memestertrucks | MARCH TDM

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After tumbling through shadow you find yourself in a shrouded, ruined garage. It’s full of shattered windows and broken mechanical equipment, with all sorts of sharp edges to watch out for. Between that are strange symbols scrawled into the ground. Outside is cloudy weather and the beginnings of a storm flickering and rumbling.

Beyond the rundown garage is a rundown gas station surrounded by rolling, grassy hills. Close by is a Convoy of vehicles, either parked or driving up to station.

01: SUMMONING CIRCLE

This time the summoning circle and car garage is attached to retro diner, and an old wind turbine, barely still spinning and providing fading power. There’s also a broken radio playing a message about Nirvana and imploring people to head north. In fact, there’s a large amount of broken electric equipment in here and spitting sparks.

A fan circles overhead, stirring those sparks and creating a breeze. Trails of paper are attached to the fan, spinning lazily about. If Drifters choose, they can easily retrieve those paper talismans with little more than a slight static shock. While the paper is tattered and smeared with ink and blood, the following can be made out: “Broken in two […] Nothing to lose-“ “Moon mourns, call her down, ease her pain-“ “Need […] Better vessels from afar. Stronger souls-“ “Imbue with moon sigils, Give blessings of moon, share her pain. Put the ritual right.”

Hard to say what that all means, but it seems to have something to do with the summoning circle here. And there’s lingering power crackling through the building. The sort that makes the lights flash and flicker… And line up eerily with flashes of thunder on the horizon.

02: START UP 

New arrivals will have a similar experience to before; a Convoy waiting outside for them, and a collection of vehicles, one of which feels like it belongs to them. The key to the vehicle may already be in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on their person, ever since they woke up in that garage. Either way, Drifters 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 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.

03: STORM WARNING

There’s something odd in the sky; it shifts between a dark cloud, and a collection of birds. As the thing draws closer, it clearly becomes a mix of both. Car-sized, dark feathered birds and skeletal avians fly in a thundering flock, and turn the sky stormy in their wake. That alone is bad… But what’s worse is how the shiny chrome of the Convoy and vehicles draws the birds. As they dive towards the ground to snatch at the shiny metal, they pull the storm and bring a tornado with them. The Convoy does its best to anchor to the ground, but lighter vehicles and Drifters might not be so lucky.

The garage and diner takes it worst of all: the electric devices start spitting sparks and can even act as homing beacons for lightning strikes if a Drifter with electric abilities gets too close to them. Any remaining, intact windows shatter as the storm winds pick up, pelting Drifters with razor shards. And water starts pouring in, further shorting electric equipment and soaking anyone to the bone. There’s even a strange droning, siren like noise to warn about the storm and cut into one’s hearing. It’s difficult conditions for anyone caught up in the blow-out.

04: WEATHERING

Once the main force of the storm hits, the following happens:
Diversion: Those with Fast cars can drive away from the station and divert the birds. They’ll want a second Drifter to come along; either to snipe at the pursuing birds, or keep eyes on the terrain! Eventually the birds will tire or get culled enough that the storm disperses.
Updraft: There is the risk of getting swept up in the tornado winds. Damage, injuries… And a particular quirk this storm has. Drifters who spend more than a minute in the storm winds will find that they begin to take on traits from the Harpy monster. These traits increase in potency if the Drifter experiences hunger or violence. As the weather clears and days become calmer, the traits fade.
Downburst: If Drifters get slammed into the ground by the storm, or the dark birds flying about. They may also find themselves drenched with rain. Any injury they take mends quickly, but is replaced with scales, as the Drifters begin to resemble a Naga monster. These changes grow worse if they tell lies, but disperse with the storm.
BIRDS: The birds themselves are vicious: those afflicted with Naga traits are seen as prey, while Harpies are seen as rivals. The birds are deadly, but also clumsy if forced to the ground. The screens on the Convoy recommend crippling the wings before finishing the bird off on the ground.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, NAGA

This month, Drifters will have access to the serpentine Naga. On top of all Naga species traits being available, the following occurs:
+Cold Blooded: the rain and storms can potentially make Naga slow and sluggish, or inclined to sleep or seek out other heat sources to gain energy; this includes basking in body heat from others!
+Water Divert: With their water shaping, Naga can divert falling rain and even ground saturation to make the area or other Drifters more dry. They can also concentrate water into different areas, and can also change water into mist or ice.
+Blue shift: the scales of Naga become more vibrantly blue, or a strange mottled combination of blue and stormy gray, the more intense the rains become. These scale colors can also reflect their moods.
+Extra arms that are painful and disorienting to grow, and can result in coordination issues.
+Scale Pains: Pain and discomfort when scales grow in, as well as fangs or talons!
+Water glide: during floods from the rains, Naga find they can easily traverse deep water as though they were simply walking (or slithering) across it.
+Thermal vision, making it easy to track others in the middle of storms. Vision may also become disorienting, and eyes become slitted.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, HARPY

The storm will bring a second monster this month, in the form of Harpy. On top of all Harpy species traits being active, the following occurs:
+Storm Rider: high agility and capable of flying through the storm winds without hindrance. Even tornadoes can be mastered!
+Feather pains: itching, or full pain when growing feathers or wings. Talons may also be painful when growing from fingers or from feet.
+Wind Affinity: able to shape wind, including diverting the worst of the storm winds, or summon and focus wind into razors.
+Warbling Voice: words may waver and slip into something more songlike, or even a damaging sonic scream if emotions are heightened.
+Height Call: a need to get higher into the air, whether through perching on buildings or the convoy, or through flight. A sense of euphoria as they go higher.
+Nest Building: a compulsion to create a nest out of spare and soft objects, and feeling more safe inside that space.
+Heightened vision like a bird of prey, able to pick out details even at great distance. This may be disorienting at first, as vision becomes telescopic.

05: RAIN, SHINE, OR SALVAGE

Upon culling enough birds, the storm disperses. The monster avians dissolve as they drop into streams of energy, feeding into Drifter Sigils and providing limited healing. And handful remain intact when they hit the ground and can be harvested for meat, feathers, and possibly even talons.

There is one extra problem, in the form of falling debris. After being pulled up into the sky, wreckage (and possibly stray Drifters) are going to drop back down. It’s advised to look out for falling objects and people. It might be possible to salvage something in the form of scrap metal for any vehicle repairs, but such a task requires two.

06: STORM SHOT 

The storm can be dispersed in one of two ways. One is waiting the storm out. The second is a battered collection of machines melted into the roof of the garage and gas station. When touched they burn the hands of Drifters, but also fire a jolt of lightning into the storm. One shot lessens the effects of the storm, repeated shots completely disperses the weather.

In the aftermath of the storm, something different rains from the sky in the form of glowing, quicksilver feathers. These feathers can suppress one avian or serpentine trait for a month, and can also drain away any Naga or Harpy changes from the event completely.

Alternately, the feathers will allow Drifters to temporarily access flight for one day. Doing so completely robs the feather of its magic: only one effect can be chosen from a feather.

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.

Windy Days: Preceding the storm are gales of strong winds, enough to stagger Drifters or send them staggering into other people or other vehicles.

Diner Is Served: While the retro diner attached to the garage has only limited food stores, curiously there is a respectable amount of cooking equipment that can be plundered. Portable stoves, pots and pans, spoons, and the like are all available for the taking.

Fading Storm: In the aftermath of the storm, the garage and diner look like they’re on their last legs, barely held up by their shelving. Anyone who wants to try salvaging had better move fast and carefully, before the entire thing comes crashing down.

NAVIGATION || RESERVES || APPLICATIONS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(deleted comment)

That won't be the last in the list of weird things Maruki sees today. There's something out in the storm; something a little more human compared to the birds riding on the storm, though he's almost as savage and violent as them. Akihiko has ditched his motorcycle near the garage; now he's just throwing himself against any bird that swoops too close, doing his best to punch and strike at it, and drag it to the ground-

Or get a little help from the flashes of lightning. Those keep jumping from the clouds to the monsters, but curiously they never seem to strike him. Or if they do, he doesn't seem to notice it.

"Is that all you've got!?"

There's a crackle to his voice, and as Akihiko crashes with his latest target, he plunges close to the garage. Close enough for it to be clear he's bleeding, but he isn't registering the pain just yet.

"Come on! Come on!"

He slams a fist full of lightning into the bird's wing, and bones clearly break and shatter from the strike. He looks up just in time to see a mass of black... something and he's not sure if that's another target or not.

"COME ON!"

He's still going to shout at it, all the same.

Totally Not the Strangest Thing Today.

Oh, sure. This was fine. Totally fine.

His taxi was gone. He had just ditched it somewhere in a blind panic when the storm winds nearly ripped it off the ground. Probably should’ve parked better.

Or, well—probably should’ve never left in the first place.

If he took a second to really process the situation, he might have noticed the unfortunate sight of his taxi hanging precariously in the upper branches of a twisted, skeletal tree. But as it stood, Maruki was a little too occupied with the tentacle.

And the screaming.

Maruki barely had time to register what was happening before his feet betrayed him entirely. He tripped over absolutely nothing and went straight down, hitting the ground with a stunned grunt.

The only reason he didn’t eat pavement was because the very same monstrous appendage that had just obliterated a bird lurched backward to catch him.

Oh.

That was...nice of it?

Maruki blinked up at the writhing, twitching mass of neon-blue spindly appendages. The tentacle hovered in the air with eerie, deliberate movements, like a charmer's snake.

And the other guy?

Oh.

He was shouting at it.

Maruki jolted, scrambling to his feet as his brain short-circuited. His hands shot up defensively, but not in a way that suggested he was ready to fight—more in a wildly flustered ‘wait wait WAIT’ kind of way.

"Sorry—sorry! That’s—uh—mine!" He blurted out, waving his arms like an air traffic controller in the middle of a meltdown. "I mean—not like, mine-mine, but—it answers to me!"

The tentacle twitched.

Maruki winced. Probably not the best way to phrase that.

Edited 2025-03-18 01:26 (UTC)

Akihiko is almost panting from exertion; doesn't help that he's been battling to keep his feet, between the birds, the storm winds... The occasional cars getting uprooted and thrown through the air. It all keeps him on his toes, ready to snap out at a moment's notice-

But at least he's not completely deaf, even if he's showing his teeth for an instant. That blurt of "Sorry!" keeps Akihiko from lunging again. And...

...You know what? Between people trying to drink his blood, turning into monsters, eating bears, and all the other stuff he's encountered on the road, this actually ranks only the middle of 'weird stuff.'

"...So we're not fighting?" He manages to wheeze out. It sounds more like a growl.

"Fine by me... Pretty sure that storm and those THINGS are the bigger problem."

"No-?! Why would I fight you?" he blinks at him while wheezing out words in panic- completely out of space in his otherwise civilian glory. His shoulders hunch when the storm crackles and bellows at him even thinking of lowering his guard down. The green tentacle, tainted in designs of neon blue glow as it recedes back to him and hovers almost menacingly behind him. He looks severely out of space here, even with the supposed monster or the manifestation of his other self which doesn't look any less unnerving.

"Eek-!" His hands flew over his head when the thunder threatened to crackle and he tried to calm his nerves, he really did but damn. His car- no, no I need to focus. I can't let this spiral.

As he...slowly lowered his arms he carefully glanced at the man and his brows furrow- making quick note of his injury before looking ahead and he gulps.

"You...you are injured." He gestures at him bleeding, raising one hand to let Azathoth pull back a little as he slowly takes a step forward. "I really don't think you should push yourself like this."

That voice, that frame...

Akechi came to the garage to investigate. It was all too similar to the circumstances of his own arrival, which likely meant newcomers.

But as he enters the garage, his body freezes up. The feathers along his face and neck fluff up. His large, black wings beat in irritation, and the talons piercing through his gloves flex and curl into tight fists.

Dr. Maruki is here.

That bastard is here.

"That's funny," he finally says in a voice that's almost threateningly sugar-coated. "Last I recall, your ideal reality isn't all too dissimilar from a cult."

Maruki barely had time to process the voice before his brain went completely blank.

The feathers. The wings. The talons flexing under gloved hands.

His soul nearly left his body.

A squeak—an actual, genuine squeak—escaped him before he could stop it. His glasses nearly slid right off his nose as he jerked backward, his foot catching on the uneven floor.

"—!! I- I won’t tell anyone about this! I swear!"

His hands shot up instinctively, one gripping at the air like he might catch hold of common sense itself before it fully abandoned him.

This—this was a monster.

No, wait, that wasn’t right. The bone structures littering the landscape, the winged figures circling the ruined skyline—they had been monstrous, but this? This had intent. He wasn’t just looking at another one of those twisted creatures.

This was a person.

Which, in some ways, was actually more terrifying.

Maruki’s mind scrambled to piece things together even as his body backed up, nearly tripping over an L-corner of a rusted workbench. His hand fumbled desperately for something—anything—to anchor himself. He half-expected his fingers to land on some ominous, cult-like artifact. Or worse—something slimy.

And then, his brain did the worst possible thing it could do in this moment.

It recognized something.

Not the wings, not the talons—but the face.

The way his eyes bore into him with something that was not quite hate but nowhere near fondness.

Maruki blinked.

And, like an absolute fool, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I... may know you?"

It came out so helplessly, like he wasn’t even sure if he wanted it to be true.

He gulped.

"I—ah—I mean, I can fathom this, theoretically speaking," he tried, words tumbling over themselves as his fingers finally gripped the edge of a drawer. "But also, um—! I really can’t."

"Really, Doctor? You don't recognize me after you used me as a bargaining chip?" He steps forward, posture stiff, back arched. He draws a shaky breath through his nose, but...

There is one possibility. Akihiko and Naoto proved as much, so after a moment, he calms himself.

"What date was it before you arrived here?"

What is he talking about-

Maruki inhales sharply as he lets out another nervous chuckle, raising his hands up after letting go of the drawer because let's face it- even if he finds some screwdriver there to protect himself with that will just lead to more confrontation.

And by god was Maruki not built for that.

A distant humming bellowed in his mind.

He stops.

The date.

Maruki blinks at him as familiarity finally catches him.

His eyes glint with recognition. "Er, well that's-"

"24th of December. Christmas Eve," he complies- unarmed and helpless. "I think it was about-" he looks down at his watch. Its hands were stuck and he tapped it before bringing it to his ear- trying to hear its tick. "Somewhere during the evening I believe."

He stared at the now familiar face, lips pursing as he tried to parse when to ask his question.

"I see." Hm. That changes some things, but not by much. December 24th was when he awakened his power and put the first steps of his plan into motion.

Some of the rigidity slips from Akechi's posture, but only slightly. He's not about to lower his guard.

"For me, it was March 20th. Suffice it to say, quite a bit transpired since the 24th."

Goro Akechi.

Maruki was sure of it now.

This was the same boy he had seen on the news just days after leaving Shujin Academy. The same boy whose name had been tied to the Phantom Thieves’ arrest. The same one he had watched, vaguely anxious, in an interview while he’d been buried in his thesis work.

And then, of course—there had been nothing.

No trace of Akechi after Masayoshi Shido’s calling card. A disappearance so absolute it had been almost eerie.

March 20th.

That was...a significant time jump.

Maruki exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair as his mind struggled to grasp the logistics of this. "That’s—wow, that’s quite a gap." His fingers tapped idly against his chin. "I feel like I just walked into some kind of time-travel paradox. Like—like a superhero movie trope.” He let out a weak chuckle, but the weight of the situation quickly stamped out any humor.

He still had no idea how he had even gotten here.

"...Parallel timelines? No—no, that wouldn’t explain the residual energy in the summoning circle. A loop, maybe? But that suggests a reset point, and if Akechi remembers more than I do, then—"

He stopped mid-mumble, a flicker of realization striking him like a bolt to the chest.

The way Akechi stood. The way his posture was rigid, guarded—

This was something else entirely.

His expression softened, concern replacing the haze of analysis.

"Akechi... san?" He hesitated on the honorific, testing the waters. Then, carefully, he pushed forward. "The last thing I remember about my world was a red sky pouring with blood."

His gaze flickered over Akechi again, taking in the wings. The talons. The weight in his stance.

"...And the last time I saw you in person, you were addressing the student body at the school festival."

His throat tightened, but he forced the words out anyway.

"This—I don’t know what happened, but... are you alright?"

There's so much he wants to say. He wants to kick, scream, something to let out his frustrations...

But for what? This Maruki doesn't remember. Did he even "revive" Akechi yet? Is he even aware of what he did?

Akechi didn't even know that he survived until February 4th came, and he found himself in that shelter, the gaps in his memories restored.

He bristles when Maruki approaches, inhaling through clenched teeth. "I see." Ha... hahaha... "So the 'Holy Grail' hadn't even fallen yet. You probably only just awakened your Persona..."

Maruki watches the myriad of emotions crossing that boy's face. It felt akin to how he remembered theorizing the way the detective prince projected himself in a favourable light; wondering if there was any part of him that felt too scrutinised to reveal anything else.

And now? Something about the way that Akechi acted was enough to prove to him that no matter what monstrous appendages were attached to him- this was still that human boy.

Which is why Maruki stare catches when he mentions a persona.

How does he know that?

"The Holy grail...that doesn't-" he falls off as he finally leans away from the workbench. How much does he know then? If he lies and the detective catches it, he might end up all alone in this strange place and right now there was no one else here- he is not going to make it like this for long. Azathoth or not he might just end up going crazy-

"I unfortunately have no idea what you are talking about," he answers uselessly. "There’s...so much going on. You know a lot, obviously. "

"Nothing pleasant I could imagine."

"The 'God of Control.' The one responsible for the state of the world as you last saw it." Surely Maruki can understand at least that much. He's the one with a PHD.

It's frustrating. By the sound of it, this Maruki hasn't done anything yet. He got a shiny new toy, but had yet to use Mementos to claim godhood.

He is, for all intents and purposes, just a man with foolish ideals.

He growls out a sigh, crossing his arms tightly. There's still a guardedness to his posture. "Regardless, we are now here, forced to survive in a hostile, dystopian world to seek out a 'Nirvana' that may or may not exist."

At Akechi's clarification Maruki's eyes widen in surprise before he tilts his head, closing his eyes as he focused on the words God of Control and welp- that-

"Huh."

A wave of understanding passes his face. "That makes so much sense," he considers. "The people weren't responding at all, in fact everything seemed so awfully normal to them. Almost like their entire cognition was changed and they didn't find anything strange about all those metaphysical changes...hmmm..."

Changing that element of normalcy by tapping into the subconscious and for that to affect everyone that would mean-

For a moment he spaces out as he crosses one arm to his chest, the other scratching at the slight stubble poking from his chin. "...!" Akechi's sigh picks up his attention again as he releases his chin and coughs out awkwardly.

"A hostile dystopia for...a Nirvana?" He squints at him for what he just said, not attempting to push at his boundaries yet considering just how guarded he looked. "The highest form that one can achieve, free from pain and suffering as they reach a new state of enlightenment. I studied about it since religion plays an immense role in human pyschology but-"

For a man who had been bumbling and clumsily following through with everything that Akechi said, he seemed almost fascinated. They were talking about paradise after all.
He looks about, staring at the sigils on the floor then hearing the distant tremours and thrashing of what was lightning following closely with thunder. He jumped a little, shoulders hunching as he quivered a little and loosened up again. "...!"

Of course Maruki would know. Cognition is pertinent to his field of study, and culture and religion intertwine with cognition. "We don't know how legitimate this goal is. Judging by the writing..."

He clears his throat, glancing at one of the notes. "Imbue with moon sigils, Give blessings of moon, share her pain. Put the ritual right."

Pivoting toward Maruki, he gestures toward the other paper scraps. "There are other snippets, but I believe that one makes it abundantly clear that this has happened before."

It was interesting seeing the detective prince actually work around the clues. Still- the idea of a Nirvana mentioned at the end of a perilious and dystopian world (which his mind still scrambled to process and being put into perpetual field work like this only seemed as a further distraction for him having an actual breakdown) could very much be real or undeniably- "The human mind has this undeniable need to rationalize otherwise hopeless situations so I wouldn't be surprised if it's just...a hoax."

"But if it is real..." Haha, old habits die hard, don't they? He really isn't a fan of pain. If there isn't some reward at the end then it's just cruel. Cruel as reality always seemed to be.

Maybe Azathoth could...

The moment Akechi pivots towards Maruki, he would find him already looking around. He- did his bag not come with him-

"The mention of her too- could be both metaphorical or literal," he tilted his head. ~~He had promised the perfect world to Rumi too.~~

"You know actually I would love to get to the bottom of this, really I find all of this a bit fascinating if I ignore everything else ahaha but-"

"Your form right now- those wings they are real, aren't they? Or am I just going insane? I need to check in with that."

"They're real. The talons and feathers as well as these." He pulls back his lips to showcase his very sharp, dangerous looking teeth. "It's likely you'll undergo some sort of transformation as well, so don't get too comfortable with your humanity."

He takes another slow breath through his nose.

"And another thing. One man should not dictate the state of the world, or what is truly the 'happiest' outcome. Some of us value our growth more than we value escapism."

Maruki likely won't know what he means, but best to nip this in the bud, if he even can.

4. Weathering

hhehe sorry for late reply i am just trying to navigate around maruki's powers lmfao

all good!

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hiii yang :3

what's up, doc

not good i just lost my response this is me rewriting it :' (1/2)

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Apologies for the crust on this one, feel free to ignore!