test drive meme: november 2019

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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 truth hurts.

As though everything happening in the past month wasn't enough, there's been a minor explosion in one of the labs. No one hurt, if you don't count the hapless maintenance bot that caused the explosion in the first place.

But there are gases drifting through the laboratories, some of them making their way into the air vents, invisible to the purifiers in the system thanks to the explosion. And those gases are leaking into the air around Anchor, little pockets of danger waiting to be breathed in.

Those who breathe the gasses in might be the unluckiest Anchorites of all.

They're stuck telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth for the next five hours, give or take. Good luck with that!

b. retromedia.

Oblivious to what's going on inside Anchor, the shift rages outside, bringing shadows of things and places from other worlds, those things flickering into existence and out of it again.

The bad news is that the Whole Foods is gone.

The good news is the shift left something behind in its place.

A long, squat building, with cement walls painted over with stucco and punctuated by big windows. A flat roof with slanted sides, painted a deep blue. In bold yellow letters bolted to the roof, a sign:

BLOCKBUSTER
The sliding doors are broken, bouncing open and shut steadily, but the inside is clean and well-stocked with rack upon rack upon row upon row of VHS tapes, all of them neatly packaged in plastic boxes. Some of them have the movie covers on them, but most bear the Blockbuster logo and tiny labels running down the back, declaring the box's contents. There's a giant, somewhat busted up standee of Tim Allen as The Santa Clause, flickering holiday lights strung unevenly from the ceiling, and symbols of various seasonal holidays stuck up along the walls and windows.

Any movie you could possibly want lies within, or at least any movie you could possibly want that was released on Earth during or before 1994. And don’t worry if you can't find a VHS player in Anchor! There are whole shelves of VCRs tucked into one of the closets, apparently part of an aborted plan to rent out VCRs along with movies.

Poor Blockbuster. They were innovators. And now they're lost to the sands of the red shift.

c. sweet sweet self-care.

While sickness persists inside Anchor's walls, those in recovery seem to be getting better every day. And while the health bots have been working overtime, some of their processes have gotten a little borked up from all the work they've been doing.

Along with medical care, they're now administering lectures to their captive audiences about the value of diet and exercise, the importance of personal hygiene, and the healing properties of massage. Some of them are forcing massages on people just to prove their point, which, y'know, could be a lot worse. At least they're good at massages?

The spa bots are getting in on the action, nagging the healthy to come for relaxation and decontamination in one gloriously bubbly swoop. They've converted several of their spa pools into sweet-smelling antibacterial baths, so you can make extra-sure you got those visiting-a-sick-friend cooties off!

No, seriously, go with them. Before they drag you there and make you take a bath like an unruly two-year-old.

Believe them, it's worth it. If you complete a circuit of the spa, including the antibacterial baths and the fresh and zesty decontamination shower, you get a shiny sparkly holographic sticker that says "YOU ARE FREE OF DISEASE" in little cheerful bubble-letters. They designed them all by themselves, totally from scratch. Are you proud?

d. the network.

Need to get hold of someone, call for help, ask the city at large a question? Need to ask a friend which 1980s teen movie classic to watch at movie night? 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.

Navigation.

Comments

[benhargreeves]

[ Right. She wants to keep talking, but not about murder. That's not something she can control right now, entirely, but Ben can help her with that, steer the conversation away if it ever veers into those waters. That's his job as the non-whammied friend and he's happy to fulfill it. ]

I missed you, too. I'm really really glad you're feeling better.
I don't mind the unfiltered running commentary, I promise.
In fact it sounds hilarious and awesome.
I've got a whole stack of VHSes from the Blockbuster and the TV all set up, just bring yourself right on over whenever.

[ Then, after a moment, he adds: ]

And what's all this about avoiding people?

[benhargreeves]

[ When Allison jokes about Klaus being more mature than them in this area, Ben raises his eyebrows at her in a look that just screams 'Right?!'. But he's also glad that she doesn't argue it. One of the good things about being alive again is that Ben can hopefully help his siblings - well, Allison - start to see all the good things about Klaus that she might not have noticed on her own.

Then she is telling him he isn't a monster - that none of them are, and him the least. That hits Ben hard, and it's clear to see, even though he doesn't say anything. He's been working so hard to undo that way of thinking about himself, and he knows it's something he has to do for himself. But still, to hear that from Allison, who knows just how many people he had killed, who had really seen the very worst of his powers and what he's capable of... it means a lot. Ben blinks rapidly, throat too tight to speak, and just nods gratefully. When he trusts his voice again he manages a raspy: ]

... Thanks.

[ But fortunately for him, it seems that Allison is familiar with Cole, and thinking about Cole brightens Ben's mood just about instantaneously. Allison is typing for a really long time after her look of recognition, and there's a whole lot there to answer, when the text comes. Ben takes a moment to read through it, but he's only halfway done with Allison is shoving her phone away and looking at him with those fear-filled eyes, whispering that she's sorry. A furrow between his brows, Ben looks down and finishes the rest of the text, wondering what horrible thing Allison had been compelled to say.

But none of it is horrible at all. So he looks up at her again and says: ]

Hey, hey, it's fine - don't worry, it's fine.

[ Then he looks down to reread the text because there are so many things to answer, and Ben goes through them in order, eyes flicking back and forth between Allisons questions and her face. ]

Yeah, he's the one with the stupid big hat that he loves so much, I have no idea why. He did do that when we first talked, yeah - talk about all this deep dark stuff I'd never said to anybody ever. Definitely freaked me out. I'm sorry, I know meeting him can be kinda intense. I should've introduced you first and - made it easier. He doesn't mean any harm, it's just - how he is. And I like how he is. He doesn't make me feel awful at all. He makes me happier than anybody ever has. You're not silly to worry about it, but he's not Harold Jenkins part two, I promise. I mean, yeah, he's killed people, but come on. Who hasn't? You have, I definitely have.

[ Ben looks away from the questions on the phone, now, because just answering them isn't enough. He wants Allison to understand, so she can be happy for him. Ben rubs a hand over his mouth, silent for several moments before the words start coming again, unfiltered and more honest than is entirely comfortable, really. ]

There's a lot of stuff I've been through that most people would never understand, I'm really shitty about talking about a lot of it and I might not ever get any better, but Cole has been through similar stuff, and even when he hasn't, I don't even need to talk and he just - knows. He's not afraid of me, not at all. Not even that little bit that most people are and try to hide but I see it anyway. It's not just me, either. He - can sense the - you know, my - the things on the other side of my portal. He helped me to see they're not bad, and I'm not bad for being connected to them.

[ Ben's face is going pinker and pinker, but he can't seem to stop himself talking, even though this is so many words, pouring his heart out. ]

And he's just. He's really... cute. People haven't treated him very well, and - and he deserves better than he's had, and whenever I can make him happy, make him smile or laugh - Allison it's just the best feeling ever. I didn't ever think I could feel like this. It's stupid and sappy and like I'm all full of butterflies and I don't know what to do with it.

[nothinglikefather]

[ Doesn't matter means it was a while, but Charles isn't going to tell him. It'll stay as an unknown then, for the moment, and it doesn't take a genius like Alec or Evie to work out that Charles probably won't elaborate on what Ral told him. War in Shantytown.

He can only hope that Charles wasn't hurt. It's too much to hope he wasn't caught up in it, or didn't go in guns blazing. He'll look him over as soon as he can, make sure there are no nee unexplained scars. Charles has a lot, same as Jacob, but over time he's mapped out Charles' and he's sure he can figure out if any are new.

Of course, as Charles is a werewolf there's probably not physical lasting damage but he can't help but feel he should have been there.]

How long have you been here then? This place is even stranger than the City.

[benhargreeves]

[ Arya is angry. Ben can see it in her body language, as he speaks. She might be small and mysterious and from a world he doesn't know but he can recognize the signs. Some things transcend universes. Ben feels guilty and uneasy, then, seeing that. It's such a tough choice to make - knowing how much he ought to tell her so she doesn't feel alone, so she understands he has also been through things when he reassures her, and also, knowing what he ought not to tell to someone so young. Not because she couldn't handle it, but because she shouldn't have to. There is a difference between respecting her, and treating her like an adult when she is not one. ]

It is horrible. I don't know if I should've told you. I don't really talk about it. It only makes people really sad and angry, and I don't like remembering anyway.

[ Ben's looking down at his own hands, now, picking at a stray thread in the cuff of his hoodie. Arya's indignation on his behalf is a good thing. He ought to feel good, knowing she's angry about it. Like it proves he was right to be so bothered all these years. But on the other hand, Ben just feels queasy. His father was his father, biology aside, so if his father had been cruel to him in ways that fathers shouldn't be, that must mean something had been wrong with him, to cause all of it.

It's such a tangle, in his mind. ]

Maybe. Most days I think that, if only - if only because of the stuff he did to my brothers and sisters. Worse stuff. But some days I think he was right, at least when it came to me. That he was just doing his best, to keep everyone safe from. A thing like me.

[ Ben should stop talking. He knows he should stop. This is all much too heavy and too personal and too much. But the words keep coming. ]

But if- that was what he really wanted, why didn't he just kill me when I was still a baby? Or give me drugs to suppress my powers like he did to Vanya? He wasn't... doing the only thing he could to keep me from being the evil violent thing I was born to be. He had to - force me to kill, so that I would kill the people he wanted killed.

[circumspector]

He might not run. But the second she sees him, she does. The excited shout of her voice that cuts clear and bright, it's him, "Charles!"

Her legs were made to run, those prancing steps that ram her straight into his chest, both her arms around him that hit him like a train going full pelt. Wrapping her arms around him tightly holding on with her whole being. Not even noticing that she picks him up clear off the ground in doing so.

But at least it's not crushing him. "Charles I was so worried about you!"

[borntohurt]

There's a grunt as they collide -- it's easy to forget sometimes that for as delicate as she looks, she's still a minotaur -- but it quickly spills into relieved laughter as his feet find the floor again.

Then, she's getting squeezed back. Happily. He hadn't truly expected to see any of them again, and to get this second chance is beyond what he could have hoped for. Where they ended up as a result doesn't really matter. They've survived worse, all of them.

"I'm alright," he assures her, drawing back to look at her with a faint crinkle at the corners of his eyes. "You? I haven't seen you, any of you, in..."

Well. Doesn't matter now, does it?

[circumspector]

The videotapes she was holding drop onto the floor in the utter surprise of hearing his voice. It's been a month, maybe, but it didn't matter. She'd know his voice anywhere as she holds onto him tightly, gripping him back as tightly as he held onto her.

"Jacob!" She doesn't mean to cry, she doesn't. But she is anyway, hiding her tears in his hair as she laughingly sobs that little bit in relief and happiness that he is here. Holding onto him with all of herself, for as long as she can. If this is some trick, some illusion. "I've missed you so much."

enforced self-care

[fixedpointintime]

From amid the bubbles and steam, comes a very amused male voice. "Yeah, that's not going to work. Don't worry, they bring them back."

An arm raises from the foam, and points to the side of the pool, to a pile of clothing Jacob might have missed. "Neatly folded and smelling of fake eucalyptus, even. So I hope that's your thing."

Jack is as unconcerned with this turn of events as a person could possibly be. Of all the places to randomly find yourself spit out of the Rift, this one isn't half bad. He's not looking to set up shop permanently or anything, but it could be worse.

[itsnotaonesie]

[He almost says he's sorry for saying that he's sorry, but he refrains from doing so and just let's himself be held for a little while, eventually wrapping his arms around Ben and resting his chin on his shoulder. Honestly, at this point, Peter knows most of the people in Anchor, so he wouldn't really care if they decided to stop and stare at this too much. He just wouldn't want to have to explain why he was so miserable to them later.

As bummed as he is, 'truth-whammied' still gets a chuckle out of him.]

If you do spill the beans while you're all truth-whammied, I wouldn't hold it against you. Thanks though, seriously. I think I'd go out of my mind here if it wasn't for you.

[hyperthermic]

[ Another, softer grunt. Because that is half of how he communicates. ]

Anything readable. Anything intact. Preferably anything in English.

[ Makes his way to one of the workstations, setting his helmet aside to give the thing a once-over. ]

What's the story with all the damage to this place? The laser scoring. The bullet holes. Someone have a temper tantrum over being marooned in time and space?

[arcadedragon]

That's probably a compliment. That feels like it's supposed to be a compliment, but Genji is undeniably awkward about it.

"Thank you? I did not do it to myself however, it took several teams of doctors and scientists many years to get to this point." He flexes his fingers, watching as the plates in his arm twist and bend, a robot approximation of what skin would do.

It's a little hard to truly be impressed with the mechanical bits that keep him alive and mobile when he spends a lot of time wishing it had never happened to begin with. "It takes forever to clean."

[arcadedragon]

[He stands there, utterly silent, in shock. You were always a person. No one had ever told him that before. McCree had made a token effort to cheer him up, but he'd always assumed that the man only wanted a drinking buddy and since Genji only had about 60% of himself left, he was more of a lightweight than he'd been and the cowboy could drink him under the table. ]

I...

[It's taking him a while to find his voice again. His voice, even though it's coming from a synthetic voicebox, even though it had been mechanically recreated. He may be compelled to tell the truth, but even he doesn't know what that is right now.]

Thank you. I ... No one has ever told me that before. That I was still a person, even though I'm only partially human now.

[He can actually feel himself blinking back tears and once again he's thankful for the mask, even if it is going to make things blurry soon. ]

No one is perfect all the time. But you are trying to forge your way forward. As am I. It's all we can do given the circumstances. I am very glad to have met you. I don't know what's happening or why we're saying these things, but I'm thankful for it.

[lallipop]

[As Reynir goes on, all the anger bleeds out of him along with the color in his face, to be replaced with shock. He's too stunned to even respond for several moments, and can only stare wide-eyed at Reynir with his jaw hanging open.

He can't say anything because there's nothing to say. Because Reynir is right. He didn't know.

He'd known Onni had been upset, of course. He'd known he'd been worried, and he'd thought they'd mostly settled that. He didn't know how devastated Onni had apparently been, or that Reynir had been the one to support him through it. He didn't know any of those things he'd told Reynir, and the revelation leaves him physically dizzy. He feels like he's been punched.

He didn't know he didn't know he didn't know.]

No...

[He takes a step back, hands already coming up to cover his ears.]

That's not what I want. I... I-I didn't want to hurt him.

[But what does he want? What did he want?]

I thought... he's so tired all the time, and I cause so much trouble for him, and I thought it would be easier if I wasn't there.

[But he'd only accomplished the exact opposite, hadn't he?]

I didn't want all of that, I didn't, I didn't.

[nothinglikefather]

Jacob lets himself slide back into the water, which seems more lukewarm in comparison with the anger coursing through him. But it begins to fade as this stranger speaks and while he's still pissed, he supposes until they bring back his clothes there is sweet FA he can do about it.

"So lets suppose that's true, for the moment." Jacob says, sinking into the water up to his chest, and trying not to relax in case he has to get out quickly, "what the hell is this place?"

Because no, he didn't listen to the video. He was rather distracted by the flood of memories returning.

[circumspector]

She holds tight inside it. Burrowing her face into his chest in relief. It's him. His scent. His warmth. Him. Safe and whole, not missing from her. The uneasiness in her chest at being separated from some many parts of herself.

Though his words draw her up and out, her eyes peering up from underneath his chin. Worried, so worried, about what happened. She has done this now, one too many times.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?"

[nothinglikefather]

Jacob may settle, but it's not happily. He's forced into inactivity and that doesn't suit him, not often. Especially know when he has too much on his mind and too many emotions shifting in him to focus on any one thing for too long.

He can't just sit there like everything is okay. He can't pretend that this is all fine.

And the fact that the old man opposite him looks so bloody serene is doing his nut.

"So, where am I? How do I get-" not home. No, back to the City. "Out?"

[fishermansweater]

"Like they've been told what to do a long time ago and they're still doing it?"

He thinks that's what 'programmed' means, at least here where nobody seems to have had anything to do with the bots for a long time until people started showing up here again.

As far as Finnick's concerned, going to the spa could be dangerous because almost anything can be dangerous. But he's good at making it through what can be dangerous. He gives the bot that's been following him a long, flat glare, then does what it clearly wants him to do and starts walking down the corridor.

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Shepard nods as he talks, listening. It's a knack she's long since developed, to just listen as someone talks, as they ask their question, before formulating her own reply. Sometimes, she doesn't do that. Sometimes it's a fight, you have to be countering even before the other one finishes. But usually? Nah. Just listen.

And here? Trying to - okay, she needs to readjust down a bit. Here, trying to educate someone without appearing condescending, you have to tread carefully. She doesn't know Finnick Odair well, nor his wife. But he seems a proud man, and well old enough that education can be filled with pitfalls.

She can sympathize. She'd been eighteen when she'd gotten her first dose of serious education.

"Yeah, exactly. Our presence, I think, triggered the programs to start running again. But because it's been so long, the code's become old, corrupted, missing key sequences, that sort of thing. Think of an engine that hasn't run for a while, it shudders as it warms up, yeah? Sort of like that." Shepard pulls a face. "It's not an exact analogy. Does it make sense?"

[fixedpointintime]

"Did you not see the video?" There's a beat of silence, and then Jack lifts his head from where it's resting on a folded towel at the edge of the spa while a pair of very tiny bots massage his shoulders. "That wasn't rhetorical. I'm honestly asking, because it was more or less informative and if you didn't, I should probably paraphrase."

Not moving, though. This feels too nice, He has been stuck on a decaying space station for too long, and baths are a gift from Heaven - or they would be, if Heaven existed. They are a gift from someone someplace, and he's gratefully accepting it, is the point. He allows his head to fall back against the folded towel, and lets out a contented little sigh.

[nockturnal]

There's a moment wherein you can hear the sigh as he opens his eyes, even if the noise doesn't actually come from him. Fine. He doesn't intend on sitting quietly. One might have assumed as much from his earlier protests.

"Through the door. Such action would be rash, however. The land beyond is poison. You would certainly die within minutes," he replies tartly, now looking towards Jacob once more. The litany of scars across the man's body speaks to a life of violence.

Rash action might very well be in this man's repertoire.

[nothinglikefather]

"You've never been to Croydon. Nothing is worse that Croydon."

Right. Outside will kill you. Worth remembering, if not only because despite everything, death is not an option. Not if he might find some way of finding his friends. He isn't going to give up that easily. It's not in his nature.

"But I mean back. To where we've come from. Or at least, a place different from here. Or is there none?"

[nothinglikefather]

"Video?" Jacob frowns. "There was some old man talking about... something."

He wasn't interested. He doesn't normally bother about public service announcements of any sort, and he tends to have fairly selective hearing even when communications are aimed directly at him.

"Look. I don't really care about... magistrates or whatever problems this place has or whatever monsters want to eat everyone. I want to get back to my friends. If you can tell me how to do that, that'll suit me down to the ground."

[nockturnal]

"You assume much. I might have been." London and the surrounding areas aren't exactly off the beaten path, as it were. But Jacob's free to assume what he likes. Most people do.

"And for the moment, no. We are trapped here, for the time being. We must make use of what we are given, and bide our time until the moment to act presents itself."

Why does he feel like this advice is falling on deaf ears?

[borntohurt]

"Back in the City?" His brow furrows briefly, before he shakes his head. "It was bad, before I found myself here. A lot of folks went missing. I guess I'm one of them now, though, so..."

Though that brings up an interesting question as he looks down at her. Still the same as ever, no new marks or changes. The same scent, the same Angel he's always known.

"Is this where you've been, all that time?"

Not back home, where only death waited.

[borntohurt]

Not long. Just...happened, one night. Wasn't sure I wasn't dreaming at first. Then I saw your message.

[ The tech is both foreign and familiar. He'd had the chance in the City of Sin to grow accustomed to these sorts of communication, and got a little better with his typing as a result. But a lot of this place seems a ruin, falling apart at the seams. And further up?

It makes his hair stand up on the back of his neck. It's bad. No place they need to be, that's for sure. ]