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memestertrucks2025-09-15 12:18 pm
monstertruckers) wrote in memestertrucks2025-09-15 12:18 pm
Entry tags:
SEPTEMBER TDM
This month, new arrivals will find plenty of sand and rocks strewn over the garage, as well as an oppressive heat. Day or night alike offers little reprieve, and the air is dry and dusty. It will be a task to keep cool, as well as keep control. There’s plenty of threats beyond just the oppressive temperature, and a chaotic, dangerous, landscape to match.
01: SUMMONING CIRCLE
New Drifters arrive with a feeling of stifling heat. The garage has been baking in the sun for most of the day on an exposed mesa, and as the sun goes down it’s only now beginning to cool. Heat stroke and dehydration are both real concerns. There’s water available in the gas station nearby… But it involves crossing a precarious rock arch, exposed to open air. Otherwise, there’s more water in a river further down, but the climb is equally risky and involves scurrying down sheer rock walls. (And dealing with territorial cactaurs at the bottom.)
There is also an oasis off in the distance, but it would be impossible to arrive there on foot. At least for a normal person.
Either way, it’s advised to find some form of hydration, both for the sake of newcomers and for the sake of the Convoy rolling up. With how the heat seems to be beating down on the vehicles, it’s questionable if they have much water to spare.
There is also an oasis off in the distance, but it would be impossible to arrive there on foot. At least for a normal person.
Either way, it’s advised to find some form of hydration, both for the sake of newcomers and for the sake of the Convoy rolling up. With how the heat seems to be beating down on the vehicles, it’s questionable if they have much water to spare.
02: START UP
There are various cars surrounding the garage. (And for a few unfortunates, parked across the rock bridge! Though the rocks should be able to take the weight of the cars. Just don’t look down.) Many of them parked in the shelter of rocks and caves to try and hide from the worst of the heat.
Some of the cars may still need to cool down from the heat, but regardless, there’s a certain connection between different newcomers and cars. Something that suggests a particular vehicle is theirs, backed up by possessing the key to that vehicle. 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 supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
Some of the cars may still need to cool down from the heat, but regardless, there’s a certain connection between different newcomers and cars. Something that suggests a particular vehicle is theirs, backed up by possessing the key to that vehicle. 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 supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
03: MOON WARP
To complicate things, the moon overhead pulses strangely. Shards of moonstone rain down as night falls over the garage and gas station. And something about these stones warps the surroundings.
A storm begins to brew overhead, with a growl of thunder. The red wasteland rocks surrounding the area begin to reflect sound of the storm, make it sound almost like song… And everyone close to the moon shard stones can feel their bodies begin to warp in turn.
New arrivals affected by the moon shower will find themselves with access to an additional monster form with two variations:
A storm begins to brew overhead, with a growl of thunder. The red wasteland rocks surrounding the area begin to reflect sound of the storm, make it sound almost like song… And everyone close to the moon shard stones can feel their bodies begin to warp in turn.
New arrivals affected by the moon shower will find themselves with access to an additional monster form with two variations:
03: MONSTER SHIFT, SPHINX
This month's monster is the Sphinx, a human-lion hybrid that may also have bird-like wings. It’s up to the player on just how leonine their facial features and bodies are. Alongside all sphinx species traits, the following also happens:
+Fluctuating Voice: voice can easily shift into a growl or a roar if emotions grow heated. This roar can also cause damage if loud enough.
+Clawing Pains: Can grow retractable claws, which may provide intense pain or discomfort. Healing magics can help alleviate this pain... Or sharpening their budding claws on just about anything, including stone.
+Compelled to speak in riddles or outright lying. This makes conveying any information found in the truck stop all the more difficult.
Compelled to guard a either people or a location. This could be beneficial for other Drifters if the Sphinx decides to protect them or the Convoy… But it could also be negative, if a Sphinx decides that they need to guard the garage and gas station, and other Drifters are intruders.
+An obsession with riddles and puzzles. And newly arriving to this place certainly counts as a riddle!
+Ambush Predator: Gains an affinity for stalking amongst the ruins, and using them to advantage when hunting other monsters. Running from or turning one's back on a Sphinx is not advised, lest it trigger the hunting instinct.
+Fluctuating Voice: voice can easily shift into a growl or a roar if emotions grow heated. This roar can also cause damage if loud enough.
+Clawing Pains: Can grow retractable claws, which may provide intense pain or discomfort. Healing magics can help alleviate this pain... Or sharpening their budding claws on just about anything, including stone.
+Compelled to speak in riddles or outright lying. This makes conveying any information found in the truck stop all the more difficult.
Compelled to guard a either people or a location. This could be beneficial for other Drifters if the Sphinx decides to protect them or the Convoy… But it could also be negative, if a Sphinx decides that they need to guard the garage and gas station, and other Drifters are intruders.
+An obsession with riddles and puzzles. And newly arriving to this place certainly counts as a riddle!
+Ambush Predator: Gains an affinity for stalking amongst the ruins, and using them to advantage when hunting other monsters. Running from or turning one's back on a Sphinx is not advised, lest it trigger the hunting instinct.
03: MONSTER SHIFT, MANTICORE
Alongside Sphinx, is the Manticore. A second human-lion hybrid, with rows of razor teeth, batlike wings, and poisonous quills/barbs on their tails. Manticores can access all Sphinx and Drakonis traits, and also gain:
+Voracious Appetite: Need to consume a large amount of meat. Husk monsters are around to feed on, otherwise may be compelled to raid the Convoy for food.
+Truth Compulsion: Manticores gain a loud, almost trumpet quality to their voice, and a need to announce truths instead of riddles. With so many books in the library, there’s lots of truth to announce.
+Guardian Compulsion: like the Sphinx, Manticores can be guards. Generally Manticores tend to be much more territorial, opting for a location and driving all intruders all of it… Or opting for one person and turning savagely protective.
+Instinct Shift: Low control of Protean form, but can subconsciously shift limbs back and forth.
+Toothing Pains: Gains rows of shark-like teeth that can chew through metal. Growing these may result in pain, and pain easily leads to berserk frenzy.
+Poison Sting: While growing the poison quills, the process can be unstable and cause manticores to shoot or shed their spines at inopportune times. The poison is still developing and cannot kill, but can cause paralysis, pain, or hallucinations.
+Voracious Appetite: Need to consume a large amount of meat. Husk monsters are around to feed on, otherwise may be compelled to raid the Convoy for food.
+Truth Compulsion: Manticores gain a loud, almost trumpet quality to their voice, and a need to announce truths instead of riddles. With so many books in the library, there’s lots of truth to announce.
+Guardian Compulsion: like the Sphinx, Manticores can be guards. Generally Manticores tend to be much more territorial, opting for a location and driving all intruders all of it… Or opting for one person and turning savagely protective.
+Instinct Shift: Low control of Protean form, but can subconsciously shift limbs back and forth.
+Toothing Pains: Gains rows of shark-like teeth that can chew through metal. Growing these may result in pain, and pain easily leads to berserk frenzy.
+Poison Sting: While growing the poison quills, the process can be unstable and cause manticores to shoot or shed their spines at inopportune times. The poison is still developing and cannot kill, but can cause paralysis, pain, or hallucinations.
04: TRUCK STOP ARCHIVES
One oddity with the truck stop this time around is just how many books are on the shelves. They hold information on the monsters here: both tales and legends, but also how to go about hunting them. There is also a section of maps, most of them worn out and illegible… But a few of them carry notes hastily scrawled into them about a place called “Nirvana.”
The following information can be gained from a quick scan:
+“Got to stay on the road. Nirvana is supposed to be a paradise.”
+“Somehow after everything we went through, it’s still standing. Still telling us to seek shelter there.”
+“It’ll take months to reach it. Doesn’t matter. Keep going. It’s the only city we have left.”
+“Crossroads Of Fate. Heard someone say it once.”
+”Only way we can make a home. Or make it home.”
+“Sits on leylines. They say that’s how the moonshards keep missing. Somehow warps time and space around it. Wonder what else it can warp.”
The following information can be gained from a quick scan:
+“Got to stay on the road. Nirvana is supposed to be a paradise.”
+“Somehow after everything we went through, it’s still standing. Still telling us to seek shelter there.”
+“It’ll take months to reach it. Doesn’t matter. Keep going. It’s the only city we have left.”
+“Crossroads Of Fate. Heard someone say it once.”
+”Only way we can make a home. Or make it home.”
+“Sits on leylines. They say that’s how the moonshards keep missing. Somehow warps time and space around it. Wonder what else it can warp.”
05: HUSK MONSTERS
There are several metallic forms around the garage and the truck stop; whenever night falls (or moonshards fall) they burst open, becoming prey for afflicted newcomers… Or threats.
First are gaunt things called Chasers that look like a cross between a human and a horse, and can easily run down newcomers on foot or in cars. The moon warp also makes something in their backs glow, before generating streams of razor wind.
Second are strange bulky armadillo like creatures. Far slower than the Chasers, these monsters prefer to roll into a ball for any form of speed and crush their quarry with their bulk. Once crippled, they tear at targets with sharp digging claws. They are often encountered with mutated moles who dig through stone like earth.
Last are the hulking chimeras shot through with poison and bad tempers, ready to pounce and tackle into prey to inject their toxins.
First are gaunt things called Chasers that look like a cross between a human and a horse, and can easily run down newcomers on foot or in cars. The moon warp also makes something in their backs glow, before generating streams of razor wind.
Second are strange bulky armadillo like creatures. Far slower than the Chasers, these monsters prefer to roll into a ball for any form of speed and crush their quarry with their bulk. Once crippled, they tear at targets with sharp digging claws. They are often encountered with mutated moles who dig through stone like earth.
Last are the hulking chimeras shot through with poison and bad tempers, ready to pounce and tackle into prey to inject their toxins.
06: CACTUARS!
Those who wander a little further from the gas station find that the landscape gets more hostile; hotter, sharp edged rocks, steep rocks... And Cactuars. These odd creatures resemble 2-3 foot high cactuses, do an odd little dance, and shoot needles at anyone who gets too close. These needles hurt a lot, but tougher vehicles (and extremely sturdy rocks) can offer protection. They are also agile creatures who require heavy fire power to bring down.
...And rather worryingly, Cactuars CAN be eaten. They resemble a vegetable or a fruit with a lot of water packed into them, or green tofu. They are disconcertingly tasty. But anyone who does eat them is suddenly, physically compelled to do the Cactuar Pose. This lasts for 30 seconds, and activates AGAIN if a Drifter eats more Cactuar. And some well meaning person has stocked the entire Convoy with Cactuar supplies, to add to the confusion: please exercise caution with eating anything green.
...And rather worryingly, Cactuars CAN be eaten. They resemble a vegetable or a fruit with a lot of water packed into them, or green tofu. They are disconcertingly tasty. But anyone who does eat them is suddenly, physically compelled to do the Cactuar Pose. This lasts for 30 seconds, and activates AGAIN if a Drifter eats more Cactuar. And some well meaning person has stocked the entire Convoy with Cactuar supplies, to add to the confusion: please exercise caution with eating anything green.
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.
Open Sky: The garage and gas station are perched on top of a mesa, with a truly massive sky stretched out overhead. Agoraphobiacs beware. Those with monster forms associated with the open sky (harpies, sphinx, wind elementals, dragons, etc) may find the open sky far more enticing than before. Just be careful when crossing the narrow rock bridges, as there’s a long drop below.
Red Hot Red Rocks: Portions of the mesa react to the heat a little too well. There are patches of rocks that can instantly burn any skin that makes contact; some of those patches are between a Drifter and their vehicle, or the convoy, or the gas station! It will be a task to either cool those patches down, or avoid them.
Vegetation: It’s sparse in the badlands, but a few plants are noticeable. First are the tumbleweeds, dried out and rolling along. These ones have sharp edges, and seem to multiply if they hit a solid object at speed. And are very flammable. There’s also a few cactus like plants; some of them even have drinkable water that won’t poison anyone! They are signified by blue fruit growing on them. And the fact that they shoot their spines at anything that gets too close.
might be fun though...!
It is surreal to have others speak of recent events as if they're ancient history.
[Things Sephiroth isn't used to yet: that.
He will also never quite accept the idea Vincent might not still be exactly what he seems to be. It's as likely as any SOLDIER being allowed to actually leave, but aside from a low sound of disagreement, Sephiroth doesn't contest Aerith's conclusion.
Nor does he want to answer that question, discomfort mostly hidden under his careful facades of calm. He has yet to come to terms with any of it except the name and identity of his real mother.
One of the many reasons he kept his hair so long is it's an excellent way to mask his expressions. Like right now.]
... Nothing suitable for polite discussion, I'm afraid. Suffice it to say their anger wasn't misplaced. Or yours, most likely.
oh it would be!
I can only imagine how strange that would be. And how hard it would be to have people mad at you for things you don't remember doing yet.
[ There's a flicker of hesitation before the 'yet' that's just barely there. Only someone observant would really notice it at all. Maybe there's a glimmer of hope deep down that if he hasn't experienced them yet them maybe...
well, probably not. That's probably too big of a hope. It's also a hard one to think too much about right now with how confused she feels in general about all of this. ]
For what it's worth, I'm not really angry with you for anything you did to me.
[ And that's strangely mostly the truth. ] But I guess maybe that's not even really you yet, is it? We'd never be talking like this if it were.
no subject
[But he'll adapt. He always did. Life had never been particularly kind and he didn't expect that to change.
The desert is easier to watch and think about. None of them had yet tried to kill him for what he would do. She didn't seem the sort to try to kill him herself. The wariness, the uncertainty..
How would he react, if the killer of his own friends walked free and claimed to not remember killing?]
You should be, if you're to be one of my victims. How galling it would be to watch your murderer walk free. I .. don't know if I would have such restraint in your place. If it were my friends at risk.
[They're still alive. It doesn't matter if they're 'supposed to' die soon, if he found his way back to his own time he'd do what he had to in order to make sure it doesn't happen.
Maybe it'll help long-term, to prevent violent impulse from taking over again.]
no subject
[ If anything she's had some degree of sympathy for them. Most are just people following orders who have no idea just how expendable they really are-how they're just experiments to be used and discarded.
She falls silent for a few seconds, eyes looking over at him and then back away. ]
I kept hoping things could change.
[ Perhaps things can't quite change but there's the possibility they can at least be different here. That's something, even if it's a strange something. ]
I'm not one of your victims.
[ And it's true while also not being true at the same time, isn't it? The story is a lot more complicated than her just being one of his many victims. ]
What would doing anything right now accomplish? If I were to kill you right now to protect my friends, would you stay dead?
[ Back home she's certain he wouldn't. It's not that simple. Here she's got no idea how death works, she definitely can't feel it the way she once could. So really to her it just seems safer to practice restraint. It's what she's known after all. ]
no subject
Why wouldn't I? In spite of rumors to the contrary, I'm quite mortal.
[What a strange way to put that, as if anyone would simply not stay dead once killed. That was a ridiculous notion.
SOLDIER followed its orders. Disobedience had its penalties, and those who 'retired' tended to disappear into Deepground. Rigorous psychological testing tended to weed out people who'd buck orders, ignore the chain of command and do as they pleased in ways that could harm Shinra. Obedience was expected of the rest.]
But I suspect you are one of the many I am to one day harm.
[He doesn't much sound like he considers it inevitable though.]
I don't plan on doing any of it, for what it's worth. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and I'm not so fatalistic as to think the future is unalterable. If you don't like the way things are going, change it. [His smile is brief, there and gone in moments.] I intend to.
[That's going to be a problem later.]
no subject
[ The weakest attempt at recovery ever. Nothing weird to see here at all. Nothing weird said at all. She awkwardly fiddles with the ribbon in her hair, adjusting it even though it's perfectly fine.
Or at least everything was until he follows up with that sentiment. Her hand freezes in it's adjustments and she goes momentarily stiff. It only lasts a fraction of a second before she's back to smiling. ]
Changing fate, huh? That sounds like a great idea in theory. What do you intend to change?
no subject
[There definitely are strange things going on on this planet, but he doesn't think she meant that. It could be the standard exaggeration of what he's capable of.
She's nervous.
But who wouldn't be? The only real question was if she's from the little village or if he destroys some other locations too. Countless people saw him as a monster already. Now he was, quite literally. A monster intending to change the future has so many horrific implications, doesn't it? He could say he wants to spare that little town, which is true, but ...
There were other, more important things. Admitting it is a choice, careful and deliberate.]
My friends do not survive the next few years. None of us, it seems, are ... to make it past twenty-five.
[Sephiroth has friends! Admitting it to a stranger would earn him a disgusted look from Hojo, but it has been a long time since he cared what that man wanted.
What he did want was Angeal and Genesis alive and well. Knowing they're gone was more upsetting than knowing he butchers towns, as selfish as he knows it is.]
Now that I know, I can do something about it.
no subject
[ It's an attempt to just breeze by the subject and leave it behind. Maybe she could mention her connection to the Planet, her knowledge of everything to do with him and how he came to be, but for now she feels like holding back. If only because she's more curious about what he has to say about what he might change.
There's a bit of genuine sympathy in the look she gives him. ]
I'm sorry. Zack used to talk about Angeal a lot, he seemed like a great guy. Very...protective.
[ Even after his untimely death. From all Zack had said she couldn't imagine he deserved such a short story. She makes a quiet humming sound. ]
What do you think you can do to stop it?
no subject
[And if he had anything to say about it, they were going to stay that way. But does he have actual plans as yet? No.
There's too many variables. Too many things he doesn't know.]
Hm, that I'll find out when I return. [Not if, when.] Or when they're brought here, either way. There's not much to be done until we can re-engineer the rituals that are taking us out of our time, so going back is possible. If not, bringing them forward might be the best option.
[He glances towards where his truck sits idling, waiting for him to bring back the things he'd come to get.]
I have a few years to find a path. They are the closest thing I have had to family, I won't give up on that simply because it's someone else's history. Maybe for the better for you in your time as well, I don't have many plans to burn down villages currently.
no subject
[ Despite her slight pause a the start she manages to say it without too much hesitation, even with an encouraging tone. Some of it is due to an urge to not rock the boat too much, but most is just a genuine hope that things could potentially go better for everyone.
She falls silent for a few seconds, rocking on her heels with her hands behind her back as she glances around at this place. ]
Maybe bringing them here would be the best choice. If that's possible. It's not our home, maybe that would make it easier to change fate.
[ There wouldn't be the same connections, the same interferences here. Without the myriad of things that ushered everyone towards their seemingly inevitable outcomes, maybe a new beginning could be possible. At the very least maybe it would be more safer for their home.
She gives him a soft smile. ]
I understand. I'd do anything for my friends too. You know, I wasn't really worried you would, but I'm glad to hear that. This place looks like it's had it hard enough.
no subject
She wouldn't know that, arrived new. She wouldn't have seen the things in the upside down hospital. Faced the same monsters across the landscape.]
It.. isn't our time at least. Don't put too much stock in destiny. You have free will, if you want to change something, change it.
[That's the second time. He'll reiterate it again if he has to. People who buckled under the impression something was fated gave up too early, if they bothered to try at all. Predestination was nonsense.
Anything else was a terrifying possibility. It would mean nothing matters. Nothing at all.]
This desert isn't all that's here, for what it's worth. The convoy is only passing through. [There's a moment of hesitation, but only a moment. Something's important here. He's not yet sure what.] You should come with us. The others will be arriving soon in force, and the dust is going to likely be unpleasant until the larger trucks park.
[That might in fact be the haze on the horizon, a cloud that might be smoke.. or dust.]
no subject
Do you really think this is our planet but in the future?
[ What an interesting theory. One she's not really certain about herself.
Then there's the strangeness of him of all people inviting her to go with them. ]
I'd like that. [ If only to keep an eye on things. Her eyes follow his out to the horizon. ] That's...worrisome. [ And maybe a tiny bit familiar. ]
no subject
[He's running out of time to get the things he wanted to get before everyone ELSE showed up and liberated everything not nailed down alongside him. It's not really a problem, just the mildest of inconveniences.
The line of dust will grow, with time. They're only ten miles out at most, but that's too far to hear the rumble of engines.
Vincent would likely be safe enough to notify, the turk seemed to know everyone somehow. If he knew Aerith as well, then at least someone would be keeping an eye out for her.]
The noise takes some getting used to. Can you drive?
no subject
Now to his question she shakes her head rather fervently. ]
Not really. I could probably figure it out in a pinch but I doubt it'd be a smooth ride.