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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.
Dorian Storm | CritRole Campaign 3
A - ADI Building - A crash course
It all happens so fast. One minute he’s waking up in some kind of office building, surrounded by people and technology he’s never seen before. And the next he’s being ushered off to a creepy basement where he’s half expecting to be imprisoned or shanked and left for dead. Instead, he’s somehow suddenly fluent with the language of this world and immediately filled in on anything and everything. But by then his brain is so incredibly overwhelmed he barely retains any of it. At least he’s not alone, and eventually, after a quick tour, he and whoever else he’s with is left to their own devices.
At least here he hasn’t been forced into a human illusion, so he’s there in his beautiful sky blue glory. If someone is unfamiliar with Genasi, he’s of the Air elemental persuasion. He stands about 6’1”, handsome, pretty even, with long wavy black hair that cascades into a blue and white ombre just past his shoulders. He has crystal blue eyes and pointed ears that are pierced in a few places. His clothing is immaculate but likely, unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Even where he’s from his choice of dress is considered unique, straight down to his winged boots. Being a bard, he carries a blue lute and an axe that doubles as a flute. Safe to say there’s likely a weapon hidden in his lute as well.
As they stand in the foyer waiting to be ushered off to their new housing, he tries to break the awkward tension in the air with a charming smile.
“Well that was... that was something, wasn’t it? I’m Dorian Storm, by the way. And you are?”
B - Around town/ Housing - *Humanized Wildcard option* run into him wherever!
Being the flighty sort of fellow that he is he doesn’t stay put for too long. So when he’s able he leaves the ADI to start roaming the streets of Gloucester. He’s a little awestruck at everything, considering this world is much more advanced than his own and everything is completely new to him. He happily and almost excitedly wanders from one shop to the next and while any restaurants or street foods likely at least get a passing whiff of interest, he’s too distracted by EVERYTHING to eat at the moment.
What gives him pause is seeing his reflection in a storefront window when he realizes his face and complexion aren’t one he’s used to seeing. He takes a moment to marvel at his appearance, mostly confused, a little put off by the change, but curious all the same. Some people walking by are likely giving him strange looks. ( And if anyone is curious he just looks like Robbie Daymond)
Perhaps you are feeling kind enough to give the poor boy a tour? Or invite him for drinks or food or help him shop? Or perhaps you’ll just bump into each other on the way into the housing and like a good neighbor decide to welcome him?
That Itch
Weird things happen in Dogtown, and somehow Dorian has been roped into some work. He needs the money of course, who doesn’t? Despite having no say in being dragged to this place he now needs to make an income. Far from his home and his usual band of misfits, he’s been at least given a partner to explore some creepy side of down looking for supernatural activity. Par for the course really, how hard could it be?
Well, it's rather peaceful and uneventful at first, until he notices something in the mud and manages to work it loose with the toe of his boot. He stoops to pick up the small, encrusted sack, and at first, he almost thinks someone left money just lying around. Opening the sack, however, gets a startled and disgusted yelp out of him as he’ll immediately YEET the thing back to the ground from whence it came.
“NOPE! Nope. No thank you. That’s enough exploring for me. Can we please go back? This is-this isn’t what I signed up for.” Of course, it IS exactly what he signed up for and maybe that little satchel of teeth will mean he gets paid at least. But he sure as hell doesn’t want to be sticking around to find more.
( It’s good to note here that he will not be looking around for very long, he likes his perfect teeth right where they are thank you. So he won’t be hanging around long enough for the effect to start making them loose. )
Now You See Them
Of course, Dorian saw the show because it was unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his life. He felt like a giddy child all over again. Even despite the fact that the films scared the ever-loving shit out of him, he still left the theater feeling excited about what he has just seen. So much so that he’s taken the 3D glasses with him, having forgotten to take them off in the first place, but no one stopped him either.
However, it’s not long till his excitement comes to a screeching halt. At first, he just thinks it’s some trick of the glasses, some kind of magic or who knows what, making an illusion of those monsters they saw in the film. That is until he sees someone physically affected by them. He watches in horror as one of these things wrap their tentacles around another unsuspecting person just minding their own business, watches them lurch before it goes to strike again.
“LOOK OUT!!!” The thing turns towards him, hunching its shoulders as if it were raising its hackles at him. It starts lunging for him at a fast gait and immediately he’s turning on his heel and running away from it. It’s one thing to face something like this with a team of his friends to help him, it’s entirely another to try and face it alone. And he knows his limits, he wouldn’t stand a chance if they are anything like what he saw in that film.
“OH SHIT OH FUCK— OH SHIT! NO NO NONONO!” Every now and then he glances back to see if the thing is still following him. And he may or may not run full force into someone else in the process as he’s not quite paying enough attention. LUCKY YOU RANDOM PASSERBY!
New Year, New You!
It’s during his exploration that at some point he’s just stopped mesmerized by the flat-screen televisions in a display window of a shop. Plenty of ads are watched before he eventually breaks his hypnotism to go wandering elsewhere, including one that just seems to stick in the back of his mind for one reason or another. He doesn’t think much of it until he IS. In fact, he starts to obsess over any of his own imperfections. Or the idea that this world deems it necessary to hide exactly who and what he is behind a human mask. Why would they do that? What’s wrong with how he looks? IS there something wrong with his face?? Should he try to find this “Things of Beauty” shop to get his hands on this mystery cure?
It gets so bad that he’ll wander into some public bathroom somewhere and stare at his human visage in the mirror for entirely too long. The moment he notices anyone else he’ll finally break away from his scrutinization to look at them with something desperate and pleading in his eyes.
“Is there something wrong with me? I mean, my face?” His attention goes back to the mirror briefly. It's hard to tell if he’s still asking the questions of You (the random lucky stranger) or himself.
“Why do I have to hide what I look like? Am I ugly?” His attention snaps right back to you for a loaded question.
“Do you think I’m ugly?”
WILDCARD
Please feel free to run into Dorian wherever! Additionally, I prefer prose, but I am a-ok with brackets if you'd prefer. I will mirror whatever style you reply with ♥
You can find me on plurk
b; hello have a rat man
"Never gets old, pal." They're outside the ADI building, so it stands Kug can put two and two together. He can also look at his human form in the mirror with the other. "You new?"
Hello Rat Man
"Ah hahaha I don't know what you mean." It's a bad lie, he's clearly nervous. When it counts he can avoid the truth, but he's not so good at pretending to be something he's not. On the spot, it tends to fall apart fast.
"Yeah, You could say that. Sure." He clears his throat, "New, like I willingly walked into this place for a job and definitely didn't just appear out of thin air. We'll go with that."
He tilts his head at the other, "You, uhm, you've been here a while I take it?"
Then briefly, he leans in to sort of lower his voice to a whisper, "Is this what you normally look like? Or am I the only one who has to, you know, blend in?"
no subject
"Not the only one, there's a few of us. It's weird, huh? Try not to talk to too many people for very long, you'll start to freak them out. Not that you'd want to talk to anyone, we're in fucking Massachusetts. This place sucks."
He shrugs, drawing his attention away from the mirror and back over to Dorian.
"Let me guess: you're either an animal or someone with like, green or pink skin or some shit." His tone is crass, voice gravelly, but it's a genuine question said in a fairly strong New York accent.
no subject
"Really?" It's surprising and yet not, obviously, this was enough of a problem that the ADI came up with something to give everyone to disguise themselves. It must have been something very much needed constantly.
"It is, very weird, that is. I uh, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with it but I suppose that doesn't matter. I can at least be myself in the office and at my new home." It's empty, sad, he misses his friends and his world for as fucked up or scary as it could be sometimes.
"The latter. I'm an Air Genasi." He pauses a moment and he realizes that may not tell the other anything, so he's leaning down again and lowering his voice.
"I normally have blue skin." He tilts his head at the other.
"What about you?"
new year new you
Especially not a tall, gorgeous guy like this.
"No?" The confused, questioning inflection probably doesn't make Jeff sound all that convincing. "You're like, crazy hot, dude."
Wait. Hang on a sec.
"Um. Wait. What... are you hiding, exactly?"
no subject
Till it starts spinning up his anxiety over other things and he also realized he was just called "Hot" and flusters on top of all that insecure awkwardness. Thank him, you idiot, he just majorly complimented you.
"Oh, uhm, th-thank you. Really." He clears his throat and he goes back to looking at himself in an attempt to ignore the rest of the things trying to grab at him from the back of his mind. Thankfully the other distracts him with a question.
"What? Oh uh, my face," An exaggerated hand motion indicated his whole face, "Well--"
Then the hand indicates his whole self, "All of me, actually."
He stops, looking like he's just said something incredibly taboo and he's about to have some kind of hammer dropped on him. He's flinching, then looking around hoping no one else heard that because. It's weird? Right? Who says that? Fuck! Shit! I'm supposed to be blending in and not drawing attention to myself.
"Shit. Sorry, you're--you're not a native are you? I'm not... you're not supposed to know about all the--the..." He trails off, lowering his voice and leaning in.
"The weird, supernatural stuff." Crap, wait.
"Nothing. Nevermind. Hahah I was just joking, forget I said anything." SHIT He sucks at this. What is subterfuge?
no subject
Wait for it.
"Are you really a rat? It's cool, man, one of my buddies is a rat."
If Dorian sucks at subterfuge, Jeff's got no room to judge. He pretty much has to remind himself on a daily basis not to blab about his own magic to the townies. He waves a hand.
"Not a townie. Don't worry, dude, I'm a--" He almost says bard, but no one really gets that, so, "--witch or wizard or whatever you wanna call it, so, like, I'm part of the weird, supernatural stuff, anyway."
no subject
"Oh, oh good." He seems genuinely relieved he hadn't just botched that royally. And to sort of save face he smiles a little knowingly, eyes squinting at the edges like Ah, you little rascal. He waggles a finger at him.
"I got a feeling. We magical types usually know. You know?" It's bullshit, but it sounds good.
"I'm merely a humble bard. I can't do anything so flashy as a wizard or a witch but my abilities are sometimes clutch." When he remembers to cast bardic inspiration...
no subject
"Dude, me too! I'm a bard! I just-- I haven't met another bard here before, and no one seems to know what a bard is, so they all get confused, so I started saying 'witch' because everyone knows what that means and--"
Take a breath, Jeff. He pauses, then grins, with renewed energy.
"Fuck! This is awesome, man, another bard... I mean, I've got no idea what an Air Genasi is-- is that like a genie?-- um, but-- not important! We're bards!"
no subject
"That-that's great! I haven't met many others either, but, really it's nothing special just... you know... something I do." He flinches because he knows that wasn't his best line.
"So no one here has ever heard of a bard? That's strange? Do they not have music here?" That excitable energy is definitely a lot more than he's used to but it's sort of charming.
"Sort of? I guess? Some of my people have descended from Djinn, or their ancestors were "touched" by the elemental plane of air..." Touched is accompanied by air quotes.
"At least those are the stories." He clears his throat.
"Do you--I mean should we go somewhere else to discuss this I don't want to uhm, I don't know, break reality or something?"
now you see them
"Oh, come on," she says, rolling her eyes at Dorian's panic. "They're not even attacking, they're just-- hey!"
Don't run into her; that's rude. She gives him a hard shove in response, possibly hard enough to knock him to the ground if he's not careful.