redshiftlogs | march 2020. welcome to the void.

Entry tags:

march 2020. welcome to the void.

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Seventh Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of March 2020
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. escape the dome.

It seems the mysterious, massive plant with its giant bud is not going anywhere. In fact, the bud is starting to bloom, which presents a problem - it's starting to press against the dome that protects Anchor. So far, no harm done, but is this really the best way to test the kind of pressure that the dome can withstand? There's got to be some way to bring the plant down without destroying chunks of Anchor in the process...

And uh, you might want to get on that. The plant has been growing, sending out thorny vines into the various levels, and the flowers growing from those vines are, shall we say, aggressive. In fact, they're liable to bite if you get too close, and these things have razor-sharp petals. More eerily, they can mimic the voices they hear, usually using those borrowed voices to beg for help at the end of long corridors or in the back rooms of abandoned shops and restaurants.

b. planetary fly traps.

Following the voices can get a body in all kinds of trouble, because, well. They want to eat you.

In those dark areas where the voices call out there are larger buds, too, ones that look similar to the one now pressing up against Anchor's dome. They're about twice the size of an average human, and they've just barely opened. The colors inside are brilliant, gorgeous, mesmerizing, kind of exhausting... Get too close, and you could find yourself being slowly dragged in through the mouth of the plant into a bath of liquid that saps your energy while also slowly (very slowly, don't worry) consuming your flesh.

Better hope you snap out of it quickly, or have some backup to get you out of there.

c. misfire mayhem.

In case that wasn't enough, there's something funny going on with the comm system again. Texts being sent to the wrong people. Simple things, small things, yes, but also some things that you might have wanted to keep private or off the network. The misfires start on the morning of the 20th with just a few texts going to the wrong recipients, but slowly amps up throughout the day until voice and video calls are connecting to the wrong people. Recordings of conversations, including the audio and video ones, getting sent to completely unrelated residents, regardless of how private the conversation was.

The reason for the malfunctions becomes... well, clear-ish when Creepy Joe appears on the network. He’s in the agricultural sector, petting a reindire and very much not in that secure quarantine where Qubit et all left him. The angle is odd--not from a communicator, but from one of the security cameras overhead. It blinks from one shot of Joe to another angle. Almost like someone is trying to keep an eye on him.

mod notes.

Misfire texts, voice, and video conversations are on an opt-in basis, it is up to each player if they want their characters tormented with their messages being sent to others or receiving misfires. Misfires can be played on this log, on the network, or in IC inboxes.

The NPC network entry will explain some details on why, but characters who were kind to Creepy Joe or who have put in a lot of effort to contribute to the community will find that their messages are getting misfired much less often and the contents are nowhere near as sensitive. Characters who were cruel to Creepy Joe or who have hurt/stolen from others will find their messages going astray more often, and with more sensitive material.

Messages received by characters can include any message posted in

redshiftrp or in IC inboxes, including messages from dropped characters. Have fun with that!

Important but Unrelated: March and April have been designated as check in only for AC. If you have not yet posted your AC, feel free to just put a check-in notice under your character's AC thread. April check-ins can be posted any time on or after April 1st.

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a. escape the dome; pick your prompt

Elleru has been fighting off plants for days now. Whereas she was merely annoyed before by the aggressive vines growing throughout the park — and into other levels — her attitude toward them soured further the second the roots dug their way into her burrow. It had been her private sanctuary, its entrance hidden by the shrubs in the far corner of the park; carved with her own claws, it was a place she could relax in her natural form, never worrying about being seen.

And now, the walls of her sanctuary are lined with thorny roots that thrash and writhe when she gets too close, the plant having pushed its way into her home away from home. Awful things.

With the gargantuan plant still growing, Elleru has taken it upon herself to try to bring it down, or at least prune some of the vines from her beloved park. At times, she's nowhere in sight herself, with the only sign anyone is around at all being a suspiciously large hole dug at the base of the plant. Surprisingly deep, the pit goes straight down for a ways before veering off in one direction, its maker hidden around the corner. No shovel could dig that quickly, could it? Anyone getting too close might find out as dirt flies from the opening every now and then, with Elleru determined to reach the bottom to uproot the invasive stalk herself.

Other times, Elleru can be found in her upright form and wielding what seems to be a butcher's knife from the kitchens, her arms covered in scratches and cuts garnered as she's hacked away at the vicious vines and thorny tendrils. There's uncharacteristic sweat on her brow, her hair a mess as leaves cling to her vibrant locks. In good news, she's managed to make a large pile of plant debris off to one side, leaving the park significantly more trimmed than it was. There's not a vine or hostile flower in sight, though they clearly still reach into other areas of Anchor.

It's a work in progress. For now, she needs some band-aids and a good shower, as well as some help finding a place to dispose of the pruned vines.

"You. You will help me."

That doesn't sound like a request.

c. misfires; ota [intended recipients or not ;)]
1. [for Rey] Do not let Tripod out of the room. What I am doing is not safe for his tender skin.

2. [for Kieran] I would like to visit your animals. We could read to them. ♥

3. [for Ami] What is fuck / marry /kill? I have seen someone asking this on the network, and I wish to understand.

closed to rey

Though she meant to send a message to Scaramouche to reward herself after a long day of dealing with plants, Elleru doesn't realize the network is on the fritz, and thus, her roommate gets a message instead:

Meet me in the spa if you would like to make some music ♥ ♥ ♥

Edited 2020-04-15 01:37 (UTC)

What a weird message.

Rey is still conflicted on the bizarre signals she's been getting from Elleru. Assuming there's even signals to get, that is. Maybe she's been presumptuous and that's just how Elleru is. Whether the text was meant to be literal or a euphemism for something else entirely, she can't say one way or another. Except the spa is an odd place to be making music, so...

So, Rey peeks through the door before entering the spa area, almost careful in her movements when she cautiously scans the area for her roommate. She'd already let Elleru down the last time, it would probably be bad if she no-showed again.

Right?

"Um... Hello?" Her voice echoes across the near empty spa, and already she feels stupid for coming.

Expecting someone else entirely, Elleru prepares for the occasion: she selects one of the rooms with a large bath set into the floor, moves a loveseat from one of the lounges into it, and gathers up some drinks and furs to really set the mood. She shoves the couch near one wall, draping the fur across it; she snags one of the low tables from another lounge and uses it to display the wine she's chosen, as well as the champagne glasses. She's just pouring the bubble bath into the water as she hears her visitor arrive, and she nearly squeaks in delight.

Nearly, as that was not the voice she expected at all. Was that Rey? Why is Rey here? Not that that's a problem, but it is unusual, given the spa doesn't seem much like a place Rey would go unless she had a real reason to. She'd tended to Elleru's wounds there once, but aside from that, she's never struck her as a spa-going kind of lady. She grabs her phone to see if Rey sent her a message that she missed while gathering supplies. What if it's an emergency, and she—

TO un: hot.damn

Oh. That's odd — she could have sworn she'd sent that message to Scaramouche, but she must have clicked Rey's name by mistake... and yet, Rey showed up. Without question, even. She didn't even keep Elleru waiting, and frankly, that gets her just a little excited. Elleru has been trying to get closer to her with seemingly no avail — not in the way she's hoped — but here Rey is now, having answered a call that wasn't meant for her. Was she... interested in making music, too?

No reason not to find out. A 'serendipitous opportunity,' as one of the characters in her books would call it. Pulling her hair up, Elleru adjusts the fur stole on her shoulders before heading for the door, hoping Rey doesn't pay too much attention to all the nicks and scratches up and down her arms from battling with the thorny plants.

"Rey, hello! Come!"

The messages being unreliable as a result of some possible AI's tantrum had occurred to Rey already. She's since stopped relying on sending private texts at the risk of seeing them sent off to someone else...

Besides, she's perfectly capable of using her own legs to meet them in person. That's what she's doing now, rather than having wasted time trying to fiddle with the erratic network. The last thing she wants is to draw even more people here; embarrass herself further for it.

Odd. Was Elleru expecting someone else, or...? Shit, was that message even intended for her? They've never spoken anything about music in that context before, so maybe it was a reference she shared with someone else entirely?

Well, now she feels awkward, even though Elleru flawlessly rolls with the situation as if nothing were amiss. Rey stops as she approaches at the setup her roommate had made. She glances around at the area; cozy that it might be, she tenses.

"Were you... expecting someone else?" Rey asks cautiously, uncertain if she actually wants to hear the answer, if the champaign and meticulous effort Elleru had put into setting everything up says anything. There's no way anyone would go through that effort just to see her, after sending a vague as hell message.

Though it seems Rey already knows that message wasn't initially intended for her, Elleru is nevertheless undeterred.

"Perhaps," she replies, ever truthful as she closes the door behind Rey. "But you are here instead, and I find this preferable. I would have invited you sooner, had I known you would come."

She reaches for Rey's hand, hoping to encourage her. "Would you like a drink first? Or a bath?"

An awkward twist of her mouth forms into a strained smile as Rey rubs the side of her neck. "Well, after last time... Figured it'd be better to show."

If it's one thing Rey has to hand Elleru, it's her honesty. It'd have been all too easy to pretend that it had been about her and no one else.

The smile disappears as she glances at the spa area, its accomodations by far more luxurious than anything Rey is ever used to, but is all too appropriate for someone like Elleru.

"Er, just a drink, would be good." She hesitates, then asks, "What... were you here for?"

"To relax," Elleru admits, gliding to the nearby loveseat and accompanying glasses. It takes her a second to get the bottle uncorked, as she's clearly unfamiliar with how to handle a corkscrew. "I have been dealing with the plants in the park, and I thought I would tidy up with a friend. Taking a bath by yourself is not as fun, after all."

Frankly, there are many things that she'd say are not as fun when one is alone. She gives Rey a wide smile as she pours some of the bubbling drink into the glass, trying to look more skilled at it than she really is. She fumbles just a little in her enthusiasm.

"But you are here, and we can have one together! I have wanted to ask you to indulge me in such activities before, but... you did not seem interested."

Was she wrong? Boy, would she love to have been wrong, for a change.

"You were here to take a bath with someone?"

The notion of a casual, communal bath shouldn't be too out there for someone who's used to a serious lack of privacy. But those were in different circumstances, and soldiers were less likely to carry on furs and champaign flutes with them to bathe.

Then Rey remembers the first time she met Elleru physically. She looked different then, but the resemblance and voice was unmistakable. For whatever reason Elleru might have had for not being open about having apparently two bodies, Rey's sure it would make sense. After all, she hasn't always looked the same over the last century, either.

She lingers for a moment, before settling down on the sofa, her boots dragging across the floor as Elleru fills the glasses. While she might not be the most deft of bartenders, Rey isn't complaining.

A sheepish look strikes her face at Elleru's comments. "Oh. Sorry about that? It... It's not a lack of interest."

Doh.

"It is not?" Elleru asks, perhaps a little too loudly and too quickly for someone trying to be coy; she spins as she does so, champagne going everywhere as the glasses get jostled in her hands. She warbles apologetically, not thinking about how a noise like that might seem coming from an upright like she's supposed to be, and offers Rey a now half-filled flute.

"What I mean is that you did not express interest before," she tries to correct. Thus far, while Rey has been more accepting of Elleru's friendship, she has seemingly ignored or rebuked her further advances, much to Elleru's dismay. It certainly stung, but she tried not to take it too hard; some uprights were quite private, and while Rey clearly needed a friend, perhaps she was not interested in anything more than that.

But hearing she was interested, even in the slightest, makes Elleru's romantic heart stir anew with the possibilities.

"I thought you might only wish to be friends."

It's okay, Elleru. Rey knows 'uprights' don't make those noises. She recalls their previous time having been here, when she had taken care of what she believed to have been some native animal until she learned that was not the case. Since then, it's been easy to put the details together, but she always figured if Elleru wanted to talk about it, she'd bring it up herself.

After all, it's not like Rey actually believes it was Tripod who demolished her bed.

Accepting the glass after its contents had been spilled, she stares off at the air in front of her as she tries tobprocess what Elleru is implying.

"Are you looking for something other than friendship with people?"

Or with her? But it doesn't seem like a desire that's exclusive to Rey, and she has no one else but herself to blame for that.

Elleru 🐦 Original

OH LET'S MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER BABYYYY

🎵

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C2 or not to c2 that is the question

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i cant believe i only just now saw this, c3 obvsly

\o/

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