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redstringtheories2023-03-01 08:44 am
TDM #20
(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.) You might even arrive in a section of building that has been demolished, leaving a pit of rubble open to the sky–hope you're up on your tetanus shots! 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. The one exception is the demolition zone off what used to be one corner of the building: it seems the security teams are keeping a particularly close eye on that area to document new arrivals and bring them in quickly.
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: spiders; spider eggs; swarms; uncanny valley; loss of bodily autonomy; full encasement)
Beware the bus.
His name is Gus.
Don't shout.
Don't run.
Don't make a fuss.
Gus the bus.
Bus the Gus.
He's big and bright.
A mean old cuss.
The sing-song rhymes haunt the streets of Gloucester this month with young people, in particular, muttering to each other about a haunted bus that just has 'G1_15' fixed on its scrolling route sign. They've taken to calling it Gus, and regaling each other with tales of seeing it picking up and dropping off vagrants late and night when no one else is around to see it.
Enough sleuthing will uncover that these sightings, such as they are, seem to happen around 2 AM along Dory Road, where the Dogtown Trailhead existed before ADI and the local police force had the park shut down. Gus doesn't appear most nights, but for the lucky few who do spot him prowling, two things will become immediately clear:
1. He only seems to turn up when there are two or fewer people around; and
2. Gus is not a bus.
The hulking form that 'rolls' down the street does, indeed, look like a bus… head on. But catch him from the corner of your eyes and you will see that he skitters. The 'wheels' seem to extend in arachnid legs with two poking out from each well. His headlights are fractured, as well, with eight distinct lights winking away in the darkness.
Should one be foolish enough to remain at the single bus stop on this street or approach when they see him coming, they'll find their muscles locking up and, whether they want it or not, their body will move to board Gus. He'll settle down and let you in, should this happen. Welcome to a ride you won't soon forget.
The interior of the bus is filled with webbing and enormous white egg sacks. Try as you might, you can't seem to stop yourself from walking down the aisle and settling upon one of the sacks. You can speak. You can even scream, if you'd like. One of your fellow passengers may be doing so as small spiders swarm across them, slowly wrapping them in silk. But you can't get up, can't move to get off or fight the forces holding you. And as you sit, the swarm finds you and begins to wrap you in your own cocoon.
Once a person has been fully encased in the webbing, they will find themselves slowly losing consciousness. Instead of death on the other end, though, they'll awaken the next morning at the bus stop on Dory Road. somewhere on their person they'll be sporting a new tattoo… one that looks like spider webs.
It's probably fine.
(cw: altered perception; characters given cause to doubt their reality)
A single disturbance at a supermarket wouldn't have been enough to grab ADI's attention–Karens will be Karens, after all. But when two videos pop up on social media in one week featuring individuals in the produce aisle of two different Gloucester stores having what appear to be very similar mental breakdowns, it's worth at least a casual investigation. It's a bonus assignment, with ADI offering anyone who is willing to check out the grocery stores in the area a small payment for time and reimbursement for any related purchases.
For the majority of investigators, this little assignment is a big dead end. Local supermarkets, including the two with known events, are to all appearances ordinary grocery stores selling ordinary produce. Just a few people will see an odd sheen to the fruit that's heaped up in the produce bins. Upon closer inspection by those select individuals, the fruit in question appears to be made of wax. Touching it, weighing it in one's hand, smelling it, cutting it open, or even eating it just confirms what they see: it's wax through and through, too lightweight to be real, too smooth and brightly colored and false, a mouthful of lies.
To the people around them, though, obliviously picking out what they believe to be real food, the fruit remains as real and as heavy with juice as one would expect from real, solid food grown from the earth. For the majority of people, both local and interdimensional, the fruit is fruit by every measure, including taste. It's not especially perfect or delicious, not anything out of the ordinary in today's world of hothouse agriculture: it's simply fruit from the supermarket, as one would expect to buy on any ordinary day.
Food or wax? Are you digging your teeth into your next meal, or into a lump of inedible decor? Is perceiving the fruit as wax a delusion, or a hidden truth? Who can say?
(cw: compulsion)
There are many who would claim to hear a siren’s call to their local library. The lure of knowledge, escapism, or simply a quiet nook to help maintain focus, there’s an appeal to wandering the stacks for all kinds of people. Even if you’re not usually such a bookworm you might feel a bit of a draw when you happen past the unassuming building just West of Downtown. It’s ignorable, if gut feelings really aren’t your thing, but the curious might find themselves called closer.
As soon as your shoes touch the floor of the open main room, the call you’ve been hearing becomes a little louder, if only a little. There’s a whisper near your ear, like someone just a bit behind you speaking too low to hear. Someone familiar. Someone trusted.
Delve deeper. The voice gets more distinct, the words recognizable even if they never go over a whisper. It coils through your ears and your mind and your limbs, a sweet ribbon of promise. Come closer, don’t you want to hear? Don’t you want to know? Look harder.
Towards the back of the main room, near where a cluster of tables stands vigil, sits the history section. Local, State, Country, World, a wide manner of options present their spines proudly, though not a one seems to lay claim to the source of the whisper. Best just to listen, then, to your dear friend’s message.
Those who listen to the words will find information is their reward, information about them. Information about home. Is it the secrets in your past? The concerns of the present? Knowledge impossible to confirm from your future? Perhaps you should listen longer. Perhaps come back and check again. Or maybe just ask your friend nearby, they certainly seem to be listening keenly.
- ARRIVAL (March 1-31): Two people will almost 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 (or the rubble that used to be part of 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, as well as information about the state of ADI Headquarters.
- THE WHEELS ON THE BUS (March 1-15): Gus will only appear when there are two or fewer people on the street. There is no way to stop yourself from boarding Gus should you become trapped in his control, nor can characters physically fight against remaining where they are in the bus. Gus does not affect the thoughts of anyone he meets, merely controls their bodies. Those who wind up riding him and earning a spider web tattoo are free to decide where this tattoo is and what, precisely, it looks like. For the moment, there doesn't appear to be any ill effect from the tattoo. Maybe your new friends just want to make sure you remember. Characters may ride Gus more than once. They will acquire additional tattoos for each ride.
- WAX ON, WAX OFF (March 1-15): Any characters who see the fruit as wax will see wax regardless of which stores in Gloucester they visit; characters who see the fruit as fruit will see real fruit regardless of the store they visit. Almost all members of the general public see real fruit; a smaller majority of ADI investigators see real fruit.
- STORIED SUSURRATIONS (March 1-15): Characters who go to listen to the books whisper to them will, indeed, be told of some canon information relevant to them either from their past, present, or future! Any characters grouped up will hear the same message as those nearby, as the whispers carry on individually in the voice of someone the character trusts. The message doesn’t seem to change with new or prolonged visits, just the same message offered over and over again without a source.
Peggy Carter | MCU | OTA (will match style)
This was not the SSR office. The last thing that Peggy remembers was lounging in one of the other agent's chairs with a snack in hand. Her first thought was that she was drugged and kidnapped, then brought to wherever the hell this place was. But she didn't feel like she had been drugged. Her mind was clear, and her body was alert.
She searched her pockets for any clues, only finding the remainders of her snack, her SSR badge and her pistol. At least she had a weapon. Peggy ate the rest of the snack before withdrawing her pistol, prepared to shoot if necessary. She decided to look around the area first for any indication of where she might be, searching desks and drawers and finding absolutely nothing useful.
"Bloody hell!" She exclaimed mostly to herself, but the words do echo around the room.
The only other option that presented itself was to venture out of the office and explore in the hope of discovering more information.
Peggy has been in more harrowing situations than this. She's come close to dying on a few occasions so exploring an unfamiliar building in unfamiliar territory should be a breeze.
🎯STORIED SUSURRATIONS
Peggy was certain that she heard Sousa's voice ahead of her as she walked down the street. Had he been here the whole time and she hadn't realised? She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she continued to follow it until she's standing in front of a building with no sign stating what it was.
Eventually, she found the entrance and stepped inside, just as the voice started to get stronger, encouraging her to come in further. Peggy ventured deeper into the building and stood still for a moment, looking around for any sign of Sousa.
"A chief's work is never done."
The voice said. Now Peggy is even more certain it was him, but it didn't make much sense in the context of where she was.
"Daniel." She called out into the room, using his first name. "This isn't funny."
"Search the books." Came his voice again. "You'll find out what you want to know."
It's a vague instruction because there are a lot of shelves with lots of books and it would be much easier if she knew for certain that Daniel was real and this place wasn't messing with her.
"Fine." Peggy muttered to herself, turning to the nearest bookshelf and examined it closely, reading the spines to see if anything jumped out at her.
🎯WILDCARD
(ooc: Want another thing? Feel free to leave a prompt, DM me or poke me on plurk @ marymoo)
arrival
Today he can't completely avoid it since he's kind of trying to weave his way through the building to the canteen. He's kind of having a late lunch after getting side tracked with a project.
A woman stalking out of an office gun in hand is enough to make Peter slow to a stop, warily looking at the weapon then back at her. The seventeen year old has to wonder why his luck is like this sometimes.
"Um, are you new-?" He questions warily, wondering if he's about to be shot. That would kind of suck actually. "Cause- there is like an orientation you can go to, they might be a little iffy about the gun thing though. No one really likes being shot, it's not really great! I mean, it hurts- not that I've been shot, I mean, no-" He has definitely been shot before, and has no idea how to stop talking
Re: arrival
"I am new." Her reply is curt. "And I don't care if they're 'iffy' about the gun. I'm keeping it."
Assuming that he was also taken from wherever he was from and brought to this place, Peggy reckons she shouldn't direct her anger out on him. He couldn't be anymore than sixteen or seventeen. A kid. Who seemed to ramble on for a bit.
"As someone with numerous scars from bullets, I know much it can hurt."
But she survived.
"Where exactly are we?"
no subject
"This is the ADI." How does he even explain the ADI at all, he still is getting his bearings some days. "They're a group dedicated to stopping the apocalypse in this world. We all kinda just fell into this place. We can help or just leave, but- there isn't way to get home far as I know."
no subject
"Policy or not, I don't trust this with anyone else." She lowers the weapon but it keeps it by her side just in case. Then Peggy listens to his explanation, not quite sure whether to believe it or not. But nothing else seems to make sense.
"So this ADI brought us all here to either help or hinder the Apocalypse? And we can't get home?" A beat. "You know that sounds completely insane, right?"
no subject
Peter shrugs a little awkwardly back, apologetic at least. "Uh, sorry to tell you, it gets crazier with time. Like- ghost horse telling riddles level of crazy."
He knows that probably sounds worse, but, it's the most immediate example that comes to mind. "They have an orientation with more structured explanations too, which helps a lot."
no subject
There isn't much Peggy can do except press on.
"Isn't that nice of them. To set up an orientation after I ended up in an unfamiliar place. If they had any decency, they'd introduce themselves directly to anyone that arrives here."
That seemed like too much to ask for.
"What is your name?"
no subject
"Far as I can tell, people kind of just randomly drop in here with no rhyme or reason. So, I guess they're doing what they can-?" Peter isn't exactly happy with the ADI, but, he can't really fault them for not know where new arrivals land on property.
"I'm Peter." He offers easily enough, "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am."
Wildcard AF because I do what I want!
It is sometime after orientation that Miss Carter winds up in the Administration department. All newcomers do. It's where they get their housing assignments and take photographs for their ADI identification. It's an eventuality that all must succumb to.
Kate is working in administration that day when she sees Peggy approach the department. Having never seen the woman before, Kate automatically assumes that she is new. (But you know what happens to people who assume right?)
"Hi. You must be new. I'm Kate."
o7
Peggy decided to go along with it after being given directions to the Administration area. She half expects a long wait in a dull room with other people who didn't really want to be there but had to be because of the rules.
At least the person behind one of the desks seems friendly enough. She responds in kind, giving Kate a polite smile.
"Indeed I am. Freshly plucked from where I should be and deposited here." Alright, so Peggy sounds a little annoyed, but it's not directed at Kate. "I'm Peggy."
no subject
Arrival
"If you could just tell me the name of the suspect, I--" The man on the other end of the line cuts her off with a polite reminder that there is a strict chain of custody for evidence related to ongoing cases.
She's scowling about this when she suddenly finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun.
"I. Um." Should she hang up? Even with the phone lowered away from her ear, she can clearly hear the man on the other end saying, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you, 'Officer Kiramman,' that impersonating a police officer is a federal offence. And then he solves one of her problems, albeit not the most pressing one, by hanging up.
Instinctively, she keeps her hand up around shoulder height, not wanting to make any dramatic or sudden movements lest she be shot. "I-is. Is there something I can do for you?"
no subject
Peggy watches the other woman as she keeps one hand in the air, a sign that she reads as one of surrender.
"Yes, there is." She replies, her tone serious and guarded at the same time. "You can tell me how to get out of here."
The gun is lowered enough so it isn't pointing at her anymore, but Peggy isn't going to put it away.
no subject
"Y-yes. I can show you to the front door." But this woman is almost definitely someone displaced from another world, and Caitlyn can't in good conscious let her just run off and fend for herself.
"But you should know where you are. I suspect you've been brought here from another world." Not the gentlest way to break it, perhaps, but how else do you tell someone that?
Storied; this is post-WS Bucky who has very minimal memories, sorry Peggy :D
He stops short, though, at the sight of that hair. That face. Jesus fucking Christ. "What are you doing here," he demands before he really thinks too hard about it, too startled to care that he's being rude.
oh dear!
Impossible. His hair was longer and his face seemed hardened, but the man absolutely resembled Sergeant Barnes. Peggy stares at him for longer than necessary before she answers his question, even when it did come off as rude.
"I could ask you the same." A pause. "But I'm looking for a book." There's another pause. "You're real, aren't you?"
no subject
He hesitates, then counters with, "Are you?" If this is an entity trick to fuck with Steve he is going to punch her into the wall, probably.
no subject
"I am real. I haven't been here for very long." She picks up another book, flicking through it. "See? I'm solid. Not imaginary. Shall I prove my realness in another way?"
no subject
Of course, it's up in the air whether whatever she says about Steve is something he'll remember, but it's worth a shot.
no subject
She doesn't know if that would be enough to satisfy his question, but they are personal details that most people weren't privy to. A lot of people didn't know much about Captain America's life before he became a symbol for hope.
no subject
There's a growling part of him that says she is not allowed to have him. Steve is his. Except Steve isn't his, not really. And Steve'd been so sad when he described what jealousy feels like. It's very tangled and he wants to ask Yelena about it. Instead, for now, he warns, "This is not a good place. Don't let any entities get hooks in you."
Storied susserations
Steve should probably know better.
He should, and yet he finds himself drifting into the library, chasing that voice. That feeling. Because he does want to know. He wants to know, desperately, because now he knows there's a whole person he can't remember. Every time he looks at his compass, it aches like a missing tooth. He hates it. And he desperately wants to fix it, enough to be enchanted by the voice whispering in his ear - or is it in the back of his mind?
It's a voice he doesn't recognize, either - because it's Peggy's, telling him he can find the answers, but he's got to look a little harder.
But then there's another voice overlapping the first - a man's voice - and a woman - that same woman, only her voice has a different quality. A realer quality. and he ducks around the next set of shelves and -
He blinks. Is he hallucinating? Is he seeing things, instead of just hearing them?
"You're Peggy," is what he says, dumbly, when he sees her.
no subject
Peggy stares at the man who addresses her by her first name. Was her mind playing tricks? She's already heard Sousa's voice so why shouldn't she also see a ghost? This place was strange enough so it would make some kind of sense for her to come across a sight like this.
"I am." Deciding to confirm it in case he was questioning his own reality as well. "Steve. Are - is it - are you really you?"
no subject
But this still feels different.
"I - yeah," he says, and his expression sort of slides into a helpless smile that's just tinged with a little confusion at the edges. Maybe almost a little nervousness, because he's got a giant blank spot in his mind where this person should be, and he isn't entirely sure how to act around her. "You - when did you get here?"
It must have been recently. Very recently.
"You weren't just... calling me, were you?"
It also seems best to separate fact from fiction - and determine whether they should be in the library at all.