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

[cacophonish]

Martin speaks up, and he does get his verbal poison out, but he's going to have to compete with a sudden influx of static, like somebody's changing some cosmic radio station. White noise fills the air as Jeff innocently takes a sip of coffee.

And just as abruptly, the static goes out as soon as Jeff speaks again, his voice coming through crystal clear.

"Maybe. But I guess dreams are real in their own way, right?" He smiles, as if in response to a private joke, and crooks a finger. "And they're just a left turn away from delusion. This way madness lies," he adds in a sweet, sing-song voice.

[abrightboy]

"I suffer from both."

Dreams and delusions. But he's not sure this is 100% either.

"And madness, it's been argued."

[cacophonish]

"Me too," he concedes, lifting his cup to his lips, smiling over the rim, at Malcolm. "It's okay. I like that about you."

He means it. It's one of the few truly honest, truly sincere things he's said, since waltzing into Malcolm's nightmare.

[abrightboy]

"That's not the popular opinion," Malcolm concedes. He watches Jeff for a moment. "You hurt Tim when you left. Have you seen him yet?"

[cacophonish]

For the first time, maybe, there's a flicker of something truly human in Jeff. All the guilt and regret, the soft-spoken, uncertain, broken vulnerability that tormented him, and drove him to a dark stage in an empty club...

In that moment, there might even be a flash of Jeff looking very different, haunted and pale, blood soaking through his shirt, droplets swirling lazily in the air, as if the laws of gravity don't apply...

It's a blink-and-you'll-miss it moment. There and gone so quickly, it could be chalked up to Malcolm's imagination.

Then he's back to that carefree, cheerful (not quite right) Jeff.

"Not yet. I'll see him."

That's a promise.

[abrightboy]

"Are you breaking up with him?" Malcolm asks grimly.

[cacophonish]

"No," he answers honestly. "I like Tim."

Then, still honestly: "I didn't mean to hurt him."

I was so scared. He almost says it, but... it doesn't feel right. It feels like something somebody else would say, or... or like it happened to somebody else. He lets the confession die before it ever leaves his tongue.

Jeff grins, suddenly perky. "I'll let him punch me, and everything'll be fine."

[abrightboy]

"You know, you could try kissing him to make everything fine. It might be good for both of you to try Not Violence to resolve relationship issues," Malcolm suggests.

[cacophonish]

"Awww, c'mon, Malcolm." He tilts his head, and there's a playful laugh in his voice. "When have we ever tried to do things the good, healthy, totally mature way?"

Then, finally, his gaze flickers over to the window, as if for the first time.

"Who's that old man outside?" He frowns. "He seems... kinda sad. Pitiful, you know?"

[abrightboy]

"I just think..."

He frowns at Jeff's suggestion and looks out the window. Martin Whitly's features are contorted in rage.

"That's my dad." He looks at Jeff. "You shouldn't go out there."

[cacophonish]

"Oh. That's your dad?" He seems to look Martin up and down, as if really studying him, taking him in. "I thought he'd look... more impressive." Jeff touches his fingers to the glass, tapping, like he's taunting an animal at the zoo. "The big bad Surgeon... Kind of a disappointment."

[abrightboy]

"Come on out here," Martin tells him. "Let me disappoint you face to face."

cw tooth loss

[cacophonish]

Jeff can hear Martin, but all the same, he cups a hand to his ear and mouths at the window, "What?"

Then he turns to Malcolm again and leans in.

"Poor guy. I don't think he's realized it yet." He sneaks a glance back at Martin. There's a wildness in Jeff's eyes that was never there before, when he was still so... fragile. "Just how harmless he is. All that snarling is just kinda... toothless."

As if on cue, Martin may notice a few molars in the back of his mouth feeling loose, like they've just detached from their roots in a clean break. It's fine, he's not hurting anyone. It's not like Martin's real.

It feels like almost a waste, doing this to a figment. But he's curious to see how Malcolm will react, more than anything. After all, this vision of his father is an extension of him, in a way. Some ghoul from his subconscious.

[abrightboy]

Martin starts spitting out teeth and Malcolm looks at him oddly and then, after a moment, with some horror.

"Dad, what..."

Suddenly Martin turns into a serpent and it starts butting its head against the glass, trying to break through. Malcolm stumbles backwards.

[cacophonish]

Jeff gets up, too, letting out a delighted, startled laugh. Dreams really are so illuminating.

"So that's how you see him, huh?" He puts his hand on the window, where the serpent strikes and bashes against the glass. "Just a biiiiig, nasty snake."

[abrightboy]

"I've never seen him like this before." He's monster enough on his own. Malcolm looks at Jeff. "Are you doing this?"

[cacophonish]

"What makes you say that?" Jeff backs away from the window, and then he turns his back to it and starts walking. The coffee shop seems to stretch out with every step, getting longer, and longer, so they don't come to the end of it...

There are trees inside the shop. Just a few, but more appear as he walks (expecting Malcolm to follow), until the coffee shop is indistinguishable from... Dogtown, actually.

"How can I do anything? I'm fucking helpless."

[abrightboy]

"That's never been true," Malcolm says, watching him sidelong but carefully as they walk.

[cacophonish]

"You didn't answer my question," he points out. There's no venom or accusation in his observation; it's playful, more than anything else.

[abrightboy]

“What makes me think you did it?” Malcolm looks around. “You’re the only other person that’s really here, aren’t you?”

[cacophonish]

"I mean..." Jeff turns on his heel, so he's walking backwards, facing Malcolm as he heads further into the woods. He shrugs. "That's debatable. Maybe I'm just another character pulled out of your dreamy head." He cocks his head in the general direction of the cafe they've left behind. "Just like your dad."

He hums, clasps his hands behind his back, and turns again, his back to Malcolm, still walking.

"Maybe the real Jeff's dead in a ditch somewhere. Long time coming, right?"

He looks over his shoulder and shoots Malcolm a wink.

"Don't feel guilty. You couldn't have stopped it."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm shakes his head.

“No. If I were imagining you, you would have already talked to Tim.”

[cacophonish]

He makes a thoughtful noise, then laughs. "So you like to imagine me as, hm... a better person."

Should he feel insulted?

[abrightboy]

“You’re a good person. I just like imagining you make choices that are better for you,” Malcolm corrects.

[cacophonish]

"I'm gonna see him. Don't worry," Jeff assures him. He doesn't miss a step, though, and keeps on walking, until they come to a clearing. There's a rabbit hole out here, but look inside, and it seems to go on forever. There's nothing in there, aside from the emptiness.

Jeff flops down on the grass and pats the spot beside him.

"You wanted to know where I was hanging out, right? Here we are."