Event - Appalachia: Remember Basic Safety

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Appalachia: Remember Basic Safety

➥ Going on a Bear Hunt

(cw: animal attack, violence associated with monstrous animals, mauling, potential for severe injury, including lacerations from fangs and claws, and broken bones)

It's not just one White Thing or a few of them, it seems. No. With the number of potential victims on the rise, the pack seems to have expanded to match their new, fear-rich quarries: the visitors to Wolf Pen. Sheriff Ron Porter is able to provide local knowledge that gets everyone to some general spots that are likely to be day-time denning locations for the White Things. There are numerous nooks and crannies to check within a large patch of forest near Silver Lake, and each might require different tactics… or not, depending on the people who decide to take on the task of re-entering the woods to dispatch the beasts.

Some of the dens have an easy enough entry point, while others might call for dropping in from above, and there are even a few that lurk beneath waterfalls in some of the creeks in the area. Those investigating the creek-based dens may find entry especially unpleasant as they'll have to take a dousing to do it. The ground is also slick with scum and liable to trip up the unwary. There's no telling if this is more polluted water, but it certainly doesn't smell great.

Wherever the dens are found, they contain two to four slumbering White Things along with a few carcasses, but much less than you might expect for beasts this large. Some of the carcasses do look human, though, and later analysis might find they belong to a variety of people who have gone missing… even one native ADI employee.

Those who choose stealth may be able to slay the creatures before they can even wake. During the day, they seem to have no more supernatural protection than the standard wild animal. But if one wakes? If one wakes, it will scream. A shrill and human-sounding noise that wakes all others in the den and maybe even some from the surrounding dens. The White Things are less coordinated, but no less savage when woken, seeming to be able to read the minds of their fellows to attempt to outmaneuver those breaking into their dens. They will bite and rip, attempting to slam characters against walls in confined spaces or against the ground or trees if moving outside the dens. To those who might feed on such things, it may be clear that there is fear here, a significant amount from the White Things, themselves. They were clearly not expecting this retaliation, and those left on their own may attempt to flee into the woods, rather than face enemies on their own.

Run, rabbit… Run.

➥ Odds and Ends

(cw: fire, including the potential for severe burns and environmental damage; mind control; severe pollution)

Aside from the looming ritual and the danger in the woods, ADI has deemed a variety of other ongoing issues around Wolf Pen worth at least attempting to resolve during everyone's remaining time here. Characters will have support from ADI in the form of whatever equipment was brought from home as well as a small amount of funding for buying whatever else is needed. Based on investigations and suggestions from the off-world agents, work may include…

• Cleaning up the Town Dump: …Or at least neutralizing the danger it poses to the unwary. Under the guise of an environmental volunteer group, ADI employees have unfettered access and a modicum of authority, at least for now. It's a flimsy ruse put together on the fly and it won't hold up to close examination, but fortunately anyone who shows up to the dump looking at least somewhat official likely won't be asked too many questions (plus it's not as though the sheriff is going to investigate them for it). What they'll actually do about the dump…well, that's still slightly up in the air. One avenue might be to appeal to the EPA for a landfill cleanup grant, though that's a solution that won't come to fruition until long after ADI leaves Wolf Pen, if at all. Another approach might entail mass destruction… though, ADI is officially less keen on the "light it on fire" approach for what should be obvious reasons. Still, if there's a plan in place to contain the blaze, they might look the other way if anyone should requisition accelerants.
• Unraveling the Woven Isle: How is a goat like a flamethrower? They're both finalist suggestions regarding how to put an end to the macabre puppet shows on the Woven Isle, and it turns out both are legal in West Virginia. Best not to use both at the same time, though! Also, that flamethrower is a rental and ADI will deduct it from your pay if it goes missing. The previous challenges of Woven Isle are still in play: set foot on the island alongside another person, and the vines will snare and puppet the both of you, impervious against damage. Light the vines on fire from a short distance away, though, and they're not quite so fireproof when they aren't in control of the situation. Watch out, though, for kudzu sneaking its way through the water to wrap around ankles and force its attackers to attack one another. Maybe the goats were a better idea? Except there's the matter of getting the goats to the island. It's hard enough to tote a goat onto a boat even before you try to float the goat boat to the other side of a moat. Good luck!
• Testing the Waters, literally. Scientifically-minded (or at least methodical) characters may find themselves recruited and issued suitable PPE for a mission to sample and test the contaminated water of Silver Lake. Caution is advised, as the purpose is to discover whether any aspect of the poison is supernatural–and because even non-supernatural runoff from a mine can wreak havoc on a human body. Back at the lab, the samples will be subjected to a variety of tests, some scientific in nature, others perhaps a little weirder (ever watch a literal glass of water on CCTV for hours on end to see if it does anything unnatural? Now's your chance!).
• Bringing a Family Home - It will take a lot of legwork and negotiations, but thanks to the contacts they've made, characters will be able to bring Ruth, Robin, and Noah back from Plessy's Holler and set them up with a home in town. The first step is finding a property with an owner willing to sell at a low price for a good cause. The next step is, unfortunately, making that property livable–the house they'll be able to secure on behalf of the family has seen better days, to say the least. This is a project beyond the scope of ADI's visit, but they'll at least be able to enlist help and get the ball rolling. Roll up your shirtsleeves and hit the local hardware store. At least the community seems willing to pitch in, bringing supplies, food, and their own skills once they've been told what's happening.
• Launching a Political Career for Cindy Parsons…if they'll agree to it. ADI higher-ups are still more than a little reluctant to bring the newscaster on board, and the hope is that aiding them in ousting Mayor Greg Campbell will distract Cindy from the supernatural goings-on in Wolf Pen and empower them to focus on helping their community. They're easy enough to find, lurking about the Howling Moon Inn, peering into windows and hiding in bushes. Intrepid reporter Cindy is out for a story, their phone in hand, ready to film anyone they can spot, and maybe catch enough for a soundbite. Try to ice them out? They'll see about that.

➥ Bait and Switch

(cw: severe pollution)

A plan to stop the ritual is in place: dead fish. LOTS of dead fish.

Of course, there are also a lot of logistics that need to go into pulling off a disruption like this. Not the least of which is actually GETTING the fish in the first place. It’s absolutely not the sexiest or the most appealing part of the operation, but someone(s) has got to do it. Gloves and masks and maybe even shifts will be necessary to collect everything. Hopefully everyone has a really strong stomach. But it’s the least dangerous part of the job!

Then there’s the issue of exactly how to transport that much awful smelling cargo without anyone asking any questions. What’s being used? What’s the cover story (if there’s a cover story)? These are questions that need an answer before the plan can move forward. Outside help can be recruited around town, depending on the explanation.

Finally, there’s the actual infiltration of the Bluestone and Keppler mines and the planting of the fish. Timing matters, and so does location. Dumping the fish into the Cathedral itself might be a little too obvious and certainly difficult, but it’s not out of the question. There are also the tunnels that lead to the main event space, whose multitude make them much harder to police. Keppler, being a working mine, is impossible to sneak into now that everyone is on high alert for “OSHA” personnel, which means either traversing the tunnels that have been made to link the two mines together or coming up with some other kind of bluff. After all that, there’s nothing left to do but to distribute the stinky surprise and hope that it wrecks the appropriate havoc.

➥ Ritual of the Black Seal

(cw: emetophobia/gagging/vomiting, elevator disaster, death, severe burns to the face, monsters in the dark, claustrophobia, physical violence and potential for severe injury, in general)

The stench from the mines forces everyone out, many gagging, some outright throwing up not far from the entrance. Todd and other workers at the Bluestone Mine hurry out after them, trying to reassure, trying to keep them there with promises that they'll fix this. They just need a little time to find what the source is. Children are crying, people are getting angry. There had already been a sudden change with the bluegrass band canceling without warning, and now this? A few note they'd heard about the potential for a smaller concert in town from a few local bands, and people start moving away. The longer the delay, the thinner the crowd. Todd begins to sweat profusely, but all employee's doggedly try to hold the crowd's attention with basic party games and Interesting Mine Facts that fall progressively more and more flat.

Katie Dunn
Harlow and the Undertones may not be real musicians, but they certainly sang when ADI scooped them up in the night. There's a hidey hole deep in the Keppler Mine where they were meant to ride out the "fireworks" in safety–or is it in the Bluestone Mine? Perhaps it's either or both, now that the two mines are connected by a branching network of tunnels carved or clawed through the rock. It's there that Katie Dunn began her evening, but by the time anyone finds that little cavern she and Deepthi are gone from it, leaving only a couple of camping cots and other meager creature comforts as evidence it had been recently occupied.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The shadows are deep and wrathful, strings of lights flickering in Katie's wake. In all of her wakes. She's on the prowl, splitting into many once more so she can go looking down tunnels for the saboteurs responsible for the stench that forces her to cover her nose with her shirt in a failing attempt to block it out. She may not have been the one who made these tunnels, but she knows them well and she is powerful here, where the sun has never shone.

She's out for blood and she can appear and disappear in any shadow. The safety lights remain on for now, but…well, that may not remain the case if one of her reaches the breaker. ADI may have shut down the party, but the night is still young and they can always make it up to her by taking the partygoers' places.

Deepthi Anand
Below the Cathedral, below the stench (but not that far below), in the middle of a warren of tunnels and surrounded by rock: there’s still a threat. The party may be a disaster, but the explosives that have gone missing from Keppler Mines are still - presumably - a danger. So is the woman who lurks there. Someone needs to ensure that their plans don’t go even further awry by the removal of the explosives.

The ways into the cavern below are fewer than before, for anyone who goes looking, but they still exist. It’s hard-going in every sense. The shafts that lead there are narrow and rough. Single-file is the only way to go, which presents the issue of a potential bottleneck once the chamber is reached: one at a time out of one hole might not be the best plan of attack, if that attack might be anticipated. And the weight. Each step forward comes with the awareness of what you move through. Tons and tons and tons of rock, pressing in around you (is the tunnel getting narrower, will it get narrower?) The warrens of tunnels. More than that: is it too much? Is it too tiring, working against such powerful forces? A bone-deep tiredness seems to settle over anyone who presses forwards.

Despite all that, the cavern can be reached. Where it once was empty, there are now piles of explosives heaped around it, mostly oriented in front of the openings. In the middle of that, there’s a woman. When the first person steps - or crawls - into the chamber, she doesn’t react immediately. Even in the low light, her expression can be made out as steady. Unworried but also contemptuous.

It’s only after a moment that she sweeps her hand up to send a spike of rock erupting out of the ground near the feet of the intruder. And then the next. Attacks from multiple sides seem to be more effective - Deepthi can’t focus her attention everywhere at once - but her powers seem to be almost effortless. And that heavy weight on her attackers remains.

Maybe if she can be drawn or forced out of the seat of her power…

Jimmy Bryant
Fish. Fucking fish. The man calling himself Jimmy Bryant is seething, boiling with rage, when he reports to the Keppler Mine after the disastrous escape of so many people from the Bluestone Mine. Todd is out entertaining the crowds, but there is still an opportunity here. They'd planned for a little 'apocalypse disruption initiative,' hadn't they? But given ADI's previous tactics, their known willingness to cause destruction and even death on their own terms, fish had been low on the list of expected options.

There's time to salvage this. There are plenty of terrified men at Keppler, ones already ground into the earth they make their living from. He'd made the call as soon as it had become apparent things were going wrong. Everyone was required to show up to the mine. Call up the boys outside their work shift. This party business is just draining their money with the tourists slipping away. Put the men to work.

Carls Watts said jump, and everyone asked how fucking high. Unfortunately, Carl Watts would just cause confusion showing up at the Keppler Mine. So, here is earnest Jimmy Bryant, arriving fashionably late for work and finding many miners milling at the entrance to the mine. Anyone here to see what's going on from ADI will have an easy time of stealthing their way into the crowd. Ethan Boss is there, too, looking warily into the dimness of the mines he supposedly runs. Useless bastard. Or mostly useless. It looks like the last of the miners are queuing up, heading down in the rickety elevator in spite of a distinctly fishy smell wafting up from below. There must be at least a hundred men down in that mine already. Maybe not all that he'd hoped for, but enough. They had to be enough for this. Too much work had gone into setting it up with Anand and Dunn.

It's as he's tampering with the mechanisms next to the elevator that there's a sharp, "Hey!" from Boss. "What the hell are you doing? Trying to break the elevator? Get outta there, you."

Which is the point that Jimmy notices not all of these people are familiar faces. Or not the kind of familiar he wants. He doesn't reply to Boss verbally, just smiles, and then punches him in the face. Sort of. His fist spreads across Boss' mouth as the man tries to pull away, screaming, the hot wax trying to force its way past his teeth and down his throat. Jimmy's other hand stretches unnaturally, and wraps around a cable, sending the lift and everyone in it plunging to the depths as it snaps for the heat. Screeching metal and men and a resounding crash.

The remaining miners seem divided, some fleeing and others grabbing whatever weapons they can to hand. "Y'all are a right thorn in my side," the molten man says, face melting and reforming into a generic white man that some might recognize from the news.

➥ And In the End

(cw: existential dread, economic hardship)

In the end, Carl Watts vanishes, seemingly without a trace. Some miners claim he transformed into lava and flowed back into the mine, others say he just ran off in shame when his big party failed thanks to someone's fish prank. What's clear, though, is that the mining mogul is nowhere to be found. And it's in the week following his disappearance that everything changes. In the blink of an eye, the money funding FYRE, all of its liquid assets, seems to vanish into thin air. 'Too heavily invested in the cryptocurrency market,' some will say. There are reasonable explanations, but while some of that money might find its way somewhere else thanks to ADI's meddling, the majority of it really does seem to be lost to the ether. And with it… jobs. So, so many jobs.

Work is halted at the Keppler Mine, as much out of respect for those injured and killed, as because corporate tells them no one is getting paid. FYRE is declaring bankruptcy. All across Appalachia, the mines close, people are sent home, and the future is a frightening and uncertain thing, too vast to fully wrap the arms around. Without FYRE, the field is wide open… and sometimes, that can be more terrifying than anything else.

In Wolf Pen, there are few pleased by the developments, but most think someone will come in to sweep up FYRE's assets. Maybe it will be a better company, but few are holding their breaths as they dig into their meager savings and just try to scrape by.

ADI isn't here for much longer–there's news of trouble back at Gloucester now to tend to–but those hoping to check in once more with those they've met or just have a farewell drink at the pub will be able to find what they want. The Blue Dog Pub is even sponsoring a farewell karaoke night with discounted drinks and a sound system that's likely to spill outside and into the streets. It's a wake for those who have been lost and a farewell to the owner and the pub itself. They'll be moving on to Beckley where they think they'll find more stability. Wolf Pen isn't a place they can rely on anymore, much as they might love it. Come drink and be… melancholy. Take one of the photos of the dogs of Wolf Pen down from the walls to take home with you. There's a tomorrow coming, thanks to ADI's efforts, but whether it's a bright one? Well… the rain comes and it goes.

And there's always a storm brewing on the horizon if you look out far enough.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play 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 prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. Please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• GOING ON A BEAR HUNT (15-30 June) - Characters will be briefed by Sheriff Ron ahead of time on the White Things and where they could be found denning… according to the stories he knows and his own experiences. All characters going out with Ron to take on the White Things will be provided with a weapon by ADI, whether that's a gun (for those who have the experience to use it) or some other common modern weapon. ADI personnel will strongly discourage anyone who isn't an experienced fighter from taking part in this mission. While the White Things lack a human level of intelligence, they display the same level of intelligence as pack-based animals that have clearly worked together a lot. Lone White Things would also rather flee toward others of their kind or away all together than face down more than one character on their own. White Things that are killed in daytime will crumble away to dust, but will not return again. On the flip side, injuries the White Things inflict in daytime are real and leave real wounds. Attempts to collect tissue samples from the White Things will result in those samples disappearing before much useful can be done with them.
  
  
• ODDS AND ENDS (15-30 June) - Characters interested in stopping the town dump from eating people are free to try a variety of methods. This could be as mundane as navigating federal grant applications for an incineration system, as wild as literally setting the whole dump on fire (though there will be fallout if they do so), or anything in between. At the Woven Isle, characters may come supplied with flamethrowers, or they may requisition funding to go buy some goats. Goats are immune to the machinations of the Woven Isle. Unfortunately, goats are also immune to commands and/or pleading from anyone trying to get them to cooperate with the process of getting them to the island. Characters who test the contaminated water will discover that the poison in the water is entirely mundane, the result of indiscriminate dumping of waste material from the Keppler Mine. The housing project for the family that had been living at Plessy's Holler can entail identifying the property, hands-on work in home repair, and enlisting (unnamed) NPCs to assist.
  
  
• BAIT AND SWITCH (15-30 June) - Unnamed NPCs from around town can be recruited to help with all aspects of the plan to disrupt the party, including any plans to obfuscate exactly who is responsible for the disruptions.
  
  
• RITUAL OF THE BLACK SEAL (15-30 June) - Each character may participate in one fight thread, as these events will occur more or less simultaneously. OOCly, players are free to have their characters gunning for one avatar only to run into another and get caught up in a different fight than ICly planned. Per a tactical suggestion from Yelena, characters will be advised to seek out and kill Deepthi first, which will have an effect on the other fights. For Katie Dunn, players should assume that she will attack characters on sight with the exception of characters who were successful in killing one or more of her shades in a previous encounter (those folks she will flee from on sight). For Deepthi Anand, characters with supernatural/magical abilities may have some trouble actually accessing them for this fight if they have any fear reserves to start with. Non-powered characters will have less trouble with fatigue, but not none; all who fight her will find that their energy and/or powers are being sapped and dampened. For Jimmy/Carl Watts, characters may attempt to fight him, talk to him, rescue Ethan Boss, or attempt to get Carl away from the elevator to try to help trapped miners, or even attempt to find a way into Keppler through the Bluestone Mine. Those who try to fight him can kill him, but there is the potential for severe injury.
  
  
• AND IN THE END (15-30 June) - The last hurrah for Wolf Pen, at least for now. Characters are welcome to take part in the festivities, drinking and singing or even doing their own instrumental performances, if they're so inclined. There will be an opportunity to reach out to NPCs that have been met during their time in Wolf Pen as most will be present at the farewell party in one capacity or another. After that, ADI will be loading everyone back onto trains to ship back to Gloucester. While there are major economic headwinds they leave behind them, ADI will do what they can for the people of Wolf Pen. There's trouble brewing at home, though, and everyone will be told to be prepared to be on their game when they return. Ain't no rest for the wicked.

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(frozen comment) QUESTIONS

[apocalypsehowmods]

Please respond HERE.

NPC Interactions

[apocalypsehowmods]

If you would like an NPC interaction in either "Ritual of the Black Seal", "And in The End" or with Cindy in "Odds and Ends", please post here, indicating the NPC in the subject line.

Please remember that characters may only participate in one of the avatar fights. The cut-off date for tag-ins is 6/22.

As a general note: Please run confrontation threads with avatars however your characters would approach them. Through the MAGIC OF RP, many things can be happening simultaneously, as we want to give folks a chance to play with whatever their idea is and contribute to taking one of these Big Bads down. Who lands the 'final blow' on anyone will need to remain nebulous, as a result, but your character can definitely say they helped with it.

Ritual of the Black Seal-Cortana and Beau fighting Jimmy

[failedpromise]

She'd been helping with the bombs in Bluestone, figuring out likely places they might be hidden and where they would be most likely to be set off, and she'd intended to help with the retrieval too, but she couldn't stop thinking about Keppler and the workers in the mines, and when she'd heard they'd been called in to work she'd dipped away to go find out what was going on.

Unfortunately, she was already known to some of the people who worked here as an OSHA inspector. She'd been looking for a way to avoid Ethan spotting her when she'd seen a familiar face: with a quick apology she'd ducked behind Beau and then proceeded to stick by her, almost hiding behind her as the miners began to descend.

...And then all Hell broke loose.

So much for staying hidden. With a sudden burst of angry swears Cortana lunges forward. She's prepared, to an extent-tough work clothes to protect her and a knife (which she pulls out) and a gun (which she does not)-but she's not much of a fighter. Still, like Hell is she going to let this asshole just kill a civilian right in front of her. She swipes at the limb holding Ethan with the knife in what is a reckless and quite possibly futile bid to free him.

Ritual of the Black Seal - Ade and Hunter fighting Deepthi

[cardinalrule]

[Getting down to Deepthi is far from easy, but it's necessary. Taking her out appears to be a strategic advantage for them, and it's a task Hunter is more than willing to jump on thanks to his own skills in construction magic. Sure, he's only slain beasts back in the Boiling Isles (witches and demons were always apprehended, and petrifications had ceased long before he was born), but he's determined to be useful, and this is the clearest direction for that.

Besides! He isn't the only one down there. Ade in particular he trusts to be there, though he doesn't know him that well. They've got this!

... Despite the gradual, heavy weight bearing down on him.

He squeezes through the narrow channel leading into the main chamber, Flapjack perched on his head. As soon as he spies Deepthi the bird chirps and shifts into his staff form - yeah, ADI says not to use magic, but that's a whole lot of bull when facing down an avatar. He takes note of the explosives, and a moment later a wave of spikes are shooting up from the earth and he doesn't even have time to get his owl mask on, he's too busy dodging to the side.]

Give yourself up now, don't resist arrest!

Ritual of the Black Seal, just a talk with Jimmy

[friendsfordinner]

Hickey is absolutely not going to help out with any fights. He knows his limitations. At the moment, he is still regrettably human—and regrettably injured from his fight with the White Things. He won't be any use in any final confrontations...but he does want to see what happens. So he makes his way to the mines, milling through the crowd, trying to get a bead on the situation while remaining above ground as possible.

And then he spots Jimmy. That little shit.

Hickey makes his way over towards Jimmy, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. It's only when he's near the man that he idly chit-chats, "I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours." Everything about Hickey's body language says that he's not here for a fight: he's just here to learn.

Ritual - Winter and Steve hunting Katie Dunn

[worthallthis]

Winter is not afraid of the dark. Nor is he afraid of the Dark. He is even less afraid of Katie Dunn, who he has shot three times now and not yet killed. That eats at him. It's a target escaped. A mission unfinished.

And she hurt Yelena. That requires vengeance.

So he stalks into the fishy tunnels, his mask and goggles on his face, a headlamp fixed to his shoulder instead of a helmet, the same high-powered light on the end of his rifle as the last time they fought, and another headlamp (currently switched off) affixed to his glock. Just in case.

And Steve is on comms, waiting further down the tunnels with his own light, and his own weapon. Winter is the dog to chase Katie Dunn into the trap. Steve is the trap. He just has to hope he's chasing the right one.

Ritual of the Black Seal- Garner Hunting Katie Dunn

[whisperedone]

His range of awareness was more limited, thanks to the smell lingering in the cave, but that didn't stop him from chasing after the familiar footsteps and presence of Katie Dunn as their paths crossed. He'd been ready to fight as soon as he realized who he'd come across, but she'd turned and ran and something surged up in him: a need to follow. To chase. To Hunt.

He took off after her, following the sound of her as he could find it. Even if this were just another apparition, he could hunt it down and kill it, one less piece on the field.

Ritual of the Black Seal - Fighting Watts

[setthetone]

It's a nightmare.

Carter has never met Katie, not really - only treated her patients. He's never seen Deepthi move the earth - just ducked the attempts on his life. Now with Watts engulfing Boss's face in his melting hand it's the first time he comes face to face with an actual power and its effects are so wrong to his eyes that his mind can't make sense of it for a second.

Boss is screaming or maybe Carter is screaming, he isn't sure. The accompanying snapping of the cable and the crash are sickening sounds that - unfortunately - are way too familiar. His mind is immediately racing, calculating. What's the situation down there? Chances of survival? He's taking inventory, potential injuries should there be survivors, how to get there, how to get them out--

But it's no use as long as Watts is up here with his flaming hands. He needs to do something, needs to help - but how? He knows he has no means to fight Watts. What he does have is an ice spray in his kit to treat wounds in the field and he digs that out with shaking hands, clutches it as he tries to circle to the side, closer to the elevator shaft.

Light against darkness. Ice against fire? Maybe it will give someone else an advantage for another attack. Maybe it will give him enough time to find a way to the miners.

Or maybe he's going to die.

Nauseous with mortal fear he moves in and presses down, aiming the spray at his waxy face and eyes.

Cindy - Odds and Ends

[conning]

Neal has something. He has something he can actually use to actually help in a concrete way, in his kind of way. It's exciting to a degree that's almost embarrassing. That it's thanks to Yelena is an irony that he can appreciate in a cosmic kind of way.

When he sees Cindy lurking outside of his window, trying to peer between the mostly-closed curtains, he... opens them.

And then the window.

It's possible he was waiting for Cindy to get to his room. It's also possible Neal is fond of good dramatic timing.

Ritual of the Black Seal - Jimothy Bryant

[conning]

Neal isn't sure what he's doing here, if he's honest. It's instinct more than anything. The hideous sense that they've missed the obvious.

The obvious, he realizes, is that people need to jobs and their options are limited in a place like this. The obvious is that no one can force tourists to go somewhere that smells, but they can require employees to work if the conditions aren't strictly life-threatening.

He's trying to figure out some way to bluff people out of the mine when he sees the guy at the elevator box. He picks up the pace, then breaks into a run as the horrible weirdness starts, snatching up a crowbar as he runs past it. He has no idea if it will do anything, but he can't do nothing.

He brings the bar smashing down on the limb glued against Boss's face with all the force of mixed terror and rage and hopes it holds up.

FAREWELLS - Could I get Rae AND Cindy??

[conning]

[Two separate prompts below, one for Rae and one for Cindy]

And in the End - Robin

[bindlestifflost]

It's the last day, as many repairs as possible made to the house before they have to leave. It's late enough, most of the folks have already left. George has his hat in nervous fingers. He wants to be straight before he leaves, tell Robin some of the truth, as much as is safe.

He steps up onto the porch and knocks on the door, taking a deep breath and letting it out again.

Ritual of the Black Seal - Deepthi

[musicdied]

In the end, Yelena goes hunting in the depths. There are others suited to crowd control above, and while a part of her feels she owes the shadow witch for lost skin and scars marked in all-too-human flesh, pride and personal grudges can't be allowed to be a priority. Not when there are missing explosives, and an alien avatar who may be playing battery to this entire hellish clot of nightmares.

And so she descends, respirator and goggles keeping out the worst of the fishy reek until she passes below the spaces that needed to be cleared and into the narrow tangle of tunnels. There is a weight here, and though she's never been claustrophobic, she can't quite forget the thousands of tonnes of rock between her and open air.

It isn't nerves that make her chest tight, though. She is descending, but it feels, just a little, like she's heading uphill.

There are dead ends, two, three, before she finally finds an opening that actually leads somewhere, and in that opening, a heap of explosives. She presses against the wall of the tunnel, silent and shadowed, and kneels to inspect the things. She knows explosives, knows sabotage, and it would be the utmost foolishness to bypass this obstacle without seeing what she's dealing with - and if and how it's armed.

And in the End - Audrey

[cardinalrule]

[Even though it's perfectly rational to do some follow-up before leaving, Hunter feels a bit awkward. His social skills with kids his age hasn't exactly thrived in the short time he's been here, and even though he hasn't even stepped inside the gift shop he's feeling like he's floundering.

He just... needs to treat this like a typical report he would've done in the Boiling Isles. That he can handle.

He heads inside, Flapjack perched on his shoulder as usual, and makes a beeline straight for the counter.]

Ritual: KATIE DUNN GRUDGE MATCH (Jeff, Malcolm, Eda, Manji)

[cacophonish]

[ OOC: just for coordination and sanity purposes, this won't be a four... five-way thread?? I believe the order will be Jeff -> Katie until Malcolm jumps in, then Eda and Manji will take over the fight, while Jeff and Malcolm run away. ]

The Undertones show may have been cancelled, but there's music in the mines. A song drifts through the winding tunnels, nothing more than a sweet, simple melody to conjure the lights that float alongside Jeff. He looks positively angelic.

Or like the bait on an angler fish.

Simple bardic magic. He should've done this the first time he'd encountered Katie, but, well, Jeff was running on autopilot towards death at the time, anyway. If it wasn't her, it would've been somebody else.

Doesn't matter, though. Now he's here, she's here (lurking in the shadows, probably), and he wants to say hi. She never had a chance to meet the real him, anyway. Might as well have a chat before the ADI tears her apart.

"C'monnnn, Katie," he calls out in a dreamy, sing-song voice. "Let's play."

Ritual of the Black Seal - Carl Watts

[the_archivist]

"Y'all are a right thorn in my side."

The man begins to change, skin melting and shifting like wax before him, and Jon smiles.

"Oh, you have no idea," he says quietly.

He shouldn't be doing this. He knows that killing is... he isn't all powerful here. He can't call the Eye down to smite whoever he chooses. And it made him worse.

But he is hungry. And maybe he can at least get a meal, before ADI kill this one, or lock him away.

Odds and Ends - Cindy

[cuttypie]

Luka pauses on his walk outside the Howling Moon in, watching Cindy peer through one of the windows.

"Uh."

He scratches the back of his head.

"Are you looking for something? Or someone?"

TAG-INS CLOSED

[apocalypsehowmods]

Cornelius Hickey | ota!

[friendsfordinner]

going on a bear hunt
In Hickey's one-track mind, the priorities are the White Things. As far as he's concerned, the various avatars in town won't give him shit. But this would be different. These things should recognize him. And when these recognize him, when they see him for what he is, he'll get everything he ever wanted.

In other news, that narcissism is hitting pretty strong today.

If he spots someone he recognizes from ADI at the start of things, when he's making sure he's got his knife, got some good boots on, got dry socks, he'll give them a nod and a grin before asking, "Interested in joining a man on a little hunting trip?" But if he runs into someone while he's in the middle of the woods, walking as quiet as possible to try and scope out one of the White Thing dens, he won't say anything but give them a look that plainly reads 'what the hell are you doing out here.'

He goes back multiple times. He wants to see these creatures. And he wants them to see him as well.

and in the end
To nobody's surprised, Hickey got a little beat up during his various encounters with the White Things. Apologies medical staff, but you absolutely had to deal with a small sweary man insisting that he's fine while very visibly bleeding from a bite wound that will absolutely need a few stitches.

He stays out of the action for the most part during the big final confrontation. But Hickey's stable enough to mill around during the last few days. And it's during the karaoke night at the Blue Dog Pub that Hickey gives a little nod to whoever enters his view before pointing out, "Y'know, this is the fifth song in a row that I've got no idea who it's by." Seriously, who the hell is Rick Astley. "Yanks have the strangest taste in music."

bear hunt bear hunt

[citizendetective]

"Of course I'm interested," says Misty, unzipping her fanny pack - because of course it's a fanny pack - and showing him the newly-bought hunting knife that she has tucked away inside.

"I also have a flashlight, a lighter, a compass..."

George Milton ~ OTA

[bindlestifflost]

Odds and Ends

1. Woven Isle

George has a line of goats loosely tied together at their necks he's leading toward a flat bottom boat lined with sweet alfalfa hay and a scattering of pellets the farmer said they go nuts for. He supposes they're about to put that to the test. The lead goat is following along amiably enough thanks to a handful of said pellets he keeps quietly dipping out of his pocket and sticking under its nose. Their constant bleating is something he's used to. He keeps clicking and chirping, adding an occasional, "'C'mon now. Here we go."

It's all fine until the boat shifts under the feet of the lead goat. The horned animal rears up suddenly with a loud sound, and all the goats start bolting every which way, panicking as the ropes catch them by their necks and they yank each other to and fro across the ground. "Ah, shit." For a second or two, George is frozen in indecision before targeting the lead goat to try to tackle.

"Well, don't jes' stand there gawpin'! Help me!" He lunges sideways, just missing. The rope catches him square across both thighs and dumps him headfirst into the water with a loud splash.

2. Housing Project a.

George has given this a lot of thought before putting himself forward as one of the negotiators. He's researched market value and accounting for depreciation, and it's one of the few times his lack of education is probably going to work in his favor instead of against him. As he walks down the long, weed choked drive, he turns to his companion. "Jes' remember, we don't wanna turn the pressure up too hot. They gotta feel like this is as much their idea as ours. And if we can make 'em realize getting out from under all these home repairs is a good thing, it'll go better."

Housing Project b.

"Hey!" George calls out to a pair of locals carrying a bundle of shingles. "Watch that bend, son. You don't wanna crack 'em!" He shakes his head and looks back at his companion.

"You know what they say about free help. I'm gonna shimmy up under that crawlspace and see how bad that foundation looks. If we's lucky, all we need to do is shore up some a' them struts. If we ain't..." It's going to not only cost a lot more, it's going to need skill beyond what most of them can provide. "You OK with coming partway and holding the light?"

3. Bait and Switch CW: Flies, dead fish, decay

He should have known the stink of the fish would be even worse after this many days. Even with the better mask provided by ADI, a long pair of rubber gloves, and high rubber boots, he thinks he'll be put off eating for days after. The cloud of flies is a constant hum, rising and falling in the thick, humid air on black waves.

He has mostly shut his brain off, because the moment he thinks about any of it too hard, he's going to lose the lunch he wisely didn't eat. Handful after handful, he drops them into the thick plastic bag at his side.

"If I ever have any harebrained idea like this again, jes' tape my mouth shut," he grumbles to the person standing nearest, working in the merciless mid-June heat.

4. And in the End

He's had his chance to say good-bye to Robin, Ruth, and Noah. There's a deep, abiding satisfaction in getting them something he hadn't been able to for himself and Lennie. He's off in a booth a little in shadow with a beer he's just nursing. He also sees hard times coming to the town. They saved them from a quick deluge only for a slower drowning, and he can't quite call that a triumph.

Still, he'll offer a smile to anybody who passes by and the offer to set a spell to talk. He'll listen to any war story about the bigger fights he stayed clear of and offer his own thoughts if asked. He looks open enough to it tonight.

3.

[abrightboy]

“We’re saving lives,” Malcolm reminds him. “You did a great thing, coming up with this.”

He shoves some more fish in his bag. Happily, he rarely feels like eating.

“It’s genius.”

Bucky/Winter | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Bear Hunt

First things first: clearing the woods of the lesser evils. Winter's run afoul of them a couple times, but clearly tracking them at night hadn't worked. With some intel on the area's most likely places for dens, he straps on his tac gear, his mask, his goggles, and all his guns, and he goes hunting.

It's a relief, after a week of trying to be inconspicuous and polite and normal to finally do what he was programmed to do: track and kill dangerous targets. And he doesn't even have to pretend to be a person for a bunch of stupid beasts. He's not going to feed the Stranger by killing them.

He takes the waterfall den, because it will mask the sound of his approach, his combat boots are meant specifically for difficult surfaces, and also the water will make him harder to bite down on. He'll take company, too, if anyone wants to be his strike team for this little jaunt-- but he's going in first, which he makes clear more with gestures than words, pointing firmly behind him as they approach the stream and its watery cave.


II. Odds and Ends - Goats

While Winter didn't wind up going to the leafy island in the previous weeks, focusing instead on hunting white things, finishing recovering from his fight with Penny, and trying to listen to people's conversations without being creepy, once someone has a plan for dealing with... whatever the problem is, he's glad to help out.

Today, that means holding a struggling goat under the metal arm as he splashes across the ford in the lake. Are you helping, dragging your own goat across, or are you watching and laughing as he tries to fend off flailing hooves and horns with increasing irritation.


III. Bait and Switch - Fish

Winter's been in smellier situations before. He's sure of it. Something about a hot, smelly trench with a couple dead people.

He sticks a small packet of smelly herbs into a handkerchief, not sure how he remembered it but knowing it would work well enough, and sticks it in his face mask. Then he starts hauling buckets of decomposing fish in the dead of night. Or during the day, if someone other than him has a good cover story.

And while he's down there, he explores as many tunnels as he can find. There might be a fight down here-- it's the most strategically sound choice-- so he needs to know as much about them as possible. He's tried before, and had a little luck, but not a lot, and he needs to map them out in his head. He won't say no to some company while he does so, so long as nobody minds the smell.

you goat to be kidding me

[bossyboiler]

Kate isn't allowed to handle the flame-thrower. Who made that decision? Someone higher up than her. It may have something to do with a beach party last summer and a drunken Kate having way too much fun burning the marshmallows.

She's helping with the goats! She has two on a leash. She is trying to work out on how to get them to the island when she sees Winter struggling. Kate doesn't mean to laugh, she truly doesn't. However, she simply cannot help it.

It's funny.

Misty Quigley | Yellowjackets

[citizendetective]

GOING ON A BEAR HUNT; OTA

Misty does not have combat experience as such, but she has experience with both the wilderness and with danger in the wilderness, and she is bound and determined to go along on this little adventure. She's also bound and determined to get her hands on a gun, but the ADI worker she's trying to convince is... less than enthused.

"I do know the basics," she insists, crossing her arms over her chest. "I may not have firearms experience per se, but I've been around guns, and I've seen them used. Plus, I'm actually a very responsible person; I'm not reckless, and I know how to be careful with dangerous things."

Turning around and spotting another off-worlder, she zeros in on them, gesturing them over. "Excuse me! Hi. Are you armed? What weapons will you be carrying out there?"

AND IN THE END; OTA

... It ends, of course, predictably. She's not useless on the hunt, particularly when it comes to strategizing, tracking prey, and setting up traps for White Things that have been driven out of their dens - but she still ends up with the absolute shit kicked out of her, and her broken, bleeding ass will need to be hauled back to town. She'll be pretty out of it for the first couple days, healing from broken ribs and multiple deep lacerations to her torso and limbs - and while she'll sometimes be awake, she'll be groggy and bedridden, and anyone who drops by for a visit will have a rare glimpse at a quieter, more subdued Misty.

As the days go on, she'll grow more animated, which also means she'll grow more in-your-face and annoying. Medical workers will have to deal with her trying to direct her own care; other patients in the medical area will have to deal with her roaming around (even though she's supposed to still be in bed and recovering), rolling up to their bedsides to cheerfully ask, "So, what are you you in for?" She'll be particularly interested in the aftermath of both the various White Thing hunts, as well as the mine sabotage, and anyone she might recognize as being a part of either of those endeavors will be beelined for.

#teamhospital

[friendsfordinner]

Hickey fares a bit better in the 'stab the White Things' department, enough that he's discharged right before the mine sabotage. That being said, discharge doesn't mean 'you are completely free from the hospital' as he's still got to go back on a regular basis thanks to the fact that he a large portion of his back and left shoulder are pretty much held together by stitches.

So it's when he returns for another course of drugs and another round of doctors checking his vitals that he sees Misty. When he spots her, he lets out a happy laugh before pointing out, "Look who's back on her feet!"

Well, metaphorically speaking.

Cortana | Halo | OTA

[failedpromise]

Odds and Ends (testing waters)

(Cortana, being an AI containing the entire sum of Human knowledge from her universe, is more than capable of testing the water for pollutants and poisons. As a being who can't really sleep, at least not in the way normal Humans do-she does perform maintenance cycles and dream-she's uniquely suited to tests that have hours of waiting involved.

Some nights instead of returning to her hotel room she can be found working long after most others have gone to sleep, observing vials of stinking, polluted water. She's got a paper and pen with her, and sometimes she's taking notes but just as often she's doodling random things in the margins. This isn't the most entertaining job: feel free to bother her, she'd probably enjoy the company.)

Bait and Switch

(If you've known Cortana for more than a month, you've probably realized that she's an unrepentant gremlin. An absolute little shit. A complete and utter troll, if you will.

Which is to say: while she definitely did not enjoy collecting the horrible, smelly, rotting fish for use in the plan, she was absolutely enjoying the part of the plan where she gets to inflict rotting fish smell on the people who work in and visit the mines, and she was getting very ...creative in her methods. Hiding piles in hard to see places; soaking any cloth or other porous objects or surfaces in the rotting juices; secreting little pieces inside hollow bits of furniture, in hard to reach crevices, in gaps in machinery and all sorts of other inconvenient and hard to clean places that she can think of. Does she need to do this? No. Does it give her a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment? Yes.

The gleeful smirk is plain on her face to anyone who happens to come across her while she works, putting way too much effort into making this whole mess as awful and hard to clean up as possible.)

Odds and Ends

[musicdied]

Yelena's main contribution to the testing has been gathering samples, but she has done a couple of turns at watching the water be...water, reeking and poisonous and not in any way exciting. It's enough that when she passes by the makeshift lab in a fit of insomnia-induced wandering, she feels a flicker of sympathy when she sees that the lights are still on, with a humanoid shape inside.

"Has it done anything yet?" she asks, a hint of amusement in her voice, as she steps inside. "I would be very sad to miss the Creature from the Black Lagoon."

John Carter | ER | ota

[setthetone]

i. bear hunt - ota

[People are going after these... things and while he can understand the necessity for it, Carter has so many opinions about that. About what a bad idea that is. How they really need more people for that. An army, maybe. But they don't have one and he's hanging back in the woods with his gear and playing field medic, available should anyone need to retreat and get medical attention for themselves or others. Away from the fight where he can do the most good. Not that being out here is any less concerning and he eyes the surrounding woods with growing suspicion.

It's when he hears the scream. Screech? Howl? It chills him to the bone, fear churning his stomach. Whatever that was, it wasn't good. He should go. Run. Get help. Not be here.

But that also sounded awfully like someone being spotted or hunted and if he leaves now maybe it will be too late. He'll just... he'll just make sure.]

Dammit.

[Muttering and cursing under his breath he carefully moves in the direction of the sound, trying to stay hidden and silent.

Hoping it will go better than in the mine.]


ii. testing the waters - ota

[Carter is silent as he works, silent and sullen. A lot has happened since their arrival - the darkness attack on the train, his near-death encounter with the spikes, Luka's escapades with alien symbionts - and too little time to work through any of it. His muscles are taut and his mood is forbidding and he's made more than one snide remark at some poor ADI colleague.

While waiting for various test results, he's jotting down notes, theories, things to try. Not just for the water but for everything. People with rock powers. Darkness creeping in. Magically induced illnesses and which non-magical therapies might have an effect. It helps, a little. Gives him a semblance of control. Naming these things, trying to come up with ideas how to neutralize them, how to stay on top of things.

There's another section in his journal. Preventive measures. He's been hung up on that these past couple of days - how could they stop people getting roped in by these Entities in the first place? Maybe that's where their focus should be. Keep them from growing their numbers.]

Hey! What are you, an idiot?

[He snaps at another ADI colleague when he reaches over to retrieve something way too close to Carter's sample for his liking.]

If you turn into a swamp monster just because you can't be bothered with basic safety, don't expect me to fix you up.


iii. confrontational - for Ade

[After his conversation with Luka, Carter decides that Wolf Pen and the looming catastrophe have to wait. At least for a little while. Preparations are well ongoing and he is ready to lend a hand - once he has dealt with this.

It doesn't take long for him to find Ade's room but he waits until the bustling activity from the day has died down before he knocks on his door.]

Mr. Bennet?

[Despite the anger taking form of a thousand needles he keeps his face neutral. But he can't help but wonder. Luka had said they had drawn the alien lifeform from his blood, like this is some ridiculous sci-fi B-movie. In his mind he'd imagined it like that, discolored veins or things creeping under the skin. Coming face to face with the man almost has him at a loss.]

John Carter. I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?


iv. and in the end - ota (cw: addiction)

[So most of them and Wolf Pen live to see another day. Whatever that day may bring. It's more than he expected, given the horrors they have yet again encountered.

With everyone either celebrating or nursing their wounds, Carter does the same but he doesn't go inside this time. He knows if he goes in there he's going to drink and there's a good chance he might not stop until he blacks out. So he sits outside on the patio instead, watching the stars overhead, listening to the muffled music and conversations spilling out through the window.]

Kinda noisy in there.

[That's his explanation when someone joins him or turns towards him quizzically, like he just ducked outside for a moment to take a breather. It's been two hours.]


v. wildcard - ota

[for anything else that might come up]

iv

[bossyboiler]

[ It is entirely psychosomatic. She's bathed several times since hauling fish. She knows that everyone else has or probably has. It's probably just a weird combination of o a lot of bodies in an enclosed place and bad beer. However, Kate can still smell the fish.

After about an hour, she goes outside. Apparently she's not the only one in need of fresh air. ]

Yeah. It is.

Edalyn Clawthorne | ota!

[edalyn]

1. Going on a Bear Hunt

Despite her general lack of enthusiasm when it comes to working for the ADI, Eda seems to be spending a lot of time helping to hunt the White Things. She can be spotted heading out surprisingly early in the days–although for her that really just means any time before noon.

She says she’s doing it because monster hunting is something that isn’t exactly new for her, and it’s not as if that’s a lie. She’s done her fair share of bounty-hunting and fought her fair share of creatures in the literal demon realm, and with these things turning out to be a genuine threat it’s certainly a way to feel useful.

Whether that’s the only reason is another question.

a) “C’mon, it can’t be that hard. I’m a crack shot with magic.” Eda appears to be arguing with a member of ADI staff about the fact that sure, she may not have used guns from the human realm before but it’s not like it looks complicated. This comes after arguing that yes, she’s definitely qualified to fight, want her to demonstrate?

She’d won the first one, but the case for giving this witch a shotgun didn’t seem to be going quite as well. Nor is her request for a harpoon gun instead.

b) If someone runs into Eda as she’s searching for a den, she’ll be friendly enough. She’ll stick with anyone she thinks might not be alright on their own, but otherwise seems happy enough to go alone.

c) What was that noise? One of the white things? Or did it sound a little more like a bird shriek? If someone follows it they’ll find out soon enough, though the scene they wander into probably looks more than a little strange.

Eda certainly still looks like a regular, human, middle aged woman. But she also appears to be tearing into the monster she’s fighting with what seem like teeth and claws she doesn’t have. You don’t see that every day.

2. Bait and Switch (cw, everything from the prompt + eating gross dead things)

When she isn’t hunting, Eda spends some time helping collect fish, partly because she doesn’t mind the smell and partly because this is the funniest plan they could have come up with.

If people are paying attention, they’ll probably catch her eating a fish here and there. But she leaves most of them for the plan.

3. And In the End (alcohol)
When things wrap up, Eda can be found at the Blue Dog drinking quite a bit of what she wishes were actually apple blood and, if no one stops her, singing karaoke. It’s probably 80s songs, and it’s probably not especially good.

4. Wildcard
Feel free to start something else!

2

[bossyboiler]

Despite being a bit precious when it comes to things like dirt, grime and stench, Kate is helping out with the fish scheme. Why? It's a good idea. It's a simple one too. Besides, she doesn't like being thought of as lazy or unwilling to chip in.

She's commandeered a brown truck and is going to use it to help transport the dead fish to the caves. Kate has just parked it for a new load and has stepped out with the intent of helping to gather fish.

Kate is expecting everyone to be shoveling fish into bags and buckets. What she is not expecting is to see is Eda. Is she eating the fish? Gross.

"Are you... Did you just eat one?" She holds up a gloved hand to her mouth in an effort to keep from throwing up.