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redstringtheories2021-07-04 06:36 pm
TDM #1
(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: hallucination, potential mind-control)
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. That's far too much paperwork, you'd been assured with a wink from the employee who'd directed you to the park trailhead. You've been left with another person. 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, there seems to be something odd afoot with the stones around the park. Instead of the questionably useful advice they offer, there is, instead, something embarrassingly or horrifically true about you carved into the stone. Trying to show your companion or gauge their reaction will net nothing; they will simply see their own truth. It's only when you admit to what's on the stone that it seems to become visible to others or any camera in your possession.
Take a picture. The least you deserve for the trouble is some money.
"We'll have others with you, but all of you will be out on your own for missions, so to speak," the ADI employee who had led you down to the underground training facility explained. "You'll need to have some basic skills. Even if you're not going out soon or ever… it's safer to know these things."
Basic skills, in this case, appear to mean survival and weapons training. The room you've been brought to on Floor B3 below ADI Headquarters is a massive, underground gym, and there are sections set up for various skills practice. One side of the gym is dedicated to fighting: bare-knuckles, wrestling, knives, and tasers are all out on display. There are also a few guns, but those are reserved for people who can prove they can manage the other weapons first. The other side has areas for fire-making, building a shelter, navigating without a phone, supply preparation, cooking, and basic first-aid. Through a side door, there's also a small pool where people are being taught the basics of swimming.
Any or all of these skills would be useful in a dangerous situation, and there aren't enough native ADI employees to cover training for all of them. If you show that you're proficient with something, you'll be asked to man one of the areas to assist in training others. If you're at a loss and looking lost, you will be pushed toward whatever skills practice area is physically closest to you, whether you wanted to learn anything about that or not. Best make the most of it… and try not to kill anyone or burn anything down.
Even those who have refused ADI Housing and taken themselves to Bonnie's Flophouse will find that they're welcome for this training under the strict understanding that no supernatural abilities will be used. Bonnie will have informed them of it and helped them get to ADI to ensure they learn some of the things they might need to survive... and also just to bond with the people they'll be working with for the foreseeable future.
(cw: body horror, implication of near-drowning, violence, potential for blood, gore, drowning, death)
The beaches around Gloucester are numerous and varied with reported supernatural activity at many, if not most of them. For those working with ADI, they'll receive the direction in a mass email from Reyes Amador, the assistant to the Head of ADI. For those not technically working at ADI, Bonnie will provide the same information.
All,
We have received reports of strange noises and sightings at Coffin Beach. Please take at least one other person and investigate. A $300 bonus will be offered to those who bring back evidence of the source of these reports.
Take Care of Yourselves,
Reyes
Those who head to Coffin Beach will find that the sand beneath their feet squeaks softly with each step, like the faint sound of a poorly-maintained hinge protesting their movements. It makes stealth especially difficult, and those who wish to maintain their cover would do well to stay farther up into the vegetation and off the beach, itself. There aren't any houses out this way, just coastal marshes, the beach, and some higher ground with low-growing shrubs, tall grasses, and thin trees.
For the patient, those who wait for night to fall, they will be rewarded when they hear the sound of someone crying. Searching the beach, they will be able to spot a young person who appears to have washed up in a kayak on the beach. The young person is visibly injured in some way with blood coming out of them. Those who approach cautiously may get the sense that there is something not quite right about this person. Man or woman, their face is too long, their angles too sharp.
There is something wrong. It's not the injury.
There is something very wrong with what this person is.
They will not respond to any calls or move from where they lie, half-submerged in the surf. Anyone who approaches within a few feet will discover they're not nearly as helpless as they seem to be, though. The person will burst from the water with a powerful thrust, attempting to tackle anyone nearby and bite them. The person's face transforms into a long, fanged maw, trying to rip and tear and drag their prey into the ocean with them, away from any safety.
- ARRIVAL: 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. Please refer to the Arrival page for details regarding the arrival and onboarding process.
- STICKS AND STONES: If so desired, to facilitate CR, characters may feel themselves compelled to ask about the stones when they see their truth written on it. Resisting the compulsion will become more and more difficult as time goes on.
- I WILL SURVIVE: Characters may be students or trainers in this scenario. They might be able to get away with small displays of supernatural abilities if they want to risk it and if they find themselves with the necessary reserves of power. Anything significant will have them immediately removed and asked not to return to ADI for a few days.
- SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE: Characters may fight off, capture, or kill the creature. If they successfully capture it and bring it back to ADI (or call for someone to come and do that for them), they will receive a significant monetary bonus beyond the promised $300 for their work. If characters successfully kill and document the kill, they will also receive the bonus and instructions to push the body out to sea. If a character is taken by the creature, they will be killed. Please bear in mind that if a character dies in the TDM prompt, they are dead. A different version who doesn't have TDM memories may be apped in their place.
Bucky Barnes | MCU
There has never been a time when Bucky has woken up in a men’s toilet that he doesn't recognise, disoriented and groggy, and it's been because all his nonexistent friends have decided to throw him a surprise 106th birthday party and he got drunk and/or followed a pair of pretty eyes out back. Funnily enough, there haven’t been any diamond jubilee Winter Soldier open bar commemorations in his lifetime either. Wonder why.
"No." His voice barely a raspy whisper rumbles waveringly across the offwhite tiles. No, it’s always been this unrepentantly rude fuck you kind of awakening. The kind of thing that always spelt trouble. No. This was not supposed to happen anymore. Not ever again. He struggles to get to his feet in his momentary panic, ending up on his hands and knees for a few seconds before he can push himself upright, his half-second flailing nearly taking out the adjacent urinal in the process.
His eyes scan for the doors and the windows before he proceeds to check himself, pats himself down like he's looking for his keys. Limbs intact. Civilian clothes. No rips. No gloves, so his mismatching hands at least is exposed. No blood at least. He's got his knife, but no gun. Nobody screaming. No orders. He even checks his ears. Or any strange scars on the back of his neck. Anywhere anything might be implanted. But, save for Bucky having his Little Moment, a vibranium-plated pebble plonked inelegantly into a pond kicking off unsightly ripples and waves, the men’s is hauntingly still.
The little voice inside his head is too preoccupied with screaming that he takes a little longer than necessary to calm himself down, unable to keep the tightness in his chest, the shallow and fast breathing, the racing heartbeat completely at bay.
But the Little Moment comes. And it passes. Then comes the clarity with which he can address the other person in the loo, who probably thinks they chose the wrong time to heed nature’s call and start unzipping. Now they’re stuck with a madman glaring at them. They wouldn’t be too far off the mark.
“Where are we? What year is it?”
Sticks and Stones
Bucky is unfortunately probably one of the least communicative people to ever be paired up with, and the recent abrupt change in scenery has done little to alleviate all those glaring symptoms of his severe allergy to amicable sociability. It’s not sulking if it’s simply an aversion to having a sunny disposition or endless optimism about anything he’s managed to figure out thus far about this place.
On their way to the park he seems to be oscillating between being hyper aware of his unfamiliar surroundings and being lost in his own quagmire of disparate thoughts. Every little noise has his head snapping up like a trapped, wary animal, turning to glance over his shoulder, anticipating having to protect his partner and put up a fist fight against the first sign of ‘paranormal activity’. He’s not even sure what the hell they’re looking for but he doubts he’d be lucky to get away unscathed with a mere photo or recording of an angry swarm of cunning wizard bees to win some hundred dollar photography competition he never signed up for.
Well. He’s done worse things for a hundred bucks. This is... being a ghost or monster hitman for hire or whatever they were sent out to accomplish on this stroll in the park is miles better than being a hitman for Hydra.
“I’m not sure what we’re looking for,” is the first thing Bucky says in what feels like hours. Wearing a dark military style jacket, navy jeans and keeping his hands buried in his pockets, head down and voice low with an unnatural tension in his jaw, he’s simultaneously on edge whilst unconsciously trying not to draw too much attention. It’s proving to be difficult to do both.
sticks & stones
So far, the whole exercise hasn't been.. terrible? The stranger doesn't seem to mind that Bell hasn't so much as said a word to him since they set out, and hasn't tried to engage him, and if his glare and his size are a little scary, well.. he hasn't tried to touch or hurt Bell, so he can deal with it. It's why the sudden voice startles him, making him jump and skitter a little further away in surprise.
.. Oh. "I.. ain't real sure," he manages after a few false starts, heavily accented and a little faint. "Everything weirdy-like I know's awful, but it ain't-- ain't the kinda' thing you can take pictures of." And they wouldn't send them to take photos of something that could kill them, would they?
no subject
Not right now though. Right now he's thinking to try and tone it down maybe. Put the other guy at ease. But he doesn't know how to tone it down. It's not like there are dials he can turn.
Bucky does very different types of shoots, it's true. Sure, surveillance can be part of the initial setup, but he usually comes in at the end. Photos aren't part of his usual mission brief. He's not sure he can even work a camera all that well.
"I can handle awful," he says quietly with a sniff. "What kind of weird we talking?" Not that his partner has suddenly become the authority on all things paranormal but Bucky doesn't even know where to begin with regard to what to expect. Are they talking about ghosts or werewolves or something?
no subject
"Gods," he answers after a long moment of hesitation. "Old. Older'n the mountains, older'n humans, I think. .. The things they done.." He trails off, mouth suddenly dry, feeling light-headed as he struggles to keep his breathing even. They're not here. They're not here, and he doesn't feel them, doesn't hear them like he did at home.
His glance finally drops away from Bucky, and he rubs gloved hands nervously over the tops of his thighs. "I-- I don't think they're here. But I reckon could be other kindsa' things. Monsters an' ghosts an' the like." He doesn't know. People have always talked about things living in the hills, but this place isn't like anywhere he's lived before.
His glance flicks back up, then away again, focusing instead on the trail they're following and the dim light illuminating it. ".. I'm Bell."
no subject
The only gods he knows of come from gilded palaces in some galaxy far far away. Thor isn't all that awful.
"I haven't seen any ghosts. But I'll keep my eyes open." The path leads them to the inscribed rocks, so while he's not sure they'll see ghosts ahead, the foreboding-looking trail seems promising.
Come to think of it, he's not sure how he's going to deal with a malevolent ghost. Not exactly something that can be punched or stabbed.
"Know any... Conventional wisdom about dealing with ghosts?"
Sticks & Stones
Like her partner, she's not sure what she is meant to be documenting. Paranormal means so many different things to many different people. She could have snapped a picture of the ADI base and sarcastically turned it in. The town is spooky enough but Kate figures that they wouldn't appreciate that and that isn't who she is as a person at any rate. Kate will document anything odd in great detail. Along with her camera, that is currently on a long strap around her neck, she also has a note pad to write down any discoveries.
"Neither am I," Kate responds back. "Maybe we should fan out a bit?"
Without waiting for a response, Kate turns to her right where there is a slight decline from the walking trail. She doesn't make it two steps before down she goes! Kate tumbles forward and where normally she would have created a force field to protect herself, here she cannot.
Kate does an almost barrel roll as she topples forward and down before coming to rest on her backside. There are leaves in her hair and spots of dirt on her clothing. Physically she's fine but the same cannot be said of her dignity which is bruised.
What had caused her to trip? A rock, a rock with a message carved onto it.
no subject
With his hands in his pockets and in the midst of telling her that it might be a bad idea to split up in case they get attacked by paranormal whatevers, even with his reflexes he was too slow in pulling out to catch her in time. Cursing under his breath, he hurries over to her, crouching down by her side.
"Jesus lady, are you okay?" he asks, bionic arm whirring quietly as he unfurls and slides cool metal fingers under her elbow.
no subject
Kate looks around surprised at what had just happened. She lifts her head and looks over to Bucky. "I'm okay. Just..." Embarrassed! "A little bit stunned is all. I tripped over a rock."
As if on que, perhaps that paranormal activity that they were meant to be documenting, the football sized rock that she had tripped on, tumbles down the incline as well. It comes to a stop with its mostly flat side facing them. There is a word carved into it.
Enabler.
"Weird." It feels pointedly directed to her.
no subject
If he could have glared a hole through the rock, wrecked it with the sheer intensity of his thinly-veiled anger alone, he would have. If he was alone he might have very well shattered it with his fist. As it is, he tears his gaze away and turns his back partially to the rock, trying to help her get to her feet. They’re better people than to let some stupid stone get the best of them.
“It isn’t true,” he says quietly, in that kind of cold, quiet, calm before the storm sort of even tone.
no subject
Kate is not without sin. It pains her to look at the rock. She knows what it means. Kate is enabler of a system that isn't quite right. She facilitates the imprisonment and indentured servitude of people with truly unique and amazing abilities. Kate doesn't say anything out of fear. She knows that it's wrong and it weights heavy on her soul.
"Of course it's not true," Kate says a little too quickly and dusts herself off. Eventually, however, her gaze returns to the rock. She can't take her eyes off of it. It feels personal. She feels compelled to ask, "Are we seeing the same thing?"
no subject
He's not going to defend himself from accusations laid out by a rock. And if she'd take a stone's judgement of him over what she's seen so far, what she might believe he could be capable of, he'd be fine with parting ways, try and make his own way back.
"It's just another comment nobody wants to say to your face." He's inclined to just roll his shoulders and move on.
no subject
"It's weird though, isn't it? I decide to walk off the path. I trip over a rock, the rock falls down behind me and has a message carved into it." She takes a picture of the rock and pauses for a moment. The rock is in the picture but the message is not. "It's not showing up on camera." She unslings the strap of the camera and extends it towards Bucky.
"Maybe it's something that I am." He might be content to leave it and move on but she is not.
no subject
Leaning over to squint at the camera image she's showing him, he peers over the top of the camera to look at the judgemental rock, and then back at the image.
"Huh." Yeah, that is strange. But he's not sure that you still crave it is something she could be?
"...you're... hungry?" Hey. A man can hope. They don't need to make a big deal out of it. What would be even better is if they don't need to talk about it.
no subject
She doesn't want to say what's on the rock but she feels compelled to. It's a pit of dread in her stomach that feels almost like she's about to vomit. Better out than in, right? "It says enabler on it." Kate shakes her head slightly. No, it is not better out. She still feels sick.
no subject
He places the sole of his shoe against the end of the word and gives it a testing push with his foot. There’s... nothing untoward about the rock. Kinda feels like a rock and everything. Nothing special.
“‘Enabler’ mean something to you?” he asks, not really aware of how personal the question might be. Not really his intention to fly that close to the sun but he’s not sure what they’re up against. Some kind of mindreading stone slab?
no subject
"Yeah. It does." Kate says. It is something that she has been struggling with for well over a year. Then a thought occurs to her. A thought that takes the attention off of Kate and puts it back onto Bucky. "It doesn't explain why you thought I was hungry."
It's not a nice tactic but she hopes that it is one that will work.
no subject
“It says you still crave it,” he half-mumbles while gesturing with a vague wave of his hand in the general direction of the rock’s worded face.
“Maybe you’re hungry for a doughnut or something, I don’t know.” Can he get away with pretending that he’s being taken to task by a stone slab because of some preference for unhealthy snacks?
no subject
no subject
"Uh-- yeah," he finishes a little weakly, a little awkwardly. A smooth criminal, Bucky Barnes is not. "I'll-- have a doughnut. If there's any around here."