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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
Well, that's a topic for another time
or maybe never, because the million dollar question has just been asked. ]Oh, man. What's a meme...
[ Now, that's the true tragedy of Ben's world. It's a world without memes. A dry, memeless wasteland, too terrible to imagine. I mean, how do you even start to explain them? She goes quiet for a few seconds, folding her arms as she thinks. ]
It's like... hm. A meme is... [ Finally, she shakes her head. ] Hang on. Some things need to be seen.
[ Idk where she was keeping her smartphone, but she takes it out to show him. Yes, that is a gaggle of cute smiling ghosts on the cover. She's kept it powered off most of the time since she's been here - there's no reception anyway, and she doesn't have a charger. But this is an emergency, clearly. Some offbrand cell network jingle plays as she boots it up. ]
no subject
Hey, look at that!
[ And in his high state he forgets she wouldn't know why that case is so amusing to him, so it just seems like he really likes cute little ghosties.
He just watches her using the small blocky device, transfixed and curious. ]
no subject
Yeah! Oh, this is gonna blow your mind, actually. You see, this? [ She points to it - ] This is what phones look like now!
can't remember if anyone has shown ben a smartphone sooo
Where are the buttons?
[ Yes, he really just asked that. This sweet summer child. ]
no subject
[ She swipes the screen a few times, trying to unlock it, but uh... it's still booting. ]
Uhh, once it wakes up.
[ ... OKAY NOW IT'S AWAKE. Ami unlocks the phone and voila: APPS! She shows off a few of its key functions- ]
See, so if you want to make a call, you hit Phone and dial their number. And then here's your Contacts, your saved numbers... And on this screen, you can play your music!
no subject
Okay, yeah, I see why this is way better.
[ When she's on a home screen with the various icons for apps, Ben points and asks (bless his heart) ]
So which one of these is a meme?
no subject
[ She opens up her Gallery and starts scrolling through the Downloads folder. There is no organization or naming convention to this, it's a god damn mess. ]
Most of what I've got in here are memes. So they're images a lot of the time, but not always. Sometimes it'll be a word or phrase, or even a 500-word copypasta. It depends.
[ Finally, she finds and opens up a good one for him. ]
Here we go! As with most memes, presented without context!
no subject
But he doesn't see how a category can be so loose that memes can be images or words or phrases or huge blocks of text. What is the unifying factor?
He squints at that image she pulls up, and he's not sure context would help all that much. Is there a hidden image? Some code that will help him get what makes this image worth sharing. ]
I don't understand. Why does this cartoon man not ... know what a pigeon looks like?
[ Ben looks up at Ami, totally bewildered. Help him. ]
no subject
You have to sort of deconstruct the joke a little bit. It's funny because he's saying, "Is this a pigeon?" about something that is clearly not a pigeon. Then you can plug other things into the formula, and use the same structure to make your own jokes. So like...
[ Ami thinks for a second, then brightens. ]
Okay. This is sort of a gross example, but... Let's say this guy is a dog, and the butterfly is dog poop. Then the dog would be saying, "Is this a food?" [ She points to each element as she goes, and gives the dog a stupid-sounding voice at the end.
IS THIS COMEDY? ]
no subject
So there's a similar picture to this with a picture of a dog... looking at poop?
[ There are so many steps to this process which Ami must take for granted - photo editing software and viral jokes and the actual language of internet humor - that Ben is just not grasping. ]
Like a parody of this?
[ He's...... getting there? ]
no subject
Sort of? There might be. But usually you just put text on the pictures that are already there, because actually photoshopping in a dog would be too much effort and it's hard to do from your phone.
I guess it's sort of like a parody, but with waaaay less effort, and also the content has nothing to do with the original.
[ But that's just a theory... A MEME THEORY. ]
no subject
I still don't get it. Do you have a different one? Maybe that'll help.
[ He is trying to learn! ]
no subject
I don't know... Maybe it's because I'm trying to explain it? Explaining the joke is the death of comedy, after all. [ But then, an idea! ] Tell you what - how about I just send you memes every so often, and you can learn by immersion?
no subject
Yes! Perfect! Best way to learn!
[ Maybe later when he's sober the urgency of learning memes won't seem quite as strong but for now he is over the moon. He slips off the counter, brushing crumbs from himself, and saying, with the over-honesty of someone who has breathed a little too much algae: ]
I gotta go 'cause it's very important that I lie down now and there's nowhere soft in here to lie down on so I have to go. It was nice to meet you meme girl.
[ And then he laughs because it sounds like mean girl but Ami was anything but mean to him. Then he is leaving as abruptly as he came, still laughing to himself as the door swings shut. ]