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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
I'm gonna be bummed out about him either way, y'know? I don't mind if you ask about him.
no subject
Asking for a friend.
[ He doesn't mean it. Probably. He may mean it if Diego slips and says something really nasty in the near future. ]
I'd like to know about him. I kinda already mentioned I sort of haven't ever had any friends before that weren't my siblings so- I'm kind of interested is all.
no subject
[He is dead fucking serious, there are few things he wouldn't do for a cheeseburger at this point.]
Okay, that's fine. I'm just not really sure where to start.
I mean his name might be a good place. His name's Ned, met him at school when we were kids. We had a lot of similar interests, we both sucked at sports and had way too many legos, so we just clicked right off the bat. He's a lot less awkward than I am in like social situations, but he's also way more excitable. Like, I think he was more excited about my powers than I was.
no subject
[ He hasn't had a cheeseburger since he was alive the first time... ]
Excitable is really great to be around. He sounds awesome.
[ Then, after a moment's pause to consider: ]
You don't strike me as very awkward in social situations now, at least.
[ Has Peter grown out of it or is Ben's metric for this just way way off? He's not exactly had abundant examples of functional people in his life. ]
no subject
He really is. I miss him.
[But now he's just bumming himself out UUUGH.]
I think it maybe depends on the situation. Like, I know most of you guys pretty well at this point, and most of the people here are older than me, and I'm not trying to live a double life so I can just be me all the time. Back in high school though, I was an absolute mess.
no subject
[ And yes, Ben does make a mental note to do some research into how burgers are made. Is he going have to... grow wheat? To make buns? What turns milk into cheese? Whatever it will be worth it if he can make Peter a cheeseburger eventually. ]
I'm glad you had someone to talk to about your powers though. When you first told me you were superheroing on your own and keeping it hidden I was kinda worried about you. Sounded lonely to me.
[ Easier to admit that over text FOR SURE. ]
That makes sense. And we're all kind of thrown into this weird situation together living in this crazy place. That cuts through a lot of the small talk and social expectations.
I'm sure you weren't THAT bad, though!
no subject
[man if Ben somehow manages to pull all this shit together and present Peter with a cheeseburger he will totally be Peter's new best friend. Sorry Ned.]
I wasn't thrilled about him finding out at first, but after a while I was honestly grateful to have someone I could talk to about this stuff. He really helped me out a lot. Sorry to worry you, though.
and yes i was actually literally that bad lol
no subject
[ The fact that Peter is apologetic over causing anyone concern for even a moment just makes Ben even more worried that if anything were going wrong for him, he would hide it and not mention it to anyone or look for help. It takes one to know one, after all. ]
Okay if you want me to believe you I'm gonna need at least one example.
no subject
SEE I just did it again
[that is a 100% accurate reading of this situation, Ben, well done.]
I was trying to think of a good example but then I remembered that the last party I went to besides Homecoming was another party I ditched early because there were some badguys that needed fighting
no subject
[ As for that example... ]
Naw, see, I don't know.
I thought the ones who ditch the party early are the cool kids. That's what movies have led me to believe anyway. Never actually went to any high school parties obviously.
Everyone probably thinks you're mysterious and have better things to do.
no subject
Or everyone either though I was an antisocial asshole or an anxious weirdo who couldn't handle being around people.
no subject
'Cause otherwise, and without any other examples, I'm still thinking you're accidentally the coolest guy at your school.
no subject
But I am Spider-Man, so I guess it's more that I was secretly the coolest guy there
no subject
Sounds like HE'S the antisocial asshole to me.
You're right about that, though.
[ After a pause: ]
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but your powers are awesome
Like it's a good thing you're such a nice dude or I'd be super jealous.
[ Well he is anyway but, like, in a friendly way. ]
no subject
Aw I'm super flattered dude
like the powers are cool but the responsibilities that came with them were really overwhelming sometimes to be honest
no subject
[ Ben isn't gonna comment on the whole rich thing because his dad was definitely a literal billionaire but also it wasn't something he'd ever thought made him hot shit, and mostly that money was spent on fancy equipment he used to experiment on them so maybe the situation is a little different. ]
What responsibilities do you mean?
[ He's genuinely perplexed here because he definitely thinks of HIS powers as ones that come with innate responsibilities, but none of those seem to apply to Peter's set of skills. He isn't responsible for learning to control his power so he doesn't murder people, accidentally open some huger portal to an eldritch realm, maybe end the world who even knows. ]
no subject
And I just mean that since my powers give me these crazy abilities that I can use to help people, then I should use them to help people. If something happens that I could have stopped, I feel like that's on me.
no subject
I'd rather be Eugene than Flash to be honest. Eugene is your parents' fault but Flash is just desperate and try-hard.
I get what you're saying now.
[ Which is a super neutral response, because Ben actually needs to take a minute to gather his thoughts here. It's... kind of a messy and personal topic, probably for both of them. ]
I think you're totally right that it's good to help people if you can, and powers give us a sort of unique way to do that.
But also you can't think about it like you have to stop every bad thing from happening all the time, no matter the cost to you.
I'm not trying to lecture or whatever I promise but it just sounds a lot like you're telling yourself the stuff we heard all the time growing up.
Like the six of us were going to save the world and we were the only thing standing between earth and like, The Darkness and The End of the World, etc.
And that that responsibility justified whatever shitty things got done to us in the name of like 'training'.
I'm not trying to make it weird talking about this stuff, I know a lot of people get really uncomfortable hearing it so I'm sorry.
I'm just saying... even if you have powers that doesn't mean you deserve to be overwhelmed.
no subject
Plus everything else that Ben says kind of has Peter stopping and thinking really hard about himself, about who he is, about why he is the way he is. He wants to say that it's complicated, that it would be too hard to explain what made him this way, but it wouldn't be. It isn't complicated at all. It was literally just one event that set him down this path, and maybe he's over-complicated it himself over time, but it's super simple.
It takes Peter a while to finally send a response, but he eventually decides on what he wants to say.]
I appreciate what you're saying, I really do, and I think you're right. But I've seen first hand what happens when I fail to act, when I fail to stop something from happening that could have been prevented. I've lost family because of it. I guess it's just a habit now, and I don't know how to break it.
no subject
I'm sorry to hear that you went through that.
[ Should he leave it at that? Probably. Almost certainly. And he would, if it were just a matter of conflicting opinions. But he really likes Peter and he's kind of feeling now like his responsibility is to try a little to see if he can encourage the kid to a slightly healthier view of himself. ]
Breaking habits is tough. Especially when they're ones you formed to cope with some really shitty circumstances it sounds like.
I don't know exactly what went down and you don't need to tell me, but can I maybe offer some perspective?
As a friend (I hope), and as a guy who got killed in a way that was pretty not great and who watched for years as a ghost as his family blamed themselves and blamed each other for failing to stop it, and hurt themselves out of guilt?
It won't undo anything, if you keep blaming yourself and not taking care of yourself. Whoever you lost almost certainly wouldn't want that. It's good to acknowledge when you fuck up, and to learn from it. But it doesn't undo that good to also be happy, and cut yourself a little slack. It's not failing them.
I forgave them so much quicker than they forgave themselves, and at some point it started to feel like they were just using the memory of me as an excuse not to process their shit and grow, you know? Now I'm not saying that's what you're doing. Taking on too much responsibility isn't the same as, like, becoming a drug addict. I'm not saying there's a hurry either. This stuff takes time and I was dead for about as long as you've been alive your whole life. I just... wanted to say that.
no subject
[And for a while that's the only reply Ben gets, just because Peter has to stop everything he's doing and read all of this. Several times. There's a lot to take in and process, even if what Ben said was just super simple common sense stuff. And Ben's absolutely right, Peter's uncle (also a dead Ben. So many dead Bens) definitely wouldn't want Peter wearing himself down like this and kicking his own ass the way he has been, or aggressively blaming himself for every little thing that goes wrong. Peter knows this. Hearing things from the point of view of someone like Ben, who knows what it's like to be on the other side, does help to put things into perspective.]
Okay, this might read weird, and I promise that I am 100% not trying to hit on you, but I think you might be one of the best things that's happened to me since I got here. I think I really needed this. I'm not really sure where to start like, giving myself a break? But maybe realizing that it's okay to is a good step 1. Thanks, Ben.
And just for the record, yes, we are absolutely friends.
no subject
[ And for a while Ben thinks that's the only reply he's going to get, and that he pushed too hard. He's always pushing too hard. Pushing Klaus, pushing Diego, thinking he knows best, when it's only true some of the time.
So it surprises him twice as much when that second reply comes, and when it does, Ben hardly believes what he's reading. He hasn't been the best thing that's happened to anyone... well, ever. Sure, he does his best to help Klaus and he knows his brother loves him but things are complicated, there. They're brothers who had been raised through some horrific shit together so how could there not be? But that means that even when Klaus loves him and appreciates his advice, there's some bitterness and grief and competition and weirdness and jealousy mixed up in it. ]
Don't worry, I promise I'm always going to assume you're not hitting on me, no matter what.
I'm really glad to hear that. I was kinda worried I'd overstepped there for a minute.
I think realizing it is an awesome first step.
The truth is I got stuff I need to work on, too. A lot of stuff. So if you ever need anybody to talk to about any of it, you know where I am.
This also might read weird too, but you're my first one. If we're not counting siblings. Which seems like a different thing.
no subject
I was gonna try to make a joke like, "you have a cute face but I'm totally not hitting on you" or something? But I don't think my heart's in the joke zone right now.
But nah man, if you'd overstepped anything I'd let you know. And honestly maybe I need people overstepping at me a little bit? I know I can be pretty dense about some things.
Dude hit me up if you ever need to talk too, maybe we can help each other sort through this stuff.
I've never had siblings so idk, I'm sure its a different sort of relationship.
no subject
But I'll remember the permission to overstep, for sure.
So this question's going to make me sound like a hypocrite after saying all that about how important this is and not to avoid it, but are you sure you want to offer that?
I'm just asking because my stuff is sort of... sick and fucked up, and you might not actually want to hear it.
[ It's not a question of thinking Peter can't handle it, or that awful and tragic things hadn't happened to him. They have. Ben knows they have. Peter had told him about how he died, and he's lost loved ones, and all that is awful. But it isn't sordid, in the way Ben thinks his own experiences probably seem to an outside observer. ]
no subject
I am absolutely one hundred percent sure that I want to offer that, yes.
I know I look sweet and innocent but nothing is too sick or fucked up for me, promise.
Side note, I should put that on my dating profile.
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