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.

Navigation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

"Perhaps." She shakes her head, reddening as her ears dip, her fingers finding a lock of her hair and twisting it round and round. That's not truthful enough. "Yes. It is... difficult to explain."

And that's something that frustrates Elleru in a way that's largely foreign to her. She's used to knowing what she wants, and taking steps to get there; however, with Rey, her future is not so certain. What she has with Scaramouche is unique, but it feels like more of a game between the two of them, a mutual adventure based in sensual physicality rather than complex emotions; she could flirt with half the population of Anchor all day, liking each and every upright in their own way. Each one is special, and the potential between themselves and her endless.

But it's different with Rey, and she's not entirely sure how. Rey feels like she needs her most of all: not as someone who is weak in need of protection, or as one who needs help in finding something or learning a new skill, but as a person who needs help finding herself as much as Elleru does. What is it they both want out of life, and out of Anchor? And most importantly, out of each other?

If only such reflective topics were covered in her romance novels. Maybe if one of them was a werebear, this would make more sense.

"I am not sure how to go about it in the right way," she continues.

Feelings that are difficult to explain has got to be one of the biggest things Rey has ever related to with another person. She scoffs despite herself, taking in the pause as she mulls over what Elleru says. Rather answer right away, she takes a deep drink of champagne; weak, compared to what she's used to.

"Well, that makes two of us. Was never any good with that stuff, and... the last and only attempt didn't go very well," Rey says flatly between sips. "Not that it was her fault."

Far as she is concerned, the fault all lied with Rey, who couldn't seem to figure out what to do with her feelings or how to place them. Even when they were briefly reciprocated, it was fleeting and chaotic, and she has the scars to show for it.

In truth, it never seemed like there was going to be a good time. Having never had feelings like that towards anyone else before, Rey had resigned herself to the idea that it would be selfish for her to want anything like that from anyone. Who is she to enjoy the happiness of companionship when she had taken it away from so many? Snuffed out their lives without a care of what she was truly doing it for?

On that thought, she finishes her glass.

Yup, feelings suck.

Elleru seems disheartened when Rey scoffs, assuming it to be a reaction toward her own confusion rather than some internal disdain. She purses her lips, pulling in a breath as she levels her roommate with a serious look.

"I answered your question," she states, "and now you will answer mine. I said I want more than friendship with you. I want to know how it is you feel about me."

That's not a question, but at no one can say she doesn't get right to the point.

That definitely isn't a question, but Rey stops to consider before she responds, her eyes dropping to the now empty glass in her hand.

"You've been... very kind," she finally says, feeling her jaw clench as though she's fighting her own body to speak. "You provide a lot of attention. Have rarely been doted on by anyone before, but the few who have were hurt, very much. You seem too nice a person to go through that hurt."

How magnanimous of her, right? How altruistic and selfless, to ferry someone's feelings off so that they could move on to someone, maybe more deserving than herself.

But something else creeps up from the back of her throat, forming the words again.

"Even still, the only alternative is loneliness. Don't want to be alone. It hurts." Her fingers close around the champagne glass as her eyes narrow. "And... when it seemed like you were planning to spend time here with someone else, that maybe you got sick of me and didn't want me around anymore, it felt... painful."

That last word is lifted like a half-question in itself, as though Rey knows that that isn't the right description but she doesn't know how else to say it out loud. Was she really worried about being left out? Was it jealousy? Did she really fear what would happen if Elleru decided to move on to someone else? Why did this emotion feel like poison?

Her ears lift in surprise. Was Rey so truly wounded by the thought that she'd be spending time with someone else? Or was it that she would be intimate with another? There is that distinction for uprights, and Elleru is still trying to figure out where the line is for herself, for Rey, and for the two of them together — if there is such a third line.

"If I did not want you around, I would say so," Elleru reassures, adjusting herself on the seat. She leans closer, her glass between both her hands as she fiddles with it idly — almost nervously. "What I have with others is not the same as what I have with you. You are... special to me. I do not mean to hurt you. I would never mean to hurt you."

Her voice drops to barely a whisper as she tilts her head. "If you want to be with me, you need only say so."

And with that, she closes the gap between them.

In truth Rey isn't too certain what the distinction is, either. What she does know is that she doesn't feel the same way about the people she knows spending time with others in the way as Rey felt shortly after coming in here. It's a confusing feeling, one which she wishes she had any answer for with certainty.

What she can be certain is that she doesn't share the same promise as Elleru's. While her immediate instinct is always to lash out, bite, be spiteful and abhorrent... Sure, it it would have made things easier in her mind, but it'd also be much lonelier.

Shoulders sinking, her fingers clench tighter around the glass as Elleru closes in. There are various ways of interpreting those words, 'be with me', and yet her actions only indicate one thing.

Abandoning all thought up to that point, Rey leans forward as well, meeting Elleru halfway to draw her lips against the other woman's, much like they have once before.

While Elleru had wanted to enjoy that first kiss so long ago, it had been hastened out of necessity, her instinct to protect Rey outweighing her personal desires. Thus, she allows herself to indulge in this one: she brings a hand to the side of Rey's face, feeling the texture of those scars beneath her fingers as she takes Rey in, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She follows that up with another, guiding her companion to tilt her head just a hair to one side so that she may draw even closer.

Though she can feel her heart starting to race, Elleru pauses, giving Rey a sultry look as she invites her to have another kiss. She doesn't pull away, clearly wanting Rey to initiate it this time.

For someone who's so used to having her whole life uprooted, never being the same as yesterday, Rey is never sure how she would handle certain changes. The feeling of Elleru's fingers over those scars is a change she never thought she'd accept.

But here she is, exhaling as she cants her head against Elleru's hand, before being drawn back into another kiss. The next is not so immediate, leaving Rey to seek Elleru's lips this time. She senses the invitation and she doesn't hesitate for once.

Heat radiating from her body, Rey reels in closer to Elleru, her breath catching in her throat between kisses.

The heat between them is nice, so nice that even the steamy bath nearby seems chilly by comparison. Tempted as she is to let Rey have a little more agency — Elleru does love to be lavished with attention — she feels she should be the one to lead. After all, Rey has said before she needs someone to show her how to be free. What better freedom is there than exploring both physical and emotional intimacy?

She rests a hand on Rey's thigh, the other slipping from her face down to her shoulder as she gives Rey a gentle push, encouraging her to lean back against the arm of the loveseat. Her kisses trail down her jaw toward her neck, stopping at the scar there to give it playful nip.

It's true that Rey prefers to be the one in control, it also helps that someone else can take the reigns when showing her something different. Her body reels back against the cushions under Elleru's physical persuasion, gasping when she feels the kiss linger on that scar... It's not as old as the others, having barely been a year since she took a knife to the throat to protect a friend.

Right now, she just tilts her head back, exposing more of her throat to Elleru. Rey can't help but shiver under the other woman's touch, though it's not as unpleasant as she used to think it'd be.

"Ah!" She gasps, bringing one hand to Elleru's shoulder and the other curling through thick magenta hair. "Seems like... you know what you're doing..."

Was it ever a question?

Elleru smirks in satisfaction, leaving another kiss — softer this time, her lips barely grazing that scar on their second meeting — before she comes back to the crook of Rey's neck. Rey gives her plenty of room, and she takes advantage of it, nuzzling into the crook of Rey's jaw with a brief, but energetic fervor. She giggles quietly into Rey's skin as she takes in her scent: she smells a bit like cinders and sweat, the blood and bone and constructed parts beneath her skin well imbued with the fire that burns in her veins.

Adjusting herself so she's leaning over Rey, Elleru lets that stole slide off just a little bit more — the strap of the dress she's got underneath, as well. "I know what I like," she whispers, the light on the ceiling behind her diffusing through her vibrant hair, seeming to color the air around her.

A soft, almost growling sound escapes the back of Rey's throat as Elleru lingers over her neck. Pleasant warmth swells in her chest, her back arching so her body presses flushed against the other woman's.

Her face is heated, too. Those scarred cheeks reddened even when Elleru pulls away to bear down over Rey. Her breath catches at the way the light halos around Elleru's head, and Rey slides her fingers from that hair to the other woman's cheek.

She's still figuring out what she likes. But if the heat in her stomach says anything, it's that she doesn't dislike this. She doesn't dislike Elleru's forwardness, going for what she wants.

"You're... really pretty," Rey blurts, her expression softer than she usually allows.

Elleru has been called pretty many times by many people, and yet, it means so much more coming from Rey. She seems so uncertain when it comes to intimacy, but here, her smile is soft, her tone earnest. Leaning into Rey's hand, Elleru's face heats up as well, her ears flicking upward with the curve of the grin that crosses her.

"I know," she coos, leaning closer; her hair slips from around her shoulder, her long locks like a curtain to hide them both from the world as they frame her face. With a delicate touch, she slides her hand along the front hem of Rey's shirt, tracing the muscles of her abdomen with her nails. "But you may tell me again."

Those magenta strands fall around her, tickling Rey's skin and she can't help but smile a little more. She's not sure what to do with herself next, what move to make or what to say or ask, so when Elleru replies, a curt, quiet laugh escapes her lungs.

"You're really fucking pretty," she obliges, her breath catching when she feels Elleru's nails gliding across the firm skin of her abdominal muscle. Her legs tangled with the other woman's, Rey arches her back against that touch. "You could... use your nails more."

She admires the way Elleru keeps herself groomed to perfection; she would like to feel that.

Now there's what Elleru likes to hear: Rey's breath hitches, and she smirks in silent reply, tracing another circle on Rey's skin. She hums quietly from the back of her throat, her tone deep, melodic as she leans forward to kiss Rey's cheek.

And then, as though to punctuate that kiss, she presses just a little harder with her nails — not too hard, as she's aware her claws can be deceptively sharp, especially in her upright guise, but just enough that Rey should feel some pain to mingle with her pleasure. She rakes along Rey's stomach, letting her nails catch teasingly on the waist of her pants.

"Like this?"

It's just enough pain to tolerate without resulting in a violent response. Rey's not sure why she wanted that, other than her own urge to bite and grip the last time she had been in a situation like this. Something she didn't know existed somehow came creeping up without warning, as Rey draws in a sharp breath under Elleru's touch. Her eyes fluttering shut, she smiles, feeling lips against her scarred cheek.

"Yes, like th-- Feels good," she pants, lightheaded and studying Elleru with a half-lidded look. She pushes a stray mahogany strand of hair behind her ear. "S... Sorry, still... trying to figure out what feels right."

Rey gets another kiss to her scars for that answer, her breath music to Elleru's long ears.

"Do not apologize," she murmurs, tracing the curves of Rey's abdomen with her fingers. Elleru's middle is soft by comparison; Rey's has such definition between her muscles, creating little grooves and hollows for her hand to follow.

"I did not know what I wanted at first, either," she admits. "It can be... intimidating, not knowing about yourself and what feels good to you. It can also be exciting to explore that with someone else."

She pushes herself back up, letting her hair fall around her face once more. She cocks her head toward the steaming bath, its extra space and soothing heat inviting.

"We could explore together, if you want. You may trust me to be gentle..." Her brows tighten just a fraction, her lips curling into a mischievous smirk. "Unless you do not want me to. Only you may tell me."

🎵

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