apocalypsehowcomm | Event

Event - Lullaby

Lullaby

➥ For You Never Shut Your Eye

Photo of a small grassy area within an urban environment. Two men are passed out across the grass and sidewalk. There is a purple gradient filter over the photo.
(cw: supernaturally-induced sleep/fatigue, supernaturally-induced sleep disorders/somniloquy, needles/injections)

The line between waking and sleep is beginning to blur. People will find themselves sleeping far too much, but it never feels like enough. The music is growing more prevalent and persistent throughout town. The effect is still weaker within the building, but as October wears on, more and more people are affected and ADI staff are more intent than ever to find the source and also figure out how to block the effects. Characters will find themselves conscripted (between Halloween Party preparations) into assisting with building or testing anti-music and sleep devices along or with helping to try to track down the source of the music.

For those helping to build and test devices, there is an R&D lab in the basement levels of ADI that will be available. Devices native staff have been able to devise include:

Headphones that play different frequencies to try to cancel out the sound of the singing.
An armband that periodically stabs a small needle into the arm with a small dosage of adrenaline.
Headbands set to a constant low vibration.

The efficacy of all of these devices is… questionable, but perhaps others may have their own expertise to lend to the efforts, attempting something on a broader scale than just personal protection devices.

For those helping to track the source of the music, finding it seems to be impossible, but there is a definite pattern that characters will note as the days pass. The epicenters of the music are moving, migrating out of the graveyards and converging on ADI Headquarters. As this goes on, the building will become less and less of a safe haven, the music penetrating its walls and affecting the staff there more heavily. You might find yourself having to help a neighbor who's fallen asleep while working. Or you might not even be able to fully tell they've fallen asleep as they sleepwalk and talk almost like they're actually still conscious. Even those who have never been prone to sleepwalking and talking may find themselves affected and… far more open with what they say when in the unguarded state of semi-unconsciousness.

➥ Till the Sun Is In the Sky

A caucasian woman is lying on the floor, eyes closed. The room is dark around her with a spotlight shining on her. A secondary image of the woman, semi-transparent and wrapped in white clothes floats just above the woman on the floor. There is a purple gradient filter over the photo.
(cw: supernaturally-induced sleep/fatigue, thanatophobia, character death, death by poisoning, blood, choking, emetophobia, death by crushing)

By the 25th, some people may find waking up to be a challenge in and of itself. But they do manage to wake up. Seemingly. Perhaps the day is much like any other, heading to ADI or out around the city, grabbing coffee and- something is wrong. Something is very wrong. That cup of coffee you just drank had tasted a little different than usual. A touch of almond to it? It hits you that your throat is burning, bile and blood rising up and choking you as you hack and gasp and vomit. Your legs grow weak, you're losing control of everything, falling, dying.

And then you wake up.

Just a nightmare. Just a bizarre and horrible nightmare. You head out and… is this home? You're home! Or maybe… wait, this doesn't seem right. Have you gone somewhere else? Some things might be familiar, memories intertwined and mixing with fantastical elements, some your own, some not. You notice people you recognize, ones who might be as confused as you are. This isn't where they should be and they remember dying, too. Or seeing you die or someone else. It doesn't make sense, but somehow, they remember they had a dream they shared last night. And then something falls from above and nearly crushes you or your partner. Or maybe it does crush them, and you're suddenly looking at a dead body as the world and this nightmare that feels so very real becomes more and more hostile. Maybe something falls on you.

And then you 'wake up.'

➥ When the Blazing Sun Is Gone

Three sheet ghost halloween decorations stand in a line. There is a purple gradient filter over the photo.
(cw: supernaturally-induced sleep/fatigue, thanatophobia, character death, body horror, detailed description of painful physical transformation, description of the loss and regrowth of teeth, violence, mental status alterations, temporary power-loss, spiders)

Even with people dropping left and right thanks to the odd sleep effect taking hold, ADI staff are hellbent that their Halloween party will not be completely ruined. And on the 28th (a little before the actual holiday), everyone wakes up. Or… seems to. For those trapped in dreams, it will seem very much that they've woken up, the music has stopped, and they can actually carry on. For a few days, it even seems like things are normal. The party on the 31st is a blow-out bash. The entire first floor of ADI HQ has been transformed with decorations. The canteen is serving festive food and has set up a dance floor with holiday-appropriate music playing. Some of the offices feature additional activities, including party games like bobbing for apples in a trough that's been brought in, a guess this gross food booth, and more general party games. For a quieter time, there are also areas set up with board games and card games to play. And for some extra fun spooks a mini-haunted maze has been set up with faux spiders and webs, along with other goofy-looking monster creatures.

It's around 9 PM when the music and lights suddenly cut out. There's nothing for several seconds. Then, a voice begins to sing, filling the halls of ADI. It's a young girl's voice.

"Bye-bye, bye-bye,
Quickly you will die,
On the morning will be frost,
And you’ll go to the graveyard, the graveyard.

Grandfather will come there, too,
And he will bring the coffin.
Grandmother will come along,
Her tears, they will not soften.
Mama sings the prayer song, then,
And falls down on her knees.
Daddy takes you to the grave,
No one can hear his pleas.

Bye-bye, bye-bye,
Quickly you will die,
On the morning will be frost,
And you’ll go to the graveyard, the graveyard.

As the last notes of the song fade away, all hell breaks loose. Those who had been wearing particular sorts of costumes, ones that are more monstrous in nature, may find themselves transforming, growing, twisting, shifting. It's not a clean change, but a violent, agonizing one that cracks bones, tears and reshapes muscles and tendons, pushes out teeth to make room for new ones. Those transformed will find themselves compelled to chase, to hunt, to kill anyone they can get their claws, teeth, or other appendages on.

For those who stay themselves, it's not just their transformed friends who pose a danger, but the decorations they've set up, as well. Those fake giant spiders and webs? They're no longer fake. Neither are any of the other demonic little creatures. The goal of everything in ADI and even outside for those who manage to make it out the doors, is to remind you how very, very mortal you are. Those typically possessed of fantastic abilities will find that they have been sapped away. There's no calling on magic or innate abilities. You are mortal and you are going to die like everything mortal does.

In the chaos, characters will catch glimpses of a young girl flitting amongst the chaos, seeming unperturbed by it all. Trying to catch up to her or speak to her is fruitless, but she's there, and she's humming that song from before.

➥ When He Nothing Shines Upon

A caucasian woman has just woken up and stares grumpily at her phone. There is a purple gradient filter over the photo.
(cw: supernaturally-induced fatigue/malaise, thanatophobia)

Those who are killed at the party will find themselves waking up wherever they actually fell asleep a few hours or even days ago. If your character was one of the lucky few who somehow managed to escape the effect, you'll notice people waking up all over ADI HQ and elsewhere. There are no signs of damage on the bodies, but those who died in the dreams will find themselves feeling incredibly weak and generally ill for several hours to several days after the experience.

The music has actually stopped, and this time, it would seem you've actually woken up. Depending on how long you were passed out for, that may be a more unpleasant experience for some than others. There's a message posted from a random ADI employee's phone a few days later to the network:

Mr. S was right. This was fun! I'll have to come back next year to play with you. - Ava, the Lullaby Girl

P.S. Sorry for stealing your phone, horsegirl67. But I wanted to say, hi. C:

Unfortunately, there are no further messages and attempts to respond to the message will receive no reply for now.

But... fortunately…? All of the Halloween preparations are still up, and there's a festive party to attend if anyone actually feels keen on trying it in real life. Pam Ruan, the main organizer is bloody-minded about it now and will have her God damn Halloween party, but those who work themselves up to attend out of festive spirit or morbid curiosity will find it a distinctly muted affair that breaks early in the evening.

Happy Halloween, Gloucester!

➥ 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. The Lullaby Girl (Ava) can be seen throughout character dreams, but they will not be able to interact with her during this event. They will either wake up or simply find that the physics of the dream are warped and she cannot be reached or there's a sheet of glass between her and the character or whatnot.
FOR YOU NEVER SHUT YOUR EYE (15-24 October) - Characters are welcome to develop their own devices for attempting to stop the music. Characters will have modern day technology available to them along with a few slightly more advanced electronics and tools. Please do not go too out there. This isn't Tony Stark's array of tools and the like. But characters can create additional devices to test within reason. Some of them may be more or less effective, but with how sporadic the effect is, it might be difficult to tell what's actually working or not. There can also be negative side-effects from devices, if you'd like to play those out. Characters with the appropriate magical charge may also attempt to supernaturally block the music, but this will not be condoned or facilitated by ADI. Characters searching for the source of the music will not be able to find it, just discover that it is moving. For characters who are sleep-talking, they may find themselves unusually honest. They may or may not recall conversations with other characters and all that they told them.
TILL THE SUN IS IN THE SKY (25-27 October) - Characters will experience repeated nightmares of dying in a shared dreamscape. They will remember every time that they die in the dreams. Feel free to get as creative and gruesome with this as you would like. These are dreams and fantastical situations that might not actually happen (e.g., a robot showing up and shooting a laser through your character) may occur. Players are welcome to introduce elements of their memories into the nightmares and mix those memories around between characters who might wind up in a dream together. Please ensure all top-levels are appropriately tagged for any and all content warnings. Add content warnings as you go along, if needed. Dying in the dreams will trigger the sense of waking up. This can be a fake wake-up or characters might actually wake for a short while and find others passed out around them.
WHEN THE BLAZING SUN IS GONE (28-31 October) - Again, this will be a shared dreamscape where characters will be under the illusion (at first) that all has returned to normal. For those who investigate, everything seems to be real, nothing too off, excepting the night of the Halloween party. Once the Lullaby Girl finishes her song, characters who are dressed in costumes that depict animals or other monstrous creatures may find themselves transformed into their costumes. Transformed characters may gain powers for the duration of this prompt/event related to their monstrous forms without mod approval. Go wild, kill your friends and neighbors, and generally trash everything around you. The decorations that come to life will be attempting to murder all characters, transformed or not. If characters escape into the city, they will find all of the festive decorations out there have come to life and want to kill them, as well. Death is unavoidable for this particular prompt, but it can be something swift and painless or something drawn out and horrible at player discretion. It is the only way to actually wake a character fully. Players also have the option of keeping their characters awake. They will not experience the shared dreamscape and will just be stuck with a lot of unconscious people around them for the duration of this portion of the event.
WHEN HE NOTHING SHINES UPON (31 October) - Ava, the Lullaby Girl, cannot be contacted or immediately located, but she will be available in future plots for interactions with characters. There is no immediate information regarding who Mr. S. is. Players may have the general sleep/death malaise last for a minimum of two hours and a maximum of three days. Regular medications for the flu can ameliorate some of the symptoms, but they will ultimately clear up on their own. Characters may wake up in whatever state players would like. Feel free to play out the effects of them having been slumped in a corridor for three days without food or water. It's going to be a bad time all around. Those who attend the real Halloween party will be thanked profusely by Pam and showered with candy. At least they'll get a few HR brownie points?

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[her real glasses so real she's not wearing them tonight for the party, because she's presumably rocking contact lenses instead? haha yes sure ok,

...

this reaction......]

Goodness. Put more enthusiasm into that and you'd easily pass off as a freshly adopted but woefully untrained puppy. --Oh, and our stop is coming up next!

[She doesn't have to explain herself like this, right?]

Only if you share that!

(He's totally joking... Unless? Because what the fuck. This is some Persona-level shit, and as far as Ren's concerned, Stephen doesn't have any, does he? Ren finds that when he's awake, he can summon the same powers himself, but Stephen's ones are some that he cannot figure out for the life of him.

Not that he has time. The darkness Arsène summons around one of Yaldabaoth's arms does nothing. Instead, a macabre laugh roams through the air, weighting it as it calls the trickster once more.

"I win. Your chances of winning were almost none. Now you see it."

And little by little, their efforts mean nothing. As Yaldabaoth fishes a book, it's all over in a flash. Ren's dead. Fallen, and slowly, reality began to dissipate around them, little by little becoming nothing but figments of what once were.

Ren awakes, but this time, back in reality. His first thought, upon gasping for air, is to find Stephen. He must pull him out.)

[ p-puppy...

a little protest splutters from him, but before he can let a protest-- enthusiastic protest, at that-- Abel is distracted by talk of their stop; it doesn't quite dissolve the frown at his face nor his complaints, but... ]

A-adopted by who, precisely?! And untrained?!

[ Caterina, somewhere, nods her head in virulent agreement, ]

Just what is that supposed to mean? --Ciel?!

(And more laughter just slips out of Ren's painted lips, his head and hand shaking as he tries to gasp for air.)

I don't drink sugar!!

(But now he knows, right? He'll be sure to add more sweet tones to whatever he makes Abel in the future.)

Mhm... Barista, clerk, fast-food worker, bar assistant, florist.

I know a lot of people, it's all.

(Ren's always busy here and there, and throwing mingles, and helping here, and there, and doing this, and that... It's hard not to know plenty of people, at least see them once in a while.

Ren doesn't remember seeing Jerry before the sleep issue became constant, so he must be new.)

You caused none. I'm just concerned about you.

(Ren's got her, it's fine.)

I'll make you some coffee.

I'm fine.

(But quite honestly, who has been? Ren's sigh is audible, as well as how he sucks teeth from the pain. Ice-- Ice helps. Almost automatically, Ren moves towards the fridge to get a cube, wrap it in a cloth and rest it against the spot.

Not good, this is not good. What the hell did he babble about?!)

I'm Ren. Sorry if I was weird.

[She's already stood up, pressed the STOP button, and is making her way to the bus' back door. F quiet bus ride, sorry other passengers...]

I wouldn't know about that, you don't seem tagged--or did it get lost, on your way here to Gloucester? Oh, but we should get off or we'll miss our stop. Are you coming, untagged "Father" Nightroad? 'Abel' would be a cute name for a puppy though, come to think of it...!

[n_n?]

Once upon a time, that place had been Jaeger's entire world. Born and raised into service, it was the only, best standard he had to measure himself against, and for a long time he had been good. He had been a golden child, in Brighter Dawn's eyes. In his father's eyes.

And then it was all revealed as the hollow, rotting corpse that it really was.

Jaeger takes in a deep breath, thinking the air feels thin. The walls keep bending and flexing in subtle movements, lending an eerie unease to the whole thing. There's no Conservators, not yet, but the fear is still there, in the blind corners and closed doors and the memory of being taken.

He follows Chris, though, because this stranger seems to know the way. Knows something at least, speaks in a voice that's outside of Jaeger's own perception. Whether it makes sense or not, there's something calming, reasonable about it, and Jaeger is going to cling desperately to that.

"Knowledge has a price. But sometimes the world needs people like me," he agrees wearily after a moment. "It costs us less. Because we've already seen inside, we already paid with those pieces of ourselves."

Guilt tugs at his thoughts, a moment of conflict at who's helping who right now. Is Chris safer on his own? Jaeger doesn't know, and the logic behind the whole thing dissolves into hazy vapor as he tries to pin down his thoughts.

God, he's so tired. And the walls keep shifting, strange unreal geometries out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm somewhat familiar with dream magic from my own world. It can be very dangerous," he says somberly, running a hand over his short, dark hair. "I don't know if this counts, but it seems like a very powerful influence was at work and that probably means we should take good care of ourselves for a while, to make sure there's no lingering effects."

Dying over and over again, only to wake up in a new place- sometimes real, sometimes not- definitely took its toll and didn't count as anything like rest. That was the viciousness of the trap now: Bodies desperately needing rest, but brains too traumatized to give in to that particular demand.

"Tea and a pillow does sound good right now, though. Not sleep, just the tea and pillow." He lets his hand drop again, as if catching himself at a bad habit. He's normally very well groomed, but under the current circumstances, he's not nearly as sharp as usual. He's not going to worry too much about that, though. He's apparently in plenty of company.

"I'm sorry that it seems to have happened to everyone, but on the other hand...it's a bit reassuring knowing I wasn't the only one."

"Uh huh." It's absent, disbelieving. He doesn't wait for permission, he just pulls her forward against his metal shoulder, and heaves her up in a fireman's carry, her top half dangling down against his back, her legs against his chest, and the metal arm curled protectively around her.

There's a supply closet not far from here. He'll deposit her in there and block the door and... and come back if he can find someone who knows anything about poison. Or once he's cleared the building.

did they even also get trapped in that weird dream? they know why we're all jumpy right. has someone told them

[Unfortunately, more worlds than are inhabited by the Fears have books that read you back, entities of unimainable power drawing people into the darkness because they were just too curious to leave well enough alone. But this is how Beau deals with fear- facing it head-on, baring her own teeth, waiting for the monster to blink first.

Typically, though, they do try to evade her, so it's odd for a moment when the being staring at her doesn't do much of anything. Which means that without being stopped, she's going to attempt to bodyslam right into it and see if she can wrestle it to the ground.

You know, like a normal person.]

Come on! You're dead already, come on!

[Hopefully Jon doesn't like, feel this.]

[All it says about Jerry is that he and Beau think very alike, which is one part great and another part deeply dangerous for who they apparently are as people. She's pulling herself upward when he comes over, sighing as she pushes some errant stands of hair back into where it's pulled back on her head.]

Uhh. Thanks, I guess. Wasn't supposed to do that.

[Obviously, but hey, at least he's not trying to be weird about it. She pulls herself to her feet despite feeling weary, shaking out her arms.]

Kinda thought I'd gotten this one. What are you doing, jogging or something? Peel out onto the floor yet?

I think Pam was there? She was definitely at the party but I guess I couldn't say if that was actually Pam or a dream Pam.

Still, I think she's just extremely stubborn. Which I can admire! I'm just also not fucking insane.

Jack visibly perks up at I do that all the time — seriously, it's a wide-eyed expressive affair with a practically palpable energy. They apparently have a lot in common — he's seen a lot of monstrous things, too.

It's just - if you've been through what he's been through and had your sanity questioned as much as he has, finding somebody who's seen the same kind of stuff is really significant.

"I was only a monster once, and that was more of an... invasion of the body snatchers thing where this super old insect deity jumped inside my body for a while. The ayahuasca was actually a poison thing, that's how I got dosed with it, so I don't really know if that... counts as being one." He has a tendency to ramble out story segments in maybe unsatisfying chunks, unless you manage to stumble across his blog with the full story. It's not really important, he thinks, and he's moving on almost immediately to the bigger point. "Was it at the party? What happened?"

( You know, he's not positive, but he's pretty sure she seems a little skeptical. That's fine, he gets that a lot. )

Um. Sure.

( Part of him thinks he should probably be more hesitant to give his arm over to a stranger that just wandered out of a creepy dark room in a light-flickering hallway that's talking to him with her eyes closed, but honestly? Wouldn't be the stupidest thing he's done. He edges closer, but as he does he spots movement in his peripheral vision.

Through one of the glass paned windows in the doors, a room full of previously sleeping employees? test subjects? people abruptly sit up in unison — eyes still closed, but somehow... still obviously staring. )

...but first, could you tell me if that's actually happening?

( He nods his head at the room just behind her. )

( That's a great theory, really. It makes total sense, or it would, save for one glaring problem. )

It can't be a dream. I don't sleep.

( He hasn't since this whole thing started. He knows he hasn't, because he hasn't been to his room since the whole thing started. Jerry's sword collection is still taking up his mattress. He's had conversations with people at Bonnie's at all hours of the night, and he's been here for the most part during the day. He hasn't laid down anywhere. )

( Jack's experienced some intense pain in his life. He's had his finger chopped off, he's rebroken a broken leg and then had that broken leg kicked by a bunch of rednecks. He's had the shit beaten out of him. It doesn't hold a candle to being immolated from the inside out by poison fog. He knows that it hurts, that it eats him apart at the seams, that he can't stand it, and then he—

Abruptly can only remember the impression of the pain, but he can't actually feel it. Can't distinctly recall the sharpness of it cutting him. Can't... remember how he got to where he is — lying on a bed made of the wet dreams of a tooth fairy barber eldritch nightmare.

He shifts, pushing himself up immediately, frowning in distaste at the texture. Like the world's least pleasant bear-skin rug — which, by the way, are already unpleasant to begin with just conceptually. )

I mean, I guess that depends on your definition.

( He answers, and it probably sounds not nearly fucked up enough to match the fucked-uppedness-level of the environment around them.

Excuse him for asking, and he's trying not to sound horrifically rude, but uh- )

Is this, um... your... place?

( I mean, she has a point, he thinks. This isn't his void, how is he supposed to get a helmet here? He doesn't seem particularly perturbed by the yelling. You get used to it with a best friend like Jerry. )

Not a demon exactly.

( He sighs apologetically. )

More like... a god? Or, like, an ancient... cosmic being of eternal pain and suffering intent on taking over the world to torment all living things for the rest of eternity?

( So... sorry about that. )

[ good thing Abel doesn't have any pride, because wow, wow??? 😩 merciless........

Abel's fumbling up to his feet alongside her as she readies to depart, making a choked noise as if he really doesn't know how on earth to respond to this??? CIEL!! ]

Un... untagged?! --Oh, are you trying to say my master was careless...? Is that it?! O-or am I just a hopeless, untamed stray?! Officer SISTER--

[ once the bus lumbers to a stop and they make their departure, the bus driver sure is rolling his eyes in a relieved exasperation,

smh so many crazies in this town, ]

...You don't drink sugar?!

[ Abel looks as though Ren has just told him he has a death sentence or he kicks puppies as a hobby. the affront...? the horror...?

to say nothing of the illegal amount of 'activities' he's just listed off, to boot! ]

Goodness~! Are you serious...?! Are you telling me you don't take any sugar at all, Ren...? A-and how on earth do you even have time to breathe with that many jobs?! What's that saying-- 'all work and no play makes Ren a dull boy'...? When on earth do you relax amongst all of that...?

Not on my coffee or tea. I do drink soda--

(Oh, dear Lord, Abel looks so concerned, there's so much to cover!!)

They're part-time on different days. I'm a student, I go when I can.

Martin laughs. Malcolm recoils slightly. He doesn't think Gil should have to take Martin's punishment for him, but he's still glad of the solid wall his mentor forms.

"Gil, Gil, Gilly-boy," Martin says, strolling closer. "You don't get to walk into my home and take my family, just because you're not capable of getting your own. Now. Why don't you run along and leave me to my reunion with my son."

When Tim's elbow presses down on Martin's neck, Martin's blade is driven between Tim's ribs. There's barely motion in the gesture; it's almost a flick of the wrist, but Martin's eyes burn with satisfaction. He doesn't say anything with the pressure on his windpipe, but he looks pleased.

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Event - Lullaby

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