Jacob Stone (
bookbrawler) wrote in
apocalypsehowcomm2021-08-04 08:50 pm
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LOG: It's a Seally Good Time
Who: Jacob Stone and you!
When: August
Where: Apartment A3, the General's Store, the Docks/Arcades
Summary: There's an angry seal in the middle of the living room, a saga in three parts. Exploring the town, plus dealing with the consequences of magic and entities
Warnings: Body horror, fear-feeding for the Eye with terror, paranoia/stalking, will update if necessary
A. Warranty Void if Seal is Broken - OTA and to anyone who pops by Apartment A3 -
So he'd managed to hang onto the seal skin. He's not Jones, he's not a thief (stealing artifacts is necessary in their world, okay), but he knows that if this gets confiscated he's probably never gonna get any answers. Besides, Cassie probably would like to get a good look at it, too. Just when he's done studying it. Admittedly he's kind of excited about it, even after the awful experience. It's a real selkie skin, from real selkies! He could learn a lot from this, even if he leaves the science stuff to Cassie...
He closes the door to his room and sets the seal skin out on his bed, and starts writing down the dimensions in a notebook, sketching it out on paper, and making general notes.
The skin starts to curl a bit and he wonders if maybe he should keep it wet, maybe. Will it decompose on its own or is it fueled by magic? His fingers brush the edge of it, smoothing it down, when suddenly it grapples over him, like a venus fly trap snatching up its prey.
"Wh--"
Is the only sound he manages to get out before the skin drags him back into itself, his body all twisted up to fit inside it and he makes a very undignified, high-pitched barking noise. The notebook and pencil tumble onto the floor and he sort of...rolls off the bed, landing with a thump on the ground.
He has to get out of here, find someone to cut him out of this thing and--
...he closed the door to his room, didn't he.
After a good, long, frustrating struggle he manages to open the door with his mouth and galumphs his way over to the living room in search of help.
One might find Jake literally perched on the couch, looking like the world's grumpiest seal. One might find him sprawled out on the floor, barking squeakily in some sort of indignation spiral. One might find Jake trying to sneak into the bathroom because he's supposed to be in the water, right?
He is a very smart Librarian, he swears.
B. The General's Store - OTA
Historian wants to check out a historical sight, news at 11. Jake finds his way over to the store, taking in the architecture and occasionally muttering something to himself about steep roofs and gables and Cape Cod versus Dutch colonial.
If you're unlucky enough to wander close enough to him, he might actually engage with you and start pointing up at the building.
"You know, this reminds me of the Aptucxet Trading Post? The Pilgrims built it to trade with the Wampanoag tribe and the Dutch. It's actually first permanent settlement on Cape Cod. 'Course the building itself isn't original, it's a replica built in the 30's. Did you know that--"
He'll probably keep talking if not gently directed to enter the store.
C. The Docks/Arcades - OTA
The touristy part of town is nice and Jake wanders down here, checking out the restaurants and the kitschy shops, looking to see if any local artists had a shop that he can chat with. And old-timey arcades! He loves those! He'll chatter excitedly to anyone about the history of skee ball and pinball and try out some machines for himself.
In the middle of walking down the docks, he stops in front of a shop with some sad-looking plants in cheap, gaudy painted pots. There are some drooping succulents and the world's saddest aloe vera plant, a rose bush's attempt to live without leaves or flowers, and a ficus bonsai that's barely clinging to life.
"Aw, man, don't--don't do that, does anybody know how to water their plants? Hello!?"
There's an itch in the back of his mind and the longer he stays here the more it's pissing him off. He can almost feel it, how close they are to death, and it's like he can feel how bad off they were. It reminds him entirely too much of being one with the Grandfather tree, when he could hear the voices of the forest. Is he using magic? He can't use magic here, but how can he stop this--
"Can I help you?" It's an older woman who approaches him, friendly and smiling, looking like someone's grandma, and the first thought he has is that strange, buzzing need to scare her, to feed off that fear and he must have looked like all the blood drained out of his face because she looks concerned, moving forward. "Are you all right, dear?"
"Your--you need to water..." he waves a hand at the sad plants almost frantically, backing up, running into another tourist and mumbling sorry as he hurries off into the crowd. He rubs his face, his fading connection to the plants seems to have only made him...hungrier. He can feel it, like a gnawing pit, though in his mind and not his stomach. No, he can't, he can't, it's just gonna feed it, and he can't be part of this.
He stumbles into another person, accidentally spilling the drink they were holding, too wrapped up in his own problems.
"I'm sorry--man, I'm so sorry--"
"Hey, wise guy, thanks a lot!" The dude shoves him, tossing the rest of the cup and its contents on him.
Damn.
Don't do it. Don't do it--
"You really think that's smart? I said I was sorry, and I was even gonna offer to give you a couple dollars for the drink but no, you just had to do somethin' about that, didn't you? I'd warn you about pissin' off strangers. You never know who they might be. They might just be angry enough to jump you when you least expect it. Days later. Could be when you're gettin' back in your car after a trip to the bank. Or maybe at the gas station, gettin' a cup of coffee."
"If somebody does that--if you do that, I'll knock you out!"
"Will you?" Jake says, in that strangely calm voice. "Are you that confident in your own fighting abilities?"
"Course I am! And I got my phone! I'll call the cops!"
"Mm, sure. Let's hope you're fast enough."
It's faint, very faint, but he can feel it. Fear, fueled by some paranoia. The man's too angry to think hard enough to be afraid, but it's there.
And it feels good.
It feels horrifying.
Jake freezes, then quickly turns around without another word.
D. Wildcard - Anything goes! Let me know at
indymica or PM!
When: August
Where: Apartment A3, the General's Store, the Docks/Arcades
Summary: There's an angry seal in the middle of the living room, a saga in three parts. Exploring the town, plus dealing with the consequences of magic and entities
Warnings: Body horror, fear-feeding for the Eye with terror, paranoia/stalking, will update if necessary
A. Warranty Void if Seal is Broken - OTA and to anyone who pops by Apartment A3 -
So he'd managed to hang onto the seal skin. He's not Jones, he's not a thief (stealing artifacts is necessary in their world, okay), but he knows that if this gets confiscated he's probably never gonna get any answers. Besides, Cassie probably would like to get a good look at it, too. Just when he's done studying it. Admittedly he's kind of excited about it, even after the awful experience. It's a real selkie skin, from real selkies! He could learn a lot from this, even if he leaves the science stuff to Cassie...
He closes the door to his room and sets the seal skin out on his bed, and starts writing down the dimensions in a notebook, sketching it out on paper, and making general notes.
The skin starts to curl a bit and he wonders if maybe he should keep it wet, maybe. Will it decompose on its own or is it fueled by magic? His fingers brush the edge of it, smoothing it down, when suddenly it grapples over him, like a venus fly trap snatching up its prey.
"Wh--"
Is the only sound he manages to get out before the skin drags him back into itself, his body all twisted up to fit inside it and he makes a very undignified, high-pitched barking noise. The notebook and pencil tumble onto the floor and he sort of...rolls off the bed, landing with a thump on the ground.
He has to get out of here, find someone to cut him out of this thing and--
...he closed the door to his room, didn't he.
After a good, long, frustrating struggle he manages to open the door with his mouth and galumphs his way over to the living room in search of help.
One might find Jake literally perched on the couch, looking like the world's grumpiest seal. One might find him sprawled out on the floor, barking squeakily in some sort of indignation spiral. One might find Jake trying to sneak into the bathroom because he's supposed to be in the water, right?
He is a very smart Librarian, he swears.
B. The General's Store - OTA
Historian wants to check out a historical sight, news at 11. Jake finds his way over to the store, taking in the architecture and occasionally muttering something to himself about steep roofs and gables and Cape Cod versus Dutch colonial.
If you're unlucky enough to wander close enough to him, he might actually engage with you and start pointing up at the building.
"You know, this reminds me of the Aptucxet Trading Post? The Pilgrims built it to trade with the Wampanoag tribe and the Dutch. It's actually first permanent settlement on Cape Cod. 'Course the building itself isn't original, it's a replica built in the 30's. Did you know that--"
He'll probably keep talking if not gently directed to enter the store.
C. The Docks/Arcades - OTA
The touristy part of town is nice and Jake wanders down here, checking out the restaurants and the kitschy shops, looking to see if any local artists had a shop that he can chat with. And old-timey arcades! He loves those! He'll chatter excitedly to anyone about the history of skee ball and pinball and try out some machines for himself.
In the middle of walking down the docks, he stops in front of a shop with some sad-looking plants in cheap, gaudy painted pots. There are some drooping succulents and the world's saddest aloe vera plant, a rose bush's attempt to live without leaves or flowers, and a ficus bonsai that's barely clinging to life.
"Aw, man, don't--don't do that, does anybody know how to water their plants? Hello!?"
There's an itch in the back of his mind and the longer he stays here the more it's pissing him off. He can almost feel it, how close they are to death, and it's like he can feel how bad off they were. It reminds him entirely too much of being one with the Grandfather tree, when he could hear the voices of the forest. Is he using magic? He can't use magic here, but how can he stop this--
"Can I help you?" It's an older woman who approaches him, friendly and smiling, looking like someone's grandma, and the first thought he has is that strange, buzzing need to scare her, to feed off that fear and he must have looked like all the blood drained out of his face because she looks concerned, moving forward. "Are you all right, dear?"
"Your--you need to water..." he waves a hand at the sad plants almost frantically, backing up, running into another tourist and mumbling sorry as he hurries off into the crowd. He rubs his face, his fading connection to the plants seems to have only made him...hungrier. He can feel it, like a gnawing pit, though in his mind and not his stomach. No, he can't, he can't, it's just gonna feed it, and he can't be part of this.
He stumbles into another person, accidentally spilling the drink they were holding, too wrapped up in his own problems.
"I'm sorry--man, I'm so sorry--"
"Hey, wise guy, thanks a lot!" The dude shoves him, tossing the rest of the cup and its contents on him.
Damn.
Don't do it. Don't do it--
"You really think that's smart? I said I was sorry, and I was even gonna offer to give you a couple dollars for the drink but no, you just had to do somethin' about that, didn't you? I'd warn you about pissin' off strangers. You never know who they might be. They might just be angry enough to jump you when you least expect it. Days later. Could be when you're gettin' back in your car after a trip to the bank. Or maybe at the gas station, gettin' a cup of coffee."
"If somebody does that--if you do that, I'll knock you out!"
"Will you?" Jake says, in that strangely calm voice. "Are you that confident in your own fighting abilities?"
"Course I am! And I got my phone! I'll call the cops!"
"Mm, sure. Let's hope you're fast enough."
It's faint, very faint, but he can feel it. Fear, fueled by some paranoia. The man's too angry to think hard enough to be afraid, but it's there.
And it feels good.
It feels horrifying.
Jake freezes, then quickly turns around without another word.
D. Wildcard - Anything goes! Let me know at
![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
B. but it was a hard choice to make over other options
He absolutely knew none of this. The information dump had come out of nowhere but, strangely enough, the stylishly dressed mafioso wasn't complaining. In fact, he seemed to be genuinely listening as he gazed up at the structure being talked about. Look more closely, however, and one might catch the twinkle of amusement in the Chinese man's eyes.
So this must be what it was like to go on one of those guided tours. He saw them marching through his turf back home all the time. They were common tourist attractions in Chinatown after all. The thought made his lips twitch in further amusement.
He glanced at the talking man, still going on about architecture and history and whatever else came up. Zhao wasn't interrupting.
How long could this guy go on?
A!
… but then there’s a repetition of noise. sounds like… someone banging against a door?
shiro’s got the middle room, wedged between keith and jacob, and while that can sometimes be less than ideal, he does appreciate how it makes it easier to discern what room sounds come from. so when a door opens down the hall, he has no question about who is moving about. except… instead of the familiar set of steps he’s come to know as jacob’s, there’s a rubbing? dragging? flopping?
frowning, shiro swings his legs off the side of his bed and stands up, simultaneously setting his phone down on the bedside table. the plan is to ask jacob what’s going on, maybe even offer his assistance if it’s needed. however, upon opening his door and finding a seal in the hall… ]
… You’re kidding me.
[ isn’t this seal business supposed to be behind them?? ]
( ooc; hope it's ok i do brackets hfkjhf it's just easier for me. we don't have to match tho!! )
Excellent choice
And he keeps going on. And on. And on.
And on.
"...yeah so the colony needed corn and beans from the Native Americans. But the trading post was kinda far from the colony itself, so there were people there the whole year running the post. A hurricane in 1635 wrecked one of the buildings there and the whole place was eventually deserted in..."
He takes a deep breath, realizing that he's been babbling on for some time.
"...I'm not boring you, am I?"
no subject
Uh.
This is embarrassing. If a seal can look embarrassed with big, giant, puppy-like seal eyes, then he does.
He lets out a whiny sort of bark and waves a flipper. So yes. This is happening. This is very much happening to him right now...
Hi?]
(OOC: It's no worries at all! I don't mind either way too so I can match!)
:'D
This guy had a lot of random facts stuck in that head of his. Zhao couldn't decide if that had use somehow or was just plain ridiculous. Only time would tell, he supposed. For now, it was crazy, scarily impressive.
"Nah, man. Eatin' it right up," he replied in a lazy drawl. His eyes sparkled again with that hint of mischief though, curious to see if the man would notice or just go right back into his spiel of useless information.
Apartment A3...
he opens the door, calling out: ]
Hey, I"m back.
[ force of habit, he doesn't necessarily expect anyone to answer. but then he looks over towards the common space area and finds himself staring at a goddamn seal plopped on the couch like that is a perfectly normal place for seals to be. keith blinks. stares. and then immediately starts to walk back out of the apartment. must've somehow gotten into the wrong one.. ]
no subject
Jacob. [ tone flat, shiro sounds about as done as he looks. ]
Why would you keep one of those… [ right. seal. he shouldn’t be asking questions that require more than a head bobble or shake. still, it’s alarming that one of those hollowed out skins could activate without kelpie interference.
… he’s assuming there aren’t any kelpies here. couldn’t be. though, give him a moment to stare down the hall and strain his hearing for any tells. no, okay, nothing seems amiss… other than their apartment turning into a knock-off sea world. he huffs and cross his arms over his chest, once again staring down at those big, black eyes. ]
You probably want me to cut you out, huh?
B
Explain what a Pilgrim is.
C
His attention is caught by the angry man, first, the fear flickering through him, but hardly noteworthy.
But the other man, when he hurries away. Oh, he can't help but look, and maybe it's because he is hungry. and misses the glut of his apocalypse... He stares, the Eye staring through him, and he finds himself following a little way behind.]
B - The General's Store
no subject
Yeah.
Yeah this is your apartment, man, and there's a damn seal sitting on the couch.
It sucks here.
Jake barks, once, and it even somehow manages to sound annoyed.]
no subject
Well, there's different kinds of Pilgrims. Pilgrim usually means a traveler to a holy place, or a person making a 'pilgrimage,' which is a spiritual journey to a place in which people learn something significant about themselves, or their morals or faith. In this context, here, we're talking about the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, who were English settlers.
no subject
He finally stops near the end of the shops, where the crowd thins out, and leans against a set of wooden railings looking out over the water, looking out over it.
It's fine. He's fine. He's not fine.
His hands are shaking.]
no subject
He might be just a little bit overly invested in architectural historical accuracy and he snaps his fingers, pointing at the General's store.
"Man, if I could just...bring my papers and journals and books over to this world I would have loved to get your opinion on 'em. See if we got it right."
no subject
"I am boring you. No, what I should have done was asked if you had any questions."
He still sounds so eager about it, though.
"Do you have any questions about...this stuff?"
no subject
He lets out a sad-sounding honk and nods up and down.
Yeah? Please, please, please get him out of this thing!]
no subject
"You're really into this, huh? What made you want to learn all this stuff? Did you just pick it up along the way or was it something like school or work related?"
It was...a lot of information. That seemed completely random to know, too. Zhao had to imagine there was a reason behind it unless the guy was some sort of savant. Or just really bored one day. Who knew.
"I'm not that knowledgeable in American architecture or history to be perfectly honest. Not from around here. Wakatta ka?" Said in the lazy tone of 'ya know?' and fully not expecting anything from it.
no subject
… he just won’t do it right now. ]
I’ll cut you out later.
[ here, have one last judgmental look and then shiro turns away, heading down the hall toward the common area. maybe some mind-numbing television will serve as a good distraction. ]
Once you’ve properly learned your lesson. [ listen. it’s important seal-man learns not to bring questionable or dangerous things into their home. ]
no subject
with all hope for total reprieve from seal hell fading, keith steps back into the apartment and deep sighs. so it's either shiro or jacob, huh? unless the seals have figured out how to teleport -- who the hell even knows with this reality anymore.
coming closer to the couch, keith looks from the seal to the tv back to the seal. ]
You uh.. hanging out on the couch cuz you were gonna watch some TV?
no subject
Did he just--
--did he just say I'll cut you out later!?
Jake stares in incredulity and lets out another annoyed-sounding honk, this time a bit more desperately.
Wait--come back--dude, c'mon, this isn't--hey!
He starts trying to move down the hallway, pulling himself awkwardly and barking.
Learned his lesson!? Are you kidding him?]
no subject
Yeah, kinda.
He lets out an annoyed-sounding honk and shrugs. Well, it's not really a shrug, he doesn't exactly have the proper shoulders for that but he moves his flippers in a kind of shrug-like fashion, so...]
no subject
"Yeah, you could say that. History, art, architecture, all of that is my jam." He rubs the back of his head. "Sort of. Read books about it all the time when I was a kid." Reading college-level texts as a little kid, that kind of thing. "The job I have now--" Or at least back home. "--it's definitely work related, but I learned most of this on my own."
"Man, I could tell you everythin' you were ever curious about," he says brightly. "I learned a ton of languages, too. Taught myself Ancient Greek, Latin, the works. Plus modern languages. I can speak Japanese, if you'd like? Wakarimasu!"
His accent is well, not the greatest, his Oklahoma twang still very evident, but he sounds eager enough.
no subject
Okay. Do you like being a seal or do you need an extraction?
[ he does happen to have a knife on his person, so... easy enough. ]
c!
So Jeff definitely saw that altercation play out. And he's probably hanging a little too close to the almost-fight, because as soon as Jake turns around, he nearly bumps right into Jeff.
But, hey, at least Jeff's too much of a pacifist to want to throw down over a minor accident. He just holds his hands up in surrender and steps out of the way, because he does not want to be the next person on the receiving end of that really creepy, really intense threat.
As Jake leaves, though, Jeff's following after him like a lanky, uninvited shadow. He pushes his sunglasses (mint green, seashell frames, almost certainly lifted from one of the kitschy tourist shops nearby) up into his hair as he starts to match the other man's pace.
"Are you okay, man? What the hell was that?" A beat, then it comes to him, and he excitedly adds, "Are you, like, a secret agent? Or a fucking hitman or something?!"
no subject
oh lawd he comin’.
shiro will just be snatching up the television remote and thumbing the power. going to increase the volume by ten too. ]
Bark all you want -- [ sits down on the couch. ] -- I’m not cutting you out right now.
[ but please, don’t actually bark. he doesn’t want a volume war. ]
no subject
He lets out a long, mournful honk that sounds a little spicy, if seals curse that was probably a real good one.
You're not gonna cut him out? All right then. He lumbers over to the middle of the room and plops down on the floor somewhere in front of the TV.
And stares.
With his big, sad, seal eyes.
Just gonna stare at you, bro.]
no subject
He was hoping, desperately, that someone didn't see that...altercation but apparently he wasn't lucky enough to escape unscathed.
"What?"
Who was this guy? This kid, with really bad sunglasses?
"That wasn't anythin'," he mutters, trying to walk faster. "Whatever you saw, it was an accident."
Wait--
"A hitman? You think a hitman would announce a hit? Man, if I was a hitman he'd never see it coming."
Being more menacing is probably...not the greatest course of action here, so he backtracks.
"But I'm not a hitman. I'm just saying, that would be...uh. Smarter."
no subject
Like being a seal!? Are you kidding him?
He waves his flippers up and down and nods, making more rude barking noises. Hurry up, man, this sucks!]
no subject
… those eyes though. don’t make direct eye contact. don’t make direct eye contact. don’t make -- ah, fuck.
shiro recoils with a wrinkle of his nose and a tight press of his mouth, leaning as far back as he can into the couch cushion. harassing your roommate is not conducive to “learning your lesson”, jake. but fine. if a staring contest is the name of the game, then shiro can win this.
… okay, that blink didn’t count. and the one nine seconds later doesn’t count either. okay, cutting his losses and grabbing the throw-pillow at the other end of the couch. fitting name btw. ]
I will throw this at you.
no subject
Jeff leans in a little, peering at Jake as if he's trying to discern some great truth about him.
"Uhhhh huh..." That absolutely sounds like something a hitman would say. "Not a hitman." Jeff winks at him, grinning. "Right."
Okay, okay, he doesn't really think Jake's a hired killer. Jeff's only messing with him a little.
"But, uh. That was really intense for 'nothing', dude." Jeff tilts his head, lifting his brows at Jake curiously. What gives, man?
no subject
Okay.
[ it's not okay in the slightest, but he reaches behind him to hold out his knife. ]
Not on the couch. We're not gonna be able to use it afterwards. We're doing this in your bathroom.
[ so lead the way??? ]
no subject
He approaches the man slowly, leans against the railing, feels a flicker of himself and tries to breathe through it.
Don't do this, don't let it start again, but god, he's so hungry. He misses the apocalypse and hates himself for missing it.]
You look... afraid. You look afraid.
no subject
Yeah, you could say that.
[Jake mutters, turning from his view of the water over to Jon.]
I'll be all right, though.
[He's not so sure about that, either, but he offers a wan smile, all the same.]
no subject
He insists.
Jake tilts his head, perhaps in an attempt to say would you really do that to him, an innocent seal, and only increase the sadness in his eyes to potentially dangerous levels?
Or maybe he just wants to get into a fight cause he's bored and this sucks.
He barks, once and crisply.
Bring it, man. He can take on anything, even as a seal.]
no subject
He pauses at the knife--it's what he needs to do, but it's also horrifying that he's gonna have to go through that, again. Why do these things happen to him when he's breaking rules and trying to figure out how magic stuff works? Why can't these ever go right? He should have taken his own advice in the first place and left well enough alone.
Jake gives a sort of sad little bleat and starts lumbering towards the bathroom.]
no subject
...which is also probably what a hitman would say.
"It was just..."
What was it just? A bad day?
"I shouldn't have done that. I scared him--I mean, not badly, but I..." he shakes his head. "...wanted to scare him."
no subject
Are you sure? Do you want a rink or something? I have a bottle of water in my bag.
no subject
No. Jeff's pretty sure that's not the reason. The truth is, he's familiar with the impulse. It's always there, faintly, in the back of his mind, like white noise. He can tune it out most of the time, but once he notices it, once he acknowledges it, it's like the volume goes way up and it takes everything to try to ignore it and shove it back down.
His fingers twitch a little, and he wrings his hand in the fabric of his t-shirt.
"It's like... an itch you needed to scratch, right?"
no subject
That's exactly it. That's exactly it, put into words right there in front of him, and Jake's eyes widen.
He knows, and Jake realizes that it must be happening to him, too.
He needs to say no, he needs to get out of here, but this is a thing that's happening and someone knows what it's like.
"Yeah. That's right." And it feels so much better once you scratch.
no subject
[There's something a little more friendly on Jake's face, after that. The random kindness of strangers is always nice to see.]
It's very kind of you, man. Thanks. I'm Jake, by the way.
no subject
no subject
Are you sure you don't want to sit down?
no subject
so. place your bets everybody: shiro versus a seal. ding ding.
wielding the pillow in one hand, corner tightly clasped, shiro huffs and very maturely, whips it ‘round, flinging it right at those damn eyes. ]
no subject
.... yeah, that's about how I feel, buddy.
[ keith follows along behind, taking the lead only to open the doors to clear the path. once they make it to the bathroom, he takes a deep breath. knowing that it's just a seal skin is at least some small measure of comfort, but this whole thing remains pretty uncomfortable.
he gives the seal a firm look. ]
This is the last time I'm cutting you out of your seal cosplay, got it? Never again.
no subject
"Sokka..." After a moment of contemplation, Zhao did in fact switch over to Japanese. Even an American accented Japanese was better than none at all. "I'd like that. I have the feeling I won't be hearing or speaking much of my native language around here."
He smiled and nodded appreciatively. "So you found a job that managed to make use of all your favorite hobby material, eh? That must be nice. What are you some kind of teacher or librarian?"