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

[ Oh, that's surprising. He guesses he does just look like a normal man, without his flashy coat, flamboyant glasses and odd hair style. But maybe it wasn't his appearance that had made the association. He taps out a reply, looking a little more confident in his ability to navigate this advanced piece of technology. ]

Is that good?

[ Last thing he needs is someone to decide he deserves their ire. Vash attracts conflict like a fly to honey, but he still feels a little numb and not quite like himself. ]

[She looked at him with an emotionless expression that said neither that it was good or bad. Rei had never really shrugged in her life, and so the physical gesture wasn't one she was familiar with most of the time. It made it a little hard to response. Still, she could think of something that could be said, and so typed it for him.]

Neither. You simply act like someone I know.

[On the plus side, she didn't dislike that person.]

[ That is definitely a first. Vash thinks himself rather unique. No one he has ever met has been able to replicate his cheery disposition quite the way he plays it. It has him curious, but this girl does not seem like the talkative type. He wonders briefly if she is shy or maybe this sudden displacement has rattled her a bit. ]

Are they here? I'd like to see someone who can compete with this dashing smile!

[ Hamming it up, the usual. ]

[She shook her head.]

Ikari-kun is not here. He doesn't smile very often anyway. There are other things about you that are similar.

[Honestly? She'd never met anyone who smiled this much. It was ... odd, if she were being frank about it. Even that man who hung around the Major was more serious than this.]

Ah, he's got blonde hair!

[ Kind of a joke, but he's honestly a little lost as to what that could mean. ]

That's a shame. Everyone deserves the chance to smile all the time. I'd like that.

[She thought about it and decided that clarity might avoid the guessing game. Looking down, she typed a quick answer that she hoped would mollify that curiosity.]

You both seem like the type who would care about another's well being and want them to smile, even if you did not know them.

[ Damn, girl is perceptive. Vash actually lets out a guffaw, then immediately breaks out in to a cold sweat. If he had done that outside this room he might have just killed them. He scratches the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. Being a loudmouth is going to be hard habit to break. But now the little spell is broken and he says very quietly: ]

I feel like smiles are going to be hard to come by from this point on. Everyone is very serious. But it can't be all bad. We'll just have to bring our own optimism to the game.

[ He pointedly ignores the fact the Rei looks like she has never once been optimistic in her entire life. ]

[She looked at him with a briefly annoyed expression at that guffaw, shaking her head. She wasn't even going to bother chiding him over it. He clearly knew what he'd done wrong, so there was no point in bringing it up. Laughter was death in this place.

Listening, she let her face still a little and tapped out an answer, preferring to use this form of communication. She was going to need to learn it if she planned to live here at all.]

I do not smile often. There is little point to it. But if you wish to be optimistic, that is fine. I will protect you.

[Yep, the fourteen year old pale-skinned girl was looking at the big dumb blonde with a completely bland face of her own and saying 'get behind me. I've got this.' Force of habit. She was used to being the one with the shield.]

[ He is genuinely flabbergasted and at the same time, very touched. He has lived so very long and he doesn't think he has ever heard anyone ever offer to champion for him. He doubts that anyone could protect him better than himself but the thought was there and it made him feel better. Maybe he would survive this empty, bottomless feeling.

He nearly pats her head, but thinks better of it. ]

What's your name?

[She really really would not have known how to handle being patted on the head. People didn't do that sort of thing, really, not with her. It would have been oh so confusing. His question, however, was easy enough to answer.]

Rei.

[Sometimes... she really needed to add a few more details. She could be oh so blunt.]

[ He's smiling that smile again, although this time is looks more open and honest, no strained performances now. ]

Hi, Rei. I'm Vash. If I ever need assistance you'll be the first I call.

[ A grievous lie. He'd have to be chained, on fire, completely limbless to even consider endangering anyone else. But he thinks that is the kind thing to say. It takes a lot of bravery to protect anyone and he recognizes that. The world needed more selfless people. ]

[She nodded, taking him at his word. There was no reason to question it, and if he wasn't going to call her, well that was his own choice, wasn't it? Certainly, she was willing to protect him one way or another, but would there be an opportunity? Only time would tell there.]

You will be able to be quiet outside this room?

[She ... might have had her doubts.

[ Oof. Hard hitting questions. ]

Ahaha, I'll have to be, wont I? I'm a quick learner. This is the last time I say anything aloud! Starting right now!

[ He mimes zippering his lips shut and throws away an imaginary key. Silent as the grave! ]

[If Rei had been anyone else, she probably would been fighting back giggles right then. Vash really was a bit of a comical figure. She just stared at him though, before nodding and typing quietly.]

We will speak again, I think. Be careful.

INTRO LOG #2

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