march 2020. welcome to the void.

[modblob]

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Seventh Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of March 2020
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. escape the dome.

It seems the mysterious, massive plant with its giant bud is not going anywhere. In fact, the bud is starting to bloom, which presents a problem - it's starting to press against the dome that protects Anchor. So far, no harm done, but is this really the best way to test the kind of pressure that the dome can withstand? There's got to be some way to bring the plant down without destroying chunks of Anchor in the process...

And uh, you might want to get on that. The plant has been growing, sending out thorny vines into the various levels, and the flowers growing from those vines are, shall we say, aggressive. In fact, they're liable to bite if you get too close, and these things have razor-sharp petals. More eerily, they can mimic the voices they hear, usually using those borrowed voices to beg for help at the end of long corridors or in the back rooms of abandoned shops and restaurants.

b. planetary fly traps.

Following the voices can get a body in all kinds of trouble, because, well. They want to eat you.

In those dark areas where the voices call out there are larger buds, too, ones that look similar to the one now pressing up against Anchor's dome. They're about twice the size of an average human, and they've just barely opened. The colors inside are brilliant, gorgeous, mesmerizing, kind of exhausting... Get too close, and you could find yourself being slowly dragged in through the mouth of the plant into a bath of liquid that saps your energy while also slowly (very slowly, don't worry) consuming your flesh.

Better hope you snap out of it quickly, or have some backup to get you out of there.

c. misfire mayhem.

In case that wasn't enough, there's something funny going on with the comm system again. Texts being sent to the wrong people. Simple things, small things, yes, but also some things that you might have wanted to keep private or off the network. The misfires start on the morning of the 20th with just a few texts going to the wrong recipients, but slowly amps up throughout the day until voice and video calls are connecting to the wrong people. Recordings of conversations, including the audio and video ones, getting sent to completely unrelated residents, regardless of how private the conversation was.

The reason for the malfunctions becomes... well, clear-ish when Creepy Joe appears on the network. He’s in the agricultural sector, petting a reindire and very much not in that secure quarantine where Qubit et all left him. The angle is odd--not from a communicator, but from one of the security cameras overhead. It blinks from one shot of Joe to another angle. Almost like someone is trying to keep an eye on him.

mod notes.

Misfire texts, voice, and video conversations are on an opt-in basis, it is up to each player if they want their characters tormented with their messages being sent to others or receiving misfires. Misfires can be played on this log, on the network, or in IC inboxes.

The NPC network entry will explain some details on why, but characters who were kind to Creepy Joe or who have put in a lot of effort to contribute to the community will find that their messages are getting misfired much less often and the contents are nowhere near as sensitive. Characters who were cruel to Creepy Joe or who have hurt/stolen from others will find their messages going astray more often, and with more sensitive material.

Messages received by characters can include any message posted in redshiftrp or in IC inboxes, including messages from dropped characters. Have fun with that!

Important but Unrelated: March and April have been designated as check in only for AC. If you have not yet posted your AC, feel free to just put a check-in notice under your character's AC thread. April check-ins can be posted any time on or after April 1st.

Navigation.

Comments

[borntohurt]

[ It is very much bullshit, thank you for catching on so quickly!

Again the wolf tugs, straining to pull him back further, but a moment later and there's movement. Slithering vines creeping out of the darkness and reaching for both of them. In response, the wolf lets go and snarls at the limbs of this strange, green-smelling foe, before snapping at one that strays a little too close. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ Next time, maybe just listen to the wolves.

The vines are at least familiar enough and Arthur instantly shoots at one of them while he takes several steps back. ]

Come on!

[ Time to get the hell out. ]

[borntohurt]

[ It's long been past time, but thankfully Arthur seems to realize that now. That's a relief, at least. The wolf snaps again, seizing hold of one of the vines as it nearly winds around Athur's leg, shaking it viciously and sending shredded plant pulp all over the place. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ Listen. He had to make sure.

But now he's high-tailing it out of there, and he's not about to stop right outside the store either. He doesn't have anything to use to set fire to the thing, so he'd like to put a good distance between himself and the damn vines. ]

[borntohurt]

[ Upon seeing Arthur's retreating back, the wolf moves to join him, picking up the pace as it gallops after him. Long -- perhaps too long -- muscled legs move in perfect rhythm as he quickly catches up to the rugged outlaw, and only then does he slow.

He's matching pace. Staying at his side, making sure he gets away from this place and back to what the wolf has claimed as its den. Where else would Pack retreat to? ]

[towhatmatters]

[ Once he's looked back a few times and see no vines at his heels, he slows down to a walk, panting for breath as he tries to make sense of the situation. So Charles was never in that room? Was the plant actually talking? Using someone else's voice? What the hell is wrong with this place?

He still needs to make sure Charles is okay. So while it's not guaranteed Charles will be there, he starts making his way to his room. ]

[borntohurt]

[ Charles had, of course, told Arthur where to find him if he ever needed him. The thing he'd neglected to tell him was that sometimes he wasn't there. Sometimes, if Arthur was looking for Charles the person? He'd be nowhere to be found.

There's a kind of irony in it, going to the dorm room shared by Charles, his lover, and his friends, to look for him. While Charles himself lopes alongside Arthur every step of the way, slowing only once they've reached the door.

One paw lifts to scratch at it, before turning those big gold eyes to Arthur expectantly. Make with the thumbs, already. ]

[towhatmatters]

Yeah, yeah, calm down.

[ He ruffles the fur on top of the wolf's head before he gets the door open. Slowly, to give anyone who might be in there a warning in case there's something they don't want him to see. ]

Charles?

[borntohurt]

[ This is promptly followed by the wolf nosing the door open further, and without waiting he strides in to the welcoming aroma of the familiar. He pads over towards the beds, sniffing each in turn, but it appears that no one else is there for the time before.

That's less than comforting. Maybe he should go look, bring them back. A thin noise escapes the wolf's throat before looping back around towards Arthur.

Slowly, that big bushy black tail sways, back and forth. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ He raises an eyebrow as the wolf invites itself in. Since there's no response, he assumes it's empty, but waits until he can see as much before he actually walks inside. ]

Great. Can't track him easily either.

[ Is he going to have to try to contact Charles with this fancy telephone? ]

[borntohurt]

[ There's an answering cock of the wolf's head, regarding him curiously for a moment. Understanding speech like this is...difficult. Far easier to interpret the tone, and he recognizes the frustration.

Yes. This is very frustrating. No one is here except them. The people these smells belong to aren't here, and they should be.

With a grumble, the wolf circles and drops down to the floor, turning its head to lick at a wound from one of the thorny vines across his hindquarters. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ With a sigh, he sits down against the wall, next to the wolf, and takes out the communicator. Surely, he can remember how to use this? Sure, he's not gone to school, but he's not a complete idiot.

It only takes him a minute or so, and he doesn't even get that annoyed with it. When the call doesn't go through, however, he makes a frustrated sound before leaving a message. ]

Charles? Where are you? Get back to me.

[ Then he puts the communicator away with a heavy sigh. ]

[borntohurt]

[ Of course, the communicator itself was sitting beneath the pillow in Charles's bed, of absolutely no use to anyone. But Arthur didn't know that, in fairness. He was still trying his best to adapt to the new state of things.

And soon he'd have one more new, unusual thing to process.

A soft whine left the throat of the giant creature on the floor, before he put his head down on his paws, eyes darting towards the door. The room shouldn't be this empty. He knows that. And he can't unknow, can't think of anything else, and despite the danger part of him wants to run back out there and search. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ The way the wolf keeps looking at the doorway, it seems like it's worried about the exact same thing Arthur is. Does it belong to someone who lives here? ]

Hey.

[ He reaches out to gentle stroke the wolf's head. ]

I'm sure it's fine.

[borntohurt]

[ Arthur's hand seems so small against that massive, furry head. But the wolf rumbles again, nudging its head into Arthur's side, acting for all the world like Arthur was just another, smaller, somewhat less-furry wolf.

Those big gold eyes lift, starting up at him as it huffs, with a force that ruffles its fur along the whole of its body. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ He huffs too, but a lot quieter and softer. ]

Yeah.

[ Like he even knows why the wolf did. Like it's actually talking to him. He's not sure it has any idea that he's waiting for something, but it truly does seem ... dejected or sad, if nothing else. ]

[borntohurt]

[ For a time, it just lies there, the comfort of a warm hand on its head enough to keep it in place, next to one of the few people it knows by scent. It is perhaps the most familiar scent he has, one he's followed across plains and forests and swamps...

You're a hard man to find, Arthur. Been tracking you for days, and Dutch was worried.

After a while, the wolf twitches. Soft and shuddering at first, like it's having a bad dream, but then something shifts. Under fur and flesh, the pop of bone rearranging itself. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ The more time passes without any response from Charles, the more anxious Arthur gets. The soft fur under his hand does something to keep it at bay, but he's just about ready to leave and go looking when the wolf moves.

And then there are a lot of noises that sound ... unpleasant and not unlike bones breaking or joints dislocating. He lifts his hand, staring at the wolf for a moment or two before he decides he doesn't really want to be near this. Not quite sure what's happening, exactly, but he gets onto his feet nonetheless, taking a few unsteady and uncertain steps back. ]

What the ...?

[borntohurt]

[ The wolf thrashes for a moment on the ground, attempting to shuffle forward towards the bed it knows -- Charles's bed -- before clambering up into the sheets with a whine. Something cracks down its spine like a whip, and it rolls onto its side, tangling the sheets hopelessly around its shifting limbs as it does so...

And then.

Then, the shape seems less...furry. Or at least there are deep bronze shoulders peeking out from under the long, shaggy length of black...hair. Not fur. Moments later there's a human groan, and a hand rubbing at a face hidden.

But from the back? The figure should still be obvious, still tangled in the sheets. ]

[towhatmatters]

[ It seems to be in great pain, and Arthur very nearly returns to it to try and figure out why that is.

Except then it's decidedly not a wolf, and the thick hair and the shape of the man's back and the groan are all decidedly familiar. However, that only serves to make the situation even more confusing, and Arthur stares for several moments, trying to wrap his head around it and ... He could have sworn he met an honest to God vampire in Saint Denis, and the supposed wolf man in Roanoke was unsettling but he couldn't get a good look at him. Just--

How many things in this world - this universe - does he not know about? It's never bothered him much before, but now it feels like he's reeling from it.

But that is Charles. Has to be. ]

Guess that explains why I couldn't reach you.

[ He says it blankly, dryly, and very quietly. Is this really happening? ]

[borntohurt]

[ His senses are swimming. They always are, after transforming back. It'll never be an easy process, but a necessary one...when he couldn't be enough of a force as a man, the wolf could easily take his place. Take more damage, deal more out in turn.

But there's this moment where he settles back into his own skin, feeling the burn of the effort down to his marrow. Then he hears that voice, soft with disbelief, and his head snaps upwards. Dark eyes fix on Arthur, right there and--

Oh no.

For a moment he tries to fumble for an explanation, but all he manages through the haze is a quiet reply. ]

...yeah.

[towhatmatters]

[ As soon as Charles's eyes meet his, any doubt he might have had left flies right out the window.

Werewolf? Seriously? How? Since when?

Not that they knew each other for very long. Sometimes he forgets. At the end, it felt like he knew Charles far better than he knew Bill, Javier ... Dutch. So why would Charles have told him about this? Told anyone? When the colour of his skin was enough.

After another few seconds of his mind reeling, he takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face. ]

Glad you're not in trouble.

[ He'd been worried. Kept wondering what if the voice he'd heard truly was Charles. What if he'd just abandoned him there? Unwittingly? He's not sure how he could stand to lose yet another brother. ]

[borntohurt]

Dunno about that.

[ He almost sounds sheepish, almost. One hand sweeps his hair out of his face as he looks around blearily. ]

Um. Should be some pants...

[ Otherwise he'll just stay. Here. In the sheets. That's fine, also. For Arthur's sake. Giving the man a thorough look says he's already processing enough as it is. ]

[towhatmatters]

Where?

[ Not about to leave Charles sitting naked in bed for no reason. And, anyway, they need to have a talk and, well.

Charles might as well have some pants on. ]

[borntohurt]

Jacob's hidden them everywhere, it seems like.

[ Rubbing at his face, he points towards a nearby seat. There's probably a set somewhere in that direction, or nearby, or in dressers or...well he's found a way to stash them just about anywhere Charles might run the risk of transforming back without a stitch on him.

Of course, this sort of thing couldn't be a convenient, painless sort of transformation that was entirely useful and not at all disruptive. More curse than blessing, on most days. ]