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













firstsoldier: (pic#17626947)

05

[personal profile] firstsoldier 2025-05-19 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[Four stories up isn't terribly far to a SOLDIER, barely more than the rooftop of most of Midgar's buildings. Sephiroth's cleared further many times. But as the gas station breaks free and lifts into the air, he's in the middle of scouring for supplies (and familiar monsters to hunt) and is dragged aloft with the rest.

It's inconvenient, but not terribly alarming. What is is how the higher the rocks and debris float, taking him with it, the more the chimera beneath his skin struggles to free its way past rational thought, hungry and annoyed.

He heads down, neatly hopping from rock to rock with easy grace. There's others up here, but only one has decided now is a good time to take a nap. Cloud's a complete stranger, there's not a shred of recognition, but he looks human, therefore he's likely part of the convoy, and the rock Cloud's dozing on shudders with the impact when he suddenly lands on it in a jingle of metal and scrape of boots.

If Cloud doesn't wake up quickly on his own, Sephiroth's going to reach down and try to pick the small blond straight off the ground and take him with him groundward one rock at a time. Hellos are a waste of time, apparently.]
phantomshow: (keep myself riding on this train)

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-19 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Both of those choices are … definitely something, all right. As long as they’re safe to eat, Ren figures he can make it work.

“If there’s one thing I learned from Boss about cooking, it’s the importance of the spices,” Ren explains, quickly fixing a second cup of coffee for himself. “Finding those will be the main challenge, I think.”

With his own coffee now prepared, Ren brings the cup around the other side of the bar and places it in front of the chair next to Akechi. He then slides into the chair, sitting sideways to face him.

“I really missed this,” he says, and a small beat of sorrow pulses out from his heart, then quickly dissipates. He breathes out a quiet laugh and turns his gaze to the cup in front of him. It’s still probably too hot to drink, so he’ll wait another moment to try a sip.
Edited 2025-05-19 22:14 (UTC)
facethefacts: white is a bold color choice in the wasteland (Default)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-19 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Copy that," he mutters, following the nod and helping by pushing enough of the rubble away from it that he can get his hands around it. The rattle of the door is making him nervous, but he isn't showing it. If anything, Deacon has remained unreasonably calm throughout this whole endeavor.

"You've got me at a bit of a handicap here with only two of these things, but I've got this end-- lift on three?"

If the other man reacts positively to this, Deacon will count them down.
facethefacts: deacon fall ow (who is he)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-19 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Deacon's relationship with the Brotherhood is complicated. Back in the Capital Wasteland, he'd seen them do actual good for the community, would even venture to call himself aligned with their missions, but up in the Commonwealth, things had been a bit different. More bigoted.

This is considered in his mind, sure, but when Danse asks, however incredulously, if Deacon really wants to know who he trusts, his lips contort in a sort of expressive shrug and he nods, because he has already thought Danse was a stand-out man from the Brotherhood. A good person. One would even venture to say a pal. And given his recent predicament, his association with that faction mean very little, anymore.

Thoughts of Danse not trusting Deacon, should they be projected in his direction in any way or form, have no impact. Because why would they? Deacon's well aware that he's a liar. It had started out as a defensive mechanism, continued on as a tactical means to an end, and become just a force of habit. He has no idea why he even does it these days, just that he can't stop.

Deacon watches, arms folded and eyebrow raised, as Danse answers in the most soldierly way possible, like he's debriefing him or delivering a tactical report.

"So no parties on Saturday nights, I guess," he replies, "Sounds like one big dysfunctional family. The kids must love you," he smiles, teasingly, then moves to root through the drawers where Danse is pulling the chain, looking for anything else that might be useful; hooks, carabiners, hitches, whatever else they may need to get the job done.
bespotted: (112)

seph's gonna fucking hate it when he finds out how few physical changes diarmuid's getting...

[personal profile] bespotted 2025-05-19 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 'Reasonably intact' is such a narrowly applicable assessment that it's almost painfully funny, and Diarmuid is helpless to resist the small spark of admiration the man's decisive answer has kindled in his heart; it may only be temporary, but it softens some of the sharp, unwelcoming edges of his disposition. ]

On that it seems we may not find agreement. [ It's hard to have less than nothing. A wry smile turns the corner of his lips, and he adds in the exaggerated tone of a joke at his own expense: ] I must be humbled to have met a truly selfless spirit, if you'd insist on surrendering what you have only to protect my vanity.

[ Be that as it may, their company isn't going to wait around forever. Diarmuid's gaze turns under his lashes to follow a malformed beast crawling above them, then he shifts his grip on Gáe Dearg and takes an easy step back as it drops. ]

But don't say I didn't warn you.
firstsoldier: (pic#17626943)

Clearly it's the lack of eating Hojo's experiments. He's proud of himself for preventing it!

[personal profile] firstsoldier 2025-05-19 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[That turns Sephiroth's attention back to Diarmuid, once more assessing. It's possible he missed something, and he chooses to be certain that is literal and not a metaphysical - he can do nothing about wounds to the soul or mind.]

Are you injured?

[The monstrosity above, a hellish amalgamation of body parts and faces, opens several mouths in a silent scream as it gets slowly into a pouncing position. It might have been human once, or perhaps four or five of them. It isn't anymore. Maybe it seeks to add them to its collection.

People did not generally accuse Sephiroth of being selfless, and he's not certain how to address that particular part beyond a quiet huff, turning back to CLEARLY just continue on their way as the amalgamation of creatures pounces. The halls are wide enough to not impede the longsword as it's brought to bear, cleaving the thing squarely in half in one fluid motion.

This both helps and doesn't. Something with that many heads and arms also has redundant internals too, and falling into two bloody pieces merely means it can now attack more than one person at a time, and Diarmuid is just as good a target, one half dragging gore behind it as it scrabbles after the spearman.]
phantomshow: (love in technicolor)

[personal profile] phantomshow 2025-05-19 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[I’ve been told there was a failed ritual, he says, mentally, but I don’t have all of the details yet. I’m new here too.

It’s not that he’s refusing to speak aloud, per se - it’s just difficult. Her sigh feels like annoyance to his amplified senses, which is obviously less than ideal. He’ll try a little harder to communicate more verbally with her.

And just where are his manners.]


My name is Ren Amamiya, [he says, with some effort and a small bow of his head.] Nice to meet you.

[He wants to ask more about what she said, about her experience with being a leader, but it seems very sudden to be asking such things of someone he’s only just met. He’ll put a pin in that for now.]

It’s dangerous here. We should go back.
taediosum: (pic#17791370)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-19 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sure. On three."

Arcade stops throwing the mess out of the way to reach for the table, instead. The sound of that rattling is turning swiftly into battering, now, and they've got it clear enough (maybe). He waits for the count, and then lifts - the thing weighs a ton, but between the two of them, it feels movable enough.

Which is a good thing, because that rattling has come back, sounding distinctly different now. It has a lower, sinister note - and looking back toward the doors as they make their staggering approach, table in tow, shows exactly why. The doors have been pried open just as far as the bar blocking them allows, and one of that thing's tentacles has slithered through, tapping at the bar, now, trying to dislodge it.
guidemyway: (Volume9-Ruby-24)

Haunts II

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-19 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ruby on a normal day would be happy to try her luck against the monsters, but as long as there was someone else around she figured it was better to live and fight another day. So she follows Maggie along into the room and let's out a breath as the deadbolt slides in.]

Yeesh... Those guys do not know when to quit.

[And then her attention turns to the screens and she frowns slightly.]

Uh- Yeah. I don't know if you're up to speed- But this place seems to think we've got some kind of sickness.
bufudine: (human life doesn't sell cheap :|)

husks & haunts (walks in late with starbucks)

[personal profile] bufudine 2025-05-20 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
When Ren joins Serph on his scavenging trip to the hospital, Serph accepts it without question. He makes no judgement of Ren's capabilities based on his appearance; they are all turning into monsters, and he knows all too well that appearances can be deceiving.

After all, he doesn't seem to have any weapon on him. And that's simply because when the strange, mashed together monsters appear, he transforms, completely shedding his multi-winged appearance for a taller, demonic form that cleaves through monster limbs using blades of bone with frightening ease.

There's something familiar about the way the Arsène appears at Ren's command. It reminds him of the beings that Akechi and Akihiko summon. Persona. Their soul, at their command.

When Ren is struck by a syringe, Serph cleaves through the grasping hand of the red coloured Unknown, before asking with a guttural snarl, "Are you alright?"
bespotted: (027)

[dog eating crinkly plastic sound effect]

[personal profile] bespotted 2025-05-20 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Unfortunately, there's no distinguishing between literal and metaphysical when the person you're talking to is only a spiritual vessel containing the emanation of a higher soul...

It's a question that, in his current state, is difficult to answer simply without being entirely dishonest.

His core is damaged. Whatever brought him here seems to have been limited in its capacity to repair it, and though the creatures infesting these ruins seem to provide enough energy to sustain him in the short term—it's dire. He is severely weakened, and his existence continues in spite of the natural order. ]


I'm unfamiliar with the magecraft involved in this summoning.

[ As it is, he's already accepted the likelihood that this persistence will come at the cost of a slowed but excruciating degradation. Recovery may not even be possible. And for all that, this man is not guaranteed to be an ally.

It's why Diarmuid is being as cautious as he is, mindful of his surroundings but not going out of his way to respond to the creatures approaching them beyond giving himself a fair amount of time to evade their attacks. Nimble, leisurely movements and efficient strikes rather than showing off: the amalgam beast crawls in his direction and he simply flips Gáe Dearg to jab its blade down into one of the rasping heads. ]


It's possible it was incomplete, or that my arrival in this state is the intended outcome of its variation.

[ Plucking the spear free, another step, another strike down on its other head. The creatures are their opponents, but he's gauging the way the swordsman responds to them—and expects he's being gauged as well. At this point, he has no intention of revealing the full extent of his capabilities, let alone his current vulnerability. ]
cantgetoverit: (pic#17835509)

[personal profile] cantgetoverit 2025-05-20 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Maggie glances down at the ground below them.]

Yeah, we're good. Pointed in the right direction. There's broken glass and other junk beneath us, though. We'll have to be careful - don't fall in it.

[She falls quiet for a moment as she processes what he says about the war and his age. How best to explain that to him, though?]

Well... It's not that I've never heard of the war, it's just that...

[She sighs, well aware that she is about to say something that is going to make one of them sound delusional, but perhaps under the circumstances, it's best to suspend disbelief for the moment, given their situation.]

Look, this is going to sound insane, and I'm not gonna pretend to know how it's possible, but the Great War - the first world war - that happened over a hundred years ago.
guidemyway: (Volume9-Ruby-9)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-20 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. Ruby's concern dials up a few notches with his response. He doesn't exactly look worse for wear, but she catches that he doesn't seem to be all the way there either. That wasn't good when they were somewhere a little dangerous.

But the fact that his concern seems to shift toward her, gives her the excuse that she needs.

"Yeah- Actually. I think I need a second to catch my breath, and then I should be good. Let's find somewhere to hide out for a little."
cantgetoverit: (pic#17835496)

[personal profile] cantgetoverit 2025-05-20 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Felicia's statement is enough to give Maggie pause. Haven't seen any large dragons? That seems oddly specific.]

Are you saying you've seen small ones?

[She grasps Felicia's outstretched hand, and a look of surprise and exasperation crosses her features as younger woman and the ladder begin to float as well.]

You've got to be kidding me.
invisiblefloatinghead: (Hmmmm)

[personal profile] invisiblefloatinghead 2025-05-20 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
"The moon deal?" At least this is distracting enough that Martin finds himself sinking down towards the ground for a landing. And he does, in fact, know how to land when he's not working himself up over doing it alone.

"And yes," he says with a laugh, "you're in fact the first mutant turtle I've ever met." Were-hyenas, sure, that's unfortunately been a thing he's had to deal with in more ways than one. But not mutant turtles. There's a nod, and he's pleased at the interest, though definitely surprised. "I'm a nuclear physicist, actually. Just started a new teaching position, and...ahhhh..." He trails off in a groan. "This is terrible timing for the beginning of the summer semester."
invisiblefloatinghead: (Scientifical Glasses Adjustment)

[personal profile] invisiblefloatinghead 2025-05-20 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Good shot!" The Professor spares a glance back at the mechanical groan. "We should make haste before one of them emerges victorious." He hopes they're occupied with each other for a good, long while, long enough for him to get away and catch his breath. He feels like he's going to be catching his breath for ages at this point--he avoids going to the gym for a very good reason, darnit.
purplexing: (i cannot be hearing this right)

[personal profile] purplexing 2025-05-20 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Ohhhh that's so cool. ...I just wish my first meeting with a school teacher was under more favorable circumstances," the turtle sighs before he shakes his head. Focus.

"-right, moon deal. There seems to be a lot of connections to our current problems that involve the moon. Which is apparently also broken and at times drops bits of it, which in turn triggers terrible transformations and sometimes expedites our changing into monstrous forms."

He pauses.

"Hate to break it to you, but once you got summoned here? Somehow things have happened and you could potentially end up a monster." Donnie gives his wings a flick. "These are not standard mutant turtle issue."
facethefacts: i can just go get a new face tomorrow (bullet goes here)

[personal profile] facethefacts 2025-05-20 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Augh- Gonna feel this one tomorrow..." he groans as they lift the piece of furniture, Deacon practically crab-walking over rubble to carry it towards the door. He does spare it a glance, the louder sounds giving him some concern, and then that tentacle sneaking through making him hiss out an annoyed breath.

"Okay, so it's probably more intelligent than we gave it credit for," he grunts with a frown. "That one's on me. C'mon, just a bit further... mind the tentacles..."

Maybe if they can push this thing against the door hard enough, it'll snap right off. A plan is starting to develop in Deacon's mind, although how they later get out of here is a concern for later.
cantgetoverit: (pic#17835503)

[personal profile] cantgetoverit 2025-05-20 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
That's one way to put it. Hopefully they'll... I dunno, get bored and wander off, or something.

[There's the sound of something banging at the door that feels like an immediate contradiction, and she pauses, watching for a moment to make sure the door will hold before turning her attention back to Ruby and the computer monitors.]

I just got here - so, no, not... really up to speed yet. It thinks we're all infected - [Like she hasn't heard that before] - with what? What kind of sickness?
undyingcrow: (thinking)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-20 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Our best option is scavenging. At times, the Convoy stops near old gas stations, or the diner during the previous stop. It isn't much, but otherwise, we'd have to take chances with the local flora..."

Pausing, he takes another sip. Then, an amusing thought crosses his mind.

"A few months ago, we came across farmlands, but the fruits and vegetables had ill fitting tastes. For instance, apples that tasted like watermelon."

He watches Ren closely, eager to gauge his reaction to this food sacrilege. "...But yes, I have missed this."
serialmurderbot: (huh what)

[personal profile] serialmurderbot 2025-05-20 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
[There's no point in being subtle about any of this, and so SecUnit joins Maggie in shoving the door open, mostly by slapping a hand against the flat of it, then shouldering through it as soon as it can, attention snapping across the space they've made it into, head twisting around to search for signs of movement. One arm comes up again, held at the ready in case something comes out of the dark corners, as it leaves the initial securing of the door to this new human companion.]

Clear.

[For now.

It turns back towards her, visibly scanning her from head to foot with sharp eyes. ]


Are you hurt?
mytearsaremine: (Default)

[personal profile] mytearsaremine 2025-05-20 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Did he really just say "make haste"? Jolie is torn between gaping at him and giggling. She settles for pocketing her slingshot and motioning for him to keep going, falling in behind him.

She won't stay behind for long. Even before coming here, she swam in the ocean every day, and here she's been jogging.
definitionofcrazy: (Yeah?)

Faith attempts crude problem-solving! Don't mind the grinding sound from her brain.

[personal profile] definitionofcrazy 2025-05-20 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
"You're doing fine, don't sweat it."

She punctuates the encouragement with a thumbs-up, then continues climbing down until she reaches the bottom of the floating "island" of rock.

From there, it's open air, but at least it's not too crazy high. Still, she's not gonna risk the drop, and she's definitely not gonna ask Grandpa up there to do it. She could probably make the jump to a nearby floating chunk that's a little lower down, but she definitely doesn't figure him for that, either.

"Might wanna hang on a sec, though, cable's gonna shake a little."

With that warning, she springs off the rock, loosening her grip on the cable so it can pass through her hands as she moves. She stumbles a little as she lands on a smaller floating chunk, but keeps her footing and tightens her grip on the cable, so she can start pulling herself and the smaller rock closer to him.
definitionofcrazy: (172)

[personal profile] definitionofcrazy 2025-05-20 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Huh? No, it's-"

Why was everybody here so thrown by 'five-by-five?' Nobody ever had a problem with it back home. Or maybe they did and they never told her.

Well, that's a fun new social anxiety for her. She's just gonna not think about it.

"Nevermind. Look, I've seen another dude with a Persona, but just the one guy. Goro Akechi, you know him?"
definitionofcrazy: (Try me)

[personal profile] definitionofcrazy 2025-05-20 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[And that seems to have touched a nerve, because as soon as she says the 'dead' thing, Faith immediately bristles defensively.]

Oh, I'm sorry, guess we can't all keep up our perfect makeup routines out here in Mad Max world!

[It's obviously not the whole story. She didn't even look this rough when she was in a coma. There's definitely something wrong.

She takes a deep breath, throws up a hand as if to break off the moment of hostility, and stares pointedly at the floor. She mutters more quietly,]


...we dunno what Nirvana's deal is. Just gotta trust there's something there.

Page 9 of 27