TDM 010

[etrayamods]

❬ Arrival ❭

Arrival goes normally! Hooray! Characters awaken in a sterile hospital bed in a clean, white room to the hum of machines under the unnatural lighting common to well-kept institutions.

The door to the room swings open, revealing a hallway that stretches out ahead of them adorned with framed photographs of Jack-o-Lanterns. There’s noise from outside and the enticing scent of autumn coming from the lobby. Today the welcome buffet has mulled cider in a hot drink dispenser and mini-loaves of pumpkin bread.

❬ Shake it, Shake it. ❭

Outside the hospital, a weird fog is clearing. For those who have just arrived, this doesn’t meant much. But for everyone else, this is the hard-earned success after two weeks of blindly groping about in the spooky fog. The pollution is steadily clearing as it is being cycled out of the air. The people of Etraya should be getting back to normal physically, though surely the lingering feelings are no fun. For newcomers, there is just a weird energy in the air. Perhaps an activity as diversion would help?

As everyone tries to gain their bearings, Aurora asks everyone through their earpiece, new and old, to survey their surroundings for odd goings-ons.

It is a little unclear if this is something Aurora needs done dressed up as an activity, or if this is an activity dressed up with enough mystery and urgency to warrant involving all the people of Etraya. Either way, there is a task to complete.

So what sort of odd things are occurring? Just look around! Everything from homes suddenly subject to mundane, harmless poltergeisting to full blown bizarre weather phenomena and creature sightings. It seems that although the fog is leaving, it left some souvenirs behind, and Aurora needs help cataloging what's happening around Etraya for the bots to address.

Maybe you just think you’re really unlucky today and stuck in an episode of the X-Files. Maybe you catch sight of a bizarre creature that shuffles off into the woods. It might be raining upside down from the lakes, or the electricity in your home just won’t work for whatever reason.

Or maybe you’re particularly personally unfortunate, and your powers are working again, but not as expected.

In any case, you had better capture it on film. At your feet will be a regular old polaroid camera, a stack of film, and a sharpie to explain the photo and note the location.

Go to each of the islands and survey your surroundings. If anything seems strange, snap a picture! Though it seems some things about the geography have changed, so you might want to check with the HUD map to gain your bearings first.

❬ Bingo was his Name-o ❭

To encourage the people of Etraya to go out a little further than they ordinarily might -- and maybe to help ease them out of the terrible fog -- Aurora has presented this task in a light-hearted format: bingo-based raffle prizes! Available in your HUD is a bingo board! Listed are the 21 islands to explore as well as 4 main anomalous areas to look at.

If you open the HUD, it looks like so:


It seems someone tried, but not very hard, to make it fun.

✨RULES✨

• Each square is completed with a thread taking place on that island that includes 5 or more comments from your character. In character, it's completed by them documenting an anomaly on that island.


• For every completed bingo line, the character gets one ticket entry for the raffle prizes, up to a maximum of 5 for a full card.


• Each bingo card can only win one prize, and we will draw in order from grand prize down sometime after apps are processed this round.


• Teaming up is allowed, but if you share a card you have to share the prize!

✨PRIZES✨

• Grand Prize (1): Place and name a new trolley stop!


• Runners Up (6): Notes related to the meta plot like the ones seen here. Each is unique.


• Consolation Prize (3): A small item that will assist with the next mission.

❬ Tra la la ❭

Whether it’s coming to a new land suddenly or trying to reattach a sense of reality to your surroundings, exploring as buddies or a group is highly encouraged. After all, you might need a hand out there. Depending on who you are, getting all around might be tricky. However, this should be doable over a couple weeks, especially as a team.

Apart from the islands themselves, four bingo squares are for the big anomalous areas that just appeared:

The Farway Craters: It looks like meteors struck the land here. Narrowly missing the bounce castle, a new lake has formed in its place. Each of the craters does something different. One might be highly magnetic, making a miserable time for a robot or someone wearing armor. Another might be full of alien sea life. The largest crater hosts a little hurricane whipping about, throwing objects that may have mysteriously gone missing as of late.

Nevergrey and Ochreward: Where two lands were once separated, they now meet in a steep hill. Should you climb one side to go down the other, a powerful gust will blow you back the way you came with echoing laughter.

Alcyone’s Sandening: Heading south from the hospital, past the forest and the campgrounds, it seems the peninsula has gone missing. Or that Seasands has gained a new island. It seems both can be true. The space where some land once was is now engulfed in a thunderstorm, roughly 30 feet wide and 50 feet long.

Uketon: Heading south in Dewpoint, someone familiar may notice the abrupt break in the island. Should you wish to cross this way, you will have to content with large rocks floating up from below the water’s surface, rising high until they’re out of sight.

❬ NOTES ❭

📌 — The above prompts are just there to get you started. Feel free to play with the setting and concept beyond what we've suggested here! In particular, we encourage everyone to add to the new world-building threads on the location page for each region as they explore!

📌 — Turn in your bingo cards here and edit the comment with thread links as you complete them. Bingo prizes are available for current characters. We will wait to draw prizes until after apps have been processed, so new characters on the TDM can also participate if accepted.

📌 — For all questions relating to the TDM specifically, please use the mod queries comment below. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

🔵FULL NAVIGATION🔵

Comments

pavel morozov | metro: last light | new player

[goodcommunist]

i. arrival
[ Pavel expected to die, you see. It was the only end suitable for true commitment to the revolution. After being cut free on the cusp of his execution though, what he didn't expect was to feel afraid, hunkered down in a stairwell at the Red Square, finally face to face with the one-man army himself. But the truth is that he did. Not knowing the outcome, questioning what he would see and feel as he died. It was smothering him, a thousand hands dragging him under the surface, deep beneath their habitable stations. It was impossible to grasp any coherent thread. Existence was reduced to a feeling, terrible and empty, and it could be that it was minutes that had passed just as easily as it could have been centuries.

But then all at once it had ended — and he coughed his lungs out like he had come up from drowning, desperate to choke up seawater that wasn't there. Out of place, staining clean white hospital linens with dirty hands. Was the afterlife real after all? But why was it like this? It takes him quite some time to recover and come to his senses even with the assistance of the hologram who comes to oversee his welcome. Some time though, and a flurry of frustrated quips and questions that he manages to rattle off with answers of variable satisfaction later, the self-opening door to the hallway prompts him to do the only thing left. To leave. To face the music.

Even if he's internally still wondering why me in a less than baleful way. Pavel wipes the blood from his face, stuffs his revolver safely in its holster, and makes his way into the buffet decorated with photos of carved pumpkins with a look of mild awe. ]

Whoah! What is all this stuff? Is it a party?

[ Hey, stranger. He was kind of just talking, not to anyone in particular, but if you are in earshot and appear to be listening, you are now being spoken to. Pavel has a very animated tone; the euphemistic interjections in Russian just sort of roll off his tongue, likely losing nearly all meaning if translated too literally by the earpieces. He is dressed in a heavy military jacket and looks a bit worse for wear. ]

Have you just arrived here, too, chuvak? Completely wild, isn't it? Blin!

ii. tra la la
[ That guy who arrived here looking like he just crawled out of a cave? Yeah, he's all cleaned up now and seems to be having a great time even just at the prospect of starting on this exploration bingo card. He's made his way from the hospital to the nearby café and is somewhat intrusively making himself acquainted with whoever wanders by that strikes his fancy. That someone could be just about anyone – people who look like they have an interesting story to tell, or lots of cool looking gadgets. Pavel is not choosy, and is more or less just assuming that everyone he encounters will be setting forth on the same task.

He has his HUD displaying the bingo card in front of him and seems to be scanning the names. Like it will tell him something. ]

OK, OK, OK – Let's see. Nevergrey. Faraway Craters. Al-kjon – "Alcyone's Sandening" – have you ever heard of this before? What is a sandening and where can I find these places? Ah, never mind. I think, I think we should team up to track down these anomalies. Two minds are better than one, right? And this place is just huge. By myself, I'll get lost in no time. What do you say?

( ooc: HI. Open to roll with whatever including wildcards. Lmk through PM or at shomonkai if you want anything specific or have questions. )

tra la la

[the_infiltrator]

Is he talking to her? He must be, there's no one else nearby.

She assesses him, finds nothing in her memory banks about him.

"Okay," she nods, gravely serious. "Let's go find some anomalies. Do you know what we're looking for?"

[goodcommunist]

Wow, his pitch actually went off much easier than he expected. It's kind of a relief somebody is taking this seriously — even if his own commitment to it is likely going to be reliant on tacking onto such a person. He can't exactly complain if that person happens to be a beautiful lady.

He smiles lopsidedly, swapping screens around in his HUD while he thinks.

"Great! Couldn't be too hard to figure out, could it? If it's an anomaly, it should be astonishingly out of place. So, what I need is... does this thing have a map?"

[the_infiltrator]

Cameron does in fact have a map, of her own creation, with strange markers on it. But she pulls it up and shows it to him.

"I've heard people say things are freaking weird out here," she points. "Rocks float."

[goodcommunist]

His expression brightens further with her resourcefulness. The poignancy of "freaking weird" as a description also helps.

"Floating rocks, huh? OK, I like it. It's as good a lead as any. So, from where we are..." Pavel trails off briefly, his finger following the path on her map. "Looks like we're a quick few stops of the trolley from the closest access point. Think we can catch it in time?"

[the_infiltrator]

She looks up, measuring distance and time. "If we run," she nods. "Yes, we can catch it."

The trolley is slow but it's still marginally faster than walking. "Let's go."

[goodcommunist]

She sounds so sure of herself, like she's calculated it, that he easily trusts the answer and lets out a little cheer. "Whoo! Let's do it!"

Turning off the HUD, he nods his head and starts moving, though his eyes are still on Cameron to make sure she's in close step.

"What's your name? I'm Pavel."

[the_infiltrator]

"Cameron," she says, and isn't the least bit out of breath even as they start jogging. "I'm from California. Where are you from?"

[goodcommunist]

Pavel looks equally at ease, enough to readily think out loud to himself. "California... where have I heard that before? Ah, that must be in America!"

There's humor in his voice, like he's holding back a chuckle as he admits, "I haven't met a lot of Americans. I'm from Moscow." Hopefully that won't hurt their budding acquaintanceship.

Arrival

[aimsforknees]

[ John isn't here for arrival, or expecting to meet anyone at the hospital. He has a med kit with him that he finished updating and was on his way out when the commotion catches his attention. Clearly this person is a new arrival but taking it well. Once addressed John changes course to engage with this stranger. ]

I've been here for a year. I can answer questions, if you have any.

[ Where the new arrival is animated, John is stoic. The cooling weather has prompted him to layer a wool coat over his suit, but it's not buttoned up. Still, he's willing to answer whatever questions are asked, even if the answer isn't satisfactory. ]

[goodcommunist]

[ Taking it well? You could say that. It's convenient that the newbies here were all granted private rooms to wake up in. But anyway, fellow newbie or no, there's something very put-together about John that catches his eye. He looks like he really knows his shit and Pavel likes that. ]

A year? No shit! No wonder you look like you fit in with the place.

[ Scanning him a little more closely, Pavel stuffs his hands in his pockets and wonders, is he an American? What kind of people are living here? ]

I could ask you a million questions, but first of all — [ One hand comes back out to gesture at the dispenser of cider. ] — is this all for free?

[aimsforknees]

[ Does he fit in with Etraya? Maybe so. A year is a long time to adjust to a lifestyle. ]

It's free. Sometimes the food and drink they give out has undesirable side effects, but I've never hear of the hospital welcome food being tampered with. The groceries are safe too. Everything is free here, there's no money.

[ He still remembers that little girl eating dirt after eating at a food truck. That was a year ago, he was newly arrived himself and suspicious (rightly so) of everything Etraya had to offer. ]

[goodcommunist]

[ Say no more! He looks impressed, eyebrows raised, and grabs two cups which he begins to fill at the dispenser. Not to say that he didn't catch that bit about the potentially drugged food. A little concerning. ]

Huh... that isn't the best pitch in the world, you know, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? No money? That sounds like a utopia, my friend. I got the rundown. The basics at least, I think. So, the cost of their generosity is going on some kind of noble quest to save our worlds, right?

[ Pavel smiles at him, offering John one of the cups of cider. ]

What kind of progress have you made in the last year?

[aimsforknees]

[ It's a generous move but John simply raises his hand and gives a small head shake to turn down the drink offer. Even if it's likely safe he doesn't take chances here. ]

We're given missions every other month, but there's no feedback on whether or not we're making progress on saving our worlds. Our only contact is Aurora and she has limited information. You can message her to ask about things I can't answer.

[goodcommunist]

[ Oh, man, there goes his slick plan of testing if this stuff is safe or not. His mouth drops open for a moment in response, but he doesn't fight it and sets the second drink back down onto the table. ]

Seriously? Yomoyo! What kind of operation is this? Some commander sending us out on missions blindly. That's a setup for mutiny if I ever saw one. How do you even know it's contributing to your goal at all?

[ All criticism aside, his tone doesn't sound especially worried about it. He almost seems to find it funny. ]

[aimsforknees]

We don't. Some people don't believe Aurora and Echo, some people think the stakes are too high not to play along. Participation in missions is mandatory unless you have a pass, but what you do on the mission is your business.

[ John is in the camp of people who think there's too much to lose by not participating, but that's not the case for everyone. Some people simply don't believe. It's hard to blame them. ]

[goodcommunist]

[ He laughs a little, though it's kind of hard to distinguish if it's in humor or disbelief, and stares down as he swirls his untouched cup of cider. ]

That is just crazy, man. Crazy. And what about you? You don't strike me as content to sit on your ass. Is your world that important to you? To risk playing into some alien czar's secret plan?

[aimsforknees]

[ The laughter is hard to place so John notes it to think about later, when they've had more of a conversation. ]

It is. I'm willing to play along with the missions, and help other people protect their worlds if I can. We don't have to be fighting alone.

[goodcommunist]

Not sure if that is admirable or foolhardy, but I'm going to go with the first one. Just because you seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders.

[ So, fuck it. He raises the glass for a second before taking a drink, throwing caution to the wind. John apparently didn't fully trust it, but he said it was probably fine, right? ]

I'm Pavel. What is your name, chuvak?

[aimsforknees]

John Reese. I help run the library. You're welcome to come by anytime and borrow books.

[ He certainly doesn't look like a librarian. The coat hides it some but he's in fighting shape, and what kind of librarian wears a suit? ]

[goodcommunist]

[ Huh. Okay. That name does sound western, but if there are multiple "worlds" involved here, then, does that even mean anything? He'll probably pry more later, but the mention of the library does interest him. ]

Really? A library? Actually stocked with books? Do they come in many languages?

[ Oh, or maybe they could use something to translate them? Like the earpiece? Anyway, listen, this hospital does seem pretty cushy from what he's used to, but he's not seen what the outside looks like just yet. ]

tra la la

[fieldtrip]

[ Pavel is probably trying to get someone else to go along with him and not the tiny barefoot girl standing nearby with a poster advertising her business. (The Blind Bandit Rides Again! Transportation and construction!) The one she's next to is almost ludicrously well done despite being markers on poster board, thanks to Renoir. Not that Toph knows or appreciates that.

She overhears Pavel talking, and it's a good thing he keeps talking, because it takes a bit for her to notice his accent through the translation from the earpiece. The place names really cinch it for her. That's an accent she knows really well, both from Miller himself and because she used to have her screen reader back in Aldrip use it.

Toph immediately pushes forward and rudely interrupts whoever Pavel had actually been trying to get acquainted with. ]

Hey, are you Russian?

[goodcommunist]

[ Well, that intrusion definitely came out of left field. As Pavel analyzes the one asking it, it really only confuses him more frankly, but his exclamation comes before he has time to think. ]

Opa! [ — and then he decides just as quickly that it's probably harmless? Not to mention impossible to hide. ] Guilty, guilty. I am a moskvich through and through. And why are you asking me that, little girl?

[ He turns his HUD off seeing as the person he was trying to talk to has quickly taken the opportunity to walk away... but seeing as there's no attempt to stop it, it doesn't seem to bother him. ]

[fieldtrip]

Don't call me little girl.

[ He gets one free warning because Toph isn't totally unreasonable. He's also way, way more cheerful than either Miller or her screen reader. It sounds funny to her, a little jarring amid her nostalgia. Why is she asking? Toph had just marched on ahead with what she wanted to do, like usual, but now she's stymied by needing to admit out loud that she had mushy motives like missing someone.

The past tense for what she has to say is already painful -- but she folds her arms and keeps a stony expression. ]

I used to know somebody, that's all. I haven't heard anybody around here sound like that.

[goodcommunist]

[ Pavel's hands come up in the air in lighthearted defense of himself. ]

OK, OK, my bad.

[ "Little girl" wasn't intended as an insult, but she has made her feelings on it clear enough. The follow up, of course, would be to ask what he should call her instead, but he'll save that question for now. The explanation does make some sense in that she looks ... well, definitely not Russian herself. Maybe Chinese? Or maybe she's from a place that he wouldn't even recognize. The collection of people here feels about as random as it can get.

Pavel hums, bringing a hand to his chin, and the bombastic energy cools off a bit. ]

Sorry to disappoint. [ He's a little disappointed, too. Would be nice to have someone like that to relate to. ] ...I probably wouldn't have known them anyway. Russia is a huge country, and, eh... apparently even sharing a home by name isn't enough to say your home is the same one as someone else's. I don't really get it.