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apocalypsehowcomm2023-08-01 07:39 am
apocalypsehownpcs) wrote in apocalypsehowcomm2023-08-01 07:39 am
Entry tags:
Into the Wyldwoods
Who: Milo apocalypsehownpcs, Raine Whispers rainestorms, Steve Rogers punched_hitler
When: August 15th
Where: The Wyldwoods
Summary: Raine and Steve have taken it upon themselves to uncover more information about the lower levels of ADI and the illusion that disguises the non-humans at ADI. They encounter Milo, a Perfectly Ordinary Person, who has some information to share.
Warnings: Gaslighting, manipulation, illusions, uncanny valley, potential for loss of name, sense of self, and memory or memory modification
It's not easy getting to the very lowest level of ADI Headquarters. Asking around will indicate that it's where ADI once kept an avatar of the Dark named Katie Dunn. No other prisoners are being kept on that level, but access is severely restricted. By ill-got means or some very serious persuasion, though, two people have managed to gain access to it.
There was also a cryptic bit of guidance found or obtained to 'bring milk and honey,' which may or may not have been listened to.
The elevator door opens to a small, metal room with two sturdy doors leading off from it. The one to the left is labeled Containment. The one to the right is labeled Wyldwoods. Both require keycodes to access, but the infiltrators have acquired those by their various means. Containment is a small cell block with only three cells. There's nothing and no one in here. It seems ADI was telling the truth about Katie Dunn being their only prisoner.
Wyldwoods is a different story, the door opens and the one entering will find themselves immediately hit with the scent of loam and pine. It is pleasantly warm with a blue, partly cloudy sky, and there's the sound of birdsong and wind rustling leaves. It looks to be a full pine forest in the middle of a lovely summer's day. Moving into the room, they'll find themselves stepping out of a door that's appeared in the trunk of a tree. Said door closes and vanishes immediately behind them.
Beyond the trees is a meadow filled with flowers. Sitting in the field is a young and beautiful-looking person. They seem to be lounging and plucking flowers for a chain that they're weaving together. There's a slight frown on their face, though. Approaching, it might become apparent that some of the meadow beyond them isn't meadow at all. It's just metal, much like the walls out in the entry room. The patches flicker and flowers and grass grow back, but more patches appear in other spots, instead.
Raine Whispers (first to arrive and leave)
The person turns to look toward Raine when they approach, whether directly or with stealth. "Ah, hello? You're someone new."
Steve Rogers (second to arrive and leave)
"Two new visitors in one day!" It doesn't matter if Steve is approaching with stealth or not, the person seems to know where he is and looks over at him or whatever hiding spot he's chosen. "I feel very lucky, indeed. Hello? May I have your name?"
(Warning for Both Players: Providing a full name to this character at any point in the conversation will result in negative consequences for Raine and/or Steve.
Additional Information for Raine: In their general exploration and investigation, Raine would have turned up the following information.
1. ADI has not found a way to send people home. Arrivals and disappearances continue to be at random from all paperwork and other documentation that is available. There seems to have been a slow down in recent months, which is concerning to ADI in a different way. Possibly it signals that whatever is doing this has collected what it wants?
2. Artifacts contained by ADI are anything seen in the Dogged event that has not been destroyed or hampered by PCs.
3. Oculus seems to have been a cult that was active several decades ago, particularly in the 1990s. They attempted a ritual in Oracle, AZ that involved the Biosphere 2 experiment. ADI wasn't actually all that involved in disrupting that initiative. They had looked at it and deemed it doomed to failure. And it was. After the failure of that ritual, members of Oculus splintered and there was a lot of in-fighting that ADI watched from afar. Current records indicate that the larger cult is dead with some minor pockets here and there. The largest pocket was dealt with in Gloucester recently. The only other notable grouping of Oculus seems to be out in Arizona where they're trying to get funding for Biosphere 3.
Dogtown has grown increasingly strange since the arrival of the first offworld NPCs. It was always a threat, but it seemed to have Hunt and Dark as the primary Entities lurking within it. 'Primordial' ones, ADI's information calls these. The Wolfe House at the center of Dogtown is a documented site for significant hauntings, but ADI has always dealt with those in the past without too much incident.
Hammond Castle is the only other location of interest. Notes indicate that ADI has a Special Relationship with the castle given the Hammonds' interest in the occult. In the past, ADI has used the castle as a front for acquiring cursed artifacts.)
apocalypsehownpcs, Raine Whispers rainestorms, Steve Rogers punched_hitlerWhen: August 15th
Where: The Wyldwoods
Summary: Raine and Steve have taken it upon themselves to uncover more information about the lower levels of ADI and the illusion that disguises the non-humans at ADI. They encounter Milo, a Perfectly Ordinary Person, who has some information to share.
Warnings: Gaslighting, manipulation, illusions, uncanny valley, potential for loss of name, sense of self, and memory or memory modification
It's not easy getting to the very lowest level of ADI Headquarters. Asking around will indicate that it's where ADI once kept an avatar of the Dark named Katie Dunn. No other prisoners are being kept on that level, but access is severely restricted. By ill-got means or some very serious persuasion, though, two people have managed to gain access to it.
There was also a cryptic bit of guidance found or obtained to 'bring milk and honey,' which may or may not have been listened to.
The elevator door opens to a small, metal room with two sturdy doors leading off from it. The one to the left is labeled Containment. The one to the right is labeled Wyldwoods. Both require keycodes to access, but the infiltrators have acquired those by their various means. Containment is a small cell block with only three cells. There's nothing and no one in here. It seems ADI was telling the truth about Katie Dunn being their only prisoner.
Wyldwoods is a different story, the door opens and the one entering will find themselves immediately hit with the scent of loam and pine. It is pleasantly warm with a blue, partly cloudy sky, and there's the sound of birdsong and wind rustling leaves. It looks to be a full pine forest in the middle of a lovely summer's day. Moving into the room, they'll find themselves stepping out of a door that's appeared in the trunk of a tree. Said door closes and vanishes immediately behind them.
Beyond the trees is a meadow filled with flowers. Sitting in the field is a young and beautiful-looking person. They seem to be lounging and plucking flowers for a chain that they're weaving together. There's a slight frown on their face, though. Approaching, it might become apparent that some of the meadow beyond them isn't meadow at all. It's just metal, much like the walls out in the entry room. The patches flicker and flowers and grass grow back, but more patches appear in other spots, instead.
Raine Whispers (first to arrive and leave)
The person turns to look toward Raine when they approach, whether directly or with stealth. "Ah, hello? You're someone new."
Steve Rogers (second to arrive and leave)
"Two new visitors in one day!" It doesn't matter if Steve is approaching with stealth or not, the person seems to know where he is and looks over at him or whatever hiding spot he's chosen. "I feel very lucky, indeed. Hello? May I have your name?"
(Warning for Both Players: Providing a full name to this character at any point in the conversation will result in negative consequences for Raine and/or Steve.
Additional Information for Raine: In their general exploration and investigation, Raine would have turned up the following information.
1. ADI has not found a way to send people home. Arrivals and disappearances continue to be at random from all paperwork and other documentation that is available. There seems to have been a slow down in recent months, which is concerning to ADI in a different way. Possibly it signals that whatever is doing this has collected what it wants?
2. Artifacts contained by ADI are anything seen in the Dogged event that has not been destroyed or hampered by PCs.
3. Oculus seems to have been a cult that was active several decades ago, particularly in the 1990s. They attempted a ritual in Oracle, AZ that involved the Biosphere 2 experiment. ADI wasn't actually all that involved in disrupting that initiative. They had looked at it and deemed it doomed to failure. And it was. After the failure of that ritual, members of Oculus splintered and there was a lot of in-fighting that ADI watched from afar. Current records indicate that the larger cult is dead with some minor pockets here and there. The largest pocket was dealt with in Gloucester recently. The only other notable grouping of Oculus seems to be out in Arizona where they're trying to get funding for Biosphere 3.
Dogtown has grown increasingly strange since the arrival of the first offworld NPCs. It was always a threat, but it seemed to have Hunt and Dark as the primary Entities lurking within it. 'Primordial' ones, ADI's information calls these. The Wolfe House at the center of Dogtown is a documented site for significant hauntings, but ADI has always dealt with those in the past without too much incident.
Hammond Castle is the only other location of interest. Notes indicate that ADI has a Special Relationship with the castle given the Hammonds' interest in the occult. In the past, ADI has used the castle as a front for acquiring cursed artifacts.)
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"I can, indeed. And look at this...a present. How pleasant." They reach out to take the thermos without needing to get up, even with the distance a bit longer than an arm should be. It didn't seem to matter.
They brush the flowers and the partially-constructed crown aside in favor of turning to sit facing Raine as they pop the top of the thermos to have a scent. The look that passes over their face is nearly rapturous.
"Oh...now that is nice. How unique to find someone who follows The Old Rules." They close the thermos and set it in the cup of their crossed legs. "I am Milo, may I have your name, my lovely new face?"
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Here, in this context however, it made the bard feel... Uneasy.
Or rather, this place made them feel uneasy. Milo was just apart of the uneasiness. The icing on the cake. Normal human realm people weren't supposed to have powers. But, they'd already guessed correctly that Milo was no normal human realm human.
Raine tried not to show their worry on their face, and smiled at their newfound acquaintance.
"I'm glad you're pleased with it," They responded, but their attention snagged on The Old Rules.
There's a degree of hesitation as they mused over how similar it sounded to long forgotten beings from the Boiling Isles. Beings long lost to myth and destruction, that abided by their own codes of conduct and interaction with those outside of their group. But information from the Savage Ages, or, they'd rather known them as the before times, was scarce. So for now, they'd treat these rules as unfamiliar.
"The Old Rules?" Raine quietly inquired, but don't ask anything further when Milo inquired in return about their name.
"My name is..." They hesitated. Giving their name could be dangerous for multiple reasons. Namely, the ADI very much did not know Raine had found wherever they both were.
"It's never been very important."
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Not that it's going to stop them from having a sip of said milk and honey.
"It is so hard to have Friends without names." They offer next.
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There was a brief moment as they tried to conjure up one of the various nicknames people had given them. Raincloud, Rainestorm, Songbird, Sprout. Eda's nicknames felt too close to their own, and if anybody called Raine Sprout ever again they'd maybe subject the person to one or two horrors.
"Songbird. It comes from my music."
They decided to sit down to get more comfortable.
"And I do have questions. But I didn't want to come in and immediately ask them. That's rude."
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They prop their elbows up on their knees and rest their chin in their hands to look at their Songbird. "Well, now you've brought reciprocity and manners. What else would you like to bring to the table?"
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Raine wouldn't necessarily call Milo a friend. They'd just met, after all. Raine wanted to be friendly to them but... the ADI had worn their trust in others thin as of late.
"Well, I have questions, and not a lot of time, which I'm sure was obvious but... I'd like to know about you. And why the ADI put you down here."
They paused, and looked around, before they added:
"Did you make this forest? It's very pretty."
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Milo grins, pleased with themselves. “As it happens, I did! I have plenty of time on my hands and little else for company but imagination, so I make myself…comfortable. I suppose we all do, don’t we? When we’re far from the familiar, we seek out what remains so.”
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They paused, before they added:
"What all can you create? Besides forests."
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There’s a moment, a wash of energy that makes it feel like Raine’s skin might simply unravel off their form, then the meadow…fractures. Splintering breaks shake through the grass and sky like shattering glass and what reveals under the falling flakes is a stage. The roar of an applauding crowd in the darkness of the lit wooden platform greets them and Milo stands. Or rather, unfolds.
“We can be anywhere. It’s such a thin shred of paper in one’s mind to hold back the doubt and uncertainty. This wood is as real as the grass a moment ago and the metal a moment before that. So tell me why I’m here…and then ask me why you are.”
no subject
They stood up as quickly as their body would let them when they open their eyes to a stage. Panic gripped their chest, and they tried to calm themself down, and make sense of what had just happened. Milo said it was real, but things changed. Things shifted. The metal walls in the edges of the room were still metal, they told themself. Reality doesn't just change and shift unless somebody or something was manipulating it to seem different.
"You make the glamours, don't you?" they exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than intended. They don't look out at the audience, and try to focus on Milo.
"But- why am I here? Because now.. Now I feel like it wasn't me who found you. Or maybe I've misunderstood."
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"Correct." They offer in a sing-songy voice. "You went looking because you want answers. But knowledge without intent is just the game of Eyes and Webs. I found you because you're interesting and you follow the Rules...but you are here...because you chose to be. For now. So, Songbird, what do you want of me? No one comes down here for pleasant conversation."
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"I did want answers, but I wasn't expecting to find you, Milo. I wasn't expecting to find half of what I did. Everything's..." They trailed off, and shook their head. They weren't there to talk about the things outside the realm of Milo.
"The ADI said there was only one prisoner down here. But- you're down here. Are you here willingly? Are the glamours all that you do?"
There's another pause. The stage lights seemed to be hotter? Or maybe it was just the fact that they were being watched by some faceless audience. Maybe it was how unsettling Milo's smile was. But still, they had questions to ask, so they inhaled, exhaled, and then added two more:
"How long have you been down here..? And where are you from?"
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"Now we're getting somewhere." They stand straight and fold their long hands behind their back. "I am down here by agreement...and the glamours are what I do...anything else is for me alone."
As they answer questions, the audience goes quiet and the lights around the stage go dim until only one remains over them. "I've been down here since ADI was barely out of its infancy...and I'm from a place the world has long forgot was ever real."
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"The glamours are illusions. You say all of this is real, but how is this any different from them?"
The lights dimming didn't quite help with their unease, but the crowd quieting down allowed them to focus better. They took a breath, and straightened their shoulders.
"And where is that? The place that you're from." They paused, and took another moment to breathe before they added:
"Do you miss it? I don't know if the ADI took you by force, but I certainly miss my home. I wasn't given a choice to be here. None of the off-worlders were."
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“I fell here, in a place where there is none like me but me. So if I tell you it’s real, it’s because it is. If you think it is real, then I know it is.”
They turn and stride toward a new spotlight, one with a bench that was and wasn’t there before, where Milo perches and watches their Songbird friend. “Is that what you want, then? A way to go home?”
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"Illusions aren't real, though. So if I don't believe this is real, then...?"
They trailed off, and glanced around, half expecting a bench to appear behind them. But in the absence of one, the question of going home made them have to think for just a moment.
"I would love to go home. But, I have responsibilities here that I can't leave behind. And besides, I'm confident so far that the ADI can't send me home. Nobody can, so I'm here for the foreseeable future."
Raine wanted to turn back to the questions that Milo hadn't quite answered.
"You said you fell here. I'm assuming from home, but you haven't told me what home is for you. How did you end up falling here? How did the ADI find you?"
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“Why so much interest in where I’m from, Songbird? I fell through a hole in my world and into this one. Is that so different from you?”
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"Because it's similar, but it's not the same. "I didn't fall through a hole. I woke up somewhere different, and I have no memory of how I got here."
Raine decided to step out of the light, closer to Milo. A few different thoughts formed in their head as they continued to think about what they'd been asked.
"I'm interested because I want to understand you better. Because you sound unique yet similar to how both realms work."
As they continued to speak, every recounted point they count on their fingers.
"You're not a Witch, however. But you're also not from this realm. You have abilities that I've only ever seen Avatars or people who can access magic do."
There's a beat as they collect their thoughts, and then ask:
"Why did the ADI put you down here and lie about it? The glamours have been explained as harmless, but neither of you are telling us-or, me- the full truth. What are you doing to power them? Is it magic? Is it just being an avatar? And how are you feeding on us?"
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Perhaps Raine blinks in the darkness or maybe they don’t, but in the next breath, Milo is barely a finger’s length away, voice low and echoing all in one.
“You ask so many questions. You might be polite about it, but you’re all the same. I grow tired.” Another breath and they’re gone, a low murmur of tension rises from the unseen audience.
“Pick two.”
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"Milo, wait. I'm not- I'm trying to help you."
They stumbled backwards when Milo reappeared, their hands quick to grab their violin. They're still and quiet, body strung tight even after Milo told them to pick two. They considered their options, and everything they'd just learned.
"What are you using to feed to power the glamours?"
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“Before it was only one person. Given to me like a pet to keep me happy…but the new Warden didn’t approve. Now it’s so many tiny bites from so many different places: a glance, a glimmer, something not quite right. You all…so fearful of the veil falling…of losing who you are. You feed me and I cover for you…one more.”
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"How... How much of us can you see?"
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There was no use arguing. Milo was right. Raine closed their eyes only for a moment, enough to not phrase their question, as a question.
"I'm assuming you're part of the Stranger, then." They looked around for Milo, squinting against the green spotlight.
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“Before it was only one person. Given to me like a pet to keep me happy…but the new Warden didn’t approve. Now it’s so many tiny bites from so many different places: a glance, a glimmer, something not quite right. You all…so fearful of the veil falling…of losing who you are. You feed me and I cover for you…one more.”