( 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

ryuji sakamoto (persona 5)

[ryuji]

a. Dreaming of ramen

[He wishes this were a cozy little place back in Tokyo- hell, he'd wait in line for an hour if he had to, just for the opportunity to get some of the good stuff he had to be this point- anything has to be better than this poor replication of ramen that Ryuji has sitting in front of him.]

This is like... such a goddamn insult to the real stuff.

[And with that, Ryuji lifts up his spoon and lets the protein broth sludge downward back into the bowl.]

Man, screw this. This looks like ramen that's been soaked in gym socks for a week. [Never mind quaint little hole in the walls back home, give him those 100 yen packages from the discount store and he'd be happy. He looks over at the plate of the person sitting next to him, and raises an eyebrow.]

What the hell was yours s'posed to be?

b. Very superstitious, writings on the wall

[You watch Ryuji's body get pulled, quickly, against the wall of the nearby corridor. Maybe you were talking about something, heading to the bar to check out that sweet, sweet atmosphere, or looking to grab some grub at the mess hall, but here he is, looking like he just up and tripped. He's sure that he had kept his balance throughout the journey over, and as he tries to gain composure, there's a whir of noise that bellows out, like screams that could only be heard in the wind.

Pushing himself off the wall, he invades your personal bubble, might even grab your arm, and look on, terrified, at the metallic lining of the hall.]

Dude, I'm tellin' ya, this place is goddamn possessed!

[Is it? Probably. At least it's not aliens?]

c. Crawling in my skin (WARNING: body horror)

[Just getting accustomed to life on the station takes... well, a while, for someone like Ryuji Sakamoto. He's a creature of habit, of creature comforts, and this is so far out of the realm that he'd ever expected his life to go. But the amazing thing about the human spirit is how resilient it really can be. A few days in, and there are new habits to be formed. Waking up, morning refrehs, escaping boredom by checking to see if this door or that door is still locked, working out, eating at the mess hall. And then back to his room, until he gets so restless that he ends up falling back asleep. The fury of exotic space travel isn't exactly what he had thought it would be, honestly.

Until he wakes up one day, following the path he's set in motion for himself in routine, and yawns as he looks at himself in the mirror. Weird thoughts come to him at times like this; like whether or not he'll be able to get his hands on hair dye out here. He checks his roots- still shining blond, so at least he has that bit of comfort to acclimate to, and as he pulls away from the mirror, he catches the sight of something moving. He quickly turns around, expecting something to be there, and when there's nothing, and he's sufficiently spooked, he shakes it off to try and continue his regimen. He's heard stories of people going crazy on ships at sea before, but... damn, what has it been- 4, 5 days? Get your shit together, Sakamoto.

And then, he notices the movement, notices that it's centered on his face- sees it trail and squirm underneath his skin, and his eyes grow wide. Every sensation pricks at the corner of his consciousness, the hair on his neck stands on end, and there's a blood curling scream that Ryuji lets out when he realizes that there's something there, and when he presses on it, it wiggles underneath.

In a panic, he rushes out of his room and down the hall. Ryuji doesn't know what to do, he's panicking, looking for someone- ANYONE- to take a look at this, to tell him he's seeing things, but he can... he can feel it burrowing against him, and he can't help but start to cry wildly.]

HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON BUT SOMETHING'S IN MY SKIN!

[Whether he knocks on your door, or rushes into you in the hall, or manages to find you somewhere between decks, there's one thing that's absolutely certain- Ryuji Sakamoto has never been this scared of anything in his life before.]

d. wildcard

[Feel free to throw literally anything at me and i'll make it work! My plurk is centerfold if you'd like to go over some plot details.]

a

[oculusriffs]

Coffee.

[Dave spent three years living on a meteor and drinking shitty space coffee — and much like the weird noodles Ryuji's picking at, this brew that's more like old coffee grinds dumped in tepid water is an insult to shitty space coffee. he also has what's supposed to be a burrito sitting on a plate nearby, but the same deal applies — it's an insult to Tex-Mex. he would rather go hungry.]

[if Ryuji doesn't stop him, he's going to go ahead and dump this rude cup of joe into the bowl of ramen.]

[ryuji]

[Leaning over, he examines the contents of this alleged "coffee" and scrunches up his face at the... thing... he sees. Ryuji hates the taste of it- too much bitterness too much- but since he spent the better half of the entire last year hanging out at a coffee shop, the smell's at least become something he's used to. And that...?]

This smells like dinosaur piss.

[Yeah, pretty much. Not that Ryuji should, or ever will (hopefully), know what the hell dino urine is supposed to smell like, he knows, instinctively that this is what Dave has in his cup in front of him. He doesn't even want to think about that burrito either, he doesn't have to look under the fold to know that it's a traitor.

And... watches him dump his coffee into his ramen. Maybe it's an improvement? Ryuji tries to feign a look of despondent upset-ness about the whole thing, as he leans in to get a whiff of Jurassic ramen funk.]

Maybe... it made it... better...? [Ryuji, no.]

[oculusriffs]

[...... well, if it helps, Dave's quest planet was inhabited by a horde of brainless and financially inept crocodiles, so if there ever was a man to confirm what dinosaur piss smells like, it's him.]

[but he absolutely won't lean over to sniff the coffee ramen. he has more important questions:]

You gonna test that theory or what?

[go ahead, Ryuji, take the scientific method out for a spin. or take your taste buds out back and shoot 'em — same difference.]

[merging]

It's not possessed.

[He says, rolling his eyes. But then it hits him. Why would this guy even think that in the first place? Ezra had seen him trip, but that didn't seem like enough to elicit this response.]

Wait. Do you hear it too?

[ryuji]

Dude!!!

[Yeah, this is exactly the sort of shit that Ryuji used to see in horror movies back home, but those? Those were funny. He would laugh at the way people died or when they were smacked around by poltergeists.

Waking up in a horror movie spanning the entire complex of a space ship drifting through the universe? Yeah, hell no.]

Yeah, that's what I'm tryin' to say! There's... there's something in the walls. [Growing a backbone, he moves away from Ezra's side and approaches, apprehensively- even if it's just to put his ear up against it.]

[merging]

That's-

[Okay, yeah, that's weird. He had honestly assumed it was some weird Force stuff, but this is different.]

... I don't know.

[He follows Ryuji's lead and approaches the wall too, placing a hand on it. He can't... feel anything beyond it, though he definitely still hears it.]

What should we do?

a... for now.

[luciformis]

[ Ryo is accustomed to scattered declarations.

He's lived them. In the past few weeks, he's been subjected to similar ones. Ryo, forever practical in his own exceptionally specific way, hadn't seen much point in changing up his habits regardless. Food was food and vices were vices. Pleasure for pleasure's sake wasn't contained in caloric intake, as far as he was concerned. It was easier to accept meals in compact fashions. It allowed him the ability to do work without suffering clutter and detritus across his fragile electronics in the process.

So Ryo, for his part, takes a considering sip of his black coffee as he scrolls through the network. The familiarity in which he does this is almost uncanny, considering the quick adjustments he makes with the display without even seeming to think about it. ]

A nutrition bar, [ he says, his voice steady, calm. As if to put them on display, he places his coffee down with a soft click of the mug's bottom against the plexiglass and takes the edge of his plate between two fingertips, rotates it.

He almost considers going back what he was doing, but there's a pause. It is almost like he recalls what someone else would do in this scenario. So, his eyes flicker up from beneath the downward sweep of his lashes, mouth unsmiling. His expression isn't necessarily unfriendly, but it isn't welcoming either. ] Flavor wouldn't be a natural priority on a space station.

[ There's other things to think about here, Ryuji. ]

eyes emoji

[ryuji]

[When the entire world around Ryuji gets the rug swept out from under him, there's really not much he can do besides become accustomed to his new, weird space cult lifestyle. If he were back home, he'd be belly moaning and begrudging all the same type of shit, so even when the atmosphere changes, he's still the same punk he's always been. Ryo, obviously, has adjusted in a very similar fashion, like he's sitting in a lazy boy and reading the Sunday paper, unperturbed by anything- even the taste of what has to be the worst coffee in all of God's (heh) creation.

And for a second, his heart goes out to this guy- really. The replicators aren't exactly all that was promised to be, if Trek Wars was anything to go by back on his home world, but they could make anything the imagination could conjure up. To live in such simplicity without the desire for something more accustomed to what you'd miss back home? Ryuji tilts his head, looking down at the inventory that Ryo's stacked, neatly, side by side.

It's kind of sad, in a way, that the only possessions anyone has here can fit into little lines like this. Ryuji looks over at Ryo, and disagreement jumps into his voice like a sheet of snow covering a park in the midst of a cold spring day.]

You sure about that? If you're gonna be stuck out here for years and years at a time, you'd think whoever built this would wanna give the crew some kinda hope that home's not that far away.

[Pushing his lips together and outward, accompanied by the ballooning of his cheeks, his earnest nature shines through here- simple, not elegant in its inferences and debate- and he leans back in his chair, frustration starting to evaporate as soon as it had come to him. He's always been like this; hot tempered at first, but easy to cool in the right conditions. A souffle of emotions that only took one good stomp around to deflate its height.]

C'mon, let's get you some pizza.

[And ever the one to push aside formalities or the propriety of boundaries and the like, he leans forward from his anxious position and hooks an arm around Ryo to pull him- not aggressively, but suggestively, in that same way Ryuji implies a deeper friendship with the people he's around... even if it hasn't been built yet. He's a wrecking ball, a recipe for disaster that insists upon itself as he bulldozes right into Ryo. Sorry, dude.]

Screw this protein block crap, live it up a little, man.

[luciformis]

[ Ryo is, inarguably, God's most awful creation.

It is not that he would know that (yet), but those who has crossed him academically were sure to have muttered something similar. Brilliant and ruthless Ryo Asuka. Brilliant and cold, like a polished knife's edge. A genius, many said, but Ryo had always been quick to correct those. Genius was not, after all, described by his skill set. True genius was well-rounded, incalculable. True genius was unmalleable. But, Ryo Asuka had been shaped irreparably by a set of hands not his own since the very start. Since perhaps before he was born, there had been something fundamentally lacking in him. That he could not fill it on his own was indicative of that, no matter how hard he may have attempted back then to find answers for himself.

But, that is neither here nor there in these circumstances. Ryo could have supplanted that argument with a quick turn of phrase such as: A stable atmosphere would be more productive for that, but Ryuji's got him around the shoulders in a way that smacks of televised American familiarity, something he'd once grown accustomed to and then promptly shoved off the moment he step foot back in Japan. The slope of his shoulders snaps into a rigid line, eyebrows knitting against the intrusion. Despite the lack of actual finesse in Ryuji's tug, Ryo falls into step right alongside him as though they were performing a waltz.

Still, one hand is coming up to press the meat of his palm against the heft of Ryuji's forearm. It's a clear, but polite off, mouth pulled into a tenser line despite his otherwise seeming neutrality to it all. It wouldn't do to stir up too much fuss, he keeps telling himself. Being too abrasive, being too overt about his usual personality did him no favors when the only favor he wanted was to get off the fucking station and go home with Akira to start. This wasn't even for him. This was for the sake of the world, the sake of the only person Ryo ever cherished in his ostensibly short and glaring life. ]

It won't really be pizza, [ he says, pointed. Weren't you just complaining about this? ] I'd get the same calories and nutrients no matter the form.

[ But, he guesses he'll still go. He'll do it for the sake of greater things. ]

c. this orange it will not peeeeel

[intrusivethot]

[ "Somebody" is around, as practically Ren always is since arrival. Part space sickness and part a strong unwillingness to be out of shouting distance of a friend and not out of arm's reach of Ryuji, especially.

Which is what's goddamn terrifying about what started as a supply run to the fabricators turning into Ren dropping an armful of food right in the corridor and sprinting toward the sound of Ryuji's hysterics, heart hammering in his throat. Shit, he left for a few minutes and just - fucking collides with someone roughly his size, screaming his head off because Ren can't help but hear it at max volume no matter where he is now that he's heard it. Ryuji screaming in fear is not okay.

Landing hard on his ass, Ren endures the recoil on the heels of his hands and looks at Ryuji, gray eyes wide and stricken as his pushes up to a sitting position. ]

What the hell, Ryuj? What's going on?

[ryuji]

[Up until now, he's hand his hand up against it, feeling it writhe underneath the skin of his cheek, almost like he was tonguing it from the inside. The feeling that grows in his stomach turns everything inside him sour, his skin more pale than it usually is, and whatever that's moving its way through him hurts in a way he can't describe. Like his skin is so tight already, but something is eating through a tunnel of flesh, and as he bites on his lip, he's panicking at the idea that something is actually growing inside of him.

Thank god for Ren. Really- he's not accustomed to crying. Not ever. He can deal with anything that happens to him, take it in stride, suck it up and walk it off. That's always how it's been, even when he was a kid. Even when he had to protect his mother from his father. You don't cry in front of others, you just don't.]

It--- It. I dunno man, LOOK. [As he pulls back his hand, the object beneath his skin continues to wiggle, wormlike, as it starts to travel a little further down his cheek and at the junction of where his jaw meets. Ryuji slams his fist against a hard surface, not knowing what the hell he's supposed to do about this.]

Get it outta me, man! GET IT OUT! REN, PLEASE... I can FEEL IT MOVING, GODDAMN IT.

[intrusivethot]

[ For as long as he's known him Ren can't say that Ryuji is prone to fear. Getting emotional, yes, being prone to impulse and overreaction, sure, but working under pressure or having to watch their backs for the knife out of the shadows is functionally very different from an attack from within.

Eyes wide and clapped to the squirming lump, Ren's automatic holy shit is best kept to himself. Focus. Save Ryuji. ]

Shit, okay. [ People hate being told to calm down, so Ren shakes the agitation out of his hands and pushes to his feet, trying to project the "leader has this under control" aura his Thieves have come to expect of him. ] Okay - just, come with me. There's gotta be something around that we can use to cut it out.

[ He reaches for Ryuji's clenched fist and wedges his fingers into it. Pulls Ryuji up, cold palms together, two boys just trying to make it through the world like always, right? ]

a. shall I assume they met through gaming before?

[armigers]

...Food?

[ At least, that's his best estimation of whatever is in front of him. He has to hand it to whoever designed the replicators for making something he despises worse than vegetables. That's an accomplishment of sorts, and Noctis doesn't bother to hide his misery as he pushes around the 'food,' half expecting it will come alive at any moment and attempt to devour him instead.

After all that's happened so far, he wouldn't really be surprised if it did, but he's still forcing himself to try and eat only for the sake of survival. It's not like they have a buffet of goodies to choose from. It's either fake food or no food at all. ]

Want to trade? Think I'd rather chance it with the fake ramen.

[ It does look at least slightly more appealing. Not by a whole lot, but there's some merit to the familiarity, and what Noctis wouldn't give for Ignis' cooking right now. He might actually be nice to him when they get back. If they ever get back. ]

yeah! works for me

[ryuji]

[Honestly, when he looks down at what Noctis has on his plate, and then back at his bowl of ramen, he notices that... it's kind of colored the same way, almost has the same aroma, and looks as if someone had made this machine with the intent of copying black and white photos from old cooking magazines. That is, to say, that this stuff looks like it could probably poison someone if they ate too much of it.

Great. Stranded in space, and they can't even enjoy a simple luxury like a tasty meal. First with the video game systems, and now... this heaping mess of horror.]

Dude, if you think this looks appealin' to you, go for it.

[He slides the bowl forward to Noctis, and then pulls the other dish closer to him. Ryuji is still lost at... what this is actually supposed to be.]

Don't worry. Cooking Mama will make it all better. [Said sarcastically, looking down at the contents below him.] You have that game back home?

[armigers]

[ On the plus side, at least everything isn't crammed into jello like the old days. The one silver lining in all of this, but Noctis does take the offer and switches their meals because Ryuji's can't be any worse than his own.

Then he tastes it and realizes he was wrong. So wrong. So very wrong. There's nothing but a visage of regret overtaking his expression before Noctis has to cough out whatever it is into a napkin in a most un-regal gesture. ]

Not a word.

[ Meaning Ryuji was very right, and Noctis is trying to drink down as much water possible to wash out the taste. As for his question, he offers a shrug. Gamer he may be, but cooking games aren't so much his realm. They make him too hungry. ]

I'm more of an FPS and RPG guy. Fighting games, too.

[ A pause, then- ]

Think the machine can at least spit out desserts?

[ Not that Noctis is eager to try, but he doesn't foresee himself spending a lifetime eating what might as well been scraped off a theater floor back home. ]

b

[mapsio]

[Phantom Thieves have to stick together, right? With that being said... Haru and Ryuji were probably headed to the bar area to check around the atmosphere and the general layout.

She could count a couple of times that Ryuji has looked less than graceful in front of her,but tripping out of nowhere is a new one even to her. From the time it takes her to turn around to offer him a hand getting up he's in her personal space and she's flinching out of surprise— geez.]

Possessed? What are you going on about? Are you okay?

[It looks like she didn't hear the same thing.]

[ryuji]

[That... that DEFINITELY wasn't him actually tripping out of his own clumsiness, and he can't quite put the words to the even. Stuck in a weird ineffable state of things, he lets his spooked out expression do the talking for himself.]

Yeah m'kay, but like. [He looks back at the wall like he's about to go fight it personally.]

Yo. Walk over there and find out.

[Ryuji's ready to catch you if you do fall, though- poised and ready to be her landing pad if she's gotta.

COME ON OUT, ALIENS.

DEMONS.

GHOSTS.

WHATEVER.]

[mapsio]

[She looks between his expression and the wall. She can't say that she disbelieves him. The fact that she was thrown around by an "earthquake" earlier on and there was no destruction whatsoever afterwards? Yeah, she's going to go check out this wall.

But she isn't going alone, she will be making sure Ryuji is behind her when she approaches this wall.]

Hmm...

[Hopefully Ryuji is ready for this trust fall he's about to endure, because Haru experiences the exact same thing.]

A-ah, sorry! Sorry!

[She totally landed on Ryuji, she probably took him down with her...didn't she?]

a

[hopefragment]

Huh?

[Hajime glances sideways, not sure he's the one being talked to for a second before realizing that no, dumbass, he's the only one within hearing range. Of course this guy is talking to him.]

Oh, uh... I thought it'd be able to handle something simple like a bread roll, but...

[He pushes his tray a little closer, showing a pale grey lump that could almost be mistaken for mochi. It's got the consistency of it, anyway, if not the color.]

Either I pushed the wrong button, or it doesn't know what bread is.

[ryuji]

[Oh. Okay, bread. That's what that's supposed to be.

Ryuji scrunches his face at it, realizes he's making an unpleasant expression, and tries to thin it out, in a result that comes off as neither ingratiating nor quite complacent. With any of this, really.]

Hate to break it to ya.

[He's seen molded leftovers from a bakery that looked more appetizing than that, honestly.]

If I ate that, I'd probably be on the toilet for a week.

[Gross, Ryuji.

But not without sympathy, at least.]

Hey if you wanna... uh... like dunk your bread in this broth, it might come off a little bit better. Up to you though, dude. I can't make any promises.

b

[historyrepeating]

[She's alert the moment his balance is interrupted, eyes darting from his face to the area just behind him for some attacker, and when he reaches for her, grabs onto her, 2B puts her hand on Ryuji's wrist, fingers locking down tight in a grip that would be impossible to break if someone where to try to rip him away from her. She draws him in closer with that hand and reaches for his shoulder with the other, pulling him in protectively-

And really it could be like some sort of Disney princess rescue, if it weren't for the setting and the disapproving look she gives him after she's looked behind him and made very sure-]

There's nothing there.

[ryuji]

[He's still pretty spooked about it, even with 2B's vice grip on him in a way that would probably rip his arm off should an equally opposing force be tugging on him from the other direction. Thankful, still, he doesn't complain, tangled up in the very real threat that something beyond the normal levels of cognition are going on here.

Give Futaba all the shit he could in the world, her scanning abilities were superb. Maybe she'd pick something up that they couldn't see.]

I'm tellin' ya, something pulled me towards it!

[And he looks over at her, eyebrows furrowing.]

You don't believe in ghosts, do you?

C

[imperialsun]

Sakamoto?!

[Naoya peeks out from his own room, his eyes widening in surprise at what is happening. He doesn't judge or question it, rather his eyes scan on the skin until he can find it and try to trap it with his hands or at least top it from moving around. For something like this, he seems abnormally calm. Panicking would do nothing after all.]

Okay. Tell me where it is. I'll get it out.

[ryuji]

M---my cheek!!!

[Good thing Naoya has control of the situation, because that's something Ryuji is completely lacking at his juncture. As he starts to clamp it in place and restrict its movement, it starts to thrash more at the end trails and both the northern and southern side of the exogenous body within him start to whip like flagellum, not liking the pressure of being confined.

Of course, even a worm that lives inside the teen has to be a rebellious little prick.

Grimacing, he forces his eyes shut.]

What the hell is this thing!? What's happening to me!?