quietplacelogs | INTRO LOG #1

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INTRO LOG #1

INTRO LOG #1
Muzzle and Mute
Content Warnings: Disorientation, memory loss, confusion
Themes: Arrival, survival, exploration, horror

You wake, standing. A thick, muddy red dust coats your skin and clothes - it sticks to your tongue and blocks your vision. Inhale and it chokes you, exhale and your breath puffs out in front of your face in a transparent maroon cloud. It tastes of copper, tangy and harsh. Movement is difficult, every limb tingles and aches. Look to your left, your right. Evenly spaced in each direction stands another person indistinguishable in every way from the next. You're disoriented and lethargic, unable to grasp onto a single thought. A pinprick of light blooms ahead and grows steadily larger; a door has opened.

Hands grip your wrists, push at the small of your back and guide you out of the darkness into a room with four walls and a thin, sagging ceiling. The plaster is peeling, the air is musty, and the floor is slick. White plastic piping juts up from the center and curves into multiple spouts, clean water flowing in uneven streams. Those hands pull your clothes off and clear the dust from your body, redress you in handsewn jumpsuits. By the time they’re through, you will have begun to come back to yourself.

A finger is pressed to your lips. Kind eyes meet your own and a single word is whispered - hush.

Led out of the room in a line, you’re taken down a short hallway and into another, much larger room. There’s a woman waiting for you there, a child hugging her leg, and a cloth bag in her hands. She reaches in and pulls out a device, passes one to each of you. Once finished, she begins to move both hands in graceful gestures, a language. One of the people who helped you lifts their device and the screen lights up, tracks the woman’s hands. Letters appear on the screen and you understand the device’s purpose. She tells you what she knows and it’s not much.

This world is haunted. Noise attracts them, so it is not allowed. Communication is through body language, soundless writing, and the device. She tells you that your feet must be light and your mouth never used. There is a community outside these doors, where you can survive together, but only if you agree to one thing: complete and total silence. You'll have time to talk it over. You may ask one question and receive one answer.

Acceptance allows you to journey outside. The ground is marked in pathways of sand, lining the paths to each building and everywhere in-between. You notice that the locals hold their devices always, aloft and glance to it often. It will not vibrate or make a sound to signal a message. Notices appear. Rules. Guidelines. Feet on the sand and never anywhere else. To open a door you brush your fingers along the hinges - oiled and you may enter. If not, take the brush from the can sitting nearby and coat the metal with the dark liquid.

Now, you're to settle into your new home.

The Man in the Hat
Content Warnings: Heavy lifting, following the rules, alcoholism
Themes: Moving in, survival, exploration, horror

Once you’ve claimed a room for yourself, it’s time to acclimate to the community. Natives will ask what you need and take you along the sandpaths to different areas in the city to gather supplies - furniture and the like. Heavier items will require assistance and will take longer. Houses are mostly empty so if you and your housemates need something, you’ll have to carry it and put it inside the home. Do not make any noise or the natives will refuse to help you. Getting to know your housemates is key to a smooth transition. They are going through what you are right now; take the time to get to know them. Make house rules.

As the first day gives way to night, the natives can be seen moving at a faster pace outside. They’re hurried, though not frightened. Some even smile at you. When the sun sets behind the ruins of what was once picturesque Reims, your device will signal that it’s time to meet at the center of the community. There, natives will stop each person and give them a small gift - a trinket, a token to show that they are trying their best to make all the new arrivals feel at home. These are all items from the character’s home or from another character's home (they will not be anything that belongs to anyone else). Small, soundless and either something taken during the application process or something brand new. They will have no powers to speak of and are meant to be a momento. If asked, the natives found them the same way they found each of you.

Then the party starts. Sort of. A soundless, stitled kind of celebration. Fun is meant to be had, but it’s not an overly joyous occasion. The natives simply don’t know how to cut loose. There will be extra food in the form of one and two; Phillipa even brought some of her homemade bread. If you stumble across a man wearing a hat, the only man in town who does, and agree to go with him when he offers to show you his house - he’ll gift you with a jar of hooch; it’ll burn on the way down.

Sound Eaters
Content Warnings: Threat, danger
Themes: Survival, exploration, horror, game plot

It’s the second day of your stay, and the natives call for an emergency meeting at the Town Hall. Everyone is paired off (see below) and are asked to walk the perimeter looking for anything out of place and patching any areas that might have been affected by weather. Once finished, the same is done on the inside, and when the community leader is satisfied, the main hall is opened up so that everyone can congregate. Characters, during this time only, are allowed to make sound. This is so that the natives can explain why silence is so necessary...

The Sound Eaters.

In an effort not to frighten everyone, the natives won’t go into the history just yet, but they will warn that when someone makes a sound, it attracts them. They don’t know what they look like because they are so fast. If you’re too loud, then in the blink of an eye, you’ll go through a room reset. This is because either the natives ‘silenced’ you or the Sound Eaters have. They will explain that the room came at the same time the Sound Eaters did and that it doesn’t work for the natives. Sometimes, it doesn’t work on new arrivals. Death, for those born in this world, is permanent. If you attract them, you’ll get someone killed. Hence the need for no noise. During the meeting, the natives will tell each character of their own experiences. Their losses. The families they have left and how they’d do anything to keep them alive. They don’t know if you’ll be reset, but is that a risk you’re willing to take? The meeting will last a few hours and will end on a somber, ominous note - at the end of the month, they are taking everyone to meet them.

OOC
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NAVIGATION

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[Jan gives Poe a slightly shaky smile that smooths out into a real one as she finds her feet again. she didn't like that drop, but he caught her just fine-- she really appreciates that.

in the meantime, even the slight noises they're making are drawing a warning tingle up the back of her spine. after seeing the relics of whoever lived inside that abandoned house, she doesn't want to take any chances that might make them share that fate.]

thank u!
i found a bunch of really weird stuff in there-- put some of it in the blankets
& ive got more questions i think
lets get back somewhere safer, this is creepy!

Edited 2018-01-21 05:16 (UTC)

[ He tried to make as little noise as he could but catching someone from that distance still would have done something. Even if it's clothing smacking hard against each other. Poe did look around wanting to be cautious if something was alerted or if there were natives around.

The sack bundle would be the next thing he'll grab but before he does that he'll reply back to her texts. ]

You're welcome!
We'll take a look at everything once we're back at the house.
More questions?
I couldn't agree more to this being creepy. I'm glad that you didn't run into trouble while you were up there. You did good.

[ Poe picks up the sack bundle and puts it over one of his shoulders to carry it. He'll wait for her to lead the way so that he can stay in the back in case something does happen. ]

[rather than continue a conversation they both want to wait to get inside for, Jan merely gives him another smile and a thumbs up; she moves forward as if to offer to help with carrying the bundle as he picks it off the ground, but she's fine with him grabbing it on his own if he seems to be managing it all right. if there are any towels or small furniture pieces left on the ground or obvious along the way back, she'll help out by grabbing them herself, and when they reach the door of House Seven, she'll move quickly and lightly ahead to oil the hinges for him to get in. no point in skimping on maintenance for where they'll be living.

once they're inside and the thick door is locked between them and anyone who might hear them, she feels a little safer. she moves carefully into the dim foyer, holding up the lit screen of her device as much to give them some extra illumination as to show him what it says.]

i got cloth n what we needed, but the person who lived there had stuff-- id cards and papers &things. i grabbed those too
i wanted to ask u. u said youre from space or something?? whats the date there?

Edited 2018-01-21 09:02 (UTC)

[ Poe wouldn't have much difficulty with the sack, but he'd go slow so that it wouldn't make much noise. She did good work with gathering as much stuff as she could. They may be able to find answers to certain things. But the cloth, towels, any kind of curtains and other things would be useful. As they near he smiles at the fact she's already at the door oiling the hinges. Thinking ahead was a good trait. Despite that they seemed to have a few misunderstandings along the way they could work well together.

Inside he would place the sack in the foyer area so that they could roll everything out and examine it. He looks at her device with the questions. Poe has no issue answering her questions. ]

Let's see all the loot you got. Maybe with the added things you collected we can figure something out.
From a space, with many systems, a big galaxy. It's 34 ABY.

[it doesn't take much fishing around in the bundle to find more evidence that leaves a rock-hard lump in her stomach, and Poe's answer doesn't make her feel any better. she closes her eyes for a moment, breathing. what is the explanation for this? it really doesn't make any sense. this really does feel like a movie set, or a cult they've been suddenly pulled into; something unreasonable and crazy and completely out of the ordinary realm of what she can understand. biting her lip again, she bends over her device, typing, the long strands of her hair that have escaped her ponytail falling over the touchscreen and muddling her words.]

im NOT saying ur crazy
just, this whole thing is crazy
i come from uhhh EARTH in 2018 BC????
we dont do space
no one's ever gone further than themoon

[she holds up the first piece of paper that catches her eye: it's another bill, this one dated for sometime in May, 2018.]

& look at this
the date is what i'd expect at home
but it looks like it's been here for 100 years.

[ He can tell by looking at Jan that something is unsettling her in some kind of way. There's a look of confusion over his face, eyebrows coming in closer and his own mouth slowly turning into a frown. What had he missed? That's the only other question he has about all of this. Clearly he missed something that she had seen. He moves a bit closer so he can read her device better. There's a small shake of his head before he gently places a hand on her shoulder to be comforting. ]

This situation is crazy to be here. And I'm sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I thought you were saying I was. But I wouldn't care much if you were. Plenty of others have based on the stories I have.
I'm getting the feeling that everyone comes from different worlds, times. This place doesn't make a lot of sense and it's frustrating.

[ He looks at the piece of paper, gently taking it from her to look over what she's seeing and stressing her out a bit. Poe bit his bottom lip for a second while looking back at her. ]

Time could pass differently here. I don't know what to think or make of it.
The only thing I do know is that it's getting to you.

[ And that's something he doesn't like at all. This place could have meant to do that. ]

[Jan doesn't react badly to the hand on her shoulder; she can tell it's well meant. but the words are anything but comforting. all of this is clearly something well out of her experience, and if it's all true and not some kind of weird cult-induced hallucination (she hasn't ruled that out, quite), she's going to need to adapt and learn more about the situation very fast.]

i dont think its weird to be a LITTLE freaked out by suddenly time travel and different worlds
i mean what the fuck, honestly

[she hates to feel out of her depth. she hates looking like she is even more. but she has to give herself a little bit of a break one this one. maybe, if this guy is really from space, "time moves differently here" is something completely trivial to him. but she isn't 100% sure that he is from space, or that is the situation here. and even if he's telling the unvarnished truth, it doesn't sound like his idea is more than a theory, either.

whatever's going on, the only way to make sure they can all approach it and actually do something with it is to find out more.]

i'll deal
i just hope we find out exactly what we're dealing with.

[ Poe is used to dealing with many different situations. Because of that he knows how to adapt to them. He doesn't need all of the information involved to continue moving forward. He just moves forward and keeps moving. Being here though meant trying to find information, which is what he plans on doing. ]

I'm not saying you shouldn't.
I keep moving forward and it's not always the best thing to do. I adapt to situations because things never go the way I plan for them. A lot of the time. Adjusting is needed for those kinds of situations. Otherwise I will get killed. I do a lot of fighting for what I believe is right.

[ She doesn't have to believe everything he's saying. But he's not a good liar. Poe has gotten called out on that once before. Also he falls easily into manipulation and his main weakness is playing the hero. All of those things can and will be used against him all the same. ]

Remember that we're all in this together.
I want to figure out what we're dealing with too. And I'm trying to find people for a plan against the sound eaters. I do want to know more information about this place in general. It will help. You did good work in digging around for what you could.

[Jan gives Poe a small smile. she'll keep moving forward too, of course; even if her experiences haven't been on nearly such a huge or dramatic scale as his (no intergalactic wars for her), it's not the first time she's had to stretch herself to fit her adaptability into situations unlike what she'd ever believed possible before. it's only the realization that these circumstances are much crazier than she'd even realized before that have left her cold.]

yeah for sure
were all stuck with this
& were all gonna look
its not like anyone wants to stay here in crazytown not making noise forever

[there's that too. the natives want them to stay and make a home here. Jan hasn't acknowledged it in text till now, but she knows already that no matter what else happens, that ultimately won't be her.

whether she'll be another one of the people who came from the room and ultimately moves on from Reims, or whether something else happens, she can't and won't be content with the status quo of a terrible situation she didn't choose for herself. from what Poe is saying, he's much the same.]

we'll keep looking.

[ When he sees the small smile, he'll back off a bit. He's only making sure she'll be able to hold herself together. But he knows about how people can be when certain situations are out of their hands, out of their control. One of his squad mates back home was the same, had similar ticks because of her background. Poe would try to defuse it with that everything would be okay. In a situation such as this, he couldn't guarantee that. In the other he could because he put a lot of trust in that plan. ]

Exactly. This town isn't the place that people are going to stay in forever. I have to get back or find a way at least.
I dislike having freedoms being taken away. I'm not okay with the no noise, it's creepy, strange even.
If looking is the only way to go about it, it's what I'm going to do.
But I am trying to think of a plan to see what the Sound Eaters are all about. Not in town though. Somewhere out there. It's more dangerous but I've faced those kind of situations before.

[ Poe couldn't even talk about the natives. They all seemed hopeless. The look in their eyes didn't inspire hope or that spark he was desperately going to be trying to keep on to later when he's back home. The natives gave them gifts from home to keep them hopeful in a place of no noise. What would it all mean in the end? ]

We have to survive too as we look. We have to keep living with the determination of leaving in mind. I'm sure we're going to need to find hobbies at some point. Hobbies that create less sound. A bunch of mine were loud ones.

no kidding. here i am in a place w/all this plumbing to practice on & i cant even pick up a wrench!

[Jan's small smile stays steady. as long as they find things that feel useful to fill their time, at least they won't go stir crazy in this impossible situation; that will have to be enough for them until they've explored enough to learn more.]

never thought id be learning to knit or w/e

[she hesitates, thinking about what the natives alluded to. something they need to prepare for...]

it sounds like they want to show us these Sound Eaters. i want to see THAT for sure.

You probably still could practice on it. But you'll need to figure out what tools the natives use. They must use something that won't make too much sound. Or we could try soundproofing as much as we can when you work. Minimal sound in the house is okay, just not a lot of it.

[ Poe would at least go on long walks, exploring, patrolling. If he ran into people he would at least try to hold a conversation with them. Learn about the new arrivals. ]

I could do farm work if I get too bored. But knitting? I hope you won't be bored with it. Maybe it won't be so bad.

[ There's a small nod at that. ]

After seeing them, I'll probably have more of an idea how to go about this plan. I do want to see them for myself. To believe that they do exist. That this is actually real and not something else entirely.

[Jan starts to heave a sigh before remembering and catching her breath, exhaling quietly instead. this is... a starting point, of sorts. they'll work with this.]

yeah im not ruling crazy govt conspiracy OUT
thats just harder to believe rn

not much 2 do till we learn more stuff!

[ Poe gives a nod to her in agreement. ]

Yeah I want to believe what they are saying. It does seem they have been here longer. But how did the room come into existence?
Someone might have put it here.

Unfortunately. All that we can do is try to find quiet hobbies. I might go out for a long walk later.

[it's not a bad idea. exploring the sandpaths that the natives have laid down already will at least tell them where they need to lay new ones, if they're to get anything further done.]

if u ever need a walikng buddy look me up

[ Exploring was always a good idea. Poe would be doing a lot of that with a mix of patrolling. If he had a cleaning duty he can easily still explore while picking up trash or other things outside. ]

Sure, I'll keep that in mind having company would be nice. What room did you take? I took the one that open's out to here.

[ Poe uses his thumb to point towards the bedroom door. ]

garage

[Jan waves towards her own area past the kitchen and utility room, starting to gather up towels and blankets; she's going to need a few of these to soundproof things for her own benefit. it's a sobering reminder of their situation, but worth keeping in mind.]

id better take some of these
it echoes in there

The garage?

[ It probably was a pretty big room. Poe looked down at everything picking out a few more things she would need. He thinks for a moment before looking at her in determination. ]

You're going to need more than that. Take these too. We can always focus in here later.
Your room should be first.

if youre sure!

[she does scoop up a few more towels and blankets -- this will do for now -- before nodding to him and retreating to her new space. home sweet home.]

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INTRO LOG #1

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