modblob: (Default)
Mods ([personal profile] modblob) wrote in [community profile] redshiftlogs2020-01-01 03:38 pm

january 2020. welcome to the void.

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Seventh Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of January 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. champagne supernova.

Normally, the changes in the sky are subtle, happening between glances or over the course of days.

That's not the case now, when the bright sky with its three suns is wiped away in an explosion of blue light, right at sunrise on the morning of January 1st. The light pulses across the sky in uneven blazes, sending out lattices of what might be lightning or something worse. There's no moon. No brightness. Just this lightning-storm brilliance in space, shedding little light on the world below.

And the suns don't come back on. As the day wears on, the supernova brightness in the sky starts to fade out and no new light appears. The sky is static and black, with no stars, no moons, no suns. The mild rolling blackouts that started with the opening of the relaxation room intensify with the sudden loss of solar power, as the backup systems try to compensate for the increased use of power.

For a moment, power goes out in Anchor entirely, leaving the place plunged into darkness.

The darkness doesn't last. Thanks to those generators everyone worked so hard to sort out, the backup systems struggle back to life, keeping the lights on and the bar, kitchen, and agricultural supports open, but there are some things that the limited power just can't cover.

b. tower of babelfish.

The first, and perhaps the most noticeable system to start failing, are the auto-translation programs. While not affecting every area in Anchor equally, communication between those who speak different languages is going to be a lot more difficult. The effects are spotty, coming and going, sometimes completely failing, leaving only people's naturally-spoken languages available. Sometimes it just struggles, making conversations sound a lot more like babelfish translations than recognizable speech. People themselves seem to be affected differently by the translation struggles, depending on who and where they are. There's no rhyme or reason to when and how it fails. But the problem persists through most of the month.


c. the hidden passage.

The second system failure is harder to spot.

At the end of what seemed to be a maintenance hallway, a set of doors have appeared from behind what used to be a shielded hologram of a dead end. The doors stick out from their surroundings: thick metal, barred heavily from the outside. A clear attempt to keep something locked away inside, not to keep people from entering.

For those adventurous enough, or foolish enough, to wrestle the locks open, a problem will reveal itself. A short flight of stairs, leading down into an area flooded by murky water. It's hard to see more than branching halls down below.

Those who choose to brave the water will find a hallway lined with bulkheads and sealed doorways, all guarding rooms that could be accessed with the right combination of smarts and brute force. It's the question of what would be ruined by the water if the doors are opened that might give people pause. What kind of secrets could be wiped out or destroyed if the doors are forced and the water passes through the bulkheads? Can the water be drained? How?

But there is one room open, or mostly open, where the bulkhead doors didn't quite manage to seal when the area flooded. It'll be a squeeze, for bigger characters, but the flooded room beyond contains artifacts preserved behind glass - strange medallions, strings of glowing beads, broken sceptres, arrows fletched with feathers from creatures no one has ever seen before.

Only one object isn't sealed away. It's a handful of small orbs, with shifting colors, held in place by a shield array that still seems to function, for the most part. They can be touched, can even be removed from the stand with the right know-how or a willingness to smash stuff.

But once an orb is touched, the colors start to spin more rapidly. The more it's handled, the brighter and faster the colors shift. Whether it takes hold immediately or not is up to you, but those who handled the orb will find the bright colors start to glow under the surface of their skin, in the shape of veins, glowing bright for a few minutes before fading. And those people bring a different kind of contagion back with them to the surface. Memory loss, communicated from one person to the next via contact. It can be partial or complete, or not happen to your character at all - they can be an unwitting "carrier" of the effects, passing it on without experiencing the losses themselves. The loss can last from hours to weeks, with carriers being "infected" for the duration of that time.

It also leaves behind magical traces, ones that don't fade after memories return. The cleverest might start to wonder if it wasn't a kind of inoculation, though against what, it remains to be seen.

benhargreeves: (! silent stare)

[personal profile] benhargreeves 2020-01-07 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben gives a silent nod of understanding when the man says he's simply exploring. He is undecided, for a few moments, between just returning to his book and leaving the man alone, and offering help of a different kind. There was a time when the former option would have been the obvious choice. When he'd first arrived here, Ben's social skills had been... rusty, to say the least. But he's been here a while, now, and it's not so daunting, anymore.

So rather than merely go back to his own business and assume Ratonhnhaké:ton is fine on his own, he prompts:

"Because you're newly arrived, and you wanna get the measure of this place? Just a guess."

But one that he feels pretty confident with.
Edited 2020-01-07 19:17 (UTC)
benhargreeves: (! crisis pose)

[personal profile] benhargreeves 2020-01-07 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ben might not remember who he is or where he is, but somehow he knows that he's being treated like he's on the verge of a complete breakdown. And, to be fair to Charles, that's pretty close to how he feels. Ben doesn't recall the reasons why, but feeling like he has no control of himself, his surroundings, the situation? Very bad! And the unease he feels just seems to echo inside him, grow more and more intense, like some sort of feedback loop.

He swallows when Charles asks that question, silent for a few long moments as he decides what is safer: the truth, or a lie. In the end, he settles on the truth. ]


I don't know if I'm okay. I can't seem to remember how I got here, or where here is.

[ Ben is speaking carefully, but the deliberateness of it, the way he's keeping his voice so scrupulously steady, gives away his fear just as clearly as outright panic would. He can choose his words carefully all he wants, but that unnatural stillness and the wideness of his eyes give him away. ]

Do I... know you?
arcadedragon: (Snerk)

[personal profile] arcadedragon 2020-01-07 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Alright, that is fine. I have a second bed in my room you can sleep on." He doesn't press it, Hanzo is clearly having trouble remembering things, making Genji concerned that the orb might have given him a concussion somehow. Or maybe done something to disorient him. Who knows at this point.

Genji leads him out of the flooded maintenance hall towards his room, trying to remember if his room is a complete disaster or not. He doesn't have many possessions but there's a chance that what little he has is strewn about like a tornado hit it.

"How do you feel otherwise?"
nockturnal: (19)

[personal profile] nockturnal 2020-01-07 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"I should be asking you that."

There's something wry that's found its way back into his tone. Strange as all of this is, as glad as he is to see his brother alive and well, if not whole, he'll never not be who he is at heart. And that has always been someone very skeptical of the world around him.

And the fact that his decidedly not-dead brother is asking him if he's alright.

He follows, just the same. Whatever lies in this room just doesn't seem as important, anymore.
mustact: (→67)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-07 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"I agree. We don't know what we will find down there."

Last time he discovered something underwater was ... not good. Not that he expects a giant monster to rise from this, considering it's not the middle of the ocean, but it certainly helped to make him realise just how little he knows of the universe.

Best be very, very cautious.
mustact: (→28)

1

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-07 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ratonhnhaké:ton very much likes the park. Living in cities truly isn't something he enjoys, and while Anchor has the perk of not being so crowded as the City was, it's still more city than nature. The park and the agricultural level seem to be the closest he'll get to it now.

Which is why, when he smells fire, he goes to investigate. The smell in itself isn't too worrying - could be a fireplace - but the column of smoke doesn't look quite right, and he's suspicious.

When he finally finds the source of the smoke, and the man standing in front of it, seemingly mesmerised, he sees red. It's just barely that he manages to stop himself from doing something rash, because the population of Anchor is very small and making an enemy is far from a good idea, but he can't simply leave this be. He takes a deep breath, clenches and loosens his hands, and then marches over. ]


What are you doing?
nothinglikefather: made by peaked (040)

[personal profile] nothinglikefather 2020-01-07 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Right." Jacob says, and then straightens up, pulling off the heavy coat, his hat, the outer layers of his manner layered Victorian garb. He misses the clothes he had in the City, they probably wouldn't have soaked up water like a sponge and dragged him down.

"I suggest we go in now and come back up for air. Strongest swimmers go see many air pockets there is down there and if there aren't any, then we're sensible, look for other ways in. Or ways to get the water out."

And yes, he thinks he's probably one of the two strongest swimmers. Connor might even be better than him, but he puts that down to Edward's genes.

He looks at them again to make sure they're in agreement, and steps into the water.

It's cold, but not freezing, it doesn't knock all the breathe out of him. "Come on in, the water's lovely."
mustact: (→45)

w2

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-07 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There are two places in anchor that Ratonhnhaké:ton is bound to frequent: The park, and the agricultural level, for the simple reason that it's green, and has trees and water.

He watches in mild amusement for a moment as the woman tries to lure animals over. A few of them seem interested, if only to check what exactly she's holding in that outstretched hand.

He folds his arms, tilting his head a little. ]


I am not sure they're supposed to eat that.

[ Just saying. ]
itsnotaonesie: (28)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-07 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[Peter just stares, still standing with his arms crossed, only now his expression is less "awkward guard puppy doing his best" and closer to "I'm 17 but somehow still too old for this shit". Of course when one thing gets fucking weird, everything else has to get fucking weird too.]

If this is a joke, it really isn't funny right now. If it's not a joke, hi, I'm Peter.
itsnotaonesie: (104)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-07 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
They sure are fucking webs, though they're not nearly as easy to get rid of as normal spider webs. The spider that spun these has no chill, and he straightens up a little when Rey approaches, not really trying to look intimidating so much as he's trying to look more confident.

"I left me on duty. Figured the mutated dude with a squid growing out of his face knows what he's talking about when he says to avoiding dangerous places, y'know?" What happens if everyone who goes down there ends up with squidface? We just don't know.
mustact: (→24)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-07 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
He briefly glances back at the water.

"There are many more doors, but only one is open. I do not think it is meant to be. Someone really wanted this area to be locked away, but I have yet to find any clues as to why."

Will this be the same as the City? New questions for everything they discover and very few answers?
mustact: (→62)

[personal profile] mustact 2020-01-07 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Your guess is correct."

Now that he's had a quick glance, it only seems right to take a closer look. He approaches a shelf close to Ben, to skim the titles of the books.

"What kind of books can be found here?"
arcadedragon: (Excited)

[personal profile] arcadedragon 2020-01-07 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Mission accomplished in a way. He wanted to get Hanzo the arrows, Hanzo has the arrows. But now he's wondering if that came at a cost.

"Me? I suppose I am fine. It does not hurt any longer if that is what you are asking." He's not sure what to say, walking a strange line of wanting to reassure his brother while not letting him know he's the cause of all this.

Fortunately Genji's room isn't in complete disarray, he shoos the two small blue ice dragons off the second bed and gestures to Hanzo to sit down. "It is not all of me, some of this is armor."
0thingsonmymind: (Watching)

[personal profile] 0thingsonmymind 2020-01-07 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm. That sounds a lot like Norfinbury, things locked just to be locked but full of important progress and/or answers. He doesn't like it, but maybe he should expect it.

Like the exclaimation point, words appear in the air before him.

what was be hind
open
door ?
theweakhavepurpose: (Copter)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
If you want to take 10,000 volts if this thing is rigged up, then be my guest.
theweakhavepurpose: (Come with me)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
I'll give you a pic of Princess Thug upside down sleeping if you come down here and lick one.
livingdeadgirl: (blank 1)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-01-08 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
whos princess thug
theweakhavepurpose: (Default)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Okay you know how upstairs the water pressure sucks? I thought maybe this flooding was part of it. Like one of the pipes burst. But it doesn't seem to be. I didn't fucking touch anything calm down." He sounds a little exasperated as Peter webs everything back up as if the place is full of zombies.

"You want me to call the precinct for backup next time?"
theweakhavepurpose: (Considering)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
If you're trying to lure out a free meme pic it's not gonna work. This is my only currency.
itsnotaonesie: (142)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-08 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
You don't know that the basement isn't full of zombies, Deputy.

"Yes, I know how the water pressure sucks," he huffs, finishing up his web-job and taking a moment to chill out. "Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you. I just-- I feel like I'm the only one taking this Joe thing seriously. Like I get it, he's creepy and he's not all there, but he's still warning us to not do a thing, and the first thing everyone does is the thing we were warned not to do."
theweakhavepurpose: (Storage)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ He stands there with his arms crossed staring at her. He's a Deputy, he's seen every manner of stupid possible and he's not super impressed.]

If they fry you, it's your own fault.

[Meanwhile he's been trying unsuccessfully to break the glass for the cases but all he's managed to do is scratch it up. They seem to be shatterproof.]

Or worse shut off power to the city or retract the dome.
theweakhavepurpose: (Listening)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
[It's been reassuring to see Kieran up and about. While Carlisle might not have restored his sight, at least he'd stopped the bleeding and stabilized him. They could have been watching Kieran die that day instead of... well watching a whole different sort of horror.]

Yep. Evening.

Or, well I think it's evening, it's kind of hard to tell.

[Though he realizes after he says that that Kieran doesn't know about the power outage or the super nova or any of that. Awkward. Princess Thug eases the tension by padding over to do a sniff.]
livingdeadgirl: (hmm 2)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-01-08 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ ......... ]

ok so hang on
on this planet instead of real money
you use pictures of princesses as currency
that sounds very silly and even a little perverse
Edited 2020-01-08 05:16 (UTC)
theweakhavepurpose: (Thinking)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2020-01-08 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
He's been down there and you haven't Peter, he knows the zombie situation a little better right now.

"I didn't open anything, there's a bunch of locked doors and they're still locked. There's also like... a weird museum of artifacts behind glass. But maybe if anyone takes one the whole place will collapse like in the Mummy." He didn't touch anything even though he watched Athena touch things, valid loophole here.
numerouno: (II)

A

[personal profile] numerouno 2020-01-08 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
The lights go out while Scaramouche is busy minding his own business at the bar.

He doesn't plan to drink more down once they're back on, leaving his glass half-full on the counter and muttering his adieu to the bar-bot -- "Help yourself, babe." -- before coolly making his exit. Another bar regular makes an appearance. It's that mercenary. You know, the one who played a hand in the mild torture of that servant bot? He shares an unmeaningful back-and-forth with him sometimes, almost always after the guy has had one too many.

Scaramouche strolls toward him, coming to a halt by his side. Without turning to face him:

"Baby, don't you think the bar can wait?"

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