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

[onerous]

[Yuri felt herself wince a little despite herself, picking up a different teacup that advertises itself as being bone china. Hm.]

Mm, not exactly. My mentor opened the front of her home as an antique store. But she always wanted to run a cafe, so she started serving coffee and tea there too. When I started living with her, I tried to help out where I could.

[She pauses and then puts the teacup down] I kept breaking things, though. So mostly I just try to sweep and learn to make coffee...

[inutilis]

[ breaking things... ah, a kindred soul with the Clumsy Gene, perhaps? Abel is nodding with the utmost sympathy, ]

I'm sure she appreciated the help all the same, miss-- um.

[ --right! manners; sometimes he genuinely forgets himself!! with his hands no longer occupied, he will stretch one out in her direction ]

I don't think we've officially met, have we...? I'm Abel-- Father Abel Nightroad, miss, a pleasure~! If we're to be working together, I suppose we ought to do this whole introductions thing, hm?

[onerous]

Ah. [Yuri makes a small noise of surprise, like the idea of introducing herself hadn't even occurred to her. She turns to him and gives a little bob of a bow]

Kozukata Yuri. Pleased to meet you, Father. [She watches him curiously a moment] You're a priest? I suppose working with things like this might not be too out of the ordinary then.

[Priests do exorcisms and stuff, right?? Granted this is all more complicated than exorcisms so.]

[inutilis]

[ oh-- bowing? and then her name; he's beginning to get accustomed to this, so he's taking his hand back and rubbing sheepishly into silver hair at the nape of his neck instead, ]

Miss Yuri...? [ Japanese, maybe? Japan certainly is a popular place around here!! interesting, ] Yes, yes-- I'm an itinerant priest back at home, that's right! But I'm afraid things of this nature are definitely not in my wheelhouse. I'm much more of the, 'sleep in until the Mother Superior chases you out of bed with a broom and grudgingly prepare morning mass' sort of priest, so this is...

[ ........creepy,

he's giving an awkward sidelong glance to that rubber ducky, as if accusing it of War Crimes, ]

Um-- say, what were you studying? Under your mentor, I mean! I could use with a nice distraction from the atmosphere around here, i-if you don't mind humoring me with a little conversation while we look around, Miss Yuri...

[onerous]

[It's a legitimate question, and one she should've anticipated happening. He doesn't have to say 'creepy'--the general sentiment is understood, which makes Yuri feel terribly awkward in knowing how she has to answer.

Well. She doesn't have to. She could easily lie and say Hisoka was teaching her cafe things, but Hisoka had also been trying to teach her to not hide her abilities either.

She looks at the rubber ducky for a moment too, then down at the tea cups] ...Things like this, actually. Exorcising spirits... I have a few abilities. I can see spirits and talk to them. I can pick up feelings or memories of the things I touch. I think it's similar to 'psychometry' in the West?

[inutilis]

[ ah--

Abel blinks at her in something of surprise-- but... after a beat in which to regain his lost wits, he is nodding eagerly in understanding. ]

Ah! I see, that's... that's rather amazing, Miss Yuri...! Skills like that one must be pretty useful in a place like this, don't you think?

[ seeing spirits... that might be something completely outside his wheelhouse, but being able to pick up the feelings and memories of things she's touched definitely sounds familiar, even if those aren't skills Abel has experience with firsthand. ]

Or... well. It sounds a little overwhelming, to be honest! But I guess you're used to it, right?

[onerous]

But, this place doesn't want you to use your powers... So it's hard for me to actually use them. Without them, I'm afraid I'm a little...useless. Unless I stay in the office and make everyone coffee.

[She doesn't have super strength or combat training or anything like that. She'd be better sitting behind a desk, rather than be a liability out on the field, she's pretty sure.]

I'm still getting used to it though. I... never used to be able to do this. I was still learning about it when I came here, and I've still got a lot to learn, but... [Yuri trails off and then adds:] I do have more experience than a lot of people. Even if it's not much, if I can use that bit to help, then it's worth it.

[inutilis]

Right... because of the--

[ he starts to form the word - 'Entities,' but he seems to remember their surroundings and stop himself just short of letting it escape his lips. swallowing it with an awkward sort of chuckle, he's detracting from his near-miss by reaching for another item on the display shelf - a mirror that looks like a match to the hairbrush to its left. ]

...I think it's amazing. Even if you can't use your abilities - I'm sure your experiences alone are valuable... especially in a place like this where all of us are a bit over our heads, you know? You might have insight no one else does, considering.

[ having had communication with spirits... a connection to the 'other side,' so to speak - even if she can't really risk touching upon those things now, she's definitely got a head up in a place like this for having that knowledge, he thinks! ]

For what it's worth, I'll count myself quite lucky to have you as my partner! Don't mind me if I rely on that big brain of yours today, alright?