdy boots, he'd probably be stuck with a broken ankle, but there's a moment of sheer panic when the barbed wire snaps around his leg, tearing and cutting as it loops around the big man. For a moment, panic wins and he goes down into the leaves with a crash, trying to pull the wire free and tearing his hands up in the process.

It takes him a minute to calm himself enough to realize what's happened, to see the strands tangled amid the vines and branches of the forest floor. A trench has been dug to better accommodate the trap, and Jaeger finds himself half in the shallow pit and half out. His own weight is a detriment here, and picking himself out of this is going to take calm and patience.

Maybe the thrashing draws your attention, or maybe he gets himself free and limps out of the forest, both nerves and leg shredded bloody. Either way, it's a very unhappy mage, in need of medical attention and probably a hug.


((Open for other starters, will match prose or brackets. PM or brimstonemuse if you want to discuss anything! Plotting comment here for ideas.))

Bucky Barnes/Winter | MCU | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Quarter Dollar

He doesn't have his mask on. He feels naked and uncomfortable and vulnerable, not to mention his back aches more than usual, but he's not wearing it. This is home base, and he's not on duty, so it isn't appropriate.

He wishes to hell he did have it, though. There are too many people. Too many of them looking at him. (Most of them are not actually looking at him, he's just paranoid.) He prowls the edges of the gym, avoiding eye contact, avoiding conversation. He visits each booth exactly once, probably making most of the people visiting or manning them at the time uncomfortable. He doesn't try the obstacle course at his own department's station because it requires two people and that would require asking someone, he takes fifteen minutes to find anything in common with a random employee at the counselling booth and comes away with a stress ball in his pocket, and refuses to try any of the food at the canteen booth because he doesn't trust it and, also, it would require picking something.

Finally he winds up at the Staff Development booth, because pamphlets are about all he can handle by that point. And his skillset is very limited, so some of this might actually be useful to him. Find him reading diligently on a pamphlet about budgeting, puzzling over why learning to play the piano would be remotely useful, or discarding one on Cantonese with the statement, "I already know that one."


II. Fiscal Quarter, cw for mild disassociating

He sits in the back. He wishes he were standing. He doesn't belong here. You don't bring your guns to your corporate meetings. What's the point? This isn't for him. But they said he had to come, so he's sitting uncomfortably, as close to perfectly at attention as he can while not standing. His eyes keep going unfocused, because looking at people in authority is hard, and he's trying very hard to listen instead of zone out, like he usually would when dealing with things that aren't orders or people attempting to make conversation.

He doesn't always manage. Maybe his seat-mate can give him a prod or two. Or fill him in afterwards for the bits he missed.


III. Quarter Pounder, Hunter

Hallelujah, a mission he can handle. Less intel than he's used to, no specific target, but that's okay. He can work with this. He can investigate and eliminate whatever threat he comes across.

Winter gears up at ADI headquarters-- multiple handguns and extra clips, a sniper rifle with a good scope, his usual body armor, lots of knives, his full mask thank you very much-- and heads out to Dogtown. He circles around the neighborhood, slowly moving inwards, tracking the areas with the most blood, the worst smell, the least sign of civilization. By the time he hits the woods where the traps are, he's moving at a slow prowl, rifle up to his shoulder, all senses on alert. He's used to avoiding higher-tech security than this... and something deep in the back of his brain recognized traps like this from... somewhere. He wants to say the Western Front, but he has no idea what that is. Probably some mission that's been long since wiped away. Either way, he's pretty good at spotting them.

Whether someone partners up with him from the start or he just stumbles on someone, he's content enough with company. Most people wind up shunted to his left flank, where the metal arm can potentially protect them if there's trouble.


IV. Quarter Pounder, Assassin

He narrowly escapes getting gored by a very large... pig. Thing. With arms under its belly. That's just great. Now he's wounded on one thigh, though it's not bad and he's already got a bandage on it and the bleeding staunched some with a tourniquet.

Thankfully, he has a rifle with a goddamn scope on it, so there's absolutely no need to deal with that again if he doesn't have to. So he finds himself a tree, makes himself a sniper nest, and starts picking off any boar that wanders far enough away from the rest that they don't all converge on him when he fires. If anyone feels like playing bait for that little gambit, he's game, or wants to coordinate with a secondary sniper nest on the far side of the clearing to take them out from both sides, that's a sound strategy, too.


V. Quarter Pounder, Aftermath

Even the Winter Soldier didn't come away from fighting giant intelligent pigs unscathed, but he still shows up to work to patrol the ADI building. Even if he's limping. And he still tries to practice after his shift in the gym, even if he has to keep stopping to pop plates off his arm and dig around inside, trying to realign a gear or remove a bit of grit.

Maybe he spends a little more time in the ADI apartment common areas, because climbing the stairs after work seems exhausting and he'll just wait down here for a few minutes first. Also, the light's better, so find him on a couch under a lamp with his arm popped open again, this time with an unbent paper clip, trying to realign some wires.