[Event] Calibrations Waiting Room Mingle

[trpmods]

WHO: ALL HE ROWS PRESENT
WHERE: Calibrations Area
WHAT: Mingle log for literally anything you'd like to take place in the waiting room between sleep cycles during the event
WHEN: May 9th to June 10th
WARNINGS: Please mark individual threads with warnings
NOTES: If you have any questions, please go Here

For those who followed the visions there is little more to do before and after the dreaming times but wait. At least there is some modicum of comfort offered to those who have found themselves trapped here. From the moment one steps through the door there is no going back, the doors people entered through sealed beyond any hope of opening. And by some twist of fate (or design), it's not possible to be by the door when another He Row arrives, something always calls any waiting away, until at last the door doesn't open anymore.

Some might find the area familiar, having haunted these halls before. Upon entry one walks down a large hallway before it opens into an even larger waiting room with chairs, tables, and the same food dispensers available in the shuttles, save that it lacks any Red Fruit Drink. It's a shame, actually, the alcohol might help you get through things, and since there was no warning this time, the dispensers are the only source of food available. But at least there is enough for everyone. Yay!

There are also communal bathrooms - one men and one for women though nothing would stop a person from using whichever they desire - with several toilet stalls and shower stalls in each, including basic shampoo and soap dispensers. All of the dispensers put out a liquid that smells like Italian dressing for some reason. The water in the showers is only ever cold or scalding, with nothing in between. Pick your poison.

Branching off the main waiting room are hallways that lead to the bedrooms. Each one has a name on it but there is nothing requiring you to use that one. Anyone can enter any room or share with someone else. Each room has a simple bed (approximately queen-sized) and a set of drawers. There is one white jumpsuit in your size in the drawer and a pair of canvas shoes. You can wear them or ignore them as you like.

Some power out there seems to have pity on the heroes too, accounting for the possible boredom that comes with the downtime. While no one may have been able to bring things in with them even if they had them in hand upon approaching, a need for entertainment for those long hours between dreams has been realized. A set of shelves can be found in the waiting room, covered in various boxes and containers. Each is labeled with brightly colored pictures of people seeming to have fun with a game, and the boxes clearly represent all sorts of species, even those that have never been present on Temba to your knowledge.

The complication is that none of the games are written in any language anyone knows, and even the Communications datapoint seems unable to translate. Good news, all the games seem to have all of their pieces, even the single large puzzle that is both solid gray and yet causes a headache when looking at it for more than ten seconds (damn those alternate light spectrum puzzles). Perhaps people can figure out the rules on their own, or make their own games from the pieces. There’s even paper and some sort of pen that only writes on that paper specifically, so maybe some pictionary? Or, if you’re really desperate and okay with fights breaking out, there seems to be a full set of Monopoly Longest Game Ever. Okay, so on second thought, maybe that power out there doesn’t have pity, but is malicious and wants to show you that people truly are driven to strife.

You can opt to spend time in your room or in the larger, common waiting room. But about every 16 hours, all people suddenly feel a compulsion to sleep. Once this starts, you can’t fight it off. You find yourself going into your room for bed or wherever else you feel like you’d prefer to sleep. And then, inevitably, you close your eyes and dream.

Comments

[small_compromise]

Omega smiled knowingly at Echo's commentary, stepping further inside the room. She set the bowls down in an empty space, looking about for what else might be stored.

"See anything?" she asked.

[only_an_echo]

He looked in the places he thought he saw something useful. There were cabinets, right? If this place was playing with his imagination, they didn't have much luck. "Maybe...here?" The search was turning up in vain, however. "I could've sworn there was more than this."

[small_compromise]

"I don't think we're going to find anything more than what's right there," Omega sighed. "We can still work with it, can't we?"

They had bowls. That still held things. She picked up one, studying it before picking up a cup and setting the bowl back down. "I'll be right back," she said, taking another cup so she had two, and she scurried off towards the showers.

[only_an_echo]

Echo sighed as well. "Looks like," he replied, holding up another cup for inspection. Although he arched a brow at Omega, he eventually nodded. "Improvising shouldn't be too difficult."

Cups were smaller than the bowls, but it appeared the girl already had something in mind. He didn't try to stop her, watching as she headed off before turning his attention to sorting out the bowls and cups available.

[small_compromise]

Cups were going to be easier for her to catch scalding water in without burning herself, and they'd be less trouble to carry than a bowl filled with water. Omega wasn't sure if the material for the cups and bowls would transfer heat or how quickly, but there was only one way to find out.

She came back soon enough with two cups of steaming hot water. "We can either just add a little to the bowls we have or pour it in a bowl and put one of the full ones over it?" She didn't look too sold on the second option but it might be worth a try if the heat was enough to warm the food in the bowl.

[only_an_echo]

"Let's try adding it." Between sorting out cups and bowls, Echo picked and filled a few of the latter, each containing a different flavor of gel: chicken, peanut butter, and chocolate. He held out a hand to take one of the cups from Omega. "We'll see how well this works out."

[small_compromise]

That was what she would have leaned towards. Nodding, Omega held one of the cups of water out to him. She tip-toed as she put her arms up on the counter to watch Echo.

[only_an_echo]

It was a methodical approach, especially when there was only one functioning hand to work with. Taking the first cup, Echo poured it over the chocolate, setting it down to pick up the spoon and stir its contents into each other. He then did the same with the second cup, pouring half of it onto the chicken and the rest onto the peanut butter.

"This is starting to look promising," he commented, pushing the bowl of chicken gel over to Omega so she could have some fun with it.

[small_compromise]

Omega smiled, stirring the bowl. She held a hand over it to see if the temperature was holding. "I think it's working. And it's definitely thinned out. Should we try it?"

Tbf I'd eat the sauce

[only_an_echo]

"We probably should." A hint of interest sparked behind the mild degree of skepticism Echo held onto as he scooped up some of the now-liquid peanut butter. He had eaten the stuff straight before, but it hit differently now that it was heated and sauce-like in consistency. So the frown was thoughtful, to a certain extent. "...Not sure if I'd try this one again so soon. How's yours?"

i mean it's practically gravy. ..

[small_compromise]

Omega lightly blew off the spoonful she'd collected before having a nibble. "Hm! It's not too bad," she said, nudging the bowl over to share. "Better than room temperature, anyway. It'd be nice to have something in more solid form though. And I kind of miss fresh fruits and vegetables from the greenhouse."

mmm sauce gravy

[only_an_echo]

Echo tried, sniffing at it before he put it in his mouth. "...Not bad at all," he nodded afterward, casting a sideways glance at Omega. "I think I'd prefer this one over the peanut butter for now, though." His expression softened, however. "You'll have that chance again once we get out of here. For now, I feel like we don't have much of a choice except to wait."

alternatively they can recreate thai peanut butter sauce

[small_compromise]

The girl snuck a scoop of peanut butter from Echo's bowl to try, tilting her head as she nodded in agreement once she'd tried it. "Yeah, I think I do too," she said, looking thoughtfully between the two bowls and then at her spoon. "I guess... Hopefully it's not too long. At least we're not alone here." Being isolated was the last thing she ever wanted to return to.

Omega finally came to a decision as she took a bit more peanut butter and then some chicken to try together. "...mm! Actually they don't taste too bad together."

brain cells are rubbing together

[only_an_echo]

She was right. If they had all been isolated from each other, one's sanity would go much faster. It was an experience he didn't want to relive, either.

Echo thought about it for a while longer than he intended to, staring off at everyone else before he blinked. "You mixed them?" he asked, glancing back at Omega like there was an unspoken rule against doing that. His brow arched as he tried it himself, trying to equally portion out the flavored sauces in his own spoon. It then disappeared into his mouth, the spoon slowly slipping out clean as he wrangled with the outcome.

"...hmm."

(☉ₒ☉)

[small_compromise]

Omega was already grabbing a new bowl to spoon a bit of both their flavors into it to mix. At least experimenting with how to make their food more palatable made things interesting for the time being. She passed the bowl over to Echo, all smiles.

(￣_￣|||)

[only_an_echo]

While he was still making up his mind on whether he liked the combination or not, Echo gave the girl a tired smile, setting the bowl down after accepting it.

So it was a temporary solution. It was still better than sitting around and expecting something to change.