monstertruckers: (Default)
monstertruckers ([personal profile] monstertruckers) wrote in [community profile] route666rp2025-10-07 06:41 pm

October Event




Gradually the badlands fade out, replaced by brass colored grass and plains. The road is unnervingly well kept here, without a trace of wear and tear. It cuts straight through the land and into a valley. Ruins come in the form of tattered cloth scraps draped over the valley, and broken down wreckage of what could have been rollercoasters and carousels.

The Convoy makes a camp in a particularly fabric rich area; the tattered cloth flaps like flags in trees and abandoned powerlines. But as the sun sets, the cloth spreads and multiplies. In a breath the wreckage turns into tents with bright colors and patterns. Ruined rides build themselves back up again, a gigantic circus tent closes over the Convoy… And the vehicles all shift in a shriek of metal, turning into cages.

Drifters might find themselves trapped in those cages, scattered across the fairgrounds, or caught on the main rings of the tent. Right as they start to gather their bearings, a voice booms out.

“Ladies and gentlemen please, would you bring your attention to me?” The stands don’t seem so deserted anymore. There’s shadows filling the seats, and a few thousand faintly glowing eyes turned towards Drifters. “A feast for your eyes to see, in the wake of catastrophe! The world may be broken, our souls ghostly streaks, but we turn in the grave for this collection of freaks!”

A ghostly carnival is in full swing, And the Drifters are the leading stars, whether they want to be or not.

















01: MONSTER SHIFT, ALL


It feels like every aspect of the Carnival is trying to force monster changes on Drifters. Cages designed to oppress or panic, or even kill Drifters if they don’t adapt: water filled containers to force Merfolk changes, bird cages that rise to great heights and then drop Drifters through the floor, etc. Then there are the performances trying to force changes, and even the gaze of the spectators.

It all means that Drifters are forced to change and adapt… Sometimes into entirely new forms.

((OOC: FOR THIS MONTH ONLY, you may switch your character’s monster form to something entirely different! Any monster is available, but this will reset at the end of the month. You can choose to keep your bonus traits (if any!) active during this phase, or mute them to fully explore the new monster traits.

IN ADDITION, all traits and monster form switches are discounted this month as though they were Event Monsters.))
02: BLOOD AND CIRCUSES
In a ring of fire and ice is the first attraction; a red spattered fighting ring. The Carnival hasn’t bothered to clean out the last set of blood stains before a collection of Drifters are brought in to shed more of it.

Along with the fire and ice bordering the ring, various hazards spring in to shed more blood; knife throwers sometimes appear at the edges of the stage to throw blades at the Drifters. Bleeding or dodging is both part of the show. Same with the occasional fire and ice breathers spitting the elements into the ring.

And then there’s the hazards loosed inside the ring proper, for the fighting spectacle. With a crowd of spectators hungry for more sport, any number of matches are available:

02-A: HUSK BATTLE
Assorted monsters are kept in separate cages from any Drifters, and are in a bloodthirsty state when released. Any prior monster encounter from other areas is fair game here! And there are several new encounters as well:
+T-rexaur: A large red and purple striped t-rex with fearsome jaws, a tail swipe, and a bad attitude.
+Water based monster: A portion of the fighting ring is flooded, and populated with an assortment of water monsters. Sea wolves and sea lions (in the form of actual aquatic mer-lions) are both in attendance.
+Stranger, a ghastly and gaunt creature resembling a human mixed with an ostrich, with a mouthful of sharp teeth ready to bite.
+Khezu, an alarmingly wyrm like dragon with a long snaking neck, snapping teeth, and the ability to generate electric shocks.

To make things just a little more complicated, the monsters also have a coating applied to their fangs, claws, and any other weapons on them. The solution alternately burns and freezes when coming into contact with Drifter skin. And any hit that draws blood can forcefully activate a monster trait for the unfortunate Drifter.
02-B: PVP
Of course, the crowd demands more than just fights against a mindless opponent. They wish for displays of cunning and ferocity alike, and this pushes Drifters into the ring to face off against each other.

Monster wranglers wait on the margins, either to goad Drifters into a battle with strikes, and perhaps a few darts to induce a berserk status… Or to break fights off before they can become too lethal.

They wish to keep their star attractions alive, after all.

But accidents and killings can still happen; in that case, Drifters will find themselves reforming in a strange gas station/tent combo, similar to the usual revival ritual.
02-C: CHAINED MATCH
Either of the above situations apply, but to make things that little more interesting, two Drifters will find themselves chained together.

Whether by the throat, ankles, or wrists, there’s a length of chain tying them together. The chain appears to be made of a material similar to the moon shards, alternating between metallic material, and a strange glowing substance.

It keeps Drifters within 6-12 feet of each other at all times. Attempts to break the chain will reflect the attacks back on the Drifter, either as damage or as monster changes… Though this said, two Drifters working together with concentrated attacks might have better luck at shattering the chain, and making their escape in the chaos.

Granted, such a thing might also cause a small scale Moon Warp. But it certainly aids in adding confusion and chaos.
03: CENTER STAGE
Beyond the blood sport, there’s also a circus performance to be had. Drifters may find themselves roped into a variety of performances, whether they’re willing or not.

Ghostly carnival staff have weapons at the ready to threaten and prod someone into performing if they need some extra motivation. Or perhaps even threaten those close to the Drifter, for more encouragement. Similarly, there's also the blackmail of withholding healing or nourishment until a performance occurs.

Among several performances a few stand out:

03-A: HIGH FLYING ACT
The more athletic Drifters may find themselves pushed into an odd set up, and leap, dive, and weave through various hoops of different elements. Somehow the Carnival has found a way to make the hoops burn underwater and perfectly suspend them above water as needed, as well. The entire thing is an obstacle course that doesn’t care very much about the safety of the performers. Aside from the burning, freezing, and electrified hoops, there’s knife dodging, and a lot of perilous footwork in the form of platforms to jump between.

Further up, a high flying act has been set up near the roof of the tent, with swinging trapeze sets and a tight rope strung at a dizzying stretch. It’s a long way down, and there’s various hazards set up to jump through and weave between, from more hoops, knives, and even nets of razor wire to dive between.

Drifters may end up injured in the process, or need some help to get through the course in one piece.

03-B: MAGIC ACT
Drifters with any degree of magic, whether that’s natural or monster powers, are pressed into the magic section of the ring. The hazards here aren’t quite as readily visible, but still present.

Drifters are presented with dangerous objects to destroy or dispel with their various magic talents: throwing knives aimed straight at them, razor winged mechanical doves, and perhaps even a sharp toothed monster rabbit hiding in a hat.

Then there are the hazards to escape from; water tanks, binds, coffins that are set ablaze or stabbed through with swords and the like.

And there is also the conjuring and disappearing acts. Drifters are given various magic hats to pull roses and assorted magic props from… Though there’s a chance those items might explode into a wave of transforming or mind altering magic as the crowd applauds. And there is also the disappearing act, where Drifters may vanish and reappear in a completely different part of the Carnival.

03-C:OPEN TALENT
If a Drifter has a talent suited for performing, they might very well find themselves in the spotlight and with a ghostly crowd focusing on them. Time spent show casing their talents might get a haunting cheer from the crowd, and a request for an encore while getting showered with ghostly flowers.

Said flowers offer one of two things: a moment of clarity to help restore Drifters who have become too feral… Or a chance to escape in a sudden swirl of flower petals. Though if a crowd doesn’t like the performance, a collection of tomatoes might also be incoming… Oddly blood filled tomatoes at times.

This said, there’s a handful of other ghostly performers nearby who don’t take kindly to sharing the spotlight, and are more than ready to sabotage the performance. That may include forcing transformations, or finding a way for the performance to turn deadly. Or just glaring and/or heckling the performers. Ghosts are fickle like that.
04: ENSHROUD
One last thing can (optionally) be draped over the Drifters in the Big Top: the Masquerade Shroud.

The Shroud may take the form of a masquerade mask, a blindfold, a veil, or any other type of accessory that covers the head. It taps into the Drifter’s Sigil to further enhance the stage. These enhancements take one of two forms:

Euphoria: does its best to convince a Drifter they are in an ideal setting, where everything is going their way. This may also pull on their memories, showing them cherished things or people to motivate them into giving their all to the performance.
Terror: is the opposite, bringing up nightmarish hallucinations to motivate a Drifter to try and escape, or eliminate any obstacle before them. Like Euphoria, the Shroud may also pull up deep rooted fears, terrors, and regrets from a Drifter’s past.

The Shroud also makes the illusions visible to others. This is usually for the benefit of the audience, but this also means that Euphoria and Terrors from different Drifters can easily blend together.
05: FAIR GROUNDS

Drifters who manage to escape their cages (or avoid getting caught up in the main stage as the Carnival springs to life!) will find themselves wandering the fairgrounds. But just because they’re free of the performance doesn’t mean the dangers or the hazards have passed.

The fair grounds are host to a variety of specters, drifting from place to place. Oddly, any transformed Drifter seen by the specters doesn’t raise an alarm; the Drifters seem to be treated as part of the wandering entertainment, as long as they don’t cause trouble… Though trouble lurks behind many of the attractions.
05-A: HALL OF MIRRORS
Lurking inside a tent is a maze of mirrors; a decent hiding place, and an even better place to get lost in. These mirrors show more than just the Drifter’s reflection: they catch glimpses of a person’s past; past regrets, past triumphs, all of it blends together.

Longtime Drifters may also be forced to revisit their time in Revan, both the high and the low points.

And if a mirror is shattered, then it also shows any number of possible futures… Though many of those are grim, capitalizing on a Drifter’s fears.

A Drifter can reverse multiple transformations if they make contact with a more normal reflection… Though there is a price to this. They will find themselves mirroring the personality traits of anyone they make eye contact with.
05-B: FREAK AND PEEK
It’s possible for Drifters to be captured again, or even just shunted from the big top to end up here. Put in cages for various specters to come gawk and stare at. However, the staring can go both ways; anyone who makes close eye contact with the ghosts will see something strange reflected in the spirit’s eyes.

That something is a glimpse of the world before. Drifters can easily see visions of past locations, this time healed of all damage and filled with people. There’s even images of monsters emulated in carvings, read about in books, and spoken about with a certain amount of fear and reverence. And it all seems to tie back to the moon.

That’s just at a first glance; it’s possible to gain more information with a deeper look, though it risks upsetting the ghosts… And causing a vision backlash onto the Drifters, forcing a new monster type onto them for the month.

((OOC Note: Please comment under the Freak and Peak comment thread on the OOC post, and we will do an RNG roll to determine your visions and monster type!))
05-C: CAROUSEL
A carousel full of eerily life like creatures spins around and around. The various figurines are painstakingly crafted puppets and animatronics that resemble monsters. A haunted calliope plays in the center, though no-one sits there. Instead a constant wind shifts through the pipes, producing a strange melody; the song can verge on being hypnotic, drawing Drifters in.

If an unfortunate Drifter DOES step aboard, they’ll find themselves cruelly ensnared by ghostly harness and ropes and forced to take part in the ride. Their instincts can be pushed to a breaking point as the Carousel spins faster and faster: Drifters can easily be overridden by either a predator drive to hunt, or a prey drive to flee or fight back. With such instincts active, it becomes easier to break out of the restraints… But that impulse will remain with the Drifter.

The carousel also has one last quirk. It runs both forwards and backwards. Running backwards reverts a Drifter from their monstrous traits, but forces a fear into them. They have to fight that fear and urge to flee any monstrous creature, including other Drifters. Running forwards advances a Drifter’s monster transformations, and pushes bloodlust into them.
06: FORTUNE TELLER
A lonely tent stands apart from everything else, and the phantoms stream around the tent like fish around a rock. A faint, shimmering glow spills through the tent flap from dozens of candles, providing just enough light to see.

The ghostly specter inside weaves a pattern of cards between their hands. They don’t speak, but offer to show images on the cards to any curious Drifters. In exchange for price. It could be a bit of coin, a bauble, or even a bit of song or story.

All of this is explained on a sign board next to the cards. It also warns: “A bit of magic will cling to you after the reading. Creatures of fate always twist the pattern into odd quirks."

((OOC: As with Freak and Peek, please comment to the relevant thread, and we will RNG roll a single card drawn from the deck, and a quirk assigned to your character. Unlike Freak and Peek, this is not a monster transformation but instead a little oddity that lasts the month.)
07: ROLLER RACE TRACK
Flickering carnival lights shine down on a dusty wood carved path behind the tents: a crude race track stitched together with a rollercoaster. A handful of vehicles have been freed from being cages, but appear to be bolted to the roller coaster. Electric current races along the track at times, as a shocking hazard to anyone outside their vehicle.

Those metal tracks run in crazy spider patterns around the course, with plenty of opportunities to weave and crash together. The track also has both steep plunges, and even loops for the cars to clear.

Drifters may find themselves bound to their cars via a chain lashed from wrist to steering wheel. The only promise of being released is if they can finish the race alive… And the Drifters may also find that someone else has been chained to the car with them, to heighten the stakes of the race.

Fast cars have the easiest time clearing the loops, and racing ahead. But Tough cars can better manage to demolition derby portion of the race. It’s always a toss up on who might come in first… Though the prize isn’t much to write home about. Simply that Drifters are let free to wander the Carnival grounds.
MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Bark And Bite: Outside the tents is a strange electronic arrangement. It’s a haunted barker speaker with teeth growing out of it. It tries to bite passerby in order to steal or mimic their voice to announce the next big show.

Brewing Storm: The weather is a fickle thing, alternating between a haunted twilight state, a rumbling storm brewing overhead, and a few fitful bolts of lightning and splashes of rain. The sun never seems to shine overhead, no matter how many days pass.

Haunting Melody: A persistent melody creeps through the Carnival, through mournful calliope pipes and broken speakers. It tries to match to festive tunes either from the world of Revan, or the world of the Drifters… But it always comes out sounding mournful instead of cheery.

NAVIGATION











solitarysoul: (chibi)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-22 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
The silk rope and how Edward scuttles up it is fascinating, but now really isn't the time to wonder about it. He holds on tightly, and as the two move out of the mirror's range the images and rumblings of the war fade.
propatriamori: (lost)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-24 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
The vibrations fade away too, the higher Edward climbs, but he's still tense when he lands on the rafters.

"Stay where you are." If the war returns, Edward can make a faster escape with Levi already on his back than if they have to reassemble. "Can you still see it?"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (:|)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-24 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Right." He'd be fine up here especially without any pillarmen but if Edward needs to move fast its better he stay on. Also getting off and back on in the rafters might be hard.

He looks down, "No...the mirrors just reflect themselves now." That means they were reflecting him when they showed the war. Great.
propatriamori: (thoughtful)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-25 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"So it was the mirrors." Edward sighs, and starts picking his way through the rafters. Levi is light enough that he barely notices his weight. "Strange that I could feel the war too."
solitarysoul: (GRUMP)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-25 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah...they showed scenes from the war...fun house mirrors are suppose to show silly reflections but not like that." He grunts, "Stupid shadow ghosts or whatever probably wanted to make sure we suffered as much as possible."
propatriamori: (lost)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-26 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
"I wouldn't put it past them. I believe they find our suffering humourous."

The bastards.

Edward works his way along the rafters, stepping carefully. The last thing he wants is for them to fall into the hall of mirrors again.

"Your war... it sounded exactly like mine."
solitarysoul: (rifle)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-26 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"They definitely do." He snorts and rolls his eyes.

"...trenches and land mines and artillery strikes? No wonder they let you feel it."
propatriamori: (questioning)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-28 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Were you able to feel it too? Or only see it in the mirrors?"

There's is a terrible implication there that Edward doesn't like.
solitarysoul: (u.u)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-28 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"...no. Not really." He might have felt it some after Edward mentioned it, but it might have been in his head.
propatriamori: (lip bite)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-29 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"They're adapting." They've reached the wall now, outside the maze, and Edward attaches some silk to a rafter so they can rappel down. "I should have been immune to the mirrors--I started immune to them--but then they were able to affect me as well."
solitarysoul: (ow)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-29 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"...yeah." Its not a nice thought. "I hope we find a way out of this thing soon. I don't want to see what they might come up with next."
propatriamori: (thoughtful)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-11-30 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nor do I." Edward steps close to the edge of the rafters. "Hold on, I'll be taking us down now."

And with that, he carefully guides them down to the floor.

"I believe we're beyond the mirrors now, but I regrettably have to ask you to check."
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-11-30 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi hangs on tight as Edward rappels down, then hops off once the pair are stationary for more than a second. "You're right. We're at what I guess is the entrance or the exit. No more mirrors."

Unless its a trick and the door goes into another maze. He hopes not.
propatriamori: (guiding hands)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-12-01 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Thank God." Edward reaches out to clasp Levi's shoulder. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-12-01 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah." There are no gods that Levi would thank, but no reason to be rude or take away from the moment to point that out. "The sooner the better. He takes a step towards the exit, then pauses to make sure Edward doesn't need to be lead. That vibration thing probably lets him see....somehow, but Levi doesn't want to be rude.
propatriamori: (pic#17907236)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-12-02 02:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Edward used to believe in god, before the trenches. Now it's just a name he invokes because the phrase is convenient.

He doesn't need Levi to lead him, but he falls in step slightly behind him, his spider lower half needing most of the hallway to fit. Once they're outside, Edward takes a deep breath before sighing it all out.

"All right, duly noted: don't go in the maze again."
solitarysoul: (ow)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-12-03 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi sighs. "I didn't even try to. I just wanted to see what was inside but then I couldn't find the way out, just more mirrors. I can't thank you enough."
propatriamori: (it's really unfortunate)

[personal profile] propatriamori 2025-12-04 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Edward waves away Levi's thanks, but he squeezes his shoulder all the same. "Of course. I wouldn't leave you there to fend for yourself."
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-12-06 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi freezes for an instant at the touch but relaxes quickly. Its just reflex, really. "Still. Thank you. Let me know if I can make it up to you sometime."