bindlestifflost: (B and W Skeptical or thinking)
George Milton ([personal profile] bindlestifflost) wrote in [community profile] apocalypsehowcomm2022-11-01 01:19 pm

The Eyes Have It? [OPEN Log + Network]

Who: George Milton + Various
When: November 1-30, 2022
Where: ADI and various places around Gloucester, including Helping Hands
Summary: Helping Hands, one of the civic organizations responsible for aiding the unhoused in Gloucester, comes under attack by likely avatars of the Eye after George attended a County Commissioners' meeting and persuaded the commissioners to table passage of an ordinance to prevent public sleeping. After George recruits members of ADI to join the cause, strange items show up, unsettling graffiti spreads, and it's clear none of this is random. Can ADI employees save the volunteers and those they serve from further mayhem, or are they doomed to costly failure? Original and updated plot posts here and here!
Warnings: Eye trauma, hallucinations, mutilation, mind altering, parasitic infections, paranoia, body horror, mind control, shame, bodily injury, potential for death


The post to the network is from @ Milton and reads as follows:
You probly seen the fliers around the cafeteria
and offices lately for Helping Hands.
I been putting them out. I been meeting with
Ms. Joyce and Ms. Belinda and think their doing
good work for them what ain't got nowhere to go.

I'll be going to a volunteer orientation there in
a couple of days. I been given a company car to
drive so I can give a few people rides if they
need them. You got any questions just shoot them
to me here. I'll answer what I can and pass them on
to Ms. and Ms. if I can't.


Volunteer Training (Nov. 5)

Those who show up at the training can either catch a ride with George or make their way some other way. They'll get to meet Joyce and Belinda Everson and some of their regs at the organization's headquarters, what looks like an old storefront with the glass papered over by flyers and newspaper in a dying strip mall, get a more thorough rundown of the program and its various opportunities for volunteering, and get fed sandwiches, chips, and Hostess snack cakes with either water or Hawaiian Punch to drink. Opportunities abound from hands on volunteering that involve sorting clothes and food donations, cleaning up the shelter, passing out bags of toiletries and winter wear for the coming winter weather, and going on night time drive alongs to see if anyone needs help on the street to various types of fundraising, doing mailings, helping with bake sales and rummage sales, and organizing a Thanksgiving Feast at the local Moose Club for the unhomed, volunteers, and their guests.

Volunteering (Nov. 6-30) Anyone can choose from any of the above lists of tasks for their character to help out with. Joyce and Belinda might mention at the training that they've seen a couple of unsavory people hanging around lately that don't seem like the people they usually help or anyone they've ever seen before. A particularly observant volunteer may even see a little eye spray painted somewhere near the store front.

From the 1st-10th weird-ish things may happen at any volunteer opportunity or shift, from people getting oddly testy with each other to outright arguments or fights breaking out among people who aren't usually like that.

From the 10th-30th you can assume ADI employees have investigated enough to realize this is a pattern, and it's strange. This is when patrols will start and actively trying to track down artifacts that come into play from the OOC plotting list may be encountered. Please read the mod info carefully, and let's handle it the same way they handled Wolf Pen. No one will be specifically named as the person who eventually spots the warehouse, and no one can move on it yet. ADI handlers advise against it.

Artifact Hunting (Nov. 10-30) Weird things are afoot and about. Some of them have been donated to the shelter and organization or the soup kitchens. Some have been delivered or gifted to Joyce and/or Belinda and other volunteers. Some people living on the street are finding themselves plagued by them, too. They need to be rounded up and taken off the street as safely as possible, but as everyone knows, this is an extremely dangerous endeavor. Handle with care!

Guard Duty (Nov. 10-30) It's not enough just to take these artifacts out of play. Graffiti painted on various buildings is causing violence and unrest, turning friend against friend. The perpetrators need to be prevented from spreading the chaos, and the graffiti needs to be cleaned to remove its damaging influences. Those on guard duty may notice strangers passing by giving odd looks and eventually may find themselves lured from their posts for dead end and moderately dangerous chases. Do you split up? One giving chase, one staying behind? Or do their tactics of divide and conquer succeed?

The Warehouse (Nov. 28-30) They've finally slipped up enough for a few different guards to realize all of this activity is taking place out of one particular warehouse. ADI staff advises against approach and claims they're putting their expertise to use for surveillance. Approach will not be allowed at this time, but there's a sense it might be soon.

Civic Unrest (Nov. 1-30) With police cracking down enforcing existing loitering laws, groups of 5 or more are being harassed by officers and told to disperse. This may not sit as well with some as others. The wrong kind of interference could land you a night or more in the clinker. There's more than one way to deal with law enforcement overreach, both with recording devices or active protest outside the courthouse. Whatever you do, this is your opportunity to stand up for the unhoused and make your voices heard.
sneakery: (17)

[personal profile] sneakery 2022-11-29 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
The noise is abrasive, he'll give her that. Concealed ears laying flat, Hob reaches out to put a stop to the rattle-clatter with a carefully inserted claw. From the outside it looks like this strange giant of a man went ahead and jammed his finger between the beaters. You know, as perfectly normal humans do.

"That's enough of that, thank you. You've made your point," he says, still unconvinced that the contraption would do more than mildly annoy even the most dimunitive of pixies.

The words fellow human trip him up for a moment. Confusion wrinkles his brow until, all at once, it dawns on Hob that he isn't exactly behaving like a human should, is he. Not at all. He jerks his hand back like the world's lengthiest delayed reaction and makes a show of shaking it out.

"Er, ow." Completely convincing. Totally. Absolutely. Nothing to see here. "That is, pest control? Fairies are considered pests here?"
edalyn: (laugh cover)

[personal profile] edalyn 2022-12-02 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
While she's not quite sure what just happened, the gadget clicks to an immediate stop in a way that doesn't really seem right with a human hand. She already suspected he was something else, but that gives her more cause, and she can't hide a little snort at the delayed reaction.

"That sure is the thing I said," Eda agrees, with a little shrug. "Anything can be a pest if it puts in enough effort." She sets the eggbeater back on the table absently, more interested in whoever this is for now.

"Why, what are they where you're from?" she asks, very casually. Should she be trying to get someone who may also work for the ADI to trip up? Probably not. Is she doing it anyway? Apparently so.
sneakery: (24)

[personal profile] sneakery 2022-12-09 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
Hob inclines his head, acknowledging the truism. He is, regrettably, deeply familiar with creatures making great efforts to be as irritating as possible.

"Well, they're..." he starts, and then hesitates, recalling once again that he is, in appearance, human. Now what is it that the mortals of the prime material plane are always saying about fairies? Ah, yes— "Dangerous, fickle creatures that are often the subject of stories to scare small children into behaving. Certainly not mere pests."

edalyn: (dana!dapper)

[personal profile] edalyn 2022-12-12 09:57 am (UTC)(link)
Eda tilts her head to the side, waiting while the man tries to come up with an answer. She supposes it's a passable one, but she's still curious.

"That could describe a lot of things. Then again I guess a lot of things get called fairies here." After all, regardless of what would count itself as a fairy there, witches have pointy ears and demons come in all shapes and sizes. She's pretty sure the Human Realm's ideas about the fey--in her set of worlds at least--is based on various examples of both.

She considers pointing out that the right answer to that if someone wants to seem local is 'not real,' but she doesn't for the moment.
Edited 2022-12-12 10:08 (UTC)
sneakery: (16)

[personal profile] sneakery 2022-12-20 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Perhaps that is because the term encompasses more than pixies," he muses, extending a curious claw to poke the velveted nose of a worn teddy bear. The last time he'd seen one of these it was tucked up near the ceiling of BINX's abode. The rememberance brings on a bittersweet smile. Hob is glad they aren't here, yet misses them terribly all the same. "Or so I've read."

That seems a reasonable enough lie to maintain cover, he thinks. Hob looks to Eda and cocks an eyebrow. "So, what is that contraption really for?"

Nailed it.
edalyn: (dana!tired)

[personal profile] edalyn 2022-12-20 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Alright, you've got me. It's actually for braiding hair," Eda says with a completely straight face. At this point, she's just testing to see if the man will point out the mistake or if he thought that was a perfectly normal question to ask.

She'd noticed him poking the stuffed toy, but for the moment this is more interesting--though she makes a note to try and sell him something before he leaves.