Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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redmarsshit2019-07-19 09:07 pm
modblob) wrote in redmarsshit2019-07-19 09:07 pm
redshift: tdm #2
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. smoke and generators.
It's early morning, and if any of Anchor's residents thought that taking a vacation in an abandoned hellscape would at least be relaxing enough to sleep in, they're about to find out they were wrong.
It's about 5:30 AM when a loud screeching noise of metal scraping against metal rings out and echoes through the entirety of Anchor, quickly followed by a plume of smoke coming from the topmost levels, near the Research & Development area and a loud series of catastrophic banging noises that simply refuse to let up. Once residents converge on the area, they'll discover a previously closed and completely impenetrable metal door that had comprised most of the back wall of a room full of burn damaged and broken down generators slamming open and shut, shrieking on unoiled hinges and sliders, and emitting plumes of smoke with every slam. A bit of technical finagling with the control pad (or a well-placed blow with a hard object or shot from a gun) will make the door creak to a stop at the top of its usual arc, exposing an enticing scene.
A pristine room sits behind a thick pane of violence-proof glass, decorated starkly with the walls white and white LEDs shining coldly on the scene, it's spartan except for a display of about 5 generators in perfect working condition, complete with pulsing blue-glowing power indicators. Sweet. Those would definitely come in handy for rebooting a few of the city's amenities and life support systems, with the main power grid offline as it is. The only trouble is getting inside. A bit of research would find a few ways:
There are a few options for getting into the room: through the air vents around the door, by hacking the door locking mechanism, by blowing through the door in some way. Each has its drawbacks (the vents are full of large mutated and possibly radioactive vermin such as rats and scorpions; hacking the door is incredibly technologically advanced and difficult to do; blowing up the door comes with a risk of any damage reflecting off the door and back at the people trying to blow it up, or damaging the generators inside, or the structural integrity of the area) and its advantages.
Whether residents want to try one of these options, or think of something on their own (feel free to pitch your ideas in the mod questions thread!), this treasure is definitely worth trying to get hold of.
It's about 5:30 AM when a loud screeching noise of metal scraping against metal rings out and echoes through the entirety of Anchor, quickly followed by a plume of smoke coming from the topmost levels, near the Research & Development area and a loud series of catastrophic banging noises that simply refuse to let up. Once residents converge on the area, they'll discover a previously closed and completely impenetrable metal door that had comprised most of the back wall of a room full of burn damaged and broken down generators slamming open and shut, shrieking on unoiled hinges and sliders, and emitting plumes of smoke with every slam. A bit of technical finagling with the control pad (or a well-placed blow with a hard object or shot from a gun) will make the door creak to a stop at the top of its usual arc, exposing an enticing scene.
A pristine room sits behind a thick pane of violence-proof glass, decorated starkly with the walls white and white LEDs shining coldly on the scene, it's spartan except for a display of about 5 generators in perfect working condition, complete with pulsing blue-glowing power indicators. Sweet. Those would definitely come in handy for rebooting a few of the city's amenities and life support systems, with the main power grid offline as it is. The only trouble is getting inside. A bit of research would find a few ways:There are a few options for getting into the room: through the air vents around the door, by hacking the door locking mechanism, by blowing through the door in some way. Each has its drawbacks (the vents are full of large mutated and possibly radioactive vermin such as rats and scorpions; hacking the door is incredibly technologically advanced and difficult to do; blowing up the door comes with a risk of any damage reflecting off the door and back at the people trying to blow it up, or damaging the generators inside, or the structural integrity of the area) and its advantages.
Whether residents want to try one of these options, or think of something on their own (feel free to pitch your ideas in the mod questions thread!), this treasure is definitely worth trying to get hold of.
b. it's all fun and games...
Getting the generators out of the hidden room was a trial, but finding places to hook them up is a snap - the only real problem is that there's way more spots to hook up to than there are generators. It's completely up to the residents where said generators get hooked up, but no matter what they choose, one room will power up. The VR Room.
Considered necessary rather than just an amenity by the previous residents of Anchor, the VR Room is a necessary outlet allowing the opportunity to relax and unwind for residents. And it's set up to divert some power from the system no matter where the generators were set up. When the room powers up, an automated message is sent out to all functional sat phones - a pretty little series of bells, and an audio announcement that the VR and Games Room is open and available for use, with an attached GPS map showing the room's location in the city.
Any resident who goes to the indicated place will find the VR Room open and powered up. Everything is dusty, but there are couches to lounge on, vending machines with snacks - some of which are decades past their expiry date and some of which are preserved or shelf-stable enough to still be edible - and a little coffee bar. The most important part, though, is the VR and the games.
One area of the room is set up with various interactive video games that two or more people can play together. They run the gamut from dancing games, racing games, first person shooters, and even some simple sports games and childrens' games. It's like a mini digital arcade and anyone is free to play. Some games function with the use of a handheld sensor, or sensors attached to feet or other body parts; some function via camera to track player movements; some have unique functions specific to the game style (players can use their imaginations for this one).
The VR area is a little more complicated. "VR Room" is something of a misnomer - there's one large room to the left, with a hallway sporting more, smaller rooms off to the right. The large room is an environmental simulation room with artificial sunlight and a default oceanscape that can be programmed to resemble a person's own world. There's a certain degree of automatic cerebral interfacing to make sure it gets the details just right. The smaller rooms have access to a library of VR games, some of which work and some of which will insult you in various languages before crashing. People can meet and socialize in the environmental simulation room, or in any of the smaller rooms through virtual reality. Additionally, there is a completely digital "shared world" that any character accessing the VR Room can enter, which represents the city at its peak of functionality and beauty - this VR shared world is the first place that some new arrivals manifest, as ghosts in the machine that can interact via VR before waking up physically in the arrival room.
Anyone accessing virtual reality will receive a warning spiel before entering their chosen program that states that excessive or long-term use of the VR services can cause users to experience mental and/or physical damage.
As long as it's been since the VR rooms were used, however, there's bound to be some glitches, and a few of the programs seem to load up fine only to glitch out partway into the scenario - whether it's an escape room, an in-depth virtual reality murder mystery, a dance party, visual novel, or any other program, there's a chance it might stall, freeze, glitch, and trap players inside until they can figure out how to unfreeze the program, or until they're rescued by someone on the outside recognizing their plight. Good luck!
Considered necessary rather than just an amenity by the previous residents of Anchor, the VR Room is a necessary outlet allowing the opportunity to relax and unwind for residents. And it's set up to divert some power from the system no matter where the generators were set up. When the room powers up, an automated message is sent out to all functional sat phones - a pretty little series of bells, and an audio announcement that the VR and Games Room is open and available for use, with an attached GPS map showing the room's location in the city.
Any resident who goes to the indicated place will find the VR Room open and powered up. Everything is dusty, but there are couches to lounge on, vending machines with snacks - some of which are decades past their expiry date and some of which are preserved or shelf-stable enough to still be edible - and a little coffee bar. The most important part, though, is the VR and the games.
One area of the room is set up with various interactive video games that two or more people can play together. They run the gamut from dancing games, racing games, first person shooters, and even some simple sports games and childrens' games. It's like a mini digital arcade and anyone is free to play. Some games function with the use of a handheld sensor, or sensors attached to feet or other body parts; some function via camera to track player movements; some have unique functions specific to the game style (players can use their imaginations for this one).
The VR area is a little more complicated. "VR Room" is something of a misnomer - there's one large room to the left, with a hallway sporting more, smaller rooms off to the right. The large room is an environmental simulation room with artificial sunlight and a default oceanscape that can be programmed to resemble a person's own world. There's a certain degree of automatic cerebral interfacing to make sure it gets the details just right. The smaller rooms have access to a library of VR games, some of which work and some of which will insult you in various languages before crashing. People can meet and socialize in the environmental simulation room, or in any of the smaller rooms through virtual reality. Additionally, there is a completely digital "shared world" that any character accessing the VR Room can enter, which represents the city at its peak of functionality and beauty - this VR shared world is the first place that some new arrivals manifest, as ghosts in the machine that can interact via VR before waking up physically in the arrival room.Anyone accessing virtual reality will receive a warning spiel before entering their chosen program that states that excessive or long-term use of the VR services can cause users to experience mental and/or physical damage.
As long as it's been since the VR rooms were used, however, there's bound to be some glitches, and a few of the programs seem to load up fine only to glitch out partway into the scenario - whether it's an escape room, an in-depth virtual reality murder mystery, a dance party, visual novel, or any other program, there's a chance it might stall, freeze, glitch, and trap players inside until they can figure out how to unfreeze the program, or until they're rescued by someone on the outside recognizing their plight. Good luck!
c. the crash.
A few days after the Generator Room opening up, residents of Anchor will experience another rude awakening, this time in the middle of the night. While they were sleeping, a red shift has occurred outside the city, and while they were shielded from the radiation and the chaos that comes with it, there are things outside the city that are affected.
Just after midnight, there is an extremely loud noise - it starts as ground-shaking crash, like something massive has hit the ground a few miles outside the city, and is followed by an ominous rumbling. Residents will feel the ground shaking, enough that items may fall off tables, anyone walking might lose their balance, and people might even fall out of bed. After a few minutes, however, it will die down and after a short, almost deafening silence, wind will start to whistle around the dome protecting Anchor from the outside elements. The impact of...whatever crashed in the wastelands...has triggered a massive dust storm.
Anyone who makes it up to the Observation Room near the Decontamination area and look out the wide glass windows (treated carefully to withstand the elements) over the desert will see the vague outline of a massive hulking form in the desert. With some observation, before the dust piles up too high outside the windows, they will get the impression that it's something artificial, created by people and not a natural formation or monster, though any details will be hard to make out. It could be anything from a building to a ship to something else completely alien.
As the day carries on, the dust storm rages outside the city with no signs of letting up, and with every passing hour more red sand builds up against the Observation Room's windows...and on top of the dome. By evening, what should've been a bright sunset is filtered through a layer of red dust thick enough to tint what little light makes it through a vibrant red, painting the city in psychologically jarring shades of crimson.
Just after midnight, there is an extremely loud noise - it starts as ground-shaking crash, like something massive has hit the ground a few miles outside the city, and is followed by an ominous rumbling. Residents will feel the ground shaking, enough that items may fall off tables, anyone walking might lose their balance, and people might even fall out of bed. After a few minutes, however, it will die down and after a short, almost deafening silence, wind will start to whistle around the dome protecting Anchor from the outside elements. The impact of...whatever crashed in the wastelands...has triggered a massive dust storm.
Anyone who makes it up to the Observation Room near the Decontamination area and look out the wide glass windows (treated carefully to withstand the elements) over the desert will see the vague outline of a massive hulking form in the desert. With some observation, before the dust piles up too high outside the windows, they will get the impression that it's something artificial, created by people and not a natural formation or monster, though any details will be hard to make out. It could be anything from a building to a ship to something else completely alien.As the day carries on, the dust storm rages outside the city with no signs of letting up, and with every passing hour more red sand builds up against the Observation Room's windows...and on top of the dome. By evening, what should've been a bright sunset is filtered through a layer of red dust thick enough to tint what little light makes it through a vibrant red, painting the city in psychologically jarring shades of crimson.
d. red-out (& network prompt).
The lack of light isn't the only problem going on in the city because of the dust storm - there are consequences much worse than a lack of Vitamin D for residents. Dust storms were a common problem when the city was created and inhabited by its previous residents, and there are failsafes in effect. As the dust clogs up the power generation apparatuses on the exterior of the city, power starts to fade. By the early afternoon, the backup generators kick in, but the power from the backup generators only lasts a few hours before technical problems from decades without maintenance cause them to power down almost completely, leaving the city dark and cloaked in red.
Good thing those generators showed up, huh?
During the red-out, power will be completely diverted to life support, and the Exit Area will be completely locked down, preventing anyone from leaving the city or re-entering it, apart from new arrivals. All amenities, entertainment, and anything non-essential has been completely shut down. This may result in residents stranded in strange places with or without company, and many other awkward situations, at least until someone can jury-rig the new generators into place to make the not-necessary-but-super-convenient parts of the city work.
The one thing that's completely unaffected is the network, and the city's failsafe includes another way of trying to keep residents from going insane during the red-out: a network game.
Every device in the city will pop up with an prompt:
Please input two truths and one lie about yourself. These will be posted to the network so other residents can guess which is the lie!
Well. It's. Something alright.
Good thing those generators showed up, huh?
During the red-out, power will be completely diverted to life support, and the Exit Area will be completely locked down, preventing anyone from leaving the city or re-entering it, apart from new arrivals. All amenities, entertainment, and anything non-essential has been completely shut down. This may result in residents stranded in strange places with or without company, and many other awkward situations, at least until someone can jury-rig the new generators into place to make the not-necessary-but-super-convenient parts of the city work.
The one thing that's completely unaffected is the network, and the city's failsafe includes another way of trying to keep residents from going insane during the red-out: a network game.
Every device in the city will pop up with an prompt:
Please input two truths and one lie about yourself. These will be posted to the network so other residents can guess which is the lie!
Well. It's. Something alright.
Mod Note: This red-out is set to last from July 22nd until August 1st, when the intro log goes up at the start of the app cycle.
no subject
[And equipment!!! Nobody's supposed to just do that.]
[It's certainly something Kieran would never expect somebody to do, what with the whole mutants not existing thing. Also 1899. So, his head is whipping back and forth as he's trying to find out where that voice is coming from because it's definitely not from above, right?]
H-Hello? Who's there? Where are ya?
[He pauses.]
And h-h-he's not a pony!!! He's not supposed to be, anyway...
[Poor Branwen.]
no subject
[Yeah maybe shouting back and forth at this guy isn't the best way to hold a conversation. He detaches his weird sitckyfingers from the wall and drops down behind this poor, confused cowboy. Hopefully not close enough to startle him too much, but if he does kick Peter in the face, it's fine. Peter probably deserves it.]
Sorry, it's just kinda small, and-- I, y'know, I've never seen a pony in person so I could be totally wrong.
no subject
Ah!!
[See? Startled.]
[Kieran flops over onto his back and starts to sort of shimmy away from Peter, his legs still decidedly not working, thanks a lot.]
Y-Y-You just... you just... you... were on the... the... the...
[The pony stuff's going to have to wait for a second.]
...That ain't right!!!
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No nonono, it's okay! I mean, you're right, it's totally not normal, I'm a little weird, but it's fine. Just-- oh my God, I am so sorry. Totally shoulda warned you. I just- sometimes I'm on the ceiling!
[WOW that is not helping at all is it??]
no subject
[What also doesn't help is the fact that Kieran's actively yelling over Peter because he's that freaked out.]
People d-d-don't belong on ceilings!!! That ain't what they're for!
[He gestures to the ceiling, then gestures at Peter, and then just gestures wildly all around because what the hell.]
And you just... y-y-you just... you just dropped down from all th' way up there but your legs ain't broken through them Long Johns and everythin's sh-sh-shakin' and naw, it ain't okay!!! Nothin's okay!!!
[A pause.]
Where is my horse?!
no subject
BUT FINALLY, the ranting ends, and the guy's talking about his horse again. Peter can work with this. He POINTS in the direction he'd seen the horse run off earlier]
Sir, your horse went that way.
no subject
[That firm but polite 'sir' is enough to get Kieran to shut up for a second. He buries his face in his palms and takes a deep breath, the adrenaline draining out of his system just as quickly as it flooded in. He's still shaky, but at least he's got a few moments to think.]
[Okay, okay. He can handle this. He knows where Branwen's gone off to, and this weird feller seems friendly enough. At least he didn't drop down and break Kieran's neck.]
[...Maybe that wouldn't have been so bad, all things considered.]
Alright.
Th-Thank you, uh, Ceiling... Boy...
[Kieran, what the fuck.]
no subject
Peter, my name's Peter. Sorry about the... yeah. You need a hand up?
[He'll take a couple steps forward again and offer his hand to the twitchiest cowboy ever, but he totally understands if he doesn't take him up on it.]
no subject
[And speaking of Peter, that's such a nice normal name for such a freaky kid, and he's super polite to boot. What gives?]
[Kieran just nods, dragging his palms down his face once before he considers Peter's hand. For a moment, he wonders if it'll be sticky or weird in some other way, but after the excitement of the last couple of minutes, he can't really bring himself to care about little things like that.]
[So he takes Peter's hand and hoists himself up, wobbling a little on his jelly legs before he's confident he can stand.]
Kieran. Kieran Duffy.
no subject
Which sounds kind of gross.
Don't think to hard about it.
ANYWAY, Peter will stand here and offer support for as long as Kieran needs it. He's a nice boy that way.]
Nice to meet you, sorry it got weird. Have you been here long?
[COME, cowboyman, lets chat and horse hunt]
no subject
[Kieran murmurs his thanks as he removes his weight from Peter and turns in the direction he said Branwen went.]
S'all right. Sorry for...
[He half-heartedly raises his arms in a gesture that can only mean 'this entire disaster' before he focuses on Peter's question.]
Naw. Ain't been here for too long. Couple of days, I reckon.
I was trying to get a feel for the place when everything started shaking. That's what spooked Branwen.
[It spooked Kieran, too, but we already went over that.]
no subject
[No apologies necessary, my guy. Half the time, Peter is the entire disaster.]
Yeah, the shaking thing is new. [It's actually really concerning and Peter's going to have to check that shit out later, but hey.] Seems to be over now, though. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
[HE'S REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT.]
no subject
[Kieran shoots Peter a look that practically screams 'I'm going to worry about it'. But hey, he worries about everything, so what else is new?]
[There's something a little more pressing right now, though, and that's finding his dang horse. Kieran lifts two fingers to his mouth, ready to let loose a high-pitched and super loud whistle...]
[...but considering the general spookiness of the place and how Peter sneaked up on him before, he hesitates. There's no point in inviting actual trouble. Never mind the fact that they were both just yelling like lunatics before. It’s totally the whistle that’ll do them in. Yup.]
You, uh, you said you saw him headin' out that way, right? Didja see anything else while you were up there?
no subject
Nope, just saw the two of you. There shouldn't be any other animals out hanging around, they're all up on the Agricultural level. He should be safe.
[Unless the horse decides to launch himself off the breezeway. That could be an issue.]
no subject
[Also, he’s totally going to ask about the agricultural stuff once they find Branwen—that’s actually something he can help with!]
Oh good, thanks.
[And with that, Kieran brings his fingers to his lips again and whistles.]
[After a moment, there’s a whinny and the sound of hooves against metal in the distance.]
Sounds like he’s alright!
Wanna come with me to get ‘em?
no subject
Sure! I wasn't doing anything important anyway, I have time.
[He can climb up the walls and do weird spider shit anytime, now is time for horses]
no subject
Thanks, again. I mean it.
[And he does feel bad about yelling. And calling him Ceiling Boy, as decidedly unclever as that was.]
[Kieran's gait is just a bit shaky as he starts walking, but at least the ground is stable.]
S-So, uh, you from around these parts?
no subject
[FUCK MATH except don't.
Dude Peter is 100% over being yelled at, water under the bridge my man. He still feels bad about spooking this guy so bad, so they're even.]
No sir, I'm from New York. Which. We are nowhere near. You?
no subject
[He's never been! Sure, Kieran's heard a lot about city slickers and all that, but never anything about how they can climb ceilings.]
[New York's crazy, man.]
As for me, I'm, uh, n-not really from anywhere in particular. Closest city to where I was last is Saint Denis.
I-If that means anythin' to ya.
no subject
That... doesn't ring any bells, no.
So, um. Weird question, sorry in advance, but uh. What year is it?
[because bro you are givin' him some straight up John Wayne but-not-nearly-as-hardcore vibes]
no subject
[Kieran's brow furrows and he glances at Peter.]
Uh... 1899...?
[Peter are you okay? Did you hit your head when you plopped down from the ceiling?]
no subject
Oh. Wow. Okay. That's... that's a thing, wow.
[A real life cowboy from the Cowboy Times!! This poor, poor cowboy, he's in for some bullshit.]
no subject
[Also Kieran would 100% prefer bullshit at this rate. He can handle bullshit in all of its forms, literal and figurative. This is some crazy ass sci-fi shit though and nobody from his day and age has any clue on how to handle that.]
Why'd you ask?
no subject
Okay. So, this might be a little uh, freaky? It's super freaky. But uh, so people can end up here from different points in... in history, I guess. The last time I was on Earth, it was 2018. Which was like, a year ago. So it uh, it would be 2019 now.
no subject
[What the actual hell is going on????]
...
Oh.
[Another pause.]
...
Can everybody climb ceilings in the future?
[He's so dumbfounded right now that's the only thing his brain is able to get his mouth to say.]
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