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redstringtheories2023-08-01 07:06 am
TDM #24
(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 for English, 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.) The housing, itself is… dubiously all right. You might see the remnants of what seems to have been an all-out war of pettiness on the little apartment complex. A few places that haven't been painted over have things like 'MONSTERS' and 'GET OUT' written on them. One of the buildings (formerly Block D) looks downright derelict and shuttered. Exploring might lead you to find a hauntingly empty space that's been damaged beyond easy repair.
(cw: stalking, scopophobia, uncanny valley, body horror)
It would be easy to miss the black vans that begin patrolling the streets of Gloucester at first. There are only a few and they're unmarked. And one plain black van looks very much like another. They're parked on the side of the road sometimes, as well. Legally! And with almost frighteningly perfect parallel parking jobs. What's truly uncanny is their ability to fit into spaces that even the most experienced drivers would struggle with. And wherever they're parked, they seem to be punctual in driving away when their allotted two-hour limit is up. Such thoughtful and diligentdrivers.
It's fine. There are some black vans. Everything is fine.
Except you might begin to notice as you're on your way about town that there's a black van waiting at the corner where you've gone into a shop. And another rolling slowly–but never more than 5 miles under the speed limit–by the bus stop you're getting on at. And there's one parked outside of the ADI Housing. And Bonnies. And the General's Store. And Lucky's Theatre. And one that seems to be driving around the docks where Sable does most of her business.
Rumors start up around Gloucester that the government is starting to spy on people. Too many strange things happening here, especially with that weird tower that fell down a month or two ago. It… did fall down, didn't it? That was about the time that many people seem to have felt sick and lost their memories of the specifics of some events.
No one ever emerges from these vans and the tinted windows make getting an idea of who's inside a challenge. Those who approach will find the vans pulling away from them and they'll hear the distinct click of something. Those familiar with it, would recognize the sound of an older camera model. Should one be very persistent in getting close, indeed, they'll be able to catch a glimpse of the driver.
Ostensibly, it's human. The shutters where its eyes should be and the telescoping lens jutting from its wide open mouth notwithstanding, its shape is human. Mostly. The three slender, metallic fingers on each hand look a great deal more like tripods than anything else.
Those who catch a glimpse of the driver or even approach too closely will find themselves with a pervasive feeling of being watched. The number of vans only seem to multiply with them creeping along wherever you step out into Gloucester. The only refuge is a home where the blinds and curtains can be drawn or ADI property where that sense of watchfulness dissipates rapidly.
At least… at least the vans don't seem to be doing anything other than stalking people. For now.
(cw: misuse of the occult; references to hair loss, financial distress, and memory loss)
CALL UPON THE GREAT ENTITIES BEYOND THIS WORLD AND MANIFEST THE LIFE YOU DESERVE
The leaflets turn up sporadically at first, tucked into racks at local hotels alongside more typical pamphlets for tourist traps. They're brought to ADI's attention by Kahlil Nassir, owner of the local oddities shop, Things of Beauty, and a perpetually concerned citizen, after the leaflets show up in the literature rack he keeps by the shop's door and won't stop showing up no matter how many times he throws them out. A little investigation indicates it's the same story everywhere: whether by supernatural means or mere human stealth, someone or something is ensuring that strange leaflets bearing vague supernatural promises (or threats?) are readily found all over Gloucester.
Beyond the front fold, the glossy leaflets contain a detailed set of instructions for piercing the veil in "the dark between moons," but make no further promises nor clarifications as to the precise nature of the entities or manifestations one can expect. But you want what you deserve, don't you? And while it might take some effort to pull together the rather specific components (primarily an untarnished silver bowl, tallow candles, and charcoal you must make yourself from the branches of a dead tree that still stands), the diagram for the ritual is straightforward enough. There's a pattern to draw upon the bare earth in the dark of night, an invocation to be spoken as you light the candles at each corner…
And the sacrifice, of course. This part is less specific, seeming to indicate that one must choose something related to the well-deserved life one seeks and burn it in the silver bowl. Perhaps it's money you'll pile into the bowl and set alight. Perhaps it's a lock of your own hair or that of a loved one, or a prized possession. Whatever one sacrifices, it will go up in flame whether or not it's naturally flammable, sending up a plume of acrid smoke that calls beyond the abyss to one of the Entities beyond the world.
And then, well…you'll get what you deserve for having been foolish enough to enact the ritual. When you reach out, something will reach back into your world and into your soul, and you will know fear in the depths of your being. When it withdraws, it takes something with it, whether or not you know what you've lost right away. If you burned money, you might soon find yourself Buried in debt. If you burned up your own hair, your vanity might be rewarded with the rest of your hair falling out and leaving a pockmarked scalp behind. If you burned something that belonged to one you love, you might forget that love altogether.
Maybe it would have been best to simply burn the leaflet itself and not to make any ritual of it at all.
(cw: altered mental states; mental illness; unnatural darkness and cosmic phenomena)
On the afternoon of the first of August, the sun disappears from the sky.
That would be an over-dramatic way to describe a total eclipse, were it not for the fact that all records and predictions fail to indicate that a full eclipse was to be expected this year, let alone this month. It's also more than a little strange that the eclipse seems to darken the sky only over Gloucester and its immediate surroundings. And further, after the sun disappears behind the moon, it simply does not return. The sky remains black, and the world remains cast in shadow.
That night, the rather more expected supermoon rises, huge and heavy in the sky yet dim and lifeless, the moon's feeble rays failing to dispel the darkness that hangs over Gloucester. There is still power flowing to the city, yet the lights are all out. Lighting in homes and businesses simply will not turn on, and even light from candles, flashlights, or magical sources seems stifled by the dark, unable to travel more than a few inches.
But in the darkness, points of light appear overhead, the distant stars all the more dazzling and wrong for it. One's eyes are drawn upward, one's thoughts drawn outward…and then the stars begin to whisper. They speak incomprehensible truths, babbling in languages known and unknown, real and unreal. What they wish to tell you, you know not–and you must not know these truths if you wish to keep your mind intact. Their voices fill your head, driving out rational thought, pushing you toward the brink of insanity.
The sun rises at last on August 2, and the stars fall silent in the new daylight. Their whispers will be back, though. They may not come every night, and not everyone will be able to hear them, but the stars have reached down and tethered themselves to the Earth, and they will continue to whisper their truths to anyone who can hear them.
- ARRIVAL (July 1-31): Two people will almost always arrive in the same general location together. Arrivals occur throughout the 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.
- THEY WATCHED FROM A DISTANCE (August 1 and Onward): The vans will simply follow people around town for now. You might find your character the target of them one day and the next they're ignoring you. They seem to be especially attuned to anyone acting in an 'unlawful' manner and those who have tried to get a look at the driver. Should a character tail the vans, they'll find they're just patrolling around Gloucester and a little outside of it. They never seem to need to stop for gasoline, and they never go back to any kind of home base. The vans can be destroyed with the standard things that might destroy a van. And their drivers can be killed, should someone be so inclined. They don't seem to be able to talk if they're captured. They'll just stare and click away with their shutter eyes and the lens in their mouth before vanishing between one blink and the next. If killed and dissected, they seem to have human skin, but it stretched over mechanical parts. They seem to be filled with film, as well. Develop it and you might catch stalker-esque photos of many of the people you know, or even yourself.
- TALES OF WITCHCRAFT DRIPPING FROM THEM (August 1-16): The leaflets will continue to appear around town until mid-month; this period is also the only time the described ritual will be effective (i.e. attempts to recreate it later will have no effect). Sacrifices and resulting negative effects should be thematically linked to one of the Fears. Whatever horrors befall a character who enacts the ritual should be self-contained and consist of something bad happening to the person (or group of people) who performed the ritual. In most cases the consequences will be frightening and/or horrific, but not deadly or permanent. The leaflets seem to suggest that something good will come of the ritual and anyone who reads them will find it hard to put the ritual out of their mind, but there is no compulsion to complete the ritual once it has been read.
- AND THE STARS WHISPERED (August 1 and Onward): Everyone will perceive the eclipse and ensuing darkness on the afternoon and overnight of August 1 and will hear the stars whispering to them that night. From August 2 onward, players may choose whether or not their characters hear the stars on any given night. This will be an ongoing addition to the setting. Characters driven to insanity by the stars may experience hallucinations, paranoia, generalized anxiety, and so forth related to not-quite-knowing cosmic truths that are incompatible with the human (or otherwise mortal) mind.
QUESTIONS
no subject
Like, I'm assuming the same stuff as for everyone else who does the ritual, but should there be additional consequences?
no subject
Re: QUESTIONS
no subject
The license plates, themselves, seem to be duplicates for anyone named John or Jane Smith in Massachusetts.
Nimona | Nimona (Comic)
She doesn’t really remember how it happened, going to sleep tucked into the root branches of a tree as a fox and as she wakes the world spins and- she’s here. Wherever here is supposed to be. When everything settles and she’s up on her feet the realization she’s person-shaped instead dawns quickly. Changing in her sleep? Not really a problem she’s aware of but it could be a new fun issue.
All around her are office desks and cubicles, seemingly all empty from where she was standing. Some decorated and some bland and boring. Her face sort of scrunches up in disdain and confusion for the setting as she takes a few wary steps around the area.
Eventually with her frustration mounting Nimona stopped in an aisle between the desks, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted: ”Hellloooo?!”
Arrival - B
Getting hauled off by a mysterious organization to a dark room was not exactly her idea of a good time. Quite the opposite actually! But she cooperated enough it wasn’t too messy, there was also that added issue of realizing she couldn’t change. It was a familiar, terrible feeling that opened up recent wounds but she buried it down as she paced about the housing block of the ADI.
From neat apartments to war torn looking halls Nimona started to pay a bit more attention. Writing on the wall- quite literally snagged her gaze. Words sprayed and shoddily painted, MONSTERS it read.
Nimona scoffed and muttered out disdainfully. “I’ll fit right in then.”
B!
"Will you?" Eda's tone was somewhere between curious and amused. Because while she'd be the first to admit that it didn't necessarily prove anything, the kid looks human at a glance.
Unlike the seven-foot-something bird woman who had decided to comment from the other end of the hall; seems those ears weren't just for show.
Eda doesn't live in ADI housing anymore, but she's been back rather more frequently since it became where the bar is. In fact that's almost certainly where she was headed when she noticed the new face.
While she seems friendly enough, she also seems... tired. The dark circles under her eyes are a constant lately.
no subject
What- what was she looking at right now? Some kind of.. bird woman? A BIG bird woman! Harpy? That’s the word right?
Still, in another moment Nimona shook her head before crossing her arms with a cocked hip as she huffed. “You have no idea.” She sort of spat out before stomping closer. “If I could do what I’m normally able to right now? I could make you look like a runty little chicken in comparison! It’s as easy as stretching.” She huffed with a proud puffing of her chest. “But because this place sucks so hard, I’m stuck like this for the foreseeable future, or something.”
She then paused as she squinted up at Eda. “Are you supposed to look like this? I mean it’s a good look don’t get me wrong! But I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone else who can pull something like this off let alone just kinda…” she gestured around vaguely. “Be this way? You know?”
no subject
The way the kid reacted and moved didn't go unnoticed. A little off for someone the age they looked, in a way that reminded Eda a little bit of Hunter.
It was hard not to be amused by everything else the stranger said, though, and Eda didn't really bother trying to hide it. She was a little intrigued, too, but definitely amused.
"Normally I'd tell you to prove it," she said with a snort. The runty chicken comment was something they'd have to back up, as far as she was concerned. "But you're right about how much this place sucks, and I'm not about to tell you to go scare someone on my account." Not purely to satisfy her curiosity, at least.
"And I am supposed to look like this. When I don't look like other things." Two can play the cryptic implications about their powers game.
Seven of Nine | Star Trek: Picard
There's a woman in the hall of one of ADI's remaining apartment blocks, clearly new - though that impression comes solely from the fact that, as empty as ADI's campus has become, it's easy to be certain you haven't seen someone before, and not from any uncertainty in her posture. She radiates controlled confidence, back straight, lips thinning slightly as she takes in a patch of wall that hasn't been painted over.
GET OUT
"Friendly place," she says, head turning enough that she can cast a sidelong glance at whoever's just approached. The motion reveals the gleam of silver arching over her left eye - and the slowly-darkening bruise on her jaw.
Someone hadn't taken kindly to being dragged in by security upon arrival; the fact that she'd lost the ensuing scuffle stings, though it doesn't show on her face.
II. They Watched From a Distance
Seven isn't unaccustomed to being watched. It's long become a fact of life: she draws attention. Being followed is only a little more unusual - but she knows Earth's history. This isn't a friendly portion of it.
Still, it takes a few days before she's sure the van - vans - are actually tailing anyone, and not just conducting normal business. It takes a few more before she's managed to get a gras on how they maneuver, and even then, they manage to elude her several times. But she's nothing if not good at detecting patterns, even if her thoughts still sometimes feel like they're sunk in cement, years distant.
And so, late one afternoon, in what passes for rush hour, traffic snarled by the construction going on downtown, you might spot a tall blonde woman stepping off the kerb between two parked cars and striding toward a black van with tinted windows that has nowhere to go until that light changes.
Even if you don't see her immediately, the sharp, "Hey!" and the rap of knuckles on glass is attention-getting.
It's meant to be.
III. Wildcard
If you have an idea, go ahead and toss it at me! Or PM to plot a little something.
II. They Watched From a Distance
The thing is, he knows he could keep his distance all he likes, but they're not giving up. So confrontation is probably the only way out of this.
He's on his way up the road when he sees someone he vaguely recognizes from ADI, one of the new arrivals. There's something extremely familiar about her, but he's never gotten the chance to formally meet her.
It just so happens that John Sheppard knows quite a bit about certain TV shows with Star in them and he does kind of a double take when he gets close.
Okay. Yeah, that's uncanny, she looks a lot like--
Manners, John.
"Hey--ADI, right?" he announces his presence as he lightly jogs up to the van. "Are we doing traffic stops today?"
no subject
Up close, it's possible to see what appear to be some sort of splints bracing her left hand. It isn't - beneath the veil of ADI's glamour - the shiny, almost liquid appearance of her Borg implants, but, well.
It's distinctive nonetheless.
"Today's a special occasion."
She raps again, more forcefully. Up ahead, horns blare as someone opts to inch further into the intersection, banking on the ability to make their turn before the light goes red.
no subject
John also notices the splints on her left hand and while not exactly like a Borg implant, it's similar enough that it's got his pop-culture spidey-senses going off.
"Well, I'm all for special occasions, can I join you? These vans have been following people. Which is bad for us."
He moves to the other door, and tries the handle, to see if it'll open.
no subject
The van lurches forward as he reaches for the handle...all of two inches. Experts at slinking through tight spaces the occupants of the vehicle might be, but even they can't conjure room to maneuver from a bumper-to-bumper dead stop.
They also, apparently, don't think to lock their doors. It pulls open, eliciting another series of shutter clicks. They probably don't actually sound startled, but one can always imagine.
i.
"Yes, yes, lovely," he mutters distractedly.
He just glances up briefly from his tablet, then pauses, does a double-take and slows. Not necessarily because of the bruise on her face, his eyes immediately dart up to her eye.
"Is that an implant?"
no subject
Her shoulders straighten, and her right eyebrow lifts slightly - the other, of course, is imobilized by the graceful curve of metal. "It is," she says. "Part of an ocular array."