MOD LOG #1

[bequiet]

MOD LOG #1
Packing Up
Content Warnings: General tension
Themes: Survival, exploration, heavy-lifting

At the end of the month, the natives send out a mass message informing everyone of the upcoming trip to 'meet' the Sound Eaters. Preparing for the trip is simple, though labor intensive, and begins with making certain that everyone packs food, water, clothes, gear, and a twenty-pound package of sand. When it's time for the journey to begin, those tasked with watching the sandpaths, will lead the party on the journey towards the Eiffel Tower. It's a slow trip, a careful one. Natives will take breaks every few hours and when the sun sets, help everyone to set up their bed rolls around a few lanterns. The natives will unveil the star mapping feature, with constellations named and general history attached, on the devices. They will encourage those to tell stories, get out food and water, and 'talk' amongst the group before everyone settles into sleep. Out, under the night sky, the silence is more noticeable - there are no crickets or frogs. This process will repeat for two days until the group reaches the end of their destination at midday.

Sound Eaters
Content Warnings: Disorientation, confusion, character and native death, Sound Eater birth and death, body horror
Themes: Survival, exploration, horror, death

On the third day, characters will finally reach the Eiffel Tower, where the Sound Eaters in this area of France have set up their 'home'. Stopping far enough out to allow for communication, the natives will gesture to the ruins of the structure that appears to be altered. Structures are built up and around the metal frame, closing off different sections with a dark material that glints an oily-green in the light. After explaining that the Sound Eaters are influenced by the weather, rain being an issue for them, they'll take everyone closer. Silence is key here. The natives are visibly wary, tense, and uncomfortable but they believe that showing the arrivals what they're so afraid of will inspire them to be more cautious.

Now, as close to the Sound Eaters as they dare to go (less than a half mile), the natives will have everyone crouch down behind various cars and debris. The devices will say only one word, watch. As the sun begins to set and clouds darken overhead, the tower will open up, the Sound Eaters spilling out. They are split up, as the natives refer to it, into classes - the young, the shifting and the matured. The young are extremely sensitive to sound, volatile and aggressive, humanesque in form with features in various state of change. The shifting are grotesque, splitting and reforming, changing from young to matured in a shift that is punctuated by pained screams and the breaking of bones, splitting of flesh. The matured are in control. They command and guide their kind into a circle, where they all bend down, kneeling as something different than the rest comes out of the tower to stand at the center. The wind catches, dusting up red ash from it and blowing the ash towards the group - there's no way to move and it tastes familiar, coats your skin in red. They all grow quiet and a wrapped form, in the shape of a body, is placed at the Sound Eaters' feet. It crumbles, breaks apart and sprays out over the wrapped figured to completely cover it.

The shards of the Sound Eater bubble up and fuse together, creating a shell. Rain begins to fall. Light, but enough to cause the Sound Eaters to begin to move, pushing against one another but not leaving the circle. There's a shrill sound, an offbeat whistle, air escaping a tight space, a desperate inhale, and then the shell at the center splits apart. A Sound Eater died to create a new life. Smaller than the other young, the 'child' climbs up and out, but it's not the same as the others. It's form is generally human. Dark hair, androgynous features. No eyes. No mouth. Standing, it angles its head towards the matured and they move, as if on command, and surround it as it walks into the tower.

( If anyone makes noise at this point, in any way, the coming bad weather and what just occurred, will result in the Sound Eaters only attacking that person - rather than the whole group. They'll drag that person into the tower and out of sight. The character will be reset. )

The natives are upset. Spooked. They've never seen anything like that and they're quick to tell everyone this, followed by a hasty message to leave. As they're moving, the rain begins to beat down and the ground grows slippery. Making it back to the supplies is troublesome and just as the group gets close, one of the natives slips and tumbles down broken concrete, twisting and smacking against the hard surface until they come to a stop at the bottom. Anyone that goes to help will find that the native has hurt themselves and there's nothing that can be done, despite best efforts. The natives will take the time to wrap their friend up, relaying that the Sound Eaters don't attack now that the rain is heavy, and will begin the slow trek back to the community. They'll camp each night, the same as the trip up, but with an uncomfortable tension that no amount of story telling can break.

It's Raining Me- Rain. It's Just Water.
Content Warnings: None
Themes: Survival, fun, noise-making

After everyone is back in Reims, the natives will split off to bury their dead - they will not allow anyone to accompany them. Everyone is encouraged to head back to the community to get a break from the bad weather and to unload their supplies. The following day, the natives can be heard outside. Splashing and making noise, fixing houses, and what might have been a somber event will quickly turn into something a little more upbeat as rain beats down on the city. Children will play and occasionally laugh, stunted in their ability to enjoy themselves but willing to learn from the arrivals. Bigger items will be moved and natives will encourage everyone to do the 'noisier' things that they need to do. When the rain ends, work will resume as usual and soundproofing will be a lot more difficult - the water washed away sandpaths and damaged some areas. Cleaning up will take time but the natives aren't as unhappy with the situation as they just had a moment's respite from the normal tension of their everyday lives.

OOC
From your mods:

Please be mindful of content - if something triggery comes up or if it goes up a rating to say, something sexy, mark your threads in the subject line. We're very flexible and allow any material; we just want our players to be respectful of each other. If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment to the appropriate post below. Have fun! The OOC Plotting Post.

NAVIGATION

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Comments

[oorah]

[ not exactly, but the picture of the liebermans, his shitty bouquet of peonies he'd given sarah and now her brand of wine seem to be haunting him anyway. he misses his surrogate family, it must be bleeding over into whatever system the natives have for this shit, he doesn't know. he meant it when he told her it was good shit though, so he's happy enough to drink this, even if jessica's whiskey looks more appropriate for the setting. ]

And come back one second later? [ he clucks his tongue. seems like a fucking bad day to him, and he's the guy with the deathwish. go figure. ] Suit yourself. Fight club's startin' up too. ...Wasn't supposed to say anything though. [ hahaha...ha. actually that one's not a joke. ]

[underachievement]

[ Haha oh wow, he found the one pastime less appealing than sparring. Borderline impressive. A borderline guarded by trigger-happy loyalists so no real danger for either of them, and by either of them, him. It always means him. The guy who is consistently the least superpowered in any given room. ]

Well then I am Jess's total lack of interest. [ Cheers, to the worst idea he's had yet. Plus, thinking about that movie and the guys who like is reason enough for anyone to drink. ]

[oorah]

[ he laughs, a deep rolling sound that competes for attention with the rain all around them. frank takes another drink before trying to explain. ] A few of the kids wanna learn how to fight. Thought I could extend the offer to everyone.

[ his type of fighting doesn't work against the sound eaters, or kilgrave, but they don't know who else could be living among them. it doesn't hurt to be prepared. ]

[underachievement]

A few of the kids? [ Hold up hold up hold up hold up because how was that sentence PRECEDED BY A LAUGH? WHY is he interacting with children? You can't interact with children AND actively want Kilgrave dead, WHAT ARE YOU, NEW, YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE ]

[oorah]

[ he lifts his eyebrows what's the issue huh huh. you can't honestly expect him to stay away from children that sounded less creepy before i typed it outttt. ] Well, almost teens. They should learn this stuff anyway.

[underachievement]

[ And to think she was going to allow him to carry on under the misapprehension that maybe 1% of the time he wASN'T a huge burden incapable of minding his own goddamn business. She shifts to the edge of the bench, faces him with the brunt of her anger. ]

From someone else. I don't know if you've noticed this, but you can't even protect full grown adults. [ Freeing Faith was a fluke. Everyone in that garage should have fucking died and uh, Final Destination style, PROBABLY WILL because they landed their asses on borrowed time the second they entered that room. ]

[oorah]

[ frank frowns. he had noticed that actually thanks... but he can't just abandon people who are counting on him. it's not like he's jessica jones or anything. he takes a gulp of his wine instead of answering, probably because he knows she's right. ]

You could help me this time. [ oops, there it is. he shrinks away from the words even though they aren't even particularly angry -- just pathetic. he had wanted her to fix everything after he'd seen her kill kevin the first time. but people come back. that's not her fault, asshole. neither is the fact that kilgrave is a giant douchebag who hurt her and is now hurting kara. his fist white-knuckles on the neck of the wine bottle. ] Sorry. Fuck. I'm sorry.

[underachievement]

[ She wants to help and she can't have what she wants, that's the fucking point. He'll take it and turn it on her, and he'll do it so he comes out the victim. It's goddamn exhausting trying to anticipate his every move when she ends up fucked regardless, and she doesn't want to think about how he could accomplish pinning the death or mutilation of a child on her or on this guy, or Poe or Rey or Kara or hey Faith again. He's capable of it, every day he can and does find someone susceptible to his commands, an easy slot into his network of future casualties. She's just one person. Frank isn't even that, because he's not immune, and if he intends to go on visibly caring about a whole whackload of people, he's really doubled down on all his worst calls. ]

Why don't any of you get it? I can't help anyone. [ She's as much a threat to them as he is. He's not done with her, not with any of them, he's waiting. He's letting them press and load the ammo he'll have some poor shithead riddle them with when he's ready, keeping his hands clean, like always. Jess gets to her feet and starts to stalk away in whatever direction she's facing, wherever it leads. ]

[oorah]

[ he knows, that's the fucked up part. he knows but he can't not put them in danger because he isn't brave enough to go it alone like she is. frank rubs at his eyes and when he looks up she's starting to go. without thinking, he reaches for her arm. she can't leave him too, not if she's telling him to ignore everyone else. ] I get it. I do get it, Jessica. I'm just an asshole.

[ if she's still retreating he'll get up to follow, only pausing a minute to secure his wine back inside his jacket. ]

[underachievement]

[ She shirks it off, annoyed as hell that he still doesn't get it. Anyone around them, Kilgrave could have tell him if they saw Jessica Jones that day. Who was with her. Who talked to her. Who touched her. Whatever Frank's reason for throwing himself in front of the firing squad over and over (the Castle part hasn't come up yet), it's not on her. Whoever he drags into it to make himself feel like a big goddamn hero, it's not on her.

Jess can't tell him that she's raiding the hospital for sufentanil or consulting with a chemist on a vaccine or treatment. She can't divulge the full list of immune residents to anyone but the people on it. She can't get too friendly with anyone who wasn't in that room, who isn't aware of the danger they're in, who isn't already compromised. But that's fine because at this moment, she is not at all tempted to. ]

I'll call you if I need to hide a body. [ Get it? 'cause they just vanish on their own. ]

[oorah]

[ wow he really does fuck up everything, doesn't he? it shouldn't be surprising, and yet it still hurts. he just wanted to save his friends and go back to whatever dumb shit he was up to before everything got so complicated. except that was his second night here, so it's never been simple, has it? and it's because he's tangled himself up with her. she makes it seem so simple, shrugging people off, ignoring responsibilities. not that he really expects everything to fall to her -- but he knows she's taking it on. had seen enough of her post from the network to understand the plan she's devising. if he thinks about it consciously then kilgrave can get that info. maybe dumbfuck isn't as dumb as he looks. which is you know, very. ]

What would you do? [ he shouts after her in a dramatic fashion, not wanting to keep chasing her down since she could just throw him through a wall or whatever. ] If it was someone you cared about? [ frank knows she has people like that, for as much as she pretends she doesn't. people she would have done what he'd done for, even if she wants to call him names. that's okay, he deserves it. but he can't regret what happened either, even if it puts them all in danger. what a fucking character flaw. ]

[underachievement]

[ Jesus, she wishes it weren't raining. It wouldn't be half as theatrical, it couldn't be. The silence, excluding its practical draws, didn't of itself unnerve her. She could go for a canyon's worth of it now. Jess stalks towards him and with a challenging inclination of her head steers him aside to the mouth of alley, in a bid to attract less attention. Stiiiill pretty fuckin' theatrical though.

Any number of answers would honestly satisfy his question. Bone-dry sober like she was when she last saw him, her brain would be stamping the front of her skull with the imprints of most of them. Being drunk doesn't make the question any less shitty to ask so the one danger he's not in is of getting any credit. ]

The fact that I don't give a shit about any of you is the one advantage I have, the only way I can keep you safe. [ That is SUCH a general "you," buddy. It has the very makings of a modern major General so don't go getting any ideas. And yeah, it's not perfect (see: Supergirl), but it's all he Needs To Know until she's looking for a guinea pig for her vaccine, if it works out. ] I don't owe you anything else, and I don't have to make you feel better about any of this. [ No longer general. The general has been dishonorably discharged. ] Get it through your head.

[oorah]

[ his gaze shifts, but nothing else about him moves, knowing she could snap his neck and yet staring down the barrel all the same. he knows she won't, no matter how mad she is. he knows she isn't even over killing that asshole, though she covers it up with sweeping statements like that one. she thinks he doesn't understand, but the truth is, he understands her better than anyone else here. he's had to be the same way his whole life, shoving any concern he has for others aside so that he could do his job. so that he could be damn good at it. and what a joke that turned out to be.

he bites into his lip, letting her get through her "answer" though it really doesn't satisfy the requirements in the end. that doesn't matter, that has never mattered. ] No. No, you don't owe me a damn thing, Jess. Or anyone here. Keep telling yourself that's good enough for you. [ he knows it isn't. can see it even now spelled out over the soggy planes of her face. he has to try. that's who he is, even when he fucks up over and over. even when it gets people he loves killed. ]

[underachievement]

[ That's right. Dig down deep. Find the part of yourself that you can't stand to see in everyone else and obliterate yourself with it before he gets a chance to. Mark off the edges of the smoking crater, spray on the biohazard symbols, and anyone who wanders in on a dare gets what they get. This guy, she can handle, but trying to have it both ways, sending out permission slips for a field trip around Chernobyl, is what makes him an imbecile, greater than the sum of his dumbass decisions.

There's a wan lift to her mouth, closer to a microexpression than the commitment of a smirk or grin. 'cause it's good advice, straight up. Too bad he's being sarcastic, something he should really leave to her. ]

Pretty good for a first try. Now just figure out a way to be that much of an asshole without me getting you there. I'm busy. [ He has his mission, should he choose to accept it. Jess assumes the conversation concluded and leaves the alley. To prevent any further nipping at her heels, she jumps to a rooftop -- before remembering they're like old timey European and shit, covered in wet shingles. PLEASE IGNORE THE SORT OF HILARIOUS SOUNDS OF HER WORST LANDING EVER IN ANY DIMENSION, she's not gonna be there if you come check anyway. ]