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: (ow)

Levi | Fear & Hunger 2: Termina | Infernal

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-10 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
01/03 CW: PTSD, Kids sent to war, trench warfare, general death/destruction/gore of war, possible hard drug use/addiction mention)
Some time last month Levi started hearing voices. Mostly around the tower and husks, and they rarely said anything he could make out. So after quietly panicking that he was going crazy he shoved it in the 'weird shit to ignore' box. He could live with it. It was annoying but it was livable and didn't cause any real trouble other than his anxiety rising when it happened.

This month, after not-quite avoiding some tumble weeds, he was picking up voices and images after touching some things. Mostly it was useless information so it, too, was more annoying than anything. And given it started after those weird glowing plants it would probably fade like the thorn changes had last month (mostly).

But them going off at the same time was an issue. Maybe exploring the strange remains of the monster and partially metal people wasn't the best of ideas. But ammo and guns and other weapons or useful things could be found among them, and him finding a weapon before someone who didn't know how to use it was much safer. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he still felt at home on the battle field. Apparently even ones from gods knew how long ago between forces he didn't (even try to) understand.

At first it went well enough, climbing around on the strange floating rocks and debris with his rifle and his bag. His ears are pulled back (and occasionally following sounds that aren't there), but otherwise he seems unbothered by the scene. Until he brushes up against the wrong bot and freezes. Text flashes through his skull, (We are the last defense against the moon mad and the warped. We protect the few humans left, where our science failed. We purge sickness to protect those who remain), stronger than the previous visions. He perks his ears as if that would let him 'hear' it better but all he hears is the wind and the voices.

Can't...reach...city...

Where's our-

Hold the line!


Its too much. This battle field isn't anything like one he actually fought in, but the voices are the same words he's heard before. He stops moving and grabs claps his hands over his ears (well, as much as he can). He's shaking, his eyes are wide and he's sweating profusely.

((If you really want pain, let me know and he can have the green glow/projecting emotions effect active!))


06-A Scars
One way or another Levi got through the battle without losing his mind, but his form has changed. During all the chaos his anger rose enough for him to change forms. There was still possible trouble so he hasn't changed back (also he was too tired to really try), so he's picking his way around the convoy like this. Broken objects and debris are easy to deal with, but he's more careful approaching people who may be hurt or still having trouble.

"I-its okay. I'm not here to hurt you."

He's also got moth wings, though after the battle they are a little torn.


0?: Wildcard
Got something else in mind? Hit me up @ [plurk.com profile] ConnectiveTrick or just throw it at me.

((will match style, as always))
Edited (right, add a wildcard option) 2025-05-10 20:57 (UTC)
flowersnjunk: (now you snuffed up)

Scars

[personal profile] flowersnjunk 2025-05-12 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Eunie feels as if she's waking from a nightmare. Her body feels sluggish and her brain is swimming- she tries to focus on what's real even as echoes of hallucinations dance in her sight. When another dark creature appears before her, she feels panic rising. The horn on her head begins to glow, along with her soft gold aura intensifying.

"You...! Whatever you are! Stay back!"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-12 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi steps back, putting his hands up in the 'I'm unarmed' pose (maybe not useful when he has claws and fangs). His ears pull back. "I-it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

His voice is the same, at least.
flowersnjunk: (i'll bash yer fookin' head in i swear on)

[personal profile] flowersnjunk 2025-05-14 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Eunie flinches at the sight of those claws, and she seems to sparkle even brighter for a moment. "Y-yeah, that's right, keep those where I can see 'em!"

Her head is still swimming, and it seems like the light she's giving off isn't helping. She presses a hand to her temple. "Argh, my head!"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Bone Doggy1)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-14 10:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi's ears and tail droop. "I-I...i-its me. Levi? I just...I-I'm not sure I have the energy to turn back. Please. I just want to help."

Why did her being scared of him hurt so much? And why did the light make him want to shrink away?
flowersnjunk: (now you snuffed up)

[personal profile] flowersnjunk 2025-05-19 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
"L-Levi?"

Focus. Focus! If she could just wake up... Eunie wrenches her eyes shut, then forces them open again, forces herself to really look.

"Am I still out of it? You look... different!" Well, that's one way to put it.
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-19 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
He nods, ears perking up a bit as she recognizes him. "Y-yeah...I, um, I look very different."

He doesn't really like it.

"Are you okay? C-can I help?"
flowersnjunk: (sex makes babies!?)

[personal profile] flowersnjunk 2025-05-20 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
There's no denying that the voice belongs to Levi, but no matter how many times Eunie blinks or rubs her eyes, he still looks like that.

"I think I was having a nightmare. Or I'm still having one. My head's spinning like mad!"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-20 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think we all did. There were these...brain things. B-but I think they're gone now. Dead. Did you get hurt anywhere? I can bring you to the medic's room."
faceguy: (choose)

scars

[personal profile] faceguy 2025-05-15 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
The sudden appearance of the dog(?) thing doesn't startle Leo like it might others, only because he's so used to people who aren't human. Still, he looks a bit wary, after everything that's happened, but then...

The voice is familiar enough that his eyes widen, and his wariness melts away.

"That you, Lev?" He looks Levi up and down. "You look, uh... furry."
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Bone Doggy1)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-15 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Y...yeah." His ears droop a bit and he looks away. "I turned into this a few times...i-its helpful for fighting up close. But I'm not sure I have the energy to turn back right now."
faceguy: (in the back)

[personal profile] faceguy 2025-05-16 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, oops. He didn't mean to cause some droopy ears.

"Oh, well, that's okay. I mean... you look great!"

Leo gives him a thumbs up.
solitarysoul: commisioned art (What?)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-16 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um...t-thanks?" He's not sure he agrees with that compliment. He's pretty sure he's scary looking like this and, well, that wasn't good now.
faceguy: (a motherfucker)

[personal profile] faceguy 2025-05-17 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
He does look a little scary... but Leo doesn't want to just say that. Levi's cool, as far as he's concerned.

"Anyway..." He turns away and looks over the remnants of the battle from the night before. "We've got a whole mess out here, don't we?"
solitarysoul: (Scope)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-17 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Good, another subject. "Yeah...those brain things did some weird stuff to people. I-I'm not sure if the shields still work..."
faceguy: (floating through the atmosphere)

[personal profile] faceguy 2025-05-18 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
Leo glances away, not that he can see the shields right now. If they're not working, that's really bad for them.

"...Well, we have a lot of people here who know their way around machines," he says, trying to sound cheery even if he doesn't feel it. "They'll figure out how to fix it."
solitarysoul: commisioned art (Default)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-18 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah...I'm not one of them, but I can help protect the convoy when the shields aren't working." He'd done so before, and since he has bullets this time it'd be easier.

He looks down at his clawed hands...this form could help too, he supposes.
faceguy: (come round)

[personal profile] faceguy 2025-05-18 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
“Same here. Maybe we should stick together for now.”

He scans the area. Nothing is attacking right now, but…

“At least where we can hear each other shout.”

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solitarysoul: commisioned art (omgwtf)

For Natsuhi; cw: PTSD, needles, probable body horror (outside of the normal for this game lol)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-18 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
He wasn't supposed to explore alone, and Levi generally agreed with that one of SecUnit's rules. But he was a combatant, so it didn't exactly apply to him. And he was going deeper into the creepy, gravity-twisting hospital for the purpose of finding others who had ignored that rule and gotten themselves in trouble. (And loot supplies, of course.) He mostly avoided the restraint systems and monsters so far, though being ID'd as "Infected" was really annoying. He didn't need the hospitals telelectroscope whatever the fucks telling him that.

Spotting and avoiding traps on the ground (or whatever surface he was walking on) was something Levi'd gotten good at but he didn't expect them from the ceiling. Even if he should have, because it was the floor right now. A pair of straps shoot out from above and grab an arm. Levi tries to jump aside, dropping his gun to slash at the straps with his claws. The restraints aren't designed to go all the way to the ceiling and back so they don't have the best grip on him and he's able to claw and wiggle his way free quickly.

But not quickly enough, because the second strap held a needle instead of a cuff and it has enough time to inject him before Levi retreats to the next room. He's sweating profusely and some sort of black plates seem to be forming on his arms.
discolouredwings: (pic#14995651)

[personal profile] discolouredwings 2025-05-20 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
In hindsight, Natsuhi's plan of sticking behind only going into rooms that had been checked might not have been the best idea. Because this place was never normal and the seemingly safe rooms changed. Leaving her trapped while restraints blocked the hallway, with gravity inverted.

Natsuhi wasn't sure how to exit. She'd have to dodge being captured and not knock herself out on the ceiling when it became the floor.

She poked her head out the doorway at the sound of a scuffle, her hair drifting upwards for a second as the gravity shifted. Then Levi nearly bowled her over as he darted in. She jumped back, bumping into an empty cabinet. She frowned, then reached for him before pulling her hand back.

"Are you alright?"
solitarysoul: (what the shit)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-23 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Levi's ears are pulled back, almost plastered against his head, he's sweating profusely and his pupils are dilated. It takes him a moment to notice Natsuhi and when he turns to look at her he doesn't seem to really focus on her.

"T-t-t-t-he N-need-needle...."
discolouredwings: (1)

[personal profile] discolouredwings 2025-05-26 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Natsuhi's own ears were pricked, swinging between his stuttering and back to the hallway. She even turned to look back out the door to see if she could spot what had...and ducking back inside when something moved. Hopefully, the door could keep that out.

Then she rushed back to him, not even thinking as she brought a hand up to rub at his back.

"A needle?"

Was he scared of them or?
solitarysoul: commisioned art (omgwtf)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-28 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"It-I-it got me. A-and..." He holds up an arm, showing off the chitinous plates that have formed along it. He starts trying to pry them off but its not easy as they're attached.

He barely notices her touching him, in fact its not certain he realizes she's there at all.
discolouredwings: (pic#14995651)

[personal profile] discolouredwings 2025-05-30 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"It got you-" She repeated his words, then they sunk in and she gritted her teeth. The hand that was rubbing his back pausing and just gripping the fabric. Her eyes narrowed at his arm. What was that? Scales?

It was probably bad that she hoped he was just turning into something strange. That was normal for here.

Then she brought her other hand up, reaching for his forehead. Going to check his temperature. Though she wasn't sure what to do if he'd been injected with something.

"How are you feeling?"
solitarysoul: commisioned art (omgwtf)

[personal profile] solitarysoul 2025-05-31 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
He flinches back as she touches his forehead; he hadn't really noticed her before but that was hard to miss. There's no fever, but he is sweating as he peers at her with wide eyes.

"Y...you...w-w-when did you get here? D-d-did they get you t-too?"