methuselah (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
singmod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
singillppl2024-04-06 07:44 pm
singmod) wrote in singillppl2024-04-06 07:44 pm
Entry tags:
April 2024 Test Drive Meme
APRIL 2024 TDM
PROMPT ONE — ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST: Yet another new group of arrivals find themselves lost in the frozen wilds and vulnerable to the dangers of nature. With luck, they make it to the town of Milton, and to a friendly face offering food, warmth and shelter — not to mention the fact they are not the first to come here.
PROMPT TWO — FROM FROTH-CORRUPTED LUNGS: The heavy fog plaguing the Northern Territories takes a far more deadly and sinister turn.
PROMPT THREE — SHARP CLAWS, YAWNING MAWS: Interlopers come face to face with another native animal to the Northern Territories stalking the rockier areas — and unfortunately, these feline beasts have also been warped by the Aurora.
ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST
WHEN: Mid-month.
WHERE: Milton, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential animal attacks, potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.
'You are the Interloper. You are not part of nature’s design.'
It’s the last thing you hear. A dark, deep voice. Impossibly ancient. You feel afraid. Maybe you’re dreaming, maybe you’re wide awake. You saw the lights, and then your world went dark. But you hear it in the blackness, you won’t forget those words.
You awaken. You are not where you were before. It’s different for everyone, there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern in where you find yourself. You may open your eyes to find yourself in a cold, dim and dank cabin. The air is stale, dust hangs in the rays of weak sunlight that shine through the tiny windows. Someone lived here once, but they aren’t to be found. You look around, it seems like no one has been here in several weeks, maybe longer. The fire is stone cold, the dishes in the sink are mouldy — it's possible the place has been ransacked, as if they've gone through the drawers and cupboards looking for something. It is quiet. The wood creaks around you. Or perhaps you may awaken to find yourself shivering in the yawning maw of a cave, the freezing stone below you. Or maybe you’re unfortunate enough to sit up to find yourself lying in the snow, in the middle of the wilderness. Snow lies thick around you. It’s freezing out. You haven’t felt a cold like this before in your entire life. Cruel and biting. You have no idea where you are, and what’s worse — you are completely alone.
You may feel different, too. Any powers or magics you may have feel... absent. Disconnected. Things that may not have affected you previously now do. Something in you has changed.
You know you can’t stay where you are. You’ll need to move, try to work out where you are and how you came to be here. So you walk, head out into the unknown, in hope of finding a trail or a road. Interlopers who arrive during the month of April will find themselves waking up in a world filled with freezing cold fog, cold enough that it will feel as if your skin is burning. A kind of cold that will not shake easily. It will be easy to get lost in the fog. Best hope there's someone out here that might come across you to help you find your way.
Soon enough, you'll be able to find a path to town. A little more worse for wear, but alive. It’s here you may find someone else in the same boat as yourself, equally freezing and confused — battered from the journey. You’ll both need to keep going. It won’t be easy. You hear howls of wolves around you, and the terrain is difficult: slips and falls are likely. You’re completely vulnerable out here in the open.
Or it’s possible you may come across someone else here. Someone who looks far better prepared to deal with the freezing cold and frozen landscape, out hunting or gathering. They’ll likely offer help and get you into town. However, for the unlucky ones who don’t come across anyone, you’ll carry on until you smell it through the fog: the scent of smoke that seems to cling in the still air. Fire. Not just one, but several perhaps. Civilization...?
Follow it, and soon enough the way you’ve taken will certainly become a path or road. Unfolding before you in the foggy mountainous forests, you’ll see the most welcome of sights, even if it may appear a little eerie in the half-light gloom: a small mining town tucked up in the valley. Battered, rusted road signs will direct to “MILTON, POP. 947”. You’re almost there, you keep going, and it looks like other people have had the same idea as you. In fact, you’ll hear the muffled sounds of life. People! In the town!
As you head into the outskirts and then further into town, you’ll find it’s a little easier to walk but the cold has gripped you hard. You’ll find the buildings, both shops and homes, some are dark and lifeless, some of them are boarded up, some of them are occupied. People are going about their business, or stood watching from their tiny porches of their small, timber homes. For a town this big, there doesn’t seem to be many people. Several dozen at most, but no more. Some of them will direct you to the Community Hall, tell you to head there — you've been expected.
Towards the center of town, you’ll find the building where many people seem to gather: a community hall, by the looks of it. You’ll find more and more people all drawn to this place, each and every one of them in the same position as yourself (and your companion, if you’ve found one). Some are in worse states than others: some are bloodied, nursing bite wounds or cuts; others might have some other kind of injury sustained in the journey here from falls. Everyone looks as though they could faint from the cold at any second, damp and shivering.
The door opens, and you’re greeted by the gnarled, wizened face of an elderly man, dressed in thick furs. He has a kind face, but looks sad. He smiles warmly despite the sadness in him, and with pity, ushering you in with haste.
“Another batch of poor souls from the wilds, this fog has made it so difficult.” he nods gravely. No, this is not the first time that this has happened. “I am Methuselah. I welcome you Newcomer, although I’m sorry for how you’ve come to find yourself here. The lights are changing things, bringing more of you here. Come, we must get you warm and fed. Mother Nature has not been kind.”
The room is dim, lit only by natural daylight through the windows. A roaring fire sits at one end of the huge hall. It crackles, bright and cheerful... and warm. Even as big as this place is, the room is pleasantly warm. You’ll also find basic cots set up down one side of the hall, and while it seems there's a few people already living here, there's enough space for those in need of them. There's places to rest for a moment and get your bearings, or just trying to recover from the cold. Down the other side are tables and chairs, and long tables laden with food, drinks and bottled water similar to one might find at a soup kitchen. Once again, Methuselah offers a feast, aided by some of the other Interlopers.
There are canisters with hot herbal teas and perhaps a rare canister of coffee, along with soup and stew and trays of charred deer and rabbit meats, plus some grilled fish, instant mashed potatoes, and tinned vegetables. It’s very basic, but it’s hot and filling. A feast. The old man has been busy. And Methuselah will continue to busy himself, still; there is plenty to do. He will fetch blankets, tend to wounds, serve food and drinks. He does not have much time to talk. More and more people seem to be coming in from the cold. He will not stop to sit and rest until everyone is seen to, taking up a place by the fire to gaze silently into its flames. He is very troubled, thoughtful. Much has been happening. The others from town will eventually trail in too, to eat and warm themselves, and search among the new faces.
He will encourage newcomers to get warm and eat, and when they are ready to — they can explore the town and find one of the many empty homes to call their own. He will not speak much, his mood is... low, mournful. But perhaps you might be able to get some answers from those fellow arrivals who’ve been in this place for some time now.
FROM FROTH-CORRUPTED LUNGS
WHEN: The month of April.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural/extreme weather; poisonous fog; potential respiratory/lung-related illness/injury; potential burn injuries; themes of peril
A thick fog has descended onto the Northern Territories as April comes, often difficult to navigate in and a kind of cloying damp that often brings a certain kind of wicked chill to Interlopers out travelling in it. The kind that sinks in one’s bones and takes too long to be chased away with heat and dry clothes. Sometimes, it feels almost suffocating, like it’s exhausting to be out in it — as if one might feel more like they’re underwater than on dry land, struggling to breathe if they’re out in it for too long.
It’s certainly a miserable affair for those in this world, the cold was bad enough without this.
And certainly, it can get even worse.
Maybe it’s a trick of the light, the strange thickness of the fog in the pale Spring light, but you notice in certain patches there’s… an almost green tint to the fog. You don’t have time to look at it for long. It descends upon you with a fluid steadiness, silent in its approach.
To touch the fog with bare skin, a hand, even the exposed face — you will be met with a sudden burning pain, far different to the biting cold pain of the rest of the fog. As soon as the green fog comes into contact with you, it slowly begins to burn at you — searing away at any flesh, a slow and terrible experience.
To breathe it in will be an even worse experience: it will feel as if one is slowly inhaling tiny fragments of glass, and each breath will be painful and suffocating. Coughing up blood is likely, and being out in it for too long will bring a slow, agonising death of suffocation.
Heading indoors is the best bet to ensure survival, with plugging up any doors and windows or drafty spaces to ensure the fog doesn’t seep inside. After that, it seems like the only thing you can do is wait it out. Hopefully you're stuck inside with a friendly face, and somewhere with a fire. Otherwise, it's going to be a bad time trapped inside waiting it out. The fog will eventually dissipate, and all that Interlopers will be able to see is the usual cold fog — but that could take hours of waiting.
Burns to the skin can be treated with typical medical care, and bathing the wounds will cleanse them of any lingering poison, but Interlopers should take care of signs of infection in the days afterwards. For those who suffer from inhalation of this green fog, Methuselah will direct them to Reishi mushrooms — known for their antibiotic healing properties and can be found in abundance in the world. Interlopers will find that breathing in the steam from boiling and steeping these mushrooms in water will soothe their lungs and help in the healing process.
SHARP CLAWS, YAWNING MAWS
WHEN: April, onwards.
WHERE: Milton wilds; Milton Mines (Lakeside Entrance) area; The Ravine area.
CONTENT WARNINGS: animal attacks, altered wildlife, gore, possible character injury/death, possible animal injury/death.
Certain kinds of wildcats are native to Canada and thus the Northern Territories. They are elusive animals, often keeping to themselves and have largely gone unseen by the Interlopers during their time here in this world. But the world is changing, and it has long been understood that wildlife has been altered due to the Aurora’s influence — particularly with wolves. Unfortunately, these solitary and evasive felines will not remain this way for long.
The wildcats tend to stick to the more mountainous areas of the Northern Territories: Milton’s outskirts being a primary example of this, but also the sheltered and rocky passage Interlopers must take if they are to travel through the mines and down the train tracks that lead into Lakeside. It is here in particular that they make their appearance with the recent footfall between the areas.
For newer Interlopers, it is a frightening sight. For some Interlopers who have been in this world for some time, it is an all too familiar sight to behold but no less terrifying. These beasts are warped by the Aurora and are far bigger and faster than any usual wildcat, with huge, hulking bodies, elongated fangs and unlike wolves: they can climb. Green, glowing smoke curls from their bodies and eyes, a kind of electrical current rippling over their coats with a strange shimmer. They lurk from above and wait for the opportune moment to strike — a far more silent and deadly attack than the wolf packs of last year. But if you’re paying attention, you might be able to spot them before they make their move.
These altered beasts will come no more than three at a time, but will usually attack alone. They will work with a frenzied determination to bring you down and make you their next meal. Cats, after all, are obligate carnivores. They will enjoy giving chase, and running will be the worst thing to do in dealing with them. It is best to stand your ground and try to fight back this way.
They are frightened of flames, and loud noises from gunfire or flares will keep them at a distance — but it’ll take a decent amount of ammunition to take them down, much like their canine counterparts Interlopers already encountered. Taking one down will be no small feat, but there will likely be the reward of a thick, warm pelt for those interested.
FAQs
1. Arrival threads can be treated as game canon.
2. Items characters have brought from home can be found either strewn around them when they awaken, or in the community hall — as if someone left them out for them to collect. Methuselah will not know how they got there, and will be quite bemused by the happenings.
3. Reminder that all characters are now depowered upon arrival. They can choose not to notice it at first, or can immediately sense something is different about them.
4. If asked any personal questions, Methuselah will smile and say "Oh, you don't want to know about an old man like me. But I have lived all over in these parts for all my life." He will be more concerned with trying to help Newcomers, and is genuinely concerned for them and their well-being. Other Interlopers will say much of the same — there's little to know about him.
5. More information about Milton can be found here.
1. Skin open to the elements is at the most risk of being burned, so it's best to wrap up/cover any bare skin. Covered skin would eventually burn if Interlopers spent enough time in the fog to have their clothes saturated by the damp.
2. Breathing in the fog is the most pressing issue for everyone as a whole. The green fog can affect Interlopers who don't breathe.
1. Bobcat, Canada Lynx, and Cougar are the three kinds of wildcat native to Canada. Due to the Aurora's influence, these wildcats are bigger, faster and stronger than typical wildcats — with Cougars being the largest of the three.
2. Killing them is difficult, but not impossible. Scaring them will be far easier to accomplish than killing them.
3. Wildcat activity will continue onwards from April, but will reduce with the Interlopers' efforts to fight them back.
4. Wildcat is technically edible. But not advised due to parasites. Characters are still welcome to harvest the wildcats they kill, however.
senku ishigami / dr. stone
[Senku awakens disoriented, confused, and cold, all of which are alarming but none so much as the last. The season has changed, but he doesn't know how. Senku Ishigami does not lose time, he'd counted the damn seconds for 3,700 years of petrification! And then there's the voice at the back of his mind, you are the Interloper. It couldn't be the Why-Man, who spoke in a synthetic voice when he (it?) spoke at all. So then...who? What happened to him? Where are the others?
Questions he doesn't really have time to waste dwelling on, he chides himself. It feels like winter, the worst-case scenario he'd counted all those seconds to avoid while he was in stone, but there's nothing for it now. If he wants a chance at surviving he needs to make a fire before he can even deal with a way out of the fog. Which means...searching for wood that isn't too wet to make a bow drill out of, and digging for dry ground to light it in, and hoping not to freeze to death in the process. Not that he hasn't dealt with similarly hopeless scenarios over the last few years, but it's certainly not a comforting notion, and he's on his own again, too.
By the time he accomplishes fire, he's shivering aggressively, teeth chattering as he sits as close as he can to the heat as he can without burning himself. This is off to a terrible start, but he can't give up. After all Byakuya went through to make sure future humanity might have a chance, the Hundred Tales, the platinum, he has to survive.]
J-just...need to think. The fog m-means a sextant's out, and the odds of just f-finding a naturally occurring lodestone are slim at best.
[He rubs at his arms. Come on, stay focused, Ishigami.]
The Vikings ... were s-said to have used a sunstone to navigate in the fog, and m-modern experiments confirmed calcite would work. I c-c-could look for some if there's a...riverbank nearby, but I don't have long before the hypothermia really sets in...shit. This...ten billion percent...sucks.
[Or...he could look up and ask directions from whoever just happened across him. Give him a moment, here. The cold's affecting him enough that he's thinking out loud to stay focused, which means he hasn't quite heard the approach of footsteps.]
ii. froth-corrupted lungs
[Once he's settled into town and recovered himself from the initial strain of arrival, he throws himself into what he's best at -- using science to tackle the most pressing immediate issues. Don't mind him out here gathering a whole mess of leaves and branches into a mound. If someone passes by looking curious about what he's doing, he'll explain:]
I don't like the idea of just avoiding the green fog and hoping it just goes away on its own. We don't know what's causing it, so it's better to take precautions now before it has a chance to get worse and people get trapped out in it.
[Lighting said mound, he continues:]
We can make a gas mask out of leather and activated charcoal, which can trap whatever toxic particles are in that fog so we can breathe safely. I think anyone going out there for supplies should keep one just in case, and this way we can have an option to try to trace where it's coming from or even get a sample of it.
ii
Ashiya kept such sentiments quiet, and instead focused on two things that were more immediately important: 1) building an adjacent fire for warmth, over which he hoped to brew some tea, and 2) just breathing.
His lungs still shuddered with every breath, but the immediacy of the pain was gone unless the dry, rattling cough that intermittently stalled him pulled all of the air from his lungs and left him both light headed and seeing stars.
This was nothing. At least, nothing worthy of a hospital.]
That's a very... pragmatic idea.
[He said simply, emptying a bottle of water into a simple metal kettle he had found in the disrepair of Milton's shops. The kettle was carefully arranged over the budding fire that he had sparked in the small stack of logs, and Ashiya quickly pulled a pair of enamel cups and a sachet of tea for each.]
It would have been nice to know about this problem sooner, for I would have at least worn a scarf over my face.
no subject
[There's only so much you can prepare in advance for this kind of thing, really. It comes down to luck that some people have already been affected, as Ashiya clearly has. Senku frowns over his little makeshift charcoal kiln, but there's nothing more he can do while they wait, so:]
Have you gotten treatment yet?
[He better not be finding out you're being a hero about this, Ashiya. Those mushrooms will help and it'd be stupid not to use them.]
no subject
I'm not sure how the mushrooms are supposed to assist with this matter.
[He admitted, frowning. While he didn't mind being a Patient 0 in this matter, there were more pressing, pragmatic factors to consider.]
I did submit to one treatment. Since there are likely others who will fare worse than I, it didn't seem wise to use too many of our limited resources.
[Translation: He's absolutely being a hero, but only because he's so fucking stingy.]
no subject
[Careful, Ashiya, or you'll risk another Science Lecture like the linguistics one. He already looks excited to talk about this.]
Hell, aspirin was discovered looking for a way to boost the effectiveness of the salicylic acid in salves and teas made from willow bark.
[Let it not be said that Senku's one to be distracted, though, because he does not engage in said nerd rant. Instead:]
Anyway, it's not like they'll go to waste. After boiling them for the steam, they're edible, and mushrooms are a lot easier to come by around here than meat or anything else.
[There's a beat as he debates whether or not this might be enough to convince Ashiya, before he adds:]
Besides, if you really wanna make sure you don't use up too many resources, the last thing you wanna do is leave yourself weakened and vulnerable to infection. You know it takes at least six months of labor and material gathering just to make an antibiotic for pneumonia, enough for one person? And that's best case scenario, assuming it doesn't spread during the process, while we're all in close quarters because of the cold.
no subject
The pronouncement about willows arms salicylic acid earned a pleasantly confused look from over the scarf he was pressing against his mouth and nose to protect from the cold. Senky, as always, made valid points.]
An inhalation injury is hardly pneumonia, Senku.
[He said after a moment-- not even considering that he was the man who ended up in the hospital for food poisoning because it was rude not to eat gifted noodles even though in hindsight they were the cause.]
I'm sure I'll be fine. A little fresh air is good, too.
no subject
[Senku doesn't even raise an eyebrow, but it's clear how unimpressed he is just from his expression.]
Wrong. Inflammation from coming into contact with a corrosive substance like you did weakens various aspects of the immune response, and makes you more susceptible to infection. There's been tons of research done on the subject.
[He shakes his head, a faint sense of impatience across his features.]
The longer you put it off, the more you're putting yourself and everyone else at risk
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
i. arrival
The first sign of his presence may be only when he folds his arms across his chest and leans against a tree, as casually as he would post himself at a wrought iron gate in the city. ]
no subject
But no, it's...a person. Someone who he doesn't recognize, even, with no apparent petrification scars. It's strange. His curiosity can wait, though. The person doesn't seem to be carrying any significant amount of gear that would indicate a long expedition. So that must mean there is some kind of civilization nearby, and Senku can figure out his next move from there.
Still, he'll be cautious. Strangers he's come across since his awakening in the stone world have not necessarily always been friendly.]
Hey. You came from a town, right? Can you tell me how far away it is?
[He's still shivering and looking generally pathetic, which Gen would probably say would make him a prime target to take advantage of, but the plus side here is even if that happens, any kind of arrangement he might get stuck in out of desperation is still better than freezing to death out here in the snow.]
no subject
Not far. But swifter with a guide.
[ He could prey on the hapless wanderers that trickle into the township, if he wished. There are many occasions where he contemplates it. How easy it would be, to vanish a person no other has yet met, their coming and going in the world leaving it unrippled.
He has not yet decided if this will be the night he acts. The whim may strike him, or it may not. A belly full of deer's blood curbs only the crudest edge of his hunger. ]
Although perhaps I underestimate your experience as a woodsman?
no subject
Let's just be upfront, here. I've got nothing of value on me worth stealing, and if you walk away now, I'm probably going to die. But I'm a useful guy to collect a favor from, someday. Up to you if you wanna find out how useful.
no subject
I don't blame you for your suspicions, but I assure you, they are misplaced. Your goods and your person are quite safe with me.
[ He gestures at himself, offering up a reassuring smile, one bright and affable enough that any implicit strangeness of earlier might seem nothing more than a trick of cold and lightlessness. ]
My name is Lestat de Lioncourt. I am, like you, stranded in this place. And I have no intention of leaving you to die. I was merely impressed by your ingenuity, conjuring a fire on your first night - I thought you perhaps might not be in need of saving.
no subject
Making a fire is the easy part. Without a shelter or proper winter clothes, I'd definitely be a popsicle by morning.
[He's in the early stages of hypothermia as it is. The fire will only prolong the inevitable if he remains.]
I'm Senku Ishigami. Any help you could give me getting into town would be great, Lestat.
(no subject)
i.
The snatches of conversation that she manages to pick up as she approaches have her even more intrigued. These days she only ever hears the word 'Viking' in reference to herself, and it fills her with both a sort of wild hope and deep trepidation to imagine there is someone else here like her.
It's not difficult to imagine her surprise as she makes it close enough to the fire to see a very strange-looking young man by himself.
Quietly, trying not to startle him:] Hello. Do you need help?
no subject
Once the relief has a moment to settle in, though, he finds himself puzzled by the state of affairs all over again. She is not someone he knows from the village, nor does she wear the clothes that the people of Treasure Island had. Nor can she be someone freshly awakened from his own time period, considering the apparent lack of petrification scars. None of this adds up.]
...Yeah. I don't know where I am, or where the nearest town is. Does 'Ishigami Village' or 'Japan' mean anything to you? Or the 'Hundred Tales'?
no subject
no subject
Canada?
[That's. That's all the way across the entire world. Ironically, not even that far from his original intended destination, but he hadn't actually set sail yet. He lets out a low whistle.]
Hell of a long-distance kidnapping, if that's what this is. One question, when you say you were brought against your will, do you actually remember being brought, because I sure don't.
[He is especially cranky on that point in particular.]
no subject
no subject
[????
Howmst the heck does a phenomenon involving solar wind disturbing the magnetosphere cause multiple individuals to be displaced across the gods damned globe. He's fascinated, actually. This is exhilarating.]
(no subject)
( ii )
this plan seemed sound. he gropes for his prescience, but it slips out of reach. ]
Activated charcoal?
no subject
[He grins excitedly. Explaining the science behind how something works is his favorite.]
So when you use it as a filter something like a gas mask, the toxic molecules stick to the surface of the charcoal and the air you breathe in is clean.
no subject
And what are the chances of finding it?
I wouldn't be surprised if the locals already have a mask in place.
no subject
[He shakes his head.]
The locals mostly seem to be sticking to staying inside. Which works fine enough for now, but if the fog gets worse, that might not be feasible longterm. It's always good to have a backup plan.
no subject
[ for them to be quiet and ubiquitous is . . . unnerving. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
i
He doesn't recognize Senku either. A new person, likely. Especially given what the other seems to be rambling about. It's even more likely that he hasn't even managed to find town yet, if he's acting like he's going to have to survive out here. ]
.. I believe it would be more simple for me to lead you to town. [ He points out - a touch dry, but his tone is mostly just very neutral. Billy knows how to keep up a polite face, and it's not really like he blames the other for not figuring out there's civilisation nearby. He didn't know either, back when he first arrived. ] Before you freeze out here.