apocalypsehowcomm | Event

Entry tags:

Event - Twice Shy

Twice Shy

➥ Touched

Photo of a taxidermied gray wolf. Its ears are back and its teeth are bared.
(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

Photo of an overhead view looking straight down on a Thanksgiving feast. Hands are linked around the plates of food.
(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

Photo of a freshly struck match against a black background.
(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

Photo of a building on fire at night. A dark silhouette is visible in the bottom left corner.
(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.

↬ Main Navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's so odd. The apology feels sincere enough, the rising panic in the man's voice certainly doesn't sound forced, but Rue can't help but hesitate. He even cradles his hand, as if it's truly as out of control as he claims it to be and it's just enough to keep the fey from sweeping away altogether.]

Truly? [To his credit, it sounds like something the Trickster Court would do, one of the many pranks Rue spent years cleaning up after. Their lips purse, watching him wearily.]

You aren't speaking falsely just to lure me in closer for another trick, are you?

No! No, actually I think you should stay back.

[He doesn't let go of his wrist, just stands there, rigid, his thoughts racing, trying to assess his actions and how they had felt to him, how he would categorize them. Loss of motor control? Seizure?]

I wouldn't joke about these things, I promise. I... I think something's wrong with me.

[It's enough to wipe the look of lingering irritation from their sharp features, Rue's expression shifting into gentle concern even as they pat at their face with their dinner napkin.]

What do you believe has happened? [Their mouth purses into a tight, worried line.] Is there anything I can do to help?

I'm not sure. I, I mean it could be stress...

[But he slowly shakes his head as he muses. It's definitely not stress. He knows what stress feels like.]

Maybe I should leave. Get, uh, get back to ADI.

I was under the influence of some Entity magic once. They were vines, like invisible string, puppeteering me and a friend, but - I don't know, that was different. We couldn't do anything then.

[Which... doesn't mean that can't still happen. It has only been his hand so far but it's familiar enough to leave him deeply unsettled.]

Can you... can you find me something to restrain my hand?

I will escort you back - [the shortest of beats, before Rue quickly adds:] - at a safe distance, of course. But I cannot in good conscience let you walk back alone. Not under your current... [The corner of their mouth pinches in a mix of confusion and concern. They still don't know what to think of this.] - condition.

[The man's request is easy enough to fulfill, but as Rue rises to their feet, they shoot him a guarded look, hands lingering at their still dripping coat.]

Turn around please.

Thank you. I, uh, I appreciate it. And I will still cover that dry-cleaning bill.

[It takes some effort to actually turn his back on someone he doesn't know that well but Carter is actually grateful to have some assistance here. He just hopes that not looking at Rue will be enough to thwart his strange ghost hand.]

I'm John Carter. I work in the med department. If you could get me there, I could probably run some tests on my hand.

[There is a pause before he continues, a little sheepishly,]

I do feel bad about ruining your evening, though.

Delloso de la Rue, but I must insist you call me Rue. Charmed.

[They don't sound particularly charmed in the moment, but the reason why isn't exactly a mystery.

It's only a quick moment later when there's a careful tap on the man's shoulder, Rue standing there with a long, sturdy ribbon in gloved hand. It was a part of the extravagant dress they were wearing beneath their coat - or rather, beneath their glamour - but a careful slice with a claw and now it can serve a whole different purpose.]

Please, if we can find what ails you and put an end to it, that will more than make up for the offense.

Now, shall I..? Or are you capable of doing it one-handed?

Likewise.

[It's a little pained. He really wishes their meeting would have happened under better circumstances?]

I, uh. Here. Let me try.

[The last thing he wants is his hand trying to attack Rue again, so he takes the ribbon, trying to secure the feisty limb with it. However, whenever he tries to actually catch it in the ribbon's snare, his hand reacts, moving on its own accord and deftly moving out of the way.

It looks almost comical but Carter can't find the humor in it, looking increasingly frustrated. He passes the ribbon back to Rue, grabbing the moving wrist and wrestling it to his chest.]

Okay, change of plans. How about I hold on to it and you secure it.

[Of course it doesn't work. That would just have made everything so much easier, wouldn't it?

Rue accepts the ribbon back with a pinched look, lips pressed into a tight, worried line. There's just a moment of hesitation, where they pause in closing any of the distance between them and the man, before they take a long step forward to lessen the gap.

Surprisingly, Rue's physical presence feels so much more immense than the tiny space they look like they inhabit.]

I must warn you, Mr. Carter. I - [Rue's gaze flicks up to meet his from the ribbon in hand.] I'm wearing a glamour. The body you see is not my own. You may feel that, if I touch you, but please do not be alarmed.

[And finally they reach out to touch him, as gently as they can move around his body while winding and tying the ribbon to his body. As careful as they are, the feathers and claws could be felt if he paid enough attention to their touch.]

The deception was not my own, I assure you. I was made to wear it, to not frighten humans.

Oh.

[Apprehension flickers on his face at Rue's warning and his shoulders tense involuntarily. He's had a lot of run-ins with Stranger entities, and people not being who they pretend to be is very high up on his list of things that freak him out. But he's also been at ADI for a while now and has met others who were made to disguise themselves.]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Despite that, he still winces slightly at the touch that doesn't match up with what he sees. What is that? Is that... claws? And something soft, almost tickling?

He wills himself to stay calm and let Rue do their work. After all, he is the one who apprehended them, not the other way around.]

So you're not. Uh. [Man, will this ever not be awkward.] You're not human?

[If Rue notices the heavy tension running along his shoulders or the flicker of apprehension cross his face, their cool, collected expression doesn't reflect it in the slightest, their concentration solely on getting John's hand tied down appropriately without too much trouble.]

That's right. [a beat, maybe just to let the awkward simmer or maybe they are just focusing on making the very ends of the ribbon into a picture perfect bow. There, now his hand is wrapped up like a present to his chest.] I'm of the fey.

[It's not exactly a lie, just an easier explanation than going into the whole owlbear-ness of everything. He'll see soon enough anyway when they cross over onto the ADI grounds.

Once his hand is secure, they step away again, gloved hands coming to clasp carefully in front of their body.]

I'll follow your lead, Mr. Carter. I'm still learning the orientation of this city. Is - Is my tying sufficient? Not too tight or loose?

Ah.

[He has the polite but slightly puzzled expression of someone who has no idea what a fey is but wonders if it would be rude to ask. So instead, he looks down at his arm and tugs, trying to get his hand free. It seems to hold and he nods.]

Looks pretty good to me. Don't think I can get-- Yeah, I think I should be good with this until we get back. I'm sure ADI will have some better restraints on hand.

[He looks up again, giving Rue an apologetic smile.]

I am sorry about your dress, however. I really do appreciate this.

[Honestly at this point, does what is or isn't rude even matter?]

Good, then I shall accompany you back and we'll see what we can do to remedy this situation.

[The apology visibly catches them off guard, Rue's expression softening slightly. Even after the mess of the last few minutes, they can feel his sincerity.]

It's only a dress, but thank you, truly. I'm much more concerned for you. You felt nothing before it happened, correct?

No.

[Carter shakes his head.]

Nothing at all. Actually, I was having a good time for once? [There's a small scoff and a slightly bitter curl of his lip.] Which doesn't happen a lot around here, you know? I really thought that maybe this time...

[He stops himself before he can get too worked up about it, heaving a sigh.]

I'm sorry, that's not helping. But there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The food was good, so was the company, I mean, it's a great party, isn't it?

[Even wrapped up in their composure, there's just no hiding the way Rue's brows pinch together in gentle worry at his outburst. Their hand strays towards him without thinking, just to give a careful pat at his arm in quiet comfort.]

Pray, don't apologize. I completely understand your frustration. It was, wasn't it? Maybe not as grand as the ones I'm used to, but it was warm and lively and quite fun. I enjoyed speaking to those I hadn't yet met, seeing them come together, the sense of ease running through everyone. I'm only sorry it ended this way.

[a beat, as they walk.]

Is that normal here? For things to flip on their head?

Yeah. I'm not saying it's all bad all the time.

[But there's a whole lot that's bad.]

I don't know. Maybe it gives the Entities a bigger fear impact if they catch you in a good mood. [...] Or maybe I just have a particularly twitchy hand and this is all on me. That'd be nice. I mean, I'd be mortified, but that'd be nice.

[It's such a silly thing to say, such a throwaway comment, but it's enough to bring out even the smallest of laughs from Rue at the absurdness of it all.]

I think I could bring myself to forgive a twitchy hand if it meant everything was actually alright. Let's hope all you really need is some rest and a nice drink.

[The closer they get to approaching the ADI grounds, Rue's pace goes just a touch slower, a little hesitant in crossing that final line. The last thing they want to do is frighten the man. They know how their true appearance looks.]

Have you... Have you known many non-humans in this place? Besides my betrothed, I've only met one other.

So far, I've met two. You'd be the third. I've never met a... fey though.

[Carter stops and looks over at Rue, sensing their unease. He, too, can't help but think of the strange feelings of feathers and claws from earlier.]

... Why don't you tell me what to expect? I'm from a strictly human place, and a really ordinary one at that and I'd hate to be rude.

[He gives Rue a wry smile.]

Maybe then I'll only stare a little.

[It helps. Rue can't even put into words why, but it absolutely helps. Their posture may not lose any of it's picture-perfect rigidity, but at least some of the stiff tension seems to slide off of their skinny shoulders, the slightest of smiles curling at their mouth.

And he's right. If they prepare him, then he's less likely to be too startled. Maybe. Hopefully.]

To be fair, fey is a fairly broad concept. I was not born among the faeries, only made one of them by association. So, to be truthful, most fey you meet would look a little more similar in shape to a human.

[Their hands slide down their damp coat, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles in the fabric.]

I am - Well, tall. Very tall. And much broader than this form projects. I have wings and feathers and - oh, and claws. And a beak. I suppose it wouldn't be off-base to describe myself as owlish.

I thought I had felt claws earlier.

[He tries to keep the observation light as he takes in all the information. Wings and feathers, too, huh? A beak. Owlish. That's an unexpected turn and Carter is glad he asked and didn't just tell Rue to go ahead. He looks them over, clearly trying to picture it in his mind in order to prepare himself.]

Okay. I can't promise I won't react but I will try my best not to be a jerk about it, all right?

[He nods once, indicating that he's ready for Rue to proceed when they are.]

Were you... human before? Before the fae made you one of them?

I'll hold you to that, good sir.

[How strange, for the very man who unintentionally assaulted them to be the most oddly encouraging within the same time frame. It's certainly throwing Rue for a loop, but there's a soft, sincerity in John's countenance that feels too honest to be a lie.]

No, nothing like that. [For how sensitive such a topic could be, Rue's calm, even voice makes it sound almost casual.] I was born a wild beast. I'm told that my kind are quite ferocious by nature. I assume that would have been my fate, had I not been awakened by their magic.

[And just as casually as they've spoken, Rue steps across the threshold onto ADI property and the glamour drops off automatically. In their place stands a towering owl beast, all soft feathers and sharp talons and intimidating wingspan. But their poise is unmistakable, expression so much more kind and open than before. They're already walking forward, waving the man along with them.]

You said the medical department, correct?

Oh. Huh. ... So you're grateful for it? Or do you ever regret it, like, did you think abo--ohhhh, that's, that's different.

[They told him what to expect and it helps being prepared - but only to a point. Because there's theory and imagination and then there's Rue stepping forward and Carter being confronted with it. The different between movies or a good fantasy book and the physical, spatial reality of a creature like that in your presence.

There's an impulse to run and get away just because it is so foreign to him. Their size. Their animal features while talking.

But, to his credit, he doesn't. He does stare, however, his mouth opening and closing, clearly needing a moment.]

Uh. Y-yeah. I'm a... I'm a doctor. I work there.

[It feels dumb to say. He feels dumb to say it. Why did he say it? Didn't he tell Rue before? He can't remember, distracted by their shifting form.

God, they're so tall.]

... Wow. I'm, I'm sorry, I'm just... uh.

[Get it together, get it together.]

Those are beautiful feathers.

[Honestly, at this point, Rue doesn't even take the staring as a negative.

Even with the growing tension between them at their reveal, even with the unprompted attack and the uncertainty of what was controlling the man's hand, Rue titters at John's first comment and then outright giggles at his awful attempt at playing it off. Now that they've settled some of their earlier conflict, he's kind of adorable, isn't he?

They wave a wing in his direction, brushing his worry away, before delicately brushing a clawed hand down their dress, carefully smoothing away the wet spot from his disastrous spill.]

Thank you. Dove's milk. It does wonders for feathers. An absolute game changer.

[Even without a mouth to smile with, there's just no missing the new warmth that lies in Rue's large, dark eyes. Without the facade of a human mask, they already seem so much happier.]

Shall we continue, Dr. Carter? As for your earlier question, I suppose I am. It's a little loaded though, isn't it? If I was still a beast, I wouldn't have any knowledge of what I was missing, would I? I would be all feral, ferocious instinct. [which honestly sounds awful.] But yes. I am very grateful. Even being brought up under such difficult circumstances, I am most grateful for this sentience I've been given.

Dove's milk. I'll. Keep that in mind in case I ever...

[How to even finish that.]

... grow. Feathers?

[Yes, let's continue, what a great idea, best idea he's heard all day.]

Well, they did an excellent job, I gotta say. You're very... proper. I've met royalty less graceful than you.

[And strangely enough, he realizes that that holds true even now with their new form. Carter walks with them, mindful to keep a hold on his tied hand just in case as they make their way over to medical.]

[Forgive them for stifling a laugh, briefly raising a clawed hand to hide their beak from view.]

Thank you for the kind words. [They certainly won't bring down the conversation with their true feelings on the matter. Because yes, even if they were groomed to be the polite and ever poised jewel by their court, some of their overly gentle and pleasant nature is a fear response. A beast like them could easily be deemed not worth the effort and put in the menagerie if they ever so much as stepped out of place.

Better to play the perfect, delicate, pleasant fey who did as they were told. Thank goodness none of that mattered now.]

I must admit - [Rue is facing forward, bowing their head when they enter through any low hanging doorways, but it would be hard to miss the tease in their tone.] I have to say the same about you, not counting the rudeness of your hand, of course. Is it still giving you a fight or are you feeling more in control now that we're back on ADI property.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event - Twice Shy

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject