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redmarsshit2019-08-24 02:53 pm
modblob) wrote in redmarsshit2019-08-24 02:53 pm
redshift: tdm #3
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. tfln: anchor edition.
The power returns with a surge throughout the colony, abrupt and powerful. Whether it’s because of an increase in the levels of radiation powering the dome or the unexpected addition of two more suns to the sky, the lights are back on, so to speak.
A surge that powerful has consequences, though. While some (currently unknown) systems have been powered up, others (mostly unknown) have come to life with a vengeance.
In specific, the robo-matchmaker in the intimacy lounge. Ordinarily, it works by taking the information of people who enter the intimacy lounge and pairing them up based on a carefully-tooled algorithm, so people are matched into casual or potentially romantic relationships. Somehow, through the frying of circuits and the machinations of a match-making AI gone rogue, the bot has the information of everyone in the colony - whether collected through the network, CCTV, or by scanning the data of people who passed by close at hand.
It's started making profiles for everyone, filling in bits of overheard conversations or bad pickup lines that it thinks match the personality of its chosen victims. It's also, helpfully, started sending messages at random to other characters, just to get the romantic ball rolling. Profiles and messages are as off the wall as the bot making them. Welcome to TFLN, Anchor Edition.
A surge that powerful has consequences, though. While some (currently unknown) systems have been powered up, others (mostly unknown) have come to life with a vengeance.
In specific, the robo-matchmaker in the intimacy lounge. Ordinarily, it works by taking the information of people who enter the intimacy lounge and pairing them up based on a carefully-tooled algorithm, so people are matched into casual or potentially romantic relationships. Somehow, through the frying of circuits and the machinations of a match-making AI gone rogue, the bot has the information of everyone in the colony - whether collected through the network, CCTV, or by scanning the data of people who passed by close at hand.
It's started making profiles for everyone, filling in bits of overheard conversations or bad pickup lines that it thinks match the personality of its chosen victims. It's also, helpfully, started sending messages at random to other characters, just to get the romantic ball rolling. Profiles and messages are as off the wall as the bot making them. Welcome to TFLN, Anchor Edition.
Robo-Matchmaker (?̵̢̠̀?̷̠͉͍̝̙̕ͅ?̡̢̡̹̩̖̝̞̪̦̘ͅ)
I͎͇̰̺̼͡ ̝̳̼̻͕̩͚á̷̳͍̫͕͞m̱̱̺͍̳̞̖ ̴̥͇̣͎̺̤̩͕̩͜h͖̕͞͠er͉̟͕͈̳̀ḙ͔̼̠̤ ͓̠̰̗̹̘̣͔t͏̸̤̳̙͍͎̮͕̞͢o҉̨̜͖̠̝͙̜̦̜ ̮̠̝̪̩̤̣m̖̻a̤͙̘̲̫̩̗k̮͓̀͜e̶̠͚͞ ̯̯̘̦͜͠you͈̹̟͔͜͠ͅr͈̮̮̗͖̜̠͠ ̮̗̗̹̘̬̠͢d̴̵̯͖̀r̷͇͍̦̗̯͢eaṃ̘͝͞ş̳̺̭̮͜ ̖͚͚͓͙͇͙͓̜c͖͕̰̞̺̟̫ớ͈̖͇̲̗m̶̞̟̣̘͎̘̲̣̕͢é̠̯͞ ̼t͔͢r͢͏̠̙̜̬͖̞̥̜ư̧͈̫͜e̹̮̮̝͝.̗̠̪̭̫͞
Interests: true love, friends with benefits, e͏͇̫m̲̤̬͟ ͉͍͜ǫ̙̟̳̲͘t̬͓i҉̟̼̣͓̯̜̞̼͜ ҉̛̺̪̣͈͖͖̟̥̺o̴̢͔̙̥̠̟̮̮̪̩n̷̗̜s҉̰̖̯͟͠
Assets: I̤̥̙̺̪̪̱͜ ̢̟k̢̰̫ͅn͕̤̳o̤͚͓͓w̲̬ ͠e̸̞̺̳͔̙ve̝̳̭̣̝͠ͅry͏̝̙̠t̲͚̠hi͕̣̯ng̭͓͕̖͈ ̖̣ą̰͖̲ͅbơ̯̥̹̠̱u͉̯̪͟t̜̞̱ yo̹͙ͅu̢̗.̡̪̥̙̱̘̞ ͕̀:̮̩̯̜̗̘)
Ass-ets: a bot never tells
✔ 😏 💀 🍆 ❤ 🔥 ✖
code to post
b. bad trip.
Unfortunately (there's always an unfortunately, isn't there?), something in one of the agricultural research facilities went haywire during the power surge, too, and released spores into some of the ventilation shafts, which carried the spores to specific parts of the agricultural areas and also released them into the park at the base of the colony.
Virtually overnight, red algae (water) and fungus (other structures) grows to cover the better part of the park and chunks of the agricultural level. There's plenty of room to avoid the algae or fungus if characters don't want to go near it (or if players don't want the effects). In fact, avoiding it is probably the smarter thing to do - except it keeps spreading, and it needs to be stopped before it infects the whole park or makes parts of the agricultural level unusable. The algae makes foliage and vegetation toxic to eat, but going in to get samples may be kind of tricky.
Those who come in contact with the algae and its spores will feel a variety of effects. The mildest among them are headaches, headiness, and mild highs; the sort of thing that would come from pot use or tipsiness. Progressing from there, depending on levels of exposure, the intoxication effects are heightened. Hallucinations, extreme highs, loss of coordination, slurred language, loss of inhibition, and an addiction that begins as a mild desire to stay near the algae and rapidly progresses into something worse.
Prolonged or extreme exposure will lead to the beginnings of vine-like plants growing under the skin, following characters' arteries and veins. The exposed will begin to exhibit plant-like behaviors - craving light, warmth, water. Particularly water. Worse, the infected will start to function as part of a collective with the algae/fungus growth, working in its interests. They will try to bring other creatures to the growth to attempt to infect them, they'll fight those who intend to destroy the growth, and they'll struggle against anyone who tries to remove them from its company or cure them.
While the growth can be destroyed with fire, the smoke still poses a hazard and can be accompanied by the mild/moderate effects of the algae itself. There are other ways to solve the algae problem, but most of them lie in the depths of the research station that accidentally released the spores in the first place, and the growth there is worse than anywhere else in the colony. Characters can be cured, too - by way of the medbay, by keeping them away from the growth until the infection dies, or by player-skill based means.
Virtually overnight, red algae (water) and fungus (other structures) grows to cover the better part of the park and chunks of the agricultural level. There's plenty of room to avoid the algae or fungus if characters don't want to go near it (or if players don't want the effects). In fact, avoiding it is probably the smarter thing to do - except it keeps spreading, and it needs to be stopped before it infects the whole park or makes parts of the agricultural level unusable. The algae makes foliage and vegetation toxic to eat, but going in to get samples may be kind of tricky.
Those who come in contact with the algae and its spores will feel a variety of effects. The mildest among them are headaches, headiness, and mild highs; the sort of thing that would come from pot use or tipsiness. Progressing from there, depending on levels of exposure, the intoxication effects are heightened. Hallucinations, extreme highs, loss of coordination, slurred language, loss of inhibition, and an addiction that begins as a mild desire to stay near the algae and rapidly progresses into something worse.
Prolonged or extreme exposure will lead to the beginnings of vine-like plants growing under the skin, following characters' arteries and veins. The exposed will begin to exhibit plant-like behaviors - craving light, warmth, water. Particularly water. Worse, the infected will start to function as part of a collective with the algae/fungus growth, working in its interests. They will try to bring other creatures to the growth to attempt to infect them, they'll fight those who intend to destroy the growth, and they'll struggle against anyone who tries to remove them from its company or cure them.
While the growth can be destroyed with fire, the smoke still poses a hazard and can be accompanied by the mild/moderate effects of the algae itself. There are other ways to solve the algae problem, but most of them lie in the depths of the research station that accidentally released the spores in the first place, and the growth there is worse than anywhere else in the colony. Characters can be cured, too - by way of the medbay, by keeping them away from the growth until the infection dies, or by player-skill based means.
c. whole foods double-tap.
When all that algae business gets itself sorted out, characters will find some good news at last: the red shift rose up around the colony while everyone was busy and left a very large Whole Foods grocery store behind, just outside of the colony's exit doors.
Going inside reveals that the place isn't in perfect condition. Stuff has been knocked off the shelves and a lot of basic staples are missing, but the luxury items and hygiene basics are all there. Everything from (free range organic and/or vegan) chocolate to that particular kind of shampoo your earth-based character loves so much.
Deeper in the aisles, though, characters will come across more dramatic signs that something is wrong with this place. A smear of blood on the floor, leading toward the back of the building. Should characters choose to investigate, they'll find themselves following a widening smear of gore, with bits of cloth and tissue in the mix. At the very back (in the dairy section - and look! that yogurt is still good!), the source: a dismembered corpse.
Also, zombies.
These aren't the running hordes of 28 Days Later or the clickers of The Last of Us: they're standard Walking Dead shamblers, slow-moving and stupid but relentless, and very capable of coming from unexpected places or surrounding characters during a moment of inattention. Like most standard zombies, a shot to the head will take them out of commission--or you could go full Evil Dead and take that chainsaw from the inexplicable home goods department and go to town.
Those who get bitten will be decontaminated upon arrival back at the colony, but characters won't know that until they get there. Trauma abounds when death seems imminent. Even after decontamination, any injuries will remain until treated in the medbay.
Going inside reveals that the place isn't in perfect condition. Stuff has been knocked off the shelves and a lot of basic staples are missing, but the luxury items and hygiene basics are all there. Everything from (free range organic and/or vegan) chocolate to that particular kind of shampoo your earth-based character loves so much.
Deeper in the aisles, though, characters will come across more dramatic signs that something is wrong with this place. A smear of blood on the floor, leading toward the back of the building. Should characters choose to investigate, they'll find themselves following a widening smear of gore, with bits of cloth and tissue in the mix. At the very back (in the dairy section - and look! that yogurt is still good!), the source: a dismembered corpse.
Also, zombies.
These aren't the running hordes of 28 Days Later or the clickers of The Last of Us: they're standard Walking Dead shamblers, slow-moving and stupid but relentless, and very capable of coming from unexpected places or surrounding characters during a moment of inattention. Like most standard zombies, a shot to the head will take them out of commission--or you could go full Evil Dead and take that chainsaw from the inexplicable home goods department and go to town.
Those who get bitten will be decontaminated upon arrival back at the colony, but characters won't know that until they get there. Trauma abounds when death seems imminent. Even after decontamination, any injuries will remain until treated in the medbay.
Mod Note: The algae/fungus growth is set to last from August 24th until September 1st, when the intro log goes up at the start of the app cycle; or until someone finds a solution and informs the modteam.
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"No, that lab is mine, and nobody else really stops into R&D that often. I don't think anyone else is in there, but it doesn't hurt to double check."
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Qubit's fallen into such a groove, too, that he doesn't bat an eye at Peter making for the edge - conversations like these usually end with one or more people flying or speeding or teleporting away, after all. Out of habit, he even goes for his watch to dial in a portal, only for it to beep at him with the same exception it's thrown every other time.
Right, no portals. That beep is going to drive him nuts in very short order.
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YUP Peter sure does just dive right off the side of this thing. Immediately after doing so he realizes that it could have been pretty goddamn alarming?? But he doesn't hear this dude calling after him or freaking out at all, so eh. That works.
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"... Oh, that's what those were," he muses aloud.
Welp, just means he'll have to leg it, himself.
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"Peter! Give me a hand, will you?" he calls through his respirator.
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He's still pretty impressed by that, if that dorky smile on his face is anything to go by.
"He's such a... such a good kid."
Kieran's grin widens and he glances around, trying to figure out where they are, exactly. Thus concludes his TED Talk on how he met Peter Parker.
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"Oh boy. You're shroomed out of your dome right now, dude."
Are the horses shroomed too? Are they just high as fuck? Because that would be amazing.
"Sooo, safe to say this stuff is all over agriculture too, huh. Okay, what am- what am I helping with. What do you need?"
1/2
"This man's going to need medical attention," he explains. "He's living out of a barn up there. I'm not sure how badly he's been exposed. Let me throw together a decon unit, one second."
He starts glancing around the area, "feeling" for parts he can use. Of course, in an installation like this, there's technology everywhere, but he tries to find a system that's inoperative, at least. Less chance of breaking everything that way. Ultimately he finds one, and goes over to take an access panel off the wall, exposing the bullet-riddled tech underneath. "This'll do."
And without waiting for permission, he starts. Qubit's powers are very flashy visually, his eyes and hands and the machine glowing with a bright, blue-green light. The broken parts twist and float out of the wall, almost as if alive, as he warps them to his specifications.
2/2
It sneaks up on him - at first he feels it only as a tingling in his palms, a faint ringing in his ears, an itch behind his eyes. But all at once, it explodes into searing pain.
"GYAAAH!" The lightshow goes dark, and the half-finished device falls to the ground, inert. Qubit staggers back, clutching his head with both hands. What in the hell?!
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This time, though, the lightshow inspires less awe and more concern. Although Kieran's never seen Qubit use his powers, he's pretty sure whatever just happened wasn't supposed to cause what he could only guess was an insurmountable amount of pain. His cry is enough to scare the horses into high-pitched neighs as they stamp and scatter, the sound of their hooves scraping against metal echoing through the hallway.
"P-Peter, I think there's somethin' wrong with Qubit! Can you help him? I'll... I-I'll calm the horses down so they don't break somethin'!"
Between his worry over the horses, his worry over Qubit's overall state, and his inability to string two thoughts together without having to fight through a haze, Kieran can barely think of any other way he could be of use.
He'll feel bad about it later.
Like. Really bad.
no subject
inhales
and slowly exhales
ah yes, time for another crisis, right on cue. He turns to Kieran and and gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, deciding that he's just not gonna freak out right now, and will save all of his panicking for later when he actually has time to panic.
"Everything is fine. You take care of the horses, I'll see what's going on with this guy."
And a shoulder pat for Kieran, and then Peter's moving over to Qubit and NOT TOUCHING HIM BECAUSE WHAT WAS THAT SHIT.
"...Sooo, speaking of medical attention, I take it that wasn't supposed to happen."
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He shoots Peter an irritated glare. "Really! What tipped you off?"
But a second later he sighs, shaking his head to clear it. It's not Peter he's angry at, he shouldn't take it out on him. "... No. No, that's not supposed to happen." He bends over and picks up the ... object. That's really the only way to describe it - a useless jumble of mangled parts. Almost eerie-looking, actually. He doesn't usually abort these things halfway, so this is something of a novelty.
Yup. He's discovered an entirely new way to screw up! Good work, Qubit.
"I'll give it one more go," he says, his eyes lighting up again.
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"You sure that's a good idea right now? I don't want you to hurt yourself, this is something I can probably slap together by hand."
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The light fades. "Fine. You have a point." It's humiliating, though. He spares the hunk of garbage a final glare and tosses it away.
"What have you got in mind?" he asks, heading back so they can rejoin Kieran.
no subject
...
Maybe not, but it's a good goal to aim for.
He's still disoriented, so it takes him a few moments to fully acknowledge Qubit and Peter's approach, but when he does, it's with a clumsy wave.
"H-Hey fellers! How're you feelin'?"
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"Hey, man! We- we're great, actually. Nothin' to worry about! Hey, you should probably uh, maybe sit down? For a minute? Y'look a little dizzy, y'know, just take it easy for a bit."
And turning back to Qubit, he sounds decidedly less peachy and more like, serious business-y.
"Well first, what exactly were you trying to make, there? Let's start with that."
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Kieran says as he starts to lean against itty bitty Branwen. He's careful not to put all of his weight on the tiny horse (even when he's completely blasted, he still knows better than to be an asshole when it comes to his good boy). Eventually, he just kind of... sliiiiides downward so the upper half of his body is resting on Branwen's saddle while his lower body holds up the rest of his weight.
There's no way that wouldn't be one of the most uncomfortable things in the world to anyone who's stone-cold sober, but Kieran, alas, is not sober.
This is why you don't take a nap when there's weird fungus growing around, kids.
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"Semi-permeable force field," he says curtly. "Solid objects pass through, contaminants are filtered out and destroyed. Is that something you can slap together?"
Frankly, he doubts it - though if Peter's got something similar, they might be able to jury-rig it. But it's sounding like Plan B will be significantly faster.
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"Actually, yeah. I've worked on the shields and the decontamination equipment here, and I can think of a few ways to rig something like that up. Only problem is all my equipment's in my lab, soooo..."
He sweeps an arm in the general direction of the r&d area, which is somehow shroomed out right now. Must have seeped down from agriculture or something. Uuuuuugh what a pain in the ass.
"Might just have to stick with these containers I found in the Medbay. They're not fancy or high tech, but they are sterile."
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"They'll do." He picks up a couple of the small containers. Ordinarily he'd be able to throw together an analysis unit on the spot, and they'd have their answers in seconds, but... He packs down his irritation again. Focus, Qubit, the man needs help.
"The important thing is to get him help without contaminating everything in between," he says, thinking aloud as much as explaining. "Bleach might be the best we can do for ourselves, assuming that actually kills it. Throw on an extra pair of shoe covers just to be sure. He'll need to suit up until we can get him to decon, which - is there a decon facility at the Medbay, or are they all up at the exits?"
If it's the latter, it's phenomenally inconvenient. Unless they can find a working lift, they'd be climbing a dozen flights of stairs and then descending another two dozen, with two horses (one miniature) and a patient who can barely walk. This is ridiculous! Nothing works and he can't fix it...!
He's so mad, you guys. He's so mad about this.
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"There's a decon facility up at every exit, one in the medbay, and one in the area where new arrivals show up. The horses are honestly probably fine right here, I can block the entrance to R&D off for a while so they can't get in there and stomp around in the fungus, and I can get Kieran down to the Medbay in like ten seconds. Once I get him down there, I can come back for you and we can bring some of that fungus down to analyze. It's fine, we've got this."
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Because their roles have just reversed, he realizes. Usually Qubit's the one who keeps his head on straight, takes charge, herds the cats, thinks outside the box. But he lost his focus, and Peter stepped up to bat like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He's been underestimating him this entire time.
The kid's competent. Still young, but he knows what he's doing. Up till now, Qubit's been framing this situation as something he needs to fix. Which, suddenly, he can't - but he doesn't have to, not on his own.
Part of him still wants to dig in his heels, but it's a solid plan. Better than his. The right thing to do is swallow his pride and do what needs done. Finally, he nods, his expression still frustrated, but softer. "Right. Yes. Good idea. I'll start gathering samples."
no subject
He sure does do double finger guns at Qubit before setting down the rest of the gear he'd taken from the medbay and making his way over to Kieran. Look at him all slumped over this horse, God. Peter rolls his eyes slightly before gripping Kieran by the shoulder and giving him a gentle shake.
"Hey man, I'm gonna take you somewhere where you can lay down, okay?"
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