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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.
no subject
That is really big.
[Spoken like a true expert.]
Well- I'm from a place called Remnant. It's not much like this place at all- For one your moon is one piece. We could talk about trading if you want- Some might say ours is broken, but it's got a lot of character.
[She realizes she's rambling here but she is trying to lighten the mood.]
Basically what I'm saying is I'm from a whole different planet. But I've done a little bit of world hopping before.
[OOC: There is a Justice League and RWBY cross over that I play Ruby as canon compliant with. It's nothing super major but she has met Batman before. If you want I can have her not reference though!]
no subject
once he's up, he looks significantly less like a drowned rat than he had earlier. his shoulders straighten, pulling himself up to his full height and holding himself like the big, terrifying monster he's worked damn hard on creating over the last several years. his hood's fucked, but his hood wasn't what made him red hood. )
You're not the only one. Granted, I've generally landed on a Earth.
( ooc: jason's familiar with the multiverse, and he's met a few alternate versions of the justice league before. i'm good with playing with her knowing them. )
no subject
[Ruby for her part doesn't exactly stiffen when he pull himself up to his full height, but she let's the goofy rambling slip away into something a little more casual. She didn't want to disrespect the image he was maintaining, but she didn't want to come across as afraid either.
She certainly wasn't out here to make an enemy today. She does smile a little when he says that.]
Good to know! It's my second time landing on an Earth. The other time it was in a place called the Ever After.
So far we've got no idea how to get back to where we came from.
no subject
( it's more habit than anything else. and it doesn't help that he feels like shit right now - physically exhausted, more than a little beat, cold, even if jason's not bitching about it. a gloved hand raises to shove fingers through the hair just above his forehead, combing it back as he listens. stranded in canada, no clear way out, it's fucking freezing, but she seems less bothered by it than he would expect most people to be. good.
he'd rather be stuck with people who have an idea of what they're doing than people who don't. jason bends down with a barely noticeable wince, to grab onto the broken hood-pieces. )
An Earth called the Ever After?
( it could be idle chatter; keeping the conversation going without much thought. or it could be jason digging to see what information he can get out of her without being obvious that's what he's trying to go for. )
no subject
Yeah. Well there was a storybook that was pretty famous in my world called "The Girl Who Fell Through the World." It was about a troublemaker who fell into a strange and bizarre world and had to find her way home.
Turns out it was a mostly true story, and that place was the Ever After.
[Once she's gathered up what pieces she can, she'll hand them to Jason.]
I can tell you more about it if you like. But- We should get a move on toward town while we're at it.
no subject
Lead the way, kid. ( she knows where she's going. he could figure it out without too much trouble, but he figures--if she knows where it is, he may as well get her to show him.
or if she's leading him into a trap, he'll at least likely be able to figure it out before they get too close. )
It's not a title I'm familiar with.
no subject
Once they get up she'll give a little mock salute.]
On it. It's not exactly much, but it's what we've got.
[And she sets off. There's some signs of chimney smoke up ahead, so wherever they're heading isn't too far off.
She gives a little shrug at his answer.]
It's probably more of a Remnant thing than an Earth thing then. I don't recognize half the stories here either.
And it only ended up being partially true either way. The Ever After was real, there was a girl wound up there. But she never actually made it back home in the end. She had a brother who had actually fallen down with her. The fairy tale we got was more what he had wished had happened compared to what actually happened.
no subject
( remnant is obviously a word he's familiar with, but not in the context she's using it. she starts in the direction of the chimney smoke, and jason stays about a step and a half behind her, watching over her shoulder for any unexpected movement while also keeping an ear out for anything behind them.
at the very least: he didn't wake up tied to a chair with some asshat trying to pull information out of him this time. on the other hand: he's missing most his knives, his guns, his phone(s), and various other toys which is pissing him off, especially given how damn cold it is. cold, a distinct lack of sharp and pointy things to throw at people, stuck in canada. he doubts she's harmless, given her reaction to him threatening her, but given she's not swinging at him, he's inclined to lower his guard a little. and the more he does, the more pissed he gets at - everything. his mouth twists into a scowl, eyes focused out into the trees. )
Where'd you come from originally? Remnant? Moon in multiple pieces?
no subject
[The way Jason kept his distance kind of reminded Ruby of her Uncle Qrow. At the same time she didn't exactly blame him for being wary. Waking up in a strange place like this was pretty annoying, and she didn't exactly have all the answers either.
Still- The least she could was try to earn some trust here.]
Yeah! Uh- I would say it's not too far from your world. I'd compare this place to Atlas- It was one of the four kingdoms there. Cool city floating in the sky- super cold and snowy.
[At least there was a kingdom in the sky until it fell. But- She'd rather not talk about that right now.]
I was from somewhere a little warmer. An island called Patch, it was just off the coast of a larger city. My hometown wasn't much bigger than the place I'm taking you right now.
[And then she rubs at the back of her head.]
The moon is a bit of a long story. But something thousands of years ago crashed into it. So there's a bunch of big chunks of it you can see floating in the sky around it.
no subject
( granted, different planet, likely different gravitational pull, but you know what they say about the moon and all.
it does sound like shit that's likely safe to drop. the information isn't bad to have, but he can't see where it'd be useful. multiversal travel's not new, not for him or her. what they should be focusing on is what's happening here. in canada. )
How's 'town' here?
no subject
A lot of the ancient history of my world has been kept under wraps for a long time.
[Mostly on purpose. Ruby had somehow stumbled into being a new expert on it. Which she certainly didn't look like.
Still she's just as happy to switch gears here.]
So town's called Milton. It's pretty small. Maybe sixty to eighty people tops. We don't have electricity. Pretty much everyone is someone who has been dragged to this place except for one guy, who doesn't like to give a lot of answers. Sometime before we showed all the original people in town died. Super motivating.
And there's a weird monster that comes by every once in awhile to do some murders. We have no idea how to stop it and it's killed four people so far.
[All of this information is explained in a very cheerful, but matter of fact sort of way.]
no subject
( the sarcasm is strong with this one. he's a little less worried about the monster itself than how everyone died in milton aside from the one guy. no electricity is an inconvenience, but one he's fine murking through. jason's done it before on more than one occasion. the one guy who remains has to know something; if he doesn't like giving answers, jason knows how to get answers out of people.
if he wants to sour his reputation before he even gets settled. but given how small the town is, it'd be less than ideal. considering they're all outsiders aside from the guy, he's not too sure it'd go over that badly. sometimes you just gotta torture a guy for information, this is normal. )
How popular's the one guy who isn't an outsider?
no subject
[Creatures bent on destroying the world is something Ruby is more familiar with, and she's just as used to being stumped on how to actually stop them.]
Well- He's looks like he's doing his best. He feeds and gives us the best lay of the land that he can. I'd say that gives him points in my book, but I get why other people might not be a fan.
There are some other people out beyond the mines too. Only one of them has been friendly so far. The rest were huge jerks and shot at me and a friend when we tried to approach.
no subject
( paranoia 101: everyone is the enemy until proven otherwise, this girl included. though thus far, she's proven to be a handy source of information, wasn't scared by jason and his knife (granted, jason wouldn't be afraid of jason right now either), and is leading him off to somewhere that's supposed to be safeish (maybe it isn't, maybe it's a trap, but he's willing to take that risk) so she's got points going in her favor. )
Anyone try nabbing one of the mine folks for questioning yet?
no subject
[Ruby had the opposite problem. She did her best to see the best in people and that had come back to bite her in butt more than a couple times. But she wasn't looking to just give up on people either.
Plus, Jason had a cool knife. And the old men fed her every once in awhile. So they were both cool in her books.
Her expression shifts to a bit more of a frown when he asks the next question.]
I made an attempt with a friend the other month. They opened fire and we were lucky to get out with one bullet wound a piece.
They're fortified pretty well and we don't have the gear for more aggressive negotiations at the moment.