welcome to the horologium.Some of you know it is coming. The World Jump, the chaotic thrust into a new universe. But some of you are new, and though you know what the mission is, it is a bit . . . troubling, sitting around and waiting for something to happen. But eventually, you get a message on your watch. It shows Astoria . . . dark hair framing her features, her voice light and musical. She sounds like herself, for the first time in some time . . . that spark of determination back in her eyes. A MESSAGE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH. "It is time, my beloved Travelers, to go to our new destination . . . and I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you. Akvos' loss has hurt us all, and I know that many of you doubt our mission. But please believe me when I say that you have done the best job anyone could ask of you. Akvos' destruction was not your fault . . . and to our newest members of our Circle, welcome to our journey. I can only hope that your journey here will work out to the benefit of us all."
That being said, you are journeying to the Horologium . . . it is a ship that has sent out a distress beacon. I am not sure when, or where, but I can feel great darkness, emanating from that place. I believe you all can combat what is done there, without interacting with the Void . . . so please, be safe, and I will see you all when you return."
And, just like that, there is a pull in your stomach . . . your vision blacks out and you feel the sudden sense of vertigo, a sensation of falling, and then . . . nothingness. You open your eyes, and you are suddenly waking up in the midst of . . . fog?
 THE AWAKENING.When you wake, you are greeted by metal — there’s an expanse of silver all around you. The cot you’re laying on is somewhat rigid, like a flattened wedge of cotton more than anything, encased in a capsule-like structure. Should you inspect your surroundings, you’ll find that there are three more cots in your room..or more notably, another person in the room in of itself. Depending on where you’ve been roused from your slumber, however, you’ll find that your circumstances differ.
➜ If you’ve woken up in the northeast wing of the ship, there seems to be a pool of saturated pink goo at your feet. It sticks to the bottom of your heel and collects at the very center of the room, oozing from the cracks and crevices within the metal lining of the walls. And even more notably, the goo has a particularly saccharine scent, as though it’s meant to be...consumed. Looks like you had the misfortune of waking up in the wing adjacent to the kitchen.
➜ In the northwest wing, the ship is functioning at an all time low. When you wake, the room is illuminated for a brief moment...before flickering out, only to leave you in pitch darkness. Power returns to the room intermittently and only for a few seconds at most, but it appears as though you and your newfound roommates will have to navigate the darkness if you want to leave.
➜ In the southwest wing, the fire alarm in your room has been activated for some inexplicable reason. It’s an obnoxiously loud siren that slices right through the whirring of the machinery around you — and it goes as far as to trigger the sprinklers hanging from the ceiling. Water sprays from above you, hopefully ensuring that you’ve woken up if nothing else has. It doesn’t seem to be draining either, so it may be for the best that you escape with some haste.
➜ In the southeast wing, your circumstances are for the most part rather unremarkable. An untouched room, mostly intact...until you try to open the door. It won’t budge — unless you have some form of super strength, your muscle power is rendered useless on its own. You might just have to commission someone else to help you...
Beyond your room, the word “Horologium.” stretches across the wall.
Welcome to your new home.  WHISPERS IN THE DARK.In a way, it feels as though you’re suspended in time.
The ship is always humming, always whirring as it makes a haphazard attempt to function. The noise comes to a halt every so often, leaving you with nothing but silence and the idle creaking of the floor beneath you.
There are remarkably large, bright white doors that divide each and every wing. A circular window is positioned at the center of all 4 of these doors: but nothing can be seen through it. It’s likeness is that of a black hole’s, like someone had gone as far as to paint over it.
On every door, the same word is emblazoned in black lettering: EXIT.
Except the word itself appears to be scratched out to some degree — as though it were scrubbed out in a fit of desperation but remained no less.
When you see the door, you might be overcome with excitement. Or perhaps not. Regardless of what your reaction is like, the lights around you will dim and flicker at an alarming frequency. For a moment, it’s almost as though the gravity around you has slowed, and the hallways are becoming narrower by the second.. Voices and faces from the past emerge in your mind. You see someone you shouldn’t; they’re calling for you. They’re here with you right now, beckoning you to come closer...
If you reach the door and attempt to open it, it won’t budge. And the further you walk away from it, the more the effects will subside.
But there’s no telling if you’ll sleep well tonight.  INVESTIGATIONSThe ship is fitted to house approximately 500 people — it’s a bit of a ghost town, however, lived in but abandoned no less.
The chairs are in the mess hall aren’t aligned perfectly. The tables are a bit crooked. The lounge is lofty, but not pristine. The rooms may be barren, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that they were somehow someone else’s before they became yours. There’s an array of locked doors, varying in sizes and shapes, all of which withhold something potentially useful to you. You may be inclined to visit the lounge, the mess hall, rifle through the bedrooms . . . the ship is yours to explore.
However, how you interact with the ship is….entirely up to you. There is something to be found everywhere. Regardless of what you do, where you investigate and how, you might be tempted to look behind your shoulder.
After all, every decision you make matters...right?
(Every Player’s investigation prompt has the potential to differ greatly as your investigation will require mod input. We encourage you to ask as many questions as you would like, we are here to help and provide you with the information necessary.) Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These areas of the world are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore -- you may use as much leeway as you want in order to come up with what your character will do. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! |
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acatalepsy_logs2019-02-12 12:27 pm
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[That is, for the record, not Keith. But he can help with the relocating at least.]
Do you think you can get your legs under you at all if I get you up and let you lean on me? Or do you want me to carry you?
[The latter he figures he can manage. He's stronger than he looks, and he looks fairly strong these days. But considering he'll go straight for fireman carry, which isn't always the most dignified, he'll see where this guy stands. Figuratively and literally.]
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[He stares him straight-on. It's both a challenge and a warning, even if he likes the thought of being swept off his feet in a carry. But if he knew Keith was thinking a fireman carry, he absolutely wouldn't allow it. Bridal style only in this ship. It's what he deserves.]
How about we start with leaning? I should be able to tell how bad the damage is then.
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Keith nods.]
Works for me. Here.
[He reaches to take a hold Mettaton's forearm so the fallen robot can grab onto him in turn.]
On three?
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[Mettaton attempts to maneuver his fingers around Kieth's forearm and is met with success, fortunately, but his grip is like a vice, far tighter than he intends for it to be. His expression conveys his displeasure at the uncontrollable nature of his actions, but he can't seem to loosen it in preparation to be hoisted up.]
Ah. That's as good as I can manage. Sorry about that, beautiful! Endure it for me. [Count of three.] One, and two, ...
no subject
[Keith answers, even if yeah, quite a grip he's got going on there. But it's fine. Better that he can hold on, right? It gives Keith some confidence this might work.
Maybe.]
...three.
[And he pulls, bracing himself to help as much as Mettaton needs.]
no subject
It's lucky he wasn't relying solely on his own balance: just when he thinks he's steadied himself, the robotic idol's right leg sporadically kicks out to stab the wall behind him with his incredibly sharp heel. His eye widens in surprise, his grip tightening on Keith's shoulder this time. Appearing like a malfunctioning robot without control of his own body isn't his favorite way of being seen.]
... Well. [He wills his leg to stop doing that. He narrows his eye, not too pleased to be doing things against his will.] I'm up, thanks to you. Although now you can see what I mean about my body's... wild disobedience.
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[Hopefully maybe? Keith has no real idea how much mechanical works beyond being able to repair an engine. He looks over at Mettaton now, curious.]
Either way, let's head somewhere we can get you somewhere safe and dry to relax. [A pause, and then in what is undoubtedly a reassuring statement,] Well, safe as anywhere on this ship can be.
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[That's really all he can do. He didn't think he was in the water for long enough for permanent damage, but this is also one of his first jaunts into pouring water without Alphys on standby. It wasn't on purpose. He readies himself to move and fortunately, his body doesn't do anything too weird except for a sharp twitch of his ankle.]
But that's a brilliant plan. Oooh, actually! I noticed something while I was getting out of those rooms. I saw an outlet! [Mettaton smiles down at Keith, recovering a little from his distaste for his situation.] Surely there must be others in this... place. Do you think you could help me find one? I should wait until I dry out completely, sure... But after spending all that time at Astoria's temple with no way to charge my battery, I'm in desperate need of a charge. What do you say, Keith-darling?
[Conveniently omitting the detail that the current body he's using drains his battery faster. Totally unimportant. Possible water damage compelled him to check its function, that's all!]
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[Keith runs with some frighteningly smart people. He looks back up in time for that smile though. An outlet?
Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Power is... well. He can't tell what state power is in exactly, but it's probably a good start anyway, if this guy needs to recharge.]
Yeah, of course. Let's find an outlet. Maybe in the mess hall.
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[Aside from his legs lagging on him and not lifting all the way as he tries to walk, it's fortunately not going too terribly. That is to say, they're not splaying in each direction. Whenever things try to go awry, he leans a bit more against Keith and relieves some of his weight to prevent disaster.]
Your message from earlier. You mentioned being "ready." You must have done a bit of wandering... What are you impressions of this place, Keith?
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[Tell us what you really think, Keith. He is quiet for a moment before elaborating.] It's too empty. No sign of the crew. No signs of struggle or evacuation. No signs of much of anything, at least in the part of the ship we can access.
[It's eerie and unsettling and probably spells no good news whatsoever.]
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[Mettaton stumbles over the toe of his boot, and groans slightly at the inconvenience.]
Anyway. There's also that loud sound, when we came to. Do you know what that was...?
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[And here they are, taking that bait at Astoria's behest. Not comforting. So little about this is comforting.]
No idea. It's not anything I've heard before on any other space ship I've been on.
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[Maybe it's not a generator after all. He spoke before he thought.]
But. Why do you think the crew of this ship would bait us into arriving, darling...? That sounds awfully suspicious!
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[For it to be a generator. But that'd be good news anyway.] Whatever it is, we're lucky there's enough power for some lights and life support.
[Small favors, he supposes.
He hesitates as he considers how to best answer that question without sounding terribly pessimistic. Except nope, there's no way not to sound exactly as cynical as he is sometimes.] I don't. But whatever made them disappear might want to.
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[Disappear. Well of course there has to be some reason they're gone. Mettaton tries to recall what Astoria told them before their arrival.]
Could that be the "Void" Astoria mentioned? Not that I trust her judgement... Maybe that's why they're gone! Unless there's something more.
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It could be. We don't exactly know enough about it to say for sure. Astoria doesn't exactly provide much detail.
[Keith trusts neither Astoria's judgment, nor Astoria.]
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...Ha. Yes. More elaboration on her part would have been... appreciated. [With a darker edge, he adds:] And a bit more discretion. Such as placing robots in places without water pouring from the ceiling. We should be given a more thorough run-down before being sent off. I'm a master at improvising... but I can't say the same for everyone.
[And this isn't theater. This is the livelihood of another world.]
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[Keith remarks off-handdedly. Akvos was entirely underwater, but as far as he knows the other mechanical members of their party had fared all right at the time. Maybe Astoria had at least enough foresight to help with that.]
But you're right. Being tossed places with no preparation and no information means we're always starting from behind.
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[Ahhh yes, the Akvos thing... He has no idea how he would have handled that, but where there's a will there must be a way. Somehow.]
Being given advance notice would at least prepare me for imminent demise, so that we could arrange for a properly funded and coordinated funeral. It's what I deserve, if I could die.
no subject
[Keith can't help but sound amused at that. They're arriving by now towards the mess hall.]
Probably something near a wall.
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[It's fortunate that this ship happens to have outlets! Having them at all is an improvement over what Astoria's temple can provide. But that's about where the pros end, so far.]
I appreciate the help, especially when I was in a position of need! I've never encountered the trouble of water, until now. So that's been interesting.