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redmarsshit2019-11-21 09:50 pm
modblob) wrote in redmarsshit2019-11-21 09:50 pm
Entry tags:
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.
▶ 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!
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.
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:
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?
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.
Whatever the reason, the network is going strong, so feel free to include a post to it in your top-levels.
YES! That's the spirit!
That's all right! All I can ask is for you to try! Thank you so much.
[It takes a lot to get her down, and she'll take any help she can where she can get it! She steps closer to Reynir--at two feet tall, she probably barely comes up above his knees.]
I did just arrive! I was in that strange room with the visions on the wall... they said a lot of things, but it was very hard to pay attention. There were so many colors and sounds and different things going on! Did you come in through the same room?
no subject
Yeah, sounds exactly the same. I had a hard time paying attention to it, too. I was pretty scared this place might be dangerous and that made it kinda hard to concentrate.
[ Yet another reason why he had said he might not be the ideal person to ask about the mechanics of this place. Honestly, he should just point her in the direction of someone more knowledgeable, but Reynir is too transfixed by this strange creature to think of that. ]
I've learned some stuff since then, though, and I don't know if there really is an easy way for you to get home right away. I think... when they decide it is best, the gods will send us home on their own. Until then, we're sort of... stuck here.
[ But Reynir at least doesn't seem too bummed out about that. He doesn't say it with a tone that implies this place is a prison. Just... a kind of necessity, to be waited out, like quarantine, only much less boring. ]
Are you a spirit? Or are you from somewhere other than Earth?
no subject
[That said, she's grateful for the explanation so far, and she's all smiles when she responds.]
I'm not a spirit, I'm a Gelfling! From Thra!
[Normally, she'd never have to answer a question like that, since Gelfling are so common around Thra. It's kind of exciting to meet someone who's never seen a Gelfling before, though! She has to do her best to make a good first impression... oh, and maybe this strange being doesn't know anything about Thra! How much should she tell them now? Are they a spirit, themselves? Is that why they asked?]
[Oh no! She didn't even ask them their name!]
Are you a spirit? What's your name? Is Earth your home? What's it like?
no subject
A Gelfling? Okay!
[ He really doesn't know what that means but it's more than obvious she's not a human, and she isn't the first alien that Reynir has met in this place. He accepts that that's the name for what she is, though clearly it's not something he's heard of before, and rolls with it. ]
I'm sorry, I've never heard of Thra before. People come here from all sorts of different worlds and realms. I'm Reynir Árnason, from Earth. I'm a human. And this is Kisa. She's from Earth, too. She's something we call a cat.
[ Reynir turns as he's saying it, so that Deet will be able to see the little kitty's head poking out from his bag. There's just a flash of wide-eyed cat, her ears pointed forward with interest, before Reynir is turning again, grinning. ]
She can't understand what we're saying or talk but I thought I should introduce her, too.
[ He thinks about telling her about Earth - but then, he's learned from experience that hearing about the world he comes from can sort of bum people out. Maybe it won't be as bad for her, since she's not from Earth and won't be as sad to hear about the Old World collapsing, but even so... he's a bit wary.
So he dodges that question and instead reassures her: ]
I'm sorry I don't know a way to help you get home. But - if it helps, I'm sure your gods brought you to this place for a good reason, and I'm sure when the time is right, they'll help you get back.
no subject
Oh! Do you... do you think Thra has sent me here? My friends and I are--were?--are!--on a journey to save it... maybe it sent me here for that purpose!
[Deet nods. That must be the case! That's why she's been brought to this strange land! It has to be!]
[Her attention then refocuses on Kisa, who she'd waved at when Reynir introduced the two.]
I'm sure your cat friend can speak with us, even if it's not in the same language! Animals always have something to say, if you listen carefully.