apocalypsehowcomm | Network: Leave Me Here, Burning With You

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Network: Leave Me Here, Burning With You

Who: Andrew Jaeger
Username: a.jaeger
Warnings: cw: fire damage/injuries, mention of death

Hello. For those who don't know me, my name is Andrew Jaeger and I'm involved in the Investigation and Security divisions of ADI. I wanted to make the group aware of some work I've been doing on a string of fires. Due to past incidents involving the Desolation, I've been keeping an eye on reports for arson and other suspicious fires, matching them to the modus operandi of the Avatar we know as Pyre. These recent reports caught my eye, particularly as they seem to be moving toward Massachusetts from the original incident in New Haven, Connecticut. Specifically, the situation is this: the popularity of "fire shots", or lighting a shot or cocktail with high alcohol content on fire, has led to injuries and four deaths in the area, and reports of a patron ordering several fire shots and then vanishing. One bartender has claimed that she witnessed a man drink a still-flaming shot right in front of her. Right now this is unfortunately spotty, but I want to keep an eye on it. The proximity, the spectacle, and the unfortunate fatalities are worth noting. I'm happy to accept any questions, comments, or other information for my file- if I can make a concrete case for further investigation, I'll submit it for action. Otherwise, it will be filed with ADI as a case to be watched, since Pyre is still unaccounted for and a credible threat. Thank you for your time.

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I don't believe for a minute that ADI is being completely up front with us, I'm sure that there's a great deal more in the way of secrets that they aren't sharing. About who they are, about how we got here and what the Powers are doing.

[Just because he works for them, Jaeger isn't in the least bit convinced of their trustworthiness. Jaeger's been burned before by "benevolent" organizations, he's not inclined to fall into that trap again.]

But looking at the beach, at Dogtown, and the generally high incidence of activity...I'm wondering, too. ADI's presence explains some of it, simply by setting up an established enemy target, but...well, it's hard to say. I may look into it some more, myself. I know there are some other very heavy paranormal hotspots in the area, it might be interesting to see if there's any correlations.

Of course there are. No organisation this big dedicated to investigating the supernatural is going to be entirely transparent. And the Powers are existing and influencing their avatars and monsters to create a ritual that remakes the world so they can enter and have a near-eternal all you can eat feat buffet.

What the avatars are doing is less known.

I would be surprised if there wasn't some correlation. Strange things tend to cluster.

[Smirke's buildings and their hauntings. Hilltop Road and it's... everything.]

It's not a surprise, I admit, just the source of dismay. That's terribly idealistic of me, though, and I try not to fall into that trap if I can help it.

[He pauses at the latter part of that statement, debating how to answer it.]

That's probably the most specific statement of the Powers' intentions that I've ever run into, here. Beyond the obvious that they feed on chaos and horror, which ties in neatly to that. This is the first I've heard about greater rituals, though... And agreed. Terrible things tend to leave their energy, and that in turn attracts *more* terrible things. It's an infestation that's very hard to get rid of once it's started, given how it perpetuates itself. I've seen hauntings and other phenomena that follow exactly that path, so it's no surprise to see it working on a greater scale in a place like this.

It's what we were investigating earlier in the year, when we travelled out into the mountains. The Avatars seek to bring their 'god' into the world through a ritual. Of course, they're also individuals so will have their own agendas - power, immortality, apotheosis... things like that.

And given there's some kind of crack in reality here... it wouldn't surprise me if there's a lot more terrible things to draw on from other places.

I think I was happier when we believed that the Avatars didn't like working together. But given the overlap between some of them, I can't say I'm terribly surprised. Dismayed, yes. Given the way things are warped when they come through to this world? I expect you're right. Even just being here ourselves with our own powers twisted is a nightmare waiting to happen. As grim as it is.

There will always be some level of cooperation between some. There aren't really clear deliniations between the entities.

I couldn't comment. My world doesn't really have powers like people talk about.

That makes sense. When chaos and horror are a common goal.

[He's still not happy about the whole thing, but frankly, there really isn't much of anything in this world that makes him happy.]

It's very interesting how different some of our worlds can be. My world has magic, though it's a very clandestine thing. We even have beings something like the Powers here, though they're far more powerful and *present* here. But it gives me at least a little familiarity.

Fear is nebulous. Sort of a spectrum.

Yes, very different. I've seen a lot of people struggle with the changes to how their magic works. I feel bad for them.

It's difficult. Like losing a piece of yourself. Some days are better than others, but I was lucky enough to have other skills to fall back on. Keeping busy helps. As difficult as it is, and as uncertain as I am at times about ADI, I do believe that it's a good cause. There are things like the Powers in my world, too, though less pervasive. They thrive on horror, but can't exert their full influence in the world without a foothold of some sort.

Yes, I imagine it would be difficult. Like losing a limb.

They do sound similar. The Entities though, what we've seen isn't their full power. They're scavengers currently. Picking off people at the edges.

It's possible to recover and keep going, it's just very hard. Being able to do other things helps, but it's still an ongoing fight. I think the full power of the Entities would be catastrophic in either world. If the world could even *sustain* that kind of horror without crumbling. We only see glimpses of it and that's bad enough. In my world, just the influence of the Powers causes the fabric of reality to warp. Haunted objects, strange weather or gravity patterns, poltergeist activity and other malevolent creatures that are drawn in by the corruption.

[He pauses, then shakes his head.]

Sorry, it seems you know all this as well or better than I do. Habits are hard to break.

Going from scavenging at the edges of society to having a 7 billion person fear buffer would probably cause plenty of problems that could be considered catastrophic, yes.

That does sound similar to what we've seen here. Strange items. Places that aren't right.

No need to apologise. I have done the same more times than I can count.

Not just that, but I wonder at the capacity of reality itself to withstand such things. If cracks appear just by their passing, full exposure would be far worse. That's assuming the same...corrosive influence as in my world, mind you, but I don't think it's a far stretch. There are a lot of other things that are very similar. It's not exactly encouraging, but on the other hand, it's nice to see that my expertise still applies at least somewhat in the process of investigating and reacting to things. It might not always be the best career choice, but it's something I'm good at, at least.

Expertise of any kind with this is certainly useful. There may be thinks that you would notice that others would miss.

The corrosion of reality isn't something I think anyone else would really be equipped to notice or even understand.

I do my best, and it's good to have work that I'm familiar with. And the ability to process details and situations that others might not notice...I'm glad to be able to offer that. I e always been happiest when working anyway. I think reality unraveling in the way I'm accustomed to would make itself obvious enough on that scale. From just feeling "haunted" to the laws of nature completely rebelling. I woukd really prefer not to find out, though.

There can be a lot of small details that can easily go unnoticed. Connections that might be vital but are easy to overlook.

I would definitely prefer not to encounter any more than I already have. I'm rather fond of reality remaining in the shape it is supposed to.

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Network: Leave Me Here, Burning With You

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