(july intro log) WELCOME TO THE CONTAINMENT ZONE! (for real this time.)

[vestigemods]

JULY INTRO LOG

► PROMPT 1 ► WAKING UP

Whenever you're from or wherever you were, you awaken now with the mildest of headaches in-... oh, this is new. For some people, you wake in a cabin - in a bed, on the floor, amidst boxes in the basement - and for others, you wake up somewhere else entirely. Off in the woods. Between aisles in a run-down gas station. Lying on a branch ten feet up a local tree. Perhaps even on a leaky boat out on the middle of a lake. It's mid-morning, and across the nine square miles of containment zone, a little under two-dozen people are waking up just as you are. I'm sure you'll run into some of them soon enough.

This might be your first time waking up where you don't expect to be. If it is, consider yourself lucky to have missed what came before. For those have been through a Loop or three (or five or twelve), you'll find that waking this time feels different. It's as though you've woken from a dream - and that's what those memories feel like, trapped in the semi-tangible realm between dream and reality, though if pressed you can probably discern that they were undeniably real. (Or perhaps you can't - or perhaps some of the memories are missing altogether. This is hardly a precise science.)

Somewhere in your vicinity (in your hand, in your pocket, on your chest) is a smartphone, if you're able to recognize it as such. The models tend to vary, but they all share the capacity to connect to what seems to be an overarching network, able to connect to others with similar devices via text, voice calls, or even video messages.

But the phone is likely the least of your concerns, at least for now. More pressing is where exactly it is that you've awoken and whether or not you've woken up alone.

PROMPT 2 ► THE CABINS + LAKE

As many as a dozen cabins sit in the general vicinity of the lake, some along the shore and some a bit farther back in the woods. Perhaps you awoke in one, or perhaps you're stumbling into one after dragging yourself out of the lake or through a couple of miles of woods. Either way, you're in perhaps the best place you might have ended up. The cabin's amenities are sketchy but functional, and the kitchen is stocked with food...

And let's not forget about the pamphlets.

On at least a couple of nearby tables or countertops sit a handful of them, fanned for display. They're vividly colored, depicting what you might recognize as the landscape outside, and the title reads: THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU! Within these pamphlets, a conversationally cavalier voice explains a bit about the Containment Zone, which (as it turns out) you're stuck in right at this very moment.


"THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU", summarized


• Where am I?
  Earth. Well - an Earth. Definitely not your Earth. if that creates more questions than it answers, glance to your left and right and ask any follow-up questions to whomsoever seems least confused.


• Why am I here?
  To feed the elder gods with your death and/or suffering in order to prevent any more of an apocalypse than we already had.


• Can I leave?
  Voluntarily? No. Involuntarily? Probably not.


• What do you mean, 'death'??
  Oh, calm down. You'll come back.


• I have very important shit to be doing/people to be saving/weed to be smoking back home!
  Lucky for you: If you go back, we'll put you back right where and when you left off. You won't miss a thing.


• Isn't that how you break time!? I'm pretty sure that's how you break time.
  Only if you remember this place and/or what you've learned here when you get back. Which you won't.


• Supplies?
  Cabins and gas station.


• Cabins?
  Yours. Pick one.


• Lake?
  Safe. (For now.)


• Moon?
  Haunted.


• Who even are you?
  Call us the Technicians. Individual identities don't matter. We may give you sweets and toys but we're not your friends.


• Do you at least negotiate?
  We'll consider it. Depends on what you're asking for. And, of course, on what you have to offer.


• Wait! I'm (insert emotions) and have more questions!
  How unfortunate. Expect your next pamphlet in 4-6 weeks.




Well, that certainly is... something. Lots to discuss, lots to consider. If you're the get-right-to-business sort, that could easily occupy you for a good long while.

Alternatively: It's a hot day, and you've just ever-so-conveniently learned that the lake is 'safe (for now)'. Why not go for a dip to clear your head? The water is actually impressively clear, offering visual reassurance of the lack of abject horrors lurking below.

Those who do swim find that the lake is, as promised, mostly innocuous. 'Mostly' being the key phrase, as anyone who swims out close to the center will find it getting more and more difficult to stay on the surface. As if you're getting heavier and heavier, or your limbs are getting weaker and weaker. It isn't enough to drown you (probably), but you certainly might find yourself considering how peaceful it might be if you let yourself sink.

These thoughts are simple enough to push away in much the same way you might push through the heaviness of your limbs. One could consider it more a warning than anything: Even that which is 'safe' should be treated with proper caution. (Quick and senseless deaths are junk food to the elder gods - tasty but unsatisfying.)

PROMPT 3 ► THE GAS STATION

At the south end of the containment zone sits an old gas station, run-down and overgrown at first sight. It sits alongside a cracked asphalt road, one which (as you might discover) bisects the containment zone from the east wall to the west without a single other building in sight.

You may have woken up here, or perhaps you found it at the pamphlet's behest. Either way, it's a discovery that you'll thank yourself for many a time as throughout the next few months here, for reasons that become apparent the moment you step inside.

In sharp contrast with the outside, the inside of the gas station looks... well, like a functional gas station should. Floors and surfaces seem recently-wiped, shelves seem stocked and organized... It's enough that if you're familiar with gas stations as a concept, you might find yourself reflexively glancing around for an attendant.

But no attendant seems to be present. Just shelves and shelves of goods - perishables and nonperishables, first aid supplies and whatever else one might expect to find at such an out-of-the-way pit stop, all ready for the taking. You might even find an extra surprise. Oh, and let's not forget a nice array of THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU! pamphlets on the check-out counter, in case you missed them back at the cabins.

Maybe you encounter someone here - are they friend, or foe? Maybe they're as lost and confused as you are. Maybe they're reaching for that last fucking can of Spaghetti-Os and you're serious about your fucking Spaghetti-Os. At least one person is definitely waking up in a gas station fridge... Maybe you're lucky(?) individual who spots them and has to decide whether or not you've discovered a corpse where the soda should be. The world (or, at least, the gas station) is your oyster.

PROMPT 4 ► THE WOODS + BARRIER

The vast majority of the containment zone is covered in evergreen forest, populated with wildlife that look and act disarmingly normal. It may, in fact, be a nice quiet place to stroll in order to clear your head. While large swathes of the woods are moderately dense, there are a number of paths to make your way along should you choose to. Birds sing overhead, deer occasionally bound across the path ahead... If you didn't know any better, you might be able to forget that this isn't a normal stretch of woods somewhere not far from home.

But nothing in the containment zone is truly harmless. The blackberry bushes that line many a cabin (you remember, the ones that make your mouth and tongue go numb?) are out in force in the woods, and out here they're even more of an infernal menace: While the cabin variety only cause havoc when ingested, so much as a scratch from the woods variety's thorns will induce a tingling numb in the affected area that lasts for the better part of an hour.

And let's not forget the lovely field of "wildflowers" that definitely aren't not infested with poison ivy. It's a shame, really. The flowers themselves are quite pretty, an array of pastel blues and pinks and oranges. It's almost like a painting, if touching that painting happened to make you itch, burn, and blister for one-to-two weeks.

But why are we talking about flowers? What you're truly interested in is the containment zone barrier, aren't you? That's fine, you're bound to encounter it out there somewhere. It's invisible until you touch it, at which point a honeycomb pattern ripples out from the point of contact. As a general rule, the barrier gives back what it gets: Place your palm on it and you'll receive a faint uncomfortable buzz. Run headlong into it, and it will ricochet you multiple yards back into the woods.

The barrier stretches all the way around the containment zone without a single break or point of yielding. No further buildings can be seen beyond the barrier, nor any real sign of civilization at all save for the gas station's road stretching past the barriers and out of sight. The only thing of passable interest is the somewhat concerning tree sitting at the far end of the field across the street from saud gas station, at least two-hundred yards past the barrier. At this distance, it's a bit tricky to make out what flocks in the tree's branches. Those have to be birds... right?

► MOD NOTES ►

• This log takes place from July 4th onward, arguably through whenever the event goes up - though you're welcome to toss up your own logs in the meantime. I'm gonna troubleshoot the HTML to leave a space for IC dates, but I didn't want to waste any more time on that right now.
  
• Vestige is now open for business! You're welcome to post logs + network posts of your own, post memes on vestigechat, whatever you want.
  
• This log is functionally intended to be a tour of the containment zone for new characters and players, with dashes of mild horror or discomfort along the way. Don't worry: The actual horror is rolling in later this month. (I'm tagging this under 'event' anyway, just to keep track of it.)
  
• You can literally have your character wake up wherever you want within the containment zone, even if I didn't list it. Go nuts.
  
• It's worth noting: None of the cabins are recognizable as the precise one from the TDM loop, nor is the forest fog still present. The forest is recognizably the same flora/fauna, but that's about it.
  
• You're welcome to include a network post with your top-level (or to put it up on vestigenet as per usual) - but don't forget to consult the NETWORK: USERNAMES ARE FUCKY drop-down of July's Infopost before you do!
  
• Direct any and all questions at Trace on plurk/discord or (for slightly slower answers) this top-level.
  
• My deepest most heartfelt apologies for the lateness, I failed to factor in my own godforsaken attention span.
  

Comments

[brandnewtech]

No instant travel for the moment because he's still trying to get a feel for this new world as a whole before carelessly throwing himself into a potentially hazardous network. These things take time, and it's thankfully much easier (and faster) to track K down than to run network diagnostics. Plus. Priorities. Tech Boy had been profoundly relieved to find K via text... and would feel much better once he had K in-person. If they really had gotten yanked from that cursed little dreamworld, at least they were together. Tech Boy grumbles to himself as he makes his way noisily through the woods, following K's signal. Couldn't get lucky enough to get all the way out of this multiverse shit. Of course not.

Tech Boy slows his approach to assess the situation when he sees K in the water. K currently has his back to him and looks focused on the water's inhabitants. It crosses Tech Boy's mind to sneak up and join him, but he dismisses that thought quickly enough. With certain notable exceptions (ie. shared showers), the technology god and water do not tend to mix. He's a little dirty from the woods, but he's not mentally prepared to be wet as well. It could happen if he were to be convinced, but the god's still operating slightly south of high alert about this place.

He doesn't make any attempt either to announce or hide his approach, but Tech Boy does stay silent until he's standing on shore near where K's folded clothing sits. He looks down at it for a long moment, arns crossed over his chest before calling out to K.

"Anything interesting?"

[obeir]

With his back to Tech Boy, the god will mostly miss the display of K showing off K's reflexes as he deftly catches a fish by hand without crushing it. Aw.

"If I had any rice, I could make sushi," he remarks dryly as he releases the fish after examining it. "And this may not feel personal to you, but... I'm kind of taking it personally, now, when imprisonment is all I've known." Imprisonment and slavery. From the moment he drew his first breath, that's been his life, and might always be if he doesn't survive this place. Which had been his point in their network conversation, and being told it's just bad luck had felt maybe a little like invalidating his feelings. It stung. But he does know Tech Boy hadn't done it intentionally. He just isn't always the most... perceptive when it comes to emotional matters?

Eventually K turns toward the shore, staring for several long moments as though trying to make sense of what he's seeing. Then promptly sloshes his way over. If Tech Boy thought he was going to escape a dramatic reunion, he's sorely mistaken — he's swept right off his feet and into a hug, heedless of the fact it's getting him more than a bit wet in the process. It's just water (hopefully). He'll live (he'd better).

"I was afraid it wasn't really you," he mumbles into Tech Boy's neck, where he has his face buried.

And right about now Tech Boy might be noticing the overpowering floral-rosy scent.

Between the lack of water and extreme heat that plagued them in Deerington prior to their arrival here, K's skin had been in a sorry, itchy state. A minor annoyance, but an annoyance all the same and easily remedied now. The gas station's available options for moisturisers aren't exactly expansive, and thus: K smelling like a floral abomination from head to toe. One with very soft skin now. Tech Boy should probably investigate that for himself.

[brandnewtech]

Tech Boy remains quiet, head tilted slightly to one side and lips pursed in thought as he watches K in the water. For all of the vast life experience he does have, Tech Boy has to admit to himself that something he needs to work on, especially when it comes to K, is taking another's perspective into account. He can hear the sting even in K's usual dry tone, and he doesn't like it. Doesn't like that he's caused it, even if unintentionally.

As K exits the water, Tech Boy tilts his head slightly the other direction, watching the water run off of him and causing his undershirt to cling. There's a complicated combination of thoughts running through Tech Boy's mind right now, and it's enough to leave him contemplative and unusually speechless.

He opens he mouth as if to say something and abruptly finds himself in K's arms. Tech Boy closes his eyes lightly and returns the embrace, squeezing a little. The fact that K's getting him wet doesn't matter a bit.

"It's me," and he touches K with their mental link again, just to reinforce the words. He wants to reassure K, but there is a bit of hesitation there. Tech Boy is a god, and yet he isn't powerful enough to keep this thing from happening to them again. His own plight isn't personal, but K's is. It's not an inconvenience or a vicious trick or bad luck, it's important to someone who's important to him. That's the perspective he'd been missing.

He holds K tighter. "It's personal to you. I'll take it more seriously." I want you to be free. I'll do whatever I can. Everything I can. But how? At least this is a physical world, instead of a dream. And at least they're still together, and that was something. He kisses K's heavily floral skin and lingers there.

[obeir]

It's interesting, if slightly disconcerting, the way he can feel the entirety of his emotional landscape shifting with the confirmation that Tech Boy really is here with him. His anger and resentment about their situation are beginning to dissolve, with relief taking their place. For better or worse, part of it is simply his programming intervening as well — he was never meant to resist being used by humans, was never meant to have strong emotional responses about anything at all. That he experiences them likely means he's defective, something he's trying very hard not to think about.

"You weren't wrong, all of it's down to chance. Bad luck. I know that," K admits wearily, deflated, even sagging a little physically. He knows objectively it really isn't personal, and his emotional response was irrational. Probably best to let it go for now. 

But more importantly, it's difficult to fully resent their current circumstances because they're still together. That they both survived Deerington and got brought to the exact same place is a lot more than just 'something'. It's everything. What are the odds? In this way, he feels as though he's gotten incredibly lucky.

"My freedom won't mean anything without you. If this is the only way to stay together, I'll take it. Regardless of what happens." Including torture and death and whatever else these useless humans try throwing at them. This is the point where he should lean back so he can further convey the importance of that sentiment with a look, but he's reluctant to move yet, still holding onto Tech Boy like a lifeline. His words will have to be enough for now.

And if everything else that's happened to me was necessary to enable us to meet, I can be glad for it, too. Imprisonment, enslavement, and every other terrible thing that's been done to him. And maybe that's leaning a bit too far into the romanticised notion of fate that (allegedly) neither of them believe in, but he really can't overstate how important Tech Boy is to him. So you'd better not be entertaining any thoughts of self-sacrifice.

[brandnewtech]

Despite their new imprisonment, the apparently imminent threats to their lives, and the severity of the danger they've been in constantly since they met, K's words make Tech Boy smile to himself. His lips move against K's skin with the expression, and he breathes the fragrant scent of his skin, seeking out the part that's distinctly K and not the artificial floral bouquet of the lotion. There's a warmth in being with K that he's never experienced before, a security even in these most uncertain circumstances. He feels it so keenly in this moment of reunion, protected in each other's arms against the horrors that await from all sides. This embrace is valuable to the both them, solidifying and strengthening, and so Tech Boy holds onto K, clinging unabashedly.

There had been a moment of terror. Waking up alone and panicking before realizing... no. Not alone. He could feel K instinctively, and that knowledge was the only thing that kept him from completely losing his damn mind. The god couldn't even think about what would have happened had they been separated, in fact refused to even consider the possibility, and luckily the time of uncertainty had been brief.

Likewise unwilling to draw back, he does so just enough to catch K's eye with a glint of mischief. "I'm not much of a 'sacrifice' sort of god. So both of us need to stay alive to spit in the eye of those who keep trying to fuck with us." He kisses K on the lips, softly at first, but lingering. "That's a promise."

[obeir]

"I'm going to hold you to that," K says quietly, his voice suddenly thick with emotion as he echoes the words they exchanged all those months ago, when they made that first promise to each other. A promise that they've kept. Finally loosening his hold, he reaches up with both hands and gently traces Tech Boy's face with his fingertips, curious whether the reality of him differs from the dream. So far he seems identical in every way, exactly as K has come to know him. Even their connection feels as it was before. The familiarity of it all is more comforting than words can express.

"Have you explored much yet?" he asks, then inclines his head to return the kiss. Followed by another, because he obviously has to investigate whether kissing is any different now, too. If they had more privacy, his exploration wouldn't end there. Speaking of. "And have you found a place to stay?"

And is it too presumptuous to hope they can stay together again, as they'd ended up doing in Deerington? There's a part of him worried about imposing on Tech Boy, but there's no question that he'd feel safer if they're together.

[brandnewtech]

"Good." Tech Boy recognizes the words, and it electrifies him. "Hold me to it. To you. I'm good with that." It would be so easy to just melt against K, to forget their dire straits and just be together. But there is a nagging in the back of his mind. This place isn't safe--not by a long shot. They're together, and they can navigate anything that's thrown at them. Who knows when there will be time to rest?

He closes his eyes lightly as K's fingertips caress his face and makes a small sound of appreciation with the kisses. It's the same sensation, his love's touch that he knows so well. It speaks to the quality of the dream they've only barely escaped that the true physical contact is the same as before they woke in the woods.

"I haven't explored," he answers simply. Tech Boy frowns lightly to himself, glancing at some point behind K. "But I passed a cabin on the way to find you. Looked deserted." Tech Boy's hand reaches to find one of K's, holding onto it gently and bringing K's knuckles to his lips. "Unless you've explored... and found somewhere for us." He's absolutely presuming they'll be staying together. In fact, he'd like to see anyone try to stop them.

[obeir]

For us. Two words put his worries to rest.

"There's an abandoned gas station with some supplies, and I passed a couple deserted cabins too. And some that are already occupied. We should check out the one you saw, if you like the looks of it," K suggests as he uncurls his fingers to touch Tech Boy's lips, lightly running his fingertips across them. Even though physical sensations are identical to what he'd experienced in Deerington, it's still a bit surreal to think they're together in the real world (one of them, at any rate) for the first time. One step closer to finding their way back to either of their homeworlds — or somewhere better — while remaining together, he hopes. They've made it this far...

With obvious reluctance, he lets go of Tech Boy long enough to gather his shed clothing and coat from where he'd left them. Then, after sparing a moment to feel along one of Tech Boy's forearms up his bicep, he links their arms, nodding for Tech Boy to lead the way.

"So if all of that was really a dream... does that mean, technically, we've never—" He tilts his head with raised eyebrows and a smile without finishing that sentence, figuring Tech Boy will know what he's alluding to. It's obviously of less importance than getting situated and figuring out a survival plan in case they're going to be stuck here a while, but it's still something that's on his mind. As well as investigating their respective tattoos to see whether they're still present.