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

[thatsruff]

Reading is easier than responding.

[Teddy's tail wags twice softly at the human's response before he remembers to still it again. He is used to people being unaccustomed to his knowledge of language, so it has no longer become a surprise when someone reacts with disbelief or confusion. But at least Eddie does not assume it is a prank as others have.

He puts a paw gently on Eddie, the color of his device shifting more to the blue end as he carefully orders the letters and words in his next response.]

Spelling takes time. [He was one of the fastest learners in his unit, but actually thinking in another language, and one constructed so differently from his natural impulses, was time consuming and exhausting.]

Questions i can answer in brief help.

[clussy]

(That made sense. Eddie was still young enough that he could remember how it was to first learn to read and write. Reading had always been a lot easier than writing for him too. The tail wag gets a smile out of Eddie, and he feels stupidly proud for a second.

Funnily enough, the technology is more astonishing to Eddie than a dog talking. The fifties gave him limited imagination when it came to technological advances, after all.)

I can be patient. Don't feel you need to rush.

(Eddie wanted to make that clear. He'd also try hard to understand the dog.)

Okay. I'll ask some quick and simple ones.

1. I'm Eddie. Do you have a name?
2. What are the socks for?
3. Do you have somewhere you're living/somewhere/someone to take care of you?

[thatsruff]

[Teddy is patient as he waits, thinking through Eddie's responses. They are good questions, and he moves to lay beside Eddie, resting his tired limbs. He pushed himself on his patrols too often. There's a glow from his device that lingers in the blue-green range, and he rests his head on his paws.]

Teddy.
For your feet.
I live with my handler in the tenth house in the circle. I take care of the humans here.

[He does it to the best of his ability, at least. It's his mission. He is a seeker, and protecting and supplying humans so that they could continue to survive was what he had been created for.]

Why are you small? Do you need more food?

[clussy]

(Eddie automatically smiles at Teddy's name. He reaches his hand out to gently pet the top of Teddy's head after he's rested his head into his paws. How cute. Eddie forgets to wonder if he should even be petting Teddy after learning he can talk. He seemed like a normal dog other than the talking thing, so it made sense.

But then Eddie feels something swell up in his chest when he reads that the socks are for his feet. His head snaps to attention, to look at those socks, and oh.)

Thank you so much, Teddy.

(He means it too. He was used to running around in shoes, and walking around in bare feet was kind of awful. His feet were often cold, and he'd cut his foot once or twice. The sand was soft and all, but the insides of the houses weren't perfect. He carefully wipes his feet off and pulls the socks on.)

You live near me then. I'm in House 11. Who's your handler?

(Then Teddy asks those questions and Eddie feels himself flush. He...He was definitely a little small for his age. It was an insecurity, truthfully, hence the embarrassment, but it isn't quite as bad coming from a dog as it was a person.)

I'm only 11. People grow slower than dogs. I don't really know why I'm small though. Maybe my mom?

(With all the things she had done to him, and how she had forced him inside for much of his life, it was certainly possible. Or at least Eddie thinks so.)

I'm okay. Thank you though. Do you need water or anything?

[thatsruff]

The man with the scar on his face.

[Teddy had not talked to him directly, and did not know his name. He knew only that the large man was strong and must be a survivor, and had used those terms to define him as his new handler. Only those with scars had the experience needed to understand danger. Visible scars just made it easier to identify those in the know.]

Is 11 young for a human? I am 18. I have only ever worked with taller humans before here.

Water would be nice, but too risky near others. [He had no way to drink silently. He relied on the sound of the river to mask the sound of his drinking most of the time, or drank only indoors where the walls blocked most of the sound.]

I will visit the river later.

[clussy]

I'm not sure I know who that is. Is he a good man?

(Eddie would assume as much if Teddy stuck around him. After all, dogs had a good read on people. That's what everyone said anyway.

Eddie nods, before looking a bit shocked. Eighteen was definitely old for a dog. Most dogs he knew anyway.)

Yeah. I guess I'd be what's considered a puppy for grown humans. Not fresh born, obviously, but still a lot of growing left.

(He hopes, anyway. But he knew he never got much bigger, unfortunately.

That's a point Eddie hadn't thought of. He glances towards the natives before looking at Teddy.)

My bathroom is soundproof if you want me to get you some water there. I dont mind.

[thatsruff]

He is strong.

[Teddy thought he was a good handler. They did not speak, he did not even know the man's name, but he seemed to know what he was doing, and he was kind to Teddy in a way that he understood better than the conversations he had with others.

His head tilts to one side again. Eddie was a young human. He had never met them before, but it made sense now, that the small humans were not stunted, but merely still growing. He had finished his physical growing at the age of two, and it had never occurred to him that humans grew slower. There had been no reason for him to learn of such things.]

If you let me in and out of the doors, I would appreciate water.

[He rubs one paw over his eyes and snout, the device lighting up a softer yellow this time.]

There are very few doors I can pass on my own.

[clussy]

as long as hes good too.

(Strength only meant so much if you weren't good. That's how Eddie thought about it in any case. Children often had very simple ideologies and Eddie was hardly any different.

Eddie smiles a little, already on his feet, gesturing for Teddy to come with him. He doesn't take out his device again just yet. Instead, he walks onward to House 11 and opens up the front door for the both of them. He moves on into the kitchen where he fetches a mixing bowl of water and sets it down onto the ground. It felt a little funny making Teddy eat or drink off the floor, but Eddie supposed it couldn't be helped.)

I can try and think of something so you can come into our place whenever you need water and we can keep a bowl filled for you.

other kids live in this house. i dont know if you've met them though.

[thatsruff]

[Teddy isn't sure how to differentiate. What made a human good? He doesn't have a spectrum to base it on. Humans are all under his protection and he is in their service. It does not matter who they are or what they do or do not do.

He follows Eddie, trying to drink as quietly as he can from the bowl, suddenly feeling parched just from the sight of the water alone. He did not get nearly enough, having to rely on treks to the river to drink most days and he keeps drinking until the water in the bowl is too low.]

I have met a few others like you. I would appreciate the water, and the chance to bring you things more easily. IF you tell me what you need, I can find it. I can find almost anything.