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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.
no subject
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."
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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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Except he wasn't. Neither was Branwen. It's hard to tell who's happier to see Ceiling Boy come over to help out.
Kieran stirs and looks up at Peter, blinking a couple of times while he processes the actual words coming from his friend's mouth.
"Oh? Okay... that sounds nice. Is it gonna be a real bed? I haven't slept in one of those for..."
His lips press into a line as he thinks back to when he's even had a chance to get a full night's rest.
"...a real long time."
On that note, Kieran slowly lifts himself from Branwen's saddle. The tiny horse snorts and shakes his body from head to tail, but otherwise doesn't move while Kieran uses the saddle horn to keep himself steady. Branwen can handle the weight as long as Kieran doesn't throw his entire body on his tiny back.
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"Yup! Real bed with a real pillow and everything. I wanna get you down there as soon as I can, though, so we're gonna go down over here with like... like a rope. I just need for you to not wiggle around too much, okay?"
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Kieran sags briefly while he tries to find his footing. His gait is a bit wonky as he leans against Peter, but he's moving along. To his foggy mind, he can't really piece together why anyone would need a rope to get him anywhere, but he heard 'no wiggling' and figures he can do that. Peter's a trustworthy kid; Kieran has no reason to doubt his methods.
There's one issue, though. Well, more like two issues.
"What about the horses? Where are we keepin' them?"
Priorities.
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Once they reach the edge of the walkway, Peter shoots some of his webbing onto it and adjusts his grip on Kieran a little. "Wrap your arms around my neck, okay? And maybe don't look down. And don't worry, I can definitely hold your weight, I do this kinda thing all the time."
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"Be careful with 'em! They, uh, they like it if you pat their necks," Kieran offers as he does what Peter asks.
Although not comically taller than Peter, the height difference is noticeable enough to draw another round of pause from Kieran.
"Goodness, yer short."
There's absolutely no concern for safety or logistics there. Just an observation.
He'll feel bad about that later, too.
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And he's not going to take the short comment personally, since this here cowboy is shroomed out of his dome, but he does nod a little in that 'ah yes, this might as well happen too' sort of way.
"Yes sir, I sure am. Hold on tight, we're going over."
He tightens his grip on Kieran and carefully guides him over the edge of the walkway, and starts lowering them both down on a strand of web. In an effort to keep Kieran distracted from the fact that this is pretty much insane, he'll keep him chatting. Even if it's about his shortness.
"The first girl I went out with was taller than me, actually. That was a couple years ago. I thought I'd be taller by now, but I guess I'm just done growing."
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He doesn't mention that his parents didn't live long enough to see him grow an extra foot. Partially because it's way too sad to call any attention to.
And partly because he's finally realized what it is they're doing, and the insanity of it all. Kieran's grip on Peter's neck tightens.
"H-Hey, uh, whatcha doin'?"
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Peter hasn't grown an inch in two years, he's not going to get his hopes up. Besides, if he hits a growth spurt now he's going to outgrow his armor and then he's going to have to take it all apart and resize the whole thing and that would just be a pain in the ass on top of all the other bullshit he has to take care of.
Anyway, Peter shrugs and just gives Kieran a friendly smile. He's totally got this.
"We're repelling down to the medbay. It's fine, I do this all the time."
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Kieran asks, terrified.
It doesn't occur to him that this is a strictly Peter thing, what with his ceiling climbing and overall chill attitude about casual urban rappelling. Regardless, he's clinging tighter to Peter, doing everything he can not to freak out.
It's not working.
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Okaaaay he doesn't want a cowboy freaking out on him in the middle of a rappel so he's going to pick up the pace a little. JUST A LITTLE please don't pee Kieran.
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He can also make no promises that he won't look down and check to see what Peter meant by 'over half way there'.
And he most certainly just did one of those things. Hint: it wasn't peeing.
"Ohhhh... ohhh no... oh-oh good Lord, we are very high up."
Not even the pacifying effects of those mushroom spores are enough to keep Kieran from starting to wriggle around, clearly uncomfortable with his current predicament.
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"We are, but we're almost there. I need you to stop squirming around though, okay? If you need to wrap your legs around mine, you can totally do that."
He's probably not going to drop Kieran if he gets too wiggly but you never know man.
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He may also be teetering on the edge of hyperventilating, but hey, that comes with the adventurous territory. It's a completely normal, balanced reaction.
"A-Almost there you said, right?" Kieran asks, eyes squeezed shut to help with the sudden vertigo.
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He has no idea if the reassuring talk is actually reassuring at all, but Kieran hasn't puked on him or anything yet, so he's hoping that it's helping at least a little bit.
Peter speeds their decent up a little now that Kieran isn't looking down like a dipshit, and within just a few seconds, his feet his the ground. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Now Peter's just standing there with a cowboy clinging to him, so that's a thing.
"Okay, we made it!"
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Kieran slowly and carefully unlatches himself from Peter, stumbling forward as he regains his bearings.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you very much," he sighs, relieved.
"You did--you did a good job, kid."
It's hard to tell how much of that is pure Kieran and how much is the effects from the mushroom spores, but one thing is clear: this cowboy is very happy to be back on solid ground.
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Well wait.
Anyway! Peter gives Kieran a pat on the shoulder and starts nudging him towards the medbay.
"Thanks, man. You did great too! You ready to go lay down, or do you need a minute?"
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Something about Kieran's tone points to a man who really, in all honesty, just wants a good nap. One that doesn't leave him in a field of fungus, preferably.
"Which way?"
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"Right this way, buddy. You can lean on me if you need to, but it's not too far."
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Kieran wants to show Peter that he is completely capable of walking to the medbay all on his own, thank you very--no, nope there he goes. He's stumbling, still a little woozy from the adrenaline rush that was casual rappelling.
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"Better let me give you a hand there, buddy."
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Peter has a lot of those. Kieran, when drugged the heck up, kind of doesn't.
He lets his weight lean into Peter, counting on the sturdy ceiling boy to guide both of them into the medbay. The promise of a bed is enough to get him to keep up a pretty decent pace, wooziness aside.
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"Aaand, I'm just gonna leave this here... there, that works. Okay, I need to get back upstairs. You gonna be okay in here by yourself?"
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