INTRO LOG #2

[bequiet]

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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Comments

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas has seen her scared of him before, but he's never actually seen her take a step away from him. The fact that she is reacting to him in such a way after their moment in the woods - it startles him, his mouth forming a frown but she's done enough to make him halt from coming any closer.

He has to stop himself speaking aloud - he just wants to ask her what's wrong and it's damn well frustrating that he has to use the device to do it. Typing takes too much time and Lucas is slow, but eventually he'll stretch out his device towards her, and on the screen his message reads: ]

i thought we were past you fearing me. i meant what i said in the woods. [ The man I am today is who I want to be, and he was really trying to be a good man. ]

[tornadoed]

[ their moment in the woods was a long time ago. their night at the farmhouse, too. what wasn't a long time ago was him kissing glinda, telling her that glinda had come first, asking her to stop him even as he was trying to kill her.

his hands around her throat. that wasn't a long time ago. ]

you try to kill me and now you're wondering why i'm afraid of you?

[ there's no tone to texts, but the reproach in her gaze, in her expression, that should translate despite the lack of sound. it's stubborn and it's necessary because if she doesn't get angry, she'll get even more scared. she hates that her hands tremble around the device, so she grips it more tightly. ]

[scarecrowed]

[ He silently mouths the word: what? Brow furrowed, he looks at her as though she's lost her mind. ]

what are you talking about? when did i try to kill you? all i've ever done is tried to protect you.

[ As far as he's concerned, she'd been trying to kill herself by making rash decisions all the time and Lucas had been the one to try and save her from that. ]

[tornadoed]

[ she doesn't get to laugh or to cry. she doesn't get to make a noise. she can't, she knows she can't. so she pushes the sleeve of her jumpsuit over her mouth and nose and stifles whatever sound between laughter and scream and sob threatens to escape before it can. ]

before you remembered
before we found glinda

[ before you gave me up like i never mattered at all she doesn't type ]

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas has literally no idea what Dorothy is talking about and surely that shows on his face? Did he really look like a man who tried to kill her? When all he ever looked at her with was sometimes frustration, but mostly devotion? How could he kill the woman who named him? ]

remembered? i still remember nothing and i don't know who that is. did you meet anyone in the woods who could have given you false memories?

[tornadoed]

[ he looks at her the way he used to. like she's the most important person in his world, like she matters, like she's someone he could love. someone that he does love, maybe.

he used to look at her like that, and then glinda kissed him and dorothy's heart had been ripped from her chest again because of course she isn't someone worth loving. of course he'd pick someone else over her. (her own mother gave her up. left her. there's something wrong with her, something broken —

and maybe that isn't true, maybe her mother had reasons, but it still hurts and years of it can't be undone like that.) ]

maybe you've forgotten again but i remember

[scarecrowed]

[ It doesn't occur to Lucas until she says it that maybe he has forgotten. It wouldn't be the first time he's lost memories. It sounded more plausible than someone planting fake memories in Dorothy's head...

Lucas shakes his head over and over, horrified as Dorothy's words finally sink in and he starts to accept that maybe he did hurt her. His own hands start to shake as he types a reply. ]

why would i want to kill you? you saved me. i'd be dead on that cross if it wasn't for you.

[tornadoed]

[ dorothy takes another step back, but it's small. lucas isn't threatening her right now — and it is lucas, not roan. they're one and the same and still, she can make the distinction just by looking at him. by seeing how he looks at her. she can make the distinction, but it was still him.

her shoulders curve inward. ]

you're back on a cross because of me

[ but if he doesn't remember — if he doesn't remember, none of this will be making much sense to him. if he doesn't remember, he's back to where he started. if he doesn't remember, he's almost like a patient, isn't he?

so she drags in a breath, barely remembering to make it silent. ]

you really don't remember?

[scarecrowed]

[ Well, he can't say he blames her for putting him back on a cross if he tried to kill her...

Maybe she should never taken him off the first cross in the first place. ]

the last thing i remember is meeting eamonn after we separated in the woods.

[tornadoed]

[ she gave him what he'd wanted. made it so that she'd never happened to him. except of course there is no erasing all that they experienced, all that they meant to each other —

no, that's not true, either. glinda had managed to take that away with just one kiss. dorothy's lips press together. ]

that was ages ago

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas doesn't type anything for a moment, simply looks at Dorothy with the same eyes that scream Lucas and not Roan, wondering what could have possessed him to kill someone who made him a better person.

(Glinda. He wanted to blame this Glinda woman on everything but who's to say it wasn't entirely his fault?)

Finally, he types: ]

i'm glad i don't remember.

i don't want to remember what i did to you.

i wish you could forget it. [ But he knows just by looking at her, that she can't. ]

[tornadoed]

[ dorothy blames glinda, too, but she can't put it all on glinda. some of it was lucas. roan. some of it was roan choosing glinda over her. he hadn't even been happy with the choice, she'd seen it in his eyes — but still he'd chosen glinda over her.

that had hurt almost more than his hands closing around her throat. ]

i wish i could too [ she types after a moment, glancing away from him. from the way he keeps looking at her like he used to. ]

[scarecrowed]

[ The good thing about this place right now forcing himself to communicate by text is that perhaps it's easier to ask the hard questions than it is to speak them aloud. ]

i'm so sorry dorothy. that's not the man i am now.

can you forgive me?

[tornadoed]

[ dorothy is glad, for the moment, that she has to look at her device to see the question. that she has a reason not to look at lucas and the pain in his eyes.

he didn't want to do it. the man he is right now wouldn't. she knows that. but she's seen the man he can be. the man he becomes. and it was still him, making those choices.

she doesn't look up. ]

i don't know

[ but even with the fear that's still there in the reptile part of her brain, even with the anger that comes from it, even with the sense of betrayal — she's glad she isn't alone here. ]

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas nods somberly but with no hint of anger in his face - how could he mad at her for not being sure? He wouldn't even be mad at her for never wanting to see him again. ]

i was looking for sylvie. do you think she's here?

[tornadoed]

i don't know
i'd say no kid should be in this place but i'm not sure it isn't better than being in a war

[ sylvie made her choice, too, and that had hurt as well, but — less than the choice lucas had made. sylvie's just a kid, after all. dorothy can't blame her the way she can blame lucas.

though his acceptance makes it harder to be angry with him. to hold on to the fury that makes the pain more bearable. ]

[scarecrowed]

should we keep looking?
together?

[ It's an excuse for them to still be around one another, for the girl, otherwise he can see them parting ways and he doesn't want to do that yet. ]

[tornadoed]

[ together. dorothy isn't sure she's ready to be around him, but she's pretty sure she's not ready to let him leave. ]

yeah ok

[ but for a moment, she doesn't move ]

i don't suppose toto came with you

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas gives a look that says you're kidding. She might even think it were a humorous if they were on better terms...

Saying that, they could be on worse terms after what he did to her. He's surprised she's even talking to him... but she has such a good heart, of course it's not surprising that she would keep things civil between them. ]

no. your dog would not survive five minutes here. have you forgotten how much he liked to bark for attention?

[tornadoed]

[ that's... accurate. but also not helpful. ]

shut up

[ which is absolutely a mature way to handle him being right. but look, she just misses her dog. because he's a comfort. (but seeing him die would be the opposite of comforting and she knows lucas is right.)

after a moment, she forces her shoulders straight ]

lets go

[scarecrowed]

[ Lucas just gives her another look that says you know I'm right.

With a nod, he starts walking, falling into step with her. He types her a message while he walks, though it takes him a while since walking and typing is a lot harder than it looks. ]

what number house were you put in?

[ As soon as he shows her the message, he has a thought that makes him type something else before she has a chance to reply. ]

you don't have to tell me. [ In case she thinks he'll kill her in her sleep or something. ]

[tornadoed]

[ she does know he's right. it just doesn't mean she can't wish for toto to be here, to be able to bury her hands in his fur and hold on for a moment. but she wishes for a lot of things right now, and none of them are attainable. ]

two
you?

[ she doesn't think he'll kill her in her sleep. not the man he is right now. ]

[scarecrowed]

twelve

[ That's a lot of houses away... ]

i suppose you feel safer now. [ Knowing he wasn't just next door. ]

[tornadoed]

[ she does. she doesn't. it's complicated. how can one man mean both safety and danger? ]

i guess

[scarecrowed]

[ She doesn't sound certain, but it's hard to distinguish her tone. ]

i want to keep protecting you. you and sylvie.

[ It gives him purpose. ]