redmarsshit | redshift: tdm #5

redshift: tdm #5

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.

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It's possible. The timing seems suspicious. But we don't know that for sure, yet. Just - sit tight, okay. I'm coming.

[ He types I'm not gong to let any more of my friends get hurt but then thinks maybe that'll only freak Pratt out more and deletes it. He's getting closer to the area where he thinks Pratt might be, now. Should he risk calling out for him? Even if it might draw attention? But if there any enemies of Pratt's around, it might draw their attention away, make them come to Ben, first.

Ben can handle them.

So he calls out: ]

Pratt?

[ But it's too soft and he knows it. He'll have to be much louder. Drawing in a fortifying slow breath, he yells, at the top of his lungs: ]

Pratt, can you hear me?!

[ Then, he hears it. Music. He doesn't recognize the song and the sound quality is piss poor, he can barely make out that there are human voices in it at all. But it is music and Pratt had mentioned music playing, so Ben hopes he's getting close. He calls out, again: ]

It's Ben! I'm here, make some noise so I can find you!

[ God why does this place have to be such a fucking labyrinth... ]

Edited 2019-11-07 20:19 (UTC)

[He can hear a voice calling for him and his first instinct is to freeze up and then run, but the second time Ben calls he recognizes who it is. Assuming it isn't his mind playing tricks on him like everything else seems to be.]

Ben? I'm.. I'm over here.

[he looks around because he's not sure how to describe: by a wall with a door and some pipes that looks like literally every other place in this maze. He bangs on one of the walls hoping it helps. But with the way Ben's voice seemed to echo and distort and come from multiple directions at once he's not sure that'll help.

Should he stay put and make it easier to find him or risk walking towards where he thinks Ben is? He's just about to take a gamble and head for the sound of Ben's voice when he suddenly cries out in pain, holding onto his head before he slumps to the ground unconscious. That music is getting louder.]

[ The banging on the wall does help - Ben at least knows which direction he should be heading in, although it takes a couple tries to find the correct turns to take. He is close when Ben hears Pratt cry out. The noise is so clearly one of distress that Ben breaks into a run, turning a corner to see his friend just as he is hitting the ground. ]

Pratt!

[ He rushes over, head whipping around as he searches for any sign of an attacker - but there is no one. Nobody here in this place but him and Pratt. There are no signs of any external injuries, no hint that anything has happened to him. Ben grabs his shoulder, shaking him hard. ]

Can you hear me? Oh, shit -

[ Ben's heart is racing and he doesn't know what he's going to do. He doesn't think he's strong enough to pick Pratt up and carry him. Could he? If he had to? What if he is dying and needs the med-bay and Ben is killing him by hesitating, by not trying. Voice tight he says: ]

Pratt, c'mon, please dude...

[There's a gurgling sound and Pratt startles, jerking away from Ben and staring at him wide eyed as if he's never seen another person before in his life. It takes a few seconds of panicked breathing, eyes darting around at their surroundings, before he seems to come back to himself.]

Ben? Shit. I'm... I need to get out of here.

[He can't hear it right now, maybe it stopped. Maybe he already did whatever Jacob wanted him to do. But no one seems to be dead, Ben is right there, he really doesn't know what is going on anymore.]

No I'm...

[He swallows hard, not even able to force himself to lie.]

I'm not okay. But I will be. I just need to get the fuck away from this.

[He unsteadily gets to his feet, weirdly feeling like he ran for twenty miles and passed out rather than collapsed where he was standing. All his limbs feel heavy, and it takes every ounce of effort just to start to walk. He's not sure how to get out of this labyrinth of hallways and corridors, and for some reason it is really, really hot in there.]

Where are we?

[ Ben's heart aches a little seeing Pratt recoiling from him, looking at him with that terror on his face. But he ignores that feeling and just waits, and a few moments later Pratt recognizes him, and the fear abates a little. Which is good. It's good that Pratt was only disoriented, and that recognizing Ben as Ben makes him feel less afraid, rather than more. ]

I've got no clue where we are, but wherever it is, we're not gonna be here long.

[ He helps Pratt to his feet, and doesn't hesitate or bother asking before he's slipping an arm around Pratt's back, helping to hold him up and support him. It might not be the most dignified, but his friend can yell at him later - right now if they're going to put some distance between them and this place, Ben is going to have to help out.

Because right now that song playing over the loudspeakers or whatever is creeping him out and he doesn't even know what's the deal with it, why it is affecting Pratt so strongly. Ben just heads in any direction, moving whichever way makes the music grow fainter. He is more concerned with going quickly than knowing which way he's going. They'll hit a place he recognizes eventually...

And they go, turning a corner and suddenly they're in the open again, in a broad corridor of the Anchor that Ben recognizes, near to the park. Were they even on this level, before? He can't remember. The temperature is less hot, and that music is suddenly completely absent. It isn't the first time in recent weeks that space has shifted strangely, as if there are different spheres or locations appearing within the base itself.

All those are more distant concerns, however. For now, Ben looks over at Pratt and... he looks like shit. Ben directs the two of them over to a planter, one with a broad enough flat surface for them both to sit on. Then he's helping Pratt to sit down, asking: ]

How do you feel? Are you light-headed again? If you feel like you're gonna pass out again, we should try to get as close to the medbay as we can...

[It seems to be taking an incredible effort for Pratt to walk, having to stop and lean against Ben far more heavily in order to keep going. He collapses onto the edge of the planter gratefully, unsure if his legs are going to keep supporting him for much longer.

Not only is he mentally confused, but physically he's absolutely exhausted; stomach churning as if he hasn't eaten in a week, head throbbing like he's not slept. But he had done all those things. He'd eaten breakfast that morning and though his hand still hurt from the incident with Carlisle, he'd rebandaged it and fallen asleep pretty early the night before. But while he hasn't actually done anything to warrant how terribly he feels, his mind is making the sensations real.]

Like shit. I don't think I'll pass out again, I just need a bit to .. sit here.

[In silence. Away from the music. Reaching up he rubs his eye with his palm, taking some deep shuddering breaths and trying to get himself back together.]

Thanks for the assist. I don't want to... It's good I wasn't in there for too long. I'm not actually injured, I'll be okay after a bit. It's all.. mental. It's not real.

[Though he knows that's the point. It's not real - but his brain will make it real because that's what he's been conditioned to do.]

That's fine. Take all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere.

[ Too many of Ben's friends have been terrorized and hurt recently and he's fed up with it. If any threat manages to follow them out, he'd honestly relish the chance of lashing out against it and keeping Pratt safe. But there's no sign of anyone around, like Pratt had said. It was just him, in that place, and the head, and the music...

There's something in Pratt's voice, the way he thanks Ben for getting him out quickly, that is... off. Like there's more there. Ben has really tried to respect Pratt's boundaries as much as he can, but right now he's still in crisis mode and not knowing things about Pratt means he can't help him as effectively. So that means he's willing to bully him just a little, for the truth. ]

What do you mean, it's good you weren't there for long? I don't understand what happened. Why were you so upset, if no one was there?

[ He wants answers. Or at least, some information - any.

But Ben is still Pratt's friend, and so he insists, stubbornly: ]

Psychological stuff has a real physical impact, though. A huge one. It's still real. Not the kind of real I can punch in the face to make it stop bothering you, but it still counts.

[ Ben is not here for diminishing the impact of mental harm over physical harm - not here for it at all. ]

[Swallowing hard Pratt looks at Ben, eyes haunted, before turning his gaze on the ground, concentrating on his breathing and trying to wrangle his body and mind back under control. There's no hiding it now, someone had seen him pass out and do .. who knows what. It hadn't been much time, but he could have done a lot of damage.

There aren't any weapons, and no real directions, so it hasn't really clicked in his mind that without Jacob there to give him orders he won't actually do anything when under the effects of the conditioning. It makes him crazed and compliant and a living weapon, but there's no Hope County residents to murder, no other Deputies to catch. There's no outlet for his training.

When he realizes that he'll be thankful, but that won't be for a while.]

Before being here. Before Hadriel. Back home. There was this cult. The Project at Eden's Gate.

[Short, clipped sentences with deep breaths in between as he comes back to himself.]

I was captured by them. Tortured. Conditioned.

The music it's... [It takes him a while to try and remember the word, even talking about this out loud seems to hurt him.] It's the trigger. For me. To.. do whatever it is Jacob wants.

I don't know what. I never remember it.

[ Months ago, when they were first getting to know one another and becoming friends, Ben had told Pratt that he could confide in him. That in many ways he would probably make an ideal confidant, because both of them had so clearly been through some messed up stuff - both had been made into tools of violence by bad men. Ben keeps that implicit promise, doesn't overreact, doesn't offer platitudes that do nothing, doesn't judge.

It isn't until Pratt mentions the Eden's Gate thing that Ben remembers that name coming up before. Just briefly, in passing. He had been curious.

So, this is it then. The explanation. A cult - sounds like the crazy religious kind, based on the scraps Ben's picked up - had taken Pratt, tortured him, conditioned him. On its own, horrific. Unthinkable. But taken in combination with everything else that has been happening recently... seeing that nightmarish tower where the human Cole had been left to starve in a dark hole and the spirit Cole had been born, Kieran being beaten and blinded, whatever those abominations Carlisle had summoned had been... this is just a new facet in a whole mosaic of awfulness.

Ben listens, silent, uninterrupting. The words are clearly so difficult for Pratt. But Ben's steady gaze is undaunted, and entirely unafraid.

When Pratt finally seems to be done, Ben responds, voice quiet: ]

But it was hurting people, right? That's what he wanted you to do.

[ It's what men like that always want.

Ben reaches over, slow and careful, telegraphing the movement so Pratt can pull away if he wants, and tries to take Pratt's hand, to hold it between his own, a silent gesture of sympathy and grief. He'd deserved better. He had deserved so much better than this. ]

Do you know if it's only that song?

[ He wishes he'd paid more attention, but he had at least caught snippets. Maybe it will be enough to look up the name and figure out what precautions can be taken from there. For Pratt's sake. Ben knows a little bit - just from reading - about the type of conditioning he thinks Pratt is talking about. And he should never ever ever have to hear that song again. ]

Is there- is there any way to undo it?

[ A note of hopefulness creeps into Ben's voice, there. He doesn't want his friend to have this hanging over him forever. He wants to help, to fix it. ]

[He keeps looking at the ground because honestly this sounds stupid when said out loud. It always had which is probably why no one took the threat seriously. And not just Jacob conditioning people with a music box, but all of it. Everything about it sounded ridiculous - but even ridiculous things were damn deadly.]

Yeah. Hunting down sinners.

[He spits the word out, because it was so much more than that. Pratt isn't even religious, and actually neither was Jacob. But he did everything he did for his brother Joseph, who was a religious fanatic. The people in Eden's Gate were right, everyone else was wrong. A sinner. ]

Yeah just the one. I watched him do it to so many other people. Helped him. Helped him fucking do that to.. to..

[Pratt had let Ben take his hand, actually comforted by the gesture, but he suddenly pulls away to rub his palms into his eyes. He's on the razors edge of a complete breakdown and he can actually feel it welling up in his chest. There's almost a sense of panic, because he doesn't want to do that here in front of anyone, even Ben who might be one of the few people who would understand.

But boy is it hard to stamp that down as he thinks back on all he'd done. All Jacob had forced him to do because he was too weak to stop it.]

I don't know. Eli had something but.. I don't think it worked. Something to undo it. Jacob said it hadn't worked but he might have been lying.

[ Ben hears the venom in that word, and his heart sinks a little further. Pratt is in so much pain. He might not be sobbing or wailing, but Ben knows pain doesn't always look like that. Sometimes it looks like this. His friend, with his eyes glued to the ground, forcing himself to speak even though the words are like blows, pulling away from any contact, any comfort. In a way, this is a kind of pain that Ben understands better than any sort of healthy release of it.

When Pratt reveals that he'd helped Jacob to torture and condition other people, Ben feels more than a little sick. Ben doesn't tell him not to worry about it, that he should forgive himself, that it wasn't a bad thing to do. He knows well enough that words like that will do more harm than good. All he says, instead, voice rough with conviction, is: ]

You were under duress. It wasn't your fault, Pratt. Okay?

[ Nothing Pratt tells Ben is going to convince him otherwise. There are a lot of moral grey areas, but literal torture and brainwashing aren't one of them. There's a reason they've got a word for it, after all. It wasn't like peer pressure or social expectations or some bullshit. Pratt had literally not been able to refuse. That makes him a victim, in Ben's eyes. ]

Jacob's word clearly doesn't count for shit. Even if this Eli's thing didn't work - there could be something. There could be ways. I'm gonna- I'm gonna research and see if I can find a way. So this can be over. So you don't have to ever worry about hearing that song again.

[ There is so much Ben cannot fix. He can't go back in time like Five, can't make it so Pratt was never tortured and turned into a weapon against his will. But he can and will do everything he can to give him his power back, now. To give him back a shred of feeling safe and in control again.

Ben's mind is spinning, suggesting a million things - some unhelpful, but others... ]

And you could talk to Peter or Qubit or one of those guys. See if they can make you, like, just the biggest pair of fuck-off noise cancelling headphones that all this futuristic nonsense tech can device, and you can carry those with you, everywhere, and that way if you ever - start to hear it again, you just pop those suckers on and you call me, right away, day or night.

Edited 2019-12-04 23:47 (UTC)

[He nods. More to acknowledge that he's heard Ben than really agreeing with him. It might not have been his fault but boy does he feel shitty about it. He'd tried to make it right, just a little bit, helping Rook to escape, getting him out of the compound. Which is why Pratt was currently duct taped to a chair starving to death as punishment.

There's not even the satisfaction of knowing that his fellow deputy escaped. For all he knows Rook was shot immediately outside the compound. He'll never know if he got away or not.]

Jacob was right about a lot of things. He's an asshole but he's not an idiot - if it had worked he'd have been a hell of a lot more pissed off about it. He hated Eli.

[The kind of intense hatred only reserved for people who used to be friends and then had grown apart into enemies.

Ben's suggestion actually tugs a smile to his lips. What if that was all it took? They could have just all gotten spotify subscriptions and none of this would have happened. Of course it's not that easy, but it sure is amusing. ]

I don't know if that would work, but .. I'd be willing to try.

Thanks. For you know.. [He gestures around, not really sure he's getting at.] this.

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redshift: tdm #5

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