Event log: Who What Where Wendigo

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone participating in the wendigo event!
What: The accidental-cannibalism-turned-horrifying-monster event that is the Who What Where Wendigo event!
Where: All around the city
When: Feb 14th-March 1st
Warnings: Cannibalism, body horror, evil monsters lurking around.

Don't forget to check up on the Wendigo Guide that Ami posted!

On February 14th, Rage and Fear decide to give Hope a little bit of help taking care of the residents of Hadriel - they'll provide some food for awhile. How nice! Except, of course, that there's an extra ingredient in this food. A can of beef stew? Yeah... that might not be beef. But hey, it still tastes pretty good! Unfortunately, some spirits slipped through the Door last time it opened, and they're ready to possess anyone who participates in cannibalism - even if they don't know it.

Anyone who eats the provided meat will be possessed by a wendigo spirit. Over the course of twelve days, they will transform into a monster that feels little but rage and hunger. While at first it can be explained away easily enough (people are super annoying, and isn't everyone a little hungry most of the time?), by February 18th, wendigo transformations are impossible to ignore. A few days after, on February 22nd, the anger and cravings of the wendigo spirit will overcome all other emotions, and possessed characters may begin hunting.

The physical and mental transformation will be complete by February 26th. The possessed characters will have lost themselves completely at that point. While physical healing (done by a character with Hope's blessing or another healing ability) can turn back the physical and some mental effects, they will remain possessed until death or until Hope removes the wendigo spirit - which can only be done on the altar of Hope's temple. So have fun dragging your angry, possessed friends there!

On March 1st, Rage does Hope a solid (because she feels sort of bad) and kills all remaining wendigos. Upon revival, the spirit will be gone and the character will be fully recovered. Hopefully no one holds what they did while possessed against them!

► This log covers February 14th-March 1st.
► 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!
► Please report any character deaths right here!

Comments

Noah Czerny | 1 Closed, 1 Closed-ish, 1 Open

[casperdisaster]

Feb 16th (Morning) - Locked to the Alcohol Demon and Clear

[Noah's been letting the idea of introducing Clear and the Demon percolate in his mind for a while now. Originally he dismissed it as a bad idea, what with how badly the Demon seems to get along with anyone who isn't Noah. As time passed he started to change his mind, however. Noah, dead as he was, could not be relied upon. Anyone can tell you that the dead keep poor time.

Really, it was actually the perfect idea. Both of them had more time than normal people, and Clear was easygoing enough that Noah thought he wouldn't be put off by the Demon. Also so what if Clear could rip a door off its hinges, Noah was still concerned about him and wanted someone else to look out for him.

After meeting up with Clear at Raven Haus, Noah and Clear made their way out of the suburb-like neighborhoods and into what was probably a downtown once upon a time. He checked out a few of the darker alleyways before finding a particularly shady looking building that was still standing yet clearly not restored.]

I think he's here. I... kinda didn't tell him we were coming. It's a surprise!

[Noah smiled at Clear and gave him a thumbs up, then pushed the door open enough to let them in, calling out a greeting.]

...Demon? It's me, Noah.


Feb 16th (Evening) - Raven Haus or anyone who would reasonably be there

[When Noah returns to Raven Haus later that night - though he's always wary of the night vs day as all they can use to figure that are the strange lights dimming and brightening on a cycle that seems to mimic daylight cycles enough - he looks a little different.

His cheeks are flushed, for one. He's short one Aglionby sweater, and he's breathing hard from the jog back. He's breathing in the first place.

Adam and Ronan he figures will be an easy thing to explain. 'Hey, so I'm alive again!' they've had time to adjust to a living breathing eating and drinking Noah.

Gansey, though... well.

He'll burn that bridge when he gets to it, making his way carefully through the house to see if anyone is home.]


Feb 17th and beyond - Open

[... And he would have been perfectly happy to stay there too, if he could, after the news of the next morning comes out. For whatever reason though, some errand that really can't be put off, he's out and about and terrified. Cowardice wins out against shy and awkwardness every time though, so the second he spots someone who doesn't look like they're undergoing some awful cannibalistic transformation, he's quick to approach.]

Hey! Um, you mind if we stick together? Safety in numbers... and all...

FEB 16TH

[fuwatokurage]

[Clear was like a beacon in the shadowy alleyway since he was wearing mostly white aside from his pants and his long bright yellow scarf. He wondered what sort of person this "Demon" was anyways. It was a strange name to have but it must have made sense just like his own name.

When it was mentioned that their meeting was a surprise, he suddenly felt very giddy and placed his gloved hands over his mouth to stifle any noise coming from him. He felt that maybe he should hide and pop out. That's how surprises normally happened, right?

But as it was, Noah was too short to properly hide behind and his clothing was the opposite of ninja clothes. So he just waited while Noah poked his head through the door to properly introduce them.]

Closed - Morning

[notjustinthemirror]

[So the bad luck had worn off, finally, but the Demon was still sullen and cranky. His shirt was a mess, showing off more of that metal plate in his chest than he would have liked, ornate carving still marred by dents from Ronan's knuckles. It was regenerating, but very very slowly, the tear in his neck from Arya's knife had already healed which was good, though back home he'd heal in a matter of minutes, not months.

Basically, this place was bullshit and he was done with it. Ready to go home and go back to harassing Ethan into becoming a blackout drunk.]

You didn't get killed again did you?

[He was laying flopped out on the ground, staring up at the ceiling disinterestedly. But he tilted his head slightly when he spotted the whitish blob in the doorway. Clear was practically glowing in the dim light. With a grunt he actually got up, just staring at them.]

[casperdisaster]

No, I'm still dead. [Noah sighed, but was relieved to see the Demon was okay. Well, still busted up in ways that made Noah concerned even if the Demon passed it off as nothing and possibly laying on the ground in a fit of his own ennui. But he wasn't in pieces or decapitated and these days Noah figured you had to count your blessings like that.

He came into the building enough so that Clear could, too.]

Um, I brought someone with me, though! He's my friend, and I figured - [Noah stops himself before he says 'he could be your friend too' since the Demon is still not really acknowledging their friendship.] - the less people that want to take a swing at you the better?

[Okay that wasn't the best save, moving on before anyone can say anything.]

Alcohol Demon, meet Clear. Clear, this is the Alcohol Demon.

[fuwatokurage]

[Clear moved more into the building to become more visible then waved at the demon on the floor enthusiastically with a beaming smile.]

Hello, Alcohol Demon-San! It is very nice to meet you!

[He looked over him a little more carefully this time and noticed that he was a bit worse for wear.]

Are you all right?

[zen_en_vert]

[Bruce glances up at him, and gives him a weak smile as he approaches. He's looked a little diminished ever since he tore the city apart, has been making himself carefully scarce, but is pleased and present enough to be able to promise;]

Stick with me. Are you looking for food?

[casperdisaster]

[Noah understands the being scarce after you've done something regretful, so while a good portion of it is fear of being alone, there's no small part that prompts him to quickly rush to Bruce's side and stick close to him out of desire to show Bruce that whatever happened, Noah doesn't blame him or hold it against him. As far as Noah's concerned, he's still trustworthy and reliable, he just... had a bad day.

Noah would be a hypocrite to hold that against Bruce, he's had bad days of his own, leaving scratches on Ronan's arm, almost knocking Monmouth down around its foundation in his own ghostly panic.]

Yeah. We had to get rid of anything that could have had meat in it, so...

[Noah looks both pale and a bit green at that. He's kind of glad he was dead until it came out what the problem had been.]

[zen_en_vert]

I'm lucky I'm a vegetarian.

[He admits, quietly.]

Maybe I'll do something for people who want to learn to cook that way. I suspect we'll have a few converts by the time this one is over.

[Grim humour, maybe, but that's where they are.]

[casperdisaster]

[Sometimes gallows humor is the only humor you have.]

... Is ice cream vegetarian? And alcohol?

[Noah is considering converting, himself, but. He's gotta make sure his priorities are clear first.]

16th, home

[unknowable]

[Adam is home. He tends not to stay out much after dark - not unless it's necessary for some reason. It's impossible to know what might be out there, after all, even if usually the monsters are kept to the caves.

He's in the kitchen, making himself dinner. He usually makes a little extra, in case anyone else is around. At the sound of the door, he looks up, glancing out the kitchen doorway. It's Noah - that's not so strange - and then a moment later, Adam realizes what has changed.]

You're alive again.

[casperdisaster]

[Aha, Adam. A nice easy easing into it. Adam is not prone to fits of emotion that are basically always anger, and he's been through this roller coaster before. Noah feels blessed. #Blessed even.

He hesitates at the doorway to the kitchen, hands hanging awkwardly at his side before Adam points out what's different about him. Noah smiles, and it's only about 50% as awkward as usual.]

... Also kind of an accident. Otherwise I would have said.

[unknowable]

[He comes over, clasps Noah's shoulder. Adam's not much of a hugger, but he does want to feel that Noah is real, and perhaps convey a little of how pleased he is that Noah is back with them again.]

I figured. What happened?

[casperdisaster]

[Noah smiles at the hand on his shoulder, reaching out to clasp Adam's in return. It's not a hug, but it's still good.]

Hope said I had to give someone hope to make me a new body and... I guess I did. I was just trying to be nice, though, so... I don't know. Maybe that's why it worked.

19th

[amos_moses]

Amos grins at Noah, relieved to find a friendly face. "Hey. Sure thing. Another set of eyes to watch is always welcome."

That second-to-last word comes out closer to 'allus,' but given Noah's own faded accent, Amos has no doubts he understands. "Makin' an emergency bread-an'-milk run, see?" he jokes, but though he smiles his dark eyes are watching the streets. He's armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows at his side, because that's the only long-range weapon he has, and he really doesn't want to be armed with only his knives.

19th

[casperdisaster]

A knife is all Noah's got, so he's happy to have someone consideribly better armed in this time of danger. Also almost certainly better skilled. It's hard to be worse skilled than Noah.

"Yeah." Noah says agreeibly with a laugh that's a little too strained and nervous to be entirely casual. He's also jumping at shadows.

"Do you know anyone who... you know?"

19th

[amos_moses]

"Mmmhmm, unfortunately. Ain't that big of a town here." Amos's grin slides wry, and he starts walking again. Though he rarely makes much noise when walking even regularly now he's cat-quiet even in his heavy boots, feet placed steadily and square. He moves at a steady pace, watching, listening, and asking the occasional jabberjay ahead what the street looks like.

A bird's eye-view is a helpful thing to have. "You need anythin' to carry home, Noah? Food, water, extra blankets..."

Hey, you can never have too many blankets.

[casperdisaster]

"Blankets." Noah answers quickly, keeping close to Amos' side, trusting he knows where he's going and what he's doing. He seems to, and Noah's other option is to take some kind of lead himself, and that is absolutely not going to happen. "I don't like being cold."

18th

[endured]

[ it's not so much an errand that has hope out and about. he needs food, of course but mostly he is tending to the ones that are out here fighting back against the ones that have been transformed. he enchants weapons, uses protective magic to further their defenses and heals any wounds he might see. it wasn't much but it was at least something.

he tries not to look scared even though there's a twisted feeling in his gut, one that has him looking over his shoulder and listening out more. it's why he tenses up at the sound of someone approaching though he visibly relaxes once it's clear that this isn't some possessed cannibal monster.

that's a pause at the question but he nods, offering a small smile. ]

Yeah, of course. No one probably should be wandering around alone right now.

[casperdisaster]

[Noah's always pleased to see people in his own apparent age group, and he quickly catches up with Hope and gives him a grateful if sort of painfully awkward and strained smile of his own.]

Right, I know, right? [Like, wow things are crazy right now.]

Um, I'm Noah. I don't think we've met.

[endured]

No, we haven't. I'm still pretty new to this place though. [ what a welcoming too. ]

I'm Hope, I'd say nice to meet you but...

[ yeah, things are really crazy right now. ]

[casperdisaster]

...Hope? Like, for real?

[he's gotta make sure this kid isn't putting him on first.]

16th - sorry for the delay!

[quaerit]

[ The immediacy of Noah's change is such that Gansey doesn't believe it, at first. His eyes skate past it, recognizing his friend as Noah, and even shooting him the kind of quick, easy smile he would always give when one of them comes home.

And then he stops, and he looks again. The wrongness that his mind had registered with that glance can't be ignored.

The truth is, he's never seen Noah look so good. Even at the beginning, before any of them knew he was a ghost, there had always been something faded and rumpled and smudged about his appearance. That's the first thing Gansey notices. There isn't any smudge. And nothing looks faded. Noah's cheeks look warm, and he's -

He's breathing - ]

Oh my God.

[ He stands up, abandoning the journal he'd been writing in. Without much thought, he crosses the room to Noah and reaches for his shoulder, then both shoulders. He's having some trouble believing what he's seeing. ]

Noah. Jesus, is that really you?

no worries!

[casperdisaster]

[Noah gives Gansey his usual brand of awkward, strained smile when he gets the initial one of greeting, holding in place. It's the somewhat anxious pause of waiting for someone to notice a new haircut, but maybe a more extreme version.

Gansey can be oblivious at times, the whole chronic foot-in-mouth disorder he seems to have even if he's remarkably better at clearing up said misunderstandings in record time than anyone has any real right to be. This is not the kind of thing that Gansey is oblivious about, though, and in such little time that the held breath doesn't even really register as one Noah is tensing as Gansey gets to his feet and comes over.

It's still a surprising thing, even knowing it's coming. This is all things they've dealt with months ago, when Noah was having panic attacks and clinging to his friends every chance he got, terrified of being alive again.

It was mostly Gansey falling on that sword, since neither Adam nor Ronan were the type for physical contact. So even though Noah is initially tense when Gansey takes him by the shoulders, it's just for a few moments before he relaxes again, exhaling and returning to the awkward smile from before.]

Um.

Yeah.

... ... Surprise?

[quaerit]

[ He feels real and solid beneath Gansey's hands. But then, it's not the first time he'd felt solid. And he always used to feel real, before he began to seem more shadow than light.

It's the first time he's ever been warm to the touch. Gansey's heart gives a complicated little stutter. This is the boy whose life was taken the day someone decided that Gansey should live instead. For months, ever since he became certain of what had happened, the idea to ask for Noah's life has built in his mind, finally growing enough that he'd spoken it. In speaking it, he'd been certain.

And now there's no need, because Noah is alive, warm and so alive. Gansey barely even thinks about the action of hugging him before he's doing it. He pulls Noah close, and learns things he'd never known before - things like the particular rhythm of Noah's pulse, the smell attached to his hair, the stubble on his chin - for Christ's sake, can everyone but Gansey grow a beard?

His head feels like it's spinning. ]

Jesus, Noah. It's really you, you're really alive.

How?

[casperdisaster]

[Noah gives a small exhale again, a little huff of breath as he's pulled into a hug that transforms into his still breathless sounding laugh. After everything, no matter how much they change, their friendship remains. That's the important thing.

It's easy enough for Noah's arms to go around Gansey as well, to hold to the back of his shirt and rest his head on Gansey's shoulder. It lacks the desperation of Noah's first few days alive for the first time in seven years, but there's still a relief that can't be replicated being able to hold on to another person like this, when before he could really only do it with Blue.]

I asked Hope. A little while ago, actually. Um.

[Noah pauses, sighs, tries to think of how to... edit the story so he doesn't have to tell Gansey that he previously had a body and asked to stay dead for a little while. He knows that he'll have to explain that someday, but he'd rather avoid it as long as possible.]

He said I needed to inspire hope in someone first, so he could have the power needed for it and - I mean. That's. That's fair and all, but I kinda figured... [Noah sighs] I'm kind of better at being a downer, you know? So, um. I didn't tell anyone. And I guess I managed it earlier today, helping some friends. So. Um. Here we are.