TDM #5

[apocalypsehowmods]

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➥ Arrival

(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.)

➥ Both Sides Now

(cw: nephophobia, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, potential for a fate worse than death)

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, especially not with recent events that have transpired surrounding Dogtown. An employee gives you a number to call if anything truly dangerous happens and you've been left with another person at the trailhead. 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.

It's a cool and cloudy November day, which, given the season, isn't unusual. The sky's the sort of dark gray that promises rain sooner rather than later, and there's a weight to what's above as pairs move about Dogtown in search of anything unusual. For once, the place seems to be… normal. It's just a walk or hike through the woods depending on the paths you decide to take.

At least until you look up. It's hard to tell there's anything off at first. The clouds loom above, rumbling moodily with thunder and continuing to threaten a cold shower. Perhaps you planned ahead and have brought an umbrella or donned a poncho or raincoat. ADI would be happy to provide such things. But each time you look up, the sky seems to be getting closer.

It's not elevation. There are some hills around Dogtown, but certainly nothing that would make a marked difference on how close the clouds are. No, those are coming down. Slowly, but surely, the sky is lowering itself toward you and even the least supernaturally aware person will likely have the sense that they are being menaced. The sky wants them.

It may be wise to find a lower elevation and get out of Dogtown… if that's even the problem. The gray wall above seems to stretch in every direction without an end. No breaks for blue skies, no lighter spots where the sun might be starting to burn through. It's a uniform and inevitable crush downward. Seemingly. Whether one can overcome the fear or not, that sense of oppression and vastness is inescapable. The sky is coming down and it will crush you, much like the other pressures in your life that come bubbling to the fore. There are so many of them, aren't there? Little things start to seem enormous when they're all stacked up together. Impossibly huge. How could anyone overcome this?

Those who escape the borders of Dogtown will quickly find that it's only the park that's been affected. The broader town is fine. It's a hazy day, but there are spots of sunlight and the clouds are heavy, but far above where they should be.

Those foolish enough to stay and see what happens… well…

Enjoy sky blue. It's where you'll be trapped forever.

➥ Curiosity Shop

(cw: body horror; uncanny valley; organs; items made from body parts; anatomical models)

Also on ADI's radar this month is Things of Beauty, a small antiques and curiosity shop in the heart of the city. It seems the shop has recently made radical changes to its inventory and marketing; seemingly overnight the previously sleepy little shop full of run of the mill antiques is now home to a bizarre assortment of unsettling curios of unspecified origin. A local-born staff member had brought the matter to the attention of ADI's higher-ups after observing the sudden change to what had been a local institution, if a quietly failing one (and an equally sudden influx of curious tourists at the shop), and off-worlders have now been requested to engage in subtle investigations into the matter.

Those who take on the work will be given a small allowance for purchases from Things of Beauty. Their mission is to observe the comings and goings in the shop for anything suspicious, take note of the inventory, and bring back sample items for testing (failing to bring back either the money or an item with a receipt will result in a black mark on one's employee record). You'll also be encouraged to try to get names of other customers, particularly any locals, to enable follow-up investigations in case the shop is distributing cursed objects to the general public. Above all, you are requested not to make a scene, as ADI's purpose in sending multiple off-worlders on separate visits (particularly new arrivals) is to get eyes on the scene without alerting the shop's owner or staff that they're under investigation. As such, you'll generally be dropped off a few blocks from the shop in pairs at various times of the day.

Things of Beauty itself might be described as cozy if only it weren't for the shelves upon shelves of uncomfortably organic-looking or body-themed knickknacks. Selections include beads and small toys carved from bone; half-animal, half-vegetable figurines; squeeze toys with realistic plastic guts that pop out of their mouths; and dolls that double as anatomical models, among others.

The shop is manned most of the time by its owner, Kahlil Nassiri. He's friendly enough but avoids engaging in conversation beyond small talk and won't respond to any questions about the change in inventory--if pressed, he'll find some excuse to go to the back room to deal with some urgent business there instead of continuing the conversation. Best not to take advantage of his absence, though; the shop does have security cameras.

➥ Screen Magic

(cw: ghosts, compulsion, potential for violence, severe injury, severed limbs)

TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have all been buzzing with the latest meme: Real Magic? Real Magic! Cut together clips of what seems to be stage magic that can be explained followed by seemingly inexplicable 'real magic.' Fire, electricity, phasing through materials, flying… An endless parade of amateur and more expert videos have been popping up.

Some of them have been catching ADI's eyes as they seem like they might be legitimate. Particularly the ones with IP addresses that indicate they're relatively local. It's not the high production-value ones that ADI seems to be most concerned with, but rather, the ones where there's unusual blurring, distortion, or warping associated with the videos. For the most part, these are the ones that are, in fact, being roundly trounced on social media as being poor fakes.

ADI doesn't think so.

Given the sheer volume of these, they're farming out investigations to staff. Everyone will find themselves partnered up with another person and given a video or someone's account to investigate. The videos being investigated have all come from relatively local IP addresses, and ADI is requesting people track down the creators of the videos or the sites where the filming is occurring. More veteran off-worlders might well recognize one of the locations within the video. Or the tech savvy may be able to pinpoint a more specific location.

By and large, characters will discover that the videos are, in fact, fakes. But perhaps you'll get lucky. Perhaps you'll find someone who's got wrapped up with a cursed object or you'll find a location where something truly supernatural is going on. Strange toys that seem to move when you're not watching are especially prevalent around Dogtown, and ghostly figures linger in town, particularly in the remote graveyards and railyard just after sunset.

If the toys manage to reach you, you'll find yourself with an impulsive desire to stab someone. Just… one stab. Just a little violence. The spectral figures have a similarly vicious streak attached to them. Those who get too close to try to communicate will hear strange music, and find themselves compelled to inflict violence on the next person they come across. Violence that might coincide with whatever injuries appear to be present on the ghosts. A stab, a severed limb, maybe something else… Just the attempt at inflicting this violence seems to sate the bloodlust. For now.

➥ Mod Notes

• ARRIVAL (Nov 1 - 31): 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.
  
  
• BOTH SIDES NOW (Nov 1 - 31): The descending clouds will cause characters to experience anxiety over the sheer number and size of problems in their lives. Even minor concerns will become mountainous, seemingly insurmountable in the face of everything else. Leaving Dogtown will stop the effects immediately. If a character remains in Dogtown to see the clouds come down all the way, they will be taken by an Entity to suffer a fate worse than death. Please bear in mind that if a character comes to this in the TDM prompt, they are gone. A different version who doesn't have TDM memories may be apped in their place.
  
  
• CURIOSITY SHOP (Nov 1-31): As Kahlil will not be available as a mod-played NPC for this prompt, players are requested to assume he generally avoids conversation. If you have any questions about how he or any unnamed NPCs would react to particular situations, please use the mod questions thread below. Characters who look into the shop's background will find that until very recently it was a completely ordinary antiques shop originally run by Kahlil's parents before he inherited it around ten years ago, and that the shop and its owner have been struggling financially. Items obtained from the shop will have no apparent supernatural effects whatsoever.
  
  
• SCREEN MAGIC (Nov 1-31): The videos your characters are investigating may be anything with a seemingly supernatural component. If you find an NPC making them, they will be an ordinary person (usually on the younger side) who has simply stumbled across something extraordinary. More likely, they're someone who's just faked what was on the screen and will be very upset that you're harshing their meme groove. It's just TikTok! It's just IG! They're doing it for the views! Toys in this prompt will vanish once they get close to your character or if a character destroys them. They cannot be collected. Ghosts will similarly vanish if characters get too close. Trying to communicate with them via ordinary or supernatural means will result in characters hearing strange music and feeling an overwhelming compulsion to go and inflict violence on the next person they see.

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Comments

[sakaya]

Father... Ah, a Western man of the cloth then?

[ She's got a passing familiarity with some Servants who happen to be Saints at least. ]

I'll happily partake in your offer then. Who knows what we'll find in the dark corners of this building?

[inutilis]

Yes, you've got it~! I'm a far ways away from Rome, just as I suspect you're in a similar boat, hm? N-not from Rome, obviously, but... You get the gist!

[ well! with his invitation accepted, Abel is all too eager to gesture toward the door, beginning to amble thattaway once he's sure she will follow. ]

Do you mind if I ask where you're from, Miss Shuten...?

[sakaya]

[ She follows his lead, stepping lightly through the door. ]

Me? Well, I mostly stayed in what most people now know as Japan.

[ Shuten-Douji went wherever she wanted, whenever she felt like it, but she did stay in the Land of the Rising Sun until the end of her life. ]

I mostly lived up in the mountains, but I'd make my way down to the city whenever it struck my fancy.

[ yeah.... about that... ]

[inutilis]

[ 'what most people know?' that's an interesting way of phrasing it, and piques Abel's interest; he is sending her a curious sideward glance as they step into the corridor. ]

Japan certainly is a popular place to yank unsuspecting fellows from, you know that? I wonder why...? Maybe people from that area are simply more interesting?

[ hm. HMM... ]

Ah-- well, anyway! Living in the mountains, really? I think I'd have pegged you as much more of a city type of woman, personally. Did you work up there?

[sakaya]

Not especially, no.

[ Shuten-Douji may have been powerful, but she was more concerned with enjoying herself rather than doing anything remotely work-like. Powerful as she may be, it was Ibaraki-Douji who did most of the leadership at Mount Ooe. ]

I just loved drinking rather than thinking about anything complicated. Which, coincidentally is what I still do to this day.

[inutilis]

...Miss Shuten.

[ Abel's footsteps almost hesitate the next pace, and he is giving her a look as though he's been quite startled. ]

Are you meaning to tell me you managed to find a way to ascend...? Transcend?? To simply live a life where one's only responsibilities are drinking and not thinking whatsoever?!

[sakaya]

[ His conclusion does get a laugh out of her. ]

Nothing as complex as that believe me! At my core, I'm just a girl who wants to drink and feel good.

[ Sometimes, you just wanna get cronk ]

I mean, of course, the humans probably had it worse off when me and the oni decided to go on a rampage, but that's just how it was back then.

[inutilis]

...Ah. Pardon?

[ haha, wait, what,

he's arching a brow politely at that, smile becoming something somewhat frozen on his face, ]

A rampage, you say? Rampage. Surely you mean that in the, ah... y-you know, friendly way? A rampage of... hearty mutual enjoyment! A rampaging party! --That kind of rampage?

[sakaya]

[ Shuten twirls a strand of her hair around her finger before replying lightly. ]

Some friendliness occurred, but I won't sugarcoat it for your sake dear. I ate humans. That's just how oni are.

[ And there it is. Said with the casualty of saying, "I eat pineapple on pizza." ]

[inutilis]

[ you know what... you know what, a man really ought to hand it to her. she does not mince words, does she? the amount of DGAF this woman is radiating is pretty damn impressive, all things considered--

...Abel's frozen smile sure is frozen,

before he rubs into silver hair at the nape of his neck a tad awkwardly with an exaggerated and lightly nervous chuckle, w-well! this sure is-- um... ]

...Well, I won't sugarcoat it for you, either-- that is highly distressing to hear for obvious reasons~! [ just. slightly, ] Say, would you consider it very rude of me to ask if you've, by any chance... maybe happened to move on to a different sort of diet, since? Y-you know, out of idle curiosity! Might I vouch for the Mediterranean, myself?

[sakaya]

Well, you are a Western priest. I'm sure a man-eater such as myself is automatically an unholy sort of creature.

[ This priest's reactions sure are funny. Hell, Shuten's having a lot of fun looking at how his facial expressions are so prominent. ]

I wouldn't worry about it, dear. You'll get twisted up trying to overthink things. I do in fact, eat things that are considered 'normal' foods that humans eat when I feel like it.

[inutilis]

Actually, to be completely honest with you, Miss Shuten... creatures such as Oni are considered nothing but fables where I'm from-- being in this... world? Version of the world? Is the first time I've come across anything quite like you~! You're my very first Oni encounter; isn't that exciting? Frighteningly exciting, even~!

[ the church would absolutely consider her an unholy abomination and decry her very existence. you know, churches gonna church!!! ...he is not going to say any of that out loud, ty, and not simply because he and church don't share very many... philosophies these days-- ]

...Unholy or otherwise, might I encourage you to follow a healthy non-human regimen while you're here? I have the sneaking suspicion it'll go over much better with our employers for some reason. And if you'd like to sate your thirst, you're going to be needing money-- you see? This is all very practical and not at all because I'd like to avoid getting eaten, in case you were wondering.

[sakaya]

[ Shuten takes the time to listen to his advice. And what does she take out of that? ]

That so? You've never met an oni before, for real? So what you're saying issss...?

[ She's leaning in close again, voice low, her breath warm, and her painted eyes glinting at him mischievously. ]

Maybe, just maybe, I'm your... First?

1/2

[inutilis]

[ ............

she

is very dangerous in ways that have very little to do with being a man-eater in the sense of one literally eating men and EVERYthing to do with the other definition-- ]

[inutilis]

[ stiff as a board, awkwardly tense in his gait, studiously pretending that she is not Leaning In and giving him The Look, ]

Dear God, please give me strength when I am weak, love when I feel forsaken, courage when I am afraid, wisdom when I feel foolish, comfort when I am alone, hope when I feel rejected, and peace when I am in t... turmoil. Amen.

[sakaya]

[ Now she can't exactly call him innocent since he was able to pick up on the underlying nature of her coming onto him, but on the other hand Father Abel is oddly weak to these sort of attacks isn't he? That's what Shuten-Douji thinks so far anyways.

She sighs with fondness, shaking her head at him. ]

It's an easy question, Father Abel. You shouldn't make yourself so vulnerable like that. I can only imagine what kind of mess you'd be if I was serious.

[inutilis]

[ she has sniffed out a Mortal Weakness, here-- nO,

well, now she has reached the melodramatic portion of today's entertainment: ]

I-it isn't nice to play with a man's affections in such a way, Miss Shuten...! Just what am I to do with a question like that?! 'Easy,' she says. Easy! What, pray tell, is easy about that?!

[ suppose at least they're off the topic of eating humans, but you know-- somehow, that isn't quite as comforting as it should be, ]

[sakaya]

Your response is rather fascinating Mr. Priest.

[ There's a lightness in her step as they continue down the hall. ]

But I'll leave it up to your imagination. I'm rather forward, but I can't be spelling it out for you all the time. ♥

[inutilis]

[ despite his complaints... he is holding the door ajar once they reach the main entry; he has some MODICUM of respect or more like he's simply a well-trained dog, ]

I'm not so certain it's good for my well-being to read the words as you're spelling them, for the record...

[ gently prodding his glasses up his nose and averting his gaze, now-- ahem, ]

...But there's something to be said about forwardness! I-it can be. Refreshing! Yes.

[sakaya]

How magnanimous of you. Are priests usually this forgiving of a man-eater?

[ Partly serious, partly joking; there's something up with this glasses priest and it does pique her curiosity. ]

Or are you interested in being corrupted by a devil while you walk with one?

[inutilis]

[ tapping a finger to his chin thoughtfully, here, as if this does indeed consider thot thought, ]

Well, I suppose you could say that being a priest doesn't dictate what I think of you any more than being a man-eater dictates what you think of me, isn't that right, Miss Shuten? Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't take you as the sort to simply judge one by their cover, so to speak! I'd be terribly broken up if you tell me you've taken up my invitation for a drink for the sole purpose of turning me into a snack later, but I rather know sooner than later-- so feel free to burst my bubble, would you?

[ you know. he'd rather not get eaten.

.........not in that way, anyway, ]

Until you've given me reason to believe otherwise, all I see is a woman with a pleasant sense of humor and questionable drinking habits looking for somewhere to get a half-decent drink. Am I wrong?

[sakaya]

Mm. I don't mind that.

[ Huh, that was easy. But she wags her finger at him. ]

You're not totally incorrect. I'm not going to flip over furniture, set fire to a building, or start nibbling on your ear anytime soon.

[ shuten...... ]

But I've not much to hide. I like pleasant conversations and getting along with people, but I'm also an oni. The compatibility can only go so far when we're amongst others, humans or not.

[inutilis]

[ shUTEN?? Abel is stiffening slightly and unsubtly scratching at his ear as if he were physically brushed, aHEM, ]

Y-yes, well, as long as you mind your manners and don't mind keeping to a humane diet, there's no reason we can't be on good terms, is there? Don't you think so? Or do you really think it only goes so far? I'm quite curious, so please be honest with me!

[sakaya]

I agree with you! I believe we can get along very well.

[ She is... Pointedly ignoring his last question. ]

There's a common goal we're working towards anyway, no thanks to our new employers. Who knows what will happen in-between!

[inutilis]

[ ...which he takes note of. oh dear, Shuten-- oh dear.

Abel sends her a little side-ward glance as he's adjusting those glasses habitually yet again, but his pace doesn't falter where he's leading her from the ADI building and further into town, ]

Speaking of our shared status of employment-- quite a lot to take in, isn't it! I wouldn't fault you for wanting a drink even if you weren't the sort inclined to that kind of thing, but you seem to be taking the whole affair rather well, actually...!