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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ with a sigh, Kara nods. all right then, she'll try again later. ]

Yeah, that's right. As long as it's not taken already.

how would i know?

Beds and stuff lying around is a pretty good sign. My old room might still be open. As a bonus: you will have the cleanest chimney known to mankind.

[...

He stares at her, mouthing a silent huh?, because what.]

[ ...oh. That... that probably makes less sense with her in her supersuit. ]

Um, slight germaphobe here. And it was super dirty, I was bored, so.

[ she shrugs. she definitely didn't want to clean it out so she could fly out of it all the time or anything, hahahaha. ha. ]

[In other words, Kara is actually Santa Claus. Sorry, Noel, you've got competition.

Ouni still looks a little baffled by her explanation (not helped by the fact that "germaphobe" wasn't an easy word for him to read, though he can grasp the general meaning), but sure, he'll take it.]

you must hate the sand here then

[ oh boy. another lie to keep up with. Kara hates lying, geez louise. at least he's going with it. ]

Yeah, it's not my favorite thing ever.

So! Do you want to go check out the rooms?

[He tilts his head in what Kara could interpret as a yes (it's likely obvious by now that he's... not the most talkative...), before moving to head into the house.

... So yeah, that's a yes.]

[ ...okay! Kara follows after him, into her old house that she barely got to turn into a home. She ignores the hallway leading to her old room, her old door, not even looking at it. that's where she'd first gotten lured in by Kilgrave. she doesn't want to think about it.

instead, she shadows Ouni, ready to help with whatever he needs once he picks out a space! ]

[So this is what homes are like here.

In contrast to his mostly passive behaviour up until now, there's actually a hint of awe in Ouni's eyes as he looks around, because this is all new to him. This is (sort of, anyway) part of the world that he's always wanted to see.

... It kind of sucks that the only times he ever gets to see the outside world is in shitty situations such as this one, but that's the best he can expect, he supposes.

With that said, as fascinated as he is, the idea of living here is weird—hence why he ends up heading to the deck. Open space and the outside, at least, is more familiar.]

here is fine

[ Kara nods, but she doesn't get it. Sure, sleeping under the stars is a great draw, but it's not a safe one. she's not sure if Sound Eaters can go through walls, but she'd still like them between her and them, just in case. But, Ouni isn't the only one crashing on the decks, so she shrugs. all right then! ]

If you change your mind about the bed, I'm kdanvers on the network. Feel free to look me up if you want help!

[Ouni has no idea what a network is, but he'll... figure it out...

But help, huh...? Ouni's not great at asking for it explicitly (in fact, he's pretty awful), but explicit isn't always necessary, at least, hence why he starts off with:]

you said you've been here for a month

[ Kara nods. ]

That's right.

[He pauses, uncertainty flickering across his face, before he types out another message.]

i'm looking for people. they weren't in that room

[ well, that's interesting. ]

Who are you looking for?

boy with brown hair and green eyes, girl with brown hair and gold eyes, both shorter than me. or anyone looking for them

That could describe a lot of people. Do you know their names? Are they kids?

[ she really hopes it's not more kids. ]

[... Ugh. Ouni lets out a silent sigh, because the reason he didn't give their names is because he isn't sure how to spell them. Well, he can take a guess and hope he's right (or that if he's wrong, they'll never know).

Hence the pause before he replies.]

chakuro, ginshu. some my age, some younger.

[ Kara has no idea who those people are, and she shakes her head, looking apologetic. ]

I'm sorry, I don't know them. You CAN check the network here, though. [ she pulls it up on her device for him to see, scrolling through a few usernames and pictures. ] If they're here,
there should be a picture of them you can look for since you might not know what username they'd pick.

[Ouni stares at her device with the mildly baffled look of someone who has never seen technology like this in his life (reasons why his username is just his name: he didn't understand the concept of a username).]

how does that work?

Well, we all get one, and it scans our picture and we can use these to communicate with each other. but there's also just this list of members, so that you can choose who you want to talk to from it.

[He absolutely does not understand all of that, and it shows in his face. Nevertheless, he understands what he needs to: that if someone's here, their picture should be on this device. So, he scrolls through on his own.

...

None of them. No one from the island, either. As he closes his eyes for a moment, he doesn't know whether to feel upset or relieved—whether his being alone is a blessing or a curse.

Opening his eyes again, he types out another message.]

any pattern behind who arrives here

[ Kara shakes her head. ]

There seems to be a lot of kids? But other than that,
not that I've noticed, no.

[...]

annoying

[The lack of info, that is.]

how honest are the people here

[ hooooo boy, Ouni is asking the tough questions. Kara's networked, sure, there's tons of people here she's met. And most have seemed to be varying levels of honest. But she can't speak for all of them. ]

I guess that would depend on who you talk to! I've had good luck so far, I think, meeting honest people.

[ she gives Ouni a very knowing and slightly cautionary grin. hopefully he's one of those honest people! ]

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