apocalypsehowcomm | Event - All In Your Head

Event - All In Your Head

All In Your Head

➥ Night's Embrace

Photo of a young caucasian man with brown hair and blue eyes holding up a large light. He is wearing a yellow coat and looking toward the camera, apparently gazing into the darkness that his light is illuminating.
(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

Photo of a black woman in a white sweater gesturing forward with one hand and holding a dry erase marker up with the other. She's frowning slightly and only the lower half of her face is visible.
(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

Photo of a masculine figure walking into a very foggy forest. The figure is in silhouette. In the fog, an enormous, spectral, alien shadow is visible. It is holding its hands up and its eyes are glowing.
(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

Photo of a caucasian woman in light clothes on a black stage. There is a spotlight on her and she is clutching her head and writhing while lying on the ground.
(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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She doesn't even get a chance to scream, really. There's a choked-off little sound of shock and pain when the light hits her, and in that moment and the next Winter may or may not notice that while she has a forehead through which to put a bullet, it's strangely impossible to make sense of what her face looks like, washed out in the brightness. There's something wrong with her, her outline indistinct--

And then the bullet hits, her shadow splashing out like blood. She drops like a puppet with its strings cut, like a crumbling sculpture, and breaks apart when she hits the floor of the balcony. Shadow drips from the balcony--not shadow, something tangible, something it might take him a moment to recognize from this distance as black sand.

That seems to have taken care of that. But the shade Winter just reduced to sand was far from the only one at large in the city tonight, and it won't be the last he encounters. Unseen and unknown, another one of them is already on her way here.

That is the goal: take out as many shades as possible, until they find the real one. Winter is not particularly interested in capture. Capture means being able to be released, and cause this kind of havoc. This kind of pain for people.

He murmurs into his bluetooth, to Yelena, "Shade eliminated. Time to find another. Pick a direction; I'll follow."

They do find another, and soon--perhaps suspiciously soon. Yelena will spot a shadow woman lurking in the deeper darkness, one that does the usual lurking hunt, that appears and disappears and moves ever closer, just as though she were encountering Yelena for the first time and just as though she sees her as a viable victim.

It's within the same moments that another one flits through the shadows behind Winter, not bothering to announce herself or attempt to frighten him. Her approach is nearly silent, though not quite; her feet touch down a short distance behind him before she breaks into a run, giving him all the warning he'll receive.

The first footsteps are enough. Winter, already in a ready crouch as he trails Yelena through the streets across the rooftops, spins to catch whatever attack she's launching on the metal arm. It's covered in a sleeve, so the plates can't catch the light, so the shade might be in for a surprise when she hits it.

In the same motion he's pulling up another source of light with his free hand and flaring it in the direction of wherever she hit him. He's taken to carrying multiple small flashlights, in all the blackouts. They're just as effective as bullets against this particular enemy and they don't run out as quickly.

Her attack is all fury with no finesse. She responds to his efforts to shield himself by simply trying to tear into the arm, clearly expecting her claws to meet flesh and unbothered by what particular part of him she tears open. Those claws tear through his sleeve and screech against the metal, a screech soon joined by her yell of pain when the light of the flashlight sweeps onto her.

"Motherfucker!" she yells in pain and frustration, recoiling and diving for the shadows.

Meanwhile, the Katie flitting about Yelena makes her move as well, suddenly hurling a brick in Yelena's direction in a sharp departure from her previous tactics--if it gets Yelena's guard down for even a moment she'll dart in, claws at the ready.

Fortunately for Yelena's ability to continue operating sans concussion, the knowledge that she's playing a lethal game of tag with a murderous shadow has left her keenly alert for motion. She drops into a low crouch, beneath the arc of the brick. She palms the small LED flashlight in one of her pockets with one hand. The other hand trails near her back foot, as though stabilizing her balance.

(Or maybe just resting near the grip of a knife tucked into her boot. It's probably one of those.)

"What the fuck?" she mutters as the brick clatters against an empty trashcan tucked near the wall behind her and sends it toppling.

The surprise is genuine. She's been anticipating violence, but she'd expected claws, not bricks.

It seems that their previous success has inspired Katie to change up her tactics, though past the surprise of the brick it seems the new tactic is to simply become extremely aggressive. That is to say, she's flickering forward in the moment Yelena drops into a crouch, leaping forward in an attempt to tackle her, claws outstretched and no consideration given for how much the collision might hurt both of them. That rattling, inhuman screech is back, too, more monster than woman. The attack is furious and animalistic, aiming to cause general harm rather than attacking with enough precision to prevent Yelena from arming herself.

Yelena makes a split-second decision to meet aggression with aggression. She uncoils into Katie's lunge and bringing the knife up in a short, brutal arc that angles the blade beneath where the shadow woman's sternum should be if she retains anything like human anatomy, in hopes that their combined momentum will drive it home into heart or lungs or major blood vessels. At the same time, she pivots, sweeping her back leg to tangle with Katie's and send them both tumbling.

It doesn't leave much left for defense - she'll shield her throat and face as best she can with her off hand, and hope the heavy leather jacket she's laid claim to in place of her preferred tactical armour will afford her some protection from those raking claws.

Katie Dunn is Darkness upon darkness; without light to force her into corporeality it's more like sinking the blade into liquid than flesh. It sinks in precisely where Yelena means it to but passes through without causing her any apparent harm. The sweep of her leg is more successful in toppling the shade, but even as she hits the ground Katie flickers out of sight to reappear on top of Yelena, clawed hands seeking to pin her down.

Yelena drops the knife in favour of grabbing Katie's arm, using it as a point of leverage to twist and try to roll the woman over her shoulder. The flashlight blooms to life in her off hand, bright against the close darkness of the alley.

The arm becomes more solid in Yelena's grasp as light blooms in the darkness, solid enough to force Katie into a roll. From the way she hisses, swiping wildly before struggling to get back on her feet, it's clear the flashlight is an unwelcome addition to the equation. She tries to dart back in order to regroup herself.

Yelena hasn't let go of Katie's arm, and keeps her hold despite the sting of raking claws. "No you fucking don't," she snarls, and twists as she comes to her knees, using her grip as a lever to try to get the shadow woman into an arm lock.

In theory, it should let her escape the worst of the claws - any more of the worst, she thinks, trying to ignore the throbbing in her forearm and shoulder, the damp trickle of blood.

"Winter, if nothing has killed you, I could use some backup!"

(Can he hear her? Is the channel still open? Were the gunshots she heard his, or someone taking advantage of the recent violence, or desperately trying to execute some figment of their imagination?)

"Bad news," laughs Katie even as Yelena pins her. It's like keeping a grip on jello; anywhere the flashlight doesn't hit her she loses enough tangibility that her joints aren't forced to bend the way a human's would and her bones don't break when a human's should, and she keeps trying and trying to slip out of Yelena's grasp. "I'm just the distraction, babe."

Yelena utters a low hiss of irritation as she's forced to readjust her grip on Katie, bringing her legs to bear to help control the shadow woman's unnervingly slick movements. Absently, she realizes that were anyone passing by, the tableau would be something between ridiculous and obscene.

She isn't convinced by Katie's claim - this strikes her more as an opportunistic bid to eliminate multiple hunters while she has the chance - but the words? Those are definitely distraction, meant to throw her off her game enough for Katie to throw her off entirely.

All right, then. She'll play. Let her think the gambit struck a nerve. The results might tell her something - and might help her stall long enough for Winter to finish fighting his own shadow demon.

Her grip tightens, and when she adjusts the flashlight's beam to let it fall more fully on Katie, she plays it across the shadow woman's face. "I wonder what it would do to your insides if I shoved this down your throat," she says, clipped and harsh.

Letting the injured shade get away, since she wasn't going in Yelena's direction, Winter had to move to the other side of his current building's roof to get a shot in that won't also go right through Yelena's face, but he wasn't the best shot in the US Army even before HYDRA got their claws in him for nothing. He doesn't need a serum to get a good headshot.

Which he takes right about then, aiming for the shadow woman's temple with his rifle while the light hopefully keeps her solid.

"That's what he said!" laughs Katie in the face of the threat even as she squeezes her reddened eyes shut, tears leaking from them, and bares her teeth in pain against the light on her skin. "Your friend's dead by now and I'm going to take you apart inch by--"

Black sand splatters across the ground and she goes silent--though it's clear in seconds that she's not going to stay that way. The light of the flashlight shows a face distorted by what should be a fatal injury pulling itself back into its correct shape as her body twitches. It seems the flashlight keeps her solid enough to injure, but not solid enough to kill.

He's already surging up, lashing out with that metal arm when she screams, trying to smash her against the wall beside him, stun her so she can't melt away, grab hold of her if she can't be stunned. Anything to keep her in place with the arm she can't actually damage.

And his other hand keeps the light on her.

Up close the sense of wrongness in her appearance is only stronger, but where the light sweeps over her she becomes less indistinct and more human. The claws remain, though, hands ending in black, gnarled digits that are too long and too sharp, and they continue to scrabble at him even as he knocks the breath out of her. She struggles, focused far more on trying to get out of the light or knock it from his hand than trying to get out from between his arm and the wall. The light is all that makes the latter matter to her.

The claws can't do much to his metal arm, thankfully, and he takes advantage of her moment of breathlessness to use it to grab at her, crush her as hard into the brick wall behind her as possible. The plan is to keep her out of reach of his flashlight in his other hand, and to maybe to crush bones, if she even fucking has any at this point.

He's never wished for a third arm before, but now he's kinda wishing he had a third arm. It'd be nice to be able to hold her, keep her pinned in light, and shoot her with an actual gun. Maybe the light and the crushing will be enough? He can hope, anyway. He tries to focus the light on where his fist is to keep that as solid as possible.

He can hear the struggle going on in his earpiece, from Yelena, so he knows at least there's no backup coming, and he wants to get this over with as soon as possible so he can help her.

She's like roiling liquid between him and the wall, less distinct and less solid where the light doesn't touch--but under his fist, where he keeps the light trained on her, she's solid enough to pin and crush. She's not as strong as him, and he's probably realized by now that she's not particularly well-versed in combat against someone who can defend himself. The light makes her squint and hiss and kick out wildly, but it's nowhere near the reaction the previous shade had to the enhanced laser on his rifle's scope.

She struggles, finds that she can't reach a part of him tender enough to make him let go. Her breathing becomes more rapid and panicky, her movements more clumsy as she seems to struggle to get enough oxygen. Gasping, she goes limp.

If he believes the act, she'll try to give him a faceful of claws the moment he moves either the light or his metal hand off of her.

He's not going to let go until he can't detect breathing, heartbeat, or muscle twitch for long enough that he's sure she's not coming back up. He's gonna keep crushing until his fist goes right through her. His aim here is not unconsciousness, or capture, it's death.

He's pretty sure Avatars like her are too dangerous to let live, and he's got no qualms about killing. Even if this is just a shade, it's one less shade that can hurt people.

The more diffuse light of the small flashlight isn't enough to render her completely solid. He's got her trapped, and it's clear when she gives up on the trick and starts struggling again that she's definitely in pain, but for the moment that's as far as he's getting. In this state her body compresses rather than cracking and breaking in response to the unrelenting pressure, ready to spring back into form (however painfully). He's going to need a brighter light like the enhanced bulb on the rifle scope if he wants to kill her without having to pin her like this until dawn. Meanwhile she is doing everything in her power to get free, kicking and spitting and squirming.

Well, this is annoying. Winter makes a noise like a growl in the back of his throat. He can't just wait and hold her forever; Yelena might need his help. And without the serum, he doesn't have inexhaustible reserves anymore.

He's going to have to take a chance if he wants to end this.

He lets go with the metal arm and grabs for the pistol inside his coat in one rapid movement, trying to keep the light on her to keep her in place and at least somewhat solid. Even if she starts to move, he moves with her, firing as soon as the gun is out and aimed in the right direction.

She takes the opening instantly, ducking away. This close, though, with the light still on her, it's impossible for her to be fast enough to avoid the point blank shot. She makes a punched-out little sound like she can't even draw breath to scream, staggering to the edge of the rooftop and dropping from there. Dribbles of black sand are left behind, but should he check later there won't be the telltale pool of sand to show that he'd killed her.

She's gone, and doesn't return to attack again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event - All In Your Head

cw semi-graphic description of death by shooting; discorporation; body horror

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw violence; attempts to injure; derogatory language

no subject

no subject

cw: violence, stabbing

cw:violence, stabbing-can adjust if I've misunderstood and Yelena already turned the flashlight on

Re: cw:violence - oops, that's what I get for rewriting five times, we'll say she was distracted

cw: violence - o7

cw: violence, gunshots

cw: violence, gunshots (sorry for the delay!)

cw: violence, gunshots, implied torture

gun violence

cw gun violence; sexual innuendo (lmk if he used the high power beam on his scope; can adjust)

no subject

no subject

cw attempted crushing

cw attempted crushing

Re: cw attempted crushing

cw attempted crushing

Re: cw attempted crushing

cw violence; serious injury