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.
WILDCARD
Which makes it doubly irritating that the bartender robot refuses to serve her a non-alcoholic beverage! She's got three tequila sunrises lined up on the bar next to her, and the bartender is happily pouring a fourth, oblivious to Ami's protests as she sits on a barstool with her head in her hands. ]
Robot. Explain please why this is so difficult for you. All I want is plain orange juice. And you have plain orange juice! It is in your hand, currently, right now.
[ The robot sets a fourth tequila sunrise next to the others. "There you go! Will there be anyth- anyth- anyth- anything else?" ]
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[Even in Kieran's time (almost 120 years before Ami's!), heck, especially in Kieran's time, anyplace you could get a drink was a place that you could find some rest and relaxation... along with the occasional fist fight, but based on present company, that didn't seem likely.]
[The very concept of a robot bartender (or a robot in general) is really weird, but since this thing is dispensing the booze, Kieran's not about to complain. It's the second best coping mechanism he's got access to in this place, after all. Even if it's much sweeter and fruitier than he's used to. He likes it, though!]
[He cranes his neck when he hears Ami's voice, peering over the rim of his tequila sunrise. Odd to see a kid at a bar, but not entirely impossible he supposes. Drinking ages were a bit more 'nebulous' back in his day.]
What's the problem, miss?
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She sighs and leans back from the counter. ]
Oh, you know. Technology, making our lives easier. [ Pointedly rolls her eyes at that. ] I heard they had orange juice in here, and they do, but he insists on putting a bunch of booze in with it too. [ She taps one of the glasses beside her, making a muted "ping" sound. ] Don't get me wrong, they do look cool, but...
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[He also doesn't get why putting booze in juice is such a bad thing--but then he remembers that he's talking to a kid and that probably has something to do with it. Whoops.]
Lemme see if I can help.
[Kieran clears his throat as he tries to get the robot's attention.]
H-Hey, uh, Mister...
[...does this thing have a name? Do you even call a big chunk of metal 'Mister'?]
[Maybe it's best to just gloss over that part.]
Do you think you could, uh, let us see the orange juice? J-Just for a second?
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"... Yessir! One tequila sunrise coming right up!" it exclaims, grabbing a fresh glass and a bottle of tequila. Ami shrugs. THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT. ]
Yeah, I tried that, too. I don't think he understands anything but tequila sunrise.
[ "Yessir! Two tequila sunrises!" ]
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[HE TRIED SO HARD AND HE GOT SO FAR AND IN THE END IT ONLY TEQUILA SUNRISED.]
[Kieran sits back in his chair, arms crossed and thoroughly perplexed.]
Huh.
That thing don't know if it should check its ass or scratch its watch.
[A pause.]
[Hang on Kieran, you're in the presence of a young lady, how dare you.]
S-Sorry. Fer the language, I mean.
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It's cool, I don't mind! That was funny. [ If she had a problem with swears, Karkat surely would have been the first to know. ]
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[Kieran responds with a sheepish smile before he reaches over for one of the (many) available drinks. He doesn't take a swig just yet, figuring it'd be rude to sip at something his new acquaintance can't have.]
Glad you thought so.
[He clears his throat and offers a hand.]
Name's Kieran.
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[And it helps that Ami's brought up a topic that he enjoys talking about!]
Yeah! Yeah, it is!
My pa came to the States over from Ireland.
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Oh, really! What a funny coincidence, we're both second generationers! My dad is from Japan, you see. [ And her features do have something of an Asian cast to them, though it's one of those things that's easier to see if you're looking for it. ]
no subject
No kiddin'! I never met anyone from Japan before.
[Kieran, she's not from Japan. Her dad is from Japan.]
Or, y'know, any of their kids.
[Quick, gotta find a segue before he makes it worse...!]
H-Have you ever been there?
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Oh, I'm, uh, I'm sorry to hear that.
[Unfortunately, there's not much he can say in regards to siblings, having none himself, so he can't commiserate too well with Ami's experience with her sister kicking the back of her seat on her way to Ja--]
[Wait a second.]
Hold on, did you say y'all flew there?!
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She kinda tilts her head at his question. ]
Yeah? I mean, in an airplane, obviously.
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Oh! Right, of course, one of the airplanes!
With all the air and the, uh...
[He takes a sip from his tequila sunrise.]
[It's a long sip.]
...p-plane?
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Only, you know, the opposite of that. ]
Do you ... not know what an airplane is?
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[Kieran drags another swig of his tequila sunrise before letting the glass fall heavily against the bar. He breathes in once through his nose and releases that breath with a resigned sigh.]
Nope.
Not even in the slightest, Miss Ami.
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It's kind of surreal, him not knowing. Recollé was full of wild stories, of course, but everyone still had that common background of 21st-century Earth to fall back on. This is her first time in a traditional jar of jam, and it feels more like asking the unawakened about horses. Or like that time Noah straight up forgot what a bus was. ]
Okay, um. Well, it's - hang on, I'll draw it.
[ She grabs a bar napkin and a ballpoint pen and begins sketching the general shape of an airplane as she talks. It is not a good or detailed sketch. ]
An airplane is like... this big metal tube with wings on the sides. And you've got the jet engines here and here... and the windows. The passengers sit inside it. Kind of like a train car, if you know trains.
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[He nods, absorbing everything Ami is saying. All things considered, he likes to learn, and he's certainly not unintelligent––there's just so much.]
Okay. So, just to keep everythin' straight...
[He points to the middle.]
...this is the part that's like a train car.
[He points to the wings.]
And... do these flap up and down? Y'said somethin' about engines, but I ain't never heard of the jet kind...
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[Kieran stares at the sketch a little bit more, clearly astounded. Almost like a little kid.]
And that big ol' heavy thing just... brings a whole buncha people wherever y'all want it to go?
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[ She rests her chin in her hands, admiring her ugly drawing for a moment. It does make her curious about Kieran himself, though, and she turns her attention back to him. ]
I'm guessing these aren't invented yet for you?
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[Kieran exhales again, his lips trilling voicelessly as he crosses his arms across his chest.]
[They only stay there for a moment, though, while he gathers his thoughts. Sure enough, his arms are moving again as he gestures to the room and, by proxy, the entire station.]
Then again, neither is all this. Never in a million years would I've thought any of this was possible.
It's kinda... I dunno. Can't think of the word for it.
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Overwhelming?
[ That's how it feels to her, anyway. Albeit maybe not for the same reason. ]
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1/2
2/2
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the daring tale of an elaborate heist: "OJ's Eleven"
starring Brad Pith
god damn
call the police and the fireman
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