memestertrucks | MAY TDM

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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

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02. Start Up
[A few hours into this and she's still confused, the garage is quiet, save for the sound of tools hitting objects and the floor. She finds herself looking around the garage for someone else, anyone else but can't find not a soul.] I feel like I'm supposed to put this back together.

[There's a car not far from where she is, a jeep, it's red and old, not ancient...just 1980's kinda jeep. Not something she would be interested in driving but she feels like it's hers. She walks over to it, placing her hand on the hood. It needs fixing but she has no idea how to fix a car.] Hello! Anyone here?

05. Long Way down
[She goes further up and up on the rocks, jumping from one to the other; as she watches the moon pieces float about, something in her wants to pick them up and splice them back together but she knows there's no way how. She stops on one of the rocks, looking down and realizing something in her is trying to break free, her heart speeds up and the inner beast or monster or whatever it is, is whispering to her.

She takes a deep breath, wondering where Willow, Xander, Dawnie and the rest of her friends are. Is this a dream? It feels like a very surreal dream to her. She feels fangs extend between her teeth and gasps just a little.] What's inside me? There's no way... this reality can't be that cruel!

[But it is. It's very cruel. She ends up falling down into another rock, then ends up hitting each rock on the way down. Her body doesn't feel so good and she's trying to stand up on the last rock.

Then she starts transforming, it hurts to do so. Her whoe mouth feels like it's on fire. Her skin takes on a paler than usual pallor. She's hateful at the moment. Hateful of whatever brought her here, she hopes it dies bloody and broken and alone.]

06. Psychic Echoes
[As she punches a fist through the last monster, its face bleeds everywhere and crumbles, it falls to the ground and she blinks as she suddenly hears thought after thought entering her head. Tons of thoughts, not million just about a couple dozen. She frowns a little, wondering where these thoughts are coming from.

She steps along the forested road, trying to figure out who she is hearing at the moment. It's someone she suspects isn't having a good day. Can you hear me? I'm... I'm here to help. That makes sense right? That she's here to help. Even if it's just an ear to listen.]

[Ren has had worse days, true, but it’s also true this is not his best one, either. It’s hard enough being a bleeding heart protagonist when he’s able to keep it mostly under wraps of a well-practiced poker face, even harder now that his sense of empathy has gone into overdrive and he’s silently broadcasting his feelings everywhere.

He had to get away from the others, for their sake as well as his own. While he can sense Buffy means well, he still mentally recoils from her as she draws nearer to him, sitting in a clear spot on the ground while he tries to re-bottle all the pain he’s been picking up.]

Hm?

[Buffy keeps seeking out the other person, she can feel...pain. She listens closer and closer, walking toward the young man. She sees him, sitting there, and stops.] Is it you who is in pain? Are you okay?

[Ren wonders, idly, if this is what Akechi meant about feeling like he could see through him. He likes being in the spotlight sometimes, cocky and dramatic and showing off as Joker, but this two-way emotional broadcast is just. Not it. It’s too much, like being flayed alive and put on display.

So he jumps to his feet and backs away when Buffy finds him, ready to break into a run if he needs to. He hopes he won’t. She doesn’t seem threatening at all, but - the pain is worse. And he doesn’t want to hurt her, either.]

Sorry … [He shakes his head. It’s too much. But he can’t say something like that. He’s the leader, he has to be strong, he is strong, and there can never be too much for him to handle. People count on him. He can’t let them down.]

I’m fine.

[He’s not. Not at all. But good luck getting him to admit it outside of an unspoken mental connection.]

Edited 2025-05-18 02:01 (UTC)

[So many thoughts, all of them heartbreaking. This person sounds like her, just like her. I can't show an ounce of weakness or I'm a really bad leader. As the young man backs away from her, she frowns.] Hey, I'm just trying to help. You seem like you need help.

[She knows he's lying for some reason. It's a reason to think he needs a pep talk.] If you say so. [Maybe she is dreaming and this man is a manifestation of her own inner self.] You need to talk. It won't go away if you just keep saying you're fine.

[Does he need help? Absolutely. But he’s not good at asking for help with things like this. Asking his team to help with reaching a common goal, sure, but being an emotional support beam? That’s his job.]

I …

[You’re very kind to offer, he says, telepathically. Spoken words have become increasingly difficult to form. I don’t want to make anyone worry about me.

He slips both hands in his pockets, making a stronger effort to calm his mind. Maybe that meditation training will pay off here.

Are you all right? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.]

[She realizes he's going to refuse to talk outside of his head. Oh good, she'll have fun with this one. She sighs just a little and gives a vague nod. I know what it's like to be a leader, she says quietly. It's okay to let people worry about you. I had to learn the hard way.]

[She wants to talk outside of her head, but she won't. She crosses her arms, unsure of herself.] I'm fine. No? I haven't been here yet. I'm just arriving. I wish I knew what was going on though.

Edited 2025-05-19 17:27 (UTC)

[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.

[A failed ritual? What is this place? it's an honest question, she's got no clue where she is and she has no idea where she's going.]

Buffy Summers. [She reaches her hand out for a shake, but she wonders if it'll be rejected. Not that she'd betoo bothered, not everyone is touchy feely.]

Go back where? [She looks around.]

[At first, she dismisses the familiar voice in the disjointed garage. Trick of her imagination, lingering hallucination, another voice that just sort of sounds like her.

And then she actually sees her. Right there, with her own car. Right in front of Faith's face.

Son of a-]

...B?

[That one word- one letter, even- is all she manages to say. It... okay, it feels stupid. She feels stupid. It's like her brain went into standby mode. In fact, the only thought that manages to surface through the shock is a slightly resentful observation:

She's even got the same kind of car as Faith. Of course she does.]

[Buffy keeps looking around, her eyes scanning the garage for any signs of life.] Well golly gee, I think I'm alone and this doesn't help at all.

[And then she hears it, B. She turns at the sound, surprised and comes face to face with Faith.] Faith?

[She looks at Faith with a frown, then nods.] I'm not sure where I am but this is either good or bad that you're here. Can you fill me in?

[She wishes she could answer that question, but she doesn't know herself if it's good or bad. Historically, they haven't exactly-

Well. Not the time.]

Hard to say. Seems like some sort of jacked-up apocalypse hell-world.

[Notably, she looks different than when Buffy would have seen her last. She's pale, ashy, almost corpse-like. Her lips even have the bluish-grey tint. And she's got a scarf cinched around her neck so tight that it seems like it should be cutting off the oxygen.]

All we know is that we're the only sane people left alive, and there's a creepy signal on the radio telling us to go to some place called Nirvana.

[Faith being here is at least something. The last time they really hung out, she had taken her body suit for a ride.] Just what I need, an apocalypse.

[It's sarcasm, she feels like she'll never get away from things like this. She needs a fresh coat of nail polish and her make up needs fixed. She takes a good look at Faith, she looks...like she needs a pile of make up on her face and several coats of nail polish. She doesn't look good.] You okay, Faith? You look...dead.

[She frowns. This isn't sitting right with her.] Nirvana? Like the band? Or Heaven?

[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.

[Buffy smirks just a little, trying to go for neutral.] I didn't think you were so off your a-game that you forgot a little foundation goes a long way, F.

[She can see Faith isn't well, whatever is happening to her is against her will.]

So you're going pointlessly in the direction of a potential spot that might not even exist? That makes so much sense, really.

[Akechi had been watching. He doesn't know this woman, doesn't know her story, but she's certainly determined...

But then she falls. Her skin pales. Clearly, something is wrong.

Finally, he makes his approach, swooping down and landing on a piece of nearby floating rock.

He's... quite the sight. Black, crow-like feathers cover his face and neck, with rounded ears like a big cat twitching amidst his honey brown hair. Hooked horns curve out from his forehead, black with thin, white grooves in them...

And crow-like talons poke out of the fingertips of his black leather gloves, while a scorpion-like tail rests idly.

But he makes no moves to attack, simply watching.]

It's never pleasant. This world has a way with toying with us...

[But it could be worse, he supposes. He's grown accustomed to his own changes, at any rate.]

She turns her eyes on the young....crow? Whatever he is, he's freaky looking. She knows she doesn't look too great either. She looks at the monster, whatever he is and tilts her head.] I ...I'm thirsty. Where can I get some water?

[But what she feels is even deeper, more primal than that. She wants blood. to feast upon. The more blood she drinks, the stronger she gets. She's horrified at this realization, her internal instincts hating her and wanting it at the same time.]

[He watches her movements, lips pursed. There's certainly an uneasiness to it all, which makes sense. The changes are never simple...]

I do have some water, though I'll have to return to my vehicle to fetch it. If you can stand to wait a few moments, it shouldn't take long.

[She wants to bite this guy in the next. She doesn't think those are her normal thoughts, but he looks so bird like and delicious. She keeps herself restrained, because she knows this isn't her but something is creeping underneath the surface and trying to get her to let go.] Yes, water would be good. I can wait.

[Nodding, Akechi shoots into the air and flies off, mindful of the unstable gravity.

It takes a few moments for him to return, as he has to rummage through his luggage.

Eventually, he swoops back down, offering the bottled water to her.]

Drink as much as you need. I can always refill it with tap water later.

[She waits. It only takes him a few moments to come back with the water, she takes it from him with a quiet thank you and then swallows about half. It doesn't quench the undeniable thirst she's feeling deep in her bones though. That underneath the underneath, blood singing to her from this guy's veins.

She flushes, surprised at her thoughts and hands the water back to him.] I... do you know what's going on with me? why I'm turning into a ... vampire.

[Akechi accepts the bottle with a small sigh. She's new, so he can't blame her for being caught off guard, even with his own appearance in mind.]

We're all changing. All of this...

[He gestures at himself with his free hand.]

Is a result of my extended stay here. Before that, I was entirely human.

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MAY TDM

Buffy Summers | Buffy The Vampire Slayer

06.

Re: 06.

feel free to have her pick up on any of those thoughts btw!

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02!

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05

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