Calibrations Waiting Room Mingle

[trpmods]

WHO: ALL HE ROWS
WHERE: The Secret Tunnel, which has become the Calibrations Waiting Room (or was it always...?)
WHAT: Mingle log for literally anything you'd like to take place in the waiting room between sleep cycles during the event
WHEN: June 3 - July 10
WARNINGS: Please mark individual threads with warnings

For those that have heeded Ga Re's warning, the door within the secret tunnel - which looks suspiciously like the hatch to one of your shuttles - is wide open, waiting for you. You walk through... and the door behind you disappears. You’re now standing in a cavernous, cold, white waiting room. There are hallways leading off the main corridor with names above each. One of them has your name and will draw you toward it, inevitably.

And on the wall, in pink, running letters is written this single greeting:

‘Welcome to Calibrations’.

The secret tunnel has become a large waiting room with chairs, tables, and the same food dispensers available in the shuttles. There are also communal bathrooms - one for each gender - with several toilet stalls and shower stalls in each, including basic shampoo and soap dispensers, like you might find in a hotel. The water isn’t hot, so hopefully you don’t mind lukewarm showers. Somehow, at least, it never goes cold.

Branching off the main waiting room room are the labeled hallways. At the end of each short hallway is a door, with the same character’s name written on them. Anyone can enter any room, regardless of the name written on it. Everyone has their own room, though of course people can share. Each room has a simple bed (approximately queen-sized) and a set of drawers.

You can opt to spend time in your room or in the larger, common waiting room. (And if you do, you can thread it out here!) But every 16 hours, you'll feel a compulsion: You need to sleep. Right now. You find yourself going into your room (or someone else's, if you really want). But you’re drawn to the bed. You can’t help but lie down. And then, you fall asleep.

Comments

[in_extremis]

"Ah--sorry?" was Tony's first instinct, recognizing a guilty posture if he ever saw it, but stayed where he was, one hand on the doorknob and the other arm braced on the frame. "Just figuring this place out. Thought 'Cloud' might have meant, you know, clouds. Outside." The Agrii had said weirder things, and Tony definitely hadn't recognized it as a name, or this guy on the bed. No one had mentioned a 'Cloud' to him yet, anyway.

[backoff]

Cloud puts on his black gloves, the left one first before the right before getting up from the bed in a quick smooth motion. He stands in front of it while loosely crossing his arms against his chest. "Its a name plate. Why would you want to go back outside?"

[in_extremis]

Was this one of the Agrii or something? Tony raised his lip, puzzled by the question, then tried, "Because...my stuff is out there?" Now that he thought about it, maybe it was a fair question that he didn't have a good answer to. Even if he had been lured into a sealed room for unknown purposes, whether or not there was a storm bearing down on the surface, it didn't make that much circumstantial difference. Being trapped in here wasn't functionally much more different than being trapped in Temba. Tony pouted thoughtfully, then concluded, "Right, good point," even if the one he had come to wasn't the one Cloud had intended.

[backoff]

No, he's not an Agrii, Tony. "Uh huh. Want to give that another try? Aren't we kind of sealed in now?" Is there still time left? Cloud didn't have a lot of stuff to begin with. He took only what he needed not knowing how long they could end up in here. But it didn't really matter. He was used to dealing with situations that didn't make much sense. "My name is Cloud Strife. And you are?"

[in_extremis]

Being kind of sealed in had been his problem, of course Tony wanted to go back outside when it was clear he wasn't supposed to. With a tap to the door, indicating the name written on it that he had already acknowledged, Tony said, "Got that," which he did at least recognize was unnecessarily condescending. His expression softened fractionally, not taking it back, but he did offer, "Tony Stark," with a hand to shake. It was possible Tony hadn't heard of everyone in the city, but it seemed much less likely that he had failed to make any kind of impression yet on someone that had been around for some time, so Tony surmised, "Welcome to this bullshit."

[backoff]

"You're the one that seemed confused if it meant clouds." Cloud wasn't about to back down, you entered his space. He doesn't look at all surprised if anything he raises an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're Tony." He carefully reaches out to take the offered hand to shake. Was Tony going to let him though?

"It could be much worse. If we're sealed in, I guess your stuff is going to have to wait."

[in_extremis]

"Yeah..." Tony said slowly, not sure how to handle it now that he had been recognized. Back home, that would have been an easy suggestion to gas up the bravado, welcome the judgement of his very public lifestyle, but here he hadn't built a particularly cohesive profile. Who Cloud had been talking to could have left him with some very different impressions. He went for some of the bravado, flashing a wry grin and suggesting, "Don't wear it out yet."

There were plenty of ways this could be much worse, but most of the ones that Tony could come up with didn't make the sealing part more appealing. "Oh, yeah, place could start filling with water. Or lava. Cockroaches." In order of threat level.

[backoff]

Cloud's heard his name get brought up by Cayde and Reeve. Judgement doesn't really matter until they interacted with each other. He's heard that Tony is arrogant and so far that has been correct. Cloud raises his eyebrows at the bravado display.

"A giant monstrous creature could ascend from a long forgotten basement to attack us while we are at our most vulnerable." There's probably training manuals on these kinds of situations where Cloud is from. In this situation you go up to the monstrous create and assess it before figuring out how to bring it down.

[in_extremis]

That did sound worse, much worse than a flood, and Tony had to concede this round of Who Can Imagine The Worst thing to Cloud with a wink that could have been a wince, and an appreciative point Cloud's way. "Or that." Most of the threats here had been natural, structural or psychological, Tony had been lulled into an obviously false sense of security about any monstrous attacks, he needed to get back on his game. "At least we could fight back against a creature," he did point out. "Can't punch lava. Do you know something I don't?" Just in case. The description had been pretty specific.

[backoff]

Cloud tilts his head to the side. Tony didn't want to keep going with this little game. He has had his own fair share of natural, structural and psychological trauma too. It's easier for him to take on a giant monster and have a lot of fun doing so. "Yeah, we could, as long as we don't get a sudden surprise attack on top of it." Because shit can be like that too.

He smirks a bit. "No. Lava could be stopped if someone here could freeze it. Same with the water. Or make it hot enough to evaporate it."

[in_extremis]

Two monsters was the most obvious way to one-up Cloud's Worst Thing and Tony hadn't even attempted it, Cloud got that one, too. Tony clutched his chest, of course, what a fool he had been, but his grin was delighted. "Can you freeze lava?" he asked, trying to get control of the rules of this game. Hypothetical threats were one thing, but Tony thought they were working within the confines of their own, not imagined abilities against them; that would change the whole structure. He waved the possibility away, claiming, "Lava still scarier, would rather fight a dragon. Lava-dragon, though, potentially impossible. Don't have the kind of space down here to take on a fight like that."

[backoff]

Security manuals at Shinra probably had ways of dealing with more than two. Cloud could keep on going with threats and add in a Malboro on top of this game. Bad breath would not be a fun ability against everyone. "I'm all out of materia. I'll be able to move anything you need."

He shakes his head at the mention of a lava-dragon. "Fighting in a space such as this wouldn't be advisable."

[in_extremis]

Now Tony wasn't following, turning his smile into a puzzled smirk. Materia wasn't something that was being translated for him in the first place, and he didn't know what that had to do with...moving things. "If you had materia you couldn't...move?" he tried, not feeling confident at all about this puzzle.

[backoff]

"Materia is something that I can use where I come from to cast spells. So like casing Ice against a creature that's weak against it. When coming here I don't have any of that. I came here with a bike though so traveling is a bit easier." The other didn't know that he was strong and could basically lift anything. "Move as in lifting heavy objects. If you need anything moved I can help you."

He looks at Tony. "Going back to my original question. Is there something that you need?"

[in_extremis]

Great, another magic person. At least this one had his limitations and it didn't sound like Tony had to deal with it too much, but the news still turned his expression much less warm, and he glanced away, like he could see one of the other magic users through the wall so they could come collect this one for the club. They could get all of that out among each other. He wasn't particularly moved by Cloud's lifting explanation, either, looking back to him with a skeptical pout, not doubting his ability to do the hard labour but not entirely sure why he was making it a point to tell Tony. Was he trying to imply something? Not one to flex when challenged, glad to let the guy have his boast, Tony deliberately slung his free hand loosely in his pocket and muttered, "I think I got it, thanks."

His question did remind Tony very pointedly that he was the one invading Cloud's space, though, and he pushed away from the door to spread his other hand in surrender. "No, just taking a look around the place. Getting my bearings, you know, before another door disappears. Didn't mean to intrude."

[backoff]

He's only a magic user if he had materia, otherwise he's more like Steve. Super human enhanced but uses a sword to kill enemies. He doesn't mind using foul language. Cloud puts his hand on his hip and walks towards the door. "Yeah, I hope so." Because boy... is he getting tired of people thinking that they know him when they don't.

Tony was in fact invading his personal space. He had been doing something too. The knock was at least polite. "Look, if you want help looking around, just say it. Otherwise I'm going to go busy myself doing other useless tasks."

[in_extremis]

That didn't sound like an eager offer to Tony, who pointed back the way he had come down the hall with a thumb and said, "No, listen, place doesn't seem that big, think I can handle it without getting lost. I'll know who to call if I do, though." Tony had, admittedly, not seen a lot of newcomers to this strange situation they were in, but the confidence this one had about finding himself sealed in a dynamic underground capsule hotel was a little intimidating. Tony had more of a breakdown about it on the beautiful beaches of Risa. He turned to slink away, not sure what to make of that, and struggling briefly to remember now which direction he had come from in his distraction.