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redshiftlogs2020-11-01 09:02 pm
modblob) wrote in redshiftlogs2020-11-01 09:02 pm
Entry tags:
november 2020. welcome to the void.
Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Monthly Mingle
When: The Month of November 2020
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.
What: Monthly Mingle
When: The Month of November 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.
[Announcement: Hello! One of the writing/NPC mods here. I pilot Creepy Joe and in the last nine months my life imploded, and then did it again, and then again, and you get the idea (not even bc of COVID! Lucky me.). But things have finally stabilized and I have the brainspace to actually mod again, so Joe will be around reliably and will even start responding to character posts. There are a couple of people I owe interactions to, and I’ll be reaching out to them over the next couple of days via Joe’s account so we can either set up threads or talk through what happened. If you want him to hit up your post or toplevel, please let me know under the “mod questions” section at the top of the comments page. It will be on a first-come, first-served basis, as I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew when I’m only just stepping back onto the mod team. All this to say, I’m really glad to be back, and I’m really glad I get to toss my creepy nutjob at all of you again!]
[Announcement: Hello! One of the writing/NPC mods here. I pilot Creepy Joe and in the last nine months my life imploded, and then did it again, and then again, and you get the idea (not even bc of COVID! Lucky me.). But things have finally stabilized and I have the brainspace to actually mod again, so Joe will be around reliably and will even start responding to character posts. There are a couple of people I owe interactions to, and I’ll be reaching out to them over the next couple of days via Joe’s account so we can either set up threads or talk through what happened. If you want him to hit up your post or toplevel, please let me know under the “mod questions” section at the top of the comments page. It will be on a first-come, first-served basis, as I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew when I’m only just stepping back onto the mod team. All this to say, I’m really glad to be back, and I’m really glad I get to toss my creepy nutjob at all of you again!]
a. colony 2.
It takes a while, but by a combination of destruction, manipulation, and reasonable discussion, you all are able to smash your way through the tunnel and...up to another bulkhead door. It's cracked open at the bottom, enough for smaller people to squish through. Definitely enough for some of the remaining golems to get their limbs under and lift.
Once the combination of golem and Anchorite efforts have forced the doors open, the Anchorites are faced with...another hall. This one slopes upward and is lit by intermittently sparking lamps between spans of darkness. The sparks cracking overhead are the only sound.
At the end of the hall is another door, this one only half-shut, with plenty of room to get through. It's scarred with claw marks, burns, and ripped-up metal, inside and out. It's impossible to tell if someone was trying to get in or escape. Maybe both.
The space beyond is vast. It's clearly a set-up not entirely unlike Anchor, though there's no dome overhead, just a solid metal shield. The bleak roof is lit by powerful flood lights that are certainly not lacking in the energy to run smoothly and consistently. The rest of the space, however, has spotty, emergency lights here, jury-rigged illumination there. Crystals under lingering magical spells. Electric lanterns that are starting to fade. By this thin light, it's possible to see the stretches of broken plexiglass that served to keep each level separated from the open air between them. No luxury suites here. The med bay is utilitarian and barely stocked, but not at all dusty. The space that serves as a park in Anchor is a mass of dead or half-dead vegetation, most of it weeds arranged in rows that imply some kind of long-abandoned farming.
Level by level, this place is like Anchor's evil twin. The halls are narrower, the entertainment areas almost non-existant. It looks much more like a military installation than a place meant for people to live and thrive. There are hydroponic gardens that still seem to be in use. A farming area with a few gun-shy cow-like creatures that bolt at a stranger's approach.
This place might be desolate, but it isn't empty.
Once the combination of golem and Anchorite efforts have forced the doors open, the Anchorites are faced with...another hall. This one slopes upward and is lit by intermittently sparking lamps between spans of darkness. The sparks cracking overhead are the only sound.
At the end of the hall is another door, this one only half-shut, with plenty of room to get through. It's scarred with claw marks, burns, and ripped-up metal, inside and out. It's impossible to tell if someone was trying to get in or escape. Maybe both.
The space beyond is vast. It's clearly a set-up not entirely unlike Anchor, though there's no dome overhead, just a solid metal shield. The bleak roof is lit by powerful flood lights that are certainly not lacking in the energy to run smoothly and consistently. The rest of the space, however, has spotty, emergency lights here, jury-rigged illumination there. Crystals under lingering magical spells. Electric lanterns that are starting to fade. By this thin light, it's possible to see the stretches of broken plexiglass that served to keep each level separated from the open air between them. No luxury suites here. The med bay is utilitarian and barely stocked, but not at all dusty. The space that serves as a park in Anchor is a mass of dead or half-dead vegetation, most of it weeds arranged in rows that imply some kind of long-abandoned farming.
Level by level, this place is like Anchor's evil twin. The halls are narrower, the entertainment areas almost non-existant. It looks much more like a military installation than a place meant for people to live and thrive. There are hydroponic gardens that still seem to be in use. A farming area with a few gun-shy cow-like creatures that bolt at a stranger's approach.
This place might be desolate, but it isn't empty.
b. what remains.
For all the signs of intelligent humanoid life, the monsters are more common. Creatures prowl the halls, but not all of them are aggressive. Some are as nervous as the cow-creatures on the farming level. But those that are aggressive attack at once, like they expect to be killed if they don't strike first. And it looks like someone has tried. The monsters have missing limbs, missing eyes, wounds that have scarred over or that ooze with pus or have just begun to scab.
As the creatures get more curious about these strangers in their territory, more of them start to emerge, and it's clear something isn't right here. The ones that aren't badly mauled are patchwork combinations of limbs and heads and tails that don't all belong together. One of them, with a cow-creature's head stitched on next to the head of a cat-like thing that's all teeth, keeps trying to either eat or escape itself. It isn't the only one in this miserable state - there are an incredible amount of these stitched-together creatures in almost any combination you can think of. Even the creatures that people recognize from home will be warped, like someone poured a dozen puzzles into one big box and started cutting pieces to fit.
What was that shadow? Another hapless monster?
Maybe. Maybe not.
As the creatures get more curious about these strangers in their territory, more of them start to emerge, and it's clear something isn't right here. The ones that aren't badly mauled are patchwork combinations of limbs and heads and tails that don't all belong together. One of them, with a cow-creature's head stitched on next to the head of a cat-like thing that's all teeth, keeps trying to either eat or escape itself. It isn't the only one in this miserable state - there are an incredible amount of these stitched-together creatures in almost any combination you can think of. Even the creatures that people recognize from home will be warped, like someone poured a dozen puzzles into one big box and started cutting pieces to fit.
What was that shadow? Another hapless monster?
Maybe. Maybe not.
c. trick & treat.
It's not all monsters and thankless, dim-lit halls, though. Near the top, in much the same place where a person would find the weapons room and garage in Anchor, there's a weapons room and garage in this colony to match. Only the weapons room is open, and it's jam-packed with goodies from a dozen different worlds and then some.
Of course, it's not as simple as walking in. The entire area is boobytrapped, the floors ripped up here and there to accommodate pits full of stakes covered haphazardly with twigs and grass and monster bones, logs that come swinging out of nowhere when you step wrong, falling boulders that could crush you if you time your jump over that manufactured cavern poorly... Basically it's like someone set Indiana Jones in a Mario 64 level only more violent. Much more violent.
But hey, there's a benefit to making it through the traps first - and you have to get through the traps in order to get to the armory. The first two through the doors will find lightweight, shimmering cloaks resting on a pedestal in the center of the armory. It's impossible to tell what they're made from. They pool over hands like water, barely feeling like anything - and yet somehow, you can't see your hands through the cloth. In fact, put a cloak on and you'll disappear entirely. Undetectable by the eye - organic or robotic - and invisible to magic, area scans, bio detectors, heat detectors - you get the idea. Moreover, you'll be invisible on surveillance footage too. Somehow these cloaks even work on electronics. Besides the cloaks, there are a variety of very nice weapons in a range of styles - a few automatic projectile and laser guns, a couple of easy-to-use staffs that even those not magically inclined can use to deal magical damage with a thought, and a wide variety of angry-looking pointy sharp hand-to-hand weapons.
The garage might be an even better surprise for the curious, and the, you know, trap-averse. Not only are the vehicles inside more heavy duty than the ones at Anchor, but their power levels are clearly higher and they're built for long-term exploration. Not only that, but there are small personal shield generators, like Anchor's dome on a micro scale. When turned on, they provide just enough room for a small camp.
A little something for your monstrous troubles.
Of course, it's not as simple as walking in. The entire area is boobytrapped, the floors ripped up here and there to accommodate pits full of stakes covered haphazardly with twigs and grass and monster bones, logs that come swinging out of nowhere when you step wrong, falling boulders that could crush you if you time your jump over that manufactured cavern poorly... Basically it's like someone set Indiana Jones in a Mario 64 level only more violent. Much more violent.
But hey, there's a benefit to making it through the traps first - and you have to get through the traps in order to get to the armory. The first two through the doors will find lightweight, shimmering cloaks resting on a pedestal in the center of the armory. It's impossible to tell what they're made from. They pool over hands like water, barely feeling like anything - and yet somehow, you can't see your hands through the cloth. In fact, put a cloak on and you'll disappear entirely. Undetectable by the eye - organic or robotic - and invisible to magic, area scans, bio detectors, heat detectors - you get the idea. Moreover, you'll be invisible on surveillance footage too. Somehow these cloaks even work on electronics. Besides the cloaks, there are a variety of very nice weapons in a range of styles - a few automatic projectile and laser guns, a couple of easy-to-use staffs that even those not magically inclined can use to deal magical damage with a thought, and a wide variety of angry-looking pointy sharp hand-to-hand weapons.
The garage might be an even better surprise for the curious, and the, you know, trap-averse. Not only are the vehicles inside more heavy duty than the ones at Anchor, but their power levels are clearly higher and they're built for long-term exploration. Not only that, but there are small personal shield generators, like Anchor's dome on a micro scale. When turned on, they provide just enough room for a small camp.
A little something for your monstrous troubles.
mod notes.
The garage is open and relatively easy to get to once you get past the creatures that populate the area, the armory is supposed to be a challenge. Players should not post top-levels that start with having already beaten the traps around the armory.
While there are enough weapons in the armory that every person currently in Anchor could have one, there are only two invisibility cloaks. The first two characters to thread out a trip through the traps will receive them. These threads must be a minimum of 10 comments (5 from each character) to qualify. If characters aiming for the cloaks would not be doing so in the same group and would be going in with other characters whose players aren't interested in the cloaks, please contact the mods by PM and we'll work something out!
While there are enough weapons in the armory that every person currently in Anchor could have one, there are only two invisibility cloaks. The first two characters to thread out a trip through the traps will receive them. These threads must be a minimum of 10 comments (5 from each character) to qualify. If characters aiming for the cloaks would not be doing so in the same group and would be going in with other characters whose players aren't interested in the cloaks, please contact the mods by PM and we'll work something out!
no subject
[ He's getting used to the fact that nobody here admits any knowledge of the Hunger Games, but the comment can't really be explained in any detail without getting into the Games and right now isn't the time for that particular story. ]
Get me some rope and a few sticks and I can make you a pretty good trap, but it looks like someone beat us to that.
Though the stick would still be a good idea. Give us a chance to test the ground as we go.
no subject
And two heads have got to be better than one.]
Don't know about sticks. Have to go back to the park for that. Can probably find a pipe or something around here?
no subject
[ Not that he knows anything much about garages, but he knows enough about boats to know that there's often tools and parts to be found around marinas and boatsheds. [
You mind staying here while I go look?
no subject
[She wiggles her left hand at him as she says this, and the top half of her ring finger is visibly missing. It doesn't seem to be a deliberate move to make a point, as she notices and immediately drops her hand back to her side.]
Yeah, I'll wait here.
no subject
I'll be quick.
[ He's good to his word. He moves carefully along the corridor towards the garage. He'd been in there earlier but he hadn't been looking for anything to prod traps with at the time. Now he is, and sure enough, there are some pieces of metal lying around that look like they've come off some sort of machine. Or are meant to go on some sort of machine.
He doesn't pretend to know. But he can use them, so he grabs a few and makes his way back to Julie. ]
These should do.
no subject
Julie waits for him to come back, pacing lazily back and forth and occasionally jogging on the spot, or inching closer to where the traps are to see if she can set something off without getting hit. She doesn't succeed, but she's getting impatient by the time he reappears.]
Oh, awesome.
[She reaches out for one without hesitation.]
You want point or rear?
no subject
He considers her question for a moment, weighing training and experience and the little he's gleaned about what she'd be able to do. ]
I'll take rear. Done it plenty before.
[ The gun will probably be most use there anyway. ]
no subject
[She's good with either. Julie moves forwards with the pipe in her hand, prodding at the ground as she goes and making a point of not staying too close to any of the walls.]
Keep your eyes up, too. The last time I saw something like this they had fucking gun turrets.
no subject
[ If he sounds surprised, it's because he's not even entirely sure what that means. He's used to the idea of guns, even used to the idea of guns being pointed at him. The Peacekeepers had never particularly lived up to their name, but the last year he'd been in District Four, things had gotten tense. Four had revolted, and they'd been put down, by force. Maybe if he'd gone to Two, he'd have seen something like what Julie's describing.
Whatever it is, he doesn't like the sound of it.
He follows after Julie, gun ready. As she suggested, he's sure to look uo as well as forward.
Not enough people look up. ]
no subject
[The last time she'd seen anything like that, they'd been shooting at her family from the top of the US-Canada border wall. It wasn't something you easily forgot about, and she'd been none too keen to get that close to something like that ever again.
It doesn't look like there's anything like that here, but that doesn't mean she isn't still wary.
She taps her pole against the floor, and it makes a hollow sound.]
Here. Hear that?
no subject
He pulls a face, even though she's focused more on the traps than her companion.
But Julie draws his attention to the floor in front of her, with the hollow thunk of metal on ... not the ground. ]
Yeah.
[ He's seen enough pit traps to be able to guess what she's found. ]
Tread on that and you'll fall straight through. Can you tell how big it is?
no subject
[Tap tap. Tap tap. Everywhere she prods brings back the same slightly hollow sound. Julie frowns, pulling the pole back and leaning on it.]
Need to trigger it.
[It could be that the trap is long but not wide, or it could stretch from one wall to the other, but there's really no way to know one way or the other without testing the whole lot of it and risking falling into another pit on the way, or just caving the thing in. It won't support their weight anyway.]
See anything heavy? I don't really want to jump on it.