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apocalypsehowcomm2023-01-16 11:08 am
- !event,
- cortana (halo),
- delloso de la rue (d20 fey and flowers),
- john sheppard (stargate: atlantis),
- kate cordello (original),
- kp hob (d20 fey and flowers),
- yelena belova (mcu),
- zz_caitlyn kiramman (arcane),
- zz_callisto (xena: warrior princess),
- zz_donatello hamato (rise of the tmnt),
- zz_malcolm bright (prodigal son),
- zz_methos (highlander),
- zz_misty quigley (yellowjackets),
- zz_peter parker (mcu),
- zz_steve harrington (stranger things)
Event - Connectivity
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
- 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."
no subject
It seems like a good idea, though, retracing one's steps. Already he's getting things, from simply being around Rodney, maybe that's the trick--
--was that why he's important?
"Walking together?"
When he says that, there's flashes. Him and Rodney, out in some kind of countryside, forests, caves, rocks...and then something about an ocean. A lot about the ocean. What if they lived together next to the sea?
"I think...yeah, that sounds right. I remember an ocean, too. Maybe we lived somewhere else even before here. By the sea? That sounds kinda nice, actually."
no subject
It's suddenly there when Sheppard mentions the ocean and it's like Rodney can hear it all of a sudden. A chilly night breeze and good, clean air.
"We went to the... pier together? A lot."
Like, a lot.
"And watched the stars."
no subject
He can see it. Even saying the words, he can see it. Smell the salt air, the lights of...something, a city? Dancing in the water around them. It's calming. Peaceful.
"I...remember that!"
He taps his shoulder. Who was Rodney, who walked with him a lot and went to the pier a lot with him. For some reason he just...knows it wasn't really here. Where was that place?
"And I remember you're...you're really smart." It just pops in his mind, like fireworks. "Incredibly smart--the smartest person I've ever known."
no subject
His eyes light up because it comes back to him with such certainty that he feels elated from it.
"Dr. Rodney McKay. That sounds really cool."
no subject
It sounds exactly right and something in his gut tells him that this is the truth, this is real.
He likes the way his eyes light up, too.
"I feel like I have something in front of my name, too. Like it should be longer? But I'm not a doctor."
He rubs the side of his face, trying to figure it out. He remembers...something. Clouds, sky...
"I think I might be a pilot?"
no subject
What he means is, you look really cool. Like a cool guy. He could see this guy behind the center stick, high up among the clouds.
"Maybe you're Captain Sheppard?"
It's... not quite right. Like a puzzle piece that has the right color but that's just because all the pieces are water and it doesn't actually fit where you try to put it.
"Hmm no, that doesn't sound right? What other pilots are there?"
no subject
He’s also not sure exactly what a pilot looks like but it sounds pretty good so, he’ll take it.
“Captain?”
Odd, it feels…close. Like something not quite right but maybe in the same neighborhood…
“I don’t know. Military pilots, maybe? Oh, wait, I got it! Air Force. There’s Lieutenants, Majors…”
Major is so, so close. He snaps his fingers.
“I got it! Lieutenant Colonel.”
It fits, like a puzzle piece. He seems utterly delighted, and pats Rodney’s arm twice.
“That’s it! I’m a pilot in the Air Force.”
no subject
"Lieutenant Colonel. Wow. You must be pretty tough!"
He looks tough, Rodney thinks. Not that he's looking at his arms or anything.
"Do you... do you think we know each other really well? Like, I just got this feeling..."
He gestures, not sure how to explain it.
"I've been trying to figure things out all day? And now there's you and I feel like it's just coming back and it's not so scary..."
no subject
"...you know what? Me, too."
Hard to describe, hard to really put into words, but it's there, all the same.
"Same, here. It's like just being around you brings back all these memories and I just...feel safer around you."
Look who's the tough one, now.
He laughs again, rubbing the side of his face.
"That's why you're important. I must have known you would jog my memory."
no subject
And now that John said it, it doesn't feel so embarrassing anymore.
"Okay. Okay, so we found each other!"
Which fills him with hope and a bit of triumph. Hah. Take that, amnesia. Can't keep them apart? They'll figure this out eventually!
"I don't think I'm military, though. So maybe we're just... friends?"
no subject
“I guess! I wonder how we met, though.”
How did they become friends?
“I think you’re more important than that, though. Not that friends aren’t important…maybe you’re my best friend?”
no subject
Best friend. That feels good. Being someone's best friend, being that important?
"We're roughly the same age, I think? So that makes sense? Maybe we're childhood friends."
But what are the odds of them being childhood friends and living together?
"Or..."
no subject
"I guess we could be..." It doesn't feel like that might be the case, though. Everything else has felt like it was right, but this feels more like speculation. But why would childhood best friends go through all the trouble of living together like this?
"Or we're more...than that."
There's a flutter in his heart and it's a little exciting. That tells him everything he needs to know. He checks his fingers for a ring, just in case, but alas.
"You think you...you might be..." He's suddenly shy about it, a little bashful. "Maybe you could be my...uh, boyfriend?"
no subject
Rodney stares at him with a deer in headlights expression, mouth opening and closing before he ducks his head.
The thought has crossed his mind - it's only logical, the pictures taken in the same place with the same equipment, remembering bits and pieces as soon as he finds John, the warmth and familiarity he's feeling when he's near him and the way his heart skips a beat when he goes ahead and says that...
"Oh, uh. I, I guess? I could be?"
His face feels too warm all of a sudden.
"I mean, it makes sense if you look at the evidence. And that's, that's a lot of evidence. I don't wanna assume because if I'm not that could be... awkward, but... I know you and we live together and the picture says you're important and... and a partner is probably who you would try to contact in case of a city-wide amnesiac episode, right, like an emergency contact, that's who you'd call because they're the only people who are allowed to see you in a hospital..."
Is he babbling? It feels like he's babbling but he can't really bring himself to stop.
no subject
He knows what he means about not wanting to assume--and the strange, empty, devastating feeling he has inside over the thought of Rodney not being his boyfriend must mean that clearly he is?
"Yeah, we'd have to be each other's emergency contacts. Did you find anything else? I don't have a ring...do you have a ring?"
He pats down his pockets again but it's just out of habit because he already checked. But he reaches over, tentatively, and takes his hand.
It feels right.
"I'm just glad you're okay. We'll figure things out."
no subject
He's glad that he can look down at his hands to check and search his pockets because he keeps stammering inane half sentences about... he's not sure about what but the words keep coming, fast, impossibly fast, he just keeps going and going--
And then John takes his hand and Rodney stills, the chaos in his mind grinding to a sudden halt and it brings another fleeting feeling, another impression -- calming him down, making him stop and focus when he just goes on and on about things, John does that, he's good at that -- and he stares at their hands a little incredulously, a little excitedly. Like it's too good to be true.
"Right. Right, we-- we will."
Figure things out. They're good at that, too, he thinks.
But maybe he can just hold on to his hand while they do that?
no subject
The thought of it being temporary is making him seriously hopeful--he can't wait to get his memories back, wondering how they met, what was their first date, when did they decide to go steady...
He keeps holding his hand, squeezing it gently. He puts his other hand on Rodney's shoulder a moment, looking into his eyes.
"We found each other. That's the most important thing. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine."
no subject
"You are really corny, you know that?" he says but he's grinning from ear to ear, looking everywhere but John's face.
"So... so where should we start? Find the apartment building?"
no subject
"Maybe you just make me corny."
He nods, pointing over in the general direction of ADI, not realizing where he's pointing. "Good idea. There's some taller buildings over there, maybe we can ask around? I bet we aren't that far away from it, plus we probably knew that we were losing our memories if we thought to take pictures."