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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.
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Not that they know this, yet.
Meredith moves to follow Tim, glancing around the hallway. Outside the cramped quarters of a locked room and in the halls of a building like this, she can handle her own much better. "We might be able to blend in, if someone finds us. New interns, got lost. Easy to play off."
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Being demoted from CEO to intern in one fell swoop suddenly makes a lot more sense.
"Apex Detectives, Incorporated." That's their biggest clue so far, a literal sign with big, bold words stamped out front. "You really don't think they've got cams on their server rooms?"
Step one: start moving.
Tim keeps pace with... huh. There's... voices. Distant. Coming their way. They've got some-- so. Yeah. Step two:
He frowns and thinks all's forgiven if he doesn't go for a firm handshake right now. "I'm Tim Drake."
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As the pair pass an elevator bank, Meredith pauses. See, in spaces like this in office buildings, there's almost always an emergency exit plan in case of fires. That is, a map of the floor and directions to stairwells and other rooms on the floor. "Turn left ahead. There's a canteen, we might be able to blend in there among people taking their lunch break."
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Tim can't help the smirk, even if it does border on ironic when the tight amusement bleeds into his voice. "Pleasure's mine."
She's good. Tim doesn't slow his stride, reading the map in depth having to be put on hold. All he needed was to confirm the cafeteria wasn't a lie on paper. It's not. So it would have had to be a very elaborate con to give Meredith a reason to lie about that of all things. (But, y'know, trust no one.)
Now there's more chatter ahead than behind them. Tim spares a glance to the front of his shirt-- nah, everything is pristine. Tam had just slapped his freakin' face, not, like, poured coffee on him on anything.
God. What a day.
"So, Meredith, where are you from?"
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Clearly.
"And since your dad's the one who can afford to pay our ransom, you're buying me a coffee once we get in there."
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He pats his pockets instinctively. Wallet? Wallet? Focus, Timbo. "Is that, like... Arkansas?" She had said it like she had expected him to know where the hell 'Hightower' is, like it's not just some accounting firm his dad (not Bruce) had offhandedly mentioned once. Anyway. Spontaneous teleportation.
Multi... dimensional? He carries on casually.
"Gotham City born and bred, and I also think that's where my wallet stayed. And my phone." Which is fine, he had been in his apartment. But. It's fine.
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She'll get there. Eventually.
In the meantime, Meredith is checking what's with her. Her phone's in the breast pocket of her blouse (thank the gods for women's clothing that does have pockets), but she doesn't seem to have her purse with her--so she's lacking credit cards as well.
"Right, no coffee for the moment."
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and they think they're going to get away with posing as interns?
"Do you have signal?"
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Because phone companies are apparently as much of a marker of a universe as geography. Apparently.
"Great. Grand. I mean, not grand, but screaming 'what the fuck?' might give us away, even in here."
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Actually... someone definitely just passed them, didn't even spare them a glance.
Tim keeps his smile screwed in place, even if he has to fight against shoving his hands in his pockets. Despite some discomfort he steps lightly into her space. They're chummy. They're lost and overwhelmed. They're Apex Detectives' freshest fresh meat. "Yeah, you're going to have to get yourself a new chip."
Actually, some people are stepping away as they approach the dining area. Most don't... seem to care. At all. But some people apparently care enough to give them space.
And Tim hates it.
"Remind me to never leave my apartment without lunch again." He's growing a headache, he thinks.
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She navigates to a table and sits down with an audible sigh, glad to be off her feet. "Alright. So, given what we know, what do we do?"
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He tries not be disheartened by Meredith's sigh of relief. Tim lingers standing up, hands on the back of the chair. The people here looks excruciatingly normal. How quickly can he overturn the table or swipe some patron's glass cup or ballpoint pen? or key badge?
Tim's slipped into a frown somewhere along the line. He sits and gestures to her phone and isn't oblivious to how his shoulders have hiked up. "I don't suppose the calendar is current on your phone, either? But if you have a notes app, I would plug in any rooms you remember from that map. The company is Apex Detectives, Inc. It's... absurdly successful for a detectives' hub, if that's true. So I say we just try and waltz out the front doors."
Dare he say it. "What are they gonna do, pull guns on us if we stay in public sight?"
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He's right about this place not looking right for a detective agency. Too many people. Too much activity. And she's not wholly convinced they've ended up here entirely by accident.
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"Sure," he says, and internally apologizes for the edge. "We can come back tomorrow and ask to speak with a manager." After a clothes change and haircut. Tim shakes his head. "Big business needs a paper trail. If something doesn't add up there's still no reason to trust whatever they want to feed us. Not to mention if they 'yoinked' us on purpose then the least we can do is see what power they have over us in their own turf."
Weird how surly he can get. Gotta work on that. His cheek feels red, where he got slapped. Might have something to do with it. Jet lag. Kidnapping. Long day. He turns to her and reclines in his seat and, "What do you think?"
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First things first (as he tucks in his chair because he's not a heathen). "Elevator or stairs?"
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There's no hesitation over that answer, and the apology is more automatic than anything. Yeah, she knows she makes things difficult, but she's not stopping to explain here and now.
As they go, though, a few eyes turn toward them, some of the locals beginning to twig to Meredith and Tim not being familiar to them.
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They reach the elevator and Tim wonders how well advised slash or healthy it is to pretend like they can have a chance of waltzing out the front doors into the harbor city. But Meredith's got nothing to say about it either.
He sighs as the elevator dings and opens. "If anything, I'm feeling pretty good about not trashing that server room like I first had in mind." Maybe they'll get nothing but a slap on the wrist.
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Sadly, it looks like their trip ends at the ground floor--there's a pair of men in security uniforms waiting for them, called by one of the people in the canteen who'd been dropping eaves casually. The taller has a chinstrap beard and beady eyes, the other is broad-shouldered and has a nose that has obviously been broken multiple times.
It's the taller who speaks first. "Right, you really ought to come with us, there's some things we need to explain to youse."
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The doors which open to reveal... a frankly underwhelming security team.
Tim wonders what the hell this is all about.
And, hilariously, he and Meredith are back to being in a small enclosed space. He frowns. He frowns a lot. "What, like we can't talk about it out here?"
(No, the security duo assure them. They cannot.)
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She glances sidelong at Tim, trying to figure out what he's about to do.
"Alright, so how does this go down?"
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Tim wants to kick the guy's throat. His shoulders are stiff. Even if he could fight his way out (which he... could), he'd have to leave Meredith behind. And that's not happening. But Tim doesn't have to be happy about this, and he's obvious in his tells. That's fine. No one would love to be--
He glances back to Meredith. She's not... concerned. Wow. Taking it like a champ.
Tim keeps his lips zipped until they get to the appointed room.
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There is one sign she's having a feeling about things; she walks to Tim's left, and her right hand briefly brushes her sleeve, just as she glances toward him, her chin lifting in something a little like that cool-guy upnod. It's a silent check-in, of sorts.
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--uh, no.
He raises a brow at her, still the sulky teen, but it's hard to be anything else when he's buzzing on the inside and waiting for the worst. He doesn't even know what the worst is. He just knows-- he hasn't done this brand of Boy Hostage before.
The two guards (who have by all accounts been... friendly) lead them to a room and open the door and usher them inside. And leave.
Tim can see a piece of paper; it's just there and probably important. Instead he chews on his tongue for a second before blowing out a sigh and pinning Meredith with a Look. "Not your first kidnapping?"
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"I wouldn't say I'm a frequent flyer, but no, not my first. That said, there's something distinctly...weird, about this one. Like, you and I seem to come from different...I hate that I'm about to say this, but different versions of the same world. And I can't help but wonder whose Earth this is."
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