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quietplacelogs2018-02-12 02:11 pm
bequiet) wrote in quietplacelogs2018-02-12 02:11 pm
Entry tags:
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!
no subject
[Because Eddie seems like a terrible person so far. Hugging people in public and using them as chin-leans, the worst. He doesn't see Eddie's nose wrinkle from his position, but in pulling away again to view his face Eddie's just in time for the widest of Jake's smile.
Eddie's hearing his voice in his head and they're surrounded by sound-eating monsters no one knows how to defend again. If he's crazy, they're all crazy.]
( In my time when someone says "I see things" the doctor's chair is usually the first stop. That's how it started--bad dreams. That's just what they call psychic stuff where he's from. It's coming in handy now. )
[There's so much pressure with the enforced silence--it's nice to just have a normal conversation. But... silently.]
no subject
(Solid answer. But Eddie doesn't want to explain that Jake would probably go sprinting the other way if he cracked up Eddie's head a little. It would take all of three seconds for Jake to realize that Eddie's a total nutjob. Not to mention the whole terror clown.
Thing is, he wants Jake to like him. Especially right now with that juice making him feel warm and quite a bit shameless.)
(Oh. In my time, they just electrocute you and throw you into Juniper. That's the psych ward back home. It's okay though. You aren't crazy.
I'd say so. This is a hell of a lot better than passing notes. How far does it go? Can I start it? Like, if you were across the house, could I call for you?)
(Maybe Eddie couldn't read Jake the way Jake could read Eddie, but he was pretty positive of this fact.)
no subject
( I doubt yours could be any worse than mine. )
[It's reassuring Eddie doesn't think he's a viable candidate for electrocution, though. Sort of. That's not... really a thing in the 1950s, is it?]
( I don't know. Maybe? ) [His expression creases in thought. He's not actually sure.] ( I know I can call out to someone who's far away. Maybe if I was listening for it? )
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(One day we'll compare notes.)
(That was a huge thing in the 50s, boyo. The fifties were practically the hayday of electroconvulsive therapy especially seeing as it had only been introduced in 1938 or 39.)
(Hm. We'll have to test drive that sometime. It could be useful in a place like this. I guess as long as you can reach me, it's okay.)
no subject
[Gotta laugh or you'll cry, isn't that what they say? But he's glad to see Eddie unwind a bit from the downtrodden line of thinking he'd been in earlier (not realizing happy juice is largely to do with it).]
( Psychics also accept texts. At least this one does. ) [The question that follows might seem like a bit of a step back, what with them literally having just hugged their feelings out like childhood friends who've known each other their whole lives, but to Jake (who's had them in increasingly short supply) the distinction matters.] ( I had to be careful with it before because there were people after what I could do. I don't know if they're still around, but we're friends, right? )
[He's willing to take the risk for a friend.]
no subject
Again, he's grinning, this time his teeth showing. Though it doesn't last particularly long. Not with the idea of people out to hurt Jake or take something from him. That wasn't okay. Eddie suddenly felt a familiar fierceness rising up inside of him. His hands slide down and he tangles his fingers up with Jake's, squeezing their hands together tightly.)
(I would die before I let some creepo adults get their hands on you for something like that.)
(It's pretty obvious that he means it if anything was to go by the look on his face. Then his expression softens into a small smile. Because Jake called them friends.)
(You think so? Yeah. We're friends. I like to think we are anyway.)
no subject
Eddie's not a mind reader--he can't know that it means a lot. A lot, for the boy behind the shine to be seen as worth protecting instead of the shine around the boy.
Even if Eddie's gone a bit too far the other way with the declaration to fall on his sword. Jake squeezes the hand in his grip and shakes his head. His "tone," if one call the echo of a voice that, is calm enough, but insistent.]
( Don't, okay? It's my turn to say you shouldn't promise that. Enough people have died because of me. )
[And before he can follow that thought too far--]
( Yeah. Once you get to hug level it's almost a given. ) [He puts on a smile for the here and now, for the boy very much alive and real in front of him.] ( Then it's okay, if it's for a friend. We can talk like this anytime. )
no subject
Thing is...There were people worth dying for. There was a reason they agreed to go back to Derry if IT ever came back. It wasn't some sense of obligation like IT was their fault.
It was because the Losers' Club had an ingrained sense of justice- to themselves, but to where they had been failed as children. They did not want more people, more children to die in a town where no one gave a fuck about the children dying. It was not in Eddie's nature to abandon someone good. And Jake? Jake was very good. And apparently, Jake was a friend. That only made this more important.
For an instant, the effects of the juice almost neutralize against the intensity of the look Eddie is giving him. That dopey-drunk smile is gone, and his whole being seems steady, like he's cracking something open between them and staring at it under an impossibly all-seeing scope from two grey eyes that seemed, at that moment, truly absent of anything but that singular emotion. His mouth was fixed into a tight line, and there were many things he could say to that. "Don't, okay?" Eddie didn't know how to explain himself. Didn't know how to tell Jake that the six slashes across his palms represented his fierce dedication to such ideals. He did not take these things lightly.
Eddie says nothing, ultimately. It was too late. Eddie had already made his mind up. It is entirely possible Jake could feel this resolution- who knows? It certainly was coming off of Eddie in waves.
His hands relax in Jake's grip, and his expression finally softens as he clambers back down from wherever he had gone just now.)
(Is that right. I'll remember that.)
(Eddie exhales and removes his hands from Jake's, sweeping one hand through his hair. He slowly pulled himself back together, and then proceeded to reach out and grab Jake's arm.)
(Let's head back, okay? I think maybe that juice was booze.)
no subject
Appreciation and fear war for supremacy. Selfishly, perhaps, Eddie's made him feel better about being here on his own just by offering his companionship with a smile and a house tour.
But Jake doesn't know if he can handle more people dying around him. He's not sure he's handling it now. Pushing it down? Yes. But owning up to the reality?]
( We agreed, right? To have each other's backs. So no one has to die. )
[Not this time. Please.
The shift in topic is a welcome distraction, and he willingly falls into step with Eddie, looking at him with an expression caught between amused acceptance and worry.]
( I should've guessed when you started acting a little weird. Feel better? We can stop somewhere if you're going to puke. )
( We agreed, right? To have each other's backs. So no one has to die. )
no subject
He gives a nod. Fatalistic loyalty, sure, but Eddie didn't want to die. He never wanted to hear Richie crying like that for him ever again.
And his body-.
Eddie shuts down that thought before it could take hold.)
(No one has to die.)
(They could do their best to ensure that anyway.
Eddie can feel his face growing hot. Even just a sip had made him act...Well. Maybe with his friends it would have been okay. Jake was a friend, but that didn't mean he appreciated having Eddie all over him.)
(I'm sorry if I made you feel weird. I don't think I'm gonna puke. I've drank booze before and that red stuff was way nicer on the stomach.)
(Back on the station. That had made him puke. But that had also been scotch that had been sitting around for God knows how long.)
no subject
[He holds Eddie's gaze, self-consciously aware he's maybe making it more of a thing than it needs to be, but pressing on the point all the same. It's a stupid and childish thing to say, and he's long past the point of believing in promises that can't be kept, but he wants Eddie to try. Specifically, he doesn't want Eddie trying to get killed for him.
(Is he worth so much sacrifice?)
A little PDA isn't what makes him wake up in a cold sweat at night, and proof is provided by way of nudging Eddie with his arm. Quit it with those apologies, man.]
( Why would I? ) [He smiles a little.] ( I meant the mood change was weird. Maybe it's supposed to be light--they probably don't want you gagging over the really hard stuff. )
no subject
Eddie slows a bit in his steps to stare back at Jake. Thing was, Jake wasn't actually making it more of a thing than it needed to be. The thing about twelve and eleven year olds was that they took these sort of things very seriously. And Eddie wasn't one to break his promises. The proof of that lay in his scarred palms.
Again, he's quiet entirely both externally and internally. It was almost odd to him that Jake didn't mind the affection. If only cause, the reality of it was, they didn't quite know each other. Eddie felt a little bit like they did, of course, as some kids were wont to feel towards special people, but Jake owed him nothing. Certainly not that open-ended kindness of a boy who didn't mind another boy being a little more...affectionate than was strictly normal between boys.
It breaks down a wall inside of Eddie, something he isn't fully aware of, but it's made to crumble all the same in the instance of a single smile sent his way. And a tangible feeling arises around Jake: safe.
Safe in the sense that Eddie could maybe be a little more open with Jake. His staring is unblinking, unwavering, as all of this rushes up over him. Then finally, Eddie does respond.)
(Don't make me promise that. I keep my promises and I don't know if I can keep that one.)
(Promises were a sort of magic for Eddie and his friends. Richie hadn't even made him promise. Eddie wasn't so sure- but he thinks maybe the universe wanted him dead in some distant, cruel way. He knew, rationally, all things died, but somehow it felt a little more personal in his case. He looks away from Jake then.)
(I'll try though. It's not like I WANT to die, and I'm way too big of a coward to play the hero, so you don't need to worry about me being reckless.)
(And finally, after a couple of seconds, Eddie smiles a little.)
(Yeah, I felt really bold. It was weird. I never feel bold.)
(That sentence alone is very telling, though Eddie doesn't expand beyond that.)
no subject
And perhaps this is the best Jake can expect--an agreement the other will do his best. For all his power, he can't stop death like the Reset Room allegedly can, which he has his own severe doubts about.]
( I should make you promise if you have to keep it... ) [He won't, though.] ( But that's all I want. )
[For Eddie to give himself a fighting chance.
Eddie's hesitation in the matter of his affection feels like another tip to an iceberg Jake suspects he's only seeing a small picture of without probing deeper--and if he did, he'd be taking away Eddie's ability to bring it up in his own way, in his own time. Eddie had accepted his powers without question--he can do the same. He returns the smile. What matters is that--]
( I didn't mind it. You should stick with being bold. )
[And honestly, he'd needed that, he thinks.]
no subject
(You'd have to make a blood pact with me in that case. Trust me, Jake. It's not like I WANT to die. I'm not fatalistic.)
(He was probably the least fatalistic of his friends, in a way. Eddie's loyalty didn't equate to an indifference towards death, after all.
Eddie winds up staring all over again, and a slow burn rises up into his cheeks. He's glad for the dark of the night, and turns his face away to keep on walking. Stick with being bold. He wondered if Jake would say that if he really knew.
Maybe he would though.
Eddie instantly shuts that idea down with the same kind of deliberate aggression he used to shut many other things down with. He's quiet, but not in a bad way. He doesn't let go of Jake, after all, and instead just stays close as they walk.)
no subject
On the one hand, Eddie's already said it--he doesn't have a death wish, and so far the only danger that's emerged is the Sound Eaters and they affect everyone.]
( You mean suicidal? )
[He elects to let it go. He doesn't want to be melodramatic when Eddie's loopy from the drink and probably not even thinking clearly. A problem for another day.]
no subject
(I guess.)
(This is said rather carefully. He's still feeling the drink enough that mixed up with the bad feelings the word 'suicide' drudges up, it has Eddie securing himself to Jake's arm and dropping his head against his shoulder. It isn't the most comfortable thing, but the closeness, and the feeling of Jake being very much alive felt nice.)
no subject
( Come on, let's get out of here. It'll be safer inside. )
[As to any or all suicidal, fatalistic ideations, there doesn't seem to be much to gain by pursuing it. There's a brittle cliffhanger at the end of that line of conversation, a pregnant pause that hints at more left unsaid, but Jake figures they have enough to deal without cracking open that pinata.
Not tonight.]