Event - Lullaby

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Lullaby

➥ For You Never Shut Your Eye

(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

(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

(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

(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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Comments

[septieme]

She shouldn't have said anything about their surroundings, too late to regret that mistake now. The sense of relief has a distinctively bitter aftertaste when he finally lets her go without any prompting of her part, just when she was starting to think she may have to carefully nudge him off with her own two hands.

"We'll get through this, Eric." Somehow. "...There's a med kit in the cupboards here, it could have painkillers. I could look for you?"

It's not going to do a damn thing, and she knows it. Is continuing to talk to someone beyond help and offering meaningless platitudes despite it really any better in the big picture, when the outcome isn't going to change no matter what actions are taken? ...Suppose she can't help it, even when she does know 'better'.

"You still know yourself. Focus on who you are, that won't change no matter what happens to your body." She may sound calm, but she would absolutely not claim to be confident. Staying as himself is simply the best that they could hope for, but why indeed would any of this be happening, if it was 'just' to shapeshift some people through clearly grotesque and painful ways? She did not miss something crawl out of her periphery, either; wasn't that a plastic skull decoration, the thing that moved just now? And in the next moment, what sounds like a muffled scream can be heard over the chaos of this room, coming from beyond the walls in the hallway or the next room over. The situation is deteriorating even beyond them, without doubt...

[mistersquirrels]

He nods, clutching his stomach, pained whines escaping him. He's not sure that'll do anything, if it even can do anything, but a plan, any plan, does help.

You still know yourself.

"O-okay..."

That's right, he does, he knows his name! And he knows these movies, he knows that they just turn into mindless monsters, and he doesn't think he's mindless...yet. He's still got that. He's gotta hold onto it. He's not a monster--

--there's another cry of pain but this time it's a snarl as his face completes the change, lengthening and changing shape fully into a wolf's snout.

And suddenly it all feels better.

Huh.

Weird.

The aches are still there but it's not active anymore, and he glances up at his new companion, his golden eyes bright and now filled with curiosity instead of pain.

"Whoa...it's all gone."

[septieme]

It really is terribly clichéd, and she doesn't even watch those kind of movies. Never had the time or opportunity, thought she's heard of them occasionally.

"Alright. The med kit should be somewhere inside the bottom shelf cupboards, over there. I'll be right back, okay?" She nudges her head towards the counters in the back, visible from where they are despite the growing chaos surrounding them. That said, she'll start taking a few steps back without turning away from him, that small drilling and most relentless voice at the back of her head no less insistent about how she cannot leave her back exposed to him. She does not get far, however, only a few couple of steps, before witnessing with her own two eyes his strained expression vanishing and his countenance seemingly do a complete 180. No longer doubled over in pain and panic, he's far more natural in his crouch now, as "natural" as one could be after completing a full turning from human into a phantasmal beast.

...Sheesh. Werewolves are really outside of her area of 'expertise'.

"...Eric?"

She doesn't manage to completely squash out the tentative and hesitant edge in her tone, looking back at him with concern and uncertainty despite the calm front she's maintaining. If he rises to his full height, he could easily have a whole foot if not two over her, wouldn't he? ...Ah. But no sense overthinking; it all depends on him, in the end. All she can do is wait and watch, as she had done from the moment they met.

[mistersquirrels]

"Yeah!"

His tail wags and he sounds, actually, almost normal, except for the way his words get crowded because of his fangs and the shape of his jaw. Other than that, he seems okay?

"Wow, it's just...all the pain's gone, and I'm feelin' great!"

Seems.

He seems to fixate on his new companion, his eyes bright and he takes a step forward. It just seems like to celebrate, he should probably go hunting. It just seems like the thing to do. And he's really hungry, so...

It's like all his morals are gone, even though he can talk, there's something decidedly feral about the reasoning in his mind.

He grins, showing all his teeth.

"I should really thank you. I never did get your name?"

[septieme]

He wagged his tail.

Seems like she's far more out of it than she'd like, if something silly like that catches her attention more than... well, just about everything else. Could've passed for a re-energized puppy, if he wasn't towering over her all fangs, claws, and golden eyes.

"That's good to hear, you do sound revitalized." She can continue addressing him humanely, nevertheless; suppose it's a silver lining, her own experiences before Gloucester and that he DOES seem to be 'okay', there's no longer the faintest trace of panic and fear he previously wore on open display.

"I haven't done anything, I'm just glad you look like you're doing better." It's accompanied by a faint smile and a small shake of her head, though she does not seek to close the few feet of distance separating them. One he could make disappear within an instant, he's no doubt more than physically capable now.

"I'm Ciel. How are you feeling now, Eric?"

[mistersquirrels]

"Well, you were there for me, so that was really nice of you."

He tilts his head, almost like a curious dog, looking every bit as innocent as a dog would for just a moment, as his tail wags.

"I'm feeling..."

He squints, trying to figure it out. Even though he's not in pain anymore, there's something else bugging him, something else that's taking up more real estate in his mind. Oh wait, he's got it!

"I'm hungry!"

He smiles even wider. It's just that he has so many teeth?

He takes a step closer.

And another.

"I just...whew, that must'a taken a lot of calories. Uh. Changing, like that. Don't you think?"

[septieme]

"It's the least that I could do, but you must still have questions. There should be others around like you, maybe you can hear them now?" She offers tentatively, though the room feels quieter now, somehow. Some of the chaos from before feels as if it's subsided, and instead...

...He takes a step closer, and she takes a step back. Her expression doesn't change, however; as much as she's keenly aware that this is stalling of an entire kind now, she continues answering him in a conversational tone. He's 'simply' getting used to his new werewolf body, and she's just 'simply' humoring him along. Nothing more, and nothing less.

"Sweets and party snacks probably won't do anymore, no. There were meatier sides and sandwiches being served, I believe. How do cold cuts, cheese, and roast beef sound?"

[mistersquirrels]

He pauses, an ear pricking up. Room is quieter, but his wolf hearing can hear some sort of commotion, faint screams...huh.

Neat.

"Ooh, that sounds great!"

He wags his tail again, and takes another step closer.

"But I was thinkin' of something maybe a little more...fresh? Less processed? Processing is bad for you, or at least that's what people say."

He grins again.

"I'm a wolf, after all. I should eat something that I've hunted, don't you think?"

[septieme]

She quietly exhales. Is this really what things were gearing up towards, since the very beginning? ...Suppose there's no point dwelling over it now, when she quite literally has fangs being bared in her face. She stayed despite acknowledging the possibility, and now that it's all but plainly laid out in reality...

"A wolf that banters like a man, hm. Let's cut to the 'chase' then, shall we? If I'm to tell you I won't make things easy for you, as I still have things I need to do, would that convince you any to work off your newfound vigor and appetite somewhere else, Eric?"

She's stopped backing away now, expression perhaps too calm and accepting for someone remotely normal. Can't say she hasn't tried being diplomatic at the very least, no matter how the chips may fall from this point onward.

[mistersquirrels]

"Nope. Wow, you're not scared of me at all?"

He tilts his head, like a dog that's trying to understand something. His tail wags again, he's utterly amused by this, mostly also because it's a novelty. If she had ran away instantly he'd probably be just as amused.

"I mean, big scary wolf here. What's not to be scared about?"

[septieme]

"I was afraid of that..."

Her shoulders slump lightly, as if it was truly regrettable. She does briefly wonder how he'll feel, once all this is behind them. Is it already crazy of her part to be considering the aftermath, when there is absolutely no end in sight to this terrible night? That sort of thinking is the equivalent of dismissing the entire situation, isn't it?

But it would be convenient to simply die or kill with no consequence, and reality is seldom convenient. It's why she's quite sure there will be more to this, after. Maybe it's just a baseless hunch, maybe it's actually rooted in experience. Either way, it's something that she thinks about, despite the fact that she should really be worrying about herself right now.

"You wouldn't be scared of a horror movie you've already seen several times already, right? It's kind of like that: I can talk to you like this because monsters like what you are now exist where I'm from. Besides, you'll do whatever you feel like no matter how I react, wouldn't you?"

[mistersquirrels]

"Really? Your world sounds neat." Later on, he'd think that world would sound terrifying.

There's a shrug.

"Yeah, pretty much. Well, good luck and all that, but I think you're the one in trouble here!"

He pretends to file his claws, as if he's making them sharper, and then in a split second, there's a growl and he suddenly leaps towards her, his claws out, mouth open--

[septieme]

They could have this conversation later, maybe, once they've both properly rested and he's not so hungry for fresh meat any longer. Until then, however--

She drops low to her knees and reaches the nearby table with one swift roll, it may be a combination of her smaller stature and his lack of hunting experience that allows her to dodge his pounce and avoid any vital injuries. The minor tears on her shoulder and arm are simply the price of her own negligence: really shouldn't have stayed so close to him for that long, when this outcome had been growing more likely by the second since their gaze first crossed. A plastic chair is flung towards his face the next moment, not intended to be anything more than a brief distraction. She's back on her feet quickly after, emerging out from the other side of the table and ready to take advantage of anything in her way so that she may escape this with her life.

...Yet a fruit punch ladle's the best that she can find on such short notice, huh? Might as well put to use the entire thing, then: the half-full bowl of punch will follow the chair, thrown with enough strength and accuracy to land on his face if he doesn't swat it out of the way or simply smash right through the glass first. But then he'd be soaked in juice and potentially have his vision briefly obstructed, which is probably not going to be pleasant and may buy her a few extra seconds? She's not going to wait for him to react, in any case, having turned her back to him and proceeding to dash at full speed towards the exit with a ladle in hand the instant after she sent the bowl his way. She may be fast for her build, but her height is still somewhere between short and average, and she is wholly human. Probably won't take him long to catch up... Can she even make it to the hallway, before that happens? And even if she does, then what?

Play it all by ear it is; it just can't be helped, for her and him alike.