quietplacelogs | INTRO LOG #2

Entry tags:

the dark tower: jake chambers

INTRO LOG #2

INTRO LOG #2
Put a Sock in It
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 – with or without the help of those who have come before you.

The Place Inside
Content Warnings: Disorientation, hallucinations, body horror
Themes: Plot, exploration

Have you been to hell. And more importantly, have you been back. We all know this pain but are too scared to recall. This horror controls us, pulls at our strings to ensure how our life plays out. So, let me rephrase my question: have you been to Ile Lacrox. And more importantly, can you come back.

In the community, if you hear something you're not supposed to hear, you learn to look the other way. If you see something you're not supposed to see, you pretend it never happened. If you feel disappointed, you learn to never ask for more. So, through good times and bad, famine and feast, the natives held fast to their rules until one common day a sly wind blew in from the south...

That same red dust twists through the streets, curling up in faint, little plumes of familiarity. The farther south you go, the thicker it becomes. Those willing to explore far enough will find it coming from an island in the middle of the river. Once there, doting every available surface is the evidence of Sound Eater births, and the closer you are to the island, the harder it is to avoid being coated in red. Even if it's not rubbed into the skin, it doesn't take long for the effects to take over. Every sound is amplified. Your breaths are deafening, the slightest step echoes. But no Sound Eater attacks. Your vision blurs, and it's as if your mouth is sealing itself shut. Those you traveled with seem to be similarly affected, and you know you have to be quiet. Anyone who brought supplies with them might discover that a drink of water subdues the symptoms.

OOC: Only characters who entirely submerge themselves in water will be free of the dust effects. Just remember that noise will attract Sound Eaters.

Liplocked
Content Warnings: Violent tendencies, mind alteration
Themes: Love, romance, obsession, sex

The natives are of French origin, and with that comes a love of romance. Residents will find treats and valentines at their doors. That same night, there will be a small, red-glowing fire built near the fountain. There will be jars pressed into the dirt and filled with a sweet, red liquid. Some natives can be seen drinking it and being very affectionate with one another. Anyone who drinks this is inspired to show endearment or lust to others, and it will wear off after sleeping.

There's also the noticeable addition of a new arrival. They came through the Reset Room just like everybody else. They understand the rules and follow them to a tee. They are the perfect example of what the natives want in their residents. They are charming and captivating. They say nothing, and they don't have to. When your eyes meet, you feel seduced. There's a nervous flutter in your stomach. You can feel your heartbeat in your throat. Pounding, constricting. They smile and then turn away.

As they're walking, you notice you're not the only one looking at them, and in their expression, you see your own mirrored. What started as sweet infatuation and longing dissolves into a jealousy unlike any you've ever known. All you understand now is that to win their affections you have to come out on top—so you're the only one they see. Your actions are not your own, but they're still yours.

OOC: There are two ways to break the "spell". Your character fights it out with someone else who is feeling the same way OR they're approached and physically touched by someone who isn't affected by the newcomer. A third of the community will be completely unaffected (everyone else is affected unless the player is uncomfortable with playing out the scenarios). The newcomer can be of any gender the player wishes. For those partaking in drinking, the players can choose what effects it has; it can inspire feelings of lust or boost paternal/maternal instincts or devotion towards friends.

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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[The fire is really pretty.

That's what Will notices, in the hazy fog of contentment and warmth he's feeling right now, that he hilariously doesn't pin to the weird sweet beverage. The fire is warm and quiet and safe and that makes it really really pretty. He's sort of hovering by it in a sleepy daze, hands loose at his side, eyes half-lidded. It's the most relaxed he's been since arriving -- no. Since before the Upside-Down.

Not even the nudge to his hand startles him like it normally would. Instead Will glances down, blinking a couple times at the sight of a hand so close to his own. The leap from oh, a hand to gonna hold it is near-instantaneous. When Will looks up from the fingers tangled with his own and blinks at the other boy, his chest goes warm and full with happiness that he had.

He smiles. And waves with his free hand.]

(It's a shock to his system that his hand is held at all. His hand. Even though there were all these other hands prime for the taking and his was held. Eddie gets a goofy grin on his face, and he looks up at the other boy. This was arguably one of the best moments of his young pathetic life, or at least it very much felt that way just then.

The wave confuses him at first, but then oh, he remembers. Shhh. Eddie's goofy smile vanishes for a second, and he nods very grimly instead. He would do nothing to harm this boy. Ever. Especially not talk. Nope.

But then the smile is back and he gives a tinier wave back. One of those loose, fingers-curling kinda wave before his hand drops. When was the last time anyone had ever really noticed him? Cause this boy was noticing him, right? God, he hopes so. What does one do when someone has noticed them? Eddie thinks.

Then smiles again. He gives their hands a swing, and raises his spare hand. He makes a walking gesture with his index and middle finger before pointing between them, and then out towards the edge of the festivities, before raising a brow at Will.)

[If Will was clear-headed and thinking the way he normally does, he would've already dropped the other boy's hand and scooted his way to the other side of the fire. Far, faaaaar away, where he didn't have to confront how happy that smile makes him.

But right now he just absently swings their joined hands, content to just stand here for...the rest of forever, maybe. That sounds good. Then the other boy is moving his other hand around, and Will is tracking sluggishly and --

oh, walking. Will considers for a moment, scrunching his nose in deep thought, then nods. Yeah, walking is fun. He'll walk around aimlessly with you, complete stranger boy.]

(Eddie likely would have just jumped into the fire itself had he done this with a clear mind. Sure, he was very affectionate....With people he knew well. Not complete strangers who had very nice eyes, decidedly. Kind eyes.

But none of that built-in guilt or shame comes crowding up against him. Later, maybe, but for right now, he's feeling extremely lucky, and extremely blessed.

Walking was fine. Eddie liked walking. Plus despite the juice making him shameless enough to just outright hold a stranger's hand, he still didn't like the idea of doing it near adults. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel like he'd get in trouble. His guilt couldn't be completely eradicated, apparently.

He pulls on the other boy's arm, gently, and leads the way out of the weird, questionable circle of potential cultists(?) and out towards the edge, away from the fire, away from the juice. He walks with him out onto the nearest sand trail and gosh. Look at this. How nice was this?)

[Perhaps there's a part of Will, deep down, buried under the pleasant, warm haze, that is completely panicking and freaking out. This is how people get axe murdered, Byers. This is how they go missing.

Except....he's already done that. And there definitely wasn't another, smiling, warm-handed boy involved. Just monsters. This kid doesn't look like a monster. So Will trails along, looking upwards automatically, trying to see the stars. He's very careful with every step, walking up on his toes to be as quiet as possible. At least he can remember that.

It's colder, farther from the fire, and Will steps a little closer. Body warmth. People out in the woods do it all the time.]

(Thankfully, Eddie isn't leading Will off to some dark closed off area. Instead, he's just leading him towards the city. He doesn't have a particular destination in mind, though some rise to the surface. He wonders what this boy likes in general. Should he bring him to something nice? That's what people do in these situations, right?

Eddie doesn't even realize he himself is also walking on his toes. It's so natural for kids their age to do, just tiptoeing through the sand. Eddie glances back when the other boy steps closer, and it makes him smile. He slows down a bit so they could walk closer and still remain quiet.

Eventually they wind up at the Verdrel Square. That's a nice place, right? Flowers. Who didn't like flowers? There's not many places to sit, but Eddie sits himself down against the flowers simply because they smell nice and he was in an indulgent mood all around, apparently. He tugs idly at the other boy's hand, encouraging him to sit down too.)

[The practical part of Will's brain is probably relieved that Eddie isn't a tiny serial killer. Just a quiet, smiling kid with very bright eyes and very warm hands. Will can't honestly remember the last time he held someone's hand -- at least, not out of fear or anxiety or loneliness. Just to hold it.

He obligingly sits, scrunching his nose at the scent of the flowers, then reaching with his free hand to touch one. He's sort of surprised that something so nice and pretty exists here. He'll carefully pluck one of the petals and almost absently set it onto Eddie's head. There we go, new friend, you get a petal.]

(It was impressive, Eddie had discovered, where pretty things could exist. He rests his elbow against his knee, resting his chin into his free hand to just watch this boy. Point in case. He watches him pluck the petal, and his eyes roll up, as if he would actually be able to see the petal.

Well then.

Retaliation was a must, basically. Eddie shifts around on the ground. It isn't completely silent, but he's not too worried. It's not loud either. He lets go of Will's hand just so he could reach up and carefully, quietly break off one of the flowers. Then he tips that flower forward towards the boy. Have a flower, gentle, lovely friend.

He half wants to get his device out to ask for the boy's name, but he doesn't want to ruin this by getting out a clunky object between them. He might not be an old man just yet, but some part of his fifties' heart wasn't too fond of communication through technology. Especially not with said person sitting right there.)

[Ohhhh, wow. How bout that. Will grins, one of the goofy, unrestrained ones that he only shows every so often, and if this is how weird emotion-enhancing drinks effect him, he's going to be hilarious once he's old enough to get drunk. He'll accept this gift of a flower, thank you. Gonna go into his buttonhole, like he's a gentleman from the 1930's.

That finished, he'll mimic the other boy's position, free hand propping up his chin, just sort of...gazing. And smiling. This is nice. Gonna nudge a little closer so their arms are pressed together. Being closer is better.]

(While Eddie was pretty convinced that this place was some sort of ultimate punishment for him, he can't help but feel like God himself had just reached out and blessed him a teensy bit. Eddie winds up gaping like a complete idiot at him, and really... When these two could finally drink when they were older--. Well. Hilarious was definitely at least one word to describe it.

Eddie smiles even wider when the boy places it there. Perfect, he mouths.

Being closer is actually the best. Eddie stares back, mostly because for once in his life, he feels allowed to. And not just because they were completely alone.

Time to communicate in a new, fun way. That involved a lot more touching than was strictly necessary. He grabs the boy's arm, gently pulling it into his lap. He pushes up the sleeve of his jump suit and begins to lightly trace out an 'E' on the soft skin of the boy's wrist. He glances up at him, brow quirking, seeing if he understood what he was doing.)

[It doesn't count as being alone if you have a nice new friend with you, right? At least, Will doesn't feel alone anymore. And he knows all about being alone.

He'd be content to just sort of sit there forever, but then the other boy is reaching out to tug up his sleeve. Will watches curiously, wiggling his fingers a bit. That tickles, friend.

--oh, that's much easier than Morse code. Will nods emphatically. "E". Got it.]

(Eddie gives a nod once it's clear that he understood what he was doing. The next one he does carefully. He does 'd' making sure it was a lower case and that it flowed the same way as when he had written the E so that Will wouldn't mistaken it for a b. He draws another one, and then an 'i' and finally an 'e'.

He glances up to see if the other boy had possibly gotten all that. Thankfully it was pretty short.)

[Will is paying close attention, mouthing the letters silently to himself so they stick. He watches the other boy meticulously trace the letters, like it's the most important thing in the world.

E-D-D-I-E. Will blinks, then glances up and mouths the name: Eddie?]

(When the boy successfully puts together his name, Eddie beams. He gives a quick nod, and points to himself. Not that it wasn't already obvious that it was his name, but he just wanted to send that message home. His nodding makes the flower petal drift off of his head and onto his shoulder instead.

Then he proceeds to point to the other boy. He removes his hand from his arm and pushes up his own sleeve. He sets his arm right on the boy's knee. Go for it, boyo.)

[Whoops, one sec, gotta fix your flower here, buddy. Will tucks it under a lock of Eddie's hair this time, patting it in place, then looks down curiously at the arm on his knee.

-- oh, right, his name! He's got this, he's with it. Carefully, he'll draw the letters: W I L L.

Then, curiously, he'll add: .-- .. .-.. .-..

Just in case Eddie knows Morse too.]

(What a good pal. Got his back already and they barely know each other. He grins at him after his petal is fixed and then proceeds to focus on the name that's spelled out. It's easy-peasy to figure out. He mouths 'Will' at the other boy, and grins.

Morse code was something Bill and him had studied up late nights after they went to go to sleep during sleepovers. After WWII, it wasn't uncommon for young boys to go out of their way to learn some of those things. They had always felt a little bit like they were in trench warfare themselves. Which was dumb make-believe, but Eddie's glad for it the moment he figures out the message.

He was never quite as good as Bill, and not as good as Will, but he does slowly and accurately respond: . -.. -.. .. .

Then for the sake of it, he draws a smiley face on Will's wrist, feeling rather accomplished.)

[Will is grinning so wide it's almost painful, lighting up like a delighted tiny Christmas tree. Morse code is fun! Flowers and Morse code and new friends, this is the best hellscape ever!

Eddie! he mouths again, wiggling his fingers a bit in response to the tickle of the smiley face being drawn. Then he lets out a soft sigh, leaning lightly against the other boy's shoulder while he puzzles over how to speak further.

Finally, he taps out, carefully: h e r e l o n g and arches both eyebrows in question.]

(Wow Eddie suddenly needs sunglasses with that abrupt sunrise blinding him from Will's face. He squints instead, and tries to ignore the urge to knock Will over with a huge. The juice was amplifying everything though so Eddie scoots forward and his legs end up somewhat in Will's lap.

He smiles delightedly at Will. Maybe this no talking thing wasn't the worst. This was fun. This was a lot of fun.

Eddie shakes his head: o n l y a f e w d a y s.

Then he points to Will, brows raised up in his own question.)

[Will looks down at the sudden legs in his lap, then carefully plucks a few more petals to put on them. There you go, flowery knees. He's so good at this.

The response has him nodding emphatically, pointing at himself. Him too! Only a few days! And they sucked, but it doesn't suck now!]

(Incredible. Look at that. Eddie watches the gesture, feeling rather funny about it, but then looks back up when Will nods excitedly. Eddie quirks a grin at him then is back to tapping on him.

a l o n e?)

[Will shakes his head, placidly, then points at Eddie by way of explanation. See, he's not alone. Got tons of buddies.]

(Make a boy feel special, huh. Eddie's flattered, but that isn't what he meant. So he reiterates: f r o m h o m e?)

[Ohhhhh, that makes much more sense. Will nods, holding up two fingers. Max and Mike, so far! He likes them. More friends are always good. But then his forehead creases in concern and he points at Eddie, suddenly worried. Is HE alone?]

(Eddie gives a nod, feeling relieved. It would be upsetting if this boy was here all on his own. When Will looks concerned though, Eddie shakes his head and reaches out, smoothing his thumb over that crease in Will's brow. Then he holds up his own hand and puts up two fingers as well. Richie and Bill.

They both had buddies. That was good- really good.)

[Will nods, satisfied at this, though he scrunches his nose gently at the touch to his forehead. He's just making sure. Next question -- he gestures at the closest building, points to himself, then holds up nine fingers. He's in house nine, see?]

INTRO LOG #2

beautiful tbh tbh tbh

i treat u right

oh bb

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honestly i'd be shocked if the losers DIDNT know morse code

they're kids in the post-WW2/pre-cell phone era, it's a requirement

god you right

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