DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL - NIGHT EVENT

[goneawaymod]

DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call...The Twilight Zone.

LINKS
OOC FAMILY INFO/WORKSHIPPING
PLOT PART 1
INVESTIGATION
NETWORK POST

MAP

Click for larger map

Darlington High School: The town's high school, home to various cliques of teenagers, and containing secrets that can only be discovered after dark.

Sheriff's Station: The sheriff seems like a typical sitcom sheriff, neighborly and helpful, but the sheriff's station has carefully guarded files that might be of interest to the New Hires.

Abandoned Factory: In such a sunshiney town, why is there an abandoned building?

Library: Information about the town can be found here, including a section with town records.

TV Studio: The possible source of strange broadcasts that can be found on TVs in Darlington.

???: A completely unassuming house.

Abandoned Mall: Another abandoned building, and one that's outside of time. This shopping mall is a decade or two early for the time period in the sitcom. Perhaps something useful can be found inside.

Murnjgod Appliances: The TV's in the window of Murnjgod Appliances sometimes display cryptic messages that might offer clues or puzzles to be deciphered.

DETAILS
The first night and day don't leave them much freedom. The sitcom scenarios keep them occupied periodically during the day and evening and then whatever brought them there dragged them "home" the first night around 10 pm and then battened down every door and window of the building they were each in.

The second day is much the same. Forced scenarios, some free time in between. It's only at night fall that something relaxes, like the world is letting out a sigh. There is a sense of pervasive fatigue like whatever was pushing them through this has just exhausted itself trying to control all of them at once.

That means the doors and windows stay unlocked that night, allowing some of them to move around.

The streets are empty - emptier than streets often are in reality. There's no one driving home from a late shift or walking their dog. There are no barking dogs for that matter, either, despite them sometimes being visible in yards around the neighborhood.

Sitcoms tend to move to interior settings at night. So the streets are eerily quiet and empty. At 10 pm on the second night, instead of dragging them home and trapping them, every light in town other than their own house lights and the street lamps turns off simultaneously.

Their doors lock once but almost as if it's for show, a bluff to make them think they're trapped again. They can be unlocked and opened this time. The houses all have flashlights, and sheds full of tools that can maybe be used to break into places.

It's time to get to the bottom of this.

UH OH
...but only some of them will make it to the locations they want to investigate. The rest will be leaving their homes or out in the streets when the intelligence behind all this notices.

It starts with the TVs. The only ones that maintain something resembling a normal broadcast are the ones at Murnjgod Appliances on Main Street. These are so loud they can be heard at almost every point in town, although fortunately intermittently.

Jorg-Jorg-Jorg - keeps sending new friends. Here at your local station [jaunty jingle] JRGM-TV! - we're happy to serve the brand new darlings of Darlington: the New-New Hires! Wel-Wel-Welcome - welcome to the [the words "happiest" and "only" are said at the same time, superimposed by multiple voices] place on Earth. Your new ho-ho-home.

The next thing that happens is every other TV in the town - the ones in their "homes" that they were in the middle of leaving, or that they can see through the windows of other houses if they're in the streets - starts displaying static. This would be odd but not particularly unusual if not for the fact that the static starts to drip out of them and onto the floor of every home, like its some kind of liquid.



Those that make it outside will notice by looking in their neighbor's windows that something is wrong and even more fake about the people in this town. Near the streets closest to their residences, the people chatting inside their homes will look almost normal - if not for the fact almost all of them have a window cracked. They are miming out conversations without actually talking, like extras might fake a conversation in the background of a TV show.

Farther away from their homes, New Hires will find the townspeople have motions that are even stranger, often engaging in repetitive movements that keep repeating over and over. Children run up to their parents to show off the same toy every fifteen minutes, or a mother puts a (very late) dinner on the table every fifteen minutes, the way she has since 5:45 PM.

Even farther away from where the New Hires live the townspeople stop being townspeople. They are revealed to just be flat images, occasionally changing expression and body position, like Paper Dolls being manipulated and posed different ways to give the illusion of movement.



It's not wise to stare into a neighbor's window for too long, though. If said neighbors are still people, they might notice that the New Hire is not where they belong and the usual pointing and screaming may take place. It will be even worse if they're forced to come outside to do it to chase them homewards.

If they look too long in the window of a family of the Paper Dolls, these flat beings may come outside and start chasing them down the street in unnatural movements, sometimes blipping several feet in an instant as they give pursuit. If they touch a New Hire for too long they'll start flattening out, too, static starting to crackle through their veins. Fortunately, breaking contact can prevent this from becoming permanent - if it happens fast enough.

Paper Dolls cannot be killed or injured, merely staggered, knocked down, evaded, or hidden from.

Another threat, lurking around corners and patrolling through any woods and lawns: the TV-Heads. These beings are exactly what it says on the tin. Strange humanoid creatures with TVs for heads.



They range in height, with proportions that are as large as a 6' tall human or as small as a child. They stagger around town with sedate movements but start to move faster if they notice signs of nearby life - movement or sounds. The static on their screens gets louder the closer they get to a nearby New Hire. If they catch a New Hire within the light radiating out from their screens, the screens flash from static to much more alarming video: emergency broadcast system warnings blare, all localized to Darlington, and unfortunately this is not a test. When they close in within a few feet, the warnings change to nuclear missile warnings interspersed with the sound of air raid sirens.

The New Hires must avoid getting caught by the creatures, at all cost, or a fate worse than death awaits them. Unfortunately for the New Hires, like the Paper Dolls, the TV Heads cannot be killed or injured, merely staggered, knocked down, evaded, or hidden from.

Last but not least there are the Weepers. Occasionally, dark figures - wearing clothes to hide their identity (like hats or hoods with coats) - can be seen staring into the windows of one of their neighbors, their backs to the street. Quiet weeping can often be heard. If a New Hire tries to speak to them, they'll run away - whether it's a good idea to chase after them is something the New Hires will have to decide.

TIMING
This transition will happen shortly after the investigators reach their locations and in the middle of conversation in Saturday's network thread. It is recommended that players use the network thread to report in, coordinate rescues, and share gathered clues.

BLACK OUTS
The more time characters spend near Paper Dolls or TV Heads, the more risk they'll have of blacking out and thinking they're the character they're supposed to be in Darlington.

This can make getting someone to safety even more difficult, as a New Hire won't realize the danger they're in while stuck acting out their character role - since all people in Darlington know Darlington is always perfectly safe.

GOALS
New Hires who are caught outside may need to help each other get home safely - especially since the TV Heads and Paper Dolls need to be thrown off a New Hires' trail before they re-enter their home or a building to shelter in place or else they'll try to break down the door and windows.

The only safety that can be found is sheltering indoors, and only if the character enters without a Paper Doll or TV Head in pursuit.

New Hires can find impromptu weapons to use against the monsters around their homes and sheds (frying pans, baseball bats, wrenches, etc). They won't cause permanent damage to them but can possibly use them to stagger them more easily.

Character may also want to chase down one of the Weepers to find out what they are. (Then again, maybe that's a terrible idea.)

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
Everyone! Since the lockdown will start after most of them have possibly left the safety of their homes to snoop around, a lot of people will be caught out of doors and have to help each other escape back to shelter. Nothing will be forcing characters to go to their own homes, so just going to a character's home can keep them safe. Even those that are still in their homes when everything goes crazy might want to leave to go help some of the others get to safety. Since their enemies can't be hurt or killed, it will take characters staggering/knocking them down, leading them away from someone else, or helping someone hide for them to get to safety.

Those in the investigation threads will make it to their goal locations before anything happens but find the town has devolved by the time they leave said locations, and may need some assistance safely getting to their home or that of a nearby New Hire. (Though if they want to participate, it is recommended they do so after their investigation is over OOCly, as their searches may not be free of...complications.)

This is very free form and players can use it to create their own drama, npcing any of the townspeople or monsters for their own threads as needed.