silentspringooc | MARCH EVENT PLOTTING.

MARCH EVENT PLOTTING.

EVENT PLOTTING #3: MAR 2024
Part I; Chapter 4. Stardust on our boots

This event will be posted on March 8, 2024 in

silentspringlogs.

universe/setting information, role assignment, and FAQs

Rooftops are shaking under the pressure of days

On the first of the month, characters are awoken by the ground under their beds—and their beds themselves—shaking with deep tremors, accompanied by a low rumble from deep within the earth. Picture frames fall off shelves, decorative plates crash to the floor, potted plants leap from windowsills and become heaps of potting soil and shattered terra cotta. Dogs bark and howl through the neighborhood. Animals panic. Any lights left on overnight go out; phone lines are dead, switches do nothing.

The earthquake—which experienced characters might be able to ballpark as less than or about equal to a 6 magnitude at most—lasts about fifteen minutes, although the single jolt of a solitary aftershock comes about an hour later. Even once it ends, however, the animals seem just as uneasy. Horses at the riding stable stare at nothing in the horizon, necks upright and rigid, nostrils flaring, bodies stiff. The birds are silent. Dogs pant nervously, hiding or barking incessantly or both—it's probably best to take them outside on a leash, lest they panic and escape the yard. Even as the neighbors step outside to see if everyone's okay, cats hide under beds and dressers, refusing to come out. Though the townies seem a little rattled by the event themselves, none of them remark upon how incredibly unusual, even unheard of, an earthquake in the mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is.

CWs: minor earthquake.

That old evil spirit, so deep down in your ground

Following their eerie silence, numerous pigeons and crows around town begin to behave just as oddly as the domesticated animals on the day of the earthquake: some wander aimlessly in circles, others sit on power lines with their feathers fluffed up, heads pulled back into their bodies, eyes closed to a squint. Some begin to pull out their own feathers until naked pink patches appear within a matter of hours. Handfuls of dead birds appear on roads, in yards, and in the park. Around midday, the most troubling new behavior emerges: some of the birds begin to swoop down and attack visitors to the park, pecking and scratching with a particular affinity for faces, refusing to give up their pursuit until the target has taken shelter indoors. By late afternoon, some of them make their way onto Haven Street and demonstrate the same behavior; characters can barely step outside without being mobbed by a flock of anywhere from five to eight of the birds.

It’s not just pigeons. Particularly unlucky characters may find themselves terrorized by the neighborhood’s resident Red-tailed Hawk, which bites and tears with sickle-like talons and a sharp, hooked beak evolved to rip apart flesh, requiring serious medical attention.

Within a few hours, the emergency radios in characters' homes turn on untouched, all playing the same message: This is Dick Clark, your police chief, with Cecil LaMont, your town animal control officer. This morning's earthquake has passed, and no further aftershocks are anticipated. You may leave shelter, but remain indoors. Animal Control and the police department are aware of strange behavior from local birds and recent attacks in the neighborhood.

The situation is being actively investigated by veterinarians. Birds are carriers of many diseases, and can cause serious damage with beaks and talons. The birds are known to be free of rabies virus. If you are subject to an attack that breaks skin, seek medical attention. If you must leave your home for any reason, park as close to the entrance to buildings as possible, and walk quickly until you are indoors. If birds begin to attack, cover your face to protect your eyes, nose, and mouth. Do not touch any dead animals. If dead birds are found in your yard, contact animal control for removal service.

Keep your home radio tuned to this station for further instructions.

The abnormal behavior of the animals around town, including the feral and wild birds, ends around midnight, and the Sunday paper on the 10th attributes the strange behavior to a non-zoonotic avian influenza that has since been eradicated thanks to quick action on the part of Animal Control and the town veterinarian.

Notes:
— Because power is out, the usual close-captioned television broadcast that has accompanied emergency broadcasts in the past is not available. The only way to receive the message is by audio from the household's cordless emergency radio or by transcription from someone who can hear it. All houses are outfitted with an emergency radio of this type.
—Characters who try to kill the birds with firearms will be re-educated and will have the gun confiscated by the police in addition to being hit with a significant monetary fine. What are you thinking, firing off rounds in the middle of a neighborhood?

CWs: dead birds, bird attacks, attacks to face, animal suffering.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

That night, characters don't sleep as they usually do. Maybe they don't dream, or maybe they have unusually vivid dreams. Nightmares and night terrors pop up for those who may never have experienced them in their lives. There's one common denominator, however: everyone sleeps, even if they try to stay awake, unable to resist the leaden urge to sit down and close their eyes.

*
On the morning of the second, their new neighbors arrive; in the case of those characters who haven’t moved into an existing household, they take the place of NPC neighbors—waking up in well-lived-in homes without a single trace of the prior inhabitants but quite a few indicators of their own occupancy. Even the refrigerators are stocked with unexpired food—all of which the newly (and oldly) appointed couples, or bachelors, will now need to throw out because power still hasn't returned.

Might as well go say hello, although new characters looking to meet Dr. Ravichandran are out of luck—uncharacteristically, the door to his office, which is usually left bowed in universal academic code for 'knock first', is closed for several days at the beginning of the month, and students who happen to pass him in the hallways of the community college's science department on his rare excursions from his office might notice that some of the friendly, at-ease shine to his deep brown eyes has been replaced with something more serious.

Notes:
—Characters entering an existing household will wake up in the same bed as the current resident, and all of the photographs will now show both of them standing together instead of the single person they showed the day prior.
—Characters who played out arrival threads on the TDM may choose to have their character arrive in this round instead of on February 2nd if they are not keeping any threads from other TDM prompts exclusive to the month of February canon.
—Power and telephone service returns on March 3rd. Characters working at the hospital, or visiting it due to injuries, will notice that the diesel emergency generators fill the air with the same foul chemical smell that filled the supply closet from Ruby's memory on January 1st.

No CWs apply.

Burned out shell of a Volkswagen

On the third, in addition to the return of power to the neighborhood, another controlled burn is announced over the radio and close-captioning, and characters are advised to keep their windows shut to keep out “nuisance smoke”—smelling and looking just like it did early last month, carrying faint notes of burning plastic. Characters who have been near a controlled burn or forest fire will note that neither smells like that.

Within about an hour of the smoke drifting in the direction of Haven Street, characters begin to feel a lot hotter under their clothes—even though it’s only 48 degrees outside. Even bare skin feels covered; they sweat, but it’s as though an invisible, unbreathable layer surrounds them, preventing it from evaporating or bringing any cool even once their shirts are soaked through. Even feet sweat, uncomfortably hot; the tops of wellington boots they aren’t wearing brush the tops of their calves every time they take a step.

And characters feel the weight of something: the phantom sensation of metal strapped to their backs, straps digging into their shoulders, thick rubberized material over their bodies, crinkling and pressing into them when they bend even though nothing's there except their nightclothes.

Their thoughts cease to feel entirely their own: characters are struck by a feeling of weariness, looking forward to the end of something, of standing in front of an incredible radiating warmth like a bonfire in any direction they turn. If they shower that night, they may find themselves struck by a feeling that they're not clean, losing themselves in scrubbing at their skin from head to toe for an hour or more, even once the water runs cold.

CWs: sweating, obsessive-compulsive cleaning behavior/paranoia

Poisoning pigeons in the park

With March comes a gradual warming of the weather in Sweetwater, and although there are isolated bouts of snow showers, it rarely sticks. The earth remains still after the earthquake on the first, and the weather is utterly mundane by mid-Atlantic standards, lack of geological phenomena included. Although the locals can still be seen wearing their sweaters, cardigans, and jackets, the heavier wool and down coats melt away with the snow, giving way to lighter attire more in tune with weather in the high 50s.

Buds begin to form on the leafless trees in the town park, although it isn’t quite warm enough for them to flower. With the melting of the ice and snow Canada Geese return to the pond and begin to nest at its banks—probably best not to disturb them. Pigeons, too, return in unusually large flocks, covering the brick pathways in iridescent purple-gray droves, leaving droppings on benches and playground equipment. It would seem that the avian influenza that affected such a large portion of the town's avian population didn't do "enough", or so the townspeople say as they regard urea-covered cars, sitting places, and awnings.

After several complaints from the locals, animal control announces in the newspaper that control measures will be put in place to cull the population, and, starting on the 21st of the month, deer corn laced with the poison strychinine is scattered around the playground (the 60s are the golden era of child safety!), various benches, and pathways.

Before too long, the poison has its intended effect, and the park becomes quiet, decorated with the limp bodies of dead pigeons. The townspeople seem strangely unreactive to the sight, although on one occasion characters may notice Ruby and her husband Leland bringing their one-year-old son to the park. Both of them seem visibly disturbed.

Animal control is offering some pocket change to anyone who volunteers to help clean them up, but rubber or latex gloves must be worn, and characters are not allowed to keep the bodies. What a great way to bond with the neighbors - or take a closer look?

CWs: historically inspired extermination of birds with strychinine, implied animal suffering

To start plotting, fill out the form below, and post it in a comment with the subject line structed as follows: Your Name | Your Character's Name | Your Character's Canon | Your Character's Role:

player info
Player name:
Player pronouns:
Contact(s):

character info
Character Name:
Character Age:
Character Role:
Canon:
Canonpoint:
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: Imagine that the reader is canonblind. Lay out the basics someone needs to start a thread with your character, important things to know while interacting with them, etc.
“Family” members:
Links: To permissions posts, opt-outs, info sheets, etc.
Other Info:

event plans
Rooftops are shaking:
That old evil spirit:
Welcome to the Twilight Zone:
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen:
Poisoning pigeons in the park:

navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Following the dead pigeons at the park....if Margaret wanted to lob a complaint about the inhumane treatment of the birds, where would she do so and what consequences would potentially occur?

She could do so at the front desk of the pound/animal control office, but she wouldn't be taken seriously. It would be a sort of 'look here, sweetheart' followed by a patronizing explanation of why such drastic measures are necessary. The tone of it would be that she's being treated as though she's being overly sentimental.

:') Poor Margaret...thanks for the quick response!

Teddy will be co-signing ~~probably to their own detriment~~! Even if you put aside the pigeons, think of pets and the food chain!

(Oh, sub-question: SHOULD we expect to see collateral damage affecting, say, our local hawk frenemy?)

[PS: despite my environmental kid here, I giggled at the Lehrer. Got that stuck in my head now. Damn.]

Oops posted as you responded! Assume that goes for both.

Feel 1000% free to withhold this for the investigating page if it's better suited to that, but what might a character observe if they were to snap up a sick pigeon or two from their yard and hide them inside their home, food and water provided?

Not much! They'd notice the same erratic behavior the pigeons were displaying outdoors, and it would stop at the same time as the others. There doesn't appear to be anything outwardly wrong with the birds.

If Sans happened to "accidentally" catch Dr. Ravichandran in the hallway and ask if he was okay, what would he say? Also, anything particularly of note to someone who is extremely good at observing very tiny details of someone's behavior? (Canon example: being able to tell how many times he killed someone just by the expression on their face, up to twelve times.)

Dr. Ravichandran would assure him that he's fine and thank him for asking - telling him that he's running late to a meeting.

Sans will notice that he seems like he hasn't slept much; his shoulders carry a lot of tension, as though he's bearing the weight of something. He seems stressed, grim, and tired, a lot more serious than he was at the meet and greet and during office hours.

Is he still doing lectures this month?

Yes, but some of the earlier ones in the month are cancelled. Midmonth and later, they run as usual.

Two questions!

One, would it be possible at all for Sherlock to get hands on the sort of chemical equipment it would take to do tests to identify poisons/chemicals? Whether through commercially available means, knocking on the door of whatever lab the community college has and going "hello yes I'd like to borrow your equipment," etc. (I'm assuming university would tell him no because he's not a student: can he enroll in a community college program just for access to any lab facilities they have?)

And, two, if he is successful through any means, would testing the poisoned corn and blood from a dead pigeon reveal any chemicals besides strychinine? Thank you!

Unfortunately, it would not be possible for him to attain such equipment. Even as a community college student, he wouldn't have access to the specific types of equipment needed to run blood tests or other tests that advanced, and he would need to be granted keycard access to visit the labs unsupervised after hours.

Got it re: the blood tests.

I have a follow up, though -- there is a strychnine identification test first proposed in 1883 that uses an ammonium vanadate-sulphuric acid solution as a reagent to test for the presence of strychnine! Since Sherlock is canonly very familiar with poisons and tests for poisons, would it be feasible for him to get his hands on some beakers/a gas burner/distillation equipment (or even glass things that could be repurposed for chemical work) and test the corn to see if it is strychnine, and see if there are any other substances in it that are less easy to identify?

Thanks for your patience while I ask about backyard ~~meth lab~~ chemistry work. It's just that poisons are his thing, and he is very used to making do with low tech and Victorian-era tests and working directly with chemicals, so I figure it's worth a shot!

Even if the answer's still no, hitting up stores and the college looking for equipment is a CR hook I can roll with.

Distillation equipment or laboratory glassware would not be obtainable, although household glassware is available.

That said, Sherlock would not be able to mix the solution because A) ammonium vanadate wouldn't be available and B) if it were, it is a dry, extremely toxic powder that needs to be handled under a chemical fume hood to prevent inhalation as it's handled and poured (the dust rises), even a less advanced one as would have been used during the time the test was created, and students don't have access to the chemistry wing (where this type of hood is) unsupervised.

In general, his options for his canon typical chemistry/poisons work in this game's setting are going to be extremely limited - unless it's a household chemical (like NaOH via Drano etc), reagents can't be accessed by player characters. Toxic agents in the college laboratories are kept in a locked room, and a player character would not be able to successfully obtain them before being noticed.

To mix reagents available in their household forms, he would be limited to things that wouldn't poison him without a chemical fume hood - so no generation of chloroform or cyanide gas etc, because even in a sealed container, he would have to eventually vent it to let out pressure and a kitchen hood wouldn't be powerful enough for that.

Hope this answers any questions!

Edited 2024-03-04 16:48 (UTC)

Absolutely, thank you so much for the thorough response!

Last question, I promise (I think): if Sherlock ingests the poisoned corn himself, will the effects be recognizably strychnine poisoning? If he is rushed to the hospital, will they be able to save him, or is it more likely he will die from this and wake up in the cooling pond?

(This man is used to puzzles where you have to die in a precise way in order to advance, and the shared heat hallucinations will make him suspect he is back in The Puzzle Hell With The Bad Air, leaving him more careless with his life than usual.)

The answer to that will be dose dependent. If he eats a few grains of corn (like 1 or 2), he will be given tannic acid and put under full sedation until the convulsions stop. If he has something like a handful, they won't be able to do anything and he will wake up in the pond.

Either way, this would be an excruciatingly painful thing to do, well beyond the pain of most methods of dying. Its presentation could be strychinine poisoning or tetanus.

Excellent!! Thank you again, this has been really helpful. ♥

Burned Out Shell: Do the sensations of heat and pressure override the sensations of whatever characters are wearing / touching, or is it in addition to?

Wondering whether things like the cold water or skin lotions offer any temporary illusion of reprieve from the intrusive sensations

I should have been clearer about that, sorry! There is no relief at all - they can feel things that touch their body, so they'd know that ice cubes against their skin (as an example) were cold, but they'd still be hot because they're experiencing someone else's body at the same time as their own.

What would happen if a character attempts to steal a pigeon corpse? (im so sorry)

edit: oh also! What if characters try to visit the doctor re: Burned Out Shell of a Volkswagen?

Edited ((added another question)) 2024-03-09 04:17 (UTC)

1) an animal control officer will rush up to them, saying something to the extent of, "Are you crazy? Put that down! Dead things spread disease."

2) If characters visit the doctor, they'll be told that their condition is purely psychosomatic.

player info
Player name: Everett
Player pronouns: they/them
Contact(s):

wolfnoir (or wolfnoir @ discord)

MARGARET HOULIHAN

character info
Character Name: Margaret Houlihan (

regulararmybrat)
Character Age: Early 30s
Character Role: Wife
Canon: M*A*S*H (TV)
Canonpoint: S11E15, “As Time Goes By” (right before series finale)
1 paragraph summary of character/canon:
M*A*S*H is a sitcom/drama about the people in a US mobile army surgical hospital (or M*A*S*H) unit during the Korean War. In the show, Major Margaret Houlihan is the chief nurse of the M*A*S*H 4077. Margaret grew up in the army, and as a result, has absorbed the idea of discipline. authority, and order being above all. Although she can sometimes come off as a major hardass, she has a softer side, too–she cares deeply about her patients and her cohorts at the M*A*S*H unit. She’s passionate about her beliefs, unwilling to take any sort of mistreatment from her fellow officers–and she certainly isn’t afraid to pull rank.
“Family” members: Vasiliy Ardankin (

m1895)
Links: Permissions + Info!

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: Margaret is going to be riding out this earthquake--she's experienced them before in California and also across various places she's been stationed across her military career, but it will stand out to her as unusual. It's not like Maryland is known for its earthquakes, after all. Following the earthquake, she's going to go knocking to make sure that other people are okay!

That old evil spirit: Although Margaret herself will not be under attack by the red-tailed hawk, she can help tend to the wounds of those affected and probably help assemble some makeshift bird repelling things (like...idk....reflective mirrors or fake eyespot balloon things). Please. The birds. They won't stop coming

Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: For the love of god please help her. Margaret will be affected by the smoke (and will also be helping those who are being affected) so...come....please help.........

Poisoning pigeons in the park: Margaret is going to be extremely distraught at the number of dead pigeons in the park and will have some major complaints to the HOA about it. She's going to do her best to try and help clean up, but she'll definitely need a helping hand trying to stomach it...look, she deals with injured and dying people day in and day out but it feels different when it's a helpless animal, okay!!

NUMBERS

character info
Character Name: Grady Numbers (

workingthenumbers)
Character Age: Late 30s
Character Role: Husband
Canon: Fargo (TV)
Canonpoint: "Buridan's Ass", S1E6, after being killed by Malvo.
1 paragraph summary of character/canon:
A small-town insurance salesman, Lester Nygaard, and a wanderer, Lorne Malvo, become involved in several murders. Numbers and Wrench, two hitmen from the Fargo crime syndicate, are sent to investigate the death of a mob associate, only to find themselves also caught in the crossfire of an escalating situation between Lester, Malvo, and the local police. Wrench and Numbers work closely together, with Numbers also interpreting for Wrench, who is Deaf. Numbers can come off as inconspicuously pleasant when he wants to, putting on a veneer of niceties when he needs to, but when it comes time to do his work, the facade drops. To him, killing people isn’t anything noteworthy--it’s just another part of the job.
“Family” members: None!
Links: Permissions + Info!

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: I don't think Numbers has ever experienced an earthquake in his life so he's going to be having f u n with this. Definitely going to be wandering around aimlessly and trying to figure out if what happened was actually an earthquake or something else. Animals are supposed to freak out before an earthquake, not after. Right? That's weird, right?
That old evil spirit: Laughs. Numbers is going to get eviscerated by the hawk. So. Um. If you want to help him make sure his eyes aren't gouged out or perhaps making sure the subsequent wounds are taken care of...he'll be dealing with that. Stubbornly, he will refuse to go to the hospital unless absolutely necessary.
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: It's Numbers' No Good Very Bad Month because he's going to be experiencing. the Effects. Not sure what else to say here but please help him.
Other Stuff: Numbers will be organizing a "book club" (aka a meeting to share information and grumble about the state of things) at the end of the month following the strange events occurring in town! So if your character is interested in helping him out with that let me know. Instead of posting on the network, Numbers is going to be getting the word out through word of mouth...and maybe including a password if I can figure out how he would go about doing that. I'll post a log sometime in the middle of the month for that!

Can Sans just show up at Margaret's house seeking help with a hawk attack? I am sure she will be less than thrilled given her firsts impression of Sans but that can only make the thread entertaining, probably.

oh ABSOLUTELY!!! Her feelings on Sans aside she will help patch him up and ask him what the hell happened :D

Sans will actually be willing to share info on the red-tailed hawk attack, at least! Also, I'll cover this more in the actual thread but Sans is definitely going to give off the impression of someone who isn't used to getting these kinds of injuries, not sure how to deal with bleeding like this, and he's definitely never had stitches. He'll have an excuse ready if she brings it up, but it's something she might make note of considering how little he wants to tell people in general.

oh fuck yes, that'll be delicious to explore....she'll definitely ask about it and won't push him that much, but she'll make note of it! excited for the event to drop

Sooo many thoughts I will have to hit you with on plurk. An unstoppable deluge. BUT. To begin with. How would you feel about these two tag teaming and opening a temporary clinic in their house for Townies Who Get The Talon... Vasiliy is an EMT and very insistent on helping the community, after all... I'd also def be down to do some three-way threads of this if so!!

I'D BE SO DOWN FOR THIS!!! we can coordinate further details on plurk but this is something Margaret will find acceptable and perhaps even Helpful :-) Let's Do It...

player info
Player name: Adiva
Player pronouns: she/her
Contact(s): Journal DM or

AdivaCalandia

character info
Character Name: Chell
Character Age: 28ish
Character Role: Wife
Canon: Portal/Portal 2
Canonpoint: Seconds before leaving the Aperture facility at the end of Portal 2
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: Chell is the silent protagonist of the Portal games, described by her nemesis-slash-~~girl~~friend GLaDOS as a "dangerous, mute lunatic" who is very hard to kill. She spent the last [TIMELINE UNAVAILABLE] either in cryosleep or trying not to be murdered by computers in an underground facility designed to test strange sci-fi technology like (very short range) interdimensional portals, security turrets full of bullets, and advanced AI. Now, she's still adjusting to what life as something other than a test subject can be. Slightly above average in athleticism and intelligence, in the 99th percentile of "tenacity," and good at solving puzzles.
“Family” members: Bucky Barnes
Links: SS app, info and permissions
Other Info: "Say, you're good at murder. Could you -- ow -- murder this bird for me?"

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: Chell's first thought is going to be that something exploded, so in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake she'll be out on the street trying to figure out wtf has happened. Great chance to meet the neighbors! Does anyone want to help her look for stuff that might be going boom (like the atomic energy plant)?

That old evil spirit: tbqh I think Chell is going to find an umbrella and go try to chase off attacking birds from innocent neighbors. Eventually she'll probably get mobbed, though. pls help

Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: hooboy, I can see Chell trying to get outside despite the smoke to cool down. That'll probably ... go poorly.

Poisoning pigeons in the park: Chell doesn't have a job and has been informed she needs money?? So she'll come help with dead bird collection, why not.

Other stuff: Here I am on the OOC intro for more general plotting and CR building!

I wanna play out at least a OMG WTF WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED if you're cool with having an awkward/panicky first encounter? :3

EXTREMELY YES. I was meaning to do a catch-all post for non-event stuff and I could write up a backdated starter if you want!

Yes or we can do it as part of the... 3rd? Prompt in the event?

Oh, hmmmm, I am somewhat unclear on how the timelines work and where I should post if I'm keeping things from the February TDM canon. 🤔 Let me DM you real quick!

player info
Player name: Krystal
Player pronouns: she/her
Contact(s):

athensbrat

character info
Character Name: Sherlock Holmes
Character Age: 24
Character Role: Husband
Canon: Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (& prior game Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One)
Canonpoint: Post-Awakened
1 paragraph summary of character/canon:
CW: mental illness, unreality, PTSD, drug use/addiction/nonconsensual administration
He's Sherlock Holmes: you know him, you love him. He's also 24, a point and click adventure game protagonist, and suffering from severe trauma from both childhood and recent events and some mental illnesses that dovetail with what he's gone through to leave him with severe unreality fears. He just stopped a Cthulhu cult with Watson and took some awful mental health hits; currently, he is physically dependent on the sedatives Watson administered to him to keep the screaming nightmares down. Sherlock is a wreck of his former self, a hundred self-doubts and unhealthy coping mechanisms in a trenchcoat, and he isn't sure whether or not Sweetwater actually exists. All of you might be figments of his imagination. Oops!
“Family” members: None yet!
Links: Application and a permissions/opt out post!
Other Info: General OOC plotting comment is here!

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: Probably not much -- he's still sort of sitting in his house reading the papers and deciding whether any of this is real.
That old evil spirit: He will probably be caught outside at least once, and any further forays outside will include the precaution of a hat, gloves, and scarves wrapped thoroughly around his face. He will jump a bit when the radio comes on: that's new technology and he did not know it did that. He might fiddle with the radio as well as reading the newspapers when the power comes back. He'll probably light a fire in the fireplace for heat, and may go out looking for wood??
Welcome to the Twilight Zone: N/A, I'm keeping some of his TDM threads, so he's been here a minute.
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: This is going to mess with him! This might make Sherlock leave the house to look for the puzzle he has to solve to make this stop -- he will not come off as particularly sane, here, and will not be willing to talk directly about what happened to him before he arrived here, but some clues about what he's been through might be gleaned from how he talks.
Poisoning pigeons in the park: You know...normally, he wouldn't, but this is a point and click adventure game protagonist. It's IC for him to take the job. And he might be shaken up enough by the heat hallucinations and his failure to find a way to stop them that he's actually going to try to explore the world around him.

Chell 🤝 Sherlock
video game protags applying video game logic to real life situations and going to examine the environmental art

Which is to say, I'd love for them to run into each other picking up pigeons!

YES absolutely. I absolutely love nods to video game logic to real life situations, let them meet because This Might Be Important

Asking above if Sherlock can manage to run any tests on them, he's going to deeply miss his chemistry set, but if he's able to do any chemical analysis at all, Chell might catch him snagging blood samples from the dead birds, which is a normal thing to do :D

How openly do you think Sherlock would express his idea of there being a puzzle to solve to stop the heat/pressure hallucinations? Going out in the smoke sounds terrible for their health, but I'd enjoy an excuse to shove Papyrus out there too

oho!! WELL. He won't be talking openly about his prior experiences with death puzzles probably ever (not directly and not coherently) (they were awful) (he can't) but in the grip of the hallucinations, he can and probably will give something away in his delirious raving about it that suggests prior experience with torment that can only be escaped through taking the right actions. I can play towards it for sure! A BAD TIME FOR EVERYONE, yay.

player info
Player name: Scy
Player pronouns: any
Contact(s):

restlessheart

character info
Character Name: Bucky Barnes
Character Age: 106
Character Role: husband
Canon: MCU/FatWS
Canonpoint: post-FatWS
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: James Buchanan Barnes (also known as Bucky) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Disney+ series the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The canon is much like real life, except with a lot of fantastical things happening (alien invasions, gods and celestial beings, killer robots, timey wimey alternate timelines and universes, magical stuff, superheroes and villains etc.) Bucky was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918 and enlisted for WWII as a young man. In the mid-1940s he was captured by the Nazi-resembling organisation Hydra, successfully experimented upon with a supersoldier serum as a prisoner of war, and survived a fatal fall where he lost his left arm. Presumed dead and left behind, he was fitted with a replacement bionic arm, brainwashed and reprogrammed as a blank slate murdery tool for Hydra, lifespan artificially prolonged using cryogenetic technology until his childhood friend rescued him. He's been trying to do the right thing but also having bouts of recovering/drifting/relapsing/struggling ever since then.
“Family” members: Chell
Links: https://freakymagoo.dreamwidth.org/2965.html
Other Info: He is visibly missing his left arm in game.

event plans
General FYI: Having crazy RL times right now, basically in immigration limbo for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I'll be back in the second half of March.
Rooftops are shaking: Bucky will go out and investigate afterwards once it's safe. Check in on his CR and maybe meet new folks.
That old evil spirit: probably not top levelling this.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone: getting to know new wifey and new neighbours while chucking out good stuff and trying to preserve what he can in jars and whatever else he can find.
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: four hours sitting on the shower floor, skin raw/torn, barely responsive... just another tuesday really! Not sure who will find him there though.
Poisoning pigeons in the park: probably not top levelling for this one. But may help out with the cleanup efforts.

player info
Player name: Maniette
Player pronouns: She/they idc
Contact(s):

Maniette or PM me!

character info
Character Name: Arthur Lester
Character Age: 34
Character Role: Husband
Canon: Malevolent (Podcast)
Canonpoint: Episode 12: The End
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: Arthur Lester is a recently-blinded detective from Arkham, Massachusetts, 1934, trying to solve the mystery of how he became entangled with an entity trapped in a magical book - who he literally just learned is a fragment of the King In Yellow, and implicitly responsible for all of the torture he's faced in the last twelve episodes.
“Family” members: Helly R.
Links: Permissions!
Other Info:

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: Arthur's going to be piiiiiissed about the earthquake, lmao, he might not know much about geography but he KNOWS there's basically no earthquakes across the eastern seaboard, given he's spent his entire adult life in Massachusetts. So he's going to be very tetchy about it, especially because he can't see the fucking damage.
That old evil spirit: Arthur is going to get fucked up by pigeons and he's going to be so fucking mad about it. Someone please save him from getting mobbed jesus christ
Welcome to the Twilight Zone: Arthur has a wife so he's going to be largely just King Of Resting Bitch Face about more people being dragged into this hellhole.
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: Arthur is going to be terminally annoyed about the smell again, but now he's also hating the fact that he feels the need to strip in public; Arthur is fastidious about his appearances, and is probably going to pass out from the heat before he takes his jacket off in public.
Poisoning pigeons in the park: I'd love for Arthur to get the chance to talk to Ruby and Leland, but otherwise he'll volunteer to help with cleaning up just to be able to listen to gossip while he works.

This one's a much more visual event, with the pigeons and bird attacks, so Arthur is going to be feeling particularly irate and useless and therefore do something stupid: break into the hospital with Bucky.

Edited 2024-03-04 00:39 (UTC)

player info
Player name: Mel
Player pronouns: she/her
Contact(s):

maiiau; PM

character info
Character Name: Sans
Character Age: 30
Character Role: Bachelor
Canon: Undertale
Canonpoint: failed genocide; the player loses to Sans and does not reload or reset
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: Undertale is a video game where a human falls into the Underground, a world of monsters, and has to get through it to escape. On top of that, saving, loading, and resetting are actual concepts, and Undertale being a video game is a very big part of its canon; because the human can never permanently die, it leads to questions of how to behave with that kind of power. It turns out the monsters are actually pretty chill people, and you can get through the entire game without killing anyone! But you can also go wildly out of your way to murder literally every monster in the game and get a very different experience, which is where I'm bringing Sans from: he's from the path where every monster is killed and he has to fight the human. Sans is a lazy skeleton who loves his brother, good times, bad food, and worse jokes. He's a sentry in at least three different stations, one of which is an illegal hot dog stand, and he plays at comic relief almost the entire time... Except in the genocide route, which is where Sans happens to be from. There, from the point the human kills Sans's brother onward, he stalks the human through the Underground and fights them as the final boss (in the Judgment Hall, fittingly), because he actually knew all along that the human had the ability to reload and reset, and he knows that if the human finishes murdering every monster, all the timelines will end forever. As a result, Sans's humor is much darker, he's much angrier, much lonelier, and much more depressed... But he's still that funny skeleton, and the funny skeleton is all he wants people to see.
“Family” members: no assigned family
one actual brother (Papyrus)
Links: HMD/Permissions/Inbox

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: Sans has no idea about where earthquakes should or should not be happening, but he does know he's not thrilled with this one. Expect him to be out and about afterward, and if your character happens to have information on how weird this is, he'd definitely be interested.

That old evil spirit: Sans is going to get attacked by the red-tailed hawk and end up with some pretty nasty gashes on his left arm. He'll be going to Margaret to get that dealt with, since for some reason he doesn't really trust the doctors and nurses who are actually from here.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone: Sans will have nightmares, but I don't think these will come up. He sleeps too much to notice anything unusual about falling asleep this time. Sans has no new family members but he'd be happy to say hi to you if you're new. He's also continuing his interest in Dr. Ravichandran.

Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: Sans is pretty willing to stay indoors when the smoke smells like it's definitely going to make them all sick. He isn't going to handle the feeling of being too hot well; his normal body didn't really react to typical temperature changes at all, so this is extra uncomfortable. Expect his skin to be rubbed way too raw, though he isn't going to want to talk about it.

Poisoning pigeons in the park: First of all, this is creepy. Second of all, Sans is collecting some of that corn. Not to eat or antything. Just in case. This is extremely normal. Don't worry about it. Sans is very unsettled by all these dead pigeons; he's going to try to play it off, but he's not from a place where bodies typically last more than a few moments, and he's also not from a place where birds are common, so this is a new experience for him in several ways.

Edited 2024-03-05 22:54 (UTC)

They don't have to talk about the raw skin, but Papyrus is definitely gonna head over while the smoke's going on so as to go ??!!?? at Sans in private - and bring along his skin care collection, the better to complain and demonstrate how he can feel it but the other sensations seem inescapable.

Sibling hang out time while people definitely aren't burning plastic or something outside! Maybe Sans can be convinced to put some lotion on the parts of his skin he's rubbed raw. I mean, probably not, but maybe.

player info
Player name: astrea
Player pronouns: she/her
Contact(s):

shookspeare, discord available by request!

character info
Character Name: sam carpenter
Character Age: 26
Character Role: wife
Canon: scream
Canonpoint: right after killing bailey
1 paragraph summary of character/canon: scream is a slasher series, where different killers don a ghostface mask and go on a killing spree. sam is the illegitimate daughter of the original ghostface killer. she struggles with psychosis and dark urges and the fact that she actually does like killing people (but she's never killed someone who didn't deserve it). sam wants to be good, she wants to be a good person so bad but it's hard when a lot of people in her universe have written her off as evil/just like her father.
“Family” members: norton folgate
Links: general permissions/prefs
Other Info: sam takes anti-psychosis medication so she doesn't see hallucinations of her dead serial killer father.

event plans
Rooftops are shaking: honestly, sam is from California so she probably wouldn't be that phased by an earthquake. she'll likely just use this as an excuse to get to know people in any of the ensuing panic/worries/etc;
That old evil spirit: sam will likely fight off the birds before eventually going back to her home. she might venture out later to try and help anyone being attacked by birds. she likely won't actively attack the birds herself but will do what she can to help others.
Burnt out shell of a Volkswagen: sam will likely end up going outside at some point. if she's got even an acquaintance she'll probably go check on them
Poisoning pigeons in the park: she won't like it but she'll probably help with the cleanup effort, mostly because she could make some money and it seems like a good way to observe other people.

player info
Player name: Carolyn
Player pronouns: she/her
Contact(s): PM or add me at smugfrog on plurk (pleased to report my phone has resumed working!)

Character Name: Ricky “Jupe” Park
Character Age: 35
Character Role: Husband
Canon: Nope
Canonpoint: After the final Star Lasso Experience 😃
1 paragraph summary of character/canon:

Nope is a horror movie about—in the broadest sense—the perils of seeing and being seen, and the exploitation inherent in spectatorship. On a more concrete level, it's about a giant flying alien that devours any living creature that looks at it too long. When Jupe, a former child actor who survived a grisly incident where a chimpanzee killed and mutilated several cast members of a sitcom he was on, learns about the alien, he thinks he understands how this works. He thinks if he feeds this voracious looming entity and puts on a show for it, it'll spare or even bond with him. Needless to say, he's wrong, but part of what makes Jupe such a compelling character is his inability to conceive of an alternative. He assumes the alien is a ship and imagines “viewers” aboard it because to him, every relationship is a performance. Almost his entire life has been shaped—warped—by the public eye, and it results in his literally being consumed.

“Family” members: Maureen Robinson, toothpaste thief

event plans

I'm volunteering at SXSW, so I'm unofficially hiatused through the 18th. With that in mind, I'm mostly planning on hitting up other people during the back half of the month. Quick plot points:

- Extremely down for bird attack threads! Pet Dog Totally Losing Her Shit is definitely on the table, though I'll probably make that opt in since I know pet antics aren't everyone's bag (and it'll likely get grisly/fucked up). I'm also very into Jupe teaming up with/being rescued by characters who clearly know their way around violent, horrific situations BUT ALSO Jupe holing up somewhere with someone who's as freaked out as he is.

- After Birdemic: 1961 concludes Maureen's going to be activating her homemade radio, so Jupe will be dealing with the consequences of that/making an attempt at damage control 😬

- This little tidbit is still up for grabs...and Jupe'd be willing to be a little more reckless (depending on the timing vis a vis homemade radio activation) if another char wanted team up to try to scope things out during the bird attacks/"controlled burn."

Placeholder in case of plotting!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MARCH EVENT PLOTTING.

EVENT QUESTIONS.

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cw: poisoning/suicide

Re: cw: poisoning/suicide

Re: cw: poisoning/suicide

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everett | margaret houlihan + numbers

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sorry for using a different account to reply LOL

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Bucky Barnes | MCU/FatWS

Maniette | Arthur Lester | Malevolent | Jazz Hubby

Sans | Undertale

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sam carpenter | scream

Ricky "Jupe" Park | Nope | Husband

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