apocalypsehowcomm | Event

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Event - Dogged

Dogged

The message goes out to everyone on ADI's network. It seems to be something captured live. It's Pam Ruan, head of HR who holds a prosthetic finger up to her lips before whispering, "Everyone's pushing for transparency right now, right? Figuring out where threats are coming from and sharing. I think that should come at all levels. Let's see what Nia's talking about with Mr. Zyrian Steel, hmm?"

The camera flips around as Pam clearly creeps closer to an office door. There are muffled voices, and Pam sets the phone face up before using one hand to shove the thing under the door. The video shows a sliding picture of the office's bland ceiling for a moment before coming to a stop. The voices become much clearer.

"-down in Wolf Trap," a masculine voice is saying. Presumably, Zyrian Steel. "There's just no need for that."

"Zyrian, this ain't a negotiation." Nia Lehrer's voice is familiar to most people working at ADI at this point. They've likely heard her speak in some pre-recorded training videos at the bare minimum. Nia's tone is no nonsense and clearly on the edge of snapping in frustration. "You're not hiring us. I'm sending my people down to Wolf Trap next month. We've got evidence of those signalhead things being on the march, one down that way, your kick off for New Horizons in the park, and evidence out of there about the Lullaby Girl from some of my people."

There is silence.

"You remember her? Ava? Or Amber, it seems like. She's the one you gave us those Lucidio masks to help train our people against. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you don't remember her, Mr. S." Another drawn out pause. "You ain't been straight with me for a long time. You ain't been straight with ADI since Tawnya was Warden. You tell me you need us in Buffalo, payback for helping in Wolf Pen and Cortana and the mobile med units, and not only do half the staff come back with crab claws and whiskers, but I find out you're using us for business politics." There's venom in her tone. "Or were you just going to stay quiet about Etcher's enterprises competing with your own software companies? ADI is not your personal attack dog. You are our client. And I thought my friend. But I'm about 30 seconds away from firing you from both."

Further silence, then a heavy sigh. "And I was going to offer to send you and your staff on such a nice retreat." There's the sound of a chair being pushed back. "Warden, I think you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. You are the dogs. I am the master. I hold your leash. Or have you forgotten just how much technology I've donated to ADI over the years, how many of your systems run on things I built? We've had a mutually beneficial relationship up until now- Well… you and I have. Tawnya got to be a problem before the end, too. But I made sure that was taken care of."

"You self-aggrandizing son of a-"

"You're a much more practical woman than she ever was, even with those shiny ideals you hold so dear. You'll compromise for the greater good, to protect what's yours. Such a good Warden, looking out for her charges."

"What are you talking about? And get your hands the hell off my desk."

"Haven't you ever wondered about the title? Warden. Odd name for a leader of any organization, even one like yours. But maybe not so odd when you consider your more eldritch masters." A scoff. "The Hunt always does pick out the most oblivious avatars, doesn't it? What does a Warden do?" A beat. "She controls the monsters, Nia. Sniffs them out and contains them. And she goes after the poachers coming after her prey. Tell me, have you ever noticed how you're always picking up on threats far afield with uncanny precision. It's been getting stronger, hasn't it? Tawnya was the same way. As was her predecessor, I imagine."

"That's not- I wouldn't ever…"

"Wouldn't you, though? Every time you sent your own dogs after a threat, reveled in it, you were being such a good Warden, instilling terror in the hearts of your enemies, ADI's enemies. So many cults know who and what you are and they fear it. Fear the Warden of ADI, famed avatar of the Hunt. Even now, I know you've compromised yourself. Have you considered what that's done to you? You let that Visionary kid stay alive. I rather think that might have been the start of your slide, hmm? Making exceptions, just this once.

"Now," he continues, voice growing louder and footsteps starting toward the phone, "I realize this is a lot to take in, to think about. Why don't you do that self-reflection while I attend to other matters? You are doing good work, puppy. I need a dependable pet to take care of all those nasty pests who keep trying rituals. But no need to worry about the New Horizons launch, really. I'll just-" Zyrian pauses and everyone will have a view of a middle-aged caucasian man with dark, slightly graying hair and a beard. He's wearing khakis and a Hawaiian shirt, and he's looking down at Pam's phone.

"Well… fuck." He stomps a heeled shoe on it and the transmission ends abruptly.

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General Setting Prompts - LINK
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General Setting Prompts

This section is for general RP prompts. While character actions in these prompts may have an overall impact on the event, mods will not be responding directly to any actions taken here.

➥ Who Let the Artifacts Out?

Photo of a close-up of the inner workings of a music box.
(cw: existential despair; memory alteration; blood, violence, supernaturally-induced rage; supernatural compulsion; gaslighting)

There are so many potential responses to discovering that the organization you've poured your heart and soul into, believing it was fighting the things that hurt you or others you love, has become one of those things. Anger that anyone could let this happen. Rationalization that you're the good ones in the sea of awful. Fear of what this means for anyone trying to do good in the world. And then, there is despair. What was the point of any of it? What is the point now when there's no winning against the monsters? You're either their victims, their victims-in-waiting, or one of them. There are no other options.

The person who's decided to unleash every artifact in ADI's vault certainly seems to be of the opinion that it's better not to be the victim. All manner of dangerous, strange, and uncanny effects fill the halls, offices, and rooms of ADI as objects are left out to afflict anyone who draws near or touches them. Probably a good idea to try to round up some of these problems and get them put back away. Unfortunately, the majority of them will be immune to conventional means of destruction… but for those willing to use their own abilities or perhaps use one effect against another, there may be options beyond just hiding them away again.

Reflections of Regret
There are mirrors all over ADI, so it might be hard to spot the new additions at first. You might not even notice as you walk past that the scene on the other side of the mirror isn't reflecting what's in this reality. Instead, you can see something you regret, something that chills you down to your bones and aches with the knowledge that something happened and you failed in some way. Perhaps you didn't save someone. Perhaps you forgot something important and it ruined everything. Maybe you're the sort of person where it's a good deed you regret or not taking the chance to be more ruthless. You'll even hear the words of the scene in your mind, playing out as you remember… or maybe even worse than what you remember, worse than what actually happened. There could even be scenes that you've only ever imagined happening that play out in the worst ways… with others involved in them.

Anyone else looking will have a clear view of your scene playing out in the mirror, and be able to hear the scene, too… even interact with it. You might find that once you actually take notice, you're transfixed by the reflection, as well. It could be time to risk the bad luck and attempt to break the mirrors. They don't seem to shatter easily, though, certainly not under any physical force a normal person could apply. But there might be more creative solutions to removing their effects. They'll continue to play out the effects of people looking into them until they're taken care of.

Blood-Stained Amulets
The scent of iron fills the halls when one of these amulets are nearby. It's a good way to track them! Unfortunately, once you smell the blood, it has you. A vicious rage boils your blood, a sense of injustice and a desire for vengeance against someone who has wronged you. You don't know who that is, though, and everyone nearby could be them. It's time to start attacking first and asking questions later.

Someone hurt you. You need to lash out. They deserve what you're going to do to them. The blood pounds inside you and fills your senses. Maybe something that overpowers that scent could overcome it? At least long enough for you to find the amulet and get it into something that will dampen the effects, at least.

Seductive Whispers
The truth can be so very appealing when it's what you want to hear. When it provides some comfort in its knowledge. It might feel like you have an edge, like you know something that's going to give you an advantage over someone else when you need it most. You can protect yourself if you know what you want to know, after all.

Of course, lies can sound an awful lot like truth when they seem completely reasonable. Those caught in the effects area of small music box type artifacts will hear a trusted voice in their mind, whispering apparent 'truths' about the people around them. The whispers last as long as the box is open, and it's so very tempting to keep the boxes open. Maybe you suddenly know that that guy is the one who put an artifact over in the gym. Maybe you know for certain now that Dave from Accounting took the last bagel from the breakfast line. Is Dave a weasel in a cage brought back from the Buffalo excursion? Yes. But you know for sure he did it. Somehow.

Use your newfound 'knowledge' wisely. Or don't. You're pretty sure it's true, either way.

((The effects above are generalized prompts. To request a specific Artifact for your character, go HERE and provide an object and an Entity association.))

➥ You Ain't Nothing But a Groundskeep

Photo of someone performing outdoor work with work gloves on. They are leaning on a lawnmower and only their chest and arms are visible.
(cw: prejudice and discrimination; disruption of home life)

It's never been a secret that Benny Holt isn't exactly enamored with the presence of offworlders, regardless of his job security as groundskeeper for ADI housing. He's always done the work to keep the place in decent repair, but never hesitated to snitch on any rule-breakers who failed to cough up a bribe, and wouldn't have made for a friendly ear to any of the residents.

And now Benny has gone missing, but his disappearance isn't much of a mystery, either. The graffiti is a clue, with such pithy phrases as "GET OUT" and "MONSTERS" scrawled in spray paint down interior hallways. That's if you can get inside the halls to begin with–perhaps a few people were home when Benny went on his little rampage, but he appears to have timed his departure for the workday, leaving ADI workers to discover on arriving home that the outer doors are all locked. Hopefully you know a few tricks for sneaking in after curfew, because even after you get inside it turns out Benny took all the unassigned keys with him. Safety features mean it's possible to get out, but until someone re-keys or at least breaks the locks, letting an outer door shut behind you means you're not getting back in. At least once Neil hears about what's happened he'll help make sure everyone can get into the building.

Thankfully Benny seems to have prioritized leaving without encountering any residents over escalating his rampage beyond the petty, so the insides of occupied apartments are untouched. However, there's no power to the building, no wifi or ethernet, and no running water. Once someone manages to get into Benny's (locked) office and the maintenance areas for each building, it turns out he shut off the water and power and went snip-happy with a pair of wire cutters. Restoring the flow of water is just a matter of turning a few valves; restoring power and internet isn't exactly a complicated repair job, but it's not one anyone at ADI has much capacity to deal with right now.

Hope you don't mind cold showers and reading by candlelight!

➥ Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Tech

Computer screen that's entirely red with an error message.
(cw: blood; potential character or civilian death; screeching metal noise in the link)

Steel is very correct, ADI’s technology has been top notch in a lot of ways, things that aren’t often available to the general public (or at least not cheaply) can usually at least be found on the grounds, in the labs, or in the hands of ADI agents. And about a week after that ill-fated conversation between Nia and Zyrian, all of it suddenly goes dead. Anything more advanced than a basic radio-transmission walkie talkie or your basic calculator offers little more than an error screen if you’re lucky and a blank one if you’re not. Including the ADI network.

But when it rains, it pours and that’s not all there is to deal with. Slowly, the Signalheads have been walking off, including the ones wreaking havoc at the beginning of the month. All but one left to stand vigil at the edge of town. Except it’s moved closer. Just inside the Eastern edge of the city, one tall, twisted, metal structure stands, its long limbs stock-still as its signal pad faces turn towards Gloucster. A deafening sound blares through every radiowave it can find as always, recently defunct phones included.

There are no hallucinations this time, no compulsions or out of body experiences. This time, it’s simply pain. The signal interferes with the workings of bodies of any type, ADI and civilian both, and soon blood (or what passes for it) begins seeping from orifices and a weakness builds in your limbs as your head pounds. Neil grabs and distributes as many headphones, ear plugs, and even earmuffs he can find and works to direct and coordinate people to fight the Signalhead directly. He’d prefer no powers, but he’d prefer lives saved more. Your only hope is to cover your ears, destroy the transmission points, and maybe even destroy the creature itself, hopefully while saving civilians who can’t save themselves along the way. If you’re so inclined.

But this thing is huge, at least forty feet tall…it’s not a solo endeavor by any means and it’s not safe to uncover your ears....time to get creative.

➥ 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, native and non-native NPCs of ADI are going to be all over the place about what to actually do given the situation. Some are going to want to keep ADI as it is, acknowledging they've become the thing they've hunted, some are going to want to break away completely, while others are going to want to find some middle ground. Please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
WHO LET THE ARTIFACTS OUT? (16 May-1 June) - Artifacts will be scattered throughout ADI's facilities, even into the housing areas. Some might, perhaps, find their way to Bonnie's as well, if people aren't careful. While the most mundane means of destruction will not work for these objects, characters are welcome to get creative. Maybe you decide to put duct tape over the mirrors so there's no reflective surface. Maybe you wear a gas mask while searching for the amulets. Maybe you glue the music boxes shut so they can't play. Players are welcome to come up with their own solutions. As long as the solution isn't 'just hit it harder with mundane force to break it,' it can work! No need to get approval from the mods.
YOU AIN'T NOTHING BUT A GROUNDSKEEP (16 May-Ongoing) - Benny will have timed his departure to avoid encountering anyone on the way out; savvy characters will realize he's probably been watching the video feeds of the shared hallways long enough to know residents' patterns (not creepy at all, Benny!). He has left town and will not return. For the duration of the event (and potentially beyond, depending on event outcomes), the general chaos at ADI means there will not be resources allocated to fixing the things he broke. Characters who wish to relocate to Bonnie's Flophouse may do so using standard OOC housing change procedures; please be aware that the Flophouse likely is not large enough to house all characters.
DIRTY OLD EGG-SUCKIN' TECH (25 May-Ongoing) - The last Signalhead in town will need to be taken down by more than one character. As long as at least three characters engage the signalhead in their threads, we will consider it dealt with by the end of this leg of the event. If not, it may simply walk into Dogtown to be a problem later, once it feels it’s killed enough people around town, anyway. This fight is completely player run, just know it is huge and largely metal and leathered skin and wires, it packs a punch and can use any frequency to try and get into character’s head or hurt them as it has in the past. It’s a tough fight, but not an impossible one. The effects of Signalhead’s most recent signal will leave characters weakened and aching, but it’s ultimately recoverable if the person hasn’t been exposed for so long that their body has gone into shut down, if characters work together, they’ll be able to save most of the civilians who don’t just shut themselves away and hide.

NPC/Mod Setting Interactions

This section is for players wishing to take a more active role in deciding ADI's ultimate fate, and directly interacting with key NPCs. We would ask, for the sake of plot progression, that those tagging in prioritize these threads to the extent practicable. Mods will do so, as well.

We would request all tag-ins by 5/25 to allow for sufficient time to thread things out. Players may tag in just their character or may thread in pairs with mod responses. You may tag an individual character into a maximum of two (2) different mod response options.

➥ Pam Ruan

An older woman looking upward with a small smile. She wears glasses and has curly dark hair. She has a finger to her chin like she's considering something.
(cw: existential despair; discussion of mental health and psychiatric committal)

Pam is harder to find than she normally would be. She's not in her office, she's not in the Canteen or other smaller breakrooms. She doesn't even seem to be at ADI. Instead, those going looking for her will have to travel further afield, roaming Gloucester. They'll find her sitting on a park bench looking toward the General's Store. Her expression says she's a million miles away right now, but she does speak when she spots someone familiar. As the head of HR, she seems to know everyone in ADI. The prosthetic hand she usually wears is missing. She looks like she hasn't slept in more than a day, and her good hand and the other parts of her look… injured. Bad. She's not hiding the clipboard that sits beside her with a list of security codes for ADI. One of these, circled in red pen, is 'Artifact Containment.' It might point… a certain direction for the culprit of ADI's current woes.

"I left my family to come to ADI, you know? No more contact. Not unless I agreed to be committed. They don't think I'm well. I think… maybe, they were right."

➥ Neil Grace

A black man with short hair and a beard looking toward the camera with a pleasantly neutral expression.
(cw: none)

Neil is always a busy man. As head of security, it’s his job to know his people, make sure they’re where they need to be and be there as safe as they can. That’s harder to do with some disillusioned, some just gone, and others throwing themselves into the job harder than ever. At least those he can help lead towards figuring out where these artifacts have gone.

Neil can be found anywhere around ADI from checking on the perimeter he’s set up around the grounds to try and keep the artifacts from getting out into town, to making sure people move through the building and search in pairs, to talking some people down from…simply making things worse. Those who feel the right answer to learning you’ve become nothing but dogs is to be dogs and snap at those around you. It’s a fight like that you might come across Neil breaking up, his tone firm but fatherly in his Disappointment as he puts a hand to one chest and braces an arm against another. “Enough, both of you. You, get yourself down to med and see to those scratches. You, take a walk. A long one. Outside this building. Now.”

He pulls his phone from a pocket and makes a note or seems to text someone with vigorous but quick efficiency and then turns to look at whoever’s next to approach him. He offers a tired but genuine smile. “Lots of things up in the air…we gotta keep our heads long enough to know what to do about it or we’ll lose them completely. What’s up? Need something?”

➥ Rae Hargrave

A Caucasian woman with large glasses and blue eyes stares toward the camera. She is not smiling and is in front of an ambulance.
(cw: none)

In the midst of the chaos, there is an ongoing flurry of activity in the office adjacent to Nia's. Rae has never quite settled in as Warden's assistant, apparently not much of one for paperwork and administration, but she seems to be spending much of her time in the days immediately after the revelation rifling through filing cabinets and moving files from the ADI database onto a thumb drive. Judging by the messenger bag she's stuffing full of papers, she's apparently planning to throw all rules of data security out the window and take a big chunk of ADI intel with her…somewhere. Interrupt what she's doing, and you're likely to get a curt, "Yes, what?"

That is, of course, if you don't come across her destroying an artifact with ruthless efficiency. She's taken to carrying a sledgehammer in the halls, though it's not especially effective against most of what's been released. Catch her in the break room burning the face off of a lone Elf on the Shelf that somehow survived the Christmas purge, and you'll see something wolfish and vindictive behind her blue eyes, her mouth set in an expression of grim determination that doesn't quite hide the pleasure she takes in the act of destruction.

➥ Warden Nia Lehrer

A black woman looking to the side with a small smile. She's wearing an orange top.
(cw: none)

Zyrian Steel had said it best, perhaps: Nia Lehrer is nothing if not a practical woman. There are rogue artifacts on the loose around ADI, and she's reeling, but she's not about to let those go unchecked. Characters will find the Warden prowling the corridors with various tools in hand to try to fight against the effects of unleashed terrors. There's an unusual energy to her, as well, almost as if she's straining to see or hear something. Regardless of whether you're in the area looking for her or just happen to be passing her by chance, she puts a hand out to halt you. "Wait. Something ain't right over there." She nods toward a hallway, a room, some place nearby. "I just… need a minute. I think." To do what isn't clear, but here you are.

Malcolm hasn't actually spoken to her since that meeting in her office, so long ago now.

The meeting where she told him the only way to deal with Avatars was to kill them.

He sees her approaching with various implements and walks up to her, but she stops him.

"Do... do you need help?" he calls after her.

"More ways than just the one," she mutters under her breath before actually addressing him. "I've got this. I think it's an artifact. You seen or felt anything unusual? Trying to map out where everything is. Need to take care of that." If she keeps working, she doesn't have to think about... everything else, right?

"How did the artifacts get out?" Malcolm asks.

That entire conversation with Nia and Steel almost made Elias laugh. There were so many similar threads in it with conversations he had with his Archivist. The knowledge that you are now something more than what you were before. The confusion at learning of your change. Hell, even the revelation that Steel had...taken care of the previous warden feels so similar to revelations that the Archivist picked up as well.

So naturally he goes to seek out Nia. Truthfully, he wants to bother Steel: he has his own ideas about what the man might be. And he's right—the Hunt is predictable. But it's a predictable he can push in the right place.

"Warden," he says, as he approaches her and gives her a little nod. "Might I have a moment of your time? I suspect you have a few questions that I might be able to answer."

"Not sure just yet. We're in triage mode. Stop the bleeding, then find the weapon. It had to be someone with the security codes, though. Not many around here have them. Not with those levels of clearance." She sighs. "Possible it's Zyrian's parting gift, but he'd have had to bribe someone or hacked his way in, and he didn't hang around long enough for hacking."

"Oh, I don't know, just wondering what you plan on doing with all that data you're stealing." Cortana's tone is equally testy, and she raises an eyebrow, leaning against the wall. She'd cross her arms over her chest, but she seems to be missing one. Really? She didn't think someone would pick up on what she's doing? Stealing data via small portable storage device is something any skilled cybersecurity expert should be on the lookout for, after all.

Speaking of...

"You know, if we don't all get picked off while our loyalties are divided, I really should look into blocking USB access for unapproved devices."

"If this place is still standing in a week, what you should do is burn it to the ground," replies Rae. Her eyes go back to the screen, the light on her thumb drive flashing as she continues combing through files to copy over. "Didn't keep my own files offsite, so here we are. What happened to your arm?"

There's a pause as Nia gives Elias a long look. "Who are you?" Look. She's been busy. This person is new.

It's really not long after that fated broadcast that Tim's pushing into ADI space; trial by fire, he's going without the forearm crutches. Figures he'll have to get more used to the prosthetic without the training wheels.

"Neil, what happened."

It's not a question. But it is. He doesn't know. Tim doesn't know.

"The program was sound. We have people talking about Artifacts out of containment- did we get any chance..." Well, Tim takes a pause, a breath, and he just wants to beg for... quieter, he continues.

"Any chance, to plant a bug on Steel?"

"Elias Bouchard," he responds, with a little nod. There's a moment's pause before he continues, as if in idle conversation, "I've dealt with those of the Hunt back home. Names and examples that I would happily mention to prove my point, except I know they mean nothing to you. Now, do you want to know how to take full advantage of this gift or are you content with being the lapdog to whatever power Steel serves?"

Well, she'd already been thinking of talking to someone about the possibility of introducing more advanced technology in a way that doesn't inspire easily exploitable fear... with the recent split that's gone from a way to potentially boost their cause while making some extra cash to something that might actually be vitally necessary.

She already had her suspicions about ADI and she's even less inclined to trust them now, but... well she'd be a liar if she said corruption isn't ingrained in basically every large scale organization she knows of, and she can't do this on her own. At least Nia seemed to care.

"Bad breakup?" She's beat up, frazzled, and missing an arm, but she's still gotta try for levity. "I might be able to help with that."

Edited 2023-05-16 20:05 (UTC)

"He does have a lot of money, though," Malcolm remarks. "Are there any artifacts out here that are... fatal to the touch?"

"Really not keen on destroying the only place with the infrastructure, knowledge, and resources to help my friends. Or the only place to give equal pay -- or any pay -- to an AI." Figuring out an alternate solution takes time, and Bonnie can't feed and house all of them while they wait.

Cortana looks at her shoulder.

"Had a bad run in with a wayward artifact." She shrugs. Shit happens during a war.

Guess who has been helping with the smashing, shooting, burning, and otherwise destroying things? This guy. He doesn't know what to do, yet, so he's settled on something that's familiar.

He knocks a harmless-looking bucket out of Rae's path before she can step on it, swing at it, or otherwise interact with it. "Careful," he warns. "It will try to eat that sledgehammer. And then you'll be left without a sledgehammer."

As evidenced by the rough and ragged end of the broom he'd used to swipe at it with.

The sound Nia makes is halfway between a scoff and sneer. "Something like that. I really thought he was one of the good ones. Goes to show you." She's still squinting down the hallway, but she flicks a glance at Cortana to show the other woman has her attention. "I'm listening, though. Anything we can do to stop the bleeding here."

"No." A pause. "Not from what I know about them. People sure do have a way of getting creative, though." There's clear exhaustion in her tone as she says that. "Apart from the End, the Entities feed on fear. Dead things can't be afraid. And we didn't have any End-based objects that were just... insta-death here. I've never actually found anything like that. Don't think I want ot."

That has her narrowing her eyes at him, clearly assessing now. "I am no one's lapdog, Mr. Bouchard." There's something that burns within her, a clear indignation that's barely being held in check right now. "You wanna talk and tell me what you know and why you know it, start talking. I've got artifacts causing hell for my people, and whatever else is going on or whatever's happening to me... they come first."

Edited 2023-05-17 04:53 (UTC)

I. Plans Gone Awry - Closed to CR

Winter doesn't usually reply to things on the network unless it's important, from someone he knows, or he has a particular interest in whatever is being said. Which is not often. He does, however, keep up with everything posted there and follow up on responses that aren't made private.

So he saw that video. And he is pissed. He seeks out his people, because he doesn't know what to do, but he does know they need to do something.

"What do we do," he asks each member his team. "We can't work for an Avatar." But can they take her town? Should they take her down? He doesn't know. And he doesn't know what to without an organization to work for, either.

II. Smashing Things - OTA

When in doubt, kill something. For now, Winter is still showing up for his security shifts, and he is making it his personal mission to seek out everything strange and out of place to smash it, shoot it, stomp on it, or otherwise make a mess out of it. He prowls the halls of ADI like an avenging angel decked out in guns, staves for poking things from a distance, and the occasional grenade.

Mirrors all get punched with a metal fist, all the plates closed tight and hard until they finally crack. Anyone looking over his shoulder for that could see a parade of deaths, clearly at Winter's hands, or more rarely a handful of smiling young women with dark hair.

He also eyes anyone he passes warily unless he's very familiar with them, in which case he might make an unhappy face and ask, "Did you see it?"

He leaves "it" unclear, though he means the video.

III. Gunning - OTA

About halfway through the morning on the second day of artifact hunting, one might find Winter hastily stripping things off in the hallway of ADI and throwing them as far away from himself as possible: weapons, body armor, even his boots. Only when he's down to a tank top, pants, and his two layers of socks does he stop.

That makes it obvious that his right arm is looking kind of metal, too, and his fingers are a little longer than they should be. He stares at the mess of equipment he's made, glares at it, searching for the culprit.

IV. Handyman - OTA

Winter is a former assassin. He knows how to pick locks. He gets back to the ADI apartments and can be found cursing at the lock on the front door as he coaxes it open again with the pins in his little kit. When he gets inside he'll see about sticking a brick in the door to keep it open for anyone else not home yet.

And once he figures out that the power's out, which shouldn't take long, he sets about picking the lock on the maintenance closet, too, to figure out what's wrong.

He can't fix everything, but the water is easy, and he can twist wires together until they get power. Wifi he's not going to figure out on his own, though.

V. Blowing Something Up - for Yelena, Steve, and Cortana

There's only one signal tower left. Winter is sure they can take down one signal tower, if they put their heads together. So he makes the rounds to his usual crew to hatch a plan.

"I want to blow it up," he says simply. "Grenades. If we can get some C4, that will be even better. We just have to get close enough to strap the explosives to it. Maybe take turns distracting it."

Edited (adding a prompt) 2023-05-18 01:31 (UTC)

Like when he ran into Rae, Winter is still smashing artifacts himself. He stops when he sees Nia. Narrows his eyes at her.

But he's had a day or two to calm down. And hearing her sound like a normal, scared, upset person has taken her down from "handler" level of authority in his head, a little bit. And she hadn't known. He knows how that feels like. How mad he was.

So he says after a long moment: "I didn't know I had an entity with its claws in me when I got here, either."

Nina isn't looking for Pam. It's the way the older woman is holding herself that catches her attention first - she only recognizes her a moment later, from the message that had gone out across the network and seemingly thrown everyone and everything into disarray.

"Maybe," she says. "It's hard to feel quite right, when everything you thought you knew gets yanked out from under you."

She settles on the other end of the bench, fingers twitching as she folds her hands in her lap. "Did someone hurt you?" It's a little softer, sympathetic. Concerned. She doesn't have to feign it - if Pam had been caught spying, it's not an unexpected consequence.

"Well, I was thinking... the entities work entirely through fear, right? And it seems awfully suspicious that what technology that is and isn't considered supernatural lines up exactly with the level of human advancement... I was thinking it might have less to do with the technology itself than public perception of it. And if that's the case, I know about a lot of inventions that are known to be possible, or that technically exist but not in a useable or mass produceable form yet..." And how to make them both useable and mass produceable as they've already existed for centuries in her timeline. She's offering to help fill in for Copernicus on the technology front, at least when it comes to ideas and blueprints.

...At least, if her theory turns out to be true.

Raine hadn't talked to Nia much... not of what they could remember, at least. But something struck a chord with Raine when they heard the transmission between the strange looking man Eda had been investigating— Zyrian Steele— and Nia Lehrer. So much so, that Raine decided they wanted to seek the woman out. Talk to her. They'd seen things happen like this before, as the the covens were no stranger to people being exposed. It always ends with them being cast out. Or petrified. Or worse. They knew now that Eda had been correct about Zyrian. And they knew that would make certain people angry.

Well, angrier than they already were considering what they knew now about Nia. Raine decided that the opporitunity to talk to her alone was too good to be passed up. After a moment of silence, of allowing Nia to think, Raine decided to take matters of conversation into their own hands.

"I have a question," They begin, calm and collected, empathy at the edges. "What do you plan to do now?"

Edited 2023-05-17 06:32 (UTC)

"Why I know what I know is...complicated. What I know is the artifacts aren't the problem," he says. He looks over Nia, gaze piercing as if his eyes can see into her soul before continuing the conversation.

"They're trinkets. A distraction, nothing more. You need to focus your energy on preparing for whatever happens at New Horizons - because we both know something is going to happen."

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Event - Dogged

General Setting Prompts

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Nia Lehrer

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Nia Lehrer

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Rae Hargrave

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Neil

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Nia Lehrer

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Rae Hargrave

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Nia Lehrer too, why not

Pam Ruan

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Nia Lehrer

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