quietplacelogs | 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

[Will looks up at her for a long, searching moment. Then he manages a very very faint smile. A promise is a sacred thing when you're a kid, after all. If she promises, it must be true, right?

So, onto his next question, typed slowly and accompanied with a silently pleading look:] then can i go home? please?

[ that smile is the most relieving thing in the world to see right now. if the room is going to keep sending kids through, Kara can do her best to protect them all, help them not feel so scared and make sure they're taken care of.

but then he asks her that question, and her heart hurts all over again. her smile is grim, but she tries to return it. ]

Not yet. We haven't figured out how the room takes people home yet. But it IS possible. We just have to figure that out. Until we do, whatever you need, I can help you out.

[The answer makes him duck his head for a moment, absorbing this. He wants to ask about his mom, but he knows she isn't here. He knows. She would've found him already.

So instead he takes a slow, deep breath and squares his skinny little shoulders and holds his head as high as he can.]

okay. thank you. can you please show me house 9?

[ Kara recognizes a brave face when she sees one. she wants to put a steadying hand on his shoulder, but he seems skittish. she doesn't want to scare him off. instead, she nods and pushes herself up, holds her hand out to help him up with a smile. ]

I can do that! I used to live in house nine, so that'll be a peace of cake. :)

[Skittish is essentially the dictionary definition for Will Byers. But the smiling helps. The smiling and the positive attitude and -- and abruptly he misses his mom so much it hurts.

Please to ignore the way his eyes are getting sort of teary and wet, Kara, you just are a lot like the bravest person he knows. He'll accept the hand, hefting himself up and dusting sand carefully off his jumpsuit.]

where do you live now?

[oh no. Kara maybe gives his hand an extra squeeze once he takes it before dropping it and walking beside Will, leading him down the sand path to house nine. ]

By myself, kind of behind house twelve. Would you like to see house nine first, or do you want to get a headstart on the warehouse so you can get one of the good blankets? ;)

[At the first part of this, Will looks genuinely alarmed, typing quick enough that he ends up with typos:] yuo live all aloen???

[ oh, will. even if she wasn't kilgraved, it's safer for a supergirl to not be under the same roof as children and ghosts and robuts. ]

Several of us do, but it's okay! Now I have more room to have my friends come over and visit. :)

[Will still looks suspicious, but she's smiley-emoji-ing him, so she's...probably telling the truth? Still. He's been alone in a place like this before, and it sucked.]

okay. if you say so. where's the warehouse?

Right past the fountain. There's not much, but it'll be better than nothing. We can get you a bed and some blankets, and swing by Town Hall to get some food for you!

[For the first time -- since their conversation started and since arriving, period -- Will smiles. It's very small, but it's genuine.]

thank you.

It's no problem at all!! :)

[ Kara leads Will to the warehouse, and she wishes then that she'd worn her supersuit, could just pick up a bed and fly it to house nine for him. If nothing else, it'd probably make his day to see someone like Supergirl, at least if going by Mike's reaction is any indication. So, it's a bit laboriously, and with the help of a knowing native who winks when they walk off, that Kara heaves a bed to house nine for Will. She'll have to send that native a thank you message later.

outside of house nine, she types out a message and shows it to Will. ]

You know, if it makes you feel better, there's another kid who lives here too, and he's very sweet. His name's Mike, and he has this friend-who-is-a-girl who stays with him named Eleven. I haven't met her, but I've talked to Mike a few times.
He's super cool!

[Will had tried to protest all the effort put into the whole bed thing, but of course he'd been waved off. Besides, if he's able to have a bed, he sort of prefers that.

He reads the message carefully, politely curious -- but then the polite expression gives way to one of absolute joy and delight because Mike!! Mike is here!!]

i know him!!! he's from hawkins too, he's my best friend!!

[ well, that's definitely surprising! Kara's... glad in a way, for Mike, and for Will too. If these kids have to be stuck here in this dangerous place, at least they have each other. Friendship in times like these is one of the most important things. ]

That's awesome!! Wow! Well, don't waste your time out here!
Go see him! :)

[Will might be heart-eyes-ing a little bit about the very concept of Mike being here. But Kara won't mention that, of course, right? At least not since Will has enough manners to stop and look up at her and type very politely and earnestly:]

thank you for showing me where stuff is and for telling me mike's here and

just helping. thank you. if i can help you at all, please tell me, okay?

[ oh no, he's adorable. Kara reaches out and ruffles his hair with a teasing grin. ]

Same here. If you need me, just message me and I'll do my best to help. :) It was nice to meet you!!

[Oh no, Kara, you hit the hair ruffle button. The one person who regularly does that -- every morning, in fact, right before she heads off to work -- is Will's mom. He looks up for a moment with those big, sad, lost eyes, throat closing with a sudden, overwhelming homesickness.

And then yeah, Kara, you're getting hugged -- quick and hard around the waist before Will is awkwardly waving and disappearing inside, face bright red.]

INTRO LOG #2

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