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

Frowning, Donnie lifts his left wrist, sweeping a hand across the wraps of his forearm to bring up some kind of holo-projected screen. "Eyew, audio and text only? Still...a network is a network..." he mutters as he tries to see if he can pick up any sort of signal.

"Well, guess that's something..." He supposes it's promising there's at least that level of technology to consider. "Wait, robotic dogs?" After everything else, random robotic dogs sounds kind of out of place to him.

Oh, that's unexpected. The sudden screen seize Akechi's full attentions. It's not that much of a reach; he's experienced enough science fiction to recognize holo projections for what they are, but movies and books are quite different from lived reality.

The Chromehounds are likely a more pressing matter, anyway.

"It happened last month, when we passed through a forested area. Amidst the sea of abandoned vehicles and traps roamed mechanical hounds, out for blood."

"Argh, either it's on a different sort of signal or something in the area's messing with things," Donnie grumbles as he swipes and taps through screens. Or he needs to calibrate things and restart, which he also suspects wouldn't hurt anyway.

"Forest..?" He blinks as he swipes away the screen. Oh but a depending on how big that area of abandoned vehicles was, it could be a veritable treasure trove for scavenging. The traps and mechanical, bloodthirsty hounds however is a bit off-putting.

"Oh. So like, not friendly robot dogs then." Because of course there wouldn't be.

"Not without considerable reprogramming, at any rate." And, seeing how he lacks Futaba's technical prowess, it was far easier to break them than let them have their way.

Hmm... The screens seem remarkably like smartphones or tablets. Projected ones, but still. Fascinating.

Well, at any rate, there are more pressing matters. "Frankly, we've yet to encounter anyone friendly on the road. Metallic Husks act as shells containing monsters more than eager to turn us into prey, although..."

He reaches into his pocket, removing his smartphone. "Recently, I noticed that music played from the Convoy and devices connected to its network was able to release spirits held within dormant Husks."

The implications are rather dark, but he might as well put that out there.

"I'll figure it out," Donnie mutters, at least sounding confident in his own abilities. Tech is his specialty, and if he were being honest he would have admitted he'd be a little surprised if some mystery network and programming had been so easy to get into. He's not sure how long the thing's been operating but assumes someone would have tried to look into it otherwise.

But there's a lot more than technical issues to worry about, as much as Donnie would rather focus on the latter.

"Metallic what now? Unrelated to the bloodthirsty robo-dogs?" He tries and fails to fight off a confused expression as he listens to Akechi explain.

"Music? What are we talking, annoying roadtrip songs or something else? Are these 'dormant' husks different from the ones you mentioned that want to eat us?"

Okay, perhaps he should word things more clearly. That was a lot of information at once, at any rate.

Akechi tucks his phone away, then places his hands together.

"The Husks resemble humans and animals encased in metal. They make an unsettling humming sound when approached, and if you touch them, they project your own thoughts, feelings, and regrets back at you." He pauses, letting that sink in. "Break a Husk, and a monster will emerge. Sometimes this happens automatically, other times the Husks lie motionless until provoked."

He steps a few paces, then comes to a stop. "As for the music, it was rather haunting, but it kept the humming at bay."

Oh. Oh that sounds terrible. Creepy encased forms aside, he doesn't need anything projecting supposed feelings and regrets he may have back at him, nope! Donnie looks thoroughly disturbed at that. "Cool, cool, so just don't touch anything that looks like it might hold a body. Which sounds more than reasonable."

Although if they just have monsters busting out on their own then there's apparently no helping for that one.

"...is the music actively counteracting with the sound or will it work if it's just being listened to like...through headphones or something?"

"Once the spirits left the Husks, the humming faded from the immediate area. It would seem that the sound may be linked to spirits trapped within bodies they no longer control."

He gazes down at his hands, those talons poking from his gloves. "It's a worrisome omen. One of the recordings on the convoy even told us to remain as 'human' as possible, though I suppose in your case it would be more metaphorical."

"Environmentally active then... Somehow. Some kind of signal disruption?" Specifically for whatever this humming sound that's generated is, anyway. It's hard to hang onto a science point of view when things are very much trying to go beyond it.

"Hah... Yeah, that's true," Donnie says, frowning as he tries not to look too worried at that, but he can't help but stare at Akechi's hands himself. Guuuh.

"Um. How long did it take for you to start...changing."

My initial changes happened during the first monster attack, amidst the fighting.

[He lifts one taloned hand, flexing his fingers.]

Initially, it was just these talons, along with darker, scaled flesh along my hands and arms, not unlike a corvid.

[Perhaps Donnie has noticed the sharp teeth as Akechi speaks. Regardless, he pulls back his lips just long enough to make a point.]

My teeth sharpened during the most recent Moon Warp, but that was the least of the changes I endured. My face, my legs... everything changed. I even sprouted wings and horns.

[He pokes the top of his head, roughly where they appeared.]

But when the effects subsided, only my teeth remained altered from the experience. The wings and feathers are more recent, and I'm still uncertain if they're harpy attributes or related to my previous transformation.

Edited 2025-03-24 15:43 (UTC)

That just makes Donnie outright cringe. He hugs his arms tighter against himself, just barely managing to keep from stepping back. Mutations don't usually just happen during such things. There's catalysts- usually glowy mosquito things, but then there must have been something to aggravate changes during whatever fight this guy had gotten into.

"Euuuugh..." Maybe he just ought to stop hoping there might be something good about this place.

"Ah...what's a Moon Warp?" That sounds like something that exacerbates conditions extremely. But at least it seems it's not a permanent thing, not...completely, anyway. He can't help but run a tongue over his own teeth just to make sure nothing's started growing on him while he wasn't paying attention.

"The Moon Warps are distortions caused when shards of the moon fall to the planet below. They are highly dangerous, as not only did they inflict changes upon us, but a number of wild monsters attacked, and not everyone afflicted was fully cognizant of their actions."

He taps his temple with a claw before lowering his hand to his hip. "I'm not sure whether it was my existing resistance to psychic attacks or mere luck of the draw that kept me in control. What I do know is that others exhibited more aggressive and animalistic behaviors."

"OhhhhsweetNewton even gravity is screwed up here?!" That seems to be the worst offense by far!

Nooo, he supposes the whole effects of moon bits does sound pretty bad. Which wouldn't be if gravity would function like it's supposed to! Unless there's something messing with the pulls between masses...

Donnie looks over at Akechi, brow furrowing because you can't just drop facts like that dude!! He supposes that's not entirely important, not when it seems exposure to moon shards drives you crazy and ramps up the monster thing. "Ohhh that sounds worse."

"It's not ideal, no, but I'd rather be honest than sugarcoat the matter." Hopefully Donatello can understand that much. He's not one to hold back for the sake of pity.

It won't help anyone to survive this hellscape.

Still... perhaps he can offer something hopeful. "Those afflicted by the Moon Warp didn't stay that way. And, as long as you're careful not to tamper with any signs of worship along the road, you may be able to spare yourself some additional pain."

Even so, he reaches for his left sleeve. "Or, if you're daring, you may find the information you may obtain is worth the potential risk."

"That's... no, I understand and appreciate that, actually." It's still terrible, but he'd rather have a realistic expectation of things than... Well, it hadn't particularly looked like anything to look forward to when he found himself here.

Donnie figures he should make notes sooner or later, but right now he's just trying to digest everything he's being told now, which is a lot. It threatens to be overwhelming, but it's data, and the more he knows about the place, the better prepared he can try to be.

"How common an occurrence are these Moon Warps?" It's a small relief that its effects aren't permanent, mostly, but it's still troubling to think to think that he could potentially lose his mind. More than troubling, really- absolutely terrifying, truthfully- okay, not thinking about that.

"...what sort of signs of worship...?" he has to ask, frowning. "Like some kind of creepy roadside shrines or something?"

Ugh, but how dare you call him out, Akechi. His frown deepens as he watches warily. If there's a chance to get some worthwhile information, he'd definitely measure the risks.

"We don't have a precise frame of reference just yet. The last one transpired roughly a month ago, whereas this month we've yet to experience it, though the storms present their own difficulties."

He chuckles at Donatello's guess. How ironic. "But yes. We did encounter shrines along the road, complete with offerings."

That's not great but hopefully it also means they're infrequent, but Donnie's only crossing his fingers there.

"Oh, this place is just popping with excitement."

Okay, this may be one of those rare times where he might regret asking so many questions. "Freshly set out offerings suggesting someone's still around to do so or old, gross rotting offerings that have been around for who knows how long?" Clearly he cannot help himself.

"Medicinal herbs, food, and the like. All of it seemed either fresh or perfectly preserved, just like every other morsel of food we've uncovered."

Still, he brushes a hand over his left sleeve. "I investigated, but merely touching the offerings branded me with a haunting message about the moon and its 'blessings.' It's since faded, but I suppose I can't be entirely ungrateful for the knowledge it provided."

Concerning? And suspicious. But if they're expected to scavenge for supplies and food then accidentally touching such things makes more sense. Still, Donnie makes a face. What around here didn't affect you in some form or another?

The fresh twinge of pain in his arms reminds him to try and relax them again from the ever tightening folded position he has them in. He tries to hide a wince as he flexes his fingers, but otherwise it's hard to really relax in general.

"Was it helpful knowledge at least...?"

"Well, it shed some light on the moon's importance and potentially the changes and how they're perceived by this world's native population..."

Yet, once he lays it out on the table like that, his expression darkens. "However, not everyone views the moon with reverence. If you ever see an emblem of a sword impaling the moon, it's not to be trusted."

...okay maybe he'd better just start compiling notes now. It is a lot to digest, and at least it'll keep himself from folding his yet tender arms too tightly as he keeps busy.

"A sword impaling a moon..." No, he supposes that tracks if it represents people who don't revere the moon. Donnie pulls up his computer again, fingers tapping at the screen that comes up as he inputs the information he can recall. It'd probably better if he could find a notebook or something he could write things in too. He loves his tech but he doesn't have anything to back it up with when they're far from home and a normal network.

"I take it you've had run-ins with these types already."

Edited 2025-03-27 18:22 (UTC)

"Not directly, but the Chromehounds bore their sigil, along with many traps littered throughout the woods. Add that to the symbol carved into monster corpses, and it's clear that they're a hostile group."

His wings unfold, then fold again. "If they see 'monsters' as the enemy, then none of us are safe."

Oh. That makes a lot more sense. "So like...people with pitchforks out against the mutant menace but to the umpteenth power."

Great.

Because they didn't have enough to worry about by turning into monsters not of their own volition.

Edited 2025-03-27 18:44 (UTC)

"According to the convoy's database, they're called the Steel Wardens, and their goal is to 'purge corruption' from this world through the slaughter of monsters."

Which... more or less confirms Donatello's theory, but, "They also apparently have cybernetics."

Every time he thinks he's found his mental footing, Akechi slaps him upside the head with something out of left field.

"Huh??" He'd already been leaning towards the expectations of a horror monster movie and suddenly sci-fi gets thrown at him. Under normal circumstances he might be more excited.

"Aggh, I mean, sure, why not! I guess the robo-dogs had to come from somewhere but oh come on!"

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