quietplacememes | TDM #001

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test drive meme!

TDM #001

TEST DRIVE MEME
You wake, standing. A thick, muddy red dust coats your skin and clothes - it sticks to your tongue and blocks your vision. Inhale and it chokes you, exhale and your breath puffs out in front of your face in a transparent maroon cloud. It tastes of copper, tangy and harsh. Movement is difficult, every limb tingles and aches. Look to your left, your right. Evenly spaced in each direction stands another person indistinguishable in every way from the next. You're disoriented and lethargic, unable to grasp onto a single thought. A pinprick of light blooms ahead and grows steadily larger; a door has opened.

Hands grip your wrists, push at the small of your back and guide you out of the darkness into a room with four walls and a thin, sagging ceiling. The plaster is peeling, the air is musty, and the floor is slick. White plastic piping juts up from the center and curves into multiple spouts, clean water flowing in uneven streams. Those hands pull your clothes off and clear the dust from your body, redress you in handsewn jumpsuits.

A finger is pressed to your lips. Kind eyes meet your own and a single word is whispered - hush.

Led out of the room in a line, you’re taken down a short hallway and into another, much larger room. There’s a woman waiting for you there, a child hugging her leg, and a cloth bag in her hands. She reaches in and pulls out a device, passes one to each of you. Once finished, she begins to move both hands in graceful gestures, a language. One of the people who helped you lifts their device and the screen lights up, tracks the woman’s hands. Letters appear on the screen and you understand the device’s purpose. She tells you what she knows and it’s not much.

This world is haunted. Noise attracts them, so it is not allowed. Communication is through body language, soundless writing, and the device. She tells you that your feet must be light and your mouth never used. There is a community outside these doors, where you can survive together, but only if you agree to one thing: complete and total silence. You'll have time to talk it over. Acceptance allows you to journey outside. The ground is marked in pathways of sand, lining the paths to each building and everywhere in between. You notice that the locals hold their devices always, aloft and glance to it often. It will not vibrate or make a sound to signal a message.

Notices appear. Rules. Guidelines. Feet on the sand and never anywhere else. To open a door you brush your fingers along the hinges - oiled and you may enter. If not, take the brush from the can sitting nearby and coat the metal with the dark liquid. You're to settle into your new home.

Don't say a word.
Content Warnings: creepy song - play me though, forced silence
Themes: Horror, room resets

As the sun begins to set on the first day, the natives' behavior changes. It's not subtle and it comes fast. Hinges are oiled and doors are shut. Children are packed up, windows closed, and your phone lights up with a message, a reminder. A warning.

Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass, Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass. And if that looking glass gets broke, Mama's gonna buy you a winter cloak. And if that winter cloak's too cold, Mama's gonna buy you a pile of gold. And if that gold was stolen, too, Mama's gonna go to jail for you. So hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna kill the whole damn world for you.

By the time the scrolling message has stopped, a stillness accompanies the silence. The community has locked itself away and natives have prodded and pushed to get you into your assigned home. Another message - one hour. Hands are pressed to young children's mouths. Any native close by rest their finger over their lips and implore you to be silent. The air, almost, seems to come alive around you. Their fear is palpable, heady, and thick. They don't move. If your character makes a sound, even the slightest, a native will subdue them. If they attempt to venture outside, they will be stopped. Once the hour is over, you can breathe again. Natives go about their nightly routine and if asked, will not tell you what it is they're so afraid of.

Quiet, Quiet.
Content Warnings: Danger, being chased, no way out without action
Themes: Survival, exploration, horror

There is always work to be done in Reims. The first part of each day is spent completely individual job tasks and the second half is dedicated to Sound Maintenance, which is checking the community for sound issues and repairing them. Free time comes in the afternoon and can be spent exploring, working, mingling, and more. A few natives ask for volunteers to head towards the forest lining the Seine to gather edible plant-life and hunt. It's rare for the natives to do so but the appearance of so many new arrivals has put a dent in food stores. You follow the sandpaths through the city, pause by the Seine for a break, and then head into the woods.

Without any notice, the light begins to dim as if the sun is setting hours earlier than it's supposed to. The natives panic and they run, never straying from the sandpaths but they don't wait for you. They're fast and they know the area better and eventually -

You're walking in the woods, there's only one other person around, and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot them, about thirty feet back. A dark shape, a silhouette. It steps towards you. You step back. It gasps softly but the sound is loud, deafening when you've accustomed yourself to no noise. Teeth gleam in a wide set smile and it gasps again, softly. And again. Smiles wider. It's not advancing to hurt you, it's making sound nearby on purpose. It's blocking your path back out of the forest. You and the person beside you can head deeper into the darkness or take action. Which will it be?

OOC
From your mods:

The threads on this meme can be used as game canon. Feel free to thread out arrival style meetings as well! If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment below. Have fun!

NAVIGATION

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[The fellow newcomer tenses a bit when he's approached, then lets a silent sigh ease out. He'd have appeared more uninterested but, despite himself, he caught himself worrying about a complete stranger. Not because of the sign language, that was hardly a hindrance here, just her age was concerning. There should be no discriminatory factors to that horrible, rusty cloud connected to their appearance here, no mercy for those who are young.]

[It's just another factor to consider that he doesn't particularly like.]

[In response to her question, he'll draw out his own device, quickly mustering a response. He stares down at the screen for a moment, blinking a bit tiredly, then aiming to back at the girl.]

It's a logical response, if "they" respond to noise.
A lot of speech is unnecessary anyways.

[And then it's shuffled back to his pocket for him to slowly moves his hands in a way to sign: "a little." Not enough to hold a proper conversation, it was just something to be picked up when your best friend had a literally deafening voice.]

[No, it seems there are no real age limitations on people here. A highschooler, yes, and a deaf one at that, so they're quite good at picking only the most vulnerable members of society.

Still, Shizune ponders his words. A lot of speech being unnecessary? Well, she doesn't actually talk, but she is quite outspoken for being mute, so in a non-verbal sense... no, she actually does talk a lot. It's derailed, though, when she sees his hands move into... a little slow, a little clumsy sign language.

She has to remember what Hisao had learned, though, to not go off on a tangent, but her device is gone immediately now that she has a way to talk to someone.]

If they can't speak for fear of attracting monsters, then why haven't they developed sign language?

It makes no sense!

[... Hopefully, he got all that. and all of...] What if these things go dead? They have to have a battery life.

[His eyes flick carefully over the gestures. There doesn't seem to be a lot of questioning in his eyes- he's more used to reading from someone else than doing the motions himself. With the gap between their skills, she's downright eloquent in comparison. Still, there was value in meeting her on her own terms and accepting this way of communication.]

["Some language," he starts with. There were some people who signed things, although he couldn't recognize the meaning. It could have to do with the fact they very obviously weren't in Japan, but... there were other worrying aspects, too. Whatever they were scared of was recently enough that they hadn't worked out a perfect system yet. It was young, fresh, and only what was needed, sort of like,]

["Like baby talk." This girl's frantic, sharp signing was more like an adult thoroughly questioning a toddler. Even if they had some idea of what was being said, they didn't have a damn clue how to respond. In the modern world, this would be crippling. The standards had been re-written here, though. Even if the devices died, so long as they could convey and fulfill the basic needs of food, water, and shelter, they would survive.]

["Not perfect," he could absolutely agree on that point, "enough to live if go dead." Sort of like how even his slow, measured, imperfect signing could get the point across.]

[She does pause to consider that for a moment, reaching up to adjust her glasses in pondering thought. They speak a little sign language, but... not as much as they should. If they didn't know more than little basic bits and phrases, then... why?

Shizune's immediate thought has been that they rely on the devices too much for communication, and that's why they haven't worked on making any kind of useful sign language. Other than little gestures and body language that she can understand, at least. She wouldn't be adverse to learning another place's sign, of course. It would be great, but...]

Why?

[That's a more simple sign, and she's calmed down just a little from her more frenetic mood of earlier - considering she'd been upset at not being home and told there were monsters going to eat her if she makes noise, though... maybe she has a right to be a little upset. She just can't vocalize it.

... At least not normally.]

What are these things that are attracted to sound? I don't see anything here. [And then, a little more nervously, her hands not quite as animated as before...]

Does noise travel that far? [She has a concept of what makes sound, how people react to it (she's got a mean finger-snap that could probably call any monster to their location immediately), the science behind how it works, but being unable to experience it... well...]

[She has a right to be upset. There are too many possible "why"s to answer. And as to why the ban of silence was opposed, and what these people were afraid of...]

["Don't know." His expression isn't obviously apologetic but there's a bit of sadness there, lingering in his eyes. It vanishes within a moment.]

[It felt appropriately ridiculous to fear what he hadn't directly seen. He'd felt it, though, a sort of palpable, hanging dread in the air when any sound was uttered. Still, researching it was going to require careful preparation and certainly not with someone who could be his student. He moves on to addressing the simpler question.]

["If it's forceful, then far. Soft steps, stay on-" he fumbles for a bit before just blatantly gesturing to the sand lining the paths. He doesn't go to the beach, he's allowed to forget some signs. "Sound made by being alive not loud enough."]

[... "Probably." He'd seen some villagers covering their children's mouths, or acting like the very sound of their heart pumping was going to summon some kind of otherworldly force. ]

[She watches, silently as always, but the tension is still there in her movements, in the way she laces her fingertips back together. She wouldn't be much use in a fight, anyway. She's just your average human, high school student from modern-day Tokyo or thereabouts. The only skill she has that most other people don't is the ability to communicate with sign language.

She wasn't sure the extent of 'sounds made just by being alive', though she had some idea of some of them. Breathing and heartbeats made noise, and she'd been told just about anything you do makes noise on some small level or another, but... it was going to be difficult, without having an ability to know when something has made enough noise to attract them.

And that brought on another, somewhat terrifying idea.]

That puts me in a bad place. [Her fingers worry against each other, now more obviously nervous upset than angry upset. The adrenaline of anger had faded. It was a little silly, being so afraid of something you couldn't see... or couldn't be near.] I don't know when I make noise. So how am I supposed to know what gets their attention?

[There was even noise as they signed at each other, but clearly the movement of their clothing or hands brushing against each other wasn't enough. Taping their fingertips to the devices wasn't enough. Normal, steady breathing wasn't enough.]

["Watching." he answers as best he can. "Using your other senses." Observing the natives here, seeing their habits, the different way that they moved, figuring out what they were doing to reduce sound. Feeling the impact of a door and knowing there was more force present. Awareness of the body before moving, for anything that could be knocked over dislodged.]

[That's so little, though. He shifts to take out the device again, adding to the end:]

Relying on others can help, too. -Shouta Aizawa

[An introduction.]

[It does make sense, in a way, but it's hard to know what, precisely, she'd done that may have made noise without being able to hear it when it happens. She can take care not to cause motions or problems that she knows will make noise - her snap to get attention is out, for instance, and maybe even tapping on other things like she has a habit of doing to grab attention is also out. Having a concept of vibrations = sounds is one thing. Understanding volume is something else entirely.

She wrinkles her nose a little. Just extra caution, is what this is starting to sound like. It's not like she's in danger of suddenly blurting out words, so that's something of an advantage, at least. Misha would not fare nearly so well in this place.

She nods, and her hands move as though to start signing something, then she shakes her head and pulls out her device. True, it is easier to do introductions by written words.]

I guess people will have to tap me on the shoulder or something if I do something that made noise; it would probably be the easiest way to tell me. I'm Shizune Hakamichi. Even if it would be hard to ask for me by name around here. [Yes, yes, her name has the word for 'quiet' in it, and she's deaf/mute.]

[It's hard, but he'll take it upon himself to serve as ears when they're together. As should any adult in the situation. She could do her best to identify threats alone but clearly no one was entirely "alone" here. Relying on each other was a way to survive.]

It's a good name. [Listen, he's Eraserhead, the erasure hero, his power is to erase people's powers, and his given name has "erase" written into it. Shizune's name wouldn't make him double-take at all.]

If I'm around, I'll listen and let you know. If you get hurt, come to me. Wounds are an easy path to unplanned noises.

[It's hard to read the tone in text. This is actually a great equalizer for Aizawa who's bad enough at actually sounding empathetic anyways. He's like six feet tall, a mess of black hair and bloodshot eyes, but he seems... concerned enough.]

[She nods at him, at least. She'll take the words at face value, even if he's sort of a huge... tall dark and scary looking sort. The kind she isn't sure should trip her stranger danger meter or not. But to be entirely honest, he's been too helpful for something like that, so she keeps herself at her distance, but she seems to be regarding him amicably enough.

Then again, Shizune just always has had a certain lack of caution and tended toward the aggressive. Which meant playing slow and especially cautious around here would be a new endeavor. Life sure is difficult for someone who is outspoken, opinionated, and aggressive... and mute.]

I'll be careful, in the meantime.

Maybe it would help if I [She pauses, notably, over that word, it written on her screen as her fingers tap on her arm restlessly.] taught them some of what I know. Just in case they need it.

You could try, although they might not want to learn.

[After all, to them, there might be far more important things at stake than advancing their makeshift sign language. It's an assessment of what she can do in a stressful situation, though, he respects that. He's going to have his own hands full, he assumes, trying to figure out how to get out of this situation, he's going to be busy...]

I could also use the practice, if you have time.

[He hadn't had a reason to brush up on it, considering he was never the one "talking" away, but it does hurt his pride a little to only be able to communicate that way so simply. It's just completely logical, if she's got that skill, to take the opportunity to refresh himself. It has nothing to do with the idea of letting her feel useful and expert in a situation that has thrown all of them off their footing. Who would suggest that.]

I could help out if anyone wants to.

[She's trying to think of other ways she could be useful to this whole thing. She's a little at a loss against enemies that can hear, but...]

Even if that person is only you.

... I wonder if whatever they're afraid of is blind.

[Blind... That could be a possible reason. In nature, there were often such trade-offs, weren't there. If that was the case, it could be a weakness to exploit.]

In order to be sure, we'd have to run into it.

[Something that hardly sounded appealing, right now.]

If it's close enough to us, I imagine any sound of fleeing would allow it to still chase.

Right. And none of us even know what we're looking for. It was just a thought, though. My cousin's blind, so the best way to get her attention is to make noise. [Which is a concept Shizune actually understands, amazingly enough.

She frowns at the second thing, then shakes her head.] I wouldn't know about the rest, though.

I guess I'd have to see what it does if I ever run into it. At least I'm not in danger of screaming in fear.

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TDM #001

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