[network] @hotstud_xxx; video/text; Night 229 [open] (cw: body horror)

[rubikscomplex]

[There's the sound of just uneven breathing as the camera focuses on a figure. As with all anomalies, the filming warps and distorts. But the figure is very clearly an older man, his arms and legs stretched to impossible lengths and his body clad in a smart military dress uniform. Those familiar with the American military might be able to pick out that he's a marine. Those more intimately familiar would be able to identify the insignia of a pilot, and the rank of a colonel on his jacket. The figure just looms, staring toward House's camera

The feed cuts and shifts to another point. This time, the tablet has been propped up on something. House is visible (for once in a blue moon) in his eclectic hobo attire, about ten feet away. The anomaly is there with him, and they're both roughly in profile view. The doctor is clutching a wooden croquet mallet tight and breathing hard enough that his chest is visibly rising and falling as he stares up at the anomaly with wide eyes. Very suddenly, he turns his head to look directly toward the tablet camera.]

Dr. Gregory House, Day 229, 12:30 PM... give or take. Anomaly has general appearance of Colonel John House. Abnormalities apparent in the limbs, which have become elongated. Anomaly is unresponsive to verbal commands, does not attack, and makes only gurgling, moaning noises. Anomaly initially encountered this morning when subject exited Building 255, but may have previously been present at any point between evening lockdown on Day 228 to morning unlock on Day 229.

Characteristic acute MN Poisoning symptoms manifest when subject approaches anomaly. [Here, he licks his lips and wipes at his upper lip unconsciously, the memory of the blood trickling from his nose still fresh.] Nosebleed, vertigo, nausea, and generalized malaise followed by unconscious. Anomaly did not attack when subject was rendered unconscious multiple times.

[His head snaps back toward the anomaly.]

So time to see what kind of punishment these assholes can take. Testing application of rubble-coated hammer to anomaly. Take one.

[It's only a second later that House launches himself at the anomaly, swinging the hammer and easily sweeping the thing's legs. The anomaly goes down, and the doctor pauses momentarily before screwing his eyes shut and hammering down on the thing. The anomaly flails its long limbs until one of them hits House and he crumbles to the ground unconscious. The anomaly finds its way to its feet and wanders a little ways away. When House wakes up, there's blood dripping from his nose and staining the white snow beneath.

This experiment is repeated twice more with very similar results. It's then repeated with a hammer that hasn't been coated with any rubble dust, again, with similar results. The video feed finally cuts off. House adds some text a few minutes later.]

so that was my day
how's everyone else doing?
also, the southern scrap wall extends all the way
we have to go under or climb over
my vote is under so we don't get speared

Comments

@magenta2; text

[himalayanyeti]

sorry to be the one to tell you this doc but you're ugly as sin and SO not a hot stud

also

everyone is seeing these um. these ones? the special ones? cause i havent seen any that look this people-like til this day or yesterday. or people i recognized and frankly im annoyed with it

text

[rubikscomplex]

wow
i'm so sad
scarface thinks i'm ugly
the clown kissed me
did he kiss you, maggie?

everyone's seeing them
this happened before
the admin and winter wiped a piece of our memories to get rid of 'em
i'm guessing little winter will turn up soon

[himalayanyeti]

but thats great cause im tired of this bullshit and id like it to be done as soon as possible. i dont wanna hurt the monster (animaly or whatever) but its just kinda stressful you know

at least these ones dont kill? apparently

@featherydouche; text; private

[mrcreamsicles]

is that your dad

[Older guy, same surname. Watching House beat a presumed relative, even a super long-limbed one, is not the most comfortable experience for a lot of reasons. It's why he makes this preemptively private.]

cant say im surprised about the wall
i vote under

text; private

[rubikscomplex]

no
he's my funny uncle

[Clearly.]

i've told ecks and cassarole to start digging up by the bus station
it'll take longer
but what doesn't here?

text; private

[mrcreamsicles]

yeah
pretty much

[... This is such a bad idea, but he has to ask.]

are you ok

@Ecks | video

[ecks]

[Castiel has seen, just as she has seen Castiel's anomaly, but Ecks is too on edge, too upset by this not to show it to someone who might have more answers. Doctor House hit his anomaly. Ecks cannot do the same.

For those who lost a light, the lithe little blue-haired figure is simply a tiny man dressed in the same drab gray as Ecks, no more than two or three feet tall. For her, House, and others, though, his skin is stretched thin over jagged edges so tightly that it tears open in places to reveal broken red crystals underneath. One entire eye socket is filled with it.]

He does not speak to me. He has not told me to do anything. He does not speak to me and I do not want him to speak to me and I do not want him to tell me to do things and I do not want you to be gone while he is here.

>private text

[rubikscomplex]

[Crap. House switches immediately to a private line. Let everyone else think he's not responding to her.]

i'll be there tomorrow
don't freak out
you saw what happened with mine
it can't even talk
and it's not really him

>private video

[ecks]

He is watching me.

[The video remains on even as she lets it switch over to a private feed. The gnome isn't doing anything -- the shot is static and so is he. He just...watches, seeming to stare directly at the camera.]

It looks like him. It looks like him and it is watching like him and -- and I think he is disappointed. I think I am disappointing. He will not stop watching me.

@totheark, text

[0thingsonmymind]

how un der ?

*Surely he doesn't mean just digging it out with shovel.*

text

[rubikscomplex]

at an angle under
unless you've got a better idea?
i know tunnel collapse is an issue
but climbing over this crap would cut us to ribbons

text

[0thingsonmymind]

no how
dig ging ?

@LELRIC; audio

[armoured]

If you don't stop testing things like that on yourself like an idiot then I'm going to find you and travel with you. I know we're in the same area, so don't test me.

[He will come and be a big metal nanny.]

text

[rubikscomplex]

they're gonna attack us at some point anyway
might as well test if we can fight them off or kill them first

perma-audio

[armoured]

You don't know that, and you're risking yourself for idiocy.

[He is so mad. STOP DOING THIS SORT OF SELF DESTRUCTIVE THING, DR. GREGORY HOUSE.]

@Spoiler ; audio - I'm having a good brain day can you tell

[spoileralert]

I support this venture.

[rubikscomplex]

double no

@Spoiler ; text

[spoileralert]

have fun?

figures it would come to that. We could always use rubble to build bridges but that'll be just as hard as digging.

text

[rubikscomplex]

i'm always having fun here

maybe over
we'd have to get some of those suits from the power plant for protection
they're really freaking heavy, though
between the guitar and everything else
they're gonna slow us down a hell of a lot
and there's nowhere to stow them in the bus station

[bookofnope]

Well, that must have been satisfying.

[Look, House, he's even letting you keep this on text despite his permavideo project. Isn't he the best frenemy?]

Keeping with the dig deep theme suggests going under. Also, do you have anything that could pass for an explosive?

[rubikscomplex]

i'm always satisfied after a good workout

nothing for bombs right now
but i know a guy
i'll ask him to head this way

[Aka, Quark will be getting a Call.]

any chance you've got extra supplies for it?

Text @Enoch

[warriorscribe]

[Same second name. A family name, he vaguely remembers being told about. That House is so ready to attack his own family... He both does and really doesn't want to know. It's that which draws him to wish to reply, but with the cursor blinking on the screen, waiting for him to actually say something, he can't bring himself to ask so bluntly.]

They don't retaliate beyond instinct even when attacked, and even then do not seek to kill us. The ones before were more aggressive.

Somehow, that makes it worse.

Are you all right?

[rubikscomplex]

[Long time no see, Epps' bestie. House ignores the question about how he is.]

i'm pretty sure you're mixing up "better" and "worse"
we can actually conduct some experiments on these ones
without getting carted off to a morgue

SORRY THIS TOOK SOLONG.

[loveismadness]

Yeah, and I'm the one who has daddy issues. You, on the other hand, continue ta be the perfect picture of mental health.

[she's not in her makeup, and has angled the camera to specifically avoid...something in the room with her. perhaps that's too telling, but hey. she's not gonna just ignore house when it's the perfect time to get to the heart of his issues!]

Ya wanna talk about it, Studly? We can pretend I have one a those couches for ya to lie on, because I'm pretty sure that's how ya think therapy works.

IT'S COOL

[rubikscomplex]

it's an anomaly, clownette
what's there to talk about?

[That's his story and he's sticking to it. Especially when she's trying to get him to say something publicly.]

what's yours look like?