[network] @claytonator; DON'T PANIC; day 014, late afternoon [open]

[dr_unconscious]

[text]

[It's a few hours before lockout when the paranoia starts hitting Clayton hardest. He's had a sneaking suspicion that he knows what's going on as soon as the singing started; the presence in the back of his mind is alarming but manageable, but if It's affecting multiple people, if they're all feeling It, like he suspects they are, then It's so much more serious than he could have ever prepared for. He's never felt such a strong mind before. It will overwhelm them. And he doesn't even have his powers to fight back.]

[The headache is too bad for Clayton to do his usual video post, so instead he buries his face in his coat and types nearly blind. It's important enough to risk the pain.]

we are currently under mental attack

try to focus and stay calm it will help sure up your mental defenses

DO NOT GO TO SLEEP

if you're with someone and they start acting like they're possessed, call me

Comments

@Spoiler ; private video

[spoileralert]

[ Steph isn't having paranoia, but she is hallucinating and in a lot of pain. The two are plenty to put her in a foul mood, and in a foul mood Steph is typically angry.

Steph is angry. She barely managed to speak in a hushed voice so her companions don't freak out. ]

This is the opposite of helpful.

action threadjack because you can't tell me how to live my life

[fataliteas]

[Snap Clayton into a Slim Jim, Steph.

WHENEVER YOUR VIDEO CHAT IS DONE......She's grimacing through her own pain, tears beading at the corners of her eyes but refusing to fall, fingers trembling as they curl into the collar of her coat and shirt.]

Stephanie-san, please.....please come here.

[Her voice is colored with fear and anger that's under control, but barely.]

action sure I can, dO THE THING

[spoileralert]

What do you want?

[ She snaps before thinking, and immediately feels bad for it. But she's seeing fire, and it isn't the warm comfortable kind. It reminds her of friends she's gotten killed.

She does go to Mami's side, though. ]

How you holding up?

private text

[dr_unconscious]

[Sorry Steph, no video this time. Clayton is already regretting it based on the stinging tone of her voice.]

can't talk sound hurts

if you have a better idea i'd like to hear it

private video still

[spoileralert]

Everything fucking hurts, Jesus.

[ She is in a TRULY foul mood. ]

If you have to freak the hell out you should do it quietly.

voice; ID: tiro

[fataliteas]

[Biting, bitter, unbelievably exhausted sarcasm.]

Yes, because a lack of sleep on top of everything else will lead to a calm state of mind.

[Remember when she sounded polite and sweet? She doesn't either.]

What do you even intend to do?

text

[dr_unconscious]

[No voice for you, either. It hurts bad enough just hearing his own footsteps, let alone someone's voice echoing around in these godforsaken caves.]

sleeping means dreams
can't control dreams
they feed on them

[He doesn't answer Mami's question, partially because he doesn't have a good answer, partially because he didn't want to listen all the way through her saying it.]

@Quark | text;

[averytinyparticle]

Mental attack? Like by robots or something?

[Quark's paranoia hasn't grown nearly as as bad as his headache has, and it's more than a chore to focus on the message that's already on the screen, let alone responding to it by writing his own. Still, it's a easier distraction than yanking fistfuls of his hair and scratching frantically at his temples to relieve the pain, if not as seemingly effective.

Alone, having sealed himself in the most snug corner of the house's living room that he could find (one that gives him a good view of the front door), Quark hadn't been feeling too panicked. Unfortunately, the more he thinks about the warning on the tablet, the more his heart begins to race.]

if we do fall asleep will we get our brains hijacked?

[He didn't want to become a brainwashed robot slave! He liked being conscious! At least, he liked being conscious when he didn't feel like his head was being squeezed tighter and tighter with each passing second.]

text

[dr_unconscious]

[If Clayton were in his right mind, he would be the epitome of calm. He would put down everything and switch on the video and be just as pleasant and reassuring as possible. There is nothing to worry about, he would say. I know it hurts, but you just have to trust me that it'll get better. It'll be okay.]

[This is, of course, not who we're getting tonight.]

yes

[ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR EVENING QUARK]

not robots
people
they travel between minds and feed off your thoughts
it gives them power

@cgriffin, text

[coleader]

[ The paranoia has long since set in, the overwhelming feeling that someone knows all of the terrible things she's done coming over her. Maybe Tim was right; maybe she's dead, and this is the afterlife. And now she's paying for her sins.

Normally, Clarke would be an emphatic supporter of staying calm, but not today. Not while she can feel It poking around in the darkest parts of her brain. ]

Staying complacent isn't going to make this stop.

text

[dr_unconscious]

[That makes two of them, unfortunately.]

not complacent
calm
strong emotion jumbles thoughts
they feed on thoughts

text; @franziskavonkarma

[whippings]

Will sleeping not help?

( She'd understand if he couldn't sleep - Franziska has a high pain tolerance, but this is testing her threshold - but a warning to not do so speaks for a different, underlying cause. )

text

[dr_unconscious]

[Fanziska would be correct, unfortunately for the both of them. He really shouldn't be giving away this much information, not before he's ready, but this is an emergency. Surely it would be better if they knew?]

no
dreaming is bad
bad focus confused thoughts
need to stay focused to keep them out

@MarbleHornets; text

[genreblindness]

what do you mean by possessed
how much do you know

text

[dr_unconscious]

[HEY JAY]

[remember when Clayton lectured you about "trust goes both ways" and "you really should be more open with people so they're not so suspicious of you" and shit]

[well he's a big fat hypocrite, sorry.]

i mean literal possession
as in someone has taken over your mind
or worse

[He comes very close to typing, "because I've done it before," but no, not that desperate yet.]

i've seen it happen

@baelfire; text

[jumpship]

how do we make it stop? i think someone's watching me -- when i'm walking i see this thing ahead. like a person, but they're always there, just that distance away. i... i can't tell who it is.

[ he really should just stop for the day, find a place to hunker down and relax, but the creeping, terrifying sensation that someone else is watching him? hard to shake. ]

something's possessing people?

text

[dr_unconscious]

[That makes two of them, which means poor Baelfire isn't going to be getting any reassurances from this guy.]

it could be
it's a hallucination
powerful minds can make you see things
DON'T TRY TO FIGHT IT
stay calm and don't give it anything to feed off of

{ voice to text | @Lavellan }

[carrywithyou]

[ Did you have to say the P-word, Clayton? Like her paranoia wasn't bad enough. ]

Do you mean possessed by demons? Are there demons here?

text

[dr_unconscious]

[He said it and he means it! Which probably isn't the best.]

not demons
they're shades
or they could be
i'm pretty sure they're around even if they're not directly responsible for this

@TW; text

[maskintape]

is it happening to you too
I'm sorry I shouldn't have come back
I don't know how to make it stop but i'm sorry

text

[dr_unconscious]

[oh jesus Tim]

[bless you for apologizing, but now is really not a good time]

what did you do

voice only ID is LELRIC; private

[armoured]

[Al has been suffering a growing paranoia all day, and it's worse around the companions he's travelling with. His warped mind seems to latch onto Clayton's warning as a confirmation of his fears.]

You know what they're planning to do when I go to sleep too?

private text

[dr_unconscious]

[This is going to be a rough one, because Clayton knows Al doesn't work well with text, but his voice is absolutely piercing in these tunnels. Voice-to-text it is, while Clayton covers his ears when the message plays.]

invade your thoughts while you aren't aware
slowly start consuming your memories as you flip through them
then move on to your soul when they haven't had enough

action;

[promises_to_keep]

[Lea's headache has been growing steadily for the past few hours. It began in the back of his head, a pinprick of pain that was easy enough to ignore, and then it bloomed outward, petals of pressure clawing at his brain. It spread to his eyes, spilling through his face like too-cold water poured on bare skin, like a lingering ice cream headache he just can't get rid of no matter how he presses his tongue to the roof of his mouth.

[It's the shadows that are really getting to him, though. He can see them moving when he looks away, flickers of black and indigo in the corners of his eyes, rippling darkness in his peripheral vision. He can feel it crawling, but every time he looks at it, there's nothing there. Between the pain in his head and the ache in his eyes, he's not sure what he's seeing anymore; everything feels smeared, all the colors inverted, like afterimages from staring too long.

[They have to keep moving. They can't stay here and rest much longer, something... something's there, and if they stop it will surely overtake them.

[He reaches out and gently touches Clayton's elbow, frowning. Why is he hiding his face in his coat like that? Does he see the shadows, too? Surely he does, right? They're definitely there... right?]

Clayton, you okay? We should keep moving; I wanna make sure we find somewhere to roost before too much longer. The tablets are gonna start yelling at us to find shelter before too much longer.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton's eyes are trained somewhere on the periphery of the tablet in his hands and the walls of ice that they're stumbling past. The coat can only do so much to hide the glare; everything in here is just entirely too bright, echos too much, overwhelms his senses to the point where he'd rather just curl up and shut it all out until his head stops hurting. But there's only so much he can do until they find somewhere to stay. The constantly changing scenery isn't great, but it's better than freezing to death. Again.]

[It's also better that he at least warns everyone about what's going on before he loses his mental faculties entirely. Clayton is fairly certain that's going to happen soon. Otherwise It wouldn't feel so close...like It's already rooting around through his deepest thoughts, and there's nothing he can do about it. But if he just stays focused for long enough--]

[Clayton flinches away from Lea's hand with a start, then a groan as he starts talking. So loud! Why does everything have to be so loud? Clayton shakes his head and tries to cut Lea off where he can.]

--Stop, stop. No more a that. [He presses his free hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut and kneading his temples.] Jus'...give me some time t' think. Gotta stop it 'fore they start fallin' asleep...