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memestertrucks2025-05-15 04:31 pm
monstertruckers) wrote in 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.
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.
…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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Maggie Rhee | The Walking Dead: Dead City
[It doesn't hit her immediately upon waking that she is floating. The first thing that comes to Maggie's awareness as she begins to come around is that she is not at home. This ceiling is not the same ceiling she fell asleep staring at, and it's disconcerting enough that it takes a moment to register the absence of anything firm beneath her, and it's only when she tries to roll over to upright herself that it hits.
She's floating in midair. Only a couple of feet up, but enough that a sudden drop would mean an unpleasant landing.]
The hell!?
[It comes out as a startled yelp, and she claws at the air as though trying to find purchase to right herself again as she takes in her surroundings: the state of the dilapadated room, and broken glass and discarded vials lying about the floor. Her eyes land on a figure partway across the room, and without another clear option, she calls out to them.]
Hey - Hey, do you mind giving me a hand over here?
2. Husks and Haunts Pt 1
['Beware the Husks' says the writing on the wall. Maggie has no idea what a husk is exactly, but it seems like sound advice. Beware of everything seems fairly reasonable in this strange place that feels like something out of a twisted funhouse, except minus the fun. Sometimes the walls are the ceiling. Sometimes the ceiling is the floor, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, but sometimes the only way out is through and she's certainly not about to let the strange surroundings get to her.
She crouches down near one of the husks for a closer look, hunting knife in hand in case it moves, but the cracked-open shell of what she thinks was probably at some point a human being remains still.]
What is this...
[It's murmured mostly to herself as her gaze follows the slick trail that leads up to the rafters. Maggie freezes as movement catches her eye, and one of the creatures shifts, a tangle of too many limbs that looks like it was cobbled together by someone who only had the vaguest idea of what a person should look like.
Her eyes don't leave the creature as she rises slowly to her feet. Maybe, she hopes, she can just back away and it won't notice her. She is alone, she doesn't know how strong that thing is, and the occasional movement in the shadows of the rafters suggests there's a lot more than just one. There's a chance these are not great odds.
One cautious, slow step back, and then another, and just as she thinks maybe it hasn't seen her, the creature drops and lunges.]
3. Husks and Haunts Pt 2
[Flight is the better choice, she quickly learns. The monsters that were hanging from the ceiling are strong - not impossibly so - but strong enough that one against many makes for very poor odds, and while she doesn't take stock of exact numbers, there are enough for her to classify as 'many.'
The tangle of mismatched limbs is enough to slow down the creature that first dropped down from the ceiling as it chases after Maggie down the hall. She rounds a corner and hauls open a door to what looks like some kind of exam room and slips inside. If there's another drifter also seeking an escape from the monsters, she will hold the door open long enough to let them slip past her before slamming it shut and locking the deadbolt behind them.
She leans against the door with a sigh of relief, safe for now, it seems.]
We gotta block this door somehow.
[She trails off as her eyes are drawn to the flickering of the screens as they come to life.]
What...
4. Long Way Down
[There's some measure of comfort to be found in familiar things, and Maggie is very familiar with scavenging for supplies, so it's easy to throw her focus into searching the garage along with others for anything that might be useful on their journey.
The rumble catches her off guard, and for a brief moment, she thinks it's an earthquake with the way the ground pitches under her feet, throwing her off balance. It's only as the garage starts to rise into the air that she realizes it's something completely different.
She scrambles to the edge as the garage floats upwards, then quickly back again as she realizes how high up they're getting. Her breath catches in her throat, eyes widening at the distance to the ground.
Eyes up, Maggie, before you toss your cookies.
She can practically hear his voice in her head as a wave of dizziness threatens to overwhelm her, and she hates it. She takes another step back as she fights to steady her breathing before daring to take another peek over the edge to see if she can spot a way down.]
summoning
[For just a second, Edward thinks it might be Nurse Crawley, but no. When the woman speaks up again, it's with an American accent. He twists in the air, still floating himself, and manages to get turned around towards the direction of her voice.]
Can you keep speaking?
[He reaches out, feeling through the air in front of him with both hands. His eyes are scarred and grey, the skin around them puckered with barely healed wounds.]
If you keep speaking, I can try to come towards you.
no subject
[Maggie twists in the air, her voice strained as she flails, trying to right herself in the air.]
Ugh. It's like some kind of bad fair ride or something. How'd we even get stuck here?
[She manages to right herself finally, and gets a decent look at the man. Her brow furrows in concern as she takes note of the scarring, but she still stretches out a hand towards him.]
Just a little further... Your eyes. [Her tone gentles; whatever caused those wounds likely wasn't pleasant, and they look relatively recent.] That happen here?
no subject
I've no idea. I woke up, and this is not where I was before.
[He follows the sound of her voice, reaching out towards her through the air. The question about his eyes surprises him--so blunt!--but there's no point in trying to deny it.]
No. It was the war. A gas attack.
[Surely she knows about the war, right? Even the Americans were starting to pitch in towards the end.]
Am I getting any closer?
no subject
She reaches again, finally getting enough cooperation from inertia to brush her fingers, the skin rough from years of survival efforts, against his.]
Almost got it...
[The explanation for his eyes comes as enough of a surprise that it gives her pause. As far as she's aware, it's been a long time since gas has been used in war. Still, if it didn't happen here that means there's not an imminent threat of a repeat attack.
Probably.]
I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that must have been like... What war were you in?
no subject
[His hand is rough too, calloused and worn from carrying rifles and rack across France.]
Thank you. It certainly wasn't your fault.
[A standard answer, the one he gives to everyone non-military who asks about his eyes. Her question has him tilting his head, his eyebrows raising in surprise.]
The Great War?
[Surely she doesn't think he's old enough to have fought in the Boer War!]
no subject
Gotcha!
[Her smile fades into a puzzled expression at his answer. Everything since waking up here should be impossible. Floating, waking up in a strange garage with no memory of how she got here. Maybe being here with a veteran from a war that occurred over a hundred years ago to her best recollection shouldn't come as such a shock, and it does make sense with his story.]
Aren't you a little young to have been in that war?
no subject
Am I pointed in the right direction? I don't feel like I'm upside down, but I want to be sure.
[Then she asks about the war, and it's another surprising question. Edward is starting to get a sinking feeling he can't explain in his chest. There's no reason she shouldn't know these things, unless...]
No? I was twenty years old when the war began. I'm twenty-three now, and there are lads far younger than me on the front.
[It's a disgrace, honestly. The recruiters should be more thorough before allowing literal children to enlist.]
Are you... I know the Americans only joined recently, but surely you'd have heard news about the conflict, wouldn't you?
no subject
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.
(no subject)
(no subject)
I'm laughing, this is the first time anyone has brought up WWII to him
Haha, I'm so sorry
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Summoning Circle
Sure! This is all pretty bad, isn't it?
[She called as grabbed a nearby step ladder and trotted over. For someone talking about trouble, she didn't seem troubled at all.]
This isn't my first time being somewhere weird, [she explained.]
We'll figure it out!
no subject
Yeah, it's not great, that's for sure.
[She's seen worse. Nothing is actively trying to kill them, at least for now. The possibility that still might happen makes it even more urgent to get her feet back on the ground where they belong.]
Gotta wonder how they managed to turn off the gravity, though. Or, whatever this is supposed to be.
no subject
Without missing a beat, she asked plainly:]
What's gravity?
no subject
Um. I'll explain later. Maybe let's focus on getting down, and making sure it's safe here first, okay?
[Her tone is not unkind as she reaches for Felicia and the step ladder, and she genuinely will explain later if need be.]
no subject
[The words were spoken with an odd confidence, as if dragons were an absolutely normal part of the equation. Felicia reached out to the other girl, and as their hands connected another problem was revealed:
Both girl and step ladder began to float upon physical contact.
Eyes widened in surprise, and Felicia looked around in worry.]
Oh, no. [She said,]
It looks like we've got trouble!
no subject
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.
no subject
[Felicia insisted earnestly, and pulled the step ladder closer. She heard the question, but they can talk dragons later.]
It can't be too different from being in water. If we can push off of something for a boost, we can get down! Maybe!
(no subject)
Husks and Haunts pt. 1
There's a loud bang, echoing through the space, like someone just slammed a door - or used a door to kick off and lunge into the room, as the case may be. Almost inhumanly quick there's a body between her and the darting shape, a humanoid in plain, dark clothing. One that mostly moves like a person, except for how efficient it is, slamming a shoulder into the thing and turning the momentum of the fall into a throw and a roll, coming up braced on one knee (Murderbot, what the hell did you get yourself into this time).
One flash, two, fill the space, as it fires some weapon at the creature (if she's looking closely, the rolled-up sleeves of its jacket reveal lines like mechanical seams in its hand and forearm.) Its face is perfectly human from the cheekbones up. Presumably from the cheekbones down, too, except it's wearing a cloth facemask, and it's not looking towards her.]
Two meters down the corridor. Second door on the left.
[Its voice buzzes strangely, echoing with a cicada-like fuzz of static, as the Unknown form starts to rise once more behind SecUnit.]
no subject
There's not time to properly process any of it - not the newcomer's speed, the seams where seams don't belong, nor the buzz in its voice. While the first creature has dropped in a motionless heap under the weapon's fire, the commotion begins to stir the other monsters still clinging to the rafters above them.]
Second door on the left. [She gives a sharp nod to confirm.] Let's go!
[The movement of the Unknown beginning to rise out of the corner of her eye catches her attention as she answers. Shit, what the hell is that?]
Watch out!
[Her reaction is instinct - she's not about to let her would be rescuer be attacked from behind. She flips the knife over in her hand and throws it, aiming to strike the Unknown between the eyes - or at least what looks like its eyes, and it lands with a satisfying thunk.
She doesn't wait to see if it's enough to take the monster down, and instead sprints the couple meters down to the door on the left, hoping the newcomer is right behind her.]
no subject
It doesn't make a sound - the stranger or the monster - but reaches up to yank the knife out of the Unknown's face by the handle. There's no braggadocious holding the line, here - as soon as the knife is in hand it's bolting after the woman, booted feet echoing against the torn-up floor of the hospital as it follows her. There's another sound behind them, fainter and more... squishy, of something plopping down from the ceiling, some organic things moving after them.]
Keep going.
[It doesn't offer the knife back mid-sprint, but turns behind it to fire another shot, the bright flash of the energy weapon filling their surroundings as it fires the weapon embedded in its forearm.]
no subject
It's a short sprint to the second door on the left, but it feels much further as the sound of more monsters dropping from the ceiling reaches Maggie's ears. She reaches the second door on the left, and shoulder braced against it, she turns the knob and shoves it open.]
In here, come on!
no subject
Clear.
[For now.
It turns back towards her, visibly scanning her from head to foot with sharp eyes. ]
Are you hurt?
no subject
She lets out a slow breath as soon as her new companion confirms the room is clear, and she shakes her head at the question.]
No, no. I'm fine - What about you? You all right?
no subject
[It reacts awkwardly to that, lingering uncomfortably its few steps into the room before it finally comes over to the door to join her in ensuring that the door remains closed behind them, carefully avoiding contact as it examines the door handle for ways to break it off and prevent further break-through.
The buzzing still lingers in the layers of its voice, and up close the mask doesn't lay quite flat against its jaw the way it ought.]
This is why no one should go into buildings full of potential hostiles alone.
(no subject)
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Haunts II
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.
no subject
[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?