Event - All In Your Head

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All In Your Head

➥ Night's Embrace

(cw: supernaturally-induced hysteria/intense emotion; violence; maiming; assault, burglary; murder; implied violence against children)

There's been a sense of unease hanging over Gloucester as the Ides of March approach. First a few, and then a great many locals begin to hurry indoors each evening, lights kept blazing in the windows of homes and businesses all night…when they can be. Stories of assault, burglary, and vandalism dominate the news and no one can seem to agree on the cause, psychiatrists weighing in on air as reports flood in of a woman, a creature, that hunts in the night, along with perpetrator after perpetrator with no history of violence before they suddenly broke into a neighbor's home to smash every source of electric glow. It might be mass hysteria, the talking heads hypothesize, or perhaps pranks taken too far. The alternative is not spoken. It's safe, though, with the lights on and the door bolted. Stay inside, stay in the light, and nothing can harm you.

Too bad about the blackout, then.

It's the night of March 16 when the efforts of the shadow woman meet success thanks to the earnest efforts of a kindred spirit. Gloucester is plunged into darkness with only the waxing moon to dapple the city in silvery shadows, the entire grid taken down. ADI Headquarters and apartments flicker weakly back to life on emergency power, though there's more shadow than light in their halls. Bonnie's Flophouse, like much of residential Gloucester, doesn't have even that saving grace.

The attacks are swift and furious. The shadow woman seems to be in many places at once, appearing simultaneously in family homes, all night businesses…and ADI properties. Where there had been some reprieve in the last days for those in ADI apartments or spending the night at headquarters, as of tonight those places are no safer than the city streets. Some of those she catches she kills or maims; others are sent spiraling into blind terror by the touch of her claws and released to run and be chased again.

But still she does not step into the light, seemingly repulsed by what little brightness can be found or made. Best hope the batteries in your flashlights are fresh.

➥ Illuminating

(cw: derogatory language; mention of long-term imprisonment and murder attempts)

un: n.lehrer

To All Staff,

Report to ADI HQ for an emergency meeting at 11 AM in Conference Room 6. I will be broadcasting over the network, but I would prefer to have everyone together so that we can hand out equipment. Reyes has briefed me on what's been going on while I've been away.

Katie Dunn, an avatar for the Dark native to this world, was recently set free by Deepthi Anand. Dunn is practically allergic to light. We'll be handing out supplies for those who attend the meeting in-person. More soon.

- Nia Lehrer, Warden

It's only a few hours after the message goes out that people who come will find Nia Lehrer stepping up to a podium in the designated conference room. There's also a filming set-up so people can watch the broadcast on the network. Questions that come from the network will be… read by Reyes for Nia to answer, but a back-and-forth conversation may be more challenging for those not physically in attendance. On the wall behind her, there's a projection of a seemingly harmless-looking woman.

There's a definite air of relief among the native staff, along with a significant uptick in focus. Non-native staff may notice a similar sense of renewed determination and attentiveness for themselves, if they let themselves be swept up in it. Whatever fog and oppressive sense that's hung about for the past month or more appears to have dissipated… at least for the moment.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll make this brief: Katie Dunn is one of the most dangerous avatars we've ever encountered since I joined the Apocalypse Disruption Initiative. We've had run-ins with her more than once, but haven't actually figured out a way to kill her, yet. Her capture was a major achievement about two years ago. Which makes her escape particularly frustrating. What's done is done, though.

"Deepthi Anand developed a connection of some sort with her while she was assigned to assist with guarding her while here at ADI. I suspect that's why she returned to free her. And make no mistake, everything I've seen about the attack points to Deepthi… with her boosting Katie's abilities somehow. Right now, we're most concerned with keeping the lights on. Cape Electric has been trying to restore power, but each time they fix something, another piece of the grid gets hit. Whoever blew the entire town's power supply gave her the in she needed to wreak havoc.

"We're going to need all hands on deck. First, we block her ability to cause problems. For that, I need people willing to help with requisitioning generators and high-powered lights, and getting them to the places and people in town who need them most. Hospitals, nursing homes, food supply warehouses, all-night locals, playing interference for electric company personnel. I'm also going to need PR folks spinning up some reasonable explanations for these blackouts and what's been happening with people who get touched by her. Electromagnetic storms? Something about tectonics. Experimental drug from the military that blew through on the wind. Whatever you can come up with.

Little Ms. Blackout wants to play games to create fear and turn people on each other? We cut off that power flow to her, and she becomes an inconvenience, more than an actual problem. I expect her to start targeting us more directly once we start squeezing her, so we'll be issuing flashlights to everyone here. If you know someone who needs one, tell us, and we'll get them one, too."

Nia takes a breath. "While Dunn doesn't like the light, she can survive in it. Direct exposure to it will ward her off, but as long as she can find some kind of shadow, she can squeeze herself into it to stay alive. We know she has the ability to split into multiple shades of herself to cause wider problems. We caught her by trapping all of those in beams of light last time. We need a more coordinated response to be able to handle her, though. I'll be here, working on that if anyone wants to weigh in. In the meanwhile… let's make that bitch's life harder, huh?"

➥ WALKING HELL

(cw: altered mental state, hallucinations, violence, scopophobia, body horror)

Suddenly and without much warning, the world changes. Or….it changes for some people, some of the time. Anyone who finds themselves outside the sanctuary formed by ADI’s buildings will feel woozy, perhaps drowsy for a moment before they blink….and find themselves trapped in a nightmare.

The exact flavor of the nightmare isn’t always constant. In fact, it may not even feel like anything at all is wrong….at first. Characters may continue on after their brief dizzy spell, going about their business until they slowly start to realize that the strangers that they pass in the street are watching them. Watching them as they pass, watching them as they walk away, watching them as their heads turn at unnatural degrees to just keep watching.

Or maybe the nightmare is more immediately obvious. A hole you fall down and just keep falling down for what feels like forever. An angry mob of townspeople who descend on you at random, hands like claws that seek to rend your flesh. It can be any number of things. And it can change. Characters might find that seeking to get away from the source of this horror might work….for that particular horror. Get far enough away, and trade one nightmare scenario for another. They might even find familiar faces stuck in the same situation and can try and work together to get out of whatever nightmare they’ve found themselves in. (It won’t work. But they can try.)

The nightmares don’t come over everyone at the same time, though, and they may even be intermittent for some. Characters might find themselves walking with a friend, only to have one of them begin to react to something that the other can’t see. (..Any injuries sustained, however, will become visible. Even if what’s causing it isn’t. Where did that chest wound come from?)

Even if you’re alone, snapping out of a nightmare might mean finding some of Glouscester’s townspeople staring at you in something like distress or horror. Trying to get medical help from them…will only exacerbate their concern. What wounds, you don’t have any wounds. But you do…don’t you? They’re definitely there.

The only true safety seems to be in ADI Headquarter or housing. ADI staff will be concerned when they do hear reports of the nightmares, but most will swear that they can’t see any wounds that characters have either. And they understand it might be terrifying….but things still need to get done. Characters will be asked but not pushed to go out into town. Or they can just stay inside until this is fixed. Whenever it’s fixed. If it’s ever fixed.

➥ Dunn With This

(cw: attempted capture and imprisonment; reference to attempted murder; violence)

There comes a time when the best defense is, as they say, a good offense. The work ADI has done to cut off Dunn's power by turning back on the lights and calming the public is working; though there are still sightings around Gloucester, she does not seem to have the full free reign she enjoyed in the first nights of the blackout. It's clear that she hasn't given up on whatever she means to accomplish, that she isn't prepared to retreat or lie low.

It's ADI's turn to go on the attack. Word comes down from the top that all staff with field or combat experience are requested to assist in a coordinated effort to recapture Katie Dunn. The plan, as it stands, is to lure each of her shades to a location where she can be pinned in a beam of light. The catch, of course, is that they've done this dance before and she'll be expecting them to try just that. As such, the floor is open for suggestions.

Characters who volunteer to participate in the effort will be informed that the planned procedure for an encounter with one of the shades is for an agent (chosen from those quickest on their feet) to act as bait and try to get Katie to chase them to a predetermined location where other ADI agents lie in wait with a rig of floodlights. It's tricky, dangerous work, and there's no guarantee she won't catch on and avoid the trap or even attack the agents waiting there for the return of their comrade. Worse, it's unclear whether the multiple shades of her roaming the city are separate entities or if they're a hive mind instantly aware of whatever trap one of them falls into.

Characters may also propose alternate plans and methods, and agents will be allocated to assist with any such plans that are deemed to have a decent likelihood of success. Or, of course, they could strike out on their own, though ADI strongly advises against it.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background 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 prompts should be sufficient and ordinary people will act like… ordinary people! You're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. Nia Lehrer and Katie Dunn will be available as mod-played NPCs for their specific prompts via the starter below. Also, please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• NIGHT'S EMBRACE (16-18 March) - Characters may find themselves the victims or the perpetrators of the violent and wild acts induced by the shadow woman and her touch. They may also be able to ward her off of an active attack if they're lucky and happen to have a good flashlight with them. After the 16th, nowhere will be safe in town, and characters may find sleeping a challenge when there's a good chance they'll be attacked in the middle of it. Sucks that the coffee pot runs on power, too.
  
  
• ILLUMINATING (19-23 March) - Nia will be available to take questions directly from PC's during the meeting. Players will generally be welcome to threadjack as everyone will be hearing Nia's responses collectively at the same time. Network interaction will be possible, but less focused on quick back-and-forth, and more Q&A-style things that Nia can respond to. Characters in the Administration and Public Relations departments will get a particularly heavy tap to assist with requisitions and spinning up stories, but everyone is welcome to help with either the logistics of acquiring supplies or actually bringing them to people in town or setting up extra floodlights around town. The locals will be very grateful, but confused by the gifts of the generators and lights. Characters with mechanical knowledge will be asked to help with actually installing these for people. If you would like your character to come up with a specific IC story for the blackouts and/or crime streak, please let the mods know in the Questions header on the event OOC post! We will incorporate these into our Headline News items next month.
  
  
• WALKING HELL (22-28 March) - This prompt is very much open to players inventing their own nightmare patches. As stated in the OOC summary, the nightmares can last for any amount of time (including days). Anyone not experiencing the nightmare (including other PCs) will not be able to see what the character is reacting to or see any sort of wounds they suffer while stuck in the nightmare. Any wounds sustained during the time in the nightmare will continue to be visible to PCs and some NPCs even after it ends, but will not be immediately life-threatening no matter what. Two characters in the same place who are both stuck in the nightmare will see the same thing. Please remember to appropriately warn for any triggers/content warnings, especially considering that they are going to vary greatly between different threads. Here is list of player-requested content warnings to keep in mind specifically.
  
  
• DUNN WITH THIS (29-31 March) - While characters are advised by ADI to use the tactics noted above, they are welcome to employ alternate methods of dealing with Katie Dunn. They will have ADI's general support regardless of whether they follow ADI's playbook or come up with their own tactics, including equipment as well as the ability to recruit background ADI NPCs to their plans. However, NPCs generally will not agree to take part in anything that looks like a suicide mission (if you have any questions about whether background NPCs would agree to your character's plan, please submit those under the Questions header on the OOC post). Katie will be available for (hostile) NPC interactions. Please note that the outcome of all encounters with Katie must be decided by March 31, as the outcome of this event will impact the April TDM. If threads have not reached their natural conclusion by that date, players will be asked to decide OOCly on the outcome (and are welcome to continue to tag to reach that conclusion ICly).
  
  

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Comments

cw physical violence; stabbing

[apocalypsehownpcs]

He should be afraid. The last time these claws were extended to him it was to rake across his skin and give him the gift of pain and madness. She's holding still now, though, gentle as something like her can make itself be, but there's still that smile that's not as reassuring as it should be, that twists in something more akin to laughter than affection.

The air is heavy with anticipation, but when she stretches out to close the distance and their hands meet, the coiled stillness doesn't break. She steps closer, tugging him in only gently, her other hand coming up to touch his hair.

He should be able to see her face clearly when she's this close. He must be able to see her face, right?

She moves as if to draw him into a hug. It's then that the knife appears in her free hand, and then that the stillness finally snaps as she plunges the blade into his torso.

Re: cw physical violence; stabbing

[cacophonish]

The last time he'd been stabbed, it was just a dream. It felt real, so real, but then he woke up.

He's pretty sure there's no waking up from this. The pain is immediate, in that he's immediately aware of it, but Jeff doesn't process it at first. The finality of it-- of him-- doesn't sink in right away. He looks at her face (or in the darkness where a face should be), eyes wide with surprise and confusion, until it hits him: she stabbed him. He's dying. And this is the least surprising turn of events. He could ask her why, but it doesn't matter, really.

It was always going to end like this. Jeff was never making it out of this story alive.

"Well... fuck." He laughs a little, a light, breathless noise, because what else can he do? His legs, already so wobbly from lightheaded uncertainty, give out from under him, and collapses against the woman limply, a puppet with its strings cut. As soon as the blade's withdrawn, there's nothing to stop him from crumpling on the strange, shaking fingers moving to clutch at the wound, like that'll do anything. There's no stopping the blood.

cw blood

[apocalypsehownpcs]

She laughs, too, light and pleased. She does hug him now, holding him briefly as he collapses against her but ultimately letting him slide from her arms to collapse on the stage. She crouches beside him then, watching the blood pool with idle curiosity.

Then Katie Dunn pats him on the head, gently scratching his scalp through the hair, and abruptly disappears into the darkness.

cw: blood, delusions/hallucinations, death

[cacophonish]

She leaves him in a growing pool of his own blood, and that's it. This is where Jeff dies.

Only it isn't a quick death, really. He doesn't lose consciousness, as much as he'd like to, and there's no peace in this death. Instead, he lingers, body clinging to what life it can as the blood hemorrhages out onto the stage. His fingers are wet, and his shirt's soaked, and neither are doing anything to staunch the flow.

There's a hole on the stage.

Jeff draws in a sharp (painful) breath, forcing his eyes to focus on that hole, just a few feet away from him.

A hand (his bassist's; even in his delirium, he'd recognize those tatted fingers anywhere) rises up and waves. Weakly, every movement taking what feels like an insurmountable amount of effort, Jeff takes his hand off his wound and waves back with slick, red fingers. Another hand (it doesn't match the first, and he doesn't recognize it, but he thinks it must be familiar, somehow) emerges, and both find purchase at the edges of the hole, before a head pops up (pokes down), hair hanging upward as his friend peeks in from the other side of the rabbit hole.

"I think I'm dying," he tells them, stating the obvious.

Their fingers tap on the stage, drumming thoughtfully, as they consider the news.

"Well, that's silly. What makes you think that?" they ask, in that voice that sounds like it's been knitted together from everyone he misses back home.

Jeff laughs-- ow, is that making him bleed out faster?-- then winces. Isn't that what happens when you've been stabbed? he wants to point out, but it's hard to say so many words, so he just answers, "All the blood..."

"Doesn't matter," they finish for him. "You don't have to think of yourself as dying."

Jeff doesn't understand. It's okay, though, because they're happy to elaborate.

"Tell a lie enough times, and it becomes the truth. And you were always so good at lying..." They say that as if it's the highest compliment. His friend tilts their head curiously. "That knife doesn't really hurt, does it? And you don't need all that blood, anyway."

No... Maybe it doesn't hurt all that much. And he's still alive, so clearly he didn't need the blood that's spilling out all over the stage. Jeff nods in agreement, and though his movement's still weak, he feels stronger.

"All those things you think you see, in the corner of your eye..." The things that may or may not have all been in his head, all this time. The hallucinations and imaginary horrors, the feeling of other realities inside of reflections, and his own desire to see the world split in a kaleidoscope of psychedelia. Ziggy's ripple effect, still making him doubt his own reality, nine months after he was split from the demon. "We've been trying to help you."

A lifeline of delusion. He remembers now. All he has to do is stop turning his back to it, and stop closing his eyes.

"You just need to believe one last, great delusion."

Jeff smiles, and his friend smiles back.

"You're right. It doesn't hurt." His smile, so bright, grows into a sharp grin. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine..."

Jeff Calhoun dies on that stage, alone in the dark, in a pool of his own blood, only he doesn't believe it. And that's all that really matters.