redmarsshit | redshift: tdm #4

redshift: tdm #4

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

▶ Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

▶ All TDM threads can be considered game canon, and current players are welcome to either top-level on the TDM so prospective players can tag them, or use the prompts for logs or network posts on the communities. All threads on the TDM can be used for Activity Check.

a. the red shit.

There are rumblings in the deepest, most overgrown part of the agricultural area, where until very recently there was a lingering pocket of red algae. The good news is, the red algae is gone! The bad news is, it all got eaten by a mutated bear-thing with giant antlers. The algae did a number on the poor thing, doping it up and confusing it to the point where everything is an enemy.

What’s worse? The algae has adapted, colonizing the creature’s entire body. The algae has mutated in the process, releasing a protective cloud of toxins that causes severe hallucinations, as well as some of the protective and euphoric qualities that the red algae originally possessed. Which means the mutated, antlered, bear-thing is accompanied by a small army of other creatures, from large to small, who are all very invested in its survival and also are being driven crazy by its presence.

Prepare yourselves for one hell of a hunt. These animals can pop up almost everywhere in the agricultural zones, and when they do show their paws it’s to go on a rampage.

b. fashionista.

It wouldn’t be Anchor if the bots weren’t fucking shit up.

This time, the spa bots have gone full stylist coach, chasing down residents and trying to do their hair, nails, makeup, or change their clothes. In some cases, they're literally sweeping people off their feet and carrying them to the hot springs, massage rooms, and spa areas to be pampered. Too bad most of their cosmetics are fifty years out of date and the closests they’ve raided either had another resident’s clothes or moth-eaten dust-covered rags.

Is that the jacket Idris Elba was wearing in the introductory video? It kinda looks like it.

But it’s not all bad! The bots actually give great massages and fantastic mani-pedis. They also have a small stash of fresh cosmetics and clean clothes that got left behind in the spas. They might not fit great, but they look pretty good!

If your character doesn’t practice proper self-care, well. They’d better watch out. These bots have a particular eye for the sad, the filthy, the tired, and they’re going to make sure you get some damn fine pampering.

c. whole foods: 2.0.

Remember that whole Whole Foods grocery store thing that happened? Well, the grocery store and the zombies are still there. Only now there are more zombies, and two giant supply trucks have shown up, one behind and one in front of the store.

The one at the rear of the store can be accessed fairly easily. It’s painted to look like a giant United States flag, with a dramatic crying eagle emblazoned across the back doors. Inside, there is beer. Lots and lots of beer, and a bunch of semiautomatic rifles. Also some skeletons. Seems like the guns and booze didn’t help them.

The one in front of the store is thickly surrounded, the creatures clawing at the plain white sides of the semi like there’s something precious inside.

If Anchorites can make it through, if they can fend off the monsters and keep from getting torn to pieces by a hoard of bloodthirsty beasts, they’ll find out what that precious truck contains.

It’s twinkies. A semi full of twinkies. We hope you’ve got a sweet tooth, Anchor.

Navigation.

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Rey won't have to do any coaxing, but Elleru can see that she will. She takes a couple of steps into the steaming water, hissing audibly as her wounds make contact with the surface. The gritty sands still clinging to the strands of her hair loosen in the water, drifting toward the filters on the far end.

The bath stings, but it also feels undeniably good, the heat relaxing her sore muscles. It's so good that Elleru cannot help but smile, a laugh rattling its way out of her throat as she dunks her head under, sending water everywhere when she surfaces and gives her great neck a shake. Despite her form, her laughter almost sounds human in some ways, a giggle more akin to an upright than an animal.

With her longer tufts hanging in her eyes, she cocks her head to one side. Come on in.

Oh good, looks like she won't have to cowtip this thing into the water in the end after all. Rey just stands there for a moment, watching. Even if the animal does slip and fall or whatever, could she even carry it to somewhere more suitable for this? Most likely, awkward bulk and all.

...

Rey balks at that voice, though. She's heard that rats can laugh, but they didn't sound anything akin to humans. Has she been talking this whole time while it plays mute? She recalled the voice that called out to her outside, though there was no one there...

No one but this creature, who sounded undoubtedly female. Rey wasn't so uncouth to check for any signs of its gender, and it hadn't really occurred to her to look. While it was feminine in appearance, you never know with certain species.

As she stands there, she realizes that the creature seems to be communicating something with its facial features and gestures. She squints.

"Um." What do? "Fine, whatever. Only for a little bit."

She moves to the strap of her tanktop, then pauses.

Holding up a finger, she moves for the changing area. "Be right back."

Hell if she was going to just throw her clothes off right then and there. It's less about propriety and more about oh god what is she even doing?

Elleru waits to be joined in the bath, only for her companion to leave to undress. Uprights are so peculiar when it comes to their bodies. Clothes is fascinating, and certainly an interesting way for them to express their individuality, but wearing them took some getting used to for a being who went without them for most of her life. A kaulahren in clothes -- how absurd.

Letting out a quiet hmph to herself, she has a seat in the water, keeping just her head above the surface as she waits for Rey to return -- and that's when a bottle of bubble bath sitting at the water's edge draws her attention. By the time her companion comes back, she'll find the room has a very different atmosphere: still steamy, still hot, but now featuring a bath full of bubbles, the only clue to where the kaulahren is within a tinge of lavender among the suds.

Rey's no prude; she has been naked in front of others before, no problem. As it is, she so rarely interacts with critters, least of all any as alien as this one. Whether she's in the company of people or animals, however, the undressing process is not something she takes comfort in being watched. The other way around? That's different.

...She thinks.

After a few brief moments, Rey retrieves a towel and a cozy bath robe wrapped around her. She'd be loathe to admit, the fabric is actually cozy.

Upon her return, her bare feet stop, and she stares through the thick and aromatic steam in front of her. And there is the animal, sitting among the bubbles.

"You enjoying yourself, there?" Rey carefilly steps around the pool of water, dipping a toe in to make sure it's even safe for her. She doesn't detect anything amiss, but can she trust it? Or anything here?

The water is warm an inviting, enough so that Elleru has almost forgotten about those deep scratches along her sides and back. She will get them taken care of later; for now, she's enjoying hiding among the growing mountain of bubbles. She hunkers down as best she can, the buoyancy of her fluffy coat easing the pressure off her injured limbs. She lets out a playful thrum from beneath the water as she tries to circle around to Rey's backside, the vibrations making it fairly obvious where she is. Her vibrant coloration does her no favorites, the bubbles shifting in color as she passes behind them.

As she moves, the tip of her tail floats at the surface, swishing left and right, gathering bubbles as she goes. She will show this upright how to enjoy the moment and not be so shy, and if it takes an attack of bubbles, then so be it.

What is it doing now? Rey steps back with a huff, able to see the tail moving around among the bubbles. Is it trying to hide, or...

"Hope you're not trying to drown yourself now, after all that shit. Or passed out or whatever."

Because that would be an even bigger pain when she had spent that time making sure the animal got to safety instead of going for those guns. Something that probably would have been useful to her in the long run.

This just seems like a waste of time now. Rey steps into the shallow end, robe still clinging to her shoulders as she moves to investigate the state of the creature.

Elleru circles Rey, the bulk of her torso breaking the surface of the water as she enters the shallow end, her vestigial wings like the dorsal fin of a purple shark. She's got a little mountain of bubbles on the tuft of her tail now, and with a flick, she sends them cascading in Rey's direction.

And if that didn't get her drenched, the fact Elleru starts vigorously shaking her head and neck back and forth at the top of the water, flapping her useless wings to douse herself beneath all her plumage, just might. She's never gotten to experience a bath like this, one with warm water and bubbles clinging to her hair and feathers -- just cold baths in the nearby river and lake at best, as all the natural hot springs are in upright lands. She's going to take full advantage of this while she can, and she sees no reason she and her newfound upright companion can't have a good time while doing it.

Before Rey can move to respond upon realizing that the creature is coming up to surface, it's too late. Water is everywhere. Bubbles, fucking everywhere.

She can only make a couple stumbling paces back, throwing her hands up over her face to block some soapy water from splashing into her mouth. "Wh- HEY."

Even for someone with her prowess, she loses her balance. Slipping back and landing flat on her ass, splashing strong waves of her own out of the pool. Her expression just twists into what she would be remiss to call a 'pout' as she leers at the animal.

"Wow, rude."

And there's that nearly human laughter again, something between a girlish giggle and a melodic chirp as Elleru prances in the shallow end, getting behind Rey again to nudge her to her feet. She dips her head under the water, aims her head for Rey's back, and dives forward gives her a push—

And wow, is this upright much heavier than anticipated. Her head collides with Rey's back with a muffled thunk beneath the water, and it's nearly like hitting a wall. Her neck twists awkwardly as she trips over Rey herself; she's grateful she's floating a bit on the surface and thus drifts to one side, or she would have stepped right top of her new companion. It probably wouldn't have hurt, given the water and the fact this strange upright is as immovable as a mountain, but it certainly would not have done either of them any favors.

As it is, it takes Elleru by complete surprise, so much so she forgets herself. "How sturdy you are!"

Oh fuck, oh fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck--

"WHAT," is all that comes from Rey's mouth before she kicks herself away. Water splashes everywhere, even more so than before, as she floats towards the steeper middle of the pool.

That voice definitely wasn't in her head, and it sure as hell didn't sound anything like her previous selves. Which means either she's hallucinating, or...

No. Nope. Nyet. Nein. What is today, other than officially insane. She's insane again. Yes.

Oops. So much for pretending she's a lesser beast, allowing herself to better hide her identity as something more from this lonely upright who might not have spoken to her otherwise. Her ears flatten out as she sinks herself into the water, keeping only her head above the surface, her eyes cast away in embarrassment.

"I did not mean to frighten you," she murmurs, looking as apologetic as a bird monster in a bubble bath can.

Rey pushes herself as far as she can towards the other side of the pool, until her back stops at the edge. She doesn't yet get out, seeing that the beast -- now definitely a female beyond any doubt -- isn't lunging or attacking her.

But that doesn't put this creature in the clear just yet. Rey's shock shifts to mortification that she's been chattering away this entire time, treating this thing like an oversized dog, when her words were (apparently) being understood the entire time?

"How long were you planning on letting me keep talking before you'd finally piped up?" If that was the plan at all. For all she knows, that was the plan all along. To get information out of Rey while she was so stupidly unsuspecting. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Elleru lets out a sad rumble from the back of her throat, the water rippling around her.

"I do not know," she admits, ever-truthful, as her kind are. "You are the first upright I have met here, if those outside are uncounted." Given they were clawing at her hide, no, they do not. "You rescued me, and I thought, perhaps, you may help me with my wounds if you were not afraid. So many often are of us. It was a surprise."

Though her ears remain back, her her head bowed as she rises from the water, she gives Rey as polite a smile as she can muster.

Wait, upri--

Oh. Rey glances down at her feet, and then back at the quadrupedal creature. Of course they would refer to two-legged types as something... like that. Probably. Who knows.

Rey blinks several times, wiping the bubbly water from her face with the back of her now-sodden robe, as if to rub the reality back into her vision. But nope, there's still a talking bird-like animal in front of her.

"Seriously? Long as you're not trying to claw my face off, I was planning to help either way." There's no point in pretending to be someone or something else, she realizes. Not after being so casual and personable when she thought this was just a sapient creature and not a communicative one. "You've really talked to no one else here yet?"

"No one but you," Elleru remarks, delighted that her companion was going to help her regardless of whether or not she could speak. She knew uprights could be good -- altruistic, even. She's only met one since her arrival in this new world, but if this one is an example for what is to come, then there's no telling how kind the other, more outgoing ones may be.

She'll have to find out for herself. For now, her wounds do need tending to, as they are starting to ache. She eases herself toward the stairs to climb out of the water. "Would others here find it a surprise?"

Neither of those things come as a shock to Rey. It wasn't like this place was bustling with people when she first arrived, save for the robots.

After a moment of gathering her bearings, she brings her hands down her face and heaves a heavy exhale. Honestly, this is not how she planned for her day to go...

"Not sure. Seems like there are other weird animals in Agriculture, so people might expect weird shit they've never seen before." God knows Rey already had, and she's still caught off guard sometimes. She's not quite at that 'used to it' stage yet.

Making her way from the water, Elleru gives her entire body a thorough shake, what feathers she has ruffling, her fur standing on all directions as she flaps her useless wings. A sharp ache from her side makes her features knit tightly, her body stiffening as she eases herself to the ground at the pool's edge with a quiet hiss.

"But are they lesser beasts?" she asks, not clarifying what she even means by that. The implication, other than that they can't speak, is that they are less than her, and given her size and vibrant coloration, it's not a hard qualification to meet.

Right. They came here to patch up, not to waste time soaking. At least she took the time to change, so that she'll have dry clothes to slip back into later.

Rey doesn't get up quite yet, slipping her face into the bubbly water for only a few seconds to slide the shock from her expression before it's plastered there forever. She comes up just in time to hear the question.

"Depends on what you mean by 'lesser beasts'," Rey comments, leaving the water to slide out of the soaked robe and wrap the towel around her. It's large and fluffy and enough to modestly cover her form, for the most part. Other than additional scars on her chest and legs, there's nothing notable to find.

She doesn't like that term lesser beasts, though. Rey doesn't like thinking of anything as a lesser being than herself. The wording in itself is uncomfortable, which she conceals behind a tight grimace.

"If by that you mean they don't talk or whatever, then yeah. Probably."

Elleru hms to herself, just now considering the possibility she might be the only beast here who isn't a lesser one, especially in the eyes of her deity. That distinction may be both a blessing and a bane. People will not know what to expect of her in her natural form, as this upright didn't, and she can therefore hide among the lesser beasts as necessary; however, that also means they may not know she is suitably gifted, and deserving of respect when she demands it.

She supposes she can handle that problem if it comes. "That is only half of what I mean," she states evenly, unable to fully decipher Rey's grimace. She decides to be open with this upright, if no one else -- she has already seen she can speak, after all. "I am kaulahren. Many beasts are lesser to me."

Edited 2019-10-01 21:46 (UTC)

As if it wasn't obvious enough that this creature was something totally alien to Rey, that name sounds like Greek to her. Or, rather, it doesn't sound like anything she's ever heard before. She just blinks at the being before her -- and while she could imagine people holding such majestic animals in high esteem, that's a pretty bold claim to make.

"Uh-huh. That why you took so long to show that you're not one of those so-called 'lesser beast' yourself?" She huffs, grabbing another towel to dry her hair. She's had a few months to grow it out, but it's not quite the unruly fluffy mop she's used to, at least.

That remark garners an indignant snort. "As I said, many uprights are afraid. Some hunt us. I could not be sure which you would be, or if you would be neither. It is an 'element of surprise,' as they call it, should I need to defend myself."

She seems pretty proud of her use of that idiom, giving Rey something akin to a beaky smile as she cranes her neck back to start putting her fur back into place. It, much like Rey's hair, is a little unruly when wet.

That would be a fair reason for anyone, given the circumstances. If she was regularly hunted, Rey would be wary as well. Though it doesn't necessarily explain the prolonged silent treatment. After all, if she quickly got over the fact that a giant alien creature was being friendly with her, then was the talking part such a big leap?

...Yeah, it probably was, let's be real.

Rather than getting hung up on the little details, Rey just waves off the concern. More to herself than to Elleru.

"Well, whatever." She shrugs a bare and scarred shoulder. "You still needed to get fixed up, right? If anything, that makes this easier now."

Rey's no veterinarian. She wouldn't know the first thing about telling whether an animal was in pain if it can't communicate what's wrong to her.

Pleased this upright seems to be letting her faux pas slide -- and making a mental note to avoid such a mistake in the future, lest she sour her chances to make friends and acquaintances, both of which will be important if she hopes to learn more about the uprights of this strange place -- Elleru stops preening for the moment, waiting for Rey to approach.

"I would like that, if you are still willing to help me. It is hard to... medicine myself."

Or medicate. She's working on it.

Edited 2019-10-09 23:54 (UTC)

The idiom mishap doesn't slip by Rey, but she's not pedantic enough to correct Elleru on it at the moment. Now that she's not 'just an animal', it's a wonder that she even knows any phrases like that at all.

"Right," Rey says more to herself than to Elleru. "Why not. Unless you're able to reach that far back, you're going to have a hard time fixing yourself, anyway."

Judging by the creature's proud posturing, pointing out the short arms in any blunt terms might not help. Best to keep that to herself.

For now.

"Is a reason why I was hoping you would help," Elleru returns with a coy smile. True, it might be easier for her to handle any wounds on her back and thighs in her upright guise, but shifting when wounded does run the risk of complications. It can be done without any stress on the injuries, but she'd be more than likely to tear the lacerations and cuts open further. If nothing else, it would be a painful experience, and that's something she'd rather avoid more of if she can.

She settles her great head down, giving Rey all the room she needs to play doctor.

redshift: tdm #4

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