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 Too bad most of their cosmetics are fifty years out of date and the closests they’ve raided either had another resident’s clothes or moth-eaten dust-covered rags.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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Mr. Fell may have mysteriously disappeared, but that hasn't stopped Ami from doing what she can, every so often, to spruce up the arrival room. Today, in fact, she's found a handsome potted flower somewhere (though she's not sure what kind it is), and she's headed upstairs with that and a little trowel to transplant it.

But somewhere en route, she finds something strange. Or someone, rather. Someone who is A) definitely not human, and B) holding what appears to be a real big gun.

She freezes, understandably intimidated. This is the first actual alien(?) she's seen on this alien planet, and she hasn't got a dang clue what a turian is. What are you supposed to do in these "first contact" scenarios? Do you wave? Say hi? Or just stand around staring at him like a dumbass?

... Yeah it definitely appears she's going with that third option. It's a bold strategy, Cotton, let's see if it pays off for her. ]

I know the scars are pretty nasty to look at, but I assure you that the guy that gave them to me is much worse off.

[ Garrus doesn't know what to do either. So he falls into one of his habits: deflecting the situation with a bit of humor. Being stared at for so long is kind of unnerving in its own right.

If the girl has never seen a Turian ( or any alien for that matter ) it really does make sense. But Garrus? Well he's still a person and staring is a little rude. ]

[ Ami jumps, her shoulders tensing. ] Eep! Sorry!

[ Would you believe she hadn't even noticed the scars? But now that he's drawn her attention to them, wow, yeah, that whole side of his face is decidedly more fucked up than the other half. It takes a second longer before she finally makes the connection that, alien or not, it's super rude to gawk at someone's facial scars!

She quickly looks away from his face, but now she isn't sure what to do with her eyes, and they start darting around the vicinity. Sci-fi armor? Big-ass gun? Three fingers? His face again? WAIT NO. ]

I-it's not the scars! I just... don't really know what you are? [ quickly ] Wait, that sounded really bad. What species you are! That's the thing I don't know!

... And also, hello! I probably should have started with that!

[ NAILED IT, A+ RECOVERY ]

[ Okay so obviously she feels bad and awkward about the entire thing. It's probably for that very reason that Garrus just ends up laughing, his own tension and awkwardness retreating for the time being. Oh they will likely rear their ugly heads again, but not for now. ]

I kind of figured you probably haven't met someone like me before. Don't mistake me as being some sort of paragon for Turians, though. Most of us don't have stellar personalities. I mean I do, but that goes without saying.

[ Again. Humor with a thinly veiled truth. He is not a very good Turian and no one should ever think that his race is anything like him. ]

So yeah. Hello.

[ HE'S NOT GOOD WITH THESE THINGS OKAY? ]

[ ... Okay! So that means he's cool with it? Yeah, he's cool with it. It's a huge relief that he's got a sense of humor about her dumb antics. She relaxes somewhat and laughs, too, albeit still a little nervously. He's a "Turian," then? She'll do her best to remember that. ]

Hi! Haha. [ She'd wave, but her hands are full of plant. ]

So, uh, am I right to guess you're already familiar with humans? [ He didn't seem as surprised at her as she was at him, but then again she has absolutely no idea how to read his expressions. ]

[ She has her hands full of plant and Garrus with his gun. He's only got a few more pieces to inspect before he can free up his hands. The over all air between them has shifted and that's more than okay with him. Humans, though... After they hit a certain point it's really hard for him to gauge their age. She seems kind of young though... ]

Yeah, that's right. I have a few human friends. The person I'd probably consider to be my best friend is human. You guys aren't too bad, I suppose.

[ As far as reading his expressions go? Well spend enough time around Garrus and it will probably become obvious. Like right now he's smiling a little. It's more evident in his eyes and with how his mandibles flare just a touch. ]

Garrus Vakarian.

[ Apparently sarcasm transcends interstellar boundaries, because that puts her much more at ease. Her smile broadens, and she even approaches to a more conversational distance. Still, it takes her a second to realize he's introducing himself, and not just saying something in Turian (or whatever their language is called). ]

Oh! I'm Ami Aihara. Welcome to Anchor!

[ He's gotta be new, of course, or this whole interaction would have happened already. ]

I've been here for a couple of months now, so I could probably answer some of your questions?

[ Thank goodness for translators right? No one actually wants to hear his native language. Besides himself, that is. Every now and then a translation does come up funny, but Garrus is usually quick to look up some sort of definition that matches context. ]

Not much of a welcome party, but it's better than standing here awkwardly hoping that someone will notice, right?

[ He says that, then places the last few pieces of his rifle together before returning it to his back. While being somewhere completely different without quite knowing what's going on does sort of put him on edge, he'd rather take a friendly greeting at face value. For now. There's still a chance that this girl could have something hidden, right? ]

A couple of months, huh? So... I guess my first question is this: What happened here?

[ Darmok and Jalad at Tenagra! Wait wrong show. ]

Yeeeeah, I don't have that much free time, haha.

[ ... Well, technically she does have something hidden, but it's less "has a weapon" or "danger to herself and others," and more "weird and complicated and requires you to understand Homestuck." She scrunches up her mouth a little at his question, giving it some thought. ]

Oof. Jumping right into the hard ones, huh?

[ Usually the questions are more like "what is technology?" But Garrus is a sci-fi alien, obviously he'd already know all that. ]

... We don't actually know. It was like this when we got here. I get the impression it was violent, on account of all the bullet holes and ghost injuries, but... beyond that, I got nothing. It must have happened years and years ago, though.

[ Look, he is not opening the book that his Homestuck. His own life is a confusing mess and explaining it to someone may well make their head hurt. But Aradia's life would, in fact, likely make his explode. Maybe in small pieces and allowed to properly process....

Maybe. ]

I'd say I'm sorry, but I like to jump right into things. It helps to know what I'm getting myself into.

[ Look, the tech here isn't really any more advanced. At least it doesn't seem that way at the moment. The portal is, but well. Apparently the people here didn't know how to work it either.

It doesn't sit well with him that they don't really know. ]

What about the people that built this place? No, wait. They're gone, aren't they?

[ Because that would just fit wouldn't it? ]

Oh, yeah, they're all gone. Long gone. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

[ She's begun to get used to the empty hallways and their echoes, but that's not to say she's comfortable with them. ]

My friend Peter - he was one of the first ones who got pulled in, and that was only like a month before me. Before that, the place was abandoned. We don't know who built it or when or how.

Empty space station orbiting a barren planet. Oh no. This doesn't just spell disaster at all does it?

[ Yeah. Shepard, wherever you are, this is somehow because of you. Garrus's life had been relatively uneventful before that human showed up.

He sighs, rubbing his face just a little. ]

Okay... And what is the situation like on the station?

[ She can't really blame him for being stressed. He's actually taking this a lot better than she did! Although that's not such a high bar to clear. ]

We're actually doing okay, mostly! Like... we've got enough food for now, and some of the guys are setting up a farm in the farm zone. The medbay still works, and usually the showers have hot water, even.

[ So that's the good news! ]

Oh, but, uh... sometimes the robots sort of freak out. A couple weeks ago they were trying to shoot at people. And then before that there was this weird fungus that got everywhere, and everybody who touched it started tripping balls. So... it's dangerous sometimes. But we get through it!

[ It would probably be something for any of this to actually get under his "skin." Garrus has had to deal with far too many life and death situations for this to register as anything other than something to mark off on a shopping list. Abandon space stations? Check. Creepy dead planets with no explanation as to what happened there? Check. Apparently robots going crazy? Double check.

Are we really sure that this isn't another Tuesday? ]

At least it sounds like you guys know how to have a good time.

[ That could be sarcasm. However? It's, uh. Not. Garrus might enjoy some of these things just a little too much. ]

[ Was... was that sarcasm? It's hard to say. He does have that huge gun and all, so maybe he's just the kind of guy who's into danger. ]

Haha, you could say that!

[ Which reminds her... ]

Oh, yeah. Speaking of which, I am also throwing a party in a couple of days! Kind of a meet and greet thing. If you want to come, it'll be a great opportunity to meet the neighbors, so to speak. [ with a shrug- ] Plus, y'know, free food!

[ A meet and greet thing in the form of a party. Well. That's. Hmm. That is something. A likely essential something since there are probably people that need to make those connections. Garrus is not actually a social creature. At least not as much as he used to be. ~~Sidonis might have had a hand in that.~~ ]

It couldn't hurt, I suppose. Though the last time I was at a party I can't say I remember too much about what happened.

[ Ami laughs, a little uncertainly. Obviously she's way too young to drink, herself, but she is well aware of the phenomenon of getting blackout drunk. ]

Well, I mean. It's not going to be that kind of party. But it's by the VR Room, so there will still be plenty of things to do!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

redshift: tdm #4

A

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject