raiamods: (Default)
raiamods ([personal profile] raiamods) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-05-21 04:56 pm
Entry tags:

◣ 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!.

neversmall: (015)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...okay, she hadn't thought this would impact him that much. Overall what she's revealing is a narrow V; it might not be up to standard, but it's hardly immodest. His response is charming, really. Boosts her ego a ton, especially since he's been sleeping so far away from her. And it would be a lie to say she hadn't begun the matter-of-fact disrobing without the hope of it effecting him, but she'd expected... well, possibly something derogatory thrown at her at worst (Have you no shame?), maybe some more staring at best.

This - this is downright hopeful is what it is. She feels a sense of sweet satisfaction.

And she really, really can't help herself. Lightly: ]


How do you know, you're not looking.
trassel: (Default)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matthias isn't much of an ask forgiveness person, his mouth thins briefly — but there isn't much of an option he's made for himself here. ]

I think that those of us who came from the eggs are better equipped than the people here. They are stretched thin, and they have many other problems to deal with. It's better for us to do these tasks.

[ Which is not to say they can't be out hunting, just that he's also had a look around, and he's going to be nosy, there, later, see what he can do about the equipment. But there is a huge divide between them, who're trying to make a community and get through things, and the Hatchlings, who're not as general a group. He's noticed quite a few soldiers, including himself. ]

I've spoken with others. There're enough for a full party, although we are not going out right away.
trassel: (21.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ He simply looks up at the sky, murmuring softly — devious, devious Nina, she'd just had to go and stretch, earlier, sow the thoughts merrily. Well they paid off quickly, he rubs the back of his neck — she really is shameless and it's terrible. He hates it. No Fjerdan girl would ever do this, he would never have been made to be in this corner. ]

You could just describe it to me, [ he says, grumpily. ] there was no need for... this.

[ i can't believe you've done this dot vine ]
neversmall: (046)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's not hurt by him rebuffing her, or by his stubborn insistence on a propriety she will, frankly, never possess. It's who he is, and she can see the impact she just had on him. It... doesn't feel good, though... no, okay, maybe she's a little hurt, but not to the core.

Her hand curls over the slim V, drawing the edges closed without buttoning them. ]


Well, that would be a significant waste of time when you could just look. Matthias. [ Look at me.

She's covered up the skin with her hand - not that much could be seen around her locket anyway - she shouldn't be leading him into temptation. She just wants to see his eyes again and make sure they're still open doors, see that she hasn't lost him by being herself. ]
neversmall: (068)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina blinks and considers. ]

I'm nearly done. [ She moves to finish up her meal quickly. It doesn't have to be good to provide the necessary nutrients, which is a good thing because it is decidedly not good. ]

What was the name of this young woman who mentioned Ravka?

[ Finishing, she stands, moving to clear her plate before they go. ]
neversmall: (005)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
If we're going to be friends, Alina, you should realize one thing about me -- [ Dramatic Pause, stopping and turning to regard her seriously. ]

I never lie about food. Come on, [ with a grin, moving forward to her small locker where they can retrieve her contraband. ]
neversmall: (Default)

Theater C

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina is absolutely content to Just Watch, thank you, and everyone should be thankful that Nina didn't feel the need to sing - she's horrible. Instead, she approaches Trish with a water bottle after the performance is done. ]

That was impressive.

[ Here, have some water - she extends the bottle. ]
oomfies: (✨ render. ( 🌡 ))

community outreach

[personal profile] oomfies 2021-05-25 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ The fight breaks out and, metaphorically, gives Lottie hives. It's so stressful and only serves to make her feel especially weird and unwelcomed. She holds her own package to her chest, not having any more time than to gleefully recognize a toothbrush before the yelling starts.

At Vidar's remark, Lottie angles her gaze miserably in his direction, clearly in disbelief someone can find this.. Lively or any sign of a good life here. ]


This is [ A pause, as she realizes she's already talking and the words are coming out: ] fun to you?
trassel: (14.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ Just look. Wow. Every cell in his body remembers what it was like to be pressed very, very close to hers and he suppresses the shiver. Matthias folds his arms, looking at a prop moving towards the stage suddenly like it's incredibly fascinating, then at the space between his feet. He draws his shoulders up, but bunches, all his corners close to himself. ]

[ He can look. Honestly. It's not like something is about to explode. ]

Yes, what?

[ Deliberately, he turns only for her sightline, looking into her eyes. ]
neversmall: (Default)

space of affliction ii

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina spends the majority of her mornings in the Aid Station. Her methods are far from traditional, not only is she making jokes and occasionally flirting shamelessly with patients, with their permission she is also using her abilities to ease their pain, strengthen their bodies.

She'd been on the other side of the room, seemingly just holding someone's hand as she leeched out all the pain from their burn while Yakov sat with another patient as they waited for the doctor. It's... rare that she sees that sort of patient kindness from a man, and even though his beard and something about his bearing has her thinking of drüskelle, when the doctor is finished with the patient she approaches him. ]


That was kind of you - sitting with the patient. I think I've seen you here before. I'm Nina Zenik. [ She holds out her hand. ]
sunmon: (pic#14850587)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-25 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ though she smiles instantly, eager to be liked, 'friends' makes her think of genya. she can't help the brief hesitation. were she and genya even still friends? she had fled the palace. could she be friends with any of the second army, when they served the black heretic? did they know?

did nina?

there's no use in wondering about it. for now, until she figures out a way to oppose kirigan more directly, they will be, and alina is grateful for that. she could desperately use a friend. she loops her arm through nina's, a delighted laugh spilling out.
]

I think that might make you my favorite friend.
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-25 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, plenty. But we can always use more hands. You might get roped into the play, though, so don't say I didn't warn you.

[ she holds the door for him. ]

I understand the feeling. About the philosophy? Every book I've read on Grisha theory has gone over my head. [ she laughs. it's an easy sound. honestly, she's grateful for the company. alina may be used to being alone, but she doesn't prefer it. it's just the time she's spent in mal's shadow, and the way ravkans all look at her. balthier doesn't look at her like that. ]

It's different than Mist, though. [ she squints a little as she tries to muster the explanation. ] It's all odinakovost and etovost, the 'thisness' and 'thatness.' I think the easier way of thinking of it is "like calls to like." [ that part, she had grasped. ] Anyway. It's how Grisha power works.
mylawn: (pic#10981953)

theatre c

[personal profile] mylawn 2021-05-25 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
[In what seems to be the greatest stroke of luck he's experienced thus far, 76 manages to not get pulled into theatrical shenanigans. He doesn't really intend to stick around (if only because he fully expects his luck to run out), but everyone seems pretty captivated by the performance. She seems like a good sport, at least. Maybe 76 is a little surprised to hear she was embarrassed by the whole thing, once the kids are out of earshot.]

He offers her a shrug. No harm, no foul.]

It's better than what I would've done.

[That is to say, he's completely talentless and probably would have scared all the children away.]

Someone had to take one for the team.
Edited 2021-05-25 01:26 (UTC)
neversmall: (071)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...oh, it's like that, is it? She... hadn't been sure. She'd thought, with everything, that maybe she'd been the only one who missed being close. What he lets her see when he meets her eyes tells her that is very much not the case. Nina draws in a quiet breath, her lips parting slightly.

She wants to step closer and take hold of the lapels of his jacket and lean into his space. She wants to tell him that if he doesn't want to look at hers, she can look at his, and maybe they can find a quiet, private place where they can each inspect the other's marks. She wants to rest her head against his chest and feel the beating of his heart and know it's beating is for her, while she presses his hand against her heart and he knows the same is true for him.

Instead, she compromises. He gave her what she needed, she can do the same for him. Raising one shoulder slightly, her hand still loosely gripping her blouse closed, a slightly vulnerable, slightly wry expression on her face, Nina asks: ]
Is it a small, light purple mark, about the size of a finger print?
trassel: (25.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matthias is locked onto the line of her sight and nothing else. But like that, it burns even more, knowing that something else is within his grasp and having only imagination to construct it. He could upend the box and shake the thoughts out furiously, rattling it as they cling to the sides with claws, cackling. ]

[ She is terrible. She makes him want to duck away from here into one of the smaller rooms, and ask for very, very outrageous things, that absolutely no one else he knows would even consider doing. It reflects poorly. ]

[ But there isn't a choice. They are here and he could not stop looking appreciatively at Nina any more than he could stop breathing. ]

Yes, it is.

[ He sighs, and his eyes drop down briefly, just to look at it, and then the very convenient locket, then back up at once, to her. ]

It came to be there when the spirit touched me.
neversmall: (108)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina's brow furrows. She's concerned for Matthias in a way she hadn't really been concerned for herself or Alina.

She's not unaware of the way the air has grown charged between them - she's incapable of not responding to him when he looks at her. She can feel the way her breathing has quickened, but despite what he let her see, despite the way she can feel him looking at her and how it makes her want to lean in and give him everything, the charge feels -- more distant -- in the wake of her concern.

She takes a half step closer, her grip on her blouse loosening. ]


May I see?
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-25 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
Not alone. Not anymore.

( that had been the hope, at least, but then things had so quickly spun out of control and even though he's reasonably sure that even her anger would bank eventually, there is some part of him that wants to latch onto this second chance.

he offers her his hand, )
And there are advantages to a long life.
needfully: (pic#14879365)

i!

[personal profile] needfully 2021-05-25 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Illumi is about the opposite of the other man; he's hardly put up any resistance since he got thrown in this slammer. In fact, he seems completely content to just watch this guy body slam the cell bars and not aid him in his attempt to tussle his way out— he was also definitely staring as the other man got tasered. Not out of concern, really, but rather, something closer to curiosity, or a bored type of mild interest. ]

Illumi. [ Funnily enough, he answers the pointed question completely genuinely, his voice as passive as his body language is; he's sitting up against the back wall of the cell, still completely wet with goo. ] I'm sure you can gather that I hatched, just like you.

[ Considering they're both currently blue, smelly, and sticky! At least no one else is in this cell adding to the stink, for now. ]

I was wondering when they'd put someone else in here.
trassel: (47.)

1/2

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ HELP ]
trassel: (03.)

2/2

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-25 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ See it?? Does she want him to disrobe with as little shame as she has??? HELP ]

Nina, it's all right.

[ As she takes a step forward, he takes one step back, gaze flicking down again but back up, just to be sure, so she won't ask what he thinks she's going to ask, because he would just do it, and there would be no walking back from that. ]

It looks like yours. I'm very sure.
sunmon: (pic#14852770)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-25 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ putting her hand in his feels like surrendering some piece of her. it feels like accepting the premise — not in performance, but in truth. perhaps because she does agree, on some level. no matter what else is true, there is something unavoidable about their sameness. lessons in grisha philosophy return to her — odinakovost, and how like calls to like.

she takes his hand anyway.
]

Like what? [ she can't imagine any. she hasn't even begun to grapple with his insinuation that she might be as eternal as he is. it creeps in now, though, and she asks, ] How are you so sure that I'll be as long-lived? I'm not aging slowly. Look. I've got wrinkles. [ she holds up her other hand so that he can consider the creases of her knuckles, as if those are ... the same as wrinkles??? teenagers smh. ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14008813)

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-25 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ The more he talks the more she leans away from her plate, expression growing ever more concerned (and disgusted) with every passing second. Expired? Dried for years? Please say psyche.

But it never comes, and she's left staring mournfully at her plate, the last traces of her appetite completely gone. ]


Ugh..... I was hoping it would be one of those cases where it tastes way better than it looks.

[ Admittedly, that's happened all of once in her lifetime, but a gal can hope!! ]

Plus you were eating it no problem. People don't usually eat stuff that tastes gross that quickly, y'know?

[ Does he know though............ ]
rhapsodical: (pic#14008813)

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-25 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Survival....she sure has heard that word bandied about a lot in recent days. Survival for her had always been a matter of surviving her next fight, not being forced to eat brown gravy day after day or wearing hand-me-downs pulled off the latest corpse. But it seems like a lot of things are going to be different now that she's here.

Might as well (try and) look on the bright side. ]


So you must know a lot about this kind of thing then. [ Dubious definition of the word 'thing.' ] I was on a ship before this too, but it wasn't anything like what we're going through now.

[ No acid rain, for one. ]
neversmall: (070)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-25 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina belatedly remembers his modesty issues, the abrupt orders to turn around even when they were literally freezing. ]

We can go somewhere else.

[ She'd really just feel better to know - to see and touch and make sure - that he is okay.

She's also not sure how he can be very sure when he's barely glanced at it through her now mostly-closed blouse. Granted, the mark was still just visible, but.

Look, she'd just feel better about it. ]
morozova: (pic#14876602)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-25 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
He betrayed you. ( visser. she must realize that he supposes, but they all but wrung the confirmation out of him when he'd been captured.

a pause follows as he considers this. )


Your report made it through, but not before the rogues in question infiltrated the Little Palace and killed Miss Starkov's double. It appears they were trying to capture her.

( or worse, in visser's case. the little he knows of kaz brekker suggests he is nothing if not utterly kerch in his values, which means that it was unlikely that he was aware of visser's plan. a pity, really. )

Five drüskelle is an impressive number for a single Grisha.

( to circle back to that little detail for a moment. oh, he doesn't doubt nina's capability. she had been chosen for a reason. but to be so openly brazen is concerning for a number of reasons.

once they return, he is going to have to take a much closer look at what has been happening in fjerda. )


I'm glad you're safe.