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Event - For Sport

For Sport

➥ Breaking It In

(cw: mentions of apparent mutilation of/violence against animals and animal death)

The conference room on the upper floors of ADI HQ is bright, airy, perhaps unnaturally so for the grim tidings that bring people here today. Those who have recently arrived will be ushered to the meeting by ADI employees or by Bonnie. It's not just the newest arrivals, but some other people who seem to be longer-term employees. The room is rather large and arranged like a lecture hall. Bonnie takes up a seat near the back, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but smiling at anyone who greets her.

At 9 AM sharp, a person steps into the room and heads to the front. They have curly hair and are wearing a gray business suit with a dark blue bow-tie. When they address the group at large, they speak in a calm, measured tone. "Good morning. I appreciate some of you may be here more reluctantly than others, but… there are matters of import to all of us to discuss. Some of you may have seen me already. I am Reyes Amador, assistant to Ms. Lehrer, the head of ADI. Earlier this week I sent out a message regarding some unusual activity at Coffin Beach. Thank you to those who investigated."

Their eyes seem to find the people who did, in fact, go looking, whether they found something or not.

"We have determined the creatures are shape-shifters. Some sort of, em... horse thing. In lieu of a term they might give themselves, we are referring to them as kelpies. Given the locations these were found, as well as other information into disappearances and deaths and mutilations of sea mammals in the area, we believe the kelpies are coming from the Essex Bay area to the north.

"For those willing to assist, we are mounting a reconnaissance mission. This is not intended to engage kelpies, just to find out where they are and how we might best approach an attack. All supplies, transportation, and monetary compensation will be provided. We will meet at ADI HQ in main lobby at 6 PM three days from now. Essex Bay is a remote site and conservation area, accessible only by boat, and not without a scientific permit. As you may guess, we will be traveling under cover of nightfall." Reyes smiles.

"I will be accepting questions about further details. I understand this is the first mission away for many of you, and you may have concerns. I will do my best to allay them. Bonnie also has some experience in these missions, if you would like first-hand accounts. Please also feel free to discuss amongst yourselves if this is a mission you think you are ready for. You will not be required to attend, nor penalized in any way if you do not. There is additional work to be done here, both with continuing examinations of the bodies we have and other efforts unrelated."

➥ Move the Goalposts

(cw: kidnapping, violence, sadism)

It happens away from the safety of ADI HQ one evening or so early in the morning, it's still dark, away from the potential for help, maybe. One moment, you (and possibly someone you're with) are walking, and the next, you will find someone has grabbed you and slammed you into the nearest surface. For those unable to fight back, a cloth will be held to their noses and mouths--chloroform, something to knock them out. For those able to fight or even to escape thanks to not actually being corporeal, they'll find that it is a trio of people who have attacked them. They wear jagged smiles and they're all much too sharp around the edges beneath their clothes. Those who saw the kelpies at Coffin Beach may recognize these people as something like them.

"Run, rabbit, run," one of the group says, voice rolling out like a gurgling tide.

Those who run will be chased and, if caught, chloroformed. Perhaps you're lucky, though. Perhaps you can race them back to safety. Or perhaps you'll find help along the way to protect you. Either way, the kelpies are relentless in their pursuit unless one of their number is injured or their prey can make it to ADI. The kelpies seem reluctant to actually enter ADI HQ or their housing, and will break off pursuit there, slinking back to the shadows.

➥ Curveball

(cw: kidnapping, violence/violence and mutilation against apparent animals, sadism, body horror, transformation, potential for claustrophobia)

For those unlucky enough to be caught, they'll find themselves waking amongst mud and bodies. Living, breathing bodies, thankfully. You have been tied up, but not gagged, and left with a group of other captives. A nearby fire casts light over everything, showing a large group of naked people with long, scraggly hair hauling a seal up out of the water. The animal fights them with a cunning that might seem odd, but the kelpies just laugh at it. They get it up near the fire, one raises a knife, and stabs into the seal, dragging the blade down its belly.

The seal bellows and then goes limp, seeming to collapse in on itself. It isn't long before a woman is drawn from the skin, shaking, fighting, wild-eyed with terror as her captors shove her around the fire in their own game. A few others turn their attention to the captives who are just beginning to wake and move about. They approach, one grabbing the skin the woman had come out of, others grabbing more skins from a nearby pile.

"Hush, hush... you'll have your freedom soon... while you can swim." The words come just before the kelpie slices your bonds and throws the skin over you.

The skin grapples your body, twisting tight around you, encasing and restraining. Your body is different now, thick and round, ungainly in the mud. Your legs have fused together and your arms have shrunk to thin flippers. This is not your body, you can feel how foreign it is, how you're crammed into the too-small confines of it... but you have instincts to go with it. Water is freedom! Or it's an attempt at freedom. It's either swim for your lives as some mockery of a selkie or stay and see how it feels to be cut open. Luckily for you, you'll find yourself psychically linked to the other selkies around you. Maybe you can do something together? Best think fast because the kelpies are setting their sights on new prey to chase once they've finished with their latest victim.

➥ Below the Belt

(cw: violence/violence and mutilation against apparent animals, body horror, gore)

The journey to Essex Bay isn't a long one, but it's somewhat treacherous as a small group of powerboats make their way into the refuge. The mission is simple: find where the kelpies are and see if there are any strategic points of-

Was that a seal? There are, in fact, many seals that pop up once boats enter the bay. The animals might seem to have an unusual cunning about them. Will they lead you somewhere useful? Perhaps try to flop themselves into your boats? The point is, there are seals accosting you in the middle of the night, and that's weird. Perhaps they have something they want to communicate.

Or was that a horse? A crocodile? There's something that seems to have noticed you, and it's smart enough that it's going to try to tip you and anyone else in your boat into the water rather than trying to engage otherwise. Sit down, you'll rock the boat.

➥ Sticky Wicket

(cw: potential for severe burns/injury, pain)

ADI is engaged in far more than one mission at a time, and for those not dealing with Essex Bay, or even before that, there are pick-ups to handle. Artifacts, you've been told as you're paired with someone else, whether you like it or not. The mission is simple: go to the Docks, collect a package from a locker there, and return with it to ADI. You've been provided an exact location and a code for the combination lock. The section of the Docks you've entered seems to be one with a lot of empty warehouses covered in graffiti, but the locker is there, something heavily reinforced and designed to be virtually impossible to get into. There's evidence that people have tried to gain entry without success.

Your code works, though, and you have your prize! You've been given strict instructions not to open the box the artifact is in… but there's nothing technically stopping you now, and there is a strange pull toward it.

Those who can't help themselves will find they have just picked up… some piece of sports gear! It looks wholly innocuous. Touch even a finger to it, though, and a horrific, searing pain will consume your entire body as 3rd-degree burns bloom across the skin where you've touched your artifact.

Or maybe you have a will of iron and sense enough not to touch strange, supernatural objects. What should be an easy mission is quickly derailed by some young punk darting out of an alleyway to try to steal your package. Or, at the very least, knock it from your hands. The youth is not alone, either. You've found yourself on someone's 'turf,' and they want what you've got. Are you cruel enough to let them have it?

➥ Mod Notes

BREAKING IT IN (21 July): Both Reyes and Bonnie will be available to answer questions that characters might have or listen to their complaints. Please put "NPC Requested" somewhere in your top-level response if you would like a mod response. For characters who can access their supernatural abilities and have some measure of supernatural spidey sense, both Bonnie and Reyes will register as off, but in different ways. Characters are welcome to attempt to use whatever powers they believe will work on the NPCs. There are potential IC consequences for this.
MOVE THE GOALPOSTS (23-24 July): Characters are welcome to capture or kill the kelpies. The only information they will be capable of providing to those who capture them and attempt to compel them for information is that they consider the entirety of the Massachusetts coast as their 'hunting grounds.' Whether that's true or not, it's what they believe.
CURVEBALL (23-24 July): Kidnapped characters will become seals! Sort of. Psychic seals who are extremely ill-fitted to the skins they're in. The only way to escape their current state is to be cut open and pulled out. As soon as they start to flee, the kelpies will chase them. Those who are captured will be cut out, toyed with, and shoved back into a skin again and again to continue the chase until they simply can't go on anymore.
BELOW THE BELT (24 July - night): Characters may encounter their selkie-fied comrades! Unfortunately, while the selkies can communicate with each other psychically, they are incapable of human speech. They are also being actively hunted by the kelpies. Characters may kill any kelpies they come across. Capture will not be possible in this case while they're in their horse forms. If PCs do not eradicate the kelpie threat that night, NPCs who have joined the mission will do so. Unfortunately, reconnaissance has become engagement, whether they like it or not.
STICKY WICKET (21 July - 5 August): You may select any piece of sporting gear you'd like for your character to pick up as long as it can fit in a reasonably-sized box. The pain associated with the burning will last only as long as a character is touching the object. Holding onto it for more than a minute will likely result in coming very close to death. Characters with inorganic appendages will find that the artifact will start to melt that appendage, whatever it is made of and it will still, somehow, hurt while it does it.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's not healthy for him.

[ he's seen those things. the captain doesn't need whatever it is they're offering, what if he gets cavities or something.

with her question, angelo frowns. ]

It's not for other people. [ that's not said brusquely, at least. ] Mostly because I've tried to put it behind me.

[ bad things happen to everyone and you just gotta move on. in angelo's case, regardless, his captain is the only one who can give him comfort; talking with someone else who is being kind to him doesn't necessarily provide the same kind of help. although he will say - ]

But if the Captain had his abilities, it will be even more peaceful here.

[ hah. ]

...Hm? [She's briefly confused at where the misconception arose. Then she lets out a small laugh.] Oh. I meant the kelpies, not the drink. I wouldn't know what to get him if I were offering energy drinks as gifts. Eugh.

[Then he speaks again. She can't entirely understand what he means, but she gets the general gist. Appearances are important. Previously, when she was in a world where she mattered, she hid her awful habits under layers and layers of disguise. Now...

Well, nothing matters now.] Probably a good thing that you left it behind. It's a bad habit. [She takes another sip and then puts the bottle down next to her on the bench, still leaving space for Angelo if he wants to sit down. At least she won't think as much after this. That's the main thing.]

You've got a lot of faith in him, huh. You make it sound like he'd take over the world. Most of the people I'm... I associate with tend to make a go of world domination, so I guess it wouldn't surprise me.

I've seen what he can do and know that he can do it, provided nobody gets in our way.

This world is a hassle. [ angelo pauses, and then he adds, ] He's not meant to be here like ... a human .... or something equally vile.

All the same, it is not entirely under our control and it is something to bear with, unfortunately.

And the Captain isn't planning on something so crude. World domination is a fruitless project anyway. No planet can sustain itself for long under such careless rule. [ angelo scoffs. ] We have lived through such governments and in the end, they will always fall.

They sure will. [And every great big bad like Angelo and Frontal seem to be always gets shot down in the end by some plucky heroes. Literally every single time. But hey, their funeral.]

My old boss tried to go for the whole world domination thing - twice, even. Got stopped by the same old man both times, it's a bit embarassing. [She smiles, almost fond at that. The same old man and also her sister. Her brilliant baby sister.

She ignores the racist comments toward humans because frankly, she's used to worse from her parents and also she doesn't deeply care. Live your little racist dreams, Angelo.]

I'm not human. I think I'm even less mortal here than I was back home somehow. I could be murdered probably, but I won't age, not until this planet falls to dust.

What is it you guys are after, anyway? I don't think I've ever asked.

[ have u considered you're not being sympathetic to the right race? anyway. ]

It is the same story every time. There is always one person. [ angelo has a look in his face that suggests that he is, in fact, thinking of one person that needs to be destroyed. ] Arrogant as one may be to express the idea that only one person can stop the march of progress, the fact remains that there is always one who causes trouble, from which all other troublesome things come from.

Anyway, our goal isn't quite lofty. We want independence for our people. The ability to rule with leaders of our own choosing. The ability to freely choose what will happen to us, instead of letting others choose for us. [ angelo says it like he's said it once, twice, five hundred times. ] And the Captain will lead us there. Through war and diplomacy. [ a pause, and then he adds, rather grudgingly, ] Though I am not good in diplomacy.

[ and that's really the thing that's most important, why they can't be here, and he just sighs as he leans back on the park bench and stares balefully at the sky. ] There are people counting on us, and yet we are here. I've said it before, it's very frustrating, but .... it really is rather frustrating. Even if there's nothing that can be done about it.

[It's hard not to feel a little offended on Penelope's behalf, but it wasn't her, was it. They were all just kids. It was Daybreak and Kalvaxus and Kalina. The rest of them were just bored and desperate kids.]

My mother's doing that. Trying to stop the march of progress, I mean. She'll lose, but I wanted to point out that she's an idiot. [She takes a swig of the wine. Thinking about her mother makes her sick.]

I'm no military officer, or even a plotter. I'm really more of an academic, prodigy or no. But my untrained opinion would be that there might be some resources you could get from this world of nightmares. There's magic here, even if it's... unpleasant. That magic can probably be used to your advantage.

Though that could be entirely wrong, given that these monsters haven't managed to take down an agency of hubristic detectives or whatever. Still. There's probably some advantage to be gained while we're stuck here to make up for lost time.

Regardless, it probably doesn't mean much, but... I, personally, am rooting for you both to get back to your cause. I almost envy that level of faith, honestly. [She has faith in her sister's ability to exceed her and defeat her again if she has to. That's about all she's ever had faith in.]

There is no guarantee that such resources would be available for us should we get back.

[ also it just seems childish to rely on the idea of magic like it was some kind of fantasy, but that's neither here nor there. ]

Though I suppose there is something to be said about learning from experience, even if we are in a strange place.

[ as for her last sentence, angelo just shrugs. ] It is necessary for living. Otherwise why bother contemplating life at all if you can't dedicate yourself to anyone?

[Her smile is bittersweet. Why bother indeed. She was dedicated to her family, in her way. And to Penelope, and to Kalina. But it's not really true dedication if all of it was out of fear.]

My understanding of magic theory is that there's no such thing as a world completely devoid of magic, just plenty of spheres that are almost entirely cut off from the source so learning it is next to impossible. But that's taken from a position of bias. Wizards are famously up their own arses.

Still, there's no guarantee of the opposite, is there?

[She leans against the bench, staring up into the night sky.] How long have you been dedicated to the captain then? If you don't mind me asking, that is. [Everyone else she's spoken to thus far would probably have told her to fuck off by now, it's kind of remarkable that Angelo is actually answering her questions considering how irritable he is generally.]

[ he nods at her words. in fact nothing is guaranteed in this world, not even their survival on a day to day basis; even that is always hard-won at some point or another.

at her question, angelo frowns, wondering how much of it can he bear to talk about. ]

... three years.

The Captain rescued me from poverty and destitution, and gave me a new life and purpose in the military. I am grateful to him for everything.

[ that's a very clean and edited way of saying what those three years were like and how hellish things were before full frontal. the years before him, angelo can recall his anger, burning bright like it has no business doing now; he recalls how very nearly the earth was destroyed and his disappointment that it never came to pass. the feelings come and go much more easily now. ]

[That explains the infatuation. Or the daddy issues. Not that she can talk. Penelope Everpetal offered a hand and told her she could escape her boredom by murdering oracles and kidnapping virgins and she jumped at the chance like a fish that only just realised it couldn't breath underwater.

And then she fell in... something with her for her trouble. Love? Lust? Infatuation? It was certainly something ill-advised and stupid. God she's pathetic.]

...I think I'm technically destitute. If I go home, that is, which I'm not sure I will if given another option between this nightmare world and the one I came from. I'm wanted dead or alive by two different nations.

Two years ago, my parents were very wealthy and well-respected. Now, we're all national disgraces. Funny how that works. [She allows herself a cruel little smile. She can take glee in her parents suffering and also know she's still too weak to defy them in any way that isn't indirect. Blood is blood, so she has to love them, but she doesn't have to like them.]

Edited 2021-08-03 03:57 (UTC)

You're only a disgrace for as long as time permits you to be.

Something similar happened to a popular political figure in our world - once hated, Char Aznable became a figure of resistance once a new era took place in our world. All it took was half a decade of rehabilitation and political will.

[ of course that didn't last considering what char actually did to get cancelled on a mass scale but the point still stands. angelo speaks with conviction, with the absolute certainty like someone who is part of a cult. ] People are fickle and want what is familiar to them. As soon as you show them the possibility that they could be wrong, a rift occurs that can be exploited, and quite easily so. Such elements like national disgraces and terrorism and other unruly, unacceptable pockets in society thrive there and even find supporters. Their names flip on a political convenience.

If you are committed to a cause the threat of death is nothing. Neither is humiliation; what is that to a believer? To the righteous? The Captain is wanted dead or alive. Such threats don't bother him, because they are not important to our goals. And humans are weak and pathetic enough to think that such things matter in the face of abject cruelty and a fight for independence we all want to achieve ... it is laughable.

[She chuckles darkly, taking a deep sip of the wine. She thinks he wouldn't think any of that if he knew what she actually did.]

My mother could probably use some tips from you. My father too, but he's more committed to sucking up to those who declared him obsolete in the first place.

Mother just chose to swear fealty to the forces of evil in the hopes that they would give her what she thinks she deserves. Neither of them have a cause beyond wanting power. My sister's the only righteous one in our family, and it's sort of inevitable that she'll be the one to win in the end, so you're certainly not wrong.

[There's a certain romantic appeal to 'revolution' and fighting against the deeply corrupt institutions of Fallinel, even if she knows she'd never manage that with Kalina at her shoulder listening to every conversation she has. And that she would absolutely not be the best candidate for that, can you imagine? Meet the girl guilty of murdering your culutural icons and kidnapping innocent teenagers, she's here to say that your society is unjust. The thought is enough to make her laugh under her breath.] I think I might be too cynical to fill that role, honestly. And I'm attached to a demon who will never let me be free of her. My baby sister though...

She's pretty close to what you're describing. She's the Elven Oracle, the most powerful diviner of this age who sees the future and guides the present, and she's in active defiance of our deeply fucked government. Right now public opinion sees her as the traitor, but she's the actual chosen one, they're all just sheep being lead to the slaughter by a council of corrupt old men with no idea of how the world actually works.

[Her tone conveys a level of similar belief in her sister, almost reflecting Angelo's own faith. But there's a lot of guilt and self-hatred mixed in her voice, like Adaine is the hero to be admired, and she's the coward the world would be better off forgetting.]

Parents will inevitably disappoint their children, it seems.

But the idea of 'chosen ones' and individuals relying on such titles will never lead to any long-lasting change. [ angelo smiles grimly. ] We have tried that. It nearly ended a planet.

[ and would that it did. maybe it'd be for the best. ]

What's needed is an impartial judge. Someone above the paltry, tedious shortcomings of the society you're part of. Someone above it who is in a position to provide solutions to a deeply flawed system. It cannot be someone who is part of the same society that needs to be fixed.

Your sister may be powerful, but she can't be herself.

[Hmmm. She doesn't necessarily agree. Chosen ones are their own stupid mess of contradictions, but Adaine only became chosen because Aelwyn worked to get her there, and because Adaine had the raw talent to surpass anyone in her path.]

A lot of religious figures seem to think that. [She frowns, a look of distaste on her features.] I don't think there's a being in this universe that isn't part of some elaborate political pyramid scheme. If anything, the higher up on the spectrum you are, the pettier you're allowed to be and the more other people have to suffer as a result of your insignificant decisions. I don't know about your captain, who you have placed this faith in, but I imagine I'll see for myself.

Adaine isn't a being capable of judging with objectivity, but she was raised away from Fallinel for most of her life, I don't even know if she remembers it all that well. And she's at least capable of surpassing the crusty old wizards who have been reigning for as long as Fallinel has been an established nation.

It's kind of a moot point, anyway. If she does anything about Fallinel, that'll be her decision, and I'll probably never even see her again. [She smiles a self-deprecating smile.] If she gets lucky, anyway. She really hates me. [Or she did, barring their latest interaction. And she probably hates her more after that, after Aelwyn took her kindness and spat in her face, running back to mother like the coward she is.]

Edited 2021-08-08 20:25 (UTC)

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Event - For Sport

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