maskormenacelogs | There must be something in the water

There must be something in the water

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Lake Tahoe, the Nevada side
WHEN: May 17 all day
WHAT: Swear-In
WARNINGS: Some violence

Welcome imPorts new and old to the lovely city of Jeopardy! For the five minutes the swear-in is here, anyway. See, there’s been some unusual activity at the (relatively) nearby Lake Tahoe. The Better Believe It Museum of Cryptozology has appealed to the government for help, and the powers that be generously volunteered this Swear-In as a chance for imPorts to be voluntold to help. Of course, you can always skip the swear-in or just decide to kick up your feet at a nice lakeside property in May, but the local natives would really appreciate the assistance. So much so that they’ve rented out a legion of party buses to transport you from Jeopardy to the museum in style. Yes, there’s a bar and snacks (though only juice for the kids). It’s about a three hour drive, try not to get too sloshed on the way over.

Just what is the issue? It seems that Nevada’s most famous cryptid, Tahoe Tessie has...well. Been seen. And, yes, of course, there is that whole museum you are going to at the edge of the lake dedicated to fuzzy, shaky-cam ‘sightings’ of Tessie and other cryptozoological marvels over the years, but this is different. Like, ‘oh no, we actually found her’ different. And by all appearances, Tessie’s pretty pissed at being found. Any boats that attempt to go out into the lake are sunk, divers have vanished to never be seen again (whole, anyway. A few parts have washed up), and police have noted a sharp increase in random, violent attacks around the lake shores.

That’s where you come in.

The museum has requested Tessie be captured and transferred into their crypto-aquarium where she can be studied (and rubbed in the faces of all those ‘real’ scientists that called them crazy over the years). There are other options, though. The police are just fine with you killing the creatures; let the scientists dissect the corpse. And a very well funded individual party is more than willing to pay an exorbitant amount to the imPorts that hand her over to them.

While you ponder about the ethics and money involved, here’s the lay of the land.

First there is the cryptid museum itself. Not the tidiest of places, the museum is three floors of winding narrow aisles between shelves heaped with curiosities and walls covered in fuzzy photographs with plaques explaining what cryptozoological marvel is depicted in them, or poster sized print outs of ‘testimonials’ of alien abductions, bigfoot sightings, etc, along with artists interpretations of events described. There is also, of course, quite an expansive gift shop. Get your BELIEVER t-shirt before supplies run out. Please no powers in the museum, the owner is quite forceful about how everything in there is one of a kind.

For those of you not into monster hunting, or hunters that need to recharge, the cryptid museum is right next to a resort that has thoughtfully opened its doors to imPorts. It’s lingering around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit at the lake, not exactly swimming weather, but there’s charming outdoor seating, fire pits to gather around, and free drinks and finger foods abound for every one to mingle with. There’s plenty of nice walking paths around the lake, some low-key events like horse shoe tossing or croquet to pass the time with. Just a nice break by the lake to recharge after a rough month.

Then there’s the lake itself. The locals have provided you with canoes, small fishing boats with radar, diving suits and snorkels, fishing nets, pretty much anything they could think of that will help you catch dear old Tessie (if you have a specific request for an unusual item, ask here if it will be provided!). A certain eccentric (the one offering cash money for Tessie to be turned over to them) even provided a one person submarine for use- though it doesn’t have any arms to grab with or much in the way of catching power, the gesture was still nice?

But catching a cryptid isn’t that easy. See, turns out that surge in violent attacks isn’t just dear old Tessie. If you just pressed A and skipped to the lake itself, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. Those that took time to view the museum first, or chatted with the hotel staff about local legends, will have some warning of what is waiting for them. They’ll learn that in addition to cryptids lake Tahoe has a very real monstrous history- it’s a known mob mass graveyard. Through the 1900s, possibly up to today, the lake served as a very convenient spot for mobsters to send people to ‘sleep with the fishes.’ No one knows how many bodies have ended up under those placid waters, but it’s an unpleasant number. Just an interesting historical tidbit until you actually enter the lake. There you’ll see these dead are, somehow, awake. And not that happy about it.

The lake is crawling with revenants. These angry undead will fight tooth and nail anyone that comes into the waters of the lake, trying to pull you down to meet the same watery fate as them. We’re literal on the tooth part, their bites are strong enough to rip out chunks of flesh. They will follow anyone that disturbs them out of the lake, focused on destroying the life they no longer have. These creatures will need to be destroyed or laid to rest for the lake to be safe again. This can be done through sheer physical assault, break enough of the bones or destroy the skull and the creatures will collapse into the muk. Or they can be put to rest one by one with rituals specifically made for putting the dead to rest (from any religion or philosophy). Those that can talk with the dead and have the dedication can talk the spirits into releasing their mortal coil and returning to the void. Just remember their first emotion is rage at the living, and their first instinct will always be to attack. Those going for a more peaceful route may need back-up to keep the creatures at bay until they start seeing results.

Finally, there’s Tessie.

While legends have reported, and the cryptid museum lead you to expect, a more serpentine creature, characters are once more in for a surprise. Those that finally get past the undead to Tessie herself will discover she is none other than a legendary lusca: half shark, half squid, all attitude. For those still trying to apply biology to this, Tessie’s front half looks like a bull shark, a species infamous for its ability to swim in both salt and fresh waters. There is a little good news: unlike the revenants, Tessie isn’t looking so hot. Some of her tentacles are rotting off and teeth are falling out. She is mostly working to avoid anyone that wants to bother her, darting to deeper waters and running away from close encounters. Anyone that does get too close will face a fight, but it’s that of an animal in its death throes. While an unlimited number of characters can see Tessie, the final decision of what happens to her will be decided by a poll.

After a long day at the lake, imPorts are bused back to Jeopardy in the same party buses. Hopefully still more or less in one piece.

OOC PLOTTING AND QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED HERE!

Threaded | Flat

[ 1. The Resort ]

Just because it was only 40-50 degrees didn't mean that it wasn't the prime location for being... well, himself. Even though it was chilly, Stark didn't seem to notice the cold -- although that might have been the ever-present martini in hand. Had he gone to the crytpid museum? No, no he did not. That looked like some trashy place you would find in the Oregon woods or something, not at all a place for him.

He'll be found lounging by one of the fire pits, looking almost longingly to the water, as if he wishes he could will it to be warmer. "I would be nice if we could be here during the actual summer," he says, and ah, there he goes, staring out into near-space. Perhaps he's even plotting a way to change the weather. That wouldn't possibly go badly, would it?

Spoilers: it would. It would go very badly.

[ 2. Revnants ]

Perhaps he should have checked in at the cryptid museum -- or, at the very least, red up more about the area online. He was a smart guy, he had the grand access of the world's networks at his disposal, but no, he was convinced it was all just silliness.

Well, the joke was on him now, wasn't it -- as he was currently running from a Revnant who had taken a good chunk out of his calf -- his feet bare as he skittered across the ground. Sure, he could fight it, but considering his suit was back in De Chima it was taking longer than he would have liked to deal with the damn thing.

"You've got to be kidding me," he half groaned, and dammit -- his calf itched as the skin was starting to already try to heal, even though it wouldn't do much until he went to sleep.

[3. Tessie ]

He sits, looking out at the water, a drink in hand, a look of consternation on his face. They need to eventually decide what to do with this thing. It was ridiculous, that was clear, but it was also dangerous. While Tony certainly would like a piece of that, he suspected he wouldn't get much of an opportunity to cut much off. Instead, he'd need to figure out what was going to happen to it.

"This thing is a real... wild creature, isn't it?" he asked, to whoever was around. "Clearly it can't stay here, I'm pretty sure it's going to need to be handled."

[ 4. Wildcard ]

[ HMU on Plurk if you want to do something! He'll eventually have one of his suits, so if anyone wants to go hunting Tessie lemme know! ]

Edited 2019-05-18 05:25 (UTC)

PARTY BUS

After the mess with the moon - honestly, Carl didn't want to go to any more Swear-Ins after that - but with the other nonsense that involve nightmares, he decided to hell with it. If it looked funny, he can just leave. However, it looked like this Swear-In is another trip involved, which was unfortunate to Carl. It's not like he can drive back when he had enough, or he can ask for a ride from Negan. Negan's gone, presumably back to the hellscape they both call home. Carl's was still wary around him, never trusting him, but he was someone that under that unusual circumstances he can rely on him for certain things.

But now Carl is alone now. He's drinking his soda, but the lights and crowded seats is making him wary all over again. Why is he doing this to himself? This sense of disconnect is frustrating him.

Maybe he shouldn't go to these Swear Ins.

Carl got up, trying to go back to where the drinks are to fill up his cup of juice, tripping on people's feet along the way.

RESORT

The place was not that bad, considering. Nice, for one. The museum was weird, but kooky weird like those tourist traps places his parents would take him when he was little.

He grabbed a chair, watching everyone taking their seats or milling around, having talks as he soaked up the heat of the fire. Eventually he got bored with that (whether he had a conversation with anyone or not) and decided to walk around and play a game of horse shoe tossing.

Man, maybe this Swear In won't be crazy after all.

REVENANTS

All Carl wanted was something not crazy. But no, now he's fighting for his life again, and this time, he's not worried at all of risk of sudden decompression. Carl grabbed a tire iron - Where did he found a tire iron? Don't ask, please - and began to start beat the absolute shit out of one these wretched undead. Several hits in, and the one laid prone before him, presumably dead dead.

Carl then moved on, either to save someone from being attacked, or attack another revnant. Either way, he's going to be busy until the undead are back into their murky graves.

wildcard

[ Carl will not be doing the whole Tessie hunt, as he really doesn't care. His main concern will be killing off the undead. ]

Edited 2019-05-18 15:34 (UTC)

i. RESORT

Rene is absolutely not the sort of person who says yes to a Ripley's knockoff museum when he has access to a free resort and the drinks and snacks they've got on offer, so he can be found lounging around the fire pits in casual clothes (jeans and a t-shirt with an over-sized flannel tossed over it) making his way through a truly unreasonable amount of pilfered hors d'oeuvres at any given time of the night, pre-revenant outbreak. If he gets enough alcohol in him, he might (might) even be persuaded to share his bounty!

It's not exactly a safe bet, though.

"Man," he can be heard scoffing once folks start to filter out of the cryptid museum, after all those long tours and viewings have finished, "you gotta be crazy to pick the haunted ass museum over free rich people shit."

ii. REVENANTS

Rene is the sort of person to show up to a government sponsored party illegally armed, however, and unfortunately (for good sense, common decency, and just the public in general) that in particular is a terrible life choice that keeps on getting validated by circumstance. Circumstance, as it happens, such as the dead rising up out of the nearest body of water and proceeding to terrorize the various lakeside revelers.

Rene springs into action at the first blood-curdling scream, pulling a pistol out of the holster hidden beneath his baggy over-shirt, and he can be found in the thick of the chaos for the rest of the night, putting bullets into undead skulls whenever he has a clear shot or throwing punches when he doesn't, shouting progressively higher numbers the whole time. Navy SEAL training makes him quick to jump into the water to pull anyone he sees go under back out, and he actually seems to be in fairly good spirits the crazier the night gets, finally getting to stretch his legs in the new dimension.

...Wait, shouting numbers? Is this idiot keeping score?? Honestly, no respect for the dead.

iii. WILDCARD

[Hit me with a wildcard or PM/PP me at relatable to plot!]

[ 1. ~~Last~~ Resort ]

[Shaun is reclining back in a chair by one of the fires. With the Believer t-shirt visible under his unzipped sweater, it's clear he's visited the museum (or at least the gift shop.) He looks, for all the world, casual and relaxed. He's not. He hasn't been in this world long enough to get used to people just hanging around in crowds and outside without significant security. This place? This place is a death trap. It's asking to be overrun.

He's already decided on the best routes of escape, what spots are most defensible, what could be useful as an improvised weapon (though the gun mostly hidden by his sweater and the extra clip tucked in his pocket are less improvised and get first billing before he results to improv), the usual Irwin checklist. Old habits die hard and all.

Still, there's an easy grin on his face as he opines to anyone within earshot,]

This is the sort of place you're supposed to call "quaint" right?

[ 2. Lake Monster ]

[It's probably a mistake to just head out onto a lake that has a lake monster supposedly in its depths, but here is Shaun, hopping into a small motored fishing boat tied to the end of the pier.]

So. Monster hunting. You coming or what?

[What could possibly go wrong?]

[ 3. Revenants ]

[The dead start walking and Shaun snaps into action on pure reflex. He's used to this. He knows how to handle this.

Shaun moves along the edge of the lake with a deadly efficiency. His gun rings out periodically, almost always followed by a splash as one of the swimming dead drops back to its watery grave permanently this time.

If he comes across anyone being harassed by these revenants, it's a quick burst of gunfire to drop the undead.]

Are you okay? [Don't mind the fact that Shaun's gun is now trained on you.] Were you bitten? Scratched?

[He doesn't know for a fact that this sort of undead will spread, but he's not taking chances until he finds out.]

[ 4. Double Trouble with Shaun & Georgia (two Masons for the price of one) ]

[This is all so familiar that it’s almost surreal. The dead are walking. Again. And apparently also swimming.

Not cool. That said, there’s something comforting about it, about glancing over and seeing George there, knowing she has his back. The dead are walking, and this is something they know. Neither one of them has ever been good at not running towards the action, so here they are. Shaun’s gun is drawn, safety off, ready. There's a pilfered canoe paddle in his other hand. He glances over at his sister and asks the really important question of,]

If they’re water zombies, does that make it a school instead of a hoard?

[Georgia's gun is drawn as well, and she's got her eyes (and cameras) trained on the water. It's occurred to her that with her superpowers, she might be better if she just up and punched a zombie, but… it's suicide to go up against a zombie in close combat. She can't get her training out of her head. Also, she doesn't want to. She's still not comfortable with her powers. Even after half a year.

She is very comfortable with Shaun, though. It hasn't taken long for them to fall back into their usual banter.]

You're really working hard to make me regret missing you, huh?

[The grin he flashes her way is entirely unapologetic.] Too bad you’re stuck with me regardless.

[And then the grin slips, his expression turning sharper, more focused as he looks across the water’s surface.] There. Your ten o’clock. [When the grin resurfaces, it’s a bit grimmer.] Never gone fishing before.

First time for everything. [She focuses the cameras, making sure she’s got the water zombie in view, then nods at Shaun.] Do your thing.

[And Shaun will do exactly that, though catching sight of anyone else will earn a pause and a deceptive cheerful,] You might wanna stay back. [He's got zombies to ~~harass~~ dispatch.]

[ 5. Wildcard ]
(( Feel free to catch Shaun around and about. Hit me via PM or at

seasided if you want to plan something! ))

Party bus

Nightfall is the picture of a well-behaved child from the moment she enters the vehicle. She takes a seat somewhere in the middle and sits with her hands in her lap. Once the bus has taken off she pulls a paperback book out of a small (but cute, and seemingly designed to perfectly match her costume) rucksack. She spends the first hour and a half basically devouring the contents of the book, having finished it well within that time.

After putting her book away she looks to a person next to her and says, a particularly child-like smile on her face as she does, "It's really nice of them to let us use such extravagant busses, isn't it?"

Internally, she wasn't all that impressed by the bus - not that it wasn't cool and all, it was just not exactly all that safe. All it took was one idiot driver, or even idiot passenger with too much alcohol in their system, to end up with a huge problem, and worse, an even longer commute.

The museum

Nightfall keeps a look of polite interest on her face during the entire tour. She occasionally raises her hand to ask questions, but in the end she's already familiar with the things she's asking about.

See, recon was important to her, and that included finding out what cryptids here matched up with those back in her world. Some of the creatures mentioned had been confirmed to exist in her world, while others were merely rumoured. There were yet more she hadn't heard of, but she kept in mind just in the off chance she might remember them when she went home, or in the less-off chance that she might run into them while here.

The tour was almost done when she stopped dead in her tracks, her smile looking a little forced while her eyes widened. She was staring at a particular piece of imagery. Anyone capable of reading auras, or even extremely subtle body language might notice fear there even without seeing her face.

On the Beach

There were few things that Nightfall hated fighting more than the undead. Robots were a pain for her, but in the end she usually had LAN there for her to make up for the fact she couldn't hurt them. Undead on the other hand typically needed either a great deal of force or a great deal of force focused on the person(s) who were controlling them, and it was always messy. Then, depending on the type of undead, there was the possibility of contamination and having to be put down. She did not want to relive the fate of Florida's Hero League members in 1995, and the video of their (repeated) executions used as training footage had hammered that in.

Nonetheless, she was a hero, and that meant braving anything thrown her way. While she couldn't do much, even with the three foot pipe she had found and helpfully placed a purple ribbon on, she could act as backup. Luckily she had found someone who had more use in the fight and had basically glommed on to them.

"There are some coming from our left," she said as she readied herself to swing at the back of the neck of a revenant that had 'tried' to sneak up on them. It seemed decayed enough, and thus slow enough, that she would be perfectly safe getting in reasonably close.

She took the swing, her training making it look effortless even though there was quite a lot of effort involved. The undead went down, but was clearly not dead-dead again. "We might want to move back a few yards and regroup in case there are more than it appears."

Sure enough, some were coming up out of the waves no more than four yards away, their heads just barely sticking out of the water.

She readied another blow.

[The Party Bus]
This is stupid. This is the most extravagant way to travel such a distance to go help people. The bus is decked out with lights and leather seating, snacks and drinks. Ben wants nothing to do with any of it. He's here because he wants to help. He's rather wishing he just rode his bike there now though. This feels stupid.

He's seated in a corner in the back, a glass handed to him but he's sat it aside. He hasn't bothered to look at who else joined. There are a few people in here. Right now he's just looking over his hands, flexing them, folding them, fidgeting with them. This feels so stupid. Lights and TV and a real party bus for an expedition to help a lake.

[The Museum and Resort]
When he gets off the bus he wanders a bit. First to the Museum to see if he can get any information on Tessie. The problem there is that it seems everything is, like one would assume, blurry photos and strange paintings. Figures and plaster molds of cryptids that hold no proof of being. It wasn't that helpful.

At the Resort, he had heard talk of the old days. Mobsters using the lake as a dumping ground. He thought that was a bit silly at first, as, well, the lake is rather clear, and clean looking. Not to mention bodies float? Further research proved that the cold waters of the lake might have prevented floating and body break down however, so, that was interesting.

You could find Ben on a deck, with a small plate of food and a glass of cranberry juice, reading over some data on his device. Trying to plan himself a small adventure. After all, a old cryptid in a old lake is a once in a life time thing! He looks like he's intensely reading and researching, but he has time to take a bit of a break.

[The Lake]
He's got a small boat. He's got some under water gear. He's mostly interested in the creatures in the water he's hearing about. Others have gone out and ran into reanimated bodies, and that is... interesting. He wonders if Klaus can talk to them. He wonders if HE can. Or if it would do any good.

You want a ride out on the water? Because he has room in this small boat for another. With the borrowed swim gear is also a borrowed bat, sitting at a tilt in the boat. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[The Revnants]
Now he's gone and done it. He's in the water with them. Got pulled under. He ghosted to get out of the grasp, and was able to get above water, but what about the person he went out with. He pushed up out of the water and gasped for air, going visible just long enough to be seen by the other.

"You okay?" He yelled out, and ghosted again, trying to swim his way over to the boat. "Stay in the boat. We're looking out numbered down here." He said out of no where. There was a bit of blood in the water where he got scratched, but nothing too bad. There is a thrash of sound as he appeared once more, grabbing the side of the boat and trying to haul himself back into it.

There are dead bodies in the water, deep down, with hands reaching, rocking the boat a bit. Well, this was fun.

The Resort

She was absolutely here to help. She was absolutely sure that she could do something. But that involved calming down and coming to terms with the fact that there was a large body of water involved, and that she might have to get in a boat, and oh god all in all she was totally not prepared for this. She'd gone into the Cryptid Museum in order to distract herself, but quickly retreated to the gift shop, insistent on expanding her impromptu novelty t-shirt collection.

So there she was, sitting on a chair, glaring at the lake as she worried the bottom hem of her rainbow 'BELIEVER' shirt.

If looks could kill, the lake would be a barren crater, and they wouldn't have to take a boat out to find Tessie.

Revenants

The first thought that when her head when someone mentioned 'Zombies from the lake' was 'Well okay I guess I'm going to be mostly useless again'.

The second thought was more along the lines of 'Wait a minute'.

The third thought was completely unrelated to the situation at hand.

It was around the fifth thought when she formulated a plan.

And that was how she came to be running around on the beach with a megaphone she borrowed from the resort, shouting out the rough coordinates of zombies coming out of the water, and anywhere someone needed help. All the while, one might be forgiven for mistaking the sky as a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", but if every avian adversary were replaced with Canadian geese.

See, as a beastspeaker Ruby knew how to convince animals to help her and had done just that. While many of the animals were outside of her communication range, she found that birds were much better at playing 'Telephone' than people were. The information wasn't nearly as accurate as it might be were she communicating with crows, but it was accurate enough she could use it, and that's what mattered.

The only problem was going to be convincing the resort staff to give her as many grapes and chopped vegetables as she'd need to pay back the geese.

"Zombies north of here, chasing a living being!" Ruby shouted into the megaphone as a report came in from several geese at one time. While the geese couldn't tell an imPort from a civilian, they could thankfully tell the living from the dead.

A)
So, Akira was warned about this Jeopardy place. Ghosts, freakishly popping into existence with the locals insisting it had always been there, and now a lake monster on top of it that had actually been SEEN. It's hard not to want to check it out, so it's good that there's the excuse of a swear-in to case the joint. Also, it's probably slightly safer if he's with a group of imPorts(??? citation needed).

But honestly who cares about that right now? Party bus.

Too bad the party bus is run by The Man and so an 18-year-old boy can't get his drink on. Legally, anyway. Not that that will stop him from trying, so Akira rolls up in a very (not) fashionable getup more suited for a tropical getaway than a lakeside hangout- a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts- and he sits at the bar, giving a friendly nod to the nearest adult-looking person, then to the bartender who has to exist because otherwise how would they stop underage drinking????

"How about a round on me?" This plan was foolproof. Who checks imPort IDs???

B)
One way or another, Akira managed to get a little alcohol in him, and he's in a fairly pleasant mood. He's not MESSY DRUNK, but you know. He's at that stage of 'trying really hard not to look drunk', trying to take it easy as best he can, so he goes to check out that museum.

He hasn't even made it all the way through the museum, but he's definitely got a BELIEVE t-shirt on with a blurry UFO photo on it which he's haphazardly pulled over his Hawaiian shirt, and he's resisting every urge he has to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet while he goes through the exhibits. It takes a little while but he lands on one of the many pictures of 'bigfoot', along with a cast of a footprint of dubious origin.

"Man", he starts, pulling down his glasses and squinting at the exhibit. "I wonder if bigfoot is like... super real here. I mean, with the imPorts and the uh." He motions with a hand, like whoever he has trapped into a conversation should know what he means. "You know. So like, why not? But like, what would that even mean? Like for science? I know the uh 'missing link' thing but what kinda scientific significance does that even have? I mean whatever. A man-monkey. Cool. Call me when we find the chupacabra or like. Mothman."

C)
Begrudingly, the time for games is over. Fooling around stops when Akira hears about the whole z-word thing, because of course he can't leave that to others in good conscience, no matter if there were plenty of powerful imPorts here, so he went to the resort for long enough to get sober- a cold shower, some food and water, and a change of clothes was enough to get him in the right space- so here he is at the lakeside, at least in warm clothing now so he's a little warmer than he was.

He REALLY doesn't want to swim though, so, lifting a hand he calls forth Satanael, a 13 foot tall, six winged devil that served as his Persona. "Hey, there are some living people in there that we need to be careful of, alright?" he says to the creature which doesn't respond but to lift up his over-sized gun and pointing it toward the water.

Akira runs out in front of it but like. He's just a teen he's not about to actually block anything. "No, no, you gotta go in there!" Just shooting at the water seems unsafe!!! But it seems like Satanael kinda agrees with Akira in that he also... doesn't want to get in that water. It's cold, alright?

[[Note: For underwater prompts, Jadus' mask will permit him to speak normally. He can also directly contact and be contacted by others via communicator, for those at a distance or who are unable to speak.]]

At some point, one might notice Darth Jadus stands by the lakeside. How he got there isn't exactly clear. Was he simply on a different bus? Maybe, but he wasn't seen exiting one of them at the museum.

He doesn't move for several hours.

--

Then, without fanfare or apparent reason, he beings walking straight down the beach towards the water, barely slowing as he steps in.

And keeps going. As the water reaches his chest, it's clear he's not going to float or swim. He is simply sinking into the lake.

--

Lake Tahoe may not be as clear as it once was, but one can still see to a depth of 25 meters, and sunlight. Jadus can be sighted underwater, either from boats above or those joining him below. This far from the shore, the lake bottom extends

Eventually and with just as little warning as before, he stops. His lightsaber hilt jumps to his hand and ignites, its normal hum overlaid with a hiss of water meeting plasma.

Rotten bodies rises from buried hiding places with a cloud of sediment, charging toward him in a jerky, unnatural crawl along the bottom.

--

Past thirty meters down, normal scuba air supply begins causing altered mental states, simply from water pressure alone. Those with the equipment or ability to descend will eventually have a visitor.

The sunlight weakens to twilight and then night as the water itself blots it out, and Jadus continues deeper. He seems unbothered by the dark, only drawing his lightsaber for those brief moments when a revenant approaches.

Eventually, he stops.

And waits.

Terrible Plan (closed to Impact and that one guy in leather Apollo just can’t quit)

The message hadn’t been a surprise, not really – this was what Apollo had wanted, after all. Something, anything, that might give him an opportunity to set up some kind of meeting with an OTO operative. At the first opportunity he shares it with his Impact team mates, showing them the message as it appears on his communicator:
They have gone too far. Gather a piece of the creature. They will come for it.
Apollo frowns grimly as he takes back his comms device.

"No idea who has gone too far exactly. Although it’s pretty damn rich coming from a terrorist organisation, I’d say." He pauses thoughtfully, surveying the lake water. "But if we can find a bit of the creature that it’s not going to miss, then this could be a good opportunity."

At The Resort (open to all)

The lake is gorgeous, there’s no denying it. Apollo takes his time appreciating the view, admiring how classically serene the lake looks despite the weirdness going on beneath the surface. It’s probably a metaphor for life or something. He moves away from the cheerful hubbub of the ImPorts gathered around the fire pits and makes his way down to the gentle lapping water edge, where the crystal-clear water meets the pale stretch of sand. It’s quieter here, the water glassy with the reflection of the setting sun on the far side of the lake. He bends briefly, scooping up a particularly smooth and circular rock from the shoreline and hefts it in his hand thoughtfully. He’d done this once with Jenny, down at the jetty at Point Reyes. Wistfully Apollo smiles to himself before flicking the stone out in a neat sidearm, whipping it across the glassy surface to skip one, two, three times before it sinks noisily beneath the water.

He selects another rock. Four skips this time, but he’s not really trying. The third attempt (with a bit of muscle behind the throw) gets an impressive six skips – a personal record – and Apollo turns with a pleased grin to see if anyone back at the fire pits had noticed his small private victory.

"Pretty good, right?"

Wildcard/Custom Prompt

[ Feel free to hit me up on plurk (fizzier) or discord (shaz#0911) if there's something else you fancy! ]

1 - Arrivals
a Questions

Harry checks in at the museum and absorbs all he can about the monster and the environs, asking everything he can to the museum people. Yes, he is that person who has questions enough to make even science nerds wish he could go away. But he can be found there, at first, asking, reading, and writing down everything he can learn.

b After receiving and sending some texts, he visits a store and a church, where he acquires some equipment, and some tools, and heads out toward the lake to hunt. He will grab a fishing boat, and some diving equipment, and head out. Anyone want to join with the curious wizard?

He can be seen muttering spells and prepping himself based off of what he has learned.

Once out in the lake, he will be diving, again, with aid if someone comes along, or not. And others could run into him while he is in the water, too! At some point, he will attempt to gather samples of soil, undead bodies, and even a piece or two of the rotting flesh of Tessie itself. For magical testing, of course!

With others, he will try to capture and rescue Tessie, and get her to a safe spot for whatever plan is going on. Whether he succeeds or not, what happens after that, he doesn't know.

***

2 - Afterward, returning home.

He is wiped out as he heads home, and looking forward to setting the samples in different places when he gets home. He sits with his back against one side of the party bus thing, smiling faintly, eyes almost closed, but watching everyone around.

He has a lot going on in his head, and he is hoping to just get home and move forward. Wanda is home, and that is what means anything to him. Life is heading toward interesting places. Yes, indeed.

He looks half-asleep, but is open to being interrupted and talked to.

1. Party Bus

Oh, this is real fancy. Like 'generals and majors only' fancy. Carter can't get over how...accessible fancy things have become now. He can get most foods for real cheap, no bribes involved, his bed is soft, there's a machine that makes his food heat itself in minutes. He gets himself a beer (so many beers here!) and some snacks and splays out on the bus couch, grinning in contentment.

2. Zombie Lake Party

Carter has what is hopefully an uncommon reaction to the zombies, which is to immediately start stripping his shirt and shoes off, then start swimming towards the largest cluster of revenants that he can find. He'd been hoping to do some testing of his new abilities, and it would be just plain unethical to use the on his fellow soldiers and civilians, but the dead are fair game. They're already dead, anyway. This is just...extra-deading them.

Carter takes a deep breath and dives. There's a moment of furious rippling as the underwater revenants try to get at him, and then a loud crash as Carter detonates himself. The living depth charge sends off a massive wave that splashes back onto the shore, along with various body parts and some very dismayed fish. Carter pops his head back out of the water, coughing and spluttering as he tries to keep his head above the churning lake. The water swirls back around him as he lets out a loud, triumphant whoop.

"Yeah, boy!"

He turns and seeks out the next knot of zombies. Someone should probably intervene or there won't be much lake left in this part of the lake.

The Museum
Being the curious sort, Finn takes a moment to browse the museum. He has no idea what a Bigfoot is, but the artist rendition looks like a troll with too few eyes. The photograph claiming to be a lake monster looks like a blurry piece of driftwood to him.

He spends a moment looking at a drawing of something called a Mothman. "I'd hate to run into that on a dark night."

The Resort
Just because he's here to investigate a monster doesn't mean he can't take a moment to really enjoy the lake. All work and no play and all that. The lake looks so lovely, he knows a few Argonians who would love it here.

Finn takes a nice stroll down the path surrounding the lake, where anyone is free to come up and join him. "Hard to believe there's a monster living in there somewhere."

Later, he'll be looking at a diving suit and snorkel, experimentally stretching the fabric and turning the snorkel over in his hands. "I once had a ring that let me breathe underwater. Would have come in handy right about now."

Revenant Fighting
Finn hates the undead. They don't scare him as much as falmer, but they still scare him. Corpses should not be walking around, dammit! Or swimming, or whatever.

A few moments after Finn dives down into the water, he feels something brush his ankle. He thinks it's just seaweed and looks down, only to see a rotted face with malevolent eyes. The water muffles his scream as he swims back up to the surface and makes his way to the beach as fast as he can. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Edited 2019-05-20 19:45 (UTC)

Museum
Kurt decided to forgo the skin suit today, just because he's a little tired of wearing it lately. It's not like it's a secret or anything that he's not human, and besides, he figures he's not likely to be swarmed by locals or cameras out here.

He ignores any stares he gets, being an actual alien in a cryptic museum. The stories about monsters, he regards with amusement. When he gets to the part about aliens, he pauses, raising an eye-ridge.

"First, that is not typical procedure for abductions, two, we don't fly in saucers, and three, the Gray they're describing here is too tall to be an actual Gray."

Sunbathing
Another good reason he decided to forgo the skin suit, is because it makes it easier to feel the sun on one's scales. He can still feel things through the suit, but there's still that extra layer between himself and the sensations on his skin.

Kurt lays on a nice, flat rock, having taken off his shirt, which he's using as a pillow. His eyes are closed, and he looks quite content. Unless someone were to come and block his sun.

Bonfire
Okay, one fun things humans have come up with are fire pits. Kurt sits in a lounge chair, taking in the heat from the flames and just relaxing. To his side is a soda, and in his lap is a plate of assorted finger foods.

Kurt starts with a bit of cheese on a cracker. "It's amazing how much stuff goes good with cheese."

a. Cryptid Museum

Humans of Earth are strange. Sabé wasn't quite sure of their fascination with alien species... Or even the fact that it was common to claim that they were abducted by aliens. That hardly seemed believable- and was more laughable than anything else.

She was careful to read all the information available, but as she reads yet another testimonial of alien abduction, she openly scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Do you believe any of this?" she murmurs to the person next to her- whether they've read it or not.

b. The Resort

This was, honestly, the main reason she'd decided to go. Of course there was always the necessity of swearing in- of pledging herself to a place that reunited her with her dearest friend... While also having kidnapped them both for their own purposes. Whatever her feelings were, she pushed them aside.

She avoids the lake at first. The memories of her time in Lake Country with the rest of her friends before the end of Padmé's term as Queen would overwhelm her, she knew that much. Sabé was never good with emotions, especially when it comes to showing them... and she's already had to work through them more than she cared to since arriving. She needed this to be relaxing.

It's why she'll be found curled up near the fire pits, picking at the food provided and watching everyone else as they mill about. She's not particularly outgoing in this situation, eager to recharge and push away any of those stray emotions she's been forced to work through this past week- but she won't turn anyone away should they approach.

Later, she'll be found hovering around the games, watching them thoughtfully as she tries to gather the exact rules of each. "Can you teach me how to play?" she asks the person next to her with a coy smile. She's pretty sure she's figured it out on her own, but she hopes this will help her decide just who she should be here. It gives her a chance to practice another facet of her potential personality.

There's no way for her to relax and be just Sabé- not even on a foreign world.

c. Wildcard

[ have an idea? go for it, i'm easy. or hit me up in pm or on plurk at ramyakitty and we can chat. ]

A. Too Cool for the Party Bus - With Bonus Shaun (and a CW for implied adopted sibling incest)

Georgia took one look at the party bus and knew she’d rather kiss a zombie than set foot on that rolling migraine for ten minutes, let alone three hours. Fortunately, she has alternative transportation prepared. Her bike, small and fast and not filled with flashing lights and drunk people. And now she has Shaun too, his weight behind her reassuring and familiar.

She has a map prepared, but she stays near the bus anyway. Better to have a guide and backup in case things go wrong. Not that there are zombies here to worry about, but it’s hard to lose the habit of being careful. When they pull off at a rest stop, so does she.

She swings a leg over the side of the bike and stretches. She tugs her helmet off and glances at Shaun through her sunglasses. "Just like old times. Sort of."

Bike with George will beat party bus with drunk strangers every time. Shaun is mid-stretch himself, his own helmet already off -- he’d barely waited for the bike to stop on that one. "Less moaning, less screaming."

"Yeah it’s a nice change. You’ve really matured." Her deadpan, as always, is rock solid. "The lack of zombies was nice too."

Shaun opens his mouth immediately, clearly having something to say to that before he thinks better of it, pressing his lips into a line with the effort of holding it back. Public. They’re in public. "Hilarious. We’ll see how the rest of the ride goes."

They’ve spent enough time not saying things in public that George knows exactly what he’s not saying. She lets her hand brush his arm as she puts her helmet down on the bike. "It’ll go better if we get snacks now. Come on."

B. Outside The Museum

[Georgia isn't exactly kicked out of the museum so much as strongly encouraged to leave with the nice, burly security guards. If Georgia wanted to, she could take them. They know it, she knows it. But she's not interested in making a scene over something this ridiculous, so she lets them escort her outside the museum. The door slams behind her, and she turns and glares.]

Proof of one so-called cryptid does not immediately make the rest true! Use your goddamn brains!

[The doors do not open. Georgia rolls her eyes behind her sunglasses and stalks off.]

Dumbfucks.

C. The Resort.

Georgia's sitting in the shadiest corner she can find, though even that isn't enough for her to take off her sunglasses. If she's going monster hunting later, she's not risking a migraine now. Painkillers fuck her up too much to be safe for using in the field. That means avoiding the light as long as she can.

Right now, she's typing furiously on her phone and scowling. Then she waits. After a moment she shakes her head. "Motherfucking OTO." Then she goes back to typing furiously.

D. Wildcard!

[Hit me up on plurk at

antivillain or discord at antivillain#2451 for a personalized starter!]

Edited 2019-05-21 18:37 (UTC)

A. Resort

[Gabby is ready to hit the lake, but there's one problem. Jonathan, her actual real life pet wolverine, won't stop following her. Gabby stops and turns towards him, kneeling to scratch his head.]

I told you Jonathan, it's not safe! You gotta stay here!

[Jonathan grunts and nuzzles her cheek. Gabby sighs, wrapping her arms around him.]

It's safe for me. I can't get hurt, remember? I'll be fine.

[Jonathan makes another grunting noise and puts his paws on her shoulders. He looks as worried as a ferocious beast that was never meant to be a pet can look.]

I know. You're still my partner! Just stay back and protect the civilians, okay? I'll be back soon. Promise.

B. Revenants

It's unclear whether Gabby knew about the revenants before she hit the lake or not. What is clear is that she's clearly having the time of her life fighting them. Both her claws are out and she's stabbing anything that gets too close, cackling as each attack makes the boat rock further.

Another attack or two and she may overturn it. But it's probably fine.

C. Tessie

When Gabby finds Tessie, it doesn't take much looking for her to take a side. Sad, possibly dying sea monster or aggressive townsfolk/imPorts? Not a hard choice at all. She sets up a perimeter, staying far enough away from Tessie so as hopefully not to scare her more, and starts patrolling. Whenever anyone gets too close, she swims over to intercept, holding up a hand and staring through her goggles.

"Stop! She's not a monster, she's just hurt! She wants to be left alone!"

Can one preteen girl singlehandedly save a monster? Gabby knows one thing: she's gonna find out.

D. Wildcard

[Hit me up on plurk at

antivillain or discord at antivillain#2451 if you want something not offered here!]

(deleted comment)

01. Party Bus

Hey, this isn't half-bad. Sure, it's not much of a party with just juice and snacks, but it's not bad. And if they're going to go off to capture some lake monster, they might as well go in style, right? Right.

So Utena pops a salted peanut in her mouth and leans into seat, juice in one hand, and turns to whoever's sitting next to her. It's a long ride, so hey! Why not make some conversation?

"So," she says, "What do you think we can expect from all of this? Tessie, I mean. It sounds pretty out there, but... well, pretty out there is kind of what life is like around here, isn't it?"

02. Museum

Well, if anyone is going to know about Tessie, it'll probably be these guys. Possibly. Maybe. As soon as Utena steps through the door, though, she's filled with equal parts skepticism and regret. But hey, maybe she's being too hard on them. Tessie sounded fake, but she turned out to be real, right? Maybe she should keep an open mind. With a shrug, she walks down the narrow aisle, only for the dust to get the better of her. Her eyes water, her nose wrinkles, and it's not long before a light cough turns into a full blown fit. She feels her shoulder brush up against something and she rushes to cover her mouth, and...

Wait, was that a crash? Was that her? No, it couldn't have been her. ~~Nobody can prove it was her~~ As she turns around to survey the damage (and her potential role in whatever broken knick knacks there may be), she starts to think that maybe it would be a better idea to go investigate the lake.

03. Revenants

The lake was a terrible idea

Utena stands knee deep in the water, clutching a canoe oar for dear life as she stares down a shambling corpse. Anthy's not here to draw her sword, but unless there's someone out there willing and able to take her role, she's just going to have to improvise. She breathes in deep, focusing her power into the oar, and as soon as the revenant lurches forward instinct takes over. With a loud yell, she swings her makeshift weapon towards the creature's skull, breaking its neck with a sickening crunch and twisting its head around. However, it wasn't quite enough to kill it for good, and more are rising from the lake...

04. Resort

After a long afternoon spent slaughtering the undead, Utena sits near the fire, drenched from head to toe. Somehow she manages to be both freezing cold and sunburnt, and she winces as the towel wrapped around her brushes against a particularly sensitive patch of skin. She sighs into her mug of complimentary cocoa, using it warm her hands instead of drinking it.

"Please tell me we got all of them," she says, to nobody in particular. "I don't want to have to go back there a second time."

i. | MUSEUM

enthralled

ii. | REVENANTS ( closed to the first responder )

ii. | TESSIE

They have gone too far. Gather a piece of the creature. They will come for it.

1. museum

[Bobbie clearly thinks this whole thing is pretty ridiculous. Admittedly, she's infantry, which means she's used to bullshit missions. Still, this seems like a particular waste of time.

She's wandering the museum, reading each of the plaques with clear skepticism, but when she reaches an exhibit centered around alien encounters, she pauses. It's clear she's taking this part a bit more seriously, but then she reads the story about a man being seduced by a female alien, who was somehow magically hot and blonde. She bursts out laughing, loud in the quiet of the museum, and one of the other museum goers nearby shoots her an offended look and moves away.]

No one in their right mind would actually believe this.

2. resort

[This is apparently much more Bobbie's speed—she's planted herself near one of the fire pits with an obscene amount of food beside her. She has her feet propped up on another chair she's dragged over, and is putting away tea sandwiches like she's never had anything more delicious. When she catches the eye of the person beside her, she lifts one of the sandwiches and raises her eyebrows.]

They're cucumber.

[Apparently this is very important.]

3. wildcard

[Give me a random prompt or hit me up at

cephalopods!

Bus
Kira doesn't think much of the buses. Sure, they are nice but getting in them gives her an uneasy feeling. On pushed aside as she knows no other way of reaching the Swear-In. And for the first one, she wants to be there. She wants to meet other people in the same boat she is in.

So while she intends to be friendly later, Kira spends the bus trip mostly watching people from her seats - a glass of wine and some snacks with her in front of her - or poking at the phone she'd been provided. Her last phone had been a flip phone making this one a little more difficult to figure out.

Museum
While Kira is well aware that conspiracies can exist, the ones listed in the museum are ludicrous on the face of it. Alien abductions? Bigfoot? Though, given that a monster called Tahoe Tessie is apparently real enough to cause problems, perhaps Kira oughtn't be quite so skeptical. For all she knows there really are aliens hanging out on the moon and randomly kidnapping people in this strange place.

She looks at the person next to her and points to a sign that appears to be talking about a Chupacabra. "What do you think about this?"

Resort

Kira takes advantage of both the walking paths and the horse shoe tossing before making her way over to the fire pits. The fire feels nice and there is something about watching it's orange tongues flicker as they reach up towards the sky.

"I wonder if they have materials to make s'mores with," she muses out load.

Threaded | Flat

Tony Stark | OTA

Carl Grimes | OTA | Unregistered

Rene Ramirez | OTA

Shaun Mason (plus one prompt option with bonus Georgia) | OPEN