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pluviooc2024-06-02 03:17 am
pluviosamods) wrote in pluviooc2024-06-02 03:17 am
Entry tags:
EVENT: SO BELOW, PART 1
SO BELOW
Over the night of Day 15 into 16, there is a feeling of crossing over some kind of threshold, for those who are awake to feel it. On the unlikely chance that someone is looking out the windows, they will see the landscape even out for a bit, revealing an ancient beach stretching to the horizon, with the remains of what might be buildings off the port side, though it's no more than a few ramshackle scraps of what was at most a twenty-person village. Once the ship crosses over the line of the beach, however, clouds begin to form.
The ship pays it no heed and continues onto, and downward, into what was once the ocean. Across the sandy ridge of the continental shelf, and down, further still, until the level where the water once was rises up over everyone's heads. Dawn takes a long time to come, and when it does, it is cloudy and dark (though not as dark as the storm initial characters arrived in). Although there is no rain, the skies outside look like they might open up any time... Assuming you're looking directly at them, that is.
Because the sky itself is only visible through the bubble protecting the top deck and the balconies. Through all the windows including the glass doors of the suite balconies, the glass walls of the cafeteria, and the glass roof of the residential floor lounge, the ship appears to be fully underwater. And not a small distance underwater, either - looking straight up under the glass roof of the lounge, the surface is thirty or forty feet away, and getting further all the time.
The living characters aren't the only ones who gather to look out the windows at the water outside. In the dim light, the shades of past passengers can be seen, silhouetted against the blue of the ocean through the windows. They're certainly dressed like vacationers, and high-class ones at that, in quality clothes and occasionally with a piece of fancy rolling luggage in hand. Most are dressed for warm-and-breezy weather, as you might expect from people on their way to a cruise.
And they seem to be under the assumption that the living are fellow vacationers, while they're at it. All the vacationers are human, seemingly, but they don't so much as bat an eyelash at the more unusual current passengers, nor do they seem to register that some characters are wearing clothing that isn't exactly appropriate for such a vacation.
Indeed, they don't register much of anything outside the norm at all, because these specters just repeat their same handful of interactions in a loop; sometimes they continue to talk regardless of what the person they're speaking to has actually said, and sometimes they fall silent and 'reset' if they're confronted by anything that violates the expectations of their interaction. They walk through the plants as though they aren't there (because, back then, they weren't), sit on furnishings that don't exist anymore, and generally seem to be thoroughly displaced in time.
A few specific spirits (this list isn't exhaustive, but these are the best-defined ones):
-> A mother with a six-year-old son who keeps running enthusiastically ahead of her to look at the window in the lounge. They retrace their route from the elevator on the port side to the large windows and then stand there for around ten minutes before the mother encourages the boy to get a move on and they disappear, only to repeat the cycle in another ten or so minutes.
-> A young man, by himself, who wanders barefoot and damp around the cafeteria, asking people if they've seen his friends, who stole his shoes while he was in the pool. He is mostly exasperated and can regularly be heard muttering 'They would do this,' and similar to himself.
-> The aforementioned friends, a pair of similarly young men in swim trunks, who are hiding in the doorway of the mens' public restroom. One of them is holding their friend's sandals.
-> An older man who appears to be aggressing an invisible employee about a lost bag. Like the mother with her son, their interaction repeats every twenty minutes or so, concluding in the man stomping off towards his room and disappearing.
-> A middle-aged woman lounging on an invisible recliner on the top deck, wearing a massive floppy hat that keeps trying to blow away. She'll make pleasant conversation with anyone who approaches, but doing so eventually causes her to forget to secure her hat, which blows off her head. She excuses herself to retrieve it, and never returns, instead disappearing until the person she was speaking with has left the area.
-> A man and woman who keep arguing about what their room number is in the middle decks. They can be found in various places as the day goes on.
-> A father who keeps telling his oldest child that she can pick one thing from the souvenir shop, while the girl's three year old brother runs around in the background. The boy occasionally trips on something, falls, and starts to cry, which prompts the father to go over and comfort him. When the boy is back on his feet again, the interaction repeats.
-> A young woman who asks anyone she comes across about the weather forecast. She's particularly concerned about the possibility of thunderstorms.
One notable thing about all of these interactions is that any mention of the Ship as a thinking entity will be met with confusion and blank stares. A number of other questions - the name of the ship, where it's headed - don't seem to draw meaningful answers from these ghosts, and notably no crew members or staff appear among these spirits.
These spirits persist throughout Day 16, and can be seen slowly ambling towards various suites as sunset approaches. Once night sets in, they disappear.
Come nightfall, however, a different set of spirits begin to appear. Scientists, researchers, and janitorial staff can be seen in the halls - especially on the three agricultural Decks. Few of them are up for conversation, unlike the day's tourists - they are all busily at work, moving plants around, cataloging seedlings, watering, cleaning up spills, so on and so forth. Like the vacationers, the researchers move in a loop.
They don't stop to talk to any of the new passengers except for various questions about the locations of other people - notably, someone named "Lyra" seems to be missing from among the janitorial staff, and many of the researchers report a need to report their findings to "the Director," whoever that is. (The most characters will be able to get about the Director is that his pronouns are masculine.) Characters generally seem to be assumed to be janitorial staff, regardless of their clothes or other facets of their appearance.
The 'researcher' group of ghosts remain active throughout the night and into the morning of Day 17 - up until the Ship tips forward and begins a much steeper journey downwards. The angle is sharp enough to send loose items sliding forward, though not more stable furnishings - nor characters, provided they're not caught completely unprepared for the transition.
Those familiar with geology will be able to place themselves somewhat with a look out across the deck or through an open balcony door (the windows have, by this point, grown to be quite dark as the dim light fails to filter through the 'water' above.
The air inside is oppressive, thick and heavy - not just figuratively, but literally. In the same way the air gets thin as you go higher, it gets heavier as you go lower, the air pressure growing - not enough to be actively uncomfortable, but enough to fit the vibes. Outside, the clouds grow thicker...
And that's where we hit the pause button, because the second part of the event has a sign-up factor!
As you may be able to guess, ghost activity will grow more severe as the ship descends to the bottom of the dried-out 'ocean.' This provides two options for player interactions with ghosts: hauntings and possessions! Each option is detailed below; you can choose one, both, or neither, but note that possession runs a higher risk of death.
Please direct any questions about the event to the EVENT QUESTIONS header on this post (or the hey-mods channel on Discord). Sign-ups will be open until June 16th. The second part of the event will follow on June 20th, allowing a few days for any stragglers to choose their Haunting options.
A single event log has been posted here. Please note that this log will be used for the duration of the event, at least as far as mod responses go. According, there is currently a locked header for Haunting NPC threads.
HAUNTING
Characters can be haunted by particular ghosts - those who sign up for this option will be given a sketch of information about 3-4 ghosts, and can choose one to have a proper (though potentially short) NPC thread with. (Certain ghosts will be available to multiple players, so the same ghost may have multiple threads depending on how many players choose them.) The exact degree to which these ghosts are aware of their own deaths and the passage of time varies; some are quite aware of their own deaths, while others are trapped in a loop similarly to the vacationers, and will only address the character they're interacting with as a peer in whatever time period they're in.
These ghosts may be from any period of the ship's history. The majority of these ghosts will be benign; aggressive ghosts will be available as options, but they will be clearly marked. Players will have the option to have their ghost threads be under the investigations subforum of the Discord or in a designated Hauntings thread on the event post that will go up with the second part of the event.
POSSESSION
In addition to the ghosts doing hauntings, there are some more... troubled spirits hanging around, which can possess characters directly.
Possessing ghosts have some kind of resonance with the characters they possess - some angle of common experience which is their way 'in' to a character. Possessed characters do not have full control over their actions; the ghost possessing them will take over in response to certain triggers, and while possessing a character, they attempt to act out whatever the scene is that was linked to that trigger in life. Many of those triggers are violent in nature; possessed characters may attack others with intent to kill, do harm to themselves, or otherwise engage in activities with high chance of death.
Players who sign up for this option will be given a secret profile with information about their possessing ghost, including at least one trigger condition and a general outline of the behaviour that results, as well as any other information they should know about their character's guest. It is up to the player if they wish to share this information or keep it secret from other players. That said, make sure to plot out death with your thread partners beforehand! Characters killed by possessed characters revive normally, but characters killed while possessed may experience extra side-effects (and their affinity for the Whispering will certainly increase).
Ghosts will vacate the characters they have possessed as the Ship begins to move upwards again at the end of the event, in four IC days' time. Additionally, they can be driven off by any character with a knowledge of exorcism or placated if removed from their trigger condition/etc, but that doesn't mean that characters won't be re-possessed or the possession triggered again, respectively.
Characters who sign up for this option will receive a regain or other reward, regardless of whether or not their possession is triggered ICly. A "regain" is an item from their home world that is not among the things brought with them upon their initial arrival to the game, and can include such things as a weapon, a set of clothes, a pet, or any other item that is not overly powerful or large (size restrictions the same as in your initial application). You may also choose a similar reward that is not from a character's home world. Characters will receive these items at the end of the event; further details will come at that time.
FORMS
In order to help prevent mod overwhelm, players who have multiple characters are limited to one instance of each option. That is, a player can sign up one character to receive both options, or one character to be haunted and another to be possessed, as they so choose, for a total of one of each. You may also sign up for only one option or none at all.
Comments are screened in order to maintain the mystery of possession sign ups for those who desire that option. Please put all sign-ups under the appropriate header.
Sign-ups will close on June 16th. Only characters that have been accepted to the game may sign up for event options. If you are planning to apply to the game in time to participate in the event, please have your application in by June 14th.
Hauntings form
Possession form
As noted, the weather for the duration of the Ship's time below sea-level is gloomy at best. The Ship also may or may not respond to direct queries during this period, as navigating the former sea floor - and, in particular, controlling the pressure within the membrane barrier - takes more energy than usual. Characters who pay attention to such things will note that the barrier descends to the point that it is brushing the tops of the trees on every accessible deck, and it does not bulge outward from the balconies the way it normally does.
The oatmeal bar cycles out of the cafeteria, replaced by a variety of simple pastries such as donuts, muffins, and Danishes. (The bagels and toast remain.) Vegetarian sushi appears at lunch, along with rice bowls at both lunch and dinner containing a variety of vegetables and...what seems to be either turkey or chicken meat, shredded randomly. The endless trays of spaghetti and other tomato-beef dishes are replaced by chicken-and-onion mixes (with other vegetables thrown in) baked with a variety of sauces and glazes, and chicken-and-squash casserole.
Further investigation of the poultry items reveals that, in fact, it is a product similar to the tomatoes - a large, unidentifiable squash which when cut open possesses muscular 'meat' portions. White meat is further to the outside, while dark meat grows further inwards, supporting the seeds. Roasted squash seeds join the offerings of fresh fruit and nuts available at all meals accordingly.
Accessible Decks have not changed with this update; however, the artificial lighting on the agricultural decks starts one hour later and ends one hour earlier than usual. (The lounge and cafeteria are unaffected.)
The ship pays it no heed and continues onto, and downward, into what was once the ocean. Across the sandy ridge of the continental shelf, and down, further still, until the level where the water once was rises up over everyone's heads. Dawn takes a long time to come, and when it does, it is cloudy and dark (though not as dark as the storm initial characters arrived in). Although there is no rain, the skies outside look like they might open up any time... Assuming you're looking directly at them, that is.
Because the sky itself is only visible through the bubble protecting the top deck and the balconies. Through all the windows including the glass doors of the suite balconies, the glass walls of the cafeteria, and the glass roof of the residential floor lounge, the ship appears to be fully underwater. And not a small distance underwater, either - looking straight up under the glass roof of the lounge, the surface is thirty or forty feet away, and getting further all the time.
A HAUNTING FEELING
The living characters aren't the only ones who gather to look out the windows at the water outside. In the dim light, the shades of past passengers can be seen, silhouetted against the blue of the ocean through the windows. They're certainly dressed like vacationers, and high-class ones at that, in quality clothes and occasionally with a piece of fancy rolling luggage in hand. Most are dressed for warm-and-breezy weather, as you might expect from people on their way to a cruise.
And they seem to be under the assumption that the living are fellow vacationers, while they're at it. All the vacationers are human, seemingly, but they don't so much as bat an eyelash at the more unusual current passengers, nor do they seem to register that some characters are wearing clothing that isn't exactly appropriate for such a vacation.
Indeed, they don't register much of anything outside the norm at all, because these specters just repeat their same handful of interactions in a loop; sometimes they continue to talk regardless of what the person they're speaking to has actually said, and sometimes they fall silent and 'reset' if they're confronted by anything that violates the expectations of their interaction. They walk through the plants as though they aren't there (because, back then, they weren't), sit on furnishings that don't exist anymore, and generally seem to be thoroughly displaced in time.
A few specific spirits (this list isn't exhaustive, but these are the best-defined ones):
-> A mother with a six-year-old son who keeps running enthusiastically ahead of her to look at the window in the lounge. They retrace their route from the elevator on the port side to the large windows and then stand there for around ten minutes before the mother encourages the boy to get a move on and they disappear, only to repeat the cycle in another ten or so minutes.
-> A young man, by himself, who wanders barefoot and damp around the cafeteria, asking people if they've seen his friends, who stole his shoes while he was in the pool. He is mostly exasperated and can regularly be heard muttering 'They would do this,' and similar to himself.
-> The aforementioned friends, a pair of similarly young men in swim trunks, who are hiding in the doorway of the mens' public restroom. One of them is holding their friend's sandals.
-> An older man who appears to be aggressing an invisible employee about a lost bag. Like the mother with her son, their interaction repeats every twenty minutes or so, concluding in the man stomping off towards his room and disappearing.
-> A middle-aged woman lounging on an invisible recliner on the top deck, wearing a massive floppy hat that keeps trying to blow away. She'll make pleasant conversation with anyone who approaches, but doing so eventually causes her to forget to secure her hat, which blows off her head. She excuses herself to retrieve it, and never returns, instead disappearing until the person she was speaking with has left the area.
-> A man and woman who keep arguing about what their room number is in the middle decks. They can be found in various places as the day goes on.
-> A father who keeps telling his oldest child that she can pick one thing from the souvenir shop, while the girl's three year old brother runs around in the background. The boy occasionally trips on something, falls, and starts to cry, which prompts the father to go over and comfort him. When the boy is back on his feet again, the interaction repeats.
-> A young woman who asks anyone she comes across about the weather forecast. She's particularly concerned about the possibility of thunderstorms.
One notable thing about all of these interactions is that any mention of the Ship as a thinking entity will be met with confusion and blank stares. A number of other questions - the name of the ship, where it's headed - don't seem to draw meaningful answers from these ghosts, and notably no crew members or staff appear among these spirits.
These spirits persist throughout Day 16, and can be seen slowly ambling towards various suites as sunset approaches. Once night sets in, they disappear.
GROWING SHADOWS
Come nightfall, however, a different set of spirits begin to appear. Scientists, researchers, and janitorial staff can be seen in the halls - especially on the three agricultural Decks. Few of them are up for conversation, unlike the day's tourists - they are all busily at work, moving plants around, cataloging seedlings, watering, cleaning up spills, so on and so forth. Like the vacationers, the researchers move in a loop.
They don't stop to talk to any of the new passengers except for various questions about the locations of other people - notably, someone named "Lyra" seems to be missing from among the janitorial staff, and many of the researchers report a need to report their findings to "the Director," whoever that is. (The most characters will be able to get about the Director is that his pronouns are masculine.) Characters generally seem to be assumed to be janitorial staff, regardless of their clothes or other facets of their appearance.
The 'researcher' group of ghosts remain active throughout the night and into the morning of Day 17 - up until the Ship tips forward and begins a much steeper journey downwards. The angle is sharp enough to send loose items sliding forward, though not more stable furnishings - nor characters, provided they're not caught completely unprepared for the transition.
Those familiar with geology will be able to place themselves somewhat with a look out across the deck or through an open balcony door (the windows have, by this point, grown to be quite dark as the dim light fails to filter through the 'water' above.
The air inside is oppressive, thick and heavy - not just figuratively, but literally. In the same way the air gets thin as you go higher, it gets heavier as you go lower, the air pressure growing - not enough to be actively uncomfortable, but enough to fit the vibes. Outside, the clouds grow thicker...
INFO & SIGN-UPS
And that's where we hit the pause button, because the second part of the event has a sign-up factor!
As you may be able to guess, ghost activity will grow more severe as the ship descends to the bottom of the dried-out 'ocean.' This provides two options for player interactions with ghosts: hauntings and possessions! Each option is detailed below; you can choose one, both, or neither, but note that possession runs a higher risk of death.
Please direct any questions about the event to the EVENT QUESTIONS header on this post (or the hey-mods channel on Discord). Sign-ups will be open until June 16th. The second part of the event will follow on June 20th, allowing a few days for any stragglers to choose their Haunting options.
A single event log has been posted here. Please note that this log will be used for the duration of the event, at least as far as mod responses go. According, there is currently a locked header for Haunting NPC threads.
HAUNTING
Characters can be haunted by particular ghosts - those who sign up for this option will be given a sketch of information about 3-4 ghosts, and can choose one to have a proper (though potentially short) NPC thread with. (Certain ghosts will be available to multiple players, so the same ghost may have multiple threads depending on how many players choose them.) The exact degree to which these ghosts are aware of their own deaths and the passage of time varies; some are quite aware of their own deaths, while others are trapped in a loop similarly to the vacationers, and will only address the character they're interacting with as a peer in whatever time period they're in.
These ghosts may be from any period of the ship's history. The majority of these ghosts will be benign; aggressive ghosts will be available as options, but they will be clearly marked. Players will have the option to have their ghost threads be under the investigations subforum of the Discord or in a designated Hauntings thread on the event post that will go up with the second part of the event.
POSSESSION
In addition to the ghosts doing hauntings, there are some more... troubled spirits hanging around, which can possess characters directly.
Possessing ghosts have some kind of resonance with the characters they possess - some angle of common experience which is their way 'in' to a character. Possessed characters do not have full control over their actions; the ghost possessing them will take over in response to certain triggers, and while possessing a character, they attempt to act out whatever the scene is that was linked to that trigger in life. Many of those triggers are violent in nature; possessed characters may attack others with intent to kill, do harm to themselves, or otherwise engage in activities with high chance of death.
Players who sign up for this option will be given a secret profile with information about their possessing ghost, including at least one trigger condition and a general outline of the behaviour that results, as well as any other information they should know about their character's guest. It is up to the player if they wish to share this information or keep it secret from other players. That said, make sure to plot out death with your thread partners beforehand! Characters killed by possessed characters revive normally, but characters killed while possessed may experience extra side-effects (and their affinity for the Whispering will certainly increase).
Ghosts will vacate the characters they have possessed as the Ship begins to move upwards again at the end of the event, in four IC days' time. Additionally, they can be driven off by any character with a knowledge of exorcism or placated if removed from their trigger condition/etc, but that doesn't mean that characters won't be re-possessed or the possession triggered again, respectively.
Characters who sign up for this option will receive a regain or other reward, regardless of whether or not their possession is triggered ICly. A "regain" is an item from their home world that is not among the things brought with them upon their initial arrival to the game, and can include such things as a weapon, a set of clothes, a pet, or any other item that is not overly powerful or large (size restrictions the same as in your initial application). You may also choose a similar reward that is not from a character's home world. Characters will receive these items at the end of the event; further details will come at that time.
FORMS
In order to help prevent mod overwhelm, players who have multiple characters are limited to one instance of each option. That is, a player can sign up one character to receive both options, or one character to be haunted and another to be possessed, as they so choose, for a total of one of each. You may also sign up for only one option or none at all.
Comments are screened in order to maintain the mystery of possession sign ups for those who desire that option. Please put all sign-ups under the appropriate header.
Sign-ups will close on June 16th. Only characters that have been accepted to the game may sign up for event options. If you are planning to apply to the game in time to participate in the event, please have your application in by June 14th.
Hauntings form
Possession form
OTHER SHIP UPDATES
As noted, the weather for the duration of the Ship's time below sea-level is gloomy at best. The Ship also may or may not respond to direct queries during this period, as navigating the former sea floor - and, in particular, controlling the pressure within the membrane barrier - takes more energy than usual. Characters who pay attention to such things will note that the barrier descends to the point that it is brushing the tops of the trees on every accessible deck, and it does not bulge outward from the balconies the way it normally does.
The oatmeal bar cycles out of the cafeteria, replaced by a variety of simple pastries such as donuts, muffins, and Danishes. (The bagels and toast remain.) Vegetarian sushi appears at lunch, along with rice bowls at both lunch and dinner containing a variety of vegetables and...what seems to be either turkey or chicken meat, shredded randomly. The endless trays of spaghetti and other tomato-beef dishes are replaced by chicken-and-onion mixes (with other vegetables thrown in) baked with a variety of sauces and glazes, and chicken-and-squash casserole.
Further investigation of the poultry items reveals that, in fact, it is a product similar to the tomatoes - a large, unidentifiable squash which when cut open possesses muscular 'meat' portions. White meat is further to the outside, while dark meat grows further inwards, supporting the seeds. Roasted squash seeds join the offerings of fresh fruit and nuts available at all meals accordingly.
Accessible Decks have not changed with this update; however, the artificial lighting on the agricultural decks starts one hour later and ends one hour earlier than usual. (The lounge and cafeteria are unaffected.)
Re: CHOOSE ONE
no subject