(no subject)

[recollecters]

EVENT

Re:Vival The city of Recollé...strange, isn't it? PROLOGUE. The first few days of October are relatively quiet. The city goes on as usual, and while you and several of your other Retrospec friends may be wondering just what was so safe about safe mode, everyone else appears to be calm and carefree. All NPCs are back, safe and sound. And anyway, what's not to love about the autumn season? The leaves are beginning to change color, the nights are a bit chillier, the paranoia in some of you is growing a bit higher-- --oh. Wait. That's not very calming, is it? Several of you will feel the grip of panic and dread mounting slowly but surely in the days to follow, and on October 5th something changes. The moon sudden appears larger and brighter than ever, almost a little too close to earth as a blue sheen washes over the city for a brief moment. It settles on a golden color, hanging from above and firmly fixing itself in the sky. The sun will not rise in the morning, but the moon will still be here watching you. Perhaps it's a small blessing that it isn't total darkness this time. I. At first nothing seems to happen. With the harvest moon high in the sky and an overcast tint to the city (hazy, but not pitch black thankfully), citizens seem to be able to continue on as usual with their fall festivities and plans. Now that it's October, you'll find that the city begins to promote Halloween specials, events and activities. Small pop-up shops begin to appear across Tisse providing citizens with all of their costuming needs ranging from outfits, make-up and accessories. Decorations are stacked in bins in every aisle of every store imaginable, and pumpkin spice everything is on sale. Speaking of pumpkins, your local pumpkin patches have the perfect ones for carving this season. Large, sturdy and ready for you to take home, these pumpkins are filled with surprises. For anyone who carves a happy image into the surface of the pumpkin, they will soon find it filled with their favorite candy! However, for those who carve scary images or something spooky, their pumpkin will play a light-hearted trick on them such as changing the color of one's hair, tying your shoelaces together, a sudden pie to the face, etc. Harmless, isn't it? For those who aren't the pumpking-carving type, however, you may wish to check out the woods. The city of Recollé hosts a haunted hayride through Recollé woods where scary stories are shared, tricks are played, and the light in the wood vanishes. As you board your horse-drawn carriage and settle down, you'll soon find yourself deep in the wood and the people around you seem to vanish as well, save for those you may recognize as fellow Retrospec users. Looking ahead you'll see that no one is driving the carriage, and the horses aren't quite what you remember. Galloping at top-speed, the carriage falls apart around you and the horses disappear, leaving you alone and far from home. The woods are dark and echo with foreign sounds, creaks and hisses rising up into the air. The paths are hard to see, and you may find yourself walking in circles if you aren't careful. Stick together, citizens. You'll have to work together to find your way back. II. You probably don't notice at first. For several of you it's an ordinary day, but for others it's hard to shake off that paranoid, uncertain feeling that's gripped onto you since you received a message from Retrospec back on the first. You haven't been able to explain what, precisely, has been bothering you but you know that something's coming and that things are about to change. Too bad it's hard to convince everyone else though. As the night falls and the sky gets a little darker, the golden moon beams shine down and you begin to feel it deep in your bones. There's a shift, something that unlocks in your instincts that tells you one thing: infect. Multiply. Destroy. It starts with the mental changes at first. You recognize thoughts that aren't your own, but you don't care. You feel the need to act more than anything, seek out others and pass along the infection. You're still you, of course. You still recognize your friends and your family, you still attend your classes and work at your job and enjoy your hobbies. You can even fight off these unwanted thoughts and desires for nearly three days before you realize that your purpose is greater than your own wants. At least that amount of time allows you a moment or two to blend in as best as you can and seek out your targets. You discover different ways this disease can be transferred based on who you meet. The people you're closer with will require a little more effort, physical touch or a deep conversation. Unseen toxins will be able to transfer from you to your target with ease. For someone you've just met, or someone you don't have as strong of a bond with, it may take as little as prolonged eye contact, a mental will to change the person in front of you, or a casual bump to the shoulder. No matter what sort of monster you are, the infection spreads quickly. It's easier for you to pretend to be yourself during the daylight hours than it is in the evening. There's clarity in the daytime that you don't have at night that allows you to plan carefully. Whether you are one of the originals or you're someone who's fallen prey to patient zero, the infection will take quickly and begin to consume you, changing at a speed only your body knows. You may get lucky and only struggle with the mental and emotional changes. You may be less fortunate and transform entirely, giving in to your instincts with ease. It will take no more than a day for the first changes to occur. But that doesn't mean you're off easy, dear predators. Even if you're already infected, you can still become someone else's prey and take on even more monstrous traits, becoming a hybrid you may not even recognize. Are you the hunter? Or are you the hunted? You may wish to examine one another carefully before you get too close. III. Well. This is a problem, isn't it? An outbreak of a monstrous virus is beginning to take over and change everyone around you, and you have to find a way to stop it. Aren't you lucky? The uninfected will find that you've developed your own set of instincts with senses heightened beyond normal human capacity. Suddenly your eye sight, hearing, and durability are enhanced to help you combat the outbreak. Even your sense of smell may be heightened to help. Every morning that you wake up uninfected, the overcast sky settles and the moon shines brightly as you hear a woman's voice echo inside your head. "Find the missing links." You may not be sure what that means. You may even ignore it for several days because it's so vague. Find the missing links? What does that even mean? Searching everywhere for a cure on your own appears to be futile, especially when you aren't sure where to even look or what might help defend the city against these monsters. Exploring on your own, you may be able to obtain make-shift weapons or shelters to protect yourself from the monsters that were once your friends. Those will work for a while, though they leave you in a slightly vulnerable position after the sun goes down and the infection's worse. If you trust your instincts, you'll find yourself drawn to Wiffle-Waffle. The Retrospec mailbox is lit up, and anyone who approaches will be rewarded with an assignment of an ingredient, object, or information to find. These won't be easy to locate and will require some searching within the city itself, or even outside in the four regions. It's dangerous to go alone, so grab a partner or two and set out on your journey. The links will need to be drawn together in order to have the maximum effect. You'll have to work together as a city to combine your findings and hope for the best. Are you ready for that challenge? IV. There's one more thing that's hard to miss no matter if you're infected or uninfected. It's constantly lit up, seated at the edge of town in the same location as the glass building Epsilons appeared in a few weeks ago. While that building is gone, in its place stands a large house. The grounds are a mess and hardly well cared for, and while you may wonder how a house was built and set up within a day the foundation is sturdy and well-worn. Thrillseekers may find themselves willing to explore on their own. Those wishing to escape from being hunted down may also find themselves on the front porch of this house, and even those seeking answers may be guided to this place. For those brave enough to enter, you'll find a thick layer of dust covers the house from top to bottom, but everything else is organized and set up perfectly. The floors are solid and while the stairs of this three story house creak under your weight there's no chance of the stairs shattering beneath you. The water still works, and the lights flicker on and off but provide enough light to see. The moment you're ready to leave is when things about the house begin to change. As you head toward the exit, the wallpaper begins to yellow and rot away as you hear the skittering of rats on floorboards and groans of the wood beneath you. Like most things in the city now, this house has a mind of its own and draws its energy from you to generate one of two challenges to make your daring escape. Some visitors will find your path soon blocked by a physical manifestation of your greatest fear, something so large and overpowering but something you must face and conquer on your own. Your fears will be aggressive and persist you until you find a way to defeat them and walk out of the house. Alternatively, perhaps the house is kinder to you and you'll find yourself followed by a ghost. The ghost won't bother you, though if you turn around to face it, it will hover and give you a wide smile, quickening its pace to chase you through the house until you find an exit and a way to leave the ghost behind. Was that really worth it? That's for you to decide. BONUS. In September, safe mode provided users with the ability to create the world as they wished and explore the confines of the digital landscape to see what they could find. While several of you found yourself sticking to the boundaries to take care of the problems in the city, some of you ventured further and were rewarded for your efforts. While these wolf emblems did nothing for you in September, on October 5th their eyes begin to glow and shine a light in a straight path ahead of you. As you exit your homes and wander into the city, the light will provide you with the ability to see ghostly paw prints that make their way across the city. A wolf howls, though only those with an emblem may hear it, and emblem-holders will soon notice they are being watched by a black wolf with wispy black shadows wafting off of him. Magnus may even recognize some of you from before, but this isn't the time for pleasantries. Something wicked this way comes, and Magnus will follow every emblem holder and herd them toward the Recollé cemetery. As you explore, you'll find several of the tombstones reflect the names of people you know and Magnus follows along, stopping every so often to dig. His request is fairly obvious. Will you help him? Or will you leave him to work alone? Welcome to recolle's October event! Following the game's new format, this is the first event log! The second log will go up and coincide with the game's TDM on 10/17! Prompt II: For those who are infected or are going to be infected by other characters, please keep in mind that you may stick with only mental/emotional changes if you'd like! We understand that body horror isn't for everyone and while we encourage you guys to embrace some if not all of the physical changes that come with your monsters we have opened the option for maximum playability. You do not have to stick to what is written on the list! You may incorporate any sort of folklore/myth/culture tied to your specific monster to create your own spin on it. Even if you're already infected, you may become infected again if you'd like to combine different monsters together. During the day, the infection will be lingering and the infected will still want to spread the disease though they can semi-control their urges. During the evening hours, however, the infection takes over and mental/emotional changes override everything else. Prompt III: Groups who want to sign up for item-seeking and protection-creating may leave a comment on the sign-up page linked in the log! We will provide a short blurb regarding where your characters should go, what they will need to obtain, and how easy/hard it will be. We will leave the details of the thread and how your characters succeed to you guys! If you are infected and still want to participate in the searches during the day, that's also fine! Please just notate it in your sign-up form since it may change your outcomes. Prompt IV: Your character may explore the haunted house more than once. They may experience their greatest fears both times, or they may encounter the ghost. We will leave that decision to you as well. Bonus: please leave a comment on the mod question thread or send us a PM if you have a wolf emblem and would like to pursue this option! It may help you find a cure for your monster friends… Characters will be able to explore the city, areas such as Jabberwock Island, Rainbowland (de-Retrospec'd), and Wall Maria, and the four regions (Pesgare, Respatrum, Bosuma, Magatus.) The four regions have returned to normal and match the descriptions on the locations page. Finally, any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for important information as well!

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS

[recollecters]

Please leave mod questions about this log here!

[thesettingsun]

Will NPCs react to infected PC's physical changes?

[thesettingsun]

[II - grocery store]
[Shuji's been on edge the first days of the month anyway. October holds few pleasant memories for him. Paranoia is easily explained as being afraid of a repeat of last year, not even necessarily with unreality involved.

Then the physical changes happen.

There's no way Shuji can hide what's happened to him - his bat wings are huge, his horns far too big to hide under a hat, his sharp teeth obvious. He could try to hide in Akutagawa's apartment until this wears off, but that's a bad idea for a number of reasons.

So he goes about his life. He buys groceries, and his wings knock items off the shelves. Possibly into your cart or just all over the floor.]

Sorry, sorry, they're new, I'll just...

[He sure looks pitiful while he's trying to pick up after himself and knocking more things over in the process. Or as pitiful as someone with horns and wings and sharp teeth can.]

[II - existing positive CR only, tw: violence]
[Shuji goes about his life and sees his friends. Of course he does: his friends are far too important to him to ignore.

Maybe you're getting a coffee together and someone spills their drink on your arm. Maybe you're out at the mall and someone bumps into you. Maybe someone laughs at your haircut, maybe any of a thousand other minor rudenesses to you. It happens all the time, you might not even think anything of it.

Except that Shuji's eyes narrow, and he growls inhumanly low. Faster than most can react, he has his scythe in his hand.]

How dare you.

[You have about two seconds to say or do something before that unfortunate person is getting stabbed. Somewhere nonvital, probably, but stabbed.]

[wildcard]
[Shuji has werewolf-demon mostly, if you want an infection hit me up at Misheard.]

[clothes]

[ they were indeed getting coffee, something simple and quick, so doubtless neither of them expected to run into any fans of akutagawa's-- or in this case, perhaps fan isn't the right word. it was a pair of girls, no older than high schoolers.

"that's akutagawa, it's totally him!", "akutagawa? you mean that girly chuuni with the--"

akutagawa narrows his eyes, but that's the extent of his temper being able to surface, because shuji's eyes narrow into these bloodthirsty little slits, gleaming with vicious intent. the other man manages a good but shallow jab at the girl's shoulder, but only because akutagawa yanks shuji by the back of his shirt, so fast and inelegant that he practically falls backwards and takes shuji with him. ]

Shuji, what the fuck?!

[ his language usually isn't so crass, but there's honestly no other way to describe how, well, fucked up whatever was about to happen would be. akutagawa looks to the stunned pair of girls, weighs his options, and blurts out an apology along with an excuse that's probably extremely dumb, before he snatches shuji's wrist as hard and tight as he can and drags him to the men's bathroom. it's the most private place he can think of immediately.

shuji's practically thrown inside as akutagawa slams the door and locks it with the press of the little button. when he looks to shuji, he isn't afraid-- at least, not for himself. more for his friend, who would normally never even contemplate doing what he could have done. ]

What were you thinking just now?!

[spirithacker]

[the one with a tank.]
[Shinji hates the dark, and even it not being total darkness like the dome incident doesn't make him feel a whole lot better. He doesn't want to go anywhere alone, but school is in session and his parents won't hear of him skipping, so...

You can find him trying to park a tank twice his height in the middle school parking lot. Or riding it to the arcade, or down to the beach towards May's airship, or just generally around town.

Wherever he goes, his curse is the same:]

Why does it have to be dark again?!

[wildcard]
[anything else, hit me up at Misheard, it's cool]

I am so damn sorry

[standalonehuman]

The figure that approaches is not a person, but a car-sized spider...tank. For lack of a better term. Its claw-appendages in front wave like hands, and the spherical bowling ball indicates where it is looking.

Its voice is high-pitched, like that of a young girl.

"Oh! Hello there!" Claw waves in greeting. "Good morning! It's so very nice to finally meet another of my kind! I am a Tachikoma! What is your designation and primary function?"

Except...the Tachikoma seems to be speaking to the tank, not the driver.

[twostringsonebow]

i. a

[Of course he'd gone with something cheery. ♪ A nice smile for his pumpkin, with a heap of mischief... not unlike Arsene's face. It's spooky, but it's happy.

This has. Created something of a hybrid in the creation's reactions, unfortunately, in that it's filled with his favorite candy! Great! Love it! How is it giving it out? By spitting gumdrops at him and anyone who passes by, practically cackling with that face of its.

Goro's taken to hiding wherever he can, calling out to those it hits.]

W-Whatever you do, don't pop it! I'm still planning on bringing it home!

[Probably. Once it depletes its gumdrop storage.]

i. b

[Ah, a nice relaxing hayride. Goro doesn't. Really like haunted areas, or scary stories, or anything of the sort, but tis the season and all that jazz.

He just feels very justified in his dislike of things when their wagon falls apart, their horses turn demonic, and they're left stranded in the dark woods. He... doesn't even know where his personal safe haven is from here either, and he rubs his arms with a soft hum as he looks around.

... And decides wandering is better than nothing, so. Follow him because he's sure as fuck being confident in what he's doing despite the rising paranoia of the week, or bump into him and scare him because christ is dark and please? do not appear out of nowhere? He will deck someone or die trying?]

ii (put wanted infection in subject line)

[It's almost like an itch he can't quite scratch.

And boy, does he try.

But even Goro can only hold off so long before he's giving into the strange desire that echoes in his mind. Not wanting to harm those closest to him, he's taken to sort of... traversing the night in a far hairier form, a large dark reddish-brown wolf stalking down the city streets and watching for potential prey to infect. At least he seems like a very large dog. He'll react similarly to one too, coming when coaxed and the like.

All he needs is a chance to lick someone to infect them after all. For strangers, anyway. For those... closer at hand, it's more indepth, but that's another thing entirely.

Regardless of the strand he's giving (werewolf, demon, evil robot) he's going to be in this form for the first week of infection or so, just because it's fun to be a wolf and. He can't really stop himself from transforming a lot of the time.]

wildcard

[anything else!!! i'll take anything; if you'd like him to plan something specific just hmu through pm or at sundrymunity on plurk ♥]

i. a

[floret]

[ a gumdrop whistles through the air, briefly enters bullet time, and drives itself into the center of Jamie's forehead, killing him instantly. ]

[digthefuzz]

[ooc: As some notes - I intend to have Kurt stay uninfected for now and get infected later in the month. So for this log, I am open to potential confrontations with the infected, but not to Kurt being infected within them.

Also, I would like to do some cure questing! If anyone wants to partner up with Kurt, feel free to hit me up.]

I-a. Tis the Season to be Spooky

[Ominious Retrospec warnings and bad memories of last October aside, Kurt is determined to make the most of this Halloween! And one of the most essential parts of the Halloween experience is the costume itself. So the former teen star can be found in any of the store's around Tisse. He models a variety of costumes, mostly of the old favorites like Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, or a wolfman. And he'll call out to anyone nearby for an opinion!]

Okay, be honest. From 1 to 10, where do I fall on the spoop scale?

[And he'll try out less spoopy ones too. See him strike poses in a generic superhero costume, or as a ninja! The only costumes he seems to ignore are devil-related ones.]

I-b

[A haunted hayride sounds fun! Crossing his fingers in hopes that this won't be subject to any Retrospec weirdness, Kurt takes his seat in the carriage. He's hyped for this! ...But the hype is replaced by dread as the weirdness comes into play. The other people dissappearing, the horses changing and the sudden speed boosts... Kurt's now feeling dread more than anything.]

I- I've got a bad feeling about this! [He cries out as the carriage starts to fall apart!]

III

["Find the missing links." Now that was a weird thing to hear in his head. He's not sure what it could mean. All he has to go on is the idea of a 'missing link' between man and ape. So after class, he walks across Apprassage towards one of the museums to try to do some research!

Still, he's very nervous as he walks along, with the sun in the process of setting. Suddenly, it feels like he's hearing and smelling even more than usual. And noticing things out of the corner of his eye! After hearing or seeing something unexpected, he'll glance around uncertainly.]

...What was that?

[Could something be lurking in the shadows, making a noise or darting past his vision? Or is it just something more innocent that just happened to set off his advanced senses?]

IV

[Kurt stares at the haunted house with skepticism. After that haunted hay ride, he's feeling quite unsure about this spooky-looking house that seemingly sprouted up out of nowhere.]

This has to be a trap. They're not even trying this time! [A beat.] ...Right?

[Still, things are spooky on the outside, too. And by now Kurt's probably gotten an idea that some monstrous people are roaming around. So he may cave to using the house either for refuge or to search it for clues...]

Wildcard

[Feel free to come up with another prompt and/or hit me up for plotting!]

i-a

[promisedyou]

... Spoop scale? [ Mio can't help but arch a brow, looking rather confused. You'll have to explain this slang to her, since she's not really familiar with it. ]

[yakan]

(( i. ))

[ Purple hair is strange, but Kiyoshi can roll with it. He picks up a wolf mask on his way home from work one day and he notices that he can very very vaguely see it through his fingers. That's strange as well but alright. He picks up a coffee and goes witout pumpkin spice- or that was his intention. He wrinkles his nose and huffs as he realizes that he nonetheless got a pumpkin spice spiked latte. ]

Ugh..

[ It's not that he dislikes pumpkin spice, but it's not what he asked for and. It would be a waste to just throw it out, so. If anyone seems to be going to buy a pumpkin spice latte, he offers them his. ]

You can have mine if you'd like.

[ He's the picture of health right now! Beyond the feeling a little cold (he always feels a little cold come autumn though so he doesn't think anything's going on at the moemnt even if he's thinking that he's a bit colder than usual) and being able to infect people with any of the ghost, golem, slime monster diseases. If it's enough or not to infect is a question, but he hasn't come that far yet. He just wanted something warm to drink to fend off the cold that's been seeping into him, but he'll get another one. He needs to get another one. ]

(( ii.a ))

[ His fingers are sort of like plants, solid, fingerlike vines, that they snake up his arms, that they are his arms, and that they can extend and retract to his will.

He discovers that it's useful for slipping things unseen and unnoticed out of people's pockets. He was worried he'd be rusty, but apparently pickpocketing is something stuck in his fingers even decades after he quit. He's not really doing it for money even though one could always use money, he just does it because he feels like it, and he dumps whatever he finds in various places near where he stole them or close to saw the owner of them be and then he sticks around to watch the owner retrace their steps to find their wallet, their watch, or whatever else it was that he might have picked up. He doesn't really have a reason for that either, but he finds it enjoyable. And besides, he wants to know how much of direct skin contact that they get with the spots of slime that he's left on them, though it it's ghost slime or slime slime or plant slime differs. How much slime is needed, anyway? How easy is it to infect someone? How potent is his slime, is skin contact absolutely necessary?

Either way he sits on a bench, leans against a wall, or wherever really, and he's not the most subtle about his watching once a person finds an item, even though his presence becomes less ans less obvious the more time passes. ]

(( ii.b ))

[ Kiyoshi got a hat from Retrospec a while ago. It's just a normal straw hat, with a blue band wrapped around it. It's nothing special about it. But it's his, and curse this wind that keeps sweeping it off his head- it may not entirely be the wind's fault, and it doesn't so much sweep it off his head as it sweeps it through it, at least partially. He's not 100 percent corporeal these days.

Nonetheless the wind picks the hat up, carries it along as he follows, and it doesn't stop until it hits another person with different levels of force.

The moment they pick it up, or off their face, or simply touches it, Kiyoshi is right there, as if a ghost come out of nowhere, and he stares at the offending person who's stolen his hat. ]

Give that back, it's mine.

[ He does not..exactly...sound as jovial and friendly as he usually does. ]

(( wildcard ))
[ Kiyoshi will go through a variety of changes. If you want anything specific hmu or just write something up. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

II-A. (Closed, 10/5)

[Paranoia was nothing new to Lucy. It hummed at the back of her mind, followed her steps, shadowed her movements. Like an old, terrible friend.

But this time, it didn't whisper. It didn't suggest. It rose to a clamor, it shouted, it roared, it split her head with its suggestions. This wasn't a safe place. It wasn't safe, because she hadn't made it safe. She could, though. It was easy. All you have to do is—

It put Lucy in a right awful mood, even beyond the itching in her teeth. With a stiff-kneed stomp, she made her way into the kitchen shortly after the strange moonrise. Just...some tea. She'd feel better after that. Hopefully.]

II-B. (OTA, any night after the 8th)

[She needed to get out. Where wasn't important, just...out. Not even the daylight helped the voice in her head anymore, or the itch of her new feathers.

At least having wings made leaving the house easy, even if Lucy wasn't very good at actually flying. More often than not, there's a large feathered shape ghosting by in the dark—her wings were mostly silent, but Lucy sure wasn't when she hit something. A wall, a street lamp, a person—each one brought on a new burst of startled cursing. She didn't mean to land on anyone, promise. It just happened.

Sometimes Lucy did, though; crouching on a rooftop very pointedly between someone below and that corner store they were trying to get to, or between one protective circle of light and another. Her strangely elongated arms and clawed hands were curled over the edge of the roof, her feathered wings subsequently folded away. She was obviously a monster, even before getting a look at her strange shadow and her sharp teeth. Lucy was also pointedly staring—glaring, even—and if they hadn't noticed her yet, the rasp of Lucy's voice was hard to miss.]

What are you doing.

[It wasn't a question.]

[Or, rarely, she really hasn't noticed anyone sneaking up on her. She could hear much better after these feathers came in, but that sense wasn't perfect. The night's traffic was still present, and Lucy's quite busy looming ominously over the street below.

Jumpscare the monster, y/n.]

IV. (OTA)

[Creepy haunted house? Of course there would be. There were probably a dozen of them in the city by now.

This one, though, might have answers in it. That's what Lucy told herself, walking into what might as well have had "trap" emblazoned over the front door. But she wasn't afraid of the dark.

Part of the house where Lucy wasn't creaked—she wasn't alone in here, was she? The signs that Lucy was around were obvious; clawed footprints in the dust, the very occasional curl of a bright red feather.

Time for some hide and seek.]

[Wildcard]

((OOC: Lucy has vampire, mummy, shade, harpy, and eventually golem if you're interested in catching those monster strains. Lucy's plotting comment is here, or you can contact me on plurk at blueraven.))

2a

[mincingminuet]

[It's getting late, and Pen is just starting to feel the sluggishness of having been awake since early in the morning. This schedule Freya wanted her on was murder, but she was doing her level best to stick to it. While she'd spent all day unfocused, she did want to get some real work done, just a few simple bits of code, but that nagging feeling wouldn't go away. Something was wrong, something was nibbling at her thoughts...something that only soda would likely fix.

So that was what she'd gone for, and in her semi exhausted state she didn't even hear Lucy stomping her way into the kitchen. She was way too absorbed in rooting around in the cabinet, craning her neck to locate a good glass, to notice anything like that.]

[incandescentfaith]

II A. Double Dare Daytime


[When things had begun, Rei hadn't been able to hold out long. Living with one of the infected individuals had not helped, especially because above all else she trusted her brother. She wasn't even sure how it happened, but it didn't much matter. It was just easier to be the same, given the family ties and all.

During the day it's not so big a deal, she can deal with it. It's unusual, being able to simply flow into her car through cracks in the window...but it's kind of liberating at the same time. There's a bit of a thrill at being able to just move like that, and a part of her thinks that this isn't too bad. Really, she can still go to work, she still could have her life...and she absolutely doesn't mind not needed to eat in the usual way. Absorbing food through her hand is so, so much easier.

Sitting outside one of the various cafes, fingers idly tapping against the panini she'd ordered, nothing seems too out of place. Except that each time she touches the sandwich, some of it simply disappears, going who knows where. Smiling pleasantly at whomever happens to wander by, she waves...hand briefly turning a translucent green in the sunlight.]

Hello! How are you today?

[At least she's nice?]


II B. Slime Time Live! Nighttime

[Niceness only goes so far, though. The infection, the hunger, they're a throbbing, uncontrolled force within Rei after sunset. She slides out of the house, not bothering to try and hide her gelatinous form any longer. Legs fused together into a bizarre, fluid mass, her body a translucent rainbow of greens, reds, blues, and oranges she moves through the darkened city in search of something.

Her hair, a startling mass of blue-green, snaps out like a whip to snag passing bats, insects, and anything else unfortunate enough to get too close. Spotting a person or persons, the urge to attack all but overwhelms her. Sometimes she's stealthy, moving through shadows and staying pressed against a building until her slimy hair can whip out to grab her target. Other times she's overt, stepping into pain view and lobbing a sticky blob of goo at whoever she's pursuing to try and hold them into place. Do you fight back, run, or just roll with it? She's reed thin and doesn't seem too menacing.

Rei isn't particularly tough, and she's completely reliant on surprise for her attacks. If she's met with strong resistance, or happens to come into conflict with another monster and she'll flee. Do you pursue?]


IV. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[The enormous house is definitely something that grabs Rei's attention and she rather quickly makes her way there. During daylight hours, she rides right on over and slides out of her car, reforming her ooze-y body just on the other side of the gate blocking off the grounds. Smiling to herself, she jams a finger in the gate's main lock and twists, her new ability assisting with opening it. It clicks, then drops to the ground, allowing her to push the gate open for anyone else who might be outside.]

We shouldn't go into a place like this alone. Come with me?

[Trust the Slime Girl? Y/N?]


Wildcard

[If you wanna do something else, or we've made plans that aren't connected to this prompt PM me and we can figure out a thread!

For this event, Rei is going to be a Slime but I'm open to having her infected with other traits. Ghost is of particular interest. She is also open to infecting others with Slime strains.]

ii-b

[liberal_arts]

[ Despite her inhuman nature, the blending of color and translucency along with her graceful figure could be read as nothing but aesthetically gorgeous to Kasen. It was like he was being faced with living abstract art. Of course, the problem was, art often didn't, uh. Attack him. So he had to quickly adjust his stance to avoid the lobbed slime. He couldn't just slice through that, could he? ]

I have to admit, I very deeply wish to see what else you're capable of.

[smothershadow]

I.

[Of course that trip had gone off the rails. Of course it did. There couldn't just be a normal field trip in this place.

Amelia was in a resoundingly vile mood after the cursed carriage had dumped her in the gloomy forest. In the confusion, she'd lost her bag and its flashlight and phone. Replacing her phone wouldn't be an issue—finding her way out of the forest was a far more pressing concern right now.

There—sounds of someone else nearby, maybe. Imperiously, the older woman swept for them, not bothering to brush the leaves from her dress or quiet the twigs snapping underfoot.]

I hope you know the way back.

[Sorry if she gave someone a heart attack.]

III.

[The great thing about enhanced senses was how they made small things seem large, and large things seem unreasonably gigantic when one flew by in the dark. Massive leathery wings snapped the air, and a spiny, reptilian shadow materialized from the night sky.

The last known Retrospec-aligned area was often a good place to start looking when things became strange. The dragon landed gracefully in the parking lot usually occupied by sedans and SUVs, and her form began to burn away and shrink as she walked forwards towards the mailbox.

It was a dramatic and unmistakable entrance for someone just going to get the mail, as Amelia intended. But as impressive as that dragon form was, she couldn't see in the dark. With a frown, she stopped before getting to the mailbox. ]

Who's there?

IV.

[This was better, for a given definition of "better." She had a flashlight this time—she didn't trust this house's lights to stay on at all. The older woman swept into the middle of the first hallway and paused, tapping her foot.]

I suppose asking this not to be bothersome is too much to ask, isn't it.

[The dragon is cranky today.]

III

[floret]

[ so he's been waking up with that voice in his head, and when he got off work tonight and thought about trying to find "missing links," he sort of felt like maybe he should come here. so he did, but there really wasn't anything to see, as far as he could tell.
only, all of a sudden, there was. and it was a huge dragon??! ...but now it's a human (?) woman. ]

Uh!
N-nobody!
I mean... it's me. Jamie. ...Doh.

[fiddlestick]

II-A. It's Fine. Probably. (Resisting Infection)
[He wasn't among the first to get infected, but when he had friends and family among them- it wasn't long before he was exposed. One of the downfalls of being a little too on the trusting side when there's a monster virus floating around.

For the first three days, he does his best to resist the urges. People who come across him will notice that he's looking surprisingly unwell for a guy with regeneration powers. He looks tired and paler, like his stress levels had reached a new high. He's always drinking water, acting like a parched man in the desert. Unconsciously he keeps scratching at dry skin, rubbing the side of his neck, and biting his lip -- were his canines always that sharp?

Elliot won't tell anyone what's going on without persuasion. He keeps insisting he's fine. It'd only worry people. Some things are better kept secret.

To help distract himself from the thoughts in his head, he turns to music. Elliot's always been on the obsessive side with music, but it's reached a new level. His headphones were either on his ears or around his neck, always playing music. If he's got an instrument near him, he's tuning or playing it. If there's a sheet of paper nearby, he's composing. And if all else fails, he keeps humming to himself.

As the three days go on, it becomes easier to notice signs. There's moments he stares at someone's neck, his mouth agape enough to show fangs. See his skin get wet? You might catch the sight of green scales appearing on his skin. And even though he tries to cover it with a scarf, a pair of gills have appeared on either side of his neck. ]

II-B. Okay. Maybe Not. (Infection Night - Beach)
[It's the third night that he finally gives in. He tried to hold out, but the instincts were too strong. One moment he's curled up on his bed, the next he's prying open his bedroom window to escape. He transforms into a bat (something he doesn't think about as odd, he's too far gone) and flies out into the night. The whole flight, he has only one destination in mind: the ocean.

When he reaches the ocean, he flies straight into the ocean. It's several minutes before he resurfaces again. He's no longer a bat, but ...saying he's human was a stretch as his lower half was a emerald green fishtail. Green scales were scattered across the top half. There were a set of gills on the side of his neck, and two sharp fangs in his mouth. He's not the least bit startled by the changes, instead laughing and splashing around happily like this was some great release.

The rest of the night, and the nights after, he stays in and near the ocean. Sure he knows he's supposed to infect and destroy, but the water was so nice. Anyone who comes on the beach might find him sitting on beach rocks, ready to lure them into the water with a lulling tune and a smile.

Honestly, as far as monsters go, he's a pretty innocent one and is unlikely to attack. Even being a monster doesn't change his soft boy nature. However, that won't mean he won't defend himself if someone decides to try monster hunting. If that happens, you'll be in for a quite a fight: he won't hesitate to use the full force of his magic. ]

III-C. Nah it's Fine. (Infection - Daytime)
[When morning comes, he'll return to land. Drying himself off allows his legs to return, and to regain a mostly human appearance once more (though the fangs and gills stay). Within a few days, he works out a routine: dry himself off, get dressed, go home and take a quick nap, and then carry out his day as normally as possible before returning to the beach at night.

On the bright side, he seems a lot healthier and happier than he was those first three days. He seems very much like his old self mostly. He's willing to spend time with friends, go exploring, and do things that Elliot would normally do - especially if they're music related.

But...there are still things off. He's not forthcoming about where he's going at night. There's a notable lack of interest in finding a cure for the monster virus. And sometimes he seems to be watching, assessing the people around him - as if judging which ones would be perfect to infect. His perfectionist tendencies, now compounded by the virus, won't let him infect everyone around him, but there are some he ends up getting an eye on. Getting him wet will expose his "true" form, if you want to risk it. ]

[OOC: Elliot's been infected with merperson/vampire strands with these traits in mind! If you want to be infected or fight him, please let me know. Otherwise he's one of the more passive monsters if you just wanna chill. These prompts are pretty open ended up so I'm up for any plotting! ]

yeah it's fine. also playing loose with timing

[interlucere]

[ Elliot has been acting weird lately. Since the infection first began to spread, Lucille has been doing her best to keep tabs on her family. Rayne was easy—the two shared a room and absolutely everything else. Elliot... has been cagey, and it's been making her nervous. It isn't like him, and even as she tries to visit often, it's when he finally shifts from being uncomfortable and twitchy to relaxed and at ease that she really starts to panic.

Something is very wrong here, and it worries her.

Danger means nothing as far as her family is concerned. If he's fine, then they can just laugh it off later. Chalk it up to a rookie mistake and a heaping helping of paranoia. But if she's right (and she doesn't want to be right), then something may have happened and she needs to assume the worst.

The first night, she follows part of the way, losing him fairly quickly, almost like he's flown away somehow. The second, she gets a little further, before he manages to shake her off yet again.

The third night finds her on the beach, following him to his final destination. It doesn't make sense at first, why would he come here of all places? It's beautiful, yes—freezing cold, but that's to be expected. But why..?

The sand crunching beneath her shoes, Lucille slowly walks toward him, brow furrowed in deep concern. ]

Elliot..? What are you doing out here?

[ This is weird. She doesn't like it. Please come back with her? ]

[mincingminuet]

I need a change (Closed to Freya)

[Things were not really coming up roses for Penelope this time. It was October, sure, and she'd been planning on using today to post a special video for Columbus Day and do a little car shopping for her as-yet unreplaced vehicle. That'd been a bust when she woke up feeling just a little cold and clammy, like something was wrong. Lucy taking a bite out of her pretty early in the day hadn't helped, and so schedules had been scrapped. She'd mentioned the aches and pains to Freya, who'd volunteered to hit the store for meds, but kept Lucy's involvement quiet for now.

Shuffling through the house, trying not to scratch several places that just really freaking itched for some reason, focus completely shot Pen waited anxiously for Freya to get back. Something about today was giving her a weirdly anticipatory feeling and she didn't like it, a part of her warning her to stay away from Freya. Being alone she liked even less, though.

When her partner does finally make it back, she'll find Pen has settled in one of the computer chairs in the living room, with a half empty bag of chips and the largest glass she has filled with soda. Her fingers move lethargically through a slow song on Audiosurf, and she looks back over her shoulder with a smile.]

Hey, you're back. Thanks for going out for me.


II A. 'Cause it's all gone wrong for me Nighttime-City

[When things finally come crashing down around Pen's ears, the first thing she does is try to isolate herself. She's strong, she's resilient, and she's resourceful but there's only so much you can do about the enemy within. That primal urge calls to her, as firm a hold on her as the Espers, so she goes out into the night...seeking victims.

It's possible you're just walking down the street, coming back from a the club or heading home from work. Maybe you're heading to work, or it's a late night on campus and you've got a study session. Whatever the case may be, you hear a song, a captivating melody that draws you in...towards a fountain, a local pond, maybe even out onto the beach. It's one of those tunes that you just can't quite get out of your head, a gentle, soothing melody meant to lull you towards it.

Or perhaps you're out for a jog in the park after dark, heading through arboreal archways, or under a bridge. In the distance you spot a flashing light, slowly pulsing in the bushes or in a dark corner. It doesn't look quite right, and it's accompanied by the soft groans of an injured girl.

Another possibility is that you're out somewhere. A restaurant, a bar, a club, anywhere you'd likely go after dark, and someone you know slides up next to you. Penelope smiles and tilts her head]

Hey. How's things?

[In any of these scenarios, Penelope is liable to attack. Infection can be avoided, but she will try her best to get you. Or maybe you're wise to her tricks and are planning to hunt her instead? Other monsters or people who put up a fight may wind up in an actual fight, but her instinct will be to flee like a predator that's been caught.]



II B. I want somebody else to lead me now Daylight

[By day, Pen is a little more in control and a lot more remorseful. She can be found primarily sitting out on the shoreline, wearing her swimsuit despite the chill in the air. Staring out at the waves, she seems to be taking in the salt spray. Beside her is an enormous cooler filled with drinks, and bags and bags of junkfood are tied to the enormous spear she's got, held fast against the wind.

Sitting on a towel in front of her is one of her laptops, music drifting out of it's speakers, made tinny by the poor quality of the speakers. Every so often she starts to shake and shiver but when she takes out a drink and polishes it off in one gulp that seems to fix that. Anyone out on the beach like this gets a look, mostly a sad smile. Family, friends, whatever...]

You probably wanna keep your distance.


IV. I said somebody else to lead me now

[Monster or not, haunted houses in October are going to 100% draw Penelope's attention. She's managed to rope someone into going with her, for sure. If it's a monster, probably at night. If it's during the day, then maybe one of the uninfected friends she has will probably be safe. Wearing a black cape that falls down to her knees, Pen bounds up the steps, camera in hand, grinning like an idiot.]

C'mon. This'll be great. just the video op I've been hoping for. I knew it was going to be my month the minute those pumpkins appeared.


Wildcard

[For other things you may wanna do with me! Hit me up via PM or Plurk and we can figure something out.

Pen has been infected with the initial wave on top of being bitten by a vampire, and thus can share Zombie, Merfolk, Vampire, and Harpy. The disease vector can be whatever works for you, just let me know what you're aiming for! Prompt 2A has 3 scenarios but feel free to put up another, and prompt 2B will not involve a risk of infection unless asked.]

IIA

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot was already having a rough few days. Dave had infected him the night before, and already he was starting to feel some of the effects. It was tempting to call in sick to work but...no, he didn't think being around his roommates would help him.

So he was on his way home from the club when he hears the melody. Despite music tricking him LAST TIME, he still finds himself drawn to seeing the source of it.

He never learns ok.]

What's that beautiful song...?

[pronounces]

I. hey there, little red riding hood.

[ things are sort of back to normal. the weather's crisp and comfortable, the fall festival is coming, and nazuna's first anniversary on retrospec is this month. with leo and mizuki gone, things have been a little quieter than usual, but he's done his best to look up and try and enjoy it.

which means, like many of the other residents of recolle, nazuna is taking to carving pumpkins! not just one pumpkin, but he's settled in tisse on a blanket in the grass, absolutely surrounded by what looks like thirty of them. he's a rabbit in a pumpkin patch if there ever was one, and though someone might be overwhelmed by such a massive number of gourds. nazuna is not one of those people.

if anything, he's an opportunist. so, if he spots you walking by, he waves his hand to try and track you down. ] Hey, hey! Come here! Can you help me with something ~? ♪

[ what a sweet way to ask. he pats the spot next to him, even. wonder what this could be about? ]

II. you sure are looking good.

[ by the middle of the month, things are decidedly not back to normal. or...well, maybe for recolle, they are. the infection has begun to spread through the city, which means there are all kinds of freaky things happening at all hours of the day. by some manner of luck or perhaps ingenuity, nazuna's managed to dodge infection up to this point, keeping himself to his routine as usual. he gets up, goes to work, spends time with his students, and then goes immediately home to keep from getting caught in the dark.

there's only one problem with his current routine and that, as usual, has to do with the little troublemaker he's called his pet rabbit for the past few years. tsuchin tends to misbehave more often than not, but at night, he's usually tuckered himself out and tucks in with jimechin for bed. this time, it's not just tsuchin that bolts out of his apartment door--it's jimechin, too.

that was an hour ago or so. he's been going through recolle, calling out for both of his missing bunnies, barely quick enough to remember to grab a coat from his dresser in his rush to get back outside. it's like tsuchin to try and dash out, but jimechin...? he's an angel.

hand to his mouth, he starts calling out: ] Jimechin? Tsuchiiiin! [ and that, right there, is a sitting duck. a very easy to infect one, were you to try. he's aware of this, though, and nazuna shivers a little, making his way through town and calling for them. seriously, he just needs to find them both, and get back home.]

II-A. bonus: bunnicula

[ by the time nazuna actually finds his two rabbits, they're both very, very cranky. sticking together, they're curled up together under a bench, and when he leans down to try and reach out to get them out from there, so, so relieved--

jimechin hisses at him. nazuna jumps backwards, the noise startling and frankly a little terrifying, his-- ] Unyan! [ a high pitched squeal as he flails backwards and falls right on his ass.

hopefully someone came by to see that, because he's left sitting there looking stunned, clutching his chest like a maiden. ] Jimechin! [ WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIS BABY. please help him retrieve his infected rabbit. ]

wildcard!.

[ got a better idea? have we talked about something? hit me up here. nazuna won't be getting infected until later in the month but i'm open to almost anything else! ]

i

[promisedyou]

Huh? [ She almost jumps a little bit in surprise at the ask for a favor, but then relaxes a bit. Maybe she's just a bit tense after the Retrospec thing, and since it's been getting closer to the day when things tend to turn to shit in this place she's just a little bit jumpy. ] That depends on what you're asking for. If it's something like "to pretend to be your girlfriend", that's completely off the table~☆

[thisloveisjustice]

I. if i seem dangerous (oct 5)

Tatsuo is doing anything to distract himself. Focus on anything other than the little whisper in the back of his mind, fight down the urge that is slowly growing inside of him. The Halloween decorations help a little. The excited buzz that fills the streets. He's always enjoyed Halloween and October in general.

And when someone suggests the haunted hayride, he thinks why not? It should be good for a laugh! Haunted hayrides are always good for a laugh, even if it's a nervous one.

But this hayride... it's probably the dread Tatsuo had been feeling the last several days. He can't seem to relax and just enjoy the damn thing. And just when he's about to raise his hand and ask to simply be let off... everyone vanishes. The host who'd been telling the stories and the other passengers. Except for some he recognizes.

"What the..."

This isn't how he'd thought this would go.

II. would you be scared (post oct 8)

Tatsuo feels so much better once he just... lets go. Gives in. Especially once he found his first prey. That had been fun. But now there are further steps to take. He has clever friends, too clever. Matt and Hitori in particular. He's self-aware enough to acknowledge that. He needs to take counter measures.

The combination of zombie, harpy, and mermaid virus in his blood is nudging him in two directions in particular (aside from the urge to spread the virus further). First, find others with the virus and bring them together. There is safety in numbers, power in numbers, an advantage in numbers. In a way, this is simply an extention of Tatsuo's own tendency to draw people to him, to make his own family around him. And the second is to establish a territory. A place that will belong to his family, a place that they can defend, a place they can gather away from the rest of the city.

So during the 'day,' when his mind is the sharpest, Tatsuo wanders the city on his lunch break, looking for the perfect location. It needs to still be in the city, close to the rest of the city's population, close to their prey. But he also has an odd desire for both water and height. Which, might be a little difficult to achieve. He'll find it eventually.

wildcard

[Tatsuo has zombie/harpy/mermaid, with a slight lean on zombie, though he won't start manifesting physical changes for a week or so. For now he still looks human. If you want to get infected w/ one of his strains, hmu @ anacrusis]

I.

[blondferret]

[Derek was also on the hey ride doing a similar thing Tatsuo was, trying to get his mind off of the paranoia he was feeling. He too was surprised when everyone else disappeared. However, he did notice one thing...]

OK... do you notice how those horses... don't look like horses...

[breakingvoice]

i. bad girls walk among us

Lina has already committed to making a lot of pumpkin-flavored things this season, and though it would be easy to head out to the store and pick up premade filling, well, that hardly seems like the right way to do things with the skills she has. So she's out here in a patch, picking pumpkins in fall clothing that she's been waiting to get into for a while. The sleeves of her white sweater dangle down just past her wrists, she's got full pants on instead of a skirt, and to cap off the ensemble is a wide-brimmed hat that's about to have seen better days.

She's taking a break from picking pumpkins to carve one, and it looks like she's really pleased with her work. As she puts the finishing touches on the spooky, jagged-toothed face (with the knife cutting through the pumpkin's thick flesh like tissue paper in her hand), she leans back and admires what she's made. And after another moment, a whipped cream pie seems to materialize out of nowhere and whack her right in the face. She lets out a yelp, muffled by the tin, as the impact pushes her hat back and lets blue curls peek out (though it does seem to be snagging on something) and she stands up.

Pulling the tin off, she looks towards the closest person through a white haze, whipped cream covering her embarrassment.

"I guess it picked trick."

ii. can you imagine all i want?

And when the night comes, when the world is bathed in the glow of the strange moon, Lina feels so much more comfortable than she has words for. Her tail swings idly behind her, thin and pointed to match the black horns sticking out from her head. Find a crossroads—any crossroads in the city, it isn't important where, and Lina will be there in a slick pinstripe suit, leaning against a lamppost and waiting for someone to approach her.

She's felt confident before, but never like this, never like she's fully in control of who she is and what she wants. It's easy to follow that impulse, especially when it's so simple and she doesn't have things like morality or social graces holding her back. She's a demon, and all she has to do is trick people into thinking they're giving up their souls for something they want more than anything else in the world. And she will make more demons, and everything will be infected, and everything will be right. Humans are such blind fools sometimes.

"Hey," she says, her voice cool, calm. "Tell me something. What's the one thing you want most in the world?"

???. creature come and get it, creature's coming [wildcard]

((hit me up in DMs or on roseward and we can hash some stuff out!!))

1

[argone]

Kara had been holding it together remarkably well since the incident the night before, but going out with Lina was testing her already thinly stretched resolve. She figured something nice and normal would help but there was just so much to that outfit that got her heart thumping with the desire to make a deal. And perhaps a little more.

The carving worked as a good distraction, and her knife worked deftly to carve up the pumpkin, cutting out the shape of face that looked vaguely like Homer Hinson's, albeit with a somewhat exaggerated grin. Lina was more the artist and that was made all the clearer by her own pumpkin.

Kara was about to say something complimentary when outta nowhere...splat. Whipped cream, everywhere. That caused her to just bust out laughing. A good sign.

"I guess you did!"

[burndownforwhat]

(A1 - open) And all the kids cried out
[ the lack of proper day/night cycle is really messing with Jen's head. more than everything else happening to her, mentally and physically, it's tough to maintain her usual schedule. she's out at all hours of the day, trying to go about her life with university classes, volleyball practice, the gym, jogging, and shopping, but during certain hours she just gets absolutely sidetracked trying to approach people. to sniff them out - figuratively, if not literally - and see if they're suffering the same or similar fate as her.

or, you know, if they want to get in on the action.

daytime hours are relatively tame. when she's out, Jen tries to hide her scaley spots and broken horns under a thick hoodie pulled over her head but the large nubs jutting out are hard to miss. as are her eyes now permanently stained red whether she's actually angry or not. she does her best to look amicable and easy to approach but one cannot help perceptions.

fortunately for her, it's also coming closer and closer to Halloween, so that means it's time to hit up the various shops looking for a costume to either hide the rest of her features or, at least, try to blend in with her surroundings. you can find her at various stalls, picking out pumpkins to carve, trying on masks and hats, and overall just checking out the holiday trappings. she might even compliment your own features -- whether they be real or cosmetic. it's another way to subtly scope out who's infected already and not.

not that she's looking to make new comrades. not strongly, anyway... ]


(A2 - open) "please stop, you're scaring me"
[ nighttime past the outskirts is another matter entirely. whereas daylight hours leave Jen with full awareness of her condition and able to conduct herself as a normal human being for the time being, the version that people can encounter near the roads or streams, in the woods and hills, or in the shadows of alleys around the farthest buildings from the city center is an entirely different animal altogether. quite literally so, as one might have trouble recognizing her at all.

of course it's rather hard to hide in the darkness when one's countenance is as grim as the sun-bleached bones of a dead beast merged with one's features. the lower maw is still her human jaw but her fangs are sharp as a large wild dogs. a dirty mantle of fur - presumably a bear's by the size of it - hangs over her shoulders held on by holes punctured by long jagged bony protrusions that seem fused with the bones of her shoulders and spine. though her limbs are bare and still of normal flesh and bone (save for her mechanical arm, which she's not wearing), she runs along on all threes with long black claws scraping along the ground.

when she cannot make it to the outskirts before the transformation, she hangs out in the deeper shrubs of the park, in the trees by the street away from the lights, or lays about lazily in one of the quieter pumpkin patches. she's a big puppy at heart; unless you antagonize her.

terrifying as this is meant to look, and with all the changes to her facial structure, it's amazing she can talk at all, much less with a deep and warm tone. she approaches anyone she doesn't recognize cautiously, sniffing the air to see if they smell like her of crusted blood and wet fur or if they're at all untainted. ]

Hnn. I was here first, you know...


(B - open) I can't help this awful energy
Hey. Hey! Yes, you. Can you help me out? [ Jen shouted at whoever seemed to pass by and not outright ignore her plight. whether it was a fence, a lamppost, the back of a bench or a mailbox, the scene was similar. there was the blonde athlete with her mechanical right arm caught in or around an object and rather comically trapped in place. sometimes if it's not outright obvious how she's gotten into this predicament it was as simple as having the robotic digits clamping down on her left wrist to lock her in place, or even stranger are the times her arm is wrapped up to the shoulder in something and there are wires weaving in and out of whatever the object was, tying her down.

it's strange, too, that where her arm normally terminates in the rest of her natural body it instead looks like a robotic limb of sorts that travels under her shirt but stops before any other opening in the shirt she has on. that's definitely new...

this seems innocent enough. if you discount the robot parts. or the green scales on parts of her skin. or the jagged broken-off horns peeking out through her hair...

look, please help her out? Jen's giving whoever it is the doe eyes and everything! ]

(OOC: this scene comes in two flavors. Jen is genuinely struggling with her robotic infection controlling her arm and locking her in place because it can, or it's a trap where she's only acting the damsel to lure in someone to infect. options for this include robot, werewolf, and demon traits if you want them!)


(C - closed) Goddamn right you should be scared of me
I have a bad feeling about this.

[ standing in front of the house, stating the obvious, Jen was armed and ready to enter the threshold. it looked a lot like your bog standard haunted house just turned up to 11. if she was on her own she might not be as nervous because she felt the urges to charge in like a bull in a china shop, but with Lina around to help sniff things out, it meant she had someone else to watch out for. it meant she had to be more cautious and level-headed; things that haven't come easy to her of late with all the other changes. ]

Are you ready?


(Wildcard) Who is in control?
((OOC: want anything else not covered here? hit me up!))

for Kara

[burndownforwhat]

[ it's late when the dogs out behind the auto shop start barking up a storm. it doesn't wake Jen at all, who has left the bed long enough for her spot on it to be cold by the time Kara stirs. the arm is found by bedside table, which isn't odd for her, but the lack of any sign of Jen out nearby is easy to pick up on. no light or sound from the bathroom, the work floor, the couch. nothing.

the barking just gets more and more intense, interspersed with the occasional threatening growl and then a loud, piercing howl. a howl that definitely came from something much bigger than a dog of any breed that usually hangs out in the neighborhood. there's a clatter of junk and a panicked yelp of that same massive beast. sounds like a fight has broken out or something... ]

[invocate]

i-a. pumpkins scream in the dead of night

All things considered, Li-Na is very happy it's October. Because that means it's sweater weather. And that means she gets to break out her favorite fall combo: long sweaters and leggings. With a pumpkin spice latte in one hand and a slice of pumpkin bread in the other, Li-Na is browsing the various decorations when she spots people carving pumpkins. She quickly plops herself down next to someone to watch.

"What are you making?"

i-b. trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright

Look, Li-Na can't turn down a haunted hayride. She's never done one of those before, and it sounds ~spooky~ but fun. So don't mind her as she grabs you hand and drags you over to the carriage.

"Oh my gosh, we need to do this!"

Just accept your fate and get on the ride with her. It'll be easier.

iv. i am the one hiding under your stairs

The moment Li-Na realizes there is something wrong with most of her friends... she goes looking for something to help them. But in addition to having no idea where to even start looking, she has to contend with the infected individuals. One of them catches her unprepared, her boots tucked in her dance bag instead of on her feet. With no time to stop and put them on, she's forced to run under her own power.

As the house looms in her sight, Li-Na sprints the last several yards and throws herself through the front door.

Did you chase her in here? Or were you also running from something?

wildcard

[want something else? hmu @ anacrusis]

iv

[promisedyou]

[ This honestly is not a good month for Mio, and it shows a little in just how tense she is, even though she knows that it was a bad idea. But once she sees Li-Na having thrown herself through the front door, she immediately holds her assault rifle tight, pointed directly at her. ] Are you safe? Or not? [ She doesn't want to have to shoot anyone and the gun itself is more or less a safety precaution than anything else, but she can never be too careful. At the very least, she won't be aiming to kill. There's no way that she'd make that mistake twice. ]

[floret]

i.

[ it's sometime before the 10th, and Jamie isn't LOVING the lack of sunlight, but fortunately he still has that sunlamp he bought in january, and... hey, it could be worse.

today he's decided to dedicate a couple of spare hours to getting into the holiday spirit and carving a pumpkin. what he's chosen to depict is a nice cat, which he carves without any outstanding artistic flair, but with a great deal of care and precision. join him as he puts on the finishing touches, and maybe you can share in some of the sweet bounty! ]

iia.

[ it's sometime after the 10th, and jamie is out and about... maybe around campus, maybe at the store, maybe just wanderin'.

if you're someone who's highly attuned to the spiritual--able to see and commune with ghosts and other metaphysical beings--then you might be able to recognize that he's no longer quite human. he'll look pretty normal, though, aside from the fact that no matter the time of day or night, he's dressed like he just got out of bed (sock feet, pajama pants, and an XXL "Recollé University College of Liberal Arts" T-shirt that would better serve him as a tent).

if you don't have any particular affinity for sensing the supernatural, then he'll still be in pajams, but he'll also be extremely see-through and might seem to shimmer in and out of existence at unpredictable intervals.

either way, the various passersby most definitely don't see him at all, so they're just walking right into him. this works out fine about two-thirds of the time--they phase through him and keep going--but sometimes they collide with him as though he were as solid as anyone else, and that's not a fun time for anyone. ]

iib.

[ how would you like to be served by a semi-visible ghost barista?? visit the tea kittle and find out! ]

iii.

[ all roads lead to the Wiffle-Waffle. if it's before the 10th, he's a boy of flesh; if it's after, that ship has sailed. either way, he's loitering and antsy and hoping to find some missing links (whatever those are)! why not buddy up? ]

iv.

[ sometime in the middle third of the month, if you venture out to the haunted house, you might catch sight of a gloomy figure lurking nearby. he looks a little something like this. actually, he looks exactly like that. (though he'll have his sword sheathed. and be slightly less of a chibi.)

as before, his level of visibility corresponds with the viewer's sensitivity to the supernatural. wanna say hi? ]

it's the network on 10/10, charlie brown!

Beta#1101171543
omg does anyone have Race, Class, and Health with Professor Jeung or is on campus near oswald hall on tuesday and thursday mornings?? if so can you PLEASE sign in for me on the attendance sheet. I literally can't think of anything I wouldn't do to repay you. 😰

(this is jamie doh btw!!)

wildcard

[ hmu at or just respond with whatever you want here, nothing is too weird or dumb ]

beta#040118524

[breakingvoice]

[see, this is the problem. there's much less onus to hide herself when she's online, and how could she not take this up? he's even saying he'll repay her. her lips curl upward on her end of the screen as she types out her response.]

i can be there!!! i have T/R classes and a lot of time before them, and i'm waking up early already, so i'll have time. this does sound like you're asking someone to help you skip class, though... how important is that to you anyway?

(oh um this is Lina Geteilt by the way, i know eventually we'll get these numbers fixed)

[zerotohiro]

i. - pre-infection settling in, 10/5-6 only.

[He’s not exactly a fan of horses so he stays away from them. Instead, he finds himself drawn to a pumpkin patch and picking out a couple of large pumpkins for himself. It’s only later in the day that he can be found with the pumpkins settled at the park, seated on the ground and working on carving them. He’s also surrounded by paints and other art supplies, seemingly working in his own little bubble.

Sorry if he flings pumpkin guts at you, that’s just how art goes sometimes =\

Nevertheless, he’s eventually holding a carving knife and staring at the pumpkin in his lap, frowning in thought before he directs a question to whoever’s nearby.]

Scary pumpkin or normal pumpkin? [Help him, he’s indecisive.]

ii. - golem-option, any night 10/7 and onward

[He resists for about a day before he fully gives in and accepts that whatever’s happening to him is stronger than he can fight. He finds his thoughts altered and he sinks deep into them, shying away from people in the daytime. It’s easy for him to slip away and disappear should someone approach him, but it’s harder to ignore the changes that come at night.

He has enough clarity left to understand what a golem actually is, and he finds himself struggling to maintain one solid form. It’s almost as if his mind can’t decide between staying human and changing, trying to latch onto something solid. It ends in some purely horrific combinations that he finds himself running away from trying to change into something else.

He seems to finally settle on a form, though it isn’t comfortable and it’s a little melancholy, he thinks. Hidden in the shadows, he watches everyone pass by and it’s only when he gets lonely enough that he speaks up.]

Hey…can you do something for me? I think I’m stuck. [And should you approach, you’ll find one (1) Hiro Hino covered in flowers and vines. Purple and black in appearance, the flowers grow out of his skin and cover most of him, arms morphed into small branches and bundles and his legs rooted to the ground. He looks innocent enough, but for anyone who knows flower language they might recognize the aconite framing his face and the back of his neck. Do you trust him?]

ii-a. - ghost-option, anytime 10/7 and onward

[The infect had taken over a little harder than Hiro anticipated. He hadn’t even really understood that this was what it was, that he was infected, that he was supposed to spread something and cause chaos in the city, and by the time the infection fully rooted in his mind he was already moving on to the next task of luring people in and figuring out how to spread the disease.

He’s clever enough that he’s also realized he’s carrying a strand of multiple forms. It doesn’t hurt that he also finds himself passing through a building with ease, transparent and invisible to the naked eye.

Being invisible makes things a little easier, he thinks. During the day he finds a way to force tangibility, focusing on the traits of one of the other strands of monsters to make sure he stays grounded and not hinting at what’s wrong. He still has to go to school even if he doesn’t like it, but afterschool and night hours are his.

As you wander the streets of Recollé, especially in Tisse and Apprassage, you’ll notice a few cans of spray paint innocently lying on the ground. They seem to be making a trail and leading straight to the side of a building, anywhere with plenty of space. One can of paint hovers in the air and continues tagging the building itself, filling in the outlines of a familiar haunted house surrounded by small, round ghostly figures. Do you stop to watch? Do you try to stop him? Or do you happen to walk right in the middle of the painting and subject yourself to being sprayed?]

ii-b. - slime option, anytime 10/7 and onward

[This form, however, is truly unfortunate. As he shifts through his different forms and finds that there’s a slime ability, he really focuses on trying to stay in his golem form more than anything else. Unfortunately, what Hiro wants and what the disease wants are two different things and as he ventures into the city to find new people to infect and scratch the itch that’s been planted…well. He ends up picking up everything. It’s a mess of twigs and candy wrappers and papers as he walks, and anyone close by can hear him talking to himself as he tries to fling everything off of him.]

Gross, no, stop it! [He’s working on ridding himself of garbage because that’s not what he wants. He has a specific goal in mind for consumption and all of these items are getting in his way. He flings goo in several directions as he tries to shed the unnecessary items, and as he gets a little too close (an abomination of flowers growing off of him and purple-black slime oozing from his hands, he accidentally picks up something of yours. He starts shaking his limbs again, the unnatural movements wiggling and wobbling as he attempts to break free.] Take it back already!

[Help him, he seriously doesn’t want this.]

wildcard

[Hit me with anything else! I’m open to more lowkey adventures during daytime hours when he’s not an absolute mess, so please feel free to pm me or ping me on plurk at alternatively! I’m also open to fetch-quests even if he’s infected.]

[ooc: please note if you want to actually avoid being infected in any of my ii prompts! Hiro’s going to try his best but I’m fine with him failing to do so if you just want to thread. The triggers for infection on golem will be using his plant limbs to touch, ghost will be paint and/or passing through someone, and slime will be…slime.]

ii-a

[admiringly]

[ Curiosity kills the cat and traps a girl with ribbons in her hair. Chiyo follows this trails of spray paint, and she watches the picture form. ]

Um, that's nice work, but vandalism is bad.

[ Chiyo should have a better sense of danger than this, especially since she can't see who it is.

But here she is anyway. ]

Quest 1: Elda and Togusa

[standalonehuman]

Slowly, some of the citizens of Recolle are starting to notice that things are going very wrong, and they might be in even more danger this month than they were last year. The bad feeling had led Togusa to the mailbox, and the quest he and Elda had gotten hasn't set him at ease at all.

Granite, preferably collected from the headstones in the cemetery. This shouldn't be dangerous, but the idea of technically desecrating graves doesn't set well with Togusa, either.

He took the Tachikoma there, but instructs the robot to wait for them outside the gates. Togusa waits for Elda in the same spot, weight shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

[matchbreaker]

Honestly, it doesn't sit well with Elda either. Both for the ethics of it and because, well, extracting granite isn't precisely easy. That stuff's dense and heavy. To her end...

Well, yeah, whatever, she'll follow through on it if it means fixing this before it becomes a problem (particularly for zombies, given Albert's memories) but it still doesn't linger well. But the petite woman arrives quick enough, having bounded over mostly through leaps and running, having become somewhat more aware of her abilities in the last few days. It's strange, like she somehow got even more acute.

... She also has a slegehammer over her shoulder? She notes the tank as she comes in and waves the hammer.

"Hey, ho!"

[blondferret]

I. Hey Ride

Derek was trying to enjoy the hey ride but the continual feeling of paranoia was eating at him. It certainly didn't help that he almost just about died recently, so he was extra on edge. His eyes narrowed when he realized that no one was driving the carriage and those certainly were not horses pulling the ride.

"Where the fuck did the driver go?"

Derek didn't like this, he didn't like this one bit!

II. TIME TO INFECT PEOPLE

A. OPEN TO ALL
The feeling of paranoia gone, all Derek knew is that he wanted to share what he was feeling, this feeling of freedom and ability to go where ever you wanted. He could go through walls and he once even threw slime at a person. He didn't know what was happening and he didn't care. He just knew he need to infect other people with this feeling. This feeling of no restraints! But... how to get to people?

Derek looked at his kitchen sink. That... could work! Derek soon found himself travelling down the drain and following where it led him. Occasionally he will find an opening and come out. Sometimes he would pop out of someone else's sink, bathtub, toilet, so many possibilities.

If he ends up in your apartment or work place don't be surprised if he goes, "Boo!"

B.OPEN TO DEREK'S FRIENDS

However, sometimes being so free and feeling no need to explain your actions can feel lonely. Derek will go looking around for his friends, wanting to be near them. To feel like they find him important. Once he finds a friend he will very quietly float over to them and just sit next to them. Not saying anything. It's not needed, he just wants to be near them. Congrats, you got a ghost haunting you!

B.

[megatechbody]

It's a lonely night at the aquarium. Keeping the aquarium under their control means patrolling and splitting up means distance can be covered faster. Mariko is taking a break, eyeing which fish is going to be dinner for tonight and playing with her voice as it echoes on the glass.

For a moment, she pauses in her singing and tilts her head as she scents the air. Someone's here.

"Do I have an audience?"

[servileness]

a. doom and gloom (pre-infection)

[ A foreboding feeling creeps up on Clover until she can't keep it completely under wraps. She's much more fidgety than how she usually carries herself, which is as graceful and as composed as possible. Every unexpected sound makes her whip head around. Every rustle of leaves yet to fall makes her pause in her step while walking outside.

Finally, her paranoia grows until she can't handle it anymore. A car horn honks. A door slam shuts in the distance. The wind blows fallen leaves in picturesque swirls. Clover is in the middle of a sidewalk, frozen with her arms wrapped around herself, and to anyone who's willing to approach her or meet her eyes, quiet words leave her lips: ]

I'm scared.

[ It's rare, fragile honesty coming from Clover Geteilt. ]

b. glitter spreads like an infection

[ Her fears are not unfounded. It doesn't take long until she can feel herself changing, until she can see herself changing. Her tangibility comes and goes, as large masses of her body turns to shadow. Bandages take the place where her jacket used to be, draping off and trailing behind her like some kind of piecemeal cape. If the sun hits her at the right angle, there seems to be a glimmer or a glitter of something under all her bandages.

There are so many urges, so many dark feelings simmering, and she hates it. She hates it so much. When the feelings become too strong (it happens too easy, too often), her hands cover her face, already less recognizable by being dark with shadows. ]

Stop it!

[ Who is she talking to? What an extreme reaction for anyone who just wants to walk by. ]

c. the night is for monsters

[ Even in the moonlight, something can be seen underneath her bandages. Anyone with sharp enough eyes will be able to catch letters or symbols glowing around the shadows that shape her body.

That's the only warning anyone will get because Clover keeps to the darkest pockets of the night. Whoever happens to walk by will suddenly have bandages thrown out at them like a lasso. If caught, Clover will try to drag them into the darkness of an alleyway. ]

d. extra siren flavor

[ Later in the month, day or night, anywhere at all, a song can be heard.

Investigating will lead you straight to Clover singing, a little less shadowy, a little less mummified. She'll hold out a hand to whomever finds her. Take it? ]

d. wildcard

[ For the above prompts, if you want your character to be infected as vampire/mummy/shade/merperson and we haven't already discussed it, lmk in the subject title! Also, for infection, lmk if you'd rather something more or less violent. I'm also cool if you'd like your character to stop Clover via one of the items from the fetch quests or just if you want them to be attacked and escape or any combination. Otherwise, feel free to hit me up via pm or on plurk at defenestrates! ]

give me the clover shaped d with a touch of wildcard

[usurpers]

[ as clover sings anywhere by the beach to lure in yet another fool, she receives a call in return from immersed waters— a deep, haunting cry that doesn’t quite now how to sing, but does so either way.

it’s not as cruel as it sounds, in fact, beautiful in its own way and overly satisfied with the freedom this brought. this was better than walking on land and living day by day on edge. today, he had become the edge, feeling more in control of his fate than ever. he needed nothing else.

the monstrous, deep diving titan calls to her again, to sing more until he gets there and share in his ditzy sounding duet. ]

[liberal_arts]

[ ii - where the devil is made of gold - open to possible infection ]

[ He'd heard the whispered rumors of it, first. Disturbing, yet still human-like, creatures stalking in the darkness that surrounded the city, attacking and terrorizing folks. He immediately thought back to the network post, wondering if these were the new 'bugs' they were being confronted with. Well, he knew well what to do with those things, the same as he always had. If they wanted to make this city theirs, the supposed agents of That Man, then they'd have his blade to answer to.

He carried Kasen with him at all times now, the edge of anxious paranoia digging into his shoulders as he made his way through a normal day-to-day route about town. In his car, it rested in the passenger seat. On the streets it was tucked into his belt. Either way, his true self was a constant companion.

And just as soon as he heard a disturbance in the shadows, the blade was drawn, catching what little light was nearby in its polished edge. ]

Show yourself!

[ iv - we can't dwell on what could have been ]

[ Kasen had thought it best to investigate the building that HAD been there as soon as the darkness settled, thinking he might find some possible answers there, but was at least a little unsurprised to see it had been replaced. At least what had replaced it seemed to fit things aesthetically and thematically. Even so, he really wish things could be more simple for once... ]

So this is it, hmm? Well, let's see what secrets it holds, shall we? [ He spoke to any other person walking up beside him, whether they were infected or not. He had no desire to point his blade at the monsters now, knowing they were his fellow Retrospec users. But his guard would be up, regardless, evidenced in the way his eyes narrowed. ]

[ wildcard ]

[ obligatory wildcard option. hit me with that wild shit. ]

toys

[hauntedsavior]

[Anna had no clue of the full suite of monsters available to the users of Retrospec, so she didn't exactly expect things to be much different. surely nobody would be turning into a robot for Halloween, and Kasen knew about her robotic legs—didn't he? surely she'd told him by now. either way, she didn't have an ounce of infection inside her as far as she knew. she stood there looking forward into the house with the white-bladed katana at her side. hopefully she wouldn't need it, but she wasn't going to take that chance.]

It's a haunted house. The only secrets this thing is gonna have is gonna be of the jumpscare variety. [and those obviously don't work on her.] Let's check it out.

[me_matey]

[ ii - queen of the dark ]

[ It was difficult to put to words just how... strangely good it felt to be her in that moment. At first she had no idea what to make of the changes. The bushier hair, the fur-like sideburns she suddenly had, the sharp fangs and metallic claws that extended from her fingertips like talons. Oh and the wings, both the massive leathery ones on her back and the smaller pair that adorned her temples like a strange pair of horns. The whole look was like something out of a pulp horror novel, but it didn't take long looking in the mirror for her to absolutely love it.

It felt powerful. It felt good. And what's more, she felt like hitting the town. Literally.

From above, May crashed onto a car that was parked near wherever you'd just been standing, flattening the damn thing and sending glass and metal flying here and there, stretching out her wings as she righted herself, a wild, hungry smirk on her lips. ]

Sup. [ May let out a heavy laugh, which sounded positively menacing coming from her new form. ] I feel like taking something tonight...

[ ii - all the girls and all the gold ]

[ She wanted it all. Money, women, and power. ALL. And she wasn't going to let something like the law or good common sense stop her.

At Club Sunshine, May busted the door down, sending it flying into the aisle in a heap as she stomped her way inside, clawed toes scratching up the nice red carpet... She let out another one of those menacing laughs, grabbing a bottle of rum from a patron's table, sending them scurrying as she sliced the lip off of the bottle, shooting down the contents in a few gulps before smashing the bottle against a nearby wall. ]

As of right now, this club belongs to me! If anyone's got a problem with that, they can try and stop me, but I don't like sharing my possessions, yanno what I mean? Heh...

[ ii - watch me float as i fall ]

[ Flying was probably the best part. May found herself adoring the skies, taking to them just to breath in the night air when she wasn't looting and plundering below. Perched on one of the taller buildings in the city, she took in a deep, calming breath as she observed the lights below. Which, combined with the red glow of the moon, created quite the tapestry of light on May's face. This city, her city... She really did love it, didn't she? It was difficult to make that thought so clear before, but she loved this town. It was hers, her home, her people and her streets. It was all so much easier to put into perspective when one soared above all...

Of course she realized she wasn't alone, snorting as she turned to look over her shoulder. ]

This is my perch. Step lightly or I might throw you off...

[ wildcard ]

[ Only one major flavor of prompt for May this go around, since I'm mostly doing monster shit with her, but I'm open to other ideas! HMU! ]

queen of the dark

[breakingvoice]

[ohhh, Lina loved the nighttime. she hadn't been a demon for very long, but she felt strong and confident like this in ways she'd never felt before, and especially when unexpected things happened. like the falling star that crushed the thing that used to be a car parked a little down the street from the crossroads that Lina had camped herself at.]

[with her hands in the pockets of her pinstripe suit, Lina sauntered vaguely over towards where the woman—the one she knew, so this would be easy—had landed. her tail swished in time with her hips and she seemed not the slightest bit bothered by the debris that cluttered the roadway or the attention it would inevitably draw.]

Do you? [she could not have been more pleased with the questions May was posing with just this brief introduction.] Because I don't give without taking something of my own. Can I interest you in a deal?

[dejerate]

i:

[Halloween is definitely the best holiday. At least as far as aesthetics go, in Yuu's opinion. Plus, it's always a reminder of his birthday coming up, when he sees the Halloween decorations and talk of costumes. Or, at least, it is here in the US. Halloween isn't as huge a thing back in Japan, but still. The idea of it is fun and he does try get into the spirit of things by heading out to join the festivities.

And well. When carving his pumpkin, Yuu opts to attempt a 'spooky' face like a skeleton, so he suddenly ends up with bright orange hair rather than his usual black mess of it. At least it probably suits his vivid green eyes? Not that he might necessarily notice right away, but surely others will.

Yuu does later then get out on the ride into the woods for stories. Only, he does get a little unnerved at the smaller number of people around, and then with the....horses? He turns to ask the person riding with him what the deal is with those animals, only to then have the carriage break and leave them abandoned.]

Uh....I guess just double back the way we came from?

ii:

[Yuu isn't initially one of those infected. Though this doesn't mean he isn't immune either. A touch or a bite from someone else could easily change that. Especially earlier on when he has no clue yet about what is happening. Has no idea about these changes and how something as innocent as a touch from someone already infected could result in Yuu himself changing as well. Maybe it is something he doesn't even notice or think twice about. Or maybe it's something more obviously strange that does manage to catch his attention somehow that something is up.

Or maybe it's too late and he has changed already (into a demon or later into a vampire as well on top of that). He mostly tries to keep to himself once he does figure out what is going on, not wanting to cause this to spread to others. Especially those he cares about. So perhaps some might notice he's seeming to actively avoid being around others.

If he does see someone while trying to hide in his room or inevitably need to leave to say, get food, he might try to skulk to hide in a corner. Because the horns and/or fangs aren't exactly....normal.]

i

[echoing_sutras]

[ At school, Kyouko has taken to hanging out with Yuu more than she'd had. Something about him being a fellow Retrospec user, and him helping her back in that strange building, just left an impression on her. But given his orange hair'd state, she couldn't help a bright giggle the moment she saw him in the morning. ]

Uh, trying out the punk aesthetic for yourself?

[notyourutopian]

I - Carriage Ride of the Damned!

[In retrospect (hah), the carriage had probably been a bad idea. A haunted hayride sounded like a good idea until she remembered that everything tended to turn out weird anymore. And this was clearly no exception! As the evil horses road on and the carriage faded into nothing around her, Eleanor hit the ground hard, stumbling forward into the darkness, arms grasping. Her fingers caught the trunk of a worn old tree and she grasped onto it with a grunt, saving herself from a rather unfortunate faceplant.]

[After a few seconds, when she was sure she wasn't going to fall over, she pushed away from the tree and turned to survey the dark woods around her. Just shadows and silence and no clue how to get back. These woods are lovely, dark and deep....]

Well this is just fantastic. [She sighed the words out to herself. Okay. First things first...she held up her hand, and with a snap, her fingers burst into flame, lighting up the area right around her. A quick survey found a thick branch hanging off a tree, and she pried it loose with her free hand, then lit up the end of it with her fire before shaking her hand out. This would do for now.]

[And then she turned back, holding the makeshift torch aloft until she spotted what she thought was the path the carriage had taken. Maybe she'd find someone else on the way back? She was sure there had been other people in the carriages before and after her...]

Hello?

II-A - Daylight Deals

[When the paranoia had faded, replaced by the strange, hungry need of her infection, Eleanor had been worried. For a little while. But even that had faded still, as these new instincts, new drives, took over. At night she felt wild and free and dangerous, but during the day it was...more subtle. Less a need to infect, more a need to...convince. For those that new her, the expression on her face was not the quiet, curious, intense looking she carried but instead a kind of sly self-assurance. Like she'd figured something out and was enjoying everyone else being two steps behind.]

[But friend, acquaintance or stranger, people might find her striding up to them, in jeans and a tanktop in spite of the cooling weather, without her usual giant purse, her hands folded behind her back.]

Hello! [She would start, her English accent a bit thicker than usual, her voice friendly but subdued. And with a smile that was definitely wanting to sell you something.] Can I ask you a question?

[For a split second, her target might even think they saw a flash of something else there, on her face. Had those been horns? Were her eyes yellow? But it was only a flash...a trick of the light, probably.]

I promise it'll be worth your while.

II-B - A Wild Hunt.

[At night, Eleanor let her new instincts run wild, and oh what fun it was! Even on top of her usual abilities, she felt stronger and faster and better than she ever had. And what a bad night to run into her, huh?]

[It would start with something quick, a flash of glowing yellow eyes reflected in a window or the sound of footsteps...from above? But there wasn't anyone there when you looked. Instead, just silence and darkness. And then, from the other way...laughter? Clear, amused, echoing laughter...]

Maybe you can get away?

[Quiet words, and more laughter, and again no one was there...but when you turned to run, instead, there she stood, ten yards away, standing in the middle of the street. She looked...almost normal, really, at first glance. But then, as she started forward, those demonic horns coming out of her hairline would fade into view, and her eyes would flare to life, like wolf eyes but somehow brighter, almost glowing on their own.]

Maybe not. But please try.

[She finished her previous thought, her expression fading into a rather feral smirk.]

Wildcard - [Have another idea for running into Eleanor? Or just want to plot something? The sky's the limit! You can message me or hit me up at dalrint for questions.]

For Kurt

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor had been chasing a young woman for a few blocks, toying with her really, ducking in and out of sight when the woman looked back, occasionally rushing ahead of her to suddenly step out of an alley and earn herself a shriek as the woman stumbled away and kept running. It was nearly midnight at this point, and the streets were mostly deserted, which meant no one had turned up to save her. Yet.]

[When the woman finally stopped running, leaning against a wall, trying to catch her breath, Eleanor silently crept up behind her, pausing maybe a foot away.]

Boo.

[The woman shrieked again, trying to turn around and run away at the same time, instead tripping over her own feet and collapsing to the ground against the wall]

Whoops. Oh well.

[Eleanor laughed as she spoke, looming over the woman. Now for her prize...]