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













facethefacts: im not going to be honest with you (im going to be honest with you:)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-26 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
He accepts it back, shoving it back where he'd found it, then returns to his sorting through old drawers. A delighted noise leaves him when he finds what looks like a roll of medical tape, but it disintegrates slightly to his touch; dry-rotted.

"Eugh," he grunts, tossing it back and digging deeper into the drawer, where a roll of gauze seems to be in somewhat useable condition if he tosses the outermost layer. He shrugs and throws that in his pack.

"Way ahead of you," he replies, "Keep any spent casing you find in case we get desperate. My pop taught me how to refill them. The casings are the hardest part to reproduce, so it'll save you some time."
iron_stomach: (pic#17860750)

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-26 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Like what?" Sera, if he could put his attachment to her aside (not actually possible), he knew was in spite of her inability to fight, from a pure tactical standpoint immensely useful.

Potentially these strangers would be too. If they were part of the tribe then so be it, they'd be more or less left alone, but if all they could do is exist and consume resources, then Heat would have to find SOMETHING they're capable of. Even if it's just making sure that their weapons are maintenanced and loaded, freeing up thei time to do other things. There are other ways to be helpful than bloodshed. He couldn't think of many, but he knew they were out there somewhere as possibilities. Support staff even amongst the Embryon tended to be less front-lines oriented than others, but he knew what they did.

It doesn't keep him from being scornful of the idea. Finishing here means more hunting, and Heat's expression darkens by degrees as he turns to the otherwise empty hallway, annoyance and resignation at war. "How many of these useless accessories did you find?" That's not a nice way to put that-- "And how much do they eat?"

It's not like a bunch of people who don't fight will be doing their OWN hunting. He knows who's going to have to, and half these damn things just ... disappear when killed, making it even more obnoxious to find enough to keep others fed. It's not the first time he's had to, and he doesn't figure it'll be the last.
Edited 2025-05-26 17:30 (UTC)
wereperrito: (confused)

[personal profile] wereperrito 2025-05-26 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, so Maribel is a who. Is... a number of whos? A tribe? Jack doesn't actually know much about tribes. Serph hasn't said much. If this is even someone from Serph's home universe, which he has yet to actually make sure of.

"You, er, might have an easier time draping fabric over the seats than replacing the whole thing," he offers. "You want orange, yes? I have some cloth that's mostly orange I could go get for you." They're towels. But towels resting over a car's seat would be a good use for them, since you can't make clothes out of towels, really.
iron_stomach: (pic#17860761)

[personal profile] iron_stomach 2025-05-26 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
That WOULD be easier. There's just one problem. "It'll still be red underneath. I'll know." And that's unacceptable. He can't do much about paint, but seats are another matter.

But there's still this matter of orange cloth, and he does have .. a lot more to cover up besides a seat. "..What do you mean by mostly orange?"
androidvictoriam: (smoking)

[personal profile] androidvictoriam 2025-05-26 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, it does make more sense than assuming Deacon is planning to use the place to aid and abet dangerous unknown quantities and turn them loose without any further monitoring, whatever that would entail here. The 'ding-dong' goes without comment; Danse has been called worse before and sometimes deserved it less.

The fact that it's been answered aloud when he hadn't said it aloud also feels comfortable enough, after so many days of things just Being Like That around the camp. He'd almost venture to say it's a perfectly acceptable means of communication when people want it to be, as opposed to accidental eavesdropping. Danse has taken entirely too well to the influence of the swarmlike hivemind, and he'll keep finding it weirdly natural unless someone actually points out that it's happening to him. In any case, his approval of the tool grid idea is likewise projected without him bothering to voice it, occupied as he is with lighting his own cigarette.

"It's not quite like that. There's some degree of privacy. Individual bedding compartments; I'll use them myself if it's raining." Or if he's ill, which has happened here to a far more serious extent than he'd ever experienced back home--nobody has had perfectly smooth sailing with this unavoidable mutating energy; the lucky ones just seem to be suffering less than others. He's given Deacon some sense of that already, at least.

"Honestly, you're better off just stripping a bed and taking the blanket. They're soft enough to use as bedrolls. I tried to use one for its intended purpose and I woke up thinking someone was smothering me."
Edited 2025-05-26 22:32 (UTC)
firstsoldier: (pic#17626943)

[personal profile] firstsoldier 2025-05-26 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unsurprisingly with how telegraphed Cloud's intentions are, the slash at him is simply deflected with the sword he hadn't had in his hands a moment ago, the silver haired man looking distinctly.. unimpressed.

An expression that doesn't change as Cloud lands and then speaks.]


I met you less than two minutes ago, and 'down' really is only one direction, I'm not really sure how you expect someone to reach the ground without 'following you around', as you put it.

[In spite of his opinions on the matter, he manages to keep his voice utterly neutral. All the keen interest Cloud's used to dealing with is simply entirely absent.]
Edited 2025-05-26 23:42 (UTC)
taediosum: (pic#17385304)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-27 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
"Medicine. Or, rather, the field of pointless busywork designated strictly to keep me away from patients." Making polite conversation while everything is kind of terrible is just how one gets by, in the Wasteland. Arcade doesn't seem bothered, the flat sarcasm in his answer aside. "Apparently, my bedside manner is lacking."

Fortunately, it's not far back to where Arcade first entered. Though unfortunately... There may be some ledges involved. And scaling. The room off the end of the hall that he leads them into is one where at least some light reaches, a large, open window broken out on the other side. Arcade heads toward it, leaning out to look down over the floating stones and root-laden, boulder-sized clods of earth hanging from the side of the upturned hospital. It's not that long a way down, but it's no short drop, either.
phantomshow: (keep myself riding on this train)

husk haunts HELLO FELLOW WILD CARD

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-27 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Un(??)fortunately, Ren is in a bit more of a reckless mood than usual today. Which means he will not be running from the monster, sorry. With a graceful spin, he shouts:]

Come, Arsène!

[And what happens next might seem familiar to Kotone - an eruption of blue flame as a giant demonic figure with black wings and a top hat materializes and levels a powerful attack of spiky orange energy at the monster. It’s pulverized to pulp, and Ren grins like chaos incarnate.]

It’s OK, it’s gone now.
undyingcrow: (wtf)

1

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-27 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[That... certainly is a girl stuck to the ceiling. Somehow, that's even stranger than the dinosaur Akechi found earlier.

Try not to be too alarmed by the large, hooked horns, jet black feathers and sharp, crow-like talons or the big, black wings. Perhaps the presence of rounded, tiger-like ears will offset everything else. The scorpion tail... probably not so much.

But he's got a fairly fancy school uniform on, with a striped tie, a golden badge, black slacks, and matching leather gloves...

And he's also spreading those wings, which may be a bit imposing.]


Hold on. I should be able to pry you off the ceiling if you don't move.
guidemyway: (Volume9-Ruby-30)

1

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-27 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Ruby was wandering through the halls when she heard the sudden call out. She makes her way toward it, briefly walking on the wall because that's just how gravity was working today by the time she makes it to the doorway that leads her to Kotone.

Don't mind the seventeen year old with dragon horns poking her head in.]


Uh. Hello?
xxiis: (2)

HELLO!!!

[personal profile] xxiis 2025-05-27 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hold on a minute. Could Ren be Persona user? The way he calls for Arsene looks different than what she's familiar with, but it's undoubtedly a summoning. She's both impressed and surprised. ]

Wow! You really showed them who's boss.

[She lets out a sigh of relief once the monsters have been dispatched.]

Are you a Persona user too? It looks like you have experience with summoning them.
xxiis: (13)

[personal profile] xxiis 2025-05-27 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
WAIT! You're going to pry me off? I guess you don't really have much of a choice.

[Kotone lets out a deep sigh and then frowns. ]

I suppose it's still better than being stuck up here indefinitely. Show me what you've got planned! I'm ready!!!!

[She psyches herself up for a dramatic landing. It's nice of Akechi to offer help. ]
xxiis: (8)

[personal profile] xxiis 2025-05-27 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Those dragon horns are mildly concerning, but Kotone will ask about it later. She makes a mental note to ask about it when the time seems right. ]

What's up! Or down??? I'm stuck to the ceiling for reasons I don't understand! I might get into an accident if I leave things be.

Hey, are you strong?

[Maybe Ruby can just catch Kotone before she falls. ]
Edited 2025-05-27 02:32 (UTC)
undyingcrow: (closed eyes)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-27 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
It would be rather irresponsible for me to leave you there.

[Especially given that she's a girl. Not to say that women can't take care of themselves, but he'd rather not be like his good for nothing father...

So, now that he's given the heads up, Akechi carefully lifts off the ground.

At the very least, he's had enough practice these past few weeks to know how not to overshoot. ...Getting his horns stuck in the ceiling wouldn't exactly be pleasant.

Once he's up there, he carefully reaches for her shoulders, mindful of his talons.]


Just give me a moment, and...

[With luck, he'll have her off the ceiling, and she can gently float back down.]
facethefacts: can i have this dance? (if the shoe fits just call me cinderella)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-27 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
Deacon hums, taking another drag of his cigarette. He leans over, tugging open one of the bench drawers to see if he can find something to ash into. Inside if it is a bunch of trash, including a chipped and broken mug that Deacon blinks at for a moment before unceremoniously placing atop the bench and ashing into it.

"Huh." he acknowledges Danse's explanation, "Guess I'll check it out sometime." Maybe even take that suggestion, while he's at it. If these seats push back he'll sleep just fine on one of them.

"What makes you so confident someone wasn't?" he asks, just to be a shit. Maybe a stealth boy was involved. Or maybe Deacon is just paranoid.
facethefacts: feels like im standing on coals (is it hot in here?)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-27 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
"No way," Deacon replies, "You? With your sunny disposition? I call bullshit."

It's not like he can really blame the guy. Deacon is as paranoid as they get, and generally speaking spends most of his time alone. He doesn't dislike people, he just doesn't trust many of them.

The view out of the window makes his stomach lurch, and he suddenly feels a lot sweatier than he had moments ago. He hesitates, watching the other man move toward it, and swallows thickly.

"Oh boy..." he breathes, "I'm gonna need a change of clothes after this."
acrocanthosaurus: (Default)

[personal profile] acrocanthosaurus 2025-05-27 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Patience knows enough about lying to not get defensive about it. She moves a forearm in some equivalent to a shrug, like, whatever. The quills running down her spine start to bristle as weird smelling thing starts... what?]

Whaaaat are you doing.
guidemyway: (Were you there till the end (the end)?)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-27 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Okay. That's actually kind of silly. She can get behind it.]

Well you're what's up.

But don't feel too bad about it. This place is kind of weird, and we're still figuring it out ourselves.

[Then she gives a little flex, but she doesn't exactly look the strongest given her slim build.]

I like to think I'm pretty strong, yeah. Not as strong as my sister but I can hold my own.

[She glances around and notices all the knives, needles, and glass on the ground.]

Ough- Yeah. We don't want you falling onto that.
bufudine: (roger that :|)

oh yes. sbux basically got kicked out of my country bc the coffee was so bad...

[personal profile] bufudine 2025-05-27 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
Ren doesn't seem to be in any immediate need of aid, so for now Serph doesn't give an order to withdraw.

"Stay sharp." He turns his carapace covered forearm outward, just in time for the needle embedded limb to glance off the natural armour, following up with his blade unfolding to stab the offending monster. "Let's finish them quickly."

Then they can evaluate the seriousness of the injury sustained without interruption.

Although he hasn't fought alongside Ren before, he's assessing the other's combat capabilities in the back of his mind, deciding that with his own bigger, more imposing size, being the front liner occupying the monsters' attention while Ren darts in and out of battle is the most effective way to work together.

[ooc: feel free to skip ahead to the end of the fighting if you'd like!]
serialmurderbot: (system collapse)

[personal profile] serialmurderbot 2025-05-27 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
SecUnit weighs a lot more than the average human thanks to all the inorganic parts, which says a lot to it about the relative strength of the demons when its planted foot doesn't keep Heat on the ground. Nor is it surprised by the demon, its eyes scanning over the multiple mouths, catching on the claws hooking out from between the fingers. There's no transformation on its part, just that almost ubiquitous static feedback.

The way it uses the gun arm to knock those blades away from its throat - there will be lines cut across the organic-mechanical parts of its neck, enough to start blood and fluid dripping down from its neck, but it doesn't react to that. This is what it was designed for, too.

"Try it."

But fine. Heat wants a fight? He gets one. Another sharp movement, and this time it fires, aiming the energy weapon's beam right into the closest open maw. It won't be enough to stop retaliation, but that's fine. Heat just needs to think twice about biting anyone other than SecUnit any time soon.
definitionofcrazy: (Default)

[personal profile] definitionofcrazy 2025-05-27 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
[There's another momentary flash of resentment at the crack, but she forces herself to swallow it.]

Not like we got a lotta better options, yo. I say, if it's a trap, at least we'll probably run into whoever set it. And if it's for real, we can't afford not to try.

[Some things, it turns out, don't change.]

Plus, there's these two two big trucks that kinda drive themselves, so we're mostly just sticking with them.
definitionofcrazy: (114)

Hey, for once it's Faith dropping a phrase that somebody else doesn't get

[personal profile] definitionofcrazy 2025-05-27 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
Wait. Should she explain the Ren Faire thing- Nah, not the time. If he really cares she'll tell him later.

In response to his question, she shows him a small but ornate and extremely well-crafted knife, though it's clearly taken a little abuse since she last had it fixed up.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty good with it."

Compared to a lot of the creature-feature stuff going on in the convoy, her monster traits are pretty subtle- basically just kinda corpsey, and with the neck scar covered up she could be mistaken for just a little pale in the right light- so she doesn't look like much. Still, she seems pretty confident about it.

"Not super stressed about danger either, I've adjusted. Just the life we gotta live now, right?"

Yeah, that absolutely predates the life they're living now, but she doesn't need to tell him that.
androidvictoriam: (what in the goddamn)

[personal profile] androidvictoriam 2025-05-27 07:52 am (UTC)(link)
Danse has a fairly well-attuned sense of when Deacon is being a shit, even if he doesn't always understand how or for what purpose, but he considers the question in earnest for a moment anyway, ashing into the mug in turn without yet taking note of what it says.

"I think I can be trusted to discern the difference between an overstuffed duvet and an assassination attempt once I'm actually awake," he says. "In any case, don't start. I really am trying to trust these people as long as we're all in the same predicament, and it hasn't been an easy road."

He taps a bit more ash into the mug, and only then gives it a proper once-over, head tilting in the most canine gesture he's made since he started sprouting actual wolf parts. "What in the name of God--"
buffylives: (pic#17819393)

[personal profile] buffylives 2025-05-27 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, Revan. I can remember that.

[She shakes his hand, trying not to probe his thoughts but the thought he has comes to her quickly. His hand tightens in her grip and it would hurt if not for her slayer strength, she eventually let's go when he does. Are you sure you're okay? You seem like you're having a really crappy day.]

[She follows where he's pointed, then nods.] Okay, so who is in this convoy?
buffylives: (pic#17819323)

[personal profile] buffylives 2025-05-27 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
[Buffy couldn't help the crack, she feels as though it was warranted.]

What are the other options? [She's not surprised that they're following in a line toward the destination they have in mind, but it's ... well, it seems dangerous.]

There's no drivers? Why would you follow them? [This makes zero sense to her.]

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