Event Post: Everyone Chill

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone participating in the event!
What: The event log for Tranquility's resurrection event!
Where: All around the city
When: December 27th-January 7th
Warnings: Absolutely nothing creepy or weird at all.

The revival of Tranquility on December 27th marks a vast - if temporary, and actually completely fake - change to the city. Upon awakening that morning, the inhabitants of Hadriel will find the city changed from its usual broken-down dour cave self into a sparkling, clean, delightful island city. Instead of being surrounded by hard stone walls, the city is surrounded by warm ocean waters and soft white sand beaches.

Gentle waves lap at the shore, the sky overhead is perfect, wide and open. The spires have been replaced by shining skyscrapers, the roads are clear of rubble and paved neatly. The stores are quaint, windows no longer broken, and the items inside have changed too. Instead of simple canned goods and strange clothing, you might find delicate pastries, cool drinks, fresh fruit, and flowy summer clothes to match the city. How nice! How calming, really. Didn't everyone need a vacation? So throw on some flip-flops, grab one of the mopeds that have been provided, and enjoy yourselves!

As the days go on, though, you might notice one or two odd things. Maybe the pretty sun hat you picked up looked, for just a moment, like a grubby old baseball cap instead. Maybe that beach ball is a little heavier than it should be. Maybe the shining wall of that skyscraper feels more like stone than glass. Maybe - just for an instant - the sky above was solid rock instead of the gentle, calming hues of the sunset.

While there is a mild compulsion toward calmness and tranquility, towards accepting the city for exactly what it seems to be, that can be ignored - and the illusion can be broken, if you choose to try. But do you really want to? Isn't that croissant much nicer than yet another can of beans? Wouldn't you rather relax at the beach than run around, trying to convince all your friends that this is just the gods getting inside their heads again in an even more creepy and all-encompassing way than usual?

Come on. Don't be a buzzkill.

► This log covers December 27th-January 7th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you chill out so much you end up dead, please let us know here.

Comments

stabs self in heart it's cool.

[dedikated]

Space travel. Huh. Back home, the leaps and bounds they've made probably sound like nothing to a person who's travelled the galaxies. She lets herself watch the sky - it's too still, the stars too static, to be real, but it's beautiful in its own way.

Close enough. Everything here's just... close enough. This city is close enough to a place to spend your time, close enough to a livable place that you can pretend it isn't a prison if you distract yourself well enough. The people sometimes stay long enough that they're close enough to permanent fixtures in your life, or what this existence passes for.

Until, of course, they're no longer there and that illusion is shattered.

But she doesn't want to think about that, not right now. Not when one of those people who are still permanent enough that she can delude herself into thinking he won't disappear as well, is offering tales to her, sharing, confiding something.

(Those moments are, at least, real. Even if this illusion seems to dull the ache of so many things, there are memories that it can't blanket, can't hide with smoke and mirrors.)

"People've got to the moon. Mostly seems like it's satellites." That's what's always reported on the news, anyway. She's pretty sure man making it to another planet would have gained more than a passing mention.

that tag was so sad and good? omg ;n;

[glacius]

Glacius watches Kate as she thinks on his question, his bright green eyes glimmering as he wonders what she's thinking. Little does he know that she has some of the same sentiments that he does about this illusion, of the reality of living in this cave... or that she's actually thinking of him, concerned over how long he'll be in her life. He's still not used to having such an impact on the lives of humans... but if he was privy to those thoughts, he would be touched. He's already assured one person here that he will stand by them as long as he's able, and would be happy to do the same for the loyal and understanding woman who has always been at his side.

Even now she's here, sitting and listening to him, allowing him to vent his woes and share his memories. The alien considers the answer briefly, then responds. "The moon... is that the same moon that orbits the earth of my world? Very small, barren, with lots of craters and a very tenuous atmosphere?"

ugh these two ;;

[dedikated]

Memories help, in their own way. Sharing them, not bottling them up, listening to another's - every part of it helps, makes things feel real again. With a tilt of her head, Kate considers the description, considers - once again - just how much of Glacius' universe might be part of her own, lying undiscovered.

Just how close they came to being from the same world. She could have, so easily, fallen into something like Ultratech, been a guard and believed what she was told.

She did it back home, after all.

"Aye."

i love them so so much ;n;

[glacius]

"I see," Glacius responds, rubbing at his chin in thought. How strange it is, that universes can be so similar yet so different... he wonders what it would be like if his people existed in a different one, where humans were more evolved, more peaceable. Would his species be more open in turn, or would it simply be a different species that tortured his ancestor and put him through such arduous trials?

Thoughts for another time, he supposes. He folds his hands in his lap and continues on. "Well, to put things in perspective... my people have already developed our moon. Its primary use now is as a flight school for young pilots-to-be; the orbit around our planet provided them an expanse of space to practice in that was still close to home. It was from that frozen surface that I first saw my homeworld as a whole... and though I had always been keenly aware of its beauty, I found myself awestruck in a different way. Perhaps it was that moment, as I gazed upon that glimmering sphere of ice and snow that held my people and my very way of life, that seeded my love of exploration."

sighs same forever. ;;

[dedikated]

A question they'll never be able to answer, but one that remains so easy to fixate on. What if. What if her world had gained more traction in space travel? What would their problems be? Would Creatures seem like such a threat if their world was wider? Would they just expand their suspicions of strange powers to the universe around them, rather than what's underneath the surface?

She doesn't dwell for too long, because Glacius' words transport her elsewhere, into stars that hang above them and to somewhere else entirely. Frozen, shining planets that spin, alight with life.

"You've seen a lot of places, haven't you?" She asks, her eyes mapping out lines between the stars (not constellations, she doesn't know any, just drawing connections where she finds them), words quiet and slow when she speaks. Easy. It's easy to forget that this will all go away soon enough. They won't have this sky any more. They might not have each other any more.

After all, that's been proven time and time again, with people taking to the network to let others know that new friends have disappeared. That's been proven in the way something new happens to slit a throat or extinguish a life with the same sort of ease the gods mess with their emotions and surroundings, even if those people come back, you still lose something. Some sort of stability, assurance that they'll always be there.

(Assurance that has never been real, but the mind is a fool that grasps for anything when it finds something good. She - they, all of them - can do all they can to extinguish hope inside themselves, but it continues to blossom without their blessings.)

also you are nailing it with these tags!!

[glacius]

"I have," Glacius responds, still unaware of the other thoughts circulating through Kate's head. He'd empathize in full, however, having suffered his own fair share of losses thus far. Hearing that Chris has disappeared had been hard enough, the kindness and gentleness that the young man had shown him months ago having struck the wary alien deeply, even though they were still essentially getting to know one another... but that was not even the worst of it. He had lost others still that he was even closer to, a people that he loved and valued with all his hearts: when he was dragged through that portal and dumped in this cave; Glacius had gone from knowing that his kind would always be just beyond the stars waiting for him to return when his labors were complete, and now, he was cut off from them completely--and he didn't even know if he would ever manage to make it out of this cave and see them again.

And of course there was Emily's death, which was a grievous wound that the alien would be recovering from for a long time still. It was the first time someone that he'd been so close to had actually died and an ugly lesson that no matter how hard he tried, he would not always be able to protect the people that he cared about in this cave. The knowledge that she would be resurrected did nothing to soften any of those blows, but if she were to disappear from this place entirely... or Carlisle, or even the young woman sitting next to him now...

... Well, it's much better that he's thinking about the fonder moments of his past, and not dwelling on agonizing what-ifs. Facing the loss of the stars (the fake stars, even) is hard enough... facing the loss of his closest friends would be another matter entirely.

"Each world had its own beauty," Glacius continues on. "I think this is the first one where I have... struggled to see any of it. The only good things that I have witnessed have come from the people stuck here. One day, I hope we can all taste the freedom that I used to know once more."

it's all bc i have yours to bounce off

[dedikated]

They'll have to come out eventually, but this change is some of the first real moments Kate's given herself to really sit and contemplate everything over the past months. Sure, she could find a way to work - has been, even - but only so much can be done when it's this peaceful, when the breeze and the shoreline and the sky all whisper to relax, to let go.

Take a break. But what kind of breaks can be had here, when mercy killing friends is part of the deal, or sacrificing yourself for others. When things are so messed up that you begin to expect horrors shambling towards you on a monthly basis. How can you relax when the city has nothing but a bar and a few fields?

(It's a shame chaos and evil largely means those who are good at fighting and violence. It isn't exactly the pool of talent needed to set up a thriving city, nor is a selection of people all determined to make their way out.

It's not the first time she's caught herself wondering if they'd all be better off just making the best of it, a thought always quashed by her own desire - no, need - to leave, to get out of this fishbowl.)

She nods, slow and thoughtful, at his words. It's hard to see anything good in the half-crumbled remains of a city with monsters at its edges. "Haven't seen that much of it," she comments, although if the gods are to be believed - and for now, she will believe them - this is safety.

Makes her wonder what the world outside is like.

too kind!! <3

[glacius]

"I don't think any of us have, given how the gods have us trapped here," Glacius murmurs, his mood starting to dip as he's reminded that the beautiful sky above them is nothing but a farce. A trick of the gods to keep them placated, to try and make this prison seem more acceptable--and for just a moment he feels bad for buying into it, even if he knows it's trickery. "When I lived out in those caves, so long ago, I spent along time exploring them and trying to map them out, desperately searching for some sort of exit. But of course there was none. It makes me wonder how this cave came to be... was it once a normal city, sealed off by some sort of cave-in, or did the gods create it themselves to house their intended power sources?"

[dedikated]

There's so much about this place that goes unanswered. So much that Kate wants the answers to, if only to see if any of them will answer the mystery of the Door, whether there's some unturned stone, some key unknown to the people calling themselves gods (can you really be a god without some sort of omnipotence, some knowledge that encompasses everything in your domain?).

The thing is, the longer she's here, and the more she does attempt to talk to them (to Hope, mostly), the more she becomes convinced that the only answers they need are found outside of these walls, outside of the fishbowl that keeps them all pacing around and around in circles. "They keep talking about protecting people." Whether that's them, their captives, or whatever - whoever - came before them. These beings that supposedly got on with the gods, who gave their emotions freely. "Makes me wonder what's so dangerous."

[glacius]

To that, Glacius only heaves an explosive, hearty scoff. "Protecting people-- protecting their own self-interest, more like! This is not protection, this is imprisonment and torture. No matter what might lie beyond those walls, it cannot be any worse than what we suffer here, in a place where even death is a frequent occurrence."

The ice alien huffs, old grievances with this cave and its so-called "gods" (Glacius does not believe them to be such, but it seems to have become common shorthand around here) rears its head. He looks to Kate, his green eyes glowing fiercely. "I am sitting here enjoying a fake sky when I should be dong everything in my power to find a way out from this place... and yet I... feel as though I have exhausted my line of thought on this matter. The caves are a labyrinth, the walls of this cavern likely too thick to breach... and likely thick enough to block any messages that might be broadcasted for help. All I can do now is watch the Door, but nothing has changed... nothing ever seems to change..."

The ice alien sighs despondently, rubbing at his forehead wearily, starting to feel trapped again despite the once-comforting expanse above him... and as that ugly feeling reemerges, he could swear for one moment that he saw a tear or a ripple in the illusion, dull stone replacing glittering stars once more.

"Perhaps I should fall back on that old idea of the explosives after all. Maybe not on the ceiling, but deep in the caves, where no innocents could be harmed... it is a risk, of course, but if I do not try something we'll never get any closer."

[dedikated]

Kate's never believed in gods even back home, the word just seems easier to use than "the fuckers who play with our emotions" every damn time. And she agrees, deeply, with everything Glacius is saying, with the fact that they seem to have no way out from this cave, that all avenues have been exhausted except the one they can't understand and have no information on. Her fingertips drag down her calves, idle movements of no real consequence other than to give herself something to concentrate on that isn't an illusion. Something that feels like it's supposed to, the denim fabric under her fingers thick and true.

Her breath catches in her throat at the mention of the explosives, eyes drawing down towards the patterns she's drawing on her jeans. A few months ago, her reaction would have been immediate. Positive. She would have tried anything - and did - to get out. But the destruction caused by that attempt, everything and everyone she's met and done after it, even the increasing contact with the gods of this cave, and she hesitates.

"Might not work." Probably won't. She doesn't hold much hope for leaving on their own terms most of the time now, just a stubborn determination to dig deeper into the Door and the world here, to try and unearth something. "We'd end up with no caves for th' monsters that get brought here." They'd roam the city itself, making things more dangerous.

[glacius]

Glaicus gives a defeated curse underneath his breath in his own language. "You're... you're right. But I cannot just give up! My people are out there, somewhere, and I must protect them. For so long I have fought and attempted to maintain order to make the universe a safer place for them. How can I do that from here? And how am I to live with the suffering of my friends in this place? All of you, alien and human, deserve better than... than this... and I want so badly to give it to you, but I remain stuck."

[dedikated]

"The hell if I know." Blunt, but not meant harshly. There's so little logic to this place, so much that they've no answers for, which the gods either don't know or won't say. Kate exhales, runs a hand through her hair, pushing back loose strands, and stretches out until she lies down on the sand. Or what looks like sand, anyway.

"Wonder if time's passing back home," she comments, threading her hands behind her head, pillowing it from the not-actually-sand beneath her. "When Faith turned up, she said it were still the same time as when I left."