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redstringtheories2021-09-05 08:32 am
TDM #3
(cw: potential for severe disorientation/vertigo, claustrophobia, arachnophobia, body horror)
It happens in the blink of an eye. You may have been asleep. You may not have. You may have stepped through a door or turned a corner. You may have seen a flicker of something at the corner of your vision and turned to look. Or maybe you didn't.
It doesn't matter. What matters is that you find yourself somewhere entirely new and entirely unfamiliar. The arrival point is not always the same. (If you're lucky, it might be a canteen or an open office. If you're not, well... you aren't claustrophobic, are you? Or arachnophobic. These ducts do seem to be a bit cobwebby.) There is no one waiting for you but you don’t seem to be alone, either. Even in a janitor’s closet or the bathroom, you’ll find at least one person who seems to be just as out of place as you are.
If characters have arrived in a location devoid of NPCs, they may want to work together to figure out what is going on... or to avoid their 'kidnappers.' If you’ve arrived in the middle of the entry foyer or the gym, there may well be a few people who startle a bit at your arrival and try to approach (or discreetly leave the room... where are they going?). Will you cooperate or fight? Do you even understand what they're saying? You might need to find a translator, if you’re not immediately willing to follow a stranger.
After characters follow their new hosts (or are forcibly taken in) there will be a limited tour and the chance to settle in at the ADI-provided housing. (Do you enjoy living with strangers? Well. It's a new situation to navigate, anyway.)
(cw: animal death, both human and animal butchery, implied cannibalism, potential for flesh/small limb removal)
Weird things happen in Dogtown, everyone knows it. The Apocalypse Disruption Initiative (ADI) is not above taking advantage of that to test out the waters for its newest arrivals. They're not looking to send anyone to their death, though. That's far too much paperwork, you'd been assured with a wink from the employee who'd directed you to the park trailhead. You've been left with another person. Maybe they're a new arrival, as well, or a more seasoned 'veteran.' Either way, you're together for the next while and you've been asked to find and record any paranormal activity in the park. You have your phones and any other equipment you might have brought with you. Those who succeed in documenting anything peculiar will receive a $100 reward to be used as they see fit.
This month characters who venture into Dogtown will eventually stumble across what seems to be an abandoned camp. Its usage is fairly obvious: the remains of a hunting camp. And remains really is the operative word, considering that whoever used the camp wasn’t particularly fastidious about cleaning up after themselves. There are bits of various animal carcasses strewn around and by the looks of things the prey of these hunters was quite varied. Not all of them are prey animals either.
Stepping into the camp seems to have an effect: anyone who passes over the threshold to investigate will find themselves powerfully driven to mark themselves - or their partner - with lines that seem to indicate where a butcher might cut. There are black, red, and white paint pens littered around the camp that are perfect for this exercise. As they proceed, they will get the sense that once the lines are completely drawn, something will be coming along to make use of them.
Staying too long after those marks are completed - either through curiosity or through some other force - will result in a sudden unconsciousness. And when you wake up? (If you wake up…) Well. It seems the butcher has returned and taken just a bit more flesh. At least the wound is properly dressed, though. Thank goodness for small mercies.
(cw: altered perceptions and unreality/hallucination, body horror, dissociation, wounds, cancer, stalking)
Something is wrong with the mirrors.
Everywhere around Gloucester - at ADI headquarters, in ADI housing, at Bonnie's Flophouse, even in the bathrooms of mundane businesses (and, presumably, the homes of the innocent and uninvolved), looking in the mirror has become...risky. It's not predictable; it doesn't happen every time and may or may not happen to any given person the same way twice, but look into the reflection and you may see something that should not be there.
Perhaps your own reflection has changed, a face (human or monstrous) you don't recognize looking back at you, eerily in sync as though it has every right to be your true reflection… or un-synced from your movements, smiling knowingly at your distress.
Or maybe you still see your own face, but something about your body is warped, wrong: a growth or a seeping wound you can't find on your own physical form but that exists glaring and insistent in your reflection and feels, somehow, as though it's there in phantom form.
Maybe it's a pair of eyes watching from over your shoulder, hiding in the shadows, peering at you from every mirror you pass. Is it watching you from your reflection in that window, too? Is it growing nearer?
Possibly there's nothing wrong with your reflection at all, but the reflection of the room behind you stretches and twists, a view into an impossible, broken world that leaves you dizzy and wandering, lost down an imagined maze of hallways or following a phantom figure until someone else can snap you out of it.
Something is wrong with the mirrors. Best not to look again, lest you find out what else they have to show you.
(cw: hallucination, hypersomnia, vehicular accidents, potential for injury)
The summer is fading, and businesses around Gloucester have taken note. Fall decorations go up, and even some very early Halloween decor is on sale. The air is crisper in the mornings and evenings, the ocean breeze just a bit stiffer. There also seems to be a new melody floating around the town, one that leaves people feeling fatigued, heavy. Did you hear a snatch of it near the docks? Something that's vaguely familiar to you, nostalgic, almost. Maybe it's more a memory?
That song or memory seems to grow stronger when approaching the graveyards scattered throughout Gloucester. So, too, does the fatigue. Wouldn't it be nice to just sit down and rest? To close your eyes and let every worry that troubles your mind be soothed into the quiet oblivion of sleep?
Those most affected might find themselves passing out, and they always seem to do it when they are putting themselves in the most danger. You might drop while crossing a busy street or while riding a bike or some other wheeled mode of transportation. Those who investigate will find that traffic accidents seem to have seen an uptick recently, associated with the onset of these haunting tunes. They seem to be focused on the graveyards, but there's nothing immediately apparent there that might be causing problems.
Drink lots of coffee, and be careful trying to do anything. Stepping outside could be the last thing you do.
- ARRIVAL (Sep 1 - 21): Two people will always arrive in the same general location together. Arrivals occur throughout the early month, not all on the same day or in the same place. Arrivals are not naturally fluent in English/other languages immediately upon arrival. Characters may attempt to evade capture, but they will eventually be snagged before they can leave the building. PC's already in-game are more than welcome to interact with and try to guide new PC's to get them oriented. Please refer to the Arrival page for details regarding the arrival and onboarding process.
- THE BUTCHER'S CAMP (Sep 1- 24): Characters will only encounter the camp once. Everyone will feel the compulsion to draw carving lines along their own skin or that of the person they're with. If they stick around for long enough, they will pass out and may not wake up again. Those who do wake up will find that a piece of their flesh is missing and the wound has been bandaged. Whatever is taken will be non-fatal, but it will likely be inconvenient (e.g., some part of their calf or forearm, perhaps a finger or toe). Once ADI is made aware of injuries happening, they will stop sending people to Dogtown for training and only send people with the understanding that this is a potentially dangerous mission. Please bear in mind that if a character dies in the TDM prompt, they are dead. A different version who doesn't have TDM memories may be apped in their place. Similarly, injuries will not magically disappear. If your character loses a chunk of themselves, it is gone unless they can find someone who might be able to magically heal them. No one at ADI will offer this service, just mundane medical assistance. Magical healing is reserved for fatal injuries given the price of it!
- MIRROR, MIRROR (Sep 1- 24): Characters may encounter a mirror effects multiple times, and may experience the same effect each time or different ones. As noted in the prompt, there is no apparent rhyme or reason to when any particular mirror exhibits any particular effect. Within the first week of the effects becoming known, ADI will cover all the mirrors within their headquarters and send out an advisory for characters to do the same in their homes. Characters who experiment and/or interview locals will, after a lot of legwork, be able to ascertain that the effects seem to be most concentrated on the west side of town, nearest the empty fields where the Fenix Down Extravaganza had set up their circus tents last month, with additional concentrations around ADI-affiliated buildings and Bonnie's Flophouse. Mirror effects will gradually grow less frequent over the course of the month and cease to occur after the 24th.
- HAUNTING TUNES (Ongoing Effect): The tunes will be oddly familiar to the character, even if they are not from modern Earth. There are currently no ill effects from the song apart from inducing fatigue in characters. They can fight it off with coffee/caffeine, or other things they'd typically use to wake themselves up, but that tiredness always returns. An examination of the graveyard will not turn up a specific source. It just seems to be something there.
/rolls for luck - 17 on a d20
On closer inspection, there may be a residual sense of ghostliness about Steven, but... It's stale. He's not a ghost, not touched by them either, but he has a knack for finding and investigating haunted places. A ghost-hunter, if you will. Though his kit was left behind...
"You can go back in the closet to change, if you want. I'll keep watch."
no subject
Uncaring at the moment as to whether or not Steven has the aural acuity to pick up on the noise at the same time he does, Danny quickly and alarmingly forcefully shoves Steven back into the closet and follows, pulling the door shut as best he can despite the damage that kick did to the frame. As he presses one ear to the door, he asks Steven in a whisper, "You alright? I didn't mean to toss you that hard."
no subject
He strains his own ears; he can barely hear the footsteps, but they're getting louder. "Hmm.... This is less than ideal." He's very stuck, but at least he's not hurt. "Think they'll be hostile?"
no subject
no subject
Steven presses his ears to the door, closing his eyes against the darkness to heighten his other senses slightly. The footsteps are DEFINITELY getting closer, but he couldn't tell you anything about who they belong to. Forensics like that are not his specialty; he's more at home with ancient tablets. Dead sea scrolls over living people, any day.
no subject
A harsh voice calls out from the other side of the door, with all the official curtness of an officer of the law: "We know you're in there! Just come out peacefully and we'll get this sorted out."
The questioning look Danny gives Steven about this revelation is absolutely drenched in skepticism.
2 successes on Occam's Razor (unopposed embed), 3 on Manipulation+Subterfuge
"No one unpeaceful in here, just a new janitor getting changed. I'll be out in a moment." He does his best to imitate Danny's voice as he weaves the Embed into his words, but it takes more out of him than he thought it would. Somehow, it has a price here.
Regardless, he nudges Danny, and hisses to him. "Gave you a cover story. You're in coveralls. Grab a mop and get out there, I'll get out later." It seems almost too good to be true.
no subject
He takes the former. As the strangers outside talk amongst themselves briefly about why on Earth a janitorial trainee would need to get changed in the supply closet, Danny adds a stubborn head-shake to his frown. "No way am I leaving you here," he mouths with a touch of anger. Don't you know that's not what a protagonist does?
The agents outside, meanwhile have come to a consensus. "Well for God's sakes, use the bathrooms next time, rookie."
He strides up to the door anyway and steps outside, but not before somewhat harshly grabbing Steven's arm and bringing him out with him. "Sorry guys," he says timidly with a wave. He opts not to explain anything else, like why the admittedly dashing man with him was in there, though this apparently only prompts some questioning frowns from these strangers. Some of whom are, despite being dressed in business plainclothes, obviously concealing weapons on their persons: two with tasers, one with some manner of firearm. May have literally dodged a bullet there.
Nonetheless, they allow Steven and Danny to take their leave down the hall, to what opens up into a floor of open offices. There are a number of other people here and, among those who notice the pair, none rise from their seats, though a few return their attentions to their phones or computers just a little too quickly to evade suspicion.
Danny, though, having never been in an office building before, totally misses it. Instead he's searching for exits, though neither of them have much time. The grunts in the hall call out sharply and apparently resume their pursuits. One of them, the gruff guy who's done most of the talking thus far, shouts: "They're arrivals!"
Danny can't help but to squeak out "What's that supposed to mean?!" in alarm. Steven gets another distrustful look - is this your baggage, weird mind-control guy?
no subject
In the outside... It's pretty obvious, this close to Steven, that he's got a gun too. It's also obvious that he's frazzled as hell, and not going to use it on random people. If he can get info (preferably without getting tazed), he'll be satisfied with this exchange.
He does not offer his name, and he does continue to follow Danny, smiling slightly and shrugging as he's dragged, basically a body shield at this point. If they go outside, though, they might be in danger, too. He doesn't know how patrols work here.
no subject
One of the more even-tempered people among this little entourage is quick to start leading them to the elevators and to the basement for introductions, all the while giving a rehearsed explanation of the present situation: You're in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the "ADI" is here to help, despite the obvious impression they're currently giving. She unfortunately remains tight-lipped about anything of use beyond that, but is at least willing to mention that no, this is not the same United States either newcomer calls home. It'll all be explained shortly, she promises.
Danny, for one, keeps his mouth shut. He doesn't buy half of that, and when the two of them are abruptly locked into a nondescript room with a
suspicious leaf of old, stained paper, the amount of faith he has in this explanation only weakens further.
Rather than address anything that just happened between the offices and where they are now, Danny asks the important question: "What the hell is wrong with you?"
no subject
When they're locked in, he sighs, lifting his restrained hands in front of him, expecting the restraint like it'll just pop off. "That's a long story I'm not about to get into." He shrugs. "I can make people believe what I say, though, and usually it doesn't cost anything if I'm careful." Usually being the operative word. Normally he wouldn't share even that much; however, he senses no infrastructure nearby, which is weird in its own right.
He pauses just a moment before changing the subject without preamble or segue. "I'm actually trained in handling old documents, but I don't see any gloves and I'm a little tied up at the moment." He points his nose at his hands, still zip-tied, and chuckles lightly.
no subject
Danny's attention drifts to the paper as he waits for an answer. It's easily the oldest he's ever seen in person, which of course sparks some level of distrust, considering his past experiences with antiques and the like have been far from pleasant. He moves closer, trying to tell if the the thing is haunted or something, and is quickly convinced it isn't.
...Maybe a little too quickly.
"Y'know what? You've got a shot at redeeming yourself here. I get that tie off you, and you check this thing out, then we bail together. Deal?"
no subject
The paper is odd - worth investigating. Potentially dangerous? He discards the idea, not immediately realizing he may have discarded it too quickly. But he is still curious.
"Yeah, that's fine." He extends his hands. "Got a plan for the locked door?"
no subject
With a quick snip, the zip tie is clipped open. Danny doesn't bother to say anything else, and instead just thoughtlessly grabs the paper and...woah. He doesn't know what that feeling is, but it's sure weird.
Nevertheless, he sets his jaw and passes it over, though it's obvious he's a little disoriented.
no subject
"I don't like this at all." And then the voice starts up... And his eyes narrow then widen at the year. "2021... How?!" The rest doesn't seem as surprising after that, though a few points lead to cursing in Aramaic.
no subject
"What about our powers?? Or these other powers that eat people or whatever? Or, I don't know, the fucking apocalypse?" He whines, the noise just a little more canine than expected, but he doesn't care about that right now. "I have people that need protecting. My-...I have a home that needs protecting."