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
Ren Suzugamori
[This is a little bit sooner than Ren was expecting to be sent out again, but he's not too concerned about that part. He gets restless in the one place, so as nice as the temple is, he'll take moving on to somewhere else for the moment.
A spaceship is perhaps not the ideal location for someone like him who likes his freedom to wander, though. And he's especially thinking that when he opens his eyes to what seems to be a very spartan sort of sleeping area...at least, until the power flickers out again almost immediately and he's left barely able to see a hand in front of his face.
He sighs, sounding more petulant about the whole thing than actually worried, and the sound of him clambering a little awkwardly out of the pod might draw the attention of others in the area even before he speaks up, his tone somewhat vague.]
Hello...? Does anyone have a light...?
--
[B: Investigation - Bedrooms]
[It doesn't take Ren long to get restless in a space this (relatively) confined compared to where they came from, and he deals with that by exploring further. The bedrooms, especially, seem to be almost endless, and he finds himself wandering through a variety of different wings over the course of his searches. It's not very productive work, it seems, but if anyone else comes to investigate the area, he'll pop his head out of one corner of the room with a bright smile.]
Oh, are you looking through here too? I could use some company...
--
[C: Investigation - Locked Doors]
[Ren might not look like the kind of person who'd be much help in unlocking a door, but that doesn't change the fact that he'll be trying to pick out ones that others haven't already gotten to yet, prodding and tapping them as if they might reveal their secrets to him in whether they're worth opening or not.
It does mean that he'll be plenty willing to approach or be approached by anyone who's trying to get doors open themselves, reaching out a hand to the latest door and poking it in a couple of different places with a rather absent-minded air. It's...probably not that reassuring a sight to see from someone you might be working with, honestly.]
Do you think this one might be good to try...?
[[Note: I'm happy to organise with larger groups for this one/lend Ren's efforts if someone who already has a group wants to speed up opening a door! Just hit me up on the OOC post for that!]]
--
[D: Investigation - Sound]
[Ren doesn't have any specific talents to pursue the source of the sound, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to be trying. It's pretty easy to tell that it's coming from down, so he might be found wandering the ship, especially as the days go on and people begin to find more hints, trying to find a way down that must exist in here, somewhere.
There's not much to be found around just yet, though, and he lets out a frustrated little huff.] This can't be the only level of the ship...
--
[E: Whispers in the Dark]
[Ren hasn't found himself affected too much by the stressors on the ship so far. For better or worse, he's been fairly resilient to psychological pressure for much of his life, so the only issue he's been having is the fact that he doesn't really like being stuck in one relatively small place.
So of course, an exit should be something promising, somewhere else he can explore and get a little more space in this ship that must be so much larger than the small part of it they're confined to right now. The only hesitation in his approach comes in that moment he can feel he's gone too far, when the walls seem to stretch around him and voices, too many voices whisper in his ears in words he's heard them speak before...
"Come on."
"Come back."
"Stay by my side forever."
He pushes away violently, against walls or against the door or against something that sparks enough pain in his palms to make the voices stop, and stumbles away from the door with an expression that for a single moment looks cold. Not emotionless, but quiet outrage, the response of someone who can't quite believe another had the audacity to try and confront them like this. But he blinks and shakes his head, pushing further away and letting his expression clear to a more innocent, petulant pout of upset that he'll turn on anyone who has the misfortune to have come upon him here, along with a more typical absent-minded sounding tone when he speaks.]
Ah...are all of the exit doors like this? It doesn't seem very nice of them...
[And he suddenly wants even more to get to the bottom of exactly what it is that's going on in this ship.]
--
[F: Wildcard]
[[I'm happy to plot other investigations or work with groups on them! Ren's OOC plotting post is over here for discussing that sort of thing, or you can hit me up at
wildcard — npc tag.
vioet's eyes flutter open, like she's waking from a nap and nothing more for a moment. and then the sudden burst of light creeps into her periphery and boy, does it take her aback. ]
Oh, fuck.
[ she slowly sits up, back straightening before she looks towards her newfound acquaintance. there's a slow blink before she cants her head. ]
You new? I can't say I know who you are.
no subject
He leans back a bit to give her more space to sit up, offering a slight, innocent sort of smile at her question.]
Mmm, something like that...someone heard your distress signal and sent help. We've been trying to figure out what happened.
[To his knowledge, this woman is the first actual person anyone's found yet, so maybe they can get some initial answers, at least. Or maybe everything went downhill while she was asleep. It's hard to tell from what they've found so far.]
no subject
[ it's then that she jolts up, eyes snapping open. the smile on his face is comforting, to say the least, but her reaction is a frazzled one no less. ]
When you— give me a minute, wait...
[ violet brings her fingers to her temples for a moment. ]
...Is everyone else gone? The crew, I mean...
no subject
[Even though his tone is a bit absent-minded, he's trying to describe it in a way that's actually helpful without showing his hand too much.] This is pretty out of the way from where we all arrived here, and I definitely haven't seen any other crewmembers while I've been checking all the bedrooms.
no subject
[ her features harden, teeth biting into her bottom lip. ]
...Shit. God—no, sorry, sorry. My name...it's Violet. Thanks for saving me.
[ she gestures her hand towards him; her posture is stiff and taut, but she tries no less. ]
How many of you guys are there?
no subject
While he smiles a little at Violet's attempt at a polite gesture, Ren offers her a very slight bow, hand to his chest. The actual manner isn't all that formal despite the positioning.] It's nothing. I'm Suzugamori Ren, but just Ren is fine...and I'm not quite sure how many of us there are, honestly. I only just joined myself...somewhere more than fifty but under a hundred is my best guess.
no subject
...Ren — not a bad name. Are you guys a fleet, then?
[ "fifty, huh..." she mutters underneath her breath. ]
I can help you check the rest of the rooms. Beats doing it alone.
no subject
He's definitely not going to turn down company checking the rest of the rooms, though, and he gives a bit of a bouncy nod as his manner slips to something a little bit less serious. A few minutes is his limit on being serious.] Oh, that would be a lot better than doing it alone...it's been pretty boring getting out this far, honestly, but I still like it better than trying to open doors all day. Or sitting in one room...
[Ren is not suited for spaceship life, but at least he's making something productive out of his ill-suitedness.]
a
Hey, Pod?
[ And so, your wish comes true, Ren. A small bot hovering in the air illuminates the area with just enough light to see with its flashlight; underneath said bot stands a short, younger-appearing boy dressed in all black, face covered up by what looks like a blindfold. Despite this, his head easily turns toward the newly awakened stranger. ]
... Well, at least you finally woke up.
[ good morning ]
no subject
[He does, at least, drop his attention to the boy a moment later, tilting his head a little in apparent confusion as he starts looking around. It's...a bit of a nondescript room even with light, it seems.] How much longer than you was I asleep for...?
[Ren really does love his sleep, so he can entirely believe that he was asleep considerably longer than other people who might've shown up in this area.]
no subject
[ 9S steps away from a barren shelf, circling around closer toward the capsule. Pod gently bobs along in the air, the light and stark shadows shifting around as it moves. ]
I've been looking around while you were out.
no subject
Ren starts to wander a few steps forward, in part to follow the light and in part because he doesn't really want to just stay still now that he's awake.] Have you found much yet? It's pretty lucky that you even brought a friend along that could light things up...
no subject
[ 9S slows his step at the center of the room next to a table, raising his hands in a halfhearted shrug. ]
As for this room, it's... totally bare. [ Which answers basically nothing, but: ] The door leading out was opera— [ Wait. ] ... Actually, we might have to wait for the power to kick back on before it opens again.
[ Or, uh, hopefully it'll come back, at least. ]
no subject
That said, he'd also just generally prefer not to be in a small room for longer than he has to be, so once 9S makes that point, Ren starts to drift over towards the door a bit.]
Mmm, we might have to be ready for it then, right? If the power is just kind of flickering...has it managed to stay on very long while you've been awake?
[They'd have a much easier time getting out on a minute of power as opposed to a few seconds.]
no subject
[ Not exactly words that inspire confidence, despite how casually he responds. ]
The lights were dim, but at least you could see in front of you. I can only imagine how many of the others are stumbling around right now.
[ Meanwhile, 9S leans over the capsule Ren climbed out of moments ago, and Pod directs its light toward it. Is he expecting much? Not really, but he's thorough. ]
no subject
[While he pauses for a moment to watch 9S investigate the pod he came out of, he keeps wandering towards the door before too long, reaching out to start to tap it here and there as if it might reveal some miraculous weak spot.] Is there anything in there that I was sleeping with...?
[Probably not, but hey, why not ask.]
no subject
[ 9S slips out a resigned huff, grabbing a spot at the nearest wall by falling back on it, arms crossed. ]
This is gonna get old real quick. Maybe there's a latch we can manually slide the door open with.
no subject
[If someone wanted to take advantage of the system, it would be incredibly easy, he imagines.]
whispers
She's completely zoned out. She recognizes it isn't real. It can't be. It wouldn't make sense. But she's entranced by it.
She wanders in a daze closer to the door nearest Ren, face masked, the only visible part of her face—her large, catlike eyes—completely unreadable. She smells very, very strongly of alcohol, and if Ren looks closer, that would be because she is absolutely drenched in the stuff, though it's mostly dried by now. Someone's powers disagreed with the wing she happened to wake up in.
At least the smell's an indication that she is real, should Ren be the type to doubt such things.]
no subject
Hey, can you hear me...? The doors are messing around with you, something might come out and eat you if you let it lure you in close enough...
[Okay, there is absolutely no evidence in support of that being the case, but Ren considers it a reasonable possibility nonetheless.]