Event Log: Dead Ringers

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone participating in the event!
What: The event log for the Dead Ringers event!
Where: All around the city
When: January 16th-January 25th
Warnings: Evil doubles, so we can assume manipulation, violence, murder, and maybe some nasty words

Everything seems normal on the morning of the 16th - actually, everything seems normal about the city for the entirety of this event. Nothing is strange, nothing is obviously wrong. Well, except that the population has mysteriously doubled, and the new residents each look exactly like one of the old residents. So weird! Definitely not ominous at all.

At least until your new double gets down to business. After all, their only goal is to ruin your life, and that can take any form. Smashing your favorite coffee cup? Telling your worst enemy they're right? Kissing someone else in front of your girlfriend? Brutally murdering you and then hiding your body in a closet so they can more effectively destroy your life? The possibilities are truly endless, and the only way to protect yourself is to kill your double first. They're not really open to negotiation, after all - but they sure might pretend to be in order to trick you.

So watch your back, and try to make sure that really is your best friend and not an evil clone masquerading as them. Boy, that would be awkward. If you can stick it out until January 25th, good for you! But if you didn't manage to and your double survives until the end - well, just as a final 'fuck you', there's a chance you'll come back to life and remember every awful thing your double did. Hey, at least that'll make it easier to fix, right?

► This log covers January 16th-January 25th.
► 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 evil clone happens to take you out, please let us know here, and remember that you will not revive until the event is over.

Comments

Carlisle Longinmouth | OC

[tongueamok]

[Starters incoming! Will add more later.]

Unfortunate Events [closed to Glacius]

[tongueamok]

Knowing how skittish Carlisle can be and how likely it is he'll hole himself up in Glacius' apartment the moment he senses danger, Carlisle's double wastes no time finding his counterpart. Like clockwork, the clergyman has made his way to his rooftop garden to check on his beloved plants. While he has at least one of each in other places, his little sanctuary holds the majority of them, as well as his supplies: various containers for transplanting, soils he "borrowed" from the orchard, various tools used for potting and pruning.

It's those tools that will be his undoing, unfortunately. With his mind on his plants (and more than a little wine in his system), Carlisle doesn't hear his double's approach as he surveys his plants, scrutinizing the leaves to make sure they're getting enough water. He's thought about moving more of his collection to the apartment he shares with Glacius, but he does worry about the temperature. He worries more about the alien himself, and that growing sense of dependency they have for one another. No amount of wine seems to replicate that feeling the icy giant ignites in his chest, and it's terribly frustrating.

With his attention elsewhere, Carlisle might not be aware of the danger lurking behind him, but he is certainly alerted to its presence when his twin shoves a pair of hedge shears through his back. The pointed blades almost fully impale him as they push through his body; they remain there as he collapses in absolute agony, writhing as his own feet cross in front of his face.

The original's gaze meet his double's, and Carlisle cannot believe what he's seeing. The slate eyes that look back on him are full of disdain; they have the look of how others see him, as a cursed creature rather than a man.

Despite his immediate panic, Carlisle tries to push himself off the ground -- he gets absolutely nowhere, the shears in his back heavy as he gasps for air. His hand shakes as he tries to reach behind him to pull them out, but he has neither the angle nor strength on his side. He then goes for his satchel, but a smirk crosses the double, who gets to it first. He digs through it a moment, pulling out the clegyman's communicator, as well as the keys to his shared home.

"Ah, going to call your friends?" he taunts as he crouches to get closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "What friends you still have. By the time the false gods necromance you, you'll be lucky if I haven't forced them to take their own lives. They'll know just what a monster has been hiding under their noses all along, what kind of foul abomination you've been hiding in there."

He straightens up, and much to Carlisle's horror, tosses the communicator off the roof. "Let's start with Glacius," the double says as he steps over his original making his way to the steps.

Carlisle coughs, feeling what he can only assume is either blood or ink in his throat. "W- wait! Please, don't— don't—"

His pleas go ignored as the double keeps moving, leaving the shears where they are in his counterpart's back. If he pulls them out, Carlisle will heal himself; that much, the double knows. If he were to be killed quickly, the false gods will bring him back, but the double doesn't know how long it will take. Could be a few days, could be a few minutes. Better to just leave them in there so his original can suffer the slow, agonizing death he deserves for his lifetime of sins.

He deserves more than that, though. The double is assured of that by the time he reaches the apartment and unlocks the door, stepping inside.

oh... oh no ;n;

[glacius]

As Carlisle's double unlocks the door he'll see that Glacius has already come back from his shift at the guard's headquarters; and though perhaps by the time this is all said and done he'll be wishing he stayed longer so that he could have caught wind of the latest insidious force creeping into the city, the double has moved quickly enough to make it in before any widespread detection has been broadcast. That considered, all that the ice alien is in the process of doing is removing his partial set of armor, piece by piece. The gleaming silver shoulder pauldrons come off first, followed by that curving, horned helmet... all he has to do is put this away in his room, then he can make a pass through the den and dig out some food to get everything ready for...

"Carlisle!" Glacius blinks, surprised to see who he assumes to be his closest friend standing there in the doorway as he turns around. The surprise quickly passes into a happy, welcoming smile, however; he's begun looking forward to the nights they share together, once they've concluded their personal affairs for the day. "You're home early--not that I am complaining! I was actually thinking of coming out to the garden to meet up with you, help you finish up with your plants so we could enjoy a stroll in the cool night air together..."

Realizing he's beginning to carry on, the ice alien cuts himself off and scratches at his left mandibular support--the one still intact after his run-in with that demon. More and more, recently, he's found himself looking for new ways to involve himself in the clergyman's life and he's still not sure what to make of that... but he is as always invested in his friend's well-being, so he eventually finishes. "...Hm. Anyways. How was your day?"

Let's just ruin everything. Sob.

[tongueamok]

The false Carlisle offers Glacius a smile in return, but only for a moment before he takes a deep breath, as though preparing himself to say something important. He is, of course -- he's about to ruin his original's hard work, sever all the connections he's made. He doesn't deserve them.

"Busy, my friend," he assures the alien. "I've been doing some thinking, and perhaps it's better we go our separate ways."

I'M CRY ALREADY

[glacius]

The welcoming smile dies immediately, falling apart as Glacius's face runs the whole gamut of expressions--shock and betrayal, confusion battling with great sadness. Go--their separate ways? No-- that couldn't mean--could it? The man standing before him had seemed so happy with his presence in the past, had even expressed appreciation for him. Perhaps it's the befuddling suddenness of that remark keeps him from immediately deteriorating; right now all he can manage is to wonder where this is coming from... but there's a definite fear bubbling up in his chest, the fear that he was always fooling himself, that there was no way an alien like him could ever be valued as much as some of the humans here claimed...

... But Carlisle wouldn't do that to him... would he?

"I... I don't understand," the ice alien forces out, his gills quivering. "Have I... have I done wrong by you, Carlisle?"

[tongueamok]

"It's not so much of what you've done," the double says, averting his eyes with feigned shame, "as what you are."

He sighs, sidling past the alien to his room to gather some of his things. He'll dump them into the river later, or perhaps light them on fire. That'll warm them up after their time in the frosty apartment.

"Remember what you said to me? About Emily's party and how others might view the company she keeps?"

[glacius]

And just like that, those bubbling fears reach a roiling boil, burning the alien painfully in his chest. His breath comes in short--a sharp, pained gasp is all that filters into his gills before they catch and tuck inward against his neck--and his expression crumbles a little further.

"Y-yes, but you said... you told me..." Makers, he can't talk, he can barely even think against the thudding in his chest, so tight and painful it feels like it's going to smash his ribs apart. He's never felt this way before. Why is he feeling this? Why does the measure of this lone, singular human matter so much when he'd always been perfectly content to operate on his own before?

He can't focus on that--it hurts too much, and he can't make heads or tails of it. All he can hope to do is to get to the bottom of this, to try and salvage something that feels like it's breaking into countless pieces in his hands. "... You told me those fears were... unfounded. You've always told me that. So... what... changed?"

[tongueamok]

"You saw the way people looked at us, didn't you?" he cuts back as he opens the door, a bit sharper in tone. The rabbit makes his way out of the room, and the false Carlisle gives it an equal look of disgust.

Carlisle's room is kept relatively neat: bottles of ink on the shelves, another jar on the desk where his papers are, various plants lining every corner. Knowing he can't carry everything in one load, the double attempts to asses what would be the most damaging thing to go. The journals, definitely. "As it turns out, my advice to you was misguided. People now believe that there's more to the two of us than just friendship."

And by 'people,' he means 'Emily,' but close enough.

[glacius]

"W-well, yes, but I--wait." That remark is at least shocking enough to confound the alien, which is a much less damaging emotion than the unidentifiable pain he'd been feeling before. It's still present, of course, but less overwhelming now that this new distraction has cropped up. "What?? 'More'? That doesn't make any sense, how can there be more, it--it's not quantifiable in that manner..."

Just because his confusion is less hurtful doesn't mean it's easy to work through; there's only one other meaning Glacius can come up with, but... surely that's not what is friend is referring to, correct? They were close, of course, that's not surprising after everything they've been through together... but surely no human, onlooker or otherwise... would view him in such a way?

Double trouble!!

[glacius]

It has been just a couple of days since Carlisle's double came forth to bring ruin down upon both his original and his best friend's life. Though the malicious copy wasn't able to realize his goals of tearing them apart and bringing about their end, he had managed to inflict considerable damage... damage that both the clergyman and the ice alien were still recovering from. Glacius had remained at his friend's side throughout the duration of the process, not only because he didn't want the human moving around, as it was imperative that he rest and restore his energy... but because he strove to provide his friend with that sense of security Carlisle had come to associate with him. He stood by the clergyman's side as steadfastly as he had promised, bringing him whatever he might need, standing ready to fend off anything that might seek to disturb him.

He hadn't wanted to break from his vigilant watch, but there were still his duties with the guard that he at least needed to check up on... and after spending a couple of days nearly constantly in another's presence, Glacius suspected that the human might want some breathing room. He knew that he could certainly make use of some... though he'd managed to more or less overcome a lot of the venomous barbs the double had tried to slip in under his skin, one suggestion in particular had been on his mind this entire time, and he still had no idea how to broach the subject to Carlisle. It was such unfamiliar territory for the both of them, and he didn't want to weigh down his friend's mind, as it was likely already troubled enough...

So, after assuring Carlisle--and himself in the process--that he would not be gone long, the ice alien departed from their shared apartment. Unbeknownst to him, the clergyman was not going to get much extra time to himself. He was alone in his room just long enough for the quiet and the dark to settle in, and then a shape slowly slipped in under a crack in the door--a puddle, reflecting whatever light source might happen to be in the room. It was the way Glacius tended to enter the apartment ever since he'd given the keys to Carlisle, using his liquidize technique to his advantage... but there was a difference. He'd never used it to enter Carlisle's private space, would never dream of entering the clergyman's room without a solid knocking first.

And yet, sure enough, after just a brief moment the powerful form of an ice alien rose up and re-solidified from the moving water, his glowing green eyes appearing in the darkness. Glacius' double--his true nature unbeknownst to Carlisle--immediately stalked across the room and sat himself down in the chair that his original had pulled up the bedside. He regarded the clergyman quietly for a few moments, taking in what of his bare upper body that he could see above the blankets tucked over him. He had every memory of the man that Glacius did up until their differentiation, so he knew that Carlisle would never bare himself unless injured and in need of tending... but he didn't know how he was injured.

Start slow, then. He just needs to keep the clergyman from figuring him out until Glacius comes back... and in the meantime he can gather information while he basks in the bond that has been forcibly severed for him by the gods. He extends a hand, lays it palm-up on the bedside for Carlisle to take--which might actually be a relief for the clergyman, giving how his original was abstaining from prolonged contact as he battled with the dilemma of their feelings for one another-- a dilemma that the double was also unaware of.

"Carlisle. How are you feeling tonight?"

[tongueamok]

If Carlisle had been asked to describe himself at any point during the past couple of days, the word he'd have chosen was 'tired.' That goes both mentally and physically: though his body is absolutely exhausted from the energy required to keep him alive while impaled with a pair of hedge clippers, his mind just won't shut off as he worries about the other him wandering around, about his garden and the shears that are likely still lying in the street with a days-old coat of his own blood, about his roommate, his friend, his confidante.

Though his mind has been on the move, he's spent the days resting, trying to recuperate under the vigil of said friend and confidante: Glacius, his alien protector who means more to him than he can really express. Thankfully for Glacius, Carlisle hadn't remembered much the morning following his attack -- the drunken stupor the enchanted tea put him in had been strong enough to rid him of both his aches and his memories of that evening, leaving him with just disjointed tidbits here and there of what they'd talked about. Something about fire and wine and optics, whatever those are.

Though he considered getting himself a drink once Glacius was gone, Carlisle decided to nap instead and sleep away some of his mental anxiety, never suspecting the Glacius he'd be seeing next was nothing but an imposter. He's just nodding off, his mind on the precipice of sleep as the double makes his way into the room, his voice breaking the stillness of the dark all around them as he inquires to the clergyman's condition.

"Glacius!" Carlisle hisses, nearly leaping out of his skin as he sits up. He puts a hand to the scars at this middle, but does his best to downplay any lingering signs of his deterioration. "Did— cisth, did you even leave? I didn't hear you come in."

He's used to Glacius knocking, but supposes a breach of etiquette is bound to happen every now and then. The alien has been so protective, after all.

[glacius]

Glacius watches Carlisle startle upright with a gaze strangely impassive, then narrows his eyes slightly as he grasps at his stomach. He's learned that's usually a sign of him overusing any of his various abilities... just further confirmation of his suspicions that he must be recovering from some injury. He's fairly certain he knows who caused it... but clearly they'd somehow managed to fend off the attempts of the clergyman's double. He reminds himself to be cautious.

"Not for very long," the ice alien replies; his wariness of humans butts up against the fondness he feels for this one, and his hand twitches slightly before he begins to withdraw it. "There was something I had to attend to, first..." That being procuring a nice, long vine from the fanged ivy that Carlisle told him where to find not all that long ago, but he's not going to mention that little detail.

"You didn't answer my question," he huffs instead, again battling with the wave of concern he feels.

[tongueamok]

"Tired," he answers. That is indeed how he'd describe himself. He fumbles for his glasses on the nightstand, the shaking in his hands down to that bare minimum they tend to have even on a normal day. His missing the double's bid for contact was likely a complete accident, given how poor the clergyman's vision is without his spectacles.

"But better," he continues, offering the false Glacius an appreciative smile. "Thanks to your diligence, of course."

[glacius]

That's not a descriptive answer and doesn't help the double fill in the gaps, but he knows if he presses it might begin to raise some suspicions. He scrounges for other information, attempting to figure out if now is the time to spring what he has planned, or if he needs to return later...

"I am glad to hear it--and I'm glad to see you've stayed in bed." Though whether that was out of obedience to his original's instructions or necessity, he would like to discern. He's seen Carlisle come to the aid of Glacius before in the middle of heated confrontations, but he'd rather avoid that happening here. He really doesn't want to have to hurt him, even if he feels a fierce pang of both jealousy and resentment at the knowledge that the clegryman would turn against him. That support should be his...

He scowls. "You expended a lot of energy, no? You probably shouldn't move around too much... and it will probably be some time until you should use any of your various abilities."

[tongueamok]

"Yes, so you've said," Carlisle returns, missing that scowl as he tries to figure out where his nightshirt has gone in the darkness. He's kept it off for the alien's examinations, but prefers to have it on if he's going to be sitting up -- it is chilly, after all, and despite their closeness, he still vastly prefers to be clothed. "But as I assured you yesterday, I should be fine in another day, back to my usual state of health." That's not a very good state to begin with, but it's all relative, of course.

Ah, there's his shirt lying at the end of the bed. He leans forward to get it, still obviously stiff, but much better than he had been. "Your care has been impeccable, and as exhausted as I was, it could have been worse." He'd rather not have another repeat of the month following the undead onslaught and his first encounter with Armand, which left him in a state of fatigue for nearly a month. The scars along his veins are plenty of proof of how bad that had been on him.

[glacius]

And that is exactly what he wanted to know. The double feels a surge of adrenaline as he realizes that this is probably the best chance he is going to get to act against Glacius... with Carlisle weakened, he cannot support his original, and the other ice alien will not fight to his fullest if there is at all a chance that his friend could get caught up in the crossfire... or ice, in this case. Moreover, he knows how Glacius is often concerned for the fragile, shaky human-- his preoccupation with Carlisle's health will make it all to easy for him to catch his original off-guard.

The double shifts in anticipation. "Don't worry. Soon things will be better. Soon... I will set everything right."

[tongueamok]

Though he trusts the icy giant more than he trusts himself, Carlisle cannot help but be a bit puzzled by that comment. He may be weakened, but he's clearly well enough to be buttoning his own nightshirt, which he does as soon as he slides it on.

"Unless you are able to turn back time and stop me from being attacked by a fellow who looks just like me, I'm not..."

And that's when Carlisle's natural paranoia nags at him from the back of his mind. That was an odd statement from Glacius, and he's had to repeat himself... ah, but the latter isn't all that unusual, he tells himself. Glacius does need reassurance from time to time. That is what they offer one another, after all.

He chuckles, biting back his natural inclination. "Not, er, sure there is much to be done."

Control [1/18ish, closed to Rey & Shadow]

[tongueamok]

Things hadn't gone according to plan, and much like the original Carlisle, that makes the false Carlisle absolutely furious. He'd had it all figured out in his mind: he'd murder his counterpart, demoralize Glacius and destroy their camaraderie, then do whatever he could to convince the people of Hadriel that the original Carlisle is a danger to their little city. He is cursed, after all -- he deserves to be treated like it. Can't be allowed to get too cozy in this little hole, now can he?

And then things had gone wrong. The 'demoralizing Glacius' part had been fantastic... but ultimately a waste of time, and all because Carlisle, the failure of the Longinmouth line, turned out to be magnificently inept at one more thing: dying.

And so his double, after being tossed into the street unconscious by Glacius, picked himself up and went straight for the last part of his little agenda: finding someone to do some dirty work for him. He'll start with destroying his counterpart's garden, or perhaps some of the refurbished stores. Emily would love to find her little sewing shop in pieces.

Or on fire, he reconsiders as he spots his target, fighting to subdue a devilish grin that crosses him.

"Miss Rey!" he calls to her as he runs over, unaware of the bruise he's sporting from his being pummeled by an icy alien. "Miss Rey, I need your assistance!"

[circumitus]

By now she's catching on to what's happening, so when she sees 'Carlisle' approaching, Rey almost immediately goes for a knife. Far as she knows, he is someone that she can afford not to worry about staying within close range to warrant a gun, as well as a waste of a perfectly good bullet

Far as she knows, being the key detail here.

The shit part is, for all the help that Carlisle has given to her, she can't help but feel at least a pinch of consideration. He has healed her twice, and she hasn't offered much in return. Maybe she can change that now.

"What is it?" She notes the bruise, and wonders if he's had an altercation with one of the many menaces that have been creeping higher in numbers as of late.

Whoops Iiiiii forgot it was my turn /)_(\

[tongueamok]

She's receptive. Good. Very good.

"What is it? What do you mean what is it? There are some form of mimics in the city, parading around with our faces, including mine!"

<3

[circumitus]

Yes, and? is the look Rey seems to be giving 'Carlisle' right now. The point he makes is good, but there's also no telling whether he's the original or not. Just like how he can't tell if she's the original...

Well. Not unless he was really Carlisle himself.

"So, what do you want? Am not going to kill random people because they might be someone's mimic."

Though when some of them seem more inclined to kill her, such was the case with Firo's doppelgänger, it doesn't take a genius or a magical test to figure things out.

[tongueamok]

"I don't need you to kill some 'random people,'" the false Carlisle says, as though the idea were preposterous. "Very specific ones, perhaps, but not random."

He... might be serious about that.

[circumitus]

Excuse you, 'Carlisle'. Rude.

"You better have good reason, and some compelling evidence. Am not going to be your personal hitman."

He does seem pretty sincere about his wanting her to kill for him, though. Which is odd. While she can't say she knows Carlisle that well on a personal level, he never struck her as the type to casually will for the deaths of others. Put them in harm's way, maybe.

[tongueamok]

"I do have reasons, I'll have you know," he cuts back, the look in his eyes darkening. "But it's really none of your business, now is it? What is your business is that I went to great lengths to heal you, and you're going to do this for me."

And he doesn't seem like he wants to take 'no' for an answer as his fist curls, his fingers tightening with the rest of him.

[circumitus]

Was that an order? Because it sounded like it was supposed to be an order. One in which Rey is none too happy to receive from Carlisle. Or 'Carlisle', for that matter.

"No, you don't get to play that shit. Especially not with the way things are right now," Rey snaps. With how there is no telling who is a double and who isn't, she isn't going to mindlessly assassinate anyone without knowing for certain.

Otherwise, he's no better than Rage, who had intended to use her as a gun for the gods' own empowerment. The thought makes Rey sick to think about.