![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsehowmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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.
Zhao Tianyou | Yakuza / Ryu Ga Gotoku
II. I Will Survive
III. Shifting Perspective
IV. Wildcard
shifting perspective. | gonna go w/ the monster having high HP LOL
The barrel of a rifle peeks from behind tall grass on a raised incline in the vegetation by the beach, and though Chris swears under his breath, he reloads his sniper, puts his head back down, and fires again. The creature staggers, thrown back a few measures, but quickly gets up and turns its attention to the other man on the shore instead.
In the hopes said man on the beach is working for the ADI (and is thus connected to some radio channel or other), Chris taps at the transmitter in his ear. ]
See if you can fire into its mouth!
[ The monster, meanwhile, has begun crawling swiftly in the other man's direction with a great roar and bloodied teeth. ]
no subject
[Though he doesn't reach for his ear, the Chinese man does reply. Whether he can be heard or not was up for debate but he didn't have time for proper channels.
One thought flashed through his mind in response to the suggestion: pulling out his gun probably was better than getting into a melee fight with it. It was more of a question of if he could quickly enough. The beast was moving fast towards him. Thankfully, the calm of battle took over Zhao and despite his new-found fear of the supernatural, his muscles moved of their own accord now that he wasn't alone. He pulled out his pistol and began to fire. Habit had him shoot two rounds at the torso before he compensated and aimed higher. The quickly moving target was hard to aim at but he managed to hit it eventually right in the mouth.
And cursed as the thing kept barreling towards him. He couldn't tell how much damage the shots did, if it was still just moving forward on momentum or not, but he didn't care at the moment. It was time to dodge again.]
no subject
Chris can't be sure, though. Not from this distance.
At least the man seems to be light on his feet. ]
I need you to run towards me. [ His voice comes calm again through the man's earpiece, and just as he says it he aims his sniper and delivers another shot to the creature's head. It screeches, voice wild like nails on chalkboard, and slams into the sand, and though it immediately starts to get up again, there's enough seconds' delay for Chris' instruction. ] Look behind you, upward, northeast.
[ And true enough, just between the grass on the raised section of land, there's the flicking on and off of a flashlight. ]
Can you do that?
[ The creature's on its feet again, blood oozing out the three holes in its head and the two in its body, and with a gurgle its legs carry it forward with both arms outstretched. ]
no subject
As it staggers to regain its balance, Zhao returns to his feet in one swift motion, never losing momentum, and turns to do the exact thing he swore he didn't want to do. He runs towards the blinking flashlight as if it were a beacon of hope. Not that he particularly thinks it's a great idea, but it's the only idea right now.
Besides, if there's two of them, maybe the creature will decide to go after the other guy since it's having such a hard time sinking its claws into him. Zhao was not above such selfish thoughts.]
Just keep shooting it, you asshole!
[It's said affectionately, minus any perceivable affection in his voice because he was too busy running for his life to bother. Maybe later he'd show some actual gratitude. For now, he was more concerned with either escaping or defeating this thing.
In all honesty, he'd love to kill the fucking monster.]
no subject
The half-insult is almost familiar, but he bites back the smile.
Instead of give any verbal confirmation he fires to cause the creature to stagger back again with a screech. It's insane how many bullets they've loaded in it-- that's four now, in the head, with three of them heavy ammo-- and it has Chris switching tactics as he gets to his feet and pulls the assault rifle from his back.
The man's gotten closer, so the creature's gotten closer, too. Chris blows its hand off just before it manages to grasp his shirt.
"Raaaahhnnn..." It's an ugly, gurgling noise from the creature's mouth, and Chris' boots cut through the sand as he slides from his position to meet the man halfway and dart past him. "Raaaahhbeeeet..."
Chris stabs the bayonet on his rifle clear through its middle, and it gushes out blood that spatters on his shirt.
He looks over his shoulder, holding the creature up on the gun like a skewer as it twitches and screams. ]
Head!
no subject
He can't believe it when the man runs past him in the opposite direction, straight for the creature, and Zhao skids to a stop in the damn sand. He turns to watch.
Brave man, stabbing it with his bayonet like that. Something Zhao didn't really have the desire to risk by getting so close to it.
And yet-]
Oh for fuck's sake.
[And yet when the man yells at Zhao to attack it's head, the Chinese man does just that. He puts his gun away--surprise, Redfield, don't hate him just yet--and pulls something else off his back instead. It's a sword. A beautifully curved and ornate Chinese saber that almost looks like it's for show only--but it's blade is sharp and it's not for show only. As Zhao demonstrates as he steps towards the monster with a twirling flair and, using the momentum from the precision footwork, slices cleanly through the creature's neck.
He finishes in what can only be described as a martial art's pose, holds it briefly, then comes out of it and into a lax defensive stance. Just in case. The thing's head is gone but. just in case.
Zhao breathes in deep and lets it out slow.]