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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Neal makes a noise of alarm and protest, lifting a hand to put it on Winter’s arm in a staying motion and stopping himself in time. “Gently? Please. He doesn’t… he doesn’t know what he’s doing, I don’t think.”

The other two are getting tired of waiting. “Come on already, let’s go.”

Neal’s protest and the teenage complaint are both half-masked by the old man’s swearing. His swearing, and then Neal’s own shout of alarm as the guy pulls an old steak knife from some hidden place and tries to stab Winter in the arm with a feral noise.

"I'm not going to hurt--"

Oh, look, a knife. Good thing that's a metal arm, isn't it? The knife cuts through the fabric of his sleeve covering it, but merely clangs uselessly off of metal plates. Winter sighs.

"That was very stupid," he tells the old man. And then his free hand, his not-metal one, comes up to grasp his wrist and twist it to one side, not enough to break anything, but enough to make him drop the knife. "Now I have to take your knife away."

Neal very quickly ducks in to pick the knife up and back out of reach, so the man can't try and go for it.

The stranger snarls and tries to bite Winter's flesh-and-blood wrist, and Neal makes another noise of protest.

"Winter is trying to help, I promise you he is." He looks at the two teenagers. "Maybe go ahead of us. ...And hang on to this for him?"

He holds the knife out gingerly.

Well now Winter is just holding both the poor old man's arms fully extended to either side of him, so he can't actually reach his own wrist to bite. And even if he tries to bite for Winter's face, it's covered in a protective mask, so he'd just get a face-full of kevlar and plastic.

"Can I just knock him out?" he asks Neal as the kids grab the knife and hurry on ahead to the lighted building, because this is going to get very old very fast. "He's not going to listen to us until the magic lets go of him."

Neal winces preemptively. "That's probably a good idea," he says, needing to raise his voice slightly over the man's cursing.

They'll have someone to take a look at the guy when they get there.

With permission given, Winter gives the old man a rapid and professional headbutt, since that's his most available weapon right now, with both hands occupied and a face pretty might right in his. He doesn't expect the poor guy to stay standing after that, and is ready to catch him around the waist when he crumples.

"Lead the way inside," he says.

Neal winces. Again. Then leads the way obediently, glancing at the unconscious man before gesturing toward Winter's forehead.

"Didn't that hurt...?"

"Not when you do it right." Also he's had much, much worse. He heaves the old man up over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and starts following along after Neal. "I'm made for this. It's fine. He'll have a worse headache than me when he wakes up."

Neal gives him a curious look at that phrasing. "Made for it? Are you..."

How does one even ask something like this. "I have no idea any more if it's rude to ask someone about being vanilla-flavor human versus something or someone different."

"I am enhanced. And a cyborg." He sighs heavily, then adds, "I was enhanced. I am not here unless I frighten people by acting like a murder machine. And I am trying not to do that too much." Or at all. But today, he's had to, in order to intimidate people into complying with the rules to keep them safe. It's frustrating.

Neal grimaces. "Oh. Right. That."

The whole... Entity thing. They're approaching the church, thank god (no pun intended), and Neal goes to get the door for Winter because it's his automatic instinct to try and help. "What does that feel like? The..."

He holds the door open, trying to figure out how to phrase it. "What's it like to not have those enhancements? What does it feel like when you scare people and get them back?"

It doesn't occur to him that the questions are a wee bit intrusive.

"It hurts more when I don't have my strength." He has a lot of chronic pain from the metal arm, that the serum helps mitigate. "Everything feels a little muffled and dull, because I can't hear or see as clearly. So everything gets sharper and easier when I scare people." He ducks inside, and beelines for one of the cots set up along the far wall. "I'm getting used to it, though. It's worth it to keep the Fear Entites from hurting people. To keep them from winning."

Neal smiles slightly at that, determining right then not to be as unsettled by Winter's occasionally inhuman tendencies. He'll manage, too, he knows--once he decides how he plans to feel about a thing, most of the time he's good at feeling just that way.

"You're a good person," Neal says, helping Winter ease the old man down onto the cot.

"I'm not really a person," Winter counters, but without any heat or annoyance. It's just a statement of fact, as he sees it. He eases the old man down on the cot, and pulls back his eyelid to check if he hit him too hard. No sign of concussion. "Not yet, anyway. I'm still working on it. Once I work up to person. Then I'll figure out if I'm any good."

Neal, unlike many, won't argue that point. It took him long enough to figure himself out that he's not going to critique anyone else's approach or terminology. Still, he will add one thing.

"If there's one thing I've learned in the past ten years, it's that good is..." He frowns, trying to put the feeling into words. "Good isn't a thing you are or you aren't, I suppose. It's something you choose to be."

He tucks their unconscious charge in under the blanket gently, smiling a little, mostly in relief that the man is inside and quiet. The expression stays when he looks at Winter. "So once you figure out the person part, you can choose if that's something you want to be."

It's actually kind of nice not to be immediately told no, he's wrong, he is a person. It gets very tiring. The amount of congnitive dissonance he's dealing with makes talking about it stressful, sometimes. So a little bit of wariness regarding Neal leeches out of him.

"I hope I can be good," he admits, tucking his hands into his hoodie pockets. "In the end. Not sure if it's possible, I might be too broken. But I'm going to try."

“It is never too late to be what you might have been," Neal says, with the air of someone quoting a well-worn proverb.

Winter pauses and squints, trying to make sense of that. "I'm not going backwards," he grunts finally. He's not going to be what the before-HYDRA person might have been. He can't be. And he doesn't want to be. He's himself, whoever that turns out to be, dammit.

Neal almost laughs at that, but stops himself. "Poor choice of phrase. 'It's never too late to be something different than you are' might be better."

The man on the cot stirs, and Neal shifts his attention momentarily, trying to make him more comfortable.

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Event - All In Your Head

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neal's Adoption Instincts are tingling

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