JANUARY TDM

[monstertruckers]

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((OOC: Hello, and welcome to our first TDM! This month, Reserves will open on the 10th and Applications will open on the 25th! We hope you enjoy the game launch!))

After tumbling through shadow you find yourself in a shrouded, ruined garage. It’s full of shattered windows and broken mechanical equipment; watch out for shards on the floor, in between the strange symbols scrawled into the ground. Outside the daylight is fading; night is rolling in, and there’s just a few dying lights flickering on and off. It’s going to be hard to see in here and avoid bumping into things and people, if you don’t get outside soon.

Beyond the rundown garage is an overgrown gas station surrounded by thick, wetland forest. Starlight is streaming through the trees, along with light from a broken moon. The one thing that isn’t overgrown with plants is a large Convoy of vehicles, parked right underneath the station canopy.

01: START UP

The Convoy looks like a cross between a semi truck and a train; there’s no one at the front, but there’s still power humming through the entire Convoy. It’s also the most hospitable thing in sight. Why not make yourself at home a little? You just have to chase that eerie, empty feeling since there’s no one else present.

Alternately, there are the cars scattered around the Convoy; all of them in better shape than the gas station. And some of them looking and feeling almost like they might belong to you. That feeling is only increased, when you see there’s a key to the car nearby. Perhaps the key is already in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on your person, ever since you woke up in that garage. Either way, you have the keys to the vehicle now.

…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them the sort of thing that requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.

02: RUIN EXPLORATION

The ruined gas station and garage are the only man-made structures around, and have seen better days. The store still holds packaged food, and tepid drinks of all sorts. The garage has old mechanical equipment for working on cars, along with that strange summoning circle.

There's also a giant tree bursting through the gas station roof. And clinging to its branches, half melted into the surface, are metallic bodies. Graffiti is spray painted onto the tree, reading ‘avoid the Husks.’

Those who ignore the warning and get closer hear a faint hum coming off those bodies. It’s almost like whispers, though it’s impossible to make out any clear words. Some Husks are clutching supplies in metal fists. For a few unlucky new arrivals, those Husks might even be holding the keys to their vehicles.

Making direct contact with the Husks intensifies the hum, and the whispers begin to form into pained cries, and give the impression of something rummaging through their thoughts; trying to pry out things that hurt Drifters, and reflecting those hurtful things on the bodies of the Husks for anyone to see.

03: MONSTER ATTACK

The night grows darker, and the shadows grow deeper. And from those shadows comes the glint of something moving across the Husks, rippling over the metal… And breaking it apart in a flurry of too sharp claws and teeth. That’s when the radio chooses to come on in another mess of static.

Be careful- Keep your fear and rage in check- Calls the monsters- We need the shield up-

The warning comes too late as monsters arrive. Some human-like but with razor teeth mouths that stretch from face to groin; others resembling alligators with bloated proportions and jaws that spit lightning; and still others where the vegetation has come to life, sporting thorn covered appendages.

The Pisaca monsters act as shock troopers, wearing the Convoy down with venomous bites and debilitating howls, before the heavy and brutish alligators bull in, using their bulk and electric attacks to obliterate what’s left. The capparwires scurry in the periphery, taking cheap shots with thorny vines and sparking electricity where they can. It’s a task to keep the monsters at bay until the generator fires up. Especially when one last enemy makes an appearance…

03-A: MIRRORMIC

There's as a metallic shiver along one of the remaining Husks, and a strange ringing whisper in the ears. The next moment, the Husk breaks open in a gleaming pool of quicksilver. That quicksilver catches reflections, and molds itself into a darker copy of a Drifter.

The mirror monster whispers faults and secrets at the reflected Drifter, and anyone close by. It tries to goad Drifters into an attack. And when struck, the mirror monster plays its second trick; whatever damage it takes is reflected back onto the Drifter as a transformation. An injury to the arm transforms the Drifter's arm, and so on.

It's possible to banish this monster through direct lights shone on it from a car, flashlight, or magic… But such action needs to be swift, before the Mirrormic completely changes its Drifter.

03-B: BOMBADGY BOMBARDMENT

Before, during and even a little after the monster attack, there’s an extra presence scurrying around the vehicles, snuffling and barking when startled. A band of chunky, raccoon-esque monsters known as the bombadgy are raiding anything that looks like it could be food storage… And this includes vehicles!

The bombadgy’s claws are deft and sharp with tearing through windows and door seams. These creatures are a touch skittish and won’t attack unless provoked. They also can expel a flammable gas… And this means they can explode if sufficiently spooked or stressed. This also means that they can be treated as living bombs, and be lobbed at other threats if needed.

04: WIND DOWN

During the monster attack, there’s changes gripping the Convoy, and especially the people in it. It might feel like your control is getting worn away by the second… At least until something in the trucks starts to whirr to life. It’s a soft enough noise, little more than a hum as something blooms out of the engines. It fast turns into a shield that envelops the Convoy in a shimmering, glowing dome.

And while it might not be enough to reverse those changes, it can at least stop them from growing any worse. Give you a moment of breathing space to adjust to everything that’s happened, and give you some measure of clarity and control. There’s time to breathe and mend now. Take stock of one’s injuries and changes.

But there’s a few strange surprises still waiting, it seems. Because the corpses of the monsters begin to disintegrate, like they are bleeding out motes of sickly light. Light that you quickly absorb; it has the side effect of lessening pain, even mending wounds… Though it might make you feel a bit off. Maybe a little more excitable, maybe a little more irritable, or maybe expressing a certain odd psychological quirk. Still, that sudden surge should pass in about an hour or so; just need to keep it together until then. Perhaps with a little company.

05: CAMP

A screen in the Convoy flickers to life. The image isn't visible through a snowfield of static. Same with the audio:
“Still… Alive? Good. Connection- Can’t hear you. Can't talk. Convoy will- take you closer to Nirvana.”

After that, the connection is dropped, leaving a collection of text:
I’m sorry. I have no answers for you. But you’re still alive. You’re not as broken as the rest of the world. When the sun rises, this Convoy and all the cars around it will start moving North towards Nirvana. If you want answers, and to stay as close to human as you can… I suggest you stay with the Convoy. Good luck.

A last alert flashes across the screen: “TESTING LOCAL NETWORK CONNECTION.” And then… Music starts to play on the speakers. Mellow guitar and brass music that’s at odds with all the weird that’s happened recently, but perhaps just the thing to relax to.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Race Track: There’s a race track that winds around the gas station! It’s a bit threadbare in places and little more than a mossy and muddy trail. But it’s still a race track that weaves under and over trees, and seems like a good place to test new wheels.

Gone Fishing: The gas station area eventually turns into the start of a swamp; that explains where the alligators came from. It may be possible to do a little bit of fishing, though the fish are just as weird as everything else. Still edible though. Swimming in the swamp is not advised. The alligator monsters and fish tend to bite back.

Spray Paint Messages: The paint on the trees and gas station is starting to fade and wash out, but can still be legible; most of it contains messages warning about the end of the world, prayers to the heavens for mercy, and dire warnings about husks and something called “moon warps.”

NAVIGATION || RESERVES || APPLICATIONS

Comments

XDDCC aka. Pomni | The Amazing Digital Circus

[pomnilievable]

A. Touchdown

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

[thud]

Owww.... [The small jester stayed crumpled on the ground before slowly rising up from the ground, fist raised into the air.] CAINE YOU -ING -HOLE! WHY MAKE YOUR PORTALS VERTICAL WHEN THEY COME OUT HORIZONTAL?! [The fury dispersed quickly as her gaze explored her surroundings, however. The suggested game of "The Precarious Predicament of Precocious Pubescent Poets" was supposed to take place at Randy High School, not a bombed out garage? Where...?]

H-Hey... [Pomni's gloved hand reached out and grabbed the closest nearby hand.] ...does this place look right to you?

B. It Keeps Happening

[Throughout many adventures players would have numerous combat abilities and proficiencies. Pomni... not so much. The scene plays out like a horror story, with the stalk-like humanoids breaking through bushes and splintered wood while the shadows of the crocodiles loom large in the distance. The clown squeals before turning tail and run.]

[She bumps into someone squaring up to fight the horde, which prompts the small jester girl to look up at them with naked exasperation.] WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU GOING TO JOHN WICK ALL OF THESE CREEPY THINGS? WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE WHILE WE STILL CAN!!

C. Your New Home(?)

[At the end of everything, Pomni is huddled with the rest of the survivors, eyes drifting at the changes that seemed to be taking hold. The energy hums around, giving the safe zone a sense of security. Even Pomni herself frowns as she looks down to her hand, an unblinking eye looking up at her from the back of her hand. The only thing keeping her from losing it completely was the lack of pain and the jagged edges that accompanied abstraction.]

[Her head snaps to attention at the sudden voice, a nondescript voice popping across the channel. Her mind is full of questions but one thing was certain: that wasn't Caine and this definitely wasn't the circus.]

Where... where the are we? What the is Nirvana???

I HATE THESE -ING ADVENTURES!!

B

[undyingcrow]

[Damn it. He was just about to cast Megidolaon on an incoming monster swarm, and now there's a... clown? Jester? Either way, the bright colors certainly clash with their surroundings.

His eyes narrow, but he refuses to budge.]

Get behind me. I'm more than capable of handling this.

[A strange archer materializes in front of him, taking aim at the monsters. He'll wait until she's out of the way before launching the attack, just to be safe.

He's also got a crowbar in his left hand, just in case those pests get too close.]

[pomnilievable]

[There was only time for Pomni to give Goro a skeptical glare, but she wasn't about to stand in the way of someone who sounded like he knew what he was doing. The moment was broken in panic as the oncoming horde shuffled ever closer. Akechi wouldn't have long to wait before she's out of his way, tucking away over the side of a car.]

[The next moment there's a flash, drawing Pomni out from her hiding space. What. The. Hell.]

YOU HAVE A STAND??

[[Let me know if this is okay; she is a bit of a nerd!]]

[undyingcrow]

He's a Persona. Now, you might want to shield your eyes...

[That's his only warning before Hereward lets loose a Megidolaon, a bright, spherical explosion of nonelemental magic that tears through the swarm...

But also leaves his skin noticeably sweat-licked.]

[[You're good! xD I don't mind pop culture references. Just not big on my dude being canon punctured.]]

[pomnilievable]

[The command is set and Pomni shields her eyes but she could even see the flash behind her closed eyelids. They blink open and focus before seeing the area cleared of the shambling creepers.]

[It was enough to prompt her to run up and next to Akechi, scanning the area for any trace of the danger. Seeing none, she looks up at him both grateful and furious.] AND HOW IS THAT EVEN REMOTELY FAIR? I DON'T HAVE A STAND! ...I mean, I'm pretty sure I don't... so... so... soso why do you get to do the big flashy explosions! Maybe I want to cast " OFF" too!!

[[yey~ totes understandable]]

[undyingcrow]

[W... What was that? She clearly tried to swear, but did she just get censored?]

...You can't say "fuck."

[That's... Ha. My, that's a new one, and he's seen his share of oddities since awakening here.]

As for why, I simply awakened to my abilities in my own reality. It's not exactly commonplace to begin with.

[pomnilievable]

[The observation gets an eye roll out of her. And a slight frown when of course he could say it.]

Yeah. I also can't say , , , or . On the plus side, no one can tell when I'm calling them a !!

[The moment of bitterness passes and she returns to look over at the battlefield and absence of the shambling monsters, her eyes swivel and she returns to look up at the boy that bailed her out.]

--thanks for the assist. As you can probably tell, I'm not really cut out for the whole zombie survival thing.

[A rustle in the distance draws Pomni's attention. Timidly, she takes a step back and behind Akechi.] S-say... you wouldn't happen to have a... limit... to the number of times you can do that... right??

[undyingcrow]

My condolences. I can't imagine being literally censored, least of all in a place like this.

[At least the coast remains clear. That should at least give him time to catch his breath.

For now, he rests a hand on his hip, but that rustle is a worrisome sign, so he doesn't budge from his spot.]

Megidolaon is a rather taxing spell, but it's not my only option, assuming we aren't ambushed by those torsos with teeth.

[Pisaca are familiar enough, but their curse immunity certainly puts a snag in things.]

C

[faceguy]

[Wow. This weird clown girl sure is yelling a lot.

Leo looks over from where he's leaned against a van, cleaning off his katana's blade as best he can. He'll need to find some proper stuff to take care of it at some point...

But that's future Leo's problem!

For now, he focuses on the clown, giving a grin.]

What's so wrong with a little adventure?

[He asks, as he though he wants to be here (he does not).]

[pomnilievable]

DAMNIT JAX, I--[She swivels on her heel and sees... not who she was expecting. But wow did they give off the same energy. It's uncanny.]

[...so much so that it causes her to give him a hard squint.]--I don't think you're him.

Unless...? [...no, that was stupid, even for Caine. She straightens out, leaning in closer to give the teenage turtle a curious stare.] Have we met?

[faceguy]

[Who's Jax? Leo is pretty sure he isn't whoever that is.]

Uh... I don't think so. [Leo scratches his chin. She could be a yokai, but...] I think I'd remember a half-pint jester.

[pomnilievable]

[Yeah, that was rude, but it wasn't familiar. With a quiet grunt she rakes her hands over her face and nod.]

You're not him. Sorry, you reminded me of this... guy I know. [Definitely not a friend in that one.]

[There's a mental reset and she decides to go back to the original question. Which was...? Oh, right, adventures.] To answer your question I have to ask what you think are good about adventures. They're disruptive, obnoxious, dangerous, and throw you into situations you really don't want to be in.

Was anything about tonight fun to you??

[faceguy]

[In some ways, Leo does actually feel the same about adventures that Pomni does, especially when they get out of control. But does he want to think about it? No.

Besides, he's supposed to be the fun one! And he doesn't know why that should stop just because he's definitely dead and in some kind of terrible purgatory.]

Well, I like fighting, so that part was pretty fun.

[pomnilievable]

And I suppose you have some kind of stand too? Or maybe you can manipulate ki? Or do some kickass-no-jutsu?

Well, I'm sorry but not all of us are capable combatants. [She folds her arms and pouts. If Leo was trying to make her feel better of what happened of tonight then he wasn't doing the best job of it.]

...though finding my car and getting away did have its moments...

[faceguy]

...It's called ninpo, actually. [Which isn't really helping his case. Whoops.

But right, the cars...]

Yeah, the car thing is pretty sweet. [Leo frowns, glancing in the direction of his motorcycle.] But also kinda weird? Never heard of getting a free car before.

B

[mech_and_mutt]

[Sorry, but no John Wick movies are happening here today; this time, the dog's coming out on top.

...or at least he was about to, gunblade in hand and squaring off to slap some Pisacas silly, until some sort of small... clown... jester... person? knocked him off balance. He might have taken her for one of the monsters, if she wasn't so. Marketable.]

Where are we gonna run to??

[A pull of the trigger, and a crackling ball of electricity spewed out from the barrel to strike one of the approaching Pisacas, which did, at least, delay its approach.]

[pomnilievable]

We--!! [HOLY. The sudden jolt of energy coming from the gunblade was enough to pull her close to the dog-wolf-person, tucking in to avoid getting blasted along with the target shambler.]

[Okay okay. He's well armed, but, but--!!] --should go to somewhere that's not completely isolated! I can watch you back, but its not like I can do anything about it!

And what are you going to do if a whole bunch of them start charging all at once???

[mech_and_mutt]

Then I'll just have to take 'em all on!

[...okay, he could hear that little nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that might have been overdoing it. Not so much 'his' voice as his sister's or Elh's, but he could hear it just the same.

Fine, maybe the weird little clown girl had a point. He bat a less-than-sneaky thorny vine away from his ankles with the flat of the blade as he started to give up ground, backing away in tandem with his jester 'friend' and grumbling angrily all the while.]

...but if you know where we can go, spit it out already...!

[pomnilievable]

Alright, look, if you want to make a heroic last stand, then you can go out in a blaze of glory by your--[Oh, he's willing to move. Though considering how stubborn he was, maybe it would have been better to bail on hi--no no. They were sitting ducks out here and self-preservation means that they'll need as many competent fighters as they can. Best to keep him close by if possible.]

Well, I don't know exactly but I can make a guess! There ware some big rigs that were off to the side that might make a good barricade. There's a good chance that other people caught on that would make a good defensible position! We should--!

[She squeals as a shrimp-person jumps out from underneath a car. She jumps out of the way just in time, using the caninu as a shield.]

A

[thelastb1]

[When R0-GR sees Pomni having appeared from the summoning circle, he has absolutely no idea what he is looking at. To the lanky robot's senses, the digitally constructed form simply registers as 'not right.' He begins to approach before he discovers that Pomni is somehow animate, but even when she starts moving it does not become clear to him that she is alive or sentient. The first conclusion that he arrives at is that she is simply an unusually opaque hologram, until and she grabs his metal hand.]

Oh. You're an... alive... thing.

Well, I don't know. It looks like a garage. A very... ["primitive" is the word he wants to use] analog garage.

[Pomni herself is the only part of the area that Roger would describe as not right, but he isn't going to say that.]

[pomnilievable]

[In spite of herself, Pomni's face lights up a bit when she sees R0-GR. While a bi weird, he has the look and build of one of Caine's analog NPC mannequins. The fact that it looked like he was hodgepodged together with bits and pieces of other mannequins was of no concern: if anything it marked him as "unique."]

Y-Yeah, I can see that. And right outside is a lot of cars and vehicles, kind of like... I dunno, Mad Max?

But-but-but! Hey! You're here! You're you! So, like, do you know what's going on? Do you know what my objective is going to be? I wasn't really told anything before coming here, so I'm kind of in the dark of what the point of all this actually is.

[thelastb1]

[Trying to put together what 'mad max' could mean, Roger finds himself assuming that there is an absurd overabundance of vehicles outside of the garage, and then takes a few moments to try to make sense of the reason for and implications of such a phenomenon.]

Well, I am me. [The tautology is the only thing he can make sense of for a moment. Unfortunately, the rest of what Pomni says is almost equally confusing. What does she mean 'objective'?

Eventually he shakes his head.] I don't really know what's going on either.

[pomnilievable]

[His answer deflates her visibly.] Huh? Oh...

[Okay, so the NPC doesn't really know what they're supposed to do. Some kind of mystery game? Ugh, and with Caine's tendency to throw them into something dangerous, it wouldn't surprise her if this was some sort of death race thing like Twisted Metal or Carmageddon.]

...okay, so... hm... right. [A finger comes to her chin and she ponders that.] So... we find ourselves in a place, with lots of cars... which points to that we're probably supposed to drive one... ...but we're not given any instructions...

Either this is some kind of open-world sandbox type situation, or we're about to open up some kind of car repair shop. Do you have any experience working on cars?

[thelastb1]

[As Pomni goes on, the way she's describing the matter finally starts to make sense.] You think this is a game? [Then again, if Pomni is some kind of hologame avatar, that would begin to make sense of the issue.] Is this a game?

[Still, he'd be remiss not to take the oppurtunity to talk about his skills.] Do I? Well, I've worked on starships, speeders, and yeah, sometimes wheeled vehicles like these. What I'm used to working on is much more advanced, but I'm sure I can work it out.

[Then again, if he is in some kind of hologame, he should probably hope it isn't just what his actual job used to be. Still, avoiding that can wait until his bragging is through.]

I'm R0-GR, by the way, but you can call me Roger.

[pomnilievable]

[The question struck her as odd and she's flummoxed for a bit. Then it didn't. Ugh. Was Caine toying with using more immersive AI again? She'd probably have to be careful with what she says aloud.]

[Her focus returns to the different type of things Roger was describing. On closer inspection, he did seem like some sort of sci-fi repairman. Maybe he's supposed to be one of those NPCs that tunes up and repairs vehicles? That sounds about right.]

Oh, uh... I'm Pomni. Nice to meet you Roger.

You know, despite the circumstances. [She looks around again. The entire area looked like some sort of desiccated car lot, and Roger very much looked like a desiccated robot, so that tracked.] --so you don't have any idea how everything turned out like this? Uh... no, nevermind, backstory isn't going to be all that relevant, really.

So, uh, what do you think we should do first?

[Pomni herself was starting to get a few ideas, but perhaps the unit only needed a bit more coaxing before revealing what his true function was. Here's hoping, anyway.]