( 0 0 1 » ENSEMBLE ) welcome to the inaugural log

[reveriemod]

» WHO? everyone
» WHEN? may 1 onward
» WHERE? all over the station
» WHAT? introductory log feat. waking up, exploration, meeting over food and noises in the walls
» WARNINGS? potential for body horror, psychological horror, hallucinations, physical injury

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home.

( ♪ )

( 0 0 2 ) LOOK AROUND

You've woken up — but where have you woken up? It may be time to explore your new home. Rifling through a crew quarter will make the room's terminal lock to the comms device you're carrying; the room becomes yours. That includes everything in it, from the additional jumpsuit to the two extra sets of underwear. In some quarters, you may find remnants of whoever was here before you: a book on the nightstand, a coffee mug still on the table, a lonely sock on the floor.

A look around the shared areas will reveal the bar, some of its bottles already open, the mess hall, observation deck and the gym area with its dirty pool. An even closer look around these areas might reveal basic first aid kits as well as basic tool kits and fire extinguishers. The kits are located near the fire extinguishers in compartments in the wall that are not immediately visible. Hopefully, nothing's on fire and no one needs first aid... but that tool kit might come in handy.

Every now and then, as you explore, you might find yourself standing before a door that is locked. Try as you might, you will not be able to get it open.

( ♪ )

( OOC: What items characters find of those who were there before them is up to players, but please limit it to a single item that is mundane and somewhat useless in nature. )

( 0 0 3 ) HAVE A BITE

Sooner or later, all characters will have to make their way to the mess hall if they want to eat. In the mess hall, here are a number of replicator-like devices that sometimes work and sometimes don't— but after a recent malfunction that some characters may have noticed, they seem to work just fine... or at least as well as ever: nothing is particularly palatable, but at least it's nourishment, right?

So why not sit down at a table, whether it's already occupied or not, and have a meal. Maybe use it as an opportunity to introduce yourself, or just to complain about what passes for coffee around here.

And if coffee isn't your preferred beverage, well. There's always the bar.

( ♪ )

( 0 0 4 ) NOISES IN THE WALLS

For some, it's been over a week on the station. For others, merely a day or two. For all, things are starting to change: maybe you were asleep or maybe you weren't, but surely the scream that reverberates through the station will startle you. Was it human? Whatever it was, it seems to be coming from the walls of the station. Banging, clanging, then more screams.

Are you going to chase the sounds? Hide away from them? Try to investigate?

If you follow the sound of screams through the station's corridors and halls, you might feel someone - or was it something? - grab you from behind and pull hard. But when you turn around or turn your head if you've fallen, there's nothing and no one there. If you investigate and perhaps put your ear to a wall to see if the noises really come from there, or bang on the wall, you might hear something other than screams and clanging. Strain your ears and you might hear nothing at all — or you might be able to make out a soft "help me". It's barely above a whisper. Did it sound familiar? If you try to take apart the wall, two things will happen: you'll feel uncharacteristically weak and lethargic all of the sudden, and you'll find nothing at all but wiring and more metal.

Whatever you do, you'll find that the noises stop after a while, with no discernible source other than "the walls". And then hours later, they'll start again. Stop again. Start again a day later— and then stop for good.

( ♪ )

( O O C ) ACTIONS

Hello Reverie Terminal Operators! Welcome to our inaugural event. We hope you'll enjoy it!

To help exploration and interaction with the station, we have put together ten (10) 'actions' that you can request. These actions range from very minor, such as receiving a small piece of information about the station, to major, which may be a more vital piece of information or something far less pleasant, and are completely opt-in. These actions can help get your character involved in the plot, jump into the plot and its mysteries, and have more of a personal prompt to jump off of if you so wish.

Please note if you would avoid particular kinds of consequences (for example, if you'd rather your character not be injured), and we'll try to accommodate that, but please be aware that heavy themes are in play and the actions may feature body horror, injury and hallucinations.

If you'd like to receive an action, please reply to this comment with the following:
» Character: » Type of action: minor, medium, major » Notes:

In the future, actions such as these may be "bought" with bonus AC.



Please use content warning in your top-levels wherever necessary.

Comments

noises

[tumang]

[ This station makes the kind of noises Amos is used to. The low hum of the air recyclers suddenly kicking in at random intervals, the metal clanging echoing through the corridors, airlocks hissing with depressurizing, zipping of jumpsuits, clinking of spoons against bowls -

The screams, though. They're new.

He's not entirely sure why he follows the noise. Probably just because he can't sleep, and what if - what if. Better check it out, anyway.

He walks through the corridors carefully because he still doesn't have a weapon and this is really starting to grate on him. Regularly, the screams come back, and Amos taps his knuckles against the walls to try and find out where is anything hollow.

Until he stumbles upon a girl, who apparently broke apart the metal panel like it's going out of style. Amos can't help taking a step forward. ]

Well, we better hope to fucking Christ that you're not poking through life support systems, here.

[oddbod]

[She wipes her hand across her brow and gives him a half-amused look.]

Let me know if it stops working, and I'll back off.

[There's a focused urgency to her words and actions, but it's smoothed over with something almost flippant. While she's taking this seriously, she's not panicked in the slightest. She likes a good challenge, after all.]

[tumang]

[ He doesn't even blink, and his voice doesn't even take on any inflection as he speaks next, just cold. ]

You mean when you kill us all?

[ The moment she breaks something vital, they're all doomed. She seems to give no fucks about that, which he can respect, but he's not on this shithole of a station to die. ]

You an engineer?

[oddbod]

English teacher. But I've got my own spaceship.

[That's all the exposition he's getting right now, as her answer is punctuated by another horrifying scream, reverberating through the space between the wall panels. She looks up at Amos, eyes full of both gravity and burning curiosity.]

Life support's doing a lot of bloody good for someone, yeah?

[tumang]

[ Amos's shoulders tense at the scream, and his jaw clenches. In his head, the voices of Eros start playing again. He shakes his head, dismissing the sudden thought. ]

Well, they're screaming, so they're alive. They won't be much longer if life support fails. And neither will you and I.

[ The scream did sound louder with the panel open.

...Goddamnit. ]

Fuck. You might have a spaceship, if you don't know how it works, you could fuck us all, right now. I'm an engineer on a space ship. Let me take a look.

[oddbod]

[Clara chooses not to point out that she's likely incapable of dying, and relinquishes her task with a sigh. Amos will see that she's done neat, careful work - the panel has been removed with a screwdriver from her tool kit, and the wires have been pushed gently to their respective sides, giving her a clearer view up and down.]

I was looking for duct, or a vent.

[tumang]

[ He takes a moment to just look around, making sure that nothing is disconnected or frayed, and when he's satisfied with it, he nods, pulling back before giving the girl a look. ]

Would a maintenance shaft do?

[ He's spotted small shaft doors throughout the decks when going around the station. They might be locked, but it's somewhere to start. ]

[oddbod]

A maintenance shaft would definitely do, yeah.

[Her eyes flick up and down the corridor in thought, trying to recall where she might have seen such a thing. As much experience as she has in space, it's all been situational, limited to specific times and places. She lacks Amos' familiarity with the essential mechanics of a station like this.]

Have you seen any around, by chance?

[tumang]

I have.

[ He points to his right, along the corridor they're in, before starting to walk, not waiting to see if the girl follows him or not. He did want to try and get one open, after all.

The shafts seem to run towards the inside of the station, where the spin would be less, the gravity less, as well. Easier to carry around heavy tools and machinery in a 1/6th of a g than 1/3rd. And, as expected, when he gets close, he can see that the panel to the side of the shaft door says locked. ]

Hotwire it, or kick it open?

[oddbod]

Hmm. Hotwire. It's more impressive.

[She gives him a smile that's half teasing as she falls in to examine the door.]

[tumang]

[ While he really doesn't care about being impressive right now, he shrugs, plucking the screwdriver from her fingers to pop open the shift panel, pinging it back her way when he's done. He could do with one, but he'll get his own tools, soon. He's got to, he'll go crazy without a multitool if things continue to stay locked and laugh in his face. Unacceptable.

His fingers travel between the different wires behind the panel, following their circuit and their path, until he gets to one he is pretty sure connects to the lock mechanism. He tugs it out of its fitting, and brushes it against the one he's pretty sure releases access, hoping beyond hope that it works.

It works. The shaft door releases with a hiss of air and a soft whine. ]

Not sure it'll ever lock again, but here goes.

[oddbod]

[Clara lets out a low whistle.]

You’ll have to teach me how to do that.

[She drops the screwdriver back in his pocket, and leans forward to look past him, into the dark shaft. The ambient rumble of the ship is much louder here, but so far she hasn’t heard any of the noises from up the corridor.]

[tumang]

Careful. We're closer to the central shaft, the gravity is going to be less in there.

[ It's all about centrifugal and coriolis forces, how the gravity and spin is affected the closer you get to the axis. He can already feel it, magboots engaged, body feeling lighter. ]

Wanna go in?

[oddbod]

"Fizzy Lifting Drink" sort of less?

[But it doesn't seem as though the answer to her (likely nonsensical) question will have any bearing, because she's already stepping past him, eyes wide and alert.]

[tumang]

[ Amos cocks his head. It's nonsensical, and yet... ]

Sure. Just keep your boots engaged.

[ He'll be following right behind her anyway. ]

[oddbod]

Yes, sir.

[A bit of respectful cheek is audible in her voice. She steps forward, easy and confident.]

You worked in spaceships back home, then? Had your own?

[tumang]

[ That makes him give a half smirk. Not exactly something thrown his way much. He steps in after her, boots whirring as they engage, sticking to the 'floor' of the shaft. ]

Hm. Martian frigate. Legitimate salvage, so, technically ours, yeah. But that was just the latest one. Been serving on gas and ice haulers for years. Buckets in much worse state than this one.

[ He flicks his fingers against the side of the shaft, the noise echoing. Empty. Whoever's screaming, they're probably not in here. ]

You?

[oddbod]

I met a Martian, once. He tried to kill me.

[She says it with the same level of pep as everything else, as though it doesn't bother her in the slightest. Which, really, is the truth. All these years later, the whole ordeal on the submarine looks more like an exciting adventure than the traumatizing shock to her system that it had been at the time.]

My own ship's a TARDIS. Stands for "Totally Awesome Rad Diner in Space", which is a bit of a longer story. We were just getting to know one another, me and her, but I spent the last few years of my life on a similar model. My best friend and I, we were sort of... drifters. Do-gooders.

[tumang]

[ Her tone doesn't bother him. He's the same, after all. ]

Oh, yeah, I've met a few that wanted to kill me, too. There's actually a Martian here, but he's a soft one.

[ Alex would probably want to like. Adopt her, or something. ]

You really need to meet Alex. The Martian. He's the pilot of our ship, and he also has a... privileged relationship with the Roci. You two would get along.

[ Do-gooders. Holden's type. She's weird, this girl, for sure, but he's always looking to find more people that know what the right thing to do is, after all. ]

I helped save the solar system, once.

[oddbod]

I've saved a few. And the universe, once or twice.

[Lowballing that figure. She doesn't want to come off as conceited or pushy.]

[tumang]

Once or twice, huh?

[ There's a hint of derision in his tone - not because of what she says, or because he doesn't believe her, but more because her own tone makes it quite obvious that she's lowballing it.

He has no idea what her universe is like, after all.

The shaft is making their voices echo, but so far, as they walk up along it, Amos hunched up a little, there is no sign of anything that could have let out those screams. There is, however, an air filter vent, right there. Amos stops. ]

Guess this is my stop. I need to check this out, this how we're doing, here.

[oddbod]

[She doesn't answer his question; something in his voice says that he doesn't need clarification, and she's not getting the sense that he would be particularly dazzled by it. Falling in next to him, Clara leans in towards the vent, eyes narrowed.]

It's got to be echoing through those, from somewhere else in the ship. Somewhere behind one of those locked doors.

[tumang]

What do you think it is, anyway?

[ Because surely it's not actual people, stuck in this shaft. Some recordings, maybe? Reminds him of Eros. ]

[oddbod]

I don't know. Could be a lot of things.

[She shrugs, the look in her eye turning a bit more focused, a bit more serious.]

But if there's even the slightest chance someone needs rescuing, I can't just sit around. This is what I do.

[tumang]

Could be an echo. An old recording. Something to fuck with our heads.

[ Using the screwdriver she left him, Amos unscrews the panel on the side of the vent, uncovering a small control console. He taps it a couple times, a frown growing deeper on his face. ]

This says that the air filters are totally clean. It shouldn't be possible.