redshift: tdm #5

[modblob]

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. don't be a sap.

Good morning, October 25th! Whether you're a confused new arrival or a current resident, you probably had some plans for today, right? Grab breakfast, visit a friend, pick some fruit, explore a new part of the massive city.

Well. Too bad. Because, as every single bot in the city will be telling you the moment you show your face, it's GOOP FESTIVAL DAY! What? You've never heard of it? Preposterous, everyone knows about the Goop Festival, it's one of the most anticipated holidays in Anchor! Haven't you been preparing for this for a week now?

The Goop Festival is a harvest celebration, in particular, a celebration of the sap-producing trees that grow wild in the Park, thick around the edges of the south side of the lake. The bots have been hard at work setting up the festival grounds in the shade of the trees in the balmy fall temperatures. There are spiles tapped into trees with buckets placed underneath that are already half-full of a thick, viscous, amber-colored sap. The bots have also set up troughs of shaved ice with long sticks nearby, with which they will demonstrate for excited residents (you are excited, right?) how to cool the sap in the ice and wrap it around the stick to make it a sort of taffy candy. That's not the only sweet surprise waiting, either.

A long table set up in the grass is loaded down with all sorts of delicious sap-related goodies, ranging from cupcakes with thick globs of sap-flavored frosting to sap-flavored jerky to sap sugar candies, and just about anything else you can imagine. There are a wide variety of offerings that would taste good coated, flavored, or glazed with the sap, which tastes sort of like a caramelized toffee. Another table is laid out that has row upon row of cups, each half-full of the sap, heated lightly to a thinner consistency and served similarly to hot chocolate - at least, if hot chocolate gave you a floaty, happy, hazy sort of feeling. Everything made with this sap does, actually, with the cups of pure sap having a stronger effect and items with less sap content having barely any effect at all.

Does this not sound like your cup of weird tree sap? Too bad. This is the GOOP FESTIVAL, and everything is shut down for this lovely paid vacation day. Spa? Locked down. Kitchens? Locked. Bar? Nope, totally shut down and the server bots are all down at the park. VR Gaming? Too bad, the computers are all shut down. Even roaming the halls and trying to stay out of the way won't help much...be prepared to be dragged down to the park to participate in this mandatory festival! Isn't it exciting?

b. familiar ground.

Every year in Anchor near the end of October, there's a very strange interaction between the protective dome over the city and seasonal radiation surges that happen in the wastelands. Some complicated combination of refraction and reflection means that for the last few days of the month, residents will experience some of the more benign effects of the red shift inside the city.

Did we say benign? Because while there may not be any dangerous radiation to melt your skin off, there are some mind-bending dangers. Characters experiencing the shift will find the world becomes distorted, warped, impossible to navigate; they are enveloped in auditory and visual hallucinations, and can become so disoriented that they can't even recognize people they've known for years. And characters will find that the citywide shift brings in slivers of other universes, little slices of places characters have never seen before...or places so familiar they make the heart beat hard with joy or fear.

And just like in the wastelands, the things that show up in these shifts are all too real. Characters may find themselves walking through a door into a scene straight from home, or from someone else's home. Whether it's a favorite place to share with a new friend, or the nightmare landscape you almost died in, complete with the monster that almost killed you, be careful. Everything you experience here is real, and if you die in the shift, you die for real.

Of course, the city has its own safety measures in place - residents experiencing the hallucinations and appearances of items and places from other worlds may find themselves locked down in the room they're in, trapped with the otherworldly effects of the shift.

c. the virus.

A few weeks ago, people in Anchor started getting a case of the sniffles. While some of the earliest cases might be clearing up, there are still a few people suffering, or people freshly infected by those who were sick earlier, including some of the new arrivals who may not even be feeling it yet.

Which may make the cause of some unexpected 'glitches' around the city a little unclear. Residents who are feeling the effects of the illness, or who are infected but not showing symptoms yet (or anymore) will find that their access to certain parts of the city are restricted. Suddenly, automatic doors aren't opening for them, as if they were ghosts, particularly when they try to access anything that may facilitate transmission of the virus. Suddenly, only some of the residents of the city will find they can't get into half of the MedBay, or the spa, the kitchens, the VR or games rooms, the bar...anywhere people gather or eat or sit close together.

Residents may put together that it's related to the illness some of them have been experiencing over the past few weeks, but it might take a while, since these safety and security measures are affecting people who are showing no symptoms yet. Be prepared for a few days of paranoia while seemingly perfectly healthy people are locked out of common areas. What does the computer know that residents don't? Are these people security risks? Is it a system glitch? What could be going on?

c. the network.

Need to get hold of someone, call for help, ask the city at large a question? Need to warn a friend not to leave their apartment unless they want to be forcibly press-ganged into the Goop Festival? Maybe you need to hold your sat phone up to whatever crazy thing you're seeing and send out a recording to double-check if your eyes are deceiving you and what you're looking at is real?

Whatever the reason, the network is going strong, so feel free to include a post to it in your top-levels.

Mod Note: The "familiar ground" prompt will be active between October 29th and October 31st; "the virus" prompt will be active until the next introductory mingle, which will be kicking off the second part of the illness plot.

Navigation.

Comments

allison hargreeves // the umbrella academy // direct from canon

[hersay]

park.

[ allison hasn’t been in anchor long — it’s been maybe twelve hours since she had to sit through a video of idris elba-who-is-not-irdis-elba (allison met him once at a cocktail party, and he looks much different up close), was forced to undergo a minimally satisfying communal shower, retrieve her clothes and some bizarre, clunky phone. since then, allison has successfully located a replacement bandage which is now wrapped around her throat, but she’d like a little more than that. maybe a scarf, to hide the suggestion of an unappealing wound. but more than that, allison wants to go home. she needs to save her sister, and probably the world, but it’s vanya who’s on her mind right now — vanya, who could be hurt, or dead, or worse. allison doesn’t want to lose another loved one.

so she’s searching. searching for home, a scarf, a friend — anything.

allison’s search has brought her to the park. in the distance, she spots a young girl sitting on a bench, swinging her legs back and forth. when allison moves closer, she can just make out that the little girl is humming.

allison would know that voice anywhere. it’s claire. it’s her daughter.

with that realization, allison practically sprints towards the bench, stopping a few feet away from her child. allison is crying and grinning; her body shakes a little. she’s full of fear and joy and love — love for her daughter, and joy that she can see her again. but fear for her, too — anchor isn’t safe for claire. they need to go home.

allison sits on the bench, and in her mind, they embrace.

any onlooker, however, will just see allison, hugging herself, petting the air, and crying at nothing — nothing at all. ]

network. un: a.h.

Help I’ve been dragged to some robot event I know nothing about they’re trying to force feed me candy and there’s a mysterious sticky goop all in my hair and clothes how do I get out of here

@Sparrow

[arcadedragon]

There's candy? Where are you?

[hersay]

I'm new here, so I don't know any names, but there are trees and a lake. If you want candy please come and get some and take these robots off my hands they're so aggressive

[arcadedragon]

They think they are helping. I will be there shortly.

[Admittedly he hasn't been here that long either and only marginally knows where she is, but eventually he'll be there. More on the prowl for candy than the rescue attempt, but if he can do both...

Metal ninja approaching.]

Looks like you are making friends.

[hersay]

[ sparrow, whoever he is, seems huge and metallic, and for that, allison is strangely glad. he seems like the best kind of person to deal with overeager robots.


at his comment, allison snorts and rolls her eyes a little. a robot is prodding her cheek with a sap lollipop. allison sighs, lets it put the lollipop in her mouth, and then returns to her phone.]

Am I? I can't tell.

[ allison would say that out loud, if she could. of course, network user sparrow might notice a stark white bandage on her neck, hinting at why she can't.]

[arcadedragon]

[Behind the mask he gives a wince, he's more than familiar with that, as beneath the armor he has the exact same scar across his throat. It wouldn't be visible even if he took the armor off as most of it is hidden under the metal plating and voicebox that lets him still speak, but he has more than enough other scars to make up for it.]

They seem to really want us to participate in this festival.

[They turn their attention to him, but as he doesn't have a visible mouth they can't force feed him goop. Not unless they want to take a can opener to his armor, which hasn't yet occurred to them.]

When I first arrived they forced me into ridiculous clothing. I think they are trying to help. Somewhat.

[hersay]

[ allison sucks on her lollipop as a robot watches, making sure she doesn't spit it out. as she does so, she starts to relax, her posture becoming less guarded. it happens slowly though, so slowly that allison doesn't quite realize it. ]

Ridiculous clothing doesn't sound like it could be that bad. What did they make you wear?

They sure are *trying.* has anyone been able to get through to them what it is they really want though? Or do these robots have minds of their own?

[ allison's pretty sure she's encountered both kinds. ]

text; @ GOSUCKADICK; hi i am so sorry

[substances]

u just gotta go w/ it man
do wat the bots tell u
its the only way

that username...truly a work of art

[hersay]

[ allison thinks about taking advice from someone who calls themselves "gosuckadick."

she's not having it. ]

I'm not the type who "just goes with it."

Have you been here for a while? Do you know if these robots become the killer kind if I give them a good whack on their tin heads?

I'm so glad. Also your journal name is a work of art.

[substances]

ive been here like 4ever
ive never seen em kill sum1 but i make no guarantees things get fuct up here

u new?

tysm!

[hersay]

I'll take those odds.

[ allison gives the nearest few robots a loud, clanging smack, and bails for the lake. once she washes the stick off her hands, she responds: ]

Thanks for the tip.

Yeah, I'm new. My name's Allison, what's yours? No offense, but it's hard to believe your loved ones chose to call you "GOSUCKADICK."

[ after all, why not make some friends? ]

[substances]

no problem i live to serve
truly my lifes calling

hahahaha oh man it'd be better than wat i was actually named
at least its funny

[Wait...]

wait wait wait hold on for just a moment here
a.h.
does the h stand for what i think it might stand for???
could it be im speaking to THE allison hargreeves, famous actress??
because im a HUGE fan

[hersay]

[ allison...didn't expect to be famous on anchor. anchor definitely isn't earth, so it's not like her movies exist here. allison stares at her phone for a while, unsure on how to proceed. the old her loved the attention of fans -- that's partly why she got into the business. but the new allison, the one who wants her life to be real, as opposed to some rumor? she's not entirely sure how to deal. probably best to play it low-key. ]

That's me. Thanks for your compliment, I'm glad to hear there's at least one other person from earth here. Anyway, just call me Allison.

(You didn't answer my question, btw.)

park (aka who's ready for some pain!)

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben is no stranger to the fact that the Anchor is full of strange influences that can make people see things that aren't there. It's all hallucinogenic spores and weirdly sadistic psychic nanites and it all shows no signs of letting up.

So he doesn't really trust it, when he's cutting through the park and spots a familiar head of hair. Probably a hologram or he's been drugged without realizing it. Still, he walks closer, staring at the back of Allison's head, waiting for it to vanish. Only it doesn't. He comes all the way around the bench, sees that she is crying and holding thin air. Her neck is bandaged, the way it was when he'd last seen her. Could it really be...?

Maybe he's dreaming and this is a particularly cruel nightmare. He's not sure.

Croakily, Ben says: ]

Allison?

i'm so ready

[hersay]

[ from allison's point-of-view, claire is busy telling her stories about what's been happening at school lately -- playground fights, arts and crafts, cool facts about the solar system, a dance that claire has been teaching her friends. allison listens intently, drinking up a moment she never thought would come. allison is smiling softly, not saying a word. she can't, of course, but even if she could, she wouldn't want to. this is claire's moment.

then, she hears another voice she thought was long gone. ben. it couldn't be. allison isn't klaus -- she doesn't hear or see dead people.

it's ironic, of course, that allison thinks that the real voice is an illusion, and the illusory voice is real.

nevertheless, allison turns towards the sound. she gasps, albeit faintly. it can't be.

but anything can happen, right? if claire is here, why not ben? allison wishes she could call out to him. she wishes she could talk to ben again. ben, who was sweet and kind in ways she never could be. ben, who deserved (deserves?) better. certainly deserves better than a smile and wave.

but that's all she can do. slowly, and then more assuredly, allison smiles softly and waves at ben, beckoning closer.

come here. i've missed you. come meet my daughter.

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben comes closer, but cautiously, dragging his feet. He had imagined a hundred different reunions with each of his siblings; this isn't like he pictured it. He'd thought it would start with an immediate hug, telling Allison all the things he'd wanted to say all those years he'd been seeing her life from the sidelines as a ghost. And he'd also thought she would say his name, tell him how she was feeling, tell him about getting married getting divorced, having a kid.

But the bandage is stark white against her throat and Ben remembers how she'd looked on the floor of that cabin, so much blood, how sure he had been that she was going to die, from a danger he'd never even seen coming enough to worry about it.

He inches closer and she doesn't disappear, or shift into a nightmare, or do anything un-Allison-ish. And so he tentatively sits on the bench, unable to tear his eyes away from his sister. But he fumbles around in the pockets of his hoodie, pulls out a little pocket-sized paperback he'd had tucked into the pouch, and a ballpoint pen that had been in the pocket of his jeans all day. Hands shaky, he offers them out to her. Moment of truth: is she substantial enough to take them, or will they go right through her, the way he had gone right through everything solid in the world for so many years?

(Not once in this process does Ben glance at the place where, to Allison's mind, Claire is sitting, because, of course, she isn't really there.) ]

I missed you.

[hersay]

[ as ben approaches, allison's heart begins to beat faster. he looks substantial, solid, not at all like a ghost. he breathes like the living, his footsteps make sounds like the living, and most importantly, he acts fully and wholly like ben. she's seen him shuffle like that before -- towards the unknown, towards something that might shift, might become dangerous or horrifying. allison's breath hitches. she grabs claire's hand and points.

see him? that's your uncle ben!

allison is so overcome that she doesn't realize that claire doesn't do any of the substantial things that ben does. she's not visibly breathing, and when she swings her legs back and forth on the bench, the bench doesn't creak or respond in any way.

but who can blame allison for not noticing? allison never thought about how much she wanted this -- how much she wanted to introduce claire to her family. she's glad that claire gets to meet ben first. claire has heard stories about luther, sure -- but it's ben she trusts to be kind to her daughter.

so when ben offers her the notebook, she doesn't take it right away. how could she possibly respond to ben's words? just writing "i missed you too" is pathetic, a pale replicate of what she really feels. so instead, allison hugs ben, praying that she won't pass through.

she doesn't.

allison pulls back and takes the notebook and pen, eyes glassy. she notices ben doesn't look at claire, and claire doesn't know entirely what to make of ben. so she gestures to where claire's sitting and writes: ]

This is Claire

My daughter

[ she smiles sadly, expectantly. it doesn't occur to her that ben doesn't see anyone else at all. ]

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben closes his eyes, wanting to sink into the hug, to hold Allison and not let go for at least an hour. But he can't do that yet. Can't relax. Because something is very wrong.

The more he watches her the clearer it becomes she is seeing something he isn't. It's... disturbing. Way more disturbing than he would have thought. Growing up, he'd been used to Klaus talking to people he couldn't see. Then, when he was a ghost, he could see them, too, for the first time. He's seen people hallucinate in this place... but this is Allison. Always so composed. So on top of her shit. And she's grabbing at thin air, looking at it, smiling at it.

Something about the angle of her movements and attention makes his stomach do an unhappy little flip, and his suspicions are confirmed when she writes out her message to him. Ben rubs a hand over his mouth, heart breaking. Because he wants so badly to meet Claire - the real one. And Ben is only too aware that, most likely, that's never ever going to happen for him. Klaus or Allison or Diego could come and go but if he returns to their world from here by some miracle... will he be dead? Again?

He had just gotten used to having a body again. He doesn't want to give it up. But isn't giving up everything for his family kind of his schtick?

Carefully, Ben sets his hand down, balling it into a fist and sticking it in the pocket of his coat. ]

Allison... no one is there. It's just... thin air. Claire's... Claire isn't here.

[ Will she believe him? It would be a bizarre and pointless lie to tell; maybe she'll realize that and give him a chance. Is it nanites again? Should he call Peter? All at once Ben is a kid again, waiting for leadership, paralyzed between different options. ]

Listen, this place - it plays tricks on people. So many tricks. There are drugs and spores and tiny robots and all kinds of influences to make you hallucinate. I've seen it happen to people here, before. You just - have to focus. Is she acting like the real Claire? Is anything... off, even just a little? How'd she get here? Is she acting the way Claire would act if she showed up in a place like this, all alone at first, for who knows how long?

[hersay]

[ allison's smile slowly falls as ben's hand covers and then uncovers his mouth, never once relaxing. this must be a lot for him, allison tells herself. to die and be brought back -- that must be so hard. this is why he's acting like this. right? right??

but then ben says that claire isn't here, and distress sets in. allison backs away from ben and pulls claire close, her arm around her daughter's shoulder. why would ben say that? allison hasn't seen her daughter, her child, since the divorce, and the separation, the loss, has been among the hardest things that allison has had to endure. she thought she lost her child, but now her child is back, and ben has the -- the nerve to say it's not real? that claire isn't here, that none of this is happening?

it can't be.

allison can't think clearly -- all she can think about is how much she misses claire, how much she needs to be with claire, how this has to be real. allison's face is stricken, her hands trembling. claire looks like she might cry -- why is uncle ben being so mean? ]

No, no, no, no...

[ allison whispers, her voice hoarse and weak. and ben continues talking, saying things that shouldn't be true, that can't be true. allison can't hear it. everything ben says after that has a dull, ringing quality, and all allison wants to do is make him stop, make him stop talking, can't he see how happy they could be? as a whole, reunited family? can't he see?

slowly, shakily, allison writes:]

youre lying

text | un: lalli

[lallipop]

run

[hersay]

I'm surrounded. And disgustingly sticky.

Have you tried this stuff? The goop?

[lallipop]

yes
i like it

[hersay]

[ that's a good sign. ]

What do you recommend?

[lallipop]

[???]

eating it?

[He's very helpful.]

[hersay]

[??????????? such a cryptic internet dude ]

Sure, but which one? They've got taffy and lollipops and coated apples and I think they even put it in a casserole?