TDM #16

[apocalypsehowmods]

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➥ Arrival

(cw: potential for severe disorientation/vertigo, claustrophobia, arachnophobia, body horror)

It happens in the blink of an eye. You may have been asleep. You may not have. You may have stepped through a door or turned a corner. You may have seen a flicker of something at the corner of your vision and turned to look. Or maybe you didn't.

It doesn't matter. What matters is that you find yourself somewhere entirely new and entirely unfamiliar. The arrival point is not always the same. (If you're lucky, it might be a canteen or an open office. If you're not, well... you aren't claustrophobic, are you? Or arachnophobic. These ducts do seem to be a bit cobwebby.) You might even arrive in a section of building that has been demolished, leaving a pit of rubble open to the sky–hope you're up on your tetanus shots! There is no one waiting for you but you don’t seem to be alone, either. Even in a janitor’s closet or the bathroom, you’ll find at least one person who seems to be just as out of place as you are. The one exception is the demolition zone off what used to be one corner of the building: it seems the security teams are keeping a particularly close eye on that area to document new arrivals and bring them in quickly.

If characters have arrived in a location devoid of NPCs, they may want to work together to figure out what is going on... or to avoid their 'kidnappers.' If you’ve arrived in the middle of the entry foyer or the gym, there may well be a few people who startle a bit at your arrival and try to approach (or discreetly leave the room... where are they going?). Will you cooperate or fight? Do you even understand what they're saying? You might need to find a translator, if you’re not immediately willing to follow a stranger.

After characters follow their new hosts (or are forcibly taken in) there will be a limited tour and the chance to settle in at the ADI-provided housing. (Do you enjoy living with strangers? Well. It's a new situation to navigate, anyway.)

➥ You Are what You Eat

(cw: pica, eating disorders, altered mental states, rhythmic grating sound in link)

Weird things happen in Dogtown, everyone knows it. And the weird things have been getting worse. Much worse. The rise in dangerous rather than merely uncomfortable or startling phenomena has put an end to ADI's use of Dogtown as a testing ground for new recruits. Under ADI's advisement, the City of Gloucester has officially and indefinitely closed Dogtown to the public, and work is ongoing to construct barriers around the entire park to prevent trespassing. Dogtown's borders are now patrolled by Gloucester law enforcement as well as ADI employees from the Investigations and Security divisions, who document phenomena visible from outside its borders and actively keep people out. New arrivals who volunteer for the work may still find themselves dropped off outside the borders of Dogtown in order to beef up patrols and help document paranormal activity while receiving an introduction to the kind of work ADI does. An employee will give you a GPS device where you need only press a button to alert ADI there is severe danger and someone needs to come help you right away, explicitly instruct you not to actually enter Dogtown, and leave you with another person at the edge of the park. Maybe they're a new arrival, as well, or a more seasoned 'veteran.' Either way, you're together for the next while and you've been asked to record any paranormal activity visible from outside the park. Those who succeed in documenting anything peculiar will receive a $100 reward to be used as they see fit, but those who are caught entering Dogtown in pursuit of such proof will be reprimanded and receive no reward.

It’s been quiet for some time now, the looming things too easily mistaken for signal towers linger around the edges of town or even brazenly within the city blocks when the night is at its deepest and few people still walk the streets. At least nothing new seems to have slipped the fence recently, but those towers still shift every so often. At least until they go suddenly very still, planted where they’ve stopped for more than a week. Still, it’s quiet.

What breaks the silence starts insidiously low, like it’s not meant to be noticed, but it builds until it feels like it’s all that can be heard, rattling and thrumming through bones and veins in a way that nearly burns until all at once it ends.

For some, the change might be sudden, like a tight, twisting, hunger in the pit of your stomach that no ‘traditional food’ will abate. Perhaps it’s gradual, as the taste of things you love turn gray and ashy in your mouth. Maybe you don’t even realize it, as you find a rogue snack laying out on your counter. Who left this pretzel stick here? Your pretzel stick now, even if it’s tougher than you might expect when you go to bite into it. A pencil snaps within your determined bite and whether you notice the inconsistency then or not, it’s…really not half bad.

For a few days after hearing the signal, food just isn’t the same anymore, or at least not the same definition. Anything inedible can be edible if you try hard enough, never mind the bloody gums or lacerated tongue. Careful not to chip a tooth on your bowl of nuts and bolts…but at least it’s almost as good as cereal!

➥ Pieces of You and Pieces of Me

(cw: supernaturally induced paranoia and obsession; creepy dolls; unnatural pain; burn injuries; memory loss)

It begins with a scuffed and torn paper package in your mailbox. The label is handwritten, addressed to you personally at your apartment (or at Bonnie's address), the stamps mismatched and the postal mark smudged beyond readability, with no return address to be found. It feels important. It feels like something you should open in private, and the urge to hide it away lest someone take it from you is strong even before it's opened.

Inside is one piece of a disassembled doll. Perhaps it's a delicate ceramic arm, or a dingy plastic head with empty eye sockets. There isn't any rhyme or reason to the type of doll part one receives, but all of them are well worn and look like they're at least a few decades old. There's an immediate feeling of connection, a lizard brain fear of losing the piece. And then the next day there's another package, another piece that clearly belongs to the same toy, a renewed urge to keep the delivery secret and safe…and an urge to begin assembling the toy as more parts arrive over the course of the week.

Those who give in and put their dolls together as the pieces arrive will seem to suffer no harm as the days go by and their doll nears completion, but their thoughts will only grow more obsessive and protective of the toy the closer it becomes to completion. Those who resist the urge to put the parts together will feel a bone-deep ache in each part of their body that corresponds to one of the pieces they've received, like that part of their body is dying. Anyone who destroys, throws away, or surrenders a piece of their toy will feel an immediate, sharp burning like that part of their own body is being seared away. The pain may dull down after a while, but it doesn't go away unless they are able to retrieve the discarded piece and put it together with the others they've received.

Just one week after it all began, the final package arrives. Here it is: the last piece you need, the last piece to complete the doll and make it yours, keep it safe, keep yourself safe from some unknown, dreaded danger. As soon as the last piece pops into place, though, the doll bursts into flames in your hands, rapidly burning away to ashes. With it goes something important, but it's impossible to say what. It was a memory, wasn't it? Some vital piece of knowledge? You knew something before the doll burned that you don't know now and the loss is an aching gap in your psyche.

ADI tries to intervene, of course, after a few people manage to resist the dolls' compulsion and turn in the parts they've received for study and destruction (this is the most physically painful option of all and an incredible act of will). A bulletin goes out advising everyone to turn in any unexpected packages, and offering support for anyone who's already received pieces and is willing to hand them over. But those are all just lies and tricks so they can steal from you and carve you to pieces–best find a way to hide your doll from their prying eyes until you have all of its parts.

➥ The Heart of the Cards

(cw: potential for car accidents, broken bones/injuries, supernatural compulsion/personality alterations)

With Halloween passing this year without a proper celebration or anything horrific happening, HR Woman, Pam Ruan, is on a mission to retake another holiday from the Fears (and her own fear): Thanksgiving. She's coordinated for a grand feast to be held at Hammond Castle with the castle's caretaker, Simone Clark. It seems Simone owes Pam a favor and Pam is ready to collect with a private event registration.

However, she needs assistance with preparations, including scoping out the kitchen, deciding on how to set up in the Great Hall, and finding good places for decorations. Those agreeing to assist will find themselves unleashed upon the castle and advised that it's currently operating as a museum, so please try to be respectful as you do your work.

In addition to the castle's usual fare of interesting 'supernatural artifacts' and medieval weapons and armor, there is an exhibit on the history and practice of tarot readings. Poster-sized cards of the Major Arcana can be found scattered around the museum, and a more concentrated exhibit can be found in one of the side halls. There are informational plaques and diagrams showing how various tarot spreads might be placed and interpreted. There are also some tarot decks scattered around the area with tables that have outlines of different card reading options. Try your hand with a friend! There are helpful booklets providing information on the deeper meaning of each card.

For those less inclined to test out the available decks, there are still those poster-sized versions. Invariably, those who spend any length of time within the castle will find themselves drawn to one of the cards. Perhaps it's the Tower, that harbinger of some sudden change. Perhaps it's the Hermit, a marker for contemplation and a search for something. Whatever the card, those drawn to it will find themselves experiencing… something in the museum or after they leave related to the more dangerous, horrific, or negative aspects of that particular card. Those drawn to the Tower may experience a personal disaster on their way home: struck by a car, tripping and breaking something, losing a large sum of money on a bet. Whatever would be a disaster to them. Those drawn to the Hermit may find themselves feeling increasingly lonely, even when around others. They might feel compelled to act on that, to try to stave off the loneliness as best they can with connection… whether the other person wants them or not. Or perhaps they have a sense that they've lost direction in what they're doing and need assurances or a guide to help them.

The cause of these misfortunes may be difficult to pin down as the effects of the tarot cards may not manifest for a few days up to a week. It seems Fate is waiting for the right moment to touch its prey.

➥ Mod Notes

• ARRIVAL (November 1 - 30): Two people will always arrive in the same general location together. Arrivals occur throughout the early month, not all on the same day or in the same place. Arrivals are not naturally fluent in English/other languages immediately upon arrival. Characters may attempt to evade capture, but they will eventually be snagged before they can leave the building (or the rubble that used to be part of the building). PC's already in-game are more than welcome to interact with and try to guide new PC's to get them oriented. Please refer to the Arrival page for details regarding the arrival and onboarding process, as well as information about the state of ADI Headquarters.
  
  
• YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT (November 1-15): The signal can happen randomly and more than once, it’s fed through character’s phones and sometimes even random car radios. Characters will find themselves drawn to eating things that absolutely isn’t food, inanimate objects, dirt, leaves, anything that does not consist of a normal or healthy diet. It is up to players whether this comes with hallucinations of it being proper food or if they know full well what they’re eating and simply can’t stop. Other characters can see the ‘food’ for what it is and try to help. While there is a low-level compulsion to eat things that aren’t typically food, characters can resist the urge, they’ll simply find regular food holds no appeal to them while afflicted.
  
  
• PIECES OF YOU AND PIECES OF ME (November 1-8): Not all characters will receive packages, and there is no apparent pattern to who does or does not receive doll parts. Everyone will be generally encouraged to speak up if they know someone is hiding doll parts, and characters may be asked to help take doll parts away from a known recipient (whether by diplomacy or by force). Everyone who does receive the packages will receive them over the course of a single week, one part per package, with multiple packages sometimes arriving in the same day. Everyone who receives doll parts will receive all the matching parts they need to assemble a single doll. When the dolls burn they may cause injuries to characters' hands and so forth; the severity of injuries is up to player discretion. ADI's medical department will do their best to treat wounds, but will not authorize the use of any kind of healing magic for non-fatal burns.
  
  
• THE HEART OF THE CARDS (November 1-21): Characters are welcome to have been cheerfully wrangled for assisting Pam whether they would be the sort to generally assist or not. She is a woman on a mission and will use her Disapproving Grandma face on you if you try to weasel out of helping. For the tarot cards, players may choose whichever Major Arcana card they would like to play with, in terms of effects. It does not necessarily need to be the card you believe represents your character; although, it can be! In terms of interpreting the negative effects of each card, we will leave that up to the players. We simply ask that someone who gets, say, the Tower Card, doesn't have part of ADI HQ suddenly collapse. A restaurant they're in, though? Sure! Go for it. Make everyone around town suffer with you. For those with cards that have more cerebral misfortunes, we encourage folks to think about how those can be used to facilitate CR. E.g., someone who gets the Strength card may experience severe insecurity, leading them to beg others for reassurance. Someone who gets the Empress card may find themselves acting in an overbearing and smothering way toward people, even those they don't know. Someone who gets the Fool may find themselves being especially inconsiderate or starting fights they know they can't win. The tarot card exhibit will disappear after the 21st, off to some other town. The effect on an individual from the tarot cards may be a single instance of something happening or could last up to a few days/a week if the effect is more cerebral/personality-related.
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Comments

QUESTIONS

[apocalypsehowmods]

[energyfieldgood]

If characters manage to assemble their doll, will the memory/knowledge that burns be lost permanently or just for this event?

Re: QUESTIONS

[cotgraveseffigy]

What happens if someone assembles their doll with additional parts? Instead of making a human child thing, fill it out with other scavenged junk and turn it into something completely different?

Re: QUESTIONS

[musicdied]

Is there an uptick of incidences of non-ADI personnel being hospitalized for putting strange things in their mouths?

[hippie_ninja]

➥ Arrival

One moment he's fighting, and he's taking it casual because it's just another night, another rescue operation among the dead. And then it's not.

There's a moment where he doesn't know what happened, all he knows is pain beyond anything he thought he could experience and a rushing in his ears. And then he's collapsing onto

graveyard dirt and dried out weeds

linoleum? He hasn't seen clean linoleum in almost ten years. He's gurgling, he hears himself trying to call for help and he hears nothing but the blood in his body pooling in his chest.

➥ Pieces of You and Pieces of Me

Jesus has no interest in announcing himself. After being taken for emergency treatment the second he arrived, he was taken to an apartment and told it was his space now.

His basic needs are set up for him anyway: he has access to food, shelter, he has the freedom to move about as he likes. He smiles at people when he holds doors for them, nods at his neighbors, but if it was up to him he'd slip seamlessly into the society here as if he was here from day one.

Then the mail comes.

Jesus Rovia hasn't been attached to objects since he was a very small child. But he holds a little doll's arm between his fingers and he ends up carrying it with him in his pocket everywhere he goes.

A second package arrives with the other arm and he squirrels it away, too, afraid to leave it out of sight.

He chalks this anxiety up to some misplaced grieving over himself, his own near-death. Which is absurd but it's the only explanation he has to work with.

He takes the arm out to examine it when he waits in line, when he's sitting outside and just thinking, really any time he ought to be paying a little more attention to his surroundings. And if he sees you with doll's parts he'll be quick to strike up a conversations-- "Excuse me, hi," a sheepish smile. "Where did you get that?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm is ahead of him in line at the coffee shop, takes his order and turns only to come face to face with a man studying… a dolls arm? But it’s when he meets the man’s eyes that he frowns curiously, tilting his head slightly, studying him like a puzzle.

Arrival

[worthallthis]

Heavy boot steps come running towards him. The gurgle is enough to catch the attention of the nearest guard on patrol. Winter crouches down next to him, where he fell, and prods his shoulder, maybe half trying to roll him over so he can see where the blood is coming from. "Hey. Where are you hurt."

Shit, he's going to have to haul this guy to medical, isn't he. Winter hates medical.

➥ Pieces of You and Pieces of Me

[bossyboiler]

She works with ADI. There are stranger things than a man holding a doll arm. Who is she to judge. It's his face that gets her. He looks familiar and so she is caught staring.

"I got it inside." She points at the coffee shop behind her, Any Beans Necessary. "It's a chocolate truffle frap with a caramel drizzle. It's very good if you like dark chocolate." She smiles pleasantly but her eyes are studying him. He kind of looks like Malcolm Bright if Malcolm had been keen on sporting the grunge look.

hi jesus have your posh doppelganger's posh boyfriend

[conning]

Neal is on a preferred bench in a quiet corner of a pocket park, he thinks safe enough to take out and examine the delicate ceramic limb he got in the mail a day ago. It makes him think of the beach from a few months back, the endless wash of dolls onto the shore, the way he started having nightmares when he tried to help pick them up. But there are no nightmares specifically triggered by these that he's noticed. It just makes him anxious. Makes him... he's not sure.

At the sound of someone else's voice at close quarters, Neal closes his hand around the foot like that will make it disappear. He looks up to meet Jesus's eyes with a smile--and then immediately falters at the familiarity of the face under the beard. His grip on the doll's ceramic foot tightens.

It's not Jesus's fault that he's showed up a mere month after Neal tried and failed to kill his own evil twin. After Malcolm had to do it for him.

"Where did I get what?" Like this man could be referring to anything but the broken piece of something dangeorus squeezed in Neal's fingers.

delloso de la rue | dimension 20

[ruevealing]

↣ it's a curse and it's growing [arrival]

[Delloso de la Rue had grown quite used to being looked at.

For the past millennia, they have been the most recognized but least known figure of any court, an enigma among the fey, able to charm their way into anyone's good graces without ever letting another in behind their unflappable, cool composure. Things had changed a little for them once they'd let the glamour they wore fall and revealed their true form to the rest of the fey world, but in the end, the outright staring, the shameless gawking at their form, it all remained just the same.

And it seems that Rue just can't get away from being looked at, even after coming to an entirely new place.

The humans who had been exercising at ADI's gym - and even feeling disoriented and disconnected from their magic, Rue can easily identify that they are indeed humans - turn to stare at the newly arrived hulking monster before absolutely booking it from the room in a flash, run off to alert security.

Rue can't help but feel their feathers ruffle up in offense.]

Pray, there's no need to flee - My, how rude.

[But they do not pursue, their gaze turning instead on the large mirror standing across from them. Still dressed in their magnificent ruby-red ball gown from the night's earlier events, the seven-foot tall owlbear preens in front of their reflection, turning this way and that, admiring their own figure. Rue gracefully brushes a few of the peony petals that have fallen onto their feathers from the halo of flowers around their head, before finally turning away.

The mortal realm is not exactly where they were prepared to land, but at least Rue's appropriately dressed for a stunning entrance.]

[ooc: hi! i'm mey, you can grab me at meyggy or dbd fan (insult)#3949 on discord if you need anything! ♥]

Hi hello I am canon-blind but I feel the need to throw another owl person at yours!

[edalyn]

[Eda is heading to the gym when she hears a panicked yelp. Her first instinct is to wonder if she's run into someone who hasn't seen her as a harpy yet. She rolls her eyes, but in the next second they brush past her.

So do a few more humans. Alright, she's intrigued. Instead of following suit she continues on her way, though she pauses in the doorway as she catches the tail end of the owlbear admiring themselves in the mirror.

Her eyes widen a bit, and she gives the newcomer a long look up and down. If nothing else, while she's not particularly subtle about it, it's not filled with the same sort of fear that the humans reacted with. Instead, she's intrigued by another non-human and, well, noticing that their dress is gorgeous and they're pretty gorgeous, too. She's looking more or less respectfully.]

Daaaammn, [is the first thing she says when they turn. Her voice sounds a little strange, harmonics that you wouldn't get with a human layered in.

She steps all the way into the room, and it's even more apparent that she's not one of the humans. Standing a bit over seven feet tall herself, her torso is covered in red feathers and her legs in grey ones, before ending in large, birdlike feet. Her eyes are black and yellow, her ears are long and pointed, and the teeth she flashes in a greeting smile are very sharp. Oh, and there's the huge grey owl wings she has to tuck in tightly as she goes through the door.]

Did I miss a hell of a party or are you new around here? [She's assuming it's the latter, but she wants to lighten the mood after the reception it looked like they got.]

[jumpthegun]

[There's one human who doesn't flee from the room; although, that might have more to do with the fact he isn't looking at the owlbear than anything else. Instead, John Watson has his head in his hand and the other to the wall as he breathes through the sudden vertigo he's experiencing. It's not a little like the sensation of being within the radius of an explosion, and he's not thrilled to think that something like that might have happened to him. Again. Where even is he? He'd been leaving the cemetery, right?

The doctor finally drops his hand a looks around. Equipment, weights, mirror, owlbear. Gym. He's in some sort of-

His hand goes immediately to the gun he has hidden at his back, and Jon pulls that out, pointing it at the creature. When he speaks, his voice is slow and steady.]

Hello. You want to tell me what's going on?

[Is this one of those furries? It's someone clearly dressed up as a very realistic animal in a dress.

[energyfieldgood]

[Having worked on various planets in two galaxies and encountered a multitude of different alien species, Rodney McKay really thinks he's seen it all.

But apparently there's seeing it all and then there's giant owls in flamenco dresses and for a moment his mind just blanks as he stares, one hand coming up to feel his head. Did he manage to get another concussion? Is he hallucinating again?]

Oh God, please tell me you work here?

[He hovers close to the door. Screaming and running away is SO not off the table yet.]

crossover of the century

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn doesn't like the gym on principle, and tends to avoid it at all costs. She's a wizard, not an athlete, thank you. And if they won't let her be a wizard, she can still be a researcher or detective.

Still, circumstances draw her to the place, and it turns out to be an error of judgement. How typical. She looks at the giant owl with tired eyes and a sigh, watching other people run past her.

It's a good thing her arcana is so high.]

You're clearly not just another monster. Fey, I'm guessing?

[If she seems exhausted - well, she is.]

Dr. Rodney McKay | Stargate: Atlantis

[energyfieldgood]

[ooc: will match format if prose is prefered!]

i. arrival

-- so let me get this straight, you people genuinely believe that the zodiac of really evil boogeymen are trying to end the world because what, for some reason they got tired of all the McSundaes of our fears?

[Yeah. Someone doesn't respond very well to the tour he's being given.

Whether you're his fellow arrival and taking the tour with him, a witness to him abusing some poor ADI employee or just gave him the rundown yourself, it's probably been like that ever since he received his letter.]

See, I haven't been completely honest with you. I'm actually an Avatar of the Inanity. It's the Entity for when you fear humanity's ineffable stupidity and wow, is it stuffed by now. It is pleased. You have done well.

[Is he taking this seriously, no, he is not.]

Now where's the science department in this place because as fascinating as your little New Age universe may be, I really have to get back to cosmic problems that actually remember to follow the laws of physics.



ii. you are what you eat

Okay, how about this one then. No Avatars, no influencing humans, no pulling things into another dimension. This place, right here, right now. Fight to the death or whatever equivalent they have. Flesh or Slaughter?

[So here is McKay and (unfortunately) here are you, patrolling the borders of Dogtown.

There is a scanner in his hand and he takes readings incessantly, eager to find out more about this new world he finds himself trapped in. However, being engrossed in his work clearly doesn't stop him from talking. Because that's what he's been doing. That's what he continues to do. The strange noise has been building for some time and it's annoying but he's been ignoring it so far.]

Personally, I think Slaughter trumps Flesh, in that sort of Pokémon way? Unless it's kind of like the egg and the hen thing, like, do you need some Slaughter to actually get Flesh? Did Flesh have its rebellious phase at some point, you know, running off, mutilating things Slaughter wanted to kill for attention, you're not my real Eldritch mom...

[From time to time he writes down in a notebook but eventually puts the pen away. Instead, he suddenly starts ripping out pages one by one as if they're a bag of chips. One sheet, two sheets, three sheets are crumpled up and ending up in his mouth. Rinse repeat.

There's also a cable that he pulls from his tech vest and starts chewing on, twisting it on a finger like it's a gummy worm.

It also doesn't stop him from talking.]

Mmmh. Vast and Buried however? I guess that's more complicated. What would the Buried do, yell at the clouds? Have they been trash talking each other for the past millennia? Are tides just the slowest fistfight in Monster Martial Arts history? And let's say you have a guy trapped in a desert. Do they get joint custody? Very strange...



iii. pieces of you and pieces of me

A-hah!

[So what is a supernaturally influenced guy who is absolutely obsessing over his doll supposed to do to distract the evil initiative that can absolutely not know about his very secret project? That's right. Deflect.

Which is why he starts surveilling his fellow ADI assets, trying desperately to catch one of them in the act of receiving a package of their own. When he does so - or thinks he does so - he's suddenly there, ready to confront, ready to accuse.]

You must think you're very clever, huh? Well, you're not. Because I know what you're doing. I know you just got another one.

[Does he? Does he really? Either way, whether it's true or not, he's pointing a finger with all the annoying energy of the kid that is about to tell the teacher.]

You're going down for this, you... you... doll sympathizer!



iv. the heart of the cards

[And then it's Tarot and there are so. very. few. things McKay can think of that he wants to do less.

Ugh. You end up on Earth and you end up on an Earth that still goes on strongly on crap like this. Worse, he maybe, potentially, possibly ended up in a dimension where this actually has some merit. Which is unacceptable. Which is why he hasn't accepted that yet.

Someone offers him a reading and Rodney gives them a withering look.]

No, thank you. My ascendant is rummy.

[Walking around the room with a suffering grimace he scowls deeply at the poster of the Hanged Man - been there done that and it is one of those memories he wishes he could delete permanently - and instead moves on to the Wheel of Fortune.

It's the closest image to a Stargate that he can find and he looks at its imagery wistfully for a while before shaking his head and moving on.

Except the wheel turns and so does his (mis)fortune. Whatever good things happen to him, the person closest to him will have the opposite happen to them. Whatever bad thing happens to him, the positive effect will be transferred.

It can be small things - if your character manages to avoid a car splashing a puddle, it will hit Rodney and drench him head to toe. If he finds a coin on the street, your character's wallet might slip out of their pocket and impossibly down a storm drain.

They can be drastic things, too - if Rodney manages to barely cross a street jaywalking, your character may not be so lucky. If your character stumbles but catches themselves in time, he in turn might trip and faceplant into the pavement.]



v. wildcard

[hit me up c: or pm me/contact me at caffettiera]

ii RIP

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[So Rodney’s here.

And while technically it’s probably bad for Rodney’s safety and well-being and he wishes he was safe on Atlantis, he’s also really, really glad he’s here.

That he’s not alone.

And honestly, if you were gonna be stuck in some weird dimension Rodney was your best bet on getting back to your own.

And, and, it was fun seeing him squirm with the supernatural.]

Slaughter, definitely. Flesh is kind of like, a force aligned with life? While Slaughter is clearly aligned with death. So technically one can’t really triumph over the other, but if I’m feeling nihilistic, I’d put my money on Slaughter.

[Will he nerd out with you, yes he will.]

I’d put my money on Buried in a fair fight, though. It’s just plain scarier. But that could also be ‘cause I’m used to space, y’know, and it’s not that terrifying to me. Plus more stuff is always scarier than less stuff, in my opinion. But if these guys combine their powers like some kind of Cthulhu Captain Planet, we’re all screwed.

[Except as they walk he notices what’s going on out of the corner of his eye.

For a second he can’t believe it, like he just might have been mistaken.

But no.

He really just ate paper and is chewing on a cable.]

McKay!

[John’s hand shoots out, grabbing his wrist.]

What the hell are you doing?!

Arrival

[defendwhatremains]

[Arrived together about sums up his relationship to this man he's sitting next to and so far he's been...well, loud enough for doubt for the both of them that Johnny's been politely letting him go at it. Why retread ground? He offers a question to their guide now and then, politely worded or with a charming smile to try and off-set his impromptu comrade-in-doubtful-arms, but otherwise keeps his peace. At least until the woman seems to sigh at this newest round of pushback and stands from the table.]

'Sir, I can see you're upset, if you don't like how I'm explaining things, then maybe I can try getting someone else in here for you.'

[Johnny leans forward with a rakish grin before his compatriot can, a hand on the table they're sat in front of.]

That would be great, thank you. Maybe one of your in-house scientists, if you can spare them?

[She dismisses the request with a half-hearted 'if I can.' And quickly leaves the room, the guards outside it visible through the door before it closes and leaves them in silence.]

You know they say you catch more flies with honey.

iii. (gives Rodney all the lemons :D )

[bossyboiler]

[ Kate is in fact in the middle of collecting her packages. They're all from Amazon, however. (It's never too early to start Christmas shopping and planning!)

She sorts the packages with the largest on bottom so that she can carry them inside with more ease. Or she would have if not accosted by a lunatic. Kate takes a step back and needs a moment to process just what in the hell is going on. ]

Don't point your finger at me. It's rude.

Mae Borowski | Night in the Woods

[demaelition]

Arrival (CW: likely discussion of derealization and mental health things, there are no humans in Mae's universe, the first human she sees will freak her out)
First pit stop of the trip and things were going great! They'd mostly agreed on the music, mostly agreed to just get their own snacks, and Bea was smiling way more than she had in like a week. It was going great.

Mae splashes some water on her face in the sink and gropes around for the paper towel dispenser that had just been to her right. Except it wasn't to her right? Okay...she opens her eyes and just uses her sleeve for her face and wipes her hands on her jeans. Oh, apparently it was on her left. Sure. Her tail twitches in annoyance but she shakes her head and turns to leave as the bathroom door opens and-- something walks in.

Mae freezes in place, eyes wide and tail bushing out unknowingly as she stares at the stranger, at- it's just her head, right? Just-except it's never this detailed. It's not shapes, just wrong. "What the fuck?"

You are what you eat
Alright, well the town seemed reasonable enough, even if everyone in it was fucking weird and messing with her a little (a lot) but she could still...go out. For a little bit. This wasn't going to be college again. She's cooler than that, been through some things. Seen God. She can face a city. She can face a city looking weird, it's not like she has to look at herself. So she goes out on a walk. After an hour, Mae can be found with a rock in her hand that she occasionally licks like an ice cream cone, her abrasive tongue picking up some flecks of the rock as she does. She catches someone's eye and glares at them. "What? I can lick rocks if I want to! Maybe I'm like...low on salt something."

Pieces of you
She's not expecting a package and...really, it is suspicious anyone would send anything to her, but curiosity wins out and she's rewarded with a doll's head, one of it's eyes missing and all of it's hair gone, leaving only the holes in the plastic scalp.

"Holy shit." She holds up the doll's head from where she's standing so the nearest light source glows through the holes and lights up the inside. "I'm taping you to my wall. We're about to be best friends, me and my own haunted doll head."

Heart of the Cards
Look, she had every intention of helping with decorations, she even threw some streamers in some places, but tarot shit is cool and she can't help gravitating that way. It's no fun alone, however, so she inevitably ends up looking through the card's art twice before beginning a tarot card house. The spirit of the cards was probably bored, right? This would help both of them until someone else shows up. She has most of the walls set up and the first layer of the roof before she hears any footsteps. "Shhh...don't even breathe over here, okay? I'm almost done."

Help the girl with her cards or knock them over or simply wait? Your fate is your own.

((OOC: happy to have a part where the card is discovered/chosen and then a time skip to when Chaos Occurs!))

heart of the cards

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She's cute, Aelwyn decides. She thinks this place will probably eat her alive - perhaps literally, but Aelwyn decides she appreciates the spunk necessary to turn what are undoubtedly haunted cards - and also not real arcana because that's frankly a fucking insult to her craft - and turn it into a house.

She smiles, crossing her arms with some interest.]

I'll try to suffocate myself quietly.

I don't think that's the intended usage.

you are what you eat

[energyfieldgood]

"Low on common sense is more like it," Rodney points out rudely.

His face is scrunched up while he just outright stares back at her. Apparently there's no intention of looking the other way and leaving other people to their bizarre business, or, you know, at least not engaging with the weirdo licking random objects. If he was wittier and socially savvy he'd probably get a stoner pun in there but as it is, he just beckons at her solid snack in disbelief.

"That is disgusting. You don't know where that's been."

Hermes ☿ Hades ☿ OTA

[messageforyou]

☿ Arrival ☿

Hermes is not used to feeling weak. But he does feel weak, to the point where even his wings are failing him, and he can only manage to perch on the top of a bookcase to avoid the mortals below.

One of them is speaking in a language he can't understand (which is also wrong, because he's the god of diplomacy, he speaks every language known and unknown when he's at full power), and Hermes can only say in Ancient Greek-- "I haven't the slightest if you understand me, but I am not going down there."

He tries to make his point clearer by making waving motions at whoever is down there, like he's brushing them off. Go on. Leave him alone while he gets over... whatever has just come over him.


☿ Pieces of You ☿

Hermes has not been around as long as he has to not recognize dark magic afoot. A doll head and arm arrived for him, and he felt the pull to keep it all to himself, and he knew he had to get rid of it.

After trying to just throw the pieces in a lake, his head and arm practically exploded with pain, so now... he has to give it to the mortals.

It's one of the hardest things he's done. Not just because of the magic calling him to keep the pieces, but because of the wound to his pride. He's an Olympian. He shouldn't need mortals for anything like this.

But he hands over the pieces.

Aaaaand now he's lying on the floor of his so-called apartment, struggling to breathe through the pain in his head and arm. The ADI have tried to call him, but he hasn't answered. They'll probably send someone to check on him, and he hates that.


☿ Heart of the Cards ☿

Hermes has literally never heard of Thanksgiving in his life, but this is a holiday and he's always liked holidays. There are little paper turkeys that apparently are traditionally put around for a Thanksgiving celebration, so he takes a handful and some tape, offering some to the person next to him.

"What say you we just put these all over the castle, hmm?"

Arrival

[defendwhatremains]

Johnny's eyes settle on the staff seeming to try and coax a -is that a winged man? Okay- down off the shelves he seems to be on. He might have only watched passively if not for the ancient Greek coming from the man's mouth. He'd studied some in his lessons, but he knew more modern Greek than ancient. Maybe between the two? He steps closer and waves a bit to catch the man's attention as he bids the ADI staff for some space. They don't go far, intent on collecting the man making a 'scene' but it's good enough for Johnny's tastes.

Now, what was he saying? Something about 'don't know' and 'down?' "Are you stuck Or fearful?" He offers as best he can, slow and hoping it's clear he needs slow in return. Just in case, he points to himself and gestures from his mouth toward the man as he says in ancient Greek 'to learn.'

Johnny Summer | Lavender Jack

[defendwhatremains]

Arrival
[He honestly wasn't sure what to expect after being rounded up and ushered away from the office he'd stepped into, but he'd kept his expression even despite the thunderous pace of his heart. If he couldn't control the current circumstance, he could control himself and how he reacted. Which, currently, was with a lot more calm than he was actually feeling.

But he got through the end of the world talk, the 'this isn't quite your Earth' talk, and even the 'this isn't quite your time' talk before finally being deemed safe enough to be left along, he assumes...which is not as much of a relief as it might usually be. He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and opens his eyes again to look around for the first half-way friendly face he can see.

Johnny approaches them with a genial smile as he pats the pocket of his suit jacket for his pack of cigarettes.] Hello, there. Johnny Summer, could I impose upon you a moment for the location of the nearest and cleanest bar?

You Are What You Eat
[Johnny Summer wasn't one to keep idle by any means. He's not set yet on where he might be most useful, but for now he's got his hands busy helping with some inventory. He's good with numbers and good with cataloging and lists, so why not? A clip board in one hand and pen in the other, amber eyes sweep from paper to shelves as the pen slowly makes it's way towards his mouth. He had a habit of sucking on the ends of his pens, sometimes chewing them absently if his thoughts were elsewhere and he was in private...but he's not in private right now.]

How often do you think this place actually goes through a sheaf of papers? I'm not terribly familiar with office practices, but even if I were, I could hardly claim to know how often an apocalypse office does printing. Do you think they put up fliers to let people know the world might end?

[The pen falls deeper into his mouth with his question, teeth clacking down hard on the plastic casing of the writing implement. First chance he had, he was going to invest in a good pen.]

Pieces of you and Pieces of me
[He'd been doing so well, keeping his little project away from prying eyes, but a little scare with his housemate had made his paranoia hike up and he'd moved the half finished thing somewhere else. Somewhere he thought would be less likely to see foot traffic....but apparently he was wrong as Johnny stares down whoever just walked in with wide eyes and hands full of incriminating doll pieces.]

I'm sure this looks...dubious, but I swear I was- er...I found this and intended to.. [Hm.. he sighs and looks to the admittedly creepy looking doll.] I intended to turn it over. [Before it was half finished.]

Heart of the Cards
[Mr. Summer might be called a lot of things, but a believer in divination was not among them. He couldn't care less about the tarot display in the next room over beyond passing aesthetic curiosity, but decorating for a party he could do.

He strides into the Great Hall, a man with a purpose as polished dress shoes clack smartly along the floor.]

It'll really depend on the atmosphere. Something more homey should be one or two large tables, everyone sat together like a family, even better if they're made to intersect somehow to better accommodate everyone seeing each other. If it's meant to be seem more formal while building more intimate bonds, then smaller tables of groups would be smarter, seat people to make their own islands of conversation for the night.

[Whether he walked in their with someone or some poor soul just happens in, Johnny glances to them before gesturing to the room at large, an unlit cigarette in hand. He'd been told under no uncertain terms he was not allowed to smoke in here, but the feeling of it in his hand helped him think.]

You Are What You Eat

[jumpthegun]

[John's just come in to fetch a few notepads for down in medical, which means he's not at all prepared for the question. He eyes the other man for a moment.]

Dunno. Seems like a mostly regular sort of office space apart from the topic of things. Mate, I think you want to- If you break that thing while it's in your mouth, you're gonna get ink down your throat.

[It might not be deadly, but it's certainly going to be unpleasant.]

K.P. Hob | Dimension 20

[sneakery]

Arrival
[The air is wrong. Not just the smell—limestone and sand, flat, metallic, a far cry from the richness of the Bloom—it feels thin. Lacking in potential, a hollowing that even Hob, a fey with no particular inclination towards spellweaving, can sense. The effervescent magic that underpins the existence of all the creatures of Faerie is simply gone. A loss that will certainly weigh on him more when he has less immediate matters to attend to.

Such as how he came to be here, lying flat on his back in the rubble of what appears to be a half-demolished building. Or, more pressingly, how a metal rod came to be piercing his thigh. He's lucky it didn't strike bone, and for a moment he's properly grateful for that. The wound is strange, though. It hurts the same way the cold does at the highest crest of a snow-capped mountain. What Hob sees when he props himself up on impossibly long arms makes perfect sense: iron. More accurately, steel, but the iron content is high enough to still be anathema to fey.]

Ah. Well. Well! Can't lie around here all day! [Who is he putting on the brave front for? Himself? Certainly not for the other person in the rubble, who he hasn't spotted yet.] Up we get, nothing to worry about, here we go, three, two—

[The rod is pulled from the meat of his thigh with a drawn out and grisly sound. It isn't all that bad, really, on a scale of one to arrows with tiny little feet working their way into his vital parts. Just give him a moment to sit and blink the spots from his eyes and he'll be right as rain.]

Dogtown
[Volunteering to patrol Dogtown seems like a no-brainer; it is, quite seriously, the first thing that's made perfect sense to Hob since his arrival. They'd said patrol and he had immediately snapped off a goblin salute (heel click, tug right ear, clap twice) and asked where to go. It isn't the same as marching in front of his former court's bonfires, of course. Not remotely. But it feels better to have something to occupy his time that he understands.

Or it would have, anyway, if it weren't for the ADI employee accompanying him to the park's border shoving a device he doesn't recognize into his hands. What is it called, again? A geepius? Something like that, anyway. A map, supposedly, but Hob quickly decides to disregard this function entirely. A map on paper makes sense. This thing, with its incomprehensible symbols, does not.

Hob hesitates a moment before tucking the geepius away in the ADI provided rucksack slung over his shoulder. The dissonance of seeing furless hands with blunt nails holding the device sets his teeth on edge. This is the first time in his long life that Hob has been obliged to wear a glamour, and it feels wrong. As though, simply by covering up thick fur and intimidating claws, a part of himself has been locked away. His thoughts turn to Rue, as they often do, although this time tinged with sadness. Is this how Rue felt for millenia? Disconnected from everything that they are by the face they had to present to be accepted? And to be made to do it all over again for the sake of skittish humans? Indefensible.

He'll find a way to make it right. He will. The first step is to make himself useful, ideally indispensable, to the humans in charge of the ADI.

Jaw set with determination, still limping slightly, Hob sets off on patrol.]

dogtown baybeee

[ruevealing]

[It comes as no surprise to Rue that Hob's first act in this place is to volunteer for patrol, to put himself out on the front lines in order to keep everyone inside safe. It's just what he does, what he's always done, and considering the uncertain situation they've found themselves in, Rue can't fault their beloved for falling back into what makes the most sense to him in this moment.

What does come as a surprise to the owlbear is that less than an hour into Hob's departure from their side, Rue tracks down one of the ADI security guards and demands to join the patrol themselves. Whatever skepticism they might have received from the guard is immediately quieted when they stretch to their full, intimidating height, talons and beak and feathers on full display.

And so Rue joins the patrol team - just this once, they promise to themselves - fully glamoured again and cradling the strange, mechanical device thrust into their claws. There had been a quiet whimpering fear there within them, when the glamour had been cast, that the dysphoria they'd feel would be ten times as worse now that they've been living proudly as their true self. But instead, shamefully, something awful and twisted inside of Rue preens. Instead of feeling like someone else completely, it just feels like putting on an old skin.

The very thought leaves them shuddering.

But once they've been released for patrol, Rue quickly veers offtrack of their intended route to find Hob, calling out to the man immediately.]

Knicholas.

[There's no questioning lift to Rue's tone. They know exactly which of these 'humans' he is. For them, it's obvious at a glance, even without the limp. It's the military-straight stiffness in his stance, the rigid arms, the perfectly timed pacing. Even under a glamour, Hob sticks out sorely amongst the other humans.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[ ARRIVAL ]
[Hunter is the first to step through the portal, leaving the Human Realm behind. But between one step and the next, where he arrives is not the Boiling Isles, but some kind of office. He turns around, expecting the others to be right behind him. But they aren’t. And there is no portal.

Did it close? Is he alone here? Where is here? Did the others make it to the Demon Realm, or are they lost somewhere else?

His thoughts begin to spiral, and he doesn’t put up much of a fight – a token resistance – as he’s ushered away on some tour. What little adrenaline he’s been running on is quickly fading. Whatever information he’s given doesn’t quite register. (Later, he’ll do the necessary research.)

As soon as he’s left on his own, he starts walking. Exploring. Trying to figure out where he’s ended up, but nothing looks familiar. Every little sound has him on the defensive, and he looks ready to attack at the smallest provocation, hand reaching for something that isn’t there.]

[ YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ]
[Hunter has a journal in front of him, one he has been diligently filling in with whatever details he finds most important about this place. Or would be, if the pencil hadn’t found its way into his mouth. He chews the end of it like it’s a particularly tough piece of jerky and looks your way. Whatever you’ve got in your hand has drawn his attention.]

Are you going to finish that?

you are what you eat

[edalyn]

[What Eda happens to have in her hand is a no trespassing sign that already has a bite out of it. Despite being made of metal. It's possible she thought it was a sandwich, but honestly? This behavior is only slightly weird for Eda. Either way, she's not paying much attention to whoever she's about to pass in town.]

Yeah, I was--

[The familiar voice registers as Eda actually looks over at who asked that question, and she stops in her tracks. Her eyes widen, both because she hasn't seen this boy since September, and because he had a lot less scars the last time she did. Oh, and the part where she was genuinely worried he was dead.]

Hunter?! [The fact she's not calling him blondie or nerdling or anything along those lines is even more of a dead giveaway that something is serious than her tone; or at least it would be to any version of Hunter that had spent more time with her.]

Where the hell have you been, I was worried you were-- [She bites back whatever she was about to say and changes course.] You... you just had me worried, kiddo. [She'll reach to ruffle his hair, expecting him to not like but probably tolerate it.]