INTRO LOG #1

[bequiet]

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
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!

NAVIGATION

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Comments

[underachievement]

[ can't he just be an outright dick so she can put him in a sleeper hold and tuck him under his blanket and then she can figure out how she's going to deal with this in peace? the concern is straight up unwarranted. at half a jar empty, Jess forces herself to slow down by placing it gently beside the other and occupying both hands with her device. she only looks at that or directly across the street so his face can do whatever. if he has feelings right now, she doesn't want to see them. they're misplaced on her, probably a symptom of a complex. finding out exactly which one is not her business and her spot is 1000% busy blowing up with what is. ]

He has the power to make people do things [ normally she would have misgivings about making that claim to a stranger but he has to have seen stranger thcrap since he got here. she'll take the chance. ]
Torture, murder. All he has to do is say it. I couldn't let him get to anyone.

[oorah]

[ something clicks. a dumb thing, sure. kilgrave had told him to fuck off at the party and frank had, without a second thought. he had wanted to throttle the guy but instead he'd just... left. he didn't even have a destination in mind. he believes her, wholly and immediately. he hunches over his own lap, typing back and grateful that she doesn't want to see him even if usually he's a fan of eye contact. ]

if he's coming back we have to be ready
how does it work? is there a way to stop him? [ since killing him doesn't seem like it will be a permanent solution, as much as that's how he prefers to deal with his problems too. ]

[underachievement]

[ as she's chipping away at an explanation for him, Jess realizes she's going to have to tell everyone. address the community at large. it's the best way to keep people safe, to make them aware, and she has a chance to do it without the message getting muddied by Kevin's natural talent for manipulating the truth. she can use this guy as a soundingboard in the meantime ]

You catch it from being near him and all you can do is wait it out
100 yards and 24 hours the last time I saw [ killed ] him

He can't turn it off and he doesn't want to. [ hence, death. and she could bring up the sufetanol but you know what? naH. ]

[oorah]

[ he nods, takes another swig, and goes back to typing with his tongue held between his teeth. he hates having to figure out all these superpowered people. her thing seems pretty straight-forward. but telling people to do something and they do it? no matter what? his shitbag of a commander would have loved that shit. ]

i think there's a way to broadcast to everyone on these things
i'll back you up

[ if people don't believe her, he means. but in a place like this... he's betting she can get the benefit of the doubt. especially with a headstart. ]

what the fuck did they think they were going to do with a guy like that? [ they being the natives. it sounds like he's going to get a lot of them killed before they get to the bottom of this. not very helpful for this whole... sound eater situation. if it's real. ]

[underachievement]

Did you talk to him?

[ He asked for her deal, and she managed to avoid it while telling him what he needs to know. it's not like she can be critical if he chooses to be as broad or deflective. they must have had some interaction for him to plant himself so vigorously in her camp. confirmation is all she's looking for. she doesn't mind hanging her stare on him then, waiting for a response ]

[oorah]

[ he feels the weight of her gaze, feeling dumb. he knows he must have done worse to her and people she loved or she wouldn't have put him down like that. he sided with her because it's what he would have done. what he did do. to everyone who hurt him and his family. he can't look up at her this time. ] just for a minute. seemed like a prick.

[underachievement]

[ yeah, that's what she thought. a minute's enough for some people to scald their faces off or walk into traffic, so he must have been testing the strength of his ability here or deliberately flying under the radar. he made it very clear when he first ran into her that he had no idea until then that she was here, absurdly lucky for her but he might have done worse to someone else. if they were still under his sway, they're going through a hell of a hangover right now, so she should probably get the lead out on this announcement.

except the thought of putting it together in earnest is overwhelming. she's scared her fingers will start shaking when she commits to thinking about it. she intends to have scrammed back to the solitude of her garage by then. ]

I don't think he saw you.
If you back me up you're drawing attention to yourself.

[oorah]

[ the words get him to immediately turn his head, studying her face for... something. it can't be sincerity because he could give a shit. something as yet unidentified. or convincing himself it is. he shifts towards her, just a centimeter. not really notable just angling his body in a more conversational way instead of buried in his keypad, careful to keep his jar pinched between his legs. ]

tell me what to do
how to help

[ she should be able to sense already that frank castle does not just quietly go away (unless kilgrave tells him to apparently.) while he's not super keen on getting his face out to everyone here, if it'll help jess keep this madman at bay then he'll do it. whatever she needs. ]

[underachievement]

[ and she thought the dog who brought her booze was eager to please. if she didn't just end him herself, Jess would suspect him of acting on one of Kilgrave's commands. she may not be able to justify her distrust but that won't stop her from relying on it ]

Don't give him another chance to speak to you.
After I finish these I'm telling everyone what I did. [ or he'll do it for her if he comes back and why the fuck wouldn't he. she can't afford to be optimistic. driiiiiink ]

[oorah]

[ he nods once, internalizing that. it will be hard to stay away when now he just wants to kill the guy again himself. he wonders if there's a limit to how many times you can reset. maybe if this plan doesn't work... they find out. frank doesn't type any of it, just bites into his lips and suppresses a sigh. ]

what do you think happens [ if they kill each other? the natives don't really seem to give a fuck what they do as long as it's quiet. ]

i've still got your back ok?
it doesn't matter. [ none of it does. ]

[underachievement]

[ Jess shrugs. they read these things too, right? she won't be hiding from them either. she can't imagine why the devices wouldn't have a tracking chip in them or something, and if they don't, they know where she lives. what's the worst they could do? kill her? it wouldn't work. she's not getting out that easy.

she's exhausted and teetering on the bad end of a buzz. experience will teach him eventually, if she doesn't get to arguing the rest with him later. ]

You have something to eat? [ she's not even hungry but if her growling stomach doesn't call the sound eaters, an round of outdoor puking will. you know what sucks? everything. ]

[oorah]

[ he nods, slowly managing to juggle all his many things and stand without a sound. frank gestures for her to stay put, making his way to the kitchen to make her a sandwich. or, like, whatever the equivalent is alright i don't know. within moments he's back and he sits down next to her again, handing her one half of it while he nibbles on the other. since he hasn't really eaten or slept either since he got here and that's probably really bad. ]

[underachievement]

[ with a moment alone, she doesn't squander the bliss. she turns over her excessive collection of waking moments and catalogs her advantages: she hasn't had any significant interaction since she got here, putting no one in danger by association. one of those harmless exchanges was with an android woman with no need for sleep, or breath, presumably, so she might not be the only person immune to him. if and when he comes back, he can't run his mouth like a broken faucet filling up a bucket of blood, the manner in which he's accustomed. if he kills anyone, they might come back, too.

that staves off the contemplation of strategically maiming him or, the deepest circle of hell, acting as his keeper. it'd be nice if she got lucky and someone else took the initiative, not the she can't do it again. she can and apparently she'll be even better at it. whoops not so staved, good timing, sandwich

Jess accepts and bites into the food without paying attention to what it is, since it doesn't matter. the bread is familiar and there's enough stuff between it not to dry out her mouth. given that she hasn't been looking at basically anything for almost a minute, she shuts her eyes as she chews. ]

[oorah]

[ frank sits and eats with an equally listless expression, his jar of booze sat next to him like a favored friend. he hopes this is the beginning of an alliance of sorts, between himself and jess, but he has no expectations. even with no words exchanged, he can't help thinking they're a lot alike. he's going to be keeping a close eye on kilgrave, or at least those who interact with him from now on, since he really should heed her warning and stay the fuck away. he'd been someone's weapon once, he isn't keen to repeat the performance. ]

[underachievement]

[ if he has anything left to say his choice to keep it to himself is passively appreciated. she doesn't even mind that she can hear him eat over the imposed silence.

distantly, she wonders what this guy's deal is and how worried she should objectively be. only his eventual betrayal, influenced or otherwise, would validate it as pragmatic -- so it is worth her time to think about seriously, when she can. her scattered concerns are flitting through her head increasingly truncated, and Jess rests her head to the porch railing, followed by her shoulder. she manages a second bite and as she finishes her third, sags to sleep against the house. ]

[oorah]

[ frank finishes his sandwich and drinks more of his moonshine as he watches her slowly fall under the tide of consciousness. he thinks she deserves some rest now so he wouldn't dream of disturbing her. instead he slides the half jar still full of booze over to entrust with her, then divests himself of his jacket and places it around her shoulders. she's welcome to keep it or leave it on the porch when she inevitably leaves. sparing her one last parting glance, he goes inside to read and maybe be lucky to catch a few dreamless hours of sleep himself. goodnight lady, he thinks before leaving her behind, wishing he knew her name. ]