( 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

iii because i have to

[setpoint]

[Mako is heading down the hallway, minding her own business, when a man wearing almost nothing marches out of one of the rooms. Of course Mako freezes, averting her gaze instantly and trying not to look too flustered. It doesn't quite work, and it means that she answers him while staring determinedly at a spot on the wall about a foot to his left..]

No. Why do you need one?

ndjkcnejk mako darling

[tumang]

[ If Amos notices the way she flushes, he doesn't say anything. He might, under different circumstances. He definitely notices the way she doesn't look at him, but shrugs it off entirely, clenching his fingers around the knot of his towel as he uses his free hand to gesture at the thing moving under his skin. ]

Foreign body, in my body. I'd like it out. Now, before it burrows deeper, or goes lower.

[ It's still moving, but faintly, now. Like a wave rippling under his skin in the way muscles might, but positioned completely wrong. It's so obviously out of place, and Amos is this close to just attempt to grab it through his skin and pull it out like that, knife or no knife. ]

You got anything that can help?

[setpoint]

[That gets her to look over finally, practicality outweighing everything else, and when she spots the thing squirming under his skin, her eyes go wide.]

What is that? Where did it come from?

[tumang]

[ Amos snaps his fingers. ]

Wish I knew. Right now I mostly want it out.

[ He reaches down, poking at it with a finger, gingerly. It feels hard, under his skin, so hopefully, it's not some kind of worm. ]

I spotted it getting out of the shower. There's no surgery scar, but I do have this - [ He flicks his fingers, this time, at his shoulder, where under the bandage, he still has a pretty sizeable bullet hole healing. ] - so I guess that's an entry point. Not that I felt anything.

[ So he was drugged. He's going to have to check every nook and cranny of his room to check for hidden vents that could have been used to gas him. ]

[setpoint]

[That's... disturbing. At the very least, Mako's shyness seems to have disappeared now that she's faced with a problem. She steps forward, eyes slipping from the bullet hole to the bump.]

There are razors in the bathrooms.

[They'll have to break one apart, but it will work decently. Before waiting for a response, Mako marches back into the shower area, trusting he'll follow.]

[tumang]

[ He hasn't even seen the razors. Shaking his head, he follows, a slight smirk on his face - it feels like he always ends up following the orders of a woman, wherever he ends up, whatever the circumstances.

He stands behind the girl as she takes a razor apart, his finger absent-mindedly poking at the thing in his chest, his face showing no feeling about it whatsoever. ]

Name's Amos, by the way. [ Surely, field surgery warrants a name. ]

[setpoint]

[She turns to face him, holding one of the tiny razors that she's freed from the plastic casing.]

I'm Mako.

[And this is a very strange way to meet. She hesitates for a second, then reaches up to nudge his hand away and press against the bump with her fingertip.]

cw: blood, gore

[tumang]

[ He could mention that he's perfectly able to do this himself and that it's not exactly his first rodeo fixing himself up, but Mako's very focused, and it'll be easier for Amos to just get his head straight out of the situation if he doesn't have to focus on what he's doing.

His stomach clenches in anticipation as he keeps his eyes on his stomach, Mako's hands, the blade coming in to cut through his skin. Fingers clench around the brushed metal of the sink, but he doesn't make a noise, just looks on with faster breathing and wide eyes, blood pouring onto Mako's fingers. None of this shit is sterile, he realizes, but brushes the thought aside; there's no time to worry about it now. ]

See anything?

[setpoint]

[As in all things, Mako is neat and efficient. She peers down at the wound, frowning slightly in concentration. It's a bit hard to see through the blood, but she does spot something. It's dark and wriggling, trying to make its way further down, and her stomach twists.]

I think I see it, but I'll have to dig it out. Are you okay?

[tumang]

[ Amos stays still, holding himself up, tense and quiet. He's started to sweat, but his expression doesn't really show anything. ]

I'm fine. Go for it.

[ Or he might do it himself. ]

[setpoint]

[He's soldiering through it, and so Mako doesn't waste any time worrying. She rests her free hand against his shoulder, as though to brace herself or him, and then just goes for it. Her fingers are far slimmer than his. luckily, and she manages to grab whatever it is and ease it out, wincing sympathetically as she does.]

[tumang]

[ It hurts like hell. Amos muffles a noise in-between bitten lips, nostrils flared as he breathes, not able to fully separate himself from the pain, the completely foreign sensation of something dragging against his muscles as Mako pulls it out.

It's no worse than having your leg crushed, or getting shot. But it still hurts in a completely different way from what Amos is used to. His hand closes into a fist as he braces it against the wall, watching as Mako pulls out - ]

Is that a wire? [ He asks, breathless, voice thin. ]

[setpoint]

[She keeps her hand on his shoulder, this time to steady him, and holds the object up so that he can see the thing more clearly. It's definitely a wire.]

Yes. A... tracker?

[Maybe. It's the only thing she can think of, but then why was it moving?]

Hold this.

[And she hands it over, pulling paper towels from the dispenser over the sink and pressing them firmly to the wound. They need to stop the bleeding before they start trying to figure out what it is.]

[tumang]

[ Amos takes the wire, letting one end of it spool in the sink as he wipes part of it on his towel, still - amazingly - tied around his waist. ]

Copper, looks like. Which is a conductor. Can't see any electronics on it, though, it's just a wire, it's not even live, or frayed.

[ Could it have dug in to get a charge, explaining why it'd be moving? Maybe. Not much of this makes sense. ]

And it ain't big, but considering how I felt you pull it out, I think I should have felt it go in.

[setpoint]

[Mako glances up at him, keeping steady pressure on the wound.]

Are you sure you didn't notice it earlier? None of us remember how we got here. Maybe it's been there since before you woke up.

[tumang]

[ Amos coils the whole wire around one of his hands, blood staining his skin, before gently putting his free hand on top of Mako's, putting pressure on his stomach himself as he motions for the sink. He's letting himself sag a little against the wall, breathing deep as he looks at her, softer than he usually is. ]

Clean up. I'm okay.

[ He grabs some more paper towels, adding them to the others, already soggy with blood. ]

I didn't notice it, no. Still feel like it's the kind of shit you do notice, when there's something crawling under your skin. But I didn't think we could travel outside the solar system until I ended up here.

[ So what does he know. ]

Ever had anything like this happen?

[setpoint]

[He's okay, he says, but Mako still hesitates for a second before pulling her hand away, studying his face as she does. Finally, though, she turns to the sink and starts to wash the blood off of her hands.]

No. I've never even been to space before.

[So far, she's not enjoy the constant artificial gravity induced nausea.]

Don't you think you'll need stitches?

[tumang]

[ He meant more the whole - weird wire crawling under someone's skin thing, but maybe she's combining it with the space experience. He can't the small chuckle he lets out. ]

And how are you enjoying it so far?

[ Reverie Station isn't exactly screaming tourism ad, what with the locked doors and the lack of supplies and the broken... everything. Amos never thought he'd miss Tycho, and yet, here he is. ]

I do, but I don't have anything to staple or sew me back up. I'll just take some of my bandage and use it for now. My shoulder's better anyway.

[setpoint]

I don't enjoy the nausea.

[Translation: She's been puking a lot. She finishes washing her hands and turns back around, tucking her hair behind her ears.]

I found a first aid kit earlier. I could do it.

[tumang]

You'll get used to it. Try and walk spinward if you can. It helps.

[ Having someone willing to do it for him would be easier, less nausea-inducing in itself. Might be quicker, too. So he nods, pressing a little tighter against his wound. ]

You don't have to get bloodier.

[setpoint]

It's okay. It doesn't bother me.

[She jerks her head slightly, indicating that he should follow, then sets off.]

What does spinward mean?

[tumang]

[ He grabs some more toilet paper, pressing it to his side, and follows Mako out of his quarters. ]

Oh, means - walk along with the way the station is spinning, not against it. Makes it easier for your inner ear.

[setpoint]

[She considers that, nodding in response. That makes sense. There are a lot of little things like that she probably won't even think of. Once Amos is feeling better, she'll definitely have a million questions for him. For now, though, she focuses on getting up to her room, and when they arrive, she pushes the door open, gesturing for him to sit. There's a double bed built into the wall, but a makeshift bed has been set up on the floor, too.]

I'm sorry. It's a little crowded. I'll find the first aid kit.

[tumang]

[ Excuse you, Amos is going to raise a very curious eyebrow at the fact that there's a double bed and a mattress on the floor. He does sit, careful not to irritate the open wound on his side anymore, stretching to one side to keep it as close to closed as he can. ]

You have a thing for sleepovers, or?

[setpoint]

[Mako's mouth twists as she fishes out a little suture kit and opens it, then kneels down beside him.]

My co-pilot and I are sharing. There aren't any rooms with two beds.

[She reaches out to wrap her fingers around his hand, gently trying to pull it away from his side.]