Event - Fan Service

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Fan Service

➥ We're Live

(cw: Insects/centipedes, body horror, manipulation)

It's 9 PM at night when a message is broadcast across the network. It seems to be from a new account, lovelyren, and it's a video feed. A group of about 20 people are clustered together in what looks like an abandoned warehouse. They're lit up by some high-powered lights on stands that they've clearly brought with them. Everyone is holding some sort of sign that reads things like: 'I believe in magic!' and 'Ghosts are real!', along with 'I <3 Jimmy!' There are other signs proclaiming the titles of various posts that one J. Griffon, a social media persona with a small cult following, has put up over the last several months.

They all wave and smile at the camera until someone else steps in front of it, then quickly backs up to stand at the front of the group. It's a woman who may be disturbingly familiar to those who have been following the the news. It would seem that reports of the death of 'Gen Z's favorite VTuber' have been greatly exaggerated.

"Hi, hi, Jimmy!" Ren Morimoto exclaims. "We are gathered here, at the site of a supernatural happening in the making. We, your die hard fans, just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you showing us how real magic is, how wonderful it can be. Everyone should know about magic, and we are going to make sure that they do."

At the edges of the video the shadows begin to start… squirming. No, not the shadows. There is something dark moving around the edges of the room. Many somethings.

"So, let's begin, shall we? Maybe with a story. There once was a boy who decided to share a secret with the world. Now, this secret was something that many little boys and girls hoped was true, wanted to be true. And he gave them the love they'd been craving all their lives. He gave them a community of people who believed what they did, who saw the things he showed them and truly knew in their hearts that they'd been right all along."

The somethings are moving in, shiny carapaces glinting in the light. One of the women in the group glances off to the side, and startles visibly. "Hey… Luvvie? I think there's, uh… bugs in here. We might wanna set up somewhere-"

'Luvvie' cuts her off, ignoring the woman. "They loved him so much, they were willing to go to any lengths to try to get in contact with him, to find a way to give him a gift." Ren smiles as a centipede squirms out of one of her nostrils and scurries down her cheek and out of sight. "So, that's what this is, Jim, another video for you. Real magic." She steps to the side as the fans shriek and break apart, some of them slapping themselves as they scattered for the various rooms of the buildings.

"Uh oh! I don't think they like my magic." She tsks. "That's okay, though. I have a lot of friends who do." Rather than cutting the feed, Ren picks up her camera and winks at it before flipping it so that she can film the fans as they run and scream. "Why don't you and your friends come and play? I hope you liked my wormy game."

➥ In the Hive

(cw: insects/swarms, bites, altered mental states/toxic relationship dynamics, body horror, potential for character death)

Thanks to Tim's quick admission of the situation, ADI has deployed its forces immediately to the abandoned warehouses just west of Essex Bay. Anyone who volunteers to join in this rescue mission will be kitted with night vision goggles, a gas mask, an excessive amount of bug killer, and anything that can be used to protect their body and skin from intrusion.

Volunteers will be dispatched in a few large vans with a unit leader giving them a briefing on the way. There are civilians in that warehouse. Some of them may be dead or infested and need to be mercy-killed. Save the ones you can, but do not bring them into the vans immediately. They have to be checked and all bugs removed. A medical area away from the vans will be set up and survivors can be brought there. Do not engage with Ren Morimoto. This is a search and rescue mission. Along with killing as many fucking bugs as possible.

Inside the warehouses is chaos. Flies and mosquitoes swarm and try to block people's vision or bite them while other creepy crawlies climb up them and try to insinuate themselves into any entry point that they can. They sting, bite, and scratch their victims however they can. Those bitten may experience a momentary mixture of euphoria and terror, along with a desire to latch onto whomever is closest and share the insectoid love in the air. If you're going down, you might as well take someone with you.

But there are people to save beyond yourselves. Maybe you're lucky and you've found one of the survivors who's managed to make it somewhere safe until help has arrived. Maybe you're unlucky and find a half-devoured corpse. Maybe you're unluckier still and find a half-dead, delirious person trying to grab for you, begging for help, begging for you to love them. They're so afraid. They just need someone. Please!

➥ Lights Out

(cw: voyeurism, scopophobia, mind-control/compulsion, potential for humiliation)

The mood at ADI Headquarters is a somber one the next morning. Everyone who helped with the rescue will be treated to decontamination procedures, temporary quarantine, and the tea or coffee of their choice. And once they're released? Well, there's work and life to get back to. The traumatic wheel ever turns.

As it happens, it turns toward more holiday-themed horrors. Reports have come in about holiday decorations causing a series of unusual injuries and even deaths throughout the County. People are being urged to observe appropriate electrical safety, and ADI personnel (or those connected), are sent to investigate these reports. There are a few avenues of investigation and people will be assigned to groups of two or three to track them down:

• Visit someone who claims their lights are acting up. They're scattered throughout Gloucester and the surrounding towns. Many of them seem to be dead ends with people who just don't know how to set up lights properly. Some of them are people who seem to be genuinely terrified about something that happened. It may take a few groups sharing information to learn that there's any pattern. But one thing that seems to come up for those who seem to have had a real experience? "Turn out the lights. It sees you in the glow."
  
  
• Visit a store selling the suspect lights. It will become apparent that there's one brand, in particular, causing problems: Illumination Rite. Questioning shop owners will lead to the discovery that these lights don't actually belong in their store and they're not sure where they came from. But they're selling well, so…
  
  
• Test out some lights. ADI isn't keen on this, but seeing as there are many strands of the Illumination Rite lights that aren't causing trouble, they're trying to pin down which are and how they're different. Brave souls can step into the light! And spend a very dull time plugging in lights to see if there's an issue with them. When they come to a problem strand, it becomes immediately apparent, though. The lights come on and it feels like there is something right behind you, staring at you, judging you. And in a potential moment of panic, people may find themselves compelled to confess to something horrifying or humiliating that they've done or that has happened to them.

➥ It Sees You

(cw: voyeurism, scopophobia, living dolls)

As the holidays near, festive preparations are underway…though they're rather lackluster compared to Halloween's preparations. Maybe it's the recent spate of civilian deaths at the hands of Ren Morimoto and her little friends, maybe it's because Pam has been put on leave while she recovers from an emergency amputation, but it's looking like it'll be a blue Christmas at ADI this year. Except….

It seems someone must have taken it upon themselves to inject a little holiday cheer into headquarters. Tinsel and garlands spring up literally overnight, with more decorations appearing each morning as the end of the month draws near. And then the elves start showing up. Smiling plastic faces atop felt bodies can be found lurking amongst the Christmas decorations, posed here and there as though playing, hiding, or committing minor acts of vandalism. It's cute, if that's the kind of thing you're into, but they're everywhere and their numbers only grow as the month wears on. Or are they moving from place to place? It seems nowhere is elf-free; step behind a locked door for a private conversation and you'll catch a glimpse of a plastic gaze out of the corner of your eye. Stealing borrowing from the supply closet? There's an elf behind that box of pens. Heading to the restroom? The less said, the better. And it must be just coincidence, but their faces are always turned in just the right direction to seem to make eye contact. They're watching you. Judging you. Cataloging your every sin.

And then they spread to your homes. They can be found peering in through windows, wedged under apartment doors, hiding in your silverware drawer, your bookshelves, your bed. There's a constant itch of being watched now. What have they seen? What have they overheard? Have you been good this year?

➥ 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. Please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• WE'RE LIVE (16 December) - Characters will have the opportunity to talk to Ren in this prompt. Please respond to the NPC Threads comment below for responses from her. As a note, Tim Drake will be coming forward first with her location, but other characters are welcome to attempt to hack and identify the location she is broadcasting from. ADI NPCs will be scrambling to find out where the signal is coming from and how it got onto their network. Those in the IT Department or with specialized hacking skills will be able to identify that the Hermy the Wormy program was a vessel for Ren to make her way into the network, not only stealing network profile info, but creating an account for herself. Luckily, she doesn't seem to have got past the communications network.
  
  
• IN THE HIVE (16 December) - This is a voluntary mission. Characters who agree to go will be promised additional pay, and it's going to net them some general good will from ADI's leadership. They will need both people to go into the warehouses and medical staff to help the survivors/any rescuers who are injured. The warehouses are in a swampy, long-abandoned town in an area locally referred to as the Kettle for how hot and humid it gets in the summer. Those who go looking for Ren Morimoto, specifically, will not find her in the house. Just… bugs. So, so many horrible bugs. It seems possible that she might actually be the swarm and killing them will kill her, but ADI personnel will not have a definitive answer on that given how varied avatars and their powers can be. Those who are bitten will experience a compulsion to make someone around them suffer in some way, to vex their rescue efforts, or even try to get them killed by the bugs or the poison in the air.
  
  
• LIGHTS OUT (17-25 December) - There is no apparent source of the lights and no company that's actually called Illumination Rite. Characters may find cursed strands of light either while specifically testing things or when investigating in other ways. Even after making a terrible confession, there will be a sense of something watching and passing judgment over you. The sense will fade in time, or characters may experience an impulse to force others to confess to terrible things to help ease their own sense of fear. Misery loves company, after all.
  
  
• IT SEES YOU (20-31 December) - The elves can be destroyed and appear to just be made of felt and plastic if taken apart, but the feeling of being observed by them (and the elves' ability to move about and continue spying) will not abate unless their eyes are completely destroyed. Allowing the elves to remain in place will result in growing feelings of paranoia. They are always found posed, never in motion, but may disappear from one room and reappear in another if left unobserved. Elves will spread most rapidly and enthusiastically into the homes of characters who tested Illumination Rite light strands. On December 26 ADI officials will issue an order for all employees to round up any elves they find and bring them to a holding room on B1, where the elf dolls will undergo testing before being burned. Elves will continue to crop up around ADI and character housing until they have all been found and destroyed.

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Comments

(frozen comment) QUESTIONS

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Please respond HERE!

NPC Interactions

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If you would like to interact with Ren in the "We're Live" prompt, please post here!

un: freakscene

[cacophonish]

[ She created Hermy? Aside from the gross bug crawling out of her nose, and her general, uh, creepy demeanor and homicidal vibes, THE EXISTENCE OF HERMY ALONE MAKES REN HIS NEW ARCH ENEMY. ]

Your magic sucks. [ As if Jeff's magic is SOMEHOW more impressive when it's just 90% flash and no substance. ] Why don't you just go after Jim-- whoever the fuck that is-- and leave those fucking weirdos alone?

cw for cyber-bullying??

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn chimes in with a wave and a smile, with a video response of her own.]

See, I know with your looks you probably need to resort to drastic measures, but this is a bit much to get a boy's attention, darling. Have some self respect.

It was an impressive scheme with the worm game, though, I'll give you that much.

video, un: strange

[sorser]

[Stephen lacks any amusement on his features, despite the acerbic bite to his tone.]

Anyone who’s been following the headlines should recognize the real magic on display: your miraculous return to the land of the living. Are you really going to gloss over that little detail?

video / un: NO

[marmoron]

[ forget reasoning and diplomacy. ]

What the fuck do you think you're doing, psycho? Cut the crap and let those people go.

voice; un: stark. Hacky hack hack.

[fightinginfinity]

So this is what the kids are doing around here. Makes me kinda miss that Tide Pods thing from a few years back.

[ Look he just got here, give him a break. Type type. ]

What was the game, ransomware? Your attempt at channeling Facebook? Points for creativity at least.

[ He sounds cool as a cucumber, but he’s quick at work tracking this munchkin’s location the best he can while trying not to throw up because disgusting bugs what the actual fuck. He’ll write up a kill code for that game, too, if he gets a second. Uh hi, meet Tony? He can’t do any magic but he’ll (try to) fuck with your tech.]

audio; un: Callisto

[myfavoritemurder]

Oh, you sound fun. Why haven't I met you yet?

[Callisto, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON ADI'S SIDE.]

audio, un: timjdrake

[ployboy]

[And 9PM and he's fighting tooth and nail and find it in himself

his stupid stupid fucking idiotic self

to find words beyond the never-ending string of curses cascading silently from his fucking stupid mouth.]

I didn't know, I couldn't find this-- how couldn't I have found out?

[That's step number One, isn't it? If he ever manages to screw his screwed up fucking idiotic head on right. He needs to find where this is, this glaring hole of

fucking stupid, Tim.

God, it's disgusting.

He needs to move. Like. Yesterday. So he does, y'know, because he's stupid and he thinks, hey, he can. help. He can help.

Keep her talking, keep on yammering. It's Robin101.]

How did you hide so well? Who helped you?

audio; un: nightroad

[inutilis]

[ this is, in a word... horrible.

Abel's voice hitches slightly, wavering a bit as he imploringly calls out down the line-- ]

--Miss Ren, please stop this! You don't need to do this, alright...? Something terrible has happened to you, and-- and I'm sure this isn't really who you are. Please leave them be, let us try to get you help... okay? Please.

un; mkblackwood

[lowficharm]

[Should he be doing this? No. Is he doing this? Yes. Martin is frowing and looking maybe just a bit on edge before he even starts talking.]

I knew it, I knew it, everyone said this wasn't some-- some entity thing but it-- you-- stop doing that!

[Hang on, he needs to compose himself, good lord. He breathes once through his teeth, tries again.]

What I mean is, you-- you're not getting any of us. Or anywhere into ADI. We know how to deal with you.

Bucky/Winter | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Into the Hive - probably CW for bug grossness, but not there yet

Bugs don't bother Winter. He's got impervious body armor, thick canvas pants tucked into tightly laced boots, his own special filtration mask, the ADI night goggles because his own are meant for daytime use, and (to his own suppressed crawling horror at the feeling of something on his head) a helmet to keep bugs out of his hair. Plus a metal arm that no bugs are going to get into unless they have titanium teeth. And a couple guns and knifes, because that always helps, right?

He prowls into the building from one of the detailed entrance points, probably with a partner for backup, because that's just good tactics. "I will handle the big threats it you handle the bug spray," he suggests.

Anyone who tries to grab onto him inside is going to get thrown into a wall, though, so. Sorry, survivors.


II. Post-hive Quarantine - CW medical phobia, panic attack

Winter is in medical. Winter never, ever, ever wanted to be in medical. Everything smells like latex and chemicals and metal and sharp things and surely someone has remembered now that he needs maintenance and that's why they're keeping him here and he's panicking but that's not allowed he's got to keep it quiet or he'll be punished--

He is huddled in a corner of the quarantine room, arms wrapped around his knees in the stupid thin scrubs they gave him, trying (and mostly failing) to keep his breathing at a reasonable rate. The coffee they were brought sits untouched on the floor near the door. Someone talk to him through the door. Or for god's sake, let him out.


III. Lights Out Testing

Nobody is going to send Winter to interview scared people or confused shop-owners. That's just dumb. He simply doesn't have those kinds of social skills.

What he does have is infinite patience and an ability to do very tedious jobs without complaint. So he's got a whole basket full of strings of lights, that he not only has to plug in, he sometimes has to untangle.

Are you helping? Watching him with pity? Show up at the right time, and you might hear something you'd rather not.


IV. It Sees You, ADI - CW panic attacks, paranoia

Dolls in general? Don't really bother Winter any more than bugs do. Creepy dolls? Whatever. They're plastic. And his aesthetic, whether he remembers it or not, comes from the 1920s where toys were generally a lot creepier, anyway, so his threshold for creepy toys is kind of skewed.

But these things are everywhere. Even when he has one of his silent panic attacks in a supply closet, there's one staring at him. He throws it out and closes the door on its stupid smiling face, and does his hyperventilating alone, thank you very fucking much.

But it does make him both grouchier and jumpier than usual. Every time one of those dumb dolls shows up in his eyeline, he glares at it. And he takes to wearing his full mask and goggles even inside the ADI building, as if protecting his face will keep them at bay. (All it really does is make his coworkers nervous, particularly the ones he ruthlessly shot when they turned into monsters in the shared nightmare. Sorry, coworkers.)


V. It Sees You, ADI housing - CW paranoia, temper tantrum

The first time Winter finds one of those elves in the ADI apartment building common room, he stops and stares at it. Then he picks it up and throws it out into the street with a wordless growl.

When he finds one in his apartment where Yelena and Kate live sitting on their fucking kitchen table he actually tears the thing in half. And then into smaller pieces. And then he finds a lighter and melts its goddamn face down. If a roommate has the misfortune to walk in on this explosion of temper, well, uh, sorry.

After that he makes it his daily mission to find as many of the damn dolls as possible and turn them in to ADI. He wants them gone.

III: lights out

[demonicmiracle]

This is an absolutely ridiculous task, but there was no way in Hell, Heaven or Earth that they were going to get him into a building full of murder bugs.

(He's not scared of them, he just has a good sense of self-preservation).

Which means he's volunteered to do this nonsense, instead, trying to get in the good graces with the ADI, making sure not to be too difficult, since that never gets anyone anywhere. It's annoying, and a little demeaning, but he's spent millennia swallowing his pride and playing the loyal subordinate. Easy enough to do it here, instead.

So here he is - knocking lightly on the doorframe to announce himself, before stepping into the room where Winter's been set up. "Cavalry's here," Ha ha. "Where d'you want me?"

At least he has his sunglasses on, it'll spare his eyes from the damn lights.

[abrightboy]

II. Malcolm has stopped by medical to let Emily know how the experimental medication is going so far (hard to tell; he was infected) and to make sure he’s had to moldy relapses. He’s walking by the door when he spots someone huddled in the far corner and steps inside instead.

Wait, he recognizes that huddled form.

“Winter?”

III

[myfavoritemurder]

Whoever picked these two and threw them onto a team together should probably be fired, honestly. Callisto has the shit social skills to match Winter, but does not have the infinite patience - so she's just going to attempt to shortcut today's proceedings by picking up the plug end of the tangled string of lights and heading straight for an outlet. Better stop her if you don't want to become an unwitting test subject, buddy; it's hard to avoid the glow when you're literally holding it.

Aelwyn Abernant | Fantasy High

[aelwyn_aberration]

1. WE'RE LIVE

[Aelwyn watches the broadcast from the library with a rather mute reaction, at least until Ren mentions the worm game and then she breaks into an angry scowl. Hm. She'd figured, but the answer is enough to irk her. Very well then.

She can work with this. Now, at least, she has a face to associate with the source of her contempt.]

I will say this much, does it strike anyone else as odd that it's a corruption avatar of all things trying to manage this? That'd be the most blatantly obvious answer as to what she is, anyway. [She seems to think it's more complicated than that.]

2. INTO THE HIVE

(A. On The Outskirts)

[Aelwyn is rather useless at giving comfort or healing, but she's straying closer to the support anyway. Rescuing hostages is one thing, but from the sounds of things, it doesn't look like Ren's even there herself. Aelwyn's decided she'll stick around to protect their own medics, because if the hive gets out and infects the people getting the bugs out, they are all well and truly fucked.

She's standing nearby the medics, just a bit out of the way, tense as anything, her arms crossed and a perpetual grimace on her features. In truth, listening to the agonized screams of the victims actually sucks. They're loud and annoying, and there's no other possible reason why she might feel pain as a result of seeing or hearing them

.Maybe she's also uncomfortable because she can't stop staring at the door to the warehouse. Maybe she sees you coming out, or you approach her while she's standing here.]

(B. Into The Fire)

[Aelwyn eventually gets sick of standing on the outskirts, satisfied that they have the numbers to fend for themselves by now, so she'll go in about midway into the operation. Maybe she comes across you on her way in, or maybe you come across her burning insects to her hearts content. Or maybe you were sent in there with her, and you stumble on a body together.

Regardless, there's a slightly manic energy to her. Her hands are itching to be set alight with her magic, so that she can burn this entire hovel to the ground.]

Careful. Just be sure not to let any of the bugs bite you, it's how she spreads. What a pathetic woman...

(C. Look Who's Inside Again)

[She hates this, but she agrees with it's necessity. She's not on the verge of a panic attack. Just like... a mild anxiety attack. It's fine. She'll just be staring at the door. This feeling is familiar to her.

She hates that now that she's had a glimpse of those damaged memories, she understands exactly why. Feel free to talk to her through the door.]

3. LIGHTS OUT

[She hates this, but duty calls. She'd like this whole situation to be snuffed out (pun absolutely intended) as soon as possible, before she's forced into admitting something drastic to the wrong person. So she goes investigating the shops that are selling them, and after a few questions, she goes to stand with her partner a ways out of earshot.]

They don't know where they came from, apparently, but they're making a profit. Convincing them to destroy them will be a hard sell from the looks of it.

What do you think?

[Aelwyn has her own approach in mind, but it's always up in the air how receptive people will be to crimes.]

4. IT SEES YOU

[At first, it was just a mildly worrying thing that was apparently happening. She half wants to go interrogate Pam, but even she has enough of a heart to not kick her while she's down and missing a limb. Whoever's doing this is getting punched in the throat.

But then it escalates. And escalates further.

It's a couple days into that escalation that Aelwyn decides she's had enough of this shit, actually. She gets clearance to perform a thorough dissection of every piece of this creepy little man. Whether you were officially asked to go assist, you just wanted to help, or you're walking in on her cutting open the doll, that's certainly what she's doing!

She just kind of wished it could give her any sign that it can feel pain.]

2B

[myfavoritemurder]

Oh, of course not; wouldn't want that.

[Callisto says, dutifully spraying down a swarm of flies. Still, there's a teasing lilt in her voice that should probably be worrying.]

You know, I've already been bitten once, and it felt... indescribable.

[Euphoria. It's called euphoria, Callisto.]

It Sees You

[graveyounglady]

Aelwyn, what're you doing in here?

[She'd been told by the other medical staff that the other young woman was doing some sort of investigation, but they hadn't said much more. Still, she wants to help, and getting to help Aelwyn seems like an especially good idea right now. She hadn't participated in any of the conversations with that horrible Ren woman, but Mercy had watched it all unfold.]

Wait. Is that one of them dolls that keeps running around?

SB!

[marmoron]

[ evidently quite a few people have beef with the avatar of the month. while ticked off is arguably a resting state of existence for keith, it's usually fairly well focused. right now? it isn't. maybe that's just on account of there being swarms of bugs zipping around in every direction -- cockroaches and centipedes skittering on the ground, japanese hornets trying to sting through protective gear just to name a few. all around it's a little chaotic and keith hasn't figured out how to efficiently stamp on and blast bugs with insecticide without looking like he's completely lost it. but also....? ]

Put yourself back together and fight properly!

[ yelling that while nuking the place in bug spray really isn't helping the unhinged look here. ]

Tim Drake | ota + specific prompts

[ployboy]

We're Live ( CUT SCENE )
[It's 9-something PM, December 16th. ADI's I.T. Department is scrambling and maybe it's not fair that the glory

(what the hell is he thinking about, the "glory")

of being the first to track down Ren's location is one of the last guys to have hobbled in through the doors. There's a cast on a hand for broken fingers, fading but not faded bruising on his idiot jaw, and if Tim's trying to not draw attention to an odd hiss of pain here and there with every other step, that's nobody's business.

The fact that he declares,] I've found them! It's me-- it was me. [does, however, get him quick attention. Head of Security, especially, isn't looking all that happy as he's stalking over to check things out. Tim's only half... aware.

The computers don't stop talking. He can't listen if the computers don't stop talking.]

In the Hive (cw insects/swarms, bites, altered mental states/toxic relationship dynamics, body horror, definitely death)
( CLOSED: Stephen Strange )
[Neil Grace is a big guy, strong guy, protective and fair, meticulous in his work. He's currently about this |--| close to tearing Tim Drake a new one, via reaching into his throat and pulling all the vile shit out of the kid. And Tim Drake, ADI's moron of the year, can focus on maybe half of the searing tongue-lashing before the location is confirmed and things need to mobilize. The good news (there's "good" news?) is that he can stand soldier-still and still communicate.

The computers talk to him, he talks to the computers. It's a thing.

It's a thing that lets him (forces him) to write to Strange: text message, email, some webcam that can pick up the man's position in or out of Medical in ADI's HQ can talk to the monitor closest to tell the man to get here now. There are lives at stake.

Understandably, Tim can't just-- move. Without permission. Supervision. At the moment. He's taken to pacing, mouth moving with silence surrounding him amidst the chaos of the first rescue team getting herded into vans. Vans. Like they couldn't move faster with... Strange. Strange, who is here now. Who Tim can't remember having arrived to the scene, but that's fine, this isn't about him. This isn't about him.] I know where they're going. [The team, ADI--] We can get there faster if... [Even with hurried, half mumbled words, surely the doctor can figure out what Tim means, yeah?]

( Request: 1 thread only, please! cw spidersss, body horror, death, violence )
There's spiders, mostly. Tim's not sure if that's also his fault or just the way that these things happen. The room in the warehouse had had its door basically glued shut with spider webs and even the night-vision goggles had a hard time seeing through the silk glue decorating every open space.

He kind of wants to cry, but of course he doesn't. Is this the Council's fault, somehow? Did they find him here, too? That's where everything began, if he stops to think-- but he doesn't. He doesn't stop, that is. There's no time, which seems to be a nauseatingly common theme with Tim Drake: there's no time. There's too much to do. There's a body that's got its skin bubbling from the inside, small moving bumps of creepy-crawlies burrowing and feasting and Tim kind of wants to cry because he's sure this is all his fault. But there's no time for that. Someone has been shoved at him, someone that he can see is an other-worlder like him. He can feel the slow, torturous crawl of something on the cast of his hand but Tim's snarling at his company anyway. "Don't move," he warns, even as the person at his partner's feet is reaching and begging for help. A spider eats at their eye, open in desperate terror.

Lights Out
( OTA: the wildcard option )
He's not stepping out unless ADI itself pushes him to another partner, another small-stakes mission in what Tim can only assume is the punishment of further running him ragged. Hilariously ("hilariously"?) there's no ankle monitor on him. Tim thinks it was also a dumb idea to have not injected a tracking chip in his skull or whatever during the decontamination and quarantine process, where he was rightfully (again, and again, and again) lambasted for the harebrained scheme that had gotten innocents tortured and killed. But that's not his call to make, he guesses.

The days surrounding the warehouse incident, he's well subdued. The perfect picture of a dumb kid, storm cloud over his head and all.

One day, he hangs around Counseling.

Another, he's-- around. He's just around, okay? Because there's work to be done and it's not the first time Tim Drake has been subjected to the lesson: there is always work to be done.

He can do that.

He can work.

So he does.

[ooc; Your wildcard! feel free to ping me fourboars on plurk, PM, or discord if you want something in particular! who wants jimothy to confess stupid shit. you know you do. you also know you want to bully him. do it. do it.]

Lights Out

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn is stuck between a multitude of potential approaches to the Tim Drake problem. The Tim Drake problem that is specifically tied to her wanting to talk to him about all this and also the fact that he's caused so many problems in the first place. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't personally ticked off by all this, but not for the reasons she should be.

It's not that Tim played with fire under the naive assumption that he would never be burned, or that Tim put civillians in danger and got them killed and horribly tortured, or that he did all of this behind everyone's back, or even the worm game.

It's those pointless fucking wild goose chases that ADI's been sending her on that makes her personally peeved.

But for right now, she just offers him a coffee late at night, when they're both basically the only ones in the library.]

You look like you could use it.

[earthshine]

LIGHTS OUT ( field investigation )
cw: death, body mutilation

[ violent christmas lights. huh. is nothing sacred? apparently not. which means, adi in its infinite wisdom has paired these two together and sent them out with an address. over the course of the week ( minus christmas day, okay, shiro likes his holidays without death and gross injury ), there are a slew of locations to check out:

perhaps you’re paired with shiro to a cute cul-de-sac, where a santa and reindeer fixture has slid off the roof and skewered the house owner. rudolph’s aim is – it seems – quite unfortunate. jeremy owens will live, but a particular portion of his lower body, specifically his crotch area, will never be the same.

or maybe, you’re accompanying shiro to this remarkable location. it seems santa has been naughty this year himself. that string of lights? somehow wound around jessica simpkins’ neck, strangling the woman to death. it has been quite windy ( 17 mph gusts ); perhaps it’s possible the wind caused the string to become loose and wrap just right?

hm.

either way, best to make notes of anything unusual and get back to hq before the investigation becomes sidetracked… like it did in that one neighborhood. maybe you were there with shiro, when the little old lady next door roped the two into helping her decorate her yard. just a few decorations, she said. won’t take long for young people like you, she said.

yeah okay. ]

LIGHTS OUT ( testing the lights )
cw: mind control/compulsion, talk of imprisonment, mental trauma

[ this is boring. and time consuming. and so boring. plug goes in, lights go on, and – nothing. you and shiro have been at this for a good chunk of time now and while shiro still has that no-nonsense, buckle down and let’s do this face going, it’s becoming apparent that even his focus is beginning to wane. which is, of course, why the next strand of lights diverts from the expected.

perhaps you are the one bathed in light, the kind that brings about an immediate urge to spill confessions no one is interrogating for.

or maybe the light shines on shiro. does he go for horrifying or humiliating? i used to kill for the entertainment of others fits the bill of horrifying. humiliating is along the lines of, i keep a rocketman plush in my bed, is that weird? ]

IT SEES YOU
cw: scopophobia, death to living dolls

[ another cheery gremlin stalker, also known as a christmas elf. shiro’s been finding them everywhere ( he does not want to talk about the morning he woke up to two clinging to his galra arm ). harmless at first, albeit slightly unnerving with their blank, painted eyes that somehow always seem to be directed at him, the elves are easy to ignore in the beginning. but a day or two in:

you might catch shiro at apartment block a, carrying an armful of elves. his destination? the dumpster behind the apartment building. don’t judge him; he asked his roomies, none of these are theirs. someone is likely lying though. someone is moving them around – right? well. shiro doesn’t want to play anymore, so off to the dump they go.

the canteen at adi headquarters isn’t safe either it seems. you might catch shiro eyeing up the elf perched next to the donuts, specifically the eclairs, seemingly debating whether to destroy this elf too or let it live to see christmas. can’t say it’s the weirdest place i’ve found one, shiro will say and tack on an inquiry of the oddest place you’ve come across one.

by the twenty-sixth, adi officials have issued an order and – okay, now they’re being ordered to round up these elves for destruction? don’t need to tell him twice. so you might spot shiro canvasing headquarters or apartment block a, looking high ( he is quite tall ) and low for these buggers. do you want to team up? ]

( ooc: also open to wildcarding! hit me up on sevenhelpings or discord if you want smth specific or have questions. plotting post is here. )

Testing Lights!

[romelle]

[ Romelle has gotten pretty used to mindnumbing tasks in the last few months. Turns out Research is a lot less exciting than it sounds a lot of the time - a thousand suspicions and maybe five hits are not unusual in the slightest. She does dutifully note down the results ('nothing, nope, nada, nope again') and set aside the lights onto giant piles as Shiro plugs in and out and in and out and in and--

.... yeah, she's also kind of tired by now. This is starting to feel like the same kind of failure that observing those strange knick-knacks had been.

Until... "I used to kill for the entertainment of others"-- uh?? Well, now she's just staring at Shiro, more baffled than horrified just yet. ]

.... you... what? That is... an odd conversation starter, Shiro.

Shuten-Douji | one ota, one closed

[sakaya]

i. (Closed to Stephen Strange) Light's Out

[ The mood at the ADI is rather morose, but Shuten is as carefree and breezy as ever. Well, it helped that she had more than enough energy to go out and about since she wasn't very interested in the rescue work in the previous days. But the work is never done it seems and it takes a tired and exasperated ADI employee to offer Shuten a large bottle of high-grade sake to get her to go and investigate the Christmas lights that have been the cause of the holiday horrors and accidents.

With that prize on the line, Shuten goes right to the source, Illumination Rite. About half an hour later, she walks outside, arms crossed, and uncharacteristically thoughtful about her discoveries. ]

Well... The sun's about to set.

[ Maybe she'll spend an evening around the neighborhood instead of the bar tonight. With all the misfortune the locals are experiencing, there's sure to be a lack of holiday spirit in her usual haunts.

Though of course, she's not going to do all the work by herself. Now who can she pull along for this little adventure...?

Well, fast-forward to the Flophouse; knock, knock, at your door Doctor! ]

ii. (OTA) It Sees You, Time to Go Peek-A-Boo

[ Here's the thing about Christmas; Shuten's actually had some experience with the special day even though it's a holiday of Western origin. Her Master and plenty of other Heroic Spirits with ties to the Yuletide season take it upon themselves to make plenty of food, decorations, and at some point, a Servant's Saint Graph will suddenly morph so that they become the Santa of the season.

So that said, decorative elves are beneath her attention and hardly a troubling sight. At least at first; but then they're appearing in the corner of her eye while she's drinking, or suddenly on one of the tables at the Flophouse, in an obscure area in the ADI offices...

At the ADI HQ, one can find Shuten with a small pile of said elves in the gymnasium. She was supposed to bring them in for testing, but... ]

RiiiIIIIIpppPPP!!!

[ Seems like she's testing them out herself! Some ADI employees pass by and are startled by the noise or swear when a piece of plastic or felt elf nearly misses them when it hits the wall opposite of her. Hope you aren't just walking in! ]

iii. Wildcard

[ ooc: You can contact me if you'd like me to write a toplevel or if you have an idea you'd like to run by me first! ]

i

[sorser]

[Since his arrival to this world, Stephen has learned to embody the phrase “No rest for the weary.” Though fresh off the disaster with LovelyRen and far too many bugs, ADI still has work to be done, and the doctor is more than eager to stuff his idle hours full of investigative intent until they’re idle no longer. Case in point: he’s already gathered up a number of questionable Christmas lights, boxes of the same questionable brand, brought to his room in the flophouse to test individually — away from the already too-busy halls of HQ,

But all holiday lights, filled with malicious supernatural energy or otherwise, are cursed in a different way: they bundle up, become wretchedly knotted, with even the smallest effort. Stephen stands with a length of lights wrapped around one arm, and another coiled around his other, and a pile at his feet, when he hears the knock at his door. The timing is atrocious.]

Really.

[Then louder—]

It’s open!

abby kim | original

[retisense]

➥ In the Hive (Pre-Mission)

[So it seems like a lot of people don't like bugs, but they've never really bothered Abby, personally, so she decides to volunteer for the mission. The trip over to the hive place has her second-guessing herself, because she still can't imagine herself being able to mercy kill anyone, and she's realizing now how skinny and not-exactly-strong she is. Not a total lump of dough, of course, she does play volleyball, but that's not really something that requires the strength she's gonna need to drag someone out of a hive.

But hey, at least she's not scared of bugs?

Once she's suited up, she feels a bit like a badass - thick denim tucked into heavy boots laced up to the calf, a close-fitting leather jacket zipped up tightly over an uncharacteristically tight shirt, heavy gloves, and what looks like a beekeeper's mask on her head. Not exactly stylish, unless you're really into the leather-clad beekeeper look for some reason, but definitely pretty badass.

Now, to find someone who looks sufficiently not like a noodle person to do the heavy lifting. She sidles up to anyone who might look like they could drag an unconscious body out of a building and like they won't kill her if she gives them a little shoulder-nudge.]

Hey buddy. You uh, wanna pair up in there? If you handle the heavy lifting, I'm real quick with the bug spray.

➥ In the Hive (Mission) cw: insects/swarms, bites

[Now that she's inside, she's really, really second-guessing her life choices, and whether she's actually scared of bugs. They're just everywhere, she's never seen so many in her life, enough that they're crowding in on her vision even with the mask, trying to down her gloves and boots, just squirming. Squirming everywhere, squirming on the walls and floor, squirming over the lumps that seem to be bodies, some of which are squirming themselves. Crunching under her feet with every step she takes with sickening crack-squelch noises.

And she's by herself, whether she's just been separated from whoever she came in with or couldn't find anyone, which is not ideal. Shoulders hunched a little bit, she looks drawn in on herself and significantly less badass than she'd felt earlier, not that she cares about appearances in this situation. Mostly she's just glad her hair is bundled up into a bun and stuffed into the beekeeper's mask so she can't get spiders and bees tangled up in it.

Stopping by one of the lumps of person covered in cockroaches and beetles and spiders, she thinks she sees a bit of movement that isn't bug-related, and extends her foot to very gently prod at it to see if there's more movement. Then the person lurches to life and grabs at her ankle and calf, and Abby goes stumbling backward, letting out an unearthly squeal.]

Holy fucking shit! Oh god, I'm sorry, sorry, shit fuck, okay, let's get you out of here.

[Leaning down, she grabs for what looks like an appendage and starts pulling, not noticing that a gap has opened between her glove and sleeve.]

Help! Can anyone give me a hand here?

➥ Lights Out (Testing)

[After her experiences with the swarm and the hive, the last thing she wants is more excitement, so testing some potentially-creepy lights seems like the exact right thing to be doing.

She's taking it easier than she probably should be, kicked back on a chair, leaning on the back legs, clad in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, boots rested on another chair, legs crossed, untangling a long string of lights that's gotten twisted up into pretty much a ball. She glances up when someone comes into the room.]

Hey, did you come to give me a hand?

➥ Wildcard/OOC

I would also be open to the other prompts that I didn't write starters for, or for something in medical after the Hive prompts. I'd like to have her get bitten in that prompt, open to injuries but no character death please! If you'd like something personalized, please shoot me a private message, or feel free to write me up whatever you'd be interested in!

light's out

[myfavoritemurder]

Oh, apparently--

[Says Callisto, with a dramatic little sigh. She gives the hopeless-looking ball of lights a look-over, wrinkles her nose, and quickly decides to go for the course of action she's already subjected multiple other people to: grabbing up the plug end of the light strand and marching it over to the wall, fully intending to plug it in even as Abby holds it in her hands. Think fast, buddy.]

Mercy Graves | OC | OTA

[graveyounglady]

I. In the Hive
The messages from Ren had been terrifying- the bad Ren, not her- that avatar. Mercy has never been particularly afraid of bugs. They're a part of life for someone dealing with gardens, corpses, and graves. But to see them used to inflict that sort of fear? It's wrong. So much about this place is just wrong at times, and it's infuriating.

Her skills will likely find a better use treating injuries, rather than running into the building, itself, which is why she finds herself at the medical area, decked out in a brightly-colored, heavy-duty suit with a weird helmet. It's all sealed together and there's oxygen being pumped in from a little tank on her back. Her face is visible through the front plastic sheeting in the helmet.

"Come on over," she urges anyone hurrying toward this area. For those who bring obviously bug-ridden survivors, she's quick to get an oxygen mask strapped to their face while she takes a CO2 cannister and covers them in the suffocating foam as a first step.

If someone isn't obviously hurt, her expression will be one of concerns. "You all right there? You didn't get bitten?" She's ready to tackle them and check them for bugs, too, if the answer is 'yes' to the bites.

II. Lights Out
A. Out and About
This might be the first time she's stepping out to help with investigations or it might be several times after that. While the subject is grim, Mercy can't help but find herself delighted at the colorful, decorative lights strung up everywhere. It's a shame something seems to be getting at them.

"They said this here store's got lots of lights. Illumination Rite. That's the brand we're looking for, right? Hah! Rite, right? You really reckon it's the lights hurting people and not something else? Seems like there's a lot of accidents. Some of them might be just that?"

B. At ADI
Mercy has witnessed first-hand the effects of the Illumination Rite lights when they get to a body, and she really does not want to deal with more of that. But... but if she doesn't do it, someone else might have to. And she'd like some extra money to help with purchasing gifts or making more gifts. Everything in this world is expensive and still cheaply-made in so many cases. It's an odd paradox.

In any case, she's joined another person in an observation room, aware there's another person on the other side of a big mirror. There are several strands of lights someone has brought back to check, and Mercy heads over to pull out of of them. To her fellow in the room, she offers a nervous smile. "You seen what these things do, yet? When-when they're cursed, I mean."

𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠

[stations]

In terms of training, combat prowess, or talent, there isn't often something Jack can actually do hands-on to help out the investigations department. Looking at Christmas lights is exactly his speed, and beyond that, seems... really pleasant, actually. He's not too proud or too toxically masculine to admit he really likes things that are pretty and colorful, and he could use a distraction from the news the neurosurgeon gave him a few days ago.

Given the options for who to partner up with, Mercy was at the top of the list. Mostly because he... actually knows her, whereas ninety percent of the rest of the people are total strangers, but also because they've seen some seriously crazy shit together. She can definitely handle herself. Also... him. And maybe most other people. Teaming up with badass women is comfortingly familiar. Man, he misses Deputy O'Brien.

So there the pair of them sit, dozens upon dozens of Christmas lights stretched out along tables in one of the labs, not much direction to go by. Mostly just a vague 'look for anything weird', and a 'go get 'em, champ'. Hopefully his definition of weird isn't too high of a bar.

He plugs in their third or fourth string, and a set of big, colorful bulbs blink merrily to life.

It's as good a time as any to brush up on his abysmal small-talk skills, right?

"So do you, you know... celebrate Christmas where you're from?" Which, he realizes after a beat, he has absolutely no idea if that's America or even Earth, so a follow-up question: "Where are you from?"

Keith | OTA

[marmoron]

I. Into the Hive (cw: insects, cocoons, violence, infestation)
[ why was keith even allowed on this mission when his right hand is in a splint and his left's been wrapped and bandaged? evidently, nobody was going to talk keith out of showing up to potentially bash ren in the face. of course, the avatar isn't making that goal easy as she's divided herself into seemingly thousands and thousands of biting, stinging vicious creepy crawlies.

frustrated is a bit of an understatement here as keutg whips around, turning this way and that trying to find even a glimpse of ren anywhere. as a swarm of angry wasps come flying towards his face, keith raises the nozzle of his insecticide canister and sprays them down dead. is it satisfying? not in the fucking slightest. even more so when an attept to get further inside the buildinng is impeded by an human sized wriggling cocoon of silk. turning to his assigned partner, he directs their attention to the wall where the cocoon hangs, suspended in slime as something tries to emerge. ]

You think that's a victim or a trap?

II. Into the Hive - Aftermath (cw: injury, blood)
[ long after keith's stepped out of the building, there's still ringing in his ears that sounds like the

buzzing of hundreds and thousands of flies. sitting in the corner of the quarantine tent, keith doesn't look up as people pass and merely hugs his legs tight to his chest. the bandages on his left hand are soaked through with blood, but that doesn't even seem to be registering to keith. instead he only has room for one central preoccupation: ]

Did we get her? Is she gone?

III. Lights Out - Normal Version
[ keith's been at adi long enough to know that a "simple" mission to go and investigate some odd christmas lights isn't actually going to be simple. but weirdly enough? this particular mission doesn't seem to be taking any weird turns whatsoever. sure, the display is a bit much inkeith's opinion, but there aren't any shenanigans afoot at this residence and for once... keith is actually being lulled into the holiday spirit. he takes a long sip of hot cocoa, pensive. ]

Was Christmas a big thing back in your world, too?

IV. Lights Out - Confessionals
[ of course things were eventually going to turn sour. once people have figured out which brand of lights seem to be the problem, keith ends up helping out at a retailer to try and sort through a sea of boxes. the task is monotonous as hell and after testing four boxes of completely ordinary lights keith thinks he must have misread the text.

except as soon as he plugs in the next set of lights, something immediately feels off. eyes judging him, eyes staring right into his thoughts. nervous, keith turns to his partner to ask if they feel the same, but instead what comes out is a slightly panicked okay, okay -- I i broke tim's fingers or a i made pam cry while she was in the clinic. shut up, i know it was bad. ]

V. It Sees You
[ for anyone who happens to be anywhere around the pathway of apartment complex a and the dumpsters outside, you might happen to come across keith carrying armloads of creepy elves and throwing them out. during his final run, however, he isn't carrying elves -- he's carrying what looks to be a modified fire extinguisher, a bicycle tire pump and a few bottles of lighter fluid.

... which is to say, someone has made a homemade flamethrower and is about to test it out on some helpful targets. come join in? ]

VI. Wildcard
[ if there's something else you would like to play, feel free to hit me up at partyraven or pm this journal to plot!]

III

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn looks over at him as he asks the question, sipping at her own coffee. They're more or less done now, the owners of the house are just looking for receipts since apparently they take great dilligence in always keeping the receipts.

For... collection reasons. Apparently.]

...Not particularly, no. There was a... Solisian holiday called Solstice, if I recall correctly? Which... I think is similar, but I never celebrated. And I never saw anyone as obsessive about it as these people seem to be.

What is it, anyway? I don't understand what they're even celebrating.