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.

braidmage: (:? chin scratch)

[personal profile] braidmage 2020-01-15 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Reynir, for his part, seems to understand the gesture and shrug, if nothing else. He gives a little exhale of frustration and then raises his hands in the air, as if to say: what are you gonna do?

But this is not the first time Reynir has found himself in an environment where no one will understand a word he says. He'd managed okay, for the few encounters he had had with locals in Finland. One of the ways he had managed that was by drawing...

So he reaches into the small pouch at his hip, where he keeps a tiny notebook to write runes in should he need to. Carefully, he tries to sketch lattices and patterns like those that had been made by those strange lights in the sky. He even tries to frame them in a rudimentary sketch of what the top of the Anchor looks like, opening up to the surface. Underneath it all, he draws three huge question marks, then looks up at Julie, eyebrows raised.

Does she have any idea what the hell that storm was? ]
0thingsonmymind: (Default)

[personal profile] 0thingsonmymind 2020-01-15 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
*He still doesn't understand a word Reynir is saying so he just ignores that. He write "brian" under the little drawing of him before holding the board and marker out to the other man.*
braidmage: (:? well that's a pickle)

[personal profile] braidmage 2020-01-15 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Reynir watches as Carlisle draws out those glyphs, quickly and without any difficulty - it's clear that he knows them by heart, that they are something memorized rather than improvised or re-invented each time. Then, with increasing fascination, he watches as Carlisle attempts to explain what each of the glyphs can do.

It really is frustrating trying to figure out what a few of the drawings mean. The first one is remarkably clear - a glyph used for healing, something that he knows from their conversations together used to be Carlisle's specialty back in his own world. But what is that second figure? Is it glowing? Radiating heat? Is it hidden or moving through a portal of some kind?

And more questions follow after that. What if that first glyph isn't for healing in general but just broken bones? What if just drawing them isn't enough and Reynir has to be thinking specific words, or holding intentions in his mind, or perhaps praying? There are so many variables and no way at all to convey the questions he is bursting with.

Reynir is, however, not always the most cautious individual. So, he figures, the best way to figure out what will happen if he just draws one of these glyphs, and to figure out that second illustration, is to just... give it a try. He gestures for Carlisle to give him the pen and then, on a clean sheet of paper, quickly and accurately mimics the second glyph, with its sharp acute angles. Will something happen, he wonders? ]
braidmage: (:o shock)

[personal profile] braidmage 2020-01-15 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Rey isn't panicking, and in a way that is much worse, considering the things she is saying, the possibilities she is putting in Reynir's mind. There's no confusion on his face when she mentions a bomb - clearly he's familiar with the concept, if not in their atomic variety.

His heart is thudding quickly, and he doesn't know Rey well enough to know if she's just being alarmist or if this is really it. Tables wouldn't help, no. But Reynir has other methods. Breaths coming shallow and fast, he reaches into the little pouch he carries at his side and pulls out a little pot of paint and a brush. He unscrews the top, dunking the brush into it quickly and then dropping to the ground, immediately starting to paint a huge circle that will encompass him and Rey, both. Inside it, he paints out sections and half-circles, a huge and intricate shape.

Reynir is biting his bottom lip the entire time, in between praying quietly under his breath, to Odin. This is the strongest shielding rune that he knows. It won't withstand everything - he knows that - but it's better than just accepting that there's nothing to be done. If there is any danger, this is their best shot. ]
Edited 2020-01-15 20:47 (UTC)
einselective: (u what now)

[personal profile] einselective 2020-01-16 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
All the technology here is just different enough that Marian's not explicitly tampering with anything, just checking over connections when Rey shows up. She frowns, gaze flicking momentarily to that flame in Rey's hand; putting that in the list of 'unexplained phenomena that aren't critical at this exact moment.' Her own LED lantern's glow is cooler in contrast to the warm flickering light.

"The same thing," Marian scowls, although she does move back a little. It's very literal anarchy in Anchor as far as she can tell, putting her on the defensive. "Shouldn't there be more backup generators for a facility this size?"
einselective: (slow sidestare)

[personal profile] einselective 2020-01-16 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
Glyphs. Well, it wasn't the first bit of mumbo-jumbo she'd heard here. Probably harmless.

Still, she wasn't about to turn her back on this guy, either. Nor is she quite capable of just letting it slide.

"How helpful. Do evil spirits chew through cables often?" she replies, deadpan.
hyperthermic: (DuoESRw)

[personal profile] hyperthermic 2020-01-16 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Mick blinks. Waits for something more. When it doesn't come, he shrugs. ]

Now you know. [ Like a challenge: ] Got anything to say about it?
hyperthermic: (HNwP4fN)

[personal profile] hyperthermic 2020-01-16 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ He scritches the little dragon under its chin, which it deigns to allow. ]

A few dozen. Bet you little guys could freeze us all to death in our sleep with a little teamwork, huh?

[ Said as someone else might say COOCHIE COOCHIE COO. ]

Where'd they all come from? Through that portal thing?
hyperthermic: (B8F940b)

[personal profile] hyperthermic 2020-01-16 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
You usually insult strangers for fun?

[ A headtilt, as he starts to move toward the flooded area again. ]

Or is that just how you roll?
hyperthermic: (ehK1KdS)

[personal profile] hyperthermic 2020-01-16 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
It's the fact that he falls that keeps Jacob from killing him, that instead Jacob slices open his radiation suit at the shoulder and bites into the flesh underneath, opening a deep cut that bleeds heavily. He hits his head hard against the wall and goes down.

He stays conscious, barely. He can taste blood in his mouth. Bit his tongue, probably.

Doesn't matter. He's in the water.

And so is Leonard.

Chronos might be heavy, but he's fast. He turns on Leonard, keeping on arm up between him and Jacob to take any further attacks, and lunges, seizing Leonard by the throat and pushing him down until he's submerged.
Edited 2020-01-16 01:57 (UTC)
citharede: (pic#12394277)

[personal profile] citharede 2020-01-16 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Athena jumps, dropping the can in her hand. It bounces off her toe and rolls under a cupboard while she hops in place, swearing under her breath.

She glares at Onni, barely holding on to her pillowcase. ]


So what if I am?
einselective: (Default)

[personal profile] einselective 2020-01-16 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
To be fair, recent entries on the network, and not just that one, have been fairly worrying. So she can't really begrudge this kid trying to play hero but...

"I sincerely doubt you're going to hinder anyone who really wants to go down there." She says, not intentionally harshly, but pretty bluntly all the same.
citharede: (bh96)

[personal profile] citharede 2020-01-16 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
My crew is pretty wild. [ She grins, thinking about her friends back home. ]

We mostly keep our nonsense from like... getting violent, or something. So I've only got a couple of those-- [ She gestures to the scars on his hands. ] --and they aren't from my friends anyway. They happened before my parents ever kicked me out.
citharede: (bh16)

[personal profile] citharede 2020-01-16 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ She glances sideways, startled that someone approached without her hearing. People around here know how to be so quiet. It weirds her out a little bit.

Then again, given the way he's dressed, maybe his sneak stat is just that high. ]


TV says they like it.
citharede: (pic#12394353)

[personal profile] citharede 2020-01-16 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ She rolls her eyes. TYPICAL ADULT DOOMSAYING. ] They're not going to shut off power or someshit--look, there are more spots for them and there are some missing already. Taking one isn't going to hurt anything.

[ Still, she hesitates a moment before touching one. Takes a deep breath, rolls her eyes at herself, and grabs it.

When the colors start to swirl--when the colors start to pulse in her veins, she yelps and throws the thing into a corner. ]
citharede: (bh16)

[personal profile] citharede 2020-01-16 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Athena freezes. For a second she considers just bolting, until she sees the guy's eyes are closed and he has a cane.

It would be kind of a dick move outrunning a blind guy. But who knows, maybe he's like one of those ninjas who use their blindness to enhance their other senses and murder people with their pinkies.

He's probably not. ]


Nobody. [ That's what the Odysseus dude said to the blind guy so if it's good enough for him it's good enough for her. ]
hypothermic: (pic#10289819)

[personal profile] hypothermic 2020-01-16 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Captain. Cold. Leonard. Len. Whatever." Standing is easier when they're walking on dry floor, and with Kabal's bulk to support him until there's somewhere for him to sit.

Well, the floor was dry. Len's soaking wet. Puddles following him wherever he goes.

At least most of the tuna came off in the bathtub? Not that Len smells much better for it. He's going to need a real shower at some point. They both will. It's not like Kabal is smelling much sweeter than he is.

"And who the hell are you?" They're still close, but Len isn't looking at Kabal's face. He's staring at his arm. Already in the early stages of frostbite beneath the ice. Red, black, and purple. He wasn't lying when he said Kabal would need medical attention. He's frozen enough people to know exactly what his gun can do.

When people can be saved with a little TLC, and when they're as screwed as John Franklin and company.

Kabal isn't 'Terror' levels of screwed just yet, but he will be. His arm will rot right off the bone. Until Kabal's only options are to amputate, or die.

"Give me something to eat, and I'll keep your arm attached to your body." His eyes flick up to Kabal's eyes, or... the mask where his eyes would be, and hates that he can't read him. Len doesn't like being more naked in that way. More visible, more vulnerable, because he can't hide the purple smudges beneath his eyes or the way his gloved hand shakes when he tests the rigidity of Kabal's bicep with a less-than-gentle prod.

"Some warm water, a little exfoliation, and you can save the stuff beneath the top layer of skin. It'll grow back." His brow lifts, the corner of his mouth quirking.

"Smoother, maybe. I should offer face lifts."
Edited 2020-01-16 02:38 (UTC)
numerouno: (LXXVII)

[personal profile] numerouno 2020-01-16 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[The creature starts barking and races over to him; that's when he realizes he's made a mistake. It's too late to make a getaway. He goes rigid, arms out at his sides as its claws dig into his coat like the thing is trying to climb him. He doesn't keep his wide, brightly glowing eyes off its prying nose.]

I'm an assassin, [is his automatic response once a few seconds have passed without any biting.] Can-- [Using the back of his thumb, he tries to tilt the sheathed blade at his hip away from the wolf's maw.] Can you call it off? What does it want?
abheirrant: (❧ of course,of course)

[personal profile] abheirrant 2020-01-16 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately, Reynir may be disappointed to find that nothing happens by simply copying the sigil, save for Carlisle giving him an approving nod. Yes, that is the sigil for abjuration, and he did a good job replicating it. Unfortunately, without a full glyph around it to dictate just what kind of abjuration is needed, it is little more than an inactive ingredient, like flour to a finished loaf of bread.

But Carlisle assumes by Reynir's copying the sigil that he would like to know more, or perhaps the meaning of that one isn't clear, so he gets another sheet and starts with an example. He starts with a smaller circle on the right side of the page, then another on the left. He then draws arcs between them, as if another circle were beneath the first two, then a large circle within that space. A few more lines, and then he adds the appropriate sigils.]




[Finally, he demonstrates: he grabs another mug and fills it with water, bringing it back to the desk and setting it next to the new glyph; he then tears a corner off the sheet, setting it aside; last, he places a finger on the lowest arc on the glyph. Like water trickling into empty channels, illuminated energy makes its way through the lines he's drawn, moving across the markings until it touches itself on the other side of the circle, just as before. The glyph illuminates brightly, then fades, and as it does, the ink starts evaporating from the page, taking the his glyph with it.

He takes that torn corner first, holding up a finger -- examine. Dipping it into the mug goes as expected: the corner is wet, the paper absorbing the water. He then takes the now-blank page, the glyph already fully gone from it, and does the same thing, but instead of absorbing the water, it repels it completely, the liquid pushed away as though by an invisible force.

He flourishes his hands - tada.]
Edited 2020-01-16 03:54 (UTC)
itsnotaonesie: (77)

[personal profile] itsnotaonesie 2020-01-16 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Nah, it's fine. I totally got this under control."

He could just tell her that he has super powers, it's not like it's a big secret around here or anything, but sometimes it's more fun to just mess with people a little bit.
abheirrant: (❧ it was underwhelming,at best)

[personal profile] abheirrant 2020-01-16 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Spirits are intangible," Carlisle replies immediately, as though that should be obvious, "and therefore cannot chew through anything."

She might not turn his back on him, but he does just that to her, looking over the closed door and the adjoining wall for a good place to put his work. He holds the potential weapon up, much like one would hold a pencil, his fingers turning and twisting it in the air -- he's mentally drawing the glyph, meaning his makeshift tool is less of a weapon and more of a writing utensil.

"But spirits can manifest from necrotic energy," he continues, "and that is what I am worried about. Someone could rot right through these doors, and none of the technology inside would be safe."
kaballin: (Silver)

[personal profile] kaballin 2020-01-16 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
"Kabal." He escorts his soggy new friend to the couch ignoring the fact they both smell terrible, there's probably seafood bits in their hair and who knows where else, and that they had just been trying to messily murder each other. That's not what's important here. What's important is that Kabal was all set to kill this guy and then he so rudely passed out and while he wouldn't hesitate to kill someone unconscious, he was all amped up for a fight and he still is.

Maybe a little less so now that his arm is a whole lot of colors it shouldn't be.

He goes to the clearly unused kitchenette against one wall and pulls open the fridge. That at least is fairly well stocked because he's lazy and trips to the kitchen take away from his precious 'doing anything else' time. The counter is covered in junk he's stolen of various quality from tech gadgets to jewelry to cartons of cigarettes. Most of the fridge is bottles of beer and alcohol, but he does have some actual food, including a sandwich he'd been saving for later, but is now going to offer to this asshole out of the goodness of his heart and with hope for a potential fight in the future.

"Here. Eat and don't pass out. I don't know CPR." He tosses the plastic-wrapped croissant with ham and cheese to Len as he returns to the couch, plopping down next to him and inspecting his arm.

"Yeah shockingly, my skin isn't real fond of growing back in any way that makes me look like something other than beef jerky." That prodding is not appreciated and he swats at Len, clearly a warning that he could punch his face in if he wanted to, but isn't right now.
braidmage: (:) hello reynir here)

[personal profile] braidmage 2020-01-16 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ Reynir has never seen Onni like this, before. It's such a funny thing, because on the outside, nothing at all has changed about him. His face is the same face that Reynir had seen yesterday, and the day before. But there is something different, in his eyes. In the way he moves, speaks, reacts. Reynir sees it clear as day.

This is a much younger Onni. One who had not yet been through so many hardships, who hadn't had to grow up so quickly, become the head of his family. One who hadn't been through the loss of his home and everything he knew.

Reynir really does believe that this amnesia will not last, and yet he finds himself feeling... extremely protective, of this Onni, who had had no one there to protect him the first time around. Reynir wants to keep him safe, keep him happy, for as long as he is around. ]


In the dreamspace. I had only just realized I was a mage, and I didn't know yet it was sort of rude to just waltz through somebody's barrier and into their area. So I just wandered in, and you thought maybe I was a spirit trying to attack you, 'til I recognized you from a picture that Tuuri had.

[ The kettle comes to a boil and Reynir goes through the process of making their tea, fixing up Onni's in just the way that he likes it. He even gets out a little packet of some baked treats that Onni had made a few days back. Will he recognize his own baking? Reynir isn't really sure when he had started doing that. Either way, he offers them to Onni, settling himself in. ]
Edited 2020-01-16 05:52 (UTC)
hypothermic: (tumblr_inline_p1rxtdjEo71rwwjc4_100)

[personal profile] hypothermic 2020-01-16 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Could you give it to me if you did?" Len lounges back on the couch like it belongs to him, one long leg crossed over the other. Poised in spite of the flakes of tuna around the collar of his sweater and constant vertigo.

"Please, no tuna."

Len catches the sandwich in one hand, peels back the cling-wrap almost delicately, and admires the almost-fresh content. It's been days since he's eaten anything, the kitchen was a bust, and if never sees another Tupperware for the rest of his life it'll be too soon.

He could say something witty. Posture. Pretend like he isn't half as hungry as he is, and part of him is tempted to play it cool. He doesn't. Len tears into the sandwich with the ferocity of a starving lion descending on a wounded antelope.

No words until he's finished, and the sandwich has disappeared without a trace. In spite of his hunger and the fact he's already a disgusting mess, there are no crumbs. Len's particular like that. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single strand of DNA at any one of his 'purported' crime scenes.

He dabs at the corners of his mouth, shifts to the edge of the couch, and stares down Kabal.

"Don't be a baby. I was seeing how deep the damage goes. If I wanted to hurt you, I'd hurt you. So take off your village-people jacket like a good boy, and let me see what kinda freeze-dried beef we're working with."

Len starts pulling off his gloves with his teeth, finger by finger.

"Just an FYI, this is going to be ugly. So get ready for it."
Edited 2020-01-16 06:45 (UTC)
0thingsonmymind: (Glowing)

[personal profile] 0thingsonmymind 2020-01-16 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
yes
whyis gun
fire

not bull ets

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