Video -- And the Moon Shall Turn to Blood

[just_displaced]

[The room is dimly lit, only one light in the room casting flickering shadows from the furniture onto the walls. At first, it's difficult to tell what the video could possibly be recording, since there doesn't appear to be anyone in the room.

Several moments later, however, when the door opens and a NPC man walks in, it becomes obvious that this is someone's apartment. And there's something moving in the shadows in the corner, something that slowly seems to be taking form where previously, there was nothing there at all. It appears to be a form, a form that seems to be made up of shadows itself, except that it's slightly darker than the shadows around it.

Slowly, it begins to move, spreading from the corner, taking on the distinct shape of a man, and then the shadow is moving more quickly. By the time it reaches the NPC man who's headed for the light switch to illuminate the place, it's taken on an almost solid form. Swiftly, the shadow wraps itself around the man, enveloping him, not giving him time to cry out. Within seconds, it's as though the shadow form has absorbed the man entirely, and the man slumps to the floor, seemingly lifeless.

The shadow's form is stronger now, sharper around the edges, and perhaps recognizable to those who have met him before. With no backward glances at the man lying on the floor, the shadow seems to float across the room, then out the door into the dark streets, looking for its next victim.]

[[OOC: Ginsberg is essentially a shadow monster, capable of attacking and draining the life from people, but it's not a permanent state -- he shifts back and forth, and when he's in the light, looks perfectly normal and corporeal. When he's in shadow, however... this is what you get. Feel free to run into him on the streets, or see this particularly pleasant attack on video.]]

Comments

video;

[yourbestguysgun]

Jesus Christ. [ By now he's figured out a lot of the citizens have been turned into monsters. He has no idea how to deal with any of it but reasoning seems to be a better idea. ]

Whoever you are, can you try and remember you're not a monster? [ -- ] That sounds fucking dumb.

Re: video;

[just_displaced]

[Strange. He hadn't expected to be addressed directly. It's dark out enough that he's only a shadowy form, not recognizable, but he's capable of responding to the message, nevertheless.]

But I am a monster.

video;

[yourbestguysgun]

Nope. That would be the City and it's crappy sense of humour. Can you remember who you are?

Re: video;

[just_displaced]

Yeah...

[He doesn't sound very convinced, nor does he step out of the shadows. He's found that in the shadows, he possesses an entirely human form, and that seems dangerous, somehow.]

Yeah, I remember. And I don't want to be doing this, but...

video;

[yourbestguysgun]

Focus on that, buddy. On who you are.

[ HE IS SO BAD AT THIS !!!! WHAT DO. ]

Re: video;

[just_displaced]

But all I can do is harm people. That's all I'm good for. That's what I am.

video;

[yourbestguysgun]

You really believe that, huh? So what were you doing yesterday? Murderin' people? Stealing candy from babies an' stuff?

Re: video;

[just_displaced]

No. I've never killed anyone. I'd never...

[A long pause.]

I don't like this.

video;

[yourbestguysgun]

What kind of monster doesn't like killing people?

[ IS THIS WORKING? He sure hopes so. ]

[good_at_this]

[Frankie Dalton is walking down the street.

This is true in the literal sense, and nearly no other sense.

In his mirrors, Frankie saw... nothing. An absence. An emptiness. Unlike some others, his vision was not a symbol; it was a reminder, a sight once familiar and now forgotten. For all that he's laughed off a dozen vampire myths, that was one of his truths.

And here he is, cold-hearted and starving, yellow eyes roving the shadows.]

[just_displaced]

[Ginsberg is in the shadows, or perhaps more accurately, he's part of the shadows. It's hard to distinguish where he ends and the shadows begin, and he's moving slowly, not sure what he's seeking, only knowing that he's driven by hunger of some kind.

He senses Frankie. He doesn't necessarily see him. But he knows something is there, something potentially dangerous. Or something to feed on.

The shadows shift slightly around him.]

[good_at_this]

[Frankie never minded light, when he was dead; sunlight, of course, was to be avoided at all costs (one burn is enough to sear that permanently into your mind) but he'd found it comforting, as many did, to live in a well-lit space, pretending nothing had changed in the shift from diurnal life to nocturnal undeath.

Now, though, starved and pushed beyond the point of any lingering humanity, it's instinct that propels him, and instinct prefers the darkness. It's comfortable. Familiar.

Which is what gives him the sense that something's wrong. Frankie pauses, looks around him, a corner of his lip drawn back from too-sharp teeth.]

[just_displaced]

[If Frankie looks closely, he may see the way the shadows seem to take on the form of a man. It's indistinct at first, easy to overlook, but as Ginsberg moves closer to Frankie, trying to determine whether Frankie is a viable target, he becomes more solid, until he's the darkest shadow among all the other shadows.

Before he reaches Frankie, though, he stops, slows his progress, because there's something about him that isn't right, something different from the humans Ginsberg has been attacking all evening -- although he doesn't see it as attacking, not really.

The shadow hesitates, within touching distance of Frankie, but not coming any closer, not wrapping around him. Not yet, at least.]

[good_at_this]

[If he had hackles, they'd raise. He hunches down a bit, his shoulders back, weighing fight or flight. There's nothing rational about it; really, even that instinctual response is untrustworthy, overwhelmed as he is by the gnawing hunger.

There's something there; if it bleeds, he'll try to eat it. He's desperate enough not to care what. His skin is marred, torn here and there in bloodless wounds, his ears tapering back to a ragged point.

He takes a step back, but he's not running. His face twists into a snarl.]

[just_displaced]

[As luck would have it, this apparition doesn't bleed at all, not unless it's dragged out into the light. Something in the shadow seems to sense a threat, though, implicit in those bared, too-sharp teeth, and doesn't drift closer, doesn't dare to come out of the protective layer of darkness.

Still, the shape is almost solid now, and noticeably human. That alone might encourage Frankie to attempt an attack.]

[good_at_this]

[With a low growl, Frankie tries his luck, rushing at the man-shaped thing, intending to pin it against the wall.]

[just_displaced]

[Part of the problem with attacking shadowy forms is just that -- they're made up of shadows. The man-shaped shadow disintegrates and reforms behind Frankie, almost completely soundlessly. If he were himself, he'd be scared at the way he'd just been attacked, but he isn't himself, and there's no noise of fear, even being rushed like that.]

[ex_sorted385]

[ It's quite late, perhaps later than someone with sense would be out walking alone. So of course that's precisely what Toshiko is doing, although in her defense she's keeping her eyes and ears open for any trouble that might cross her path. There are just too many strange things going on for her to be able to stay in and ignore the city around her.

She almost doesn't see the thing, in fact what she does see is more just the way the shadows have collected between two buildings, denser than they ought to be. And then, as she gets closer, the unpleasantly familiar sound of a body falling to the pavement.

She hasn't procured a handgun yet, although that's moving up to the top of her to-do list now, but she brought along a torch. Not one of those nice big, heavy ones, unfortunately, but maybe the light will...startle who- or whatever is there, if it's dangerous. Or blind it or something. ]

Hello? Are you all right?

[just_displaced]

[He's well hidden in the shadows. In fact, he might as well be a part of the shadows. He hears the woman's voice, and doesn't so much see her approach as feel her, sense her stepping closer to where he is, to where the body lies on the ground. It's not a dead body, but it might be hard to tell from where she's looking.

Instinctively, he moves to avoid the light she might shine in his direction, the shadow skittering away from the light cast towards it, and as the shadows move, they take on the distinct form of a man, coalescing quickly. There's no response from the man lying on the ground, nor is there any response from the shadows. All is still, except for that shadow that's moving where it shouldn't be.]

[ex_sorted385]

[ Honestly, Tosh would rather be dealing with a good solid alien, than something that shifts around in the shadows. But she can't exactly just pretend she didn't notice anything. There's already one apparent death, who knows how many others the thing has attacked? ]

Don't move! [ She chases after the shadow-form with her light, wishing she had any bit of useful tech from the Hub, or a teammate at her back. ] Who are you, what do you want?

[just_displaced]

[The light catches his shoulder as he tries to fade back into the shadows, and it's odd, isn't it, the way his entire form is made up of shadow except for the part the light touches? That looks real, solid, like a human being -- a human being in a particularly garish button-down shirt, as a matter of fact. She may have the sense of the shadow form freezing, turning towards her, although the face is completely indistinguishable.]

What I want is none of your concern.

[It's not at all like his normal voice, but then, he doesn't particularly remember being a normal human, either.]

[ex_sorted385]

[ Odd indeed, and Tosh isn't any more certain what she's dealing with than she was a moment ago. But the light affects it, at least. And it can communicate. ]

I can't let you go and hurt anyone else.

[ What she's going to do to stop it is still a good question, but she shines the light toward where its face ought to be as she speaks, and takes a couple of steps forward. ]

[just_displaced]

[Instinctively, he cringes away from the light, trying to stick to the shadows, but it's hard to escape the way she's shining the light towards him, catching him in the glare, and more parts of him are becoming visible, although his face is still somewhat shadowed, like he's holding his hands over his face.]

I'm not hurting them.

[That's debatable. If he were himself, he'd be appalled at what he was doing.]

[ex_sorted385]

You are hurting them!

[ But in some strange way, the creature doesn't seem to be violent, so although she continues to move closer, she drops the light away from its face. Cornering it and making it feel threatened might not be the best way to go. ]

Maybe you don't mean to. Tell me what you want, what you're trying to do. Tell me your name.

[just_displaced]

[He's been working on instinct alone, completely unaware that he's cursed, unaware that what he's become is what he'd seen in the mirror several weeks before; the unpleasant shadows he'd been seeing out of the corner of his eye are what he's become now.]

I'm...

[When confronted like this, though, there's no ready answer. It's easy enough to follow basic instincts, to slink through the shadows and attack, but when asked questions like that, the shadowy form falters, seems less threatening somehow.]

I need their energy. To become whole.

[He can't answer the name question. He doesn't remember.]