hadriel_logs | Event Log: Flu Season

Entry tags:

Event Log: Flu Season

Who: All characters
What: The event log for the Flu Season event
Where: All over the city
When: March 20th-March 30th
Warnings: Gross sneezing, sick people, and paranoia

It starts with a cough, a sneeze, a sore throat - something small and simple, easily ignored. But then your symptoms get worse. It's probably been awhile since you've been sick, that sort of thing doesn't usually happen here. You might be able to raid the shops for some tissues and tea before it gets too bad, and hopefully you've got a friend to help out until you get better. Surely it'll be over soon, right?

Until the fever sets in, and you start to understand why your friend is really there. They don't want to take care of you. They want to make sure this is the last anyone will ever see of you. They want to learn all your secrets. They want to steal your most precious possession. You know they're plotting against you, you know they're keeping something from you. What will you do to find out what it is?

Then, as the sickness fades, you realize it was all in your mind. Let's hope you didn't do or say anything too awful. But that friend of yours... they seem to have picked up your cough. Maybe you should help them out?

► This log covers March 20th-March 30th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If your paranoia ends in murder, please let us know here.

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[As the sickness passes and his head clears, Law finds himself in possession of three hearts that are very much not labeled. He knows he took them, there's a sinking sense of dread as he considers what he did and how little it took to freak him out to the point of collecting insurance against his enemies. He remembers who fell victim. But now to get them back, he has to face those people a second time.

At first he can't find Jack, so he simply takes all three hearts with him (wrapped in a towel so no one can see what they are) and goes out seeing Atem and Kain. Hopefully he can get this done quickly...and what luck, the two of them are near each other!]

...oi. You guys. I've got something of yours.

「How lucky, indeed! Atem couldn't just stay at home again for long, it seems, but at least he waited for as long as possible before needing a few supplies again, or, you know, just stretch his legs, he never was able to stay enclosed for long anywhere anyway. Hasn't he even caught up enough with Kain when Law approaches and he can see he's no longer being a total nut. That's good.

His statement is met with a wide smirk. He really never blamed him.」

You don't say.

「Oh, but wait, hold on. He looks up at Kain, eyes widening.」

Wait, you too?

[After that whole incident with Law, Kain had unfortunately carried on with the sickness and into the paranoia stage. He hadn't done much damage or anything himself, before he'd returned to normal himself. But... it's been very weird, walking around without a heart. Fortunately, he could hide it well enough. So when he'd seen Atem, he'd just tried to act as normal as he could, while lacking a major organ.]

[When Law approaches them, he's... pretty surprised, himself.]

Do you mean...? He took yours, as well?

[Kain now turns toward Law, expression darkening a little.]

You shouldn't have taken it in the first place, you realize. I was using it.

[Law's expression sours very slightly; dude, he knows, he feels bad enough. But he can't even be nice about this, he has to keep his guard up]

You're still using it. Here.

[he beckons them both closer so he can do this as quickly as possible without any gawkers passing by and noticing. When they're close enough, he unwraps his bundle to reveal three hearts, all gently beating at a natural pace.]

I can put it back, I just have to figure out...which one's which.

Yeah, me too, I hope that at least he bought you dinner.

「If Law thought this would be quiet business, yeah it's not.」

Just three?

「He's faking some disappointment there, as he leans to have a better view, his face bleeding curiosity. Just what he thought, there it is and it looks rather...

He's not sure the words he's looking for. Gross, or absolutely amazing. Probably both.」

Can I keep mine on my nightstand? It'd be a great paperweight.

「Wink, friend, wink. Until he catches that last--」

... You don't know? Was it too hard to find a sharpie?

「Good Ra...」

You don't know? And what happens if you get this wrong?

[Kain stares in morbid fascination at the beating hearts in front of them. One of which is his own heart. Outside of his chest. Just... doing its thing as if nothing is amiss. He reaches to lightly hold his hand over the empty space that's now inside his chest.]

Is there perhaps some way to determine the owner?

[He narrows his eyes, eyeing them closely. Maybe... do dragoon hearts look different? That one in the middle, could it soar through the air better than the others? Or is it the one on the left? The right doesn't look half bad either. Wow, this is... impossible.]

[Atem no. Atem why.

Giving the pharaoh a quelling sort of look, Law looks between both of them]

It's fairly simple, and painless. I can try sliding each one into you. If it sticks, it's yours. If I can slide it out again without effort, it doesn't belong there. Parts have a magnetic attraction to the place where they came from.

Process of elimination means after I fit one, that leaves the other down to only one of two choices. So, whoever wants to go first, I might have to try all three.

「Wow, let him live! He's just trying to make the whole thing less awkward and bizarre than it already is.

That solution sounds just fine, and then, it really doesn't. What is this thing even.」

Like a puzzle...

「It's more ironic than any of these two guys could ever know. But it shouldn't be any different from when he stuck his own eye in, it just... went in.」

Just give us one each.

「And he extends his hand... this is so weird.」

As long as we both survive these attempts. That's all that matters.

[Kain frowns lightly, but it seems as if they have no choice but to try. It's not something he'd ever have envisioned himself doing. It's not even that he's squeamish about this, but it's just... so damned weird. The thought of his heart doing its thing but outside of his body is still seriously unsettling to him. He nods agreement, holding out his hand as well.]

We'll both give it a try, and if it doesn't seem to work, we can trade, or try the third one. Let's get this over with.

All right. [it seems like a good enough idea, so he holds out the trio and lets them pick their poison for the first round. Maybe they'll get lucky.]

You won't die. It doesn't hurt, either, it might simply feel weird. If they don't match, you'll know, and it'll be easy to pull it right back out.

[he doesn't even need his Room for this, it's just a matter of sticking the right heart in the right hole. The three hearts are beating out of sync, too, so it might feel odd to have a beat that doesn't match your own in that spot for a few moments, but eh. He's done worse.]

「The easiest way would be to take his own pulse and see which one of the hearts match, but who has the time or the mind for it? The hearts are awfully distracting. Atem goes for one of them, (not before taking his shirt off, why wait?) and truth to be told, he nearly drops it-- he doesn't, at all, but the sensation is a little more powerful than he anticipated. If he weren't holding his own, he could literally be holding Kain's life in his hands... the thought is both disturbing and elating, there is no doubt Law holds too much power... They were lucky Law is a good guy.」

Did you ever read the Tell-Tale Heart?

「He asks as he attempts to place it in its place.」

[He's wondering just how exactly he'll know... but he'll trust that it'll be obvious enough. Will it? There's only one way to find out. Kain shakes his head to Atem's question, hesitating just a moment in indecision about which of the hearts he ought to try.]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this tale. Is it well known where you come from?

[There's little difference he can see physically between the hearts. It's definitely unsettling to be doing this, and knowing that Law has held their lives in his hands all of this time... This might have ended much worse. He frowns a bit, but then finally selects one of the hearts, picking it up with care. He holds it as if it's a valuable that'll break with even the smallest mishandling.]

Here goes.

[Just as cautiously, he moves to bring the heart toward his chest, attempting to fit it back in there. He's not so sure, right now, but it doesn't feel too promising to start with.]

I assume it'll just... reconnect itself to everything else if it's meant to be there?

[Law likewise shakes his head] Never heard of it, either.

[Kain is bold, good. That's all it takes, is a willingness to just do it.] Yeah. If it's yours, it'll return to normal like nothing ever happened. Seamlessly. If not, you can still pull it out.

Edited 2018-04-16 15:42 (UTC)

「Right, different Earths or dimensions and that...」

Basically, it's a tale about a guy who murders an old man. He then dismembers the body and hides the pieces below the floorboards in the bedroom. Between his paranoia and guilt he swears he hear a low thumping sound. He recognizes the low sound as the heart of the old man, pounding away beneath the floorboards...

...

This one is not mine.

「How does he take it... out. There goes nothing.」

[Like nothing ever happened, huh? That's a good thing, at least. Kain doesn't want to be dealing with a lot of weird effects from this. He keeps the heart in hand for a moment, after taking it back out. He doesn't want to confuse which heart is which, so he doesn't yet set it down.]

What a fascinating tale... rather eerie, though it sounds accurate about the way that guilt can consume a person, anyway...

[He's thoughtful and quiet for a moment, thinking about that.]

Hm... do we want to trade first, so we don't mix them up too much?

You should. One of those is correct. Whichever one isn't can try this one. [the one he's still carrying] Process of elimination.

Sure, let's do that.

「Here goes the switcheroo. There is not way this is not gonna be weird.」

[Kain takes the other heart in hand, definitely still feeling unsettled by this whole process… but it's almost over now, right? They can only hope. He's especially careful while making the trade-off, not wanting to drop or accidentally scratch the heart or something.]

[He's just as cautious as he puts this next one in… He frowns a little as he considers how it feels. Is it wishful thinking, or does this one seem much more fitting?]

I'm not sure... but wait, hm... it does feel... somewhat better than the last...

If you can't grasp the heart or even detect the hole, then it's yours. It's already fallen into place.

Atem-ya...? [it's all on you now bro! do you have the right heart or will it be door number three?]

「Atem stares between the one he got from Kain and the one Law is holding with a concentration worthy of a Duel Monster's duel. This is it, there is only one chance (not really, no) and he's going to bet everything on....

the one Law is holding! Gotta believe in the heart of his... heart? Something like that... Hell, yeah. He offers that one in exchange and tries it on.

...

He waits, and smirks.」

There we go.

「Yessssss.」

That's it, then. We're set.

[Kain breathes a sigh of relief. He's not very good at trusting his own intuition, sometimes, fearing that he might ultimately be wrong about this. But it seems to have taken, the heart beating regularly in his chest, in sync with his own pulse. Huh... weird to think that Atem had this heart in his chest just a few moments ago... his heart.]

It... feels better having that back. It was too strange without it...

[He'd questioned sometimes if he was even alive, even if the other physical signs pointed to the fact that he was.]

Good. I'll make sure this one gets back to its owner. [wrapping it back up in the cloth, not to protect it but so no one else can see him walking around with a heart. His pockets at current won't fit it.]

I don't even know what I was thinking in that state. Probably to incapacitate without killing, which, given how compromised I was, is a stroke of luck for you guys. I could have easily killed everyone to protect myself.

[what? it's true. Law just wants to explain himself, since he already apologized.]

「Stange doesn't begin to cover it, actually having it back feels a little odd, good odd, but odd.

Luck? He wonders, to which he simply smirks.」

Oh, yeah, we are so lucky.

「Wink. You, softie pirate, you. He remembers what he said when he took his heart. His secret is safe.」

Well... death would have been more inconvenient in many ways, you're right.

[He's certainly not eager to try it again, anytime soon. He glances down toward his chest, surprised by how normal it all feels right now. So there won't be any lasting effects, that's all the better. He looks back up after that.]

It certainly could have been worse. At least it was easily enough resolved.

[yeah, yeah, tease him all you want, Atem. He's just going to sheepishly shrink away now.]

If you'll excuse me, I want to get this to its owner.

[talk amongst yourselves, or don't. He's made his apology and rectified the situation, now to find Jack and then get himself torn to bits by the Visitor no big deal]

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Event Log: Flu Season

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