Event - Twice Shy

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Twice Shy

➥ Touched

(cw: taxidermied animals, gaslighting, mental/memory manipulation, loss of bodily autonomy, hand injuries)

Preparations for the Thanksgiving Day Feast at Hammond Castle are well underway with the castle being closed to the public on Thursday, the big Turkey Day. Pam Ruan, HR Woman and Holiday Party Planner with a Vengeance, has been on a tear with recruiting helpers. You might be conscripted to carry dishes or final decorations over to the castle. Maybe you need some help or want to assist someone who's struggling under their own load. Pam's commandeering car space for only the largest things.

Once there and everything's set out, you might have a chance to wander the tarot card exhibit is still on display with poster-sized Major Arcana cards decorating the walls. Those aren't the only notable things around, though. There seem to be a number of taxidermied animals that have appeared around the castle. When asked about it, the caretaker, Simone, says they've always been there. Haven't they? Her expression may be a bit glassy as she explains, but that explanation is strangely compelling. They have always lived in the castle.

Been in the castle. Taxidermied creatures certainly aren't alive. Probably.

You could swear you've noticed some of them moving around the place, though. You never see the movement, but that wolf was in the other corner before, wasn't it? Next to the suits of armor. Is the elk head looking a different direction? Maybe it's someone trying to mess with you. That's probably it.

For those more suspicious souls who decide to investigate the taxidermied animals, they will seem wholly ordinary, if uncanny in the way of all taxidermy, upon a visual review. Touch them, though? Well, nothing seems to happen. They don't spring to life for an attack, but they do feel unnaturally warm, almost like there is some life still in them.

The day moves to evening, and as everyone sits down to eat, those who have touched the taxidermied animals will find their hands beginning to wander when they aren't paying attention to them. While you're digging in with your fork, the hand holding your knife might shift to the side and attempt to stab the person next to you. That steaming hot bowl of gravy you're trying to pass down the line without thinking much of it? Well, now you're pouring it into your neighbor's lap. When your full focus isn't on your hands, they seem to want to get up to their own mischief. Maybe it's time to start tying them together… and ask a friend to feed you?

➥ Fuel to the Fire

(cw: supernatural thirst, blood-drinking, toxic personalities)

It's not just troubling taxidermied animals and wayward hands that are an issue with this particular Thanksgiving feast. A few sets of cursed salt and pepper shakers seem to have made their way into the decorations and supplies. They're set out on the tables and wait as the seats fill up with people. With the salt and pepper being passed around up and down and even between the two long tables, it's not difficult for them to find their way to you.

Anyone who sprinkles their food with the salt will find themselves hit with an unquenchable thirst, no matter how much they drinks. All drinks also taste stale or otherwise rancid. The only thing that makes the need abate for even the moment is the taste of blood. That might not be so hard to discover when shoving drinks in your mouth hard enough to cut your lips. Are there any people willing to lend a vein?

Anyone who sprinkles their food with the pepper will find themselves hit with an insatiable need for attention. Is the person across from you speaking to someone else? The person to your left or right? Unacceptable. You need attention like you need air, and you will do anything to get it back on you. Negative attention is still attention, right?

➥ Strike A Match

(cw: Injury to children, pyromania, light compulsion)

The first one is small, a trash can at the end of an alley lit ablaze with no perpetrator to be found. It doesn’t even make news. The old abandoned building at the edges of downtown makes the second page, no one was injured and some local teens are purportedly suspected in the incident. It’s not until the dive bar a couple blocks from the main street catches fire that things begin to stir. The bartender says there were no fire shots served that night, but the fire certainly seems to have started by the bartop. At least there seem to be a few witnesses, even if their testimony leaves something to be desired.

Little fires start up here and there, another trash can, a park bench, the dry goods aisle of a popular general store, the back row of a nearly full movie theatre. The police and city board rally to start up a local firewatch ad campaign but the few times a suspect is captured, local minors make most of the leads turn cold. Firebugs, people craving attention, poor home situation, whatever the blame of the week, the impulse to set something alight seems to be spreading, especially among that same group who had so loudly protested the closing of Dogtown.

It’s the playground in the middle of the day on a weekend that really puts everyone on alert. With at least two children and an adult treated for burns, reports say there’s one suspect in custody, a seventeen year old who happily claims the fires are his. All his. Because sometimes the world just needs to have a little more beauty in it and what could possibly be more beautiful than a flame? Funny how the little fires and that odd impulse continue all the same, even among some at ADI.

➥ Watch Him Burn

(cw: body horror, including bodily dissolution, fluids, bloating, eyes where there shouldn't be eyes, and severe burn injuries; arson; self harm)

It won't be until days later that it will become clear in hindsight that the string of arson ended at Holy Light Church on the night of Thanksgiving, in no small part because small acts of arson continue to crop up throughout the city afterward (and likely will for months to come, now that the idea has been planted in certain impressionable minds). But that urge to watch it all burn suddenly ebbs away on the morning of November 25, leaving only the normal human (or inhuman) amount of pyromania tucked away in any given person's brain. Local papers report that the fire apparently started in the kitchen of the church's community hall and was prevented from spreading further by the quick-thinking of church members attending a community dinner. Officially no one's even certain whether it was actually arson at all, or merely a very unfortunately-timed accident.

Nor is the connection immediately clear when reports start coming in on Black Friday about some kind of blob or slime monster in the streets of Gloucester (and when ADI, naturally, shoulders the work of suppressing those reports). The sight of the thing is, apparently, horrendous: witnesses report something less human-shaped than trying to be so, with jiggling, boneless limbs and weeping, bloodshot eyes that seem to float within its mass, surfacing at random points on the thin, stretched skin that encases the creature. The creature favors dark, out of the way spots–indeed, the more clear-headed witnesses indicate that the monster was more keen to run (or rather, ooze) away than attack.

Patrolling to find the creature takes immediate precedence, but even those not actively searching may be lucky (or unlucky) enough to come across it over the next few days as it eludes capture. That sound in the alley–that's someone in pain, breathing through clenched teeth and occasionally sobbing as something drip-drip-drips onto the pavement. Come closer and you'll see it: something that can't be human, that mustn't be human, pressing itself under a restaurant's heat vent or holding a lighter against its own skin with clumsy, fused fingers. The air reeks of acetone, blood, and wax, and when the creature sees that it's not alone it snaps to attention, both eyes surfacing and a mouth splitting the shape of its head where there was none a moment ago. Its voice is one that some members of ADI have heard before, though the humor and warmth in Pyre's tone is gone now, leaving only raw anger and fear.

"Get away from me!"

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Pyre will both be available for NPC interaction and threading with an RNG group of players. Please bear in mind that the game does not have an easy resurrection mechanic. Characters who die are dead unless there is some sort of Entity intervention and they are reborn as avatars. Plan your character torment accordingly!
  
  
• TOUCHED (November 24) - Beyond being warm to the touch with seemingly life-like fur, there's nothing else notable about the taxidermied animals. Cutting them open reveals that they're just stuffed with what you'd expect to see. They are never seen moving, but they do move around the castle. Trying to set up cameras on the animals will result in momentary flashes of static before they move. It's simply not possible to capture evidence of them moving. Simone Clark, the castle caretaker, will tell you the animals has always been in whatever new place it was before if asked. For perceptive individuals, she seems to be affected by something, but then her words are wildly convincing, as well, and you might find yourself doubting what you saw with the animals moving. Characters who lose control of their hands will find the effect fades after a few hours. By the next day, if anyone returns to the castle after the party, the taxidermied animals are gone. Simone remembers nothing about them being there.
  
  
• FUEL TO THE FIRE (24 November) - The effects of the salt and pepper may be combined and the general effect will last for a few hours. Characters who feel compelled toward thirst will only feel okay when drinking blood (it does not have to be human). As soon as they stop drinking, the thirst returns. However, their physiology is still their physiology. Drinking large quantities of blood is likely to make a human very sick, indeed. Characters are welcome to try to find the source of the problem and destroy the salt and pepper shakers when they're found. There are as many sets of cursed shakers as might be narratively convenient for folks who want to find them to do so.
  
  
• STRIKE A MATCH (15-24 November) - Characters are welcome to help with ADI’s investigations into these incidents after the bar catches fire and to notice the smaller fires and help put them out before and after the big incidents. Those who go digging will be able to find that only some of the fires can be attributed to local teens and not all of them even solidly enough to do anything about. The bar and movie theater in particular seem to have no cause and no known witnesses. While no one in ADI will feel compelled to commit arson, they might catch themselves staring into a fire for an extended period of time, almost hypnotized, and those of a younger age group might feel compelled to carry a lighter around, just in case something might need to be burned. Those who look into the bar fire will find it’s eerily similar to those reported along the coast, including a bit of wax at the scene and witnesses who claim the person drinking the shot seemed to light it themselves.
  
  
• WATCH HIM BURN (25-28 November) - Please reply to this comment for threads with blob!Pyre. Characters may encounter him alone or in pairs (while players may form groups of three or more, we would advise against it in the interest of quicker play). Please keep in mind that Pyre's ultimate fate will be a matter of player vote and will be decided at the end of the month; if characters attempt to kill or capture him in the course of these event threads, he will escape by melting and flowing down a storm drain.
  
  

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Comments

NPC Interactions - Watch Him Burn

[apocalypsehowmods]

Please respond here for interactions with Pyre.

[cuttypie]

[He thought that maybe he could help. He’s a doctor, surely there’s something he can do.

When he sees it…him…pressed up against a restaurant’s heat vent, he almost mistakes it for something, anything else than what used to be a person.

He thought he might be able to treat him even out here. He has a medical bag and everything.

He was a fool.

This is beyond him.]

I’m-I’m a doctor.

[He holds his hands out, placating.

And an Avatar, but he doesn’t say that part yet.]

[apocalypsehownpcs]

You're with ADI.

[It's hard to say what kind of look the creature is giving Luka at any given moment, but its mouth creases into a downward curve as those eyes stare, lidless and red. It remains stretched upward toward the vent; there's something clear dripping down the raw surface of its tight-stretched skin where it's pressed near the source of heat.]

You did this. You knew, didn't you?

[cuttypie]

I’m with ADI, yes, but I don’t always agree with their methods.

[He takes a couple steps closer, wanting to inspect exactly what that heat was doing to him.]

I didn’t do this.

…I want to help you.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[The smell is strong the closer he gets, the harsh scent of acetone almost overpowering the rest. The creature's...man's...hand next to the vent is even more fluid than the rest of him; where most of his body looks like a water balloon struggling to hold in the substance of him, the hand pressed to the vent is wet and raw.

He laughs at the works help you.]

Yeah, help me. Like you helped Fenix. Or like how you helped my--my--how you helped Mr. Watts!

[cuttypie]

[That smell...it's so strange, what could be causing that smell? It could be something legitimately chemical on him, or he could have high levels of ketones. Anything from diabetes to a keto diet could cause that. But that usually happens on a person's breath, not their...everything. What wouldn't he do for a sample of even something...even if there's magic involved here, it could help.]

I wasn't a part of that! If you're ill, I can help.

[Somehow, anyway. He hopes.]

Are you in any pain? I could--I could give you something if you're in pain.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[The blob goes still, staring at him. The exposed eyes dip back under the skin one after the other in an unsettling, unsynchronized blink.]

Uh, yeah, you think? Of course I'm in pain! Fucking--fuck, man. Look at me!

[cotgraveseffigy]

Frederick yanks his hands back from the dumpster he'd been about to lift the lid off of, then holds up his hands. If Pyre can see through the ADI's illusion, he'll see something much creepier than a little old man with very little hair, but if not, he looks particularly harmless.

He's also boggling a little at the way Pyre looks, which does not look great, honestly. "Are you all right?" he asks, hands still in the air like he expects Pyre to shoot him or something.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Hrr--rrraagh!" Pyre growls, stepping away from the vent and taking two wobbling, jello-like steps toward Frederick, arms outstretched. His appearance is monstrous, but his body language reads more like an untalented actor playing at being a monster. "I'll burn you alive!" he threatens...though he's conspicuously failing to close the gap between them in a hurry.

[cotgraveseffigy]

Frederick takes a step back, but he doesn't look particularly scared, either. "A bit difficult, seeing as I'm already dead," he points out. He would rather not burn, his twine and hide are very flammable, but he might as well be honest with the wobbly fellow. "Really, I'm more worried about you right now. Is there something I can do? To, er. Help?"

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Raaagh?" Pyre tries, rapidly losing steam. But the old man isn't running, so now he's stuck deciding whether he actually wants to go over there and set the guy on fire.

"Why aren't you scared?" he whines. "You should at least be scared."

[cotgraveseffigy]

"Oh, I'm very sorry, sir. I'm already dead, remember, and there's not really much of me left under this very fine illusion. So not much really bothers me, these days," Frederick explains. It seems safe enough to share the truth with a shambling wax monster person.

There are some things that bother him. Watching his granddaughter flee from him, watching her march up to the hill of stones and the White People would have if he stayed long enough to see that, wolves. He is definitely not fond of wolves.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Pyre finally drops his...those are basically arms, right? His form wobbles unsteadily as he leans forward to get a closer look at Frederick.

"Okay, you're either crazy or you're like me," he concludes.

[failedpromise]

She's not looking for the creature that used to be Pyre, but when she hears the sounds of someone hurting, a certain fascinated horror draws her to the source and she stares.

Get away from me!

Cortana jumps, startling out of her trance, but she can't bring herself to leave. She's not - she's not even sure what to do here, ADI won't help this guy and she doesn't have the knowhow. If he's even able to be helped.

"You're an avatar, right?"

[apocalypsehownpcs]

The blob stares back and lets out a mirthless laugh. "What, don't you recognize me?" he asks bitterly. "I'm Pyre, the burning man!"

Never mind that no, she likely wouldn't have reason to recognize him. He takes a squelching step toward her, heat radiating off him. "You come back to finish the job?"

[failedpromise]

"I don't, no. Must be the new look."

Should be mouth off to the horrifying avatar of loss and destruction? No. Will she mouth off to the horrifying avatar of loss and destruction? The Gravemind had to hijack her vocal output before she'd stop mouthing off to it, and she was still trying to even then. Sass is an innate part of Cortana's being, she's unlikely to ever stop.

Heat isn't great for the robotic body - computers do overheat rather easily and there are plenty of melty plastic bits, particularly on the parts that make her look human. Even if he can't easily light her on fire, she'd still rather not have to go around with a horrifying, melted face. Looking at someone with a horrifying, melted face is creepy enough. She makes an effort to steel herself when he approaches.

"You tell me: are you going to start a fight? Torture civilians in order to fix whatever is going on here?" Cortana doesn't want to kill this guy, but she will if she has to. "Is there even a way to fix this?" It might be kinder to kill him, even if he doesn't want to go. She knows from experience that sometimes a quick death is the best thing you can hope for.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

A grin twists the stretched skin of its face; there's a flash of teeth but they're...floating loose. Pyre shuts his mouth again to get himself in order, only to snarl in reply to her question.

"I don't know, are you going to hunt down everyone I care about?" he retorts. "Trick question, you already killed them all. I know you're here to kill me, too--but I'm not going to let you! You deserve this--you deserve this whole place on fire after what you did. And what you people did at the church just proved it, too!"

[failedpromise]

"If you're talking about ADI, I'm pretty sure the majority of the people in this city don't have any involvement with them. And I'm also pretty sure it'd be pointless to kill you." If she even could, she doesn't say. Because you're likely going to die regardless, she also doesn't say.

Instead, she just screws her face up in a combination of not quite concealed disgust and confusion.

"The church?" She has some idea what he's talking about, but also no idea what he's talking about - as far as she knows, no one did anything other than sneak in and pretend to be a part of things.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"You involved those people when you set up here," Pyre argues. "All those fires? I did that because I know those are the places you ADI people care about. I watched you. I know."

He's gaining steam, now...or it might be more accurate to say that he's literally steaming.

"That's how I knew that church is part of ADI, too. You're a bunch of hypocrites! You don't hunt monsters like them, you just hunt the monsters you don't like."

[musicdied]

Yelena is one of those actively searching for the creature, though it's still the sound that draws her into the dark, close alley. It takes a moment for her mind to make sense of what she's seeing, the drifting eyes and sudden, splitting mouth, and her stomach twists in revulsion. It - he - shouldn't be alive, looks like he's about to fall quite literally to pieces. And while there's no body language for her to read - she isn't entirely certain she would classify what he has as a body, not any more - the raw emotion in his voice strikes her as genuine.

"Shit," she says, low and harsh. "You aren't doing this on purpose, are you?"

[apocalypsehownpcs]

He may not have much of a body for body language, but the way he does a double-take when he sees her is clear enough from the hesitation and then the burbling growl that bubbles out of his molten crevice of a mouth.

"You!" he hisses in anger. "Don't make me laugh--don't act like you don't know. You did this! I saw you there!"

[musicdied]

She gives him a baffled look at that. He can't mean the circus - if the fire shots had been him, then he's had a coherent form until recently. It's too delayed to be a result of Fenix's death. Wolf Pen? But she'd been far below during the fight with Watts, and again, the timing doesn't seem quite right.

"Saw me where?" she asks. Then - fuck. "You mean the church? You set the fire there?"

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Who else?!" he snaps, flinging his 'arms' wide and sending hot wax splattering against the dingy walls of the alley. The smell of acetone grows sharp and bitter in the air as he completes the motion.

"I know you're with them--or they're with you. You burned everything I cared about, and now it's my turn! It was my turn!"

[musicdied]

"Your turn to what? Murder a bunch of random people who didn't even know you exist?"

Her nose wrinkles slightly at the sharp solvent reek - that can't possibly be healthy, even for a man made of wax.

"No one at ADI did this to you. You took a swing at a fucking hornet's nest, and you got stung."

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Of course you did it!" he snaps back. "I just told you: I followed you--you, specifically, so unless you're not with ADI, that's an ADI church and it was ADI people that did this. And I know it was ADI in Wolf Pen, and I bet it was ADI at the circus, too!"