november 2019. welcome to the void.

[modblob]

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Fifth Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of November 2019
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. outbreak.

There's a plague in the city.

What was an annoyance before, a bug that seemed to be passing, has erupted into a full-scale biomedical hazard. Onset is slow. It’s a near mystery who is infected and who isn't, who is immune and who isn't. Doors lock themselves seemingly at random to prevent people passing through. Is that person with you one of the sick? How do you know? Would they tell you if they were?

The city will do its best to isolate the ill, once again locking them out of communal areas and trying to force them down toward the MedBay for quarantine. All bots will be temporarily shifted to plague protocols, rounding up and caring for the ill as best they can. (Lucky you, you get your cough syrup with a mixer courtesy of the barbot.) But they might not always get things right, and what healthy person wants to be locked away in a ward full of the violently ill? How do the bots even know which is which?

The ill will slowly find themselves dizzy, lightheaded, with chills and fever. They may cough hard enough to spit blood from irritated throats, or sneeze so long and hard they give themselves bloody noses. The symptoms can vary wildly depending on body chemistry, species, and dozens of other factors, making it difficult to pin down a specific set that indicates a person is infected. All bodily fluids are dangerously infectious. Maybe you want to keep your distance from your friends if you start to feel the onset, to keep them safe. But you also want to keep your freedom, not get trapped in a room full of people who seem to be dying. And anyone who was exposed to the first outbreak will find themselves either completely immune to this new one through early exposure...or far more susceptible, their immune systems doing almost nothing to protect them, with extreme symptom sets that hit them much harder than the average infected.

And through all of this, that voice that cheerfully chirped out helpful hints during the item exchange, that giggled and sang songs in the crashed spaceship in the wasteland can be heard again - but this time it's different. This time, there's very little cheer left, and though the commentary is still sing-song, it's much harsher, more monotone and without much energy. 'Go on, hurry up to the MedBay. No breaking quarantine!' it says, or to those moving through the city with friends, 'You must not like those people much, are you sure you want to get them sick?' In the depths of the worst of it, in the third week of the month, people may start hearing more of those 'helpful' suggestions - 'Maybe it would be better if we just left them out in the wastelands, you know? For the greater good and all...'

Mod Note: An NPC post will be going up next weekend on redshiftrp to supplement this prompt. Keep an eye out!

b. gone to shit.

With 90% of the city's bots repurposed to serve the ill (the matchmaking bot being the notable exception), things are starting to go downhill fast elsewhere. Didn’t realize how much work the bots were actually doing? You can't avoid knowing now.

Restaurants, slowly coming back online after the increased activity in the agricultural areas, are promptly shut down again with things starting to go bad in the fridges. The VR rooms have no attendants to help with glitches. The maintenance bots are prowling the halls looking for ill people to assist to the MedBay. The spa bots are all down in the lower levels helping keep people comfortable while they convalesce, leaving the spas to run themselves. Sometimes to overflowing. It's definitely going to be an adventure discovering what else the bots were doing to keep things running smoothly.

There's no bots manning the bar (make your own drinks while you can), but this also means there are no bots cleaning up the messes people leave behind in the bar either. The detritus of people living their lives starts to pile up - which means if you don’t want garbage filling up the most used common rooms, you're going to have to apply some good old elbow grease. Exactly what you wanted to do while everyone is violently ill, right?

c. dance of the moonlight jellies.

In spite of everything going on elsewhere in the colony, something magical is happening in the lakes and ponds of the park. Maybe your healthy or recovering character stumbles across it on their own. Maybe they see the glow from a higher levels and are drawn down to it. Maybe a persistent and super helpful voice, the same voice from the item exchange, the same voice that suggested throwing the sick out into the wasteland, suggests that you should go down and look at what's happening there.

However you ended up in the park, the place is filled with a silvery glow that emanates from the ponds, rivers, and lake. Fish have come up from the bottom, from where they were buried under the sand. They look almost like East Asian dragons, for those familiar with Earth. They're long, muscular, with two sets of fins trailing in the water like legs. Their heads are delicate, beautiful things that trail whiskers in the water along beside them.

And they're dancing.

In loops and whirls, over and under each other, diving deep and then rising up again to create patterns of light and shadow. Anyone who watches for more than a minute can start to feel relief moving through them, calm, the sense that things will be okay. Watching the dance is almost like meditation. Probably, for some, a much-needed break.

Navigation.

Comments

[scowlish]

[The fact that Lalli isn't protesting is a big problem. Onni isn't used to this, to Lalli giving up and failing to protest, letting himself be touched and arranged however is needed. That's what flips the switch in Onni's mind from despair to determination. One of them has to push through this to get both of them through it, that is something Onni is used to, used to taking his sister's hand and Lalli's hand and leading them to safety, no matter how tired and scared he is. So he takes a shaky breath, and he does it again.

Shifting a little, he starts peeling Lalli out of his shirt and pants, scoops him up in his arms and carries him into the bathroom, crouches and holds him in his lap, fills the tub with water that's just a little cooler than room temperature. Lalli is all skinny limbs and dead weight, and he feels far, far too light when Onni lowers him into the water, the sleeve of his shirt soaking as he keeps his arm around Lalli's shoulders so his head doesn't go under.]

[lallipop]

[Lalli's in a heavy doze as Onni works, practically asleep, so he doesn't react much whenever Onni has to jostle him to accomplish what he's doing. That is, until Onni actually puts him in the tub, at which point the shock is too much.

He's not strong enough to put up a fight, but he still tries as hard as he can, balking at the relatively cooler water and trying to twist past Onni so that he can pull himself back out.]

Nooooo.

[scowlish]

[When Lalli revives a little and starts fighting back as he puts him in the water, Onni sighs deeply and pauses, supporting Lalli's weight but putting the bulk of his body between Lalli and his escape route.]

I know.

[It's calm but firm, and Onni just stays still and unmoved by the fightback. He knows how awful it must feel to be lowered into lukewarm water with a temperature like Lalli's, but it's necessary, and it's honestly a relief to have Lalli fighting again instead of that fatalistic giving up he'd been doing earlier.]

I am not letting you burn out, Lalli Saku Hotakainen.

[lallipop]

[He doesn't have much energy at all to really struggle, and has to give up as soon as Onni makes any sort of effort to stop him. Just that much exertion makes him light headed, and he has to let Onni put him back in place as he breathes and waits for his head to stop spinning.

There is a lot he feels about this situation, but one thing is for sure: it sucks.

He's quiet for a bit as Onni finishes arranging the bath, his misery nearly palpable.]

It's hard.

[It's followed by a sigh, not directed anywhere in particular.]

I'm tired.

[The weight in his voice makes it clear he means every possible interpretation.]

[scowlish]

[As he expected, it only takes a few seconds for Lalli to run out of energy for his fight to get out of the water, and once he settles, Onni goes back to helping lower him into the water. The arm of his shirt is already soaked, so he keeps it behind Lalli's shoulders, letting him rest his head and neck against it, while he soaks a clean cloth with the other hand and uses it to gently dab at Lalli's face. It will help cool him, and clean away some of the sticky sweat still on his cousin's forehead and cheeks and throat.]

I know, Lalli. But we've been through worse and we're still here.

[He uses the cloth to scoop some more water over Lalli's thin shoulders.]

I'll stay nearby so you can rest, and this will pass.

[lallipop]

[Maybe it's the exhaustion that relaxes his filters. Maybe it's the delirium. It hardly matters why, really, as he closes his eyes and balances his head on the rim of the bath, on the edge of unconsciousness.

He lets loose a long, deep breath, and settles.]

How do you know?

[How do you know it will pass.

After all, the world is a terrible place.]

[scowlish]

[When Lalli asks how he knows that this is going to pass, Onni's stomach clenches up like a fist and he closes his eyes for just a moment. Lalli closes his too, resting his head against the tub and looking barely conscious, and Onni takes a deep breath, clenches his teeth for a moment and then exhales.

The world is a terrible place. But losing Lalli is something he can't tolerate. Something he couldn't survive. So there's no other option in his mind, it has to pass.]

Because even if it means not sleeping for a week to watch you and dipping you in ice water, I won't let it take you.

[lallipop]

[Lalli's honestly not even keeping track of the conversation anymore; he's almost asleep again. All he can do is respond to the most recent thing Onni has said.]

But you need to sleep.

[As if to demonstrate the point, he's unconscious as soon as he says the last word.]

[scowlish]

I can sleep later.

[Lalli is unconscious before he can get the words out, though, and for a moment, Onni feels a spike of panic. He holds a hand in front of Lalli's mouth so he can feel his breath, tests his pulse with two fingers against his cousin's throat, and when he's reassured himself that he's still alive, he relaxes just a bit.

Suddenly, all the exhaustion is hitting him, making him feel old and worn out and at the end of his rope. But he just shifts, gets into a more comfortable position, and slowly starts scooping cool water over Lalli's shoulders. Wets a cloth and dabs it against his cousin's face, gets his hair wet to wash out the sweat and cool his scalp, anything to draw his body temperature down. Once Lalli's fingertips and toes start to crinkle from being in the water too long, Onni scoops him out and dries him off, wraps him in a towel and takes him back to the bedroom, leaves him to sleep in Onni's bed while he changes the sheets and blankets on Lalli's and then transfers his cousin over to his own again.

For a while, he just sits by Lalli, humming softly and sliding fingers through his hair to make sure his heat doesn't get caught under the wet strands. After a while, he ends up dozing off himself, sitting up, his fingers still in Lalli's hair.]

[lallipop]

[Lalli sleeps most of the time when he's this sick. Unfortunately, fever usually brings nightmares, and Lalli's had his share of fitful sleep since his condition has worsened--more so even than usual, that is--but having Onni there to hum childhood lullabies has helped. It calms his fidgeting, smooths his features into something resembling peacefulness, at least.

More than a few times still, in the increasingly less often occasions he actually wakes up, he mistakes Onni for his mother. But he won't remember it later, so it's okay.

Onni will have to start spoon feeding him; even when he's awake enough to try, he rarely has the energy. He hates it, but it's not something he has the strength to fight anymore, when he's even aware enough to want to.]

[scowlish]

[While Lalli has been sleeping, Onni has been doing almost everything but. He catches the occasional nap while Lalli is out, but it never really settles into actual sleep, it's always light, his senses tuned to any movement, any change in his cousin's breathing, anything that might indicate a problem. At one point he's so obviously exhausted that Reynir insists on sitting in the room and watching Lalli so he can get at least a few hours, and Onni hesitantly takes him up on it.

The fever isn't much improving, though, and Onni is starting to feel a pervading sense of dread and panic as it fails to get any better even while he does everything he can think of to help. He feeds Lalli bone broth and water, he tries various types of soft foods and fruit juices - apple and orange juice, oatmeal, mashed potatoes made with chicken broth, at one point he tries greek yogurt which is similar to something he had in Iceland, with honey in it. Anything that Lalli will eat and keep down.

Of course, some of what he tries to spoon-feed his cousin are things he doesn't like. It's bound to happen with someone as picky as Lalli, and it's partly Onni's fault when he brings some yogurt and is tired enough to forget the honey. Which ends up with a fussy Lalli refusing to eat, and Onni feels stirrings of frustration...not necessarily aimed at his cousin, but the situation in general and how frazzled and worried he feels. It seems like weeks that his life has been a long stress reaction punctuated with naps that mostly end in nightmares. Putting the yogurt aside, he lets Lalli settle down a bit, paces back and forth across the room and pushes his fingers through his hair.

Eventually, he decides he should try a wet sock treatment. He's been doing his best to sticking to putting Lalli in the bathtub, but he doesn't have the energy right now. He feels like a giant raw nerve. So he goes into the bathroom, fills a basin full of water that's just shy of hot, gets a couple of pairs of socks, and a bowl of water as cold as he can pour it with a few ice cubes added in, and settles at the end of Lalli's bed, peeling the blankets back from his bare feet.

At first, all he does is rub at his cousin's feet, warming them a little with his hands.]

Lalli? Are you awake?

[lallipop]

[In fact, Lalli is--barely, but it's still more than full unconsciousness. He doesn't mean to be frustrating when he does things like refuse food; it's just that his throat hurts, and his stomach turns so easily, and if he's just going to vomit it all back up then he'd rather not bother at all. He can barely choke down yogurt at the best of times as it is.

He does stir when Onni grabs his feet, very slightly. It's not much, but it's at least a reaction. Even if it's only so much as to curl his toes.]

Nnnnh.

[There's a hint of annoyance on his part, too. In all honesty, Onni's question doesn't parse; all Lalli knows is that his cousin is saying something to him while he has a pounding headache, and he doesn't appreciate it.]

[scowlish]

[It might be easier if Lalli was being frustrating on purpose, but Onni knows he isn't. It means that all of his frustration is balled up inside himself, aimed at himself, and he hasn't really had an outlet.

The only answer he gets when he touches Lalli's feet is a moan and a slight stirring, and he sighs softly, rubbing his thumbs into the arches of Lalli's feet. Lalli is too awake to not notice what Onni is going to do to him, but not awake enough to understand the reasoning behind it. Frankly, Onni doesn't think it would be a very popular decision even if Lalli could understand the reasoning behind what Onni has in mind.

But it has to be done. Lalli can't stay this sick, he can't keep getting worse or stay this way any longer. Onni can't lose the last of his family, he can't lose Lalli, not after everything that they've survived together.]

I'm going to do a wet sock treatment. You'll probably hate it, but I have to.

[His voice is tired, but he makes himself move, lifting Lalli's feet, both at once and sliding them into the bowl, holding his breath as he waits for the reaction.]

[lallipop]

[Lalli actually doesn't startle as badly as Onni might have been expecting. He does tense briefly at the contact of water, like he might try to curl up, but either he thinks better of it or he doesn't have the energy to, because ultimately he doesn't move.

He does crack an eyelid open--barely enough to see the color of his irises. He doesn't quite object to what's happening--yet--but it does confuse him.]

Mmmmwha?

[Why are you doing anything to him when he just wants to sleep, Onni.]

[scowlish]

[For his part, Onni takes it as an opportunity - Lalli is being still and relatively quiet, and as he lowers his hands into the water and starts squeezing at his feet, Onni keeps a close eye on him. The last thing he needs right now is for his cousin to shove a bowl of hot water into his lap. Leaving Lalli's feet there, he shifts and picks up the thinner of the pairs of socks, drops them into the bowl of ice water, and pushes them under to soak it up.

After a moment, he looks back up at Lalli, and sighs.]

Don't worry about it.

[It's obvious that warning Lalli isn't going to do much good right now, so he doesn't bother. Just keeps Lalli's feet in the warm water until they feel warm to the touch, and then lifts them out and puts the bowl aside, letting Lalli's feet rest on a towel in his lap.

Then, taking a deep breath, he pulls one of the cold wet socks out of the tub of ice water and squeezes out most of the excess. Pausing for a moment to savor his one last moment of peace and quiet before Lalli starts fighting him, he steels himself and starts pulling the sock onto Lalli's left foot.]

[lallipop]

[This time, the reaction is immediate and dramatic. Lalli's eyes fly open and he lets out an audible hiss of discomfort as he tries to pull his knees in toward him and his feet away from whatever is clearly trying to freeze him to death.

He doesn't have enough strength to manage it, of course--even if he wasn't sick and worn out, Onni has always been physically stronger than him, and he's prepared a solid grip on Lalli's ankle. If anything, his inability to get away just makes Lalli more desperate, and he starts trying to kick out with his other foot the more Onni tries forcing the sock on.

It probably only serves to be annoying at worst. But Lalli is very good at being annoying when he wants to be.]

[scowlish]

[It's as Onni expected - the moment he starts getting the sock onto him, Lalli gasps and starts to pull away from him. Reflexively, Onni grabs at his ankle and holds his foot in place, only for Lalli to start kicking him with the other foot. Grunting irritably, Onni shifts and tries to pull the sock on more.

Lalli is so tiny, his leg is thin and his kicking is feeble, and Onni feels a stab of intense guilt, but he keeps yanking at the sock, pulling it on over Lalli's foot.]

Lalli, calm down. It's for your own good.

[But with Lalli in the state he's in, it doesn't work. He's lashing out instinctively like a threatened animal, and there's not much choice but to hold him in place. The sock is only half on, but Onni reaches over with his free hand to pull at Lalli's other leg and hook his own over it.]

Lalli, stop!

[lallipop]

[Immediately, Lalli stops, but he doesn't relax. Instead he freezes, an instinctive reaction to Onni's tone of voice. It's a tone that says shut up and do what I say, and obeying it has been second nature for Lalli for years.

He squeezes his eyes shut and digs his fingers into the bedspread, and he still twitches at the sensation of it, but he lets Onni finish putting the socks on.

Really, it's not so horrible a thing--it's uncomfortable and he doesn't like it, but it's unpleasant at worst. But Lalli has never been very good at dealing with discomfort and there's only so long he can stay still before he has to start to squirm again. He's trying not to--he doesn't know why Onni is doing this, but Onni always does know what he's doing, and Lalli has to trust that this serves a purpose--but the wet fabric is already starting to itch and it's practically unbearable.

How long is he going to have to put up with this?]

[scowlish]

[The tone of voice works, just as it always has. Firm and just a little loud, with the note of command in it. The same tone that their grandmother had used on them when they were training. The tone he'd used on Lalli so many times to keep him in line when he had to. Every single time, he feels a little stab of guilt, but now it's just the same as all the other times he's used it - he doesn't know what else to do. Lalli can't understand his reasoning right now, there's no reasoning with him, it doesn't seem like there's any other way to get him to do this besides shoving him down and forcing him and that seems...worse. It seems awful.

Onni is just so tired.]

I'm sorry, Lalli.

[But he doesn't stop. He just keeps pulling the socks up over Lalli's feet and then reaches for the thicker wool socks, sliding them over the wet ones. Sitting cross-legged on the bed by his cousin's feet, Onni's shoulders slouch and he breathes heavily, as if he's run a marathon. He feels like he has.]

It will help the fever. I wouldn't make you suffer for no reason.

[lallipop]

[When Lalli's this feverish, Onni's words don't parse. All he knows is that Onni was shouting at him and now he's not, and he fucking hates these socks.

He tries. He really does try to stay still and deal with it, and he manages for some time, at least--with only a minimum of miserable fidgeting. But it isn't long before he can't stand it anymore, and the situation makes no sense to him at all--all he knows is he's uncomfortable, and that Onni wants him to be like this, and he doesn't know why.

There's only so long he can obey Onni with only that. So as soon as he senses Onni's attention might be a little less constant, he tries to surreptitiously reach down to slip them off--surely he's had them on long enough.]

[scowlish]

[With Lalli somewhat settled - squirming, obviously uncomfortable, a little stiff, but mostly settled - Onni shifts at the end of the bed and leans his back against the wall, his head tilted back and his arms crossed, his eyes mostly closed as he tries to rest. He can't really relax, though, he's too worried, his body exhausted and his mind going a thousand miles an hour. While he might not be looking at Lalli, or anything really, he is still hyperaware of everything going on around him thanks to the constant adrenaline rush of his anxiety.

So when Lalli moves to try to take the socks off, Onni can tell, just by the shifting of the bed and the sound of the blankets moving. Sighing, he uncrosses his arms and opens one eye, looking over at his cousin and putting a hand down on his shin.]

Lalli.

[lallipop]

[Something about being caught fills Lalli with desperation, and as soon as Onni grabs his leg he twists, for no other purpose than his frustration needs an outlet. The whine in his throat comes out automatically. He hates this so much, why does Onni have to be doing this to him?

For once in his life, he doesn't cave to Onni's stern tone, and instead tries to reach toward his other leg. The fact that Onni is definitely going to see this and stop him doesn't seem to deter him; he doesn't care. He just needs these things off. It's like the clinginess of the fabric is a line of insects marching up his legs and his spine to the base of his skull and he can't stand it.]

[scowlish]

[Of course. Of course none of this could be easy. The surge of frustration hits Onni like a fist as Lalli starts twisting and whining, reaches for his other leg. There's a sort of panicky anger that works its way up from his gut into his chest and then clutches at his throat, and Onni moves, gets to his knees and presses them between Lalli's feet, one hand on each ankle.]

Lalli, I told you to leave it!

[It comes out sharper than he means it to, but he feels like his last nerve is frayed to the breaking point, his head is pounding and his jaw is so tense it feels like it's attached to his head with a railroad spike driven in with a hammer. His shoulders are tense, his back is aching, he's vaguely nauseous from exhaustion and fear, and it's a miracle he's been regulating all of it as well as he has been.

But he can't anymore. He just holds onto Lalli's ankles firmly, and pins his cousin with a glare, chest rising and falling heavily.]

[lallipop]

[This, of all things, is maybe what pushes Lalli over the edge. There isn't a real reason for it. If he was in his right mind, he'd realize this is a pretty stupid thing to throw a fit over. But he's so tired of being so miserable, and he's tired of Onni making him even more miserable. All he wants, suddenly, is to just not be sick, to be able to breathe, to be able to sit up without being dizzy, to be able to keep down food. For his skin not to feel like it's crawling off him. For his head not to be pounding.

He's done. He's just fucking done, and he doesn't care if it makes people upset.

Squirming to get out of Onni's grip is instinctive, and when he can't, when Onni holds him firm regardless, it only serves to make him panic: he hates feeling trapped, and he's trapped now. That it's Onni doing it no longer registers. He can't get away, and the only one he can take his frustration out on is himself, so he does--he curls in on himself, the whine of discomfort fully audible now, twisting onto his side as he claws his hands through his hair in distress. There's no specific thing he's protesting at this point, it's just a pure, visceral expression of upset.

In other words, he's having a tantrum.]

[scowlish]

[If Onni had been sleeping well, if he hadn't been so constantly worried from the fatalistic way that Lalli had been talking through this fever, if he hadn't been feeling so helpless and frustrated at his own inability to break the fever and help his cousin feel well, it might not have been like this. If he hadn't had to explain to Lalli that his mother wasn't going to come take care of him a dozen times. If he hadn't spent hours singing and humming until his throat was sore, if he hadn't been doing everything possible to take care of his cousin, it wouldn't hurt this much or make him so angry when Lalli struggles and pushes and squirms to get out of his grip. But he's tired and worn down and so he just tightens his grip to hold his cousin down.

In fact, he moves forward a little, moves his hands to just above Lalli's knees.]

Lalli, stay still, this isn't good for you, it's not...

[But Lalli's hands are coming up and he's curling into a ball, whining and twisting and dragging his hands through his hair and covering his ears, and it's so childlike and brings back so many memories of things that had happened in their childhoods. Of their grandmother managing him when he was like this. Of having to manage him himself when he was like this. Of every time he'd been so alone and helpless and uncertain of what to do, with no one to turn to to ask for help.]

Lalli, please, just stop! I don't know what to do!

[He knows Lalli won't understand what he's saying, that Lalli might not even really recognize him in this state, but he has to try, or he's going to explode.]