( 002 » ENSEMBLE ) gravitational.

[reveriemod]

» WHO? EVERYONE
» WHEN? JUNE 1 onward
» WHERE? ALL OVER THE STATION (literally)
» WHAT? Gravity is always on, until it isn't.
» WARNINGS? zero g, paralysis, the vacuum of space, possible asphyxiation, possible character death

0 0 1 » LOSS OF GRAVITY

The outer rings of Reverie Station rotate around the shaft of the station, using inertial forces to simulate gravity. One moment, this works fine — people are walking along corridors, sleeping in their beds, eating in the mess hall or having a drink at the bar. The next moment? In some parts of the station, a crunching sound can be heard, like metal against metal, and shortly thereafter, the rings cease to spin, causing a jolt to go through all rings.

And then what passed for gravity just stops.

Your food, drink or blanket might have floated off after the jolt. Remember to engage your mag boots, if you're wearing them, lest you follow suit. Good luck getting around in zero g.

( ♪ )

0 0 1 . 1 » UPSIDE DOWN AND FLOATING

The lack of gravity may be disorienting at first for those not used to operating in zero g environments. Fortunately, mag boots mean you can continue walking along corridors — though the boots will engage with what used to be the ceiling of the corridors as much as what used to be the floor. No matter which part of the corridor you're attached to, if any, better make sure to collect anything that may be floating around, lest it becomes a dangerous projectile whenever gravity turns back on.

The mess hall and the gym area in particular are in a significant state of disarray. In the mess hall, some cutlery (of the grey, hard plastic variant) has been left unsecured and is floating harmlessly through the air. The same holds true for a large amount of protein powder. In the gym area, meanwhile, the entirety of the dirty water from the pool is no longer in the pool.

( ☺︎ )

0 0 1 . 2 » PARALYSIS INDOORS

One moment, you’re walking — or maybe you’re floating, mag boots disengaged. Either way, from one moment to the next, you become unable to move. Your arms, your legs, even wiggling a toe becomes a thing of impossibility. There’s a heavy weight on your chest, despite the fact that gravity is still not back on. Taking a breath is an ordeal. You can’t call for help, you can’t signal to anyone, you can only stay still.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 2 » TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

It isn't clear why the rotation of the rings has stopped and gravity ceased, but one thing is certain: life on the station is a lot more difficult without gravity, especially for those not used to living and working in a zero g environment. The sensible thing would be to fix whatever is wrong, but in order to do that, you have to figure out what's wrong first.

One way to get an idea might be to put on a suit (if required) and go out an airlock to have a close look at the upper ring, where the crunching noise could be heard the loudest. The objective is to identify the problem and, if possible, fix it — but unless you have the power of flight and can breathe in the vacuum of space, the walk from the airlock to surveying the ring will be taxing in and of itself.

Better not lose hold of the station or each other and whatever you do, do not disengage those mag boots. Hopefully, no debris will come flying at you. The station may be built to withstand it, but you aren't.

( ♪ )

OOC: There are some 20 vac suits with oxygen packs and small thrusters for (weak) propulsion available in the spaces currently accessible to characters; these can be found in various airlocks.

0 0 2 . 1 » FLOATING AROUND

The station may be built to withstand debris, but you aren't — which makes it all the more unfortunate that some debris does catch you. In the side, in the face or in the legs, it doesn't matter: what matters is that the impact is strong enough to disengage the mag boots, which means you are now floating in space.

Did your suit take damage? Do its thrusters still work, or not? Is your oxygen pack still connected properly? If your connection to the station network is still intact, now would be a good time to call for help and hope that someone's close enough to get to you in time before you float too far from the station to still be reached, before your oxygen runs out, before any possible injuries you may have sustained take their toll.

( ♪ )

OOC: With this prompt, the extent of possible injuries, the time before rescue and factors such as oxygen or damage to the suit are all up to players. Please keep in mind that character death is very much a possibility — but that death means relatively little. Should a character die from their injuries or lack of oxygen, they will awaken again. As per the death mechanism outlined in the FAQ, characters are brought back to life (possibly repeatedly, if rescue takes a while), but they lose something. What they lose is up to players as well (a limb, memories, senses, social skills, ...) and the duration of the loss can range from a few days to permanent loss.

0 0 2 . 2 » PARALYSIS OUTDOORS

One moment, you are walking along the hull of the station. The next, you're frozen. Your arms and legs no longer move and there's pressure on your chest. Even taking a breath becomes an ordeal. You cannot move forward. You cannot move back. You can't even signal or call for help.

What choice do you have but to wait out this paralysis and hope that it loses its hold on you before your oxygen runs out? Better not panic, lest you use up more of it.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 3 » WORK IT

For those who've successfully made the walk across the hull of the station to find the problem, it will soon become obvious what has happened: debris crashed into the station and got lodged between the uppermost ring and the shaft of the station, where it is stuck, preventing the spinning of the ring.

You will need to work together to cut through the debris or dislodge it. It's heavy, and you have little leverage in the absence of gravity.

Keep in mind also that if you successfully dislodge the debris, the outer ring will start moving again. Be prepared, especially if you're still connected to the ring by your mag boots. Inertial forces can be quite strong, so you will need to brace yourself or risk being dislodged yourself.

( ♪ )

Comments

[possidetur]

( vanessa takes the card from him, thumb running absentmindedly over the image of the wolf for a few seconds, her focus on the card before she looks back to the man. he wasn't interested in trying to claim them, which relieved her. to lose a possession that she dearly treasured-- )

Thank you. My name is Vanessa Ives.

( if he was helping her they may at least be introduced )

[reposing]

Well met, my lady. [Politely, he bows his head.]

Call me Alucard. If you would like, I can help you gather the rest.

[possidetur]

I appreciate that.

( considering the lack of gravity and how the cards still floated it didn't seem like an easy task. with some cards higher up, and this man already floating, he may be better equipped to retrieve them )

Were those supplies something that you already had?

( she's more curious about whether they had also arrived or if he'd had them before rather than their contents )

[reposing]

No, but I'm glad that they are here. Though how they may have appeared escapes me.

[Calmly, he floats up and starts to collect the cards for her.]

Do you tell the future?

[possidetur]

How are any of us here?

( likely whatever had brought them here had been the same mechanism that brought these items here. they still didn't have an answer to that.

there's a brief pause, vanessa collecting the cards that he passes to her, before she answers )

I have, though infrequently.

( that wasn't exactly true )

[reposing]

I had theories before. As more items appear, I am less certain.

[For now, it's neither here nor there any longer. There are indeed more pressing questions.]

Then you must do something else with your cards. I admit, they are quite unique. I've typically encountered them in Latin or in French in my passing.

[possidetur]

They were a gift.

( everything that the cutwife had owned now belonged to vanessa. the house, her possessions. it had been an unlikely friendship but something that she'd treasured dearly. vanessa did use the cards, she did search the future, but more her own than anyone else's )

Have you ever had your future read?

[reposing]

No.

[His voice is soft, almost delicate for a moment.]

I know what my future holds.

[possidetur]

Then you're more informed than most people.

( she's not entirely sure what to make of it )

I've found that people often don't truly wish to know what is coming.

[reposing]

Mm.

[He isn't entirely comfortable to follow that up with a proper response. If he could, he would rather live in ignorance.]

There is a comfort in being surprised. Around the corner, one can wish to find a coin out of pure luck.

Better for that hope than to know for certain what you are fated for.

[possidetur]

( she's torn there. when vanessa had actively sought out answers she'd said that it was better to know even if she didn't like it. when she'd been discovering her own future, a prophecy written, she'd rejected it, hated the thought of it. fear had changed her belief, though she'd again later realised that knowing had been better. she could prepare )

Ignorance can often do much harm. But sometimes I envy those who do not know what awaits them.

( although those are also the people whose destinies are not tied up with some great evil. the people that only have to worry about their basic lives, about love or happiness )

[reposing]

[There's a pause as he considers her answer, slowly handing another handful of cards to her as he sorts through the lack of gravity.]

You know the burden intimately, then.

[possidetur]

Yes.

( she'd already alluded to reading futures and given that these were her cards the link was easy to make )

But there is always a plan. Once I believed it was God's, now I'm not certain.

[reposing]

[For a moment, he holds his breath. Naturally, it would be that, wouldn't it.]

Faith in one's god is a complicated thing from what I have witnessed. Might I ask what you are fated to do, by God's hand or otherwise?

[possidetur]

( indeed it was. she'd been devout all of her life but it was hard not to feel like he had abandoned her when she'd needed him most. she hadn't prayed since arriving here, nor even thought of her god until now )

I'm afraid you might not believe me if I did.

( she tries to brush it off with a little amusement but in this case doesn't manage it as expertly as vanessa usually may. her destiny is something that she has too many feelings about, and even though she's already sent lucifer back to hell there's a niggle in her mind about it truly being over. lucifer didn't fall alone )

[reposing]

[A dry laugh escapes Alucard. For her eyes, it does not hide his fangs.]

Try me, my lady. There are so many strange and wretched things in the universe.

[possidetur]

( his words ring ever true and he'll see the change before her words snap, the hardness in her eyes, her posture tensing a little. she'd felt something but hadn't known what, had ignored it with his kindness, but now vanessa could ignore it no longer. vampire )

Indeed. Where is your master?

( where one vampire was a master wasn't far behind. a master that had sought her as lucifer had. it had been months since she'd seen such a creature, not since mina's death, but that lull had only brought new foes. perhaps lucifer scared even them and with him gone--

but this was not london. was there a master here? how many vampires were there? only he could tell her that, as honest as his answers may be )

[reposing]

Master?

[There is a pause as he considers her words.

Ah. She knows at least partially what he is. It is true that there are masters to converted vampires, but not for him.

Alucard hands the last bit of cards to her, just as calmly as before. The smile is gone, but he remains polite.]

I answer to no master. And you are in no danger from me.

[possidetur]

( vanessa hesitates now before taking them, wanting to remove the proximity of her to him. with the last of her cards in her hands, she takes one step back, though if he wished her harm that one step would make no difference )

Then what is it you seek?

( because no other time has any vampire been near without sniffing out around her. she also doesn't believe that she isn't in danger. isn't that the nature of a vampire? )

[reposing]

[Carefully, Alucard watches her reaction. It is unsurprising, and ultimately he cannot blame her. Still, every time this does happen, it is a series of pinpricks over his heart.

She doesn't know. She doesn't understand. Would she ever? Would anyone ever.]

Nothing anyone could ever grant me.

[A cryptic answer, but it is his, and it is truthful. No one can give him the relief of not fulfilling his fateful role.]

I can take my leave if you need it.

[possidetur]

( she doesn't understand his answer, though given that it wasn't really an answer she had no hope of it. there's a few seconds before vanessa nods )

Go.

( she needs to process this, to decide what to do. what could she do? without sir malcolm here vanessa didn't know what to do. could she so easily kill a vampire? had she the strength, the capability? she'd never wanted to find out and here that was )

[reposing]

[He hoped for a different answer.

But it is the one he expected.]

As you wish.

[Alucard is diligent in collecting the medical supplies he'd found. If nothing else, this will make for a good addition to the clinic. He'll have to take that silver lining.

Wordlessly, Alucard flies himself out of the mess hall to leave Vanessa to herself.]