Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
modblob) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
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
But Onni is terrified, and he's only really keeping it together because Reynir is here and is much more sheltered and defenseless than Onni is. That much is evident by the way Reynir reaches out to take hold of his sleeve, and Onni closes his eyes for just a moment, steeling himself. This has always been the only way he was able to be brave - when he's doing it on behalf of someone else. Usually, it's been Lalli and Tuuri, but for now it's Reynir, and his cat.]
Good. I haven't heard anything either.
[Which is strange in and of itself. Onni has never lived like this, without the constant voices in his head, a perpetual white noise that fills the background of his thoughts even though he's long since learned to tune them out. Glancing back at Reynir, he takes a hesitant breath through the mask.]
The only thing I hear is that voice saying we need to go through decontamination.
[He glances over at Reynir, lips pursed behind his mask, and furrows his brows.]
Do you think they're doing decontamination from the Rash?
no subject
[ He'd never even considered it might be something else, but now that Onni's asked that question, Reynir isn't certain at all. Normally, the idea that there's some quarantine procedures here would be reassuring to him; it implies that the area inside is safe, free from trolls or infected people. Now, though... he's not sure.
But he gently sets Kisa down and, squaring his shoulders, walks with Onni into the decontamination area. It is communal, which is a good thing, because if anything or anyone had tried to separate them right then, things would not go so well. It's only because Onni is here, too, that Reynir even works up the courage to take off his mask (it's scarier than getting naked honestly) and get into those decontamination showers. The process is familiar enough that Reynir's mind wanders, going over some of the ideas that had been suggested by that video. He really doesn't know how much of it to believe...
Then they are out the other side, with their stuff waiting for them. The situation is too tense and uncertain for Reynir to feel any awkwardness of self-consciousness as he dresses once more next to Onni, and they pick up all their gear, don their masks once more, and set out into the Anchor itself, Kisa padding along by their feet. ]
This is- [ Reynir finds he doesn't even have words for the way this place looks. ] It's like the Old World, only... not.
[ But he had had an idea, while in those showers, and now is his chance to execute it. Pulling a small soft-tipped pencil from his bag, Reynir says: ]
Give me your arm.
[ When Onni complies, Reynir pushes up his sleeve, turning over his arm to expose his wrist. Reynir works carefully - it is harder to draw on skin than paper, and he needs to be intentional and accurate. The rune is the strongest one he knows for protection, to ward away ghosts, ill-willed spirits, will away evil and death. Once he is done, he pushes up his own sleeve and repeats the process on himself, grave-faced as he works. ]
Okay... that's some protection, at least.
no subject
But there's nothing to be done about it, because they can't seem to get out of this room without undergoing the process. So Onni clenches his jaw and undresses, takes off the mask, puts his things into the decontamination chamber, steps in front of Reynir as they go into the showers - he's afraid, but he has more training both in magic and hand-to-hand combat than Reynir does. Once they've showered and scrubbed down, their things are apparently decontaminated, and they get dressed again in silence, put their masks on again, and head outside, accompanied by the cat. Kisu, was that her name?
The place, outside of the decontamination area, is beyond strange, enough that Onni almost feels paralyzed once he steps outside and sees the scope of it, how strange it looks - like Reynir says, it's like the Old World, only not. Onni can feel his heart speeding up, his breathing going harder and faster, he can hear a slight ringing in his ears. Panic. Shock.
But Reynir looks at him and asks for his arm, and that's enough to startle Onni out of his inertia. Turning a little, he holds his arm out wordlessly, and Reynir pulls down his glove, turns his arm and pushes his sleeve up to expose the inside of his wrist. For a moment, Onni is completely confused, until Reynir presses his pen against Onni's skin and starts to draw a complicated series of lines.
Onni has never seen a rune in person, much less watched one be drawn, and it's interesting enough to completely pull him out of his terror spiral. Reynir's hand moves deftly and with a confidence Onni isn't used to seeing from the younger man when it comes to magic. Once he's done, Onni looks at the rune but doesn't touch it, lets the ink dry on his skin while Reynir draws the same rune on his own hand, and only pulls his sleeve down once he's sure it won't smudge.]
Thank you.
[It's simple, but his voice is much more even now, calmer, he feels more capable of handling this.]
You learned this in your school?
no subject
[ Reynir blows gently on the ink on his arm to dry it faster. He doesn't know if the truth will comfort Onni more or make him skeptical of the rune's effectiveness, but he isn't going to lie either way. ]
I came up with like a hundred different runes and Lalli and I tested them against those angry ghosts that were following us, to see which ones made them stay away. This was the strongest one.
[ It had not protected them against the thing that had broken into their vehicle and infected Tuuri, but Reynir isn't about to bring any of that up to Onni. Not right now. They are a little safer than they were before - it is a start. As for the rest... they will just have to try to survive. ]
We should find someplace less in the open. A safe place to be our base until we figure out how safe it is here and - what we're going to do.
[ Reynir has a strange moment of realizing that, despite all the help that Onni has been, all the times he has saved them from almost certain death, none of that involved him walking into danger. That moving from this spot might be incredibly difficult and terrifying for him. Tuuri had told him a little, about how scared Onni was to ever leave the walls of Keuruu. How much he feared the outside world. He had braved it to come after his family, but he had not gone into the Silent World. Not the way that Reynir had.
So he squares his shoulders, screws up his bravery and hooks his arm with Onni's. No time to be embarrassed about it. He is going to lead the way and find them somewhere safe and then they are going to figure this out. ]