Dr. Rodney McKay [Stargate: Atlantis] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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apocalypsehowcomm2022-12-06 01:08 pm
energyfieldgood) wrote in apocalypsehowcomm2022-12-06 01:08 pm
LOG - Exploration Catch-All - Closed (for now)
Who: John Sheppard and Rodney McKay (& potential other explorers and blood river enthusiasts TBA later)
When: Dec 4th and onwards
Where: Dogtown
Summary: John and Rodney explore Dogtown and it's a bloody mess, literally, in so many ways.
Warnings: gun violence; blood; potential for severe injury/death; supernaturally induced violence/aggression; potential for violence to animals; Edit: spiders; swarms of bugs/spiders; cosmic horror; induced madness; fugue state; potential for severe injury
S2: It's quiet in this part of the woods. Strangely quiet. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong. At least until you speak or make some other notable sound. The bullets zip through the trees, with no other warning. They come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. You'll need to be quick to avoid being grazed or even more seriously hit. Probably best to stay quiet. The violence prefers the silence, it would seem. You can move to the south or the east, but directly to the southeast, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine.
S3: Birds chirp merrily in this area. They chirp and chirp and chirp. The woods are alive with sound, and it's too much. It's overpowering, even for those who might be hard of hearing. The bird song fills your ears and your mind, and stopping it may become a singular purpose for those who can't mentally block it out. And if you can't find the birds? Maybe you can find something else to take out that aggression on. Or someone. You can move to the west or the east, but directly to the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. You think there may be some sort of building directly south, but it's hard to make out across the river.
S4: You can move to the west or the east, but directly to the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. You think there may be some sort of building to the southwest, but it's hard to make out across the river.
S5: To the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. A translucent rope bridge (Landmark #5) over the river becomes visible as you draw near. Up close, it becomes clear the bridge is made of spiderwebs. Countless tiny spiders swarm all over it, constantly repairing and rebuilding every little tear in its structure.
T4: You pass into a clearing in the forest that appears... normal, but the way home is distant. Perhaps this is a safe place to camp, if you must? Those who test those waters will find that the night brings its own horrors. Whether inside a tent or not, the stars grow visible, and they are wrong. They howl and shriek their pain. They laugh, rich and full-bellied. They whisper to you in an unfathomable language that slowly pushes you toward madness. In the morning, anyone who has rested here will find themselves in a fugue state, racing for the exit as quickly as their feet will carry them, mindless to spider bridges, to violent birdsong, to bullets that sing through the air for blood. Any supplies and collected items are left behind to hopefully be retrieved at a later date. For now you run and run and run. The stars chitter in your mind for hours after, but you understand nothing. You understand nothing.
When: Dec 4th and onwards
Where: Dogtown
Summary: John and Rodney explore Dogtown and it's a bloody mess, literally, in so many ways.
Warnings: gun violence; blood; potential for severe injury/death; supernaturally induced violence/aggression; potential for violence to animals; Edit: spiders; swarms of bugs/spiders; cosmic horror; induced madness; fugue state; potential for severe injury
S2: It's quiet in this part of the woods. Strangely quiet. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong. At least until you speak or make some other notable sound. The bullets zip through the trees, with no other warning. They come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. You'll need to be quick to avoid being grazed or even more seriously hit. Probably best to stay quiet. The violence prefers the silence, it would seem. You can move to the south or the east, but directly to the southeast, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine.
S3: Birds chirp merrily in this area. They chirp and chirp and chirp. The woods are alive with sound, and it's too much. It's overpowering, even for those who might be hard of hearing. The bird song fills your ears and your mind, and stopping it may become a singular purpose for those who can't mentally block it out. And if you can't find the birds? Maybe you can find something else to take out that aggression on. Or someone. You can move to the west or the east, but directly to the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. You think there may be some sort of building directly south, but it's hard to make out across the river.
S4: You can move to the west or the east, but directly to the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. You think there may be some sort of building to the southwest, but it's hard to make out across the river.
S5: To the south, the way is blocked by an enormous river made of blood. Jumping, flying, swimming, whatever is attempted seems unable to bridge the distance. And there's danger lurking beneath the thick red waters. A sea serpent that some might have caught glimpses of whilst trapped in a horrible submarine. A translucent rope bridge (Landmark #5) over the river becomes visible as you draw near. Up close, it becomes clear the bridge is made of spiderwebs. Countless tiny spiders swarm all over it, constantly repairing and rebuilding every little tear in its structure.
T4: You pass into a clearing in the forest that appears... normal, but the way home is distant. Perhaps this is a safe place to camp, if you must? Those who test those waters will find that the night brings its own horrors. Whether inside a tent or not, the stars grow visible, and they are wrong. They howl and shriek their pain. They laugh, rich and full-bellied. They whisper to you in an unfathomable language that slowly pushes you toward madness. In the morning, anyone who has rested here will find themselves in a fugue state, racing for the exit as quickly as their feet will carry them, mindless to spider bridges, to violent birdsong, to bullets that sing through the air for blood. Any supplies and collected items are left behind to hopefully be retrieved at a later date. For now you run and run and run. The stars chitter in your mind for hours after, but you understand nothing. You understand nothing.
no subject
[It has that certain grumpiness that reveals while Rodney is bleeding, it's probably not life-threatening. However, there are some dark patches on his blue shirt and he pulls a face when he tries to slip out of his own vest.]
I think one of the bullets got my leg. And my arm hurts like hell. And--
[His eyes follow Sheppard's in a similar fashion.]
Oh, can you shut up?
no subject
[He starts unwrapping the gauze, going to Rodney’s arm first, and starts to bandage what he can.
The birdsong is wearing thin on him and it’s starting to become unbearable. It’s like all the tweets and chirps are echoing louder and louder—
It fills his mind, drowning out his thoughts, becoming nearly painful.]
What is going on?! Look, I’ll be right back.
[There’s a snarl and he hands Rodney the gauze, distractedly going to the nearest tree.
And starts shaking it.]
no subject
At least until he suddenly stuffs the gauze in his hand and moves away.
Normally, he'd complain, what are you doing, where are you going, you're not finished here! - but the birds are driving him crazy as well, so he's actually glad when his companion goes to take care of that problem.
Or.
Tries.
Rodney cranes his neck, looking up at the tree. From where the birds are still chirping.]
Shake harder!
no subject
[He really is, leaves and branches are starting to fall but it doesn't seem to dissuade the birds any. John frowns, running to another tree, trying to shake it. It dislodges plenty of leaves and twigs, but not any birds.]
What the hell?
[He takes his P90 and starts firing up at the canopy.]
no subject
[Yes, he's making annoying air quotes.
When Sheppard starts shooting, he covers his ears. But it seems to have no effect - no birds flee from the crowns of the trees, and no silence falls over the forest. It's grating and Rodney - who was pretty worked up ever since the first bullet started flying - is really reaching a breaking point.]
This mission is a disaster! Why did we even come here! This is all your fault!
no subject
[He fires off more volleys at different trees, sending more leaves and twigs and a branch the size of a small log flying off into the distance.
And then he stops.]
My fault?
[The birds are getting him worked up more and more, and the instincts aren't helping any.]
How is this my fault? If you didn't wanna come, you could have waited for me at the entrance to this place! In fact, I'm surprised you didn't, since you're so scared of every damn thing, anyway!
no subject
[Rodney bristles at that, gesturing angrily with the rest of the gauze before finishing the wrapping himself.]
Oh sure, because that worked out so great last time! I should just let you wander off and have you screw up even more so you can frolic in the Eldritch meadows of death! No, thank you! Like it's not enough I have to drag your ass back into humanity as it is!
no subject
[Okay. All right. He sees how it is.]
No, wait--I'm an inhuman screw-up, and you're Mr. Perfect, the illustrious and infallible Meredith Rodney McKay, never having made any mistake in his life, ever!
[He's absolutely bringing up Doranda.]
On a scale of mild mistake to blowing up a solar system, I'd say I'm nowhere near that point yet!
no subject
[Don't you bring up Doranda, don't you bring up Doranda, don't you--
Of course he brings up Doranda.]
How fortunate for us then that there is no solar system here! Because get this, we're not in space! Instead we're stumbling blindly through a forest with no adequate equipment, no plan - unless of course we count your firing blindly into the sound-activated traps!
no subject
Okay--for one thing, I did it because we're in over our heads, as this place so happily reminds us. Two--the cat claws are awesome. Three--you think I can't catch a few birds with them!?
[He's--yep, he's climbing a tree now, claws out and digging into the bark, and still arguing all while hanging nearly upside down trying to get at non-existent birds.]
As if your plan was much better? Oh, I know--let's talk the sound-activated traps to death! Surely that won't get us killed!
[He shakes the branches wildly but all it does is dislodge acorns, which probably are headed towards Rodney...]
no subject
[He's crossing his arms, glaring at Sheppard as he climbs the tree - oh yeah, that's great, that's real human right there! - and he is about to point it out in another scathing remark when suddenly there's acorns raining down on him. And the birds are still chirping. And Rodney sputters in indignation.]
Hey! Be careful! What the hell is your problem?!
[He starts picking some up and tosses them at Sheppard because apparently that's where they're at right now.]
no subject
[Oh-oh, he is not--
--he is.
All right. That's it!
John shakes the tree wildly to dislodge more acorns at him with a huff, and then drops down to the ground, landing gracefully. If he can't get at the birds, he can certainly get at someone else.
And then he crouches.
It looks an awful lot like he's going to pounce on him.]
no subject
[More acorns means more complaining but it also means more ammunition.
Rodney keeps throwing in retaliation while also trying to shield his head.
And then John crouches. And Rodney's throwing slows to a halt, eyes growing wide when he has the worst sense of deja-vu.
He's been in this situation before. In the forest, alone, shooting Ford and realizing how screwed he is when Ford turns around and gives him a look not unlike the one John is giving him now.
Rodney takes a step back, then another, fumbling to grab one of the bigger branches John dislodged earlier and swinging it around defensively.]
Oh, we're going beast mode now, aren't we! You know, that's great! That is just typical, that is so you, losing sense of your faculties in the worst possible moment!
no subject
And so many acorns.
He crouches lower, his focus completely and utterly on Rodney. It's unclear if he's doing this on purpose or if his instincts have gotten the better of him--or maybe both, at the same time--because there's something a little wild behind his eyes.
And then he pounces--
--aiming right toward Rodney, in an attempt to pin him down on the ground. His claws are out and might sink into his clothes or skin depending on if he lands right--]
no subject
-- and Rodney swings the branch wildly, uselessly --
-- and John barrels into him and he goes down and hits the ground. He cries out because with the freshly bandaged wounds that hurts and then panic sets in. He brings one hands up to push back and slap wildly at his face, his leg kicking out uselessly, the other hand scrabbling on the ground for a handful of dirt he flings at his face.]
no subject
Really? Dirt in his face? John snarls again, trying to slam Rodney back into the ground, and he's strong--stronger than he was originally, not Superman-levels but probably Batman-levels. He's caught himself a bird, maybe that'll make 'em shut up--
He attempts to bite at Rodney's neck--not hard enough to cause serious damage, and probably aiming just as much for his collar, and in an attempt to...well, drag him off.]
no subject
John slams him back down and it's enough to knock him out momentarily. He slumps, going limp, his hands slipping off him.
He's not gonna be happy when he wakes up.]
no subject
Well.
That's one way to shut him up.
John shrugs. It's slow going dragging him by the neck and collar so he gives up, instead dragging him by the shoulders and arm.
It's probably fine.]