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Realistic or Modern Time After Time | IC

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rohit sisodiya.





































  • mood



    overwhelmed ; tipsy
















Rohit wasn't a fan of parties — and not because he thought himself too good for them or because he despised dressing up. Sure, this one didn't have the pounding bass and flashing, multi-colored lights like all of the ragers he'd been dragged to in college did, but Ro found himself overwhelmed regardless. The amount of people, the over-lapping conversations, the smell of wine and champagne and appetizer trays — all of these things, along with the creeping thoughts that he didn't quite fit in with this crowd, made his head buzz and his stomach flop about. It wasn't that he didn't want to party — he'd spent the first thirty minutes of it throwing back champagne flukes in hope that he'd lose all inhibition and join the others (though that only succeeded in making him tipsy). No, it was that his body physically wouldn’t allow it. Some invisible force field was keeping him on the outskirts of the crowd no matter how many times he said fuck it and tried to join in.

He’d given up eventually, coming to the conclusion that Rohit Sisodiya was never meant to enjoy parties. Not as an awkward kid who never got invited to birthday parties. Not in college. And certainly not now. He traded his empty glass for another champagne fluke from one of the passing trays and settled himself deep into one of the sofas at the edge of the crowd. At least there was the booze. Ro wasn’t much of a drinker but, hey, if a bunch of hoity toity rich people wanted to offer him some on a literal tray, who was he to not take advantage of it? He pressed the glass to his lips and didn't even cringe at the taste of it this time. He'd always been more of a mixed drink kind of person, favoring drinks with enough juice or soda in them to drown out the flavor of liquor, but you manage to get used to the taste after four drinks. If the alcohol wasn't going to give him the courage to get out there, it was at least going to drown out some of his senses.

He was surely a sight to behold by the time someone had joined the seat across from him. He sported flushed cheeks and an unblinking stare, all glassy eyes and a white-knuckled grip on the stem of his glass. The champagne, unfortunately, hadn't done much yet to qualm that still-growing overwhelming feeling inside him. The crowd was still too loud, the lights too bright. He'd zoned out completely trying to ignore it all. If the man across from him hadn't said something, he was sure he wouldn't have noticed him at all.
"Huh?"
He blinked, only half-aware he was being spoken to at all.
"Oh, more like I don't know how to do this whole party thing,"
he answered with a shy smile, gesturing towards the crowd with his free hand. If his words were slightly slurred, this man was kind enough not to mention it.
"You have the right idea,"
he said, pointing towards the entire bottle of champagne with his eyes.
"I didn't realize whole bottles were on the table. May I?"


Pouring champagne into his glass proved to be a small challenge when everything was slightly blurry, and his hand-eye coordination was bad enough sober. He balanced the base of it on his knee, white-knuckle grip on the neck of the bottle that way if he missed his glass, he at least wouldn't drop the entire thing.
"Lab work?"
He knit his brows, confusion etched into his features like it was the most puzzling thing he'd heard all day. His wondered when this guy might've seen him in the labs. He'd only been in them a handful of times to drop off some papers.
"You might have me confused with someone else. I didn't have much to do with all the genetic engineering stuff. I barely spent any time in the labs,"
he answered with a helpless shrug.
"Besides I'm..."
Don't bring up birds. Don't bring up birds.
"I'm more of a bird guy. I think they only kept me around 'cause I know a lot about them. Birds,"
he clarified.
"Well, dinosaurs, too, but only because of birds. They're relatives!"
He shared like this wasn't one of the more well-known facts about birds and dinosaurs.
"I mostly studied the relationship between them. I'm not really sure how much of it was useful."


The champagne at least seemed to grant Ro some self-awareness. Any other time, he would've kept talking about his work until the man physically left him in the dust.
"I won't bore you with all that. What brings you here?"
He asked, returning the bottle and sipping from his now-filled glass.

His nerves didn’t quite dissipate, but the man offered a good enough distraction for now. He was thankful to have someone to talk to, even if they were an apparent stranger.
"I’m Ro, by the way. Sorry if we’ve met before, you’ll have to remind me of yours."


















[media]=















cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 
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Kali Jones
The Microraptor Trainer
Exhibits frieght elevator
Psyching herself up, tipsy
Yellow overalls, big boots, khaki park uniform jacket and polo
interactions

wickedlittlecritta wickedlittlecritta Bothering Sasha

She stood there with a grin, relieved to have his support in her time of need. Honestly he had better make faces, but she also she was committed to the bit. Two smooches. In this economy. That could make or break a man you know.

“Soon to now. Honestly I should have brought the perches up instead of finding you. But I’m Simple~” And then she forgot for a moment that she was doing her best not to kiss Sasha, by going up on tip toes to kiss his cheek. “So I got to go. Love you. Bye!” She said darting away before he could scold her.

Everything was coming together tonight. Her contract was until proof of concept and was up once the park opened with the possibility of extension. She’d gotten a series of sweet bonuses for all the milestones along the way and she anticipated tonight, if she didn’t fuck it up might earn her a big one. She’d gotten 50K the first time she’d sent video of Baby hitting a target and just stared at the check in her dorm like an idiot. Her savings fund for her future big naturals was getting out of hand- not that she would complain. She’d taken the job out of curiosity and for money. Not that she had figured out what she’d do with the money yet- buy land, live off the grid, and not worry ever again was high on the possibilities- But she’d lived the 9-5 long enough to know her heart wanted out. To know that some weird corpo dinosaur gig could set some one like her for life. She wasn’t sure if she’d stay or go yet if they offered her that extension. Wasn’t sure if her heart could take it getting too attached to the animals.

She’d had the time of her life training these bitey little murder chickens, but they weren't hers. And she had tried so hard and failed a little not to fall in love with them the way she had fallen in love with her falcon Achilles or any of the rescue birds at the wild life center. You could love a bird you released. It was hard to love something you had to leave behind in a cage.

So the tremor of anxiety that ran through her whole body was to be expect and so was the angry yowling of Baby in the cat carrier. She wanted to be let out to preen Sasha and she wasn’t going to get it, so she was making a fuss. Trilling and clucking angrily as Kali tried to make her way calmly and discreetly through the exhibits back to the freight elevator.

She could do this,t hey had done the routine a hundred times now. Maybe she'd misspeak or Yuzu would do something stupid or maybe plum would miss a cue- but she knew how to play all of these for laughs. She wasn't much of a performer, but she could make due. She tried to give herself some credit. Besides, no one would be looking at her. Not really. She was just furniture to these investors. She was jaded to the squawking menaces she would be showing off but tonight they'd be the crown jewel; a marvel, a miracle, a reason to believe stonks only go up. No one would even remember the scrungly little zoo keeper who had manage to get the miracle chickens to jump through the hulu hoop. And that was good.

What could go wrong?

She kept reminding herself of this as she made her way to the back of the exhibits hall and the discrete freight elevator camouflaged by the prehistoric mural. Baby was still yowling for Sasha, her true love, as she hit the elevator button.

"Girl same," She said with deep sarcasm. She checked over her shoulders and around to see if she was attracting attention, the exhibits were getting more foot traffic than she was expecting at a fancy party and the last thing she needed was to get jumped by an investor or worse a reporter. Baby did not cease and began to upset her younger flock members who began to shuffle and cluck. They were all hooded and on perches still, so she was confident they were secure as she began to give them a reassuring swing.

"Oh be quiet," She told Baby in a lower tone, and swung the cat carrier like one might a baby car sea with a cranky infant, "You're such a pill. A drama queen. You need to behave for me. This is very important."

Mango twittered and made a passable mimic of Kali saying "Oops?!" in the same tone Kali used when one of the microraptors would miss a cue. Mango was always hyper sensitive to scolding tones.

"Not you Mango. You're perfect."


coded by natasha.
 
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barbara halcomb
the invest. journalist
adjoining hall outside main room
entertaining excitement
interactions

bailey elytra elytra || ritzy idalie idalie
She should have known from the inclination of a closer interaction, beyond the pleasant exchange of brushing one’s hand on one’s shoulder, for instance, that Ritz was certainly not someone to trust. It would be one thing to assume so highly of this individual, that they would be fooled by the promise of journalistic gravitas, and that it would mean anything beyond what the words meant within Barbara’s conniving lips. Maybe it was the moustache, or perhaps the way he held himself. Only in that moment of closeness, where he adjusted her bracelet, did the settling in her stomach make its realisation.

“Offer me something more tangible and walk through this spiel again before your friend smiles so wide he splits his mouth on a crystal tumbler.”

The security guard spoke hushedly, but there was an uneasy weight to his words. Something that enticed Barbara as much as it did make her innate warning shots fire off. The type of stranger at a club that you don’t let get too close, lest you fall into their web.

Barbara was, in her own way, a spider too. She could appreciate the grit now that the niceties were aside.

“Glad to know you’re not one of those bubbly idiot types. Someone who knows tangibility and the importance of… experience, rather than ifs, ands and maybes,” Barbara said to Ritz, her smile quirking at the edge.

She kept her desire to snort out a laugh in contempt, wanting to make it clear that money was no contest here; that clearly, if it was all the talk, it would be worth the amount ten fold. Bailey seemed to make notice of Ritz, and chose to act in fashion. Barbara stepped back as the glass of wine was held out to her, and without thinking she took it; though greater reasoning would have persuaded against it.

As the two hashed out the issue of money, one thing that made Barb’s eyebrow raise seeing Bailey so fluidly pull out a cheque book, her gaze did keep slipping to the wine. She’d been sober for years now, and the urge never waned. Cigarettes were a kinder vice, if not more addictive. Yet it was the allure of alcohol that, always, made her wonder if it would be better than the last time. Consequences of jail time often discouraged Barbara’s hesitant desire, and that of losing even more of her daughter, but there was a fleeting thought here in this exhibit hall. No one was here that mattered, really-- and no one could get anything out, for the time being. They existed in this bubble of reality, privy to the park’s own desires.

So it would be, for the time being, that she would still refrain. Holding the stem of the glass between two fingers, the pinky resting lightly on the base, she regarded the drink with utter disdain. Slightly away, her nose wrinkled, she looked to Ritz and Bailey with renewed interest.

Would it be appropriate to thank Bailey? Barbara would hate to stoop so low, though she did manage to find a smidgen of gratitude for his part in the ruse. Whether the amount was simply for his share of the experience or not, however, Barbara wasn’t intending on letting two guys deal their ‘deals’ in front of her nose.

Shaking her wrist at Ritz as well, Barb tilted her head. “Twenty-four karat. Diamonds, too. Wedding gift from several, several irrelevant years ago. You already touched it; you might as well take it.”

The bracelet was finely made, a reflection of great craftsmanship and tiny, near imperceptible diamonds indented onto the rose gold. It would hopefully find worth in its own, though it surely wasn’t the unknown number of zeroes that Bailey had scribbled down.

“And my earrings too. Fuck, just rob us blind-- I want to get the fuck out of here.” Her grin was palpable now, an anxious energy overtaking the confident woman.
coded by natasha.
 
Ritz V. D. Englebrecht
security | big game hunter
welcome centre; hall outside main room
safari bastard
interactions

elytra elytra BELIAL. BELIAL.
“Changed your tune quick for a canary,” Ritz replied, filled with the definitive weight of self-assured egotism. That bittersweet act of overindulgence, rotting out the hollows of his bones and mouldering calcified compassion⁠—the Boer’s vanity had always been in-part a transaction. Speak of all the men whose better morals had achieved them fortune and the list became a footnote, others so frightened of their judgement in the next life they’d scrambled to rectify their actions; philanthropy bought in blood. But the Guard, humbled by his station in a room of fat bank accounts on legs, discussing flaccid economics and vintage wines, was presented the chance to act insolently above his station.

The once silent, grinning partner of the Journalist now spoke, his Cheshire composure ticking over into agitation by the handing off of their glass and the whites of a fresh cheque book. Mauritz’s laugh rolled off his chest at theatrical volume of the statements, as one tries to humour their employer for a particularly bad anecdote, “Don’t you know the richer a cash cow is, the less they like paying when it comes to service?” Englebrecht caught the slip of paper between his fingers, snatching it away to examine.

“I don’t usually take written promises,” Ritz folded the cheque over on itself, opening his jacket to safely store it away in his innermost pocket, though the Game Hunter’s eyes gravitated to Barbara’s easily offered jewellery, “But that down payment on Ms. Halcomb’s account says this trip is fixed up to be financed,”

His broad smile returned, swarthy face splitting for those straight teeth of animal white, “Irrelevant?” Fingers, calloused and split where they’d been weathered, proved nimble enough to unlatch the bracelet⁠—however, Ritz’s gaze remained squarely on Halcomb, “And I missed you all in white, ought to wear it again some time.”

Gently, he hooked behind the Journalist’s ear, removing the last of the pair; close enough her balmy breath unfurled across the back of his hand, cheek resting warm against Ritz’s knuckles, until they were once more tipped into the interior of that tailor-cut suit.

“Let's not hang around here waiting then, shall we? Don't trip on the steps, Cinders,” Mauritz’s qualms over making appearances for the night were soothed by the weight of diamonds and paper sitting pretty over his quickening heartbeat⁠—the inklings of adrenaline as Englebrecht subtly gestured toward one of the staff-only labelled exits, palm resting across the small of Barbara’s back before they reached Bailey with likewise touch, “We’ll take one of the off-roaders, all Park issue⁠—you two not afraid of a little water? Are you?”

Ritz embodied his latest role with ease of a one-man performance troop changing name badges, “I’m no palaeontologist, but I happen to think I’ve got a step-up with watching the real thing rather than measuring teeth. Hm? If something goes tits up, don’t believe the fossil guides, les yeux sur moi.” He’d used similar talks with safari tours, rich idiots who thought it was a zoo rather than the free roaming savannah⁠—but perhaps he’d just wanted to incite a pinch of nerves. The paddocks were shut up tight, no storm had been forecast yet he swore he could smell the gathering rain; hoping it’d blow over.
 













  • XI.
    Leslie Temps





    lotto winner.
    mood
    Excited!

    location
    DCPP Welcome Party- AKA around Very Rich People

    interactions
    Kali+ A Little Raptor!

    tags
    TrashRabbit TrashRabbit





designed by bad ending & coded by xayah.ღ
 
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viola.
































"this is a dialogue."

“You’ve gotta loosen up a little Del!” Viola exhaled as she ducked after Edel out of the limo. Out of everyone Viola knew, her sister was the most uptight. It was rare to see the woman loosen up and have fun, which was a big reason she had wanted to enter the lottery pool. This was the first time in years her sister had done anything that was maybe sort of for herself. Yes, the real reason Edel was here was to take care of her, but Viola had high hopes that there would be at least something here for her sister. There had to be. “Besides, had I asked you would’ve said no…” Her words came out softer as they walked, more so talking to herself than her sister. This statement was also true, just about anything Viola did Edel figured to be too dangerous. From this adventure of a lifetime to crossing the street. It didn’t matter, and all because of her disease.

On the note of her disease…

Viola visibly cringed when the security guard began to speak about Edels bag. The only way Edel had let her come on this trip was if she could bring allllll of her medical supplies. She had heard her sister berating the unwitting service representatives at the park through the walls of their apartment. There were high hopes in her mind that there would be no questioning the tall buff lady with the backpack. But here we were. “Sorry ma’am, your bag please?” The pink-haired girls gaze darted over and up at the other security officer. He was on the other side of the entrance, casting uncomfortable glances toward Edel as he gestured to the bag at her hip. Quickly she reached for the buckle. “Oh yeah! Here.” Without hesitation, she handed over the simple black fannypack that had been a stain on countless outfits. The security guard was quick to catch onto the way her gaze lingered on the bag as she smoothed out her dress. “You look very nice tonight ma’am. Have a great evening.”

A smile spread across Violas face, before she glanced down. Draping down to her mid-calf was by far the most elegant dress she had ever worn. The forestry, floral pattern was spotted by colorful birds and branches. Her black, heeled shoes gave her a bit of extra height and were tied in to the dress by a soft pink flower adorning the crest of her heel. Pink-painted nails delicately picked at the matching ascot around her neck, brushing the lard earring that hung off of her ears. She certainly felt the loveliest she had in a while, more so now that someone had pointed it out. Once he was done looking over her bag he handed it back to her, gesturing toward the entrance. Still smiling she clutched the fannypack to her chest and followed closely after Edel.

The party really was awesome. Elegant? However one might put it, it was very well done. All of the people crowded the main room, talking and laughing. They were dressed up in likely their nicest suits and dresses all clearly trying to impress. Viola was impressed. She found herself in a full spin as she tried to take it all in. As she eyed the crowd, the food, and the decorum around her a soft buzzing within her pack caught her attention. “Yeah sure Del,” she said as she began to unzip and rummage through her bag, responding to her sisters request rather halfheartedly (although by then she was already off). It was time for her to take her meds. Right. Perfect timing.

Viola was quick to sniff out an easy exit from the party scene. Getting to that exit was a feat of its own, though. Like a dwarf in a room full of giants, Viola found herself squeezing and ducking through the crowd. There were plenty of ‘oh sorry!’s and ‘mmm wait yep excuse me!’s until finally, she’d made it. Slowly and quietly she strolled away from the crowd and into the dimly lit set of exhibits. Every tense muscle in her body loosened as her eyes scanned the wide variety of new and unusual things before her. It was everything her parents might have one day wanted to see. If they’d been here, she was certain they would have felt the same way she did. Heart aflutter she was quick to rush forward, brushing her hands along the information display below a skeleton.

Just as she began to read, Viola heard chatter from just around the corner, and sure enough, as she peeked through the glass she saw a small group of three people talking amongst themselves. Curious. It looked to be a rather engaging conversation, and being surrounded by dinosaurs… well it might just be worth listening to. Trying her best to stay out of eyesight, Viola slid as close as she could to the edge of the exhibit. They were talking about going somewhere, and money? My my, well if this party wasn’t already fun enough! Viola glanced back at the party behind her, knowing that whatever she was doing now Edel would not be pleased about.

But she had to see where this was going.

And her meds would have to wait.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, her hands slipped from the glass. Her heels clattered loudly against the tile floor as she stumbled forward, stopping dead as she realized she was within view. Shit. Tossing her head up with a stressed smile she leaned one hand back against the glass, the other resting awkwardly on her hip in the classic oops way. So much for sticking around to listen for a little. Her gaze softened as she leaned into one of her two assets; seeming like a very, very innocent person. Smile and wave, Viola.






























cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 
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Malika
































"this is a dialogue."
Mal sipped her champagne quietly, listening to the absolute chaos that was occurring right inside at the heart of the party. The bubbly drink soothed her jangled nerves as the 23-year-old employee glanced up at the sky. She sighed quietly before closing her piercing orbs to just relax, leaning against the building wall to vanish into the darkness of shadows. Her fingers tapped elegantly on the glass as she huffed quietly. Her eyes opened as she gently shifted again. The boots made her feet ache on occasion, given the heeled aspect to them - but she would take her nice heeled boots over actual heels any old day. Her red skirts brushed her ankles and the ground as she shifted again, her ebony hair flashing slightly as the long waves gently brushed her lower back.

She gently took out a notebook, hidden in a small handbag she carried with her, which had all her notes on behaviors of carnivorous and predator animals from her home and work in Africa and other places. She gently drew the pencil she always had on hand and gently went back to organizing her observations. Her more OCD side came into play as she wanted to organize her field observations to help her relax more. After finishing the ethogram organizations, she then focused on her sketches. Malika had taken to drawing each individual leopard she knew in Amboseli, memorizing each pattern for each one to help with Identification purposes. These sketches were what she was touching up. She sat down and kept at her own work. One leopard had a triangle of smaller spots on the face above the left eye, with a set of rosette markings all clumped together on the chest. A triangle-shaped mark right next to the right eye. Malika kept one leg tucked under her, allowing her to swiftly jump up should she need to - years of working in the field amongst predators giving her instincts time to always be aware of her surroundings.

Finishing her sketch, the research behavioralist stood up and popped her back gently, wincing as she felt her knees pop from the lengthy stay in one position. Her piercing gaze found someone else who was hanging around outside and she carefully extracted herself from the shadows, striding towards Mike purposefully, stopping for a second before she spoke. "Not a fan of the entire social thing, I take it?" Her accented voice gave way to her more exotic lineage as she rested a hand on her hip, the other one tightening on the glass of champagne, which was almost finished ... sadly. She couldn't believe she was doing this. But hey - might as well attempt right?

































Love Power



Idina Menzel










♡coded by uxie♡
 
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Mike stood leaned up against his old truck having stepped out to smoke. He smoked whatever he could afford so long as he got his fix. Not only that, but he could outsmoke Joe Camel on any given day, and today was no different.

Mike had just finished his latest cigarette when he noticed Malika was approaching him. Mike was not thrilled in the slightest, but he didn't outwardly show it. He was not a chatty guy with the Tsavo lions making for better companions. This partly stems from his childhood being miserable.

"I certainly am not." Gatherings of any sort were an immense annoyance, and this one was no different. "I dont even like birthday parties, especially if they're for me." Mike hated the idea of having a party thrown for him. He can't stand it. His idea of a good birthday would be one where no one bothers him while he's passed out on his couch.
 
Tenzing Norgay​

Tenzing followed maybe half of the conversation before nearly passing out. As the man in front of him talked, his eyes slowly began to droop lower and lower with each blink, threatening to fall asleep on the spot before he sat back up blinked himself awake again, only to repeat the process moments later.

Why did he initiate a conversation? He knew he didn't have the mental faculties to carry one. The man's words flitted in and out through his ears, like a radio cutting through static. He wasn't a lab guy, he'd probably been thinking of...well, he wasn't actually sure if he even knew anyone that worked in the labs.

Somewhere between his fifth gratuitous sip of champagne and the man diverting the conversation onto birds, Tenzing's eyelids lolled shut, momentarily falling asleep for maybe eight seconds before he jolted himself back awake. They were still talking about birds-Tenzing loved birds, would talk about them at literally any other time, but at the moment he was too preoccupied trying to figure out how he could pass out without looking like a dick.

The man seemed nice enough, their love of birds interesting-it was always good to have a passion-and Tenzing likely would have been enraptured if he were operating off of eight hours of sleep and a normal blood alcohol content. He paid attention as best he could, but sitting down without a goal in mind was one of the quickest ways for his sleep deprivation to hit him. He could only hope the man was as drunk as him and barely noticed his-Oh, shit, it was his turn to talk.

"Uh," What were they talking about? Ro...Rhoetosaurus? How did the conversation get to...Wait, no, that was his name. Ro, he'd file that away and actually remember it instead of guessing and hoping he was right later. Aw, screw it. He was barely holding it together, he might as well be honest.

"I'm Tenzing," he slurred, setting down his bottle, "I haven't slept since eight PM yesterday, and even then it was two hours. I've been living off of white wine pilfered from my coworker's desk and coffee straight from the maker. I'm barely conscious and I think I'm going to go into Cardiac Arrest. Can I leave this," he gestured to his bottle, "with you and fall asleep on a bench outside?" he didn't wait for a response, if he did he'd probably pass out in the short time between words, instead saying "thanks. It was nice meeting you."

With that, he stumbled out of his seat and dragged his feet to the door. As he stepped outside, he mentally clapped himself on the back. That had gone well.

Tags: cadence cadence
 



edelweiss jin.
































"this is a dialogue."
Edelweiss felt a hint of respect grow for the young assistant in front of her as the woman fielded her questions with a sincere smile and quick answers. Looking JR up and down in a slow manner, she found the professionalism not the only thing Edel appreciated. While the college student wasn't a womanizer in anyway and seldom flirted she knew a pretty woman when they were standing there. His care for her sister only added to the pot. Momentarily distracted, Edel refocused on the conversation, never one to act on desires of that nature anyways. "Cameras? No. I don't believe in technology unless it's for medical purposes." She wasn't kidding either, Edelweiss was the only 24 year old to own a pager instead of an iphone. The joke JR made faded into the void as stone faced Edel failed to recognize it, what she did recognize however was one such staff member that the assiant mentioned in passing. While they appeared nondescript at first, she spotted the telltale signs of him being a medical staff member. Dark eyes darted around taking note of the other things JR pointed out, feeling marginally better about her dear sister attending this event. At least the staff seemed to be on top of it. "I'm aware this is suppose to be a "classy" event, but in my experience anything can be a danger to my sister, especially rich assholes." The young woman had a negative outlook on billionaires and the like, as a college student who raised her sister on her own from the age of 18. She had a deep mistrust for the overtly wealthy, anyone with that much money and doing nothing good with it was a shitty person in her view. This opinion was not helped by how many of the old men at the party who eyed up her sister and Edel like they were the last slice of pizza at a frat party.

Her conversation with the CEO's assistant was quickly cut off as a tall man in a gaudy suit pushed in. Speaking of rich assholes. Edel eyed them up and down at their rude arrival, she was pretty confident in her ability to take him in a fight however Viola would cry if she got them both kicked out of the party. Deciding to go with a verbal assault instead of a psychical one, she raised her eyebrow and turned to look at the stranger. "Ah, I see money can't buy manners. Just an overly expensive suit that washes out your skin tone." A bit hypocritical of her maybe, seeing as she tends to throw out society conventions 90% of the time, but thats her so it's allowed. Nodding decisively, she cut back into the conversation, taking JR's attention away from the investor. "I appreciate you being on top of it. I apologize for bothering you. Do be aware however that if anything does happen to Viola and your promises fall through, I'll replicate her injuries onto yourself. A good friend of mine is the Police Commissioner, I'm sure my charges wouldn't stick for long. Have a lovely time at the party." Her facial expression never changed, making it unclear if she was joking or not. It was not a joke. She noted a well dressed woman stepping up, and her interest was piqued for a moment but her attention was stolen by the fact that VIola had left her line of sight. She gave a nod to the lady who just arrived and shoved her way out of the little group, locked onto a new target now.

Edelweiss did a loop around the large ballroom, circling like a shark who just smelled blood. Viola wasn't at the buffet table, or by the bathrooms, or by the drinks. Her sister's bright bubblegum hair was nowhere to be spotted. Her brows grew tight and her lips dropped into an intimidating frown, concern marinating in her cold eyes. A sharp alarm cut her attention, drawing her gaze to the clunky black watch on her arm. The alarm was set periodically, a reminder that it was time for Viola's medication. The sound sparked an idea and the redhead made an assumption that Viola had left the party room to search out a private area for her to take her medication. She pushed her way through the crowded party, uncaring of who she bumped into on her quest. Stepping out she caught a hint of pink in her peripheral vision and swiftly walked towards it, spotting a trio not far in front of the younger girl. She heard the tail end of their conversation, and her frown grew as she realized they were about to break numerous rules. The trio was made up of two men and a another woman. One obviously a staff member and another she recognized as a reporter. Edel was a fan of strong woman in Media and kept an eye out on the scene for reporters and journalitis she enjoyed reading. The woman, one she knew as Barbara Halcomb, was an investigative journalist for Edelweiss favorite News company. Her admiration for the woman took a nosedive as she heard what they were planning. Long legs took her by a surprised Viola and straight up to the trio. "I do hope you're not dealing in bribes Miss Halcomb. That would definitely hurt your credibility in future articles." She turned her ice cold gaze to the staff member, "And I'm sure your boss would love to hear of you taking said bribe."



































die for you



grabbitz










♡coded by uxie♡
 
!!! AFTER THIS POST, THERE IS A SMALL TIME SKIP TO THE POWER OUTAGE SEQUENCE; THIS IS AN NPC INTERLUDE, NOT ENTIRELY IMPORTANT BUT JUST FOR FUN : ) !!!​




the tower (npc post).





































  • mood



    uh oh i'm in danger
















It was cold up in the tower.

The puffs of air Nels breathed out were nearly visible, the chill of the evening air having made itself present within the building for the third time that month due to the heating being on the fritz. Fine conditions for a computer, but less so for the people working them. Even with the shawl wrapped around his shoulders he found himself wishing that he was down at the party rather than stuck working.

Work was work, though. Much like the heating, the system had been glitching, and since they hadn’t deemed to give him a team, it was in his jurisdiction and his alone to fix it. They continued to to tell him they would get around to hiring people, but the closer it got to park opening, the less likely it seemed to be. He bit his tongue about it, though. He liked having a job. If it required a few extra hours, so be it.

“I’m telling you, man, the system is fucked.” Static fizzed through the walkie-talkie in his hand as the man on the other end of the line spoke, threatening to give out. “I’ve been looking at the cameras--”

Nels sighed, pressing down the push-to-talk button.
“Gary, it literally isn’t your job to check those in the first place.”


“What are they gonna do? Fire me? And you didn’t say over, over.”

“Yes, they’ll fire you. Over.”


Stepping into the server room, his nose scrunched up at the residual scent of weed. One of the janitorial staff, he was sure; that or someone had driven all the way up to the communications center for a joint. He’d need to speak to Mr. Booth about talking to the staff about that. God only knew he’d get blamed for it if any supervisors decided to stop by. He made his way to his desk, lowering himself into the chair and absentmindedly fixing the picture of his daughter he had on his desk.

“Nels. Nels, Nels, Nels. Some things are more important than the acceptance of theme park CEOs. But, look, here’s the thing. I was looking cameras because I know someone’s been touching my lunch and I wasn’t about to let that slide, and you know what I found? Over.”

“Do I care? Over.”


“Some of the footage was wiped. Like, gone wiped. Over.”

“Or it glitched like everything else in this place, over.”
Anywhere else, Nels would find it a bit odd. But looking at how slapdash everything else was, he wouldn’t find himself all that shocked if it turned out the cameras had been on the fritz.

The fact that Gary had deemed to press the button in order for Nels to hear the sigh that came out of his mouth earned an eyeroll. “Sure. That’s what I thought. But over a bunch of cameras? Look, what I’m thinking is--”

Whatever Gary was about to say gave way to static, fizzling out abruptly. It was sudden enough for Nels to pause what he had been typing, eyes flickering over to where the walkie-talkie laid on the desk. He gave it a moment, and then another, before finally giving in and taking it up once more.

“You didn’t say over, over.”
He mimicked what Gary had said to him earlier, trying to elicit a reaction.

The silence that followed caused him to frown and fidget with the device. Still the right channel, like expected. His battery was fine- maybe Gary’s gave out? Would make sense, really; he seemed to use the system for social calls more than was warranted.

Nels was drawn from his pondering by a ruckus from somewhere down the hall. Metal on metal, a scraping noise that would be hell on the ears if any closer. His mouth pressed into a thin line; things had been falling apart digitally, so of course they’d fall apart physically as well. He pushed himself back from the desk, heading out into the hall with his walkie-talkie in hand.

Nothing. Just the empty hall, same as he left it before. He crept down towards the closest room to the servers, suddenly feeling the weight of being alone in such a large building. The only noise besides his own breathing was the sound of the pipes and machinery, clearly still running. His footsteps echoed whenever he took a step, seeming now far too loud, his anxiety beginning to heighten.

He nearly jumped when the walkie came to life again, static flooding the soundscape around him.

“Nels.” The static almost covered Gary’s voice completely, as if he were whispering into the device.

His heart rate started to die back down. It was fine. Gary was talking again and the Tower wasn’t haunted.
“Good job finding batteries--”


“Shut up. Shut up. Just listen.” Gary was still talking low into the walkie, making it hard to hear, especially when his breathing sounded ragged as well. “Look. Fuck, look, something- there’s something in the nursery.”

Ah. Late night paranoia. Nels had just had the same thing. It was a relief it wasn’t something worse.
“I’d hope so. If you’re hearing noises, it’s probably--”


“One of the triceratops is literally torn open, Nelson.”

Whatever he’d been about to say died in his throat. Another sound of clattering came from further down the hall.

“How bad?”


“Pretty fucking bad. There’s- god, there’s blood everywhere. She was in quarantine, there’s nothing else in this fucking pen!” Gary’s voice raised, the panic evident “Shit. Fuck. Did something get out of the Orange? If something got out, there should’ve been some--”

A crash, this time not on Nels’ side of the walkie, cut Gary off, and the line went silent. Like last time, Nels waited a few moments before pressing the talk button, though it was more for fear of what he’d hear than anything else.

“Gary.”
He goaded, keeping his voice low.
“Gary, this isn’t funny.”


No answer. He was about to try again, but found himself jumping when he heard more noise, a commotion that was now closer than before. Slowly, he began to back down the hall back towards the service room, eyes trained on the flickering light that was down by the large double doors that led to another part of the building.

The noise went for longer this time, and he could hear the shattering of glass. Being the only one in the building was becoming even less of a comfort the longer he crept in the direction of what would hopefully be safety, and it was becoming harder to keep his breaths even when it felt like they were now so, so loud. A sudden noise that sounded like a gunshot went off, startling him into nearly falling.

Then everything was silent.

As it dragged on, he thought maybe he’d been making it up. An auditory hallucination brought on by the panic he’d been feeling. There was nothing near the tower, not close enough to get there so quickly without anyone noticing. Getting into the building would even be difficult. So it would make sense if it were all in his head. He nearly got himself to believe it, too. Then the doors burst open.

Nels didn’t work with the dinosaurs. He didn’t know what any of them were. But he knew that they were dangerous; there was a good reason the park had the safety measures it did. The one in front of him was no different. He could see the teeth and claws, knew it could tear him apart and would, if given the chance.

Wild animals were still wild animals, even if from a lab. They didn’t know any better.

He didn’t waste time. The soles of his shoes slammed against the floor as he sprinted his way towards the door of the server room, not daring to look behind him. Even with the ringing in his ears, he could hear the screech coming from behind him, the scraping of claws against linoleum. He knew it was chasing him from that alone; he just wasn’t aware how close it got until he was in the server room, slamming the door and sticking the long hook for the windows through the handles.

The creature slammed itself up against the doors almost as soon as he had locked them, causing them to shake in an alarming way. Then it hit again. And again. And again. Nels backed up from the door, almost afraid to look away from it, as if the one time he did it would break through. He was sure, at least, that it couldn’t get worse.

Then he was plunged into complete darkness.

































n/a



n/a










♡coded by uxie♡
 



bailey doyle.





































  • mood



    bordering on freaked out

















Bailey was beginning to wonder whether his scheme was worth it.

Sometimes they weren’t. He’d accept that. There had been the time that he’d had his nose broken by a few poorly chosen and poorly timed words, as well as a point where he’d flirted with someone one too many times and had to play the worlds shittiest game of hide and seek for the rest of the night. Sometimes, things just didn’t pan out. That said? He’d been really hoping this one would, even if there was basically nothing he was losing from it.

Standing over the tank, his faith was waning. It was the first place they’d stopped, the upper levels of what was supposedly the liopleurodon tank that would soon be off-limits to guests. Or, more accurately, was currently off limits to guests. The only reason the group was there in the first place was because he’d pretended to put his money where his mouth was, Babs had tacked on some jewelry, and the new kids had pulled the snitch card to catch a ride. For something that was so secretive, it was underwhelming.

The tank was circular with the poorest lighting he’d seen, murky water lapping up against the sides in a manner far calmer than he would expect from something housing a gigantic prehistoric creature. The safety measures were also few and far between- the only thing preventing him from jumping in was a metal bannister, one that he could lean fully over to look downwards while trying to get a better look at what was supposedly in the depths. Visibility, even with that, was shit; the ladder going down the side was only visible a little bit into the water, fading out the further down it went. Above was what seemed to be the contraption used for feeding, a crane of sorts with metal cabling that looked like it was meant to be lowered into the water.

All the materials for a prehistoric beast brought back to the land of the living, but no sign of the creature itself. Theoretically, it was somewhere down there, but Bailey wouldn’t be surprised if they got scammed. Part of him was itching to just go back to the party and pull Shura away from whatever bougie interaction they were having just to bitch to them about it. It was cold, and boring, and frankly he was a bit put out he had stooped to the low of being around a security guard with the IQ of a crumpled tin can.

Sighing, he turned himself around, leaning back against the barrier and looking at the group. At least it couldn’t get worse, he supposed. He could be being harassed at a party and also not seeing anything. At the end of the day, this would be fine.

Or, it would’ve been if the lights hadn’t gone out.

At first, they just flickered violently. It was similar to the bulbs he had in the basement as a child; if you so much as moved the wrong way around them, would gain some sort of fucked up sentience and decide to spite you by initiating a strobe effect. The difference was that those were in a dirt basement from hell and the room they were currently in was supposed to be the height of modern technology. They continued to flicker, humming, before powering down completely, drowning the room in darkness. Some light filtered in from outside through a large window that faced some of the outside attractions of the park thankfully, but there wasn’t much else to help.

He straightened out, waiting for a moment for the tell-tale sound of things powering back on. His gut began to churn the longer he went without hearing it.

See, here was the thing. He liked to act like he wasn’t scared of things. It was much easier to be pissy if people thought you were extremely courageous about everything; lack of visible weak spots meant lack of ammo. That said, he was- possibly -a bit put off by being in the dark. Not that he believed in monsters or anything, but it unsettled him, as if not having a light made him somehow more likely to be attacked by someone.

“Fuck.”
He voiced, taking a deep breath in, then letting it out, trying to keep himself chill.

It had just started to rain outside, lightly hitting against the pane of the window, thunder rolling in the distance. Surely that wasn’t enough to knock the power, right? And even if it was, where was the backup? There had to be a backup. All of their security systems were electrical based.

The thought made him even more uneasy, his grip on the banister turning white-knuckled.
“Hey. Security. Is it possible the powers just out in here and not everywhere else?”


































pacific



chase petra










♡coded by uxie♡
 



Malika
































"this is a dialogue."
Malika simply nodded her head at the words spoken to her by the male she had decided to attempt and be social with. Her eyes flashed as she gave a tired sigh. "Can't say I blame you. Socializing isn't fun, period." Her words were tired and spoken with well-versed exhaustion. She held out the half-empty glass of champagne, her eyebrow raised in amusement as she waited to see what he would do. Her eyes drew towards the building as the lights began to flicker, and she felt a chill of something creep up her spine.

The lights began to flicker before everything went dark, and the behavioralist cursed darkly, her fingers clenching as she hiked up her dress for a moment before pausing "Would you hold this for me?" She asked darkly, striding towards her car to get her bag. "Don't you dare look over here." She hissed out as she ducked into the car, swiftly changing out of the goddess-forsaken dress and donning her more... practical choice of clothing. She wadded up the red dress and tossed it into her back seat. Dark khaki colored shirt with a tighter flared fit to her hips and long dark green trousers accompanied her ebony heeled boots. The boots hit the ground harshly as she exited the car door again and returned to Mike's side. She eyed the now-darkened building warily as she sighed "Okay, so do you have an idea what to do? I don't think this was part of the party." She spoke softly, her eyes narrowing uneasily as she sighed.

This was so not how she pictured her night would go. She was supposed to be working the next day too. Not sure how that would work. This whole thing had some unknown tampering feel to it. She would bet her sketching skills on it. Which was saying something coming from her. This party was weird in the first place - she didn't like it. And now the lights were out, and she could bet everyone else was trying to figure out what in the world was happening. She knew that she always had the best luck when trusting her instincts, and thus she whipped her long tresses up into a ponytail. Her long inky black-blue locks fell in soft waves down to her lower back from the style she had whipped it into. It kept her vision clear, and if she needed to move quickly, she could see clearly enough.



































Love Power



Idina Menzel










♡coded by uxie♡
 
Last edited:



sasha.





































  • mood



    ...not ideal
















"Bye,"
Sasha called after Kali as she darted away, unable to stop a silly little smile from spreading on his face after she kissed him, like he had drunk the champagne still in the glass in his hand. He started making his way through the crowd again, making another leisurely loop, intending to place himself behind where the crowd would gather for Project Mickey's debut. He spotted Ro near the edge of the crowd as he made his way, and considered pausing to say hi and let him know that the microraptors would be performing soon--Ro loved birds more than most people ever loved anything, which Sasha found extremely endearing--when the lights cut out abruptly.

People screamed. Sasha didn't. He tilted his head, as if that would help him hear the whir of their backup generators powering on.

But underneath the crowd, the only thing he heard was the sound of wind and rain outside.

Sasha was still holding the champagne glass in one hand, but raised the other to his radio, intending to ask control if they knew what was wrong, but his radio produced a squeal of static directly into his right ear thanks to his earpiece, which made him flinch, before going dead.

Not good.

Normally his gear included one of the big flashlights that could double as a club in a pinch, but he hadn't expected to need it and it hadn't fit the dress code. He did, technically, still have a flashlight, but it was the one attached to his pistol. It seemed like a poor idea to have his weapon out, so he didn't reach for it. Instead he squinted into the darkness, trying to will his eyes to adjust, trying to relocate the rest of his team and JR. If the radio and power didn't come back up soon, the smart thing would be to check in with them to put a plan together.

































Каждому нужен хозяин



АИГЕЛ










♡coded by uxie♡
 
Mike watched as the power shut down and everything went dark. "Why am I not surprised." Mike asked out loud. Indeed, he wasn't. The very concept of this was so new and so different that he was more surprised it held out this long. "I half expected the generators to be made of wood when I first came here."

Mike held the glass away from his face as if he were put off by it. In reality it would not have been strong enough for him. "How do people drink this French Aristocrat piss?" He was used to rum, bourbon, vodka, and best of all, his Nana's moonshine.

As Mike held that bougie drink as if it were disease ridden, he heard Malika voice her concerns about her being seen in what was likely a indelicate situation. He quickly made it clear he did not need to hear that. "I'll take mental images that need not exist for 2000, Alex." Mike was not into women at all, Of course you'd never hear him admit that out loud in 165 million years, let alone hear him admit that he is gay.
 
Kali Jones
The Microraptor Trainer
Exhibits freight elevator
oh god oh no fuck, tipsy
Yellow overalls, big boots,
khaki jacket and polo
interactions

Blobs Blobs Fleeing Leslie
Grouptwo: wickedlittlecritta wickedlittlecritta cadence cadence

Kali’s head snapped when she heard the shuffling of feet in her direction. The small woman she saw approaching was on a b-line, like a greyhound target locked onto a lure. Her face was full of predatory curiosity and childlike delight. Kali felt her heart wobble and her hand went to the elevator button again, tap-tapping-tapping it as Leslie approached. She couldn't blame her for wanting to investigate Baby’s Yowling but she really, really wished this woman would simply not.

She looked around the exhibit for anyone else on staff, security, finance, maintenance, anyone. But they were alone in the back corner. She was on her own. The knee jerk reaction of customer service hit her suddenly, a smile spreading like a disease over her face and locking into place like quick set cement heat and all.

“H-hello,” She said when the elevator did not open up and swallow whole to save her. “Can I help you?”

She held her cat-carrier with both hands behind her, like she could possibly hide the ruckus the micro-raptors were making audibly by obscuring them visibly.

Baby Gave a Shrill ‘EEEEEeeeeeeeeeYyyyyyyyy yyyyyeiah EEEEyyyyyyyiiiiyy
yyeeeeeeeee” Much like a peacock and Kali’s mask like expression dropped to something close to the Greek tragedy mask- and thats when the elevator dinged.

The mural wall behind Kali yawned open, the young stegasuar pictured there unceremoniously bisected in the process which usually kinda of delighted Kali ('No my son he’s very ill!' she’d think to herself as he was split and swallowed into the wall bloodlessly.) But that mundane joy of watching an overly personified painting was lost in the moment as pure relief slid inside of her veins. The sliding doors revealed the rolling gate made of thick interlocking jointed metal slats. When she was fearing for her life from guests she liked to jiggle it, as all the joints made it move fluidly. The interior was lit with florescent lit that bounced of the still new and shinny textured galvanized steel plates inside. The perches for the performances looked extra rustic and fake in such a shiny back drop.

She moved quickly to pull the rolling elevator gate up from floor and only pulling it up to hip height said, “Actually sorry I’ve got to go. This is staff only….BYE!”

And just as she was about to duck beneath and activate the muscle memory of pulling the gate down, badging the elevator lock and hitting the close door button- The lights went out with a loud thud and all the micro-rapotrs went silent as one. Guests screamed. She blinked her eyes into the darkness as she waited for them to adjust. She still had her hand on the elevator gate as she held her breath for the sound of the back up generator to kick in.

C'mon.

Oh for real?

"Fuck."



coded by natasha.
 



j.r.
































It was a relief to see how well Edel took their explanation, even if it was about 20% bullshit. A real weight off the shoulders, you could say. And, what was this? Edel shot a snarky remark Shura's way, leaving JR's eyes going wide for the briefest of moments. It was exactly how he talked about the man in his own head, sometimes. Usually followed by a prompt, psychic apology. Just in case Shura could hear. And a little because they felt bad being mean even in the privacy of their mind. Man, what the fuck does that say about me? He couldn't help the way his stomach did a bit of a flip. Something about having someone like her seemingly protect him from the undoubted apathies of someone like Shura, who didn't so much as consider J.R. a person. At least, that's how he viewed it.

To add insult to injury, the human vulture that was Rita Voros had decided to join the proverbial party. JR's smile shifted impercetibly- the barest hint of force. God he hated reporters. He cast a look down at her hand. It was his job to make sure everything ran smooth, he reminded himself, and for this night to go perfect, he reminded himself, and to stave off Rita's wrong writing horrendous take-downs of the park. So he shook her hand, skin baby soft as a seal (he had an excelent skincare routine), and the practiced combination of force and gentleness of someone who had shaken hundreds of hands of the elites. "And to you as well, Ms. Voros."

Luckily Edel was a good enough distraction as any. And so was having any momentary flights of sapphic fancy. J.R.'s carefree grin fell somewhat, if only because he was thrown for such a loop from this whiplash of reaction. One second, Edel seemed pleased and the next, he was getting threatened? Well, this sucked ass. He could practically hear his ballooning ego losing air. Before he could even conjure some response, the frightening woman had whisked away into the rest of the gathering.

J.R. turned back to the two displeased attendants. Not the sort of company he wanted to be stuck with, alone. "Perhaps you'd like to join us, Ms. Voros? I was about to show Mr. Svetosar here a secret surprise. That is, if he is willing to so generously share in the sight!" J.R. laughed, but he knew Shura couldn't refuse. These sorts of people needed to keep up an amicable front lest they ruin their reputation. And Rita was the sort of person who could ruin reputations, or knew someone else who could. So J.R. would get his two birds with one stone.

He began to lead them out of the main hall. Though before he open the door, J.R.'s attention snapped to a familiar face lurking about nearby. "Ah, and why not have one of Dawson Creek's own brilliant minds to explain some of the specifics in much more detail than I ever could!" J.R. hooked an arm around Ven's, pulling them along. Quietly to the scientist, he whispered, "We need to distract these two with smoke and mirrors."

Past exhibits and dimly lit hallways, J.R. arrived at a partly-finished entrance to some kind of attraction. In front was velvet rope block it off, which J.R. unclipped and ushered everyone within. Down a flight of stairs, they arrived to something that looked more fitting of Disneyland than a park of ressurected dinosaurs. "If you'd all gather in one of the cars." Each metallic car seated four a piece on spacious benches.

With everyone else on, J.R. flipped the lever to turn the ride one, held the down a switch and twisted the key, and slapped the button to send the car off on its track. They waited for the next car to hop on safely, content with watching Shura and Rita from behind. The cars, set on a track, travelled down the dark tunnel as an inspirational fanfare began to play over the speakers.

"Welcome to Dawson Creek Prehistoric Park! I bet you want to know all about the magic that makes this-" They passed by a large screen, framed by a wall constructed to look like layers of sedimentary stone, on which a projection of a T-rex roars, "-a reality! Buckle in and get your listening ears on as we take you on a tour of Dawson Creek's best hits!"

The ride continued on past dioramas, informative screens, and the occasional animatronic scene. J.R. was particularly fond of the uncanny "scientists" at work in a "lab." In the dark passes between scenes, J.R. was debating whether they could sneak in a quick hit from his wax pen. If it was small enough, and he was really quick with waving the exhale away...

The cars pull up to the next scene: a set of some sort of smaller dinosaurs- animatronic, of course -out in their enclosure. Or, well, small-ish. J.R. couldn't be damned to tell you their exact names, but they still looked like they'd be able to rip him to shreds pretty easily. And then something strange happens.

J.R. has his head leaned down, slightly angled away from the rest of this motley party, and has decided to attempt a quick pull from the pen. Just as they inhale, they hear fireworks- loud -in the distance. J.R. jumped.

There's no fireworks planned. What the fuck was tha-

The ride slows to a halt, the lights dim to black, and the tunnel is left in dreadful, painful silence. J.R. carefully exhales the puff, still waving a hand to disippate it, brow furrowing. He waited. This was alarming, but fine. The backup generator would kick in. A hiccup, nothing more.

The emergency lights brightened, illuminating the ride in an ominous red-amber hue from below.

He didn't want to say anything yet- no need to alarm Shura and Rita. Because he could just shrug this off when the generator kicked in.

When the generator kicked in.

...when the generator kicked in.

It will, it will, it will, it will, it will, it will.

































king of echo park



TV Girl










♡coded by uxie♡
 
Ritz V. D. Englebrecht
security | big game hunter
aquarium; liopleurodon tank
relaxed, sleazy
interactions

elytra elytra BELIAL. BELIAL. Nornslayer Nornslayer Goldie. Goldie.
The jeep ride over to the aquarium was one filled with Euro-pop, a particularly chatty Mauritz, and the driving of a man at ease. Slumped into the leather seats, Englebrecht’s arm rested across the door with a cigarette pinched between his fingers, sporadically brought up to his lips without care for those sitting in the back⁠, caught up in smoke and ash. He’d thrown the suit’s jacket into the boot, rolled up the sleeves of his dress-shirt and pulled on the pocketed vest which held all necessary equipment, from the guard’s security pass to his walkie talkie.

Manual was, in Ritz’s opinion, the only way to drive. Helped you get a feel for the vehicles preferences, levering on the gears and gently leaning into the clutch⁠—coaxing a smooth engine purr, easy on the ears whilst the radio played nearly objectionable upbeat rhythm. He hadn’t insisted on the seating, nevertheless, it went without question to hold that passenger door open for Halcomb. Knuckles brushing in chaste, unspoken remarks of evident interest on his behalf, acting up the well-travelled man as he went spiel after spiel over old safari mishaps.

If he wasn’t looking at the dirt tracks, it’d be because Ritz had his eyes on a blonde in pink⁠—pulling a smile which simultaneously acted as charm and had sleaze written across each bared tooth.

Despite the distance, disembarking at the greatest of the park’s opening attractions, Mauritz had been told over the course of the exhibit’s construction it’d housed some big ugly thing with teeth and fins. All good for business, visitors liked the fright, being reminded they’d not always sat so high on the food chain. Morbid curiosity; the only thing which came to mind, like boys chasing that dream of violent adventure with gun in hand and enemy ahead. No right, no wrong, until it caught up with you. And the game became bullets, and the game became blood, and suddenly you were there in the heat and dust. Like an animal, a squealing pig skittering from mortars and mines, getting cooked on the spitting hood of an armoured car.

Honneur et Fidélité.

Cash in hand made Ritz all the more honourable and loyal than any motto.

Standing around the tank, waiting for the flicker of shadow from it’s murky depths, Englebrecht leant into one of the cold reinforced walls of the aquarium, more inclined to focus on whether he’d made any permanent marks on those nice company shoes⁠—”Maybe we oughta use one of the small ones as bait,” Letting out a two-tone whistle, “What's that Lassie? Timmy’s stuck in the liopleurodon pool?”

Though it proved the sputtering of lights, giving off that noise of electricity tapping on glass, powering down into a relative silence of rain. Initially, Mauritz didn’t move⁠—waiting for the telltale hum as either back-up generators rattled to life or the blip in the circuit was bridged. He’d lived in his fair share of cuts, rural South Africa wasn’t known for its energy grid, with or without a park of prehistoric creatures and a taste for live prey.

Bailey first piped up in a curse, until the question pointed itself at Ritz. Moseying nearer to the now darkened silhouette of the man, the guard flicked the butt of his tobacco onto the still water with a fizzle. Floating where ash now spread out on the surface with black, burnt char⁠—he grunted, pawing through the pockets of his vest for a spare torch, illuminating the small viewing area in a weak sepia light, “Might be, half-pint, this island exists on strings and magic tricks, storm probably interrupted the network.”

He turned his back, pinching the walkie talkie still clasped to the vest with a burr of static, “Sasha,” His thumb swiped the screen, “Sasha, we’ve got a power outage in the Main Park, up near the aquarium,” Another stagnant buzz of dead air filtered through, earning Ritz’s slight scowl. He firmly struck the radio across his palm, “Digital shitbox,”

“Unless the Cossack’s got balls big enough to flirt on company time, I’d better put the Jeep’s canvas up. Mind you, he’s got somethin’ worth skippin’ work for.” Blunt, rough fingers itched the stubbled cheek at his jaw, bristling with sound, “Not scared of the dark are we? Not that you’ll see anything with weather like this but⁠—well I’m sure there’s a few fossils around here you can get all acquainted with, whatever your ... thing is.”

coded by natasha.
 
barbara halcomb
the invest. journalist
aquarium ; liopleurodon tank
apprehensive annoyance
interactions

bailey elytra elytra || ritzy idalie idalie || viola & edel Goldie. Goldie. Nornslayer Nornslayer
She could be thankful, in part, that despite the addition to their little entourage, she could find her little ways of remaining in control. It had been her idea, and she’d be damned to let Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee jump along in and ruin it. It was one thing that Barry-- Bailey, was it-- had actually contributed some gold to the pot, fingers stirring as much as Barb had. You paid your dues, you got your reward; that was what Barb knew to be the way of life. These two muscling their way in, complete with biceps and blinking big eyes respectively, didn’t anger her as much as it sought to annoy her, at the very least. As long as they didn’t get in the way of her backstage scoop, and cementing herself on the arm of the security guard for further privileges, she would be fine with them.

The ride to the aquarium, as it was, had been good enough, and met equally by the brushed glances and softened touches of Ritz, who definitely was into her. And thank God for that. She’d hate to have put twice the interest in when she really didn’t give a fuck beyond whatever she wanted for the short trip for this park’s preview. He had something stupid that made her laugh a little bit, especially the music taste, but there wasn’t much to unearth beyond that.

At least, when they’d gotten to the aquarium, she’d been impressed. Museums hadn’t ever really been her thing, and would remain not to be, but aquariums had a different place. Far more living, with cool colours and the vibrating visuals of the water’s reflection, it felt closer to what one’s inner mind would describe as relaxation. Exposed to the depths of the oceans and waters without the overwhelming fear of suffocating beneath thousands of pounds of pressure.

Their view from above gave Barb a bit of a wobble in her heels, clutching onto her dress skirt and clutch purse with a vice grip, it wasn’t that she had a fear of heights. Normal apprehension; combined with the all too familiar ‘Call of the Void’, a term that she’d only learned from her ex. The way one seemed to lapse into vertigo induced distortions, the compelling notion of falling forward into the depths of nothingness.

Ritz’s joke had made her laugh, but it was a snort as she continued to find her bearings. She remained near to the security guard, in this case due to the anxiety that formed gooseflesh on her arms.

The power going down scared Barb more than she would have liked. Though she’d been in plenty of outages, their vantage point seemed to make the situation a little more dramatic than she would have liked. Her free hand snaked out to grip Ritz by the bicep, digging her nails into his sleeve. Darkness plummeted the room, though there was the faint hum of light from below from emergency lights and the like.

Bailey’s question and Ritz’s response prompted some relief to Barbara, going with the more mentally affirming statement that it was a mere localised problem and nothing else. The growing rainstorm outside proved to make the aquarium even more dark than she would have liked; not unlike when the moon was covered that the earth seemed to blanket with that deep, smothering sort of darkness.

She released Ritz when he went to his walkie, digging around in her clutch for her compact. One of those palm sized ones that had a light, apt for applying lipstick in even the most horrid low-lights, Barbara let the reduced glow from her palm give some semblance of control. It was by no means ‘flashlight bright’, but it did provide that small amount of disorientation to keep the eyes from making shapes from the darkness.

Something that she refused to entertain if her gaze slipped to the tank beneath them.

“Shouldn’t you be staying with us? You’re security, right?” Barb jabbed with her words, glaring out at Ritz as she palmed the light toward his face. “Safety would mean getting everyone back, even at the cost of missing out on… Whatever the fuck clearly isn’t swimming around in that tank. Don’t you have any local call lines to your engineers, or whatever? If it’s just here that’s powered down, shoot them a fucking call and get it back up.”

Her face was hardened, a mask preventing the very definite unease of darkness and a big tank from spilling onto Barbara’s expression. Though her words were, very clearly, hastened and rushed.

coded by natasha.
 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS AREN'T GREAT



"Welcome to Dawson Creek Prehistoric Park! I bet you want to know all about the magic that makes this a reality!" Rita bit back a groan, struggling not to roll her eyes at the clear cheesiness of it all. She'd held out a small fragment of hope, even as the investor and herself had been loaded into ride vehicles that were more suited to a county fair than to a serious lab tour. The second the track turned a corner and the voiceover started, her hopes were promptly crushed.

It was a ride with just enough information sprinkled in to create a vague idea of the process, but it was clear the design team were more enamored with making something pretty rather than making something educational.

She wasn't entirely coldhearted though. She did get excited to see the dinosaurs. A good animatronic dinosaur was always rather fun, though certainly not as interesting as seeing the real thing. And Rita had not forgotten that they were being promised the real thing.

There were faint pops and bangs in the distance and Rita glanced up towards the ceiling, brow furrowing. I can't believe I'm missing fireworks for this. She glanced over towards Mr. Svetosar, opening her mouth to ask him for his opinion, when the lights suddenly flickered and plunged the passage into darkness. The cars jerked, then stopped.

This clearly wasn't part of the ride. There were no show scenes, no animatronics, nothing to hold attention in this little patch of the tunnel and, as the emergency lights began to softly glow below them, Rita twisted around to look back towards the car behind them where JR and the researcher were sitting, "Everything alright back there? Or do we need to disembark?" Her mouth twists in just the slightest smile, "Perhaps we'll need to bring your CEO around a little sooner than expected to ensure that everything is running appropriately."

At least this was something interesting. Though it definitely struck her as odd. The one thing she knew about the weaselly little assistant was that they were competent. Rita, despite her misgivings, knew for a fact that JR would never have put an investor and a reporter on a ride that had the slightest chance of malfunction. Which only made her all the more curious as to what was actually wrong.

Rita
code by birth of venus.
 



group 1.





































  • mood



    malice. hatred. disdain.

















It didn’t take long for the storm to get worse. Lightning flashed again, thunder rolled, and rain pelted against the window. The whole room darkened further, the main source of light becoming the dull glow of the red, battery-powered emergency exit lights.

Talk about whether or not Ritz would leave was short-lived. In fact, the choice was soon made for them. Two shots rang out somewhere in the distance, beyond the window, paired with a scream that sounded like nails being dragged down a chalkboard.

Bailey’s eyes had snapped to the window. “What the fuck--”

Whatever he’d been about to say was drowned out by the shattering of glass, spraying everywhere in the room as a creature crashed its way into the room in a flurry of feathers and screeching. It flailed as it tried to get itself upwards, its wings spreading to their full lengths, spanning far larger than the height of even the tallest member of the group.

Some of the group has been fortunate enough to hit the deck, both Ritz and Babara finding themselves on the floor, narrowly avoiding being thrown by the birds thrashing. Others were not so lucky. Bailey, over by the Liopleurodon tank, had pressed himself back, the metal of one of the bracelets on his wrist hitting against the railing. The noise, no matter how small, had been just enough to draw attention.

Its eyes snapped towards him, now steadied, and with another scream it launched itself towards him. Glass scattered as it used its wings to propel, managing to lift itself off the ground and into Bailey, the claws of its feet making an attempt to grab him as it attempted to careen into the air. In all it’s disorientation, it only managed to scrape him as it flung upwards, tearing through the fabric of his shirt and slicing through skin.

This was all very much ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’, however; despite narrowly managing to not be lifted off, in the scuffle, Bailey had been sent right over the rail. Not managing to grab hold of the edge, he found himself hitting water, the murky depths beginning to dye red around him.

































survivor



2wei










♡coded by uxie♡
 



group 2.

































Battery-powered emergency lights flickered on above exits, bathing the museum hall in red light. It stretched out amongst the exhibits, the standing fossils casting shadows along the floors. Once in a while, they would be illuminated by the flashes of lightning that occurred outside the windows, but otherwise the room remained dark. No backup generator kicked in to return the lighting to normal. There was a commotion outside the room, likely from people beginning to realize the power wasn’t about to come back. Then, the fireworks went off.

Outside, there was crackling, then explosions that could be mistaken for the firing of a gun. The sky was lit up by reds and blues, but only momentarily; only about 3 fireworks were set off before things went back to being silent. It certainly wasn’t enough for a planned show, something that would’ve almost made the power outage make sense if they wanted to surprise the guests.

Things fell silent for a moment as the last drops of color faded from the area outside the window, the rain becoming the only noise to be heard once again. That didn’t last long, though. At first, there was a little chittering, softly amongst the exhibits, enough so that it could’ve been overlooked. Then, more chittering became apparent, coming from multiple places.

A small creature jumped down from the ribs of one of the larger fossils. It was only about knee-height, with a long tail and dull brown feathers. On its own, it wasn’t very frightening, despite the clear sharp teeth it had.

Then another came out from behind a plaque.

And another, and another, until soon there was a whole flock of them. They didn’t move towards the two women who stood in front of the freight elevator at first, simply regarding them curiously. That didn’t end up lasting long, though. One ended up hissing and soon the rest were joining in. Soon enough, they all began running towards Kali and Leslie, their feet not made for going across the slick linoleum floors but still managing to gain enough traction to gain speed.

































survivor



2wei










♡coded by uxie♡
 



group 3.

































Down in the lower level of the welcome center, the Evolution of Dawson Creek Prehistoric Park ride had little natural light that could be shed on the area. The construction crew had, luckily, anticipated this, and thus there were far more battery-powered lights than there usually would have been. Along the side of the walkway that was beside the track the cart was positioned on, rectangular bulbs lit up a dull green in an attempt for people not to trip.

There were even some lights by where the diorama of the dinosaur pen stood, housing three now-useless animatronics, stuck staring towards the riders. The lights beneath them were normal, seeming to be used just to illuminate the area to prevent fear that the dinosaurs were, god forbid, real. While the shadows cast by the lights were a little off-putting, it was far less off-putting than it would’ve been if they were completely in the dark.

This was proven when the lights flickered. They buzzed a bit, as if complaining about the fact they had to be on at all, accompanied by the creaking of the floors somewhere behind the curtain that covered the ride maintenance behind the fake pen. Then, they shut completely, hiding the scene completely from sight.

Unlike the park's outage, the lights in front of the pen fixed themselves quickly. After a minute or two, they started back up again; some remained out, causing the diorama to be more shadowed than it had been before, but still provided sufficient light to see the four dinosaurs the fence housed.

































survivor



2wei










♡coded by uxie♡
 



group 4.





































  • mood



    pissed off

















The rain started suddenly and got worse just as quickly as lights died. Without the street lights, the plaza in front of the welcome center was lit only by the moon, which was partially hidden behind clouds. Briefly, the area was illuminated when 3 fireworks were fired, but soon even that light fizzled out.

Screams could be heard from the inside of the welcome center, barely able to be heard from where the cars were parked. Those, however, died quickly just like the lights had. For a moment, things were quiet other than the rain. Then came a clanging from beyond one of the alleys of the other buildings.

There was the sound of metal on metal, then a low, pained sort of roar. A trash can was thrown from the shadowed area, clattering out of the alley and rolling its way towards the cars, only stopping when it hit one of the tires. After a second or two, the creature that had tossed it out followed.

It was about the size of a person, and had what could be considered a ‘classic’ dinosaur look with green, scaly appearance and many teeth and claws to speak of. Out of its mouth, blood dripped, but it was unclear if it was its own or from something else. The way it moved was jerky at first, as if trying to steady itself, and its gaze was unfocused. That was, of course, until its eyes locked on the group by the car.

It stood there, staring at them, the blood from its mouth dripping and mixing with the puddles pooling on the pavement below. Then, it roared, maw opening wide as it began to charge at them.

































survivor



2wei










♡coded by uxie♡
 



sasha.





































  • mood



    Пиздец
















The generators didn't come on.

The fireworks weren't scheduled, and Sasha wondered, turning to glimpse them through the windows, if they were really fireworks, or if they were signal flares. But from who, to who, he wasn't sure. He couldn't see JR in the crowd--maybe he was in one of the other exhibits?--and then wondered if Kali had made it into the elevator before the power went out.

Shit, he thought, and started power walking through the exhibits to the freight elevator, hoping he'd find her and the birds outside.

He slowed when he heard the chittering.

If Sasha had been less familiar with the microraptors, he could have mistaken the noise for them, but the pitch was all wrong. And there were too many, even if they were coming from the right direction, further down the hall by the elevators. But there were not supposed to be any dinosaurs in the welcome center not safely stowed in Kali's carrier.

Something had gone very, very, wrong, in ways Sasha could only begin to guess at.

The chittering turned into hissing. And then he heard the tell-tale skittering of claws on linoleum.

He was still carrying Kali's champagne flute, and in the darkness of the exhibit, surrounded by ominously chittering raptors, he downed what was left of the champagne like a shot. Then, with his left hand, he hurled it ahead of him down the hall, where he could hear the creatures running from him, glass shattering and raptors shrilling in alarm, and drew his gun with his right, flicking the flashlight on. Sasha kept the gun aimed low, and swept it in a broad arc in front of him to get a better view of the creatures.

They were bigger than Kali's microraptors--closer in size to a small dog or large cat--with dull brown feathers and bright dark eyes, making a beeline for the open, frozen freight elevator, and the two women in front of it. One was a guest he had seen only briefly in the party. The other was Kali, still holding the cat carrier.

"Hey!"
Sasha shouted, advancing on the flock of raptors. He hoped the noise and the light would be enough to scatter them.
"Get out of here! Go home!"
he scolded the raptors, like he would a bear that had wandered too close to a house.

Sasha's gun was a Glock 17, with a magazine that held seventeen rounds. Sasha hadn't expected to actually need his gun tonight, and hadn't brought a spare magazine.

And he didn't want to waste any bullets on little raptors if something bigger was also on the loose.

































Каждому нужен хозяин



АИГЕЛ










♡coded by uxie♡
 
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