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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. Never Shut Your Eye, Others

Winter is pretty used to keeping awake when he desperately wants to sleep. It's survival. It's a mission necessity. It's keeping alert so HYDRA doesn't catch him at less than his best. So he does better than some people, even if he basically attaches himself to a coffee mug whenever he's not on patrol or he's actually allowed to be sleeping.

And he keeps his eyes peeled for other people nodding off on odd places, or acting strange. He'll crouch next to a sleeper and give them a careful prod with metal fingers to wake them up, or lead a babbling person gently to a seat if they aren't making sense. Need a guardian assassin to keep you from passing out in the sidewalk or spilling your darkest secrets? This is your guy.

II. Never Shut Your Eye, Himself

Of course, even the Winter Soldier isn't perfect. One might find him curled up in a corner of the training room, wedged up against a dummy, out of the way and snoozing peacefully. Or maybe at the very end of his patrol route, in an empty office with his rifle tucked in his arms like a very awkward and deadly teddy bear. Or even with his head on his arms on the canteen table.

Be careful waking him. He tends to wake up violent if touched.

III. Sun in the Sky, Choose Your Own Adventure

The Winter Soldier has "died"... many times. If you count medical deaths, anyway.

Nightmare number one, he (or you!) are strapped down to a table, skin crawling with sweat and grime. There's an awful machine hanging over you, and a doctor is muttering in German as he tightens the straps. He pats your arm, and you cringe from the touch, and then the machine lowers-- needles press into your arms and legs-- and everything inside burns--

Nightmare number two, he (or you!) are clinging to the side of a train, blasted open and hanging on to a rail. A burly blonde in a red, white, and blue uniform is reaching for your hand. "Bucky, take my hand!" the blonde says urgently, and you reach. The wind buffets you, the rail creaks ominously. "Bucky, no!" the blonde cries, and the rail breaks, and you fall--

Nightmare number three, he (or you!) are in a small, coffin-like space. Your left arm is gone, everything aches, and you even your enhanced strength can't get the capsule open. You pound and pound on the door, on the little window they left you, but it doesn't open. The hateful doctor with his hateful little glasses smiles at you from the outside, flicks a switch, and the temperature drops suddenly and painfully. You scream, but the window covers in frost, and everything is so cold-- your heart slows... then stops....

Nightmare number four, he (this time, not available as a thing you can experience; be grateful) is strapped into a Chair made out of nightmares. The metal arm is held down with iron shackles. The tech holds out a bite guard and he takes it into his mouth, blank on the outside but terrified on the inside, knowing without remembering what comes next. There's a spark behind his head, and the Chair leans back. He pants around the bite guard as the halo comes down, sparking again, closing over his face, and everything is gone in lightning-fire-pain. It lasts minutes. When it's over, he gasps and whines and twitches, and he has no idea who he is, where he is, what is happening, except that he's helpless and afraid.

Or maybe a dark, masked sniper has shown up in your death. What does he see? Can he rescue you, or are you both doomed?

IV. Sun Is Gone, Non-Monster-Fied

After nights (days?) of nightmare roulette, Winter is still feeling tender and skittish. The idea of doing to a party of all things is as terrifying as dreaming of the Chair again. So he doesn't go. He takes the evening shift of the security patrol instead, remembering Yelena's suggestion about the beach party and how it would be a prime opportunity to strike.

So he's just in his usual uniform and usual compliment of weaponry when the song begins, and people start to change. He swings his rifle into ready position and charges towards the nearest scream.

Even without his serum strength and speed, Winter is highly trained and a natural talent with firearms. Plus, metal arm that no monster or decoration is going to bite through. So he's prowling the halls, taking out monsters who used to be co-workers or even friends, getting between them and their non-transformed victims, and basically trying to clear the place of hostiles. Need a rescue? Need to end a rampage? He's here for you.

V. Nothing Shines, Direct Aftermath

Nightmares are familiar. Nightmares where he's prowling the halls shooting former coworkers and even friends are also pretty familiar, to be honest. So Winter drags himself pretty much immediately into action as soon as he wakes, from where he'd apparently nodded off in a broom closet, hugging his rifle like a stuffed toy again.

He searches the halls for other wakers, people potentially hurt from having fallen asleep in a bad spot or whose nightmare experience was worse than his own. He helps haul people to their feet, helps push things out of their way, offers a canteen of water, and helps get people to... well, the hall medical is in, he won't go any closer than that.

VI. Nothing Shines, Later

When everything is finally cleaned up and people are being cared for, Winter escapes back home, and spends two hours in the bath. Because that's about the only coping mechanism he has, and he is going to fucking use it. Then, perhaps surprisingly, after three days of being "asleep", he sleeps through the whole damn night with no nightmares for the first time since he woke up here. It's... nice.

Though he refuses to go anywhere near the second party, he is... on premises. With his guns. Just in case something awful goes down again.

Thankfully nothing does, so he trudges back to the ADI apartments instead and sits on the first floor couch for a while, just listening to the sounds of people in the building and trying to let that keep him calm. Eventually once his roommates are home, he'll do the same in the living room of the apartment, the only concession to being "home" being his boots are off.

Stephen might need a rescue.

He’s quick on his feet — trained, even, as well as sorcerers train in self-defense. But so much of that training revolved around the ability to use his magic to bolster both the offensive and defensive; and Stephen, without his spells at his disposal, is running on less than half efficacy.

If even that. No doubt he fares even worse against inhuman creatures, and the party decorations that have come to life. Case in point: a giant tarantula skittering down the walls, looking for a victim to leap on. That victim is Stephen, who it latches onto with dreadful intent, so large and surreally heavy that it knocks the Doctor straight onto his back, so that it might better make a meal out his face if given the chance.

No, Stephen definitely needs a rescue.

Good thing there's somebody here ready to rescue him, huh? A metal arm comes down to grab the tarantula between the two halves of its abdomen... and hauls back, to try and hurl it against the wall again.

It's too close to actually shoot it off Stephen, after all. Or, well, too close to risk shooting a flailing sorcerer arm if he tried. He could make the shot but not with a 100% chance of avoiding injuring an ally.

Good thing, indeed. To say that the tarantula's barrelled in, too close for comfort, would be an understatement -- Stephen's nearly sure that its fangs were only a half-inch away from the soft flesh of his neck when the silhouette of Winter looms above them both, ripping the thing away and tossing it against the wall. It slams with an impressive force right into it, sliding down and landing in the ground in a crumple. Stunned but not defeated, its many legs twitch and seek purchase on the floor.

In the meanwhile, Stephen jolts up, his heart hammering in his chest, not so foolish enough to let relief thoroughly wash over him when he sees Barnes there, like a man truly at the rescue.

"My magic's gone," he says in a breathless hiss, as though to provide the man with context as to why the whole situation's gone pear-shaped without Stephen putting up a real fight. He can thank him for his help later, once they get out of this alive.

The spider doesn't have long to get its legs under it, because now that it's far enough away, Winter levers his pistol at it, fires, and explodes its head into... candy corn. Okay. Better than goo, he supposes.

"You weren't supposed to have any, to begin with, unless you'd been scaring people," he points out, though without judgement. "Do you know how to fight? Hand to hand?"

If not, well. He's just got himself a new bodyguard. Hopefully Stephen takes direction well.

Better than goo, but marginally. A preferable situation would be not to be in this situation at all, but no time to dwell on that. Stephen pushes himself up to his feet with a scoff.

“I’ve been storing it up, slowly -- for something like this,” comes the admission in regards to magic, and he’d argue it’s more out of practicality than some misguided hubris, but now’s not the time. Winter doesn’t seem to dole out judgment, either way, or he’s just very good at setting it aside.

He raises his hands, scarred and shaking slightly, not from his nerves failing him, but rather from literal nerve damage.

“Hand-to-hand? Doable, but not preferable. Without my training, I’d do better if I had something to defend myself with.”

So yes, it seems like he’s gained a bodyguard.

After a beat of eying those shaking hands, Winter decides that a knife would be more danger to Stephen than to anything attacking him, if he has no training with it. "When this is over. If you survive. You should come to the training room a few times a week, in the evenings, and I will show you."

But for now, he turns aside and motions for Stephen to keep close. "For now, I will find you somewhere safe," he adds.

Bucky/Winter | MCU

iv; cw: (giant) spiders

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iv. Making Winter Proud (cw: violence, blood, likely NPC death)

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IV (cw: violence, pumpkin monsters

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iii. cw: medical experimentation

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