Event - Connectivity

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Connectivity

➥ Misinformed

(cw: theft, home invasion, paranoia)

The years have gone missing. Something's taking the books and papers from homes and libraries, even shops. Tracking it headed your way. -CP

You might be one of those the cryptic message is delivered to directly if you met and worked with Cindy Parsons, a local newscaster from Wolf Pen, WV. They seem to be making good on a promise to help a select few out after the people of ADI stopped an apocalypse ritual on their doorstep. If you didn't get a direct message, you might hear murmurs of it from various sources around ADI HQ. Gossip has a way of spreading, especially when there's some potential supernatural threat in it.

Sure enough, for intrepid researchers, they'll be able to find news reports of a strange series of threats heading from West Virginia toward Gloucester, starting with Cindy's reporting about a town about 20 miles north of Wolf Pen. Every book and newspaper, whether physical or digital, that was published in the year 2020 seems to have disappeared within certain towns. Local police are flummoxed.

And then it hits Gloucester.

The public library puts out a request for any information on the missing materials as well as a request for donations to replace their books and other printed materials. Who would do this? While replacing digital items is time-consuming and costly, the physical copies of things are even harder to manage, especially with so many libraries in the region being hit by this effect. The year 2020 has been wiped out.

Everyone will find that their own personal libraries/information stores have been picked clean, as well. Homes that seem secure will always have some sort of evidence of potential breaking and entering. However safe you thought you were in your home, however safe your coveted knowledge, it can disappear in an instant.

The library has requested volunteers assist in raising money for them to replace everything as quickly as possible, in the event the knowledge fiends who did this can't be found. Community-minded individuals might defy ADI's guidance and take up their own volunteer efforts, interacting with locals to knock on doors, start a bake sale, or start some kind of money-making activity to assist the library.

Those with more caution in their step will be tasked by ADI with searching Dogtown for the missing materials. They have a hunch about this. Maybe it will prove fruitful.

➥ Misplaced

(cw: cuts, wounds, foreign objects embedded in flesh, supernaturally-induced apathy)

un: gracefully
Everyone, this is Neil Grace, Head of Security. We have a problem on our hands. A field agent recently returned to Gloucester with a cursed artifact that shattered upon entry into town. This field agent failed to inform anyone for several days as they tried to fix the problem themselves. They are being dealt with.

What we know right now is that the artifact was a crystal, something associated with the Lonely. It may be responsible for the recent disappearance of printed materials from around Gloucester and elsewhere in the country. I've attached a location pin that should give you the point for where the crystal shattered. We're getting reports that people living in that area are displaying unusual behavior. Please work in teams of at least two. Be careful, and avoid touching crystal pieces where possible.

- Neil

It's easy enough to find the park where the shattering happened. There's an unnatural quiet and emptiness throughout the park with pockets of sound. Eagle-eyed (or just persistent) individuals will be able to track down shards of crystal that have embedded themselves into trees and along the ground. Given the distance they seem to be from the initial shatter point, it's clear some supernatural force was involved in flinging these things.

Anyone spending a decent amount of time at or around the park will begin to note that it's not just the environment that's off here, but some of the people, too. That guy you spotted on a bench, ostensibly watching some squirrels? He hasn't moved. It's hard to tell if he's even breathing, but approach him, and he'll glance up before looking away again. There's no affect on his face, no real engagement. Trying to talk to him will garner painfully slow and mono-syllabic responses. There's just no life or personality to him. And the longer you talk, the more the cold seeps in. It's getting harder to care about what you were doing. Maybe this guy has it right. Just do nothing. Stop trying.

You might still spot the wound on his neck and the glinting shard of crystal that seems to be embedded there. But do you even want to bother? It's hard to summon the will to do so when the important things stop mattering and thoughts of other people slip away.

➥ Missed Connections

(cw: socioeconomic disaster; scarcity)

There aren't further network communications regarding the state of the search for the crystal shards...because sometime in the afternoon after Neil's message goes out, there simply aren't any more network communications at all. As the day goes on, the initial assumption is that ADI's internet provider is falling down on the job, leaving headquarters, official housing, and ADI-networked devices without access. The same is true over at Bonnie's Flophouse, though, and local staff soon realize and reveal that their own home internet and phone services are no longer working. All internet, cell phone, and landline services are down for the count...making it a little difficult to immediately figure out just how widespread the problem is.

It's treated as a minor inconvenience around ADI for the first few days. Surely things will get back up and running soon, everyone will get a rote apology from their service providers, and it will turn out to be the result of vandals or some accident taking down a major fiber optic cable–it wouldn't be the first time that's happened in the USA. There's a lot of grumbling around the offices thanks to frustration over lack of access to electronic records and the need to tramp all over the building to track down a coworker and speak face to face instead of shooting off a quick message. Around Gloucester, businesses either close their doors or muddle through on a cash-only basis, reluctantly writing off a day or two of profits while they await the internet's return.

Except it simply...doesn't. Days turn into a week, and then two. What struck most as an inconvenience becomes a quiet, ongoing catastrophe. Hospitals and emergency services resort to whatever handheld radios they can get their hands on to deal with what patients they aren't able to reschedule or send out of town, with pharmacies and medical and veterinary offices scrambling to re-establish lines of communication via overworked staff physically relaying written messages across town. The supply chain all but grinds to a halt, so even after most local businesses reopen on a cash-only basis, shelves begin to go bare, leading to a panicked rush on what remains–mainly, over-the-counter medication and non-perishable food get bought up at accelerated rates and become increasingly scarce within Gloucester. Local banks are swarmed by residents attempting to withdraw what limited stores of cash are available, and even trusted customers who are able to access their accounts face days-long waiting periods. What's worse, the outage makes it impossible for ADI's off-worlders to access their salaries within Gloucester: the prepaid debit cards ADI uses to distribute payments can't be accepted by businesses and cash advance services have been toppled by the outage.

The outage includes Gloucester, Dogtown, and the surrounding small towns that rely on Gloucester for most of their services, but outside a certain radius it seems things are business as usual for the rest of the country (aside from national interest in Gloucester's strange ongoing disaster). It's possible to reach an area with internet and phone service within a day's drive in order to get cash and supplies from outside banks and businesses, but within a week the knock-on effects begin, with panic-buying and panic-withdrawals making supplies and cash increasingly hard to come by in the surrounding area. Within a week ADI begins doing their best to provide cash payment to staff in need, but the company and the banks on which it relies simply don't have enough cash on hand to pay out everyone's weekly salaries in full.

There are, indeed, apologies from service providers, their public statements provided both via the internet for the world at large, and via fliers within Gloucester. At first these apologies come alongside promises that services will be restored shortly, though there's a conspicuous lack of a promised timeline. As the outage drags on, though, the apologetic messages become more and more vague about what's being done to fix it, promising only that they are giving the matter their full attention.

There was a time when the world did not rely on the internet to function, and there are worlds where that's still the case. Here and now, though, it's becoming more and more clear how heavily everyone relies on those connections.

➥ Without a Trace

(cw: reality warping, memory loss, potential for gaslighting or misperceptions of self or reality)

Memory is such a delicate thing. It shapes everything from interactions to perception to sense of self, and yet can be malleable to all sorts of things: our conviction, another’s perception, or even injury.

It might not be noticeable at first, when the changes come. It might be little things here and there, barely worth commenting on like a misplaced pen. Maybe you don’t remember that restaurant being there….yet when you step inside, they greet you like you’ve been a regular for months. Maybe that coworker you’ve been chatting with daily is now a stranger. Maybe your best friend slowly fades out of thought and mind. Even if you knew them before arriving here.

Do you even remember the world you came from anymore? Do you truly?

For other people,it might be instantaneous. Waking up one morning reveals things aren’t as they should be, as friends and worlds simply vanish from your thoughts. There’s no rhyme or reason or promise that those who so adamantly claim to know you aren't simply lying. After all, everyone knows how insidious this place can be. Why….you’ve been here longer than most, haven’t you? You’d surely know better.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background 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 prompts should be sufficient and ordinary people will act like… ordinary people! Although, the people of Gloucester seem to be becoming more and more aware of supernatural phenomenon and they are frightened by it. You're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. Also, please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• MISINFORMED (16 January - Ongoing) - The books/newspapers/printed materials are simply gone from Gloucester. No amount of searching will dig them up, unfortunately. It's clearly some supernatural force that's removed them. The evidence of a break-in to their residence/wherever they're keeping their things will vary from very obvious to subtle, depending on what might invoke the most dread in a particular individual. ADI personnel will be particularly on alert at HQ as there seems to be evidence of a break-in there, as well, even if they can't trace the source.
  
  Characters will need to reacquire things if they lost them from their personal library, and the Gloucester (and ADI) libraries being short on materials from 2020 will be an ongoing issue for the foreseeable future as replacements are tracked down. Characters who wish to volunteer are free to create whatever money-making endeavors they see fit. ADI leadership will be disapproving due to the potential danger associated with community outreach like that, but they're not going to actively stop anyone. Players are welcome to say their efforts are successful, but they should not be raising tens of thousands of dollars here. The locals of Gloucester are middle class for the most part, but they don't have that kind of spending money. Those who wish to investigate Dogtown, instead, are encouraged to submit search requests on the Dogtown Search page.
  
  
• MISPLACED (17-31 January) - The shards have been flung improbably far afield with characters able to find them all over the park. It's not just people in the park at the moment who seem to have been hit with the shards, either. Teams might find themselves knocking on doors after spotting shattered windows or the like, only to find people who can't seem to be bothered to do anything about the damage or their situation. The apathy effect vanishes once the shard is removed from a person, but holding it will produce a lower grade apathy as well as a sense of emptiness in the person holding it. Smashing the crystals into smaller pieces will just scatter low-grade apathy across the ground for anyone to track into their homes.
  
  
• MISSED CONNECTIONS (17-31 January) - Any access to internet or phone services during this period will require a long drive out of town to reach an area beyond the spread of the outage. There's no physical cause for the outage to be found–anyone who travels out to find out what's happening with the effects to restore the internet will find the service providers just as baffled and frustrated as anyone else.
  
  
• WITHOUT A TRACE (17-31 January) - Any memory can be lost, from the details of a person’s world, to their friends and family, or even lovers. How quickly the changes take is up to player discretion, but the changes can be reversed through reminders of attachments to other people, places, or things. Help from those close to people is encouraged! On the other hand, players are welcome to keep any memory losses they would like; however, any formative memories that are lost that would drastically change a character's personality from their canon presentation will be returned at the conclusion of the event. Permanent losses can be important memories, but please refer to Rule #4 in Apocalypse How's ruleset. "Characterization must be consistent with canon/the original story the character is from, when taking into account in-game developments. Characters should be recognizable as the character throughout their tenure in the game."
  
  

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Comments

[heyunderoos]

Oh- I don't think so? [He's still under their hands, curiously watching the glamor since he can feel the real Rue under it. It is a strange juxtaposition.

Tucked slightly under one of his knuckles is the hint of a crystal shard. Something very small and easily missable upon a passing glance.]

I haven't met everyone to be fair.

[ruevealing]

No, that's quite alright! It's only that you remind me of him, in a sense.

[It is strange, to feel one thing and see another, even Rue sometimes struggles with it.]

There is one moment with him that I am always brought back to. You see, Hob was a military man for most of his life. So he was not unused to carrying the wounds of war with him. But one day, while out with our mutual acquaintances, he approached us and without hesitation, offered to carry their bags.

[At the time, Rue had been furious with worry. But now, it's just a little easier to laugh gently while they reminisce.]

At first, I thought nothing of it! He was simply being the honorable, generous man I know him to be. But we discovered very quickly that he had only just recently been shot! Right in the back! With arrows enchanted to burrow further into his body, to cause the most damage and pain possible. To think, he'd been in total agony, but still focused completely on helping those around him.

[Ah, there it is! Rue's expression brightens as their talon carefully pinches the shard and pulls it free. They hold it up for Peter, free paw gently squeezing his hand before they release him entirely.]

I believe that he was so used to carrying his burdens alone, that it didn't even occur to him to ask for help. To tell us that he was hurting. So, having shared such a tale with you, how are you feeling, Peter? Do you feel the lethargy is cleared now that this has been removed, or do you believe there to be more hidden on you?

[heyunderoos]

[Peter is quiet as Rue speaks. Feeling at least a little called out given the way the story goes. He would have done about the same thing honestly.

He's done equally reckless things before. It's not like he's good at much else but being Spider-Man. Just being Peter doesn't really mean a lot to anyone. Even here, what is he accomplishing?

The crystal just amplifies the feeling already there, deepening it.

What can he do to help anyone as just Peter? He's just wasting time. These people deserve someone who can actually help. He's... he's just here. Here and useless.

Even with the removal of the crystal, the feeling doesn't go away completely. The lethargy will fade quickly enough, but his own mind does a fine job of troubling him.]

I... guess that's a fair assessment. I just don't want to bother anyone. Everyone else has bigger things to worry about. [He shrugs a little, managing a smile. It still doesn't quite reach his eyes, but he's trying.] I'm tired mostly. Thanks, Rue.

I don't think there is anymore. I was- careful as I could be anyway.

[ruevealing]

[For a moment, Rue is silent, watching the young man carefully, their sharp gaze accessing not just his words but the way he's holding himself, the reluctance of his small smile, the thoughts he seems unable to shake himself free from.

They consider, quietly, as they always have to consider before they reach out to anyone. But after a moment's silence, Rue very gently presses a feathery palm to Peter's cheek. Just a careful, tender touch.]

You, Peter, are never a bother.

[They pull away on instinct, worried their touch is not always welcome to linger, but instead move to settle next to him.]

I trust you. Truly, being tired makes sense, this place is most exhausting at times. And there is no shame in feeling weary or disheartened after all that we've been through. Just know that sharing such struggles with one another does not multiply them, it anything, it eases the burden by dividing it. Your friends are here for you just as I am certain you have been there for them.

[Beneath their glamour, they hoot softly, smiling.]

Well, I will not harp on you any further, I simply - I only want you to know. We care.

[heyunderoos]

[He is briefly surprised by the touch, but does lean into it while it lasts. It makes him miss his aunt.

The assurance paired with the brief touch does a fair job of making Peter blink a little, softening a little. An adult besides May validating how he feels is... weird. Definitely weird.

He thinks about to all of his interactions with Mr. Fury, and how those just kept... not working. Every time he spoke up he was flatly rejected.]

I... oh.

[The hooting does make Peter release a soft amused huff of his own.] I appreciate it, I mean.

[He rubs at his neck a little nervously.] Before I got here, I kept trying to talk about how I was feeling, but, no one really wanted to listen. Which- is fair, I mean. There were bigger things to worry about than me. There always are.

[ruevealing]

[Not even the gentle relief blooming in their chest at Peter's softening expression can lessen the blow of what he says next. This poor boy, so young and already so wounded by the world, it leaves Rue's heart breaking in two for him.]

I appreciate your sense of chivalry, Peter, but pray, hear my words. Whoever told you that your feelings do not matter, that your value pales in comparison to the great many things happening around us daily, they were misguided indeed. I promise you, and I am not merely speaking with kindness - you are worthy of the same attention and care as anyone else.

[Because they were born a wild beast and were later gifted fey magic to become the passionate, charming owlbear they are today, Rue lived for many a millennia believing themself to not be worthy of either happiness or love. Seeing themself as less than in comparison to the true fey that surrounded them. To think that Peter could also feel such a sense of otherness too, Rue can not let it go by without gently correcting him.]

I can understand that things move more quickly here than I am used to. In the fey realm, the days feel much slower. There is so rarely a rush to complete anything. But even still, it's not a valid excuse for saying such a thing. I am sorry you ever were made to believe it.

[Rue plucks one of the few peonies they always keep on their person - either tucked into their feathers or a pocket or in a gentle chain around their wrist - and turns to carefully tuck it behind Peter's ear. A splash of soft pink and a happy floral aroma he can carry out with him for the rest of the day.]

I vow, for as long as we shall know one another, you may leave your feelings here with me anytime.

[heyunderoos]

I just- back home I have the power to protect people, to save them. If I have that power, I need to use to. To protect people, even if I'm hurt in the process. So, I know why at least Mr. Fury said that kind of stuff.

[Peter rubs at his arm a little awkwardly, not sure what to do with something so kind just being said to him plainly like this.

It's not like he doesn't get support, but... usually, it's May. May who he doesn't want to worry or burden. He already gives her enough problems. She knows about Spider-Man, but it's still so much to just drop on her.

Now people were expecting him to be the next Tony Stark, and Peter felt like he would never live up to that. He was just a kid from Queens. All he wanted to do was help, but he wasn't... like Ironman or Captain America.

He wasn't even ready for any of it either. Nick Fury made sure Peter knew that much.

He blinks a little as they place a flower behind his ear. His expression cycles through surprised, grateful, and briefly something a little shyly uncertain.]

I feel like a broken record for saying thank you again, but... thank you.

[ruevealing]

[Rue tucks the flower behind his ear and then gently drops a paw to the young man's shoulder, squeezing him softly.]

Forgive the expression, I do not mean to belittle or sound condescending, but you are only human, Peter. Powers or not, a human lifetime is short, but brilliant. Helping others is a very generous thing to do, but it does not need to be your only reason to live. Whatever this man has said to you, I assure you that your life has value simply being yourself. Peter is worthy of being happy just because he exists.

[And then their expression softens with warm, a smile playing at their lips.]

Trust me. I know it's not that simple. It took me a millennia to understand a proper balance between my own personal life and the obligations that were expected of me. I only say this because I do not expect you to break free and start fresh immediately, I simply ask that you think about it.

[And then their expression goes a pinch harder.] And whoever that Mr. Fury man is, if he should tell you otherwise again, kindly direct me to him and I will sort him out myself.