acatamods: (Default)
acatamods. ([personal profile] acatamods) wrote in [community profile] acatalepsy_logs2019-02-12 12:27 pm

welcome to the horologium.






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.


INVESTIGATIONS
The 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!
guiltycharge: (- not so lightly)

I-2

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-02-24 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Ritsu freezes on the spot, pen hovering over the notebook he just took out of his pocket. He'd thought he was hanging back far enough from the table to avoid notice... Then again, should he be so worried about getting noticed? Other than swiping one of the emptier journals from the rec room while no one was looking, he hasn't done anything wrong. Wait, no, that means he actually should be worried - ugh, never mind.]

It's nothing... I was just looking.

[Looking and trying to add to this page that Shiro might be able to see if he squints or comes over. It's nothing more or less than a dry list of things inside the mess hall, though.]
spaceforged: (Or be just your friend)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-25 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
You’re free to ask questions. [He checks and makes sure the safety is on each weapon. The sword had had a safety too. Wise decision. Shiro rests his hands on the table and glances at the pen and notebook.]

You might see something in what I’ve found out so far that I missed. And space and traveling by starship is something I can spread knowledge of. It’s what I did for a living.
Edited 2019-02-25 07:05 (UTC)
guiltycharge: (* to grow up)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-02-25 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
But not enough knowledge to fix the ship...

[His affect is so flat, that remark almost doesn't sound harsh.]

Me, I don't even know where to begin asking questions. It's all completely new. I was just taking inventory so that at least one person is.
spaceforged: (I just pinch myself)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-25 08:26 am (UTC)(link)
What is the thing bothering you most about this place? [Starting from there and working his way out towards the rest would cut a path through the confusion. Shiro takes out a battered journal and starts copying each serial number down. If he runs into another log with them in it he’ll know it for a possible inventory.]

And no, I don’t have the knowledge to fix this ship. Without knowing the make up of the ship and where the power is located all none of us can. Fortunately there is a team looking for the power sources of the ship. Once they get it up and running we can learn more.

Keith and I found these three laser guns and a laser sword, so your inventory is accurate.
Edited 2019-02-25 08:26 (UTC)
guiltycharge: (* sully your hands)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-02-25 08:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Bothering him the most? Yikes, outside of the lack of practical spoon
applications, tough decision. But Ritsu is quicker than his brother in a lot of ways, and certainly more careless, so he only tilts his head in thought for a moment.]


Not having powers useful for finding more of the ship's own records, or translating what we find. Until we know what stopped the ship and how, we're just treating symptoms.
spaceforged: (Feeling lost? Yeah he does that a lot.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-27 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
[He spins his pen in his fingers in an idle motion. The pen rolls back and forth partly to distract himself from thinking too hard about how little they know. Again.]

I've been in space for two years seeing various alien languages. None of this is discernable to me either. But, you're not wrong. We are just treating the aftermath of whatever happened here.

[He stops rolling his pen and resumes writing out the serial numbers. The gun he'd given Prompto had already been jotted down these other two, would go to people who could fire guns effectively and were lacking in a firearm.]

We also haven't found all the main sections of this ship or any bodies, that I know of. Something happened here but it looks like they were caught unaware whatever it was.
guiltycharge: (* half truth)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-02-27 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
Right, and it's probably what stopped the ship.

[Bold assumptions from a sassy lost child, but the idea did sound about right to him.]

If it's still onboard, and it turns out to be something we can hide from, I'd even be able to help. But for now, keeping a journal is the best I've got. Unless you have better ideas?
spaceforged: (Take us in slowly)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-27 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
That’s the best we can do for now. Keep a look out for any strange doors but don’t approach them alone. We don’t know what happened. Take a partner with you at all times.

[But what do they know so far? He taps his fingers on the table and speaks slowly.]

We know some doors are different. The door to the garden was special. It was thicker and took several of us with stronger shapes to break it open. We also know around this ship there are weapons in some of the rooms. Whatever happened occurred long enough ago that the plants began to rot in the garden.

The kitchen seems to have a dedicated power source. ...if you find one of their laser swords it cuts into the metal of a door swiftly but you’ll exhaust its power for the day.
guiltycharge: (* tell me)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-02-28 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
So ultimately, even after starting to find resources, everyone's still fumbling in the dark. Is that why you all failed in that other world?

[This might be a little difficult to translate from Prideful Teenager, especially when his tone is voice is too flat to give much away. He clearly looks unhappy about something, though.]
spaceforged: (Take us in slowly.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-28 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Shiro closes his eyes for a moment. His voice stays the same. Just because this world makes it harder to be calm doesn’t mean he can let himself off his chain.]

No. We had stopped their war and managed to negotiate a cease fire. The issue was the magic the king used. Before we even got there that world was finished. A rift in space and time puts enormous pressure on a world. If you don’t close it...it consumes that world. The only two ways I know to close rifts are overloading a device that folds space and time. Or destroying the planet it’s on. I had hoped we could find a way to close this one without either option.

The rift grew so fast...we have to find ways to close them. That can never happen again.
guiltycharge: (* take care of it)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-03-01 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Ritsu tilts his head slightly. A flicker of unease crosses his face, visibly at odds with the hard stare he's been doing his best to maintain. Informative, but maybe that was a bit much...]

...What were you writing down just now?

[His voice, on the other hand, remains as level as if he's never tried to provoke anyone in his life.]
spaceforged: (It's enough to make you wanna try)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-03-02 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[He hasn’t shown his proverbial fangs but the flicker reminds him that some of the frustration must have infected how he handled that. He turns the journal around. There are notes written carefully. Noting the odd features of the ship and below that, ‘look out for these’.]

These guns have serial numbers. I can’t read them but I can copy them down. If we run into them on any file we’ll have an idea what we’re looking at. Until we can translate whatever files we have, this is something to help.

[He pauses and adds,] And I’m sorry, I was on the team that entered that rift to retrieve the people locked inside and the negotiations teams. It still stings quite a bit.

[And he will be very careful not to let the sting of it have a party with how much he doesn’t want to be on this shipmthat stirs up very bad memories.]
guiltycharge: (* imitating someone)

[personal profile] guiltycharge 2019-03-03 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't be sorry, it's my bad.

[Although if Shiro didn't think so, he isn't about to point out why. Dude seems a lot calmer than... certain adults, for sure.

He will, however, sidle a bit closer to the table and peer at the guns, searching for the serial patterns in question. Well, that and just getting a better look at them. They're probably already spoken for, but without an emergency means of self-defense, someone like him is just a hindrance...]


I'll copy them too. Redundancy doesn't hurt when we could get spirited away like the crew at any moment, for all we know.
spaceforged: (I'm pedal to the metal)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-03-08 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Shiro turns the guns so the serial numbers are easy to see with a solemn nod.]

Yes, we could be. Any bit of information should be copied down and passed around as far as we can get it. The more of us see it. The more chances we might come across what it belongs to or what it's for.

[He sets his finger right above the serial number so he can see it and traces just above the line of numbers and strange characters. Each gun has a solar panel on it. The grip looks humanoid standard. The barrel is meant to focus the laser into a tight deadly beam.]