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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.
p5 spoilers
(Everywhere, really. Good thing that Akechi decided against running his mouth and voicing his thoughts, because seriously, with Akechi's own power, he doesn't get to say it. It's not like any other Persona User can inflict mental breakdowns left and right.
Ah, but the look on his face does tell him there's a sting of jealousy, from the piercing gaze and the attitude. Akechi, please.)
Let's go. We'll figure it out.
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[Yes, jealousy over Ren's many, many advantages notwithstanding, there's still plenty to do. To check, to ascertain. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks it -- there's no Metaverse Navigator, which stands to reason, but there's also no service. They're far enough away to be out of network, but not in the Metaverse itself.
For now, he pockets his phone once again and moves forward, staying close to the walls as he might when infiltrating a Palace.]
It's possible we were knocked unconscious by the rather... violent nature of the destruction of that particular Palace. Something or someone must have seen fit to drag us here. Perhaps for our involvement.
[Or, he doesn't say, this is Shido's lackeys getting revenge. If things were to... "go back to the way they were" with the destruction of Maruki's Palace, well. It's not impossible that Shido's men may have hunted Ren down. If he himself had managed to somehow survive the destruction of that man's Palace, then...
Too many unknowns. He mentally shakes his head and glances back to Ren again.]
Well? What are your thoughts, Joker?
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(There was nothing happening last thing he remembers. It was only the light purring and sleep-talking of his cat, the sounds of the train and the eventual coughing and tossing in place from the other passengers. That Palace is dead, Akechi... Should most definitely be, as well.
By his own choice, no less.
His feet make no sound as they step, and his back glues to the wall as he takes a rather underwhelming look towards their environment. Nothing glows, nothing is lit like a quest would in a videogame. With a sigh, Ren can only confess:)
I don't think this is anything like what we've dealt with so far.
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[The hallway opens to what seems to be an array of empty cubicles arranged in a neat grid. Akechi pauses, stares across at Ren with visible alarm, tempered by no small amount of confusion. That doesn't make sense. Nor does it make sense for Ren to lie to him about something as stupid as being on a train.
With renewed urgency, he demands,]
What's the date?
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One thing he can do though is to keep his calm, breathe in and recenter, gray eyes finding reddish ones before with no amount of uncertainty he declares:)
March the 20th.
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Interesting, [is all he says aloud though, voice as composed as ever even if his eyes are burning with a restrained anger. Anger, tempered by just a touch of weariness.] You know, I'm starting to get rather tired of having large swathes of time missing from my memory. I'd be rather interested to see if any of these offices have a calendar in them, themselves.
[With that, he stalks forward to the closest cubicle and starts scanning the desk, looking for all the world like he wants to pick up the paperwork, supplies, and trinkets, and just hurl them into the wall.]
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Unlike Akechi, however, Ren is nothing but quick to adapt, to breathe and just go with the flow until things finally make some sense. Of course, his own feelings don't differ that much from Akechi's, he's just much better at putting them aside and doing what needs to be done first - his rage usually gets settled while at it, too.
He too busies himself with searching the tables, trying to grasp anything that can be of use.)
ADI?
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["Apocalypse Disruption Initiative" is a bit too advanced for his grasp of English, which all the rest of this shit seems to be written in.]
"Apex Detectives," [he sounds out with a scowl, glaring back over at Ren and repeating it once again in Japanese for Ren's benefit.] Some kind of detective agency? Private investigators, perhaps.
[The computer is password-locked, so he doesn't bother with it for now. What he can see is the date, which he jabs an accusing finger at.]
This computer seems to think it's July. What the fuck is going on here?
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It says "apocalypse". We should be extra cautious.
(Not only of the agency but of the world they seemed to have been sucked into. All the answers they're managing to find only raise more questions, and Ren doesn't fucking know where to begin.)
I'm sure it was March, though.
(Not that it matters if his theory is correct. This is not home.)
Not our Earth, it seems.
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And while I'm certain I shouldn't have seen past February if all had gone according to plan, here we both are. Do you honestly think we're in-- what, another dimension?
[There's a part of him, a large part, that just wants to sweep all these documents he can't fucking read off the desk in a fit of pique, but he restrains himself for now and just grips his briefcase more tightly.]
No, we need more information. If there are offices, there are people. Let's go interrogate some of them.
[His sneer curls into a smile that's just as ugly as the former expression had been as he pushes his way past Ren. He should probably be nicer to the other boy, but, well. Time enough for that later.
It's not long after that that they're found by ADI's staff members. As if someone flipped a switch, Akechi's all smiles, polite requests for information, eyes warning Ren to play along for now. For all his anger -- and believe him, there's plenty to go around -- he's not in the habit of making enemies when a smile can get him just as much of a solution.
And when it's all over and they're finally released to their own devices, Akechi simply tilts his head toward the door with a meaningful stare. They're going outside to talk, and his expression brooks no argument from the other boy.]
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(Because that's the only thing that is making sense to him. If everything went right, Akechi is gone. If they're both here, then the both of them ceased to exist. It's the best he can do, considering what he has to go along with.
When they're both cornered by the staff, Ren as per usual lets Akechi do the talking. He's better at that than he is, although he wanted to die at each feigned pleasantry and politeness, considering who Akechi really is.
Now that they've been captured and granted the ability of English speaking, it startles him to think in the new language, perfectly as if it were Japanese itself. What--
He'll lead them outside, even when his thoughts are most certainly centered on the newfound knowledge.)
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Well, [he says finally to break the silence, after they've walked nearly a block away.] Do you still think we're both dead?
[Ren's initial guess about a different Earth was surprisingly on-the-nose, after all, even if Akechi had initially dismissed it. Akechi's used to living with the idea of being on borrowed time -- Ren, he assumes, not so much. It's an important point to clear up first.]
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One thing does not negate the other, when he comes to think of it. They can be on a different Earth and still be dead as disco, considering Akechi's situation. It's moment before he can speak of it though.)
You're... Gone, last I remember. Both things can be true.
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[He doesn't bother to hide the thin veil of sarcasm covering the words. "Gone," doesn't necessarily mean "dead," but he can't prove either thing.
A beat, then he sighs, closing his eyes for a moment before stopping and searching Ren's face carefully, trying to discern just how, exactly, he's feeling. The silence stretches just long enough to be uncomfortable before he presses, more insistently,]
Do you remember dying?
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And meanwhile, everything else is a tsunami of questions and doubts, of second guessing and double takes upon everything they've been explained.)
No, but neither do I remember it being July.
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[Akechi flicks a gloved hand dismissively and turns to keep walking, unwilling to stay in one spot too long when he doesn't know where, if anywhere, is safe.]
If there's one thing I've learned, it's not to assume you're dead until I've disposed of your corpse personally. So stop trying to write yourself off and wipe that look off your face. Maudlin is a terrible look for you.
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(If only Akechi listened, he'd get it that Ren believes in both! Maybe it's a strange afterlife, the fuck does he even know.
It's the second part of what Akechi says that makes Ren's eyes burn with intensity behind the pair of glasses that attempt to soften it. "Maudlin", seriously?)
You cannot be serious.
(Can't Ren have a single moment to process this?)
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That's a better look already. Try to keep it.
[It smells like salt water. With that in mind, he turns the corner of the next block, headed in the direction of the docks.
In spite of it all, he's just as tense as Ren is, though it's difficult to tell with his usual ramrod-straight posture. None of this makes any sense. None of the other Thieves seem to be here, and honestly? For once, Akechi almost regrets their absence, if only to give Ren something positive to focus on.]
If you intend to mope, [he continues,] Save it for later and don't waste my time with it. We have some decisions to make, no?
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(Let's start there. Even while still in the process of convincing himself that he isn't dead, he's not there feeling sorry for himself. His tone expresses as much, firm and unwavering as he follows the man.
Akechi's right. Ren can yap at him about Akechi being dead and Ren's mourning that he most certainly isn't being entirely comprehensive towards.)
If we want our abilities, we have to get acquainted with those things. Are you going to do it?
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[And that's that. He never asked Ren to mourn for him. Even back in November, all he'd asked was for Ren to change Shido's heart -- a deal he'd upheld. He'd helped him take down Maruki, and that was that deal fulfilled.
The priority right now is deciding on a course of action. There will be time to process feelings later.]
As for getting acquainted... I'm not certain how much choice we'll have. Simply possessing a Persona may be a... magnet, of sorts.
[His lips curve down in a pensive frown as he stares straight ahead, not truly seeing the quaint Massachusetts town around them. Their Personas are, indelibly, a part of them. They are them, by and large, the parts of them that they've dredged up from the depths and accepted into themselves. However,]
These people -- ADI -- seem to think that people could be murdered through use of our abilities. Is that something you can live with, Ren?
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(But as Akechi said, he feels cornered. There isn't much of a choice, and if he's going to help others without fail, he's going to need his skills.
It just feels like he's going to be digging a hole he isn't going to climb out of. Two contradictions just clashing on one another.)
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[Akechi nods, just once. For as much as he mocked the Phantom Thieves' naive idea of justice, it's also one of the parts of Ren that he respects the most. The ability to hold firm to his beliefs, to power through... well.
Akechi's hands are already dripping with blood. No need for Ren to know what that's like.]
Then I suggest, for the moment, we take them at their word and refrain from using our Personas until we have more concrete information. [A sideways glance.] I'd advise you not to mention it to anyone, either. There's no need for anyone other than us to know what we're capable of, don't you agree?
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He might have to be that person again.)
If I want to tell anyone, I'll tell you.
(Needless to say, he expects the courtesy back.)
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[He glances up to a sign pointing toward the docks, marveling once again that it's not in Japanese and yet he can read it, easily, and turns in that direction.]
Now, several other orders of business. [He looks back to Ren again as they walk, once again trying to read his face.] Are we going to work with ADI?
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(Simply because, they need information to survive it. ADI seems to have it. Once at the docks, Ren finds a place to sit near the water, watching the waves crash against the rocks.)
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