NPC Interactions - July 2023

[apocalypsehowmods]

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NPC Interactions - July 2023

Player characters aren't the only ones trying to eke out a living and dodge the apocalypse in Gloucester. Beginning in July 2023, Apocalypse How will feature a monthly NPC Interaction post, where we will post any updates about what key NPCs are up to in the background, as well as provide a place for players to tag in and interact with those NPCs.

Please note the following:

• To interact, simply place the name of NPC you wish to thread with in the subject line and provide a starter. These do not need to be complex in their set-up and NPCs can be found anywhere one might reasonably find them. In the office or around Gloucester.
• Each player will be limited to one NPC thread on this post per month. This is to keep things manageable for the mods and to encourage players to share whatever their characters might learn in these interactions with the broader group.
• These NPC threads can be used for AC, but if players are using them exclusively to meet AC requirements across multiple months, the mods reserve the right to request additional non-NPC proofs.
• Interaction with NPCs is not required to participate in the plot of the game. This is simply an additional, optional venue for engagement.

Nia Lehrer (she/her)

The Warden (i.e., head) of the Apocalypse Disruption Initiative/Apex Detectives, Inc., and a very busy woman. She is short, serious, and direct, but can turn on the charm when she needs to. She is the public face of the business and directs strategy for the organization. She is also an avatar of the Hunt… or working her way there from an alignment. Her status as an avatar came as a surprise, but she has decided to at least partially embrace it, the better to fight the monsters. Nia has indicated she intends to find a way to get Player Characters home or stop them arriving in her universe and then find a way to stop herself from becoming one of the monsters ADI is sworn to fight. She places the mission and practicality first and has been shown to have the ability to smell Entity affiliation on others, as well as know strategically useful information. Nia is most likely to be found at ADI Headquarters.

This month, she seems to be focusing her energy on piecing what remains of ADI back together, and is drowning in paperwork. As the month of July goes on, she will gradually begin to show signs of agitation and paranoia, as though she's trying to catch someone following her when there's no other sign that anyone is doing so.

Reyes Amador (they/them)

Formerly Nia's assistant, currently working in PR for ADI. They have a close, personal connection with Bonnie. When they're not at ADI Headquarters, they might be found out on the town with Bonnie or dropping in to visit her at the Flophouse. They are average height, polite, and eminently calm. They also seem to have a knack for reading other people.

This month, they are quite busy with their general work duties in the aftermath of the Wolf Trap incident, working to cover up the supernatural disaster and near-apocalypse as well as spin a story for local papers regarding the sudden mass exodus of many longtime ADI staffers in June. Reyes seems to be absent from ADI for long stretches at times. Word on the street is that they're heavily invested in investigating Dogtown.

Pam Ruan (she/her)

HR for New Arrivals at ADI. She is a motherly, older woman who is typically patient, but also has a passive-aggressive snap to her if someone tests that to the breaking point. She is responsible for acclimating new arrivals and for those with a keen eye, she always carries a pistol in a shoulder holster, hidden beneath her cardigans. Due to an event incident, Pam is missing her left hand; she simply covers the stump with a pinned cardigan sleeve when wearing long sleeves or a pretty, fluffy cuff when wearing short sleeves. She's most often found at ADI Headquarters.

This month, she has been busy putting together a Christmas in July party; in the aftermath of that event she will spend the remainder of the month basking in the satisfaction of having finally thrown a holiday party that did not result in mass trauma.

Bonnie Gale (she/her)

Proprietor of the Flophouse. Bonnie is a tall, red-headed woman from another world, one of the first to find herself dragged into this new reality more than a year ago. She's a Bohemian sort with a lot of manic energy. She also places much greater emphasis on retaining one's humanity over being strictly human. Bonnie has a close, personal relationship with Reyes Amador, and will keep the people in the flophouse apprised of anything important ADI is doing so that they can help, if they wish to do so. She's most often found at the Flophouse or out on the town with Reyes.

This month she has purchased a Cricut and opened an Etsy shop selling stickers on a whim. It is going poorly.

The Visionary (he/she/they)

A young person living in the flophouse as Bonnie's roommate. They are a native to this reality and read a cursed book called The Long Road Ahead around the same time that Bonnie arrived. They now feed on cherished memories to give horrific visions of a potential future to those who wish to avail themselves of the exchange. They are rail thin, sickly, and always keep a blindfold over their eyes. They can sometimes be found in the common area in the flophouse with a white walking cane to guide them. (This NPC provides an IC conduit for OOC 'canon updates.')

This month, as is usual for her, the Visionary is holed up in their room and reluctant to take visitors...though perhaps even more so than usual.

Cole Guttuso (he/him)

A young man living in one of the flophouse's unused rooms. He is native to this reality and was originally part of a Desolation-based circus called the Fenix Down Extravaganza. He was called away from the circus on "family business," just before PCs murdered all Desolation avatars of the circus. Formerly known as Pyre, Cole was subsequently known to be lurking around Wolf Pen, WV during the events of Appalachia before he starting lighting fires on his way toward revenge against ADI for the circus and for their murder of his father, Carl Watts, in Wolf Pen. In his search for revenge, Cole attacked a Gloucester Eye cult, thinking it was associated with ADI and was turned from a man made of wax to one made of viscous eye jelly. He has lost cohesion as a being in many ways, along with access to much of his Desolation-based abilities, and is currently trapped in the form of a melted, mostly faceless flesh-blob monster. He lurks in the Flophouse, avoiding contact with people where he can. This NPC was spared by players from death and hidden at the Flophouse as part of a poll that took place in December 2022. As of June 2023, Cole has repaid some of the kindness shown to him by developing a truly private network app just for off-worlders.

This month, Cole remains holed up in his room as he has been since moving into the Flophouse, but he's always up for a chat over his network. After the kindness shown to him recently, he might even open his door for an in-person visit…if you can stomach his blob monster appearance.

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[apocalypsehowmods]

Cole Guttuso

[failedpromise]

(It's more than a little strange, showing up unnanounced to visit the guy whose father you helped kill, but Cole has been ...surprisingly nice? And someone should probably check on him, so here she is.

She knocks on his door.)

Hey, Cole. You there?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[There's the sound of a cheap desk chair creaking in protest at some sudden movement on the other side of the door, then a few seconds of weighty silence before a young man's voice calls back, sounding deeply unsure about the situation.]

Uh...yeah? Yeah. I'm sorry about the bathroom, I thought I got it pretty cleaned up but if there's a problem I'll deal with it tonight when I get my shower--

[failedpromise]

(He can probably hear her snortlaugh through the door.)

If there's a problem with the bathroom I'll be the last one to know it, buddy. Though... you haven't seen me without my disguise, have you?

cw inappropriate questions about Cortana's body

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Uhh...wait. What? Are you--okay, what?"

There's a wet, shuffling, thumping sound that's not entirely unlike footsteps coming nearer the door before Cole whispers through it: "Are you saying you don't have a butthole?"

[failedpromise]

And there's a several second pause there before Cortana just cracks up. Seriously, dude that's gotta be the worst possible question you could ask someone.

She's not offended though. Not much related to physical processes gets to her after living in a man's suit of armor for weeks at a time.

"I'm a robot, buddy. It'd be kind of weird to have one, wouldn't it?" One indicator that she's telling the truth: she's not out of breath when she speaks, even though she's still laughing hard enough that she struggles to get the words out.

Nia cw: mention of body horror, PTSD

[cuttypie]

[He had been suspicious of Nia ever since they found out about her being an Avatar of the Hunt. At one point he would even have agreed with the others, having been a former Avatar himself—he’d managed to stave off the worst of it for so long. Why couldn’t she?

Until one day he didn’t. Until one day something had robbed him of his inhibitions. He will never forget what he did to Carter. He will never forget how much like Katie he became.]

Nia?

[Luka knocks on the door to her office. He still makes squeaky, creaky sounds when he walks, his movements stiff and strange. His joints are still plastic ball-joints, clearly visible on his hands and fingers under his sleeves, and plastic even on his neck—if there had been any improvement since he’d touched that artifact, it was negligible at best.

At least he’s got his face back, so he’s got that going for him.]

I’d like a word, if you have the time.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[Piles of papers have taken up residence on Nia's desk, the ones that can easily be spotted are work orders needing approved, supplies being requested, leads to be followed, and a dwindling stack of transfer and resignation notices she's currently working on.

When Luka arrives and knocks, it's not the knocking that has her looking up, it's the squeaking sounds of his joints. Something that seems to draw a sympathetic wince from her. She sighs and waves him in.]

Dr. Kovač. I've never got time, but I can make some. Come in. Something I can help you with?

[cuttypie]

[Luka is polite, at least, in return.]

Thank you, I appreciate you making the time.

[He walks in, standing awkwardly at first. Really, how's the best way to start this? Accusing her isn't going to win him any favors, but...]

I wanted to speak with you about...well. With you being an Avatar. I truly don't know how far I can trust you or this organization, but I wanted to hear it from you, first. How have you been faring with your connection to the Entity?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[There's something that seems to close off in her expression a moment when he says 'Avatar' but a quick rub at her temples moves the reticence into quiet resignation.]

Frankly, doctor, I've been fine. Make of that what you will, I know I am. But that doesn't matter, what I think you're really after is that first question. You wanna know if I'm about to flip off the deep end and I can answer you, but it'll still be my word against whatever you're already thinking.

[cuttypie]

[You’re so right, Nia. Luka clears his throat, a little caught off guard, but it’s fine.]

Then I want to hear it from your own words.

I don’t know what to think at the moment, honestly. Because I have seen it get bad, personally. And maybe you are okay now, and I respect that, but there have been incidents, things that have affected our minds. If one of those gets to you…

Pam!

[ruevealing]

[It is early into July when a knock comes at Pam's office door in ADI headquarters, the owlbear dressed up in a perfectly poofy pink chiffon dress, an ornate tea tray in paw.]

I thought you could use a tea break.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Oh? Oh! Thank you.

[Pam looks up at Rue and offers a genuine smile.]

Please come in, Rue. How are you doing?

[ruevealing]

[A loaded question nowadays, but Rue is nothing if not prepared for easy small talk when necessary.]

I am well, thank you.

[They enter with a swishing of skirts, graceful as ever, as they move to set the tray down away from all of Pam's important work.]

And yourself? I fear that all of us have been kept so busy these last few months, that we've hardly had time to connect.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

I'm... okay. [There's a small pause there before she offers another earnest smile.] Better than I've been doing for a little while now. Everything that's happened is- it's still on my mind, but... Something's gone right this month. The little Christmas in July holiday.

I used to plan holiday parties for my family. It's felt like it... like I finally got it right again.

[ruevealing]

[Their head tips to the side, owlishly watching the woman, before Rue rests a giant paw to Pam's intact arm. Just a brush of talons and feathers, before they are settling across from her and pouring her tea.]

No one can blame you for how you've been feeling. It has been - [a gentle, careful sigh] Most difficult, hasn't it? But I am grateful that we all have something to look forward to now.

Pray, is there anything I can assist with in the planning? I do not mind being put to work on the most mundane of tasks if necessary.

Nia Lehrer or Reyes Amador

[canofmanji]

[It will be mid to late in July when Manji decides to try to speak to Nia. Wanting to give some time to try to sort out the mess that ADI has become. He's not exactly been shy about his distrust for the place he works at so it won't be surprising to him if he can't get access to Nia and is fobbed off to Reyes instead.

He will try to insist on speaking with the 'head honcho', but if he's told that Nia is too busy then he'll happily settle for Reyes.]

I got a blunt question I want to ask.

So sorry about the delay, this got lost!

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[He's not fobbed off, nor rebuked or made to wait an unreasonable amount of time. It takes a little bit to be able to actually pin her down in her office once she's managed some form of system for managing her paper load, but she sees Manji once he finds her there.

She glances up and finishes the paper she's on before setting it aside in a new pile to give him her attention. Attention that comes with a small tilt to her head and a raised brow of curiosity.]

Alright. Shoot.

That's okay! I just assumed you were still settling after all the moving!

[canofmanji]

How many do we still have locked away? Hidden some where dark and out of the way so we don't have to think too hard about them? [Truthfully, if there are, he's not expecting a real answer. Mostly he just wants to see the reaction in her face for the question even being asked.]

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[Her brows furrow, confusion in her expression.]

How many what? Artefacts? A few more, but hidden away is exactly where those belong, something I'd think was pretty obvious after this last batch got unleased.

[canofmanji]

No. I mean people. People like me, like you. [He lets that sink in for a moment.] People like Katie. Or, those of us who use to be people.

How many more do we have locked away here or elsewhere?

Cole! | early July

[edalyn]

Eda has, since his appearance on the original network, been trying to get Cole to isolate himself a bit less. It seems she's going to keep trying, or at least see she makes any headway checking in in person.

On a whim, she knocks on his door one morning—well, probably early afternoon, but she's not much of a morning person.

"Hey, how're you holding up in there?"

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Cole's been accessible enough on the network, but if he ever comes out of his room, he must be carefully timing his exits to avoid meeting anyone. So when she stops by, it's a safe assumption that Cole is in--safer still when there's the sound of a creaking chair, silence for a moment just long enough to be awkward, and then a voice that sounds like someone talking himself into not pretending he's out.

"Uh...hi?"

[edalyn]

Eda's just beginning to consider taking the hint and leaving when she gets a response after all. An awkward one, but she might as well forge ahead.

"Hi," she says, and then after a beat, "it's Eda." Which he might realise already, but they've mostly spoken in text, so he also might not. She debates making some excuse like asking if he wants any of the lunch she's planning to cook, but for now she just settles on seeing what response this gets.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"Eda...oh! Yeah, the, uh, giant skeleton islands lady."

Seems he remembers her but still needed the prod. "What's...up? Anything wrong?"