( 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

[oorah]

[ he stiffens when amos takes hold of him, and honestly he hadn't meant to shove the man hard enough to drop his coffee. even if space coffee is bullshit, he still watches it pool on the floor like it's a waste. his eyes flicker back up to the other man's and he wonders - is he really going to pick two fights today? a week ago he wouldn't have even thought, just started hitting. but this space station is finite and amos knows a lot more about the final frontier than he does. ]

Just take it back. What you said about the lady.

[ it's calm, but calculated, and frank narrows his eyes as he waits for amos to do just that. though he hadn't actually said anything about karen in specific, he can't help but be protective even when he's in no state to be picking fights and there's a strong fist clenched in his jumpsuit. wouldn't be the first time being the underdog, and he's betting it won't be the last. ]

[tumang]

[ Amos doesn't move. Apart from how close he's standing, and his hand in Frank's suit, he's completely non-threatening. His muscles are loose, his face is a blank mask of nothingness. He lifts his chin, raises an eyebrow, when Frank speaks again. ]

I didn't say anything about the lady.

[ Which, technically, is the truth. Sure, the implication was there, but technically, he didn't say anything about Karen, and that was the kind of truths Amos lived on.

But Frank seems calm, not like he's actually aching for a fight, so Amos takes a breath, and opens his fist, releasing Frank with a tiny push back. He's not going to apologize - because how does one do that? Alex made it clear to him that he went about it wrong before - but at least he can stand down.

Progress. ]

Just let it go, man.

[oorah]

[ he's anticipating the hit, even wants it to come on some level. he keeps staring into amos' dead eyes with his own sharky stare until the man releases him. technically, amos is right even if the urge for frank to push is there. he stumbles back on his feet and holds there though, grateful for the space put between them.

let it go. he takes a breath and releases his fists. he really doesn't need to be making enemies here yet. frank slowly raises his hands in surrender, showing off the nasty cut across his right palm, and takes another few steps back. witness frank castle: letting it go. will wonders never cease. ]

[tumang]

[ It's impressive. Everything about the guy makes Amos think that he's going to charge right in, everything tells him that Frank isn't the kind to let go of anything, ever. A dog with a bone, like Amos himself.

But he pulls back, holds his hands up. Amos nods, reaching out to grab another cup of coffee instead. ]

Want one?

[oorah]

[ he looks uneasy, but he literally never says no to coffee. ever. frank drops his hands and shrugs one shoulder, then nods. okay, truce. coffee truce. ]

Thanks. [ see he even has manners sometimes ]

[tumang]

[ Coffee truce. Holden would love and respect that one, if he was here. Maybe they should all follow Naomi's example, switch to tea. They might make less of a mess all the time.

He passes a cup to Frank, then gets his own. ]

You two know each other from home, huh?

[oorah]

[ he wraps a giant hand around it and stares into the greenish plastic. he thinks of chipped ceramic and diners and how one burnt cup of coffee from any one of them meant he was home. he blows out a breath through his nose and realizes everyone is going to know he and karen are from the same world now. that they mean something to each other. that puts them at a disadvantage and it's his fault they're there. frank nods reluctantly as he steps up to fill his cup with the grayish liquid that dispenses. ]

You could say that.

[tumang]

Hm.

[ All Amos thinks is that he's had plenty of disagreements with his people, even if they weren't in the middle of crowded places. He'd learned to just say sir, yes, sir whenever Naomi gave him an order in public. T'was easier, even if he commented on it in private, later.

But with Holden, things had been different. Holden didn't give them a choice but to voice opinions in front of everyone else.

He doesn't say any of that. Instead, he dips his pinky finger in his coffee to test the temperature, making a face. It's lukewarm at best. ]

So she's off limits, huh?

[oorah]

[ off limits. his face contorts in confusion. when he sees amos over his shoulder he isn't sure whether to laugh or hit the guy for real. a soft grunt of not-quite-amusement ends up being the halfway point he settles on, gulping down coffee and refilling it to the brim before drinking down more as they walk, presumably to sit together...? yeah this is weird. he's ignoring it. ]

What Karen does is up to Karen. [ often to his chagrin, but he's embarrassed them both enough for one day. ] If anyone hurts Karen- [ that's under his purview. ]

[tumang]

[ ith a slight shrug to himself, Amos follows Frank towards a table. What Karen does is up to Karen.

He's trying to keep his knowing smirk in check, because whatever. If Frank says that, and Karen ends up coming on to Amos, well. Good for Amos. ]

Yeah, yeah. I've heard that one before. Hell, I've said that one before.

[ Because touch a hair on Naomi's head. Just try. Maybe Frank and Karen have the same kind of relationship. ]

I get it.

[oorah]

[ she probably would go for amos, and isn't that a disturbing thought. the guy seems as unhinged as frank is anyway, and for whatever reason karen hangs around him. frank sits down before trying to answer because really: what is this conversation even. he hates it so much. ]

...Are you interested in Karen? [ he takes a long sip, eyes widening almost imperceptibly at his own boldness. he doesn't need to know that. it's none of his business. and yet the question hangs there, mocking him. ]

[tumang]

[ Amos takes a sip himself. He feels like he's had this conversation before, and the thought remains the same. Karen is no Naomi, and thus Amos would have even less issues with it. ]

No. [ it's true, is the thing. But. ] But if she came on to me, I'd do her.

[ You ask, you receive. ]

[oorah]

[ wow. his nose scrunches, face twitching as he puts his cup down. he really can't figure this guy out. underneath all the flounce that had been billy russo, they almost remind him of each other. same mommy issues anyway. he really should punch him this time because that is about karen -- except it isn't. amos would say that about any able-bodied female on the station, wouldn't he? no, he's not worth frank's wrath. it would almost be nice if he were at this rate, though. ]

Good to know romance is still alive in 2016. [ well- ] Or whatever the fuck year it is for you. [ since he's betting on much later than that given the man's experience with space travel and... blue goo. ]

[tumang]

[ Able-bodied female? Please, he's a lot less picky than that. Gender hardly matters to Amos.

He'd agree with the assessment that he's not worth any wrath. He's not worth any feeling, really, because he doesn't tend to have much, himself. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but the less people know that, the less Amos has to worry about people ascribing feelings to his actions. ]

2355, give or take five years.

[ He takes another sip of coffee, his expression not changing at all. ]

Romance still exists. [ Ask his Captain. He believes in it, falls in love in two seconds. ] Just not to me.

[oorah]

[ give or take five years. this guy honestly freaks frank out a little - not many people can do that anymore. but he skips it, if only because while he pretends otherwise romance is near to his favorite subject. ]

You're a real tough guy, huh? [ he takes a gulp of coffee and offers a shallow, sharky smile. ] Maybe you just haven't met the one yet. Ever think of that? [ he had to say it at least once ]

[tumang]

What one?

[ Amos asks, genuine. These concepts Frank is talking about - romance, love, the one, they're not anything Amos had grown up with. What he knows is a lot more concrete: sex and violence. Usually - often - combined.

A few things changed, recently. But not that many that his worldview has shifted. ]

Aren't you a real tough guy too?

[oorah]

[ that gets a tip of his head and a slight frown. maybe that phrase has been retired, or maybe amos doesn't know it because he seems to be some kind of total psychopath instead. like they tell him he is. he tries to joke but his heart isn't in it this time: ] Guess romance really is dead in the twenty-fourth century. [ it's soft, almost murmured, but definitely loud enough for amos to pick up. ]

...Yeah, one tough guy to another, huh. [ he takes a long, cool sip of coffee. it's an unappetizing as it is satisfying. ] If you find the one, you'll know it. You'll know it the second you lay eyes on her.

[tumang]

It's not. [ It's genuine. Frank's assessment that Amos is the problem is more accurate than romance being dead. ] I know some real romantics.

[ The Cap'n, for one. With his ideas and his heroism and everything. The way he cares for Naomi, and not just for the sex. Or, at least, Amos doesn't think it's just about the sex. ]

I'm just not one of them.

[ Also genuine. ]

There's only one kind of love I believe in, and that's from a parent to their kid. The rest is - [ He waves a hand in the air. ] - stuff people like to believe in to make themselves feel better.

[oorah]

[ he sets down his cup and shifts forward, leaning on his elbows as he regards amos for sincerity even though he knows the other man has no reason to lie to him. and doesn't seem to care any more than he does about what people think of him. maybe even less really. it gets under his skin though he doesn't want it to, a parent's love. his wasn't enough. he glances down at his hands, clasped on the table to keep from squirming under the words - and under his own self-scrutiny. ]

What you're talking about... that's biological. Survival of the species. [ maybe he's wasting his time. maybe amos didn't know love the way frank once had, but it feels like a failure to give up, too. ever the hypocrite. ] I think it's time for me to get blackout drunk again.

[ frank places both palms on the table and pushes himself off, ignoring the pain in his right hand. ]

See you around, Amos.