NOVEMBER TDM

[monstertruckers]

code

A chilling mist and storms cling to the surrounding area. The cold and the wet pierces even the garage, making for a poor welcome. This time around the garage and gas station lurks amidst multiple farms, and a fall colored forest. The seasons have decisively shifted. And the environment is doing its best to shift the new arrivals in turn.

01: SUMMONING CIRCLE

New Drifters arrive to gloomy skies seen through the broken windows of a garage… And a large barn house looming overhead. Rain echoes on the roof, along with the occasional rumble of thunder. When it isn’t raining outside, there’s a damp and chill mist that lingers over the farmlands.

It makes the large Convoy pulling up to stop at that garage seem that much more tall and imposing: though it’s also clear the Convoy has seen some wear and tear, metal scuffed and a few gashes and dents in the cars.

The summoning circle in the garage is lined with candles that can be used to ward off some of the mist and the chill, but it’s advised to find more stable shelter in cars or in the barn. The roof of the garage leaks. And wet, cold concrete isn’t very comfortable for very long.

02: START UP

There are various cars surrounding the garage. Some of them parked directly outside, though a few of them are parked in various farm fields and vegetable patches. Drifters are advised to watch out for hostile farm life and produce (such as exploding pumpkins) if their ride is out in the farm patch.

There’s also 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 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: FARM HOSTILITIES

The farm isn’t always the friendliest place; the assorted livestock are all monstrous, and ready to fight any Drifter that looks at them funny. Cockatrices, bull gorgons, bullfango, and bicorns are all present and grumpy.

In addition, Drifters should look out for scarecrows in the farm patches. Their eyes glow with an eerie light, and anyone who meets their gaze will find their fears manifesting. At first the fears last for only a blink, and appear to be hallucinations. The longer any Drifters stay under the scarecrow’s gaze, the more their fears become real and dangerous.

Leaving the gaze of the scarecrows (or destroying them) can end the effect. Though any lingering trauma and bloodshed will need different solutions.

04: MOON WARP

Various glowing moon shards have taken root across different farm fields. Thanks to them, there’s more than just produce and livestock growing on the farm. Magic has sunk into the buildings and the soil, and is ready to work on the Drifters in turn.

The scarecrows take on a more sinister glow some nights, pulsing violently with light before exploding; moon shards lay dormant in many of them, before activating one night and forcing changes in Drifters. Along with activating other monster traits, two event monsters are available:

04: MONSTER SHIFT, KITSUNE

A fox monster possessing multiple tails. They may take the form of Kitsune, Gumiho, or Huli Jin. They may feature a full or partial vulpine transformation, and with all Kitsune traits also have:
+Trickster Curse: Anyone who steals from farms or acts with trickery/deception risks activating traits.
+Liver Eater: Begins to feel a clawing hunger that can only be satisfied by the liver from prey. The fresher, the better. Husk monsters can fulfill this craving!
+Fox Fire: can generate phantasmal fire either at will or while emotional. These fires cannot burn, unless willed to do so… Or if one’s emotions grow out of hand.
+Fox Fright: If fear or anxiety becomes too great, may become a fox (either small or giant!) in an attempt to flee and hide.
+Tails To Tell: Growing extra tails, up to nine. This may interfere with balance, or even reach out to brush against other people like they have a mind of their own.
+Thief Feet: Gains a talent for moving quietly and stealthily, even able to hide from the farm monsters and the scarecrows.
+Favored Prey: gains an appetite and a ferocity for cockatrices.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, TAURUS

Hoofed monsters who can appear as minotaurs, satyrs, and centaurs. In addition to having Taurus traits the following also occurs:
+Red Flag: several of the scarecrows carry red rags on them, which flap in the breeze… And have a way of inflaming Taurus tempers, prompting them to charge. On impact, the red fabric shreds but tries to put off one more pulse of fear.
+Eat Your Veggies: on top of a craving for vegetable, Taurus can also heal their wounds or restore their stamina when eating vegetables from these gardens!
+Horn Sharpening: when horns grow in, they can itch and ache on a Drifter’s head. Rubbing and sharpening them against hard surfaces is the best way to dull the discomfort.
+Safety In Numbers: There is a sudden pressing need for Taurus to stay close to others; being alone causes anxiety and irritability.
+Raging Bull: Threats to a Taurus’ herd invokes anger and aggression from a Taurus, and they will do whatever it takes to crush said threat.
+Digging In: Drifters should take care with their steps. Pressing their feet too hard into the ground can cause a small quake… or even compel them to charge someone, if they make eye contact for too long.
+Stir Crazy: going indoors for longer than a minute causes restlessness and agitation in a Taurus, and a pressing need to get back outside.

05: HUNTERS

Time passes, and a fog rolls into the farm lands. It obscures much of the surroundings, but one thing does shine through the gloom; red, electric lights that look suspiciously like eyes. A metallic growl echoes through the farm fields, before robot canine shapes step out of the fog. A few of them carry speakers mounted to their shoulders, and a voice echoes out from them:

“All chromehounds, set commands to seek and destroy. Any infected you find, you eliminate. Keep Nirvana safe from their taint at all costs. Now hunt.”

At those orders, the chromehounds spring out and begin to course through the farmlands, hunting for prey. A single chromehound can be handled by a Drifter on their own, but the danger is how often they hunt in pairs or in packs; in that case, a Drifter will need help to either fight or flee from them.

Those in the midst of Kitsune or Taurus changes will also need to deal with a howl the hounds send out; it is pitched at a fight or flight frequency designed to distress monsters. Either by causing intense bouts of fear, or near blinding rage. The intent is to flush any Kitsune and Taurus out of hiding and into the jaws of waiting chomehounds… Though hounds don’t account for monsters also having pack.

06: CUCCO WARNING

There's one more oddity at the farm; one that isn't immediately hostile to newcomers, though it does regard them with curiosity. It takes the form of a rather innocent (and slightly vapid looking) chicken. Many of them roam the farmstead, trying to avoid any conflict.

A few of them even gather around an abandoned pie eating booth and peck at the remarkably well preserved pies. They might even be willing to share. (And the pies themselves are still edible and tasty, somehow.)

But this good will and tolerance can swiftly come to an end if they are attacked. If agitated, the cuccos can summon more of themselves to swarm the threat, causing plenty of pecks, scratches, and assorted injuries. There's even a ruined scarecrow laying nearby, torn to death by little beaks to show how dangerous they can be.

They also don't take kindly to threats from other denizens of the farm; the robot dogs, scarecrows, and some of the angrier farm life can quickly learn that the hard way!

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.

Snow Warning: Mountains rise above both farmlands and forest, and it seems clear that the road leads on towards them. It might be wise to plunder the nearby garage and farmhouses for any winter wear, before going further.

Food Forage: The local fields hold supplies… Some of them unconventional thanks to the Moon Warps. It’s probably best not to ask why corndogs are growing on corn stalks, but they’re still edible enough.

Misty Step: Sometimes the gloom and mist can do strange things to one’s perception, and stride. Walking into the mist can easily tun a Drifter around and place them in a spot they weren’t intending to go: whether that’s back in the garage, in the middle of the approaching Convoy, the middle of a field, or maybe somewhere else entirely!

Holy Cow-Car, Batman: One last quirk of the region, is that occasionally the vehicles here (including Drifter vehicles) seem to have a mind of their own. And that mind is similar to a cow. The vehicles can be found wandering in fenced off grassy areas, flattening grass to a degree where it appears to be eaten.

The vehicles are at least fairly docile, and once they are removed from the fencing revert to being normal cars/motorcycles/etc. But until then, they retain that odd quirk.

NAVIGATION || RESERVES || APPLICATIONS

Comments

Alastor the Radio Demon | Hazbin Hotel (season 1)

[sugaronthecream]

01. Summoning Circle

Cold. ...Cold is a bit new. As the Radio Demon surfaced into consciousness again, as his bones twisted and crackled as he rose to his feet, he stared at first in silence at the summoning circle beneath him.

...Then laughed. Cold, dark, amused - someone's summoned a demon, then. Yet no one was here at the summoning circle, no offerings, only candles and the wet concrete and an old radio playing a recording instead of a proper signal. He hesitated at the edge of the circle, examining the markings and finding nothing quite familiar enough to resemble his own studies of magic... and after a moment to try, he took a step out of the circle.

...He wasn't immediately banished back to Hell or obliterated, at least!

02. Fixer'upper

Well, well... he never had a car, back in the day - not of his own, at least. Hardly a point when he was out and about. Still - there's a truck that perfectly met his tastes - an old radio broadcast truck was outfitted with more than enough equipment to appease his need for the old comforts of a station.

He could do some of the simple repairs - changing a tire, replacing a battery, whatnot... but the thing still wasn't starting.

"Hmm... SAY! You there, have you got any clue on checking an engine?"

04. A Bog Fox

When one thinks of a 'red fox', one typically imagines a vivid auburn coat, something almost autumnal. One doesn't usually imagine a very literally red fox that was deep crimson red as freshly spilled blood. Easily the size of a wolf - not accounting for the length of the four pitch-dark tails - Alastor found himself voraciously hungry.

He has no idea how anyone else particularly feels about eating raw meat - that's been a part of his diet for nearly a century by now - so the fox only sharply grins at anyone 'catching' him with a gutted cockatrice as he sorted through the organs to find the fresh liver.

"...Do you mind?" the fox asked, still sounding like a voice coming from a radio, "I'm having breakfast."

05. Chromehounds

Like hell he'd be unwitting prey again. Though the damn hunting hounds nearly caught him with that frequency, he'd retaliated and found escape by scrambling the radio waves the wretched things communicate with.

Numbers, though, seemed to be the more favorable option for survival at least for the moment. So lucky you - some help has arrived in the form of a skulking pair of red eyes in the brush nearby, in hiding up until those four tails light up with foxfire before it engulfs the hunting hound.

"Hahahaha! Look SHARP!"

4. Bog Fox

[coffinturk]

"No."

The man in the red cloak appeara not to be put off by the horror of the sight, the diet, or that potentially indignant tone.

He seemed to pause momentarily as the speaking voice the fox emits seems as though it comes from a radio. But really he's witnessed stranger things. Here and back home.

Professional eyes momentarily turn to the remains, coolly assessing what it once was. Not a cucco at least. The former Turk would have immediately vacated the area.

But Alastor's meal does earn what might come across as advice.

"Don't get petrified."

The apathy in the man's tone indicates he can't be bothered to express much concern if that does happen.

But it is still probably good advice. Cockatrice is a meal that is probably bound to make the gourmet in question end up as a statue on any given bite.

[sugaronthecream]

"Never the eyes nor the lungs, I wager! No harm no fowl, hahahah!"

Yes, he did in fact just laugh at his own joke. As he cracked bone and pried open the ribcage further with his paws, Alastor eventually found his decadent prize, retrieving the liver and eating it with only a few eager bites.

"Heh. I rarely crave just one organ when it comes to meals."

02

[propatriamori]

The crackly sound of this newcomer's voice turns Edward's head. If he didn't know better, he'd say the man's voice was being transmitted through a radio.

"I'm afraid I don't." Edward pads over, figuring if he's been spoken to directly, the full drider body must not be too disturbing. "It may be a silly question, but you've found its keys, haven't you?"

[sugaronthecream]

What's to gawk at? Another demon? Evidently, Alastor has seen worse.

In response to the question, Alastor pulled a key from his pocket and twirled it on a claw.

"It certainly fits and turns the ignition, the engine just won't turn over."

[propatriamori]

That's refreshing, to be honest.

Edward thinks about it for a moment before moving around to the front of the car and popping the hood. He reaches in with all four hands and touches the engine block in various different places.

"I can try to sense where the disconnect is happening. Would you try and start it again, please?" Maybe he can use his spider vibrations to figure out where the engine is having issues.

[sugaronthecream]

"That's a good lad!" Alastor chuckled, swinging himself into the front seat and giving the key a turn, trying to turn the engine as it sputtered and failed to ignite.

[propatriamori]

Sure enough, the vibrations the engine sets up seem to get caught up and clogged in one specific area. Edward leaves one hand on it, and leans out around the hood.

"I believe I've found the issue. I can direct you towards it, but I'm unable to fix it myself." From this view, the scars on his face and his blank, blind eyes should be visible.

01

[undyingcrow]

Oh, what a sight. So striking. So eerie, like something out of a horror movie.

Akechi, in all his chimeric glory can't help but chuckle as Alastor departs the circle.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd almost assume you had practiced for your grand entrance."

Though the laughter could have been manic, really. It was loud enough to have drawn Akechi's attention, in part due to his sensitive hearing.

[sugaronthecream]

"One should always be ready to make a grand entrance!"

Alastor laughed, grinning broadly. He gave Akechi a glance up-and-down, but didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by his strange appearance.

"So! My good fellow - are you who summoned me?"

[undyingcrow]

"Regrettably not. You could say I was summoned as well." Still, the showman ship earned a laugh in return. "It's like clockwork. Every two months or so, we stumble upon another garage with more souls whisked away from their homes, all for the sake of 'finding Nirvana.'"

[sugaronthecream]

"Hah! Who in their right mind is collecting demons to seek an eastern concept of bliss? Horrible plan, terribly indiscriminate."

Alastor adjusted his monocle with amusement, sizing Akechi up and down. Confident, bird-and-beast-like... a Goetia? Hmmm, no, the eyes are wrong - still a Sinner, then?

[undyingcrow]

"Desperate fools, no doubt." A demon, though. The edges of his smirk sharpened; if nothing else, it explained Alastor's distinctly red appearance. "Not all among us are demonic. For some reason, our 'hosts' have a particular interest in ninja turtles, for instance, and there are those among us with more heroic dispositions."

2

[trust_us_with_your]

Oh, this was rich. It was enough that he'd set aside all of his plans for the afternoon and propped himself back, leaning a shoulder against any old handy structure.

There were some grease monkey types around, but there was the issue of Alastor's aura: Had to be the scariest motherfucker in the neighborhood at all times, or at least the creepiest. It really was a matter of 'local deer has nobody but himself to blame for everything'.

So, after allowing some level of fumbling from the others' part, Vox finally got caught up in a chuckle, pushing away from the wall.

"You're not gonna find a soul that'll kick that old pile of shit back to life... not out there, anyway."

[sugaronthecream]

"Ah-- you were summoned, too? Whomsoever is looking for help has got to be desperate to pull you," Alastor rolled his eyes, putting an elbow down on the headlight. "And I suppose you are enough of a rich snob to know how to do this sort of thing, but not how to cook for yourself?"

[trust_us_with_your]

"Please," he replied with a dismissive laugh, keeping the grin sharp. He just had to see what hunk of junk Alastor had the keys to, and while it's thematic, you can't really account for taste on this one.

"Maybe you were from the 30's and you didn't have options..." A knuckle knocked one side of the hood. "But you can't tell me that in seventy years, you didn't once see something cross your path that made you turn your head."

Also, microwaves exist, asshole. He eats fine.

[sugaronthecream]

"Hmmm... oh! I did go for that joyride in Husker's car. Mowed down about thirty Sinners! Hahahaha!"

[trust_us_with_your]

They let pets drive?

"So there is a chance for you. Color me shocked." His cords eased outward and made contact, giving the Radio Demon a nudge.

"Move it, fossil. You probably need tightened spark plugs or something equally simple." Let's get this open, peek under the skirt...

02

[cloudsenior]

Cloud had been busy closing up work on his motorcycle, having to replace the entire horn mechanism to get it to stop playing the chocobo song while he was driving, when it sounded like an old radio was trying to get his attention? He looked up, frowning as he looked around, before his eyes settled on Alastor.

"Did you say something?"

[sugaronthecream]

"Yes indeedy! Am I audible? On the air? Hellooooo~?" Alastor waved and called, beckoning Cloud closer. Yep. That radio-voice is definitely coming from this guy.

[cloudsenior]

...you know what? Still not the weirdest thing he's seen or heard in this place.

Cloud stood up from his bike, absently brushing dirt off his gloves as he approached. He glanced between Alastor and the radio truck, raising an eyebrow. A little on the nose, but this place was kind of just like that.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked, already looking for how to pop the hood of the engine bay.

[sugaronthecream]

"Engine won't turn over! Wager there's something with the power supply to the equipment in the back - though I was never much of a driver, myself. But the show must go on - gotta get this mobile radio station rolling!"

04

[solitarysoul]

The dog eared, dog-nosed and bull horned boy has his rifle half raised towards the fox when it speaks. Oh...that's a person, okay. He lowers the gun. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

He just meant to possibly take all the meat for himself but nevermind that.

[sugaronthecream]

If anything about this shift is Alastor's least favorite detail, it's the way having a full body fur coat projected obviously when you had an innate reaction to seeing something. And despite Alastor's ability to keep his smile on his face (maw?), all of the fur on his body stood on end seeing a rifle nearly raised and pointed at him.

Damn mutts. He didn't like them when they were hunting hounds, and he certainly grew no fonder when they were walking and talking.

"Such an uncouth greeting for a newly summoned guest! Makes quite a statement."

[solitarysoul]

Levi's new parts aren't quite as obvious, but he can understand that feeling. His ears are way too expensive.

"You can't be too careful here. There are all sorts of weird things out there that want to kill us for whatever reason. I really am sorry I thought you were one, though." He is, though its probably a mistake he'll make multiple times with new people who don't look mostly human at the time.