(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

[soups]

❰ it's alright. she clings to him just as tight, rubbing his back up and down, feeling the shake of his body and the pain of his feelings, even if she doesn't completely understand them. they were separated for a short while here -- she didn't wake up and know where she was or if jiang cheng was even there somewhere with her. maybe it's the bubbling stress that has consumed a-cheng ever since being burdened with the weight of clan leadership. ❱

A-Cheng, you won't. I'm here right now. ❰ yanli speaks softly, optimistically sure of this fact. she couldn't think of ever leaving him, of not being together. one day it might be inevitable, but that's the furthest thing from her mind. ❱ And we can be together as we should be.

[legbreakings]

[ He nods through the pathetic little hiccups that keep bubbling up in him and keeps clinging to his sister, holding on to her exactly like the desperate child he is feeling like now. ]

I'm not going to leave you. I won't let you out of my eyes again. You won't... [ He cuts himself off. Yanli doesn't seem to remember her death, or else she would be far more distressed. He's seen it before during the Sunshot Campaign and night hunts both, people who experienced terrible things will sometimes block their memories to spare themselves the suffering. Yanli is happy now, he can't ruin that for her. He sniffles again and presses a teary kiss to her cheek. ] I'm not going to let any harm come to you, alright? I promise.

[soups]

❰ the pressure has certainly gotten to jiang cheng, but he has always been sensitive and emotive, if only incapable of portraying it in a productive way -- in any way at times. even if she doesn't fully understand where this sudden emotional outburst has come from, but it still hits her heart all the same.

she pulls away from him slightly after the kiss, letting go to hold his face in one of her hands. ❱ Thank you, A-Cheng. All I've ever wanted was for us to be together with A-Xian. But for now, it's okay to breathe.

Let's get away from the water...you're dripping wet.

[legbreakings]

[ A-Xian. Of course they don't even get a moment to enjoy their reunion before Wei Wuxian is mentioned. Hurt bubbles up in him but he presses his lips together, not trusting himself not to say something he would regret, and just nods dutifully when Yanli soothes him.

He does take deep breaths, or tries to anyway, it's difficult through the tears that are still choking him. ] Alright. Alright. We'll find somewhere else. And I shouldn't get you wet. You'll get sick again. I can't have you getting sick.

[ And isn't that a terrifying thought that strikes him suddenly. He could be losing Jiejie again. He could get her back only to lose her again and that would be simply unbearable. All he can do is cling tightly to her and bury his face against her shoulder again. ]

You can't leave. Promise me you won't leave!

[soups]

❰ the insistence becomes not just saddening, but concerning. there's something so forceful and broken in how hurt jiang cheng seems, going beyond just the need for sibling connection. ❱

A-Cheng. I won't be married anytime soon. I'll be by your side my whole life at this rate. ❰ which on one hand is something that she feels nothing but positivity towards. would she like to be married some day? sure -- if only she could have her cake and eat it too. in the meantime, there is nothing in the world more meaningful to her than being with her brothers -- both of them, for as much as that might not be what jiang cheng wants, unbeknownst to her. ❱ Have more faith in your jiejie's health, alright? I'll be fine -- you're the one I'm worried about right now.

[legbreakings]

Married? [ he echoes numbly. Her health? She thinks...?

His heart stutters and he stares at her as if she has grown a second head, and before he knows it there is a laugh bubbling up in him. He tries to keep it from being bitter or hysterical though he only succeeds halfway, and so he focuses on wiping angrily at his teary eyes. ]

Men would have to be fools not to line up to marry you. [ There, that is... That is the best he can do, without knowing how much she remembers. Because yes, she clearly doesn't remember her wedding or the birth of her child or her death - and he is reminded of meeting Wei Wuxian in the forest and his confusion why Jiang Cheng was so angry with him. ] But I know your health will be fine. I won't let any harm come to you [ again. Not again. ]

[soups]

❰ she laughs with him, even if it's to cover up the sting of that comment. yanli isn't exactly sure she's valuable marrying stock. her engagement was one she fell into and then very easily fell out of. no one is lining up for her, and it likely doesn't make them a fool.

but it's okay, because she knows (or thinks she knows) the sentiment her brother is trying to convey to her. she helps him to wipe away some of the moisture on his face. ❱

I know. If there's one thing I can always count on. ❰ even when he'd lost his core, yanli knew he would do everything a normal man could to defend and protect her. even in this strange circumstance, where she has no idea what is going on. ❱ But A-Cheng...do you have any idea where we might be?

[legbreakings]

Oh, and there goes his good humor. The smile vanishes first from his eyes and then from his lips, replaced by grimness even rather than the casual grumpiness he would usually display around his sister. This is something far more serious, though.

I'm not sure where we are or how we got here, or who is keeping us captive, but I know that they are cruel and enjoy torturing us. [ His face tightens a little more. ] I have been here for a while... or rather, in another part of this place. I have seen disturbing things there. Our captors seem to be playing with us. But I'm going to protect you! You've got to believe me, A-Li, I won't let anything happen to you!

[soups]

❰ such insistence...but it's to be expected with things seeming so dire now. not being in familiar territory is shaking her, and being complete unsure of how it happened or how far they are from home...it's so surreal that it's hard to process. at least they are together, but where are they together. ❱

Of course, A-Cheng...are we truly being held captive? There are no jailers, no cells...just so much forest and this lake. I haven't seen anyone else except you so far. ❰ that's unnerving...not just being held against their will, but not knowing by whom. and to think that jiang cheng has seen things...disturbing things? there's no way she can inquire now, but yanli slides this information into a mental pocket, likely to never bring it up again. but, perhaps it will be useful in parsing together some reasoning or action later on. ❱ It must be that if we walk far enough, we can see something familiar.

[legbreakings]

I don't know. Maybe we can try. Maybe there is a way. I only know what I remember from before, from this single cabin in the woods, and... [ He shakes his head and huffs in frustration, hesitating for a moment... But this is Yanli, if there is anyone who will believe him simply because it's him saying it, then it would be her. ] I know this is going to sound like I lost my mind but I woke up over and over again in the same cabin, even in the same bed! Sometimes I was alone, sometimes there were other people with me but something horrible always happened sooner or later. It's convinced me that this place isn't friendly, and whoever caught us has evil intentions.