monstertruckers: (Default)
monstertruckers ([personal profile] monstertruckers) wrote in [community profile] memestertrucks2025-05-15 04:31 pm
Entry tags:

MAY TDM




Things are a little stranger than usual at the gas station and garage. Namely that gravity just isn't working as it should. Objects float, pieces of the floor float... Even unlucky new arrivals can also find themselves floating! It's going to be a challenge to get around without any scrapes or scratches... Though at least there's what looks like a hospital nearby? Granted, it's an upside down hospital, but it's better than nothing.

















01: SUMMONING CIRCLE


Drifters come to with an odd floating sensation hooked into their stomachs, and instead of laying on the concrete find themselves drifting a foot or two above the floor. An unfortunate few may be stuck on the ceiling. Whether they crash down hard into the floor (and the various vials, daggers, and broken glass scattered about) or remain floating in the air is a coin toss.

Still, it might be best to lend a hand with pulling them back to the ground, and hoping gravity will work as normal in another breath or two.

Once they make their way out, they can see a gas station and garage located in the midst of strange, floating rocks… And an upside down hospital close by, for those who had a rougher landing.

02: START UP
New arrivals will have a similar experience to before; a Convoy waiting 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 the sort of thing that requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the (sometimes floating) supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.

And hopefully no one's vehicle has decided to float. But one can never be sure in a place like this.

03: HUSKS AND HAUNTS
The inverted hospital seems to have trouble deciding the exact formation of its hallways, whether the new arrivals should be walking on the ceiling, floors, or walls. But one thing that is certain: this place isn’t entirely deserted. Warnings of “Beware the Husks” have been spray painted on the walls. Metallic bodies line those same halls, some of them broken open. A wet trail leads from the broken Husks to the rafters… Where several odd monsters wait to drop down. Some look like they’ve merged with the hospital equipment, while others look like they’ve been cobbled together from different body parts. And all of them look ready to turn the newcomers into a corpse, or part of a specimen collection.

Strange, malformed chimeric creatures that are Unknown stalk the hallways. Unknowns come in three different colors, red aligned with fire, green with poison, and purple with lightning.

Adding to that are the various screens flickering on, and diagnose new arrivals as infected. The screens declare the infection seems to be contained, but requires further study… And if the monsters aren't enough to worry about, there’s also the restraint systems trying to activate and tie the new arrivals down.
04: TESTING (CW: Needles)
The deeper someone plunges into the hospital, the more the building reacts to them. More defenses are deployed, treating them as thieves or intruders. Traps and monsters alike wait for them, with syringes melded into the forms of attackers, or lining places where someone might step or reach for. The syringes make a quick bite on skin… But it’s only a few minutes later where the effects become clear. Something in those syringes is now in the blood and forcing monster transformations. There might be an antidote amongst the supplies… Or the newcomers might need to rely on each other, in order to stay anchored.

The needles can also force temporary Swarm traits, along with:
+Group Mind: compelled to link thoughts with other Drifters, to share emotions, memories, and achieve cohesion.
+An increasing reliance on telepathy/empathy/etc in place of speech.
+Increasing collectivist mindset. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; this becomes more evident during high stress situations.
+Compelled to hunt and share their prey with others.
+Gravity Affinity: If possessing wings or the ability to wall climb, may freely hunt/traverse corrupted gravity areas.
05: LONG WAY DOWN
A portion of the gas station breaks away with groan and a rumble. And it is slowly pulled up and up, taking a portion of new comers with it! They (and anyone watching) will need to act fast, as gravity starts to go weird the further they rise. They’ll need to find a way back down, taking any supplies from the now-floating garage that they can grab.

What’s more, they are drifting closer to the broken moon, and that seems to be having a strange effect on those stranded on the new floating ruin. They may start to feel their control fray, and their forms shift, the higher they rise.

In terms of getting back down, there’s a handful of tow lines in the ruin that might work as ropes. There’s also a few pieces of rock that are floating up more slowly, and could work as stairs back down… Or there’s just jumping and falling fifty feet and hoping for the best.
06: PSYCHIC ECHOES
There's one last quirk to this area; a few scattered bits of odd plantlife, and the odd dead brain monster. While these things aren't a threat on their own (beyond being unnerving) they still pack a psychic punch; mainly in the form of temporary psychic abilities.

It's possible that after coming in contact with either plants or corpses, newcomers will find themselves gifted with either empathy (projecting or receiving emotions) telepathy, OR the ability to share their dreams with others, and having their dreams influenced by others in turn. This effect fades in just a day or so, but is still capable of causing mishaps.

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.

Broadcast: The garage contains a few burnt out monitors. But a handful of them are playing a message over and over again on loop, filled with static. It’s a recording of important looking people in lab coats advising people to remain indoors and avoiding all objects falling from the sky. Especially “moon shards.” They insist that they are working to contain and cure the infection, but the safest action is to remain inside.

Warped Air: As seen in Long Way Down, the air overhead has strange warped pockets in it. There seem to be slightly different shards hanging suspended in the air, looking more silvery than the surrounding rocks. Almost like it could have fallen from the broken moon overhead.

Medical supplies: Most of the medical supplies found in the hospital seem to consist of healing salves and potions, a handful of healing herbs, and a few antidotes for poison or sickness. As for reverting transformations… It’s advised that new comers be careful of taking any experimental medicine. It may revert a change. It may also leave them hallucinating nightmares and fears, and they’ll be wanting someone close by to help administer the drug.

NAVIGATION || RESERVES || APPLICATIONS













solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
W-well, I can pick you up and we can fly down, or if you'd rather I can help you get between rocks or whatever floating things will get us closer to the ground.
solitarysoul: commisioned art (hmm)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"So...its like magic but instead of doing it yourself you have a, um, persona do it for you?"
hexrot: (pic#17857996)

hospital (every color but orange, actually)

[personal profile] hexrot 2025-05-23 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[ from time to time, jayce gets separated from his snooping partners, blame the unreliable gravity, the dangers, the labyrinth of the hospital and the disorienting visions that came with touching certain objects. jayce's hooves make a distinct echo in the hallways: a staggering, uneven co-clop that's followed by the squeaking metal of his leg brace. he's only barely human shaped, the antlers on his head bright pinks, dull purples and striking blues hanging from dead threads of velvet. the rest of him is terribly scarred, iridescent on his entire left side and shifting hues of the rainbow depending on the reflection, but most of it is . . . rotting. dead. monstrous and oozing straight from the bone exposed.

the second his sensitive cervid ears pick up as much as a chip of sound down corridors he can't see from the corners yet, jayce tenses. he raises his hammer, the corrupted core lighting the hall and his vision going forward. he's not exactly starving, but the mindset of prowling does flip a switch in him. human to draugr, survivor to predator.

this thing approaching the demon smells of undead. of strange rot, like the strike of ozone anteceding a storm. like chemicals being toyed with, like infection born from magic. who knows, it might have a poprock sort of taste to it. ]
solitarysoul: (uh?)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[The sight of the flailing, floating dinosaur was very surprising to Levi, so he's got his rifle in his hands without even noticing it. But then she speaks and the dog-eared, dog-nosed and moth winged boy relaxes (kind of, people were scary in a different way). That was a person, though he's not going to bother to try and figure out if she's already changed or if people just look like that wherever Patience is from.]

...Uh, yeah. H-how did you get up there?
Edited 2025-05-23 18:18 (UTC)
solitarysoul: commisioned art (What?)

Hospital

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
The dog nosed, dog eared and moth winged just so happened to be wearing an orange t-shirt today. Well, what was left of one after the wings tore out the back of it, but it was still holding on. He's got his rifle in his hands and raises it as the demon turns its attention to him. But that wasn't a threat... "Um, y-yeah. I ate earlier."

Eating monsters was weird and he's not sure he'd be able to eat the ones in the hospital of all places.
undyingcrow: (shock)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-23 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn it, Ren. Of course he'd react with that insufferably appealing defiance, a mirrored image of Akechi's own defiance, untainted by the same bitterness that drove him down such a treacherous path.

He should have expected this, yet a strange burst of shock, tension, and nerves radiate from his form, his posture completely stuff, from his stance to his feathers.

That new tail of his twitches. A tiny puff of smoke escapes from his nostrils.

"...I've tried to change. Not entirely, but in ways I can control. I have the luxury to rebuild myself, rather than merely conceal the cracked foundation behind vapid smiles."

He's not sure where he's going with this. Not quite deflection, but... something. Honesty?
acrocanthosaurus: (04)

[personal profile] acrocanthosaurus 2025-05-23 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[there's a mutant toddler pointing a gun at her. Or, well, he seems like the size of a toddler. She doesn't feel enormous in Marcia's body and it's not like she's had a lot of things she could check scale against. Trees, but lots of trees aren't all that big. Long-necked dinosaurs, but not all of those were - are? - looming behemoths, there probably were ones with bodies as big as horses.

Maybe this is a small mutant.]


How should I know, pipsqueak? It was dark, now I'm here. [She inhales audibly through her heavy snout.] Ugh, this place reeks.
solitarysoul: (Doggy neutral)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Y-yeah...most people wake up on the floor.

[But the talking dragon(???) thing wasn't the only thing floating, was she? It shouldn't be surprising given everything outside, but here we were.

He straps his rifle to his back, careful of the big weird wings.]

I don't know what you're used to, but none of this place really smells great.
iron_stomach: (pic#17860759)

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-23 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
There's some damn funny looking demons in the new crowd. This one might as well look human with a couple interesting accessories, and wasn't following the usual obvious themes shared by lesser Atma.

Eyeless or not, there's a sense that the two headed monstrosity is studying Levi, measuring him against some impossible to know standard, and by the downward twitch of what passes for lips, has found something he doesn't approve of.. The gun is ... actively a danger in fact, but Heat's so used to being all but impervious to gunfire that he ignores anything that might have been a threat with having one raised in his direction. "....What'd you eat, an onmoraki? You're damn skinny. Let's go."

Dealing with rookies or converts from other Tribes is best left to other people, but other people aren't around. If he has to carry a couple of newbs through their first few decent meals.. it better be worth it later.
phantomshow: (in the lights you make)

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-23 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Ren nods, calmer now and doing his best to invisibly help ease the tension between them. He’s back to standing in his usual relaxed slouch, hands tucked away in his pockets.

“You can’t erase the past, but you don’t have to be kept prisoner by it here. That’s good.”

Erasing the past is what Maruki wanted to do, and both of them rejected that offer, several times over. This place might be horrible in its own unique ways, but it does offer a second chance for Akechi to establish who he wants to be as a person.

“But if you want to change, do it for yourself. Not for me, not for anyone else, but because it’s what you want.”

And that’s the main variable here, for Ren - what Akechi wants from him. He doesn’t believe he’ll stop loving Akechi if he doesn’t want the same more-than-friendship, and he doesn’t want his reaction to be a deciding factor in Akechi’s eventual choice..

“I want you to be happy. Or as close to it as you can be, in a place like this. Even if it’s not with me. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”

Ren truly believes he can help Akechi find that elusive happiness, but not if he’s being fought the entire time. He knows what he wants, but he’s not willing to pursue it if it’s unwanted from Akechi’s end.

“I think I’ve said everything I can for myself. I’ll leave it to you to decide when you’re ready to talk about this again. Or see me at all, I guess.”

Maybe Akechi will need space to think it all over. Ren imagines he may not want to see him while he’s sorting his own thoughts out, and he understands.

He understands, but he’s not at all satisfied with how unresolved this conversation is leaning. But he can be patient and allow Akechi to set the pace.
iron_stomach: (nom)

taste the rainbow?!

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-23 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Something different inevitably meant something interesting, and whenever there's a bunch of feral demons or rookies, there's always a leader or two, something worth hunting, something worth effort. So far nothing in the hospital has been worth his time.

But the sound of staggered hooves, like there was some sort of prosthetic involved, draws Heat to a stop with one mouth still full of bitten-off limbs from some misshapen thing that had pounced on him not long ago, suddenly alert. The smell of rot isn't as offputting as it is for some, Agni could eat nearly anything without suffering for it, and decayed is usually not appealing but decaying that MOVES..

Well. Ghouls could be worth a snack sometimes.

What it is is not a ghoul, but something he'd never seen before - and unique is ALWAYS worth investigating. The remains of his previous kill are tossed aside as he rounds on the vaguely deerlike (...deer. He knew what deer were in a fragmented kind of way) demon with a hammer with interest, content to stay where he is and let dinner come to him, bouncing once lightly on his feet.]


C'mon. You're not the moldiest thing I've devoured.
undyingcrow: (closed eyes)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-23 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can't imagine anyone else would come close." For once, he doesn't deflect. Ren deserves... something. Akechi's hardly one to sugarcoat or offer reassurances, but with how open he's been over something so delicate...

Damn it. Akechi's trying, at least, even if the tension lingers, and his arms fold tightly over his chest.

"You're the only one here who completely understands me. So... there's that, and you had better not disappear on me again."

He does need to think. He needs to figure out what this means, but there's still that yearning feeling, like invisible hands reaching out, just to draw back out of fear.

It's not hopeless, even Akechi would argue that he often feels like he is.
solitarysoul: (Doggy neutral)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't know what that is. O-or the name of the last thing I ate." It was meat but he wasn't sure what it was from and its best not to ask here. Just in case.

"Uh." He'll follow after Heat even if he has no idea what the goal here is. This guy looks like he can take care of himself but a little backup wouldn't hurt either of then. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
iron_stomach: (Default)

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-23 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The strange gravity was surely going to be an issue sooner or later, and it's kept in the back of his mind as a potential problem or useful thing. More importantly, his target's run out of places to escape to, which meant --

Yep. There he is.

Given he does not in fact fuck off (hard to do when grabbed by a tentacle) and instead immediately retaliates in a wide sweep of both sets of long claws, more than willing to allow the loops of tentacle if it means he can get closer to his target, he's fine with this. He's not quite close enough to put teeth to work but for all that Agni has no lips, there's the sense the red demon is grinning. No fear. No hesitation. Catching Heat isn't necessarily a good thing. He's got a lot of power he can put behind those slashes, and he wants to see what color this demon bleeds.
invisiblefloatinghead: (Default)

[personal profile] invisiblefloatinghead 2025-05-23 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah, that's a shame. Everyone deserves an education." He would much rather worry about solving that problem than having to deal with the other, bigger problem that has been presented.

The Professor sighs. "I wonder...could the moon perhaps be giving off some sort of radiation that might lend itself to these transformations?" Given the life he's led, it seems like a sound hypothesis. Hope is important. Also he thinks he'll lose his mind if it's magic like the mess with the were hyenas. Best to couch that hope in science. "If only I had some lab equipment! That might at least allow us to find some direction in which to find answers."
invisiblefloatinghead: (Emo Stein)

[personal profile] invisiblefloatinghead 2025-05-23 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a sudden pang of something akin to homesickness at the way she's sounding more grown-up; it reminds him of the adult voice Ronnie tries to put on when Firestorm is dealing with civilians. Gives him something to think about other than how badly he needs to catch his breath and how glad he is that they've stopped running for a moment.

The idea of "more monsters" or "more of those machine things" does not fill him with joy. "I'm starting to believe that the idea of going out to explore the area a bit was somewhat of a miscalculation on my part."
iron_stomach: (pic#17860755)

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-24 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
The response is a low, annoyed sounding growl, like boiling lava. Never mind that he hadn't kept track of what each one is called either, and relied on someone else to get him that information and then keep repeating it til he decided to bother trying to remember it. That's not the point. "Keep track. Then you know what you're capable of."

Where ARE they going? Further into the hospital, and it's obvious he's looking for something.

"Yeah, looking for something more your size." One of the toothy heads turns just SLIGHTLY back towards Levi. "You don't look ready for anything bigger." He could be wrong. It's not like he deals with rookies much these days, and for a good reason.
solitarysoul: (hmph2)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-24 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
Levi sighs, "I know how to take care of myself, you don't need to worry about me and I'm not eager to demonstrate for no reason. Its a waste of ammo."

Looking for something his size...? "What? I'm not in here to hunt, I'm looking for supplies!"

That was an insult wasn't it. He's pretty sure that Heat just insulted him for being small.
hexrot: (pic#17857970)

skittles flavored jayce

[personal profile] hexrot 2025-05-24 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ jayce's lip pulls up in a silent snarl that drawls a heavy breath outward, the slant in his brows prominent with building fury and fuel to his hunger (and his rationale; he doesn't question if this is friend or foe; it's foe, now). the hammer's cracked head spread like butterfly wings blusters with a core that batters about its own orbit. like a supernova ready to blow. like a dog ready to charge. ]

I'd like to see you try.

[ the hammer glitches the space around it, a jitter of corrupted energy around its hilt and body before jayce pulls the lever— and fires a blast that not only breaks apart what it hits— it distorts, corrupts on impact completely. the rot on him spreads to the surfaces it touches. ]
phantomshow: (so hold on tight)

welcome! please allow ren to make you a better coffee than sbux

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-24 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
Well … that’s definitely interesting. Ren isn’t outwardly shocked or afraid when Serph transforms, but he is curious, even if he’s too polite to immediately ask outright. Something about the new form is vaguely reminiscent of some of the Personas he collected over the past year, though not an exact match for any of them. He’s impressive, though, making quick work of the creatures that cross their path.

Ren is unfortunately a bit on the distracted side today, after a long night of emotional dreaming shared with Akechi, immediately followed by more emotional conversation in the waking world. He probably should’ve opted for scavenging somewhere a little less hazardous; he’s off his game, and it shows when he’s stuck in the neck with a syringe. He pushes out a sharp breath through clenched teeth, irritated at his own carelessness and the instant wave of panic rising up to the memory of the last time he’d been injected against his will.

He nods to answer Serph’s question, grimacing as he pulls the syringe out of his neck, then glares at the offending piece of equipment in his hand.

“It snuck up on me. Sorry.”
warneverchanged: (12)

[personal profile] warneverchanged 2025-05-24 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
[She hears 'Children of Atom' and sighs, rolling her eyes. Yay more cults....]

Great. Different cult, same shenanigans. Hopefully they aren't to anything like they were in Far Harbor. [She looks at him at the mention of Valentine.]

Maybe, but I'm sure we can make do.

[She raises an eyebrow at him.]

Sick? Not really. Why?
warneverchanged: (Default)

[personal profile] warneverchanged 2025-05-24 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Ugh, he has a point. Unless they had more people or a way to fix the gravity problem, they were probably stuck with a floating garage.

She lets go of the chain and steps back to look up at the problem.]


You're probably right. Unless you do have some power armor hiding somewhere. Then we might be able to make it work.
phantomshow: (pic#17843088)

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-24 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
It soothes Ren a little bit when Akechi says there’s no one else, and a little bit more when he affirms that no one else understands him like Ren does. And how could they? The two of them share a special bond, forged from conflict and cooperation and simple similarity. Akechi was more of his true self around Ren even before all of the cards were on the table. How could anyone else have the same perspective, if they haven’t endured the same trials?

To his credit, Ren manages to rein in the impulse to explain to the other teen that people knowing you is what happens when you let them in. Instead, he laughs quietly and nods.

“I know, I still owe you a rematch. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”
Edited 2025-05-24 02:44 (UTC)
undyingcrow: (feral)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
"Good. And you had better not go easy on me when the time comes..." He certainly won't go easy on Ren, though right now...

Well, right now, Ren is probably at a severe disadvantage. They can't exactly give each other a fair duel, now, can they? Even if Ren always had the edge before...

He could leave it at that, but...

Fuck it. He might as well be frank.

"And, for the record, I'm not interested in women, so you have that advantage as well."

...

Does he stick around to savor the look on Ren's face, or does he fly off dramatically, to look cool and suave?

...Perhaps he can hold off just long enough to get a good look. It's a little payback for throwing him off guard, earlier.
phantomshow: (when your heart begins to break)

🎶 you’ll never see it comiiiiiing 🎶

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-24 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
Without his glasses to hide behind, Ren’s expression should be easier to read - eyebrows arched up and mouth slightly parted in surprise. It’s not the statement itself that’s so unexpected as much as the direct manner in which Akechi delivers it, and it startles one of those silent giggles Ren hides behind bent fingers that makes his shoulders shake.

“So … you’re saying I do have a chance?”

It’s nice to have a little less uncertainty, at least. Though a good percentage of the official Goro Akechi fan club would be crushed to learn this.

That tiniest part of Ren that reared up in jealousy earlier is immensely satisfied at the thought.

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