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!.

trassel: (43.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-24 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ He does hesitate — inaction betrays him. In answer, Matthias draws his own out of his pocket and hands it over to her silently, simply watching to see what she does with it. Trying his best not to look overly interested — he hadn't felt self-conscious about not using it before, but sure does now. ]
neversmall: (139)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-24 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's a mildness to that which tells Nina he's not quite understood; she's not sure if it reflects on her or Alina, but she finds it worth clarifying: ] Yes. Today. She offered to come with me, but...

[ Nina just shakes her head a little. She can't explain why she thought she had to do this herself; it makes no sense, really, after all the time and effort she'd spent to make sure Alina realized Matthias was not going to hurt her. She really should have taken advantage of that. She just... felt she had to do this herself first. Her general deserves her last report.

The man I work for will hunt you down, she'd told Matthias. She'd believed it. I'd rather starve than be a traitor, she'd said. And she'd done it. ]


I apologize for that, sir. The drüskelle came in the same number I was led to expect would be with the Conductor. I had them, but there was a fifth one hidden in the building across the street. He snared me with a bola before the four others went down.

[ Her hands at her sides, their damned heartbeats so steady with the conviction of their cause -- how was she to know that steady beat across the road was another drüskelle? She'd thought she'd had them. She'd managed to get one arm free, she'd made them fight for it, but... they had taken her anyway. She'd failed. It felt bitter, like ashes in her throat as she looked at him. ]

I hope that my last report got through.

[ That the Conductor trusted her enough to take her through, that she'd be joining him and three rogues from Ketterdam for some mission involving the Little Palace. ]
neversmall: (067)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-24 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
...huh. [ That, at least, felt like the truth - or part of the truth, anyway. Nina supposes it would be a lot easier to believe that it was stupid than it if it was important. But. Well. Alina was the sun summoner. ]

Well. Only one way to find out if these dreams are truly different than the ones you've been having. I'll ask Matthias about the creature-dream. He's about as far from Grisha as you can get.

[ That last bit offered with a wry, and somewhat pained twist of her mouth. Her locket feels cold around her neck. ]
sunmon: (pic#14854103)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-24 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Barely.

[ ana kuya had been firm on this point — recollections of parents, anything before they had been taken in by the duke, were tantamount to heresy. it sounded ungrateful. the memories had mostly faded, paling with time. ]

You can't want to hear about this. [ her voice is dry, dismissive. she tries to wriggle away from the sentiment it stirs. ] My strongest memory is when I found out what happened to them. Killed by volcra, crossing the Fold. I don't think you want to talk about how much the Black Heretic ruined your life any more than I want to talk about how he ruined mine.
neversmall: (057)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-24 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina would rather use the break by pushing him into a conveniently dark corner, but she supposes water would suffice. ]

I could do with a drink. [ Impishly: ] Could you do with some company?
cryptoherpetology: (016)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-24 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Likewise. I'd say I wish it could be under better circumstances, but I don't think there are any circumstances where we could meet that wouldn't be just as weird and probably as dangerous, all things considered. [ By the way his grandmother makes it sound, universe-hopping isn't the safest of hobbies even when you don't do it the way she does. Which is "with a backpack full of grenades" which does tend to up the danger factor of any situation. But then, so does Grandma Alice. ]

I guess I know who to come find if I break my glasses.
Edited 2021-05-24 03:57 (UTC)
capt_childe: (NEUTRAL - PROFILE)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-05-24 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
None of what this woman is saying makes any sense, and it's reflected in the skeptical arch to her eyebrow as the Lieutenant gets further into the... well, into the weeds. Metaphorically speaking.

"My parents would doubtless claim that honor," she says with a wry shake of her head. "I've no history in theoretical physics, but I think you may be speaking of an alternate reality. The word Krakau means nothing to me, unless you mean the ancient city in Poland."
wittingly: (I Fᴇʟʟ Iɴ Lᴏᴠᴇ Aɴᴅ Mʏ Lᴏᴠᴇ Sᴛɪʟʟ Gʀᴏᴡs)

[personal profile] wittingly 2021-05-24 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
( Dear god, please tell him about Grandma Alice sometime — preferably while he's smoking a joint. She sounds like the most fascinating person he's ever heard of, and he's dating a guy that punched a tentacle shark one time. )

I could go ahead and make you a spare?

( He offers wryly, voice a raspy drawl, tucking his care package bundle absently up under one arm. )
needfully: (pic#14766407)

[personal profile] needfully 2021-05-24 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
I was going to say that I wanted something easier to move in.

[ And that was really his only motivation... he's simply not thinking of how wearing these may help or hurt him in the long run re: his relationship with the existing citizens of the camp; he only thinks of how well the clothes may serve him in the days to come.

Nonetheless, he takes the shirt as offered, and also as offered, he rescinds his own offer. She can suit herself. Illumi won't press the matter - he only offered the trade in the first place because he was sure it would be the only peaceful way to get someone to give up what they already had. But apparently, he was wrong. ]


There's going to be ill will towards us using any resource of theirs... [ He points out, letting out the ghost of a sigh. ] So, should we use nothing of theirs, then?

[ He's asking her genuinely, or at least it seems as if he's doing so. ]
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-24 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
Good idea.

[ alina nods, if a little slowly. it's bizarre, still. how close nina and matthias seem to be. they might not be enemies anymore (for now? or forever?), but nina speaks with such comfortable cooperation.

well. it's none of her business, as long as it means matthias isn't trying to murder her. but it continues to put her in a weird position on how much to trust nina relative to her relationship to kirigan, as well.
]
trassel: (27.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-24 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
I will think about it,

[ as he makes no move out of her space, in fact, raises his arm around her loosely to herd her to the water bottles. ]

perhaps on the way...?
needfully: (pic#14777354)

[personal profile] needfully 2021-05-24 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
No.

[ He answers very quickly and honestly, after swallowing another bite. The truth of the matter is that this stuff tastes foul— its grainy, and oddly sour on some bites, not to mention that the food served is often of slightly unidentifiable origin. Just brown, mushy slop of rehydrated gravy. ]

This is expired, and its probably been dried for years... why would I think it tastes good?

[ His question is completely genuine, because he has no idea why she would think it tastes good to him when it's so obviously bad. Also known as, it doesn't occur to him that being able to swallow it so easily would come with the implication that he actually enjoys it. ]
cryptoherpetology: (037)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-24 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ Whenever he needs an entertaining story, Grandma Alice shall be discussed. Especially since part of him half-expects to find someone who's met her at some point, given her extra-dimensional activities. ]

Sure, can't ever be too prepared. [ Or too informed. He wants to watch this process again from up close. He takes off his glasses and holds them out. ] I'm assuming this isn't one of the forms of magic that needs to be transactional by default- I'm not signing over my firstborn for this, am I? [ A joke. It's very dry with the veneer or sarcasm kept thin and un-snarky enough to be relatively friendly.

Also he does want to double check. Always double check with magic. Learn from Grandpa Thomas's mistakes. ]
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-24 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
( she's offering him an out, which is more than what he's been given when the subject invariably turns toward his bloodline—he is used to being feared and resented by turns. the ache of that rejection and lack of understanding having settled into something dull, if persistent, years ago. )

My comfort doesn't invalidate your pain.
wittingly: (I ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀᴅʟʏ)

[personal profile] wittingly 2021-05-24 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
( My friend, you have come to the right place if you wanna see an entertaining process. He holds up a hand — one second — gotta put his care package down for maximum effect. Pardon me fellows, just gonna lean over and drop it on a nearby surface.

Then comes the exaggerated preparation phase, including cracking his neck, shaking out his arms, pushing up his sleeves — not that he has any, he's wearing short sleeves, so he's pushing up absolutely nothing.
)

Second born. No taksie-backsies, we're in a verbal contract now.

( Pleasantly stated as he reaches for the glasses. )

So, the trick here is really the magic words. There's a very special ritual chant...

( Glasses in left palm. Right palm empty. Chest glowing blue. Here we go-- )

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba...

( Annnd a second pair neatly weaves itself into existence, identical in every way. He holds them both out looking way too satisfied with himself. )
capt_childe: (NEUTRAL)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-05-24 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
To the flurry of questions, she raises a hand, both to forestall further and to provide a visual reference as she answers them. One finger ticks down: "We're the survivors of the UCSS Adamant crash. Twelve thousand strong, give or take a bad day." She doesn't see the point in hiding it. They have more civilians than they do naval crew these days.

The second finger ticks down. "The Chrysalis is what we're calling that thing." She leans forward until she can see it, that great glowing orb in the middle of the goopy, shallow pool. "We don't know what the fuck it is, our instruments can't penetrate it and frankly, we've seen enough shit on this planet to think better of cracking open a giant glowing orb in the middle of our Basecamp. As long as it leaves us alone, we're pretty content to do the same."

Third finger: "We aren't generally keen on keeping people in cages. Right now we're doing it as both a quarantine and a security measure, because frankly, would you trust a bunch of strangers who aren't from any world or universe you've heard of with your people?"

She lowers her hand. "You're welcome for the baths, and I definitely have my own questions. Are you done asking yours?"
cryptoherpetology: (Default)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-24 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
Good to meet you, Mattias.

[ He returns the shake with one that's firm but not aggressively so. ]

I use firearms, mostly. I have two handguns of my own that I've finally gotten clean enough to use again, but they're not exactly built for hunting and I'm not sure how willing engineering will be to make ammunition for me. I can handle myself with knives and swords as well, but enough to rely on them entirely.

Does the crew know you're doing this? [ He can't help but notice that it's just a chair and a sign, after all. ]
sunmon: (pic#14852472)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-24 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ she opens up a blank message and enters her username as slowly as she can without looking entirely incompetent or too obvious about the fact that she's demonstrating. she sends a little :) — thanks to cartagena, she has some idea of what it means.

then she passes his watch back to him, and uses her own to send the same symbol back.
]
sunmon: (10)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-24 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ it's meant to be a reassurance. it's the right thing to say. it's what a good man would say, to show empathy. she can't help but wonder if he's rehearsed it somewhere else first.

she hates this. she hates second-guessing everything. it makes her feel miserable every moment. alina goes quiet, as if in acceptance, reluctant acknowledgement. sitting with the grief.

then,
] What about your parents?
trassel: (22.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-24 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ It beeps, and Matthias stares at the message for a full second, brows furrowing. He turns it around and sees the little smiling face, but that's just more bizarre. First she holds the sun in her hands, and now she sends him smiling faces??? He almost wishes for home right then, for the familiar embrace of the ice and the hunt, and not all these new, confusing lines of logic about who he is and who Grisha are and what it all means. It's an unpleasant mixture in his gut. ]

[ And, ]

Thank you. I will call you when we head out. I imagine there is much for a mapmaker to see.
trassel: (32.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-24 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
And you, Alex.

[ He's had very little cause to be courteous, and it sets this conversation well, for him. Matthias may be surly, Matthias may be very intimidating, but Matthias also prefers to say please and thank you and mind his ps and qs. ]

Ammunition should be saved. Let us rely on knives for now. If you cannot use a spear or an axe, I will help you.

[ He's passable with a bow — but not enough to reach for it as an instinct. Fletching for arrows, string, he makes a mental note of it. It may be prudent to get better. ]

[ At the question about the crew, however, Matthias' mouth thins, and his shoulders shift almost self-admonishingly. The people here are not too keen, and he has been having moments of wondering if he acted too hastily, annoyed by Remi. ]

I'm probably in trouble, [ he admits, ] but I hope what we will find is worth it.
cryptoherpetology: (002)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-24 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ He might not laugh per se, but the dramatic performance does pull his mouth into a quietly amused smirk. He puts on the duplicated pair to test them- finding that the prescription is exactly how it should be, the lenses are still properly polarized to protect him from visual petrefactors. He'd think they were the same pair if he wasn't tucking them into his lapel pocket. ]

Thanks. I'll try to live long enough to make that second born. [ The smirk rises a little higher for a second, then sinks at a reminder of... something. He quickly reverts back to the mild-mannered scientist before too much of that emotion cracks through, tamping it down under polite stoicism.] Beyond living or decaying matter, are there any other limitations like size or frequency that you use it? [ Curiosity is an excellent way to avoid other feelings. ]
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-24 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
Hopefully.

[ if there's not, it means they're probably in more trouble than they realize. the only kind of terrain that's boring for a mapmaker is a desert.

she looks again at his stand, then notices someone else considering it, and nods. that's her cue.
] Good luck recruiting.
morozova: @axisandallies (gk-sab32)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-24 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
I never knew my father. ( this is the truth. baghra had always danced around the issue, relegating the man to little more than a means to an end; perhaps this had been true, in a way. there were no others like them and what was the life of one man in comparison to the aeons that spread out before his son?

still, it would be a lie to say he hadn't wondered. hadn't yearned to know more. )


And you've met my mother, I believe.
wittingly: (ɢᴏᴛᴛᴀ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sɪᴅᴇ)

[personal profile] wittingly 2021-05-24 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
( Ah yes, there's some relatable gallows humor. It puts a grim, understanding expression on Ian's face — not quite a smile, not quite a grimace, something in between. I'll try to live long enough-- is exactly why he's made close friends with the guy who's been distilling the moonshine here. )

I can--

( He starts, and then shoots a glance around the steady population headed toward the supply line. Grabs up his package, and nods his head toward a spot a little more out of the way. )

When I started I could only do, like— tool sized, you know? Change the shape of screwdrivers, hammers, stuff like that, but after a few months...

( There's a flat sheet of metal making up one of the walls of the theater. A thin line fades into existence, carving out the distinct shape of a door. No knob, but it swings open at a perfect ninety degree angle as though bent. )

Twenty-five cubic feet at a time exactly. In... ( A conceding shrug. ) Any... real variation, but total maximum area is always the same. When I'm not outright duplicating, when I'm... just, rearranging what's already there, it seems to be confined by the law of conservation of mass.

( He can't make it disappear and he can't just add on an additional foot where it doesn't exist. Not without sitting down and deliberately thinking about duplicating, like, a foot of material in a completely separate process. )

There are... rules, there's a consistent logic system in what I can and can't do, I just don't understand why. Plus, I keep thinking... you know, if I can rearrange physical structure, why not atomic? Lead into gold, you know what I mean? But... nothing, so far.