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

Jonathan Sims || mid-event

[beholding_archivist]

"...𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔢 𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔲𝔰 𝔤𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪. 𝔑𝔬 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶 𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔭 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔥 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔱 𝔰𝔬 𝔟𝔩𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔩𝔶 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔪𝔰 𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰 𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔫 𝔲𝔭 𝔦𝔫 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔰. 𝔑𝔬 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰." Letting out a shuddering breath Jon presses the Stop button on his recorder which he has been hunched over for a while now, seated at one of the tables set in one of the corners of the central waiting room.

He keeps trying to hold this urge to vent into his recorder at bay as long as possible, but the longer they are forced to stay in this tunnel, the harder it gets. It has been clear soon enough for everyone what happens in their dreams. That their secrets aren't safe any longer.

Needless to say, Jon hasn't felt hungry at all for a while now. On the contrary. The constant lingering of dread has become more than he has found himself capable to handle. Maybe it hits him more because he literally is the avatar of this particular type of dread, he doesn't know and he hardly finds himself able to give it much thought. Not when he's constantly torn between feeling full of energy and simply overstuffed.

Cradling the recorder in his hands, the Archivist casts a look around, checking if anyone has been paying attention to his dark muttering.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Sansa had caught snatches of what Jon had said as she passed by. She's been trying to check on those whose memories she's been in as well as those who have been in hers. There's a liminal intimacy of sharing the darkest parts of one's mind with another and she feels a connection with Jon after sharing the memory of his rib being removed by that...creature.

Awake, however, Sansa has James with her and she taps Jon on the shoulder. "It's difficult during these calibrations. I've done one before and it was harrowing. Are you all right? Holding up?"

[beholding_archivist]

"W-wha-?" Jon looks up at Sansa, a little surprised by the tap to his shoulder. But then he recognizes her and her son and smiles faintly.

"Oh, h-hello. You have- Calibrations? Is that what's going on? What- What exactly are they meant to achieve?" Aside from humiliating them all. Though he lets his attention be drawn towards James and his voice softens a little "...and how is he taking it? Being locked up in here?"

That he hasn't exactly answered her question? Well, that happens from time to time.

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Calibrations? Forced embarrassment I suppose. I rather hate mine," Sansa says. "There's...a particular year of my life I would like to purge from my memory and it shows up every time for these things. I'd rather people not be able to see me violated and assaulted. This time I did have some good memories though."

When Jon refers to James, Sansa looks down to where he's snug up against him. "He seems to be all right since I'm here. I'm more worried about bothering the rest of you because he cries."

[beholding_archivist]

Nodding at her words, Jon gestures for her to take a seat at the table he is already occupying "Should I end up in your... Place- just let me know what to avoid. I'd rather people tell me willingly than--" He waves a hand around vaguely, indicating their surroundings and their situation.

"I- You have seen one of mine. Most of mine are just terrible. Though Jared... I- At least I went to him to do this trade?" He gives a brief, helpless shrug "...but there is one embarrassing one, I suppose." And Tommy had to find it, of course.

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Mine is a wedding gown," Sansa says, her voice cool and removed. She has to keep herself separate from that memory even though there's one person this round who has seen it. It's something she wishes she could excise but it's clear it'll always be there.

"It's a wedding gown slit down the back and stained with blood. The man attached to the memory ought to have to give all his bones to Jared unwillingly but he's nothing. He made me nothing so I made him nothing. All the same, I don't want anyone to see it."

[beholding_archivist]

"I understand. And I won't ask any further about it." Normally, he would be tempted. But this is the sort of story that would leave her with one of his nightmares, and Jon would rather not be responsible for Sansa having to relive this experience over and over again only for him to watch.

"Did you find any happy memories to share among yours?" He has been wondering about that. If others here have a more pleasant selection to share.

[theladyofwinterfell]

"My coronation was there," Sansa says, a bit of a smile coming at that memory. She'd very much enjoyed getting to see the whole of the North trust her to lead them and to call out for her over and over. It was a heady feeling to see it again.

"There was also a memory of Lady when she was a pup. She used to chew on my slippers, naughty wolf. She was well-behaved for the most part but that'd been her flaw. She couldn't resist the ribbons, I think."

[beholding_archivist]

It's nice to hear that someone has some good memories to share at least. Thinking of it, Jon wouldn't even know what a happy memory for him might look like. Unless these rooms are willing to feature memories of him petting cats. Or visiting the zoo study some of the animals and the information on them for hours. It's unlikely he will find any memories of himself sitting at home and reading a scientific book. Though those were good times in his opinion. No terror, only a simple book.

Though there is one thing he feels like asking about "Lady - That's your pet?" Pet wolf, according to her words.

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Oh, yes, Lady. You might have seen her," Sansa says. "She's a direwolf - she's white and grey. She's bigger than a regular wolf and has better manners unless you have something she wants to eat or is begging to be petted. I've tried to train her out of that but...she's stubborn."

Sansa laughs. "I love having her here. It reminds me of home in a way that is good instead of some of the bad things that happened there."

[beholding_archivist]

"A direwolf." Jon repeats with a wide-eyed look, but then shakes his head, "I- I don't think I have encountered her, I'm afraid." As far as he is aware, direwolves are an extinct species - At least on his version of Earth.

"You keep direwolves as pets where you are from?" Yes, he has to ask, just to make sure. She makes this wolf sound like a puppy, which is a mental image the Archivist has yet to get used to.

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Not in general," Sansa says, laughing softly. "But Starks keep them. It's the sigil of our house, after all, and we hand raised ours from pups. I wouldn't call them completely tamed but Lady has very good manners. You needn't worry."

Lady wouldn't hurt anyone unless they hurt Sansa. She's sure of it.

"She protects me."

[plate_builder]

"Perhaps there is value in sharing some of those secrets. Not only do we learn others, but we learn what is most precious to ourselves, or that which we fear so much that we don't want to share it. And if we know that, we can change," Reeve suggests as he approaches the other.

His hand settles briefly on the other man's shoulder, and he offers a soft smile.

"How are you holding up?"

[beholding_archivist]

"It's... It's a bit much." Jon replies automatically without looking up right away. And he is not only referring to the dreams and the memories. All of them being locked up together like this - It causes a certain basic anxiety that just seems to linger everywhere. It's less one of those deep fears but a dread of the uncertainty. And, of course, of terrible secrets being revealed.

For Jon it's a lot to absorb.

"All of this only makes me realize that I have hardly any memories to share that aren't distressing."

[plate_builder]

At least Reeve probably isn't pinging as such a giant meal right now. After all, he was accepting this with decent grace. He's already told Tony of his greatest sin. He thinks... he can live with others knowing.

"Now surely that isn't entirely true, Jon. I'm certain you have something lovely, even if this place isn't sharing it."

[beholding_archivist]

To be fair, at this point Jon is convinced that Reeve operates on being permanently set to gracefulness. Which is unsettling on a whole different level.

He simply groans "Right. Like that one time I gave the Admiral bellyrubs and extra treats. But I guess that's hardly as compelling as being eaten alive by worms, so that's what we are getting." He wouldn't mind sharing any memory he has about petting a cat. Or sitting on his sofa reading a book. Maybe even those memories of being a good student despite being a bit of a menace.

[plate_builder]

How wrong Jon was.

"See, now there is a memory I'd enjoy. I would love to enjoy that memory. I didn't have many pets myself."

[beholding_archivist]

Jon just shakes his head "I never owned any pets myself. My grandmother wouldn't allow it when I was a kid and later-" A shrug. "The usual tale of no money followed by neither having time nor money." But he will gladly pet any cat that lets him. His eyes drop back down on the tape recorder before him "It still feels as if any happy memory has happened a lifetime ago and all that is left is dread and terror and beings trying to either kill me or-" -or plain end the world. But he waves that part off with another shake of his head. "Guess it only serves me right."

[plate_builder]

"No happy memories here?" Reeve asks, considering him thoughtfully. What about Tony?

[beholding_archivist]

That short, cut-off sound Jon makes sure is a soft, little laugh. He doesn't look up, but his hands clasp together tightly as he casts a little smile down to his recorder.

"I think you know the answer already. But what does it say about me that I need to be kidnapped to an alien planet to find happiness and- Easily more acceptance than I have ever received? I- I know it's messed up. I know I should want to go home, but- I don't?"

[plate_builder]

"It's alright," Reeve answers. "I would not be surprised if the same was not true of other people. For me? I might agree with you, if I didn't have responsibilities back home. Not that there is anyone waiting there for me, beyond Cait Sith."

Even his allies were not exactly friends. And the man there that he had been enamored with... well, that would never be returned, so it didn't matter.

[beholding_archivist]

"Those who wait for me want to kill me." Jon replies with a dry tone. "My responsibilities? Not ones I'm eager to return to." It's just serving an evil god. Not exactly something he is too keen on picking back up. And for all he knows? He is still serving the Beholding even here.

[plate_builder]

"Then maybe you'll be able to stay," Reeve suggests. Was this really someone would want to be? He doesn't think so, but he'll accept what Jon wants.

"There were people like that in the Iteration Village," he says thoughtfully. "Those that just wanted to stay and live their lives."

[beholding_archivist]

"Or I simply don't get a choice." Neither of them might. As neither of them got a choice to come here as well.

Jon drops his shoulders after a shrug. "Guess all we can do is make the best of it while we can."

[plate_builder]

"Well, perhaps you should let yourself be positive for a bit," Reeve counters, reaching out to lay a hand on Jon's arm. "Whether something good or bad comes tomorrow isn't something we can control. So we should be happy while we can."