raiamods: (Default)
raiamods ([personal profile] raiamods) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-05-21 04:56 pm
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◣ OPEN ◢ HATCHING LOG 001

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: New characters arrive on Ethyraia, get interrogated, and settle in at the basecamp.
WHEN: May 21 onward
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: Potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.


HATCHING LOG 001 ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.

Players who participated in our TDM are welcome to keep their CR and the content of those threads. Please make sure to chat this out on the OOC intro & CR meme before making assumptions. Please take your time reading the hatching and basecamp bullets, as some items have been altered or expanded.

❀ HATCHING


Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.

Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.

The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?

Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.

The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.

A few notes:
Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning. If you would like to thread this out, please reply to CAPT CHILDE'S top level comment! A caveat: threads will not go beyond (TEN) NPC replies, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?

☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!

Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. If your character composes a genius jailbreak, you are welcome to submit it in the MOD QUESTION comment to work out how that might go with the NPCs!

❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP

On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.

Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?

The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.

You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.

Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?

(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)

During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.

A few notes:
☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.

☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything that seems human-made will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.

☆ PCs will be warned about the acid rain and inhospitable wildlife that they'll face if they venture beyond the shade of the dragon's wings.

❀ RECRUITMENT FAIR



You've been here for a week, had a chance to show your mettle. Maybe you've demonstrated a propensity for fixing gadgets (or plumbing!) or you have the command of a natural leader and the ability to wield a gun (or a tire iron!) to great effect. Either way, the Adamant's survivors are eager to put you to work so they can have their first real 'days off' in three years! Survivors have set up their various areas in the hopes of catching your attention and (possibly!) bolster their numbers! Feel free to wander around, talk to other PCs, and get the lay of the land.

ENGINEERING CORPS

Thorkil has welded a sign to a post out front, cheerfully painted by a gaggle of children to say "WELCOME!" The children are crowded around the area, and Thorkil is telling them stories about one of his many tattoos as you approach — he has a magnificent eagle tattooed on his arm, and in a hush he is explaining how it landed on him and tried to bite him like a mosquito, and how he slapped it and it just splattered right there on his arm and he's never been able to wash it off!

The children seem mesmerized by the story (maybe you are too?) and will scatter at the story's conclusion, tugging you over to the various areas, pointing things out excitedly. What is an Ehlers-Chau sublight engine? You're about to find out whether you like it or not! Or maybe you can teach them a thing or two. Those who seem to know their stuff will be eagerly invited on board by Thorkil.

The Engineering division has salvaged its tools and scrap from the Adamant’s wreckage, so it has all of the essentials from metal mills to CNC routers to circuitry tools. A holo projector throws schematics on the wall — a drill, a few potential shelter ideas for long-term settlement, and a new communications tower.

SECURITY DIVISION

Rémi has barely deigned to participate — and seems to have done so only at the request of some of his companions. He's sitting at an unadorned table and he is cleaning a variety of weapons. He will scowl if approached, and seems openly mistrustful of your intentions should you speak to him. Questions about how a conversation with Rémi might go may be posted to the MOD QUESTIONS thread. (Note: We will not be threading Rémi, so these questions will be handwaved!)

Characters who make a positive impression on him will open up the avenue to work for the Security Division later, but he will not be extending any offers now — please allow for a realistic period of development here!

Feel free to lean into another PC's space and comment on how frosty that dude seems! You can also survey the various weapons stored in racks, help out with building spears, the usual suspects.

THEATRE

The theatre doubles as a childcare center, and many of the NPCs bustling about seem very excited and eager for the chance to talk to anyone who ventures in to visit. The theatre is bright and cheerful, paintings have been done on the walls of scenes from children's stories featuring colorful characters.

The thespians will not only try to recruit you (for acting in a play, for teaching, for script writing, for drawing on the walls or caring for children) but they will actively put you to work if they see you standing idle longer than a moment! Your character may find themselves with a paintbrush in hand, or taking part in a recital for a play (you're free to invent one, or put a new spin on an old classic! Romeo and Julio, anyone?) or building a set piece for one of the many local productions.

The Theatre doubles as the protective hub in times of need, so beyond arts education and babysitting, your character may also be tasked with shoring up those defenses, helping to fortify the walls, or other such tasks. And who knows, they may be paired off with someone else rather unexpectedly!

AID STATION

Sunya Hyacinth is the local medical doctor, fueled by coffee and spite. She doesn't have the time to recruit personally — she's flitting about the aid station seeing to the injured.

If you follow her, she will put you to work. Hold this stent, articulate this dislocation, take this blood pressure reading. If anyone appears to have a proficiency for this sort of work, she may inquire after credentials — and anyone who seems to have medical experience is going to immediately be handed the medic's armband, a white band with a blue cross emblazoned on it. This armband will grant any PC an extra amount of respect and trust from the Adamant's survivors — but you'd better be able to live up to it!

Feel free to treat any injured PCs, converse with other 'recruits', help pin that white and blue arm-band on... you know, anything under the sun. Some of the patients in the medical bay seem to be suffering from the adverse effects of some of the local flora — itching hives or burning pustules. One unfortunate soul seems only able to speak in limericks, which the medical staff will admit is one of the odder things they’ve seen.

SANITATION

CONTENT WARNING: DRUG REFERENCES

It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it! There are always latrines to be dug, pipes to be repaired, general maintenance to be done on the various sanitation systems.

A nervous-looking janitor will approach your character almost shyly, and ask if you wouldn't mind giving her a hand. If you are willing to help her (fix a pipe, dig a hole, etc), she will gradually warm up to you and seem more animated and lively and very, very grateful. Won't you please consider working with the Sanitation crew? Sure, it's not as glamorous as some of the other duties, but they're the backbone of the Basecamp and they could really use the help!

She'll even let you in on a little secret if you really butter her up or show an interest — the Sanitation Crew? Totally has a little underground greenhouse where they're growing marijuana. They're totally willing to share...

Feel free to dig latrines alongside your fellow PCs, or maybe even share a joint. It's a way to pass the time, right? PCs serving in sanitation will also have an easier time overhearing the gossip that spreads around the base, since no one looks twice at them.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO MASS DEATH

During their first two weeks in the basecamp, any character who stops by one of the various houses of worship (in addition to a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, there is a temple with small statues to fifteen different unfamiliar deities, many of whom seem to be from different faiths), the gymnasium, or the mess hall will come across a stand that hosts a dozen or so packages.

Wrapped in the black emergency blankets that many bring with them to and from the bunks, these packages are about one cubic foot and contain folded clothes in roughly the same sizes. The styles are all different and highly individualized. Some are luxe, some are basic, and some are clearly the undershirt (but not the proper outerwear) for uniforms of the Adamant’s crew. Warm-faced folks eagerly give out a single package to each new hatchling. Along with the clothing and blanket, hatchlings will receive basic packages containing basic toiletries — bar soap, a toothbrush, a straight razor, etc.

Come by at the wrong time, and you might see a fight break out. A young person, red-faced, shouts at the volunteers working these stands, “Those were our people! Our families! We should be the one to decide what’s done with what they left behind.”

In hushed tones, clearly trying to keep this from becoming a conflict, the lead volunteer insists, “Take it up with Captain Childe.”


A few notes:
Feel free to have your character sign on to help out with any of the listed divisions, with the exception of security.

☆ Characters may collect one (1) care package from the community outreach program. If your character intends to come back for more, please let us know in the Mod Questions thread.

☆ Feel free to ask for light NPC interactions in the MOD QUESTIONS header; we can give you a general idea of how a conversation might go! Like with the Captain Childe threads, none of these threads will be lengthy, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

❀ THE DREAMING

You are standing at the edge of an immense, underground lake. Water laps at the shore, echoing in the cavern. There is a sense of peace and warmth and — welcome.

A creature emerges from the lake and approaches you. Its gills flutter, its eyes are a faint bioluminescent glow in the darkness. It reaches out to touch you — one long, elegant finger presses against your chest. It feels as if it might crack your sternum open and ferret beneath your bones as if looking, looking for something. Yet, there is no malice from it, and you feel no fear.

But the creature relents. It backs up. Bows to you once, and then turns and walks back into the water.

You stay for some time at the edge of the lake. Eventually, it seems as if another person is here with you, or perhaps they simply came into focus after being here just as long as you. Should you speak with them?

A few notes:
PCs may interact with one another in the dreams. They will be in a semi-conscious state, not wholly aware they are dreaming and not wholly under the impression of its normalcy.

☆ Your character will wake up naturally from the Dreaming, they will feel peaceful and refreshed.
The lake, if they choose to swim in it while dreaming, would be perceived as the perfect ambient temperature for them — some characters may prefer it to be warmer or colder!

☆ If they duck below the water, they will see far-off glittering city lights, but no matter how they try to swim towards them they will never get any closer!

☆ If your character tries to drink the water, they might notice that for a few minutes after they wake they can hear little snippets of NPC thoughts. Weird!

☆ Every character will have a small, pale lilac mark where they were touched on the chest. It will fade over the next few days.

❀ FETCH QUEST

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO LIGHT APHRODISIAC EFFECTS

A small, perky woman corrals you somewhere near the latrines. "Hey!" she says insistently, pushing her hat back and sending a spill of inky curls askew from her forehead. "We need a hand. There's this plant we get for Sunya — the Doc? You met her yet? — it's a painkiller. Go through a shitload of that, which I'm sure is quite surprising," she says all this in a single breath, and her expression is sour despite her cheery tone.

"You any good at botany? We need another round of Starspire root. Can't harvest the ones we've got in camp, they've been a little cranky lately. You'll have to go about four kilometers due west, towards the old Adamant wreck. Just watch them — if they start to sweat, you'll need to get under cover, means the acid rain is coming. I'll upload the specs to your Comm."

Seems like you're being partnered with somebody else for the run — another person looking perhaps about as equally haggard as you, and at least as equally voluntold. Hopefully you won't run into any difficulties — how hard can retrieving one plant be?

A few notes:
☆ Feel free to have random monster encounters along the way! Don’t forget to wait for approvals on bestiary submissions before incorporating them into threads.

☆ The plants are at a high elevation, so they will exist on rocky outcroppings along a cliff-face. The landscape here is mostly high desert, which means it is full of thin, calf-high grasses, scrub plants, and non arable land polluted by dense, alkaline soil and rocks. Be creative in how you get there!

☆ Somebody gets hurt? Here, chew this root! They said it was a painkiller, right? What's the worst that could happen? (People can get a little ... flirtatious, shall we say.)

☆ Or you could go one step further and try exploring portions of the Adamant! Remember, the ship itself was built to house seventy thousand people — it's the size of a city, and it cannot be adequately explored in an afternoon! If you'd like anything specific to come of this, or if you’d like to know specifics about the Adamant’s layout, please consider submitting a plot request!.

angerberg: (Default)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she considers his wings with some alarm, taking a single step back as he lands. the movement, just like redwing's, comes with a sound that ranks somewhere between the clash of steel and the clicking of insects. and then a low hiss. ]

You again. I should have guessed. [ some kind of inventor, she suspected. ]

I used magic. [ as if it were obvious — unlike the phrasing sam uses, which doesn't quite satisfy. 'set to disengage' and 'non-hostile obstacles' sounds so ... foreign, even if she can understand him perfectly. she considers the drone. ] What is he?
angerberg: (Default)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
A happy family. How charming.

[ she smiles tightly. in her experience, anyone who can affords babysitters does, so she doesn't quite believe him. she's never in her life seen a noble care for their own child out of any willingness to do so. how the queen of aedirn hated each of her children. it made yennefer hate her, in turn.

yennefer watches the little beast run off, something hazy in the bright violet of her eyes.
] These people aren't planning to leave this planet.
angerberg: (pic#13922761)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ his charm doesn't disarm her. she is much too old to be wooed by men who know how to perform respect and chivalry, or by anyone who sees that her ego needs stroking.

but it does need stroking, and so she smiles regardless. some part of her feels good at being treated as worthy of those things, no matter her defenses against it. it also, however, raises a countermeasure. another part of her recoils, quietly doubting the applicability. the part that is convinced that she is worth precisely four marks.

the child apologizes to yennefer, ducking their head guiltily. then they try to wriggle away. feeling magnanimous, yennefer says,
] I don't care for apologies. Just don't do it again.

[ though, in truth, she isn't opposed to a little groveling from the right person. she turns her eyes on him. ]

You don't look like a nursemaid. Are you planning to wrangle them? Yours would be a much better example than whatever caretakers they've been under.
angerberg: (Default)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Is it?

[ yennefer doesn't look particularly aggressive, but neither does she immediately turn it over to adora. rather, she twists the knife in her hand, considering it. it's a clunky design. not at all something yennefer would prefer, but also more useful than nothing. ]

Yours? [ it's a good question, one that she can't help considering as she picks through the eggs. ] How would any of us know?
spalten: (pic#14899506)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-23 05:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Quite picturesque.

[ he says it rather casually but his heart's not in it. it hasn't been happy, not for a long time, not since he died, or was presumed dead. he can't say.

he nods at her words. ]
Would you?

They've made a family here and wherever home was, for these people, it's clearly not worth living or staying in.

It may not be Earth, but it's liveable. And it's not too difficult for people to contemplate a different existence once they feel that they can bear their circumstances.
Edited 2021-05-23 17:34 (UTC)
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14854917)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-23 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
( he's at the memorial wall, again. it's become something of a habit of late, particularly when he's needed a moment or two of quiet just to think. the survivors tend to give him a wide berth, and even the other hatchlings tend to be more preoccupied with their own thoughts than giving him more than a passing glance.

well, usually.

slowly, he turns, his expression shifting from confusion to disbelief until it settles on something approaching relief and genuine (pleasant) surprise: )
Nina Zenik.
portolan: (l o o s e n y o u r c u f f s)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-23 05:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the lilac mark peeks out from under her blouse. it doesn't look infected, nor painful, but it's certainly not skin colored and magical ailments can be more dangerous. he doesn't like that it didn't react to the esuna spell. ]

I can try another healing spell on you. Even if it doesn't clear this up, it should probably leaving you feeling rested and clear out any basic illness that might be lurking, so no real risk. However, I think I'll probably have to pass you up to someone whose been here longer than I have. I haven't see this particular affliction before.

[ he doesn't mention that he's been helping out all morning and his stamina is low. a basic cure spell is about all he has left in him. he'll need to recharge after this, and there's no telling how long that will take here. ]
angerberg: (pic#13922748)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 05:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Is it? Sustainable? They've built a fort, but not a city. What walls could survive the climate? Not stone, certainly. Any life here is one of subsistence. Mere survival. Not the start of a civilization. Even if they weren't mere miles from that mass grave.

[ she has not gone to see the crater left behind by the adamant for herself yet. she's keenly aware that she lacks the necessary skills and knowledge to make anything of the ship itself. she'll need to find someone, first, who is. after that, she can begin to consider what conclusions they can help her draw.

she surveys vidar more thoughtfully, then. he'd spoken of earth like it was familiar. she doesn't bother to mask the subject change — men seldom react poorly to anything that gives them an opportunity to talk about themselves, no matter how hamfisted, and she is too beside her nerves to be as graceful as she might want to be.
]

You're from Earth as well, then? Have you ever left it before?
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-23 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Really? [ she hasn't either, but she'd hoped for better news when she'd come to the experts at the aid station. that it's unfamiliar to balthier too is a little concerning. ] You should probably work on your bedside manner.

[ which isn't the kindest thing in the world to say to someone who's already helping her, but alina has never been the likable one. mal was. and mal's ...

well. no sense in dwelling on that. she grimaces a bit, looking back down at the mark and poking it.
] Maybe it's harmless.
spalten: (pic#14544826)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-23 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
For people who've grown used to making do with scraps, that's barely a concern. And besides, they're rather efficient at scavenging - they're determined to live here.

I've left Earth many times. I work at the moon, or close to it. [ he looks at their surroundings with amusement, the kids running and milling about as they try to make the play work in their theatre. ] It's not as exciting as this.
portolan: (a r m s c r o s s e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-23 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ her jab pulls a laugh from him, and he doesn't bother trying to stifle it. It's probably the first he's had since he got here. ]

I told you I wasn't much of a medic. [ her point is well taken though; it's no comfort to have a strange affliction in a strange world. ]

No burning, no itching, no noted behavior changes? I wouldn't be too worried, though I'm happy to escort you to someone else if you'd like it checked further.

[ he concentrates again. his magic is running dry, but there's enough for the last cure spell. a small glow again, and he sees some of the shallow scratches on her skin recede. no change on the lilac mark, though. ]
angerberg: (Default)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the moon. gods. ]

No? [ she sounds curious. ] Tell me about it. I confess to being well out of my element in all of this.

[ there's nothing that encourages a man to give a ted talk like admitting to being underinformed. yennefer has no hangups about presenting herself that way if it's in pursuit of getting she wants. ]
spalten: (pic#14899500)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-23 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ how difficult it was to explain what space is to someone who hasn't been there and whose first experience was this alien planet. vidar gives it a minute or so, trying to think of a way to make it clear, until he decides on, ]

It's cold, and barren. You need special equipment to survive in it, let alone work; all of that is expensive. Nothing can grow in there, and there is more debris than necessary than you can think of, making travel difficult and dangerous.

Imagine the cold and the silence, and being in a quiet ship for the rest of your life. That's what it's like up there.
sunmon: (pic#14852203)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-23 06:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ after the glow fades, and the warmth of the cure spell drains from her body, she rubs at the mark one last time. no change. alina sighs a bit, rebuttoning the blouse. ]

Thanks for trying, at least. I doubt anyone else would have more luck. [ she's not overburdened by faith, this one. but she does look at him more shrewdly. ] What was that? What you did.

[ not grisha power, surely. the only time healers had worked on her, it had felt like sinew stitching back into place. not the all-around steady warmth of that blooming light. ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14302738)

wildcard/dishwashing

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This isn't the first time Zeta has had to help out with chores. Everyone pulls their weight aboard the Grandcypher and Zeta is nothing but a team player (sometimes, most days), but usually there's a minimum amount of grumbling about it, because chores are the necessary prequel to the more exciting parts to come.

Naturally, she's not happy about it, not like the way her dishwashing partner for the night seems to be. It'd been one thing while they'd been working in relative silence, with only the everpresent background noise of base camp behind them, but now the girl is humming?

Don't mind her as she just kind of. Stares, while her hands slow to a stop underneath the soapy water. ]


You really like washing dishes, huh?

[ It's weird. It's very weird. What kind of weird person likes to clean? Cleaning is boring. ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14008807)

wildcard/mess hall

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Another day, another round of the same brown ooze slapped onto her plate. At least she's not alone at her table this time, even if she almost wishes she was after watching her company eat. She has no idea this is the guy she talked about chimera ants with before but it doesn't matter. She is deeply fascinated (and not in a good way) by his complete ability to down his (gross-looking) meal without even blinking.

Her eyes go to his plate, then her own, then up to his face. Her nose wrinkles—and then wrinkles even more as she catches another unappetizing whiff of her dinner. Ugh, gross. ]


Does that actually taste good to you?

[ There's no way. There's no way it can possibly taste good! ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14008820)

wildcard/fetch quest

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Here she is, on starspire collection duty, because after a week in camp she's itching to get out and explore the area around. Maybe stab a few monsters or five if she gets lucky (she has not been lucky so far).

Instead, she's loitering around in some desert area while some guy doodles a plant and she squints up at the sky, trying to see if she can predict the oncoming weather from the clouds alone. Her oversized spear is, as always, clutched in one hand, glowing a soft blue. Their bucket of collected starspire root sits by her feet. ]


Are you done yet? You've been drawing for like ten minutes already.

[ How long can a drawing possibly take?

As he sketches away, she leans over his shoulder, squinting. It's actually not a bad rendition to her untrained eye. ]


Why are you drawing it anyway? They probably already have records back at camp.
rhapsodical: (Default)

gym

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ After waking up covered in egg goop (gross), being unceremoniously thrown in jail (rude as hell!!), and then learning about the complete and utter lack of hair and bath care products available at base camp Leviathan, Zeta's been having a No-Good, Very-Bad week.

Suffice to say, she's got a lot of steam to burn off, and what better way to work out her aggression than with some training? It's a two-for-one anyway; given the creepy danger zone that surrounds the camp, the sharper her reflexes are the more likely it is she'll make it through the next few weeks/months/(hopefully-not-)years with a minimum number of injuries sustained.

Turns out, she's not the only one with the great idea to train while the acid rain hisses down around them. She recognizes the guy from the other night, a little reserved but largely good-natured, but before she can look around for his little robot buddy she finds herself distracted by the oversized orange glow stick that cuts effortlessly through the air.

Because she's not a complete barbarian, she waits until he comes to some sort of pause before loudly calling out: ]


Hey! What's that?

[ Said with a nod towards his lightsaber. Don't mind the oversized blue spear propped against one shoulder, the lightsaber is way more interesting right now. ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14008812)

community outreach

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Vidar looks on impassively; Zeta watches the fight ensue with a look of unease, her own care package held loosely in her hands. It's not that she's unused to fighting - hell, normally she's the one starting them - but there's a difference between a good-natured spar and...whatever this is. It's personal, with an uncurrent of genuine anger that's never colored any of her fights before.

Impossible to forget where they are and what they're up against, not when she's faced with these kinds of reminders every day. ]


Lively….I guess that's one word for it. [ Not the one she would have used personally, but that's neither here nor there. ] Was this kind of thing common with your crew too?
rhapsodical: (pic#14008809)

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[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-23 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This isn't the first time someone's bumped into Zeta and she's sure it won't be the last, with how busy things are around camp. That doesn't stop her from reaching out a steadying hand, voice full of reassurance. ]

Whoa, hey, careful there! I'm fine, but maybe the next guy won't be so lucky.

[ She's joking, mostly, the easy smile hopefully enough of an indicator. The woman looks particularly distracted, enough to prompt Zeta to pipe up with a question. ]

Looking for something specific?

[ Her knowledge of the camp is still murky at best, but surely someone around here's got an answer. ]
angerberg: (Default)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-05-23 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
It sounds miserable. Put that way, it's no wonder that the passengers of the Adamant might be eager to build a life for themselves here instead of returning to the cold interior of some ship.

[ of course, she's doing some mental work to adapt 'ship' to mean one that sails the stars instead of the sea. she puzzles through it a moment. ]

Why would you stay? Why not return to Earth, in your case, or settle elsewhere? [ if indeed that was a choice, granted. ]
spalten: (pic#14544826)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-23 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ vidar thinks about explaining gjallarhorn to a complete stranger and decides that telling her his job was to subdue legitimate protests is likely not a good conversation starter. instead, he tells her, ]

Our ship had enough supplies, so often we didn't have to make do with ones from the dead.

Otherwise, however, people do fight for supplies, and what can be redistributed will be. It's a matter of survival.
sunmon: (pic#14849347)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-23 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you didn't see me either.

[ it's a joke. it's obviously a joke. but alina is too used to being the butt of jokes, too defensive from a lifetime of the sorts of prejudice and bullying that predispose her to never be able to be included in the joke. so she bristles.

she wishes she didn't. as soon as it's out, she regrets it. this is the reason everyone loves mal and everyone wonders what he's doing with a strange and unpleasant girl like her.

she collects her comm from the floor where it clattered, knocked out of her hand by their collision.
]

I'm going out from under the leviathan's wings, taking a trip to the Adamant. I was hoping I could find some other newcomers who'd join. We should take the chance to survey the planet for ourselves when we can.
spalten: (pic#14544841)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-23 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ well, he can't return; he's technically dead, on earth. that's the problem. but she doesn't have to know that now, at least. ]

We do make trips to Earth - occasionally, but it's more for refuelling or replenishment.

Otherwise our work is in the stars. Everyone wants to be in a planet that is able to sustain its people in it, no matter how poorly or how well its government does. Call it a myth or a dream. Our job is to make sure nobody can accidentally enter orbit and cause a ruckus down there, as it often happens.

There aren't a lot of planets that can support life. Colonies - I guess you can call them floating, enclosed cities in space - will eventually need to figure out supply. Mars doesn't have much of an economy to speak of and the entire planet is made of sand, with few areas truly able to support agriculture. Jupiter is far and made of gas.

To be in a planet such as this, dangerous as it is - it's close enough to Earth. For some people that's more than enough.