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?

↬ Main Navigation

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Eventually. Otherwise I would have been stuck in a loop for… well. Longer than I’d like to think about.

[For infinity. He wouldn’t be here talking to Ren, that much is for sure.]

As for you, I’m not going to be loose-lipped about what I saw. Though I would like some kind of explanation.

It's a long story.

(How to begin explaining it without giving too much information, and throwing Akechi under the bus in the process?)

Yaldabaoth wanted to control the masses' thoughts. It chose me and someone else-- whoever achieved our common goal would decide what it did to the people, but it was a lie, it was going to erase us from the public's cognition either way. My friends and I freed the masses in the end. It's true that I am called the Trickster, but I don't think it makes much difference when I couldn't have done it alone.

He passes the dagger off to her on reflex, even if he has no idea what he's in for here with all this blood. He supposes he should find some irony in what she's telling him- some kind of prophet for a blind deity, sure- but right now everything feels much too real for that to ring with even the most grim amusement. Instead, he just tries to wipe anything off his shirt that he can as he goes up to the boy.

"Hey, just-- l-look at me, okay? If, if you can put your arms around my neck, hold on better--" He's just going to try to keep him flat, let gravity keep all the everything in and try not to freak out. Otherwise, he'll follow Mercy wherever she's going.

No, I'm not... really any kind of dreamer, I don't actually—

( He stops.

Stares — not at her, but at something just beyond her shoulder.

There, strutting down the hallway like it belongs, is an honest to god Rhode Island Red. )

...well, that's lucky.

[One day someone will teach Beau about the technology of video recording in this world and she will adore every single second of it for these exact reasons. In the meantime, she has no fucking idea what he just said, but is going to roll with it.]

It doesn't even seem like regular magic, like-- magic doesn't always work, shit misses, even the big guys fuck up. This is closer to some god shit. I'll throw down with a god whenever, I don't give a shit, just be honest about it and get out here so I can stop falling asleep all the damn time!

The body needs sleep. Even if that sleep is restless, you’re going to suffer for a lack of it. That’s just the reality.

[Though…]

A colleague of mine is working on something for nightmares. She’ll likely make its accessibility public soon. But other than that? I can prescribe sleep aids for you, if you’re willing to find a work-around for now.

With a new setting comes a new set of problems, and even though Stephen cannot recognize the locale via its immediate settings, the distant shape of the Gateway Arch is a dead giveaway.

More pressing is the hesitation and fear in the man’s eyes, who know looks as though the years have been shaved off of him. Stephen wills away his sorcerer’s garb in favor of something more familiar; in an instant, he’s dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. His shirt is still the same navy color as his robes, but at least this is far more… suburbia.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s me, Stephen,” he offers again, as though the repetition of an introduction might ease the anxieties. “I’m from Gloucester, too, and we’re both having a pretty bad dream. Hope you don’t mind that I’m along for the ride, but it might take two heads to figure out just how to break this cycle.”

That may have meant nothing at all to Neal, and he realizes this, following up with, “Can you tell me where we are?”

I'd really rather not take sleep aids. Nothing like being trapped in a nightmare unable to wake up for months to put you off anything that keeps you asleep.

That’s humble of you, but what you’re describing isn’t exactly a small feat.

[It sounds… well. Like something a hero would’ve done back in his world.]

So what do you consider yourself? A vigilante? A hero? What I saw wasn’t exactly magic, was it?

A high-school student.

(None of that. Ren's absolutely flawed, and he knows better than to think he's a big hero. Not when he knows for a fact that if he hadn't had such a beautiful support system within his friends, he'd let his rage take over in a second.)

No, it's called Pscience. The world is created by our cognitions, and my friends and I awakened power within it. It's not exactly magic, but it might as well be.

[That’s… fair. If unfortunate.]

Months? Guessing that’s something that happened in your home universe?

[Which sounds infinitely worse than even what happened to them here — if by measure of time alone.]

I was in a coma for about six months. It was... unpleasant to say the least.

Hereward makes a weak motion, but even just getting his arm up seems to be impossible. He does smile at Martin, though, with utter adoration. "Never thought I'd meet you afore the blinding light took me, sir. What's a young buck to say? Ah... I've read all your stories. The ones they printed. I learned to read just so I could read those. I wanted... to know you. I love you."

Mercy sees some of the soldiers from the opposing side look toward them. Is that opposing? Everyone is covered in mud and blood and it's so hard to tell. She raises the dagger, anyway, an icy shield forming behind them, bullets cracking into it.

"Martin loves you, too, Hereward. That's why he's come." She motions for Martin to hurry.

[It's such a bizarre turn of events, she lets him stop them. The cock bucks, then crows, the sounds reverberating round them louder and louder than any rooster has a right to be. The Dread Watcher screeches back and instead of continuing toward the pair, she lunges for the rooster, trying to flatten it. The bird manages to squawk and flap away for the time being.]

This is our chance. Can you make a sound like a rooster? Or make more of them?

[With one being there, with the god's distress, it occurs to Mercy that's a sound she can imitate. Either way, she's going to cup her hands over her mouth and crow. The sounds echo and echo around the chamber, and the Dread Watcher screeches again, clawing at the world around her, trying to slice through the sounds.]

I didn't even make that one—

( Oh, right. They have... vocal cords. In hindsight, maybe they could have done this the whole time instead of trying to convince one another to will roosters into existence. If he could just conjure up a bunch of roosters on command he definitely wouldn't be-

He falters again as a gradually building sound hits a decibel loud enough to distract him from his thoughts. Loud enough to rise above Mercy's crowing. Like the sound of... wind? Scratching? Thundering... heartbeats? No, no, that's- wings. That's the sound of flapping wings.

Dozens upon dozens of flapping wings and talons scratching the floor as a veritable tidal wave of roosters begin to flood the hall.

Well. Be careful what you wish for.

He's... honestly not sure which is scarier: the nightmare goddess, or the chicken army. )

I see. Then while I understand your avoidance when it comes to sleep, it still isn’t recommended on my end. Sorting through nightmares isn’t exactly my expertise unless we’re talking about symptoms of something more mystical, but—

[Well. Really no other way to say it that Stephen cares to humor.]

—we do have a counseling department. One that’s very underutilized.

[t h e r a p y]

The trouble with counselling, is that it's not usually useful for helping with things that are either genuinely your fault, or things that are not your fault but are catastrophically destructive either way.

So I'll pass on that.

[Stephen looks vaguely unsure of that.]

And why are you so sure? The whole point is working through any number of things — your fault, someone else’s fault, external factors beyond your control. If it affects you, it’s fair game to talk about.

And if I really don't want to talk about it? What then?

Because it's never helped before.

It breaks his heart to see this, almost to the point of stunning him, but the bullets pull him out of it as he tries to lift Hereward as gently as possible. "It's alright, it's-- save your strength. I'm with you." He's lied about less, so at this point why not-- the man won't even remember, and that's if he survives. Martin gets him into his arms, trying to support his head with his arm but mostly focusing on not dropping him as he starts sprinting towards cover.

"Mercy! C'mon, don't-- don't stay out here!" He doesn't need to tell her, but at least he feels like he's doing something if he does.

[Stephen holds in a sigh.]

I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want. It doesn't work that way.

But at least consider the suggestion for now, if nothing else.

...fine. I will consider it.

[He won't do it, but he will consider it. Maybe he could claim he'd had to work for the Tories like Melanie had.]

Ah is there anything you can suggest for this? [He holds out his burnt hand. The old scar tissue vaguely looks like the form a handshake would take.]

It does get stiff and sometimes it's hard to write.

Wh-

[What even is this? Mercy's crowing trails off as the birds flood in. The Dread Watcher shrieks and slashes at them as they come, but it's a seemingly endless tide of birds crowing, flapping, scratching, pecking. They cover the monstrous god, but they don't stop more and more come, turn toward Mercy and Jack.]

Rocks to your mother... [It's horrified and exasperated all at the same time.] Run. Run! Run!

[She grabs him to take off again, but as she's turning another wave of birds comes crashing into wherever this is from the opposite direction, then from either side. Where can they go? Where do they go here? There doesn't seem to be anywhere they can go. Mercy tries to pull Jack close, to protect him with her body as the birds sweep around and over them. If she can just protect him, save him so he can crawl out of this somehow-]

Mercy follows, arm held behind her as they make the trees. She does drop it and the shield when it seems like they're far enough into the cover. "All right. Just- you can set him down there. I'll put him back together and sew it all up. You're gonna be okay, Hereward. Martin's here to make sure of that. We're all gonna be okay and we're gonna get back to the Abbey and have a feast in your honor. You're a hero today, you know? Everyone is. That's why Martin's come. To see the heroes of Evergreen fighting."

She starts to kneel, but as she does, there's a sharp crack of gunfire and half of Mercy's face in simply wiped away. There's barely a moment of consciousness before she falls over dead. If Martin looks toward where the fire seems to have come from, he'll see another boy who couldn't be more than 15. He looks terrified, hands shaking as he moves to reload his gun.

[Stephen moves a little closer to see. That’s a strangely shaped scar, the way someone might grip for a handshake.

A very bad sort of handshake.]

...It looks fully healed, so if it’s still stiff from time to time, then it’s likely due to nerve damage.

[Boy, he can relate to that. A pause.]

Do you still have remnants of pain?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 52 of 53

Event - Lullaby

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: severe gunshot wound, character death

no subject