( 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

snake | zero escape

[eightsandaces]

( 1 | observation deck )

[The circumstances are probably alarming to everyone here. Who wouldn't panic, waking up in a strange location, wearing strange clothes, with no memory of how you got there?

At least there's space to move, this time. But that's of little comfort to him, because there is one thing that he knows for sure: there are plenty of other people here, and none of them are his sister.

He backs up, his arms out behind him, until he hits a wall and prays that it's somewhere nobody else is looking. He needs the support as he runs his hands over his clothing, his communicator, the wall itself--none of it is like before, none of it feels right, despite the horrible familiarity of it, and that scares him more than anything else.

Not that he's willing to let it show on his face, but even he has limits.]

( 2 )

[As much as he likes to be independent, even he isn't capable of getting exploring entirely by himself, which is something that really annoys him, by the way. And in territory as unfamiliar as this, surrounded entirely by strangers, he doesn't even have many of his usual tools at his disposal. So he'll have commandeered the first person who seems willing to explore with him--though he won't tell them why, because like hell he's admitting anything, but it'll be plenty obvious to those perceptive enough.

Unfortunately, there's still a limit to how much he can get away with, and he'll have to ask his exploration partner to describe most of the rooms they enter. The metal walls help a lot with ambient acoustics, but he can't exactly use echolocation.]

( 2a | hey new roommate | first come first serve | legit if u want a random rooming buddy hmu )

[Eventually, of course, they come to the crew quarters, and this time entering is announced with a soft chime from their wrists. He stops short and runs his hand over it again, frowning, unable to tell if anything has changed or not.]

I don't suppose you can tell me what that was?

[It was, of course, their communicators registering the room they just entered as theirs. Cool? Time to throw a housewarming party.]

( 4 )

[The benefit of relying on hearing so much is that he can easily track the source of the screams--inasmuch as they're actually coming from the walls, of course. Following them is second nature. And, thanks to the material of the walls, it's fairly easy for him to tell when someone else is approaching--

Which means it catches him completely off-guard when something takes ahold of him and pulls backwards.

He regains his balance easily enough--if you think that's the first time someone's decided to be cute and mess with a blind guy, please--and spins around, looking accusingly at... your character! What an awkward coincidence.]

Care to try that again?

[u havin a giggle there m8.]

( 5 | network )

Hello. I would like to make a general inquiry.

Has anyone received a strange audio message on their communicators? A woman's voice, perhaps. Similar to radio chatter?

( wildcard )

[My CR meme comment is here and my plurk is cerebrah!]

4

[merging]

[Even with the Force, that catches him a little off guard. A guy nearby had stumbled back, as if something or someone was pulling him and then- Okay, could Ezra pull him like that without touching him? Yes. Did he do it? No.]

No? I didn't try anything.

[eightsandaces]

[His brow furrows in surprise, because Ezra's voice is coming from farther away than he'd anticipated, if Ezra really had been the one to grab him.

Not to mention, Ezra sounds sincere. And he is very good at interpreting sound.]

Then would you kindly tell me who did?

[The accusation in his voice definitely isn't gone.]

[merging]

No one.

[Ezra shrugs, not sure what else to say.]

We're the only ones here. I figured you just tripped or something.

[eightsandaces]

[He actually scoffs.]

I can assure you I don't trip.

[It's not entirely bravado, either. It is very rare for him to trip, but more than that, he'd actually felt something take hold of him and pull backwards.

Something that wasn't actually there, if Ezra is telling the truth.]

You're... certain you saw no one else.

[merging]

Well, you just did.

[Arguably, everyone trips. At the same time, Ezra did see something...]

But yes, I'm certain I didn't see anyone else. Is that it or?

5

[lostsymmetry]

[Strange message from a woman? Sounds familiar... though his was a bit more direct.]

Maybe. What was the network ID?

[eightsandaces]

[Okay, whoever this is doesn't know, because this is text. So he can't be as rude as he might be otherwise, unfortunately.

Also, he's a little annoyed with himself that he didn't think to check. So to neatly avoid both of these issues, he'll simply dodge the question.]

"Maybe"? That sounds like a yes.

[lostsymmetry]

Oops. I'm sorry. There is not sufficient information to respond to your request.

[...]

I received a message. I don't know if it's the one you mean.

[eightsandaces]

[The fuck.]

What information do you need?

[lostsymmetry]

[IT'S A WHOLE THING.]

ID. Topic. Whatever you can spill.

[Probably a human. Best to meet them halfway?]

The name Martina Muller ring any bells?

5 | audio; private

[newroutine]

[The Butler isn't accustomed to making much use of keyboards. He responds with a spoken message of his own, however, recognizing a similarity.]

Greetings, sir. One strange video message did appear in this inbox recently, with a woman speaking. Attempts to reply failed.

[Whether this is the same disturbing message or not, comparisons might be helpful.]

[eightsandaces]

[It was a video? Figures. At least he's certain nobody was around when he'd gotten the message.

He recognizes the voice, at any rate. He switches to audio himself to accommodate; easier on him this way anyway, really.]

Hello again. It seems a number of people received such a thing after all.

[newroutine]

[That is a familiar voice; he makes a note of the network ID.]

Not everyone, but a number of us indeed. How did the individual in question identify herself in the message you received?

[The Butler prefers not to mention other notable features of the message quite yet.]

[eightsandaces]

[Interesting.]

She didn't.

It seems we may actually have received different messages, then.

[newroutine]

[The message sent to the facility administrator had certainly been identical in detail. Might this one have new information? Is that worth risking a panic over the dubious accusation?]

The name on ours was quite clear. You described yours as radio chatter; what do you mean?

[That term isn't something the Butler needed to be familiar with, whether it still exists or not.]

2

[wingstosee]

[ venus follows behind the man as he explores, a slight frown on her face. he's blind - or at least, she's pretty sure he is? so she at least understands why he was looking for someone to follow along. (also, why he'd so willingly go on a walk with the devil.) but he's surprisingly quick on his feet, and he's clearly capable of holding his own, and even if he wasn't she'd be more than willing to help.

no, the problem is that he needs one thing: descriptions. and she's bad at that. she's never been the most talkative person in a group - even when she tried, people usually either tuned out or told her to shut it. which was understandable in most cases? but even so, it's making this whole trip very awkward.

they turn right, opening a door in a wide room venus recognizes as the bar. she clears her throat. ]

This is... um, it's the bar. Or at least, it's the only one I've found. [ a beat, pregnant and awkward. ] What do you want to know?

[eightsandaces]

The location of their best vintage brandy, as this seems the perfect situation to get drunk.

[Ha. Ha ha. Look, they don't have puzzles to solve, and this sucks.

He's already exploring the perimeter, his right hand trailing the wall as he goes.]

If there is nothing particularly notable--a connecting door, for instance--we may as well move on. It's best to have the layout of the place before starting on the details.

[If there ain't puzzles with a time limit, he's in favor of not turning the place upside down just yet.]

[wingstosee]

Oh. Haha. I'm probably not the best person to ask? Alcohol all just sort of tastes bad, as far as I can tell. [ and then, a bit more helpfully- ] Someone was sorting bottles by spirit and volume earlier. You can use some alcohol for things like cleaning wounds, right? So maybe... That's good to know?

[ she watches him circle the perimeter, pausing only to call out- ] There's a chair scooted out where you're heading. [ -and then watching him finish his round. no connecting doors, nothing past the back of a bar... this place really is what it says on the tin. ]

Got it. Do you think it's worth checking out the individual rooms here, or are we safe to skip those?

[eightsandaces]

[He wasn't serious, but it seems pointless to clarify that now. That that he ever does, even when it isn't.

He does deftly avoid the chair, but he doesn't bother thanking her--leaving it a question whether he really needed her to warn him or not. (He did. He's even grateful, in the back of his mind, that he didn't have to experimentally toe the space in front of him in order to avoid tripping over it. Being without his sister is crippling in ways he's only now starting to realize.

But he has his pride.)]

They probably aren't necessary. I'm... looking for something specific, and if it hasn't made itself clear by now, it probably isn't here.

2

[iustitia]

[Unfortunately for Snake, the nearest available person he's roped into being his exploration partner is also blind, and giving out room details that are probably less than helpful to him.

She sticks her head into a large room filled with strange equipment and takes a deep whiff, letting the smells of the abandoned room waft over her.

God, it stinks.]

Well, it's the same boring grey and metal the rest of this place is. Surprise, surprise! [She jazzhands in mock excitement.]

There are some strange two-wheeled devices in here, though? I don't think they're supposed to move. How strange! [She's not very familiar with exercise bikes. Equius might have had some, once upon a time, but Equius was weird and gross and she never spent more time at his hive than she had to.

She takes another deep sniff as they wander further into the room and thinks for a moment.] There's some... really, really dirty blueberry. Eugh. There's a pool in here, and it's more than a little grody! Don't go taking a dip in there any time soon.

[eightsandaces]

[He can't SEE your mock jazzhands, Terezi, GOD.

He's also definitely starting to wish he'd happened into someone else, because Terezi's descriptions are next to useless.]

I'm sorry, did you just say there are blueberries?

[Somehow, to him that's the strangest thing she's said.]

[iustitia]

[FOOL. Terezi jazzhands as she pleases.]

Nope! The pool's just a really weird color.

[Come on, Snake, keep up!!!]

There's all this crud on the side of the walls, and the water's all gross. I'm not a fan of how it smells.

[eightsandaces]

You're saying it smells like... blueberries.

[Look. He has a nose. It does not smell like blueberries.

Unfortunately, he hasn't quite clued into Terezi's, ah, unique circumstances.]

I'm afraid I don't follow. I only smell chlorine.

4

[ryuji]

[Millions of light years away and Ryuji still can't sit on his ass when he watches someone fall on their own. He catches sight of Snake, watching him oddly as he puts his ear up against the wall to discern something, like it's just out of reach, like there's something he's trying to ascertain for himself that's just beyond what the normal senses can adjust to. And when he falls, the blond comes running over to try and make sure the dude is okay.

Only to be derided by an accusation that doesn't quite fit the situation. Ryuji has his hand against the underbelly of Snake's arm, trying to make sure he hasn't lost his balance, when he looks at the other. A confused stare meets a man who can't see that particular visage, but Ryuji is expressive regardless.]

C'mon, man, you would've heard me comin' down the hall if you thought it was me attacking you.