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redstringtheories2022-01-01 10:30 am
TDM #7
(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: body horror; teeth; bleeding; tooth loss; implied harm to children)
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 it seems at first glance that for once, there's nothing wrong. No looming clouds. No killer trees or mushrooms. No dead animals. It's literally just a walk in the park. Except…
It's easy to miss the bags at first, but once you start looking for them, they're everywhere. Little palm-sized pouches made of scrap fabric can be found bogged down in the sleety mud, tucked into the knots of trees, slipped between damp stones. Open one up and inside are a handful of teeth, mismatched in size and hue. An experienced eye (or analysis back at headquarters) will confirm that they're all human teeth, but it doesn't seem like any two could have come from the same mouth. Some are whole; some are broken; some have long, bloody roots still attached while others look like they were baby teeth, naturally shed.
The more you look, the more of them you find…and the more your gums begin to itch and then bleed. Your teeth shift inside your mouth, loose in their moorings, roots aching, until one or more finally drop out and onto your tongue, your mouth awash with the coppery taste of blood.
But that's alright. You have bags in which to put them.
(cw: hallucination; altered mental states; paranoia; potential for physical harm; tentacles; body horror; uncanny valley)
The Midnight Cinema is running a special, triple 3D feature to celebrate the new year from 10 PM on the 6th to 8 AM on the 7th. The Cinema's owner, Lucky Stryker, has even imported some custom 3D glasses for the event, claiming they're the highest quality goods purchased from a 'mysterious seller' out in Nevada, along with the accompanying movies. The event is being offered at a special price to try to drum up more business for the Cinema.
Those who attend will be treated to three horror films. The first, "It Slorped from Outer Space," is a rather camp production involving a slime brought back from a Mars mission. The second, "The Noble Mr. Greene," is your standard swamp monster affair with the monster turning out to be the hero all along, trying to destroy the evil developers and the fools they'd hired in an effort to keep their toxic wastes pumping into the swamp. And the third, "Now You See Them," is a rather more harrowing film, and one that seems to have an unnatural draw to it. Movie-goers who might not particularly want to watch a more serious and gruesome film will find themselves rooted to their seats, unable to look away as the protagonists are taken down one-by-one, by unseen creatures. By the film's end there's no signs of the monsters, just the horrors they've left in their wake. At least not on the screen.
Everyone will be encouraged to take the 3D glasses with them as a souvenir for the event and those who decide to test the glasses out once outside the theater will find that the unseen creatures on the screen are far more visible out in the real world. There are monsters among us. Tall, translucent figures, their bones visible through a gelatinous form, roam the streets of Gloucester. Their faces are smooth, featureless planes, and in place of arms, there are long sleek tentacles that they occasionally wrap around passersby. Those touched always seem to stumble or twitch, like they notice something is happening, even if they can't see them.
Anyone who does see and try to interact with the creatures will quickly discover that they are vicious and violent when noticed. Those tentacles turn razor sharp and will stab people attempting some form of communication or intervention. While the injuries sustained don't appear to be fatal, they will certainly feel that way, and anyone stabbed will find themselves severely weakened and suffering hallucinations (even without the benefit of the glasses) for up to a week afterward. Said hallucinations will invariably be of some sort of personally horrific monster moving about Gloucester. Are they real, in this case? Very hard to say.
After the 8th, the monsters, once swarming the streets of the city, will have vanished, even for those still using the 3D glasses.
(cw: self-doubt; body dysmorphia)
The new year is a time for change. That’s what everyone says, isn't it? To be the best you that you can be.
Starting off in the beginning of the year, a new commercial begins popping up, especially on local channels, but also as a pop-up when people go online. The visuals and graphics are nondescript but very sleek: shots of good-looking people smiling but not actually talking. "A new year calls for a new you.” A man's voice narrates over the graphics. A flower blooms in timelapse. "And we’ve got just the thing to help you in your journey to your new self. If you want to see what all the buzz will be about, come down to Things of Beauty starting on the 16th. Don’t miss out, because your neighbors certainly won't."
Watching this ad might just fill a person with confusion - it's pretty vague - or curiosity (for the same reason). It will also have a deeper, less immediate effect. If the new year is time for a new person, why aren't you that person? Why aren't you more or different? Why aren't you enough? Watching the ad will make people very aware of some deficiency in themselves... and others. It might be physical or it might be something about their personality or their habits. Whatever it is... something about them is wrong and if something is wrong then you have to fix it.
- ARRIVAL (Jan 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.
- That Itch (Jan 1 - 31): Characters who spend too much time looking for and fixating on the bags of teeth will begin to lose their own teeth. If they continue to fixate past the point of initial tooth loss, they will feel the urge to put their own teeth in the bags and then hide the bags around Dogtown. Characters may snap out of it on their own or with help; if they fail to do so the process may continue until they run out of teeth. As with any injury, tooth loss suffered in the TDM is permanent…but at least ADI offers a solid dental plan.
- Now You See Them (Jan 6 - 8): Characters may find the 3D glasses either by attending the Midnight Cinema event or borrowing them from someone who did. The creatures are generally non-hostile, just pests, if they're only being watched. It's when characters try to interfere with them or communicate that they will attack. There doesn't seem to be any effective means of fighting these creatures, either. Whether that's because they're not really there or they're operating on a different set of physics is unclear. They cannot be hit with physical weapons or via most magical means. Those with the ability to remove their spirits from their bodies may have more success on actual interaction with the creatures… but they will also make themselves significantly more vulnerable and will suffer far worse injuries in any encounter that will translate to their physical bodies as actual puncture wounds/cuts.
Those who investigate the company that Lucky bought the glasses and films from will find that it's a small Etsy shop that's apparently gone out of business. Its name is listed as Topsy Turvy Tales, and its former owner is listed as Clarice Smiley, but it's hard to find anything more about Clarice beyond that. For now.
- New Year, New You (Jan 1 - Jan 15): Characters will be able to come across these commercials while watching TV or as pop-up ads on a variety of different places on-line (even things like Youtube or social media sites). Anyone watching will start to become acutely aware of something about themselves - or someone they know -that is wrong and will feel a compulsion to fix it. Anyone who looks into the source of the commercials will find that they are financed by a company called Faulkner, Yuan, Reid, and Eames, Inc., which upon further digging seems to be a mining company operating in Appalachia.
SQ | Gnosia
[ Perhaps surprisingly, SQ doesn’t find herself particularly afraid when she finds herself in a strange room she’s never seen before. It’s weird, sure, and she’s definitely gotta be cautious, but she’s used to weird things happening in the universe. At the very least, this place doesn’t look particularly dangerous? At least, not to her. But it’d be best to be careful anyway, she thinks.
So when she leaves the room, though she looks around before going anywhere, there's not much fear in her expression at all. After entering what seems to be some kind of corridor, she walks over to and gets a glimpse outside one of the windows, tilting her head at what she sees. She’s not in space anymore – it’s obvious she’s landed on some kind of planet, though what planet, she isn’t sure. …What? There’s a lot of planets out there to keep track of, you know!
Hmm. So how did she end up here, anyway? Turning away, SQ starts to explore. Or rather- she’s about to, when she notices a stranger– and putting a finger up to her lips, she smiles, and opens her mouth to speak. ]
Umm… So I’m, like, totally lost around here. Could you, like, help a girl out?
NOW YOU SEE THEM
[ SQ may have been roped into working for some strange organization to help stop the end of the world, but she’s not going to pass up on the opportunity to have fun!
The movies she watches at the cinema are pretty old-fashioned, but that doesn’t stop her enjoying them – especially the last one, which leaves her in equal parts disturbed and thrilled, glued to the edge of the screen the whole time. Once the film is over, it feels like it went by in a flash – but despite being disappointed that it was over so quickly, SQ’s in a good mood when she leaves the cinema, humming to herself with a smile on her face.
Once outside, she puts the glasses on straight away, curious about whether they have anything else to them, or any... hidden surprises. And – jackpot! It doesn’t take long for her to notice something’s very strange.
If you notice her – and she’s certainly made an effort to stand out, with her clothes and makeup – it’ll seem at first like she’s looking at you. But then, her attention will be quickly drawn to something behind you, and as soon as she spots it, her eyes widen, before she exclaims- ]
Like, OH-EM-GEE, isn’t that the monster? From the movie!?
WILDCARD
[ Feel free to throw anything at SQ here! My plurk is over at
arrival
When she sees SQ she stops and stares. Her parents would probably scold her for being rude but she can't help but lean in curiously, very taken with the make up and jewelry and outfit. She tilts her head and clasps her hands nervously, trying to decide whether to ask about them when the stranger addresses her first.]
Oh! Yes, I can try. Where do you want to go? There are a lot of stairs and floors, I haven't seen them all...
no subject
[ SQ claps her hands together with a grin as she responds. Evidently, she doesn't mind the attention at all. ]
So, like, I don't really know where we are, so I'm not really sure where I wanna go... do you, like, know where we are? That'd be suuuuuper helpful!
no subject
[Well, she seems nice! And if there's one thing Dolores loves is forwarding a good story.]
So, we're at the ADI... house. [There was a different word for it, she knows, but she can't remember what it was. Something about a head?]
Apparently magic got us here and get this, they're trying to prevent the end of the world? Which might happen, or at least that's what they think. Scary stuff. I got here yesterday and I've been trying to learn more about it ever since.
no subject
[ And... a little hard to believe, especially when technology could easily do the job. But SQ doesn't make her doubts obvious, instead, replying in an exaggerated tone- ]
And the world's gonna, like, end? That's, like, sooooo scary...
[ Though she doesn't sound very scared. Honestly, SQ knows that Dolores could be lying, but her story doesn't sound too unbelievable - except for maybe the magic part. Basically, this world is in trouble, so this ADI are trying to stop it from ending, right? ]
So did this like, ADI bring me here, or whatever?
no subject
[Does she not know about magic? How strange! It's pretty much the only part of the story that makes sense to Dolores. But she likes SQ's enthusiasm and nods along because yep! Super scary. Nothing to freak out over, though, at least not until she sees any proof of that firsthand.]
You know, I don't think they know how we got here either. They're polite about it but the weirded out kind of polite. Or they just don't want to admit that they screwed up...
no subject
[ Huh. So it's a mystery, then? That sounds like fun! Though SQ has to admit, she doesn't particularly want to stay on a world that might be ending... She'll have to look for a way out, while playing along and pretending that she intends to help. Hehe, that could even be kind of exciting... Yeah, this place seems dangerous, but there's no point worrying about that right now, right? ]
Anyway, like, what's your name? I'm SQ!
now you see them
That last movie, though. Damn. That one was rough.
Still, she compartmentalizes like a pro and feels more like her old self when she walks outside, 3D glasses in hand even though she really sees no point to keeping them.
And then the girl with the red hair stares at her— no, at something past her, and Rachel freezes, breathing quietly as she listens for movement in the aftermath of the girl's exclamation. ]
What's it doing?
[ Because, while the rational part of her thinks it could be a prank, all her experience makes it so she knows, instinctively, that SQ is telling the truth. ]
Stay where you are and tell me what it does when I move.
[ Slowly, she takes a step to the side. Not towards SQ. She's not going to put her in danger if she can help it. ]
no subject
[ SQ, not expecting to have received instructions so suddenly, is a little surprised by the sudden request. Still, she does as she's told, staying still and watching the monster behind Rachel. ]
It's just kinda, like, standing there... I think it's looking at me? Woah, those tentacles are like, so creepy...
[ Luckily, the creature doesn't seem to be making any moves to attack... but it's still incredibly unsettling. Or at least, it should be - SQ doesn't appear to be particularly unsettled, but maybe she's just putting on a front? It's hard to say. ]
no subject
She glances over her shoulder at where the monster should be, but there's nothing there. Or rather, Rachel doesn't see it.
She looks at SQ again. Is it a youth thing? Or is it— the 3D glasses? Maybe if she tries with them on...
She does it because she has to, because she's trained to take charge and make sure civilians don't get hurt. So, even though her lizard brain is screaming at her to run away, Rachel puts on her 3D glasses and slowly turns her head to the side.
Ah. Hello. That's terrifying. ]
Keep still. I'll distract it from you.
[ Confident SQ will do as she's told - most people do, when spoken to with authority - Rachel starts to walk away backwards so she can keep watching it.
The thing does not follow her. In fact, it seems to lose interest and start moving in another direction altogether.
Rachel stops. ]
You're seeing this, right?