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
wildcard i do what i want
a new world jump is always tiring, it is not easy to wake up somewhere new, to have to adjust to an entirely new atmosphere and set of problems - even when it is not physically demanding, it is certainly mentally and emotionally taxing. not to mention, there is something about this place that has her on edge, and she's sure that she cannot be the only one to feel that way; it takes energy to remain so vigilant.
but the day is winding down, and she has the time now to track prompto down.
they meet in one of the lounge rooms, and with a heavy sigh alisaie drops down onto the sofa beside him, exhaling hard. she leans into his side, slumping her weight against him and resting her head against his bicep while she stretches her legs out ahead of her, flexing her aching feet in her boots.
instead of saying anything, she just.. yawns. she'll manage words eventually. ]
you monster
It's been a hell of a long time...
When Alisaie approaches, he raises a weary smile towards her, and when she settles against him, his arm winds right around her shoulders without a second thought. If he's going to be unwinding for the evening, he would so much rather do it with her tucked right up against his side. ]
Hey, Ali. [ He says finally, turning to gently press a kiss to her temple. ] Long day, huh?
[ He heard that yawn, and he feels it in his soul. ]
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Mmhmm..
[ it is all too easy to lean into him without thinking, and her arms slip around his middle, her wrists hooking loosely. he's so warm, and he smells so good, even after a long day of working. her eyelids are heavy, but she resists closing her eyes if only so she can spend more time with him; she's tired, but they have not had time to just exist for awhile, so she can stave off sleep a little while longer. ]
What is this?
[ verbally gesturing to the box in his lap. ]
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Think it's some kinda game. [ He picks up one of the dice out of the box and rolls it in his palm. ] Noooot exactly sure how to play it, since, y'know, alien language, but...looks neat.
[ Come to think of it, now that the electricity is back on in here, he should try to boot up one of those arcade machines...but that also requires moving, which he's reluctant to do, now that they're all cuddly. ]
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Hmm.. I've never seen a game like this.
[ she's admittedly not played a lot of games, though!! so she just watches through hooded eyes, her face pressed to his side. he's so warm.. ]
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Yeah? They, uh, usually involve a lot of numbers. At least, if it's the kind of game I think it is. But you get to pretend you're a knight or wizard or somethin'! ...Which I guess you're kind of already both those things, but still!!
[ Alisaie's class is definitely wizard knight. ]
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he boops her with the die, and she scrunches up her nose in response, her gaze flickering up toward him. ]
Why would you pretend that?
[ i mean that's pretty much her normal life..!! what's the game part?? also she might kick ass at tabletop but she'd probably also get real mad and flip the table any time she got a bad roll tbh ]
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[ He teases warmly. Some of them are just lowly Crownsguard members...okay, look, he played these games before that all started, too. It held different appeal back then! But now he's just nostalgic for it, for his simpler nerdy days when the only monster slaying he did was in games. ]
It was fun to be a part of some big story. We could change the rules for you. Instead of being a wizard knight, you could be a...newspaper editor, or somethin'.
[ A fantasy based on reality... ]
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[ she says, gently elbowing him in the ribs. ]
Besides, you are no different.
[ he might not have a fancy title like her, but alisaie was loathe to accept it to begin with - titles don't mean anything, only deeds do, and prompto is working hard on eos to bring salvation to his kingdom and home, to stand by his king and protect his friends. that is no less heroic, as far as she is concerned. they're both characters in vidya, they do things!! ]
Anyroad, have you tried to play it?
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But in any case, he shakes his head. ]
Nah, can't read any of it. Unless you know how to read alien space language, we're S-O-L. Guess we could just use the dice and make up our own game, though...
[ But that sounds like a lot of work. He's no dungeon master! ]
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Hmm..
[ clearly she doesn't seem particularly keen on that!! she's tired and also comfortable. ]
Are there any other games?
[ ones they don't have to make up on their own?? ]
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...That is, if they're willing to get up from this spot. ]
...Depends. How much do you wanna get up if there's a chance we might be disappointed?
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Well, you certainly make a fair point..
[ maybe she can just sleep here, cuddled up next to him!! but okay, that's enough being gross. ]
But you should try anyway.
[ she knows how much he loves his vidya.. it's worth the risk of wasted snuggle time. ]
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If you insist! Just don't be a sore loser when I kick your butt, babe.
[ Remember poker night? He's going to have his revenge. :)
Anyway, smooching her forehead, he moves away at last, fiddling with the wires and plugs to get them up and running again. ]
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[ she might be a total noob but just you wait, she will spend all month practicing pong if it means shoving his nose in the mud!!!!! why did u want this competitive girlf, prompto..
anyway, now that he's not being her toasty space heater she can move again, so she sits forward, leaning onto her knees to watch him with interest. she's learned a lot about technology both from working with allagan ruins, and her time off-world, but she's still a huge ye olde.. she doesn't understand any of this!! ]
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Soon enough, Prompto is able to get the display for the games up and running, grinning back at Alisaie as he picks up a pair of headsets. ]
Alright, we're in business! Here, here! Put this on.
[ He's so excited!!! ]
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when he calls her over, alisaie slips off of the sofa at last and moves to settle down beside him, reaching to take the... thing?? he hands her?? alisaie turns it upside down, peering into one of the earpieces, confused. he said to put it on!! normally she would just follow suit and mimic whatever he's doing, but he doesn't put his on..
so she slides it.. onto her arm, like an armband. ]
What next?
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Like this. Aaaand — [ He slides the visor down over her eyes. ] There! Now, uh, just try not to move around too much.
[ She's gonna be one of those people who react to VR in the real world, isn't she... ]
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it gives her a start when he flips down the visor, however, and the entire world goes black. what is the meaning of this!! is this a threat!! she's seen him fiddle on things before but they've never required anything so sophisticated as this, so she is entirely out of her depth.
rather than not moving around too much she is instantly moving, whipping her head around in an attempt to look around herself. ]
What is happening?
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H-hey, what did I just say?!
[ He teases through a laugh, powering on the system before pushing a pair of handhold controllers (think like the Wii, I'm making this up as I go along) into Alisaie's hands. He then tugs on his own headset, and the game flashes up onto the visor's screen. ]
Oh, nice! Looks like we're playing some kinda space flying game. Just try not to overthink it. Games like these are usually pretty intuitive.
[ Rest in pieces.. ]
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also, this is not at all what she had expected.. she's never even played a gameboy color, you can't just throw her right into vr, prompto?? not unless you're hoping for tragedy, because that's probably what's going to happen, intuitive or no. ]
What -
[ she repeats, because that's the only word she knows right now. lights flash, and words, and images.. ]
Space.. flying?
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[ Right. Sometimes he forgets just how ye olde she is. He pauses a moment, trying to figure out what the best way to relate this to her is. ]
It's like a boat! Except instead of sailing on the sea, you're sailing through the stars! Make sense?
[ If it doesn't, the premise of the game isn't all that important, anyway. Not as much as how to play, which, well...they'll get there. Alisaie is a smart girl and Prompto believes in her!
...But also don't bring down his score if this is co-op. ]
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Yes, but -
[ wah!! things are flashing all around her!! it is very threatening. alisaie shouts and leaps to her feet, wheeling around on the spot, fists up and ready to fight. ]
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When she starts to shout and put up her dukes, Prompto chuckles and flips up his visor so he can step behind her, yes, doing that thing where he puts his arms around her so he can take her hands in his own and guide them into the correct stance. ]
Like this. Like you're at the helm of a ship. And these buttons — [ he taps her thumbs with his own ] — they shoot beams if something gets in your way. Easy peasy!
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alisaie is not immune. the fact that she cannot see only makes it easier to feel the warmth of his hands and the weight of his arms, and she flushes warm beneath her visor, her heart kicking up into her chest. they're still new enough that little things like this make her stomach flutter, though when he's sweet and affectionate like this, she can't help but think that he'll always make her feel this way.
well, for as long as they have time together, at least.
anyway, he guides her thumbs to the buttons while she watches the screen ahead of her, and begins to understand. this tutorial would have been much more helpful from the start.. ]
.. right. I understand.
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