MarinaNova Asylum

Hey, all!

[Duo gave a casual wave. After a day to recover from the raptors running around and getting things back in order again, he's ready to make his announcement.]

So, you guys all heard yesterday morning that I took over the post office from the Wardens. I did it 'cuz PM had always wanted to make sure it wasn't run by bots, and I felt bad that it ended up that way when she left.

So, yeah. I'll be around. If you wanna help out with routes, stop by and lemme know. If you need to send something, stop by and drop it off. Just... all the same rules from before apply, so no tryin' anything on my watch, got it? [Warning finger waggle. All joking aside, though, he'd have issues with anyone doing bad stuff.]

Alright, that's it. See you guys later!

So did we know there were things like that in here, or was it a lovely surprise for everyone else, too? Because frankly I'm not entirely reassured by the promise that they've been contained.

[Private to Jack Harkness]

Are you alright?

[ Today is a day where most would be at risk of oversleeping.The dome lies dark like in the dead of night. The sun hasn’t risen today, streetlights casting a dull yellow glow and occasionally flickering out into nothing, only to spark back to life a moment later. There is no electric flicker from the kiosk. The Wardens are still. The wardens are silent.

The dome isn’t silent. There is a rustling of leaves, a snapping of twigs. Claws, scraping against concrete. The inhuman screech of an animal in peril, an animal hunting, an animal hunted. A screech that promises sharp claws and sharper teeth and blood.

The dome isn’t still either. There is something moving, thick as a shadow, tangible as a chill down your spine. Something that doesn’t belong here, something that snuck in when no one was looking. A boogeyman under the bed. A ghost in the closet. A will o’ the wisp, blinking in and out of existence under the flickering streetlights. Whatever it is it’s moving, leaving a trail of cold, dead fear wherever it passes. Something dark. A shadow so pitch black that it blots out the very lights in your heart, dragging your fears out screaming and kicking, reducing even the strongest, toughest man to a blubbering baby.

Perhaps best to stay in bed today, Marina. ]

((OOC: Event information HERE. We ask the winners of the raffle to fill out a simple survey and then tag into the Vapor thread HERE! Happy mingling, Marinanites! ))

[There are multiple peg boards set up in Sector 0 today—some tall, some short, some on wheels, some long, some magenta with glitter! But what do they all have in common? They are covered in pictures with familiar faces.

Maybe the face is many years younger and surrounded by family or maybe it's a shot taken in Marina (version 1 or 2!). Maybe it was a time when no cameras were present and yet here is the evidence of that moment in all it's candid glory.

You could have grabbed that really embarrassing or incriminating one and thought you were safe only to find out there were three duplicates! Sweet, horrific, sad, casual, posed, past, or present—the wardens are good at variety, so enjoy!]

(OOC: Plotting post for sharing pictures people might find on the boards.)

[ As mentioned by the wardens yesterday, Eric is hosting a costume party. The Blood Shack is lit by candles for the evening (he remembers the last party he had being interrupted by a power outage) and a small buffet of sorts has been erected. It furnishes mostly hors d'oeuvre and finer foods, things that Caroline picked out as Eric hasn't a clue about human food.

There is blood on tap (naturally) as well as a full bar. Eric has made certain to include water, sodas, tea and various non-alcoholic drinks.

The jukebox is playing a variety of music, but patrons are always invited to pick out their own music. The dance floor has a disco ball and there's the ever present 'dancing' pole on stage if someone gets brave. Tables are scattered about as are sofas and chairs so that people have a choice where they sit.

Enjoy yourself, mix, mingle and admire everyone's costume and everyone is required to have a costume in order to be here. ]

[ooc: I've turned off replies so if you want Eric's attention please tag his thread. Mingle here, have fun and be merry? Everyone is invited, including and especially newbies. ]

[ Trouble sleeping at night? Are you re-experiencing a traumatic event through nightmares or flashbacks? Are you avoiding certain situations or triggers? Have your beliefs and feelings changed in response to the event? Do you feel differently about yourself or the ones around you? Are you experiencing increased guilt, shame, or fear? A lack of interest for activities you used to enjoy? Are you feeling jittery or hyperaware of potential danger? Depressed? Anxious? Feelings of hopelessness? Are you drinking more than usual?

Welcome to the Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome Support Group.


The group is gathered down at the beach. There are baskets set up with cold beverages and delicious picnic type snacks, along with a circle of beanbags for that intimate, trusting feeling. In the middle there's another basket with informational pamphlets and a list of assignments that the participants are encouraged to answer. ]

• When was the last time you had a full nights sleep?
• Do you avoid certain situations? Certain topics of conversation? Why?
• Do you feel stressed? Guilty?
• Do you find situations more threatening than you used to do?
• Have you had a change in interests lately?

((OOC: Feel free to use the questions as a jump-off point or come up with topics of your own! THIS is a good site for information about PTSD and the treatment thereof. ]

[ The Accept Yourself Support Group is told to report to one of the rooms in the Sector 4 art center. The room is cosy and warmly lit with a bunch of plush armchairs set in a circle around a low table. On the table is a basket full of photographs, a stack of handheld mirrors and a card with the instructions. The photographs are all of inanimate objects, abstract patterns or landscapes, buildings or nature. ]

• Find a photograph that you feel represents you as a person. Take turns in the group to explain why you've chosen that card.

• Look at yourself in the mirror for five minutes. Take turns in the group to explain what it is you see in your reflection.

• Discuss why you see yourself this way. Discuss how you see those around you. Discuss the differences. Discuss how you can be more honest with yourself and your potential.

[ For those that are not yet ready to get going on the activities, there's plenty of delicious snacks and refreshing drinks available, as well as soothing music to ease the awkwardness. Let the self-examination begin! ]

[So it's just after four in the morning and a certain someone has been skipping sleep for a few days now, working on different projects. It's harder to get things to work when you don't have that much in materials to build with, but Richie keeps at it. Even if he can't build, he can at least design. It's not like the days of little distraction give him less time to come up with ideas for new inventions. He just finished drawing the schematics for a solar-powered motorbike.

He takes another sip of his coffee only to realize it's chilled and grimace at the cold. And then another idea hits him and it's awesome but he doesn't have anyone to tell just how awesome it is. So he makes a call, which he completely thinks is privated to Zatanna, but he's running on two hours of sleep in the last three days, so.]

Yo, Zee...what do you think about a solar powered motorbike with--get this. A self-regulating drink holder! It would be amazing right? It would go great with the helmet with the built-in voice-command wifi and satellite radio. I'd just need to design to add-in an sensor for controlling the temperatures between coffee, iced tea, and warm milk.

[His tone is a bit manic, but energetic. He's past the point of fatigue to the kind of crazed euphoria that is a sign of a bad crash to come.]

So that sure was a newbie-centric couple of days. Except most of them didn't stick around. [Yeah, it's still bugging her. No Derek, and the only members of her team were Gideon who still scares the hell out of her and a mini-Reid who she was too freaked out to even talk to. And then that weird other Tyki...]

If some of you got to see your loved ones and all that, I'm really happy for you. Really. But for totally selfish reasons, I... kinda hope it doesn't happen very often. Someone please tell me that's not a usual thing? Because if it is I'm going to stockpile junk food and make plans to hide out under the covers on a regular.

[Anyone who is in the area of the shopping hubs can find Garcia doing some retail therapy and also picking stuff up for her homebound bud, Rebecca. She's trying to cheer herself up and so a small radio is playing some upbeat and danceable music.]

[Probably not what anyone expected to see today. There is a giant sphere rolling around the dome. Not haphazardly mind you. It's not rolling as though it is trying to run someone over. In fact if something crosses its path, it stops and watches it go by or goes around it.

It seems to be looking for someone, something. Will it find it in this dome? Maybe, maybe not. Sphere will end up pretty much anywhere in the dome in its search]

[It is a hot day. Sweltering and humid and for many it could feel pretty icky. It is around noon when a unfamiliar and obviously modified voice comes over the network. It sounds a little robotic, too high to be normal, but also manic, in a good way. Excited, amused.]

Anyone really fed up with the heat yet? I know I am. So here's your Declaration of War on Humidity. Park your butt on the number four and you'll get yourself a nice splash of color to cool you down.

[There is silence for some time, enough that one might even think that he disconnected. Then it comes back with a laugh.] Or you could just come over to Quatro Park and join in on the fun. [Then there is a disconnect. Someone could try to ask a question, but no responses will be given.]

( And now on location with Sunny McSpouts! )

{OOC: Water balloon fight! Richie spent the morning putting it together so it's forward-dated to noon and later. Two robots will be there making up more balloons as the day goes so they won't run out for a while and another is hiding in the park to throw balloons at random passersby. The coloring in the water is completely safe and washes out with soap from clothes, skin, and hair. Not that characters will know that at first. Have your characters wander in, get dragged by a friend, become an accidental casualty, anything you want! Mingle away the heat!}

[ It's a sweltering hot day under the sea! Luckily the wardens have provided the necessary means to keep cool: whether you're sunbathing at the beach, sniping your fellow inmates with a fully loaded super soaker or just cooling off under a tree with a cold treat, this is the place to do it! ]


(( ooc: Mingle away! You are of course encouraged to make your own posts and mingles for this event, should you want to! Event information can be found over HERE! ))

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope y'all are enjoying the snow and the amazing hot cocoa they've put out for us today, 'cause I certainly am.

So I know this is super last-minute, but we should do a "Secret Santa" gift exchange too. For those of you not from planet Earth, Secret Santa is this thing where we gather a group of people, randomly give each one a name, and y'all then have to buy that person a present. If that sounds like something y'all would be up for, let me know! The more people we can get for this, the better.

I'm still working on the logistics, so I can't exactly answer every question. I can, however, promise a ton of fun.

( closed action to Wally, M'gann, Artemis, and Zatanna )

[ this is her first time doing one of these without gran, and something she thought was going to be difficult for those very reasons is actually rather therapeutic, heartwarming -- a glance back at her roots, back when she was just adele stackhouse's weird granddaughter and not that fae who mingles with vampires. sookie contributes a few dishes from her gran's old recipes, along with something lafayette taught her to make. she's got all the tables in this part of trois park covered with checkered table clothes of varying colors, lots of plastic silverware, paper plates, cups, and napkins at the ready, and a stack of picnic blankets folded up on one of the benches for those who wish to sit on the grass instead of at a table. sookie even brought a long a mesh bag full of sports equipment -- or rather, a couple frisbees, a football, soccer ball, basketball, and even some hacky sacks. (she's not the sports type, but jason would always be off playing something with the other guys.)

hopefully she didn't leave anything out. hopefully this will help cheer everyone up some, both the new arrivals and those still dealing with the days they spent in that other prison. ]

[Just voice, because as weird as it was, it was still kind of disappointing. But, Duo knew that people knew the other him, so he felt he had to say something. After all, if there was one thing that hadn't changed from one version to another was that they were both still pretty social guys.]

So uh, yeah. Um. If anyone's looking for the other me, he's not around. I think we lost him in all the moving and stuff. Or something. But, yeah.

Sorry.

[He was so awkward about this stuff. He would just be over here trying to pretend he didn't just make the worst sounding announcement ever.]

[Rogue has her hair tied up; she's wearing an apron and long, plastic gloves. She's up to her elbows in flour. She smiles up at the screen. She's very obviously in a good mood and one might catch her humming a bit of The Beatles 'Here Comes the Sun' before she starts speaking.]

Don't know 'bout the rest of you, but I'm sorta glad to be back to myself, you know? I'm makin' fresh pies to serve at Merlotte's later if anybody wants to come on down and have a bite. There'll be fried chicken, along with the rest of the menu.

[Her eyes go wide a moment.]

If Sam don't mind that is.

It seems to me that we could all do with some cheering up after what we went through back in that other place. I was thinking we should have some sort of get together for the sake of morale — give everyone a good boost back up. Maybe something like a potluck at one of the parks, where we all pitch in and bring what we like instead of us trying to cram as many bodies as we can into Merlotte's or the Blood Shack.

[ that and they've not only already done the party on the beach thing, but it might be a little too soon to ask anyone to go that close to the water. and there just ain't enough lanes at the bowling alley to accommodate everyone. ]

Yes? No? [ she smiles hopefully, because someone's gotta be strong in the face of so much bullshit. if she stops being strong, then it means whatever higher power's behind this place has one and she refuses to lose herself to something that won't even show its face. ]

[After a hard day's work, it's time for dinner. And there's food a cookin' in the shared kitchens of Squall Asylum. It might even smell better than you'd expect, because a bunch of rations put together makes a little more than a few cold potatoes alone. And face it, with Lacus around making wine out of water (or as close to it as possible, judging by the "feast") it's bound to be a good time.

So take forth your delicious food and eat as a group. After all, social interaction's awesome. We may not have beaches to luau on but the same people are hanging out and ought to stay closely knit despite the circumstances. Be a recluse if you want to, but you won't get far eating plain rice alone. Join in!

Dinner consists of an assortment of simple dishes prepared by Lacus creatively despite ration restrictions. Some of the dishes offered include a rice and beans dish, cabbage stew, fried rice with the veggies, and a very simple carrot bread.

And for you folks who go to the dark side, there will be a chicken dish as well though Rebecca will be giving it and partakers of it slightly irritated side glances for a multitude of reasons.]


(OOC: So if you didn't hear on day 221 ('yesterday'), Rebecca had been cheerfully suggesting a ration-share program to make a lot of something out of a little nothing. Whether you responded or not, feel free to hand wave if your character joined in by donating some of their rations to be made into meals likely at the hands of talented chef Lacus.

This mingle is solely about day 222 dinner, but also feel free to hand wave that breakfast and lunch were similarly made for those who participated. And if you didn't participate? Well, feel free to crash & eat your own food with the group or sneak a few bites. There might not be tons to go around, but it's doubtful anyone will turn you down.

Notifs are off but I'll be surfing the post & Becks'll have her own post down below.)

[ It's a wonderful, stormy day here in Squall Asylum and vacation time is officially over! Your gracious overlords have worked out a light itinerary for you today and they expect you to keep it.

Get in line to pick up your food rations for the day. Eat breakfast if you have time for it, or perhaps you'd rather skip this one time and save yourself the discomfort during the two hours of exercise that follow. Jogging, jumping jacks or perhaps impromptu team sports, whatever you end up doing you bet you'll come out exercised in the end!

Should you not want to participate... well. We have ways to make you join in. Anyone reluctant to get their heart rate up will get a helpful electric prod by one of the bots until they comply. Tough cookies.

Luckily you'll get a chance to wash off that sweat (hope you're not shy, the wash room can get crowded) before it's time for the silent game for an hour, followed by lunch. The day is not over yet though! There's still time for a couple of hours of hard labor tending to the crops, doing laundry or perhaps breaking bricks in the yard. To make sure none of the inmates are broken this is also the time for mandatory physical checkups — bots will guide you to the hospital. No ifs or buts. The violation of personal privacy is for your own good, we promise.

Isn't it nice, being in prison? ]

((ooc: This mingle takes place during all of day 222. A bullet-point for of the itinerary can be found here, where we also encourage you to direct any questions. Event info is here if you need it. ))

[Wake up and smell the lack of coffee. You're on a bunk bed. Maybe you're a top and maybe you're a bottom. There are five other people in your room. Maybe they're friends or enemies or faces you barely recognize if at all. It doesn't matter much. You can leave this room and you don't need to come back to it.

You should get your rations though. You're probably hungry. You're definitely a little sluggish of body. What happened to that bruise you got sparing yesterday? What happened to your newly dyed hair? Mystery, mystery... Move along. Find the public bathrooms and do your business with a hundred of your closest friends.

Find the kiosk and get your rations. Careful not to let anyone steal them. You won't get more until tomorrow and the bots won't care. They aren't here to hold your hand. If you get sick or hurt and they deem it necessary they will take you to the hospital whether you wish it or not. But why dwell on such things? You're here now and you might as well enjoy it. You even get a free day today.]

(OOC: OOC info. This mingle takes place in the Main shelter over the morning hours.