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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ --Abel is abruptly swiveling where he had been heading for the kitchen and looking at the boy as though he has just uttered some sort of magic mantra, ]

Barista...?! --Ah! W-wait, do you mean you can make those coffees with the cute little foam pictures on top?!

But you have Rome. How is your world?

(Is it from an earlier time? It makes no sense that the man would know what Rome is, but not the United States in any other circumstance.

But then, he speaks with such cute eagerness that Ren bursts into laugher, hiding it behind the stiletto nails he put on for the event.)

I can. Do you want one?

[ w-well, they can always discuss world business any ol time, okay? what is FAR more important is the cute coffee, because Abel is ditching any other topic of conversation to hone directly in on that one.

in fact, the priest has bridged the meager distance between them to abruptly clutch at Ren's hands in earnest excitement, eyes bright in anticipation, ]

--Could you?! S... sir, it has been a singular dream of mine to have one of those since I saw them on TV~!! Are you telling me you can really make one of them yourself...?! I... I'm speaking to a craftsman...?!

(While the contact is rather abrupt, Ren doesn't seem to mind. Instead, it only brings more laughter to his lips, something desperately needed in such a tragic time. He did die several times this week, all in dreams but just as bad as the real thing.

Good that he's smiling!! Ren nods, eager.)

I'll make you one right now! I make my own blend of coffee, should be here somewhere...

[ ah-- Ren's face lights up, and Abel's lights up in response to seeing that bright, warm smile. o-oh... yes, definitely cute. cute, cute-- ]

Wonderful~! You're a regular saint, Ren, I'll really owe you one...! Then-- please, please, is there anything I could do to be of help? An artist needs his tools, um-- consider me your assistant! Is it okay if I watch you work?

Ah, you don't owe me anything at all.

(Getting that out of the way first! Mister Priest should have something nice for his arrival, considering the shitty times they've just gone through.)

Of course it is, come here.

(And like so, he starts separating the ingredients, getting the coffee ready... And in no time, it's ready, held between thin fingers and enormous nails and he smiles as he offers it. With the foam, Ren has drawn little flowers and branches, it's absolutely adorable.)

[ ...you know. red has always been Abel's favorite color. Ren in this dress sure is like an angel sent down from heaven to deliver a certain priest this delectable little treat, and he?? is loving this,

he stretches his hands to accept the warm delight with eyes as big as saucers, looking at the ADORABLE little artwork made so carefully out of foam and coffee... ]

...This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

[ he... is too moved to disturb it. how does one DRINK art?? ]

(If this is the most beautiful thing Abel's ever seen, this reaction is the cutest thing REN has ever seen!! He can't stop smiling, and really, this is why he likes working with food and beverages so much. Look how happy the man is!!

It just brings people together.)

I hope it tastes just as good.

R... Ren...!!

[ Abel is leaning forward a bit with watery eyes; he really is just... so excited?? about this whole thing?? he can't even properly articulate it, honestly!! and so emphatic are his movements he almost carelessly sloshes his Artwork where it's cupped with the utmost affection between his hands, ]

How dare I drink something like this?! I... I feel like I need to preserve it, somehow! Look at these little branches, they're so delicate and sweet... I can feel the breeze rustling through my hair as if I'm sitting beneath this tree right here and now, i-it's...

[ ..........perhaps he is a bit dramatic. it is his nature. but at least Ren's efforts are appreciated?? ]

How on earth did you learn how to make these...?!

(Help the boy, he CANNOT stop laughing, it hurts the abs under the red flowy dress and he fans himself a little bit, only because he refuses to cry with fake lashes on, goddamnit!!)

I'll make others, it's fine!!

(He says, whenever he manages to stop laughing even the smallest bit.)

I worked in a cafe before.

[ h-heh. the sound of that laughter is terribly endearing, and a balm to the spirit after the misery that's engulfed the entirety of ADI, lately. Abel has to say, it sounds...? pretty great.

he's suffocating the urge to smile, though, so fixated on looking enamored as he stares into his little coffee cup. ]

Wow... So you must be the creative sort, hm? You know how some people are born with the bone for this kind of talent in their body? Yes, yes-- you definitely have it~! Amazing! This is wonderful, thank you...!

(Okay, Ren cannot deny that he does have a BIT of a gift? Perhaps a too refined palate, that allows him to recreate things with ease, or perhaps the eagerness to learn making it much easier to do so? But either way, his cheeks HURT at just how much he's smiling, and he waves his hand a few times, shy.)

Anytime, yeah?

(They should find a place to sit. Turns out wearing heels make your legs hurt.)

[ it's a match made in heaven...... Ren with his refined and creative palate and Abel out here ready to eat anything because he is a DOG at heart, just give him anything tbh?? he will be so happy?? Ren??

...w-well. listen, he would love to sit and enjoy this coffee, but he hasn't forgotten what he came here for!! so, after another moment of staring longingly into his coffee cup that is still Too Cute To Drink, ]

--Ah! Please, go take a load off...! I'm taking my relaxing art-coffee with me to the stove for that tea I promised you, though, um... I'm afraid it might pale in comparison to this... Please don't judge me too harshly, would you, Ren?

I would never.

(After all, it's tea made with one's love and care!! How would he hate it?? Could he?? Hate it??? No???

Ren laughs, nodding and moving to one of the tables to wait for the other man.)

[ ok but what if it were the worst cup of tea he's ever tasted?? what then????

...it won't be, but you know.

Abel's setting the electric kettle to warm, smiling over his shoulder as he digs out the Special Tea Bags he's gone and stowed away underneath a cabinet and behind some stock for the pantry. ]

Well! Ren, are you a fan of chamomile? Or maybe lavender~!

[ they're both well known for being calming, after all-- and nerves could certainly use soothing right now, couldn't they? ]

Lavender is good!

(He attempts to speak a little louder, to make sure Abel can catch it from the kitchen. Truth be told, he's excited to share a beverage with him -- he's so nice!)

Lavender~! Got it!

[ and it isn't all too long after that Abel is returning to where Ren has settled himself and his heels and dress dress, settling one steaming mug in front of his company as Abel takes a seat. ]

Here we are...! I don't know about you, but I can't bring myself to drink a cup of tea-- no matter how delicious-- without a hearty helping of sugar, sometimes milk...

[ so he's fishing into his pockets to dump several dozen packets onto the table, ahem, ]

So, Ren... what do you do at home? Are you a full-time barista, or do you have a different feather in your cap back there?

(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.

...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.

[ ...o-oh my god?? ]

And you're a student on top of all that?! Ren...!! Are you trying to send yourself to an early grave?! G-gray hairs...?!

No, no!! Work's fun, I really enjoy it.

(And money is fun!! He enjoys that too.)

When do you relax...? Kick you feet up? Take a breather?! Please tell me you at least live with someone who helps you out, makes meals or something...?

[ he is Concerned for this poor boy's SOUL?? ]

Here? I live on my own at Bonnie's, but I visit ADI a lot.

(Here ADI won't let him have five thousand jobs...)

Well, at least there's that, but... what about at home?

[ Ren working himself to an early grave, please!! he's far too young to be a workaholic and toiling away his youth!! ]

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

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)