monstertruckers: (Default)
monstertruckers ([personal profile] monstertruckers) wrote in [community profile] route666rp2025-05-06 05:39 pm

MAY EVENT LOG




Out of the thorn brush, the land still looks twisted and broken. And it turns a lot more jagged as rocks burst up and out of the ground like teeth… And keep reaching upwards, in defiance of all the gravity that should be pulling them down. The further up the rock spires reach, the more they splinter until the stones are free floating. The same happens to the threadbare trees, their branches and leaves breaking off and hovering in empty air. The nature of this place becomes clear: reach too high, and eventually gravity gives up.


















01: BATTLE GROUND


The ground grows rougher, pockmarked with craters and rents, like the landscape is scarred. A little further up the road is the source of those wounds. Curious Drifters will find a tangle of rock and metal reaching high up to the sky. It’s a snarl of wrecked vehicles, rock spires… And bodies.

Robotic hunters are half melted into the bones of a giant monster, and the lights have long since gone out of their lens eyes. Many of them still clutch weapons; swords, guns, and bullets by the bag-full. The hunters and weapons remain locked with the corpse of a horn crowned monster with arm length teeth, and it’s clear this tangle is the only thing that keeps the hunters or their weapons from floating off. Drifters can potentially loot the weapons… They just have to be careful about not floating off while they salvage equipment. The footing here is uneven, and the ground looks ready to break with a wrong step.

These hunters also carry prayer screen beads, but the data on them is horribly scrambled. Any attempts to tamper with them cause them to repeat a single message: “I STILL LIVE” before shorting out and shutting down.
02: HEALTH INVERSION
A building grows out of the valley; a hospital that has been turned upside down, and its foundations reach for the sky like weird tree branches. The hallways inside are all sorts of twisted up, and the building can’t seem to decide if Drifters should walk on the ceiling or the floors.

Twisted as the building is, ruins gutted by time and overgrown with vegetation… There is salvage available. Medical supplies, healing potions, healing herbs, all of it is bountiful in the hospital. The hospital is also rife with Husks, but all of them are inert… Or have already been broken apart long ago.

Then there’s the matter of the hospital screens flickering on in the wake of the Drifters. Warning lights try to flicker on, as old electronics try to scan the Drifters. The machines give up flickers of data, declaring Drifters to be “infected.” The old restraining systems of the hospital are still active, as manacles and straps alike shoot out, trying to restrain Drifters. The bonds keep them inert until they can be sedated and enclosed in what look like holding pens for violent patients. Best hope there’s someone around to help break a Drifter out.


03: SHARED THOUGHTS
The valley is overgrown with strange plants that glow with eerie light. Sometimes in camp stray glowing tumbleweeds roll through… And any contact has interesting side effects. Drifters will find they’re more aware and capable of picking up on unsaid things. These powers can the month. Each glow confers different abilities:

Blue Glow: Makes Drifters more empathetic in a psychic sense. They can register the emotions of those nearby, and may start to feel those same emotions.
Green Glow: Makes Drifters capable of projecting their emotions to other people.
Purple Glow: Gives Drifters telepathy, to hear and send thoughts to others.
Orange Glow: Grants Drifters limited psychometry. (Object reading.) Using it in the hospital or the battleground will yield unique visions and messages. Please comment to the mod/NPC thread below if your character wishes to do so!

Drifters can stack these effects, but this can overload their minds and force transformations. Those with Swarm traits will find it easier to handle psionic abilities. Additionally, ALL DRIFTERS who experience psionics will find themselves susceptible to Events 4 and 5.
04: MONSTER SHIFT, HIVE-MIND
Worryingly, extra contact with the glowing plants can not only stack mind abilities, but also force Swarm traits. The more a Drifter is overwhelmed by psionics, the more likely this is. Drifters will have access to all Swarm traits for this event, and the following:
+Psi Hunger. A need to eat psychic energy in the form of dreams, psi-infused objects (like sage brush) or even psychic minds.
+Psi Senses: luckily, Drifters can glimpse heavy psychic energy in the brush through enhanced senses, and pick out strange brain monsters. These are good eating for Swarm monsters… And there’s an unnervingly high number of them.
+Group Mind: compelled to link thoughts with other Drifters, to share emotions, memories, and achieve cohesion.
+An increasing reliance on telepathy/empathy/etc in place of speech.
+Increasing collectivist mindset. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; this becomes more evident during high stress situations.
+Compelled to spend more time in the wilds, absorbing power from plants and hunting prey in wilderness. May also be compelled to share this prey with others.
+Gravity Affinity: If possessing wings or the ability to wall climb, may freely hunt/traverse corrupted gravity areas.
05: WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
On several nights the wind picks up, and sage brush is uprooted and sent tumbling into camp. The plants trade their prior glow to something more baleful and crimson. With the wind whipping through the camp, it’s almost impossible to avoid unless a Drifter is already secure in the Convoy.

The effects aren’t immediately obvious, until the Convoy sleeps for the night… And that sleep is different. Namely the sleep is connected, showing both memories and dreams from other Drifters.

Memories from their pasts can blend together to form a strange dreamscape, that connected Drifters can travel through. But those dreams can easily turn into nightmares. Those who were exposed to the fear toxin in February will trend towards nightmares and may have their old fears make a reappearance.
If those nightmares are vivid and unsettling enough, they can force a transformation. (This may be either current monster traits, or a Swarm monster!) And then…



06: BRAIN ATTACK
It happens just before dawn, during the blue hour… Or perhaps it might be more apt to call it the red hour, with how the sky is stained crimson. It’s just bright enough to distinguish something moving in the hills. Drifters can pick out a rustling in the brush; something that isn’t wind. There’s something moving, crawling on claw tipped legs… And looking less like sage brush and more like a brain.

The Intellect Devourers numbers in the hundreds. Their claws scour the ground as they race towards the Convoy and smash into the shield. Numbers start to overwhelm the generator, along with the chaos the brain brush has sown with their psychic echoes.

The psychic echoes increase as they swarm the campsite, trying to drive Drifters into a frenzy with nightmares, fears, and strange visions. The brains are also ready to use those long sharp claws to tear anyone disoriented enough into ribbons, and start feasting on them.

06-A: BRAIN BRAWL
Hallucinations: The Intellect Devourers try to whip up more terrifying visions. Anything to disorient the entire Convoy, or drive the Drifters into a madness that leaves them transformed and too wild to easily counterattack. These hallucinations may be past trauma, or something a Drifter fears happening; the ultimate goal is to leave Drifters panicking, changed, and vulnerable.

Rally: Still, there’s one thing the Devourers didn’t anticipate: and that is how sharing a mental link has given the Drifters an anchor with each other. With all the psychic echoes spreading through the camp, any and all mental links from before can easily flare back up. Drifters who have shared dreams or some form of mental connection may still transform, but their mental link can keep their minds stable and coherent instead of growing feral.

Scars: Whether through brute force battles or mental link resistance, eventually the Convoy is able to shrug off the attack… But there is still some damage done. The shield generator has shorted out, and the Convoy itself has taken a few gashes and gouges. Not to mention any transformed Drifters will still need to be talked down. Luckily the mental links are still in place to help with that, and there’s a truck full of medical supplies to help with patching up any hurts.
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.

Disorientation: When wandering through the brush, Drifters may experience a swarm of disorientation: their thoughts suddenly scramble, they forget where they were going or what they were doing. They may also come to with a set of gashes along their legs, and a sense that they may have seen something in the sage brush move… Or maybe it was just the wind.

Float: Occasionally, parts of the road just give up their hold on the ground and go drifting skywards. Hopefully those chunks of road don’t take Drifters and their vehicles with them. Tough vehicles can likely survive the drop, while Fast vehicles can speed away before they float too far upwards. Drifters caught outside their vehicles will have to hope they have fast reflexes… Or are either good fliers or good jumpers for the leap back down.

Raining Down: On occasion, gravity will flicker and warp oddly… And that means that other odd things can fall where they used to float; rocks, plants, not to mention the odd bit of hardware and buildings. Watch for falling objects of various shapes and sizes!


NAVIGATION











solitarysoul: commisioned art (:|)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-24 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Levi just glares at Jayce for a moment before pulling a knife out of his boot and cutting a thin slash across the back of his hand. He bleeds, holding the hand out for a moment before throwing the knife so it'll land near Jayce.]

Your turn.
purplexing: (weighing pizza)

[personal profile] purplexing 2025-05-24 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
"...yeah," Donnie says, squeezing Leo lightly, and he can't help but smile at that.

For a moment he wonders if his eyes are tricking him, but he remembers how brilliant and warm and....Mikey that light had been, and he clings to that thought, wills it to be more than just his imagination. A round opening that burned brightly at its edges, widening to welcome his brother home, to welcome them home.
hexrot: (pic#17857902)

cw: broken bones and stuff

[personal profile] hexrot 2025-05-24 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ jayce startles into a yelp, jerks irratically to the touch from his half-sleep— and near immediately, the yelp becomes a sudden scream in the way he moves his leg without meaning to. his tibia juts right out of his pants leg and leather warmers. ]

N-no, don't— [ he tries to steady her, no moving him, please— but his eyes buldge wide at the clear sight of her. ] Ma'am?
Edited 2025-05-24 00:33 (UTC)
tokencanadian: (Head tilt)

[personal profile] tokencanadian 2025-05-24 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Something about the fangs in Ruby's smile was so amusing to Pyrrha. As if the red-hooded fighter couldn't have more of a certain energy.]

Good thing we're just passing through then. [She pockets a roll of gauze. Her eyes briefly glowing in the dim with a strange light.] Don't want to be caught off-guard out there.

[...]

I really should have noticed sooner that we were... changing.
taediosum: (pic#17385340)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-24 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ Arcade mutters a sort of vague, indecipherable affirmation to that, more concerned with the feeling of Len's hand folded over his than speaking clearly. It's not as if he needs to, anyway; Len knows exactly where he's aiming his rifle, seems to know exactly what Arcade is going to see, even before he sees it. Like a tidy little magic trick (only at the end of this one, the audience members haven't volunteered, and he never un-disappears them).

Dumb is an understatement, he realizes, squinting through the surprisingly clear scope. And it momentarily distracts him from the weightier part of this demonstration, the less pleasant thoughts of what, exactly, it is Len does with this rifle, beyond the not so casual, long-distance voyeurism. ]


Is that a plunger? [ A soft laugh breaks his brief silence, and he lifts his head without thinking, turning into the scant space left between them. ]

Do you think he really goes around committing atrocities in that, or was it a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing?
guidemyway: (F3BatRXXsAEHHgg)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-24 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
[Likewise, Ruby couldn't deny there was a certain charm to the way Pyrrha's eyes lit up. It reminded her a little of how a certain heavenly figure's eyes lit up back in her own world.

...And She couldn't help but wonder if that's what hers looked like when they fired up.]


True, true! It is actually nice to be able to pick up supplies without having to fight for them.

[Ruby shifts around through some cabinets looking for anything useful. She frowns when she comes up short.]

Maybe. You, and all of us had a lot going on when we first got here. Some things are going to slip through the cracks.
guidemyway: (Volume9-Ruby-95)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-24 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Ruby gives a little nod. She was happy to let the conversation swerve away from more painful topics right about now.]

Oh! That would be great. I've been having this one reoccuring one where a tiny like- super deformed version of me shows up and starts to threaten me. I've been having trouble parsing what it means exactly.

She's got the most adorable little crescent rose right now.

[See. She's definitely willing to roll with it.]

Now that you mention it though- Aren't we still asleep right now? Or how does this whole thing work and end?
guidemyway: (Volume9-Ruby-48)

[personal profile] guidemyway 2025-05-24 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
Great. I'm glad we both have ways to handle that then.

[Ruby takes the lead on this one and starts to work her way up. Thankfully she's pretty quick at this and heights were never a problem for her.]

Got you- If something does come up from behind. We'll handle that too.

[As she manages to get to the top and settles in it doesn't take her long to look back down toward Zero. A slight edge of concern in her tone.]

So we've got baddies up here- But they aren't exactly hostile. Already incapacitated by the looks of it.
androidvictoriam: (you are a sad strange little man)

emo metal

[personal profile] androidvictoriam 2025-05-24 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ The man approaching the van doesn't ordinarily get anywhere near it, partly because the mural does in fact give precisely that impression and it repels his general Disapproving Buzzkill Dad energy like a magnet, and even now, he's just passing by--but he's still stopped to listen, his expression mingled wariness and curiosity and his lupine ears pricking up of their own accord.

(He pretends this is not happening. Having ears that look anything other than human is a new and embarrassing development for him.) ]


Well, the lyrics are certainly...evocative. I'm not clear on why the singer finds it necessary to shout, but I will give it points for poetic merit.
hexrot: (pic#17857985)

cw: self harm up there

[personal profile] hexrot 2025-05-24 11:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ he wasn't expecting it to be real. because it shouldn't be. jayce is the only one in the ravine, company were only vehicles born from fever and desperation. the boy bleeds, and jayce's mind sputters completely. the smell blooms fresh in his nose, delves deep into the pit of his painfully empty stomach. all he can taste on the roof of his mouth is the blood. hot blood, on his tongue. between his teeth. the whites of his eyes eclipse behind black. he doesn't take the knife. doesn't even look at it.

just levi's hand dripping crimson. oh, no. ]


You can't be . . .
solitarysoul: (hn)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-24 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[Its not a very deep cut, just enough to let it bleed and once Jayce's seen it he wipes the blood off on his sleeve. Doesn't do anything about the smell though.

That reaction was worrying, though. Just who (or what?) had found its way into the trench or whatever the hell this hole was. Levi narrows his eyes.]

I told you.
undyingcrow: (thinking)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
A fair compromise.

[He glances at another saber, clutched lifelessly in another dread, metallic hand.]

I may grab a few different swords as a precaution. It's difficult to say how fragile they are after remaining here for so long, and I'd rather not end up at a disadvantage.

[With a wry chuckle, he grabs at that second sword.]

Perhaps some of the more damaged cyborg remains could be melted and forged into something more useful, but I'm not certain we have any blacksmiths among us.
undyingcrow: (wtf)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
We can't rule out future encounters, however.

[Even so, he does crane his neck, taking a moment to fully process the scale of the remains.]

Perhaps this is fortuitous. Ample weaponry to arm ourselves for the trials to come and echoes of the past to inform us of this world's history.
undyingcrow: (smug)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[A wry snort of laughter slips from him.]

It's wise to err on the side of caution. Still, I can't complain about the knowledge I obtained.

[He glances around, wary of sudden attacks or traps.]

Not to mention, the resources here may be worth scavenging.
undyingcrow: (smug)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I believe so.

[In the blink of an eye, the engine room disappears, replaced with a jazz club. Somewhere more calming, somewhere safe.]

For what it's worth, I do appreciate your assistance.
undyingcrow: (feral)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Not bad... Spatial manipulation certainly has its perks.

[Well, Akechi can't do that, but he can soar into the air and start whipping up some gnarly air currents to disorient the brains and knock them around.]
undyingcrow: (closed eyes)

[personal profile] undyingcrow 2025-05-24 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
True. But I don't think complete absence would suit me. Greater control, perhaps... External support would have worked wonders as well.

[He watches Viktor do his work, eyes tracking the movement of his limbs. It's fascinating, the way he has such great command over these added appendages. Like it's always been a part of him.]

I've already faced a genuine risk of my entire sense of self being rewritten to suit a "perfect" reality, so it's not something I'm especially craving.
serialmurderbot: (ugh)

hunting

[personal profile] serialmurderbot 2025-05-24 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately for Knives, he's picked the worst target for his gift, at least to start. SecUnit's been on alert ever since it woke up again, and this particular member of the Convoy dropping out of the sky in front of it doesn't do its threat assessment much good. Until it processes the request-order-offer, at which point it gives the bladed figure a disbelieving look that almost settles on Knives face.]

What the fuck am I supposed to do with it? Take it to the fucking kitchen.
purplexing: (dubious leo plans)

[personal profile] purplexing 2025-05-24 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I was already figuring melting down some metal. I'll need it for a better staff. I'll admit, my forging skills are otherwise more specified for machinery parts than edged weapons, but I can always experiment.
bufudine: (Default)

[personal profile] bufudine 2025-05-24 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Serph doesn't know what to expect, but he isn't particularly surprised when he finds another presence in his mind. But to see Jolie's expression change to something more familiar, even if she's scared, he feels he's made the right decision anyway.

And so he turns his attention inward, at the mental presence that had subjugated Jolie in this strange world.

Varuna is with him, always. Varuna never seems to have sapience, a being of impulse and endless craving. But all who shares the same mental space as the demon are subject to the constant drive to devour, and so the surge of eat them all eat them all eat them all hammers against both Hiskott and Serph.
taediosum: (pic#12456997)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-24 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
There's nothing alleged about the Legion.

[ There's a sharp note of offense in his reply, but it doesn't have the sound of burgeoning argument, only correction. ]

Whatever you've heard, I can assure you it's true. And that there's far worse that you haven't.
taediosum: (pic#15693869)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-24 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure if I should be offended or concerned about what type you do take me for.

[ Not that he sounds all that shocked. Or offended, for that matter. There are reasons, after all, why he's the last person any of the Followers would choose to represent them. He isn't even allowed to deal directly with patients unless they're already stretched thin. ]
taediosum: (pic#17385384)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-24 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Arcade looks at him a little like he's just asked when the sky's going to open up and start raining caps. ]

In New Vegas? It's not safe at any hour. ...But that sounded like it came from somewhere out past Freeside. A couple of rangers taking potshots at some geckos or ants, maybe.
taediosum: (pic#15693868)

[personal profile] taediosum 2025-05-24 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
'Not from the region'? Exactly which part of the world would you say total global thermonuclear destruction left so unscathed?

[ Unless... ]

Oh - you mean, uh, you're from a Vault?
androidvictoriam: (pb - curious)

[personal profile] androidvictoriam 2025-05-24 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He's already resolved to ask how exactly the hammer works, but this only bolsters his intense curiosity about it.

Judicious application of physics seems at least to be getting them somewhere, if slowly, and the upside-down nature of the hospital is finally working to their advantage instead of slowing them down, because it becomes easier to maneuver once Danse can pull himself along with the various handholds he finds above him. ]


Take as long as you need, soldier. I think we've got some room for a breather.

[ A pause, as he considers the gaping hole in Jayce's chest and everything the whole Death Situation™ implies. ]

...uh, metaphorically speaking.