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Mods ([personal profile] modblob) wrote in [community profile] redmarsshit2019-11-21 09:50 pm
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test drive meme: november 2019

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.



redwinekindofgirl: (073)

[personal profile] redwinekindofgirl 2020-01-05 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Something happy--

[Shit, god, it shouldn't be such a stretch to dig up something good to talk about. She'll have to examine that later, but for now...

What's the best thing happening to her right now?
]

I have a boyfriend now? I... guess? Klaus told me he loves me.

[And her hand goes to her mouth, again, because she said more than she meant to but the smile behind her fingers gives away her feelings.]
enumerator: (coin)

[personal profile] enumerator 2020-01-05 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know if you had a choice, since something is making us talk.

[ arya squirms a little. she even though she doesn't have much control over what she's saying, she feels bad that she's made ben remember all these horrible things -- after all, he wouldn't have said what he said if it wasn't on his mind, first. but that's what she does, isn't it? she's been hurting people, making them feel uncomfortable ever since she ran from her father's execution. the witch on the isle told it true. wolf-child, blood-child. i see you.

arya smiles a little, twisted and rueful. ben doesn't look like he's capable of doing that much damage. but then again, arya doesn't look it, either. ]


Perhaps. But I don't think he'd need to do that. I could best you in any fight.

[ arya knows that she's just bragging, and that if ben has been trained to kill like he says he has, then there's a good chance she couldn't beat him. but she doesn't want him to feel like he's the only violent thing in the room. ]

I am a tool back home, too. A person used for war. But I was in a place like this once, and in these places, you can have a better life, so long as you take it and hold it tight.

[ arya picks up a wrinkle in time again and offers it to ben. arya doesn't particularly care if he's read it or not -- she likes the book, and wants ben to have a good thing after a hard conversation. if he takes it, she'll nod, satisfied, pull her hood back up, and leave. if she stays any longer, she could say worse things and make her and ben more upset. she doesn't want that -- this much honesty has been enough. ]
mustact: (→40)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-05 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Luckily.

Where are you now?
nothinglikefather: made by peaked (Default)

[personal profile] nothinglikefather 2020-01-05 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
The upper levels. Its grim.
mustact: (→54)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-05 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
He raises an eyebrow, and shakes his head. Beautiful things in the universe?

... All right. Well.

There will be plenty of time for her to watch him be beautiful.

"I am asking you to."
enumerator: (hmm)

[personal profile] enumerator 2020-01-06 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
So you want Snart dead...but you want to kill him yourself?

[ arya says, slowly, making sure she understands. she wants chronos to confirm that out loud, to be crystal clear. arya knows what it's like to want to kill someone personally. it's an angry feeling that chews away at your heart until there's nothing left, until there's just a hole where the heart should be. it's a feeling that creates its own pain, but is also a way of dealing with a hurt that is far, far worse.

arya cannot imagine what could happen to make mick rory feel that way towards leonard snart.

arya hates that name. she's not taking it on, not this one, and she frowns when chronos says it again. ]


A different universe? [ arya chews her lip. ] Do you think everyone has "different versions?"
circumspector: (( MINOTAUR ) » there's a storm)

[personal profile] circumspector 2020-01-06 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
She blinks at him, again, taking a moment as if considering it. That listlessness that comes when she no longer is trapped by her first urge to say what she thinks everyone wants to hear, but what she actually is thinking.

"You know it's not that easy for me to ask anything, from anyone." Her fingers fiddle, brushing against his jacket. "But I can promise to try?"
hersay: (cute!)

[personal profile] hersay 2020-01-06 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ allison doesn't feel the heat, but she does see that blush. it's lovely, seeing ben this genuinely happy. ordinarily, she'd poke a little fun at him being tomato-red, but she doesn't want to sour ben's joy. he needs more of this in his life. deserves more. ]

Your first kiss???? Ben why didn't you open with this that's WAY better than cosmo!

[ allison is elated and absolutely beaming. the teenage her would have probably clapped a little, but allison's trying to keep it at least a little classy, so she settles for the wide, wide grin.

allison gives a slow nod of thanks, grateful that ben doesn't think it's weird that she needs to find out this information herself. or, even if he does think it, he doesn't show it, which allison is fine with, too. it's better than a fight, than hostility. much better than someone getting hurt. ]


Ok that's actually pretty cool? I could see how that could be romantic. [ allison is envisioning cole and ben having some picnic or whatever and cole leans over and says "the trees think you're beautiful" and it's very sappy and very cute!!

she doesn't press on the part related to ben's powers. she sees that squirm and feels a slight pang of guilt. there she goes again, not being as sensitive as she could be to how ben feels about his powers. ]


He's a spirit? What does that mean?? [ he must still be a physical thing, right? if ben kissed him? ]
hyperthermic: (vvzHn7J)

[personal profile] hyperthermic 2020-01-07 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
Got it in one.

[ He leans against the nearest vehicle, the weight of his armor making it sink slightly. ]

What I got with Snart is personal. Needs a personal touch to resolve.

[ He drums his armored fingers against the hood of the vehicle. ]

Wouldn't surprise me. Not a bit.
itsnotaonesie: (unexciting locker icon)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-07 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Unacceptable.

"Yeah, that's true. Plus all my teachers liked me, so I think I'd be fine." He is the bittiest scientist and the biggest nerd all at the same time.

"I haven't been home for like a year and a half, so I couldn't say for sure. The last thing we were fighting was this alien dude who wanted to wipe out half the life in the universe, and he won."
braidmage: (:) too cute)

[personal profile] braidmage 2020-01-07 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yes! Now this is what he's talking about! Of course, talking about a boyfriend might be a perilous territory for things to slide into more serious and less joyful conversation, but Reynir can do his best to steer things. And it is nice, seeing Julie smile like that.

Reynir grew up in a small town: he knows about the delights of a good wholesome gossip. He beams at Julie and says: ]


Oooh, tell me everything. I've talked to Klaus a little. Not much but he told me about his powers, but I don't know him much. So he loves you?! That's awesome! Congrats! Do you love him back? Did you tell him? Spare no detail!
arcadedragon: (Ink)

[personal profile] arcadedragon 2020-01-07 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Favorite son and teacher's pet. They're gonna be a winning combination.

"Half of everything? What for?" That is so highly specific, half the trees too? Half of the bacteria? Half of the endangered condors? "Does that mean he succeeded in destroying half of everything?"
itsnotaonesie: (this is fiiiine)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-07 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Go team dork.

"Half the like, people and animals, I guess? he said something about resources being limited and it was his way of 'saving' the universe. But yeah, pretty sure he succeeded. I watched some of the dudes I'd been fighting him with turn into dust and blow away before I also did, and I'm pretty sure that was because of him."
arcadedragon: (Chibi)

[personal profile] arcadedragon 2020-01-07 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"You turned to dust?" Well that's awful. Looking pretty good and solid for being dust tho.

"I am sorry. That sounds... Terrible."

WHY ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT SCHOOL WHEN PEOPLE TURNED TO DUST PETER?
itsnotaonesie: (158)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-08 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
BECAUSE THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE TURNING TO DUST PART IS HORRIBLE AND HE'S TRAUMATIZED AND SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANNA THINK ABOUT SOMETHING NORMAL LIKE SCHOOL???

"Yeah, it uh, wasn't a good time. Fun fact for you, though. Sometimes these weird places that kidnap people from other universes can bring people back from the dead. That's a thing I found out." Shrug, after a year and a half it isn't even weird for Peter anymore.
theweakhavepurpose: (Escape)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
"No that's fair. I still don't know everyone here and I've been here half a year. Though they seem to be trying to make a little community. Well, most of them." There's always going to be a few problems and troublemakers. But as far as he knows no one has tried to kill each other - so that's a win in his book.

"Come on, we'll get you a place. Or you can at least look at them." Pratt gestures him to follow, heading towards the sort of barracks where most of the rooms are located. "I mean I guess you could live anywhere. No one would stop you. But these have bathrooms so..."
benhargreeves: (? are you kidding)

[personal profile] benhargreeves 2020-01-08 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Wouldn't surprise me. You just know there's gotta be some aspiring screenwriter who died in a tragic accident waiting tables while angling for his big break in Hollywood, who hung around out of sheer stubbornness and spite. They should have hired that guy to co-write this.

[ It's nice, hanging with Julie like this, being able to joke like this. A lot of the time Ben isn't sure people in this place will appreciate his somewhat morbid sense of humor. But Julie gets it.

So he keeps on munching on that popcorn, laughing at the movie and occasionally mocking it, though in a rather gentle way. This is a film that Julie remembers from before things went wrong, after all. Ben doesn't want to ruin the fun. Even if it is very silly at times. ]


Seriously, though, this girl has serrrriously got a thing for a ghost. How's she think that's gonna end, huh?
benhargreeves: (! on black)

[personal profile] benhargreeves 2020-01-08 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If he could, Ben would deflect right now, make up some slightly more flattering reason why he hadn't led with talking about that first kiss. In his enthusiasm over Cole, he's forgotten for a moment about whatever it is compelling his absolute honesty, so he opens his mouth to answer and what comes out is the whole truth, unvarnished: ]

I was worried I would sound stupid and too excited about something that shouldn't even be a big deal and I'm embarrassed because you're way more experienced than me, and I just sound like some stupid preteen getting his first crush, and it meant so much to me and I was afraid you were gonna laugh.

[ Ben shakes his head, as if he could jar those worries loose, let them fall off him. Now that he's brought it up, he is bursting to actually talk about it, so he keeps going: ]

But it was amazing, kissing him. It was so much better than I thought, and he's never been with anybody before, either, so I don't feel self-conscious. He said... we're courting, and I really, really, really like him, Allison.

[ He is even, right now, looking forward later to telling Cole that he'd told Allison. Wondering what he'll say. Missing him, even though he saw him so recently. He's totally infatuated, and he knows it.

From the sound of it, though, Cole hadn't explained to Allison what he is, or if he had, it hadn't been an explanation she could fully grasp. It had taken Ben some time before he understood completely - or at least as completely as he does now - and so he is all too ready to fill in the gaps for her. ]


Well, he comes from a world that's super different to ours. They've got elves and dwarves and demons and mages and stuff. There's this realm called the Fade, where people go in their dreams, and that's also where demons and spirits live. Spirits are like ... like different emotions, but they're living beings. So there's a spirit that's Justice, there's one that's Rage, you know, that sort of thing. Cole is Compassion. The spirits come through, sometimes - for lots of reasons.

[ Ben knows mostly about the circumstances around Cole becoming the Cole he is now, but there are other spirits that Cole has mentioned. He might only be giving Allison a tiny piece of the puzzle. But it's a start. ]

So there was a human, a mage, named Cole. He had this... this really sad, deprived, horrible, shitty life. And he got thrown in a dungeon by these motherfuckers called Templars, and they - forgot him. So he was starving to death, and all alone and miserable, and Compassion showed up to comfort him. And Cole, human Cole, wanted to not be forgotten. He wanted so badly to... have lived a life where he wasn't a mage, where he... where all this bad stuff didn't happen. And so Compassion... stayed with him while he died and then took on his memories and, sort of, parts of him. And Compassion made a body for himself to look like the human Cole, and took on his name.

[ The story had been tragic enough even before the shift had brought through a part of that awful place. Now that he's seen it, though, been inside that pit? Ben shudders, imagining what it must have been like. Locked up in the dark, alone, slowly, painfully starving to death. He shakes the thought away, finishes: ]

So... Cole is Cole, but he's Compassion, too. He's not really a human, but he's not exactly all spirit anymore, either. He's sort of... in between.
arcadedragon: (Stance)

[personal profile] arcadedragon 2020-01-08 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well that is... good? I think? Better than being dead." Probably. He's been close enough to death that he doesn't wanna revisit that again any time soon.

Well what does he say now? Ask what it was like to turn to dust? Awwwwwkward.

"That means you should stay here correct? And not return home?"
0thingsonmymind: (Sitting)

[personal profile] 0thingsonmymind 2020-01-08 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah, a bathroom would be nice. It was nice having his own in the Meadous. He nods and follows.

howmany
are
?


How many people, he means. Or maybe bathrooms. Who knows.
theweakhavepurpose: (Get away)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-09 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
"People?" He's going to guess he means people and he's not some bathroom connoisseur who wants to try them all.

"Thirty I think? I haven't counted lately, but if you just showed up then there's probably more, people tend to come in a big group all at once. I think that's how the teleporter works? It pulls in a bunch and then goes offline and then comes back and pulls in more."
0thingsonmymind: (pic#9471494)

[personal profile] 0thingsonmymind 2020-01-09 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
He nods. Pratt guessed correctly!

Thirty, though...is that a lot? There had been a lot in Norfinbury but they were mostlu spread out so it was okay. He's not sure how may were in the Meadous...

how big is
?


And how easily can he avoid these 30ish people.
theweakhavepurpose: (They're weak now)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-09 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Way bigger than it looks. A buncha floors and they're all pretty spread out. I've been here half a year and there's still new places I'm finding." And there's people he hasn't met but that's more because he keeps to himself. He hunts and he brings his catch to the kitchen and that's about all the interaction he gets.

He leads them down a hallway, hitting buttons on the wall to try and open doors. "If anyone lives in them they should be locked. Or I'm going to barge in on some random people and feel like a jerk or -- ah. Here we go. Empty one."

The door opens up, revealing a pretty basic barracks style bunkroom.
itsnotaonesie: (110)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-09 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
"It's definitely better than being dead, even if it is super weird."

See that would have been super awkward, but that's now how Genji rolled, so it's all good.

"I don't know if I can return. I get pretty homesick sometimes, but it's not all bad. Kinda started a new life out here, I guess."
mustact: (→20)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-09 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. I have been there as well. I believe it should be salvageable, nonetheless.

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