Author Topic: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]  (Read 13820 times)

MAK_Zou

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A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« on: August 04, 2019, 02:00:25 AM »
A few kilometers outside of Atlas stood a sheer cliff. As cliffs go, it was pretty standard. Lots of rock, grass on the top, dust and rubble at the bottom.
The cliff face itself may have garnered slightly more interest, as if one were to stand at a distance and squint, the outcroppings could almost look like a dog. So long as the dog's ears were different shapes and it was missing a leg.

There was in fact, exactly one thing of note about this cliff, and that was the metal door situated roughly in the middle, at the bottom. One would be forgiven for not noticing the door however, as it was right behind a large helipad, and surrounded by small outposts and hastily constructed walls.
There were only three ways that someone would have been able to see the door.
First, they could arrive by Bulwark.
Second, the could break through the walls and outposts.
Third, they could jump off the edge of the cliff and maybe catch a glimpse of it in the split second before they went splat.

Were somebody to have taken option three at this very moment, they might also be lucky enough to have seen Janken Wigheard walk through that door, followed by his assistant and two security personnel.

Janken wasn't exactly what you'd call 'orthodox'. He looked to be somewhere in his mid-fourties, wore a denim jacket covered in patches for various punk,  and metal bands, as well as custom stitching for one classical orchestra. He matched his jacket with denim jeans, and switched things up a bit by wearing sneakers with no socks.
All of this was swaddled within a lab coat that was just a little bit too big for him.
If one were to be incredibly lame, they might refer to his overall appearance as 'zany'.

Janken stood with his left hand in his lab coat pocket, and his right hand at his side, staring up at the sky with his electric blue eyes.
It wasn't long before a blast of wind blasted his unkempt hair, somehow managing to make it look a little bit neater.
From over the top of the cliff, a Bulwark dropped into view, slowing it's descent down toward the helipad.
Janken grinned. It had been so long, but now the first steps were finally being taken. The testers were arriving.
The Bulwark came to a stop, and out stepped the four he had selected from the many applicants.

The first that caught his eye was the blonde girl in armour. Helmet clanking against her waist audibly over the sound of the Bulwark powering down.

The second was the rather petite cat Faunus. Contrary to the previous girl, the way she moved gave Jankin the impression that even without the Bulwark to cover the sound, she'd have gone completely unheard.

The third was the girl in the strikingly blue clothing, and made Janken wonder how he'd not seen her immediately.

The last was a guy who, despite his well toned shape, struck Janken as quite an average looking fellow.
'Looks,' Janken thought to himself, 'are most often deceiving.'

Janken raised his arms in welcome to them, beaming.
"Greetings all! I trust your flight over was a smooth and pleasant one?"

nathan67003

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2019, 04:30:32 PM »
Nathan had immediately submitted an application when he'd seen the ad. There was no way he was passing up on something so good and, quite frankly, more out there than anything he'd ever done and managed to remember. Maybe that one time where he lucid dreamed, but if this was gonna be as good as he thought, lucid dreaming was a pebble next to this mountain.

Speaking of mountain, the last thing he saw out the window before landing was the ocean. Surprisingly, not frozen over, not even partially. He'd always been told Atlas/Mantle was literally the most unbelievably frigid place on the planet, but the tufts of grass he'd noticed when they went over a cliff at low altitude made him think his winter coat might've been too much for the occasion. Maybe long sleeves and a windbreaker would've sufficed. Hell, even the windbreaker could've been enough.

His suspicions were confirmed when he stepped out of the Bulwark onto the landing pad. His thoughts, however, immediately went to some far more important things, namely 1) that guy wore a denim jacket, which was cool 2) his lab coat was unbuttoned, sign of a less strict hierarchy (probably) 3) the actual facility seemed to be beyond the walls of the cliff. Why 3) was, Nathan did not know; maybe it required no external light, or maybe it was confidential enough to merit an artificial cave, or cave network, instead of a building. Maybe none of those reasons were correct, or maybe they all were. Who knew? Most probably, the guy who welcomed the four testers with enough joy to warm up the already warm exhaust's vicinity.

Out of reflex, Nathan answered "Yes, sir!", though in an informal tone. Years of hammering politeness into his head had paid off.
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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2019, 12:15:41 AM »
Clara was, admittedly, skeptical when she first read the advertisement.  Quite frankly, it sounded like something straight out of a bad sci-fi movie.  But, after verifying that it was legit, she couldn't help her curiosity and signed up as soon as she was able.  After all, considering how complex the mind was, being able to literally explore it could provide incredibly fascinating insight!

There were a few things that she was curious about, though.  Why did the researchers need people with unlocked aura?  Why did they need to be unconnected to each other?  And why was there so much security if they were advertising to the public?  After all, if they could invest this much money into a high security facility, couldn't they just hire Atlesian Specialists to do the work for them?  Clara couldn't help but have a few suspicions as to the true nature of this research.  Perhaps her brother was rubbing off on her?

Regardless, after being safely delivered to the research site, she was pleasantly surprised to see they weren't greeted by hundreds of armed guards, but instead by a very...eccentric-looking man (albeit still with some security). 

As the man in front gave his greetings, Clara responded with a polite bow, "Indeed.  My name is Clara Meridiem, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
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Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

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Metroidhunter

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2019, 12:15:32 PM »
Isabelle surveyed their surroundings as the group stepped off of the airship. The cool breeze immediately gave her a chill, her standard combat outfit just barely dense enough for the weather here. She folded her arms together, clutching them close to her body while she peered around. This environment reminded her of a couple of missions she had taken part in prior to this one, though the nature of those operations had been entirely different. This job seemed unlike anything she had ever heard of. Taking part in the testing of a new technology didn't sound like something she would be particularly good at-- she could barely even operate her own scroll-- but reading over the requirements several times had been enough to settle her mind. Nearly any student at Beacon could potentially qualify for this, save for when it came to the "positive attitude" bit. That was another attribute about herself where she had some doubts... Up until she realized that questioning it was setting herself up for failure. No, that was no good. She would take the mission, and she would do a damn good job.

'Positivity.'

Perhaps Belle should have been a little more cautious about taking on a task so foreign to her, with so little information provided. Despite the number of worries that clawed at the back of her mind, she had firmly decided that she couldn't let her unrelenting anxiety continue to act as a roadblock. Not anymore.

Their group was soon greeted by the eccentric-looking fellow that had presumably been the one that invited them here. Isabelle turned to face forward again, taking in the sight of him. Definitely a far cry from what she had been expecting, but not nearly enough to alarm her. If anything, his unorthodox appearance made her feel more welcome, as odd as that was. In response to his greeting, she gave a small wave before nodding along with his line of questioning. A moment later, she watched as Clara introduced herself. Suddenly, she wondered if she should have properly introduced herself as well, but now it was too late. Or was it? Her mind danced back and forth between the options before settling on 'do nothing'. Yeah. That was fine too.
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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2019, 08:52:19 AM »
Abigail had seen the advert entirely by accident. Having been scanning the area, the near illegible colour of the advert had offended her eyes enough that with what words she had worked out, she was intrigued enough to go up to it and actually read it. Intrigued by the prospect, Abigail had signed up for it. Now however, she was regretting wearing her armour or going to somewhere cold enough that the plates ached to touch. Helmet off as she looked over Diligence & Vigilance to ensure they were ready. A glance out the window would've alerted her that they were nearing the landing pad, then a glance at the others who were accepted. A flash of concern crossed her face at the lone faunus, though it vanished when the line about positive attitudes from the ad came back to her.

As the doors opened and disgorged the four of them, Abigail made sure her shield was strapped to her right arm, sword was in its sheath, and her helmet was firmly attached. Of course, the fact that they were heading towards the main objective so to speak, caused Lietmotif to activate, the sounds of cellos and violins ominously playing as her face showed some embarrassment as she quickly succumbed to the cold winds. Reaching up with her left hand, she'd go to move and keep her hair in place over her left ear to keep it from freezing off, or at least feeling like it would. Silence, other than the unhelped and uncontrolled music, was all that she gave to the introductions. Not out of rudeness, but out of the fact she could barely hear over the wind, music and having one ear closed off.

MAK_Zou

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2019, 09:22:06 AM »
Janken lowered his hands, placing them on his hips with frankly unnecessary gusto.
"Excellent! And love the enthusiasm!" he stated to Nathan, before turning to his assistant.
"Why don't you ever call me sir? I am in charge here."
His assistant tutted and rolled her eyes.
"I promise, the day you learn to tie your shoelaces without muttering the the process to yourself, I'll consider it" she retorted.
Ignoring her, Janken continued on, speaking now to Clara, and much louder in an attempt to combat the sound of the violins that appeared to be emanating from the armoured girl.
"And a pleasure to meet you too, Clara. No need to be so formal, we like to keep things loose around he- Wow, you weren't joking about the difficulty controlling that, were you?" He finished, turning to Abigail, nearly shouting to be heard over the top of the music, wind, and the last remnants of the Bulwark's engines.

"Not to worry, not enough opportunity to shout in polite company, and it can really be quite fun! You must be Abigail, yes? Pleasure to meet you."
Janken's assistant rolled her eyes again, and checked her watch.

"And that must make you Isabelle, yes? Fantastic. Well, as you may have surmised, I am Janken Wigheard and I run this here little operation. My assistant Christina here put the ad out. I wanted to do it but apparently I'm 'not professional enough' or something ridiculous like that. In any case thank you all for applying. I- what? Ah yes, true enough" Janken was cut off by Christina tapping her watch.

"We'd better be getting a wriggle on then. I'm sure you all will have questions, so why don't we talk as we walk. I'd be happy to answer any and all questions about the project, and once we're inside I'll introduce you to my team. Come along!"

Without waiting for any of the group to reply, Janken was off. Hands in his pockets he walked straight towards the metal door, with his security detail in tow. Christina mouthed "I'm sorry about him", jabbing a thumb in Janken's general direction before gesturing the group to go ahead of her.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2019, 09:25:18 AM by MAK_Zou »

nathan67003

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2019, 10:19:33 AM »
Nathan listened to the - apparent - project lead, or attempted to do so through music that seemed to emanate from a quite honestly gorgeous blonde test subject. Yes, they were, after all, test subjects.

As he listened, a small shadow of a smile, barely perceptible to an untrained observer, slowly crept across his face. Even though he was still wondering what exactly was in store for them, he couldn't help but take a liking to the disheveled man. In his rather small amount of experience regarding lab workers, the most fun to be around were just like him - positively weird, familiar in speech and just lax enough in regulations to allow for a friendly atmosphere without jeopardizing the experiments' results.

As soon as the man walked off, Nathan followed, albeit he didn't close the gap and merely kept the same distance. This felt like it was gonna be fun.
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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2019, 07:04:28 PM »
Trying to listen over the invisible instruments, Clara simply responded to Dr. Wigheard's suggestion with a polite smile and nod.  She's not really the type to shout, and while uncontrollable music might be a minor, momentary nuisance, she couldn't possibly imagine the struggle of having it follow you where ever one went.  Clara wonders if it has done anything to Abigail's patience, considering she has to live with it for her entire life.

In any case, despite the doctor's disarming attitude and appearance, Clara still had a few concerns she'd like addressed.  "I do have a few questions, actually," she addressed Dr. Wigheard as the group began moving into the facility.  "First of all, why is there so much secrecy?  I'm pretty sure the only way to get here safely is through the air, does this project really need that much security?  And, if it does, why did you put out a public ad?  I can't really find any logical reasoning for that, wouldn't it have made more sense just to hire specialists or use someone more local?  Quite frankly, it looks like you'd have the funding for it."

She has a few other concerns as well, but rather than unload all of her questions at once, she decides to give the doctor and his assistant a chance to explain.  Perhaps everything will be explained while they're guided through the facility.  Or maybe this is all a government conspiracy, and the four of them will have to fight their way out while stopping a maniacal plan to take over the world.  Eventually, they'll be overwhelmed, and Clara will have to detonate all the dust in her staff with her semblance, sending literally everything sky high.  There would be no survivors, but they'd all go out in a blaze of glory.  Truly, a noble sacrifice for the sake of the world.

Focus.  Mission, her mind scolds, snapping her out of her delusions and bringing her attention back to the task at hand.
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

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MAK_Zou

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2019, 08:39:06 AM »
The door opened and the group walked through. Inside was a rather beaten looking metal corridor. Some of the lights flickered as if struggling for life, while others shone so bright it was as if they were sapping the light from the others. The walls looked old, too. Certainly sturdy; they could take a hell of a beating yet... However, the paint had long since peeled off, there were cracks here and there, and about a third of the way through the wall almost looked like it was bending inwards. It would have been hard to say for sure without a ruler, or a level.
The facility may have been built to last, but clearly that was a while ago. It likely would not pass an official inspection nowadays.
Seemingly in defiance of this cold, militaristic style, someone had rolled a rug across the entrance and placed a welcome mat right at the door.
The rug barely reached half way, and the mat read "H me Swe t Hom " but it was better than nothing.

Janken wiped his feet on the mat as he passed through, turning his head to face Clara as he walked.
"Ahh, good questions indeed! Not what I expected to be first and foremost on your minds, but then again, Huntsman and Huntresses in training should always be on the lookout for possible danger, eh?"

Janken spun around to face Clara entirely, now walking backwards with his hands in his pockets. He gave the impression that he might have thought this act to be somewhat nonchalant and cool. Christina and the security team, however, gave the impression that they hadn't noticed and didn't care. Nor did they wipe their feet on the mat as they passed.

"Well, as to the secrecy... that's more accidental than anything else. We're all more than happy to discuss our research and development here. We didn't think to broadcast in too much detail, lest another team take up our ideas and finish before we do. We may be trying to help people, but we do also need to eat, and there's not much money in coming second place. Also because we figured that most applicants wouldn't be interested in all the sciencey mumbo jumbo."

Janken turned back to face forward as they neared the end of the corridor. He flashed his ID to a scanner, which opened up into a rather large elevator. He stepped inside while the two security personnel took place either side of the elevator.

"The security, however, has been an issue. Not because of other people, mind you. Our tests are, as I'm sure you've already gathered, very involved with people's mental state. The end goal might be improved ability to help people overcome things like fear and trauma, but we're not quite there yet. In fact, in the earlier stages of development, we made a few missteps resulting in full blown panic attacks over things as minor as dropping food on the floor. As again, I'm sure you're all aware, this kind of negativity is something of an invitation to the Grimm.
We weren't at dangerous levels or anything, but... well, the Kingdom of Atlas wasn't thrilled with the idea of our research adding any strain to the Kingdom's defenses, and that may well be a reasonable concern. You'll understand once you see how the devices we're developing work.
Anywho, that's what the security is for. Also partly why we wanted combat trained testers. We'd have hired actual Hunstmen, or Atlesian specialists, but our budget is already stretched pretty thin just from hiring this place from the Atlesian military. Tight buggers weren't even using it, as you can probably tell.
Anyway, rent costs and refitting and hiring our own security to make sure we don't get killed left little in the way of research funds to pay the full asking rates of fully trained professionals. Public ad for science tests are a lot cheaper, even with all the freebies and transport costs covered. Plus, a lot of them come with baggage from the job, which would only add to the strain on our defenses here."


Janken finished his lengthy explanation, and simply stood in silence, watching the group from within the elevator. After a moment of silence he clicked his tongue.

"Right, well, pile on in. It might be a bit squishy, but we should all fit. Any more questions?"

He leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Once again, he gave off the impression that he seemed to this this behavior was 'cool'
« Last Edit: August 14, 2019, 08:43:57 AM by MAK_Zou »

Frankenstein Joe

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2019, 03:52:15 PM »
As the introductions were done and the eccentric individual had started back inside, the music died down as the tension broke. Her own awkwardness leaving with it, she'd follow silently to let everyone else do the speaking and just relax into listening in to the explanations for the questions. Admittedly, she didn't have any questions, only what they wanted her to do.
That said, she didn't know any of these people. And while it's not as bad for them as it is for the teammates waking up to the sound of horror movie theme song's blasting through the rooms at 3am because of a nightmare. Giving a quick "I apologise for the inconvenience."  

As the Doctor finished up and they all had to get in an elevator, she would step inside and bring her equipment as close to herself as possible so people could squeeze in. Though she did have a question pop to her mind. "Have there been any incidents involving the Grimm on the location? Should we keep our gear with us, or put it in storage somewhere to get back later?" After that, she'd adjust the straps on her shield, not wanting them too tight until they had recovered from the cold of the outside world.

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2019, 08:36:35 AM »
Janken, reaching over the top of the group, grabbed a pen from Christina's pocket, accidentally bumping Nathan on the head as he did so.

"Bugger, sorry about that Nate.
No, we've not had massive problems with Grimm. At least, none that our security and those shoddy walls you saw earlier couldn't handle. But-"


Janken reached over the group again, pen in his hand, and accidentally caught the clicky bit in Isabelle's human ear as he reached for the elevator buttons, which the pen tip just barely reached. He pressed the button for the bottom floor.

"Dammit! Sorry again. I'll get someone to bring you a cookie from the staff lounge."
"Jank, why didn't you just ask Clara to push the button? She's right there" Christina sighed
"Because that would have been incredibly boring, and I like to press buttons.
But yeah, we've only done surface level dives into the mind. We've run into a few roadblocks that required people with combat experience to allow us to move forward, and we anticipate that the deeper we dive into the subconscious, the greater the attraction from the Grimm. Once again, explaining it might take a while. Happy to do it, lord knows my voice is fun to listen to, but throat gets sore you know? Need water after a while. Hopefully it'll make more sense when you see what we've developed so far. Nearly there!"


Reaching back over everyone's heads, Janken attempted to place the pen in a different pocket than the one he pulled it out of. Chrisina crossed her arms, giving Janken a challenging stare. A silent bet had been made, and Janken wasn't going to lose.

He place the pen in the pocket without any issue, and managed to get his hand back to his side without bumping anyone else. Having clearly won the bet Janken allowed himself a fist pump of victory, elbowing Vigilance rather hard.
"Argh bugger me. Funny bone" He exclaimed, rubbing his elbow. Christina turned her head and struggled to suppress a chuckle
« Last Edit: August 15, 2019, 05:08:15 PM by MAK_Zou »

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #11 on: August 18, 2019, 08:36:49 AM »
'I'm more concerned about this facility falling apart on its own than the possibility of Grimm.'

She didn't say it aloud to the researchers to avoid being rude, though it wouldn't be too hard to read Isabelle's thoughts on her bothered expression. This type of structure was not entirely foreign to her, but as she looked around the interior, she couldn't help but be a little worried by its decrepit state. It was probably sturdy enough if these people were willing to work here... Then again, they didn't exactly seem like an ordinary bunch. As they all stepped into the elevator, she made a mental note to keep an ear out for anything that sounded like failing structural integrity.

Instead of any sounds of that sort, the only thing Isabelle heard was a pen clicking against the inside of her ear as she was accidentally jabbed with it. The girl let out a quiet "Oop," out of surprise, reeling back a tiny bit before her mind registered what exactly had happened. Before she could even offer up some kind of acceptance of his apology, he had moved on to something else. Once again, Isabelle returned to standing in silence, just listening to his response. That pen incident had been such a brief and odd exchange, but at least it had been enough to distract her from her own thoughts.

Isabelle didn't really have any questions other than what flavor that cookie was supposed to be.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2019, 09:04:57 AM by Metroidhunter »
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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2019, 09:24:46 PM »
Janken kept nursing his elbow for a bit, whilst making exaggerated facial expressions of sadness and pain at Christina.
Christina suppressed another chuckle and opted instead to roll her eyes at Janken.
"If you keep that up I'm gonna smack your other elbow"
Janken straightened up, hands clasped politely in front of him, and started looking around the elevator to avoid Christina's gaze. To this, also, she rolled her eyes. If this was the regular conduct in this place, it was a wonder that Christina's eyes hadn't rolled right out of her head.

The elevator came to a halt, and the doors opened up to a large area that was much better maintained than the corridor they entered through
"It was a long journey, but through the genius and masterful navigational skills of their leader, Janken Wigheard, the group managed to make it to the lab." Janken said, in  overly done imitation of a narrator as they stepped out of the elevator.
"He does this just about every time." Christina whispered to the group.

The room, as mentioned, was rather large. It was also filled with technical looking machinery and monitoring equipment.
There was a lot to look at in the room, and it would be hard to predict what would be the first thing to catch a visitor's eye.
It could have been the vastness of the room itself, a marvel considering they were deep under a mountain.
Perhaps it might have been the two sections walled off, making two smaller rooms with glass windows. One appeared to be a staff lounge, while the other appeared to be a medical bay.
It may have even been the other room, further to the back, filled with what looked like floating streams of dust swirling around.
Though Janken himself could never stop the habit of glancing over at the weird looking chairs whenever he entered.

There were ten of them in a circle, right out the front of the dust room. They were in the style of a reclining seat, however they were rigid and certainly not going to change position. Each one had an IV drip and other medical equipment sitting right next to it, with vital monitoring machines off to the side. One of them also had a large control panel next to it.

Janken turned away from the seats, and to the first member of staff who passed.
"Manfred! Manny-Wanny, Manny-Moo, could I trouble you to grab Jane, Wilson, Dave, and Grace for me? And also a plate of cookies for the testers on your way back."
"Yeah no worries. Back in a jiff."
"Marvelous. So!" Janken turned to face the testers. "This is where we'll be running the tests. Feel free to look around, have a peek at what's going on. Ask me or my staff any questions while we wait for my associates, and of course, the cookies. Just don't fiddle with the machines. They're doing important stuff, and if they bugger up during the test then we could have a cascade of issues. Seeing as it's my head you'll be running around inside of, I'm not too keen on having a cascade of issues."

nathan67003

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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #13 on: August 19, 2019, 04:32:00 PM »
Nathan was thankful that the music had stopped - or rather, lowered in volume, since he didn't really mind the music that much - since it made it that much easier to listen to the questions being asked by the others. Which, honestly, were all good questions.

While listening to the answers, he chose to mimic the somewhat aloof man and briefly wiped his feet as well. It was there, might as well use it. Though as he looked at him, answering while walking backwards, he felt like... like he was putting effort into this behaviour. Maybe, Nathan was anything but a good judge of character. Still, with the answers he was hearing, it made sense - it might indeed be close to his real personality, but the additional acts may be to nurture the relaxed nature of the environment. No harm will come to you and that kinda stuff, promote a relatively good state of mind for the ensuing tests. Maybe.

He walked into the elevator and stationed himself right besides the, uh, project lead. Of course, he wasn't able to lay his back flat against the wall, instead having to be at a slight angle to accommodate for Ergia in its harness. This didn't mean he was able to avoid the lab-coat clad arm as it bumped against his head. He smiled a kind smile at the man's apology, mildly enjoying his antics. Although, if he really did intend to be the one pressing the button, it was poor planning on his part to post himself at the very back of the elevator. All in all, though, what he'd heard had only made him more curious about the very project, its advancements and its inner workings. Still, as he stepped out of the elevator, he wasn't convinced that part of what he'd seen wasn't an act designed to make participants feel more secure and relaxed. Though now, with the man's self-narration, hw knew his full name - possibly a fake one, but at least he had something to call him.

However, this line of though halted when the lab proper came within sight. Several things came to mind, such as 'why do you need such a ridiculously large room for ten bizarre chairs' until he remembered it was a repurposed place, as well as 'what's that at the back, I wanna see, I really wanna see'. The chairs, at least, he could tell would probably be used to explore the mind in some way, judging by the varied technological apparatuses strapped, wired or screwed to them and the IV drip that came alongside each of the pieces of furniture.

The first thing he did after Janken finished speaking was slowly move forward with his hands clasped behind his back, intently dissecting the machinery and the room in the back with his eyes. He didn't move much, though, and patiently - and politely - waited for somebody to come to him, at which time he'd assault the poor sod with a flurry of questions.
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Nathan Eau, De Facto Jetpack Guy and Leader of Team INKK
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Re: A Small, Dark Room [CLOSED]
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2019, 12:52:21 AM »
Clara was somewhat relieved to hear that the secrecy and security were at least somewhat warranted.  It made sense that the research team would need something to protect them from the Grimm, especially if this project had tendencies to increase negativity levels.  And, well, it seemed her comment about the budget had came too soon.  It only looked fancy from the outside; from the inside the place looked fairly dilapidated, to say the least.  Between the peeled paint, the not-quite-even walls, and the flickering lights, Clara was somewhat glad that bringing up money didn't earn the doctor's ire. 

As they reached the end of the hallway and started piling into the elevator, Clara found herself next to the control panel.  She was about to ask which floor they were going to, only to find Dr. Janken awkwardly trying to reach out with a pen to push the button himself.  Too stunned to actually say anything, Clara did her best to keep her and Torchlight, her staff, out of the way of the doctor's clumsy rampage.  After watching his interaction with his assistant, Clara cocked her head to the side in bewilderment.  Is this guy really the lead researcher?

As the elevator doors opened and Janken gave his narration, Clara gave a slightly concerned, "I see," to Christina as she explained his...shenanigans.  However, her expression changed to wonder as she saw the vast room before them.  Between all the technological doo-dads and whats-its, she really didn't know what to look at first.  However, the thing that finally caught her eye was the stream of dust floating around in one of the back rooms.  Fascinated, Clara began absentmindedly making her way towards it, asking aloud, "What's back there?"
« Last Edit: August 22, 2019, 03:14:13 AM by ReaperJoe »
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

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