TDM #6

[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.)

➥ Widowmaker

(cw: body horror; existential horror; animal death; potential for severe injury; being eaten; skin loss)

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.

This month the forest seems to press in on the trails that run through it. Looming. Waiting. Ravenous. Tree branches snag at passersby or fall suddenly across the path to block the way and force hikers off the trail and into the woods. The undergrowth has grown thick, the gnarled branches of trees and bushes so much more alive than they should be this time of year, leaf-bare limbs all but thrumming with energy and anticipation. Peek through the snare of bark and wood and you might spot the carcass of an animal on the forest floor, fur and skin eaten away to reveal the raw, naked, bloody truth of the meat that lies within all the pitiful creatures of this world that ever dared think themselves to be more.

Step off the path and step out of your place at the top of the food chain; it wants you. This is something so much bigger than you and it will swallow you down. The ground is soft muck into which your feet sink and the trees are waiting to drop heavy branches that will pin you down, stop you from running. Fairy rings have sprung up all over these woods, too, and stepping into one invites mushrooms that quickly spread over your feet and up your legs, eating away at shoes and flesh, digesting whatever they can reach. Eating you.

You are fertilizer. It was hubris to think otherwise.

➥ Hermy the Wormy

(cw: worms, decay, altered mental states/compulsion, emotional corruption, potential for violence, theft)

un: pamoramicview
Hi, everyone! If we haven't spoken just yet, my name is Pam. I'm here to help off-worlders however I can at ADI. And one thing I'd really like to do more of is some icebreakers for our newest arrivals.

Now, I've uploaded a new app to everyone's device. It's this cute little game I found called Hermy the Wormy. Do you know the song?

"Sitting on a fence post, chewing my bubblegum! Chomp, chomp, chomp!
Playing with my yo-yo! Woo woo!
When along came Hermy the Wormy, and he was This Big!"

It's something to help little ones learn to count and how eating makes you grow bigger. My kids loved it when they were toddlers. I think it's just a modified version of Snake, if anyone remembers that. But we can set up a company-based league. Try it out and see if you can make the high score. The top three at the end of the week are getting a gift basket of Halloween and Thanksgiving treats.

Seeing as my Halloween gift baskets didn't get much use.

For reasons.

But I'll make sure to make our Holiday Party in December the best you've ever seen! We will have a good holiday party. I will make this happen!!!

- Pam

Anyone who checks their ADI-issued devices will find that a snake-type game has, in fact, been added to their phones. It's a worm this time instead of a snake, though, and he's eating colorful pieces of fruit that seem to become more and more decayed as the game goes on. It is, in fact, hard to resist opening the app, most will find. Almost as if there's something compelling you toward clicking on it. And once you're in? Well, you have to at least try once.

Those who begin playing will find themselves getting sucked into the game, deeply invested in winning to the point that maybe… maybe it would be a good idea to start sabotaging the competition. Just little things. Stealing a phone here. Surprising them while they're playing. Breaking a few fingers… Little things.

The (overly-)competitive spirit sweeps the halls of ADI and Bonnie's Flophouse, and once you score high, well, time to let everyone know. They should be aware of who you are, shouldn't they? You need to be acknowledged, appreciated, loved. Don't you deserve that?

➥ Writhe and Squirmy

(cw: altered mental states/compulsion, emotional corruption, toxic relationships, body horror, mold, potential for amputation)

The next mass network message goes out several days later and is from Reyes Amador, the person in charge of managing the visitors from other worlds.

un: sunreyes
¡¡¡HIGH PRIORITY!!!

All ADI personnel will uninstall the Hermy the Wormy application from their communications devices immediately or surrender these devices to the ADI IT team so that we can do this manually or destroy your device and replace it.

Do not play this game. Do not look at this game.

Check all parts of the body for a purple, fuzzy mold. If found on the body, report to medical immediately for removal. Amputations may be required if mold has spread. DO NOT WAIT.

- Reyes Amador

Unfortunately, at this point, the Hermy the Wormy 'virus,' as it were, has already spread. Even those who did not play the game may find themselves affected. People will find themselves compelled to begin acting upon their worst impulses. Perhaps they decide that now is the time to admit a crush and make that person they fancy love them. Or make that friend they want spend time with them. Why heed these new orders when you're perfectly fine? Everyone else might be acting strange, but not you. You're as you should be… aren't you?

Those infected will find that they have a patch of fuzzy purple mold on them somewhere. Whether it's somewhere easy to see or completely obscured, it's there. It starts out very small, just the size of a freckle, but it has the chance to grow and spread to others if accidentally touched. Those who go to medical, as ordered, and have the mold removed will find that their minds return to them. Removal may be as simple as scraping it off like it's a scab, or require full amputation of affected areas. Those who don't report… will find their negative impulses only growing stronger as the mold takes a deeper root in them, corrupting them from the inside out. Anyone who hasn't reported to medical or had friends drag them there by the 13th will be forcibly rounded up by ADI's Security Team and taken to Medical to be cured.

➥ Mod Notes

• ARRIVAL (Dec 1 - 16): 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.
  
  
• Widowmaker (Dec 1 - 31): While characters will not feel compelled to leave the trails, the forest will seem to do everything in its power to get them off the trail and ensnare them so they can be digested. The mushrooms will quickly digest shoes, clothing, and flesh; characters will need to escape (or be helped to escape!) quickly to avoid injury and death. Any major injuries, including limb loss, will be relatively permanent: ADI medical will do their best to heal characters, but will not be able to help characters regenerate lost toes or limbs (they can get characters advanced prosthetics if needed). Please note that any character killed and eaten by the forest is permanently dead. A different version who doesn't have TDM memories may be apped in their place.
  
  
• Hermy the Wormy (Dec 1 - 7): Characters will feel compelled to play the Hermy the Wormy game, but it's possible to resist that impulse. Those who play will find themselves overtaken by a sense of competition and may find themselves acting in ways they wouldn't normally. Becoming irritable or obsessive about their ranking, checking the leader board and wanting to confront those who may have a higher score than them in the game. Shouting matches or physical altercations may ensue. It's not just PCs affected by all of this, either. Characters might see NPCs at ADI fighting with each other, even people who seemed to be close friends.
  
  
• Writhe and Squirmy (Dec 8 - 10): Characters will feel compelled to act on negative impulses to a greater or lesser degree, whatever that might mean for them. They will also experience a need for attention and love/praise, whatever the cost of those things. If your character did not play the game and has not touched someone affected by the mold, they might escape from any effects from it and just be able to assist in getting people to Medical to have the mold removed. You may have as much or as little mold on your character, as you'd like. Please note that amputations will be relatively permanent. ADI can get characters advanced prosthetics if the amputation is significant enough, but limbs will not be regrown/replaced by NPCs. Characters may also work to remove the mold themselves. Once the mold is off, the mental effects will cease completely. Playing the Hermy the Wormy game may cause additional infections.
  
  Those on the ADI IT team will be asked to go through the code for the game application, and while it will all seem fairly standard, they will find one bit of code that doesn't actually do anything except to generate a binary code when clipped and run separately. If they do that, they will decode the following message:
  
  hi jim
  i am a big fan
  i have a special film for you
  it is real
  promise promise
  more to come
  =:)ocoocoocooc
  
  griffmejim69
  
  Further investigation for this particular plotline will be available during the December game event.
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Comments

[oldbookshop]

Hm? [ There is, presently, a Lot to be getting on with. Ridiculous and nonsensical and quite impossible and not even slightly in the area of answering vital questions about what they left behind. Which was also a lot to be getting on with in its own right.

Dare Aziraphale say, it's the nightmare scenario.

He'd be lying if he said he weren't a touch on edge. Waiting for some other metaphorical shoe to drop while it seems to be the going fashion.

It takes a couple of seconds for the ol' processor to catch up. He was mostly looking at the smartphone they gave him like he'd been expecting it to detonate. Even when the question and the deferral does register, he sounds distracted, just this side of irritable. ]

Yes. That's fine. [ He catches himself enough to inject slightly more warmth into his tone. Humans do go on about not killing the messenger, and they're right for it. ] Very kind of you to ask, thank you.

[ If he missed a cue from Crowley somehow and it turns out they need to make different arrangements, they can surely handle that themselves. Figure things out. ]

Keys are in the front office, I presume?

[ He has no idea how this works. He bought a shop in the 1790s and that was sort of supposed to be it. But that feels like an accurate stab.

Whatever gets this human out of their hair faster is really the ideal short-term goal. ]

[demonicmiracle]

[Well, he's not entirely sure where that leaves them, but their escort produces two keys from their packet of assorted information and offers them over. Crowley snatches them both with a little more rudeness than necessary, but it's been a long day and he's cranky.]

You can go.

[To the human, who decides that might be a good option, considering the sword Aziraphale is holding and Crowley's general.... everything.

As soon as they're down the hall, Crowley opens up the door and heads into the apartment, casting a skeptical eye over everything before zooming in on the couch.

He's going to go collapse on it, thanks. He'll check for threats and listening devices later, but right now he needs to lay down for at least five minutes.]

Fuuuuuuck.

[That about sums it up, he thinks.]

[oldbookshop]

[ Fare thee well, human. Safe travels. All that.

Aziraphale leans the sword against the wall near the door. Finds himself struck with the absurdity of it, of even having it in the middle of all this. The blasted thing hasn't been his in nearly six thousand years.

Trapped in another world with a borrowed sword. Borrowed world, borrowed sword, borrowed apocalypse, borrowed apartment?

Absolutely ridiculous.

He casts his own skeptical glance over the decor for a long moment.

What he should probably say is something like "kind of them to furnish it." What he says instead, agreeably, is: ]

Fuck.

[ Honestly, it's more worth the crass language than getting discorporated was. Go figure. They're even more out of their depth than they were before. Should have held out on that non-swearing streak a little longer.

He takes up peering out of the nearest window. ]

I do believe Agnes Nutter failed to mention anything about this at all.

[demonicmiracle]

[The worst part of this entire situation is that Crowley is far too wrung out and overwhelmed to properly appreciate Aziraphale cussing. It's the biggest tragedy that he's experienced in his existence so far, and he will remember this betrayal by the universe.]

Maybe she thought it'd be funny not to warn us.

[Or they missed it. He wishes he'd had more time to go over the prophecies, before Hastur rudely interrupted his reading, but there's nothing for it now. The book definitely isn't here.]

What do you make of all this Entity nonsense? Heaven ever mention anything like that?

[It could have been a post-Fall development that he was never updated on, but he doesn't think Aziraphale would keep that kind of thing from him.]

[oldbookshop]

[ He supposes they can't rule out that she simply didn't bother. Sense of humor or only having an eye for things happening on Earth specifically or otherwise.

Didn't have anything to see past once Satan came into the picture, maybe.

But, well, can't afford to think about that.

It would have been nice, is all. ]

Absolutely not. The way I understood it, these-- Entities would veer a touch too close to idolatry to be Heaven's doing. Sort of defeats the whole purpose. [ Rather different than Horsemen and krakens and plagues, in operation.

He doesn't know Heaven's standing as unshakably as he'd thought, and goodness knows he's had that point driven home a few times lately, but he's certain on this much. ] I suppose that means Hell hasn't been dabbling, either.

[demonicmiracle]

[It's an answer that makes sense, really, knowing what he does about Heaven, and although he might have something of a grudge against God, it's hard to imagine Her being this cruel. It doesn't fit into Her apparently black and white worldview, either. If this was Her work, there would likely be Entities of hope or love or some other nonsense.]

They could have been, I'm not exactly kept in the loop there, but it's too... [He lifts his arm up with a grunt, to wave his hand in a gesture that's meant to encompass whatever he's trying to explain.] Creative. Abstract. They don't get much more imaginative than inflicting pain or sticking you into a pit, it's hard to picture them even being able to conceptualize the fear of the uncanny, or of wasted potential.

[He drops his hand back down to scrub at his face, ineffectually smearing the ash over his skin in his attempt to get some of it off.

He needs a shower, if he can't miracle himself clean, but they'll need clothes first. He isn't swanning about in the nude with Aziraphale here.]

Reminds me more of the Horsemen, if I'm being honest. Where do they come from?

[God didn't make them, nor did Heaven or Hell, as far as he's aware.]

[oldbookshop]

Yes, they do lack your subtle touch.

[ He's not even being sarcastic. Anything he's happened to absorb secondhand about Hell backs that up. They're very... straightforward.

To put it politely. ]

The Horsemen are a human creation. Manifestations of a sort, to put it at a guess. These could be along the same lines. [ Famine, War, Pollution, Pestilence. The uncanny, solitude, destruction of potential. All about on par. Things that weren't always there so much as things that came into being. It doesn't sound so different.

(Well.

Death, he's not entirely sure about. Death's always been an odd one out, as Horsemen go.) ] Just as well there's a library and a research department.

[ He can apparently make it his job to nose through things and read for this organization, which he is personally wresting out of the hands of reality to put into the silver linings column, because sometimes that's the only way that column gets filled. ]

[demonicmiracle]

[File that away to be pleased about when he has the energy for it, even if Aziraphale likely didn't mean it entirely as a compliment.]

It is very human, isn't it? Accidentally manifest a bunch of horrific shit 'cause they got scared about the same things.

[The power of belief is a strong one, especially with humans and their stories. It would make more sense than these things having had existed without Heaven or Hell clocking on.

Which makes him wonder if there is a Heaven or Hell, in this world, but he's not going to think too hard about that right now.]

We're sticking around, then?

[They could theoretically fuck off, their escort made it clear they weren't being held against their will, just that it's apparently safer around the ADI.]

[oldbookshop]

As human as they come.

[ Is it a good thing? Not especially. He still manages to sound a little bit fond.

But, oh. That's as fair a question as any.

Maybe he's been coming across too presumptuous. Sharing an apartment. Talking about research. Hovering in some strange zone between not thinking far ahead and thinking too far ahead without landing in the right compromise. Not stopping to ask.

Aziraphale breaks away from peering out at unfamiliar surroundings to look back at Crowley properly, forehead creased. ]

They do seem to have the most information to work with. [ Safety is relative. Information, he's hoping, is key. ] Of course, if you wanted to consider other options, I won't stop you.

[demonicmiracle]

[Almost as if sensing that he's being observed, Crowley pops his head up from where he's flopped on the couch, so that Aziraphale can see him shrug.]

Nah, I'll stick around, see what all this is about.

[There are two motivating factors, the main one being that he isn't going anywhere without Aziraphale, especially when they don't have their powers. Satan knows what sort of trouble he'd get into, being used to relying on miracles, without Crowley to keep an eye on things.

The other part is simple: it's likely their best bet of figuring this all out is located somewhere nearby. Aziraphale is right, on that front, and it makes sense to stick around, even if part of him very much wants to run.]

[oldbookshop]

[ And that marks a contender for first actual smile in-- oh, whatever this town is called. Aziraphale will pick it up fast enough. It's just a town name. He'll learn it quicker than he learns literally anything about the mobile phone. ]

I'd be lying if I said that's not a relief.

[ They've done plenty of time apart over the years, naturally, but given the circumstances, the lack of... anchoring. Can't sense love, can't sense Crowley, that's worrying enough without Crowley not being nearby.

No, given the circumstances, it's good to know Crowley's willing to stay, at least for now.

Although he supposes he ought to start working up some apologies, now that things aren't so frantic and all close together. Thing about a drawn-out crisis like this one is, there's more space to think. He'll sort that out too. ]

[demonicmiracle]

[That... is not what he was expecting. Crowley stares at Aziraphale for a moment, caught between being verklempt over the admission and being annoyed by it, considering everything that's happened over the past handful of days.]

You're an idiot.

[Punctuated with a groan, as he drops back down. His hands go back over his face, and he decides to leave them there.

Honestly, Aziraphale shouldn't even be surprised that Crowley will stay. It should've been a given, not something to be relieved about.]

And I'm knackered.

[Just tossing that in there as a distraction, of sorts.]

At least we're not dead, even if these are hardly ideal circumstances.

[oldbookshop]

[ Aziraphale offers a very dignified, mildly-offended little scoff. An equal opportunity, all parts covered scoff.

Partly because stepping into the area of familiar patter is easy and comforting and, per the label, familiar. Partly because it's maybe also oddly relieving to be called an idiot in that specific tone, which he most certainly can't say. Gift horses and all that. Gift distractions. ]

We weren't going to be dead either way. [ Crowley was doing a thing. He wouldn't have been doing a thing if he hadn't had an idea, and all they needed was roughly one idea to get them started. He does tack on, almost sheepishly: ] Not just then, at least.

[ Further out than the airbase, who knows. The long-term prospects admittedly aren't in their favor if the bit with Satan works out. Wouldn't have been? If it had worked out? Is it all still there? Would linear time make exceptions for extenuating circumstances?

Aziraphale goes ahead and starts snooping around to get the lay of the land, poking his head into doorways, solely to give himself something to do. He is many things. Knackered is not one of them. ]

But I really can't think of worse business to leave unfinished.