TDM #11

[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.)

➥ Rivertouched

(cw: supernaturally affected mood changes, supernatural compulsion, hallucination, potential for suicidal ideations and drowning)

Weird things happen in Dogtown, everyone knows it. And the weird things have been getting worse. The Apocalypse Disruption Initiative (ADI) is not above taking advantage of that to test out the waters for its newest arrivals, but they're far more conscientious about it than early days. They're not looking to send anyone to their death, especially not with recent events that have transpired surrounding Dogtown and in Gloucester proper. An employee gives you a GPS device where you need only press a button to alert ADI there is severe danger and someone needs to come help you right away, 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, late April rain showers have swollen the streams in Dogtown, leading to slightly more treacherous conditions, particularly at low trail-crossings. Anyone who needs them has been issued some waterproof boots for their walk to help with that. Some pairs who go wandering may find themselves getting split up unexpectedly, though. A fork in a path leads off and each person may find themselves drawn to a different trail.

One path continues on as normal. The other is a bit more overgrown, wild with flowers spilling over the sides of the dirt path. It is quieter here, a little darker as the trees begin to close in overhead. The sound of birds begins to fade, even the swaying of grasses. Soon, it might be only the sound of your own breath and footsteps that carry you down the path. But there's nothing that appears to be dangerous, just strange. And then you come to the river.

There are no rivers in Dogtown. There are a few small creeks that run into Strangman Pond or the Babson Reservoir, but nothing like this. It is a wide, slow-moving thing with dark water. Anyone touching it will find that the water is actually warm, more like a pleasant bath than the freezing spring it should be. There's also an urge to step into the water, to lie down in it and just… float away. You're so tired and aching and this is a place of peace and quiet, no one around to bother you. You could stay and float along the river forever.

Or you could if it weren't for your companion finding you. Those who took the other path and return to try to find their wayward partner will not find a place of peace and quiet. They will, instead, find their companion near a mudpit. Potentially, said companion will be lowering themselves into it, turning over to be facedown, as the mud slowly embraces them.

➥ Well Read

(cw: gaslighting, supernatural compulsion)

Spring is in the air, and with the success of the recent flower festival, Gloucester's library system has decided to host a book fair to get people interested in reading. They've acquired a large number of new books with a particular bend toward the paranormal and local legends. This might have something to do with a recent, large donation from a mysterious local benefactor who wishes to remain nameless, but who can really say? Books!

Flyers advertising the fair go up around town and seem, somehow, especially enticing, even to people who might not be regular readers. Those to come will be offered the chance to sign up for a free library card that can be used at either of the two libraries in Gloucester and in the wider Cape Ann library network, which encompasses a further seven libraries. Strangely, members of ADI who try to sign up for a card will find that they are already in the library system. In fact, they've already checked out and returned several books. Don't they remember? They've been coming here for months now!

Reviewing their own lists, people will find that their checked out books seem to be filled with titles that they probably would have checked out, if given the opportunity. There's something more, though. Comparing lists with others, every single member of ADI from another world will find that they appear to have checked out Philip Dick's Eye in the Sky novel. That novel cannot be found in any library in the Gloucester or Cape Ann system, though. There's no record of its acquisition, nor is there a record of where it might have gone to. Anyone asking very confused librarians will be assured that they'll try to get it in again. It seems to be something of a rarity, though, and the system will have a bit of trouble acquiring a copy. They promise to have it within a month. Two at the very most! If you like existential sci-fi horror, though, can they interest you in these other titles?

The fair itself will feature a wide variety of books to suit any genre. There are also prizes on offer for anyone who wants to test their reading knowledge. Laptops have been set up in one area with quizzes to test your knowledge of a particular book. The questions begin in a benign and sensible way and stay that way for some. For others… the questions start getting to be more about opinion, then more about you. The questions are phrased as hypotheticals, but there's no way this thing could know to pose that specific hypothetical to you. It can't possibly know about that horrible thing you did or said. Why is it asking? Why can't you not answer? Why can't you leave? Those faced with these questions will be forced to answer them with error messages popping up if they try to lie. The only way to escape is to get through the full quiz or to have someone else rescue you. Of course, this might entail them reading over your shoulder and seeing just what sort of things you've done.

➥ Training Wheels Off

(cw: hallucinations, nyctophobia, claustrophobia, severe injuries to fingernails, severe burns, dead bodies, superstition)

The word comes down from Nia Lehrer, Warden of ADI, that they have a strong lead on a ritual attempt at this point. Between the information collected by native ADI agents and the visitors from other worlds, they know there's going to be an attempt involving the Dark avatar, Katie Dunn, and the Buried avatar Deepthi Anand. There's also something strange going on with FYRE, a mining company headquartered and operating in Appalachia. All hands are needed on the ground given the amount of area they need to cover and the potentially short timeframe to stop something from happening. ADI requests volunteers from the off-world visitors, including new arrivals, offering a substantial bonus for their involvement, and promising not everyone is going to be engaged in some pitched battle. An army marches on its stomach, after all, and moving, housing, and caring for so many people a state away is a major logistics undertaking, not to mention the need for PR experts who can help deal with the locals while ADI sorts out what needs doing.

A train is chartered, heading everyone toward Wolf Pen, West Virginia. It's a standard train, one that will ferry the entirety of ADI's personnel and equipment to Wolf Pen in just about 18 hours. It's a ride that takes them through some towns, but predominantly sticks to what remains of the wild parts of the eastern seaboard and Appalachia. There's a dining car, cars for luggage, some cars that are just seats, and some cars that have bunk beds in them. Bags are packed, people loaded in, and the journey begins. Of course, no journey with the Apocalypse Disruption Initiative would be complete without some oddities along the way.

Scratchmarks
The train isn't making any stops, just plowing onward, which means people who want to get a little exercise will be forced to roam between cars. The space between the two carriage doors shudders with the motion of the train. The walls are made of metal and thick, accordion-esque plastic that stretches and bends. Very occasionally, the doors between the carriages seem to simply lock up. Tugging on them does nothing and this is a very small, unstable place that only seems to grow smaller and hotter the longer you're in there. Less than a minute may feel like hours, but that's not all. Those who are trapped might begin to see scratchmarks, places where the walls have been gouged, maybe even partially ripped open. There are fingernails still embedded in some places. Seeing this prompts an overwhelming need to escape, to be out of this place because something terrible is coming. You might need to be let out by someone or you might get out yourself. Either way, inspecting the space between cars turns up… nothing. No scratchmarks, no tears, no locking doors. Maybe you should just sit down and stick to one car. It was only a few seconds, after all.

Fearful Tunnel Syndrome
As they move out of Massachusetts, the coastal wetlands and plains give way to thick forests and then mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains thrust their way toward the sky, carving a new horizon as the day fades to night and the sun disappears far earlier than it might usually do for this time of year. The Blue Ridge Mountains might not be so impressive as the Rockies, no peaks piercing the heavens. They're older than that, worn by more time than anything living on the earth now could comprehend. But they rise up, imposing in a landscape that has known only these mountains as their forebears.

The train slows as it starts chugging up passes, forcing its way deeper into the heart of these rocky monuments. It begins passing through tunnels. Mutters go through the carriage, old superstitions that you ought to hold your breath going through these tunnels. There might be a wish if you make it to the other end. Or there might just be safety from whatever specters might have died in those dark places beneath the earth.

But someone doesn't hold their breath.

It happens sometime around 9 PM. The train enters into one of the tunnels and very suddenly, every electronic light goes out in the carriages. No phones seem to be working, no flashlights, not even those for people who are made of technology. The world is plunged into blackness… and then something begins tapping along the windows. It will be impossible to see what it is, but for five minutes the tunnel stretches on and on and on, far longer than it should be. Longer than it could be. Nothing attacks, there is simply the dark and the tapping before light is restored and the conductor comes over the speaker to apologize for the issue. Just some internal malfunction that's been sorted out. Really, there's nothing to worry about.

Burned Bridges
The morning sun rises late in this part of the country, shadows stretching out from the mountains and tall pines that surround the tracks. Still, those keeping vigil at the windows will see the occasional point of interest. Animals rushing by, small towns, even the odd campsite that's almost certainly illegal. But there's one thing in particular the eye:

The charred remains of a person have been positioned along the side of the tracks. This person cannot be seen by anyone except individuals, and no one will see the exact same person in the same spot. The bodies are stood with a tattered red flag on a pole. Those who have been involved with certain happenings or who have been reading the news might well recognize the insignia of the "Shadowcats." This is a cult made up by members of ADI in an effort to frame them for the murder of a Desolation avatar and his circus troupe. Someone or something seems to have taken notice. Maybe? It's hard to say, after all, when the bodies simply disappear from one blink to the next.

➥ Mod Notes

• ARRIVAL (Apr 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.
  
  
• RIVERTOUCHED (May 1 - 12): Please keep in mind that death is permanent in the game. If your character dies in this prompt during the TDM, they will be dead. A version of them who did not experience that event on the TDM can be apped in, instead. Characters who try to walk away from the quiet/river after reaching it will find that moving away is like trying to move through molasses. It becomes harder and harder until they reach whatever personal limit they have. Moving back toward the river will be much easier with no resistance. There is no way to collect the river water for later. Characters who attempt to do so will find they just have some mud that appears to be wholly mundane. Characters caught in the hallucination may be snapped out of it immediately by the return of their partner, or may not be able to perceive them for a time, at player discretion.
  
  
• WELL READ (May 1 - 12): Characters may be able to obtain their own copy of Eye in the Sky from somewhere like Ebay or similar, but it doesn't appear to be available through any existing publisher. Whatever copy they obtain will follow the summary provided in the Wikipedia link for the prompt. Characters will be issued a new library card if they attend the fair and wish to obtain one. The quiz questions are up to players to decide on the specifics, but they should become increasingly invasive about personal details regarding the character. Any PCs looking over their shoulders will be able to see the invasive questions, but regular, non-ADI natives will just see an ordinary book quiz question.
  
  
• TRAINING WHEELS OFF (May 13 - 14): Characters who note and report suspicious activity will be taken seriously and native ADI personnel aboard the train will investigate. They will not be able to replicate the effects that characters experience, though. Or see what the characters might have seen with the exception of the blackout. Everyone will have experienced that and ADI will be on high alert. They will ask for volunteer guards at either side of the train cars to make sure no one actually gets locked between sections after a few people experience the Scratchmarks sub-prompt. Characters will have assigned sleeping accommodations (up to four to a sleeping car room, but can wander the train, otherwise. Food and non-alcoholic beverages on the train will be free.
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Comments

[trestle]

His breath is almost a slight echo of itself, a huff of a breath as he fights the urge to attack, to seek revenge for what feels like a prank, like some twisted game as if anyone could know his feelings about the small space.

Frowning, peering at the man as his head cants and he shifts to lean against the edge of the door as if afraid it could close and lock again on him if his body wasn't in the way.

"It was somethin'," he argues, wanting to rant about the attitude it wasn't. "And something tried clawing it's way free. There's marks all on the inside of it." He pauses a moment before adding. 'And it wasn't me."

[whisperedone]

"I...don't think anyone would blame you if it were, but I believe you." At least about the marks. Although, the description of being locked in touches something in his memory and he frowns.

"Actually...I don't think this is the first time this has happened: someone thinking they were locked into an unlocked space. You're..." Unfamiliar in how he stands, his height, his smell, he's still new. But first: "Do you want to go sit down?"

[trestle]

"I suspect if you go messin up their train, someone's gonna complain," he points out, but then his interactions with others has almost always been of being blamed. Usually it's his fault too.

He shakes his head, the sort of irritated swaying some creatures do when things aren't right, fighting the urge to pace. Or run. He's pretty sure he could survive jumping from the train but then this isn't home, and he's not sure how far he is from his own trestle.

"So what? They just go around locking us up for no reason? Don't you people have a whole thing about due process or something?" Least it might sound like he means in whatever this is, the organization they're working for and not making the mistake of referring to people as other than.

Frowning, he glances back at the train. "Sure. But not here. Another car would be better."

[whisperedone]

Garner turns to lead them up towards another train car instead. "No one has tried to lock you up, at least no one in ADI. The last time this happened, it was within the ADI building as well, doors would seem locked when they weren't and supposedly people caught in such effects felt as though they would be trapped forever, perhaps even with the space seeming to close in around them."

He'd never experienced it himself, wasn't even sure if he would notice the visual aspect if it had, but he'd found one person and heard others talk.

When he gets to the door for the next car, he feels for the latch and handle and pulls it open. Still no locked doors.

[trestle]

He thinks about how he felt moments before, frowning heavily as he thinks about that. "So it happens regularly? People screwing with our heads somehow?"

He thinks about the way he can lure others onto a train trestle and not hear the horn until its too late. Something like that maybe? It's not comforting, but then he couldn't imagine he was the only one drawn in like he is. How many others were there?

"Did they look into it? Any idea why?"

The next door opening only makes him crankier, hating that he'd been screaming and yelling over what amounts to nothing apparently.

[whisperedone]

"People being locked in a place? Not especially, screwing with our heads? Yes. Often."

It had been a near-guarantee and, while not all of the tricks had gotten to him, that didn't mean he hadn't been hit by them all the same. It was even worse for those who could see, from what he could tell, there seemed to be a lot of visual effects that struck them.

Garner leads them over to the next row of seats and motions for his new companion to take a seat. "I believe they did and found little for their efforts. Then the building was attacked, their attention was elsewhere before anyone could think to look into it all again. It's entirely possible this is the same effect or entity following our path while we are in transit."

Maybe not the cheeriest thought, but practical.

[trestle]

He hasn't been sure what to think about this place since he found himself there. Not how he got there, not how they seem to know what they do about him, and not how that door hadn't been locked when he put his full weight into it and yet nothing.

He settled into a seat, unsteady and still uncertain. He's not a fan of trains and hasn't been on this side of one every in his life. He likes them better on the outside, that's for sure.

"But they got no clue who it is? I mean, for what they told me they wanted me lookin' into out by that river, you'd think whatever this thing is could be a priority."

[whisperedone]

Garner shrugs lightly. “There are many operatives and they’re all looking into things at different times. I’m sure it’s on someone’s docket.”

It might have also had something to do with Katie Dunn…then again, locking doors hadn’t seemed her thing. He didn’t know enough to speculate.

“ADI is not always the most forthcoming, but sometimes information must be held until the time it is necessary. I think that you will see that many problems crop up at once, there are no dull days here, at least.”

[trestle]

"That's promising," he says with a roll of his eyes. "Someone, sometime might get to it. That it's not a priority just keeps adding to how fun this whole thing is."

And in many ways, it is fun to him. Right until dealing with his feelings on trains, and now being made to think he was trapped. How much of it was real and how much had been in his head then?

"I think maybe they bring some of their troubles on themselves too," he points out. How could he believe that given they brought him here. He's still working out how he feels about it all, and handling being this much around others. If they had him here, what else had they messed with. "How long you been with all of this?"

[whisperedone]

"Most people do." He responds initially. A lot of the trouble people found themselves in could be traced back to decisions and actions taken by that person specifically, at least in Garner's experience, but that was reaching a certain level of ideology and theory he wasn't as familiar with. The question is easier.

"A little over four months, I suppose." And saying it out loud, he's almost surprised. It wasn't that he'd lost track of the days or time, it simply lacked a certain level of context before he'd said it. "The longest I've heard yet is roughly ten."